Dream of the Red Chamber: I can upgrade my entries!

Chapter 113 Each with their own ulterior motives, the two kings plot to hunt the great dragon of the Central Plains!
"A three-day long street banquet, ten miles of prosperity unfolds."

"I watched him build a magnificent mansion, I watched him host lavish banquets, and I watched his mansion collapse."

Inside the Prince Yizhong's residence, Qin Ren threw all the fish food he was holding onto the water's surface.

"Puff puff!"

A group of koi carp leaped out of the pond, creating ripples all over the water.

"That's what the prince said."

Zhen Yingyan chimed in, "The Jia family thinks that with him, they are invincible."

"Jia Jing even abandoned the Black Cloud, which had been controlled by the Jia family for generations, and his secret organization, which spanned two capitals and thirteen provinces, appeared before everyone."

"Just by exchanging money with many merchants in the capital, they spent no less than five million taels of silver to recruit thousands of artisans from the city."

"The name of Heiyundu has already resounded throughout Hebei. A mere infiltrator has transformed into the personal army of the Marquis of Wu'an. Could it be that the Jia family truly believes that the vast territory of Chengde is their real reliance, and is making great strides to plan for their descendants?"

"I also cannot understand this matter."

Prince Yizhong Qin Renru's eyes, as clear as an ancient well, rippled, and his deep baritone voice rang out in the garden: "Jia Jing has been hiding for so many years. He is willing to hand over everything. Is he not afraid that his elder brother will betray him after he has served his purpose? Or does he think that his youngest son can protect the Jia family?"

"I still remember what my eighth brother said that day: If it weren't for Jia Jing, how could the Crown Prince have secured his position in the Eastern Palace? Has someone as cunning as a fox and as intelligent as a demon really grown old and lost his spirit?"

Suddenly, the entire Prince's Garden fell into an eerie silence. The Jia family's actions were far too grand, as if power had already been transferred, and everything revolved around Marquis Wu, Jia Yan. It was hard not to suspect that something was amiss.

"Your Majesty."

Zhen Yingyan continued, "Several imperial edicts were issued in the palace without the approval of both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel."

"The only appointment approved by the court was that of Zhang Guangsi, the Earl of Qingjiang, as General Pingxi, who recruited 5 Miao soldiers to fight against the Da Jinchuan and Xiao Jinchuan."

"The spies of the Chess Camp in the palace have already learned the specific details. His Majesty's edicts are not simple."

“The Marquis of Zhenguo, Niu Jizong, the Marquis of Liguo, Liu Fang, and the Marquis of Xiuguo, Hou Xiaokang, are appointed as imperial envoys and granted the Shangfang sword, which gives them the power to execute first and report later.”

"The three have already left the capital and gone to Baoding, Xi'an and Zunyi respectively. It's hard not to suspect that the Jia family has something to do with His Majesty."

'Whoosh!'

Prince Yizhong's eyes suddenly snapped open, flashing with a chilling light.

The three marquises represent the most powerful lineage of founding nobles in the court today. Everyone knows they are staunch vassals of the Jia family. To be precise, they should be the supporters of Marquis Wu, Jia Yan. These people were appointed as imperial envoys by Emperor Yongping, carrying the imperial sword to Baoding, Hebei, Shaanxi, and Guizhou, which was of extraordinary significance.

"Your Majesty."

"And one more thing."

Zhen Yingyan hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Emperor Emeritus has issued an edict appointing Yan Qian, a third-class earl of the Jiangyin Marquisate, as the General of Hebei, and recruiting 50,000 Hebei Guards to be stationed in Baoding."

'Thump!'

Prince Yizhong's expression changed slightly. Marquis Niu Jizong, the Duke of Zhenguo, had just gone to Baoding, and Yan Qian went to Baoding shortly after. No one would believe that there was no connection between the two.

"Has Father already sided with my elder brother?"

