Nanzhong, Lingjiang.

On the bank of the Lingjiang River sits a village called Baijiacuo. As the name suggests, it is a village dominated by immigrants from Fujian. However, there is no one main surname, so it is called Baijiacuo. Although there are many people in Fujian, they are also mixed with Cantonese and Hakka people. Even if they are also Fujianese, there are differences between Zhangzhou and Quanzhou and Putian. In the past ten or twenty years, the concept of the region has long been extinguished, intermarriage with each other, and customs and habits are also accepted and tolerated by each other.

Because of the proximity to the Lingjiang River and the convenience of the ferry, the villagers of Baijiacuo have a very good life. In addition to the abundant harvest on the reclaimed land, there were also aquatic products in the Lingjiang River, and various goods and opportunities brought by people passing by, so that the village quickly prospered. After more than ten years of hard work, there are more than 2,000 people and thousands of houses. Of course, in addition to the housing of local residents, there are also shops, restaurants, inns, warehouses, and stacking houses for passers-by.

Outside the village, there are rice paddies that stretch for miles as far as the eye can see. At this time, the early rice has been harvested, and the late rice is still in the process of growing. People in the village who can go to the fields have rushed to the rice fields to top dressing the rice. By the way, catch a few rice fish raised in the rice field and eat them. The children ran to and fro in the rice fields, laughing, and occasionally someone caught a fat rice fish, and the fish struggled in their hands, and they screamed with joy when their faces were covered with muddy water.

Adults are not as happy as they are. The yellow sun put the summer heat on this land, and the clothes on people's bodies have been soaked with sweat, clinging to their bodies, sweat beads keep coming out of their foreheads, and they fall into the muddy water of the rice fields along the bamboo hats. And the muddy water is also hot by the sun's temperature.

The top is dry, the bottom is steaming, so that the laborers keep scooping water from the jugs brought by themselves under the shade of the trees, and in less than half a day, the dozens of jugs of water brought from the village have been drunk half.

"Okay, after the fertilization of this field, our work will be finished." A captain who worked in shifts picked up his wet shirt that could not be dried, wiped the sweat on his stomach with the placket of the shirt, and let the hot wind blowing on the river take away some of the moisture on his body, so that he could feel more comfortable.

"Captain! You see! A young man with sharp eyes pointed to the watchtower in the village in the distance, on which a red flag and two yellow flags were hung.

"Combat alert! There's a war! There is a military order from above, mobilized! Hurry up! Hurry up, everyone! Finish the work in your hand and hurry back to listen to the order! ”

People don't care about fatigue, and command their already exhausted hands and feet to finish the rest of the work. Farm work cannot be delayed, but the military orders of the lord cannot be delayed. If you miss the military order, the consequences will be unimaginable, but we can't imagine it, and we don't dare to imagine it. However, if one of his own sons and men returns from a military exploit in battle, the reward is also very rich.

"I don't know if it's a bandit, or if there is a mess in Nanyang somewhere?" People sprinkled the fertilizer in their hands evenly on the rice fields, but their minds analyzed what kind of war they would face in this mobilization based on their past experience.

"The three boys of the Lao Ye family next door went out for a trip, and our Chaozhou hometown Wu Liuqi pacified the Tusi rebellion in Nanyang, and when he came back, he brought a daughter-in-law back not to mention, there were several gems in the package, and more than a dozen gold leaves, and he went to the new area of Myanmar to buy thousands of hectares of wasteland and mountain woodland to operate, built a house for the family, and bought farm tools and cattle."

People want to be the next person to return home as a result of mobilization.

In the square in front of the stage in the village, in front of the bulletin board, many people have gathered. The two feet long and one and a half wide proclamation covering the huge defense of the General's Mansion were recited to the top of the article.

"The Tartars are in rebellion, the traitors surrender to the enemy, take my land, and steal the capital. This king was ordered by the Son of Heaven to raise an army to fight. "Behind this big hat is the geographical scope of mobilization and the scope of military service. This time, Li Shouhan did not order the full mobilization, but only in the area south of the Lingjiang River in the north, as far as Cam Ranh Bay in the south, and as far as Burma and Siam in the west. The target of mobilization is only the first phase of military service. "Twenty mobilization brigades are formed."

