The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 311 Guangzhou
Fengming Lane, south of Guangzhou.

This is the concentration of Guangzhou city government offices. To the west of Fengming Lane are the Confucian Temple and the Imperial Academy, and to the east are the Censorate and the Provincial Governor's Office.

Even in such an important government office, many strong men in tight clothes and with fierce faces came today.

If there is anyone here who is familiar with the underworld figures in Guangzhou, he will find that at least half of the underworld tycoons in Guangzhou city are here.

At the west end of Fengming Lane, there is a two-story building. The two words "De Ren" are engraved on the plaque in front of the door, shining brightly. The house is bustling with activity. The waiters are carrying long food trays and continuously bringing up various snacks.

The shiny shrimp dumplings, the tea-yellow water chestnut cake, and the half-fat and half-lean barbecued pork soaked in oil and water, just look at them to whet your appetite. There are also a wide variety of dishes such as tripe, rice rolls, etc.

At this time, Guangdong morning tea culture had not yet been formed, but this did not prevent me, King Mo, from inventing it.

Not only is dim sum delicious and extremely relaxing, but most importantly, this type of dim sum shop is the best place to get information.

Since Huang Zhongtong arrived in Guangzhou and opened the first morning tea restaurant named Deren under the instruction of Mo Zibu, the morning tea culture has flourished in Guangzhou in just three or four years.

In contrast to the bustling scene below, the second floor seemed very quiet.

Huang Zhongtong was dressed like a gangster, even with a long, shiny braid on his head. On his left and right sides sat a circle of Hongmen bosses in order of their status.

In fact, whether it is called Hongmen, Hanliu, or Tiandihui, they are all the same thing. It is reasonable that they have multiple origins.

Because the resistance to the Qing Dynasty was originally an initiative of those who refused to surrender. What they acknowledged was the Hongmen's proposition of expelling the Tartars and overthrowing the Qing Dynasty to restore the Ming Dynasty, which could not have come from the same source.

"I got news from my father yesterday that brothers Gao and Yu have both arrived in Jiading.

My father has gifted the Gao brothers a gold mine in Kasidao (West Borneo). They say they're going to recruit miners and start digging soon. Who knows, they might even unearth a mountain of gold.

A rare smile appeared on Huang Zhongtong's usually stern face. The "dad" he mentioned was naturally referring to me, Mo Zibu, the Great King Mo.

"Dad, you are so generous! I, Zhou Ajin, have lived half my life, and this is the first time I have seen such a kind and righteous man."

"Brother Gao, this can be considered a blessing in disguise. After this, it will be our own territory. With dad protecting us, who dares not give us some face?"

"What about Brother Ayu? Doesn't he want the gold mine?" someone else asked.

Huang Zhongtong chuckled, "Brother Ayu is a man of integrity and skill. Ordinary three or five strong men can't get close to him. I have taken him in by my side and made him my imperial guard."

"That's great! He'll be promoted straight away to an official position. When he's sent out, he'll be a general or a deputy general!"

"I think it's better to have a gold mine, or build a manor. Then I can recruit some people to farm the land, capture dozens or hundreds of natives and use them as cattle and horses. Once I close the door, I'll be the king!"

"Uncle Liu is right. If one day I can no longer stay in Guangzhou, I will bring a few dozen brothers with me and go overseas to serve as your servants."

The A Gao and A Yu mentioned by these people are both Hongmen followers who are active in the Guangzhou underworld. A Gao's surname is Chen and A Yu's surname is Lin.

Five months ago, Chen Agao and Lin Ayu brought more than 40 brothers to cut off chicken heads and burn yellow paper to become brothers of different surnames. They hung a banner at the gate of Kunlun Mountain and built a small incense hall.

This situation was very common in Guangzhou and even in Fujian and Guangdong. Correspondingly, the Qing court was very vigilant about this, fearing that the Han people would secretly swear to engage in anti-Qing activities.

