Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 224: Famous in the Capital
Beijing,

It had been a long time since Dachang's first two military campaigns to attack the Northern Barbarians and the Jianzhou Jurchens.

The city had long since shed its gray wartime colors, and there had even been no news of wars on the border since then. The people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the capital was prosperous.

It is early morning now, but the capital is not deserted.

On Zhuque Street, people come and go in an endless stream. Pedestrians stop at stalls and shops along the street to choose the goods they like.

The people selling breakfast, snacks, and various small goods shouted and bargained one after another. What they had in common was that everyone had a smile on their face, which was a peaceful and happy time.

But at this moment, suddenly, the sound of hurried horse hooves broke the silence.

I saw a horse galloping like the wind from the direction of the city gate, raising a cloud of dust. Only the yellow flag hanging on the horse was extremely eye-catching.

The yellow flag was a symbol of urgent military information. Wherever the messenger passed, the people gave way and followed the horses as they ran towards the imperial city.

After a moment of peace, the crowd exploded as if firecrackers were thrown into it.

"What's going on? Are we going to fight again?"

"We have only had a few days of peace, please stop hitting me."

"Who says it isn't true? July is almost over and it's time to harvest the crops. If we fight again, we won't be able to live..."

After this incident, the people were all worried about the war and had no time to go to the market. Women and children hurried home to tell the news, and the rest of the people went to the imperial city and other places with notice boards to find out the latest news.

Kunning Palace,
Emperor Longyou has been working very hard in recent days to draft the regulations for the new law.

Apart from going to Kunning Palace to rest every day and keep the Queen company, he had nothing else to ease his inner worries.

On that day, Emperor Longyou woke up early in the morning and had breakfast with the empress in the side room. They were chatting sweetly and gossiping about trivial matters, but they heard the hurried news of war coming from outside, destroying the warm atmosphere.

"Your Majesty, war report from Cangzhou!"

"Cangzhou? Battle report?"

Emperor Longyou, who was sitting upright, was so shocked that he put down his chopsticks.

He was very familiar with both words, but why was it so hard for him to imagine them together?

It was the Queen who came to her senses first, "Is Yue Ling and the others okay?"

Xia Shouzhong quickly responded, "We have won the battle, so there should be no problem."

The Queen breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly, "That's good. What on earth is going on? In Cangzhou, there is a war so close to the capital?"

Emperor Longyou hurriedly unfolded the letters, there were still two of them. He unfolded the battle report first and took a look. After a while, the gloom on his face disappeared and a smile appeared on his face.

"It's really well done. In recent years, the threat of Japanese pirates has been difficult to eliminate. Even if ministers were sent to suppress them, most of those killed were people in coastal areas who had nowhere else to turn to and surrendered to pirates. It's rare to kill so many Japanese at once."

"Our dynasty's record against the Japanese in the past was not good, but this time we were able to vent our anger, and it was only because of Yue Ling's presence."

Emperor Longyou handed the letter to the empress, who then understood what was going on. It turned out that some local merchants in Cangzhou had colluded with the Japanese pirates to attract them to assassinate Yue Ling, but they ended up losing more than they gained, and all four hundred elite warriors died on the banks of the Zhangshui River in Cangzhou, without a single person surviving.

In Japan, a team of 400 elite warriors can already be considered a special forces unit. At least they can dominate a place, or even join a daimyo and become a force that cannot be underestimated.

At the moment, they were completely wiped out by Yue Ling, leaving only their heads which were sent to the capital, waiting for inspection and determination of merit.

The Queen's worry turned into joy. "I have really relieved your Majesty of your worries. After this battle, the southeast coast will be peaceful for several years."

Emperor Longyou nodded without commenting. "The Japanese are so bold that they dare to send troops to invade and assassinate the imperial envoy of Dachang. This matter cannot be taken lightly and should be regarded as a declaration of war. I will immediately send an envoy to the Japanese and demand an explanation from them!"

The Queen beside her also agreed.

As the king of a country, you must take this serious diplomatic incident seriously and not fall behind.

It is inevitable that Japan will pay some silver as compensation to appease Yue Ling.

Emperor Longyou thought for a moment and then took another one.

Xia Shouzhong, who was standing below at this moment, felt vaguely that this letter was not a good thing.

If they are all good things, just write them in one letter. Why write two?
The smile on Xia Shouzhong's face froze, and he unconsciously took two steps back, in order to prevent Emperor Longyou from getting angry and picking up something and throwing it on the ground and landing on him.

Sure enough, after reading the second letter, Emperor Longyou's expression became increasingly solemn, and even the Empress frowned frequently.

The second letter contained an incomplete part of Yue Ling’s previous letter.

Taking the case of human trafficking as a guide, Yue Ling elaborated on the rampant corruption in Cangzhou Prefecture, the collusion between officials and businessmen, and the collusion between the upper and lower levels. He also anticipated the appearance of Japanese pirates in Cangzhou City and provided suggestions for strengthening the army. According to what Yue Ling said in the letter, it was not natural disasters that caused chaos in Cangzhou Prefecture, but man-made disasters. The prefect Pu Zheng, the judge Ji Qing, and various forces were the pushers who deliberately made Cangzhou chaotic in order to gain benefits from it. There was a powerful interest group behind this, which could even sell his people to the Japanese pirates.

