The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 103 Every Family in Mourning
Someday in early November

When Jia Rong was waiting for the court to adjourn, someone suddenly walked into the hall in a hurry.

"Report! Your Majesty! Battle reports from the front line!"

All the bigwigs in the court, including Jia Rong, an inconspicuous official standing by a pillar near the door, lost their sleepiness.

The eunuch quickly went down to get the letter from the front line to check. After opening it and taking a look at it, he dared not look at it any more and hurried back to hand it to the emperor.

Everyone felt something was wrong. If it was good news, it would be victory news. Since they were unwilling to say it directly, then it must be defeat news?

The emperor sitting on the dragon throne took a look and his face changed drastically.

Jia Rong and others looked at it curiously. Except for Jia Rong, no one else dared to look at it any longer, for fear of offending others.

Anyone who has served as a high-ranking official knows that it is better to keep a low profile at this time.

Jia Rong was sitting too far back, but his eyesight was outstanding. Even though he couldn't see the battle report, he could still see the emperor's pale face.

Originally, Jia Rong thought that the emperor would call for the end of the court session, but he didn't expect that he underestimated his courage.

"Battle reports have come in from the front. The northern route of the Beijing Camp was ambushed, with countless casualties. The general and others died for their country. The front line is in danger."

The emperor looked at the group of people around him and found that most of them were looking down, only Jia Rong was looking over here.

"Lord Jia! What do you want to say?"

Jia Rong didn't expect that he would be called, and he also felt that he had been looking for trouble recently. He should just bow his head. Why was he looking at him with his eyes? It was almost time to get off work and he was still looking for things to do.

Jia Rong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, victory and defeat are common in the military. Your Majesty asked me what I have to say, and I only have one thing to say!"

"I will devote my life to the cause until my death!" Jia Rong said with his chest puffed out, "My ancestors also lost a battle before, and they have always felt ashamed of it. Now that there is a shortage of people at the front, I am willing to go and turn the tide and serve the country with all my heart!"

Jia Rong is brave and wants to go to the battlefield to take a look.

No one else would be so bold, only Jia Rong.

Jia Rong was just bored and had no energy to take a walk in the middle of the night recently. He had never been to the battlefield, so he might as well go and take a look.

It's a good opportunity to study muskets and artillery openly, since I don't need to go into battle and kill the enemy myself.

I'm not afraid even if I get on.

"Good!" The emperor was delighted. "Strong winds reveal strong grass, and turbulent times reveal loyal ministers! Immediately appoint Lord Jia as the general of the southern expedition, and rush to the border to defend against the enemy!"

"The general will obey the order!"

Jia Rong jumped back and forth between the civil and military positions, but at this time no one dared to find fault with him or say anything about the rules or regulations.

Soon more detailed battle reports came out. A total of nearly twenty senior generals died this time, including several dukes, marquises, and hereditary generals of the royal family.

More than 10,000 elite troops composed of young men from the capital were also sent in. On that day, every household was wailing.

Jia Rong packed up and took his brothers to travel to the front line.

I came back just two days after leaving.

Jia Rong quickly rode back to Ningguo Mansion, got off the horse and went in to rest.

Not long after, Jia Yuanchun and others hurried out and saw Jia Rong, who had changed into casual clothes, in his front yard bedroom.

"Master! Why are you back? Didn't you go to the war?"

Jia Yuanchun had no idea what was going on. Did she forget to take something?
Jia Rong sat on a chair, his hands on the armrests and his legs crossed, and said with a bored look on his face, "It turned out that it was not a complete defeat, but a tragic victory. They were all driven away. The emperor received the battle report and saw that everything was fine, so he let me come back."

Jia Yuanchun asked carefully: "Are you still going?"

"How would I know?" Jia Rong was also confused. He thought he was going to fight a war for fun, but he didn't expect it was already over.

Jia Yuanchun finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Master, I heard that many people died in this battle, and many people are asking who is still alive."

Jia Rong sneered and said, "It won't be easy for those who survive. The emperor will punish them. Someone has to take the blame. It's okay if it's not me."

