mage in the late qing dynasty

Chapter 737 Returning to the outside world again
News came that the British troops stationed along the railway not only huddled in their barracks, but also strengthened their defenses.

The British troops from Tianjin Wei and other places, whether land or gunboats, stood still.

Where is the attitude of coming to fight Zhao Chuanxin?

Zhao Chuanxin was puzzled.

He stood up, beckoned and shouted: "Who can play the piano, then play and dance."

There was actually a Guangdong manager who knew Western musical instruments. He sat down and played "To Alice" in Zhao Chuanxin's place.

Zhao Chuanxin, Zhou Xuexi, and Zhao Xilong went aside.

"Tell me, why did the British army stand still?" Zhao Chuanxin asked them as the three cobblers stood up to Zhuge Liang.

Zhou Xuexi pondered and said: "Uncle, if there are really tens of thousands of British troops attacking, can you defend it alone?"

"Only tens of thousands of British troops?" Zhao Chuanxin dismissed it. "Of course I can't hold on."

"..." Breathing heavily, Zhou Xuexi's waist was lifted. "So what if there are a thousand British troops?"

"Then, let's see if the horoscopes of these 1000 people are tough enough." Zhao Chuanxin took out his cigarette and said calmly.

"Well..." Zhou Xuexi guessed: "There are few people, and Zhu Erdian knows that he is no match for his uncle. There are many people, it will be difficult to mobilize, and it will affect their interests in China. I guess they will not come to cause trouble for my uncle."

Zhao Chuanxin was a little surprised.

But he didn't show it and looked at Zhao Xilong again.

Compared with Zhou Xuexi, Zhao Xilong has a psychological burden.

If he wants to get ahead in Zhao Chuanxin, he can't follow the rules step by step, he has to answer brightly.

Therefore, he could not analyze according to Zhou Xuexi's thinking, but started from another angle: "Mr. Zhao, could it be that Zhu Erdian is personally afraid? This person is the British Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China. He has great power in China and can make decisions with one word. Life or death. If he is afraid, not only will he not cause trouble, but he will also act like a coward, and naturally he will not let the British army send out and continue to provoke you."

A prophecy.

When Zhao Chuanxin received a call from Yang Yide the next day, he realized that Zhao Xilong's guess was accurate.

Yang Yide said: "Brother Zhao, that foreign devil ran into the British concession of Tianjin Wei. There are heavy patrols and escorts every day, and there are gunboats at the port at any time. Don't worry, the old guy is scared out of his wits and doesn't dare to cause trouble for you. "

On that day, both Zhou Xuexi and Zhao Xilong heard Zhao Chuanxin threatening Zhu Erdian to die on September 9th in the Western calendar.

Unexpectedly, the dignified British Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China was so frightened by Zhao Chuanxin that he did not dare to leave the business.

The two were stunned.

Zhao Chuanxin said a few more perfunctory words before hanging up the phone.

He stretched and yawned: "My dear nephew, my friend has settled down, right?"

"Is this the shaman named Bayar that uncle is talking about?" Zhou Xuexi nodded: "It has been settled. As long as he doesn't run away, everything will be fine. Even if someone on the train saw him with you that day, there would be no foreigners. Can find him."

Zhao Chuanxin's main worry was that foreigners would come seeking revenge.

But the noise he made here was also quite big, attracting some firepower.

In fact, newspapers have covered the tragedy of the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway extensively.

"Ta Kung Pao" said: The hero sheds tears on his clothes, and goes to death generously to leave behind his sorrow.Tan Jinyong's death was caused by the country's weakness and ignorance for a long time. It is a pity and pain.The Beijing-Fengcheng train tragedy occurred because Tan Jinyong was humiliated in San Francisco. Nine out of ten Chinese people in San Francisco came to mourn the incident. Although we do not advocate violence against violence and harming innocent people, it still serves as a warning to the world...

Some of the major newspapers in the north and south of the country, like "Ta Kung Pao", report fairly and truthfully, but some may be biased towards Zhao Chuanxin, and some may be biased towards foreigners. They categorically say that evil people are evil people, and no amount of whitewashing can cover up the evildoers. nature.

Most of the people who say this are educated people, or half-educated people, the kind of people who like to be high-profile.

The common people don't care about that. They dare to stand up for their compatriots overseas. Killing foreigners is a happy thing.

This kind of mentality is very common, which is why so many people flocked to Boxing during the Gengzi Incident.

So when Zhao Chuanxin left Kaiping and went to Luanzhou to find Bayar Bo'e, he suddenly realized that the old sacred altar was crazy about absorbing the power of faith from all directions.

