allendalepharm Chapter 559 Before departure
Chapter 559 Before departure
Chapter 559 Before departure
The brothers' discussion came to a temporary halt when they stepped into the main hall of Rong Xi Tang.
However, Baoyu obviously took Jia Cong's reminder to heart. After the two of them greeted the visitor, Baoyu sat aside and fell into deep thought.
Today's visitors were none other than Xue Pan's mother, Mrs. Xue, and daughter-in-law Yu Yao.
Since Yu Yao married into the Xue family, Mrs. Xue was initially resentful of her because of her humble background, but she was soon moved by Yu Yao's character and abilities.
Now Yu Yao has taken over the inner courtyard of the Xue family, and even took over part of the Xue family's industry. Not only does she take good care of Mrs. Xue's daily life, but she also manages the outside affairs in an orderly manner.
Let’s not talk about anything else. Just the fact that Yu Yao can cook three meals a day for her mother-in-law herself, which daughter-in-law can do this?
Now all we need is a baby. If the Xue family has an heir, everything will be fine.
Mrs. Xue had just been praising her daughter-in-law in front of the old lady, and Yu Yao blushed.
"Look, this girl is still blushing and shy..."
The old lady also started joking, and Yu Yao, who was already shy, became even more nervous.
Fortunately, at this time Wang Xifeng came over holding the little baby Goudan. The attention of everyone in the room immediately shifted to the little baby, and they surrounded Goudan who was still blowing bubbles with great admiration.
Especially Mrs. Xue, she was about to take Goudan home to raise him herself.
"Pan'er and his cousin went to the west, leaving only my mother and I at home. There's nothing interesting about celebrating the festival..."
Mrs. Xue really missed her son, and her daughter had married into the He family, so she couldn't stay at her parents' home forever. The Mid-Autumn Festival was boring, so she thought of visiting the old lady at Rongguo Mansion.
Firstly, the two families are in-laws, and having lived in Rongguo Mansion for quite some time, it can help to relieve the loneliness.
Secondly, he also wanted to find out about the situation from the Jia family and find out when his son would be able to come back.
After chatting about family matters for a while, Mrs. Xue asked Jia Cong about the situation of the war in the west.
"Bao Yatou told her son-in-law that Pan Ge'er and your second brother won a victory. Since they won the battle, will they be returning to the capital soon?"
In Mrs. Xue's mind, after a victory, the imperial court would return home and reward or punish as appropriate.
This was indeed the custom in the past...
But this time it will not be the case, because as the main general, Jia Lian is a really ruthless person.
"My second brother once wrote to me, saying that he was planning to occupy a piece of land in the west and let the court take root there..."
No matter how much you say, Mrs. Xue won't understand.
However, there was one thing that Mrs. Xue could still understand, that is, the imperial court wanted to drive a nail thousands of miles away, and someone needed to be stationed there.
Doesn’t this mean that my son will never come back?
In an instant, Madam Xue and Yu Yao both turned pale.
That place is thousands of miles away, and the Xue family has only one male heir...
"My second brother won't be able to come back in the next two or three years. It's not certain for elder brother Xue. The court will dispatch troops from Hexi and Anxi to take over. Elder brother Xue has made great contributions this time. He is also a trusted general of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Majesty will not let the generals of the East Palace stay away for a long time."
The strategy of rotation warfare was a strategy drafted by Jia Cong himself.
Today, Daxia's overall strategy is naval conquest, and the conquests on land have basically ended.
In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the land army, a nail was driven into the west, and then the border troops were continuously rotated to the west to train and sharpen their swords against the Rakshasa Kingdom. It was simply perfect.
As the commander of the front army, Jia Lian had to stay in the central army and could not move easily.
As for Xue Pan, this guy's fighting ability is really terrifying.
It is said that every time Xue Pan went to battle, the people of Rakshasa Kingdom did not dare to fight back and fled at the sight of him.
There is a sentence in the military newspaper that specifically describes this guy: Lieutenant General Xue Pan, holding a Fang Tian Hua Ji, charged into the battle alone, resisted hundreds of enemies and remained undefeated, marching forward courageously, like a killing god in the world...
With such a brave general on the battlefield, the court's plan to train the army through rotation battles had to be shelved.
Why? The people of Luosha Kingdom are not fools. Fighting against such a fierce man is no different from committing suicide.
Every time the enemy saw that the killer was coming again, they would immediately flee dozens of miles away. How could the war be fought? How could the soldiers be trained?
Jia Lian even wrote a special report to the court, advising the emperor to transfer Xue Pan back to the capital as soon as the supplies were delivered, as he still needed to use the Rakshasa ghost as a whetstone.
"According to the time calculation, the second batch of supplies should have already set out. In the spring and summer of next year, Brother Xue will most likely be back..."
