Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 307, Justice Sweeps Away

The next day, Wang Xifeng and Yingchun left.

Yingchun ultimately failed to wait for Fang Yong, which made her even more disappointed. She didn't realize it until she had walked some distance from the palace.

"Hey, Second Sister-in-law, didn't Keqing come along?"

Wang Xifeng said somewhat awkwardly:
"Ahem, well, Keqing has some things to attend to and won't be going back with us."

"That's it!"

Yingchun nodded without giving it much thought.

Not long afterward, Jia Rong and Qin Keqing divorced.

The whole process went smoothly without any disruption.

The hatred of having one's wife stolen is irreconcilable!
This statement clearly does not apply to Jia Rong.

If Jia Rong truly had that kind of backbone, Qin Keqing wouldn't have been able to fall for Jia Zhen's advances in the original novel.

It's a pity Jia Rong hasn't inherited the title yet, otherwise Jia She's third-rank General of Martial Valor would have been passed down to Jia Rong as a fourth-rank General of Grace, and Qin Keqing would have taken half of it with her, making him a second-rank general! (Just kidding.)
When Jia She learned of this, he angrily denounced Jia Zhen and his son for being shameless!
He wouldn't have done something so shameless as to send his own daughter-in-law to the palace for wealth and status...

Wang Xifeng, who was passing by, felt inexplicably guilty after hearing these words.

However, upon closer reflection, her situation is not the same as Qin Keqing's.

Qin Keqing was forced into the palace by Jia Zhen and Jia Rong, and ultimately fell into Fang Yong's hands.

She went out at night to enjoy the breeze, and then her desires were aroused, leading her to throw herself into his arms!

She took the initiative...

In the palace, Jia Rong knelt on one knee before Fang Yong.

Fang Yong urged Jia Rong to stand up and beckon him to come to him.

Jia Rong bent over and stepped forward with a smile.

"Your Majesty!"

Fang Yong smiled too; this kid was a talent.

Some people are upright and honest, some are flexible and adaptable, and some are willing to yield.

These are all talents.

Fang Yong laid out a map, drew three locations: the capital, Tianjin, and Hunan, and said to Jia Rong, "Choose one."

Jia Rong looked at the three seats and asked:

"Your Highness, what is this?"

Fang Yong didn't beat around the bush and explained directly:
"In the capital, the commanders of the North and South Garrison Commands have already been appointed. If you want to stay in the capital, you can only go to the Beijing Garrison. However, the Beijing Garrison is very strict now, and I'm afraid you won't be able to stay there."

Jia Rong's eyes flickered, and he said, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"

Fang Yong pointed to Hunan Road:

"He Ai of Hunan is cultivating land in the Changsha area. He is one of my generals, brave and resourceful. He has gathered a million refugees and has an army of nearly 100,000. They are self-sufficient and have the strength to conquer Hunan."

"If you wish to go, I can send you there as a military advisor. You won't need to do anything; just follow He Ai along the way, make your mark, and when you return, you'll receive your title and rewards."

Upon hearing this, Jia Rong's eyes immediately lit up.

This divorce wasn't a waste of time!
The allure of the title was irresistible to him. The prospect of receiving a title and rewards simply by going out and making a name for himself was incredibly tempting, and Jia Rong was ready to accept it immediately.

However, Fang Yong changed the subject and reminded him:
"However, you must also be careful. On the battlefield, swords and arrows have no eyes, and victory or defeat is unpredictable. Sometimes even the commander-in-chief faces perilous situations. Although I can arrange a relatively safe position for you, I cannot completely guarantee your safety." Upon hearing this, Jia Rong's burning passion instantly died down.

Going to Hunan might bring a noble title, but it was also fraught with risk.

Doesn't he know his own character? He needs several servants to help him ride a horse normally. If he were to actually go to war with the army, even just loafing around would be enough to make him suffer.

Jia Rong turned her gaze to Jin Hai.

Seeing this, Fang Yong smiled and said:
"Jinhai is a bit safer. I bought a few ships from the British and plan to hand them over to Commander Zhang Yuan. If you go, you can take a leisurely position under him, where you can fight pirates and thieves or bully those small countries in the South China Sea. There is basically no danger, but your military achievements may not be as good as the former."

Jia Rong quickly said:
"Your Highness, it's alright if I have fewer military merits, I choose this one!"

This position is perfect for him.

There was no danger and the work was quite leisurely. Although he didn't have many military achievements, he was safe. He was still young, and he could accumulate military achievements slowly.

Thus, Jia Rong was sent to Jinhai...

After resolving Jia Rong's matter, Fang Yong took a look at the current military reports.

Tian Tianrui was being escorted back to the capital when he was shot in the thigh by an arrow in the previous battle, fell off his horse, and was seriously injured. In addition, he was old and frail, so the escorts dared not travel fast, for fear that he would die on the way.

Ma Laohei had already led his troops into Henan by this time, and judging from the time, they should be not far from Kaifeng, but the specific military reports should still be on their way.

Chu Yuqi of Liaodong has not made any moves yet, but the enemy should know about Tian Tianrui's defeat by now, it's just a matter of how they will react.

Liu Xiang of Sichuan announced a marriage alliance with the powerful Fei family, marrying a Fei woman and completely abandoning his wife and children in the capital. If this continues, he might declare himself king even before Fang Yong bestows a title upon him.

On the grassland, Zhou Shuan continued to pursue and attack Tuo Lei.

However, as the territory captured grew larger and the strategic depth increased, and the supply lines lengthened, Zhou Shuan's forces began to become insufficient.

Tuolei united many tribes and used guerrilla tactics to slowly wear down Zhou Shuan's strength.

This cannot continue indefinitely.

Zhou Shuan specifically consulted Fang Yong about this matter.

Whether to send reinforcements or recruit local steppe soldiers to fight back.

Fang Yong thought for a moment, then summoned Wu Yuan, Jia Yucun, and others to calculate the costs associated with increasing troop numbers and the data from this year's autumn harvest. (The protagonist's timeline corresponds to the lunar calendar; by July, wheat and other crops had essentially been harvested.)
The results showed that Fang Yong was extremely wealthy in terms of food, and was fully capable of supporting a large-scale war.

The effect of doubling food supplies is incredibly powerful, especially after acquiring a certain amount of land; it's like a snowball effect, resulting in exponential growth.

Fang Yong can be described as militaristic this year, launching military campaigns in Zhejiang, Henan, and the grasslands, with a total troop deployment of 300,000 to 400,000. This puts considerable pressure on a newly established regime that has only conquered less than half of the country.

However, Fang Yong didn't feel any pressure at all from beginning to end.

The price of grain for the people under his command never exceeded eight coins, even at its highest.

In Suzhou and Huizhou, the places Fang Yong first captured, the local people had even begun to eat hulled rice, also known as refined rice, which was absolutely unimaginable before.

As people gradually became wealthier, coupled with bumper harvests year after year and Fang Yong's stability of grain prices, some people began to be willing to spend money.

Commercial trade grew rapidly.

Shen Tu has submitted a letter to Fang Yong more than once, proposing the idea of ​​organizing a "National Chamber of Commerce".

In short, things are going very well.

Under these circumstances, Fang Yong decided to expand the army again, and at the same time prepared to send an additional 100,000 troops to Zhou Shuan, and then have Zhou Shuan forcibly conscript tens of thousands of grassland people in the local area to form an army of 200,000 to carry out a large-scale sweep of the grassland region.

Ahem... I misspoke. It should be called a large-scale just war against the grasslands.

(End of this chapter)