The Second Master of the Red Chamber

After leaving the palace, Jia Lian was in a good mood.

In fact, from the moment he decided to return to Beijing, he knew that the difficulty of rescuing Xue Pan did not lie with his enemies or King Zhongshun, but with Emperor Ningkang.

Even for him, saving Xue Pan itself was not difficult at all. What was difficult was the price he was willing to pay for it.

Naturally, the weight he had accumulated in Emperor Ning Kang's heart after so many years of hard work could not be compensated to that worthless person Xue Pan.

Now that it's all right, Ning Kangdi's case has passed smoothly, so there won't be any more surprises in Xue Pan's case, and tomorrow's court hearing will be just a formality.

It went more smoothly than expected. It seemed like he bought Xue Pan's life from Emperor Ning Kang with 5 taels of silver.

It seems like child's play, but it's not.

First of all, 5 taels of silver is not a small amount.Little did they know that one can be called rich if he has a million taels of silver, and 5 taels of silver can be called [-] taels of silver!

Many middle- and low-level noble houses may not have so much wealth!How many people in the world can afford it and are willing to spend 5 taels to buy a life?

Secondly, even if the Xue family is willing to pay 5 taels to buy Xue Pan's life, without him, Jia Lian, the 5 taels will not be of value.

How could a majestic Nine-Five-year-old man really show mercy to 5 taels of silver outside the law?But it was just the right time.

When he came to the Ministry of Punishment, he vaguely mentioned Emperor Ning's intention to several officials of the Ministry of Punishment, which immediately surprised these old fritters.Of course, they would not think that Jia Lian dared to falsely convey the holy will. They could only sigh in their hearts for Jia Lian's magical power and take the initiative to have friendship with Jia Lian.

As the saying goes, accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. Even these high-ranking officials cannot guarantee that they will always sit firmly on the Diaoyutai.If one day they offend the king for some reason and violate the national law, then having a friend who can speak so well in front of the emperor will naturally give them one more chance to turn the crisis into safety.

Of course Jia Lian would not be insensitive to this.Although he advertises himself as a "martial artist", he is not really a vulgar martial artist.

Jia Lian knew very well that officialdom was about human relationships. People who were truly powerful and powerful could not be supported by their own official positions and titles alone.Among those in power in the empire, how many people listen to you and sell your face is the real foundation.

Therefore, Jia Lian was very happy to make these lifelong friends and was willing to call him his younger brother.

After some arrogance with the civil servants, Jia Lian went to the firearms camp again.

The firearms battalion headquarters is stationed in the imperial city, on the western section of the inner moat.This place was originally an abandoned camp. After Jia Lian obtained it from Emperor Ningkang, he built it into a continuous barracks at a very fast speed as the base camp of the Firearms Camp.

In addition, outside the North City, the Firearms Camp has a larger camp that is about to be completed.

There are a total of more than [-] personnel in the firearms battalion.Three thousand of them were musketeers, fifteen hundred were artillerymen, and the remainder were craftsmen and handymen.

Among them, the musketeers and artillerymen were all drawn from the six battalions of the Imperial Guard (now seven including the firearms battalion). The craftsmen and handymen were supplemented by Jia Lian himself, most of whom were from the Shenji Battalion. A dug corner.

Compared with the officers and soldiers, what Jia Lian cares more about are the hundreds of creative craftsmen of all kinds. That is the core of the firearms camp!
It can be seen from the personnel composition that the firearms battalion is not just a firearms army, it also serves as the important task of firearms improvement and research and development.In this era, no one attaches more importance to this than Jia Lian.

On the martial arts field, Jia Lian looked at the three thousand musketeers below who were well-organized and powerful, and nodded with satisfaction.

Although the Imperial Guards are known as "rich soldiers", most of them have different physiques and physical fitness.

Standing on the edge of the general platform, Jia Lian gave a simple lecture as usual, and then announced: "Ten days later, I will personally take you to the camp outside the city for a month-long special musketry training. After the end , there will be an army-wide competition, and the top three hundred in the competition will receive generous rewards.

Among them, for the top ten, I will create an exclusive "Marksman" Medal of Honor for them, which will be awarded by me personally in the presence of all the officers and soldiers of the firearms battalion. "

As soon as these words came out, not to mention the three thousand musketeers below, even the generals around them all showed shock in their eyes.

They know better than the big-headed soldier what kind of person the Marquis is.For Jia Lian to be so solemn and announce something in public, it must not be a child's play.

