nashuaworldcup #380 - The key to pacifying the Luo bandits is the Jia family? The cancer of our Daqing!
#380 - The key to pacifying the Luo bandits is the Jia family? The cancer of our Daqing!
Bang!
A teacup was forcefully thrown to the ground, instantly shattering into pieces.
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The current emperor, dressed in a dragon robe, held the newly delivered intelligence report about Luo Fu in his hand, his face flushed with anger, veins bulging.
“So these are the meritorious nobles of my Great Qing, so unscrupulous, oppressing the people. For a piece of so-called jade material they haven't even seen, they forced a scholar to the point of family ruin, even driving him to become a rebel.”
The current emperor's anger seemed excessive.
Regarding the current emperor's veiled criticism, a fleeting moment of shame and anger flashed in the seemingly cloudy eyes of the Emperor Emeritus, and he said, “Your Majesty, the current priority is not to dwell on the culprits. The problems of the Ning and Rong households can be dealt with after the Luo Tian Army in Yangzhou is resolved. The most important thing now is how to deal with this Luo Fu.”
“Father,” the current emperor said, taking a deep breath, “You have also seen that these meritorious nobles have completely become a cancer of my Great Qing. Haven't you seen the memorials sent by those grand scholars? Saying these bastards are good for nothing but bad for everything is already a compliment. If we can't solve the troubles they bring, I'm afraid my Great Qing will become a short-lived dynasty.”
“Bastard!” the Emperor Emeritus rebuked, “Don't forget, the reason why we have the Great Qing today is because the ancestors of these people worked tirelessly, braving the cold and snow, and went through countless bloody battles before we had the Great Qing today. These people have violated the laws of the country, and the emperor can certainly punish them, but he must never dishearten the old ministers. Know that it's easy to lose people's hearts, but difficult to gain them. Tell me, if you are mean and ungrateful, who would be willing to risk their lives for my family?”
The current emperor's face flushed red, but he had to admit that the Emperor Emeritus's words did have some truth to them. The emperor needed the support of his ministers, and a dynasty should pay attention to clear rewards and punishments.
Unfortunately, the Emperor Emeritus overlooked a key point, which was that in the eyes of the current emperor, the meritorious nobles had already enjoyed wealth and glory for several generations. Even if they did have founding merits, so many generations of grace were enough to compensate for their past contributions.
And now, in the eyes of the current emperor, each and every meritorious noble was like a parasite of the country, constantly eroding the foundation of the Great Qing Dynasty.
If the Emperor Emeritus hadn't been holding him back, the current emperor would have probably already started to purge those meritorious nobles.
In the current emperor's view, the downfall of any meritorious noble could restore a bit of vitality to the Great Qing, and if those parasites could be completely eliminated, the Great Qing would surely be peaceful and prosperous, with a promising future.
Having been able to sit firmly on the throne for so many years, and even repeatedly making things difficult for the current emperor after his abdication, how could the Emperor Emeritus not see through the current emperor's little thoughts?
With a sigh in his heart, the Emperor Emeritus said, “Emperor, what do you think my Great Qing should do with this Luo Tian rebel now?”
“Send troops to suppress him,” the current emperor said through gritted teeth, looking as if he hated Luo Fu to the bone.
Although after investigating Luo Fu's intelligence, the current emperor had some sympathy for Luo Fu's experience, as a feudal emperor, he cared more about his own throne.
In his view, you can have grievances, and you can appeal, but you must never cause chaos in the world in this way.
Don't even think about doing it, let alone actually doing it!
But Luo Fu occupied Yangzhou and cut off the Grand Canal.
You must know that the capital, as the capital of the Great Qing, cannot be self-sufficient by relying solely on the north. Even the necessary grain needs to be transported from the south to the north through the Grand Canal.
But in this situation, Luo Fu captured Yangzhou and cut off the Grand Canal.
This was almost challenging the bottom line of the entire Great Qing.
Which is tolerable, which is not tolerable?!
Even in the hearts of both the current emperor and the Emperor Emeritus, Luo Fu's actions were much more serious than those of a few parasitic meritorious nobles.
“Where will the troops come from?” the Emperor Emeritus said calmly and unhurriedly, “Who will command the troops? How will they fight? How long will they fight? Before the troops move, the supplies must go first. What if the war goes badly?”