Bayarbo hadn't seen Zhao Chuanxin for many days, and he didn't read the newspaper. He didn't know that Zhao Chuanxin had made a fortune in the coal mine in just a few days.

It even straightened out the intricate relationships in the Bureau of Mines.

Seeing Zhao Chuanxin stunned, he asked, "What happened?"

Zhao Chuanxin shook his head: "Nothing."

He touched the two old sacred altars around his neck, and his thoughts seemed to be able to flash unscrupulously again.

If the British army dares to invade now, it will be enough for them to drink a pot.

Even with thousands of troops, he, Zhao Chuanxin, felt like he was in a deserted place.

Bayar asked: "What have you been doing these days? Are you going to help the official named Zhou?"

The two of them were still on the train on the Jingfeng Line.

This is almost impossible for future generations. If you swipe your ID card, your identity will be exposed and you will be stopped, but now no one checks at all.

Normally, if there is such a big commotion on the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway, at least the local soldiers will strictly investigate it, and even the British army may not know for sure.

But Zhao Chuanxin caused another scene in Kaiping and attracted firepower to himself. It was not surprising that the two of them could easily get on board.

Zhao Chuanxin opened the car window, and his Laodao brand cigarettes could not cover up the pungent smell of soot.

He put the cigarette butt out of the window, and the wind blew away the ashes. Then he pulled it back and said, "It's hard to say who helped whom. My nephew's mind is not simple."

Bayar did not understand. He shook his head: "You Han people have too many twists and turns, making it difficult for people to guess."

Zhao Chuanxin looked at the darkening sky and said nothing.

At this time, the carriage door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man carrying a basket, dirty and dirty, asked everyone in each seat something with furtive eyes.

When it was Zhao Chuanxin's turn, the middle-aged man opened his mouth and said, "Sir, are you hungry? I have steamed buns and pickles here. The steamed buns are made from wheat grown by myself, and the pickles are pickled with radish and shrimp oil grown by myself." , you only need thirty grand to eat."

Zhao Chuanxin was about to refuse, but seeing that Bayar seemed very interested, he took out a handful of money and pushed it over.

The middle-aged man put his chapped hands into the basket covered with cloth and took out the steamed buns.

Zhao Chuanxin said happily: "I made this money myself, so you can spend it slowly."

After Bayar received the steamed buns and pickles, the middle-aged man's expression changed drastically and he hurriedly took a closer look at the money in his hand.

The money had some wear and tear, but it wasn't serious. It didn't look like private money. He smiled and said, "Sir, you really can joke."

"Yeah, look at you, you're smiling so hard that your back molars are exposed."

"..."

Zhao Chuanxin asked him: "Did you buy a ticket specifically to sell steamed buns on the train?"

The middle-aged man was a little nervous when he heard this: "Ahem, passing by, passing by..."

Zhao Chuanxin understood, this guy might have gotten on the train.

After the middle-aged man left, Zhao Chuanxin took out an iron shelf and an iron plate, and then took out shredded pork knuckles and placed them on the iron plate.

He stretched out his left palm and placed it under the shelf, holding the shovel in his right hand and turning it over.

The iron plate actually exuded the aroma of meat, and the soup from the elbows was steaming.

Bayar's eyes widened when he saw it.

"You are the one who is favored by the God of Fire." Bayarbor couldn't figure it out and could only attribute the credit to the God of Fire they believed in.

Zhao Chuanxin took out his chopsticks and said, "It's contrary to what I said. I was the one who favored the God of Fire."

Since the newspaper came out, few people have paid attention to the first-class carriages on the Beijing-Fenghuang Railway.

Many people don't understand and think that there is only one train. It is unlucky to have a first-class carriage after a murder, so there are not many passengers here.

The few passengers were attracted by the scent and turned to look.

Bayar handed a steamed bun to Zhao Chuanxin. Zhao Chuanxin thought of the middle-aged man's hand and shook his head quickly: "I can't get used to steamed buns made from ground wheat grown at home. Haha, don't give it to me either. pickle."

"..."

He just ate some soft pork knuckles from the mines bureau cook.

In Zhao Chuanxin's world, as long as you have a bucket of popcorn in your hand, there is a good movie everywhere.

It's just that this journey seems a bit boring.

Passengers went up and down, up and down, while steam and soot rose high into the night clouds.

Outside the window were rolling low hills with jagged, furry edges in the dark.

In the era of lack of neon, the stars in the clear night sky are too bright, and the darkness is so deep in the gloomy weather.After finishing the meal hastily, Zhao Chuanxin took out the "Old God Code", stood on the small table and opened it casually.