After hearing Jia Cong's explanation, Mrs. Xue didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
She wiped away her tears and cried to the old lady, "Pan'er is a child who doesn't like to study. He just likes to wield swords and sticks. At that time, the master said that Pan'er has been naughty since he was young, and who knows how much trouble he will cause in the future. Now that he has a promising future, I am worried so much..."
The old lady could certainly understand Madam Xue's feelings. She held Madam Xue's hand and comforted her in a gentle voice: "This is the fate of our military family. Brother fought hard on the battlefield, isn't it just to ask for a title and a son? It's a good thing that Pan'er can have such a great future. He is now serving the prince, and he will definitely be granted a title in the future. You, take good care of yourself, look after the family, and don't let Pan'er worry..."
Jia Cong was not sure whether he would be granted a title, but Xue Pan definitely had a bright future.
Which king would not like this stubborn and brave general?
Sometimes Jia Cong envied Xue Pan's natural strength. This guy's talent was all in his muscles and he didn't need to use his brain at all.
Although you cannot be a general, you can be a general who charges into battle, or a door god who guards the palace, and you can live a stable life.
The old lady's comfort was indeed effective, and Mrs. Xue's mood improved a lot after a while.
"Oh, I almost forgot something..."
After calming down, Mrs. Xue motioned to Yu Yao to bring over an unsealed envelope.
"I heard from Bao that Cong will leave for Japan next month. The people here are all Xue family's men at sea, and there is also a Xue family token..."
As expected, Jia Cong took out a copper token from the envelope, with a seal character on it, "Xue".
He had already made some guesses, so he opened the letter and roughly glanced through it.
Sure enough, the Xue family's background is not just as simple as it seems on the surface. It is estimated that the Xue family had made arrangements on the sea long before the court opened the sea.
Just based on the people and relationships recorded on this piece of paper, it is enough for the Xue family to become a powerful overlord on the sea.
"These people were sent out by the old master. When the master was still alive, they had to go back to the old house in Jinling every three or two years. After the master passed away, I, a woman, can't control these people. Except for some who still send "bonuses" on time, the rest are probably not reliable. Those who can be used will be used, and those who can't be used... Pan'er is not capable of controlling these people, so Cong'er should take care of them."
Mrs. Xue doesn't know much, but she is not a confused person.
Today's maritime dispute is not something that the small Xue family can get involved in.
She originally wanted to give the list and token to her brother Wang Ziteng, but was finally stopped by Baochai.
"Bao said that the court will definitely restore order at sea in the future. Congge is most familiar with matters at sea, and the palace will definitely let you handle them..."
This is true. After conquering Japan, the country was connected into a line from north to south.
The area including Japan, Ryukyu, Luzon and Malacca became the inland sea of Bactria, and private maritime armed forces were not allowed in the inland sea.
This was something the emperor had already discussed with the central government leaders, and Jia Cong was one of the main persons in charge of this plan.
Jia Cong understood what Mrs. Xue meant and carefully put away the list and the token.
No wonder the Xue family in Jinling has a reputation for being rich and wealthy, with pearls as valuable as dirt and gold as valuable as iron. Jia Cong even suspected that some of the people arranged by Old Master Xue had been involved in piracy.
Whether it is maritime smuggling or piracy, it is the most profitable job.
As expected of Xue Baochai, she was able to predict the future policy trends of the court and submitted her letter of allegiance to the emperor early on.
"Okay, I will deliver this thing to the emperor the day after tomorrow. We won't pursue the past, and we will just follow his orders for the rest."
……
How powerful is the Xue family at sea?
Jia Cong and Liu Hong studied the issue on the table for a long time and finally came to a conclusion.
That is to say, Xue Pan's father died of illness early. If it weren't for Xue Pan, he would have been the Pirate King now.
"This is too exaggerated. Goryeo, Japan, Luzon... all have Xue family personnel. There are hundreds of large and small ships, and tens of thousands of people..."
Judging from the number of people on paper, the Xue family’s manpower at sea is comparable to the strength of the Dengzhou navy.
However, these are all on paper. Among the hundreds of ships, most are old, dilapidated and small, and cannot be compared with the imperial navy fleet at all.
Among the tens of thousands of people, the old, weak, sick and disabled must be excluded. It would be great if there were more than ten thousand soldiers who could fight.
But this was surprising enough, and both Liu Hong and Jia Cong were delighted.
What the Celestial Empire lacks is not soldiers who are good at fighting, but guides who can lead the army.
If only one tenth of the names on the Xue family's list were useful, it would be enough to solve the biggest problem the imperial court would face in its expedition against Japan.
Jia Cong copied the list again, put it away and said, "Then I will send someone to go ahead and contact these people. If the problem of the guide can be solved, it will be a great achievement for the Xue family."
