Chapter 13 Fall of Beijing and Tianjin

This four-year combined account, the performance is unexpectedly good.The old gang of Dai Ying of the Beijing account has been praised by the old Taigu account: they can take a vacation in advance, go home for the New Year, and the host will provide special hospitality.Also receiving this commendation is Chen Yiqing's old gang from Hanhao.In Tian Chengyuan, Dai Ying and Chen Yiqing's positions are already very important, but this time their shares have been increased to 9%, second only to Master Sun, so Kang Hunan wanted to call these two generals back and reward them grandly . Of course Dai Ying really wanted to go back for the New Year and accept the award from his employer.He has been away from home for almost three years, and he will not be able to get off work and return to Jin for vacation until summer.The old number agreed to leave work early, which of course made him happy.He has not celebrated the New Year in Taigu for a long time.But years ago, he heard a lot of news from the court, which made people extremely worried about the current situation. How could he dare to leave Beijing so easily?

Therefore, he replied to the general number, only saying that the business of Beijing-Tianjin No. 2 was very important at the beginning, and it was really inconvenient to leave after the year and year, so he could only thank the boss and the old number for their kindness.Later, I found out that Chen Laobang of Hanhao did not go back early.Although the situation in Hankou is not as tense as in the north, Chen Yiqing also wants to make a good start for the new accounting period.In contrast, what Dai Ying hoped for was only a safe start. Among the many worrisome news, the Boxing Boxing in Shandong has become a prairie fire, which is the most disturbing.

Yuxian, the governor of Lu Province, has used both soft and hard tactics against the boxers for several years, suppressing and appeasing them, but the situation is still bad.Instead of being contained, the Boxers grew like wildfire, and even many states and counties fell into the hands of the Boxers.Countless foreigner churches were burned all over the world, and many priests and believers were killed and injured.The great powers are extremely resentful towards this Lord Yuxian, and the American Minister Conger has come forward again, asking the imperial court to remove him.In the November of last winter, the imperial court really removed Yu Xian and transferred Yuan Shikai to serve as Fu of Lu.

It is said that the imperial court sent Yuan Shikai to Shandong, originally expecting him to gather Boxer Boxing and appease him as a rural group training loyal to the imperial court, so as to curb the influence of foreigners.But this Yuan Xiangcheng, after bringing 7,000 military guards into Lu, resolutely changed his mission and took the position of protecting foreigners and suppressing boxers.When he first took office, there was a saying that "the Boxer Bandits will be wiped out".In a few days, a notice was issued to prohibit Yihequan, and anyone who violated the prohibition and caused chaos will be killed without mercy.

Dai Ying and a group of veterans from the Beijing gang of the Western Gang had a good impression of Boxing Boxing at first.The Boxer Boxing uprising occurred in Shandong, and the hatred for teaching and killing foreigners made it difficult for foreigners to teach foreigners. It was also because the imperial court indulged foreigners too blindly.I heard that Western Catholicism and Christianity are almost all over the urban and rural areas of Lu Province.How many natives in the countryside know what gods and gods God and Christ are, and how wonderful are the teachings of foreign religions?Yiwofeng followed the foreign religion, didn't he look at other church priests, and the officials dared not mess with it?Therefore, the believers who joined the foreign religion felt that they had a powerful backer, ran wild in the countryside, bullied men and women, seized people's land, and dared to do any bad things.Ordinary villagers live in a difficult life, but suddenly there is such a disaster, and the government doesn't make decisions, so the people's grievances are accumulating day by day, can nothing happen?The general villagers are anxious, who cares if you are a big power or not?The imperial court can't rebel, and the Western devils can't rebel?

There is nothing wrong with the villagers being bullied by foreigners and foreign religions.Who told the imperial court not to make decisions for the people!Let's just talk about those Western banks, pressing every step of the way, bullying the Western gangs, where did the court control them? It's just that the set of heretical sorcery that the boxers worship is really stupid and stupid.They threatened that the gods possessed their bodies, making them invulnerable to swords and guns.Most of the devotional gods are taken from the characters in the novels of Barnyard Officials, and they are very absurd.Dai Ying has consulted the masters of the Martial Escort Bureau many times, and those who are well versed in martial arts disdain Yihequan.But it is also because of this that people feel very scary: fooling people and thinking of themselves as magic soldiers must be lawless and have no scruples about anything!

Relying on foreign religions, the religious people ran rampant in the countryside, forcing out a Boxer;One side is rampant in the countryside, the other side is lawless, the two are against each other, isn't the world in chaos? It's a pity that the imperial government is also incompetent with Boxing Boxing, making it grow stronger and becoming a prairie fire.Now that Yuan Shikai is suddenly suppressing so much, can it really do the trick?Back then, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was suppressed more and more, so that half of the country was lost. The West Gang regards the world as their business field, and they are most afraid of chaos in the world.Looking at the situation of the Boxers today, there are no leaders like Hong and Yang.But this time the turmoil dragged the Western powers in, which is really a big trouble.The imperial court could not offend the Western powers, nor could it control the Yihe Boxers. This was what really worried Dai Ying and the others!

