Chapter 262: Jia Jing: Gazing Northward from the Tent, He Cannot Contain His Deep Longing for the Palace

How should I say it?

Originally, Jing Sheng Di, considering the civil officials' feelings, had already suppressed Jia Jing's appointment as a second‑rank Biaoqi Grand General.

It was to keep court officials from falling into civil‑military factionalism, and to have them focus earnestly on the court's New Policies and other pressing matters.

And the result?

The civil officials privately raised many objections, and slandering senior ministers was already enough.

Now they brazenly, in front of all officials, openly question the senior border general who is shedding blood on the front lines, and make no mention whatsoever of Jia Jing's meritorious deeds, constantly suspecting his motives and curbing his authority!

He had clearly said that after this battle is won, Jia Jing would be recalled to the capital.

Yet these people are still so impatient, even demanding to send civil officials to patrol the north‑west borders.

Isn't this just trying to pick a peach before any success is achieved?

Jing Sheng Di's complexion darkened and became uncertain for a moment, and a wave of irritation rose in his heart.

Before Jia Jing appeared, the entire court's civil officials had achieved nothing against the False Qing and the Northern Yuan.

When the court's national strength was in decline, they spent all day only offering counsel to surrender and make peace, saying things like "the False Qing's ten thousand troops cannot be opposed!" and "endure a moment's anger!"

Full of lofty rhetoric, yet few supported the war.

Some civil officials were double‑talking, maintaining a tenuous link with Longshou Palace on one side while outwardly complying yet secretly subverting the New Policies they themselves implemented.

As a result, after several years of implementing the New Policies, the outcomes were worrisome; the treasury was so empty that even he, the emperor, had to tighten his own belt.

With the nation's order weakened, livelihoods in decline, the Da Han Empire beset by internal troubles and external threats, as precarious as a pile of broken eggs, most of the court's civil and military officials turned a blind eye, indulging in corruption and perverting the law, caring only for their own interests.

Now, just as state affairs have begun to improve and the foreign enemy has just been defeated,

they dare to impatiently leap out and begin to attack the meritorious officials who saved the realm from peril!

They speak of checks and balances, of caring for the nation, but only they know their true intentions!

Jing Sheng Di could even state with certainty: if it were truly as he saw in his dream, the Da Han Empire would fall into the hands of the False Qing.

Among all the civil and military officials present, those who could guard the Han realm with loyalty unto death are few indeed!

If it were not for the founding ancestor sending down the virtuous minister in response to a dream, if it were not for him single‑handedly elevating Jia Zi Jie from obscurity.

I fear that when the False Qing invaded last year, the Da Han Empire had already lost troops and territory; and when the three kingdoms' allied forces invade this year, the empire's realm may already be on the brink of collapse.

And this emperor might by now have already endured humiliation to negotiate peace and surrender, or be already heading to Coal Mountain to mourn his death, not far away!

Where would there still be any chance for these people to speak such shameless, empty talk about state affairs!

In an instant, myriad thoughts and countless ideas gave Jing Sheng Di a chill in his heart, followed by a surge of wrath.

In the end, only one sentence remained in his mind: Factional strife ruins the nation! All civil officials may be killed, Zi Jie must not be disgraced!

Just as Jing Sheng Di's mind whirred, a sudden frost appeared on his face, his gaze turned fierce, and the throne hall fell into an eerie silence.

Behind the pearl curtains on the left side of the hall, an internal inspector rushed in, poked his head out, and silently signaled to Xia Shouzhong standing beside Jing Sheng Di.

Xia Shouzhong, seeing this, first furrowed his brows.

Then his eyes brightened; it was the secret code he had set for his subordinates when reporting news.

Internal inspectors sometimes must gauge the situation and, depending on Jing Sheng Di's mood, selectively report.

They cannot deliver bad news when Jing Sheng Di is in a bad mood; that would be courting death.

At this moment, the inspector's gesture meant good news.

Xia Shouzhong quietly walked to the pearl curtain, took the paper carried by the inspector's messenger pigeon, glanced at it, and felt greatly reassured!

It turned out to be the rapid report from the north‑west!

The Duke of Jing, in one battle, annihilated the Hunxie State's sixty‑thousand-strong army and captured the Tianshan.

The Hunxie Khan has already accepted the court's peace terms, and the Duke of Jing will soon withdraw his troops and return to the capital.

Xia Shouzhong's actions could not hide from Jing Sheng Di and the ministers in the hall, who saw his face light up with joy.

