King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 671 Why Should I Build So Many Ships?
Yang Jingting felt very comfortable listening to these two people trying every possible way to flatter her.

Yang Jingting raised her feet after sitting on the couch. Before the maid came to serve her, Zhang Xiaoyue squatted down, put her in her arms, and then gently massaged her with both hands.

Li Huizhen was not far behind and served tea and fanned herself, leaving the maids in the room with nothing to do and they could only stand there awkwardly.

Leaning on the cushion, Yang Jingting fiddled with her handkerchief and said softly, "I'm not feeling well these days, so you guys should serve the prince well and stop flattering me!"

"My slave understands!"

After changing her posture slightly, Yang Jingting continued to remind them: "This is your chance, don't say I didn't remind you!"

There was no need for Yang Jingting to tell them what the opportunity was, as Zhang and Li both knew it clearly.

At this moment, someone outside reported: "Madam, the wife of the Fujian Provincial Governor is here!"

When Yang Jingting arrived in Fujian, many noble ladies came to visit her, because even if there was no flattery, these people should come out of courtesy.

In fact, after Yang Jingting came to Jinling, she encountered such things every day, and now she is familiar with dealing with them.

As a concubine of the prince, warming Zhu Jinghong's bed was her most basic task. According to the official definition, she had the responsibility of assisting the princess in handling the affairs of the inner house.

Now that the princess is away, Yang Jingting naturally has to take on this responsibility, and she is very happy about it.

While Yang Jingting was receiving the guests, Baochai, the legitimate princess who was far away in the capital, was playing with the children in the back garden, with Yinglian and Keqing, who was pregnant, beside her.

Children's laughter always has a strong healing effect, so the scene was filled with joy.

But at this moment, a maid came to the garden gate and whispered something to the maid guarding there, who then came into the garden and reported it to Ying'er.

"Your Majesty, Mrs. Li Wang, the wife of Li Wenzhao, the captain of the Southern Pacification Division, is here to pay her respects!"

Hearing Ying'er's report, Baochai slowly sat up straight and then asked, "Did she tell me why she came?"

"It's to thank the palace for its support!"

Two days ago, Li Wenzhao was promoted to a thousand households and was transferred to the Southern Pacification Office as recommended by Zhu Jinghong.

"Tell her... just say that they were promoted to the rank of Qian Hu by the emperor because of their good performance, and it has nothing to do with the palace. Let her go back!"

"Yes!"

So Ying'er went to tell the story, and Baochai didn't take it to heart, and continued to play with the child with Yinglian. Keqing just sat aside because of her physical discomfort.

But Yinglian said at this time: "Now Sister Ting is also pregnant, it will be even more lively in the future!"

Yinglian was still a little naive, and Keqing, who was sitting next to her, suddenly lost the smile on her face when she heard this, and looked at Baochai with worry.

But Baochai smiled and replied, "Yes...it will be even more lively from now on!"

This made Keqing feel relieved, and she secretly thought that she had to remind Yinglian not to mention Concubine Yang in front of the princess.

She thought Baochai would feel uncomfortable, but in fact she did not think so, because she knew that all this was destined to happen, and she was looking forward to it.

At the beginning, there were rumors in the capital that she was jealous. Others used the fact that the girls in the royal palace had no children, and even the queen's niece was "bullied", which further reflected Baochai's domineering nature.

The rumors were suppressed but the hidden dangers still existed, so now that Yang Jingting was pregnant, Baochai felt relieved.

But Baochai was also very clear-headed and knew that she had to be more wary of this person in the future, because as the Queen's niece, she was very destructive.

They chatted for a while, and then someone came to report that the wife of the first-class prince Wang Ziteng, Wang Xu, and others had arrived.

Baochai should call Wang Ziteng's wife aunt.

After a few moments of silence, Baochai slowly said, "Please ask them to come to the garden!"

"Yes!"

A few moments later, several noble ladies came together, performed their greetings before Baochai, and then paid their respects to Keqing and Yinglian respectively.

First, they habitually exchanged some polite words, and then one of the women said, "Madam, recently there has been some unpleasantness between the manor and the Chen family because of some issues in the lower manors!"

"Yesterday our master said that the servants in our mansion went too far a few days ago and wanted to reconcile with the Chen family to end the conflict, but the Chen family was so angry... that they said they would report it to the emperor!"

"I have thought of all the possible solutions, but now I am at a loss, so I would like to ask the Queen for some advice!"

The Liu family, to which this woman belongs, is a first-class viscount family, and the Chen family she mentioned is a second-class viscount family. Now the Liu family is in the wrong and is suspected of bullying the weak. If they really make a scene in front of the emperor and cause embarrassment, it would be a small matter, but if they incur punishment from the emperor, that would be a big loss.

"I've told you before, you have to be careful and cautious in everything you do, and peace is the most important thing in everything!"