I heard that a group of princes and ministers in the court, especially the important ministers in the Military Aircraft Department, very much advocated borrowing the magical skills of the Yihe Boxers to suppress the domineering arrogance of the foreigners.Isn't this confusing?The imperial court poured the power of the whole country, but it was repeatedly defeated by the Western powers, and the indemnity was not enough to cede the territory. How could the sorcery of the foolish people in the countryside be able to do anything?Yuan Xiangcheng was not ignorant, and he didn't provoke foreigners with heavy soldiers in his hand, but he didn't pay much attention to the boxers' magical skills and killed them ruthlessly.

Whether Yuan Shikai can extinguish the wildfire of Boxer Boxing, half depends on his ability, and half depends on the attitude of the court.Of course the imperial court was afraid that Yihequan would grow up and cause chaos, but they also wanted to start this wild fire and burn the asses of foreigners.Ever since the Empress Dowager Cixi destroyed the New Deal of 1898 and came back to power, Western countries have not given her face very much, so the Empress Dowager is angry with foreigners.The Boxer Boxing expelled the teachings and destroyed the foreigners, the Queen Mother was happy in her heart.Can she agree with Yuan Shikai blindly protecting foreigners and destroying Boxers?

In the twelfth lunar month of last year, the Empress Dowager appointed Pu Jun, the son of Prince Zaiyi of Duan County, as the prince, commonly known as the elder brother.The ministers of the great powers all refused to enter the palace to celebrate, in order to protest against the queen mother's attempt to force the current emperor to abdicate.As a result, the Empress Dowager hated foreigners even more.Prince Duan Zaiyi, who gained power, and a group of princes and ministers who fawned on him took the opportunity to praise Yihequan, saying that it is not only a righteous person, but also has magical skills.The Empress Dowager became more and more ambiguous about Yihe Boxing, and sent Yuan Shikai an imperial edict, still telling him to follow the regiment practice of "self-defense and self-defense" to treat boxers, not to misunderstand rumors, treat them as gangsters, and kill indiscriminately.

