Dagu is a coastal defense fortress of the Ming and Qing dynasties in China - located on the south bank of the Haihe River estuary, 50 kilometers southeast of Tianjin. It is a coastal defense fortress, and naturally there are many forts. And because this place is close to Beijing, it has naturally become the largest maritime trade port in the entire North China Plain. In addition to the large number of ships passing by, there is also a small shipyard in the area. Because of the development of the entire Qing Dynasty, especially after Zhang Zhidong became the governor of Zhili, in order to expand the throughput capacity of Tianjin, the wharf of the entire Dagu was expanded, not only the original small shipyard became a wharf, but also expanded a lot of places. But even so, because Dagu also has to carry a large number of military supplies from the arsenals in Beijing and Tianjin on a regular basis, Dagu is obviously a little insufficient. As a result, Tanggu, which is also across the river, has also been expanded into a special civil wharf. However, it is still under construction, and the supporting railways and highways have not been completed. Although it does not yet have a complete transportation capacity, there is no problem with the entry and exit of small quantities of materials. After all, a large part of the materials for the construction of the port still need to be transported by sea, and now the whole Tanggu is a huge construction site.

Just as Wu Deren got off the boat for an interview, a destroyer headed for the Tanggu wharf.

On the bow of the ship, Li Guanshan's hand clutching the railing was already white, and his trembling arms were holding on to prevent his body from falling. He has long been guarding the bow of the ship, just to be able to see the land of the motherland. By the time the fleet turned away, both sides of the destroyer's bow were already full of Nanyang Chinese. When the land appeared on the sea and the sky, Li Guanshan couldn't hold back his tears anymore. Until the dock was close at hand, there was already a cry on the bow of the ship. If the captain hadn't sent sailors to take care of these elders one-on-one, maybe some people would have fallen into the sea excitedly.

It is said that it is close to home. Li Guanshan has never been so eager to set foot on the land of the motherland. The humiliation of the Nanyang Chinese for a hundred years has changed since then with the cannon fire of the Qing fleet. The imperial court, which once regarded the Nanyang Chinese as outcasts, finally stood up and said: That is the Chinese wanderer overseas.

Wanderer. Although there are no elderly white-haired parents here, and there are no childhood memories, here are our roots and our souls. The first place that I can't forget is this homeland that has been gone for a hundred years.

Mother's hand on the line. Wanderer's top. Before leaving, I am afraid that I will return late. Whoever says an inch is careless, and he will be rewarded with three springs! Now the Imperial Court has finally remembered these overseas wanderers, and the Imperial Court has sent the most powerful fleet. He did not hesitate to go to war against foreigners, just to protect them......

Today, we are about to set foot on that familiar and strange land that has left a hundred years away. Just to listen to the hometown and talk about the hometown.

"We have been away from our hometown for more than 200 years, and now we have long since changed everything, and the only thing that has not changed is the local voice. Now he is about to set foot on the soil of his motherland. Please clean up your feelings. Wipe away tears. I want to let my hometown folks see that I am a Nanyang Chinese who are also Zheng Zheng men. Li Guanshan walked out of the crowd and walked towards the gangway.

But it was disappointing that there were no welcome signs, no grand welcome ceremony, not even a crowd of people who came to welcome them. In addition to the bleak guards and cold spears, only the deserted construction site that has not started is left.

Discouraged, depressed, pessimistic, discouraged...... All the Nanyang Chinese had disappointed looks on their faces, they really couldn't imagine that the imperial court didn't even have a person to greet them, even if it was just a small Jiupin sesame official, it also represented the meaning of the imperial court. Now there are only guards carved out of stone. So much so that Li Guannian, who was traveling with him, sighed and said: The imperial court went to war with foreigners for the wealth of Nanyang, and protecting the Chinese in Nanyang was just an excuse and a convenient one.

Li Guanshan, who knows more insiders, naturally doesn't think so. He pointed to the guards on the shore and said, "Are you all blind and don't you see that the guards are wearing yellow coats?" can wear a yellow coat, but they are all the emperor's personal guards. The emperor has sent his guards out to greet us, are you still not satisfied? Is it possible that the emperor will come to greet us in person? ”

Everyone took a closer look, and sure enough, they also settled down. They were all concentrated on the side of the gangway, waiting for the warship to dock. Close, close, beloved homeland, the blue sky and white clouds are sprinkled with your kind temperament, and the pine loess exudes your gentle fragrance......

