When the delegation entered Beijing, the scene was not as imposing as when it landed in Tianjin, at least it did not have the "ten-mile suburbs" treatment that Chen Tao enjoyed when he entered Beijing. It was only when I was about to arrive in front of Chaoyang Gate that a few "new and old friends" were waiting there and made a special trip to meet the people of Qiongzhen.

But the identities of these "new and old friends" can be scary: the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Yanru, the secretary of the ministry; Pavilion elders, Qian Qianyi, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites; Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the military department; Zhang Wanchong, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry; Yang Yihe, the newly appointed secretary of the household department and the governor of Caoyun; Jin Yiwei commanded Luo to raise sex; and the envoy of the inner court representing the eunuch Cao Huachun, and the envoy of the inner court representing Wang Chengen, the governor of the Great Interior...... Wait, every person who stands up is a character who can make the ground in the capital tremble, but at this time, they are silently waiting for Daozuo, wasting their precious time.

And these people are very low-key, and none of them have played a guard of honor. The official is nothing more than a small hat in green clothes and a small sedan chair. Several high-ranking internal supervisors who are usually very powerful in the palace are also wearing low-level palace prison uniforms, for fear of attracting the attention of others. Of course, it is more dependent on the subordinates of Chief Cao Da and Commander Luo - on this day, there are actually few ordinary people near Chaoyang Gate who can stay, all of them are people from Jinyiwei and Neichang.

They didn't wait in vain, when it was getting late, Qiongzhou shorthair really appeared under the city of Beijing with its unique flamboyance - their super large horse fleet was not only completely different from the Ming Dynasty, but also all kinds of small accessories and trinkets gilt and inlaid with silver were completely different from the simplicity and generosity of the Ming style furniture tradition, full of a certain ...... Well, according to shorthair, that's called the "local tyrant gold" style.

Except for Qian Qianyi and Qian Mulao, no one else here has really seen the Nanhai people, Chen Tao came alone, no matter what he personally planned, in the end, he could only end up integrating into the Ming Dynasty. This delegation was not. From the very beginning, they consciously emphasized their own characteristics everywhere, showing a different style and appearance from the Ming Dynasty.

And they did—when Zhou Yanru and the others saw a group of sturdy young men in suits and leather shoes coming out of the richly decorated Western carriages, their eyes narrowed visibly. For these political animals, this is already a very explicit expression. And then when I shook hands with the boys, I was obviously not comfortable.

Thankfully, the ladies didn't get out of the car, and we didn't use Western veneer salutes, otherwise the old guys would have been even more unbearable - looking at the stiff faces of the old men, more than one person in the delegation thought so with a prank mind.

The meeting time was not long, that is, they just greeted each other under the introduction of Qian Ge Lao. Qian Qianyi was not familiar with most of the delegation. After all, this is essentially a blind date tour group. And the people who were really in power in the Qiong Navy, that is, the people who negotiated with him on Hainan Island at the beginning, did not come. Lin Hanlong, the only one who had more contact, was still behind.

However, at this time, in front of Zhou Yanru and others, Qian Qianyi was extremely enthusiastic, not only being able to skillfully call out the names of everyone in the delegation, but also casually greeting them, either about the work they were responsible for, or about their familiar friends...... In short, it looks like he knows the inside story of the short hair very well.

This is obviously a lot of homework done in advance, everyone look at Chen Tao's expression. You can basically know where the old money got the information. But frankly, it is possible to accurately identify everyone in a group of short hairs wearing the same brand suit and shaved like a stubble, without saying the wrong name. Lao Qian's hard work is really not small.

The slow pace of work of the people of the Ming Dynasty is reflected in these places: the group shook hands and said a few words of gossip, but they still stayed for nearly an hour. When the convoy stopped, although it deliberately avoided the side of the road, it found a spacious tea shed as a place to talk. But the fans of Jinyiwei and the inner factory have already blocked the front and rear roads, and there are no idlers to approach, so Chaoyangmen has been blocked during this time. It was almost late evening when they arrived. After such a delay, it was almost completely dark.

