The days of digging ditches lasted for half a month, and the originally silted river channel became deeper and wider day by day. The haphazard houses built on the shore were demolished one by one, and the garbage and debris that were cleaned up emitted a foul smell to the sky. Many people living here are amazed, they can't imagine that their ancestors have lived in such a ghost place for generations.

The garbage was burned, the silt was transported out of the city, and the homes were much clearer. Although the work is tiring, the people living here are enthusiastic. But a winter rain came, and the whole project was temporarily suspended. The water from the ground converges into the ditch and flows slowly downstream.

"Alas, when it rained in the past, the water in this stinking ditch could flood into the house. What dead rats, dirty garbage all floated in. People can only stand on the kang and wait, waiting for the water to recede. If you are unlucky, the walls will be soaked and the house will collapse. Every year, a few lives are inevitable. The presiding officer of the temple stood on the bank of the ditch and sighed at the rushing water.

Liu Zhang and the others also followed, they didn't have any feelings about the stinky ditch in the past, but they were slightly surprised to find that the project they had been busy with for half a month really played a role. Problems that haven't been solved for decades seem to be difficult to do. It doesn't cost much or labor, but why has it been dragging on for so many years?

The host added: "I vaguely remember that when I was young, the water in this ditch was quite clear, and every summer day there were children who went down to play in the water. I didn't expect that this old man would still be able to see it return to its original state. ”

The newly launched "Beijing Daily" has been very busy lately, focusing on publicizing the changes made by the 'revolutionary army' after it came to power. Even this stinky ditch has not been spared, and a special feature has been published recently, and from time to time there are 'reporters' who come to interview.

More than a dozen special reports have been written, from the suffering of the people in the pre-Ming Dynasty and the incompetence of the Ming court, to the effect of the dredging project with the recent arrival of winter rains, all of which have been written in detail. There are people who read newspapers everywhere to publicize it, and the people also approve of it. Even Liu and Zhang took advantage of this incident to understand what is called 'organization' and 'discipline'.

"The newspaper said that the Ming Dynasty was unorganized and undisciplined, which led to the inability to do anything. This 'revolutionary army' is able to organize its men and discipline them to prove that they are stronger. Liu Fucheng muttered in his mouth, not a taste in his heart. These mud legs ....... ”

I want to refute it, but I don't have it. Admit it, I'm not happy.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. This 'revolutionary army' has these tricks back and forth, and when we learn it, we will naturally be able to counter it. In fact, the newspaper said that 'organizational discipline' is also very common, and it would be good for Brother Liu to have a chance to learn it. Zhang Rushen didn't care. He was a businessman, and it was not unusual to think that this was just a trick to win people's hearts.

Liu Fucheng is different, he has lived in officialdom for a long time, although he is a scoundrel, he is very sensitive to power struggles. He knows very well that there are some things that cannot be learned, just those officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty - there is no way to govern the country, there is no way to resist the enemy, but they are good at dragging their feet. They are extremely resourceful, coquettish, quick in action, and clumsy when they are in trouble. Organization and discipline? Nothing!

The river can't be cleaned for the time being, so the streets and sewers have to be rebuilt. Good drainage pipes also need to be repaired, otherwise it will be easy to waterlog when it rains heavily. These projects require some sand and gravel, and there is no need for Liu Zhang and the two fake monks for the time being, and they are allowed to rest for a few days on the construction site. They finally had time to boil some hot water and wash themselves off the mud.

Liu Fucheng has never washed his own clothes in his life, and it is the first time he has done this job. He rubbed his clothes a few times and took them to the courtyard of the small temple to dry, but suddenly he heard someone outside the temple selling charcoal in a different tone. The tone was rather sharp, with some kind of spiritual power in the shadows, and it was specially emitted for communication.

After hibernation for several days, Liu Fucheng was startled by this clamour, but immediately realized that the situation in front of him seemed to have taken a turn for the better. He hurriedly ran to the temple wall and looked out, only to see a guy with a hat pushing a cart of charcoal along the street to sell. It's just that the price he sells is not cheap, and there are not many people who are willing to buy it.

"Charcoal seller, come here." Liu Fucheng felt familiar when he saw the back of the charcoal seller, and immediately shouted. When the other party heard this, he turned his head, and both sides recognized each other at a glance.

Yang Jian!

The one who sold charcoal in the city with a hat turned out to be Yang Jian. He also recognized Liu Fucheng in an instant, and his face suddenly became happy, and he pushed the charcoal cart towards the temple gate. Liu Fucheng opened the door of the temple and looked left and right, and made sure that no one cared, so he welcomed Yang Jian in.

