Purple Mountain, steep and winding like a dragon, is named after the purple rocks that emerge from the slopes and shimmer golden in the sun.

Xiaolingwei at the southern foot of the Purple Mountain, the camp is layered on top of each other, wooden fences, barbed wire, moats, and fortifications have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and perhaps when the kings of Tianjing are arguing whether to take advantage of the unstable foothold of the Pingyuan army to launch an offensive, the Jiangnan camp has suddenly stood under the city of Nanjing like a war giant.

In fact, not only the Purple Mountain or Jiang Mountain, but also the flag of the Pingyuan Army fluttering everywhere in Jubao Mountain, Yuhuatai, Qinglong Mountain, and Xingguo Temple, and on the river, you can see the gunboats cruising in the distance, and the entire Nanjing City has been surrounded by the Pingyuan Army like an iron bucket.

Riding a horse under the city of Nanjing, looking at the vicissitudes of the ancient and magnificent city wall, listening to the Pingyuan infantry phalanx that covered the sky and the sky was shocked by the mountains and rivers when he was inspected, "Swear to die for the general!" Ye Zhao's heart fluctuated, he naturally knew that from now on, in the long river of history, he will mark more and more marks, whether it is for a hundred generations, or for ten thousand years, history will eventually have his strong stroke.

The next day, Ye Zhao returned to the Taiping Mansion, relying on the war, the temporary telegraph line was very fast, and now it has been paved to the Taiping Mansion, and it will not be long before it can go to the Jiangnan camp under the city of Nanjing, of course, this is only a temporary line, and it will take a lot of effort to convert it into a permanent telegraph network for both military and civilian use in the future.

Perhaps, the fastest development of the Southern Dynasties was the telegraph network, and in the economic aspect, when the initial liberation burst out with great vitality, it has now gradually shown steady development, and the constraints of the market, the lack of infrastructure, and the backwardness of ideological concepts are destined to make this innovation not like the United States has always shown a geometric explosive growth, if it were not for the war to cover up many huge contradictions, I am afraid that all kinds of problems would have surfaced long ago.

Nowadays, even if it is a provincial-level official road, many road sections are not flattering, many rivers are above it, there is no bridge for real vehicles to pass, you can see ferries everywhere, just like the human body, its own strange meridians and eight veins are not smooth, how to compete with others?

I received a telegram in the Taiping Mansion, but it was about the Shogunate faction, saying that there was a war in the country, and when I calculated it, the Meiji had not yet come to power, but I thought about it, stimulated by the changes in southern China, the power of the Restorationists was large, and the civil war with the Shogunate faction broke out in advance, but now there is no British and French support for the Restoration, I am afraid that it is not the opponent of the Shogunate faction, and it will be suppressed soon, but everything will have a beginning, and the current version is the beginning of the Restoration Movement, right?

It took more than twenty years to overturn the Great Qing Empire with the Beiyang Fleet, although there were many reasons for it, and even later generations of the British commented that he defeated the Great Qing Empire with ignorance, because if he had clearly realized the combat effectiveness that the Beiyang Fleet should have, he would not have dared to challenge the Chinese at all, but unfortunately, perhaps he was really ignorant, but the Qing Empire was obviously more ignorant, and the combat power that should be had was not equal to the real combat effectiveness, and this war ended in a disastrous defeat for China, Then he provoked a war with the Russians, defeated the Russians in the Far East, and truly entered the club of the great powers.

In any case, the fact that this achievement in the land of small projectiles for more than 20 years shows the tremendous vitality that can burst out after the liberation of industry and commerce, and it is important to know that from the time Emperor Meiji came to power, there was a continuous civil war, and it was not until the end of the Southwest War in 1877 that the reformists achieved the final victory.

And now, it is said that the Reform Movement will also come early, so Ye Zhao can't help but think about it.

Zhao Sanbao had already engaged the Qing army in the area of Susong, and the naval division of the Pingyuan Army also took the opportunity to send two gunboats to cruise around the docks in Taiwan to force the Taiwan prefect Chen Maolie to surrender.

Today, Taiwan has a population of more than 2 million, most of whom are immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong, and is a thriving agricultural area that has reclaimed wasteland, providing rice and cane sugar to the mainland and importing consumer goods and building materials.

Taiwan, Ye Zhao naturally knows the importance of its geographical location, the time is almost up, and if he can solve it without blood, he will try not to resort to force.