If the retired emperor sided with Emperor Yongping, then he would lose his most reliable support, and apart from plotting to usurp the throne, it would be almost impossible for him to ascend to the throne.

"Your Majesty."

"I dare to guess that it may not be that the Emperor Emeritus supports His Majesty, but that someone has come up with a strategy that both the Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty agree to."

Zhen Yingyan looked at Prince Yizhong with a solemn expression.

"You mean him?"

Prince Yizhong turned to look at him, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

"Zhongshan Earl Wang Ziteng, Qingjiang Earl Zhang Guangsi, Lintao Earl Yue Zhongqi, Huaiyuan Earl Nian Gengyao."

"These four people appear to be from the Yongping lineage, clearly separate from the founding lineage, and support His Majesty."

“But they, along with Zhenguo Marquis Niu Jizong, Liguo Marquis Liu Fang, and Xiuguo Marquis Hou Xiaokang, are all inextricably linked to one person.”

"If anyone could mobilize them to various places at the same time, it certainly wouldn't be His Majesty or the Emperor Emeritus."

"Only one person could do it, and that is Marquis Wu, Jia Yan."

With his face hidden in the shadows, Zhen Yingyan's words gave Prince Yizhong a crucial piece of information.

Five days ago, Yue Zhongqi, the Earl of Lintao, stormed into Jizhou alone. The Jizhou General Zu Chong and a group of generals were all captured. Evidence of their embezzlement of military funds appeared in the court. The Ministry of Justice made a judgment immediately, and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel had no choice but to approve the imperial edict appointing Yue Zhongqi as the Jizhou General.

Prior to this, Emperor Yongping proposed establishing the Tianjin Navy to protect the capital's coastal areas. Prince Teng, the Earl of Zhongshan, was nominated to serve as the Admiral of the Tianjin Navy and was ordered to oversee the matter. Three of the four Earls of Yongping held real positions, which was by no means a coincidence.

"Immediately mobilize the forces of the Chess Camp in Hebei, with Jizhou as the center, and thoroughly investigate all changes in the surrounding area."

Prince Yizhong, Qin Ren, immediately made a decision.

"Your Majesty."

Slightly taken aback, Zhen Yingyan was somewhat confused.

"I now suspect that Yue Zhongqi is not only targeting Jizhou, but he may very well be a catalyst."

"The twenty-one garrisons under the jurisdiction of Jizhou were implicated in this matter, and all the officers of the garrisons were dismissed. It is only natural that they can be abolished and the military farmland be investigated."

“Apart from the garrisons under the jurisdiction of Jizhou, the other garrisons are all south of the capital, especially the three garrisons of Baoding. Baoding can radiate to more than a dozen other garrisons. Niu Jizong’s trip to Baoding was by no means a coincidence.”

"Father appointed Yan Qian as the General of Hebei and recruited 50,000 Hebei Guards. Where will the money and provisions come from? Furthermore, there are three major camps and twelve regiments in the capital region, as well as garrisons in the local areas. What is the purpose of recruiting 50,000 Hebei Guards?"

Meeting Zhen Yingyan's gaze, Prince Yizhong said in a deep voice, "If all the garrisons in Hebei are abolished, then with the capital region protected by the capital army, and the Xuanhua and Ji garrisons protecting the north of the capital, how will the stability of the areas south of the capital be maintained?"

“Baoding is a special location. It is home to 50,000 Hebei garrison troops, which can cover all prefectures and counties south of the capital at any time.”

'? ? ? '

Zhen Yingyan's eyes widened. The abolition of the Hebei Garrison was simply too astonishing.

"I suspect that Liu Fang and Hou Xiaokang's missions are the same as Niu Jizong's."

"Shaanxi is an important area in the Northwest, while Guizhou is located in the center of the Southwest, surrounded by Sichuan, Yunnan, Hubei and Hunan, and Guangxi."

