King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 662 Jia Yucun's Career
In Zhu Jingyuan's view, what Zhu Jinghong said were all excuses. He convened a meeting in Jinling Dusi as soon as he arrived, which was obviously to intimidate his sixth brother.

With a smile on his face, Zhu Jingyuan said: "Thirteenth brother, doing business is the most important thing. We brothers can meet anytime!"

"Sixth brother, please sit down!"

After Zhu Jinghong called out, a guard brought a chair and placed it next to Zhu Jinghong's seat, so that the two of them were sitting on equal terms.

Zhu Jingyuan did not hesitate and sat on the main seat with Zhu Jinghong, and then the meeting continued.

The discussion just now only agreed on the basic strategy. The specific allocation of troops still needs detailed discussion and consultation.

There are many things involved here, so many that Zhu Jingyuan was overwhelmed and often couldn't keep up.

So when he came to this hall, it was no different from when he was meeting in the palace. He basically couldn't get a word in.

"Everyone... I have to say one more thing. Now that everything has been agreed upon today, it must be strictly implemented!"

"I have always been strict in disciplining my army. If anyone falls into my hands, don't blame me for being merciless!"

It is normal to emphasize military discipline before a battle, but this time Zhu Jinghong was particularly strict.

The reason was that this time the defense line was too long, and it was difficult for Zhu Jinghong to control it effectively and in a timely manner. He could only put pressure on the generals from all sides.

"Yes!"

After everyone answered, Zhu Jinghong did not keep them any longer, but asked them to return to their respective posts quickly.

The lobby of the Jinling Military Commission was empty, leaving only Zhu Jinghong and his brother.

"Sixth brother, I was not thoughtful enough to come visit you first... I am really sorry!"

"We are brothers, why are we talking about this!"

"Thirteenth brother, the Western Barbarians have invaded our borders and wars have broken out in the southeast. I am extremely worried about this!"

"In order to prevent a major change, I summoned all these generals and wanted them to discuss strategies together, but they still couldn't come up with a clue after discussing it over and over again..."

"I was worried and anxious, thank God you finally came!"

Zhu Jingyuan bowed with both hands and saluted in the direction of the capital. He then said, "Father is wise and sent you here. The small Western Barbarians will collapse at the first blow!"

Zhu Jinghong was not happy at all when he heard Lao Liu praising him, because he was really not sure he could beat him.

In addition to the awareness of the great power of the Western Barbarians, more reasons were due to the area of ​​Jiangnan and the prince Zhu Jingyuan.

Among the scholar-officials, Zhu Jinghong had an extremely bad reputation. Jiangnan was the "home nest" of the scholar-officials, and it was too easy for these people to do bad things.

Whether it is affecting morale through public opinion or affecting logistics through military rations and military equipment, it can cause huge trouble to Zhu Jinghong.

Don't ever think that these people will have any sense of right and wrong when it comes to something as important as a national war. They can do anything for their own selfish interests.

What's more, Lao Liu is here.

Although he kept talking about the overall situation and always mentioned wiping out the Western Barbarians, this man has always been hypocritical and seemed to want to hold Zhu Jinghong back.

In fact, this is true. At this moment, the two brothers are communicating harmoniously, but their thoughts and concerns are completely different.

One was thinking about how to embarrass Zhu Jinghong, while the other was trying to prevent his brother from causing trouble.

While the two of them were chatting, Jia Yucun from the Provincial Government had already asked someone to prepare gifts.

The gift was very generous and would not be shabby to give to Zhu Jinghong, but after careful consideration, Jia Yucun had someone take it back.

"Why? Not good enough?" asked his wife Jiao Xing.

After shaking his head slightly, Jia Yucun said, "They are all vulgar things. The Thirteenth Master may not be interested in them!"

"So you plan to go empty-handed? That would be even more inappropriate!"

Standing up and straightening the sleeves of his official robe, Jia Yucun said sternly, "Who said I went there empty-handed?"

"What are you going to give?"

After straightening his official hat, Jia Yucun said, "My loyalty!"

"loyalty?"

While Jiao Xing was puzzled, Jia Yucun had already walked out of the hall. He planned to meet Zhu Jinghong right away.

At this moment in Jinling, there were other people who wanted to fight like him. For example, in the Jinling Shipyard outside Yingtian City, Jia Yun hurriedly explained the affairs and rode his horse to Yingtian City.

He was in charge of shipbuilding in Nanjing, and now that a war was about to break out at sea, he had a lot of situations to report.

Of course, even if he had no serious business to report, as a retainer of Prince Xiang's mansion, Jia Yun would rush to Zhu Jinghong's house to pay his respects and kowtow to him.

Zhu Jinghong did offend a lot of people, but he also had many supporters, Jia Yun and Jia Yucun were just representatives of them.

