Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 377 Conflicting feelings
Jia Lian was not the only one who was angry. Emperor Chenghui was also very angry in recent days, and he couldn't sleep all night.

The new developments in Liaodong were consistent with Yue Qi's prediction. There was a fire in Tongzhou. While the Shenji Camp and the Xishan Camp were dispatched to Xuanhua to confront the enemy, the King of Dongping organized a drill.

In normal years, military drills are usually held in autumn, hence the term "autumn military drills".

It's May now, and the Prince of Dongping is holding a drill. Isn't the meaning clear? It's like a live-fire exercise, and the show can be transformed into actual combat at any time.

The journey was eight hundred miles in an emergency and a horse died. Emperor Chenghui has not slept well since he received the news.

The cabinet was in a meeting, with Emperor Chenghui in the middle. It looked like there were four cabinet ministers, two candidates, and one Zhongshun King. Faced with such a situation, no one said a word when asked.

Don't you want to show off? Of course not, I don't have the ability, right?
If anyone spoke nonsense at this moment and shamelessly copied the homework of "Pacifying Liaoning in Five Years", Yuan Chonghuan would stand up from the coffin and applaud in respect.

It is said that Chongzhen was impatient and killed ministers for no reason. It is hard to say about others, but Yuan Chonghuan's death was definitely not unjust.

It took five years to pacify Liao, which was a crime of deceiving the emperor. Killing Mao Wenlong without authorization was a small matter. The Ji-Liao defense line was looser than the belts of some female stars. When the Later Jin arrived at the city, he led his troops to provide support but did not dare to fight in the field and demanded to enter the city.

Not to mention Chongzhen, no matter who became the emperor, he would have been killed.

The ministers present all knew the character of Emperor Chenghui, so they naturally dared not speak carelessly. If they failed to fulfill their promise, they might not be sentenced to death, but they would be punished alive. Personal honor and disgrace were minor, but bringing trouble to the family was a major concern.

After two days of meetings, the Liaodong side still had nothing new to say about its countermeasures. It was still the same plan that Yue Qi had used before going to Xifengkou. It was uncertain whether Li Chi could calm the situation, so the Tongzhou camp could only stay in Luanzhou.

Xuanli, the general of Shanhaiguan, is a fence-sitter. This is the most helpless thing for the imperial court. What if the main force of the Tongzhou camp goes to Shanhaiguan, and Xuanli uses internal and external forces to cooperate?

"Your Majesty, as Prime Minister Li said in his letter, Xuanli's condition is still stable, so there is no need to worry too much!" Kong Zhao spoke first to calm the emperor's emotions as he did before.

Emperor Chenghui was used to hearing this kind of nonsense which was absolutely correct. He found it tolerable before, but now he found it particularly irritating.

Yue Qi went to Juyong and Guanxifengkou to take charge, and the shortcomings of the cabinet and its candidates, who had no military capabilities, were fully exposed.

Emperor Chenghui didn't say anything, but he once again felt the discomfort of Jia Lian's absence. He couldn't create any more trouble at this critical moment. He had to punish these cabinet ministers. They were not wrong, they just didn't understand military affairs.

[No, the cabinet cannot be without a minister who is proficient in military affairs. After this incident, the cabinet must have a balance between civil and military affairs. Li Chi is also a civil official, and his military attainments are not too deep.]

"Your Majesty, what Prime Minister Kong said is pertinent and prudent. The most urgent task is to urge the grain production and stabilize the grain prices and people's hearts in the capital." Liang Daoyuan also said something nonsense. He had to say this. At this stage, the entire cabinet is like a grasshopper on a rope. If one of them goes wrong, the others will be implicated.

Emperor Chenghui glanced at King Zhongshun. When he was collecting military honors, he was jumping up and down in private and worked very hard. Now facing this situation, there are not enough military generals in the military, and King Zhongshun should speak up.

The generation of King Zhongshun must have some knowledge of military affairs, but not much. If the people rebelled, he would dare to take action. The problem was facing King Dongping and the Dongping Iron Cavalry, the best iron cavalry in the world.

Facing this situation and this opponent, King Zhongshun really didn't dare to face him. He could only lower his head and dodge. He would rather be disliked by the emperor than lose his life.

"I have thought about it and found that Wang Ziteng is the only one who can be used in the current situation. I will order Wang Ziteng to return to the capital." Emperor Chenghui made the decision. There was no time to delay. It was all nonsense to say that distant water could not quench immediate thirst. If the Dongping Iron Cavalry broke through Shanhaiguan, Wang Ziteng could still lead troops to defend the king. There was always hope.

"Your Majesty, you absolutely cannot do this!" King Zhongshun suddenly became anxious and jumped up to stop it.

Emperor Chenghui's eyes turned cold instantly, and he stared at Prince Zhongshun without saying a word, meaning that if he didn't tell him something, he would have no chance of success.

King Chungshun stood up and then regretted his rashness. He couldn't say in front of all the cabinet ministers that cracking down on military merits and taking back military power was Your Majesty's established national policy, right?
"Your Majesty, Guangzhou is too far away. We won't be able to catch anything in the round trip." Prince Zhongshun found a suitable excuse, and Emperor Chenghui finally felt a little better, but he wasn't done yet.

