Chapter 353 Ye Xiang: Yes, that’s right!
……

Today’s court meeting.

Now that Jia Rong is a junior cabinet minister, he also has to attend court. His position is quite high, only behind several ministers in the cabinet.

It just so happened that the handsome young man was particularly eye-catching among the group of old men, so much so that the ignorant Fourth Prince also paid special attention to Jia Rong.

“The emperor has been in poor health recently and has to recuperate in the harem. I think the construction of the imperial mausoleum should be put on the agenda.” Wang Yuan, a doctor in the Ministry of Works, was the first to speak up.

This matter was recognized by the imperial court, and Emperor Anping could not even attend court.

Jia Jing nodded, also expressing his approval. He looked at Jia Rong and asked, “How much silver does the Ministry of Revenue have now?”

“There are still two million, but the commercial tax in Jiangnan should be arriving soon, totaling five million taels.” Jia Rong said.

Wang Yuan hurriedly said, “The imperial mausoleum will cost at least seven million, and the Ministry of Revenue should give us priority.”

“Sure.” Jia Rong smiled. “I’ve checked. The Emperor’s mausoleum took 20 years to build. So we’ll give you 7 million in 20 years, 350,000 taels per year. Is that okay?”

Jia Jing said: “That’s totally fine, it’s settled!”

Wang Yuan: “…”

Can it still be like this? ?
Damn, Emperor Anping’s bones haven’t been found for twenty years, and the imperial mausoleum is still under construction?

“This, this, I’m afraid is inappropriate…” Wang Yuan said hesitantly.

Jia Jing frowned slightly and said in a gloomy tone: “Why is it inappropriate? Are all the old rules no longer applicable?”

When Wang Yuan saw Jia Jing’s expression, he immediately stopped talking.

Say more?

Besides, it’s time for the whole family to go to Southeast Asia. In recent times, many officials have gone to Southeast Asia, hundreds of them, and they are all stubborn.

For example, Li Minzhi, the Minister of Rites, was entrusted with an important task by Jia Jing and went to Southeast Asia with his family to teach the Four Books and Five Classics to educate the people. Li Minzhi’s greatest wish in this life was to educate the Northwestern Tartars, but he did not expect to end up in Southeast Asia to educate the barbarians.

It’s really fate that plays a trick on people.

For example, Liu Yizhi was entrusted by Jia Jing with the important task of presiding over the imperial examination in Luzon.

The newly appointed Minister of Personnel Zhou Zhengguan stepped forward and said in all seriousness: “I agree with the young minister’s proposal to pay in installments. The original imperial mausoleum could not be completed in a short period of time. Paying in installments will not only reduce the financial pressure on the court, but also avoid excessive waste.”

The new Minister of Rites, Lord Xie, hurriedly stepped forward.

“I second the proposal.”

“I second the proposal.”

Soon all the court officials agreed.

At this time, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War stepped forward and said, “Since last spring, the Japanese pirates have frequently harassed our southeastern coast, and the people are living in misery. It is urgent to wipe out the Japanese pirates.”

Jia Jing nodded and said, “Lord Wu’s words make sense. I want Lin Ruhai to lead the Nanyang Navy, Lianghuai Navy, and Penglai Navy to encircle and annihilate the Japanese pirates in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. In addition, we will implement a blockade and attack on the Japanese islands that have repeatedly invaded Daxia. As long as the Japanese ships cannot go out to sea, there will naturally be no more Japanese pirates in the future. What do you think?”

“Your Majesty is wise…”

Amid the compliments of the crowd, he left the court.

Some people followed Ye Xiang to his house.

Things like “forming a clique” no longer need to be hidden, because the deterrent effect of imperial power is seriously insufficient. Both Jia Jing and Ye Xiang only intend to use them as puppets in the open.

“Everyone, Jia Jing now controls the court. The navy and even the Beijing camp are all their people. The situation is very unfavorable to us!”

“It is indeed a bit difficult.” Ye Xiang looked at the hall which was a little quieter than usual and sighed, “But it is not without a chance. As long as the eldest prince of Xi’an can defeat Shi Nai, we still have a chance!”

“Not bad! Wang Ziteng is also a veteran, brave and resourceful. It shouldn’t be difficult for him to defeat Shi Nai…”

Xi’an.

“Shi Nai?”

“Haha, I will capture him alive!”

Upon learning that it was Shi Nai and Wang Ziteng who were leading the troops, he smiled slightly and didn’t seem to care too much.

“Your Highness, Shi Nai dares to come with an army of 80,000. He is simply courting death! We don’t need to defend the city at all. Let General Wang go to fight and boost the morale of our army!” Prince Beijing also smiled lightly and did not take Shi Nai seriously.

The eldest prince thought about it and realized that there was no need to defend the city when the enemy had only 80,000 soldiers and our army was only a few hundred thousand. As long as they could win the battle, they could not only further occupy Shanxi, but also directly disintegrate Jia Jing’s power in the court. With the help of Prime Minister Ye… he would be able to rule the world in no time!

“Then I’ll trouble you, Lord Wang.” The eldest prince asked politely.

Wang Ziteng smiled and said, “Your Highness is too polite. I will do my best and will not stop until my death!”

“OK!”

The eldest prince clapped his hands and said with a smile: “I will give you 60,000 of the most elite troops. You can only win this battle, not lose!”

“promise!”

Wang Ziteng brought his soldier Wen Fang and led his troops out of the city to confront Shi Nai twenty miles away!