It is conceivable that in the next month or so, there will definitely be a huge wave of competition throughout the army.Even knowledgeable people can predict that Jia Lian's way of motivating his soldiers may set a precedent for military training in the Wei Dynasty.

Jia Lian's words are much simpler for the soldiers.

The officers and soldiers who can be transferred to the firearms battalion are more or less not taken seriously in the original army.In a different environment, everyone is starting from the same starting point, and many people naturally hold back the idea of ​​getting ahead.

In the past few months, the treatment and configuration of the Firearms Camp have been visible to everyone. It is obviously not a place of relegation as feared before arriving.On the contrary, he is still a fresh new star.

This not only confirmed that their leader, Zhenyuan Hou Jia Lian, was indeed as well-off as the legendary ones, but it also naturally made those who had chosen him secretly rejoice. They all wanted to follow Jia Lian and become what Jia Lian said was the future Seventh Guards Army. A member of the most combat-effective firearms battalion in the battalion headquarters.

Because of the special nature of the firearms camp, Jia Lian had an unshakable and lofty position in the firearms camp.

In addition, soldiers originally valued honor, so although they did not know what the new medal of honor was, just what Jia Lian said, the honor of being awarded the title by Jia Lian in front of all the soldiers in the army, made their hearts boil with excitement. .

There are ten spots available!They are all big men, and they joined the firearms camp at the same time. Who is willing to admit that he is inferior to others?

Looking at the [-] pairs of burning eyes, all the generals on and off the stage understood that in the next month, these little brats would have to work hard, and they probably wouldn't need to expend much energy to supervise them. .Thinking of this, the generals couldn't help but admire their commander's methods.

For Jia Lian, this was a drastic measure that he had thought of long ago.If you want a newly built army to have considerable combat effectiveness in a short period of time, simple training is not very effective.

Everyone knows that a true army that can fight a hundred battles has a military spirit.

Even Jia Lian could not create a military spirit for an army in a short period of time.However, he knew that the military soul of an army must be supported by common honor or belief when it was first formed.

What he has to do at this time is to create a common sense of honor among the entire army as quickly as possible.

This is the first army-wide competition since the establishment of the firearms battalion. As long as this time is done well, the medal of honor of this "marksman" is recognized, and all the soldiers in the army are eager to compete for similar glory next time, then the whole army will The cohesion of the army has been initially formed.

In the central barracks, all the generals of the Firearms Battalion were treated to a big meal before Jia Lian went home.

Jia Lian invited the generals to dinner, not for any reason to mingle with the soldiers, but simply to give officers at all levels a chance to get in touch with him so that they could better convey his will to the entire army.

After all, all the generals in the firearms battalion, except for the group he personally promoted, many of them were not familiar with him.Jia Lian attaches great importance to the thousands of soldiers and horses stationed in the imperial city, and naturally he must firmly control them in his hands.Returning to Ningrong Street, Jia Lian got off the carriage at the gate of Ningguo Mansion.

When he was going up the stairs, he looked back and said displeasedly: "Just say what you have to say, why are you hesitating?"

He had long noticed that Zhao'er's expression was different, as if she wanted to say something to him but was hesitant.

When Zhao'er heard the news from Jia Lian, she knelt down on the steps with a bang and said to Jia Lian: "Second Master, I want to make a treacherous complaint!"

Jia Lian raised his eyebrows, Diao Zheng?Knowing that this kid said it deliberately to make him laugh, he didn't care. He waved his hand and said, "Who do you want to sue?"

"The people I want to sue are brothers Zhao Tianliang and Zhao Tiandong!"

"Oh, what happened to them?"

Jia Lian was a little surprised.

Brothers Zhao Tianliang and Zhao Tiandong were his nanny brothers. They were useless things. For the sake of Aunt Zhao, Jia Lian took them back as his long-term followers.

Later, because he felt that these two brothers were really difficult to take on big responsibilities, and they didn't like staying around, they randomly found some lucrative jobs and sent them away.

"They...those two bitches are thinking about my family!"

As soon as Zhao'er said these words, a burst of joy erupted from the surroundings.Lai Wang laughed and scolded: "You kid, be careful with your words. No matter what, the Zhao brothers are still the brothers of the second master. How can you, kid, insult them at will?"

Zhaoer frowned. He was not afraid of embarrassment and still said loudly: "That's why I complained to the second master! Those two bastards took advantage of me following the second master outside and looked for opportunities to be courteous to my family every day. Later, they didn't say anything. He also plans to use his status to use force on my family.

