Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 141 Qishida Tianting
Shenjing, the imperial city of the Great Zhou, Qianyang Palace.

Emperor Jiazhao was reading the memorial that Prince Ning had urgently submitted from Nanjing, eight hundred miles away.

Report on the progress of the Jinling Longtan Port case, including the various doubts and obstacles, and Fengyilang Jia Cong's analysis and deduction on the case.

Prince Ning was sent to Nanjing by the Emperor to assist in the Nanjing Longtan Port case. The Emperor did not ask him to do everything himself, but asked him, as a prince, to coordinate all parties and appoint people to positions.

Given Prince Ning's stance, he would naturally not conceal Jia Cong's contribution. As a prince, he should be able to plan the overall situation and know how to employ and judge people, which are the talents that his father values ​​most.

Emperor Jia Zhao had a gloomy face. Nanjing was the secondary capital of the Great Zhou, an important seat of state affairs, and half of the world's wealth. But now not only were the soldiers and generals weak, but there were also such treacherous and evil things happening. It was truly lawless!

There is also Jia Cong. I originally thought that he was well-educated and had a decent demeanor and a broad mind.

I didn't expect that not long after arriving in Nanjing, he showed his extraordinary talent again. At his age, he has a keen eye and a deep understanding of political affairs, which is really rare.

Reading further down the memorial, it stated that Jia Cong proposed using the three-stage firing method of the Rumi gun to restrain the Japanese pirates because the soldiers in Nanjing were weak and unable to fight the Japanese ronin head-on.

The memorial also gave a detailed account of Jia Cong's three-stage striking training method.

Several years ago, knowledgeable people wrote to the emperor about the sharpness of Western firearms, and proposed that due to ocean trade, Western firearms had flowed into the Great Zhou, posing hidden dangers, and that the circulation of firearms should be strictly controlled.

Therefore, Emperor Jia Zhao was not unfamiliar with firearms, and he was also aware that the firing interval of muskets was too long, which was a fatal drawback in actual combat.

Seeing the three-stage striking method proposed by Jia Cong and the detailed practice procedures, one can suddenly feel enlightened, as if seeing a world that has never been explored before.

Emperor Jia Zhao felt a surge of excitement and ecstasy in his heart. If this method was promoted and practiced, the muskets that used to be useless would be able to unleash astonishing power.

What King Ning saw in the three-stage attack was that the soldiers were too weak to fight head-on, so it was a compromise method to deal with the brave ronin.

But Emperor Jia Zhao was in the throne, he was well versed in state affairs, had a broad mind and a far-sighted vision, so what he extended from the three stages of attack was much more profound and far-reaching.

To him, the three-stage firing method of fire guns proposed by Jia Cong was indeed a good strategy for stabilizing the country and the security of the nation. The prospects that could be brought about by analogy were immeasurable.

Emperor Jia Zhao thought for a moment, then said to Guo Lin who was standing beside him, "Send the cabinet minister Cai Xiang, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, and Minister of War Gu Yankui to the palace to see you."

Not long after, the three ministers summoned by the emperor were led into the Qianyang Palace one after another by the eunuchs outside the palace.

When he was young, Cai Xiang, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, was a member of the two lists. He was known in the palace for his calligraphy and painting. He became famous because of the attention of the retired emperor. After decades of ups and downs in his official career, he gradually climbed to the position of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

There were rumors in the market that Cai Xiang had a vindictive habit. Over the years, anyone who disagreed with his political views or was a corrupt official would never have a good ending in his hands. He was known as a tyrant in the officialdom.

Although he was not the chief minister of the cabinet, but only one of the six ministers of the cabinet, he was a man of mature thinking, resourceful and decisive, and was regarded as an advisor and think tank by Emperor Jiazhao.

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding had the merit of supporting Emperor Conglong in the past, and was a trusted minister of Emperor Jiazhao in the army. He is currently serving as the commander-in-chief of the central army of the five military camps of the Beijing Army.

The Minister of War Gu Yankui is a veteran minister of three dynasties, over sixty years old. He served on the border for ten years when he was young. Now he has been in charge of the Ministry of War for many years. He is brave and resolute, and is highly valued by Emperor Jiazhao.

"Prince Ning has sent an urgent report from Nanjing, which has covered many important matters, so I have summoned you all to the palace for consultation."

After Emperor Jiazhao finished speaking, he waved to Guo Lin, who understood and handed the memorial from Prince Ning to several ministers for their reading.

Cai Xiang quickly read the memorial, his eyes flickering, and handed it to his two colleagues.

Gu Yankui was not interested in the matters concerning Longtan Port in the memorial and just glanced over it. However, when he saw the three-stage firing method of the Rumi gun, his eyes immediately lit up, his face showed excitement, and the silver beard under his chin trembled slightly.

