late Qing Dynasty arrest

The morning haze of Niangziguan is drowsy, the ancient city is desolate and unsophisticated, the sky outside the window is gray, the cold wind is sandwiched with small snowflakes, and ice flowers are blooming on the window.

Li Guolou turned over from the quilt, and stepped barefoot on the thick and soft cashmere carpet, a warm and comfortable feeling welled up in his heart.A smoker on the tribute platform is curling up smoke, and the refreshing fragrance is wafting in the air, smelling the breath, it has the effect of meditation.

Wanniang knelt on the carpet, her flying eyes were enchanting and charming, with a sense of satisfaction, she bowed and said: "Master, you are awake."

"Well, Wanniang, it's okay to go out to see the snow scene, and I have to inspect the barracks." Li Guolou will not take Wanniang out, she is just a servant girl, and if she is sincere to every woman who loves him How could he leave the capital? For the sake of the country and the people, he had to put aside his children's personal affairs and find fault for himself.

Due to the road closure due to wind and snow, Li Ziying had to rest in Niangziguan for a whole day, but Li Guolou did not indulge himself. As always, he got up early and practiced in the yard wearing thin training clothes.

Seeing Jin Erzi, Ma Dequan, Ma Liang, Yang Liguang, Yan Jingming, Li Yunkai, Xiao Shitou, Xu Biao, Niao Fu Guozhong and others getting up consciously and exercising in the snow, I was not surprised. consciousness.It was quite surprising to see fellow Jinshi Zhu Dinghe also kicking his muscles in the courtyard.

"Old Zhu, did you get up so early?" Li Guolou held a shovel and wanted to build a snowman in the yard.

"Yes! I'll accompany you to patrol the camp later." Zhu Dinghe heard and saw Li Guolou's side, and felt an upward breath.

"Okay, call Shangfan Dahui, Wei Hanyu, Xu Lan, we haven't played together for a long time. Go to see Niangziguan Waterfall in the morning, and enjoy the snow and warm wine at noon." Li Guolou looked at the snow-covered land, with silver flowers hanging all over the branches Head, make the courtyard extraordinarily enchanting.

"Yes, it's been a long time." Zhu Dinghe picked up a large piece of snow and went forward to build a snowman. With the help of the two, a snowman soon appeared in the yard.I feel like I have gone back to the past, and I am very glad that Li Guolou has not changed, that he has no airs of being a high-ranking official, and that old friends can still get together.

500 meters southeast of the east gate of Niangziguan City, the pleasant scenery of beautiful mountains and waters makes people feel refreshed. White jade hangs in mid-air.There are Shuilian Cave and Baotu Spring next to the waterfall. The scenery is extremely beautiful. There are many springs in the mountains, valleys and valleys.

Li Guolou, Zhu Dinghe, Fan Dahui, Wei Hanyu, and Xu Lan were all very excited, lingering in front of the Niangziguan, and the soldiers of Li Ziying who were on vacation and traveling could be seen everywhere.

"Guolou, write a poem." Standing on the city wall, Zhu Dinghe looked at the snow-capped mountains, full of pride in his chest. Like Li Guolou, he will become a famous minister admired by the world.

"Who is the most dangerous road in the pass, Jingxing is surrounded by water.

Beacon wolves attack brave women, and golden armor hangs from heroes.

The ancient Shulouzhai is still there today, leaning on the fence to ask about the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.

Reining in the wind on the battlefield is like a drum, and the sword breaks through the enemy to meet the morning dew. "

Li Guolou paced back and forth, thinking about the poem, and slowly chanted it word by word. This is an inspirational poem, using the past to chant the present, to show his aspirations, and everyone around him nodded in praise.

"That's right! I won't write poems, so as not to be compared with you." Zhu Dinghe stroked his beard to express his appreciation, and he deserved to be the imperially appointed Tanhua Lang.Now these students from their hometown admire Li Guolou deeply, and are proud of being Li Guolou's friend and the same year.

"Good poetry, great poetry! It's been a long time since I've heard such a poem expressing my feelings. Mr. Li, I'm in the Caimaotang old Hu. I don't know if Mr. Li has heard of it." A middle-aged man with the appearance of a businessman with blue eyes stepped on the snow come.

He is dressed in the same way as a wealthy businessman from the Central Plains. He wears a silk coat with a fur trench coat and a Firefox velvet hat. He is tall and energetic. This person is Hu Yangyue, the owner of "Caimaotang", and his race is a hybrid. From the appearance You can see the clues.Hu Yangyue is the largest merchant in Niangziguan.

Businessmen and officials are people of two completely different social statuses. "Officials" are always on top, while businessmen rely on the protection of high-ranking officials to survive in the dangerous world.Many high-ranking officials do not want to associate with businessmen, but Li Guolou is an official and businessman, so there is no such taboo.Hu Yangyue had inquired about Li Guolou's personality a long time ago, so he came to Li Guolou for business.

