Chapter 337 In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the people are in dire straits! (Please order and vote)
Weng Tong and Ronglu, with their sleeves folded up and distracted, crowded around among the crowd outside Hanshan Temple.
In the ancient city of Gusu, before the New Year, it is always the busiest time of the year. The prosperity of Gusu City can no longer be enclosed by dozens of miles of high walls. It is located outside Gusu City, on the bank of the canal
The markets around Hanshan Ancient Temple are even better than those in Gusu City.
The passenger boat that Weng Tong and Ronglu were traveling on was now parked at a berth at Jiangcun Wharf next to Hanshan Temple. According to the sailing plan, the fleet would stay in Suzhou for half a day, during which time it would have to load and unload cargo, and also receive cargo.
A large number of tourists headed to Shanghai.
The boss of the passenger boat told Weng and Rong that Suzhou was under the jurisdiction of Luo Yao, King of Wu. In today's Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it was considered the richest, most stable, most reasonable, and also the place with the best security.
Weng Tong and Ronglu, two northern merchants with pigtails, can go shopping in Suzhou without worrying about covering their heads with hoods or paying any pigtail tax...
Weng Tong is from Suzhou Prefecture, and his family still has property in Suzhou Prefecture!
When he heard the boss of the ship say that Suzhou was a good place to be reasonable, he couldn't help but want to "go home and have a look." So he took Ronglu off the ship and walked around the bustling Hanshan Temple.
Although the market in Suzhou is very different from Zhenjiang, it is also quite different from Yangzhou under Yang Xiuqing's rule.
On the streets of Suzhou, there were almost no men or women wearing the yellow or red uniforms of the Taiping Army. Only groups of Taiping Army soldiers on duty, carrying rifles on their backs, lined up.
However, the biggest difference between Suzhou and Yangzhou is that Suzhou does not seem to be a world that worships God. As soon as Weng Tong and Ronglu walked out of Jiangcun Pier, they saw the incense in Hanshan Temple. When they walked into the mountain gate of Hanshan Temple, they saw that it was full of people.
Devoted men and women burned incense and kowtowed. Monks who collected alms money came in and out carrying yellow money boxes, all of them smiling like Maitreya Buddha.
What surprised Weng Tong and Ronglu even more was that they saw several men wearing Taiping officer uniforms and women who seemed to be their wives coming to Hanshan Temple to burn incense!
The Taiping Army in Suzhou stopped worshiping God and burned incense instead?
Oh, not entirely, God also wants to worship.
Weng Tong and Ronglu also saw a "God Worship Hall" under construction next to Hanshan Temple. In the completed hall, a memorial tablet for "Heavenly Father Hao Tianhuang God" had been erected, and several lecturers from the God Worship Association were standing there.
Outside the main hall, "True Testament", "On Heaven", "Anti-Sutra" and "Celestial Land System" are distributed free of charge.
Weng Tong and Ronglu found many scholar-looking people queuing up to receive books.
Weng Tong felt a little strange, so he went up to inquire. He was also from Changshu County, Suzhou Prefecture, and he could mingle with the white-faced scholars queuing up with just one mouthful.
"This brother is here to collect the book. He must also be interested in getting a degree, right?"
"Study for fame? Study for the teachings of the Catholic Church?"
"Test the "True Testament", "On Heaven", "Anti-Jing", and "Celestial Land System". These are the "Four Books" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It is said that there will be five classics in the future. What are 'mathematics', 'chemistry' and 'physics'?
','Geography','Biology'.\n...\n
》
"Oh, I see? Is it difficult to take the exam?"
"I don't know. I haven't taken the exam before. The first imperial examination will not be held until next fall."
At this time, Weng Tong suddenly saw several women in small coats and long skirts lining up, and was surprised: "Hey, why are there still women queuing up to get books?"
"Women can also take part in the imperial examination next fall...but women with bound feet are not allowed to take the exam. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom prohibited women from binding their feet."
Weng Tong scanned the feet of those women and found that they were indeed all born with natural feet, which was rare in the homes of scholar-bureaucrats in Suzhou...:
After receiving the "Four Books" from a lecturer with a Hunan accent, Weng Tong and Ronglu walked around the market around Hanshan Temple for a while, and then stopped in a time-honored noodle shop.
After each person ate a bowl of steaming hot stuffed pork noodles, he felt warm all over his body, and then walked back with satisfaction.
The two of them walked to Jiangcun Pier when they suddenly noticed that there were many farmers with dark faces and dirty clothes on the pier, waiting to board the boat under the supervision of a few men in short silk jackets.
