King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 663: Jinling Navy, I’m deeply honored!
"Don't thank me. If this is accomplished, it means His Majesty values ​​you!"

"This responsibility is heavy, you must do your job well!" Zhu Jinghong said earnestly.

Whether out of the idea of ​​repaying a favor or for his own honor and career, Jia Yucun will do his best to do his job well.

Jia Yucun replied solemnly: "Don't worry, Your Highness. Even if I die... I will not let those people cause trouble!"

Obviously Jia Yucun knew that someone would cause trouble, so he knew very well what he should do, at least better than Zhu Jinghong, the outsider.

Next, the two of them discussed the situation in the southeast, especially the local situation, and Zhu Jinghong realized that the situation was more serious than he thought.

If Jia Yucun could really suppress these people, then his position as Deputy Chief Censor would not be in vain. After all, this job is extremely difficult.

While the two of them were chatting, in a house somewhere in the east of Yingtian City, a young girl was sitting alone in front of the window, staring at the bright moonlight in the sky in a daze.

"girl……"

The one who spoke was Zijuan. Only after she called her did Daiyu turn around.

"Did father go to bed?"

"Go to sleep..."

Daiyu did not ask more about the situation, because the situation had reached the worst point. His father was now on his last legs and could die at any time...

Thinking of this, Daiyu burst into tears again.

"Miss, the elder and second masters have sent someone to tell you that they want you to discuss something important with them!" Zijuan said with difficulty.

The so-called important matters to be discussed were actually Lin Ruhai's affairs after his death, or more precisely, the Lin family's property.

Although Lin Ruhai was an honest official, the land, properties and cash inherited from his family amounted to nearly 100,000 taels after conversion.

Considering the current purchasing power of silver, this is already a very generous inheritance, and it is even more precious to the Lin family's side branches who live an ordinary life.

Lin Ruhai has been unable to get up recently, and everyone can see that he will die, so these Lin family members came to find him.

"Just let...let...them wait for two more days!"

Of course it was impossible to refuse directly. After all, Daiyu still had to rely on the help of these family members for Lin Ruhai's funeral, and there were many things she could not do as a girl.

"Ok!"

In fact, once Lin Ruhai passed away, she would lose her voice in the Lin family unless the Jia family could help her.

But the Jia family was in Beijing, too far away from Yingtian, so they could not help with many things.

"Girl...would you like to send someone to tell the Xue family to help us?"

Zijuan's words were not just wishful thinking. Because of the close relationship between Baochai and Daiyu, the princess had sent messages to the Xue family many times, asking them to help the Lin family more.

It’s just that Daiyu didn’t want to trouble others, so she basically never took the initiative to ask the Xue family for help.

On the contrary, Xia Yuegui took Baochai's words to heart. She invited Daiyu to her home several times to chat and sent many medicinal supplements to the Lin family.

"After all, this is our family affair. It's not good to rashly drag the Xue family into this. After all, Sister Bao is in trouble now!"

The Prince Xiang's Mansion has been impeached many times and is always at the center of controversy, so Daiyu doesn't want to cause trouble for Baochai.

Danran, this is also because Daiyu's news is too delayed, and the news is all fragmentary. It is impossible to make an accurate judgment on the situation in the capital, which leads to these current concerns.

It was precisely because of the lack of information that Daiyu had no idea that Zhu Jinghong had arrived in Yingtian today.

Zijuan then gave a few more words of advice, but Daiyu listened to some of it and not others. In fact, she had a general idea of ​​what to do, but she only considered her father's affairs, and she had never thought about her own future.

Late at night, Daiyu went to bed early, served by Zijuan and other maids.

The next day she got up early, washed up simply and went to her father's room. The servant had already prepared the medicine, and Daiyu fed it to her father personally, one spoonful at a time.

Of course, these things can be done by servants, but Daiyu just wants to do more, which can make her feel a little better.

After she fed him the medicine, Lin Ruhai fell into a deep sleep again. At this moment, he was just skin and bones, and any timid person would be scared when seeing him.

Daiyu walked out of the house and was heading towards her own courtyard when she heard the maids talking.

"I heard from the servants outside that we now have two princes in Yingtian Prefecture!"

"Two princes, those two?"

"I don't know... I'll ask later, it's quite novel!"

The maids walked away with the utensils, but Daiyu was very uneasy inside, as she also wanted to know who the new person was.

Could it be him?

Daiyu had guesses in her mind. She really hoped it was the person in her mind, but she felt that this couldn't be true.

"Zijuan, go ask...what's going on!"

