Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 289 Follow-up
"Saint, the rebels have been repelled, and Lord Jia is leading his troops to the Imperial Stables!"

In just one hour, Emperor Chenghui experienced a lot of ups and downs, just like riding a roller coaster.

At first, everything went as expected and progressed smoothly. All the actions of the enemy were within his expectations. The King of Dongping, who should have acted the fastest, did not take action immediately, but waited and watched.

When Emperor Chenghui thought everything was under control, things took a turn for the worse.

First, there was the collapse of Long Jinwei. The elite secret guards who had been hiding all this time were defeated by the traitors who were acting as internal supporters, and retreated to the palace gate for defense. If Jia Lian had not arrived in time with the Shenjiying, they would have been beaten into the palace gate, and everything would have been over. The second was the battle of Xizhimen. The Imperial Stables, which had an absolute advantage, encountered the battle of Jianruiying, but they still didn't win, and almost broke up the defensive formation of the Shenjiying artillery team. The two battlefields that Emperor Chenghui thought were the most confident were beaten into pieces, which made Emperor Chenghui feel a strong sense of failure in military terms.

Is there something wrong with my command? No, it's all because of the useless people below that the battle is not going well. If you don't believe me, look at Jia Lian, he performed very well.

As for the fact that Jia Lian did not follow his request and had the entire army guard Dongzhimen, Emperor Chenghui selectively ignored it.

"Saint, I deserve to die!" Xia Shouzhong came in, knelt on the ground, his body covered in blood, and no one knew where he got it.

Emperor Chenghui just looked at him and suddenly he was filled with uncontrollable anger. He rushed over and kicked him. Xia Shouzhong held his head with both hands and curled up his body. Emperor Chenghui kicked him more than ten times in a row. When he saw Qiu Shian stumbling in, he stopped panting.

Qiu Shian's eyes quickly swept over Xia Shouzhong. People are compared. Qiu Shian's work is not good, and Xia Shouzhong's work is worse. A pair of rotten fish and shrimp, at this moment, the rabbit died and the fox was sad, and empathy was aroused. Fortunately, Jia Lian blocked the goods, otherwise they would be competitors.

"Your Majesty, great news!" Qiu Shian said something nice first. Emperor Chenghui's anger had almost subsided, and he asked calmly, "What's the good news?"

"The Empress Yuan gave birth to a little princess!" After Qiu Shian finished speaking, Emperor Chenghui smiled. It was not because he liked daughters, but because this daughter came at the right time. If she really gave birth to a son, Emperor Chenghui would really have a headache. For some things, don't ask whether there is evidence or motive, just look at whether the conditions are met. This is like a woman. Every healthy man is a potential rapist!
Subjective conjecture and free will are completely unreasonable.

Regardless of the relationship between the first and second branches of the Jia family, I just want to ask you, if Yuanchun gives birth to a son, is Jia Lian his uncle?
Since he is a prince, he has entered the echelon of succession to the throne since birth! Well, now it seems that the newly born prince has almost no chance of inheriting the throne. What if all other competitors die in the future?
To put it bluntly, if Concubine Yuan gave birth to a prince, Emperor Chenghui would probably send Jia Lian to Guangdong, Guangxi, Xinjiang, Yunnan and Guizhou to "take charge of things on his own", as Liaodong would be too close.

Don't even think about staying in the capital and being reused. This is the emperor's thinking! Anyone who threatens the imperial power will be "taken care of" well.

"Your servant congratulates the Saint!" Xia Shouzhong also stood up to congratulate him. Seeing his bruised face, Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but feel soft-hearted, but he still scolded him harshly: "You deserve to die for abandoning the horses and men! I was really out of my mind to leave the Imperial Horse Administration to you."

Xia Shouzhong followed the words of Emperor Chenghui and said, "Your Majesty is right. It is precisely because I saw that I had no ability to command the army that I handed over the various departments of the Imperial Stables to Jia Lian for command and came back to face death before Your Majesty. In a thousand words, I deserve to die. I almost delayed Your Majesty's important plan."

After hearing this, Emperor Chenghui finally reacted and asked, "How is the battle situation at Xizhimen?"

"Your Majesty, Xizhimen has been recaptured by Lord Jia, and they are organizing troops to pursue the rebels of Jianrui Camp. Lord Jia has a question, should we break into Xishan Royal Farm and wipe out the rebels, or surround the Royal Farm and protect the emperor?" Xia Shouzhong's question was a bit difficult. Emperor Chenghui was stunned for a moment, and instinctively cursed: "You have to ask me everything, what's the use of you?"

Fortunately, it was Xia Shouzhong who heard these words. If Jia Lian had heard these words in person, he would probably have vomited blood and died!

Fortunately, Emperor Chenghui noticed something was wrong in time and immediately changed his words: "Go and tell them that the emperor is old and that all the rebels must be killed. Don't alarm the emperor who is currently recuperating."

