This was not the first time Jia Lian had met the Holy Spirit, and he no longer felt as uneasy as before.
Therefore, when facing the emperor's inquiry, he was only very objective and slowly told what happened in the desert in official language.
Although he had experienced it personally and had repeatedly made outstanding achievements, there was no hint of pride in Jia Lian's words and demeanor, which made Emperor Ning Kang very satisfied.
After Jia Lian finished his statement and apologized to him for failing to see through Prince Wala's plot as early as possible, which resulted in the loss of his army, Emperor Ningkang waved his hand and said in a cold voice: "This matter is not your fault. I remember Prince Nawala back then.
When he was still in the capital, didn't all the officials in the court see through this man's wild ambitions, but instead all of them put in good words for him..."
Speaking of this, Emperor Ningkang's face turned cold. He remembered that Prince Nawala had planned these things carefully. When he was in the capital, he secretly bribed many court ministers.
Otherwise, even if Prince Navarre's plot is not visible, how could there be so many ministers speaking for him!
After the incident happened, the court was busy calming down the turmoil and had not had time to settle the matter. Now that the matter has come to an end, it is time to investigate those people. By the way, if this can be used to make those old people who have been staring at him be more honest, he
It can also be lighter.
Seeing that all the doubts in his heart had been solved, Emperor Ning Kang did not ask further questions, but turned to Xiang He and said: "Xiang Aiqing has worked hard this time, so he took advantage of the court's break to go home and have a good time."
Take a break.
In addition, regarding the rewards from the imperial court, the Ministry of Revenue will send someone to deliver them to Aiqing’s house later.”
Xiang He was a little excited. He had worked hard for half a year and received a word of condolence from the emperor. He felt that everything was worth it, so he immediately thanked the holy grace.
After getting up, he glanced at Jia Lian beside him, and then exited the south study room wisely.
When only the monarch and his ministers were left, Emperor Ningkang looked at Jia Lian, who was standing quietly in front of him with his hands down, and suddenly said coldly: "Jia Lian, do you know your guilt?"
Jia Lian was startled, and for a moment he thought that Princess Zhaoyang's story had been leaked. After all, other than that, he believed that his trip to Wala had merit but no fault.
His body trembled slightly, but he knelt down as usual, with a look of fear on his face, "I'm stupid, your majesty, please make it clear."
"I received a secret report saying that when you were at Gan-Ning Pass, you acted on your own authority. Not only did you bully your colleagues, but you also ignored the interests of the imperial court and coerced and humiliated the new envoy of Oala, King Song Ye, which almost caused the two countries to restart the war.
Can you plead guilty?"
Hearing Emperor Ning Kang say this, Jia Lian immediately breathed a sigh of relief. And he immediately knew who was snitching on him.
Since there was no one else, it was just the few "most dignified" marriage envoys in the delegation.
"Reporting to your majesty, anyone who comes as an envoy under the emperor's order to do important things for the court will be jealous of Xiaoxiao. Otherwise, your majesty would not have personally given the humble minister Shangfang the sword to eliminate Xiaoxiao and protect himself.
Therefore, in order to complete the mission entrusted by His Majesty, the minister must have unintentionally offended some of his colleagues and was therefore impeached. However, it is really slanderous to say that the minister acted on his own authority and bullied his colleagues.
As for disregarding the interests of the imperial court and humiliating the king of Song Dynasty, this is even more nonsense.
Since ancient times, when envoys from the two countries negotiate, each has its own position. They should strive for the interests of their own countries and do their best. How can they save face for each other?
Therefore, in the negotiation with Song Ye Wang, Wei Chen spoke fiercely and refused to give in, which made Song Ye Wang very angry with Wei Chen. These are all things. If any colleagues think that they should also be careful at the negotiation table.
In the manner of a gentleman, if you show mercy to your opponent, the minister will have nothing to say.
and……"
Jia Lian seemed a little angry and made a fierce speech.
There was a pause in the middle of the sentence, and he glanced at Emperor Ning Kang. Seeing that he had no intention of interrupting, he continued to reply loudly: "Furthermore, the reason why I was quarreling with the Ye King of Song Dynasty, and for this reason I was dealing with him for many days.
, the reason is that he wants to add an unreasonable request, so naturally this minister cannot agree to it!"
"Oh, what is the extraordinary request? Tell me about it." Emperor Ning Kang seemed to really not know and asked a little curiously.
Jia Lian was willing to cooperate, "You are a traitor, and you deceived and teased me, the Wei Dynasty, who was the first, and put my Wei Princess, the latter, in deep danger. However, after knowing that my Wei Princess returned safely, he dared to ask me, the Wei Dynasty, to continue to marry her."
