Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 222

"Master Wang's new official has taken office, and he will protect the water and soil in Tianjin. We Chuantouxiang will kowtow to you first!!"

The men kneeling on the ground had a singing role, with a loud voice, and when he yelled, the men below kowtowed, making it quite impressive.

Wang Tong stood at the door in a daze, what is Chuantouxiang, it sounds like something, but looking at the situation in front of him, it feels like an organization.

What kind of organization dares to come to the door of Jinyiwei Qianhu to give New Year's greetings and presents so ostentatiously, and what's the matter with this boat? He looked around, and the people on his side were all equally confused, but they were just watching the lively idlers They are not surprised, applauding and booing over there.

"The Eldest Master has just arrived, Chuan Tou Xiang always wants to show that, each of us in the Xiang family has ten cents, and we have collected some money for the Elder Master to settle down, please accept it!"

Wang Tong also saw clearly what was in the small boat pulled by the horses, it was full of copper coins, and it looked a bit protruding.

Unable to figure out the purpose of the other party's visit, and the money cannot be accepted for so long, Wang Tong hastily refused:

"I have a lot of money, so don't bother everyone. I have accepted this kindness. Please take it back!!"

The dozen or so men all stood up, all with smiles on their faces, and the man who sang the ceremony said with a smile:

"The Eldest Master doesn't know something, this is also the rule of our Tianjin Wei. Whenever a new official takes office, the incense holders of Chuantouxiang will give the elders a settling money, Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, there is filial piety, and then kowtow to the Elder Master , Say hello, and the little ones will leave."

After finishing speaking, all the people kowtowed, and no one knew who was booing. The idlers applauded together, making the atmosphere extremely lively. After kowtowing, those people unloaded the horses pulling the boat and left directly.

Where Li Hutou and the young men were, they couldn't see any boats, but today they saw them outside the door, and they were all very fresh. As soon as the people over there left, they surrounded them.

From the beginning to the end, although the so-called "Chuantouxiang" who came to pay New Year's greetings and kowtow was very respectful in etiquette, they did not consider Wang Tong's feelings at all, and they did things on their own. It's acting, showing the scenery to the idlers on the road.

"A lot of copper coins!"

Sun Dahai couldn't help admiring, stretched out his hand to fish out a handful, and threw it back. Zhang Shiqiang next to him was more careful, stretched his head to look in the boat, shook his head and said:
"Not much, not more than 100 taels of silver."

Nowadays, 100 taels can be exchanged for a tael of silver, and [-] taels is [-] taels. Although the amount is large, it is actually not worth much, it just takes up space and looks good.

This small boat can hold three or four people at most. It looks like a kind of transportation on water. Apart from wearing red and hanging colors, there is nothing special about it. There is an incense burner on the bow, and the three sticks of incense in it have not been burned out.

"Call out all the people in our house, and each of them will get fifty cash, which is regarded as a reward for this Spring Festival!"

After Wang Tong gave an order, Li Hutou cheered, turned around and ran into the mansion, and Wang Tong also walked towards the house. This is a small episode, so don't put it too much on the letter.

As soon as he entered the door, Wang Tong stopped, turned around and said to General Tan:
"Go and call me Hang Daqiao. He specifically said that there are ten coins per person, so many copper coins. Does it mean that they have thousands of people? This is to show off their wrists to this official."

The more I think about it, the more something is wrong. This is obviously a demonstration. There are thousands of incense groups here in Tianjin, and everyone should be in awe.

When Hang Daqiao came over, his face was full of red, and he smelled of alcohol. This year, his hands are relaxed, and it is inevitable that he will let go of the wine and meat. Hang Daqiao also has wine every day at home, eating and drinking.

Walking outside the door, the Hangbaihu was also careful. He went to the side of the road and grabbed the snow and rubbed it on his face. His mind cleared up a little. He came to Wang Tong's house to pay New Year's greetings. He entered the door and met respectfully. stand aside.

Hearing Wang Tong's question, Hang Baihu was stunned for a moment, then congratulated with excitement and said:

"Congratulations, my lord, congratulations to my lord, or how can I say that when lord Wang comes to our Tianjin Jinyiwei, even if the clouds and mists are cleared to see the blue sky, this ship's head incense also comes to us as a gift."

Having said that, Wang Tong was even more awkward. He dared to feel that his face was bright. Seeing the confused expression on his face, Hang Baihu quickly explained:
"Master Wang, you are from the capital, so naturally you don't know what this Chuantou incense is. This is the largest incense club in Beizhili, and there are tens of thousands of incense sticks?"

Wang Tong was surprised by this statement. Fragrance clubs generally refer to groups of Buddhist and Taoist believers who offer incense together, and also refer to groups of believers in temples and Taoist temples in a certain place. But there are tens of thousands of pilgrims. Isn't that a big problem for the local government and the court? They should send troops to exterminate them immediately. Why does it still exist in such a grand manner, and it's still considered face-saving for him to give gifts to officials.

