The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Otherwise, even with the Xue family's influence, they shouldn't even think about getting involved in overseas trade!

Putting everything else aside, they simply can't buy ocean-going vessels and can't build an offshore commercial fleet, so how can they operate?

That day, Xue Panxing hurriedly arrived at Rong Mansion's No. 1 Estate and found Jia Huan.

"The two old ships we bought temporarily have arrived. Are we only going to operate the Goryeo route?"

The guy was so excited his eyes were shining, as if he couldn't wait to fly to Tianjin, board the newly arrived ship, and go out to sea to have some fun.

The Prince Zhongshun's mansion is making a big move, so Jia Huan naturally can't rely on others for everything.

Privately, under the cover of the Prince's mansion, they temporarily purchased two old seagoing ships, intending to first run the Goryeo route and train a group of their own sailors and crew.

"The sea is rough and the winds are high; one wrong move and the ship is destroyed and everyone on board is lost!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "If you really dare to go, I definitely won't stop you!"

"forget it!"

Xue Pan smiled wryly and said, "My second uncle has experience going to the open sea, so how about letting him handle it?"

"It doesn't matter!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "To get to Goryeo, you can just follow the coastline of Liaodong and walk straight there. There's not much danger!"

"Of course, you can also spend a lot of money to join those fleets that are already familiar with the routes!"

"What I need now is enough trustworthy crew and sailors; let's put aside other adventures for the time being!"

"I know you're probably envious of the maritime trade businesses of the big families on the southern coast, but they've been operating for so many years. Do I even need to say what will happen to you if you rush in headfirst?"

Xue Pan looked somewhat embarrassed. He said listlessly, "That's true!"

"I've only heard that business in Japan is very lucrative. I've heard that if you go there fully loaded with goods unique to the Great Qian Dynasty, you can return with a ship full of gold and silver!"

Do you believe that?

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "If it were really that simple, why did the Japanese pirates cause trouble during the Ming Dynasty? And why was the maritime trade with Japan so firmly controlled by the powerful families along the southern coast?"

These words were merely meant to soothe Xue Pan's anxiety; in fact, he knew most of them were true.

Unfortunately, it seems that Japan had already entered the Shogunate era at this time.

Without close business ties with the other party, doing big business is practically a pipe dream.

Of course, the powerful families along the southern coast must have also used many tricks to spread rumors everywhere.

Sometimes, the truth, once it's spread, feels even more unbelievable than a lie that's deliberately propagated.

Sure enough, Xue Pan completely behaved himself.

"Let's follow the ships of Prince Zhongshun's residence and move together!"

Jia Huan laughed and said, "Once you're familiar with the flight path, you can go and take a look for yourself!"

"It's just a pity that things aren't peaceful in Liaodong!"

He shook his head at this point: "Otherwise, it would be the most reliable place to put our forward base there, as it's too close to Korea."

"Damn those barbarians from the Later Jin! I wonder when the imperial court will be able to deal with them!"

Xue Pan muttered, "After listening to what you said, Huan-ge'er, it seems that Liaodong has a promising future!"

"That's natural!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "It's just a pity that without sufficient incentives, it won't be so easy for the imperial court to start a major war with the Later Jin!"

What he didn't say was, who knows how many inside agents the Later Jin had bribed within the Daqian court?

The Great Qian Dynasty has been established for a hundred years. At this time, it is the time of transition between civil and military affairs. It should be said that the struggle between civil and military officials is the most intense. There is also the matter of two suns in the sky. Where is the energy to expand the territory?

The only thing they've done so far is initiate small-scale battles on the northwestern frontier—battles that are low in intensity but continuous.

Given the size of the Great Qian Dynasty and its current fiscal revenue, it can barely manage to cope with such a battle; anything larger would be unbearable.

In Liaodong, battles are always large-scale, and neither the current emperor nor the imperial court has the intention or determination to wage a major war there.

In fact, Jia Huan naturally knew that as long as the problems of keeping warm and protecting against the cold were solved, the entire Liaodong region and even further north would be rich in black soil.

Not to mention, there's the huge advantage of being located along the coast!

Of course, even if the Great Qian Dynasty ignores these matters, they will take the initiative to contact him once he enters the military system.

Xue Pan didn't stay at the manor for long before leaving. He couldn't stand the simple and boring life there; the city was much more interesting.

Not to mention, through Jia Huan's connections, they got in touch with the Prince Zhongshun's mansion.

At this moment, Xue Pan was filled with fighting spirit and had no intention of stopping.

