Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 93: Deploying troops, not knowing what is good for you

Zhao Pan'er cheered up, tidied up the teahouse, and then hung up a sign saying that the teahouse was closed.

In the blink of an eye, it was late at night, and Zhao Pan'er's younger sister Song Yinzhang was taken back to Qiantang County by the soldiers sent by Jia Jue.

However, Song Yinzhang did not appreciate Zhao Pan'er's kindness. He thought that Zhao Pan'er was jealous of him. No matter how much Zhao Pan'er tried to explain, he was helpless and could only sigh.

The next day, in the Jiangnan camp of Nanjing, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding was handling military affairs.

As one of the four major families in Jinling, the Shi family has extremely prominent ancestors.

The ancestor of the historian family, Shi Lao Taigong, was awarded the title of Baoling Hou for assisting the Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty in establishing his rule over the world, and was eventually appointed as the Minister of the Chancellery.

In ancient times, the system of three provinces and six ministries was implemented. There is no need to say much about the six ministries: the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Justice.

The three ministries are the Secretariat, the Chancellery, and the Palace Museum.

Among them, the Secretariat is known as the head of the three ministries, and all six ministries are subordinate departments of the Secretariat.

The Shangshu Ling was the highest official in the Secretariat. His power was so great that it was no exaggeration to say that he was second only to the emperor and above ten thousand people.

Old Lady Jia of Rongguo Mansion was the legitimate daughter of Old Master Shi, and she married the second generation Duke Rongguo.

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding is the nephew of Mrs. Jia.

Under normal circumstances, Shi Ding would definitely have no hope of obtaining the title of Marquis.

After all, Shi Ding has two older brothers.

The father of Shi Xiangyun, one of the Twelve Golden Hairpins, was the eldest son of the second generation Marquis of Baoling. After Shi Xiangyun's father passed away, Shi Ding's second brother Shi Nai inherited the title of Marquis of Baoling.

The reason why Shi Ding was able to be granted the title of Marquis of Zhongjing is that we have to admire Shi Ding's unique vision.

A long time ago, Shi Ding defected to Emperor Yongping, who was not very prominent among the princes, and secretly served him.

When Emperor Yongping launched a coup, Shi Ding bravely took the lead.

After Emperor Yongping succeeded to the throne, Shi Ding was granted the title of Marquis of Zhongjing and was appointed by Emperor Yongping as the commander-in-chief of the Jiangnan camp, stationed in Nanjing.

Since then, for four years, Shi Ding has been training the navy in the Jiangnan camp under orders, until today.

Just as Shi Ding was working as usual, the personal guard came into the tent, saluted, and said.

"My Lord, the Marquis of Guanjun has sent his personal guards to mobilize the troops, and they are now outside the tent."

Shi Ding said immediately after hearing this.

"Quick, let him in."

Not long after, Jia Jue's personal soldiers came to the tent and without further ado, they took out half of the tiger talisman and said.

"My Lord, I am here under the orders of my Lord, bearing His Majesty's tiger talisman to mobilize the troops."

Shi Ding nodded slightly and said.

"Come, take the tiger talisman and check the military talisman."

Shi Ding's personal soldiers immediately went to get the other half of the tiger talisman.

When the two tiger talismans were put together, they fit perfectly.

After checking the military token, Shi Ding immediately bowed and said.

"Commander Shi Ding of the Jiangnan Camp is here. I wonder if the Champion Marquis has any plans for this?"

Jia Jue's personal guard said after putting away the tiger talisman.

"Marquis Guanjun has ordered that the Jiangnan camp immediately dispatch 30,000 troops, and 20,000 troops to the Yuhangning naval camp and besiege it."

"Another 10,000 troops, 3,000 of whom will be sent to the Qiantang County Maritime Merchant Docks in Yuhang. All overseas merchant ships will be seized. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy."

"The remaining 7,000 troops will assist the Marquis of Guanjun in leading the imperial guards to guard the major passes and roads in Yuhang and seal off the Maritime Customs Office and the Yuhang government office."

"Arrest seventy-eight officials involved in the customs smuggling case. Not a single official or family member shall escape. Anyone who dares to neglect their duties or harass the people will be severely punished according to military regulations. Marquis Zhongjing, accept the order."

"General Shi Ding accepts the order."

Half an hour later, as Jia Jue issued the military order, the army from the Jiangnan camp set out, boarded the warships, and headed for Yuhang in a mighty procession.

The next morning, in Zhao's Teahouse, Zhao Pan'er, with her eyes red from staying up late, sat in the teahouse with her hands on her chin, feeling extremely exhausted.

Just as Zhao Pan'er was in a daze, footsteps were heard in the yard.

Zhao Pan'er looked up and saw that it was Jia Jue who came to the teahouse with two followers.