"Twenty mobilization brigades, then at least 150,000 people will participate?" According to the mobilization system of Nanzhong, every mobilization is based on the standards of grassroots political power, one soldier per soldier, and one regiment in each county. In addition, with the mobilization brigades stationed in various localities as the backbone, the original mobilization brigade headquarters, artillery units, horse teams, and other high-tech detachments were drawn out, and officers at all levels were drawn out and mobilized soldiers. The remaining personnel of the original mobilization brigade continued to stay in the local area for training. In this way, a steady stream of soldiers can be provided for the war, and moreover, they are all qualified troops who have basically mastered tactical movements, are familiar with the weapons in their hands, and are more familiar with the upper and lower sides, rather than a group of new recruits going to the front line.

"On the day of mobilization and registration, there will be military pay and settling-in expenses. At the same time, family members enjoy preferential treatment for military dependents, and officials at all levels must not be lazy, delayed, and prevaricated. Violators shall be dealt with by their own laws. ”

In just two sentences, everyone who can see the proclamation knows the rights that the conscripts and their families should enjoy. military salaries and various preferential policies, such as substitution farming, substitution planting, etc. If officials at all levels fail to implement the rules, then there will naturally be a set of punishment methods waiting for them.

"There are 2,643 people in our 100 houses, and there are 2,643 people in the household register, which are divided into 420 households and 40 A. According to the rules, forty soldiers will be dispatched! The village chief shouted loudly on the stage holding the household registration book and the military service registration book.

"After a while, I read the names of the post-graduates who registered for the first phase of Selective Service. If there are enough places, we will not change, if there are not enough forty, then let's talk about it, will the children who have never registered be selected, or will they be drawn from the old people who have registered for the second phase of military service? ”

"Village Chief! Needless to say!? Of course, it was drawn from those of us who have been in battle, fought in battle, and seen blood. Those who have just turned sixteen are still let them work at home for a while in the watch team. Let's find out what's going on in this team! A couple of unshaven men grinned as they defended their rights.

"Why do you have to choose from the people in the second phase? Can't choose from us? A few young men were quite unconvinced, they glanced at their fathers, brothers and uncles, although they knew that they had not registered for military service, and many rights and obligations were not yet qualified, even if they were supplemented, they would be brushed down in the town and county, and maybe even the village chief would be involved. However, it is still necessary to fight for it in front of these old birds.

The crowd erupted in laughter, and everyone knew that the little boys' efforts were powerless.

Soon, forty candidates for mobilization were found.

The next day, 40 mobilized soldiers carried their bags and bamboo armor on their backs, and reported to the town under the leadership of the four armor commanders. They will join up with the mobilized troops from other villages in the town and form a group. Then they went to the county seat together.

A trickle of streams, along the villages and towns in the south and central China, converge into rivers, lakes and seas.

This is the mobilization of villages and towns, but the factory area of Ha Jing and other places is a different scene.

After more than 10 years of operation and development, Ha Tinh has become an industrial city. Hejing Manufacturing, Hejing Heavy Industry, Hejing Ordnance Industry and other enterprises have formed a huge area with a radius of nearly 100 miles and dozens of miles. Every day is full of people, and at night, it is even more firelight, shining like day. Countless ores and fuels are transported from the mines to the steel mills by horse-drawn rail cars and sent to the blast furnaces. Then, in the same horse-drawn cart, the ingots and iron blocks are transported along the tracks to the processing workshops to make a variety of products. Here, it can be regarded as the core of the source of the strength of the Southern Guangdong Army. Without the steel smelted here and the agricultural tools made, there would be no tools for the villages and farms everywhere, and there would be no reclaim of wasteland, let alone deep ploughing, and no high-yield. As for the lack of steel, the army would have no armor and weapons, and the combat effectiveness of the Nanyue Army would be impossible to talk about. Even if you are the Monkey King and Marshal Tianpeng, without the golden hoop stick and the nine-toothed nail rake, you can only become a hawker selling ducks.

