Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 137 Strategizing and Preparing for Action

Since his brother-in-law and close friend rarely asked for help, Jia Jue naturally wouldn't refuse.

So Jia Jue offered Gu Tingye two options: one was to join the army in the northern frontier. Since the great victory in the northern desert, the northern frontier had been very peaceful, making it a good place to gain experience.

However, this approach is too peaceful, which also means that Gu Tingye is unlikely to gain many military merits.

The second option was to have Gu Tingye change his name and go to the Western Sea to join the army.

The situation in the Western Sea is complex and volatile. The Western Navy and the foreign states along the Western Sea have been locked in a standoff for many years, and a major war is inevitable sooner or later.

Therefore, there are definitely many opportunities in the West Navy, but correspondingly, there are also many dangers.

After some deliberation, Gu Tingye decided to seek fortune in danger. He entrusted his daughter to Sheng Changbai and then went to the Western Navy under the pseudonym Baishan.

Gu Tingye learned martial arts from Ningyuan Marquis Gu Yankai from a young age. He was not only skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but also well-versed in military strategy.

After arriving at the Western Navy, Gu Tingye distinguished himself through the recruit competition and was promoted to captain within a few months.

With the outbreak of war in the Western Sea, Gu Tingye, this hidden agent, finally came in handy.

Upon hearing that it was actually the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had come in person, Gu Tingye bowed and said...

"Greetings, Lord Gu."

Gu Qianfan smiled slightly and then said.

"I never expected that Lieutenant Baishan would actually be the renowned young master Gu Tingye in the capital. It's quite an unexpected turn of events."

Hearing this, Gu Tingye said with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Lord Gu, please don't make fun of me."

Gu Qianfan smiled calmly and then said.

"Just kidding. Let's get down to business. What's the current situation in the Western Navy? The Western Sea barbarians have captured five cities in a row. Is it related to the Western Navy's deliberate leniency?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye's expression also turned serious.

"There are indeed hidden reasons behind the loss of five cities in Xihaibian this time."

"These five cities were deliberately given away by the high command of the Western Navy."

"Previously, the Western Navy deliberately created friction on the border and harassed the mountain strongholds of the Western Sea tribes."

"The Western Sea barbarian states launched a retaliatory attack, and the Western Navy high command sent those generals who were not on good terms with them to guard the city, and also tampered with the logistics and supplies."

"Right now, the Western Navy is selling large quantities of military equipment and supplies to foreign states in the Western Sea. The generals are all taking advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune."

Gu Qianfan said in great shock.

"Aren't they afraid that by aiding the enemy, they will cause a complete defeat on the Western Sea front?"

Gu Tingye sighed and said.

"The Western Navy generally believes that the Western Sea vassal states are not a concern, and even if we sell them military equipment and supplies, it is of little importance."

"Besides, if we lose, it's the lower-ranking officers who die. These fat, high-ranking officers can just pack up and leave, leaving the mess for others to clean up."

"Therefore, at present, few of the generals in the army are concerned about the war in the Western Sea. A group of people are busy figuring out how to make money and then submit memorials to the court to request additional food, pay and military supplies."

Gu Qianfan sneered after hearing this.

"Well, they really intend to squeeze the court dry. Aren't they afraid that they'll be crushed to death by all the money they have?"

Don't think this is anything unusual; there's really nothing new under the sun.

Some people might think these people are stupid, but what if the Western Navy is defeated? Wouldn't they be in great danger on the battlefield?

Then you might as well think about the story of Emperor Chongzhen and Li Zicheng at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng launched a rebel army to attack the capital, and his army was about to besiege the city.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty's treasury was empty, and Emperor Chongzhen called on the princes and nobles in the capital to donate in order to raise funds for the army.

All the powerful and influential people in the capital pooled together 200,000 taels of silver.

Among them, Chongzhen's father-in-law, Zhou Kui, even put on a show to avoid the fundraising, crying poverty to Chongzhen, saying that he was so poor that he even had to live on moldy rice.

However, Emperor Chongzhen was not fooled and insisted that Zhou Kui produce 20,000 taels of silver.

Zhou Kui then went to his daughter, Empress Zhou, to play the victim.

Unlike her father, Empress Zhou was very righteous. She not only persuaded her father to consider the overall situation, but also gave Zhou Kui the five thousand taels she had obtained from selling her jewelry.

However, this old scoundrel embezzled 2,000 taels of the 5,000 taels of silver that Empress Zhou had given him, and in the end, he donated a total of 13,000 taels of silver.

After Li Zicheng captured the capital, he arrested and tortured all the powerful and influential people in the capital for a month, and found more than 70 million taels of silver in their possession.

