Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 269 Bewitching
There are many good things left by our Taizu, but unfortunately, they have been abandoned due to internal conflicts of interest. Of course, it is not ruled out that there are no powerful countries around our dynasty, and there are not many requirements for military strength.

It is now the eighteenth century, and the Central Plains dynasties are viewed through a beautified filter in the eyes of Western countries.

According to the plan, three thousand suicide squads will launch a wave offensive today. In just a moment, the second round of suicide squads are ready, with artillery fire and volleys of gunfire, and then the suicide squads rush into the city.

Jia Lian had become numb to the cruelty of war. He stood on the high platform and looked at the defenders on the city wall with a calm mood.

Attacking the city was extremely difficult in that era. Despite the suppression and cover of rifles and the bombardment of siege guns and mortars, the defenders on high ground suffered heavy casualties but still did not collapse. They held out against the second round of attack. This time the suicide squad reached the top of the city, but failed to gain a foothold and were beaten down.

"Yang Wen, let the musketeers advance a little further! Suppress them from a distance of fifty steps. Tell the brothers that today's casualties compensation will be doubled!" After discovering that the defenders were a little shaken, Jia Lian became ruthless. Forget about ideological work, you can only use benefits to hit people.

The officers and soldiers of the Shenji Camp, whose casualties were only a dozen or so, cheered when they learned of the conditions offered by Jia Lian.

As the new round of artillery fire began, the musketeers of the Shenji Battalion, in units of 100 men, formed two horizontal lines, followed the death squads, and continued to approach the city despite the counterattacks from the city walls. They stopped after being fifty steps away, and the sound of gunfire rang out, and bullets rained down on the city walls. The shooting accuracy at this distance was greatly improved, and the defenders, whose casualties suddenly increased, were obviously not prepared for it.

Throwing palm bombs and ten thousand enemies from a high position could certainly cause a lot of casualties, but the more intensive fire suppression also caused greater casualties, and soon the soldiers on the top of the city dared not show their heads. The death squad took the opportunity to rush up.

Seeing the situation gradually collapsing, Hu Yong felt that he could not stay any longer, so he turned around and left quietly. At the east gate of the city, he met several brothers who were also the leaders. After they smiled at each other, they each took their trusted followers out of the east gate. The best plan was to run away.

It turns out that Jia Lian overestimated these people. There was no blockage behind the west gate. Jia Lian, watching this scene, thought that he should have blown up the city gate directly. If you are wrong, you must admit it. In the future, when you encounter similar situations, you should first see if the city gate can be blown open.

Jia Lian was also deeply impressed by similar strong cities. If the firepower was not absolutely superior and the opponent's fighting will was not firm enough, it might turn into a protracted war like the Hunan Army's attack on Nanjing. Without a doubt, this was the least effective tactic.

We still have to find a way to make some changes to the artillery and wait for the performance of the wild chemist.

The situation in Yanzhou was much better than in Jining. Ordinary people's homes were not damaged much, but every official, gentry, and wealthy family was looted, not just once, but many times. Those who should be killed were killed, and those who should be robbed were robbed.

Looking at the numb eyes of the captured women, Jia Lian specifically asked the deputy general Yang Wen if there were any soldiers who wanted free wives, and if so, he could help them. For the lower-level soldiers, marrying a wife was a luxury, and they probably wouldn't refuse.

Of course, Yang Wen also emphasized that since she had been married, she must be treated well, otherwise it would go against Lord Jia’s original intention.

The officers and soldiers of the Shenjiying were absolutely convinced by Jia Lian. In addition, most of the captured women were from wealthy families of officials and officials. They were high-quality women and were very attractive to these low-level officers and soldiers. The hundreds of captured women were quickly divided up.

Jia Lian would never think of not treating women as human beings. This approach is actually saving people. Otherwise, these women would basically die after escaping from the cage. If they stayed in the local area, gossip would force them to die. If they followed the soldiers to the capital, they might not live as well as before. Changing the environment would allow them to continue living.

What Jia Lian didn't know was that because of this action, the officers and soldiers were all spreading rumors that if they followed Lord Jia, they would have a chance to share a wife. After the Shenji Camp returned to Beijing, this rumor spread to all the troops in the Beijing Camp. Of course, this is a later story. Now Jia Lian had to face a problem: should he send troops to Qufu immediately or wait a while.

It was not that Jia Lian hesitated deliberately, but that the battle of Jining consumed too much ammunition. Generals of the same era were more concerned with getting people in a war, and people were worthless. Jia Lian was an alternative who only believed in firepower, and his tactical thinking was to pour out firepower crazily. This led to the shortage of ammunition reserves of the Shenji Camp, which was only one-third of the previous amount.

