Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 124 Times have changed
"it is good."

Fu Qiufang agreed immediately, feeling as if she was exhausted and relieved.She took another careful look at Li Weijian and thought to herself that she was indeed right. Mr. Li was a gentleman.

If it were anyone else, how would she care about such a troublesome matter?He just covets her beauty, he just coaxes her with sweet words, but when he gets his hands on her, he turns his back on her, so what can she do?
Li Weijian nodded and said, "That's it, I'll ask Wu Haiping to take you back."

Waving in the distance, when Wu Haiping came closer, Li Weijian gave the order, and Wu Haiping said: "Miss Fu, let's go?"

Fu Qiufang agreed and followed Wu Haiping to the outside world in Zizi Alley.After walking out for about ten steps, he turned around and looked around, only to see Li Weijian still standing there.She surrendered again and followed Wu Haiping out of the private alley.

Li Weijian saw that handsome figure hiding in the corner, and then Shi Shiran returned from the side door.He was confused and didn't know who told Fu Qiufang. His mentor Yan Xiyao had said before that even if Fu Shi's case was exposed, he would not die.Anyone with a discerning eye knows that most of the stolen money was taken away by the former Shuntian Prefecture Yin, and this Fu Shi is nothing but a scapegoat.

Qi Qing pursued his birthplace and his words, and was sent away three thousand miles away.

As for Fu Qiufang, this girl really suits Li Weijian's liking.He is intelligent, has integrity, knows how to repay kindness, and has a clear sense of grudges and grievances. He is very opinionated and kind-hearted, and is not a troublemaker.

However, her background is too poor, otherwise it would be just right for her to be his wife.But now I can't, I can only keep her close as my concubine.

Tomorrow I will go look for Yan Xiyao and do some research. I will finally get to the bottom of the case and give an explanation to Fu Qiufang.

He returned to the small courtyard and sat for a while, when he saw Qingwen stumbling and losing face.After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that the little girl was probably just having a taste for it.He immediately pulled her over and coaxed her until Qingwen blushed and then gave up.

Turning around, Yan Xiyao stopped taking a bath today.Li Weijian went to Yan's Mansion early in the morning and talked to his second son, Yan Fengzhen, for a long time before going to meet his mentor.

In the study room, Yan Xiyao was in vain, and he just heard Yan Fengzhen slander him, saying that his old teacher had combed a pretty maid yesterday.

Li Weijian observed his words and emotions and knew that his teacher was in a good mood. He simply teased: "Teacher is so old, you still need to pay more attention to your health."

Yan Xiyao said: "Pay attention! In a few years, I won't have the chance even if I want to pay attention."

Li Weijian couldn't help but laugh, and saw Yan Xiyao said impatiently: "If you have something to say, please tell me quickly. I'm very sleepy right now."

"Yes. Teacher, Fu Shi's case...how will it be judged in the end?"

"Huh?" Yan Xiyao raised his eyes and scanned, stared at Li Weijian for a long time, and suddenly smiled and nodded twice: "Fu Shi has a sister. It is said that the country is beautiful and fragrant. When Qiao Langzhong went to Fu Shi's home, he didn't see her. Could it be that... Luo Shi? Is it in the hands of the resurrection?"

Li Weijian laughed sarcastically and was speechless.This old mentor has no dirt in his eyes, rather than hiding his evil intentions at all.So he simply acquiesced.

Yan Xiyao smiled and said seriously: "Young men, beware of sex."

Li Weijian repeatedly raised his hands, annoyed by the teasing just now.

Yan Xiyao laughed a few times and then said: "What else can we do? We can't call Governor Wang all the way back from Yunnan and Guizhou for a case, right? In a few days, when the case files of the Ministry of Punishment are submitted to the court, the saint will have his own opinion . Either in Liaodong, or in Qiongya, in short, don’t even think about returning to the Central Plains in this life.” After a pause, he asked: “That woman asked him to be resurrected to absolve Fu Shi?”

"She only asked that her brother be spared the death penalty."

Yan Xiyao said with a bit of envy on his face: "Cheap has come back to life."

With a sigh, Yan Xiyao turned to say: "I met Da Sikong yesterday and mentioned the resurrection. He said that the resurrection was for the Ministry of Engineering to calculate the artillery range. It has been almost three months, but has the result been obtained?"

"Teacher, the student has already measured the range chart, but now the student is on the cusp of the storm. I'm afraid it's hard to be in the limelight again, right?"

Yan Xiyao nodded and said: "You know how to hide your clumsiness, you are quite smart. However, since you have worshiped me as your teacher, what is there to be afraid of? Even if you are facing Chen Hongmou, with me here, you can still be resurrected."

Li Weijian did not rush to agree, but frowned and thought secretly.My mentor is an old fox, and his words are never without meaning.Last month, I told myself to keep a low profile, but this month I suddenly became arrogant. In this... could it be that the situation in the government has changed?

