Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 170: Nursery Rhymes Again

Beijing.

Due to the previous persuasion of Niu Jizon and Ma Shang, Emperor Longqing issued an order to suspend the migration to the south.

Although this calmed the hearts of the common people and soldiers, it offended the officials and the nobles.

Even those families that were as noble as Niu Jizon and Ma Shang, such as the Jia family, were also dissatisfied with the two.

Originally, Grandmother Jia had arranged for people to pack up the family property and prepared the ship, and they were about to move south with the emperor. But at this time, the palace suddenly issued an order to stop the migration south. If the emperor did not leave, then these nobles naturally could not leave either.

This made Grandmother Jia quite resentful towards Niu Jizon and Ma Shang.

Why are these two guys meddling in other people's business?

What is the connection between fighting on the front line and the imperial court's migration south?
What if something goes wrong on the front line and the barbarians break in, what should they do if they can't escape?
In this context, all officials in the court had similar ideas. So during this period, they wrote letters to the emperor one after another to reiterate the idea of moving south, and many of them impeached Niu Jizon and Ma Shang.

The current Emperor Longqing feels enormous pressure facing a flood of memorials every day. He only hopes that Guo Bai can successfully persuade the Huaiyin bandits to stop moving north. Otherwise, he may not be able to withstand the pressure from the officials and will continue to organize the migration to the south.

At the Jia Mansion, Jia Huan sneaked out again.

Due to his previous incidents of self-harm and blackmailing others, all the maids and servants in the mansion, except Caixia and Caiyun, avoided him like the plague.

Jia Huan felt bored, so he often sneaked out of the house to play.

It just so happened that he was a concubine's son and no one in the mansion paid attention to him, which was exactly what he wanted.

Mingyan was resentful of Jia Huan for blackmailing him, so she complained to Baoyu and Mrs. Wang about Jia Huan's secret departure from the house.

Baoyu was a teenager at this time, and he had a young mentality. He disliked people who told tales, so not only did he not report Jia Huan, but he also scolded Mingyan.

As for Mrs. Wang, she was not angry about Jia Huan sneaking out of the house. Instead, she was very happy.

It’s good to go out of the house. The Fu Shou Tang and the gambling house outside are all good places.

She ordered someone to secretly give Jia Huan some silver so that he could go out of the house and have fun.

Jia Huan didn't know that the money was given by Mrs. Wang. He thought he was lucky and picked up silver beans dropped by others, so he went out of the house to have fun.

Jia Huan did not go to any place like Fu Shou Tang or the gambling house. Instead, he went to a store and bought some ointment. He had heard Caixia talk about it and planned to give the ointment to Caixia when he returned.

Jia Huan left the shop and was about to go to the teahouse to listen to a story when he suddenly saw two strange men walking down the street.

A man was riding a horse, but he put the saddle on his back.

When people asked him why he did this, he explained:
"My horse is very precious. What if I put the saddle on its back and crush it?"

People laughed and said:
"If you keep going like this, soon you won't be able to ride your horse anymore, and you'll have to carry your horse on your back instead."

Next to the man on horseback, there was also a strange man. He was leading a cow, but he tied the nose ring used to lead the cow to the cow's tail. He let the cow walk in front and he pushed from behind.

When people asked him why he did this, he explained:
"My cow has worked hard with me for half its life, tilling the land and planting crops. It has made great contributions. I can't bear to use the cow collar to strangle it again, for fear of hurting it. That's why I did this!"

People laughed when they heard this:

"If that's the case, you'll be plowing the fields with your oxen for the rest of your life."

The two of them ignored what people said and walked on their own, becoming a strange sight in the capital.

When the children saw this, they somehow made up a nursery rhyme and sang it throughout the capital.

The riders on horseback carry the saddle on their backs, and walk in a confused and disoriented manner. The bull is tied to the cow's tail, and the rider is dragged by the cow and staggers.

Once the cattle and horses gain power, they use their hooves to step on their paws...

Two days later.

Meng Liang returned to the capital and brought back the conditions offered by the grassland people.