Therefore, the Qing court stipulated that not only would those who beheaded chickens and burned yellow paper be hanged, but also that "if a group of more than 30 people gathered to swear an oath of alliance, or if one person swore an oath of alliance in different places, and the number of people swore an oath of alliance reached 30 or more, the leader would also be hanged according to the blood oath and burning of paper, as a warning."

Chen Agao and Lin Ayu were immediately caught in the crossfire. The Guangdong Governor issued an arrest warrant and they were finally arrested by the Nanhai County Magistrate and sentenced to death by hanging.

Lin Ayu was not convinced at the time. He felt that Chen Agao had not committed any serious crime and that they wanted to become sworn brothers just to make a living in the underworld, not to take anyone's life.

So this hot-tempered and loyal hero became angry. In March, he brought more than 20 followers, gathered under the pretext of buying salt, and entered the city with pistols and short knives.

Then, at the gate of the county government office, he beat to death the magistrate of Nanhai, who had just left the house and had not yet gotten into the sedan chair. Then he rushed into the county government office dungeon, rescued Chen Agao, and let more than 20 prisoners escape.

In history, Chen Agao was captured a month earlier than this, and Lin A's attempted assassination and dungeon robbery were also unsuccessful. Both were caught by the government and hanged.

But in this time and space, due to the existence of me, King Mo, the Guangzhou underground society is filled with a large number of crude firearms manufactured by the Nakhon Si Thammarat First Arsenal and the Pattani Second Arsenal.

These firearms were mainly hand cannons, crudely made and rarely used by the army. Most of them fell into the hands of Chinese colonists in various parts of Southeast Asia, and flowed into Guangzhou along with the Ho Tien ships carrying tin ore.

The replacement and upgrade of this weapon immediately paralyzed the officials in various prefectures and counties in Guangdong, especially in Guangzhou. The government runners and constables dared to go deep into the grassroots to crack down on and even control the underworld people.

But now that they have fire guns, the yamen runners no longer dare to go down to the bottom level easily.

They are not Superman. You have a knife and they have a musket. No matter how skilled you are, you can still be defeated with one shot. Especially when someone shoots you from behind, it is impossible to defend against it.

Even now, there are cases where government officials cannot survive in the local area if they do not worship the Five Ancestors of the Hongmen and burn incense to their father.

At the same time, the existence of Mo Zibu also provided these bigwigs in the martial arts world with an extremely wide escape route.

In the past, if you committed a crime, you could only escape to the sea and become a pirate, or go to the wilderness and risk your life, so many people still had concerns.

But now, after several years of publicity and the personal experiences of a large number of people who have gone abroad, most Guangzhou people know that in Southeast Asia, there is also a Han Chinese King of Benevolence.

Although Hue, Qui Nhon, Gia Dinh, Ha Tien and other places are not as prosperous as Guangzhou, they are not desolate and plague-ridden places.

So over the years, there have been many people like Chen Agao and Lin Ayu. They killed officials and rebelled in Guangzhou, and fled to Southeast Asia after committing crimes.

Mo Zibu also welcomed their arrival. These gangsters were not good at farming or doing business, but most of them were brave and fierce, and had a set of methods to control people.

If they are placed in the Andai area, especially in places like Terengganu and Tanjong Pagar (Tanassari area), they are familiar with both capturing natives for colonization and mining, and are much more useful than ordinary farmers.

It's just that the incident involving Chen Agao and Lin Ayu was too big a deal. A legitimate juren and a seventh-rank official of the imperial court was killed at the gate of the county government office. It was definitely a shocking case.

Even Emperor Qianlong issued a special decree, requiring the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Li Shiyao, to conduct a thorough investigation and capture the murderer. Therefore, in order to get these two guys to Southeast Asia, Huang Zhongtong really used all his efforts to accomplish it.

