Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian was in a good mood after leaving the palace.

In fact, from the moment he decided to return to the capital, he knew that the difficulty in rescuing Xue Pan lay not in his enemies, nor in the Prince Zhongshun, but in Emperor Ningkang.

Even for him, saving Xue Pan was not difficult at all; the difficulty lay in how much he was willing to pay for it.

The weight he had painstakingly built in Emperor Ningkang's heart over the years was something he could not possibly give up to someone as worthless as Xue Pan.

Now that Emperor Ningkang has passed through smoothly, there will be no more surprises in Xue Pan's case, and tomorrow's court hearing will just be a formality.

It went more smoothly than expected; it was as if he had bought Xue Pan's life from Emperor Ningkang with 50,000 taels of silver.

It may seem like child's play, but it's not.

First of all, 50,000 taels of silver is no small sum. It's a fact that someone with a fortune of 10,000 taels of silver is considered extremely wealthy; 50,000 taels of silver is equivalent to 50,000 strings of cash!

Many middle and lower-ranking noble families might not even have that much wealth! Tell me, how many people in the world could afford to pay 50,000 taels to buy a life?

Secondly, even if the Xue family were willing to pay 50,000 taels to save Xue Pan's life, without Jia Lian, those 50,000 taels would be of no use.

How could the Emperor, the supreme ruler, truly grant leniency for 50,000 taels of silver? It was merely a matter of opportune timing.

Upon arriving at the Ministry of Justice, Jia Lian subtly mentioned Emperor Ningkang's intentions to several of its top officials, immediately surprising these seasoned veterans. They certainly didn't believe Jia Lian would dare to falsely convey the emperor's will; they could only marvel at Jia Lian's extraordinary connections and actively try to cultivate a relationship with him.

The saying goes, "Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger." Even high-ranking officials cannot guarantee they will always remain in a safe position. If one day they offend the emperor or break the law, having a friend who can speak on their behalf to the emperor will naturally increase their chances of turning danger into safety.

Jia Lian, of course, would not refuse such a request. Although he outwardly proclaimed himself a "warrior," he was not actually a crude and uncouth warrior.

Jia Lian knew all too well that officialdom was all about personal connections. Those who truly wielded immense power and influence were never those whose official rank and titles alone could sustain them. The real foundation lay in how many people in the imperial power structure listened to you and gave you face.

Therefore, Jia Lian happily formed these friendships despite their age difference, and humbly addressed them as his younger brothers.

After exchanging pleasantries with the civil officials, Jia Lian went to the firearms camp.

The headquarters of the Firearms Battalion was stationed within the Imperial City, on the western section of the inner moat. This area was originally an abandoned camp, but after Jia Lian obtained it from Emperor Ningkang, he quickly transformed it into a continuous stretch of barracks, serving as the main base of the Firearms Battalion.

In addition, outside the north city, the Firearms Battalion has an even larger camp that is about to be completed.

The firearms battalion had a total of over five thousand personnel. Three thousand were musketeers, one thousand five hundred were artillerymen, and the rest were craftsmen and laborers.

The musketeers and artillerymen were drawn from the six battalions of the Imperial Guard (now seven including the Firearms Battalion), while the craftsmen and laborers were recruited by Jia Lian himself, most of whom were recruited from the Divine Machine Battalion.

Compared to the officers and soldiers, Jia Lian cared more about the hundreds of creative artisans, who were the core of the firearms battalion!

The composition of the personnel reveals that the Firearms Battalion was not merely a firearms army; it also bore the heavy responsibility of firearms improvement and research. In this era, no one valued this more than Jia Lian.

On the training ground, Jia Lian looked at the three thousand musketeers below, who were well-disciplined and quite imposing, and nodded in satisfaction.

Although the Imperial Guard was known as the "soldiers of the rich and powerful," their physique and physical fitness were mostly top-notch.

Standing at the edge of the command platform, Jia Lian gave a brief address as usual, and then announced: "Ten days from now, I will personally lead you to the main camp outside the city for a month-long musket training exercise. After that, there will be a grand competition for the entire army, and the top three hundred will receive generous rewards."

The top ten will be awarded a special "Sharpshooter" medal by me, which will be personally bestowed upon them in the presence of all officers and soldiers of the firearms battalion.

Upon hearing this, not only the three thousand musketeers below, but even the surrounding officers all showed surprise.

They knew better than the common soldiers what kind of person the Marquis was. Anything that Jia Lian would announce so solemnly in public must be no trivial matter.