Previously, just after the war between the nine tribes, there was a natural vision, indicating that a god would awaken and come to the world.

The dead spirit urged "me" to go to the cursed desert in the far east to find the desert emperor and ask for the third old sacred altar.

"I" rushed to the port with the elf scouts, the brothers and sisters, and the dead souls, and set off on the ship.

For a long time, Zhao Chuanxin only refreshed his progress every day.

There were rough waves, ferocious fish as big as whales, and turbulent undercurrents, but we all got through it without any danger.

[Me, the Elf Scout and my brother and sister stood on the deck, listening to the first mate and trade officer bragging. 】

[The first mate said: After sailing eastward for a few days, we arrived at our supply station, Hongdao. 】

[The trade officer’s face showed the pride of having seen the world: You landlubbers, have you ever heard of the Red Island in the East? 】

[The first mate is asking about us. 】

[We shook our heads together, expressing our willingness to hear the details, because this is one of the few joys in the boring sea life. 】

[The trade officer said: The Red Island is really red, the island is not big, and all the people living on it are fishermen.These fishermen are brave and fierce. They have two layers of eyelids on their eyes, one of which is the nictitating membrane, which allows them to see in the sea.They specifically select large sea beasts for hunting, and the blood of the prey dragged ashore flows, accumulating over time, dyeing the land on the island blood...]

[I felt a chill rising from my tailbone, and I looked at each other in disbelief at the elf scout. 】

[How many lives must be killed to turn an island red? 】

[The first mate interrupts: What a giant beast in the sea, there are still monsters in the sea.Compared with them, cancers are like dolls in the hands of adults.According to common sense, sea monsters are very sensitive to the smell of blood, but strangely, the seawater around Hongdao is mixed with grease and blood all year round, but it does not attract sea monsters to dare to cause trouble on the island. 】

[The elf scout asked curiously: Is it because they are afraid of the fishermen on the island?Are you worried that fishermen will hunt sea monsters? 】

[The trade officer sneered: The first officer’s words were wrong. In history, sea monsters have attacked Hongdao at least dozens of times, with heavy casualties each time.They don't attack islands just because they don't like to land easily, because their strength will be greatly reduced after landing. 】

[The first mate was unconvinced when he heard this: Nonsense, there was no sea monster attacking Hongdao in history, because it is said that Hongdao was entrusted by a god, and that god fell into a deep sleep, and no sea monster dared to disturb it.Otherwise, if the gods are awakened, the sea monster will be eaten first. 】

[The trade officer and the first mate were so angry at each other that they almost had to show off their arms and roll up their sleeves to fight...]

After a while, Zhao Chuanxin closed the "Old God Code" and regained his strength.

Bayar's forehead had fallen into a deep sleep, snoring like a thunderous sound.

Zhao Chuanxin was lying on the three rows of chairs, with the back of his head resting on his forearms. Occasionally, raindrops would be blown in through the car window, and the drops would feel cool on his face.

After he smoked three cigarettes, he slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Sleeping on a swaying, clanging, roaring train filled with pungent soot, even if the gods come, you will still not be able to sleep peacefully.

Wandering back and forth between unconsciousness and wakefulness, the train did not have curtains covering people's sleep, so until the bright skylight came in, no matter how hard they slept, they would immediately wake up without feeling sleepy.

Zhao Chuanxin also woke up at this time.

He yawned and raised his hand to look at his watch: "Oh, we're almost to Jinzhou Mansion."

He got up from the chair, took out a cup of water, poured some on Bayar's forehead, and started brushing his teeth.

You don’t have to wash your face, but your teeth must be brushed. This is the life experience I summed up during my time as a lazy homebody.

The water for gargling mouth was sprayed directly out the window.

The passenger in the back row cursed and closed the window to avoid being covered in tooth powder.

But there were still people who didn't close it in time and had foam splashed on their faces. He twitched his nose, frowned and said to himself: "This is the Yueli Chang'e brand tooth powder produced by Shanghai Yonghe Industrial Company..."

Jinzhou Prefecture is relatively developed. Although the air is dusty at this time and there are sandstorms in April and May every year, when the train passes through the city, you can see that the streets are neat and there are many shops.

Once upon a time, the decisive battle between the Ming and Qing Dynasties was fought on this land. The Ming Dynasty collapsed and the Qing Dynasty rose.

The train finally arrived.

The rain had stopped, and the two got out of the car. Zhao Chuanxin stretched and said, "Let's find a place to have a hot meal."

