Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 563 This gun barrel is really big and round...

"Third Master, when I was about to leave Beijing, a troublesome matter also occurred in my family..."

Er Gouzi had already seen the shock on Jia Cong's face, and smiled bitterly in his heart. This is just the beginning? Third Master, don't be so shocked, there are more powerful things to come.

No matter how big a fuss Zhang Zhengju made, to be honest, the impact it had on the Jia family was limited.

But there is still a Master Bao at home!
"Master Bao and a group of officials submitted a petition in support of the Outline of the Great Xia Constitution. When Master Er found out, he was terrified. He took a stick to the News Department and arrested Master Bao and brought him home, intending to beat him to death in front of the ancestral hall. It was only when the old lady stepped in that Master Bao, who was beaten half to death, was carried back home for treatment..."

what?
Jia Cong stood up suddenly and felt a chill down his spine.

What’s going on here?
Can a family of military honors get involved in such matters?
and many more……

"Tell me in detail, why would Brother Bao get involved in such a thing? He's not really stupid."

Baoyu is not really a fool, he is very smart.

He never talks too much about things he doesn't understand, and he would never be foolish enough to get involved if he knows he will be punished if the matter gets out.

Therefore, Jia Cong didn't believe that this matter would be so simple at all.

However, from several letters from home, Jia Cong did not see his father, Master She, Daiyu, the old lady or his second uncle mention this matter. It seems that the elders in the family are aware of this matter.

No more details could be learned from Ergouzi, but one thing caught Jia Cong's attention.

"During the Double Ninth Festival, His Majesty summoned Master Bao several times, promoted him to be a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, and bestowed upon him a Qilin robe..."

This explains it. It seems that Baoyu is acting for the emperor, and his second uncle even added a scene.

Perhaps Zhang Zhengju dared to put the law above the imperial power and made the outline of the constitution public. This was the emperor's way of testing the feasibility of this matter.

The Second Saint was confident that he would be a wise ruler, and he also had confidence in Crown Prince Liu Hong.

However, the two saints did not have much confidence in future rulers. The law of dynasty succession, which rose and fell over and over again, made the two saints have ideas about the constitutional monarchy that Jia Cong had mentioned.

"You keep talking..."

Far away from the center, Jia Cong was not sure whether he could guess the two saints' thoughts. He could only make some guesses by summarizing various information.

Unfortunately, although Er Gouzi is a gossiper, his information mostly comes from the grassroots channels.

In addition, his family didn't want Jia Cong to worry about family matters, so they kept everything from him, causing Jia Cong to be very upset but helpless.

Fortunately, from the current perspective, Baoyu's involvement in this matter has not brought any bad impact to the family.

"The palace did not take any stance towards Mr. Zhang and the Outline of the Great Xia Constitution. On the contrary, Mr. Zhang was promoted two levels to the position of Left Vice Minister in the Ministry of Justice for his contribution in amending the law."

"When I first arrived in Dengzhou, news came from the capital that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, in compliance with the Imperial Order, ordered the chiefs of the provincial governments, the judicial commissioners, the chiefs of the various protectorates, and the commanders of the various guards to come to the capital before the twelfth lunar month, saying that the cabinet had already drafted the latest official system, and that it would be discussed, revised, and promulgated in the twelfth lunar month."

"There is another matter that is related to our family. The fourth lady beat up the fifth prince during the Chongyang Palace banquet..."

Ok?
What's going on here?

The topic jumped a bit too much and Jia Cong didn't react for a moment.

Er Gouzi was also at a loss for words, and explained to Jia Cong: "Because this year is His Majesty's fiftieth birthday, the fourth girl followed the old lady into the palace, and met the fifth prince on the way. The fifth prince said that the fourth girl was a glutton, the reincarnation of Taotie..."

Well, needless to say.

Xichun has grown older in the past two years, and she hates it most when people say that she is greedy.

The fifth brother, Liu Shuo, is really talking about things that are not relevant. He said that Xichun is the reincarnation of Taotie. Isn't this just asking for a beating?

"The fourth lady rode on the fifth prince and beat him violently in front of the Empress Dowager..."

"Ah? Liu Shuo can't beat the fourth sister?"

Er Gouzi looked at Jia Cong with a strange look and said, "Third Master, you were the one who taught the Fourth Lady how to fight. The Fifth Prince is just a weak scholar, how can he be a match for the Fourth Lady?"

Well, it seems to be true.

Among the sisters in the family, except Yuanchun who knows some martial arts, Xichun is the only one who is too quiet and wants to move around, and she likes to dance with swords and sticks.

Especially the slingshot technique that never missed the target, Xichun had mastered it to perfection.

