I'm in the Red Mansion

Next, Jia Cong went to pay his respects to Madam Mei, and the mother and son chatted for a while.

On the second day, Jia Cong went to visit Lin Ruhai, Kou Xiang and Mei Shouli one after another.

After meeting these people, Jia Cong stayed at home with Lin Daiyu.

Of course, at night, Xue Baochai, Xue Baoqin, Hongxiu and other girls were very proactive.

Now the mistress Lin Daiyu is pregnant and is about to give birth. Even the girl Xiangling is pregnant.

But they haven't yet, and they are getting anxious.

This also allowed Jia Cong to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Seven days later, Lin Daiyu suddenly felt abdominal pain.

Jia Cong did not dare to delay and hurriedly sent her to the delivery room that had been prepared in advance.

This delivery room was arranged by Jia Cong himself and has been disinfected.

Three midwives were invited early on and were staying in the mansion waiting.

One tael of silver was offered every day, so the three midwives were naturally very happy to wait.

They were hoping to give birth as late as possible, as they could earn one or two taels of silver a day, which was a good job that was hard to find even with a lantern.

It would be great if we could wait for a year!
Now, they finally came in handy.

Another maid came with hot water and brought it into the house, and there was also a maid in the room helping.

The mistress's delivery is a top priority, and the entire Ningguo Mansion is busy.

Mrs. Mei got the news and came here early.

Girls like Xue Baochai and Xue Baoqin all came rushing over.

Jia Cong was waiting outside the door, pacing back and forth.

Listening to Lin Daiyu's cries of pain in the delivery room, he became more and more nervous and anxious, and wished he could take her place.

An hour later, the sound of a baby crying was suddenly heard in the room.

A midwife came out and said loudly, "Congratulations, my Lord. Congratulations, my Lord. You have a son. Both mother and child are safe. The little Lord will surely be made a king and a prime minister in the future. He will be even better than my father!"

Mother and child are safe! I have a son now!
Hearing this, Jia Cong was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Reward!"

After saying this, Jia Cong hurried into the delivery room.

The panicked midwife said hurriedly, "My Lord, the room has not been cleaned up yet, you can't go in now."

Hearing this, Jia Cong did not rush in.

Although he is a miracle doctor, he is not good at obstetrics and gynecology.

Outside the door, Madam Mei cheered and gave orders that all the servants in the mansion would be paid triple their wages this month.

As soon as this order was issued, everyone in the mansion applauded.

Xue Baochai, Xue Baoqin and other girls came forward to express their congratulations.

After a while, the midwife finished packing and everyone went into the house.

The midwife had already brought the wrapped little boy over. Mrs. Mei took him in her arms, unable to hide the smile on her face, and she couldn't stop looking at him.

Jia Cong didn't even look at the little girl and went straight to Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu was seen lying on the bed exhausted, sweat all over her forehead.

Jia Cong picked up a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her forehead, saying distressedly, "Sister Lin, thank you for your hard work."

Lin Daiyu held Jia Cong's hand and said with a smile: "Brother Cong, I have given birth to a son for you. Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission."

"Have you seen the child? I wonder who he looks like?"

Jia Cong laughed and said, "How can I have the time to see him? He caused you to suffer so much, I wish I could spank him hard!"

Lin Daiyu glanced at him and said, "How can you be a father like this? I'm fine, go and see the child."

Jia Cong said, "I will just chat with you. Right now, my mother and his concubines are very happy. How can I have a turn?"

After talking for a while, the midwife came to remind them that the lady should have a good rest and that only two maids should be left to take care of her.

Only then did Jia Cong walk out.

The child had already been taken out.

The doors of aristocratic families are different from those of poor families and ordinary people.

After your wives give birth to a child, they don't have to take care of the child or feed the baby themselves.

Naturally, there are wet nurses and maids to look after her.

At this moment, the little guy was sleeping soundly, and Mrs. Mei and other girls were standing around watching him.

