Days passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, a few years had passed. Jiang Siqian had experienced the training of the shop business and became more and more experienced. He communicated with all kinds of customers every day and learned to figure out the knowledge of people. The ancient name was fortune-telling, and modern society gave it psychological terms.
Only by understanding other people's thoughts could one take the initiative in everything, fawn over the enemy at the critical moment in various conflicts of interest, or subdue the enemy first.
Therefore, since ancient times, most smart people had mastered a certain level of physiognomy and psychology. The achievements of gaining the world and living a wonderful life were all created by such smart people.
Therefore, Jiang Siqian often turned his brain to look outside. He saw that most people were still stupid and knew that he could rely on his smart brain to live a rich life.
He only needed to wait for the right moment. When the Zhou family could no longer hold on, it would be the time for him to rise up. Becoming the new rich of Xikou Village was an instinct in nature.
He had a lot of contact with guests and could get a lot of different news. It was about the economy, about officialdom, and even about the Manchu Tartars.
Although he only wanted to earn money and didn't want to pay too much attention to the outside world, the movements outside affected every nerve in his body.
As the restriction of the official salt monopoly still existed, he had to observe the movements of the Tartar nobles, fearing that they would be jealous of the wealth of the people and really dare to destroy the Yutai Salt Shop. Then, with the excuse of selling salt privately, they would extort all the silver that Jiang Siqian had worked hard for in the past few years, and even directly take his life.
Although he could argue that the salt shop was owned by the Zhou family and he was just a small worker, he knew that the Qing Dynasty Tartars were cruel and ruthless. They might not let him go because of the merit of reporting him. They might still arrest or even kill him.
Therefore, once the salt shop incident was overturned, Jiang Siqian could only swallow his teeth and not betray the Zhou family. It was not that he loved the Zhou family and liked to be grateful for the coldness of the Zhou snowman.
He loved Li Shengfang and was worried that the court would target the Zhou family. His beloved lover would not be able to escape and would be treated as a member of the Zhou family and dealt with together.
However, all the assumptions were just guesses. The Qing government was racking their brains for the Taiping Country and couldn't care less about the small salt business. Their ruling power was the most important thing. Other things weren't worth mentioning.
Of course, Jiang Siqian wasn't stubborn. He knew that power affected the economy, so he didn't dare to stay in business and ignore the world.
Therefore, Jiang Siqian paid attention to the power movements of the Qing Dynasty and also inquired about the progress of Taiping Country. Tianping Country had been revolting for several years and it seemed like they were going to replace the Qing Dynasty. Regardless of whether the Qing Dynasty continued or Taiping Country came to power, he needed to be prepared to change his identity at any time to adapt to the requirements of life.
Although he had heard that the Taiping Country was cruel and that they were not as lenient as the Qing Dynasty Tartars, he did not think that he would be beheaded by Long Hair. After all, he was a poor person. Since ancient times, when peasant uprisings did not succeed in seizing power, in order to create a group effect, they usually killed the rich to help the poor, so that more people would join the revolutionary team.
Only the real bandit groups would kill the commoners regardless of whether they were rich or poor, leaving them isolated from the commoners and becoming the enemy of the entire people. They were like rats crossing the street, hated by everyone. They would not last long.
Based on his own feelings, Jiang Siqian was willing to let Long Hair come over and help him suppress the Zhou family, so that he could become the manager of Yutai Salt Shop.
At the same time, he would take the opportunity to pull Li Shengfang back from the Zhou family and give her the title of concubine. The two of them would live together.
Perhaps the arrogant Li Shengfang did not like her status as a concubine and quarreled with him, hoping to be able to be the official wife. He did not dare to provoke Li Shengfang. She was indebted to him and became the salt shop manager all because of her recommendation.
Therefore, Jiang Siqian needed to work on Li Yaohong's thoughts and let the two women change their names. Li Shengfang called her Madam or wife, and Li Yaohong could only lower herself to the status of a concubine.
If Li Yaohong was unwilling to give in and didn't want to cooperate with Jiang Siqian's arrangement, Jiang Siqian would be furious and give Li Yaohong an ultimatum. He would either leave, leave the Jiang family, or accept reality.
Of course, Jiang Siqian thought about his son Jiang Zhaocong's face and did not dare to force Li Yaohong to admit defeat. He could only turn around and do Li Shengfang's work. It was best to use the Zhou family's misfortune to remind Li Shengfang not to act on impulse and forget her identity as the Zhou family's daughter-in-law.
If one day, Long Hair calculated the details and stared at Li Shengfang again, according to Long Hair's bad habit of being implicated with the Qing Dynasty Tartars, Li Shengfang would not be able to escape bad luck.
In the spirit of hiding, Li Shengfang needed to compromise. Even if she stayed in the Jiang family's house as a maid, it was also a blessing to save her life. Jiang Siqian made her a concubine, and her public identity was second only to Li Yaohong.
