Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 263 Japanese pirates attack
Emperor Longqing first mentioned the throne, and then asked Jia Qiong to get closer to Prince Lian, almost hinting that he intended to make Prince Lian the crown prince.

Jia Qiong was shocked when he first heard it, but when he thought about it, he felt strange again.

Although the ninth prince is the direct descendant of the queen, there is also the fourth prince, Prince Yong.

He only wanted to be a free prince and had no intention of competing for the throne. This was known to both the government and the public.

Until now, he has never been to the Six Ministries to observe government affairs, let alone run any errands.

Emperor Longqing had so many adult princes, and there were many who wanted to compete for the heir apparent. Logically speaking, it was impossible for him to be interested in the ninth prince.

Jia Qiong's mind raced and she quickly thought of several possibilities.

First, Emperor Longqing simply did not want him to participate in the battle for the throne, so he kept himself close to Prince Lian and kept a distance from other princes.

The second situation is that Emperor Longqing wanted to test himself to see what he would do after knowing that Prince Lian might gain the throne.

The third possibility is that Emperor Longqing is interested in the fourth prince, Prince Yong. If he is on good terms with the ninth prince, he will naturally prefer the fourth prince.

Emperor Longqing also stopped talking and had no intention of continuing the topic. Jia Qiong could not guess his thoughts for the time being, so he could only deal with it carefully.

Emperor Longqing asked again: "What errand do you want to do? Do you have any ideas?"

Jia Qiong replied: "If there is a chance, I would like to go somewhere to experience myself.

It is best to be in a coastal area, which can not only increase experience but also facilitate the advancement of maritime affairs. "

Emperor Longqing asked: "Are you really not interested in taking over Jingying?"

Jia Qiong shook his head and said, "I really don't have much experience. I'm afraid I won't be qualified for such an important position."

Emperor Long Qing nodded and said, "If you really don't want to accept it, then forget it.

If there is no place in Beijing where you can display your talents, it is not impossible to go to a local place to practice.

If you were asked to take charge of the government and be the chief envoy, your qualifications would still be somewhat insufficient, and your qualifications would be overqualified for the role of magistrate.

This matter is not urgent anyway. Even if you are transferred out of Beijing, it will have to wait until you and Mingyue get married.

There is still time, I will think about it carefully. "

"Yes."

Emperor Longqing asked again: "Have you told your wife about the marriage?"

Jia Qiong said truthfully: "Back to the emperor, I only told the Qin family about this matter.

My eldest wife is now pregnant with Liujia. I am afraid that she will have problems in the future, so I haven't told her yet.

Chen planned to wait until she gave birth before telling her. "

Emperor Longqing asked: "When will your wife give birth?"

Jia Qiong said: "It should be in August."

Emperor Long Qing nodded and said: "That's fine, if something happens to your wife because of this, I will feel guilty.

By the way, how is Mr. Jiechuan lately? I seem to have not heard from him for a while. "

Jia Qiong said: "My grandfather is in good health, but I heard from Jia Yue that his teeth have become loose recently and he cannot eat hard food.

Last month, I received a letter from his old man. He was a little dissatisfied with the book I wrote this time. "

Emperor Longqing said curiously: "Your book on the Three Kingdoms is very good. Why is Mr. Wang so dissatisfied?"

Jia Qiong said: "My grandfather said that I gave all the credit to Zhuge Liang for other people's achievements, and also wrote Zhou Yu as a narrow-minded person, which was inconsistent with history, so he was dissatisfied."

Emperor Longqing smiled and said: "Mr. Wang is still so interesting.

It's a pity that Jinling is too far away from Chang'an. Even if I miss Mr. Jiechuan, I can't visit him.

And I can’t bear to let him work so hard at his old age. I’m afraid it will be difficult for us to see each other again in this life. "

Jia Qiong said: "If my grandfather knew that the emperor cared about him so much, he would be very happy, and he might actually come to the capital to see you."

Emperor Longqing chuckled and said, “He doesn’t know how.

I know Mr. Wang very well. He is actually very lazy at heart. It is only because of his position that he has to work hard.

