Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 46: Entering the Beijing Camp, Internal Conflict Begins

So although everyone is familiar with the name Zhang Haohao, most people have never seen him.

As everyone expected, the courtesan Zhang Haohao came in gracefully. She had a pretty face and delicate makeup. She wore a colorful dress that dragged on the ground. Her rings and bracelets jingled as she moved lightly with lotus steps.

Under the gazes of the crowd, Zhang Haohao walked to the front of the stage with a graceful sway. In her hand, she held a gilded folding fan, which she slightly opened, like a blooming flower.

Zhang Haohao bowed and said with a smile.

"I am honored to be invited by Lord Jia to perform for you gentlemen at Ningguo Mansion today. I will sing a song called 'Begonia'. Please enjoy it."

"well."

A group of young masters from aristocratic families immediately applauded enthusiastically.

Then, accompanied by the musicians playing the strings, Zhang Haohao opened her red lips, like a yellow oriole singing out of a valley, and her melodious singing drifted away.

"The emerald petals bloom in the early morning, and the fragrance spreads everywhere."

"High and low, leaning against the curved threshold, with slender strips of red and white."

"It is smoother than a collection of warm jade, and more voluminous than a cluster of crimson silk."

"Everything is worthy of being painted, and the master painter is Sengyou."

The beautiful singing voice matched with the melodious music, and the young men from the aristocratic families at the banquet were mesmerized by it. Some closed their eyes and immersed themselves in the moving melody; some stared at Zhang Haohao intently, with the wine glasses in their hands suspended in mid-air, forgetting to drink.

After the song ended, Zhang Haohao bowed deeply and then left the hall.

Seeing that everyone seemed to be still wanting more, Jia Zhen smiled calmly, then waved his hand, signaling the musicians, dancers and others to leave.

Then Jia Zhen looked around at everyone and said.

"Everyone, I think you have all experienced the elegance of Master Zhang."

"I wonder what you all think?"

Feng Ziying, son of the mighty General Feng Tang, said this with a longing look on his face.

"Ms. Zhang truly deserves to be the most beautiful courtesan in the capital. She is truly a beauty with both beauty and talent."

Ning Yuanhou's youngest son Gu Tingwei also said with regret.

"What a pity! Master Zhang is so hard to invite. Brother Jia, inviting Master Zhang to perform at your house today must have cost a lot."

Jia Zhen smiled slightly and said.

"A few yellow and white things are nothing, but it is enough to let you have a glimpse of Master Zhang's elegance."

"Thank you all for coming to my house for dinner today. I can't thank you enough. Come, let me toast you all."

The atmosphere in the hall naturally became more heated.

After the group of people had eaten and drunk their fill and were already about 60% to 70% drunk, Jia Zhen and Jia Lian looked at each other and felt that the time was about right.

Then Jia Lian created an atmosphere, and after taking a sip of wine, he looked sad and sighed.

Feng Ziying, who was standing by, was confused by this and looked at Jia Lian and asked.

"Brother Lian, what's wrong with you?"

Jia Lian waved his hand and said.

"Never mind, it's nothing. Don't let my affairs disturb everyone's interest."

Feng Ziying hurriedly spoke when he heard it.

"What kind of talk is that? We are all family friends here, and we usually call each other brothers."

"If you have any problems, just tell us directly, and we can all work together to find a solution."

Gu Tingwei on the side echoed.

"That's right, Brother Lian, what Ziying said is correct. What on earth happened to you?"

Jia Lian sighed and said with a melancholy look on his face.

"Alas, as the saying goes, the revenge for killing one's father is the hatred for stealing one's wife."

"You all know my affairs."

"That Champion Marquis bullied me too much, even snatching my bride in the street. I became the laughing stock of the Divine Capital and was ridiculed by everyone."

"But he is such a powerful figure, and Your Majesty has been deceived by him. Sigh, when I think of these things, I feel so bad."

After hearing what Jia Lian said, everyone sobered up a little and dared not respond.

After all, no matter what, these people are just a bunch of drinking buddies.

It was fine for them to bully men and women together normally, but when they faced a high-ranking official like Jia Jue, they were a little scared and didn't dare to stand up.

Seeing that everyone was showing fear, Jia Zhen quickly added fuel to the fire.

"Alas, Brother Lian, if that's all, then that's all. We should just swallow our anger and endure it."

"But that champion marquis is still pushing his limits."

"This time he is in charge of the reorganization of the Beijing Camp."

"You can tell me how easy it is for us brothers. We may look prosperous, but we don't have much money in our pockets. We only have enough money because we are on duty in the Beijing camp and receive a salary."

"I guess after the Champion Marquis reorganizes the Beijing Camp, we'll have to live very tightly."

