Jia Cong, the concubine who crossed the Red Chamber

This day happened to be Shi Guangzhu and Jia Cong on duty together.The Ministry of War handed over the paper, and the emperor was furious after seeing it, and threw the paper on the ground with a "snap".Because of the strict rules in the palace to prevent eunuchs from taking power, eunuchs are generally not allowed to serve at this time.The eunuchs who used to pretend to be foolish and obedient to make the emperor happy were not here, and this important task fell on Jia Cong's head.Because of his young age, this kid is best at walking on the tip of a knife, and he doesn't take the fury of thunder in his eyes, so he is tired of working.

Seeing Wansui was furious, Jia Cong hurried forward to pick up the booklet, handed it forward, and said in a low voice: "Hey, this Ministry of War is so useless, how can you make the emperor so angry. They must be rebellious and wrote What are you talking about? Long live, hurry up and calm down. You are the Ninth Five-Year Lord, how can you have the same knowledge as them. See who doesn’t like it, and punish him to only eat vegetables and porridge for a month, and starve him!”

The emperor came to his senses, shook his head helplessly, and said: "You, you, I know you are trying to calm me down. It's just that I asked you to serve the imperial court, not to listen to you pretending to be a fool. You are young You are very knowledgeable, it is also my fault that I kept you to be of great use in the future, and almost turned you into a flattering courtier, if the emperor finds out, how can you avoid me?"

Jia Cong blushed, didn't he find out his position, who knows what the royal family means to Jia's family, if they really want to raid the house.

The emperor saw that Jia Cong was ashamed, and Shi Guangzhu and others were present, so he couldn't say much.Said: "But it's too bad that you interrupted. You pass on the notebook, and you all have a look and talk about what you think."

Jia Cong quickly said yes, and took down the papers, which were circulated one by one by the imperial servants, the Bachelor of Attendance, the Bachelor of Attendance, and the officials on duty in the six ministries.The copy was handed over by the general of the Ministry of War, and after being polished by the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the Ministry of War, the preliminary review opinion of the Ministry of War was added.The general idea is that there have been constant wars at the northern border in recent years. Although there are no major incidents, the Beituo people have no fear of our Celestial Kingdom and have harassed the people of the border year after year.Especially in recent years, the winter has been long, and the Beituo tribe has not enough food, and various tribes have gone south to disturb the people repeatedly, causing great troubles to the border people.The soldiers on the frontier repelled the enemy several times, but because they had no long-term combat orders, no logistics supplies and no combat plan, they dared not go deep into the enemy's camp. In addition, the weather in the north was extremely cold, which was extremely unfavorable for our soldiers to fight.The general guarding the border is naturally full of blood, and asked the emperor to issue an order to allow our soldiers to counterattack on a large scale and beat the enemy severely.The Ministry of War generally agrees with this statement, the main battle, but it is more tactful, mainly because there are not many peacemakers in the DPRK, and they don't know how the state treasury is, so they dare not speak falsely.

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay after reading the excerpt, and knew why the emperor was so angry.Since the emperor, my dynasty has married three princesses and relatives. The Beituo tribe has always bowed their heads and paid tribute to them year after year. Naturally, my dynasty will also reward food, gold and silver every year.Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a white-eyed wolf who was not familiar with it. The three princesses all died of illness due to inaccuracy within five years of their marriage. The tribute is more perfunctory every year, but it is some fur cattle and sheep, and there are fewer and fewer high-quality horses.

The emperor saw that everyone had finished watching, and asked: "Tell me, what do you think?"