A series of questions caused the current emperor to ponder for a moment before resolutely opening his mouth and saying, “Wang Ziteng, isn't he the Grand Commandant of the Capital Garrison? Let him lead the elite of the Capital Garrison south. Although the Luo rebel has occupied Yangzhou, he is, after all, just a scholar. Relying on internal and external cooperation to launch a sneak attack and seize Yangzhou, he has been slow to act, obviously just a bandit. I expect that with the elite of the Capital Garrison, it shouldn't take long to recover Yangzhou.”
The Emperor Emeritus helplessly glanced at the current emperor and said, “Emperor, are you really clear about the situation of the Capital Garrison?”
“Of course,” the current emperor said, puzzled, “The Capital Garrison is composed of the elite of my Great Qing. In the past, the Taizu relied on 300,000 tigers and wolves to open up the century-old Jiangshan of my Great Qing.”
“Then do you know how many troops the Capital Garrison actually has now? And how many of them are brave soldiers?”
The current emperor's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and countless thoughts flashed quickly through his mind.
Eating empty salaries?
Could it be that on paper, the Great Qing's elite, even the 300,000 Capital Garrison soldiers who can be called the power to镇压the country, now only have those good-looking numbers on paper?
In an instant, an unprecedented panic surged into the current emperor's heart.
“Father, the Capital Garrison…”
The Emperor Emeritus did not answer directly, but nodded slightly.
“Then… then what should we do?”
“What's the panic? My Great Qing has only been established for a hundred years, and it's not yet time for the building to collapse. The hearts of the people are still with my Great Qing.” The Emperor Emeritus looked as steady as Mount Tai.
But the current emperor did not have the Emperor Emeritus's composure.
After all, in the current emperor's view, even the Capital Garrison, which truly镇压the world, only has good-looking figures on paper. If Luo Fu cannot be extinguished in a short period of time, wouldn't the Great Qing, which has been established for a hundred years, be destroyed in his hands?
Of course, although the current emperor was panicked, he was not panicked because he thought Luo Fu could change the dynasty.
In fact, in everyone's mind now, Luo Fu is at most just a chaotic bandit.
Even if he knew the weakness of the Great Qing, the current emperor did not think that Luo Fu could replace the Great Qing. In the current emperor's view, even if the Great Qing was destroyed, Luo Fu would at most be like Zhang Jiao at the end of the Han Dynasty and Huang Chao at the end of the Tang Dynasty.
What he feared was that if Luo Fu could not be resolved as soon as possible, his existence would let the people of the world see the weakness of the Great Qing, and once a powerful man developed ambitions, the world would be in chaos in an instant.
What was even more terrifying was that if Luo Fu could not be resolved as soon as possible, then Luo Fu's existence would make the Great Qing worse and worse.
In the end, the world would fall into a situation where heroes would compete.
Just as the emperor was uneasy.
The Emperor Emeritus said, “Emperor, you value those civil servants too much. You must know that the way to govern a country is to attach equal importance to both civil and military affairs. Do you think those grand scholars are really so upright and honest? Compared with the military勋贵, these ministers are just birds of a feather.”
Although the current emperor looked like he was listening to the teachings, the Emperor Emeritus, who understood people's hearts, could see that his words were in vain, because the emperor did not take his words to heart at all.
After fighting for so long, the core of the conflict between the father and son was always power.
But in terms of maintaining the Great Qing Jiangshan社稷, the father and son would inevitably stand on the same position.
With a sigh, the Emperor Emeritus did not continue to persuade him, but said, “Emperor, you don't like to listen to my old man's words now, it doesn't matter, but I want to tell you that you must never regard the words of those civil servants as the truth, you can believe it, but you must have your own ideas, and you must never listen to the civil servants in everything.”
After a pause, the Emperor Emeritus changed the subject and said, “As for dealing with the Luo rebel, the emperor can follow your previous idea and hand it over to Wang Ziteng.”
As soon as he said this, the current emperor's expression suddenly changed, suppressing the anger in his heart and said, “Father, now the Capital Garrison…”
“I know.” Before the current emperor could finish his words, he was directly interrupted by the Emperor Emeritus, “But the court has always been maintaining the Capital Garrison on paper. As the Grand Commandant of the Capital Garrison, you only need to hand over the matter of pacifying the Luo rebel to Wang Ziteng.”
