Chapter 5 Red Top Merchant (3)

Leaving the Yangtze River from the Ji River, passing through the south of Chongming Island and entering the sea; a total of 18 sandships, protecting the foreign soldiers-finally negotiated and determined, a total of 12 people, 100 soldiers, most of them were "Luzon people"; There are three officials, seven Luzon people, three Americans, and two Chinese who are regarded as liaison officers.Take two sand ships and insert them in the middle of the fleet. Hu Xueyan was on the first boat.On the same boat were Xiao Jiaji, Li Delong, and Li Qingshan, the "Boss of the boat" sent by Yu Fuhua; there was also a liaison officer named Kong.All advances and retreats are discussed and decided by these five people on this boat, and they give orders.As soon as he boarded the boat, Hu Xueyan received a warning that there were many taboos on sand boats sailing in the sea, and the small shrine on the cockpit where the God of Heaven was enshrined was especially not taken lightly.Thinking of the phrase "Right and wrong are just to talk more", Hu Xueyan didn't talk much on the boat, and just lay on the bunk thinking about his thoughts when he was free.However, others are different. Although Xiao Jiaji is used to living on the water, there are no such taboos on the ship; Kong's surname doesn't care much; Li Qingshan and Li Delong are aware of the taboo.In contrast, Hu Xueyan, who usually talked and laughed happily, seemed to be preoccupied and depressed.

So the surname Kong proposed to play mahjong, and Xiao Jiaji specially invited him to join the game in order to relieve Hu Xueyan's loneliness. "How can five people fight. Unless one person does--." When it came to the word "do", Hu Xueyan shrank his mouth; he remembered that he had been on the boat of the "Waterway Team", and "dream" was taboo. Liangzi." Xiao Jiaji was taken aback, and after thinking about it for a while, he realized, "No need." He said, "I don't want to fight. Mr. Hu, come and relieve your boredom."

So Hu Xueyan had no choice but to enter the game.In the middle of the fight, the storm blew up and was forced to stop; Hu Xueyan went back to sleep on the bunk, unavoidably uneasy. feeling. "Mr. Hu, it's okay!" Xiao Jiaji came to comfort him over and over again. Not only verbal comfort, but also care in daily life, treating Hu Xueyan just like Gu Yingchun, respectful and affectionate.Hu Xueyan was very moved. He had a lot to say in his heart, but he was not in good spirits and was too lazy to say it. At night, the wind is calm, and the sea is full of a bright moon. Hu Xueyan’s seasickness, healed without medicine, but his stomach was unbearable. I remember that Grandma Qigu once put a box of foreign biscuits in the net basket, got up and fumbled, and woke Xiao Jiaji who was sleeping .

"It's me!" He said apologetically, "I want to find some dry snacks to eat." "Mr. Hu is comfortable!" Xiao Jiaji said happily, "I left the porridge in the tail cabin, I'll get it for you." So Xiao Jiaji lit a lantern, and went to the tail cabin to bring porridge and rice, a plate of salted fish, and a salted egg; Not going anywhere." "It's not about being a human being, it's about the heart." Xiao Jiaji said, "Wang Futai has a friend like Mr. Hu, and he has vision." "It's useless!" Hu Xueyan said sadly, "Do your best and obey the destiny. Even if you arrive in Hangzhou, you don't know what's going on; maybe at this moment, the city of Hangzhou has already been broken."

"No." Xiao Jiaji comforted him and said, "We always have to think in a good place." "Yes!" Hu Xueyan was easily encouraged, "People live in hope. Jiaji, let me ask you, what are your plans for the future?" These words made Xiao Jiaji feel as if he had met a bosom friend.Even Gu Yingchun never asked him this question.So full of ambitions, I can't tell; I don't want to have a chance to talk at this time. "I will compete with foreigners in the future. I always think, why can't we do what they can do? Chinese people are as smart as foreigners, but they are not united; so I want to find some like-minded people. People, unite and compare with foreigners."

"Ambition!" Hu Xueyan blurted out praise: "I count as one. Tell me, how do you compare with them?" "Naturally, it is business. If he comes to us to do business, we can also go to him to do business. In the short term, Chinese business should be done by Chinese; Chinese money should also be earned by Chinese. As long as It is not necessary for me to be well-off if it is cheaper than foreign countries.” Hu Xueyan thought about his words for a while, and said with admiration: "Your mind is amazing. I must help you. Look, there is a business that you want to steal from foreigners—"

"The first is the steamer—." So, from that day on, Hu Xueyan talked with Xiao Jiaji about the plan to start a steamship company; until Shachuan was about to enter Biezimen, Fangtai stopped. According to the predetermined plan, the smuggling in the dark and crossing the narrow place was regarded as an escape, and he walked southwest along the Qiantang River; in the northeast wind, he quickly arrived in Hangzhou; he parked in the middle of the river.However, Hu Xueyan didn't know how to get in touch with the city; looking at the distance from the center of the river, outside Fengshan Gate, there were long-haired hedgehogs, which seemed to stretch for tens of miles, and no one dared to go ashore rashly.

"It was originally agreed that Wang Xuegong sent someone to contact me; he told me not to go ashore." Hu Xueyan said, "I just wait, wait, wait!" Wang Youling predicted that Hu Xueyan's grain ship would soon arrive, and what he was trying to do at this time was to open up a line of roads, leading directly to the river, so that grain could be transported into the city.But ten cities were tightly besieged, and the defenses were poor, so he became ill with anxiety and anger, and his anger rose; he vomited blood from time to time, and every time he vomited a bowl, he lost too much blood, became dizzy, and his face was like gold paper. However, he refused to go down to the city to rest, because Rest is also useless, it is better to support it hard, but it can boost morale.

The morale of mourning soldiers is not bad; but as the saying goes: "The emperor does not send hungry soldiers"; fighting is a labor-intensive thing, and fighting with a belly, you can't even run, how can you talk about killing the enemy?So every day when they go out of the city to attack, as soon as the long hair retreats, the officers and soldiers immediately withdraw their troops.This stalemate has been going on for a long time without any success, but more and more people are starving to death in the city; Let nature take its course; there are countless "dumped corpses" in the streets and alleys. Fortunately, it is winter, so there will be no plagues, but the smell of corpses in the city is enough for people to bear.

