Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 366: Victory or Defeat Outside the Battlefield
Zhangjiakou is located between Xuanhua and Datong. The appearance of grassland cavalry under the city of Xuanhua means that Zhangjiakou was lost yesterday.

It is certain that the defenders of Zhangjiakou abandoned the city the day before yesterday, with no intention of resisting on the spot to buy time.

Despite his foresight, Jia Lian still sighed, "Damn it!"

It is impossible to attack with only the Shenji Camp. That is not called fighting, that is called seeking death.

Although Xuanhua is an important town, it is not a wise move to concentrate military forces in one place.

Now he could only wait for the follow-up Xishan Camp and at the same time he needed to obtain more battlefield information. When Jia Lian came to this world, the biggest headache was the problem of information transmission.

After entering the city, Jia Lian had no time to attend the banquet, but instead went directly to check the city defense situation of the local garrison.

The focus of the inspection is the western and northern city walls. This important military town, which has stood for hundreds of years, has always been the focus of defending the capital from threats from the northwest.

The city wall looks very solid, but when you get closer you can see that it has not been repaired for many years, and many vines and small trees have grown in the gaps between the bricks.

Raising his hand and patting a cannon on the top of the city wall that looked OK, Jia Lian asked, "Have you tried it? Can it fire?"

In the following battle, the defense of Xuanhua City is the most critical support point. Once the troops are led forward, a retreat is needed regardless of victory or defeat. Jia Lian is not without the awareness of dying in battle, but from a military perspective, there is no need to fight to the death. The key to Li Ni's rebellion is the white disaster last year. The grassland tribes could not survive and had to go south to rob.

"I haven't had time to try yet!" Guo Dongliang was sweating profusely and answered cautiously. He was really afraid that Jia Lian would use his head to establish his authority.

"All artillery should be tested quickly. At least one live round should be fired to make sure it works. When testing the artillery, pay attention to safety." Jia Lian's explanation seemed calm, but he was actually very annoyed. But now is not the time to be annoyed. Killing people also depends on the time and situation. At least Guo Dongliang did not run away, and the garrison did organize and prepare for defense. This is very good!
The poor performance in other aspects is not just his problem, but a systemic problem. This cannot be changed by chopping off one person's head. Besides, he didn't make any big mistakes.

Guo Dongliang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly organized people to prepare for the test fire.

Jia Lian did not go to the prefectural government office, but went directly to the garrison camp. He did not go to the government office not because he could not see the civil officials headed by the prefect, but because Jia Lian was his superior, whether civil or military.

In front of Guo Dongliang, Jia Lian began to write a report. After the beginning, he went straight to the main text: [On the first day of May, I arrived in Xuanhua. The general and the prefect were all there. The enemy was at the city gates and could not be fought. Our vanguard cavalry scouts fought a small battle with the enemy cavalry, and won a small victory, beheading 153 people. At present, the defense of Xuanhua City is stable. I need to further explore the enemy situation and wait for the arrival of the follow-up main force before making a decision...]

After putting down his pen, Jia Lian turned around and asked, "If there is any news from Juyong Pass, Xifeng Pass or other passes, report it immediately."

After saying this, Jia Lian stamped the report and handed it to Guo Dongliang, saying, "General, please stamp it and then pass it to the prefect."

General Guo's hands were shaking with excitement, and he didn't say a word to belittle them: "Thank you, Governor, for your kindness!"

Jia Lian smiled and said nothing. Xuanhua was relatively competent in that Jia Lian's Shenjiying did not attack the city walls of Xuanhua.

The purpose of this move is also very obvious, to appease the hearts of local officials. These guys are still somewhat useful, and replacing them temporarily is even worse.

At this critical moment, Jia Lian had no spare energy to create complications and settle scores. If he really killed these civil and military officials, it would be even more troublesome to replace them. Not to mention who would be the right person to replace, but whether the replacement would convince the public and whether the people below would cause trouble, all these things had to be considered.

As long as these people have not committed serious dereliction of duty, Jia Lian must let them go.

After sending Guo Dongliang away, Jia Lian, who was tired after a long day, had a short break. When he was leaning back in a chair with his eyes closed, Zhuzi came in and reported in a low voice.

His squinting eyes suddenly widened. Jia Lian really didn't expect that the prefect of Xuanhua was braver than him.

What happened was that after the prefect of Xuanhua returned, he first called people together for a meeting and assigned tasks to each lower-level official. Each official was responsible for several households. In short, the only thing he had to do was to see the grain.

At the meeting, the chancellor and the assistant magistrate expressed their opposition on the spot, arguing that this was tantamount to robbing the people's property, and that the gentry would certainly oppose it fiercely, making it impossible for them to complete the task assigned to them.

The prefect did not argue, but directly asked Zhang San to take action. He released the chancellor from the fourth rank and arrested the sixth rank assistant magistrate directly on suspicion of collaborating with thieves.