It is foreseeable that over the next month or so, a tremendous wave of competition will sweep through the entire army. Some insightful individuals have even predicted that Jia Lian's method of motivating soldiers may set a precedent for training in the Wei army.

Jia Lian's words were much simpler for the soldiers.

The officers and soldiers who were transferred to the firearms battalion were, to varying degrees, not highly regarded in their original units. In this new environment, everyone was starting from the same point, and many naturally harbored a strong desire to rise above their circumstances.

Over the past few months, everyone has witnessed the treatment and facilities provided by the firearms battalion. It's clearly not the place of demotion that we feared before coming. On the contrary, it's a newly minted elite unit.

This not only confirmed that their commander, Marquis Zhenyuan Jia Lian, was indeed as favored by the emperor as rumored, but also made those who had been selected secretly rejoice, all wanting to follow Jia Lian and become members of the most combat-effective firearms battalion among the seven major battalions of the Imperial Guard that Jia Lian spoke of in the future.

Due to the special nature of the firearms battalion, Jia Lian held an unshakeable and lofty position within it.

In addition, soldiers value honor, so even though they were not very clear about what the new system of honor medals was, just the fact that Jia Lian personally conferred the title on them in front of the entire army made their blood boil.

There were a full ten spots! They were all grown men who had joined the firearms battalion at the same time. Who would be willing to admit that they were inferior to others?

Looking into the three thousand pairs of burning eyes, all the officers on and off the reviewing stand understood that these youngsters would be working incredibly hard for the next month, and they probably wouldn't need to expend much effort to supervise them anymore. Thinking this, the officers couldn't help but admire their commander's methods.

For Jia Lian, this was a drastic measure he had planned long ago. Simply training wouldn't be enough to quickly give a newly formed army considerable combat capability.

Everyone knows that a truly battle-hardened army has a military spirit.

Even Jia Lian couldn't forge a military spirit in an army in a short time. However, he knew that the military spirit of an army, in its initial formation, must be supported by a shared sense of honor or belief.

What he needs to do now is to create a shared sense of honor throughout the entire army as quickly as possible.

This is the first all-army competition since the establishment of the firearms battalion. If we do well this time and the "sharpshooter" medal is recognized, and all soldiers are eager to compete for similar glory next time, then the cohesion of the entire army will be initially formed.

Jia Lian treated all the officers of the firearms battalion to a large meal at the central barracks before heading home.

When Jia Lian invited the officers to dinner, it wasn't to get along with the soldiers; rather, it was simply to give officers of all ranks an opportunity to connect with him so that they could better convey his will to the entire army.

After all, apart from the group he personally promoted, many of the officers in the firearms battalion weren't very familiar with him. Jia Lian valued the several thousand troops stationed in the imperial city and naturally wanted to keep them firmly under his control.

Upon returning to Ningrong Street, Jia Lian alighted from his carriage at the entrance of Ningguo Mansion.

As he climbed the steps, he glanced back and said with displeasure, "Just say what you have to say. Why are you beating around the bush?"

He had noticed long ago that Zhao'er's expression was strange, as if she wanted to say something to him but was hesitant.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's news, Zhao'er knelt down on the steps with a thud and said to Jia Lian, "Second Master, this servant wants to file a complaint!"

Jia Lian raised an eyebrow. A shrewd argument? Knowing the boy was just trying to make him laugh, he didn't care and waved his hand dismissively, "Who do you want to sue?"

"The people I'm suing are the brothers Zhao Tianliang and Zhao Tiandong!"

"Oh, what happened to them?"

Jia Lian was a little surprised.

Zhao Tianliang and Zhao Tiandong were his wet nurse brothers, both good-for-nothings. Out of respect for Zhao Mama, Jia Lian took them back into his service as his personal attendants.

Later, feeling that the two brothers were not up to the task and were not pleasing to the eye, he casually found them some lucrative jobs and sent them away.

"Those two bastards are after my husband!"

As soon as Zhao'er said this, a burst of laughter erupted around them. Laiwang laughed and scolded, "You little brat, watch your words! The Zhao brothers are still Second Master's maternal uncles, how dare you insult them like that?"

Zhao'er, with his neck stiff and unafraid of losing face, still shouted loudly, "That's why I went to Second Master to complain! Those two bastards took advantage of me being with Second Master to fawn over my husband every day, and later even planned to use their status to force themselves on him."

