Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 140: Will you swallow the bait thrown by the White Lotus Sect?

A Huaixi man took out his hoe from his boot and wanted to do something.

"stop."

The leader, Lao Zheng, suddenly stopped the fighting.

Ergou squinted his eyes and asked dissatisfiedly:

"Are you a man?"

Lao Zheng cupped his hands and asked seriously:
"Brother, can you introduce us to our brothers?"

"What do you want?"

"Be like my little brother and get rich."

Li Ergou tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said sadly:

"If you are unlucky, you will die before you become rich."

Old Zheng laughed loudly:

"Brother, I have a hard life. I lost my parents when I was a child, and I grew up begging for food."

……

Li Ergou smiled,
I am familiar with this experience.

So he put the dagger back into its sheath.

The moment he opened his clothes,

Lao Zheng saw the firecracker on his belt.

I couldn't help but be surprised, secretly glad I didn't do anything.

This year,
A person who rides a horse and carries a gun is definitely at the top of the world's food chain.

Just how arrogant this kid was,

He was really prepared to kill a few people.

"Wait for me here tomorrow and submit your name."

"Don't worry, brother, I understand the rules."

Li Ergou left, leaving everyone stunned.

He was following Li Yu's order,
To pick up an important supply ship.

A few days ago, a businessman came to the door and offered to provide a large amount of high-quality sulfur.

Li Yu's dream product.

Charcoal and saltpeter have been self-produced, and the output is stable.

Only this brimstone is really helpless.

They have been quietly buying small batches from various places and transporting them back to Xishan Island.

And this old businessman who came to visit,
He has a humble appearance and claims to be the agent of a certain adult.

The price is very sincere.

Although Li Yu couldn't figure out what the method was, he still ate the fat.

Two boatloads of sulfur, extremely pure.

It made him so happy that he wanted to pick up his paintings again and express his happiness.

"Master, will pie fall from the sky?"

"No matter. Even if the pie is filled with poison, I will still swallow it."

Yang Yunjiao knew the plight of the gunpowder workshop and the lack of sulfur raw materials.
It is already in a semi-stop state.

No matter how many guns you have, it will be in vain without gunpowder.

At the meeting of key members,

Lin Huaisheng said that he recommended not to completely eliminate the matchlock gun.

Because, once the war becomes intense, there will be a shortage of flint.

The flintlock gun may fall into the dilemma of having a pot but no rice.

Although the matchlock gun is lagging behind, fortunately, it is not afraid of being choked.

It is acceptable for use in second-line armies and in fortress defense.

2 ships of high quality high purity sulfur,

It is said that it started from Jiangning, and after entering the Suzhou section, Li Ergou led people to protect it all the way.

It was not until we arrived at Xishan Island that we breathed a sigh of relief.

……

According to the price agreed in advance, Li Yu added 1% more.

It's a small reward for this mysterious and wild member Pan.

10 miles away,

On a small boat, Yuan Wai Pan and his nominal daughter Pan Saiyun were talking.

Their current public identities are:

The concubine of the Qian gentry in Wangting Town, and her father-in-law.

As the spies placed by the White Lotus Sect in front of Suzhou Prefecture, they were successful.

and,

Finally, I got on the line with Li Yu and confirmed the quality of this person.

"This person who bought such a large amount of sulfur must be a fellow traveler. It was those two ships of sulfur. What a pity."

"Huh, if you can't bear the child, you can't trap the wolf."

Pan Saiyun didn't feel distressed at all.

Because she knew that even if the two ships of sulfur were transported back to Yunyang Mansion in Hubei Province, they would not be of much use.

White Lotus Sect,
There are not many firearms, almost all cold weapons.

The path they took was completely different from Li Yu's.

The Li Jiajun wanted to suppress the enemy with firepower.

The White Lotus Sect wants to massacre their enemies with a sea of ​​people.

Moreover, these two ships of sulfur,

They cut off the beard from the Eight Banners in Jiangning, and they didn't spend any money.

Recently,
Jiangning Eight Banners went crazy and were tracking down the road.

These two ships of sulfur were allocated by the Ministry of War.

According to records at checkpoints along the way, after entering the Yangtze River, before arriving at Jiangning Pier, he mysteriously disappeared.

The bodies of the crew members were discovered one after another, with no external injuries.

It is presumed that he died from poisoning.

Pan Saiyun tidied his hair and said:

"Just two ships of sulfur have tested the quality of Mr. Li, and we won't lose."

"Yes, what should I do next?"