Imagine if even a tenth of that silver were used for military pay, Li Zicheng, no matter how capable he was, would never be able to set foot in the capital.

Does that mean all the officials in the court are fools who don't understand this principle?

In reality, they were just hoping for the best, thinking that Li Zicheng would definitely not be able to break in.

The only lesson history teaches us is that people never learn from their mistakes; they repeat the same errors without exception, which is utterly ridiculous.

Looking at the indignant Gu Qianfan, Gu Tingye shrugged and said.

"Given the current situation, I am merely a lowly general, and all I can do is pass on the message."

"If things continue like this in the West Sea, problems are bound to arise."

"Several months ago, the Marquis secretly arranged for me to join the Western Navy. Such foresight must mean that the Marquis has a plan to defeat the enemy."

"I hope that Lord Gu can inform the Marquis of the situation in the Western Navy as soon as possible so that we can make preparations accordingly."

Gu Qianfan nodded slightly and said.

"Don't worry, Captain Gu, I will definitely convey your message to the Marquis."

"By the way, Your Excellency needs a few guides. They must be extremely familiar with the environment of the Western Sea and be fluent in the language of our Great Zhou. Do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

After thinking for a moment, Gu Tingye spoke.

"I still need to look for this one; it will probably take some time."

"If a suitable candidate is found, how should I inform the adults?"

Gu Qianfan pointed to the big tree next to him and said.

"You can place the intelligence on the bird's nest in this big tree. I will arrange for someone to stay and check it once a day."

"This method can also be used in other emergency situations."

Gu Tingye nodded slightly and then spoke.

"understood."

After giving Gu Tingye some instructions, Gu Qianfan left the place.

With time running out and the task heavy, he had to establish the Jinyiwei's information gathering and transmission system in Xihai as soon as possible to lay a solid foundation for the upcoming battle in Xihai.

Meanwhile, inside the Great Zhou Jiangnan Camp in Jinling City, Jia Jue was chatting with Shi Ding, the commander of the Jiangnan Camp and Marquis Zhongjing.

Shi Ding bowed respectfully and said with a smile.

"It's been a long time. Your Excellency is still as dashing as ever."

"I don't know why Your Excellency has suddenly decided to visit Jiangnan. Why didn't you inform me beforehand? I would have been able to welcome you properly."

Jia Jue waved his hand and said.

"Lord Zhongjing, do you still remember what I told you before I left for Jiangnan last time?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Ding immediately perked up.

"What, my lord, is the time ripe now?" Jia Jue nodded slightly, then took out the imperial tiger tally from his robes and said.

"Lord Zhongjing, do you recognize this item?"

Marquis Zhongjing immediately stood up, knelt on one knee, and said.

"This is His Majesty's personal tiger tally, which I naturally recognize."

Jia Jue continued.

"By order of His Majesty, effective immediately, I shall take command of the Jiangnan Grand Camp."

"Lord Zhongjing, is the Jiangnan Grand Camp's naval fleet currently at full strength?"

Marquis Zhongjing nodded and said.

"The Jiangnan Grand Camp has a total of 300 warships and a navy of 40,000 men, at full strength."

Jia Jue smiled with satisfaction.

"Very good, it seems you've taken my words to heart last time."

"Immediately issue an order to have the naval fleet prepare. Three days later, the fleet will depart under the pretext of conducting exercises and head to the Western Sea to prepare for combat."

"I will obey my orders."

After conveying the military order, Marquis Zhongjing hurriedly went to carry it out, while Jia Jue sat in the commander's tent and opened the system interface.

Since the last sign-in, Jia Jue had specially reserved eight thousand Beiwei Army soldiers' souls for future use, and now it's time to put them to use.

Although the Beiwei Army is not skilled in naval warfare, the deployment of the Jiangnan Navy this time is not for a naval battle with the Western Sea barbarians.

After all, shipbuilding has always been a technical skill. The indigenous people of the Western Sea could only build small boats or canoes; they had no ability to conquer the ocean.

The purpose of deploying the Jiangnan navy was simply to take the troops by surprise and transport them directly to the undefended rear of the Western Sea Kingdom, and then carry out a landing operation.

The Jiangnan Navy served as a transport ship this time.

The real decisive battle will be decided through land warfare, penetrating deep into the heart of the Western Sea foreign lands.

Jia Jue had foreseen this day long ago.

After all, the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber recorded the Battle of the Western Sea, in which the Western Sea barbarians won a great victory, and even the Prince of Nan'an was captured alive by the barbarians.

However, Jia Jue did not think that the Western Sea barbarians were anything special because of this.

