The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

As soon as Xue Pan said a word, the lobby of Yichun Courtyard fell silent immediately.

Xue Pan glanced around indifferently. There were about twenty or thirty faces in the lobby, some sitting or standing crookedly, all with disdain and sarcasm.This kind of expression was slightly distorted after Xue Pan and the others entered, and the original unscrupulous actions were immediately restrained, with clearly visible fear and anxiety in their eyes.

But Qin Yue, Wang Chong, Liu Mingyi, and Zhang Jian in their own barracks had their noses bruised and their faces swollen, and their clothes were stripped and tied to the ground. Among them, Wang Chong was the unlucky guy who was pressed under his buttocks as a cushion.After the four of them saw Xue Pan and the others, they also dodged a little ashamedly.They don't feel ashamed if they lose in a fight, but being insulted like this, a real man can't accept it.

Xue Pan took the situation in the lobby into his eyes, and after seeing the shame and ashamed appearance of his own soldiers, his anger grew stronger.

Immediately sneered, and shouted: "Everyone who is here today counts as one. Don't you like to fight, don't you like to sit people's heads under their buttocks? Come here, tie them up for me, and take off their clothes one by one Hang it on the railing of Yichun Courtyard. If you don’t take off one piece, I’ll take your whole body off and hang it on the flagpole of the barracks.”

Song Yishan and the others were taken aback for a moment, then asked awkwardly: "Boss, are the four of us taking off and hanging up too?"

As soon as Xue Pan heard this, the suppressed anger in his heart could no longer be restrained, and he opened his mouth and cursed: "Put your mother's shit on. Your head is filled with water and you are tossing your own people. I told you to kill the other party's people." Take it off and hang it up!"

After a pause, he couldn't help cursing again: "What kind of pig's brain doesn't distinguish between inside and outside, it deserves to be bullied."

The twenty or thirty big men on the other side also sneered again and again when they heard the words: "Xue Pan, we know that you are a popular person around the Holy Majesty. But you can't kill without nodding your head, so don't be too arrogant."

Xue Pan replied unscrupulously: "My name is also called by you group of soldiers. Yu Min, I am the eldest son of the faithful Marquis who is the third-class Marquis of the Dayong Dynasty, and the name tag has the qualification to inherit the title. I am a nobleman, you When civilians see me, they should kneel down and salute. In the army, I am the official fourth-rank commander appointed by the Holy One, and I am dedicated to instructing soldiers, training and supervising the instructor. I am your chief, and you should also salute when you see me. Now you Twenty or thirty people met me, not to mention saluting and greeting me, but they dared to slander the court officials in private...Even if I arrest you and go to see Nan'an County King, do you think he will fight against me because of you soldiers?"

The faces of the big men froze, and they were silent for a long time. The rough big man in the lead said in a muffled voice: "Crafters have always been the most rampant. When the old men were fighting the enemy desperately along the West Sea, you officials and masters were still hiding in the capital and eating Haisai!" .Now it’s not enough to harm the capital, and they came to the barracks to torment us soldiers, make them roll in the mud every day for fun, and torture them with broken nets and logs. These recruits are greedy for you There is no dignity in eating at that point, but we veterans of bloody battles can't bear it. If the young master wants to find someone to have fun, he can go to the theater troupe to find a small show, why bother to spoil us stinky soldiers."

Before the words fell, the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion quit.Immediately shouted loudly: "Fart your mother, we are training, that is special training, you are the fucking thing for fun!"

The big man retorted with a look of disdain: "Fart training, training can train you to such a virtue? I can't even take a punch from me, and dare to call myself a soldier? And that, I didn't wait for you The fucker ran away first, and in the future, if you really go to the battlefield, don’t you just surrender to the enemy? Don’t discredit our soldiers, you are just a bunch of fucking pugs begging for mercy.”

Hearing what the big man said, Song Yishan subconsciously turned his head to look at his brothers, and opened his mouth to retort: ​​"I am a scout, do you understand scouts, scouts, I just need to be observant, run fast, and be proficient in assassination. Who the hell will follow?" Are you fighting head-on?"

The other burly men in the crowd immediately laughed disdainfully, it seemed that they didn't listen to Song Yishan's words at all.

Qin Yue also blushed and argued: "I'm good at fighting underwater. You're so damn capable of fighting with me underwater. I can easily play with you ten times."

The big men laughed even harder when they heard this.

