King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 642 Where to rely on
In a blink of an eye, a few days passed and the third round of negotiations between the imperial court and Junggar ended.

The last negotiation was presided over by the prince himself to show the court's importance attached to the negotiations.

The imperial court gave the "bottom line" for the peace talks, which was that the Dzungars would withdraw from the Turpan line, and the two sides would use the Tianshan Mountains as the boundary.

Zhu Xianming certainly did not really want to negotiate, but rather intended to take this opportunity to occupy territory and then look for an opportunity to start a war after gaining a foothold in Turpan.

There were also experts in the Dzungar delegation, and their bottom line was to cede Hami. If both sides refused to give in, the talks were bound to fail.

The prince "messed up" the task the first time he handled such a major military and national affair independently, which made him feel upset and panicked.

On the other hand, the emperor knew that the peace talks were likely to fail, so he did not blame the prince too much.

After listening to the prince's report, Zhu Xianming did not delve into the matter further, but took out a petition from the Ministry of War.

Recently, there have been personnel adjustments in the Imperial Guards, the Beijing Barracks, and various local military governors. This list of recommendations is the third list of recommendations submitted by the Ministry of War recently.

There are five vacant positions on this list, and fifteen officials recommended by the Ministry of War, along with the basic information of these officials.

"Let the prince see it!"

After hearing the emperor's order, Cheng Ying took the petition and delivered it to the prince himself.

Zhu Jingyuan spread it out and saw Jia She's name on the list of candidates for the Guangxi Commander-in-Chief.

At this moment, his heart was even more panicked!

"The Ministry of War recommended Jia She to serve as the governor of Guangxi. The cabinet has reviewed this. What do you think of this?"

After hearing the emperor's question, Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while before answering: "Reporting to the emperor, I think... this proposal can be approved!"

Zhu Xianming knew that Jia She's appointment as an official was instigated by the crown prince, so he wanted to hear the crown prince's opinion.

In order to maintain a certain "balance", Zhu Xianming not only had to suppress the Prince Xiang's Mansion, but also had to appropriately strengthen the Prince and Prince Rui's families.

In this context, if what the prince said made sense, Zhu Xianming could still give him the position of commander-in-chief of the border areas.

"Reason!" Zhu Xianming asked calmly.

The prince was nervous, but fortunately he was prepared for this. After thinking for a while, he answered, "First, Jia She is loyal and devoted. He often says that he has been eating the emperor's salary for a long time but has not repaid the emperor's kindness. In his heart...

"Secondly, Jia She was born into a family of military merit and was taught by the Duke when he was young. He is capable enough to take on the task..."

In terms of loyalty and ability, the prince introduced Jia She as being very qualified, and his explanation could only be described as mediocre.

After thinking about it, Zhu Xianming said, "He hasn't led troops for a long time. If he suddenly takes charge of Guangxi affairs, I'm afraid he won't be able to handle everything well for a while!"

"Let him go to Guangxi and become a deputy governor!"

The rank of the Commander-in-Chief is third grade, while the rank of the Associate Commander-in-Chief is fourth grade. It seems like a difference of one level, but it is a big hurdle.

If Jia She becomes the deputy commander-in-chief, then the people in his original position should naturally be promoted to a higher rank.

"What do you think?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" the prince replied quickly.

Although he was not very satisfied with the result, it was at least an important step forward, so Zhu Jingyuan certainly did not dare to hesitate.

"Go back!"

"My son, please retire!"

After the prince turned and left, Zhu Xianming stood up and walked into the inner room.

In the east of the inner room, there was a large screen with a piece of paper with a ruler written on it horizontally and vertically pasted on it, and a lot of words were written on the paper.

Upon closer inspection, the paper contained information about the imperial guards, the Beijing garrison, and generals of the fifth rank and above.

Among them, about one-fifth of the generals had their names marked in red by Zhu Xianming. If Zhu Jinghong were here, he would know that those who were circled had all fought with him.

In Zhu Xianming's view, the official positions of the local dusi were far less important than those of the imperial guards and the Beijing camp, so Jia She could be given the title of duzhitongzhi.

Now, there are so many generals in the Beijing camp who have connections with Zhu Jinghong, which forced Zhu Xianming to take action.

The list that Dai Quan had given previously listed more than 200 people, and the people currently being circled were on the list, with a number less than half of that.

This one-fifth of the generals is actually a very large number, and it is certainly unrealistic to replace them all, at least not all at once.

Therefore, we must first replace the people at key nodes. We can either send them to other places or transfer them to other positions, but as for dismissal, we must be cautious.

"Cheng Ying?"

"I'm here!" Cheng Ying appeared immediately.

Looking at the names on the screen, Zhu Xianming asked, "Has Old Thirteen written his poem yet?"

"Question!"

Zhu Xianming asked this question every two days, and always got a negative answer.

When he learned today that the question had been asked, he immediately became interested.

"Tell me about it!"

Pulling out a piece of paper from her sleeve, Cheng Ying read: "The spring scenery in Shanglin is beautiful, the saint has brought the wise here..."

