The Founding of the Red Chamber

Both Xia Sanlang and Governor Zheng have a good evaluation of Tu Xiaosan, although Governor Zheng's evaluation still has a sentence "just a little less refined", this is also the personal opinion of Governor Zheng, who has spent most of his life in academia. aesthetic.It can also be seen from Governor Zheng's preference for officials in Huaiyang that Governor Zheng prefers officials from the Imperial Academy, even if they are not from the Imperial Academy, they must be on the second list. inner.

As for Tu Xiaosan, uh, well, Tu Xiaosan is a general, so Governor Zheng didn't set his aesthetics of civil servants on Tu Xiaosan.

Tu Xiaosan's evaluation of Governor Zheng was average. Tu Xiaosan went back to the mansion and said to Lin Jing, "I think the Governor has no idea about resisting the Japanese. It's not as good as Governor Xia. I heard that he was stopped in Jiangning Town." The one following the Japanese bandit's footsteps is Governor Xia."

Lin Jing said, "It's not surprising, Sange Xia used to be a military officer, and he has been in the army for several years."

Although Tu Xiaosan has always been jealous of the Xia family, he is not a narrow-minded person after all, and he is also jealous of Lin Jing, who is not enlightened.Tu Xiaosan said to Lin Jing, "Don't talk about Brother Xia like this outside, if people hear it, they won't be suspicious."

"Okay, I'll just say something casually." Lin Jing said, "Let's rest earlier, I think Governor Zheng can't help at all with Huaiyang military affairs."

The corner of Tu Xiaosan's lips curled up, "That's not bad, either."

Tu Xiaosan didn't like to be restrained by others, whether in Haiyan or Quanzhou, he had the final say.When he arrived in Huaiyang, he was not familiar with Governor Zheng, and Tu Xiaosan was worried that Governor Zheng, who was a bachelor, would come to command blindly, but seeing that Governor Zheng didn't know anything about military affairs, Tu Xiaoneng was very happy.As in Quanzhou and Governor Kong, Governor Kong rarely intervened in military affairs because he did not understand military affairs.

As a result, when it came time to rectify Huaiyang's military affairs, Tu Xiaosanfang knew that he was also a civil servant who didn't understand military strategy, and that even Governor Kong was a thousand times cuter than Governor Zheng.

Straightening out military affairs is easy to say in one sentence, but in practice, if you don't talk about a thousand and one things, you are afraid that someone will come to help you.

Because Huaiyang had just suffered a major defeat, Tu Xiaosan wanted to take over the defeated army and strictly enforce military regulations.

Tu Xiaosan directly offended the local military officer in Huaiyang, because the first thing Tu Xiaosan wanted to check was the actual number of soldiers in each battalion.There are many ways to drink soldiers' blood, but the most common ones are withholding military pay and falsely reporting the number of soldiers.Tu Xiaosan had been in the army for many years, and he didn't know what to do, so he directly wiped out all the battalions. If there were insufficient troops, he either recruited troops to make up for them, or merged the remaining battalions.

As for the military pay, from the third rank to the seventh rank, within half a month, eleven heads were taken down.There was a Jinling general of the third rank, who really didn’t know whether his brain was not good or he was too tall, or he felt that the law does not blame the crowd, and the strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, and took the lead to yell at Tu Xiaosan, and then Tu Xiaosan, the strong Long didn't overwhelm him, because Tu Xiaosan directly chopped him off.

Since the head of this third-rank lieutenant general fell to the ground, all the government orders of Tu Xiaosan have been smooth, and in Huaiyang official circles, he ranks first, and no one dares to rank second.

However, Governor Zheng has some opinions on this, and thinks that Tu Xiaosan is too reckless.

Tu Xiaosan has also been in the officialdom for many years, and with the help of people like Lin Jing who are deeply in the officialdom, Tu Xiaosan has killed someone, Lin Jing immediately searched for evidence of corruption in this person.Then, box after box of evidence was sent to Governor Zheng, and Governor Zheng's mouth was tightly gagged.But just like that, Governor Zheng said, "Go to the court for trial first, and if you're convicted, it won't be too late to kill him."

Tu Xiaosan said, "Your Excellency has always said that the military is in short supply. Now that we have cleaned it up, I don't think we are at all nervous. The silver is also enough. It is the 10 taels of silver for recruits. I don't know when the court will reward it."