Xue Pan sat on the table and watched with cold eyes. He looked at each other with casual or even contemptuous expressions, and said indifferently: "It is for this reason that you can beat my soldiers without any scruples?"

The leading man stared into Tongling's big eyes and said harshly: "He is inferior to others, he deserves to be beaten. What's wrong with me beating him? The young master is just bullying us because of his identity. If it were normal, I would even You beat it together."

Hearing this, Xue Pan clapped his palms with a light smile, nodded and said, "Okay, okay, okay. I like the saying that you deserve to be beaten if you are inferior in skills. In other words, don't you deserve to be bullied if you are inferior to others? "

As he said that, Xue Pan's face suddenly turned cold, and he ordered in a cold voice: "What the hell are you thinking? Didn't I say that I stripped off their clothes and hung them outside the Yichun courtyard? Why hasn't anyone acted yet? Is it fart?"

Hearing this, all the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion looked terrified, and quickly agreed.Threes and fours came up to catch people.

Seeing this, the twenty or thirty big men on the opposite side immediately stood up vigilantly and put on a defensive posture to deal with it.The two sides confronted each other with murderous intent, and the atmosphere suddenly became serious. The Tiger Shark Battalion is the most elite naval division under the King of Nan'an County. It has experienced countless battles since the founding of the dynasty. Bloody experience and tests have tempered this barracks. It is refined like a steel knife.After the King of Nan'an took over the throne, the standards for selecting soldiers became more and more high-end, and they fought more than a dozen tough battles one after another. Now the soldiers who can stay in the Tiger Shark Camp are veterans who have gone through hundreds of battles, and each one counts as ten.The soldiers of the Artillery Battalion are all newly recruited soldiers half a year ago, and the Artillery Battalion is mainly aimed at some more "advanced" weapons such as artillery barrels. However, if you immediately win the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion, there is no advantage.

While the two parties were cautiously probing, Xue Pan said impatiently: "Who brought ecstasy bombs when you came out? Just throw one and knock them down, and it's over. What are you doing standing there stupidly?" "

The Artillery Battalion and the others looked at each other.From their point of view, the usual training methods are fine, but now they are fighting directly with the opponent's veterans.If you still use this...wouldn't it be too disrespectful?

Xue Pan sneered and said: "The one who survives on the battlefield is the winner. Since there is an easy way to win, why do you have to do it with real swords and guns? Don't you feel tired and panic?"

Song Yishan immediately took out a bag of good kraft paper from his waist, and shouted loudly: "Big guy, hold your breath—"

After speaking, he casually opened the kraft paper bag and threw it into the crowd.A gust of wind blows, and the white powder is scattered everywhere.Although the other 30 people also held their breath immediately, they had not undergone professional underwater breath-holding training, and naturally they were no better than everyone in the Artillery Battalion.After a few tens of breaths of effort, they couldn't help taking a breath, and a large amount of ecstasy smoke was sucked into their bodies, and everyone's heads immediately became confused.In just three breaths, all the men in the Tiger Shark Battalion staggered and fell to the ground.

And Xue Pan also swallowed a pill immediately after Song Yishan threw the ecstasy bomb, and when the smoke cleared, he saw all the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion lying on the ground in a daze, and couldn't help but chuckled, "That's all!" How dare you shout at me!"

Qin Yue and others also loosened their ties with the help of their own soldiers.Song Yishan approached Xue Pan and asked cautiously, "Boss, what should we do next?"

"Pull up clothes and hang people up." Xue Pan gave Song Yishan a vicious look, and threatened, "Let me repeat it again, and you will die."

Song Yishan gasped and nodded immediately.He ordered all the soldiers to strip off the clothes of the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion, lined up naked in a row, and filed up to the second floor, really planning to hang people on the railing to entertain everyone.

But there was a loud shout at the door: "What are you doing?"

Xue Pan raised his eyes and found that it was the King of Nan'an and several other generals who rushed over after receiving the news.

Xue Pan raised his eyebrows in his spare time, waved his hand as a greeting, and smiled at Sun Wei, the leader of Tiger Shark Camp: "Can't you see what happened to Sun Qian? I'm going to hang two naked pigs in the Yichun courtyard for fun."

Sun Wei looked at the naked soldiers on the ground, and two murderous looks suddenly appeared on his originally fierce face.Grinding his teeth at Xue Pan, he said in a cold voice: "Killing is nothing more than nodding your head, isn't Xue Qian's behavior a bit over the top?"

