The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

There was no other way; for the Qianxiang Kingdom, the southwest region was an absolute piece of fat meat!

Just one bite and your mouth is full of juicy goodness; everyone wants to tear off a piece of fatty meat!

As a result, they were completely routed by Jia Huan and his three thousand light cavalry.

Such news would be impossible to believe today unless it was relayed by Jia Huan, the local government in the southwest, and some secret agents at the same time!

This is too exaggerated!

In short, I am very pleasantly surprised and indescribably happy!

Thinking of the Princess Dowager of Nan'an who kept urging him on, and the negotiations that made him feel extremely humiliated, he couldn't help but sneer: Now, it's that old woman's turn to be embarrassed!

Of course, he would never admit that he had agreed to it during the previous negotiations.

There was nothing that could be done. After a century of peace and prosperity under the Great Qian Dynasty, the local garrisons in the south were probably all rotten to the core.

The truly formidable force was the 100,000-strong army under the Prince of Nan'an, who had been stationed on the southwestern border for a long time!

Unfortunately, in the previous battle with the neighboring country, the 100,000-strong army under the command of the Prince of Nan'an was defeated, with only one-tenth of it surviving!

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly have the confidence to fight a full-scale battle against the ever-increasing and invading army of Qianxiang Kingdom? It would be good enough if they could barely maintain the status quo.

If we really have an idea, we'll have to transfer troops from the Central Plains and the North, but that will take time!

Putting everything else aside, two months of preparation time is essential!

With a large army on the move, transporting provisions, weapons, and other logistical supplies to the southwest region was extremely difficult.

As mentioned before, the southwest region is mountainous and densely forested. The so-called "Ten Thousand Mountains" refers to the mountains in the southwest, which shows how complex its geographical environment is and how terrible the road conditions are.

Based on past experience, the advice given by the veteran generals of the Five Armies Commandery suggests that it would be impossible to resolve the invasion of the Qianxiang Kingdom's army in less than a year and a half.

If the war goes badly, it could drag on for three to five years!

Under such circumstances, the current approach to negotiations is one of reluctant acceptance.

Of course, to the outside world, they would claim that they were constantly urged by the Dowager Princess of Nan'an, and that the Prince of Nan'an was willing to pay a sufficient price for the negotiations, so they had no choice but to reluctantly agree to such nonsense.

It's still a fig leaf, after all; it's good enough to cover up a little.

It mainly depends on what happens next. If the imperial court can successfully retaliate against Qianxiang Kingdom, then everything will be fine.

However, if there is no further activity, no matter how the current emperor and the court try to cover it up, it will be recorded in history books, which is not a good thing for the current emperor's posthumous reputation.

It can only be said that circumstances are beyond our control, and we have no choice but to accept our bad luck.

What else could be done?

Even if we settle accounts later and completely resolve the issue with the Prince of Nan'an's mansion, the damage has already been done, and the stain on their reputation can't be washed away.

Fortunately, news of Jia Huan's great victory in the southwest came just in time.

In high spirits, he immediately dispatched secret agents from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and intelligence personnel from the south to the southwest region to verify the situation and see how much exaggeration was in Jia Huan's battle report.

He had already made up his mind that as long as the army of Qianxiang Kingdom was indeed severely damaged, he would immediately promote Jia Huan to a higher rank and official position, and no one could stop him!

The reason is easy to find. Since they do not agree to Jia Huan's promotion, the matter in the southwest will be handled by the person who tried to dissuade him. They must do it well, otherwise the emperor will definitely not agree!

With such conditions presented, I believe no minister in the court would agree!

They're gambling with their official positions!

Who knows, the Great Qian Dynasty might just produce a young 'Champion Marquis'!

Thinking of this now, I can't help but smile with a relaxed and contented expression.

The gloom that had been building up in my heart for some time has vanished in the blink of an eye!

The first to notice was Dai Quan, the Grand Chancellor of the Daming Palace!

Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; this is no joke, it's the truth.

For the past two months or so, Dai Quan has been living in constant fear!

Unfortunately, with the current emperor in a bad mood, Dai Quan, as his trusted eunuch, was naturally not having an easy time either.

They were terrified that if they angered the emperor, he would fall from the top position among the palace eunuchs and instantly plummet from his pedestal—that was no joke, it could be fatal.

Therefore, he has been living in fear and feeling very stifled lately!

Unfortunately, the army of Qianxiang Kingdom did not know who Dai Quan was!

They had to be extremely careful and attentive to the emperor, who had a difficult temper.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong during this time, and the emperor did not take the opportunity to vent his anger on the eunuchs serving him.

Since the news of Jia Huan's great victory came from the southwest, the current emperor's mood immediately brightened.

Dai Quan quickly realized it and finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

In his heart, he felt an indescribable gratitude towards Jia Huan, who was thousands of miles away.

