Chapter 100

Among them, the False Qing is not the tribal ethnic group that, in history, when Huang Taiji and Dorgon entered the pass, had only about 100,000 Eight Banners troops.

Instead, it is a vast regime stretching from the Outer Greater Khingan Range in the north to the Liao River basin in the south, bordering Mongolia north of the desert to the west and facing the Sea of Japan to the east.

Taking advantage of internal unrest in the Da Han Empire, the False Qing vigorously developed for several decades, and by the present Kangxi era its strength had become quite formidable.

It not only thoroughly unified the various tribes of the Wild Jurchen and Sea Jurchen, but also through active policies of marriage alliances, enfeoffment, religion, and so on.

It incorporated large numbers of conquered peoples such as the Solon, Daur, Oroqen and other hunting-fishing ethnic groups into the Manchu community.

It directly raised the population base of their core military-source ethnic group from over one million in history to over three million.

It also incorporated part of the western Oirat Mongols, modeled on the Eight Banner system, establishing a more systematic outer vassal Mongol banner from which large numbers of cavalry troops could be obtained from the vast grasslands.

Moreover, due to longer governance in the Liaodong region, a more perfected Manchu-Han-Mongol administrative system was established.

It extensively incorporated early Han Army defectors and Liaodong Han civilians, granting them land and status, and also occupied part of Korean territory.

It implemented a more systematic 'livestock conscription' conscription system, obtaining a large amount of manpower.

Together with reforms in political and military institutions, the False Qing's territory now covers about 3.5 million square kilometers.

If its mobilizable troops were fully mobilized, they could reach over 500,000, which is the formidable False Qing that the Da Han Empire now faces.

As for the northwestern Mongols, they mainly consist of the Golden Family of the Northern Yuan court and the Huanye Khanate, a variant of the Dzungar.

The history of the Northern Yuan court can be traced back to the end of the Song dynasty; the Yuan was a major enemy of the Song, ultimately defeated by Han Taizu, and at the end of the Yuan Emperor Shun fled north to the deep steppes.

Its core peoples include the eastern Mongol tribes of Chahar, Tumed, Yongshebu, and Ordos, occupying the Hetao region and the southern desert, and they symbolize the Mongol great khan.

Their cavalry is elite, they raid the borders year-round, and they have been a century-old nemesis of the Da Han Empire's northwest frontier.

The Huanye Khanate, meanwhile, is a variant of the Dzungar, composed of Mongol-Turkic tribes with western Mongols at their core.

It includes the Kyrgyz and old Huihe tribes, as well as some submitted Tibetans and Han Chinese.

They believe in Tibetan Buddhism and constitute a centralized empire controlling the Western Regions and the western desert.

Likewise ambitious, they aimed to establish a nomadic empire and once allied with the False Qing to invade the Han.

Thus, the Da Han Empire indeed faces internal and external troubles, a dire situation, so it is no wonder that Emperor Jing Sheng worries himself sick.

Jia Jing pondered for a moment, then spoke loudly without changing his expression.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured! I will tell Your Majesty that ten years of peace in Liaoning is merely a generous estimate of the enemy."

"Regardless of whether we can win, we must first not harbor a desire for quick victory; otherwise, we will become rash and overconfident, which actually makes defeat more likely."

"Moreover, given the current domestic situation, even winning a few battles against the False Qing would be of little use!"

"The urgent task for the court is still to purge corruption in the bureaucracy, implement the New Policies, fill the treasury, restore the people's livelihood; otherwise, exhausting the army and indulging in war will make the people unable to survive—it's just putting out one fire while another starts."

"As for the Northern Yuan court and the Huanye Khanate in the northwest Mongols, they are merely braggarts; if they really dare to come and raid the Da Han Empire's tiger whiskers, I will personally lead the Bashang Daying cavalry to wipe out these petty foes, thereby deterring those with ill intentions."

"One punch to deter a hundred! As I always say, our Da Han Empire must first cure its own ills and reform to become strong; as for foreign tribes, if they dare to invade, no matter how far, they will surely be punished."

