Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 478 Journey
"If you can conquer Nanyang and restore the old system of Xuanweisi, I will not hesitate to treat you with the title of king." The day before Jia Lian left, Emperor Chenghui called him over again and made the promise in person.

"The ocean is the future and it is related to the fate of the country. However, I am a lazy person and do not have the energy to open up new land. Even if I conquer it, it should be led by a certain prince."

Jia Lian had no intention of becoming a king overseas, for the simple reason that it was a wild and barbaric land and it would take too much energy to develop it. Jia Lian was still willing to enjoy a comfortable life.

Emperor Chenghui understood that this was an expression of loyalty and did not take it to heart.

In fact, what Jia Lian said was not yet fully understood. Even if the prince is a king abroad, once the country is in decline, he will only consider his own interests and may even rebel.

When Jia Lian left the palace, Emperor Chenghui specially asked Li Heng to see him off. When they reached the palace gate, Li Heng said something meaningful: "The Research and Development Department follows the rules, but I don't know how long it can last."

Under the current communication conditions, the country is far away and the emperor is far away, which is fertile ground for ambitious people. The key is to become strong.

At Tongzhou Wharf, there were many people seeing them off. Zhang Tingen and Lin Ruhai were both there, so the Jia family was not so conspicuous.

The women boarded the boat ahead of time, and Jia Lian stayed behind to entertain the guests. Zhang Tingen held his hand and said, "Wang Ziteng retreated to advance, but in fact, he was still trying to gain more resources to develop Jiaozhi. Your Majesty is very magnanimous. Just because you don't care about it now doesn't mean you won't settle the account in the future."

Jia Lian understood that he did not want to be too deeply involved in Wang Ziteng's interests. After all, they were in-laws, and no matter what you said, there would always be people who would find fault with you with a magnifying glass.

With Zhang Tingen in the court, no one can make a fuss about some minor problems, but if they are too deeply involved, it is hard to say.

After Zhang Tingen finished speaking, Lin Ruhai took Jia Lian's hand and walked aside, whispering, "When you get to Guangdong, you must do your best to restore the Xuanwei Division in Nanyang."

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment. Lin Ruhai did not explain further, but pulled him to continue walking. When they came to a carriage, the curtain was lifted, revealing Daiyu's face.

"Sister wishes brother a safe journey and a safe trip!"

Feeling the affection in Daiyu's eyes, Jia Lian was in a trance for a moment. He had never thought about this before.

No wonder Lin Ruhai said that he would try his best to restore the Nanyang Xuanwei Office. With the merits of expanding the territory and the title of nobility, it would be possible for the emperor to grant him marriage and add a second wife.

Daiyu is not Baochai, so she cannot be someone's concubine.

Daiyu is now considered an older unmarried woman in this era, and she has not yet got engaged, so Lin Ruhai has no idea what to do.

"Thank you, Sister Lin, for coming to see me off!" Jia Lian nodded slightly, feeling a little disappointed.

The official ship slowly left the dock, the wind picked up, and the sails were full. Jia Lian, who was on the deck, was still waving and greeting the people who were seeing him off.

Even though you have made careful arrangements in advance, many things will still change when you actually leave.

Especially the R&D Department! As Li Heng said, I don’t know how long it can last.

The emperor was a good emperor and he had a patriarchal sentiment towards his clan members. Whether it was out of concern for the clan members or for other reasons, it was only a matter of time before the Research and Development Department was bled dry.

Jia Lian was on a ship that was in line with his status, and he was not accompanied by a ship but a fleet, with more than 50 riders escorting him on shore. The others had already gone to Tianjin to wait.

The road from Tongzhou to Tianjin is probably the most peaceful section in the country. If an official is ambushed and killed on this road, it will be treated as treason.

The dock had disappeared from sight, but Jia Lian was still looking back from the deck, with no intention of entering the cabin.

Baochai, who had changed her hair into a bun, came out and quietly walked behind Jia Lian: "Sir, the wind is strong on the river, shall we go into the cabin?"