Jia Cong walked over and took a look.

The child was wrinkled, with fuzzy hair on his face, and looked very ugly.

Well, as long as it is a normal birth, every child will be like this after birth.

Jia Cong naturally knew this.

Xue Baoqin looked at Jia Cong and then at the little guy.

I couldn't help but say, "Third Brother Cong and Sister Lin are both like gods, why does this little guy look like no one?"

Jia Cong couldn't help laughing after hearing this and said, "Sister Qin, you want to ask why this child is so ugly, right?"

"In fact, every child is like this when they are born. After about five or six days, the skin becomes smooth and starts to look good."

"In the future, when you give birth to your child, you will look like this too."

Xue Baoqin was very embarrassed when she heard this, but she couldn't help saying, "If I had given birth to a child, it wouldn't be so ugly."

This made everyone laugh.

Madam Mei said again: "Brother Cong, you haven't named the child yet, give him a name quickly."

In fact, Jia Cong had already thought of names, both for the boy and the girl.

When he heard Madam Mei's question, he said, "He is from the Cao generation, so let's call him Jia Cang. As for his nickname, let Sister Lin choose it."

Cang refers to light blue or black and white, and also refers to the sky.

Therefore, when Xue Baochai and her sister heard this name, their faces changed slightly.

Jia Cong gave him this name, which shows his expectations and love for him.

Mrs. Mei didn't hear anything, or perhaps she herself loved her grandson very much.

As the saying goes, the youngest son and the eldest grandson are the lifeblood of an old lady.

After looking at Jia Cang for a while, everyone was reluctant to leave.

Next, they went to visit Lin Daiyu again and asked her to give the little one a nickname.

Lin Daiyu thought about it and chose the name Ping'an.

This name was far beyond Jia Cong's expectations.

Lin Daiyu was extremely intelligent and had a brilliant talent for poetry.

Originally, Jia Cong thought that she would give the little one a name from the Book of Songs.

I didn't expect it to be such an ordinary name.

However, this also shows how much Lin Daiyu loves the little guy.

In ancient times, children were difficult to raise and most of them died young.

Therefore, people are willing to give their children a cheap name so that they can be raised more easily.

In ancient times, many emperors had vulgar names, let alone ordinary people.

At that time, there were many children named Shitou, Goudan, Gouer, Gousheng, etc.

The word "peace" means that Lin Daiyu hopes the little one can be safe and grow up healthily.

Women are weak by nature, but they become strong when they become mothers. It's really pitiful how loving all parents are.

Then, Jia Cong ordered someone to take a piece of beautiful jade and go to Lin Mansion to announce the good news.

This was also the custom of the Great Xia Dynasty. Whenever a wife gave birth, she had to go to her father-in-law's house to announce the good news.

If a son is born, a piece of jade will be brought along so that others will know that a son has been born. This is also called the joy of having a son.

If a girl is born, a piece of tile will be brought along so that others will know that a girl has been born. This is also called the joy of getting a tile.

This custom has been passed down to later generations.

But if you exchange the jade and the tile, if you give birth to a boy, you give a book, and if you give birth to a girl, you give a flower.

When the Lin family learned about this, they were also very happy.

A few days later, a grand banquet was held in Ningguo Mansion to entertain relatives and friends.

On the day of the banquet, there were many guests.

Jia Cong, Marquis of Guanjun and Jiedushi of Jizhou, was a new noble in the court and was young.

He will surely become an important official in the imperial court in the future. It is best not to offend such a person even if there is no handover.

Therefore, not only all the officials in favor of war came, but also some of the families in favor of peace, who had not offended Jia Cong, also sent gifts.

Although Jia Cong did not send out so many invitations, people only sent gifts.

Jia Cong ordered his people to accept all the gifts and return them if they had problems in the future.

With Xue Baochai at home, she will naturally handle these things properly.

On this day, Grandmother Jia, Mrs. Wang and Jia Baoyu were also present.

Because of their status, Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang naturally sat in the first seats.

