Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 330, News of a Great Victory

"Damn Russian swindler!"

In an unnamed town in the Kingdom of Rakshasa.

Several people, whose appearances differed from the other residents, tightened their tattered clothes and uttered curses.

One of them complained:
"My lord, that guy has lost his hand and now his foot is injured. This little bit of money isn't enough to buy medicine. We might as well just leave!"

Another person chimed in:
"That's right, Great Khan, that guy is already a cripple! We still need to revive the grasslands, we can't waste time on this!"

However, as soon as the words were spoken, someone immediately retorted:

"Giluntu! Yevelul! How could you say such a thing? Why was General Du injured? Wasn't it because you disturbed that bear? The little money we have now was obtained by exchanging that bear's pelt, and you're actually going to abandon General Du!"

Jiluntu said, "What nonsense about General Du! Didn't my brother also die fighting a bear in the snow? On the grasslands, weak and sick old wolves will voluntarily leave the pack. If he truly pledged allegiance to the Khan, he should have left on his own!"

The other person wanted to retort, "You..."

"enough!"

Tuolei stopped the two men and said directly to Jiluntu, "I will never give an order to abandon my men!"

The conversation ended there, and the group entered a small wooden cabin on the edge of town.

This is the house of a lonely hunter, dilapidated and uninhabited for a long time since the hunter died.

After Tuolei and his group arrived, they occupied this place.

They now have seven people left.

There were three Han Chinese, Chen Zhengdu and two of his men, and four grassland people, Tuo Lei and the three men from earlier.

There were originally more than a dozen people, but the border area was extremely harsh due to the blizzard, and several people froze and starved to death while crossing it.

After encountering the bear, one of them was killed and another was seriously injured, and the seriously injured one also died.

The group worked together to kill the bear. Of course, Chen Zhengdu contributed the most, even though he had lost an arm, his martial arts skills were still very high.

During the battle, he injured his foot. It was originally just a minor bump, but due to the lack of timely treatment, prolonged walking, and the severe cold, frostbite and bruising accumulated, and it has now turned into a huge, unsightly abscess.

Ordinary medical methods are no longer sufficient to treat this injury.

The money they earned from exchanging bear skins was barely enough to feed themselves, leaving them with no extra money for treatment.

Stepping into the small house, the temperature inside wasn't much higher than outside.

Chen Zheng was wrapped in a few old clothes and curled up on the bed.

A faint fire burned in the stove, on which sat a broken kettle without a lid, the water inside still simmering.

Chen Zhengdu's two men kept a close eye on Tuo Lei and his group as they entered. They watched as Jiluntu took out two bags of grain and a bundle that looked like a bowstring from his pocket, and then there were no other items.

No medication was purchased.

Chen Zhengdu's two men clenched their fists involuntarily.

Tuo Lei walked to Chen Zhengdu's bedside, examined Chen Zhengdu's injuries, and sighed.

"General Du, the medicines here are too expensive, and we don't have enough money. But don't worry, I will never abandon anyone. I've decided to raise the funds by hunting."

hunt……

On the grasslands, the troops that had previously swept through the area have gradually withdrawn, but Zhou Shuan and his tens of thousands of troops remain on the grasslands.

Although the war was won, the conquered territories still need to be managed and assimilated, and the border with the Rakshasa Kingdom also needs to be guarded.

In the name of the Longqing Emperor, Fang Yong appointed Zhou Shuan as the Shengjing General, and assisted the Dorei Khan of the grasslands in managing all affairs of the grasslands.

On the same day, the first phase of construction in Hezhou was completed.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the people of the Central Plains and the grasslands, this city, symbolizing peace between the two peoples, has begun to take shape. Although many parts are still incomplete, with only a basic framework remaining, it is already ready for initial use. At the same time, the official road from Hezhou to Datong has also been opened up.

This road was just an ordinary dirt road, far less durable than modern cement roads, but in this era, it was already a very good trade route.

Jia Lian was promoted again, becoming a second-rank official and the Protector-General of a prefecture, officially surpassing Jia She.

Jia She had begun to have some self-doubt.

The tenth day of the month.

The ten-day holiday for the Spring Festival has ended.

Officials from Da Xi arrived at the yamen one after another.

The Siamese envoy was finally released from house arrest, but before he could even rejoice for long, he was sent directly to the gate of Zhengyang.

Zhengyangmen was not an ordinary place for executing criminals, but it was the place closest to the common people.

Fang Yong ordered the Siamese envoy to be cut in half at the waist in public.

The executioner in charge of the knife was a skilled one.

With a single stroke, the Siamese envoy crawled nearly three meters in agony before finally dying, much to the delight of the onlookers.

However, for some people who are familiar with the political situation, Fang Yong's actions puzzled them.

Fang Yong was previously weak in his dealings with foreign powers, but now he has abruptly cut off the Siamese envoy. The difference in his behavior before and after is too great.

However, they soon found out why Fang Yong did this.

A series of novel newspapers spread throughout the capital overnight.

News of the great victory in Southeast Asia spread as a result.

Admiral Zhang Yuan led a naval expedition to the South Seas, achieving a great victory over Siam and capturing the Siamese king alive. He will soon return in triumph!
The people were thrilled, and the masses cheered!
A resounding victory swept away the gloom in people's hearts.

The reputation of Zhongxia Newspaper was fully established.

Fang Yong had actually wanted to start a newspaper business for a long time, but he had always lacked suitable managers and an opportunity.

The news of Zhang Yuan's great victory is a good opportunity to promote the newspaper.

Although there is still a lack of management personnel, let's get things started first.

Anyway, there aren't many literate people nowadays, and newspapers are mainly for scholars and nobles to read, so they don't need much management or operation.

The machine was purchased from the British Empire and had been shipped over beforehand. The paper and ink were also readily available. This thing doesn't require much technology and is very easy to operate.

Thus, with Fang Yong's support, the Zhongxia Newspaper was established. Xue Ke served as its first president, but the main internal management was handled by a scholar that Fang Yong had hired from the British Empire.

There are too few suitable talents, so we can only make do for now and optimize later.

The victory in Southeast Asia was unexpected by everyone. Fang Yong had never mentioned the plan to attack Siam to anyone, and the sudden news of the great victory shocked everyone.

Especially the family of the Prince of Nan'an.

They were extremely anxious because no news of the Prince of Nan'an was published in the newspapers.

It is currently unknown what Fang Yong's attitude is.

But it certainly won't be good.

Although a great victory was achieved at the front, the mistakes made by the Prince of Nan'an would not be negated. The victory was the glory of Zhang Yuan and his 28,000 Huaiyin soldiers, and had nothing to do with the Prince of Nan'an.

The Prince of Nan'an could not shake off his status as a criminal.

(End of this chapter)