Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 170 Secret Drop
"Confer the title of Prince Teng to the rank of Doctor Guanglu, and leave the Imperial Envoy in the capital for now!" The Supreme Emperor sat up straight, considered for a moment, and made a decision.

Emperor Jingwen was very happy. This special promotion to the position of Guanglu doctor was called a first-grade official position, but the position was actually a casual rank and had no actual power.

It is said that Wang Ziteng was promoted from the second rank to the first rank, but in fact, the power in Wang Ziteng's hands was removed.

The Jiedu envoy in the Beijing camp is vacant. This is probably because the Supreme Emperor has not yet decided who will take over.

There is no doubt about the importance of this position. Because of the high stakes, candidates need to be considered and the forces of all parties must be balanced.

"How should Jia Qiang be rewarded?" Emperor Jingwen asked again.

"Jia Qiang has been promoted too quickly, so just give him the python suit, and we will discuss the rest after his patrol is over!" The Supreme Emperor thought for a moment and said.

Emperor Jingwen also knew that Jia Qiang had indeed risen too quickly, going from the second rank to the first rank all at once. Although he was a military attache, this span was more than ten years of hard work for others.

The python suit is a great honor and is also the highest-level gift given to Daqian.

The python pattern is very similar to the dragon pattern, the only difference is that the dragon has five claws and the python has four claws.

He turned around numbly and walked towards the house.

"You go down first!" Wang Ziteng waved his hand and said to Wang Zhi.

"That's Jia Qiang. Everyone in my Wang family has been taken away. Please ask my uncle to save my father!" Wang Zhi replied crying.

Wearing a python robe represents prosperity and wealth.

You can't blame Wang Zhi, what happened on the wall of Ji Town was not spread out.

It should be that Wang Ziyun committed some crime and fell into Jia Qiang's hands, so he was arrested by Jia Qiang.

"Uncle, I really don't know. I was outside the city when he was arrested. The news is just rumors!" He replied without daring to hide anything.

"I will write a letter to Jia Qiang and ask him to be accommodating!" Wang Ziteng thought for a while and said.

He himself changed into a ceremonial robe and went to receive the imperial edict.

The only possibility is that he was implicated. Wang Ziyun must have committed some major crime.

"You said Ziyun was arrested by Jia Qiang?" Wang Ziteng couldn't help but asked in shock after hearing Wang Zhi's words.

After the eunuch left, Wang Ziteng's hand holding the imperial edict turned white from too much force.

An important military officer like the Jingying Jiedushi cannot be stained, because the Jingying Jiedushi is related to the safety of the Supreme Emperor and Emperor Jingwen.

"What happened? Why are you like this?" Wang Ziteng stepped forward to help Wang Zhi up and asked with a frown.

"Do you know why you were arrested?" Wang Ziteng asked in a deep voice.

While walking, he saw Wang Zhi and thought of what Wang Zhi said.

"I don't know either!" Wang Zhi shook his head and replied.

Later, when he heard that his father Wang Ziyun had been arrested, he immediately left for the capital. He thought that only by finding Wang Ziyun could he save his father.

Those present at that time were Zhao Zongbing's people and Wang Ziyun's people. Wang Ziyun's people were all arrested, and it was impossible for Zhao Zongbing's people to leak the news. This kind of thing is very difficult for Jizhen. It's not a face-saving thing.

As soon as Wang Ziteng returned to Wang Ziteng's mansion, the housekeeper came over to report that it was Wang Ziyun's fourth son who had arrived.

He thought that Jia Qiang, as the commander-in-chief of the nine provinces, was ordered to patrol the border and strictly inspect the military towns on the nine borders.

After all, he is a clan brother. If he doesn't save him, I'm afraid many branches in the Wang clan will have objections.

And he lost the second-rank official position of the Jingying Jiedu Envoy. Even though he was only a second-rank official, it was an extremely important official position in the capital.

Wang Zhi cried and told his story. On that day, Ji Town arrested Wang Ziyun's cronies and family members. He happened to be out of town on business and was not at home.

"What on earth did Wang Ziyun do?" he asked loudly.

Considering that he has always been cautious and has never exposed any evidence, how could he be abandoned by the Supreme Emperor?

He did not dare to contact the government, so he did not stay at the inn. He was defrauded of money on the way, and finally reached the capital with great difficulty.

Specially promoted to the Guanglu Doctor level, this kind of first-grade casual rank is usually given to honorable veterans.

Wang Ziteng met Wang Zhiyun's fourth son Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi knelt down and burst into tears as soon as he saw Wang Ziteng.

He was promoted, but he didn't feel happy at all.

This kind of conferral also shows that although Jia Qiang's merits are high, he has not yet met the conditions for his promotion to the rank of nobility, so the conferral becomes a transitional reward.

Unexpectedly, Wang Ziyun fell first before he took action.

Thinking of this, Wang Ziteng walked up to Wang Zhi and kicked Wang Zhi down.

