Jia Lian of the Red Chamber

Emperor Qianyuan mocked himself and no one dared to speak up.He had no choice but to talk to himself: "Now it seems that the prince Tenggou is a loyal minister and good general! What I mean is that the imperial decree alone is not enough to express my heart. I think that I should send imperial envoys to the sea. I apologize to Mr. Wang, secondly, to assist in military affairs, after all, there are so many things in the sea and territory, and manpower is needed. Thirdly, I also check to find out who is right between Wang Ziteng and the king of Nan'an County."

All the officials were stunned, what's the reason for the king of Nan'an County?

Prince Xi said: "My brother has someone to choose, and this person is Mr. Jia, the left servant of the Ministry of War."

Emperor Qianyuan asked, "Jia Lian, would you like to go?"

Jia Lian came out and responded, "I am willing to serve you, but my presence does not represent His Majesty's sincerity. Moreover, I and Lord Wang are relatives by marriage, so I should avoid right and wrong. Therefore, I am willing to go to assist you as an imperial envoy's deputy. "

Emperor Qianyuan nodded: "This is reasonable, but who is the right one to send as an imperial envoy?"

The eldest prince's eyes had been shining for a long time, and he was busy going out at this moment: "I would like to report to my father, my son and minister are willing to go!"

Emperor Qianyuan looked at Shui Cheng both tangled and relieved, the tangled thing was that he didn't want the eldest prince to take risks, but this guy jumped out again and again.Fortunately, one of his eight grown-up sons was willing to help him solve his problems.

Emperor Qianyuan looked at the remaining sons, he was a little disappointed, and suddenly he felt angry. He pointed at Shui Cheng and said, "Okay, when you come back after successfully completing the mission, I will make you the king of the county."

Although Emperor Qianyuan had many sons, he didn't confer any son at the moment, and now he suddenly said that he would confer the title of eldest prince, and the other six adult sons suddenly felt sour.

However, if they were allowed to choose, they would still be willing to be a Taiping prince.After all, once you go to Haijiang, it is still a matter of life to come back to enjoy the county king Juelu.

They are the sons of the emperor, so are they afraid that they will not be granted titles by the king in the future?

Yu Liuyue got Jia Lian's suggestion last time, she happened to be pregnant at that time, so she used the child to entangle the eldest prince, otherwise, she couldn't guarantee whether there would be more eldest princes among the people who sneaked away last time one.

This time the eldest prince begged for orders again and was rewarded by the emperor. Shui Cheng was very proud and went back home. The eldest prince gave Yu Liuyue a thumbs up: "If I hadn't loved my concubine last time, I would have been a prisoner waiting to be rescued, my wife." A virtuous husband has less misfortune, this is not wrong!"

Yu Liuyue has a big belly now, and the imperial doctor has concluded that Yu Liuyue is pregnant with twins, and now Yu Liuyue has become a key protected animal, and the Queen Mother even exempted her from worshiping the crying spirit.

Hearing the words, Yu Liuyue was busy ordering the girl to grind the ink, and wrote a banner with her own hand, "Wives are good and husbands are less troublesome", then dried them, folded them up and put them in the eldest prince's purse: "I hope my husband will keep in mind that there is a virtuous man behind you." My wife is silently waiting for you, and will support you silently in the future."

Yu Liuyue has both sons and daughters now, and Emperor Qianyuan's original threat to bestow beautiful women has been cancelled.

Now that she is pregnant again, she is more and more perfect, all that is missing is the eldest prince.If the eldest prince can really become the county king, she will be the first among the princes and concubines.

But when Jia Lian went back home, he hurriedly told Sister Feng to pack his bags for him, especially emphasizing that it would be useful for him to ask Sister Feng to make more medicinal wine.

Sister Feng pursed her lips and smiled: "You didn't think about it until today, how many things were delayed, and I have already prepared for you."

Jia Lian was busy offering incense to his virtuous wife as a reward.

Since Jia Lian's last trip to the grassland, Sister Feng has become interested in spirits. Now, compared with the former Rongfu, Jia's mansion has one more wine cellar manager.

In mid-August, with the eldest prince Shui Cheng as the imperial envoy, Jia Lian led the Pingziying Huotouying to become the imperial envoy's subordinate guard.