Although she felt helpless about Jia Jue, the uninvited guest who completely disrupted her life, Zhao Pan'er also knew that this nobleman of unknown origin actually had a good heart.

Those who have never dealt with the powerful will never know how incredible the evil of human nature is.

Zhao Pan'er was made a government slave at the age of nine and grew up in Yuhang Leying, where she had frequent dealings with the powerful and influential.

She knew very well that ordinary people like herself were worse than ants and as humble as dust in the eyes of those powerful people.

If Jia Jue was a powerful person who treated human life as worthless, he would not condescend to see me.

It is very likely that a housekeeper or something like that brought a few evil slaves to capture him, and then he suffered physical pain. After getting what he wanted, his end would most likely be an unknown female corpse on the Qiantang River, nothing more.

But this young man did not treat her like this, and this alone made Zhao Pan'er feel lucky.

Zhao Pan'er forced herself to stand up and go to greet him. After coming to Jia Jue and bowing respectfully, she said.

"I have met you, sir."

Jia Jue looked at Zhao Pan'er and said calmly.

"It seems like the sister you saved with all your effort isn't very grateful to you. Let me guess, maybe she's been saying mean things to you, making you feel upset and unable to sleep at night."

Zhao Paner sighed and said.

"Young Master has a keen eye. Alas, Yinzhang is still young and doesn't know the dangers of the world."

"She will understand in the future. I would like to thank you for saving my young and ignorant sister from disaster."

Jia Jue smiled slightly, took out a thick piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Zhao Pan'er and said.

"Come on, stop looking so depressed. You can't make any good tea like this."

"I'll give you a cup of tea to handle this matter properly. I'm still waiting for tea."

Zhao Pan'er was a little confused. After taking the paper, opening it and looking at it, she couldn't help but show joy on her face. Then she hurriedly bowed to Jia Jue and said.

"Thank you very much, sir. Thank you very much, sir. I will be back soon."

After Zhao Pan'er finished speaking, she quickly turned around and went to Song Yinzhang's bedroom.

Jia Jue looked at Zhao Pan'er who looked impatient and couldn't help but chuckle.

These papers were actually the confessions obtained by Jia Jue last night when he had his personal soldiers interrogate Zhou She, who abducted Song Yinzhang, and Zhou She's follower Zhou An.

In fact, Zhou She is a habitual offender.

He was originally from a merchant family in the south, and his family had some money before.

But Zhou She was a complete prodigal son, addicted to eating, drinking, whoring and gambling.

Within two years of his parents' death, he squandered all his family fortune.

In order to continue to satisfy his gambling addiction, Zhou She began to set his sights on women of low status like Song Yinzhang.

Zhou She often frequented brothels and was very familiar with the psychology of women like Song Yinzhang.

So he used the excuse that he had relatives who were officials and could help these women of low status escape from slavery and return to goodness, and then used sweet words to make these women fall in love with him.

When these women fell into his trap, he coaxed them into elopement. After he succeeded, his true nature was revealed. He took all the women's money for himself and squandered it. When he got tired of playing with these women, he either sold them or tortured them to death.

This can be considered a reverse honey trap.

Before this, he had succeeded several times, and Song Yinzhang was his new target.

But Zhou She never expected that he would capsize in the ditch.

He had already thoroughly investigated Song Yinzhang's situation and confirmed that he was not valued by the powerful, so he eloped with him. Yesterday evening, when he was blocked by soldiers on the boat and beaten and kicked, his mind was about to explode.

Good man, I just kidnapped a lowly woman, why is there such a big fuss? They even blocked the river to search for me.

Those who didn't know would think that he had kidnapped the daughter of the Yuhang prefect.

After being captured last night, Zhou She was taken good care of by Jia Jue's personal soldiers.

At first, Zhou She was stubborn and refused to tell the truth, but Zhou She's follower Zhou An saw the situation and quickly confessed.

In the four or five pages of confession, Zhou She's name appeared more than thirty times.

Zhou An can also be considered a loyal servant of his generation.

Just as Jia Jue was sitting in the teahouse waiting for Zhao Pan'er to come out, not long after, Zhao Pan'er came to the teahouse in the front yard with red eyes.

When Jia Jue saw the tears in Zhao Pan'er's eyes, he couldn't help but shook his head.

Needless to say, Song Yinzhang didn't believe what Zhao Pan'er said at all. She still felt that Zhao Pan'er was trying to break up the couple.

Looking at Zhao Pan'er with tears in her eyes, Jia Jue waved.

Then Zhao Pan'er wiped her tears and came to Jia Jue.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. I wonder what you would like to drink."

Jia Jue waved his hand and said.

"Let's not rush to drink tea. Is it worth it to go through so much trouble and even get hurt all over for such an idiot?"