Jia Yuanchun nodded and said, "I'll go prepare food for the master."

Jia Rong originally wanted to send Jia Jing back to his hometown for burial, but seeing that he had no time recently, he just stayed at home and took care of his own affairs.

A month later, nearly 10,000 bodies were sent back from the front lines, and funeral supplies were sold out in the capital.

Some people even took the opportunity to raise the price, but were soon beheaded by the family members.

At that time, killing people was not illegal, and those who died were all the emperor's core supporters.

The military nobles in the capital were frightened this time. The group of old men and women who always clamored to serve the country no longer dared to talk about serving the country.

At the same time, the deaths of various high-level generals also refreshed the cognition of many people with connections who thought they would never die.

Not all, but certainly most of the children of the powerful and wealthy have given up the path to achievement.

Since the emperor himself did not lead the army, these powerful and wealthy children became even more unwilling to train in martial arts and join the army after they realized the key point.

If the more than 10,000 people who died were from the border or other places, it would not have such a big impact, but they were all people from the Beijing camp.

Everyone knows that the children of the Beijing Army are precious.

Of course, this group of people had good fighting ability, and they won a tragic victory after being ambushed.

But that’s all for this batch.

Jia Rong quickly recommended several military officers he knew to fill the position. This time, there was no one with connections taking advantage of the situation and waiting to be a replacement for some important military officer.

The military attachés who had paid to get substitute positions before were now desperately trying to withdraw them.

Almost every family in the capital is in mourning, but the sacrifice is worth it. At least they don't have to marry a foreign princess, and the situation is slightly more stable.

After the funerals had started in every household in the capital, Jia Rong continued to ask for leave when he went to court.

"Your Majesty, it is the end of the year and the weather is freezing. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to go home and bury my grandfather."

The emperor then remembered that Jia Rong's grandfather had died, and because of something that happened a while ago, he had not been allowed to go home to attend the funeral.

Now that the front line has stabilized, even though there is wailing in the capital, the matter has indeed been settled without the need for a marriage alliance, so it is a contribution to the country no matter what.

"Although Lord Jia did not go on the battlefield to kill the enemy this time, he took the initiative to volunteer in times of crisis, showing his utmost loyalty. I am very pleased and hereby issue an order: Promote Jia Rong to Duke of Ningguo, and inherit the title and property of his ancestors!" Jia Rong did not expect that he would become a duke at such a young age, but he didn't think it was a big deal.

That's not right. When I become a duke, Yuanchun and Youshi can wear the duke's wife's clothes, yellow clothes with phoenix patterns, and they can even play the role of queen for a bit.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After being stunned for a moment, Jia Rong thanked happily.

Everyone thought he was just overjoyed and didn't react for a while.

Now that many of the emperor's base members had died, he was in need of new people. Although Jia Rong's title of General of the Southern Expedition was taken back, he still retained the power of the Minister of War, the Imperial Medical Bureau, and the Imperial Pharmacy.

The people in Jia Rong's infantry battalion were also afraid of going out to fight. They refused to train with Jia Rong, and Jia Rong did not take them with him when he went to fight, so they naturally supported him.

These useless people are all descendants of meritorious officials in the capital, so the emperor cannot move them. Everything should remain the same for now, so he should stabilize the situation of the dead base first.

Jia Rong took Jia Jing back to his hometown for burial.

In the past, we didn’t go back to our hometown every year. The capital was strictly managed and meritorious nobles could not travel around without permission.

Now I'm going back under the pretext of burial and taking care of various things.

The cold weather is suitable for transporting supplies. Most New Year goods and meat are transported in winter. At this time, the roads are easier to travel on and will not get stuck easily.

And the probability of encountering bad guys on the road is also lower.

Jia Rong and his servants soon returned to Jinling City.

After entering the city gate, someone came to greet us.

"My lord!"

The gatekeeper had been replaced by a relative of the Jia family, and he naturally recognized Jia Rong, who had already announced that he would be returning.

There is also Ningrong Street in Jinling City.