At the moment when the voice fell, the Emperor Emeritus looked at the emperor meaningfully.
The current emperor thought about it thoughtfully and said, “Is it the Jia family?”
Smiling and nodding, the Emperor Emeritus said, “That's right, the Luo rebel himself was forced to rebel because of the Jia family. The previous Grand Commandant of the Capital Garrison has always been the Jia family, and now Wang Ziteng was also pushed to the Grand Commandant of the Capital Garrison by the Jia family.”
“But even if this Luo rebel is resolved, won't this soldier also have generals?” the current emperor said worriedly.
“That will have to wait until Wang Ziteng returns victoriously!” The Emperor Emeritus smiled and said, “The Capital Garrison is actually no longer the elite of my dynasty. The forbidden army and the border army are the key to the stability of Jiangshan of my Great Qing.”
As soon as he said this, the emperor's face suddenly became ugly.
The most critical point why he repeatedly fell behind in the struggle with the Emperor Emeritus was that the forbidden army was always firmly controlled by the Emperor Emeritus.
Even at this point, the father and son were still fighting each other.
Soon, after the decree was sent to Wang Ziteng's residence.
Wang Ziteng, who received the decree, rushed to the Rongguo Mansion as soon as possible.
Rongguo Mansion.
The Jia family, the Wang family, the Shi family, except for the Xue family, who had to retreat to Jinling because Luo Fu occupied Yangzhou.
Among the four major families, three families are now gathered in the Rongxi Hall of the Rongguo Mansion.
“Old Madam, the Holy One has issued an edict, ordering me to personally lead the Capital Garrison to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion, but you are also clear about this Capital Garrison, and…” Wang Ziteng went straight to the point and said, “The leader of the rebels who occupied Yangzhou, Luo Fu, was bullied by the Jia family's servants, and eventually his parents died, which led him to raise the flag and rebel.”
“You mean, let my Jia family bear the responsibility for this Yangzhou suppression?” Jia She was not good at anything else, but he was quite shrewd in spending money.
As soon as Wang Ziteng spoke, he immediately understood the key point.
This Wang Ziteng clearly wanted the Jia family to bear the burden of this suppression, but with the declining Jia family, how could he bear such a burden?
Wang Ziteng smiled slightly and looked at the Shi family brothers beside him.
The Shi family brothers, with ugly faces, looked at each other and said, “Master Wang, tell us what you want.”
“The list.” Wang Ziteng said in an unquestionable tone.
The current Jia family hadn't yet reached the point of obvious decline that it would in the future, although the trend of decline was already an unavoidable posture.
However, the Jia family still possessed the connections that Wang Ziteng craved.
You must know that even Wang Ziteng, the Chief Military Commissioner of the Capital Garrison, had smoothly ascended to his position with the help of the Jia family.
In fact, the Jia family had continuously held the position of Chief Military Commissioner of the Capital Garrison for several generations, to the point where it almost seemed like the position was hereditary within the Jia family.
Wang Ziteng would only truly become the legitimate head of the Four Great Families after obtaining the connections belonging to the Jia family.
And it was after that that Grandmother Jia would lament that the Jia family, once a family with two dukes, had fallen to the level of a middle-class family.
Having lost its most crucial connections, all that remained was the signboard of the Duke's Mansion, as empty as a plaque.
In this capital city, it was not surprising at all that the Jia family considered themselves a middle-class family.
And Wang Ziteng, relying on the Jia family's connections, leaped to prominence.
Grandmother Jia leaned against the chaise lounge with a livid expression, staring at Wang Ziteng for a long time before sighing helplessly, "Alright, I'll give you the list, but this time, when you go south to quell the rebellion, there must be someone from my Jia family in the army!"
Overjoyed, Wang Ziteng nodded quickly and readily agreed, "Rest assured, Old Madam."
Rest assured? Not likely.
Grandmother Jia rolled her eyes at Wang Ziteng and then rubbed her throbbing forehead.
On the other side, Jia She revealed a greedy look in his eyes, "Lord Wang, you're taking the Jia family's resources to quell the rebellion in the south, reaping both fame and fortune. It wouldn't be fair if you only brought a few Jia family members along to gain some merit, would it?"
Wang Ziteng wore a calm expression, saying, "Then I wonder what Marquis En's intention is?"