"What about you guys...you offended someone before you investigated the matter thoroughly. Now that this has happened, how are you going to end it?"

Baochai's tone was calm, but it made the woman's face blush. After all, there were so many people watching her.

"I know I was wrong. When I return, I will persuade the master to discipline the children of the clan and restrain the servants from causing trouble again!"

This explanation is actually an attempt to shift the blame, placing the fault directly on Lao Wang's lowest-level servants.

"Please have mercy, Your Majesty, and save my family from this crisis!"

Baochai didn't say anything. This matter was very simple to her. After all, it was just a matter between the viscounts and could be resolved with just one word from her.

But things cannot be done this way, otherwise it would be too easy for the Liu family, and it would not sound good to say that you are using power to pressure others, as others may not be convinced in their hearts.

Of course, she couldn't just ignore it. After all, mediating for these middle-level nobles was also the main way for the royal palace to make its presence felt.

As for the earl and marquis, because of their high status and great power, it is not easy to interfere in their grievances.

"The Chen family and the Qingyang Palace are next to each other, and the two families have close ties. Go to the Qingyang Palace and tell them what I said... Ask the Qingyang Palace to speak for you!"

"Yes... Thank you, Your Majesty!" Madam Liu hurriedly paid her respects.

If the Qingyang Palace came forward, the Chen family's face would be taken care of. If the Liu family's attitude was better, the dispute could be resolved.

After a brief lesson, Baochai started chatting with everyone about other things, but found that her aunt seemed to be worried about something.

Half an hour passed in this conversation, during which time Keqing and Yinglian left with the children, while Baochai stayed to fulfill the duties of a princess.

When half an hour was up, these ladies were very tactful and stood up one after another to say goodbye and leave, except Wang Xu who sat there motionless.

Wang Ziteng serves as the commander-in-chief of the Anxi Xingdusi, and is still leading troops to fight in the northwest. Since he does not have any outstanding military achievements, he still holds the title of first-class son.

From this we can see that the Liu and Chen families, both of whom are viscounts, are essentially powerful giants. They are just weaklings in front of the prince level.

"Aunt, is there something on your mind?" Baochai asked proactively.

"princess……"

Wang Xu was about to speak when Baochai stood up and said, "There are no outsiders here, aunt, why are you so distant?"

"Etiquette cannot be abolished. How dare a minister like you overstep your authority?" Wang Xu said humbly.

Baochai sighed and finally said no more. "Aunt, it's so rare for you to come to my house!" Baochai said calmly, walking towards the small stone bridge beside her.

Wang Xu hurriedly followed, her thoughts racing because she didn't know how to answer.

Because the fact is, from the time Baochai became a princess until now, except on necessary festivals, she rarely comes to Prince Xiang's Mansion.

The reason is that Wang Ziteng's family favors the crown prince, so they are somewhat estranged from the Xiangwang Mansion.

Their choice was definitely not a mistake, after all, the crown prince was the legitimate heir to the throne.

Seeing that her aunt was silent, Baochai did not intend to embarrass her, so she asked directly, "Aunt, are you in trouble?"

"Your Majesty, there are some unspeakable secrets. I don't know whether I should tell you or not!" Wang Xu said with difficulty.

Turning around, Baochai said with a smile: "If you have something to say, just say it. I just said that we are not outsiders!"

"Our master... has been in the northwest for the past two years. He has been marching and fighting hard, and his health has deteriorated a lot. When he came back at the beginning of the year, he looked like a man!"

"But the end of the war is nowhere in sight, so..."

"Ok?"

At this point, Wang Xu no longer delayed and said bluntly: "So I am thinking, please ask the princess to report to His Royal Highness Prince Xiang and help me... transfer my master back to the interior!"

The Northwest War is still going on. There are many people like Wang Ziteng on the front line who have endured for two years, but not many of them want to be transferred back on their own initiative.

Wang Ziteng was the commander-in-chief of the Anxi Xingdusi. He had a very high official rank and heavy responsibilities, so it was not easy for him to come back.

"Is this my uncle's idea or my aunt's?" Baochai asked softly, turning around and looking at the stream under the bridge.

"Your Majesty, it was your humble subject's idea, but it is also because the master's body can no longer hold on!"

"I received a letter from him a few days ago. He said he was weak, had no appetite, was in a trance, and had a splitting headache..."

Wang Xu talked incessantly, and from her words it could be seen that Wang Ziteng's health was indeed very poor, but he did not dare to tell the emperor directly that he wanted to come back.

So the Wang family thought of Prince Xiang's Mansion, and wanted Baochai to come forward to help intercede and try to get Wang Ziteng to withdraw from the front line.

"Aunt, this matter is of great importance, but you have found the wrong person!"

"You must know that the prince is currently commanding a war in the southeast. Because he failed to deal effectively with the repeated harassment from foreigners, someone in the court has impeached him and is planning to remove him from office..."

