The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 354 I Believe in Wang Xin
After the Yangzhou garrison was disbanded, some of the soldiers who were settled on Yangzhou Island had their sons grow up.

Have you been to school?

Wang Xin sized up the twenty-odd uneasy young men in front of him. Worried about frightening them, he spoke in a very kind tone, adopting the demeanor of a gentle elder.

Many of the younger generation have relaxed a bit.

"I have read it."

"The doctor that Master Lin hired for us."

The young man leading the group, around nineteen years old, was also the most composed among them.

"What skills do you have?"

"Can ride a horse."

"I've also practiced martial arts."

The more you understand.

Wang Xinyue was at a loss for words.

The saplings that were planted intentionally or unintentionally back then never expected to actually have a positive effect one day.

It's not really that surprising.

Yangzhong Island was later developed into a city with a population of 280,000.

Yangzhong Island has a very short history, with people only starting to settle there in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. If there were 100,000 people on the island, resources would be scarce. But if there were only 10,000 people, wouldn't it be an ideal place?

The island has abundant aquatic plants, making it suitable for raising horses.

There is farmland and ponds.

It also has mountains and forests, and is located in the Yangtze River's golden waterway. Apart from being unsuitable for industry, it has no other shortcomings.

Otherwise, Wang Xin wouldn't have valued this place.

It is precisely because you know something that others don't that you can control the opportunity.

So, the original few hundred veterans and their families who were settled there numbered no more than two thousand. Over the years, only a few hundred have been able to move to the island. Therefore, the fact that so many young men have been sent here shows that most of the original veterans have not forgotten their kindness.

I was just doing what I was supposed to do.

People at the bottom of society are just that simple.

pity.

The sons of noble families are accustomed to smearing the image of the lower classes, often using the bad deeds of a small minority to represent the entire lower class as they struggle to make a living.

But they forgot.

Weren't their ancestors three generations of people from the lower classes?

Only truly intelligent people understand that those who are truly reliable are those from the grassroots. Throughout history, wise rulers have always selected talented individuals from among the common people, who eventually became their right-hand men.

However, an emperor is still an emperor after all, and most of the time he is used and then discarded.

Because the children of ordinary people are the easiest to control.

Wang Xin stopped thinking about it and realized that some of these young men were not meeting him for the first time.

"Are you Tang Qing'an's cousin?"

Wang Xin exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, sir, it is indeed me."

The young man in the lead was also very curious. When he learned that the general his uncle often talked about was now a commander-in-chief, he couldn't help but admire him even more.

Just like him.

Most of the other young men looked at Wang Xin with admiration.

They grew up listening to their fathers' admonitions, and what they heard most often were stories about the general, including everything on their island, which the general had set up for them.

Tang Qing'an was the name given to him by Wang Xin.

The island's first baby.

To be precise, it was the name provided by Lin Daiyu.

Moreover, Lin Ruhai handled many matters related to the official registration on Yangzhong Island, indicating that he had this idea in mind from the beginning, and it's unknown how much effort he put into it.

Wang Xin then asked, "Does Master Lin come to the island often?"

"I go there often."

Tang Tiehu answered methodically, trying his best to remain calm, but the sweat on his forehead revealed that the young man in front of him was very nervous.

Most of the other younger men did not perform as well as Tang Tiehu.

Many people dared not speak up.

Although there was no shortage of food and drink on the island, people hadn't seen much of the world and lacked experience.

Wang Xin saw it all.

I have an idea in my mind.

He instructed Yan Zhongzheng, who was standing nearby, to take them to eat.

Yan Zhongzheng was still in a daze.

Where did this group of outstanding young people come from?

Ordinary people would raise their children in this way. Most of them work alongside their parents, and a few are sent to school. Just one of these things would exhaust the family's savings, or rather, require all their efforts.

Most of the sons of noble families cannot endure hardship and only know how to greedily enjoy life.

Just like the Jia family, a noble family of two dukes, among so many sons, not one of them could endure hardship and was willing to go to the army to train. This shows that even if nobles fall from grace, they are still nobles. They have been living in luxury since childhood. Who would force themselves to endure hardship?

Upon hearing the general's order, Yan Zhongzheng snapped out of his daze, beamed with joy, and readily agreed.

So, under Yan Zhongzheng's leadership, the group of young men left in a hurry.

"How does the commander-in-chief plan to resettle them?"

Zeng Zhi also rushed over and asked curiously.

Wang Xin did not hide anything and said with a smile, "Time is tight. I need to settle these people into the camp before the capital garrison is mobilized."

Zeng frowned, puzzled. "Soldiers who haven't experienced the battlefield, no matter how long they train, won't be true elites. That's true, but isn't it a bit too hasty to arrange things like this now?"

"How can we let them fight now?"

Wang Xin was both amused and exasperated. He quickly explained, "Let's take this opportunity to let them familiarize themselves with the battlefield. It's a good opportunity for training. When can't we train?"