Now that the new party is getting more powerful, the old party can only parry but has no power to fight back.Did his mentor see that the government was out of balance at this time, so he wanted to stand on his own, join forces with the old party, and then fight against Chen Hongmou's new party?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it became. He frowned and said, "Teacher, are you going to face Chen Hongmou?"

Yan Xiyao smiled on his face, but he admired this student even more in his heart.It is said that no heavy hammer is needed to play a drum. Li Fusheng was born with intelligence. He really knew everything!Much better than his two stupid sons!
However, it was difficult for him to have any heirs, and he only had two sons, not even a daughter from a concubine.If not, he really wants to make Li Weijian his son-in-law. After a hundred years, Li Weijian will take care of the family business, and he expects that it will not decline for decades.

Feeling sad in his heart, Yan Xiyao said: "Recently, Chen Hongmou and his party have been impeached one after another. The sage had approved them all before, but now he is hesitant. The way of an emperor is nothing more than to stir up different opinions and balance the situation of the government. Now the old party The situation is declining, I'm afraid the saint is uneasy."

Li Weijian heard the elegant meaning of Xian Zhi and asked tentatively: "Is the teacher going to join the cabinet?"

"How can it be so fast? It will take another one or two years." Yan Xiyao can only show his complacency when facing his own people.

Li Weijian congratulated him repeatedly. If Teacher Xindao's thigh enters the pavilion, it will become even stronger.With the teacher under his protection, Xiaoxiao wouldn't want to cause trouble for him, Li Weijian.

The two masters and apprentices immediately talked about it, and Yan Xiyao gave him the opportunity to do this, and to let Li Weijian do this and this, and to stand on his own, he must first create some momentum.Li Weijian got the order and left.

After resting today, Li Weijian was not in a hurry to go to the Ministry of Industry's firearms test range outside the city, but headed towards the newly purchased house.

He doesn't have much to do with the girl Fu Qiufang, so it's better to talk about some things openly to avoid trouble in the future.

After a while, Wu Haiping stopped the carriage and Li Weijian got out of the carriage. He saw Jia Yunzheng and the leading craftsman pointing towards the gate.

When I walked over, I realized that after the wall enlarged the two entrances to the house, the gate was not in the middle. It looked awkward, so Jia Yun wondered whether to move the gate?But if the gate is moved, the Yimen and the corridor will no longer be aligned with the main entrance.

Li Weijian said: "It's fine as it is. The expanded house will also be separated by walls, and a moon gate will be left for me to go in and out."

Jia Yun took the order, and Li Weijian entered the house.After entering the courtyard for the second time, Wu Zhong, who was accompanying him, said from a distance: "Miss Fu, our young master is here."

Perhaps after what she had experienced yesterday, the girl had already regarded herself as Li Weijian's person, so she went to the door and invited him, "Master Li, why don't you come in and have a cup of tea."

"Alright."

After entering, Li Weijian glanced around and saw that the room was very neatly organized, with baskets already placed on top of the kang, and inside were half-picked green leafy vegetables.

Seeing Li Weijian's attention, Fu Qiufang said: "Wu Zhong and the Ding brothers thought they couldn't live in the same place as the craftsmen, so I helped with the cooking."

Li Weijian said in surprise: "You can also cook?"

Fu Qiufang said: "For a small family, sometimes you have to do everything yourself. You can't compare to the wealth of Rongguo Mansion." Li Weijian lifted up his robe and sat down with a smile, and said: "It's good to do it yourself. You can have enough food and clothing by yourself."

Fu Qiufang didn't answer, picked up the teapot and poured tea for Li Weijian.Li Weijian thanked him and took a sip. The tea was bitter and had almost no aroma.

Looking up, Fu Qiufang drank to herself, as if she was enjoying it.

Li Weijian admired the woman in front of him more and more, and said musingly: "Miss Fu, I have inquired about brother You's case, and it is likely that he can save his life..." He then briefly stated the views of his teacher Yan Xiyao.

Fu Qiufang lowered her head after hearing this, her face softened slightly, she breathed a long sigh of relief, and then asked: "Master Li, where is the stolen money?"

"It doesn't matter whether I pay it back or not. I will probably be exiled for three thousand miles. If I am not pardoned, I will never think of returning to the Central Plains in this life."

Fu Qiufang pondered for a moment and said, "Master Li, please give me four thousand and one hundred taels of silver."

Li Weijian wondered: "It's the same thing if you don't pay back, girl, you still want to pay back?"

Fu Qiufang said: "After all, it is the karma owed by the Fu family. I have returned this stolen money. Since my brother's karma has been eliminated, I feel a little more at ease."

Li Weijian looked carefully at Fu Qiufang in front of him, and saw that she was demure and calm, and looked at him briefly before lowering his head. She seemed to be clean from the inside out, and he couldn't help but feel more and more admiration in his heart.

Because he said: "Actually, Miss Fu has to wait for some time, and after she has sent your brother off, she can take the money I donated and go to Daming Mansion to find her relatives."