Xue Pan sneered, leaned down from the table slightly with his waist, walked up to Sun Wei and said, "What kind of expression do you have? The so-called willingness to gamble and admit defeat. Since they have fallen into my hands, what I want to do with them is my business." .It has nothing to do with anyone."

Sun Wei looked at Xue Pan with a gloomy face for a while. Although he could not understand Xue Pan's behavior very much, he would never be able to match Xue Pan's family background if he felt forced to do so.I had to take a deep breath and hold back my anger and said: "My Dayong military regulations, all soldiers are not allowed to gather together to fight in private. Although what happened today was wrong in my Tiger Shark Battalion, but if the soldiers of your Artillery Battalion really hang you The Yichun Academy is definitely not in compliance with the rules. Since it is not good for everyone if there is a big trouble, it is better to calm down."

Xue Pan didn't care about Sun Wei's threats. He fixed his eyes on Liu Wei's murderous face, paused every word, and said lightly: "You can try whether my soldiers will be punished. You might as well To tell you the truth, my military rank was hand-picked by your lord after begging him for a long time in front of him, although you know this well. But my uncle is the supervisor of the capital of nine provinces, and my father is the Minister of the Ministry of War who is in charge of military supplies and logistics. Don't forget it, too. I don't believe it, who would dare to insult the imperial court's soldiers and fight against me for the sake of a few arrogant soldiers."

After a pause, Xue Pan looked at Liu Wei's uncertain face and said with a smile: "I'm really trying to overwhelm people with power, what can you do to me?"

As soon as this remark came out, not only Liu Wei, but also the expression on the face of Nan'an County King was not very good-looking.

Xue Pan looked at the expressions of everyone calmly, and said with a hint: "I, Xue Pan, have always been arrogant, arrogant and domineering, and will not consider other people's ideas. If you respect me a foot, I will naturally respect you." Zhang. Since you dare to stand in front of me and make me unhappy, don’t blame me for being temperamental and unscrupulous. It’s still light to peel off their skins and hang them in Yichun Courtyard today. If I’m in a hurry, I’ll pour two buckets of paint into your Tiger Shark camp. , what can you do?"

As he spoke, he gave a demonstrative smile at Nan'an County King.

The king of Nan'an chose nonchalantly, and returned Xue Pan with a brighter smile.So naive, so innocent.Seeing that, Xue Pan's heart felt a little tired, and he wanted to vomit physiologically.

Xue Pan's words have come to this point, and the rest of the people can't talk even if they want to persuasion without pain.After all, Xue Pan has already ripped his face and told you that he will not let it go, and if you tell Xue Pan some irrelevant interests and other things, he will only be like two flies buzzing twice in his ears. care.

It's just that the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion have been on the battlefield with them for so many years, and even if they don't have friendship, they still have a two-pointed love.And Xue Pan's actions like this naturally made the generals feel sad.Although in the final analysis this matter was the fault of Tiger Shark Camp, if it was true that people were hung naked outside the Yichun courtyard as Xue Pan said... the soldiers who woke up could only thank the world with their deaths.

At the moment, everyone focused their eyes on the King of Nan'an, hoping that the King of Nan'an could help him.After all, in terms of status, only the King of Nan'an County was taller than Xue Pan among the people present, and Xue Pan was originally recruited by the King of Nan'an County, so naturally he was the most suitable person to speak.

The King of Nan'an naturally understood what everyone was thinking.Immediately cleared his throat, and persuaded: "Don't blame Pan'er for being so nameless. The previous actions of the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion were too much. But in the final analysis, it was Xiao Wang's fault. Let Pan'er accompany me first, I hope Pan'er will forgive me."

Hearing this, Xue Pan tilted his head to look at Nan'an County King, and said with a half-smile, "What does the prince mean, Xue Pan can't understand."

The king of Nan'an County sighed, and said aboveboard: "You also know that although the Tianjin navy has a weight of 3000, the artillery battalion assigned to you for training is only 7000 people. And most of them are recruits, but the other [-] people The [-] talents are the backbone of our Tianjin navy. They really got their lives out of the battlefield where there are no swords or guns."

Xue Pan raised his eyebrows disapprovingly, and asked, "So what?"

