The 11th day of the seventh lunar month in the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, Beijing.
Although it was already past the Beginning of Autumn, not long after the sun rose in the early morning, it became venomous. The ground seemed to be on fire. The floating soil on the street was like fried noodles that had just come out of the pot. When you stamped your feet, a jet of
The white smoke is scorching hot, making people feel anxious. There is an old saying from the north: "A fall after autumn will kill an old cow from the heat." This refers to this time.
Although it is too hot to stand on the street, at this time, at the corner of the alleyway 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
, the babbling silk bamboos and the sound of singing can be faintly heard, even if the weather is hot, it will make pedestrians stop for a moment.
In those days, Manchus in Beijing were not allowed to enter the theaters, but no one was in charge of the teahouses. Therefore, the theaters on Qianmen Street either turned into city teahouses, or the theater troupes went to the teahouses to sing operas.
It is said that the prosperous business elsewhere is about "the right time, right place, and right people", and "Donghongtai" has a "good location"! Nothing else, it is close to Dashilan, from the "Daxiachu" of various Huizhou classes
(Common name for the theater troupe's general residence) Once you get here, you can reach it by just raising your feet. In this way, those bannermen, Han people, costumers, tyers, carriage boys, horsemen, etc. who love to listen to operas will come. In a word,
People who want to make friends with artists and find career paths have become regular customers of "Donghongtai".
Since Qianlong's 80th birthday last year, the four major Hui troupes headed by Sixi, Sanqing, Hechun and Chuntai have come to Beijing one after another. After celebrating his birthday, they have performed publicly in the capital, making all the princes and grandsons who are accustomed to Kun Opera go crazy.
Bewildered.
The Four Hui troupes each specialize in their own performances. Si Xi's plays are good at expressing the romance of the ancients, and they are good at singing and dancing; San Qing is good at axis opera, and they perform it for several days; He Chun performs at noon every day, and must perform "Three Kingdoms"
", "Water Margin"; as for Chuntai, it is the first child of Zhulang, the first child of strange flowers. Some people like to listen to operas, and those who like the style of cut sleeves are even more supportive.
The teahouse is either big or small. Facing the street is a row of three-bay pavilions, passing through the pastry shop and stove, and inside is a small courtyard with five bays on the front and three bays on the sides. In addition, every
There are two tables and several spring benches on both sides of the door outside the room.
But the most eye-catching thing is that on a small platform set up in the middle of the courtyard, two handsome children are singing babblingly. The tea guests, regardless of high or low, are all attentive.
"...Oh, so you only live for me in this world? Mr. Hou~~~"
At this time, the huqin and yueqin played nearby, and the person pretending to be Li Xiangjun fluttered his sleeves, with a sad face, and whispered softly, using the accent of Erhuang Yuanban. Although his voice was still a little immature, the emotions in the lyrics were well-controlled.
It's very well done, and once you hear it, you can tell that a lot of effort has been put into it.
"You are a respected son of a famous family, and you appear to be outstanding and ambitious. You said that you would eradicate traitors for the country. You said that you would walk through water and fire to save the people. You said that you would sacrifice your life to maintain your integrity. You said that you would grieve like an enemy and face adversity.
If you are not strict, you will appear to have a clear distinction between love and hate. If you don't expect that your country will be destroyed and your family will be destroyed, you will not only be disheartened, but you will bow your head and endure humiliation to seek fame. If you cannot rise up and raise an army to save the country from danger, do you mean that you are unwilling to remain anonymous? Have you forgotten?
The bones of Shigebu are still cold, but you have forgotten that thousands of ordinary people have lost their lives..."
"Okay~~!!!"
"Stop! Don't sing!"
As soon as these words came out, the performance on the stage immediately stopped. The tea guests looked over and saw that it was actually two officers from Shuntian Mansion and several soldiers with swords and guns. This made the people pretending to be Li Xiangjun and Hou Chaozong
Both children were immediately frightened and trembling.
At this time, the teahouse manager hurriedly came around from behind the counter and asked with a smile: "Master Liu, what's going on?"
"What kind of show are you singing?"
When the manager heard this, he quickly waved to the owner of the troupe. The man, who was in his fifties, trotted over and bowed and said, "To tell you what to say, the children are singing "The Peach Blossom Fan" for fun."
"Sing for fun?" The leader of the yamen raised his hand and slapped the theater owner. "Didn't you see the notice from Shuntian Mansion? From now on, all theater troupes are not allowed to sing "The Peach Blossom Fan"! Follow me.
Go to the Yamen!"
After that, the official shook the chain in his hand and put it around the troupe owner's neck with a bang. The teahouse owner didn't know how to lock it, not to mention that he had a backer.
The shopkeeper holds two strings of hard-earned money in his hand.
"Ah?" The theater owner was immediately stunned. He had just walked around the Qianmen archway early in the morning and didn't see any new notices.
Just as he was about to tell the difference, he heard someone behind him say coldly: "You bastard bastard! What are you doing?"