Sure enough, Huan Xiaozi is reliable!

When this kid took the initiative to request to lead troops to the southwest, I knew he had big ambitions, but I didn't expect him to be so capable.

It's only been a little over three months, hasn't it?

In Dai Quan's view, Jia Huan's troops were probably still marching with difficulty. Everyone knew that the environment in the southwest was terrible, making it very inconvenient for a large army to move around!

Even so, Jia Huan won surprisingly quickly!

If the battle report is accurate, Jia Huan's troops weren't fighting a war; they were simply on an armed patrol, casually dealing with tens of thousands of soldiers from Qianxiang Kingdom as bandits.

Such an ability is amazing!

Regardless of whether there will be any suspicion of him overshadowing his superiors in the future, Jia Huan's performance has been of great help to Dai Quan at the moment, and he will definitely have to thank him properly later.

When it comes to the news of Jia Huan's great victory over the army of Qianxiang Kingdom, the most indifferent reaction comes from the entire Rong Mansion.

They knew little about the war in the southwest, nor were they aware of the true extent of the power of the Qianxiang Kingdom's army, or the current predicament faced by the court officials; they simply considered it commonplace.

And so it was; they didn't think Jia Huan's achievements were anything special, and their attitude was quite calm!

Chapter 357 The Peaceful Rong Mansion (Please Subscribe)

"Huan-ge'er has won another victory in the southwest, truly a blessing from our ancestors!"

Inside Rongqing Hall, the old lady said happily, "Including Cong-ge'er, he has also made a great contribution!"

"Those two brothers are quite powerful in the southwest, I wonder if they can help the Prince of Nan'an?"

Recently, because the Princess Dowager of Nan'an had some ulterior motives, she frequently visited the Rong residence. The old lady, who already felt lonely, naturally welcomed her old friend's visit.

That's how the old lady came to know about the Princess Consort of Nan'an's current predicament.

For reasons unknown, the Princess Dowager of Nan'an was determined to save the defeated and captured Prince of Nan'an.

She made a lot of efforts and paid a heavy price during that time, which made the old lady sigh with regret.

It can only be said that the incompetence of her descendants has caused the Dowager Empress to have to worry and run around even at an advanced age.

The old lady also understood that the best way to safely rescue the Prince of Nan'an was through peace talks.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but unexpectedly, news came at the last minute that Jia Huan had won a great victory over Qianxiang Kingdom in the southwest. The old lady naturally understood that the so-called peace talks to save people had encountered another unexpected turn of events.

"Winning a battle is a good thing; it's always better than losing one!"

Aunt Xue chuckled and complimented, "The old lady is truly remarkable. She saw early on that Huan-ge'er and Cong-ge'er are no ordinary juniors, but rather inherit the spirit of their ancestor!"

With the marriages of Xue's two children all settled, Aunt Xue was finally relieved.

Of course, the marriages of her two children were closely related to the Rong family. When she had nothing to do, she resumed her old habit of visiting other families. She spent most of her day either talking with the old lady in Rongqing Hall or chatting about family matters in Madam Wang's courtyard.

She never expected that her son-in-law, Cong-ge'er, would have made great contributions in the southwest and might even have a noble title when he married Xue Baochai. She was immediately delighted.

He naturally disagreed with some of the old lady's ideas.

She had heard about the old princess of Nan'an; she was not well-liked.

After all, given the Prince of Nan'an's terrible performance, there was absolutely no point in trying to salvage the situation!

The Prince of Nan'an's mansion is not without a successor. Making such a fuss, which could even be said to force the current emperor to bow down, just to save the defeated and captured Prince of Nan'an, is far too much of a loss.

It's obvious that forcing an ambitious emperor to sign a peace treaty with a small country in the southern region is like slapping someone in the face. No one knows how much anger the emperor is holding in.

If we were to settle scores now, the entire Prince Nan'an's mansion might not be able to withstand it!

Therefore, Aunt Xue did not mention the Dowager Princess of Nan'an at all; she just kept praising the old lady for having two exceptionally talented grandsons!

To be honest, Jia Huan and Jia Cong are indeed very promising!

With the help of the two brothers, the Rong family's prestige reached new heights.

Now that the two brothers have made great contributions, it's only a matter of time before they are promoted and ennobled!

Who knows, the Rong family's influence will only grow stronger, and who wouldn't be envious?

Haven't you noticed that the Ning family, which was originally indifferent to the Rong family, has become much closer to them recently?

The old lady should be thinking about how to help Jia Huan and Jia Cong clear up any potential negative comments and attacks from the capital. Why bother with anything else?

Besides, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an is no good. She actually set her sights on Tan Chun for a marriage alliance. I wonder if she has any brains at all.

If Jia Huan, who was in the southwestern border region, heard this, he might take drastic measures, completely enraging the Kingdom of Qianxiang and directly killing the defeated and captured Prince of Nan'an!