King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 660 Taking orders in times of danger
Time quickly came to the next day. When Zhu Jinghong woke up, Zhang Xiaoyue had already prepared breakfast for him.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoyue was chatting, but she was talking about Yingchun.

"Why did you get sick out of nowhere?"

"I invited her over to play last night, but she didn't come. I thought she was too picky and looked down on us... Now it seems I was wrong about her!"

The people who were speaking were Zhang Xiaoyue and Li Huizhen. They had been getting very close recently and were both keeping secret contacts with concubine Yang Jingting.

"uh-huh!"

Zhu Jinghong coughed, and the conversation outside stopped immediately. Then Zhang Xiaoyue and Li Huizhen both entered the house.

"My Lord, you are awake... I will help you change your clothes!"

Zhang Xiaoyue has a maid, but she usually does the serving herself when it comes to this kind of opportunity, as she doesn't want to let others take advantage of it.

Li Huizhen also hurried forward to help. She was so considerate throughout the whole process. Just changing clothes was a pleasure for Zhu Jinghong.

"Is the second young lady of the Jia family sick?" Zhu Jinghong asked casually.

Zhang Xiaoyue replied: "Exactly... He said he was not feeling well and didn't even have breakfast!"

Zhu Jinghong knew very well why he felt uncomfortable, so he did not ask any further questions and instead started chatting about other trivial matters.

For example, what did they play last night, who played, why did they play so late...

After changing his clothes, Zhu Jinghong sat at the table. When he was about to eat, Yu Hai came to report that someone from the palace had sent a message asking him to see the emperor.

He had just met the emperor yesterday and was summoned to the palace so early today. Zhu Jinghong guessed that something big had happened again.

"Let him wait for a while. It won't be too late to go after dinner!" Zhu Jinghong said slowly.

Having waited for so long in the Qianqing Palace yesterday, Zhu Jinghong did not want to be a scapegoat again today. At least he had to fill his stomach first, after all, he was too overworked last night.

Yu Hai knew that it was normal for his prince to be late, but this time the situation was indeed different, so he continued, "Prince, the person who came is Eunuch Cheng!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinghong's expression suddenly brightened. If Cheng Ying came in person, the situation would be very serious.

So he put down his chopsticks, stood up and walked out.

A minute later, he saw Cheng Ying inside Chengyun Gate.

Knowing what Zhu Jinghong was most concerned about, Cheng Ying spoke first: "Your Highness, something happened!"

"I received an urgent message this morning. On April 25, the Western Yi fleet bombarded Chaotian Port in southeast Taiwan, causing more than a hundred casualties among our soldiers and civilians!"

The Spanish bombarded the Ming port, killing more than a hundred people...

Previously, these people kidnapped merchant ships and killed people and robbed them, but they still covered it up in the name of combating piracy. Now, it can be said that they don’t even bother to act like that.

Such behavior was undoubtedly a declaration of war against the Ming Dynasty. They acted so rashly and casually, which showed how arrogant these people were and how they did not take the Ming Dynasty seriously at all.

"Who else did Your Majesty summon to discuss matters?" Zhu Jinghong asked directly.

"There is the Crown Prince, three university scholars, and several old generals from the Five Military Commandery!"

"Ok!"

After responding, Zhu Jinghong instructed Yu Hai to report the situation to Baochai, while he went directly into the palace.

A few minutes later, Baochai, who was teasing the child, learned the situation from Yu Hai.

She had never expected the situation to be so serious.

Baochai turned around and ordered, "Take a few people into the palace and report back immediately if you have any news!"

"Yes!"

Yang Jingting was also there, and at this moment she looked thoughtful, obviously having thought of something.

After ordering someone to take her son away, Baochai sat down on a chair beside her and said slowly, "It seems that he has to go on a long journey again this time!"

Yang Jingting replied: "At this critical moment for the court, since Your Majesty has favored you, you should naturally bear more responsibility!"

Baochai sighed, "That's true, but the world is so unfair. The one who does more...will suffer more injustice!"

Yang Jingting continued, "Justice is in the hearts of the people. Although the prince has been criticized, His Majesty trusts him... that is enough!"

Looking at Concubine Yang, who was looking down with a wandering gaze, Baochai asked with a smile, "He is going on a long journey this time. Who do you think is suitable to serve him?"

It has to be said that she had a very good grasp of people's hearts and hit the nail on the head with just one sentence.

Now, two concubines in the mansion are pregnant, but her concubine has no movement in her belly. This makes Yang Jingting very uncomfortable, even frightened.

