I'm in the Red Mansion

Niu Jizong sent troops to fight twice, but was defeated by the Qing Dynasty both times and suffered heavy losses.

News of these two defeats soon spread back to the capital, causing an uproar in the court and among the people.

The common people became more and more frightened.

In the court, conservatives regained the upper hand and demanded the resumption of peace talks.

At this time, the pro-war faction of Kou Xiang's faction was firmly opposed.

Kou Xiang believed that even if peace talks were to take place, it would have to happen after Daxia won a victory.

If peace talks were brought up again at this time, the Qing Dynasty would inevitably open its mouth and make even more excessive demands.

In this way, what is lost at the negotiating table will only be more than what is lost on the battlefield.

However, Prime Minister Qin believed that all this was the bitter fruit caused by Prime Minister Kou and other pro-war factions.

If Daxia had agreed to cede Daizhou at the beginning, the two countries would have signed a ceasefire agreement by now. Why would it have come to this?
If we don't negotiate and stop the losses in time now, I'm afraid things will become even more difficult in the future.

The two factions of officials were engaged in a heated argument and could not reach a consensus.

At this time, even Emperor Yonglong began to hesitate.

At this time, Daxia Monthly published another supplement.

This supplement is a supplement in response to the Qing invasion.

This time, the supplement was not free, but its sales were still slightly higher than the fourth issue of the main publication.

Almost all the articles in this supplement were written by Jia Cong.

After all, this supplement was about the invasion of the Qing Dynasty. The ladies in the Grand View Garden had never witnessed the war with their own eyes, so they naturally could not write shocking articles.

Well, actually Jia Cong had never seen it with his own eyes, but he had seen too many such articles in later generations.

There are simply too many articles to learn from.

Based on his memory, Jia Cong casually modified the articles written by later generations that described the numerous evil deeds committed by Xiao Ri, and then published them directly.

All the people who read these articles were furious and filled with indignation, and they wished they could eat the flesh and drink the blood of these animals.

The last article was the one that Jia Cong wrote with the most care.

This article first excerpts Su Xun's Six Kingdoms Theory.

The problem with the six states was that they bribed Qin.

Qin is a tiger and a wolf. How could it be satisfied just because you cede three cities today and five cities tomorrow?
Eventually, the six countries were annexed one by one.

Cutting flesh to feed a tiger is tantamount to trying to get its skin from the tiger, and can only lead to chronic suicide.

Then Jia Cong cited the example of the Song Dynasty.

Facing the attacks of the Mongolian cavalry, the Song Dynasty was tolerant in every way, but was eventually destroyed by the Mongols, and then the Yuan Dynasty was established in the Central Plains.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the people in the Central Plains were only the fourth class at the bottom of the society.

A first-class Mongolian killing a fourth-class southerner would not violate the law.

The southerners were treated almost like pigs and dogs under foreign rule.

Moreover, when Mongolia attacked the Southern Song Dynasty, it often massacred cities and committed numerous atrocities.

Today, the Manchu barbarians are even more tyrannical and cruel than those of the Yuan Dynasty.

If the Qing Dynasty really attacked, how many people in Daxia would suffer tragically?
Even if you survive by chance, you will inevitably become a pig or a dog.

Our descendants have been oppressed and exploited for generations.

As for high-ranking officials in the court, they only needed to change their allegiance in time and they could continue to serve in the new dynasty.

There were more than one hundred military and civil officials of the Southern Song Dynasty who surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty and whose names are recorded in history.

They can still hold high positions and continue to enjoy wealth and glory.

Nowadays, most of the senior officials in the court are in favor of peace. Don’t these knowledgeable old officials understand this truth?

After reading this article, the people of Beijing became even more furious.

No wonder so many officials in the court wanted to negotiate peace.

It turned out that they were afraid and had never thought about coexisting and dying with Daxia, nor had they ever thought about fighting a decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty.

If the Qing Dynasty really attacked, they could turn around and surrender to the new masters, continue to serve as their officials, and enjoy wealth and glory.

And in the end, it is the common people like them who suffer!

