Chapter 11, the twenty-seven moments of Chongzhen's four years (11)

The eleventh moment: the horror of the newborn tiger cub

November of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Hangzhou, on the banks of the Grand Canal, Gongchen Bridge Wharf

“…… Two young masters, our ship has arrived in Hangzhou."

With the shouts of the boatman, Fang Yizhi, a young and famous scholar from Tongcheng, Anhui Province, exhaled a breath of cold air, jumped off the passenger boat, and then stood side by side with his friend Yu Guozhen on the trestle of Gongchenqiao Wharf, silently looking at this famous strange city:

From the Gongchen Bridge Wharf, there is an endless stream of cars, horses and pedestrians everywhere, and the prosperity of the streets makes it hard to believe that this is the last days of the Ming Dynasty. It was winter, but the weather was clear, and the warm sun shone obliquely from the clear blue sky, casting the shadow of the row of houses on the left on the wide, bluestone-paved pavement, on the sedan chairs, donkeys, and pedestrians on foot. The shops on both sides of the street were next to each other - because of the lack of cars, the streets of the ancient cities were generally narrow, and by modern standards, the widest "streets" were no more than a wide "alley", no more than five or six meters wide. Barely able to run the level of two cars. However, the ground is paved with stone slabs, which is quite neat. In addition to the shops, there are many street vendors along the street that take up most of the street, and the signboards on both sides of the street are still stretching into the middle of the street, which looks dense and crowded. Merchants from all over the world are selling their goods and haggling with customers. The gentry from all over the country, Confucian scholars, talked in the tea house with delicate lanterns hanging in front of the door and raising all kinds of bamboo, wood and flowers. The café was full and business was booming; The restaurant is full of people, singing and singing, wafting with the wind with all kinds of coquettish smiles pinching their throats, and the tempting aroma of exquisite wine and food......

――Before walking to the legendary poetic and romantic West Lake, the bustling street scene of Hangzhou has already made people forget to return.

Although the news such as "Jianyu" and "Liukou" has appeared more and more in people's ears, many people know that all provinces in the world have been suffering from disasters year after year, and news such as "mourning and flooding" and "starvation carry the road" are everywhere. Even terrible messages such as "eating with children" that I didn't often hear in the past have been heard from time to time...... Everywhere is the bad news of famine, defeat, additional faction, and civil uprising, and the situation of the country seems to be chaotic day by day, even in Jiangnan, which has always been rich, the price of rice has risen to three taels of silver per stone - since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the price of rice in Jiangnan has never risen to such a high level. However, this qiē ominous omen does not seem to have cast much shadow on the flower world of the splendid Jiangnan warbler song and swallow dance. Those terrifying bad news from afar, for all the "Jiangnan Romantic Talents" who are all familiar with poetry, books, wine and chess, seem to be just talking points.

However, some disturbing shadows are gradually appearing here - there is a noticeable increase in the number of homeless beggars on the streets, and there is a growing trend. In the winter of the past few years, there have been many more "road-down" corpses in the city than in previous years. There were so many refugees fleeing from all over the country, and a large number of out-and-out refugees who were sold into slavery filled the human markets outside the city. So much so that the price of the population plummeted. In the Qinglou wine shop, there were many gentry with foreign accents -- the famine, turmoil, and war in the north at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the unprecedented defeat on the front line in eastern Liaodong, the extravagant rebellion that swept through the southwest, and the endless and numerous popular uprisings and rebellions caused the gentry in the war-torn areas to leave their hometowns one after another and migrate in groups to the south of the Yangtze River, where the social order was relatively stable, to "escape the hustle and bustle" in this gentle township and the gold cave. Most of them carried a large family of family slaves and a lot of gold and silver treasures, bought houses and land in various cities in the south of the Yangtze River, and continued to live a life of drunkenness and gold, thus creating a kind of deformed prosperity......

Just as the two of them were standing at the Gongchen Bridge pier looking left and right, talking a few words from time to time, Ding Fangsi, the long-term follower brought by Fang Yizhi, finally found a middle-aged man who came to greet his master. This person smiled and claimed to be the steward of Zhang Dai's mansion, and was ordered to greet the two distinguished guests.

-- In Hangzhou in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhang Dai was a famous figure. He is originally from Shaoxing, but he has lived in Hangzhou for a long time and is half a Hangzhou person. His family has been an official for generations, and the high-grandfather official went to Yunnan to inspect the deputy envoy, and the great-grandfather official went to the Hanlin Academy to study. Grandfather official to Guangxi Senate. His father was the right long history of the Lu Wangfu and was a well-known gentry in Shaoxing. In the late next year, the Zhang family of Shaoxing was not only a prestigious official family, but also a scholarly family with high cultural literacy.

Moreover, Zhang Dai is not the kind of cold and arrogant pedantic scribe, but acts quite freely, Ziyun "is less of a gentleman, and loves prosperity." Good house, good beautiful maid, good child, good fresh clothes, good food, good horses, good lanterns, good fireworks, good pear orchards, good propaganda, good antiques, good flowers and birds. It can be said that the extravagant hedonistic habits of the children of the gentlemen and the decadent style of the late Ming Dynasty celebrities and literati indulged in cynicism. On weekdays, he makes friends, travels extensively in Jiangnan, and is also regarded as a vein of Donglin Fushe, and naturally has a little friendship with Tongcheng celebrity Fang Yizhi. Fang Yizhi came to Hangzhou this time because he was warmly invited by Zhang Dai when the scholars of the Restoration Society met in Nanjing last time. Before Fang Yizhi brought his new friend Yu Guozhen to Hangzhou, he also sent someone to inform Zhang Dai of the shipping schedule in advance, so since three days ago, this steward has been waiting on the dock every day.