Ultimately, the Western Sea barbarians are just a bunch of natives; they can only manage to fight a weakling like the Prince of Nan'an.

If the Western Sea barbarians were truly a battle-hardened army, then the Western Sea would have fallen into their hands long ago, and they wouldn't have been suppressed by the Western Navy for so many years.

Therefore, Jia Jue was quite confident in taking over the Western Sea region.

With eight thousand elite soldiers, there is nowhere in the world we cannot go.

Jia Jue was eager to launch his attack, waiting for everything to be ready at the Jiangnan camp before sending out his troops.

The capital city was also in turmoil.

It was obvious that Consort Yue had some leverage over Prince Zhongshun, forcing him to use the Imperial Guards to launch another palace coup.

After all, that's how Emperor Yongping came to power.

Just like the Xuanwu Gate Incident in the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin accomplished his great cause with only 800 men. He was full of vigor and set a precedent for future generations.

Throughout the Tang Dynasty, palace coups became commonplace, with members of the imperial family vying for power and engaging in fratricidal warfare as frequently as eating a meal.

Consort Yue would not be willing to let her son be enfeoffed and completely away from the central government, allowing the Empress and the Crown Prince to ride roughshod over her.

Although Xiao Yuehou appeared calm during this period, he had been secretly working tirelessly.

Prince Zhongshun was also busy, making every effort to win over his generals.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Yongping was reviewing memorials.

When Emperor Yongping saw that the memorial sent by the Western Sea was still urging for military supplies, weapons, and provisions, he sneered.

It seems that the Duke of Nan'an really sees himself as a victim and wants to take advantage of this opportunity to make a quick buck.

However, Emperor Yongping did not dwell on the matter at this time and directly approved the memorial, arranging for the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works to cooperate with the Western Navy's request.

After finishing processing the memorials, Emperor Yongping leisurely took a sip of tea, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

Soon, the grand drama I directed will begin, and then everything will be over.

In the mansion of the Duke of Beijing, the former Prince of Beijing, now the Duke of Beijing, is looking at the secret letter before him.

As he looked on, even the Duke of Bei Jing couldn't help but feel troubled.

After some deliberation, the Duke of Beijing sent a messenger to invite the Dukes of Dongping and Xining to his residence the next day.

Inside the imperial prison, Jia She was utterly devastated and on the verge of tears.

Ever since Lady Wang reported Jia She, Jia She's life has become miserable.

He hadn't even enjoyed a few days of happiness as the head of the Rongguo Mansion when he was thrown into the imperial prison and beaten three times a day with a leather whip dipped in cold water.

This made Jia She, who had been pampered since childhood, feel like dying.

Under torture, Jia She confessed to all the wrongdoings he had committed in his life.

After obtaining Jia She's confession, the Embroidered Uniform Guard did not hand him over but instead kept him imprisoned in the Imperial Prison.

At this time, Jia She was disheveled and looked extremely unkempt and miserable.

Just as Jia She was tormented and didn't know what to do, a jailer suddenly came to the imperial prison and brought him a set of clothes and a basin of water.

When Jia She saw this scene, he was almost scared to death. What did this mean? His crime was not serious enough to warrant beheading, so why were they sending him all this? Was this a way of telling him to prepare for his death cleanly?

Seeing that Jia She was about to wet his pants, the jailer smiled calmly and said...

"Lord Jia, you can't be that serious."

"Don't worry, this isn't a shroud for your funeral."

"You'd better hurry up and get dressed; someone wants to see you later."

Jia She was taken aback for a moment after hearing this, then looked at the jailer and asked ingratiatingly.

"Young man, who wants to see me?"

The jailer waved his hand and said.

"How would I know? I just knew he must be a big shot. If an ordinary person wanted to get into the Imperial Prison, they would be lucky to escape with their life."

"Alright, hurry up and pack your things, don't keep our important guests waiting."

Seeing that he hadn't gotten any information, and with a heavy heart, Jia She could only tidy himself up before following the jailer to the guard's cell in the imperial prison.

Upon entering the duty room, Jia She was on the verge of tears, his entire being collapsing and breaking down like a child.

"Ruhai, why did you take so long to arrive? Do you know how I've been these past few days?"

Yes, the person who came was none other than Lin Ruhai.

Upon seeing Jia She's appearance, Lin Ruhai couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted, but he still sighed and said something.

"Brother, you've really messed up this time."

"Tell me, what are you really thinking?"

"How dare you, a high-ranking official in the capital, associate with a military governor stationed in a prefecture? Isn't that giving him a handle to use against you?"

"How could such a dangerous matter be leaked? What can I say to you?"

(End of this chapter)