The Red Mansions

Chapter 812 Baochai: You can't let me be a regular wife, right?
Jiangnan Daying, at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain

The winding and undulating mountains are like a giant dragon, magnificent and beautiful. Under the foot of the forest is a group of barracks with green bricks and red tiles. At this moment, the entire Jiangnan camp is shrouded in an atmosphere of joy after a great victory after the war.

Jinling City or Jiangnan were talking about the previous big victory, and the generals who belonged to the Jiangnan camp were also elated.

The great victory of Chongmingsha changed the past decadence of the Southern Army. In comparison, the elite Northern Army on the Nine Sides was not enough.

At this time Jia Heng stepped into the camp area, Qu Guang, the Commander of Henan Province who was in charge of the Jiangnan Camp, Xie Zaiyi, the commander of the Guoyong Camp, Cai Quan, the general of the Guoyong Camp, Xie Jing and other high-ranking generals came out to greet him.

"The last general has met Jie Shuai." Qu Guang and other generals said to the boy in python suit.

Jia Heng nodded, stretched out his hand to support several generals, and said loudly: "Everyone, please stand up."

As he spoke, he was greeted by Qu Guang, Cai Quan and other generals, and stepped into the barracks of the Chinese army. As far as he could see, there was a dense mass of darkness, all the generals of the Jiangnan camp.

Jia Heng looked at the generals standing respectfully in the barracks, smiled and said: "This time to expel the captives and restore peace to the southern country, all the generals have worked hard, and this commander has already asked the imperial court for the merits of the generals."

When the generals heard the words, their faces were delighted, and their hearts were inexplicably excited.

Putting your head on your trouser belt, isn't it for the purpose of increasing your official position and ennobling your wife and son?

After the joy on the faces of the generals faded, Jia Heng said: "Recently, the Jiangnan battalion has withdrawn troops to Henan one after another. The relevant generals of the capital."

Henan Dusi dispatched soldiers and horses to support the Jiangbei camp to stabilize the situation in Huaiyang, and now he helped to repel the Eastern captives, and now he has returned with honor.

Qu Guangyuan was the commander of the capital of Henan, so he had to return to Henan after the war was over. After this battle, his title should be promoted from second-class general to first-class general or third-class man.

As for Xie Zaiyi and Cai Quan, in fact, they did not make much contribution, but their military positions can move up.

The young general of the Jia family and some of the naval officers he discovered recently can also fill in some positions, but the young general of the Jia family will follow him back to the Beijing camp, and he will be of great use in the war in the north in the future.

Qu Guang was overjoyed, cupped his hands and said, "I would like to obey the order of Marshal Jie."

Jia Heng said: "Jiangnan Jiangbei camp has [-] soldiers and horses. There were too few sailors before, but there will be at least [-] sailors in the future. The generals who won great victories in Haimen and Chongmingsha will be assigned to the navy one after another. This commander Recently, I will go to the imperial court to prepare for the construction of the Naval Academy to train generals who are familiar with water warfare. In addition, the list of these meritorious generals should go to the Naval Academy for a period of time before being promoted to senior generals."

This cross-sea invasion by captives led to the restructuring of Jiangnan and Jiangbei battalions. Afterwards, the strategy of building an army will be adopted as the main force of the navy and supplemented by infantry.

"Navy Academy?" The generals below looked at each other, not knowing why.

Jia Heng said: "The detailed regulations will be drawn up by the commander in the next two days. The Jiangnan Jiangbei Camp and the Jiangnan Provincial Coastal Guard will organize an ocean-going naval division to prepare for the cross-sea expedition in the future."

The generals were slightly startled when they heard the words, the imperial court plans to build an ocean-going navy?
Jia Heng asked again: "Where are the prisoners of the Korean navy after the war placed now?"

"Jie Shuai, according to the practice during the Henan War, the Korean navy will help the army with hard labor for a period of time." Cai Quan reported.

Hard labor is nothing more than dredging rivers, building camps, beacon towers and the like.

Jia Heng said: "Properly arrange the generals and soldiers, and the relevant generals will serve as teachers in the Naval Academy, teaching our Han navy how to sail in the sea, so that the navy will have the ability to sail and fight as soon as possible."

When the generals heard the words, they bowed their hands and said yes.

After Jia Heng finished speaking, accompanied by a group of generals, he went to the wounded barracks to give condolences and provide compensation, which can be regarded as winning a wave of soldiers' morale.

At half an hour, Jia Heng, accompanied by Chen Xiao and Liu Jixian, went to meet the craftsmen brought from Hao Jing.

