Chapter 676: The Million-Army Northern Expedition! A Chongzhen-Ending in the Late Ming

After struggling internally for a long while, Jia Lian forced a smile and said, “Thank Itachi, Chief Eunuch, for clarifying this. My three sisters serving the King is a honor and atonement for the Jia family.”

The Chief Eunuch regarded Jia Lian with a meaningful smile.

The matter between Luo Fu and the Jia family was now known to all under heaven.

Yet in the Jiangnan region, everyone understood that how the Jia family was dealt with ultimately depended on Luo Fu’s intentions.

Until Luo Fu made his stance clear, no one would be foolish enough to act on his behalf.

The Northern Qing side had not targeted the Jia family primarily because of the Jia family’s position and the protection of the Retired Emperor.

But the Chief Eunuch knew well that the Jia family would not last much longer.

After being thrown onto the canopy bed together with Luo Fu during their first meeting and subjected to hours of torment.

When the three Chun sisters awoke again, it was already the next day.

The last to open her eyes, Jia Tanchun only realized, once her mind cleared, that her eldest sister Jia Yuanchun and second sister Jia Yingchun were each hugging their knees, huddled in the corners of the canopy bed.

Suddenly snapping back to awareness and sensing the strange condition of her body, Jia Tanchun’s eyes instantly filled with tears.

“Third sister, Itachi’re awake,” Jia Yuanchun glanced at Jia Tanchun and said, “Our two younger sisters, we always suspected this day would come. This merely confirms our fears, doesn’t it? Right now, our urgent task is to find a way to make… make the Prince of Zhao agree to meet the imperial envoys.”

“Big sister, can three weak women like us decide such matters?” Jia Tanchun smiled bitterly. “Whether in Qing or the new dynasty, since our Jia servants provoked a prince who seized half the empire, our family has lost its footing on both sides.”

After a brief pause, Jia Tanchun added, “If we sisters wish to preserve the Jia family, there is only one way: to fully commit to one side. Right now, we can only choose the King—not only because all three of us have given our bodies to him, but more crucially, Qing will never spare the Jia family, whereas the King… if we can bear his children, perhaps he might show mercy and allow the Jia lineage to continue.”

Jia Yingchun, who had remained silent until now, nodded slightly. “Big sister, third sister is right. We and the Jia family have no choices left.”

Jia Yuanchun paused, thought for a moment, then realized: “Yes… we have no choices left. I was wrong.”

Having been sent to the imperial palace as a child, Jia Yuanchun had essentially grown up there, and unconsciously viewed Northern Qing as the legitimate dynasty.

But she had forgotten that Luo Fu now held half the empire—and if he cared nothing for stability, unifying the realm would be effortless.

After all, the nearly twenty thousand elite soldiers under Luo Fu’s command were invincible in this age.

The battle of Yangzhou had deeply implanted in every Northern Qing member the belief that Luo Tian Army was unbeatable.

The swift pacification of Jiangnan further gave Luo Tian Army the illusion of heavenly mandate.

From the moment Luo Fu seized Yangzhou, the Luo Tian Army had become a snowball rolling down a mountain—gathering speed, until now it had become utterly unstoppable.

Just as the three Jia sisters had firmly decided their only possible stance was Luo Fu—

Jia Yingchun suddenly seemed to recall something and said, “The King seems to have special intentions toward our Jia family’s women—even our fourth sister hasn’t been spared. And… and Second Brother Lian… he was… he was…”

Jia Lian’s castration, from the moment he appeared dressed as a eunuch until now, when Luo Fu had taken all three sisters’ bodies, had never been accepted.

The three Jia sisters still could not reconcile themselves to it.

After all, Jia Lian’s status within the Jia family was truly unique.

Though in Rongguo Mansion, Jia Baoyu was pampered as if the entire household revolved around him, in truth, he was never the true heir.

Had it not been for Grandmother Jia’s insistence that Jia Zheng, the second son, occupy Rongxi Hall, while Jia She, the eldest legitimate son, was banished to a side courtyard, the Jia second branch would have had no place in the mansion at all.

