The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 926 Program
I must say, watching a group of graceful and beautiful women dance amidst a blanket of snow is indeed a very picturesque scene.

After the dance ended, the beauties bowed in unison, and then the others returned the way they came. The green-clad girl who led the dance, however, walked towards Shui Rong.

Jia Lian and Shui Rong were already sitting side by side. Seeing Jia Lian looking at the beauty, Shui Rong smiled and introduced her:
"Her name is Green Ivy, and she is Xiao Wang's favorite dancer."

Several months ago, when the city was besieged by the Jurchens, especially after Huo Zhao died in battle, the young king thought he was doomed.

All preparations have been made. If the city falls, the young king will kill them first, and then commit suicide to die for his country.

Unexpectedly, the General acted with such speed and decisive strategy that not only forced the Jurchens to withdraw from Liaodong, but also wiped them out in one fell swoop and recovered Jianzhou...

I won't go into the details of his great achievements. In short, the general not only rescued me, but also the beauties around me.

"Green Ivy, why don't you bow to the General and thank him for saving your life?"

"Green Ivy, thank you, General, for saving my life."

The delicate and graceful beauty gave a gentle bow.

"Quickly sit down and pour wine for the general."

The beauty immediately knelt down beside Jia Lian and poured him wine.

Jia Lian was speechless as he watched Shui Rong arrange for Mei Ji to be placed by his side with just a few words.

Shui Rong's attentiveness inevitably made him overthink things.

He knew that this guy was very likely gay.

Rumor has it that Jiang Yuhan had an affair with Shui Rong.

Shui Rong once gave Jiang Yuhan a red handkerchief, which Jiang Yuhan later gave to Jia Baoyu.

Although Jia Lian also liked beautiful women, especially those of exceptional beauty who had reached a certain rank.

However, Shui Rong's initiative in sending his beloved concubine to his side still made him subconsciously want to refuse.

He was afraid that Shui Rong might have some peculiar fetish.

Although this kid is a year or two younger than him, he's clearly more skilled at it.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. However, as Your Highness's beloved concubine, I should serve you."

Shui Rong seemed completely oblivious to Jia Lian's polite refusal and continued to smile, saying, "It's alright, it's alright."

Green Ivy had long heard of the general's heroic deeds and admired him greatly.

Xiao Wang isn't the type to be jealous or possessive.

Upon hearing this, the beauty raised her head in agreement and looked at Jia Lian with tender affection, saying, "Your Highness is right. Green Vine has long admired the General."

"I am deeply honored to be able to pour wine for the general."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian chuckled inwardly, thinking, "So, you two are playing the green card with me, aren't you?"
So he ignored them and waved to Aqi and her sister, signaling them to proceed with the process.

Soon, under Aqin's arrangement, a group of twenty women, all of whom were Jurchen women aged sixteen to twenty, were brought over.

Compared to Shui Rong's concubines, these Jurchen women seemed quite ordinary.

But the soldiers who saw it were not excited at all.

Those glamorous beauties are still too far removed from their lives.

These women, covered in dust and grime and wrapped in cotton-padded clothes, were the ones they could reach.

Moreover, the so-called "dusty and disheveled" appearance is only in comparison to those beautiful concubines who are 80 or 90 points in terms of appearance.

In reality, the more they looked at these Jurchen beauties, the more beautiful they found them.

After all, those Jurchen women were all captured by their own hands, and it was obvious at a glance that this batch had been selected as the better ones.

Moreover, the general must have made a special trip to give them a bath, as each of them looked quite elegant and refined.

Many soldiers became restless.

They vaguely remembered that Jia Lian had said that these Jurchen women were also their spoils of war.

They also promised to give them priority in purchasing.

Now that the general has distributed wealth to them and brought out these Jurchen women, could it be...?

Thinking about it, the flags that had just been lowered began to reappear one after another.

Amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd, Jia Lian drank a cup of wine, stood up from his seat, and walked onto the command platform.