Bujialu sent the Portuguese Gollard to be in charge of these craftsmen, mainly to teach the craftsmen of the Dahan Military Supervision, and to produce Hongyi cannons and flintlock guns. After almost teaching the craftsmen of the Great Han Military Supervision, Will return to Haojing.

But Jia Heng is not going to let these people go back.

The Portuguese craftsmen are now placed in a barracks near the Chinese barracks.

At this time, Liu Jixian lowered his voice and said, "Commander, these red barbarians don't seem to want to go to Shenjing. They asked if they could build guns in Jinling and then ship them to Shenjing."

Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "This is definitely not possible. The Military Weapons Supervision is in Shenjing, and the guns and blunderbuss made were originally supplied to the Jingying. They have promised before, so they can't repeat it."

The battle between the Han army and the Jurchen requires nearly a hundred red barbarian cannons and thousands of flintlock guns. Only with the help of a group of craftsmen from the Han military supervisor can these be built as soon as possible, otherwise the war after the beginning of next spring will be difficult. too late.

Moreover, firecrackers and guns require a high degree of secrecy, and must be controlled by the center to prevent a single bullet from falling into the hands of the local army, so as not to cause unpredictable risks.

"I'm going to see that Gollard." Jia Heng paused, and said in a deep voice.

At this moment, a captain in Jinyi came running quickly, clasped his fists and said, "Jieshuai, the commandant of Shandong Province, Hou Jisi, and the commanders of Denglaiwei, Jinghaiwei, Weihaiwei and other navy soldiers have already sailed to Haimen, and sent people I handed over the greeting card to Jie Shuai, wanting to meet Jie Shuai."

Previously, Jia Heng wrote to send reinforcements to the Denglai and Fuzhou naval forces. Now that the two naval forces are arriving one after another, Hou Jisi, the commander of the Shandong capital, wanted to see Jia Heng, the powerful military minister.

In fact, it can be regarded as flattery.

Jia Heng said: "The order is to command Tongzhi Hou Jisi to lead the Sanwei Navy and the Jiangbei Daying Navy to attack the remaining pirates. You don't have to come to see me before the pirates are wiped out."

He didn't want to see such a general with a complicated background at the moment.

The captain in Jinyi responded loudly, and then left the Jiangnan camp to pass the order.

After Jia Heng finished speaking, he and Chen Xiao went to the barracks where Hong Yi lived to meet Gollard.

Gollard was a Mediterranean bald man in his early forties, and he began to complain when he saw Jia Heng, while the entourage sent by the Governor's Mansion of Haojing was translating Gollard's words.

"His Royal Highness, we have traveled thousands of miles, we still have our wife and children, and we still have to go to Shenjing. The road is bumpy and very hard." Gollard said bitterly.

Jia Heng looked at the interpreter of the attendant who was obviously dressed in Han Chinese, and said, "Tell him, Sir Boogaroo has promised to send the craftsmen to Han, and they should fulfill their promise."

Gollard said: "Your Highness, that's what I said, but we may not be able to adapt to the climate there after we went to Shenjing, and making guns requires a relatively comfortable environment, I'm afraid..."

There is only one meaning in the chatter, that is, I don't want to go to Shenjing in the north.

Jia Heng persuaded Gollard for a while, but he didn't persuade him after all.

Chen Xiao said: "It's noon, let's go back first."

Jia Heng said in a deep voice, "Then go back first."

At noon, Jia Heng and Chen Xiao returned to Ningguo Mansion.

The two sat in the flower hall, and Chen Xiao said with relief: "These Hongyi have been staying at Haojing for a long time, and it's warm and humid there. The weather is getting colder along the way, so I don't want to go to the north."

Jia Heng looked deeply, and whispered: "I know."

If he hadn't used these Hongyi craftsmen to help the craftsmen who taught the Dahan Armament Supervisor to make firearms, he would have been able to use some intimidating methods.

"Why don't you go and see that Noona and ask her to help persuade you." Chen Ling thought for a while, then handed the poured tea to Jia Heng, and said with an idea.

Jia Heng said: "Then I'll go and have a look."

As he said that, he came to the courtyard separated by a wall from the courtyard where Baochai lived, a square courtyard.

Entering the room, I heard the laughter of Baoqin and Nona. The two seemed to be skipping rope.

Seeing Jia Heng, Baoqin looked at the boy in the python suit, overjoyed and said, "Brother Heng, why are you here?"

Jia Heng looked at Baoqin, and saw that the girl's temples and neck were covered with sweat, and said, "Sister Baoqin, why are you sweating?"

As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief and said in a warm voice, "Sister, wipe it off, don't catch a cold."

Baoqin took the handkerchief, collecting the sweat on her face, her face as white as a porcelain doll was flushed, and said with a smile: "Brother Heng, Nuona and I are skipping rope."