In Taiping City, some shops have already opened for business, and although there are not many sparse pedestrians, they finally have a glimmer of vitality.

Ye Zhao was dressed in a blue robe, riding a bicycle, and drove comfortably on the narrow stone street, surrounded by dozens of guards in black uniforms who were extremely neat and neat.

Perhaps in order to match Ye Zhao's dress, the matchmaker is wearing a relatively simple dress today, red satin jacket and pants, red small embroidered shoes, and a small jasper, which is charming and moving, but if you look carefully, the pink delicacy is lightly drawn, the skin is like congealed cream, and the classical dignified and noble is so noble that people dare not force it.

The matchmaker also went back to Taiping Mansion with Ye Zhao, and the Xianggong asked someone to bring a bicycle, saying that it was to carry her to play, although the matchmaker was helpless, she could only sit in the back seat, and she couldn't say the awkwardness in her heart. But looking at Ye Zhao's back, he felt strange and warm.

In the public, she naturally wouldn't hug Ye Zhao, but what a kung fu she was, sitting on the cushion of the rear seat, a pair of small red cloth embroidered shoes gracefully formed a pair, and gently stepped on the bracket, her delicate body was as if welded on it, and she didn't move at all. She was more worried about her feet, although the red satin trousers covered the top of her feet, and it was impossible for the guards to take a look, but after all, she sat a little high, which was a little indecent.

Ye Zhao was very proud, and after the addiction of riding a bicycle to take his classical beauty and his daughter and friend through the streets and alleys, the satisfaction was more enjoyable than capturing a few cities.

It's a pity that the current bicycle has no brakes, and Ye Zhao is helpless when he uses his foot to step on the rubber skin of the front wheel to slow down, and he feels that his current shape is really a bit silly.

"Wife, if you want to eat, I'll stop, you know?"

The matchmaker looked at his back helplessly, but didn't squeak.

"Knife cut noodles, do you want to eat them?" Ye Zhao looked at the shops on both sides, the streets of many towns are unimaginably narrow, as if they were walking on a line of sky, and the guards running in a row on one side, plus bicycles, have blocked the streets tightly, and how dare pedestrians look at them in twos and threes, they have flashed to the side early.

A curious child asked: "Daddy, what kind of monster is this......" Then his mouth was covered, and when Ye Zhao turned his head to look, people didn't know which alley his frightened father dragged into.

In fact, Mo said that in the occupied areas that have just been recovered, even in Guangdong and Jiangxi, the gradual significant changes are only a few large cities, and when you go elsewhere, you can immediately feel the difference from the clothing.

It is easy to influence the ideological atmosphere in Guangzhou, but it is already even more difficult to radiate this influence to Guangdong and Jiangxi, let alone the entire southeastern half or even the whole of China.

The only thing that is gratifying is that there is a leader in Guangzhou, and industry and commerce are developing quickly or slowly, even if Yunnan is expensive, there are businessmen to purchase all kinds of machinery to set up factories, after all, after improving production efficiency, the profits can be seen by anyone with a discerning eye.

"Let's eat knife-cut noodles!" Ye Zhao stepped on the rubber and slowly stopped the bicycle, I don't know how the matchmaker got out of the car, the bicycle didn't shake for a while, the wonderful feeling of being as light as a feather made Ye Zhao's heart move again, and he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy.

The store was very small, with three or four tables, chairs with missing corners and few legs, and there was originally a table of customers, but when they saw such a group of people from the Southern Dynasty in strange costumes pressed in by the black press, they hurriedly checked out and ran.

The guards chose the cleanest table and placed it in the middle of the store, chose two chairs that were still able to sit firmly and set them up, and pushed the rest of the tables, chairs and benches to the corner, while they stood solemnly inside and outside the store, and some people went to the kitchen.

The chair was covered with a brocade cushion, Ye Zhao and the matchmaker sat down, and the guards were about to go to the Xunjia store to buy new bowls and chopsticks, but Ye Zhao blocked it.

Although the boss was terrified, he didn't dare not come out to say hello, he was tall, like a bamboo pole, and his robe of gray homespun cloth was washed white, but it was quite neat.

"The little one is the official!" Although the boss didn't know the identity of the guest, this pomp and circumstance must be a big official of the Southern Dynasty, so he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, but in fact, he didn't dare to look at it at all.

