Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 256 Outrageous
Jia Lian did not blame the retainer for releasing the man. After all, he was staying overnight in the city and the prefect was a high-ranking official.

The prefect did not come alone, he also brought a middle-aged man who looked like a businessman.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the merchant gave his name as Zhen San. Jia Lian knew it was a pseudonym but did not take it seriously.

"We have some goods trapped in Tianjin. Admiral Sun from the navy said that we need your approval before we can ship them by sea."

Zhen San was very respectful and presented an envelope with both hands, with no intention of avoiding the prefect at all.

When the prefect surnamed Xia saw Jia Lian looking at him, he immediately stood up and said, "Eunuch Xia is my uncle."

Jia Lian looked at Prefect Xia calmly. Are you showing your cards now? Don't you know the relationship between me and Xia Shouzhong? Are you afraid that if you tell it too early, you will be misunderstood as using Xia Shouzhong to pressure others, which will cause resentment?
Or in other words, this money is a pit.

In any case, Jia Lian, who has no shortage of money now, will not be tempted. God knows how many Dragon Guard spies are around.

"Put your things away. I am responsible for combat missions. You can ask others to handle this matter. Get out!"

Jia Lian refused straightforwardly, and without paying any attention to the two people's attempts to talk, he simply asked them to leave.

Jia Lian also said, "From now on, I will not see guests unless it is military business."

What Jia Lian didn't know was that Zhen San, who had just left, said to Prefect Xia, "You said this guy is extremely greedy for money?"

Prefect Xia responded in a completely subordinate manner: "Last time he came to Dengzhou, he collected a lot of money."

Zhen San paused for a moment and said, "Let's get ready. We have no choice but to go to Beijing. There is more than one person in the Jia family."

Zhen San did not stay at the inn, but lived in a house. He stood alone in front of the hanging flower gate and said, "Zhen San wants to see you."

A maid came out of the door and led him inside. Standing in the courtyard, a woman with a veil appeared in the hall. She looked down at Zhen San and said in a cold tone, "Is the matter done? Is Xia honest?"

"Your Excellency, the Xia man is relatively honest, but Jia Lian is adamant. He is also unwilling to give face to Xia Shouzhong."

"You didn't say you were a member of the Zhen family?" The woman's tone suddenly became sharp?
"The Jia family and the Zhen family are indeed old friends, but Jia Lian is an outlier and has never paid attention to the Zhen family. Sun Huazhen is aggressive in Nanjing, and the future of the Zhen family is worrying. I want to go to Beijing to find another way out. There are more than one Jia Lian in the Jia family. Unfortunately, my status in the Zhen family is not high, and my words are not taken seriously. I can only make suggestions."

"It doesn't hurt to try. The more fierce the fight between two generations of emperors, the better."

Zhen San said goodbye and left. The masked woman returned to the house. The maid beside her came close and whispered, "Saint, you succeeded in Jining, why are you staying in Tianjin?"

The masked woman said, "The Four Directions Venerables are four mountaintops. Now that the Northern Venerable has started an uprising, there has been no response from other Venerables. Logically, at the agreed time, I will start in the capital, and the Four Directions Venerables will respond across the country. But in the end, only Jining has started. The most worrying place is still Nanjing. Sun Huazhen is not a pushover. I thought the two generations of dog emperors would fight, but I didn't expect that the Beijing branch would be defeated by Jia Lian in one blow, and the dog emperors are at peace. It's not appropriate to go anywhere right now, so let's wait and see."

What I didn’t say is that Tianjin has convenient sea routes and we can escape at any time.

"Saint, is the surname Zhen reliable?"

"No matter if he is reliable or not, his only son is in our hands, so we are not afraid of him doing something naughty. As for Jia Lian, we have to find a chance to touch him."

At four o'clock in the morning, the military camp began to become restless.

Jia Lian also got up early and took his servants to the canal, and specifically asked if there was anything suspicious on the fleet's side last night.

Jia Lian always felt that something was wrong with what happened last night but he couldn't figure it out. He didn't sleep well the whole night. Finally, he found that the most effective way to cause trouble to the front army was to target the accompanying fleet.

The fleet was mainly carrying gunpowder and cannons. If a fire broke out, it would be a big problem to even get enough ships, not to mention gathering military supplies. Without enough ships, carrying the baggage overland would not only delay the journey, but also severely damage the morale of the army.

Taking a look at the fleet on the shore, Jia Lian found that the overnight stay was also very particular. The boats were separated, three or five boats were piled up, and there were patrols everywhere along the coast, and there were small boats patrolling on the water.

Deputy General Yang is a good commander of troops in battle. He is nearly 40 years old and was a lieutenant before. It can be seen how serious the blockage of his upward path is. The guard found Jia Lian and asked for the password before letting him go.