In the early morning, bustling crowds came to the Ha Tinh Iron and Steel Plant from all directions, and the strong smell of tobacco and sweat permeated the daily life inside and outside the factory. Workers who get off the night shift and workers who have to go to the morning shift, the two torrents converge inside and outside the factory. There are those who want to eat supper after work, some who want to have breakfast to prepare for work, and the food stall at the door is very lively. It was noisy and noisy, and from time to time someone yelled and cursed roughly. There's no way, they're all big men, even if it's a woman, you have to be half a man when you get here. Even, it's just a man. The occasional female employees are all six-pack abs with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and their combat effectiveness is enough to make men daunted. Iron and steel factories were the first highly intensive enterprises to appear in modern times, so they were also the first to give birth to a strong working class.

It's just that the working class of the Ha Tinh Iron and Steel Plant, who had eaten breakfast, are now honestly waiting for the arrival of the foreman in order to clarify today's work tasks.

The foreman finally came, but this time he was obviously in a bit of a hurry. Experienced workers can't help but turn their heads and ears: See, this is an urgent task again, and it seems that I don't want to take a vacation in the near future.

"It's okay! Overtime is not a reward for overtime, and there is a rice sticker or something. That's a lot more than the normal class pay! ”

"But my little boy has been skipping school lately, clamoring to be a sailor on a ship. The gentleman in the school shouted at me several times that I should be disciplined strictly. If I work too much overtime, this little bunny will have no one to care about him! ”

While he was still whispering in the crowd, the foreman's loud voice suddenly suppressed all the voices: "Brothers, have you all read the newspaper?" Something big has happened, someone is bullying our lord! "Who! The crowd immediately exploded, joking, daring to bully the lord, who gave us a good day, it would be good to have a New Year's holiday in other places, but we can rest every week, and the salary is higher than other places. Fucking dare to bully the lord, that's not bullying the lord, it's going to smash our jobs! So everyone looked at the foreman, waiting for what he had to say.

The foreman cleared his throat, then took out a newspaper and said: "Brothers, something big happened in Jiangnan, and the Tartar Duoduo of the dog day colluded with the officials and gentry in Jiangnan to rebel and raid Liudu, and the lord was caught off guard and suffered a secret loss. Now he is forced to retreat to Shanghai. Now the newspaper has published a mobilization order sent by the lord from Shanghai County with a flying clipper boat, calling on us to have the responsibility of resisting the Qing Dynasty and defending against humiliation, regardless of whether the land is north or south, whether people are old or young. ”

As soon as the foreman finished speaking, a person scolded at the top of his throat: "Get out of your motherfuck, who doesn't dare to fight the tartars is the king eight lambs!" Then a big man walked up to the foreman from the crowd, raised his big hand and shouted: "Give me a name first, how can I get my Liu Tiehan in the war, just those dog Tartars in Liaodong, I Liu Tiehan can fight three with one punch." ”

As soon as Liu Tiehan's words fell, the others stopped doing it, and rushed to ask to join the army one by one, and even some people put down their words, daring not to let Lao Tzu go, I will throw you into the molten steel to take a bath, just saving the need to add charcoal to the molten steel, which made the atmosphere extremely noisy for a while.

However, the foreman was in a dilemma. He only read the first half of the newspaper, but before he could read the second half of the newspaper, he was interrupted by the enthusiasm of the workers.

"Our lord said that the factories and mines everywhere are the lifeblood of our Nanzhong. You can't take it lightly. Everywhere can be mobilized, but the workers in the factories and mines cannot be mobilized into the army, not only can they not be enlisted, but they must increase the number of people to ensure production. ”

"In addition to the factories and mines, there are also students from various schools and gentlemen from research institutes, all of whom are prohibited from being recruited."

"No! We're not like those students! Those students, gentlemen, they are all baby bumps, and they should not go to war! We all grew up eating the money given by the Lord. Now, people are knocking on the door, just like the gentleman in the school said, what the lord is worried about and humiliated, and the lord is humiliated and the minister is dead. ”

Faced with the attitude of the workers, the foreman was even a little overwhelmed, so he had to comfort everyone and said, "Brothers, I will definitely report your request." But I'll need a little bit of time, and everybody has to wait. However, the output and quality of these days cannot be sloppy! There is a war ahead, and it is time for us steelmakers and ironmakers to show our skills! ”

Similar situations have occurred in steel mills, manufacturing plants, arsenals, etc. Young and middle-aged workers strongly demanded that they be mobilized into the army. Moreover, they were organized according to the military establishment. After urgent consultations with several general offices, it was decided to first gather these hot-blooded men in one place and organize them into an army, and at the same time send an urgent submission to the Guogong Mansion in Guangzhou and to Li Shouhan himself, who was in Shanghai, asking how to deal with the matter.

