I'm in the Red Mansion

At this time, Fu Chachusheng once again played an extremely important role.

Because he is a member of the upper three banners of the Qing Dynasty, his identity will make the Manchu people in the city trust him more.

Fu Cha Chusheng came forward to share his personal experience. Since he joined the Guanjun Marquis, he has made many military achievements and has now been conferred the title of Marquis.

He never deducted any reward from the soldiers under his command as long as they had made military contributions.

As long as they don't act like evil, the Marquis will treat them equally.

With Fu Cha Chusheng's personal testimony and his presence to maintain order, the city soon became stable.

When Jia Cong took over the warehouse, he found that there was a large amount of food and fodder stored inside, and he became more and more satisfied.

These food and fodder must have been transported by the Qing Dynasty in order to defend the city. These food and fodder are at least enough for their military rations for three months.

Although the Youzhou army is large in number, these food and fodder are probably enough for them to use for a month.

This will ease their logistical supply pressure.

Moreover, the loss of these food supplies by the Qing Dynasty also weakened their strength.

As one side gains, the other loses, and the gap between the two sides further widens.

And now the Youzhou army uses steam cars to transport military rations.

Not only does it have a large carrying capacity, but it also increases speed and improves efficiency.

And the loss on the road is also greatly reduced.

In the past, transporting military rations required a large number of civilian laborers and a team of soldiers to protect them along the way.

These civilians who transport military rations need to eat food along the way.

If the journey is longer, the number of laborers transporting food may even be greater than the number of soldiers fighting on the front line.

Therefore, the consumption along the way is a huge number.

Now, with the switch to steam-powered cars for transportation, there is no need for numerous laborers to escort the goods.

The number of soldiers for protection does not need to be too large, and they only need to carry rifles and provide protection in the vehicle.

Therefore, the current losses are almost reduced to a negligible level.

Next, Jia Cong relied on Guangning City and began to attack the small cities around it.

Jia Cong's attack speed was not fast.

The reason why he attacked the Qing Dynasty with all his might was, on the one hand, because the Qing Dynasty was in the rear and was always a scourge.

If he didn't get rid of the Qing Dynasty, he would not be able to compete with the Three Feudatories for the Central Plains in the future.

Secondly, Jia Cong needed a reasonable reason to avoid fighting. The Three Feudatories were a good knife, and Jia Cong wanted to use them to cut off the destiny of Daxia.

Therefore, it was impossible for Jia Cong to send troops to wipe them out before they conquered the capital and massacred the royal family of Daxia.

The Qing Dynasty was a good reason to avoid war.

But he can't play too fast either.

If the war goes on too fast and the Qing Dynasty is directly defeated and chooses to surrender, there will be no reason to avoid the war afterwards.

In fact, this is entirely possible.

If Jia Cong had not been in a hurry to take a steady approach and occupy the territory, but instead had launched a surprise attack and launched a blitzkrieg.

The Youzhou Army does have the ability to bring down the Qing Dynasty in a short period of time.

The firepower of the artillery was so fierce that they could not resist it.

The current speed is just right.

Sure enough, just as Jia Cong was slowly launching his attack, the imperial edict from the court was issued.

Order Jia Cong to organize the army and march south to suppress the Three Feudatories Rebellion!
Jia Cong replied directly that because of the Qing Dynasty's massive attack, he could only fight hard to resist the Qing Dynasty and could not lead his troops south.

Upon hearing this, the angel who announced the decree was helpless and had to return in disappointment.

When Emperor Tianci heard this, he was so angry that one Buddha ascended to heaven, and two Buddhas were born, and he was furious like thunder.

He could no longer bear it and was about to send troops to destroy Jia Cong's Youzhou army.

All the civil and military officials in the room were almost frightened to death by this incompetent emperor.

What is this?
You can't even deal with the Three Feudatories alone, and now you want to make enemies on two sides?

This tyrant really doesn't know how to write the word death.

Fortunately, although Emperor Tianci is stupid, he is willing to listen to advice.

After being dissuaded by all the officials, he gave up the idea.

