Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 556

On the eleventh day of the seventh lunar month in the 55th year of Qianlong, Beijing City.

Although it has passed the beginning of autumn, the sun has not long risen in the early morning and it becomes vicious. The ground seems to be on fire, and the floating soil on the street is like fried noodles just out of the pan. The white smoke was scorching hot, scalding people's hearts with dryness and panic.There is an old saying in the north that "when autumn falls, the old cow will die of heat", which refers to this time.

Don't look at the heat on the street, but at this time, at the corner of the alley to the north of Qingfeng Lane on the west side of Qianmenwai Street, a teahouse called "Donghongtai" is already full of guests.If you walk to the door, you can faintly hear the babbling of silk bamboo and singing, even in hot weather, it will make pedestrians stop for a while.

Manchurians in Beijing were not allowed to enter theaters these days, but teahouses were left unattended, so the theaters on Qianmen Street either changed to urban teahouses, or troupes went to teahouses to perform.

It is said that the prosperity of business in other places is about "favorable location and harmonious people", and "Donghongtai" has a "favorable location"!Nothing else, it is close to Dashilan, and it is within walking distance from the "Daxiachu" (commonly known as the troupe's general residence) of each Hui troupe.In this way, those bannermen, Han people, costumers, handlebars, cart boys, grooms, etc. who love to listen to operas will all come; A regular customer of Donghongtai.

Since Qianlong’s [-]th birthday last year, the four major Hui troupes headed by Sixi, Sanqing, Hechun, and Chuntai have entered Beijing one after another. Fascinated.

The four Huibannas are good at each performance, and Sixi's operas are good at expressing the romance of the ancients, singing and dancing; Sanqing is good at Zhuangzi opera, and they perform for several days in a row; ", "Water Margin"; as for Chuntai, it is the young people of all ages, the first born of strange flowers, some who like to listen to operas, and those who like the wind of broken sleeves are even more supportive.

The teahouse is big or small, facing the street is a three-bay paved room, passing through the pastry shop and the hearth, and inside is a small courtyard with five bays on the front and three bays on both sides; There are two tables and a few spring stools on both sides of the door.

But the most eye-catching thing was that on a small table in the middle of the courtyard, two handsome children were singing along, and the tea drinkers, regardless of their rank, were all attentive.

"Oh, so you live in this world only for me? Mr. Hou~~~"

At this time, the huqin and yueqin on the side played, and the man pretending to be Li Xiangjun flung his sleeves, with a sad face, and whispered his throat, using the accent of Erhuang Yuanban.Although the voice is still a little immature, the emotions in the libretto are well grasped, as soon as you hear it, you have worked hard.

"You are respected from a famous family, but you seem to be outstanding and ambitious. You say you want to eradicate traitors for the country. You say you want to save the people by going through fire and water. You say you want to sacrifice your life to protect your integrity. If you are strict, you can clearly distinguish between love and hate. Unexpectedly, you are not only disheartened when your country is ruined and your family is destroyed. On the contrary, you bow your head and endure humiliation to seek fame. You can’t rise up and raise teachers to save the country from peril. Could it be said that you are unwilling to hide your name? You forget The bones of the Ministry of History are not cold, you have forgotten that thousands of ordinary people have lost their lives."

"Good~~!!!"

"Stop! Don't sing!"

As soon as this remark came out, the performance on the stage stopped immediately.The tea guests took a look and saw that it was actually two servants from Shuntian Mansion and several soldiers with knives and guns.This made the two children pretending to be Li Xiangjun and Hou Chaozong startled and trembling.

At this time, the shopkeeper of the teahouse quickly walked around from behind the counter, and asked with a smile, "Master Liu, what's the matter?"

"What kind of play are you singing?"

When the shopkeeper heard this, he quickly waved to the owner of the theater troupe, who was over 50 years old, trotted over and bowed, "Returning to the official, the children are singing "Peach Blossom Fan" for fun."

"Singing and playing?" The leading yamen servant raised his hand and slapped him, and the troupe owner who slapped him suddenly staggered. "Didn't you see the notice from Shuntian Mansion? From now on, all troupes are not allowed to sing "Peach Blossom Fan"! Follow me to the yamen!"

After all, the officer flicked the iron chain in his hand and put it on the troupe owner's neck with a "crash".The owner of the teahouse doesn't know how to lock it, not to mention that he has a backer behind him, the key is that he can still get two strings of hard-earned money from the shopkeeper every month.

"Ah?" The troupe owner was dumbfounded. He just went around the Qianmen archway early in the morning, but he didn't see any new notices.

He was about to distinguish when he heard a person behind him say coldly: "You bastard bastard! What are you doing?"

Everyone heard the sound and looked, and saw a man in his 30s coming out of a private room in a box house, wearing a moon-white silk robe and a Baturu vest, with a purse and a jade pendant pinned to his waist. The key is that the belt around the waist is red.

