Chapter 157: Court Council on the Northwest

Qingwen, seeing Jia Jing's inquiry, bowed and said:

"Yes, my lord, I mainly do needlework, and sometimes I give the old lady leg massages, serve tea, and run errands delivering messages."

Her voice was crisp, with a hint of a southern accent.

Jia Jing nodded and said:

"Since it is the old lady's kindness, I, the Lord, will accept you! I don't have many maids in the courtyard now, so you will keep Xiangling company!"

"Although you were sent in by the Lai family, you need not worry that their affairs will affect you."

"Whether guilty or not, I know it all. Once you enter my Jia Family, you are a member of the Jia Family, unrelated to the Lai family."

Jia Jing, as if knowing the worry in Qingwen's heart, said a sentence that eased her concerns a bit.

Jia Jing said again:

"Yuanyang says you are upright; uprightness is good, showing a clean heart."

"But you must not use uprightness as an excuse to speak without restraint, disregarding others' feelings, harming them under the name of uprightness—that is wrong! You must not let your temper affect your own people, understand?"

Qingwen was startled by his words; she did not expect a Lord like Jia Jing to patiently explain such reasoning to a little maid. Her expression hardened, and she bowed and said:

"Yes, my lord! I will remember that!"

Jia Jing gave her a glance, waved his hand, and said to Xiangling beside him:

"Xiangling, take her to settle in, let her follow you from now on, teach her the courtyard rules, and when there's nothing else, you may also teach her some characters."

Xiangling obediently replied, walked to Qingwen's side, and whispered:

"Sister Qingwen, come with me!"

Then Xiangling led Qingwen, one ahead of the other, toward a small suite in the side chamber.

After Yuanyang also took leave and departed, Jia Jing said to Xiaohong in the room:

"Xiaohong, when you have free time, visit Third Miss more often; you are clever, keep many of the courtyard and mansion affairs in mind, and report them to Grandfather when he is home."

Through this period of interaction, Jia Jing considered Xiaohong talented, gave her more responsibilities, making the most of her abilities.

……

Time quickly reached the second day of the second month.

During this more than a month, Jia Jing spent most of his time at Bashang Daying.

He didn't stay long at the Jia Mansion even for the New Year or Lantern Festival, only occasionally being summoned by Emperor Jing Sheng Di into the palace for secret military discussions.

He also, on the first day, went into the palace to attend the grand court celebration and banquet, then hurried back.

During this period, no major events occurred at the Jia Mansion or the court, and few involved Jia Jing.

The notable incidents were Jia Zhen being beaten, Nian Shilan visiting the Jia Mansion, and Wang Ziteng being ordered to reorganize Jingying—three matters.

Jia Zhen's beating occurred the day before the New Year; that day his father Jia Jing rarely returned from Xuan Zhen Temple.

Without further words, he ordered men to drag Jia Zhen down for severe flogging.

In the end, if not for Lady You and Jia Rong's desperate pleas, Jia Zhen would have been beaten to death by Jia Jing.

Nevertheless, even though he survived, he suffered serious injuries, causing Jia Zhen to spend the entire festive period in bed.

As for Nian Shilan's visit to the Jia Mansion, it was at the behest of his brother Nian Gengyao, who specifically wanted to see Jia Mu and Jia Jing.

The implication was clear: Nian Gengyao wanted to form a marriage alliance with Jia Jing.

Unfortunately, Jia Jing was busy with official duties and did not return home; Jia Mu and the sisters did meet Nian Shilan, saying he was fine—good looks, good character, well‑educated, a suitable match.

Of course, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baichai said nothing.

Jia Mu even specially brought Jia Baoyu out to meet him; it is said Jia Baoyu was stunned as if seeing a celestial being, lost his composure on the spot, provoking Jia Zheng to almost beat this wayward son to death.

The third matter was that after many efforts, Wang Ziteng finally achieved his wish of being assigned to reorganize Jingying.

He promised Emperor Jing Sheng Di that within three months the reorganization would show results, making Jingying no weaker than Bashang Daying.

Aside from those three matters, Jia Jing only gave them a brief glance; his thoughts were wholly focused on the upcoming northwestern war.

As expected, since mid‑January, urgent reports have been arriving from the northwestern border passes one after another.

Hunxie and the Northern Yuan were moving troops, gathering hundreds of thousands of soldiers, clearly intending to invade the Da Han Empire from the south.

Subsequently, countless urgent reports from Ningxia, Yulin, and places such as Gansu, Guyuan, Shanxi surged toward Shenjing like a tide.

The court, from top to bottom, canceled its rest; the Ministry of War, the Five Military Governor's Office, and other departments began operating swiftly.

Today, Jia Jing and other senior court officials were summoned by Emperor Jing Sheng Di to attend an urgent court council.

In front of the Qian Qing Gong gate.

Only nine people attended this council in total.

They were five Grand Secretaries, Left Deputy Governor Niu Jizong of the Five Military Governor's Office, Jia Jing, Minister of War Chen Qiao, and Vice Minister of War Wang Ziteng.

The reason for the small attendance was that the main agenda concerned the northwestern border military affairs, which were of great importance.

According to Da Han Empire custom, such crucial matters are not discussed in a grand court assembly.

First, a grand assembly gathers many officials, leading to chatter and easy leakage of military secrets.

Second, the grand ceremony is cumbersome and delays matters.

Usually a small‑scale council is held first to set basic strategies, then decide whether to expand based on the situation.

Thus, Emperor Jing Sheng Di convened a middle‑court council, a private meeting between the emperor and senior officials, classified as state secret.

It follows the principle that major affairs are discussed in small meetings, minor affairs in large ones.

The group did not chat idly before the palace gate, quietly awaiting Emperor Jing Sheng Di's arrival.

Jia Jing merely glanced at Niu Jizong and the never‑met Minister of War Chen Qiao, then kept his gaze steady.

Minister of War Chen Qiao, over sixty years old and about to retire, generally does not attend the court's banquets or councils.

He had been ill for some time, so Jia Jing had never seen the Vice Minister of War bearing that title.

After a brief tea‑time, Emperor Jing Sheng Di arrived, and the group, guided by the Censor, entered the hall in order.

As the officials entered the hall, Emperor Jing Sheng had already, under Xia Shouzhong's support, taken his seat behind the imperial desk.

He glanced at the officials below, and after receiving their congratulations, he did not beat around the bush but spoke directly.

All officials, rise! I have summoned you here solely for the northwest frontier affair.

Recently, the key strongholds of the northwest have been sending urgent reports one after another: the False Qing has allied with Hunye and the Northern Yuan, and the three sides have massed heavy troops in the northwest, their intention to invade our Da Han Empire is crystal clear.

Among them, the Northern Yuan has dispatched 80,000 troops, emerging from the River Bend, not far from the Elm Forest and Peaceful Summer garrisons.

The False Qing and Hunye have combined forces of 150,000, emerging from Jiayu Pass; judging from their march route, they are heading for our Gan Prefecture and Su Prefecture, and they have even sent small vanguard scouting cavalry units that have reached our Da Han border garrisons to raid and plunder.

Regarding this matter, I have privately discussed it these past few days with the Grand Academics, the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, and the chief official of the Five Military Governor's Office, but opinions are not unified and there are many disagreements.

The military situation is urgent, the crisis is pressing, we cannot delay; therefore today I have gathered you all together to settle this matter.

What exactly should be our response strategy; today we must make a decision.