Orders should be clear and not ambiguous. Especially at this time, the words spoken from the heart before would hurt loyal officials and be irresponsible.

All we can say is that Emperor Chenghui is a smart man, and he quickly realized that there are some things that he cannot do even if he wants to do them.

Jia Lian, who was pursuing the victory, was still waiting at the west gate for follow-up orders, and was also cleaning up the battlefield and taking in prisoners.

The Jianrui Battalion suffered heavy casualties, mainly because the rifled guns had a range and accuracy that made fighting in dense formations easier than shooting targets, not to mention fighting on the streets, where they could not deploy large forces and had little room for maneuver. When the Shenji Battalion's soldiers climbed up the ladder to the roof and suppressed the Jianrui Battalion's crossbows and muskets with accurate shooting, the Jianrui Battalion was defeated.

This battle was unremarkable except that it once again proved the dimensionality reduction power of rifles.

Even if there is really not much to say, the casualties of the Shenji Battalion were only thirty, and this was caused by the attack from the rooftop. Ten people were slightly injured in the direct battle.

Jia Lian lit a cigarette and waited patiently for the next instruction. He shouldn't even think of using his subjective initiative to kill the emperor.

Jia Lian can be a loyal minister, but he cannot be like Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen. He cannot be the kind of minister who can be thrown away by the emperor at any time.

Under the stimulation of nicotine, the feeling of vomiting faded a lot, and the messenger reported the battle results from time to time.

The results of the battle were not particularly important to Jia Lian, but he still had to listen to the report in a very formal manner so as not to discourage the people below him.

Looking at the city wall of Xizhimen, Jia Lian thought to himself that if a thousand muskets and a hundred grenadiers were deployed on the city wall, the battle would probably last until dawn.

It can only be said that despite the long preparations, the emperor and the young prince Zhongyi could not make much preparations because of the need to keep it secret. It is difficult to convince the nobles in the court by just drawing cakes. Therefore, most people chose to wait and see and help whoever wins. Only the Prince of Dongping is an exception. Why?

It's very simple. We have elite troops at our disposal, the distance is relatively close, and there is no room for advancement.

Do you think it's ridiculous and forced? At worst, I can just quit being a prince and hand over all my military power. Can I still destroy our sect?

Ordinary people think this way because they don't have the power or status. People who really have the power and status will never let go. Not only will they not let go, they will also work hard to pursue greater power and higher status.

What a coincidence, isn't it? Prince Dongping was in this awkward position. He didn't choose to help Emperor Chenghui because the return rate was nothing!

If the Emperor and the young Prince Zhongyi succeed, it wouldn't be too much to have a Liaodong King, right? If not, I'll take it myself!

After confirming that the South Gate was closed and that dividing the troops would not work, the King of Dongping turned around and asked the prince beside him: "Where are the people?"

"He left quietly. He must have noticed it! My son pretended not to see it and let him go." The prince's answer was also very elegant. Prince Mu smiled and nodded: "Well done, you have made progress." "Father, how should we deal with it next?" The worry on the prince's face was not fake. At this moment, he really had no idea at all.

Prince Dongping said confidently, "With a strong army at hand, what's there to be afraid of? I'll leave a letter, and you and I will go to Shanhaiguan to take shelter first. By the way, you go to Tianjin, deal with the people and things over there, and go to Liaodong by sea. Your father will stay in Shanhaiguan, and no one will dare to embarrass you, even the one in the Palace of Heavenly Purity will just pretend that he knows nothing."

"I understand, son. We'll set off now." The prince, along with his entourage, immediately left the city and headed south without saying a word.

In the direction of Xizhimen, Xia Shouzhong's smile was very ugly, it would be better if he didn't smile. Seeing this, Jia Lian quickly said, "Governor, please stop smiling. It hurts me just looking at you."

Seeing Jia Lian's attitude, Xia Shouzhong put away his smile and was in a good mood. If it was a serious man-to-man conversation, Xia Shouzhong would worry that Jia Lian would find a chance to get himself hit by a stray bullet.

He was really afraid! Don't let the emperor pass the test, or you'll lose your life here.

"When it comes to war, it's easy to watch others fight, but it's hard to fight when you fight yourself. It's not that my family is unkind, but we are hiding it. It's really hard to disobey the emperor's order."

Xia Shouzhong was so frank because he was worried about Jia Lian's revenge. I treated you as an ally, but you rarely told me the truth.

"Enough of the small talk, what is the emperor's will?" Jia Lian asked with a smile, but he was actually thinking MMP. Dealing with these people really requires a lot of wisdom, otherwise you will suffer.

Jia Lian saw the battle tonight very clearly. It should not have turned out like this. If he had enough trust in the Shenji Camp and made arrangements at key points in advance, so many problems would not have occurred.