"Mr. Liu, Yang knows that you will be fine." Yang Jian took off her hat and laughed, "My hard work in the past few days has not been in vain." ”

Liu Fucheng pulled Yang Jian into the wing room of the temple, and asked with a cold face, "Why did you come to the capital?" Aren't you afraid that your junior brother will kill you? ”

Zhang Rushen also hurriedly ran over when he heard the movement, he also knew the celebrity next to Huang Taiji, and immediately laughed and said: "Oh, it turns out that Lord Yang has arrived, and it must be the end of the hard days." Joyful, joyful! ”

"I had to come." Yang Jian smiled bitterly for a while, and he first asked, "Is this place still safe?" ”

"Okay." Zhang Rushen nodded and said: "This place is mostly inhabited by some poor men and foot merchants, and recently there are many people from outside the city, and there are many fresh faces. It doesn't seem abrupt that we're in the middle of it. However, the 'revolutionary army' is strictly investigated, and we still have to be careful. ”

"That's good." Yang Jian continued: "The 'revolutionary army' captured the capital, and the news reached Shenyang in three or five days, and the Great Khan was extremely angry about it. Juniper, who was stationed at Shanhaiguan, defected to the 'revolutionary army' and blocked the original road to the customs. However, the Great Khan will not watch the 'revolutionary army' continue to grow and will inevitably launch a major war in the near future. ”

There are only two ways for Jiannu to conquer the Han people. One followed the Liaoxi Corridor from Shanhaiguan to attack the capital, and the other from Mongolia bypassed from Xifengkou, Zunhua and other places to attack the capital. However, now because southern Liaoning has not been occupied by Jiannu, and Jinzhou is an industrial powerhouse of the 'revolutionary army', there is another choice for Nurhachi.

"I came from Mongolia and entered the city ten days ago. This time I am here to find out the reality of this 'revolutionary army', and also to contact you. Yang Jian said and sighed: "Half a year apart, this week's kid is stronger than when he was in Tianjin." This Gyeonggi land has only been occupied by him for more than a month, and it has been firmly guarded. I ventured out and couldn't find a few friends. ”

Yes, the people who can be used by Yang Jian have either been arrested to write materials or have been killed. Even some officials who are still free have no real power and are undergoing training and reform. The common people have benefited, but they don't want to make a fuss, everyone has to live.

In contrast, in history, Li Zicheng failed to completely sweep away the remnants of the Ming court because of his lack of strength and occupation of the capital, and there were even a large number of Ming army generals who held military power. When a stone was defeated, those wall grasses immediately turned back on him. Zhou Qingfeng learned this lesson, and he had no trust in those Ming court officials and gentry, and he suppressed them mercilessly.

Yang Jianman thought that the newly occupied territory of the 'revolutionary army' must be full of loopholes, but when he arrived here, he found that the people's political power was directly inserted into the grassroots, and there was no time to drill for him. Fortunately, the 'revolutionary army' did not prohibit the flow of people inside and outside the city, and he took the risk of pretending to be a charcoal seller to sell along the street, so as to lure out Liu Fucheng and Zhang Rushen, the two big ones.

Liu and Zhang also lamented this, and talked about many recent ruthless moves by the 'revolutionary army' to clean up society, and all the intertwined forces were violently sorted out. Hearing that all the familiar names were beheaded, several of the lost almost hugged their heads and cried, the soil on which they originally lived was completely gone.

"How many friends are there in the city that you can contact now?" Yang Jian asked.

Liu Zhang and the others shook their heads, the roads they knew were blocked, otherwise it would be impossible to stay in this small temple so honestly.

"Is there anyone in the 'revolutionary army' who can win over?" Yang Jian asked again.

Liu Zhang and the others shook their heads again. The 'revolutionary army' has extremely strict population control, the newly established Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Public Security are not easy to mess with, and the grassroots people are gradually returning to their hearts, and there is no possibility for them to connect with each other at will.

This made Yang Jian curious, and he asked, "What have you two been doing in the past month?" ”

Do what? Dig a stinky ditch.

