The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 598: Debt Collection
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month in the eighth year of the Qiansheng reign of the Jin Dynasty, a rare cold wave swept in. Overnight, several feet of snow accumulated and thousands of miles of ice were frozen. The daytime temperature was estimated to be around minus 30 degrees Celsius. In the general's mansion in Ningyuan City, Jia Huan, Zu Tianshou, and Wu Sangui were sitting around a fire, still shivering from the cold.

"Damn it, this weather is so cold that it's killing me. I've been in Liao for so many years, and this is the first time I've encountered such bad weather." Zu Tianshou complained, rubbing his hands.

Wu Sangui nodded in agreement: "This is the first time I've encountered this either. I heard in the morning that many cattle and sheep in the pen had frozen to death. Fortunately, the stables had a bonfire, otherwise the loss would have been huge. War horses are our lifeblood."

Jia Huan frowned, feeling quite heavy-hearted, and said, "The livestock are secondary. The refugees have just been resettled and encountered such extreme weather. I hope they can survive it."

Zu Tianshou and Wu Sangui were silent upon hearing this. For the past half month, one of their main tasks was to resettle more than 40,000 refugees rescued from the Thirteen Mountains. They compiled lists, built huts, and divided the land, waiting for the next spring to resume farming. However, an extremely severe cold weather hit, and even many cattle and sheep were frozen to death. It was unknown whether the refugees living in the simple thatched huts could survive.

The snow outside the city is over the waist, traffic is blocked, and rescue is impossible. We can only leave our fate to fate. I hope the weather will clear up soon, otherwise many people will freeze to death or starve to death!

It is worth mentioning here that Jia Huan was promoted two levels and is now the Ningqian Bingbei Dao, in charge of all matters related to military training and preparation for war. He is a civilian censor, but has great power. In addition to military preparations, matters such as military farming, production, and market trade are all under his management.

Zu Tianshou served as the Ningqian general, in charge of war affairs. He was the highest military officer. Although his rank was higher than Jia Huan, as the saying goes, civil officials are respected and military officials are despised, in fact Zu Tianshou was still controlled by Jia Huan.

In other words, Jia Huan is currently the boss of Ningyuan City. With the support of Sun Chengzong and the chief minister of the cabinet Ye Gao, he has the final say. Zu Tianshou, the former general of Ningyuan City, can only play the role of a subordinate.

As for Wu Sangui, he was also promoted from guerrilla general to lieutenant general. Due to his outstanding performance in rescuing refugees in the Thirteen Mountains, he was favored by Sun Chengzong, who strongly recommended him to serve as lieutenant general under Zu Tianshou to assist Jia Huan in defending Ningyuan City.

Wu Sangui was young, energetic and courageous, so Sun Chengzong naturally regarded him as a rising star to be trained as a priority. And Jia Huan really needed a daring and aggressive general by his side in Ningyuan City, which was surrounded by dangerous enemies.

Jia Huan stared at the flames in the fire pit for a moment, then raised his head and asked, "Commander Wu, have you selected all the cavalrymen?"

Jia Huan has recently been preparing to build a cavalry team that is brave enough to fight a tough battle with the Jurchen cavalry. The initial number of people is set at 3,000. He has already applied to Sun Chengzong for recruitment, and the latter has also reported it to the Ministry of War. He is just waiting for the court's approval and funding.

Wu Sangui smiled bitterly and said, "We have only selected about 500 people. Lord Jia's conditions are too harsh. Can you relax them a little?"

Zu Tianshou nodded in agreement. Jia Huan's selection criteria were indeed too harsh. The age must not exceed 25 years old, and the height must be over 1.7 meters. There were also requirements for strength, waist circumference, arm span, leg length, etc., and they had to be native Liao people. As a result, Wu Sangui spent half a month picking and choosing from more than 40,000 refugees, and finally only selected about 500 people.

