The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

It is said that Liu Xianglian was quite surprised when she heard that she was recommended as King of the Mountain by Gong Sanyi, she frowned, thinking about how to shirk it.

Jia Cong knew it from his appearance, and said with a wry smile: "I guessed that Second Brother Liu didn't want to, but I just said it, just try it. Just take it as a face for me and listen to me, okay? "

Liu Xianglian wanted to ignore half of the inside story, and put it away; after hearing this, she could only say: "Forget it, just keep talking."

Jia Cong thought for a moment, then said: "You also know that most of the people in the Taiping Escort are my father's former soldiers and his family's children. Naturally, we didn't want to rebel for no reason. The reason for occupying the mountain as king is that in the early years When they fought together, they accepted my grandfather's command and were bandits."

Liu Xianglian was stunned: "Duke Rong? Commander?"

Jia Cong nodded, and said slowly: "This world is small if you say it is small, but it is very big if you say it is big. For the small ones, there is no impenetrable wall in the world. Rumors are as fast as the wind. Whoever has one is not very happy." An embarrassing story about the face can be spread all over the capital immediately—whether it is true or not. Most importantly, many things that are well-known in a certain circle have deviated from this circle, and people outside are not even aware of them. But those things It's not a top secret, no one is staring at it, and it may not be a big problem if it is leaked. The strange thing is that there are so many people, but no one will say it outright. For example, the prince of Nan'an is the son of the rabbit. ; and our elder brother Zhen from the East Mansion forced his innocent daughter-in-law to become a family because of a few words from a fortune-telling Taoist, both of which are the former. These two things have already spread outside Beijing."

Liu Xianglian sneered: "Thank you, thank you, that Taoist priest."

Jia Cong smiled when he heard the words, and went on to say: "The imperial treasury is said to be rich in the world, but in fact, from princes and princes, dukes and marquises to officials at all levels and even eunuchs in the palace, there is no one who does not give his hand. Therefore, the saint is actually very poor and very poor. It's pitiful; what's even more pitiful is that everyone in the world thinks he's rich, and it's harmless to steal a little."

Liu Xianglian couldn't help laughing too.

"Soldiers need money and food to fight. If you don't have money, who will risk your life? If you don't have food to fill your stomach, wouldn't you lose in a fight? If you lose a war, you will die and lose your country. Military resources are so important. My grandfather fought in the early years. , the imperial court often fails to provide military salaries or even military rations, so it can only drag on with shame."

Liu Xianglian's face changed, she probably guessed a little bit.

"It's hard for a clever woman to live without rice, but she has to fight without money or food. Therefore, my grandfather made my fourth uncle and my father pretend to be the big boss and the second boss, and led people to rush thousands of miles away to be bandits, robbing rich families and passing merchants. , to get the military salary. After the looting is over, the military salary that has been owed for a long time will be written off and will never be mentioned again."

Liu Xianglian took a deep breath and stared at Jia Cong.

"I usually listen to my father talking with all the soldiers and uncles, as if this matter is common, and it is not only my father who did it, but also the other generals. It was when the old saint was in power. The old sage was much poorer back then. I don’t believe that the generals out there have no one to rob them.” He chuckled a few times, “Therefore, you see, to occupy a mountain and become king, in the eyes of ordinary people, It's a big deal, and they won't do it until they can't survive. But in the eyes of these people who have been soldiers, it's just a matter of changing clothes. Naturally, there are differences from the King Zhenshan, they only rob Wealth does not kill people. And before they plunder the rich, they will also inquire about it, and find some local tyrants and evil gentry who are rich and unkind, or who bully men and women. One day is a saint's general, one day is a water bandit, and one day is a prince."

Where has Liu Xianglian heard of this?Seeing that what he said was plain, it was obvious that it couldn't be more true, and he was stunned for a long time like a clay sculpture of a Bodhisattva.

When he recovered, Jia Cong said again: "The village we chose is not far away, and two days of fast horse riding are enough. The terrain is steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Mr. Gong has already made people find out the mountain, and it will take about I used to build houses and repair paths. The small life over there must be difficult at the beginning. Everything is difficult at the beginning. When all the decorations are complete, you should be able to live well. I also plan to open a small hotel and restaurant at the foot of the mountain and go to the larger towns nearby to open shops. The King of the Mountain can occasionally turn into a small boss and go shopping in the market. The people under him are all good, veterans. In the future, they can still use the banner of Robin Hood, just draw The painting should not be the same as the original—especially the feather, I used to paint an ostrich feather, but now I have to paint it as a chicken feather—to create an illusion of 'imitating Robin Hood' to the government. You can choose another name for the thief As for the remuneration, it is naturally easy to handle. It was originally a cost-free business, and black people are the cheapest. Brothers who work hard should get more ideas for their hard work. King, since he is the king, it is natural to pick the best taps. what people will say."