No one knows whether Yuan Xiangcheng will listen to the imperial court's edict.However, in the first lunar month of the Gengzi year, there was a rumor in the capital that under Yuan Xiangcheng's ruthless suppression, the Boxers from Shandong had entered the territory of Zhili one after another, setting up altars to teach boxing.The big names in Zhili, Hejian, Shenzhou, and Jizhou originally had Yihe boxing forces, but now Shandong boxing forces have poured in, and this prairie fire has ignited on the side of Gyeonggi.Back then, Hong Yang's Taiping Army was suppressed from Guangxi, moved all the way, grew stronger all the way, and captured Jiangning all the way, and established the country as its capital.The Boxers seem to be simpler than the Taiping Army, and they escaped from Shandong, and they went straight to Gyeonggi. After the Boxers from the two provinces of Zhili in Shandong merged into one, they even publicly played the banner of "supporting the Qing Dynasty and destroying the foreigners" to please the imperial court and avoid being suppressed and killed.This way, the situation becomes more and more difficult to predict. By February, it was widely rumored that in the area from Baoding to Xincheng in the south of Beijing, the Boxer Regiment was becoming more and more powerful.In Jinghai and Tianjin in the east, the crowd also gathered their fists.In Duliu Town, there was also a "No. 1 regiment in the world", gathering thousands of people. Within a few days, Dai Ying heard from one of his subordinates that the Boxers had set up the first altar in Beijing at Yu Qian's ancestral hall in Xibiao Hutong, Dongdan Pailou.That friend was going to Dongdan for business, and when he heard about it, he turned into Xibiaobei Alley.Take a look, it's really not a rumor!The ancestral hall is full of red cloth hexagrams, talismans and flags, and everyone who enters and exits also wears red scarves around their waists.He just stood far away and looked at it for a while, when a person with a red scarf came over and handed him a sticker.Jietie is what we call leaflets now. Has the wildfire of the Boxers already burned into the capital? Dai Ying took the Boxer Rebellion post brought back by his friend, and when he read it, it was a poorly composed poem: Although it is not clear what the purpose of this post was, it was issued by the boxing club, so there is no doubt about it.It seems that the Boxers really entered the capital!Now although I just heard that Yu Qian's ancestral hall has the first altar, but the boxing will spread rapidly, maybe in ten and a half months, there will be a lot of incense altars in Beijing. Will Boxer Fist enter Beijing, causing chaos?If the imperial court tolerates the power of fists entering Beijing, will the Western powers sit idly by?There are foreign church auditoriums in central Beijing, as well as embassies of various countries. If boxers want to go to these places to perform their kung fu, wouldn't Beijing be in chaos? The more Dai Ying thought about it, the more he felt uneasy, so he took this post and rushed to Chongwenmen Wai Caochang Shitiao Hutong to meet Liang Huaiwen, the old gangster of Rishengchang in Beijing.At such a time, what Dai Ying most wanted to see was Li Hongling, the veteran of Wei Fenghou's Beijing name.Li Hongling has seen people well, and often has ingenious schemes, especially in the face of crisis, the more crisis he has, the better he has to deal with it.It's a pity that Mr. Li returned to Jin for vacation after get off work and was not in Beijing, so he came to see Rishengchang's Mr. Liang. Liang Huaiwen took the post, glanced at it hastily, and said: "There is an altar of the Boxer Regiment in Beijing, and we have heard of it." "Brother Zhankui, don't you take it seriously?" Dai Ying asked seeing that Liang Huaiwen looked normal and didn't take this post seriously. "What do you think, Brother Jing?" "I don't think you can be careless. The Boxer Rebellion is spreading so fast, we were stunned for a moment, maybe it has flooded Jinshan." "Brother Jing, you think too much of these boxers. What is the boundary of the capital? You are the state and county below. If you make a splash, you can make trouble?" "This group of boxers should not be underestimated. Although they are all a bunch of rabble and fools from the countryside, they are illiterate and have no martial arts, but once enlightened by sorcery, they all think that the gods have possessed them, so they can't help it They are making waves? What kind of capital, what kind of court, he is so happy that he is a god, so he doesn't care about you!" "Hahaha, Brother Jing, have you also joined the Boxers?" "Brother Zhankui, I'm serious." "I think you're over-concerned. Although the Boxers caused a lot of trouble, they didn't go against the imperial court, and they didn't bully our Western gang. They just made things difficult for foreigners. I think the imperial court turned a blind eye. Just close one eye, why should we take it too seriously?" "Let's just say that, the Boxer Rebellion caused chaos in the imperial court. So what can we do if we are serious! It's just that the world is in chaos, so what kind of business do we still do? In the past two years, our Tianchengyuan's several shops in Shandong, although they haven't withdrawn, Business is also very slow." "Shandong's business is slow, and you Tian Chengyuan combined accounts to create such a golden mountain. If it is not slow, can you create another golden mountain?" "Rishengchang's closing account this year is not too bad. You are used to being the boss, and the little money we earn is worth paying attention to? The current situation is chaotic, and the boss should worry more about his peers. Accounting Brother Kui, do you think it is necessary to ask colleagues to gather at the Huiye Office to discuss whether it is good or bad for Boxing Boxing to enter Beijing?" "Let me see, there is no need to disturb everyone like this now, let's wait and see for a while. Let me say the same thing, what is the boundary of the capital? Can the court let this group of foolish people stir up trouble under the eyes of the queen mother? Admiral, how many yamen are in charge of the yamen of the infantry, Shuntian Mansion, and the censors of the five cities? Levying and urgently collecting Beijing salaries, we can get more exchange business. Besides, the imperial court is busy dealing with foreigners, controlling boxing clubs, and no longer mentions the ban on foreign exchange by the Western Gang. Isn't it just right for us to let go of business gone?" "I hope so. Brother Zhankui has heard about the situation in Shandong, right? The Boxers not only burned churches and killed foreigners, but also cut electric poles, cut wires, and pulled down railways. This made it impossible for telegrams to reach large wharfs, and messengers in small places dared not Go, we can’t even send our