Chapter 459 The Old Lady is Furious
"ah…"
Before Jia Cong finished speaking, a series of exclamations were heard.
The old lady suddenly stood up, slammed her hands on the table, and shouted angrily, "No! Why should my grandson of the Jia family go? This is the fault of the Nan'an Palace. The people in the Nan'an Palace are not all dead. How can it be your turn?"
"Absolutely not! I'm going to see His Majesty and the Emperor! I want to see how much face this old woman, Zhao Cheng, has !"
"First you plotted against our Jia family's daughter, and now you want our Jia family's grandson to go to war. Do you really think I'm dead?"
"Zheng'er, go open the ancestral hall! Open the ancestral hall for me, and follow me into the palace carrying the tablets of our Jia family's ancestors! So many people have died in my Jia family, and we don't owe them anything to the Nan'an Palace, nor do we owe them to the Li family! I, an old woman, finally have a capable grandson, and they can't stand it?"
"If the Zhao and Li families dare to bully my grandson, I will die in front of the Daming Palace. I will go down to the underworld and complain to my ancestors. They will see that the world they have conquered is no longer a place for the orphans and widows of our Jia family."
The old lady was furious and was about to leave, but Jia Cong hurried forward to stop her, "Grandma, please calm down!"
Although the others were also horrified by Jia Cong's intention to send troops, they could only calm the old lady first. Jia Cong and Wang Xifeng helped Jia Mu sit down, and then Jia Cong said, "Grandfather, this military expedition may seem dangerous, but it is not a dead end."
"This time, not only has the Divine Capital mobilized 120,000 elite troops, but all the troops from the three southwestern provinces are under my grandson's command!"
"This way, my grandson will have at least 300,000 soldiers at his disposal. Those barbarians are indeed quite capable, but I'm not a loser like Zhao Guang!"
"If I wasn't certain, how could I have agreed? Besides, this time, our Daqian is almost devoting all its national strength to this battle. Not only my grandson, but also the eight dukes, twelve marquises, and all the military merits of the Yuanping lineage will probably be left behind. Even if my grandson is not the chief general, as the core of the founding lineage and the champion marquis of Daqian, he naturally cannot escape this battle."
"As the main commander, I can actually protect my own safety. At least I don't have to put my life in the hands of others!"
Jia Cong did not just comfort Lady Jia. This time, he was certainly not the only one there. It is no exaggeration to say that most of the capable military heroes would follow Jia Cong to the southwest.
This time, it wasn't Lanzhou's time to defend the border. Each prefecture only needed to send a few young men. Even the heads of the families went, and the legitimate and illegitimate sons of the families went even more. The whole country's strength was no mere talk!
After hearing this, the old lady's emotions finally calmed down a little!
"Is that really the case?" the old lady cried, "You monkey, don't try to frame me. As long as you don't want to, even if I die, I will never let the Li family force you to go."
"How could I lie to you, old lady?" Jia Cong said softly, "I'm afraid most of the military heroes will come to our house in the next two days, and other high-ranking officials from various departments will also come to our house to discuss matters with my grandson!"
"The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works—none of them is indispensable!"
"Old Madam, this time, His Majesty has bestowed upon my grandson the Emperor's Sword, commanding all military and civilian officials in the three provinces. Anyone below the third rank who disobeys my orders will be executed first and reported later! This clearly demonstrates the court's resolve and confidence in this battle!"
"As for your grandson's safety, old lady, there's no need to worry. Not to mention he has hundreds of thousands of troops protecting him, with his unrivaled bravery, he could escape unscathed even amidst a horde of tens of thousands. Furthermore, your grandson is the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. Most of the time, he just sits in the center of the army. How could he charge into battle like he did before?"
"If even my grandson, the commander-in-chief, were to personally charge into battle, I'm afraid hundreds of thousands of troops would be wiped out."
"The only thing my grandson is worried about is home. Old Madam, please wait at home with peace of mind. When my grandson goes there, he will definitely bring a hundred years of prosperity to our Jia family, just like our ancestors did!"
"My grandson doesn't want to suffer, but someone has to go! Our Jia family's prosperity over the past hundred years was earned by our ancestors and thousands of their descendants. And my grandson will also, like our ancestors, earn a hundred years of prosperity for our descendants!"
Jia Mu burst into tears when she heard this. At this moment, she wished that her grandson was just a playboy! He was so sensible and so dedicated to the family. As an old woman, she was not ungrateful. How could she not feel distressed?
Lady Jia's crying also caused everyone else to cry uncontrollably, and the sisters' tears fell like strings of beads.
"Third brother, if I marry into the royal family, we won't have to fight this war!" Tanchun said suddenly.
Jia Cong stepped forward and caressed Tanchun's hair affectionately, then said, "Third sister, this has nothing to do with you! If women marrying into a foreign country could avoid war, there would be no war in the world. The so-called marriage of the barbarians is just to humiliate Daqian. Besides, even if that is true, I am your third brother and will naturally not let you marry into the country."
"If my sisters want to get married, they will naturally choose a family. If they don't want to get married, no one can force them, no matter if they are princes or generals. Not to mention that this is the Nan'an Palace's calculations, even if it was the emperor's order, Third Brother would dare to disobey it for you!"
Upon hearing this, Tanchun couldn't help but burst into tears!
"Master, Master Wang, Master Lin, and Master Shi request an audience!"
Jia Cong nodded and was about to walk towards the front hall when he heard the old lady say, "They are all blood relatives of our family, so let them come to Ningzheng Hall. You don't have to hide. Since you are going to send troops, it is a matter for our entire family. Let us all hear it so that no one will be kept in the dark."
"Alright, grandson will welcome uncle and others in now!"
Jia Cong, Jia Zheng and Baoyu came to the front hall and welcomed them back to Ningzheng Hall.
After everyone exchanged greetings, Wang Ziteng and the other two sat down, and then they heard Grandmother Jia ask, "I don't know if this grandson is deceiving me. Why did he let him lead the troops? Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Seeing this, Lin Ruhai told the old lady about the decision made in the court.
"His Majesty and the Emperor have clearly made up their minds to conquer the southwest with one battle!" Wang Ziteng said, "So, almost all the forces that can be mobilized have been mobilized."
"Many of our founding and Yuanping nobles are joining the army, and the sons of all families, regardless of whether they are legitimate or illegitimate, are all joining the army! Several of our Wang family's sons, except for the youngest son, Wang You and Wang Pei are also going."
"Old Madam, this time my nephew will also follow Cong-ge'er into battle. Not only that, just like in Ziteng's mansion, not only Shi Si and Shi Ci will join the army, but everyone else, except me and my second brother's youngest son, will also join the army."