But Emperor Tianci had no intention of letting Jia Cong go.

Next, he issued a golden plaque representing an urgent military order every day, ordering Jia Cong to lead his troops south to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.

For twelve consecutive days, twelve gold medals were issued.

It's a pity that Jia Cong ignored it and shirked his responsibilities by saying that he couldn't get away from it.

……

Jia Zheng was exiled to Lingnan. When Emperor Tianci ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty, he was also pardoned.

Jia Zheng was filled with gratitude. He packed some clothes and traveled across mountains and rivers to the capital.

During this journey, he was penniless and had to rely on begging to survive.

He himself was a man of letters, and more than two years of exile had not completely wiped out his scholarly spirit.

Although he had to humble himself and beg in order to survive, he was never able to give up completely.

I couldn't stand being insulted by others, nor could I bear being looked down upon and scorned by others. I don't know how many beatings and hardships I suffered along the way.

He finally made it to Jinling, where he found his old relatives. Although he was rejected again, he at least managed to get some silver.

Next, he finally sped up and made his way into the capital.

After arriving in the capital, Jia Zheng became timid again.

During the two years of exile, the environment was so difficult and the journey was so long that I stopped receiving letters from home.

At this time, Jia Zheng had no idea about the situation at home and didn't know whether the old lady was still alive.

The whole family had no idea where they would be exiled.

After entering the capital, Jia Zheng's worries reached their peak.

Half an hour later, Jia Zheng arrived at the intersection of Rongning Street. He stopped and did not dare to move forward.

After hesitating for a long while, he walked forward and arrived at the gate of Rongguo Mansion. Suddenly, he found that the words "Imperially Granted Rongguo Mansion" were no longer there and had been replaced by a door plaque.

It turned out that this imperially bestowed house no longer belonged to them.

But no one knows to whom the emperor gave it.

Jia Zheng sighed, then slowly walked towards Ningguo Mansion.

After the doorman reported the situation, the Ningguo Mansion gave Jia Zheng a grand reception.

Here in Ningguo Mansion, Jia Zheng also learned the exact news about their second wife.

Hearing that although the family was having a hard time, everyone was safe, Jia Zheng couldn't help but feel relieved.

After dinner, Mrs. Mei ordered someone to send Jia Zheng to the place where the second branch of the Jia family currently lived.

After getting off the car, Jia Zheng walked to the door and knocked on it a few times.

Squeak!

Soon, the door opened and Baoyu walked out.

The father and son looked at each other for a long time, and it took them a while to recognize each other.

"master?"

"Baoyu?"

"Why do you look like this now?"

The last sentence was spoken by both father and son at the same time.

The father and son's impression of each other still remains on the situation before their house was raided two years ago.

But more than two years have passed, and everything has changed, including the father and son, who have also changed a lot.

Jia Baoyu greeted everyone and asked how they were doing, then hurriedly led Jia Zheng into the house.

At this time, Grandmother Jia had just woken up from a nap, and Aunt Zhao was serving her by her side.

Jia Zheng walked into the room and looked at the gray-haired, old and frail Jia Mu. He could not help crying and knelt down to kowtow, saying:
"Unfilial son Jia Zheng, you are here to pay respect to your mother. It is because of your unfilial son that you have caused your mother to suffer. You deserve to die!"

Grandmother Jia finally reacted and hurriedly said, "Zheng'er? Zheng'er? Are you back? Come forward quickly and let me see you!"

Jia Zheng knelt forward, and Jia's mother touched Jia Zheng's cheek and couldn't help crying:
"Zheng'er, how come you have aged so much? You have suffered a lot in the past two years..."

At this time, Aunt Zhao also knelt on the ground, crying and calling "Master".

Jia Zheng was startled and could not help asking, "Baoyu, where is your mother? Why isn't she here?"

Baoyu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master, my mother is doing needlework for others in the house, which helps to supplement the family income."

Jia Zheng then remained silent.

It turned out that not long after they moved here, Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang gradually lost respect for Lady Jia.

