The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

When Xue Pan arrived at the port, he saw all the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion cheering and laughing.The soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion were covered with colorful dyes all over their faces, and they were tied up as if they were wearing zongzi. They stood on the side with their heads downcast, as miserable as a drowned chicken and a dog in water.

Xue Pan went up to him with a happy face, and regardless of others, he opened his mouth and said with a smile: "I just saw it with my clairvoyance. What you did was really beautiful, and you were able to beat them defenselessly. The facts are in front of you, look at it now Who dares to yell that you are useless."

As soon as the words fell, Liu Wei and the others caught up behind him, and deliberately smiled: "Not only that, remember to take off your dirty clothes and socks when you go back and wrap them up. That's all for today, after all Everyone is very tired after a day of fighting, remember to get up early tomorrow and send them there. Don’t delay the time, but let others think that we are not keeping our promises!”

All of a sudden everyone roared with laughter.Only the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion were evasive, looking very disappointed.

Liu Wei snorted twice, and said, "Young Lord, you don't have to run on us. Since everyone has agreed before the exercise, we are willing to bet and admit defeat, so we naturally have nothing to say. It's just that Young Lord is delicate and expensive. , Even the replacement clothes are very expensive. Liu is afraid that if someone accidentally breaks your things, he will be disappointed. Wouldn’t it be worse if someone misunderstands that Liu is doing this on purpose? Therefore, the young master’s clothes Forget it—”

Xue Pan didn't allow Liu Wei to finish his sentence, and immediately cut off: "What did you say about Liu Qianshi? Since Liu Qianshi himself doesn't care about face issues and does what he says, he is actually willing to gamble and wash for me. Clothes, then why would I be reluctant to part with those two rulers? As the saying goes, gold has a price but others have no price, and it is their blessing to be washed by Liu Qianshi, even if they are smashed to pieces, there is no pity."

As he said that, he deliberately said to Zhaocai Jinbao beside him: "Liu Qian's affairs are so open and aboveboard, you two don't have to wash your clothes by yourself. You have lived with me in the camp for many days now, and you have done it for me. I have trained the soldiers for so many days, and I can be regarded as a member of the battalion. The artillery battalion won a big victory today, and the credit of the two of you can be seen. The clothes that were simply taken off were washed by the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion. Enjoy the glory of enjoying this great victory."

Before he could finish a sentence, he suddenly heard cheers and approval from the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion.

Xue Pan rolled his eyes, smiled at Liu Wei and said, "It's just Liu Qian's matter... don't you mind?"

Liu Wei only felt that his silver teeth had been crushed, and stared at Xue Pan in silence.

Seeing this, Xue Pan blinked his eyes innocently, and smiled at Liu Wei: "If Liu Qian thinks this is inappropriate, then it's fine. After all, although Zhaocai and Jinbao are teachers, But I don’t have the title of coach. Besides, although these two people are talented, they are just my attendants. Thinking about their identities, they are not in the eyes of Liu Qianshi. Naturally, they are not worthy—”

The king of Nan'an had a gloomy expression on his face, and interjected, "Zhaocai and Jinbao are unborn heroes. Heroes naturally don't care about their backgrounds. The contribution of the two of them to the artillery battalion's education is obvious to all. Today the artillery battalion Great victory, the two of them should celebrate together."

Xue Pan glanced at Nan'an County King with a smile that was not a smile, and said as if he was relieved: "This is the best - although Zhaocai and Jinbao are my attendants, I have never Look down on the two of them. To put it inappropriately, with the talents and martial arts of the two of them, if they really enter the court and become officials, how can two mere things be able to stop them."

Hearing this, Liu Wei felt that a breath of stale air was stuck in his chest and he couldn't get it out.The hands hanging by the sides clenched into fists, so hard that the sound of bones rubbing against each other could almost be heard.