, marry the princess of my dynasty to their so-called eldest prince.
Let’s not talk about whether Prince Navarre is a good match for His Royal Highness the Princess, as he has already taken a wife and concubines. From the perspective of the Wei Dynasty, I absolutely cannot agree to this matter.
Your Majesty, please think about it carefully. At the beginning, our dynasty formed an alliance with Oara. Not only did we make King Navara the khan of the entire grassland, marry our most noble princess to Oara, but we also promised to support Oara when Oara suffered a military disaster from the Tatars.
Send troops to help. With such favorable conditions, I, the Wei Dynasty, treat Wala very well.
Then Wala did not think of kindness, and conspired against our court, trying to capture our princess and offer it to the Tatars, thereby provoking a new round of war between our Wei Dynasty and the Tatars, so that they could reap the benefits!
The ambition of a wolf is obvious.
Fortunately, Princess Zhaoyang was blessed with great blessings and did not fall into the hands of her enemies.
But our dynasty has been deceived by Wala and has lost all face. If we agree to their request now and marry the princess, how should our vassal and the surrounding foreign countries treat me, the Wei Dynasty?
Don’t they think that in order to win over a small Oala, our country has not even considered the dignity of the country?
Moreover, Navarre might even use the name of marriage to confuse the fact that they had betrayed their trust, and confuse right and wrong in their interactions with other countries.
Therefore, no matter from the perspective of national interests or the face of the court, agreeing to make peace with Wala again would be harmful but not beneficial to our court, so I firmly refuse.
I wholeheartedly serve the court and your majesty. If there are other colleagues who feel that the only way to consider the court is to cater to the ideas of the Walas people. But I argue with reason and protect the face of our court, but it is in vain to consider the interests of the court. I have nothing to say.
Already."
Emperor Ning Kang was a little stunned by what Jia Lian said.
In fact, Emperor Ningkang had already known about the resumption of negotiations between Jia Lian and Wala.
Although the negotiation was delayed for more than half a month because of Jia Lian's persistence, in the end, Jia Lian did not harm the interests of the Wei Dynasty. Instead, with a combination of hard and soft tactics, Jia Lian made Wala retreat and gave up the marriage.
Princess Zhaoyang.
Therefore, Emperor Ning Kang had no intention and no reason to punish Jia Lian for this.
The reason why he mentioned this matter was just to suppress Jia Lian's state of mind and to pave the way for what would happen next.
Who would have known that Jia Lian was already prepared and presented so many "reasons" in one go.
However, this kid still makes sense, which makes him seem a bit harsh even if he wants to find fault.
Looking at Jia Lian standing in the hall, looking a little indignant and aggrieved, Emperor Ning Kang secretly rolled his eyes, but he did not deliberately suppress Jia Lian.
"I understand what you said. It's rare that you are so young and think so thoughtfully.
Humph, that guy has only read half of the book, and a person who only knows how to hold on to the weak can understand the true righteousness. If you don't understand the truth, even if they send the previous credentials back to Beijing, I won't agree.
Who do they think my princess is? Is it someone Nawala can marry if he wants to?
Long before you entered the capital, I had already decreed that the person who wrote the memorial to impeach you should be demoted from the capital. There is no need for such a short-sighted and foolish person to stay in the imperial court."
Since Jia Lian had his own words, Emperor Ning Kang, in order to protect his own face, took advantage of the situation and showed that he and Jia Lian were on the same page, making Jia Lian appreciate him.
However, Jia Lian knew that despite what Emperor Ning Kang said now, he really wanted to go back to the beginning and use a princess who had become an outcast and was in his own hands and difficult to deal with in exchange for Wala's concessions. His attitude would be...
It’s really hard to say!
If he really had no intention of letting his daughter marry a foreigner, he would not have agreed to the marriage in the first place.
With this thought in his mind, Jia Lian looked relieved and bowed: "Your Majesty, you are wise!"
"Get up."
He raised his hand to let Jia Lian stand up, and then Emperor Ning Kang changed his tone and looked closer to him.
"Do you still remember what I said to you when you left Beijing?"
"I dare not forget this. Your Majesty wants me to use this trip as an envoy to Wala to find out as much as possible about the situation in Wala in order to prepare for the future.
Unfortunately, due to these sudden changes, the minister only took a long trip to the south of Oara, and was not even able to enter their royal court. Naturally, he failed to fulfill your majesty's great trust, and let your majesty down."
Emperor Ningkang shook his head, "Although you have not arrived at the Navarre Palace, at least you have left Xisai. How about, assuming that I ask you to command the three armies now, are you sure that you can wipe out all the enemies in Western Xinjiang?"