In the final analysis, Jia Lian entered the core interest circle, but he was not one of the most trusted people. The emperor's most trusted people are always eunuchs. That's why the strange thing happened that Xia Shouzhong commanded the Imperial Horse Guard to fight. Didn't Emperor Chenghui know that Xia Shouzhong had no experience in commanding large troops? Didn't he rely on that little military knowledge and think that the Imperial Horse Guard, which had an absolute advantage in military strength, could easily crush the Jianrui Battalion by relying on its large number of people in the city? Unfortunately, the reality really fulfilled the saying that it's not the quantity of soldiers that matters, but the quality. The more the better is the patent of the military god!
As far as Jia Lian is concerned, he can command one Shenji Battalion calmly, but it is hard to say if he can command more than one. Jia Lian is currently working hard to build a staff department, which is to pave the way for the opportunity to lead more troops in the future. For the time being, the Great Zhou does not face much external threat, but from Jia Lian's point of view, the Great Zhou that does not look outward has no future.

"The saint's intention is to protect the emperor." Xia Shouzhong did not delay and quickly conveyed the emperor's intention.

Jia Lian was relieved immediately. He was really afraid that Emperor Chenghui would ask him to destroy the Xishan Royal Farm and do it directly. Jia Lian might be fine afterwards, but it was hard to say how it would be recorded in history books. It was even possible that one day in the future, when Emperor Chenghui needed to take him down, this matter would become a ready-made excuse. Never underestimate the emperor's moral bottom line.

The subsequent pursuit was simply an armed march, with no room for fighting. On the roadside, soldiers from the Jianrui Battalion dropped their weapons and surrendered. Jia Lian asked them to return to the camp and wait for punishment. The soldiers from the Shenji Battalion continued to move forward, and the Imperial Horse Supervisor was returned to Xia Shouzhong so that he could let go. After such a big incident, there must be a subsequent reckoning.

At this time, Jia Lian had no plan to stay in the capital. The best option was to stay outside the city and stay away from it.

The Shenjiying successfully took over the Xishan Imperial Farm. Jia Lian hid ten miles away from the farm and had someone build a shed and set up a fire with dry firewood to keep warm.

During this period, we received the following reports.

The little prince of loyalty is missing!
The eunuch chief Dai Quan hanged himself!

The commander of Jianrui Battalion and eight other officers committed suicide.

The Dongping cavalry left the east gate and, according to investigation, headed east, with Shanhaiguan as their destination.

The Imperial Stables took over the city defense, posted notices to reassure the people, declared martial law, and the Dragon Guards launched a large-scale search in the city.

The emperor convened an emergency enlarged cabinet meeting, and all officials of the third rank and above in the capital had to attend.

Three riders came on fast horses, the first one was a eunuch and the rest were Dragon Guards.

The eunuch came forward to greet Jia Lian and conveyed the emperor's order: "Jia Lian should come to Beijing as soon as possible and go to the Qianqing Palace to obey the emperor's orders."

Just when Jia Lian was curious about who would be in charge of the affairs of Xishan, Old Sun, Marquis of Ningyuan, appeared with the imperial order, appointing him as the deputy governor of the Beijing Camp, in charge of the defense of Xishan (including the reorganization of the Jianrui Camp).

Ning Yuanhou did not come empty-handed, he brought with him three thousand troops from the former Nine Gates Commander.

"Thank you for your hard work last night, young master!" Ning Yuanhou's attitude was very good, even a little flattering.

Jia Lian glanced at him and saw that he was tired but excited. He couldn't help but ask, "You were not idle last night, were you?"

Ning Yuanhou looked at the people behind him and said in a low voice, "I came from the south of the city. I was frightened last night. Fortunately, the result was OK."

Jia Lian pointed to the soldiers coming from behind and said, "Old subordinates?" Ning Yuanhou nodded and said, "Others don't dare to use them!"

After a brief exchange, Jia Lian added some information and officially handed over all the matters in his hands. When he was about to return to the capital with his family, Ning Yuanhou pulled the reins and said, "Your Majesty asked me if I was confident in taking over the Shenji Camp. I said I had no experience in this area and hoped that Your Majesty would seek help from someone else."

Jia Lian nodded: "Thank you, I will be your replacement!"

When Jia Lian returned to the capital, it was already past ten in the morning. He hurried to the palace, and the bloodstains along the way had not yet been cleaned up.

After showing the gold medal, he entered the palace smoothly. When he arrived at the Qianqing Palace, the meeting was still going on. This enlarged meeting should be called a small court meeting.

In front of all the officials above the third rank, Jia Lian walked quickly to the emperor and raised the golden medal above his head with both hands: "Your humble servant Jia Lian, I have come to report to you!"

Although he didn't say much, Emperor Chenghui understood. After Qiu Shian stepped forward to take back the gold medal, Emperor Chenghui said, "Thank you for your hard work. Take a rest first. Please take a seat!"

Jia Lian was immediately annoyed. You won't stop until you do something, right? There are so many white-haired people without seats, and you want me to sit?
(End of this chapter)