As the saying goes, there are all kinds of birds in a big forest. Some people are eager to meet Zhu Jinghong, while others are trying their best to avoid it.

Xue family, inner house, inside Xue Pan’s courtyard.

Xia Yuegui came outside and asked the maid about the situation, only to find out that Xue Pan was still lying in bed.

Just now she learned that Zhu Jinghong had arrived in Jinling, so she asked someone to invite Xue Pan over to discuss matters. After waiting for a long time and seeing that he didn't come, Xia Yuegui came over in person.

Hearing that this guy was still lying in bed, Xia Yuegui felt very unhappy.

But the most important thing is that the family is harmonious, and she didn't want to make things too ugly, so she went into the house calmly.

Apart from the two serving maids, Xue Pan was the only one left in the room, lying on the bed. His face could not be seen clearly as he was facing the wall.

"master……"

"master?"

After calling out twice, Xue Pan didn't respond at all, so Xia Yuegui could only go forward and push him.

Xue Pan then woke up and asked in confusion, "Madam, what's the matter?"

Regardless of whether Xue Pan knew the situation or not, Xia Yuegui told him everything in person.

"So, you should go and pay your respects. It would be a blessing for us if we could invite the prince to our home and entertain him well!"

After hearing Xia Yuegui's last sentence, Xue Pan felt so uncomfortable that he almost suffocated.

He neither wanted to meet Zhu Jinghong nor did he want to bring him home.

"Madam, I may have caught a cold. I've been feeling unwell since early this morning... I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to go see Master Thirteen in this state!"

"A cold?"

When Xia Yuegui asked this question, it was obvious that she was suspicious of Xue Pan.

"I really have a cold..." Xue Pan responded, then coughed a few times.

But Xia Yuegui walked straight forward, reached out her hand to Xue Pan's forehead, and instantly exposed his lie.

"Master, why do you have to lie?" Xia Yuegui sighed. Knowing that he couldn't lie anymore, Xue Pan could only sit up and explain: "You know, I don't have face in front of the Thirteenth Master. If I go, he will only be upset, so I'd better not go..."

This reason is quite sufficient, but Xia Yuegui disagrees. She just said: "That was in the past. Now you have been reborn. It's time for Master Thirteen to see you!"

Since getting married, under Xia Yuegui's "training", Xue Pan has indeed corrected many of his bad habits, and now he can barely support the family.

This made Mrs. Xue (Aunt Xue) extremely happy. If she was happy for having a good daughter in the past ten years, now she was happy for having a good daughter-in-law.

"Let alone anything else, in order to reassure the princess and for the honor and disgrace of the Xue family, you should all go!"

"Don't worry, as long as you remember the etiquette and talk about practical matters... Master Thirteen will definitely think highly of you!"

Xia Yuegui began to guide him patiently, and at this moment she played the role of Xue Pan's "mother".

Finally, Xue Pan was persuaded and, with great trepidation, he set out on the journey to Jinling Dusi.

As for the Jinling Military Governor, Zhu Jinghong went to the palace at the invitation of Zhu Jingyuan.

According to Zhu Jingyuan, as the elder brother, the host wanted to welcome Zhu Jinghong.

Originally, Zhu Jinghong did not want to make it public, but when he heard Zhu Jingyuan say that he wanted to invite officials from all levels of Jinling, as well as local aristocratic families, Zhu Jinghong thought it would be okay to meet them.

Generally speaking, the logistical supplies for marching and fighting, as well as the conscription of civilian laborers, all require coordination with these people, so it is necessary to have close relationships with them.

Jia Yucun had come to a disappointment at the Jinling Military Commission and was about to visit the imperial palace when he received an invitation from Zhu Jingyuan.

When he learned that the banquet would be held in the palace, Jia Yucun was not panicked.

Since the two princes are together, it would be inconvenient for him to say some things if he went there. It would be better to wait until they meet alone later.

Jia Yucun came back empty-handed, and so did Xue Pan and Jia Yun. Coincidentally, the two met and invited each other to a restaurant for a drink.

It was afternoon, and before the banquet began, the invited dignitaries arrived at the palace one after another.

Outside the main hall of the palace, the people present were gathered together in groups of three or five, talking. When they saw Jia Yucun, the governor, coming, few people except the officials spoke to him.

However, the officials who came to talk to him only exchanged a few polite words. Jia Yucun was unable to join in the conversation and seemed particularly lonely standing in the courtyard.

The reason for this is that after the Jinling land survey was completed, the taxes that had been concealed over the past three years were recovered, and this year's land tax was also collected.

These matters were all pushed forward by Jia Yucun, the governor, which naturally made him offend many people. It was normal for him to be isolated at this moment.

This also fits the role the emperor gave him, and this is the result of being a lone minister.

Jia Yucun didn't want to be cannon fodder, so he had to curry favor with Zhu Jinghong, hoping to rely on him to protect him from the wind and rain.

