The Red Mansions

Chapter 1437 Emperor Chongping: No less than the founding of the country

Chapter 1437 Emperor Chongping: His contribution is no less than that of founding a country...

Shenjing City

When Emperor Chongping heard the good news, he was overjoyed for a moment. All kinds of feelings came to his mind at once, and he fainted in an instant.

As time passed, the news of the victory spread throughout the entire Shenjing City.

Queen Song kept calling out "Imperial Physician", and the palace maids and eunuchs in Kunning Palace were in chaos, rushing around Emperor Chongping in a hurry, some preparing hot water and some preparing towels.

After a while, several imperial doctors came in quickly from the outer room with small medicine boxes, with looks of panic on their faces.

Queen Song no longer cared about her dignity as a queen and said anxiously, "President Wang, His Majesty has fainted. Come and have a look."

An old man with gray hair picked up a silver needle in his hand and while speaking, there was a needle in the back of the neck of Emperor Chongping.

After a while, accompanied by a "hum", Emperor Chongping opened his tightly closed eyelids, and at this moment, Youyou woke up.

The middle-aged emperor had sunken cheeks and exuded an air of decadence and haggardness. His eyes were scattered beneath his thin eyebrows before quickly focusing.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please don't scare me." Under Queen Song's willow-shaped brows, her gentle eyes seemed to be filled with tears. She looked at him infatuatedly, and her voice was choked with sobs.

At this moment, only the love between husband and wife for many years filled their hearts.

Emperor Chongping frowned, his lips twitched, his eyes focused again, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Zitong, where is the military report sent by Ziyu?"

Queen Song: “…”

At this time, I was still paying attention to the military newspaper.

Emperor Chongping turned his eyes to Dai Quan who was not far away, and said in a weak voice, "Go and report to the general to bring him here."

Dai Quan said quickly: "I will send someone to get it right away."

Emperor Chongping hummed, then slowly closed his eyes, as if he was resting. Besides endless joy in his heart, an indescribable sadness surged up in his heart.

Liaodong was pacified, the country was at peace, and a prosperous era of peace was about to come, but his body was about to collapse.

Queen Song was a little worried, so she quickly called out softly, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Chongping waved his hands and said weakly, "I'm fine."

Queen Song nodded, her fair, snow-white face now brimming with tears, clearly she was in tears.

After years of love and several children together, wouldn't the beauty be feeling inexplicably worried at this moment?

Emperor Chongping suddenly asked, "Have you informed the cabinet of my fainting?"

Queen Song was stunned for a moment. Under her willow-shaped eyebrows, her eyes, which were originally filled with tears, flickered and she whispered, "No."

Emperor Chongping said in a cold voice: "Don't reveal a single word."

If he takes good care of his body, he can still hold on for another three to five years. He will not be able to close his eyes forever until his descendants have completely subdued Jia Ziyu.

However, before that, he first established the East Palace and determined the foundation of the country. All state affairs were handed over to the East Palace for handling, and he only needed to control the general direction.

……

……

At this moment, the entire Shenjing city was immersed in a sea of ​​joy because of Liaodong's great victory. The sound of firecrackers could be heard continuously, shaking the earth, as if it was New Year's Day.

It seems like the whole country is filled with a positive atmosphere.

Many people were talking and making a lot of noise.

Since Nurhaci started his army in Liaodong, the entire Han Dynasty has been troubled by border troubles in Liaodong for almost 30 years, without a single day of peace.

Then, during the Chongping period, natural disasters occurred frequently. In the past few years, there was civil unrest in the Central Plains, and the scene was even more precarious and the dynasty was about to end.

But only five years have passed, and the world has changed.

The new policy was very popular and won the support of foreigners.

Now, the Jurchens in Liaodong have been pacified, and the country has been at peace since then.

The clerks in the six ministries and other offices were also discussing the war and marveling at how the Duke of Wei had achieved such a great victory.

At this moment, in the Wuying Hall of the Cabinet's duty office, the Cabinet Chief Minister Li Zan, the Cabinet Second Minister Gao Zhongping, and the Cabinet Ministers Qi Kun, Lu Jiang, and Lin Ruhai sat down and talked.

As we entered the golden October of the 19th year of Chongping, the Han Dynasty's autumn grain collection work gradually came to an end.

To sum it up in one sentence, it is another year of harvest.

"Why is there such a commotion outside the palace?" At this time, Gao Zhongping frowned, a hint of anger appeared in his majestic and solemn eyes, and he asked loudly.

After all, he was the prime minister in charge of a region. At this moment, he looked so majestic without even getting angry that the minor clerks serving around him were frightened.

Li Zan also looked outside with some surprise, and exchanged glances with Lin Ruhai, Qi Kun and others beside him.

"Go and see what's happening outside?" Li Zan said.

