Li Wengui's official boat was light, but after entering the Nanhe River, he was stopped by two boats full of mineral powder.

Xin Baojiu stopped the shouting of the officials and attachés.

"My lord, you might as well follow the cargo ship and make a secret visit." Xin Baojiu said with a smile.

The ship is a steam-iron hull, and several workers are struggling to shovel coal into the boiler. A few shipwrights with pigtails drank tea in the forward cabin, and a few muskets were placed in the doorway. They could be heard in a thick Hunan accent from afar. This is obviously not a merchant ship of a serious trading house, with a ** nature.

A few sharp-eyed officials gasped. These people don't have any royal methods, and they can become water bandits and kill people at any time.

"My lord, only these boats can pass on the waterway." Xin Baojiu pulled Li Wengui into the cabin.

"The Zhang family is not afraid that these people will turn their faces and not recognize people?"

"Hehe, they're afraid that Zhang Chun won't recognize anyone." Xin Baojiu said with a smile: "It's not easy to travel goods on the water, these people come and go in life, and the freight is transported to the ground, if the owner turns his face, they really have no way to live." Xinmin Commercial Bank is a good cargo owner in the eyes of these people. ”

"Those people on the shore are from the Zhang family?"

After entering the Nanhe, it is the territory of the Wu family, but due to the influence of the Zhang family, the entire Nanhe is regarded as the land of the Zhang family, and neither the lake bandits nor the bandits will come to disturb it. So as long as there is no infighting, the Wu family is quite stable. The peasants in the fields were relaxed, and some of the women showed up to work in the fields.

It's hard to see anywhere else.

"That's a member of the Wu family, the Wu family opened a yarn factory in Yunlong Town, but it was mainly a garment shop, and it used to be just a cloth merchant."

Xin Baojiu pointed to a large tree in the distance, which was covered with white cloth or paper, and under the tree there was a large grave and a small cemetery. "After the Zhang family's tomb, it is the Zhang family. In the grave were buried hundreds of people of the Zhang family who died in the banditry. The master and the slave are all together. Zhang Chun was the first time to kill people at that time, and later he never relented to bandits, and killed hundreds of bandits. But that's about the same amount he's taken in. ”

At this time, the cargo ship in front was almost at the grave, and the steam whistle turned on violently. But it didn't take long, just three short sounds.

"Does every ship need to be like this?" Li Wengui asked

"No, it is said that Zhang Chun does not believe in ghosts and gods. Doing this is not recommended. These three whistles are to tell the dock that the boat has arrived, but the boatmen who travel far away are accustomed to honking their horns here, letting the dead open the way, and the customary things. There are very few local boats like this. Xin Baojiu explained.

The boat has just arrived at Jinjiling. You can see the difference on the shore.

The paddy fields are green with manure, but they are already filled with water, and the farmers are plowing the fields with their cattle. This kind of ploughing is different from other places, there are positive and negative, forming a ridge that is not wide. The peasants, both men and women, wore clothes that were no longer grayish-yellow, but mainly cyan and green, with occasional yellow, and some lace.

"They cut their braids?" Li Wengui found that men and women did not have long braids on their heads, men mostly had short hair like monks, and women were scattered, some were tied on their heads, and some simply had shoulder-length short hair.

"I have been cutting for a few years, and at the beginning, because there were too many children adopted by the Zhang family, it was very troublesome to wash and remove lice, so I shaved them all. Later, when his hair grew, Zhang Chun was still young and ignorant, so he was not happy to tie his braids anymore and tried his best to figure out the hairstyle. As a result, it has not changed. But the hairstyle is still pretty good. The young masters and young ladies of the other families all have this hairstyle. ”

Li Wengui nodded and smiled: "It's better than the hairstyle of fake foreign devils." ”

Recently, it has become a common practice to cut braids, especially when students who went to Hankou to study come back with braids. A cut in the back of the head is really not good-looking. was laughed at as a fake foreign devil. I didn't expect Zhangjialing to have several more good hairstyles.

After the grave, the door of the child, who had not been seen until now, appeared. Some of them ran with small nets to catch insects, some actually drew something with a drawing board, and some squatted on the ground with a small notebook to write and draw.

Two of them simply lay on the bank of the river and talked. When I looked closely, I found two books under my head, and a small schoolbag on the side. There are also those who fight on the riverbank. Without seeing the teacher, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl seemed to be the head in the middle, as she would look around from time to time, and occasionally say that she was naughty and excessive.

The clothes on these children are uniform, similar to military uniforms, but the appearance has been changed, the waist has been narrowed, and the trouser legs are also the same, which is not only a matter of saving fabric, but more beautiful lines and more fit. Such clothes are no longer dull, but have more aura. And the children were wearing socks and shoes, and a row of shoes and socks could be seen on the ridges.

Although the costumes are generally the same, there are still some minor decorative differences, especially on the girls, mainly in the hairstyle, the corners of the clothes. There are a few girls who actually wear small masks of some colors.

"It's winter, and there are fewer styles of clothes. In the summer, the Zhang family's children's clothes could not be bought with money in the town. Xin Baojiu explained.

"How much does it cost, you're not saying they have hundreds of kids."

"Zhang Chun is still young and doesn't know how to save money. It is said that even the family has taken out to raise these children. I moved to Niutoushan and lived in a cabin. ”

"Oh? If this child is not kind-hearted, then the plan is not small. ”

Li Wengui and Xin Baojiu fell silent.

Although Li Wengui and Xin Baojiu did not show up, an official ship still attracted the attention of the children.

The two boys lying on the riverbank turned over and got up, shouting as they ran: "The county order Li Wengui is here, the county order Li Wengui is here." ”

Li Wengui and Xin Baojiu, who were drinking tea in the cabin, squirted out a mouthful of tea.

Sure enough, the two boys suffered and were knocked on the head by the girl.

However, the next movement stunned Li Wengui and Xin Baojiu.

Because there are fifty or sixty children of all sizes, some of them still take off their shoes and socks. But in the blink of an eye, they all gathered on the riverbank, lined up in two neat rows, and a few children who seemed to be the head were checking the outfits of their companions. I carry a sketchboard schoolbag on my back in everything. Nothing was left behind. Then it is to shout the password and report the number.

A child at the head actually waved a red flag, and this group of children actually walked towards the dock in the distance with neat steps that were even more neat than the new army Li Wengui had seen.

There is nothing on the red flag, just a red flag, but it is square, and people used to have this kind of colored flag for happy events, all of which are triangular. And this red flag is not only square, but also a little large, somewhat similar to a military flag.

What's even more amazing is that in addition to this group of children, when the red flag is raised, there are also red flags put up in the distance, and I think there are other children lining up, ready to go to the dock. The reaction time was so short that Li Wengui and Xin Baojiu's tea bowls were not put down.

The most important thing is that I didn't see the adults who led the team. These children are completely autonomous and self-conscious.

Xin Baojiu wiped the cold sweat on his face and explained: "Principal Gu Ming studied military science in the East, and he was originally going to the New Army, but then he didn't go for some reason. No, this group of children is being taught as a new army. ”

Li Wengui sighed and said: "I agree with Zhang Chun to be the officer of the Yunlong garrison, no matter how Zhang Chun himself is, this Gu Ming is not a simple character." Cheng Ze became a big help to the imperial court, and the defeat "

Li Wengui did not finish. Just silently put down the tea bowl.

Xin Baojiu said respectfully: "I know. ”

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