Shi Ding was immersed in the military and had his own methods for training and strengthening the army. When he saw the three-stage attack method in the memorial, this veteran general immediately thought that if a three-stage attack musket team was established in the Fifth Army Camp, it would greatly enhance the combat effectiveness of the Fifth Army Camp.

I also saw that Jia Cong's name was mentioned many times throughout the memorial. The analysis of the Jinling Longtan Port case and the three-stage shooting method of the musket were all Jia Cong's words.

This young man from the Jia family won the first place in the Yongzhou Academy Examination, but was reported for his tainted background, which caused a lot of disturbance in the court.

Many court officials were frustrated or demoted because of this, and it was said that even the lucky governor of the Beijing camp was punished by the emperor. Finally, the emperor used this incident to turn the act of building a temple for his biological mother to rest in peace into a correct ritual.

He also specially granted the young man an eighth-rank official title and sent him to Nanjing to copy scriptures for Empress Dowager Xianxiao, which attracted attention from all walks of life in the court and the country.

It hasn't been long since he went to Jinling, but his report reached the emperor's ears so quickly.

It was amazing that he could come up with such a clever and adaptable method as the three-section attack. The Jia family must have produced an extraordinary person.

He remembered that a month ago his wife went to pay her aunt a birthday visit and came back telling her a long story, praising the young man's character and demeanor.

It was because he didn't have a daughter, otherwise, given his wife's attitude, she would probably have married that young man as her son-in-law.

……

Emperor Jiazhao asked, "Minister Cai, what advice do you have on the Longtan Port case in the memorial?"

Cai Xiang replied, “Your Majesty established the Maritime Customs Offices in Jinling, Ningbo, and Fuzhou several years ago to manage foreign maritime trade and bring wealth to the people. Now it has achieved results, and the coastal states are becoming increasingly prosperous due to maritime trade.

However, the whole world is bustling with people who are all seeking profit. I have often heard that officials in various government offices in Nanjing, taking advantage of the location close to the water, have led their families to participate in maritime trade to make profits.

There were countless officials in Jinling who became rich quickly through maritime trade. It became a trend for these people to purchase rare toys, gold and jade, and build high-walled mansions.

As a result, new private houses in Fenglefang in Jinling sprang up like mushrooms after a rain, and Fenglefang was jokingly called the Officials' Quarter.

In fact, the relatives of officials are also ordinary people. It is normal for them to participate in maritime trade to make profits, and there is nothing wrong with it.

However, if there are illegal officials, such as Wang En, who abuse their power, seize wealth through trickery in maritime trade, and exploit the people, they will be tarnishing Your Majesty's national policy of opening up the sea and enriching the people, and their crime is unforgivable.

As the Fengyilang said in the memorial, in the case of Longtan Port in Nanjing, the relevant officials have hidden doubts. Whether there is any abuse of power must be investigated thoroughly to avoid long-term accumulation of serious problems. "

Emperor Jia Zhao said: "What Minister Cai said is very much in line with my opinion. I will approve Prince Ning's request and send more officials from the Dali Temple to Nanjing to investigate the hidden truth as soon as possible. This is the first step.

In the Jinling Longtan Port case, dozens of Japanese wanderers were on the run, hiding in dangerous places and difficult to guard against. The main criminal in this case was actually killed in the Jinyiwei prison, and the situation was dire and unpredictable.

To be on the safe side, I have decided to temporarily grant Prince Ning the power to deploy the militiamen from Yangzhou and Gusu in case of emergency. This is the second point.

The specific regulations will be drafted by the Cabinet, the Dali Temple, and the Ministry of War. "

"Your servant Cai Xiang obeys your order."

"Marquis Zhongjing, I want you to select one hundred elite soldiers familiar with firearms from the five military camps, and then train them with the three-stage attack method proposed by Jia Cong. I will watch the results of the drill at the South Parade Ground in three days!"

Shi Ding was inspired. The emperor actually thought the same thing as he did. He answered loudly, "Your Majesty, I obey your order!"

Although the three-stage method proposed by Jia Cong was ingenious, the three-stage training formation was very simple. It only required selecting one hundred experts who were familiar with firing muskets, and three days of training would be enough to complete it.

Besides, it was just a rehearsal effect, not a real fight on the battlefield. He couldn't wait to verify how powerful the three-stage attack proposed by Jia Cong was.

Emperor Jia Zhao asked again: "Also, does Lord Gu have any Rumi guns in stock in his arsenal?"

Gu Yankui replied: "Your Majesty, last year the envoys of the Rumi Kingdom presented twenty high-quality Rumi guns, and in the past two years, the three customs offices have also confiscated many firearms brought into the country by foreigners.

As for the Rumi guns alone, there are now more than 200 of them, and every one of them is fully functional and fires normally."

"Okay! Go back today and select a hundred Lumi guns and hand them over to Marquis Zhongjing for use in practicing the three-stage firing."

(End of this chapter)