This was not the first time Jia Lian had met the Holy Spirit, and he no longer felt as uneasy as before.
Therefore, when facing the emperor's inquiry, he was very objective and slowly told what happened in the desert in official language.
Although he had experienced it personally and had repeatedly made outstanding achievements, there was no hint of pride in Jia Lian's words and demeanor, which made Emperor Ning Kang very satisfied.
After Jia Lian finished his statement and apologized to him for failing to see through Prince Wala's conspiracy as early as possible, which resulted in the loss of his army, Emperor Ningkang waved his hand and said in a cold voice: "This matter is not your fault. I remember Prince Nawala back then. When I was still in the capital, didn't all the officials in the court see through this man's wild ambitions, but instead all of them put in good words for him..."
Speaking of this, Emperor Ning Kang's face turned cold. He remembered that Prince Navarre planned those things carefully. When he was in the capital, he secretly bribed many court ministers.
Otherwise, even if Prince Navarre's plot is not visible, how could there be so many ministers speaking for him!
After the incident occurred, the court was busy calming down the turmoil and had not yet 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 carefully. By the way, if he can use this to make those old people who have been staring at him a little more honest, he can also be more relaxed.
Seeing that all the doubts in his heart had been solved, Emperor Ning Kang did not ask further questions, but turned to Xiang He and said: "Xiang Aiqing has worked hard this time, so he took advantage of the court's break to go home and have a good time." Take a break.
In addition, regarding the rewards from the court, the Ministry of Revenue will send someone to deliver them to Aiqing's house later. "
Xiang He was a little excited. He had worked hard for half a year and received a word of condolence from the emperor. He felt that everything was worth it, so he immediately thanked the holy grace.
After getting up, he glanced at Jia Lian beside him and then exited the south study room wisely.
When only the monarch and his ministers were left, Emperor Ningkang looked at Jia Lian, who was standing quietly in front of him with his hands down, and suddenly said coldly: "Jia Lian, do you know your guilt?"
Jia Lian was startled, thinking for a moment that Princess Zhaoyang's story had been leaked. After all, other than that, he believed that his trip to Wala had merit but no fault.
His body trembled slightly, but he knelt down as usual, with a look of fear on his face, "I am stupid, your majesty, please make it clear."
"I received a secret report saying that when you were at Ganning Pass, you took your own power and not only bullied your colleagues, but also ignored the interests of the court and coerced and humiliated the new envoy of Oala, King Song Ye, which almost caused the two countries to restart the war.
Can you plead guilty? "
Hearing Emperor Ning Kang say this, Jia Lian immediately breathed a sigh of relief. And he knew immediately who was snitching on him.
Since there was no one else, it was just the few "most dignified" marriage envoys in the mission.
"Reporting to your majesty, anyone who comes as an envoy under the emperor's orders to do important things for the court will be jealous of Xiaoxiao. Otherwise, your majesty would not have personally given the humble minister Shangfang the sword to eliminate Xiaoxiao and protect himself.
Therefore, in order to complete the mission entrusted by His Majesty, the minister must have unintentionally offended some colleagues, and therefore was impeached. But to say that a low-ranking official takes power for himself and bullies his colleagues is really a slander.
As for disregarding the interests of the imperial court and humiliating the king of Song Dynasty, this is even more nonsense.
Since ancient times, envoys from the two countries have negotiated, and each has its own position. They should strive for the interests of their own countries and do their best. How can they save face for each other?
Therefore, in the negotiation with Song Ye Wang, Wei Chen spoke fiercely and refused to give in, which made Song Ye King very angry with Wei Chen. These were all factors. If any colleagues think that at the negotiation table, one should behave like a gentleman and show mercy to the opponent, then I have nothing to say.
and……"
Jia Lian seemed a little angry and made a fierce speech.
There was a pause in the middle of the sentence, and he glanced at Emperor Ning Kang. Seeing that he had no intention of interrupting, he continued to reply loudly: "Moreover, the reason why I competed with the Ye King of Song Dynasty and dealt with him for many days was , the reason is that he wants to add a new unreasonable request, and naturally this minister cannot agree to it!"
"Oh, what's the extraordinary request? Tell me about it." Emperor Ning Kang seemed to really not know, and asked a little curiously.