“Wenfang, Shi Nai actually led 80,000 troops to attack Xi’an, which had 100,000 defenders. Do you think there is a trick here?”

Wang Ziteng was full of confidence, but he was still very afraid of Shi Nai in his heart, especially since he knew that Shi Nai came to Xi’an at the behest of Jia Jing. Didn’t Jia Jing know the difficulty of attacking the city? Wouldn’t it be crazy for an army of 80,000 to attack a 100,000-strong defender?
Wenfang thought for a moment and said, “Maybe Jia Jing had no choice!”

Wang Ziteng: “Oh? Why?”

Wen Fang said: “As long as the eldest prince stays in Xi’an for one day, the officials in the court will have a wait-and-see attitude and will not easily join Jia Jing. And the longer the time, the more disadvantageous it will be for Jia Jing.”

Wang Ziteng nodded in agreement, took a sip of tea and said, “That makes sense. Go on.”

Wen Fang smiled and said, “Of course Jia Jing wanted to put on a show, so he sent his trusted subordinate Shi Nai here. However, the capital was not stable yet, so he had to leave enough troops to deter the enemy. Therefore, Shi Nai only brought 80,000 soldiers with him.”

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to bring more, but there are not enough troops!” Wenfang said confidently.

Wang Ziteng clapped his hands and laughed, “Sir, you are indeed a man of great talent. In your opinion, how should I defeat the enemy?”

Wenfang smiled and said, “I have a plan that will save lives!”

“Really? Tell me quickly!” Wang Ziteng was delighted. He had long witnessed Wenfang’s talent. It was Wenfang’s suggestion that they launched a surprise attack on Yulin to defeat the Tartars. It was a pity that the eldest prince rashly lost Xi’an, otherwise he might have become the prince by now.

“The plan is…”

“You surrender to King Ning!”

Wenfang smiled widely after she finished speaking.

Wang Ziteng was stunned for a moment, his eyes full of doubt: “What did you say? I surrender?”

Wenfang smiled and said, “Yes, if you surrender, King Ning will take Xi’an without bloodshed.”

“you!”

Wang Ziteng slammed the table and was about to stand up when he suddenly felt dizzy.

“You, you betrayed me!”

Wang Ziteng used up the last of his strength, gritted his teeth and looked at his most trusted adviser.

“Haha, betrayal? No!” Wenfang shook her head and laughed, “I forgot to tell you that I am also Lord Jia’s man. Lord Jia knows everything about you over the years.”

“you you!”

Wang Ziteng opened his eyes wide and spat out a mouthful of blood. He fell to the ground and struggled for a while.

Do not look down.

“Are you ready?”

“Ready!”

“Okay, General Liu, come with me and trick the city gates into opening. General Li will go join General Shi. Tonight, Xi’an will belong to His Royal Highness Prince Ning!”

……

That night.

The eldest prince was drinking and chatting happily with Prince Beijing, and several maids were carefully accompanying them to drink. Suddenly, bursts of shouts and screams resounded through the sky.

“Clap!”

The wine glass in the eldest prince’s hand fell to the ground and shattered.

“what happened?”

Prince Beijing also looked surprised and confused.

“Fighting on the front line? That shouldn’t be the case. It sounds like…”

There was a “clang” sound.

A blood-soaked soldier ran in, knelt on the ground and gasped, “It’s bad. Wang Ziteng’s army has rebelled. They tricked the city gates open, and the imperial army is charging in…”

“what!”

The eldest prince stood up in shock and anger.

“Wang Ziteng, I trust you so much and yet you… You will die a miserable death!”

“Brother Shui, what should we do now?”

The shouting and screaming were getting closer and closer, and the eldest prince was a little scared.

Prince Beijing sighed slightly: “It seems that this is impossible. Your Majesty, there is a saying that goes ‘If you keep the green mountains, you will never run out of firewood.’ Let’s retreat and wait for a chance to come back later!”

The eldest prince did not hesitate to agree with Prince Beijing’s opinion: “Okay, let’s go now… where to?”

“go……”

Wang Ziteng thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go to Sichuan!”

The Prince of Nan’an should have returned to Yunnan by now, right? When he raises the flag of rebellion, I will respond in Sichuan… great things can be expected!
……

Kyoto.

An autumn rain took away the summer heat, and before we knew it, the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th arrived.

On this day when families are reunited, a piece of good news from the northwest arrives in Kyoto.

The eldest prince, who had planned to rebel with his own army, was defeated in Xi’an and his life or death is unknown. Wang Ziteng committed suicide out of fear of punishment. The imperial army will soon return victorious.

“What! Lost so quickly!”

Ye Xiang couldn’t believe his ears.

Shi Nai had just arrived in Shanxi not long ago, and just a few days later, the news of the eldest prince’s defeat came.

If Shi Nai had such ability, he would have been a god of war long ago. Why would he be captured by the Tartars?
There must be something behind this!

But it seems useless to know the inside story now, as the matter is already settled.

It’s the general trend!

I’m afraid I can’t do anything to save the situation!
“Dad, why are you so sad on such a reunion day?” Ye Lian asked with some confusion.

Ye Xiang said unhappily, “Don’t gloat over my misfortune. I might have to go to Nanyang to be a county magistrate. Do you still want to enjoy life in Kyoto? Humph! Get ready to go to Nanyang with me!”

“what!”

The beautiful woman exclaimed: “Why are you going to Southeast Asia?”

Ye Lian smiled and said, “Because the winter in Nanyang is warm, right, Dad?”

Ye Xiang: “Yes, that’s right!”

……

(End of this chapter)