Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 407: I can’t win, I really can’t win

As Xuan Li walked out of the mansion, he was dumbfounded. The streets were under martial law. Outside the mansion gate, a team of soldiers from the Shenji Camp were lined up in silence, but they were not ready to attack until they received the order.

What on earth was going on? Xuan Li looked at Li Chi in despair, hoping to get an answer.

Li Chi remained silent. Xuan Li asked, "Where is Commander Jia? Has Prime Minister Li met him?"

Li Chi shook his head: "I haven't seen it. I asked the people in the Shenji Camp and asked me to wait patiently."

Xuan Li, who had no answer, returned to the mansion with dull eyes and weak steps, and sat blankly in the middle hall. He was knowledgeable about military affairs, and could guess that the Shenji Camp had launched an overnight raid.

Most armies of this era could not carry out a night raid without causing trouble. They might have lost half of their troops by the time they reached the destination.

Even if the night raid was successfully completed, facing the tall city walls, the attacking army could only stare at the walls helplessly, which meant that there were people inside the city to provide support.

The actual situation was not much different. After the announcement of the end of the autumn drill, the people in the observation group set off to return. Jia Lian ordered the Tongzhou camp to stay in place to clean up the "battlefield", and the main force of the Shenji Camp marched lightly and headed straight for Shanhaiguan. Before dusk, they advanced to within 40 miles of Shanhaiguan and ordered to rest. After nightfall, they marched 40 miles to the city, which was exactly midnight. The generals guarding the city saw the torches under the city and learned that it was the Shenji Camp who came. They had no intention of resisting and ordered the city gates to be opened.

Afterwards, the Shenji Camp entered the city and took over the city defense. They took Jia Lian's order and required all troops to stay in the camp and wait. Those who disobeyed would be charged with treason.

In a dynasty, whether military orders can be executed by generals fully demonstrates whether the will of the ruler can be implemented.

Xuanli thought he had a chance to curry favor with someone. Not to mention being granted the title of Duke, a marquisate of the second highest rank would also be good.

However, he did not expect that his influence on the troops under his command was not as profound as he imagined.

After watching the autumn military exercises, even his confidants lost the idea of ​​opposing the imperial court.

This is what is called a righteous cause. In this era, having a righteous cause and the imperial will is called having a legitimate reason and being able to command the local areas.

Therefore, the vanguard of the Shenji Camp took the imperial order and ordered the night watchman to immediately open the door and let the people in, instead of informing Xuanli and letting him make the decision.

If someone really does this, they would probably be stupid enough to die.

Li Chi returned to his residence and waited patiently for Jia Lian's arrival.

At noon, Jia Lian appeared outside the garrison gate and asked the team officer about the situation. The team officer replied that there was nothing.

Jia Lian nodded, looked at the closed door, and sent someone to knock on the door.

After a while, the gate of the garrison opened. Jia Lian stood outside the gate and looked inside. There were people kneeling on the ground. The leader was Xuan Li, who was wearing a plain robe and spoke in a trembling voice: "I am the guilty general Xuan Li, respectfully welcoming the imperial envoy."

Jia Lian did not enter immediately, but waited for two rows of servants to enter first. After making sure that no one could suddenly attack him, Jia Lian stepped inside.

To outsiders, this is Jia Lian’s style!

Jia Lian walked in and glanced at the people kneeling on the ground, and asked calmly, "Who is buried here?"

Xuan Li still trembled as he answered, "All the men in the family are here!"

Jia Lian took another closer look and saw that all the men were there, including children of five or six years old, kneeling on the ground. There was no woman at all, and it seemed that Xuan Li was still trying his best to save his dignity.

If Jia Lian did not leave him a bit of face and sent people to arrest all the women and children in the mansion, it would not be impossible. However, doing so would be seen as a deliberate humiliation by the people below, which would not look good.

"I, the governor, still say the same thing. It is not my turn to deal with the crime of Xuan Zhenshou. Pack up and go to the capital with your family tomorrow. I will arrange for someone to ensure your safety all the way to the capital to apologize to His Majesty."

After hearing these words, Xuanli felt completely relieved. The taut string loosened and he collapsed to the ground.

Jia Lian said to the kneeling people: "Fuxuan will guard on. After all, he is a second-rank official of the court. He must be respectful in the end."

Xuanli was helped up by his two sons. After thanking Jia Lian, they all returned to the backyard, packed their luggage, and waited for departure tomorrow.

What he was most worried about was that Jia Lian would order the troops to open fire on the grounds that Xuanli had violated military orders, just like what happened under the city of Datong.

If Jia Lian doesn't do this now, Xuanli's family can still be saved, and returning to the capital can be considered as surrendering. The so-called "obeying orders but not announcements" is a semi-rebellious state, which is a serious crime.

Speaking of which, Xuanli had been in Liaodong for a long time and lacked sufficient understanding of the specific situation of the court, so he had the idea of ​​threatening the court. Now he really regrets it.

After Xuan Li left, Jia Lian did not leave immediately, but asked: "Where is Prime Minister Li? Let me go to see him!"

