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

Chapter 70 Victorious Return to Court, Night Talk in Tongzhou Recruits Three Generals!
The seventh year of the Yongxi reign, the fifth month.

In midsummer, cicadas sing, and along the Grand Canal, abundant calamus grows, standing tall and graceful, its verdant leaves exuding fragrance.

After being away from the capital for several months, Jia Yan and his party arrived at Tongzhou Post Station. The 120,000-strong army was still behind them, escorting the captured nobles of various Mongol tribes and a lot of spoils. Niu Jizong, Hou Xiaokang and others were in charge of the army.

"General."

"General Nian, General Yue, and General Zhang have arrived."

Dong Yong quickly stepped forward and reported in a low voice.

"Ah."

Nodding slightly, Jia Yan said calmly, "You all stand guard outside. If anyone else is spying, kill them without hesitation."

"Yes.

The twelve guards' eyes flashed with ferocity as they each led dozens of riders to patrol the surrounding area.

If word got out that the eldest son of the Jia family had secretly met with the generals of the nine border regions, it would surely cause quite a stir, especially for the one in the Qianqing Palace, who would probably lose sleep over it. Naturally, they couldn't let a word of it leak out.

“Tap tap.”

As night deepened and countless stars adorned the sky, three burly figures dressed in martial arts attire stepped into the inn's rooms.

"Young Lord".

Nian Gengyao, Yue Zhongqi, and Zhang Guangsi immediately clasped their hands in a salute.

Because Jia Daihua was posthumously granted the title of "Lord Wu'an," which Jia Jing inherited, Jia Yan, as Jia Jing's eldest son, was respectfully addressed as "Young Lord."

"sit."

He glanced at the three of them, but Jia Yan's expression remained calm and indifferent.

"Yes."

Nian Gengyao and the others sat at the lower end of the table, each sitting upright and formally.

They all knew very well that their achievements were nothing compared to the young man in front of them, and that without Jia Yan, their very survival would be in question.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Sitting at the head of the table, Jia Yan gently tapped the table with his index finger. The crisp tapping sound rang out again and again, like the morning bell and evening drum striking the hearts of everyone, making them increasingly uneasy.

"Your merits have been reported to the court by Uncle Niu a month ago and are currently being approved by the Ministry of War."

"Besides Uncle Niu, Uncle Liu, and Uncle Hou, it's you and Prince Teng."

"Based on the current way of doing things, you are at least a superior earl."

"Thank you, young lord."

Of the three people present, only Yue Zhongqi already knew about this; Nian Gengyao and Zhang Guangsi were just finding out, and they couldn't hide their joy.

There aren't many earls in the current dynasty. They are mostly from the Yuan Cong noble lineage. After all, the Yuan Cong Jiu Hou only recently inherited the title after being demoted one generation. He was also a confidant of the retired emperor, so there was no need for performance evaluation. He was directly demoted from marquis to earl. Apart from Shi Tingxiang of the Jinghai Marquis's Mansion and Wu Shifan of the Chong'an Marquis's Mansion, who are first-class earls, the rest are third-class earls. Among the founding lineage, only Niu Jizong is a first-class earl. There are no others.

"After the bestowal of titles and honors, you will become the Yongping Nobles, forming your own lineage."

"What do you think?"

"what?"

Nian Gengyao and Zhang Guangsi stared wide-eyed, somewhat taken aback.

Yue Zhongqi spoke first: "Young Lord, there are more than just the three of us among the Yongping nobles, right? Prince Teng, the military governor of the capital garrison, is also among them. Will His Majesty entrust us with important tasks?"

"To be precise, I can also be considered a member of the Yongping nobility."

Glancing at the three, Jia Yan said with a playful tone, "Perhaps he is still the leader of the Yongping lineage."

"Cough cough."

These words caused Nian Gengyao and the others to cough a few times.

From the perspective of merit, Jia Yan had no title to begin with, and he was the one who made the greatest contribution in this battle. It is not inappropriate to say that he was the first nobleman of Yongping. "I am willing to follow the lead of the young marquis!"

