A year ago, when Li Shi raised the bearing and muttered to himself what the giant wheel of history was rolling, he did not expect that the place where the giant wheel rolled up first was not in Guangdong, but in Jiangnan.

At the Liuhao Water Wharf in Guazhou, Yangzhou, several strange boats are moored together, longer than the sentry boats, and they also have a sail, but there are no oars outside. Many people were hurriedly carrying goods, and the waves of water behind the butt of a fully loaded boat whirred and set sail towards the south.

On the trestle, a middle-aged man hurried along, and behind him, several young men carried an old man high, as if he had kidnapped him.

"Huang Fei! You hurt me! I wrote the book 'Go with the wind on the eve and say that you are a guest', why do you want to change the word Qingming! ”

The old man shouted as he struggled, and the middle-aged man in front of him looked so bitter that he was about to drip.

"Third uncle, you are not professional, how can we set off at dusk in a hurry? If you want to blame me, blame me for not paying attention to the master who changed the post, who made this court have these taboos!? It's not that I just sent a ship to Beijing to test the business in the north, and this news can't be received before the imperial court starts! ”

The middle-aged man is Huang Fei, the proprietor of Shunfeng Express, unlike other text cases, he is not a literati, and he also holds the fastest message transmission channel at present.

"Under the whole world, if it is not the king's land, where can you flee to! My reputation in Zhang Chao's life was ruined by you like this! Your father has tinkered with strange things all his life, and he can enjoy himself, but he doesn't want to make such a shocking disaster on your brother! ”

The old man who called himself Zhang Chao was full of tears, this is a crime involving the nine clans, the post was first written by him for Huang Fei, although it was changed, but he still can't get rid of the crime.

Huang Fei sighed and said, "Third uncle, we still have a place to go." It is true that my father gave our brother brains, but it was the master from Guangdong who gave us the hand, and they could help. If you can't do it again, go directly to the sea, there will always be a place to live. ”

Then he muttered in a low voice: "What is the reputation of the Qing Dynasty, it is the reputation of the Qing Dynasty, what is this thing going to do!?" ”

Zhang Chao didn't sit still, sighed, and let his family carry him onto the boat.

Huang Fei didn't get on the boat, he looked behind him and saw another group of people coming in a hurry, all carrying thick bags.

Huang Fei frowned and asked, "What about Huang Zhuo, you won't bring all the bedding at home, right?" ”

Those people wiped their sweat and pointed back: "The second young master is behind, he said that everything else doesn't matter, these drawings must not be missing." ”

Huang Fei stomped his feet: "As long as he is there, what drawings can't be drawn again!?" What a fool! ”

On the sixth day of the first month of the 54th year of Kangxi, the two families of Zhang and Huang in Yangzhou, together with the shopkeeper of Shunfeng Express and Yangzhou Qiqiaoxing, hundreds of people escaped by the fast Jiao boat of Shunfeng Express, and the official document ordering the arrest of the relevant people in the Shunfeng Express case has not yet passed the boundary of Zhili.

During the Lantern Festival in the first lunar month, when the Yangzhou government was full of bitterness in the empty Zhang Huang's house, the annual meeting of Qingtian Company was held in Guangzhou. The reason why it was postponed until the Lantern Festival was postponed was that Li Xi was pushed by that unsteady feeling and began to make some preparations, and the other reason was that the company's shelf was big, and it would take some time for the important people to gather.

The building in the center of the cargo station was originally the company's new headquarters under construction, and before the conference, Li Xi received three messages at the same time, which made him finally have a certain degree of grasp of the current situation.

One was sent by Xiao Xie in the capital, with letters written by Tang Youzeng and Tian Congdian to Duan Hongshi respectively. In addition to the polite greetings, the letter also vaguely mentioned that Guangdong is in the limelight recently, and the court is also discussing the affairs of Guangdong. As a member of the court, it is already commendable to be able to speak to this point.

The second is a letter brought by Li Zhushou to Master Luo, with a letter from the family of Babeile Mansion, and the words are much more straightforward, the court wants to attack Guangdong, and the eighth master is trying to maneuver, asking Li Zhushou to wipe his ass quickly and not leave any dirt.

Third ...... It's interesting, it's the imperial court's newspaper. Different from the previous Di Bao, this rush all the way arrived almost at the same time as Xiao Xie and Yinxi's urgent report, and the efficiency of the imperial court's post transmission was finally reflected. Including the discussion of the court and the Yangzhou Shunfeng Express case, as well as the emperor's dissatisfaction with Guangdong, they could not be more transparent in this newspaper.

Li Xian's previous doubts were vaguely answered in this newspaper. Gangnam ...... He ignored the status of Jiangnan in the eyes of the Qing court, and his overturning of the river and the sea in Guangdong was still too far for the Qing court, both geographically and psychologically. But Jiangnan is the lifeblood of the Qing court, and there is a little wind and grass there, and the Qing court is nervous.