What excuse do businessmen use to find officials?Generally, the opening remarks are based on the background of a scholar, who has passed the exam for juren.Everyone is a scholar, first of all to elevate their status, so as not to be looked down upon by officials with Juren and Jinshi backgrounds.Hu Yangyue said that it was tragic to fail in repeated trials, so he solemnly invited Li Guolou and others to visit his house.

Hu Yangyue said with a pleasant smile: "With his poems to show his aspirations, Mr. Li is high-spirited and upright, and he should be a national hero of the Qing Dynasty. Hu has a little proficiency in literary and ink. Although he was admitted to be a scholar, it is a pity that he can't go to the next level. Mr. Li has come all the way. Thank you for your hard work. Hu likes to make friends with literati, and prepares banquets at the house. You think Mr. Li will clean up the dust, and invite Mr. Li and all your friends to show respect?"

Yesterday, Song Qing, general manager of Niangziguan, had introduced Hu Yangyue from "Caimaotang" to Li Guolou, saying that Hu Yangyue was able to go around in the Sanjin area. Gong" is also famous.That's why Hu Yangyue was invited to visit the city today. In fact, President Qian Song Qing is Hu Yangyue's backstage.This is the same as when Li Guolou was next to Li Hongzhang, everyone chatted tacitly.

Li Guolou squinted at Hu Yangyue, and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Hu to be an elegant man, so we warmed up the wine and recited poems to disturb Mr. Hu."

Hu Yangyue was overjoyed, and hurriedly led the way, and then whispered a few words to his family members, one of them hurriedly mounted a horse and headed for Niangziguan.

A group of people boarded two carriages that had been prepared, and returned to Niangzi Pass, accompanied by guards on horseback.

Hu Yangyue's house in Niangziguan is spacious, with screen walls, side rooms, wing rooms, etc., especially the exquisite and delicate brick carvings.Naturally, the lintels of the businessmen's houses are written with the words "Recruiting Wealth and Prosperity" and "Prosperous Wealth".

A sumptuous feast was prepared in the West Flower Hall, not only the people from the Hu family, but also five prominent merchants in Niangzi Pass were also lining up to wait for Li Guolou to come.

Hu Yangyue has been delivering military rations for the Niangziguan army for many years, that is to say, there are nearly a thousand soldiers on the roster of Niangziguan Qianzong Song Qing, and Hu Yangyue from "Caimaotang" usually conducts business.

This is how the army does business. Apart from their normal drills, soldiers spend most of their time making money for the army. If half of the soldiers in an army practice daily, that would be a huge blow.Generally, 30% are soldiers stationed and trained for a long time.The soldiers on the other rosters are either used as empty quotas or as cheap labor, which has been the case since ancient times.The tricks in it can be seen at a glance by those who step into the barracks, which is why the combat effectiveness of the army is reduced, and the atmosphere of merchants in the army is thicker.

Gao Yu, the treasurer of Qiao Zhiyong's "Fu Sheng Gong", approached Li Guolou, and wanted to cover the material needs of Li Ziying's road, but Li Guolou did not agree to Gao Yu's request, but gave part of the business to "Fu Sheng Gong" , he didn't want to make his commercial competitors bigger, and he didn't want to owe Qiao Zhiyong favors.Along the way, although there are local governments in each jurisdiction to provide food, grass, civilians, and vehicles, there are still many problems in the daily march.

On a long march, the most important thing is to maintain good physical strength, which requires rich and sufficient nutrition.Li Ziying's transport team brought enough salt and tea bricks, as well as some Jinhua ham, sausages, dried chicken and duck, dried beans, dried vegetables, peppers, pickled melons, dates, peanuts, and grain and grass for ten days, etc., but they could not Bring fresh vegetables, etc., which need to be provided by the government along the way.

Shanxi was little devastated by the Nian army, and the military disaster has passed, and the difficulties encountered by Li Ziying's march were not too great.When we arrived in the Shaanxi-Gansu area, Li Ziying's team of more than 2000 people was fine if they were not hungry.However, Li Guolou wanted the army to be strong and healthy. If he didn't want to be dragged down by the march, he needed supplies to keep up. Therefore, he also needed a businessman who could provide his team with the supplies they needed.

When Hu Yangyue from "Caimaotang" came to him, Li Guolou sold his favors to his wife, General Qian Song Qing, and readily agreed to cooperate with "Caimaotang", and let the caravan of "Caimaotang" replace him. Li Ziying purchases daily necessities and will cooperate in many fields in the future.

Hu Yangyue's face was full of smiles, his face was full of red, he raised his wine glass and sang congratulatory words: "Master Li traveled thousands of miles to Shanxi and Gansu to fight for the Qing Dynasty, his loyalty is really touching and admirable. Although Hu is a merchant, he also knows the principle of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, and he is willing to personally deliver supplies with the army."

Since last year, Hu Yangyue has heard of Li Guolou's name, and now he has heard it like thunder, and he desperately wants to curry favor with the most powerful official and businessman in the Qing Dynasty.However, he is a shrewd businessman. He knows that if he wants to do business with Li Guolou, he must first make a good relationship and sell Li Guolou a favor. As long as he doesn't lose money, it doesn't matter if he makes money or not.In order to let Li Guolou pay attention to him, he can invest money in the Li Group in the future, and embark on the road to industrial prosperity.

