Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 239 Key Time Node
When Emperor Chenghui reached a critical moment, the retired emperor was celebrating his 68th birthday, and the abacus beads even fell on Emperor Chenghui's face. Yet he still had to endure it and contribute money and effort, because he ruled the world with filial piety.

This nation has always been moral, and one of the greatest common denominators in the ideological field is filial piety.

Founding emperors were all made through fighting. Emperors who had experienced wars certainly knew what people were like.

Being despicable or noble depends on the person.

Apart from the mandate of heaven, the only thing the emperor could rely on in this era was filial piety.

As a leader with unlimited power, it seems unconvincing to say anything else.

Wang Ziteng has a very important say in the military. If his attitude changes, the consequences will be serious.

Emperor Chenghui did not dare to take the risk. After much deliberation, he could only let Jia Lian go once to have a private conversation.

Jia Lian stood solemnly to listen to the order. Qiu Shian was not around, so he must have gone out to wait.

"Tell Wang Ziteng that if he has any request, just tell him to pass it on. I will definitely not refuse anything I can satisfy."

Just with this one sentence, Jia Lian broke out in cold sweats. How could a minister who could force the emperor to say such a thing be good?

But Jia Lian said nothing, only replied: "I will remember it."

Emperor Chenghui smiled and said, "You, don't think too much."

"I don't need to worry about that!" Jia Lian continued to listen to the lecture respectfully, mainly because the matter was too big.

At this time, Jia Lian had no way to retreat and could only charge forward.

It can also be said that Jia Baoyu in the original novel had such a good living environment that the wind and rain outside never entered the Grand View Garden. When the wind and rain came in, Jia Baoyu could only go with the flow like a fool, and finally chose to escape from the world.

This is not some invisible swordplay, but a real bloody storm if one makes a mistake.

Jia Lian didn't know why he suddenly became so fierce. Was it because of his own interference? After solving many problems for Emperor Chenghui, the confrontation between the two generations of emperors escalated rapidly?

"I order you to be the Ambassador to the Army. Before you leave, go to the Shenji Camp and bring along those old soldiers who followed you to Yunyang. I know you have no ambitions, but those officers and soldiers are convinced by you. This is your natural ability, which others cannot learn."

Emperor Chenghui gave a light reminder, almost telling him to be careful.

When Jia Lian sensitively captured this subtle information, his heart suddenly tightened.

The struggle for imperial power was bloodless. History books clearly state this. The pie of power is so small that if you take one more bite, others may have to starve. This is a struggle for survival, a life-and-death struggle.

Jia Lian, who received the imperial edict, went to the Shenji Camp first. After showing the imperial edict, the officers and soldiers of the Shenji Camp responded enthusiastically, and all wanted to follow Jia Lian to do the work. There was no other way, it smelled so good.

Jia Lian smiled, without any bad expression on his face, and ordered Captain Yang's five hundred musketeers and a cannon team of one hundred men. Why did he bring the cannon team? Jia Lian explained that it was to fire a salute to show respect to the soldiers who had returned from the expedition.

In fact, he could have brought more people, but Jia Lian was afraid that it would make too much noise and cause others to have wild thoughts.

Six hundred people, no more, no less. If Jia Lian really encounters any danger on the road, it is more than enough for him to protect himself.

In private, Jia Lian told Captain Yang who was following him to Yunyang: "Tell the brothers that the roads are not peaceful recently, so be alert and don't get into trouble. There are so many people waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves."

Captain Yang really believed what he said. After going to Yunyang, even the lowest-ranking soldiers earned 100 taels of silver. Who wouldn't be convinced by such a superior? They were convinced, but other colleagues were jealous. Why are you the ones again this time?
The Beijing Army has 150,000 soldiers in terms of establishment. Even if they are paid for nothing, there are still 70,000 to 80,000 people. These people made a fortune by following Jia Lian on business trips, and they boasted a lot after returning to Beijing, which naturally aroused the jealousy of others. The key is to make Jia Lian hate you. It's fine if you don't pay for nothing, but you also suck the blood of the soldiers. How can you let others live?
The problems of the Beijing camp have always existed, but no one has been able to solve them. It's so magical!

After the death of the former Grand Commander of the Beijing Camp, the old Prince of Beijing, the new Grand Commander was Prince of Nan'an. But everyone knew that the old prince would not live for many days and basically did not care about anything. The Beijing Camp was controlled by Prince of Beijing's old subordinates, and these people all obeyed Prince of Beijing.

When the young Prince Beijing comes of age, he will at least be appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief and hold actual power, if not the successor to the position of Grand Commander.

