I'm in the Red Mansion

It is said that Liu Xianglian went out and no one knew where he went. He wandered for more than half a year before returning to the capital.

On the way, Liu Xianglian saw the Daxia Monthly Report and learned about his junior brother's deeds in Jizhou City.

I saw that my junior brother not only killed 100,000 Qing troops with two fires, but also captured the city of Jizhou.

Liu Xianglian was of course very happy. He was a dissolute person, but in his heart he also longed for Daxia to regain its homeland.

After reading the news, Liu Xianglian ordered some wine and food and got drunk.

After getting drunk, he couldn't help but yelling that his junior brother was disloyal and didn't call him.

After returning to the capital, he went to Ningguo Mansion and visited Madam Mei. Then he went alone on a fast horse and headed straight for Jizhou City.

……

At this time, Jizhou City was bustling with activity.

Jia Cong had just recaptured Jizhou City and had a lot to do.

The drawbridge needed to be rebuilt and the moat cleared of corpses.

During the war, people's houses were all damaged and needed to be repaired.

Jizhou City needs to re-establish order.

All the officials, both big and small, in Jizhou City were Manchus, and they were all slaughtered.

At this time, there was no official, big or small, in Jizhou City.

Jia Cong had to first select some people from his own personal guards and soldiers to temporarily take over these official positions.

At the same time, a number of officials were selected from the public to maintain order.

And because Jizhou City had just been recaptured, it had actually lost its source of goods.

Originally, all the shops in Jizhou city purchased their goods from other states.

But now that Jizhou City is easy to defend, these channels are naturally cut off.

Next, they could only open a passage from Daxia.

But now, no safe passage has been opened.

If we want to stabilize Jizhou City, we must open this passage.

Therefore, Jia Cong has a lot of things to do.

At this moment, Jia Cong's personal soldiers reported that his cousin had come to seek refuge with him.

Cousin?

Jia Cong frowned, and for a moment he couldn't guess who it was.

Soon, Jia Cong asked his personal soldiers to bring the person in.

Then Jia Cong discovered that the person who came was actually Jia Huan.

Jia Cong couldn't help laughing and said, "Brother Huan, why are you here? Come sit down and talk."

Jia Huan sat down and said, "Brother Cong, as the old saying goes, brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle."

"I came to seek refuge with Third Brother Cong this time specifically to help Third Brother Cong."

"I brought Zhao Da and Zhao Er with me, and also brought several hundred carrier pigeons."

"And there are also Zhao family members staying at home, so we can use carrier pigeons to pass messages between the two places."

After hearing this, Jia Cong's eyes lit up.

In fact, Jia Cong asked Jia Huan to raise carrier pigeons in the beginning for the purpose of delivering messages.

Using carrier pigeons to deliver messages is much faster than sending them by express mail over 800 miles.

The most important thing is when the situation is urgent, for example, when the entire city is surrounded.

It is very difficult to convey the information.

At this time, carrier pigeons can be used to deliver messages.

Jia Cong looked at Jia Huan and asked, "Brother Huan, you don't have to come here in person. You know that Jizhou City is a troubled place and there will be wars in the future. It will be very dangerous to stay here."

Jia Huan said, "Brother Cong, I came here to seek a better future. I hope you can help me."

After hearing Jia Huan's words, Jia Cong nodded and said, "Since you have made up your mind, then stay."

After saying this, Jia Cong called his personal soldiers and ordered them to settle Jia Huan.

A few days later, Mei Shiming and Liu Xianglian came to surrender one after another.

Jia Cong received them and was very happy.

Right now, Jizhou City is most in need of talents, and Jia Cong is naturally happy that the two of them have come to seek refuge.

Jia Cong intended to let Mei Shiming take over the civil service position temporarily, but Mei Shiming insisted on joining the army.

Jia Cong couldn't resist and had to obey him.

However, it was stated that he would not receive any preferential treatment and would be made to start from the bottom as a soldier.

Mei Shiming was also happy with it, so Jia Cong had no choice but to let him go.

