20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 442: Hearing clues
In the fifth year of the Republic of China, south of Fengtian City.

The heavy snow fell one after another, making no sound and leaving no trace. The whole courtyard was white and quiet.

The door opened and closed, and the teenage maid, holding a hot water bottle in her hand, exhaled puffs of breath and hurriedly walked into the main room along the corridor. After passing through the hall and opening the thick cotton curtain, the conversation in the back room became clearer.

Jiang Lianheng was wearing a black jacket with moiré silk surface and cashmere cotton lining. He was sitting at the tea table with his hands on his knees. He was serious and looked very gentlemanly.

Shu Ning huddled on the bed, holding the stove in his arms and wrapping his feet in mattresses. The kang was very hot, like torment, and her cheeks turned slightly red.

The little maid walked into the house and filled the two masters' tea bowls with hot water.

"Sir, madam, have some tea."

"Ah."

Jiang Lianheng responded in a deep voice.

The little maid bowed her head, turned and left, and the conversation just now gradually started again.

Shu Ning glanced at the roof of the shed, recalled it carefully for a moment, and muttered: "It seems that I didn't say anything more. I mentioned the ordnance factory a few times, but they didn't understand it, and I didn't understand it either..."

"He's a man!"

In fact, the house is not small, but Lao Zhang's power is getting bigger and bigger. After entering the house three times, the big Buddha can no longer be accommodated.

The result of the mediation is: Since the palace is noisy and angry every day and no one is convinced by the other, then you two should just stop doing it.

"What?" Shu Ning didn't hear clearly on the kang.

Besides, making a gun is far more difficult than buying one. To set up an ordnance factory, if Jiang Lianheng is really capable, Zhang Laoge would probably burn him as an offering. The Jiang family is like holding an iron book of elixirs and a gold medal to avoid death. They can do whatever they want.

Although this incident was absurd and thousands of miles away, the Jiang family was greatly shocked.

"Shoushan?"

"I don't know the specifics. Anyway, I will listen to whatever they say. Didn't you let me ask more questions?" Shu Ning recalled for a moment, "The fifth lady is from a famous family, and her father seems to be a general. What is her name?" Moriyama, I don’t remember much.”

"So important?" Jiang Lianheng put down his tea bowl and asked slightly surprised.

So Emperor Xuantong went to the dragon throne again and played with "Zhang Guzhong" and "Kang Shengren" for more than ten days, which turned into a farce in the end.

"Probably." Jiang Lian sighed with a smile, "The house is a bit small and does not have the aura of a handsome man."

However, this matter has little to do with the Jiang family.

After chatting for a while, Jiang Lianheng picked up the hat on the table and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"I heard that the old Zhang family's house is going to be expanded?" Jiang Lianheng picked up the tea bowl and blew it gently.

"We are two different people, and I can't hang around with my concubine every day. Then I won't be my husband!"

However, Mr. Feng was already impatient, and as soon as his head became hot, he got involved in this farce.

"Yes, that's what it's called, have you heard of it?"

After the Braided Army entered Beijing, all three provinces of Kanto responded. Governor Xu of Heilongjiang and Governor Meng of Jilin lowered the five-color flags in their jurisdictions and once again hoisted the Yellow Dragon flag of the Qing Dynasty. Only Fengtian, who was under the command of Zhang Laogao, remained hesitant.

At present, Zhang Laogeda is sitting in the two provinces of Heilongjiang and Fengtian. He has no shortage of manpower, but he is in urgent need of guns and ammunition, so he plans to renovate the original dilapidated factory buildings in Fengtian. The requirements are not many, as long as they can produce bullets, copy and assemble a few guns, it will be enough to alleviate the urgent need.

Thinking of this, Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but sighed, "Commander, you must live well!"

The restoration of the Qing Dynasty was not limited to the boundaries of the Forty-Nine Cities.

Seeing that the two sides were at war with each other, the "Lonely Loyalty of the Qing Dynasty", under the instigation of the Black Dragon Society, personally led 5,000 braided troops to Beijing to "mediate".

When one person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, the Jiang family will naturally ride on the wind, and have the potential to cook oil in a raging fire.

Shu Ning nodded and said, "I met him once. He's pretty good. He's young and independent. I heard he's particularly favored."

Shu Ning nodded, "Last time I went to play cards, I heard them talk about buying the land to the east and building a big building."

"Not only is it rare, but when we were playing cards, I heard from other concubines that Lao Zhang would not avoid the fifth lady when discussing military affairs."