On the way, Jia Lian ran into Jia Rong who was escorting grain and grass back to Beijing. Jia Lian hurriedly asked Jia Rong to talk in detail, after learning about the battle situation.

Jia Lian finally asked about the disability of the Imperial Forest Army.

Jia Rong shook her head and sighed: "The Huo-gun battalion and the Kuizi battalion are all over, and the Shuizi battalion is a little bit stronger. The water pattern is among the 500 people who escaped, and the ladder team members you value are all kept, because they were flooded before. They got pushed out, and later Lord Wang arranged for them to be grain officials."

Jia Lian asked, "What's the situation with Prince Ying's son and his party?"

Jia Rong sighed: "I don't know, I don't know whether they were captured or lost their lives. Since the defeat, our army has been exhausted and rescued everywhere. There is no time to find out who died and who was arrested."

Jia Rong pulled Jia Lian to inquire, "Could it be that you are going to rescue the prisoners again this time?"

Jia Lian shook his head: "We are here this time to investigate the secret relationship between the king of Nan'an County and Wang Ziteng. Who is fake and who is real? If we lose the battle, we have to give an explanation to the officials. It's several million taels of silver. Hmph, Grand Scholar Du He only said 200 million taels, thanks to his ignorance. In fact, the money spent on the warships alone is 200 million. You can figure out how much money you have for a 500-man shotgun battalion! Next time you want to buy these belongings, the court really Tighten your pants."

While talking, Jia Lian drew out a pair of cards and gave it to Jia Rong: "These are the food and grass that I hoarded in the Eastern Province. That Zhang Shangshu doesn't seem to be a capable person. You are in charge of the food and grass. Once you are forced by him and you can't turn around, just take some. Save your life. Remember, in times of war, human life is like a piece of paper, which is easily broken. Therefore, it is better to spend money to avoid disaster than to be reluctant. It is not difficult to solve things that can be solved with money. I have another unpleasant sentence I want to tell you, Huang Zhongxiang's lesson, you must always remember it, and don't force it if you can't do it. You also know His Majesty's temperament, rather than doing bad things with good intentions, it is better to stand by and be innocent."

Jia Rong's throat choked with excitement: "Thank you for your teaching, my nephew will never forget it."

Jia Lian nodded: "Well, listen to me. If you are a good food and fodder officer, you may not be able to perform meritorious service and receive awards. Just reach out and catch the rewards. Don't be too fussy. Don't reveal the matter of our family's hoarding of food and grass, understand?"

Jia Rong nodded: "Understood!"

Jia Lian patted Jia Rong on the shoulder: "After I leave, your aunt and cousins ​​will be entrusted to you. Although Yun'er is taking care of you, after all you can reach the sky, and it's easier to talk and do things."

Jia Rong hurriedly said: "Second Uncle, don't worry, even if I'm not in Beijing, I will tell Yinglian to be vigilant at all times."

Only then did Jia Lian feel relieved.

Seven days later, when Jia Lian and his party finally arrived at Haijiangtai Station, Wang Ziteng sent soldiers to greet them, and Wu Yong was the leader.

Jia Lian laughed immediately: "You monkey, I knew you would be fine."

Wu Yong grinned and ran over without saluting, grabbed Jia Lian and smirked: "Master Captain, you are finally here..."

Jia Lian scolded: "What did Lord Wang order you to come here? I haven't seen the imperial envoy yet."

Only then did Wu Yong bump over to greet the eldest prince.

Jia Lian said: "This kid hasn't read much and doesn't know etiquette. I hope Your Highness will forgive him once."

The eldest prince waved his hand: "It's nothing. It's human nature for him to be overjoyed for the rest of his life after the catastrophe. Moreover, it's also because adults love soldiers like children, and soldiers treat you as relatives."

Jia Lian smiled: "Your Highness praised you."

A group of people went to the city where Wang Ziteng was stationed, but they saw lying people along the road, and the crowd was even more angry at the gate of the city. The people wanted to enter the city, but the soldiers blocked the gate and refused to enter.

Jia Lian frowned: "What is this for?"

Wu Yong said: "The plague is spreading outside the city, Lord Wang ordered the city to be closed."

