The Second Master of the Red Chamber

It was not the first time for Jia Lian to face the saint, and his heart was no longer as uneasy as before.

So when faced with the emperor's inquiries, he was only very objective, slowly explaining what happened in the desert in official language.

Although he was a person who experienced it firsthand and made great achievements in it many times, Jia Lian's words and demeanor did not show a hint of pride, which made Emperor Ningkang very satisfied.

After Jia Lian finished his statement, he pleaded guilty to Prince Wala because he failed to see through Prince Wala's plot as soon as possible, which resulted in the loss of soldiers and generals. When he was still in the capital, the courtiers didn't see through this man's wolfish ambitions, so they all spoke well for him..."

Speaking of this, Emperor Ningkang's face turned cold.He remembered that Prince Navala planned those things with great deliberation. When he was in the capital, he did not know how many court ministers he secretly bought.

Otherwise, even if you can't see the conspiracy of Prince Navala, how can there be so many ministers speaking for him!

After the incident happened, the imperial court was busy calming down the storm, and had not had time to settle the matter.Now that this matter has come to an end for the time being, it is time to investigate those people. By the way, if he can use this to make those old things who have been staring at him more honest, he can also be more relaxed.

Seeing that all the doubts in his heart had been resolved, Emperor Ningkang didn't ask any more questions, but turned his head and said to Xiang He: "Xiang Aiqing has worked hard this time, so I took advantage of the imperial rest to go home and have a good time." Take a break.

In addition, regarding the rewards from the imperial court, the household department will send people to Aiqing's house later. "

Xiang He was a little excited. After half a year of hard work, he felt that everything was worth it when he received a consolation from the emperor, so he immediately thanked Sheng En.

After getting up, he took a slight glance at Jia Lian who was beside him, and exited the South Study room wisely.

When there were only two monarchs and ministers left, Emperor Ningkang observed Jia Lian who was standing quietly in front of him with his hands down, and suddenly said coldly, "Jia Lian, are you guilty?"

Jia Lian's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment he thought that the matter about Princess Zhaoyang had leaked.After all, apart from this, he thought that this trip to Wala was meritorious and not faulty.

His figure shook slightly, but he knelt down as usual, showing a trace of panic, "My humble minister is dull, please make it clear, Your Majesty."

"I received a secret report saying that when you were in Ganning Pass, you exercised power without authorization. Not only did you bully your colleagues, but you also disregarded the interests of the imperial court and threatened to humiliate the new envoy King Song Ye of Oirat, which almost caused the two countries to restart the war.

Can you plead guilty? "

Hearing what Emperor Ningkang said, Jia Lian immediately breathed a sigh of relief.And he knew immediately who was making his small report.

Since there is no one else, only the few "most virtuous" and relatives in the mission.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Xiao Xiao will be jealous of those who have been sent out on the emperor's orders to do important things for the court. Otherwise, Your Majesty would not have personally bestowed on this humble minister Shang Fang's sword to eliminate Xiao Xiao and protect himself.

Therefore, in order to complete the mission entrusted by His Majesty, the humble minister must have offended some colleagues unintentionally, so he was impeached by them.But it is really slanderous words to say that a humble minister is arbitrarily asserting his power and oppressing his colleagues.

As for disregarding the interests of the imperial court and humiliating the wild king of Song Dynasty, this is even more nonsense.

Since ancient times, the envoys of the two countries have negotiated with each other, and they have their own positions. They should try their best to fight for the interests of their own countries. How can there be any talk of saving face for each other?

Therefore, during the negotiation with King Song Ye, Weichen spoke fiercely and refused to give an inch, which made Song Yewang very angry with Weichen.If there are colleagues who think that at the negotiating table, one should also pay attention to the style of a gentleman and show mercy to the opponent, then the minister has nothing to say.

and……"

Jia Lian seemed a little angry and made a fierce statement.

He paused halfway, and glanced at Emperor Ningkang, seeing that he didn't intend to interrupt, Fang continued to reply loudly: "Besides, the reason why I was fighting against the Ye Wang of Song Dynasty, and because of this, I have been dealing with him for many days , the reason is that he wants to add an unreasonable request, and this minister naturally cannot agree to it!"

"Oh, what's the unreasonable request, let me tell you." Emperor Ningkang asked curiously, as if he really didn't know.

Jia Lian was willing to cooperate, "The tile thief, he deceived and teased my Great Wei first, and put my Great Wei Princess in a deep danger. However, after knowing that my Great Wei Princess returned safely, she dared to ask my Great Wei to continue to make peace with her." , Marry me to their so-called big prince towards the princess.

