Chapter 862

Ningrong Street, Rongguo Prefecture.

Although it was close to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the cold wind was still whistling and biting, but fortunately, the weather had cleared up, and the sun was bright and warm, melting away some of the chill.

The flowers and trees in the garden were desolate, the winter greens were emerald, and the trimmed low shrubs were full of vitality. The winter sun scorched them, and a faint green grass scent permeated the air.

The winding and tortuous wind and rain corridor, with green tiles and red pillars, was bright and colorful, set against the grass and trees in the garden, appearing exceptionally elegant and secluded.

Several figures shuttled through the corridor, heading towards the direction of Rongxi Hall.

Walking in the front was the Third Young Lady, Seeing Tan Chun, wearing a pink round-collared robe embroidered with broken plum blossoms. Her waist was slender and graceful, her posture was upright, and her eyebrows were beautiful.

Her hair was like ink, tied into an exquisite bun, decorated with a few pearl flowers, and a red treasure phoenix hairpin was inserted. The halo flickered in the sun, exceptionally elegant and gorgeous.

She was wearing a bright red felt cloak, which rolled with the wind, bright and brilliant, setting her off like delicate jade, intoxicating and beautiful.

Following her was the maid Shi Shu, and behind her was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, wearing a rain-blue dark-patterned soft silk robe, with a delicate appearance and eyes darting around; it was Jia Huan.

He looked at Seeing Tan Chun in front, blinked his eyes, suddenly walked a few steps faster, and got close to Seeing Tan Chun.

He said with a cheeky face, "Third Sister, it's still early. It's rare for me to come to the West Prefecture. I want to stroll around, and it won't be too late to see Third Brother Jia Cong later."

Seeing Tan Chun stopped in her tracks upon hearing this, her bright eyes revealing a sharp edge, making Jia Huan feel terrified in his heart.

She frowned and said, "What kind of idea are you having again? Have you forgotten my warning? If you have any crooked thoughts again, I will tell Father immediately.

Whether Father will beat you to death or not, I don't know, but it is certain that you will never be able to enter the West Prefecture for the rest of your life. If you don't believe me, just keep messing around!"

……

Jia Huan was called out by Seeing Tan Chun, his expression quite embarrassed, and for a moment he dared not speak, all because his sister was too shrewd.

Today Seeing Tan Chun suddenly came to say she would take him to see Jia Cong, to let Third Brother Jia Cong correct his homework, check for omissions, and have more foundation for entering the Imperial College.

Although Jia Huan was a bit nervous, he was still willing to enter the West Prefecture, and he wanted to take the opportunity to see Seeing Cai Xia.

Although he was in love with Seeing Cai Xia, they had grown up together since childhood, and Seeing Cai Xia was beautiful and seductive. As a young man who knew about love, he had done something romantic.

Originally, he did not have the idea of taking her as a concubine, but Seeing Cai Xia being taken into Baoyu's room instead stirred up his spirit, making him miss her even more, as if he were possessed.

Since Seeing Cai Xia entered Baoyu's room, he had not seen her for several months. Even at the New Year's Eve banquet, he was detained at the men's table.

Even when he went to toast in the Flower Hall, he happened to meet Seeing Cai Xia leaving, and his heart was filled with romantic memories, which made him feel a bit heartbroken.

Seeing Tan Chun had also set the rules that he was not allowed to enter the West Prefecture without permission before entering the Imperial College, and Aunt Zhao was watching him closely, so he really could not find any opportunity.

Seeing Seeing Tan Chun so strict and defensive, he could not help but deflate half of his anger.

He said with a bitter face, "Third Sister, I am your own brother. You are too fierce to me, always punishing me."

"You are so attentive to Third Brother Jia Cong, but if you treated me, your own brother, with half that kindness, I would be satisfied."

Seeing Tan Chun glanced at Jia Huan and said, "Can you compare with Third Brother? If you had half of Third Brother's success, I would hold you up every day and ensure you are satisfied."

Jia Huan said unconvinced, "Third Sister, you compare everything with Third Brother. How can you let people live? You are clearly trying to humiliate your own brother."

Seeing Tan Chun said, "Huan'er, you must know what is good for you. I have already said the principles. Die that heart early to avoid harming others and yourself.

Now that the Mongols in the north are raising troops, Third Brother will likely not be idle, and his time at home will be limited.

You should go to the Imperial College after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. He only asked you to go over to talk, mostly out of consideration for Father's face. Don't be sloppy."

……

Jia Huan heard this, and in his heart, he had no bottom about meeting Jia Cong, but his thoughts turned to other places.

He asked, "Third Sister, I heard that the Mongol Tatars are going to attack. Third Brother Jia Cong has outstanding military achievements and has wiped out the Jurchen Tatars. Will he also go on an expedition?

Father said yesterday that Third Brother Jia Cong is a born famous general, with the legacy of the ancestor Rongguo's style. Now that the barbarians are invading the border, the Emperor will surely let him go on an expedition.

Father said that Third Brother Jia Cong will make achievements again, and the Jia family will be glorious again. Every time Father mentions Third Brother Jia Cong, his eyes will shine, which looks a bit scary..."

Seeing Tan Chun's spirit was low, and she said, "I don't know about this, but Father is mostly right. Third Brother is a master of firearms, and he cannot be left out of such a war."

That day in Rongqing Hall, when the sisters were chatting, they mentioned the sudden outbreak of the war in the nine borders, and Xiangyun said that Third Brother would go on an expedition to make achievements again.

