The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 15 Xue Family
Zhejiang Province and Jinling Province have close relations, are commercially integrated, and are extremely prosperous.

Yingtian Prefecture in Jinling Province is the capital of the southeast.

The Zhejiang General was in charge of suppressing the Japanese pirates and was in charge of the armies of the two provinces. He was supervised by the Minister of War of Yingtian Prefecture, and the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, Jia Yucun, was responsible for ensuring the food and grass for the army.

Zhejiang and Nanjing share Taihu Lake.

A boat set out from Changxing on Taihu Lake, heading towards Wangting, passing Maji Mountain in the lake. Three small figures were chattering on the deck.

"Miss, this is the Maji Mountain that the master was talking about. It's so beautiful. I really want to go to the island to play. The master always listens to you. Miss, go and tell the master."

The little maid on the left is pulling the lady in the middle.

The little girl was probably in her golden age. There was a strong wind on the lake. She was wearing a beautiful gauze and gold brocade cloak, with two buns on her head. There were delicate gold butterflies embroidered on her cuffs, and she was not wearing any makeup.

Her big eyes flickered and she stood on tiptoe to look forward. She was quite excited when she heard the maid's encouragement, and her small black eyeballs moved back and forth.

"Master is in a hurry to go to Yangzhou to visit Master Lin. He has important matters to attend to. Why should Miss embarrass Master?"

The little maid on the right said sensibly.

The master loves the young lady the most and always fulfills her requests. The young lady doesn't like to stay at home and likes to go out the most, so the master always takes the young lady with him when he goes out to do business. They serve the young lady and have traveled all over the world.

I have seen people of all colors, black, yellow, white, brown, and red.

I'm not surprised by any strange or unusual products.

In fact, it is not just their family that is like this. Many places in Jiangnan are now promoting new learning and encouraging women to study Taoism and not be confined to their homes. It is also because this trend has long existed in Jiangnan that the new learning has the soil to sprout.

The little girl was very sensible and stayed obediently, but she said regretfully, "My cousin went to the capital. Otherwise, I could still go see her."

The maid on the right reminded, "I heard that Miss Lin lived with our Miss Bao in the Jia Mansion when she was in the capital. Master wants to go see Master Lin, but I don't know if Miss Lin is still at home. If she is, you can ask Miss Lin about Miss Bao."

The little girl's face returned to smile, and she hurried to ask her father.

There was a lantern hanging high on each side of the bow, one with the word "Xue" written on it, the other with the word "Yu" written on it, and there was also a yellow-bordered flag.

In the cabin.

There were windows on both sides open and the cabin was brightly lit. Xue Yan was reconciling the accounts with the shopkeeper of the Xue family whom he had met in Changxing. The accounts in Changxing were only half reconciled. Xue Yan was tired, so the two chatted for a while.

Just at this moment the little girl came in.

When the old shopkeeper saw the boss's daughter, he stood up and saluted with a smile. The little girl knelt down sensibly to return the greeting, then sat back down next to her father, showing her intimacy.

"I've spoiled my daughter. I'm sorry to make you, Shopkeeper Du, laugh at me."

Having said that, Xue Yan smiled.

The little girl even stuck out her tongue at her father, trying to make him angry.

The boss dotes on his daughter, and the young master studies at home, while the daughter goes out. Even her maiden name is known. If it happened thirty or forty years ago, it would have shocked everyone. However, the customs in Jiangnan have changed in recent years, and even it is not surprising for a girl to wear men's clothes to go to school.

Even the most conservative official families would hire a teacher privately even if they did not allow their daughters to go to school.

Various vernacular novels are even more popular.

"The young lady is lively and lovely, innocent and naive, and has a straightforward nature. How can you say that she is a laughing stock? Others are envious of her."

The old shopkeeper is experienced and speaks appropriately.

Although he knew it was a compliment, Xue Yan became even happier.

After a while, the two returned to talking about Jiangnan.

"The boss wants to go to the Lin Mansion to hire a team of Wang's Army soldiers to be responsible for the daily practice of the merchant caravan's Mandarin Duck Formation and protect their own trade routes. Given the friendship between the two mansions, Master Lin will probably not refuse."

"I thought so too, but Shopkeeper Du frowned. Is there something I haven't thought of?"

Xue Yan asked kindly.

The little girl snuggled up to her father's side, not as active as she was outside. She knew her father was talking about serious matters, so she held back what she wanted to ask. After her father finished talking about serious matters, she planned to ask her father whether Miss Lin was at home.

