The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 319 Questioning
What should the scions of military families be like?

When the peace talks were successful and it was confirmed that the area two hundred miles north of Lake Baikal was all under the control of the Great Zhao, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an sat in her family's ancestral hall, facing the memorial tablets of several generations of former kings, and sighed softly.

A year ago, what was Jia Zhen?
Even salt merchants from Jiangnan who came to the capital to deliver gifts dared to find ways to trip up his family.

In Beijing, who doesn't know his cooking?

But in the blink of an eye...

After carefully considering the differences between Jia Zhen and her son, the Princess of Nan'an came to the conclusion that Jia Zhen was incompetent, but not cowardly.

Wherever Shen pointed, he would hit, without any hesitation.

But her son only saw her as tedious, even though she wrote her letters almost every day.

Princess Nan'an sighed, lit an incense stick, and placed it in the incense burner.

For the past month or so, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an had felt that her son was hiding something from her, but no matter how she tried to subtly inquire or directly question him, he stubbornly refused to admit it.

"Go and invite the prince here."

The Princess Consort of Nan'an sent people to investigate. Although there is no concrete evidence yet, based on her understanding of her son, she knows it's all true.

Why did those two ships carrying valuables sink?

There aren't that many coincidences in this world.
The Princess Dowager of Nan'an had already guessed this.

As a result, she often couldn't sleep at night.

The emperor was a patient man.

It is through enduring what ordinary people cannot endure that we have achieved what we have today.

The reason we are not taking action against the Nan'an Prince's Mansion now is because the mansion relinquished power when it was most needed.

If the son doesn't change his ways... his descendants will suffer as a result.

On this day, like the Dowager Princess of Nan'an, countless others were moved and wanted to teach their children and grandchildren a lesson.

……

In the Rongguo Mansion, Grandmother Jia's mood has been very complicated these past few days.

She never imagined that Jia Zhen, who was almost following the same path as his eldest son Jia She, would one day end up in his current position.

A second-rank official in charge of the Imperial Guards!
To say that I am not envious is a lie.

She always thought that Zhen'er would be like her eldest son, only able to inherit the legacy of their ancestors and stay at home relying on her title.

Unexpectedly, Zhen'er changed in the blink of an eye.

During those days, Grandmother Jia stayed at home, fussing over her grandchildren, and could only sigh.

Although Lian'er's position as the Director of the Military Treasury is very good, it will take a very long time for a fifth-rank official to be promoted to the second rank.

This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that the Jia family can no longer be as close to the royal family as the previous two generations. Zhen'er is already working in the imperial court. Even if Lian'er is very talented, it will be very difficult for her to get promoted by seniority unless she is transferred to a local position.

Even if one is transferred to a local area, it would be impossible to rise to the third rank in less than twenty or thirty years.

Not only that, the same applies to Pearl's examiners in the future.

This is an unwritten rule in officialdom, firstly to avoid suspicion, and secondly to prevent the royal family from becoming suspicious.

Hey~
After much effort, Grandmother Jia managed to calm herself down and suppress her disappointment. She was relieved that the family had been granted a high-ranking official position of the second rank. Then she heard the news that Jia Zhen had been beaten in the ancestral hall by Madam Shen.

The old lady's heart is so heavy...

I was so angry.

Zhen'er has to attend court. Shen Shi is so disregardful and doesn't give her any face. Not to mention whether the Emperor will be angry, what will others think of Zhen'er?
It's one thing to be beaten by his mother, but to be forced to the ancestral hall and beaten even more—anyone would know he'd made a huge mistake!

Upon hearing the news, Grandmother Jia immediately ordered her son to seal off all information and prevent the matter from spreading outside. However, her eldest son disappeared as soon as he left. When she summoned the housekeeper, Feng, she said that the news had already spread far and wide and that it was Shen who had ordered people to spread it.

The old lady was furious!
She used to think her eldest son and Jia Zhen were both scoundrels, but now she thinks Shen Shi is even more of a scoundrel.

This is going to ruin Zhen'er's career!

The family finally managed to get a substantive position of the second rank.

The Jia family has two ducal mansions, but only Lian'er holds a fifth-rank official position, which is really not impressive.

It's rare for Zhen'er to have won the Emperor's favor. If Shen's actions cause the Emperor to dislike Zhen'er and then dislike Lian'er, what will happen?
Besides, who says that the descendants of military families have to shed blood and sweat like their ancestors to expand territory?

The negotiations between the Great Zhao and the Russians have gone very well. Is fifty miles of land so easy to take?

Grandmother Jia felt that Madam Shen was being completely unreasonable.

So many high-ranking officials in the court remained silent.

Liu Zhi was just a reckless young man, a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, which is why he dared to make such an outrageous demand for so much land from the Russians.