"In a few days, send him an anonymous letter and give him a little surprise."

……

A few days later,
Liu Qian hurried back,

After meeting, he said eagerly:
"Sir, the Eight Banners of Jiangning lost two ships of sulfur and are in a lawsuit with the Ministry of War. The goods are just right for us."

Li Yu was also shocked.

This is really a hundred ghosts walking at night, the world is not good.

"What kind of gangster is so brave?"

"My subordinates feel that it is not for money."

"go on."

Liu Quan said softly:

"The target of this group of people should be us. They have been secretly observing us, robbing Jiangning Eight Banners' goods, and then selling them to us, just to test our methods."

Li Yu nodded:
"Your analysis makes sense. In this case, the scope can be narrowed down."

"Correct."

The two couldn't help but laugh,
See what it means, I met a colleague.

This group of people are asking for directions, and there will be follow-up actions soon.

"Let's just wait."

Three days later, I received a secret letter.

Anonymous, very long.

To refine it, there are three levels of meaning:
First, introduce yourself to your family and reveal your identity.

Then, it was emphasized that there was no malice and everyone had the same goal to overthrow the evil Qing court.

Finally, I hope to cooperate.

Especially conveying the goodwill of Master Hong Dachang,

Bailian never treats her friends badly and sincerely invites heroes from all over the world to join her and work together to achieve great things.

……

At the meeting of key members,
This letter was circulated by everyone, and everyone expressed their opinions.

Fan Jing: "You cannot seek skin from a tiger."

Du Ren: "Cooperation can be limited."

Lin Huaisheng: "We cannot be used as a weapon by Bai Lian. He will oppose his, and we will oppose ours."

Liu Wu: "Be hypocritical and submissive to prevent them from jumping over the wall in a hurry."

Liu Qian: "Establish your authority first, and then talk about cooperation. If used properly, it is also a good sword."

Zhang Tiejiang: "I think they are interested in our guns."

Everyone looked at him at once,
Even Li Yu couldn't help but look over.

Zhang Tiejiang was a little embarrassed and could only smile and say:
"What can they achieve after spending so much money? The biggest trump card in our hands is the production capacity of guns and cannons, which is unique to the Qing Dynasty."

He really hit the nail on the head,
The White Lotus Sect has always coveted firearms, but they have no way out.

Even if they infiltrated Green Camp, the firearms obtained were crude and in small quantities.

Infiltrating the Eight Banners is difficult.

Therefore,
Leader Hong hopes to create a musketry team composed of fanatical believers in Woniu Village, where the main altar is located, directly under his own authority.

There is no strong force to deter each branch,

As the leader of the church, what he did was boring.

Recently, someone submitted a firearms drill book from the Ming Dynasty.
He watched mesmerizedly,
Finally, he came up with a genius idea:

Select 1000 of the most fanatical and fearless believers and equip them with muskets.

When encountering the enemy, shout the White Lotus slogan, march forward in formation,

No matter how much damage you suffer, you will never fire.
Embrace the arrows and cannons with a calm attitude toward death,

smile,

Don't fire until you are in front of the enemy, 5 steps away.

One salvo can determine the outcome.

If the holy army is less than a thousand, it will be invincible if it is full of thousands.

He had reason to believe that this was a genius military idea.

As long as we don't meet the cavalry,
He reasoned that this style of play was unbeatable.

Moreover, there is no other army in the world that can be imitated.

because,

No matter whether it is the Green Camp, the Eight Banners, or fellow practitioners in Jianghu, there is no believer who can greet death with a smile.

……

Hong Dachang collected the manuscript papers on the case and put them into the furnace.

In the flames, the manuscript paper twisted,

The various gun-wielding villains above seemed to be moving.

He is a cautious man,
Before the plan is implemented, I don’t want anyone to guess my thoughts.

The thick pile of manuscript paper that was burned was the process of his military flag deduction.

After you're done,
He just put his hands behind his back, walked through several doors, and entered the secret building.

This small building,

Located in the center of Woniu Village, it is hidden by trees.

It is his base for training the saint.

In the basement, Grandma lowered her head and reported:

"Leader, this group of women is too thin. Four of them have died."

"It doesn't matter, let's go surfing the sand in the big waves."

The so-called big waves wash away the sand,

The first level is water torture. Cover the mouth and nose with brown paper and slowly pour water.

And asked if he was willing to give his life for Bai Lian.

If the answer is yes, continue pouring.

If you answer no, you will be considered as a person who is not determined and will be eliminated.