He was also angry in his heart. Jia Qiang didn't give any face to Wang Ziyun. Even if Wang Ziyun committed any crime in Jia Qiang's hands, Jia Qiang would at least consider his face and contact him first before making a decision.

Wang Zhi was a little stunned by this kick, and when he came back to his senses, he still couldn't believe it.

However, no matter how unhappy he was, he still received the saint's thanks respectfully and presented money to the eunuch.

The python suit is usually only given to high-ranking ministers, princes and other vassals, but Jia Qiang is already a first-class military attache, so it is reasonable to give the python suit.

"You guys are killing me!" Wang Ziteng slumped to the ground and muttered.

"The imperial edict has arrived!" Just as Wang Zhi was kowtowing in thanks, a voice came from outside.

Although Wang Ziyun is a branch of the Wang family, he has a close relationship with him. He is trying to find a way for Wang Ziyun to go one step further and control a military town.

The eunuch who issued the edict read the imperial edict. Wang Ziteng knelt down, but his heart was filled with ice.

A few days later, Wang Ziyun, his family, some close associates, and twenty-two guilty military attachés were escorted back to Beijing.

Only then did Wang Ziteng know what Wang Ziyun had committed, and he was so angry that he almost killed Wang Zhi with a sword.

Jia Qiang did not expect that Wang Ziteng lost power.

He was still waiting in Ji Town, watching the time pass day by day, getting closer and closer to the ninth day of March, which was the day of the test.

The intelligence returned by the detective horse had reached three hundred miles away, and no trace of the Tatar army was found.

At the end of February, Jia Qiang greeted eunuch Zhang Yi at the gate of the house.

"Congratulations to Marquis Jia. The Supreme Emperor and His Majesty have decreed to reward you. Please accept the decree from Marquis Jia!" Eunuch Zhang Yi said with a smile.

Jia Qiang quickly knelt down and eunuch Zhang Yi read out the imperial edict.

The imperial edict praised Jia Qiang for his bravery, but to his disappointment, he was only rewarded with a uniform.

But when he took the gift from Eunuch Zhang Yi, he saw the four-clawed python on the gift.

Although the four-clawed walking python is not as good as the four-clawed sitting python, this is also the top-level gift after the dragon robe, except for the four-clawed sitting python.

"Zhang Zhangyin, thank you for your hard work. Please run around!" Jia Qiang thanked Eunuch Zhang Yi. "It's not hard to do things for the Supreme Emperor and the Holy One! Since the founding of Da Qian, the number of python suits given by Da Qian is less than twenty. Such an honor is a great blessing from the Holy One!" Eunuch Zhang Yi said with a smile.

Jia Qiang was also admiring the python costumes. He had seen people wearing python costumes, only a few princes, but he had not seen anyone else.

From what Eunuch Zhang Yi said, this python suit was more precious than he imagined.

He sealed a thousand taels of silver notes to eunuch Zhang Yi, and asked people to entertain eunuch Zhang Yi well.

Eunuch Zhang Yi did not stay long, mainly because this Ji Town turned into a war zone at some point.

Jia Qiang put on the python suit. When he met Mr. Zhao, Mr. Zhao could hardly move his eyes away from the python suit.

"Congratulations to Mr. Jia, congratulations to Mr. Jia, such an honor is rare!" General Zhao said excitedly.

He was even more excited than when he got the python suit. He knew that he had made the right choice.

This is the first time that General Zhao has seen such a holy grace. Most importantly, a reward of this level requires the Supreme Emperor's approval.

From this point of view, Jia Qiang is also favored by the Supreme Emperor.

Although Jia Qiang has lived in the world of Red Mansions for several years, he cannot feel the shock of wearing a python suit to Da Gan people.

The python suit and the dragon robe are very similar. What an honor it must be to be able to wear similar clothes to the emperor.

That night, Jia Qiang was invited to the General Military Mansion to attend a banquet. This banquet was hosted by General Zhao for him.

When Jia Qiang, who was wearing a python suit, walked in, the military attachés who were making loud noises all stopped talking. They looked at the python suit on Jia Qiang's body with awe.

General Zhao had a look of pride on his face. His decision to join Jia Qiang made many of his military attachés complain. The main reason was that Jia Qiang was too young and the governor of the nine provinces was also a temporary official.

What Jia Qiang really wanted to take advantage of was the title of Chaopin Marquis.

But Chaopin Marquis is more of a status symbol than real power. If you want to protect General Zhao, you need to control the real power in the military.

General Zhao took the opportunity of this banquet to let his subordinates see Jia Qiang's majesty.

This banquet made General Zhao's men feel at ease and accepted the fact that General Zhao had taken refuge in Jia Qiang.

General Zhao's defection meant that all his subordinates who followed him also defected to Jia Qiang. As for military attaches with other backgrounds like Wang Ziyun, they were not included in General Zhao's invitation.

Jia Qiang studied and practiced every day in Jizhen and had nothing else to do.