This time when he went south, the only woman of status he brought with him was Baochai, so Wang Xifeng could out of sight and out of mind.

Jia Lian followed suit and said to Baochai as he turned to go back into the cabin, "You are not feeling well. You should rest more."

Baochai's face suddenly turned red. She hadn't yet mastered the art of twisting people's minds. She just lowered her head shyly and didn't say anything.

When the maid in the cabin brought up the tea, Jia Lian was immediately confused: "Si Qi, why are you on the boat?"

"The Second Miss agreed to my coming!" Si Qi's excuse was weak. Jia Lian sat down and said seriously, "What's going on? Explain it in detail."

Si Qi said: "After Pan Youan passed the imperial examination, he had someone tie him up under the list and forced him to get married. He said that Bi Zi was willing to be his concubine, and he would accept her!"

"You believe this kind of nonsense?" Jia Lian was furious. Si Qi cried, "What can a maid do? He is a scholar, and a maid is just a servant."

"If you had told me earlier, I would have made him too happy and end up in tragedy! Forget it, which family is he talking about?" Jia Lian suppressed his anger and figured out the situation first.

"She is the concubine's daughter of a minister in the Ministry of Rites."

After Jia Lian heard this, he thought about it and asked Si Qi, "What do you want?"

Si Qi shook her head: "The maid didn't know and just wanted to get away from him, so she asked the second lady for help and quietly boarded the boat first."

"I can destroy him, it depends on your attitude, otherwise I don't need to do evil. Don't rush to answer, think it over and tell me." Jia Lian waved his hand and sent her away. Follow her if you want.

Baochai listened from the side and waited for Siqi to leave before saying, "I just found out about Siqi's matter, too."

Jia Lian waved his hand: "It has nothing to do with you. This is all a good deed done by Yingchun."

Baochai glanced at Jia Lian and noticed that his expression had grown, so she whispered, "Second sister, you are very kind to me. I think Si Qi has a good figure for bearing children."

Jia Lian looked up... "What are you thinking about?"

Baochai said, "There is another person in men's clothing in the cabin upstairs. If I hadn't had an Adam's apple, I would have almost mistaken him for someone else."

Who is Baochai talking about? You Sanjie. The second sister was tricked and wanted to come along, but Jia Lian refused. The third sister insisted on coming along and even gestured with her sword, saying that she could take care of herself and protect Jia Lian.

As for Old Lady You, she only cared about how much money Jia Lian left for her to settle down. She was unwilling to lose the comfortable life in the capital.

In the next cabin, Qingwen and Xiren surrounded Siqi and questioned her. Siqi told them the truth and they could not help. Xiren said, "If he was interested, he should have sent a matchmaker to visit him earlier, and he didn't have to wait until after the provincial examination."

Qingwen said angrily: "He should be killed for being treacherous!"

Well, Xiangling didn't come with her because she was worried about her mother, so she stayed behind to look after the house. Speaking of being at ease, Xiangling was the one Jia Lian was most at ease with, and he had spoiled her well before she left.

"There's another person upstairs. Ask her to come down and play mahjong with us." Xiren took the initiative to suggest. Mahjong was naturally a game invented by Jia Lian, just for entertainment along the way.

This thing is simple and you can learn it in no time. Xiren and Qingwen were a little addicted and immediately started to make arrangements. You Sanjie upstairs didn't expect to be invited and thought she would be excluded. You Sanjie readily agreed and came down to the four of them to get together. After briefly explaining the rules, they were soon busy.

Jia Lian didn't like playing mahjong, so he just chatted with Baochai while sitting in the cabin, mainly to find out about the recent developments of the Xue family.

This time, the heavy fine hurt her a little, but she could still hold on. Moreover, the store in the capital was still under Baochai's name, but the general manager had changed, and the Xue family had no say.

Jia Lian naturally didn't pay a penny, and even if he did, Xue Pan wouldn't take it. He wasn't that stupid.

