Chapter 102: Virtue is the common people
Chapter 102: Virtue is the common people
When we came out of Xiaoxiang Cliff, it was already deep at night, the crescent moon had not yet risen, and the sky was full of stars.
Shao Quanzhong was in a very good mood, "Let's not take the car, let's walk back."
In the dead of night, the clicking sound of military boots stepping on the granite road echoes in the alleys of the water town in central Jiangsu.
Shao Quanzhong was dressed in military uniform and a dark brown coat. Wenxiu was tall and had her hair tied up in a bun. She held the arm of her military husband, and the two walked side by side.
The sedan followed far behind, and the burly Zhang Siwen and twenty guards on duty disappeared into the darkness.
Shao Quanzhong took a deep breath of the air filled with the fragrance of peaches and plums and shook his head, "This smell is not good, not good."
"The willow breeze blows on my face without making me feel cold. Spring nights are the most beautiful. Why is it not good?"
"Once you buy the steam-powered spindle, we'll open a coal mine and use the steam spindle to drive the lathe. By then, the smell of coal smoke will be everywhere. That's the smell I like."
"Hehe, you like the smell of coal smoke? I heard from sister Hui'er that London is full of coal smoke and is called the Fog City. Many local people suffer from coughing. It's really annoying."
"But they are advanced, their warships have come to our Yangtze River, and I still have to flatter them, borrow money from them, and bear the anger of my adoptive father, and let him take the blame for me. Isn't it better to be friendly?"
"So it's the machines you like, not the weather."
"That's right. Only with machines can we make our own quick-firing guns, cannons and warships, and no longer have to pay a huge price to be ripped off by others. The machines produce boxes of shells and yellow bullets..."
"I see your pistol bullets are wrapped in paper, aren't they?"
"Don't worry about the details. If one day, China is filled with the choking smell of coal smoke, and we can produce everything ourselves, and we can make things that others can't produce, and sell them abroad, and if you don't buy them, I'll fire cannons at you, how great it would be."
“This is the first time I’ve heard someone have such an ideal.”
"That means that we Chinese will no longer be bullied, no longer have to be inferior to foreigners, and the common people will be able to have enough food to eat..."
"Master Qiao is also working hard to ensure that the people of Jiangning Prefecture have enough food to eat. It turns out that you have the same ideals."
"Of course, so my adoptive father is a good official, and the people hope that he will continue to be in office. If there is anyone who can make sure that the people of the country have enough food to eat, the people will push him to be the emperor without hesitation."
Wenxiu lowered her voice, "Do you really want to be the emperor?"
"Who wouldn't want to? But my ideal is to 'benevolent to all people'. I want to write these four words on the gate of the Forbidden City. If the people like me, I will naturally be rich and prosperous."
"So you are such a vulgar person who only thinks about fame and wealth all day long. Look at how noble those celebrities are tonight. A good peach blossom banquet has been ruined by a vulgar warrior like you."
Shao Quanzhong curled his lips, "Tsk, what noble, they are just some flatterers. If you appease your adoptive father, he might feed him and recommend the one who flatters the best to be a county magistrate or something."
"Lord Qiao obviously values talent and selects people for the country, but you are telling me to speak so badly."
"Am I wrong? Poetry is just a hobby. My godfather works during the day and works hard for the people. He only plays after get off work. What's the difference between those people who show off with poetry and hope to be favored by my godfather and prostitutes who put on rouge and powder to welcome customers?"
"Huh? You actually have the same idea as my father. When I was a kid, I liked to learn to sing Hui opera, but my father didn't let me learn it. He taught me to read and count, saying that this is the right career to benefit the country and the people, and I shouldn't learn to sing and dance to entertain people."
"My father-in-law is a serious person. Le Xiucai was on the wrong path, but he became a person of action after following me, and he also pulled Jiang Chunlin back from the wrong path. I am not saying that singing Hui opera and writing poetry are not good, but there are too many people who can do that, and too few people who can do practical things."
"If your words were to get out, I wonder how many scholars would scold you."
"A man is still afraid of being scolded? I have a sword in my hand, I will chop anyone who scolds me. I look down on Li Bai and think Cao Cao is a real man. A man must have great achievements to be remembered in history, and can't just rely on romance, drinking and bragging all day long."
"So do you want to be a virtuous man or a Cao Cao in the future?"
"Who knows? Just try and see. As long as you have power, being a general in charge of the Western Expedition is not bad."
"From your tone, you seem to respect your foster father very much. You cheated on him today and made him so angry. How are we going to meet again in the future?"