To get back to the point, according to the steward of Zhang's house, the owner of his family has set up a banquet in Hangzhou Ziming Building to greet the two distinguished guests. The steward had originally planned to use the palanquin in the house to greet the guests. But Zhang Dai said that with the temperament of Mizhi (Fang Yizhi's expression), I am afraid that he likes some new things, so he instructed him to go to the newly opened car dealership and call two "Australian cars" over, I don't know if it is in line with the wishes of the two distinguished guests......

Fang Yizhi looked curiously at the steward's hand, and the two men in short coats were each pulling a strange black car, smiling flatteringly at him. The man who seemed to be more clever in the lead lowered his eyebrows and said, "...... It's the first time for the two young masters to come to Hangzhou, right? The little Chen Er, his name is Zhang Ba, our Shentong car is fast and stable, and he knows all the major places in Hangzhou, whether it is business or having fun, you are satisfied"

This canopy is not at all like the carriage or cart that Fang Yizhi has seen before, but more like a circle chair with a cloth curtain on the outside and then wheels, two long handles in front for the coachman to pull, and a few bamboo bones on the backrest, which seems to be able to support a canopy.

“…… Tsk, what an eye-opener, this is the 'Australian shorthair, the rickshaw that was drummed out?' Fang Yizhi secretly guessed the degree, and sat in the car according to the coachman's instructions, and then squinted his eyes comfortably, "...... Well, it's really more comfortable than a sedan chair to sit on."

Seeing that Yu Guozhen, who came with him, followed him and got into another "black car", the steward of the Zhang Mansion straightened his waist, turned around and commanded the two coachmen proudly, "...... Go to the Ziming Building in Qinghefang, and there are any beautiful Nanyang views along the way, all of which are for the two distinguished guests."

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Fang Yizhi came to Hangzhou this time, in fact, there was nothing important, it was purely for entertainment and eye-opening.

As a scholar who has traveled extensively and has many friends, Fang Yizhi was a very rare "well-informed person" in the late Ming Dynasty, from court political disputes to rural anecdotes, all of which he was involved in, and he was very interested in it (to put it nicely, it is to care about the world, and to put it ugly, it is to be born with good gossip), which can be called a character like "Jianghu Baixiaosheng". In recent years, during the Shilin gatherings, Fang Yizhi often listened to several Lingnan scholars talk about the various "Australian scenes" brought by the "bearded people" in Guangzhou in the past two years, and he couldn't help but be quite curious and yearning. In particular, he heard that the enjoyment in the "Ziming Building" in Guangzhou that should only be enjoyed in heaven made him even more envious - in Fang Yizhi's latest purchase volume of "Records of Matters", there is the following vivid description of this:

“…… The people of the sea take the merchant as their business. At the beginning, according to Lingao, that is, trade with the villagers, collect more grain, rice, cloth, copper, iron, charcoal and other things, and sell glass and overseas treasures. The people of Gai also know that food is the foundation of the world, so they operate it. He also sent the real Guo Yi, impersonating a Cantonese, accumulating Chinese clothes, entering Guangzhou to trade, and setting up a shop named "Zicheng Ji". Coming and going are all giant businessmen, selling Australian treasures, a piece is thousands of gold, and the profit is huge. If it is more than a year, it is rich and rivals the country...... Yi is a giant businessman, living luxuriously, especially insufficient, so he takes a concubine. His concubine Pei Lixiu was originally a famous Australian prostitute and was very beautiful. From Guo Yi into China, it is to set up Ziming Building, the furnishings in the building are rich, and the crown is the best in the two wide. Yu You once knew from himself, he would be an auditor, and when he was in Dongguan, he tasted the Ziming Building, and he talked to the servants in detail. It is said that there are many small pavilions in the building, called "private room", the pavilions are famous, and the carvings are also according to their names, each is different. There are also cunning prostitutes, overseas delicacies, and good wine. As soon as you enter the building, you will be fascinated by all colors, full of luxury, dazzling and dizzying, and you don't know where you are. Among them, there are baths, which are particularly amazing. In the meantime, there is the abbot of the pool, the four walls are all made of porcelain, there is a fountain, the height can be people, the Qiongbo broken jade, the temperature is cool with the people. And the spring water is inexhaustible, the pool water is not overflowing, the four times are always warm, the spring water has its own aroma, the body of the bath is fragrant, and the depression does not disperse for three days. It is known as "Cleansing Soup". The rich business room of Guangdong, chasing the joy, although a thousand dollars are thrown, can not be standing, need to be in the tenth day, pre-agreed. Naturally, Guo Yi is rich and rich. Although Yi is rich, he doesn't know how to restrain himself, and the rich name of the people is spread in the sea. The queen supervised the battle of the Emperor, and the real disaster was also ......"