Zhang Rushen was embarrassed to say, so he only said lightly: "We just live a dull life." ”

Yang Jian felt that staying in a temple was indeed a little dull, and he must have to abide by some rules and precepts, and he ate coarse tea and light rice. But it's definitely better than him pushing a charcoal cart along the street every day, wandering around and living in a fixed place. He was relieved: "Both of them are great talents, and my Dajin attaches great importance to them. The current situation is difficult, and we need to be patient. ”

Liu Fucheng didn't want to listen to this nonsense, so he asked directly: "When will Nurhachi fight the capital?" ”

How can Yang Jian know about such a military event? He only laughed a few times and said: "The Great Khan will definitely start a war, it is better to open late than early, and it is better to fight a small fight than to fight a big one." Otherwise, if we let this 'revolutionary army' continue to expand, we will really have no way to live." It's just that this specific strategy has not yet been decided, and Yang guessed that he was afraid that he would not directly hit the capital, but would attack southern Liaoning first. ”

"It's good to fight southern Liaoning." Liu Fucheng and Zhang Rushen shouted in unison.

To fight southern Liaoning is to fight to Jinzhou.

The 'revolutionary army' is moving its ruling center and industrial center out of Tianjin and Tangshan, where resources and populations are more convenient. However, after all, southern Liaoning is the place where the 'revolutionary army' made its fortune, and 80 percent of the steel and machinery industries are all in Jinzhou, and it is difficult for these factories to move.

Now the capital has been taken by Zhou Qingfeng, and Jiannu has been completely blocked in the Liaodong area. The two prefectures of Shanhaiguan and Haigai are like iron tongs from east to west, and they are rigidly sandwiched between the construction of slaves. The best way for Nurhachi to break this blockade is to attack southern Liaoning first, where the 'revolutionary army' must be saved.

"The Great Khan has trained 300,000 troops, and 100,000 pioneers have been dispatched to southern Liaoning. Among them, there are more than 20,000 firearms troops, and they also use firearms and artillery like Zhou Xiaozi. Yang Jian said proudly, "The Great Khan is now the pope of the brainwashing sect, and his ability to command the army and govern the people has greatly increased. If needed, another 200,000 troops can be raised. ”

300,000 plus 200,000, that's 500,000 troops.

Liu Fucheng and Zhang Rushen were shocked when they heard this, and they couldn't understand how this northern barbarian could raise so many troops?

Liu Fucheng knew the details and asked: "I didn't have 20,000 firearms for you at the beginning, where did you get so many firearms and artillery?" ”

"There is a country named Holland in Taixi, and the goods shipped to us from Dongying. It is said that Zhou Xiaozi also suffered by himself, he sold maps indiscriminately in Tianjin, and it was spread to Dongying. The Dutchmen of Tessie were so rewarded that they found a new route and brought us a large number of firearms from Dongying. The Dutch even gave us military training. ”

Seeing that what Yang Jian said did not seem to be a lie, Liu Zhang and the others were also very happy. Yang Jian picked up some happy events and told them to the two, and at the end of the day, when it was dark, he took the opportunity to speak: "Your place is also clean, why don't I live here and talk all night, can you?" ”

Liu Zhang and the others were happy in their hearts, and they were also willing to let Yang Jian stay. The three of them talked at night, and they had a good time. Just chatted all night until dawn, the winter rain stopped, the water level in the ditch dropped, and the knock of the neighborhood committee sounded outside the temple gate: "You wild monks, don't want to be lazy, come out and work." ”

The knock on the door sounded, and it was natural for Liu and Zhang to get used to it, so they hurriedly went out when they heard the sound. Yang Jian, who had stayed up all night, happened to be sleepy and wanted to sleep, and he asked in surprise, "What are you going to do here?" ”

"Uh......, this? Go to work, otherwise you will be checked. Liu and Zhang, who were excited all night, were beaten back to the prototype, and suddenly felt that they were too embarrassed to do something big. They couldn't bear to reveal the secret. But there's nothing to do, you can't escape it.

"Since Brother Yang wants to hide in the temple, let's come along." Liu Fucheng said - everyone is in a group, why let you be idle alone?

Yang Jian first arrived, and he couldn't figure out the situation. He only thought he had to cope with an errand, so after spending a night of talking, he joined the labor team of the fake monk in a daze. When he arrived at the stinky ditch, Zhang Rushen was forced to shove a shovel in his hand, and Liu and Zhang looked at him with a basket.

Liu Fucheng pouted into the stinky ditch, "Brother Yang, you are young and strong, and the work of digging the mud is yours." ”

When he arrived at the stinky mud ditch, Yang Jian's excitement and sleepiness all night suddenly disappeared. He looked at the shovel in his hand, looked at the hot construction site, and then looked at Liu Zhang and the others who looked like coolies, and immediately gritted his teeth and scolded: "Why didn't you say it yesterday?" Is this an ordinary life? ”

"Anyway, you're sure to run away. Everyone has difficulties together, and we can't do without you. ”