"Fifty thousand..."
"Shut up!" As soon as her eldest son opened his mouth, Grandmother Jia knew what he wanted to say and angrily stopped Jia She, waving her hand at Wang Ziteng and the Shi family brothers, saying, "Let's leave it at that. I'm old, and with you..."
"Old Ancestress, Old Ancestress, save me!"
Grandmother Jia's words were only halfway finished when a cry for help, filled with sobbing, came quickly from outside Rongxi Hall, rapidly approaching.
In a moment, Wang Xifeng, with her hair disheveled and tears streaming down her face, rushed in, her clothes in disarray.
As soon as she entered the gates of Rongxi Hall, Wang Xifeng knelt on the ground with a thud, crawling towards Grandmother Jia, saying, "Old Ancestress, you must save Lian'er! He ended up in the hands of those bandits in Yangzhou because he was escorting Daiyu!"
"What?" Jia She, who had been living a life of drunken dreams in his own small courtyard, although he knew that his son had been arranged to send his niece Lin Daiyu to Yangzhou.
But only now did he seem to react, realizing that his son had fallen into the hands of the rebel bandits.
"Lian'er... Lian'er... How is he now?" Jia She asked Wang Xifeng, his face pale and trembling.
You must know that Jia Lian was Jia She's only嫡 son. Even if he usually found fault with Jia Lian in every possible way, Jia Lian was the only one Jia She could rely on in the future.
Although it is often said that even tigers don't eat their cubs, that also has preconditions.
And in Jia She's case, this saying was fully proven.
Even if he was a beast, Jia She only had Jia Lian as his嫡 son.
As for Jia Cong, judging by how he was like a little invisible person in the Jia family, it was not difficult to determine that Jia She had not taken Jia Cong to heart at all.
Even if Jia She often beat and scolded Jia Lian, it did not mean that Jia She did not value Jia Lian.
This was not an inequality, but rather the operating logic of a patriarchal society in the feudal era.
The so-called preference for grandsons over sons was actually the same principle, all for the sake of maintaining the authority of the father.
Although Jia She was a scoundrel, he was very clear about one thing: his title and everything else could only be left to his son in the future.
This was Jia She's bottom line.
Perhaps it was the neglect of Jia Lian that had prevented Jia She from reacting at all, and Jia Lian had fallen into the hands of the Luo Tian bandits after going to Yangzhou.
Seeing Jia She's dazed appearance, Wang Xifeng, who should have been united in hatred, felt resentment towards Jia She at this moment.
In Wang Xifeng's view, if Jia She hadn't been so neglectful of Jia Lian, how could Jia Lian have fallen into danger?
Such a thought was, of course, logically absurd.
But now Wang Xifeng needed not logic but a direction for her to vent.
And Jia She had indeed been very neglectful of Jia Lian, often beating and scolding him.
Unfortunately, the word "filial piety" was the unquestionable political correctness of the feudal era. Even Jia She himself, once Grandmother Jia adopted an attitude of reprimanding him for being unfilial, no matter how unruly he was, could only obediently lower his head and admit his mistake.
As a daughter-in-law, Wang Xifeng was the same.
"Second Master Lian... Second Master Lian's life or death is uncertain." With red eyes and tear-streaked face, Wang Xifeng said helplessly, "Wang'er, who managed to escape from Yangzhou, said... said that Second Master Lian was captured by the Luo Tian bandits."
Boom.
Wang Xifeng's words were like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in Jia She's mind. His eyes suddenly went dark, and after swaying, Jia She fell backward.
"Eldest!" Grandmother Jia suddenly stood up from the chaise lounge, but before she could take a step, her eyes also went dark, and she fell forward.
In the next moment, the entire Jia mansion was in chaos.
Fortunately, both Jia She and Grandmother Jia quickly regained consciousness.
But this time, they dared not negotiate terms with Wang Ziteng, after all, Jia Lian was still in the hands of the Luo Tian bandits in Yangzhou.
At the moment, for the Jia family, rescuing Jia Lian at all costs was the top priority.
And Wang Ziteng, naturally, gleefully accepted the connections and resources accumulated by generations of Duke Rongguo from the Jia family.