Jia Lian was stunned, asking him to command the three armies? Real or fake?
But Jia Lian reacted quickly and immediately clasped his fists and bowed: "If you have your majesty's trust and are willing to bear the great trust, although I dare not speak loudly to destroy the enemies of Western Xinjiang, I am willing to be your majesty's vanguard and march across Western Xinjiang for your majesty's grand plan."
It’s a great cause, and I’ll do whatever it takes to do it.”
Jia Lian's voice was loud and clear, allowing the eunuchs inside and outside the palace to hear it.
If they hadn't all known that the only person who was meeting the emperor now was Jia Lian, they would probably have thought that at this moment, His Majesty the Emperor was discussing a war to destroy the country with a group of generals.
This General Jia is so favored by His Majesty that he dares to say anything in front of His Majesty...
The eunuchs felt that Jia Lian's words were too flattering, but Emperor Ning Kang did not.
I still remember that when I decided to train Jia Lian, I saw that he was quite passionate. In order to protect his father's reputation, he even dared to beat the prince in public!
What monarch wouldn't like such a passionate, capable, loyal and patriotic person?
Therefore, he nodded secretly and did not express much praise. He was afraid that if he showed more favor, Jia Lian would be too proud.
So he turned to ask about the armament situation in Western Xinjiang, including major towns and Anxi Prefecture.
Jia Lian also reported to Emperor Ningkang based on the facts and expressed some of the advantages and disadvantages he saw to Emperor Ningkang in a simple way.
Emperor Ning Kang was very concerned about this.
Although he boasted that his intelligence was not inferior to that of the Supreme Emperor, he also knew that compared with the Supreme Emperor, he was an emperor who had never left the capital.
The situation at the country's borders can only be understood from the mouths of trusted ministers.
Since we want to solve the border troubles in Western Xinjiang, the armament situation in Western Xinjiang is naturally a top priority.
He was relieved to learn that the Western Xinjiang frontier army had no major problems and was quite capable.
Xu was Jia Lian today, which gave him a lot of surprises. He actually wanted to talk to Jia Lian about military matters.
"Over the past few years, I have had countless discussions with the veterans of the Ministry of War regarding border troubles.
Jia Lian, in your opinion, if our country wants to gain an advantage in the future war with the horse people in the north, what preparations should it make?"
In his heart, Emperor Ningkang wanted to fight a war that would be remembered in the annals of history, and he had to win a complete victory, so that he could erase the influence of the Supreme Emperor on him and truly stick to his word in the court.
For this reason, he has been planning and preparing for several years, waiting for the opportunity.
When Jia Lian heard this, he quickly shook his head: "Since your Majesty has discussed it with all the old generals, I am still young, and my qualifications and knowledge are far inferior to those of the old generals. Naturally, I dare not talk about national policies."
"One person can be a wise man, but two men can be a wise man. Since I ask you, just tell me."
"Then, I'll just say it straight...
Although I don’t know what specific preparations should be made in order to deal with those foreign races that repeatedly invade our borders in one fell swoop.
But I really have an idea.
Wei Chen believes that if we want to gain an advantage in future wars, we might as well start with firearms!"
"firearm?"
Although Emperor Ning Kang was questioning, his expression looked a little disappointed.
"As for firearms, when I inspected the Shenji Camp, I was shocked by their extraordinary power. However, after listening to the explanations of several veteran generals who were good at fighting, I didn't pay much attention to them anymore.
Now that you’ve mentioned it like this, you might as well tell me your thoughts.”
Emperor Ning Kang's disappointment was as expected by Jia Lian.
In fact, firearms have been used in wars for hundreds of years.
But looking at the previous dynasties, although firearms were developed, it was obvious that they did not pay much attention to them.
Because although firearms are powerful, they also have outstanding shortcomings.
The battlefield is constantly changing. As bulky firearms, whether it is a blunderbuss or an artillery, in terms of movement and precise strike, they are far inferior to horseback shooting, which is faster and more powerful.
It is also easy to accidentally injure one's own people.
Moreover, the research and development and manufacturing of firearms require a large amount of money to support them, which is far less economical than crossbows.
There are such shortcomings, and in previous wars, many armies equipped with firearms did not gain any substantial advantages when fighting the enemy.
Investment and actual combat effectiveness are not directly proportional. So it is no wonder that people in the Ministry of War despise firearms.
From this point of view, people at that time did not pay enough attention to firearms, not because they were not smart enough, but because they really did not see the fate-changing moment when firearms were used on the battlefield!