After hearing the news from outside, the old lady tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

She was just angry that she couldn't bring Shen Shi to the ancestral hall to beat her up.

Even if she just wanted to yell at someone, she couldn't say anything too harsh.

When people get old, they become useless and are disliked by others.

Even if Shen were her own daughter-in-law, she wouldn't act like that, behaving so disrespectfully in front of a room full of servants.

So the old lady just suffered on her own.

I want to talk to my daughter about it. She's been frowning these past two days, which shows she's also troubled by her sister-in-law's beating of Zhen'er.

To prevent her daughter from feeling even more upset, she had no choice but to keep quiet.

But I didn't think about it...

In the blink of an eye, everything is different again.

Zhen'er's ten lashes were exchanged for the Russians retreating two hundred miles.

Is she getting old and not sharp enough, or were the Duke's battles back then all fake?
"old lady!"

Xing entered with a beaming smile. "People from the Khalkha have arrived. Master was invited by Zhen'er to entertain guests, and I heard they sent quite a few gifts. Do you think we should go over and congratulate our sister-in-law, and also have a family gathering?"

What?
Grandmother Jia was somewhat stunned.

The Khalkha arrived so quickly?
Where is your fourth sister?

The eldest daughter-in-law is foolish and easily led astray. As for whether or not to go to the East Mansion, Grandmother Jia decided to listen to her daughter.

"Third and fourth sisters have been worried about Zhen'er for several days. They went out together again not long after returning from your place today. They should be on their way back soon."

Jia Mu: "..."

She looked at her beaming eldest daughter-in-law, paused, and said, "Did you also think that Shen was right to hit Zhen'er that day?"

what?
How should I ask her this question?

Madam Xing was stunned for a moment, then said, "Isn't that right? That day, Master even brought Lin Zhixiao and the others to help spread rumors. When Yingchun came back to pay her respects that night, she also said that it was only ten strokes of the cane, and that her brother Zhen could withstand it."

Jia Mu: "..."

This second girl lives here with her, but she never comes over to talk to her.

She let out a soft breath. "Alright, let's go to the East Mansion then, and also visit Yingchun and the other children while we're there."

While they were talking, not only the Khalkha sent gifts, but also various Mongol tribes came over in high spirits.

……

Tianjin, the prefect's prison.

Ichiro Ishii and Keiya Nakamura have both lost a lot of weight, especially Keiya Nakamura, whose little belly is gone.

Although the local boatmen were still finding work at the docks to support themselves, the xenophobia among the people of Dazhao was becoming increasingly severe, making it difficult for them to even support themselves.

Yesterday, Takeshita Hideki, who brought in a basket of three-ingredient steamed buns, said that they were bullied by the people at the dock. They were only paid half of their wages. If it weren't for Prefect Yu's special protection, they might have been killed long ago.

Ichiro Ishii knew why the man surnamed Yu was protecting the boatmen.

It's not that he's so good; rather, he's preparing to deport them.

Without the boatmen, they couldn't return to Japan.

ho~
Da Zhao completely ignored them!

According to Hideki Takeshita, the peace talks between them and the Rakshasa Kingdom are progressing extremely smoothly.

"It should be soon."

Grand Minister Nakamura Keiya, gnawing on his long-cold steamed bun, sighed and said in a low, quick voice, "The Rakshasa Kingdom is useless." They've followed the wrong people.

They thought they could get a share of the pie and snatch a piece of meat from Dazhao, but instead they brought shame upon themselves.

"On the contrary, it helped Da Zhao a lot."

If it weren't for them, would the Great Zhao have been able to wage a full-scale war against the Mongols and the Jurchens in the north?

“These days, the emperor of Dazhao must be smiling even in his dreams.”

Nakamura Kei was also very upset.

He came over all high and mighty back then!
But now, even speaking in prison requires vigilance regarding one's surroundings.

"We lost."

So many days have passed, and not a single ninja has come to rescue them.

Before they arrived, they had sent two teams of ninjas to provide support in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

"Now we can only hope that the Rakshasa delegation will come with us on their return journey."

If they travel by land, their return journey will be very difficult.

"...In times of war, envoys are not to be killed!"

When he said this, Ichiro Ishii sounded a little weak.

Since the Han and Tang dynasties, this area has always been a land of etiquette.

He had initially believed that, in any case, as members of the mission, they did not need to worry about their safety.

But ever since I got ashore, it's been like a nightmare that just won't end.

Ichiro Ishii glanced discreetly at the three burly men in the same cell.

They were beaten by the man surnamed Yu on the boat and taken to jail. In jail, they were beaten by these three men from time to time.

They thought the Russian delegation would be better off than them, but the man surnamed Yu blocked them on the ship and even pawned their guns to exchange for water and food.

Having finally made it to Beijing, we still have to eat and drink our own food and drink.

