The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"Uncle, Huan-ge'er also mentioned that the princes under the current emperor are all coming of age one after another, and it is estimated that a fierce battle for the throne is about to begin again!"

"At that time, with Huan-ge'er's strength, the prestige of the Ning and Rong mansions, and your status as your uncle, how could you possibly not get involved?"

Jia Cong's words became increasingly explicit, but Lin Ruhai's expression grew increasingly grim.

Originally, she only wanted to understand her prospective son-in-law Jia Huan's thoughts and ideas, but she never expected to hear these things.

Chapter 372 We're Not on the Same Path (Please Subscribe)

When Jia Cong returned to the capital, it was already early summer.

The current emperor was very accommodating and directly sent a senior cabinet official out of the city to greet them.

Jia Huan remained remarkably calm, showing neither fear nor arrogance. Throughout the entire process, his expression and demeanor remained completely composed.

The subsequent investiture ceremony went unremarkable and did not cause any significant stir.

He has been sent home to rest and recuperate, and no new position has been assigned to him for the time being.

Jia Cong was not in a hurry. After handing over his three thousand infantry and cavalry, as well as the spoils of war being escorted to the capital, he returned to his two-courtyard house with peace of mind.

This time, because the rank of First Class Baron is not high, there are no rewards such as mansions.

There was a lot of verbal praise, but it was all very beneficial without costing anything.

After everything was settled, Jia Cong ignored the pile of invitations on his desk and immediately went out of the city to pay his respects to Master She and Madam Xing.

The old age of the Grand Master She greatly surprised him!

Although he didn't come back for the New Year, in just over a year, the old man has aged more than ten years and looks very old and listless.

Not only was his complexion poor, but his health was also terrible; he looked like he could fall apart at any moment.

The old man is only in his early sixties, he looks way too old!

Jia Cong suddenly realized that, judging from this situation, the master's life was not long.

Given his extravagant lifestyle, it's quite remarkable that he's still alive.

He spends all his time indulging in wine and women or fussing over antiques and curios, neglecting his health and aging so rapidly.

The master didn't seem to care much about this, and seemed to be in a rather reckless and indifferent state.

According to him, he had enjoyed everything he could, so it wouldn't be a big deal if he died immediately.

He was quite satisfied with Jia Cong's performance. When they met, he didn't say anything encouraging, but simply told Jia Cong to handle things on his own.

In the end, he only made one request: if he could establish himself outside, he should not have any ties with the mansion, and it would be best if he could help his elder brother Jia Lian to securely inherit the title.

Clearly, he harbored resentment towards the old lady.

However, his blind filial piety prevented him from having the courage to fiercely resist.

Even though his life was already nearing its end, he still only asked Jia Cong not to have too much involvement with the mansion in the future, rather than to completely sever ties with it.

After leaving the master's study, he was called away by Madam Xing for a talk.

Madam Xing's meaning was simple: she hoped that Jia Cong would marry his niece, Xue Baochai, as soon as possible.

For no other reason than that she was worried that the master's health wouldn't be able to withstand it.

If something unexpected happens, Jia Cong will have to observe a three-year mourning period!

In that case, the blooming season of both girls will be delayed.

Jia Cong expressed his understanding and stated directly that he would complete the marriage as soon as possible.

The process of betrothal to two women, three matchmakers, and six betrothal gifts is almost complete.

He needs to go back and talk to the Xue family; it shouldn't be a big problem.

Madam Xing nodded in satisfaction and let Jia Cong go, without offering him a meal.

In fact, Madam Xing was quite satisfied with her life on the estate outside the city.

Without the deliberate targeting of the old lady and Madam Wang, and without needing to imitate the manners of noblewomen in the capital, coupled with the management authority over the estate, she gradually regained the straightforwardness of her youth.

He remained subservient to the master, but established an air of authority in front of the servants.

Currently, Madam Xing doesn't care about anything else; what she cares about most is the future of her two younger brothers.

Unfortunately, neither of her two younger brothers had any male offspring, so her attention naturally turned to her niece, Xing Zhouyan.

Even the care of caring for her in her old age and seeing her off in her final days will have to be entrusted to her niece.

Jia Cong understood Madam Xing's thoughts quite well, if not perfectly.

There was no dissatisfaction regarding this.