Such a novel, luxurious, fragrant and mysterious wonderful gold cave naturally aroused great interest to Fang Yizhi, who has always been very curious. It's a pity that Guangzhou and Tongcheng are separated by half of China, the distance is too far away, and now it is the world is swinging, the road is not quiet, even in the south is not very peaceful, so Fang Yizhi has not been able to make the trip. However, I heard that a "Ziminglou" branch was also opened in Hangzhou this year, so I moved to take a look - although the branch in Hangzhou is inevitably inferior to the Guangzhou head office, I am afraid it is difficult to witness how peerless the "Australian famous prostitute" Pei Lixiu is, but I can also appreciate the entertainment that is different from the sound and color of Middle-earth, and even enjoy the taste of the legendary "Australian secret opera".

However, Fang Yizhi had heard people say before that the "Ziming Building" of the "Australian Beard" implements a "membership system", and if there is no recommendation from other members, even if there is money, I am afraid that I will not be able to enter the door. So when I met Zhang Dai in Hangzhou at the party, I mentioned this matter intentionally or unintentionally...... Sure enough, as Fang Yizhi expected, Zhang Dai, who was familiar with him, immediately warmly invited him to come to Hangzhou for recreation. And Fang Yizhi took advantage of the situation to half-push and half-agree on the spot, went home to pack his luggage, and came to Hangzhou to open foreign meat with his new friend, Yu Guozhen, the "Wuwei Young Tiger" from Xiang'an County, Wuwei Prefecture, Anhui Province.

In general, after leaving the Gongchenqiao Wharf, Fang Yizhi observed the surroundings carefully, and now the ground along the way is quite flat, and there are few smelly feces and garbage. The rickshaw is also very fast, and it is not bumpy at all. In addition, the gentleman and wealthy businessmen who run in Australian rickshaws like themselves have met quite a few along the way, and it seems that this has become one of the latest fashions in Hangzhou.

After walking for a while, the pedestrian car on the street began to become crowded again, and the driver who was pulling the car in front also enthusiastically introduced Yizhi to Fang Yizhi: "...... This young master, in front of him is Qinghefang, which is the most prosperous, and there is everything to eat and play. This year, there are also Guangdong merchants to come over, and make a 'Nanyang Street, specializing in all kinds of Australian and overseas foreign goods, if you are the first time to come to Hangzhou, don't miss it."

Sure enough, after a memorial arch, the street stall vendors suddenly increased, all the way over, Fang Yizhi first heard a half-sized man carrying a large square box shouting: "Cigarettes Ao Huo Osmanthus Candy", and a few little dolls holding a stack of printed paper chasing the car to sell: "CIF price, Guangzhou Shanghai Manila, today's latest CIF price", after a while, I also heard a lewd man with a square box with a handle on his chest shouting: "La Ao Piece La Ao Film, Recently, the new Australian film Tokyo is hot, and the romance of Tokyo Bianliang is hot, and then there are also the guys in the restaurant who are also shouting: "New authentic Australian dishes with tomatoes, scrambled eggs, stir-fried broccoli, fried French fries dipped in tomato sauce, golden silk corn roasting, cheap and affordable" "Big meat buns, big meat buns, white noodles, big meat, white meat, more white meat, one bite and a pocket of oil"

As for the street vendors and shop pù storefronts pushing small carts, it is even more dizzying, all kinds of goods are dazzling on the shelves, and some Yu Crisp also set up stalls at the door of the store to put goods for sale: "Australian Takoyaki", "Australian Sushi", "Big Candy", "Nanyang Yuguo", "Taiwan Betel Nut", "Nanyang Department Store", "Australian Miracle Drug Sulfonamide Monopoly", "Lingao Rice Noodles", "Lanzhou Ramen", "Australian Yo-Yo", "Western Egg Roll", "Australian Malatang"...... There are all kinds of things, it is really a rare place in the world where rare treasures and exotic goods from all over the world gather, so that Fang Yizhi only feels that his eyes seem to be not enough to see, thinking that he has entered the legendary Yingzhou Sea Market, looking at everything is novel, and he can't wait to buy a copy of them all - not to mention anything else, just the various food and snacks sold on the roadside stalls, there are many things he has never seen before, and he only feels that the aroma is fragrant, which makes Fang Yizhi swallow saliva from time to time.

So, while asking the driver to stop, Fang Yizhi hurriedly greeted Fang Si, who had been running by the rickshaw, and asked him to buy a few rare snacks for himself to taste. Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, the coachman diverged from the words: "...... This young master, you are the eldest young master who went to Ziminglou, so what is it for ordinary people to go, why should the young master care about these bargains on the streets. As long as you want foreign goods, don't care about eating and playing, I haven't heard that Ziminglou can't get it, it is to ask for bulk goods, Zizhenji and the relationship between various maritime merchants are not ordinary, and it is easy for you to pull a line. ”

As soon as he heard this, Fang Yizhi suddenly became interested: "...... Oh? Is this Ziming Tower so powerful? ”

“…… Back to the young master's words, although this Ziming Building is called a building, but in fact, it covers an area of several acres, and the entire alley is the industry of Ziji. The correspondent is either rich or expensive, and what kind of membership system is implemented, and you can only enter it if you are recommended by someone, young master, you are full of heaven and handsome, and you are a rich and noble person at a glance, this Ziming Building is just like a young master. ”

Hearing the coachman flattering himself like this, Fang Yizhi couldn't help but feel a little happy: "...... Hehe, don't you still know how to read physiognomy? ”

“…… Back to the old man's words, the small ones are sent every day, and the big and small merchants, dignitaries and nobles have seen a lot, so they naturally have to have a little eyesight......"

