At the Dongzhimen Railway Station in Beijing, the towering city wall stands beside the station. The road leading to the station is muddy. Although the snow has melted away, the soil moisture is very serious due to the heavy snow in the winter.
The ground is like a pool of water. When the weather warms up, it begins to seep out. When people step on it, it is soft and you can see water seeping out when you push through ruts.
Dongzhimen Station is the first station leading to Tianjin Wei. There are a lot of people and goods coming and going every day, but the roads outside have not had time to harden. This time of recovery is even worse.
The rickshaw, which is famous for its lightness, could no longer run at this moment. The rickshaw from the Bayayang Truck Company struggled to move forward on the muddy road. The feet of the driver pulling the rickshaw were wrapped in mud and made a snapping sound every step of the way.
Gordon and Delaney, including several staff members of the British Embassy, sat in a row of rickshaws heading to the station platform. Gordon looked at the scene in front of him in the car and couldn't help but frowned.
The rickshaw puller pulled the cart forward with difficulty in the mud. It was an easy journey but he was sweating profusely. The truck carrying fish next to him was stuck deep in the mud. The driver couldn't pull the mule out even if he whipped it hard with his whip.
As far as the eye can see, there is pitch black soil containing water vapor everywhere. The entire Qing Dynasty wilderness seems to be entangled in a quagmire, which makes people feel very tangled and twisted.
What was even more worrying was that he saw at least forty or fifty beggars along both sides of the road, which was much more than usual!
The old man and the old woman took their grandson or granddaughter and knelt on the muddy ground to beg the guests for a reward. There was also a beggar wrapped in a straw mat whose face was red. It seemed that he had a high fever, but there was no way to treat him.
The eyes of the mother holding the child were empty, and she let the child suck on her dry chest, but there was no milk at all. The hungry baby cried loudly, but the cry was so weak.
"Oh God! What happened to the Qing Dynasty?" Gordon couldn't bear to open his eyes and look at the miserable situation, so he rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes.
The coachman struggled to walk to the station, and after getting on the clean waterfront in Prairie, these foreigners jumped out of the car!
Delaney paid them the fare and gave them some tips. The coachmen were very grateful. When they turned back and prepared to pull the car away, Gordon asked them to stop.
"Wait a minute..." Gordon stopped the coachman, turned around and walked to a small shop selling food at the station, looking at a thick stack of pancakes, "I want these!"
After paying, Gordon called the coachmen over, "Give this food to the beggars on the road just now! Give more to women and the elderly, and give more to infants and sick people..."
These cart pullers did not expect that the foreign devils also had good intentions. "You foreign masters are so virtuous! I kowtow to you on behalf of the victims! Your husband, Hou Wandai..."
"Don't kowtow to me... take all this food, take it all!"
Gordon was not short of money. He bought all the food from a breakfast stall by himself, including dough cakes, sesame cakes, fried dough sticks, pickles... He even asked the boss to boil a few more pots of water.
Delaney and the others came to see Gordon off. After watching Gordon finish all this, he said with emotion, "My old friend, you seem to regard the Qing Dynasty as your second hometown!"
"Of course it's good to do good, but the disaster in the capital is so serious, how many can you help?"
Gordon sighed, "You can save as many as you want! If I didn't see it, I can pretend not to know, but when I see it with my own eyes, I can't deceive my conscience!"
"I'm surprised. Your Majesty has already issued a decree for local disaster relief, and the news in the newspapers has also written that the disaster relief was very successful. Why are there so many victims again? It's incredible..."
An old man from the embassy said, "This is not surprising. In fact, there are a large number of beggars in the Qing Dynasty every year. Whether it is a year of disaster or a good year, beggars are inevitable!"
"Because the formation of some beggars has nothing to do with agricultural harvests! Some are caused by disease, some are loan sharks, and some are bullied by bandits and bullies... If you can't survive in your hometown, you have no choice but to leave your hometown and come to the city to beg!"
"You don't need to pity these people too much. They have just arrived in the capital. After a few months, they will be familiar with the environment in the capital. Most of them can find a job!"
"I can make a living by pulling a foreign truck, working in a factory in Qinghe, or doing part-time work in a shop in Nancheng!"
Gordon was obviously not as optimistic as his colleagues. He kept shaking his head, "No! I feel something is wrong... I heard that a rat plague has started again in the area. Has the disaster expanded?"
"This is not the only year I have lived in the capital. Although there were beggars in previous years, there were definitely not so many!"
Delaney, you don’t want to leave when you hear this? Quickly use words to divert his attention: "My dear old friend, you have started to make the same mistakes again!"
"What did Prince Dun remind you? You are British, and coming to the Qing Dynasty to serve as an official has made many people afraid! Prince Dun said that you must not interfere with civil affairs!"
"You don't know how many things are going on here. Once you say too much, many people will hate you!"
"Don't worry, our British Embassy will not stand idly by. I will hold a charity dinner later and ask everyone to donate some money to help the victims in the capital!"
"As for you, hurry up and take the train to Hong Kong! The noble gentlemen in the House of Lords are waiting to commend you and give you a medal!"
"You've been away from home for a long time. Don't you miss home? Go see your relatives in China, chat and get credit. It's such a happy thing. Don't let your bad mood affect you..."
"Ouch... Look, the train is coming... Chief Gordon, your first-class ticket is a direct ticket to Tanggu Special Economic Zone, so you don't have to stop in Tianjin!"
"We sent a telegram to Tanggu and sent someone to pick you up from your cruise ship. This is a brand new cruise ship and it is very safe..."
Gordon wanted to say a few more words, but the colleagues from the embassy helped him carry him and salute him and put him in the carriage.
Delaney also spent his own money to buy a bottle of whiskey from the bar in the first-class carriage and gave it to Gordon, "Have a drink on the way to relax, and you can board the ship to rest in the afternoon!"
Gordon was carried away by the big guy. When the steam locomotive sprayed white steam and rolled forward, people waved to Gordon through the windows.
Delaney's smile froze at the moment Gordon was out of sight, and the train gradually moved away from people's sight. Delaney sighed, "Finally sent him away... This person is the biggest variable in our plan!"
"In this coup, he must not be allowed to take over the military power!"
"Send a telegram to Xiling...Gordon will board the cruise ship tonight and set off tomorrow morning!"