Nowadays, this situation is because many of Guangdong's technologies and business thinking have spread to Jiangnan, and the ingenuity of Jiangnan craftsmen and the essence of businessmen are even stronger than Guangdong, and it is natural to carry them forward. Let's just say that this fast Jiao boat is not something he invented, nor is it made in Guangdong, it is purely inspired by the Jiangnan people on the loom he passed down in the past, and then combined with the ancient car and ship design, such a thing came out. And it is more reasonable for businessmen to make profits, but they were targeted by Kangxi.

This newspaper came so quickly, and it gave Li Xi a little insight, it seems that Guangdong officialdom also has its own style. The Di Bao was compiled by the provinces in the capital of Titang, who went to the cabinet study of the six ministries to check the major matters related to the province, and then compiled them into tabloids, published them in Beijing, and then sent them back to the province. Seeing that the court was going to make a big move in Guangdong, Guangdong Titang naturally became ruthless, and used 600 or even 800 miles to expedite it, catching up with the speed of private express delivery and sending the news back to the province. 【1】

"Now, it's time for us to shake the handle......"

At the company meeting, Li Xi did not summarize the achievements and did not look forward to the future, but issued such an order.

The so-called "grip" is the response plan formulated by Qingtian Company, and at the business level, it is to step up the return of funds, close down unimportant branch projects, and increase the silver absorption of Sanjiang Ticket Bank and Sanjiang Investment.

These measures are known to all the cadres above the rank of deacon in the company, while others are known only to those who are concerned with the "military" matter. The "grip" is to send a signal of war readiness, the smuggling of sulfur saltpeter should be strengthened, the Qingtian Siwei and the Hong Kong Shui Yong should also start to assemble, and the Heavenly Punishment Society should send out a mobilization to prepare for battle.

"Finally...... Ready to get your hands dirty? ”

Yan Sanniang asked excitedly, in the six months after returning from Xin'an, Li Xian was busy with the "financial kidnapping" operation of Sanjiang Ticket Bank and Sanjiang Investment, and she returned to Yingde to be responsible for the expansion and training of Siwei. Originally, Li Shi didn't want her to interfere so deeply, after all, if she became a husband and wife, it would not be easy to step down in the future, and Duan Hongshi also made the same opinion. But he has so many people in his hands, and he doesn't need to put such a prestigious, capable, and reliable person who is about to go to his own bed, it is a braincase. Li Shi also had to let Yan Sanniang take on a role similar to the "director of teaching", responsible for the basic skills training and guidance of all his soldiers, and together with Fan Jin's "director of military law", he became his left arm and right hand in controlling the army on a macro level.

In the past six months, the two have been busy with affairs, gathering less and leaving more, and occasionally getting along, they feel sweet. At this moment, snuggled in Li Xian's arms, Yan Sanniang also let his salty pig hands rub oil up and down. She was not a member of Qingtian and did not attend increasingly formal company meetings. Hearing Li Xi say the word "grip handle", he slapped Li Shi's hand away, and it seemed that he was going to go to the battlefield in the next moment.

"It's not unsheathed yet, but it's time to ...... I also got the bright sword step. ”

Li Xi said this, the trilogy is the rough plan he drew up, and the current situation is not so urgent.

"Yes...... Now we are fully counted, and we have only 3,000 reliable soldiers. ”

Yan Sanniang sighed, and had to suppress the boiling fire. Li Shi's career has actually gathered five or six thousand troops, but the only ones who can really join the battlefield are Si Wei and Shui Yong. The rest of the group, including the shipwrights and the Cargo Station Guards, who are surnamed security guards, are unreliable in terms of skill and loyalty.

"Not only that, our banner is not ready yet."

Li Xian sighed that on the other hand, the three rings of people, finance, and army, although the army is small, it can be regarded as formed, and the wealth has made considerable progress, and the people are ...... Especially in the part of people's hearts, Duan Hongshi and Yiming Lao Dao both gave their own plans, but Duan Hongshi was too circuitous, and Yiming Lao Dao was too ...... Eccentric.

Thinking of what Yiming Lao Dao had come up with, Li Xi groaned secretly, this old man can really toss, he can really make something like that!?

"Why hasn't Sister Pan come yet? Are you still worshipping the heavens? ”

was swayed by Li Shi's big hand attacking again, Yan Sanniang hurriedly changed the topic, and this time she succeeded.

"You are not allowed to go with her!"

Li Shi reprimanded with a straight face.

Guangzhou Xiguan Yingci Hospital, Pan Jinling is so busy that she has smoke on her forehead, so she doesn't have the time to worship anyone.