By the end of October, the camps of the officers and soldiers outside the city were all broken by Chang Mao; the only thing left was the battalion of the lieutenant general who had won the victory outside the Chaochao Gate, standing still.It is a miracle that this battalion survived; but to put it bluntly, it is not surprising that it is easier to find food outside the city, and if you really can’t find it, you can find it in the long-haired camp.Anyway, death in battle is also death, and death by sitting without food is also death; in this case, it is better to seize the food of Long Mao, which is a way of survival in death.Therefore, Zeng Jun really regarded death as home when he started fighting.Strange to say, when Chang Mao saw the "Zeng" flag, he was flustered at first, and often fled without fighting; however, this battalion could only protect itself, and the strength of the battalion was too great to attack and defeat the enemy.In the end nothing can be done.

But Wang Youling placed great expectations on this battalion, and specially ordered Wu Baofeng, the magistrate of Renhe County, to move a 3,000-jin cannon placed on Chenghuang Mountain to the Zeng Desheng battalion with all his strength, and aim it at the long-haired cannon. Barriers, big bang, bang, bang.The long hairs in this area have disappeared, but they still can't go straight to the river, because beyond the range of the cannons, the long hairs are still like cow hair, heavily blocked, filled everywhere, and still can't break through the encirclement. At this time, a spy was caught—it was very easy to distinguish a spy, because people in the city were either swollen or skinny, unable to walk three inches, and spoke weakly; Those who can hear clearly without straining their ears must have sneaked in from outside the city; what is the meaning of someone jumping into such a hell on earth?Needless to say. Sure enough, after a beating, he immediately revealed the truth. This person said he was sent by Changmao to send a letter to a foreign battalion officer under Rao Tingxuan, agreeing on a date for internal and external cooperation.At the same time, he also got news from him that there were more than a dozen large ships moored in the Qiantang River, full of grain.It goes without saying that it was Hu Xueyan's grain ship that had arrived; Wang Youling suddenly felt refreshed, and immediately went to see Hangzhou General Ruichang to discuss how to open a bloody road so that the grain in the river could be transported into the city? There was no need for much discussion, and there was a result. It was decided to ask Jiechun, the vice capital, to take on this important task.In fact, I am afraid that this is the only person who can take on the heavy responsibility——Jiechun is a Mongolian, and his ancestors have been stationed in Hangzhou for several generations; The co-leadership of the product is quite relied on by Ruichang. In the spring of the tenth year of Xianfeng, the city of Hangzhou was bombed by Changmao for the first time, and Ruichang was about to kill himself and die for the country; Jiechun advised him not to commit suicide, thinking that the enemy army from Guangde, Anhui, marched lightly and had no successors, so there was nothing to worry about. Might as well stick to it and wait for help.Ruichang listened to his words and retreated to the Manchu camp; the camp is actually a sub-city by the West Lake, commonly known as Mancheng.Because of the good defense, Changmao attacked for six days without success. Jiechun's eldest son was killed in defense of the city, but Jiechun died without crying, thinking that the eldest son died at the right place and at the right time. On the seventh day, Zhang Yuliang's reinforcements arrived; Jiechun's angry horse stood out and was invincible. Cooperating with the reinforcements, he launched a massive counterattack and drove Chang Mao out of the city for more than ten miles.With this credit, Dai Hualing was rewarded and promoted to the deputy capital of Ningxia, but he still stayed in Hangzhou and became Ruichang's right-hand man. This time Hangzhou is in a tight spot again. Jiechun has made outstanding military exploits and was given the title of Batulu and transferred to Zhapu as the deputy capital commander.Among the ten cities of Hangzhou, the most important ones are the Wulin Gate in the north and the Fengshan Gate in the south; Fengshan Gate was originally guarded by Wang Youling himself, but this time because of excessive hematemesis and exhaustion of Qi, Jiechun was changed to defend it——Hu Xueyan's grain The boat is moored on the river outside the Fengshan Gate; letting Jiechun go to kill a bloody road is also a logical thing where people and geography are compatible. The long-haired general who surrounded Fengshan Gate was called Chen Bingwen, and according to the title of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he was called "Lang Tianyi".He was about to leave - Changmao's military rations were gradually becoming insufficient; Li Xiucheng had already made a plan to return to Suzhou for the New Year's Eve, preparing to make a comeback next spring.But Chen Bingwen had learned from the refugees who escaped from the city that there was no food in the city and that people could eat people; so he changed his plan and insisted on not leaving; Gather troops, layer by layer, until the riverside, a tiny place, gathered as many as 40,000 people. When the grain ship arrived, Chen Bingwen became more jealous when he saw it from a distance. On the one hand, he was on guard against the city rushing out to pick up the grain; , even if the ship is not sunk, the people must be killed or injured.For three days in a row, there was no plan. Finally, someone offered a plan. According to the method of Chibi's fierce army and defeated Cao's army, a small boat was loaded with grass firewood, poured with oil, and flowed down the river from the upper reaches to attack the grain ship. Chen Bingwen thinks this plan is feasible.But the upstream is not his own war zone, and he needs to send someone to contact him; he also has to report to the loyal king for the ruling, which cannot be arranged in a day or two.At the same time, the weather is getting warmer, the wind direction is uncertain, and there are many small boats of their own on the river; if it is self-defeating and gets burned, wouldn't it be bad?Therefore, there was no hesitation.At this moment, the grain ship couldn't wait. Because of waiting for three days in a row, Hu Xueyan lived like a year, without sleep or food.The liaison officer Kong, who was escorting the foreign soldiers, believed that he was in a dangerous situation, and if he did not snore quickly, the consequences would be disastrous, so he kept urging Hu Xueyan that if the food could not be transported to land, he should follow the original advice and divert to Ningbo.Li Qingshan of the Shachuan Gang kept silent, and looked quite anxious, which made Hu Xueyan even more irritable, his eyes were red, he muttered to himself all day long, he didn't know what to say, he looked like he was going crazy. "Brother Delong," Xiao Jiaji's reassurance to Hu Xueyan was ineffective, so he had to discuss with Li