The city gate of Beijing is to be closed at night, but there are so many big people here tonight, and he lent ten guts to the city gate official, and he didn't dare to shut out the Jinyi Guard Commander and the cronies of the acting eunuch of the Inner Compilation Factory, so he could only wait there honestly, and only dare to close the city gate when all the big men entered the city.

And the delegation also got the first impression of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, that is, it was dark, pitch black!

-- There were no street lights in the city of this era, and even the houses on both sides of the road could not see through the lights, because the Ming capital still implemented the Li Fang system, and there were rammed earth walls on both sides of the road, and in order to prevent thieves from preventing fire, they were all built high and thick, and the windows were not opened. The only possible source of light was the lantern hanging in the gatehouse at the entrance to the lane, and in some of the large houses that had the right to open directly to the street—but it could not have been lit overnight, and was almost extinguished at ninety o'clock in the evening. In recent years, the state has been insufficient, and the income has been declining, even the big families in Beijing have gradually thinned their foundations, which is reflected in these small things in daily life, that is, often not long after dark, the porter will come out to blow the lamp and pull out the wax -- in order to save a few wax and oil money.

And there are not many such high-ranking households, so walking on the city roads at night, even if this is in the capital of Daming, if the moonlight is not bright enough, it can only be illuminated by the light source brought by pedestrians. This point cannot be changed even by Ge Lao Shangshu, and they themselves have long been accustomed to this kind of life. Knowing that they were going to walk at night today, the sedan chairmen and coachmen of each family had already prepared lanterns, and at this time they took them out and prepared to light them.

However, they soon discovered that it was not necessary, at least not at all when walking with the shorthaired convoy - each of the shorthairs' carriages had headlights, although they were only oil-fueled fire lights, but behind the light sources were concave silver mirror glass reflectors, so that the lights could shine in a fixed direction, far more brightly and far longer than the paper lanterns in the hands of the natives. Under the strong light, even if the lanterns were lit, they would not be bright at all.

"I've long heard that as long as it's from Qiongzhen, everything is delicate and delicate, and when I see it today, it really deserves its name."

The first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Yanru, the heavenly official of the Ministry of Officials, was sitting comfortably in the carriage belonging to Guo Yi at this time, and the leather seat with a spring bracket under the buttocks was definitely much more comfortable than the hardwood chair in the sedan chair. Curiously, he opened the glass window and saw a white brush on the road in front of the carriage. And when the light from the carriage behind him even made him feel dazzling, he said the above sentence with admiration.

Guo Yi, who was sitting opposite him, just smiled when he heard this, quite reserved, but in the end, he couldn't get rid of the young man's showy temperament, and responded:

"The batch of items we paid tribute to the emperor two years ago seems to have lighting fixtures in them, right? For so long, it hasn't become popular in Jingshi? We thought someone would make it soon. ”

Zhou Yanru looked at the hairy boy in front of him, if it was a local official of the Ming Dynasty, such a young man, even if it was a dignified leader. At this age, you can only have qualifications in the Hanlin Academy. Seeing that he was the head of the cabinet, he must be respectful, and he didn't even dare to breathe. But the young man in front of him, the tone of the conversation seemed to be completely facing his peers, and he could even faintly hear a trace of frivolity......

These short-haired bunches are really arrogant enough.

However, since he had made a chic move just now, he had offered to sit in the carriage in Qionghai Town, and he originally had the idea of getting as close to Shorthair as possible. And at this time, next to Guo Yi, Qian Qianyi was looking at him with a smile - although this old opponent had a limited political level, he was very keen on matters related to short hair, and he obviously saw his own plans at this moment. That's why he caught up, clearly refusing to let himself be alone with the short-haired chieftain.