Governor Zheng diverted the attention of Tu Xiaosan, and said, "Let me remind you with the brochure."

This is what makes Tu Xiaosan very dissatisfied with Governor Zheng. The vast land of Huaiyang is well-known throughout the world for its wealth and wealth, but it is impossible to even pay 10 taels of silver for recruiting troops.In the past when Tu Xiaosan fought wars, in Haiyan, Governor Youzhang supplied the logistics. In Quanzhou, Governor Kong was able to find ways to get money. Only in Huaiyang, this Governor Zheng, had to quote scriptures in his spare time, and thought that killing him was too much. , As a result, nothing practical was done.The stronghold of citing scriptures has a purpose, these thorns, if they are not slaughtered, how can they deter Huaiyang officialdom.If you can't make it out like a mountain, then the recruitment and training will be a mess.

Tu Xiaosan didn't want to waste time with Governor Zheng, because he was too busy with military affairs, so Lin Jing asked Mr. Zhao, Xia Sanlang's aide, to complain about his difficulties.Mr. Zhao told Xia Sanlang in private, Mr. Zhao smiled, "This General Lin is really resolute."

Xia Sanlang said, "For the military affairs here in Huaiyang, if we want to see results in a short period of time, we must use strong medicine."

Mr. Zhao said, "However, the general's killing spree is likely to cause unrest."

Xia Sanlang's slightly callused fingers rubbed a cool white jade chess piece, and said softly, "What will happen to the matter depends on whether the next battle is won or lost."

Xia Sanlang sees it very clearly, in fact, in Xia Sanlang's view, it is not wrong for Tu Xiaosan to be like this.Xia Sanlang witnessed the death of the Huaiyang army with his own eyes. At the beginning, Xia Sanlang defended the town of Jiangning with the soldiers and people of Hezhen, so he saw the weakness and corruption of the guards in Jiangning.Xia Sanlang said that only a ruthless person like Tu Xiaosan can rebuild the Huaiyang Army.

It's just that I don't know if there will be time.

Tu Xiaosan killed so many people, now, the court wants to use him, and the situation in Huaiyang also needs to use him. If Tu Xiaosan can win a big victory in the next battle of Huaiyang, then with this achievement, the court will be able to use him. I won't say anything, and those bullshit discussions can be stopped for a while.However, if the next battle is unfavorable, it is really hard to talk about the official career of Tu Xiaosan.

After all, Xia Sanlang is not an ordinary person in the officialdom. He found an opportunity and mentioned to his disciple Xiaosan, "The great general's reputation is well known in the world. I heard that the Japanese bandits are also very afraid of the great general's bravery. Today the general has to retrain The Huaiyang soldiers are really a blessing to the people of Huaiyang. Hey, I am worried, the Huaiyang soldiers have not yet been well trained, what should we do if the Japanese bandits commit another crime?" Xia Sanlang's eyes showed a slight worry.

Even Tu Xiaosan has to say that it's strange that his family's Ah Jing has a very good opinion of Xia Sanlang. Xia Sanlang is supposed to be the governor and in charge of civil affairs, but it has to be said that Xia Sanlang's vision is far better than Governor Zheng's by a hundred times.Xia Sanlang knew that once a general like Tu Xiaosan was allowed to train the Huaiyang soldiers well, he would no longer have any shortcomings.In this way, the best time to defeat Tu Xiaosan is when he fails to train his troops well, in other words, now!

Tu Xiaosan said, "Yeah, I've been worrying about this lately, so I thought that the things here in Jinling City will be arranged, so I'll lead my troops to Songjiang. The bandits retreated, but they stayed in Songjiang. Right now, they can use the Japanese bandits in Songjiang to practice their skills."

Tu Xiaosan wanted to take back the land of Songjiang, which is a good thing, but Xia Sanlang frowned slightly, and said, "But right now, Jinling soldiers are only in order, let alone training. If the general leaves, the defense of Jinling City will That's worrying."

Tu Xiaosan smiled, "Isn't there still Governor Xia?"

Xia Sanlang was startled, "The general is joking, I'm a weak scholar, so I don't know anything about military affairs."