Yue Zhongqi spoke up without hesitation.

"We are willing to follow your lead, Young Lord!"

Nian Gengyao and Zhang Guangsi belatedly realized what was happening and spoke up in unison.

'Getting it right!'

Seeing this, Jia Yan's lips curled into a slight smile, and he continued, "His Majesty regards you as his most trusted ministers and will certainly reward you handsomely."

"Upon returning to the capital, the founding lineage petitioned to rebuild the three major battalions in the capital in order to counter the twelve battalions controlled by the Yuan Cong lineage."

"The military structure of Shenjing thus formed a situation of confrontation between two powers."

"It is almost impossible for the Yongping lineage to achieve anything in the capital."

"The various tribes of Southern Mongolia are a thing of the past. The Later Mongolian tribes are building a city, and the Foremost Mongolian tribe already has Ping'an Prefecture."

"I will submit a memorial to the throne requesting the establishment of Wuyuan Prefecture and Yunzhong Prefecture, with prefects governing the local areas, and the abolition of the border prefectures and military governors."

"From now on, the threats faced by Ningxia Town, Yulin Town, Shanxi Town, and Datong Town will almost cease to exist. Xuanfu will certainly have to consider the various tribes of Northern and Eastern Mongolia, but it will not be as wary of external threats as before."

"There aren't many places left where we can make a name for ourselves; only Gansu Town, Guyuan Town, Ji Town, and Liao Town remain."

“The three of you are either already generals or deputy generals. After being granted titles, you should at least be promoted to the rank of second-grade border garrison general.”

"Please enlighten me, young lord!"

The three exchanged a glance and asked again.

"The reason why the dynasty established the Nine Garrisons was mainly to defend against enemies from the north."

"At the beginning of the establishment of the Nine Garrisons, it was necessary to employ various military families from the Ming Dynasty. The Ma family of Ningxia, the Wang family of Gansu, the Ma family of Guyuan, the You family of Yulin, and the Cao family of Shanxi were all like this. The Yue family of Xuanfu can be considered a rising star."

"These military families cling to outdated ideas, exploit soldiers, and seize border fields on a large scale. Their insatiable greed has long made them a thorn in the side of the royal family."

"To this end, the retired emperor promoted Yang Jishan, the general of Ningxia Garrison, Zhang Ji, the deputy general of Ningxia Garrison, Zhao Tengye, the deputy general of Guyuan Garrison, Sun Yanliang, the deputy general of Gansu Garrison, and Wang Senluo, the deputy general of Yulin Garrison, to gradually change the situation where the generals regarded the nine border regions as their own territory by mixing in the sand."

"At present, Emperor Yongping cannot ensure that the troops in the capital are at his disposal, and can only place his hopes on the border troops."

"Given this great victory, it is imperative to vigorously rectify the border towns."

With a slight smile, Jia Yan added.

"I'll understand later."

Nian Gengyao and his two companions immediately realized that this meant they, as nobles of the Yongping era, would be used as pawns by the Yongping Emperor and sent down to border towns that had not yet been reformed to serve as garrison commanders. This was both an opportunity and a challenge.

The military families are deeply entrenched, and it's no easy task for these outsiders to uproot them completely!
"You have plenty of time, you can take your time to think it over."

"I will inform you of my decision after the rewards are bestowed."

'Thump!'

The three of them were startled and looked up at the handsome young man in front of them in disbelief.

"It's getting late, let's go and rest."

Jia Yan didn't say much, but instead ordered them to leave.

"Yes."

With heavy hearts, Nian Gengyao, Yue Zhongqi, and Zhang Guangsi walked out of the room step by step, their expressions changing.

These two sentences alone conveyed far too much information, too terrifying, making it difficult for them to calm the turmoil in their hearts.

Dawn is not far off!

Watching the three figures depart, Jia Yan smiled and uttered a sentence.

(End of this chapter)