The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 484: Counterattack

Jingxinzhai in Xiyuan. Although it was icy and snowy outside, it was warm as spring inside. The retired emperor Kangping was wearing a casual casual suit. At this moment, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his forearms, and painted on the paper with only his two fists.

Emperor Kangping was about to celebrate his 70th birthday. His hair and beard were all white, but he looked full of energy at the moment. He sat on the horse with his waist slumped, and his fists covered with ink moved flexibly on the drawing paper. Sometimes he tapped with the back of his fists, sometimes he smeared with the fists, and sometimes he outlined with his little finger. In a moment, a horse appeared on the paper, which was amazing.

Fist painting, as the name suggests, is a painting made with fists. This is a very distinctive way of painting. Emperor Kangping's attainments in fist painting are obviously very good. The painting he made at this time should be a picture of Eight Horses. After finishing the first horse, he painted the second one. The movements are open and close, the horse stance is steady and powerful, the beard and hair are all spread, and the eyes are sharp, just like a general killing the enemy on the battlefield.

Suddenly, the chief eunuch An of the West Garden came in, knelt down and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Beijing, the Prince of Nan'an, the Prince of Xining, and the Prince of Dongping, led the seven dukes' houses and the twelve marquisates to pay you New Year's greetings."

The founding emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, Xu Jin, originally conferred the titles of four princes of different surnames, eight dukes, and twelve marquises. These twenty-four families were the backbone of the old founding noble group, and the Great Jin Dynasty was won by the ancestors of these families who sacrificed their lives and blood. Now that they have joined forces, this scene is undoubtedly unprecedented.

Emperor Kangping did not even raise his head, and continued to paint, saying calmly: "It is amazing that they still remember an old man like me, and that they have come so fully this time. Well, it is New Year's Day, and I cannot refuse them. Let them in."

"Yes!" Eunuch An respectfully withdrew, and soon, four kings, seven dukes and twelve marquises were brought in.

Why is there one less duke?
It turned out that the Ningguo Mansion was missing because Jia Zhen had been stripped of his title, so he did not come. Instead, Jia She came, as he was the heir to the title of the Rongguo Mansion.

It is worth mentioning here that the four princes are all so-called iron-hat princes, which means they can be inherited without any reduction in rank. In other words, as long as the Jin Dynasty does not perish, the titles of these four families will always be princes, unless they are demoted or stripped of their titles for committing crimes.

However, the eight dukes and twelve marquises did not have such treatment. Their titles were hereditary in a reduced rank, with each generation reducing one rank. For example, Jia She of the Rongguo Mansion is now only a first-class general, and Jia Zhen was only a third-class general before he was demoted. Another example is Shi Xiangyun's uncle, Shi Nai, the Marquis of Baoling, who now inherited an even lower title. In addition, he has no real job and is not good at business. His annual salary is not enough to support his family, otherwise Shi Xiangyun would not have to do needlework to help supplement the family income.

Let's get back to the point. The heirs of the four kings, seven dukes, and twelve marquises were brought into Jingxinzhai. They immediately knelt on the ground and shouted in unison: "Long live the emperor."

"Stand up!" Emperor Kangping said calmly, without raising his head, and continued to concentrate on painting.

Prince Beijing Shui Rong and others held their breath and stood still, watching the retired emperor who was agile and energetic, as powerful as killing enemies on the battlefield. They could not help but feel surprised and happy. Originally, the retired emperor would have been depressed after the death of Prince Yi Zhong, but now it seems that the opposite is true. The retired emperor is getting more and more energetic, and it seems that he will have no problem living another ten or eight years.

About half an hour later, Emperor Kangping finally finished painting the Eight Horses, and a palace maid brought him warm water and scented soap for him to wash his hands. At this moment, a palace maid outside Jingxinzhai sang loudly, "The emperor has arrived!"

The faces of all the nobles changed slightly, and Jia She subconsciously lowered his head, his heart pounding. This time, everyone came to the emperor together, naturally hoping that the emperor would come forward to put pressure on the emperor, fight against public opinion, and stop investigating the reselling of salt permits. To put it bluntly, it was a trick to complain to the head of the family.

This move would undoubtedly anger Emperor Qiansheng, but in order to protect themselves, the nobles naturally could not care so much. As for the Jia family, they currently had a concubine and were in the emperor's favor. Doing so would not be worth the loss. So Jia Zheng did not come in person this time. However, the old noble group was of the same blood and many of them were intermarried. If they did not come, they might offend other families. So they sent Jia She as the representative of the Jia family.

Jia She and Jia Zhen had both participated in reselling salt permits. Since they had shit on their bodies, they naturally couldn't care less. Self-protection was the most important thing, so Jia She followed the other families to the Western Garden to "pay New Year's greetings" to the retired emperor.

A moment later, Emperor Qiansheng walked into the West Garden, surrounded by palace servants. The nobles knelt down and kowtowed, shouting in unison: "Greetings to our emperor. Long live the emperor!"

Emperor Qiansheng glanced coldly at the nobles, paused, and then raised his hand and said, "All the nobles, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The nobles bowed their heads again and then stood up with solemn expressions.

At this time, Emperor Qiansheng stepped forward and paid his respects to Emperor Kangping, the retired emperor. The latter had just washed his hands and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty, you have come at a good time. I have just painted a picture of eight horses. Do you think it is worthy of your attention?"

Eunuch An immediately ordered two young eunuchs to lift up the painting of Eight Horses that Emperor Kangping had just painted and show it to everyone.