Jia Lian was not born with a firepower theory. It was just that he was born in this era and he did not want to rebel. The idea of ​​reforming the army ideologically disappeared in just a moment. What a joke, this thing is as difficult as climbing to the sky. It can only be said that a group of great people who defied the heavens created a rebirth of the nation.

As a mortal, Jia Lian dared not even think about doing something that goes against the will of heaven.

General Qi arrived to deliver the supplies before dark, and Jia Lian did not hesitate any longer. However, looking at Xia Shouzhong who was following behind General Qi, Jia Lian's face did not look happy at all.

At the evening dinner table, Jia Lian complained rudely. Xia Shouzhong was not angry after hearing this. Instead, he said to Jia Lian, "Young Master, please make a secret report to His Majesty and explain this matter clearly. I will be scolded when I go back, so I can take this opportunity to vent my grievances. Over the years, I have finally seen clearly that the life of the Dragon Guard is not a life for human beings. In the capital, under the eyes of the saint, the Dragon Guard can still have some deterrent power, but outside the capital, no one takes me seriously."

Jia Lian was silent after hearing these words. General Qi, who was accompanying him for drinking, hid in the corner and trembled. Is this something you can listen to for free?

"Forget it, I dare not risk the wrath of the world." Although Jia Lian sounds tough, he dare not put it into words.

Xia Shouzhong, who was superior to Jia Lian, said proudly: "All crows are black. It's good enough for the Dragon Guard to be able to walk around the capital. We just complained to the saint in private. No one is afraid of what the historians will write about us later."

Well, Jia Lian still underestimated the importance that the ancients attached to leaving a name in history. If this was recorded in history books with a bad name, it would bring disaster to future generations at the least, but it would bring shame to the ancestors at the worst, and one would be ashamed to go to the ancestral tomb.

In such an environment of public opinion, even the emperor would not dare to be known as someone who allowed spies to run rampant.

Why did Emperor Yongzheng have a bad reputation? It was not until a certain major drama was broadcast that this changed.

This phenomenon has a lot to do with the fact that he uses spies to rule the country. Who doesn't have privacy? Who wants embarrassing things to be known by others?
The TV series undoubtedly exaggerates Yongzheng's achievements and covers up many of his flaws. Of course, it's just a TV series.

Although Qianlong was a spendthrift, he was tough enough in dealing with foreign countries during his reign, which is worthy of recognition. As for missing the Industrial Revolution, he cannot bear the blame alone, but the entire M group should bear it together.

From the beginning to the end, no matter who is in power, what they consider is the basis of rule and the control of power.

The city-wide tragedies that occurred in Xi'an and Wuhan during the Xinhai Revolution can only be regarded as later generations paying back their debts to their predecessors.

Xia Shouzhong was most interested in Jia Lian's staff office, and after calling General Qi out, he asked when they were alone, "Someone reported that the young master was training talented people for the country as his personal retainers. Is this true?"

Jia Lian was naturally very disdainful of this and said that the purpose of his doing so was simply to be lazy. He also made it clear that with the emergence of rifled guns and the maturity of technology, the production speed will be faster and the cost will be lower in the future. The main factor that determines the victory or defeat on the battlefield is no longer the personal bravery and wisdom of the generals. More factors are mixed in, and there are dedicated people to do intelligence, logistics, tactical formulation and other work. Even a relatively mediocre general will find it difficult to lose the battle as long as he follows normal operations. Many people have reported Jia Lian's misdeeds during this period, and Xia Shouzhong still picked the lightest one to report.

More seriously, they all criticized Jia Lian for ignoring the danger of the sage's ancestral temple being destroyed, not helping him, and only caring about military achievements.

In other words, Jia Lian won every time, and if he lost a battle, he would be brought back to the capital and beheaded.

Not only was there impeachment in the court, but there was also chaos in the newspapers. Apart from the Minsheng Daily which focused on reporting that Jia Lian had strict military discipline, was invincible in battle, and treated the people well, other newspapers were all criticizing Jia Lian, saying that he was seeking fame and reputation, was a disgrace to intellectuals, and had no respect for sages.

Faced with this situation, the Censorate chose to remain silent and did not add insult to injury, which was already very good.

However, in the field of public opinion, Li Heng did a good job this time. He called Xue Pan and Jia Rong privately, and after some conspiracy, he launched a series of brilliant counterattacks. First, he opened with the "Minsheng Daily", focusing on criticizing the lax military preparations in the local area. The three armies of Caobiao, Fubiao, and Zongbing were vulnerable, and many surrendered to the enemy. Secondly, in the teahouses and taverns of the people, many people spread the fact that local officials and gentry colluded, made up excuses, and suffered violent plunder, which gave the White Lotus Sect an opportunity. Finally, the storytellers were all telling the story of a scholar named Jia who led the army, had strict military discipline, fought with more people against fewer people, and was invincible. They would not demolish the house even if they were frozen to death, and would not plunder even if they were starved to death. The story of the contemporary Yue Family Army.