On this day, he thought that Heishan Village seemed to be near Ji Town. Going to Heishan Village would not be considered leaving the border, and it would also be a good opportunity to see his own village.

He found Mr. Zhao and explained everything.

General Zhao asked Xu Qianhu to accompany Jia Qiang with a hundred cavalry, not to protect Jia Qiang, but because Xu Qianhu knew the neighborhood better and could help Jia Qiang take the wrong path.

A group of people were riding horses. Jia Qiang was wearing a python suit. On the left and right were Jia Jingang and Jia Wei. In addition to Xu Qianhu's hundred cavalry, there were also Jia Qiang's two hundred warriors.

"This is black soil. It seems to be a good field for growing crops!" Jia Qiang looked at the fields on the roadside and said with a smile.

"Sir, if it weren't for the fact that the crops here grow once a year and are close to the grassland, so they are easily intruded by the grassland, the fields here would probably be even better than the fertile fields in the south of the Yangtze River!" Xu Qianhu replied with emotion.

"Do you know anything about Black Mountain Village?" Jia Qiang asked casually.

Xu Qianhu thought for a while, then called a cavalryman behind him, lowered his head and asked.

"Sir, I heard that all the fields in Heishan Village belong to the Wu family, and the Wu family is a famous local wealthy family!" Xu Qianhu then answered Jia Qiang's question.

"You said the fields in Heishan Village belong to the Wu family?" Jia Qiang frowned and asked.

Heishan Village originally belonged to Ningguo Mansion, but after Ningguo Mansion was sealed off, Ningguo Mansion and all its properties were rewarded to Jia Qiang.

Zhuangzi from Heishan Village is also one of them, and this Zhuangtou went to Jiahou Mansion to send New Year gifts a few years ago.

"Yes, the sergeant just now is from the village next to Heishan Village. He knows the situation in Heishan Village very well!" Xu Qianhu replied affirmatively.

"It's interesting that he actually regards my fields as his own. It seems that he doesn't take me seriously!" Jia Qiang shook her head and laughed.

"Heishan Village is your property?" Xu Qianhu finally understood and said in surprise.

Then he became furious. This was the boundary of Ji Town, and someone dared to take advantage of Jia Qiang's industry.

Unexpectedly, even General Zhao had taken refuge in Jia Qiang, and Xu Qianhu himself regarded Jia Qiang as his backer.

"Sir, I will take people to ransack the Wu family's home right now. You will not suffer any losses!" Xu Qianhu bowed and said.

"Go and check the situation first!" Jia Qiang said with a smile and waved her hand.

"Sir, if we go like this, we may not be able to see the real situation!" Xu Qianhu said, pointing to his own armor and the python suit on Jia Qiang's body.

"You're right. Then let's change our clothes so we don't have to bring so many people with us. Let them stay outside the village!" Jia Qiang nodded in agreement.

Jia Qiang put on a Confucian shirt, and he carried a lot of things in his inventory.

As for Xu Qianhu, he took off his armor, leaving only the silk warrior uniform underneath, looking like the guard of the scholar Jia Qiang.

The two of them walked slowly toward Heishan Village without riding horses.

"Are the villagers in this village so poor?" Jia Qiang looked at the villagers working in the fields and said in a deep voice.

Even if ordinary villagers are poor, they are not like the villagers here. Their clothes are in tatters and their faces are extremely ugly. It is more credible to say that they are farmers than beggars.

The houses I saw along the way were all extremely simple and could barely provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Jia Qiang knew how the Jia family treated their servants in the past. The Jia family's servants all lived well. Although this place was far away from the Jia family, it was considered the Jia family's servants before Jia Qiang took over.

From a distance, Jia Qiang saw a luxurious house with a red door, high walls, and green bricks and tiles.

There is a plaque above the gate, which reads "Wufu", which is very impressive.

Jia Qiang couldn't help but laugh angrily. This was the Zhuangzi of Jiahou Mansion. This kind of building was usually specially prepared for the master.

Just like when he went to live in Zhuangzi on the outskirts of Beijing, the best house in that Zhuangzi was his residence.

This kind of house belongs to the master, and servants cannot live in it. The house must be maintained well.

Look here, there is a plaque with the name "Wufu" on the house. This means that Jiahou Mansion is not taken seriously at all.

Probably because the sky is high and the emperor is far away, the Wu family doesn't believe that anyone from Jiahou Mansion would come so far to check.

Even if we send people over, we can solve the problem with a little effort. If we can't, it's not a big deal if a lot of people die here at the border.

"Are you outsiders?" Just as Jia Qiang and Xu Qianhu were looking at Wu Mansion, a scholar also wearing a Confucian shirt walked up and asked.

"Yes, I am asking for a drink of water when I come here!" Jia Qiang replied with a smile.

"Seeing that you are also a scholar, take my advice and leave here as soon as possible!" The scholar looked around and said softly when he found no one was there.

(End of this chapter)