The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 110 Huang Lao Lai!

Changsha, Chaozongmen outer wharf.

This wharf, located on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River and outside Changsha City, has always been a very prosperous place. Not only does it welcome and send off officials from Hunan, but also the products from all over Hunan, especially rice, are gathered here before being sold elsewhere.

The foreign cigarettes and various rare items shipped from Guangdong Province in the south were first delivered to the dock outside Chaozongmen and then transported into the city for the masters to enjoy.

The Huang family's shop in Etang is located outside Chaozong Gate in Changsha, on the street leading directly to the wharf. It is a shop with a wide frontage and a bright and imposing appearance, as if telling the passers-by about the past glory of the Huang family shop.

Since this glory belongs to the past, all that is left now is naturally desolation and panic.

Who in Changsha's business community doesn't know that the Huang family's old shop's owner, the Etang Huang family, has its roots in Daozhou? They are the largest landlords in Daozhou!
With the five ports now open to trade, it is difficult for anyone to do business on the trade route from Guangzhou to Wuchang in the north. Only old companies like the Huang family, which have a large amount of land to support them and a strong foundation, can still operate.

Therefore, the reputation of the Huang Family Store in Changsha has always been first-class. They can buy goods on credit and receive a large deposit in advance for goods shipped. This inflow and outflow has made the account of the Huang Family Store much looser.

But who could have thought that the Huang family, which had such a rich fortune, would suddenly fail!

When the news of Daozhou's fall and the Taiping Rebellion's division of land and wealth in Daozhou reached Changsha, the sky fell on the Huang family's old shop! They couldn't open the door for many days in a row - the door was blocked by creditors!
Those merchants who had sold Changsha's local products on credit to Huang's shop, as well as the tobacco shops that had paid deposits to Huang's shop to buy foreign cigarettes, became anxious and sent people to block the door every day to collect debts.

It’s not that they are ruthless and are taking advantage of others’ misfortunes, but they have been getting poorer and poorer over the years!

Which wealthy family in Changsha does not have the same difficulties as the Huang family in Etang? Which family does not try hard to maintain the facade of a wealthy family, but the inside is already in tatters and can only survive by patching up the old with the new?
Huang Li, the "big Ah Fu" of Huang Shijie's family, was now trapped in the Huang family's old shop, crying without tears. She did not come alone, but led one or two thousand families of Daozhou gentry, passing through Guiyangzhou and Chenzhou, entering Chenjiang, and then coming by water.

Not to mention the hardships the Huang family suffered on the road, they also spent a lot of money on travel expenses. In addition, they escaped in a hurry and did not take much valuables with them.

When he arrived in Changsha, he thought he could live a peaceful life for a few days relying on the Huang family's property left in Changsha, but he did not expect to encounter creditors blocking his door to demand debts.

Of course, Huang Li would never give up the wealth stored in the Huang family's old shop - if she did, the hundreds of people in the Huang family would probably starve to death in Changsha.

However, those creditors had the IOUs issued by the Huang family's old shop, and they could justifiably pay back their debts!
Some creditors have gone to Shanhua County to file a complaint with the authorities. For two days in a row, officials have been coming with letters to arrest the head of the Huang family's old shop.

Huang Li was also very anxious. She actually brought a few strong men from the Huang family to block the gate and refused to let anyone in. It seemed that she was determined to become a deadbeat.

Zhao, the lawyer in the Shanhua County government office, must have received money from someone. He was waving the arrest warrant and angrily said, "Madam Huang, what are you doing? The Shanhua County arrest warrant is here, and you are blocking the door and not letting the officers in to arrest people. Are you trying to rebel?"

Hearing the word "rebellion", Huang Li suddenly remembered the "Rebellion Sutra". She thought to herself: "My husband has been organizing militia for a long time. Why not use it as a pretext to scare away the people who come?"

She put her hands on her hips and said confidently, "Master Zhao, my husband had already organized a militia of 1,000 people before Daozhou fell. They were all my master's clan brothers, fellow villagers and classmates, and his most trusted confidants. He also had Lingtang Zhang Bazong as the battalion commander, and he also recruited some of Yu Junmen's old subordinates.

When Daozhou City was captured, he fled with his troops, perhaps surrendering to Saizhongtang. Don't force me anymore, if my husband knew, he might send someone to kill you!"

Of course, Master Zhao would not be scared off by a lady's words. His face darkened and he waved his hand, saying, "Come on, rush in and arrest this bitch!"

"twitter!"

Several yamen runners agreed and rushed in.

Huang Li was a person who had copied the Anti-Scripture. She was a fat and talented woman from a scholarly family. She was intelligent and had a photographic memory. She had memorized the principles in the Anti-Scripture long ago. As long as her husband had a thousand or eight hundred soldiers, she would not be afraid of any trouble! So the tougher she was now, the less outsiders dared to touch her.

