Tea House Boss Zhang saw that the customers were "making irresponsible remarks about the state system" and causing unreasonable disasters, so he hurriedly greeted: "Dear regular customers, come out, this is the Zhangjia Walnut Cake, which is the best among Australians, but everyone Let’s try the taste.” Then he asked the waiter to bring a plate of walnut cakes for everyone to try.
The walnut cakes in this Yujia shop are the same as most shops in Guangzhou. They were closed for the day when the Australians entered the city, and opened again the next afternoon.
"These walnut cakes are amazing." These are all old tea drinkers, and they all have very tricky words.
"It's surprising or not. The key is the imperial seal of the Australian Jingsou." Boss Zhang said, "That's it. If you don't make a reservation a few days in advance, it doesn't mean you can't buy it."
"I know that the old Zhangjia Walnut Cake Shop is a very small and old shop. It does the same thing - the walnut cakes sold at their house are sometimes mixed with old goods from the previous year. Even if he just used the things in his house to flatten the tea house... he didn't know that he had caught the short-haired man's eye."
"I heard that shopkeeper Zhang's son went to the big world and became the brother-in-law of an Australian..."
Everyone looked like they were "suddenly enlightened". Someone said: "But (now) as long as we keep in touch with the Australians, we will always get good things!"
"See the emperor and his courtiers." (Emperor and his courtiers)
"As soon as I wake up, the world is changed." (As soon as I wake up, the world is changed)
...While he was talking, the sound of gongs sounded again outside, this time thirteen times in a row, "All civil and military officials, soldiers and civilians, big and small, get out of the way." Then came the call from Paijia: "Everyone, get out of the way." , the army has passed through the city!"
Boss Wang closed his fan and said, "Okay, let's go take a look."
People in the tea house rushed out in droves, but they saw that there were already many people on both sides of the street watching the excitement. Along the white line stood the "officials" who maintained order, now called "detective teams". One had his back to the street, holding a bamboo stick in his hand, shouting that no one should cross the line.
Bursts of music came from far and near. This was the "Grenadier March" played with military drums and fifes that Guangzhou citizens had never heard before. The sheepskin military drums were fierce and high-spirited, while the fifes were melodious and calm.
With the beating of drums, a group of flag bearers appeared on the streets. Guangzhou citizens looked at the blue Morning Star flag and the red Iron Fist gear flag curiously, and discussed what the patterns on them meant. As the South China Army Eagle flag bearers appeared holding the military flag high, At the gate of the Great South Gate, this speculation reached its peak.
Following the appearance of the Eagle Flag Bearer was the Grenadier Company of the South China Army. They were wearing bright red grenadier uniforms, with black "bishop's hats" decorated with golden cords and shiny brass nameplates; white canvas Leather bullet boxes, canvas grenade pouches and bayonet scabbards were hung on their armed belts. Their tall bodies and "bishop hats" made them all look like giants.
They were just the vanguard of a terrible military demonstration. The troops that followed one after another were so powerful and powerful that it was almost unbelievable. The procession began to pass at seven o'clock, and each group wore a copper basin on their head. The battle infantrymen in steel helmets and blue-gray military uniforms were neatly groomed, with clean shaven beards and well-polished leather boots. The bayonets gleamed in the sun, and the four rows were serious and tight, showing a strict military appearance. Next came the light infantry, also in gray-green military uniforms, carrying Hall rifles with dark blue light on their backs. Their lightweight military caps had chin straps that could be buckled with camouflage rings. Behind the light infantry was the mountain company, They were all Li and Miao soldiers recruited from the mountains of Hainan Island. They had machetes hanging on their waists and carried Nanyang-style rifles and medicinal crossbows on their backs.
"...Be good, the Japanese pirates are coming!" Suddenly there was a commotion in the crowd.
The Japanese infantrymen of the Battō Team were wearing uniforms of feathered woven jackets, helmets and double swords on their waists. They carried Nanyang-style rifles on their shoulders. Although they were short in stature, they exuded the brutal aura of having fought as mercenaries for many years; they followed closely behind them.
Behind them are the North Korean White Horse Team wearing white clothes and black hats. Behind them are combat engineers, wearing rough canvas waistcoats and vests outside the military uniforms. They carry long-handled engineer axes on their shoulders, tool bags on their waists and hips, and carry double-barreled guns.
****, all of them have strong and strong bodies.
It dazzled the people who were watching. They were used to seeing the tired and worn-out imperial officers and soldiers, with gray or red "robes", "horns", rusty armors and messy weapons. How had they ever seen such neat and tidy clothes?
The new army, which was marching in unison and full of energy, couldn't help but secretly cheer: No wonder the Australians are invincible. Where can such a first-class army be found in the world?
The drums were rumbling, and the queue marched along Chengxuan Street. There was a uniform sound of footsteps, and everything on the journey would be trampled to pieces.
The soldiers sang the "Grenadier March" and advanced again and again, one team after another, with more and more people. The crowd watching the march was silent, admiring the majesty, endlessness and excellence of this team.
I couldn't help but be speechless.
What surprised the crowd the most was the motorcade - it was rare for the people of Guangzhou to see horses, let alone so many horses in the queue.
