Today is the grand meeting.
It was still dark, and all the civil and military officials had gathered outside the Jinluan Hall.
The emperor hasn't come yet, so some ministers with good connections gathered together and whispered.
"Xuan!"
Following a young eunuch, he came to sing outside the main hall.
All civil and military officials followed the jade paths on both sides and entered the Golden Palace in order according to their civil and military grades.
There was no one on the dragon chair, and everyone was waiting quietly.
After another moment, the emperor took Wang Bao and turned out from behind the dragon chair.
"Your Majesty has arrived, and all the officials are saluting."
The eunuch Wang Bao shouted in a high voice.
The civil and military ministers all bowed and saluted: "My ministers, please see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live."
"Everyone, I love you."
The emperor slowly raised his hand and asked the ministers to stand up.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After all the civil and military officials thanked him, they stood up.
The emperor winked at Wang Bao. Wang Bao understood and shouted loudly: "If you have the right, you will start early, but if you don't have the right, you will retreat."
During this time, the emperor took in several new concubines.
Some people know the taste of food and wish they could stay in the palace every day and fool around with those concubines.
I was a little absent-minded when I went to court, thinking of going back to the harem quickly after going to court.
The recent government affairs have been somewhat neglectful.
Li Guanglu, Minister of the Ministry of War, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I have this memorial."
The emperor looked at Li Guanglu, remembered what he had entrusted before, and said, "Li Aiqing, it's about Liaodong, please tell me quickly."
"Yes, Your Majesty, the officials who went to Liaodong have returned. The King of Liaodong refused to send troops and has no plans to continue sending troops."
Li Guanglu's words made all the civil and military ministers' expressions change.
They turned their heads together and looked at his position.
What's this? This is disobedience.
Jia Cong is not an ordinary official. Now he has a heavy army, with more than 300,000 people under his command.
If you disobey, the consequences will be...
You don’t have to think about it, you know it.
Some people frowned in deep thought, wondering what the reason was for Jia Cong to do this.
There are also people who don't take it seriously and ignore it as it has nothing to do with themselves.
Some people are also considering whether this matter is true or false.
When the emperor heard this, he couldn't help but frown.
Jia Cong had previously repulsed the Mongols and pushed the barbarians all the way out of Liaodong. He was not a timid person.
What was the reason for rejecting the order from the Ministry of War this time?
His wife and children are still in the capital. At this time, it is impossible to go against the court.
Based on the Queen Mother's understanding of Jia Cong, Jia Cong should be a person who values love and justice, and would not be able to ignore his wife and children.
Thinking of this, he asked: "Li Aiqing, did Jia Aiqing say why they refused to send troops? Is there any reason? Didn't they fight well a few years ago?"
Li Guanglu clasped his fists and saluted: "Your Majesty, the King of Liaodong has said that this is not the time to attack Shenyang. Shenyang City has high walls and thick walls, and there are elite barbarian defenses. Our soldiers are no longer as powerful as the opponent, so we forcefully attack the city." , will only die in vain, the gain outweighs the loss.
The King of Liaodong is now stepping up the training of soldiers and horses to increase the combat effectiveness of the army, hoping to train some elite men, and then take action against Shenyang. The King of Liaodong said that he never fights an uncertain battle. "
Hearing what Li Guanglu said, the emperor also nodded secretly.
Jia Cong's statement is quite reasonable. Maybe he is right.
Jia Cong never drags his feet when fighting. He always uses all his strength to kill the enemy cleanly.
This time, maybe he really wasn't ready yet and wasn't sure he could win against his opponent.
In terms of fighting, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty could not compare with him.
Besides, Jia Cong has already captured most of Liaodong, and the remaining Shenyang, one day earlier and one day later, so there is no need to worry.
What's more, it was already Jia Cong's own territory.
Thinking of this, I felt relieved.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard someone say: "They are all excuses. It is obvious that the barbarians have been frightened by the imperial soldiers and horses. They fled one by one and took the opportunity to capture Shenyang. It should be easy. But now they have stopped moving forward. They have deliberate intentions." Where is it?"
Everyone looked up and saw that it was Liu Jin, the cabinet scholar.
Li Rong glanced at Liu Jin, puzzled.
Jia Cong shouldn't have offended this guy, so why is he always targeting him?
"Lord Liu, be careful. It took the King of Liaodong less than three months to drive the barbarians back to Shenyang and recover the occupied territory. This is a great achievement. How can we easily question it?
