Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 21, On the Eve of Returning to the Village

Emperor Longqing finally adopted the opinions of Cheng Daxueshi and three others, and severely reprimanded Yu Lian.

Not long after, Mao Jie, the general of Jinhai, received the imperial edict. In the imperial edict, Emperor Longqing first reprimanded him, and then said that considering his loyalty, his protection of the country and the people, and his timely suppression of the rebellion, he would not pursue his crime of negligence.

Mao Cheng, a young general under his command, was promoted to deputy general of Jinling for his outstanding performance in the battle.

At the same time, Mao Jie was required to find out the traitors hiding among the people, and it was better to kill them by mistake than to let them go.

Mao Jie fully understood the intention of Emperor Longqing, and on the same day he led his army to attack the city with artillery and suppress the rebels.

The anti-popular forces, who were already scattered, were quickly suppressed by artillery fire.

But Mao Jie did not stop there.

He joined forces with local civil and military officials to extort local merchants, ordinary wealthy families, and wealthy families who did not have much power. If they did not hand over huge amounts of property, they would be treated as traitors.

These wealthy families had already been looted by the rebels, so how could they have any money left?

Mao Jie's method of dealing with it is also very simple. No money? If you have no money, it proves that you have given all your money to the traitors, and you are an accomplice of the traitors!

The bandits passed by like a comb, and the soldiers passed by like a rake. This was truly revealed at this moment.

Someone went to the capital to file a complaint, but the water route was blocked and the land route was dangerous.

There are more than a dozen counties surrounding the capital, and each county is a gate to hell.

Ten out of ten died. Finally, one person was lucky enough to make it to the capital alive through some remote path. When he entered the city, the city guards saw that he was in tattered clothes and interrogated him:

"Where are you from and what are you doing here?"

The man knew that he would be arrested if he told the truth, so he lied:

"I'm a local, I don't do any hemp, so I just wanted to go to the city to have a look."

The man was immediately arrested, beaten with 60 sticks, and thrown into the Shuntian Prefecture Prison.

That night, snowflakes fell in the capital city.

Emperor Longqing walked outside the palace wearing his dragon robe, looking at the snow-covered ground with a look of joy on his face.

Chant:

Auspicious snow fell from the sky, and the ground was covered with white.

The wind blows the snowflakes flying, and the cold air penetrates the bones and cheeks.

Silver flowers hang on the treetops, and snow piles up at the corners of the corridor.

Feng Ao...

……

……

Dai Quan was holding a heater and came over. Seeing this, he quickly replied:
A good harvest is a sign of a good harvest, and I feel happy!
After hearing this, Emperor Longqing said, "That's right."

Dai Quan said: "I just couldn't help myself and took up your Majesty's poem without permission. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."

"It's okay, I forgive you!"

After one night, the man who filed the complaint was frozen to death.

It has snowed in the capital, but the south of the Yangtze River has not been greatly affected.

Daiyu sat on the couch, holding a book lightly, her eyes looking into the distance, a little absent-minded.

Xueyan said, "Miss, the Third Master is here."

Daiyu straightened her spirits.

After a while, Fang Yong came in, looked at Daiyu and said:
"What's wrong, sister? Are you still thinking about those letters?"

Daiyu nodded slightly.

"My father hasn't replied to my letter for such a long time. I wonder if something has happened."

Fang Yongdao:
"Don't worry, sister. Maybe the messenger was missed. You can go to Huaizhou with me first. I will send someone to contact Lord Lin. If that doesn't work, I can personally send you home."

Daiyu listened and nodded slightly.

"It's all thanks to my brother."

Fang Yong was startled and said happily:

"What did my sister just call me?"

Daiyu's face turned red all the way to her ears, and she denied it:
"You call me Third Brother Fang?"

"Why did I hear you calling me brother? Can you call me sister again?"

"No, get out now."

Lin Daiyu pushed Fang Yongdao.

Soon, Fang Yong was pushed out.

Daiyu then breathed a sigh of relief, but after a moment, Fang Yong came back.

"Ah, why are you back again!"

"Why are you back again? Is my sister tired of me?"

Fang Yong asked.

Daiyu quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, it's just..."

Daiyu's face was red.

Xueyan said quickly, "Third Master, please stop bullying our girl." Fang Yong smiled faintly, took out a brocade box, and said:
"When I was practicing archery yesterday, I shot a black stone at the bottom of the water. It turned out to be a big clam. I took the clam pearl and thought I should give it to my sister."

Daiyu listened with her heart pounding.

"What does he mean? Why should I give it to myself?"

Without waiting for Daiyu to ask further questions, Fang Yong put down the brocade box and left.

