The First Family of the Red Mansion

Chapter 3 arrived perfectly fine, but it's not coming!

"Daishan, go to the Lantian camp to make preparations after spring begins."

After the carriage slowly caught up with Liu Hu, who was traveling at a brisk pace, the emperor in the carriage suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, have you made your decision?"

Jia Daishan suddenly paused, his expression becoming very serious.

"Yes!" The emperor let out a long sigh, his face solemn.

"My father has led six expeditions to the northern steppes, which have eliminated the threat from the Tumed Mongols in southern Mongolia. However, the Tatars in northern Mongolia and eastern steppes, as well as the main force of the Oirats in western Mongolia, still exist."

"Furthermore, decades ago they plundered a large number of craftsmen and technical data from the Central Plains. Now they are well-armed and well-equipped. If we do not completely defeat them now, they will definitely become a major hidden danger to our dynasty in the future."

Previously, the Tumed tribe was just a medium-sized Mongol tribe, but after the Gengxu Incident, they plundered nearly a million people and a huge amount of wealth, and suddenly became one of the three major tribes on the grasslands, alongside the Oirat Tatars. Later, they also occupied the more fertile grasslands of southern Mongolia.

Because it borders the Great Zhou to the north and south, it naturally became the Great Zhou's primary target for attack.

He has now been on the throne for more than a decade. During these years, he has worked diligently to improve the lives of the people and has made up for the deficit caused by the six northern expeditions during the reign of Emperor Taizong. Moreover, he has accumulated enough provisions to launch a large-scale northern expedition.

In order to achieve a complete victory and eliminate the threat from the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he decided to mobilize the entire nation's resources this time.

Therefore, the Lantian Camp, which was responsible for the main force in the early offensive against the Oirat Mongols and the opening up of the Western Regions, and for blocking the westward escape route of the Mongols, was of paramount importance.

"What do you think of the memorial from the Prince of Dongping in Liaodong?" Although this emperor was a wise ruler, his thinking was too unconventional. He suddenly changed the subject, and even the usually taciturn Jia Daishan couldn't help but twitch his lips.

After thinking for a while, Jia Daishan suddenly realized: "Oh! Your Majesty, you're referring to the Jianzhou Jurchens?"

Although this spacetime has shifted, people and events that are closer to the shift line have also entered this spacetime along with the shift.

Although Liaodong was ruled by the Mongol Tatars for a period of time several decades ago, it was recovered during the Northern Expedition of Emperor Taizu as he rebuilt China.

So, unsurprisingly, the Jianzhou Jurchen Lao Nu eventually stepped onto the historical stage.

However, it is still different from the original history. The martial virtue of the Great Zhou Dynasty is much more abundant than that of the late Ming Dynasty in the original timeline.

Lao Nu only took advantage of the fact that the Great Zhou was busy with its northern expedition against the Mongols during the reign of Emperor Taizong, and secretly spent more than ten years unifying the Jianzhou Jurchens.

After the current emperor ascended the throne and began to recuperate, the old servant immediately became well-behaved and treated the Prince of Dongping and the General of Liaodong with utmost respect.

The matter that the Prince of Dongping reported some time ago was about this old servant's attempt to become the commander of the Jianzhou Guard.

Normally, a commander of a garrison would be given a position, but the Jianzhou Garrison's position was too special.

Once Lao Nu, who had already unified the Jianzhou Jurchens, became the commander of the Jianzhou Guard, he could completely sever the connection between the Haixi Jurchens, Donghai Jurchens, and Heihe Jurchens in the north and the imperial court.

If he were to take advantage of the imperial court's northern expedition to unify these Jurchen tribes, he would become another threat to the Great Zhou.

"right!"

The Emperor was indeed somewhat hesitant about this. Normally, he would simply reject it outright, but now the Northern Expedition after the Autumn Festival was the most important matter for the court, and a direct rejection might affect the stability of Liaodong.

After all, the Liaodong army was tasked with blockading eastern Mongolia and protecting its vassal state, Korea, in the planned Northern Expedition.

After losing the fertile land of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese pirates extended their clutches to the Korean Peninsula, causing immense suffering to the Korean people, who cried out and begged the Great Zhou Dynasty to help them destroy the Japanese pirates.

The main military objective of the Great Zhou Dynasty is still the Northern Mongols, and they are simply using the Liaodong Army to provide support.

The Jurchen tribes were not very peaceful either, and from time to time, there were incidents of several or a dozen people raiding Liaodong.

If the old man can keep the Jurchens in line, the Liaodong army can devote more resources to dealing with the Northern Mongols.

"I think it's inappropriate. Although I've never met the old man, his ability to seize the opportunity of Emperor Taizong's northern expedition to unify the Jianzhou Jurchens in one fell swoop is enough to show that he is a cunning and fierce hero. If we give him the opportunity, it won't be long before he becomes a major threat to the Great Zhou."

