The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 179 An unexpected thing
"This is the old man's place, don't let him see us later."

When Jia Lian saw the aggressive Wang Xifeng, it was as if he had returned to the past. Coupled with what he had just learned from his father, who warned him not to offend the Wang family and to continue as before, Jia Lian became even more insecure.

Wang Xifeng is a very shrewd person; how could she be intimidated by Jia Lian? She pointed at Jia Lian's nose and cursed him.

Those who came with him were all Wang Xifeng's confidants. Although a group of stewards and wives dared not offend Master Lian, they still followed the Second Mistress closely.

Jia Lian was exposed by Wang Xifeng and had nowhere else to go. Finally, he saw Ping'er and said, "Ping'er, you little hussy, aren't you going to help me persuade your mistress? You're going to make the master angry and have him arrested, aren't you?"

Ping'er didn't want to say much, but she didn't expect that Second Master Lian wouldn't dare to offend others, but only knew how to bully her.

Thinking of her origins, Ping'er felt only bitterness and despair. She ignored Jia Lian and kept her head down.

Jia Lian was so angry that he wanted to grab Ping'er, but Wang Xifeng shouted, "Don't take your anger out on Ping'er. If you have the guts, come at me. Whether you come with me to see the old lady or to see the master, whoever it is, point out someone and I'll go with you to see them and ask them to judge what you've been up to these past few days."

"What can I do? I can't just go looking for you, and you're avoiding me anyway," Jia Lian argued.

"What could you possibly want from me? Even if you were looking for me, why did you come all the way to the Tubi Mountain Villa? Is that a place you can go?"

"Why can't I go? It's the Jia family's place, why can't I go?"

Wang Xifeng sneered, "That's a joke. So this is the rule of the Jia family. The place given to guests is actually a place that the master can go to whenever he wants. Say that again, and I'll go ask the master or the old lady."

Jia Lian was completely exasperated, but Wang Xifeng persisted: "I didn't hold it against you when you came to Tubi Manor to see me last time, but what are you doing there today!"

Jia Lian raised his head to defend himself, but Wang Xifeng interrupted, "If you dare to talk nonsense about coming to see me, I'll drag you to see the old lady."

With a guilty conscience, Jia Lian was tricked by Wang Xifeng and dared not speak carelessly anymore.

Thus, provoked by Wang Xifeng, who had caught Jia Lian in the act, most people might have let him go, for one should not pursue a desperate enemy. But Wang Xifeng was different. She believed in pressing the enemy with the remaining strength and not acting like a tyrant who would seek only fame.

"Well, it seems you really have something to hide." Wang Xifeng didn't give the Jia family any face. "Everyone says that only the two stone lions at the gate of the Jia family are clean. But now it's good that the proper masters in the mansion are not even letting the guests off the hook. I need to ask them if this is really the rule of the Jia family."

Wang Xifeng's words startled Jia Lian, turning him pale.

Jia Lian wasn't sure if others would do the same, but he was certain that Wang Xifeng would dare to do it for her family. Jia Lian panicked and, in a moment of inspiration, said, "How could you forget yourself? Didn't you give Ping'er to the guest?"

As soon as Jia Lian finished speaking, the scene fell silent. Ping'er suddenly raised her head, her little face filled with disbelief.

Wang Xifeng's momentum was also broken. Not knowing what Jia Lian was up to, she kept quiet. Taking advantage of this brief moment, Jia Lian suppressed his reluctance and said with a smile, "I still need to tell Ping'er that since we're in a guest's house, we should abide by the guest's rules. Only after I've explained everything clearly can we be considered done."

"Hmph." Wang Xifeng knew Jia Lian all too well, but with this pretext, she could only consider him to have gotten away with it.

If I want to make a big fuss, I need to have a completely solid reason, and it's not to the point of mutual destruction. On the contrary, it's better to seize on his words. He sneered, "These words were said in front of everyone, and everyone heard them. I will handle Ping'er's matter properly. There's no need for you to worry about it, Second Master."

Jia Lian nodded numbly, and seeing that Wang Xifeng was no longer blocking him, he hurriedly fled.

The wives of the stewards looked at each other, then turned to Ping'er.

"So, Ping'er is now Lord Xin's woman?" Before everyone could speak, Ping'er covered her face and ran away.

"I'm afraid Miss Ping'er won't agree," a steward's wife said worriedly.

“If she has any objections, we’ll pack her luggage and send it all to the Tubi Manor. Everyone heard what Master Lian said. Since it’s the master’s arrangement, although I’m reluctant, I can only do as the master says.” Wang Xifeng didn’t leave any room for others to criticize her.

Despite saying this, he felt somewhat dejected, and there was also a sense of revenge against Jia Lian.

These past few days, I've been filled with so much fear and anxiety, but I've also found some comfort in knowing that I've done right by Master Xin. I just hope that Master Xin won't let me down in the future.

As the saying goes, you only learn to cherish something after you've experienced its loss.

When she married into the Jia family, the Wang family was at its peak, and with the Jia family's prestige still intact, she was naturally proud and could not help but feel elated. She never imagined she would face this ordeal.

Having experienced the downfall of the Wang family and the emptiness of the Jia family, they now hide everywhere and live a low-key life, finally understanding the meaning of a good maternal family.

Then I remembered the book "Plum in a Vase" that Jia Lian had brought back before. I had heard him read some of it. Wasn't it the same in the book? A woman with confidence would beg a man to give in, and she wouldn't budge. A woman without confidence would be played with to death by a man, and then she would have to beg in return.

Nothing is worse than being good to yourself.

