In Haiphong Town, the morning fog gradually dispersed, and the dawn of the east began to appear.

At the east end of the main street of the market, near the wharf, there is a shop called "Longsheng Commercial Company", which is in the most lively location.

In addition to the large five-bay shop on the street, the business also has a large backyard. Out of the back door of the shop, there is a cobblestone road in the middle of the courtyard, leading to a whitewashed and tiled main house, with an inner hall in the middle of the main house and the owner's living room on both sides.

There are two pots of century-old iron trees on the stone steps in front of the inner hall, symbolizing the identity of the owner, and there are various flowers and trees planted on both sides of the road, the leaves of the holly tree are shiny and shiny, and the two old elm trees are luxuriant, supporting a thick green shade in the courtyard.

On both sides of the inner hall there are corridors leading to the east and west sides, and on the east side is the wing room where the men rest, and there is a well under the tree in front of the wing room; On the west side is a lane, with an arched door on the wall of the lane, and outside the door is an independent courtyard, which can be used to receive distinguished guests.

The cloister leads past the main house to a shadowy back garden. Walking along the corridor, the first thing that catches your eye is a pond with koi fish, which gracefully shuttle and frolic among the aquatic plants, and occasionally stir up a wave of splash.

There is a rockery made of Taihu Lake stone in the corner of the pond, all kinds of tropical flowers and plants planted around, it is the opening season, red, pink, yellow, purple flowers compete with each other, attract bees and butterflies, as if to compare with the koi in the water who is more gorgeous.

Walk along a curved and deep bluestone path along the edge of the pond, bypass the rockery, through the dense shade of the trees, you can see the pond turn a bend to a larger lotus pond, the lotus leaves in the pond stretch like an umbrella, a breeze drifts by, the dew on the lotus leaves is scattered into many small broken beads, rolling around on the lotus leaves, flashing with fine crystal brilliance, such as rouge and dyeing, making people feel like entering a fairyland.

The lotus flowers in full bloom in the pond bring a burst of fragrance, a glazed tile corridor stretches out to the pool, and at the end is an octagonal pavilion, which is planted near some precious varieties of "Golden Lotus", "Bilian" and "Lotus".

In the middle of summer in June, it is the flowering season, sitting in the pavilion every morning to slowly taste tea and appreciate the lotus, in the elegant refreshing fragrance, quietly feel the artistic conception of "viewing the glory of the hundred flowers, the solitary spirit of no Sihua", which is the most comfortable time of the day for the garden owner.

At the northernmost end of the garden is a wall with a corner door to the east, and a compact separate courtyard along the northwest wall, which is the dwelling of the servants.

This is a big business that can only be owned by a wealthy businessman with outstanding strength.

In the courtyard, the morning fog, which was so thick that there was no shadow on the other side, had faded and faded at this time, and the white fog dots were tumbling and drifting away one after another, making the courtyard like a fairyland, and several guys were already busy carrying water and cooking porridge in the faint light of the sky.

Not far in front of the shop, there is an empty yard of goods, where the shop set up a simple soup kitchen half a month ago.

"Longsheng Trading House" is an old Chinese account, with its head office in Hanoi (the Annamite people called it Tokyo in this era), although it was the place where the owner started, it is now only an important branch, and its main task is maritime trade and material transshipment.

……

"Master, there are more and more refugees coming from the sea these days, and the amount of porridge in our porridge shop is increasing every day, but it is also a drop in the bucket."

In the garden pavilion, Zhang Haifa, the old shopkeeper of the commercial bank, accompanied Gong Zhenhao, the owner who got up early, was drinking morning tea.

A little farther outside the gazebo, several family members are dancing with knives and sticks in the morning exercise.

The name of the proprietor of the firm is Gong Zhenhao, the character is far away, in his fifties, wearing a light blue tunic and wide-sleeved casual clothes, looking very refreshing, wearing a square scarf, and his slightly thin face is slightly melancholy in his fifties.

Gong Zhenhao usually lives in a manor on the outskirts of Tokyo, where he has a large estate.

After making a fortune, he not only has dozens of shops in various places, but also continues to buy land, and now has more than 10,000 acres of fertile land, employs thousands of tenant farmers, and has hundreds of people who have been raised by the farmer.

This time, he heard that there were more and more refugees from Fujian and Liangguang who had crossed the sea, and it happened that a batch of rice had been transported to Haiphong Wharf to be sold to Daming, so he brought a few family members to come over to see the situation.

