The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 283 Sailing
Jia Rong went east from Jizhou Prefecture and arrived in Qinhuangdao.

Qinhuangdao is adjacent to Shanhaiguan and is an important military port connecting the north.

The merchant fleet here is active, the population is mainly composed of fishermen, merchants, craftsmen and garrisons, and trade activities are prosperous.

Caravans from the south would bring tea, porcelain, and silk.
Domestically, it connects southern coastal ports such as Ningbo and Quanzhou and northern ports such as Tianjin and Dengzhou.

There were also international routes, through which trade was conducted with Goryeo and Japan.

Local vendors would provide supplies to the caravans, as well as women and some weapons, and the prices usually had to be negotiated by the merchants themselves.

Not long after Jia Rong arrived at the fishing port, he was found by soldiers.

A general wearing armor and an iron helmet walked in, followed by seven or eight soldiers carrying spears.

After these people came in, they looked around and quickly walked towards Jia Rong who was eating fish.

Jia Rong picked up a grilled fish with chopsticks and looked at the man who was coming over calmly and casually.

"Are you a doctor?"

"doctor."

Lu Guangsheng recognized Jia Rong's southern accent and knew that he was a non-official doctor.

"But I can treat illnesses."

“Only minor illnesses.”

Lu Guangsheng nodded, reached into the inside of his armor, and quickly grabbed out a handful of silver coins and placed them on the table.

"My friend has a headache, could you take a look?"

slap~
More than ten silver coins were placed on the table, worth about ten taels.

Jia Rong took a bite of the grilled fish and ate it, then thought for a few seconds.

"I don't want to see a headache caused by eating raw fish."

"You can have a look at this if you have a headache caused by catching a cold after falling into the water."

Lu Guangsheng quickly sat down and sat opposite Jia Rong, looking at the young man in the turban.

"Why don't you see a headache from eating fish fillet?"

Jia Rong laughed and said, "You have no ability. If you want to see a doctor, go to the capital. There are famous doctors, medicines and tools there. You see, I have nothing with me, and I don't have that kind of ability."

Lu Guangsheng nodded and reached out to take the silver coin.

Jia Rong laughed and said, "It costs one silver dollar to treat a patient, but I can't treat him for free."

Lu Guangsheng didn't need the extra dollar, so he gave it to Jia Rong.

Although Jia Rong had no money so he could rob or steal, but if he had enough money to spend, he wouldn't have to go through so much trouble.

"Thank you." Jia Rong accepted it with a smile.

Lu Guangsheng said directly: "The money is not for nothing. Please give me a prescription that can slow down the process. I can't go to the capital city right now. It will take a month."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Another silver dollar, do you have paper and pen?"

Lu Guangsheng took out the pencil and small notebook he carried with him and handed them to Jia Rong.

Of course, a silver coin is also indispensable.

Jia Rong quickly wrote the prescription.

Lu Guangsheng picked it up and took a look at it, then quickly praised him, "Young Master's handwriting is very good. Have you ever thought about serving the country, making achievements with your own abilities, and bringing honor to your family? Our army is in need of a few military doctors."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "No, as you can tell from my name, I cannot serve my country in this lifetime."

Soon Lu Guangsheng saw Jia Rong's name and instantly understood why Jia Rong failed the exam.

Huang Rong, Huang Yaoshi.

The same name and characters as the current emperor!
"I see. I said too much." Lu Guangsheng did not insist any more. This was a compulsory question.

Lu Guangsheng carefully looked at the medicine prescribed by Jia Rong again. Although he did not know any medical skills, he had some ability to distinguish after years of marching.

If all else fails, you can also ask military doctors. There is indeed a severe shortage of military doctors, but there are some that exist as well.

There is no shortage of cannon fodder or descendants of generals at present, but what is lacking mainly is professional talents.

Military doctors, artillerymen, firearms maintenance soldiers, grooms, guides, wheelwrights, carpenters and blacksmiths, etc.

Military doctors are the most in short supply. The main reason for death during marches and battles is illness, not death in battle.

Jia Rong said, "I have no hope of passing the imperial examination, so I plan to go out to sea. Is there any trustworthy fleet that is hiring?"

After hearing this, Lu Guangsheng smiled and said, "There is a fleet heading south. The owner just brought a batch of slaves from Japan this morning to mine. In two days, he will take a batch of medicinal materials back to Suzhou to buy silk. If you go aboard as the ship's doctor, you will be provided with food and lodging, and you can choose any woman you want." Jia Rong nodded and said, "Okay, thank you. This medicine should be effective in two or three days. I will be at the port these days. Anyway, this place is not big. Please let me know when the ship is leaving."

"No problem." Lu Guangsheng agreed with a smile, and then asked curiously, "Sir, can you deliver a baby?"