Seeing that the emperor did not speak, Cheng Yingfang continued to read: "The young man is serving before the emperor, busy holding the horse and the flag.

Lions and tigers roar in the wild, and the power of father and son is unstoppable.

Together we chased the beast, and after the hunt we tasted the fragrance of oranges. "

Cheng Ying was able to serve beside the emperor because he was a graduate of the Inner Study Hall. He had studied with the Hanlin scholars and his literary level was actually quite high.

Therefore, even he found it difficult to describe Zhu Jinghong's poem.

Zhu Xianming just smiled and said, "Not bad, at least they are all five words!"

Although the poem was poorly written, the meaning was very clear. Zhu Xianming was quite satisfied with it, so he didn't say much about it.

"Anyway, at least he can write. It shows that Wang Pei'an is not lazy!"

Turning around, Zhu Xianming continued to look at the official information and said, "Send someone to tell him, I have something to tell him!"

"Yes!"

About half an hour later, Wang Pei'an arrived at the Qianqing Palace, but the emperor had already gone to the Kunning Palace.

Wang Pei'an could only wait, and another half an hour passed. The emperor finally returned when the sun was setting.

The Queen had recovered a little, which made Zhu Xianming feel much more at ease, so he seemed to be in a good mood.

Inside the warm room, Wang Pei'an was finally summoned.

Zhu Xianming first asked about Zhu Jinghong's academic performance, and Wang Pei'an of course answered truthfully.

"So you think this kid is quite smart?" Zhu Xianming asked in surprise.

Wang Pei'an said sincerely: "Your Highness's ability to draw inferences from one instance is truly admirable to me!"

Knowing Wang Pei'an's character well, Zhu Xianming knew that he was not flattering him.

"only……"

"If you have something to say, just say it!" Zhu Xianming said calmly.

"It's just that His Highness...is not focused on the scriptures. Otherwise, if he could concentrate on studying, he would definitely achieve something in the future!"

Hearing these words, Zhu Xianming smiled and asked, "If he doesn't like the classics, then what does he like? Filling his house with women? Or wielding swords and guns?"

"Your Highness is interested in history. You have asked a lot about the wars throughout the ages!"

After nodding, Zhu Xianming asked, "I have two assignments for you now. One is to stay in the palace to teach, or to go to the northwest to supervise the army. What are your plans?"

Zhu Xianming thought that he knew Wang Pei'an well enough, so he was sure that he would choose the second option.

Wang Pei'an hesitated. After thinking seriously, he answered, "Your Majesty, I am willing to continue teaching His Royal Highness Prince Xiang!" After a pause, Zhu Xianming reminded him, "You are a man who wants to do things. It is difficult to realize your ambitions in Prince Xiang's mansion!"

"Your Majesty, the situation in the northwest is still clear, and nothing will go wrong in a year or two. It will be the same whether I go or not!"

This sentence is actually Wang Pei'an's assurance. He is indeed confident that in the past nearly two years, he has temporarily sorted out the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu.

During this process, at least forty or fifty people in Shaanxi and Gansu were dismissed, imprisoned, questioned, and even had their homes confiscated.

As a result, Wang Pei'an became a world-famous honest official, the most pure among the honest officials.

Of course, Wang Pei'an was able to obtain all this thanks to the emperor's strong support. Otherwise, even if he knew the Ming Dynasty laws by heart, he would not be able to win over a few people.

Therefore, Wang Pei'an truly respected the emperor and was grateful for his "kindness in recognizing his talent."

At this time, Zhu Xianming also laughed, and then he said: "It's just that you are teaching in the Prince Xiang's Palace, which is really a waste of your talent!"

"Your Majesty, I think what you said is absurd!"

In this era when imperial power was so strong, it took extraordinary courage to point out to the emperor that he was wrong.

"You are very bold, aren't you afraid that I will punish you?" Zhu Xianming remained calm.

However, Wang Pei'an was just as calm. He only said: "Honest words are unpleasant to the ear, but Your Majesty is wise and will not punish me for my words!"

There were so many flattering words around him, but Zhu Xianming always ignored them.

However, these words coming from Wang Pei'an were extremely useful to Zhu Xianming. After all, this man was a truly loyal and upright person.

"Then tell me, where am I wrong?" Zhu Xianming asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion... His Royal Highness Prince Xiang is truly a rough diamond, but the world does not know this and thinks he is a stone!"

"As the saying goes, if jade is not polished, it cannot be made into a useful tool. I believe that with proper guidance, His Royal Highness Prince Xiang will become a great man and make new contributions to the court!"

"If I can live up to my responsibility of teaching, I will not let down Your Majesty and the court. How can it be said that I am wasting my talent?"

"Haha... I'm afraid you're the only one in the capital who thinks so!"

Sighing, Zhu Xianming said, "Well... since he is willing to listen to you and you are willing to continue teaching, I will not force him!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wang Pei'an bowed down.

"Go back!" Zhu Xianming ordered.

"Wei Chen resigns!"

In fact, Zhu Xianming asked Wang Pei'an to come because he really wanted to send him to the northwest. The war there was too important and there could be no mistakes in every link.