The eldest prince was stunned: "City closure? The doctors are in the city, and if they are not allowed to enter the city for treatment, they should also be sent out of the city, right? Why didn't Gu see it?"

Wu Yong dared not answer.

Jia Lian hurriedly comforted him: "I believe Mr. Wang is right. We have only been away from Beijing for seven days, and the spread of the plague should be the nearest thing." The eldest prince was right after thinking about it.

When they arrived at Wang Ziteng's place, the princes and ministers greeted each other, the eldest prince sat on the head, and first asked Wang Ziteng: "Gu heard that you ordered the closure of the city, why didn't you let them enter the city for treatment, and didn't send doctors out of the city for treatment?"

"Your Highness, don't be impatient."

Only now did Wang Ziteng introduce the situation in the sea, but some time ago, because of too many dead people, the entire village was often destroyed by Japanese pirates, and the corpses were not buried.At that time, Wang Ziteng was just a small food and fodder officer, and he was very soft-spoken. The guards in Fujian and Zhejiang didn't listen to Wang Ziteng's warning at all.It was only five days ago that Wang Ziteng's reinstatement took place, and he was really confused and confused.While running around to track down the number of dead, missing, and captured, he must call up the remnants of the Purple Banner Army to resist the Japanese pirates and be ready to deal with the Japanese pirates' attacks at any time.

He just learned today that the plague has begun to spread along the coast of Fujian and Zhejiang. The people are panicked, fearing both the Japanese pirates and the plague, and they all flock to the nearby towns.

Prince Teng sealed off the city because he was afraid that the plague would spread in the city, so that before the Japanese pirates attacked, Haicheng would become a dead city by itself.

At present, Wang Ziteng has recruited private doctors and is researching prescriptions to curb the plague.

He has sent people around to collect herbs.Once the prescription for the treatment and prevention of the plague is determined, the decoction will be distributed free of charge to the people outside the city.

The eldest prince was immediately annoyed when he heard the news: "It's a pity that when he left Beijing, he didn't know that there was a plague in the coastal areas, so he didn't bring the imperial physician and medicinal materials with him. What should we do?"

Wang Ziteng said: "My minister has already entered the capital immediately, I believe the Holy Majesty will send someone to come soon."

Jia Lian hurriedly asked, "How will your lord deal with the plague patients now?"

Wang Ziteng sighed: "There is no good way, the only way is to block it. I have sent someone to pass down the order. In the future, if there is another plague, once the plague occurs in any village, we have to close the village and close the house, and we can't let them wander around. , Spread the disease, otherwise, the entire sea area will become a ghost land with no one for thousands of miles.

The eldest prince couldn't help but sigh: "Master Jia and I are still discussing on the road. In order to prevent the people from colluding with the enemy and capitalizing on the enemy, we are going to move the people here to other places, impose a sea ban, and trap the Japanese pirates to death. When they run out of ammunition and food, we will talk to you again." They talked about how to deal with the captured hostages, but now the plague is spreading, it seems that the way to move to the Forbidden Sea is not possible."

Wang Ziteng was also very sorry: "If the king of Nan'an County strictly followed the imperial court's order, and first eliminated the profiteering merchants among the common people and banned the sea, we would not be so passive. Hey, it's too late to say anything now!"

Jia Lian's heart moved, he was busy winking at the eldest prince, and mouthed: "Imperial decree!"

Only then did the eldest prince remember his mission, and hurriedly stood up and straightened his clothes: "Prince Teng accepts the order!"

Wang Ziteng knelt down hastily.

Only then did the eldest prince read the imperial decree of Emperor Qianyuan, and Prince Teng resumed his post. In addition, the power to take over important military and political affairs of Fujian and Zhejiang that had been awarded to the king of Nan'an County was also granted to Prince Teng.

The eldest prince didn't understand military affairs, but it was Jia Lian who asked, "I don't know how many soldiers and horses the Purple Banner Army still have left in their salaries?"

Wang Ziteng said: "The Purple Banner Army has less than 2000 troops. Most of them are soldiers who are not used to the water and soil and get sick after arriving in the sea. There are more than 400 soldiers who escaped from the sea."

Jia Lian asked again: "I heard that Shuiwen from Shuiziying is also among those who fled back. Where is he now?"

