The eldest son of the red mansion

Chapter 66 The Road

Jia Ke didn't wait long in the flower hall when she heard footsteps outside the flower hall. Jia Ke looked up and saw that the soldier was leading the way, followed by a burly man in his forties, but now there was fat on his stomach .I think this big man is Wang Tao, the Jiedu envoy.

Jia Ke didn't dare to be negligent, and hurried to greet him at the entrance of the flower hall. Seeing that Jia Ke was so sensible, Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. You must know that most of the people here are rough men who don't know how to be polite. People like Jia Ke are respectful and polite. , is still rare.

Wang Tao entered the flower hall and sat down on the grand teacher's chair in the center. Jia Ke bowed and followed in from outside, standing aside respectfully waiting for questioning.

Only then did Wang Tao look up, and saw the young man in front of him, with a handsome face and full of heroism. Although he was still young, he also had a majestic presence.

In fact, when Jia Ke entered within a hundred miles of Xuanfu Town, he received reports from various gates and others that Xiaoqianhu from the Beijing Sect was coming.Originally sent by Jingzhong, a 15-year-old doll who served as Kaipingwei’s Qianhu, he complained quite a bit, thinking it was nonsense, if the disciples of the rich and powerful families in Jingzhong wanted to come to gild, they would stay in the rear military town for a while That is to say, Kaipingwei was at the forefront of the confrontation with the Tatars, and he would not be able to explain if something went wrong.When I saw Jia Ke today, although I didn't know his abilities, but seeing his heroic spirit, I was relieved to let him serve as Qianhu of Kaipingwei.

Wang Tao still had a good impression of Jia Ke, so he asked nicely, "Are you Jia Ke from Qianhu of Kaipingwei?"

Jia Ke hurried back: "My subordinate is the new Kaiping Wei Qianhu Jia Ke."

Wang Tao said again: "Do you know where Kaipingwei is?"

Jia Ke bowed and replied: "When I came here, I have already read the map. Kaiping Guard is at the northernmost point of Xuanfu Town, next to the grassland. It is the first line of defense against the Tatars from invading our dynasty. A frequent target of human harassment."

Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction, and asked, "Since you know, you dare to go? Do you know how many warriors I have under my command, and they dare not go there to guard it?"

Jia Ke replied, "This subordinate is also a general, and has some martial arts, but this subordinate is not a direct descendant. If you don't give up your life and work hard, I'm afraid you will never be able to rise to the top. Moreover, your subordinate still has some martial arts. Confident, that's why I dare to go to Kaipingwei to be this thousand households."

Wang Tao said to Jia Ke: "Since you are confident, I will not stop you from making contributions, but I have a few words to tell you."

Jia Ke asked respectfully: "I don't know what the lord has to teach, but my subordinates will definitely obey the orders."

Wang Tao told him: "Kaiping Guard is no different than the other places. It is said that it is a place of [-] households, but there are [-] soldiers in the garrison, all of whom are elite, and there are even [-] cavalry. When you arrive, don't try to be brave, and communicate with the old people more. If the Tatars invade with heavy troops, they must not leave the fort, and must use the advantage of the castle to confront them. Send fast horses to notify the rear, and then make plans after our military order."

Jia Ke replied respectfully to Wang Tao: "Thank you for your guidance, sir, I must obey your orders in a humble position."

Only then was Wang Tao satisfied, and then he ordered Jia Ke to take out the confession document, take out his own seal, stamp the official certificate, and return it to him.He also ordered someone to fetch the seal of Kaipingwei Qianhu, and handed it to him personally, so that he could take up his post immediately.

Jia Ke received the seal of the Kaiping Guards, bid farewell and left Jiedu Mansion.Taking Liu Yu back to the inn, thinking that once the supplies are ready, he will go to Kaipingwei to take up his post.

You must know that Kaipingwei is more than 300 miles away from Xuanfu Town, and the more people go, the fewer people there are. Unlike the inns everywhere in the inland, you can rest and buy supplies.

When Jia Ke was having lunch, he set up a banquet in the room and asked Liu Yu to invite the owner of the shop.

Not long after, Liu Yu came in with an old man in his fifties. When Jia Ke saw it, he got up and greeted him immediately, and asked the old man to sit at the table. The old man said, "I dare not."But in the end he couldn't refuse, so he had to sit opposite Jia Ke before the banquet.

Jia Ke sat opposite the old man: "I don't know the old man's name, how many years he has lived here."

The old man said politely: "Don't dare to bother the guest officer to ask, the little old man's surname is Hu, he is 55 years old this year, and he has opened an inn here for thirty years."

After listening to the old man's words, Jia Ke first poured wine and served vegetables for the old man, and then asked, "Since the old man has been in Xuanfu Town for many years, I don't know if there is a grain store nearby and a place to sell supplies for long-distance travel."

The old man surnamed Hu asked: "I don't know why the guest officer bought these things. These materials are controlled items, and ordinary people cannot buy them casually."

Jia Ke quickly explained: "The old man misunderstood. I am an officer going to the frontier fortress. I only need to buy some supplies for the long journey before I can go on the road."

The old man surnamed Hu quickly made amends and said: "It's the little old man who was rude. It turns out that the guest officer is an adult, so it's okay. The little old man knows a family that does this business. The little old man can introduce you to the adults."

Jia Ke quickly thanked him, and then the host and guests had a good time. After the banquet, the old man surnamed Hu said to Jia Ke when he left: "Your Excellency, just wait in the inn, and I will send the second boy to call the man to come. Then, your lord will discuss with him face to face." That's it."

Soon the shop waiter came in with a middle-aged man in his 30s.

After Jia Ke asked, he found out that this person was also surnamed Hu, and was related to the innkeeper, but he didn't care about the lectures.