Only a straightforward person like Wang Pei'an can provide impartial supervision and make Zhu Xianming feel truly at ease.

But since the other party was unwilling to go and wanted to teach Zhu Jinghong, Zhu Xianming was willing to help him.

In a blink of an eye, a few days passed. On the eighth day of March, Zhu Jingyuan was rewarded again, just because he remotely controlled the Maritime Customs to send another two million silver coins back to the capital.

Zhu Jingyuan has been very successful recently, and his emperor's favor has made him the most powerful figure in the court and the country, which has attracted many people to join him again.

As for Zhu Jinghong, the Prince of Xiang, he has no sense of existence at all, even inferior to Princess Baochai.

While under house arrest, apart from attending classes on time, the only activities he could do were drinking, listening to operas, appreciating music, watching dances, riding horses, and archery.

As a person who is naturally restless, after more than 20 days of this carefree life, he has already felt bored and tedious.

Today Baochai went to the palace to see the Queen. Zhu Jinghong listened to Wang Pei'an's lecture in the morning, and then went to the back garden to hang out.

Drinking and having fun have become common things, and it is difficult to make Zhu Jinghong happy.

After being locked up in the palace for more than twenty days, he really could not bear it any longer.

He had been grounded before, but had never been as anxious as he was now. It was obvious that his mentality had changed.

Of course, Zhu Jinghong was not really idle during these days. He secretly sent people to appease those generals who were punished.

Now that he had been dealt with, he had not broken his oath of "never betraying each other". These generals had no resentment towards him, but instead respected him even more.

As night fell, Zhu Jinghong had dinner in Tongxin Hall and coaxed the child to sleep with Baochai.

After turning off the lights, he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep, which made Baochai extremely worried.

"It's rare to see you like this. Are you jealous of Old Six?" Baochai couldn't help asking. Zhu Jinghong moved around, disturbing her and making it impossible for her to fall asleep.

"Bullshit...I'm just worried about myself!"

"Worrying about yourself? What is there to worry about? It's just that I've been confined for a while, it's not like the sky is falling!"

"That's easy for you to say!" Zhu Jinghong said unhappily.

Then he sat up in bed and got out of bed.

"Where are you going so late?" Baochai asked hurriedly.

Zhu Jinghong walked straight out and said, "I can't sleep... go out for a walk!"

"Put on your clothes, it's windy outside..."

When he walked out of the small sleeping room, he saw four maids on duty in the outer room. When they saw Zhu Jinghong coming out, they immediately helped him dress.

Zhu Jinghong casually put on an outer coat, waved away the maids, and walked out of Tongxin Hall.

I walked out of the hall and looked up at the sky, but the moon was dim and the stars were sparse.

At this moment, a crow came over with a "cawing" sound, and flew around the bonsai in the yard for a few times. Because the branches were too small, it was difficult for the crow to land, so the crow had to fly away.

Seeing this, Zhu Jinghong became more depressed. He could relate to the crow's dilemma of having no place to stand.

With a sigh, Zhu Jinghong turned towards the back garden. Yu Hai wanted to follow him, but was waved away by him.

In this quiet environment, he just wanted to be alone for a while.

Walking into the back garden, it was quiet inside, but Zhu Jinghong's heart was still difficult to calm down.

He could stay out of things that did not concern him, but now he was deeply surrounded by suspicion and it was difficult for him to remain calm.

Standing by the lake, feeling the cold wind, Zhu Jinghong leaned on the railing and whispered, "It seems that I am not as strong as I thought!"

At this moment, the sound of a flute suddenly came from the east side, which surprised Zhu Jinghong greatly. He wondered who was still not asleep so late.

Following the sound, he walked over.

The back garden of Prince Xiang's mansion is very large, with many pavilions and towers, including a moon-viewing platform in the northeast corner.

At this time, on the Moon Viewing Platform, Park Jin-young was holding a bamboo flute and playing it passionately.

The song is based on the tune of her hometown, which expresses her longing for her family. Now, Park Jin-young is singing from the heart, and the emotion is so sincere that it is moving.

After the song was over, Park Jin-young put down his flute, came to the east side of the Moon-Watching Platform, held the railing and looked into the distance to the north.

It’s a pity that although the Moon-Viewing Platform is high, it cannot see North Korea thousands of miles away. The longing made Park Jin-young shed tears.

Even though she received the news that her family members had died, she still couldn't help missing them in a foreign country, and now the longing was even stronger.

"Dad, Mom...I am an unfilial daughter. I was unable to stay by your side and fulfill my filial duties to you!"

"I'm in the Prince Xiang's Mansion in Daming. Can you see me?"

"Although I am alone here, I am living a relatively stable life now. You don't have to worry about me. I will live well!"

"Now that I have learned Chinese, what do you think of what I say?"

At the stairs, Zhu Jinghong stood quietly, looking at the girl not far away and talking quietly.

Her parents and family members have all passed away, and now she is in a foreign country, but she still maintains hope. She is a very strong girl... Zhu Jinghong thought so.

(End of this chapter)