However, Jia Cong was somewhat hesitant in making arrangements for his senior brother Liu Xianglian.

The second brother, Liu Xianglian, is a martial arts expert. Although he is not as good as the eldest brother in archery and horse riding, he can also be considered a fierce general.

It’s just that Second Senior Brother has a somewhat eccentric personality, and asking him to command a large army might not be something he is good at.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong couldn't help but have a new idea in his mind.

He wanted his second senior brother Liu Xianglian to form a cavalry composed entirely of experts.

The number of people does not have to be too large, a few hundred or a thousand will do, but it is better to have too few than too few.

A branch of the military similar to the special forces of later generations.

This special forces unit does not participate in large-scale battles, but instead carries out flanking attacks, sabotage operations behind enemy lines, and other operations, which may not necessarily fail to achieve miraculous results.

Jia Cong told Liu Xianglian about this idea, and the two hit it off immediately.

Next, Jia Cong asked Liu Xianglian to select qualified candidates from the entire army.

And then, Jia Cong still felt that Jizhou City was in urgent need of talents.

It would be difficult to solve the talent gap in the short term relying solely on Jizhou City.

Suddenly, Jia Cong frowned and a plan came to his mind.

He came up with a brilliant solution.

In the past few days, Jia Cong picked up his pen again and began to write frantically.

He used a quill pen, so his writing speed was naturally much faster.

His writing speed was already faster than that of ordinary people, and his hands almost left afterimages.

At the end of the day, I had written more than 20,000 words.

This surprised Jia Cong himself.

You know, in later generations, even if he used a computer to type, his highest record in one day was only 20,000 words.

After writing for several days, Jia Cong sent the manuscript, along with a letter, back to Ningguo Mansion.

……

At this moment, a new topic was brought up in the court of Daxia.

That is the question of how to support Jizhou City.

Although Daxia has now recaptured Jizhou City, the issue of follow-up support remains the key point.

Jizhou is still a little far away from Daxia, which causes many inconveniences in terms of both military and material support.

Now that the Qing army has withdrawn, the number of defenders in Jizhou City has reached 60,000, not to mention that Niu Jizong of Liangcheng still has 100,000 troops garrisoning there.

There is no need to send a large army to provide support for the time being, but material support is essential.

Then, the conservatives and the war faction started fighting again.

The dispute between the two sides was whether the imperial court should send officials to Jizhou.

If the pro-war faction does not want to establish a leader, they can order Jia Cong to temporarily serve as the governor of Jizhou and take charge of both military and political affairs.

Because Jizhou is a war-torn place, having the military and political power in the same hands can better protect Jizhou.

The conservative faction mainly sent officials to Jizhou to prevent Jia Cong from becoming too powerful and eventually becoming unruly.

And they repeatedly emphasized that this was all for Jia Cong's good.

This time, conservatives are more united than ever.

This is because there is now a vacancy for an official in Jizhou, and the benefits involved are so huge, so how could they miss this great opportunity?
In the end, Emperor Yonglong agreed with the conservatives' advice and decided to send officials to Jizhou.

As an emperor, Emperor Yonglong naturally had his own considerations.

No matter how much he trusted Jia Cong, there was a limit.

Besides, Jia Cong is only a military general now, and he probably doesn’t have the ability to govern an entire continent.

Therefore, it would be better for the court to send officials there.

Next, the court decided to send one prefect, one associate prefect, one assistant prefect, and one governor to Jizhou City.

The remaining officials can be selected by these officials themselves.

And then, all the civil and military officials in the court once again fell into a fierce quarrel over the positions of these officials.

This time, it's not just the conservatives and the war factions that are arguing.

Quarrels also began among the conservatives.

After all, when it comes to interests, factions have to stand aside.

What's more, conservatives are not all monolithic.

In the end, these officials were finally selected.

The candidate for the prefect of Jizhou City was Fan Cheng, a Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel.

The Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel is a fifth-rank official.

The prefect of Jizhou was a fourth-rank official.