He didn't have much to say in this environment. It can only be done on a case-by-case basis:

"The utensils of the inner court are not coveted by the people. Besides, such a delicate thing, folk craftsmen can't imitate it. ”

Guo Yi smiled quite lightly:

"That's nothing, just wait for our big market to open. These things are just ordinary commodities, and ordinary people can buy them as long as they have money. ”

Next to him, Qian Qianyi suddenly patted the cushion under him, and asked with a smile:

"Is this four-wheeled carriage also for sale? The old man wanted to buy one. ”

Guo Yi suddenly laughed:

"What are you polite to us, this car is actually not unusual on Hainan Island. Wang Jieshan: He has one privately. This time, we have a tight space, and the few cars we brought are allocated to each person for a fixed purpose. I didn't bring any extra ones. But I'll send a telegram back to Hainan at once, and ask them to deliver a few of them in the next batch of transports, and it will only take a month -- you can choose the type, size, and decoration of the carriage yourself. According to the habits of Westerners, if the nobles have to draw the family coat of arms on the carriage, we don't seem to pay attention to this, but if there is a county, the hall number can also be engraved. ”

Qian Qianyi laughed, pointed at Guo Yi and shook his head:

"Xiao Guo, Xiao Guo, you really don't understand our Central Plains customs-the Junwangtang number, which is for the children of the family to remember in their hearts, and they will not forget their roots. If this family is solemn and praised, it will be considered an honor. What is it when you carve your own house outside and swagger everywhere? ”

Guo Yi laughed twice:

"Then engrave two pieces of your famous poems or calligraphy, and it's a decoration anyway."

The two laughed a few words, and Zhou Yanru, who was sitting opposite them, had always been extremely personable, maintaining a posture of stroking his beard and smiling, but he was very annoyed in his heart - Qian Muzhai has always been a grandmaster in front of people, and his joy and anger are invisible, when will he talk and laugh so loudly? This is clearly deliberately done for himself, indicating that the relationship between him and Shorthair is extremely close, and others don't want to interfere.

And this kid surnamed Guo is actually so funny, obviously showing him that Shorthair does not plan to change the spokesperson...... Tut-tut, what's so good about this Qian Muzhai? If you want to talk about the fame of literary talent, is his dignified background worse than him? In terms of status, he is the first assistant of today's Ming Dynasty, the first person in the real hundred officials! …… Shouldn't these short-haired people still not understand the Ming official system? When I saw someone with money, I regarded him as a representative of high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty, thinking that no one had been able to reach him?

It's no wonder that Zhou Yanru is unhappy from the bottom of his heart, whenever he attends an occasion, he has really never been ignored like this. Fortunately, there were four people in the carriage, two of whom were guests, and two of whom were short-haired. Guo Yi said a few more words to Qian Qianyi, and left Zhou Shoufu in the cold. Fortunately, Chen Tao, who was sitting next to Zhou Yanru, still knew the height of his eyebrows, and smiled at Zhou Yanru:

"Go back to Lord Shousuke, you also have a car, and engrave two of your poems and ink treasures, so that people can see the talent of the champion?"

Zhou Yanru laughed dumbly, these short-haired boys are really whimsical enough - they write their own poems on their own sedan cars? Carry it out without being laughed at and die? But he is not so familiar with short-haired, but he doesn't dare to rely on the old and sell the old like someone like Qian and say that you Xiao Chen is ignorant and foolish, not to mention that at this time, he also needs people to show him this familiarity and informality, so Zhou Da Shoufu just smiled and said:

"Okay, the old man is waiting."

Zhou Yanru and Qian Qianyi got into the short-haired luxury carriage on a whim, and the other officials present at that time naturally did not lag behind, and they asked to see how comfortable the carriage of Qiongzhen was, half-jokingly and half-seriously. Of course, this side will not refuse, anyway, everyone in the delegation is equipped with one, and each car can seat at least four people, and if you squeeze it, it is no problem to sit six.

So the convoy separated after entering the city, and the large army with women and luggage went straight to Qiongshifang, where the Beijing market of the Qionghai Trading Company was located. It will also serve as a station for the delegation in Beijing -- Chen Tao's little nest is too small to accommodate many people.

The cars that received the high-ranking officials sent the guests home first, including Guo Yi's car, which was also the one that sent Zhou Da Shoufu first, then Qian Ge Lao, and finally returned to the big market. This night, the sound of cars was sparkling, and the light was shining in all directions, and the convoy of Qionghai Town had just entered the city of Beijing, which caused a lot of shock in the city. Not to mention anything else, just so many high-ranking officials went to greet them outside the city gate in person, and then they came back in other people's cars for the first time, and the complex meaning contained in this is probably enough for those who have a heart to think about it for a long time. (To be continued......)