Xue Pan glanced at him nonchalantly, and said, "I am very happy with the victory of the Artillery Battalion today. I am preparing to celebrate the victory of all the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion. To attract wealth and treasure, you two will be the best in the city." The restaurant is booked, and I'm going to throw a big feast to celebrate."

After a pause, he deliberately asked the king of Nan'an County: "I forgot. According to the military regulations, today is not a day for muxiu. Soldiers are not allowed to go out, let alone drink. It's just that the opportunity is rare, so let's take a break." I don't know if the prince is willing to be accommodating."

The King of Nan'an took a deep breath.Today's face has been swept away by Xue Pan, and he doesn't have to abide by those two rules to embarrass others, as if he can't afford to lose.It would be better to be magnanimous and celebrate with the people, which also shows that he is extraordinary.

Immediately smiled and said: "Young Master is joking. Although the Artillery Battalion is the soldiers of the Young Master, it is still one of our Tianjin Navy. Now that the Artillery Battalion has won, and it has won so beautifully, it is naturally my Tianjin Navy." The glory of the master. Today's celebration banquet is a must, and it must be celebrated with great fanfare. This is to let the world know how powerful our navy of the Yong Dynasty is. In the future, we will sail out to sea to deter the world."

Xue Pan raised his eyebrows disapprovingly, and said indifferently, "It's up to you."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and shouted at the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion, "What are you all doing in a daze? You haven't returned to the camp yet and changed your clothes. Let's go out and celebrate."

All the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion agreed with a loud bang, and immediately gave a military salute to all the generals.Then he ran towards the direction of the camp like a wild horse.

Xue Pan stood on the ground and looked at it with a smile for a while, then turned around and glanced at the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion, and said without sincerity: "Oh, I actually forgot that the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion are still in the howling autumn wind. It’s freezing. It’s raining again in this weather, and it’s frightening. Quickly order the soldiers in the cooking camp to boil two big pots of ginger soup to keep the soldiers away from the cold. After all, the soldiers in the world are one family, and we are brother!"

What he said was sincere, but Xue Pan would be more beautiful if he restrained the gloating expression on his face.

Lin Mozhi, who was at the side, saw Xue Pan's appearance of being a standard villain, he couldn't help but hooked the corners of his mouth, and shook his head helplessly.

And Xue Pan looked at the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion who were completely unrecognizable but more embarrassing than the other, sneered, and came with Shi Shiran behind his back.

A group of officers and men stayed in place uncertainly, watching Xue Pan's complacent figure slowly go away.Cheng Yuan walked up to Nan'an County King and said softly, "My lord, what should we do next?"

"What should I do?" Nan'an County King raised his eyebrows with his fists in his arms, and said, "Naturally, I went to the celebration banquet of the Artillery Battalion happily. After all, everyone is a Tianjin Navy division. A soldier is coming."

Everyone nodded thoughtfully and left in silence.

Under the bleak autumn wind, the king of Nan'an County stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the warship covered with blue paint standing by the sea, with a secretive expression on his face.

At the same time, the news that Xue Pan's artillery battalion, which had only been trained for half a year, easily defeated the Tiger Shark Battalion known as the "Iron Master" in the exercise, spread like wings in a few days. Up and down the ruling and opposition parties.

People in the imperial court naturally refused to believe it.After all, the elite of the Tiger Shark Battalion has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In the past two years, they easily captured [-] barbarian captives under the leadership of the King of Nan'an County. Now they are defeated by the Artillery Battalion for no apparent reason. Who would believe it? Woolen cloth?

Many people privately speculated that it was because Xue Pan's status was that the king of Nan'an County was not serious, so he casually lost to the artillery battalion.As soon as this statement came out, it was naturally opposed by those who knew the details of the battle.So under the two phases, the sharp gunpowder offensive of the Artillery Battalion also came into everyone's sight.

Dayong went up and down, and finally began to realize the terrifying power of advanced technology.