Jia Lian was happy to cooperate, "You traitor, you deceived and teased me, the Wei Dynasty, and put my Wei Princess in deep danger. However, after knowing that my Wei Princess returned safely, he still dared to ask me, the Wei Dynasty, to continue to marry her." , marry the princess of my dynasty to their so-called eldest prince.
Don't say whether Prince Navarre is a good match for Her Royal Highness the Princess as he has already taken a wife and concubines. From my point of view, Da Wei, I absolutely cannot agree to this matter.
Your Majesty, please think about it carefully. Initially, our dynasty formed an alliance with Oara. Not only did we make King Navara the khan of the entire grassland and marry our most noble princess to Oara, but we also promised to support Oara when Oara suffered a military disaster from the Tatars. Send troops to help. With such favorable conditions, I, the Wei Dynasty, treat Wala very well.
Then Wala did not think of kindness, and conspired against our court, trying to capture our princess and offer it to the Tatars, thereby provoking a new round of war between our Wei Dynasty and the Tatars, so that they could reap the benefits!
The ambition of the wolf is obvious.
Fortunately, Princess Zhaoyang was blessed and did not fall into the hands of her enemies.
But our court has been deceived by Wala and has lost all face. If we agree to their request at this time and marry Her Highness the Princess, how should our vassal and surrounding foreign countries treat me, the Wei Dynasty?
Don't they think that in order to win over a small Oala, our country has not even considered the dignity of the country?
Moreover, Navarre might also use the name of marriage to confuse the fact that they had betrayed their trust, and confuse right and wrong in the exchanges between countries.
Therefore, no matter from the perspective of national interests or the face of the court, agreeing to make peace with Oala again is harmful and unprofitable to our court, so I firmly refuse.
I am dedicated to the consideration of the imperial court and His Majesty. If there are other colleagues who feel that the only way to do this is to cater to the ideas of the Oara people, it is only for the imperial court's consideration. However, I tried my best to argue according to reason and protect the face of our court, but it was in vain to consider the interests of the court, and I had nothing to say. "
Jia Lian's words made Emperor Ning Kang a little stunned.
In fact, Emperor Ningkang had already known about the resumption of negotiations between Jia Lian and Wala.
Although the negotiation was delayed for more than half a month because of Jia Lian's persistence. But in the end, Jia Lian did not harm the interests of the Wei Dynasty. Instead, with a combination of hard and soft tactics, Jia Lian made Wala retreat and gave up marrying Princess Zhaoyang.
Therefore, Emperor Ning Kang had no intention and no reason to punish Jia Lian for this.
The reason why he mentioned this matter was just to suppress Jia Lian's mood and pave the way for what would happen next.
Who would have known that Jia Lian was already prepared and presented so many "reasons" in one breath.
However, this kid still makes sense, which makes him seem a bit harsh even if he wants to find fault.
Looking at Jia Lian standing in the hall, looking a little indignant and aggrieved, Emperor Ning Kang secretly rolled his eyes, but he did not deliberately suppress Jia Lian.
"I understand what you said. It's rare for you to be so thoughtful at such a young age.
Huh, that person who has only read half of the book, and who only knows how to hold on to the weak and defend his position, how can he understand the true righteousness? If you don't understand the truth, I won't agree even if they send the previous credentials back to Beijing.
Who do they think my princess is? Is it someone Nawala can marry if he wants to?
Long before you entered the capital, I had already decreed that the person who impeached you should be demoted from the capital. There is no need for such a short-sighted and foolish person to stay in the court. "
Since Jia Lian had his own words, Emperor Ning Kang took the opportunity to show that he and Jia Lian were on the same page in order to protect his own face, so that Jia Lian would be grateful.
But Jia Lian knew that despite what Emperor Ning Kang was saying now, he was categorical. If we really want to go back to the beginning, and use a princess who has become an outcast, in his own hands, and difficult to deal with in exchange for Wala's concessions, 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 in the first place.
With this thought in his mind, Jia Lian looked relieved and said, "Your Majesty, you are wise!"
"Get up."
He raised his hand to let Jia Lian stand up, and then Emperor Ning Kang changed his tone and looked closer to him.