"Mr. Hu, if I need food and grass in the Dong Zhiyuan area or the farther Yan'an area, how much food can your caravan provide me?" Li Guolou's more than 2000 soldiers eat a lot of food every day. With 45 catties of grain per month, more than 2000 soldiers will consume 3 shi grains a day, and more than 800 horses, cows, and camels are on the march, and the feed is 6 times that of the soldiers.

Food consumption is huge.There will be several months of fighting in the future, and the food and grass needed will be countless.When Li Ziying arrived at the front line, the front-line quartermaster uniformly distributed the food and grass for each army, so life was difficult.At that time, he will have so many mouths to find a way to make more than 2000 soldiers eat better.

Hu Yangyue and five other big businessmen gathered together and whispered together, and then reported: "Master Li, the price of this grain is delivered to Li Ziying, and the charge is seventy-two-five cents per 100 catties. Caimaotang can provide you with 100 cents. Tens of thousands of catties of grain. And willing to transport with the army. The condition is Master Li’s family business, we all want to participate in the shares, especially the "Open Source Company", "Dafeng Harvest Flour Company", we very much hope to participate in the shares, and "Fire Bird Match Company" "It is an emerging industry in the future, and we are also very interested in large industries, and we want to send people to visit and learn."

Hearing that Hu Yangyue and several other businessmen were willing to provide him with logistics support at a low price, Li Guolou was quite happy, and waved his hand and said, "Okay! Mr. Hu, since you are willing to serve the country, relieve me of my worries. I am a If you have the same blessings and share the same hardships, in the future, the imperial court will give you the status and honor you deserve, and the Li Group needs more insightful people to join, as long as Mr. Hu and all friends are interested, there is no problem in visiting or buying shares."

Li Guolou bowed together, thanked the other businessmen, and then drank the wine in one gulp.Hu Yangyue and several other businessmen also toasted with them. Doing business with the army is refreshing. At the banquet, everyone poured wine glasses and joked constantly.

Zhu Dinghe, who was sitting on the other side of Li Guolou, came over with his ear and said in a low voice: "Little Lizi, I heard that Hu Yangyue used to be a gangster, and his wife Yang's family is rich and powerful. Similar people."

Li Guolou didn't move, he stomped on Zhu Dinghe's feet in secret, what a joke, how could he make a joke in public.

Zhu Dinghe was not afraid of the pain, so he jumped up, laughed and said, "My old cousin from Shanxi is a good friend, and I will come to Shanxi to be an official in the future. Come! Feeling deeply emotional, my old Zhu toasts you all with a glass of wine."

Afterwards, everyone drank freely, and the plates and bowls were full of delicacies, such as sausage enema, three-handed hard noodles, mutton steamed buns, Hunyuan jelly, sliced ​​noodles, tofu nao, and buckwheat noodles.

Finally, there is a haggis soup, put lamb liver, lungs, stomach, intestines, heart, tendon, etc. into a large pot and cook until cooked, then add green onions, ginger, coriander, vermicelli, tofu, etc. In the bowl, pour mutton soup, and then put coriander, vinegar, salt, pepper and other seasonings, the soup is fragrant, ruddy, hot and delicious.

Everyone took spoons and drank delicious mutton soup. Zhu Dinghe drank a few mouthfuls of hot soup, thinking of Li Guolou's servant girl Wanniang, his heart was burning wildly, and after drinking, he said nonsense: "This offal Soup is a good thing, and there is a poem that says: "The original soup is rich in juice and delicious, and it warms the stomach and refreshes the spirit. Eat it in summer to prevent stomach cold, and eat it in winter to warm your body." Escort envoy, only you can eat more here."

Li Guolou couldn't help laughing, and shouted loudly: "Old Zhu, don't think you are a Jinshi. You have the normal needs of a man when you go out. I don't believe that you don't want to have fun."

Zhu Dinghe has a history of going to brothels to treat guests, and his old background is not clean, so he couldn't help but giggle, those "horse thieves" who couldn't hold back went to play last night, isn't he waiting for his friends to play together today?

Fan Dahui laughed and said, "Old Zhu, we also want to contribute to the long-term stability of Niangziguan. Mr. Hu wants to do his best to be a landlord and accompany us to see the scenery in the afternoon."

"It's easy to say!" Hu Yangyue stared at Li Guolou, beating a small drum in his heart, wondering if he invited Li Guolou to see the scenery?Whether the orchid raised in the mansion wants to invite Li Guolou to play, or send an orchid to serve Li Guolou, I will ask Master Fan later.

Three days later, Li Ziying set off, and a caravan appeared behind the army. Most of them were Hujia businessmen that Li Guolou knew when he was resting in Niangziguan. A team of more than 2000 people had unlimited business opportunities. The queue is getting bigger and bigger.