Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 185 Why is it you?

As soon as the Huang family members stepped onto the deck, they saw two people standing at the bow. One of them was Captain Zhang, whom he was familiar with, while the other middle-aged man looked very unfamiliar, but his aura was quite extraordinary, which made people feel a sense of respect for him.

Cangzhou reveres martial arts, and the people also respect warriors.

After paying respect to both of them, the visitor said, "I am Huang Li, and I am honored to meet Captain Zhang. Captain Zhang has returned from the capital and has made his army even more strict. When I saw them just now, I thought they were the elite troops in the Beijing camp."

The praise caused Zhang Changhe to cough repeatedly.

Huang Li was confused and asked with concern, "Captain Zhang, what are you doing?"

Zhang Changhe glanced at Shi Ding and saw that he looked normal. He waved his hand and said, "It's cold on the boat. I feel uncomfortable."

Huang Li nodded and said, "Captain Zhang, please take care of yourself. Everyone is waiting for Captain Zhang to come back. Only when Captain Zhang comes back, can things on the river be guaranteed."

Turning his head to look at the middle-aged man next to him, Huang Li said, "This must be the new thug that Captain Zhang found in the capital. He looks more impressive than Black Dragon. With this help, I think Captain Zhang will be a big shot on the river, and it won't be long before he gets rich."

Seeing that this person was getting more and more outrageous, and wanted him to be torn into pieces, Zhang Changhe interrupted him and said, "Don't lie. I don't know what the Huang family master wants to do today?"

Huang Li smiled and said, "This is Captain Zhang's boat. Who would dare to go there if they heard about it? To be honest, my master sent me here to discuss important matters with Captain Zhang."

Zhang Changhe suddenly felt something was wrong and was about to find an excuse to end the conversation, but unexpectedly, Shi Ding beside him clasped his fists and saluted, saying in a serious manner: "Little brother, please tell me. If you have any request, my master will certainly do his best to help you."

Huang Li nodded repeatedly, thinking: "Captain Zhang is indeed a man who participated in the battle of the capital. He is very different from before when he returned to Cangzhou. He is still so cautious in front of his confidants. It is true that going to the capital to see the big scene is really a training for him."

Huang Li collected his thoughts and continued, "My master is fighting with the new imperial envoy in the city. Now is the time to be inseparable. Success or failure depends on grain. I hope Captain Zhang can pay more attention to the grain ships coming and going."

As he spoke, Huang Li made a knife-cutting gesture with his hand.

Zhang Changhe almost vomited blood after watching this.

"Where did this beast come from? He won't stop until he kills me!"

Even if he had said this in his heart many times, Zhang Changhe still had to put on a straight face and said, "What do you mean?"

Huang Li looked surprised, "Captain Zhang, this is something we have already agreed on. Are you forgetful?"

Shi Ding, who was standing by, tried to smooth things over, saying, "Little brother, you are talking about intercepting the grain ship, right? Don't worry, my master is well connected and has his own ways, so it is not convenient to tell you the details."

Huang Li suddenly realized and said quickly, "That's right. If it weren't for this hero's advice, I would still be in the dark and didn't understand Captain Zhang's hidden meaning. Captain Zhang, I'm sorry for the offense. I'll go back now."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Captain Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked closely, he saw that the man turned back.

"However, there is no need to rob the grain ship, just delay it for a while. The imperial envoy boasted in the city that grain will be delivered within two days. If there is no grain after two days, there will be riots in the city. By then, he will have to cooperate with my Huang family."

"Don't worry Captain Zhang, the tribute to my Huang family will be multiplied several times this time."

How could Zhang Changhe feel at ease? If Shi Ding hadn't been around, he would have wanted to kill him to silence him.

The image that was originally quite positive cannot be washed away no matter how hard you try.

The Huang family members were gone, and Zhang Changhe felt that his life was about to end.

The boss of the ship in the eyes of the Huang family, after he left the ship, immediately knelt on the deck and apologized to the middle-aged man, "My Lord, he slandered me everywhere. It is true that I took their money, but how could I have the courage to do such a treasonous thing with them."

"I have elderly parents and young children at home, how dare I do such a stupid thing as removing my name from the household registration."

Shi Ding looked at him coldly and immediately lifted him up from the deck.

Zhang Changhe was shocked, thinking that Shi Ding was going to judge him by military law on the boat, and he shouted quickly, "It's unfair, it's unfair."

Shi Ding slapped Zhang Changhe again, causing him to shut up instantly. Following the direction of Shi Ding's finger, he saw the Huang family returning.

"Captain Zhang, there is one thing I forgot to ask. This ship has such a deep draft, what is it carrying?"

It's not enough to embarrass himself once, but he has to whip himself repeatedly.

Zhang Changhe covered his face with his hands, and a rage rose in his heart. "What does the depth of the boat have to do with you?"

Huang Li was frightened and took a few steps back, not knowing why Captain Zhang's expression changed.

Since he didn't know the reason, he could only attribute it to his previous offense. Huang Li bowed again and said, "Don't worry, Captain Zhang. I have no other intentions. If there is any cargo in the ship, my Huang family can help sell it."