If I hadn't known that my wife was beautiful and easily targeted by thieves, and hadn't made arrangements in advance, I'm afraid they would have succeeded!

Second Master, Zhao'er is but a servant from a few generations ago. If it weren't for your kindness, even if I were to accumulate good fortune for eight lifetimes, I would never have been able to marry my wife. Moreover, you were my officiant when I married my wife. Now that the Zhao brothers are humiliating us like this, I beg you, Second Master, to do me justice…

Zhao'er cried and complained. But because this boy was never serious, even his crying and complaining made people feel strangely amused.

However, Jia Lian quickly suppressed his smile. It seemed that the Zhao brothers were indeed restless; if they weren't properly disciplined and taught a lesson, who knew what trouble they would cause next?

Moreover, putting aside the fact that Zhao'er is his confidante, Jiang Yun is now the head housekeeper's wife, responsible for taking care of the twelve young actresses in Pear Fragrance Courtyard, as well as the daily lives of the four beauties he brought back. She is also someone he can rely on. How can he allow such a filthy person to bully her at will?

So he kicked Zhao'er and cursed, "You good-for-nothing! You have to come to me for such a small thing. You've been following me for nothing all these years!"

"Second Master...?"

"As a man, if they bully your wife, you wouldn't be so angry as to kill them, but crippling one of their hands wouldn't be unreasonable, right? Don't tell me you can't do it. If you can't, then go back to your wife and be with her. I don't keep useless people around me."

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he flicked the hem of his robe that Zhao'er had grabbed and strode into the Ningguo Mansion.

Zhao'er stood up blankly, his eyes thoughtful. Suddenly, he understood, and looked around at the group of guards who had fought alongside Jia Lian through thick and thin.

Wang Dazhu slapped Zhao'er on the shoulder and laughed, "Zhao'er, you want our help? Fine, come and beg me, and I'll teach the Zhao brothers a lesson for you."

"Get lost! Take a piss and look at yourself! Of all the guards who followed Second Master from the beginning, you were the worst fighter. I would never beg you."

Zhao'er yanked Wang Dazhu's hand away, then looked expectantly at Zhang Yong and Feng Fei: "Uncle Zhang, Brother Feng, could you two please condescend to help me this once? I will definitely remember this favor and repay you handsomely in the future..."

"Ha, you little rascal..."

"alright."

Zhao Sheng suddenly waved his hand, stopping the laughter and commotion, and then said seriously, "This matter is not a small one. In fact, there is something else I haven't reported to Second Master yet..."

Although Zhang Yong should be ranked first in terms of seniority among the five guards who initially followed Jia Lian, because he and Jia Lian had a mentor-student relationship.

However, after so many years of getting along, everyone actually elected Zhao Sheng as the leader. The reason is naturally because Zhao Sheng is shrewd and resourceful, and many times even Jia Lian is willing to take his advice.

Seeing Zhao Sheng's solemn expression, Zhao'er, Feng Fei, and the others unconsciously moved closer.

These "old folks" formed their own group, and even Liu Xianglian, a rising star highly regarded by Jia Lian, found it difficult to squeeze into their group. Therefore, Liu Xianglian glanced at them and then led his horse away to settle down.

All that could be heard from Zhao Sheng was that he said, "That Brother Zhao Tianliang is truly audacious. While I was staying at the manor, I learned that they were harassing Miss Jiang Yun. On one occasion, when the young ladies from Tianxiang Pavilion went out to buy rouge and powder, they happened to run into them, and they actually dared to go up and flirt with them. They really don't know what's good for them."

Feng Fei and the others' expressions changed simultaneously. They all knew that the little Zi girl Zhao Sheng mentioned was the former number one beauty in Jiangnan, the head of the four beauties their second master brought back from Jiangnan, and the maidservant of Gu Qingyi, whose beauty even the Imperial Concubine was amazed by.

When Jia Lian first allowed the four beauties to each bring a close attendant to the capital, the little girl Xiao Zi was brought by Gu Qingyi and is now serving at Tianxiang Tower.

"Have these two bastards eaten the gall of a bear and the gall of a leopard?"

"Hmph. Second Master is destined for great things. Keeping these two around, relying on their relationship as his maternal uncles, and not knowing how to restrain themselves, will surely cause trouble sooner or later."

"Brother Sheng is right. In my opinion, Second Master doesn't like them much either. Why don't we take this opportunity to cripple them all and prevent them from causing any more trouble!"

That makes sense.

"I agree."

"..."()