"It is indeed a great achievement. When Xue Pan comes back, I will report to my father and confer a title on him. This guy is addicted to fighting in the west. He actually sent me a letter complaining that your second brother did not let him lead the troops to fight..."
Speaking of Xue Pan, the prince also had a headache.
This guy is really a natural born general. Even though he was shot in the shoulder by an arrow, he didn't stop for a moment and continued to kill through the defense formation of the Rakshasa Kingdom with his Fang Tian Hua Ji.
"Your second brother also complained to me and asked me to quickly transfer Xue Pan back. He said that with this guy in front of the battlefield, even the shadow of the Luosha Kingdom could not be seen. In order to train the soldiers, he would spend several days searching for the enemy every time."
what……
Some things are quite magical. It is incredible that someone could force a Rakshasa ghost to this extent.
……
The days that followed were very peaceful, but Daiyu became increasingly uneasy as the time for Jia Cong to leave Beijing drew closer.
If it weren't for the fact that he had to handle official business in the government office every day, Jia Cong would have worried that Daiyu would suffer from depression while staying at home.
"Uncle... Father had an argument with the people from the Ministry of War today. They said that the boat arranged by the Ministry of War was too small to accommodate the accompanying soldiers."
Daiyu lay on Jia Cong's chest, feeling her young husband's heartbeat.
The two have been extremely affectionate in recent days, cherishing every moment they spend together.
Jia Cong stroked Daiyu's smooth back and smiled when he heard her words: "Daddy called back all the personal soldiers on the farm, and managed to gather 499 people according to the regulations. In addition to the guards appointed by His Majesty, the personal guards I will bring alone will have a total of 1,000 people..."
Even Duke Zhang, the Duke of England, who led his troops into battle with a thousand personal guards, did not receive such treatment.
The people in the Ministry of War gritted their teeth and did not submit a petition to impeach Master She for his mischief, all out of consideration for Jia Cong's face.
After all, Jia Cong has invented so many magical weapons over the years, and the Ministry of War has taken a lot of advantages from them.
"I will go and apologize to them tomorrow morning. You don't need to ask the Ministry of War for a ship. I will ask the Ministry of Works for one."
As the shadow minister of the Ministry of Works, Jia Cong planned to ask for the latest warship.
The ship must be large and sturdy, the gun barrel must be thick and strong, and the ship must be fast enough.
Jia Cong was determined to kill Shui Rong, the poisonous snake, completely on the Japanese island in this operation.
"This time, my main goal is to kill the poisonous snake Shui Rong. Otherwise, I will not be able to sleep or eat well."
Jia Cong can only feel completely at ease if a poisonous snake that comes out to bite you from time to time dies before his eyes.
Daiyu nodded in agreement. In the whole of Daxia, the person who made her feel the most gloomy and terrifying was the sinister old man Shui Rong.
Wang Ziteng doesn't even count as one of them. After all, Lord Wang always does things openly.
Thinking of Wang Ziteng, Daiyu asked, "How is Wang Ziteng? I heard from my brother the Crown Prince that Wang Ziteng is determined to die and has no intention of coming back."
Jia Cong shook his head: "Lord Wang is indeed determined to die. He even arranged his funeral before leaving the capital. But I think your majesty does not intend to let him die in Japan."
The emperor truly loves and hates Wang Ziteng.
Love his talent, but hate his initial targeting.
This old fellow is really cruel. He wants to make plans before he dies, and even plans against the emperor.
"He wants to use his life to force the palace to give his royal family a future. Unfortunately, what His Majesty hates most is others plotting against him."
If Wang Ziteng really died on the battlefield, the emperor would have to give the Wang family preferential treatment even if he had to hold his nose.
The title of Ningyuan County Marquis might have to be inherited by three generations before it can be granted, otherwise who knows what kind of gossip will spread in the army.
Thinking of this, Jia Cong had to admit defeat.
"Your Majesty should have instructions on these matters before I leave the capital. Our grievances with Wang Ziteng must not affect military and political affairs. I will do whatever Your Majesty arranges. To be honest, I admire Wang Ziteng very much. A man who can do this for his family deserves to be called a good man!"
Jia Cong was still able to distinguish the priorities of grudges. The grudges between Wang Ziteng and the Jia and Lin families had not risen to the point of ignoring the overall situation.
They both sighed, and then the room fell into silence for a long time.
Until the sound of night watchmen was heard outside, Jia Cong's hand movements gradually became heavier and moved to the soft part.
He gave a wicked laugh and whispered in Daiyu's ear: "Let's not talk about others, just let me taste Daiyu's sweetness!"
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
Thanks to Xianyu Reading Bar and Su Chen Zuisi Silly Dog for the rewards.
Happy Qingming Festival... er, just pretend I didn't say anything.
I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!
(End of this chapter)