The cabinet secretary and other minor officials looked solemn and said quickly, "Sir, I will go and take a look."

Not long after, the clerk came back with a happy look on his face. He said with a smile, "Sir, Sir, great news, good news, good news, good news."

Several ministers in the hall looked at each other, and then asked, "What good news?"

At this moment, the clerk came quickly and said, "The Duke of Wei captured Shengjing in Liaodong and wiped out the Jurchens."

It is worth mentioning that at this time, the Han court did not refer to the Jurchens as the Manchus, but only used derogatory terms such as Jurchens or Donglu.

As soon as the clerk's words came out, the faces of several ministers in the hall changed suddenly, and they were in disbelief.

The Shengjing city was broken?

The Jurchens were wiped out?

Although they expected that it was only a matter of time before Shengjing City was breached, the speed of the attack still caught the ministers present off guard.

A hint of joy immediately appeared on Lin Ruhai's elegant, fair face.

Did Ziyu win the battle? Did the Jurchens finally vanquish the enemy?

Li Zan asked, "Did Ziyu capture Shengjing?"

The clerk smiled and said, "Sir, the victory report of the Duke of Wei has been delivered to the capital. He has already sent troops to capture Shengjing City."

Li Zan asked, "Where is the victory report?"

Several ministers in the palace also stared at the clerk and asked, "Where is the victory report now?"

At this moment, a young eunuch walked into the palace quickly, his face excited, and said, "Sir, the red feather messenger is outside the palace asking to see the emperor."

"Take him to the palace quickly." Li Zan's voice was less calm than usual as he urged.

Because Emperor Chongping was in the Kunning Palace in the harem at the moment, even if the red-feathered messenger entered the palace, he would first talk to Li Zan and Gao Zhongping.

Not long after, accompanied by several guards, several red-feathered messengers entered the hall, bowed to Li Zan, and said in a hoarse voice: "I am honored to see you, Lord."

Li Zan stared at the messenger with a sharp gaze and asked, "Where is the military report?"

The red-feathered messengers didn't waste any time. They took out a military report from their cowhide bags and quickly handed it over.

A minor clerk in the cabinet took the military report and turned to hand it to Li Zan.

Li Zan took a military report and just began to read it attentively. After a while, his handsome and calm face showed irrepressible joy. Facing the gazes of Gao Zhongping, Qi Kun and others, he said excitedly: "The Duke of Wei has captured Shengjing City. The Jurchen regent, Prince Dorgon, has burned himself in the palace. The other Jurchen princes have all been beheaded by our great Han generals. The false ruler of the Jurchens surrendered. From now on, the Jurchens will no longer be a threat to our great Han!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall was suddenly filled with a joyous atmosphere.

At this moment, Gao Zhongping also took the military report delivered by Li Zan, read it attentively, and then passed it to each other, with a look of joy on his face.

The course of the war recorded in the military newspaper was very familiar. From the siege of Shengjing City, which failed for a long time, to the burning of food and fodder in the inner city and the use of psychological warfare to break the city, the whole process was clear.

Gao Zhongping nodded and said in a deep voice: "With this victory of the Duke of Wei, and the capture of Hetuala, our Han Dynasty has basically wiped out the foundation of the Jurchens' survival."

Li Zan nodded and said, "The false ruler of the Jurchens has also fallen into our hands. From now on, the Jurchens will never be able to stir up trouble again."

"The follow-up focus will be on treatment and rehabilitation," said Gao Zhongping.

At this moment, Qi Kun also finished reading the military report, and he felt a little emotional, saying: "Previously, the Duke of Wei wrote a memorial, mentioning that our Han Dynasty should set up officials and establish a system in Liaodong to reclaim wasteland and good farmland, and also mentioned that the land in Liaodong is fertile and can produce countless rice grains."

Gao Zhongping nodded and said, "But Liaodong is vast and sparsely populated, and we need immigrants to settle the border. However, Liaodong has always been a cold and harsh land, and there may not be enough people to leave their homes and go there to cultivate the land."

In fact, this is the corresponding strategy mentioned by Jia Heng in his subsequent memorials.

That is, the Production and Construction Corps, and then the soldiers of the Corps married on a large scale with local Mongolian and Jurchen women.

Then they completely assimilated the Jurchen, Mongolian and other tribes in terms of ethnicity.

"This matter still needs to be decided by His Majesty himself after Liaodong is completely recovered." Li Zan fixed his eyes and said softly.

At this moment, a young eunuch walked into the hall quickly, bowed and said, "Senior ministers, His Majesty is summoning several ministers to the inner study."

After Emperor Chongping vomited blood and fainted, he thought about it and finally decided to summon a few people to talk and discuss the subsequent governance of Liaodong.

Mainly, I wanted to read the military newspaper and understand the specific situation in Liaodong.