Deputy General Yang rushed over after hearing the news, and Jia Lian learned about the situation. Although it seemed quiet last night, there were actually no less than 500 people guarding the surrounding area, both openly and secretly, and it could be said that the defense was airtight.

"The combat characteristics of the Shenji Battalion are extremely dependent on baggage. Without powder bullets, the new muskets can only be used as long-haired weapons."

Jia Lian nodded and said, "We shouldn't have entered the city last night. The troops were dispersed and it was difficult to protect the fleet. Fortunately, nothing happened. This was my mistake. If you find any problems in the future, please remind me in time."

When Deputy General Yang heard what Jia Lian said, he immediately folded his hands and said, "Please rest assured, sir, I will do my best and fight to the death for you."

What I mean is that I will follow you from now on and cling to your thigh until death.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "We are one family, why should we be polite?"

The biggest advantage of marching along the canal is that you don’t need to carry too much baggage, so the marching speed is greatly increased.

The officers and soldiers were comfortable, but the newly established General Staff Office was complaining.

This was a new thing and no one had any experience. Everyone tried to do things according to Jia Lian's requirements, but failed at the beginning.

After going through all the trouble to get to Tianjin, Jia Lian finally figured out some tricks. How far to march every day, how much military supplies to need, where to set up camp, etc. In the past, these were the concerns of the generals, but now the staff needed to make plans in advance. It can be said that he was learning by doing. Even if he made mistakes, Jia Lian did not curse, after all, he did not understand.

It can only be said that they are learning together with one purpose, which is to free the commander's energy from tedious chores and concentrate on fighting.

Fortunately, these people were lucky. Jia Lian was not a demanding person. After setting up camp every day, he would study and summarize with the staff of the General Staff Office. They summarized the experience one by one and formed regulations.

It should be said that Jia Lian did not walk very fast. It took him half a month to see the city wall of Jinan.

The officials along the way were very cooperative and no major problems occurred. However, when the fleet stayed overnight, it defeated several gangs that sneaked in to cause trouble. These people were local believers, and they were also ordered to cause trouble. Jia Lian did not chop all of these people, but locked them up and handed them over to the local authorities at dawn. The advantage of the army not staying in towns along the way is that it will not bring unnecessary alert costs due to the large number of people.

When camping or boating in the wild, no one is allowed to enter. Anyone who gets close will be captured. There is nothing to say about this.

The biggest feeling along the way was that there was no wartime tension. Jia Lian personally visited the towns near each camp. Except that there were fewer boats on the canal, everything was no different from usual. Even if guards were arranged, they were all lazy.

With this question in mind, Jia Lian met Shandong Governor Nie Yuan and immediately asked him, "Governor Nie, why is the city's security relaxed?"

There was a difference in rank between the two men. The notorious Jia Lian was not too polite when he spoke. Nie Yuan, who was over sixty years old, seemed not angry, but his words were lukewarm: "General Qi defeated the bandits in Pingyin County. Now the bandits have been divided into two halves. The situation is relatively stable. Excessive vigilance may harm people's livelihood."

Feeling Nie Yuan's impoliteness, Jia Lian had no intention of competing with an old civil servant. He immediately asked someone to unfold the map and study the battle situation in the pavilion.

"Excuse me, Governor, is Feicheng in my hands?" Facing Jia Lian's question, Nie Yuan controlled his temper and responded patiently: "General Qi reported that his 3,000 troops failed in a surprise attack on Feicheng, and now there is a standoff between the inside and the outside."

"How many troops and equipment does General Qi have?" Jia Lian continued to ask, frowning, because judging from the situation on the map, General Qi of Shandong is not in a good position. Although Liaocheng is separated by the Yellow River, the water network in this area is well developed. Once the religious bandits in Liaocheng sneak up, if the troops are insufficient, General Qi's troops in Pingyin will be in danger of being attacked from both sides.

"General Qi has 6,000 soldiers under his command, 3,000 of whom are elite standard-bearers under the governor. With Jinan at our backs, even if we can't fight a field battle, it won't be difficult to stop the bandits from getting to Jinan." Governor Nie was already a little angry. Why was this kid acting like he was interrogating him?

Nie Yuan was unhappy, but the governor next to him was eating melons with a smile on his face. It was normal for the governor and the governor to have an unhappy relationship.

Jia Lian took out his pocket watch and checked the time, saying, "My lords, the military situation is urgent. We will not enter the city and will stay outside the city overnight. We will set out early tomorrow morning. Please cooperate in raising the military supplies we need."

The governor Qin Ling immediately took over the conversation; "Please rest assured, young master, the food and grass you need will be well guaranteed."

Jia Lian took one last look at the map, motioned for the staff to put it away, and then said to the local officials: "It's not that Jia Lian is rude, it's really that the religious bandits started an uprising in Jining, and you all can't escape the blame. Jia I didn't say anything because I didn't want to be implicated."