Shenyang has been occupied for many years, and the barbarians have been operating it for many years. The defense must be very tight. It is also necessary to be careful. It is better than suffering a defeat and fleeing in defeat, right? "
Niu Jizong also said: "Yes, fighting requires assessing the situation, knowing yourself and the enemy. The King of Liaodong knows the situation on the front line better than we do. Mr. Liu knows nothing and does not know how to fight, so it is better not to lie."
The emperor nodded: "Jia Aiqing's grasp of the battle situation can be said to be very good. We cannot speculate. Since he feels that the time has not come, then everything is up to him. I believe Jia Aiqing will not let me down."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
All the ministers shouted loudly.
The emperor smiled and glanced at the ministers.
"My dear friends, if there is nothing else, then..."
Before he finished speaking, another voice sounded.
"Your Majesty, I am going to impeach the King of Liaodong, sell land privately, and buy people's hearts. The King of Liaodong wants to distribute the land in Liaodong to his soldiers. This move is suspected of buying the hearts of the army. What does the King of Liaodong want? I hope your Majesty will understand. check."
The emperor was stunned when he heard the words and looked at the speaker, who was none other than the imperial emissary Li Zheng.
The emperor was aware of Jia Cong's strategy of encouraging the reclamation of wasteland.
But the emperor has never heard of allocating land to the soldiers in the army.
If this behavior was true, it was indeed suspected of buying people's hearts, which made the emperor frown.
Why did Jia Cong do this? Is there really something different?
He looked at Li Zheng and asked, "Li Aiqing, this is true. Do you have any evidence?"
"Reporting to your majesty, I have also heard that there is no concrete evidence. Your majesty only needs to send someone to Liaodong to find out."
After hearing what he said, the emperor looked at Li Guanglu again.
"Li Aiqing, don't you have officials from your Ministry of War who have just returned from Liaodong? I wonder if there is any news in this regard?"
Li Guanglu cupped his hands and said: "Reporting to your Majesty, this matter is only rumored among the army. The King of Liaodong seems to have this intention and wants his soldiers to open up wasteland for farming, but it has not been implemented."
The emperor looked at Wang Bao again and asked, "Is there any news from Xiu Yiwei?"
"Your Majesty, the Xiuyi Guards also knew the news. Because it was not implemented and the servants didn't know whether it was true or not, they didn't tell Your Majesty."
When Wang Bao saw his master asking about it, he quickly reported the truth.
After being kicked last time, he didn't dare to add fuel to the fire anymore.
However, he wanted to wait until the matter was confirmed before telling the emperor and directly sentence Jia Cong to a serious crime.
Now that someone had exposed it, he could only tell the truth.
When the emperor heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It would be nice if this didn't happen.
However, there is no smoke without fire, so we still need to send someone to pay attention to this matter.
Looking at the ministers below, the emperor said: "My dear friends, what do you think about this matter?"
Liu Jin stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance and we must send someone to investigate thoroughly. I suggest that we send someone to Liaodong to investigate the matter thoroughly."
Li Rongdao: "This matter has no basis or evidence. Your Majesty must not believe it. Again.
It is said that Liaodong is already the fiefdom of the King of Liaodong, and he has people clearing wasteland for farming. This is not a big deal. "
Niu Jizong said: "Your Majesty, I have also heard of the King of Liaodong's reward system for clearing up wasteland. Isn't this obviously a good thing? Ordinary people can open up wasteland and cultivate fields. Why can't our soldiers in the army?"
The emperor was stunned when he heard this, Niu Jizong, what you said is not unreasonable.
At this time, Lin Ruhai also went out to play in class.
"Your Majesty, Li Shangshu said that the army should open up wasteland and cultivate farmland, that is, military settlements. This policy has existed since ancient times. The policy of military settlements was implemented in the Ming Dynasty. Now it is implemented in Liaodong. There is nothing wrong with it.
Not only can it effectively reclaim and utilize the land in Liaodong, but it can also attract some people to Liaodong, so that after the war, Liaodong can recover some people as soon as possible, stabilize the order in Liaodong, and restore agricultural production in Liaodong. This is good governance. "
The emperor glanced at Lin Ruhai and knew that he was Jia Cong's father-in-law, and also knew that what he said was right.
Turning to look at Hu Yong, he asked, "Hu Aiqing, what do you think of this matter?"
Hu Yong took a step forward and cupped his hands towards the emperor.