Before the words fell, I saw a cigarette stall in front of me being overturned by a group of people, golden tobacco and packets of paper cigarettes scattered all over the ground, and a woman with a girl's bun in the lead, pointed at the stall with her waist crossed and shouted: "...... Smash all of them for me, Yu Jing dares to take the name of Wen Dengxiang, I don't want to live."

The stall owner was also a lazy person, even if he was knocked to the ground, bleeding profusely, and looked at the woman with a sneer: "...... The shopkeeper of the king is so majestic, this Hangzhou is not your Dengzhou guard, why do you have the prestige to rush me and wait for the little shrimp? How many packs of fake cigarettes do you sell smaller? Your Wendengxiang's business is something that I and other small people can grab? Yesterday, there was a shipload of holy ship smoke unloaded on the dock, and I have the ability to repeat your affairs in Linqingyu in Hangzhou," his voice suddenly became louder in the middle of speaking, "...... Ladies and gentlemen, I have been in the leopard for decades, and for the first time I saw the Australian scene, twelve people hanging like lanterns at the door of the yamen, magnificent, the king's shopkeeper, don't you say? ”

Hearing the words of the tobacco dealer Yu Leopard, the pedestrians and traders watching around laughed for a while. And the woman was also choked by these words, and first blushed and hesitated for a moment, then stomped her foot in hatred, and turned around with the group of thugs and walked away.

Seeing this, Fang Yizhi said curiously: "...... Who is that woman? Why do you smash people's business in broad daylight? What is the reason for this? ”

“…… Back to the master, this woman is the female shopkeeper of Chen Xin Chen Zongbing in Dengzhou Town, called Wang Erya, who is to take care of Wen Dengxiang's business for Chen Zongbing, she has always been an arrogant and domineering master, along the entire Grand Canal from south to north, it is not once or twice to lead people to smash shops and smash the field, everyone privately calls her dominatrix. But the local yamen all knew that Dengzhou General Chen's soldiers had won many battles and were winning the favor of the saints, and no one dared to take care of it. The coachman replied.

Wen Dengxiang this thing, Fang Yizhi naturally knows - the paper cigarette rolls produced in Dengzhou Town are said to have the effect of strengthening essence and nourishing, Fang Yizhi has also smoked it before, and he feels very choked when he smokes, with a smell of wine and spices, although it is stronger than the bitter and spicy dry tobacco pouch with smoking oil, but he still has a bad impression of this cigarette, but there are still many small people in the market who like to smoke Wen Dengxiang, and it seems that they like this taste, and they are all good.

The coachman continued: "...... This Yu Leopard is a green-skinned scoundrel, often in some pit abduction, this time I don't know where to get a batch of counterfeit fake Wen Dengxiang, so he grabbed a stall and sold it in a grand manner. This shopkeeper Wang was originally extremely pungent and spicy, and she has always been used to running rampant on the ground in Shandong, and now she happened to be talking about business in Hangzhou, and bumped into Yu Leopard selling fake Wen Dengxiang in front of her, so it's strange if she didn't smash this stall."

“…… Oh, I see, but what did the leopard say, what did the twelve people hang at the entrance of the yamen? Fang Yizhi continued to ask.

“…… This young master asked well, this is the biggest anecdote since the beginning of autumn in Hangzhou this year. I heard that there was a headless public case in Linqing, Shandong Province last winter, the owner of the Dongyue Tobacco Factory and the Tongzhi of Linqing Prefecture were wiped out by the gangsters overnight, and the tobacco factory and warehouse were burned to the ground, and then the murderer has not been caught, but the Wendeng Tobacco Factory was built directly on the old factory in Dongyue, which is still called Dongyue Factory, which is said to be run by the shopkeeper of Wang Erya Wang. Hehe, not to mention killing the whole family, but also robbing people's brand industry, this woman is ruthless."

Seeing that the young master was interested, the coachman also opened the conversation endlessly, "...... What's even more strange is that in the autumn of this year, as soon as the Yamen of Hangzhou prefect opened, he saw twelve people being hanged at the door. There is also a line of blood written on the ground, and the door is extinguished, and the grievances are snowed. The officials in the yamen were also frightened half to death, and hurriedly ordered to investigate, this investigation could not be done, all the Jiangyang thieves and bandits who were among the best in Shandong were hung there, and the heads of several of them had been taken by General Chen to report to the imperial court three years ago in Chongzhen.

However, the old and young masters of the entire Hangzhou city said in private that in the final analysis, this case is probably because there was only one kind of cigarette on the market in Hangzhou, which occupied all the business, but in the spring of this year, the Ziji firm of Nanyang Australians began to come to Hangzhou to open shops and sell cigarettes. This angered Wang Erya, who took care of Wen Dengxiang's business for Chen Zongbing, so he imagined that he had destroyed Ziji's group of Australians like he had destroyed the door in Linqing last year. Who knew that the group of Jiangyang thieves she sent was not proficient, but they were all planted in the hands of the other party, and they showed a foreign appearance.

