The Lantern Festival, also known as the Shangyuan Festival and the Lantern Festival. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info before the Ming Lantern Festival is ten days, connected with the Spring Festival, now it is reduced to five days, but also because of the reduction of five days, the festive atmosphere is more intense, every household eats rice balls, Zhang lanterns, at night to help the old and young to rush to the street to watch the lanterns, however, coincided with the national funeral, this atmosphere is not as good as before, Zhang Lantern can, but the color is not daring, and even if Zhang Deng, the theme is mostly twenty-four filial piety and the like, as for the dragon dance, lion dance, dry boat, stilts and other hundred plays are naturally strictly prohibited.

But even so, but can not stop the women's interest in night to enjoy the lanterns, after all, the Lantern Festival is one of the few festivals that do not allow women to go out, Guangzhou has gradually opened up in recent years, women show up is a common thing, but there are still many large families in the family women are confined in the boudoir at home, a rare opportunity to fly free, how can they easily let go.

Before it was dark, Bai Xue, Chunmei and others begged to go out to enjoy the lanterns at night, and Yi Zhizhi was unwilling to sweep their interest, but just told them to bring more maids and maids, pay attention to safety, and don't stay up all night.

The women who stayed happily slipped out of the garden from the back door, Yi Zhicontent walked slowly in the garden for a while, and only then did they paced back to the Changle Book House when they saw the sky dark, and when they entered the courtyard, they saw Lin Meilian coming with a lantern, and couldn't help but be quite surprised, and said, "Why didn't you go out with them to enjoy the lanterns at night?" ”

Lin Meilian smiled and said: "You can't all go out, just leave the big shopkeeper at home alone, it won't be unseemly." ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhi couldn't help but smile, "It's not that there are no maids left and right, although this year is a national funeral, the light market should still be a very lively ......." ”

Before he could say anything, the porter hurried over and bowed slightly: "Lord Hou, Lord Futai is here to visit." ”

Today's governor of Guangdong is Ye Mingchen, easy to be content with the funeral at home, do not socialize with Guangzhou officialdom, except for Huang Entong, the governor of Liangguang, has come a few times, few officials come to visit, today is the Lantern Festival, and it is late, Ye Mingchen actually chose to visit at this time, it is very unreasonable, is it to urge him to leave for Beijing?

He didn't see it, but if the other party really came to urge him to leave for Beijing, blindly avoiding it was not a way, and he groaned a little before he said, "Please let him in." ”

Ye Mingchen is a celebrity, a famous feudal official in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, known as the governor of the 'six no', during the Second Opium War, he was the governor of Liangguang, the British and French forces attacked Guangzhou, he was ridiculed for not fighting, not making peace, not defending, not leaving, not surrendering, not dying, and finally captured by the British and French forces, captured to Calcutta, India, and finally died of hunger strike.

Yi Zhixiang still admires him a lot, he can go on a hunger strike and starve to death, which is undoubtedly very virtuous, as for saying 'six no', in fact, it is more helpless, but now the situation is different, it is difficult to say whether there will be a second opium war, even if it breaks out, Guangzhou does not need to rely on the local government to defend.

Ye Mingchen, the word Kunchen, a native of Hanyang, Hubei, a fifteen-year Jinshi of Daoguang, selected Shu Jitu, and awarded the editor. Eighteen years, out of Shaanxi Xing'an prefect, Shanxi Yanping Road, Jiangxi Yandao, Yunnan according to the envoy, Hunan, Gansu, Guangdong political envoy, twenty-eight years, promoted to Guangdong governor, just thirteen years, ranked in the feudal territory, in the Qing Dynasty officialdom is also an outlier.

Not long after, a middle-aged man in his early forties, not tall, obviously fat and fat, and dressed as an ordinary gentleman walked into the room under the leadership of the gatehouse, Yi Zhishu glanced him up and down, secretly thinking that this is Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong? It's a business owner.

Ye Mingchen was indeed born in a family of merchants, his family is famous for dealing in medicinal materials, "Ye Kaitai" is the signature of his family, a famous time-honored brand in Wuhan, and it is precisely because of the background of the merchant family that he is extremely shrewd, good at handling government affairs as an official, and is also good at financial management, and his career is smooth, which is not unrelated.