"Hehe, my godfather is a smart man. We are actually in a partnership. I am responsible for killing people, and he is responsible for protecting me. After we have achieved great success, we share the spoils. This time he was unwilling to take the blame and protect me. In fact, he was the one who cheated first." "How did a good father-son relationship become a gangster sharing the spoils when you say it?"
"That's right. I guarantee that he will come to see us tomorrow as if nothing happened. If he doesn't have that kind of temperament, he can't be my godfather."
The two of them walked and talked, and before they knew it, they had returned to Shao's residence in Zhonglou Lane.
Two stone lion statues have been erected at the entrance of Shao's house, and to the right of the door is an ancient and tall ginkgo tree.
On the ginkgo tree, a gray-faced vulture flew from nowhere, unexpectedly becoming a guest of this ancient house, and was dozing off. The team of more than a dozen people returned in the night, but did not wake it up.
The night wind blew, the leaves swayed, and the earth was silent. This ferocious bird was still dormant in the darkness, still drowsy. It had to wait until dawn to spread its wings and fly high.
…………
The next day, a two-masted luxury barge set sail from Hailing and headed straight for Zhenjiang.
In the rear cabin, thirteen-year-old Deng Shichang sat calmly, next to him were his two younger brothers Lin Taizeng and Liu Buchan, who came to attend the schoolchildren's class together.
They all came from well-off families, had attended primary school at home, and some had even learned English. Their temperaments were completely different from the 17 other children of Jiangyan farmers who were traveling with them, and they were much more calm and composed.
Two old gentlemen with goatees were sitting opposite each other drinking tea at the stern of the cabin. They were both newly hired teachers of the Naval Academy in Hailing City.
One was a retired legal advisor who was good at writing official documents, and the other was an old accountant who was good at arithmetic. They were not qualified to ride on the official ship of the governor, but they were very excited and chatting.
They would become Chinese language and numerology teachers for the junior classes at the Naval Academy. Shao Quanzhong was mainly concerned with practical skills and did not want to train the students to become talented and eloquent people.
Liao Rong also knows literacy and math, but he cannot be the only one to do it, so Liao Rong is only responsible for teaching English and navigation.
On the bench outside the cabin, ten new army guards wearing long and short guns and ten personal soldiers wearing double-breasted uniforms and equipped with swords sat opposite each other with serious expressions.
On the bow deck, Qiao Songnian and his son Shao Quanzhong stood facing the wind, chatting and laughing.
This morning, Lord Qiao personally wrote the words "Haichang" and "Zhenjiang Naval Academy" as a gift to the Naval Academy during this inspection.
Some distance behind, Shao Hengzhong, with two reinforced companies of officers from the Heng Battalion and veterans of the training battalion, escorted the battalion officer Wu Ci to Shanghai. Wu Ci was carrying a loan guarantee with the seals of the governor and prefect.
On their return trip, they will escort back three million taels of silver.
…………
Twenty days later, at Xuzhou Wharf, the same canal boat was docked by the Grand Canal.
Governor Qiao and Magistrate Shao of Taizhou inspected Xuzhou, mainly to check the preparations for the establishment of the Liguoyi Coal and Iron Mining Company. A team led by a member of the Wen family had arrived here ten days in advance with a first-phase investment of 50,000 taels of silver.
In the early days, mining here still relied on traditional methods. A telegram urgently placing additional orders for new coal mining and iron smelting equipment had been sent across the ocean to the Putnam Machine Company in New York and handed over to Yung Wing. The payment would be remitted to the company's account at Standard Chartered Bank.
Shao Quanzhong helped Lord Qiao get off the boat, looking like a loving father and a filial son, and it seemed as if the incident at the Peach Blossom Banquet at Xiaoxiang Cliff where the two sides almost broke up had never happened.
A small single-masted speedboat came rushing over from behind and moored next to the Caofang. A member of the speeding team jumped off the boat and ran to Shao Quanzhong.
"Report to the Commander, this is an urgent letter from Director Le of the Intelligence Department."
Shao Quanzhong took it and opened it.
"Our Jiang Chunlin learned that Li Hongzhang, a Hunan Army aide, had a falling out with Zeng Guofan at the end of last year because Zeng Guofan did not listen to his advice and stationed troops in Qimen, a strategic location for death, and promoted Li Yuandu, an incompetent man who liked to speak for himself as a scholar. He left the camp in anger and has not returned since then.
Tian Xing presided over the discussion with the brothers at home and sent Wu Ziyi with a large gift to persuade him. If he can be recruited to the Huai Army, he will be a great help to the commander. I hereby report to the commander."
(End of this chapter)