Hugh said that the eldest prince Navala has already married a wife and took concubines, whether he is a good match for the princess.From the standpoint of my great Wei, this matter is absolutely unacceptable.

Your Majesty, please think about it carefully. In the beginning, I formed an alliance with Oirat, not only canonizing the king of Navara as the khan of the entire grassland, marrying me to the most noble princess of Oirat, but also promised that when Oirat was attacked by the Tatars, Send troops to help.With such generous conditions, I, the Great Wei, treated Wala well.

However, Wala did not think of kindness, and conspired against our dynasty, trying to capture our princess and sacrifice it to Tatars, thus provoking a new round of war between our great Wei and Tatars, so that they can reap the benefits!

The wolf's ambition is obvious.

Fortunately, Princess Zhaoyang's fortune was profound and she did not fall into the enemy's hands.

But I have already been deceived by Wala, and I have lost all face.If you agree to their request at this time and marry Her Highness the Princess, how will my vassals and surrounding foreign countries treat me, Great Wei?

Don't they think that in order to win over a little Wala, I didn't even care about Shangguo's face?

Moreover, Nawala might use the name of marriage to confuse the fact that they were treacherous at the beginning, and turn black and white in the exchanges between countries.

Therefore, whether it is in terms of national interests or the face of the court, it will be harmful to our court to agree to make peace with Wala again, so the minister firmly refused.

The minister is dedicated to the court and His Majesty's consideration. If other colleagues feel that only catering to the ideas of the Wala people is for the court's consideration.However, I tried my best to maintain my face in the court, but it was in vain for the interests of the court, and I had nothing to say. "

Emperor Ningkang was a little stunned by Jia Lian's words.

In fact, Emperor Ningkang already knew about the resumption of negotiations between Jia Lian and Wala.

Although because of Jia Lian's insistence, the negotiation was postponed for more than half a month.But in the final result, Jia Lian did not harm the interests of the Great Wei Dynasty. Instead, under a combination of hard and soft tactics, Wala retreated and gave up marrying Princess Zhaoyang.

Therefore, Emperor Ningkang didn't want to and had no reason to punish Jia Lian for this.

The reason why he mentioned this matter was just to suppress Jia Lian's state of mind and pave the way for the following things.

Who knew that Jia Lian had been prepared for a long time, and put forward so many "reasons" in one breath.

However, this kid still stood up for the truth, so even if he wanted to criticize, he seemed a bit harsh.

Looking at Jia Lian who was standing in the hall, still looking a bit indignant and aggrieved, Ningkang Emperor secretly rolled his eyes, but he would not deliberately suppress Jia Lian.

"I understand what you said, it's rare that you are so thoughtful at such a young age.

Hmph, that starter has only read half a book, a person who is a vegetarian, only knows how to hold on to the handicapped, how can he understand the true righteousness?If you didn't understand the reason, even if they pass the previous letter of credence back to Beijing, I will not agree.

They, who are my princesses, did Nawala marry whenever she wanted?
Long before you entered Beijing, I have decreed that the person who impeached you in the memorial will be demoted from Beijing.There is no need for such a short-sighted and stupid person to stay in the court. "

Since Jia Lian had his own rhetoric, Emperor Ningkang, in order to protect his face, also took advantage of the situation to show that he and Jia Lian were on the same mind, which made Jia Lian grateful.

But Jia Lian knew, don't look at what Emperor Ningkang said now.If he really wants to go back to the beginning, and exchange a princess who has become a widow, who is in his own hands and is difficult to deal with, in exchange for Wala's concession, his attitude is really hard to say!
If he really had no intention of letting his daughter marry a foreign country, he would not have agreed to the marriage at the beginning.

Thinking this way in his heart, Jia Lian let out a sigh of relief, and said: "Your Majesty is holy!"

"Get up."

Raising his hand to let Jia Lian stand up, Emperor Ningkang changed his tone and seemed to be a little closer.

"When you left Beijing, do you still remember what I told you?"

"I don't dare to forget it. Your Majesty's important ministers will use this mission to Wala to find out the situation of Wala as much as possible, and to prepare for the future.

Regrettably, because of these sudden changes, the ministers only made a big circle in the south of Wala, and they couldn't even enter their royal court. Naturally, they didn't fulfill His Majesty's great trust, which disappointed His Majesty. "

Emperor Ningkang shook his head, "Although you haven't been to Navala Royal Court, you have at least left Xisai. How about it, if I ask you to command the three armies now, can you be sure that you will wipe out all the enemies in the western border?"