Emperor Jing Sheng was infected by Jia Jing's confidence, his spirits lifted somewhat, and he laughed:

"You are full of confidence! The Northern Yuan and Huanye armies, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, are the root of the northwest border troubles for our Da Han Empire, yet in your eyes they are not worth mentioning!"

"War! It is a major affair of the state, a matter of life and death, the path to survival or ruin—it must not be neglected!"

Jia Jing said:

"Your Majesty, rest assured! Other ministers dare not say this, but regarding warfare, as long as Your Majesty trusts and supports me, I will surely bring eternal peace to our Da Han Empire!"

Emperor Jing Sheng gazed steadily at Jia Jing, took a deep breath, lightly patted his shoulder, and spoke earnestly:

"I truly know your ability, beloved minister! If war breaks out in the northwest, I will appoint you as commander and will fully trust you."

"I will not hinder you, nor will I order you how to act, nor will I urge you to advance and win; I only hope you will handle matters conscientiously and not disappoint my expectations."

"You are the champion marquis bestowed upon me by heaven! I entrust the safety and stability of the Da Han Empire's state to you; if you do not fail me, I will never fail you! Strive! Strive!"

Jia Jing's heart trembled slightly; looking at Emperor Jing Sheng, he earnestly returned the salute and said:

"I dare not spare my utmost effort to repay Your Majesty's recognition!"

Jia Jing discovered that since his single battle annihilating 150,000 troops of the False Qing, Emperor Jing Sheng has consistently held great expectations for him.

He even surpassed other important military officials in the court, such as Niu Jizong and Nian Gengyao.

Perhaps it was because his great external victory during a crisis in the court gave Emperor Jing Sheng tremendous spiritual encouragement and uplift.

As a result, whenever he encounters major difficulties, he comes to confide in me and places great hopes on me.

Given the current situation of the Da Han court, it seems Emperor Jing Sheng has been under considerable psychological pressure all along.

And as someone he personally promoted, being both capable and loyal, how could I not be entrusted with even greater responsibility!

Emperor Jing Sheng is skilled at composing himself; shortly thereafter his expression returned to normal, and looking at the approaching Xia Shouzhong, Niu Jizong, Wang Ziteng, and others, he said:

"That's all for today; you need not see me off, return to camp and reorganize your troops! Also, in daily life, take good care of your health!"

Jia Jing nodded, said no more, bade farewell to Emperor Jing Sheng and the others, and returned to Bashang Daying.

…………

A few days later, approaching the year's end.

Daiyu's small courtyard.

At this moment, late in the morning period, waves of laughter could be heard from within the courtyard.

At this moment in Daiyu's small courtyard, San Chun, Xiang Yun, Baichai, Xiangling, Xiao Jiaoer, Jia Baoyu, Jia Huan, and others have gathered together.

For these past days, Daiyu has been teaching Xiangling poetry and lyrics daily in her small courtyard; Xiangling is so eager to learn that she composes one or two poems each day to show Daiyu.

Later, other sisters of the Jia mansion heard about the liveliness and would come over to play when they had nothing else to do.

Naturally, Jia Baoyu follows wherever the sisters go, so he came along as well!

As for Jia Huan,

The Jia clan school had been on break for several days prior, and these days Tan Chun has kept him close, urging him to do his homework every day!

"Shut up! All you know is to play, play, play! In this semester's exam you ranked sixth from the bottom—you can't even beat Lan Ge'er—and yet you still want to go out and play!"

In the room, Tan Chun glared with a fierce face and sternly shouted at Jia Huan, who was standing before the nearby table.

Jia Huan lowered his eyebrows, his eyes sour, one shoulder higher than the other, his body shivered from Tan Chun's harsh shout, and he muttered in a low voice:

"Lan Ge'er, this maggot‑hearted wretch, a seed without destiny, forgot his old mother... forgot the kindness I gave him, after the exam he still said he did poorly, yet he placed second in the whole school, truly a blackened heart!"