To be honest, it is hurtful enough. Governor Nie's original intention was to use General Qi's victory to restore the image of the ruling party. Unexpectedly, Jia Lian did not give him face at all and directly said that he did not want to be implicated.

As a local official, he knew that he would definitely be dismissed. It was not a big deal for him to return to his hometown and become a gentry. After all, he was sixty years old and it was time for him to retire. But since Jia Lian said this, he was a young boy and could not help but feel insulted in person.

Governor Nie left in a happy mood, Jia Lian folded his hands to see him off. The Provincial Administrator Qin Ling was not in a hurry to leave, but came closer and folded his hands and said, "Young Master, I looked at the map, and General Qi seems to be in a bad situation. I also suggested to the Governor to hold the gates tightly and wait for reinforcements. General Qi also meant the same thing, but the Governor did not listen, so he forced General Qi to send troops. Fortunately, we won a small victory. If we lose, Jinan will be empty and the situation will be critical."

Jia Lian looked up at the tall city walls of Jinan, wondering if he could get closer to see what the situation was like.

"Jinan City has three to five thousand people. The bandits don't have heavy weapons, so it's hard to conquer. In any case, Lord Qin should persuade Lord Nie not to be too relaxed." Jia Lian was sincere, but Qin Ling just smiled bitterly and said, "It's useless to persuade him."

"Strengthen the defenses at the city gates!" Jia Lian gave his final advice and followed the army forward. After passing through Jinan City, they set up camp in the wilderness outside the city. It was still early, but Jia Lian had no intention of continuing the action.

"Send the message, take a good rest and set off tomorrow."

Although Jia Lian was not polite, the three officials headed by Qin Ling still put him in a low position. Governor Nie was old and had no desires, but they were different and still wanted to make progress. Now that someone else was bound to take the blame, shouldn't they fight for it?

The slaughtered pigs and sheep were sent to the military camp, and there was also enough food and fodder. Later, Jia Lian went to the city gate to take a look and found that the defense had been strengthened and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will.

Based on the information we have at present, we don’t know whether the White Lotus Sect is a mob or not, but Governor Nie is definitely outrageous.

It is said that the governors of the Great Zhou Dynasty all started from the grassroots level and could not be too incompetent. The reluctant explanation is that Governor Nie has no relevant experience and has never dealt with rebellions, so although he was very nervous, he did not keep up with the actions. The conspiracy theory explanation is that the relevant stakeholders do not allow martial law. If it is the latter, then it will be troublesome.

The next morning, Jia Lian made preparations for the last day of the march and asked all units to be ready to go into battle at any time.

With the cooperation of the local forces, we gathered enough vehicles to load all the cannons and baggage on the shore. The cavalry of the Thunder Battalion had been deployed, and they were required to contact the Shandong General as soon as possible and find out as much as possible about the enemy. At this critical juncture, the Dragon Guard did not show his corresponding value. In the past 48 hours, there was no new news. Even when the Shandong local forces counterattacked successfully, the Dragon Guard did not report it in time.

Before leaving, Jia Lian received a message from Long Jinwei that Governor Nie's victory report had been sent out a day ago.

Jia Lian was so angry that his teeth itched, and he asked the messenger: "Why is there no battle report from the front?"

The Dragon Guard messenger replied: "I haven't received the message. How can I convey it?"

In other words, it is difficult to quickly transmit information in enemy-occupied areas?

Jia Lian also personally experienced the phenomenon of the fog of war.

There was no other way. It was not a systematic system. He could only ask: "At all costs, the intelligence that can be collected must be passed on as soon as possible." After sending the messenger, Jia Lian asked someone to deliver a letter to Yue Qi and asked the staff officer around him: "Where is Commander Yue?"

It seems like a casual question, but it is actually a quiz.

"According to yesterday's letter, it is seven days' journey from our headquarters. The main force has more people and will move more slowly."

In fact, due to some things, Yue Qi's central army set out three days late, and was left behind for several days on the road.

Jia Lian was already walking slowly, but he didn't expect the central army to walk even slower. It wasn't that Yue Qi was slacking off. Marching was never an easy task. So many people, so many units, and they needed to coordinate with each other. It was too complicated. If one of them couldn't handle it well, the army would have to stop.

Jia Lian's vanguard consisted of 300 cavalrymen. Only two hours after they were sent out, news came back from the front.

"Report, the Shandong local garrison was found and is retreating. Your Excellency, please take a look."

The messenger pointed to the sky ahead. Jia Lian immediately jumped onto a carriage and raised a monocular telescope, but he only saw billowing smoke and dust and had no idea of ​​the specific situation.

"Order all units to deploy immediately and prepare for battle."

In any case, it's never wrong to be careful.

(End of this chapter)