Restarting life in Siheyuan

Chapter 457 Accident
When the reinforcements from Mogok were unexpectedly ambushed while marching and suffered heavy casualties, they stopped and began to hold their ground waiting for reinforcements. The vanguard troops, which had been in chaos due to the loss of grassroots officers and the highest commander, were completely thrown into chaos. Without artillery support, even the reinforcements were stopped on the road. The urgently promoted front-line commander was unable to suppress the situation and could only agree to the troops to retreat and meet up with the reinforcements as soon as possible.

As expected, they were pursued by people from Jiesha City, and an armed force that appeared out of nowhere cut off the retreat of the vanguard. When the first few trucks of the retreating convoy were blown up in the valley, blocking everyone's way of survival.

Faced with pursuers from behind and ambushes on the hills on both sides, the team collapsed as expected. Of the more than 3,000 people in the team, nearly 2,000 were captured and only a few hundred escaped.

"This battle is almost certain to be won. If things go wrong, the enemies behind us won't be able to come to Jiesha. Do you two really want to stay?"

Zhu Xuefeng was ready to leave, but Lina and Xia Yuhong wanted to stay and complete their plans.

"Well, we want to stay for another month to help look after the elementary school and night school. We also want to look after the farm. There are a lot of chickens, pigs, and cows on the farm now. I heard there are some problems and they are always sick. We want to learn more about it and go back to ask if there is any solution."

In order to solve the problem of arable land, the ever-expanding farm was looking for oxen everywhere and built a cattle farm. But for some reason, the oxen that were normally free-range became sick frequently when they were kept in a centralized facility. The same was true for chicken farms and pig farms. Unexpected patients appeared from time to time. As soon as one patient was cured, another would quietly arrive. The local people and the farms were at a loss as to what to do.

"Actually, my dad has a friend in the Agricultural College. We thought we could collect these medical records and information and ask about it. There should be a way to solve it."

Lin Na put forward her suggestions, and Xia Yuhong expressed her firm agreement, saying that if these problems were not resolved, the farm would not be able to operate at all.

"The temperature here is relatively high, and they have no experience and can't find a solution. Some people don't even realize that it is caused by the changes brought about by centralized breeding. I think Sister Lin's method is good, and we should also pay attention to it here."

Zhu Xuefeng praised the two for their meticulous work. This kind of thing would be impossible to understand without going deep into the grassroots. It was really difficult for them to go into the breeding farm in such hot weather. He himself had not even visited it.

"How are you handling the farmland issue? Are there any obstacles?"

"It's OK. We only visited two towns. There were fewer self-employed farmers here before, and agricultural production tools were scarce, especially oxen. This time, everyone was in favor of small groups working together and sharing production tools. They all thought that this would effectively increase the utilization rate of tools. Of course, there are still some people who are willing to rent oxen and tractors from farms as a family unit."

"Then let's do it. As long as it can improve production efficiency and ensure that the farmland can be cultivated and harvested on time, they can use whatever method they want. Since the farmland is leased to them, let them make the decision themselves. We should interfere as little as possible. But there is one thing. The land is leased to the autonomous region. This point cannot be ambiguous. The owner only has the right to use it, and cannot buy or sell it. He can only terminate the lease."

The small peasant economy has its own characteristics. Zhu Xuefeng does not want to intervene too much. With collective farms, food is no longer a problem. The small peasant economy is only to enrich and further invigorate the internal economic cycle and stabilize people's hearts.

"Chief, the patriarch of the Yang family is here and is asking for a meeting outside!" Xia Gong reminded in a low voice at the door.

"Please go to the outer study room first. I'll be there soon." Although he didn't know why the old patriarch wanted to see him, he had to see him.

Xia Gong outside just responded, but before he could go out, he heard footsteps outside the door. It should be the old patriarch Yang who came in directly. Zhu Xuefeng was quite surprised. The old patriarch always strictly observed etiquette and seemed a little reckless this time. He hurriedly got up, but before he could open the door, he heard Xia Gong outside the door whispering to stop him and then a sigh, followed by the crying of patriarch Yang.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I, as a surviving minister, beg Your Highness to make the decision for our Southern Ming lineage."

Zhu Xuefeng really didn't know what was going on, nor did he know why the old patriarch did this. The Yang family had been assisting the autonomous region since its establishment. Apart from anything else, many of the factories now have people in charge of technology and guidance from the Yang family. There was no other way. The cultural level here was too low and not many people could read. Without the educated people of the Yang family, many machines could not be used. This was one of the reasons why Lin Na and Xia Yuhong planned to investigate education next.

Zhu Xuefeng could only open the door. "Mr. Yang, please come in and talk. What's the big news that alarmed you?"