Of course, they are on the women's side.

Jia Baoyu's seat was also very close to the front, after all, he represented the Rongguo Mansion.

When Jia Cong was expressing his gratitude, he met Jia Baoyu again after many days.

Jia Cong was startled and almost didn't recognize him.

First of all, the clothes he was wearing were very shabby, and secondly, his face, which was originally like a full moon, had now turned into a waning moon and looked very thin.

He has become much darker, but also looks stronger than before.

The table where Jia Baoyu was sitting was also filled with Jia family's relatives and friends.

But except for Jia Baoyu, everyone else is dressed in silk and satin and is handsome and elegant.

The children of these families all disliked Jia Baoyu and avoided him from afar.

Jia Baoyu himself was also very embarrassed.

Jia Cong couldn't help but say, "I haven't seen Brother Bao for many years. You have matured a lot now."

Jia Baoyu looked embarrassed, and he could not help but say, "Third Brother Cong, I was young and ignorant before, and I did offend you a lot."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "We are all brothers. There is no need to offend each other. If you have any difficulties, just come to me."

Jia Baoyu nodded, but he knew in his heart that this was just a polite remark.

When their family had just fallen on hard times, they had come to him to borrow some money. At that time, Jia Cong had only lent them two hundred taels of silver.

Jia Cong nodded to Jia Baoyu and walked forward again.

After the banquet, Grandmother Jia went to the inner house, met Lin Daiyu, held her hand, and talked with her for a long time.

I looked at Xiao Ping'an again.

Lin Daiyu held Lady Jia's hand, feeling very complicated.

Grandmother Jia still loves her very much, and this cannot be faked.

As for her niece, she almost never went to the Jia Mansion to visit Grandmother Jia.

The main reason here is Jia Baoyu.

Jia Baoyu was crazy. When she just got engaged to her third brother Cong, he actually ran to their Lin family and asked her in person why she had changed her mind.

She was afraid that if she went to the Jia family and met Jia Baoyu, even more trouble would arise.

However, Grandmother Jia did not blame her at all, but continued to love her very much.

After they talked for a while, Grandmother Jia stood up and said goodbye.

Jia Cong, on the other hand, asked about the gifts sent from Rongguo Mansion.

But they were all very shabby, just some baby clothes that she had sewn herself, using very ordinary materials.

Jia Cong looked at it and was silent for a while, but then he said, "Give them two hundred taels of silver as a return gift."

I wonder how many baby clothes I can buy with these two hundred taels of silver.

Giving money back as a gift can be considered a humiliation.

However, for the Rongguo Mansion today, what they lack most is money. Jia Cong looked down on the Rongguo Mansion, but seeing them fall to this point, he was also very sad.

Everyone in Rongguo Mansion was filled with sighs when they received the return gift of two hundred taels of silver.

The two companies, which were originally moving forward in parallel, are now drifting further and further apart.

Now their Rongguo Mansion has fallen to the point where they can’t even offer a decent gift.

I’m afraid that once she dies, the next generation will lose all ties with her.

At this moment, Grandmother Jia thought of Granny Liu again.

I am afraid that after a few generations, when their family can no longer make ends meet, they will run to Ningguo Mansion to beg for money like Liu Laolao did.

Thinking of this, a drop of turbid tears fell from the corner of Jia's grandmother's eyes.

After the banquet, Jia Cong stayed at home for another ten days.

As expected, five or six days after birth, little Ping'an's skin smoothed out and he was very cute.

This little guy probably inherited his mother's temperament and is very quiet.

Except for feeding and defecating, he is usually quiet.

Even if he wakes up, he won't cry or make a fuss, which is very worry-free.

Mrs. May, on the other hand, put all her passion into this little guy.

Not only Jia Cong, the biological father, but also Lin Daiyu, the biological mother, were pushed aside.

Fortunately, when Jia Cong left, Xue Baoqin was also pregnant.