Tu Xiaosan laughed loudly, took Xia Sanlang's hand and said, "Your Excellency Governor, don't hide it from me. I know that His Excellency the Governor used to walk under General Xu's tent in Jinzhong when he was young, and General Xu favored him quite a lot. It was quite serious, and he had to go back to his hometown to recover from his injuries. The governor returned home. Later, Fang fought in Chunwei, entered the Imperial Academy, and became a civil servant. Speaking of it, the governor started his career as a military general, and later became a civil servant. It was Jiang Ning The town can be defended, thanks to the governor's proper arrangements, otherwise, as for the officers and soldiers in Jiangning, it would be good if they didn't open the city and surrender."

Seeing that Tu Xiaosan had inquired about him so clearly, Xia Sanlang was unavoidably surprised, thinking that General Lin was so proficient in official affairs in a very short rise.I don't know if this general is so shrewd, or there are other capable people around him.Xia Sanlang saw that Tu Xiaosan knew his old background, he smiled and said, "I don't think I can't hide from the general about my childhood, at that time I was just doing errands under General Xu's command, military affairs are important matters, it is related to the safety of the people in a place, I am sure I have no idea."

When Tu Xiaosan heard this, he knew that although Governor Xia evaded, he didn't flatly refuse, so he understood that there was something to be said for this matter.Tu Xiaosan said sternly, "I don't want to talk about the military equipment of Jinling City. The governor is more determined than I am. The governor also knows that military training is not a temporary thing. Hey, it happens that I have no skills at all. If I were called a Japanese bandit at this time It doesn't matter how my official hat is when I take advantage of it. Anyway, if it wasn't for avenging my parents, I wouldn't be a military officer and kill Japanese bandits. It's the common people who suffer. As for military training, in fact, there is a knowledgeable Watching the soldiers practice. General Jinling was beheaded by me just now, and the imperial court has not filled the vacancy for a while. There are hundreds of households, no leader, and the governor is full of many things, so he has no time to spare. For this matter of military training, please ask the Governor to take over for a while, and when the new Jinling General arrives, let him be in charge."

When Tu Xiaosan said this, Xia Sanlang said, "It's only good if the Governor-General agrees." This means he has no objection.

Tu Xiaosan thanked Xia Sanlang again and again, Xia Sanlang said, "I'm ashamed of the General for doing this."

You see, this is a formal procedure for doing things, you have to get the approval of Governor Xia first, so you can go to Governor Zheng to discuss this matter, otherwise, even if Governor Zheng nods, Governor Xia is not happy, and this matter can't be done well .

How could it be that Governor Zheng transferred his apprentice Xiaosan to Huaiyang without calling in advance to say hello, relying entirely on his relationship with Chen Qibao, he just transferred and reprimanded the general.That is to say, he is a junior, so he didn't care too much about it.

When the two of them went to the governor to talk about the matter, Governor Zheng saw that Governor Xia didn't feel wronged, and he readily agreed, "There is no important matter in Jinling City right now. It would be great to make such a great contribution to the world. Governor Xia would like to ask the general how to train troops. Let’s wait for a while, and I will urge the court to remind General Jinling, so I have to send someone over quickly.”

Both of them agreed.

Although Xia Sanlang agreed to this matter, he turned around and told his staff that Tu Xiaosan knew very well about him. Mr. Zhao originally followed Xia Shangshu. As an official, Mr. Zhao was assigned by Xia Shangshu to his son Xia Sanlang.Because Xia Sanlang is shrewd and capable, he is also a good hand in being an official, Mr. Zhao is also very willing.Hearing Xia Sanlang's words now, Mister Zhao couldn't help frowning, "That's impossible, the young master went to Jinzhong when he was young, except for close relatives and friends, few people know about it."

"That's right, many people thought that I was traveling for a few years." Xia Sanlang raised his eyebrows, "This general not only knows me very well. It’s very detailed.”

Mr. Zhao was surprised, and asked, "Did you know General Lin in the past?"

"Impossible, if I see someone like him before, I will never forget him." Xia Sanlang looked at the Qionghua tree in full bloom outside the window, and said with a smile, "It's really strange, according to reports, this General Lin was just a merchant. Born, because his parents and family members were killed by Japanese bandits, he donated to the army. As a result, he repeatedly made military exploits and moved three times a day. Although there are many people with such great strategic talents in the army, but my business, Given his origin, how did he know?"

Xia Sanlang couldn't help thinking of Lin Jing, and asked Mr. Zhao, "What do you think, Mr. Li Qing and Li Xiucai next to the general?"

"He's a very smart person." Although Mr. Zhao didn't have much contact with Lin Jing, it didn't prevent him from making some simple judgments about Lin Jing.

