The mage in the late Qing Dynasty

Zhao Chuanxin covered his mouth and nose with a wool scarf, put on a wolfskin cloak, and a wolfskin hat.

When he left the station wearing this outfit, even the patrolmen would take a second look.

It wasn't that he looked familiar, but that this was the only outfit worn by the outsiders, so it was very suspicious...

There were always four-wheeled carriages outside the train station waiting to pick up passengers after the train arrived.

But four people could sit just right in a car, and five people would be a bit crowded, especially in winter when they were all wearing more clothes and they were all men.

Zhao Chuanxin immediately refused to share a car with them: "You go first, I'll be there later."

Cui Fenghua hurriedly asked: "Then shall we go straight to the police station?"

He had been to Lugang Town and knew the way.

Zhao Chuanxin's voice came out muffled from the wool scarf: "Whatever you want, go shopping if you want."

Cui Fenghua and the other four got on the car, and he couldn't help but lift the curtain and look back.

After all, there were rumors that Zhao Chuanxin and Lugang Town had fallen out, and he suspected that Zhao Chuanxin was extremely sad at this time, so he chose to escape.

Wang Jingshan had two strange mustaches on his lips and a long braid trailing behind his head.

Niu Hanzhang was the most comfortable in the carriage.

In the late Qing Dynasty, there was already some embryonic form of capital. With Niu Hanzhang's family background, even if he was not an official, he would be looked up to by others.

He was calm and composed, with a smile on his face.

Wang Jingshan looked out the window curiously and said, "This road is really clean, better than the road in Changchun Prefecture."

Jiang Jian ignored him.

Jiang Jian felt that this person was too tactful and smooth, and he was the kind of person who would give you milk and mother.

For example, along the way, he always wanted to chat with Zhao Chuanxin, but Lao Zhao ignored his hospitality.

Then Wang Jingshan went to get close to Niu Hanzhang.

Cui Fenghua ranked third, and Jiang Jian was at most fourth. Wang Jingshan had to show an attitude of "talking to you to give you face" while talking.

Niu Hanzhang tapped his knees with his fingers and hummed opera. He seemed not to want to talk, and he did not care whether giving face to others would make the conversation awkward.

Cui Fenghua had to say: "Lugang Town is very strange. When other people have money, officials will embezzle it, and merchants will invest and operate. Only in Lugang Town, all the wealth is used to repair bridges and roads. I don't know where they get the money to invest in building a telephone company."

They don't understand. Lugang Town repairs bridges and repairs roads, but these projects are not all money-losing businesses.

There are several types of roads in Lugang Town. Most of the roads between the town center and the square, park, and campus are long stone roads. Long strips of stone are laid vertically, leveling the ground and filling sand, which requires a lot of tools and manpower.

The vertical laying of long strips of stone means that other people can lay 100 meters of the same volume of stone, while Lugang Town can only lay 30 meters at most, or even less.

The advantage is that it may not be crushed even after 200 years of rolling, and it is not a fantasy to lay it for thousands of years.

The long-distance routes outside are mostly roads. The main roads are paved with asphalt machines purchased from abroad, and the other auxiliary roads are paved with gravel to form ordinary roads.

A large number of workers were employed just for road construction and stone factories, not to mention the construction of parks, junior high schools and colleges, etc.

The project has driven the development of various industries such as catering and various labor protection products factories. The circulating silver has promoted the vigorous development of various industries and attracted many foreign people to settle down and merchants to invest.

At this time, the population flow outside the pass is extremely large. In ten years, there will be more than 10 million people outside the pass. The prosperous and stable Lugang Town has a strong ability to absorb population, even not worse than Changchun Prefecture.

Lugang Town can turn losses into profits, with the help of Hong Kong Island Xuantian Sect and its own efforts. Mining is not the only way to develop the local economy. Lugang Town's multi-party tax revenue is advancing in parallel.

Of course, at this time, Jiang Jian, Cui Fenghua, Niu Hanzhang and Wang Jingshan did not understand. After all, they were not managers of the government. They could only see the large amount of silver being thrown out, but not the astonishing amount of tax revenue.

Turning losses into profits seemed to happen in just a moment.

Wang Jingshan looked regretful: "So much money should be used to develop industry."

Building railways, shipping, mining, building factories... He felt that these were what Lugang Town should do.

He felt that the managers of Lugang Town did not have his foresight.

Jiang Jian wanted to refute after hearing this.

Because he knew that Lubin Prefecture would do the same next year.