Seeing this, the other officials all behaved themselves. The prefect then issued an order, summoning all the wealthy families in the city to the yamen for a meeting. Those who did not come would be treated as traitors and arrested on the spot.

I guess this prefect has been holding it in for a long time, and today he finally got to let it out.

Jia Lian thought for a moment and said to Zhuzi, "Since we have done it, let's do it thoroughly. I will write a warrant and you send it to Zhang San. According to my order, chop off his head and display it to the public. Send people to search his house!"

Zhuzi went out with the warrant, and Jia Lian could only sigh helplessly. He didn't want to see blood, but there were people who were blind and had to jump out to oppose him at the critical moment.

Warfare is inseparable from food. Not counting the local residents, the daily needs of tens of thousands of troops alone are not a small number. The food they carry with them can't last for a few days. Jia Lian estimates that it will take at least half a month to transport it from Tongzhou. Instead of pinning their hopes on this, it is better to do it themselves and solve part of the problem on the spot.

"Inform Guo Dongliang to send someone to lead the way, and mobilize a battalion of troops to take control of all grain stores. No store is allowed to close, and no one is allowed to be reluctant to sell. Violators will be treated as traitors and executed on the spot." Jia Lian gave the order, and Commander Yang immediately received it. After greeting, he hurried away.

Guo Dongliang found the prefect. After the prefect read Jia Lian's report and sealed it with confidence, before he could send it back, he saw a new order issued.

After receiving the order, Zhang San immediately sent people to drag the two officials to the gate of the yamen. The prefectural chancellor and the assistant judge were so frightened that they became weak all over and defecated and urinated all over the floor.

The soldiers showed no mercy, they cut the head with their swords, and hung it at the gate of the government office. After doing all this, Zhang San informed the prefect and General Guo. Guo Dongliang was better, knowing that he would definitely kill people, but the prefect was so scared that his legs went weak and he sat down on the ground.

With this scene, the efficiency of subsequent work was greatly improved. Jia Lian entered the city in the afternoon, and before dark, all the wealthy families who received the news expressed their support for Governor Jia's work.

Jia Lian handed the work to the prefect and his requirements were very clear. First, there must be enough food to feed the army for ten days. Secondly, he had to recruit young and strong people in the city to help defend the city.

Whether it was the prefect or the general, they would eventually discover that the orders they issued were effectively executed.

At midnight, Jia Lian was still patrolling around. He set the rules: officers were not allowed to eat until the soldiers had eaten, and officers were not allowed to sleep until the soldiers had slept. As the commander of the left army, Jia Lian had to be the last official to sleep except for the sentries.

After inspecting all the camps, I returned to the central army tent and just sat down when I received two messages. One was from Yebushou, saying that no signs of enemy troops were found within a thirty-mile radius. The cavalrymen below Xuanhua City were probably an enemy force that rushed in too fast. The other message came from the rear army of General Sun of the Xishan Camp, saying that it was only two days away from Xuanhua, and enemy cavalrymen were found at Juyong Pass and other passes along the Great Wall.

Jia Lian rubbed his forehead in pain. Zhangjiakou was lost too quickly, so he couldn't tell whether the enemy in the west was the main force. Although the various tribes in the grassland were not subordinate to each other, Jia Lian really didn't dare to pin his hopes on Li Ni's inability to unify the various tribes and enforce discipline. If the enemy troops in the grassland really broke through Xifengkou or other passes to enter the Central Plains like in the second year of Chongzhen, and took down Zunhua to threaten the capital, the entire strategic layout would become a joke. Judging from the current situation, Jia Lian could only say that Li Ni might have been managing the various tribes in the grassland for many years.

As for the reason why he sent out the proclamation everywhere, it was also very simple. It was not because he was stupid, but because he hoped to disrupt the judgment of the court in the capital through this method. Now it seems that the means of disruption did not work, and the sneak attack achieved its goal. Jia Lian really doubted whether Zhangjiakou had run away immediately after receiving the proclamation. The reason was that these people understood the combat mode of the grassland better.

The advantage of the 800-li express delivery is that it is fast. Within two days when Jia Lian was waiting for the arrival of the rear army, Emperor Chenghui received an urgent report from Jia Lian.

The first one was not a big problem, but the second one, the news of beheading the chancellor and the judge of Xuanhua Prefecture, made Emperor Chenghui a little helpless. Jia Lian still killed the officials.

Emperor Chenghui didn't care. He just killed him. Military law in wartime would naturally be much stricter.

But the situation was different at the enlarged cabinet meeting. The cabinet ministers were unanimous in their attitudes and accused Jia Lian of being reckless. How could he kill officials without authorization? Two civil servants at that!
The ones who remained silent at the meeting were Lin Ruhai and Prince Zhongshun. Lin Ruhai felt deep down that Jia Lian had gone too far, while Prince Zhongshun understood Emperor Chenghui and would never speak in agreement with the cabinet.