"When the court is in danger, there is no one available. This is my fault!" Emperor Chenghui said this with great pain. It seemed that he was blaming himself, but in fact, not everyone could be included in the circle.

All the ministers could no longer sit still. They stood up one after another and said in unison: "I am guilty of not being able to share your worries!"

At this moment, Qiu Shian appeared at the door with a look of surprise on his face. He was in such a hurry that he tripped and fell to the ground, still shouting, "Saint, good news! Ouch!"

The young eunuch beside him hurried to help. Emperor Chenghui frowned and was very unhappy. Why was he making trouble at the critical moment?

Just as he was about to explode, he heard the words "good news". A hope rose in his heart, and he subconsciously stood up and asked, "Where is the good news?"

"The left army won a great victory and Zhangjiakou was liberated!" Qiu Shi'an, who was lying on the ground, did not bother to get up and tried to roar with his face up.

Emperor Chenghui was suddenly in a trance. Why did the lanterns not far away have double images? Was he dreaming? Jia Lian was facing 100,000 bandits, so how could he win a great victory?
Emperor Chenghui, who had not had a good rest for several days, felt dizzy and weak all over. He sat back with a thud. The eunuch beside him suddenly became anxious and screamed, "Saint!"

The cabinet ministers were also anxious: "Quickly call the imperial physician!"

Even though he couldn't open his eyes, Emperor Chenghui still clearly remembered that something terrible had happened. He couldn't sleep yet, but his eyelids just wouldn't open no matter what.

The imperial physician came out from behind the curtain, and the ministers focused their attention on him. Queen Zhou also stood up and looked at the imperial physician eagerly.

"Your Majesty is fine, he just tensed too long, and was too tired both physically and mentally. He fell asleep after relaxing." After the imperial physician spoke, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Queen Zhou said, "Reward! A big reward!" Then she walked behind the screen. Her steps were so fast that her long skirt seemed to be fluttering.

Seeing that the Queen went in to see the Emperor without even saying hello, the cabinet ministers looked unhappy and tried their best to hide their embarrassment.

Standing outside waiting, it was not right to leave, nor was it right to stay.

Fortunately, Qiu Shian came out after a while and said to the ministers with a smile: "The Queen has ordered that the ministers go and rest first."

The cabinet ministers received the order and left. After Kong Zhao arranged their shifts, they dispersed. No one went home, so they just found a place to sleep.

On a moonless night, the lights in the west wing of Mantou Temple were turned on. Under the solitary light, Zhen Huan's expression was bitter, ferocious, and gnashing of teeth.

Finally he stood up, sighed, blew out the light, and seemed to fall asleep.

After a long while, two figures, one in front and one behind, quietly left the west wing and went out of Mantou Temple through the back door.

In front of a land temple at the foot of the mountain, two slender figures met up with a group of men in black.

"It's impossible to do anything, just wait patiently for the next opportunity!"

After the explanation was completed, the two figures left immediately without stopping and disappeared into the darkness. [Next time, will there really be a next time? ]

When Emperor Chenghui woke up, he found the light dazzling. He closed and opened his eyes several times before he slowly got used to it.

His eyes were a little swollen, so he raised his hand to rub them. After seeing that there was no one in the room, he said, "Someone come!"

Queen Zhou came in quickly, with a look of surprise on her face: "The emperor is awake!"

Seeing the queen clearly, Emperor Chenghui felt warm in his heart and smiled: "Well, what time is it? What's wrong with me?"

"Your Majesty, please close your eyes and lie down first. Allow me to speak slowly." The gentle voice of Queen Zhou made Emperor Chenghui completely at ease. He leaned against the cushion and closed his eyes, feeling the comfort of the hot towel on his eyes.

"At dusk, the victory report of the Left Army was delivered to the capital. When the emperor heard the news, he fell asleep immediately. It was already five o'clock in the morning." Queen Zhou said it simply, but her meaning was very clear.

Emperor Chenghui knew it was not an illusion, and a smile appeared on his face, saying, "Read the victory report to me!"

Queen Zhou was well prepared. She took out the victory report and read it out in a leisurely tone.

Emperor Chenghui listened to it with great relief and could not help but get goose bumps all over his body. Although the report seemed simple, the emperor had been to the battlefield and knew what the situation was like.

How many people does Jia Lian have? Facing the main force of the bandits, even though they have divided their forces and do not have a hundred thousand men, they are still at an absolute disadvantage.

However, after learning that the granary in Tongzhou was on fire, he resolutely decided to launch an offensive and defeated the enemy head-on, winning the victory. He then pursued the enemy to Zhangjiakou, where the bandits were in internal strife. Jia Lian seized the opportunity to take a risk and eventually won a great victory and recovered Zhangjiakou.