"I always feel that this person is very familiar, I seem to have seen it somewhere, but I can't remember it." Xia Sanlang said.

Mr. Zhao was even more amazed. Mr. Zhao knew about this young master's memory. It was a bit exaggerated to say that he had never forgotten his memory. However, when Xia Sanlang read "Historical Records" back then, he could be silent for most of it after reading it three times.Because of this outstanding talent, Xia Sanlang won the Juren in more than ten years. Although he had some ups and downs in Chunwei later, he left the capital and did military affairs under the command of General Xu in Jinzhong for several years, and then returned to the capital. It won, and the ranking is very good.If it weren't for the current preference for students from poor families, Xia Sanlang would be a top talent, but even because of this, he was not among the top ten in Chunwei.Xia Sanlang, who has such a superb memory, actually said, I feel familiar with someone, but I just can't remember them.

Mr. Zhao couldn't help saying, "Then, when I have a chance, I'll go find Li Xiucai for tea."

Xia Sanlang said, "Hurry up, the general is about to lead his troops to Songjiang."

Although Mr. Zhao wanted to take the time to touch Lin Jing's old background, in the end, the two only had tea twice, and Lin Jing followed Tu Xiaosan and led his troops to Songjiang.Lin Jing had lingering fears in the car, "It's dangerous, after a few more teas, I think I have to show Old Zhao the flaw."

Tu Xiaosan said, "You knew Mr. Zhao before?"

"I don't know."

"Then what are you worrying about?"

"He always pulls me to say that the capital is like this, and the capital is like that, it's so annoying."

On the other side, Mr. Zhao, known as Old Zhao, also said to Xia Sanlang, "This Li Xiucai does not look like a Jiangnan native."

Xia Sanlang's eyebrows moved, Li Qing and Li Xiucai's household registration is from the Jiangnan people, Xia Sanlang asked, "Sir, are you sure?"

"Although he likes to eat fish and shrimp more than meat, many habits can't fool people. When we ate steamed buns together, Li Xiucai didn't like steamed buns from teahouses. He preferred soft buns. Besides, here are some A local steamed stuffed bun with sugar in the meat stuffing, and pork ribs in sauce, tasted sweet too. I can't stand this kind of strange taste, but people in Jiangnan eat it deliciously, and Li Xiucai doesn't like it very much. The local glutinous rice cake is made of glutinous rice. The local people are coated with a layer of egg liquid and fried, and then sprinkled with a layer of powdered sugar. The local people love this mouthful. Li Xiucai would not even eat it. Li Xiucai also doesn’t eat rice cakes and meat dumplings. He once said that rice dumplings are made of meat. This is mostly said by people from the north, because they have never seen this kind of food when they first came to the south. It's strange. You know, when we northerners eat zongzi, glutinous rice and red dates are always the most respectable ones. The first time I saw meat zongzi, I thought it was strange, but I still can't get used to it. And the soy milk, we North Local people add a spoonful of sugar at most, but people here eat salty food, which is even more bizarre. Once for breakfast, Li Xiucai didn’t even add sugar. Southerners like sweets a lot, and Li Xiucai doesn’t like sweets. On the contrary, he is very particular about his diet, he basically doesn't touch anything heavy, even if he eats tea, he will only drink tea after a meal. Moreover, he eats very little tea. Weak."

Xia Sanlang said, "I heard that he has been outside the pass." As soon as these words came out, Xia Sanlang's face changed, and he immediately said, "Prepare the horse!"

Xia Sanlang galloped almost all the way, and Fang caught up with Lin Jing's carriage.Xia Sanlang panted slightly when he got off the horse because of galloping, Lin Jing ordered the car to stop, Xia Sanlang clasped the car window with his hand, Lin Jing lifted the window curtain, looked at Xia Sanlang, Xia Sanlang said no in his eyes Lin Jing seemed to be able to understand the thousands of words he uttered, and he nodded slightly, "Is there something wrong with the governor?"

Xia Sanlang's fingers clasping the car window became more and more obvious due to excessive force, but his voice was extremely steady, and said, "There are some military affairs that I don't quite understand, and I want to ask the general. Mr. Li, how about it?" ?”

"I'm very good."

All those years of peace, ups and downs, pain, and injustice seemed to be settled by this sentence "I'm fine", Xia Sanlang couldn't help the slightly wet eyes, "That's good."