Our Hangzhou and Dengzhou Wei are thousands of miles apart, no matter how domineering General Chen is, he doesn't dare to transfer the soldiers of Wendeng Camp to suppress it, so he can only suffer this dumb loss. For this reason, many old and young masters in Hangzhou City have to praise Yu Dehao in private, and no one dares to offend the Australian business houses since that day. This Australian business is getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more people eating the bowl of rice in the Australian business, and it has only been a year, and there is this Nanyang Street in Qinghefang......"

“…… I see. Hearing such a tragic case, Fang Yizhi couldn't help but sigh repeatedly: "...... For the benefit of the promotion of the fight, he killed people and broke his family, and such a domineering martial artist is still regarded as a pillar of the country, which is really morally degraded and people's hearts are not ancient. At the same time, in my heart, I admired the Australians more and more.

“…… Hey, as the so-called business field has no father and son, the world has always done everything in order to compete for fame and fortune, as long as it is stained with a word, even if it is close to each other, it will be against each other. Not to mention the rivals in the business arena. Brother Secret, Hugh should be too broad when looking at things"

Yu Guozhen, who came with him, was a little dissatisfied with the other party's sigh, and Fang Yizhi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when he remembered this friend's experience - as far as Fang Yizhi knew, although Yu Guozhen was knowledgeable and had extraordinary insights into current affairs, his fate was very bumpy: first, his parents died when he was a child, and although he had a lot of inheritance, he also became fat in the eyes of the uncles of the Yu family, and he was almost killed by his relatives in collusion with robbers for money several times. Thanks to his young and heroic skills, he pulled up a team of strong and warlike family members, and after a series of bloody battles, he was lucky not to die.

After that, relying on some kind of secret technique of cultivating river mussels to extract pearls, Yu Guozhen finally revitalized the family business by selling pearls again, but unfortunately it also attracted the red eyes and coveted of all kinds of cows, ghosts, snakes and gods, and the open guns and hidden arrows and intrigues against him almost never stopped, and even the Yu clan, which shared a lot of benefits, was also very anti-bones, and even the position of the patriarch of the Yu clan seemed to have some problems, which made Yu Guozhen very headache.

The two of them were silent for a while, and were about to go on the road again, but they saw a Western-eyed man in a black robe, holding a cross and swaggering through the market, still muttering something in a stiff Chinese language, and several believers echoed in the back. Fang Yizhi couldn't help frowning and listening, and vaguely recognized it: "...... God loves you all...... Believe it or not, now is the last hour, as the Bible says...... God's Final Judgment...... War, famine, rebellion, and disaster...... All of these things are God's warnings and instruments of judgment...... According to the Bible, war will become prophecy, and now the final war is coming...... It is not that physical death ends as soon as it is qiē, and at the final judgment, those who are not named in the book of life will be thrown into the fire that will never be extinguished...... Trust Jesus and wait for His coming...... Don't miss the Kingdom of Heaven ......"

Hearing this verse, Fang Yizhi was already a little overwhelmed, "...... How can this be reasonable, what is the difference between this kind of Yijiao that intimidates the foolish people and the White Lotus anti-thief? ”

Having said that, Fang Yizhi is well-informed, and in fact, he also knows that since the introduction of Western Catholicism to Middle-earth, there have been quite a few fresh and fresh "Western-style" scholars in various parts of the Yangtze River who have joined the Church, or at least have dealings with the Western missionaries, to inquire about some overseas anecdotes as a pastime. Moreover, at this time, the Christian Church in China was mainly on the upper echelons in terms of missionary work, and at present it had formed a group of believers among the scholars and doctors of the Ming Dynasty, from the old Xu Guangqi of the imperial court and Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai, to the rich and gentry in many places in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, and its power could be said to be intertwined. Unless these Christians raise a banner against it, no one will be hostile to this group.

On the other hand, people of insight in the imperial court also saw that although Catholicism in China had adopted the upper echelons and gained the protective umbrella of missionary support, it had also made Christianity in Middle-earth "high and low," and most of the believers were from the families of the gentry, and there were few poor believers, which were not as "down-to-earth" as the "grassroots" White Lotus Sect and the Wenxiang Sect -- naturally it was impossible to incite the foolish people to rebellion, and there was no obvious danger to the imperial court.

In the previous conversation with Yu Guozhen, Fang Yizhi also raised the above question, and came to the same conclusion - at this moment when the Ming Dynasty was already on fire on all sides, smoking in all directions, and the White Lotus and Smelling Fragrance Sect were all dancing wildly, the spread of Catholicism was not worth caring about at all. But looking at these people openly preaching the end of the world on the streets, he still couldn't help but have a vague premonition that "the country is going to die, and demons will be born".

However, at this time, outside the field of vision of Fang Yizhi and Yu Guozhen, there were several sturdy men wearing wigs and dark skin, staring at the overturned fake cigarette stall, as well as the obscene men who were "pulling Australian films" for the spectators, all with gloomy faces and frowns.

“…… Captain, it seems that there is indeed a force established by the time-traveler in this time and space, and there is more than one of our Far East companies that have opponents."