The two negotiated smoothly, and Jia Ke ordered him ten loads of grain, one hundred catties of dried meat, and some camping supplies such as tents.A total of 30 taels of silver was used.Agreed to deliver next day.Both buyers and sellers are very satisfied with this time. Jia Ke does not need to search for supplies in unfamiliar places.And the businessman surnamed Hu can also earn a few taels of silver because of this transaction.

Early the next morning, the businessman surnamed Hu delivered all the supplies, including a whole carriage.Jia Ke took a look at their original carriage, which contained the luggage of himself and his soldiers, but now it couldn't hold so many things, so Jia Ke discussed with the businessman and spent another 20 taels of silver, including his carriage. and buy it.The businessman surnamed Hu was very happy and gave them a lot of horse feed.

After everything was ready, Jia Ke and the others set off, heading north to Kaipingwei.

The farther north you go along the way, the more desolate it becomes. Fortunately, Jia Ke had the foresight to bring enough supplies.Otherwise, you will have to suffer from cold and hunger in the barren mountains.

Walking straight north from Xuanfu Town, it took five days to arrive at Kaipingwei.

Kaipingwei is the closest Tatar castle on the border.Just when they arrived near Kaipingwei, Rangers spotted them and came up to question them.As soon as he asked, he knew that it was the newly appointed Master Qianhu, so he immediately dismounted and knelt down to salute.

Jia Ke asked the rangers to get up and asked them about the recent situation of Kaipingwei.The one who came forward to answer Jia Ke was the leader—Xiaoqi Zheng Kai, who was 25 or [-] years old, with a sturdy body and quick movements.It looks like it has been battle-tested.

Zheng Kai came to Jia Ke, knelt down on one knee, saluted Qianhu, and said loudly: "The third team of Kaiping Cavalry Guards, Xiaoqi Zheng Kai has met Lord Qianhu."

Seeing him kneeling down and saluting, Jia Ke quickly dismounted to help him. It was Liu Yu who took the horse stool and put it behind Jia Keshen, and asked Jia Ke to sit down. Zheng Kai stood beside Jia Ke, waiting for Jia Ke to ask questions.

Jia Ke first asked: "Now, who is in charge of Kaipingwei?"

Zheng Kai replied: "Every small matter is decided by the Master Wang, but for any major matter, the Master Wang convenes a hundred adults from all households to discuss it. Recently, only the Tatars frequently harassed Kaiping Guards. This is a big event. There is no decision, the adults have their own opinions on whether to defend or attack, and until now there has been no discussion on a unified approach."

Jia Ke was silent for a while and then asked, "What is the frequency method?"

Zheng Kai was taken aback by his question, and then he thought for a while before saying: "The last few Qianhu lords were assassinated by the Tatars, so it is said that the harassment is frequent."

Chapter 67 Kaipingwei

Jia Ke was very surprised when he heard his answer. These few answers almost reported Kaipingwei's current situation to him.Instead of simply answering him in one sentence.It seems that this Zheng Kai intends to seek refuge with him, and even so, he first arrived in Kaipingwei, and he also needs someone who understands the local conditions. He wants to seek refuge, and he has no reason not to accept him.

So Jia Ke stood up, came to him, patted him on the shoulder and said: "Brother Zheng Kai knows Kai Pingwei's situation so well, he will stay with me for the time being, and I will arrange a job for you when the opportunity arises. I don't know what you want."

After hearing Jia Ke's words, Zheng Kai knelt down excitedly, and said to Jia Ke: "After a humble job, you will be an adult. You can go up the mountain of swords and go down the sea of ​​fire with a word from an adult."

Jia Ke was very satisfied with his statement, but she didn't fully believe him. She was making a decision whether to fully accept him or not based on his future performance.Now is the time to employ people, so use them first.

So Jia Ke ordered Zheng Kai to lead the way, and then Jia Ke and his party followed Zheng Kai to Kaipingwei.

Zheng Kai himself led the way slowly, and ordered one of his cavalrymen to go back quickly to report that Lord Qianhu had arrived, and let the adults greet him outside the gate of the fort.

After walking for about an hour, Zheng Kai respectfully said to Jia Ke: "The Kaipingwei is in front of you, my lord."

After listening to what he said, Jia Ke set up an awning and looked forward.I saw a castle in front of me. The stone walls of the castle were towering, the crenels stood tall, and the gun holes were deep. The whole castle looked fortified.

When Jia Ke and the others approached the castle, they saw dozens of military officers in armor and several civil servants standing outside the city gate.

When Jia Ke came up on horseback, the officers knelt down on one knee, bowed their hands and saluted Jia Ke and said, "Your subordinates are waiting, welcome Lord Qianhu."

Jia Ke hurriedly got off her horse, walked up to the officers, put her hands on her hands, and said, "Everyone, please get up quickly. I'm new here, and I need your support in the future."

Only then did the officers stand up. Zheng Kai was beside Jia Ke and was introduced one by one by Jia Ke.These officers are all chief and deputy officials of Kaipingwei.

While listening to Zheng Kai's introduction, Jia Ke carefully observed everyone's faces, and found that most of them were full of respect.There are only a few who don't know how to be unruly, or have other plans in their hearts, and they don't show much respect to Jia Ke.

Jia Ke wrote down the expressions of these people one by one, then exchanged a few words with everyone, and was about to enter the castle.

At this moment, those people who looked like civil servants walked over slowly.He cupped his hands and bowed to Jia Ke, and the leader said flatly: "My subordinates didn't know about Lord Qianhu's arrival, and never greeted him from afar. Please forgive me, Lord Qianhu."

Zheng Kai hurriedly introduced, "My lord, this is Lord Wang, the chief bookkeeper of the fort, who is in charge of the Kaiping Guard's document exchange and the distribution of money, food and resources."