The Yang clan leader knelt down as soon as he entered the room, knocking his head loudly. Zhu Xuefeng was shocked and stepped forward to help him up. However, the clan leader's forehead was visibly swollen and bleeding, but he was unwilling to get up.

"What do you want to say? Please tell me. You can't do this. I will definitely give you justice."

Seeing that the Yang clan leader's eyes were red, Zhu Xuefeng quickly signaled to the two of them, and the two women hurriedly helped to lift him up. The Yang clan leader did not resist the two women and stood up. Xia Yuhong brought a chair, and the Yang clan leader declined for a while, but finally listened to the advice and settled down. Lin Na handed him tea, and the two were about to avoid suspicion, but they didn't expect the Yang clan leader to stop them.

"This is about the eternal tragedy of our Southern Ming lineage. Since you two are close friends of His Highness, why don't you stay and listen to what I have to say next."

"Your Highness, I heard that the commander-in-chief of this attack is called Banti. I request Your Highness to kill him! Avenge the last queen of our Southern Ming lineage."

"What do you mean?" Queen Wang has been gone for hundreds of years, what does she have to do with this Ban Ti?
"Your Highness, please listen to me..."

It turns out that the Queen of the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty, Wang, was from Suzhou. Her father, Wang Lue, was the governor of Guangdong. She received education on women's virtues since childhood, and was kind and well-informed. She was the last Queen of the Han nationality. When the country was destroyed and the family was ruined, she chose to strangle herself to death in order to preserve her integrity. She died tragically for her country, demonstrating the heroic character of Han women.

Queen Wang was deeply loved in the Southern Ming, but she died here in the end. At that time, a coup d'état took place here, and Man Bai usurped the throne. He plotted to lure the Southern Ming descendants who had fled here, and pretended to invite two ministers and 42 others to cross the river to swear an oath and drink cursed water together. He then secretly sent troops to kill them all. This is the "Cursed Water Disaster" in history.

In the cursed water disaster, almost all the attendants and guards were killed, and hundreds of ministers, palace maids, eunuchs and others who followed them hanged themselves on trees. The dead were "heavy like melons and fruits". Manbai also sent Emperor Yongli and Queen Wang and his entourage to Diancheng. Queen Wang was unwilling to be humiliated and committed suicide.

And this Banti is his descendant. For some reason, the Yang family failed to keep up with the main force and escaped by chance. For hundreds of years, they have tried to assassinate the Manbai tribe one after another, but failed more than ten times and paid the lives of hundreds of people. They have also been persecuted many times and had to flee back to the north to settle down. It can be said that their hatred is as deep as the sea.

The Yang clan leader wept bitterly and spoke with every word. The three of them felt the same way. They felt for the unyielding souls and hated the cruelty of Man Bai, who sent the last bloodline of the suzerain country to the Qing court as a gesture of goodwill, leading to the extinction of the last bloodline of the Southern Ming.

"Please stand up, clan leader. Since this is a family feud and a national hatred, I will arrange for him to be sacrificed to the heavens!"...

This time, Zhu Xuefeng ignored the advice and insisted on leading the team himself. Senior Brother Bai and Yan Zi accompanied him. All the elite commandos were dispatched. As expected, the commander-in-chief Bandi, who was hiding in Mogok, was shot in the head by a sniper rifle in the city.

The invading troops were in complete chaos. Guo Ming possessed a powerful "beheading" ability, which made all the senior officers feel insecure. Without any orders, they retreated to Mandele overnight with the body of the commander-in-chief Banti. A massive anti-bandit campaign came to an unexpected end.

After accompanying the Yang clan leader in a grand memorial ceremony at the Yang clan ancestral hall, Zhu Xuefeng left.

Zhu Xuefeng's words before leaving made Lin Na and Xia Yuhong ponder for a long time. Even after sending that damn guy away from the autonomous region, the two were still muttering to themselves.

"What on earth does he want to do? Now it has become a de facto armed separatist regime, but he seems to think differently from us?"

"Don't think about it. I'll ask him next time. A few years ago, I felt that I couldn't keep up with his thinking and couldn't figure out his ideas at all. Let's do what we agreed on and do some practical things first. No matter what, he will definitely be happy to do something that is beneficial to the autonomous region. We can't help Xiangjiang now. There are no people from our family there. We have to help him run the business well and not let Qianqian outperform him."

"Well, let's go find Feng Qiumei tomorrow and see if we can arrest the women first. The women and children here are suffering so much, and those chiefs are so hateful. It's a pity that we can't take action to deal with them now."

