Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 142: The Weapon to Protect the Nation

Judefang, Rongguo Mansion.

Tanchun was just coming out of Jia Zheng's Mengpo Zhai study when she met Daiyu and Yingchun.

"I just paid my respects to the master and wanted to ask about the news of my third brother in Jinling, but I heard that Aunt Xue's eldest brother Xue Pan had beaten someone to death in Jinling!"

Yingchun was shocked when she heard this and asked, "Why did someone get beaten to death?"

"I heard that he was competing with someone to buy a maid as a concubine, and when they had a dispute, he ordered his servants to beat the man to death."

"Aunt Xue heard that Third Brother was close to the prefect of Yingtian, and wanted Third Brother to mediate the situation. But Third Brother said that he was young and didn't have the power to do such a thing, so Aunt Xue turned to Madam for help."

"The master is very angry and doesn't want to care about it. Now the mistress is handling it."

Daiyu smiled and said, "I knew that Third Brother Cong would behave like this when he encountered something like this."

Tanchun also said, "Sister Lin and I are of the same mind. Given Third Brother's personality, he would not tolerate such things and would definitely not want to get involved."

Yingchun, who was standing by, was simple-minded and didn't care about these things. She just said, "Brother Cong has been in Jinling for more than a month. I don't know how he is doing and whether he is used to staying in Jinling."

Tanchun said, "I heard that Third Brother lives in the Jia family's old house in Jinling. Except for Second Brother Lian, no one of our generation has ever been there. I wonder what it's like."

Daiyu thought that Jinling was a good place. She had been there twice with her father when she was a child. It was much quieter than here.

She also thought of how Baoyu went to her room to talk yesterday and was pulled away by Xiren halfway, saying that his second uncle wanted to ask him about his homework, and her face turned pale with fright.

There was originally some spiritual and elegant aura in it, but it disappeared in an instant, making it boring to look at.

It’s not a big deal that Baoyu doesn’t like reading. There are many people in this world who don’t study but go to school. It’s just that everyone has different interests.

Since he had this intention, he should have argued with his second uncle and expressed his true feelings, but he avoided him for years. He has not the integrity of a man at all. He has been in a miserable state all year round, and his second uncle has also been depressed all year round. Why bother?

The third brother was born in the same year as Baoyu. Not only was he an excellent poet and scholar, and he also went on to study and become an official, but more importantly, he could remain calm no matter how big the problem was, and he would even be considerate of others.

Thinking back to the past, he was exempted from filial piety and etiquette by his grandmother for no reason because of Baoyu, which was a great humiliation in the family.

However, knowing that he was vomiting blood, he specially prepared medicinal food and asked Wu'er to deliver it every day. He did not care about his family's difficulties at all.

There are hundreds of kinds of people born and raised in the world, and they are so different from each other. When I think of this, my heart is tormented and it takes a long time to calm down.

……

Yingtian Prefecture Yamen.

Jia Yucun sat high in the court. On the screen wall behind him was a painting of a red sun rising over vast expanses of blue water. Above his head hung a bright mirror with a plaque on a black background containing gold characters.

Several old servants and some neighbors from Feng Yuan's family were kneeling in the hall, but only the housekeeper from Xue's family came.

Yan Yuanliang, the prefect's aide, read the conclusion aloud:
"Now, Xue Pan of Jinling had his servants beat Feng Yuan to death because he was competing with someone for the purchase of a maid. The evidence is irrefutable. However, after Xue Pan was imprisoned, he fell seriously ill and died after medical treatment failed.

We now have the evidence from the Xue family and the documents from the Fangzheng. According to the law, the death penalty has been waived, but human life is of paramount importance and cannot be taken lightly. After mediation by this government, the Xue family compensated the Feng family with three thousand taels of silver, and the Feng family voluntarily closed the case. "

"Both parties signed the agreement and the money was exchanged on the spot. The case was immediately settled and could not be reversed."

A few days ago, Jia Yucun received a letter from Mrs. Wang signed by Jia Zheng, so he accepted the favor and told his aide Yan Yuanliang the strategy he had already thought of, asking him to mediate between the Xue and Feng families.

The Feng family had no relatives left, only a few old servants. After Yan Yuanliang gave them a lecture and sent them away with money, they felt lucky and would never sue again.

With such operations, playing with lawsuits, piecemeal efforts, and maneuvering left and right, a murder lawsuit was eliminated, and Xue Pan, who killed someone, also got away with it by faking his death.

However, since human life is involved, Jia Yucun asked Yan Yuanliang and the Xue family to inform them that the "dead" Xue Pan should not show up in Jinling again, so as to avoid exposing the truth and creating hidden dangers.

The censors in Jiangnan are no pushovers. If they find out something, they will issue an impeachment memorial, and both the Xue family and Jia Yucun will be in big trouble.

Aunt Xue was aware of the seriousness of the situation, so she decided to move to the capital to avoid the limelight.

