Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 640
A few days later, it was February in the 58th year of Qianlong's reign.

Speaking of February [-], the first thing the common people under the Manchu Qing ruled to do was to shave their heads, no matter whether it was nostalgia for the past, or fear of death, uncle’s filial piety, in short, they had grown crazy for a month, and if they didn’t shave their heads, they would have to be exiled and killed up.

However, the four counties of Jiaodong under the rule of Beihai Town are quite different.Rich people will still call the barber to come to their door, shave their heads brightly, take apart and wash the "little tail" at the back of the head, and then either weave it up, or wear jade or silver braids; Ordinary people who have no money, let their hair grow a few inches long on their heads, not to mention saving a penny, at least they can keep warm.

The Military Control Commission issued a notice last year to express its position. The implication is that everyone is free to stay and shave if they want to, but it is best to wash frequently and maintain personal hygiene when there is nothing to do.

What is hygiene?The majority of ordinary people at the bottom expressed their incomprehension.Besides, it takes a lot of firewood to wash your hair and boil water, right?Firewood costs money!
Speaking of which, before Beihai Town dispatched troops to Shandong, there were disputes about whether to cut the common people's braids from the army to the civil affairs department, and even the medical department.

Radicals suggested that the Beihai Navy should be like the revolutionary army in another time and space. After entering the city, each person will have a pair of scissors, and each will click one by one.You must know that when the immigrants on Beihai Town’s own side disembarked for epidemic prevention procedures, their braids were all cut off, and all men and women shaved their heads, and the cut braids would be thrown into the fire and burned under the witness of the owner, so as not to Let the other party feel that they will be used by others, and they will be taken away.No matter how reluctant the new immigrants are, it’s useless. The bright future of fifty acres of land is beckoning ahead, so I ask you if you want it?

However, Zhao Xin does not agree to adopt such a radical method. In another time and space, there are enough lessons from the "braid-cutting movement" after the [-] Revolution.He warned Kong Shaoan that what the people at the bottom need is to voluntarily cut their braids through publicity and education, rather than violence.Not to mention that doing so will lead to panic among the people, and even violent confrontation, and it will also give the Manchu Qing an excuse to sow discord.

As the top leader of the Shandong detachment, Kong Shaoan obeyed Zhao Xin's order even though he felt uncomfortable with the braids on the backs of the common people's heads.

Lin Qizong wanted to go to Longmen Port with Guo Yu to see the big iron boat on the third day of the junior high school. He hesitated again and again, and finally, under his wife's persuasion, he went to the shaving stall in front of the Town God's Temple after lunch. It went up a lot.

On the second day, he arrived at the former "Changfeng warehouse" in the city early, joined Guo Yu, and set off together in the Beihai Navy's material carriage.

There were three granaries in Changping, Beibei, and Changfeng in the city of Ninghai Prefecture, and there were many communal warehouses outside the city.The Changfeng warehouse has long been abandoned due to disrepair for a long time, and is currently converted into a material warehouse for the Military Control Commission.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the gate, Lin Qizong saw five "giant" carriages neatly parked in the yard, which made him gasp.I thought how many mules would be needed to pull such a big cart!

The reason why it is called huge is because the carriage of this kind of carriage is more than twice as long as that of ordinary folk carriages, and it has four wheels, especially the rear wheels, which are almost as high as Lin Qizong's side.The tall outer panel of the carriage was painted a bright blue, and the roof was covered with an arched snow-white tarpaulin.

Just when he was in a trance, he heard someone greet him behind him, turned around and saw that it was Cao Guifu and Guo Yu who came.Lin Qizong hurriedly bowed to salute, Cao Guifu smiled and cupped his hands, then walked to the guard standing guard at the door and handed over his ID for inspection.

When it was Guo Yu and Lin Qizong's turn, he took out a certificate issued by the Military Control Commission from his pocket, which stated that Lin Qizong was approved to go to Longmen Port with the convoy, and indicated his home address and house number.After the inspection and entering the courtyard, the three of them couldn't wait to step forward and carefully looked at the carriage.

Regardless of the fact that Cao Guifu and Guo Yu have joined the military control committee for more than a month, but they have never been here.The three of them looked around the car for a while, and then heard the sound of horses' hoofs, and a dozen or so Bei Haijun drove a steady stream of tall horses over from the barn behind.This time, the eyes of the three of them were straightened, and their mouths were opened wide.

When Cao Guifu and Guo Yu followed the cavalry to investigate the case, they rode foreign horses—that is, Mongolian horses.Those military horses were all captured by the Northern Navy in previous battles with the Manchus and Tsarist Russia. In the eyes of the two, they were already high-quality horses; but compared with the current group of horses, they were simply donkeys.

