As the red-clothed departed division led the gray-clothed, red-vested and black-clothed into Zezhou, Lu'an and other prefectures, the three-light operation in full swing in Hedong Province gradually spread to Yining Dao, and a large number of merchants and gentry abandoned their industries and fled to their hometowns and fled to the fortress of Taoism in their minds: Taiyuan Mansion.

In Taiyuan Fucheng, in the governor's yamen, the officials and the people gathered together, and this tide of escape was hotly discussed.

"Today's events, Mu Xian has already seen the candle, and when the sword and axe are added, the ignorant and foolish people have just woken up from a dream, sad and lamentable!"

"Or are we righteous people who remember the kindness of our masters and have a firm will, and we have followed Mu Xian early and joined the great plan to save the country......"

The majority of the officials in the hall are the officials, but the officials who can speak are full of self-proclaimed people, and they are obviously just "righteous people" who have obtained official status. These people are also divided into three categories, one is the imperial businessmen who are inextricably linked with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and even the merchants who directly hang the official titles of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, such as Wailang, the other is the kind of officials and businessmen who donated in the past, and the rest are the official bodies obtained by emergency service after the Northern Expedition.

These people are complacent, and even gloating is reasonable, they are the richest and most powerful people in the whole Shanxi, if Shanxi is listed in the top 100 wealth list, this hall will account for at least eighty. As the core members of the Jin merchants, of course, they were not stupid enough to think that the Nanban would treat them leniently, and when the news of the Northern Expedition first started, they sold their property one after another and gathered in Taiyuan Fucheng.

And now the merchants and gentry who have fled to Taiyuan are basically big families at the local level, with a dull sense of political smell, and they also feel that they can change the dynasty as before, as long as they welcome the new dynasty, the close relationship with the Jin merchants and the Manchus in the past will be whitewashed. But he didn't expect that Nanban would uproot them in the name of settling the historical accounts of the Manchurians and the Jin merchants.

Muhd nodded reservedly. With no smile on his face, the crow's mouth is not a good reputation, but it is unfortunate to be able to bring these people's hearts closer to each other.

The key is the next step. This step must be taken in order for these people to be truly determined to be the "righteous" they call themselves.

Striking while the iron was hot, Muhd said: "Now that the general trend is clear, it is time to completely clean up Taiyuan." The red-clothed striker of Nanban has arrived in Fenzhou, and I have to wait for a decisive battle! ”

The voice fell. The hall was silent for a moment, and no one dared to answer this conversation.

What Muhd said, everyone knows very well, that is, the southern barbarians in Taiyuan City.

The north and south have been connected for many years. Nanban has many industries throughout Shanxi. Many southern barbarians came and went. In Taiyuan, there are consulates, Shanxi Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Taiyuan Heavenly Temple, Yingci Yuan, Chinese Academy and other non-governmental forces have also settled in Taiyuan City. The consulate is located in Yousuo Street in the west of the city, the merchant hall is in Simi City, and the Tianmiao Yingciyuan and the Academy are in the area of the river temple outside the city. After the Southern Barbarian Northern Expedition. The southern barbarians who did not have time to retreat south were concentrated in these three places, about three or four hundred people.

The Nanban officials in the consulate were envoys, and the other Nanban were either merchants or temple-like sacrifices, as well as doctors and teachers, so when the Taiyuan prefect sent officials to block the three places to ensure rice, grain and water. Not only did Muhd not say anything, but he also sent another green battalion to guard against the attack of the southern barbarians by the radical righteous soldiers. At that time, he was still busy gathering people's hearts, and he acted rashly, which would only mess up his own position.

But now it's different, Nanban has laid out the carriage and horses. even wantonly killed officials and businessmen in Shanxi, plus raided their homes. Mohd believes. It's time to uproot the Southern Barbarians in one fell swoop, so that they can further solidify people's hearts and strengthen their will to resist.

The hall was silent, and Muhd was not surprised, the Southern Barbarian Northern Expedition did not explain how to deal with the Manchus and the official and business forces related to the Manchus, which was the background of Gao Qi in Henan and Muhd's ability to manipulate people's hearts in Shanxi, so they directly used the radical public opinion in the Southern Barbarian State, and the locals could not believe it. However, the text clearly emphasized that the two crimes that the Nanban would never forgive and should be punished in the third degree, one was to endanger the southerners stranded in the north, and the other was to damage the Yinghua industry and property in the north.