Hearing Xue Pan's question, the king of Nan'an County showed a rare twist on his face. He cleared his throat, pulled Xue Pan aside to avoid the crowd, and then said: "Since Pan'er received training from the Artillery Battalion, you You subsidized the food for the soldiers of the artillery battalion out of your own pocket, so that a group of recruits who just joined the army can enjoy big fish and meat after training, but those veterans who have gone through the battlefield can’t even have enough food. You have the ability to make your soldiers The rations are sufficient and cannot be deducted. However, the bad habit of sacrificing rations in the army has become an old custom. Not everyone is as unscrupulous as you and can ask for military rations from above. Therefore, most soldiers cannot get it. Sufficient salary. Besides, you have hired many doctors to treat the soldiers who were occasionally injured during training, but many soldiers died of illness because they could not receive effective medical treatment on the battlefield. The rest of the soldiers looked coldly. Looking at it, I will naturally feel uncomfortable... The common people don't worry about the few but the unevenness. As one goes up and down, many soldiers naturally talk a lot about the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion. hit!"

Xue Pan suddenly realized after listening to the explanation of Nan'an County King.At the next moment, he said coldly to the King of Nan'an County: "My lord's words sounded like it was justifiable for the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion to do evil because of jealousy. But when you think about it carefully, it makes no sense. I can do as much trouble as I want, I am willing to provide them with good food and drink, and I am willing to hire a good doctor to ensure their health is my business. If you are envious, you can follow the gourd. As a thorn in the side, a thorn in the flesh. When you join the army, you naturally want to defend your home and country, and fight bloody battles. It’s just that my soldiers haven’t had this chance yet. If one day they go to the battlefield, aren’t my soldiers from the Yong Dynasty? Soldiers?"

What he said made everyone blush.Xue Pan speaks without back pain while standing, if they really have this ability, why bother to watch the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion enjoy it while he endures it?

Liu Wei from the Tiger Shark Battalion took the lead and said in distaste: "Xue Qian's story sounds nice, but if it really goes to the battlefield, your group of recruits will hide behind us to earn merit. You said that there is no high or low in the battlefield, you guys It’s just that Mr. Gui’s work in the army is for nothing, and those of us who have no background and are backed by the mountain are the ones who are really going to die. It’s not fair at all.”

Xue Pan glanced at Liu Wei indifferently, and sneered coldly: "So what, how can there be any fairness in this world? Nobles are inherently superior, and those who have no ability and no backing deserve to be cannon fodder, such a thing You didn’t know it until the first day? If I were you, I wouldn’t complain about this and that like a woman, and it’s only serious if I have this kung fu and practice more kung fu so as not to fail when I go to the battlefield in the future.”

As he said that, he looked at Liu Wei with disdain, and said, "However, where are the natural nobles in this world? Even the majestic four kings and eight princes were not all poor and miserable big-headed soldiers back then. Are you really If pure men have the guts, you can work hard to make your children and grandchildren look good, and let them be born in a mother's womb, which is two points more expensive than others. If you don't have this ability, you can hide in a corner and feel sorry for yourself. Since If you run out like a mad dog and bite anyone you see, then don’t blame the master for chasing and beating them with a stick.”

The extremely bitter and mean words struck the ears of all the generals like a torrent of bells.Since they entered the naval army with the highest probability of death but not the best treatment, it proves that most of them are from poor people.With today's status, I have to rely on my own life to earn it back.As Xue Pan said, isn't what he is doing the old way of conferring a marquis because of his duties and conferring his wife and son.But this hard work with no backer and no background, if God has eyes, they will really earn a bright future, I only hope that the children will not have to work so hard in the future...

Thinking of this, Liu Wei gritted his teeth viciously, and said, "No matter what Xue Qian said, it is a waste for you to give such good treatment to a group of recruits. If the soldiers of our Tiger Shark Battalion have such treatment, the future battlefield On top of that, there are two more chances of survival, isn't our group of experienced soldiers better than a group of recruits who haven't even killed anyone?"

Xue Pan glanced at Liu Wei leisurely, and said with a sneer, "So what? No matter how elite the soldiers of your Tiger Shark Battalion are, they have nothing to do with my Artillery Battalion. Why should I care about you?"

Liu Wei choked, and really couldn't think of anything good to say back to Xue Pan.

Seeing this, the officers and men on the side opened their eyes and said, "Why don't we make a bet?"

"Bet?" Xue Pan frowned, looking at the red-faced man who spoke.This man who wanted to show off on his first day in the camp but was ridiculed by Xue Pan to go back was looking at Xue Pan expectantly.

Xue Pan touched his nose nonchalantly and asked, "Cheng Yuan, if you have any tricks, just tell them!"

