Lu Ming

Page 308

The scene where a certain general of the king of Qin went north to bombard the county town of Shanghai with a gunboat had a far-reaching impact.

This kind of behavior is no different from the opening of the Opium War. Although all parties have passed away afterwards, for the local elites in the south of the Yangtze River, from the moment the cannons roared, the pirate commander who made his fortune in the land of the savages in the south, never again. It's not hidden and transparent anymore.

It needs to be given enough attention...and respect.

The legendary Cao did not ignore this respect either.Although he has been fighting abroad all year round, as a person from the south of the Yangtze River in the hinterland of Ming Dynasty, he has always felt Cao's influence during these years.

For example, the ever-changing Binhai Port area is full of tower cranes.

For example, the tide generally pours into the industrial products in the south of the Yangtze River.

For example, monstrous money, endless population absorption.

All of the above, in just a few years, tyrannically and irresistibly changed the lives of Jiangnan from the gentry to the ordinary people, and even the three outlooks.

Today, whenever a new gadget appears in this Jiangnan area, fashion-loving gentlemen and gentlemen from all walks of life will know without asking, that the new gadget is most likely an "imported product" that landed from Zhangsu Port District.

What Ji Xiang said just now is the general attitude of Jiangnan gentry towards Cao, a southern barbarian: there is a hint of arrogance mixed with the mentality of admiration.In the context where someone has to be mentioned, only "that person from the south" is used as a pronoun.

However, the forest is so big that there are all kinds of birds, and there are always people who can't understand that thief and bird, and openly complain.

No, just as Ji Xiang finished speaking, a "middle-aged" scholar with a goatee and gray temples in the same table put down his wine bowl, shook off his half-worn blue shirt and long sleeves, and began to express different opinions: "It's just some strange skills and obscenity, it's hard to be elegant. It's a certain Cao surname, who is used to private savings and exiles, and he is obviously disobedient. Humph, let him be a little bit rampant, wait for the court to take action in the future, and then look at the scenery .”

The unceremonious words of the old scholar with a goatee directly exposed Cao's reactionary nature, and caused a brief silence in the originally lively meeting.

Blushing all over his face, Du Shaowei, who seemed to have already had a lot of alcohol, frowned inadvertently at this moment.

In fact, Du Shaowei knew that this time the Liu family came forward to organize the poetry meeting, and most of the invited people should have been screened.

Liu Yaozu is the public spokesman of Cao's business in the Jiangnan area. The Liu family has organized poetry meetings several times. What are the intentions behind it? Do these elite gentry families of the Ming Dynasty really not understand?

Therefore, anyone who has participated in these recent poetry meetings often represents one or more family forces that are friendly to the Cao family... at least not in conflict.

Like Du Shaowei is like this.There are many capable people in his family, not only some of them are officials in the capital, but also many gentry at home.However, this time, the elders in charge of the family sent him, a talented scholar, to attend the poetry meeting in Zaoyuan.

Thousands of years old trick.

No one is stupid, especially for the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River who have information exchange channels and see the fire in the precarious Daming Cave.

If it was changed to two years earlier, the exchange between the gentry and the gentry, Cao's recruitment of refugees for misconduct is still a topic that can be discussed openly.Today, this topic has long since disappeared among the gentry, and everyone has a tacit understanding.

So Du Shaowei frowned.

He knew that since it was a gathering of literati, there would always be a few gangsters to embellish the scene, which was not surprising.It's just that he didn't expect that this goatee scholar with a violent temper was actually sitting with him.

Du Shaowei, who had finally won the jackpot and took the opportunity to chat with the young master of the Liu family, could only secretly express his bad luck at this time.

Just when Du Xiucai was about to say something to save the embarrassing situation at the banquet, the next moment, there was a calm foreign voice: "Students disagree with this statement."

The speaker was another scholar at the same table.

Du Shaowei took a closer look, but it was a little transparent who had been silent before.Du Shaowei vaguely remembered that at the beginning of the table fight, this man simply cupped his hands and said, "Shanxi Wu Fazheng."

Hearing this Shanxi dialect now, it is true.

This Shanxi Wu Xiucai who jumped out suddenly did not stand out in appearance: dark-skinned, strong and strong, with a square face with three points of righteousness, a bit like a reduced version of Bao Gong, completely different from the fair-skinned scholar Gong Jiangnan. They don't match boundaries.

However, at this moment, Du Shaowei kind of liked this upright Shanxi guy.

Sure enough, after the opening remarks, Shanxi Wu Xiucai continued: "As far as the students know, most of those refugees now have a livelihood, food and clothing, and they can protect their families from starvation on the side of the road."

"Saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. General Cao rescued all the people of China. Such a kind deed is a great merit. Why is it so unbearable in the mouth of this friend?"

The old scholar with the goatee was stunned. He had no talent and was not used to this kind of asymmetrical debate.Because the opponent didn't discuss with him whether the person surnamed Cao was a traitor, but jumped to the moral high ground in an instant to whip his soul.

After thinking about it, the goatee still decided to be tough: "This... natural disasters and man-made disasters are inevitable. And the shady refugees are the defense of the ministers, how can they be confused."

Goatee's attitude is very clear: he would rather have the grass of Daming than the seedlings of Cao thief.

Wu Xiucai sneered when he heard the words: "This friend speaks with a local accent. I think someone in the Li clan has become a refugee on weekdays. You must have stepped forward to persuade them in person. It is the right way in the world to let them sit and wait to starve to death?"

"Hahaha."

Wu Xiucai's seemingly stern words, but in fact they were extremely sarcasm, made Du Shaowei burst into laughter: "Not bad, not bad, starving to death is a small matter, but injustice is a big matter!"

Accompanied by Du Shaowei's roar of laughter, a group of shrewd figures in the banquet roared with laughter, with enough momentum to block the old scholar's words in their throats.

The next moment, seeing the sneering eyes and malicious laughter of the people at the same table, the old scholar woke up instantly... He had only been greedy for a bowl of fruit wine before, and he had a mad temper for a while, and he was not so drunk that he couldn't tell the difference. the extent of the situation.

The old oily boy who eats and drinks all the year round, at this moment, there still doesn't understand that he has caused trouble.After the face turned blue and red, the old scholar finally gathered the half-washed sleeve planer, said "offended", and left the table in a hurry.

"Where did the disgust come from?"

After the old scholar left, Du Shaowei, who did not hide his attitude at all, changed seats with others on purpose, moved to Shanxi Wu Xiucai, and had a drink with you.

Not wanting to drink this, Du Shaowei discovered that Wu Xiucai had a sharp speech and unique views, and he shared the same language with his family in many places.

Especially on the issue of the Cao family, this Wu Xiucai made no secret of his appreciation for the Cao family, which made Du Shaowei, who had been forcibly tied to the Cao boat by his family, very amazed.

So after the poetry meeting ended, Du Shaowei officially exchanged name cards with a Shanxi scholar named Wu Fazheng, kowtowed to each other, made friends, and made an appointment to go to Hangzhou together tomorrow.

Chapter 673 Changes ([-])

In the afternoon, southeast of Hangzhou City, Minle Square, Zisu Street.

Two light sedan chairs stopped at the intersection.Immediately, the servant raised the bamboo curtain, and Du Shaowei and Ji Xiang walked out of the sedan chair.

After experiencing the Zaoyuan Poetry Club before, Du Shaowei had a good conversation with Wu Fazheng, a scholar from Shanxi who he met for the first time, and they hit it off right away.After that, the two parties went to another poetry meeting together as guests.After further confirming that each other's words and deeds are in harmony during the contact, Du Shaowei invited his friend Ji Xiang to look for Wu Fazheng together today... Everyone made an appointment in advance to go to the city to play.

The Jiangmen Inn at the entrance of Zisu Street is a traditional time-honored brand in Hangzhou, with a high grade.

Wu Fazheng settled here.

According to what Du Shaowei learned, Wu Fazheng was also from a wealthy family in Shanxi.After passing the scholar examination two years ago, Wu Fazheng had the idea of ​​going abroad to study, and then postponed the trip until this year.

Hangzhou City is already the third stop of Wu Fazheng's trip.He came to Hangzhou along the Grand Canal recently, and originally planned to make friends and study in this place where literary styles flourish, so as to lay the foundation for his future trials.

Du Ji and the two entered the inn with their front feet, and under the guidance of the staff, they found a single courtyard in the back.

The person who came to open the door was a middle-aged man in his forties with dark skin and well-dressed clothes.

Afterwards, the owner Wu Fazheng came out upon hearing the news, and rushed forward to greet the guests.

For a high-end hotel located in the city like Jiangmen Inn, the rent for its private courtyard is high.Even if it is not comparable to the presidential suite of later generations, it is still of the grade of an executive suite.

From this point, it can be seen that Wu Fazheng, a Shanxi scholar who came to live in Hangzhou, must have ample luggage.

And to a certain extent, a rich family background is also a necessary precondition for fair dealings with rich local young masters like Du Shaowei... Poor Xiu is the one who cannot be a bosom friend with Young Master Du, at most he can be a fan It's just for help.

When good friends meet, they are naturally polite.Immediately afterwards, Wu Fazheng called for the drink service... The iced drinks were not different from the ones tasted in the algae garden.

