Chapter 992
: Rumors of Chaos in the Capital
Chapter 992: Rumors of Chaos in the Capital
In the tavern on the corner,
It was originally a lively and happy place for the people. It happened to be noon, and there were many diners. In addition, the incident in the South City happened suddenly. Although the news was spread by onlookers, it was spread by word of mouth and did not spread as quickly as expected. It was only able to reach the East City, which still took advantage of the convenience of the city news.
Inside the tavern, with a shout, the people around quieted down. The waiter brought in six meat dishes and placed them on the table. The diners around thought that this was not cheap. Even the merchant turned around and saw two strong men approaching. They clasped their fists and performed a polite gesture.
"It's not worth the expense of you good men. Just a pot of wine will do."
"Well, you've already pointed it out. Since you saw it with your own eyes, then tell me about it. I've heard a lot about it outside, but I can't say anything. It's all nonsense."
The people who came were none other than Pan Chaozuo, the leader of the Taiping Sect in the capital, and Luo Fei, the hall master. When they heard about this, their faces turned pale. When they came, no one could hear it clearly. It was no problem for them to spend some money to hear it here.
When the two of them approached, someone offered them a seat. The two of them were not polite and bowed. After thanking him, they sat down. The remaining onlookers looked back at the table, as if they had some questions.
The merchant nodded and clasped his fists to thank the people around him.
"Thank you all for your support. I am just a merchant who happened to see it. From the south gate, the first ones to come in were the generals of the government army. You didn't see them. Not to mention the soldiers, the generals in the lead were all wounded, and their bodies were like bloody clothes. Their fish scale armor was torn and tattered, and the iron armor plates in some places were cut off. It can be seen that even the generals went into battle, not to mention the soldiers. It was a tragic scene."
The merchant sucked in his breath and shook his head. He had never seen anything so tragic, and the smell of blood spread so far.
"Yes, I also heard outside that those soldiers were simply covered in blood, and many of them were carried back with broken arms and legs. You may not know that more than 100,000 soldiers went there, but this time, only more than 10,000 returned, and everyone was injured. It is said that they all died in the south."
Another person, also dressed as a merchant, was sighing. The news had spread everywhere, especially among the imperial army. Now they had gone to the palace, and no one knew what they were doing. When everyone heard this, a trace of horror flashed in their eyes. How did they fight so many people who had died?
Even the leader Pan of the Taiping Sect had a solemn look in his eyes. It seemed that the leader of the Chu Sect had used the elite guards of the sect, but what about the captives?
"It's quite tragic. By the way, didn't they say that Taiping Religion prisoners entered the city at the city gate? What happened later?"
This question attracted the attention of the people around. Almost everyone in the lobby and the bar gathered around and listened attentively.
The merchant sighed, took the wine jug on the table, and actually took a sip from it, and said in a deep voice;
"There are many people watching here. It is said that the Beijing camp handed over the traitors to the Imperial Guards. When they were handing them over to the city, the leader of the Imperial Guards suddenly asked the captured members of the Taiping Sect, who seemed to be the leader, some questions. Who knows?"
Suddenly, there was some fear in the merchant's eyes. He drank some wine to calm down and said;
"Later, I don't know what they said, but I heard the bandit leader laugh loudly, and then he started shouting slogans, saying something, something, and finally the world will be blessed. It didn't matter if he shouted it, one person told ten people, ten people told a hundred people, and tens of thousands of prisoners started shouting it, and then, then..."
The merchant was now pale, his lips trembling, too frightened to speak. The people around him were impatient and asked;
"Hey, brother, what are you afraid of? What happened next?"
"Later, the commander of the Imperial Guards drew his sword and killed the bandit leader in front of him. Then the Imperial Guards also drew their swords and killed them. Finally, the soldiers from the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp also started to kill. Near the city gate, tens of thousands of people were killed and the ground became a pool of blood."
The merchant was no longer the same as before. He poured the whole pot of wine into his mouth, too frightened to speak. Everyone in the tavern gasped. This had never happened in the capital before. The veins on Pan's hand bulged unconsciously. He was so angry that he was held down by Luo, the hall master behind him. He whispered;
"Be careful, bro."
Pan Chaozuo then suppressed his anger and clasped his fists.
