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A somewhat dilapidated dhow, dragged by the slender man in the new river under the city of Wuchang slowly towards the wharf, the shore came the slender man "yo, yo, yo......" heavy and low trumpet, although now Wuchang has opened a new wharf on the riverside, but there are still many boats moored in the new river. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

As the ship approached the wharf, the small wooden boat was already crowded with people waiting to come ashore, these people from foreign lands, they came to Wuchang with various purposes, some of them wanted to settle in Wuchang, some wanted to do business here, and of course, some wanted to make a difference here.

Among the guests on the ship, there was a young man who looked a little peculiar, he stood by the side of the boat without hurry, as if he did not react to anything around him, he wore a long robe, and the only one who could wear a long shirt was a scholar, and he was obviously a scholar, and his braids were cut off as well, but unlike the others, he wore a top scarf on his head.

The square scarf, this is the dress of the previous dynasty, but the dress of the previous dynasty is better than the half-length hair on the back of the head and the short hair in front of the head that are cut off from the braids.

Of course, no one dares to say nondescript words, this braided cutting is a position, a position that distinguishes Han people from traitors! At least in the vast expanse of the lake, the braids always need to be cut.

When the ship docked and the passengers disembarked, when the young man came ashore, an old lady in front of her stepped on the turbulent springboard step by step, shaking constantly. He hurriedly stepped forward to help her and helped her ashore with him.

As soon as he got on the wharf, before anyone left the wharf, the young man heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from the wharf.

“…… All my compatriots will cut their braids, remove their beards, and revitalize the Han family! ”

Shaving hair and braiding, this was originally a Manchu hairstyle that the Han people were forced to accept after the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs. And now, after hundreds of years of this money rat tail, people's minds have long been ingrained, and it is not easy to get people to accept this change and cut all the braids.

Naturally, they cannot use the butcher's knife to "shave" their own compatriots when the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, so the local government can only publicize it on the one hand and force it on the other. In order to avoid being cut off the braids, there are even men who are afraid of being dragged to cut the braids, and they have closed their doors, and the government has done everything possible to publicize the braid-cutting order, and even made up a folk song sung by beggars: "Cut your hair quickly, cut your hair quickly, it's like having a pig's tail", and some children followed the word "pig's tail", so now in the Huguang realm, the reputation of this braid is getting worse and worse, and it is simply "equivalent to pig's tail".

However, there are still many people who are reluctant to cut their braids, so much so that in order to carry out the order to cut braids, the government has also taken drastic measures, in addition to sending people to the city gates of various prefectures and counties, there are also people on duty to patrol the streets, and those who see braids are forcibly cut off. In particular, soldiers would be sent from the city to maintain the large gathering, and those who came from other places and rural areas to gather hid their braids in their hats, and still could not escape the attention of the officers and soldiers. Once it is seen by officers and soldiers, it must be cut off. On the big set, it is often seen that the officers and soldiers on patrol are holding a lot of braids in their hands.

For some people, they are afraid that the situation will be unstable, in case the imperial court returns to Huguang and will be charged with rebellion, so they have a wait-and-see attitude towards cutting braids. There are also some who have long been accustomed to braids and are difficult to change for a while. After some people cut off their braids, they cry and make a fuss, hiding at home and not daring to go out; Some cut off real braids and put on fake braids; There are even those who secretly keep it again. It can be said that all kinds of foreign appearances have appeared.

However, all this, Yu Wuchang does not seem to have any effect, most of the people here have already cut off their braids. The sound of gongs and drums was only the braids of some outsiders.

Because the weather was a little stuffy, after walking out of the dock, the young man felt that his shirt was a little wet, the river wind was blowing, and the waistcoat was cold and uncomfortable. He wiped the beads of sweat from the corners of his forehead, and gradually saw the upper half of a towering chimney - this is the scene only in Wuchang City!

That's the chimney of a foreigner's steam engine!

After getting up the embankment, the young man glanced at the chimney in the distance, and on the clearing at the edge of the city, there appeared a row of houses that were about to be completed, and it was probably the place where foreign guns and cannons were made.

"Tricky tricks!"

The young man muttered to himself in his heart, and then continued to walk towards the city, at this time, inside and outside Wuchang City, there was a lot of construction, it is no wonder, after all, the inner and outer cities of Wuchang were burned down, and now new houses are being built inside and outside the city, and the streets of this Wuchang City seem to be wider than in the past.

"It's almost ten feet wide!"

Looking at the houses on both sides of the spacious street, which have been built or are under construction, the young man found that there was a clear difference between Wuchang at this time and Wuchang in the old era, except that the street was wider, and there were no low-rise houses on both sides of the street, all of which were three-storey buildings.

