The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 317 Beaten
What does the emperor want to do?
Jia Zhen is neither good at literature nor martial arts, so giving him such a high-ranking official position all of a sudden is not a good thing for Shen Ning.

She was just thinking about how to pass on a message to the Empress again when she heard him say, "His Majesty also wants his son to go to the negotiating table tomorrow to listen to how those people negotiate, and then tell him everything in detail."

negotiation?

Shen Ning paused for a moment, then asked, "Did you find out how those people negotiated today?"

"I've inquired about it."

How could we not inquire about something so important?
Jia Zhen said slyly, "Among the people negotiating this time, there is a newly appointed scholar named Liu Zhi."

They were away from home for two months, and Enke was over.

"My son heard that the suggestion to let the Russians eat themselves and pay off their debts with 300 acres of land was his idea."

Jia Zhen was still very excited to gossip with his mother. "He was a candidate who came to the capital to take the imperial examination. When the Russian delegation came to the capital, everyone was talking loudly. His words were despised by many people. Who knew that Lord Dong of Shuntian Prefecture was also drinking tea there that day. He was very interested and thought that he could think of things that no one dared to think before, so he recommended him to the emperor."

You know, the Emperor came from a poor background.

Shen Ning: "..."

She didn't know what to say for a moment.

But...

Shen Ning suddenly felt very fortunate that the emperor had come from a poor background.

Those were truly years of being poor but still living a good life.

She unconsciously smiled slightly.

"The Emperor immediately summoned several imperial envoys."

Jia Zhen also laughed, "Everyone is still angry about the fact that the Russian and Japanese delegations came together, and they also heard from the Emperor that Prefect Yu of Tianjin used the silver 'contributed' by both delegations to buy a cannon, so they fully support his point of view."

He was quite supportive.

“Some people in the court objected, saying that as a nation of etiquette, we should be hospitable. They even subtly mentioned the Japanese delegation, saying that in times of war, envoys should not be killed. But the censors refuted them, saying that they didn’t care about spending the national treasury’s money. Then they should just take it back to their own country.”

In this instance, Jia Zhen also sided with the Emperor.

They're practically attacking our home, what kind of hospitality is that?

A bunch of bookworms who've gone stupid.

Do you know what it means to be so stumped that even a hero can be brought down by a single penny?
Anyway, Jia Zhen is quite poor these days.

He understood the difficulties the emperor had faced back then.

"And then nobody dared to fart anymore."

Jia Zhen said, "Once Liu Zhi passed the imperial examination, he was immediately brought to the negotiating table by the emperor. Mother, you have no idea how capable this Lord Liu is. He even speaks Mongolian and taught them on the spot how to move the map towards the Russians..."

Shen Ning frowned slightly and interrupted, "Does Mongolia interact with the Great Zhao as a vassal state or as a subject?"

"Naturally, in the capacity of a subject."

Jia Zhen said matter-of-factly, “If Da Zhao doesn’t save them, they’re doomed. Those Russians still hold a grudge against the Yuan Dynasty.”

That's it!
Shen Ning nodded. "What will they give to Da Zhao in the future?"

"Cattle, sheep, and horses."

This is exactly what their Great Zhao needs.

“Every tribe has to give, it’s just a matter of how much or how little they give, depending on their size.”

"How can we be sure they'll pay honestly in the future?"

"They vouched for each other, and not only that, each family would send their heir to Dazhao in the future. As for the other sons of the princes of each tribe, they would also take turns to go to Dazhao to learn Dazhao culture."

Jia Zhen was very happy. "Lord Liu said that if we learn about propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame, we will be less likely to go back on our word in the future. If any tribe disobeys, the other tribes will attack it first to show off their merits, and then they will be given the pastures, cattle, and sheep of the destroyed tribes."

There are actually women too.

However, Jia Zhen did not dare to say it in front of his mother.

His mother is a woman; she would definitely be unhappy to hear those words.

"...Then go ahead and learn from this Lord Liu."

Shen Ning developed a great liking for this Lord Liu. "He is a capable person. I usually treat him with respect when I see him."

"Yes, my son knows."

Jia Zhen himself was not a capable person.

But both parents are.

Would he dare to offend his parents?
If they really want to scam him, he might be sold off and still complain that he was sold too cheaply.

Jia Zhen was well aware of his own limitations.

"Today, my son helped Imperial Censor Xiang, and Lord Liu even nodded to my son in acknowledgment."

"..."

Seeing his happy, silly expression, Shen Ning didn't know whether to feel relieved or heartbroken.

She waved her hand, "Are you full? If you are, hurry up and go find your wife. She must be thinking about you too."

"Eh~"

Jia Zhen didn't know what he had said wrong, but his mother suddenly became unhappy. "Then your son will take his leave!"