Of course, after accomplishing this, the benefits were enormous. Even Zhou Erye, the leader of Yufo Mountain, who had been secretly competing with Kunlun Mountain, came to the restaurant in person and sat to the lower left of Huang Zhongtong to show his submission.

In the Hongmen, the word "shan" generally refers to the headquarters, representing an independent faction that is not subject to the command of others.

Now, the name of Jade Buddha Mountain has been changed to Jade Buddha Hall by removing the word "mountain" from it, which means that Huang Zhongtong has basically completed the unification of the underground forces in Guangzhou.
The big guys were drinking tea and talking about business on the second floor, while the little brothers were eating and drinking to their heart's content on the first floor. With so many delicacies, not to mention small fry like them, even the second and third masters above them would not be willing to come and eat often.

However, this meal is not free. There is a clay pot on each table, covered with a cloth, with four paper balls in it. As long as you sit down to eat, you have to take a paper ball.

Liu Ashui sighed, and when he took out the paper ball with the word "yong" written in cinnabar, the first floor suddenly became quiet.

"Brother Shui!" Seeing that someone was caught, the third master of Kunlun Mountain, who was in charge of food and drink for the brothers on the first floor, and Huan Hou, who was in charge of money and grain, cupped his hands and respectfully called Brother Shui.

"Brother Shui." Then all the Hongmen brothers on the first floor stood up, bowed to him, and shouted in unison, their eyes full of admiration.

Liu A Shui also stood up and bowed to everyone in all directions. It was hard to tell whether the expression on his face was excitement or bitterness.

Afterwards, the Third Lord Huanhou led Liu Ashui to the second floor.

On the second floor, these gangsters whom Liu A Shui had only heard of from others stood up together. Each of them held a bowl of wine and brought it to toast Liu A Shui.

Liu Ashui was born into a fisherman family and had never seen such a scene. After drinking bowl after bowl of wine, he suddenly felt like he was flying in the clouds.

"A Shui, from now on, you are the law enforcer of Kunlun Mountain. If you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can tell us now." As the deputy leader of Kunlun Mountain, Huang Zhongtong was the last one to come out and toast.

"When I entered the mountain gate, I, Liu Ashui, and my brothers swore an oath in front of Master Guan that my life would belong to the mountain gate.

The Tartars have killed our people, occupied our land, and treated us Han Chinese like cattle and horses. Therefore, we must unite, kill all the Tartars and corrupt officials, and take back our Han Chinese world."

The more Liu Ashui spoke, the more passionate he became. He spoke this long string of words without even pausing, which showed that he heard and spoke a lot in his daily life.

"He's a good man, loyal and righteous!" Huang Zhongtong gave a thumbs up, then looked at a big man sitting in the fourth seat on the left.

"Master Zhou Liu, Ah Shui is a brother from your Shunyi Hall, you speak."

Zhou Ajin, the sixth uncle, put down his wine bowl and bowed to Huang Zhongtong. "A Shui originally had a sister, but three years ago, she was deceived by a playboy and became pregnant before marriage. Not only did the playboy refuse to take responsibility, he even said that it was A Shui's sister who got pregnant herself.

Sister Ashui couldn't bear the blow and jumped into the Xijiang River, resulting in two deaths."

"No good!" Huang Zhongtong cursed angrily, "Who is this playboy and where is he now?"

"This beast is the brother of Mr. Cai's concubine. He is a womanizer, but he knows some Western languages and is highly valued."

"So what if it's Thirteen Hongs? Master Cai doesn't control his subordinates well, so we can help him clean up his mess.

"Sixth Master, find a few beautiful women to lure this beast out, take him to the West River, cut open his abdomen and wrists, and offer him as a sacrifice to Sister Ashui."

When Liu Ashui heard Zhou Liuye mention his sister, his eyes turned red. This was the biggest pain in his life, and he dreamed of avenging his sister.

"Your kindness is as great as a mountain. Liu Ashui has no way to repay you. I am willing to go to the West Street Imperial Examination Hall and kill the traitor!"