The ministers, whose hearts had been uneasy due to Jing Sheng Di's clouded expression, quietly breathed a sigh of relief!

It is no exaggeration to say that Jing Sheng Di's cold, fierce expression just now frightened many court officials.

Many of them even saw such a gloomy complexion on Jing Sheng Di's face for the first time, not the kind of darkness born of raging anger.

But rather like the oppressive gloom before a storm, suffocating those around, as if a tiger ready to pounce on a chosen victim.

With successive victories on the front, the sovereign's command of the army is in his hands, and his imperial authority grows ever deeper!

Many civil officials exchanged glances in secret, their eyes full of meaning.

"Grand Companion, where is the urgent report!"

Jing Sheng Di, suppressing the fury in his heart, asked expressionlessly.

Although emotions stirred within him, Jing Sheng Di still chose to prioritize state affairs first.

He knew that any report delivered by an internal inspector at this moment must be an urgent dispatch from six hundred li away!

Upon hearing Jing Sheng Di's inquiry, Xia Shouzhong took a deep breath, clenched the paper, walked back to the imperial throne, bent down, and whispered a few words into Jing Sheng Di's ear.

Everyone in the hall quietly watched this scene, awaiting the revelation of the mystery.

Some guessed in their hearts that it was the swift report from the north‑west, others thought it was news from Jiangnan, some imagined rain in Henan, others speculated Liaodong—each mind wandering differently.

Jing Sheng Di fell silent for a moment after Xia Shouzhong finished speaking.

Then he lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over the ministers in the hall.

His face remained expressionless, yet his eyes flashed—not a gentle shine, but the cold glint of a blade drawn from its sheath, reflected by candlelight.

"Listen, esteemed elders seated high in the hall!"

Jing Sheng Di relaxed his brows, his voice calm and unruffled.

Xia Shouzhong immediately composed himself, unfolded the paper in his hand, and spoke in a thin yet resonant voice:

"Champion Grand General, Duke of Jing, Jia Jing reports: At the beginning of June, I led twenty thousand cavalry to engage the Hunxie's sixty‑thousand-strong army on the southern slopes of the Tianshan."

"The Hunxie commander Galedama, bold in battle, raised a great banner before the ranks; I shot an arrow at him, piercing his chest, causing him to fall from his horse and die."

The Hunye army was greatly startled, their formation fell into disarray. I shot another arrow, striking their great banner; the flagpole was pierced and broke, and the great banner fell to the ground.

Seeing their commander-in-chief dead and the great banner fallen, the Hunye army collapsed and scattered.

I led the forces to press the attack on the routed enemy, pursuing them north, beheading over twenty thousand and capturing countless.

After the battle, I wrapped the arrow I had shot in yellow silk and sent it to the Hunye Khagan to display heavenly might.

The next day, the Hunye Great Khan sent envoys to surrender, having already accepted in full our dynasty's peace terms… ceding the lands south of the Heavenly Mountains as well as Hami and Turpan, paying indemnity of five million taels of silver, opening border towns for trade, and sending Prince Erlinqin as a hostage.

With the northwest settled, I have already arranged the aftermath and will soon return to the capital with the army.

I have been away from the capital for several months, my heart yearning to return like an arrow. Whenever I gaze north from my tent, I am overwhelmed with longing for the imperial court.

I only wish to soon behold the Emperor's face and personally present the victory report. Upon submitting the memorial, tears stream down, and I do not know what to say.

Xia Shouzhong's earlier recitation, with its rising and falling cadence, resonant and forceful, gave me the feeling of being right there on the scene.

The final few lines, however, were spoken in a low voice, carrying a touch of warmth and sincerity.

After finishing, Xia Shouzhong couldn't help but privately reflect that this Jia Zi Jie always includes greetings and a few sentimental lines in every letter.

Those few words, while observing propriety, also showed closeness and frankness, making even this emperor's personal attendant feel more reassured and at ease, let alone the Emperor himself.

Xia Shouzhong knew that Emperor Jing Sheng especially liked this; whenever he heard or saw it, his face would show a bit more pleasure.

To remain in the Emperor's favor for months abroad, not waning but even growing day by day—among the entire court, only this one person!

One must say, besides being able to win battles, this Jia Zi Jie's loyalty and reverence toward the Emperor are also extremely precious and rare.

No wonder the Emperor treats him differently, regarding him as a minister who will revive the state!

And as Xia Shouzhong finished reading, from the upper hall to the cabinet ministers, down to the fifth-rank censorial officials, there was an uproar.