Zeng Zhi suddenly realized.

"It seems the general values ​​them highly, and these young men are indeed quite good."

Wang Xin shook his head again and sighed, "I don't expect all of these young people to become successful, but at least we've made a good start in cultivating our own talent system."

Without talented people at your disposal, you can't accomplish anything.

Zeng Zhi's eyes lit up.

He couldn't help but glance at his own main town again.

He had long recognized the extraordinary nature of his own commander-in-chief, but lacked the opportunity. Now it seemed that the opportunity was getting closer and closer. Unfortunately, his commander-in-chief was not ruthless enough. However, the more ruthless his commander-in-chief was, the more he would regard him.

If it were someone like Cao Cao, I wouldn't even want to be one.

Wang Xin was unaware of Zeng Zhi's thoughts. After a moment's thought, he decided to go find Zhu Wei and his son.

Why not stay in the Hexi Camp?

Zeng Zhi didn't understand why this arrangement was made.

“What I want is the entire right flank, not just the Hexi Camp.” Wang Xin couldn’t help but laugh, “Before, we had fewer men and could only focus on dealing with the Hexi Camp. Now that the Hexi Camp is stable, we can turn our attention to the entire right flank.”

Zeng Zhi understood Wang Xin's thinking. Although he was happy, he was also a little worried.

If he were a ruthless and ambitious figure like Cao Cao, he wouldn't care how many younger generations would die; those who survived would be considered talented.

However, the general town will not.

The general will treat them like his own children, instead of being indifferent to their lives and only caring about his own goals.

Therefore, Zeng Zhi was even more confused.

"Although Li Wei and his men outwardly obey the commander-in-chief, you can only know a person's face but not their heart. If we really hand people over to them, and something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret it."

Zeng Zhi reminded him.

The general retreated and did not try to win the opportunity to lead troops into battle. The advantage was that those who were qualified to win over the general changed their attitude towards him. Even if they did not try to win them over, they would not offend the general at this time.

The downside is waiting for the dust to settle.

Once someone leads troops into battle, the general has no say in the matter.

"I plan to hand it over to Yang Rong."

"Yang Rong?"

Zeng Zhi looked completely bewildered.

The right wing army consisted of one brigade commander and two guerrilla commanders.

When did the General Commander get involved with Yang Rongpan? I had no idea.

If Yang Rong sides with the General Commander, the road ahead will be much easier.

But he didn't know it himself. Zeng Zhi was speechless.

Wang Xin did not continue to explain.

Regardless of the reason, Yang Rong supports his methods of doing things, or the current environment on the right flank, and he supports them deeply in his heart, though he doesn't show it outwardly.

He may have his concerns.

So, by taking advantage of this opportunity, I can send a group of promising young men to him. If the two of us can work together seamlessly, we can accomplish many things that would otherwise be impossible.

The Hexi Camp is already his own men, and everyone will be suspicious and suppress him, and will not allow him to develop freely.

Whether it's Zhang Jifu or Zhu Wei and his son, although both sides are using themselves to fight, neither side wants to see themselves out of their control.

Therefore, we entrust people to others for training.

Those who are unaware of the situation may have doubts and speculations, but they will not take action to stop it like they would to prevent the Hexi Camp.

"I still don't understand why the General has taken a liking to Yang Rong, but since the General has made up his mind, I can go and meet Yang Rong."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you to handle."

Wang Xin nodded.

If I were to go see Yang Rong directly, many people would pay attention, and Yang Rong would also be under a lot of pressure.

It would have been much better to leave it to Zeng Zhi to handle.

Moreover, Wang Xin had considerable faith in Zeng Zhi's abilities.

The Right Route Army's camps were scattered in the area west of Tongzhou and east of the capital.

Yang Rong sat around the stove.

An iron pot was placed on the stove, and a pot of meat was stewing in it.

A glass of wine and a bite of meat.

Outside, a cold wind was blowing, and you could hear the howling of the wind.

"Clang clang."

The door was pushed open, and a person walked in.

The man sat down next to Yang Rong without any ceremony, took the wine pot and cup from the small square table, filled them up and drank them all in one gulp. Then he picked up a pair of chopsticks and started eating the stewed meat in the pot.

Yang Rong felt sorry for him and silently drank his wine.

After the man finished eating, he put down his chopsticks and asked, "What happened?"

"What's going on?"

Yang Rong spoke slowly and deliberately, his eyes seemingly filled with confusion.

"Stop pretending."

Hu Feng turned to the man and said, “Although the right wing army has seven thousand men, only half of them are able-bodied. They are respectively in the hands of Li Wei, you, and me. Li Wei has the most men, nearly two thousand, followed by you and me, each with seven or eight hundred.”

Yang Rong did not refute, picked up the fire tongs on the ground, and pried open the furnace door panel under the stove to reveal the coal inside. Because the furnace door was open, air rushed in, and the coal quickly turned red-hot.

The man continued.