Twenty steps away, point and hit wherever you want...

"The Queen Mother was not angry at all. Instead, she said that the old lady had brought up the grandchildren well. Each of them is full of energy. You can tell at a glance that this is another blessed girl."

ha?
Could this grandson be picked up from the moat?
Er Gouzi continued to tell the news he had heard: "Later, the Queen Mother forced the Fifth Prince to apologize to the Fourth Miss, and also asked the Fifth Prince to personally accompany the Fourth Miss and Princess Chun to go fishing at Taiye Lake..."

Geek!

Jia Cong suddenly had a bad premonition, but he didn't know whether he should say it was bad. After all, he was too far away, and he couldn't make an accurate judgment based on just this little information.

For a moment, Jia Cong felt a headache.

I was afraid that I would not be able to have a good New Year, so I quickly took out paper and pen and started writing a letter to my family.

……

At this time on the sea, the allied forces of the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Kingdom of Portugal were rushing towards the Japanese island with ships loaded with artillery and muskets.

The East is indeed a paradise. It is amazing that such a small country like Japan has so much gold and silver.

One hundred cannons can be exchanged for a full ship of silver. This business is really worth it!

The person in charge of commanding this fleet of nearly fifty warships was a viscount from England.

Careym Stuart is a branch of the current English royal family, otherwise he would not have become the head of the English East India Company at such a young age.

This time, as long as he could bring back shiploads of gold and silver to England, he would definitely be highly valued by the King, and maybe even be granted the title of Earl.

"Woooooooo..."

The sudden sound of the horn disrupted Karem's endless reverie.

He frowned and opened the cabin door unhappily. The outside of the cabin was in chaos, with soldiers and sailors running around everywhere like headless flies.

"what happened?"

When he stepped onto the deck, he found out the reason as soon as he asked.

Not far ahead of the combined fleet, there was a huge fleet blocking the route and approaching them rapidly.

"It's the Golden Dragon Flag, it's the Golden Dragon Flag, the navy of Xia Country!"

Karem was panicked because the Xia Kingdom was at war with the Japan Kingdom, and his ship was full of firearms to be sent to Japan.

Needless to say, this Xia country's naval fleet was coming for them.

"Prepare for war! Prepare for war!"

Karem still had some professional ethics and knew that he couldn't panic at this time.

Unfortunately, he was young and could not withstand the test. The sudden sound of cannon fire in the distance frightened him so much that he wanted to hide in the cabin.

boom! boom! boom……

The first round consisted of only a few cannon shots, and the shells were not very accurate and flew far into the sea.

Just as the first mate was about to angrily drag Karem to the bow to command the battle, the roar of artillery was heard again in the distance, followed by a loud bang. The deck under his feet shook violently, and then there was a loud bang.

With the ups and downs of the boat, the people on the boat could hardly stand and fell to the ground one after another.

Bang!
A huge explosion was heard from the cabin. The flames shooting up into the sky and the deafening roar completely shattered Karem's confidence.

The firearms, gunpowder and other items in the cabin that were originally intended to be sold to Japan were actually detonated by the artillery shells fired from the Xia Kingdom!
"Zhu Zi, you are really a talented person. Your cannon is really accurate!"

It was the first time that Zhao Baozhen, the deputy commander of the Dengzhou Navy, saw the spectacular sight of a warship being destroyed by a single shot. He suddenly shot several times at the shoulder of the soldier who was directing the aiming at the bow of the ship.

Zhuzi was also stunned by his own shot. When he saw the Western warship with flames rising into the sky sinking rapidly, he grinned and stroked the big and thick black pipe in front of him as if he was touching a woman.

"Sir, look at this cannon barrel, it's really big and round..."

"What are you waiting for? Another shot!"

boom! boom! boom……

Killing him while he is weak is the best option on the battlefield.

When Zhao Baozhen received the military order from Marquis Yongfeng, he thought that this young marquis was making trouble for them.

Who would cause trouble on the sea during New Year's Day? I didn't expect to encounter a huge fleet.

The colorful flags hanging on the masts are obviously Western.

For Westerners, that is living military merit.

Fired shot after shot, the Celestial Empire's navy directly formed a battle formation, with the large ships lined up in a row, and fired cannonballs at the Western warships with all their might.

Small and fast warships cruise around, to prevent the enemy from escaping, and to take advantage of opportunities to launch a surprise attack from time to time...

dong dong dong...

The sound of the war drums suddenly became urgent, and the messengers continued to shout and wave flags.

"My Lord has ordered a fire attack!"