Wang Ziteng said: "Hey, although he escaped, he is drinking heavily every day. You can't say that, he will go crazy beating and swearing at others. I think he is useless. I am going to let Jia Rong take him back to Beijing. Still not happy, saying that he will die in Haijiang to accompany his brothers."

The eldest prince was instantly annoyed when he heard the words: "This trash, I'll leave it to him. He's playing tricks even after he loses it all. It's embarrassing. Let's go, let's see him."

Jia Lian followed the eldest prince to the east gate tower where Shuiwen was stationed, and sure enough, he saw Shuiwen leaning against the city wall drinking.

The eldest prince was immediately annoyed, and ordered: "Drink while on duty, hold him down for me, give him a [-]-strike ban, and make him sober."

Shui Wen didn't struggle, but burst into tears, and shouted: "Hit it, hit it, it's better to die!"

Jia Lian couldn't bear it, raised his hand and said: "Wait!" Turning to the eldest prince, he said, "Shall I talk to him?"

The First Prince waved his hand: "Let him go!"

Jia Lian stepped forward and patted Shuiwen's cheek with his hand: "Hey, wake up, let me ask you, how many people are left in Shuiziying Kuiziying?"

Shui Wen was suddenly furious, and raised his hand to hit someone: "Are you looking for death?"

Jia Lian grabbed his dog's paw and shouted angrily, "Look who I am?"

Shui Wen's eyes were drunk and confused: "I don't care who you are, I will beat anyone who dares to mention Shui Ziying."

Jia Lian looked at him as if he was really drunk, beckoned someone to bring cold water, splashed his head and face, and then asked him: "Are you awake? Talk well when you wake up."

Shui Wen was awakened, and was about to start scolding, when he suddenly saw Jia Lian, he was busy touching his eyes, and stared at Jia Lian with wide eyes: "Captain? Are you Captain Jia?"

Jia Lian nodded: "Wake up, let me ask you, how many people are left in the Imperial Forest Army?"

This question was so serious that Shui Wen burst into tears: "Lieutenant Jia, why did you come here? The brothers all miss you to death. They all said that if they followed you, they would never become like this. My brothers are all dead, Wang Jun is dead, Lu Xin is also dead, and the dozen or so clan disciples I brought out, Shuixiang, Shuixiu, Shuijiao, Shuili, Shuimin, are all dead, I live What are you doing, how can I explain when I go back, I might as well die..."

The eldest prince stepped forward and kicked him: "Then go to hell, jump on the city wall, jump into the sea, whatever, don't show your eyes here again."

At this time, more than a dozen people came down from the city wall and knelt down to the eldest prince together: "Your Highness, please make amends. Our captain is too sad. Too many people died. We went to 600 people, and only a dozen of us are left." .”

But Jia Lian pulled Shui Wen up and stood up, saying: "Since you feel sad, avenge them, kill all the Japanese pirates, and then tell them that you avenged them."

Wu Yong said at this time: "The warships assigned by Shui Wen are all civilian ships. First, many masts were blown off. Later, they were on the outskirts and it was easier to escape, but they were snatched by the Purple Banner Army. , Kicking their soldiers into the sea a lot, they all only said that Watermark hit and cursed people, but in fact he never beat people indiscriminately, but he couldn't see those people who robbed ships." The eldest prince was furious: "Kick people into the sea? And this other person, who are they?"

Wu Yong shook his head: "We can't tell the difference. Shuiwen said they kicked it, but they said no. There are only a dozen people on Shuiwen's side, but they have hundreds of people. Everyone speaks for themselves, and Shuiwen can't say or beat at all. In the past, the city was controlled by them, and the water pattern was only for beatings. Now that Mr. Wang is here, it will be better. It is also powerless to seek justice for them. And now there are only so few people left, there must be someone to guard the city , and had no choice but to deal with it in a muddle."

The eldest prince shook his head: "It's all good to see them all in the capital, why do they become wolves when they arrive in the sea?"

Jia Lian said: "Life and death are at stake, and the ugliness of the human heart has also been exposed. It is human nature to seek good fortune and avoid evil. Don't be too entangled, Your Highness. There are all kinds of people in this world. There are noble people, and there must be low and vicious people." Otherwise, we don’t know who is noble and who is vicious.”

