Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 201: Dynasty Shakes Up! Marriage

Capital city, Purple Palace!

Emperor Li Zheng of Daqian sat on the dragon throne.

at this time,

In his hand was holding a memorial that had just been sent from the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin!

General Ye Zhicheng resigns and returns to his hometown!
The defense of Dagukou Fortress was taken over by the Ximentang Righteous Group.

Xiong Chao of the Tianwu Army of the Ministry of War temporarily took over the post of general of Dagukou Fortress, and was fully assisted by the Ximentang Righteous Group.

hiss--!
After reading the memorial, Emperor Li Zheng couldn't help but take a breath, unable to believe it all.

Who could have thought that the Ximen Tang Righteous Group would be so bold and audacious.

Take full control of the defense of Dagukou Fortress and guard Tianjin!

Sitting below Li Zheng was Grand Tutor Feng Guoxuan.

at this time,

Feng Guoxuan, a senior official of the Prime Minister, showed a hint of excitement on his face.

"Master! Is this true or false?"

"The Ximentang Righteous Group defeated the Hunter coalition forces on its own, easily captured the Biandu Concession, and even took over the City of Ye, taking over the defense of the Dagukou Fortress?"

When Li Zheng said this, he was greatly shocked.

Feng Guoxuan took a long breath and said, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely true! I have asked someone to verify it!"

Li Zheng read the memorial in his hand again in detail and frowned:
"How did he do all this as a gangster?"

As the Emperor of Daqian, Li Zheng knew better than anyone how terrifying the Western coalition forces were.

The 150,000-strong army under the command of Qi Zhentang of Shandong was defeated and fled by the Western Allied Forces.

The Daqian army had no power to resist the Western artillery.

In order to improve the combat capability of the Daqian army, the court purchased a lot of firearms from the West, including muskets, Weiyuan cannons and other heavy firepower.

But even so, they were completely vulnerable in the face of the advanced weapons of the Westerners.

Over the years, ever since Western warships arrived at Daqian's doorstep.

The Daqian Dynasty became the money bag of the Western Allied Forces and was plundered endlessly by them.

honestly,
The imperial court fought back but could not win.

Every time they resisted, they would be beaten, left with scars and having to pay more and more compensation.

By the time the Beiyang Fleet was sunk by the Japanese, the Daqian Dynasty had been completely destroyed.

Emperor Li Zheng had no choice but to issue an imperial decree to form a "militia".

but,

He just couldn't believe that a gangster organization could grow to such a level.

"Your Majesty, after reading the memorial about Dagukou Fortress, I am deeply moved and have some personal opinions about Ximentang, the righteous organization!"

Feng Guoxuan pondered for a moment and said seriously: "This Ximen Tang Chen Jie, this old minister has to admire him!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zheng frowned and said, "Hmm? What do you think? Tell me in detail."

Feng Guoxuan smiled and pointed at the memorial and said:

"This time, Dagukou Fortress defeated Hunter's coalition forces. According to the news from below, everything was led by Ximen Hall."

"They not only defended the Tanggu Port, but also took the initiative to attack and capture the Biandu Concession."

"It is rumored that in the Bian Du Concession, Ximen Hall seized a large amount of military supplies, including the Westerners' most advanced artillery and heavy machine guns!"

"The most brilliant thing is that he did not go to war with Ye Zhicheng directly, but instead persuaded Xiong Chao to rebel."

"This prevented mutual slaughter and ensured a smooth handover of the Dagukou Fortress, preventing the Western Allied Forces from taking advantage of the situation."

Emperor Li Zheng shook his head and said in a deep voice:

"I still can't believe it. How could Ye Zhicheng, with an army of 100,000, be defeated by the Ximentang Righteous Group?"

"Have we all underestimated the strength of the Ximentang Righteous Group?"

Feng Guoxuan asked in confusion: "I have been wondering these days. Your Majesty, has the Military Intelligence Department investigated clearly how many troops the Ximentang Righteous Group has now?"

Li Zheng thought for a moment and said:

"Ximen Hall is just a 'righteous group' organization. It is only allowed to have a maximum of 3,000 people. Once it exceeds 3,000 people, the Military Intelligence Department will report it!"

"The Military Intelligence Department did not report it, which means their number did not exceed 3,000. Grand Master, why are you asking this?"

