At the time of the Kunlun Incident, Pu Zixuan was only nineteen years old, and that year was the second year of Tongzhi, or according to his father, it was also called 1863.

That year, the Qing Dynasty was still in a stormy and eventful autumn.

The Anqing Ordnance Institute manufactured the first small wooden shell steamer "Yellow Bird" in the Qing Dynasty, and it seems that the Qing Dynasty has recovered a lot of vitality under the Westernization Movement promoted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. Unfortunately, these guns were not used to resist the invasion of foreigners, but instead aimed their guns at the domestic uprisings one after another.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Twist Army, the Miao people, and the Hui uprisings were suppressed one after another, especially the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's most respected righteous king Shi Da opened his army and defeated the Dadu River, which became a topic of conversation after tea and dinner in the world.

The common people have long hated the rotten Manchu Dynasty, hoping that a hero will rise up to save the people of Li in dire straits, and Shi Dakai is regarded as "Shi Dadang" by the people, and is deeply loved by the people, which is in response to the world's fantasy of heroes, but unfortunately a generation of heroic souls has fallen, which makes people all shake their heads and sigh.

In the same year, Yunnan changed its governor, and large-scale fighting broke out between the acting political envoy Cen Yuying and the Hui rebel army led by Du Wenxiu, including Pu Zixuan's hometown of Lijiang County.

In fact, for these heroes of the uprising, Pu Zixuan always has complicated feelings.

Since his great-grandfather Pu Qifan migrated to Lijiang County in the 55th year of Qianlong, the ancestors of the Pu family started from scratch and started a well-known kitchen knife business.

A few years before Pu Zixuan was born, in order to expand the opium business, the British wanted to find a large family on the Ancient Tea Horse Road to act as an agent for opium, so they talked about cooperation with his father Pu Weihai, but was sternly refused.

When I was a child, my father often talked to him proudly: "That time, Daddy, I didn't eat soft and hard bubbles, and even almost imitated Lin Zhonggong to come to a small 'Lijiang cigarette sales', Xuan'er, when you grow up, you can do anything, but you must not touch opium!" ”

Later, the British targeted the treaty ports along the coast of China, won the Opium War, gained more markets, and did not come to pester the Pu family again.

Although his father lost this huge business opportunity, he won the favor of the people of Lijiang, and the business became more prosperous. Although Pu Zixuan lost his mother when he was a child, the word "maternal love" was so unfamiliar to him, he never got it, so it didn't matter if he lost it, which did not cause him too much pain.

Therefore, for Pu Zixuan, although the war of the poor deserves sympathy, his main concern is the stability of the world. If the fortunes were reshuffled, especially once the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established the "small paradise" of "farming and eating together" that they dreamed of, he would lose the good life he had earned without hard work. Therefore, Pu Zixuan, like his partners, was upset about Shi Gandang, but he didn't have too much sadness about Shi Gandang's sacrifice in his heart, and Pu Zixuan was most concerned about it in the past seven years, and there was only one thing that made him unbelievable.

As early as 1856, when Pu Zixuan was twelve years old, his father Pu Weihai mysteriously disappeared.

At that time, Pu Zixuan was not familiar with the world, and he did not know much about his father, but he only remembered that in those months, some blonde and blue-eyed British people suddenly came to Pu's mansion frequently to visit Pu Weihai. Pu Weihai is a kind person, even if he and the British have a bad time over the opiium issue, but after all, he has opened a road to a foreign land.

Pu Zixuan often secretly paid attention to their conversation, and when they were together, they always talked in English, which made no sense to Pu Zixuan to understand them.

Once, a fat Englishman saw him, smiled at him, and gave him a colorful blue ball, smaller than a watermelon, with all sorts of English words on it, which his father told him that night was called a globe.

Even so, Pu Zixuan still didn't have much affection for those Brits, and the longer his father spent with them, the more depressed he became, and he often stayed alone in the study for half a day without coming out. After a long time, the Pu family's weapons business was also affected to a certain extent.

Pu Weihai was not moved by this, but one day, he completely abandoned his family business and left his son completely.

It was raining lightly that day, and Pu Weihai took his son's hand and got into the carriage and sent him to a private school in the south of Lijiang County to study. Although Pu Zixuan had already developed the habit of going to school and leaving school alone, his father not only wanted to send him off that time, but also squeezed his hands very tightly, as if something major was about to happen.

The private school gentleman's surname is He, his name is He Youlan, he has the same mustache as Pu Weihai, and he is also of the same height, but he has a completely different temperament - Pu Weihai is a businessman, and he is a literati. Pu Zixuan has been exposed to many novelties in the West since he was a child, but Mr. He's full of four books and five classics always makes him unable to feel the vastness of life.

That day, at the door of the private school, my father handed Pu Zixuan's hand to Mr. He, and advised: "Youlan, Xuan'er will be handed over to you in the future, he is my only son, please take care of him for me until he is eighteen years old." ”

Father has always been kind and benevolent, helping countless people, Pu Zixuan never wondered who would lend a hand to his father, sure enough, He Youlan patted Pu Weihai on the shoulder and said: "Brother Pu, you and I are brothers, your son is my son." ”

Suddenly understood his father's intentions, Pu Zixuan burst out of his eyes with tears in his eyes, and asked in a lost voice, "Dad, where are you going?" ”

Pu Weihai leaned over and kissed his son's cheek, the father and son had not acted so intimately for a long time, the beard pierced Pu Zixuan's face itchy and painful, but Pu Zixuan was reluctant to let go, just crying to himself. After a while, Pu Weihai said in a low voice: "Xiao Qi, if I stay here, it will only bring you danger, I will go to a far away place, and when the danger is over, we will meet again." ”

"Xiao Qi" is Pu Zixuan's milk name, when he was a child, his father always called him that, but as he grew older, his father gradually changed his name to "Zixuan" or "Xuan'er", if he called "Xiao Qi" again, it must have happened very seriously. Pu Zixuan tugged on his father's trouser leg tightly and begged: "Dad, don't go, please, don't leave me!" ”

Pu Weihai suddenly became stern and scolded: "Don't cry, if you always cry like this, how will you face your future life?" Then, his attitude softened and kissed his son's forehead tightly, and a drop of hot tears ran down his face and dripped onto Pu Zixuan's neck.

Seeing this, He Youlan changed the subject and said, "Zixuan, your good friend is waiting for you." Then he shouted at the private school: "Yuan Liang, come and pick up Zixuan to play." ”

A tall boy walked out - this is Pu Zixuan's classmate Zhu Yuanliang, his best friend in the private school. Zhu Yuanliang was sensible earlier, and comforted: "Your father is just leaving you temporarily, but my father and mother died in the war, and you are already very happy, so let your uncle go." After speaking, he handed Pu Zixuan a slingshot and said, "This is for you." ”