The reason why he chose Zhu Jinghong was not because he thought Jia Yucun was sentimental, but simply because the Crown Prince and Prince Rui would not accept him, so he had only this one choice.

Just as he was thinking about these trivial matters, there was a noise coming from the main hall door. It turned out that the Zhu Jinghong brothers came out.

The people who were chatting outside immediately came over to greet the two men. The scene was lively and the atmosphere was enthusiastic.

Here, Zhu Jingyuan was undoubtedly the focus. He enjoyed the constant compliments from everyone and regained the confidence he had lost in the morning.

After greeting each other, everyone went to the side hall on the east side, where a banquet had been set up. Everyone took their seats according to their official rank.

In Zhu Jinghong's seat, apart from his two brothers, there were only the Provincial Governor Jia Yucun, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Xu Xin'an, and the Chief Inspector Mei Jingwen.

That's right, Xu Xin'an, who was willing to serve as the scholar of the Eastern Palace, has now been transferred to the Jinling Censor. In order to fight against the Sixth Old Man, he has completely taken root here.

Except for Mei Jingwen, Zhu Jinghong knew several people at the table, so he started chatting with them.

Xu Xin'an was the Censor, and he was in charge of military preparations. It would be very easy for him to trip him up.

"Everyone, today the King of Xiang has come to Jinling to maintain peace in the area... As the local virtuous people, you should toast him a glass!"

Zhu Jingyuan took over as host and asked everyone to toast Zhu Jinghong.

Of course, everyone was very considerate and raised their glasses to each other, and the first glass of wine was drunk.

Then came the second and third cups. Zhu Jingyuan tried every way to flatter Zhu Jinghong and praised him as the greatest general of all time.

It seems that the brothers have a close relationship. Zhu Jinghong is even more wary of Zhu Jingyuan. He can already confirm that this person has bad intentions.

In order to protect himself as much as possible, he also complimented Lao Liu in return and praised all the officials and gentry present.

To sum up, his meaning was to tell everyone how important logistical support was. He believed that everyone present was loyal to the court and would be able to ensure that the soldiers could fight without worries.

The atmosphere was lively and bustling, and it lasted for more than an hour.

Zhu Jingyuan wanted to keep Zhu Jinghong in the palace, but the latter declined, saying that it was wartime and it would be more appropriate for him to live in the military camp.

This is of course the superficial reason. In reality, he doesn't want to live with Lao Liu, and he doesn't want to be monitored and controlled by him all the time.

Under his strong request, Zhu Jingyuan was unable to keep him, and Zhu Jinghong was able to leave the palace and head towards the Jinling Dusi.

When he arrived at Jinling Dusi, everything had already been arranged. Zhu Jinghong returned to his room and changed his clothes when someone outside reported that the governor Jia Yucun came to visit him.

"Ask him to come over!"

He knew that Jia Yucun would definitely come back, and he also wanted to meet him and explain some things to him.

After a few breaths, Jia Yucun came to Zhu Jinghong and bowed deeply to him.

"No need to be polite... Please take a seat, Lord Jia!" Zhu Jinghong waved his hand.

Jia Yucun looked humble and sat down carefully, turning sideways to face Zhu Jinghong, looking like he was ready to listen to his teachings at any time.

"Just now at the banquet, I said that military rations and supplies are of great importance. I'm sure you heard it!"

Jia Yucun immediately expressed his opinion: "I have written it down. When I return, I will strictly urge all parties to follow the law and complete it on time. Please rest assured, Your Majesty..."

Nodding, Zhu Jinghong continued: "Of course I know your loyalty!"

"It's just that Nanjing and Zhejiang have many people, many issues and complicated situations. With just you as the governor... I'm afraid it would be difficult to coordinate all parties!"

This is of course the truth. Jia Yucun is only the governor of Nanjing, and people only listen to him in Nanjing. People in Zhejiang can completely ignore him.

Although Zhu Jinghong was fully responsible for the defense of the southeast and could theoretically control civil and military officials, his main focus must be on military affairs.

In other words, he still needs to find someone he can trust to look after logistical matters.

Obviously, Jia Yucun is the right candidate.

"After leaving Beijing, I have thought about it again and again, and have submitted a memorial to the court, recommending you as the Deputy Chief Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, specializing in supervising the allocation of military rations and military equipment!"

In other words, Jia Yucun, who had been promoted less than half a year ago, was promoted to another level, and it was a very critical and difficult level.

This further illustrates a truth: it is more important to be with the right person than to do the right thing.

Three years ago, Jia Yucun was only the prefect of Yingtian. Although it was a high position, the gap between him and the provincial governor... and even the current deputy censor-in-chief was huge.

"Thank you, Thirteenth Master, for your support!" Jia Yucun stood up and knelt down straight.

(End of this chapter)