Feng Guoxuan shook his head and said in a deep voice:
"How can less than 3,000 people defeat the 50,000-man Hunter coalition?"

"Could it be a mistake?"

"The key is that with such a small number of people, how could he defeat the Western coalition forces, raid Biandu again, and finally capture Ye City?"

"I suspect they are hiding their strength. There may be more than 3,000 of them."

Emperor Li Zheng was stunned when he heard this.

He thought for a moment and shouted to the servant at the door:
"Someone, go and call Yuan Chong, the commander of the Military Intelligence Department."

Ten minutes later.

Yuan Chong, commander of the Military Intelligence Department, came to the Purple Palace.

Li Zheng asked: "Yuan Chong, how much do you know about the recent events at Tianjin Dagukou Fortress?"

Yuan Chong seemed to be prepared. He took out a booklet and presented it with both hands.

"Your Majesty, the Military Intelligence Department has conducted a detailed investigation into the battle at Tianjin Dagukou Fortress."

"I personally participated in the investigation and collected all kinds of information about Ximen Hall."

"All the information about Ximen Hall is in the booklet. Your Majesty, please review it."

As the commander of the Military Intelligence Department, how could he not investigate Ximen Tang?

Ever since Simon Hall defeated the Hunter coalition.

The Daqian Dynasty was like a major earthquake, which was inspiring.

In particular, major newspapers spread the news of the great victory at Dagukou Fortress throughout the world.

The public opinion controlled by Ximen Tang began to play an important role in Daqian.

Li Zheng took the booklet, opened it and looked at it for a moment.

Next,
There was a trace of shock on his face.

"Incredible, Grand Master, Ximen Tang actually swept through the Western coalition forces with only two thousand men!"

"They only have 500 elite troops stationed at the headquarters in the west district of the capital!"

"The entire Ximen Hall has only 2,500 men!"

"With just such a small number of people, they actually defeated Hunter's 50,000-man army and remained unscathed. How did he do it?"

finished,

Li Zheng handed the booklet in his hand to Grand Tutor Feng Guoxuan.

Feng Guoxuan flipped through the booklet carefully for a moment, and when he saw the back, his eyes lit up.

"No wonder! Cannon! Haha—it's really cannon!"

"The Ximen Hall, in the main hall of the West Railway District of the capital, borrowed the name of the Military Affairs Office to build an arsenal and produced fine steel and artillery!"

"But how did he have so much money to produce so many shells and artillery?"

"The Grand Council never gave them a single silver dollar of support!"

Li Zheng suddenly thought of something, his face became serious and he said:
"Grandmaster, what do you think of Chen Jie, the head of Ximen Hall?"

Feng Guoxuan pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice: "This man has great strategy and great ambitions, and he has the bearing of a hero!"

For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire Zichen Palace became solemn.

"Grandmaster, if we hand over the Dagukou Fortress to him, won't it be——?"

Feng Guoxuan naturally knew what the emperor was thinking.

Ximentang is a militia and is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.

If it was an ordinary militia organization, the imperial court would not need to worry at all.

Once the rebel group loses control, we can send troops directly to nip it in the bud.

but,

Once Ximen Tang occupied the Dagukou fortress, it had enough room for development.

This is the situation the emperor is most worried about.

Although Li Zheng is the king of a country, after so many years of family division, his real power is not great.

All aspects are restricted by the family.

Within the Daqian Dynasty, various forces controlled the government.

The Ninth Prince, the Sixth Prince, the Thirteenth Prince and others actually have similar situations as Emperor Li Zheng.

Behind them, there are their own interest groups.

Many policies that are beneficial to the aristocratic families can be quickly and vigorously promoted once they are proposed.

Just like when the "Westernization Movement" was first implemented, it received strong support from the aristocratic families and was implemented smoothly.

but,

When the aristocratic families gained less and less benefits, they soon began to pretend to obey the movement while secretly disobeying it, causing the "Westernization Movement" to stagnate.

Even many policies that were beneficial to the Daqian Dynasty, even if Li Zheng wanted to promote them, would not be implemented without the support of the aristocratic families.

When thinking about how the "war faction" finally cultivated a fierce tiger, but finally lost control of it.

One can imagine Emperor Li Zheng’s concerns.

"Your Majesty, Ximen Tang has already become powerful, we can't suppress him!"

"At present, it seems that the Dagukou Fortress is already under the actual control of Ximen Hall. Reporting it to the court is just a formality."