"Moreover, I heard that he had more than a dozen sons, many of whom were valiant warriors. In his battle to unify the Jianzhou Jurchens, those sons also performed quite well."

"In that case, they will have several decades to expand, which will surely become a major problem later."

Upon hearing this, the emperor, sitting in the carriage, said with a proud expression, "Our crown prince is no less impressive!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Jia Daishan said respectfully, though he was speechless.

"Haha!" A hearty laugh echoed from inside the carriage.

Although the carriage was about twenty meters away from Liu Hu, the two did not deliberately keep their voices down during their conversation. In addition, Liu Hu had already merged the souls of two people, making his spirit relatively strong. Moreover, he also had the nourishment of lapis lazuli for his body and soul.

This made Liu Hu's physical condition only slightly better than that of an ordinary person, but his five senses were extremely sharp, and he could clearly hear the conversation between the two.

Listening to their conversation, Liu Hu felt utterly disappointed.

"You time-traveled too early!"

If that rickshaw driver is Jia Daishan, then it's still a long way from the start of the story.

At this time, the whereabouts of the Twelve Beauties were probably still unknown.

After all, most sources indicate that the Twelve Beauties were no more than thirty years old when Yuan Chun visited her family. The ages of the characters in the original novel are quite inconsistent, making it impossible to determine their ages.

"Wait a minute, something's not right. There seems to be someone right next to me whose age is specified in the original story."

Then, Granny Liu's figure slowly overlapped with that of her mother, Liu.

"Once everything was sorted out, I said I'd met my own mother before, and it turned out to be Granny Liu!"

When Granny Liu first entered the Grand View Garden, she clearly stated that she was 75 years old at the time, while Qiao Jie'er had just been born.

When the Jia family was raided, Qiao Jie was six or seven years old, and her mother was over eighty. Her mother is now 38 years old, which means that there are still more than 40 years until the Jia family was raided.

As for why he was certain that his mother was Granny Liu, the reason was that his childhood friend Wang Hou'er had a two-year-old brother, Wang Gou'er. The original text also mentioned that Wang Gou'er was Granny Liu's son-in-law, Ban'er's father, and a relative of the Wang family.

Because he was preoccupied with something, Liu Hu unconsciously slowed down, and the carriage behind him picked up speed after following for a while.

As the emperor passed by Liu Hu, he smiled and nodded at him from inside the carriage.

Liu Hu smiled awkwardly, feeling a bit uneasy after learning the identities of the two people.

Don't tell me that modern time travelers should fight against heaven, earth, and even the air. Try encountering someone of this caliber on the street yourself, and you'd be lucky to face them calmly.

"Kid, you overheard our conversation just now?"

Suddenly, Jia Daishan stopped the car and stared at Liu Hu, asking seriously.

"Huh?" The emperor, who was about to lower the carriage curtain, stopped and looked at Liu Hu with curiosity after hearing Jia Daishan's words.

"This humble citizen, Liu Hu of Wangjiazhuang, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

He immediately stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Duke Rong!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Hu immediately knelt down and paid his respects. After all, the two had just been discussing matters of national importance, which were classified as secrets. They hadn't believed that someone could hear their conversation from twenty paces away.

If Liu Hu dared to conceal anything at this moment, he would probably be thrown into the imperial prison to be silenced, and his mother and sister would also be implicated. So he quickly confessed and explained his background.

"Oh? No need!"

Seeing that Liu Hu had admitted it and that his bow was reasonable and justified, the emperor became even more curious about Liu Hu.

"Did you really hear our conversation just now?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not lie; I did indeed hear it."

Denying it is useless. In matters of national importance, even the slightest suspicion of a leak could lead to being killed to silence the witness. It's better to just admit it directly to avoid being accused of deceiving the emperor.

Jia Daishan waved to a mounted guard not far behind him and shouted sternly, "Investigate!"

"yes!"

After receiving the order, the guards immediately led several riders back along the official road.

"Kid, get in the car and let's talk!"

After the group that had been gathering information about Liu Hu left, the emperor beckoned to Liu Hu!

"This humble subject dares not!"

Liu Hu quickly knelt down to refuse, saying that if he didn't know, it would be fine; ignorance is no excuse.

But now that they know the emperor's identity, they still dare to ride in the same carriage as him? They don't want their heads!

Didn't you see that even Jia Daishan, the Duke of Rongguo, whom the emperor trusted most, could only drive a carriage?

"Can you ride a horse?"

Seeing the emperor behaving irrationally, Jia Daishan asked directly.

"Won't!"

In both my lives, I've only ridden bicycles and electric scooters; I've hardly ever seen a real horse, so of course I wouldn't.

"Alright, since we can't let you leave now anyway, you can sit with Duke Rong in the outer chariot seat. I have something to ask you."

Before Liu Hu could refuse again, Jia Daishan had already pulled Liu Hu to sit in the charioteer's seat.

Jia Daishan sat on the left, driving the carriage, while Liu Hu could only obediently sit on the right.

"Important people really are a collection of troubles. They arrived fine, but now there's no going back!"

