This is a four-story small Western-style building with high walls and a garden. It can be considered a luxury house in the 21st century.
The previous owner of the mansion was Lu Zhonglin, a general of the Northwest Army, Feng Yuxiang's right-hand man. It was he who drove the last emperor Puyi away from the palace. It was also his soldiers who shot at the students in the "March 18" massacre a while ago.
.
After Lu Zhonglin was defeated, this house was occupied by Chu Yupu.
At this moment, Chu Yupu was meeting the surrenderers in the living room.
I saw a gangster wearing a torn jacket, who was led in by Chu Yupu's adjutant and told him: "This is the commander-in-chief!"
"Plop!"
The gangster's knees became weak and he knelt down, kowtowed and shouted: "King Youtian of the grassroots people pays homage to the commander-in-chief, long live the commander-in-chief!"
"Hahahaha!" Chu Yupu was amused and said happily, "I'm not the emperor, so where does the long live birth come from?"
The gangster king Youtian was also smart and immediately replied: "The commander-in-chief led his troops to attack the capital, which means he has occupied the Dragon Court. In ancient times, he should have ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor."
"It's interesting," Chu Yupu nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Your accent sounds like you are from Wenshang. Where are you from Wenshang?"
Wang Youtian said: "The grassroots' hometown is Zaoxing Village, Wenshang."
Chu Yupu put down her legs and said to the adjutant with a smile: "Oh, this kid is actually a relative of my mother's family."
"I dare not marry the commander-in-chief." Wang Youtian kowtowed quickly.
Chu Yupu asked: "Have you read the book?"
Wang Youtian replied: "I dare not bully the commander-in-chief. The common people have not read books, but they know a few big characters."
Chu Yupu asked again: "Are you willing to serve as a soldier and fight?"
Wang Youtian said: "The grassroots family has an old mother. If she dies in the war, she will probably have no one to support her."
"Well, he is still a filial son," Chu Yupu nodded and said, "Are you familiar with Tianjin City?"
Wang Youtian said: "The common people have lived in Tianjin for five years and will never go astray even with their eyes closed."
Chu Yupu said with satisfaction: "Very good, the Tianjin police station is still short of people, you can go and become the deputy director."
Wang Youtian knocked his head loudly and shouted: "Thank you, Marshal, for cultivating me! The common people must do their best. They are born as the Marshal's people and die as the Marshal's ghost!"
Chu Yupu waved his hand, and the adjutant took Wang Youtian down, and the new deputy director of the Tianjin Police Department was born.
Chu Yupu was a man who missed his hometown very much. The generals in his army were basically from the same hometown. Since the occupation of Tianjin, literati, gentry and unemployed vagrants from Wenshang County have been coming to seek refuge in these days. He was not satisfied with this visitor.
Despite the refusal, Chu Yupu even appointed several officials with the surname Wang as county magistrates in the Zhili area.
In Chu Yupu's view, only fellow villagers are his own, and the rest are totally unreliable.
There is a joke circulating in Tianjin today: If you can speak Wenshang dialect, you can use a foreign sword!
After sending away the gangster just now, Chu Yupu said to the adjutant: "Go and call Yuan Zhenqing."
Yuan Zhenqing, commander of the 25th Division of the Zhili Allied Forces, came to see him soon. Chu Yupu asked: "How is the military expenditure going?"
Yuan Zhenqing reported back: "Thirty thousand yuan has been raised."
"Only 30,000? It's not enough." Chu Yupu patted the armrest of the chair and said righteously, "We came to Tianjin to fight to save the country and the people, and we should be Qiu Wuwu's righteous soldiers. We can't push the people too hard, after all, they can't live in peace.
Easy. Let's do this. The head tax is 3 yuan per person, the shop tax is tripled, and next year's tax is also collected. Now that the country is facing a national crisis, everyone should contribute to the country, and the people must be willing.
"
"Commander is kind, my subordinates will take care of it now." Yuan Zhenqing took the order.
"By the way," Chu Yupu stopped him again, "that Xiaoqing in Tianbao class is very good. You can bring 2,000 oceans to ransom her. I want the matchmaker to marry her as my fifth concubine!"
Tianbao Troupe was originally just a theater troupe and Kun Troupe in Nan City, Tianjin, in which all the singers were women. Later, it gradually transformed into a brothel, and it was the highest-grade brothel. Its customers were celebrities, wealthy businessmen, high officials and warlords.
Chu Yupu is now going to marry the fifth concubine, and she is getting married to a matchmaker. The purpose is nothing more than to make money by entertaining guests. Anyone who dares not to give a big red envelope to the newlyweds is seeking death.
After Yuan Zhenqing took the order and left, Chu Yupu was so bored that he didn't bring any of his concubines with the army, and there was no one to relieve his boredom in Tianjin. He immediately called his staff and asked: "What happened in Tianjin recently?"
Is there something strange?"
The staff thought for a while and said: "Yesterday, Mei Lanfang was invited to Tianjin to sing "Taizhen Gaiden". The crowd of spectators was so large that the door of the Xinming Grand Theater was crowded."
"What's so strange about an opera singer?" Chu Yupu was obviously not interested in Peking Opera.
The staff member said: "This Mei Lanfang is extraordinary. He is a master of Peking Opera. The year before last, he had hosted the great Indian scholar Rabindranath Tagore, and this year he has hosted the prince and princess of Sweden."
Chu Yupu nodded and said: "That's quite impressive. I'm going to marry my concubine in a few days. You go and invite Mei Lanfang to me to make it fun."
The staff member said: "Mei Lanfang lives in Peiping. It may take some time to invite him."
Chu Yupu asked again: "Is there anything else new?"
After much searching, the staff said: "A martial arts novel has recently become popular in Tianjin. The newspapers that published the novel have been sold for as high as 50 cents."
"Go and get the novel for me to read." Chu Yupu said.
The staff was very capable and found all the published content of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in less than half an hour. Chu Yupu was too lazy to read it by himself, so he lay on the sofa and said, "Read it!"
The staff did not dare to neglect, let alone sit down, so they had to stand in the living room and read the novel from the newspaper.
Chu Yupu was quickly attracted by the plot of the novel. Even during lunch, he asked his staff to stand aside and continue reading. The poor staff was so hungry that he didn't finish reading the novel until mid-afternoon.
"Keep reading, why did you stop?" Chu Yupu was listening with interest.
The staff member said: "Commander, this novel will only be serialized here. The new chapter will not be released until tomorrow afternoon."
"Why is it so troublesome," Chu Yupu said impatiently, "Why don't you take a few people to the newspaper office and tell that... what is the author's name?"
The staff member quickly said: "The author's name is Jin Yong."
"Yes, bring someone to invite that Jin Yong, and let him live in my house and write!" Marshal Chu has become a die-hard fan of Zhou Hexuan, and his way of pursuing updates is rough and direct.
The staff did not dare to disobey the order, so they first went to the newspaper office with their men, forced them to ask Zhou Hexuan's address at gunpoint, and then immediately killed him in a military vehicle.
"Boom!"
The door of the courtyard was kicked open, and seven or eight soldiers rushed into the courtyard. The staff shouted: "Where is Jin Yong? The commander-in-chief has invited me!"