Marriage is a normal thing, and he doesn't care as long as it's not particularly troublesome.

As I entered the city, I suddenly had a premonition and subconsciously looked towards a certain place outside the city.

They didn't see anything unusual, so they entered the city with a slight sense of doubt.

"That was close! This kid's strength has improved again!"

After Jia Huan's figure disappeared through the city gate, the monk and the Taoist suddenly turned out from a building in the direction Jia Cong had been looking.

"I never expected that this kid would cultivate such a rudimentary method of training military officers to such a profound level!"

"Yeah, we'd better stay far away from this kid in the future!"

"Hey, this capital city is becoming more and more incomprehensible. I'd better come here less often in the future!"

"You make it sound so easy. We still need to find a place to stay outside the city, but it's best not to go into the city!"

"Let's leave it at that. Since the Fairy hasn't given any further instructions, let's not act rashly!"

"..."

The monk and the Taoist priest chatted idly, and their figures quickly disappeared into the town outside the city.

That evening, Jia Cong brought gifts and went to the Rong Mansion to pay his respects to the old lady and Master Zheng.

At Rongqing Hall, I felt somewhat uncomfortable with the old lady's "kind care".

He simply recounted the course of the war in the southwest; there really wasn't much to say.

Jia Huan commanded the battle, and to put it simply, there was nothing extraordinary about it; he just overwhelmed the enemy with sheer force. It was that simple.

Despite being outnumbered, their fighting strength was absolutely superior!

As mentioned earlier, the combat strength of the Qianxiang Kingdom's army was only equivalent to the lower-middle level of the Daqian army system.

It's not that the soldiers of Qianxiang Kingdom lacked courage and bravery; in fact, that's not the case at all!

However, there are significant gaps in equipment, training, and command capabilities, indicating a comprehensive lag.

To put it simply, the 100,000 private troops under the command of the Prince of Nan'an were enough to intimidate the entire Qianxiang Kingdom, and even possessed the military power to completely annihilate it.

In other words, the Prince of Nan'an was too incompetent, which led to the previous crushing defeat.

In fact, when they fought against the army of Qianxiang Kingdom, the main force consisted of tens of thousands of defeated soldiers from the southwest whom they had gathered along the way. It was that ridiculous.

Knowing the formidable fighting power of his soldiers, Jia Huan didn't employ any fancy tactics when commanding the battle; it was all straightforward, head-on crushing warfare.

To the untrained eye who doesn't understand military affairs, Jia Huan's ability to command troops was mediocre.

They felt that even if they were in their shoes, they could still win!

Putting everything else aside, at least after listening to Jia Cong's explanation, the first thing that came to the mind of the old lady and Master Zheng was this absurd idea.

I originally wanted to praise Jia Huan for his "brilliant military strategy," but in the end, I couldn't bring myself to say it.

In any case, they felt that Jia Huan's eventual victory was entirely due to the formidable fighting power of his soldiers, and had little to do with his own abilities.

Why didn't Huan-ge'er come back with us?

The old lady changed the subject, asking curiously, "What's so special about the southwest?"

"this!"

Jia Cong chuckled and said, "Grandma, we've finally gained control of these two prefectures, so we must seize this opportunity!"

"Order has only just been restored in the southwest, and a strong military presence is needed to deter it. Huan-ge'er has to stay there for a while longer until things are completely stable before he returns!"

"Is it necessary to carefully manage these two adjacent, border enclaves?"

The old lady asked in bewilderment, "I heard that in order to stabilize the situation there, Huan-ge'er has to keep pouring money and supplies into it. Isn't that a bit of a loss?"

"how is this possible?"

Jia Cong solemnly said, "There's no reason to give up territory that we can completely control, no matter how harsh the conditions are. Besides, those two prefectures aren't without development potential!"

Seeing that the old lady didn't believe him, he explained, "The forest resources there are quite abundant, as are the jade and gemstone resources. As long as you operate properly, making money is no problem!"

These were all things that Jia Huan had specifically reminded Jia Cong of before they came.

It's better to point out the obvious advantages of those two places than to explain things to the old lady and the others.

Whether it's fine timber or jade and gemstones, they are all very attractive and valuable resources.

As for the other things, there's no need to explain them so clearly!

Sure enough, the old lady's eyes lit up immediately.