"Your Majesty, what Mr. Lin said makes sense. Opening up wasteland for farming, whether civilian or military, is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. There are too many barren lands in Liaodong. It is indeed very suitable to implement the system of clearing wasteland and farming. .
However, the imperial army went to Liaodong to fight and recover the lost territory, not to cultivate land for the king of Liaodong. The old minister believed that civilian settlements were acceptable but military settlements were unnecessary. The army should still focus on fighting and could not put the cart before the horse. "
The emperor nodded: "What Hu Aiqing said makes sense. The army is supported by the court. It only needs to train troops and fight. It only matters how many people there are in the fields. Since Liaodong has not implemented it yet, your cabinet will issue a document to remind Jia Aiqing."
"Old minister, I obey."
Hu Yong bowed in response and accepted the mission.
The emperor looked around at everyone again and said, "Okay, let's end this matter and withdraw from the court."
"Best farewell to Your Majesty."
······
Soon, Jia Cong received documents from the court.
Jia Cong opened it and saw that it was the writing of the cabinet.
It stated what the imperial court wanted, that is, it could open up wasteland for farming in Liaodong, but the army could not participate.
At the same time, it also said that the imperial court sent troops to Liaodong to fight, not to farm. I hope Jia Cong will not act out of emotion.
In this regard, Jia Cong could only shake his head and sigh.
I just had an idea, but before I expected it, it had already reached the court.
It seems that there are some spies among others in the army.
Moreover, most of them were from the imperial court, so it was really hard for me to do anything.
Jia Cong has not yet figured out how to deal with these people, so he can only turn a blind eye for the time being.
Keep them for now, maybe they can be used for other purposes in the future.
Along with the court documents, two letters arrived.
One was written by Li Rong to him, and the other was a letter from Xue Baochai’s family.
Li Rong told himself some things about the court and the emperor's attitude.
He also advised himself to act with caution and not to do something sensitive that would give others an excuse to criticize.
As for Xue Baochai's letters, they are almost all trivial matters at home.
He talked about the current situation at home and the situation of the children, saying that they were all fine and told himself not to worry.
Later, he expressed his love for me.
He also vaguely mentioned Xue Baoqin and asked him to take good care of her.
After putting away the letter, Jia Cong also began to think about it.
Since the imperial court does not allow us to do military affairs, it is not easy for us to do it ourselves.
Otherwise, it would be blatantly going against the imperial court.
Doing so is not in your own interests.
It seems that the military camp issue can only be postponed.
There is no rush to do this, I originally planned to do it next year.
Let's see and talk about it then. If the court really won't let go, just think of other ways.
Now after several battles, many disabled people have appeared in the army.
There are still some old and weak people in the army. These people don't have much fighting ability. They stay in the team purely to fill the gap.
These people can be retired early, and then organized to let them open up wasteland and farmland.
When the time comes, just report these people as battle losses.
Thinking of this, I let go of the matter.
In the following days, Jia Cong took Lin Daiyu, Shi Xiangyun and others around Liaoyang City, and then went to the palace's construction site.
Then, in the name of inspection, he led everyone around Liaodong.
Finally, I went to Guangning and rested for two days in the old courtyard.
It took nearly two months to complete this circle, and it could be considered that the wishes of those women were fulfilled.
After resting for a few days in Guangning, the group entered the Khalkha prairie.
It's midsummer now, and the cooler it gets the further north you go.
The Khalkha steppe in summer is green and has a pleasant climate, which is perfect for summer vacation.
The prairie is full of vitality. Under the blue sky and white clouds, there are green grass and cattle and sheep can be seen everywhere.
Soon after entering the grassland, you can see herdsmen grazing everywhere, driving large areas of cattle and sheep to graze on the grassland.
Lin Daiyu, Shi Xiangyun, Xue Baoqin and others have never been to the prairie.
Seeing this endless prairie, I cheered instantly.
"Wow, this grassland is so beautiful!"
Jia Cong smiled, feeling really relaxed and happy when he came to this prairie.
It has been four or five years since I left the prairie.
Come here again, revisit the old place, feel the changes here, and recall the past years.
I was only twelve years old back then, and I came to the grassland as a businessman.
Now that he is back, he is back as a king.
Just as he was thinking about it, Xue Baoqin pointed forward and exclaimed loudly: "Brother-in-law, it's bad, a group of Mongolian cavalry is coming over there. There are so many people. Let's run quickly."
Jia Cong looked up and saw a group of cavalry galloping towards him in the distance. There were about two thousand people, and the target was his side.
