Chapter 305 The anxious Qing court

Beijing, Liulichang.

Most people who have watched costume dramas in later generations, especially braid dramas, know that Liulichang is actually an antique street in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty. Here, there are the most valuable rare antiques in China. However, why is Liulichang called Liulichang instead of antique street or Qiqi Lane? This is naturally difficult for the Chinese people. Because, Chinese people know that Chinese place names are often related to their output in a certain period... Liulichang is actually the one that produces glazed.

The earliest recorded history of Liulichang goes back to the Northern Song Dynasty, but Beijing still belonged to the Liao Kingdom at that time. Therefore, Liulichang, which is a territory in Beijing, naturally belonged to the Liao people. And it was not in the city, but in the suburbs. At that time, there was a name called "Haiwang Village". Later, in the Yuan Dynasty, an official kiln was opened here to fire glazed tiles. Since the construction of the inner city in the Ming Dynasty, the scale of the official kiln was expanded because of the construction of palaces. Liulichang became one of the five major factories of the imperial court's work department at that time. After the construction of the outer city in the 32nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, it became an urban area. Liulichang was not suitable for burning kilns in the city, and moved to the current Liuliqu Village in Mentougou District, but the name "Lilichang" has been preserved and has been passed down to this day.

During the Shunzhi period of the early Qing Dynasty, the "Manchu and Han subdistrict cities" were implemented in the capital. Liulichang was in the west of the outer city. At that time, most of the Han officials lived nearby. Later, the guild halls across the country were also built nearby. Officials and candidates who were taking the exam often gathered here to visit the book market, which gradually moved the Qianmen, Dengshikou and the Chenghuang Temple Book Market in Xicheng to Liulichang. Book merchants from all over the country also set up stalls, built rooms, and sold a large number of books. The prosperous market and convenient conditions formed a "Kyoto Elegant Travel Place", which gradually developed into the largest book market in the capital, forming a cultural street market with rich cultural heritage, and culture-related pens, inkstones, antiques, calligraphy and painting, etc., which also developed accordingly.

From the early Qing Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, Liulichang also had many famous old shops, such as Huaiyin Mountain House, Guyizhai, Ruichengzhai, Cuiwen Pavilion, Yide Pavilion, Songzhuzhai, etc.

However, at this time, Liulichang was no longer a place where Chinese people buy and sell pens, inkstones, papers, inkstones, antiques, calligraphy and paintings. As the gates of the country were opened by the strong ships and cannons of Westerners, many foreigners were also seen here.

...

"Mr. Liu, we are here!"

"Um."

There was only one dirt road in a very famous street. Liu Tongfu didn't care much, but the foreigner wearing a long gown and jacket who followed him was very dissatisfied. He raised his foot and dusted the dust on his trouser legs first, and then he got off the carriage.

"I can't tell that you have a cleanliness obsession!" Liu Tongfu looked at his appearance and smiled.

"No, no, Mr. Liu, this is not a clean obsession, it's just a habit," the foreigner shrugged. "Since I first got off the carriage here and stepped on a piece of shit, I've developed this habit."

"Really?" Liu Tongfu asked.

"Of course." The foreigner spread his hands again, "You know, in China, many people are not very hygienic."

"I know this, and I know that the same is true in the United States. I have even seen Americans drink in pigpens, but... you really stepped on shit?" Liu Tongfu asked.

"Of course. Why am I lying to you?" The foreigners didn't care about Liu Tongfu's irony, but they just felt a little confused. A piece of shit was like this, what's worth mentioning again and again?

"You got it off?" Liu Tongfu asked, covering his nose and pointing at the soles of his feet.

"Of course. I am not those unhygienic beggars. Moreover, even beggars will not let themselves get dirty, right?" the foreigner said with a strange face.

"But that's shit!" Liu Tongfu looked at him with regret and shook his head repeatedly.

"It's just shit. Is there anything different about shit in Lili Factory?" The foreigners became increasingly confused. Why did this guy catch such a piece of unclean things?

"Steel, you don't understand that in China, stepping on shit is a good thing. Because that indicates that you may lose luck..."

"Don't be lucky?"

"Yes. An extremely powerful luck, according to our Tangzhou people, is a luck that goes against the will of heaven and against the will of heaven, even God will be jealous..." Liu Tongfu said seriously.

"Is that?" Steele was stunned. "You Chinese use shit to describe luck?"

"Although I don't want to admit it, it's true." Liu Tongfu sighed, then looked at him again, "By the way, did you have good luck on the day you stepped on shit?"

"Good luck? No, that was my first time to come to Liulichang... I originally fell in love with a Xuande furnace, but a guy next to me paid the money first and snatched it away." Steele rolled his eyes.

"So, that's why you got rid of that lump... well, that one." Liu Tongfu sighed.

"Is that true?" Steele asked with a frown.

"Of course this is the case. Otherwise, how could you, a brother who had just arrived in Liulichang, have such good luck to meet an authentic Xuande furnace?" Liu Tongfu asked back.

