As the busiest wharf in Tianjin, all kinds of ships coming and going from north to south are constantly coming and going, and all kinds of goods are strange. People who make a living on this wharf cannot say how knowledgeable they are, but they are always more knowledgeable than ordinary people.
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Chen Xiaoliu is a man who earns a living on the dock. There are only two brothers in the family. The elder brother is a soldier in Tianjin Zuowei and does not have much salary. He, the younger brother, works as a coolie on the dock to earn some money to support the family. In fact, he has become a family member.
He is the largest source of income. In order to survive every day, he waits at the city gate before dawn, waiting for the city gate to open, and then tries to get to the dock as soon as possible.
The earlier you go, the more likely you are to find work.
Today was just like every other day. As soon as the city gate opened, he headed towards the pier without missing a moment. When he saw from a distance that the pier was far away, none of his usual wandering colleagues had come over yet, which made him feel much more at ease.
Except for the tea shop owner, there was no one in the tea shed where he usually rested. Seeing him coming, the tea shop owner looked at him in surprise.
"Why are you here today!"
"If you don't work for a day, you won't have food for a day!" Chen Xiaoliu replied with a smile.
"No, I mean, wasn't there a notice yesterday that our pier will be closed for one day today? How about passing troops?"
"What kind of soldiers did you fight?" Chen Xiaoliu asked with some concern. After all, his brother was eating food in the guardhouse.
"I don't know. Anyway, the big ship from the Navy came over again in the middle of the night. They also recruited a lot of civilian ships. I don't know where they are going by ship. Hey, in this world, there are wars every year. I don't know where the war is going on again.
Well, the imperial court is dispatching troops!"
Chen Xiaoliu became a little nervous: "Could it be that the soldiers and horses of our Tianjin Third Guard were transferred? How come I haven't heard of this!"
As he spoke, he looked towards the dock, and sure enough, there were many ships docked in the vague outline. Normally at this time, the people from the inspection department had not opened the locks, and none of the cargo ships had come yet.
"I don't know, I guess not!" The tea shop owner shook his head and pointed behind him: "Those officers and soldiers came in the middle of the night and were waiting for dawn to board the ship. How about you go and ask?"
"I don't dare to ask!"
Chen Xiaoliu shook his head and looked in the direction of the tea shop owner. Sure enough, the open space where the goods were stacked on the dock was now densely packed with officers and soldiers. They were sitting on the ground one by one, seeming to be dozing off.
, occasionally there are a few people walking around among the officers and soldiers, presumably they are officers.
After the last darkness before dawn passed, the sky lit up very quickly. Almost when he finished eating the last half of the cake he brought from home, his eyes were finally able to clearly see the people sitting on the ground.
The uniforms of the officers and soldiers were discolored.
"They're not from our Tianjin Three Guards!" He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His brother was a soldier, and he was very familiar with the military equipment.
Compared with the officers and soldiers he saw, his brother's behavior was no different from that of a beggar on the dock.
This group of officers and soldiers looks so rich. Whether it’s the cotton armor they wear or the almost identical weapons in their hands, some even have long soldiers and short soldiers. More importantly, Chen Xiaoliu
Except for the officers and men I have seen, there are not many officers and soldiers who are as proud as this group of officers and soldiers, with glowing faces, and they look like they have never been hungry.
He had heard his brother say that, except for Master Qianhu's servants, they were never hungry. Others could do well if they had enough to eat. It was just a dream to have a full meal every time.
"sharp……!"
The shrill whistle sounded, scaring Chen Xiaoliu so much that he couldn't help but burp. The officers and soldiers sitting there, as if they had heard some order, got up from the ground one by one and began to tidy up.
They were wearing their clothes and weapons, and on the boat at the front pier, there were also people shouting something loudly.
It’s time to get on board!
The officers and soldiers began to stir, and began to move towards the dock in an orderly manner. Several boats dropped their gangplanks at the same time. The officers and soldiers slowly boarded the boats along the gangplank, and then disappeared from Chen Xiaoliu's eyes.
Several boats were filled with people, and they immediately left the dock and headed towards the distant seaport, and the navy's boats seemed to follow them.
Chen Xiaoliu had never seen such officers and soldiers before. They were quiet. Except for the occasional whispers of officers and soldiers, he almost didn't hear any noise. He was used to the noise on the dock, but suddenly saw so many people silently.
Chen Xiaoliu felt a little unaccustomed to the situation of boarding the ship without a break.
"A bunch of dead ghosts!"
The tea shop owner muttered: "It has delayed my day's business. With so many people going out, I don't know how many will come back!"
"Old man Zhang, please be polite when you speak!" Chen Xiaoliu gave him a displeased look: "Our Tianjin city is a guard city. Who doesn't have anyone serving as a soldier in the guard house? If you say that again, I will fall out.
!”
The tea shop owner remained silent and snorted slightly.
Chen Xiaoliu ignored him and walked out. It was already bright now. He moved closer to the officers and soldiers, and bravely shouted to them: "My brother is from Tianjin Zuowei. Brothers, what are you doing?"
Where to go?”
"Go and fight the Tartars!"
A young voice came back with a strange accent, and the officers and soldiers all chuckled.
Chen Xiaoliu didn't know what was so funny about this, but he felt a little excited in his heart. He also knew about the Tatars' attack last year. He didn't expect that this year, the imperial court would actually send a large army to fight the Tatars.
"Tianjin fathers and mothers wish the brothers a good start!"
He shouted loudly. He didn't know why, but his nose felt a little sore as soon as he said these words. He remembered what that damn old Zhangtou said.
Suddenly, the same shout rang out from beside me.
"Tianjin elders, I wish our brothers a great victory!"
He glanced back and saw that there were several other people like him who were looking for a life on the dock. Then, the same voices started to ring around one after another, and finally, all the voices gathered together.
"Tianjin fathers and mothers wish the army a victory!!!"
The officers and soldiers who boarded the ship all looked back, as if they were all stunned for a moment, and then after a few seconds of silence, a rough voice rang loudly throughout the dock.
"Victorious!"
"Victorious!"
“Victory begins!!!”
From one person, to a few people, to dozens, to hundreds, finally there was an overwhelming shout on the pier, echoing above everyone's heads. Chen Xiaoliu turned around and saw that damn old Zhangtou.
, also walked out of his tea shop, and seemed to be shouting the same words.
Also, in this city of Tianjin, who doesn’t have a soldier in their family? Lao Zhangtou’s son must have also been an officer and soldier when he was alive...