Her maternal family was unreliable, and now that she had Wang Xin, he was ultimately an outsider, not a proper relative. She should try to get closer to him. Ping'er was her personal maid, and she had even sent Ping'er to him. Surely Lord Xin wouldn't refuse her favor.

Thinking of Master Xin, wondering when he would return, Wang Xifeng felt she had gotten off easy and hoped he would remember her. Her mind was filled with a thousand thoughts as she traveled.

Yanmen Pass, Taihe Ridge.

"One two one."

"One two one."

"one two three four."

Three rows of men, dressed in only a shirt and trousers, numbering about ninety, ran along the training ground. They had run countless laps. Zhang Can, standing in the training ground, looked around. Ma Fan, envious, said, "Truly worthy of being called the elite of Datong."

"Of course," Zhang Can said matter-of-factly. "Back then, I even planned to train you all to be like them." "Luckily, I didn't," Ma Fan laughed.

Zhang Can sighed, "That's because you were lucky to meet the general. The world is so vast, but there is only one general."

This armored cavalry lost because they didn't understand the Hexi Camp's new tactics, nor did they know how powerful the Hexi Camp's equipment was. It's not that if they knew, they could defeat the Hexi Camp, but they would inflict heavy casualties on the Hexi Camp instead of being easily defeated like last time.

Ma Fan said regretfully, "No matter what, these people are really good in terms of physical fitness and military skills. They are rare elite soldiers. It's a pity that no one knows the general's selection criteria, which are different from others."

These recruits all operate under the banner of the imperial court. It doesn't matter who they serve, they always try to get them under their own control.

It's possible that someone else could have won over these elite troops, but since it's a general, he certainly has the ability to command them. However, the general doesn't value these things the most; instead, he values ​​aspects that are hard to define and there's no clear explanation for them.

"Commander Zhang," two soldiers said as they arrived, "Liu Ying's family has arrived."

Before they could finish speaking, Zhang Can already knew why they had come and shouted, "Liu Ying, come here."

A man quickly ran over from the ranks and stood at attention, displaying the military bearing of the Hexi Battalion. "Liu Ying reporting for duty."

"You're Liu Ying?"

"Yes, I am Liu Ying."

Zhang Can looked Liu Ying up and down carefully, then nodded. "Your family has arrived. Go with them."

Although Liu Ying remained calm, her eyes were filled with excitement.

These prisoners were not mistreated. They were imprisoned here for three years on the grounds that they had rebelled by mistakenly believing the general's orders. However, the general said that considering their status as soldiers who were protecting their country, they could not be treated poorly. Not only would they receive a resettlement allowance of three qian of silver per month, but they would also be able to eat two meals a day. More importantly, their families would be allowed to visit them.

In this way, everyone respected the guerrilla general.

Even if you are defeated by him, you should not be discouraged, but rather take it for granted.

Watching Liu Ying's departing figure, Zhang Can scratched the back of his head and asked curiously, "Is this the sentry officer the general mentioned? I can't see anything different about him."

The general provided them with a list of names to focus on.

High-ranking military officers among the prisoners were selected and put in solitary confinement, while officers below the rank of sergeant were kept with the soldiers. Liu Ying was not only the highest-ranking military officer here, but he was also on the general's roll call list, so how could no one be curious?

"Never mind all that. Nobody can understand the general's affairs." Zhang Can gave up thinking about it.

Even someone as shrewd as Liu Tong, who had served the general the longest, had given up trying to figure out how to deal with him. As he said, learning a little bit was enough; there was probably no one left who wanted to learn all of the general's abilities.

Wang Xin was at Yanmen Pass.

The Hu prisoners have largely settled down, and the Datong cavalry prisoners have also barely settled down. These several hundred people should not be underestimated, as they are all former cavalrymen. If they are not managed properly, they could easily cause big problems.

Guangwu City and Taihe Ridge.

Wang Xin planned to recruit 300 people from among them, but it didn't have to be 300. The main thing was to select suitable people, and it was better to have fewer but better ones.

They were also divided into several sentry posts, with sentry officers and captains appointed. They were rotated in batches, and some things were determined through the panel. They were indeed excellent talents. As long as they passed the ideological test and integrated into the training, they could quickly become the elite of the group.

The elimination rate exceeded 50%. The loyalty of the Hu people prisoners was relatively high. They listened to whoever fed them, and with his own methods, their loyalty increased rapidly. However, he had to consider the Hu people's living environment and could not meet his own requirements in terms of understanding.

As for the cavalry prisoners, although many can achieve this, loyalty is not something that can be acquired overnight.

Take it slow, you're not in a rush.

I wondered if the imperial court had made a decision yet. Just then, Zhai Wen arrived, bringing with him Feng Yong's orders.

"When did you return to the interior?" Wang Xin greeted Zhai Wen, and after the two sat down, Wang Xin asked curiously.

Wang Xin smiled, knowing that he and Feng Yong were the parties involved, while Zhai Wen was a third party. Zhai Wen had said he would speak up for him.

"You arrived, and I returned almost immediately." Zhai Wen asked, "Feng Yong ordered you to go to Datong to see him. Rank matters, what are you going to do?"

"He wants to see me?" Wang Xin didn't expect Feng Yong to be so shameless. The two of them had fought a fierce battle outside the pass. How could he have the nerve to give him orders? His skin was incredibly thick.

Zhai Wen sighed, "This is because they had guidance from a master."

The situation in Datong and Shanxi is complex, with various parties offering their opinions, which cannot be ignored. Many things go wrong because of seemingly insignificant little things.

"Will you go?" Zhai Wen asked, even though he knew Wang Xin wouldn't.

"go."

"What?" Zhai Wen wondered if he had misheard.

Wang Xin smiled and said, "I will definitely go."
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(End of this chapter)