Once Grandmother Jia passed away, Jia She, the eldest legitimate son, would become the undisputed master of the mansion, and Jia Lian would become the rightful heir.

Even now, Jia Lian remained the legitimate heir of Rongguo Mansion.

Yet this man, who in Northern Qing would be counted among the core of the aristocracy, had been castrated by Luo Fu in Jiangnan and turned into a lowly eunuch.

This shock had nearly reshaped Jia Yingchun’s and Jia Tanchun’s entire worldview.

Jia Yuanchun, having grown up in the imperial palace, had never witnessed the brutal punishment of high-ranking nobles in recent years—but she had heard whispers among old eunuchs and palace maids about the miserable fates of fallen nobles in past eras.

The heir of a Duke’s mansion becoming a eunuch was not uncommon during times of radical change.

Once Luo Fu unifies the realm, even becoming a eunuch would be considered mercy toward the Jia family.

Emotional detachment had led Jia Yuanchun to unconsciously side with Northern Qing.

But after being awakened by her two younger sisters—

The broad perspective cultivated in the imperial palace allowed Jia Yuanchun to make her decision instantly.

“Second sister, since we have received the King’s favor, our immediate duty is to pay respects to the Queen Consort. Other matters are beyond our concern now.”

After a brief pause, as if fearing walls had ears, Jia Yuanchun quietly warned, “Two younger sisters, the imperial palace is the most treacherous place. Here, one must act with utmost caution.”

Jia Yingchun and Jia Tanchun were intelligent girls indeed.

Upon hearing this, the two sisters exchanged glances and quickly changed into the robes the palace maids had brought.

They voluntarily proposed visiting Lin Daiyu, the official Queen Consort and future Empress.

Inside the Queen Consort’s palace.

When she learned that the three Jia cousins had come to pay their respects—

Lin Daiyu was momentarily stunned.

She simply could not believe that the Jia family and Northern Qing had done such a thing.

What surprised her most was that Luo Fu had taken all three cousins as concubines.

As Luo Fu’s lawful wife, Lin Daiyu, though aware of his taking her three cousins, felt no resentment.

In fact, deep inside, she breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, Luo Fu’s past had led Lin Daiyu to deliberately ignore the Jia family’s existence.

This was not only her own judgment, but also her father’s counsel after his resurrection.

Regardless, Lin Ruhai, the entire Lin clan, and even Lin Ruhai’s network had all boarded Luo Fu’s ship—and Lin Daiyu, as the lawful wife, was in some sense their representative at his side.

To speak of pure emotion with any competent emperor is absurd.

True, some emperors were deeply sentimental—but Luo Fu was certainly not one.

Lin Daiyu had clearly sensed this through her interactions with him.

The Jia sisters’ acceptance into Luo Fu’s harem, in a sense, secured a future lifeline for the Ning and Rong mansions.

While Luo Fu’s harem remained harmonious—

Northern Qing remained in chaos.

The court was still embroiled in debate over how to respond to Luo Fu.

Meanwhile, Luo Fu had fully consolidated the Jiangnan forces.

Of course, this process was not without friction.

Yet to complete his military integration swiftly for the northern campaign, Luo Fu had made certain compromises—those who believed they had secured their place in the new dynasty would never have dreamed they were already on Luo Fu’s future purge list.

Once Luo Fu unifies the realm, that will be their downfall.

On this point, Luo Fu had learned from the Qing.

After achieving true unification, the Qing nearly entirely renounced its prior promises. Of course, as the founder of the new dynasty, Luo Fu had never personally promised anything to those who thought they had gained advantage.

These were merely long-standing conventions from the past hundred years of Northern Qing’s founding.

But Luo Fu had no moral burden to reject such conventions—after all, a new dynasty must bring new order.

The northern expeditionary force did not number a million; the true elite remained only Luo Fu’s twenty-thousand-plus elite soldiers.

