The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 96 Lin Daiyu (Third Update)

Lin Heqing had been back from Datong for some time, and having heard that Lin Ruhai's wife had been bedridden for some time, he came to visit her.

Besides visiting relatives, it's also because the Lunar New Year is approaching, and it's a normal visit to relatives' homes.

Of course, Lin Heqing now relies heavily on Lin Ruhai, so it would be unreasonable for him not to come over during holidays.

Lin Heqing's wife, accompanied by their fourteen-year-old daughter Lin Zhixue, entered the inner room under the guidance of a maid.

The visits should be made by the female relatives.

"Father has consulted many famous doctors, but Mother's health still hasn't improved much," Lin Daiyu said with a worried expression.

"Don't worry, little sister, you'll get better soon," Lin Zhixue comforted her.

Lin Daiyu was inevitably worried because her mother was bedridden.

The two mothers were inside the house, so the two women went to the back garden.

Because the two families frequently visited each other, Lin Daiyu and Lin Heqing's daughter, Lin Zhixue, knew each other from a very young age and had a close relationship.

Although Lin Daiyu is only five years old, she is intelligent and has been well-versed in poetry and literature since childhood under the influence of her father. She is precocious and gets along well with Lin Zhixue, who is fourteen years old.

"Yes, she'll get better soon. Sister, you seem to have something on your mind?" Lin Daiyu didn't want to talk about her mother anymore, so she looked at Lin Zhixue in front of her and asked.

"No," Lin Zhixue said with a slight smile.

"I've heard about it," Lin Daiyu said after thinking for a moment. "Sister, you don't need to worry about it. It's not worth being heartbroken over a faithless person. You'll definitely find a better family in the future."

Lin Daiyu knew that Lin Zhixue had been engaged a few years ago to a scholar.

The scholar's family was poor, so Lin Heqing provided them with financial assistance.

Although Lin Heqing's family was wealthy, his status as a businessman made him somewhat uneasy.

Therefore, he still wanted to find a scholar as his son-in-law when it came to his daughter's marriage.

Seeing that the scholar was diligent and ambitious, Lin Heqing betrothed his daughter to him.

The scholar lived up to everyone's expectations and passed the imperial examination.

Just as Lin Heqing's family was overjoyed, the scholar broke off the engagement on the grounds that their horoscopes were incompatible.

Lin Heqing was furious, but there was nothing he could do; the other woman had climbed the social ladder.

"Those scholars look down on our family," Lin Zhixue said, shaking her head. "Besides, my elder sister doesn't know much about learning, unlike you, my younger sister, who can compose poetry at such a young age."

She was well aware of her father's thoughts, but he looked down on businessmen for their low social status.

"My sister is also very learned, and even more proficient in mathematics. I can't compare to her," Lin Daiyu said.

When Lin Heqing was away, Lin Zhixue helped him with some of the household accounts.

"Let's not talk about my sister anymore, little sister. In July, my father was in Datong when the northern barbarians raided the city. Luckily, he was in the city," Lin Zhixue said.

She knew that Lin Daiyu was still somewhat curious about the outside world.

Because her father traveled all over the country, he came into contact with many different local customs and traditions.

After hearing this, Lin Zhixue would tell Lin Daiyu about it whenever they were together.

"It seems that the northern barbarians have frequently raided southwards in recent years, haven't they?" Lin Daiyu frowned slightly.

Although she lived in Jiangnan, she could occasionally hear about things happening in the north from her father.

"Yes, things weren't peaceful in the north. Back then, a junior officer made a great contribution—" Lin Zhixue recounted, "By the way, this junior officer's name was Jia Chen, and he was a member of the Jia family."

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu's eyes lit up.

She finally understood why Lin Zhixue had mentioned the war in the north; it turned out it was related to her, since the Jia family was her mother's family.

"He was only promoted to centurion, even though he made such a great contribution. The others are so hateful. They can't kill the bandits themselves, but they still steal the credit from their subordinates," Lin Daiyu said with dissatisfaction.