Because in this day and age, a woman who cannot get pregnant is considered a failure.

Yang Jingting has been in the emperor's bedchamber many times in the past few months, and even she has begun to doubt herself.

Therefore, this time, if she could accompany Zhu Jinghong and have the opportunity to sleep with him all by herself, it would be very tempting for her.

"Sister Bao, everyone in the mansion has already been there, but my sister, the concubine, is unable to take on such an important task, so..."

In a hurry, Yang Jingting didn't organize her words very well, but her meaning was clearly expressed.

"It's great that you have this heart..."

When Yang Jingting heard Baochai say this, her heart skipped a beat, because according to normal language logic, the next thing to say is "but".

Just as Yang Jingting was thinking about how to fight for herself, Baochai said, "In that case...then you should go this time!"

"Ah...oh...this...thank you so much, Sister Bao!" Yang Jingting stood up to express her gratitude.

At her level, there are very few things in the world that she can desire, so it would be inappropriate for her to suddenly get them.

Looking at the respectful Yang Jingting, Baochai did not feel proud. At this moment, she remembered the day three years ago.

If Zhu Jinghong had not handed the jade ruyi to her at that time, she and Yang Jingting would have to switch positions now.

So, when Yang Jingting was grateful to Baochai, the latter was thanking Zhu Jinghong, the man she loved all her life.

Motioning Yang Jingting to sit down, Baochai continued, "Keqing is pregnant, Yinglian has to take care of the child, Qiqigenomin is frivolous, and I can't get away... You are the most suitable person to go!"

Yang Jingting immediately replied: "The Queen has trusted me, so I will do my best to take care of the prince's food and daily life!"

She was very afraid of losing this opportunity, so she did her best to reassure Baochai and not change her mind.

"I think he's going to leave in the next two days. You have a lot of things to do over there. You need to make arrangements and prepare things... so get busy now!"

This time, Baochai guessed Yang Jingting's thoughts again. She really could not stay in Tongxin Palace anymore and wanted to confirm this matter as soon as possible.

"The concubine obeys!"

After bowing to Baochai again, Yang Jingting stood up and left.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea!" Ying'er came over with a teacup.

After Baochai took the teacup, she took it away from the tea table and said, "Your Majesty... Concubine Yang has always been at odds with you, why did you let her accompany the prince?"

Ying'er was speaking up for her master. She felt that anyone could be sent, even Zhen Qin, but Yang Jingting should not be allowed to go.

"I am a princess, not you... narrow-minded person!" Baochai said with a smile.

It may seem like a joke, but this is actually the main reason.

Yang Jingting is the Queen's niece. In order to be further recognized by the Queen, she really needs to demonstrate her fairness and magnanimity through practical actions.

Of course, Baochai was not really without any grudges. This time when she asked Yang Jingting to go to Jinling, she also prepared a surprise for the queen's niece.

Baochai had heard Zhu Jinghong's analysis of the situation at sea, so she knew that if a war broke out, Zhu Jinghong would go to Nanjing to organize his troops for battle.

"Jinling...there is not only a navy, but also an old friend!" Baochai said with a smile.

"Old friend?" Ying'er looked puzzled.

With her IQ, she really couldn't keep up with Baochai's thoughts. The latter just wanted to give Concubine Yang a little "Lin" shock.

If I don't see you for a day, I will miss you like crazy. Sister Yang left with great enthusiasm, but I'm afraid she will return disappointed... Baochai's smile became even wider.

In fact, he was also looking forward to Zhu Jinghong bringing Daiyu to Beijing when he went to Jinling this time.

Since everyone in the inner palace of the king's palace wants to enter, why not let Lin Daiyu, who is from our family, enter...

Gathering her thoughts and looking at Ying'er, Baochai asked, "I heard that Yingchun is ill?"

Ying'er replied, "That's right... I've sent a doctor to check it out. He said it's nothing serious and he just prescribed two doses of medicine to recuperate!"

"Ok!"

Baochai responded, but she felt something was not right, but she couldn't figure out what was going on for a moment.

It's not because she is stupid, but because she doesn't know enough about Zhu Jinghong's bottom line. She never thought that this man would attack a decent girl.

Back inside the palace, the court meeting in the Qianqing Palace was still going on, and Zhu Jinghong was still listening in the compartment.

The discussion process was very intense. Because of the radical actions of the Western Barbarians, the attitude of the court officials towards them also changed greatly.

The key point of discussion now is how to respond to this matter.

Either send the navy directly to conquer the Western Barbarians, or force the Western Barbarians to hand over the murderer through negotiations, and then decide whether to fight or make peace... This is the focus of the current debate.

