Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 489 Leading the way by the nose

After this military law was carried out, both veterans and new recruits were severely stimulated. Qi Yun and his subordinates were also deeply stimulated.

Previously, Jia Lian's performance was generally mild, and he did not intensify the situation. Now seeing how hard he beat his own people, I realized a problem: he was not going to play with them anymore, right?

Everyone felt a sense of crisis.

Given the current situation, Governor Jia is going to do something big, and the big guys may have been eliminated, or fallen behind and failed to keep up.

Once they fall behind, the result will be marginalization. Don't say anything nonsense like the garrison is a local bully. Even if they were really useful, they would not be easily controlled by Wang Ziteng.

Jia Lian is not Wang Ziteng, but he brings more pressure than Wang Ziteng. Before, I just felt that Annan was a hellhole, and I didn't want to go there. Now, I might have to leave.

After the execution of military law, Jia Lian announced that those who were beaten would be carried away to recuperate, and he stood on a high platform and spoke to the new and old soldiers.

"I don't care how you served in the army before. It's all in the past. From now on, you must strictly enforce military law. Those who can't do it can sign up to withdraw in advance. I will never force you to stay."

After saying this, Jia Lian turned around and left. He handed the new recruits over to the officers he brought with him and started training them. He would talk about the rest later.

Qi Yun followed Jia Lian all the time. After watching Jia Lian get on the carriage and leave, his eyes kept turning. How could he resolve this crisis and avoid being marginalized?
Understanding the intentions of superiors has always been a science. Qi Yun is able to become a general, so he must be smart enough.

After careful analysis, it is certain that Lord Jia is dissatisfied with the original provincial garrison. After figuring out the reason, the rest is very simple. He will take the initiative to surrender and do whatever he is told to do in the future.

After returning to the governor's office, Jia Lian still had a lot of official business to deal with. This time when he went south, Jia Lian brought some staff members, all of whom were familiar to him when he was in the Wucheng Bingmasi and the Research and Development Department.

How should I put it? Take the person away and leave a place for the successor. Not everyone was willing to go south with Jia Lian, and most people chose to continue to hang out with Jia Lian.

These staff members have one thing in common: those with the worst backgrounds are all juren or jiansheng, all of whom are over 35 years old. They feel they have no hope of taking the imperial examinations, and the Ministry of Personnel has been queuing up for years but has not been able to fill any vacancies.

Yes. In the original novel, the group of guests around Jia Zheng were basically in this situation.

Jia Lian doesn't need these people to have great talents, the key is to have practical ability. Over the years, he has brought some people out one after another. This time when he went south, some of them have entered the trading hall and have become the eighth rank. Without the help of these people, Jia Lian would not be able to support the trading hall.

Officials from the Maritime Customs added that it mainly depends on the arrangements of the Ministry of Personnel, but there is one thing: Jia Lian and Fang Song each recommended several people, and in principle the Ministry of Personnel would not object.

After reviewing the official documents of the day, Jia Lian was about to leave work when someone came to the door to report that General Qi wanted to see him.

Jia Lian couldn't help but smile when he heard this. This man was still worth saving. In comparison, the three courts were focusing on keeping a distance from Jia Lian, and as for that Guangzhou prefect, they wanted him to get out as soon as possible.

This is often the case. Some people feel good about themselves, think they are valuable and can bargain, but in fact, in the eyes of others, they are worthless.

(PS: When I woke up in the morning and was in bed, I thought about a question. If those who do boxing are profitable, what about those believers? I wanted to find a sentence to summarize it. After searching my brain, I came up with a sentence that I think is barely usable. "Pretentious losers in real life.")
So, self-confidence is a good thing, but don't be pretentious.

Qi Yun was undoubtedly not the kind of conceited person. He had a strong sense of crisis, so he took action immediately.

Jia Lian asked someone to bring him in. After entering the door, Qi Yun immediately bowed and said, "I came here to say a few words. From now on, I will follow your orders."

Jia Lian likes to deal with such smart people. Let’s put ability aside for now. If you were a superior, what would you do if you were a subordinate who didn’t listen to orders and was always against you?
"You can't say that. We are all working for His Majesty and the court. Please sit down and talk." Well, you must never make the mistake of saying polite words.

Qi Yun thanked Jia Lian for the seat, then carefully sat upright and assumed a listening attitude.