. . . .

There are several small buildings belonging to the government in the West Street Examination Hall. Since it is located in the inner city, it is much more prosperous than the post station. In the years when there were no provincial examinations, it was mostly used to receive some relatively important officials and gentry passing by.

Liu Ashui and two Hongmen brothers who were also promoted to law enforcement officers, under the cover of night, directly climbed into the small building. The tired soldiers were yawning at the door, completely unaware that someone had come in.

Following the map drawn in advance, the three of them quickly arrived on the second floor, outside rooms A2 and A3.

"Gentlemen, the governor has prepared a feast for you. Please open the door and I will bring it in for you." Liu A Shui pinched his nose and called softly.

"There's still a feast at this time. Isn't life in the upper country a bit too good?" Someone muttered inside and opened the door with a creaky sound.

Liu A Shui looked out and saw several men dressed as Annan people and a bald strong man. So without any hesitation, Liu A Shui took out his crossbow and shot him in the chest.

The man who opened the door was caught off guard and fell down with a scream. Then three people rushed into the house, each chose a target, pounced on them and stabbed them with a dagger. Soon, several Annan people were stabbed and covered in blood.

However, the bald strong man was very powerful. He lifted the table and smashed it towards Liu Ashui and the other two, then took advantage of the gap when the three of them dodged to jump out the window and escape.

There was no other way, Liu A Shui could only take out his musket. With a loud bang, the strong man who had just turned around trembled all over, and blood spurted out from behind him.

But this did not stop him. The strong man wanted to climb over the window as if nothing had happened. Fortunately, a law enforcement officer next to him was agile and pounced over, grabbing the bald man's thigh at the last moment.

Liu Ashui took the opportunity to walk forward quickly, and the two of them worked together to pull the strong man down. The strong man's back was soaked with blood, and he had no strength to resist. He could only open his mouth full of blood and gasp for breath.

Liu Ashui spat at him in disgust, "You're leaving your job as a good person to be a dog for the Tartars!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed it hard into the bald man's throat. "King Xing Tang asked me to tell you that the era of being a traitor and rising to prominence is over!"

Bang, bang, the fight in the house finally attracted the attention outside, and the soldiers on guard rang the gong to sound the alarm.

The soldiers of the Governor's Standard Battalion stationed inside and outside the small building woke up from their sleep and were about to gather and start searching.

But at this moment, a bigger explosion sounded, and the surrounding residents were panicked. Soon, fires broke out everywhere, and people were shouting in fear everywhere.

"There's a fire in the Imperial Examination Hall! There's a fire in the Imperial Examination Hall!"

The standard-bearing captain found the gatekeeper to inquire about the situation. The gatekeeper was confused and not sure whether the sound of muskets came from the second floor, because he was sure that no one had come in.

Taking advantage of this small gap, the three of them searched the house. Suddenly, Liu A Shui found a thick stack of letters under the bed.

The law enforcement officer who had just hugged the bald strong man's thigh found a booklet and a nameplate on the strong man.

"Ye Xianbi, Fifth Special Operations Team A, Department of Internal Security." The literate law enforcement officer took it, looked at it, and read it aloud with gritted teeth.

"It was this guy, a bastard, who was actually instigated by the Beihe people to rebel and bring shame to us Hakka people."

Then he took one look at the thick stack of letters and pamphlets, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"What a thief! Not only did he steal the letter from Cai Gong to the king, he also wrote down the entire organization, officers, and weapons of the Xing Tang Army. If this were to be handed over to old Emperor Qianlong, I don't know how much trouble it would cause."

Liu Ashui didn't understand all this, but he knew the mission was accomplished. He grinned twice, and then the three of them knocked over the tung oil lamp on the letter and the booklet.

Looking at the blazing fire, the three of them smiled at each other and bowed. "Killing one will cover our losses, and killing two will make us a profit. Brothers, I'll go first and wait for you two on the Loyalty List."