"Shh~"

It's unclear who started it, but a continuous whistle of wolves echoed around the bonfire where thousands of people were gathered.

They didn't dare to boast to the prince's concubines earlier, but now they have no such reservations when it comes to these Jurchen women.

Jia Lian said, "Commander Su, write down all the whistles that just happened and cancel their purchasing qualifications."

"Hahaha……"

Countless people laughed at those who quickly shut up and looked embarrassed.

Su Keguang smiled, knowing that Jia Lian was just joking and hadn't taken it seriously.

"I'm sure you've all figured it out by now."

That's right, these are all Jurchen women, and also one of your spoils of war.

However, there are only so many Jurchen women in total. Even if each of you were given one, it would still not be enough.

So, let's stick to what we agreed on before.

If any of you fancy these Jurchen women, you may use the wealth you have just acquired to buy them.”

No sooner had Jia Lian finished speaking than someone couldn't help but ask loudly, "May I ask, General, how much are these Jiannu women worth? I wonder how many I can afford?"

With someone taking the lead, another round of commotion ensued.

Jia Lian wasn't angry; he just treated it as a way to liven up the atmosphere.

Once the noise subsided, he faced the man and replied, "That's a good question."

Since these Jurchen women are the spoils of war for all the brothers, and there are clearly more monks than porridge, if you ask for a low price, not only will you feel embarrassed to offer a price, but you will also be letting down the brothers who risked their lives to capture them.

And as you've probably noticed, these twenty Jurchen women are among the best of the thousands.

Therefore, the price is fixed at thirty taels of silver each, no bargaining.

As soon as Jia Lian finished speaking, a chorus of boos erupted from the crowd.

One of the centurions laughed and said, "Just now we were praising the general for keeping his brothers in mind."

How come you're treating your brothers like pigs to be slaughtered the moment you turn around?
A woman of this appearance would fetch at most ten taels of silver in the hands of human traffickers in the capital.

Besides, these are Jurchen women.
The general asked for thirty taels right off the bat; was it because he couldn't stand seeing his brothers had the money and wanted to immediately take it back?

Everyone echoed this sentiment, saying that Jia Lian's asking price was too high and demanding a reduction.

Jia Lian responded coldly: "What's wrong with the women from the Jianzhou Jurchens? Don't you know that in brothels, the exotic prostitutes charge more than normal women?"
What's more, these were carefully selected.

To tell you the truth, there are only ten groups with this kind of looks, totaling two hundred people.

If you think it's too expensive, you can wait for the later ones.

There are also 20 taels, 15 taels, and 10 taels left.

Upon hearing that there were only two hundred available, quite a few people were immediately tempted.

Many of these soldiers are still virgins.

Now that they've just made a fortune, it seems like it wouldn't be a bad deal if they could enjoy the charms of the Jurchen women.

"General, is it possible to buy only one at a time?"

"General, if we buy the Jurchen women, can we consummate our marriage tonight?"

Faced with these two questions that everyone was concerned about, Jia Lian laughed and said, "As long as you are willing to spend money and are not afraid of being beaten, you can buy all two hundred of them."

"Hahaha……"

After a burst of laughter, Jia Lian said slowly, "As for those wolf cubs who want to consummate their marriage tonight, I advise you to give up on that idea."

Even if you're not afraid of being pranked by tens of thousands of people in your wedding night, you still have to think about those brothers who can't bear to spend money to buy a wife.

What if someone gets so cravings that they rush in and share a wedding night with you?
We're brothers, how could you possibly refuse?

"Hahaha……"

The soldiers were overjoyed to hear Jia Lian's amusing explanation.

The general seemed incredibly approachable to them.

Moreover, it is said that the general is both a scholar and a warrior, but he does not speak in a refined manner in front of them.

They could understand every sentence and every word.

"So, those who want to consummate their marriage tonight can forget about it."

Today it's a cash-on-delivery transaction, but no goods will be delivered.