She naturally sided with Jia Chen, simply because they were somewhat related.

Lin Zhixue smiled. She knew a little about the things that involved stealing credit, but there was no need to say too much.

Moreover, she believed that Lin Daiyu, with her intelligence, would understand the reason behind it.

While the two women were talking about Jia Chen, Lin Ruhai and Lin Heqing also brought up the matter.

"Your news is a bit outdated," Lin Ruhai laughed after hearing Lin Heqing's words. "Jia Chen has made another contribution, and it's said he'll be going to the capital to participate in the ceremony of presenting prisoners of war."

Lin Ruhai had not yet received the latest news. Only a few days had passed since the ceremony of presenting prisoners of war, and news could not have traveled from the capital to Jiangnan so quickly.

"What happened after I left?" Lin Heqing asked, somewhat surprised. "In this dead of winter, have the Northern barbarians moved south again?"

"They marched south again, but this time they suffered heavy losses. In Datong Town, they captured over 1,500 heads and took the young prince Abunai prisoner."

Hearing Lin Ruhai's words, Lin Heqing was surprised, and his mind immediately began to ponder.

"I understand now. Jia Chen must have taken quite a few heads to achieve such a great feat." Lin Heqing had a deep impression of Jia Chen.

Jia Chen's participation in the ceremony of presenting prisoners of war demonstrates that his contribution was considerable.

"There are some things I'm only telling you privately. It's said that Jia Chen's Qianshan Fortress has captured at least a thousand level-one monsters, but just like you said last time, most of them were distributed. And that Abunai was probably captured by Jia Chen as well." Lin Ruhai sighed, "The Jia family finally has a promising descendant."

Although Jia Chen was not from the same lineage as the two dukes, they were still considered to be of the same clan.

"Jia Chen will probably be given an important position next. I was thinking of selling off the assets in Datong, but now it seems that I can wait and observe further," Lin Heqing said after thinking for a moment.

Although the current situation is very complicated, with salt permits available but no salt to be obtained, Lin Ruhai is still there. Even if he gets less salt, he will still make a profit.

Giving up all at once will result in a significant loss of income over the course of a year.

Moreover, Lin Ruhai clearly thinks highly of Jia Chen, so how could I not cater to his preferences?

"Relying solely on the higher-ups for supplies like provisions to the border towns is probably not very reliable," Lin Ruhai said in a deep voice. "If you're there, and the army has the necessary food and supplies, could you offer some support to Jia Chen? After all, it's rare for the Jia family to produce such a remarkable person."

As the son-in-law of the Jia family, he had naturally witnessed the decline of the Jia family and did not want the Jia family to continue like this.

He truly looked down on the direct descendants of the Jia family, considering them utterly useless.

"Of course." Lin Heqing nodded, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Speaking of which, I met Jia Chen before I came back. He asked me to do something, saying he wanted to inquire about the situation of some firearms craftsmen in the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

He hadn't really taken the matter of the firearms craftsman to heart.

In his view, he had already given the Jia family face by offering a 50% discount on grain prices at the time.

Jia Chen's proposals were a bit too much.

Now that the situation has changed, he'll probably have to pay more attention to this matter.

"Oh? Tell me more." Lin Ruhai became interested.

"I don't know the specifics, but Jia Chen seems to be interested in firearms. He probably thinks the firearms craftsmen in Datong aren't skilled enough and wants to recruit some skilled craftsmen from here. But that's too difficult. Not only is it far away, but the border towns are dangerous, so not many people are willing to go," Lin Heqing said, shaking his head.

Lin Ruhai pondered for a moment and said, "Next time you go to Datong, perhaps you can ask Jia Chen for some specific ideas. He's young, but his ideas are bold and he's quite ambitious."

"Ambition?" Lin Heqing was taken aback.

