The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Another Qingming Festival has arrived, and a drizzle has begun to fall from the sky in the capital.

Zhen Yingjia slowed down his horse, thinking about his problems, and let the horse go slowly along the moat.

Behind him, his followers and the officers of the Imperial Guards looked at each other and could only lead a group of Imperial Guards to follow.

Behind them, the majestic Guang'anmen Tower was getting farther and farther away.

Gradually walking near Yongding Gate, I saw a cemetery inside the moat, with weeds growing under the old cypress and cypress trees, and stone men, horses and sheep leaning here and there, many of which were half buried in the soil.

Zhen Yingjia pulled the reins, stared at the graveyard for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

He had just returned from Xishan and sat in front of Zhen Fu's grave for a while, saying some words that had been on his mind and shedding some tears.

There is no rule for a father to visit his son's grave. Zhen Yingjia couldn't help but scold Zhen Baoyu today, so he was scolded by Old Lady Zhen again.

Looking at Zhen Baoyu, who was hanging out in the inner chamber all day, being rebellious and not doing his job properly, Zhen Yingjia couldn't help but think of his eldest son who died in the battle, and then thought of himself who was over fifty years old but had no successor. The grief in his heart surged like a tide, and he almost burst into tears.

As the head of the family, he could not cry in front of his family, but when he arrived at his eldest son's grave, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Zhen Yingjia met Wang Ziteng in Xishan. He heard from Wang Ziteng that Niu Ben wanted to marry his daughter to Wang Ren, and his daughter was nearly ten years younger than Wang Ren!
What does he want to do? !

At this moment, the warning bell rang from the Yongdingmen Tower!
Zhen Yingjia was startled, and he squeezed his legs together, and rode his horse straight towards Yongding Gate.

The imperial guards and their followers followed on horseback.

With a loud bang, the Yongdingmen city gate closed.

Looking at the tightly closed Yongdingmen city gate and the fleeing people, Zhen Yingjia was stunned.

"Master!" the attendant exclaimed, "Look!"

Zhen Yingjia looked in the direction of the voice and his eyes widened!
At this time, the cannons on the city wall fired.

A cannonball whizzed into the wilderness beside the post road three miles away, stirring up a cloud of dust.

In the distance, a large army was marching towards Yongdingmen along the post road.

The imperial army officer put down the telescope and said to Zhen Yingjia, "Ci Fu, it's the garrison of Shanhaiguan."

Another cannon shot was heard, the army stopped, and a group of cavalry broke away from the formation and galloped over.

Imperial Army officer: "Second Assistant, let's get out of here!"

Zhen Yingjia did not answer, but stared at the cavalry rushing towards him.

As they got closer, the Imperial Guard officer shouted, "Stop!"

The armor of the imperial guards was easy to identify. The cavalrymen pulled their reins to a stop and dismounted together.

The leading officer was also a man who had seen many battles. When he saw Zhen Yingjia's momentum, he knew that he was an important figure. He hurried forward, raised his hand to Zhen Yingjia, and asked, "Who are you?"

Imperial Guards officer: "This is the Deputy Prime Minister!"

The leading officer was startled and quickly saluted: "Greetings, Deputy Prime Minister!"

Zhen Yingjia spoke up: "Who told you to mobilize troops to Beijing without authorization?"

The leading officer said: "In reply to the Second Assistant, we are coming to the capital by imperial decree. Shanhaiguan has been handed over to the Imperial Guards." He then presented a copy of the imperial edict to Zhen Yingjia.

Zhen Yingjia took the imperial edict and looked at it, his face suddenly turned pale. Such a big thing, he, the minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor and the second assistant of the cabinet, didn't even know about it!

Just then, the huge city gate slowly opened.

There was another "click" sound, and the heavy suspension bridge was lowered. Then, the eunuch holding the seal came out holding an imperial edict. He was startled when he saw Zhen Yingjia, and then said, "So the deputy minister is here. The Empress Dowager is summoning the cabinet to discuss matters."

Zhen Yingjia: "What's the matter?"

The eunuch in charge of the seal was silent for a moment and said, "You will know when you go back." After that, he held the imperial edict and walked straight towards the cavalry team.

Zhen Yingjia: "Let's go back to the cabinet!" After saying that, he whipped the whip and rushed straight into Yongding Gate.

Cabinet Duty Room
The Prime Minister, Jia She, and the two Grand Secretaries Shi and Meng were all there, sitting there in silence.

Zhen Yingjia rushed in like a gust of wind, and when he saw the Prime Minister looking up to greet him, he asked anxiously, "Why did the defense at Shanhaiguan change?"

The Prime Minister sighed and said, "We just learned about this as well."

Zhen Yingjia: "Why?"

Jia She continued: "The Empress Dowager said that there is no threat outside the Great Wall, so the elite troops stationed at Shanhaiguan were transferred to the capital to supplement the imperial guards and enhance their combat effectiveness. This is the superficial explanation, as for the deeper meaning behind it..." When he said this, he smiled.

He hadn't finished speaking, but everyone understood the meaning of his unfinished words, and they all felt heavy in their hearts.

After a moment of silence, Shi Daxueshi spoke up: "This can't be blamed on the Empress Dowager. Li Hu has been reluctant to lead his troops into the pass."

Zhen Yingjia sat down on a chair by the window: "Didn't Jia Lian's urgent letter make it very clear?! And the people from the Imperial Household Department, the Northern Pacification Department, and the Southern Pacification Department, what they saw and heard all showed that Li Hu did not deceive the court. He is now fighting with Fu Kang'an, but the court has blocked his way! What do you want him to think? What do his soldiers think?! If Li Hu really rebelled, he was forced to do so!"

Zhen Yingjia became more and more excited as he spoke, and he slammed the coffee table loudly!
Grand Scholar Shi didn't know how to start a conversation, so Grand Scholar Meng, who had been silent, took over the conversation: "The Duke of Zhenguo must have said something to the Empress Dowager."

Zhen Yingjia suddenly remembered: "He is the one who really has ulterior motives!"

Everyone was startled and raised their heads to look at Zhen Yingjia.

Zhen Yingjia told them that Niu Ben wanted to marry Wang Ziteng.

Everyone's faces looked unhappy!

Zhen Yingjia stood up suddenly and said, "No, we must report this to the Empress Dowager immediately. We can't favor Niu Ben anymore! This cousin of hers definitely has no good intentions!" As he said that, he was about to walk out.

"Slow down!" The Prime Minister also stood up.

Zhen Yingjia looked at him.

"The Empress Dowager just took medicine and is resting."

The Prime Minister was silent for a moment, then continued, "It's too late to say anything now. As for Niu Ben's matter, Li Yuanzheng said that the Empress Dowager cannot be provoked again. Let's talk about it after she recovers."

Zhen Yingjia had nothing else to say, so he could only answer, "Yes."

Jia She picked up the tea bowl and sipped it slowly, with an ambiguous light flashing in his eyes.

Zhen Yingjia didn't know that this matter was soon discovered by Niu Ben.

With a "bang", a tea bowl was thrown to the ground by Niu Ben and broke into pieces!

You forced me to do this, old man!
A cold light flashed in Niu Ben's eyes, and Wang Ziteng, you are shameless, so don't blame me!
Thinking of this, Niu Ben shouted loudly: "Come on!"

An attendant came in in response.

Niu Ben: "Go back and tell your Second Master to invite Wang Ren to come home and wait for me to come back."

The follower replied, "Yes," and walked out.

Niu Ben walked to the door, looked into the distance, and said coldly: "Anyone who stands in my way will die!" (End of this chapter)