"Thank you for letting me know,"
He left a silver ingot and left, disappearing in the crowd. Behind him, there were all kinds of discussions.
The two of them left the tavern and went into an alley. After turning three times and making two turns, they entered a small courtyard. When they got to the house, they sighed and said,
"This time, the sect should have won first and then lost. We won the imperial army but lost to Luo Yunhou of the capital camp. It's a pity that these tens of thousands of brothers were captured and died without being able to resist. It's a pity."
Pan Chaozuo's eyes were red and he was furious, but Luo Fei was there to persuade him;
"Captain, now is not the time to be sad. Even if Jingnan lost a battle, it doesn't matter. Linshan County is at least still in the hands of our sect. If we don't take down the gateway to Jingnan, the imperial army won't dare to go south. You have time to reorganize the army. As long as we make new plans with the White Lotus Sect and that noble, the outcome is still fifty-fifty."
Luo Fei did not gain nothing. In the capital, he had already met the White Lotus Sect. Although they were hiding deep, there might be clues.
Therefore, we need to look at many things in the long term, and the blood of our brothers in the church must not be shed in vain.
"Then can we contact the White Lotus Sect?"
Pan Chaozuo suddenly thought of many things in his mind, maybe he could cause more trouble in the capital. As if he could see the helmsman's thoughts, Luo Fei smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Reporting to the captain, we are short of manpower in the capital. Several strongholds have been destroyed and most of our brothers have died. Li Cong, who is in charge of the Northern Division of the Imperial City, is keeping a close eye on us. In addition, my subordinates also feel something is strange, as if the White Lotus Sect is not a separate sect."
"Oh, how do you say this?"
Captain Pan sighed. There was not enough manpower in the capital now. If he wanted to make a big noise, he would not be sure of success. Unless he borrowed people from the White Lotus Sect,
"Master, I don't understand. The White Lotus Sect left many secret sentry patterns, but the original lotus-shaped code has now been divided into two types. One is the same as the original, and the other is a lotus with a lotus seed on it. I followed them several times and found that they are two groups. This is too strange."
Luo Fei personally led people to go there once. Although the two parties knew each other, they did not interact much. Could it be that there were true and false White Lotus Sects?
However, Pan Chaozuo's eyes flickered after hearing this. He recalled what Master Chu had said when he left the capital. The White Lotus Sect was divided into the Master's Sect and the Saint's Sect. Both sides were huge and evenly matched. It was obviously not a rumor. Could it be that the secret code of the White Lotus Sect had also been changed? Thinking of what Luo Fei said, this was indeed a great sect with a hundred years of inheritance.
"Forget it. The White Lotus has been mysterious for hundreds of years. Now it is even more secretive and difficult to find, especially the Saint. The dragon is nowhere to be found. Rumor has it that the White Lotus has actually split into two factions."
The words were spoken lightly, but the tone was heavy. Luo Fei was suddenly shocked. How could this be possible? The White Lotus Sect in the south of Beijing had such great strength after its uprising, but it turned out that only the leader's faction was left. How could this be possible?
"Captain, did you hear wrongly? The White Lotus Sect is so powerful?"
Seeing Luo Fei's disbelief, Pan Chaozuo hesitated but nodded.
"I don't believe it either, but I have to believe it. Leader Chu is in the south and has reached an offensive and defensive alliance with the leader of the White Lotus Sect. When asked about the saint girl he sent, the leader was frank and said that the saint girl had already parted ways with the White Lotus Sect. But when asked about her strength, although the leader didn't say it, judging from what Leader Chu noticed, she should be better than her," "This is unbelievable,"
Luo Fei was shocked and wanted to ask again, but he didn't know how to say it.
"Okay, report the situation in the capital immediately and be careful."
"Yes, Captain."
Rongguo Mansion,
Outside the palace gate,
Lai Wang, who had already received the news, ran into the mansion with two servants. After entering the courtyard, he asked about the whereabouts of the Second Mistress. Knowing that the Mistress was serving in Rongqing Hall, he did not bother to ask any more questions. He ran to Rongqing Hall as fast as he could.