Jia Heng smiled and asked: "I said to go to Xuanwu Lake in the afternoon, will Sister Baoqin go?"

"Go." Baoqin said with a smile.

Jia Heng looked at Nona who was looking at her from the side, and asked, "Is she feeling better?"

"Okay, I was teaching me to skip rope just now. Nona said that I am a little fat, and I need to exercise more, so I should be thinner." Baoqin said, her eyebrows drooping slightly, and her voice shy.

Jia Heng looked at Baoqin in a red dress, which looked like a butterfly, smiled and said: "Sister Baoqin is not fat at all, she looks pretty now, no matter how thin she is, she won't look good anymore."

Good little chubby girl, she was not as tall as Xianning and Chen Xiao, if she lost weight, she would not have such a good handle, and Baoqin is actually slightly fat, with a plump and white face.

Jia Heng said, looked at Nona, and said in English: "Miss Nona, I heard that you have been ill recently, are you feeling better now?"

He felt that he was a bit like Li Hua in English composition. Your friend Nona came to your house as a guest and was sick. The topic was drawn up by himself, no more than 150 words.

Seeing that Nuo Na looked dazed, Bao Qin said from the side: "Brother Heng, let me translate for you."

Nona quietly looked at the young man, knowing that the handsome young man in front of her was a person of the same generation as her father, and said softly: "Don't worry, Earl Lao, I just caught a cold, and I'm not used to the food here. I didn’t sleep soundly all day, and that’s why I’m sick.”

Afterwards, Jia Heng chatted briefly with Nona for a while, explaining the purpose of coming, and said: "There are some accidents at Gollard's side."

After hearing Jia Heng's story, Nona frowned, and said coquettishly, "Didn't Daddy agree to the Earl earlier?"

Jia Heng frowned and said: "The weather has turned cold recently, and there may be snow in the north. Gollard and the craftsman are a little afraid of the cold, so they don't want to go north."

Nona said in a low voice: "The climate at sea is even worse than the cold. They have sailed from a long distance and have not faced difficulties. Now they can't justify it. I will help the count to ask."

Hearing this, Jia Heng said, "Then please trouble Miss Nona."

Nona blinked her eyes, but with a serious look on her face, she said in a low voice: "But I have one condition. I just arrived here and haven't visited this big city much. You are the owner here. You should show me around."

Jia Heng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "After lunch, I will go to Xuanwu Lake, you can come with me."

After Jia Heng finished speaking, he also took his leave and left, and walked along the corridor with Bao Qin to the outside. Bao Qin held a handkerchief and took a peek at Jia Heng.

Baoqin sighed: "She was here to play. She didn't want to just come here, Jinling fought a war, and just came here, she was not acclimatized to the environment, and even fell ill."

Jia Heng said in a low voice: "The recent battle in Jinling City has indeed affected travel."

At this moment, in Baochai's room, as Tanchun and Xiangyun left one after another, only Baochai and Daiyu were left in the room.

Baochai smiled and said, "Xiaoer, it's almost noon, and it's time for lunch."

"I have lunch with my sister." Daiyu said with a smile, her starry eyes twinkled and said: "Sister Bao's food may be better."

Baochai:"???"

I don't know why, but I always feel that there is a hint of wit in Yan'er's words.

"Alright, Ying'er, go and ask the back kitchen to cook two more dishes." Baochai calmed down the strange thoughts in her heart, and instructed Ying'er.

Ying'er looked at Daiyu, her bright eyes dimmed a bit, this girl Lin has been bullying her.

Baochai looked at Daiyu with a sweet smile, and said softly, "My sister has been in the south of the Yangtze River for so long, and her complexion is getting better and better."

Compared with Yinger who thinks that Daiyu is here to provoke, Baochai knows that Daiyu has such a temperament, but he just finds it a little funny.

In fact, Baochai in the original novel of the Red Chamber is more of a funny perspective on the so-called love between Chai and Dai.

In many cases, Baochai's troubles are more like Xue's family wanting to find Jia's family to rely on. The so-called favorite Baoyu does not exist.

Daiyu nodded, and said: "Brother Heng said that depression is not good for the body. After arriving in the south of the Yangtze River, there will be no such troubles, and the complexion will naturally improve."

Baochai smiled lightly, and said: "That's right, I heard that Shao'er and Brother Bao are always noisy in Beijing, and it's rare for them to have clean ears."

Daiyu: "..."

This is not to say that she used to quarrel with Brother Bao, but that was all when she was a child.

No, what is Sister Bao saying all this for?What is the intention?

Baochai smiled, and said softly: "Sister Lin, brother Heng is already busy with the important affairs of his family and country outside, it's enough to worry about it, it's good to be like sister Yun at home, laughing and laughing every day."

