The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 130 Who am I?

Xue Pan's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and beads of sweat slid down the back of his neck into his collar.

"Aunt."

He was incoherent, pale, and panicked.

You're doomed.

Xue Pan looked at his mother helplessly.

Madam Wang twirled the Buddhist beads in her hand and praised with a forced smile, "Pan'er has finally gained experience. Even his judgment of others has improved."

Aunt Xue twisted the handkerchief into a twist, and the jade bracelet on her wrist clanged against the edge of the sandalwood table. "It's just a child's nonsense, sister, don't take it seriously."

Then he looked at Xue Pan and scolded him, "Look at you, kid. You say you are an adult, but you are still acting like a child."

She then took out a silk scarf to wipe Xue Pan's tea-soaked clothes while complaining to her sister, "I worry about him every day. I don't know what sins I committed in my past life."

After all this busyness, Mrs. Wang had nothing to say.

There was no joy on his face.

Xue Pan knew that he had offended his aunt today, and he quickly made amends, "Aunt, what I just said was about leading troops. Wang Xin is a warrior and a rough man. Our Baoyu is a scholar of poetry and calligraphy. How can Wang Xin compare with Baoyu?"

"Did you go to see Wang Xin just now?"

Mrs. Wang suddenly asked.

Aunt Xue suddenly became worried, fearing that her son would let the cat out of the bag again.

She was not prepared at all. If her sister suddenly found out that she had been hiding it from her, their years of friendship might be affected. Firstly, it was the sisterhood, and secondly, the Xue family would eventually need the support of the Jia family, so she looked at her son intently.

"Hey, didn't Wang Xin ask the Xue family for help with some business?" Xue Pan said worriedly, "It's not a big deal and it's troublesome. I didn't want to do it at first, but Wang Xin has his uncle's support and is also a member of the Wang family, so I asked the counter to agree and I went to meet Wang Xin today to discuss business matters."

Aunt Xue breathed a sigh of relief, and Mrs. Wang didn't ask any more questions.

"I was worried when you didn't come for a few days. Could it be this?" Mrs. Wang looked at Aunt Xue.

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "That's right. The uncle from the second house is here. It was Wang Xin who asked the second house to make the decision. The second house couldn't make the decision. He came to visit the mansion a few days ago and talked about this matter, so he asked Pan'er to go to the counter to make the arrangements."

Mrs. Wang then stopped asking questions.

She sat for a while before leaving. When she was halfway there with the maids, she gradually hesitated.

Don't underestimate my sister because she is weak and seems to have no idea what she is doing. She has been like this since she was a child, otherwise she wouldn't have come to me with her family a few years ago.

And a niece.

Baochai is a sensible and good girl, smart and knows how to manage the household. He has watched her grow up and knows her inside and out. Now she is a perfect match for his son Baoyu. Baoyu doesn't have to worry about anything for the rest of his life and just needs to study hard.

It was a good idea at first, but now I feel a little uneasy.

After all, she should see Baochai more often and start with her. She is a girl and has never seen other men. Her own Baoyu is not bad after all. Mrs. Wang nodded and had an idea in her mind.

Xue Yan stayed in the capital, waiting to hand over the matter of firearms to Wang Xin before returning to Jiangnan. In addition to his own business, he also had an agreement with Wang Xin, such as purchasing copper tube cannons for imitation and hiring craftsmen.

Wang Xin went to the Eastern Army Governor's Office.

The soldier at the door recognized Wang Xin, and the steward at the door invited Wang Xin to sit inside. Soon the housekeeper came with someone to serve tea.

Admiral Zhu Wei was not at home, it was Zhu Shenggong who came.

"No one comes to see you for no reason. What can I do for you?" Zhu Shenggong knew Wang Xin's personality and asked directly with a smile. He didn't treat Wang Xin as an outsider.

"I went south to suppress the Japanese invaders. I asked someone to purchase a batch of firearms. I never thought that the firearms would arrive before the Japanese invasion was over."

Zhu Shenggong understood Wang Xin's words halfway through, and wondered, "Is the deal big or small? If not, we'll handle it. But if it's a lot of money, then breach of contract is breach of contract. Can I still come after you for it?"

Wang Xin knew Zhu Shenggong had misunderstood and explained, "I didn't intend to break the contract. I asked them to send it all the way here. It's almost in Tongzhou, so I asked the Governor's Office to approve a note so I can send it to the water gate to let it pass."

The Xue family was an imperial merchant. With the title of imperial merchant and the approval from Nanjing, they had a smooth journey. But it was different when they arrived in the capital. To be on the safe side, they added the approval from the governor of the Eastern Army, and the risk was much smaller.

The matter was not serious, so Zhu Shenggong did not ask any more questions. He left and went to get a document and brought it out.

It was signed with Zhu Wei's name and seal, as well as the admiral's seal.

This shows that Zhu Wei left Zhu Shenggong with a lot of blank approval documents. Zhu Shenggong only needed to write the required content to make it effective. It can be seen that Zhu Shenggong's status in the Eastern Army is equivalent to that of his father.

Wang Xin had no intention of giving a gift, and Zhu Shenggong liked Wang Xin's attitude.

He called out to Wang Xin.

"What do you have to say about the matter between you and your general?" Zhu Shenggong asked with concern.

Wang Xin didn't hide anything and said frankly, "If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If water comes, we will block it with earth. I don't have any leverage over him, so I'm not worried about him doing anything. Besides, I have the Governor's Office to protect me, so he can't do anything to me."

Zhu Shenggong laughed at the last sentence.

