The Red Mansions

Chapter 263
Xue Pan looked at the young military officer on a tall horse, leading his retinue, passing by in a mighty manner, and swallowed the words that came to his lips, his big copper bell-like eyes turned around, although he felt the opposite The young man became a little colder, but for a while, he didn't feel anything wrong.

On the contrary, he felt majestic and majestic to the extreme, arrogant and arrogant, and his relatives did not recognize him.

At this time, Baochai in the carriage also pushed aside the cotton curtain with one hand, under her beautiful eyebrows, in her almond eyes that were as moist as water, first a cluster of flame-like red was reflected.

It was a boy's cloak.

Then there was a young man wearing a crown with the word Wingless Mountain on his head and a third-rank military officer robe with exquisitely embroidered gold and red animal patterns, sitting on a horse, holding the rein in one hand, and pressing the sword around his waist with the other.

The side profile of the young man is sharp and carved, with a heroic and pure temperament, two sword eyebrows flying slantingly into the temples, his eyes are like spots of paint, black and white are distinct, his eyes are bright and shining, looking forward, his face is expressionless, and his demeanor is calm.

At first glance, he is young, and his age seems to be not more than one or two years older than himself.

Looking at the burly military officers behind them who are in their thirties and have beards under their jaws, they are all half a horse's head behind, following the same pace, like the stars holding the moon, and it is clear that they are mainly young people.

And Jin Yiwei, who was dressed in brightly colored flying fish suits and a black cloak, followed the left and right, holding the embroidered spring knife in one hand and the rein in the other, with a vigilant expression.

Under Baochai's slender and beautiful eyebrows, those apricot eyes that were shining with water, looked at the young man approaching for a moment, and suddenly, the young man who was about to pass by him frowned, as if aware of it, He turned his head and glanced at the carriage, his gaze was like a falcon, sharp and sharp, and full of spirit.

This……

Baochai's heart skipped a beat, and she hastily put down the cloth curtain, her jade face, which was crystal clear like snow, suddenly changed, even though she knew she couldn't see the inside of the bamboo curtain clearly, her eyes met and she still felt "stared".

"This cousin Heng has sharp eyes."

Baochai pursed her cherry lips, lowered her eyelashes slightly, and thought.

On Jia Heng's side, frowning, he was also surrounded by a group of people, and drove his horse towards the city gate.

"Miss." Ying'er also sat in the carriage at the moment, looked at Baochai with a gloomy complexion, didn't notice anything strange for a while, and said with a light smile, "Is that Mr. Heng from the East Mansion just now? The style of traveling like this is beyond compare." It is said that our old relatives in the capital, who belong to the family of two kingdoms, are rich and ostentatious, I have seen them today."

At that time, the Xue family's carriage turned around and drove towards the city.

Holding a handkerchief in her hand, Baochai tapped her head lightly, said "Yes", and then fell silent.

Xue Pan also watched the young dignitaries go away, he couldn't hide the joy on his face, and thought, when he settles down in Huayin County, he must visit this cousin Heng, so that he can get close to him.

A group of Xue family entered the county town and found an inn in Huayin County. Xue Pan spent a lot of money to cover the inn, and asked the few residents who were living there to spend their money and let them choose another inn to live in. .

As soon as he settled down, Xue Pan came to Aunt Xue and Baochai's wing with a smile on his face.

As soon as he entered the house, Xue Pan smiled and said, "Mom, did you see that just now? Cousin Heng, it's such a grand trip, it's really the right time for us to come to the capital!"

Aunt Xue took the towel from Tong Xi and wiped her face. Hearing this, she also smiled and said: "My son, I saw you just now, and you are hugging and embracing, very majestic."

That kind of momentum not only left a deep impression on Baochai, but Aunt Xue was also very happy.

I have no one to rely on in Jinling, and my business is not as good as every year. It really... I should have come to Shenjing a long time ago. The Jia family and the whole family have such a scene. I don’t know how rich and dignified the Rongfu is!
Xue Pan clapped his hands and said with a smile: "I don't know uncle, but what kind of scenery is it?"

Aunt Xue said with a straight face on purpose: "If you dare to mess around again in Beijing, your uncle will not spare you."

When Xue Pan heard this, the smile on his big face froze for a moment, this... he almost forgot, there was an uncle dominating him, how could he be happy?
Listening to her mother and elder brother's conversation, Baochai sighed softly while holding a handkerchief in her hand.

At this moment, Xue Pan smiled softly and said, "Mom, I was thinking that I would have to visit Cousin Heng later. You said to bring some presents, so you can't go there empty-handed."

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "I should see you, otherwise it would be rude. As for the gift, let me think about it, what should I give."

Gold and silver must look vulgar, but Pundit can only be a specialty of Jinling.