Jia Huan shook his head and said firmly, "It is better to have fewer people than too few. The conditions must not be relaxed. If the number is insufficient, we can slowly select. After the New Year, the hundreds of thousands of Liaoxi people who moved into the pass by Xiong Tingbai will move back. By then, we will definitely be able to gather 3,000 people."

Zu Tianshou scratched his head and asked in confusion: "Why does Lord Jia only want native Liao people?"

Jia Huan asked in return: "If General Zu's homeland was invaded by foreign enemies and his family was slaughtered and enslaved, what would you do?"

Zu Tianshou suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. These native Liao people had their homes destroyed by the Jiannu, their wives and children separated, their families broken up, and their loved ones killed. Naturally, they hate the Jiannu immensely. In the future, when they fight against the Jiannu, they will definitely share the same hatred and will not fear death."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "That's right. Besides, the native Liao people are familiar with the climate and terrain of Liao. They are not only tall, but also practice riding and shooting. They are tough and brave, so training them will be much easier.

Remember, what we need is not a cavalry, but a brave and skilled warrior who is always victorious in battles - the Guanning Iron Cavalry."

Zu Tianshou and Wu Sangui looked at each other excitedly, but did not raise any more objections.

On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, the weather finally cleared up and the atmosphere gradually improved. Jia Huan did not wait for the snow to melt, but immediately organized people to clear the snow on the road, carry out emergency rescue, and go to every village outside the city to knock on doors to check.

The result was very gratifying. The Liao people were indeed resistant to cold and knew how to survive in extremely cold weather. After a thorough investigation, it was found that only a few people froze to death. Jia Huan's heart was finally at ease.

In the following time, Jia Huan carried out his military preparation work in an orderly manner, strengthening the city defense, expanding the city and granary of Juehua Island, etc. The court has allocated 200,000 taels of silver for this purpose. It must be said that it is easier to get things done when you have someone in the court. Now Jia Huan asked for people, money, and food, and the court approved it almost immediately.

Of course, this is not only because Jia Huan has a backer in the court, but also because Ningyuan City is the front line facing the Jiannu army. Its importance is self-evident. Even the Donglin Party does not dare to restrict Jia Huan in this regard. More than two months ago, the disastrous defeat in Jinzhou, in which Prince Dai died in battle and Prince Qing was captured, the painful lesson is still vivid in people's minds. This is simply a national humiliation.

…………

Time flies like an arrow, and in a blink of an eye it is the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month of the eighth year of Qiansheng, the Little New Year for people in the north, and in seven days it will be New Year's Eve.

At the Liaodong Jinglüe Mansion in Shanhaiguan, Sun Chengzong was eating dumplings with several of his trusted staff members when a servant came in and reported, "Master, Xiao Jia is here."

Sun Chengzong put down his chopsticks, stroked his beard and said, "The debt collector is here, bring him in."

Several staff members laughed. Soon, Jia Huan was brought in and bowed, saying, "This humble official greets the governor."

Sun Chengzong smiled and said, "Ziming is here and is eating dumplings. You can sit down and have some with him."

Jia Huan was not polite either. He had come from Ningyuan on horseback and had been traveling for most of the day. He was very hungry, so he picked up the bowl and started eating. He finished three bowls in one go and drank a bowl of hot noodle dumpling soup. Only then did he put down his chopsticks in satisfaction.

As the saying goes, a grown-up boy will eat his father out of money. Jia Huan will be fifteen years old after the Chinese New Year. In addition, he practices riding and shooting every day, which consumes a lot of energy, so his appetite is getting bigger and bigger.

Wang Zegu, the staff member, joked: "Sir, it seems that the military rations supply in Ningyuan is still insufficient. Look how hungry Lord Jia is."

Everyone laughed. Jia Huan said with a smile, "Brother Wang said something fair. Teacher, you can do whatever you want. Not only food, but also silver. The more the better."

Sun Chengzong said, "See what I said. He is here to collect debts." He took out a document and threw it to Jia Huan, saying, "Take it and leave!"