Delong, "I think we have to think of a way to solve the problem. If this 'screen' goes down, something will happen." "Yeah! I was thinking the same way. But what can I do?" What? Trapped in the middle of the river, I can’t move.” Li Delong pointed to the bank and said, “The long hairs are like ants; the city of Hangzhou is surrounded like an iron barrel. How can the people in the city get out?” “It’s for this A little bit. I think, people in the city can’t get out, so we have to find a way to go into the city and ask for a definite message; if it’s okay, Mr. Hu should make a plan early. Such an idiot waits for his wife to board the boat, until someday until?" Li Delong was also young, impatient, and adventurous, so of course he agreed with Xiao Jiaji's approach; he also volunteered, willing to swim ashore and go to the city to pass news. "Brother Delong," Xiao Jiaji said calmly, "this matter is not about loyalty, let alone politeness. Things have to work out; it doesn't matter if you go or I go, it just depends on which one is right for you? You are better than me. Well, people are more flexible than me, and my hand skills are not something I can match—" "Okay, okay!" Li Delong said with a smile, "Don't praise me! The higher the praise in front, the more difficult it is to say in the back; honestly, can I go?" At that time, there was no emotion, my dear brother, why didn’t you speak clearly. Let me ask you first, Brother Delong, have you ever been to Hangzhou? Do you know the name of the city gate in front of us?” "I don't know. I have never been to Hangzhou." "This is not very suitable. Hangzhou was once the capital city of the Song Dynasty, and the city is quite large. I am not familiar with it, so I can't find it; this is the second thing. The most important point is that you have heard Mr. Hu say that the city of Hangzhou The interrogation of spies is very strict; and because you are hungry, you are unreasonable. Brother Delong," Xiao Jiaji paused and said, "I'm telling the truth, you don't get angry. You have a bad temper and your eloquence is not as good as mine. Are you going?" Great Xiangyi!" Li Delong was straightforward, obedient and willing to reason, and when he heard what Xiao Jiaji said was good, he immediately replied, "Okay! You go." So the two of them discussed how to go ashore, how to get past Changmao's position, and how to contact and enter the city when they arrived at the bottom of the city. "Mr. Hu!" It was Li Delong who said, "I have something to tell you, old man. We have discussed the matter, and Chenguang will not allow us to procrastinate any longer. I said, please do it, old man, and don't reject it. Please write a letter Send the letter to Wang Futai, and Jiaji will go into the city to deliver it." Li Delong actually misjudged Hu Xueyan.He had thought long ago that he had to stay on guard, lest the city send someone who had worked so hard to catch up and make irreparable mistakes; besides, as long as possible, anyone might as well go to the city to pass news.So when he heard this, his demeanor immediately changed. "Take your time!" He returned to his calm and unflappable attitude when facing major events; compared to his two days of restlessness, he looked like a different person, "Tell me first, how do you go about it?" "Swim up—." "No, no!" The first sentence made him shake his head. "If you get wet, you won't get sick from the cold. What will you do when you go ashore? Is there an inn where you can dry your clothes?" "It was to play by ear." "At this time, you can't say that you are lucky. You have to stop before you start." Hu Xueyan said, "Listen to me." He really doesn't have any secrets, but he has always been quick, thinking and talking all the way, and he has a set of methods. The most important point in the whole set of methods is how to deal with long hairs?Hu Xueyan taught him a strategy: pretending to be a representative of British businessmen in Shanghai and selling arms to Changmao. "Fortunately, you can speak English, and you are familiar with the situation of Shanghai Ocean Tour; you are smart, so you must pretend to be like one." Hu Xueyan said: "You have to remember that Changmao is also rustic, so you have to scare him with foreigners." ——The confession was done, but he never wrote a letter; this is also where Hu Xueyan was careful, fearing that if he found this letter, he would fail in a major event and instead lead to death.But when he met Wang Youling, he had to have a token as proof; the gold ring in his hand was the most authentic, but he was afraid that the long hair would be plundered, Hu Xueyan thought for a long time, and could only explain it in words. "Before I left, Wang Futai talked with me for a long time, and entrusted me with his funeral affairs. His favorite youngest son, named Tiaoyun, is only five years old this year, and he wants to send it under my name; I said I will talk about it when I come back from Shanghai. No third person will know these words, if you tell him, he will naturally believe that I invited you to go." This is the best way to check credit. Xiao Jiaji asked clearly how to write the word "Shaoyun" and kept it in his heart.However, I can't go for a while; first find a way to find a boat. There are small boats. In the past, ferries carrying refugees were seen from time to time, but foreign soldiers with live ammunition and guns were on the sand boats, and no one dared to approach them.It was up to Li Delong, who borrowed the telescope of Liaison Officer Kong, and spotted an empty boat far away; he swam up to meet him, held the side of the boat, and saw the boss with his head, and without speaking, he felt a watery horseshoe on his body Silver, handed it over; it is really "under a heavy reward, there must be a brave man", and the ship was hired smoothly. It was dusk and the horizon was unclear, but it was easier to get ashore; Hu Xueyan pointed out the direction himself, and when he was about to set sail, he suddenly thought of something. "Hey, hello, Boss, what's your last name?" The boss of the boat pointed to the surface of the water: "My surname is Jiang." "Old Jiang, I'm sorry for you." Hu Xueyan said, "You take my friend to the shore, and when you come back, write me a letter, and I'll give you another ten taels of silver. I will never lie to you; if you lie, teach me to immediately If you fall into the Qiantang River, you will die badly." Boss Jiang seemed quite moved when he heard such a heavy curse, "What's your lord's name?" he asked. "My name is Wong." "Master Wang, please don't worry, old man; I have delivered this young master, and I will report to you." "Please, please!" Hu Xueyan bowed on the sand boat, "I'll wait for you here with my money ready, it doesn't matter even in the middle of the night, you must come! Do you have any lanterns on the boat?" "There are lanterns." Boss Jiang is also very flexible and knows his intentions, "If you hang them out at night, they will go out as soon as the river wind blows." "That makes sense. Come on, come on, just 'six fingers tickle', I'm flattering you." Hu Xueyan also gave him a horse lantern powered by "Mobil oil" as a signal to hang on the bow of the ship when reporting the message, so