Seeing Yi Zhizhi, he arched his hand with a smile on his face and said: "I have long admired the name of Brother Guocheng, and I am in Yangcheng together, but I have not .....seen it until today." ”

Yi Zhisuff smiled and said: "Brother Kunchen is in charge of Guangdong, it stands to reason that he should go to visit in Xia, but he is just filial piety at home, which is inconvenient." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and saluted, "Brother Kunchen, please." ”

"Brother Guocheng, please-." Ye Mingchen hurriedly humbled him, and the two of them politely entered the house, and after sitting down, Yi Zhixiang was not polite to him, and said with a smile: "Today's Lantern Festival, Brother Kunchen should not have the leisure to enjoy the lanterns and pass by Lei Garden." ”

Seeing that he asked so directly, Ye Mingchen said: "Brother Guocheng is quick to talk, and it is indeed a rumor. After a pause, he continued: "I came here this time to inquire, when will Brother Guocheng leave for Beijing?" ”

"After the opening." Yi Zhicontent said without hesitation: "Now that Tianjin's foreign ocean has not thawed, it is necessary to take the land route, just by the way to investigate the construction of the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway, last year's flood, the railway construction process is also quite affected." ”

Ye Mingchen came today, was entrusted by the Guangzhou general Yixiang, to inquire when Yi Zhicontent left for Beijing, and did not know why Yi Zhicontent entered Beijing during the period of defending, listening to his reply, it was also reasonable, and immediately followed the conversation: "Last year's flood, it was really rare, Wuhan City was eight feet deep, gathering more than 300,000 hungry people, if it were not for the timely relief, if it was not for the timely encouragement of the imperial court to immigrate to Nanyang, Yuan Qi and proper arrangements, the consequences are unimaginable. ”

Seeing him rambling, Yi Zhizhi estimated that he was here to inquire about the news, but it was not good to serve tea to the guests, after all, the bench was not yet hot, so he immediately patiently accompanied him to chat.

Half an hour later, Ye Mingchen took the initiative to get up and say goodbye, and sent it out of the yard, Yi Zhihu didn't care, turned back to the study to smoke and drink tea and read, he promised Daoguang, entered Beijing at the beginning of the year, and now it is the Lantern Festival, and it is normal for the governor of Guangdong to come to inquire about the news, as for his reply, it is naturally not leaky, after opening the ya, he will leave for Shanghai, and when he arrives in Shanghai, Wen Han's note should also be delivered to the prime minister's yamen, at that time, the situation in Beijing should also be clear, anyway, one word - drag!

At ten o'clock, Lin Meilian came in with a food box, Yi Zhizhi glanced at it, and said, "Didn't you say that you don't need to have a supper?" ”

Lin Meilian said with a smile: "Today is the Lantern Festival, ready-made rice balls, auspicious." ”

Eating glutinous rice balls means that the family will be reunited in the new year, however, Yi Zhixiang is very clear, this is only afraid that it is extravagant, his wife and son are in Beijing, Daoguang's intention to detain her mother and son is very obvious, the last time Zaitong begged to help his parents' coffins return home, Daoguang did not allow it, and now he does not enter Beijing, and the members of the group do not know how long it will be.

Before the bowl of rice balls was finished, Pang Yougui, the commander of the pro-military battalion, said loudly outside: "Report-." ”

"Come in." Yi Zhishu commanded casually.

After Pang Yougui came in to salute, he reported: "Principal, there are ....... of officers and soldiers gathered at four intersections outside the garden. ”

Officers and soldiers of the brigade? Yi Zhizhi was content, Ye Mingchen walked on the front foot, and the officers and soldiers of the brigade then blocked Lei Yuan, what does this mean? This is trying to come hard, catch him? This is too underestimating people, and he dares to arrest him in Xiguan! Putting down the spoon, he said in a deep voice: "Send a rescue signal!" ”

Three orange-red fireworks bloomed in the sky above Lei Garden, like a fire tree, ten miles away are clearly visible, attracting a lot of night tour to enjoy the lights of the tourists' attention, however, no one knows what this means, but also when it is a large family to set off fireworks, many people are still secretly worried, during the national funeral, set off fireworks, I am afraid that it is inevitable to be in trouble.

With the blooming of the fireworks, the Henan camp and the Huadi camp sounded a sharp and rapid whistle almost at the same time, which was a whistle unique to the emergency assembly, and the officers and soldiers who had just fallen asleep got up as quickly as possible, put on their military uniforms, packed their backpacks, and rushed to the playground of the assembly.

Yixiang, the general of Guangzhou who had just arrived at the intersection of the west side, was not stupid, looking at the gorgeous fireworks that slowly dissipated, his face became extremely ugly, and the fireworks in Lei Yuan were so immortal that he could not die, what this meant was self-explanatory, thinking that the camp of Huadi and the camp of Henan were close at hand, he couldn't help but be entangled.

In order to avoid any accidents, he dispatched a thousand people, and it was more than enough to blockade and surround Lei Yuan, even if there was any accident, he was not afraid at all, but he didn't expect that Lei Yuan could use fireworks to send a message for help, and he really underestimated this big shopkeeper of Yuanqi, no wonder people lived in Lei Yuan without fear.

What to do? Is it going forward or backward? Enter, if you can't capture Lei Yuan alive before the arrival of the soldiers of the Huadi Camp and the Henan Battalion, it will be a disastrous consequence, these Eight Banners officers and soldiers under him are not opponents of others, and one is not good, and it will force the opponent to be content, really at that time, he is definitely the scapegoat of the court!