"Since I took office, I have been paying attention to the troops stationed in this province. According to what I have seen, the garrison can be seen in the brothels outside the garrison almost every day. It's not that I am unkind, but the military discipline is non-existent. How can the army fight? If the military discipline is not enforced, the old soldiers will become veterans. Once they become veterans, they will turn around and run away when they see the situation is not good on the battlefield, and the whole war situation will be ruined in an instant."

Qi Yun really didn't expect that Jia Lian's opening remarks would be like this. He felt a little bitter, after all, these veterans had been in the army for more than ten years, and it wasn't something that happened today.

"Your Excellency has taught me that after I return, I will definitely improve military discipline." Qi Yun could only bite the bullet and promise it, and now he agreed first.

"These veteran soldiers are not completely useless. This governor said that although the public security problem in Guangzhou has improved greatly, it is still far from being good. The previous practice of the three departments and the prefectural government to employ local clerks to maintain local public security was not effective. When this governor was in the capital, he was in charge of the Wucheng Bingma Division. There is no similar department in Guangzhou. After much thought, we can only find another way. Pick out these thousands of veterans and set up patrol camps and river defense camps. While patrolling daily and maintaining public security, they must also pay attention to the sanitation environment, fire prevention and theft prevention."

After these words, Qi Yun's eyes suddenly lit up. In the past, the garrison had no right to manage local affairs. At most, when needed, they would take the governor and military orders to the streets to work. Now that it has become a permanent institution, it is equivalent to taking away the power of the local government. It must be said that it was Governor Jia who had to use this method.

"Well, your Excellency has a good idea. These veterans are familiar with the local situation and are perfect for maintaining law and order. However, I'm afraid the three departments and the prefectural government will have complaints."

Qi Yun still cared about Jia Lian and specifically reminded him that seizing power was not easy.

Jia Lian knew that he lacked confidence, but he didn't care. He said calmly: "I have the power of military and political affairs. How can I not take care of the local public security? Not to mention other places, can I not take care of Guangzhou City?"

These words left Qi Yungan silent. He was faced with a choice: to follow Jia Lian to the end and offend the three courts and the prefectural government, or to remain neutral.

Just now he said that he would follow the Lord's lead, but now Qi Yun hesitated.

Jia Lian was not in a hurry and had enough patience. After all, Qi Yun had some people under him. In the future, the patrol camp and the river defense camp would depend on them to lead the group of veteran soldiers. The execution would be smoother.

In short, the opportunity is given, it depends on whether you can seize it.

Behind this choice is actually another trade-off of interests. That is, the patrol battalion and the river defense battalion are obviously not the main force, but are truly marginalized local garrisons.

The advantages are obvious. When you go to a local place to maintain public order, you can make money in many ways. The disadvantage is that you will offend people and there is little room for advancement.

Qi Yun is willing to take the time to consider and weigh the pros and cons at this time, which is a good thing for Jia Lian. Because this is not a trivial matter, once the decision is made, there is really no turning back. Jia Lian just ignored what he said before, and now he is facing a choice, and the decision he makes is binding.

What was Qi Yun thinking? He could hold the position of the general, so he must have a group of people supporting him.

Qi Yun was thinking about how to tell the people below about this matter. After thinking about it carefully, Qi Yun realized that he had been forced into a corner a long time ago. What did Jia Lian do after taking office? The first move was to crack down on gangs. The garrison troops in this province and the gangs below are really inextricably linked.

As a result, after being cleaned up by Jia Lian, for their own interests, the people below, including Qi Yun, have cut off many of their connections with the locals. They even made enemies. If a local tyrant loses the support of the locals, can he still be called a local tyrant? Thinking of this, Qi Yun realized that the piece of fat meat he ate was not given to him for nothing.

Now I can only be led by the nose.

Thinking of this, Qi Yun finally made a decision. He stood up, bowed slightly and folded his hands: "Qi Yun will obey your orders, sir!"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Very good. The patrol battalion and the river defense battalion are included in the garrison. We are still one family from now on. But those old soldiers should be moved to other places, so as not to lead the newcomers astray."

After making his choice, Qi Yun could only do whatever he was told.

When Qi Yun took his leave, Jia Lian even walked him to the gate, fearing that no one would see him.

Qi Yun, who felt a little bitter inside, did not show it and looked calm. If Jia Lian had not seen the sweat on his head, he would have given him a thumbs up.

After entering the back house, Jia Lian did not see Baochai, so he asked with concern, "Why is Madam Bao not here?"

Si Qi, who was helping Jia Lian change his clothes, said, "He said he was not feeling well and is lying inside." Si Qi, who was more optimistic, added, "Second Master, Madam Bao is a generous person and gets along well with everyone except Third Aunt You. You should try to persuade Third Aunt You. A harmonious family brings good fortune."

