Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 453 6.24 Jia's favor, this time it is paid off
Volume VI

6.24 The favor from the Jia family has been paid off this time.
The 21st day of the first lunar month was the "first day of the new year" for the entire Zhou Dynasty. However, anyone who knows the rules knows that this kind of "conference" with hundreds of people gathered together is always useless, let alone Most of it is to increase the "sense of ritual", not to mention that there are more important things behind it, and no one with a reasonable mind will cause trouble.

The 22nd of the first lunar month is Guo Kai's enthronement ceremony. It has been delayed for so long, naturally because it is to make it bigger. The scene is called a high-end atmosphere and class, and the jewelry is very valuable. But in Zhou Yang's opinion, it is better to discount it and do something. There are useful things for you. As for ascending the throne and the like, just put on a show and hold a meeting.

Therefore, these two "big things" were actually of no use. Anyway, Zhou Yang didn't care at all. Instead, he was tired for a day, and then went to the Miyun Camp. The start of the New Year's training is always a very serious matter. After all the trouble, the promise of accepting the "gift" from Jia's family came to fruition on the 25th of the first lunar month - on the [-]th of the first lunar month, seven days after the funeral, Jia Rong's funeral was officially held at Tieksuan Temple.

The reason why he did not go to Ningguo Mansion but went directly to Tiejian Temple was due to identity issues. After all, Jia Qiang had already inherited the title of Ning Guo. Jia Rong did not inherit the title, and it was not easy to die. However, he was still of a very low seniority. , according to the usual practice, it can be buried quietly. Even if the Jia family wants to take advantage of the opportunity, it is Jia Mu who finally makes the decision and the funeral will be held outside.

only--

"Brother Wenlong, is this what you gave me?" Zhou Yang looked at the coffin parked in the middle of the Main Hall with some annoyance, "Have you never thought that anyone can use this thing?"

"As for the coffin, whoever dies will use it." Xue Pan said with a carefree attitude, not taking it seriously at all, "Brother Qiang in Dongfu asked the company to help find a decent one. I just happen to be back in the next few days. So I went to the head office and asked, and an old servant came over and said, our store already has a pair.

It seems to be some kind of 'Qianmu'?It is said that it came from Huanghai Tiewan Mountain and was used as a coffin to last for thousands of years. Is there anything better than this?The old servant said that this was originally brought by his father when he came to Beijing. It was originally intended for Prince Yi Zhong, but because he got into trouble, he never used it. It is useless to have a business name, and no one dared to bid for it. I I just collected some money and shipped it here for use. "

"Li Xiong, immediately send Deputy Xue Qianhu back to the camp and tell Zhao Tong to continue training in the new barracks. If he fails to meet the standards, he will be punished according to military regulations. If he dares to disobey orders, he will be punished according to military regulations. Anyone who is dishonest will be punished according to military regulations. Deal with it according to regulations!" Zhou Yang let out a long sigh of relief, regretting very much that he was brought down by the "sugar-coated bullets" of Wang Shuying and Xue Baochai, so he released this person during the Chinese New Year.

"Brother-in-law, what did I do wrong?" Although Xue Pan was stupid, he was not an idiot. He didn't know that he was in trouble. "Brother Qiang received a total of 2000 taels for this coffin, and I also paid 1000 taels to the store. , the remaining 1000 taels are more than half left today, at worst I will hand them all over to——brother-in-law, brother-in-law.”

"Uncle Zhou, what's the problem?" Jia Qiang, who had been standing next to him, asked tremblingly, "Is this coffin..."

"Just use it. Do you need to replace it now?" Zhou Yang shook his head helplessly, turned to Li Hu and said, "Go home and tell Commander Zhao (Zhao Qiying) to go to the Princess Mansion in person. , find out everything about the coffin, and then go to the camp and transfer a hundred households to settle in a nearby yard and follow orders."

"Yes, Master!" Li Hu responded angrily and left.

Although Zhou Yang had read the original work of Red Mansions in modern times, it was impossible to remember all the details clearly. However, in the section "Qin Keqing's Funeral", he clearly remembered the coffin that clearly showed the problem. Originally, he was receiving the Xue Zihao After that, I repeatedly checked and found that there was no such coffin in any store in the capital, either on the storefront or in the warehouse. Now, due to an oversight, Xue Pan was taken advantage of again.

"Brother Ziyang, what happened?" Jia Lian hurried back to the temple, probably because he heard the news earlier, "Why did I see Brother Wenlong being dragged out just now? What happened..."

"He was tricked, and there was something wrong with the coffin." Zhou Yang shook his head helplessly, pointed at the wooden coffin in front of him, and told the story. It turned out that Jia Lian was still blank and didn't react at all, "Prince Yi Zhong He has been dead for some years, and Prince Yizhong caused a big trouble at the end of last year. Now that such a coffin is used for Brother Rong, don’t you think it’s too coincidental?”

"What are Ziyang going to do?" Although Jia Lian still didn't realize the seriousness of the problem, he still knew how to ask.

