The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 64: The Conspiracy in the Yangxin Palace

The meal is also being served in the front hall.

Li Hu and Jia Baoyu also sat around a round table.

Jia Baoyu poured half a bowl of porridge into his own bowl and said, "The milk cakes I got here that day were good. Does Brother Li have any more? Give me a box to take back and eat."

Li Hu nodded, and suddenly remembered: "Bring food for the maid?"

Jia Baoyu smiled and replied, "I eat it too."

Li Hu put down his chopsticks, drank the last mouthful of porridge in the bowl, and then asked, "Is it the maid named Hua Xiren who wants to eat?"

Jia Baoyu chuckled and said nothing.

Li Hu shook his head. This Hua Xiren was just like in the original novel, easily controlling Jia Baoyu. He had to admire this little girl. She was really amazing. But this was nothing. After all, in the original novel, she not only gave Jia Baoyu three rules, but also asked Jia Baoyu to peel chestnuts for her.

Hey, Jia Baoyu will be thirteen after the New Year. Has he done anything with Xiren?
Thinking of this, Li Hu's eyes lit up and he examined Jia Baoyu from head to toe.

Jia Baoyu felt a little uneasy when he looked at him.

Li Hu looked at him, smiled, and waved.

Jia Baoyu leaned forward.

Li Hu whispered something in his ear.

Jia Baoyu spat the porridge in his mouth onto the dining table, and stared at Li Hu with his eyes wide open, meaning: What kind of obscene lyrics are you talking about!!!

Li Hu laughed: "It's just a joke, don't get so excited." Then he shouted: "Someone come."

A servant came in in response.

Li Hu: "Clear the table." Then he said to Jia Baoyu: "Come on, let's go sit in the inner study."

Jia Baoyu came back to his senses and said, "Oh." Then he picked up the towel beside him, wiped his mouth, stood up and followed Li Hu to the inner study.

This was the first time that Jia Baoyu entered Li Hu's inner study.

It was very large, with bookshelves lined up against the walls, all filled with military documents. On the west wall hung a map woven from silk brocade, with five large characters "Dashun Hunyi Tu" embroidered on the top. This was drawn by the Dashun court based on the "Da Ming Hunyi Tu" and maps submitted by various provinces.

Of course, this is a civilian map that Li Hu copied from the home of the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards last year.

"Is this the territory of the Dashun Dynasty? It's so huge!"

Jia Baoyu scanned the map and asked after a long while, "Where is the capital? Why can't I find it?"

Li Hu pointed: "The top, to the east."

".The capital is here, where is Jinling?"

"On the Yangtze River"

Jia Baoyu suddenly became excited, "I found it!"

Li Hu smiled, this is just a child.

Jia Baoyu suddenly remembered: "Look at me, I'm so busy chatting and laughing that I forget about serious things. This is a letter from my aunt's brother Xue to my second brother Li." As he said this, he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Li Hu.

Li Hu took the letter, opened the seal and read it. He was slightly stunned. Xue Pan wanted to treat him to a drink and a play. Did he want to make friends with him?
Li Hu shuddered suddenly. This guy is a guy who doesn't care about meat or vegetables. He is prone to trouble. It's better to stay away from him.

He suddenly remembered, isn't this guy illiterate? Could this letter be written by Xue Baochai?
Li Hu took another closer look and found that it was indeed a girl's handwriting. This was another extraordinary little girl. He was just trying to guess what she was looking for.
No sincerity! No, I'm not the kind of person who hasn't seen the world. I've eaten all the imperial meals in the imperial kitchen. Why would I care about your little tricks?!
Jia Baoyu spoke: "Second Brother Li"

Li Hu came back to his senses: "Hmm." He folded the letter, put it in his sleeve, and looked at Jia Baoyu: "Tell Xue Pan that I don't have time."

Jia Baoyu nodded.

At this moment, Nanny Wang's voice came from outside the study: "Second Master, the old lady has gone to the back garden."

Li Hu: “Got it.”

Nanny Wang continued, "The old lady said that Master Er and Master Bao should go to the back garden to talk."

Li Hu was somewhat surprised, then hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is this in accordance with the rules?"

As if she had not expected Li Hu to ask such a question, Nanny Wang was silent for a moment before answering, "In reply to Second Master, the old lady asked Second Master to go and talk." She emphasized the word "talk". Li Hu understood that he was being sentimental. After all, the back garden was so big, and the sisters were enjoying the scenery together. She and Jia Baoyu would not meet at all if they were talking to Jia's mother.

Thinking of this, Li Hu took Jia Baoyu out.