Upon hearing this, all the young men from the noble families present could not help but laugh.

The fact that Marquis Guanjun stole Jia Lian’s wife had nothing to do with them. After all, they were just drinking buddies, eating and drinking together. If anything really happened, they would definitely take care of their own business.

But the reorganization of the Beijing camp is different. Almost all the children of the noble families present here have been appointed to positions in the Beijing camp. With food and salary plus extra income, they can get about one hundred taels of silver a month. Don't think that this is too little money.

You have to know that the young ladies and gentlemen of Rongguo Mansion only receive two taels of silver a month as monthly allowance.

Among the children of noble families present, there are not many who can match the family background of Rongguo Mansion, and most of them are not as good as Rongguo Mansion.

It can be said that the income of the Beijing Camp is their main source of income.

As soon as they heard that the extra income would be gone after Marquis Guanjun reorganized the Beijing camp, everyone immediately quit.

"No, why should we? We have been eating at Jingying for so long."

"When Champion Hou comes, the rules have to be changed. How come he is so powerful?"

"That's right. Every single one of you here has ancestors who shed blood and made contributions for the Great Zhou."

"What's wrong with us receiving some salary from the court? Why can the Marquis of Guanjun just order us to rectify the situation?"

Seeing that everyone was getting angry, Jia Zhen felt happy in his heart, and then pretended to be helpless and said.

"It's because Wang Ziteng complained about corruption in the Beijing Army and the theft and sale of military equipment that His Majesty unleashed the mad dog, Marquis Guanjun, to bite people."

"In the final analysis, it's all about the issue of drawing a salary without working."

Feng Ziying said indignantly when he heard this.

"Bullshit! Every single one of the Great Zhou's soldiers is a useless bunch."

"Others may not know, but I do know that after he, the Marquis of Guanjun, came to the capital, cartloads of his belongings were shipped to the Marquis's mansion. Where did all that money come from?"

"He himself has made a fortune from the Zhenbei Army, yet he can't even tolerate the small amount of money we earn. This is too much."

"No, we can't let him succeed like this."

Gu Tingwei said after hesitating for a moment.

"This matter is not easy to handle, isn't it? The Marquis of Guanjun is a ruthless person. In the Jiangnan Salt Administration case a few years ago, it is said that he killed many people in Jiangnan."

"If we go against him, I'm afraid something bad will happen."

Gu Tingwei's words undoubtedly cooled the mood of the crowd, but soon Jia Rong on the side looked at Gu Tingwei meaningfully and said.

"Tingwei, I know you have your own agenda. Even if we were all fired from our positions in the Beijing Camp, you would still be sitting on the throne." "But you're just quietly making a fortune, and you're throwing cold water on your brothers. That's too much."

When Gu Tingwei heard this, his face turned red with anger.

"Jia Rong, what are you talking about? What do you mean by sitting back and relaxing on the Diaoyutai?"

“I’m doing this for everyone’s good.”

Jia Rong said disdainfully.

"Come on, do you think I don't know that your brother is dating Sheng Changbai, the eldest son of the Sheng family?"

"The Champion Marquis is engaged to the Sixth Daughter of the Sheng Family again. So, Sheng Changbai is the Champion Marquis's elder brother-in-law."

"All you need to do is have your brother treat Sheng Changbai to a meal and have him say a few good words to the Champion Marquis, and you'll be able to rest easy."

"So of course you don't want people to cause trouble. It would be best if everyone just swallowed their anger and said nothing."

"That way, when the Champion Marquis has finished reorganizing the Beijing Camp, you can flatter him. Then, maybe he'll appreciate you and give you a promotion."

"You really have a plan, don't you?"

After hearing what Jia Rong said, everyone looked at Gu Tingwei with strange eyes.

There's no way. Everyone is facing trouble, but you, Gu Tingwei, can sit back and relax. Naturally, you become the target of public criticism.

Feeling everyone's gazes, Gu Tingwei waved his hands and said.

"Jia Rong, you are being very unfair. I am not the kind of person who would betray a friend."

Jia Rong said immediately.

"In that case, then you can join us."

"Look at us, over thirty people. We are all descendants of founding fathers, and the least advanced ancestor in our family was an earl."

"The Champion Marquis dared to act so recklessly in Jiangnan. I don't believe he would dare to do the same in the Divine Capital."

"Let's work together. Let's not only treat him as a champion marquis, but even if he's a Duke of England, we'll have to think twice."

"So, let's swear an oath of blood together, swear to heaven together, and stand together. We won't let the Champion Marquis snatch away the fat meat we've secured so easily."

At this time, the atmosphere among the people was also heated up, and with the help of alcohol, they immediately started to swear an oath of blood.