Thinking back, the woman shouted loudly, showing a look of being a tough guy: "Hit me! The master is leading the troops outside, and Sai Zhongtang has to coax him. We are not afraid!"

Several Huang family members had already picked up carrying poles and wooden sticks and were standing at the door. When they heard Huang Li's order, they swung the weapons in their hands and attacked without hesitation.

Mr. Zhao and several other Shanhua County yamen runners had never seen such an arrogant "deadbeat" before. They didn't react immediately and were hit by a few clubs. Mr. Zhao's head was smashed and blood was flowing. But Mr. Zhao was old and his brain was not as fast as the Huang family woman. He immediately screamed: "Rebellion! The old people of the Huang family rebelled! Quick, ask the county master to mobilize the strong team to arrest them!"

"Yes!" The next officer responded.

Huang Li thought that something bad was going to happen. As a woman, she had always been kept at home to eat and drink, and had never been the head of the household. Now she could lead others to become deadbeats and fight against the government, which was something she had never dared to think of before.

Now I am accused of rebelling. What should I do?

Just when she didn't know what to do, someone suddenly shouted, "Master Zhao, the soldiers are coming!"

"So fast?" Master Zhao was stunned. He covered his head and looked towards the Chao Sect Gate, but did not see any soldiers.

"Master Zhao, the soldiers are coming up from the dock!" the man said again.

Coming up from the dock?
Master Zhao turned his head to look again, and saw a group of soldiers carrying military flags and spears, who were walking towards them with a bit of bandit spirit. Leading them was a short, dark-skinned general with high cheekbones and a face full of banditry.

It doesn’t seem right!
Where did these officers and soldiers come from?

Why are the officers and soldiers so arrogant? They look like rebels. Aren't the officers and soldiers all sick opium addicts?

Among the creditors who came with Master Zhao, there was an old scholar who was irritated by the attitude of "Old Huang". He was not afraid of the soldiers, so he went up to the "bandit general" and said, "Sir, there is a scoundrel named Huang who owes debts and doesn't pay them back. He even beat up the officials in the street and intends to rebel!"

After saying that, he raised his finger and pointed at the Huang family's old shop.

The official looked up at the direction the man pointed, then glared at him and said, "I can't read, what does the sign say?"

"The Huang family's old number! The Huang family's old number in Etang!"

"Fuck you." The Guangdong military officer immediately got angry when he heard it, and then raised his hand to slap him, and then cursed, "You are blind, that is Mr. Huang's business! Mr. Huang is the brother of our boss, and also the boss of our Daozhou Camp. Does the boss need to pay back the money he owes? Come on, capture them all!"

It turned out that the soldiers who came up from the Chaozongmen Wharf in Changsha today were, by coincidence, the Daozhou Battalion led by Huang Shijie, Zhang Dingxiang, and Zhang Guoliang.

The one who led a group of Tiandihui "straw sandal thugs" to clear the way was Zhang Guoliang's double-flowered red stick, named Dai Wenying. He was Zhang Guoliang's gold medal fighter! He had followed Zhang Guoliang to fight against the Qing army, the Tiandihui, and the Taiping Army. In short, he would fight whoever the boss told him to fight, without any ambiguity.

Now someone is asking Mr. Huang, the sworn brother of the boss, to collect a debt, so he must be beaten!
How could Mr. Huang pay back his debts? Didn't he raise so many soldiers just to avoid paying back his debts?

So he beat the men quickly, and arrested a group of people who were blocking the door of the Huang family's old shop to collect debts and those who were holding arrest warrants from the Shanhua County Court. He tied them up with ropes and threw them at the door of the Huang family's old shop, waiting for Mr. Huang to come and deal with them personally.

The Qing soldiers who were originally from the "straw sandal horsemen" of the Tiandihui were also wild. After tying up the man, they showed their big knives and looked like they were going to chop off his head in the street. This frightened the dozen or so creditors, the yamen runners, and Mr. Zhao.

Also stunned by this scene was Wang Kuiyi, who came to Changsha with Huang Laolai, no, with Mr. Huang.

He said he was going to be "locked up and taken to Beijing", but in fact he was just wearing a blue cap and followed Huang Shijie's team, under the custody of his "family member" Zhang Zhongqing, all the way to Changsha. Now he was following a battalion of soldiers led by Dai Wenying, and witnessed the tyranny of the Huang family militia with his own eyes.

Isn't it too lawless for a county magistrate to arrest officials on the streets of the provincial capital?

Wang Kuiyi was actually a little gloating for a moment, thinking to himself: "Will this Huang be arrested along with me? That's good, I'll have a companion on the way to Beijing, and I won't be lonely when I go to Caishikou."

(End of this chapter)