But as a person of later generations, it is naturally impossible not to know the historical trend that cold weapons will eventually be replaced by hot weapons.
"Your Majesty, the veteran generals in the army don't like to use firearms, and I naturally know that.
Wei Chen also knows that the firearms manufactured by Shenji Camp today do have serious shortcomings.
However, I feel that if firearms can be used well, they may not be a big killer on the battlefield.
Although the existing firearms in Shenji Camp have many shortcomings, they may not be unable to be improved.
I once got acquainted with a Flemish businessman who came across the ocean to the Wei Dynasty. According to him, in their country, which is tens of thousands of miles away from us, combat weapons have been replaced by ordinary swords.
Various firecrackers.
In particular, the war between their country and the enemy country is not even carried out on land. Instead, some powerful artillery is moved to countless ships, and then sailed thousands or even tens of thousands of miles to fight the war with the enemy country!
"
"What, tens of thousands of miles?"
Emperor Ning Kang felt a little incredible.
As the emperor of the Wei Dynasty, he certainly did not believe that there was only one China in the world like those dynasties long ago.
He also knew that there were other countries far away from Wei.
But the impression those countries gave him was that they were all weak.
How come from Jia Lian's words, those countries can fight their enemies across tens of thousands of miles?
You know, even when the Wei Dynasty was conquering foreign tribes, the battle line stretched out thousands of miles, which was already considered far away. At most, it was only a few thousand miles, so it was considered an expedition.
Thousands of miles away, in Emperor Ningkang's mind, there was no concept of such a war.
"I thought it was incredible at first, so I also looked for some other foreigners who came from across the ocean to inquire about it. Although some people said something different, one thing is certain.
In the far west, there are some powerful countries that can build powerful ships and cannons, and then cross the ocean to attack others.
I thought that since firearms could be carried on ships for ocean expeditions.
Then why don't we, the Wei Dynasty, follow suit? If we can also build a decent fleet, among other things, the Japanese pirates who have been harassing us all year round on the southeast coast will not be a problem.
As for how to apply it in the battle with the horse people in the north, Wei Chen didn't think about it for a while.
After all, the prairie cavalry is too sharp and fast, and with the disadvantages of current firearms, I'm afraid it may not be useful."
Jia Lian was afraid of arousing Emperor Ning Kang's rebellious mentality, so he deliberately spoke tactfully.
In fact, although cold weapons are really useless in the face of hot weapons, it was also a relatively mature era of hot weapons.
In this era when hot weapons are still in their infancy, to be honest, cold weapons are still the mainstream.
If nothing else, take the "Folangji", which is the best thermal weapon developed in the West today. Even if they fight as a whole country, the Wei Dynasty can rely on thousands of years of fighting skills and a huge army to defeat them. Conquer...
It may be unfair to say this. After all, Da Wei is not qualified to beat others now!
But it also shows that today's West should only enter the first industrial revolution at most, and firearms are like that.
Otherwise, these foreign merchants who came to the Wei Dynasty with the belief that the East was full of gold would not be so honest.
Therefore, Jia Lian is not too worried about the Wei Dynasty lagging too far behind the West. As long as he starts from him and pays attention to the development of firearms, he believes that with the wisdom of the East over the past five thousand years and its strong national power, it can easily overtake the West.
In this way, in the future Age of Discovery, it is still unclear who will be the real trendsetter.
Emperor Ning Kang originally did not believe that firearms could have any great effect, but Jia Lian's words were so conclusive that he secretly became suspicious.
After asking several questions repeatedly, Jia Lian was able to answer them, and Emperor Ning Kang became silent.
After thinking for a long time, he said: "Since you are so confident in firearms, I happened to remember that the Shenji Camp still lacks a deputy commander, so you can take up the position temporarily.
Remember, I don't like people lying to me.
I will give you three years at most. If you can’t produce any results for me to see, then don’t blame me for punishing you for deceiving the king and neglecting your superiors.”
"If I accept my order, I will definitely live up to the entrustment of the Holy One!"
Vice Commander, has he been promoted?
It seems not.
This seemed to be a fourth-rank official, because he remembered that the commander of the Shenji Battalion was only a third-rank official. The commander of the First Division was only a third-rank official, which showed the court's contempt for firearms.
Ignoring Jia Lian's slander below, Emperor Ning Kang turned his head to look at the two bright yellow imperial edicts in the dark grid under the dragon eucalyptus.
After hesitating for a moment, he took out one of them and acted as if he didn't care.
"Okay, kneel down and listen to the order."
Jia Lian's expression turned serious, knowing that Xiaozhuo had been right for a long time, and finally it was the moment he was most concerned about.