as not to be caught in time The foreign soldiers went in without knowing it and accidentally injured him. As soon as Xiao Jiaji left, Li Delong couldn't help but ask why he treated Boss Jiang like this, and even gambled on him, lest he would not believe him.Are you worried about Xiao Jiaji? "I've let him go out, there's nothing to worry about." Hu Xueyan said, "I'm guarding against the boss of this boat; I want to prevent him from sending people to Changmao's place to inform him for a reward. So I tied him with ten taels of silver. feet, so as to teach him to come back early. Of course, this must be cursed, otherwise he will not believe it." "Mr. Hu, I've really convinced you. It's really exhausting. But, Mr. Hu, why do you say your surname is Wang?" "There's another reason for this. The ferrymen on the Qiantang River hate me; it's bad for me to say my real name. Listen to me and tell you the reason; twenty years ago——" Twenty years ago, Hu Xueyan was still studying business in a bank. Once he was ordered to collect an account in Xiaoshan County on the south bank of the Qiantang River; The loss left only ten small coins needed for the ferry. "The boat arrived in the middle of the river, and the money was collected." Hu Xueyan said, "When I got in front of me, I put my hand into my pocket and couldn't get it out." "What's the matter?" Li Delong asked. "It's also called that misfortunes never come singly. The edge of my pocket is torn; I don't know when the ten pennies will be gone. The ferry boat on the Qiantang River is notoriously fierce. I heard that there are some cases where they can't pay the ferry money and are pushed into the river. I was naturally embarrassed at the time, so I had to tell the truth, and agreed to go ashore and go to the bank to get the money to make up for it. It’s useless to say anything, and I insisted on stripping my clothes.” "It's so hateful!" Li Delong was very aggrieved, "However, could it be that the whole boat just stood by and watched?" Of course not, someone lent him ten Wen to avoid the shame of stripping his clothes.But after being stimulated by this, Hu Xueyan vowed when he went ashore: as long as he is proud one day and can afford it, he will definitely buy two boats, hire a few boatmen, and set up a free cross-strait ferry. "My wish, to be honest, can be fulfilled a long time ago. I don't know that doing good deeds is not enough! Delong, think about it, what is the reason?" "It's easy to understand. If someone does good deeds, someone will have nothing to eat." "Yes! Because of this, the Qiantang River ferrymen joined forces to oppose me, and I was not allowed to set up a free ferry. Later, thanks to Wang Futai's help." At that time, Wang Youling had been transferred to the magistrate of Hangzhou. Not only was it a personal friendship, but it was his duty to help Hu Xueyan; even as a local official, it was his duty to benefit the people and reward good deeds.So on the one hand, a notice was issued not to sue those who make a living on the ferry, obstructing this good deed; on the other hand, he also asked for an award for Hu Xueyan. There are countless people who have benefited from setting up a free ferry. Hu Xueyan's reputation is overflowing, and he has won the reputation of a "Hu Shanren".It's just that most of the boatmen on the Qiantang River gritted their teeth when they mentioned "Hu Shanren", so he refused to reveal his real name to Boss Jiang. A small story, because Hu Xueyan was in a more cheerful mood, recovered his original eloquence, and told it quite humorously, so Li Delong listened with relish and admired it even more. "Mr. Hu, there is karma after all. Mr. Hu, you have done such a good thing on this river; there should never be any risks on this river. We all want to rely on you." These two sentences sounded very pleasant, and Hu Xueyan said happily, "Thank you! Thank you! I will be like you Chrysostom." Not only Hu Xueyan himself, but also other people on the boat were encouraged by Li Delong's words, thinking that if there are good people on board, disasters will be turned into good fortune.As a result, it suddenly changed the sleepy, melancholy, restless, breathless taste of the previous two days; at the dinner table, the spirits were very good, and even Li Delong, who could not drink, was willing to have a drink. "Speaking of which, you really have to believe in ghosts and gods." Liaison Officer Kong raised his glass and said leisurely, "However, if you don't teach others to do good deeds, you can really do good deeds; it's not surprising to do good deeds for the reputation of good people." "Otherwise. If everyone is willing to do good deeds for the sake of the reputation of good people, the world will be fine. Some people are simply 'good sticks'." Hu Xueyan said, "This is called 'below three generations, for fear of bad reputation'." "What's 'good stick'?" Li Delong laughed, "This is the first time I've heard of this name." "A good person is a liar. They cheat in the name of doing good deeds. This kind of liar is very difficult to guard against. But after a long time, they can't hide it from others." Hu Xueyan said, "No matter what happens, one's heart can't be fake; some people think they are extremely smart , everyone will be fooled by him; in fact, in the end, the truth is revealed, and he ruins himself. Whether a person is worth anything or not depends on whether what he says counts; like Wang Futai, the official voice in our Zhejiang, to be honest, It’s not that it’s the best; but now he says he won’t leave, he won’t leave, and he wants to live and die with Hangzhou people, and he is much more valuable than He Zhitai in this regard.” At this point, everyone thought of Xiao Jiaji unexpectedly, and speculated when he would be able to enter the city?What will Wang Youling do when he gets the news?How to respond on board? "There must be actions. But—" Hu Xueyan stopped drinking suddenly, his face was bleak, and after a long time, he sighed and said, "I really can't think of how to transport this batch of rice ashore; A blood road, how can we keep this food road unblocked?" "Mr. Hu, I don't know if there is a way to do it?" Li Delong said, "Isn't there a water gate in Hangzhou? How about getting a few small boats and splitting rice to smuggle into the city?" "I'm afraid it won't work—" Just halfway through speaking, there was only a gunshot; then someone shouted: "You can't shoot, you can't shoot; the messenger is here." So Hu Xueyan and Li Delong went out of the cabin to visit one after another, and sure enough, a little spark came slowly; as they approached, they saw that there was a lantern hanging on the bow.When the boat approached, Li Delong called out: "Boss Jiang!" "It's me." Boss Jiang agreed, throwing a cable over. Li Delong stretched out his hands, tied the boat, picked up Boss Jiang, and led him into the cabin; Hu Xueyan had already placed a piece of silver on the table. "The young master has come ashore." Boss Jiang said, "I'm here to deal with the business." "For your trouble." Hu Xueyan pushed the silver forward, "I will send you as a host for the New Year." "Thank you, thank you." Boss Jiang took the silver in his