Until the last minute, no one wants to cut themselves off.

What Mu Hed wanted in Shanxi was for the government and the people to work together to resist the Southern Barbarians, and these Jin merchants and heroes here must advance and retreat with him. The local green battalion soldiers have long been unreliable, and they are used to maintain order, and those Han army green flag soldiers in the flag camp, he did not dare to rashly escort this people's heart threshold, and the three thousand green flag soldiers in Taiyuan City are his only basis for maintaining the situation.

It is inevitable to force these Jin businessmen to do it. These people either have cronies and family members, or they have huge wealth, and they push them to do this, which can be regarded as a bloody vote, and then use them to resist the red clothes, and it will be much more reassuring.

Scanning everyone, taking in all the expressions of fear, apprehension and secret calculation, Muhd was not annoyed, and said calmly: "It's time to explain to you the bottom line of the imperial court......

After a long time, Muhd's voice fell, and everyone in the hall looked stunned, and Muhd added: "Of course, you should also know that this is like Dayu's boat, the place on the boat is limited, and the person who can get the boat ticket must be the iron-core pillar of my Qing Dynasty!" How to prove this depends on whether you are determined enough. ”

Everyone's faces changed, and some people asked, just because they contributed, did the local gentry who fled only watch? Muhd's aides hurriedly announced a series of policies, such as requisitioning military funds throughout the city, organizing households to replenish the army, etc., which made these people's expressions even more relaxed.

"Let's listen to Mu Xian, kill the Southern Barbarians, and protect the Qing Dynasty!"

The Jin merchants and heroes had a clear future, and there were no worries, and there were small and medium-sized business gentry to share the burden, and they suddenly became enthusiastic, and they all hated to go into battle in person, and they were all afraid to go into battle in person.

Out of the governor's yamen, the Jin merchants and powerful people dispersed in groups of threes and threes, whispering to each other.

"How many people are you out of? How much silver? ”

"Isn't it enough to pretend, you won't take it seriously, will you?"

"Whoever wants to come out and do this bad thing will go, Muhd himself won't do it, and he still pushes us to do it, it's really whimsical."

"The retreat that the court thinks, is that called a retreat? We are not real barbarians, drinking wind and eating snow in the wilderness outside the gate, it is better to die comfortably! ”

Most people have such a tacit understanding, and others say it directly: "Even if the Nanban wants to raid the family and exterminate the clan, we can't stretch our necks and squeeze to the front to get a knife, Zhu Wen said it so clearly." When you can't be a Nanban...... The people of Great Britain should not be turned into ghosts by Great British knives. ”

There was also a flexible mind to discuss behind people's backs: "It's better to talk to the people at the British Consulate, with this merit, you may be able to earn a way out." ”

"Go together, go together. Don't miss my brother. ”

On March 22, the already solemn atmosphere in Taiyuan City pressed down another layer, and countless village brave regiments poured into Yousuo Street and Simi City, brandishing knives and guns, shouting like a tide.

But that's all, don't look at the deafening shouts of these people, the whirring of knives, no one approached the consulate and the merchant hall within three feet of the wall. Occasionally, a hot-blooded person crosses this invisible line. The momentum was really about to impact, and the crowd of people on the left and right suddenly rolled back, highlighting these people very clearly, as if they were afraid of getting involved with these people. This also made these "righteous men" sober up instantly. Shrunk back in disgrace.

These men received the money of the owner. It was here to make noise, and the owner also deliberately emphasized that whoever wants to really do it, not only will he not care about the death or injury. harmed the British, and they were expelled directly, and the consequences were borne by themselves.

The noise was so loud that the consulate and the merchant hall did not remove the slightest bit of the wall, and even the officials and green battalion soldiers who guarded the consulate and the merchant hall did not follow Muhd's order to retreat. Instead, he continued to protect dutifully, and Mohd was furious.