After all, they are no longer a duke's family.

The halo around Lady Jia had long since faded away.

Now she is a burden.

Not only can they not do any work every day, but they also have to be served with good food and drink.

Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang both wished that Lady Jia would die soon so that they would have less worries.

Aunt Zhao, on the other hand, had her own private money, so she didn't have to worry about food and drink, and she didn't have to do much work.

She was much more filial than Lady Xing and Lady Wang, and often served Lady Jia.

Of course, this was just a small thought of Aunt Zhao, not that she really wanted to show filial piety to Lady Jia.

It is just as the saying goes, strong winds reveal strong grass, and true friendship is revealed in times of adversity.

However, Grandmother Jia was deeply moved by Aunt Zhao's filial piety.

It turned out that after his family fell into poverty, it was Aunt Zhao, who was usually the most unreliable, who came to serve him wholeheartedly.

Therefore, after meeting Jia Zheng, Grandmother Jia also praised Aunt Zhao in front of Jia Zheng.

Aunt Zhao blushed and quickly said that this was all her job and she did not deserve such praise from the old ancestor.

Jia Zheng couldn't help but hold Aunt Zhao's hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Jia Baoyu coughed twice beside him, and Jia Zheng let go of his hand.

Next, Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang came over after hearing the noise.

Even Jia Lian took leave and returned home after hearing the news.

Now Jia Lian has been the shopkeeper in Lin Daiyu's new shop for about a year.

Two years in jail really changed his character.

He originally worked as a helper in the Rongguo Mansion, and was very experienced in welcoming and seeing off guests and dealing with human relations.

Now that he is the shopkeeper, he is willing to be patient and do his work with peace of mind.

Over the past year, I have become more and more proficient at it.

Nowadays, the annual salary is fifty taels of silver.

With this money, life at home gradually became better.

Of course, in addition to this silver, Jia Lian also quietly kept some of the daily rewards.

Now that Ping'er is pregnant and he has a daughter at home, he naturally has to consider his family well.

After talking for a while, Jia Zheng asked again, "Where are Zhu's daughter-in-law and Lang'er?"

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but say, "They live in the Grand View Garden, and are being taken care of by the Ningguo Mansion. They won't suffer any injustice."

For some reason, Mrs. Wang only loved her youngest son, Jia Baoyu.

He completely ignored his eldest grandson Jia Lan. When Rongguo Mansion was still prosperous, Jia Lan did not come during the Lantern Festival, and no one in the house paid any attention to him.

It was only after Jia Zheng arrived that he asked why Lan Ge'er hadn't come. Li Wan then smiled and said that Lan Ge'er had refused to come because no one had invited him.

There is another plot later. Fengjie said that the family affairs were difficult and suggested to lay off a few of Yingchun's sisters' maids while taking advantage of the embroidering sachet incident.

Mrs. Wang felt that the girl was wronged and disagreed, but she used the excuse that the wet nurse was too "evil" and ordered Jia Lan's wet nurse to be driven away.

Well, the treatment of Jia Lan, the eldest son and grandson of the second wife, is not as good as that of several illegitimate daughters.

Why does Mrs. Wang, a grandmother, dislike her own grandson so much?
In a word, it can be summed up in four words: A mother's status depends on her son.

Mrs. Wang's support is Jia Baoyu. If Jia Baoyu becomes successful, she, as his mother, will naturally benefit from it.

No matter how successful Jia Lan is, the only one who benefits from it is his mother Li Wan. As his grandmother, she actually does not get much credit.

And it was obvious that Jia Zheng loved his grandson very much.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but frown and said, "How can we let them live under someone else's roof? Now that I'm back, I'll bring them back someday."

Hearing Jia Zheng's words, Jia's mother hurriedly said, "They are living well in the Grand View Garden. Why did you bring them back?"

"You don't know that Cong loves Lan very much and even hired a tutor for him personally."

"Once he is brought back, how can we find a good tutor given the current situation of our family?"

"Speaking of which, Congge is actually a grateful person. Zhuge's daughter-in-law only said a few nice words to her at the beginning, but he still remembers it now."