As a renowned imperial merchant family throughout the entire Daqian Dynasty, the Xue family has many things they can do, and they might just catch the eye of Prince Zhongshun.

It wasn't that Xue Pan intended to curry favor with another powerful figure, but rather that there was a naturally close relationship between imperial merchants and the imperial family.

If they had a prince as their backer, the Xue family would be as stable as Mount Tai for at least several decades.

The Xue family, on the other hand, was able to provide the Prince Zhongshun's residence with a considerable amount of supplies in a short period of time.

Unless the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion seeks help from the Imperial Household Department, finding other imperial merchants would be of little use in terms of this resource collection and transportation capabilities.

The Xue family's situation is quite peculiar!

The other three of the four great families of Jinling were top-tier noble families even in the capital and the entire Daqian Dynasty.

At the same time, when Xue's father was alive, he was the head of the Emperor's spy network in Jinling, possessing considerable secret power, which ensured that the Xue family's caravans could cover the entire southern region.

Chapter 265 A Bountiful Harvest (Please Subscribe)

Before they knew it, it was the New Year. This was already the seventh year since Jia Huan had transmigrated and been reborn.

There's not much to say about Chinese New Year; it's the same old thing.

However, Jia Huan and Jia Cong, the two brothers, attended the New Year's Eve clan banquet as members of a collateral branch of the family.

At other times, the expected gifts and ceremonies are given, but that's about it.

Unless summoned by Master Zheng Er or arranged to visit Aunt Zhao, Jia Huan would not enter the Rong Mansion. What would he do there?

Jia Cong's situation is even simpler. Not only does he have to serve in the palace, but even with the Grand Master She moving out, it's unlikely he'd visit the Rong Mansion.

As for the old lady, as long as the two gentlemen didn't say anything, the two brothers would pretend they had forgotten about her and never even mentioned her.

This is the normal state of affairs for the collateral branches of the Jia family in the capital!

However, the old lady, after the New Year's Eve family banquet, called the two brothers over and asked them a few questions.

Jia Huan only inquired briefly about his studies and health.

What he said most often was still to ask him to take good care of Jia Baoyu at the clan school.

Jia Huan was truly speechless at this. Jia Baoyu was already sixteen by the New Year, wasn't he?

I've heard that Madam Wang has already started looking for a wife for him.

He had a very arrogant attitude, and his eyes were set on princesses and county princesses from royal palaces, or the legitimate daughters of noble families of equal standing. In short, he was extremely picky.

Unfortunately, it was all wishful thinking on Madam Wang's part.

Jia Baoyu's reputation was almost completely ruined by the Jiang Yuhan incident.

If he were merely a womanizer, others might be able to accept it. But his hobbies are clearly extraordinary; how could a family with daughters possibly approve?

During this time, the Xue family revealed that Xue Baochai was already engaged, which reportedly angered Lady Wang greatly.

Even Jia Baoyu, I heard, threw a huge tantrum.

According to him, why would a perfectly good girl get married?

Who knows when it might turn into those disgusting dead fish eyes?

Jia Huan listened to the gossip for a while, then turned and ran away, afraid of getting himself involved.

During the New Year's greetings, Lin Ruhai repeatedly urged him to come and visit during the Flower Festival.

What kind of guests are they? Lin Daiyu turned 18 on the day of the Flower Festival.

Ironically, after becoming a member of a collateral branch of the clan, Jia Huan found himself busier during the New Year, with even more social obligations.

The other six members of the clan had previously treated him and Congge'er as children.

Now that the two brothers have left the mansion, they are now the heads of the household.

After the Lunar New Year, the brothers received more invitations to visit relatives and attend banquets.

They ate and drank like this until the Lantern Festival, and basically every family in the six branches of the clan had eaten.

When eating and drinking, it's natural to talk about each other's situations.

Jia Huan was quite pleased. Although many of his clansmen's families did not live a comfortable life, they were better off than ordinary people in the capital, and he deserved credit for that.

Jia Yun is a typical example!

In the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber, the guy who married Xiao Hong, the daughter of Lin Zhixiao's head steward, had a rather miserable life in the early stages, after all, it was not easy for an orphan and a widow.

My uncle is a heartless and ungrateful fellow. If it weren't for the Rong family, I could barely make a living, otherwise I would probably have to go out and work as a laborer to earn money.

The situation is naturally different now. After Jia Huan established the Ningrong Street branch, he did not join the branch. Instead, he relied on the branch's resources to do odd jobs and run errands, and soon earned enough to cover his living expenses with some left over.