The senior officials at the scene were all aware of the enemy's situation, and their arguments at this moment seemed to be well-reasoned, with neither side being able to convince the other. "Is Old Thirteen here?"

The emperor suddenly spoke, and the scene quickly quieted down. They didn't know that Zhu Jinghong had also come.

Cheng Ying replied: "Your Majesty, we have arrived...waiting outside the palace!"

"Let him in!" Zhu Xianming said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

Zhu Jinghong's legendary experience gave him a lot of say in military affairs. Everyone knew that his attitude and inclination could influence the emperor's judgment.

Soon, Zhu Jinghong arrived at the main hall. He saw the prince at first sight, and the latter was looking at him with complicated eyes.

"Knowing the emperor!" Zhu Jinghong saluted politely, but not too politely.

"Do you know everything?"

"After listening outside for a while, I probably know everything!"

"Some of them said to just attack directly, some said to negotiate to get the Western Barbarians to hand over the murderer, and if they don't hand it over, then they can negotiate a war or peace... What do you think?"

In fact, from the beginning to the end, Zhu Jinghong's attitude was very clear. He wanted to protect the interests of the Ming Dynasty to the greatest extent within the scope of his strength.

"My son thought...these two can be opened together!"

"Negotiations can delay time and paralyze the enemy, so our army can make careful preparations. If we can't reach an agreement, fighting will give us a better chance of winning!"

"But we must be well prepared, and the deployment of troops and the replenishment of weapons must be perfect..."

We must prepare for war as much as possible, we must use strategic deception as much as possible, and we must increase the chances of winning as much as possible...

Zhu Jinghong never hides his shortcomings in the military field. Now he speaks out with reason and evidence, which provides a more feasible way to deal with the situation.

Of course, these were not the results of his own thinking, but rather the result of taking into account the strengths of everyone's collective opinions and then adding his own ideas.

After Zhu Jinghong finished speaking, Zhu Xianming looked at everyone and asked, "My dear ministers...what do you think of what the King Xiang said?"

Everyone present was smart. They could actually imagine what Zhu Jinghong was talking about, but they just didn't want to do it.

Everything is for winning, everything is for preparing for war. This is a radical way of thinking and does not conform to the habits of the literati, so they will not choose this way.

As for the veterans present, they felt that they had to fight and win...

Compared with Zhu Jinghong's enthusiasm, the veterans were much less motivated. These so-called "radicals" also felt that Zhu Jinghong was too radical at this moment.

"Your Majesty... I think this matter should be handled with caution!"

Deputy Minister Chen Jinyun stood up and said righteously, "The court is currently deploying troops in the northwest, and there are constant rebellions in the southwest. Henan suffered a flood a month ago. The court has too many places to spend money now!"

"A sudden war would cost a lot of money. It's not that I don't care about the state... the court is short of money, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with another dispute!"

What Chen Jinyun said was true. Although the court had an annual income of more than 40 million, there were too many places to spend the money.

More than 40 million a year, which averages out to Yu Ge at only more than 3 million. In the past two years, it has been spent almost every month, and the savings in the imperial treasury are less than 10 million.

It seems like a lot, but if you spend money on the sea, it will consume a lot, and it will be difficult to save up later.

If the reserve funds are insufficient, the situation will become dangerous, and it will be difficult to cope with any disasters or changes, and it is possible that a greater crisis will be triggered.

In fact, in the past two years, the Ming Dynasty has been fighting wars everywhere, but it has still retained more than 10 million silver, which is already a relatively impressive financial level.

This is inseparable from the reform efforts of Prime Minister Zhao Yushan and the huge profits brought by maritime trade taxes in the past two years.

Chen Jinyun said a lot, and after he finished speaking, Zhao Yushan refuted him with a few words. The main point was that he should not use the small account of the silver in the treasury to settle the big account of the safety of the court.

In general, Zhao Yushan supported Zhu Jinghong's opinion.

Issues at sea must always be resolved. After all, they involve tens of millions or even more in tax silver. In comparison, the occupation of the northwest can be slow.

Zhu Xianming had already made up his mind, and then he looked at the prince and asked, "Prince...what do you think?"

The prince guessed the emperor's thoughts, so he replied calmly: "I think what Thirteenth Brother said makes sense. The enemy is ambitious and the court must strike them head-on in order to deter the villains!"

"Um……"

The emperor then asked the generals, and naturally they all expressed their support because the direction of things was very clear.

