Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 27: Court Infighting (Please read again on Tuesday)

As soon as he entered Datong Prefecture, Jia She became nervous.

It seemed as if an indescribable atmosphere of oppression was hanging over the entire city.

The streets were full of patrolling soldiers, and although one of the gates under the city was open, people were only allowed to enter the city but not leave.

The pass to enter the city and the identity check were extremely strict, and even he was searched before being allowed into the city.

When we arrived at the general's mansion where King Kang now lived, the situation was even more serious.

Jia She followed closely and entered the room. He stole a glance at Prince Kang's face, which was extremely ugly, so he hurriedly bowed and said, "Jia She, the son of the first-class Duke of Rongguo Mansion, greets His Royal Highness Prince Kang."

Prince Kang raised his hand to support her and said calmly, "Get up. If you hadn't come, I would have been writing to Rongguo Mansion. Now that you're here, it's much more convenient."

There is no connection between Prince Kang's Mansion and Rongguo Mansion. What's more, the old master is at the front line, what can he do to find Rongguo Mansion?

Jia She suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Your Highness Prince Kang, what happened?"

Suddenly, Du Ke jumped up from his chair, trudged to Jia She, pointed his finger, and looked very angry. "What happened? It's a big deal! Duke Rong was defeated at the border, which destroyed all your merits and even your hope of living in the East Palace! Now your Highness has to deal with the Northern Barbarians for the captured Duke Rong. How can your Highness be so humble and beg the Northern Barbarians? Your Rong Mansion owes a huge debt!"

Jia She was frightened. The Rongguo Mansion was able to live in peace and prosperity and they could enjoy themselves all day long because of Duke Rong who was leading the troops outside. If Duke Rong made any mistake, the genius of the Jia family would be destroyed.

"What did you say? My father was captured by the Northern Barbarians?!"

Du Ke raised his voice a little higher, and pulled Jia She by the collar, saying, "Which is more important, your father or your highness's position as the Eastern Palace?"

King Kang frowned and sighed, "Okay, let's stop arguing. There is still room for change. Enhou (Jia She's courtesy name), don't be nervous. I will do my best to rescue the old master. I have also contacted the Northern Barbarians not long ago. It depends on the price they offer and whether I can bear it."

With a thump, Jia She knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed to Prince Kang, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness Prince Kang."

Prince Kang walked down the stone steps quickly and helped Jia She up. "Why are you doing this? As the commander-in-chief appointed by my father, I should take responsibility for all matters. But this time, we suffered a huge defeat. I am afraid that I will not be able to hold the military command for too long."

If King Kang is summoned back to the capital and no one negotiates peace with the Northern Barbarians, then doesn't that mean my father will never survive?
Thinking about what Prince Kang had just said about sending a letter to Rongguo Mansion, Jia She had understood everything and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, if there is any use that can be made of the Jia family, please let me know."

Prince Kang patted Jia She on the shoulder and said, "Lord En, there are indeed some things that need to be done, but I'm afraid it won't be easy..."

……

Imperial City, Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Recently, due to Emperor Yuan Qing's health, the frequency of morning court sessions has become less and less frequent.

At first, there was a morning court once every five days, then once every seven days, and now more than ten days have passed, and there has not been another morning court call.

And today, April 20th, the morning court session resumed after a long absence.

The hearts of all civil and military officials were as clear as a mirror. The border, which had been calm for days, had just received the latest news.

Unlike the last time when the whole city was in an uproar and King Kang's martial virtues were praised, the result was predictable. Therefore, everyone's nerves were tense and their faces were not relaxed.

The leader of the team, the King of Qin, who entered the palace with a sword and shoes, was told by Dongfang Zhi when he was leaving the palace not to have too much expectation on the court meeting, as Emperor Yuanqing would most likely not take away the military token from King Kang. Even Yue Ling said so, and the King of Qin found it hard to believe.

Looking at his father sitting on the dragon throne on the white jade steps, the distance between him and the emperor seemed very close, yet very far away. The King of Qin could no longer guess what his father was thinking.

"My dear ministers, I will keep my long story short today. Some time ago, King Kang led his troops to attack the Northern Barbarians. Because Duke Rong and several generals of the Qin Palace were greedy for merit and rushed forward, they were ambushed by the Northern Barbarians, and most of them were killed or injured, which completely disrupted King Kang's plan. Now King Kang can only hold on and not go out. The situation is too passive. Do you have any good plans?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar.

Everyone guessed that the border war might be unfavorable, but they didn't expect it to be a terrible defeat, and that even the general and Duke Rong were involved in the defeat.

The ministers were all digesting the news they had just learned, and no one stood up for a while.

After a long time, a sick cough was heard from the dragon throne, and Prince Zhongshun stepped forward and bowed respectfully, "Your Majesty, I don't know if this battle report is wrong. Since the Qin Palace is involved in the fault, it is best for the Qin King to lead the battle to make up for the fault. After all, King Kang lacks some experience, so it is better for him to come back and handle the internal affairs for Your Majesty."

At the right time, Shi Rui, the son of Duke Shanguo, who was from the lineage of the four kings and eight dukes and had always been at odds with the clan members, stood up.

Prince Zhongshun snorted when he saw this, knowing that he was about to sing a different tune, but he didn't expect Shi Rui to speak up and say, "Prince Zhongshun is right. The disaster at the border is no small matter. It is better to let His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, who knows more about military affairs, handle it. Please ask Your Majesty to take back His Royal Highness the Prince of Kang's military token and return it to the Prince of Qin's mansion."

Prince Zhongshun widened his eyes in astonishment and even wanted to hit Shi Rui on the head with the tablet in his hand to see if there was anything broken inside.

The two major factions united together, and more people stood up to support King Qin.

From clan members to nobles, from the Secretariat to the six ministries, all supported the King of Qin to take command, and there was unprecedented unity in the court.

There were even censors who made direct appeals, asking King Kang to investigate his crimes, and no one in the court objected.

This made Emperor Yuan Qing feel uneasy.

After putting on the crown, Emperor Yuan Qing's face turned slightly pale and his lips turned a little red and purple.

He originally wanted to ask his good Erlang to eliminate the threat at the border, but he didn't expect that his Erlang was already popular in the court.

"Father, I am willing to share your worries and help my brother deal with the difficult matters."

His mind was in a trance as he watched the ministers who had come to plead for the King of Qin kneeling on the ground. The tall and handsome King of Qin was half-kneeling in front of them with a look of hope on his face, which reminded Emperor Yuan Qing of something big that was about to happen.

Pursing his lips, Emperor Yuan Qing said, "Everyone, I think changing commanders in the middle of a battle is a big taboo in military strategy. We are now defending the city, and I cannot casually issue an order to disrupt the morale of the army."

"Minister Zhao, have the money and grain allocated by the Ministry of Revenue arrived in Datong?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, whose name was called, stepped out and said, "It should have arrived five days ago."

Emperor Yuan Qing nodded slightly, "It is almost midsummer now. The northern barbarians were born in a cold place and cannot tolerate heat. They will retreat when summer comes. Even if the King of Qin leads the army to fight against them, it is unlikely that they will win much. So we will not embarrass the King of Qin. We still need to take a long-term view to eliminate the threat from the north."

"Send more money and food to Datong, and order King Kang to defend the city and avoid fighting. If the city is captured, I will punish him!"

(End of this chapter)