The women who can survive this ordeal without dying are all fanatical believers.

No need to doubt,
Human beings cannot lie in the face of torture.Moreover, being deprived of sleep for two consecutive days, my willpower was on the verge of collapse.

The pain of punishment will be doubled.

Hong Dachang took the towel,
He smiled at the dying female believer who was tied to a wooden chair:
"You passed the first test."

"Now, I'm going to test your other business abilities."

……

The two believers who were on duty around the small building were frightened awake by the screams again.

The older man shook his head and wrapped the blanket tightly.

The young man tilted his head, listened for a while, and whispered:

"Are you saying that the leader is really invulnerable?"

"I'm tired, go to sleep."

"Just the two of us, no one else can hear, let's chat quietly."

"It's not a good habit to think blindly."

the next day,
The young guard suddenly disappeared without a trace.

The elders received promotion awards,
He became a small boss who can control 10 people.

He knelt down and shouted devoutly, "Long live the leader."

However, late at night, I was hiding under the quilt,
He was shaking like chaff, and he was too scared to open his eyes.

Gradually,
He was nicknamed "Mute".

……

The Huaixi Gang officially joined the gang on the recommendation of Ergou.

A Certificate of Approval is very important.

Killed two large households in Wu County responsible for collecting grain.

Grain collection,

There are many tricks, such as pouring the tops, kicking the stems, cutting the bottoms of the stems, changing the stems, sampling rice, taking the remaining rice from the stems, and taking advantage of changes in rice prices to exploit households.

The Qing court received 1 stone,
When you arrive at the prefecture or county, you have to collect 1 stone and 5 dollars.

When it comes to the big farmers who actually collect grain, they have to collect 1 stone and 8 grains.

The good name is, water consumption, water consumption.

The Huaixi Gang got the instructions and succeeded in two days.

At night, enter the rich man's house.

Straightforward, one-shot kill.

Then he left a crooked letter,

Misled the government's attention.

Large households are forced to press for grain, and every year several households are forced to have their families destroyed.

Therefore,
It makes sense for people to seek revenge.

Especially the year before last, several households were particularly miserable.

Because he was unwilling to bear too much unreasonable grain burden, he was bribed by a big family and was imprisoned in a station cage.

In one family, more than a dozen people died in the cage.

Only one son escaped and disappeared.

Everyone said that this person came back to seek revenge.

Those who do unrighteousness will surely die; justice may be late but it will come soon.

The people of the Qing Dynasty were kind, and they were always willing to use these beliefs to repair the broken society in their hearts.

The government had no objections either.
Drawing shadows and graphics, offering rewards to catch criminals, and not much else.

The family members of two wealthy families have something in their minds and want to leave.
First leave half of your property as moving tax.

In the words of Li Zhi County,
We can't just watch the local wealthy households transfer their property to other states and counties to make it easier for outsiders, right?

……

These two vacancies,
It was added by someone recommended by Fan Dianshi.

No one in the yamen had any objections.

Fan Dianshi is usually generous and loyal to his colleagues.

He has a rich background. He is promoted by Mr. Li and is Fan's son-in-law.

The county magistrate Li Yuanwu was even too lazy to care about such trivial matters.

He has a deep cooperation with Li Yu, from money to connections,

And the future of my nephew,
So for ordinary little things, he gives the green light directly.

Don't offend anyone.

The Huaixi Gang quietly boarded two watercrafts and left Suzhou Prefecture.

Before leaving,
The leader, Lao Zheng, met Du Ren.

Du Ren told him that if he works hard, he will be rich and have a bright future.

A man from Huaixi who is dozens of years older,

They were first deployed in the Changxing Coal Mine and incorporated into the musketry team for training.

Temporarily responsible for the security of the mining area,

Later, a heavier burden will be handed over to them.

The boat sails in Taihu Lake,
Old Zheng was so excited that he quietly asked the men on the boat:
"Are you one of our own too?"

The Caodings nodded, acquiescing.

Since the old Soviet gang was wiped out by the government, everyone in the new Soviet gang has become aware of the cruelty of this society.

With Tan Muguang, the head of the family, taking the lead,

In the Heshen Temple, in front of Luo Zu, he swore allegiance to Li Yu.

oath,

In the feudal era, there were still certain binding restrictions.

Most people fear ghosts and gods.

only,
Li Yu did not join the Luo Jiao and had no formal status within the Cao Gang.
It's a hidden worry,

Fortunately, he does not directly command the Cao Gang, but is the one who pulls strings behind the scenes.