In response to this situation, Emperor Chenghui decisively asked: "Ning Qing, the left army was dispatched in a hurry, and the food and grass they brought are only enough for the entire army for ten days. When can the Ministry of Revenue transport the food and grass to Xuanhua?"

After Ning Ke was called, he had no choice but to stand up and answer: "Your Majesty, Tongzhou is already preparing carriages and horses. It will take about three days to prepare carriages and horses and manpower to transport the army's ten-day food and grass." Emperor Chenghui nodded and said nothing. He silently scanned every cabinet minister with his eyes. Wherever his eyes went, the ministers bowed their heads and dared not look at each other.

Emperor Chenghui then spoke: "Before Jia Qing sent out the troops, he said that in order to save time, the soldiers of the Shenji Camp should carry mainly ammunition, and only one day's worth of dry food. What Jia Qing did in Xuanhua should have taken the efficiency of the various departments in the capital into consideration. Jia Qing was worried about the soldiers having enough food at the front, but you are busy sabotaging them at the back. It would be fine if things happened a day earlier or later, but now it is wartime. I ask you all, can you ensure that the soldiers at the front will not go to war hungry?"

The cabinet officials wanted to reply that it was because no cabinet minister concurrently served as the Minister of Revenue that the transfer was not smooth. But they were more worried that once they said that, Emperor Chenghui would ask in return, "If you don't serve concurrently as the Minister, the cabinet officials will not be able to do their work? Then why set up a cabinet? Just let the ministers of each ministry form a cabinet."

Everyone knew that Emperor Chenghui was suppressing his anger. The severity of this incident was much more serious than the previous Li Ni rebellion on Xiaoda Eve.

The officials also heard a more heart-piercing subtext from the emperor. When the Li treason case involved so many civil and military officials, why didn't the cabinet know anything about it beforehand? Could it be that the officials in the cabinet knew about it beforehand, but just pretended not to know? After all, no matter success or failure, no matter who is the emperor, there must be someone in the cabinet, so even if the emperor is replaced and dismissed, they can get away with it.

There are many similar cases in history, where generals were fighting at the front while being impeached in the capital.

What determines the success or failure of a war is often not the orders given by the generals on the battlefield, but the orders given in the rear.

"No one is talking? Then I will continue. Minister Ning, prepare everything within one day. The day after tomorrow, the food and fodder needed by the left army for one month must be shipped. If you can't do it now, write your resignation and I will approve it immediately and replace you with someone else."

Emperor Chenghui's emotionless words put all the pressure on Ning Ke.

Ning Ke was no pushover, and immediately folded his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to grant me the right to execute those below the third rank first and report later!"

This sentence fully illustrates the difficult situation Ning Ke is facing.

Emperor Chenghui looked at Ning Ke and said calmly, "I grant you the Imperial Sword and send a team of Dragon Guards to assist you in your work."

"I accept your command and thank you!" Ning Ke knelt down on the spot and expressed his gratitude with great ceremony.

Emperor Chenghui then turned to the cabinet and said, "My dear ministers, please make way for the front line. If we win, all of you will have made contributions. If we lose, I will just defend the city myself."

What was not said was very clear: once the emperor personally went up to the city wall, the cabinet officials would know better and leave.

To be honest, the ministers in the cabinet were not used to it, because Emperor Chenghui was not of this style before. Judging from the fact that Ning Ke had been in line with the cabinet before, it was possible that he had not discussed the possibility of acting with the emperor in advance.

In other words, when the time came, the emperor stopped playing tricks and revealed his true colors of arbitrary decision-making!
At this point in the meeting, when they were about to announce the end, a eunuch rushed in, knelt down and kowtowed, and said loudly: "This servant deserves to die, it is extremely urgent, the Tongzhou granary has caught fire, and the loss is unknown."

With a loud bang, the chair fell to the ground. Prime Minister Kong Zhao stood up in shock and anger. With a clatter, the teacup fell on his official uniform. The Deputy Prime Minister Liang Daoyuan could not care less and stood up as well.

The rest of the ministers were either frightened or stunned!

The fire in the granary was possibly set by the granary officials themselves, or by spies who sneaked in and set the fire. Both possibilities are possible.

Emperor Chenghui was the first to regain his composure, and he spoke immediately: "Ning Ke, Lin Ruhai, the two ministers, go to Tongzhou immediately and control the situation as soon as possible. Prime Minister Kong, the cabinet will discuss and reach a specific plan as soon as possible to ensure the stability of grain prices in the capital. Li Ding (Prince Zhongshun), notify the Nine Gates Garrison and the Five Cities Military Department to impose martial law in the entire city. Qiu Shian, the Dragon Guard will cooperate with the Imperial Horse Supervisor to arrest anyone who spreads rumors to confuse the public and then try them later. In short, the capital cannot be in chaos, grain prices must be guaranteed to be stable, and any vendors hoarding grain will be regarded as treason."

(End of this chapter)