hand, hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master Wang, I have to tell you something after thinking about it: As soon as the young master came ashore, Chang Mao caught him." Not afraid to catch it, it depends on how to catch it?Hu Xueyan asked calmly: "Is the long hair very fierce?" "That's okay." Boss Jiang said, "This young master is so courageous that he won't run away when he sees Chang Mao; Chang Mao should be more polite to him." Hu Xueyan was half relieved first, and asked casually, "What news is there in the city?" "I don't know," Boss Jiang shook his head, his face suddenly filled with sorrow, "It's like two worlds inside and outside the city." "And what about outside the city?" "Outside the city? Master Wang, you mean long hair?" "Yes! Any news about Long Mao?" "I'm not too sure. A few days ago, I said that I was going back to Suzhou; some Changmao set up street stalls to sell looted things, which were not worth a penny, as if they were eager to get rid of the goods for cash; I haven't heard anything about it in the past two days. " Hu Xueyan knew in his heart that Chang Mao's army rations were also going to be difficult to sustain: now it was a stalemate with the defenders, if there was food relief in the city, and they could defend for another month or two, Chang Mao could retreat without a fight.But on the other hand, since Changmao is short of food, the dozens of boats of food placed on the river will surely inspire his covetous heart. It would be very dangerous to mobilize small boats and pounce on them regardless of their lives.Therefore, this night he was so anxious that he couldn't sleep, he only hoped that Xiao Jiaji could sneak into the city, Wang Youling could mobilize his troops to fight a bloody road and keep the food road; Unload food and enter the city. Sure enough, Xiao Jiaji sneaked into the city. When he was arrested, Changmao "looked at him differently"; because all the people who were taken into captivity trembled with fear.Only this "new guy"—Shangmao's common name for the people who had just been taken into captivity—was different.Therefore, the other "new guys" had their hands tied as usual, and one's braids were tied with that's to prevent them from "running away with long hairs"; but for Xiao Jiaji, as Boss Jiang said, he was quite "polite" and escorted to " Mansion", the tone of the question was quite polite. "You look like you're from outside. What's your name and what do you do?" asked a little leader in yellow clothes and hat who spoke Hubei dialect. "My surname is Xiao, and I come from Shanghai." Xiao Jiaji replied calmly, "To be honest, I want to do a big business. If this business is successful, the city of Hangzhou will no longer be able to hold on." The little boss heard his tone extraordinary , Immediately stood in awe, and changed his name to him: "Mr. Xiao, what kind of big business is it? How can they say that if this business is successful, they will not be able to keep it in Hangzhou?" "I really can't tell you that." Xiao Jiaji said, "Please send me to King Zhong." "King Zhong doesn't know where the driver is? I can't see him either, so I have to send you up. However, Mr. Xiao," the little boss hesitated and said, "You won't harm me, will you?" "Why harm me? " "If what you said is not true, isn't it all my fault?" Xiao Jiaji smiled.Seeing that this person was honest and deceitful, he deliberately pretended to be contemptuous, "Your words are really funny? How do you know that my words are not true? I live well in Shanghai, so why come here all the way? Tell you the truth." , I was entrusted by the British, and I want to see King Zhong, and I have a great service to Chen." He suddenly asked, "May I ask your name?" "My name is Lu Deyi." "Meet King Zhong, I will speak well for you, and I will give you a great reward." Li Xiucheng's army is different from other Hong Yang generals, and he has always paid attention to recruiting talents; so after hearing his words, Lu Deyi dared not neglect him even more. "Mr. Xiao," he replied sincerely, "thank you for your kindness. I would like to thank you in advance. However, it's already late today, so you can stay overnight. it is good?" It's inconvenient to act too hastily, Xiao Jiaji thought to himself, staying for one night first, taking advantage of Lu Deyi's good friend and inquiring about the situation, wouldn't it be more sure to act?Then he replied happily: "That's fine. I'll just stay for one night." So Lu Deyi regarded him as the honored guest and set up wine to entertain him.Xiao Jiaji was used to running around the Yangtze River Wharf, and Lu Deyi was from Hanyang; therefore, the topic of Hubei's recent situation was quite speculative. Finally, when it comes to the situation in Hangzhou, Lu Deyi is really a loyal person, and he is unhappy, "It's really doomed!" He sighed and said, "When I think about it, I can't even eat. I hope that the city will be broken as soon as possible." , the people of Hangzhou still have a way out; if they continue to be besieged like this, I am afraid that the people of Hangzhou will all die." "Yes!" Xiao Jiaji took the opportunity to say, "I am here to do this big business, of course to help you, and it is also for the benefit of the people of Hangzhou. However, I don't understand. The loyal king broke Suzhou, and the people are grateful for their benevolence. Since So, why not let the people of Hangzhou live.” "It's hard to ride a tiger now." Lu Deyi replied: "I heard that King Zhong shot an arrow into the city, and there was a letter on the arrow to surrender. He said it very earnestly; but there was no reply from the city." "Oh!" Xiao Jiaji asked: "What do you say about the letter of surrender?" It will take more than 20 days from here to Tianjing to return to the north. The "imperial approval" has not yet come. Once the "imperial approval" is sent back, people will be sent to discuss peace with Ruichang. At that time Maybe it will be another scene." Lu Deyi said: "I have been to many places, and it seems that the soldiers in Hangzhou are the most powerful." This made Xiao Jiaji think of Hu Xueyan's words again, as long as there is food in Hangzhou, it can last for a year or so, so he feels more and more responsible, so he sleeps in Lu Deyi's "mansion" all night, imagining various situations over and over again, He was thinking about how to win the trust of Li Xiucheng and get out of the surveillance; how to convince them that he was not a spy after meeting the officers and soldiers, and take him into the city to meet Wang Youling? Tossing and turning in this way, he didn't fall asleep until he heard the fourth watch. He didn't know how long he slept, but he woke up suddenly, only to hear the noise of people's voices and hurried steps, as if a great accident had occurred.Xiao Jiaji was startled, his drowsiness disappeared, he sat up suddenly, and listened intently; he heard a sentence: "The evil wind is blowing, the evil wind is blowing!" As if he had heard this sentence somewhere, Xiao Jiaji gritted his teeth, struggling After thinking about it, I finally realized that nothing happened on the sandboat. I heard from Hu Xueyan that Changmao called the Qing army "monsters", and "the demon wind blows" means