"With my name, half of the Xue family's property in Jinling is preserved, and the other half is under my name. Naturally, no one dares to covet it. A few days ago, some cooperating merchants asked someone to tell them that they wanted to continue the cooperation. My brother went back to Jinling early and was delayed in sending me to get married." This was Baochai's explanation, and Jia Lian believed it to be true. After all, that was Xue Pan, and Jia Lian didn't care about face.

"Tell Xue Pan to have some children as soon as possible and stop messing around." Jia Lian also had a headache. Xue Pan was fond of homosexuality, which was considered a refined hobby in this era. How could he reason with him?
Baochai didn't care much about this, and whispered, "Master, please help me find out if there is a suitable marriage. Let's talk about it. My uncle will go to Annan to take charge in three years at most. The Xue family will still need your help in the court in the future."

"Of course! I'll take it to heart." Jia Lian agreed and turned to find a copy of "Zizhi Tongjian" to read. Baochai didn't disturb him and sat beside him. He read and Baochai looked at him.

When the ship arrived in Tianjin, Zhang San, who had arrived earlier, was already waiting there. Based on his military achievements, Jia Lian got him a position as a lieutenant general. Now he is the lieutenant general of the governor's standard-bearing army under Jia Lian.

There are mainly two types of garrisons in a province: one is the permanent garrison under the general, and the other is the standard-bearing troops under the governor.

The size of the governor's standard-bearing troops is very debatable, ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 people, depending entirely on the local finances and the cooperation of the three departments. For a more powerful governor, the standard-bearing troops can be fully staffed, with 3,000 people.

Jia Lian naturally wanted a full staff. Without some armed forces, he would feel uneasy wherever he went.

As for personnel, Jia Lian brought all the officers with him. The officers who were originally the governor's model soldiers were either unemployed or returned to the general's command. In short, they sought better opportunities.

Jia Lian also understood the situation. Because Wang Ziteng was too powerful, the original governor's standard-bearing troops had only a thousand people, barely maintaining their status.

When Jia Lian arrived in Guangdong, he would not be polite about the military power, and he must control it. Even though Wang Ziteng was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, it was impossible for him to control Jia Lian.

As a gift from the Queen of England, the Chenghui was naturally well renovated, with new decoration inside and outside. The cabin conditions were also greatly improved, and the comfort was more important. Although the emperor would never board this ship in his life, the people below would definitely not dare to neglect it.

Now all this has benefited Jia Lian.

Churchill was also in Tianjin. He also knew that Jia Lian would become the highest official of a province of the same size as the British mainland, which was equivalent to the prime minister of a province. Moreover, the power would be more concentrated, without the interference of the parliament. To be honest, Churchill was really envious, mainly because Jia Lian was too young. This kind of natural wealth and fortune would be envied by everyone.

Along with the fleet, there was also a domestic fleet loaded with Jia Lian's contraband. When loading the ship, Churchill saw the field artillery and went to take a look in person.

In Churchill's view, this kind of artillery with wheels and firing nearly twelve-pound projectiles was simply the enemy's nightmare, mainly because it was too light. It could be easily pushed by three or five people, pulled by two horses, and equipped with an ammunition cart to ensure the fastest deployment speed. It could also fire at least five projectiles.

When the two armies faced each other, five rounds of artillery fire were enough for a small-scale battle.

The biggest advantage of this gun is its mobility, which allows it to fight alongside infantry.

Churchill, who was knowledgeable about military affairs, had deduced in his mind that if his Marines met Jia Lian's soldiers, they would probably have little chance of winning.

Churchill knew that the French were equipped with similar bronze cannons, but unfortunately France had no rivals on land. Prussia had not yet risen, let alone Germany.

Churchill wanted to communicate more with Jia Lian, but Jia Lian was not very interested. They just chatted for a while on the shore. After boarding the ship, they were on different boats and had no chance to chat.

After the boat left the dock, Baochai asked curiously, "Master doesn't seem to like the British very much. Why did you sign a contract with them?"