"Liu Hu!" Just as Liu Hu was secretly cursing, the emperor's voice came from inside the carriage.

"Yes!" Although he was annoyed, he could only reply respectfully.

"Have you been to school?"

"I attended a private school for two years!"

"So what are you doing now?"

"We used to have 30 mu of land, but a while ago we went into the mountains and encountered a big tiger. My father and my older brother died, and I was also injured."

"My mother had just given birth to my younger sister, and we had no choice but to sell twenty acres of land..."

The two chatted across the carriage, with Liu Hu saying whatever came to mind, covering everything except for lapis lazuli.

"You don't look very strong, but you have good feet. You walked from your house to here in less than half an hour." The emperor finally asked the question he was concerned about.

"I worked on the farm with my family for several years. During the off-season, I would go into the mountains with my dad and my older brother. I got used to it after a while."

Liu Hu replied frankly.

"Don't let my thin appearance fool you, I'm full of strength. If I can eat my fill, my strength will increase even more."

"Oh?" The emperor was even more curious, and even Jia Daishan turned his head to look at him.

"How many kilograms of stones can you lift?"

"I weigh over 100 pounds. I haven't tried it exactly, but I used to not have enough to eat. If I take care of myself, my strength will increase."

Upon hearing Liu Hu's words, Jia Daishan and the emperor lost interest: a pound over 100 jin (approximately 50 kg) wouldn't even qualify for the military examination.

"I'm only fifteen years old now, I'm still growing, and I used to not have enough to eat."

As they chatted, Liu Hu forgot his nervousness. He had finally managed to promote himself in front of the Emperor and the commander of the battalion, so how could he just let it go?

"If I can be fed and raised for two months, my Dushi will easily weigh three to five hundred jin."

"Oh? Do you know that failing to do so would be a crime of deceiving the emperor!"

"I know!" Liu Hu said firmly.

"Alright, we'll talk about that later. Now tell me, how did you hear us talking just now?" At this moment, both Jia Daishan and the emperor were staring intently at Liu Hu.

None of the previous issues matter; this is the most crucial one.

After all, there is a difference in their status. Although they did not deliberately lower their voices when they spoke, their voices were still half the normal volume.

Good heavens, this kid can hear it clearly even from twenty steps away. Isn't this the Innate Embroidered Guard and the Night-Stealing Holy Body?

"I was born with excellent hearing and eyesight!" Liu Hu said sincerely.

Upon hearing Liu Hu's answer, both Jia Daishan and the emperor were helpless.

During the rest of the journey, the emperor and Jia Daishan chatted casually. Through their conversation, it was learned that Jia She and Jia Zheng were only just over the age of 18, not even half-grown boys. As for Lin Daiyu's mother, Jia Min, she was only two or three years old at the time.

As for Ningguo Mansion, although Jia Daihua is already the commander of the capital garrison and is more than ten years older than Jia Daishan, he always stayed in Shenjing to assist the crown prince, who is now the emperor, in handling military affairs when Emperor Taizong went on his northern expedition. However, due to insufficient military merit, he is still only a first-class general.

It's too late to give it a shot now, since we're already past the age of knowing our destiny, and we can't fight anymore even if we wanted to.

Perhaps because both the Ning and Rong families came from military backgrounds, both families used corporal punishment to educate their children, resorting to beatings for the slightest dissatisfaction.

Seeing Jia Daishan's matter-of-fact attitude, Liu Hu finally realized who Jia Zheng, Jia She, and Jia Zhen inherited their behavior of beating their sons to death from.

Even Jia Zheng, who is known as a scholar, can wield a stick with great force when beating Jia Baoyu, just like the man next to Liu Hu.

"Da da da..."

As the sound of horses' hooves approached, Jia Daishan and Liu Hu, who were looking on with curiosity, turned around and found that it was the group of people who had gone to investigate Liu Hu.

Besides the few people, Wang Hou was also brought along.

"Kitty!"

Upon seeing Liu Hu, Wang Hou, who had been a little nervous, immediately relaxed and waved to Liu Hu from afar.

Before the horse had even come to a complete stop, Wang Hou slid off the horse in a flash.

Liu Hu also jumped out of the car and hurriedly ran over.

"Cat, what's going on? Good heavens, a bunch of seven or eight burly men on horseback have stormed into the village, asking everyone they meet about you."

"But they were talking about Liu Hu. Nobody in the village knew him. I happened to be nearby, and before I could figure out what was going on, they captured me."

Meanwhile, the burly men were reporting to Jia Daishan, so Liu Hu quietly said to Wang Hou, "Brother Hou, do you see that important person over there?"

"Hmm!" Wang Hou'er glanced at Jia Daishan and nodded cautiously.

"That's the owner of the manor upstream from our village, the Duke of Rong!" Liu Hu said in a very serious tone.

"what……"

"Waaah..."

Wang Hou'er was so surprised he wanted to scream, but Liu Hu quickly covered his mouth.