Later, the rebel army rose up, and the braided army broke up and fled. Lao Zhang took advantage of the situation to seize power of the 28th Division, and at the same time took advantage of the chaos to annex the territory of Heilongjiang Province. Since then, among the three provinces of Guandong, only Jilin has not yet been brought into the hands of the Zhang family - it is the general trend, sooner or later.

"Nothing." Jiang Lian waved his hand, and then asked, "How is the fifth lady of the Zhang family? Have you met her?"

"Is his name really Shoushan?" Jiang Lianheng suddenly felt a little mysterious, "I heard a relative talk about this person when I was a child."

"Is it great?"

The bulk arms merchants will go directly to Lao Zhang instead of Xiao Jiang.

"That's what I'm saying. I just got married not long ago, and I'm still in high spirits. That must be rare!"

"I know how to give gifts." Shu Ning interrupted and asked, "But the Chinese New Year will be here in two months, why don't you give it in person?"

Lao Zhang has always been accustomed to sitting on the fence and watching.

The handsome wife is also a human being, and she always needs a few wealthy friends to spend time with and relieve boredom. Of course, the Jiang family's concubine can afford to accompany her.

Jiang Lianheng nodded in response, as if he had already heard about this.

Jiang Lianheng's answer was concise and concise, and then he gave instructions: "Next time if you have the opportunity to play cards again, remember to give the fifth lady a big gift, and don't forget her personal maid, and the other concubines-"

What's more, he had suppressed the remnants of the clan society several times, so he naturally had to think carefully about it.

As summer entered that year, the "war between the government and the court" intensified. President Lebanese and Prime Minister Duan are tit for tat, and with the support of Britain, the United States and Japan respectively, they secretly compete for power.

Shu Ning couldn't help but chuckle, nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."

It's a beautiful idea, but it's unrealistic.

Jiang Lianheng put on his hat and said, "Okay, I'll go back if there's nothing else."

"Eh? I remembered it!" Shu Ning quickly turned around and said, "Second Madam mentioned last time that the eldest young master of the Zhang family has gone to serve as a soldier."

"Be a soldier?" Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but frown, "So anxious? That kid isn't that old now, is he?"

"He must be sixteen or seventeen years old. Anyway, they said they don't plan to continue studying. They probably want him to exercise and take over from his father as soon as possible."

"That's right, brothers fighting tigers, father and son are going into battle!" Jiang Lianheng suddenly remembered the first time he met the Zhang family's young master in the year of the Qing Dynasty. The boy seemed to have a good temper and good popularity, but... ...It lacks the reckless aura of his father. It’s hard to say whether it’s Adou or Zhongmou.

"Hey, you're only sixteen or seventeen years old, it's still early!" Jiang Lianheng walked to the door, minding his own business, "A father is paving the way for his son, and no one can find fault with him."

"You're not staying with me today?" Shu Ning moved to the edge of the kang a few times.

"Well, I stopped by. I won't stay with you today." Jiang Lianheng opened the cotton curtain, "Guo Yan is coming back from Yingkou today. I have to meet him, so I don't have to go back and forth."

"It's still snowing outside." Shu Ning pulled her cotton shoes and walked over to persuade him to stay, "You can leave after dinner."

Snow is flying outside the window, the days are short and the nights are long, and a person is alone in this mansion. Apart from the servants, there is no one to accompany him at the table. Anyone else would inevitably feel lonely and unbearable.

Jiang Lianheng looked at the snow and sighed, "Pull it down. With this snow, I won't be able to leave after eating."

"What about the New Year?"

Shu Ning hurriedly followed to the gate, but was stopped by the cold wind. She leaned against the door and asked with some resentment, "You want me to spend New Year's Eve here alone this year?"

Jiang Lianheng stopped at the center of the courtyard, turned around, and mumbled a few words with an expression on his face.

Between the two of them, heavy snow fell heavily, as if a dense gauze curtain separated them from each other.

"Isn't there a maid accompanying you?" Jiang Lianheng squinted his eyes in the wind, turned around and shouted, "Hui'er, go inside and chat with your wife for a while!"

The little maid walked out of the lower room in response, looked around, and then retreated quietly.

"Every family sets off firecrackers and has a reunion dinner, so you let me spend the New Year here with the maid?" Shu Ning was inevitably a little resentful.

"Oh, I want a whip!" Jiang Lianheng pretended to be dumbfounded and said perfunctorily, "You, you, you are like a child. Well, tomorrow I will give you two full lashes, two hundred lashes. , let you listen to it all at once, that’s it, I’m leaving!”

After that, the footprints on the snow began to slowly spread forward again, and finally turned a corner at the entrance of the courtyard and disappeared from sight.

Shu Ning stood at the door for a while, then turned around suddenly.

"boom!"