Bayar did not have as high a mental quality as Zhao Chuanxin. When he saw the soldiers standing guard outside the station, his body became a little stiff.

After all, Zhao Chuanxin once committed mass murder on a train, and he was worried that he would be wanted.

What he didn't know was that Zhao Chuanxin's sea arrest documents had always existed, but no one dared to catch him even if the bounty was huge.

Zhao Chuanxin said disapprovingly: "Being a thief with a guilty conscience will only make you look suspicious."

When Bayar saw Zhao Chuanxin put his hands in his pockets, arrogantly pointing his nostrils at the soldiers standing guard, he couldn't help but marvel.

This man's mentality makes people look up to the mountains.

Sure enough, the two soldiers didn't dare to look at Zhao Chuanxin, because they were worried that this was some big shot who could not be offended.Instead, he glanced at Bayar's forehead a few more times.

In the end, the two of them left the station safely.

Zhao Chuanxin took Bayar's hair and wandered aimlessly on the streets. There were all kinds of shops and workshops including fur, textile, oil shop, pot roasting, jade, shoemaking, small vegetable industry and so on.

Jinzhou Prefecture occupies a geographical advantage and is at a strategic location. It was once prosperous.

Zhao Chuanxin walked on the street after the rain and found that the road was not muddy at all and was very smooth.

Jinzhou Prefecture has four traditional industries - banks, grain stores, pawns, and pot-shaking.

There are many banks, and there is one not far away.

What Fuyuhe, Jintailong, Deshenghe...

Zhao Chuanxin's hands were itching to watch.

Of course, it's just an itch, and I won't actually do anything.

Some of these banks are sole proprietorships, and some are joint ventures. The start-up capital of each bank is very small, with only 9000 yuan, and only [-] or [-] yuan.

Even if Zhao Chuanxin withdraws a whole lot of money, it may not be as much as a foreign bank.

Besides, most of these are Chinese banks.

In addition, the Liaohe Plain has fertile land and is an important grain-producing area, so there are many grain stacks.

As the saying goes: Three towers cannot be defeated, but Jinzhou City cannot be filled. It means that Jinzhou City is an important transfer station for grain. No matter how much grain is carried, it will not be enough.

The abundance of food gave rise to the pot-making industry, that is, making liquor.

Zhao Chuanxin had heard of the three shochu brands in Jinzhou Prefecture: "Xingjiyong", "Yilongquan" and "Tongshengjin" before in Lugang Town.

Among them, Tongshengjin is the most famous.

Seeing Tong Shengjin's shop, Zhao Chuanxin went straight in and said, "Bring me ten jars of the best soju in your shop."

He is not good at drinking, but he has a collecting habit.

If he was lucky enough not to die on the battlefield and lived to the 21st century, how could he not have a collection of century-old wine to show off?
Whether it is foreign wine or liquor, he has collected a lot of them and distributed them in various houses. He even hid a lot of them in the sky.

After buying wine and going out, the two walked near Xiaoling River.

Zhao Chuanxin saw another dim sum shop called "Yuan Hesheng".

Without saying anything, he got in again.

As soon as he entered the house, Bayar's nose smelled the rich sweet smell of cakes.

Zhao Chuanxin was an old man, and he immediately slapped the counter and shouted: "Lama cake, trough cake, hibiscus cake, white pastry, mixed snacks, oven fruit... give me a portion of all."

In various places outside the customs, Zhao Chuanxin's clothing, food, housing and transportation are all well-known, and there are no good things that can be said to be treasures.

After going out, I bought braised pig trotters, fried qianzi, white meatballs, and water-filled steamed buns along the way. Finally, I stopped in front of a stall selling shrimp oil side dishes, ordered a few dishes and two bowls of porridge, and sat down to eat.

The stall is just west of Guangji Temple Tower.

While waiting for the hawker to serve porridge, Zhao Chuanxin saw Bayar's forehead staring at the photo studio and laughed: "I will take you to take pictures later so that you can keep it as a souvenir. When you die, your relatives and friends will still be able to take care of you." I have a thought."

"..."

How the hell do you say this, curse people?
Bayar didn't know Zhao Chuanxin and shook his head: "I know how to take pictures, but I'm too old..."

Zhao Chuanxin pointed at a young man with a female companion and said, "Look, that guy with the ghostly head and the toad's eyes is still going to take pictures. You old guy can't be said to have beautiful features, but you are also a child with gray hair and a fairy spirit. What are you afraid of?"

The young man heard Zhao Chuanxin's words and turned around to glare at him.

I was pulled by my female companion before I walked into the photo studio...

(End of this chapter)