Zhang Haifa beside him was dressed in a green cloth short coat and a black six-petal hat, looking very capable.

"Well, anyway, it's from our homeland, so let's do our best." The proprietor, Gong Zhenhao, snorted lightly, put down the teacup, picked up the sweat towel at hand and wiped his forehead.

"Yes, sir." The old shopkeeper Zhang Haifa responded.

"Ah Fa, you've been worrying about a lot lately, it's been hard." Gong Zhenhao, who was past the age of knowing the destiny of heaven, looked at the old shopkeeper who was only two years younger than him with concern.

Zhang Haifa was a servant who followed him since he was a child, served him in a private school, and when he came to Annan to do business as an adult, he also followed, loyal and knowing. Gong Zhenhao raised his identity, helped him marry a wife and have children, and slowly trained him to be a semicolon shopkeeper and preside over a business. In the past few years, he has been mainly responsible for the maritime trade routes in Haiphong, and this is the place where Gong Zhenhao started his home, so he naturally attaches great importance to it, so he entrusted Zhang Haifa, a small hairdresser, to take care of it here.

"Where do I have to work hard, there are guys down there." Zhang Haifa responded with a smile: "But my lord, you have been running around for days, so you have to take care of your body and bones." ”

"Well, got it. What has been the situation in the country recently? Did you hear any news from outside? Gong Zhenhao asked softly with his short beard.

"The situation is very bad, there are more and more refugees, and it is said that more people have come over the mountains on the land road to the north." Zhang Haifa's face was full of worry, "As for the details, Young Master He will come over, and the master can ask him about it." ”

"Oh, Trustworthy Nephew just arrived last night, right?"

"Yes, the post has already come over last night, saying that it is too late and will come over this morning."

Young Master He is the young proprietor of the Yixing Dart Bureau in Qinzhou, Guangxi, named He Shouxin, the eldest son of He Yi, the head of the dart. The Gong family and the He family are world friends, Gong Zhenhao and He Yi have also known each other since childhood, and the two families have been moving around so far. In recent years, due to the sea route between Daming and Annan, the year before last, the Yixing Dart Bureau opened a branch in Haiphong, specializing in the sea route guard business, He Shouxin every time it is the turn of the bodyguard to come to Annan, no matter where Gong Zhenhao lives, he will go to visit.

The two were chatting, and a guy hurried into the back garden and shouted in a panic:

"Master, it's not good...... Something happened! ”

"Ah Niu, don't panic in case of trouble, what's the matter? Take your time. Gong Zhenhao said gently.

"Back to the master, there is a large army coming, and the merchants are waiting outside, saying that they are inviting the master over."

……

Ruan Xiaoliu, a merchant house soap Li who was wearing a blue narrow-sleeved shirt, a red cloth webbing belt around his waist, a yarmulme scarf, and black high felt boots on his feet, was standing in front of the counter of the "Longsheng Commercial Bank". The waist knife that I usually carry around my waist when I go out is gone, and my face is also panicked, and the previous spirit is completely gone......

That's because he didn't come alone, there were two tall men in strange costumes who didn't smile behind him, holding a fire gun with a short sword, just like two flagpoles erected behind Ruan Xiaoliu, Xiaoliu was so oppressed that he couldn't speak.

The merchant hall is a public institution sent by the imperial court, called the merchant hall, in fact, similar to the customs and tax bureau of later generations, usually there is a general manager and an account office, and there are more than a dozen soap officials and arrest fast.

……

In the lobby of the commercial hall, Lin Xiao sat upright, and Li Tao and Xiao Kaifeng sat on both sides.

Bowing down stood Ruan Xiaoer, the head of the merchant house, and the bookkeeper, who were gargling and trembling.

Lin Xiao and others led the old port camp to Haiphong at half past four in the morning, because the fog gradually began in the second half of the night, and they had to avoid the village as much as possible, so they walked for more than four hours on a 20-kilometer road.

After arranging the peripheral surveillance forces, Lin Xiao and the others quietly waited for dawn outside the town, and not long after, the streets, houses, fences, mounds, and walls gradually showed a vague image in the fog.

Last night, the scouts returned, and the situation in Haiphong has been basically clarified.

When the dawn first appeared and the east turned white, Lin Xiao led a small team into the town and went straight to the dock, just when the merchant hall opened. Seeing the yawning soap at the door, the soldiers rushed in, and the people in the merchant hall did not react at all, so they became prisoners.