At this time, a map woven with silk brocade, a military map of the Nine Frontiers, was also hung in the western warm room of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Wang Ziteng's problem has been solved, but the issue of wiping the butt is still under discussion.

In front of the map, Emperor Yongchang walked back and forth with his hands behind his back.

The chief minister of the cabinet, the minister of war, and Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding stood to one side, waiting quietly for Emperor Yongchang to speak.

Emperor Yongchang stopped and looked at the map on the wall. He finally spoke: "Since war is inevitable, let's let the war take place in Mongolia." At this point, he pointed at the map and said, "Take the initiative and give the Mongols a good beating!"

The three of them looked at each other and answered in unison, "Yes."

Emperor Yongchang walked to the couch in the south and sat down, then said: "I have two ideas. One is to wipe out the Chahar Mongolian tribes and intimidate the Mongols. The other is to restore the former Ming Dynasty's guard posts outside the Great Wall."

There was silence.

Emperor Yongchang: "What's wrong?"

Shi Ding and the Minister of War turned their eyes to the Prime Minister.

The cabinet chief replied: "Your Majesty, it is easy to annihilate the tribes in the Chahar grassland, but it is too difficult to control them for a long time! Most of the grasslands outside the Great Wall are dry and rainless, and are not suitable for farming. This means that the food supply of the garrison must rely entirely on the supply from the interior. The pressure of logistical supply will bring a huge burden to the court's finances, and the cost is too high."

Emperor Yongchang was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to the other two and asked, "What do you think?"

The Minister of War replied: "Your Majesty, the Mongols come and go like the wind. If they can't defeat them, they will flee north. After 20 or 30 years, they will come back again. With the current military strength of the court, we cannot use troops against all the Mongolian tribes in the south of the desert while guarding against the Jurchens!"

Shi Ding went on to say: "To completely defeat or control Mongolia will require the efforts of several generations, and it is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight. In addition, the imperial court needs to unify its strategy towards Mongolia. It cannot fight on and off, which will give them a chance to catch their breath!"

After pondering for a long time, Emperor Yongchang turned his gaze to the Prime Minister again: "What does the Prime Minister think?"

Prime Minister: "The court will be short of horses."

The West Warm Pavilion fell into silence again.

The Prime Minister went on to say, "The Emperor tried to cut off the flow of water to Mongolia and prohibited the sale of materials from the interior to Mongolia, which caused considerable losses to the Mongols. However, it also led to the lack of high-quality war horses in the court, and the court was subject to the Jurchen cavalry on the battlefield in western Liaoning."

"Then let's take back the Hetao Plain first!" Emperor Yongchang slammed the imperial desk with his palm!

When these words were spoken, the three of them were shocked!

The Hetao Plain has fertile land and abundant grass, and is a natural pasture. Unfortunately, since the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the Hetao Plain has completely fallen into the hands of the Mongols.

After the Dashun Dynasty established its capital in Beijing, Duke Ningguo led his troops to war, but ended up in defeat. Even Duke Ningguo himself almost died on the battlefield.

The emperor tried to recapture Hetao, but failed due to internal strife between the civil and military officials in the court.

Emperor Yongchang said to the Minister of War, "You are the Minister of War, what do you think?"

The Minister of War thought for a moment and said, "The Hetao Plain is not the same as it was before because of the Mongols' overgrazing and severe desertification."

Emperor Yongchang interrupted him and said, "I am asking about the strategy of using troops."

The Minister of War immediately understood and replied, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Emperor Yongchang stood up and paced a few steps: "The Second Prince and Duke Shan are in Yulin Town. Let them lead the troops to raid the Yik Zhao League and recapture the Hetao Plain!"

Prime Minister: "Food and grass."

Emperor Yongchang: "The 50,000 dan of grain transferred from Luoyang and Kaifeng should be arriving soon."

The Prime Minister swallowed his saliva and said, "That's disaster relief food!"

Emperor Yongchang went on to say: "This battle can capture tens of thousands of high-quality war horses, as well as a large number of cattle and sheep. With these high-quality war horses, the court can gain the initiative on the battlefield in western Liaoning. As for the disaster victims in northern Shaanxi and the military and national affairs, they can also understand."

After a pause, he said, "First, transfer 5,000 dan of grain from the warehouse in Xi'an so that the victims can have some hot porridge. After we take over Hetao, I will treat them to meat."

The Prime Minister had nothing else to say, so he had to answer, "Yes."

Dai Quan, who was standing aside, sighed silently. He could now imagine the prince's anger when he saw the good news!
(End of this chapter)