July 21, the 25th year of Guangxu of the Qing Empire, on the evening. Zhengjiazhuang, northeast of Pingyi County, Yizhou Prefecture, Shandong.

Fifty-two-year-old Zheng Jing had already washed his feet and was ready to go to bed by the maid. Like yesterday, he still sleeps in his study. And instead of going to the bedrooms of his two aunts, he felt more and more powerless in that matter when he was over fifty years old, and he knew that this was the case, so he would not have asked for another room after his wife's death, despite the opposition of his family.

Zheng Jing's original wife died of illness ten years ago, when he was still in Jinan Mansion. The two sons, Zheng Cheng and Zheng Du, are both from the original match. Zheng Jing also has a concubine, who is the wife's dowry girl, and she doesn't like him very much, so she only gave birth to a daughter, Zheng Chan, who is sixteen years old. The two sons both married wives and had children, and had their own careers, only the second aunt Taihua and daughter Xiaochan followed him. Four years ago, because of his hatred with the former governor Yuxian, Zheng Jing decided to return to his hometown, and before leaving Jinan, he bought a sixteen-year-old Wang Yuecian in the market and became the third aunt. The eldest son Zheng Cheng is okay, but the second son Zheng Du is openly opposed, when will he be in charge of Lao Tzu's affairs? Zheng Jing wrote a letter to scold the second son and returned to Zhengjiazhuang with Wang Yuechan.

For a period of time, the third aunt Wang Yuecian became Zheng Jing's favorite, Zheng Jing, who had been busy for a year, found that the third aunt's stomach always couldn't bulge, and with his own illness, it turned out that the dragon spirit and tiger's fierce body was like a deflated ball, and he was really powerless to deal with the young and beautiful third aunt, and he always felt that the third aunt was too sarcastic at the corner of her mouth. With heart disease, the matter of the bed has been much lighter, and in the past year, he has slept more alone in the study.

Reading a passage from the Analects every night before going to bed has been a habit for nearly forty years.

The Analects, which has been memorized backwards, has been read so far, and this is the power of the book of the sages. In the past, Zhao Pu was the prime minister, and half of the treatise ruled the world, and Zheng Jing believed that this was indeed the case.

"Hometown, the thief of Lourdes." His homework every night is to flip through the pages, which paragraph is counted. Closing his eyes and contemplating, such as Chen Chao and Xiao Guanyu, is the hometown wish hated by the saint. There is no right or wrong in everything, I like to be with the light and dust, a bunch of unproductive buns.

Zheng Jing is ambitious. This irrepressible ambition was pinned on the two sons, and the eldest son Zheng Cheng, who had taken the military position, easily survived to the Wupin garrison and took a patrol battalion in Yizhou. Look, it's hard to go any further. Originally, the talent of the eldest son was not as good as that of the second son, and Zheng Jing basically lost hope for the eldest son now, and pinned all his hopes on the second son.

Zheng Du's talent is there, but the problem is that he is too anxious. Otherwise, there will be no setbacks. However, the current situation is very good, he eats very well with Lord Cao Kun, the town guard of Caozhou, and he has a bit of a taste of being Cao Da's courage. With the unification of the right army of Wuwei in Shandong, the future of the second son is bright again.

Abandoning business and military affairs was actually influenced by the second son. Zheng Jing admits that the second son has a vision. Today's situation is facing great changes, with both civil and military affairs, one relaxing and one relaxing, generally relying on literature to govern the world, and relying on military force in troubled times. It has been 250 years since the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, and the taboo of Hu Wu's 100-year fortune has long been broken by the three generations of British lords of Kang Yongqian. But history has its own laws, 300 years is a catastrophe, and no one can escape! Look, Hong Yang is in chaos, stirring up half of the country; Britain and France burned the Old Summer Palace; The twist has been tossed for more than ten years__ just ushered in the so-called Zhongxing, and the external troubles are stacked, and the first Sino-Japanese battle has hurt China's vitality. There was a row of land reparations, and it hadn't stopped for a few years, and the Boxers were making a fuss again__ With a little vision, who can say that this is the rule of the world?