The lack of prestige of Prince Beijing has caused the people below to tighten their grip on power. If Emperor Chenghui wants to rectify the Beijing camp, he must rely on Wang Ziteng's prestige. So, is Wang Ziteng really willing to give up his personal and even family interests for the emperor's will?
In recent years, Emperor Chenghui has been changing the situation and transferring tens of thousands of troops from the capital, which has touched the foundation of the interests of the four kings and eight dukes.

Now a thorough rectification is required, which may result in a break-up. If there were no emperor emeritus, everything would be easy to deal with, and at most compensation could be made elsewhere. But with the emperor emeritus, the four kings and eight dukes have other choices.

As long as the emperor emeritus comes out and raises his arm to call for actual control of the capital, it will be difficult for the outside world to stir up trouble. The emperor can bet everything, but the ministers outside dare not, because the highest power has nothing to do with being a minister.

In the end, it's still a question of cost and benefit. In the original novel, the four kings and eight dukes were dealt with because they failed to stand in line.

This includes Wang Ziteng, otherwise he would not have died. Even Yuanchun might have died because of her side.

Assuming that Yuanchun went home to visit her parents for fun, the emperor and the concubine might have died by then. But the death was kept secret.

This is just my personal understanding. Don’t criticize me if you don’t agree with it because it’s meaningless.

The Ministry of War sent a deputy envoy and several attendants. After the group met at the Ministry of War, Jia Lian took out the imperial edict and said, "This is my first time here. I'll leave the preparations to you all. Gather at 1:00 a.m. tomorrow and set off at 7:00 a.m."

Everyone responded loudly. For the people below, this was just an ordinary errand. If they were lucky, they would meet a generous superior. Everyone was looking forward to this journey.

Because it might take three days to travel, this is the so-called rhythm of going out a hundred miles to show respect. The cost is convenient, as long as the report is submitted, Jia Lian will approve it without any review. The military department's personnel are naturally happy about this trip. The lower-level personnel of various departments have seen many officials who like to manipulate others when they have a little power in their hands, but Jia Lian is too rare.

Jia Lian's preparations focused on the Shenji Camp. He brought fifty side carriages alone. If you didn't know, you would have thought he was going to war.

In fact, Jia Lian was going to the war, otherwise why would he bring a hundred-man artillery team? If he was not afraid of too much impact, he would have wanted to bring a thousand people, or even more.

When they returned home later and explained everything, Wang Xifeng did not notice anything wrong. Instead, Ping'er, who was sleeping with Jia Lian, blushed and leaned close to him as the afterglow was still lingering. "Master, what happened tonight? You were so cruel!"

Of course Jia Lian did not tell the truth. Instead, he smiled and teased: "I didn't control my strength well because I would be away from home for several days. What's wrong? Don't you like it?" When they were alone, Ping'er expressed her knowledgeable and interesting side very fully. She rubbed her face against his and said, "I like it!" There was one thing Ping'er didn't ask, which was whether Jia Lian had penetrated her.

He told his family that he was on a business trip, and did not ask Wang Xifeng to see him off, as she was not in a good condition. Ping'er and Guixiang saw him off through the side door. Outside the main door stood a hundred guards, not making any noise, just standing there in the light of the torches.

Ping'er and Guixiang were frightened by the murderous atmosphere, but Jia Lian did not say much. He turned around to say goodbye and got on his horse.

After the sound of horse hooves faded away, Guixiang said, "Something is wrong with the master!"

Ping'er felt distressed, but she had no intention of responding. She just silently said in her heart: I believe in you!

After everyone from the Shenji Camp gathered together, Zhang San led ten people to clear the way.

The deputy envoy who was traveling with him joked, "Lord Jia has a profound family background! He knows that the key to using troops is to be cautious! This is exactly what Zhuge Liang did throughout his life, being cautious!"

This is a bit too much flattery. Who dares to compare himself to the prime minister? I am not Xue Yue, so how dare I compare myself to Yue Fei?

"How dare I? To be honest, I have many enemies. I'm just afraid of death. It's better to be careful." Jia Lian mocked himself, but others didn't think it was self-mockery. This guy has offended many people. Who can guarantee that he doesn't have a small mind?

Going back a few decades, there were many cases of backstabbing comrades in the battlefield. Especially some old men in the Ministry of War, who doesn't have some secrets from the past? The first battle of the emperor was in the northwest. Because a certain brother did not attack according to the plan, the 3,000 soldiers of the emperor were surrounded. If Jia Daishan had not led the brave battalion to fight to the death to rescue him, the emperor might not have escaped.

Afterwards, the emperor said that he was lost and learned from Li Guang.

Jia Lian didn't know much about these old stories, and he could only get a glimpse of them from some notes left by his grandfather. Jia Daishan left very few notes, none of which were full, unlike a certain bald man who relied on diaries to expand territory and defend his country.

If you read his diary, you would think he was punching the Japanese pirates and kicking the British and Americans.

In fact, he invented the crime of resisting Japan! He sold many of the rights and interests he gained back in World War II back to the Ugly Country.