"Get up, Boss Ma, I heard that you have delicate and delicious knife-cut noodles here, give two bowls, beat poached eggs, and sprinkle some if you have shredded meat." Saying that, Ye Zhao glanced at him, "I can disturb you, when we leave, I will help you settle down in the store, this is the cost of the meal." Ye Zhao snorted, and the guards handed Boss Ma a silver dollar.

"Don't dare, don't dare! The small ones are for you to go to Zhang Luo. Boss Ma kowtowed again, and when he returned to the back kitchen, he wanted to turn the silver ocean upside down, but the sturdy young man next to him stared at him for a moment, so he had to give up.

In the store outside, Ye Zhaozheng smiled and said, "Wife, do you miss me?" ”

The matchmaker smiled lightly and said: "You are the regent, the matchmaker is your soldier, you go back to the Taiping Mansion, how can I send you back to keep you safe, otherwise you blame it, where can the matchmaker afford to be guilty?" ”

Ye Zhao smiled: "It's good that you are so obedient." Then he asked, "Is the bicycle good?" ”

The matchmaker didn't answer, but asked, "Aren't you going to see Gui Liang?" ”

Gui Liang is now imprisoned in the Taiping Mansion, and Ye Zhao has already received a telegram that Britain, France, and the United States have all lodged a solemn protest against the Prime Minister's Yamen through their envoys in Guangzhou, expressing regret for the sabotage of the peace talks by the political axe of southern China, and demanding that the political axe of southern China immediately and unconditionally release the ministers of the peace talks who had been barbarically plundered.

Ye Zhao has heard too much of these diplomatic words, and he will not take them to heart, and if he can release them, then he must show sincerity in the north and send the prince back to the south.

Hearing the matchmaker's question, Ye Zhao smiled: "There's nothing to say when I see it, but ah, let's eat this bowl of noodles, let's go together." ”

pondering Ye Zhao said: "Break Nanjing, you talk to Wei Twelve more, less bloodshed, this Nanjing city is ......" Speaking of this, the people of Nanjing, almost every change of dynasty or even rebellion have to pay the price of blood, from the Hou Jing Rebellion more than a thousand years ago, the number of thieves and soldiers did not seal the knife, to the heinous Nanjing Massacre in later generations, the glory of the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, the place where soldiers must fight, and the people are also infinitely suffering.

Besieging the city of Nanjing, the morale of the bandits will be lower and lower, and finding a way to break the city at the lowest cost is the only thing he can do for the people of Nanjing now.

Moreover, it is necessary to attack the city before the grain and grass in the city are exhausted, and even to attack the city as soon as possible, after all, the food Taiping army in the city must ensure its military needs, if you see that the Pingyuan army has the intention of besieging the city, then the food of the common people will also be plundered and hoarded by it.

Su Hongniang bowed her head: "I can figure out a way, Liu Lichuan, do you remember?" ”

Of course, Ye Zhao remembered that the leader of the Shanghai Knife Society, the first thing he did after leaving Beijing was to help them get out of danger, and I heard that most of the party members of the Little Knife Society went to Guangxi to follow the matchmaker, and some stayed under the banner of Tianjing Tianwang.

Su Hongniang said: "Liu Lichuan, they later knew that you saved them, and they were very grateful, I wrote to them a few days ago, asking them to come to southern Anhui." ”

Liu Lichuan is now the chief military officer of Guizhou's land patrol, which borders the northern country, the bandits are serious, and the towns of the Pingyuan Army are in the southeast, so it is natural to leave a part of the elite soldiers to suppress bandits in Guizhou and guard against the northern [***] horses, Liu Lichuan as one of the four favorite generals under the matchmaker, although he is in a mood and is unwilling to stay in the "rear", but he can only obediently obey orders.

Hearing the matchmaker talk about them, Ye Zhao's eyes lit up, "You mean ......" The voice was extremely low, and he spit out three words, "Zhou Lichun?" ”

Zhou Lichun and Liu Lichuan are both leaders of the Little Knife Society, but after getting out of trouble that year, Zhou Lichun did not go to Guangxi, but stayed in Tianjing, Ye Zhao's intelligence network also mentioned that he is now the commander of the Fifth Brigade in front of the Taiping Army, and his official position is not high, but he is also a tiger general who commands 10,000 troops.

In fact, Ye Zhao had long wanted to ask the matchmaker if he could instigate Zhou Lichun to rebel against the water, but he didn't know how, when it came to the internal affairs of the Heaven and Earth Society, he always felt a little estranged from the matchmaker, he didn't know the matchmaker's true thoughts, and he didn't know if the matchmaker had any arrangements.