Therefore, after reading this article, the people wherever the Daxia Monthly News reached cursed Qin Xiang and other officials.

On that day, in the imperial palace, Emperor Yonglong also saw the supplement of the Daxia Monthly Newspaper that was published that day.

After Emperor Yonglong finished reading the last article, he put down the newspaper in his hand and couldn't help but laugh at himself: "I didn't expect that I can't see it as clearly as a young man."

"All officials in the court have a way out, but as the ruler of a country, I definitely have no way out!"

The conservatives led by Prime Minister Qin, after returning home, read the newspapers and heard the news that almost all the people were calling them traitors. They were so angry that they almost vomited blood.

Jia Cong, this young boy, is really going too far!
They actually put the blame of treason on them!

This made them extremely angry and at the same time terrified.

The truth is, everything Jia Cong said in his article is true!
They had thought that if the Qing Dynasty really attacked and Daxia could not resist, they would simply change allegiance and become officials of the Qing Dynasty.

Now that their thoughts have been directly exposed, how can they not be angry and embarrassed?
So, the next day, countless impeachment memorials flew into the cabinet like snowflakes.

Soon, he was sent before Emperor Yonglong.

After seeing these memorials, Emperor Yonglong couldn't help but reveal a sneer on his face.

During the morning court session the next day, Emperor Yonglong summoned Jia Cong to the palace to defend himself.

Generally speaking, after an official was impeached, he would be summoned into the palace and given a chance to defend himself.

In fact, Emperor Yonglong could have simply kept the memorials impeaching Jia Cong and suppressed the matter.

The reason why he summoned Jia Cong into the palace to defend himself was that Emperor Yonglong discovered that this young man was extremely courageous.

Some things that he is not convenient to say and cannot say can be said through this young man's mouth.

In Ningguo Mansion, after Jia Cong received the imperial edict, there was no surprise on his face.

Jia Cong had anticipated this day would come as early as when he was writing articles and publishing supplements.

As soon as this article came out, Jia Cong offended all the surrender factions headed by Qin Xiang.

This is not a wise move.

However, now that war is about to break out, the most important thing is to hold military power.

Whether or not to offend these capitulationists is secondary.

This time, the emperor summoned him into the palace to defend himself, which was also a good opportunity for Jia Cong to join the army.

Everything is under control.

In Ningguo Mansion, Madam Mei, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai and a group of maids were all very frightened.

Jia Cong was impeached, and it was hard to predict whether this would bring good or bad consequences. How could they not be nervous?
Jia Cong smiled and said to them, "Mom, madam, don't worry, I will be back soon, wait for me at home."

After saying that, Jia Cong got on the car and headed straight for the palace.

Soon, Jia Cong arrived outside the palace and was quickly led into the Golden Throne Hall.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you and wish you the best of luck and good health."

Emperor Yonglong said, "Lord Jia, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yonglong added: "I summoned you this time because dozens of ministers have impeached you, and I summoned you to the palace to defend yourself."

Jia Cong said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I wonder why those gentlemen are reporting me? And why are they reporting me?"

At this time, the Minister of Rites stepped out and said, "I have participated in the compilation of the Daxia Monthly Report and have spread rumors and misled the people, undermining the peace talks between the two countries and destabilizing the foundation of the country."

Jia Cong asked again: "I wonder which sentence in my article, Mr. Shilang, do you think is misleading?"

The Minister of Rites sneered, "The article you wrote is full of lies and misleading! It's totally nonsense!"

"Daxia is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, a country of etiquette, so we should be kind to our neighbors! Your article is full of incitement to the people. I wonder what your intention is? Do you know your crime?"

Jia Cong asked calmly, "May I ask, sir, since the founding of the Great Xia, how many times have we signed armistice agreements with the Qing Dynasty? And how many times has the Qing Dynasty broken the agreement?"

When these words were spoken, the Minister of Rites was suddenly speechless and could not utter a word for a moment.

It turns out that since the founding of Daxia, it has fought many wars with the Qing Dynasty.

The two sides signed four armistice agreements, but the Qing Dynasty tore up the armistice agreements four times.

In other words, the Qing Dynasty never truly abided by the armistice agreement.