"It looks simple in the report, but it is actually extremely difficult for the left army to fight continuously. Especially fighting at night is even more difficult. You must know that most of the lower-level soldiers in our army are blindfolded and fight with torches, so it is difficult to launch a surprise attack. Winning this battle is extremely risky. It's just that the traitor Li is not justified and cannot convince the people, so there is internal strife among the bandits." Emperor Chenghui seemed to be talking to Queen Zhou, but he was actually talking to himself.

Empress Zhou knew that the emperor was in a good mood, so she decisively made fun of him, making him even happier: "The false emperor is unpopular, and the bandits cannot unite, but they share the same interests. If it weren't for Jia Qing's thunderous attack that forced the bandits to retreat, how could there be internal strife among the bandits? If the emperor didn't mind Jia Qing's young age and boldly used him, how could there be a great victory in this battle?"

Emperor Chenghui knows that the Queen is flattering him, but it is pleasant to listen to. I like to listen to it. Please say more.

"Your Majesty, I am a concubine in the harem and cannot interfere in government affairs. However, I must say one thing: three people can make a tiger, and many mouths can melt gold."

Empress Zhou spoke very cryptically, but Emperor Chenghui heard it very clearly.

These words can be summed up in four words: "Emperor's Mindset".

The so-called "no reward for great merit" is looking at the problem from the perspective of a minister. From the perspective of the emperor, it is the emperor's mentality.

How does the saying go? If you can't repay a great favor, then just kill the benefactor.

Emperor Chenghui's joy was somewhat dampened by the queen's words, but he didn't care. To say this at this time was to show that husband and wife were one.

"The report said that more than 10,000 people were beheaded in total. Although the bandits were defeated in several battles, their main force is still intact. The battle is still far from over." Emperor Chenghui waved his hand, raised his hand to remove the towel and sat up.

"I'm hungry, get me something to eat."

Queen Zhou quickly sent someone to deliver the message, and soon a bowl of rice porridge was brought in, along with a few plates of pickles.

Emperor Chenghui was really hungry. He drank three bowls of rice in big gulps before stopping. "What a pity, there is only hot porridge! Not the delicious fish and meat I had imagined."

"The imperial physician has repeatedly told us that the emperor has not been eating well these days and should not eat too much oil."

"I know! The Queen has good intentions! Jia Lian has made new achievements, and there will definitely be ministers who will report and transfer Jia Lian back. These ministers are all well-intentioned. I hope Jia Lian can understand my painstaking efforts."

Empress Zhou understood the meaning of Emperor Chenghui's words very well. She smiled and gave him some advice in advance: "Jia Lian is less than 20 years old. If there is anything inappropriate, the emperor should tolerate it."

Emperor Chenghui nodded and stopped talking, and Empress Zhou also stopped talking! After the couple sat facing each other in silence for a while, Emperor Chenghui said, "The Empress has been tired all night, go back and rest."

Queen Zhou stood up and said goodbye. After all, Emperor Chenghui had a lot of things to do after dawn.

Emperor Chenghui, who was neatly dressed, looked in the mirror and saw himself regaining much energy after a good sleep. He saw a few white hairs conspicuous among his black hair and could not help but sigh.

Absolute power brings not only pleasure, but also pressure.

"Qiu Shi'an, go to the cabinet and take a look." Emperor Chenghui knew that at this critical moment, there must be someone on duty.

The lights in the cabinet have been on all night. Tonight is the shift of Kong Zhao and Liang Daoyuan. Liang Daoyuan is in charge in the first half of the night, and Kong Zhao is in charge in the second half.

I can only say that Kong Zhao did a good job in this regard. He took better care of his subordinates instead of letting them stay up all night while he went to sleep.

Kong Zhao was not idle in the second half of the night. After processing a pile of documents, he saw the dawn outside the window, so he got up to stretch his body, went out for a walk, and ran into the emperor who was walking towards him.

"Your Majesty!" Kong Zhao burst into tears and kowtowed deeply. Emperor Chenghui quickly signaled Qiu Shi'an to help him up and said, "Prime Minister Kong, there is no need to do this!"

Kong Zhao stood up, wiped his tears and said, "At that time, I was so confused that I almost lost my soul."

Although Emperor Chenghui was moved when he heard this, he was thinking of Lü Duan and Han Qi.

Thinking of his own style, Emperor Chenghui really couldn't blame Kong Zhao for anything. After all, he was chosen! You wanted a relatively weak Prime Minister like this.

Besides, there is no comparison between how much power the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty had and how much power the prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty had.

"Walk with me!" Emperor Chenghui called Kong Zhao to take a walk in the courtyard in the early morning. After the two ministers walked for a while, Emperor Chenghui stopped and looked back: "I intend to recall Jia Lian, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, we are facing a powerful enemy, please be cautious!" Kong Zhao rarely spoke the truth, he was frightened. The previous situation was too difficult, and for him, he was at his wit's end.

Emperor Chenghui was silent for a while before he said, "In fact, even if something happens in Liaodong, I can't blame you, my dear ministers."

This was a sentence full of self-reflection. Kong Zhao listened to it and said in a very serious tone: "Your Majesty, please do not have such thoughts. If I cannot share your worries, it means that I am incompetent!"

(End of this chapter)