Now that the matchmaker took the initiative to mention it, Ye Zhao was a little happy and said, "Does Zhou Lichun still have contact with you?" ”

The matchmaker smiled: "That's not it, but Liu Lichuan, Brother Liu and Brother Zhou are like brothers, and Brother Zhou's daughter is in our army." ”

Ye Zhao smiled: "Who, do I know me?" ”

The matchmaker said: "You should have heard, Zhou Xiuying, the female barracks of the sixth town." ”

Ye Zhao patted his head, and said that it was her, I had heard this name earlier, the most tiger female general under the command of the matchmaker, good at making a big knife, a big knife show girl, legend has it that one person killed hundreds of Qing soldiers in Tangwan Bridge, and it was a famous name, and there was a folk song cloud: "Zhou Xiuying, the heroine of the female middle school, has big red pants and a small tight body, holds a big knife for one hundred and twenty pounds, and opens four doors on the Tangwan Bridge." ”

The matchmaker looked at Ye Zhao and smiled, and said, "Take her to see you another day, Xiuying can worship your tightness, and say that you, the life-saving benefactor, have three heads and six arms." ”

Ye Zhao waved his hand again and again, he had heard of this tiger head, not only was he rude, but he was also a hot thunderbolt temper, and he didn't know what he would say when he saw his little white face and was disappointed, and he didn't know what he would say when he punished her, nor did he beat her.

Seeing the matchmaker's smug smile, I also knew that the tiger head must have thought that he was eight feet tall and had a green face and fangs.

Ye Zhao pondered and asked, "Will Liu Lichuan and Zhou Xiuying rush over?" ”

The matchmaker bowed, "Yes, I will think about it then, this Nanjing City is not easy to enter now, and besides, I may not be able to say that Brother Zhou will be moved, let's see the move." ”

Ye Zhao was in high spirits and said with a smile: "No matter what you say, this is all good news." ”

The matchmaker chuckled and said, "Now I know the good news, but what about you, have you ever taken me as your own?" ”

Ye Zhao coughed dryly and took out the cigarette pack.

The matchmaker glanced at him and said: "If you want to say that you are also strange, you keep saying that your wife and wife are called an intimacy, and the guns are so powerful, but you don't ask about me at all, whether it is the Heaven and Earth Society, or the Fair Party, there is really nothing you want to know?" Say you are suspicious, and everything can be my mind, in the Yunnan-Guizhou Guangxi area, how many people from the original Heaven and Earth Society were used? If you don't care about it like this, aren't you afraid that one day I'll really turn it back? ”

Ye Zhao smiled: "That's up to you." ”

The matchmaker snorted: "You, I don't know you yet?" Deliberately! The more you treat people, the more embarrassed others are? Slick! Saying that, the bright starry eyes looked at Ye Zhao, but gradually gentle, "Little slippery head." The last three words are even more tender and full of lingering.

Ye Zhao's heart fluttered, he laughed, and said in a low voice: "It's not a little slippery head, why did you deceive you to be your wife?" "Even though the guards are far away, they can't hear this kind of love talk.

The matchmaker glanced at Ye Zhao and said, "I don't know how many more girls I have deceived, and my ability is getting bigger and bigger." ”

Ye Zhaoxin said that at night, you will know that I am not very capable, after all, I am afraid of being heard, so I didn't make a sound, just laughed.

As he spoke, the guards brought noodles, followed by the trembling Boss Ma.

"Boss Ma, you sit." Ye Zhao beckoned him.

Boss Ma was stunned, and saw that the young man in strange black clothes moved a chair and placed it a few feet away from the octagonal table, so he had to hunch over and sit down next to his buttocks, his eyes only swept on Ye Zhao and Su Hongniang, and then retracted like an electric shock, startled, where did these two immortal characters come from? I don't know how to describe that gorgeous elegance and nobility, even if I talk about the true monarchs of the heavenly palace and the fairy concubines when I listen to the commentary, the immortal monarchs and fairies imagined in my head are far from these two.

Don't blame Boss Ma for being ashamed of himself, the richest people he has seen are only big families in the city, and it is good to see people with clean faces, just an ordinary woman wearing clean and beautiful clothes and two small gold beads on her ears, I am afraid that he will not be able to open his eyes, let alone characters such as Ye Zhao and Hongniang.