Every time the Qing invaded Daxia, after gaining benefits, it would sign a ceasefire agreement with Daxia.

Daxia will also have to take on some more benefits.

Then, once the Qing Dynasty has digested its gains and has freed up its hands, it will immediately tear up the contract.

Every time is no exception.

Therefore, it is nothing but a pipe dream to try to exchange real peace for a treaty.

Seeing that the Minister of Rites did not answer, Jia Cong said, "If you don't remember, I can tell you."

"The Qing Dynasty signed armistice agreements with Daxia four times, and each time, they quickly tore up the agreement and started fighting again."

"As the saying goes, those who are not of our race must have different hearts. Do you believe that these barbarians who break their promises and betray their faith can really keep their promises?"

"Faced with the barbarians who have broken their promises one after another, if you still believe that the other party will keep their promises next time, how foolish are you?"

"And if you know that the barbarians will not keep their promises, but still pretend not to know this, then that is bad!"

"I wonder if the adults are stupid or bad?"

The Minister of Rites pointed at Jia Cong and said angrily, "You little brat! How dare you speak nonsense and say such rude things! I will never be on good terms with you!"

Jia Cong sneered, "Is it possible that the Minister was angry because I spoke so clearly about his true feelings?"

"My Lord, you are willing to be a running dog of the Qing Dynasty. I'm afraid you are thinking that when your master attacks you, you can change your allegiance and go to the new master to ask for a high position!"

"No matter how the court changes, you high-ranking officials, as long as you lose your sense of propriety, righteousness, and integrity, you will always be in office!"

"But where do you put the emperor and the people of Daxia?"

"My Lord Minister and all the others impeached me because I felt guilty for exposing your secrets, didn't they?"

As the saying goes, don't hit people in the face, and don't expose people's weaknesses when scolding them.

There are unspoken rules in court struggles.

Generally speaking, these ministers would not make such decisive statements unless the situation became a life-and-death struggle.

Jia Cong's remarks have lifted the veil.

Of course, Jia Cong came prepared and did it on purpose.

The officials of Qin Xiang's faction, especially those who had impeached Jia Cong, were indeed extremely angry.

The Minister of Rites, who was the first to bear the brunt of the attack, was so angry that he was shaking all over. He stretched out his hand and shouted, "You ignorant boy, you are slandering me. I, I will never coexist with you!"

Many more officials also stood up to accuse Jia Cong, but Jia Cong faced the criticism with a cold brow, showing no fear at all.

At this time, Mei Hanlin came forward and said, "Jia Xiuzhuan is indeed worthy of being the top scholar who won six prizes in a row. He is indeed eloquent and eloquent."

"But what you said may not be what you think in your heart. You are just judging others by your own standards!"

This Mei Hanlin is quite vicious.

This is a case of him biting back.

Didn’t Jia Cong scold them for being disloyal?
Mei Hanlin falsely accused Jia Cong of thinking this in his heart.

As long as Jia Cong could distinguish them, he would fall into their trap.

Unexpectedly, after hearing these words, Jia Cong couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Although this Mei Hanlin was very vicious, these words were a godsend to him.

This naturally led to what he wanted to say next.

After a loud laugh, everyone's attention was focused on him.

Jia Cong then said loudly: "You and I are naturally different!"

"A young man begs for a long rope, how can he let a scholar ruin his life? Every inch of land is stained with blood, and a hundred thousand wolf soldiers will destroy the Qing Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty, I, Jia Cong, am willing to give up my pen and join the army. I am willing to put on armor and take up my spear to fight the enemy! Please grant my wish, Your Majesty!"

boom!
These words shocked all the civil and military officials in the court!

This top scholar is now going to give up his pen to join the army and go to the battlefield to kill the enemy himself!
This operation is not just the conservatives.

Even Prime Minister Kou and Emperor Yonglong were shocked.

Because before this, Jia Cong had not informed them that he would do such a thing!

Only Lin Ruhai knew something about it in advance.

But no one expected that he would volunteer in public.

Emperor Yonglong quickly said, "Lord Jia, I am very pleased with your loyalty."

