Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 199 Baochai Enters Rongguo

Shenjing, Five Army Camps, Firearms Camp Shooting Range.

A team of ten musketeers were standing in line, waiting for orders, each holding a brand new Rummy gun in their hands. However, the gun was longer than the common Rummy gun, with a thicker barrel and a strange-shaped sharp blade folded at the end of the gun.

Not far away, a group of people were observing the musketeer formation. Among them were Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, Minister of War Gu Yankui, and Jia Cong was also among the invited guests.

Because the idea of ​​modifying the Rumi gun was proposed by him in his last memorial, his presence was naturally indispensable for the test firing of the new Rumi gun.

Jia Cong was accompanied by a tall and strong young man, who was looking at the mighty musketeers with excitement. He was Guo Zhigui, who drove him every day.

Guo Zhigui is the son of Jia Cong's wet nurse, Madam Zhao, and can be considered his foster brother. This is a very close relationship between master and servant in the mansion.

This time when he went to Nanjing on official business, he also brought Guo Zhigui with him to do some carriage work. After returning to Beijing, Jia Zheng assigned Guo Zhigui to be his personal servant.

"Master Jia, this time I modified the Rumi gun according to your ideas and drawings. Master Jia's ingenious ideas really opened my eyes. I admire you very much."

The speaker was a young scholar in his twenties named Liu Shizhen, a candidate from Yongjia, Zhejiang.

Although this man was a scholar, his hometown, Yongjia, was a coastal area that had always been invaded by Japanese pirates. It was common for people to fight against the pirates with muskets.

This aroused Liu Shizhen's great interest in firearms. He immersed himself in the skills of firearms for many years and became well-known in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Gu Yankui, the Minister of War, took the lead in the transformation of the Rumi gun proposed by Jia Cong, and someone recommended Liu Shizhen to him.

Liu Shizhen lived up to expectations and completed the prototype of the Rumi gun in a very short time.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Brother Liu, you are too kind. I just had a sudden idea, but I don't have the practical ability to modify firearms like you. If I can give you some ideas, that would be the best. You don't have to stick to my general idea."

Liu Shizhen came from a family of gentry, which was very different from Jia Cong's family of wealth and nobility.

If Liu Shizhen had not been surprised by Jia Cong's talents and ideas, which were exactly what he had in mind, given the strict family background, the two of them would probably not have been able to exchange a few words.

He saw that Jia Cong's words and deeds showed no arrogance of a nobleman. He was meticulous, humble, polite, and open-minded. He was worthy of being an outstanding figure in the south of the Yangtze River. He couldn't help but like him.

"Boom..."

Gunshots rang out on the training ground. After firing ten bullets in succession, two of the ten new guns malfunctioned and could not fire. For trial guns, this fault tolerance rate is very good.

After checking the target, it was found that the range and hit rate of the test gun were significantly improved compared to the prototype gun. This was mainly because the barrel was lengthened, the gun body was heavier, and the fuse had a longer working distance.

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding and Minister of War Gu Yankui were both greatly impressed. They originally thought that Jia Cong's proposal for a reform of the Rumidong system was nothing more than a fantasy on paper, but experience has proven that it is real and feasible.

Based on the results of the test firing, Jia Cong also proposed that the distance between the trigger port and the crosshairs was too short, and that smoke would affect the shooter's aiming efficiency during shooting, as well as other minor suggestions for improvements.

This made Liu Shizhen, who was obsessed with firearms modification, feel like he had found a close friend.

After Jia Cong took Guo Zhigui away, a memorial on the test firing of the new musket modification was quickly sent to the palace.

……

Western City of Shenjing, Hongde Gate.

A team of four or five carriages passed through the city gate and entered the bustling and prosperous Shenjing City.

The man walking in front was riding a tall horse. He had a dignified appearance, was dressed in silk and satin, and had a look of arrogance and extravagance on his face.

The curtain of the carriage behind her was half opened, revealing a pretty and beautiful face, looking at the prosperous street scene outside.

After being accustomed to seeing the charming girls of the south of the Yangtze River, it is quite interesting to see the grandeur and majesty of the northern capital.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves came from behind. The girl looked in the direction of the sound and saw two horses running quickly behind her.

The street was not very wide, and the two horses ran to the side of the convoy and slowed down a little.

Sitting on the horse in front was a young man with thin shoulders and a straight back, with thick eyebrows, eyes like autumn pools, outstanding demeanor and a very good-looking appearance.

The girl's face showed surprise, then joy, and she almost called out.

At this moment, after the two horses passed the caravan, the young man had quickened his speed and was riding far away. The bright red gorilla felt cloak on his body rolled up a red cloud in the cold wind.

...Rongqing Hall.

Since that day of the spring festival, Du's spirit tablet was brought back to the ancestral temple with great fanfare, which made Jia's grandmother feel humiliated. She fell seriously ill afterwards, leaving everyone in the family in a panic.

