sThanks to the classmates of Cabbage Stewed Mushrooms for the reward and support
"Platoon leader, that guy is very cunning. He discovered the brothers as soon as they passed by and let him escape in advance. What should we do now?"
"What can be done? This is a task assigned by His Royal Highness himself. If you mess up the matter, no one will be able to get over it."
The leading officer angrily said, "I can't even find someone to handle such a simple task. How do you ask me to work in the army in the future? You, you, you, you three, each take a squad of men and let me separate along the north
Street search, we must find the person before tonight, do you understand?”
"Yes, Platoon Commander
After escaping the search by soldiers sent by Li Mingyuan, the common man realized that he had been targeted by officers and soldiers. After leaving the crowd, he did not dare to stay near the Hall of Valor in Beicheng and turned around to walk towards the crowded market.
The market was bustling with people, and some small vendors without fixed shops carried heavy goods on their shoulders and hawked among the crowd.
The commoner man walked among the crowd, looking at an inn next to the street. His expression was a little hesitant, and he stopped in place. He stretched out his pocket with his right hand and took out a few pieces of silver. Then he touched his empty belly. The man finally moved away.
Walk towards the inn.
At noon, the inn was full of people. The common man walked to a table where there were only two people. He bowed his hands and said, "You two brothers are polite. I wonder if I can sit at the same table with you two."
"There are still two empty seats at the wine table. This brother can sit down."
The two Chinese people in front of the wine table had just had their hair cut, which was about half an inch long. They spoke with a Zhejiang dialect accent. The common man guessed that they might be businessmen bringing goods from other places.
"The two brothers are dressed luxuriously. They must be the bosses doing business here. I am lucky to be able to share the same table with you two today."
"Haha, brother, you're too polite. The two of us just caught up with the opportunity for the Chinese in South America to found their country and earned some hard-earned money to buy land and real estate. We don't deserve the praise of brothers."
The leading Chinese businessman was slightly older in appearance than the common man. The other party's words were reasonable and restrained, which gave him a good impression, so he said a few more words.
"I haven't asked my brother for his name yet."
"I am Honghe, from Jiujiang, Jiangxi." The commoner man paused for a moment and gave an ordinary name.
"It turns out they are brothers Hong." The Chinese businessman smiled politely and said, "My two brothers are originally from Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. They were naturalized in Rio Grande do Sul just one month ago. I am Zhou Chengye, and this is my brother-in-law Zhou Chengde."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. It's a fate to meet the two Zhou brothers. The brothers don't have much money with them. Today I decided to treat the two brothers to a light wine without permission. Please don't dislike it."
"It's our first time meeting, how can we let Brother Hong spend money? Besides, even if we treat guests, it should be my two brothers who treat Brother Hong."
The common man's generosity was beyond Zhou Chengye's expectation, and he refused again and again.
The common man didn't have much money, so he was thrifty when he was eating, but he was very generous when facing outsiders.
When he was searched by Li Mingyuan's soldiers outside the Hall of Heroes, the common man thought he had revealed his flaws while chatting with the middle-aged Chinese in the crowd. Therefore, after entering the inn, he specially selected two businessmen who seemed to have just entered the local area and prepared to insinuate them.
They know other aspects of Rio Grande do Sul's policies from their mouths.
The common man had his own plan in mind, and of course he would not let the Zhou brothers pay for the meal. After some evasion, the common man took out most of the money he had with him and solved the meal problem.
The food the three of them wanted was not much, and the money the common man took out was not much in the eyes of the wealthy Zhou brothers. However, the common man's generous demeanor won their favor.
After the common man paid for the meal, the three gradually became familiar with each other, and the conversation topic shifted from their respective experiences to a series of recent policies and laws in Rio Grande do Sul.
"Brother Hong, I would like to advise you to take advantage of Rio Grande do Sul's policy of preferential treatment of Chinese immigrants and move your family here as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it is too late, you may not have such a good opportunity."
"My brother is telling the truth. My brothers went to sea when they were fifteen or sixteen years old. In Southeast Asia, America, Cuba and the Qing Dynasty, there is no place that cares about us Chinese like Rio Grande do Sul. My brother and I have already discussed it.
A few days later, I wrote to my second uncle and fourth uncle who stayed in the Qing Dynasty, persuading them to immigrate to Rio Grande do Sul together.
Brother Hong is several years older than his brothers, and he must have many wives, children, and brothers at home, so why not make up his mind to bring them all to Rio Grande do Sul, which is better than being oppressed by officials in the Qing Dynasty."
