The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 460: Zhongshan Wolf Takes Action

Shitou Xingwei had been following the carriage. He obviously recognized Zhang Pu, who was leading the shouting, and sneered: "This guy really likes to show off."

"It must be very useful to have a hundred people responding to your call, but isn't he afraid that the first bird to stick its head out will be shot first?" Mu Ye licked his lips that were cracked by the cold wind while talking.

"Maybe... I'm really not afraid." Jia Huan thought to himself.

Zhang Pu may not lack passion, but he is more of a person keen on fame and fortune. Now that he has been noticed by the big boss of Donglin, he naturally has to work hard. Moreover, everyone knows that the big boss behind Donglin is the current Emperor Qiansheng. Clinging to Donglin is equivalent to clinging to the emperor. Therefore, although this public opinion action against the Ministry of Revenue and the noble group is risky, there should be no danger to his life. The benefits far outweigh the risks, so Zhang Pu is naturally not afraid.

On the contrary, those ordinary scholars who were instigated were simply used as guns. These were the real passionate young people who were fully practicing the saying "the rise and fall of a country is the responsibility of every man". These young people may be immature, but they are undoubtedly the most respectable. In history, it is often countless passionate young people who have promoted the revolutionary process. We call them "people of lofty ideals".

However, it is not easy to be a philanthropist, because you have to pay a price, sometimes even your own life...

Just as Jia Huan and others were preparing to turn around and take a detour, a group of aggressive soldiers suddenly appeared on the long street. Judging from their attire, they should be from the Wucheng Bingmasi. Moreover, these soldiers were not holding weapons, but iron chains, water and fire sticks, pumps, water dragons, etc., and there were more than a dozen water carts (carts for holding water) following behind them.

The scholars were still waving their arms and shouting excitedly, when they suddenly saw a group of soldiers rushing over on the street. They immediately became restless and agitated. Before they could react, the soldiers had already set up pumps and water hoses and started spraying water at the demonstrators. In an instant, the scholars were crying for their parents and running away in panic.

It is necessary to mention here that the duties of the Five Cities Bingmasi of the Dajin Dynasty were to maintain street order, arrest thefts, prevent fires, etc., which was equivalent to a combination of public security and firefighting. Usually, if there was a fire anywhere in the city, the Five Cities Bingmasi was responsible for putting out the fire, so it had many firefighting tools, such as water bags, water wheels, water dragons, pumps, etc. The water wheels and water bags were used to hold water, which could hold hundreds of kilograms at a time. The water dragons and pumps were used to spray water. They were all made of bamboo tubes, and the bamboo joints were opened up, just like water pipes. The water dragons were more than ten meters long, and the pumps were shorter and could be used by one person, similar to the small spray guns that farmers used to spray pesticides.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Five Cities Army were using water hoses and pumps to spray the scholars like drowned rats. Tsk tsk, it was the coldest time of the year and the temperature was close to zero. Having cold water poured on them was a very painful feeling.

Those scholars who had been so passionate just now suddenly fled in all directions, cursing and running away, trampling on each other, screaming in pain, and many were injured.

"Hahaha, it's raining nicely. You guys are freezing to death. You have nothing better to do than come here and block the road."

The fat man clapped his hands and laughed happily, admiring the embarrassed postures of the scholars, but his joy turned into sorrow. The scholars panicked and fled to this side like a tide, while the officers and soldiers of the Five Cities Bingmasi chased after them and attacked frantically, so everyone became innocent.

Fortunately, Jia Huan reacted quickly and lowered the curtain in time to avoid getting wet. However, the little fat boy was obese and his movements were a beat slower than others, so he got drenched in the face and screamed from the cold.

The coachman and four palace guards outside were naturally not spared, and they all cursed. Shi Tou and Mu Ye were smart and had already hidden behind the carriage, so they escaped. Only Jin Bao, who was sitting in the front and driving the car, was soaked like a drowned rat. He was so angry that he kept greeting the other party's family.

The officers and soldiers of the Five Cities Military Department didn't care about all this. They just laughed and chased after the scholar. When they met a scholar who fell accidentally, they even went up to him and poured a bucket of water on his head. If anyone dared to resist, they would hit him with the water and fire sticks, or even put on an iron chain and take him back.

"Hahaha, you are a bunch of chickens and dogs, I'll scold you harshly, you bastards, how dare you cause trouble in the territory I command? If I don't show you some power, you will see how powerful I am! You don't know how many eyes my Horse King has!" A military officer on horseback laughed triumphantly as he rode past the carriage. He looked extremely ugly, and it was none other than Sun Shaozu, the Zhongshan Wolf.

