The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 5 The pot comes from the sky

The news of Prince Zhong's rebellion spread across the capital like a gust of wind, and all the nobles in the city were terrified.

The ministers who came to inquire about the news were like ants on a hot pan, constantly stretching their necks to look at the open gate of the Qianqing Palace.

The officials from the noble families were even more frightened and sweating profusely.

Finally, footsteps were heard from inside, and then Dai Quan came out holding an imperial edict.

Behind him followed the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Captain Qiu, and a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards.

"The Prime Minister is fine!" Whether out of sincerity or helplessness, almost everyone bowed with both hands.

Dai Quan's eyes slowly swept over the crowd, and finally landed on an old man with a white beard, wearing a first-rank civil official's official uniform embroidered with crane patches, and unfolded the imperial edict: "All ministers, listen to my command!"

The old man led a group of officials to kneel down and listen to the order.

Dai Quan announced the decree: "The Prime Minister of the Cabinet, the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace, and the Prince's Grand Tutor Li Xian, who colluded with Grand Secretary Lu Yuan, Grand Secretary Wang Maoyuan, Minister of War Zhao Meng, and Minister of Personnel He Fu, have been in collusion with each other, deceiving the emperor and bending the law, taking bribes, and harming the country and the people. I have repeatedly warned you, but you have never changed. You are all guilty of unforgivable crimes. You are all dismissed from your posts, your property is confiscated, and you will never be employed again. You must be deported back to your hometown tomorrow. I decree this!"

Li Xian trembled and bowed his head: "I obey your order."

Lu Yuan and others were not only terrified but also confused, they knelt on the ground in a daze.

Dai Quan gently reminded: "My lords, please thank us."

Lu Yuan and the others kowtowed in fear: "Thank you, your humble servant!"

The officials kneeling behind him were all stunned.

There were five Grand Secretaries in the current dynasty, three of whom were dismissed at one time, and two of the six ministers of the six ministries were dismissed. These five people were all trusted and old ministers of the retired emperor!

The sky of the Dashun Dynasty is really about to change!

Captain Qiu came over and said, "My dear elders, we are here to carry out missions ordered by the emperor. Please don't make things difficult for us. Please follow us." He then extended his hand to make way.

Li Xian, Lu Yuan and others got up tremblingly and walked towards the Meridian Gate.

The officials were silent.

Dai Quan coughed and said, "Let's all go."

The officials got up and left in a hurry.

"Prince Zhong has been sentenced to death." Dai Quan added.

As soon as these words were spoken, several red-robed officials whose uniforms were embroidered with pythons and fighting bulls trembled all over, and beads of sweat the size of beans flowed down their cheeks from their foreheads.

Suddenly, there was a "thump" sound from the crowd and everyone was startled.

Someone whispered, "Master Jia has fainted!"

Dai Quan was also surprised: "Quick! Send him to the Imperial Hospital!"

A strange scene appeared. Several military officers with white beards and red robes carried a civil servant in blue official uniform towards the Imperial Hospital, followed by a large group of officials.

Dai Quan was stunned at first, then he laughed, turned around and walked into the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Yongchang walked back and forth in the study room with his hands behind his back, and stopped when he reached the imperial desk.

On the imperial desk, there was a piece of paper with the names and official titles of more than a dozen people densely written on it!
Emperor Yongchang took a deep breath, ground the ink into a thick powder, picked up the red brush, swirled it in the inkstone, and then ticked off the names one by one.

At this time, Dai Quan walked in quickly and silently.

Emperor Yongchang sensed it from the corner of his eye, put down his pen, and asked, "How is it?"

Dai Quan wrung out a face towel from a copper basin beside him and presented it to Emperor Yongchang, then he replied: "Those people were very frightened."

With a humph, Emperor Yongchang wiped his hands and said, "If I wasn't worried about causing unrest within the military, this would be my last chance to give them." Dai Quan: "Your Majesty, please be merciful!" He took the face towel with both hands and said with a smile, "Someone was frightened and fainted."

Emperor Yongchang became alert and looked at him.

Dai Quan: "Jia Zheng, the Deputy Minister of Works." He walked to the compartment, picked up the kettle, and made tea in front of the imperial desk.

Emperor Yongchang picked up the tea bowl and took a few sips before putting it down.