Shi Ding at the side spoke again, "The bodies of the brothers who died in Cangzhou before the war are on the boat. This trip is to take their souls back to their hometown. If it is convenient for the Huang family, you can prepare some funeral items. If you can open a large tomb outside the city, it will be even better."

In order to satisfy Zhang Changhe, Huang Li hurriedly responded: "Don't worry, Captain. I will report back to the master immediately and ensure that Captain Zhang can use it after entering the city." "I will not bother you any more. Goodbye."

After the person left, Zhang Changhe's heart was completely dead.

"My Lord, you are very insightful. I have been wrongly accused."

Shi Ding looked at Zhang Changhe, who was kneeling at his feet, with disdain and said calmly, "I won't punish you. Whether you are guilty or not, you should wait for the Grand Commander to decide."

……

Cangzhou City, the back hall of the government office,

Originally Yue Ling was still worrying about how to recruit talents as quickly as possible, but he didn't expect that the grain merchants would come to cause trouble for him today, which allowed him to take advantage of it and solve the problem.

Jia Yun admired his master more and more. What he thought was a very difficult matter turned out to be a good thing under his master's handling.

At this moment, Jia Yun placed a stool beside Yue Ling in the classroom, bound the list under the desk, and handed it over. At the same time, he couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect there would be such a way. The master turned the world around with his own strength, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise."

Yue Ling sighed and said, "It's my reputation that kept the people from losing their confidence. After all, we have to wait for the grain to arrive before we can break the deadlock. We can't let the people down."

Jia Yun nodded, flipped through another list, and continued, "Cangzhou values ​​martial arts, and there are many people who practice martial arts. Many of them fill in that they are good at martial arts, and also write which martial arts they practice. There are Bajiquan, Pi Guaquan, Liuhequan, Taizu Changquan and many other kinds of martial arts. If they are reorganized, they can quickly raise a standing army of tens of thousands of people. It's a bit exaggerated."

Yue Ling explained, "Of course we can't accept just anyone to join the army. We first feed them a good meal, then have them compete in martial arts to see if they are really good at martial arts. Only those who pass the test will be accepted. Those who fail will have to do other odd jobs."

"There are some patrol soldiers in the city now, so we'll train some of them to maintain order in the city. The rest will be divided into two parts. One team will maintain order in the victims' homes outside the city and inspect the houses. The weather is getting hotter, so we have to be careful with fire. The other team will repair the canals, dredge the river silt, and cultivate the land for garrison troops."

"Even so, the manpower may not be enough. We still need a salt soldier who can manage the salt mines. We have to wait for a reply from Yangzhou before making any arrangements."

After being influenced by Yue Ling for a long time, Jia Yun also thought that the city was thriving and a smile appeared on his face.

"By the way, Xue Jiafeng opened a branch store in the city this afternoon. It's on the street in front of the government office. It used to be the downtown area of ​​Cangzhou Prefecture, so the location is pretty good."

"But because it's a pawnshop, it seems to have a bad reputation. Several groups of people went there to cause trouble in the afternoon, and the patrolling soldiers went to disperse them several times."

Yue Ling sighed again and said, "Pawnshops and money houses only make money in years of disaster. When the people live and work in peace and contentment, there is nothing to make. How can you have a good reputation by taking advantage of the people? It would be better if Miss Xue could feel the problem more clearly."

"This will make her determined to do some serious business."

Jia Yun asked, "Then the master also let the Xue family open a pawnshop in the city. Isn't this deliberately ruining his own reputation?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, "Of course this is not prepared for the common people. Someone will need it. The reputation of the Xue family will also improve."

Hearing this, Jia Yun seemed to understand something and stopped talking, continuing to work on the task at hand.

The two were busy in the classroom. As night fell, Yue Ling had almost dealt with everything, and his mind became a little distracted.

From time to time, I looked up at the door, wondering if there would be a familiar figure coming into the hall again.

He didn't know why Lin Daiyu suddenly kept her distance from him. Could it be that Lin Daiyu had grown up and understood the differences between men and women?

This made Yue Ling feel a little uncomfortable. After all, this was the girl he raised, how could he bear to let her become distant from him?
Lin Daiyu lived with Lin Ruhai for only six years, but she was almost by his side for half that time.

"Sister Lin is such a well-behaved and sensible cabbage. If she really fell into the hands of some pig, not only would Lord Lin feel bad, but I would also be a little bit disgusted to see it."

Thinking of this, Yue Ling couldn't help but think of Lin Daiyu wearing a phoenix crown and a bridal robe.

After a moment, Yue Ling hurriedly shook his head again.

"Sister Lin is still young. If she wants to get married, she must be fourteen years old at the most. I am worrying too early."

I looked outside the door again and saw it was pushed open, as if someone was walking in.

Yue Ling looked over with joy. Jia Yun also stood up to leave, but saw a middle-aged man striding into the room.

Shi Ding bowed and saluted, "I am Shi Ding, the humble general, and I pay my respects to the Grand Commander."

"why you?"

"Isn't it me? Is there someone else who delivered food to the Grand Commander?"

(End of this chapter)