But Xue Baochai was still not pregnant, which made her very depressed.

……

Jia Cong took Qingwen back to Jizhou City.

After returning, Johann Adam Schall ...

It turns out that 10,000 rifles have been manufactured, and they currently have machine tools.

Steam engines were also used, greatly improving efficiency.

Jia Cong was also very satisfied with this.

Next, Jia Cong ordered Johann Adam Schall von Bell to continue developing the cannon.

Then, Jia Cong called Mei Shiming again.

Jia Cong couldn't help but ask, "Cousin, how many rifle bullets can you make in a month?"

Mei Shiming could not help but report: "General, in one month, we can produce about 70,000 to 80,000 rounds of bullets."

Seventy to eighty thousand rounds of bullets a month, less than one million rounds a year.

This production capacity is really too low.

The bullets accumulated in a year, on average, are less than a hundred bullets per gun.

With this amount of bullets, we can't even sustain a war.

This efficiency is too low.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong couldn't help but ask: "Cousin, can this efficiency be improved?"

Mei Shiming couldn't help but say: "General, if we send more people, we can naturally produce more."

"I estimate that we can produce 100,000 rounds of ammunition a month."

One hundred thousand rounds?
It is still too low. One year's production is only enough for one war.

Jia Cong asked: "How can we increase the number of bullets to 500,000?"

Mei Shiming shook his head and said, "General, if we want to produce 500,000 rounds of ammunition a month, we have to open four more workshops and hire four times more people. Otherwise, it is impossible to do it."

Hearing Mei Shiming's words, Jia Cong couldn't help but shook his head.

What Jia Cong talked about was improving efficiency, while what Mei Shiming talked about was increasing manpower.

Now in Jizhou, Jia Cong has asked the court for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but he is not restricted from spending it.

At present, the business in Jizhou is gradually developing, and there is quite a bit of commercial tax.

But there are more areas where spending is needed.

Therefore, there is no way to expand the scale.

The only way is to improve efficiency.

Jia Cong planned to ask Nan Huairen to make several machine tools, and then use steam engines to drive them to improve production efficiency.

Next, Jia Cong handed this task to Nan Huairen.

At this time, Jia Cong had already begun to lay out his plan for Youzhou.

Among the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the three closest to Jizhou are Youzhou, Shunzhou and Danzhou.

However, Danzhou is in the northernmost part, and Shunzhou is between Danzhou and Youzhou.

Although Youzhou is between Shunzhou and Zhuozhou, Zhuozhou is still a bit far away.

Therefore, Jia Cong’s next target was Youzhou.

In fact, with Jizhou's current military strength, it is entirely possible to take Youzhou.

But what Jia Cong wants is not just to be able to take her down.

There must also be enough troops to defend two states, or even three, four, or five states.

Jia Cong’s goal is to stay still, otherwise it will be like a thunderbolt.

Therefore, we are still accumulating strength.

However, the current accumulation of strength is almost the same.

Just wait until you have accumulated enough bullets and then you can start the battle.

Although Jizhou does not have many troops at present, as long as the weapons are updated and the combat effectiveness is sufficient, it will be enough.

Jia Cong asked Drunken King Ni Er to keep inquiring about the situation in Youzhou.

Of course, people were not only sent to Youzhou to investigate the situation, but also to Shunzhou, Tanzhou, Zhuozhou and other places.

The focus of the investigation was just on Youzhou.

Soon, they found out that there were 20,000 Qing troops stationed in Youzhou.

Originally there were 30,000 troops, but Youzhou had once used its troops to attack Jizhou.

All these cavalrymen were eventually defeated in Jizhou.

Youzhou's defense was not tight.

However, it was almost impossible for Xia's army to sneak into Youzhou city without being noticed and secretly capture the city.

There are several cities outside Youzhou City.

The Qing soldiers and civilians are not blind.

How could they be unaware of the approaching Daxia army?

In order to quickly capture a city defended by 20,000 soldiers, at least 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers are needed.