It’s just that Fan Ben is a Beijing official, and Beijing officials are half a level higher than officials.

Nowadays, transferring to another place can be considered a horizontal transfer.

However, Jizhou is too important, and the conservatives must make sure that it is under their control.

Moreover, Jizhou is far away from the emperor and there is a lot to be done there, which is different from being in the capital.

After the list of these officials was finalized, they soon began to take up their posts with their confidants, entourage, guards, etc.

At this time, Jia Cong also received the news.

This was not good news for him.

However, it is not a big problem as long as the new magistrate knows what is good for him and does not interfere with his work.

The new prefect, Fan Cheng, was a student of Prime Minister Qin.

Emperor Yonglong appointed an official from the conservative faction to serve as the prefect of Jizhou, and no one knows what he was thinking.

Perhaps, he is playing the game of emperor and checks and balances again?

At this time, the Qing Dynasty sent a delegation of envoys to Daxia.

The envoys came to the capital and accused Daxia of starting a war without authorization, shamelessly attacking Jizhou, seizing Jizhou from the Qing Dynasty, and slaughtering Qing soldiers on a large scale.

It seriously damaged the peaceful environment between the two countries and demanded that Daxia return Jizhou, hand over the murderer, and pay 10 million taels of silver as war compensation to the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty had some understanding of Daxia.

He knew that Da Xia had many spineless people and was very afraid of going to war with them.

It would be a great thing if we could defeat the enemy without fighting and make Daxia voluntarily give up Jizhou City.

Because General Jia, who is guarding Jizhou now, is really powerful.

If we attack by force, we will probably have to pay a huge price in a short period of time.

Therefore, they sent this delegation to test the reaction of Daxia.

Unexpectedly, Da Xia was exceptionally tough this time.

Even conservatives are starting to harden their stance.

The main reason was that they had just won the position of Jizhou prefect and were ready to make a fortune in Jizhou.

How could they be willing to give up the benefits that are so close to their grasp?

Moreover, Daxia's perception of the Qing Dynasty has actually changed quietly.

In the past, they were afraid of the Qing Dynasty like a tiger, but now, after Jia Cong set two fires and burned 100,000 Qing soldiers to death.

They suddenly felt that the Qing Dynasty was no more than this.

The Daxia side stated that it was the Qing Dynasty that took the initiative to instigate provocation and they were only passively defending.

Secondly, it shows that the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were originally the territory of Daxia.

On the contrary, the Qing Dynasty was required to return the other fifteen states to Daxia.

These words made the Qing envoys very angry.

Then, the Qing Dynasty envoys threatened Daxia that if Daxia did not agree to the Qing Dynasty's conditions, a national war would be launched between the two countries.

As for Daxia, there was no fear at all.

If you fight, then fight!
……

It is said that Jiang Chuan, the newly appointed Tongpan of Jizhou City, was not originally an official in the capital, but an official sent out to other places.

Therefore, Jiang Chuan left one day later than the prefect Fan Cheng and others.

However, Jiang Chuan rode as fast as he could and traveled for two more days, and finally caught up with the new prefect's carriage halfway.

After paying respects to the new prefect, Jiang Chuan couldn't help but ask, "Sir, Jizhou is dangerous and wars are frequent. Why should we take the risk and go to Jizhou City?"

Hearing this, Fan Cheng couldn't help but glance at Jiang Chuan with disdain.

I really don't know what those old men were thinking. Why would they stuff this idiot in? How could he be a man who could accomplish anything?
Alas, Prime Minister Qin is too old and stupid. He shouldn't have considered the human relations and worldly wisdom in such an important layout.

However, in the future, Jiang Chuan will become his right-hand man.

Fan Cheng had no choice but to explain patiently: "Jiang Tongpan, the layout of Jizhou is of vital importance."

"Besides, the conditions in Jizhou City are really great. There are no aristocratic families or nobles there. Once we go there, won't we have the final say?"

Jiang Chuan is not a complete fool, otherwise he would not have been able to hold such a high position.