Therefore, Du'er was right to persuade himself to return to his hometown to recruit villagers. In the small way, you can keep the place safe, and in the big way, the fame and wealth are in it!

Zheng Jing's thoughts returned to just now, and the troubled times are used to re-enact! This is something that all talented people know. What kind of trouble did Shandong make for Yihequan, that is, the squire's government was too indulgent to a bunch of ignorant mud legs. If you are like him, where will there be many troubles?

Anything against foreigners, that's all an excuse. Sooner or later, those bastards who don't know the etiquette of respect and humility will have to learn from Hong Yang and aim the spearhead at the court! Yuxian's unconscious official should have been removed a long time ago. The new Lord Yuan is much more shrewd than the old bastard Yuxian, and as soon as he arrives, he changes the connivance policy of his predecessor and severely suppresses the Boxers in the territory, which is right. It's a pity that there are always fake benevolent and righteous guys like Chen Yuezhi in the locality, if he hadn't broken his fortune to buy guns and recruit soldiers, the time he attacked with calves would have made Sanzhuang suffer a big loss! Zhengjiazhuang is not guaranteed, can they survive alone?

The thrilling battle three years ago not only gave Zheng Jing high prestige around him, but also received heavy rewards from the government. Zheng Jing is not short of silver, what he lacks is meritorious deeds that can be recorded on his son's head. That battle made Zheng Du and Zheng Cheng both praised by their superiors, because Zheng Jing gave almost all the credit to his two sons - all the credit for their strategic planning and anticipation of the enemy's opportunity.

A few days ago, Zheng Du wrote a letter from Caozhou, saying that there was still a group of remnant bandits in Mengshanzhai, and although there were few of them, they should not be underestimated. He once attacked the New Army in Maoyang Town, captured hundreds of prisoners of the New Army, and imprisoned them in Mengshan. Some of them have only recently fled back. According to the brothers of the new army who returned home, the ambition of Xiangma in Mengshanzhai is not small, and it is by no means comparable to the grass coward who holds the calf, and he should be more vigilant. Although Mengshan and Zhengjiazhuang are separated by a hundred miles, since they can come to hold calves, why can't Mengshan thieves come? Now that Zhengjiazhuang is famous, it is inevitable that it will be coveted by strongmen.

Zheng Jing attaches great importance to the reminder of the second son. He actively took measures, on the one hand, he sent silver tickets, asked his second son to buy guns and ammunition through official connections, and continued to expand the force of Zhengjiazhuang, and on the other hand, he unified the Zhuang Ding of Sanzhuang to form a township army completely under his own command. Sanzhuang was combined and armed, and the strength could reach nearly 1,000 people, plus the newly purchased 200 new guns, which was enough to despise all the bandits in Lunan.

Not only that, in Lunan, with this armed force that he completely controlled, it will be of great benefit to the career prospects of his two sons.

What do the rich men who like to bury their gold and silver treasures know? At the beginning, whether it was Marquis Zeng or Li Zhongtang, didn't they all start with township soldiers?

However, Chen Chao and Xiao Guanyu politely rejected their proposal to merge with Xiang Yong! Zheng Jingnian has known the destiny of heaven, but the anger is not small, every time he thinks of being rejected by Erzhuang, he grits his teeth with hatred, if it is a thief or a calf to kill, Lao Tzu just looks at your good show!

You can come whatever you want. Zheng Jing had already fallen asleep, but there was a sound of hurried footsteps in the courtyard, and then there was a knock on the bedroom door, "Master, master, I am Zheng Zhong." ”

Zheng Zhong is his cousin, the captain of Zhengjiazhuang's Zhuang Ding team.

"What's the alarm?" Zheng Jing coughed and sat up in his clothes.