The palace physician was invited to see the old lady, but there was no improvement, which really made Jia Zheng and others panic, after all, the old lady was already old.

Even Jia Cong felt a little nervous after hearing this. It was not because he and Lady Jia had a deep affection for each other, but Lady Jia was angered to death because of the incident at the ancestral hall. If the matter was investigated later, it would most likely be blamed on him, and he would not be able to escape the accusation of being unfilial.

Later, Jia Lian heard that Zhang Youshi, a famous doctor from Guanxi, was living in the capital, so he hurriedly found Feng Ziying, an old acquaintance of Zhang Shiyou, to invite him.

Zhang Shiyou was indeed a skilled doctor. After taking a few doses of medicine, Lady Jia recovered after five or six days of treatment.

Jia Zheng was so happy that he asked Jia Lian to give him a large sum of money as a thank you, and he also left a visiting card to express his friendship.

In this era, making friends with a famous doctor can mean saving a life at a critical moment.

Later, I heard rumors that Zhang Shiyou's medical skills were taught by his brother Zhang Youpeng, so he only learned 50% of his brother's abilities. I don't know how magical Zhang Youpeng's medical skills were.

After Lady Jia gradually recovered, Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang tried to persuade her several times, and Lady Jia finally came to her senses.

It's not that the kid is too evil, but because Du was granted a title by the emperor and was not allowed to enter the ancestral temple, which damaged the emperor's dignity, so he took such a roundabout way to attack. He was scared when he thought about it afterwards.

I didn't expect that the emperor, who is so busy with affairs of state, would be so meticulous about such matters, or he really values ​​that boy so much that he would stand up for him like this.

But the old lady was really sad that her nephew from her own family also came to disturb her.

Today, Lady Li, the wife of Marquis Zhongjing, came to complain, saying that her master had heard rumors in the palace that the emperor was extremely angry about the new imperial edict making it difficult to enter the ancestral temple.

The master also wanted to cover up for his aunt, so he sent the sacrifice that day to help his aunt avoid suspicion, but he did not mean to disrespect the elders at all.

It is also said that your son Cong submitted a memorial on firearms strategy to the emperor, which was highly appreciated by the emperor. My master was also present at the time, and it is no exaggeration to say that the emperor was very pleased.

It is not surprising that the emperor pays more attention to Cong'er, which is a good thing. After all, he is the old lady's grandson, which is a blessing.

After being flattered and coaxed by Li, the wife of Marquis Zhongjing, Lady Jia's depression was largely relieved.

But what about submitting a memorial on firearms strategy to the emperor? I have never heard him talk about it.

This evil creature only knows how to stir up trouble silently, causing unrest in the family, but outside he can even get the emperor's favor. Flowers bloom inside the wall, but they are fragrant outside the wall. I always feel suffocated when I think about it.

At this time, the maid outside the second gate came to report that the concubine of the Xue family and her brothers and sisters had arrived in the capital, and their carriage was now outside the second gate, and they were about to enter the mansion to pay New Year's greetings to the old lady.

Mrs. Wang was delighted to hear this. She had not seen her sister for many years, so she hurriedly took Wang Xifeng, Baoyu and the sisters to greet her.

Xue Pan was a man from outside the family and was not allowed to enter the inner house, so Jia Lian took him to see Jia Zheng. Everyone then took Aunt Xue and her daughter into Rongqing Hall.

When Baoyu saw Baochai, who was extremely beautiful and elegant, and who turned out to be a first-class girl, he was amazed at the beauty of the world and could not help but be overjoyed, and as usual, he was stunned.

Grandmother Jia and Mrs. Wang knew his temper and pretended not to see it.

When Daiyu and Tanchun saw him like this, they knew that his old illness had come back, but they just laughed inwardly and didn't take it to heart at all.

Grandmother Jia always liked good-looking girls, and she was very fond of Baochai when she saw her.

Although Mrs. Li, the wife of Marquis Zhongjing, was more distantly related to Aunt Xue, she was still a relative from Lady Jia's side, and everyone exchanged pleasantries and chatted with her again.

Aunt Xue then asked, "Why didn't I see Cong today? He came to my house several times when he was in Jinling and helped Pan'er. He is a capable child.

But he is busy in Jinling every day, and I don't have time to thank him in person."

In fact, what help did Jia Cong have in Jinling? There was only a vague letter of more than ten words without any handle. It was all Jia Yucun's own attempt to please Aunt Xue, but she didn't know the details.

Grandmother Jia had heard Lady Wang talk about Xue Pan, and she said, "He's just a kid. It's his duty to help his relatives. What's so great about it?"

Although Grandmother Jia felt guilty and had a headache when she saw Jia Cong, Aunt Xue was a stranger and since she had been mentioned, she had to ask her to come and see her, and she should also be polite in front of strangers, so she asked Yuanyang to go to Qingzhizhai to call someone.

(End of this chapter)