These buildings don't seem to be much different from those in Changsha and other places, but the roof tiles seem to be simpler. However, for the young man, the curiosity about the market is only temporary, after several inquiries, when he found the grain depot alley, he turned in, said that it was an alley, but the alley was not narrow, the alley was two feet wide and surprisingly wide, in front of the door wall of those people's houses, there was a square lamp hanging, just look at those square lamps, he could imagine what a bright scene the street would be when the oil lamps were lit at night.

"Children from poor families can also borrow light to read under this lamp......"

Thinking like this in his heart, the young man continued to walk forward, until he came to the door sign that read "1831 Granary Lane", and then stopped, and when he saw the small wooden sign with "Li Mansion" written next to the doorpost, he fastened the head buckle on the door.

"It's coming, it's coming!"

After a few clicks on the clasp, an echo came from inside the door, with a thick Hunan accent.

"Foot?"

The servant who opened the door took a closer look at the young man outside the door. He was seen to be quite young, about twenty years old, of medium height, with a broad and long face, two bright eyes, wearing a Confucian robe, a black square scarf, and a wide head and thick-soled single-beam cloth shoes. Although dressed modestly, he was full of energy.

"Contemptible Wang Minyun, I came to Wuchang today to visit your master!"

"You are Young Master Wang!"

When the servant heard this, he hurriedly opened the door and asked.

"Please come in quickly, my young master happens to be at home, if you hear you coming, I will be very happy."

"Renqiu!"

As soon as she saw Wang Minyun, Li Shourong greeted her warmly,

"When did you come to Wuchang? I don't write a letter in advance, if I had known you were coming, I would have picked you up at the pier! ”

As early as two years ago, Wang Minyun and Deng Fulun brothers, Long Rulin, and Li Shourong established the Lanlin Word Society, known as the "Five Sons of Xiangzhong", and the relationship is naturally very close, and for Li Shourong, who is in the governor's mansion, it is indeed extremely rare to see old friends in Wuchang, and he is quite happy.

"Junshang, you and my brother, why do you need to be so polite!"

Seeing him like this, Wang Minyun hurriedly got up and said.

"Renqiu, please take a seat, this politeness can't be talked about!"

Li Shourong hurriedly asked her friend to sit down, and after she sat down, she said in an extremely serious tone.

"Renqiu, you came here just in time, if it's a few days later, I'm afraid I won't be able to see my brother!"

Li Shourong's expression seemed to be extremely calm, and she was also a little helpless.

"Oh? Do you want to put it in a place? In this way, the little brother should congratulate the old brother! ”

Listening to what he said, Wang Minyun's heart was a mixed array of flavors, and there was no other reason, when the Han army broke through Changsha a month ago, he was still in his hometown, and Li Shourong happened to stay in Changsha, because he knew Guo Songtao, and he was recommended to enter the governor's mansion, and now it is only a month, and he will be released to the place, which is not exactly the time to operate?

If he had stayed in Changsha at that time, how could he have missed the opportunity to join the Governor's Curtain? Wang Minyun, who thought he was talented and rich, naturally didn't think that he would go out to the place, and even he disdained it, he believed that as long as he could enter the scene, he would definitely be able to be appointed by the governor. Unlike many scholars in Hunan Province, for Wang Minyun, he has never thought of any "thief", in his opinion, it is now a troubled time, and it is the time when people like him are of great use.

But, all he needs is a chance!

"A place to put out?"

Friend's words made Li Shourong shake her head and say.

"If that's the case, why does the little brother need to be like this...... Ay! ”

After sighing, Li Shourong picked up the teacup again and took a sip of tea, with a sad face on her face.

"Non-out-of-the-box place, that is?"

Wang Minyun asked in surprise. But Li Shourong was silent, silently drinking tea, and said for a while.

"Brother, do you know what the Metropolitan Governor relies on?"

"The governor of the capital, between the Qing court and Jiangning, in the eyes of the Qing court, it is just a local Xiaokou is not to be afraid, in the eyes of the Jiangning Yue bandits, it is the screen of the southwest, so it can make the best of its benefits, try to see the Jiangning Yue bandits, the imperial court is set up in the south of the Yangtze River, Jiangbei camp, with its attack, and the Han governor has the land of the two provinces, but there is no such power, throughout the annals, only Hongwu can be compared!"

When mentioning Hongwu, Wang Minyun's brows jumped slightly, and in his heart, he was more willing to hook that Han Du and Zhu Ming, sometimes winning the world, the difference is just a little bit of qi, if you can help him make up for that bit of qi, it will naturally be a great achievement!

"Definitely! Definitely! ”

Because of familiarity, Li Shourong shook her head categorically to refute Wang Minyun's opinion.

"Renqiu, you only know one thing, but you don't know the other! Alas! ”

There was another long sigh, and Li Shourong then sighed.

"Actually, it's my brother's fault this time!" (To be continued.) )