Beggar gangs in big cities have great power in classical Chinese cities, and are also an important part of the so-called "socialized management" of the government. Therefore, the leaders of beggar gangs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties are considered to be half "official"
Most of the people have "tokens" that symbolize the authority of the government. Their leaders have the absolute power to kill and kill the beggars. On weekdays, they enjoy the offerings of the beggars and live a luxurious life. Not only do they have fine clothes and fine food, they call slaves and maids, and they often
Having multiple wives and concubines, the enjoyment of life is the same as that of wealthy businessmen.
"Wenlan Academy has many shops on Chengxuan Street, and they are all prosperous shops that make a lot of money every day. If you want to demolish those shacks, Mo Rongxin will definitely ask the Guandi Temple people for help." Bi Defan said, "The chief wants to
Make preparations early.”
In order to learn more about the situation, after Bi Defan left, Lin Baiguang summoned a retained fast-shift veteran, Gao Chongjiu.
The main job of the fast class is "hunting". They are responsible for local security work and have the clearest grasp of the situation of various urban foxes and rats.
Gao Chongjiu was not from a Kuaiban family. He became a disciple of an old government official when he was young, and spent half his life as a white-collar official before he got a decent job. He is very familiar with the social conditions and people's sentiments in Guangzhou, especially the lower-class society.
Above the Yamen.
Gao Chongjiu was already in his fifties, which was considered twilight in the 17th century. He had a very difficult time raising children, and he only had a son in his early forties. Because of his superstitious belief in the theory of retribution, he did not dare to do too much evil in daily life.
It is an object that can be fought for.
Lin Baiguang asked him about the detailed inside story of "Guandi Temple Men and Horses", and Gao Chongjiu did not hide anything and told him everything he knew.
He said that the leader of the Guandi Temple troops was named Gao Tianshi, and his family had been hereditary as the head of the Guandi Temple troops for generations.
"...According to Gao Tianshi, his ancestors followed Lord Hong Wu in the east and west expeditions and conquered Guangzhou. After Lord Hong Wu ascended the throne and became the emperor, his ancestors were originally from Huazi, so they received this reward. This happened over time, and it also
No one has checked whether it is true or not. However, Gao Tianshi has always boasted that his family possesses the zhazi given to the head of the Guangzhou General Corps by the imperial court, as well as the 'imperial seal pole' given by the emperor."
Lin Baiguang nodded, this is not unusual. The leaders of organized beggar gangs always attach the origin of their sect to a certain emperor. This is not completely fabricated. Most of the time, the government did give them some power in history. As for the
If it's the emperor's golden words, it's just made up casually.
It is said that they are from Guandi Temple. In fact, the general leader is not in Guandi Temple. Gao Chongjiu said that Gao Tianshi's "Doukou" is located at Jinhua Temple outside Xiguan. As for the other leaders at all levels, they live in various places inside and outside the city.
In the ruined temples, each has its own territory. The boundaries are clearly defined. Beggars at each entrance are not allowed to cross the boundary to beg. Beggars from outside must also register in the Guandi Temple before begging. Otherwise, they will be beaten and expelled, or they will be tied with stones and sunk.
Go to the Pearl River.
"How many beggars are registered at Guandi Temple in Guangzhou?" Lin Baiguang asked.
Gao Chongjiu was a little nervous, licked his lips and said, "There are about nearly ten thousand people."
"Zi Ji has been running a charity hall in Guangzhou for many years. Anyone who wants to make a living can go to Lingao. Why don't the beggars want to go? Would they rather live in Guangzhou begging?"
Gao Chongjiu smiled and said: "Chief, those registered at Guandi Temple are either old, weak or disabled. They are afraid that they will not be able to do the work required by the charity hall, so they would rather beg to survive; or they have their own skills.
of……"
Lin Baiguang asked: "What is craftsmanship?"
Gao Chongjiu said: "There are many kinds of begging, the most common ones are: either begging along the street, or sitting on the ground to beg. These are all unskilled, and those who have skills are passed down by masters. Or they are old beggars paired with child beggars.
Yes, Gongsun is in trouble; either a female beggar gets a dead child to hold in his arms, or a corpse is found somewhere, a female beggar or a child beggar kneels aside and sells his body to bury his relatives... These are all familiar routines -
These are one category; there are also those who pretend to be disabled with rotten flesh on their bodies, or those who are originally disabled, which is another category; and then there are those who slap bricks on the Tianling Cap, and those who have nails on their faces..."
Lin Baiguang understood that the so-called "skilled" people were actually professional beggars. Those who said they were "begging" were actually "cheating". He asked again: "What else?"
"The last one is that I am physically strong and have no skills. But I like to work hard. Besides begging on weekdays, I work as a deacon in the ceremonial shop. After a wedding or wedding, not only can I have a good time, but I can also make some money.
To make ends meet, another occupation is that of a thug in a country fight."
Clan power in Guangdong is extremely powerful, and armed fighting is common, even around the provincial capital. Some clans and villages are weak. In order not to lose in the armed fighting, strong beggars are often hired through the entrance of the Guandi Temple.
As a source of support for armed fighting, most beggars have no family or room, and there will be no consequences if they die in armed fighting, and their pensions are meager. Therefore, whenever there is armed fighting, it is the time for their business to open.
