After leaving the palace, Jia Lian was in a good mood.

In fact, from the moment he decided to return to Beijing, he knew that the difficulty of rescuing Xue Pan did not lie with his enemies or King Zhongshun, but with Emperor Ningkang.

Even for him, saving Xue Pan itself is not difficult at all. What is difficult is the price he is willing to pay for it.

Of course, the weight he had accumulated in Emperor Ning Kang’s heart after so many years of hard work could not be compensated to that worthless person Xue Pan.

Now that Ning Kangdi has successfully passed this test, there will be no more surprises in Xue Pan's case. Tomorrow's court hearing will be just a formality.

It was smoother than expected. It seemed as if he bought Xue Pan's life from Emperor Ning Kang with fifty thousand taels of silver.

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

First of all, fifty thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. Little did they know that one can be called rich if he has a million taels of silver, and 50,000 taels of silver can be called fifty thousand taels of silver!

Many middle- and low-level noble houses may not have so much wealth! How many people in the world can afford it and are willing to spend 50,000 taels to buy a life?

Secondly, even if the Xue family is willing to pay 50,000 taels to buy Xue Pan's life, without him, Jia Lian, the 50,000 taels will not be of any value.

How could a dignified man of the Nine-Five-Year Plan really show mercy to fifty thousand taels of silver outside the law? But it was just the right time.

When I came to the Ministry of Punishment, I vaguely mentioned the meaning of Emperor Ningkang to several officials of the Ministry of Punishment, which immediately surprised these old fritters. Of course, they would not think that Jia Lian dared to falsely convey the holy will. They could only sigh in their hearts for Jia Lian's magical power and take the initiative to have friendship with Jia Lian.

It is said that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. Even these high-ranking officials cannot guarantee that they will always sit firmly on the Diaoyutai. If one day they offend the king for some reason and violate the national law, then having a friend who can speak so well in front of the emperor will naturally give them one more chance to turn the crisis into safety.

Of course Jia Lian would not be insensitive to this. Although he advertises himself as a "martial artist", he is not really a vulgar martial artist.

Jia Lian knew very well that officialdom was about human relationships. Those who were truly powerful and powerful could not be supported by their own official titles alone. Among those in power in the empire, how many people listen to you and sell your face is the real foundation.

Therefore, Jia Lian happily made these close friends and was willing to call him his younger brother.

After some arrogance with the civil servants, Jia Lian went to the Firearms Camp again.

The firearms battalion headquarters is stationed in the imperial city, on the western section of the inner moat. This place was originally an abandoned camp. After Jia Lian obtained it from Emperor Ning Kang, Fei FeiAt a fast speed, it was built into a continuous barracks, which served as the base camp of the firearms camp.

In addition, outside the North City, the Firearms Camp has a larger camp that is about to be completed.

There are more than 5,000 personnel in the firearms battalion. Three thousand of them were musketeers, fifteen hundred were artillerymen, and the remainder were craftsmen and handymen.

Among them, the musketeers and artillerymen were all drawn from the six battalions of the Imperial Guard (today there are seven including the firearms battalion), while the craftsmen and handymen were supplemented by Jia Lian himself. Most of them were recruited from the Shenji Camp.

Compared with the officers and soldiers, what Jia Lian cares more about are the hundreds of creative craftsmen of all kinds. That is the core of the firearms camp!

It can be seen from the personnel composition that the firearms battalion is not just a firearms army, it also plays an important role in the improvement and research and development of firearms. In this era, no one attaches more importance to this than Jia Lian.

On the martial arts field, Jia Lian looked at the neat and powerful three thousand musketeers below, and nodded with satisfaction.

Although the Imperial Guards are known as "rich soldiers", most of them have different physiques and physical qualities.

Standing on the edge of the general platform, Jia Lian gave a simple lecture as usual, and then announced: "Ten days later, I will personally take you to the camp outside the city for a period of Yue's special musketry training. After the end, there will be an army competition. The top three hundred in the competition will receive generous rewards.

Among them, the top ten will be built for them. The exclusive "Marksman" Medal of Honor will be awarded by the Marquis personally in the presence of all the firearms battalion officers and soldiers."

As soon as these words were said, not to mention the three thousand musketeers below, and even the surrounding All the generals looked shocked.

They know better than the big-headed soldiers what kind of person the Marquis is. For Jia Lian to be so solemn and announce something in public, it must not be a child's play.

It is conceivable that in the next month or so, there will definitely be a huge wave of competition throughout the army. Even knowledgeable people can predict that Jia Lian's way of motivating his soldiers may set a precedent for military training in the Wei Dynasty.