The old shopkeeper sighed, "It's just that I heard from the boss that the Wang family army will be disbanded soon. It makes me feel emotional."

"It's a pity for Wang Jiajun."

So that's how it is. Xue Yan felt relieved and said, "What a pity, General Wang is a member of the Wang family."

The shopkeeper was increasingly puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Although General Wang's surname is Wang, he's actually an orphan and doesn't have a deep connection to the Wang family. He's already five generations removed from the line of kinship. How could this be implicated?" Xue Yan laughed and said, "In today's world, officials who work don't have a good ending, because work leads to trouble, and only by not working can trouble be avoided. That's why officials nowadays don't work, and only good officials do. But those who work don't live long, just like the saying goes, 'Good people don't live long, bad people suffer misfortune for a thousand years.' General Wang's choice to work has broken his golden body, and a broken golden body is full of holes."

The old shopkeeper said nothing more and accepted the boss's statement. Unexpectedly, Xue Yan's little daughter became angry.

"That makes no sense."

Xue Yan and the old shopkeeper were stunned for a moment, and soon they burst into laughter at the same time.

There are no secrets in officialdom.

The wall fell and everyone pushed.

The Salt Transport Commissioner's Office and the Salt Tax Office all reached out to divide up the Wang Family Army. Even the Salt Road Office did so, not to mention other offices. Even Yingtian Prefecture began to ask for people and wanted to transfer a team of Wang Family Army soldiers.

In the end, only Lin Ruhai was working hard for Wang Xin's future.

Wang Xin came to the mansion.

"The squad leaders and captain lack experience and ability, and their understanding of the Mandarin Duck Formation is not comprehensive enough, so the sentries are important. Of the fifteen sentries, I want to leave three for He Kuan and Tang Ping."

After hearing this, Lin Ruhai asked curiously, "You really don't know how popular the Wang family army is?"

"Mr. Lin is joking. There is no such thing as the Wang Family Army."

Wang Xin didn't dare to admit it.

Lin Ruhai said with a smile: "You should have heard about the Zhejiang General. He wants to transfer the Wang Family Army, and other government offices also want a team of Wang Family Army. No one can guarantee when and where the Japanese pirates will land. Everyone wants their own safety."

From the estuary to the Yangtze River, and from the Yangtze River to its tributaries.

The Japanese pirates even landed in Yingtian Prefecture.

Since we can't rely on the army, we can recruit a team of Wang's army. With the combat effectiveness of Wang's army, only a few dozen or a hundred people can deal with at least a hundred Japanese pirates.

To stop a larger-scale invasion of Japanese pirates, we can only rely on the army.

With the Wang family army, there is no need to worry about the invasion of small-scale Japanese pirates.

Now is the peak period of the Japanese invasion.

Every month there are endless gangs everywhere, some with a few people, some with a dozen people, some with dozens of people, who rob and run away, shoot and move to another place, making it impossible to guard against them.

Of course Wang Xin knew this person.

I received the transfer order before meeting the person.

He Kuan and Tang Ping, together with fifteen sentry officers, took over the whole thing in one go.

He didn't even leave a single polite word for himself.

Although he doesn't care about his reputation, others won't think so. He doesn't care about other people's eyes, but his subordinates can't help it.

In order to appease his men, Wang Xin used a lot of words, but he was still a little dissatisfied. "I haven't offended you." Lin Ruhai, who was in front of him, understood the officialdom best. So he asked, "I have no grudge against General Luo Ming, but he is so rude to me. Who is he?"

"A villain."

Wang Xin was stunned.

I didn't expect to hear such impolite comments from Lin Ruhai.

Lin Ruhai said disdainfully, "A few years ago, Jiedushi Zhang Jing was arrested and imprisoned, leaving the southeastern armies leaderless. As a result, this man was the first to escape, causing chaos throughout the army. The Japanese pirates turned defeat into victory, resulting in heavy casualties among the armies. None of them were able to continue the fight against the Japanese pirates, which is why the situation in the southeast has completely collapsed in the past two years."

"Then the court still needs him?"

Wang Xin was unbelievable.

"Because he is a villain. Villains are the smartest and know what the emperor and the emperor need most. That's why he can seize the opportunity."

This was the first time I heard such dissatisfied words from Lin Ruhai.

It seems that Lin Ruhai has a lot of opinions about this person.

Is this person capable?
Wang Xin wanted to spread out the Wang family army and let them thrive, not throw them out to die.

(End of this chapter)