Chapter 240: Visiting the Beautiful Yangzhou and Meeting Lin Ruhai
Although Yangzhou does not have the imperial aura of its neighboring Jinling, it is far superior to Jinling in terms of beauty.
Here is the world-famous Slender West Lake, which once inspired Du Mu to sing "On a moonlit night under the Twenty-Four Bridges, where does the beautiful girl teach me to play the flute?"
There is the Grand Canal that runs through the north and south, which once made Mr. Su Dongpo sigh, "The heartless Bian River flows from the east, carrying only a boat of parting sorrow to the west."
Here is the deserted Mausoleum of Emperor Yang. This emperor, who was full of various evaluations, now lies here quietly, watching the prosperity of Jiangnan and also watching this country that once belonged to him.
There is the famous Qionghua Temple here, where the Qionghua flowers still bloom every year. However, the once glorious Li Tang Dynasty has turned to dust.
The beauty of China lies in Jiangnan! The beauty of Jiangnan is best seen in Yangzhou!
In the past, the great poet Meng Haoran would have felt happy because of this Yangzhou city. In Yangzhou, in spring, Li Bai sang for him, "The old friend bid farewell to the Yellow Crane Tower, and went to Yangzhou in March with fireworks." In autumn, Liu Shen also shouted loudly, "The forests and mountains are in the evening, and the sky and the sea are blue!"
How can I not be happy when I have spent two seasons alone in this beautiful city of Yangzhou? (@Yangzhou, don’t you pay me for the publicity?)
Jia Cong had a sedan chair brought in for Wang Xifeng to ride in, and he followed beside it. After traveling for less than two quarters of an hour, they stopped in front of the Salt Inspectorate's Office.
"Your subordinate Lin Ruhai greets the Marquis of Guanjun!"
Lin Ruhai, wearing an official robe, stepped forward and saluted Jia Cong.
Jia Cong jumped off his horse without saying a word, and hurried forward to support Lin Ruhai. This man was his future father-in-law, and he dared not put on airs by relying on his status.
"Uncle, you are embarrassing your nephew! Of course we have to follow the family etiquette here!"
Lin Ruhai stood up with a smile, "Then let's follow your order, Lord."
"Uncle, what's the use of calling me Marquis or not, just call me Brother Cong! If you call me Marquis, Sister Lin will not forgive me when I go back."
Lin Ruhai laughed when he heard this and then nodded.
"Uncle, the person in the sedan chair is my second sister-in-law who came with me."
"Let Lian'er...Feng'er go directly to the backyard. It's not convenient for them to meet in the front yard!" Lin Ruhai originally wanted to say Lian'er's daughter-in-law, but then he thought it was inappropriate. After all, his daughter's letter a while ago also mentioned Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian divorced, so this name was not appropriate, so he changed it to Feng'er.
The maid from the mansion brought Wang Xifeng's sedan chair into the inner house, while Jia Cong followed Lin Ruhai into the front hall.
After they were seated, Lin Ruhai had tea served, and then he spoke, "To be honest, I owed Cong a huge favor back then. If Cong hadn't sent someone here, I'm afraid I would be nothing but a pile of bones now."
"Uncle Lin is a gentleman, so he can't defend himself against these shady tactics."
Lin Ruhai smiled and shook his head. He thought that he was honest, but he was definitely not a gentleman.
"It is Cong who makes people look at him with new eyes. I thought it was a pity when Cong gave up writing to join the army, but I never thought that Cong would be so brave and brave that he not only earned a title by guarding the border, but also made great contributions in saving the emperor and was awarded the title of Champion Marquis."
"Uncle, you are too kind. It is just the blessing of His Majesty and a coincidence!"
Lin Ruhai smiled but said nothing. Opportunities are everywhere, but one must have the ability to grasp them. Otherwise, opportunities may become a burden...
Afterwards, Lin Ruhai also told Jia Cong about the current situation in Yangzhou. In fact, rioters were discovered more than ten days ago, but even the government could not control the situation in Yangzhou City. The news and situation were suppressed by the salt merchants. It was not until Jia Cong's troops arrived that Lin Ruhai sent the news to the court.
"Uncle Lin, Jiangnan is full of rebels now. I have been ordered to lead the troops from Shandong to quell the rebellion, so I want my second sister-in-law and the others to stay in the mansion for the time being, leaving the soldiers behind for protection. I will go to Shandong to mobilize the troops first."
"Suppressing the rebellion is the most important thing. The safety of the entire Jiangnan region depends on you. You can rest assured about the rest. However, although you are the bravest among the three armies, the war is unpredictable. You also need to protect yourself and don't act rashly."
"Don't worry, uncle!"
Jia Cong went to the back house to say goodbye to Wang Xifeng, and then took his personal guards and five hundred soldiers and horses and headed north.
The Shandong camp was located in Xia Pi and Suqian, not far from Yangzhou. Jia Cong only needed to go north for more than 400 miles to arrive.
In addition, he brought only cavalry this time, and if they rode at full speed, it would only take two days for them to meet up with the Shandong camp.
In the Shandong camp, because the Tiewang Mountain incident involved the deputy general of the Shandong camp, even the previous commander was taken down by the furious Emperor Longxing, and then the Queen's brother Shang Yin took charge.
After Shang Xin arrived at the Shandong camp, he first took ruthless action to arrest all the officers who were originally deputy generals. He found a crime and beheaded them. Although these people were not implicated in the previous events, at this critical juncture, no one would come to plead for them.
Afterwards, Shang Xin replaced these officers with his own people, which gave him initial control over the entire Shandong camp.
However, he could not act rashly against the other officers. After all, the deputy general's men deserved their punishment, but if he continued to kill them, he would probably not be able to continue.
Fortunately, Shang Xin is not in a hurry. As long as he is given a year or two, he will be able to sort these people out.
However, the Jiangnan rebellion caught him off guard, but on the other hand, it was also his opportunity. As long as he established enough prestige in suppressing the rebellion, the Shandong camp would be completely under his control. However, he received the news a step late, so when his letter arrived in Shenjing, the court had already known about it.
Just a few days ago, he finally received the imperial court's order. However, when he saw the imperial court's will, Shang Xin was dumbfounded.
As the commander of the Shandong camp, he had to obey the orders and control of others? What kind of logic was this?
To be honest, Shang Xin still had a lot of respect for Jia Cong, the champion marquis. After all, bravery was the most important thing in the army. If they had met under other circumstances, he would have sworn brotherhood with Jia Cong without hesitation. But now, it involved his own interests. How could he have a good impression of Jia Cong?
He immediately made up his mind. If the boy was sensible, it would be fine. But if he was not, he would definitely embarrass him.
At that time, as long as he successfully suppressed the rebellion, would the court still hold him accountable for such a thing? However, when he was about to lead his troops south the next day, he received a secret letter from his brother at home, and it was this secret letter that once again dumbfounded him.