The destroyer finally docked at the dock, and the gangway was slowly lowered. When he walked to the last step of the gangway and stepped on the motherland after taking another step, Li Guanshan's right foot, which had already risen, did not fall for a long time. Li Guanshan closed his eyes and held on to the handrail, raised his head and whispered, "Father, your last wish son has come true." Li Guanshan held back tears at this moment and took the first step of Nanyang Chinese returning to the motherland with a smile on his face. Finally, after the long wait on the long way back, his feet stepped on the homeland that had left him for a hundred years, and at this moment, Li Guanshan's eyes flashed with tears.

Before his feet landed, a melodious song sounded. Who's singing? Li Guanshan raised the pass and looked ahead, and a young man in an azure robe slowly walked out of the corner, still singing a song softly in his mouth.

"Rivers and mountains only linger in my dreams -- the motherland has not been close for many years, but no matter what, it can't be changed -- my Chinese heart"

The singing voice only came out, like a sharp knife piercing the softest place in the hearts of Nanyang Chinese. How many years I have been abroad, I have to think about how many years I will return to China. From the moment the ancestors left their homeland, they never forgot that their ancestors were Yanhuang and that they were the children and grandchildren of China. Today, the wanderer who wandered away today has finally returned.

The tears could no longer be stopped, but Li Guanshan stood motionless as if he was sluggish. Only the singing continued......

"Although I wear a dress, my heart is still Chinese. My ancestors have already branded everything about me - with the Chinese seal. ”

"The Yangtze River, the Great Wall, the Yellow Mountain, and the Yellow River weigh a thousand pounds in my heart. No matter when, no matter where, the heart is the same. ”

In the gangway and on the deck, there were already people crying. Every line in this song touches the heartstrings of every Nanyang Chinese deeply. Isn't the reason why they are coming back is because of their Chinese heart, which has not changed for hundreds of years?

"The blood flowing in my heart is surging with the voice of China. Even if I am in another country, I can't change my Chinese heart. ”

At this point, the song stopped. The young man who came in the distance also stopped. Quietly watching them. But what can't be stopped is tears, and what can't be stopped is homecoming. Li Guanshan knelt on the ground crying, holding the loess in both hands. Crying like a doll in confinement. The strong north wind can't blow away the mood of returning home, and the cold north wind can't blow the fiery Chinese heart......

There was no persuasion, no one to appease. There was no sound on the entire wharf except for the cries of the Nanyang Chinese. The howling north wind seems to be solidified at this moment, and only a strong nostalgia is drifting.

For a long time, for a long time, for a long time...... The crying Nanyang people finally released the nostalgia in their hearts, wiped away their tears, and looked at the earth again. Li Guanshan buried his face deep in the loess that he held in both hands. This is the breath of the homeland.

Li Guanshan stood up, he wanted to step forward and thank the young man who sang, just because this song wrote through the hearts and minds of the Chinese people in Nanyang.

"This little brother. You sang so well. Li Guanshan didn't care about the ash on his hands, he held the young man's right hand as soon as he stretched out his hands, and sighed: "You are singing the thoughts of not only our Nanyang Chinese, but also the thoughts of the entire overseas Chinese." ”

Between words. Other Nanyang Chinese also disembarked. One after another leaned in. Unexpectedly, the young man in front of him suddenly shouted: "Welcome home-" The tears that had just stopped welled up in the frame of his eyes again, and he was covered with his clothes.

The two old men who were standing far behind the young man also unfolded a small burden at this moment. The loess in the baggage has long been ground and dried very fine, and the dust raised by the north wind has fallen on the body of every Nanyang Chinese, and some of them are choking on the dust and coughing.

Just when everyone did not understand, the young man spoke: "The country is too weak to afford a lavish welcome scene. The only way to welcome each other is to be local. May you be wherever you are in the future. I haven't forgotten the taste of this country, and I haven't forgotten this yellow earth. The Nanyang Chinese came back to their senses and said yes.

