The First Family of the Red Mansion

Chapter 47 Wang Gongchang

"Your Highness!"

In the bright candlelight, Liu Qingquan stood bowing before a young man.

The flickering candlelight made the young man sitting behind the table look somewhat sinister.

But this perfectly reflects the man's mood at that moment.

Not long ago, he was the revered second son of the emperor, the rightful heir to the throne.

He only needs to quietly hide behind the Crown Prince and wait for the right opportunity, occasionally giving him a push from the shadows. It's not impossible for him to ascend to that position.

Unfortunately, everything is over now. Who could have imagined that his local power, the Jiangnan merchants and the Donglin Party, would dare to collude with foreign tribes to rebel and overthrow the Great Zhou?

He wanted to compete for that position, but with the fall of the Great Zhou Dynasty, one can only imagine what fate awaited him as a direct descendant of the royal family.

At that time, he hated those staff members who flattered him in the past, and even his own queen found them extremely annoying.

Although the crown prince saved face at the time, if possible, he would have preferred to have his queen deposed by the ministers himself.

As long as his princess was still a member of the Donglin Party, he had no chance of ascending to that position.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty followed the system of primogeniture, who says that one cannot become the eldest son of the legitimate wife?

Pity……

I underestimated the Crown Prince's methods. His previous move not only won the Emperor's favor and secured the loyalty of the remaining maritime merchants, but also completely destroyed my last hope.

Thinking of this, a ruthless glint flashed in Prince Zhongxin's eyes.

"How was the newly appointed commander today?"

"Your Highness, the newly appointed commander, though from a poor background, is extremely difficult to deal with. He used the bait we threw out to win people's hearts."

"Hmph!" Prince Zhongxin snorted coldly, "Since he refuses to listen to reason and is forced to drink the penalty cup, then he cannot be allowed to live."

"The western expeditionary force is now almost across the Hexi Corridor. This is our only chance before the Lantian camp returns."

"Once the Lantian camp returns, Father will have two large camps with hundreds of thousands of elite troops under his command."

"Although the Lantian camp is in Guanzhong, if there is any disturbance in Shenjing, the Lantian cavalry can arrive within two days, and then we will have no chance at all."

"At that time, we will only be able to barely survive, watching the Crown Prince and his people forever oppress us."

"And your artillery battalion is our only chance!"

Upon hearing Prince Zhongxin's words, Liu Qingquan's eyes revealed intense hatred and murderous intent.

He was the son of a maidservant born from a one-night stand in the Liguo Duke's mansion. Given his status, he naturally wouldn't have any improper thoughts about the Liguo Duke's mansion. He only thought about redeeming his mother after he grew up, and that the two of them could support each other and live on.

Even this small glimmer of hope became a luxury in the rigidly hierarchical Duke of Li's mansion.

His own mother died at the hands of that vicious woman he called "Mother" all the time, and he could only watch helplessly as his own mother was beaten to death right before his eyes.

He cried, shouted, begged, and made a scene, but in the end, he almost followed his mother in death.

Afterwards, the Duke of Li's mansion remained the same, seemingly unchanged. The only difference was that the woman who loved him was gone.

From that moment on, he was filled with hatred for the entire Duke of Li's mansion.

Fortunately, his so-called elder brother inherited the Duke of Li's mansion and, in order to get rid of him, found him a job in the firearms camp.

From then on, relying on his cautiousness and keen observation skills since childhood, he gradually rose to become the deputy commander of the firearms battalion.

At first, he only thought about making some money to secretly build a grave for his mother, but when he saw the ambitious Prince Zhongxin, a plan to take revenge on the Duke of Liguo's mansion quietly formed in his mind.

With the plan succeeding, and relying on his merit in following the emperor, how could he not be able to avenge himself?

Even if the plan fails, he can drag the entire Duke of Li's mansion down with him.

The ambitious but incompetent Prince Zhongxin did not disappoint Liu Qingquan, and was soon driven to a dead end.

Those who previously supported him are either dead or have fled, yet he still hasn't given up and wants to emulate Emperor Taizong of Tang in a final desperate attempt.

After hearing his plan, Liu Qingquan was not afraid at all; on the contrary, he was very excited.

"We've finally come this far! Mother, don't worry, I will definitely make that wicked woman go down and apologize to you."

.........

"hiss……!"

On his second day in office, Hu Cunmeng stayed in the military camp because he had not yet purchased a house in Shenjing.

He drank a bit too much last night, and when he woke up, his head was throbbing, and he couldn't help but gasp for breath.