He knows how to sell out his country!

(PS: I read a work on Qidian.com and found that the protagonist is a master at destroying the Japanese invaders. The problem is that you are in the bald man’s camp. 37 years ago, did the protagonist dare to resist the Japanese?)
That's too far!
After Jia Lian led his troops out of the city, they headed northwest to Zhangjiakou. There is a term "kouwai", and this "kou" refers to Zhangjiakou.

It is an important transportation route from Shanxi to the capital, a real transportation hub with convenient access in all directions.

Jia Lian, on horseback, could not help but hum a few lines from "Going West", and the accompanying deputy envoy flattered him as usual.

"Lord Jia actually knows Northwestern folk songs. He is truly knowledgeable." This time he was more restrained and did not compare him with historical figures.

Jia Lian was a little flattered. This deputy made a good arrangement. He turned his head and smiled, "It's not easy to go out in such hot weather. We can only travel early and late. Although I don't have any other skills, I can still ensure that everyone has meat to eat and wine to drink."

After ten o'clock in the morning, Jia Lian ordered the army to stop marching and find a place to rest nearby, as long as they did not run around.

The soldiers were getting hot and started to unbutton their clothes, but Jia Lian did not dare to be careless and asked his servants to patrol and stop them. He had a good reason: when they were away from home, even in the capital, the army should behave like an army.

Jia Lian himself was also dressed neatly, and the soldiers did not make a fuss when they saw this, after all, their superior was setting a good example.

It was a hard time for the accompanying personnel of the Ministry of War. They wanted to cool down, but since they knew how to enforce military law, they dared not act rashly and could only endure it.

At most, he would fetch some cold water to wash his face and hands. For this, Jia Lian gained another good name: strict military management!

The family guards were really hard-working. They had to be sentries during their rest periods. Zhang San led his men to march thirty miles, and even on the main road, they did not slack off at all. Others did not know the details of this trip, but Jia Lian told Zhang San everything. This also shows his worry, fearing that someone would take risks. To put it bluntly, if Jia Lian really died on this trip, the Jia and Wang families would definitely be alienated, not to mention the group of four kings and eight dukes.

Let’s put it this way, political opponents are not fools, how could they not see the intention of Emperor Chenghui’s arrangement?

The problem is that Emperor Chenghui has no choice. He is worried and has to let Jia Lian take over.

In this sense, Emperor Chenghui was still a little anxious. Jia Lian was certainly useful, but at this critical juncture, he was taking a risk.

They continued their march in the afternoon, and after dark they were not in a hurry to set up camp, but walked for another hour before stopping.

Since it was the first day, Jia Lian was not very worried, so he hurried on at night. From the next day, Jia Lian would walk 40 miles a day. If he walked one mile more, he would lose. Nothing happened overnight, so he set out early the next day. After walking 15 miles, Jia Lian ordered to rest. In the afternoon, he walked another 25 miles, and Jia Lian again ordered to choose a village with a wall to set up camp.

This routine made the accompanying deputy very uncomfortable, and he specifically asked Jia Lian: "Why don't you hurry on like you did yesterday?"

Jia Lian responded casually: "It's too hot!" The truth was, Zhang San discovered that someone was following him last night.

Jia Lian took five days to walk a three-day journey, as slow as a turtle. The soldiers didn't care, but the deputy was anxious: "If we are too late, Wang Taiwei will arrive in Zhangjiakou first, and we will miss the deadline."

Jia Lian treated him nonchalantly: "I will take care of anything that happens, what are you afraid of? This place is less than 40 miles away from Zhangjiakou, and we can get there tomorrow. Don't worry. It's so hot, and General Wang can't walk fast."

About ten miles away, a group of people were resting in the woods. Old Man Liu, holding a telescope, looked at the team that had stopped to rest before four o'clock in the afternoon, with a very tangled expression.

On the first day, Jia Lian was in a hurry to travel, but Old Man Liu was not in a hurry. After all, they had just left the capital and had only walked one-third of the nearly 400-li journey. Unexpectedly, this dog had a very sharp nose, and on the second day he began to walk 40 miles a day.

Traveling in the dark? What good things are you thinking of?
Originally, this section was all wilderness, with only a small village of less than 100 households ahead. According to common sense, it was 40 miles away, and if we drove overnight, we would reach there by midnight. This section of the road was also the best ambush site, where the cavalry could fully exert their impact.

The village in front of him had no high walls, only a breastwork. Old Man Liu hesitated a little. If he didn't attack tonight, he would have no chance.

One of the retired emperor's trump cards is the nobles, especially the four kings and eight dukes.

Now he regretted that he had suppressed these people too harshly, which led to the emergence of Jia Lian in this generation of the Jia family!
Although he is young, he is an extremely vicious person!
(End of this chapter)