In the summer of 1635, a new gas ice factory appeared in the Lingang Industrial Zone of Shanghai. While ice cubes, a summer resort product, caused a sensation, the speed of light spread to hangjiahu and other traditional Ming Dynasty gentleman settlements.

At the same time, some dessert recipes from later generations, such as strawberry sundae and poplar nectar, inevitably followed the footprints of canned food and spread to the hinterland of Ming Dynasty.

With cans, there is non-perishable milk and various seasonal fruits.

Among these desserts, Yangzhi Ganlu has become an Internet celebrity drink because of its unique taste and elegant name, which suits the tastes of gentlemen.Poplar nectar, which goes perfectly with ice cubes, has become an internet celebrity these days.If any master does not have these two enjoyments to cool off, he will lose his grade immediately.

As an established brand in the city, Jiangmen Inn is also the first batch of hotels to provide guests with high-end chilled services.

Inviting his friends to have a drink on the small stone table, Wu Fazheng made an apology and went inside to change his robes.

When Wu Fazheng changed into a light lake silk robe and came out, ready to stop, the three young masters took their respective servants and accompanied them, and went out for a wandering.

Originally, according to Du Shaowei's intention, today he wanted to invite his brothers to go to the West Lake to spend some time on a painting boat.

However, Wu Fazheng said that since he came to Hangzhou, he has always been in a hurry, either visiting his elders or rushing to the market, and he has never been able to experience the local customs.So he wants to walk around the city today.

They were just wandering around, since the newly-acquainted foreign friends wanted to take a look at Hangzhou, as landlords, Du Ji and his wife naturally followed suit.

So a group of people walked in the car after going out, and went to the bustling place at will.

This wandering is more than an hour.They set off from Caishi Bridge, first went to the Gong Yuan to pay homage to their ancestor Kong Sheng, then crossed the Xian Bridge and Guan Bridge, and went to the Longevity Palace.Finally tired from walking, everyone stopped at the tea stand in front of Guanmei Club.

As soon as he sat at the tea stall, his forehead was covered with sweat, and Wu Fazheng, who was considered a burly figure in the world of scholars, poured two cups of herbal tea vigorously, then took the sweat towel handed by him and wiped his face, and finally threw up the folding fan. Hangzhou’s urban civilization and spiritual construction gave a high evaluation: "Good! Good! The scenery is beautiful, the city is famous for its smoke and willows, without a trace of fireworks. Even ordinary people, the streets and alleys are so clean and tidy, which is worthy of the world's literary style. where the gathering takes place."

In order to hear the words, Du Shao and Ji Xiang looked at each other knowingly, and said with color: "Hehe, brother Changshi (Wu Fazheng's word) seems to have something?"

"Only one thing can be seen." Wu Fazheng raised his finger and said with emotion: "I have traveled all the way, but there is not a single beggar in the city. Only this one thing, even the capital is hard to come by... As expected, there is heaven above, and there is below." Suhang!"

Hearing that scholars from other provinces praised their hometown so much, Du Shao felt very proud, and couldn't help laughing: "Brother, I don't know, those beggars are now 'piling dung' outside the city."

After laughing, Du Shaowei got up, and if he had any deep feelings, he led Wu Fazheng to the toilet at the street entrance for "one or two conveniences".

It was the first time for Wu Fazheng to enter a "public toilet" in Hangzhou.

As soon as he entered, he was shocked.The whole toilet is built with red bricks, and the neat pits are separated by brick walls.The entire latrine floor was clean, without any traces of excrement or maggots that are necessary in summer.

There are many people who come to the toilet.So although there was some stink, it soon dissipated with the hollow brick holes on the wall.Even though it is hot summer now, the smell of this latrine is enough to be bearable.

What surprised Wu Fazheng even more was that he saw a large iron box supported by iron pipes above the toilet roof.

Then, under Du Shaowei's signal, the boy went to the iron box and pulled it hard... The next moment, Wu Fazheng understood in seconds: the water rushing out of the iron box washed away all traces of their convenience.

After hearing the sound of flushing water, a "Toilet Zhu" with pale beard and hair, hunched over and wearing an orange vest walked in.

Seeing that some young masters pulled the water tank, Brother Zhu didn't say anything, but muttered a few words: "There is a time for flushing!"

Young Master Du smiled when he heard the words, and winked so that the boy rewarded the toilet with a few copper coins.

Now that I went to the toilet, I wished to stop muttering. After thanking him, he went to the toilet and filled the water tank.

Wu Fazheng, who was very interested, hurriedly followed Du Shao to see what happened.