"woke up?"

Liu Hu entered the tent and saw Hu Cunmeng's pale face, which gave him a headache.

Because of the cheating mechanism, Liu Hu didn't get drunk last night, even though he looked like he drank quite a bit.

On the contrary, Hu Cunmeng, who usually seemed very reliable, kept muttering that if he drank less, Liu Hu would lose more, and it seemed that he was still worried about the gold.

"General!"

Upon seeing Liu Hu, Hu Cunmeng immediately came to his senses.

"Did you notice anything unusual last night?"

Liu Hu had his personal guards stand outside the door and asked in a low voice.

"Something unusual?" Hu Cunmeng picked up the hot tea on the table, took a sip to clear his mind, and thought for a while.

"Hiss..." He then gasped, saying uncertainly, "Come to think of it, there really is."

"There was a soldier who looked different from the other soldiers. When faced with good wine and meat, the other soldiers ate and drank to their hearts' content, but that soldier, although he looked no different from the other soldiers, was very restrained when faced with wine and meat."

When I walked over to them, the commander and his officer seemed to be a little wary of me.

"Have you found out anything about that commander's background?"

After hearing what Hu Cunmeng said, Liu Hu also became interested in that chiliarch.

That commander seems to have some skill in managing his troops in a place like the Beijing Garrison's Firearms Battalion!

"I heard that the commander was promoted from the Jiangnan Garrison for his merits, and he is one of the few military officers in the Firearms Battalion who does not belong to the founding lineage."

Hu Cunmeng thought for a while before speaking with some uncertainty.

"Alright, the Ministry of War's documents should be delivered today. I'll leave this place to you then. Keep an eye on those military officers from the founding lineage. Once things are settled at Wanggongchang, I'll have some free time to clean up the firearms battalion."

"Keep an eye on which of these soldiers are still usable, and leave me a list later."

"yes!"

Before noon, the imperial edict appointing Hu Cunmeng was issued, just as Liu Hu and the others had predicted. Hu Cunmeng was appointed as the deputy commander of the firearms battalion, in charge of all the artillery in the firearms battalion.

After Liu Hu left him with a centurion as his personal guard, he went into the palace.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"No need!"

Emperor Anping casually waved his hand: "How's it going? Is everything going smoothly with the firearms battalion?"

"I am ashamed!"

Liu Hu didn't believe that Emperor Anping was unaware of the true situation of the firearms battalion, so he could only say with a guilty expression.

"Alas!" Emperor Anping sighed, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "In the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, who could have imagined that firearms would have such great power?"

"So I didn't pay much attention to the firearms battalion, which led to its current situation, and that's why I sent you there."

"You are still young, unlike other veterans who have a prejudice against firearms."

"That is precisely why it is easier to train a unique firearms army."

"Without presenting any solid evidence, how easy is it to change the court officials' views on firearms?"

Upon hearing Emperor Anping's words, Liu Hu understood that the Beijing Garrison's Firearms Battalion was probably a test that Emperor Anping had given him.

"The Beijing Garrison's firearms battalion is now so corrupt that you can do whatever you want without worry. I will take full responsibility for everything."

Emperor Anping was not afraid that Liu Hu would dismantle and rebuild the Beijing Garrison's firearms battalion; in fact, he was quite happy to see this happen.

As for the attitude of the founding lineage, as long as he doesn't issue an edict, who would dare to lay a finger on Liu Hu, the commander of the firearms battalion?

"Your Majesty, I thank you!"

On the surface, Liu Hu was extremely grateful, but in his heart he thought, "Thank you so much. I'll probably have to wear a helmet when I go out from now on. I'm really afraid someone will hit me on the head with a stick."

Although those people wouldn't dare do anything to me openly, they certainly wouldn't hesitate to use underhanded tactics.

After all, if the firearms battalion is to be dismantled and rebuilt, it will affect the interests of many people.

Oh, and there's another, even more troublesome one: Wang Gong Factory.

Wang Gong Factory was responsible for producing firearms for all the armies in the northern part of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which involved even greater interests.

The eunuchs, the guards in various northern garrisons, and even the mines in various regions all received at least a million taels of silver in benefits each year.

If Liu Hu can produce more advanced firearms, the imperial court will pay more attention to Wang Gongchang. How will these people then profit from it?

"No, from now on, I must take all my personal guards with me when I go out, and I must also ensure the safety of my home."

Thinking that all sorts of open and covert attacks from the court were aimed at him, Liu Hu was indeed afraid.