Fu Qiufang said: "My brother wants to give me away as a surrogate wife, let alone an aunt I haven't seen for a long time. Mr. Li, there is no need to persuade me, I have made up my mind."

"Okay, I will deliver the banknote tomorrow."

Fu Qiufang stood up and thanked her without saying anything else.Li Weijian is not a good person, but he is not a villain who takes advantage of others' danger.He respects the girl he admires from the bottom of his heart.

Knowing that Fu Qiufang was in a confused mood at the moment, he didn't stay long, drank all the tea in the cup, and then got up and left.

When Li Weijian came out of the wing and walked out, Wu Zhong followed suit.Although he didn't say anything, his face was drooped, and his emotions were written on his face.

Li Weijian stopped and said happily: "Okay, okay, who do you want to show your face to? Come here early tomorrow morning, and I will take you to see the firearm test firing, so that you know what times have changed."

Wu Zhong curled his lips and said: "Then no matter how much changes are made, there will still be less brave people?"

Li Weijian smiled and shook his head, too lazy to tell this kid apart.Wu Zhong is right. No matter how things change, brave people are indispensable in the military. However, as we enter the age of firearms, the bravery of the cold weapon era becomes dispensable.

What is lacking now are brave sergeants who strictly abide by military discipline and can move forward without changing their composure in the face of incoming muskets. What is lacking are junior officers who can strictly implement military orders after receiving military orders. After some calculations, they can calculate how to suppress the opponent's artillery. The group needs professionals with artillery elevation angles.

There is no shortage of brave people like Wu Zhong who wield cold weapons and have no other skills.

Suddenly, Li Weijian grabbed the time and rushed to the firearms test range outside the city just before noon.After scanning around, the test range was as usual, except that there were a few more officials from Qintian Prison in the pergola on one side.

Wu Zhong stretched his neck and looked at the test-firing artillery pieces. He curled his lips for a long time and said, "Sir, is this it?"

"Ok?"

He puffed out his chest and said, "How many people can be hit by this cannon? I have the time to fire the cannon, and I have already run close with my spear in hand."

Li Weijian glanced at him meaningfully and said, "These are just two artillery pieces. Are there only two in your military formation?"

"How many doors are there?"

"There are always more than a hundred guns. Just imagine, you are lining up to charge into the formation, and there are hundreds of artillery guns on the other side aiming at the same angle. At least [-]% of the cannons will hit the queue. You can survive. What are the chances of coming down?”

Wu Zhong didn't know the odds, but as soon as he thought about the volley of hundreds of cannons, and the cannons as big as bowls hitting the sky, he was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his back.

Wu Zhong was unwilling to give in and asked: "Sir, I see that there are more than a hundred soldiers in the Inspection Department, but they are just one small cannon. There are so many artillery pieces on the military formation?"

"Only more." Li Weijian said: "There are different garrison troops in the north and south of Dashun. The southern army wants coastal defense. A team of more than [-] people always has [-]% firearms. Each town has a separate artillery team; the inland army is just to suppress bandits. , firearms were probably between [-] and [-] percent; on the contrary, the northern Beijing camp and the frontier army had [-] percent firearms, [-] percent bows and arrows, and [-] percent double-armored heavy infantry holding down the formation.

The cavalry team had two short-fire muskets and a number of thunderbolts for charging into the formation. "

"So many?" Wu Zhong couldn't help but be speechless.

"More? Oh, let me tell you, it's not more, it's less. How did you think Qinghai was defeated last year?"

Wu Zhong shook his head, looking confused.

Li Weijian said: "The Junggars are all cavalry. The first five thousand elites have three muskets, two short and one long, followed by eight hundred camel cannons. They fought continuously. The officers and soldiers couldn't stand it anymore, so they were defeated." Return." (Note [-])

Wu Zhong only thought about it briefly, and then his heart was shaken.

After a long while, he said: "Let's put it this way, if the two armies fired cannons and muskets dozens of steps apart, wouldn't it mean that there is no close combat?"

"I can't say there are none, I can only say there are very few. Nowadays, they are all shooting at each other. If anyone can't stand the strength and retreats, the winner can send cavalry to cover it up."

"This...this..." Wu Zhong was younger than Li Weijian, and he had previously been focused on learning martial arts, goods, and becoming an emperor.

As a result, after more than ten years of hard work, I achieved something, and the world has changed!A warrior like him who is good with cold weapons has no use in the military battle!How can this be called human kindness?
Li Weijian reached out and patted Wu Zhong on the shoulder: "So I say, times have changed."

Just then, I saw a group of officials walking in on a soft sedan.When they got close, the sedan chair fell down, and an official wearing a scarlet robe came out from inside. He was the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, the great Sikong Gu Weiyue.

"Stay aside and don't move around." After telling him, Li Weijian hurriedly came forward to greet him.

　Note [-]: This is the elite equipment situation of the Junggar side when the Qing army fought with the Junggar army.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)