"My lord, on the one hand, Tianjin is the last transshipment of tank ships before entering Beijing, and it is also the place to deliver food, grass and military supplies to Liao Town, Ji Town, not to mention that those goods from the south will also be sold to North Zhili and Liao Town on our side. In Liaozhen, Shanxi and other places, regardless of crude benzene and fine grain, grass cargo, transshipment and loading and unloading require a lot of labor. There are more Caoding sailors on this official boat and people's ship. Isn't there more people on board? Loading and unloading cargo is a sum of money, and transshipment is another sum For money, each family and each gang fought endlessly, and then everyone gathered at the bow of the boat to burn incense and worship, and came up with this boat bow incense."

It seems that this story has been widely circulated, and confused characters like Hang Daqiao understand it very well, but Wang Tong doesn't really believe it, because this story is too similar to some martial arts novels he read back then. How could the formation of a gang come together to discuss burning incense and sworn worship? There must be someone who promoted it overtly and secretly.

"Ten people make one stick of incense, one hundred people make one incense burner, and ten burners of incense have one incense head. They are the ones who decide the big and small things on the sea and water transport terminals outside Tianjin."

Hang Daqiao spoke happily with alcohol, but Wang Tong asked in bewilderment:
"Don't the yamen just ignore it?"

"My lord, in the past, when there was an emergency in the water transport, the errands could not be dispatched. While waiting for the food, everyone started to do it. Now the errands can just talk to those Xiangtou, and those people will be able to send people quickly. It's all called, and the officials are very dependent on them. It is said that the officials in charge of the water transport also have a few incense heads..."

Wang Tong waved his hand. Speaking of this, he understood a thing or two. The organization of Chuantouxiang is similar to the Cao Gang that appeared in the Qing Dynasty. People are different, they have their own way of life and interests, in order to protect themselves or to earn more, it is more likely that people who want to do something must report to a group, not to mention this era, in the modern countries of later generations There are gangsters like the dock workers' union.

This kind of organization has already been semi-officially recognized. If it wants to continue, it must establish a good relationship with all the gods in Tianjin. This time, it seems that there is also this intention in sending money to myself for New Year greetings.

But Wang Tong was always a little uneasy, he was not so naive as to believe that the other party would give him money for New Year greetings.

The people in the mansion happily divided the copper coins on the bow incense. According to the estimation of Zhang Shiqiang and others, the boat cost more than 100 taels of silver. It can be exchanged for a tael of silver.

Before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there were not many shops that were open in Tianjin. Both the government and the people were celebrating the New Year with peace of mind, and the streets were deserted.

Wang Tong has not waited for Lu Wancai's reply. It may take time to deal with everything after returning to the capital, and there are not many people on duty during this New Year's Eve.

Every day, he just rode a horse around the city of Tianjin, and then led his servants and teenagers to practice to get fit.What Wang Tong didn't know whether to be disappointed or relaxed was that among the soldiers of Jinyiwei in Tianjin, even those who came back later, none of them were willing to follow the running exercise, and would rather the cat eat, drink and play in a warm home.

This strengthened Wang Tong's determination to overthrow everything and start over. After the seventh day of the first lunar month, young people who went to the market to register that day began to report to the city.

The first two days were very deserted, but a few people tentatively came to ask, and after getting affirmative answers, more and more people came. These people were settled in the cleared house, and they were in charge of food and housing every day.

No one wants to live outside this New Year's Eve, but Tianjin Jinyiwei's behavior shows that the recruitment of soldiers is reliable. The children of military households who were a little hesitant at first were all moved after hearing the news.

People who have a relationship, asked people to inquire about it, some asked about General Li Shen, and some asked about Commander Wei, and they all got affirmative answers, saying that Jinyiwei Wang Qianhu was very capable, and he wanted to Vigorously rectify and reform, and follow him to do a promising job.

Some people also inquired about General Li Shen giving a big house in the city to Wang Qianhu. In the eyes of the soldiers in the guard, the biggest sky was the commander and General Li Shen. These people said so, Who has any doubts.

Who doesn't know that Jinyiwei is a good job, one pass ten, ten pass one hundred, those who get the application form are naturally elated, and some people come to tell their daughter-in-law.

Naturally, Wang Tong agreed, as long as young men who meet the criteria can sign up, they will take the test when the time comes.

However, it cannot be done before the Lantern Festival. Although it is convenient for military supplies to be served at Panda on the Bingbei Road, there are lantern festivals in the city on the three days before and after the Lantern Festival, and the last carnival in the four miles and eight townships of the first month, too many people come and go. Don't join in the fun.
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Thank you everyone, you will lose what you gain, allow me to sigh, ^_^
(End of this chapter)