The matter of Yangzhou was of great importance. After receiving the imperial decree, Wang Ziteng only had a few days to prepare. He had to set out immediately, and fortunately, according to the intelligence investigated by the imperial court, the Luo Tian bandits only numbered about ten thousand.
On the imperial court's side, Wang Ziteng actually led an army of thirty thousand, while on paper, it was an army of fifty thousand, and claimed to be an army of one hundred thousand, marching towards Yangzhou in a mighty manner.
On the Yangzhou side.
Luo Fu, after refining the Fengyue Baojian into a small dressing mirror, gave it to Lin Daiyu.
And this mirror, after Luo Fu's refining, had become a treasure with unique uses.
Not only did it retain the ability of the original Fengyue Baojian to manipulate others' emotions and desires, but it also had the effect of reflecting the White Bone Contemplation on the reverse side. At the same time, it also possessed the ability to bind with the divine soul of Lin Daiyu's previous life, the Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass, allowing it to mobilize the power of the Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass.
As a spiritual root of grass and wood that could take root on the Stone of Three Incarnations, the Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass could even absorb the power of the Stone of Three Incarnations. Its very nature possessed an extraordinary vitality, and since life and death were complementary, this gave the Fengyue Baojian a bit of an effect similar to the Yin-Yang Mirror.
One side could take away life, while the other side could bestow life upon others.
Of course, in practical application, whether it was the bestowal or the taking of life, neither could achieve the instantaneous effect of the Yin-Yang Mirror, but required a certain amount of time.
But even so, this Fengyue Baojian could be said to have undergone earth-shattering changes.
In addition, Luo Fu also imbued the manipulation of the seven emotions and six desires, and the karma of the human world absorbed from the Stone of Three Incarnations by the Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass, into the Fengyue Baojian, so that the Fengyue Baojian was no longer limited to simply manipulating lust and the White Bone Contemplation.
It was obviously inappropriate to call it the Fengyue Baojian anymore.
After Lin Daiyu learned about the capabilities of this precious mirror, she simply kept the Fengyue and replaced the Bao with Shengsi (life and death), calling this completely transformed treasure mirror the Fengyue Shengsi Jian (Mirror of Life and Death).
Under Luo Fu's guidance, after completing the refinement of the Fengyue Shengsi Jian.
Now, Lin Daiyu, who was still just a little girl, was like a child with a new toy. Except for not experimenting with the effects of the Fengyue Shengsi Jian on the people around her, all the flowers, plants, and even cats and dogs in the Yangzhou Prefect's Yamen suffered bad luck.
Reworking the Fengyue Baojian might be a big deal for the Fairy Disenchantment of the Illusionary Realm of Great Void.
But for Luo Fu, even the reworked Fengyue Shengsi Jian was just a toy to practice with and coax his little fiancée.
Compared to this mirror, which even the evil aura of human military formations could not withstand.
Luo Fu was, of course, more concerned about the Luo Tian Army after its integration was complete.
It must be admitted that Lin Ruhai, as a former third-place scholar in the imperial examination, did indeed have the ability. Under his planning, the Luo Tian Army, in a short period of time, completed the transformation from a makeshift team to a regularized one.
At the very least, the establishment was no longer so chaotic, but rather had clear duties and responsibilities. It prevented the possibility of one family dominating in the future.
Although it was impossible to have evil thoughts towards Luo Fu as long as one swallowed the Seed of Primordial Energy, how precious was the Seed of Primordial Energy?
Apart from this initial foundation of more than sixteen thousand enemies of one hundred people, Luo Fu had long decided not to easily give away the Seed of Primordial Energy again, unless the other party had the value that must be won over.
For example, Lin Ruhai.
Luo Fu gave Lin Ruhai the Seed of Primordial Energy not only because the other party was Lin Meimei's father.
Even though Luo Fu had long thought about it and would bring all three books of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling to his side.
But he was by no means a simpering simp who was blinded by lust.
Apart from Lin Meimei, the other members of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling, even if Luo Fu got his hands on them, would not have any status or position. After all, Luo Fu had not forgotten that he had almost been driven to a dead end by the servants of the Four Great Families.
Luo Fu, who had just learned from Lin Ruhai that the Luo Tian Army had completed its final integration and that the wealth of Yangzhou City had been almost completely plundered, and that they could go south to Jinling at any time.
A message was conveyed to Luo Fu's ears at this time.