The official didn't move, it must have been a ghost by the Taiyuan prefect, and the green battalion soldiers didn't move, that is, the political envoy of Shanxi, his deputy Yin Jishan was meddling. Exhausting yourself. Pushing the officials and people of Shanxi to their hearts, the deputy is pulling his own hind legs. Muhd couldn't help but feel sad, and when Yin Jishan asked for the guilt, he burst into tears.

"We are all Manchurians, so we should devote ourselves to serving the court and the Queen Mother, Yuan Chief, why do you want to protect the Nanban? You ask yourself, do you have the heart to secretly join the Nanban!? Don't you know that if you go up the pole and throw it over, Nanban will also take you to the knife, and Nanban wants to exterminate my Manchu clan! ”

Yin Jishan is in his forties, with a round face and big ears, and in addition to being rich, he is also immersed in a strong bookish anger, he shook his head and said: "The southern barbarians in Taiyuan are either envoys or people, and they slaughter in vain, which not only hurts the peace of the heavens, but also damages the benevolence and righteousness of the Qing Dynasty." ”

Muhd hammered the table and roared, "Tianhe!? Righteousness!? Nanban is killing the corpses of my Qing people, and Hedong Road is already ten rooms and nine empty! In less than ten days, tens of thousands of refugees poured into Taiyuan, what kind of heaven and benevolence do you talk about with such Yidi beasts! ”

Yin Jishan shook his head and said: "Daxian's words are wrong, my ears and eyes are still clear, and I know the situation in Hedong Road." Nanban is uprooting the merchant Jia Haoqiang who is related to our Manchurians, and it has not harmed ordinary people. In the past two years, didn't I also agitate for the people to destroy the Nanban industry and kill and injure the Nanban people? It's just a report and a report. ”

Mu Hed was dumbfounded, and trembled for a while before he said angrily: "No wonder you Yin Jishan didn't have a good face in front of the Queen Mother!" Are you burned by the benevolence and morality of the Han people, and you still think that you are not a Manchurian!? ”

Yin Jishan's face rose with deep helplessness, just because he still regarded himself as a Manchurian, so he tried his best to protect the Southern Barbarian people. In his view, the general trend of the Qing Dynasty has gone, and the future of the Manchurian people is even more worrisome. If you want to survive the clan, you must stop doing more evil, lower your stature, be obedient and survive, and win a chance in front of Nanban and the Holy Dao.

The righteousness of the Southern Barbarian country is the morality of heaven and man, and such a brutal thing as the Jedi clan is not easy to do, and the Emperor of the Holy Dao is bent on pushing the public opinion of the country to the top of the tank, and he knows that the Manchu clan is not lifeless. In addition, the Confucian and virtuous Qingliu forces in the Southern Barbarian State who have the right to speak at the bottom line of people's hearts are quite strong, and the concept of "benevolence and forgiveness to the new" advocated by them also leaves room for the Manchurians, and he thinks that this idea is very realistic.

Today's Empress Dowager Cichun's idea coincides with what he thinks in essence, but the Empress Dowager is unwilling to lose face and give up, and thinks that by her own plan, she can fight and retreat, and fight a way out by herself. Therefore, Yin Jishan, who should have been reused, was sent to Shanxi and thrown to the hardliner Muhd as his deputy. This appointment also implies the intention of reconciling Mohd's maneuvers to avoid creating an uncontrollable situation in Shanxi, and the Manchurians still have a theoretical way back, so they must do their best to preserve it.

"The southern barbarians in Taiyuan must all be cleared! Yin Yuanchang, Yin Jishan, you still remember that your ancestor Mudu Bayan lived in the white water of Black Mountain, don't hinder me anymore! Otherwise...... I can do the art of war! ”

The two have different positions, but they both have the signboard of Qincha, but Prime Minister Mohd is the military and political government of Shanxi, and he has the right to act cheaply.

Seeing that Mu Hed was furious, Yin Jishan also slapped the table and shouted: "I am thinking about the hundreds of thousands of people in Taiyuan!" Kill the Nanren of Taiyuan, you are not afraid that the Nanban will slaughter the city of Taiyuan!? Aren't you afraid that millions of people will also be implicated, and you will have to be buried together!? You can cut off your back road, but you don't have the right to cut off the back road of the Manchu people! Muhd, if you can stop the tide of red, you will kill the southern barbarians on the ground in Shanxi, and I will do whatever you want, can you!? ”

This also stuffed Muhd in a choke, and of course he couldn't.

