lady, please calm down

Chapter 368 Different

At the beginning of May, there was a lot of discussion between Qizhou and Zhou Dynasty about the winners of the Four Prizes.

Big trolls usually love to be in the limelight. When the outside world was talking a lot, Lu Yanzhong, a native of Zhou Guo's Jiangning Mansion, went out of his way to thank guests behind closed doors for several days, neither making a clear statement about his award, nor saying whether he had accepted the award.

It whets the appetite of people all over the world.

After getting addicted to having the world focus on this, on the third day of May, Lu Yanzhong suddenly went north with dozens of his disciples.

Before setting off, he specifically made it clear: Lu's trip was not for fame, nor for the thousands of cash prizes and other houses, but to go to Huaibei to spread education and persuade the King of Chu to put the people of the world first and implement benevolent government. Another act of brutal massacre.

Along the way, celebrities lined the streets to welcome him, and Lu Yanzhong enjoyed endless scenery.

But on May 10th, when the group was less than a hundred miles away from Huaibei, they were stopped by local officials.

The official's attitude was courteous, but Lu Yanzhong was not allowed to go to Huaibei.

This official dared to provoke the smelly and stubborn Lu Yanzhong, so he naturally received the imperial decree. No matter what, Lu Yanzhong was a prominent figure in the Zhou State. To receive a prize from the Qi State, the symbolic meaning was not so beneficial to the Zhou State after all.

But in this way, it seems that Zhou State has no structure.

The State of Qi dared to give awards to people of the State of Zhou, but your State of Zhou did not dare to let others receive them.

Knowing that Lu Yanzhong's trip to Qi was blocked, Caizhou Five-Day Talk published an article "Zhou Ting, you must be confident!" in mid-May. 》

The article denounced Zhou State for setting up artificial obstacles to the exchanges between scholars in the two places, which was unpopular.

Perhaps Zhou Guo knew that his side was unreasonable, and after a few days of silence, Lin'an Weekly published an article saying that the selection of Huaibei had ulterior motives and harbored evil intentions.

Seeing that a weekly newspaper with an official background from the Zhou State finally accepted the call, the Caizhou Five-Day Talk was like a shot of chicken blood. It immediately refuted the Zhou State's arguments and emphasized that the scholars in both places were all descendants of Chinese Miao. Normal exchanges and reasonable principles should be carried out. Debian Yue Ming, what should the Zhou Dynasty fear?

As the Five-Day Talks started, newspapers in Qi such as Daqi Qiyao in Tokyo, Luoyang Confucian Daily, which was reorganized after the fire, Huaibei folk newspaper Huaibei Minbao, etc., all spoke out and expressed a unanimous stance.

In short, there is one main principle: whoever hinders communication is the one who has evil intentions!

Seeing the fierce public opinion offensive in Qi, Zhou had no choice but to mobilize domestic newspapers to create public opinion that was beneficial to the country.

However, Zhou State lacked a non-governmental organization called the "Paper Promotion Association" to coordinate various newspapers. In order to demonstrate their objective and impartial stance, each newspaper did not report the matter in full accordance with the imperial court's wishes.

Even if some newspapers held an attitude of supporting Zhou Guo, their words were not so fierce.

More newspapers had an ambiguous attitude, and some even used obscure strokes of low-grade red and high-grade black to insinuate that the current administration was not open-minded enough and was suspicious of others.

Literary people have the most rebellious mentality. The more they are not allowed to do something, the more they will do it.

The Huaibao newspaper, which secretly resumed publication after being suspended for one month, had a standard and muddled attitude, saying, 'There is nothing wrong with the exchanges between the two places, but they must be carried out on a legal, reasonable and reasonable basis.'

It’s all fucking correct bullshit!

The public opinion war that swept through the whole week in May and involved more than a dozen newspapers in two places ultimately did not lead to a quarrel.

But the impact is quite far-reaching.

At least, the scholars of the Zhou Dynasty all knew that there was a very "objective and fair" award in Huaibei, and many people even heard about the wealthy Huaibei through this matter.