In a white-walled room, she and several others were wearing pale green plain robes, wearing cloth hats of the same color on their heads, and their faces were covered by large masks. In the middle of the room, a man was lying on a table, his belly open, and Pan Jinling was using tweezers to pull a piece of black intestine out of his stomach.

Clamp the lower end with small steel pliers, lift the rectum with tweezers, and Pan Jinling uses his left hand to point out two fingers to the opposite person, making a scissors posture. The man was also slender, and even if he was covered by a plain robe, he could see his slender curves. A pair of eyes are even brighter, as if they can speak, faintly similar to Pan Jinling.

She nodded, carefully found scissors from the tool tray on the side, and was about to hand them over, but Pan Jinling shook her head, pointed her index finger, and then raised her thumb, her beautiful eyes suddenly brightened, and it seemed that there were faint tears.

After a while, the defeated black intestine was cut off, and after looking at the unconscious patients in the stands, Pan Jinling breathed a sigh of relief, and he finally saved the life of a person. This "intestinal carbuncle" was originally not a subject for treatment in the Ying Tzu Hospital, but looking at the symptoms of this person, the decoction could no longer be saved, and the family held the mind of a dead horse as a live horse doctor, and begged the Ying Tzu Yuan to help, she could not see death without saving. And it just so happened that she had studied this disease and knew how to treat it surgically.

Out of the house, take off the mask, the woman who moved the scissors before showed her face, she was fifteen or sixteen years old, although her face was ordinary, but her eyebrows were faintly close to Pan Jinling. She chased to Pan Jinling's side, ahhhh

"Okay, take you there, you have to bathe, this body of filth, you can't take it to worship the sky."

Pan Jinling smiled slightly, and also responded with his hand. This girl is the mute girl she adopted before, surnamed He, she has no name, Pan Jinling named her "Mo Niang", said to be with her, her ears and eyes are stained, and she can actually help her do something, and the two have developed a unique set of sign language to communicate.

He Mo Niang happily waved her palm at a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy in the distance, it was her brother He Ming, the young man didn't know what he was depressed about, and gestured like "don't bother me", turned his head and ignored her.

On the low hill southwest of Yingci Temple, the original pavilion overlooking the Pearl River has been converted into a temple-like hall. Pan Jinling, who changed into a light blue plain skirt, entered the hall with He Mo Niang, who was also dressed, and suddenly found himself in a strange space that felt quite magnanimous.

The hall is not wide, but it is very high, the top of the head is a dome, reflected by the wind lamp, the colorful pictures are very eye-catching, there are several paintings, anyone who is familiar with Chinese mythology can see that it should be Pangu opening the sky, Nuwa creating people, Xuanyuan out of the Wei River, the Yanhuang War, the Yellow Emperor Chiyou War...... All the way down, until Fuxi made words, Shennong tasted a hundred herbs. Unlike freehand landscape paintings, these drawings are vivid and delicate, and the expressions of each figure are clearly visible, making them look as if they were there. A momentum of vicissitudes of life, under the thick cover of these pictures, makes everyone who enters the palace feel small and humble.

The front of the hall has only one wall, and on the wall is a huge round window, one side is translucent and the other side is dim, like a huge Taiji diagram. There are several steps under the wall, but the bottom step is dirt.

Pan Jinling and He Mo Niang knelt on the dirt steps, closed their eyes with their palms closed, and their lips squirmed slightly, as if they were silently reciting some scripture.

"Confess your deeds to our lord and confess your sins. All the merits and sins belong to my Lord, and My Lord will give you peace of mind. ”

In the corner, an old, deep voice spoke.

"Cause to Him my merits and my sins, and I pray that He may continue to walk on behalf of Heaven and lead me forward......

Pan Jinling recited silently in a low voice, but it was a different sentence.

Yanjing, Yongwangfu, a thin middle-aged man, was also chanting in a quiet room in a low voice, and the green smoke on the incense burner made his face look a little blurred.

"Master, long live the lord has something to invite you to discuss important matters, are you preparing in advance to investigate?"

The subordinate outside the door whispered, but the middle-aged man didn't hear it.

"The slave didn't dare to disturb the master's Qing Xiu, but the matter was urgent, and it was said that he wanted to ...... with the princes and ministers."

The subordinate dared to continue, and the middle-aged man was finally annoyed.

"What are you yelling about!? I Yinzhen is pure, what does the court have to do with me!? Wait until I finish reciting this great mantra ......"

At this time, the next few words were spit out, "Discuss the matter of Guangdong." ”

The green smoke dissipated, and a cold face with eyebrows like knives was revealed.

"Cantonese ......"

In an instant, many memory fragments flashed in Aixin Jueluo-Yinzhen's mind, and then gathered under the face of the "old eight".

"Hurry up and change my clothes!"

He called out in a deep voice.

(To be continued)