A few days later, Li Shouhan's reply arrived in Ha Jing. These workers, were organized into a brigade. Li Shouhan personally gave a number, "Nanzhong Workers' Brigade." "Like the Guards Brigade, under his direct command.

Coincidentally, a similar situation has arisen among sailors and dock workers in various ports. As a result, the "Sailor Brigade", this number also appeared in the establishment sequence of the Nanyue Army.

Just when the workers of Ha Tinh looked at the golden words of the Workers' Brigade on the iron-blooded army flag and cheered excitedly, and raised their glasses to celebrate, the recruitment station in Ha Tinh City also encountered a problem, and a blonde girl came to the recruitment station, and also brought a firecracker, she had to join the army, and directly asked to be a straggler. You must know that the skirmishers are the existence of harassing forces on both sides of the line column, and the requirements for marksmanship, tactical action level, physical fitness, and psychological quality are extremely high. However, the officials at the recruiting station were still very polite, and they said euphemistically: "Girl, the army needs people very much, but women's soldiers are generally literary and artistic soldiers. Well, you can show us whether you can sing or bandage your wounds, so that we can recommend them for you. ”

Unexpectedly, the girl was angry, and she said, "I, Lyudney, disdain to do the work that larks and doctors should do, and my fire gun can smash the enemy's head two hundred paces away, and I want to go to the battlefield." ”

"Hahaha!" The people at the recruiting station couldn't help laughing, and one of them said, "Girl, don't be funny, we have all played with firecrackers anyway." It's not those civil officials in the court, who specifically wag their lips on the head of the pen and brag about it. As far as I know, at present, any firearm is aimed at people's heads, and it is good to hit the buttocks, and you still hit other people's heads in 200 steps, I'm afraid that it is not the cowhide that will blow it. ”

Lyudney's face turned red from laughter, she didn't say much, she directly raised her gun and aimed at the lantern in the distance, and then there was a bang, only an oops, followed by a commotion, and a group of people shouted: "Catch the assassin, catch the assassin!" Protect Madame! Someone is going to stab the lady. “

The sudden change stunned Lyudney and the officers of the recruiting office at the same time, and then, a group of people surrounded the recruiting office with firearms, and then a soldier pointed at Lyudney and said: "Madam, it's her, I saw that she fired the gun, and there was no one else around with weapons, she should be an assassin." ”

After that, another soldier came up and seized Lyudney's weapon, and the other soldiers made a gesture to tie up Lyudney, but saw a graceful young lady and said, "Don't panic, I'll ask first." After saying that, the noble lady looked at Lyudney, and then asked, "Girl, looking at you, it seems that you are from Tessie, and my Nanyue army once accused Albion's rebels of rebellion and murdered the monarch's father." It is said that their Qu Kui was quite dissatisfied, and claimed to give my Nanyue army a little color. I don't know, but I was instructed by the people of Albion? "There are not many words, but there are needles hidden in the cotton, soft and hard. Hearing this, the officials at the recruiting station couldn't help but look at this girl who was going to join the army with sympathetic eyes. Once this crime is confirmed, it is not as simple as landing on my head, I am afraid that the whole family will not be able to escape.

Albion in the mouth of the young lady is England. At this time in England, that Charles I was already in a situation where he was wearing two shirts to find his home on the streets of London. And Li Shouhan naturally wants to express his standing on the side of the European royal family and condemn the fatherless and kingless behavior of Cromwell and other powerful and rebellious people. Privately, of course, the trade of tea, porcelain, pigs, weapons, etc., was not affected at all, but because of the rise of Cromwell, the expansion of the scale of the English Civil War, and the increase in the intensity of the war, there was a significant increase. In Hue port, Manraka port and other places, there are more and more white-skinned refugees who speak English. However, the war between the two families has never stopped at all. Therefore, it is reasonable that Lyudney is suspected of being an assassin sent by Albion.