Zhou Guo unknowingly launched a massive propaganda campaign in conjunction with Huaibei.

The so-called "Don't be afraid of being dark, not afraid of being popular, just afraid of not being popular" is still useful today.

The impact of this is that more scholars of the Zhou Dynasty are full of curiosity about 'Huaibei', which has topped the hot search list in recent months.

However, the reputation of Huaibei in the Zhou Dynasty was mixed, and it was very different.

Some people say that the rituals and music here have collapsed and the customs are disordered, which can lead to colds. Others say that Huaibei is the most prosperous place in the world, and people do not close their doors at night and pick up things on the streets.

The confusion of information aroused more people's curiosity. Starting from mid-May, a large number of scholars tried to cross north, wanting to see with their own eyes what Huaibei was like.

Among the scholars who traveled to the north, there were also some people who had been famous for a long time.

On May 22nd, a thin woman about forty years old, accompanied by her maid, boarded the Beidou passenger ship.

Yedu, where they boarded the boat, is located within the jurisdiction of Laiyuan Shuizhai on Huainan West Road. It is an important border defense area between the two countries, and ordinary people who want to cross the river can only sneak across at night.

However, Zhang Duofu, Xu Lu and other water village generals obtained the benefits of the Huaibei Trading Company and the acquiescence of the manager Chen Bokang. Not only did they not prevent the scholars from going north, they even started a monopoly business on the ferry.

If you want to cross the river, each person needs a hundred words, and you will be innocent even if you are young or old.

But there were not only scholars on the boat who wanted to travel to Huaibei, but also many people carrying bedding rolls and luggage.

A thin man dressed as a farmer, accompanied by his wife and daughter, touched all over his body and only collected 260 coins. Seeing that the other party did not have enough money to cross the river, the plainclothes primary school official in charge came to Yuanshuizhai. Cursing, he stepped forward, first snatched the money away, and then rummaged through the other party's luggage. He randomly picked up two old clothes with few patches and stuffed them into his arms to use as ship fare.

The family did not dare to show any expression of dissatisfaction. The couple squatted on the deck and carefully re-tied the dismantled luggage.

The young daughter was so frightened that she clung to the corners of her father's clothes, her mouth tightened, and her eyes filled with tears. She glanced timidly at the elementary school, but did not dare to cry.

The thin man comforted her in a low voice: "Don't be afraid, Niuniu. You'll be fine once you cross the river."

The money-collecting school was also a discerning person, and he could see the families who had fled to the other side to make a living. He had a stern look, but he was much more polite to those who dressed up as scholars.

Scholars are difficult to deal with, and if you mess with one, they will bring out a bunch of classmates and teachers. No one wants to get into trouble with them.

After politely collecting the scholar's money, the colonel walked up to the woman who was the last to board the ship. After just a cursory glance, his attitude became more respectful.

The woman in front of her was dressed in cloth, but her hair was meticulously combed, and her slim figure had a noble temperament that was as clear as an orchid. At first glance, she was a woman from a scholarly family.

Moreover, this person was accompanied by only two servant women, an old man and a young man. Women who dare to go out without a man to accompany them are generally a bit hesitant.

The older servant woman took out a dime of broken silver worth about three cents. The principal took it and said with a smile, "Ma'am, please sit more securely. The boat will be bumpy when it crosses the middle of the river later."

After the principal left, the woman was still standing on the side of the ship, looking across the Miao Miao River, staring at the other bank and saying slowly: "The last time I passed through Huaibei was more than ten years ago."

The servant girl who was standing aside also raised her head and looked over. After a moment, she said with a hint of sadness: "Ms. Li, don't have too high expectations. The batch of calligraphy, painting and inscriptions has been lost for twelve years. Even if you are lucky enough to find it, you won't know how to replace it." I've lost a few hands to my master, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get him back."

Lady Li was silent.

After the Dingwei Rebellion, Mrs. Li and her wife transported a large amount of their collection of epigraphy, calligraphy and paintings to the south of the Yangtze River. However, when passing through Huaibei, they encountered strongmen on the road and their collection was robbed.