A young man leaned into the ear of a middle-aged man who seemed to be a collar and whispered, "...... I heard that the guy who claimed to be an Australian had set up a stronghold in Ziminglou, Hangzhou. If it's Chinese pretending to be a pretend, it's better to say, in case it's really Australian...... That's a big problem."

“…… A time-traveler in modern Australia? Didn't the locals who had seen them say, 'Australians, aren't they white?' ”

“…… This is not easy to say, in modern Australia, there are also many Chinese citizens, as well as many immigrants from South Korea and Japan, and the number of yellow people is not small. But even if they are Chinese in Australia, maybe they can speak a little Chinese. But I'm afraid of their own positioning, it's hard to say whether they will see themselves as Chinese, captain, do you think let's go to Ziming Tower to explore again? ”

“…… Don't be too troubled, Xiao Li Xiaozhang, don't forget, our mission to infiltrate Jiangnan this time is to buy grain, and there are still tens of thousands of refugees on Jeju Island waiting to be fed.

The captain snorted coldly, interrupting the argument between the two young men, and at the same time stuffed the newly purchased "Records of Events" into the blanket behind his back, "...... As for the other crossing forces, we have collected almost all the information that can be gathered through public channels, and I have already secretly photographed what I saw on the street and in the shops, and I have already secretly photographed the rest of the things when we return to Vladivostok, and then let the company's top management make a decision."

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In short, after the group of Christians from Hangzhou had passed, the two rickshaws continued to squirm for a moment in the crowd of people, and finally arrived in front of the Ziming Tower in Hangzhou. After beating the coachman, Fang Yizhi looked up and saw that the façade of this Ziming Building was ordinary, at first glance it was just a very ordinary three-story building, but the courtyard walls on both sides extended far away, only the shining glass on the window showed the difference of this façade.

Just when Fang Yizhi and Yu Guozhen were looking at this Ziming Building, Zhang Dai and Zhang Xianggong, who were invited to the east of Ziming Building this time, had also been informed by the servants, and greeted him with a spring breeze, first exchanged a few words with Fang Yizhi, and then met Yu Guozhen under Fang Yizhi's introduction, and praised each other, and then Zhang Daicai sighed regretfully, "Brother Mi Zhixian is not in a hurry this time, and he came a few days late, Pei Lixiu, the hostess of this room, has been in Hangzhou this autumn and made friends with high-rollers from all over the world. held a lot of poetry parties and cocktail parties, and the appearance was really graceful and gorgeous, which made people think about it...... It wasn't until yesterday that I just left for Guangdong. I don't want to be a secret brother, but I only arrived today, it's a pity."

Hearing that Pei Lixiu, the long-admired "famous Australian prostitute", actually happened to pass by him, Fang Yizhi couldn't help but feel a little depressed, but soon regained his spirits and smiled freely, "...... As the saying goes, there is a fate to meet thousands of miles away, but there is no chance to meet in person. There are always some things in this world that cannot be forced. Since I didn't have a chance with the beauty this time, I just concentrated on looking at the famous places of this Ziming Building."

――What he didn't notice was that Yu Guozhen, who was originally restrained, quietly breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Pei Lixiu was not there......

After chatting a few words, the three of them walked into Ziming Building side by side, and when they entered the door, there was a marble screen, polished very smoothly, and the natural patterns of the marble on it looked like a landscape painting, and it looked like a unique flavor.

“…… This screen is a big deal, a whole piece of marble with a big tabletop, and I don't know how it was embedded. Fang Yizhi thought to himself.

Next, the outer room of Ziming Building is a very common hall, but those good mahogany furniture is worth a lot of money at a glance, but there are no stools in the guest seats, only a few soft couch-like cloth chairs, Fang Yizhi sat down when waiting for the "membership card", the elasticity and soft touch is really much more comfortable than those circle chairs at home, and I don't know what material can be so elastic, Fang Yizhi estimated that this is most likely the sand chair that a few Lingnan scholars said, it is indeed unusual.

Although Fang Yizhi seemed to be very mysterious when he heard people say it, the procedures for handling the so-called "membership card" in Ziming Building were not complicated, and after Zhang Dai, a senior customer, personally introduced him as a guarantee, Fang Yizhi and Yu Guozhen left their own greetings and signatures, and then after a while, two gold and silver cards were sent out at the counter, which were engraved with the names of the two and five big food numbers.

“…… Young Master Fang, your membership card has been processed, and the card number is 952. And this Young Master Yu, your membership card number is 952......" The clerk who handled the membership card smiled and handed the card to Fang Yizhi and Yu Guozhen. The clerk was wearing a crisp close-fitting navy blue jacket, narrow sleeves and short placket, wearing navy blue straight-leg pants underneath, and a pair of shoes on his feet were polished, looking like leather, but that style was something Fang Yizhi had never seen. He wore a snow-white shirt under his jacket, with a stiff collar and cuffs, a blue belt tied in the middle of the collar, and a small shiny sign on his chest, with several large eclipse numbers written on it. The whole set of clothes does not have the slightest Chinese appearance, but it looks very spiritual, quite exotic.

“…… If the two young masters are here to relax, you might as well let the little one take you around, the little one is the sixty-third waiter, what are the requirements of the two young masters, the little one will try his best to meet them. After handing over the membership card, the clerk continued to be attentive.