The head of the yamen patrolled this generation every day, and many prominent figures had to be remembered so as not to offend.When he saw the man, he hastily stepped forward to give Qian'er a kiss, and flattered him, saying: "Isn't this Mr. Shou, I wish you well."

"I said Liu Si, you kid is itchy, aren't you? You are here to show off your prestige. If you have the ability, join the army and fight with the North Sea pirates!"

"Master Shou, the villain is really not against you and everyone. Our Master Wu issued a notice early in the morning, ordering all troupes not to sing "Peach Blossom Fan" in the future, and the younger ones are also obeying orders."

"Fart! I saw him in Houhai the day before yesterday, why didn't I hear about it?"

When Liu Si heard this, he hurriedly got up and approached the banner man, and whispered into his ear: "Master Shou, it's the emperor's order to hurry up six hundred miles, and I just arrived last night."

When the banner man heard that the emperor was involved, he immediately lost his temper.He was just a red belt, he annoyed Qianlong, and he could be slapped to death like a bug in minutes.

Master Jueluo with the red belt didn't speak, and the other tea drinkers didn't say anything either.The troupe owner was escorted away, and the two singing children and the luthier also followed with mournful faces.After the figure of the official servant disappeared, the group of tea guests began to whisper to each other.

"What is this called? The good "Peach Blossom Fan" is not allowed to be sung?"

"Speaking of which, the owner of the theatrical troupe is unlucky. Guess what, when I came from the archway just now, I saw a notice and surrounded by many people."

"Hey~~ I said you, why didn't you tell the shopkeeper when you saw it? Aren't you cheating others?"

"Don't worry, I came here in a hurry to listen to the play. Didn't I watch it carefully? I would have known it if I knew it. Oh! It's all caused by the North Sea pirates! It's a good life, but what is the right thing to do with the court! Lafayette Qianlong is that Who, the True Dragon Emperor!"

"But I heard that the leader of Beihai Town is also a descendant of the former Tianzi, and he said"

As soon as this person spoke, the expressions of the other people at the same table changed immediately, they hurriedly covered each other's mouth, and said in a low voice: "You don't want to die, you dare to say this!"

Several people were silent for a while, and the other person might feel too depressed, and said softly: "I heard that the emperor has transferred 20 troops this time, and Ah Zhongtang was also awarded the Bachelor of Economics."

The man whose mouth was covered just now said: "I don't understand why the North Sea pirates are being suppressed every year, so why are they getting bigger and bigger? Even Cullen can't keep it now~~"

"Shh~~ don't talk about state affairs, drink tea and drink tea."

"Why don't you drink tea after listening to the show? Go home! Go to Guanghe Building to listen to "The Drunken Concubine" at night."

"Come on, see you soon!"

Near noon, two car mule carts coming from the direction of Chongwenmen turned along the stone road outside the moat and turned onto Qianmen Street. An inn called "Xiangyu Old Store" stopped at the entrance.

The shop faces south from the north, leaving an empty space in front of the door. A watermelon lantern is hung in front of the wooden gatehouse, with four big characters written on it, a hundred years of prosperity.

After the mule cart came to a complete stop, after the coachman put down the footstool, two men got out of the leading carriage.

The first to get off was a young man in his early twenties, wearing a bamboo cloth gown, holding a bamboo fan in his hand, and a cloth bag on his shoulder. When he got out of the car, there was a sound of abacus beads in the bag.Get out of the car behind him is a guy who looks like a rich businessman. He looks like he is about 40 years old. He is not tall, but he is quite strong. He is wearing a moon white poplin robe and a pair of brand new Melaleuca on his feet. Cloth soles, there is actually a green wrench on the thumb.

As for the ones getting off from the mule cart at the back, there were two strong men, both wearing bunts, with a cloth belt tied around their waists, and even the trousers were tied up, revealing their snow-white socks, looking very lean and neat.

Because the weather was too hot, these people didn't wear hats, especially the rich businessman, who kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with the handkerchief in his hand.Looking up at the front of the store, he grinned and said, "Good guy, it's even hotter than the south! If I knew it, I'd stay in Tongzhou for two days before coming back!"

The young man said with a Yangzhou accent: "I heard that summer in the north is like this, and it will still fall after autumn. I guess it will be cooler when the sun sets. Master, please slow down."

A group of people entered the gate of the inn, and suddenly felt that the eyes were dark, it was not as hot as outside, and there was still a tinge of coolness.Taking a closer look, I saw that the entire front yard was covered with reed mats, surrounded by fir poles and bamboo poles to support it, and water was splashed on the green brick floor, which was clean.

"Huh? That's a good move!" The wealthy businessman stopped and looked around, amazed.

"Judging from the master's accent, he must be from the south. This is the first time I've come back to the capital? Our Beijing city has been building awnings to shade the sun since the beginning of summer, and it will be withdrawn on August [-]th. Don't say it." Here we are, and sheds have been set up in front of all the shops on the street, and when the sun sets in the afternoon, we will guarantee that you won’t be exposed to the sun at all.”