"Do you still remember what I said to you when you left Beijing?"
"I dare not forget this. Your Majesty wants me to use this trip as an envoy to Wala to find out as much as possible about Wala's situation so as to prepare for the future.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Unfortunately, due to these sudden changes, Wei Chen only took a long trip to the south of Oara, and could not even enter their royal court. Naturally, he failed to fulfill His Majesty's important trust, which disappointed His Majesty. "
Emperor Ningkang shook his head, "Although you have not arrived at the Navarre Palace, at least you have left Xisai. What, if I ask you to command the three armies now, are you sure that you can defeat all the enemies in the Western Border?"
Jia Lian was stunned. Let him command the three armies? true or false?
But Jia Lian reacted quickly and immediately clasped his fists and bowed: "If you have your majesty's trust and are willing to bear the great trust, although I dare not speak loudly to destroy the enemies of Western Xinjiang, I am willing to be your majesty's vanguard and march across Western Xinjiang for your majesty's grand plan." It's a great cause, and I'll do whatever it takes to do it."
Jia Lian's voice was loud and clear, allowing the eunuchs inside and outside the palace to hear it.
If they hadn't all known that the only one who was meeting the emperor now was Jia Lian, I'm afraid they would have thought that at this moment, His Majesty the Emperor was discussing a war to destroy the country with a group of generals.
This General Jia is so favored by His Majesty that he dares to say anything in front of His Majesty...
The eunuchs felt that Jia Lian's words were too flattering, but Emperor Ning Kang did not.
I still remember that when I decided to train Jia Lian, I saw that he was quite passionate. In order to protect his father's reputation, he even dared to beat the prince in public!
What monarch wouldn't like such a passionate, capable, loyal and patriotic person?
Therefore, he nodded secretly and did not express more 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 in Western Xinjiang, including major towns and Anxi Prefecture.
Jia Lian also reported to Emperor Ningkang in a simple way about some of the pros and cons he saw.
Emperor Ning Kang was very concerned about this.
Although he boasted that his intelligence was not inferior to that of the Supreme Emperor, he also knew that compared with the Supreme Emperor, he was an emperor who had never left the capital.
The situation at the country's borders can only be understood from the mouths of trusted ministers.
Since we want to solve the border troubles in Western Xinjiang, the armament situation in Western Xinjiang is naturally the top priority.
He was relieved to learn that the Western Border Army had no major problems and was quite capable.
Xu was Jia Lian today, which gave him a lot of surprises. He actually wanted to talk more about military affairs with Jia Lian.
"Over the past few years, I have had countless discussions with the veterans of the Ministry of War regarding border troubles.
Jia Lian, in your opinion, if our country wants to gain an advantage in the future war with the horse people in the north, what preparations should be made? "
In his heart, Emperor Ningkang wanted to fight a war that would be remembered in history, and he had to win a complete victory, so that he could erase the influence of the Supreme Emperor on him and truly keep his word in the court.
To this end, he has been planning and preparing for several years, waiting for the opportunity.
When Jia Lian heard this, he quickly shook his head: "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. Naturally, I dare not talk about national policies."
"One person is the enemy, and two people are the enemy. Since I ask you, just tell me."
"Then, I'll just say it straight...
Although I don’t know what specific preparations should be made in order to deal with those foreign races that repeatedly invade 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 Ning Kang was questioning, his expression looked a little disappointed.
"As for firearms, when I inspected the Shenji Camp, I was also shocked by their extraordinary power. However, after listening to the explanations of several veteran generals who were good at fighting, I didn't pay much attention to them anymore.
Now that you have mentioned it, you might as well express your thoughts. "
Emperor Ning Kang's disappointment was as expected by Jia Lian.
In fact, firearms have been used in wars for hundreds of years.
But looking at the previous dynasties, although firearms were developed, it was obvious that they did not pay much attention to them.
Because although firearms are powerful, they also have outstanding shortcomings.
The battlefield is constantly changing. As bulky firearms, whether they are muskets or artillery, in terms of movement and precise strikes, they are far inferior to horseback shooting, which is faster and more powerful.
It is also easy to accidentally injure one's own people.
Moreover, the research and development and manufacturing of firearms require a large amount of money to support them, which is far less economical than crossbows.