When everyone heard the sound and looked around, they saw a man in his thirties walking out of a private room in a tube room. He was wearing a moon-white silk robe, a Batulu vest on the outside, and a purse and jade pendant on his waist.
The most important thing is that the belt around the waist is red.
The yamen leader patrols this generation every day, and he has to remember many prominent people to avoid offending him. When he saw the man, he hurriedly stepped forward and slapped Qianer, and said to please: "Isn't this Mr. Shou, little one?
I’d like to send you my regards.”
"I mean, Liu Si, are you itchy? You came here to show off your power. If you have the ability, you can join the army and work with the North Sea pirates!"
"Master Shou, I really don't have a problem with you and all of you. We, Mr. Wu, made a notice early in the morning, telling all the troupes not to sing "The Peach Blossom Fan" again in the future, and the children also followed the order."
"Fart! I saw him at Houhai the day before yesterday, why didn't I hear about him?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Si hurriedly stood up and approached the bannerman, and whispered softly into his ear: "Master Shou, this is an edict from the emperor. It is urgent for 600 miles. We just arrived last night."
When the bannerman heard that the emperor was involved, he immediately lost his temper. He was just a red belt, and if he annoyed Qianlong, he could be swatted to death like a bug in a minute.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The red-strap Jueluo Master stopped talking, and the other tea guests were silent. The troupe owner was escorted away, and the two opera singers and the piano player also
They all followed with sad faces. When the official figure disappeared, the tea guests began to whisper among each other.
"What's this? You won't be allowed to sing "Peach Blossom Fan" even if it's a good song?"
"Speaking of which, the troupe owner is unlucky. Guess what, I saw a notice when I came from the archway just now, and a lot of people gathered around it."
"Hey~~ I asked you, why didn't you tell the shopkeeper when you saw it? Aren't you trying to trick others?"
"Don't be anxious. I was in a hurry to come over to listen to the show. Didn't I take a closer look? If I had known earlier... Oh! It's all caused by the pirates from the North Sea! You can't live a good life, so what should you do with the court?
Who is Lord Qianlong, the True Dragon Emperor!"
"But I heard that the leader of Beihai Town is also a descendant of the former Emperor of Heaven, and he said..."
As soon as this person said this, the other people at the table suddenly changed their expressions. They hurriedly covered each other's mouth and whispered: "You don't want your life, you even dare to say this!"
Several people were silent for a while, and another person, perhaps feeling too depressed, said softly: "I heard that the emperor mobilized an army of 200,000 troops this time, and A Zhongtang was also awarded the title of Bachelor of Economics."
The person whose mouth was covered just now said: "I just don't understand. The pirates in the North Sea have been suppressed every year, so why do they keep getting bigger and bigger? Now even Cullen can't protect him~~"
"Shh~~ don't talk about state affairs, just drink tea and drink tea."
"Why are you drinking tea after listening to nothing? Go home! Go to Guanghe Tower to listen to "The Drunken Concubine" in the evening."
"Okay, see you there or see you!"
Near noon, two sedan mule carts coming from the direction of Chongwenmen turned onto Qianmen Street along the stone road outside the moat. After running south for about a mile, they turned a small corner and ended up at Qianmen Street.
Stopped at the door of an inn called "Xiangyu Old Store".
This shop faces south, leaving an open space in front of the door. A watermelon lantern hangs in front of the wooden gatehouse, with four upright characters written on it, "Hundred Years of Good Luck."
After the mule cart stopped, and the driver put down the footstool, two men got out of the first carriage.
The first person 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 off the bus, the bag made the sound of abacus beads. When he got off,
The person who got out of the car behind him was a guy who looked like a wealthy businessman. He looked like he was almost forty years old. He was not tall but quite strong. He was wearing a moon-white poplin robe and a pair of brand-new mille-feuille soles on his feet.
Cloth shoes, actually there is a green ring on the thumb.
As for the mule cart at the back, there were two strong men who got off, both wearing short jackets, with cloth belts tied around their waists, and even their trousers were tied up, revealing their snow-white socks, making them look very smart and smart.
Because the weather was too hot, none of these people wore hats, especially the wealthy businessman, who kept wiping the sweat on his forehead with the handkerchief. He looked up at the front of the shop and grinned:
"My dear, it's actually sunnier today than in the south! If I had known, I would have stayed in Tongzhou for two days before coming back!"
The young man spoke with a Yangzhou accent and said: "I heard that summer is like this in the north. It's still hot after autumn. I guess it gets cooler when the sun goes down. Master, please slow down."
The group of people entered the door of the inn and suddenly felt that it was dark. It was not as hot as outside, but also a little cooler. When they took a closer look, they saw that the entire front yard was covered with reed mats and surrounded by fir poles and bamboo poles.
A shelf was set up to support it, and water was poured on the blue brick floor to make it clean.
"Huh? This is a good move!" The wealthy businessman stopped and looked around, exclaiming.
"From the accent of the master, I must be from the south. Is this your first time back to the capital? In Beijing, we have been putting up arbors to provide shade since the beginning of summer, but they were all removed by August 15th. Don't say that.