"Although what you said seems to make sense, why do I always feel that you are trying to trick me on purpose?" Steele asked with his eyes staring at him.

"How could I play tricks on you? I'm not idle and have nothing to do. Besides, can I force you to step on a dog... Well, that kind of thing? Do you think so?" Liu Tongfu asked back.

"this……"

"Anyway, it's up to you to believe it or not." Liu Tongfu sighed again, then patted Steele on the shoulder, "But according to me, you'd better remember the 'lecture' of that time. If you step on it again next time, just carry it on your feet and never get rid of it."

“…”

...

“mr,mr…”

The topic of luck about dogs came to an end. Liu Tongfu and Steele walked forward on the dirt road in Liulichang for a while... Although the people were already in vain in the late Qing Dynasty, it was a capital city where countless high-ranking officials gathered, so it was still popular here... It was still early, but many people gathered in groups of people. They both seemed a little crowded when they were walking on the road. At this moment, a half-baked English suddenly exploded on the street. The two turned their heads naturally and saw a guy with a mustache and a flattering smile jumping over the crowd with his legs.

"Hahaha, mr, hello, I, Song San, are you going to visit Liulichang?"

The person who came had a messy hair and a braid was tied in a mess, but his clothes were still perceived... However, when this person came, he came to Steele and ignored Liu Tongfu's existence at all.

"Are you a broker?" Steele glanced at Liu Tongfu, saw that the other party had no expression, and asked the man who called himself Song San with a smile.

"You have a good attitude." Song San smiled flatteringly, "I won't brag for you. I, Song San, are also well-known in this Liulichang area. Unlike some guys who look glamorous, they have a good outfit, but they are all...hehe!"

"Are you scolding me?" Liu Tongfu smiled bitterly. He had not been so despised by others for a long time. If he had to put it in the past, he would definitely be able to fight with this guy named Song San, but now he only finds it interesting.

"I dare not, but..." Song San bowed and laughed dryly: "I have been in this Liuli Factory for several years. Most of the famous brokers have taken a few occasions. Why have I never seen you?"

"I'm busy and rarely come." Liu Tongfu said.

"Oh..." Song San smiled and glanced at him again, "Isn't you a mess with this?"

"Well, you always have a look of a torch." Liu Tongfu nodded and smiled.

"Then you have to find an acquaintance." Song San smiled, "You know, this Liulichang is not a shallow place, and the water is deep. Don't look at the rare antiques everywhere, but there are not so many good things in this world, do you think? It's been two or three hundred years, and I don't know how many skilled people are. If you don't find an acquaintance, you might be fooled."

"Haha, so you are just an 'acquaintance'?" Liu Tongfu asked.

"I dare not say that I am familiar with it, but I can only be considered a little bit deep." Song San replied.

"Yes, I didn't say anything big. But what if I hire you, what should he do?" Liu Tongfu smiled and pointed at Steele again, "He is my guide today. You were just robbing his business."

"ah?"

Song San was stunned. He looked at Steele again, looking at him with a playful look, and felt dizzy... A guy who looked like a citizen of the Qing Dynasty actually... hired a foreigner to give him a hand?

"You, aren't you kidding?"

Finally, after a few years of ease, Song San finally recovered from the Shen'er. However, looking at Liu Tongfu with a smile on his face, he still couldn't believe it. This was beyond his imagination.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Liu Tongfu asked back.

"You are really him, no no, no, this master invited me?" Song San looked at Steele again.

"Of course." Steele shrugged, "There is a big man standing in front of you!"

"The little one has no eyes to recognize Mount Tai!" It was true. Song San shook his sleeves so hard that he slammed Liu Tongfu and gave him a thousand-year-old, "Song San gave you a greeting!"

"Hehe, you're welcome." Liu Tongfu smiled and looked at him again: "Your name is Songsan, right?"

"Yes, yes, the smaller one is Song San." Song San said hurriedly.

"Brandman?" Liu Tongfu asked again.

"Hehe, I'm not afraid of your constant jokes, I'm just making a living." Song San's waist bent even lower.

"Can you get good goods?" Liu Tongfu asked again.

"See what you always say, can there be no good products in this Liuli Factory?" Song San smiled and said, "As long as you have money, the treasures in the palace can also throw them here with all their might!"

"I want to buy some high-end babies today. Do you think it's okay?" Liu Tongfu asked again.

"You are old," Song San clapped his hands suddenly: "Do you know 'Zangzhenzhai'? Today, their old boss will show their treasures to their colleagues in Liulichang..."

"What treasure is the treasure of the veterinary capital?"

"Da Shang Bronze Cauldron!"

"Where is Liu Tongfu?"

Liu Tongfu was wandering around Liulichang and ran into a rare antique exhibition. But just as he was leading Song San to head to Zangzhenzhai's home, his apartment in Beijing had been blocked. The person who blocked the crowd was a slander, or a serious official, Qing Beile, Prime Minister of Affairs and Minister of State, Yi Kuang.