If the heads of Niu Jizong and Ma Shang were handed over, Caoyuan would agree to retreat to the Badaling city wall, with the Badaling city wall as the boundary, and the two sides would not invade each other.

Emperor Longqing was very tempted by the grassland people's promise to retreat to Badaling, but he could not agree to the grassland people's conditions.

Although he had not received an orthodox royal education, he knew that he could not agree to the condition of killing a general on the battlefield.

This is most likely a conspiracy of the grassland people.

The ministers in the court were like Emperor Longqing. None of those who could squeeze into the court were stupid, so they could basically see that this was a trap set by the grassland people.

But many times, people do not speak for justice, businessmen do not speak for their customers, and officials do not speak for the country.

Most of the time, these people speak for their own benefit.

Niu Jizong and Ma Shang prevented the migration to the south. This was their greatest original sin and was unforgivable!
In addition, a minister in the court was secretly fueling the turmoil.

Therefore, many officials wrote letters to impeach Niu Jizon and Ma Shang, and requested Emperor Longqing to consider the people of the world and the country and agree to the conditions of the grassland people.

Emperor Longqing insisted on opposing it at first, but soon a great scholar wrote a letter to him, citing the story of the Alliance of Shanyuan. His argument was well-reasoned, his words were gorgeous and very reasonable. After reading it, Emperor Longqing doubted for a while whether his judgment was correct.

Not knowing what to do, Emperor Longqing decided to summon his trusted ministers, Cui Shu and Cheng Fan, to discuss the matter.

These two people are the pillars of the country and trusted ministers. It would be right to ask for their opinions when encountering a major issue that cannot be decided.

In addition to these two people, Emperor Longqing's other close confidant is Guo Bai, but Guo Bai is not here now, so he cannot be summoned.

In the past, there was also Yu Lian, because Yu Lian was the teacher of Emperor Longqing and the earliest proposer of the new policy.

However, in recent years, Emperor Longqing realized that his teacher had been corrupted by power and turned into a corrupt and treacherous minister. If he had not taken into account the relationship between teacher and student in the past, he would have arrested him and put him in jail long ago, and naturally removed him from his position as a trusted minister.

Soon, Cui Shu and Cheng Fan rushed to the Qianqing Palace, and Emperor Longqing asked them what they thought about the conditions of the grassland people.

Regarding this matter, Cui Shu and Cheng Fan naturally hoped to kill Generals Niu Jizong and Ma Shang in order to seek peace. In that way, no matter whether the peace was successful or not, at least after the death of these two generals, they could migrate south smoothly.

When they arrived in Henan, they still controlled the government and held all the power. Isn't that wonderful?
But now, they can't say this directly.

They cannot just consider the wealth in front of them, they also have to take care of their families and think about what will happen after they die.

If they had taken the lead in killing Generals Niu Jizong and Ma Shang, causing foreigners to enter the capital, there would be a high probability that they would be cast into bronze statues in the future, despised by thousands of people, leaving behind eternal infamy, and even their descendants would not be able to hold their heads up.

The Cui and Cheng families are large families that have been passed down since the Spring and Autumn Period. Cui Zhu, the ancestor of the Cui family, was a minister of the State of Qi, who assisted four generations of monarchs of the State of Qi with loyalty; Cheng Hua, the ancestor of the Cheng family, was a minister of the State of Jin, who assisted the State of Jin in dominating the other princes.

As the current patriarchs of the two major families, they must never let the family lose its inheritance in their hands. They must judge the situation and think twice before doing anything.

Whether it is the grassland, the imperial court, or the Huaiyin Army, they should try not to offend them. That way, no matter who wins in the end, they will have a place.

Therefore, when Emperor Longqing questioned Cheng Fan and Cui Shu, their tones were ambiguous, talking about both the advantages and disadvantages, making it difficult for Emperor Longqing to judge.

Just when Emperor Longqing was in distress, news suddenly came that Zhao Shihong came to ask for a meeting.

(End of this chapter)