Hanyuan Hall, inner study room——

Emperor Chongping was now sitting on a pearwood chair behind the lacquered wooden desk, with a blanket covering his legs. His eyes were slightly narrowed under his thin eyebrows. It was obvious that the mouthful of blood just now made the emperor extremely worried.

As footsteps sounded, Li Zan, Gao Zhongping and other cabinet ministers entered the inner study room and bowed with great respect, saying, "Your humble servant greets His Majesty. Long live His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongping opened his drooping eyelids and said, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Several people present responded and then stood up.

Li Zan's face became solemn. He held the ivory jade tablet in his hand and said, "Your Majesty, there is good news from the front. Duke Weiguo led his troops to capture Shengjing City and wipe out the Jurchens. I congratulate Your Majesty and the Han Dynasty!"

At this moment, Dai Quan walked quickly forward, took the military report from Li Zan, turned around, and handed it to Emperor Chongping.

Emperor Chongping also quickly perked up, took the military report from Dai Quan, and began to read it attentively, first skimming through ten lines, and then reading it carefully.

Because he had already learned that Jia Heng had won a great victory, Emperor Chongping was now much calmer.

"It is really not easy for the traitors to burn the grain and fodder. The capital of a country is so strong." Emperor Chongping sighed.

Li Zan cupped his hands and said, "Otherwise, the war will be delayed until winter. The Jurchens are resisting stubbornly in Shengjing City."

Emperor Chongping nodded, and said in a much lighter tone: "Apart from the Jurchen pseudo-dynasty, the battle of Shengjing was also a war to destroy a country."

It can be said that Emperor Chongping was in a good mood at the moment, and he was also showing a rare sense of humor.

Li Zan bowed and said, "Your Majesty is right."

At this moment, Gao Zhongping cupped his hands, his face solemn, and said, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Wei has submitted a memorial to Your Majesty. Please read it."

This was the memorial that the clerk took out of the cowhide bag when he just arrived at the inner study and handed it to Gao Zhongping for delivery.

Emperor Chongping paused, looked deeply, and asked, "Zi Yu also sent a memorial?"

Gao Zhongping took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "Your Majesty, please read it."

Dai Quanwei came forward again, bowed, took the memorial from Gao Zhongping, turned around and handed it to Emperor Chongping beside him.

Emperor Chongping reached out to take the memorial and quickly flipped through it. His eyes, under his thin pine brows that looked like dead branches, could not wait to read it.

Gradually he sat up straight.

This memorial of Jia Heng was more like a supplement to the previous memorial on pacifying Liaodong. This time, he mentioned the establishment of additional production and construction corps to reclaim wasteland, and proposed marrying young soldiers with Mongolian and Jurchen women, and then gradually achieving the goal of "changing the race by changing the sword".

Of course, the text should be more literary: "If the marriage is established, the soldiers will have intercourse with Mongolian, Jurchen and other barbarian women for several generations, and their descendants will all learn Chinese characters and speak Chinese, and their hearts will be towards the Chinese Xia Dynasty. After a hundred years and several generations, Liaodong will become our inherent Han land, and the Han people will live there for generations..."

After reading the memorial, Emperor Chongping was still restless. His eyes deepened under his thin eyebrows that looked like dead branches. He said in a clear voice, "Zi Yu's strategy can ensure a hundred years of peace in Liaodong. It is truly a strategy for long-term stability of the country."

What is a national scholar? This is it. Ziyu has a talent that is beyond measure.

But Zi Yu is only twenty years old, and he is already so capable. Can the rulers of later generations be able to control him?

A deep feeling of worry once again arose in Emperor Chongping's heart.

It is said that he is both civil and military, and his strategies are amazing. Of course, Jia Heng is standing at the bottom of history, so he can naturally make sharp remarks and have a broad vision.

Emperor Chongping was in a weak state at this moment. Thinking of Jia Heng's amazing talents in the past, he couldn't help but feel an inexplicable fear in his heart.

Emperor Chongping was stunned for a moment, put down the memorial in his hand, paused for a moment, and murmured, "However, fortunately, he is addicted to women and does not know how to maintain his health, so he may not be able to...live long.

In fact, this was a self-righteous misunderstanding of Emperor Chongping, because Emperor Longzhi was also a womanizing person when he was young and had visited the south of the Yangtze River six times. However, Emperor Chongping worked hard on state affairs day and night, and was not as healthy and long-lived as Emperor Longzhi.

The same is true for the Ten-Perfect Man of later generations.

Seeing Emperor Chongping so emotional, Li Zan showed a hint of curiosity in his eyes and asked, "Your Majesty, what did the Duke of Weiguo mention in his memorial that made Your Majesty so emotional?"

At this moment, Emperor Chongping asked Dai Quan to pass the memorial to several cabinet ministers for their reading.

Li Zan took the memorial first, then began to read it. After a while, a look of shock appeared on his face.