"If the Hebei garrison is abolished, with 50,000 Hebei garrison troops stationed in Baoding, Hebei will be safe. Then, abolishing the garrisons in Henan and Shandong would be a natural next step. The same applies to Shaanxi and Guizhou, and the garrisons in Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Huguang, and Guangxi should also be abolished."

"In this way, only five provinces in the southeast remain: Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Guangdong."

"These places have always been lax in their military preparedness. The only ones worth noting are the Nanjing Navy, the Fujian Navy, and the Guangdong Navy."

"The establishment of the Tianjin Navy gave the dynasty an alternative. Even if any problems arise with the three major navies, defending against threats from the sea will no longer be a problem."

"Now I understand why my elder brother and father acted in such unison: the choice the Jia family gave them was one they could not refuse."

“Since the Ming Dynasty, the garrison system has been a huge cancer. More than 20 million people and more than ordinary fields were trapped in the garrison system. The court not only did not get any benefits from the garrisons, but also allocated 8 million taels of silver to the garrisons across the country for military pay every year.”

"This is no longer a problem that my elder brother and father want to solve; even the founding emperor wanted to solve it, but he couldn't get to this point." "What a Jia family scion, what a Martial Marquis."

Prince Yizhong has connected everything; it's truly unbelievable.

"Your Majesty."

"I'll have someone investigate right away."

Zhen Yingyan's expression turned serious, and he immediately left.

Prince Beijing's Mansion.

"Your Majesty."

"This is a letter from the Great Khan to you."

A short, middle-aged man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face solemnly took out a letter sealed with wax and made of cowhide.

"Ah."

Shui Rong took the brown leather letter, peeled off the sealing wax, took out the letter inside, carefully examined it, and then his face darkened: "Useless."

"My father painstakingly obtained the blueprints for the Divine Might Invincible General Cannon (Heavy), Martial Success Eternal General Cannon (Heavy), Divine Merit General Cannon (Medium), and Divine Might General Cannon (Light) from the Ministry of Works and handed them over to this group of Jurchen Tartars."

"After all these years, they still can't manufacture cannons comparable to those of the United States and the Republic of China, and they still have the nerve to ask me for people."

"Where am I supposed to find these people for them? Are we supposed to go to the underworld and capture Ferdinand Verbiest to hand over to them?"

After the Yuan Congyi battle, Emperor Shunkang moved the Dongping Prince's Mansion and the Beijing Prince's Mansion to Shenjing under the pretext of punishing them. As a result, the Shui family lost control of Ping'an Prefecture and gradually declined in power over the years, and had to seek external assistance.

Starting with the second Prince of Beijing, they had already contacted the Later Jin through merchant ships operated in Tianjin, and supported the current Khan of the Later Jin, Yinzhen, in seizing the throne. They also secretly smuggled a great deal of goods to the Later Jin via sea routes.

Otherwise, how could the Later Jin have recovered its strength in such a short time? Yinzhen carried out a lot of reforms, which transformed the Later Jin from a loose Eight Banners alliance into a feudal state, uniting the Han, Manchu, Mongol, and Korean people in the country.

"Your Majesty."

The middle-aged man said cautiously, "The Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty heard that during the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty purchased a large number of Western firearms from Haojing. The four cannons used in the Ningyuan Victory were made by the Portuguese. They hope that we can hire Western craftsmen from Haojing to go to Liaodong to supervise the manufacture of cannons."

"Humph!!!"

Shui Rong snorted coldly, his face displeased, and said, "The Jurchen Tartars seem to remember clearly that their chieftain Nurhaci was wounded by these very cannons and ultimately died. They want Western craftsmen, but I want the support of the Westerners!"

"Leaving aside the fact that Haojing is far away in Guangdong, just sending these Westerners to Liaodong would require a lot of manpower and resources."

"Your Majesty."

The middle-aged man continued, "The Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty sent 100,000 taels of gold, 500 pearls, 20 chests of sable fur, and a pair of jade-clawed gyrfalcons."