After laughing for a while, Zhu Shenggong continued, "Cheng Hong is a quiet guy, and I don't think much of him. But the Prince Zhongshun behind him is indeed a trouble."

"Prince Zhongshun dares to interfere in the affairs of the Beijing camp?" Wang Xin also wanted to know more about Prince Zhongshun. Zhu Shenggong in front of him was a good target.

"It depends on the timing."

Zhu Shenggong relayed to Wang Xin what he heard from his father.

The affairs between the retired emperor and the emperor also affected the royal family. The attitude of the royal family was also very important. It was true that the retired emperor was very powerful, but who made him have a family background that was hurt by a palace maid in his early years and he had no descendants?

There was nothing anyone could do about the previous incident with Prince Yizhong and the subsequent enthronement of the young emperor, even though the retired emperor was powerful.

But some things are also the bottom line.

For example, the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, the timing of Prince Zhongshun's return is also related to the current situation, and it also represents the attitude of the royal family, who do not support the emperor's dethronement.

The retired emperor never expressed his intention to depose the emperor.

But no one knows what the emperor is thinking, and no one knows what he will do in the future. Zhu Wei is the prime minister's man, the prime minister is the emperor's man, and Prince Zhongshun wants to protect the emperor, so it seems he is on the emperor's side.

I consider myself Zhu Wei's man.

Cheng Hong is Prince Zhongshun's man.

So the situation became simple. Whether in public or private, he and Cheng Hong were opposites.

"What should I do?" Wang Xin figured out his situation and asked directly.

Zhu Shenggong showed an approving look.

Many people cannot see their own position clearly and always have some messy thoughts.

Wang Xin is a smart man.

Knowing your own foundation and also knowing your own position, you can do things purely and everything will go smoothly.

There are some people.

Although he was promoted by his father, he was worried about this and that, calculating the gains and losses, and lost his sense of proportion.

"You're doing very well even without doing anything," Zhu Shenggong praised.

Wang Xin nodded.

My analysis was not wrong, it was just as I thought.

What Zhu Shenggong said to him was definitely not just his opinion. It also contained the admiral's requirements, but he just told him through Zhu Shenggong's mouth.

This is when gods fight and the devil suffers.

The emperor and the retired emperor are still on good terms, but the people below are fighting with each other. No wonder they all want to escape from the capital. It is indeed a whirlpool.

After getting the approval document, Wang Xin returned to the Jia Mansion.

When Jia Zheng learned that Wang Xin had returned, he invited him to the living room for tea. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jia Zheng asked, "Do you know why Wang Ziteng left the capital?"

"Because I'm avoiding trouble in the capital."

In the past, because of his low status, he didn’t feel it deeply. But as his position rose, Wang Xin was qualified to be involved.

This is only one of the reasons. Another reason is that it is not easy to bring up Wang Xin, and Jia Zheng did not say anything, otherwise everyone would be embarrassed.

"In fact, Wang Ziteng went to the northwest at the invitation of Prince Zhongshun."

Jia Zheng spoke slowly, revealing a big secret.

It was so frightening that it made me feel numb.

Wang Xin was incredulous. How could he be implicated again? He looked dumbfounded.

Jia Zheng thought this was normal, as many people were unaware of this, so he explained, "The prince's departure from the capital and his transfer to the nine provincial governorships was the Emperor's personal approval. Going to the northwest, with Prince Zhongshun's support, was very convenient for him, and many things went his way."

For example, to rescue another Jiedushi in the northwest.

Jia Zheng sighed and said with emotion, "Man proposes, God disposes. Who could have imagined that the Emperor would be defeated so decisively, forcing even Prince Zhongshun to return to the capital?"

After what Jia Zheng said, Wang Xin began to understand why Jia Zheng wanted to talk to him about this.

He smiled bitterly and said, "So I am also Prince Zhongshun's man?"

Jia Zheng nodded. "From Wang Ziteng's perspective, you can be considered a loyal and obedient prince."

Ok!

Who am I really?

Wang Xin is a bit of a muggle.

Suddenly, Wang Xin thought of something.

Wang Ziteng's plan was to start anew and secure the position of Jiedushi in a border town, but it was bound to fail because he was later promoted to the Inspector General of Nine Provinces. As a nobleman became more and more proficient in the civil service, he was further and further away from military power.

Wang Ziteng is different from Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng was also the son of a noble family, but he chose to study and pursue an imperial examination, while Wang Ziteng had real military achievements. This meant that Wang Ziteng was a complete failure, so he died of illness on the way back to Beijing and died in depression.

So many things can be seen.

Not only had Lin Ruhai long since defected to the emperor, but Wang Ziteng and Jia Zheng also followed the emperor's path.

However, there was a minor conflict between Prince Zhongshun's Mansion and Jia Zheng.

Either my analysis was wrong, or the Jia family had another explanation. After all, the Jia family was large and powerful, with several masters alone. All eggs would not be put in one basket. Even though they were all members of the Jia family, they actually had their own factions.

I am Lin Ruhai's man.

Another member of the Wang family.

After Jia Zheng said this, he knew that he was indeed on the emperor's side.

But why do I seem more like the emperor's side?
Lin Ruhai never stopped himself.

Zhu Wei is also nice to me.

And Zhang Jifu even made it clear that he wanted to win me over.

I have such great charm.

It is true that everyone loves him and flowers bloom when he sees them.

Wang Xin couldn't help but touch his nose. He was satisfied with everything about himself except his nose. His nose was too big and a little bit out of harmony. You could see it if you looked closely.

(End of this chapter)