How can I put it? They don't like each other. Baochai always thinks that women shouldn't go out all the time, while You Sanjie goes out to play every now and then. Baochai is not the head of the family, so she can't control her. If you talk too much, she will be unhappy.

Jia Lian didn't take Si Qi's words seriously. He believed that superficial harmony between people was meaningless and it was better not to interact with each other.

"You should think about your own affairs. Have you figured out how to deal with that ungrateful bastard Pan Youan?" Jia Lian didn't want to listen to these family matters, so he changed the subject.

Si Qi sighed and said, "Forget it. It's not easy for him either."

Jia Lian smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying nothing more. In fact, he had already made arrangements. It was better not to have Pan Youan as a disciple.

However, Yingchun's marriage was progressing smoothly. Lai Da stepped in and exchanged the engagement letter. In this year's imperial examination, Mi Jie and Pan Youan failed, but their fates were destined to be very different.

After changing clothes, I went to Baochai's yard. She was now enjoying the cool under a tree. The summer in the south was indeed a bit unbearable for Baochai. Once she lay down, she didn't want to move.

"You're not feeling well, why don't you go see a doctor?" Jia Lian came in and asked with concern. Baochai struggled to get up from the bamboo bed: "Master is back, I'll get up right away."

Jia Lian quickly held her down and said, "Lie down. What's wrong with you? Why hasn't the doctor come yet?"

"It's nothing, I just have no appetite and no strength at all. I'm afraid I have heat stroke."

As they were talking, Ying'er came in: "Miss, the doctor is here."

An old doctor with white hair and beard came in. Nowadays, when hiring a doctor, people tend to trust the elderly.

Jia Lian hurried to receive the doctor, and Ying'er helped Baochai up to feel her pulse.

After a few polite words, the doctor stretched out his hand to feel the patient's pulse. Jia Lian saw that the doctor was not young at all, but he walked very fast and spoke with full energy, so he felt that this doctor was quite something.

The doctor was very cautious. After the patient recovered once, he changed hands again and finally smiled: "No problem, it's not heatstroke, it's pregnancy pulse."

Baochai was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, Jia Lian was also stunned for a moment, then he became happy as well. After all, it was not the first time.

Thinking of the child, Jia Rong specifically mentioned in his letter that Qin Keqing was also pregnant. Of course, Jia Zhen was also mentioned in the letter, saying that the old man was very tenacious and had not yet died.

Jia Lian gave the doctor some silver and personally sent it out. When he came back, he saw Baochai again. She was undoubtedly in much better spirits. It can be said that when a person is happy, he is in high spirits.

As the legitimate concubine, Baochai held Jia Lian's hand and said, "I can't accompany you these days. Siqi and Ying'er are not young anymore. You should make a decision early. If you don't accept them, find someone else to marry."

Jia Lian felt that this woman had something to say. I don't lack women. I still have You Sanjie, Xiren, and Qingwen. What do you mean by pushing two of them over?
"What are you thinking about? Just take good care of it. I have a lot of things to do, so I don't have the time to think about this or that."

Jia Lian evaded the question and did not say much about it. Ying'er, who was listening not far away, was filled with anxiety. At her age, it was normal for an ordinary family to marry. Didn't she follow Baochai to the south just to become a governor's concubine? If she wanted to marry a servant, she would have stopped doing that long ago.

After having dinner with Baochai, Jia Lian went to the courtyard next door. As expected, Third Sister You had received the news and was in a daze.

She seemed to have tried very hard, but why couldn't she get pregnant?

"Master is here?" Hearing the voice of the maid beside her, Third Sister You quickly stood up and smiled a little reluctantly: "Madam Bao is pregnant, why did you come to my place? Why don't you accompany her properly?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "You feel uncomfortable, don't you? You are just worrying about nothing. We are still young, so we should work harder."

After hearing this, Third Sister You immediately showed a charming look on her face and smiled softly, "How can you comfort me like this?" Having said that, she still stood up and said, "I'm going to take a shower and change clothes. Can you rest for a while?"

Jia Lian had no time to rest, so he said, "Let's go together!"

Inside the general's mansion, Qi Yun faced a group of subordinates. Everyone was very quiet, and no one stepped forward to speak out.

"In that case, then let's all agree to it. No more looking for accounts later." Qi Yun made the decision for everyone decisively.

(End of this chapter)