"But everyone has their own specialties. You are the top scholar, but your talent is not in fighting on the battlefield. Therefore, I will not grant your request!"

Emperor Yonglong was really reluctant to let Jia Cong go to the battlefield.

The battle between Daxia and the Qing Dynasty was a battle of national destiny. On the battlefield, one more Jia Cong would not make much difference, and one less Jia Cong would not make much difference.

Jia Cong's talents should be placed in the court.

As long as you hone your skills for another ten to twenty years, you will surely become a pillar of Daxia!
Therefore, how could Emperor Yonglong be willing to let Jia Cong take risks on the battlefield?

After hearing what Emperor Yonglong said, Jia Cong requested again:

"Your Majesty, I am a descendant of a military family. How can I turn a deaf ear and turn a blind eye to the turmoil on the border and the slaughter of the people of Great Xia by the barbarians?"

"My humble servant's archery is better than that of the Qing Dynasty's archers. I am also good at riding and shooting, bows and horses, and arranging troops!"

"My humble family is a family of honor and nobility. We are the honor and nobility of Great Xia. We share the same fate with the country. We share the same fate and we share the same honor and we share the same honor!"

"I'd rather be a centurion than a scholar! I am willing to lead the young men of my clan to fight the enemy in battle until I die!"

"I beg your Majesty to grant my permission!"

The nobles of Daxia share the country's fate and prosperity.
Jia Cong's words made Emperor Yonglong feel quite emotional.

How great it would be if all the officials of Great Xia had the same thought?
Emperor Yonglong stared at Jia Cong for a long while. From his eyes, he saw courage and determination, a fearless attitude towards death, and a passion in his heart!

After a while, Emperor Yonglong said in a deep voice: "Okay! My Great Xia son should do the same!"

"Your request, I, grant it!"

"I appoint you as a lieutenant general. Three days later, you can lead the men of your clan to the battlefield and report to General Niu."

"Once you are on the battlefield, you must fight bravely. If you don't let me down, I will certainly not let you down either!"

In the last sentence, Emperor Yonglong used "you" instead of "you".

These words were not meant for Jia Cong alone, but for all the noble families to hear.

The nobles of Daxia share the country's fate and prosperity.
Emperor Yonglong naturally hoped that all noble families could have this awareness.

When Jia Cong heard that Emperor Yonglong had appointed him as a general, he hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

A Lieutenant General is actually the general of a small army and is the lowest-ranking general.

Although Jia Cong was full of passion, his decision to give up writing and join the army set an excellent example.

However, it was his first time to fight in the battlefield, and Emperor Yonglong could not immediately appoint him as a vanguard or any other general.

Being able to appoint him as a general is already a huge investment.

And Jia Cong did not show any dissatisfaction at all.

Although a lieutenant general is of low rank, he can lead an army on his own.

So far, all of Jia Cong's plans have been successfully completed. What else is he dissatisfied with?

At this time, the conservatives in Qin Xiang's faction were very unwilling.

They mobilized so many people to impeach Jia Cong together.

In the end, this kid easily broke the situation in no time.

How can they be content with this?

Just when these officials were getting ready to impeach Jia Cong again.

Prime Minister Qin took the initiative to step forward. He bowed deeply to Jia Cong and said, "General Jia is a man of integrity. I admire him very much. Please accept my greetings."

However, Jia Cong did not dodge Qin Xiang's bow, but accepted it with pleasure.

This made Prime Minister Qin, who was paying his respects to Jia Cong, show a hint of anger on his face.

But Jia Cong was sneering in his heart.

This old man is really evil. He wants to build up his reputation without suffering any loss?
That’s too beautiful a thought!
Jia Cong could not help but say: "On behalf of the people of Great Xia, I accept this greeting from Prime Minister Qin. When we get to the battlefield, we will surely fight bravely and drive out the barbarians!"

Prime Minister Qin took a deep look at Jia Cong, then turned to Emperor Yonglong and asked:

"Your Majesty, General Jia was the chief editor of the Daxia Monthly Report. Now he has given up writing and joined the army. He wants to go to the battlefield to fight the enemy. I wonder who will take over the position of chief editor?"