At this time, Rongqing Hall
There was still laughter and joy. Today, the Imperial College officially opened. Jia Baoyu brought a servant named Mingyan with him. After having a meal in the inner hall, he left in a hurry, which made the Second Wife and Grandmother Jia feel very distressed.
then,
At lunch time, the students who were admitted to the Imperial College were not served any food, so each family had to send someone to deliver the food. So, when it was almost noon, the old lady specially ordered the kitchen to prepare food boxes and asked Lai Da to personally bring someone to deliver them.
After people leave,
With a table full of food, Jia's mother invited everyone to eat together. Not long after finishing the meal, she rinsed her mouth and returned to the inner hall to rest and drink tea to digest the food. Wang Xifeng was much free today and arranged the affairs of the mansion. Several managers were walking around in the courtyard, directing their men to clean the courtyard.
"Old lady, please don't worry. Baoyu's study is a happy thing. Lang'er has gone there a long time ago. There are people taking care of him. Nothing will happen to him."
Seeing that the old lady was in a bad mood, Wang Xifeng knew that she was worried about Baoyu, so she just said quickly, "They are all in the capital, if Lan Ge'er can go, how can Baoyu not go?"
"Yes, old lady, Baoyu also said that he wanted to meet his classmates today. I heard that Song Xingjun, the illegitimate son of the Marquis of Chengyi, and Li Chongwen, the illegitimate son of the Marquis of Anping, have passed the provincial examination and bought places to study."
This was said by Tanchun. Thinking back to that day, Brother Bao boasted to the three of them that when he went to register, he met a lot of people and even found out their names. He wanted to make some friends, so he took note of them.
This attracted the attention of Jia's mother and the second wife. The bastard of the Marquis of Chengyi and the bastard of the Marquis of Anping sounded familiar to them. Suddenly, she remembered that when the daughter-in-law of the Zhu family was chatting, she said that these people were the students of the Marquis of Luoyun. How come they went to study? But when she thought that these people were young and it was very rare for them to pass the provincial examination, and almost 90% of them would not pass the imperial examination, it would be better for them to go to the Imperial College to learn more and prepare for the examination.
"You two just like to use nice words to evade me, an old woman. You are right. These people are also talented young people in the capital. They are not much different in age from Baoyu. They are also rising stars of the nobles. It is good to get closer to them."
If they can really become bosom friends, it will be a great help. The second wife's eyes lit up when she heard this. Only Mrs. Xing was sitting there, feeling unhappy. All the benefits were taken by Baoyu, and the first wife had nothing now. But when it comes to studying, Jia Zong is not old enough and has no fate to go to the Imperial College. He can only learn to read in the East Palace School. Maybe she can say something. Just when she was about to speak,
Then they heard the sound of the door curtain flickering, and several people hurriedly stepped in, making some noise. The people in the room stopped talking and looked at the screen. The maid at the door did not stop them and wanted to explain, but Lai Wang rushed in, knelt on the ground, and shouted;
"Old lady, Second Madam, Second Master is back. I saw Second Master was covered in blood, with his arm tangled. Master Wang was also injured and is heading to the palace. The captured bandits in South City had not yet entered the city, but were shouting slogans of the Taiping Rebellion at the city gate. They were killed by the Imperial Guards, and blood flowed like a river. Tens of thousands of people died. I heard that the Imperial Guards also placed the bodies of the captured bandits outside South City and built a Jingguan."
Lai Wang's face was pale. He had been running all the way back in a hurry to report. He was sweating and breathing heavily. He looked like he was losing energy and blood. Not only was he scared to hear these words, but everyone in the room also turned pale.
Although Wang Xifeng's hands trembled, she did not faint like before. It should be because of her previous experience. She just felt nervous when she heard that Jia Lian was injured, but fortunately he was still alive. As long as he was alive, it was good. The second wife did not think about these things. Instead, she was worried about Wang Ziteng. As long as he was still alive, he would be rich and powerful.
Only Grandmother Jia had a solemn expression. The Imperial Guards strangled the White Lotus prisoners, and there were also the Beijing Camp escorting them. This was obviously not the work of the Wang family. It was so embarrassing. This victory could only be won by Marquis Luo Yun. As for killing these villains, it was not unreasonable. After all, in the capital, with so many people shouting for rebellion, if Marquis Baoning did not react at all, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards would have done his best.