Seeing Tan Chun's thoughts coincided with those of Yingchun, Daiyu, and others. Deep in her heart, she did not want Jia Cong to take risks, but she also knew that in such matters, he was mostly unable to control himself.

……

Jia Huan looked forward to it and said, "Third Sister, is reading really good? To be a military general, to stand with a sword, that is called majestic. Who wouldn't be afraid when they see it!"

Seeing Tan Chun glanced at Jia Huan sideways, "With your appearance, loose and sloppy, without a proper posture when standing or sitting, you can't ride a horse or lift a sword, yet you want to stand with a sword."

Jia Huan's face was awkward, and he said, "Third Sister, look at what you are saying. Who is born a military general? It's all practiced by joining the army.

Third Brother also had no strength to truss a chicken when he was young, otherwise he wouldn't have been beaten half to death by the Great Master. His skills were also learned later."

Seeing Tan Chun's big eyes widened, and she scolded, "You dare to ridicule Third Brother? I think you haven't been beaten enough by the ruler. At this moment, you want to be beaten again!"

Jia Huan was startled. If he said other things, even if he was picked out for faults, Third Sister would mostly scold him a few times, and she would be indifferent to him.

Only when it involved Third Brother Jia Cong, if his words were a bit casual, Third Sister would immediately turn against him. If she caught his pain point, she would definitely punish him.

……

He hurriedly said, "Third Sister, I am not ridiculing Third Brother Jia Cong. I just meant that I also admire Third Brother Jia Cong very much, with a clear conscience."

Seeing Tan Chun snorted and said, "Huan'er, I advise you not to be ambitious. Do you think it is easy to join the army and be a general?

Third Brother can charge into battle, can go through life and death, can cut down generals in battle. Can you do these things too?

Don't think that just because Third Brother can do it, others can do it easily. There are many descendants of noble families in the Love Shenjing, but there is only one Third Brother who is the hereditary Count of Weiyuan!

I advise you to be down-to-earth. You have made some progress in reading now, so don't be slack or distracted.

Work hard for a few years, as long as you can enter the school, you will have a foundation for the rest of your life, and you will have support for whatever you do in the future."

Jia Huan was a bit discouraged and said, "I will listen to my sister. If I really enter the school, I will join the army and be a general. That should be fine, right?"

Seeing Tan Chun heard that he was still willing to read, and her heart relaxed. She said, "Take care of your reading and entering the school first, and we will talk about joining the army later."

She thought about it and felt it was wrong, saying, "I think you shouldn't think too much. Aunt only has one son, you. If I encourage you to join the army, Aunt will definitely turn against me..."

Jia Huan refused to give up and said, "Third Sister, Aunt listens to you. If she turns against you, you turn against her, and she will definitely agree."

"You are unfilial, don't think I will mess around with you!"

"Third Sister, I am making progress..."

……

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongxi Hall, three ear rooms in the East Wing.

The sunlight was dazzling and bright, passing through the glass of the south-facing flower-grid windows, bringing warmth and pouring into the room without any obstruction.

The entire ear room was bright, with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones spread on the desk, and Xiao Hong and Yu Chuan were practicing calligraphy at the desk.

They had been carefully taught by Jia Cong for several days, and their brushwork and wrist movements were not as stiff as they were at the beginning, looking quite decent.

The sunlight shone on them, reflecting their graceful figures, which was very pleasing to the eye.

Jia Cong circled around the two, seeing that their brushwork still had flaws, either giving verbal guidance or guiding their hands, rubbing their temples and grinding their ears, which was very romantic.

Yu Chuan was calm and smiling every time, while Xiao Hong could not help but blush, her cleverness cut in half, and she was a bit dizzy.

……

Early this morning, Jia Cong went to the firearm workshop outside the city. For the past few days, the manpower and material resources of the workshop had been concentrated on the construction of porcelain mines and fire bombs.

Compared with the casting of muskets and cannons, the construction process of porcelain mines and fire bombs was simple, and the construction speed was also greatly accelerated.

Because the great battle was imminent, Jia Cong divided all the craftsmen into morning and evening shifts, working day and night, and the number of porcelain mines and fire bombs in stock was increasing day by day, which was quite impressive.

As the construction speed accelerated, the consumption of raw materials increased, and the workshop's stock of materials was about to run out.

Jia Cong went to the Ministry of Revenue office in person to negotiate the requisition of construction materials, because materials such as saltpeter and sulfur were now prohibited goods for civilian transport.

Only the Guangji Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue had the right to requisition and store them. Originally, the negotiation of such material affairs was handled by the Deputy Supervisor Liu Shizhen, the steward Qian Huai, and others.

But now, facing the war against the remnant Mongols, tens of thousands of troops gathered outside the Love Shenjing, the military depot in the nine borders was robbed, and the grain and grass in the nine towns were also stretched.

The task of grain and grass collection by the Ministry of Revenue was extremely heavy, and all officials and clerks in the government office were working day and night to handle this matter, making it difficult for manpower and logistics to find a gap.

Jia Cong was worried that letting Liu Shizhen or Qian Huai come forward would result in insufficient weight in their words, leading to delays in the supply of construction materials, which would definitely affect the subsequent war.

Although Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had not yet planned the strategy for using firearms against the remnant Mongols, this was only a matter of time, perhaps in the last few days.

And Jia Cong, who had pacified the Jurchens in Liaodong, demonstrated his talent in firearm strategy, and there was no second candidate in the court; he would definitely lead troops on an expedition.

According to his strategic intent, fully achieving the storage of various types of firearm construction determined the life and death of using firearms to deal with the enemy.