"Since Wang Xin arrived, he wanted to rebuild the Hexi Camp and establish his prestige. Half of them were selected from the old and weak, and the other half were obtained by Wang Ying and others from other tribes."

“Wang Ying was originally Li Wei’s man. Li Wei gave him the most money in the office. His thoughts are easy to guess. He wanted to show loyalty to Wang Xin and gain Wang Xin’s trust, while at the same time he could use Wang Ying to continue to control his own people, transferring money from one hand to the other.”

"Although he gave two or three hundred men, it was practically the same as not giving any. On the contrary, the hundred or so men that you and I each gave were truly sacrifices. I heard that the commander-in-chief gave you more than twenty able-bodied men. What does that mean?"

The man stared intently at Yang Rong and asked, word by word, "Is this compensation for you?"

The coal burned brightly, and the house became increasingly warm.

Yang Rong personally took the iron pot off the ground and placed it on the ground. Then he replaced it with an iron kettle filled with water. After doing all this, he closed the stove door.

The warmth inside can last for a while.

It can also save a lot of coal.

Finally, there is still hot water available.

"I heard that this kind of coal stove and honeycomb briquettes were invented by the General Headquarters. I only found them useful after using them myself. I believe that the capital will switch to using these in the future."

Yang Rong suddenly sighed.

Convenient, affordable, money-saving, and economical.
Everyone who has used it says it's great.

Those who don't use it naturally won't look down on it.

“I know you well. You’re full of tricks, you can’t hide anything from me.” The man stared intently.

Yang Rong said helplessly, "Qian Gongli, why are you watching me every day when there are so many other people keeping an eye on me? I'm just a guerrilla fighter."

"Don't blame me for not reminding you."

Knowing his old buddy was unhappy, Qian Gongli softened his tone, "We've already made progress. None of you will have guessed who will be in charge this time. Don't make the wrong bet, or you'll regret it later."

"You know him?" Yang Rong raised an eyebrow.

Qian Gongli stammered as he stood up, finally saying, "If you trust me, don't do anything. In the end, I won't let you suffer any losses."

Yang Rong remained silent.

Everyone has ambitions, and everyone wants to find a powerful backer.

It seems Qian Gongli has found a powerful backer, probably the one in charge this time.

Judging from the tone of voice, it couldn't be Zhu Wei and his son, nor could it be their own commander. So who could it be?
Forget it.

It's none of my business.

After Qian Gongli left, Yang Rong waved.

"General."

Someone walked in.

"How are those young men doing?"

The person who came in had a strange expression and hesitated.

Yang Rong became even more curious, "Say something."

“They are all very capable; the sentry officer assigned to them couldn’t control them.”

Yang Rong touched his chin.

It seems the commander-in-chief has prepared many backup plans. How could such a group of young men have been cultivated in less than a few years?
After a winter.

The candidate for the leadership position has finally been decided.

The Zhu family father and son suffered a complete defeat, while Zhang Jifu's victory was no surprise. The new commander-in-chief was Zhang Jifu's confidant, Liu Qi, formerly of the Nanjing Yingtian Camp, and now the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Northern Army.

The position of commander of the Northern Army of the Beijing Garrison was vacant, which is why Zhang Jifu transferred Liu Qi to the Northern Army.

Anyone with eyes to see knows that this is to cultivate Liu Qi's control over the Northern Army.

Now the opportunity has come. Having annihilated the Shandong rebels and achieved real military merit, it is only natural that he would be promoted to the position of Northern Army Commander.

Liu Qi is a veteran.

Upon assuming office, he appointed the generals of the four armies of the Beijing Garrison.

Among them were the Hexi Camp, commanded by Wang Ying, and the East Army Right Route, commanded by Li Wei, Qian Gongli, and Yang Rong.

Wang Xin was the only one missing.

Wang Xin was completely abandoned.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is just another case of Zhang Jifu getting the job for himself.

"You've worked so hard all year, investing so much, and it's all gone to waste again. You've squandered money like this before."

Jia She angrily confronted Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng wanted to refute, but didn't know how to start.

Every action is a matter of human relationships.

For Wang Xin's sake, Jia Zheng cannot deny that he did indeed use many favors.

"Wang Xin has his own plans. He said everything will be fine."

Jia Zheng offered a feeble explanation.

"Humph."

Jia She was so angry that he laughed and rebuked Jia Zheng, saying, "Even at this point, you still believe his nonsense. I think you just don't want to admit that you misjudged him. Don't be so selfish."

"Am I selfish?"

Jia Zheng was speechless.

"You're just afraid of losing to me, aren't you?" Jia She said without any politeness. "The title of Rongguo Mansion belongs to me, I am the one who inherited it, it is rightfully mine."

Upon hearing Jia She's words, Jia Zheng felt utterly chilled.

"I believe Wang Xin."

Jia Zheng, unwilling to waste words, left these words behind and departed without bothering to argue with his elder brother.

(End of this chapter)