Jia Cong began to collect various information continuously, and not only pondered how to quickly take over Youzhou.

Well, maybe we can send the Blade Legion to attack, sneak into Youzhou, and when the war is about to start, wait for an opportunity to cause damage in the city.

After receiving Jia Cong's order, Nan Huairen quickly arrived at the Firearms Camp.

According to the manufacturing process of bullets, the corresponding lathe is made.

Then, the power of the steam engine was used to greatly improve production efficiency.

In one month, 500,000 bullets can be produced.

Although 500,000 rounds of bullets are barely enough for half of the war.

But this efficiency has been greatly improved compared to before.

After hearing the news, Jia Cong was overjoyed.

With just three or four months of accumulation, enough bullets can be accumulated for one or two wars.

The frequency of rifle firing has reached a point where it can change the pattern of war.

For example, at a narrow pass, as long as there are only a hundred soldiers, a hundred rifles and enough bullets, even if the Qing army has ten thousand people, they will not be able to break through.

Based on this characteristic, it is actually relatively more difficult for them to be discovered when they set up an ambush.

For example, with just a hundred men and a hundred rifles, they can accomplish a task that previously required thousands or tens of thousands of men.

A musketeer team of 10,000 people can be split into a hundred groups and deployed to a hundred battlefields.

It’s a very scary thing to think about.

On the current battlefield, splitting the musketeers into small groups to fight is actually the correct way to maximize efficiency.

Perhaps, we can try to repair the plank road openly and attack Chencang secretly.

It is already September and the October episode is just around the corner.

The weather is getting colder day by day.

In another month, the entire north will be frozen cold and it will be impossible to send troops to fight.

If he sent troops at this time, the Qing Dynasty would probably not be able to react in time.

In particular, they were afraid that it would not be easy to mobilize a large army.

Now is a good time to use troops.

Well, you can wait for another ten days.

First accumulate some bullets, and then, even if the Qing Dynasty gets wind of the news, it will be too late to mobilize a large army.

Because by the time they reacted, it was almost winter, and they did not dare to send troops rashly.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong could not help but call his generals and began to give them orders.

These generals, especially Liu Xianglian and Jia Huan, lit up with excitement when they heard that there was a war to be fought.

I can't wait to gather my troops and start fighting.

Jia Cong ordered: "After you go back, make preparations in secret."

"Half a month later, we will launch an attack on Shunzhou."

"But we must not leak the news, or the Qing Dynasty will be prepared in advance."

"Yes, General."

After the meeting, all the generals left, but Jia Huan stayed quietly.

Jia Cong glanced at him and asked, "Everyone else has left, what are you doing here?"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "General, is your real goal Youzhou, not Shunzhou?"

"You can hide it from others, but you can't hide it from me."

Hearing this, Jia Cong was surprised.

In front of all the generals, Jia Cong did not tell the truth.

Mingxiu plank road, dark Chencang.

If you want to cheat, you might as well cheat your own people first so that the Qing Dynasty won’t notice it beforehand.

Unexpectedly, this kid noticed it.

Jia Cong couldn't help but ask, "How did you figure that out?"

Jia Huan couldn't help but say, "I know the general has great ambitions. I guess the general will definitely recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."

“So in my free time, I would not only study the maps, but also start to imagine.”

"If I were the commander-in-chief, which state would I retake first? How would I deploy my troops? What would be the best way to attack?"

"And based on my continuous deductions, I have come to the conclusion that it is best to retake Youzhou first."

"But it's not easy to recapture Youzhou, so we can pretend to attack Shunzhou and draw troops from Youzhou to support us."

"We can surround the enemy and attack their reinforcements, first eliminate the manpower in Youzhou, and then we can take Youzhou without anyone noticing."

Hey, this guy is really talented.

This idea actually coincides with my own.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong couldn't help but want to test him again.

He could not help but ask: "If I let you take Youzhou, how would you use your troops?" (End of this chapter)