After saying that, Liu A Shui took out a few bombs and went to the stairs to block the Qing soldiers.

"Let's go together, let's go together!" The two people behind also laughed loudly, picked up their weapons and chased after Liu A Shui's back.

The governor's standard-bearer at the stairs never expected that three people would suddenly rush out from the second floor, let alone that they had bombs. Liu Ashui lit two bombs and threw them directly at where they gathered.

With a loud bang, these slow-reacting standard-bearers were blown to pieces, and they scattered wailing.

The three took the opportunity to set fires and throw bombs everywhere, and after a while of killing, they miraculously rushed out of the Imperial Examination Hall again.

. . . .

At the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, Governor-General Li Shiyao, who had been having trouble sleeping recently, was quickly awakened by the old servant who was guarding outside. Soon, several of his staff and advisors also quickly arrived.

"Sir Governor, something happened at the Imperial Court. The spy from Hue is indeed dead, and along with him, the several Annan envoys have all been killed."

The master quickly reported the situation, and Li Shiyao washed his face with cold water to clear his mind, and then his face became as gloomy as water.

"So, the story that Huang Tinghui of Annan reported that Mo Wu had successfully helped Zheng rebel in Southeast Asia, and that the pseudo-King of Jin, Li Dingguo, and others had built a temple to worship him and even given him a posthumous title, is most likely true."

As he spoke, Li Shiyao couldn't help but become a little angry. "This Mo Wu, he has taken over thousands of miles of Nanyang and governed millions of people, but he's still not satisfied. Is he really going to rebel?"

"Regardless of whether Mo Wu intends to rebel or not, this incident at the Imperial Examination Hall is actually a good thing. The Governor-General has always suspected you, but now that he has no evidence, he dares not report it to the Emperor."

A lawyer stroked his beard and whispered, "Boss, now is a good opportunity for us to slowly report that Nanyang Mo Wu seems to be doing something wrong."

Li Shiyao nodded slowly. Guangdong Governor Baode had always been suspicious of him and felt that Li Shiyao was the umbrella for Hexian Mo Wu.

Even the emperor suspected that Li Shiyao was bribed by Mo Zibu, so he sent Baode, who had direct access to the emperor's ears, to be the governor of Guangdong.

"Then draft a memorial immediately, but don't accuse Mo Wu of rebellion. After all, this is only one side of the story from the Annan people. They may be trying to drag our Qing Dynasty into their fight with Mo Wu.

So let's just say that Mo Wu intends to go north and destroy the Annan Li family. As for whether the emperor can tolerate Annan being controlled by the remnants of the former Ming Dynasty, let Your Majesty and the ministers decide."

The staff and advisors took the order and left. Li Shiyao paced back and forth in the study, muttering to himself.

"Mo Wu is indeed a rebel, otherwise he wouldn't have sent people back to recruit the secret society, and the secret society members wouldn't be so rampant. Baode's people must have caught Mo Wu's handle."

Li Shiyao felt his scalp tingling when he thought about how furious Emperor Qianlong would be if Mo Zibu, who was closely related to him, rebelled.

No, we can’t let Mo Wu rebel. If something happens, he will lose his head.

Then, perhaps what the Annan envoy named Huang Tinghui said makes sense. If you want to suppress the troublesome Mo Wu, the key is to prevent him from entering Beihe. If he is not close to the Qing Dynasty, he will not become a trouble.

Thinking of this, Li Shiyao immediately called Goshaha in from outside the door.

"Hurry up and make arrangements. From today on, all smuggling ships heading to Hexian will be intercepted. Refined iron, saltpeter, and other items will be the focus of inspections. Even with approval, they will not be allowed to sail.

Tin ore ships from Ha Tien must also be strictly inspected to prevent the smuggling of prohibited items.

Find Jiang Liuxing and have him go to Annan and bring Huang Tinghui to Guangzhou."

(End of this chapter)