Jia Lian’s words are much simpler for the soldiers.

The officers and soldiers who can be transferred to the firearms battalion are more or less not taken seriously in the original army. In a different environment, everyone is starting from the same starting point, and many people naturally hold back the idea of ​​getting ahead.

In the past few months, everyone has been able to see the treatment and configuration of the Firearms Camp. It is obviously not a place of relegation as feared before coming here. On the contrary, he is still a fresh new star.

This not only confirmed that their leader, Zhenyuan Hou Jia Lian, was indeed as well-off as the legendary ones, it also naturally made those who had chosen him secretly happy. They all wanted to follow Jia Lian and become what Jia Lian said in the future. A member of the most combat-effective firearms battalion among the seven battalions of the Guards.

Because of the special nature of the firearms camp, Jia Lian had an unshakable lofty position in the firearms camp.

In addition, soldiers originally value honor, so although they did not know what the new medal of honor was, it was just what Jia Lian said, and they were awarded the title personally by Jia Lian in front of the entire army. The glory made their hearts boil with excitement.

There are ten spots available! They are all big men, and they joined the firearms camp at the same time. Who is willing to admit that he is inferior to others?

Looking at the 3,000 pairs of burning eyes, all the generals on and off the general stage understood that in the next month, these little brats would have to work hard, and they probably wouldn’t have to do anything anymore. How much energy was expended to supervise them? Thinking of this, the generals couldn't help but admire their commander's methods.

For Jia Lian, this was a drastic measure that he had thought of long ago. If you want a newly built army to have considerable combat effectiveness in a short period of time, simple training is not very effective.

Everyone knows that a true army that can fight a hundred battles has a military spirit.

Even Jia Lian cannot create a military spirit for an army in a short period of time. However, he knew that the military soul of an army must be supported by common honor or belief when it was first formed.

What he has to do at this time is to create a common sense of honor among the entire army as quickly as possible.

This is the first army-wide competition since the establishment of the Firearms Battalion. As long as this time is done well, the "marksman" medal of honor will be recognized and the entire army will be eager to win it. The next time there is similar glory, the cohesion of the entire army will be initially formed.

In the central barracks, all the generals of the Firearms Battalion were treated to a big pot meal before Jia Lian went home.

When Jia Lian invited the officers to dinner, it was not for any reason to mingle with the soldiers, but simply to give officers at all levels a chance to get in touch with him so that they could better convey his will to the entire army. .

After all, apart from the group of officers he personally promoted, many of the generals in the Firearms Battalion were not familiar with him. Jia Lian attaches great importance to the thousands of soldiers and horses stationed in the imperial city, and naturally he must firmly control them in his hands.

Returning to Ningrong Street, Jia Lian got off the carriage at the gate of Ningguo Mansion.

When he was going up the stairs, he looked back and said displeasedly: "Just say what you have to say, why are you hesitating?”

He had long noticed that Zhaoer’s expression was different, as if he had something to say to him but was hesitant.

When Zhaoer heard the news from Jia Lian, his eyes He knelt down on the steps with a bang and said to Jia Lian: "Second Master, I want to make a treacherous complaint! "

Jia Lian raised his brows, arrogant? He knew that this kid said it deliberately to make him laugh, so he didn't care. He waved his hand and hummed: "Who do you want to sue? "

"The people this slave wants to sue are the two brothers Zhao Tianliang and Zhao Tiandong! "

"Oh, what happened to them? ”

Jia Lian was a little surprised.

Brothers Zhao Tianliang and Zhao Tiandong were his nanny brothers. Keep them by your side as a long-term follower.

Later, because I felt that these two brothers were really difficult to take on big responsibilities, and they didn’t like staying around, I just found a job that was a bit lucrative and sent them away.

“They...those two bitches are thinking about my family! "

As soon as Zhao'er said this, there was a burst of joy around him. Lai Wang laughed and scolded: "You kid, please pay attention to your words. No matter how you say it, the Zhao brothers are still the second master's milk brothers. How can they not? You kid can insult me ​​at will. "

Zhao'er frowned. He was not afraid of embarrassment and still said loudly: "That's why I complained to the second master! Those two bastards took advantage of me being out with the second master and looking for opportunities to be courteous to my family every day. Later, they even planned to use their status to use force on my family.

If I hadn’t known that my beautiful face would easily attract thieves’ attention, and I had made arrangements, I’d probably have let them succeed!