"But he is also a vengeful person. If it weren't for what happened back then, he wouldn't have stood idly by and watched us. How could we have ended up like this..."

It is indeed so. If only they had not removed Jia Cong from the family tree and expelled him from the clan, they would not have been so ruthless.

Now Jia Cong only needs to lend a helping hand and they won’t have such a hard time.

Hearing this, Jia Zheng couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Thinking back to that time, although he felt reluctant about this matter, he did not insist on it.

Now when Jia Zheng thinks back to the past, he feels nothing but shame.

Therefore, he no longer mentioned the matter of bringing Li Wan and her son back.

But by the next day, Jia Zheng still couldn't let it go.

So he went to Ningguo Mansion again and met Li Wan and her son.

Ever since the Rongguo Mansion suffered a disaster, Jia Cong brought Li Wan and her son to live in the Grand View Garden.

She no longer had to serve Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang, and all she had to do was watch Lang'er study.

Therefore, Li Wan lived a more comfortable life. Although several years had passed, she did not look much older.

When Li Wan saw Jia Zheng, she almost didn't recognize him.

"Master, you, why are you..."

"Brother Lang, why don't you come and greet your grandfather?"

Jia Lan also paid a respectful visit to Jia Zheng.

In the entire Rongguo Mansion, only Jia Zheng, as his grandfather, truly loved him.

Although Jia Lan was small, he could naturally tell them apart.

Therefore, Jia Lan also had a bit more admiration for Jia Zheng.

Looking at Jia Lan, Jia Zheng said with relief: "Good, good, I haven't seen you for a few years, and you have grown so tall. You are almost an adult!"

"How are you studying now? How far have you progressed? Maybe you're writing an article?"

Jia Lan couldn't help but say, "Grandfather, I have already started writing articles. The teacher said that my writing is quite mature and I can try it out next year."

After hearing this, Jia Zheng felt even more relieved.

He couldn't help but say: "You must study hard, and you will overcome all difficulties and win the first prize in the future."

"My second wife will rely on you and your Uncle Huan from now on. Don't learn from your Uncle Bao, who is so unpromising."

Jia Lan said respectfully: "My grandson will follow my grandfather's teachings."

The grandfather and grandson talked for a while before Jia Zheng reluctantly left.

After returning home, since it was the first day, he slept in Mrs. Wang's room.

But Mrs. Wang is now old and has suffered many hardships, and she has lost some interest in life.

Jia Zheng had also grown old, and had encountered countless hardships along the way. He lay down on the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Mrs. Wang tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

On the second day, the family still had simple meals.

However, Jia Zheng was exiled to Lingnan, where his life was even harder than at home.

The food at this time was actually better than what he had eaten in Lingnan, so Jia Zheng ate it with relish.

Now that the family is together, although they have lost their wealth, Jia Zheng feels that it is quite warm.

At night, Jia Zheng went to Aunt Zhao's room.

In the room, Aunt Zhao secretly prepared a few dishes and warmed up a pot of wine.

Jia Zheng was shocked when he saw this, and could not help asking, "Where did you get all this wine and food? Where does your family have the money to spend like this?"

Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "Master, don't be suspicious. This silver was given to me by the third girl and Huan'er."

"Sometimes Miss Lin from the East Palace would send me some silver. I bought the wine and food with my own money, but it didn't cost my family a penny."

A woman's dowry is her private property and her husband cannot touch it.

Although Aunt Zhao was only a concubine, she had her own private property, so Jia Zheng didn't say much.

Besides, after these years of wandering, Jia Zheng was really greedy.

Therefore, under the service of Aunt Zhao, Jia Zheng also began to drink happily.

After getting a little tipsy, Aunt Zhao packed up.

Then they both went to bed.

In the past few years, Aunt Zhao has eaten well and slept well, and the years have not left many traces on her face.

Aunt Zhao was a person of good taste, and soon Jia Zheng was amused by her.

There is no need to remember much after this.