Another thing,
As for the Wang family, I don't know what the court and His Majesty think. The position of the governor of the Beijing camp is of great importance. If he really loses this position, the favors and benefits that the families have given him in the past will be wasted. Even if he is dismissed, who can take over this position after him? His thoughts are complicated. Just like this, the inner hall is unusually quiet, with only Lai Wang's uneasy breathing.
Mrs. Xing's eyes widened, she couldn't understand what was going on, and she didn't dare to speak. She looked at the old lady and the second wife, who looked uncertain. Although she didn't know the details, she thought that the Wang family had suffered a defeat, and they couldn't be promoted. She was delighted and spoke out;
"Oh, I didn't expect Jia Lian to escape death. It's good to be back. As long as he is alive, it is God's blessing. Old lady, no matter what, Jia Lian fought on the battlefield and survived. Everyone in the capital knew about the troops who left at that time. There were hundreds of thousands of troops, but now there are less than 20,000 people back. How could the battle be so fierce?"
In a hurry, she had no words to say, so she just went on with the conversation. But when it came to the number of people in the battle, she seemed extremely confused. How was this battle fought? Even a woman like her knew that no one could be so successful.
Grandmother Jia seemed slightly displeased.
"If you can't tell, don't tell. The battlefield is dangerous. Once the army is scattered, people can't gather together. But what the old man said is right. It's good that people are back. Lai Wang, you are smart. Now, go to the stable and move out a few horses. Go to the front and ask what's going on now."
Although it was said cryptically, Lai Wang knew in his heart that the old lady was worried, so he quickly kowtowed and replied;
"Don't worry, old lady. I will go right away. I have left a servant with me. I think I am heading towards the Meridian Gate. There are also imperial guards following behind. They are not walking very fast."
"Well, go ahead and reward us all when you come back."
"Thank you, old lady. I will go right away."
Lai Wang kowtowed again in the direction of the Second Mistress, and then hurried out again. After the hurried footsteps gradually faded away, the people in the room finally breathed a sigh of relief. Jia Mu looked at Feng's absent-minded expression and knew that it was because she was worried about Jia Lian.
"Feng girl, go back first and prepare some clothes and hot water for washing. When Jia Lian comes back, ask the two masters to come to my place and talk about something. You also come over. When he is done talking, you help him change his clothes. After washing, come here for dinner."
Grandmother Jia was also someone who had been through that time, and the fear in her heart was not something she could tell others about. For many things, I could only enlighten her.
Wang Xifeng nodded, stood up and bowed, and took Ping'er with her, without saying goodbye to the two ladies, and left as if she had lost her soul. It was heartbreaking to see. Sanchun wanted to follow and persuade them, but she didn't know what to say.
"Old man, you should go back and pack up. When Jia Lian comes back, you and the eldest brother can come together."
"Yes, old lady."
Mrs. Xing stood up, glanced at the second wife who was sitting there, and walked back to the courtyard. Only Sanchun, Shi Xiangyun, and the second wife were left in the room.
Grandmother Jia did not let the little maids go back, but instead gave Mrs. Wang a word of advice.
"You can't just sit there. Wait for Jia Lian to come back and ask questions. See what the court says, especially about the Beijing camp. Then you will have a clear idea. Find a chance to go back and ask. Even if the Jiedushi position is gone, you have to find out who will take over."
It was almost like asking directly. The second wife was shocked. This couldn't be that serious. Everyone in the court had suffered defeat before. Even Prince Zhongshun had suffered a great defeat. She had a bad feeling in her heart.
"Old lady, it shouldn't be that serious. The commander of the Beijing camp is nominally Marquis Luo Yun. My brother's position as Jiedushi has not been removed. How could he take away his position just because of a defeat? Could it be that Marquis Luo Yun wants to stay in the position forever? It doesn't make sense."
Looking at the Second Madam's face, although she looked kind, she still had no courage to speak of. Grandmother Jia sighed and shook her head.
"You also know that Luo Yunhou will not stay in this position for long, so I want you to find out who will take over. I'm afraid Wang Ziteng can't sit still in this position anymore."
"Ah. No way!"
(End of this chapter)