Here we are, and sheds have been set up in front of every shop on the street. When the sun sets in the afternoon, I’m sure you won’t get any sunlight at all.”
The wealthy businessman nodded after hearing this, thinking that he had indeed seen many shops with sheds set up in front of them on the road.
While the waiter was chattering, he led the four people into the inner courtyard to go to the bedroom. He had seen many guests coming and going from north to south, so he knew where to lead them just by looking at their clothes. When they arrived at the small courtyard where the guest room was, the group of people
I found that a ceiling had been set up here. After that, I opened the door, fetched water for washing my face, boiled water for my feet, made tea, and was busy for a while.
After the waiter went out with the used water, a man in shorts walked to the door of the courtyard without saying a word. The young man who had changed into a long green cloth then whispered to the wealthy businessman who was soaking his feet: "Brother Xu,
When are you going to find Ruan Boyuan?"
"There's no rush. Let's talk to our people first. We're not familiar with the Qianmen area. We'll go to his house to deliver the post in two days."
The wealthy businessman who spoke was none other than Xu Dayong, the "Taiwan Balm" of the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau, and the young man was Shen Guisheng, who had worked with Zhao Xin before. Guisheng was a prudent guy with a smart mind. He used to run around on the streets of Yangzhou a lot.
, so last year Zhao Xin asked him to leave the combat force and go to the Intelligence Bureau. After training, he joined Xu Dayong's group.
After Xu Dayong returned to Beihai Town from northern Jiangsu, he first cooperated with the security police in "immigration screening" for more than half a year, and then worked as a prisoner for a period of time to instigate rebellion. Originally, he planned to get engaged to the tea girl in the Mid-Autumn Festival, but in the end
He was sent out again by Zhao Xin, and he didn't know when he would be able to go back.
Their external identity was that they were merchants from Shanghai; in fact, they took a Caobang sand ship from Jeju Island to sell tea to the Northern Navy, then landed in Shanghai County, and then took a Caobang grain ship to go north to Luhe River.
It took more than a month to find the post. As for Lu Yin and other vouchers and tokens for traveling, Lao Huang bribed the money and grain master of the Shanghai County Government to issue them.
Since four years ago, Lao Huang has completely joined the "thief ship" in Beihai Town. The Huang family is spread across more than a dozen cities in the south of the Yangtze River. Almost half of the "Huang Shengtai" grocery stores in the county town belong to the Beihai Navy Intelligence Bureau.
site; its current main task is to collect public information on prices, people's livelihood, and government affairs.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! This time Xu Da came to Beijing for three purposes: The first was to meet Ruan Yuan, editor of the Hanlin Academy, who specified that Beihai Town should send someone who can represent Zhao Xin
, before we can continue the discussion; the second is to meet a eunuch in the palace; the third is to have a secret meeting with Liu Quan, the steward of the He Mansion.
Now that the Northern Navy is sending troops to Khalkha and Mongolia, everyone in the court is as anxious as ants on a hot pot. Faced with the "unexpected and dagger-like" situation in Beihai Town, some thoughtful people have begun to quietly find a way out for themselves. They want to take Beihai.
There are many people who have connections with the town, but the problem is that not everyone deserves the attention of Beihai Town.
In the afternoon, the sun set in the west and dusk was approaching. After waking up, Xu Dayong thought about going out to eat. The four of them changed their clothes, strolled out of the inn, and came to Qianmen Street. At this time, it was like that shop.
As the clerk said, there were more and more pedestrians on the street. From the jade bridge at the foot of the Qianmen Arrow Tower to Zhushikou, there was a steady flow of people.
At this time, in addition to the waiters from various shops greeting customers at the door, the sellers carrying burdens are also selling various fruits and food, and the sounds of singing and selling are repeated.
"A big man is making a fool of himself with a piece of watermelon~~The piece is so big and tall that the bees mistakenly went to build a nest and raced across the small summer boat in Tongzhou~~"
"Cold Ling, snowflake cheese, the main road outside the city~~"
"There is Zhang Xiaoquan in the south and Wang Mazi in the north. My kitchen knife cuts iron as well as clay. It can cut and take pictures. I guarantee you will use it for a hundred years!"
"Here comes the sour plum soup. It has a different taste~~ It quenches thirst and is cool, with roses and sugar added. If you don't believe me, just give it a try~~"
“Fragrant mutton buns~~ Braised tofu buns, enjoy a bowl~~”
"The leaves are delicate, ah ah ah yo, you listen to me shouting to drink this jujube cake! The shouting is good, not clever, listen to me talking about the roots and seedlings from the beginning. It is not an easy journey. The ancient caves in the mountains are deep with trenches, and the tiger is taking a nap.
When the wolf is sleeping, he has to shake himself up a tree..."
"Hot~~ Hot noodle dumplings are here~~ Hot noodle dumplings are hot~~"
"Water rice, lots of beans~~ Rice with mung beans in original soup~~"
Among the four people in the group, apart from Xu Dayong, who had been to many places, Guisheng and the other two had never seen this before. They were all dazzled, and after hearing the shouts that sounded like a ditty, they actually wanted to buy them all.