Cheng Yuan smiled, and said to Xue Pan: "I often hear the prince say that on the future battlefield, the soldiers of the artillery battalion will be the most elite and the most able to spread the prestige of our country. After listening for so long, I can hear the cocoon. ...But looking at it with a cold eye in the past six months, the soldiers in your battalion are not very good. When fighting openly and aboveboard, even the soldiers of the Tiger Shark Battalion can't catch a single move. This gap is too big..."

Xue Pan gave him a cold look, and said with a sneer, "Whatever you think, the soldiers I have trained are for the battlefield, should I be responsible for proving your ideas?"

The smile on Cheng Yuan's face froze, and he said embarrassingly: "Although that's what I said, but the imperial court has invested so much money in you, it would be a pity if you produced a bunch of waste. It's better to quickly disband some troublemakers. Artillery battalion, it is serious to give these salaries and benefits to other battalions."

Because Xue Pan has always used the name of His Majesty's compassionate and worldly shackles, most people don't know that the money to subsidize the artillery camp and hire the doctor is paid by Xue Pan himself.After all, the army is the sharp weapon of the country, and now they are all under the name of the emperor, and they are all the troops of the Yong Dynasty.Whoever dares to buy people's hearts with his own pockets is not afraid of being misunderstood by others and having the intention of treason.Xue Pan is such a shrewd and calculating businessman, no one would have thought that he would do such a thankless thing.

Therefore, although Xue Pan kept saying that he could bring his soldiers as he wished, everyone thought that it was the money that the Holy Majesty sent from his inner treasury after Xue Pan invited the Holy Majesty with his personal relationship.Such differential treatment will naturally arouse the envy and jealousy of the soldiers.What's more, half a year has passed. Although the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion carry out weird training every day, they have not shown any "powerful" skills. After a long time, everyone despises them.

What happened in Yichun Courtyard today, although it was a coincidence.But it is also inevitable for all the soldiers except the artillery battalion who have been suppressed for a long time.Seeing the generous treatment of the Artillery Battalion, everyone has long been jealous.Now that he has this opportunity, he will naturally push Xue Pan into the army. Even if he can't get more benefits as he wishes, it is good to add some obstacles to the mighty artillery battalion (Xue Pan to be precise).

Xue Pan didn't bother to pay attention to what everyone was thinking.But seeing the humiliation and indignation of the soldiers of the Artillery Battalion, I was still angry.

He himself is said to be arrogant, extravagant, rich and soft, and he doesn't care if he is more sexual.But these soldiers under his command will spend their whole lives in the army. If they are looked down upon at this time, they will not be rejected when they go to the battlefield in the future.

Xue Pan thought of this, and said loudly: "Okay, isn't it just a competition, who is afraid of whom? Since the Tiger Shark Battalion is known as the most elite battalion of the Tianjin Navy, our Artillery Battalion will compete with the Tiger Shark Battalion. One side of the battalion does one month's laundry and one month's work, and during this month, the slogan chosen during training must also be the other side's, how about it?"

Liu Wei thought for a while and said, "No problem."

Xue Pan said again: "The ugly words are up front. Since we are called the Artillery Battalion, naturally the guys in our hands are also the most advanced. If you are afraid, just admit defeat. If you say that you are going to fight alone, Forget it then! After all, the soldiers I have trained are to kill the enemy and serve the country, not the thugs in the arena for fun."

Liu Wei, who had run out of words, swallowed all the words back into his mouth.He said viciously: "Copy guys, copy guys, who is afraid of whom?"

Xue Pan paused, and then said: "For fear that you won't accept the loss, we will conduct a drill more aggressively, and fight a real battle according to the enemy's invasion. The combination of the right time, place and people, the loser People have nothing to say."

Everyone was shocked, and quickly said: "How can this work, our soldiers are all used to kill the enemy, even if it is a competition, they are not inseparable. Why is this so?"

Xue Pan rolled his eyes and scolded: "Nonsense, I don't know this yet. I'm talking about drills, drills..."

As he spoke, he explained the concept of future military exercises to everyone.

Half a day later, everyone who suddenly realized it nodded their heads again and again.The King of Nan'an smiled calmly and said, "Since this is the case, there are a lot of things to prepare. The time for the exercise is set in one month's time. As for the attackers and defenders... how about you just draw lots?"

Xue Pan and Liu Wei looked at each other, clasped their fists together and said, "Being respectful is worse than obeying orders."