"It's ambition, I suppose. Only with that can one achieve great things," Lin Ruhai said with a smile. "I'm actually quite interested in this Jia Chen; perhaps I can meet him in the future."

Lin Heqing smiled and said, "In that case, I will send someone to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to inquire about it, at least to learn something about these firearms craftsmen."

"Very good." Lin Ruhai nodded.

Jia Chen was naturally unaware that two women in Jiangnan were talking about him, nor did he know that Lin Ruhai and Lin Heqing had mentioned him.

On December 28th, Datong Town received news from the imperial court.

It is said that the envoys sent by the imperial court negotiated smoothly with Ligdan Khan, and the imperial court promised to send Abunai back after the New Year. The Chahar army returned north, and the crisis in Xuanfu Town was resolved.

So, people in Datong Town also breathed a sigh of relief.

On this day, a man arrived at Qianshan Fort. The gatekeeper questioned him but did not let him in immediately.

However, when Jia Mao came out and saw this person, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Open the door quickly, I recognize him."

The visitor was none other than Wang Chuan.

He did not return to the Beijing garrison, but chose to stay.

He felt that even if he went back, even with his status as a member of the Wang family, it wouldn't be easy for him to get promoted in the capital garrison.

Because he had offended Wang Shen.

Initially, he followed Wang Shen, but Wang Shen was a person of very poor character. His subordinates fawned over him and offered him all sorts of gifts, while he didn't have much money to offer as a tribute, so he was gradually marginalized.

So he wanted to give it his all in the border town.

If he performs well in the border town, he might catch the attention of Wang Ziteng, and then even Wang Shen wouldn't be able to target him anymore.

"I heard you were in Deshengbao, what are you doing here? You said you had some important news to tell me, what important news could you possibly have? Come on, have some meat to warm yourself up." Jia Mao pulled him to his residence and scooped several pieces of lamb leg meat from the pot and placed them in front of Wang Chuan.

Wang Chuan had already smelled the aroma of the meat in the pot, and his stomach was rumbling loudly.

Now that Jia Mao said that, he no longer held back and stuffed meat into his mouth.

Jia Mao shook his head helplessly as he watched him wolf down his food.

That is, in their Qianshanbao, they can't say they have meat every meal, but they can still eat meat every few days.

For other border troops, being able to eat until they are seven or eight tenths full is considered very good.

Judging from Wang Chuan's sallow complexion and pale appearance, he was clearly not doing well.

"Wait, you haven't answered me yet." Jia Mao saw that Wang Chuan had eaten three large pieces of meat in a row and wanted to continue, so he reached out and pressed the meat down.

"This meat?" If he didn't know he couldn't beat Jia Mao, he would have liked to just knock Jia Mao over. What could be more important than eating meat?

"I'll make sure you're well-fed later, you'll get your share," Jia Mao said.

Although he didn't think Wang Chuan could bring any important news, they knew each other after all, so he figured it was just a favor.

Of course, he was also a little curious about what Wang Chuan could say.

Wang Chuan took a sip of mutton soup and wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve: "I've been following Commander Gao, oh, that Gao Gou, to Zhenqiang Fort for a long time."

"Oh, that's close. If you ever run out of food, you can come find me," Jia Mao said with a smile.

"What about the future? Your good days are probably coming to an end. You're in trouble, big trouble," Wang Chuan whispered.

"Nonsense," Jia Mao said, his expression displeased.

Isn't this cursing themselves and others?

"That's no nonsense," Wang Chuan continued. "Now everyone knows that you in Qianshan Fort eat well, dress well, and have even made contributions, getting promoted and rewarded. The other day, I overheard Gao Gou talking to one of his centurions, saying that he'll soon be transferred to Qianshan Fort as a garrison commander, and then he'll take them on a life of luxury. If he comes, Brother Mao, do you think you'll still have such good days?"

Note: Three chapters of 10,000 words each have been updated. Regarding the upcoming update schedule, there will generally be updates twice a day, at 12 PM and 10 PM. Thank you all for your support!