Directing Tan Muguang to do things temporarily avoided a lot of embarrassment.

……

The disappearance of the Huaixi Gang,

Let Wang Liu and Zhao Erhu become famous.

The status of the Xujiang Dock Workers Mutual Aid Association in the eyes of the coolies skyrocketed.

People keep asking to join,

The number of members has increased sharply to more than 1300.

According to Li Yu’s instructions,
Wang Liu set a few rules:
Whenever a member of the association is bullied by an outsider, the other members present have the obligation to step forward.

The association has an obligation to provide money and effort to intervene when members are unfairly treated.

Members have an obligation to respond to matters promoted by the association.

The above three items,

Anyone who violates the rules will be expelled from the association and members will not have any further contact with them.

at first,

He was also a little worried that the rules would be too radical and strict.

After reading it out, it was found that the coolies responded enthusiastically.

The excitement and support in his eyes are real.

They suffer from their situation and have no way to change it.

right now,

If you have your own gang, how can you not support it?

Coolies are uneducated and have no money, but that doesn't mean they don't have human instincts to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

They have been at the bottom of society for a long time,
Being oppressed by servants, foremen, and gangsters, they understand the logic of survival at the bottom.

A ball of loose sand that can only be held down and beaten.

In the Qing Dynasty, it was difficult to move forward without brothers.

With organization, it's different.

……

Li Yu was surprised when he heard Wang Liu's report.

This speed is a bit fast.

"Sit down and tell me what you think."

"I would like to hold a monthly dinner party to increase cohesion. However, this requires Mr. Li's generosity."

"Oh?"

"I will tell everyone that you paid for the dinner, Mr. Li. Let them be grateful to you."

"What are your plans for the future?"

"As long as I can do something for the poor people in the world, I am willing."

Wang Liu spoke very sincerely, with clear eyes.

This made Li Yu feel stunned and indescribable.

asked with a smile:

"Do you think I'm a good person or a bad person?"

"You are different from other powerful people. You can understand the common people and are willing to share with the poor. You are a person with great ambitions."

"Okay, you go."

After Wang Liu left, Li Yu immediately called a personal guard:
"Get Zhao Erhu for me."

……

Zhao Erhu, a miner in Changxing Coal Mine.

The whole family died at the hands of the mine owner, and they were a type of people with a firm will to rebel.

Compared to Wang Liu's calmness and meticulousness, he is more direct and impulsive.

When he walked into this teahouse, he was a little uneasy.

"Erhu, haven't you eaten yet?"

"Yes."

"It's not enough to just drink tea. I'll bring you some snacks."

Slowly, Zhao Erhu relaxed his mind.

No longer restrained, ask questions and have answers.

Li Yu has a natural ability to win people's trust.

The way he smiled and chatted made Zhao Erhu feel as friendly as his big brother.

"Do you think it's better to be in the mining area or here?"

"It's good here. I work on the ground every day and can get some sunshine."

"Yes, it's pitch black and very difficult going down the well."

Zhao Erhu swallowed a mouthful of jujube paste cake and said:
"Actually, I still miss my brothers in the mine."

"That's easy to handle. I'll give you three days off and you can go back."

"That's great, thank you Mr. Li."

Li Yu suddenly changed the subject and asked:

"Do you think I'm a good person? Or a bad person?"

"Of course Mr. Li is a good man, a very good man."

……

Zhao Erhu put down his tea bowl,
He wiped some broken bits of heart with his sleeve and said solemnly:

"The officials are cruel and the gentry are evil-hearted. The Qing Dynasty is worse than the Ming Dynasty."

"If Mr. Li hadn't acted righteously, hundreds of brothers in the Changxing Coal Mine would have become ghosts now."

"I know, Mr. Li, you are going to rebel."

Li Yu smiled, motioned for him to lower his voice, and asked:

"What will you do if I rebel?"

Zhao Erhu lowered his voice and his eyes were excited:

"I followed you in the rebellion. I chopped up those dog officials and the gentry."

"Okay, you are ambitious." Li Yu praised, and then asked, "Did your family's funeral affairs go smoothly?"

Zhao Erhu was stunned, his eyes red:
"Two rolls of straw mats, buried."

"No. I'll give you 25 taels, and you go buy two coffins, hire some drummers, and make things more glamorous behind you."

An upright man,
He couldn't help crying, and Li Yu didn't make a sound,
When he had cried enough, he threw him a handkerchief and said:

"When you finish your chores, I'll find a good woman for you."

"Afen, come out."

(End of this chapter)