In later generations, although Xinjiekou was the commercial center of Nanjing, there was no square, just a bustling crossroads. Four main roads meet here. The west is called Hanzhong Road, the east is called Zhongshan East Road, the south is called Zhongshan South Road, and the north is called Zhongshan Road (very strangely, it is not called Zhongshan North Road).

But in the current Ming Dynasty, the road west of Xinjiekou, that is, the road they came from, is still called "Hanzhong Road"; The one on the east side is called "Changping Road"; The north and south are called "Yanping North Road" and "Yanping South Road" respectively.

"Changping Road" and "Yanping Road" are the two largest main roads in Nanjing, which are named in honor of Zhu Yujiao, the "Empress of Changping", and Zheng Chenggong, the "King of Yanping County".

……

Zhu Yujiao is famous, she is the daughter of Chongzhen, and she is titled "Princess Changping", the Cantonese opera "Imperial Flower" tells her story, Jin Yong's "Blue Blood Sword" in the little princess A Jiu, the one-armed god in "The Legend of Deer and Ding", is also Zhu Yujiao. In history, Zhu Yujiao's fate was very tragic, first she was cut off by her father, and then the country was ruined, and she was reduced from the royal golden branch and jade leaf to the slave of the country. She once wrote to the Qing Emperor in the second year of Shunzhi, begging to become a nun. Shunzhi felt that the princess was a daughter, and no one would support her as the emperor and pose a threat to himself, so he did not allow the princess to become a monk. In order to win people's hearts, he also rewarded the princess and married her to Zhou Xian, the concubine chosen by Chongzhen before his death. But Zhu Yujiao was greatly traumatized physically and mentally, and died just over a year after marriage, and she was five months pregnant when she died.

……

However, people are not as good as heaven, who knew that hundreds of years later, there was a "YY time and space travel agency", and Princess Changping was also possessed by an ordinary employee of the agency, Fei Fei.

So, against the current of history, this possessed Zhu Yujiao, not long after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs and the Northern Ming Dynasty fell, escaped from Beijing alone, defected to Zheng Chenggong, and used his strength to recover all the lost territories in the south of the Yangtze River. Zhu Yujiao was expected to return, ascended to the throne of God, and married Zheng Chenggong. A generation of national heroes was also crowned king, from "Yanping General" to "Yanping County King", and the two joined forces to create the Southern Ming Empire, which lasted for nearly 300 years. This legendary experience has been adapted into countless storytelling, plays and novels over the centuries, and has become a widely praised story. Southern Ming history textbooks called Zhu Yujiao "the greatest empress of the Ming Dynasty", and later generations of international historians often referred to the "Empress Changping" of the Ming Dynasty, the "Queen Elizabeth (I)" of the United Kingdom, and the "Empress Catherine" of Russia.

According to the records of the wild history, the news of Zhu Yujiao's proclamation as emperor in Jiangnan reached the Qing court, and Emperor Shunzhi vomited blood on the spot after learning that this "Empress Changping" was the poor little princess of the former dynasty who was also "rewarded". Legend has it that Shunzhi later became a monk, half because of mourning for Concubine Dong E, and half because of regret for this matter, feeling that he couldn't forgive himself and was ashamed of his ancestors.

……

In later generations, there was a bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen standing in the center of the Xinjiekou crossroads. Later, in the year when Xiang Xiaoqiang went to college, the bronze statue was removed because of the construction of the subway. Now that Xiaoqiang has arrived at Xinjiekou a few decades ago, he has stretched his neck to look.

This square is so magnificent!

In the middle of the surrounding bustling buildings, there is a large circular square, surrounded by cast iron lampposts, and the traffic circles around the square, which seems to be unusually open.

Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but admire. It's not as exaggerated as Tiananmen Square, but it's okay.

The most eye-catching thing is a statue in the center of the square, which is about ten meters high. At first glance, it looks like a fountain sculpture in the middle of a European city.

But it wasn't a fountain, it was a huge kneeling bronze statue of a woman with a granite tablet in her arms. It was a mulberry-shaped map of China, inlaid with copper wires marking the provinces and the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.

The boulder is black and white, the upper part of the provinces occupied by the Qing Dynasty is made of black granite, and the lower half of the provinces of the Ming Dynasty are made of white marble.

As soon as it goes up, it is black and white, which looks heavy and solemn, which is very shocking.

The bronze woman sat on her knees in ragged clothes, clutching the map tightly, her expression grief-stricken, as if she were weeping, like a mother mourning the death of her child.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang was shocked and very interested in this theme sculpture. Although the rickshaw had begun to circle around the square, he still grabbed the handrail and turned around to look around.