After this, her husband became depressed and died in Lin'an.

This matter also became a worry for her.

The river is no more than a hundred feet wide, and it will soon reach the north bank.

But at the ferry, there were more than a hundred Puppet Qi sergeants wearing military uniforms.

Due to the demonizing propaganda that the two countries of Qi and Zhou had against each other for many years, the scholars of Zhou and Lady Li could not help but become nervous. On the other hand, the plainclothes junior officer standing at the bow of the boat clasped his fists and said with a smile, "General Qin and General Kang, I will personally come to the ferry to pick you up today."

The two generals Qin and Kang standing on the north bank are Qin Shengwu and Kang Shitou of the former Huotou Army who were promoted because of their merits in capturing Dan Ninggui alive last year.

After the ferry docked, Colonel Zhou jumped off the boat first, pulled Qin Shengwu to the place where he was carrying people, and whispered: "General Qin, my Commander Zhang has something to worry about."

The Commander Zhang he mentioned was Zhang Duofu, the former commander of the Yuanshui camp.

More than two months ago, Chen Bokang not only removed Lou Yuxing, the county magistrate, but also took the blame for the Huoqiuluo Family Store tragedy. He also took the opportunity to resign a group of mid-level officers to take the blame, freeing up space to promote Zhang Duofu and Xu Lu, who were with him that night.

It can be regarded as supporting his own people in both the military and political circles of Huainan.

After a set of operations, he became the one who benefited the most from the Luojiadian tragedy.

However, this was a risk-taking trade-off.

That night at the Luo Family Store, if he hadn't reacted quickly and 'borrowed' the hairpin on the singer's head, he would have turned into a withered skeleton by now.

"What's the matter?" Qin Shengwu looked back and saw that his deputy Kang Shitou was arranging the people coming from Huainan in an orderly manner, so he asked with confidence.

"Uh." The colonel seemed a little embarrassed to say it. He hesitated for a moment and then said embarrassedly: "Well, our imperial inspector will come to Huainan in August for inspection and inspection. There are some big vacancies in our army. Commander Zhang thought, haha , I would like to borrow some people from your army to wear our military uniforms and participate in the review."

"."

Qin Shengwu's words "Xie Niang" got stuck in his throat and he didn't know whether to say it or not. It's a shame they came up with this idea!

Although the two countries of Qi and Zhou have not fought for many years, they are still in a semi-hostile state!

In order to fool Shangguan and prevent the Nadu inspector from discovering the shortage, he borrowed troops from the other side.

"I can't make the decision on this matter. I need to ask for instructions from the top! But" Qin Shengwu looked at the junior high school student who was half a head lower than him, and said with a smile: "But there is no reason why brothers should do their best in vain. If we want to remove someone, we have to express our will." Express it."

While speaking, Qin Shengwu raised his hand and rubbed it with his thumb and index finger. His expression was very philistine.

But the principal understood that this was what Huaibei meant by counting cargo tickets, and hurriedly said: "Of course, my brothers' help will not be in vain. Recently, we have been ferrying people just to earn some hard-earned money and compensate the brothers on the north bank!"

"Haha, don't cry poor. Who knows that your ferry business makes a lot of money? A boat can earn more than 10,000 yuan a day, right?"

"Hey, you can't hide anything from Captain Qin. Then let's borrow someone."

"Didn't I tell you that you need to ask for permission to go up to the peak? I will give you a letter of approval in three days."

The two people were whispering here, and Kang Shitou over there led the sergeant to organize the people to disembark.

The family of three farmers had a lot of luggage. The man was carrying the load, and the woman was holding her daughter with one hand. They also carried a mountain-like burden on their backs.

Seeing this, Kang Shitou waved his hand, and a sergeant came forward. Without saying a word, he took the baggage from the woman and put it on his shoulders.

"Hey" the woman subconsciously stretched out her hand, but the husband hurriedly stopped him in a low voice, "Madam, please stop grabbing it! I don't want it anymore, it's just a few old clothes and a tattered quilt. We don't want it anymore, don't upset the military master."