Because of the firearms and ammunition with long range and high lethality, even a recruit who has just been trained for half a year can defeat the iron-blooded division who has won many battles.This kind of cognition made the ministers in the court who claimed to be well-informed and discerning the slightest bit uneasy.After all, no matter how high your martial arts are, you are still afraid of ammunition.Although the troops of the Great Yong Dynasty were all over the world, they were still flesh and blood after all.If Westerners who are thousands of miles away have mastered such powerful artillery fire, then if there is a real hand-to-hand combat in the future, wouldn't the army of our Dayong Dynasty fall like dead branches and decaying weeds?And without the deterrence of a powerful military, the so-called glory of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of all nations becomes extremely ridiculous.

Thinking of this, all the sensitive ministers gradually began to think about the importance of Western technology.Many important ministers began to contact those Yi missionaries who went to the capital to preach, although the Ming Law of the Dayong Dynasty stipulated that all Yi people were prohibited from preaching in the land of the Dayong Dynasty.But the richness and mystery of the East also attracted batches of missionaries across the oceans.And those barbarian caravans who envied the exquisiteness of the silk and porcelain of the Celestial Dynasty and traveled thousands of miles to trade, also received invitations from many ministers.

And as everyone got to know more about the countries beyond the sea, those courtiers even gradually discussed at the court meeting whether those strange and ingenious techniques of investigating things in the West were a threat, and whether the imperial court should encourage research and development...

At the same time, there are naturally stubborn veterans who dismiss such worries.Seeing that the Holy Majesty was faintly tempted, these old ministers even colluded together to ask the emperor to be the master, and gave the emperor a reason to intervene in the government in an open and honest manner based on the wishes of the ancestors and the court's law.Among these pedantic ministers, led by Hachiko, combined with the great power of the emperor, desperately suppressed the court upstarts who had been having fun a few days ago.For a while, there were constant quarrels at the court meeting, and under the deliberate procrastination and perfunctory of some ministers, it was difficult to implement the measures of the middle palace.Tu Zhen hated so much that he didn't know how many antique porcelains he broke secretly.In the end, he had to compromise under the emperor's prestige.

It's just that although the study of Western Gewu was no longer mentioned at the court meeting in the capital, Tu Zhen gradually started a lot of free studies with the acquiescence of his parents and officials.In order to prevent Hachiko and other old ministers from rebounding, most of the voluntary schools are taught by businessmen in the name of teaching apprentices some advanced bookkeeping, manufacturing and repairing techniques and other trivial physical and chemical skills.If someone pays attention secretly, it is not difficult to find that these merchants, apart from the transactions under the Xue family, are also the transactions of merchants who have an inseparable relationship with the Xue family...

Different from the chattering discussion of civil officials, all generals who have seen the power of artillery and ammunition directly asked the holy majesty to gradually replace the commonly used armaments in the army.I hope that those long-range and easy-to-use muskets can gradually replace knives, guns, bows and crossbows, and some people have noticed Xue Pan's modified red cannon that has not been used in the entire exercise.With a heartbeat, I often play, I only hope that the Holy One will approve everyone's request.

Regarding the requests of these generals, Tu Zhen mostly rejected them in the name of the empty treasury of the imperial court.After all, knowing people, knowing faces but not knowing their hearts, Tu Zhen can't be sure of the loyalty of these generals, so naturally he won't allocate these good things to them.

All the generals are also like a mirror.Except for some generals with ulterior motives or other calculations, most of the military officers expressed their loyalty either explicitly or implicitly.After Tu Zhen strictly tested these military officers, he also gradually replaced many guns and ammunition in the name of replacing military equipment in batches.It can be regarded as giving them some sweetness.

Although the generals who got the new weapons are not full yet, they are naturally satisfied with gaining the trust of the Holy Majesty.Tu Zhen also felt that the effect was very good.

Although the gunpowder distributed looks very good, Tu Zhen knows that these are just knockout products replaced by Tu Zhen's real private army composed of sticks in the Ryukyu area.Those sticky officers and soldiers who are aliased as pirates are constantly plundering the wealth of sea merchants on the vast sea to enrich themselves, and they are constantly receiving devilish training.All of these trainings were made ten times heavier by Tu Zhen after referring to Xue Pan's strange military training methods...