But although he wanted to defend himself, he didn't know how to start, because he didn't understand the reason.

So he was a little sulky, and the atmosphere in the carriage became even more depressing.

Cui Fenghua was not used to such a depressing atmosphere.

So when he entered Lugang Town, he saw that there were many people around Lugang Town University in the direction of Beishan, and it seemed very lively.

He immediately rang the bell. The driver asked what happened. Cui Fenghua pointed at many people outside the university and asked, "What happened?" The driver replied, "It seems that there is a debate with foreign students. I don't know the details, but I recognize my own name." Cui Fenghua looked at the three people in the car and suggested, "Let's go and see the excitement?" Except for Wang Jingshan, the other three were all scholars, so they were all interested and nodded in agreement. Wang Jingshan smiled awkwardly and did not object. The library of the university was cleared today. The reason was that a few days ago, a college student from the Chicago Academy of Sciences in the United States had a physical conflict with a reporter from the Lugang Town Journal. The two sides fought at the door of the police station, which was simply a slap in the face for the police station, and they were detained immediately. This is what Cui Fenghua learned from the crowd watching the excitement. He asked, "Brother, they were detained, what happened next?"

"After that?" The man bought freshly roasted melon seeds from a nearby vendor, but he didn't dare to throw the peels on the ground because he would be fined. He said: "After that, the foreign student shouted at the police station that he was an American and wanted to release him. Think about it, where is our Lugang Town? What Americans and Europeans, the mounted police slapped him in the face, and he didn't dare to shout anymore. Later, the student's teacher, Zhang Chelun, brought him out. After that, the foreign student was dissatisfied, and today's debate took place."

Now, Jiang Jian, Niu Hanzhang, Wang Jingshan and Cui Fenghua all became interested.

These days, anything involving conflicts between Chinese and foreigners is worth watching.

In the late Qing Dynasty, there were frequent injustices. Foreigners were arrogant, Chinese people were oppressed and appealed, and the Qing court turned big things into small things... It seemed like a cycle forever.

They squeezed in and wanted to watch the debate on the spot.

Cui Fenghua sighed and said, "There is no justice in this world. I wonder what Lugang Town is like?"

Jiang Jian pursed his lips, and a gleam of brilliance flashed in his eyes: "The rotten will eventually be overthrown, and dawn will eventually come."

He also has a hidden identity, and this statement is obviously meaningful.

Niu Hanzhang adjusted his coat and said, "I don't know how long we will have to let the foreigners ride on our necks?"

Jiang Jian said confidently, "It won't be long."

Cui Fenghua shook his head: "In my opinion, as long as we have not surpassed the Western powers, even a hundred years later, if there is a conflict between Chinese and foreigners, foreigners can still take the lead, and foreigners coming to China are still superior. Even the Chinese people from top to bottom worship foreigners, fear foreigners and flatter foreigners. For example, in ancient times, Chinese people thought foreigners were ugly and vulgar, but now, there are women who are proud to marry foreigners, and men who are proud to marry foreigners. If we are not better than them, this situation will probably be difficult to change."

Cui Fenghua's words made Niu Hanzhang and Jiang Jian angry, annoyed and helpless.

Only Wang Jingshan said: "I don't think foreigners are that bad. If foreigners can make us money, they want face, give it to them. If they want to show off, let them show off."

Jiang Jian, Niu Hanzhang and Cui Fenghua's faces turned black at the same time.

While talking, they arrived at the entrance of Lugang Town University Library.

A patrolman was maintaining law and order and stopped the three people: "Who are you? Do you have an invitation letter for the debate?"

"Ah? You still need an invitation letter?" Jiang Jian was confused.

Cui Fenghua felt in his pocket and took out a piece of paper: "I don't have an invitation letter, but I have a letter of introduction stamped by the public security office."

The mounted police took the letter while sitting on horseback, then looked at the three people in surprise and returned the letter: "Go in."

In the reading room of the library, the tables had been cleared, and the people sitting on the benches were all well-known figures in Lugang Town. The rest of the students and other spectators could only stand outside.

In the judges' seat in front of the bench, there were Liu Baogui, Thomas Chamberlain, a geologist from the Chicago Academy of Sciences, Samuel Goldberg, the father of Zhao Chuanxin's eldest apprentice, and so on.

Behind them were Zhu Jianye, a big name in the construction industry, Zheng Guohua and Dakouchang from Xuantian Sect who came to Lugang Town for the annual meeting, and even Du Lisan who bought a property in Lugang Town, and other teachers from the Chicago Academy of Sciences, etc.