Baochai's white and pear-like face showed a hint of thought, and said softly: "Mom, I see that he is busy with military affairs, so it is better for my brother to go to the military camp to pay homage first. If you have time, People can also come to see Mom, if there is no time, it’s the same to see you in Beijing, gifts or something, pick a few candied fruits from Jinling to eat, it’s close and natural.”

For some reason, she had a vague feeling that that cousin Heng seemed to treat her elder brother...not very much.

Otherwise, it stands to reason that he should drag his elder brother to have a chat.

Of course, maybe she was thinking too much, that cousin Heng, either had a cold temper, or was busy with military affairs, or the friendship between the East and the West of the Jia clan... There are all of these.

However, that Uncle Heng is the patriarch of the Jia clan after all, if he accepts the call letter, he will always come here to say a few words, if he doesn't come to see him under excuses, it means that the relationship between the east and west of the Jia family is indeed divided.

Baochai's apricot eyes were condensed, thinking so.

Li'er is actually very simple, the patriarch of the Jia clan treats all the old relatives, greets and sees them off, treats others, no matter what he thinks in his heart, he must generally be decent on the surface.

But not too enthusiastic, appearing polite and distant.

If they are sincere, in Baochai's view, even if they don't abandon the military affairs around them and order their soldiers to escort their relatives who have come from afar to settle down, this is still a decent and intimate manner.

"This cousin Heng is young and can be a third-rank military officer, so he treats people very properly and meticulously, but..."

This is why she faintly felt that Jia Heng "doesn't want to see" her brother and the Xue family.

Aunt Xue nodded when she heard the words, and felt that her daughter's words were appropriate and thoughtful, so she turned her head and smiled at Xue Pan: "Pan'er, please be careful, and then bring the greeting card to meet him. See if your cousin Heng is free."

Xue Pan smiled, and was about to readily agree, when he slapped his head suddenly and said, "Hey, it's just a name card, I didn't prepare it either."

Xue Pan made friends with each other, and he just sent his servants to report. Wherever he prepared any famous cards, these are all things for cultural people to play.

Aunt Xue also frowned, and said, "My dear girl, write a copy for your brother."

Baochai nodded, and said softly, "Ying'er, go get a blank name card and pen and ink."

Ying'er responded, and found a blank name card and pen and ink not long after.

Baochai gently rolled up her cuffs, revealing a wrist as white as tender lotus root, and wrote her elder brother Xue Pan's name and surname on the name card.

After waiting for a long time to dry the brush and ink, I handed it to Xue Pan, and said softly, "Brother, just send it to him."

"I'll go in person." Xue Pan quickly took the name card, responded with a smile, and left for fun.

After Xue Pan ran away, Aunt Xue couldn't help laughing and said, "Your brother is always frizzy."

Baochai's apricot eyes flashed, but she couldn't say anything.

Here, Jia Heng left Huayin City and entered the camp in the south of the city.

Soldiers of nearly [-] people could not be stationed in the disturbing places of the county town, so they set up camps outside the city, dug ditches and set up antlers.

In the big tent of the Chinese army——

Jia Heng took his seat behind the commander-in-chief, and the flames in the surrounding charcoal braziers were blazing. Although it was not as warm as spring, it also dispelled some of the chill, and all the generals in the tent took their seats one after another.

At this time, Song Yuan, who was temporarily acting as a reporter and joined the army, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, Cai Gueran asked when our army will be in charge?"

Because Cai Quan led a group of cavalry to sweep westward, it was much easier than Jia Heng's layout to block the escape of the enemy bandits. It was like an armed parade, and wiped out several groups of bandits, large and small, back and forth.

Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "Our army will be in charge tomorrow, let him return to Beijing first."

Song Yuan cupped his hands and replied: "Then the next official will notify Cai Gueran."

Jia Heng nodded, then glanced at the generals below, and said: "There will be a commendation meeting tonight, generals above the small flag officer and meritorious soldiers will be present, and rewards of silver, wine and meat will be distributed to all battalions. Except for the 2000 men from the Fifth Army Battalion who are sentry around the city, and Warlord Shan Ming helps the people of Huayin County to build houses, the rest pack their bags, and the whole army will return to Beijing tomorrow!"

There are nearly ten thousand soldiers, and there is not such a big place to gather together.

Only representatives and meritorious generals and soldiers can be selected from each battalion, and meritorious generals and soldiers can be commended to achieve the effect of motivating the soldiers.

"Yes, my lord." Except for Shan Ming, all the generals were elated and responded in unison.

After being out for so long, I can finally go back. This time, I don’t even delay the Chinese New Year.

Jia Heng was silent for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "This time, when evaluating meritorious service in suppressing the bandits, I will give you a rating based on your performance during the campaign against the bandits. Chen Bingbu."

As soon as this remark came out, the smiles on the faces of several elated generals and guerrillas disappeared.