Usually at this time, Jia Cong was the first to act as a pathfinder, groping for the emperor's intention, and then everyone agreed with the holy intention. Occasionally, one or two disagreed, and then came out to refute it alone.Jia Cong had just been reprimanded today, so he didn't dare to speak much. Seeing that the emperor was in a bad mood, everyone dared not speak.The emperor sighed helplessly, looked around, and asked the Minister of the Household Department: "According to the battle plan in the Ministry of War's booklet, if a war is launched, it will last at least four years. Can the treasury support it?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Finance counted his feet, my sister, but the Ministry of War made us miserable.Replied: "If you go back to Long Live, this minister dare not speak nonsense for the time being. The Ministry of War has only roughly outlined a plan, and it is not clear how large the troops will be dispatched and how long the battle line will be. This has to be calculated according to the actual situation during the war. The minister thought about it for a while. , since Long Live came to the throne, the weather has been smooth, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, farmers and merchants are living a prosperous life, and the tax revenue is very considerable. If you can ensure that the war is completed in four years, even if the treasury is a little tight, you can still guarantee daily operations. Even if there is a little Even a flood and drought can survive."

The emperor chuckled in his heart, and said in his heart that I understood the meaning, but it was still a bit close.The old ministers of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes should also move. I have raised them for so long, just to raise Zai.In a blink of an eye, he glanced at Jia Cong and Shi Guangzhu who were standing on the ground, and added in his heart that they were four princes and six princes.

After the emperor inquired about the state of the household treasury, he asked the household department and the military department to go back to work overtime and make a detailed war report to see the feasibility of this matter.He also asked everyone to go back and think about it, and discuss it again in the morning.Even if you think about it with your toes, you people know what the emperor means. It's not that the emperor wants to resort to military force, it's because the Beituo tribe is deceiving people too much. If they don't beat them down, there will be no peace at the border.

On the way back, Shi Guangzhu squeezed into Jia Cong's donkey cart.Jia Cong was taken aback: "I've just left the palace, you should also pay attention to the influence, can you come out of the closet if you want to?"

Shi Guangzhu pondered for a long time, and said: "That's exactly what I mean."

Jia Cong quickly turned to look at him: "Are you going to fight?"

Shi Guangzhu's expression darkened, "You are really smart. Ever since I was able to hold a knife and mount a horse, I followed my grandfather and general to go to the border for a period of time every year. At first it was just to have something to eat in the future, and then I saw the life of the people in the border , I want to do something from the bottom of my heart.”

Jia Cong continued: "The emperor has been displeased with the four kings and eight males for a long time, and those idiots still think they are smart. In fact, the emperor can't bear it for long. Especially when he mentioned the treasury today, the emperor glanced at you and me. He must want to The old ministers of the four kings and eight princes have taken action. The king of Beijing leads a group of sour literati who can't make a big deal, but they will jump out and sing the opposite when the emperor is in the main battle. Disgusting people. The powerful generals headed by your family are a rare force. Yu the emperor To put it bluntly, it’s a pity not to use it, and it’s a pity not to use it. Among the four major families in Jinling, except for my family, the other three have long been decayed.

Jia Cong saw Shi Guangzhu's expression of approval, and continued: "You want to go to war, you want to take over the contacts left by Duke Guo, and you are worried that the emperor will not use you. So you want to use me to come out of the closet, cut off your robe and sleeves in front of the emperor, completely No future, let the emperor have no worries about future troubles?"

Shi Guangzhu hesitated for a moment, and opened his mouth to speak.Jia Cong quickly interrupted, saying: "You don't need to say anything, I promise. It's better to hit the sun than to choose a date. There is not much time for us to hesitate. It is better to go back to face the saint now."

A trace of emotion flashed across Shi Guangzhu's face, and he smiled wryly: "Sometimes I really don't know if you are smart or stupid."

Jia Cong pursed his lips, turned his head, and snorted, "You don't care if I'm smart or stupid, you just need to know that you will never pay off what I owe you."

The two turned back to face the saint, saying that the two of them had a similar friendship and a promise of life and death.Just learned that there will be a war, Shi Guangzhu, as the descendant of Shan Guogong, is duty-bound to fight for the country.In the future, the two have no eyes on the battlefield, and they have regrets, so they simply come to the emperor to confess.And ask the emperor to grant a marriage order and a title.