Looking around at everyone, Zhu Xianming asked, "Since we have to fight, who can be the general?"

The admiral of the navy is now of the third rank, and is appointed by the deputy governor of the Five Military Governors' Office. In order to coordinate the navies of Nanjing, Zhejiang and even Liaodong, he must be at least at the level of deputy governor to command the troops.

However, according to convention, the governor-general and the deputy governor were responsible for national affairs and commanded the miscellaneous affairs of the dusi within their respective jurisdictions, and generally did not participate in leading troops to expedition.

Therefore, for such a large-scale battle, candidates can only be selected from governors of a higher level. Liu Fang and Shi Guangzhu, who are currently commanding troops in the northwest, are senior generals at the governor level.

Each of the Five Military Commanderies has two commanders on the left and right, but these ten positions are not full, and only seven are currently in office.

Apart from Liu Fang and Shi Guangzhu, the remaining five either had other assignments, were too old, or knew nothing about naval warfare... It was actually very difficult to select people.

So, when asked who could lead the troops, the answer instantly popped up in everyone's mind.

There is no need to compare, the most suitable candidate will emerge.

The Crown Prince was now somewhat decisive. He was the first to step forward and recommend, "Father... I think that Thirteenth Brother is proficient in naval warfare, so he is the most suitable person to lead the troops!"

Zhu Xianming did not comment on this, he was actually quite hesitant.

Although he recognized Zhu Jinghong's abilities and thought about training him to be his successor, he also wanted to be on guard against Zhu Jinghong.

Zhu Jinghong had led his troops to victory in several battles and had established a very high prestige in the army, forcing Zhu Xianming, the commander of the army, to think carefully.

"Fourth brother, I am just a talker. I know nothing about naval warfare. Sending me there will only lead to major setbacks!"

Zhu Jinghong's remarks were beyond Zhu Xianming's expectations.

But this was his true feelings. He could easily win a land battle with his advantage, but if he didn't have the advantage, he really had no confidence at all in a naval battle.

Whether for the sake of maintaining his personal reputation or the overall interests of the court, he did not dare to accept this task casually.

However, his sincere refusal was seen as just a courtesy by others, which attracted more praise from the prince.

As for the others, none of them spoke on this matter. After all, they all knew very well what happened with the recent turmoil, and they didn't want to get involved in the royal family's affairs.

Seeing that the two brothers were praising themselves while the other was belittling themselves, Zhu Xianming felt upset, so he simply announced the end of the court meeting.

Then he ended the meeting and ordered all the governors and deputy governors of the five military offices to come to the Qianqing Palace for the meeting.

On the way back to the palace, Zhu Jinghong felt mixed emotions.

The emperor summoned the governors and the other governors-general, and obviously did not consider him as the first choice. Although this was to his liking, it also made him disappointed.

But that's how life is. There is no such thing as perfect. It's enough to get more benefits.

When he returned to the palace, he learned that the two girls from the Jia family had returned home.

"How to say?"

As soon as she entered the Yin'an Hall, Baochai came over and asked about what she was most concerned about.

"do not know!"

"Didn't I ask you to lead the troops?"

"The old man is choosing people from among the governors and the deputy governors. I'm afraid I won't go this time!"

Bringing the teacup over personally, Baochai frowned and said, "I remember you said you didn't want to get involved this time. Seeing you so frustrated... do you still want to go?"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and then said, "It's hard to explain!"

"Then just leave it to fate!" Baochai comforted.

"Ok!"

It was already noon when he got home. After lunch, Zhu Jinghong originally planned to walk around the garden to relax, but he couldn't sit still so he went to the parade ground instead.

Riding a horse and shooting arrows are the only ways to vent your emotions.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been struggling for half an hour when Yu Hai came running over and told him that the emperor had summoned him again.

"Here we go again?" Zhu Jinghong got off his horse with a strange look on his face.

He was asked to go over again at this time, and he guessed that the emperor had chosen him after all.

He was originally very disappointed, but when he thought about going to fight in a naval battle, he became anxious because he really had no confidence that he could win.

When I arrived at Chengyun Gate, it was indeed Cheng Ying.

Seeing Zhu Jinghong coming, Cheng Ying's first words were: "Your Highness, the country is in crisis, His Majesty wants to use you!"

"Aren't you selecting generals? What does it have to do with me?" Zhu Jinghong said nonsense.

Cheng Ying bowed and replied, "Your Highness, you are invincible. How can His Majesty let you go?"

"The sea is in turmoil now. Only your Highness's ability can stabilize the southeast and punish the Western Barbarians!"

(End of this chapter)