Jia Huan couldn't help but secretly exclaimed what a coincidence it was this guy. However, he had to admit that this guy was quite capable. He broke up a protest movement in just a few moves. Those scholars were also unlucky. Even if they were not injured, they were soaked in this weather. I'm afraid many of them would fall ill when they return, and they might even lose their lives.

In ancient times when medical conditions were backward, it was not uncommon to die from a cold. For example, Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty fell into a river while playing, and then fell ill and died. This is recorded in official history, but whether there was any other hidden story is unknown.

The four palace guards were not in a good mood. They were soaked, and the Seventh Prince was also soaked. So they got angry on the spot, shouted and rushed forward. Some pulled the reins, some drew their swords, and some directly pulled Sun Shaozu off the horse.

"You are a rebel! How dare you attack our soldiers? Someone come here!" Sun Shaozu was shocked and angry. He was about to show off his authority, but one of the palace guards flashed his badge, which frightened him so much that his face turned pale.

The leading imperial guard put a knife to Sun Shaozu's neck and shouted angrily, "You bastard, you are blind. It's okay if you got us wet, but there is a noble sitting in the car. If anything goes wrong, can you bear the consequences?"

Sun Shaozu was so frightened that he trembled and kowtowed, saying, "I deserve to die. I was just doing my job and didn't know you were here. I deserve to die a thousand times."

Although the fat guy in the car was annoyed, as the saying goes, a broad mind makes a fat body. Although this kid has a cowardly character, he is relatively kind and generous. Knowing that the other party was unintentional and was just performing official duties, he snorted coldly: "Forget it, let him go, and pay the silver for the clothes, one hundred taels!"

As if Sun Shaozu was pardoned, he even said he was willing to pay compensation and paid a silver note for one hundred taels on the spot, which showed that he had indeed made a lot of money.

"Go away, you got it easy!" The palace guards took the silver bills and released Sun Shaozu.

Sun Shaozu didn't dare to ask who was in the carriage. He just watched the carriage go away carefully. Suddenly, he thought, isn't the horse following behind the carriage from Rongguo Mansion? There is also the Jia family's logo on it. He must ask about it later.

It was too cold with wet clothes. Even though Xu Wen was fat, he was shivering with cold. Fortunately, he passed by a clothing store and hurried in to buy a set of dry clothes to change. The guards and Jinbao also changed clothes, and asked the boss for a pot of hot wine to ward off the cold. Only then did he slowly recover.

"How ridiculous! It's all the fault of those sour bastards. They didn't study hard at home, but ran out to cause trouble." Xu Wenhou walked out of the clothing store cursing. Probably because he was afraid that Jia Huan would get suspicious, he hurriedly said, "Brother Jia, don't misunderstand. I'm not scolding you. I'm only scolding those sour bastards who caused trouble."

Jia Huan asked tentatively, "Brother Xu, do you think they did something wrong?"

Xu Wenhou stopped, squinted his eyes that were slightly swollen due to his obesity, shook his head blankly and said, "I haven't thought about it carefully. Anyway, if they hinder me, I will scold them. I don't care if they are right or wrong."

Jia Huan couldn't help but laugh. This little fat boy is indeed suitable to be an idle prince. Now the crown prince is under house arrest, and all the ministers in the East Palace have been replaced. The position of the crown prince is unstable. I'm afraid that the other princes of Emperor Qiansheng are ready to make a move, but this one has no other ideas. It's no wonder. Xu Wenhou himself is not valued by Emperor Qiansheng, and he is the seventh child. In addition to the crown prince, there are five older brothers in front of him. It is impossible for him to be the crown prince. The little fat boy himself is obviously very clear about this, so he completely "let it go" and doesn't deliberately control his weight. In front of delicious food, he will definitely eat as much as he can.

Jia Huan and Xu Wenhou continued to ride to Lidefang and finally stopped in front of a brand new mansion. Although the plaque in front of the door had not been hung yet, its scale and layout showed that it was a prince's mansion, which was even more magnificent than the Duke's Mansion of the Jia family.

"Brother Jia, please, this will be my residence in the future. You can come to see me anytime. Come on, I'll show you around." Xu Wenhou led Jia Huan into the palace with great interest, but he was too tired to walk after only five minutes of sightseeing. He panted and said, "No, I have to rest first. I'll show you the rest next time."

Jia Huan tactfully advised: "Brother Xu, I'm afraid you really need to lose some weight."

Xu Wenhou shook his head helplessly and said, "I also want to lose weight, but I just can't. What can I do? Never mind. Brother Jia, please take a look at my paintings first."

The two of them sat in a warm room, and Xu Wenhou asked someone to bring several of his paintings to Jia Huan for comments. Jia Huan took them and opened them. He had to say that there was a lot of improvement, much better than the original picture of a chicken pecking at rice, so he praised it highly and pointed out some shortcomings in a tactful way.