After Yue Ling had verified the facts, the Japanese pirates still came to assassinate him at all costs, which shows how much they feared Yue Ling.

Perhaps, what Yue Ling discovered was just the tip of the iceberg, and who knows how much dirtier and filthy it is hidden beneath the surface of the sea.

Emperor Longyou's hand, holding the letter paper, could not help but tremble slightly.

First of all, it is not something that ordinary people can do to support the enemy. Moreover, human trafficking requires the convenience of many states along the way, who turn a blind eye to the inspection of goods.

From the canal transport to the local prefectures and counties, it is very likely that they were in collusion as Yue Ling said, which led to this shocking scandal.

Emperor Longyou closed his eyes tightly, his sandbag-sized fists hanging on the table, veins bulging.

"Change it, you must change it. If you don't, these termites will dig up the roots!"

Emperor Longyou was so angry that he ordered, "Send all the people left by Dai Zongguan to Jiangnan and search for corrupt officials in Jiangnan. I want to find a reason to settle accounts with them!"

Xia Shouzhong trembled and quickly responded, "I obey your order."

At the end of Yue Ling's letter, he advised Emperor Longyou not to ignore the importance of the navy. Having a strong navy is the prerequisite for completely wiping out the Japanese pirates and the guarantee for opening up ocean trade.

Emperor Longyou nodded and sighed, "What Yue Ling said is right. Wherever the enemy goes, I can go too! Even if they hide in the vast ocean, I can still chase them and kill them!"

……

Outside the Imperial City, at Xuanwu Gate,

At this time, the open space in front of the signboard was filled with worried people, all of whom just wanted to know what the war report was about as soon as possible.

Either the northern barbarians of Datong raised elite troops and marched south to plunder, or the Jianzhou Jurchens unified the Jurchen tribes and once again set their sights on Liaodong.

No matter what, any war is not a good thing for the people, so everyone's face is extremely solemn and few people in the crowd are chatting.

It was not until the soldiers of the Yulin Army walked out of the palace gate that the people consciously made way for them.

The soldier posted the notice on the board with dignity and then retreated from the crowd.

As the crowd pushed forward, someone shouted, "We are illiterate people. Can a young man read to us what is going on? Are we going to have a war?"

At that time, a scholar in Confucian robes was pushed to the front of the team and naturally took on the role of reading the notice.

"Good news from Cangzhou, inform the people of the capital..."

"This is good news. You don't have to worry anymore."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and became even more interested in hearing what the good news was.

"Cangzhou has recently suffered a disaster. I am deeply saddened and have quickly sent my capable minister, Marquis Anjing, to provide relief. However, misfortunes never come alone. The Japanese pirates have been plotting in the dark, trying to take advantage of the disaster to harass our coastal areas and harm the people of Cangzhou. They are watching us like jackals, and their hearts deserve death."

"However, Anjing Hou Yue Ling had a righteous heart, was both wise and brave, saw through the Japanese pirates' conspiracy, was fearless in the face of danger, was resolute and resolute, led his soldiers, defeated the Japanese pirates, beheaded 400 of them, saved Cangzhou from danger, and saved the people from danger. The coastal areas can also enjoy peace for several years because of this."

"Anjing Hou Yue Ling, shining like a star..."

The list praised Yue Ling's achievements, and the people all smiled happily when they heard it.

It turned out that it was not what they were worried about at all, but that Anjing Hou Yue Ling had shown his prowess again and won a victory in the local area. Now that the military situation has been resolved, the court will also start a war again.

In an instant, thunderous cheers broke out from the crowd.

Anjing Hou Yue Ling, a name that had been relatively unknown in the capital, is even more popular this time. His deeds will be further added to the story, and will be spread by word of mouth among the people in the capital, and become a topic of conversation after dinner.

"I thought it was something bad, but it turns out that Marquis Anjing killed the Japanese pirates in Cangzhou. These pirates are really like those who would rather go to hell than to heaven. They actually dared to plot against the Marquis, without even considering who he is!"

"That's right, they really don't know how to live or die. One day, when the Marquis leads his troops to pacify the four seas and eliminate Japan as well, they will know how powerful we are!"

"It turns out that Marquis Anjing is now providing disaster relief in Cangzhou. No wonder there is no news from the capital. I envy the people of Cangzhou. I wonder what Cangzhou will become under the rule of the Marquis."

"Yes, Marquis Anjing is not in Beijing, so why did he go out to settle down for someone else? How should we feel about this?"

Another burst of laughter broke out in the crowd.

The scholar who just read the list said, "The Marquis is so powerful that he is feared by the world. If you really want to go, why don't you go to Cangzhou to have a look? Cangzhou is not too far away anyway."

Ordinary people naturally had no time to spare, but the scholars who traveled to study, the merchants traveling between the north and the south, and the many people who went to the capital but did not find good opportunities, all seemed to have a new destination at this moment...

(End of this chapter)