Jia Huan was overjoyed when he took the approval document. It turned out that the imperial court had approved the recruitment of 3,000 cavalrymen and allocated 100,000 taels of silver as military pay. However, Jia Huan's sword-like brows soon frowned. He looked up at Sun Chengzong and said, "Teacher, this is not right. Why are there only 1,200 war horses allocated? Do I have to have two people ride on one horse for these 3,000 cavalrymen? Or should two soldiers just carry one horse to fight?"

Everyone burst into laughter. Sun Chengzong couldn't help laughing, and said, "Don't tell me these jokes. The court can only give this much at the moment. If you want it, take it. If you don't want it, forget it!"

Jia Huan said quickly: "Yes, of course. Even a few mosquitoes are still meat. So where are we going to get the remaining 1,800 horses?"

"You can do whatever you want, but don't ask me." Sun Chengzong said angrily, "For these 1,200 war horses, I even talked so hard that my lips were worn out, and I almost had a falling out with those masters in the Ministry of War."

Jia Huan sweated secretly and said hurriedly, "Thank you for your hard work, teacher. If that's the case, please ask the Ministry of Revenue to allocate another 300,000 taels. The War Horse Student Association will find a way to buy it ourselves."

Sun Chengzong's face darkened and he said, "Why don't you just sell me off? Maybe you can get some money for me!"

"That student will not leave. He will spend the New Year in Shanhaiguan." Jia Huan sat down and started to throw a tantrum.

Sun Chengzong couldn't help but laugh, pointing at Jia Huan's nose and saying, "I'm not your teacher, you're my ancestor. I can only give you another 50,000 taels at most. There's not a penny left!"

Jia Huan stood up quickly, poured a cup of tea for Sun Chengzong, and said with a smile: "Teacher, don't be angry. It's not that I don't know what's good for me. It's just that the price of horses is too high now. An ordinary horse costs fifty taels of silver, and a good horse costs one hundred taels. One hundred thousand taels of silver is enough to buy a thousand horses, and we have to build armor and pay salaries. How can this be enough? Even a good cook cannot cook without rice!"

Wang Zegu, the staff member, nodded and said, "What Lord Jia said is true. The price of horses has skyrocketed in the past two years. In the horse market in Jizhou, it is common to see a horse for eighty taels."

Sun Chengzong frowned and pondered for a moment, then sighed, "Forget it. I'll try again, but the treasury is tight, and another 100,000 taels is probably the limit. Let's get the horses first. As for the armor, we'll talk about it after you've trained the team."

Jia Huan knew that he could not squeeze out any more money, so he nodded and said, "Okay, that's all I can do. By the way, I have another request, and I hope the teacher will grant it!"

Sun Chengzong immediately said vigilantly: "Tell me first!"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Teacher, don't worry. This time we don't need money, we just need to mobilize a few people."

Sun Chengzong heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, and said generously: "That's easy, who do you want to transfer?"

"Tiehu, a captain of the Yangzhou Guards; Qin Hongyu, an inspector of the Huanglong Island Inspection Office; and Zhang Guizhang, a lieutenant general of the Jinling Navy."

Sun Chengzong nodded and said, "No problem, these three people will be able to take up their posts after the new year."

Jia Huan said happily: "I thank you, teacher. In addition, I also want the 20 red cannons that were left in Haimen County and have General Zhang transport them to Juehua Island by boat."

Sun Chengzong stroked his beard and said, "As long as you don't ask for money, I will do it for you, but you must defend Ningyuan City firmly. If something goes wrong, I will punish you by military law."

Jia Huan said confidently: "Teacher, don't worry. As long as you give me one year, I can guarantee that Ningyuan City will be as solid as a rock."

Sun Chengzong nodded with satisfaction, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Ziming hasn't been home for a long time. How about this? I'll give you a seven-day holiday before the New Year, but you must return to Ningyuan City on the first day of the New Year."

(End of this chapter)