He promised Da Zhao 300 mu of land.

Ichiro Ishii never imagined that Daisho would turn out like this.

"Not to kill the envoy?"

Nakamura Kei also regretted it; he shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess.

Wouldn't it be better to stay home honestly and be his master?
It's hateful; once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

"So what are we now?"

Another person died of illness the other day.

Although he was just a servant, he felt a sense of shared sorrow even as his rabbit died!

"Where are our two teams of ninjas now? And what about Jiangnan...?"

Nakamura Keiya was furious. "That idiot Kaneda Shoji has dragged us all down with him."

Ishii Ichiro: "..."

"He should have just died right then and there."

It's hateful that he didn't die, but he ruined all of them.

"What the Great Zhao Dynasty lacks now is an open order to kill the Japanese."

Although no order to kill Japanese pirates was officially issued, the martial arts community of Da Zhao was already secretly carrying it out.

“The Jia family rose to power through military achievements, and they understand better than the emperor the consequences of letting us go back.”

The emperor might only expel them out of consideration for the country's reputation, but the Jia family might not be so easily spared.

“Ishii, Daisho has always hoped that we can increase the supply of copper and iron.”

This was the only solution Nakamura Keiya could think of. "If we want to go back alive... the best way is to have the Emperor of Da Zhao personally send people to protect us."

Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to go back to his hometown.

"...Do you really think so?"

The export of copper and iron to Dazhao accelerated the development of firearms in Dazhao.

Ichiro Ishii originally wanted to cut some more, or use that as leverage to get more things back from Da Zhao.

"If you were the Jia family, with the ability to crush your enemies, would you let go?"

The two of them spoke in hushed tones.

Nakamura Keiya said, "Anyway, I will not let go."

If he manages to return alive, he will definitely send someone to avenge the imprisonment of the Jia family and Yu Zhijian.

Besides the Jia family, Nakamura Keiya, as the Grand Minister of State, now hates Yu Zhijian, the Prefect of Tianjin, the most.

This bastard stripped them bare bit by bit, took their money, and added another cannon to Tianjin.

Damn thing.

If this gets back to China, it will be a stain on his reputation for the rest of his life.

"Only the protection of the Great Zhao Emperor can make the Jia family wary."

Both he and Ishii were of high status, and they could help the Emperor of Dazhao obtain the copper and iron he desperately needed.

"Ishii, let's write a joint letter to Yu Zhijian!"

He hated Yu Zhijian to the core, yet he had no choice but to use him to let the Emperor of Dazhao see them.

"……it is good!"

Ichiro Ishii remained silent for a moment before agreeing.

He's really had enough of this prison cell.

When the prison warden who delivered the food came again, the two men bowed and scraped, getting straight to the point and explaining that they were going to export a large amount of copper and iron to Da Zhao.

Since copper and iron were involved, the jailer dared not delay and quickly reported it.

Yu Zhijian was very tempted, but he suppressed his feelings for the time being.

Just now, Jia Min from the capital sent a letter to his wife, saying that the peace talks were successful.

The Great Zhao Kingdom completely defeated the Rakshasa Kingdom.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't excited.

Although he did not participate in the peace talks, according to his wife and Jia Min, the peace talks went so smoothly because he first punched the Russians in the head a few times, which stunned them and instilled fear in them.

So much so that Madam Shen used her own son as an example to scare the monkeys, and the monkeys were immediately terrified and ran away in a panic.

Not only were the 'outer' monkeys frightened, but the 'inner' monkeys were also frightened.

Prefect Yu had never met Madam Shen, but now he felt that she was a remarkable person.

Even if the emperor himself were to punish Jia Zhen, it wouldn't have this miraculous effect!
Now that Nakamura Keiya and Ichiro Ishii are offering to exchange the copper and iron that the Great Zhao desperately needs for their freedom, it is clear that they are also aware of their predicament.

Prefect Yu tugged at his beard and finally said, "Never mind what they say, just leave it for now."

The food on the plate is trying to jump out?
The coastal prefectures are all dealing with the Japanese. If we let Ishii and the others go back, they might immediately turn against us.

As for copper and iron...

No matter how much of this there is, the Great Zhao Dynasty will never have too much.

that……

Yu Zhijian paced around the room, and when he finally stopped, it was a long and detailed folded piece of writing.

If he can portray the Japanese delegation as accomplices in the assassination of the Jia family, then Da Zhao should hold Japan accountable.

Did they think that just because they were separated by the sea, they couldn't fight their way across?
Sailing at sea is indeed fraught with risks, but the newly returned Nangharwei is said to be not far from Hokkaido.

Moreover, it's not that far to go from Weihaiwei to Korea, use Korea as a springboard, and then invade Japan.

If they refuse to provide copper and iron after a crime has been committed, then Da Zhao will have to obtain them himself.