Emperor Qiansheng looked around and saw eight horses of different shapes, fat and strong, chasing each other on the three-foot-long silk. The distant mountains and the vast sea of ​​clouds, the surrounding trees were blurred, it was like the eight horses were chasing the light and lightning, the majestic and murderous aura rushed towards him, and he couldn't help but praise: "What a beautiful horse, father's painting skills are becoming more and more refined."

Many nobles also echoed the praise, saying that the emperor was still in good health and had the same charm as before.

Emperor Kangping smiled heartily, and said earnestly: "This painting is called Eight Horses. You are all the fine horses of our Great Jin, and the pillars of our country. Although our Great Jin has been prosperous for a long time, you must not relax and always study hard and practice hard. Don't lose your horseback skills, so that you can immediately go into the battlefield to kill the enemy and support the country when necessary." "We, the ministers, will keep in mind the teachings of the retired emperor, practice hard, practice riding and shooting, defend our country, and support the country." The nobles answered in unison.

The Grand Emperor stroked his beard and nodded: "Very good. Now the Jiannu in the northeast are causing chaos, and the Tatars in the north are also not honest. You must be more vigilant and be ready for battle at any time. You must not relax at all."

"We obey your command!" everyone said generously in unison.

The Emperor Emeritus glanced at the expressionless Emperor Qiansheng, waved his hand and said, "Since you have all paid New Year's greetings to me, you may all go back."

At this time, Shi Nai fell to his knees and said loudly: "While the emperor and the emperor are both here, I, Shi Nai, dare to impeach Hanlin scholar Zhao Mingcheng for forming a clique for personal gain, excluding dissidents, colluding with Donglin Academy principal Gu Xiancheng and others to deceive the people and incite the candidates who came to Beijing for the imperial examination to cause trouble. His intention is worthy of death. Please ask the emperor to immediately order the execution of this thief, arrest Gu Xiancheng and the candidates who led the riot, consolidate the foundation and clear the source, and set the record straight."

"I impeach Zhao Mingcheng. He is a traitor and a traitor to the country. He wants to destroy the foundation of our Great Jin Kingdom. I ask the emperor to execute him!" The Prince of Dongping also knelt down and said loudly.

"Your Majesty, we impeach Zhao Mingcheng and ask you to punish this traitor and corrupt official!" All the nobles knelt down together.

Emperor Qiansheng looked unhappy, but this was within his expectations. How could the nobles wait for death? It was only natural for them to turn the tables. He said calmly, "The ministers should submit their impeachment petitions first, and I will make a fair judgment and deal with them."

"Here is my memorial!" It was Shi Nai from Baolinghou Mansion who took out the memorial from his arms first.

A cold light flashed in Emperor Qiansheng's eyes, and he said calmly: "Come up!"

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

A palace servant nearby immediately stepped forward and took over Shi Nai's memorial. At this time, Jia She and others also took out their own impeachment memorials, all of which were directed at Zhao Mingcheng, the leader of the Donglin Party, and Gu Xiancheng, the president of the Donglin Academy. It was obvious that they were planning to strike back and capture the leader first.

Emperor Qiansheng collected all the memorials and asked coldly, "Who else wants to impeach?"

There was silence all around. Emperor Qiansheng waved his hand and said, "Since there is none, then everyone please step down. I will handle it as appropriate."

"Wait a minute!" The Emperor suddenly said, "Academies are places for teaching and educating people, but the Donglin Academy has been messed up by a group of people with bad intentions, who are making irresponsible comments on state affairs, misleading people, and repeatedly inciting students to cause trouble. It should be closed down immediately."

The nobles were secretly delighted to hear this, they had hated Donglin Academy to the core for a long time, but everyone knew that the Emperor was the big boss behind the Donglin Academy, so no one dared to move, otherwise they would have used the power at hand to raze Donglin Academy to the ground.

Emperor Qiansheng said calmly, "The Retired Emperor has lived in Xiyuan for a long time, so I'm afraid he has some misunderstandings about Donglin Academy. As far as I know, the headmaster and teachers of Donglin Academy are all well-educated Confucian scholars, and their political discussions are within the scope allowed by the court, and they have not overstepped the boundaries. Of course, I will also send someone to investigate, and if what the Retired Emperor said is true, I will definitely not tolerate it."

The nobles felt their hearts sink when they heard this. It was clear that the emperor meant to protect Donglin Academy.

The retired emperor nodded and said calmly: "That's an old man like me meddling in other people's business. Your Majesty can make the decision yourself. I'm also tired today, so you may leave. But remember to treat the meritorious officials well. Without them, there would be no Great Jin." After that, he left Jingxinzhai and returned to his bedroom.

Emperor Qiansheng looked a little embarrassed. He stood for a while before returning to normal. He glanced at the nobles and said calmly, "Kneel down!"

All the nobles knelt down and kowtowed, then left Jingxinzhai. They did not breathe a sigh of relief until they were out of the West Garden Palace Gate. They all broke out in a cold sweat, and gathered together to discuss in a low voice for a while before they each got in their carriages to go home.

This time, the retired emperor did not seem to have completely suppressed the emperor, but after this incident, I believe the emperor would also have some concerns and would not dare to easily take action against the noble group. Alas, I hope the retired emperor is healthy and lives a few more years. However, if the Donglin faction is not eliminated, there will always be a sword hanging over the emperor's head. This time, Zhao Mingcheng must be brought down no matter what.

So in the next few days, the noble group directed their firepower at the Hanlin scholar and Southern Study attendant Zhao Mingcheng, and impeachment memorials flew to Emperor Sheng's desk like snowflakes.

(End of this chapter)