The scenery on both sides of the road gradually became familiar. The disheveled, tired-looking workers who had been prevalent in the Eastern District gradually disappeared and were replaced by gentlemen dressed in neat suits or hanfu.

But speaking of suits, it was invented by our great Senate in the last century, and by the time I returned to Chang'an, it had become a common choice for city dwellers to replace the hanfu that was difficult to walk on. As for why it is called a "suit", Li Huanrong, a veteran of the Ministry of Textiles, said that it is because the outfit is similar to the style of dressing in Europeans.

But in fact, when I went to work in Europe, I found that European clothes are far less beautiful than domestic suits. And what's even more interesting is that Europeans also call our "suits" "Song suits" in order to distinguish them from Hanfu.

The topic is retracted. I leaned back in my seat, took a letter from the inside pocket of my trench coat, and read it again.

The letter was sent to Qingsong Manor a week ago, from the Ministry of Defense, and the envelope was stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Defense.

I have read this letter many times. The above presumably requires me to end my leave and move from reserve to active duty. I won't go into the specifics, but all in all, its arrival marked the end of my easy three-month life.

"Guest, the Ministry of Defense has arrived."

I looked up the window and the carriage was now parked on the side of the road. Not far away, is the Ministry of National Defense building, surrounded by black iron railings.

"How much?" I laughed.

"20.4 yuan, you can give 20 yuan." Lao Xu looked at the meter and added: "This wheel is covered with rubber, which is more comfortable to sit on, and the price is more expensive." ”

I nodded, took out a 20 yuan bill from my wallet and gave it to Lao Xu, reached out to put on my hat, jumped out of the carriage from the side of the carriage with a suitcase, waved to Lao Xu, and walked towards the Ministry of Defense.

Now the rain is lighter, but the sky is still overcast, as if a summer monsoon rain is brewing.

There is a black-painted railing on the perimeter of the Ministry of Defense, which was removed in 1650 and is no longer visible. The gate of the fence was guarded by guards in red uniforms, and when they saw me coming, one of the guards stopped me.

"Sir, what help do you need?"

I smiled, took the envelope out of my pocket and handed it to him: "I received a letter from the ministry and came back to report." ”

The guards took the envelope after saluting and first checked the seal on the envelope before looking at the identity of the recipient.

After he saw it clearly, he leaned on his feet with a "snap", saluted again, and said loudly: "Hello, Major! ”

I also returned the salute with my feet: "Hello, guard." ”

The guard returned the envelope with both hands, turned back to the sentry post, and motioned for me to follow into the large pavilion behind the sentry, where someone was in charge of checking whether I was carrying contraband.

There is a distance of 100 meters between the fence and the main building of the Ministry of Defence, and the ground is paved with stone paved roads, which are flanked by neatly built bushes with droplets of water on dark green leaves. The wind blew, bringing a chill.

The building of the Ministry of Defense that we see now has been extensively renovated. At that time, the Ministry of Defense in front of me was just a four-story building with dark red wall tiles, far less imposing than it would be.

A few bolts of lightning streaked across the sky, and raindrops the size of soybeans began to pour down. I quickened my pace and walked across the fence and the stone path of the building, trotting to the shelter from the rain that extended from the building.

The door is open, and the transparent glass doors open to the sides, facing the reception.

I straightened my clothes and walked inside.

Entering the door is the hall, the floor is paved with smooth marble, and when you walk on it, you can see your own reflection when you look down. Stout marble columns support the main structure of the building, which spreads out from the central axis to the sides, making the overall image of the hall more majestic.

Due to the continuous rain outside, many candles were lit in the building, and the flickering candles gave the Ministry of Defense an ancient atmosphere.

There weren't many people in the hall now, so I walked straight to the front desk, and a beautiful lady got up to receive me.

"Hello sir, may I ask for any help?" She asked.

"I'm here to see the Director of the Colonial Division's Greater China Division, and this is a letter from the Colonial Division." I took out the envelope and handed it to her.

The receptionist took the envelope, then carefully examined the candlelight, and then returned the envelope to me with an apologetic smile: "Sir, do you have an appointment?" ”

Seeing that I shook my head, she said, "Now that the director of the ancient elephant is receiving guests, do you want to go up and wait for a while now, or will you come back later?" ”

I thought about it, I rushed over as soon as I got off the boat, the hotel was not booked, and it was more troublesome to go back now, so I said, "I'll go up now." ”

After that I left the reception desk and politely declined the offer to lead me to the Colonial Division, as I had been here before and remembered the way.