"Huh - let's talk about it again!" Hearing the clamor outside the temple gate, he knew that he could only get vaccinated for the time being, and the specific solution could only be explained slowly. Fortunately, he was the eldest prince Guo Kai from the beginning, and also It is His Majesty the current emperor who is hardcore. As long as this kind of thing is made clear, it will not cause any serious consequences. The key is disgusting people.

Sure enough, the sounds outside the temple door were getting closer and closer, and soon a rather handsome young man was seen running towards him, running up to him and kneeling down in front of him.

"I've seen General Zhou, I've seen Second Master, Uncle Qiang, and the uncles from the other six families outside the temple gate have all arrived." The young man was Xing'er. After he saluted, he told the story, "Are you... "

"Brother Ziyang, let's go to the door to greet you." No matter what his character is, Jia Lian is at least somewhat capable at this kind of greeting and delivery. "The people who come should all be my brothers, so I have to say hello anyway. Let’s talk.” “Brother Lian, please!” Zhou Yang smiled and nodded, knowing that his visit was not in vain.

The two of them didn't say anything more. Jia Lian was in front and Zhou Yang was behind and they rushed towards the temple gate. Soon they saw the other six princes and princes headed by Niu Ben. If they followed the rules, as Jia Rong, , these few people will never be able to mourn in person at the funeral. If the six families can send a bastard to come and make up the funeral, it will be considered as the most benevolent and righteous.

"If these brothers can come here in person, Brother Rong will feel more at ease when he leaves." This is Jia Lian.

"I've met you brothers." This is Zhou Yang.

"Brother Zhou, you're so polite." Niu Ben took the lead, and the six of them returned the courtesy, all pretending to be ignorant and not mentioning their official positions. "I didn't expect Brother Rong to go so early at his age. We are here together today." Give me a ride."

"Please!" Jia Lian quickly stepped out of the way.

It was not convenient to talk at this time, so the six of them lined up and entered the mourning hall. After paying their respects according to the procedure, they said goodbye and left. Jia Qiang also returned the greeting as usual, and Zhou Yang said hello and went out to see off the guests; until they left the temple gate and walked a long way, Niu Bencai raised his hand to stop everyone, and turned to look at Zhou Yang with a strange expression.

"Brother Zhou, isn't that the case?" The person asking the question was Chen Yejun, and it was more appropriate for him to speak at this time.

"The favor that I owe to the Jia family has been repaid this time." Zhou Yang smiled and cupped his hands, directly explaining the situation and letting the six people understand, "If anything happens to the two houses in the future, I hope that all brothers will Help if you can.”

"Brother Zhou, you're welcome." Niu Ben smiled and cupped his hands, and directly asked the other three to leave, leaving Chen Yejun and Ma Xin alone, obviously they had something to discuss.

"Brother Zhou, this..." Chen Yejun said embarrassedly until the other four people had gone away, "You know the situation of our two houses now. We will never be able to withstand any storms. Your Majesty is merciful and allowed us two. He joined the Royal Forest Army and listened to it, but the number of people under his command was not so bad, and the weapons matter."

"The two brothers are making things difficult for me. Your Highness - well, Your Majesty has mentioned this matter before." Zhou Yang apologized with a wry smile and introduced the situation of his Shenji Camp first. Finally, he looked at the ugly expressions on the two men's faces. Zhong said, "In this way, although the younger brother is in difficulty, the two elder brothers have spoken, and we must not let anyone return empty-handed.

A hundred arquebuses and half an infantry cannon are the limit that I can allocate. There is really no more. However, I promised my two brothers that when Uncle Xue has the goods, I will send them out in batches. , We must not make it difficult for our brothers; but in terms of firearms, I am afraid that they will eventually end up in the weapons supervisor. "

"Thank you for your hard work, brother Zhou!" When the two of them heard that a hundred households had a "matchlock gun", their faces were a little unhappy. It was not until they confirmed that there were still half a hundred households and six infantry cannons that they both breathed a sigh of relief. Although Chen Yejun's smile was a bit forced, he still nodded and said, "It's a pity that my brother doesn't have such a tough relative as King Jinghai."

Well, Prince Jinghai is the title that Xue Xun got from the court. The name of Ryukyu Kingdom has not changed, but the royal family has been changed from the original Shang family to the Xue family. Naturally, the seals of the prince and the future princess were also awarded. , concubine and princess, also because these adjustments take time, Xue Xun took Xue Biao and Xue Baoqin all back to his home first, and came back after the arrangements were made.

"With the firearms given by Brother Zhou, it will be much easier for the two of us to talk when we go back." Ma Xin said with a smile, "Okay, seeing that you have to continue working, we won't delay it. If anything happens in the future, my brothers will still have to be regular." It’s good to get in touch.”

"Brother Ma is right." Zhou Yang smiled and nodded, "Actually, it's not too busy. The younger brother just helped to receive the distinguished guests and rested most of the time. But the second brother Lian was busy running around, I'm afraid he was tired. Of—huh?”

Just as he was talking, he saw Xing'er running towards him on the road in the direction of Tiekan Temple, even with excitement on his face.

"General Zhou, there are people coming to the palaces of the four princes. The princes from Dongping, Xining and Nan'an, and the prince of Beijing have arrived in person!"

(End of this chapter)