Jia Rong replied, "Yes, I have read the medical books published by the emperor in the capital, but the women there only want female doctors and nurses to deliver babies, so I have never tried it."

Lu Guangsheng nodded and gave another silver coin.

"We don't have so many rules here. Midwives here can easily kill people, and we have never had a doctor who knows how to do this. I heard that few people died during childbirth in the capital. It just so happens that the wife of one of my subordinates is about to give birth. If it's not too late, please help me, young master."

Jia Rong accepted the money and said, "No problem."

Lu Guangsheng quickly left with his men. After they left, Jia Rong paid the bill and went out for a walk.

The August sea breeze makes people want to vomit, and the harbor is filled with the smell of rotten fish and shrimp.

Not only that, most people were dressed in rags, and only a small number of them wore decent clothes.

The main people here are fishermen, followed by garrison troops.

Because of the slaves sent over from Japan, especially the women captured by the Japanese king in the war, the local population increased significantly.

The local trade was not two-way but multilateral. The working people were transported from Japan, medicinal materials were purchased from the north and sold to the south, and then cheap silk was purchased from the south and brought to Japan.

There is not much profit in both directions, and the population needs time to recover.

The price of medicinal materials also depends on the season. Furs and medicinal materials in July and August are more popular in the south, while the price of silk in July and August will be lower than fur and cotton-padded jackets. In addition, most of the crew members have to go home for the New Year, and it takes two or three months to reach Suzhou by boat from the north.

Men earn money by using their physical strength. They go out to sea to fish and supply various dried fish and seafood to the inland areas, as well as sundries for making fertilizers.

In addition to supervising trade and collecting taxes, the garrison's main task was to build roads, respond to the Eastern Expedition Army's attack on the Northeast, and build railways to transport the spoils of war from the Northeast to the interior.

Steamships, steam engines and railways only exist in a few places near the capital. At present, the external areas are mainly relying on livestock and human-powered carts to transport various materials to the factories and workshops where they are needed.

The most common products produced by the Jizhou factory were wheels for rickshaws and carts, iron pots, and iron sheets for armor and gun barrels.

Compared with the busy machinery factories in the mainland, the port is much quieter.

Jia Rong walked on the quiet and damp brick road, with dilapidated thatched houses overgrown with weeds on both sides. The August sunshine shone on his feet, giving him a warm and quiet feeling.

Not long after he was free, Jia Rong was found by a mounted soldier, and he rode his horse into a small courtyard with the fleeing soldier.

The door of the main hall was made of wood, and the two doors that were not closed tightly opened with a push. The soldiers pointed into the house in anxious dialect.

There were several other men and women in the room, all looking at Jia Rong and saying something that was difficult to understand.

Jia Rong walked into an inner room separated by a curtain and saw an old woman and a little girl squeezed in the small room. A pregnant woman was lying on the bed in the room.

The next step is easy to handle. Pregnant women do not give birth so quickly. It usually takes more than ten hours for the channel to slowly open before the baby is born.

Jia Rong quickly took people to boil water and prepare tools.

The family did have some daily tools like scissors, as well as some clean cloth that looked like rewards from the army.

Not long after, Lu Guangsheng also came over. With someone who could speak the local dialect to communicate with, things became much simpler.

It was early in the morning when Jia Rong helped the young girl deliver the baby and gave her some instructions on postpartum precautions and diet. It was almost dawn at this time.

Lu Guangsheng quickly introduced Jia Rong to the ship owner who was heading to the south. After praising Jia Rong, the ship owner quickly prepared a clean room for Jia Rong on the ship and drove the thugs who had been living there to the cargo hold.

Merchant ships need time to load cargo and will not set sail for the time being. After all, the more they load, the more money they earn.

Jia Rong would sit at the bow of the boat fishing, and when he got bored he would buy an expired newspaper to read.

The imperial court was still the Holy Dynasty, and those in the cabinet did not tell the world that they were leaving, but continued to drag it out using the excuse that the Holy Emperor was in seclusion.

After all, the emperor had only been changed a few years ago, and all the ministers in the court knew the disadvantages of frequent changes of emperors.

Another thing is that many people do not approve of Jia Ben as the crown prince. He was made the crown prince for the emperor's sake, not because he is so outstanding.

Jia Rong continued to fish quietly, even though his family members would certainly say that he was irresponsible to his family, his wife and children, and his country.

If you are not responsible, then don’t be responsible. It doesn’t matter.

I've played it, I've been there, I don't care anymore.

"Men...sometimes you just have to be selfish."

Jia Rong, who has always been selfish, seemed to have just realized this.

His wives at home were almost dying of anxiety and crying, but he could still smile and make dirty jokes with the boatman's girls, which made the girls splash water on him.

In September in late autumn, a large chartered ship loaded with medicinal herbs, furs, and large quantities of mineral spirits sailed south with a dangerous man.

(End of this chapter)