Behind the toilet is a river.In fact, the toilet wish only needs to pull an iron handle up and down, extend it into the pipe in the river, and the river water will be siphoned into the water tank on the partition wall.

In fact, this is a simple manpower casing pumping system, which can be seen everywhere in rural TV dramas of later generations.

"Unexpectedly, there is such a cleverness."

Seeing that Wu Fazheng was amazed, Du Shaowei led him to a place not far ahead.In the bushes, a brick "septic tank" finally explained the mystery of flushing toilets.

Afterwards, Du Shaowei, who went back to the tea stand and sat down, told Wu Fazheng in detail about the relationship between beggars and latrines in Hangzhou... By the way, a few years ago, a group of bandits went down the mountain to rehabilitate... The leader is Zhou Tong.

Later, due to his benevolent heart, Huazitou in Hangzhou took off his robe and abdicated, and the rest pushed Zhou Tong to take the top spot.

As the leader of Gangzhu Zhou, he began to find jobs for thousands of beggars under his command.Therefore, he first sorted out, perfected, and built a garbage collection system for the entire city of Hangzhou.

At the same time, the beggars built a dung dump outside the city.Over the past few years, Zhou Tong has turned a business that everyone hated into a profitable business.

Du Shaowei told Wu Fazheng that all the domestic garbage in Hangzhou, including the free latrines built everywhere, belonged to the Beggars' Gang.

Citizens have to pay a garbage removal fee on weekdays.And after these garbage and excrement are transported to the manure dump outside the city, after a while, they will be turned into high-quality fertilizer and sold to surrounding farmers.

Speaking of this, Du Shaowei couldn't help sighing: No one was interested in this kind of business at the beginning, until Zhou Tong came out, and some big families in the city who didn't care about face so much discovered that this business was "doing well", and deliberately got involved .

However, at that time, Zhou Tong was already full-fledged, coupled with the exclusive composting technology that no one could break, so Zhou Tong managed to make his business today.

In the end, Du Shaowei told Wu Fazheng: The reason why there is no refugee begging hungry in Hangzhou City is not only because of the removal of garbage.In fact, a few years ago, Zhou Tong openly took refuge in an unspeakable person after the battleship bombarded the county seat of Shanghai... All the extra beggars in the city were sold to Yizhou to farm by this guy.

Du Shaowei has a lot of information in this story.However, as he expected, Wu Fazheng only focused on two things in the end: composting and farming in Yizhou.

Seeing Wu Fazheng inquiring about his family's composting in detail, Du Shaowei showed a look on his face: "It turned out as I expected".

It's different from those second-generation ancestors who ate and waited to die every night.People like Du Shaowei can be said to be the elite among traditional scholar-bureaucrats.They aim at the court, and they are very concerned about state affairs and political affairs at a young age.

This type of scholar would not disdain to pay attention to feces because they are filth... Especially the matter of composting, which involves farming, is the focus of their attention.

That's why Du Shaowei guessed Wu Fazheng's focus... In his previous contacts, he had confirmed that the other party was the same type of person as himself: everyone was a "new generation of young gentry" with ambition and strong acceptance.

"Forget it, it's still early, we've had enough rest."

Speaking of this, Du Shaowei got up: "Today, I've done what Brother Changshi wanted, and I'll take a walk outside the city and have a look at the composting field."

In the second half of the day, Brother Gongzi, who originally planned to swim in the lake, rented a boat and went to visit the dung field outside the city.

After the investigation, Wu Fazheng admired such an advanced ecological recycling industry.It was night, and the excited Wu Fazheng had a long talk with Du Gongzi all night long.He unabashedly called this project "benevolent governance" and imagined that one day the project would be promoted nationwide.

Du Shaowei felt the same way, after being impassioned, he simply made an appointment with Wu Fazheng, and planned to go to Shanghai Port for inspection tomorrow together.

Wu Fazheng readily agreed.

Chapter 674 Changes ([-])

In the north of Hangzhou City, outside the Wulin Gate.

Before the Ming Dynasty, Wulinmen was called Yuhangmen.Because the north of the city is adjacent to the canal, the original Yuhang Gate was the gateway to the north of Hangzhou, commonly known as "North Water Pass", which was dedicated to controlling the passage of passing ships.

Although the name of the Wulin Gate in the Ming Dynasty has changed, its basic function has not changed. It is still a water gate for ships to enter and exit.

Since the Wulin Gate is close to the start of the canal, there are many large state-level granaries and a large number of private grain warehouses around it, which are used to store and transfer the grain provided by the southeastern provinces.

In this way, coupled with the large number of floating population that came along with the canal, the outside of Wulin Gate became a place where merchants gather, "sails are unloaded, and department stores are listed on the market."