Retreat, he, the general of Guangzhou, is afraid that he will do it, I'm afraid it's more than that, it is possible that he will have to go back to Beijing to retire from now on, and he is in a dilemma, Yixiang can't wait to scold Chaotian Niang, and he is weighing himself, but Huan Ling, the deputy capital commander, said: "Dashuai, Lei Yuan is only a hundred people to defend the sky, even if the Huadi camp and the Henan camp can come to the aid in time, it will take half an hour to arrive, half an hour, enough for us to sweep Lei Yuan several times." ”

This is not unreasonable, and since Lei Yuan has discovered the situation of their army blockade, even if they retreat now, it can be regarded as tearing the skin, there is no turning back arrow when the bow is opened, and he can only fight, thinking of this, he gritted his teeth, his heart was horizontal, and he said in a deep voice: "Order, surround Lei Yuan, break the door, break the wall, capture Yi Zhi, remember, you must live!" ”

Lei Garden, Changle Book House.

Bao Shichen looked at Yi Zhizhi worriedly, and said, "Can the Henan camp come in time?" ”

"The fastest ride on a steamer is forty minutes." Yi Zhi's content tone was steady, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

Almost three quarters of an hour? Bao Shichen was silent and said, "Lei Yuan's personal soldiers, can you hold on for so long?" ”

Yi Zhicontent lit a cigarette and asked without answering, "The court is so impatient, and it doesn't hesitate to tear its face, is it enough to show that he is already critically ill today?" ”

Seeing that he was calm and calm, Bao Shichen also calmed down, and sighed slightly, before he said: "It shouldn't be wrong, otherwise, I won't make this decision." ”

Yi Zhixiang said indifferently: "It seems that the imperial court is sincere in forcing Yuan Qi to rebel." ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen sighed secretly, did not say a word, the court did this, the persecuted Yi Zhicontent had no way out, he knew very well that Yi Zhicontent was actually not willing to turn his face with the court and openly rebel, whether it was for Yuan Qi or for the court, this was a lose-lose situation, and the Qing Dynasty might fall into war for a long time. He really couldn't understand it, Daoguang should be insightful about this, why did he make such a stupid move, could it be that he was sick and confused?

"Headmaster." Pang Yougui walked in quickly and saluted: "The officers and soldiers have surrounded Lei Garden, and they will attack soon, please transfer the principal to Haitang Garden as soon as possible." ”

Yi Zhishu nodded and said, "Are all those maids arranged?" ”

"Principal rest assured." Pang Yougui hurriedly said: "I have gathered them all into one courtyard and told them not to resist or worry." Then he added: "The aunts are not in the house, the principal is safe and sound, and the officers and soldiers do not dare to be presumptuous." ”

This truth is easy to understand naturally, so he immediately got up, looked at Bao Shichen and said: "Mr. go to the Begonia Garden with me, but unfortunately it is night, but in fact, the scenery of the Begonia Garden is also good." ”

The name of the Begonia Garden is good, the trees inside and outside the garden are lush, from the outside, there is nothing abnormal at all, but the Lei Garden is clear that the Begonia Garden is a forbidden area, not to mention a group of maids, even Bai Xue and Chunmei have never been able to enter, and there are faint rumors that it is a silver vault.

Bao Shichen walked into the garden with Yi Zhifen without hurrying, and Yi Zhishu introduced as he walked: "This garden looks nothing different from the outside, but in fact, it ..... It is a fortress, and the back of this wall is made of cement strips and stones, and the artillery is difficult to break through, which is enough to support the Henan camp to come to the rescue. ”

Hearing this, Bao Shichen understood why he was so calm and not flustered at all before, it turned out that he had been on guard for a long time, but, thinking about it, Yi Zhishu has always been wary of the imperial court, how can the Lei Garden where he lives be unguarded?

Yixiang led the officers and soldiers of the brigade without encountering any resistance, and easily broke into the door, but the more this was the case, the more worried he was in his heart, as the so-called abnormal things must have demons, Lei Yuan actually did not resist at all, which is really unreasonable.

What is Lei Garden? Lei Yuan is the mansion of Yuan Qi's big shopkeeper Yi Zhizhi, Yuan Qi is the richest business group in the Qing Dynasty, entering Lei Yuan, all the officers and soldiers are red-eyed, and they rush to the large and small gardens and courtyards inside, busy to make a fortune, and a group of middle and lower-level military attaches are also excited, not only do not stop it, but they also join the ranks of the search.

Seeing this situation, Yixiang jumped straight to his feet, the reinforcements of the Henan battalion and the Huadi battalion were coming in a blink of an eye, but the officers and soldiers below were busy making a fortune, if they couldn't catch Yi Zhishu as soon as possible, what would be the consequences waiting for them? Yi Zhicontent is not a good man and a woman, what are the consequences, even if you think about it with your ass, you can think about it.