Asking what was going on, the words were not very clear, but Daiyu believed that Zijuan understood the meaning.

After Zijuan agreed, she trotted forward quickly.

Standing there, Daiyu felt very complicated. She really hoped that it was Zhu Jinghong who came, but she was also afraid that her hope would be dashed.

For a moment, Daiyu became worried and anxious.

Although Zijuan was gone for only a few minutes, Daiyu felt like a long time had passed.

"girl……"

Zijuan kept the secret, which made Daiyu very anxious.

"Who is here?"

"The Thirteenth Master is here!" Zijuan's face was full of smiles.

The next moment, a smile appeared on Daiyu's face. Although it was very faint and fleeting, it was still noticed by Zijuan.

Daiyu was indeed very happy at this moment. Before, she felt lonely and helpless, had no idea about the future and was extremely pessimistic, but now all these negative emotions disappeared.

Although Zhu Jinghong was not in front of her, she still felt that she had someone to rely on, and the long-lost sense of security enveloped her again.

This state really made her very happy.

But the situation at home made it impossible for her to laugh.

"Girl, those people wanted to bully you, but now you don't have to be afraid of them!"

"Just tell Master Thirteen that those people will not have a good ending!"

"Well...those people are still getting along well with each other now, so they are still a family!" Daiyu sighed.

The deeper meaning of this statement is that if those people dare to force her again, they can no longer be called her family.

In other words, some things require consequences.

"Behave yourself and don't move around, lest you delay his business!"

Hearing Daiyu's request, Zijuan replied innocently: "Miss... I didn't say anything!"

"And... who is he?" After saying this, Zijuan covered her mouth and laughed secretly.

Daiyu blushed and was about to put on airs and teach her a lesson, but when she saw Zijuan's smiling face, she didn't want to make a fuss.

"I really can't control you anymore!"

"Girl, if you can't subdue me, you can ask him for help...haha!"

"you……"

It was extremely rare that the master and servant started to play around, and Daiyu's depressed mood improved a lot.

One day passes, and another day comes.

Until the third day, more and more news about Zhu Jinghong came out, but he did not send anyone to contact the Lin family, which made Daiyu worried again.

Could it be that he forgot about me? Or is he too busy? Or... Daiyu thought of many things. This is the normal state of mind of a girl in love, and she would worry about gains and losses because of some trivial things.

This situation really cannot be blamed on Zhu Jinghong, because he was indeed very busy during these three days.

During these three days, he met with local officials in Jinling and visited several large warehouses around Yingtian to learn about the military food reserves and the preparations for military equipment, artillery, shells and other supplies.

During this period, three officials in charge of the treasury were dismissed, and another three officials and 17 minor clerks were executed on the spot.

A new official has three things to do when he takes office. Zhu Jinghong's first one resulted in bloodshed and severely shocked officials in Nanjing.

Many people who want to trip him up now have to consider whether their necks are strong enough to survive Zhu Jinghong's butcher knife.

In addition, he also visited the Jinling Shipyard to learn about its shipbuilding and maintenance capabilities.

June 11th was the fourth day since Zhu Jinghong arrived in Nanjing.

Today's schedule was also very full. When he finished breakfast and was ready to leave, he finally remembered that Daiyu was also in Yingtian.

"Yu Hai!"

Yu Hai's trip was a little later, but he also arrived in Yingtian yesterday.

"The slave is here!"

"Go to the Lin family later and check on them for me!"

"Yes!"

"Keep a low profile and don't make a scene!"

"Slave understands!"

Zhu Jinghong is very relieved because Yu Hai is calm and steady in his work.

After breakfast, he led his guards and set off. Their destination was the Jinling Navy Base, which was his first stop to inspect the army after taking office.

Each person had three horses, and their group of more than 200 people were heading towards Tongzhou, hundreds of miles away.

After a journey of nearly 500 miles, Zhu Jinghong finally arrived in Tongzhou near noon the next day.

The news that Zhu Jinghong was coming for inspection had arrived the day before, and the Jinling navy was already ready.

The troops had assembled an hour in advance and were now all standing in line in the barracks.

Outside the military camp gate, Wang Long, the admiral of the Jinling Navy, had already lined up with his subordinates and was waiting.

The smoke and dust were getting closer and the sound of horse hooves was getting louder and louder.

After a few breaths, Zhu Jinghong pulled the reins and stopped in front of Wang Long and others.

"Your Highness, I bow to you. May you live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!"

Wang Long, along with a group of generals, paid great tribute to Zhu Jinghong.