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately shrank her hands but couldn't help but feel sad.

The family heard from fellow villagers that there was a way to survive in Huaibei, so they sold everything they could for more than 200 cash and fled to Huaibei.

The little money just now has been taken away by the boatmen, and now the clothes and bedding will also be taken away by the Huaibei sergeants. If they can't find a living in Huaibei, they will freeze to death if they don't starve to death in winter.

When she was feeling uncomfortable, she saw the sergeant who had just taken away her baggage, placed the baggage next to a table, and turned around and said: "Brother and sister-in-law, come here to register, leave your name and place of origin, go to the side to have a full meal first, and hold on." If you follow the road guide opened by the official, you can take an ox cart to the south of Caizhou City for free. They will make unified arrangements for you there."

"Uh-oh, thank you, Master Jun."

The man in charge didn't fully understand, but when he saw the sergeant put down his own baggage, he realized that the sergeant had just carried a part of the way for his wife, and was not trying to take it by force.

But Mrs. Li, who was walking behind, looked around when she heard this and saw a pot stove not far away. The steaming rice in the steamer was multi-grain rice. In another iron pot, there was a milky white soup, which seemed to be... fish soup.

The sergeant in charge of the kitchen caught a glimpse of a dirty and timid little girl in the crowd at the registration desk. He couldn't help but feel soft in his heart. He filled up the evening rice with a spoonful of fish soup and brought it over.

The little girl stared longingly at the bowl of fragrant multigrain rice, drooling without even noticing. But when the sergeant knelt down and handed the rice bowl to her, she was so frightened that she hid behind her father.

"Sir, my name is Xue Laishou, from Lao'echi Village, Huoqiu, Huainan. My wife's name is"

Xue Laishou, a farmer who was registering at the table, felt his clothes being pulled. When he lowered his head, he saw that a foot in front of his daughter was a sergeant holding a bowl and passing it forward. Maybe he didn't know how to deal with children. The sergeant squeezed awkwardly. He showed a simple and pleasing smile.

"Hey, I don't dare, I don't dare to eat the military master's food."

Xue Laishou quickly declined, and the sergeant who was not good at words became even more embarrassed and froze in place holding a bowl.

Seeing this, the scribe behind the desk in charge of registration said: "Xue Xueshou, right? Let your daughter eat it quickly. That pot of rice is specially cooked for you. You and your family should eat quickly. We will leave for Caizhou in two quarters of an hour." The bullock cart is starting, don’t be late.”

"Cooked specially for us?" Xue Laishou said in shock.

The scribe was already used to his reaction, and he said slowly: "The prince was worried that the people from the north were traveling all the way and had nothing to eat, so he specially arranged for the sergeants to set up stoves and cook meals at various ferries along the river, so that everyone could have a full meal before going on their way. Don't leave. I'm stunned, go and eat quickly, there will be officials to pick you up when you get to Caizhou."

"."

No one today understands the rights and obligations of taxpayers, and they dare not have the unreasonable idea that "the government serves the people."

As soon as I set foot on the land of Huaibei, I felt that the scenery was so meticulous and well-arranged that I had never experienced in my life. I could only think of being grateful.

Xue Laishou took the job for his daughter. The little girl didn't dare to take it from the sergeant, but she dared to take it from her father. The next moment she hugged the big bowl and started gobbling it down.

This bowl of multi-grain rice mixed with white rice is something I don't often eat even when I'm at home, let alone on the road to escape.

Xue Laishou was murmuring and speechless, but his mother-in-law wiped away tears and gently told her daughter: "Eat slowly, eat slowly, don't choke."

The fellow shipmates had just set foot on the north shore, and they were still chatting nervously and excitedly in low voices. After seeing the scene in front of them, they gradually fell silent.

Some things are just a matter of comparison. The same is true for Huainan and Huaibei.

Madam Li looked away, sighed quietly, looked back at the land of Zhou on the other side of the river, and said as if talking to herself: "This Huaibei is indeed different."

　Classmate ‘Lao Chen’’s leader’s extra update will be delivered in the early morning.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)