"The Khan also said that if Your Highness can help them break through the Ningjin defense line, the Later Jin army will surely advance straight in and capture Shenjing."

"The Later Jin is willing to support the Prince of Beijing to re-establish the Ming Dynasty, with the Yangtze River as the boundary between the Qing and the Ming, and the two will be governed separately in the north and south."

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong's expression softened considerably, indicating that the Jurchen Tartars' sincerity was at least quite substantial.

"Are the Jurchens confident in this?"

"Your Highness."

The short, middle-aged man lowered his head and replied, "The Later Jin established the Xiaoji Camp, the Solon Camp, and the Green Standard Army. The Xiaoji Camp was composed of the Manchu Eight Banners and the Mongol Eight Banners, with 150,000 men. The Solon Camp was composed of wild Jurchens, and although it only had 30,000 men, they were exceptionally fierce."

"The Green Standard Army mainly consisted of Han Chinese and Koreans, totaling 200,000 troops. In addition, there were generals such as Ortai, Ying Changqi, and Tuo Shulie who possessed the strength of a Transformation Realm expert."

'Three hundred and eighty thousand!'

A strange light flashed in Shui Rong's eyes. The Later Jin, with a population of only a few million, had such a large army; it was truly ferocious.

"Go and tell Yinzhen that I will have Zhang Zhao, the governor of Liaoxi, cooperate with him to lure out Ha Yuansheng, the general of Liaozhen."

Whether he can seize the opportunity depends on himself.

"After the Later Jin captures Shenjing, I want to use half of all the spoils to recruit soldiers."

"In addition, the Ming and Qing dynasties ruled across a river, but not the Yangtze River, but the Yellow River. Shanxi, Hebei, and Shandong were handed over to the Later Jin, while the other provinces were under my control."

"Yes."

The short, middle-aged man respectfully responded and left the study.

"Your Majesty."

After he left, a figure in black appeared in the corner of the study: "The Jurchen Tartars have a big appetite. If they occupy Shenjing, they will not be willing to fulfill the agreement."

"hehe."

A cold glint flashed in Shui Rong's eyes as he said sinisterly, "Then let him know the power of the Prince of Beijing's mansion."

"Do you think that we've been completely naive and unscrupulous in our dealings with the Later Jin all these years?"

"It wouldn't hurt to let the Eight Banners Army taste the firearms smuggled from Japan."

The first stop of the smuggling fleet from the Prince of Beijing's mansion in Tianjin was often Shuangdao Island. Over the years, they had become intimately familiar with the island routes along the entire southern Liaoning coast, and the Han people living there all obeyed the orders of the Prince of Beijing's mansion.

Moreover, the Han people in Fuzhou and Jinzhou were mostly dissatisfied with the Later Jin, all of whom were pawns planted by the Prince of Beijing.

"Your Majesty."

"Prince Teng is building a navy in Tianjin and is currently recruiting young men from the coastal areas of Hebei and Shandong, with swimming skills as the primary criterion."

Are we?

The figure in black had eyes like a venomous snake, waiting for its chance to strike.

"No need."

Shui Rong raised his right hand and sneered, "What use are people? Let alone 30,000, even 300,000, without ships, are you expecting them to swim in the sea?"

“From south to north, we’re not the only ones involved in smuggling. Even if we were to do it, it’s not our place to deal with the Tianjin Navy.”

"Tell the people below to ignore Wang Ziteng and just do their own thing. They should continue on their original path."

“Once the war begins, the Later Jin will need more and more things, so why not make money off these Jurchen Tartars?”

“Transporting the iron from Liaodong to Japan, reselling it, and making hundreds of times the profit, with a large amount of silver being sent back, is an enormous profit.”

"We must maintain good relations with the Goryeo people. We need to keep the Later Jin dog in check; we might need the Goryeo people later."

"Yes."

The figure in black responded.

(End of this chapter)