Dai Quan went on to say, "I was really worried that those people would faint from fright, but luckily Jia Zheng interrupted them." He smiled and recounted what happened outside the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Yongchang was so surprised that he couldn't believe it. These old guys relied on their influence in the army, their ancestors' contributions to the founding of the country, and the support of the emperor, and they pretended to obey and even blatantly defied the imperial edict! It turns out that they are also afraid of knives! But now is not the time to move them, otherwise the military will lose these commanders, and once a large-scale war breaks out, it will be a disaster!
He was well aware of the truth that "it is easy to find a hundred generals, but difficult to find a general", so he could only take it slow.

Emperor Yongchang paced back and sighed, "How can I find brave warriors to guard the four directions?"

Dai Quan could hear the melancholy of Emperor Yongchang from his tone: "As long as the Daming Palace doesn't stir up trouble, they will still be loyal to the royal family."

Emperor Yongchang ignored him and walked to the imperial desk again. He picked up the list and read it line by line. Suddenly, he asked, "Is Li Hu considered a brave warrior?"

Dai Quan was slightly stunned, and after thinking for a long time, he replied carefully: "I think Li Hu was loyal and brave in protecting the emperor this time."

Emperor Yongchang nodded and handed him the list. "Leave the task of confiscating the property to Li Hu."

Dai Quan was shocked. These people were all high-ranking officers in the Imperial Guard. If Li Hu went to confiscate their property, how would he gain a foothold in the Imperial Guard in the future? In addition, confiscation of property has always been the job of the Imperial Guard. Captain Qiu and others were used to making money from confiscation of property. They did not dare to blame the emperor, but would definitely hold a grudge against Li Hu.

Didn't you just say that Li Hu was a fierce warrior? Why is it like this now? Dai Quan sighed in his heart, it's true that the will of heaven is unpredictable!

Emperor Yongchang: "What's wrong?"

Dai Quan came back to his senses and asked, "I wonder which government office should I ask to cooperate with Li Hu?"

Emperor Yongchang then realized that Li Hu only had two people under his command, and the others had been transferred to the nine frontiers. He thought for a moment and asked, "Is there a suitable vacancy in the Infantry Commander's Office?"

Dai Quan thought for a moment and replied, "The chief and deputy generals of the Central Camp and the Southern Camp were both thrown into prison."

The Infantry Command Office, whose full name is the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Nine-Gate Infantry Patrol and the Five Battalions, was mainly responsible for guarding and access control inside and outside the nine city gates of the inner city of the capital, as well as night patrols, firefighting, compiling and checking the militia, prohibition orders, arrests, and adjudication of cases.

The Infantry Command Office has the attributes of "military" and "police", and is divided into the Infantry Battalion and the Patrol Battalion, with a total force of about 3, capable personnel and excellent equipment. The Infantry Battalion is mainly stationed in the inner city and is responsible for the guard and access control of the inner and outer cities.

The five patrol camps were distributed in the outer city and the four suburbs. The Central Camp was stationed in the royal gardens in the western suburbs, led by a deputy general, and was divided into five divisions (each division had a captain and 449 officers and soldiers); the Southern Camp was divided into the outer city and the southern suburbs, and had six divisions under it; the Northern Camp was divided into the northern suburbs, the Left Camp was divided into the eastern suburbs, and the Right Camp was divided into the western suburbs. The above three camps each had four divisions.

There are a total of twenty-three divisions in the five patrol camps. The four camps of South, North, Left and Right have one lieutenant general and one guerrilla commander.

".South Camp."

Emperor Yongchang suddenly remembered: "Is Li Hu from Nancheng?"

Dai Quan: “Yes.”

Emperor Yongchang: "Then let him stay in the South Camp for a while."

Dai Quan: “As you wish.” He replied, then walked out holding the list.

Emperor Yongchang walked to the window and looked at the dead leaves falling outside, and said to himself: "Nancheng, Patrol Battalion 5, I hope you will not let me down."

Former Cabinet Prime Minister's Office
Captain Qiu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, sat on a chair under the eaves of the storehouse, staring at the guards as they carried boxes of treasure out of the storehouse.

The yard was already piled high with stuff, but the men were still moving the boxes.

At this time, a guard came in from the moon gate of the courtyard.

The man whispered something in Captain Qiu's ear.

Captain Qiu was stunned at first, then a sneer appeared in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)