"We haven't even dealt with the southeastern affairs yet. If we let him interfere in the northwest war, I'm afraid it will only lead to more criticism and attacks, which is not a good thing for you or me!"

This was a very objective analysis, and it stated the most straightforward facts, leaving Wang Xu at a loss as to how to pray any further.

In fact, if you want to help, there is definitely a way, but it is obvious that Baochai doesn't want to help at this time.

The reason is simple. What Prince Xiang's Mansion lacks the least is supporters in the army. It is not worth taking the risk for the Wang family, not to mention that they were originally the prince's men.

"I understand your feelings, but we are really powerless and can't help you now!"

"This..." Wang Xu wanted to say something, but in the end she held back and didn't say it.

Baochai turned back again and said calmly, "Aunt, why don't you go to the Eastern Palace and ask them to mediate? I think that would be more appropriate!"

The reason why he didn't go to the Eastern Palace was because even Wang Xu could see that the Eastern Palace had no say in military affairs.

When she thought of this, she felt very regretful that she should not have distanced herself from Prince Xiang's Mansion before.

But who could have imagined that in just three or four years, this frivolous and reckless King Xiang would become the person he is today... Wang Xu groaned in her heart.

One step wrong leads to all the worse. Their current situation is somewhat similar to that of the Jia family more than a decade ago. The latter was quickly marginalized from a top noble because they took sides late.

Just as Wang Xu was thinking, Baochai had already walked to the other end of the stone bridge. In front of her was a weeping willow tree standing on the shore, and the gentle breeze made the paper strip dance.

"Look, Auntie, the flowers over here are blooming more beautifully!"

Although she was not in the mood to appreciate the flowers, Wang Xu had to put on a smile and follow the conversation to agree with them.

Although they are now estranged from the Prince Xiang's Mansion, after all, there is still blood ties between the two sides. Using this as a bond to strengthen the relationship again is something that we can work hard to achieve.

Based on this point, Wang Xu had to seize the opportunity to have a good talk with her niece.

She has made up her mind that she must come to Prince Xiang's Mansion more often in the future, at least to prevent Baochai from saying "it's a rare visit" again.

August 20th, the 14th year of Zhengtong, is a special day.

The Spanish fleet sailed directly to a location two hundred miles away from Quanzhou, obviously intending to wipe out the main force of the Ming navy in one bite.

Unexpectedly, on August 23, Spain divided half of its troops and raided the Liaodong Navy stationed in Chaotian Port, Taiwan.

As luck would have it, the main force of the Liaodong Navy was transferred to Hangzhou a day earlier on the orders of Zhu Jinghong to transport grain and fodder, resulting in not much loss in the Chaotian Port naval battle.

The Liaodong Navy stationed at Chaotian Port had one Class A ship, three Class B ships, and eleven Class C ships, of which three Class C ships were sunk, and the rest were only somewhat damaged.

The Spanish fleet that arrived suffered more than a dozen ships being damaged by the counterattack of the Liaodong garrison navy and the coordinated attack of coastal defense artillery.

The scale of this battle was not too large and it lasted only half a day. Overall, the Ming Dynasty suffered a loss. However, when the news reached Quanzhou, Zhu Jinghong still regarded it as a great victory and ordered rewards for the navy that remained in Chaotian Port.

On August 26, a small boat sailed into Quanzhou Port. It was an envoy sent by the Spanish.

The envoy's name was Pablo, and Zhu Jinghong arranged for the prefect of Quanzhou to contact him.

"I want to see your Supreme Commander!"

In the Quanzhou government office, Pablo looked arrogant and did not take the Quanzhou prefect seriously at all.

Negotiations could not begin, and the Quanzhou prefect had no choice but to report the situation.

After learning about this, Zhu Jinghong did not tolerate this man and directly told the Quanzhou prefect, asking the Spaniard to get out if he did not want to talk.

In the end, Pablo stopped pestering and stated the purpose of his visit.

"You want us to recognize Luzon as its territory? You want us to give up maritime trade escort? You want us to open our ports?"

After hearing the report from the Quanzhou prefect, Zhu Jinghong was so angry that he laughed.

Looking around at the generals in the hall, Zhu Jinghong asked solemnly, "We built so many warships and put so many cannons on them, is it just to put up with his bullshit?"

"Your Highness, don't waste your words with that guy. Just chop down the sacrificial flag with a knife to comfort the dead and injured soldiers and civilians!" Wang Long, the admiral of the Jinling Navy, said angrily.
The other generals also expressed their anger, but Zhu Jinghong remained very calm.

So he said, "Kill him and you'll be satisfied!"

"Leave him here. Isn't he arrogant? Doesn't he think we are nothing? Then let's fight them and see who is stronger!"

"Everyone... In the battle of Chaotian Port, although our army suffered a loss, the Western Barbarians also suffered a loss. This shows that we are not weaker than them. As long as we plan well, we can defeat them!"

(End of this chapter)