Hearing this, Zhao Pan'er almost burst into tears and felt even more aggrieved.

After trying to calm down, Zhao Pan'er bowed respectfully and said.

"My dear Sir, I appreciate your kindness."

"Yin Zhang is not the kind of ungrateful person. She was just deceived by Zhou She."

"Besides, her sister has been extremely kind to me. I promised her sister that I would take good care of her. This is what I should do."

Jia Jue nodded slightly and said.

"You are a woman, but you have the virtue of keeping your promise. It's rare."

“As the saying goes, one won’t give up until one reaches the Yellow River, and one won’t cry until one sees the coffin.”

"I think it's going to be hard for you to make Song Yinzhang understand. Let me give you a hand."

Zhao Paner quickly waved her hand and said.

"Sir, I am already extremely grateful to you for helping me rescue Yin Zhang."

"How dare I trouble you again about this matter."

Jia Jue waved his hand and said.

"I'm not helping you, I just can't stand this kind of idiot."

"If she doesn't know about the dangers of this world, she won't understand how precious family is."

Zhao Pan'er hesitated for a moment and then said.

"Sir, you have helped me so much, how can I thank you?"

Jia Jue said with a calm smile.

"When a woman expresses her gratitude to a man, she can either become a slave or a maidservant and pledge her body to him, or she can express her gratitude by tying the knot in the next life. Which way do you think is best for me?"

Zhao Pan'er's face turned pale, and then she quickly took two steps back and said.

"Young Master is joking."

Looking at Zhao Pan'er who looked like a frightened baby rabbit, Jia Jue couldn't help but shook his head.

Women of this era are still a bit more reserved.

If it were women in later generations, with her power and status, if she said such words, these women would probably wear tight pants and hang around in front of Jia Jue, making Jia Jue allergic to seafood.

Jia Jue said with a chuckle.

"Forget it, I won't joke with you anymore. It makes me seem like I'm trying to take possession of my daughter."

"Come on, bring that Zhou She here."

"promise."

After the personal guards left, Jia Jue looked at Zhao Pan'er and said.

"Miss Pan'er, go get Song Yinzhang here too. Let her take a good look at what kind of person she thought she would rely on for the rest of her life is."

Zhao Pan'er nodded obediently and then went to the backyard.

Not long after, Zhao Pan'er came to the front yard with Song Yinzhang, who was full of resentment.

Song Yinzhang looked at Jia Jue and Zhao Pan'er indignantly and said.

"What on earth have you done to my Zhou Lang? Return him to me now."

Seeing this, Jia Jue's followers shouted harshly.

"How dare you, a woman, be so rude to my young master? Are you tired of living?"

Jia Jue's followers were all dressed as personal soldiers, and each of them followed Jia Jue through the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Song Yinzhang was a weak woman. She was frightened by the murderous aura of the personal soldiers and turned pale in an instant, and dared not speak.

Zhao Pan'er quickly bowed and said.

"Please forgive me, I was confused for a moment and I had no intention of disrespecting you."

Jia Jue glanced at Song Yinzhang calmly and said.

"You're a musician in the music camp. Keeping a low profile and observing people's expressions should be your basic skills."

"It seems Miss Pan'er has been taking care of you at the Music Camp all these years. Otherwise, how could you, a toy for others' amusement, have such a spoiled temper? It's ridiculous."

Upon hearing this, Song Yinzhang's face turned pale. He felt extremely ashamed and angry, but he didn't dare to say a word.

Seeing this, Jia Jue didn't take it seriously, but continued speaking.

"If it weren't for Miss Pan'er's repeated requests, I wouldn't bother to pay attention to a fool like you."

"Don't worry, you want to see your lover. He will be here soon."

"Now, just wait there obediently."

"If you dare to be so presumptuous again, I will send you to the military camp as a prostitute and make you wish you were dead."

Upon hearing this, Song Yinzhang was so frightened that he trembled all over and closed his mouth tightly, not daring to speak.

Zhao Pan'er wanted to say something, but in the end she stopped herself.

She also knew that her words carried little weight, and Jia Jue handled the matter entirely based on his mood.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhou She, covered in blood, was brought to Zhao's Teahouse.

When he saw his lover being beaten like this, Song Yinzhang hurried forward and said with tears in his eyes.

"Zhou Lang, Zhou Lang, why are you like this?"

Zhou She knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Miss Song, Miss Song, it's all my fault. It's my fault. I shouldn't have had such evil intentions to kidnap you. I'm a bastard. I'm not a human being. Please, just let them let me go. I really can't stand it anymore."

Seeing this, Song Yinzhang naturally didn't believe it at all, but spoke with even more concern.

"Zhou Lang, did they force you to say this? Sister Pan'er, why did you do this? Please, can't it be better for me and Zhou Lang to be together?"

(End of this chapter)