"This person in front of you must be Mr. Li Guanshan, the patriarch of the Li family in Pontianak. At the time of the Pontianak chaos. Mr. Li turned the tide and stabilized the Lanfang army, which was almost collapsing, and finally managed to defend the arrival of the imperial fleet. It played a key role in quelling the Dutch riots for the imperial court, and it was really indispensable. Mr.'s name is like thunder in his later life, and he can finally see it today. The young man took Li Guanshan's hand and turned around and said, "Come on, come on, I'll introduce you to the elders." These two are the first heroes of the imperial court's determination to use troops against Nanyang this time. ”

The two old men standing in the distance laughed and stepped forward. Li Guanshan's eyes were sharp, and he suddenly said: "This is Li Hongzhang, the prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, Li Zhongtang?" Then this is Zhang Zhongtang, the governor of Zhili? The two great men advised the imperial court to send troops to save our Nanyang Chinese and the matter of water and fire has long been spread throughout Nanyang. On behalf of the Nanyang Chinese, the grass people thanked the two adults. Saying that, Li Guanshan and Nanyang Chinese bowed down one after another.

"I can't do it. Hurry up, please. Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong quickly stepped forward with black faces to support the Nanyang Chinese who were about to make a big salute. Li Hongzhang said: "I just talk about it, but I can't afford to deserve such a great gift. You must know that the Qing Dynasty has to take great risks when it starts a war against foreigners, and if there is no emperor's approval, how to transfer troops and punish generals. Therefore, the real decision was made by the emperor back then, and it was better for you to thank the emperor or thank the emperor in person. While speaking, Li Hongzhang still looked at the emperor in a robe with his spare eyes, and saw that the emperor had been smiling protectively, so he let his heart go.

"Your Excellency is too modest. If it weren't for the advice of the two adults, I am afraid that it would be difficult for the court to make up its mind, so the two adults should be the first to take the lead. The emperor naturally wanted to bow to the Jingshi, and asked the two adults to play on behalf of the emperor, and allowed the grass people and others to personally thank the emperor. ”

Li Guannian's words made Li Zhang very embarrassed. Zhang Zhidong thought for a while and said: "This is a difference. Have you ever wondered why the imperial court's fleet could arrive so quickly? In fact, the emperor has always been worried about what happened to overseas Chinese, as early as half a year ago, there was news that the Dutch might be unfavorable to the Nanyang Chinese, and the emperor was secretly arranging. I didn't want the Nanyang robbery to happen, so the emperor had an excuse to send a fleet south. Therefore, I am only trying to hide my words. ”

It turned out that this was the true way of the matter, and it turned out that the rescue of the Nanyang Chinese was an early arrangement of the imperial court, and everything was actually in the emperor's plan. As long as the imperial court has not forgotten them, so many years of suffering have finally not been in vain, and the tears that the Nanyang Chinese can hold back are almost unstoppable.

Zhang Zhidong continued: "You don't have to enter Beijing to see the emperor, you can do it here." Zhang Zhidong looked at the smiling emperor in front of him and said to everyone: "This is the person you should be most grateful for, this is the emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty - Emperor Guangxu." ”

"The grass people knock to see my emperor, long live my emperor, long live, long live." Everyone was shocked, no one thought that the emperor would come to pick them up in person, so everyone knelt down and saluted with tears in their eyes.

Guangxu still smiled faintly: "Flat." I deliberately didn't wear court clothes today, because I didn't want your fathers and ladies to see me, so I would be exempted from this courtesy. It would be nice to be a son of my hometown to welcome the elders who have lived overseas for a long time home. Elders, please get up. ”

If you really come to pick up the elders as juniors, how can you still ask the elders to kneel down to greet the juniors, it should be before everyone starts to salute. Now Guangxu said that it is more and more natural for the official to speak, and he will not speak until everyone kneels, which is called the majesty of the monarch. But since you want to do a show, you have to do a full set, and after speaking, Guangxu stepped forward and helped everyone up one by one.

Li Guanshan was the most excited in his heart: "Your Majesty, the grass people...... On behalf of hundreds of thousands of Chinese in Nanyang, the grass people thanked the emperor for his grace -- "Only then did he get up and kneel down again."

"Old gentleman doesn't have to be like this." Guangxu stepped forward to help him up: "You have lived overseas for a long time, and you don't need to follow the imperial court's etiquette. What do you do with braids? Isn't it because of the homeland that I have never forgotten in my heart? Therefore, as long as the Nanyang Chinese are safe, as long as the Chinese heart of the Nanyang Chinese is still there, and as long as the Chinese are still committed to the motherland, it is worth it for the imperial court to take a big risk to start a war with the foreigners. I and the tens of thousands of soldiers of the imperial court only need one thing for you, and that is your Chinese heart. (To be continued......) u