Just to serve, Jia Zheng spent most of the month staying at Aunt Zhao's place.

Only when Aunt Zhao was not feeling well did Jia Zheng go to Lady Wang to handle official business.

This made Mrs. Wang so angry that her teeth itched, but she didn't know what to say.

Within a few days, Baoyu's wife became pregnant again.

When the whole family learned about this, they were overjoyed.

However, with the addition of new members, household expenses will inevitably increase.

Now that we have Jia Lian's fifty taels of silver as a foundation, it is enough.

But Jia Baoyu today is no longer the playboy who only gets close to girls in the past.

After being beaten by society for several years, Baoyu already knew the daily necessities of life.

I saw that the ancestor was in serious poor health.

Once the ancestor passes away, the first and second branches will probably have to separate and live on their own.

By then, the fifty taels of silver would no longer be available.

However, the people in their second branch actually have several more people than those in the first branch.

And since they can't make any money, how are they going to make a living?
For a moment, Jia Baoyu became worried.

He wanted to follow Jia Lian's example and went to Ningguo Mansion to beg for a job as a shopkeeper.

I think as long as you put your heart into it, nothing will go wrong.

But in the end, he just couldn't bring himself to do that.

In particular, when he was young, he did many ridiculous things in front of Lin Daiyu.

However, after much thought, Jia Baoyu actually figured out a way to make money.

That is - writing novels.

Of course not writing martial arts novels.

Although due to the publication of Daxia Monthly and the popularity of The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Smiling Proud Wanderer, martial arts novels also became popular in Daxia.

However, Jia Baoyu is still gentle and romantic at heart.

If you ask him to write about the heroism and debauchery of a warrior, he will definitely not be able to do it.

However, if he were asked to write some books for women, Jia Baoyu felt that he was not inferior to others.

Thinking of this, Jia Baoyu could not help but start pondering.

Soon, he ground ink and picked up a pen, and wrote a title for the book, Stealing Jade and Stealing Fragrance.

Yes, Jia Baoyu wanted to write an erotic novel.

In Daxia, this kind of book has always had a market.

When Jia Baoyu was a child, his servant often found these books for him to read.

At that time, he placed the book in the outer study and did not dare to take it inside to read, for fear of being seen by his sisters.

I only took a few books that were well written, such as Romance of the West Chamber and Meeting the True Love, to read.

He was also caught by Lin Daiyu once.

But in Jia Baoyu's eyes today, the writing style of those vulgar novels is really unbearable to watch.

If he were to write it, it would definitely be better than what they wrote.

After Jia Baoyu thought about the general plot, he picked up his pen and started writing.

The more I wrote, the more inspired I became. My ideas flowed like a fountain and I wrote like a god without adding any punctuation.

At this rate, I can finish a book in one or two months.

Of course, in this era, a book, especially an erotic book, is not like the online literature of later generations.

It is not uncommon to start with one or two million words, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, or even tens of millions or even twenty million.

Nowadays, a book usually has around 100,000 words.

Based on his current progress, he will be able to finish it in a month or two.

……

In Guangning City, after Jia Cong had taken over almost all the surrounding small cities, he was not in a hurry to expand.

Instead, he presided over a land distribution here.

The land annexation situation in the Qing Dynasty was more serious than that in Daxia.

Because they have no morality and are even more barbaric.

The Eight Banners descendants enclosed a large amount of land, causing many Manchu people to lose their land, and many people had to become slaves.

Under Jia Cong's leadership, all slaves were restored to their original places of origin.

……

Because he had the military power in his hands, this operation did not cause any trouble at all.

After the land was divided, the spirit and energy of the Manchu people in Ningguang changed.

For ordinary people, who is in power actually has little impact on their lives.

In their hearts, they are attached to whoever can make them live a good life.

And now, Jia Cong, the champion marquis, has divided the land among them.

They were also not allowed to buy or sell land.

In this way, the family will have hope for the future.

Therefore, after the land was divided, the people of the Qing Dynasty supported Jia Cong from the bottom of their hearts. (End of this chapter)