He obediently left. In the palace, the emperor and Liu Zhi played chess while also talking about Jia Zhen.

"If you have any difficulties or are unsure about anything, just ask Jia Zhen. If he doesn't understand or can't answer, he'll definitely have to go home and ask his mother."

"...I share the same thought!"

A hint of a smile appeared in Liu Zhi's eyes. "However, once or twice is fine, but after three or four times, Madam Shen will probably be able to guess what Your Majesty means."

"If you guessed it, you guessed it!"

The emperor didn't take it to heart. "It's a pity that Madam Shen isn't a man, otherwise, I would definitely invite her to court. She and Jia Jing... are both a pity."

"..."

Liu Zhi sighed softly.

"The land beyond the Aldan River is all bitterly cold; stationing troops there will be a problem!"

"Your Majesty, if the enemy can go there, so can I!"

Liu Zhi pressed down on a black piece, capturing a large group of the Emperor's white pieces on the chessboard. "Although that place is a harsh and cold land, it is not a barren land. If the Russians want it, why can't we?"

He picked up the white pieces one by one and put them on his side. "Besides, the Great Zhao has been recuperating for many years, and its population has surged. In the future, there will be more and more people without houses or land. It is better to relocate people there and give them some subsidies than to have a natural disaster and turn everyone into refugees."

"...I didn't say anything."

The emperor was speechless.

With the lessons of the previous dynasty still fresh in his mind, he naturally had to learn from them.

If the Great Zhao wanted to prevent the possible emergence of refugees in the future, it had to ensure that the people had food in their mouths and clothes on their bodies.

But after the population surged, the land remained the same, and in years of famine, even selling one's children might not be enough to survive...

"When negotiating with the Russians, you take the lead. If you think it's feasible, then it's feasible."

It's okay if it doesn't work.

In short, we'll talk about it after we get here.

First, bury the border markers. Then we can figure out how to deal with the troops and border residents.
"Yes!"

Liu Zhi placed another piece, and when he looked up, he gave a smile. "Your Majesty, you've lost again."

"I'm not going to stop."

The emperor resigned himself to his fate, saying, "Liu An, bring me two taels of silver."

They give prizes when they play chess.

Two taels of silver may not seem like much to the emperor now, but having been poor before, he still felt a pang of regret. "How about we reduce it to one tael from now on? Two taels is still too expensive for me."

This is enough for an ordinary family of six to live comfortably for a month.

"emperor!"

Liu Zhi was speechless. "You've already lowered the price from ten taels to eight taels, six taels, five taels, four taels, two taels, and now you want to lower it again...? I'm not playing along with you anymore." "No, no, no, two taels it is!"

While playing chess, they could also discuss state affairs and gossip about the court officials.

The emperor tried to save face: "Are you saving so much money because you're getting married? I heard that a matchmaker has already approached you?"

"I do not wish to get married at the moment."

The whole family went to great lengths to find him in Beijing, but he was nowhere to be found.

Liu Zhi is not yet able to get over this hurdle, "but the money that needs to be saved still needs to be saved."

What if the emperor gets old and becomes senile like the retired emperor? If he does something wrong, wouldn't he have to run away?

Throughout history, few long-lived emperors turned out to be good people in their old age.

When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was young, he created a prosperous era. However, in his old age, he killed three of his sons in a single day and even took his daughter-in-law as his imperial concubine.

After riding the red dust princess smiled, no one knew it was Litchi.

Was that lychee really the one that Yang Guifei loved?
It was clearly that old bastard who wanted to eat it.

With a distorted mindset, Liu Zhi lost his reverence for the royal family after he single-handedly overthrew many of the princes who had been granted the title of prince by the retired emperor.

Anyway, if the emperor is good, he's good; if the emperor is bad, then sorry, let the younger ones take over!

Liu Zhi accepted the silver peanut offered by Liu An, bowed, and said, "Your subject takes his leave!"

The emperor waved his hand dismissively.

Get out of here!

He had originally thought that if this guy got married, he would give him a bigger house and an estate.

hum~
All you care about is his two taels of silver, right?

The money... came from his estate.

After calculating it this way, the emperor realized that he had actually made a profit.

He slapped his thigh and said to Liu An, "How much silver can that estate I asked you to find that day earn in a year, besides food and drink?"

"Judging from the income over the years, in addition to supplying the master with thirty shi of grain and a number of chickens, ducks, geese and sheep, the annual income is about 1,500 to 1,700 taels."

"Heh heh, even someone as clever as Liu Zhi can be foolish sometimes."

The emperor stood up happily, "Let's go find the empress and have a good meal."

What's two taels of silver?
The man surnamed Liu doesn't get married, so he gives this money to his future wife to spend.

On that day, the Empress received a stack of ten-tael silver notes.

