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Hefei, Anhui, Feixi County, Liu Laowei.

Liu Laowei is the residence of Liu Mingchuan and Liu Mingfang and other children of the Liu family, and the meaning of Wei refers to a series of building facilities. The polders built here, the houses in which are surrounded by water, and the roads connected by suspension bridges are very powerful, which can effectively prevent bandits. In fact, there are also many big families in Qingjiangpu who build houses like this, for example, there is a Song family manor in Wharf Town, which is called Song Wei.

Zhang Renjie led the team all the way over, but he encountered a lot of such polders, the scale is not small, and there is really no problem with a family of thousands of people living inside. Zhang Renjie thought that this was the characteristic of Anhui, but in fact, he didn't know the characteristics of Feixi, but in fact, he only needed to pull a local and ask carefully.

There are seven or eight polders in this area that are equivalent to Liu Laowei, and there are many smaller ones, and there are a hundred large and small ones in total. The most famous and largest places are the "Four Great Polder Manors" built by the four major families of Zhang, Liu, Zhou and Tang. These four lords are Zhang Shusheng, the governor of Liangguang, Liu Mingchuan, the third person in the Huai Army, Zhou Shengbo, the governor of Hunan, and Tang Dingkui, the crown prince, who were originally the most important generals in the Huai Army, and their status was very prominent.

These people also started by running militia groups, and after joining Li Hongzhang's Huai army, they grew rapidly. In the continuous battles with the Taiping army, Lian won consecutive battles to recover a large number of areas occupied by the Taiping army, so he also captured a large amount of property, which he included in his own 'account'. After the Taiping army was pacified, these Huai generals also returned to their hometowns with these belongings and built their own polder manors. Just around Luzhou, the Huai army generals built a number of polders, so it also formed the largest and most concentrated polder group in history.

In this vicinity, it is precisely because of these polders that there is no bandit within two hundred miles of the entire Feixi County. In the hometown of the generals of the Huai army, each polder had an army to defend the polder. If there are bandits in the vicinity who can threaten them, even if the forces in one polder are not enough to eliminate them, they will unite several families to eliminate the bandits.

"Battalion commander, Liu Laowei is ahead! Do you think I'm going to go over and report it first?! Zhang Qishi, the commander of the guard platoon, asked out loud.

Zhang Renjie was still observing Liu Laowei not far away, and his mouth was full of admiration: "This place is really well chosen, most of the polders we saw before were built in a hilly buffer place, between two mountains in the mountains, which ensures that the water source is sufficient." Moreover, there is a ditch outside the polder, and the stone walls are built inside, plus the blockhouses at the four corners, which are stronger than the defenses of many county seats. If you look at this one again, it seems to be a little different. ”

"Yes, battalion commander, the trench outside this polder is wider, the fence is much higher, and there are more turrets. But this has nothing to do with us, we're almost at the door, do you want me to report first?! Zhang Qishi asked again.

"Don't worry, let's talk about it in front of you. We're here to visit relatives, not to attack Weizi, what are we afraid of! Zhang Renjie said indifferently. There were only twenty-one of them, and even if they all had guns, they wouldn't be able to take down this polder. Unless Zhang Renjie came to attack at night, he had a certain certainty.

The terrain here is higher, the surrounding vision is wide, and the guards in front of Liu Laowei's gate also discovered Zhang Renjie and others early in the morning. However, people came over generously, and there were two big cars on the side, and it was obvious that they were pulling gifts. It's not the first time they've seen someone like this. Even if Liu Mingchuan is idle at home, his words in Anhui and even Jiangnan have the same weight. After all, the Huai army is all over the country, and his old subordinates are naturally all over the country, and there are people who give face wherever they go.

"Stop! What people?! Before he could get on the bridge, the guard shouted loudly.

The others didn't move, but Zhang Renjie and Zhang Qishi crossed the bridge. "Please inform Liu Mingfang and Master Liu, and say that there are guests in Qingjiangpu. Surname Zhang, trouble! Zhang Qishi followed Zhang Renjie's instructions, stepped forward and said to the guard in front of the door. At the same time, he quietly stuffed a silver ingot, which was five taels.