"...Whenever there is a fight in the countryside, the big bones are the happiest. Not only can they earn a sum of money as a "recruitment fee", but if someone is beaten to death, the owner will provide compensation, and the money will go into their pockets. Again.
Whenever a beggar fights with weapons and kills someone, he or she will usually find someone to surrender to take his own life. This is the unique business of Guandi Temple. Either coax or force a few of the old and weak among the beggars to take their lives, and you can get a chance.
Money to buy your life."
"anything else?"
"As for other "earnings", there are countless. Guarding grave sites and humanization factories; guarding the streets and doing watch, working as a widower to collect corpses without owners; going to mourn and cry when large families hold funerals... These are all considered legitimate livelihoods.
; Speaking of what is unfair, the ghost market outside Xiguan sells all kinds of stolen goods and even funerary objects obtained by robbing graves and digging graves... Without the support of the Guandi Temple people and horses, there is no market at all; outside pickpockets, thieves, and "flower-shooting"
... If you want to do business in and outside the city, you have to come to the Guandi Temple to burn incense and seek protection."
Lin Baiguang had been in Guangzhou for a long time and had no contact with the Guandi Temple people and horses, but it was the first time he learned such detailed information. He felt that he had underestimated them in the past. Now it seems that the Guandi Temple people and horses are already a part of Guangzhou.
If you have a sore, you not only need medical treatment, but you also need to hurry up.
"So, all the people in Guandi Temple are willing to be beggars?"
"It's hard to say at all. Except for those who are 'skilled', most people still want to have a bowl of serious food. After all, in this industry, you don't know the next meal, and you don't know when you will rush to the street." Gao Chongjiu sighed,
"No matter how powerful the people of Guandi Temple are and how much money they make, how many ordinary flowers can be lost? They have to pay filial piety to the big bones every day. The flower children have a slogan: 'Take off your shoes and find food with clogs on, put on clogs and find food.
Wearing shoes to eat, wearing shoes to find food to wear boots. They asked for some alms and gave them to Dagu as a filial piety. Dagu wanted to show filial piety to Tuantou, and Tuantou also wanted to show filial piety to Yamen. Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimps.
.”
Lin Baiguang looked at Gao Chongjiu and suddenly asked: "Old Gao, I heard that you and Gao Tianshi are brothers?"
Gao Chongjiu was startled and quickly argued: "The younger one is indeed very close to Gao Tianshi, but it's mostly for official affairs in the yamen. In order to win over the younger one, because the younger one also has the surname Gao, he said he wanted to get along with him.
When the younger Lian Zong recognized his brothers with the same surname, he just said it, and the younger one accepted it randomly - in fact, the younger one's ancestral home is Nanxiong, and his family's ancestral home is Huainan..."
"Okay, don't judge yourself." Lin Baiguang interrupted him, "You and he are not the same person. I know this very well."
"Yes, thank you sir for your insight!" Sweat dripped from Gao Chongjiu's forehead. He heard from people in Zaoban that more than 100 subordinate officials and yamen were arrested in the past few days and were tortured day and night in the county jail.
After going through interrogation, they were asked to confess their "crime", especially the whereabouts of their hidden private property. All the torture experts in the soap class were transferred to work in turns. I heard that the "torture was extremely brutal" inside, so those who were arrested were
People "just want a quick death". Recently, because someone secretly reported or complained to the government, more than a dozen of the subordinate officials who had been registered and retained were arrested. He asked himself that he had never committed a blood debt, and he would not do anything on weekdays.
If you dare to do something that is harmful to nature, it should be okay. If you are caught because of this inexplicable "brother" relationship, wouldn't it be an injustice?
"You go down, and I will send someone to take a transcript later. Tell me clearly about all the people and things that you know about the people and horses of Guandi Temple, no matter big or small, important or not. Tell me clearly one by one. The clearer you explain, the better
Understand, the greater your contribution."
"Yes, yes, I understand." Gao Chongjiu's back was wet now. The leader meant to touch Gao Tianshi!
Lin Baiguang thought for a long time behind his desk: Although Bi Defan warned that the Guandi Temple people might interfere, and the information provided by Gao Chongjiu just now also showed that this force is very powerful, he believed that they would not take the initiative to jump out at the moment.
. Although they claim to be fearless, they are actually still afraid of power. At this time of "change of dynasties", they will not be so blind and take the initiative to jump out.
But if they don't come out, it doesn't mean that the shopkeepers won't have other means to resist. After all, the shopkeepers are "common people" and "good citizens", and they cannot be dealt with simply by shouting and killing. Lin Baiguang was the county office in the old time and space.
When I was the director, I had engaged in demolition violations and also dealt with incidents during demolition. The lessons I learned were that we must be fully prepared before taking action, we must move quickly when implementing, and we must have sufficient manpower and equipment. Once an emergency occurs, we must immediately
Use more to control the less, and quickly control the situation to avoid spreading the impact and prevent the crowd from being incited.
Although he has a small but capable team of naturalized civilian cadres in his hands, as well as a large detective team eager to show their loyalty, which is enough to complete this operation, he has decided to use the National Army for tomorrow's demolition operation.
Come and suppress the formation, let them show up with guns and ammunition, and suppress all kinds of evil spirits in this city. (To be continued.)