"Go back to Master Beile, Lord Liu is out." The reply was a middle-aged man in his forties, who was the housekeeper of Liu Tongfu's residence in Beijing. The housekeeper also had another identity, the slave of Qing Beile Mansion... He was the servant given to Liu Tongfu by Yikuang.

“Where have you gone?”

"I don't know, I just went out with a foreigner, it seems to be called "I..."

"M, what are you giving me to eat? Isn't it just for you to look at people? Now you don't even know where people go?" Yi Kuang was obviously anxious and became angry. He immediately became angry when he heard the butler's answer.

"Master Beile, it's not that I don't look at me. After all, I'm a servant. Then Lord Liu is not an ordinary person, he..." The housekeeper hurriedly knelt down and said.

"Okay, okay," Yikuang stood up, "I'm not here to listen to your complaints. Remember, when the person is back, please report it."

“Yes, yes.”

"Walk!"

Yi Kuang waved his hand and left Liu's house with his entourage again, but he did not stop there. Soon, under his order, the infantry commander's office and Shuntian Mansion received orders to find someone. The situation was even more powerful than the momentum of arresting the imperial offender. However, what could make him so anxious as the prime minister and ministers of various countries?

It is of course a national event.

Ronglu and others who were sent to Tangzhou for training had just sent back a long telegram, which relayed in detail the war in Colombia to them... It was this war that aroused the interest and concerns of Cixi in the palace.

It turned out that in Colombia, the Spanish advance corps led by Martinez Campos was finally forced to retreat to Barranquilla due to excessive losses in baggage and personnel in Colombia. However, it was difficult to come and go. The two battalions of the Red Corps firmly blocked their way back under the leadership of Lu Sanhai, the commander of the mountain division. Campos launched attacks repeatedly and even launched several decisive attacks, but they all ended in vain under the blockade of Lu Sanhai... Campos was in a dilemma and had to ask for help from the base camp again. However, his reinforcements did not come, but Lu Sanhai's reinforcements arrived.

Colombian President Morideo didn't know what disease he had committed, so he sent the 7,000 regular troops left in the capital Santa Fe Bogota... Although after the arrival of this army, the furious Campos was almost beaten to the north and south in the first battle, and lost nearly a thousand people, within the next few days, they still completed the task and completed the siege of Campos's troops with the two battalions of Lu Sanhai.

Campos was in trouble with internal and external affairs, and after being surrounded for four days, he led his troops to surrender to Lu Sanhai.

It was not until this time that people realized that the Red Corps led by Lu Sanhai was only about one thousand. According to the organization of the Red Corps, there was less than one regiment.

But that doesn't count.

Just when Morido sent the defenders of Santa Fe Bogota to help Lu Sanhai, Vila Nikolau, who had just landed in Santa Marta, also saw the opportunity... The emptiness of Santa Fe Bogota. In fact, Nikolau also understood that the empty Santa Fe Bogota is likely to be a trap. After all, with Colombia's military strength, there is no reason, and it is impossible to have the courage to give up the protection of the capital. The only possibility that they could abandon the protection of the capital was, ambush!

However, the Spanish general was extremely confident. He believed that he was fully capable of destroying all ambushed enemies, especially when the Red Corps had been "retained" by Campos, the little Colombian army would not pose any threat to him at all. So, with such a good feeling of cowhide, Nikolaou set out.

The beginning was very smooth, and Nikolau's army encountered almost no resistance along the way. Even if there was, it was quickly defeated, as he expected, and there was no threat at all. This made Nikolau even more arrogant. The originally cautious march speed also accelerated a lot, and the troops were pulled away.

Then they arrived at Baranga Vemeja, an important transit station on the railways of Santa Marta and Bogota, and was also an important river port on the Magdalena River. Here, Nikolau's vanguard encountered a blockade from the Colombian army.

Nicholas did not take this blocking seriously at the beginning. In his opinion, as soon as the main force arrived, the blocking enemy could be quickly defeated or even eliminated. However, at this moment, he received the news that Campos surrendered! Immediately afterwards, Santa Marta was raided by the Red Corps, and thousands of left-behind troops were eliminated. Not only that, his subsequent troops were also attacked by the Red Corps, killing hundreds of people.

This series of blows made Nicholau dizzy. He was not afraid of the Colombians, but he didn't understand why there were red corps everywhere here in an instant? Aren't the Chinese already restrained by Campos? Campos is a famous Spanish general and has more than 10,000 troops in his hands. He should be able to restrain the Red corps... They have news. From the threats they sent to Colombia to the formal dispatch of troops, the Chinese have never sent any to Colombia.

A unit, only a so-called secret force with a number of five to six thousand people, has been training in Colombia. With Campos' ability and military strength, there is no reason to be unable to restrain such a unit with a population of less than half of his own. And it is precisely because Campos has restrained the Chinese that he has the courage to advance towards Bogota. Otherwise, a unit that is almost the same as the combat power of the US team, and even has a chance to win, how could he ignore it?

But it turns out that Nikolau guessed wrong. Moreover, because of this mistake, he was caught in the front and back attacks between the Chinese and the Colombians.

……


Chapter completed!