The wealthy businessman nodded after hearing this, thinking that he had indeed seen sheds set up in front of many shops on the road.

While the buddy was chattering, he led the four of them into the inner courtyard and went to the upper room.He has seen a lot of guests coming and going from south to north, and he knows where to lead him just by looking at his clothes.When they arrived at the small courtyard where Shangfang was located, the group found that a ceiling was also set up here.After that, I opened the door, fetched water for washing my face, boiled water to scald my feet, and made tea.

After the guy went out with the used water, a man in a short jacket went to the gate of the yard without saying a word.The young man who changed into a green cloth gown whispered to the wealthy businessman who was soaking his feet: "Brother Xu, when are you going to find Ruan Boyuan?"

"Don't worry, get in touch with our people first. We're not familiar with the area around Qianmen, so I'll go to his house to deliver the post in two days."

The wealthy businessman who spoke was Xu Dayong, the "panacea" of the North Navy Intelligence Bureau, and the young man was Shen Guisheng who had been with Zhao Xin before.Guisheng is a steady and quick-witted kid who used to run around on the streets of Yangzhou, so last year Zhao Xin asked him to come out of the combat unit and go to the intelligence bureau. After training, he joined Xu Dayong's group.

Since Xu Dayong returned to Beihai Town from northern Jiangsu, he first cooperated with the public security police in the "immigration screening" for more than half a year, and later worked as a prisoner instigator for a period of time.Originally, he was planning to get engaged to the tea girl Mid-Autumn Festival, but he was sent out by Zhao Xin again, and he didn't know when he would be able to go back.

Their external identities are merchants from Shanghai; in fact, they took a Caobang sandship from Jeju Island to sell tea to the North Navy, then landed in Shanghai County, and then took a Caobang grain ship northward to Luhe Post, tossing back and forth for more than a month.As for the tokens of Lu Yin and others going out, they were issued by Mr. Qian and Liang from the Shanghai County Government by Lao Huang.

Since four years ago, Lao Huang has been completely on the "thief ship" of Beihai Town.Almost half of Huang's "Huang Shengtai" grocery stores in more than a dozen prefectural and county towns in the south of the Yangtze River have become the stations of the Beihai Navy Intelligence Bureau; the main task at present is to collect public information on prices, people's livelihood, and government officials.

This time Xu Da came to Beijing for three purposes: the first was to meet Ruan Yuan, the editor of the Imperial Academy, and the other party pointed out that Beihai Town had to send someone who could represent Zhao Xin before we could continue the discussion; The eunuch in the famous palace; the third is to have a secret meeting with Liu Quan, the steward of the Hefu.

Right now the Northern Navy is dispatching troops to Khalkha Mongolia, and the court is anxious like ants on a hot pot.In the face of Beihai Town's "seeing from the poor", individual caring people have begun to quietly find a way out for themselves.There are many people who want to get in touch with Beihai Town, but the problem is that not everyone deserves Beihai Town's attention.

In the afternoon, the sun was setting and dusk was approaching. After waking up, Xu Dayong thought about going out for dinner.The four of them changed their clothes, walked out of the inn, and came to Qianmen Street.At this time, as the shop assistant said, there were more pedestrians on the street, from the Yushi Bridge at the foot of the Qianmen Archery Tower to Zhushikou, the flow of people was like weaving.

At this time, in addition to the clerks from various shops greeting customers at the door, sellers carrying loads were also selling all kinds of fruits and food, and the sound of singing and selling was repeated.

"A big boy is making a piece of watermelon~~ The piece is big and fleshy and tall, the misidentified bee is going to build a nest, and it is better than the small cool boat in Tongzhou~~"

"Ice iced Ling, snowflake butter, the main road in the city and outside the gate~~"

"There is Zhang Xiaoquan in the south, and Wang Mazi in the north. My kitchen knife cuts iron like mud, and it can cut and shoot. You can use it for 100 years!"

"Here comes the sour plum soup. It has another flavor~~ It quenches thirst and cools it down. It also adds roses and sugar. If you don't believe me, just make a bowl and try it~~"

"Spicy mutton buns~~ Braised tofu nao, let's make a bowl~~"

"The leaves are delicate, yay yo, listen to me yelling, yelling, this sour jujube cake! The yelling is good, it's not a coincidence, listen to me from the beginning. It's not easy to go this way, the mountain, the ancient cave, the deep stream, the ditches, and the tiger dozing off When a wolf sleeps, it has to be shaken a couple of times when it climbs up a tree."

"Hot~~Tangmian Dumplings are here~~Tangmian Dumplings are hot~~"

"Water rice, more beans~~ Mung bean rice in Zimu original soup~~"

Among the group of four, except for Xu Dayong who has been to many places, Guisheng and the other two have never seen this before, they are all dazzled, and after hearing the yelling like Xiaoqu'er, they want to buy everyone, Everyone wants to taste it.

Except, of course, the kitchen knife.

　Except for kitchen knives, all of the above are hawkers in the capital of the Qing Dynasty.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)