A six-horse artillery cart with a front carriage, a two-wheeled cooking cart pulled by four horses, two-wheeled and four-wheeled baggage carts, two-wheeled/four-wheeled light carriages for officers... The wheels rolled forward on the stone road.
, the sound is like thunder.
The huge convoy was mostly for show. They passed through the city and soon unloaded the equipment at the newly built dock of the Joint Logistics Department on the riverside and loaded it onto the ship. On the march route, the ship was the most important means of transportation.
tool.
The marching queue of the South China Army walked for hour after hour, throughout the morning. It was not until nearly 11 o'clock that the last baggage train left Chengxuan Street under the escort of the rear guard. As the whistle sounded, order was maintained on the street.
The "detective team" withdrew their posts, and the people dispersed in droves.
Boss Wang, the plague cow and his team have been standing for half a day. They have already digested the raw porridge with barbecued pork buns. At this moment, their stomachs are empty, so they go into the tea house to continue "drinking tea" without doing anything.
"I've heard for a long time that Australians have strong soldiers and horses. It's better to meet them than to be famous! Boss Xiao Li asked Dr. Tea to make a new pot of Pu'er and praised him.
The plague cow said: "This is nothing, the Australians haven't taken out all their belongings yet. Just say that those steamers and gunboats that can't get ashore are scary to death when they come out - as big as a mountain! The ship-to-mast ratio is the highest
The tree is still tall!”
"It has long been known that the Australians have strong ships and powerful artillery, but I didn't expect that their land division is also so strong. They are really top-notch soldiers!" Boss Li sighed, "With this spirit, the officers and soldiers and the Tatars
He is no match!"
"If the officers and soldiers were opponents, how could the entire army be wiped out in Chengmai back then..." Fatty Shu said, "The Australians didn't have many troops at that time."
"I think our Guangdong will become the territory of the Song Dynasty."
…
Everyone talked for another half an hour, and finally dispersed. The fat man walked for a few blocks, waving a white paper fan, and entered a small store with the sign "North and South Groceries." The waiter greeted him enthusiastically. "The boss is back." Here we come.”
"Hmm." The fat man sat on the counter and lit up a cigarette. "Will today's things come?" (Have today's things come yet?)
"It's the sigh of the old place" (In the old place)
The fat man opened the fourth drawer under the counter and took out a letter without a signature or signature. After opening the letter, he counted it, nodded with satisfaction, and then put the five coupons in the letter into his arms.
After the illegal demolition and "military parade" on Chengxuan Street were over, Liu Xiang suddenly felt that the work in his hands was much easier. There were countless name stickers piled on his desk, all of which were requested by the city's wealthy gentry, some of whom felt that they were not qualified to ask for permission. They also gave generous gifts and sent a complete copy of the post to show their solemnity.
The gifts sent from the corridor of the central courtyard of the former Guangzhou government office ranged from pieces of silk and satin, white rice noodles, to snacks and fruit buns, various calligraphy and painting toys, jewelry and jade... and bags of silver. There are people from the Planning Institute taking care of them, and they are piled all over the corridor, just like a department store about to be launched. Liu Xiang asked people from the Planning Institute to register and put them in the warehouse. Some items were allocated to Guangzhou. The city government uses it - he really needs these things now.
However, the key is who to meet and who not to meet. Liu Xiang is so busy now that he wishes he had the magic of cloning, so naturally he won't meet him right away. He asked Zhang Yunmi to sort out the messages sent to him and organize them according to "see you soon" and "see you soon". The four categories of "visible" and "not visible" are separated. As for the basis, it is the "customer book" handed over by Guangzhou Station. This lists in detail the specific situation, closeness and distance of the wealthy gentry households who interact with Ziji Enterprises on weekdays. The depth of cooperation and the size of the contribution to the Guangzhou Station. Also used as reference materials are the background information of some large gentry households in Guangzhou provided by Lin Baiguang.
"Xiao Zhang, please organize and classify the posts according to these information. There will be a dedicated person to write the replies, so you don't have to worry about it. If there is anything you don't understand, ask Sister Zheng A..."
"Okay..." Zhang Yunmi said it was okay. In fact, when she looked at the pile of red full-text posts and accompanying gift lists on the table, she took a breath of air-conditioning. How many of them are there? Moreover, she was very good at reading traditional Chinese characters and classical Chinese in Fangcaodi. She was confused, especially the traditional Chinese characters from the 17th century.
Liu Xiang could have left this matter to Lu Yizhong, but he suspected that Lu Yizhong would have personal purposes when classifying, so he did not dare to completely trust him at this critical node, and it was safer to leave it to his own people.
After Liu Xiang took care of Xiao Zhang's new tasks, he turned around and started caring about the household registration census.
Household registration checking is more difficult than imagined. Not only did the Ming Dynasty not have house numbers, but it also did not have a complete street naming system. The main streets and alleys were okay. Many of the back streets and alleys had no names. Although there were paijia and paijia who were familiar with the local situation. The government officials led the way, but still encountered many difficulties in household registration. Liu Xiang had to also serve as the "Geographical Name Committee" himself. (~^~)