The rickshaw is parked at the edge of the square, and on the sidewalk stands an ornate European-style building, with a row of tall Roman columns in front and a few bronze words at the entrance: Liangyou Department Store.

Qiu Yu opened Xiao Kun's bag and gave each of the two coachmen a dime, and then generously gave each of them a five-cent tip. The two coachmen were overjoyed and thanked them again and again.

Xiang Xiaoqiang wanted to pull Qiu Qian to see the statue immediately, but suddenly remembered the clothes on his body, which was really shabby, so he had to wait until he bought new clothes.

A row of luxury classic cars parked in front of the door, white, gold, pink, and apricot, with a few convertibles and several black elongated. Although it is old-fashioned, it is clearly a good car. Several uniformed drivers waited, chatting, smoking, and reading newspapers.

In the large and bright glass windows, the models are posed in various elegant poses, displaying all kinds of high-end dresses, luxurious furs, jeweled jewelry, beautiful leather bags, delicate shoes, and other things that dazzle the girls.

……

"The ...... of the Cake Seller"

Xiang Xiaoqiang entered the Liangyou Department Store, like Grandma Liu entered the Grand View Garden, standing in the local area, marveling at the magnificence in front of him.

He visited the Wangfujing business district in Beijing in later generations, the Xujiahui commercial district in Shanghai in later generations, and the Golden Eagle Department Store and Oriental Mall in Nanjing in later generations.

The high carved ceiling like a church, the glittering crystal chandeliers, the mirror-polished granite floor, and the dark red carpet with copper wire rimming stretch along the main pedestrian circulation. The dark green marble wall can shine the shadow of people.

What is even more rare is that every few steps, there is a young lady in a slender velvet evening gown, with bare shoulders and slim standing behind the counter, with a noble, reserved smile on her face, which matches the atmosphere in the lobby.

Inside the dark walnut counter, a variety of luxury items glow brightly in the light.

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang followed behind Qiu Qian while looking at him, until he saw the bare jade shoulders of the sales lady, and suddenly remembered that it was December now, but the mall was as warm as spring, and he was wearing a big cotton jacket, which was already a little hot.

But there was definitely no air conditioning at this time, and there was no stove in the lobby. Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't help but be surprised.

"Hey," he whispered to Qiuyun, "Is there heating here?" ”

"Yes."

"Where? How I didn't see it. ”

Qiu Yu blushed shyly, looked around and no one was paying attention, so he secretly pointed to the side and whispered:

"Look, those cats and dogs are."

Xiang Xiaoqiang followed her finger, on both sides of the carpet, every few steps squatted a bronze cat or dog, the same size as the real one, different shapes, lifelike.

Oh, so they're heating!

Xiang Xiaoqiang leaned over and touched it, and it was really warm. Probably there's a heating pipe underneath them.

A sales lady behind the counter raised an eyebrow and handed them a good-natured smile.

Qiu Qiu's face turned red again, she smiled awkwardly, lowered her head and pulled Xiaoqiang away. Xiang Xiaoqiang's face is not so thin, his face is still like water, looking around nonchalantly.

The two walked up the carpeted marble staircase to the stairwell. There is a pair of rococo embroidered sofas, wallpaper on the walls, and brass sconces are lit to give it a soft light. It's a place for customers to take a break.

"Comfortable!" Xiang Xiaoqiang sat on the sofa with his butt and patted the other, "Sit!" ”

"Xiaoqiang," Qiu Yu's face was flushed, and he said with a straight face, "If you do this again, I won't take you out." ”

Hey, this little girl doesn't treat herself as an outsider, and she still calls "Mr. Xiang" in a soft voice in the Qing Dynasty, and this is only the next day, she is called "Xiaoqiang" with a horizontal nose and vertical eyes.

Xiang Xiaoqiang hates others calling him "Xiaoqiang" the most, especially after Zhou Xingxing's "Tang Bohu Dots Autumn Fragrance" became popular all over the country.

"Don't call me 'Xiaoqiang', I'll tell you."

Qiu Qiqi said: "Why? ”

"No, why, it's not cool."

"Isn't the name just for people?" Qiu Yu secretly looked at his expression, "...... Okay, okay, do you have a table word? I'll call you the word. ”

By the way, it's the thirties, and it's still fashionable for people to take table words at this time.

"My name is 'Brother Qiang'," Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled, "Come, call and listen." ”

"You ......" Qiu Yun's face turned red again, and he snorted, "If you don't have a table, I will still call you 'Xiaoqiang'." ”

"Hey," warned Xiaoqiang, "If you call me 'Xiaoqiang', then I will also call you 'Xiaoqiang'!" ”

Unexpectedly, Xiao Nizi hesitated, actually lowered her head, smiled, and replied very gently:

“…… Okay. ”

Xiaoqiang fell down.