Second Master, Zhao'er has only been a slave for a few generations. If it hadn't been for the gift from Second Master, this slave would never have been able to marry someone like me even if he had been blessed for another eight lifetimes. Moreover, when I first married my wife, the second master was still the person to marry me. Now that the Zhao brothers have insulted us like this, we still expect the second master to make the decision for me..."

Zhao'er cried. But because this kid has never been serious, even if he cried, it was inexplicably funny.

But Jia Lian quickly stopped smiling. It seems that the Zhao brothers are really restless. , If you don’t hammer it down carefully and teach a lesson, who knows what trouble you will get into next time.

Besides, apart from the fact that Zhao’er is his confidant, Jiang Yun is now also the daughter-in-law in charge of the mansion. , is responsible for taking care of the twelve little actors in Lixiangyuan, as well as the food and daily life of the four beauties he brought back. He is also a person who can be used by him. How can he allow the pickled things to bully him casually?

Therefore He kicked Zhao'er and cursed: "You're a worthless thing. It's useless for you to ask me for such a small thing."Been following me for so many years! "

"Second Master...? "

"As a man, if they bully your wife, if you don't want to kill someone in anger, it's not too much to cripple each of them and one hand, right? Don't say you can't do it. If you can't do it, go back and hug your wife as soon as possible. I won't leave useless people around me. "

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he flicked the hem of his clothes that Zhaoer had grabbed and stepped into Ningguo Mansion.

Where he was, Zhaoer stood up in a daze, his eyes But there was a look of thought. Suddenly he figured it out, and looked around eagerly, at the group of personal guards who followed Jia Lian through life and death with him.

Wang Dazhu slapped Zhao'er on the shoulder. He went up and said with a smile: "Boy Zhao'er, do you want our help? Okay, if you come and beg me, I will help you teach the Zhao brothers a lesson. "

"Get out of here and don't take a pee and look at yourself! Among the guards who followed the Second Master at the beginning, you are the one who cannot be beaten. I beg no one to do the same to you. "

Zhao'er pushed Wang Dazhu's hand away, and then looked at Zhang Yong and Feng Fei eagerly: "Uncle Zhang, Brother Feng, why don't you two condescend to help me? The boy will definitely remember this love and will be rewarded generously in the future..."

"Ha, you boy..."

"Okay. "

Zhao Sheng suddenly waved his hand to stop everyone's laughter, and then said seriously: "This matter is not a trivial matter. In fact, I still have something that I have not reported to the second master..."

Although among the five guards who followed Jia Lian at the beginning, Zhang Yong should be ranked first in terms of qualifications, because he and Jia Lian still have a half-master friendship.

But after getting along with each other for so many years, In fact, everyone recommended Zhao Sheng as the leader. The reason is naturally because Zhao Sheng is a man of calculation and strategy. Even Jia Lian is willing to adopt what he says many times.

Seeing Zhao Sheng’s serious expression, Zhaoer, Feng Fei and others No one noticed that they were getting closer.

They "old people" were in a group of their own. Even Liu Xianglian, an upstart who Jia Lian valued very much, found it difficult to squeeze into their group. Therefore, Liu Xianglian After taking a look at them, he took the horse down to settle down.

Everyone here only listened to Zhao Sheng said: "Brother Zhao Tianliang is really cowardly. I will stay in the house this time. In addition to knowing that they are pestering Jiang In addition to Miss Yun, one time Xiao Zi from Tianxianglou and others went out to buy rouge and gouache. They happened to meet them, and they dared to come forward and tease them. They really didn't know how to live or die. "

The expressions of Feng Fei and others all changed. They all knew that the little girl Zhao Sheng mentioned was the former number one beauty in the south of the Yangtze River, one of the four beauties that their second master brought back from the south of the Yangtze River. First of all, the maid next to Miss Gu Qingyi whose appearance impressed even the imperial concubine.

Jia Lian was right at firstEach of the four beauties brought a close person to the capital. The little Zi girl was brought by Gu Qingyi and is now serving them at Tianxiang Tower.

"Are these two bitches too brave to eat the hearts of bears and leopards?"

"Humph. The second master is a person who is bound to achieve great things, so keep these two people. , relying on the relationship with the second master as brothers, and not knowing how to restrain themselves, it will be a disaster sooner or later."

"Brother Sheng is right, in my opinion, the second master also dislikes seeing them, so now Why not take the opportunity to destroy them all, and prevent them from causing trouble again!"

　"That makes sense."

　"I agree."

　　“…”