"Oh, girl, what big pearls!"

Xueyan carefully took out the pearls from the box, held them in her hands, and asked Daiyu to look at them.

When Daiyu took a look, she found it was actually a white jade pearl, round and smooth, two fingers wide, and slightly larger than a copper coin!
"This is too valuable, Xueyan, return it to Third Brother Fang quickly."

Xueyan said aggrievedly:

"Miss, you've made things difficult for me again. Last time, you asked me to return the golden fox fur coat that Third Master gave you, but I got hit on the forehead and it still hurts!"

Daiyu was at a loss after hearing this.

Xue Yan said:
"Miss, if you don't like it, why don't you return it to the Third Master in person? I see that although the Third Master always comes to Miss, he behaves in moderation and does not overstep the bounds. I think as long as Miss explains clearly, he will know what to do."

Daiyu listened and lowered her head and said:
"No, I can't do that. I'm afraid he will misunderstand me if I do that."

Xueyan asked doubtfully:
"What's the misunderstanding?"

Daiyu said without hesitation:

"You misunderstood that I don't like him giving me things!"

Xueyan:? ? ?
Daiyu: "Forget it, you won't understand even if I tell you. Go get the needle and thread. Oh, how much gold and silver thread do you have?"

A few days later, Fang Yong practiced archery with his men.

[Talent: Archery (Normal)]

【Progress: 99/100】

【Effect: The arrow can hit the target from a hundred steps away. 】

Before drawing the bow, Fang Yong carefully removed the finger guard on his hand.

Li Sheng saw it and asked curiously:

"Third brother, other people wear finger guards when drawing the bow to prevent injuries. But you do the opposite. You wear finger guards at ordinary times, but take them off when drawing the bow. Do you have any tricks for archery?"

Fang Yong said: "What do you know? This is a secret."

Li Sheng heard this and rolled his eyes.

"Could the secret be in this finger guard? I think this finger guard is better looking than the others. Where did Third Brother get it from? Why don't we exchange them?"

"Begging for a beating!"

As Fang Yong spoke, he drew his bow upwards and shot down a wild goose.

The wild goose's body fell right on Li Sheng's head, causing everyone to laugh.

Li Sheng picked up the dead goose with a bitter face. Looking at the half of the goose's head shot off by an arrow, he couldn't help but raise his thumb.

"Third brother's archery skills are rare in the world. I admire you so much!"

[Talent: Archery (Proficiency)]

【Progress: 1/1000】

【Effect: Arrows can penetrate solid rocks and penetrate the army. 】

A few days later, Hongze Water Fort!

"The Third Master is back!"

After returning to the water fort, Fang Yong first settled Daiyu down and promised to personally send her to Yangzhou in a few days. Then he went to pick up his brothers.

Before leaving the water fort, Fang Yong had more than two hundred brothers under his command.

After leaving, after such a long time, Fang Yong's fame in the water stronghold has not decreased but increased. I don't know who promoted him, but Fang Yong's reputation is getting higher and higher. Now there are more than 500 people ready to join Fang Yong.

Since Fang Yong was not there, Xue Dacui took it upon himself to keep these people for Fang Yong, and planned to ask them whether to stay or leave after Fang Yong returned.

Should I stay or go? Of course I should stay.

Fang Yong never thinks too many people are enough, the more people willing to join him, the better.

He is not afraid of having no money. If he really has no money, the worst that can happen is that he can rob the Sanhe County Government.

He has already killed officials and joined the bandits, so what is there to be afraid of?

At the same time, Xue Dacuizi brought the silver note with a smile.

"Third boss, we agreed on 10,000 taels. Please count it."

Fang Yong saw this and did not accept it. He shook his head and refused:
"No, I can't take this money. Even I didn't expect a riot that day, which caused Manager Xue and his men to stay in the city. Every time I think about it, I blame myself so much that my heart aches. How can I take this money again?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Dacui tried to comfort Fang Yong again and again and wanted to give the banknote to Fang Yong.

However, Fang Yong sincerely shook his head and refused.

Seeing this, Xue Dacui couldn't help but feel more satisfied with Fang Yong. Regardless of whether Fang Yong's performance just now was real or fake, he was able to refuse such a huge sum of money when he was short of money. This was not something that ordinary people could do.

Xue Da Lame said:
"Third boss, you don't know that after the riot that day, Shopkeeper Xue hid his goods in the cellar and escaped the mob. Not only are they safe now, but they have also encountered great luck and made a fortune!"

Fang Yong was slightly surprised when he heard this and asked, "Is there such a thing?"

Xue Da Lame smiled and pulled Fang Yong over, "Come, let me explain this to you in detail."

(End of this chapter)