Whether you trust me or not, I will temporarily keep your women safe for you.

"Once you've returned to the capital and found your own places to stay, come back to me to ask for them back."

Upon hearing this, the heat in everyone's hearts immediately subsided considerably.

Although it was regrettable, most of the generals were aware of Jia Lian's considerations.

If there were no restrictions, these wolf cubs would probably spend the whole night with women tonight.

What kind of state is that? Can it still be considered a military camp?

Since the deal couldn't be fulfilled in time and was significantly more expensive than the market price, many who were initially very interested put their minds at ease.

Anyway, with money in hand, what kind of woman can't he find after he goes back? General, this is clearly a pig-butchering scam.

Anyway, since the general said there are too many monks and not enough porridge, it's unlikely that he would force a sale.

Although most people are shrewd and good at accounting, quite a few still want to experience the taste of the Jurchen women.

Although it represents a small percentage, it is sufficient given the large number of 10,000 people.

Jia Lian quickly selected twenty people who had raised their hands and asked them to come forward and choose for themselves.

These Jurchen women, after such a long period of ideological education by Aqin, have long since become obedient subjects.

Of course, those things that didn't go well couldn't be put up for sale.

So, as the soldiers stepped forward to make their selections, the Jurchen women were also sizing them up.

To be honest, after witnessing my husband, parents, or brothers being killed, and being captured and taken to the Han army camp, I thought I would be subjected to inhuman torture.

However, over the past few months, they have discovered that this is not the case.

As long as you obey orders, the Han soldiers will not only not humiliate you, but will also provide you with enough food and water to keep you warm every day.

The only requirement is that they receive regular ideological and political education.

They were made to deeply realize that their husbands, fathers, and brothers were evil, that they had started the war, and that they had committed unforgivable crimes in the Great Wei.

The Jurchens should never have existed.

Now the king's army has arrived, eliminating evil and rescuing them from it.

As long as they are willing to reform, they can become subjects of the Celestial Empire, protected by the great power, and from then on, they will never have to worry about being harassed by war again.

Believe it or not, the point is that obedience guarantees survival.

Therefore, apart from the initial batch that needed discipline, the newly captured ones didn't even require much attention from Aqin, as the Jurchens could educate the newcomers themselves.

There were also many intelligent women among the Jurchen women.

These Han soldiers, who had annihilated the Jianzhou Jurchen tribe, were clearly a group of soldiers who had achieved great success.

If they are lucky enough to be bought by a worthy Han army, they might find a new source of support.

Moreover, they were all young and strong men, and almost none of them were unattractive.

So many of them secretly flirted with the soldiers who came forward.

At first, the soldiers were quite polite, after all, Jia Lian was right, they were all brothers.

If you choose first, I won't deliberately compete with you.

However, with a large number of people, it is impossible for everyone to be reasonable.

One of the guys laughed at the other and said, "Brother, I like this woman's figure. Can you be kind and let me have her?"

"Why should I? I saw the one I liked first."

So the two started arguing, neither willing to give in.

Everyone watched with smiles, treating it as amusement.

Jia Lian, who was above, naturally saw it too, and shouted, "What's with all the fuss? We're all men. Since neither of us is willing to give in, let's follow the rules of the army."

"Whoever has the stronger fist gets to choose first."

"Yes, let's have a fight, and the winner gets to choose first."

The crowd, always eager for a good show, immediately started jeering.

The two men didn't hesitate. They exchanged a glance, removed their armor, and went to the center of the field.

After some verbal provocation, they began a back-and-forth struggle.

In the end, the older brother, being a veteran, proved to be more skilled, knocking the new recruit to the ground and gaining the right to choose first.

Even after losing, they were able to let go and obediently chose another option.

Twenty people were chosen quickly.

After the clerk had noted down all their information, he watched as the twenty wolf cubs looked at their "wife" with great reluctance.

The Jurchen women also returned his gaze with lingering reluctance.