It can be said that Jia Heng mentioned a strategy of how to thoroughly bring together different races. It is not about uniting the Manchus and the Han people, because there is no need for that. The Han population is large and can completely assimilate and integrate them.

The Jurchens’ writing system and clothing were destroyed, inter-ethnic marriages were allowed to the lower classes, the old upper class was suppressed, and the elites from the lower classes were promoted, thus thoroughly forming a common consciousness of Chinese culture.

It is said that when barbarians enter China, they become Chinese, and when Chinese enter the barbarians, they become barbarians.

Gao Zhongping also took the memorial and read it, his expression becoming solemn.

It has to be said that this advanced version of the memorial on the governance of Liaodong is quite to Gao Zhongping's liking.

Afterwards, all the cabinet ministers circulated it for reading.

At this moment, Emperor Chongping paused and asked, "We have won a great victory in this battle. What remains is the aftermath. The cabinet has drafted an order to instruct Jia Ziyu to take charge of the aftermath in Shengjing and inquire when the army will return."

Upon hearing this, all the cabinet ministers bowed in agreement.

Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment, his scattered gaze gathered into a line, and he said loudly: "Three days later, I will go to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices to my ancestors, to comfort the ancestral temple, and to comfort my ancestors."

It’s a pity that the little Jurchen emperor was not brought to the Taimiao.

At this point, the mess that the retired emperor had caused was completely made up by him.

But at what cost? He worked hard for the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Chongping's expression paused slightly, his eyes were dull, and while he felt a great sense of accomplishment in his heart, he also felt an indescribable sense of emptiness and loneliness.

At this moment, Li Zan looked at the middle-aged emperor who suddenly looked much older, and felt some emotion deep in his heart.

The emperor worked hard to govern the country, and finally got the country back on track after it had fallen into the abyss, but he also exhausted himself.

The matter of the Eastern Palace is also imminent.

On the other side, Lin Ruhai also finished reading the memorial submitted by Jia Heng, but his brows were tightly furrowed and a feeling of worry arose in his heart.

Zi Yu... really doesn't know how to hide his shortcomings.

Having just won a victory and pacified Liaodong, he has proposed a plan for pacifying Liaodong. His two memorials are each more brilliant than the last. What does His Majesty think?

Never mind, my talent couldn't be hidden anyway.

But if I do this, I will have to stay at home after returning to Beijing.

As Jia Heng's father-in-law, Lin Ruhai was a well-read man. He knew from the vast history that the moon waxes and wanes, and the water overflows when it is full.

Emperor Chongping said: "Jia Ziyu's contribution to the pacification of Liaodong this time is outstanding, no less than the contribution to the founding of the country. I intend to promote his title to a prince. What do you think?"

The cabinet ministers below were silent for a moment.

Li Zan cupped his hands and said, "Duke Weiguo has indeed made extraordinary contributions. I have no objection to this."

Gao Zhongping cupped his hands and said, "To conquer Liaodong and eliminate the border troubles, I think it is feasible to be promoted from Duke to Prince."

Qi Kun also bowed and seconded the motion.

Since Lin Ruhai was Jia Heng's father-in-law, he was not in a position to speak rashly for the moment and simply remained silent.

At this time, Lu Jiang said, "Your Majesty, although the Duke of Wei has made great contributions, he also has great faults. I think the title of Duke is already an honor and should not be rewarded any more, which will encourage his arrogance. Moreover, the Duke of Wei and Your Majesty are monarch and minister on the outside, and father-in-law and son-in-law on the inside. However, the Duke of Wei was a playboy when he was young and did many absurd things. Your Majesty did not punish him for his misbehavior, but instead showed him love and care. It is time for him to do his best to repay the monarch and help the country. I think the title of Prince is too much of a reward."

As soon as these words were spoken, the study room suddenly became quiet and silent.

Gao Zhongping did not expect Lu Jiang to say this. He turned around and looked at Lu Jiang in surprise.

It was obvious that Gao Zhongping had not been informed in advance at all.

Even though Lu Jiang was actually a member of Gao's party.

At this moment, Li Zan looked at Gao Zhongping who was looking at him in surprise, but a trace of doubt arose in his heart.

This……

Because of Jia Heng's extraordinary contribution in pacifying Liaodong, there was no dispute that he could be made a prince, and Emperor Chongping had also said so many times before. But now Lu Jiang suddenly launched an attack.

Things suddenly became confusing.

Will the emperor use this as an excuse to no longer confer the title of Duke of Weiguo on the Duke's throne?

As soon as this thought came to his mind, Li Zan quickly considered the possibility of not being conferred the title.

Others in the hall, such as Qi Kun, were stunned.

Lin Ruhai frowned, his heart in his throat.

Should the title of Prince be conferred or not?

(End of this chapter)