“…… No need, I brought these two, and then I'll continue to take them with you, and you can go back."

But Zhang Dai waved his hand to rebuke the clerk, and then personally took Fang Yizhi and Yu Guozhen to walk inside, turned a photo wall, and suddenly opened up in front of him, a garden with a large area came into view, a baroque white marble fountain in the middle of the garden was spraying water, and the bushes in the garden were still green, trimmed squarely, which was completely inconsistent with the pattern of traditional gardens, but a bit like the construction method of the Taixi church.

Inside, there is a wider hall, and there is an indoor pool in the center of the hall, which is paved with pebbles for raising goldfish. There is a mountain rockery more than one person high in the middle of the pool, and the water is diverted with a bamboo pipe to make the shape of a waterfall landscape. Coupled with the huge crystal glass chandelier on the ceiling, and the various huge mirrors and glass windows around it, all of them made Fang Yizhi dizzy and amazed.

Zhang Dai pointed to the price list hanging on the wall of the hall and the plaques on the small doors around it, introducing that this is the "fragrant soup bathing place" of Ziming Building, which has a large bath that can accommodate dozens of people, as well as a single room with exquisite and luxurious "polyester fragrant soup", providing petal baths, bubble baths, milk baths, herb baths and many other enjoyments...... Fang Yizhi was fascinated when he heard it, but Yu Guozhen muttered to himself: Isn't this the set of things in the modern bathing city?

Then, Zhang Dai led them to see the most spectacular large bath, only to see a large oval bath recessed into the ground, surrounded by wide steps. Bathers can easily enter and exit the bath by following the steps. Several carvings of animal heads are installed in the four corners of the bath, and water is spat into the pool from the mouth. The baths are tiled inside and out, and the walls are covered with mosaic murals of "Scenic Views of West Lake", while there is a steam room and massage room next to it...... Of course, in the massage room, I am afraid that there is also something that the masses like to see, such as heterosexual massage.

However, there is no water in the large bath at the moment, and there are no guests, only a few maids with dun cloths cleaning the ground...... Fang Yizhi narrowed his eyes, and casually looked at the maid closest to him, who knew that he couldn't take his eyes off this look: I saw that this woman was wearing a blue and white dress, her chest was held up by the skirt, and the two round clumps of agar swayed as soon as she walked up, the neckline was very low, and the white skin on her chest was exposed, so that people didn't know where to put their eyes. The skirt under the waist is extremely short, the skirt only covers more than three inches above the knees, and between the white and bright stockings on the feet, there are still a few inches of white and tender thighs exposed.

Seeing Fang Yizhi staring directly at the maid, Zhang Dai immediately attached himself to his ear and said softly, "...... This maid wears a blue maid outfit, and she is only in charge of serving, not serving. If Mi Zhi is really interested, he will ask them to arrange a few rabbit girls for his brother in the evening to enjoy with his virtuous brother. ”

“…… Good, good, good" said three good words in a row, Fang Yizhi smiled and showed an expression that a man understands.

It's just that it's morning after all, and it's too early to say that it's too early to sleep in the willows, and even the baths have not yet opened—the boiler has just been routinely overhauled, and the hot water hasn't been boiled yet. So after Fang Yizhi walked around, he just used the new Australian toilet. But even just the white porcelain fired toilet bowl and the soft toilet paper smoked with spices gave him a more intuitive impression of the luxury of Australians.

Just as he put on his clothes and pants again, carefully rubbed the toilet in the toilet, lifted the top cover, looked at the structure inside, and finally walked out with a lingering mind, he suddenly heard a singing voice from somewhere next door: "I suddenly heard the sound of the golden drum and the horn vibrated ......", which sounded like Kunqu Opera but was different, so he asked Zhang Dai: "Brother Zhang Dai, the son of the sect, who is singing?" What is the track? ”

“…… Oh, this is the personal apprentice of Mr. Mei Lanfang, a famous Australian drama critic, who performed on stage at the Ziminglou Grand Theater, Mr. Mei Lanfang is everyone in Australia, when he came to Hangzhou to perform this autumn, it was really famous in Jiangnan, and it was rare for high-ranking officials and nobles to listen to a song, but unfortunately that gentleman also went back to Lingnan with Miss Pei Lixiu yesterday, leaving only a few of his apprentices to support the scene in Ziminglou, but he also got six or seven points of Mei Lanfang's true biography...... As far as my brother knows, the repertoire staged today should be Mu Guiying in charge. ”

Zhang Dai smiled faintly, "There is still more than half an hour before lunch, and I specially invited many guests for my brother to receive the wind for the two of us this time, but I haven't come yet, so it's not convenient to hold a banquet for the time being." There is some leisure left and right, can the secret virtuous brother go over and listen to a song first, and use some tea fruits? ”

This time suddenly scratched Fang Yizhi's itch, although the Fang family in Tongcheng, where he was born, is also regarded as Zhong Mingding's food, but Tongcheng, Anhui Province is in the countryside after all, and all kinds of entertainment activities are not as exciting as big cities.