The eldest prince sighed: "I was going to come over to clean up the remnants of the Purple Banner Army. Now, it seems that these people are all useless. They are either frightened or turned into wolves. Anyway, they are not normal people."

Jia Lian nodded: "Fortunately, we only lost the Purple Banner Army, and the Yongding Army is still there. We must quickly help Lord Wang regain morale and quickly stabilize the morale of the army and the people. Otherwise, if Japanese pirates are added to the plague, we may end up stuck here." "

The eldest prince sighed: "I only knew how to study and practice martial arts since I was a child. I have never studied government and politics. I am still reluctant to lead the army to fight. However, I have no idea how to stabilize the hearts of the people and the army."

Jia Lian said with a smile: "Everyone has learned bit by bit. Your Highness only needs to take the lead in this matter. For the rest, Master Wang and I will share your worries."

The eldest prince was busy bowing and saluting: "If there is Mr. Lao Jia, then I will leave everything to Mr. Lao to worry about."

Jia Lian and Shui Cheng returned to Xingyuan, under the oppression of Wang Ziteng's sword, several doctors were quick to learn their wits, and they basically worked out a prescription, but it's unknown whether it will work or not.

Wang Ziteng was a little hesitant, wondering whether he should invest human and financial resources in the experiment.

Jia Lian suggested that regardless of whether the prescription is suitable for the disease or not, it must be put into use immediately, and the treatment work should be carried out.Otherwise, it will be more terrifying than the Japanese pirates if the people's courts are boiling and rebelling.

While implementing medical treatment, Jia Lian and several doctors studied an effective method to prevent the spread of the plague.In order to prevent the spread of the plague, Jia Lian suggested that all the dead must be cremated from now on.

Again, it is to do a good job in exterminating the plague.

Several doctors proposed to use quicklime and wormwood to kill the plague bacteria, which was approved by Jia Lian.

Jia Lian added one, that is, everyone, whether inside or outside the city, must pay attention to personal hygiene, food hygiene, drinking water hygiene, etc.

Then, Wang Ziteng ordered people to copy out these terms and conditions and post them in the streets and alleys, as well as outside the four city gates.

That night, the entire Haijiang city was busy.

While Jia Lian and Wang Ziteng were busy arranging soups and medicines and spreading the knowledge of plague prevention, the eldest prince used his identity to climb the city gate to appease the people.From the top of the city, the eldest prince shouted to the people outside the city, telling them that the reason for not being allowed to enter the city was to prevent the spread of the plague.

Then, the first prince announced the solution to the plague.

After that, everyone joined the rescue team.

On one side, Wang Ziteng led the officers and soldiers to distribute the decoction.

Jia Lian himself led the officers and soldiers of the Pingzi camp to splash lime water around for disinfection.The water pattern was also used by Jia Lian. Jia Lian told him: "Didn't you say you want to die? I give you a task. You lead your brothers and young and middle-aged victims outside the city to search for dead bodies, and then burn them and bury them."

Shui Wen squinted: "Why did you tell me to go? Are you unwilling that I robbed your Imperial Forest Army and want to take revenge on me?"

Jia Lian sneered: "I said you were stupid, but you still didn't admit it. Of course I hate you, but it's not because of you, but because you overestimated your abilities and killed so many of my brothers. My years of hard work were ruined by you." The court has been defeated! Now, I also give you a chance. You go out to collect the corpses of the people, and you can take the opportunity to buy people's hearts and persuade them to join your team to fight against the Japanese pirates. In this way, they will have food to eat and clothes to wear. Pull up the team and have soldiers, and you can retrain the formation. Only in this way can you fight the Japanese pirates. Otherwise, how can you take revenge? Just rely on you to kill the Japanese pirates alone?"

Shui Wen was scolded by Jia Lian for a while, but the more he scolded him, the more energetic he became. Suddenly, he knelt down on the ground and kowtowed three times to Jia Lian: "My lord's kindness, I have no teeth to forget Shui Wen."

Shui Wen got up and left, then ran back suddenly, and said: "Although I was big-hearted at the beginning, I wanted to be promoted and make a fortune, but I didn't flatter all of this, I just pushed the boat along with the flow."

Jia Lian waved his hand: "I know, otherwise, I wouldn't hold you back!"