Once Li Shengfang married into the Jiang family, with her beauty and brains, Li Yaohong, who was not as good as her, was not a match at all. In addition, Jiang Siqian's extramarital affairs were deep, inside and outside, his mind was filled with Li Shengfang's figure.
Therefore, in real life, as long as Jiang Siqian liked Li Shengfang, she still had to enjoy the treatment of the main wife. Li Yaohong was originally afraid of her, but after living with her, she had to give face to Sister Fang, and she had to continue her role as a maid.
However, these assumptions were just wishful thinking. In real life, Jiang Siqian did not marry Li Shengfang until he died. The Zhou family was really killed by Long Hair, but Li Shengfang was left behind. Because she was beautiful, the leader of Long Hair who came to Xikou Village took a fancy to her. Regardless of whether she was willing or not, he just called the soldiers to carry her away.
Long Hair's team attacked Fenghua City in the summer of 1861. It was nearing the end of summer, and the temperature dropped slightly. The countryside was dense with trees and grass, and the temperature was lower than the city. It was like a natural air conditioner, more suitable for people to pass time.
After a battle at the city gate, the main force of the Qing army in Fenghua City pretended to be no match for the Taiping Army and scattered in all directions. Only half of the Tartar Army battled hard, but unfortunately, they were too few to fight. They were surrounded by the Long Hair Army on all sides and basically all died.
As soon as the Han army in the Qing army started fighting, most of the officers and soldiers ran away, leaving the Tartar soldiers to fight alone. This truly reflected the reality of the Manchu and Han families.
Everyone was annoyed by the Tartar nobles 'tyranny. At the critical moment, few people were willing to sacrifice their lives for the Qing government. If the Qing government threw out a lot of money, perhaps some outlaws would be willing to serve them for the sake of money.
Just like the mercenaries on the modern battlefield, they fought for money, regardless of morality or evil. They only treated war as a livelihood. They were similar to drug dealers and robbers. Although the risk was high, they could make a fortune that they would never be able to earn in their lifetime if they did not die.
It was just that a war without spiritual pursuits lacked the motivation for sustainable development. Therefore, relying solely on money to win over the hearts of the people was just a short-lived interpersonal effect. Under the torrent of people pushing the wall, the corrupt and incompetent Qing government could only find a way to step down.
It was not that the Taiping Army was powerful, but that the Han army did not want to fight at all and did not want to work for the Tartar aristocratic regime.
Therefore, as long as the Qing army fought with the Taiping Army, the Han army would immediately disperse and even surrender to the Taiping Army, hoping to use the Taiping Army to eradicate the ugly Tartar regime.
Therefore, the rise of the Taiping Country in the early days could not be said to have relied on their own strength to open up a bloody path. It was the silent support of the people of the country and the tacit cooperation between the Qing army and the Han army that caused the Taiping Country to have a shocking momentum. They fought all the way to Nanjing and established a gateway regime to fight for the entire country.
It was just that there were few scholars among the group of people leading the Taiping Army. Their political vision could not go beyond the bottom of the well of the grassroots people's greed for pleasure. They could not see the intentions of the people in the hearts of the whole country. They could not understand the fact that the seemingly powerful Qing army had no soldiers to fight. They failed to live up to the expectations of the people and the Han army, leading to the final failure.
After the Taiping Army captured Fenghua City and wiped out the Tartars who were usually domineering, the people of Fenghua City cheered. It was as if the bright spring had arrived and everyone could live happily and peacefully.
In particular, a few well-known gentry in the city still had great enthusiasm and expectations for the Taiping Army. They hoped that under their leadership, they could eradicate all kinds of ugly phenomena that had pervaded the people of Fenghua for a long time.
When the Tartars were in power, they would only rely on the ruffians and rotten goods in all aspects to forcefully control and use cruel methods to suppress normal human nature. Now that the Taiping Army had come, perhaps they could uphold justice for the people and carry forward the inherent spirit of Confucius and Mencius.
Therefore, on the day when the Long Hair Army officially entered Fenghua City, the gentry in the city gathered at the home of Zhang Deshui, the owner of the Decai Silver Shop. They knew that he was not only rich but also popular. Because he loved to do good deeds, he had a good reputation among ordinary people. They asked him to meet the Taiping Army. On the basis that the grassroots were not angry with him, it should not be difficult to win the favor of the Taiping Army.
Assuming that Zhang Deshui gained the trust of the Taiping Army, all the officials and merchants in Fenghua City would be willing to worship him as their temporary boss and come forward to make peace with the Taiping Army. As long as the old scores from the Qing government era were not counted, everyone would be willing to take a step back. Whether it was power or wealth, cutting off some flesh or letting out some blood, it was a small matter. They only wanted harmony and harmony, so that the tragedy of revenge would not repeat itself.
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