As a result of the three-pronged approach, public opinion evolved into "there are treacherous ministers in the court" who want to kill the current Wu Mu.

Ordinary people don’t care about impeachment or not, they just believe the storytellers and what is sung in the plays.

Pan Mei and Chen Shimei said that those who understand will understand, family members!
The main reason is that Jia Lian had done a very good job in public opinion in the past and his image was very positive.

Xia Shouzhong wanted to be a messenger, but he didn't know that Jia Lian could always receive letters from the capital and was very clear about the situation.

Compared with the impeachment in the court, Jia Lian cares more about his reputation among the people. If you don't believe me, go and ask, who knows more about "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" or "Records of the Three Kingdoms".

So Jia Lian answered Xia Shouzhong very straightforwardly: "How about I resign now and return to the capital?"

Xia Shouzhong, who wanted to sell a good deal, was undoubtedly blocked, and went back to rest with a curse. If Jia Lian really had to abandon the troops and return to Beijing, he would definitely not die, but Xia Shouzhong would definitely die.

The next morning, Xia Shouzhong was still sleeping when the noise woke him up.

He came out to take a look. On the street, the soldiers of the Shenjiying were ready to go. Xia Shouzhong did not dare to fall behind and insisted on going with them. If he did not join them to gain military merit, wouldn't he have come here in vain? Moreover, in Jia Lian's battle report, Xia Shouzhong insisted on saying "Long Jinwei's intelligence played a certain role".

As for the problems of local officials, Xia Shouzhong gave them a complete account and sent them back to the capital to await the joint trial of the three courts. Even if not all of them could be exiled this time, at least their political future was completely ruined.

The new team came with Xia Shouzhong and took over the provincial government. Jia Lian said disdainfully, "What's the problem with changing people? Corrupt officials and gentry are rampant. This is a structural problem."

Xia Shouzhong said, I don’t understand, don’t talk to me.

Jia Lian could only remain silent. Fairness and justice were deeply rooted in people's hearts, but what about their implementation?

Forget it, I won’t talk about this anymore, lest it be banned. A certain fish oil was involved in a transportation scandal, and the online popularity dropped rapidly. A certain math competition was questioned for creating gods, and the popularity dropped, etc.

Especially the deification, I just don't understand, why ordinary people follow the hype? They use deification to force the current examination system, what does it mean if they succeed, don't you have this concept in your mind?

Once the controlled deification is successful, the consequences of the examination system will be reversed. For modern examples, please see Ivy League. For ancient examples, there are the recommendation system and the Nine-Rank System.

You are really being sold out and still helping others count money. You just follow the hype and chase the popularity all day long. Stop and think, you will not die. Always chasing popularity and venting emotions, what is the essential difference between this and buying for free?

Provoking confrontation is a business, but it is also a means of governance that downplays the essence of the J-level conflict. Stupid or not!
At noon, Jia Lian's troops encountered the Dongping cavalry who came to greet them. After meeting, they learned that the enemy who besieged them last night had withdrawn. Mu Jun, a guy with bad intentions, threw a word to Jia Lian after seeing him.

"The Lord of Yansheng is waiting for you to meet him in the city!"

Jia Lian laughed and turned to Xia Shouzhong and said, "See? I am surrounded by such stupid teammates. Do you understand how difficult it is for me to fight this battle?"

Xia Shouzhong pretended not to understand and said, "I don't understand what the young master said."

Jia Lian was so angry that his face turned black. He said unhappily, "I will continue the pursuit and will not go to Qufu. Please ask Supervisor Xia to go there and appease Duke Yansheng." After that, Jia Lian ignored everyone and ordered his subordinates to continue the pursuit eastward.

Xia Shouzhong ignored Mu Jun who was standing aside, and quickly chased after Jia Lian and stopped him, saying, "No, let's go together."

Jia Lian reined in his horse and said, "You go and write the military report on the rescue of Qufu. By the way, you can also ask Duke Yansheng for a favor. If you don't go, I will write the military report, and you will have nothing."

Xia Shouzhong understood: "Don't you like their family?" he asked very implicitly.

"It's just a memorial archway. It's not a matter of liking it or disliking it. My personal preference has no effect on the existence or not of this memorial archway. The supervisor is someone close to His Majesty. When you go there, you only need to give him a few simple hints and you will naturally not return empty-handed." Jia Lian further persuaded Xia Shouzhong, who understood something, and hesitated.

Jia Lian's voice was like that of a devil: "You don't want the free silver?"

(End of this chapter)