If I hadn't known that my beautiful face would easily attract thieves' attention, and I had made arrangements in advance, I'd probably have let them succeed!

Second Master, Zhao'er has only been a slave for a few generations. If it hadn't been for the gift from Second Master, this slave would never have been able to marry someone like me even if he had been blessed for another eight lifetimes.Moreover, when I first married my wife, the second master was still the one who presided over the marriage. Now that the Zhao brothers have insulted us like this, we still expect the second master to make the decision for me..."

Zhaoer cried.But because this kid has never been serious, even if he cried, it would still be inexplicably funny.

But Jia Lian quickly stopped smiling.It seems that the Zhao brothers are really restless. If they don't hammer them down carefully and teach them a lesson, who knows what trouble they will get into next time.

Besides, apart from the fact that Zhao'er is his confidant, Jiang Yun is now also the wife in charge of the palace, responsible for taking care of the twelve little actors in Lixiangyuan, as well as the food and daily life of the four beauties he brought back. How can we allow those who are stupid to be bullied casually?

So he kicked Zhao'er and scolded: "You're a worthless thing, you still have to ask me for such a small thing, you've been following me for so many years in vain!"

"Second Master...?"

"As a man, they bully your wife. If you don't want to kill someone in anger, it's not too much to cripple one of them and one of their hands, right? Don't say you can't do it. If you can't do it, go back and hug your wife as soon as possible. I don't have anyone around me. Keep useless people.”

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he flicked the hem of his clothes that was caught by Zhaoer and stepped into Ningguo Mansion.

On the same spot, Zhaoer stood up in a daze, but his eyes were thoughtful.Suddenly he figured it out and looked around eagerly at the bodyguards who followed Jia Lian through life and death with him.

Wang Dazhu slapped Zhao'er on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Boy Zhao'er, do you want our help? Okay, come and ask me, and I will help you teach the Zhao brothers a lesson."

"Go away, don't urinate and look after yourself! Among the guards who followed the second master at the beginning, you are the one who can't be beaten. I beg no one to do the same to you."

Zhaoer pushed away Wang Dazhu's hand, and then looked at Zhang Yong and Feng Fei eagerly: "Uncle Zhang, Brother Feng, why don't you two condescend and help me? I will definitely remember this, and I will be kind to you in the future. Report..."

"Ha, you kid..."

"All right."

Zhao Sheng suddenly waved his hand to stop everyone's laughter, and then said seriously: "This matter is not a trivial matter. In fact, I still have something that I have not reported to the Second Master..."

Although among the five guards who followed Jia Lian at the beginning, Zhang Yong should be ranked first in terms of qualifications, because he and Jia Lian still have a half-master friendship.

But after getting along for so many years, everyone actually recommended Zhao Sheng as the leader. The reason is naturally because Zhao Sheng is a man of calculation and strategy, and even Jia Lian is willing to adopt what he says many times.

Seeing Zhao Sheng's solemn expression, Zhao'er, Feng Fei and others didn't realize they were getting closer.

They "old people" were in a group of their own, and even Liu Xianglian, an upstart who Jia Lian valued highly, would have difficulty squeezed into their group, so Liu Xianglian glanced at them and led her horse to settle down.

Everyone here only listened to Zhao Sheng said: "Brother Zhao Tianliang is really cowardly. This time I stayed in the house. In addition to knowing that they were entangled with Miss Jiang Yun, one time Xiao Zi from Tianxiang Tower went out to buy rouge and gouache. It happened to be When I met them, they actually dared to come forward and tease me, they really didn’t know how to live or die.”

The expressions of Feng Fei and others all changed.They all know that the little purple girl Zhao Sheng talks about is the former most beautiful woman in Jiangnan, the first of the four beauties brought back by their second master from Jiangnan, and the maid next to Gu Qingyi whose appearance even the imperial concubine was amazed by.

At the beginning, Jia Lian allowed each of the four beauties to bring one close person to Beijing. Gu Qingyi brought the little girl Zi, and now she is also serving them at Tianxiang Tower.

"Could it be that these two bitches have become brave after eating the heart of a bear and a leopard?"

"Hmph. The second master is someone who is bound to achieve great things. If these two people are left here, relying on their relationship with the second master as brothers, and not knowing how to restrain themselves, sooner or later they will be in trouble."

"Brother Sheng is right. I think the second master doesn't like them too. Why not take advantage of this opportunity and kill them all to prevent them from causing trouble again!"

"Makes sense."

"I agree."

"..." (end of this chapter)