There are shortcomings such as this, and in previous wars, many armies equipped with firearms did not achieve any overly practical advantages when fighting the enemy.
Investment and actual results are not directly proportional. So it's no wonder that 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 fate-changing moment when firearms were used on the battlefield!
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 veteran generals in the army don't like to use firearms, and I naturally know that.
Wei Chen also knows that the firearms manufactured by Shenji Camp today do have serious shortcomings.
However, I feel that if firearms can be used well, they may not be a big killer on the battlefield.
Although the existing firearms in Shenji Camp have many shortcomings, they may not be unable to be improved.
I once got acquainted with a Franconian businessman who came across the ocean to our country, Wei. According to him, in their country, which is tens of thousands of miles away from us, combat weapons have been replaced by ordinary swords. All kinds of firecrackers.
In particular, the war between their country and the enemy country is not even conducted on land. Instead, some powerful artillery is moved to countless ships, and then sailed thousands or even tens of thousands of miles to fight the war with the enemy country! "
"What, tens of thousands of miles?"
Emperor Ning Kang felt a little incredible.
As the emperor of the Wei Dynasty, he certainly did not believe that there was only one China in the world like those dynasties long ago.
He also knew that there were other countries far away from Wei.
But the impression those countries gave him was 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 when the Wei Dynasty conquered foreign tribes, the battle line stretched thousands of miles, which was already considered far away. It's only a few thousand miles at most, so it's considered an expedition.
Thousands of miles away, in Emperor Ningkang's mind, there was no concept of such a war.
"I thought it was incredible at first, so I also contacted some other foreigners who came from across the ocean to inquire about it. Although some people said something different, 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.
I thought that since firearms could be carried on ships for ocean expeditions.
Then why don’t we, the Great Wei, follow suit? If we can build a decent fleet, among other things, the Japanese pirates that have been harassing us all year round on the southeast coast will not be a problem.
As for how to apply it to the battle with the horse people in the north, Wei Chen didn't think about it for a while.
After all, the prairie cavalry is too sharp and fast. With the disadvantages of current firearms, I'm afraid it may not be useful. "
Jia Lian was afraid of arousing Emperor Ning Kang's rebellious mentality, so he deliberately spoke tactfully.
In fact, although in front of hot weapons, cold weapons are really scum. But that was also the 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.
If nothing else, take the "Folangji", which is the best in the development of Western thermal weapons. Even if they fight as a whole country, the Wei Dynasty can rely on thousands of years of fighting skills and a huge army to defeat them. Conquer...
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 businessmen who came to the Wei Dynasty with the belief that the East was full of gold would not be so honest.
Therefore, Jia Lian is not too worried that the Wei Dynasty is too far behind the West. 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 five thousand years and its strong national power, it can easily overtake the West.
In this way, in the future Age of Discovery, it is still unclear who will be the real trendsetter.
Emperor Ning Kang originally did not believe that firearms could have any great effect, but Jia Lian's words were so conclusive that he secretly became suspicious.
After asking several questions repeatedly, Jia Lian was able to answer them, and Emperor Ning Kang became silent.
After thinking for a long time, he said: "Since you are so confident in firearms, I happen to remember that the Shenji Camp still lacks a deputy commander, so you can take up the position temporarily.
Remember, I don't like people lying to me.
I will give you three years at most. If you can't produce any results for me to see, then don't blame me for punishing you for deceiving the king and neglecting your superiors. "
"I accept the order and will definitely live up to the trust entrusted by the Holy One!"
Deputy Commander, has he been promoted?
It seems not.
He seemed to be a fourth-rank official, because he remembered that the commander of the Shenji Battalion was only a third-rank official. The commander of one unit was only a third-rank servant, which shows the court's disdain for firearms.
Ignoring Jia Lian's slander below, Emperor Ning Kang turned his head to look at the two bright yellow imperial edicts in the dark grid under the dragon's eucalyptus.
After hesitating for a moment, he took out one of them and acted as if he didn't care.
"Okay, kneel down and listen to the order."
Jia Lian's expression turned serious, knowing that Xiaozhuo had been right for a long time, and finally it was the moment he was most concerned about.