Gu Tingwei was forced into a difficult situation and couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

He wanted to retreat, but was forced into a corner by Jia Rong's words. Helplessly, Gu Tingwei could only drink the blood wine with everyone, and then advance and retreat together.

Three days passed in a flash. During these three days, the Beijing Camp was extremely lively. First, four commanders of the Beijing Camp committed suicide and left behind a confession.

Then, several warehouses of the Beijing Camp caught fire one after another, and a large amount of military supplies were burned, including the account books.

Jia Jue didn't care about it. After all, there is nothing new under the sun, and this is just a basic means of settling accounts.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of Yongping's reign, three days after the grand court meeting, Jia Jue, along with Wang Ziteng, led his personal soldiers to the Beijing camp in the suburbs.

Although it was the Duke of Ying who was responsible for reorganizing and controlling the Beijing Camp, everyone knew that the Duke of Ying was just a figurehead. Unless an uncontrollable situation arose, the Duke of Guanjun Jia Jue would definitely be responsible for this matter.

After Jia Jue and Wang Ziteng moved into the Beijing Camp, although most of the generals in the Beijing Camp were close confidants of the Four Kings.

However, as the Grand General of the Imperial Guards appointed by Emperor Yongping, Jia Jue held a high position and was ordered to reorganize the Beijing camp. Even though the generals of the Beijing camp were resentful, they did not dare to express it.

After a brief ceremony to raise the tent, Jia Jue sat on the commander's seat in the Beijing camp, and all the generals below paid homage to the Marquis of Champion.

Jia Jue raised his hand slightly and said.

"Generals, please take your seats in order."

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

After the generals took their seats, Jia Jue spoke calmly.

"I, the Marquis, have been entrusted by His Majesty to work with Lord Wang to oversee the reorganization of the Beijing Camp."

"You are all veterans of the Beijing Camp. I hope you can assist me well."

"The Jingying is responsible for defending the capital and protecting the Divine Capital. It is of great importance."

"I hope that all the generals will understand the greater good and avoid unnecessary friction."

"Next, I will announce the first military order for the reorganization of the Beijing camp."

"Come here, beat the drums and gather the troops. Assemble the three armies on the parade ground. This marquis wishes to review the Beijing camp."

"All the generals, follow me to the training ground."

"I will obey the order of the Marquis."

Soon, a group of generals surrounded Jia Jue and came to the training ground.

Then, war drums began to beat on the training ground.

"Boom, boom, boom."

The powerful sound of war drums instantly resounded throughout the camp.

After hearing the sound of war drums, the soldiers of the Beijing camp quickly began to gather towards the training ground.

At this time, in a tent in the camp, twenty or thirty young people were gathered together, led by Feng Ziying, Jia Lian and Jia Rong.

Ningyuan Hou's third son, Gu Tingwei, felt a little uneasy and looked at the three of them and said.

"No, why don't you guys think about it again? Are we playing a little too much?"

"Beat the drums in the training ground to gather the generals. If you don't show up after three drum beats, you will be executed immediately according to military discipline."

"Even if we want to intimidate the Champion Marquis, we don't need to give him such an advantage."

After hearing this, Jia Rong looked at Gu Tingwei with disdain.

"Tingwei, are you scared? Look at your courage."

"Look at all of us here, whose ancestors didn't come from dukes, marquises, or earls?"

"No matter how powerful he is, he's only a marquis. I don't believe he dares to kill us all."

Gu Tingwei said after hesitating for a moment.

"You mean, we're gambling our lives on whether the Champion Marquis has the guts to kill someone?"

"This is different from what you said before."

"Everyone, I'm sorry, I can't afford to play this game with you."

Feng Ziying became anxious when he heard this.

"Gu Tingwei, what do you mean? We were all fine before, but now that the time has come, you want to be a coward, right?"

After being accused by Feng Ziying, Gu Tingwei became furious.

Gu Tingwei pointed at Feng Ziying and said angrily.

"Feng Ziying, it's fine if we just eat and drink together on weekdays, but I'm praising you a little bit. You really think you're such a big shot."

"Your father is just a mighty general, what's so great about that? My father is the Marquis of Ningyuan."

"Why are you pretending to be so big in front of me?"

"You're the only one who's stupid, but don't make everyone else stupid too. Is your brain a mess? Can't you see that the Jia family is using these guys as human shields, hoping that the Champion Marquis will be punished for not punishing everyone."

"The Marquis of Guanjun has a conflict with the Rongguo Mansion, but not with us. He stole Jia Lian's wife, but not ours. Why should we risk our lives with them?"

"Did you receive any favors from the Jia family that you're so eager to stir up trouble?"

(End of this chapter)