that the Qing army is coming. When he thought of this, he was both surprised and happy, got up hastily, and tied up; but he didn't dare to make a mistake, he pushed open a crack in the door and looked outside, only to see long hairs swarming out, and the weapons in his hands were of different types, such as red-tasseled spear, There are white wax poles, machetes, and foreign guns—the sound of gunfire has already started; mixed with the sound of roaring, from far and near, from east to west, changing with the wind, it seems that there are quite a few Qing troops. How about it?Xiao Jiaji asked himself in his heart; this is a great opportunity to get out, but the situation outside is not clear, and he is thrown into the hail of bullets in a daze, and if he dies, he is afraid that no one will know, isn't he wronged?But not to go?Among other things, at least meeting Li Xiucheng is not something that can be done all at once; if there is a delay, maybe Lu Deyi will die in this battle, and there will be no such a reasonable person to deal with, and the consequences will be even more disastrous. In such a dilemma, I saw another group of people flashing by outside the yard, their steps were light and their voices were soft, but they were in a hurry, "Quick, quick!" Someone urged, "Quick 'escape long hair', where are you going?" Where is it?" "Escape from Changmao" is a very popular saying, and Xiao Jiaji often said these three words when he heard Hu Xueyan, which means to escape from Changmao; "Escape!" He said to himself, "If you don't escape, do you really want to do arms business with Li Xiucheng?" Typing idea, let alone negligence; but although it is not in a hurry, it is clear that there is no one, and it is clear that there is no one in the lane, and at the same time it smells the aroma of rice, and when I look up, it is a kitchen. The kitchen is huge, but seems empty.Xiao Jiaji looked carefully, walked through the courtyard step by step, until he reached the stove, only to find that there was a man warming under the stove; the man was extremely thin, with big eyes, and when he saw it, his description was particularly terrifying, which made him take two steps back in fright.The man looked like a fool, with a pair of big but lost eyes, looking at Xiao Jiaji without any expression. "Who are you?" he asked. "Don't ask me!" The man replied in a weak voice, "I won't run away! I can't escape their hands by running around; I'm resigned to my fate." Hearing these words, Xiao Jiaji's heart became half cold, and he stared at him blankly, speechless for a while. "Look at you, you are not a local; where did you escape from?" Seeing that he had a kind appearance, and his speech was weak, and he seemed to have no interest in life, Xiao Jiaji dispelled his fear and guard, and replied honestly: "I come from Shanghai." "Isn't there a barbarian in Shanghai? Everyone flees there , why did you turn back here?" The man said in a voice that sounded empty and hopeless: "There is a way to heaven if you don't go, but there is no way to hell to come in! Why bother?" "I can't either," Xiao Jiaji took the opportunity to test, but it was inconvenient to tell the truth, "I have a life-and-death friend who is stuck in Hangzhou. I want to go to the city to see him." "You're crazy!" the man said, "Hangzhou People cannibalize people in the city, and your friend may have starved to death; where do you go to see him? Even if you see him, you can’t save him; you’re stuck in it, starving to death. Really cool." The accusation in the words seemed to have good intentions, so Xiao Jiaji decided to tell him the truth, first asking: "What's your name, old man?" "People call me Lao He." "Old He, my surname is Xiao. Let me tell you the truth, I am here to save the people in Hangzhou—it's not me, it's a well-known good man in your Hangzhou city who does good deeds; I brought a large amount of food and drove from Shanghai. Come. Teach me to go to the city to meet Wang Futai to deliver the letter." Xiao Jiaji paused for a while, and said with an attitude of putting everything on the line: "Old He, I will tell you what is in my heart. If you are a long-haired gang, it is my fate. It should be like this, this year, this month, this day, this time, I will die here. If not, please show me a way." After hearing what he said, Lao He pondered for a long time before raising his head; Xiao Jiaji noticed that his eyes were different, it was no longer that of a gloomy, almost dying person, but shining with determination, as if his whole body It seems that all the power is concentrated in those square-inch pupils. He stretched out his hand: "Where is the letter?" Xiao Jiaji was stunned: "What letter?" "Didn't you say that the good man entrusted you to deliver a letter to Wang Futai?" "Yes. It's a message." Xiao Jiaji said, "Wouldn't it be bad if it fell into Changmao's hands with black and white paper? " "Message?" Old He hesitated, "Message is not easy to carry." "Why? Old He," Xiao Jiaji understood his meaning: "Are you going to deliver the letter for me?" "Yeah? I'm sure I'll go than you. However, with my appearance, no one will believe me when I say I want to send a message to Wang Futai." "That's it." Xiao Jiaji bowed to the ground, "Please take me into the city, Mr. He." "It's not easy. I'm fine by myself; like you, I can't get in." "Then, how can I get in?" go in?" "First, your complexion is red and white, as if you eat big fish and meat every day. If you sneak into the city, it will be troublesome. If you really want to go to the city, you should be wronged." "It doesn't matter! I will accept any grievances." "That's good!" Lao He nodded, "Anyway, I'm half buried in the ground, and it's worth it to be able to do such a thing! Let's take a look outside first." So I took a closer look, and found that the voices of people were still quite noisy, but the sound of gunfire was rare. "The official army has been defeated." Lao He said confidently, "It's just right to go at this time." Xiao Jiaji felt that this was an incredible thing. It was too miraculous to be able to judge the outcome just by listening to the sound.It is an important moment, and one step cannot be wrong, so I couldn't help but ask: "Old He, how do you know?" "I knew it a long time ago." Lao He replied: "The officers and soldiers are so hungry that their eyes are black, how can they fight? It's just a charge." That's why the sound of gunshots was so rare.Xiao Jiaji made sense after thinking about it, so he boldly followed Lao He out of Changmao's mansion from the side door. Sure enough, Changmao had already closed the team, and the streets were full of ants, walking and talking and laughing, looking like they had won the battle.Fortunately, Changmao was walking on the main street, and Lao He knew the way very well, so he walked through the alleys, and finally came to a dilapidated Temple of Wealth, where seven or eight beggars were playing dice together. "Old He," said one of them, "you're not dead!" Old He ignored him, and said to a man whose clothes were a little neater: "A Mao, take off your ragged padded jacket." "What are you doing?" "Lend it to this friend to wear." "I lent it to him, what should I wear?" "He