"He does this for the sake of stability. He will let bygones be bygones for crimes other than murder. You see, from what I understand, it's best if these people don't commit crimes now. If they do, he will definitely show no mercy and will just use the issue to make a fuss..."

Zhu Xuefeng, who left the autonomous region and returned to Beijing, had no idea that the two women were plotting against him. Instead, he was called to the office of the new secretary as soon as he returned to the steel rolling mill for his internship.

Secretary Liu has been in the department for a long time. This time when Secretary Chen was promoted, he finally had the opportunity to go to the front line and serve as the top leader. He must make some achievements to be worthy of the training and trust of the organization and leaders. During this period of time, he has gradually mastered a lot of resources, but the most successful project of the steel rolling mill has not yet been able to get involved. There is no other way, the right to be in charge of production management lies with Director Yang.

But he soon discovered the important role of the young man Zhu Xuefeng in this project. In everyone's words, this undergraduate student was directly involved in the entire process, and many difficulties were overcome under his guidance. In other words, without the support of this undergraduate student, Director Yang's project would never have reached this point.

This young man should be a good breakthrough point. Zhu Xuefeng's deeds are no secret among several senior leaders in the ministry. Unfortunately, the new Secretary Liu cannot reach this level, which led to this intimate conversation.

After some meaningless greetings, Secretary Liu finally changed the subject.

"Comrade Xiao Zhu, I have also been here for almost two months. I have heard a lot about your deeds at the steel mill. Your father is a good comrade. Well done. You have also made great contributions to the mill and the country."

Zhu Xuefeng was very confused by the concern and care just now. He couldn't figure out the leader's intention. He was helpless now. If the leader spoke like this, there would definitely be a twist. He had never visited the secretary once since he came. This was the scene when they met for the first time. It seemed that the secretary was up to no good.

"These are all as they should be. Please tell me if you have any instructions."

Secretary Liu was a little surprised that a young man directly exposed his rhetoric, but since things had come to this, he still had to say what he needed to say.

It turned out that the new secretary knew that there was a jeep in the small fleet and it was specifically designated for Zhu Xuefeng. This made him very unhappy. The other new leaders had inherited the car configuration of their predecessors, but he did not. After inquiring, he found out that his predecessor had actually given the jeep to this young man. This made him very angry. No matter how great his contribution was, he was not an employee of the steel mill, so why did he occupy the top leader's car?

"Comrade Xiao Zhu, this is what happened. The workers below said that you are not a steel mill worker, but you are taking up the steel mill's jeep. This is taking advantage of the public and the country. This will have a bad impact on you. Do you think this is the truth?"

Zhu Xuefeng didn't care. He just wanted to borrow it once, but the two leaders insisted again and again, and he felt embarrassed to refuse. In the end, the situation had developed to the current state, which was not what he wanted. Although having this thing would be convenient if something happened, he couldn't live without it, so he simply took out the key.

"The car is in the fleet. I have a key here. You are right. It is not good to take advantage of the public. Thank you for your reminder. I will give it to you right away."

Who knew that Secretary Liu just smiled and didn't take the key.

"Young comrade, you are very conscious and can distinguish right from wrong. How about this? You send the keys to the car team, write a statement, and issue a notice to show that you recognize the seriousness of this problem and accept criticism from the broad masses of the working class. This will also help to restore a lot of influence, right?"

Looking at Secretary Liu's smiling face, which looked like he was thinking of something for him, Zhu Xuefeng could not help but understand that he did not want to have a bad reputation. As soon as Secretary Chen left, he denied Secretary Chen's decision. After all, he was still the leader of the department.

"Secretary, your suggestion is good, but firstly, the steel mill let me use the car at that time, which was a small-scale event. Not many people knew about it, and no notice was issued. Once my statement is made public, more people will know about it, which will have a worse impact. Secondly, I am not an employee of the steel mill, so it is inappropriate to issue a notice in the factory casually. Let's handle it in a low-key manner. I'll leave the key here. If there is nothing else, I'll leave first."

The smile on Secretary Liu's face suddenly collapsed. Ignoring Secretary Liu's ugly expression, Zhu Xuefeng turned around and walked out. It seemed that his honeymoon period with the steel rolling mill was over.

When passing by Director Yang's office, Zhu Xuefeng sensed that it was good that Old Yang was not there. If Old Yang asked about it, the two leaders would probably have a conflict. Zhu Xuefeng decided not to tell anyone about it and just keep it to himself.

But things were not as Zhu Xuefeng had imagined. Director Yang, who had just returned from a heart-to-heart talk at the grassroots level, was in a good mood when he returned to the office. Secretary Liu came to him as soon as he sat down.

(End of this chapter)