Jia Cong said while looking at Liu Xianglian.When he saw the last sentence, his expression became a little loose.

"Of course, you don't have to stay on the mountain all year round. It's common to go back to Beijing to deliver goods or have meetings. As for whether you tell your family whether you went into business or went to escort, it's up to you. So you see the benefits of this matter Well, there are about a few of them. One is that the money comes quickly, and you can get some things that are not easy to get when you have money in an open and aboveboard, and it will be quite face-saving to pass on to your children and grandchildren in the future; It is also a kind of exercise to make a cottage from scratch, and it is always your own to develop your skills; third, you can go around and gain some knowledge; .By the way, you don’t have to worry about being retaliated against when you fight an injustice. After all, you’re the King of the Mountain, right?”

Liu Xianglian lowered her head and smiled secretly when she heard this.

"Clients, of course, are mainly slaves, so it's not easy to attract the attention of the government. Occasionally passing by the big warehouse of Jiangnan Zhen's family who is incompetent and waiting for death, you can also hug grass and beat rabbits by the way."

Liu Xianglian hurriedly asked: "Why is the Zhen family in the south of the Yangtze River waiting to die? Isn't the holy family in the thick of it?"

Jia Cong curled his lips and said: "The Zhen family in the south of the Yangtze River and the four princes and eight princes are all waiting to die. Only our family is smart and spent 80 taels of silver to pay for their lives. Anyway, when the old sage dies, they have to find a reason to search the house - who told them So rich and a saint so poor?"

Liu Xianglian opened her mouth wide in surprise again, before she wanted to ask, Jia Cong jumped ahead of him and said, "By the way, we already had a vote for Zhen's family in the past, don't worry, they are still fat sheep, and there is still a lot of money left." Our biggest weakness now is that we have too few masters. In the cottage, the first thing to do is to practice the skills of the heroes. We have some methods for this. If Brother Liu is interested, we can do it again. Talk in detail. If you really have the ability in the future, those who are waiting to die can go for a stroll. Let's get some money and save some money for the saint. If you are happy, you can even slaughter the warehouse of Ningguo Mansion. Anyway, if it falls into the hands of Jia Zhen and Jia Rong, it’s just a prodigal loser, and I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep the saints to raid the house. We can occasionally build roads and bridges and rescue victims of disasters, which can be regarded as accumulating virtue for my Jia family ancestors.”

Liu Xianglian frowned, and said with neither laughter nor laughter: "Cong'er... when did you become such a rascal."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I've always been like this." He looked at Liu Xianglian and said, "Why don't you rush to answer, Second Brother Liu, and think about it for a few more days?"

Liu Xianglian let him talk a lot, so she nodded and said, "I'll think about it again." Then she said, "It's just that Jia Rong suffered a big loss today, and I think she won't let it go."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "Mr. Gong is the best at this. Those who are capable will work harder. It is appropriate to leave it to him."

Liu Xianglian glanced at him: "That's your nephew, I'm just worrying about you."

Jia Cong snorted and said, "My nephew dares to rob people's daughters in broad daylight. It's lawless! I don't want to teach him. Now that my uncle has met him, naturally I can't stand by and watch him. He’s going astray. Could it be that he’s not going to thank me?”

Liu Xianglian couldn't help "puchi" laughing out loud, and said: "Anyway, he's looking for your father if he wants to sue, so what's the matter with me." Before she finished speaking, she hurriedly shook her head and said, "My boss is willing to teach you a lesson for such a trivial matter. You are the one to blame!"

Jia Cong raised his chin complacently: "Isn't it! Oh, brother Zhen, if Brother Rong really came to quarrel with me, I would have a headache; if I had a headache, I would go to quarrel with my fourth uncle, and I would have to move their big warehouse immediately." Then he smiled. He bowed to Liu Xianglian, said goodbye and left.

Liu Xianglian sat in the same place in a daze.I don't know how long it took before he was about to get up, when he suddenly saw Qin Keqing leaning on a pillar not far away, like a fairy in a painting, he couldn't help but stare dumbfounded.After a while, he came back to his senses, jumped up and leaned over, and called softly, "Ms. Qin!"

Qin Keqing bowed to him, Liu Xianglian waved her hand and said, "I've thanked him many times already."

Qin Keqing said: "This is not a thank you, but an apology."

Liu Xianglian hurriedly asked: "What do you mean?"

Qin Keqing said, "Apologize for Mr. Gong."

Liu Xianglian thought it was a matter of recommending him to be king of the mountain, and said with a smile: "Cong'er just told me. Mr. Gong has nothing to apologize for, isn't this just a discussion?" Suddenly he suddenly remembered that Qin Keqing might not know why Zhanshan was so important. Could there be a misunderstanding about the matter of the king?