The emperor's eyes were deep, and he looked at the two for a long time with scrutiny, and said: "The matter of this man is too shocking to the world, you don't want to mention it again. Shi Guangzhu, you go back first, and Jia Cong stays."

The two looked at each other, and Shi Guangzhu took his leave first.

The emperor left Jia Cong behind and sighed, "Are you worth it for that kid?"

Jia Cong didn't pretend to be stupid, and said: "I don't know if it's worth it if I go back to the emperor. I just know that I like him a little bit. What's more, I really don't like women, and I don't want to stay behind. He really wants to To do something for the people of the country, I want to help him."

The emperor said: "Are you both leading the battle?"

Jia Cong shook his head, "Yes and no. Although Shi Guangzhu was born in the imperial examination, he is a general after all. He only wants to fight with swords and horses. I think that if the fundamental problem is not solved, winning a few battles is of no use."

The emperor raised eyebrows, "Tell me what is the fundamental problem?"

Jia Cong added: "In the past we were too kind to the Beituo people, rewarding them with money and rice, telling them to recuperate and recuperate. Once the group of white-eyed wolves recover, when there is a shortage of food, they will relapse and disturb our people. This is the blood nature that cannot be changed in their bones. The Beituo people grew up on the grasslands. The military guards the trading grounds and protects the people on both sides of the trade.”

He added: "In addition, we have to encourage intermarriage, so that more Beituo people can marry, and we should also encourage Han women to marry. After a few decades, the blood of the two races will be mixed together, regardless of you and me." , It's not easy to fight if you want to fight.

Furthermore, this battle must be fought no matter what, and once they are beaten down, they must be ruthless and told to cede land and pay compensation.We encourage the poor Han people to move to the land that was cut off, and the state provides subsidies. For the subsidies, some poor people will be willing to move to the border.If there are not enough people, the exiled people will be moved there, and no matter what, the Han people will eat away their land little by little.

And after the Beituo clan cede land and pay compensation, some people will inevitably have trouble living, and we can't ignore it.Encourage them to go south, pass strict inspections, and prevent spies from entering. We designate one or two pieces of land in our country and ask them to settle down.In the early days, the land and houses were all paid by the state, and the imperial court sent people to teach them men to farm and women to weave, abandoning the nomadic habit, so that they could not do without the land and took root from generation to generation.There must be many Beituo people who want to live a peaceful life want to come.The money will be paid out with compensation, and it will not put pressure on the treasury. "

Jia Cong finally added: "Of course, all of this is based on the fact that we must win, but I think the possibility of us losing is very small."

The emperor laughed after hearing Jia Cong's long speech: "You little cunning, I have to take back what I said in the morning. You are not a sycophant, you are really the pillar of the country! Great kindness! Just do what you just said, you Go back and write a charter and hand it over. I have agreed on the matter between you and the Shi family boy. When the time comes, the two of you will go north together. When the war comes to an end, you will be responsible for the follow-up immigration matters. I believe that with the military merits of the two of you , I also have this qualification!" He added: "If this matter is done well, you will be a great achievement, and the benefits will last forever! I will definitely not treat you badly! Besides, in the future, you will choose a boy from the Jia family and give it to you as an adoptive child. And Shi Guangzhu, if the boy from the Shi family has done something wrong to you, I will not spare him."

Jia Cong rolled his eyes in his heart, after all, he was still worried about Shi Guangzhu staying behind, but it was pretty good, so he quickly accepted the order and said yes.

In the early morning of the next day, under the premise that the emperor set the tone, the main battle was basically unanimous.Occasionally, there are a few people who don't have long-sighted eyes. After the emperor dealt with a series of veterans of the four princes and eight princes, and filled the treasury, they stopped talking.By the beginning of spring, everything was ready in the court, Shi Guangzhu and Jia Cong were promoted to half a rank, and they went north with the army, and began their careers as soldiers and horses.This walk took longer than expected.