She felt that it was necessary to remind Yan'er that even if she was jealous, she should have a degree.

Daiyu's starry eyes were rippling, not to be outdone, she said, "That's what I mean too."

Zicuckoo was listening, secretly speechless.

Secretly thought, this Miss Bao is really powerful, she is using the uncle to grind the girl's temper, but after the girl returns, will she be angry?

At this moment, Baochai took Daiyu's plain hand, her eyes were as bright as water, and said softly: "I know, my sister is a person with a mind like crystal. I remember that when we were watching the scenery in Tianxiang Tower last year, Brother Heng said My younger sister is the Lonely Forest, a fairy land outside the world."

Daiyu was thinking inexplicably, when she heard the words, her heart moved slightly, she raised her bright starry eyes, looked at the beautiful girl opposite with a surprised expression, and couldn't help but said: "At that time, he also said that Sister Bao was a high-ranking scholar in the mountains. "

Said, pursed her pink lips.

Perhaps at that time, it foreshadowed the present.

Baochai smiled lightly, looked at Daiyu, and said softly: "Sister Mao'er's unforgiving mouth is really loved and hated, no wonder he likes my sister."

Until now, the two have completely played their cards. Daiyu knew Baochai's identity from Jia Heng, and Baochai also knew about Daiyu's entanglement with Jia Heng through observing his words and demeanor.

Daiyu pursed her moist and slightly pink lips, seeing a hint of sadness on her pretty face, she finally let out a faint sigh.

Under Baochai's willow-leaf slender eyebrows, moist apricot eyes are as gentle as water, and she carefully looks at the girl with willow eyebrows and star eyes, which open with age, and have already shown her peerless beauty.

She thought to herself, this is so cute and charming, even looking at her makes her feel lovable, let alone him?
Baochai asked in surprise, "What is my sister sighing for?"

Daiyu's starry eyes drooped slightly, her beautiful face showed a daze, and said softly: "It's nothing."

Sister Bao is so virtuous and dignified, it seems that she is narrow-minded, maybe he likes Sister Bao's generosity?

Or is this the demeanor of a big woman?

Thinking of this, I feel a little depressed.

But she's not jealous either, Qingwen with her eyebrows and eyes looks a bit like her, and she doesn't feel anything when she gets along with Brother Heng day and night.

Baochai didn't know how complicated Daiyu's thoughts were, so she took Daiyu's slender hand, and she saw tenderness and kindness on her snowy cheeks. No matter how old I am, I know my sister's difficulties with love, like a moth to a flame, I can't help myself."

Hearing this, Daiyu felt as if her soul had been hit by a single sentence, her delicate voice trembled slightly, she raised her pretty face and said, "Sister Bao..."

Well, this is Baochai's empathy ability, which caused a spiritual shock to Daiyu in the original work of the Red Chamber.

Baochai smiled, her eyes were a little absent-minded, as if recalling every little thing she had with that young man, and said, "I...why am I not like this?"

Knowing that he already has a regular wife, she is still willing to follow him, even if it is to be a concubine with no name or distinction.

And he also loved her like a treasure, he didn't want to wrong her, and wanted to give her a title.

When Daiyu was feeling inexplicably melancholy, Baochai said softly: "Sister, he said that the garden in the capital has been repaired, and all the sisters in the family can live in it. They are carefree in the garden, and they are not in a hurry to get married." of."

In fact, Baochai is probing Jia Heng's promise to Daiyu, what kind of promise is it?
You can't let Yan'er be your wife, right?
Ah, this...impossible, absolutely impossible.

Baochai's heart skipped a beat, she didn't dare to think too much, if that's the case, how difficult would it be to go to the blue sky?
As for Jia Heng's lack of promises and trustworthiness, this thought never crossed Baochai's mind.

Without him, Jia has always said what he said, and he answered every word. How long is it now, and he is about to become a marquis, and how old is he?

Daiyu paused when she heard Baochai's words, and said in a low voice, "Sister Bao."

Hmph, both she and Sister Bao lived in, and the garden was co-authored for her and Sister Bao... Jinwu Zangjiao?Brother Heng is really Sima Zhao's heart, everyone knows it.

After all, Jia Heng bleated a few times, no matter how much halo Jia Heng had on him, after blowing stars like rain to Daiyu a few times, with Daiyu's disposition of not being inferior, it is impossible to make Jia Heng If they are worshiped as gods, then they are not normal couples.

But Jia Heng left Baoqin's courtyard, thought for a while, and was about to go towards Baochai's courtyard, when he suddenly saw a girl in a light yellow dress, leading the piano and walking quickly.

(End of this chapter)