Appearing in front of them were dozens of reddish-brown and black horses with a height of more than 1.5 meters, each with strong limbs, muscular development, wide shoulders and broad backs, showing a pleasing curve, and the brown hair on the neck It is neatly trimmed, and its brown hair trembles as it walks, making it look even more mighty.

After a while, Lin Qizong put away his dropped chin, and murmured: "The dragon's spine sticks to the money, and the silver hoof steps on the smoke. No one is weaving brocade, who is casting the golden whip."

Guo Yu asked without turning his head: "Brother De Yuan, what are you talking about?"

"Uh, this was done by Li He in the previous Tang Dynasty. It is one of the "23 Poems on Horses". It praises the horses for their beauty. Brother Yu, these horses are very handsome, and even the ancient heavenly horses are nothing more than this!"

Guo Yu couldn't help nodding his head when he heard the words, "Yes, yes, I'm afraid it takes dozens of taels of horses to make this horse."

These days, the starting price of a gelding in Shandong is twelve taels, and stallions are even more expensive.Not to mention that the government of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties strictly controlled the private horse trade, prohibiting private raising and selling, and many families could not afford the cost of raising a horse alone.The three of them thought that with these horses, how much concentrate would they have to eat a day to grow so strong!

However, when they saw a few North Marines bring the horses to the long shaft in front of the truck one by one, and began to put on the harness, the three of them were stupid again.Cao Guifu stared wide-eyed, and said in amazement: "Such a good horse to pull the cart? It's too..." He wanted to say it was a waste, but because there were people around, he swallowed it back.

A soldier who was harnessing a horse to a cart heard this, couldn't help laughing, and said to the three of them with a sigh of relief: "What kind of horse is it?

Needless to say, this is the offspring bred from the heavy draft horse that Zhao Xin bought the first time.Nine years have passed, and the second-generation draft horse is ready to work.

What? !The three of them looked at each other, thinking that there is still a special horse to pull the cart?This is the first time I've heard of it.You must know that because horses are expensive, folks pull carts either by mules or donkeys, and occasionally cattle are used.In the eyes of the three, the Beihai Navy actually used such a majestic horse-drawn cart, which was really reckless.

While the soldier was busy, he explained to the three of them that these draft horses were specially bred by the Beihai Town Race Farm, and they were brought here a few years ago. Because of the wind and waves on the road, they felt a little uncomfortable after getting off the boat, so they had to be raised for more than a month. Dare to use it.When they learned from the soldier that the carriage behind them could weigh up to [-] jin and needed eight horses to pull it, the three of them were shocked and speechless.

More than half an hour later, the five carriages in the yard were all harnessed, and each cart was harnessed to eight horses.Under the orders of a leading company commander, the three of Lin Qizong climbed into the carriage of a carriage in a daze.After getting into the carriage, the three of them found that the interior of the carriage was different from ordinary carriages. The floor was not flat, but high at both ends and low at the middle, so it was very awkward to sit on.

They didn't know that this kind of carriage was a "Conestoga wagon" heavy-duty freight carriage specially imitated by the factory in Beihai Town.Because of its good passability, it is currently being widely used in the eastern United States and Canada, and is responsible for commercial transportation between towns.The interior of the 5.4-meter-long carriage is made with two ends upturned to prevent the loaded goods from tipping over and moving back and forth.

However, it is precisely because of the heavy load that this kind of heavy carriage is not suitable for grassland areas.Putting it into Jiaodong is mainly because of the hard soil roads in the local area, and the transportation of materials from the port to the town in winter.

After the horse convoy joined the cavalry team waiting outside the Changfengcang compound, it drove slowly towards Zhenhai Gate in the north of the city. People look strange.Some idlers and children were still following the two sides of the convoy, eating the dust for several miles, and then walked back excitedly.

The destination of the team's trip is Longmen Port, which is located at the mouth of the Xin'an River 20 miles northwest of Ninghai Prefecture City. The speed of the Conestoga heavy carriage is not fast, even if it is empty, it is 3 kilometers per hour.

The three of Lin Qizong were quite excited at first, but not long after leaving the city, they became a little chest tight and nauseous because of the bumpy road.After walking for less than half an hour, Lin Tongsheng lay prone on the rear panel of the car, wishing he could even spit out the overnight meal, which caused the two harness horses at the beginning of the car behind to keep snorting at him.

Cao Guifu joked with a smile: "Lin Tongsheng, you can't do this. I'm afraid I'll spit out my gall when I catch the exam and take the boat."

After hearing this, Lin Qizong's originally wrinkled bitter gourd face became even uglier. He said in his heart that he was really full, and it would not be good to stay at home in the cold weather, so he insisted on running to see some big iron boat.It's all here now, so I can only bear it.