gave you his clothes in exchange." After saying this, many people scrambled to change, "I'll come, I'll come!" shouted in confusion. Old He made up his mind that he just wanted to change it with Ah Mao; although his ragged padded jacket was a little neater, it was thick and greasy, like a butcher's skirt, which already made Xiao Jiaji want to vomit. "There is no way." Lao He said: "If it is not like this, it is called unsuccessful."Not only is it unsuccessful, but it is also dangerous to go out.Don't talk about you, I want to change too. "Hearing this, Xiao Jiaji had no choice but to grit his teeth and put on the cotton-padded jacket, as well as worn-out shoes and socks. Xiao Jiaji felt his body was covered in gnats and ants, and he had never suffered such a pain since he was born. Once you have put on your body, there is absolutely no reason to take it off. Seeing that Lao He also asked someone to change his clothes, which are more worn and dirtier than his own. Others have no reason to suffer such a crime, so why? Thinking about it this way, then I found it easier to bear. "Amao!" Lao He said again, "What's the password today?" "I don't know." "I know." Someone replied loudly, "Old He, what do you ask it to do?" "Of course it is useful." Old He turned back and asked Xiao Jiaji: "Do you have any foreign money? Find a piece." Xiao Jiaji did as he said; Lao He bought a password with that piece of silver.But, "What password is this?" Xiao Jiaji asked. "The password to enter the city." Lao He replied, "Although the city is closed, some beggars in the city should come out to inquire about the military situation, which is of no use at all." It was very useful in Xiao Jiaji; at the same time, he suddenly realized why he had to suffer such a crime? Not far away, he found a wooden city in the distance; Xiao Jiaji knew that there was still half the distance to the gate of the city.He heard Hu Xueyan talk about how after the ten cities of Hangzhou were besieged, Wang Youling tried his best to open a river road, but the number of troops was too small, and he was powerless.It happened that Zhang Yuliang retreated from Fuyang; Wang Youling immediately sent someone to contact him, and took a step-by-step approach. Zhang Yuliang camped from the Jianggan to the city; When Liancheng opened up a lifeline. Because Wang Youling's personal letter was written extremely earnestly, saying, "The survival of Hangzhou City depends on this action, and we must not miss the opportunity." Therefore, Zhang Yuliang did not dare to neglect. Encountered by a river, which became an obstacle, Zhang Yuliang sent people to encircle the city and asked Wang Youling to send troops to attack; at the same time, he drew a clear picture of the location of his camp and sent it along with him.Wang Youling immediately informed Rao Tingxuan to send a brigade into the city; who knew that Rao Tingxuan was delayed all night and leaked his secrets, Li Xiucheng started working overnight, and built a wooden city on the way, with cannons on the city.Another earthen wall was built outside the city, and holes were drilled in the wall to mount guns, which separated Zhang Yuliang and the two men selected by Rao Ting; and Zhang Yuliang was shot and killed in battle. This is the situation when Hu Xueyan left Hangzhou. Now that the wooden city is still there, it is naturally impossible to pass through; Lao He led Xiao Zhuoji, avoiding Changmao, bypassing the wooden city far away, and finally saw the city gate. "This is the tide gate." "I know." Xiao Jiaji read: "'Wai Chao' can hear 'clear waves', and 'Yongjin' and 'Qiantang' will set 'Taiping'." The names of the five city gates of Hangzhou are embedded in these two lines of poems, which only the locals know; so when Lao He heard him read it, he felt an unusual kindness. A smile appeared for the first time, "You understand!" he said, "Where did you hear that?" Xiao Jiaji smiled and replied: "Although it's my first time to Hangzhou, I know a lot of allusions about Hangzhou." "You have a predestined relationship with Hangzhou." Lao He said happily, "It must go well." As he was talking, he was already approaching the ditch; there were some patrolling in the ditch, but there were people lying on the ground outside the ditch, what were they doing?Xiao Jiaji couldn't help being surprised and stopped. "Who are these people?" "It's a blind man." Old He replied, "The blind man's ears are very good; if there is a wine jar buried in the ground, if there is any sound, he can hear it very clearly." "Oh! I understand." Xiao Jiaji suddenly realized, "This is the so-called 'urn vessel', which is afraid of Changmao digging tunnels and burying explosives." "That's right! Let's go, the soldiers over there are holding their guns." As he said, Lao He raised his hands high and walked hurriedly; Xiao Jiaji followed the law and stopped when he reached the edge of the ditch. "Password!" The soldier opposite shouted. "The sun and the moon are bright." The soldier fell silent, walked to a donkey, shook the handle, and lowered a standing plank, which was placed horizontally on the ditch, forming a suspension bridge. Xiao Jiaji felt that although this soldier looked haggard and weak, as if he didn't even bother to talk, he was still loyal to his duty, so he was very respectable; from this he thought: the discipline of the officers and soldiers is not as bad as it is said in the legend .That being the case, why bother to get into the city. Thinking about it, he said, "Old He! I think I'll explain why I'm here. Wouldn't it be easy to ask the officers stationed here to send my brothers to send me in?" Lao He pondered for a while and replied: "Vice General Zeng, who is waiting for Chaomen, everyone says he is good; you might as well give it a try. However, "Old He warned: "A scholar meets a soldier. It is hard to explain why, but it is the truth. What's going on, you know for yourself; don't be incoherent and ask for trouble." "No, no! My words are genuine; so much white rice is parked in the heart of the river, is it fake?" Hearing this, Lao He changed his plan, told the soldiers on guard briefly, and begged to see the officer; so he took the general to the general, to the garrison, and took him up layer by layer, and finally met Rao Ting's deputy general Zeng at the Chaomen win. "We know that Hu Daotai went to Shanghai to buy rice." After Zeng Desheng learned the reason, he asked, "But you don't have letters, and you speak with a foreign accent. I don't know what's going on; how can I get you?" Go to see Wang Futai?" Xiao Jiaji understood what he meant, and shouted: "Master Zeng! Please search me, I am not an assassin; I am not a spy if I openly ask for an audience. I really can't bring any letters just to cross the enemy line, see After Wang Futai, if I have something to say, I will naturally convince him that I was sent by Hu Daotai. If Wang Futai doesn’t believe me, please master Zeng to kill me. I will issue a military order to you.” "What kind of military order? It's from a novel. I'll take you there." Zeng Desheng was amused by Xiao Jiaji; but his smile was uglier than crying. "Yes!" Xiao Jiaji agreed loudly, and immediately made a request, "Master Zeng, please