"The entire Dagukou Fortress was taken down by Ximen Tang from the guns and cannons of the Westerners!" "They can't give in, and there is no reason for them to give in!"

"Can the Ministry of War arrange for someone else to go to Dagukou Fortress to replace Chen Jie, the head of Ximen Hall? Anyone who is arranged to go at this time will be sent away as a corpse!"

"For a gang like this, the more you suppress it, the greater the backlash will be!"

Li Zheng's face turned very ugly.

Although I know that everything Grand Tutor Feng Guoxuan said is true.

But the truth hurts, and Ximen Tang could not be suppressed at this time.

To know,
Although Ximen Tang had a small number of men, they were equipped with the most advanced artillery, which defeated the 50,000-strong Western coalition force and forced them to flee.

If the imperial court turned against them at this time, they would be in a desperate situation.

Then it is really possible that the capital city would be bombarded.

Feng Guoxuan then smiled and said:

"Your Majesty, although Ximen Tang won a great victory at the Dagukou Fortress, he destroyed Piaoxianglou under the command of Taiping before the battle began!"

"He clearly wants to break off relations with the Taiping and go to war with the Ninth Prince's faction!"

"Two days ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received news that Japanese ninjas entered the Ximentang military camp to assassinate Chen Jie."

"Ximen Hall has issued a notice that we are irreconcilable with the Japanese!"

"The deadly feud between Ximen Hall, Taiping, and the Eastern Black Dragon Society cannot be resolved, so a battle is inevitable!"

"Your Majesty, this is great news for us!"

Emperor Li Zheng heard this and nodded:

"This is good news! The biggest threat to our Daqian is not from the West, but from the East!"

Feng Guoxuan said:
"That's right! Westerners want benefits, but Easterners not only want benefits, they also want our land!"

"I'm not afraid of them fighting, I'm afraid of them working together."

"The more fiercely they fight, the better it will be for the Emperor!"

"We can even reap the benefits while they are fighting."

Li Zheng was still a little hesitant and said:
"But Ximen Hall is developing too fast, and its military strength is getting stronger and stronger!"

"Once we take over the Tianjin Dagukou Fortress, it will be really difficult to deal with it in the future!"

"By then, Ximen Tang will have 100,000 soldiers under his command. Who can check and balance him?"

Emperor Li Zheng spoke with a worried tone, his heart full of worry.

Feng Guoxuan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then hesitated for a moment and whispered:

"Your Majesty, when I learned that Ximen Tang defeated the Western coalition forces and attacked the Biandu Concession, I thought about this issue!"

"With Ximen Tang's strength, once they have a large army, who can stop them?"

“But then I thought, why should I check and balance him?”

"If you want Ximen Hall's head patriarch Chen Jie to be loyal to the emperor, there is a way—!"

When Emperor Li Zheng heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Hmm? Master, please tell me what you can do?"

Feng Guoxuan pondered for a moment and said:
"I specially sent people to investigate Chen Jie's background, and even asked Eunuch Cao from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact Chen Jie, in order to learn more about him."

"The information we have obtained so far is that this Mr. Chen returned from overseas and has no connection with any of the major families."

"He has a very clean background. If he can serve the emperor, he will definitely become the most powerful force around the emperor."

"The emperor can even use the power of Ximen Hall to revive the imperial power and defeat the aristocratic families one by one."

Li Zheng shook his head and said with a wry smile:

"It's easier said than done. The family has been deeply rooted for thousands of years!"

Feng Guoxuan thought about it again and again, and there was only one way to make Chen Jie of Ximen Hall loyal to the imperial power.

to be frank,
If the emperor can gain Ximen Tang's loyalty, the imperial power will surely flourish.

As a result,
Not only is there no need to check and balance him, but we must strongly support him and make Ximen Hall the most powerful force in the Daqian Dynasty.

The method is - marriage!
That's right,

Only through marriage can Chen Jie, the head of Ximen Hall, be tied to the royal interests.

Feng Guoxuan looked up at Emperor Li Zheng's expression and said cautiously:

"Your Majesty, Chen Jie, the head of Ximen Hall, is 23 years old and not married yet!"

"Besides, this man is handsome, tall and strong. Why not marry Princess Lingyue to him?"

boom!
Emperor Li Zheng slammed the table and roared:

"Asshole! What did you say?"