Guo Yu patted Lin Qizong's back, and said, "Uncle Cao, don't scare Brother De Yuan. He is a scholar, so how could he suffer this crime?"

Cao Fugui laughed when he heard this, closed his eyes and stopped talking, and fell asleep leaning on the carriage board, and after a while, there was a snoring sound
After more than an hour, the convoy arrived at the destination. Lin Qizong, who was pale, couldn't even stand still. Cao Guifu and Guo Yu supported him to get off the carriage, found a place to sit down, and Guo Yu went to the carriage again. I found a cup of hot water for him to drink, and then I felt better.

Cao Guifu had been to Longmen Port before, and he brought government servants to collect taxes from fishermen.Due to the long-term siltation of the Xin'an River and the Qing government's greater emphasis on Dengzhou Port, Longmen Port can only berth some small fishing boats.In fact, the best deep-water bay in the northeast of Jiaodong is on the southeast side of Zhifu Island, which is the port of Yantai in later generations.

However, the development of Yantai Port is a big project, and it cannot be completed in a year or two. Not only does it require a lot of machinery and equipment, but also a large number of engineering personnel must be dispatched from Beihai Town.Kong Shaoan made up his mind, let's make do with Longmen Port first, and wait until the Beihai Navy wins the entire Dengzhou Prefecture and establishes a firm foothold in Jiaodong.

The Military Control Commission built a material transfer warehouse in Longmen Port, covering an area about the size of two football fields, and stationed a platoon of troops.Because the searchlights were installed on the tower, the people in the nearby villages were very nervous. Afterwards, Chief Jia came to see it in person. Although he went back with a half-knowledge, everything was fine.

The three of them came to a barracks and sat there for a meal. Cao Guifu couldn't bear it anymore, so he went to ask the company commander who led the team, and learned that the boat would arrive in the afternoon.While speaking, he vaguely smelled a smell of meat, and after talking to the company commander, he searched for the smell
Guo Yu didn't see Cao Guifu coming back, and was about to go look for him, when he saw Catcher Cao happily enter the door, leaned forward and said, "We're here this time! There's meat for lunch!"

Before Guo Yu could speak, Lin Qizong immediately stood up and asked, "How did Catcher Cao know?"

"Hey, I just went to the kitchen to see, fatty pork stewed with cabbage and radish, big snow-white steamed buns."

"Guru~~"

Lin Qizong swallowed his saliva in disbelief, although he still felt a little tight in his chest and wanted to vomit, but since he had a meal of pig offal a few days ago, he hadn't seen the smell of oil for many days.

Guo Yu was also very greedy when he heard that there was meat to eat. It doesn’t mean that anyone with money can eat meat every day, and even the rich and powerful landlords can’t eat it.Pigs and sheep cannot be killed until they are fattened up during the Chinese New Year. If there is a fish and a chicken on the dinner table every day, it is already a luxurious life beyond the reach of ordinary people.At present, in the whole of East Asia, only the Beihai Navy dares to eat like this. Who let Zhao Xin be the boss!

The three looked forward to it for a while, and then heard the bell for dinner ringing outside.Lin Qizong, who was empty in his belly, took a quick stride and walked out the door. Cao and Guo were stunned.
Lin Tongsheng killed five big steamed buns during this lunch meal, and Cao and Guo didn't give in, they wolfed down four steamed buns, and each took a bowl of stewed meat and a bowl of egg drop soup. The oil, and even the remaining oil in the bowl were wiped with steamed buns and eaten.After the meal, the three of them leaned on the chairs, picked their teeth and touched their stomachs contentedly, saying that today's trip was really worthwhile.

At about one o'clock in the afternoon, there was a sudden noise outside. Guo Yu went out to ask, and only then did he know that the boat had arrived.So he hastily called Cao Guifu, and dragged Lin Qizong, who was almost immobile, to the outside of the warehouse, only to see a small white dot approaching on the northwest sea.

The three of them thought the boat was not that big at first, but after a while they realized that the white boat in the distance was bigger than any sea boat they had ever seen in their life, and the speed of the boat was extremely fast, as if gliding on the sea surface .

Not long after, the ship stopped several miles away from the coast. First, it blew its whistle twice, and then the rumbling sound of anchoring shook the wilderness, startling a sea of ​​birds.On a high slope two miles to the west of the three of them, a group of villagers who heard the sound were also watching eagerly, all of them showing panic.

Lin Qizong was already obsessed with it.He has experienced so much in the past half a day, sitting in Beihai's carriage, eating Beihai's meal, and seeing such a huge boat, he finally understands that the Manchu Qing court will never come back!

(End of this chapter)