After rectification, two of the original five generals suffered some injuries, and the rest were all tailed.

The remaining eight guerrillas, except for Cai Quanxin, were beheaded for agitating and inciting soldiers to "mutiny", and one was beheaded for capturing.

There are four guerrillas left, and one is Lu He's confidant, who is still in a state of distress because of being involved in the shortfall.

At this time, General Xiao Lin clasped his fists and said, "My lord, can we still stay in Guoyong Camp?"

This participant is one of the five participants who did not take up the vacancies.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Jia Heng pondered for a moment, and said: "This depends on the meaning of the Ministry of War and Jieshuai. You must have heard some rumors that the Beijing camp is about to be reorganized. , the generals and schools should be determined according to their talents and conduct. If the official does not preside over this matter, he will not be able to be the master. Everything depends on the intentions of the Ministry of War and the Commander-in-Chief. It's just that everyone, this time the Beijing camp is being rectified, it is bound to be the same as the Eastern Prisoners in the future. War is dangerous and dangerous. It goes without saying that when you were young, you were rich and noble who fought with your life. It’s not a pleasure to provide for Lumi, and to have fun at home with grandchildren.”

Some veterans over the age of 45 couldn't help but have complex expressions when they heard Jia Heng's words of "persuading him to quit".

Who is willing to disarm and return to the field after spending half his life in the barracks?

A man cannot be powerless for a day.

However, there are still a few people who are interested.

After Jia Heng finished speaking, he didn't say anything more.

If he is Wang Ziteng, after the rectification of the Beijing camp, there must be no place for the old guy who is eating and waiting to die. It is imperative to promote the young and strong faction and realize the iteration of generals and schools.

Because some of the participating generals are old, as Liu Xuande said, their flesh and bones have come back to life, their blood is no longer brave, and they are timid to fight against the Eastern Captives.

Take his five generals as an example, all of them considered themselves generals of the Jia family, and successively paid homage to Shan Ming and Shao Chao at the pier. They were around forty years old. The other two generals are already in their fifties.

His hair is gray and gray, and he doesn't seem to have much enterprising spirit. This way to suppress the bandits is basically a gangster, but because he has some kindred spirits with the Jia family, he can't be too ruthless. The heart of the general.

The remaining four guerrilla generals were slightly younger, three were transferred from the three sides, and one was transferred from the local guard.

"These people don't specifically lead the army for training. Some of them lack talents and are greedy for life and fear of death. Just don't need them."

As far as the military system of the Chen and Han Dynasties is concerned, at the level of guerrillas and generals, there is no quota for leading troops, and they are often dispatched by the commander of the regiment and battalion according to the specific battle.

Discussing and dismissing the generals, Jia Heng also took the summary booklet delivered by Song Yuan and flipped through it.

After continuous recruiting, the Guoyong battalion has now filled up the number of more than 500 troops, including [-] new recruits. A battalion of [-] people will be temporarily organized into [-] battalions.

The rest are the generals of the Yongying Camp. After returning, the old and the weak will also be weeded out and re-edited.

"The new recruits practice the new drills and draw on white paper. It is actually easier to rectify than the soldiers of Yuanguo Yongying. First, set up the general's discipline and military appearance. After returning to Beijing, go to the Military Weapons Supervision."

Just when Jia Heng was contemplating the next step after returning to Beijing, he heard a soldier calling from outside the tent of the Chinese army:

"My lord, there is a man called Xue Pan outside the camp, and he handed over the greeting card, begging to see your lord."

Jia Heng frowned and asked, "Xue Pan?"

While the soldier was talking, he entered the tent and went forward to hand over the greeting card.

Jia Heng held the famous post in his hand, but what caught his eyes was a line of beautiful and plump plum blossom script. He knew that it was not written by Xue Pan, and he had some guesses about who wrote it.

"Go let him in."

After all, they are old relatives of the Jia family, even if they don't want to see this idiot Xue, they won't see him at all.

But outside the camp, Xue Pan got off his horse with two young servants and stood outside the gate of the camp. He saw groups of soldiers holding knives and lined up in a dignified and dignified manner.

Xue Pan raised his big head, with a smile on his face, although the expression on his face was not as good as "Victory Parade", but it was not far from it.

Seeing that Xue Pan was happy, the servant at the side smiled and joked, "Uncle Heng's army is really strict, controlling so many people, this is the great general mentioned in the play."

"That's not true, my cousin is a capable person." Xue Pan laughed.

In fact, Xue Pan's age is actually a bit older than Jia Heng, but he calls him a cousin, which is a bonus of power.

Not long after, a soldier came out from the gate of the camp and shouted, "Your Excellency lets you in."

Xue Pan was overjoyed when he heard the words, and greeted the servants, and entered the barracks swaggeringly.

(End of this chapter)