Hearing this, he immediately came to his senses and his eyes lit up.

Yes, Jizhou City is different from other cities in Daxia.

This was just seized from the Qing Dynasty. If they go there, won't they have the final say?

By then, won't we just let them make money?

However, Jiang Chuan suddenly remembered that there was another Jia Cong in Jizhou City, and he couldn't help but become afraid again.

This man is a great killer, a ruthless man who can burn to death 100,000 Qing soldiers with just two fires.

Jiang Chuan couldn't help but say, "Sir, there is another General Jia in Jizhou City."

"With him here, we will have a hard time realizing our ambitions. When we get to Jizhou City, why don't we write a petition together and work together to drive him out?"

Hearing this, Fan Cheng couldn't help but curse him in his heart as an idiot.

He patiently said again: "If he is really transferred away, who can resist the Qing army when it attacks?"

"He is a military commander and has nothing to do with us. If it really doesn't work, we can just give him 10% of the profits. There is no need to fight him to the end."

Hearing this, Jiang Chuan couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

Next, they discussed how to carry out their work after arriving in Jizhou City.

Although Jiang Chuan is a little stupid, he is an expert when it comes to the means of plundering.

After a conversation, even Fan Cheng looked at him with admiration.

With these right-hand men, the situation will be much better after we arrive in Jizhou City.

……

But in Jizhou City, Jia Cong ordered his men to empty most of the warehouses.

Of the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, Jia Cong only kept 150,000 taels.

Jizhou is not a large place, and 150,000 taels of silver are enough to cover expenses for one or two years.

Jia Cong didn't think about moving everything away, as that would have been too awkward.

Moreover, without silver in the treasury, the prefect and other bureaucrats in his heart would not be able to carry out their work.

Next, I’m afraid we will have to plunder from the people.

I left them 150,000 taels of silver, which was enough to cover their expenses for the next one or two years.

They have just arrived, they won't start plundering the people right away, right?

Not only the silver, but also the food, Jia Cong took away most of it.

There is actually a lot of food in Jizhou City.

Part of it was originally from the Jizhou warehouse, and the other part was confiscated from the homes and shops of the Eight Banners descendants in the city.

The reason why Jia Cong moved away most of the food was actually because he was afraid that he would have to argue with them when he asked them for food.

Therefore, it is better to move away first.

There is also the issue of where to accommodate new prefects and other officials, and where to place their yamen.

According to common sense, they should live in the general's mansion.

Jia Cong was a military general and should have been stationed outside the city.

But the situation is different now, because Jizhou City is not yet stable. In order to prevent the Qing Dynasty from attacking the city, the garrison must be placed in the city.

And if I give the general's mansion to them, it would be a disguised sign of weakness.

Therefore, he couldn't give up the City Lord's Mansion, so he naturally had to live in it himself.

As for the newly arrived prefect and others, just place them in the county government office.

Jizhou City not only has the provincial government office, but also a county government team.

If one was not a good person in the previous life, he will be a county magistrate in this life; if one was evil in the previous life, he will be a county magistrate in the suburbs; if one is full of evil, he will be a county magistrate in the provincial capital.

To be a magistrate in the prefectural government office means to work under the nose of the superior and may be reprimanded at any time.

Although the county government's office was a little small, it had everything it needed, and it was sufficient for them.

A few days later, the prefect Fan Cheng and other officials arrived outside Jizhou City.

At this time, in the moat outside Jizhou City, thousands of laborers were still salvaging corpses from the river.

These corpses, after being soaked for many days, had become rotten beyond recognition and emitted a foul stench.

Fan Cheng and others didn't dare to look and were vomiting repeatedly because of the smell.

At this time, the suspension bridge had been built, and when the soldiers came over to check their official seals, documents and other belongings, they did not make things difficult for them.

Instead, he lowered the drawbridge and welcomed them into the city.

There was no official to greet us at the door.

Well, there are not many officials left in Jizhou City.

It was Jia Cong who temporarily appointed some acting officials.