"Master, it's not good. There are thieves who beat Bai Wei__"

"What!" Zheng Jing's voice raised an octave, "You say it again?" ”

"Master, just now Bai Wei Town sent someone to ask for help, and a group of strongmen are attacking Bai Wei in the dark__"

This time it sounded real. Zheng Jing got up, turned on the light, pulled his shoes and pulled the door latch open, Zheng Zhong flashed into the door, followed by Tian Shubang, the vice captain and head coach of the Zhuang Ding team.

Tian Shubang is a master hired by Zheng Jing from outside the Guan, born with a beard, escaped to the Guannei for committing crimes, rode horses and guns, and has a good martial arts. The improvement of the combat effectiveness of the Zhengjiazhuang Zhuang Ding team has a great relationship with this person.

"Well, don't panic. Slowly, what's going on? ”

This time it was Tian Shubang who told him, and 1510 told him the news he had just gotten. As soon as the sky was dark, the Zhuang Ding of Bai Wei Patrol Village encountered the sound of horses sneaking over, some rode horses, more on foot, and only one of the four Zhuang Ding patrolling the village escaped back, and the rest were not known for life and death. Then, Xiangma surrounded Bai Wei__

"Sect Leader Tian, in your opinion, where did the strongman come from?" Zheng Jing lit a bag of cigarettes and asked calmly.

"It's hard to say." Tian Shubang was deeply worried, "This gang of bandits has excellent marksmanship, and two Zhuang Ding on the wall of the wall have their heads broken, and they can't see how many people are coming from the other side at all." ”

"Where's the one who came?"

"Outside. I'm anxious for us to send troops to rescue __"

"Take it to the front yard, I'll ask." Zheng Jing put on his shirt and walked out of the room.

The person who came to ask for help, Zheng Jing, surnamed Bai, was Xiao Guanyu's entourage, untidy, and his arm was scratched, and he knelt down when he saw Zheng Jing, "Master Zheng hurriedly sent troops to rescue, it's too late." As he spoke, he took out a letter from his bosom, raised his hands, and presented it to Zheng Jing.

Zheng Jing took the letter expressionlessly, did not seal it, and read a few lines at random, it was indeed Xiao Guanyu's handwriting, but it was just a request for help, and there was nothing to look at.

"You Xiao Zhuang owner is very self-conscious, and how many thieves are you afraid of?" Zheng Jing sneered and handed the letter to Tian Shubang beside him.

The person who escaped from Baiwei Town and ran to Zhengjiazhuang to ask for help was called Bai Zhonghai. Originally, there was a companion, but he broke his foot on the road and couldn't walk. Bai Zhonghai left his companion and ran for help. Bai Wei was twenty miles away from Zhengjiazhuang, stumbling all the way, but fortunately he didn't encounter the thieves who surrounded the village. Bai Zhonghai knew that Zheng Jing would have this question, and the owner of Xiao Zhuang had expected it before, so he said with a sad face, "I am a subordinate, and I dare not say anything about the affairs of the old man." But knowing the truth of the cold lips and teeth, I hope that Master Zheng will send troops to save Bai Wei as soon as possible, otherwise it will be over__"

"You can talk. Let me ask you," Zheng Jing didn't let Bai Zhonghai get up to reply, but still told him to kneel, "How many thieves are there?" How much is a foreign gun? ”

"I can't see clearly when it's dark." Bai Zhonghai sorted out his thoughts, "Tonight is Captain Bai's patrol village, and he met a team of thieves in the Red Willow Forest, and I don't know where they came from. But Captain Bai was also killed__ I really don't know how many thieves there are, but I know that the thieves have been found in the three walled gates of Ludao, they have a lot of foreign guns, and the brothers who guarded the walled gate have been killed several, and the frightened people have extinguished the lit torches__"

Tian Shubang snorted coldly, "I don't understand this bit of common sense." Isn't lighting a torch at night a target for thieves? ”

"Get up, go out and rest first." Zheng Zhong observed his words and feelings, and knew that Master Zheng was going to discuss with him and Tian Jiaotou, so he helped Bai Zhonghai up and let him rest outside.