These talents are Tu Zhen's most trusted cards.And the idea that Nan'an County King tossed out was just a clown he used to attract the attention of the emperor.As for Xue Pan...

The little guy who volunteered to share his worries really jumped up and down happily, and a mere exercise caused such a loud noise.It's just that the year is approaching, so he should return to Beijing, right?

Tu Zhen hooked the corner of his mouth, took a sip from the teacup on the table, and when he lowered his head, Xue Pan suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, asking him for credit...

And in Tianjin Wei, thousands of miles away, Xue Pan was never idle.

Time passed like running water, and it was the end of the year again in the blink of an eye.Xue Pan had already consulted with Tu Zhen on the secret letterhead, and he could leave home only at the end of the twelfth lunar month.And now it is only a month away from the end of the twelfth lunar month.

After leaving this time, Xue Pan was not sure if he could come back.After all, his goal of promising Tu Zhen to attract the attention of the government and the opposition has been achieved.Then after returning to Beijing this time, the chances of him coming to Tianjin Wei again are relatively small.

Xue Pan is happier with the knowledge that he no longer has to suffer and suffer, and he no longer needs to get up early and go to bed late.Regardless of whether he has the ambition to rise to the clouds or not, he is always a dandy who can't bear hardships or tires in his bones. One year of such a boring and poor military career can be regarded as a game, and two years is just asking for trouble.

Therefore, in the last month, Xue Pan has gradually arranged many backers.These measures can basically guarantee that even after he leaves, the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion will not be greedy for military pay, let alone be ostracized and oppressed.Even when Xue Pan learned that most of the soldiers in the Artillery Battalion were struggling at home and were old and weak, he paid for their families again.

It's the season of heavy snow again, and today's weather is colder than in previous years.Xue Pan still easily remembered the people who were displaced after the snow disaster that year, and the clothes were not covered.Fearing that this year will be another heavy snow season, I simply ordered Xue's shops in various places to repair the houses for the families of the soldiers according to the list of the artillery battalion, and bought some high-quality cotton clothes and quilts, and even returned them to each family. I paid ten taels of silver for the new year's money.

The artillery battalion had a total of 6 soldiers, and it only cost [-] to [-] taels of silver to accommodate their families.The money is not enough for him to spend a day in Beijing and China for fun.But the artillery battalion soldiers who got the news were moved to tears.These high-spirited and seven-foot men did not shed tears during the hardest and most tiring training, and did not shed tears when they were bullied and beaten. Instead, they shed tears during Xue Pan's daily deeds and good deeds on a whim.

Xue Pan looked at these soldiers with red eye circles, and gave Lin Mozhi an uncomfortable look.

Lin Mozhi shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile: "I don't blame me for this. These boys sneaked into my barracks and found it by themselves."

Song Yishan and the others immediately explained: "I really don't blame Mr. Lin. It's because I think the behavior of these few days is rather weird. I always ask where our hometown is in private, and what kind of relationship is there in the family. I think it's strange." , and then entered Lord Lin's tent in private, and found out these lists."

After a pause, Song Yishan clasped his fists excitedly and said, "Youdao is a poor soldier who runs errands. We were all forced by life to enter the military camp to make a living. Unexpectedly, we met such a boss. Good guy. He neither greedy for our money nor looked down on us, and now he helps us relieve our worries. I don’t know how to express my respect to the boss. I only know that from now on, our life It belongs to the boss. There are mountains of swords and flames, as long as the boss is willing to say a word, I will die."

All the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion responded loudly: "I will never give up if I die."

Xue Pan, who was caught off guard by the promise resounding through the sky, even got up from his chair, patted his chest and said, "Oh my God, I was scared to death."