"The British have evil ambitions. They signed the contract because they can't beat us here. If they have a chance to beat us in the future, they won't be polite. As for signing the contract now, it's because we can't beat them at sea, or even if we beat them, the cost is too high. We can only define our sphere of influence and live in peace. When our navy becomes strong in the future, we can have the king's land as it has been since ancient times."

Baochai was stunned when she heard this. Compared with what Jia Lian was considering, the little thoughts of the women in the backyard were just like playing around.

Baochai has never read the novel, and she will know after reading it. If a man travels through time, he should do something great, it is the right time. If a woman travels through time, she should fall in love and have a palace fight.

The prefixes before the two items are both "grand and vigorous". It's quite a contrast!
Of course, there are exceptions among women, such as Wu Zetian.

The fleet was sailing near the coast and stopped at shore many times along the way, so the journey was not too tiring. However, the rough sea still made the women suffer greatly.

The worst was Yu Sanjie, who vomited until she looked like a human. Baochai was not much better, she vomited until her face turned pale.

Fortunately, we docked once every five or six days, otherwise we might not have made it to Guangzhou alive.

It took them half a month to reach Songjiang. After they docked, Xue Pan was waiting at the pier.

Looking at his sister who looked unhappy, Xue Pan said, "Thank you for your hard work, sister. You deserve the most credit for the Xue family's survival."

The brother and sister talked in private, and Baochai did not hold back: "Brother, you must take good care of yourself in the future and give birth to a child as soon as possible, so that the Xue family can't be cut off. No matter how good the male favorite is, he can't give birth to a child. Sister will be a member of the Jia family in the future, and even if I want to talk a lot, brother may not be able to hear it often. Mother is alone in the capital, and she can still take care of the child for you, it will be better to have a companion around."

Xue Pan did not argue or get angry this time, but accepted it with a wry smile. Whether he would listen or not was another matter. However, for his behavior of having evil thoughts about Liu Xianglian, he would be beaten up and it would be difficult to change his record.

After resting in Songjiang for three days, the fleet continued on its way. The Xue family's fleet was added to the fleet. This time, the ships were not selling opium, but were filled with various goods from Songjiang, mainly cotton cloth and porcelain.

In fact, as long as you do a decent business, a shipload of goods from Jinling to Guangzhou can be sold at least twice the profit, especially under the premise of Wang Ziteng's care. Now that Jia Lian has joined, Xue Pan is even more generous, loading ten ships at a time, all of which are seagoing ships with a toll of 2,000 tons. Of course, they are all flat-bottomed ships with hard sails. They run fast in the near sea, and they don't run faster when they encounter pirates. This time, there is no need to worry about encountering pirates, but they are eager to encounter pirates.

Continuing southward, this time there were no additional stops, but only one stop in Xiamen. After replenishment, we headed south at full speed.

Jia Lian's journey to the south took a month by sea, which was much faster than traveling by land.

Third Sister You vomited the most, but was also the first to adapt. When others were struggling to walk, she was already able to dance with a sword on a splint.

Along the way, Jia Lian had no intention of doing anything fancy. It took him a while to adapt, but he adapted very quickly. It was too easy to have so many thoughts while sailing on the sea.

When the ship docked at the Guangzhou wharf, Wang Ziteng gave enough face and personally led his subordinates to greet them at the wharf.

All the provincial officials, from the governor to the county magistrate, who were qualified, were present.

This is the governor's card! Of course, Wang Ziteng greeted him, that was Jia Lian's card.

Before Jia Lian took over as governor, Wang Ziteng hosted a banquet for him. Before the banquet, Wang Ziteng looked for an opportunity to have a private chat with Jia Lian, showing that he couldn't wait any longer.

"Although Jiaozhi has a certain foundation, it is still far behind Guangzhou. Its future development still needs your care." Wang Ziteng's attitude was calm, not condescending, and certainly not an elder. In this regard, Jia Lian did not think that he had a big face, but was just asking for something when he was polite.

(End of this chapter)