"Why did you suddenly decide to give me this?"

The Empress was just about to get some small-denomination silver notes for the palace maids when, unexpectedly, the Emperor sent them over in the blink of an eye.

The emperor laughed, "Compared to one, a hundred is definitely more auspicious!"

It's fun just counting them.

……

In Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning listened to Jia Zhen talk about the Aldan River today, Abakan tomorrow, and Lake Baikal the day after...

She didn't know about the Aldan River or Abakan, but when Jazhen mentioned it, she told them to move as far forward as possible.

But it's Lake Baikal!
Shen Ning's name is widely known.

During the Tang and Yuan dynasties, Lake Baikal was located on this side.

It was only separated from the country during the Qing Dynasty.

"Isn't that area around Lake Baikal originally ours? It belonged to us during the Tang Dynasty. Why are you still only talking about this area now?"

"This place was called Xiaohai during the Tang Dynasty."

Jia Zhen pointed to the simple map he had taken from Liu Zhi and said, "It is now in the hands of the three Khalkha Mongol tribes. The Khalkha fought the Russians the earliest and lost the worst. Now we are talking about moving Xiaohai forward fifty miles as compensation, but the Russians are turning around and demanding that the Khalkha compensate them with something."

They also approached us privately, saying that they had been busy all along, and many people had died, while the Great Zhao had gained so much for nothing, and they wanted us to give way.

"...So, will you give way?"

"The negotiations are stuck here."

Jia Zhen looked at his mother, "Mr. Liu hasn't agreed yet, but others have started to soften their stance. Mother, what do you think..."

"Support Mr. Liu!"

Shen Ning replied without hesitation, “Are we afraid of dragging things out? We’re not afraid, are we? Khalkha already belongs to Da Zhao. Since it belongs to Da Zhao, then the people of Khalkha are the people of Da Zhao. If they invade Khalkha, hurt my people, and steal my pastures and livestock, then naturally they should compensate us.”

If you don't agree to move it forward fifty li as compensation, then move it forward one hundred li.

Tell them that if they won't give it to us, we'll go get it ourselves!

Jia Zhen: "..."

Well, I knew his mother would have this attitude.

"What? You don't think it'll work?"

"No no!"

Jia Zhen quickly shook his head, "Lord Liu threatened them in the same way."

"Aren't they afraid? Or... do they just see it as a regular threat?"

"It might be related to the senior figures involved in the negotiations."

Jia Zhen thought for a moment and said, "At the time, no one immediately showed any support for Lord Liu."

"how about you?"

Shen Ning asked a question quickly.

Jia Zhen: "..."

slap~
Just by looking at him, Shen Ning knew that he hadn't done what he was supposed to do either.

"Guards!" Shen Ning's eyes flashed sharply. "Summon Jiao Da!"

what?
Seeing Xiaodong immediately run off to fetch help, Jia Zhen was frightened. "Mother, what... what are you going to do?"

"Jia Zhen, do you know how your great-grandfather and your grandfather fought?"

Shen Ning looked at Shou'er and Xing'er with disdain and said to them, who had been obediently shrinking their necks as they came over: "Go, find some soldiers and spread some rumors. Say that your master was beaten by me in the ancestral hall today. As a son of a military family, he can't uphold his ancestors' will and shed blood and sweat for the expansion of the Great Zhao. He can't even speak properly."

"Hopelessly stupid. The Russians should pay the Khalkha compensation, but they don't even try to fight for it. They'd be better off dead than alive."

Jia Zhen: "..."

Shou'er and Xing'er: "..."

"What? My words have no effect?"

"……Yes!"

Shou'er and Xing'er dared not say a word, nor did they dare to plead for their master. They hurriedly went to spread the rumors.

As expected, Jia Zhen was pinned down by Jiao Da and beaten with ten strokes of the cane in the Jia family ancestral hall that day.

The next day, unable to ride a horse or sit in a sedan chair, he was carried to the palace by servants while lying on his stomach, and limped to court.

When the officials saw his pitiful appearance, they all silently turned their faces away.

Even the emperor, seeing him like that, secretly swallowed hard.

On this day, everyone was exceptionally efficient, and the court session ended much earlier than usual.

Russian Vice Minister Bazel Ackerman and General Iris Roberts secretly watched him being carried home again along his usual route, their hearts heavy with sorrow!

I've heard that Madam Shen of the Ningguo Mansion is not only sharp-tongued but also ruthless; she's even killed several people.

The Japanese delegation's misfortune was mainly due to her.

Before that, it was she who completely destroyed the Qing Dynasty, which was originally on equal footing with the Zhao Dynasty.

hiss~
If we don't give in to tomorrow's negotiations...

Bazel Ackerman and Iris Roberts sensed that the people of Dazhao around them were looking at them with murderous intent.