Miao Cuihua and Rachel Kvis were also there, but they were standing on the periphery.

Before the debate started, Rachel Kvis whispered to Miao Cuihua: "Estefa, do you know where Ethan is? Where did he take Benjamin? I haven't seen my child for a year."

Estefa is the abbreviation of Estefania. Rachel Kvis likes to call Miao Cuihua that. It sounds like a man's name, which is very interesting.

Miao Cuihua shook her head: "I just came back, but you have been in Lugang Town for a year. You should know better than me. And you are so concerned about Chuanxin, how could you not know where he is?"

Rachel Kvis blushed.

Feeling extremely guilty.

But Rachel Kvis glanced at Miao Cuihua from the corner of her eyes and found that she was smiling and not angry.

She said something that made her feel strange: "Estefa, I pay attention to him, why are you not angry?"

"Why should I be angry? Could it be that you want to backstab Samuel and Chuan Xin for what happened?" Miao Cuihua looked at Rachel Kvis with a smile.

Rachel Kvis' heart was pounding, and she quickly denied it.

But she thought that this would make her look guilty? Or was it a case of trying to cover up the truth?

So she also fought back and said: "You actually teased Ethan like this, do you think Ethan is not important because you have a new suitor?"

In the Western concept, cheating may be criticized, but it will never be thrown into a pig cage. The word "throwing into a pig cage" represents barbarism, backwardness and feudalism.

Miao Cuihua curled her lips in disdain, knowing that Rachel Kvis was referring to Amadeus Miller who was waiting for the debate to start on the stage.

She said: "When I was in the UK, I heard many stories about boys and girls who played together as children and fell in love with each other. The boys later joined the army or went abroad to study. When they came back, they found that their childhood sweetheart had fallen in love with someone else, and the relationship ended in misery. Rachel, do you know why this is so?" Although Rachel Kvis has never done anything out of line, she is well versed in the ways of society and knows how to take advantage of beautiful women, which is what the world calls "green tea". She said immediately: "I know, that's because the girl has grown up, knows the difference between playing house and living life, and knows what she wants." Miao Cuihua smiled: "Let's not talk about fame, wealth and material desires.

Jiahui once asked me a question. She said - there is a man who is very kind to her. Should she marry that man?

I told her - find a man who is good himself, not who is good to you.

When there is a man who is good in his own right, but he is not nice if he is just nice to you.

once having seen the best, the rest is not worthwhile looking.

Even you have evil intentions towards Chuanxin, so tell me, what kind of man is Chuanxin? "

Rachel Kervis sneered: "I didn't, I'm not, you misunderstood me. Ethan is naturally very good, he is funny, he is brave and heroic, he is also proficient in various skills and has done many great things. , I wouldn’t even look at that person on the stage. Oh, of course, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t do anything against Ethan at all. You know, I’m already someone else’s wife.”

Miao Cuihua saw her clicking three times in succession, blinked and said, "Wouldn't it be more exciting if someone else's wife was married?"

Every time she frowned and smiled, she was naturally charming.

The word stimulation has been around for a long time.

There is a passage in Ji Xiaolan's "Notes of Yuewei Thatched Cottage": It's okay if I don't go, but it's so bright and strange that you won't be invaded by yin energy, and I won't be affected by the gleam of yang energy, which will irritate and disturb my ears...

Rachel Kervis said half-jokingly: "If you insist on saying that, then I will give it a try."

"Haha, go ahead and give it a try. I'll guard the door for you, just in case your slender body can't bear it."

"Hee hee hee……"

After laughing for a long time, Miao Cuihua stretched her body and said: "It hasn't started yet, there is no excitement to see, so let's go. In my opinion, there is nothing to argue about. Let's go to the gym next door. Women should also be strong." "

As soon as the two left, the show started on the stage, which was a coincidence.

Today's topic is written in Chinese and English on the blackboard: There was a stagecoach driver in London, carrying a bus of passengers around. It was exactly You hour, and the charioteer was off duty, while the guru left a carriage full of people on the road and left on his own. Question: How should I comment on this matter?

The reporter first said: "This driver has no morals and left the passengers halfway. Isn't this a failure of the journey?"

His words aroused the approval of the Chinese people present, and even a few foreigners nodded in agreement.

Liu Guobao originally wanted to nod in agreement, but when he found that Thomas Chamberlain and other judges next to him had very professional expressions on their faces, he immediately calmed down and sat upright.