The Colonial Division is located on the fourth floor of the building, the topmost floor. Along the way, offices on both sides were noisy, staff with folders running around the tiled path, and the light of oil lamps made their shadows loom over the white walls.

Actually, I liked the vibe, I found out at the time.

I thought I liked a relaxed vacation life, but in reality, I was more comfortable with busy and fulfilling days. Right now, for example, in the Department of Defense building, where everyone is running like a cog, I feel like I'm full of energy.

Maybe I'm a hidden workaholic?

After a few quick walks of the secretary, I arrived at the office of the Greater China Section of the Colonial Division.

The layout of the current Ministry of Defense building is similar to that of the time, with branch-like distribution along the corridors, that is, the corridors are flanked by small waiting halls, and next to the small halls are specific offices.

I walked into the small common hall of the Colonial Division, surrounded by offices from the various districts of the Republic's Colonial Division.

The Colonial Division was formally separated from the Ministry of Defense in 1631 and became a separate Colonial Department. In fact, this voice was already present when I arrived at the Ministry of Defense in early 1629, and I personally felt that it was necessary.

Without him, the Colonial Division was so large that the fourth floor was occupied by almost two-thirds of the floor, a full eight small halls, unlike other divisions where offices could be connected by a small hall.

The small hall where the Greater China Office is located is special because the Greater China region is the focus of our colony for a long time to come, so it occupies a small room. The specific divisions are Ming Kingdom (i.e., China proper), Japan, Korea, Annam, and Ryukyu. Among them, the director of the ancient elephant department is also the section chief of the Ming State Section.

There was a large sofa in front of Ming Guoke's door, on which a person was sitting at this time, and when he saw me walking over, he naturally got up and shook my hand.

"Hello, contemptible He Qiwei, manager of Daming Northeast Business Group."

I changed to a suitcase and stretched out my right hand to shake his hand: "Hello, I'm Li Ruchu, a reserve major. ”

He Qiwei smiled and took my suitcase and put it away, then took out a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to me.

I smiled and read the business card, carefully put it in the compartment of my wallet, and asked, "I wonder what Mr. He came to the Colonial Division?" Business matters, isn't it going to the Ministry of Commerce? As soon as I finished speaking, I knew that I was speechless, and quickly waved my hand and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I asked too much, if you violate business rules, you don't need to pay attention to me." ”

He Qiwei smiled and said, "It's okay, this matter is also public, and the newspaper has reported it." He paused, "Major Li is from Eastern Province?" ”

I somewhat understood: "Yes, the newspapers and periodicals in the Eastern Province are a few days slower than those on the mainland. ”

He nodded, "That's it." ”

"The reason I came to the Ministry of Defense is that this matter is beyond the purview of the Ministry of Commerce."

"You know, from the name of our company, it can be seen that we are responsible for running the business in Liaodong of the Ming Kingdom, roughly transporting grain from the archipelago colony, transporting cloth from Jiangnan in the Ming Kingdom, and transporting it all the way to Liaodong, and then purchasing a batch of wood and fur or something, transporting it back to Taiwan for processing and then selling it to Jiangnan District, running an incomplete triangular trade."

"But now the company is in trouble, the damn Jiliao governor of the Ming Kingdom does not allow us to transport goods to Liaodong, and we can't even receive the goods, we can only smuggle a little things over, and the rest of the transportation capacity is idle, and we can only do some business between Korea and Japan, which is just to reduce a little loss."

He sighed and said, "Now the company is in a state of overall loss, and the board of directors is in a hurry. If it goes on like this, not to mention whether it can be listed within this year, it would be good for the company to survive until the mid-30s. ”

I nodded, rubbing my face with both hands, as if to relieve my exhaustion.

(Governor Jiliao, is it Yuan Chonghuan?) That guy is still as hands-on as in history. ）

However, he smiled and continued: "However, I have heard a lot of news in Chang'an, and the patriarchs' views on the Ming Kingdom have changed. He leaned close to my ear and lowered his voice: "They are going to increase their intervention in the Ming Kingdom." ”

As he was talking, Ming Guoke's mahogany door was pushed open, and a secretary came out and made a "please" gesture: "Please let Mr. He Qiwei in." ”

He Qiwei got up and quickly sorted out the weight, patted me on the shoulder, smiled at me, and followed the secretary into the office.