Again, whether it was Xuanli or Li Chi, even if they were guilty, Jia Lian could not punish them. Before the imperial edict came down, Jia Lian had to respect them.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuanli came out from behind the west door and clasped his hands towards Jia Lian, saying, "General Jia has received an imperial decree, so it is only right that I, Li, should go out to greet him."

Jia Lian stopped and accepted the salute, then returned the salute: "I am doing my duty at the order of the Emperor. I am sorry for being rude!" This was Jia Lian's personal return salute. He had accepted the salute before, representing the Emperor.

"Please!" Li Chi gestured, and Jia Lian took a step forward. The two entered the west wing. Jia Lian sat down first in the hall, and Li Chi sat down with his hands folded. "May I ask, Commander Jia, what is the will of His Majesty?"

Jia Lian bowed slightly and said, "This is about Prime Minister Li. His Majesty has no order. Prime Minister Li can decide whether to stay or leave. I am only here to take over the temporary defense."

Li Chi fell silent after hearing this. Could it be that I, a cabinet minister, have really been forgotten by His Majesty?
"In that case, Li will not return to Beijing for the time being and will immediately report to His Majesty for orders." Li Chi really didn't dare to leave. He came here with a mission. Even if he completed the mission, he didn't dare to return immediately. He had to wait for orders.

"I will stay in the military camp temporarily. If you have anything to do, please come and see me." Jia Lian did not stay any longer and stood up to say goodbye. Since he wanted to save Xuan Li's face, he should do it in a nice way.

They only left a team of soldiers to guard the gate, and no further action was taken. Even the servants of the garrison were not stopped from going in and out to buy things.

There was a prefectural office in Shanhaiguan, but the previous prefect was a coward. When the Prince of Dongping was training outside the pass, he was frightened and died suddenly within a few days. The court sent Li Chi here, but the prefect had not yet been replaced.

Li Chi was supposed to be in the prefectural government office, but he lived in the garrison. It was not because he was under house arrest, but because of his strategy. As a cabinet minister, I lived in the garrison. If you want to rebel, you can kill me first. It depends on whether you, Xuanli, have the courage. At the same time, it also tells Xuanli that the court has no intention of arresting you.

Jia Lian took over the city defense but did not deal with Xuan Li, which was actually in line with this strategy. Dealing with Xuan Li was to set an example for the world. This was also the emperor's intention.

As long as you don't openly raise the flag of rebellion, there is room for maneuver.

Jia Lian entered the prefectural government office and issued an order, asking all the generals under the garrison to obey his orders.

Thirteen deputy generals and lieutenant generals under the garrison arrived in an orderly manner, waiting to be dispatched. Jia Lian ordered all the generals to check the number of their subordinates and report the truth. Jia Lian would come to check it in person in the future. He also said that in the future, as long as the number of subordinates under each department did not exceed the establishment, the salary would be paid in full.

What this means is that drawing a salary without doing anything is now a thing of the past!

There was a commotion among the generals, and one of them was brave enough to ask, "May I ask, Commander-in-Chief, what is the calculation of drifting?"

Jia Lian glanced at the man and nodded, "That's a good question. If the Ministry of Revenue has allocated funds, and any of them are lost, go find me and I will help you get them back. If you are short of even one ounce of silver, this governor will make up for it."

The words have been put here. It is up to the people to believe it or not, but if someone really disobeys Jia Lian's orders, Jia Lian has the right to kill people.

Just after he had dealt with the affairs of the various generals, someone from the garrison came to ask Jia Lian to have a chat. The person said, "Xuan, the garrison commander, is a guilty minister and dares not leave the garrison without permission. I'd like to trouble the governor to come over and see him."

Jia Lian agreed and arrived at the garrison before dark. A banquet was prepared, Xuanli accompanied him, and his two legitimate sons served him.

Jia Lian was not in a hurry to sit down, but asked first: "Is this a private banquet, or a reception for the governor?"

Xuan Li was dressed in casual clothes and forced a smile, "Xuan Li is a guilty person, so it's naturally a private banquet."

Jia Lian then nodded and said, "Okay, Jia Lian will eat this banquet!"

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Xuan Li was overjoyed, and immediately asked Jia Lian to sit down. He drank three cups as punishment, and then offered Jia Lian a cup. After putting down the cup, he spoke again: "Xuan Li was able to take on the post of garrison commander thanks to the support of Lord Daishan. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to first toast Lord Daishan, and then to the governor for remembering our friendship in the past."

Jia Lian actually knew that if it wasn't for his status, Xuan Li's resistance would be very fierce. If that happened, it might be out of control.

All we can say is that Emperor Chenghui had the ability to judge people and knew Xuanli's personality, so he sent Jia Lian, the right person.

As for Jia Daishan's affection, it had actually faded and there wasn't much left. After this incident, it was probably used up completely.

This may not be Xuanli's fault. After all, the Jia family has two lively characters, Jia She and Jia Zhen. In addition, the manor outside the Great Wall was able to be preserved after Jia Daishan's death, which consumed a lot of affection.

Later, Jia Zhen was still thinking about the Liaodong merchant caravan, that is, competing with others for interests, and it was good enough that he didn't break up with them.