But Qin Keqing said: "Mr. Gong has plotted against you today, so I'm here to apologize on his behalf."

Seeing her appearance, Liu Xianglian was afraid that she was not what he thought, so she kept silent, and only signaled Qin Keqing to speak up.

Qin Keqing said: "I didn't know about this matter before. However, if Mr. Gong discusses with me, I don't know if I will agree to act in this play for him." Then he told Gong Sanyi's plan and money. .

Liu Xianglian was shocked, and said angrily: "How unreasonable! It's in vain that I admire and trust him with all my heart, and he plots against me like this."

Qin Keqing saluted again. "It's just that Third Master Cong said something just now. He thought it was reasonable, so he dismissed his previous thoughts and sent me to apologize to Second Master. He will naturally smooth out the rest of the matter. He also hopes that Mr. Second Master will have a lot. Compete with him."

Liu Xianglian hurriedly asked, "What did Cong'er say?"

Qin Keqing then elaborated.It turned out that after she settled her father and younger brother, she would go to Gong Sanyi for advice on how to deal with Jia Rong. Gong Sanyi's plan was half done, so she told her without concealment.When Qin Keqing was still shocked, Gong Sanyi suddenly said, hearing the sound of footsteps, it seemed that Cong'er was coming, so he told her to hide behind the screen for a while, and then turn around to talk.Then she heard Jia Cong and Gong Sanyi's words.

After hearing this, Liu Xianglian praised: "What a boy!" After a long time, he realized that Qin Keqing probably knew about "occupying the mountain as king", he couldn't help his heart beating wildly, his breath was a little restless, and he raised his eyes deeply. Looking at her, "What about you? What do you think?"

Qin Keqing bowed her head and lowered her eyebrows: "I just said that, although I don't know, Mr. Gong has saved my life, so I may not refuse him to act in this play."

Liu Xianglian suddenly felt a chill in her heart.

Qin Keqing said: "I am very clear about Erye Liu's character, appearance and intentions. It's just... Second Lord also knows that I came here like that in the past." She shook her head lightly, "When I first arrived at the nunnery, I I just wait for death. Mr. Gong gave me a way out. And the man... I can't believe it anymore. Jia Rong was kind to me back then, but when things really happened, he was useless. The boss and Mr. Gong Anyway, it’s my parents who feed and clothe me, and I have to rely on them to support my family. In this world, it’s not easy to make money, especially for women. There are old fathers and young brothers..." While speaking, tears had already shed, just as the world often says, pear blossoms bring rain.

Liu Xianglian originally thought that she might hesitate because she underestimated her friendship and valued Gong Sanyi's life-saving grace, but she didn't expect this to be the reason, so she was startled again.Half a day later, he suddenly became courageous and passionate, and stepped forward to grab Qin Keqing's hand: "You should know that I am willing to support your family."

Qin Keqing didn't break free, just shook her head and said, "I want to support my own family. I once relied on a man who was good in character, family, family and property. The world said that I had cultivated for three lifetimes to get such a blessing. He finally It was 500 taels of silver that sent me away. Erye Liu, don’t blame me, it’s not that I don’t know friendship. My daughter just doesn’t want to rely on others anymore.”

Liu Xianglian became anxious and squeezed her hand tightly: "How can I be the same as that Jia Rong?"

Qin Keqing looked up at him and said, "Of course I know that you are different from each other. How can Jia Rong compare with you? Don't insult yourself. It's just me. I don't want to rely on anyone anymore. Even in the future Zhong'er has become a talent, and I don't want to rely on him. Besides, I didn't know until I came to this escort agency that the sky is high and the ground is thick, and the road is far away and the mountains are high. There are so many people, so many things, and so many places to go in the world. In the past, the Ningguo Mansion was only a square inch Dier."

She smiled lightly, and Liu Xianglian was so dazzled by the smile.

"Cong'er once said that many women are born as eagles of the nine heavens, but they are hatched in cages and kept in cages. They don't know that they have wings. I am not an eagle of nine heavens, but a bird under the eaves. I have spread my wings and been flying for the past two years. If you want me to go back to the cage, even if it is a golden and jade-carved cage, the most luxurious cage in the world, even if it is hung on the Golden Temple, I will not go in. I would rather live in the wind There is always a sunny day in the small grass nest where the rain is blowing. I can fly around twice and see the sky and the earth. Therefore, Erye Liu, although I am a girl, I also want to rely on my own ability to stand upright in the sky and the earth Between. If the second master wants to marry a daughter-in-law who stays in the house and waits for you by climbing the door, Qin is definitely not a good spouse. If you want someone to help each other and walk side by side, even if there are thorns and tigers everywhere, I would like to recommend myself .”

Because he broke free from Liu Xianglian's hand, he gave him a deep salute, turned around and left.