Now that he is recuperating at home, he must be too lazy to move.Unless I issue an edict, there is no way he would take the initiative to come back so far. "

Jia Qiong said: "The emperor and his grandfather have been getting along with each other for decades, and it will definitely become a good story."

Emperor Longqing and Jia Qiong were chatting when a eunuch suddenly came into the palace and reported: "Your Majesty, Mr. Yang Ge is asking for an audience outside the palace, saying that there is an urgent military situation to report."

Emperor Longqing frowned and said, "Xuan."

Jia Qiong hurriedly stood up and said, "Since the Emperor has something to deal with, I will leave first."

Emperor Longqing waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter, you can stay and listen."

"promise."

While the two were talking, Yang Sicheng had already entered the palace.

After saluting Emperor Longqing, he immediately said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has just received an urgent report from Zhu Youzhen, the governor of Jinling.

Seven days ago, Huai'an was attacked by a large-scale Japanese pirates, with the number estimated to be more than [-].

Among them, a group of Japanese pirates broke through the Yuntiguan defense line and were marching westward along the Huaihe River, deep into the hinterland of Jiangsu.

When the report was issued, this group of Japanese pirates had already approached Yangzhai Township, and their number was estimated to be around 3000.

This is a memorial from Governor Zhu, please see it before your Majesty. "

Emperor Longqing took the memorial and read it over, angrily: "Didn't the Ministry of War make arrangements in advance?

How to let Japanese pirates invade the hinterland of Jiangsu!What does Ningbo Navy do for food? "

Yang Sicheng bowed and said: "Your Majesty, this Japanese pirate invasion is obviously premeditated. Several groups of Japanese pirates launched at the same time. This has never happened before.

Last year the Japanese pirates had been operating in the Zhejiang area. This time they suddenly launched a large-scale raid northward to Jiangsu. The Ministry of War was indeed ill-prepared and it was my fault.

The Ningbo Navy only has 2 people, and it also has to take care of the defense work along the coast of Zhejiang.

With so many Japanese pirates harassing the border at the same time, it is inevitable that they will focus on one thing and ignore the other. There is no serious fault. Please be clear to the emperor.

The most urgent task is to find a way to deal with this Japanese pirate attack. As for the matter of accountability, I ask the emperor to deal with it after retreating from the enemy. "

After hearing this, Emperor Longqing suppressed his anger first, stood up and walked to the huge map hanging in the south study room. Jia Qiong and Yang Sicheng also followed.

Emperor Longqing asked: "Where is Yangzhai Township?"

Yang Sicheng picked up the wooden pole hanging next to him and pointed to a place and said, this is Yangzhai Township.

Based on the speed of the ship, if the Japanese pirates had not stopped all the way, they should have reached Maluo Township by now, and could reach Andong within five days. "

Emperor Longqing asked: "Is there any garrison to intercept the section from Yangzhai Township to Andong?"

Yang Sicheng said: "Back to the emperor, the ones closest to here are Jincheng Guards and Suzui Guards, each with 5000 field troops, but they are all infantry.

If Japanese pirates come ashore to rob, they may be intercepted and strangled by our army. More than 3000 Japanese pirates are not something to be afraid of.

I'm afraid that if they don't stop all the way, if they rush directly through Anton, things will be a little troublesome.

After passing Andong, there is Yangzhou Prefecture to the south, Haozhou Prefecture to the west, and Huai'an Prefecture to the north.

This area is crisscrossed by waterways, as well as Hongze Lake and Taihu Lake, making it the perfect place for small groups of thieves to hide. "

Jia Qiong asked: "Mr. Yang Ge, aren't there any navy troops stationed along the Huaihe River?"

Yang Sicheng said: "Only Hongze Lake has 1 regular navy troops.

The rest are soldiers from the Hedao Yamen. Let them intercept the Japanese pirates, which is like hitting a stone with an egg. "

Emperor Longqing looked along the route pointed by Yang Sicheng and realized the seriousness of the problem.

He said: "This is an important tax-paying area for the imperial court. We must quickly mobilize the Hongze Lake navy to destroy this group of Japanese pirates. We must not let them threaten the stability of the place.

Especially in the direction of Yangzhou Prefecture, the thieves must not be allowed to go south! "

Yang Sicheng bowed and said, "No, I accept the order."

(End of this chapter)