Lyudney didn't panic, but said lightly: "I'm here to join the army, and these people don't believe that I can hit someone's head two hundred steps away, so I hit that lantern, I didn't expect to scare you." ”

The lady then asked the recruiter, "Is what this girl said true?" After getting a clear answer, the noble lady smiled and said: "I didn't expect to see Tessie's heroine today, let's make friends, my name is Li Huaying, girl, your real name must not be Liu Deni, I don't know if you can tell your original name." ”

These words almost didn't scare the people in the recruiting office to death, I'll go, why did Li Huaying come here, fortunately, nothing happened, otherwise her sixth day demon king who killed the name can cure Nanyang children's night crying can spare us. Lyudnicole was not as fuss as them, she replied boldly: "I am not from Taixi, my father has long been a Chinese citizen, and he works in the fire gun factory, and he is a gun maker. My original name was Lyudmila, but later my father said that Chinese people generally have three-character and two-character names, so my big name is Lyudni. Lyudmila just called it at home, like a milk name. I don't mind being friends with you, but looking at you, it seems that you are from a big family, and if you are friends with me, the daughter of a craftsman, you are not afraid of being humiliated by your identity? ”

"Look at your appearance, with yellow hair and green eyes, you can tell at a glance that you are not of Chinese Miao descent. No wonder others are skeptical. An officer at the recruiting station snorted to excuse the tense scene just now.

"What's wrong with yellow hair and green eyes? Sun Quan in the Three Kingdoms, isn't he also blue-eyed and purple-haired? Can you say that Sun Zhongmou is not of Chinese Miao descent? Don't believe me, I'll show you the family register?! We were born in Hejing, grew up in Hejing, and grew up reading the master's textbooks since childhood! Look at your black charcoal head, listen to your accent, you can't be from Java, right? Unexpectedly, Lyudney's mouth was as powerful as her firecracker, and in a few words she pushed the official against the wall and rolled her eyes.

Li Huaying saw that this girl was not afraid of her, and she spoke very funny, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy, so she said: "My father once told me that craftsmen and technicians are important weapons of the country, and they should not be taken lightly. So, I'm Gao Pan, I should mind if it's you who insult your identity. Besides, speaking of which, my father is the number one craftsman in Nanzhong. From this profession, we can be regarded as friends in the same world. ”

The so-called not much talk, just a simple exchange, shortened the distance between the two women, and they quickly had a cordial feeling with each other. When the guards saw that the master was interested, they naturally didn't dare to be unreasonable, and hurriedly found tables, chairs, benches, melon seeds, and tea, so that the two of them could chat more happily. After introducing each other, Li Huaying asked: "Your gun just now is really amazing, I have seen a lot of fire guns, but there has never been such an accurate thing, I don't know where you got it?" ”

Lyudney proudly patted her fire gun and said, "This fire gun is unique in the world. My father has been fond of studying firecrackers since he was a child, and after decades of pondering, he found that in order to shoot accurately, the chamber of the gun must not be light, otherwise, the projectile will go out and turn around. So, let them run on the track like a railcar. So there must be a track in the pipe. This track is rifling. Of course, this thing is not a secret, and the bow and arrow have to be shot in a spinning way to shoot accurately, and the problem is that it is too much trouble. My father never thought of making a firearm like this, but he couldn't stop me from hunting since I was a child, and you know, with our ordinary firecracker, it was luck to aim at the head and hit the buttocks, and I was furious every time I came back from hunting. Later, my father loved me, so he worked day and night to rifle his own fire gun pipe during his rest time, and then I didn't know which Academy of Sciences I knew, and I used something called a primer, anyway, I didn't understand much. In short, this firecracker, is a rear-mounted rifled firecracker, fast, accurate, the disadvantage is that this thing is unique, even the bullets are made by my father himself, if I usually hunt is enough, but go into battle to kill the enemy, I am fine alone, if there are a few more people, then my father is really busy and there is no way.