Upon hearing this, the attention of all the civil and military officials in the court was immediately drawn.

How come they still don’t know the power of the Daxia Monthly Report?
When they made donations for disaster relief, they were insulted by the people because of an article.

In the next two days, they were called traitors by countless people because of an article in the Daxia Monthly!

This Daxia Monthly Report is definitely a powerful tool for controlling public opinion.

This weapon is so powerful that you must control it in your own hands!
Therefore, as soon as Jia Cong gave up writing and joined the army, Prime Minister Qin could not wait to raise this question in public.

And he hoped that the person who would succeed the chief editor could be decided in the court.

Because it was only then that Prime Minister Qin realized that the position of editor-in-chief of the Great Xia Monthly Report was not under the management of the six ministries.

Although Jia Cong was ostensibly an editor for the Hanlin Academy, he didn't even need to go to the Hanlin Academy.

He was directly responsible to Emperor Yonglong.

The Daxia Monthly Report was a new thing that was directly under the jurisdiction of Emperor Yonglong and was not controlled by any other department.

If the successor could not be determined in court, Emperor Yonglong could appoint the successor in private.

Therefore, Prime Minister Qin immediately brought up this matter at this time.

The officials from Qin Xiang's faction may have thought of this or not, but they immediately understood and cooperated with Qin Xiang.

They immediately began to recommend candidates to Emperor Yonglong.

And the candidate they recommended was Mei Hanlin.

Mei Hanlin is an old Hanlin, and was appointed as a reader in the Hanlin Academy.

He has more seniority than Jia Cong and holds a higher official position than Jia Cong.

He is the most suitable person to take over the position of editor-in-chief of Daxia Monthly.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Yonglong did not accept this.

Emperor Yonglong yawned tiredly and said, "We have been discussing politics for half a day and I am tired. Let's discuss this matter later! I am dismissed!"

Dai Quan stood in front and shouted loudly: "Withdraw from the court!"

Conservative officials such as Qin Xiang had no choice but to step down.

As for Jia Cong, when he was about to leave, he was stopped by the young eunuch.

"General Jia, please stay. The emperor has summoned you. Please come to the imperial study to see him."

"Yes!"

Soon, Jia Cong was led into the imperial study.

After the greetings, Emperor Yonglong offered Jia Cong a seat and asked him to sit down and talk.

After Jia Cong sat down, Emperor Yonglong could not help but ask, "Lord Jia, are you ready to give up writing and join the army now?"

"Who do you think should take over the position of editor-in-chief of the Daxia Monthly? Do you have any suitable candidate to recommend?"

Of course, it would be best to leave it to Lin Daiyu.

In fact, in addition to the supplements, Jia Cong also published The Legend of the Condor Heroes which he had written in advance.

I basically don't ask about the rest.

After all, he is busy with his liver properties now.

Lin Daiyu was the one who was in charge of editing the newspaper.

These things did not tire her, and gave her something to do every day, and they were things she liked to do. Jia Cong thought it was a pretty good thing.

It’s a pity that there is no precedent of women serving as officials in Daxia.

Even if I recommend it myself, it will be of no use.

I would like to take control of the Daxia Monthly Report into my own hands, but at the moment, there is no suitable candidate to recommend.

After all, it was impossible for Emperor Yonglong to hand it over to the conservatives.

Jia Cong estimated that it was more likely that Prime Minister Kou or his father-in-law would take over.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong couldn't help but ask: "Does this general have any suitable candidates?"

"Your Majesty, please hand it over to whoever you think is suitable. I will definitely hand it over properly."

Emperor Yonglong asked, "Are you the one who edits the Daxia Monthly Report now, or is there someone else?"

Jia Cong said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, ever since the Qing Dynasty closed the border, I have long wanted to give up writing and join the army."

"So during this period of time, I have not paid much attention to the Great Xia Monthly Report. It has always been my humble servant who is in charge of the Great Xia Monthly Report, and I have been busy training the disciples of the clan."

These things could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of Emperor Yonglong.

It's better to say it yourself. (End of this chapter)