After turning around several times, a cold light flashed in Muhd's eyes: "I can't, but there are still people who can!" ”

He gritted his teeth and popped out three words: "Unity Fist!" ”

Yin Jishan's face turned pale, and he said weakly: "Daxian, let's not talk about whether the unity fist is used or not, once the unity fist enters, can the hearts of the people in Shanxi still be on your side and in the Qing Dynasty?" ”

Unity boxing has blossomed everywhere in Zhili, and the boxers are all folk heroes who made a big disturbance in Beijing two years ago. After the Tanggu Treaty was revised, the Qing Dynasty vigorously suppressed the most determined anti-British force in the official face, but secretly covered it up and pushed them to sink to the place.

These heroes went to the local area, mingled with the high-rollers who practiced martial arts in the township, and the mixed party sects of Zhili also broke away from the control of the government in the anti-British movement, and the three parties got together, and in just two years, it evolved into a tide that swept the entire Northern Zhili. This tide is composed of countless forces, large and small, including almost all the ruffians, bandits and bandits, as well as characters who have the intention of fishing in troubled times.

Because Shanxi was dominated by the Jin Shang forces, the unity fist did not make much trouble, and the two sides were originally incompatible. Unity Fist claims to be anti-British and anti-Qing, but when it is against all the rich people, when it makes a noise, it is locusts transiting, and there is not a single grass left.

If you want to lead the unity fist into Shanxi, I am afraid that the Shanxi Jin merchants will have to vote for the Nanban in an instant, even if nine out of ten are taken to destroy the family, then there is still a chance to survive and save money, and the unity fist has always regarded the rich as the goods of the Nanban all the way, and even the Nanban is only a verbal enemy, but the rich are the enemies in their hands. They can't fight the Nanban now, and the rich people bump into them, and it's ten out of ten bad ends.

Muhd was stunned for a while, sat down abruptly, and slapped the table with a crying voice: "This can't be done, that's not possible, what should I do now!?" ”

Yin Jishan said quietly: "The general trend of the world is irreversible, you and I can only do our duty as courtiers." ”

He sighed again: "Okay, Daxian, let's each make a step, let's do as much as we can......"

Outside the west gate of Taiyuan City, close to the river temple by the Fenshui River, it was originally a lonely place, but in recent years, Taiyuan Yingci Temple, Taiyuan Heavenly Temple, and Yinghua Taiyuan Yixue have been erected one after another, and gradually gathered into a prosperous town.

On March 23, the town was silent, and everyone was there, all huddled in their houses, and through the cracks in the windows, they nervously watched the brigade of heavily armed green battalion soldiers surrounding the Yinghua industry.

"I am also under orders......

The leading Green Battalion General explained mechanically to Chief Yixueshan, his face full of confusion.

Taiyuan Yixue was built with donations from Yinghua Shanxi, and accepted children from poor families and even orphans to attend school. Traditional textbooks such as 300,000 are used to teach reading and literacy, and some arithmetic accounts are taught, so that these children can have a livelihood in the future. Like the Yingci Yuan, which saves lives and helps the wounded, and the Heavenly Temple, which helps the poor and needy, it is famous in Taiyuan.

In the past, the Qing government was still protecting this place, but now it sent soldiers to come, and I heard that all the British were going to be arrested and imprisoned, and the people who lived around the hospital, Yixue and the Temple of Heaven were all people who had received great favors, and they had no courage to contend with the government, so they could only express their protests in silence.

"Phew! Don't look at the joy of jumping now, be careful of his daily list! ”

In the Yingci Hospital, the patients who were cleared out secretly spit on the green battalion soldiers, and on the Yixue side, the influx of soldiers also made the sound of reading aloud in the courtyard stop abruptly.

"It seems that this is the last lesson that Master will teach you......"

In a classroom, the elegant master in a long scarf sighed deeply, and the thirty or forty children sitting below were silent, their eyes full of tears.