Xu Wenhou was so happy that his face was beaming with joy. Children with low self-esteem often want to be affirmed the most. He became closer to Jia Huan. The two of them discussed painting skills together for half a day. Seeing that it was almost noon, the fat boy enthusiastically invited Jia Huan to taste the food.

…………

In the afternoon, in Jia She's living room on the east side of Rongguo Mansion, Jia Zhen was also there, along with another person, who was Sun Shaozu.

Jia She was seen sitting in the middle, Jia Zhen was on the lower left, and Sun Shaozu was on the lower right. They were all excitedly narrating what had happened in front of the Zuoye Gate that morning.

"Hehe, those sour guys were nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs. Once they were drenched in ice water, they all scattered like birds and beasts. I even captured a group of them and threw them in prison, freezing them half to death before letting them go. Haha!" Sun Shaozu said proudly.

Jia She and Jia Zhen smiled at each other. They felt relieved now. Recently, the Donglin faction had been instigating scholars to make trouble. They had signed petitions and held marches to petition, trying to lead the public opinion to force the court to thoroughly investigate the reselling of salt permits. They had directed their spearhead at the Ministry of Revenue and the noble group. Both Jia She and Jia Zhen had participated in the reselling of salt permits for profit, so they were naturally worried day and night. Now that Sun Shaozu had easily dispersed these troublesome scholars with just one move, they naturally breathed a sigh of relief.

Jia She took a sip from his teacup and said disdainfully, "As the saying goes, it takes ten years for a scholar to rebel. These sour people overestimate their own abilities. Aren't they just asking for trouble?"

Jia Zhen laughed and said, "That's right. Brother Sun, this pour of ice water has woken them up. Haha."

"More than just waking up from the shower, I'm afraid they've gotten better from the gonorrhea. In this kind of weather, if they die, we can only blame their bad luck!" Sun Shaozu sneered, with a fierce gleam in his green eyes.

During the years he had been the commander of the East City Army, he had killed at least eight people, if not ten. A few lives were nothing in his eyes.

Jia Zhen complimented him, "Brother Sun, you have made a great contribution this time. I'm afraid you will be promoted soon."

"No, no!" Sun Shaozu spoke modestly but was secretly proud in his heart and secretly glanced at Jia She.

Jia She knew the truth, so he called the steward Wang Shanbao to his side and said, "Ask the Madam to invite the second young lady here."

Jia She had originally borrowed 6,000 taels from Sun Shaozu and had been planning to marry his concubine's daughter Jia Yingchun to him to pay off the debt. This time, Sun Shaozu had made great contributions to the noble group and demonstrated extraordinary abilities, so he was naturally more willing to take him in as his son-in-law.

However, Sun Shaozu did not immediately agree to the marriage. He proposed to see Jia Yingchun's appearance with his own eyes first. If she was beautiful, he would marry her, but if she was ugly, he would naturally not want her.

Originally, Jia She had made arrangements a few days ago for Sun Shaozu to hide in the dark and watch secretly, but something went wrong halfway and was ruined by Lin Daiyu who took a shortcut, so they had to make other arrangements.

Let's talk about Sun Shaozu. When he heard that Jia She actually asked the second young lady to come here, it was obvious that he wanted to meet her in person. He couldn't help but be overjoyed, because he had accidentally met Lin Daiyu that day. This girl's appearance was so stunning that he still remembered it. But Mrs. Xing told him that Jia Yingchun's appearance was similar to that of Miss Lin. Even if she was not as beautiful, she was still a stunning beauty. Naturally, he was delighted.

Sun Shaozu picked up the teacup and took a sip. He coughed calmly and said, "By the way, when I was chasing away those sour people, I encountered a thrilling incident and almost lost my life."

Jia She and Jia Zhen hurriedly asked what was going on.

Sun Shaozu then told the story of how he had accidentally bumped into the nobleman, and then added, "Behind the nobleman's carriage was another carriage belonging to your family, but I don't know who was in it."

Jia She knew what was going on when he heard this. He frowned and said, "So the nobleman that my nephew bumped into should be the Seventh Prince. Not long ago, Jia Huan happened to leave this palace with the Seventh Prince. If we calculate the time, it coincides."

Sun Shaozu's eyes lit up when he heard this and he said, "I'm afraid Huan Ge'er is so familiar with the Seventh Prince. I'm not afraid anymore. I'll have to ask Master She to ask Huan Ge'er to say a few good words to the Seventh Prince."

Jia She naturally would not say that he and Jia Huan were not on good terms. He just nodded and said, "That's easy."

(End of this chapter)