He looked at all the soldiers and shook his head and said: "You don't have to do this, I'm just doing it with a little effort. It doesn't hinder anything. What's more, you all fought bloody battles and fought bravely to defend the Great Yong Dynasty, and I am also the Great Yong Dynasty Your people are also within the scope of your protection. For today's actions, it is considered that I have paid the protection fee in advance!"

Everyone said anxiously: "But——"

Xue Pan waved his hand, motioning for everyone to quiet down.He cleared his throat and said: "Is it the king's land in the whole world, and the king's minister on the coast of the land. My actions today are just entrusted by the Holy One. If you are grateful, you should naturally thank the Holy One. If you want to repay If you do, you will naturally have to be loyal to the Holy One. I believe that with your abilities, you will be able to pay homage to the general and become a marquis in the near future. When it comes to prosperity, you must remember today's promise, and you must do things for the Holy One."

When everyone heard the words, they felt their hearts were shaken, and they immediately responded: "Don't worry, boss, if we can really do what the boss said in the future, we will definitely follow the will of the Holy Majesty, and we will not hesitate to die."

Xue Pan nodded in satisfaction, and said with a smile: "Since this is the case, it can't be better. It's getting late, you should go back to the camp to rest quickly. You have to get up early for training tomorrow!"

When all the soldiers heard the words, they immediately gave a military salute, turned and left.

Under the moonlight, Xue Pan was only thankful that he casually dismissed a group of big men with strong limbs and simple minds.But a few years later, just because of his few words, how many good fruits have been planted...

But in the capital at this time, after more than a year of ground-breaking construction, many exquisite and extravagant provincial homes have been completed.Foreign relatives and ministers submitted their inscriptions one after another, and with Zhu's approval, they asked the empresses of all the houses to go home to visit their relatives on the New Year's Day.The Holy Majesty played one by one, and all the people in the court and the public were beaming with joy.And the families who are ordered to visit relatives are more and more busy day and night. Judging from this situation, the new year will not be easy.

All the relatives and relatives of Yingying were repaired and built with all the efforts of their families, and there were open and secret struggles among the main concubines in the palace, which were secretly publicized as early as the day when it was completed.Comparing all around, the Celestial Immortal Mirror from the Jia family in Rongguo Mansion stands out among them.People in Beijing spread rumors that other people's houses built relative homes, but only Jia's family in Rongguo Mansion built relative palaces.Not to mention how wide and eye-catching the three-and-a-half-mile area is, after the completion of the project, the Qing Kexianggong, the second master of the Rongguo Mansion, publicized it everywhere. It's all first-class luxury.

These gentlemen even revealed inadvertently at the banquet that the purchase order of the Rongguo Mansion cost Gusu 3 taels of silver for the purchase of twelve little operas that hadn't played much, just buying some festive candles and lanterns. Another 2 taels for curtains and curtains of various colors...

Before everyone had time to be amazed, there was a scandal about the Rongguo Mansion going so far as to build a family-saving palace for the empress, and they actually showed the concubine of the mansion to the merchant's house, just for the few 10 taels of dowry money.

What, you don't believe it?

All the old and young masters in the capital are unanimous, and they will tell locals or outsiders who are not well-informed. Don’t believe me, just look at the third master of Rongguo Mansion, Jia Huan, who has exchanged name stickers with the royal merchant who is known as the Osmanthus Xia family. The scene will be known.

It is said that the second wife of Rongguo Mansion also intends to show the marriage to Uncle Xiao Rong of Ningguo Mansion.It's just that Uncle Xiaorong was afraid, so he pretended to be sick and evaded it.

The well-informed families of various prefectures became more and more talkative after dinner. When talking about this piece of news, all of them curled their lips to express their disdain.

Rongguo Mansion, this is selling a son for glory!

You said that this jealous second wife will regret the death of her concubine when she was young?After all, if there are two more bastards who will marry her right now, then she won't have to save her face and borrow money from everywhere.

And Xue Pan, at the time of this rumor, returned to Beijing.