"Princess Lingyue is my most beloved daughter, and I regard her as the apple of my eye. How dare you arrange a marriage for her, marrying her off to a gangster?"

"Even if this kid is the offspring of Duke Ning or Duke Lu, this is absolutely not allowed!"

"I promised Princess Lingyue that I would not interfere with her marriage and would never use her marriage to form an alliance."

"Everything else can be discussed, but this one is absolutely not allowed!"

Pfft!
Feng Guoxuan knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Zheng:
"It is because Princess Lingyue is regarded as the apple of the Emperor's eye and her beauty is stunning that this old minister made this suggestion!"

"If you want Ximen Hall's head, Chen Jie, to pledge allegiance to the emperor, how can you do that without showing sincerity?"

"Marriage! It's the only solution I can think of!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

call--!
Emperor Li Zheng took a long breath and closed his eyes slightly.

He calmed down his anger and calmed himself down.

He naturally knew that Feng Guoxuan had no selfish motives and that what he said was true.

currently,

If you want Ximen Tang to be truly loyal to the emperor, marriage is the best way.

only,
He had promised Princess Lingyue that he would never use her for marriage.

If he agreed, how would he face Princess Lingyue?

Has the imperial power declined to the point that it needs to rely on a gang force to revive it?

Do I need to sacrifice my daughter for the marriage?
Do not know why,

Emperor Li Zheng felt suddenly overwhelmed with anxiety.

"Let me discuss the matter of marriage after I have consulted Princess Lingyue!"

"I will approve the memorial regarding Ximen Hall's full takeover of Tianjin Dagukou Fortress!"

"Doesn't he just want a bigger space for development? I will give him a legitimate identity!"

"Since the Grand Master said that he cannot be suppressed, then I will support him and see how far he can grow."

"Pass on my imperial decree, granting the Ximentang Righteous Group leader Chen Jie the position of lieutenant general, an official rank of fourth rank, and the commander-in-chief of Dagukou Fortress!"

"I want him to feel at ease. There is no need to create another Xiong Chao to act as a puppet. It only makes things worse!"

"The Grand Master is right. If the aristocratic families are not eliminated, it will be difficult to establish imperial power!"

"The balance of imperial power was broken thirty years ago. I, the emperor, am nothing more than a puppet. I have even fallen to the fate of being a chess piece."

"In this case, why not use Ximen Hall to break this situation?"

finished,

Li Zheng sighed, turned around and left the Zichen Hall.

Fourth rank, commander-in-chief of Dagukou Fortress!

This is an official position equivalent to that of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and he can even stand tall in front of the Minister of War.

have to say,

Li Zheng is very powerful when it comes to giving out official positions.

Anyway, the court doesn't need to give real power, just a nominal position.

If you want real power, go and fight for it yourself!

of course,

Li Zheng deliberately gave Ximen Tang a legitimate identity. In fact, he was also moved by the proposal made by Grand Tutor Feng Guoxuan just now.

Since he wanted to marry his most beloved daughter off, the other party's status had to be raised to a higher level.

Or marry your precious daughter to a gangster.

If this gets out to the public, wouldn't it bring shame upon the royal family?
Yuan Chong, the commander of the Military Intelligence Department who had been standing nearby, couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.

After seeing Emperor Li Zheng leave, he took two steps forward, helped Grand Tutor Feng Guoxuan up and said:

"Master, what does the emperor mean? I don't quite understand."

"Since the Emperor did not agree to Princess Lingyue's marriage, why did he appoint Ximentang Righteous Group leader Chen Jie as the chief commander?"

Feng Guoxuan smiled calmly.

In order to restore the imperial power, let alone marrying off a beloved daughter, he would even be willing to marry off the emperor's most beloved woman.

As the Grand Tutor, Feng Guoxuan knew Emperor Li Zheng's character too well.

Feng Guoxuan turned to Yuan Chong and instructed:
"Commander Yuan, from today on, your Military Intelligence Department must investigate all of Chen Jie's movements at all times."

"Even including his eating, sleeping, etc., no matter how big or small, all must be investigated thoroughly."

"By the way, why not look for Linghu Qiannian and Eunuch Cao and their people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? They are familiar with Chen Jie, and you can ask them for help."

Yuan Chong nodded and said:
"Grandmaster, don't worry! We in the Military Intelligence Department are not here to eat idle meals."

"I'll arrange it now--!"

(End of this chapter)