In Suzhou City, on the sixth day after the stock market opened, the atmosphere in the whole city suddenly became strange. First, three battalions of the Hunan Army arrived outside the city. This was different from the soldiers stationed in the city on weekdays. The camp is strong and stable, with buckets, antlers, volleys of guns and artillery in the trenches.
A well-informed person could tell at a glance that two of the battalion leaders came from the standing field camp selected by Marshal Zeng Jiangning, while the other battalion leader came from the Jizi Camp of the Ninth Marshal.
These are the core forces of the serious Hunan Army, which must maintain combat readiness even in times of peace. It is completely different from those garrison camps with lax ideas about letting Nanshan go.
As soon as this elite group was stationed in Suzhou, the air in the entire city was stagnant. The number of soldiers patrolling the streets increased exponentially. The government officials who used to be idle in the past were as solemn as if they were facing the enemy. In the end, the people of Suzhou even saw a group of soldiers. Strange army.
A company of Marines crossed Taihu Lake and entered the city from the pier. They had no braids, brand new sky blue military uniforms, patent leather large-brimmed hats, shiny leather boots above the knees, a German Mauser on their backs, and the officer's waist. Revolver.
The armed belt was filled with bullet magazines, and hanging grenades with wooden handles and melon grenades. Qiu Wei, who had delivered the imperial edict before, came again, with a big cigar in the corner of his mouth and a look of unruliness on his face. tame.
As soon as these soldiers appeared, all the fools in Suzhou City knew who was coming. All the merchants and people went crazy. When they met, they would say "The Prime Minister is here! It must be the Prime Minister."
"That's right, the Prime Minister is here, His Majesty has to come too, and maybe Marshal Zeng has to come too! Oh my god, these six days of waiting have not been in vain!"
The whole city fell into a sleepless night, and the security measures were so tight that even flies couldn't fly in. The anxious big businessmen were waiting in their homes or waiting in the pub. Whoever got the invitation for the next day that night would... The entire family celebrated with excitement and a banquet.
In the dark night, the sound of war horses on the long street is the sound that countless businesses are looking forward to. They really hope that the war horses will stop in front of their homes, and then the sound of banging on the door will be heard. Being able to see the emperor, the commander-in-chief and Prime Minister Xiao of Donghai in one day is a glorious thing that can be recorded in the family tree.
It was dawn, Suzhou City had been awake all night, and the foreign clock had just passed five o'clock. Those invited Su Lao and merchants were escorted by soldiers to the Suzhou Stock Market. These distinguished guests would be the ones closest to the emperor and the prime minister.
After the distinguished guests were seated, they were the public representatives of the five elements and eight works of the city, and then there were more than 20,000 people in the city watching the ceremony, crowding the long street.
4000
Right.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the Suzhou Stock Market opened on time, and the first batch of people who walked out were fully armed Marines. They were armed with live ammunition and arranged a core cordon in a ring, standing in line with the Hunan Army's escort force on the second floor. A mutually contradictory situation.
Amid the exclamations of the crowd, the first people to come out were Zeng Guofan and Ninth Marshal Zeng Guoquan. The scene was filled with joy, and people everywhere prostrated themselves on the ground, shouting slogans to greet the Marshal.
Before the heat wave of excitement subsided, the nine-gun salute began to roar, and then Shao music started. Following the music, it was Emperor Tongzhi who was dressed in bright yellow and his imperial master Xiao Letian who walked out.
The air at the scene suddenly froze for three seconds, followed by all the people prostrating themselves and shouting "Long Live Long Live" three times.
The people in the Middle Ages worshiped the imperial power from the bottom of their hearts. They were simple and willing to put all the bad suffering on corrupt officials, and they were not willing to cast any doubt on the emperor.
The emperor is always the sage, and the fault is always the villain around the sage. Otherwise, there would be so many people who are loyal to the emperor since ancient times.
The appearance of Emperor Tongzhi made the people in Jiangnan forget the pain of excessive taxes, the evil of corrupt officials, and the misery of war and chaos. At this moment, they only had one belief in their hearts, the emperor came to see us, long live the emperor!
Seeing tens of thousands of people prostrating themselves in dust, Zai Chun finally found the sweet taste of imperial power. He was a little dizzy, but Xiao Letian, who was holding his hand, squeezed his palm and calmed him down.
Zai Chun walked to the makeshift viewing platform in the middle of the steps and shouted in a childish voice, "Get flat!" After giving the order, the government servants and soldiers who were maintaining order in the crowd quickly shouted, "The Emperor wants you to get flat, first. Kowtow and shout long live, and then get up again."
It was impossible for more than 20,000 people to hear the emperor's voice all at once. He needed countless microphones in the crowd to spread it, which presented an incredible picture of waves on the high platform.
Zai Chun watched as 20,000 people knelt down and stood up one after another like waves in the sea, and the voice of long live swept over them one after another.
"This feels so good!" Zai Chun actually muttered to himself, and his face became rosy involuntarily.
Xiao Letian looked like a loser. Zai Chun was so excited that he couldn't control his emotions. It was no wonder that it was his first time to speak in front of tens of thousands of people. He remembered that when he was more than ten years old, he participated in the recitation competition in the first grade of junior high school. On the show, I still had stage fright in front of an audience of more than a hundred people, let alone tens of thousands of people.
He lowered his head and whispered, "Your Majesty, calm down. Talking less will show your majesty!"
Zai Chun nodded, took a deep breath to suppress his restless heart, and suddenly shouted forcefully, "People of Jiangnan! My people! I'm here to visit you."
"The woolly cholera has persisted in Jiangnan for more than ten years. I am deeply regretful that I was unable to go to the battlefield in person when I was young! I did not experience your suffering personally, and I am even more ashamed of Jiangnan, Jiangnan! You have suffered!"
After saying this, Zai Chun bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle! These can be regarded as bombing the camp. No one expected that the emperor would use such opening remarks to meet the people of Jiangnan.
Among the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, only Kangxi and Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River. The other emperors have never been seen by the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Everything is only in legends. However, Jiangnan was responsible for nearly half of the Qing Dynasty's food and tax. It would be false to say that there was no resentment.
Not only the land of wealth in Jiangnan is the main battlefield fought for by many forces, the foreigners came, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom came, the Eight Banners Green Camp came, and the Hunan Army came. The war that lasted for more than ten years caused the population of Jiangnan to drop sharply. It is a painful memory that people in Jiangnan dare not remember.
But today, Emperor Tongzhi's obeisance was like a spring breeze that relieved more than half of the people's grievances, and the scene was filled with cries.
Xiao Letian was also stunned. He thought that Zai Chun would follow the script as he practiced last night, but he didn't expect that this little kid would act on the spot?
Bewitch! Zai Chun suddenly awakened a brand new skill today, that is bewitchment! He suddenly had an epiphany. He finally understood what the people wanted and what the superiors should give them.
This move was originally Xiao Letian's unique skill, but this apprentice actually figured it out on his own today, which really surprised Xiao Letian.
Note: I am out and about, so there is only one update today. Sorry, there will be an update later to compensate when I get home! Thanks!