"I appreciate the kindness of the two brothers. However, my brothers' families, wives, and children all left during the war a few years ago. Now I am alone and have nothing to worry about."
The common man smiled bitterly, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp.
"Alas, the times are difficult and the war is going on. It's not just me and the common people who are suffering. A few years ago, during the civil war in the Qing Dynasty, my uncle and his family were all killed by the Qing army. After the war stopped, what can we and the common people do for us?
The deceased uncle’s family seeks justice
Regardless of the Taiping Army or the officers and soldiers, once the soldiers arrive, the people at the bottom are not at their mercy."
Zhou Chengye felt the same way.
"Five years ago, my brother and I went back to our hometown of Ningbo. We heard from the folks in my hometown that when the troops of Mr. Li and Mr. Zeng occupied Su, Chang, Song, Jiangning and other places in Jiangnan, all the wealth of the wealthy businessmen and landlords in the city were robbed.
There were also tens of thousands of wealthy businessmen and ladies from landlord families who were brutally humiliated by the officers and soldiers. Alas, after the robbery by the officers and soldiers, the prosperous Jiangnan became a ruined place. Families who were originally well off became destitute and had to go overseas to make a living."
"I would rather be a Taiping dog than a person in troubled times. It's a pity that the Taiping army did not overthrow the rule of the Manchu Qing court, otherwise we would not have to go into exile overseas and would not be able to return to our hometown."
The words of the Zhou brothers aroused the emotions hidden deep in the common man's heart, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"I forgive you for disagreeing with what Brother Hong said. Don't say that the Taiping Army did not occupy the whole of China. When Hong Tianwang ascended to Nanjing, the Taiping Army had millions of troops, and their horses conquered the world. They were beginning to unify the Central Plains. However, after the capital was established in the Kingdom of Heaven,
King Hong Tian was unwilling to make progress, and wanted to collect beautiful women for one man's pleasure. Later, he also planned to kill Yang Xiuqing, the leader of the Kingdom of Heaven, and tens of thousands of elites under the East King's command. The decline of the Kingdom of Heaven was caused by King Hong Tian's insistence on going his own way. If it had been King Hong Tian,
With the Crown Prince leading the Kingdom of Heaven, there might be a chance to unify the Central Plains. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was only a few years old at the time and could not hold the power to turn the tide.
Current events create heroes, if His Royal Highness the Prince of Shiwang had been born twenty years earlier, the beautiful country of the Central Plains would not have been occupied by the Tatars, and the Han family could have recovered as soon as possible."
"King Hong Tian is so high up. It is difficult for ordinary generals to get in touch with the King of Heaven. How can you know about the King of Heaven?"
The common man did not deny Hong Xiuquan's mistake, but was surprised that an ordinary businessman could learn such a confidential matter.
"Haha, Brother Hong should know that His Royal Highness, the Fourth Prince of Rio Grande do Sul, has been with the Prince since he was a child, so he will naturally know about King Hong. What's more, there are many Nanjing City Robbers in the National Defense Forces.
Later, the soldiers who escaped had some contact with the people around the King of Heaven, and they were not completely ignorant of what the King of Heaven was doing in Nanjing."
"Although King Hong Tian made a small mistake, it is not as bad as what Brother Zhou said. Others must be spreading rumors and deliberately slandering King Hong's reputation. I hope Brother Zhou will not be fooled by the rumors."
"Brother Hong, don't get excited. I'm just discussing the matter. I have no intention of slandering King Hong Tian. Moreover, the information I got is not rumors, but information I personally heard from an officer of the National Defense Force.
The National Defense Force is a force led by His Royal Highness the Prince. His Royal Highness should not let his officers and soldiers tell lies and slander King Hong Tian at will. If Brother Hong still doesn't believe it, he can personally inquire about the National Defense Force. The National Defense Force's attitude towards ordinary Chinese brothers
That’s good, I believe they won’t refuse Brother Hong’s request, and then Brother Hong will be able to judge whether what I said today is a lie.”
After listening to Zhou Chengye's explanation, the common man suddenly fell silent. From an objective point of view, although Zhou Chengye's evaluation of Hong Xiuquan was a bit biased, he did not frame him. He killed a good general by mistake, was arrogant, fatuous and lustful. He had several personal contacts with Hong Xiuquan.
In ten years, the common man understood Hong Xiuquan's character better than anyone else. The reason why he refuted the Zhou brothers' words just now was just a subjective mood swing. After he really calmed down, even if he was tangled in his heart, he had to admit that what the other party said was basically consistent.
