I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 269: Recruiting Soldiers and Horses, Introduction to Commander Ability

Who should I hand it over to then?

It would be great if it could be handed over to Sister Lin. With Sister Lin's ability and Sister Qin's help, there would definitely be no problem.

However, there is no precedent in Daxia for allowing women to serve as officials.

This matter is indeed difficult to handle.

Well, let Master Kou take care of this matter.

Presumably, Master Kou would not want the Daxia Monthly Report to fall into the hands of officials from Qin Xiang's faction.

In the afternoon, Jia Cong first called Xue Da over.

He was ordered to inform all the servants in Ningguo Mansion that anyone who was willing to join the army to seek a future could come and sign up.

Then let Jiao Da take the assessment.

As long as you can be selected, you will have a bright future.

As long as you make contributions in the army, you will be able to escape from slavery in the future.

Even becoming an official and bringing honor to the family would not be a problem.

After hearing Jia Cong's instructions, Xue Da did not feel any doubt.

The Jia family was originally a military family. The two old dukes had also gone to war outside with their servants.

For example, Jiao Da followed the old man to the battlefield and even saved the old man's life.

The Third Master was a man of foresight. He must have had his considerations when he wanted to select some servants to join the army.

Therefore, after Xue Da went down, he quickly passed on Jia Cong's order.

Among the servants of the Jia family, most were content with pleasure and were afraid of death and hardship.

How could they be willing to endure hardship, or even risk their lives to join the army?
However, there are still people with ambitions and aspirations who are eager to gain a future.

In the future, I can escape from slavery, become an official, and bring honor to my family.

Therefore, in the end, there were more than forty people who signed up.

This ratio is already quite high.

Jiao Da also fulfilled his duties as an examiner very seriously and responsibly.

He had been on the battlefield himself, so he naturally knew what the army required of its soldiers.

Among Jiao Da's guard team, seven or eight people also signed up to join the army.

In the end, after Jiao Da's assessment, twenty-six servants completed the assessment.

As for these twenty-six people, Jia Cong ordered Jiao Da to train them first.

Next, Jia Cong convened another clan meeting.

The purpose of this meeting was to select a group of young men from the Jia family who were willing to join the army to seek a future.

After joining the army, as long as you can accumulate some merits, you can gain a future.

In fact, it will be easier for the children of the Jia family to gain a better future.

If those slaves need to risk their lives to gain a future.

So for the children of the Jia family, they only need to endure the time to easily gain a bright future.

Of course, how high you can go depends on your personal ability.

If the Jia family had the ability, they would still have enormous power.

The Jia family could easily push an outsider, Jia Yucun, to the top.

Another outsider, Wang Ziteng, was also pushed to a high position with the help of the Jia family's resources.

Therefore, among the children of the Jia family's side branches, there are quite a few who want to gain a bright future.

In the end, the number of applicants was even greater than the number of slaves, reaching as many as fifty or sixty people.

However, after Jiao Da's screening, only more than 20 people were left out of the fifty or sixty people.

The physical fitness of these masters is actually not as good as that of their slaves.

Then, including the children and servants of the Jia family, there were fifty-one people who were willing to join the army.

Jia Cong ordered them to train with Jiao Da first, and then send them to join the army after a period of training.

Each general's family would also send their sons or slaves to join the army.

Therefore, Jia Cong's actions would not arouse the suspicion of Emperor Yonglong, nor would he be found out by the censor and impeached.

However, it would be a bit difficult to prepare armor and horses for them.

But I can't prepare it right now.

It will not be too late to make plans when the war breaks out and you are about to join the army.

……

Seeing that the war was about to break out, he had to arrange things at home in advance before joining the army.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong took advantage of a day off and took Lin Daiyu to visit the Lin family again.

In the study, Jia Cong couldn't help but say to Lin Ruhai: "Father-in-law, I have an idea that may allow the post station to be self-sufficient, or even profitable."

snort!
People of this era probably don’t know that the postal service will make a profit in a year in the future - oh, it seems that the postal service in the future is also losing money, so that’s okay.

But there is a reason why the postal service lost money in later generations.

Because as long as it is in China, no matter how remote the place is, China Post can deliver it to your home.

The cost is too high.

But in this world, there is no such problem.

After hearing Jia Cong's words, Lin Ruhai's eyes lit up.

You should know that the post station is very complicated, and the Ministry of Revenue needs to spend 700,000 to 800,000 taels of silver every year.

Lin Ruhai no longer expected the post station to make money. As long as it could be self-sufficient and did not need to pay the Ministry of Revenue, it could save 700,000 to 800,000 taels of silver a year. How could Lin Ruhai not be tempted?

He hurriedly asked, "Tell me quickly, dear son-in-law, how can we make the post station self-sufficient, or even profitable?"

After hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help but say, "Father-in-law, I think it's time to popularize the Daxia Monthly Report throughout Daxia."

"Things like selling the Daxia monthly report can all be handed over to the post station."

“And not only that, why not open the post station to private mailing business?”

"The post station itself is responsible for transmitting intelligence, and supplies are also delivered regularly."

"In that case, why not just start a private mail service? We have a fixed channel, so the charges will naturally be lower than those of the escort agency."

"And we don't actually need much expenditure, we can definitely make money."

"And we don't accept expensive items. We only do low-end and long-distance business."

"This way, there won't be any conflict with the escort agency."

"Father-in-law, do you think that by doing this, the post station can be self-sufficient?"

What Jia Cong was talking about was the private mailing business of the post office in later generations.

In this era, if you want to send a letter home, you either have to ask someone to bring it back or go through a escort agency.

Either way, it's very troublesome.

If you go through an escort agency, it will cost a lot, and it also depends on when they will make the trip.

There are many places where you cannot send mail even if you have money.

But if the post station started this business, the situation would be very different.

The post stations are connected in all directions, so no matter where you send a letter, it will definitely be delivered.

And even if no one sends letters at the post stations, they still need to deliver information and supplies.

Therefore, the cost of the post station can be said to be extremely low.

It can be said that it is much lower than that of the escort agency.

As long as they don't accept valuable items by mail, it won't cause much conflict to the escort agency's business.

It is possible to accept valuable items in the future, but there is no need to accept valuable items at the beginning.

The more Lin Ruhai thought about it, the more he felt that this method was feasible.

After thinking about it, Lin Ruhai quickly thought of many questions.

Next, he seriously asked Jia Cong for advice.

Based on his understanding of the postal service in later generations, Jia Cong began to patiently explain to Lin Ruhai.

Lin Ruhai took out pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and took notes while asking questions.

This question took most of the day.

Lin Ruhai couldn't help but sigh: "Wonderful, wonderful! This method is really indescribable!"

Jia Cong couldn't help but say: "Father-in-law, I hope you can take the reform of the post station into your own hands."

"Also, maybe in a few months, I will resign from the position of editor-in-chief of the Daxia Monthly Report. I wonder if my father-in-law can take on the role concurrently?"

Hearing this, Lin Ruhai's face changed and asked, "Why do you want to resign as the editor-in-chief of Daxia Monthly?"

"Could it be that something happened? No, that's not right. If it was something that happened in the imperial court, why didn't I know about it? Boy, tell me quickly, what's going on?"

Jia Cong hurriedly said, "Father-in-law, it is like this. Now that the Qing Dynasty and the Three Feudatories are changing, it is very likely that Daxia will fall into turmoil."

"My father-in-law also knows my archery skills and horseback archery. I want to gallop on the battlefield and kill the enemy!"

"By then, I will definitely not be able to continue to serve as the editor-in-chief of the Daxia Monthly Report!"

Lin Ruhai glanced at Jia Cong and said, "I think you think Daxia is going to be in chaos, and you want to take control of the military power to protect yourself, right?"

After hearing these words, Jia Cong's face turned dark.

Always leave some room for others so that you can meet again in the future. Why say it so bluntly?
Then Lin Ruhai continued, "But your choice is not wrong."

"Chaos is coming. With military power in hand, it is indeed easier to protect yourself, and at the same time, you can better protect Yu'er and the others."

"However, on the battlefield, swords have no eyes. You must be more careful. Remember that Yu'er is still waiting for you at home."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Of course I know, father-in-law, father-in-law hasn't said yet, can you take over the Daxia Monthly News?"

Lin Ruhai shook his head and said, "As you said, the reform of the post station is of vital importance. I will report it to His Majesty, and I will take over this matter."

"However, I cannot take over the Daxia Monthly Report."

"I will discuss this matter with Minister Kou and see if he has anyone to recommend."

Jia Cong nodded, and then discussed with Lin Ruhai how to use the post station to promote the Daxia Monthly News.

They did not leave the study until Lin Daiyu came personally to call them for dinner.

After returning to Ningguo Mansion, Jia Cong continued to gain experience.

On this day, at the Ningguo Mansion's martial arts training ground, Jia Cong saw Jiao Da training with fifty-one prospective recruits and more than twenty guards.

When Jiao Da saw Jia Cong, he stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Third Master, it happens that you are here. Please go over and say a few words to them to see how effective the training is."

After listening, Jia Cong nodded.

He also wanted to see how effective the training was during this period.

Walking up to these people, Jia Cong could not help but say in a deep voice: "You all want to join the army to gain a future."

"Joining the military means taking risks. You sweat more in peacetime and bleed less in war."

"Only by training more in daily life can you have a chance to survive on the battlefield."

Commander experience +1
【Commander (entry level): 1/100】

(End of this chapter)