To the east of the street is the Ningguo Mansion, and to the west of the street is the Rongguo Mansion. The two mansions are connected and occupy most of the street.

There was a lot of bustle in front of the gate, with people in mourning.

When Jia Rong approached, he looked through the wall and could see the halls, pavilions, and gardens with trees, mountains and rocks inside.

The people in mourning quickly divided into two rows to make way for Jia Rong's cavalry.

Jia She's illegitimate son Jia Cong came over and kowtowed, led by a group of men in white.

Jia Rong is younger than him, so logically he doesn't need to kowtow.

But when it comes to power, seniority is something that can be used or thrown away at will.

"Stand up, no need to be so polite." Jia Rong helped up his uncle who was kowtowing to him.

Jia Cong stood up and said, "My Lord, our clan got the news early and prepared in advance. We have already prepared everything and invited monks and Taoist priests to perform rituals."

Jia Rong said, "I will go back to rest and pack up first, and we will discuss it in the evening."

Jia Cong quickly agreed.

After entering the courtyard of Ningguo Mansion, a maid quickly came to serve.

"Duke." The maids were all beautiful and seemed to have received a good upbringing.

Jia Rong was not interested and asked directly, "Is Jia Lian here?"

Soon the maid replied, "Master Lian is busy in the mansion. He is busy with all the affairs in the mansion. He also said it was not convenient for him to show up, so he was not seen."

Jia Rong quickly asked someone to invite Jia Lian over.

Jia Lian was already 28 years old, much older than Jia Rong. The two had not seen each other for a year. When they met again, Jia Lian knelt down to greet him as he entered the room.

"Greetings, Lord Duke!"

Jia Rong said with a smile, "Uncle Lian, please get up. We brothers will stop being polite and sit down to talk."

The two of them sat on two chairs on either side. Jia Rong smiled and said, "Feng-ge is living well in my house. I plan to take Ying-chun in as my concubine. Otherwise, she won't be able to find a good family if she goes out."

Jia Lian also smiled and said, "This is a good thing. I can't talk to the second young lady, but after all, you are my father. I feel relieved to leave it to you."

With Jia Yuanchun in mind, Jia Lian no longer cared about other things.

Jia Rong added, "Feng has been living with me all this time. She had some trouble a while ago, and the Wang family fell out with her. Now she is mine, and Yuanchun treats her as a sister, and she continues to be my second wife."

Jia Lian asked, "What happened?"

Jia Rong said what Wang Xifeng had said. Although it was just a casual remark, if such words were known by others, it would be a lifelong thing.

Sure enough, Jia Lian turned pale with shock after hearing this, and soon sighed, "You should be careful too. I know you are smart, so I won't ask you to make the decision. I also got a son this year, and I see that you have built a lot of business at home. Don't let a woman ruin it."

Jia Rong nodded and said, "Uncle Lian, don't worry. The emperor has suffered heavy losses in the war, and I'm afraid he will attack many people in the capital next. We have too many members of the Jia family, and if something happens, they will think of the Jia family in the capital."

"But you are fine now. All the punishments have been paid. If anything happens to the Wang and Shi families in the future, don't get involved. There are more Shi family members than us, and they have so many students and former officials. They can't get away with it."

Jia Lian nodded, "Okay."

Jia Rong suggested, "You are not happy here, and you know too many people. Why don't you help me manage the business in the south? I have many people there, and I am not short of money and power. What I lack is someone I can trust."

"You can live a good life there as before. In Jinling, there are too many people and you can't be happy."

Jia Lian thought about it and quickly said, "Thank you very much, brother!"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. When you go there, you can marry as many wives as you want and have as many children as you want. It all depends on your ability. When you have free time, just help me manage the business."

"Okay!" Jia Lian agreed quickly and didn't want to be here anymore.

After being busy in Jinling for a few days, Jia Rong was called back by people from the capital. The emperor still feels insecure.

After Jia Rong came back, the emperor began to punish several generals and ministers who were blamed, completely ignoring the fact that he was the one who gave the remote command this time.

In this cold twelfth month of the year, every household is in mourning and widows are crying.

(End of this chapter)