Though Luo Fu had assembled eighty million troops after integrating Jiangnan, of these eighty million, apart from the twenty thousand true elite, only about two million were actually combat-ready.

The remaining nearly sixty million were mostly laborers, logistics personnel, or second-line troops—capable of garrisoning cities after the elite seized them.

But to send these sixty million second-line troops into frontline combat would be absurd—not because they had no fighting ability at all, but because they could only win easy battles; any setback would cause them to scatter or erupt into mutiny.

Never overestimate the combat power of feudal armies.

Though feudal-era China could muster tens or even hundreds of thousands of troops due to its population advantage, only the core troops truly possessed combat effectiveness.

Luo Fu’s twenty-thousand elite soldiers were, in the entire history of feudal China, an unprecedentedly powerful force.

After formally swearing in for the northern campaign, events unfolded precisely as Luo Fu had foreseen.

After the Northern Qing’s elite Jingying troops were utterly annihilated beneath Yangzhou, and Jiangnan was pacified almost without resistance—

The reputation of the Luo Tian Army among Northern Qing had reached an invincible status.

With the Northern Qing’s combat capability, merely hearing that the Luo Tian Army was approaching would shatter their morale; even if they reluctantly took the field, a few volleys of arrows and a single charge would cause their hastily assembled forces to scatter.

The northern campaign advanced with unstoppable momentum.

In barely two months, south of the Great Wall and north of the Yangtze, Northern Qing held only the capital city.

Across the vast north, facing Luo Tian Army’s onslaught, regions either switched banners or fell in a single assault.

One bad news after another reached the besieged Emperor and Retired Emperor, who clearly understood that the hundred-year-old Qing dynasty stood on the brink of collapse.

When the Luo Tian Army encircled the entire capital—

The Emperor and Retired Emperor, father and son, faced an outcome eerily similar to that of Chongzhen at the end of the Ming.

Even after repeatedly ringing the Jingyang Bell, not a single civil or military official appeared in court.

Inside the Rongguo Mansion in the capital.

The Jia family gathered in Rongxi Hall.

“Auntie, Northern Qing’s fall is imminent. Our Jia family now faces a life-or-death choice,” Jia Jing said, his eyes filled with deep concern. “How is our contact with the Prince of Zhao?”

In contrast to Jia Jing’s worry, Jia Mu and Jia Zheng in Rongxi Hall wore calm expressions, even revealing faint traces of delight.

In two months, Luo Tian Army had besieged the capital.

Yet during these two months, the Jia family had not been completely cut off from Jiangnan.

On the contrary, recall that Jia Qiang, under the pretext of searching for Jia Lian, had delivered his two aunts to the Nanjing palace—

And had never returned from Nanjing. He was not merely staying there idle; he was responsible for maintaining contact between Nanjing and Rongguo Mansion.

He continuously sent letters detailing Nanjing’s situation to Rongguo Mansion.

Though the Nanjing palace, under Luo Fu’s orders, was described as impregnable, it was not entirely sealed off from outside communication.

Lin Daiyu, as the lawful Queen Consort, had the right and authority to communicate with the outside without seeking Luo Fu’s permission.

With Lin Daiyu’s tacit approval, the three Jia sisters had fully recounted their experiences and observations to Jia Qiang.

Even Jia Lian’s castration and his transformation into a palace eunuch had been conveyed to Rongguo Mansion through Jia Qiang’s letters.

This is why, though Jia Jing was worried about the future of the Ning and Rong Mansions, only Jia Mu and Jia Zheng in the Rong Mansion betrayed unmistakable joy, having learned Luo Fu’s stance.

In contrast, Jia She looked sallow, his entire demeanor radiating a hollow, listless exhaustion, as if his very spirit were dissolving.

Although Jia She frequently beat and cursed Jia Lian.

Yet in his heart, Jia She truly regarded Jia Lian as his heir, his legitimate son.

Now his legitimate son had fallen into Luo Fu’s hands—and been castrated, turned into a eunuch.

To Jia She, this was more than mere disgrace; it was as if his ancestral line had been severed.

(End of Chapter)