"Boss Ma, don't be afraid, I want to ask you something, are there any officers and soldiers in this city who disturb the people, even if it is a rumor, tell me." Ye Zhao said as he shook the folding fan to blow the heat off the matchmaker's knife-cut noodles, the matchmaker was speechless, this is getting more and more coaxing, but he knows that he is coaxing people, and he feels sweet in his heart.

Boss Ma shook his head vigorously, and said repeatedly: "No, the little one really hasn't heard of it, after the heavenly soldiers entered the city, Qiu didn't commit any crimes." As he spoke, he naturally didn't dare to raise his head.

Ye Zhao smiled: "Actually, I'm also a disturber today, do you know where to sue me?" ”

"There's a yamen at the front door, what's it called? Military Discipline Department? Boss Ma said subconsciously, and then shook his head hurriedly: "No, no, the little ones don't dare, don't dare." As he spoke, he couldn't help but reach out and touch the silver in the purse on his waist.

Ye Zhao heard that he knew about this military discipline department, so he nodded and said, "I won't take back Yinyang, otherwise if you really denounce me, I will be punished." ”

Boss Ma smiled, although he was curious, could it be that this military discipline yamen is really in charge? But after all, I didn't dare to ask more.

…… Ye Zhao didn't eat much noodles, and went to a few shops with the matchmaker to hang out, and met a team of patrol soldiers, this team of officers and soldiers is a herald, ordering grain and rice stores and other shops that affect the lives of residents in the city to be open for business. They beat the gong and shouted loudly, what else did Pingyuan Junqiu not commit any crime, did not take a stitch from the people, and those who violated military discipline could go to the Qianmen Yamen to report and so on.

Ye Zhao smiled, this Zheng Gouzi is worse than uniting the gentry, after all, he is a poor man, and he has been oppressed by the gentry, so he has no good impression of the gentry. But he also has a set of methods to calm people's hearts.

Although Ye Zhao and the others looked at the costumes of Guangzhou in the Southern Dynasty, a large group of people swaggered through the city, and they were inevitably stopped by the soldiers in charge of picketing for questioning, and their own guards took out their waist cards and sent them away.

When he went back, Ye Zhao naturally rode a bicycle with the matchmaker, swaggering through the market, and he was so beautiful in his heart.

Ye Zhao lived in the back house of the prefect's yamen, while Gui Liang was placed under house arrest in the East Cross Courtyard, walking on the cobblestone path, the breeze was blowing, the green bamboo rustled, and it was also quiet.

"It seems that the military management can be over, and after two days, the patrol will be transferred and arrested, this prefect, you can also help me think of a personal election." As Ye Zhao spoke, he had already arrived in front of a side room, the black uniform guard gently pushed the door open, and Ye Zhao and the matchmaker walked in slowly.

The inside of the wing room is clean and elegant, the hard screen separating the inside and outside is six or seven feet wide, inlaid with the palace map of the Song Dynasty, the attic flying ridge, towering into the Yunhan, the mountains are far away, and the autumn geese are horizontal.

Gui Liang sat motionless on the chair in front of the screen, like the old man of the court, and he didn't get up when he saw Ye Zhao coming in, it seemed that this chair was also moved by himself.

Ye Zhao smiled slightly when he saw his posture of the golden sword, and said, "Gui Zhongtang, I heard that you are not used to eating southern food, and the cook helped you change it, what is not used to it?" ”

Gui Liang has been waiting for this day, seeing this annihilation, he scolded him or ignored him, Gui Liang thought about it for a long time, and now he was sitting upright, and snorted in his nose: "This is not the official grass house, what is not used to it?" ”

Ye Zhao laughed: "It's good that Zhongtang knows how to follow the customs, then you can rest early." Then he and the matchmaker walked out, there was nothing to say to him, even if he caught a hundred of these prisoners, there was no joy, and there was nothing to show off, if it wasn't for the prince, what was the use of catching him?

Gui Liang was stunned, he had thought about how to deal with this annihilation thousands of times, and had countless calculations, such as how he scolded this chaotic country when he asked him to write a letter to the emperor, and how he ridiculed Ye Zhao when Ye Zhao persuaded him to surrender, but he didn't expect that people turned around and left without saying a word.

Gui Liang was stunned for a long time, and a deep sense of frustration welled up in his heart.

(To be continued)