The door was closed, and Jiang Lianheng escaped for the time being.

four years ago……

Although Shu Ning is a stubborn melon, it tastes quite sweet in the mouth. In any case, he came with a "dowry". He is not bad looking, he is honest, never makes trouble, and he will not be in any way. Treat her like a kiln sister.

At that time, Jiang Lianheng kept everything in mind that Jiang Chenghai taught by words and deeds, except for the matter of women, which he forgot about.

"Man, as long as you can control that little thing in your crotch, you can save more than half of the worries and troubles in your life."

Jiang Lianheng got into the carriage, and his father's advice rang in his mind again.

He couldn't help curling his lips and muttering to himself: "No wonder they are all old bachelors!"

The wheels compacted the snow and made a "crunching" sound as they drove slowly towards Jiang Zhai in the north of the city.

Jiang Lianheng shook his head slightly and closed his eyes to rest. He had no time to focus on these parents' petty issues.

Today, Zhao Guoyan came back from Liaonan. Whether he should continue the business of recruiting laborers or not, the Jiang family planned to hear the recent situation first.

Over the past year, Zhao Guoyan and Wang Zhengnan have spent almost all of their time in Yingkou.

In March of that year, the Far East severed relations with Germany. In mid-August, the "Fuyuan War" came to an end. The Duan family took power and finally ordered to formally join the war, stop paying war indemnities left over from the former Qing Dynasty, and at the same time "forcibly" reclaim the German concessions in various places-except for Jiaodong, after all, Xiaodong did not Will let go.

As a result, the previously sneaky behavior of "replacing troops with work" immediately became more official.

Wang Zhengnan got close to the foreigners and soon got the news, and then got involved.

The British and the French have recruited more than 100,000 people from all over the Northern Kingdom, and transported them to Weihaiwei, where they will sail across the ocean and head to the European battlefield.

"Take your contracts and go to France!"

"Your annual salary will be more than two thousand francs, and when you return home, you will live like a rich man!"

With colorful flags flying and whistles sounding, workers on the Western Front embarked on their journey.

However, Wang Zhengnan seemed to have miscalculated the profits of this business.

"Replacing soldiers with workers" is a government decision. It is not "selling piglets", but recruiting workers on behalf of others. Not only does it cause constant troubles, but the profit is so pitiful that it can almost be ignored.

But for some unknown reason, Nanfeng always made up his mind to continue, and repeatedly persuaded his sister-in-law not to let go.

Hu Xiaoyan trusted Nanfeng, but Jiang Lianheng was a little uninterested, because the Commercial Port Bureau had released news that the opening of the port was imminent, and the Jiang family was in need of manpower.

After thinking about it, the carriage had already passed through the inner city and entered the alley in front of Jiang Zhai in the north of the city.

Yuan Xinfala opened the car door, his head and shoulders covered with snow, "Master, are you back?"

"Yes." Jiang Lianheng responded, then asked, "Has the national inkstone arrived?"

Yuan Xinfa shook his head, "Not yet. It's probably snowing heavily and the train is delayed."

Jiang Lianheng informed him, and immediately stepped forward, crossed the yard, opened the door and walked into the mansion.

The thoughts in my mind have not stopped.

It seems that he is more inclined to Zhao Guoyan's idea and stopped the business of recruiting labor. However, this is not just because of profit, but there is another point that makes him somewhat disgusted with this business.

Because it was not only the British and French on the Western Front who were recruiting workers, but also Maozi on the Eastern Front. He had an almost paranoid dislike of Maozi. Moreover, it is not uncommon for people outside Guan Guan to have the same idea as him.

After all, when he was young, he witnessed the "Gengzi Incident" with his own eyes. The scenes of burning, killing and looting were vivid in his mind and he has never forgotten them.

What's more, Foreign Head, Changfeng Escort Bureau and Mao Zibing... are all the origins of today.

There is also Lao Cui, Jiang Lianheng secretly sighed, it has been more than ten years, and he doesn’t know if Lao Deng is still alive.

There is also the poet Zhang Da. Thinking of his jingles, Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but smile. He hadn't seen him for many years, and he didn't know where he was making a fortune now!
However, no matter what he thought, the tide of the times was always rolling forward.

Just like when they were building railways outside the customs, they also recruited a large number of laborers in the northwest and outside the customs.

These workers were transported to the front line along the Eastern Railway. The journey was easier and safer than the workers on the Western Front at sea. However, the living conditions after landing were probably far more difficult and harsh than those on the Western Front.

However, what really surprised Jiang Lianheng was that these workers who rushed to the Eastern Front were not only cleaning the battlefield, digging trenches, or acting as cannon fodder; they even participated in a civil war on Maozi's side!
(End of this chapter)