Jia Lian raised his wine glass and said, "Jia Lian is here to show his gratitude to our ancestors!" After finishing the glass, Jia Lian stood up and folded his hands, "Goodbye!"

Xuanli was somewhat disappointed, or perhaps it was just wishful thinking. Jia Lian did not take advantage of the situation, and he had already used up the last bit of affection between the two families. It would be better to forget about talking about affection in the future.

After seeing Jia Lian off, Xuan Li stood in front of the screen in a daze. After a long time, he turned around and went back, looking lonely.

When Li Chi appeared and stepped forward to greet him, Li Chi sighed and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "What a pity!"

Xuan Li understood what he meant, knowing that the last bit of affection was being used here, and nodded: "Prime Minister Li is right, it is indeed a pity. For the lives of the whole family, the chastity of women and children, it is worth it!"

Li Chi was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "It is indeed worth it! In fact, it is fortunate that it is Jia Lian who came! If it were another member of the Jia family, they might not recognize you."

Xuan Li shook his head and said with a hint of disdain, "Apart from Jia Lian, are there any other people in the Jia family?"

Li Chi was stunned again. Yes, he burst out laughing and shook his head repeatedly.

The next morning, Jia Lian sent 500 cavalrymen to the garrison, and Xuanli and his family went to the capital in more than 50 carts.

In the capital, the urgent memorial of 800 miles arrived at the Qianqing Palace that day. After receiving the urgent report, Emperor Chenghui laughed out loud: "Jia Qing has never let me down!"

After saying this, he immediately sent someone to call the cabinet to a public meeting and work overtime in the evening.

After reading Jia Lian's urgent report and then Li Chi's report, the cabinet ministers immediately had a heated discussion on the future arrangements for Shanhaiguan.

What was the reason? It was simple. The position of prefect of Shanhaiguan was a lucrative one, and the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan would try to appoint a military commander who had a good relationship with him.

Shanhaiguan connects to the outside of the pass, and Liaodong is full of treasures, such as ginseng, pearls, and furs. If these three are transported to the capital, the profit can start at three times.

In the past, the King of Dongping was entrenched outside the Great Wall and guarding Shanhaiguan at the same time, and no one dared to think about the benefits involved.

Now the situation has changed. Shanhaiguan belongs to the imperial court. No matter how good the goods from Liaodong are, they are useless once they pass through the customs. We can buy them at a very low price and transport them back to the capital to make a lot of money.

As for smuggling, the Shanhaiguan garrison has a small navy under its command that is dedicated to investigating smuggling.

The four cabinet ministers put forward their own candidates for the two main positions, mainly competing for the position of prefect and garrison commander. The cabinet had a very unified opinion, and the garrison commander of Jiayuguan was Liu Fang. This person first studied literature, passed the imperial examination, and then failed the exam. At that time, there was a war in the northwest. He was good at writing and performed well in the army. He accumulated merits and was promoted to garrison commander, and was known as a Confucian general.

Of course, the value of the Juren in the northwest is another matter. A military general who is a Juren is naturally closer to the civil service group.

Emperor Chenghui did not express his opinion or nominate anyone until the cabinet ministers discussed and recommended Liu Fang as the garrison commander, and Emperor Chenghui expressed his approval. However, Emperor Chenghui rejected all four candidates for the prefectural governor and instead proposed another name, Jia Yucun, the prefect of Yunyang.

(I didn’t appear in so many chapters. Jia Yucun was in tears. I was also a supporting character with a lot of scenes.)
When the four cabinet ministers heard this, they said nothing and repeatedly expressed that Your Majesty was wise. Was this promoting Jia Yucun? Was this a reward for Jia Lian!
Thinking about the fact that Jia Lian would make a lot of money from the Liaodong trade in the future, all the ministers were in a bad mood, mainly because his family would probably make a fuss when he returned home.

How should I put it? I can’t win the fight. I really can’t win the fight.

Not to mention this time, all the credit owed to Jia Lian in the past was rewarded, and that was only for Jia Lian. If it were any other minister, he would have gone to beat the drum to appeal for justice long ago.

After the cabinet meeting, the relevant personnel arrangements were immediately written down and sent to the relevant persons.

After the meeting, Emperor Chenghui specially called Ning Ke to ask him, "Has the salary for the Tongzhou camp been paid in full? Is there much missing?"

Ning Ke was sweating profusely after hearing this, and he knelt down quickly and said, "Your Majesty, the salary for the Tongzhou camp has been paid, but 20% is missing. It's not that I don't want to take care of it, but..."

Emperor Chenghui waved his hand and said, "Alright, I know everything. If the three major camps in the capital are like this, you can imagine what the border troops are like."

As he spoke, he took out a secret memorial from Jia Lian and handed it to Ning Ke: "Take a look. After reading it, go back and think carefully about this question. How can a group of people who live and work in peace and contentment in the capital have the nerve to suck the blood of soldiers guarding the border." Ning Ke took it, read it carefully, and after reading it, he returned it with both hands, with a twisted look on his face.

Doesn't he want to manage it? He can't manage it! From the Shangshu to the warehouse manager, so many people are taking money from this line.

(End of this chapter)