Amadeus Miller stared at the reporter, shook his head and said: "I knew you would say that. So let me ask you, the coachman got off work at six o'clock, why couldn't he leave? He left after work, this is from the carriage company According to the rules and regulations, he has already fulfilled his obligations when he gets paid for that day, so why do you say he lacks morals? "

The reporter's face froze: "You are just messing around."

"Why do you say I'm being arrogant? This is a debate. Where are your arguments?"

"This..." the reporter rolled his eyes: "The coachman left like this, which is extremely irresponsible to the passengers in the car. As a human being, you should get rid of the interests of others and myself, otherwise, how are you different from animals?"

Amadeus Miller had a plan in mind and raised his fingers one by one: "First, he takes the money from the carriage company and is only responsible for the carriage company. He does not have to be responsible for the passengers. And this is just an example. If the coachman leaves work at six o'clock , but he is on the road at six o'clock every day. Does he have to delay half an hour or even an hour to work overtime for a long time? Second, no one can eliminate the interests of others, not even the saints in your country. As far as I know, Confucius also wants to work overtime. Killing Shaozhengmao for the sake of Taoism, can he destroy the interests of others? Or do you think that everyone in your country is already a moral gentleman? If not, then you are no different from animals? Can’t you do it on your own?”

At this time, the students in Lugang Town below were a little confused.

Morality, shouldn’t it be what a gentleman possesses, and shouldn’t it be what society pursues? Is it moral or wrong?

This is really the first time I heard of it.

People nowadays are more objective and honest. Although everyone disagrees with it in their hearts, they still think about it seriously from Amadeus Miller's standpoint and feel that what he said is right.

If you were asked to sacrifice yourself for others, would you be willing? not necessarily. But for a small thing that is done to others, everyone thinks that person should have a sense of morality. It seems that even if it is time to get off work, sending passengers home is a small thing, but it can show a person's morality.

But if it is to harm oneself and benefit others in the long term, then...it seems that I can't do it.

The reporter was a little anxious. This debate was not what he thought.

The foreigner's angle was so tricky that he didn't even know where to drop his book bag.

After a moment, he said: "But with such utilitarianism, doesn't it mean that the world is declining and morals are declining? How can the country maintain long-term peace and stability if things continue like this? So, you are still wrong."

Amadeus Miller was even more proud: "Utilitarianism means moral decay? Utilitarianism cannot lead to long-term peace and stability? If you think so, you are totally wrong. Our union fights for workers' rights and makes their lives happier. The money they earn is enough to support their families, so that capitalists will not exploit them too much. This is utility, the utility of the working class. As a reporter, you should know that if the "Lugang Town Journal" does not make money, will it continue to operate? If your salary as a reporter is not enough to keep you fed, will you still be a reporter? But without reporters, the residents of Lugang Town will not be able to open their eyes to see the world. For the sake of that sense of morality, will you go hungry and sacrifice yourself for others? "

"I... will!" The reporter finally said something against his will.

"Okay, I think you can. Can you guarantee that others will too?"

"this……"

"Isn't this utilitarian? Isn't it wrong? Therefore, I think order is more important than morality. There is no problem for the coachman to leave after work, because he observes order and does not break the law. The carriage company is responsible for the passengers , they should have expected that this would happen, and should formulate new and reasonable rules to satisfy both parties. The passengers should not blame the coachman, but the carriage company. The carriage company cannot blame the coachman, but blame the loopholes in its own rules. You should not blame the coachman, because you yourself may not be what you call a moral gentleman. I said that overseas Chinese have destroyed our local order and caused local workers to lose their jobs, but you beat me because of this. Do you know that you are wrong? ?”

The reporter's face was blue and red.

After a while, he frowned, glared and cursed: "I know it's your fault for being paralyzed!"

The whole place was in an uproar.

Immediately bursts into laughter.

At this time, in the student group, a student turned pale and yelled: "How dare you talk about order and morality, just a kid with a yellow mouth?"

There was a roar of laughter.

The whole audience looked at it.

Liu Baoguo, who was on the judges' bench, and Irgen Gioro Jintai, who was on the bench, and others discovered that it was Irgen Gioro Defu who was shouting.

This kid, how dare he...

Defu, who was wearing glasses, was obviously more flustered by the gaze, and his face turned pale.

Not far behind him, Zhao Chuanxin whispered: "Afraid? Read it through your glasses, and I guarantee you won't make a mistake."

Hearing this, Defu's tension eased slightly...