There are also a few God-worshippers in black robes who are handing out the "True Testament" to these men. While handing out the "True Testament", they also say in a Hunan accent to the farmers with dark faces: "Worship God and stay safe...
\n.\n.\n.\n. Worship Jidu and make a fortune! As long as you join the Zhenyue sect, you can travel across the ocean easily!"
This is...\n.\nWhich song is it singing?
Weng Tongyu and Ronglu were confused, but found that the little Taiping soldier named Ding was also watching the fun with his arms folded, so Weng Tong went up to ask that person.
"Brother Ding, are they..." Weng Tong asked, pointing to the people in line.
"Alas...\n." The Taiping Army surnamed Ding sighed, "They are all miserable people who cannot survive and want to sell their piglets overseas...
"Ah?" Weng Tong was stunned, "Can't you survive?"
Ronglu's eyes brightened: "Can't you survive in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?"
"Why can't we survive in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?" Taiping Army surnamed Ding smiled bitterly, "There is only such a tiny bit of land, no matter how much you divide it, it won't be enough... Oh, it may be enough to eat, but it's not enough to find a wife.
Good times are no longer enough."
"So we can only sell ourselves and go overseas?" Weng Tong frowned and asked, "Does the King of Wu not care?"
The Taiping soldier surnamed Ding shook his head: "It's in charge!" He raised his hand and pointed, "Isn't that in charge?"
Weng Tongyu looked in the direction of his finger and saw a man in black who was handing out the "True Covenant".
"This is..::
Taiping Jun, surnamed Ding, said: "We distributed the "True Covenant" to them for free, and also recruited them to join the "True Covenant Sect".\n:::.\n. It is the God-worshiping religion. After the God-worshiping religion goes abroad, it is called the True Covenant.
Yue Sect. If they recite the true scriptures and join the True Yue Sect, the Heavenly Father, Emperor Hao, will bless them to cross the ocean safely and make a fortune overseas!"
"Ah? That's it?"
"Is this also called management?"
The Taiping soldier surnamed Ding nodded seriously: "Yes, isn't this just management? Otherwise, what else can we do?"
Weng Tong and Ronglu both shook their heads.
What to do?
We should implement benevolent government so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment, instead of going out to work as coolies!
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom doesn't seem to be doing well either. The territories under its rule are still sacred lands, and the people are still having a hard time!
It seems...\n....it's better to have the Qing Dynasty!
Thinking of this, Weng Tong and Ronglu both looked at each other, and they both saw "light" in each other's eyes.
Some people see hope, while others have no choice but to do so. For example, Chen Ji...\n.\n.\n.\n. is the former top coolie in Shanghai and the leader of the Cao Gang who controls the coolie business of several foreigners' docks on the Bund.
He is no longer a coolie, because he helped the foreigners destroy Hong Xiuquan during the "Shanghai Lesson Plan", and ended up on the blacklist of Xu Yuegui, the eldest sister of the Red Gang. Not only was his own church smashed to pieces, but several of his
The younger brother was being hunted and could not gain a foothold in Shanghai. Fortunately, he still had a few good brothers who helped him escape Shanghai and hide in Suzhou.
But he is a man of habit. Not only does he have big hands and feet, he is also good at gambling!
The little savings I had on hand were quickly gone!
So he wanted to go back to his daily business and open an incense hall in Suzhou to join the society!
But before he could make a comeback, he discovered that Sister Yuegui's Sanxin Company had already rushed to Suzhou to develop business...\n.\n. Moreover, Sanxin Company has a very close relationship with the Taiping Army in Suzhou! I don't know about Yuegui.
Why do you think your sister has such great hands and eyes?
So he didn't dare to hang out in Suzhou, but he had no other place to go, so he gritted his teeth and "sold the piglets" with his three sworn brothers, and went abroad together to go to that place where the birds didn't shit.
Take a chance in America!
Today is the day when he and his three brothers board a ship to bid farewell to the city of Suzhou...\n. Well, in a few days, he will bid farewell to China and board a big ship bound for the United States of America!
I don’t know if there is gold in Jinshan?
"Brother, with the "True Pact", join my True Pact sect, so that you can be taken care of when you reach the other side of the ocean."
At this time, a thread-bound copy of "The True Testament" was thrust into Chen Ji's hand. Chen Ji was literate. He took the book that brought him such bad luck and looked at it. He sighed and then handed it to him.
The young man who was writing: "Little brother, I want to convert to the Zhenyue Sect. Can God and Ji Du really protect me?"
"Yes!" The True Testament pastor smiled and nodded, "Don't you know, not only the Chinese believe in the True Testament, but also many foreigners... When we go abroad, our foreign brothers will
I will protect you a little."
Chapter completed!