After Liu Deni's words were finished, the official of the conscription office looked embarrassed: "Madam, Miss Liu, we deeply admire Miss Liu's marksmanship, the problem is, this fire gun is a bit chicken." It's not that it's bad, but it's unique in the world. You think, with such a sharp weapon, Miss Liu wants to be a skirmish to snipe enemy officers. However, if she kills the enemy generals together, she will inevitably attract the attention of the enemy army. She has a firecracker, which is not well loaded, how to deal with it? In other words, there is no teammate who can cooperate with Miss Liu. If you just let Miss Liu wear Yang in a hundred steps, then she must be equipped with a fire gun to protect her, otherwise she will waste her combat power in vain. As far as the scope of our power is concerned, we can only recommend ordinary soldiers to the army, and we have no right to recommend such officer-like people, so ... ”

After saying this, Lyudney was silent, and she also understood that at this point, there was basically no hope. However, she forgot one thing, this world looks at the face of the second spell father, dad can't fight and sisters, where is Li Huaying willing to disappoint the newly met sisters, so she said: "I Nanzhong has always attached importance to talents, and will never bury talents." Since Miss Liu is raising Youji, then we can't even be inferior to the King of Chu. I think so, let me write a letter of recommendation to the front-line general, introduce Miss Liu's abilities, and serve as the acting officer of the skirmish team for the time being. I heard that the Qing army likes to list what kind of Fuhu to open the mountain formation, and the generals are generally behind the team, the distance is far, and it is difficult to kill, so that Miss Liu is easy to use. In an army like a Liao thief, it is common for an officer to die and the whole team to disperse, as long as Miss Liu is Yang Youji, you are not afraid that you will not be able to make meritorious contributions. I also want to say that I am also a woman. ”

After speaking, he ordered someone to find a pair of pen and ink in the tea stall and wrote a letter of recommendation to Lyudney on the spot. In addition, a monogram was drawn on the back of the envelope.

"You take this letter to my seventh aunt, who is in Guangzhou right now. When she sees my letter, she will naturally arrange it for you. If she can't arrange it either, you take this. As she spoke, Li Huaying took off a jade pendant from her waist, on which a cherry blossom was delicately carved, and the petals and stamens were extremely delicate. I went to Shanghai to find my eldest sister. I don't believe it, this matter in the army, and things that they can't handle! ”

Holding the letter of recommendation and tokens in her hand, Liu Deni was a little stunned, watching Li Huaying's carriage go away, she woke up like a dream.

"Sister Li Huaying, who is she who speaks in such a loud tone?"

The official, whose eyes were almost on fire by her few words, snorted with his nose very angrily, "Hmph! I have long said that you are not of Chinese Miao descent. Even she doesn't know, but she's embarrassed to brag about what she was born in Hejing and grew up in Hejing!? ”

"Don't talk nonsense! Who the hell is she? Lyudney was as beautiful as a stream of autumn water, and her green pupils widened, and she was about to have a seizure. However, the stationmaster of the conscription station is quite knowledgeable, this Lyudney, now she is also a celestial figure, if the dot is not good, she will say a few words to the second lady in front of her, then we will not be able to eat and walk. Everyone knows that the Sixth Heaven Great Demon King, although he killed the natives who rebelled in Nanyang and was famous for his fear, but in front of this second lady, he couldn't let out half a fart. Legend has it that when two people start to fight, our county master can't beat his wife, and he is often beaten to the point that his body is blue and purple.

"She is the second county lord of our Nanyue Army, Li Huaying's name, haven't you heard of it?" The stationmaster of the recruiting station looked at Lyudney with sympathetic eyes, "No wonder, this second lady is not the same as the eldest lady. The reputation of the eldest lady is that both the army and the navy are all proclaimed. The second lady is not good at leading soldiers, but it is said that the means of fists and feet are the sharpest among the brothers and sisters in the family. You're also lucky to have met this one. She wrote to you, if this matter does not come to pass, then there will be no reason. ”

"What, she's the second miss? Then, the eldest sister she said is Li Huamei? Lyudney suddenly had the happiness of a little fan wanting to see her idol, and she could almost see little stars in her eyes.

"Who else but her? What's more, there is also the face of the Seventh Lady. ”

Because of Li Huaying, Liu Deni's treatment suddenly skyrocketed. On the third day, he took the flying clippers to Guangzhou to submit documents, and asked to see Ao Lei Yilan.