"Get up!" Zhu Jinghong said in a calm tone.

Soon a guard came over and took the reins from Zhu Jinghong.

Jumping off the horse, Zhu Jinghong, with his hands behind his back, walked towards the gate of the military camp accompanied by his guards.

Today he wore a red tuxedo with a python pattern inside, a coat of armor outside, a pearl-brimmed hat on his head, and a sword hung on his waist. He looked very capable and in line with the style of a soldier.

When Zhu Jinghong walked towards the military camp, Wang Long and the generals followed him.

"When the Thirteenth Master arrived in Nanjing, he first went to inspect the Nanjing Navy. All the officers and soldiers of the Navy felt deeply honored..."

This sounded like flattering words, and Wang Long said it very sincerely because it was what he really thought.

Zhu Jinghong was a celebrity, especially in the military. Both infantrymen and sailors knew about his undefeated record in battle.

Most people have only heard of his deeds but have never had the chance to meet him in person.

Now this legendary figure has officially inspected the garrisons in the southeast and chose the Nanjing Navy as his first stop, which shows how much Zhu Jinghong values ​​this army. Naturally, the officers and soldiers of the navy feel honored.

"Long live your Majesty, Prince Xiang!"

When Zhu Jinghong entered the military camp, the officers and soldiers lined up on the left knelt on one knee and shouted slogans in unison.

Zhu Jinghong took a rough look and found that the number of people in these teams ranged from one hundred to three hundred, with most of them having around one hundred people.

Zhu Jinghong therefore speculated that each team belonged to a warship, and since there were many Class C warships, there were many teams of 100 people.

As he walked deeper into the military camp, the sound of people paying homage to him continued, and the voices became louder and louder, which shows how popular Zhu Jinghong was.

According to the itinerary, Zhu Jinghong went directly to the port and boarded a warship under the guidance of Wang Long.

This is a Class C battleship equipped with thirty-two guns and manned by one hundred and fifty sailors.

Zhu Jinghong did not just take a simple look, he went into the cabin and carefully checked the condition of the artillery and ammunition, and also checked the operating level of the sailors.

So this warship really fired three shells in succession, and its loading speed satisfied Zhu Jinghong.

"General Wang, I want to try a different way of playing. Is that possible?" Zhu Jinghong turned around and asked, looking at the splashes of water from the artillery shells in the distance.

Although Zhu Jinghong was joking, Wang Long did not dare to neglect him. He just replied respectfully: "Please give me your instructions, Master Thirteen!"

"Let's watch the B-class ship later. I'll pick a few people at random and see their loading skills. How about that?"

Because they had been notified in advance, Zhu Jinghong had reason to suspect that Wang Long had sent the most elite soldiers to the ship, which did not mean that everyone was at the same level.

The main reason Zhu Jinghong came here this time was to check the war preparedness, so how could he be fooled by others?

In recent years, the emperor has attached great importance to the navy, so several naval admirals who have been replaced are people who are very eager to do things. Wang Long, who is only in his forties, is a typical workaholic.

In the more than one year since he took office, he has really devoted himself to training the navy, so the loading speed of those soldiers just now really represents the level of the Jinling Navy.

"Master Thirteen, just pick one at random!" Wang Long answered confidently.

Zhu Jinghong was not polite either. He sent out three guards and selected different teams from different fleets.

After these people got on board, they followed Zhu Jinghong's arrangements.

Each team fired three shots, and this operation proved to Zhu Jinghong that the Jinling Navy was indeed an elite force.

Although the result satisfied him, Zhu Jinghong still felt it was not enough.

So he ordered again: "I want to see the first-class ships of the Jinling Navy again later!"

Class A ships are the most powerful warships at present, and are the absolute main force for both China and the West.

After waiting for the ship, Wang Long thought that Zhu Jinghong was going to test fire again, but the latter ordered the warship to leave the port.

"Leaving the port?" Wang Long was surprised.

"Yes...let's go out of the port!"

Now it is wartime, Zhu Jinghong is in charge of commanding the troops in the southeast, and his words are military orders that must be executed.

So even though the noise was a bit loud, Wang Long still ordered the sails to be hoisted.

After a while, the warship started moving and slowly sailed towards the sea.

"Turn left..."

"Turn right..."

"Charge forward..."

Zhu Jinghong gave orders again and again. He was testing the warship's maneuverability and obtaining a more favorable shooting angle at the moment, which was a very critical and important ability.

The test results still satisfied Zhu Jinghong, at least better than he had imagined.

(End of this chapter)