As soon as the Xue family’s business in Jinling is arranged, they will set off for Shenjing to visit their relatives.

He also instructed his daughter Baochai to keep his brother under control and not to leave the Xue Mansion before leaving, so as to avoid being exposed.

...Shenjing, Imperial City, South Parade Ground.

Shi Ding, Marquis of Zhongjing, dressed in military uniform, entered the parade ground with a hundred spirited soldiers from the Five Army Camps armed with Rumi guns.

One of them is the captain holding the corner flag, and the other ninety-nine people are divided into three rows and stand in position.

These were elite soldiers familiar with the use of firearms, selected by Shi Ding from among the tens of thousands of soldiers in the military camps.

Each of them held a Rumi gun about six or seven feet long. Their morale was high, their formation was strict, and their every move was in unison.

Emperor Jiazhao, sitting on the high platform, looked at the neatly-organized musketeers and nodded with satisfaction.

In just three days, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding was able to train these new musketeers into such a high level of morale and military posture. Only a famous general of the time could do that.

Fifty steps in front of the three rows of musketeers, there was a row of targets made of thick wood, more than two palms thick.

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding walked to the throne, knelt down and saluted: "Your Majesty, the newly trained musketeers are already in place. Please order the drill."

"let's start!"

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding raised his right hand and swung it down at the captain holding the corner flag!

The team then waved the red corner flag in their hands, with the flag pointing directly at the target fifty steps away.

Emperor Jiazhao, Grand Secretary Cai Xiang, Minister of War Gu Yankui and others watched the drill.

The first row of musketeers raised their Rumi guns in unison, lit the fuse, and then there was a deafening noise.

Amid the smoke, the air was filled with extremely sharp sounds of breaking through the air. The target fifty steps away made a violent impact sound like raindrops, and wood chips flew all over the target, with an astonishing power.

After the gunners in the first row fired their shots, they immediately put away their muskets and quickly retreated to the third row. The thirty-three musketeers in the second row quickly moved to the first row and fired their guns.

Similarly, after firing a shot, they retreated to the last row, and then the original 33 gunners in the third row quickly entered the first row and fired, thus completing a three-shot cycle.

Emperor Jiazhao and others who were watching the drill only heard continuous gunfire like muffled thunder. The target, which was two palms thick, fifty steps away was devastated by the dense bullets and was on the verge of collapse.

The Minister of War, Gu Yankui, was holding a gilded Western-style wall clock in his hand, calculating the transitions between the three-attack formations and the time intervals between shooting.

Originally, a matchlock gun like the Rumi gun took six breaths of time to load ammunition and burn the matchlock between two shots.

On the battlefield facing fast horses and sharp swords, after firing the first shot from the matchlock, one either had to stand there and wait to die, or abandon the gun and fight with the sword, which was really like a chicken rib.

And just now, by using the three-stage continuous firing, the time interval between two shots has been shortened to less than two breaths!

As the three rows of gunmen surged like the tide, they rolled back and forth and fired continuously. Their movements became more and more skillful, and the interval between two shots gradually shortened to a breath!
What Jia Cong provided was only the principle of the three-stage firing mode.

However, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding was a famous general. When it came to the specific training, he spent three days to figure out the practical tricks of operating the three-stage spear formation.

Emperor Jiazhao and others who were watching the drill saw that each row of fighters advanced and retreated in an orderly manner without any disorder. Even the steps back and forward seemed to have been calculated in advance.

The entire gun array was like the tightly meshing gears of a clock, containing shocking killing potential.

After each row of gunners had fired five rounds in a row, Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding signaled the team to stop shooting.

After hundreds of bullets were fired, the two palm-thick wooden targets standing fifty steps away were all smashed to pieces, leaving no targets left to hit.

The dense barrage formed by the three-stage attack was so powerful that it exceeded the expectations of everyone watching the drill.

Minister of War Gu Yankui's face flushed with excitement as he said, "Your Majesty, the Three-Stage Strike method is incredibly powerful. If we use this method to train thousands of spearmen, we can use them to fight in battle.

No matter how sharp the sword or the horse is, it will be destroyed by bullets.

This three-stage attack method breaks the barriers of military strategists. If the matchlock gun is further improved, its power can be further enhanced. This method can be a national weapon. Jia Cong was the first to create this method, which is unprecedented and is truly a great achievement!"

Emperor Jia Zhao, who was always reserved and deep, could not help laughing when he saw the power of the three-stage spear-strike formation: "It is rare for Jia Cong to offer this method, and Marquis Zhongjing is even more skilled in training soldiers. It really opened my eyes."

"My dear Minister Gu, I want to build a firearms camp in addition to the five military camps. The Ministry of War will draw up a strategy for building the camp. Jia Cong has some unique ideas about firearms, so the Ministry of War can send a letter to him for discussion."

(End of this chapter)