These officials were all Jia Cong's subordinates, so naturally they would not come to greet them.

Jia Cong's soldiers led them directly to the county government office.

Along the way, the new prefect Fan Cheng and others all looked extremely unhappy.

This is a warning from General Jia to them.

But now they are under someone else's roof, so they have to bow their heads.

After they arrived at the county government office, Jia Cong finally arrived.

Seeing them, Jia Cong couldn't help but laugh and said, "I am busy with military affairs and failed to greet Lord Fan and the others in time. Please forgive me."

Fan Cheng also came forward with a big laugh and said enthusiastically: "Marquis Guanjun has just made an unprecedented contribution. Now Jizhou City is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt. Marquis Guanjun is very busy. It's really hard work, Marquis."

When Jia Cong saw Fan Cheng's reaction, he knew that this was an old fox.

Jia Cong was too lazy to be perfunctory with him, and could not help but say: "Master Fan and the others must be tired after the long journey."

"My lords, please settle down and have a rest. I will host a welcoming party for you in the evening."

At this time, except for Fan Cheng, the faces of the others did not look very good.

If there were no officials to greet us at the city gate, it would be because there were no officials in Jizhou, which would be fine.

But now, General Jia actually placed them in the county government office, which was really bullying.

It would be difficult for the prefect to get angry, and if they didn't say anything, they would have to swallow the loss in silence.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chuan couldn't help but ask: "General Jia, can we all live here at the county government office?"

Jia Cong couldn't help but turn his head to look at Jiang Chuan, then walked to his side, stretched out his hand, patted his shoulder and said:

"Yes, I now live in the General's Mansion. Currently, this is the only vacant place in Jizhou City where you can be accommodated."

"Is it possible that there is no room for Judge Jiang to live here?"

Jia Cong's hand was so strong that even though he didn't use much force, he still made Jiang Chuan's legs shake like a sieve and he almost suffered internal injuries.

How could he dare to say anything more at this time? He hurriedly said, "General, please forgive me. I dare not do that."

Jia Cong nodded, not bothering to pay attention to them, and turned around and walked out.

That’s right, Jia Cong wanted to come up and give them a warning so that they could recognize the current situation.

Fan Cheng and other officials were so angry that they were about to collapse, but there was nothing they could do.

In a chaotic place like Jizhou City, it would be too easy for Jia Cong to make an exception and let them die.

Therefore, even though they were extremely angry, they did not dare to confront Jia Cong.

At night, Jia Cong hosted a banquet at the City Lord's Mansion to entertain them.

Jia Cong just sat for a while, then excused himself and left, leaving his subordinates to accompany him.

Jia Cong really didn't take them seriously.

Now that they have been given a warning, from now on, as long as they know what's good for them and don't mess around, then everyone can live in peace.

Unexpectedly, Jia Cong really overestimated the bottom line of these people.

Although these people may not be very capable, they are all good at making money.

They already had their own staff and followers.

In the next few days, they directly dismissed the acting officials appointed by Jia Cong.

He also personally recruited some officials.

Then a few days later, an order was issued to levy taxes throughout the area.

This time, the tax levied was a war tax.

Because the Qing army could attack at any time, and the warehouse was in short supply.

Therefore, taxes needed to be collected and also used to resist the attacks of the Qing army.

This time, each person had to hand over one or two taels of silver as tax.

There are more than 200,000 people in the entire Jizhou city.

This time, the tax collection will amount to nearly 200,000 taels of silver.

However, Jizhou City had just been recovered.

Under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the people of Jizhou City lived in dire straits.

They are lucky to be alive. Where does their family get the extra money?

It was only in recent days that Jia Cong had been constantly recruiting laborers and was able to save some money.

Now they are asking for a war tax of one or two taels of silver from each person. This is simply forcing the people to death. How dare they do this?

At this moment, Jia Cong's eyes revealed murderous intent.

However, in Jizhou City, he was the chief military officer.

The issue of taxation is not his responsibility.

If he kills the prefect, it will be like a rebellion. (End of this chapter)