Jia Lian was taken aback, let him command the three armies?true or false?
But Jia Lian reacted very quickly, and immediately bowed his fists and said, "If you have the trust of your majesty, you will be willing to take on the heavy trust. Although I dare not speak out against the enemies of the western borders, I am willing to be your majesty's vanguard and step into the western borders for your majesty's grand plan." Great cause, heart-wrenching, no hesitation."

Jia Lian's voice was so loud and clear that all the eunuchs inside and outside the palace could hear it.

If they hadn't known that Jia Lian was the only one facing the saint, they would have thought that at this very moment, His Majesty the Emperor was discussing the war of destroying the country with a group of generals.

This General Jia is really favored by His Majesty, he dares to say anything in front of His Majesty...

The eunuchs thought Jia Lian's words were too flattering, but Emperor Ningkang didn't think so.

I still remember that when I decided to train Jia Lian at the beginning, it was because I saw that Jia Lian was quite passionate. In order to protect his father's reputation, he dared to beat the prince in public!
Who would not like such a passionate, capable, loyal and patriotic person?

Therefore, he nodded secretly, and did not express much praise, he was afraid that if he showed more favor, Jia Lian would be too proud.

So he turned to ask about the armament situation within the scope of Western Xinjiang, including the major towns and Anxi Mansion.

Jia Lian also played according to the facts, expressing some advantages and disadvantages he saw to Emperor Ningkang in a simple way.

Emperor Ningkang was very concerned about this.

Although he is conceited that his intelligence is not inferior to the Supreme Emperor, but he also knows that compared with the Supreme Emperor, he is an emperor who has never been out of the capital.

As for the situation on the country's borders, one can only learn about it from trusted officials.

Since we want to solve the border troubles in the western border, the armament situation in the western border is naturally the top priority.

Knowing that the western frontier army has no major problems and is still quite capable, he is also relieved a lot.

Xu is today's Jia Lian, who gave him a lot of surprises, and he actually wanted to chat with Jia Lian about military affairs.

"Over the past few years, I have discussed with the veterans of the Ministry of War many times over the matter of border troubles.

Jia Lian, in your opinion, what preparations should we make if we want to gain an advantage in the inevitable future war with the Ma people in the north? "

In his heart, Emperor Ningkang wanted to fight a big battle enough to shine in the annals of history, and he must win a big victory, so as to erase the influence of the Supreme Emperor on him, and truly keep his word in the court.

For this reason, he has been planning and preparing for several years, waiting for the opportunity.

When Jia Lian heard this, he shook his head quickly: "Since your Majesty has discussed it with all the old generals, I am still young, and my qualifications and knowledge are far inferior to those of the old generals, so naturally I dare not talk about national policy."

"One person counts the disadvantages, and two people count the strengths. Since I ask you, you can just say it."

"Then, I'll just say it bluntly...

Although I don't know what specific preparations should be made in order to clean up those alien races who have repeatedly violated our borders in one fell swoop.

But Chen really had an idea.

Wei Chen believes that if he wants to gain an advantage in future wars, he might as well start with firearms! "

"firearm?"

Although Emperor Ningkang was suspicious, his expression was somewhat disappointed.

"As for the firearms, when I inspected them in the Shenji Camp, I was also shocked by their extraordinary power, but after listening to the explanations of several veteran generals who are good at fighting, I didn't pay any more attention.

Now that you have mentioned it like this, you might as well express your thoughts. "

Emperor Ningkang's disappointment was within Jia Lian's expectation.

In fact, firearms have been used in wars for hundreds of years.

But looking at the previous dynasties, although firearms were developed, obviously, they did not pay much attention to them.

Because although firearms are powerful, they also have prominent shortcomings.

The battlefield is ever-changing. As a bulky firearm, whether it is a firecracker or a cannon, in terms of movement and precise strikes, it is far inferior to horseback riding, which is faster and more powerful.

It is also easy to accidentally hurt one's own people.

Moreover, the research and development and manufacture of firearms requires a large amount of silver to support, which is far less economical than bows and crossbows.

There are such shortcomings, and in previous wars, many armies equipped with firearms did not really gain any too affordable advantages when fighting the enemy.

The investment and actual combat effect are not directly proportional.In this way, it is no wonder that the people in the Ministry of War despise firearms.

From this point of view, people at that time did not pay enough attention to firearms, not because they were not smart enough, but because they really did not see the moment when firearms were used on the battlefield to change their fate!
But as a person of later generations, it is naturally impossible not to know the historical trend that cold weapons will eventually be replaced by hot weapons.

