There is not much else in the south of the Yangtze River is a lot of water, in the high place of Xiting Town outside Tongzhou City, I don't know when, a small reservoir was surrounded here. The water is collected here, pouring down a narrow channel, driving the waterwheels downstream of the canal to turn rapidly.

If you don't know it, you will think that these waterwheels are just ordinary mills, but when you get closer, you will find that they are surrounded by a fence and there are many guards.

Centered on the waterwheel, countless buildings are spread out. There were blast furnaces spitting black smoke into the sky, and the sound of clanging hammers was everywhere. Everywhere soldiers and craftsmen came and went in and out of the town.

That's right, this is the ordnance manufacturing center of Yangzhou Town. Since the Ningxiang army moved to Yangzhou many years ago, it has become a military city, and as boatloads of pig iron and coal are brought down the river into the city, the old residents of the town are horrified to find that everything around them has changed dramatically, and the familiar life can never be returned.

In the past, Xiting Town was also regarded as a small commodity distribution center in Tongzhou, with more than 2,000 permanent residents in the town. But since the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the population of the city has swelled to 10,000 all of a sudden, and the town is full of people with northern accents. Looking at their dress and the utensils they carry, the local people can easily recognize that these are craftsmen. There were carpenters, blacksmiths, masons.

In addition to craftsmen and soldiers, there are also many red-haired devils.

As soon as these people entered Xiting, Yangzhou Town began to build houses on a large number of land.

If it is only to build a shelter, it will not cause dissatisfaction among the local residents. The problem is that they built workshops and factories. As soon as the construction of these factories began, there was really thick smoke and sewage flowing.

The river water, which used to be so clear that it could be directly quoted, turned into a filthy black, and there was a layer of shiny things floating on it, and when the sun shone on it, it was colorful, and after looking at it for a long time, it made people dazzle for a while

。

The white clouds in the southern sky overhead are also shrouded in yellow, black, and white smoke that persists all year round, and the air is filled with the choking smell of soot. Cloudy, sunny, rainy, foggy, and even the change of seasons have completely disappeared. Except for gray and gray, everything seemed to be covered in a fine cloud of dust.

For the townspeople, it's a nightmare that they can't wake up from, especially the old people, who cough all day. Even if the doors and windows are closed, at the end of the day, the tables and chairs on the floor will still be covered with a layer of black powder.

After the Ningxiang army just drove into Xiting, the local people also made trouble with the government several times under the leadership of the local squires. But if you make a fuss, there will be no afterword. And those squires didn't know how much benefit they had from the Ningxiang Army, so they sold all the land they had to Sun Yuan to make a workshop, and moved their families to Jiangnan to enjoy happiness. [Marshmallow]

But the ordinary people who had no money and no power were left.

The people do not fight with the officials, and it is obvious that the government is on the side of the Ningxiang Army and will not speak for the people.

By this year, all the officials in Tongzhou, big and small, had simply withdrawn. The Zhizhou Yamen was also occupied by Sun Yuan and replaced by people from Yangzhou Town.

"The sky is changing!" Zhou Zhongxia held a book of Shiwen in his hand, which had been rolled up with rough edges, and looked angrily at the gloomy sky outside: "This official mansion has been replaced by the lowly military men of Yangzhou Town, and there is no official sent by the imperial court, is this still the land of my Ming Dynasty?" Sun Taichu, the ambition of the wolf, he is the living Cao Cao! ”

Zhou Zhongying is an old talent in Xiting Town, he was a famous prodigy when he was a child, and he passed the children's test at the age of twelve and became the youngest talent in Tongzhou. At that time, he was full of spirits, and originally thought that he would be a person in the future, and even a jinshi should not be a problem.

But when I participated in the township test, I knew what it meant to cross a single-plank bridge, and the competition was too fierce.

He was admitted from the age of twelve to the age of forty, and he was still a showman, seeing that he was getting older than a ****, if nothing else, the imperial examination was completely cut off.

The Zhou family was originally middle-class. It's a pity that in order to support him, a scholar, the family has exhausted all the family property. By now, the family road has fallen into the middle.

Originally, if he was born in the north and relied on his ability to read and write, whether he went to teach others or worked as a bookkeeper, he would be able to mix and be satisfied

。 The problem is that the trend of reading is prevalent in the southeast, and ordinary people have to let their children read for a few days if they can get by. As far as Tongzhou is concerned, not to mention that throwing a stone on the street can hit a showman, even there are hundreds of people who have been raising people and Jinshi Youming for more than 200 years. If there are many readers, it will be worthless.

Up to now, he can only barely make a living on his family's two acres of thin fields, and at least seven of the twelve months a year eat porridge for his family.

Outside the window, a strong wind was blowing, and when I looked out from here, there were sparks looming in the smoke from the far factory at the beginning of the year.

Recently, the entire iron factory, gunpowder field, and weaving factory in Xiting have been working almost all night long, and the sound of clanging hammers, rumbling ramming, and the noise of craftsmen has made people's brains hurt.

A fat, rough-skinned woman carrying a bag of rice walked into the house from outside, and as soon as she opened the door, a cold wind blew on her face, and the heavy smell of smoke made Zhou Zhongying cough violently, until she coughed with tears in her eyes.

"Yo, sir, you're reading again." This fat lady is Zhou Zhongying's Hunjia Gao, and there is obviously a trace of dissatisfaction and sarcasm in her tone: "I said sir, don't read any books, this thing should not be eaten or drunk, and it is useless to read too much." In addition to reading a belly full of complaints, I only know that scolding is also a ball? ”

"What's the ball, don't talk so vulgarly?" Zhou Zhongying was annoyed in her heart, and looked up angrily, but saw her wife throwing a rice bag the size of a little piglet on the ground with a bang, and then squeaked a fist the size of a vinegar jar, but she was afraid in her heart.

In the past, he had never suffered less beatings from his wife. In front of his wife's burly body, his small body is like a weak chicken.

Moreover, over the years, if it weren't for my wife's busy position in this family and supporting four children, I am afraid that I would have starved to death.

He shrank his head and snorted: "It's not a master, it's not a master, I don't even have a fame, what kind of big master." ”

Seeing that her husband was afraid, Gao was a little proud, and pointed to his pocket: "You are the head of the family, naturally the master of me and my children." This is the rice I just bought, and I bought a hundred catties back after today's salary. The children in the family haven't eaten white rice for some days in the future, so I'll go and cut two catties of meat and come back. ”

As soon as she heard her talk about meat, Zhou Zhongying's throat grunted, only to feel that his mouth was full of spittle, and hurriedly shouted: "Be careful, Butcher Hu is bad, bullying you is a woman, choose all the fine meat when cutting meat, remember to let him bring more fat this time." ”

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