give me a brother's cotton military uniform!" He was eager to take off his torn and dirty clothes; but he was brisk only for a moment, and once he entered the city, the stench of corpses almost made him faint. Wang Youling is already desperate!Early in the morning, Jiechun rushed through for a while—the moment when Xiao Jiaji heard the gunshot; more than a dozen boats of living rice were waiting to be transported. To open a food channel and find a way out? Therefore, he decided to write a posthumous book: the thief surrounded Hangzhou on all sides before he was old, the river road was blocked, and the soldiers and people in the city were trapped. achieve?Now the ten gates are tightly surrounded, and more and more thieves are gathering. They have repeatedly supervised the same hungry army, and secretly arranged for all the battalions in Jianggan to join up and attack.The food in the city was exhausted, and the horses were killed to pay the army, followed by cats and mice, eating grass, roots and bark, starving and dying.At the beginning of the Yu Dynasty, there were internal changes, and the ministers and others wept and followed, and they all followed each other with death. There was no two ambitions. After writing this, Wang Youling's eyes hurt like cutting, and he couldn't stop writing.He has been suffering from this eye disease for a whole year. First, he suffered from "deficient blood, liver and intestines are forced, spleen meridian is suppressed, and lung qi is not good", and then it turned into "flammation of wind and fire", and there is no moment when he can feel at ease, so that his eyes are swollen like Warts, when you press them with your hands, blood will flow with tears; everyone who sees them will be horrified.Later, I met a famous ophthalmologist, who used knife kyu and medicine and stones together, and then he got better; but since the siege, the old disease recurred, and it became more and more serious day by day. , It's a big trouble. If it is other newspapers, you can dictate to Muyou's nephew to write, but Wang Youling doesn't want to be seen by others, so he forced his eyes that hurt like needles to continue writing: The last gasp is still alive, and I always think about killing one more thief and holding on for one more day. I cry and think about the city of Hangzhou. .After the method of Jin and Lan, the ministers and others had already made plans and had to take precautions to secure the first-line salary source of Ningshao. At the beginning, they ordered Zhang Jingqu of Ningshaotai Road, and then ordered Zhuang Huanwen, the secretary of Dao Peng Siju, to lead troops. To set up defenses bravely is not good enough after Wang Lulian's discussion; and to protect the gentry and rich, because they are poor in donations and loans, they are stubborn and have seen everything.The ministers and others are still thinking about setting up defenses. They found out that Liao Shouyuan and the Lake Gentleman Zhao Jingxian had guarded the dangerous city for more than a year. They dispatched Shaoxing Mansion to make arrangements.It was contrary to the unwillingness of the great gentry to set up defenses, falsely accusing the thieves of beating up, and Lu Qian stood aside; when the city fell and left, Liao Zongyuan was killed and died. From then on, Ning and Shao belonged to each other and fell one after another. The city is doomed, and there is no way to save it! At this point, Wang Youling couldn't complain, thinking that Wang Luqian took his family and luggage from Ningbo to Fujian, and flew far away, free and easy, while the people in Hangzhou were suffering from this unprecedented catastrophe; Desperate to repay the monarch, but it is useless to the overall situation, so he wrote vigorously: Wang Luqian has hindered the overall situation, and the minister will not rest in peace when he dies.At present, the poor are desperate to pay, and the danger is at stake. There is no sin to live up to the grace of God.I just ask the emperor to simply send out heavy troops and quickly sweep them away, so that the ministers and others will still be alive when they die.Now it is impossible to fold and report, and it will be even more difficult to steal in the future. I would like to share the situation of the breakup in Hangzhou, together with the words and drafts for soldiers, and send it to Shanghai Jiangsu Fuchen Xue Huan on behalf of Xue Huan.Looking up to the holy and looking up to the sky, there is no pain or fear. The legacy has not been finished yet, but the family members have already heard the rumors: Wang Youling looked at the five-year-old son in the arms of the nanny, his complexion was yellow and black, and he was as thin as a stick. When he woke up, his eldest son Ju Yun forced a smile with tears in his eyes, "Father!" he said, "Uncle Hu sent someone here." "Oh," this was good news anyway, and Wang Youling suddenly felt refreshed. "Where?" "Wait on the flower hall." Ju Yun said: "Father doesn't have to go out, just invite him to come to the room to see him!" "That's good." Wang Youling said, "What system are we talking about at this time? Besides, the people sent by Uncle Hu are our own people. Let him come in." He asked again: "What's the last name of the person here?" "The surname is Xiao! He is very young, and he said he is Gu Yingchun's student." Entering the upper room, Xiao Jiaji met with a big salute.Wang Youling was weak and couldn't return the courtesy, so he just called out: "Xiao Yishi, Xiao Yishi, I dare not be you." Xiao Jiaji respected his loneliness and loyalty, and still respectfully knelt down and kowtowed three times; only Ju Yun returned the salute, and then held out a chair, asking him to sit down in front of Wang Youling's bed. "Master Wang!" Xiao Jiaji only yelled this one, but couldn't say the following words.This is not cowardice, just for coming all the way, what you see and hear is undreamed of horror; especially at this moment, everyone in the Wang family is half-dead, watching them drifting around feebly, really like ghosts So much so that even he himself doesn't know whether this body is in the world or in hell?As a result, I was in a trance, and couldn't remember where the words started? So Wang Youling asked Gu Yingchun first, "I have met Ling Shi before, and we are still relatives. I think he is doing well recently?" "Yes, yes. TOEFL, TOEFL!" After the words came out of his mouth, Xiao Jiaji realized that he had made a mistake when he spoke; Wang Youling saw such a situation in front of him, what good luck could he have?Isn't it almost sarcasm to say this?Thinking this way, trying to cover up his slip of the tongue, he immediately said: "Master Wang is very loyal and righteous. No one who knows the situation in Hangzhou is not touched. They all compare Lord Wang with He Zhitai—" This is another gaffe!He Guiqing abandoned the land and fled, comparing him is a comparison; but it seems that he is responsible for dying with Hangzhou.Xiao Jiaji was remorseful, ashamed and hated himself, so his voice was abrupt; the usually eloquent man became clumsy and he dared not speak.Who knew that these words had an unexpected effect. Not only did Wang Youling not feel disobedient, but a smile ap