"Your Majesty, the old generals in the army don't like to use firearms, so I naturally know that.

Weichen also knows that the firearms manufactured by Shenjiying today are indeed seriously flawed.

However, I feel that if firearms can be used well, they may not be a great killer on the battlefield.

Although the existing firearms in the Shenji Camp have many shortcomings, they may not be impossible to improve.

I once got acquainted with a Flangji businessman who traveled across the ocean to our Great Wei Dynasty. According to him, in their country tens of thousands of miles away from us, the combat weapons have changed from ordinary swords to swords. All kinds of firearms.

In particular, the war between their country and the enemy country is not even carried out on land. Instead, some powerful artillery is moved to countless ships, and then they sail thousands of miles or even tens of thousands of miles to fight the war with the enemy country! "

"What, tens of thousands of miles?"

Emperor Ningkang felt a little unbelievable.

As the emperor of Wei, he is certainly not like those dynasties long ago, who believed that there is only one China in the whole world.

He also knew that there were some other countries far away from Great Wei.

But those countries gave him the impression that they were all weak.

How come from Jia Lian's mouth, those countries can fight the enemy across tens of thousands of miles?
You know, even if the Great Wei conquered alien races, the battle line stretched thousands of miles, which is considered far away.At most a few thousand miles, it is considered an expedition.

Tens of thousands of miles, in Emperor Ningkang's mind, there is no such concept of a big battle.

"At first, I also found it incredible, so I also asked some other foreigners who came from overseas to inquire about it. Although some people's words are different, but one thing is certain.

In the far west, there are some powerful countries that can build strong ships and cannons, and then cross the ocean to attack others, but it is true.

The minister thought, since the firearms can be transported onto ships for expeditions.

Then why don't we Dawei follow suit?If we can also build a decent fleet, among other things, the Japanese pirates who harass us all the year round on the southeast coast will not be a problem.

As for how to use it in the battle with the horse people in the north, Weichen didn't think about it for a while.

After all, the prairie cavalry is too sharp and fast, and with the disadvantages shown by the current firearms, I'm afraid it may not be useful. "

Jia Lian was afraid of arousing Emperor Ningkang's rebellious psychology, so he deliberately spoke euphemistically.

In fact, although in front of hot weapons, cold weapons are really scum.But that was also a relatively mature era of thermal weapons.

In this era when hot weapons are still in their infancy, to be honest, cold weapons are still the mainstream.

Among other things, take the "Francis Machine", the best developed Western hot weapon, as an example. Even if they come to fight with the whole country, Wei can rely on thousands of years of fighting skills and a huge army to defeat them. beat...

It may be unfair to say this, after all, Da Wei is not qualified to beat others now!

But it also shows that today's West should only enter the first industrial revolution at most, and firearms are like that.

Otherwise, these foreign merchants who came to Wei with the belief that gold is everywhere in the east would not be so honest.

Therefore, Jia Lian is not too worried that Great Wei lags behind the West too much. As long as he starts from him and pays attention to the development of firearms, he believes that with the wisdom of the East for 5000 years and its strong national power, he can easily overtake the West.

In this way, in the future era of great navigation, it is still unknown who will be the real waver.

Emperor Ningkang didn't believe that firearms could have any great effect, but what Jia Lian said made him suspicious again.

After asking several questions repeatedly, Jia Lian was able to answer, and Emperor Ningkang fell silent.

After thinking for a long time, he said: "Since you have such confidence in firearms, I just remember that the Shenji Battalion still lacks the post of deputy commander, so you can take it temporarily.

Remember, I don't like people lying to me with lies.

I will give you three years at most, if you can't show me any results, then don't blame me for punishing you for deceiving the emperor. "

"The humble minister takes orders, and I will live up to the entrustment of the Holy Majesty!"

Deputy Commander, is he promoted?

It seems not.

This seems to be a fourth-rank official, because he remembered that it seemed that the leader of the Shenji Battalion was only a third-rank official.A commander is actually only a third rank, which shows the imperial court's contempt for firearms.

Ignoring Jia Lian's slander below, Emperor Ningkang turned his head to look at the two bright yellow edicts in the dark compartment under the dragon case.

After hesitating for a while, he took out one of them, and then acted like he didn't care.

"Okay, you kneel down and listen to the order."

Jia Lian's expression straightened, knowing that he had played it right for a long time, and finally reached the moment he was most concerned about.