So, he followed Zhang Dai into another hall, the front half of the hall is a half-person high stage, below is a table of eight immortals, decorated in an antique style, there are already many people sitting in the hall, listening to it with relish. found a front seat and sat down, and Fang Yizhi also began to enjoy this drama attentively. I saw a tall and upright man on the stage, with a fair complexion, a face like a peach blossom, phoenix eyes with spring, wearing a red sprinkled gold armor, carrying four Muzi flags, holding a bright silver gun, singing on the stage...... Whether it is literary drama, martial arts, singing and soundtrack, this commentary is very suitable for Fang Yizhi's appetite, which makes him more and more energetic the more he listens, and even listens to it as if he is fascinated, looking at the eyes of Mu Guiying on the stage.

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At the same time, Yu Guozhen, who came with him, didn't care about opera, but just watched the various beings around him coldly, watching these rich and wealthy idlers who had no worries about food and clothing, enjoying their joy to the fullest, like flowers and brocade, cooking oil on fire. In their eyes, there are only deep courtyards, bustling street scenes, antiquities on the red sandalwood shelves, fair-eyed maids and prostitutes, gorgeous clothes and sedan chairs, tactful pear garden songs and dances, lively gongs and drums, and fireworks blooming in the blue night sky...... But they didn't know that the barbarians in the north were crashing into the Great Wall of the Empire, and they didn't know that behind a laid-off post man was gathering an army of silence, hunger, and hatred. I didn't know that the desolate winter of this ancient civilization had come. They don't know that the world they are familiar with is disintegrating, the terrifying doomsday judgment is coming, the heavenly pillars are about to break, the four dimensions will be split, and they will soon end up with a "white and vast earth is true and pure"......

Of course, after the world has broken into so many time travelers, the future history exhibition may be different

He smiled self-deprecatingly, took out a few things from his arms, and put them in his palm one by one to look at them: a pack of "Wen Dengxiang" from Dengzhou, a pack of "Holy Boat Cigarettes" from Qiongzhou, a small glass mirror with a plastic shell, and a box of sewing needles that were obviously modern technology, and couldn't help but think for a while.

As a very ambitious traveler, Yu Guozhen has been struggling and struggling since he came to the countryside of Xiang'an County, Wuwei Prefecture, Anhui Province, in this tragic era-first he made up his family and killed decisively, and after repeated battles, he finally succeeded in sending all the relatives in the Yu clan who coveted his property to meet God; Immediately, with the freshwater pearl farming technology of later generations, he earned the first pot of gold for his family.

Then, relying on this small armed force trained by himself, Yu Guozhen repeatedly clashed with bandits and bandits from all walks of life, accumulated war experience, and finally won the heroic name of "Wuwei Young Tiger". At the same time, he used the novel knowledge of "Gewu" and "Western Studies" as bait, and got into a relationship with Fang Yizhi, a famous scholar in Tongcheng, and then entered the "Fushe", a group with great influence in Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty.

However, just as Yu Guozhen was consolidating his foundation step by step, expanding his strength, and preparing to reinvigorate the fate of China, all kinds of social information obtained through the channels of the Restoration Society gave him a blow in the face, and his ambition almost instantly came to naught - he was obviously not the only one who appeared in this world, and they were obviously much more powerful than him, a rich man in the countryside.

-- He learned about the heroic legend of Huangshi leading the Immortal Army to sweep through Liaodong and kill the slave chieftains in the past, and also heard about the good news of Chen Xin's Dengzhou army winning many battles in the north, and also heard all kinds of strange stories about the "Australian beards" on Hainan Island...... Whether it is Huangshi or Chen Xin, they both have an invincible elite army in this era, as well as a reputation for being invincible and undefeated. The "Australians" on Hainan Island came to this world with industrial equipment stuffed with an entire large cargo ship, but he Yu Guozhen only brought a head and a pair of hands......

For a moment, Yu Guozhen couldn't help but feel discouraged, feeling as if he had become a superfluous person.

Obviously, no matter what the next fortune will be, the Ming Empire in this era no longer needs a little person like him to save it. Regardless of which way the crosser finally gains power, the use of socialism or capitalism to govern the country is at least far better than the entry of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

All in all, the bright future of this country and this nation seems to have been determined, and Yu Guozhen no longer needs to fight for his life to save it...... But what should I do? What is the purpose of fate for me to travel to this time and space?

As soon as he thought of this, Yu Guozhen couldn't help but feel melancholy, but he didn't dare to recognize any of the people who traveled all the way, lest the other party was that kind of narrow Long Aotian character, and firmly believed that "the biggest enemy of a group of traversers is another group of traversers"...... This kind of worry made Yu Guozhen more frightened and frightened, but he was helpless...... Do you really want to be like Zhang Dai, regard life as a big bustle, and enjoy the prosperity until the last moment?

Yu Guozhen obviously does not approve of such a heartless attitude towards life, but if he wants to be aggressive, he doesn't know how to start......

With this meager foundation of his own inaction in Anhui, how can he compete with those who have been famous for a long time or have strong power?

Could it be that I can only go with the flow in this turbulent and chaotic world, sit back and watch the wind and water of other traversers rise and scold?

-- Yu Guozhen, who is not the protagonist on the stage of the times, has since fallen into a deep depression and confusion.

However, although Yu Guozhen prides himself on being a sober bystander, what he really sees is actually only a small corner of this vast world

Moreover, the changes brought to this world by the time-travelers not only have a bright and progressive side, but also a bloody and dark scene......

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