The scene resembled a separation of life and death.

Seeing this, Jia Lian laughed and said, "Alright, one by one, what kind of behavior is this?"

You are allowed to hug your women once.

"The general is mighty!"

Almost the instant Jia Lian finished speaking, half of the people rushed over and picked up their women.

The other half, who were more shy, followed suit.

"Hey, hey, hey, the General only allowed you to hug him, not to kiss him! Quick, pull them apart!"

Already dissatisfied onlookers, led by someone, immediately stepped forward and forcibly pulled the people who were about to start the fight away.

Jia Lian shook his head and smiled. After the people dispersed, he beckoned to Aqin to take the Jurchen women away.

As a result, many people became increasingly excited.

Especially those who originally thought, since they could only get it after returning to Beijing, why waste money now?

Upon seeing a woman they could hug, and perhaps even kiss, they immediately become aroused again.

However, what's strange is...

The next group of about twenty women appeared, but they didn't look like Jurchen women at all; instead, they looked like Han Chinese women.

After they lined up in midfield, Jia Lian said:

"As you can see, these are all women from my Han family who were unfortunately captured and taken to Jianzhou."

They are different from the previous ones.

From the moment we rescued them, they were no longer slaves, but free people.

However, many of them had lost their parents and relatives to the Jurchens and were left homeless.

Therefore, they begged me to find them a good home.

Like I said before, if you have anyone you think is good, you can step forward.

This time, it's free.

However, priority is given to those who have not yet started a family.

Remember, this time you're not choosing a maid or concubine, you're marrying a wife.

Everything is entirely voluntary; please think it through before you speak.

Many who initially wanted to take advantage of the free offer began to hesitate after hearing Jia Lian's subsequent words.

Although they acknowledged that the women captured from Han China by the Jurchens were generally more attractive than Jurchen women.

However, they were unlike the Jurchen women of the past.
Those could be considered playthings.

Getting married is something you should be careful about.

Who knows how these women were violated by those Jurchen slaves?

Of course, this is what most people think.

Then there are those who don't care about that and only care about looks.

Before long, most of the twenty-odd Han women had been selected.

After repeatedly asking to confirm whether they had thought it through, and receiving an affirmative answer, Jia Lian immediately took it upon himself to hold an extremely simple wedding for these dozen or so couples.

Similarly, during the process of escorting the women to the bridal chamber, they were taken away.

For the next segment, Jia Lian didn't need to personally preside over it; he had Su Keguang do it instead.

As soon as Jia Lian came down, Shui Rong gave him a thumbs up: "General, this is a brilliant move."

Not only did he solve the problem of where to go for these women for the imperial court, but he also strengthened his relationship with the soldiers.

No wonder the entire army so deeply reveres the General, even though Xiao Wang has only been here a short time.

In response to the flattery from Shuifen, Jia Lian politely replied, "Your Highness is too kind; it's merely fulfilling a promise."

The water solubility is now also visible.

Before the battle, Jia Lian promised both money and women, which explains why his small army was able to defeat the fierce Jurchens.

The key point is that Jia Lian actually took these promises to heart and carried them out seriously.

At this moment, one can only imagine how much these soldiers must revere Jia Lian.

I'm afraid they might not even agree to join in the rebellion.

Of course, Shui Rong only thought about it in his mind; he had no intention of slandering or framing Jia Lian.

He was granted a royal title before he reached adulthood, and he was an arrogant man who could hardly catch the eye of ordinary people.

It wasn't until he met Jia Lian that he realized his talent was utterly insignificant compared to Jia Lian's.

Although there was a huge difference in status between Jia Lian and him when they first met, Jia Lian was rather reserved in his speech in front of him.

But even those "secrets" that he casually revealed were enough to amaze him.

The ground beneath his feet was spherical, the sun was at the center, and lightning was formed—things he had never imagined before could all be fully explained by Jia Lian.

It was truly unbelievable to him.

(End of this chapter)