Since Zhao Baozhen could serve as the second-in-command of the Dengzhou Navy, an elite force responsible for protecting the capital, he must be someone who is proficient in naval warfare.

He soon discovered something unusual about this Western fleet. After fighting for a long time, the Western warships were not only moving slowly, but the sound of their returning gunfire was also unusually sparse.

In just this moment, three Western warships suddenly exploded violently and sank into the sea.

"Their cabin is loaded with a lot of gunpowder. Attack with fire!"

Zhao Baozhen laughed so hard that his stomach hurt. He never expected that one day he, Zhao Baozhen, would be chased by God and fed by him.

"Don't think about the spoils of war. The artillery made by the crazy people in the Ministry of Industry is much better than those made by Westerners. Use fire attack to sink them. Remember to keep your distance. Your lives are more valuable than those broken things..."

In a naval battle, talent is the most important thing.

Zhao Baozhen didn't want too many of his men to suffer casualties. Since the enemy's ship's cabin was loaded with a large amount of gunpowder, he used the most common strategy of his ancestors in naval battles.

The small boat sailed with the wind, and when it was about to approach the enemy ship, it suddenly burst into flames with a loud bang.

The fire started by the kerosene, with the help of the wind, instantly increased several times.

Karem, who was rescued with great difficulty, watched helplessly as a fire dragon rushed towards him quickly. With a crack, the ship crashed directly into the cabin of his warship.

"Put out the fire! Put out the fire..."

He no longer cared about the coldness on his body and kept urging his men to put out the fire.

Unfortunately, when water was poured on the fire caused by the kerosene, it not only failed to extinguish the fire, but instead caused the kerosene to flow along with the water, igniting the gunpowder barrels piled next to the cannon.

boom!
boom! boom! boom……

Karem was once again blown away by the violent explosion and fell into the cold sea.

Zhao Baozhen, who was directing the battle from a distance, was happily observing the entire battlefield through a telescope. Small boats on fire were ramming into the enemy's ships.

The violent explosions that occurred from time to time confirmed his previous guess.

The successive explosions soon frightened the Western devils.

Soon some ships hoisted white flags, but unfortunately Zhao Baozhen turned a blind eye and did not give the other side any chance to surrender.

"My Lord, they have hoisted the white flag..."

Snapped!
Zhao Baozhen slapped the man on the head and said righteously: "What white flag? That is the flag of the Kingdom of France. Our allies, the French, are still visiting Dengzhou. It is obvious that they are fake. Rescue our warriors on board, and then surround the Westerners and bombard them. Remember, there will be no surrender in this battle. Sink them all!"

Now Da Xia has not completely torn its relations with the Western countries, so naturally it cannot let these people leave alive.

The messengers faithfully conveyed their master's orders. The fleet directly surrounded the city in a large circle, blocking all directions for the Westerners to escape, and poured shells into the center of the circle as if they were free...

……

If Jia Cong's conducting art is a strange word, then Wang Ziteng is a steady word like an old dog.

During the New Year's Day, Wang Ziteng had already started sending scouts, intending to find out the deployment and mobilization of Japanese troops before the beginning of spring.

He handed over all the command rights at sea to Jia Cong, asked Jia Cong to cut off Japan's maritime supply lines, and required Jia Cong to cut off the connection between Westerners and Japan.

Since the emperor obviously doesn't want him to die, he might as well live well and completely destroy Japan for the emperor.

By the way, there is also this guy Shui Rong. After all, if you cut him into eight pieces, throw him into the sea to feed the fish.

This task can only be done by Wang Ziteng. Only by acting as the emperor's sword and eliminating the last king of a different surname for the country can the future of the Wang family be protected from being despised by the royal family.

Jia Cong had no idea that Marquis Wang had come to terms with it, and he thought that the high-spirited Wang Ziteng was burning his life to ensure survival for the descendants of the Wang family.

He was so scared that he called Liu Yi to try to persuade him.

Unexpectedly, after seeing the two of them coming, Wang Ziteng rubbed his bloodshot eyes and said to them, "You came at the right time. The scouts sent news that the King of Japan has issued an order and even shouted the slogan of 10 million Japanese soldiers dying in battle. He wants to drag the Celestial Empire into the quagmire of war and wear us out..."

puff!
Liu Yi couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Ten million Japanese soldiers died in battle, how could they think of that? Jia Cong set a rule years ago that anyone who has relatives in the fiefdoms ruled by the Japanese, as long as they are willing to visit them, the state government will give them travel expenses and rice, flour, grain and oil... I guess many people under their rule have already felt the grace of the Celestial Empire. And they still want to die in battle... Tsk tsk tsk, maybe they will be stabbed in the back by 'their own people'!"

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)