Wanggongchang was not far from the palace, only a few kilometers away. Liu Hu followed Dai Quan and discovered that the guards here were actually a commander of the Beijing Garrison's Firearms Battalion.

"The firearms coming out of here must first be inspected by the Beijing Garrison Firearms Battalion."

"If we don't take good care of the kids here, we won't be able to send out a single musket."

As he said this, Dai Quan glanced at Liu Hu, seemingly implying something was going on in his words!

"Hehe, my subordinate is ignorant and has put the Grand Chancellor in a difficult position."

Liu Hu could only laugh it off. He understood Dai Quan's meaning: if anything was discovered at Wanggongchang later, he, as the commander of the firearms battalion, would also be implicated.

Upon seeing Liu Hu and his group, the firearms battalion soldiers guarding the area checked their waist tags and warrants before letting them pass.

"At least they did their job properly; they didn't let us in directly."

Liu Hu asked what seemed like a casual question, but unexpectedly, he was met with Dai Quan's sarcastic remark: "Hmph! Dutiful?"

"If we encounter people coming from various places to collect firearms, we'd skin them alive before letting them in, wouldn't we?"

Dai Quan, as expected of the chief eunuch in charge of the Eastern Depot, is fully aware of the situation here.

"Could it be that His Majesty didn't deal with it before?" Liu Hu couldn't help but wonder. If Dai Quan knew about these things, then there was no reason why Emperor Anping wouldn't know.

If that's the case, why are these people allowed to act so recklessly?

"As long as supplies to various places can be guaranteed, His Majesty will turn a blind eye to this."

"They also know their limits; at most they'll make things difficult for the troops, but they wouldn't dare to actually let the army run out of ammunition."

"Besides, what was the situation with the firearms battalion before?"

"In a real war, only artillery is of some use. Matchlock guns are not as effective as bows and arrows. In peacetime, musketeers use crossbows more often."

Upon hearing Dai Quan's explanation, Liu Hu said nothing, but simply cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

He finally understood that, in the eyes of the entire court of the Great Zhou, the previous firearms battalion was an insignificant entity.

No matter how much trouble they cause, it won't affect the overall situation of the court. It's better to leave this piece of land for those spoiled brats of the military merits to cause trouble. At least it will keep them from harming the people.

"No wonder there was no opposition from the court officials after I became the commander of the Beijing Garrison's firearms battalion. So they wanted me to rot here!"

If Liu Hu hadn't come from the future and known that firearms were the future trend, he probably would have quit long ago!

At the same time, Liu Hu had to admire Emperor Anping's skill. After realizing the importance of firearms, before the officials could react, Emperor Anping allowed Liu Hu to take over the Jingying Firearms Battalion, which had the most firearms soldiers in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Even if they retaliate later, with the Wang Gongchang and the Beijing Garrison's firearms battalion in hand, does Emperor Anping have any fear of them rebelling?

Wanggongchang covered thousands of acres and had more than 10,000 craftsmen and officials. With Dai Quan leading the way, even if the eunuchs of the Bureau of Armory were unwilling, they could only obediently cooperate.

They were not afraid of the civil and military officials in the court, but when facing Dai Quan, these eunuchs from the Bureau of Military Affairs were extremely obedient.

"Let me tell you this: General Liu has come on the Emperor's orders. If anyone dares to delay His Majesty's important affairs, I will make sure they know what I'm capable of!"

Dai Quan issued a sinister warning to the eunuch in charge of Wang Gongchang.

"This servant wouldn't dare!"

These usually arrogant and haughty eunuchs were now kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear, afraid that if they delayed even a second, they would be targeted by Dai Quan, the Grand Chancellor.

"Lord Liu, is there anything else you wish to instruct?"

After giving instructions to the eunuchs in charge of Wang Gongchang, Dai Quan politely asked Liu Hu.

Although Dai Quan had just privately said a few words to Liu Hu, it wasn't because he had a problem with Liu Hu, but because he wanted to protect the eunuchs from Wang Gongchang.

Which of these eunuch officials from Wanggongchang dared to say they were clean?

He was genuinely afraid that Liu Hu was a fool who would recklessly reveal the situation to Emperor Anping.

Although Emperor Anping already knew about what was going on here, since no one exposed it, it could be pretended not to exist.

Now that Liu Hu understands his meaning, there's no need to keep being sarcastic with him.

Liu Hu was willing to give Dai Quan face, after all, he hadn't had high expectations for Wang Gongchang before he came.

However, after what he had just learned, Liu Hu was surprised to find that the situation here was much better than he had imagined.