The two people in front of the door were not very old, and when they saw that these people in front of them were quite extraordinary, and the other party was very good at doing things, the silver in his hand was heavy, and he immediately smiled and said: "You are lucky, the uncle happens to be in the polder, you wait for a while, I will report first." ”

After a while, the doorman who had gone to report came back at a trot, followed by an old man who was walking briskly. said that he was an old man, and his age was not as old as Zhang Youde, but he was almost sixty years old. In this era, people are in their sixties, and even if they are well maintained, they are still old. The old man in front of him looked like he was born in the army, and he walked like a tiger, although he was old, he was still vigorous. The square face is square, and the eyes on the high nose bridge are big and bright. But at this moment, he was full of joy in his eyes, and shouted while walking quickly: "Brother Zhang, is it Brother Zhang?" ”

When Zhang Renjie saw this old man, he knew who the first target he was looking for on this trip. Without hesitation, he immediately saluted: "The little nephew Zhang Renjie has seen the second uncle, and my father asked me to greet you with him!" ”

The old man's face, which was flushed with excitement, also disappeared a little, and it was obvious that he was a little disappointed. "Are you the son of Big Brother Youde? Like, really, it's the same as when I first met my eldest brother, except that you're younger. Renjie, the handsome man of benevolence and righteousness, it seems that the eldest brother has high expectations for you! By the way, my eldest brother is okay? ”

Zhang Renjie looks very similar to Zhang Youde, and Liu Mingfang immediately determined that this is the son of the sworn eldest brother.

"My father is old and in good health, but because of an illness a while ago, he can't go out now. Father said that he was very sorry for you, second uncle, so he asked me to come here to make amends to my second uncle! This is a handwritten letter from your father! Zhang Renjie's expression was very in place, as if he was repenting for his father.

Liu Mingfang didn't mean to blame this righteous brother, but now when he heard that Zhang Youde had a physical problem, his face was even more worried. Quickly open the envelope and quickly browse through it.

After reading the letter, he stepped forward and helped Zhang Renjie up: "Hey, nephew, please get up quickly." The eldest brother is just a good face, and this matter is not a big deal. However, now that you have grown so big, the eldest brother has fulfilled his wish. Go to the courtyard first, stay here for two days, and I will arrange to visit the eldest brother with you. Over the years, although he is no longer in the army, things are still complicated, and he has not been able to find time to go to Qingjiangpu, hey, I am still afraid that my eldest brother will blame him, but he has been thinking about the things of the year! ”

"Second uncle, my father also asked me to bring you some souvenirs for you to try!" With a wave of his hand, the nineteen people behind the cart also began to cross the bridge.

"Who are these people in the back?" Liu Mingfang also noticed the twenty soldiers of the Renzi Battalion behind Zhang Renjie at this time. He is a veteran of the army, leading soldiers for decades, and he can tell the good and bad of the soldiers at a glance. These people in front of him knew at a glance that they were good soldiers, and even among the tens of thousands of Ming troops back then, there were not many such soldiers.

Zhang Renjie smiled: "Second Uncle Hui, the little nephew is now the garrison capital of Andong County, Huai'an Prefecture, and they are all soldiers trained by the little nephew." ”

"Oh!" Liu Mingfang's eyes suddenly lit up, and he was impressed by this nephew. "You're twenty years at most!"

"Yes, second uncle, my little nephew is just twenty this year!"

"The hero is a young man, and the eldest brother has given birth to a good son!" After speaking, Liu Mingfang turned his head and instructed the steward beside him: "Ah Zhong, take these brothers to the side courtyard to rest, and tell those rabbit cubs to be entertained!" ”

"Thank you, Second Uncle!"

Liu Mingfang waved his hand: "What are you polite to me!" Let's go, go into the hospital and talk. ”

walked all the way in, and gradually entered the depths of Liu Laowei. This is where the main hall of Liu Laowei is located, a total of three entrances, each into three houses, the houses are much taller than the general houses. Liu Mingfang took Zhang Renjie through the long corridor of the first and second entrances, and came to the innermost hall with three entrances. This hall is different from other places, it is a two-story building, the main hall of the hall is facing the outer ditch called the crescent pond, the crescent pond is a rectangular lotus pond with two sharp corners and inner chords, but this is not the season when the lotus blooms.

Just this three courtyards, it is much larger than the Zhang family compound, as far as the eye can see, there are buildings on all sides, all of them are two-storey, there is a small island behind, there is also a house on the island, there is a plaque on it, but I can't see what the words are.

"My residence is in the northwest corner, let's talk while drinking tea!"