bills of exchange. We can’t go through the bills. What kind of business can we do? Many funds that are urgently needed to be exchanged have to be escorted by escort agencies. A lot of money was paid, and officers and soldiers were secretly invited to escort the transport. The situation in various places has become like this, and our ticket numbers have been hung up!" "The situation in Shandong is bad. That's because Yuxian favored Yihequan. Once Yuan Xiangcheng left, wouldn't the arrogance of the boxing club be suppressed?" "But Yihe Quan was sent to Zhili and Tianjin, and it seems that he has entered the capital again! I heard that from Xincheng to Baoding and Zhengding in the south of Jing, the messengers are not very smooth. The postman of the post office is often regarded as a foreigner. The 'Ermaozi', caught and killed. This road is the throat of the capital to Hankou, and the throat is blocked, is it okay?" "I heard that the imperial court has ordered Yulu, Governor of Zhili, to control the boxers." "Yu Lu is also a senior official who has a bias towards Yihequan. Otherwise, Shandong's boxing power will be transferred to Zhili?" "Yu Lu is not as indulgent to Yihe Boxing as Yu Xian is. Besides, Zhili is different from Shandong. After all, it is Jifu, the capital of the capital, so he can't be too laissez-faire." After talking for a long time, Liang Huaiwen still told him to calm down and wait for a while before speaking.Dai Ying thought about it, and that was the only way to go.No matter how anxious I am, it is actually useless, at most it is just a rainy day.If the situation is not good, just shrink the business.In this kind of situation, even if you want to do a big job, it is difficult to implement. Gengzi New Year, I expected to have a good start, but I didn't expect the situation to be so bad.Maybe it's just me worrying too much?After all, the imperial court can still count on it. No matter how bad the situation in the capital is, how bad can it be?But that's it.For Xibang, business in the north is not easy, there is also Jiangnan, and outside the customs.But in his heart, Dai Ying still didn't dare to be too careless.I have been stationed in Beijing for many years, but I still don't have this insight: the imperial court also has times when it can't be counted on! After meeting Liang Huaiwen's old gang in Rishengchang, Dai Ying still wrote a long letter to Sun Da, the shopkeeper of the head office, reporting the movements of the Boxers in Zhili, Tianjin, and Beijing.Many of my worries about the current situation were also euphemistically expressed.Of course, the worries about the imperial court cannot be expressed directly in the letter.He also notified Chen Yiqing of Hankou and the veterans at several other large wharves about these situations. Shopkeeper Sun's reply letter was still neither painful nor itchy, and most of it was a camera trick.As for Boxing Boxing, the big treasurer made it clear: it is the foolish deeds of the villagers and cannot be successful.Because in Henan last summer, he and Kang Lao Dongtai had personally experienced the teaching.The shopkeeper's reply letter was obviously full of joy: the old Taigu account is probably still immersed in the joy after closing the account. The reply letter from the Han name Chen Yiqing actually said that there is no need to worry too much.Zhang Zhidong of Huguang, Liu Kunyi of Liangjiang, Li Hongzhang of Guangdong, Guangxi, Xu Yingyun of Fujian and Zhejiang, and Sheng Xuanhuai, the minister who supervised the Luhan Railway, all took the same position as Yuan Shikai of Shandong: there should be no tolerance for Yihequan!With the current state of the country, it is absolutely impossible for these foolish people to drive foreigners and destroy religions and offend multinational powers.They have already reported to the court one after another, please make a decision as soon as possible, so as not to cause a catastrophe like Hong Yang.These officials of the Westernization Group play an important role in today's border ministers and officials. The court will not ignore them, will it?The entry of Boxer Boxing to Beijing will prompt the imperial court to make a decisive decision.My brother can concentrate on business. The situation reported by Chen Yiqing can actually cheer people up.It's just that those who surrounded the Queen Mother in the court were all Duanjun Wang and his gang who favored Yihequan.It's really hard to say who the Queen Mother will listen to. However, after reading Chen Yiqing's letter, Dai Ying also began to doubt himself: Anyone can think about it, but I can't think about it myself? But March passed, and now April, although the imperial court continued to issue orders to strictly ban the Yihe Boxing Club in Beijing, the boxing games still spread rapidly in the capital.There are more and more altars, and the boxers are increasing day by day, especially the boxers from the surrounding counties have also begun to flow into the capital.In this Gengzi Sanchun, Boxing Boxing is really a wildfire, riding the spring breeze, burning all over the sky. The capital of a country, under the feet of the emperor, can't stop this wildfire? Whether the imperial court didn't want to block it, or was powerless to block it, people still couldn't understand. Tiancheng Yuanjing is located in the grinding factory outside Qianmen.In Damochang Street, there are many famous blacksmith shops in the capital.Since March and April, Dai Ying has watched these blacksmith shops with his own eyes, and the business is booming day by day: Boxers who have joined the Boxer Regiment come to order big swords one after another.The fire in the blacksmith shop is always on day and night, and the sound of hammering and hammering can be heard more clearly at night.The price of the big knife is several times higher than usual, but it is still impossible to buy. Seeing the knives and weapons being scattered into the hands of boxers like this, Dai Ying became even more worried.With so many ignorant people holding big swords, they are really "helping the Qing Dynasty and destroying foreigners". If they don't oppose the imperial court, they only destroy foreigners, and that will cause great disaster.There are also Western missionaries in central Beijing, but the areas where the most foreigners gather are still the embassies of various countries.Enter the legation to destroy foreigners?Isn't that going to war with the Western powers?If the imperial court is still so ambiguous, those foolish people will not have any scruples.Maybe one day the excitement will come, and if you say kill, you will go to the legation. I heard that the ministers of various countries have continuously made representations to the Prime Minister's Office, demanding that the imperial court suppress the Boxer Regiment in Beijing. Relying on this group of foolish people, dare to go to war with the Western powers?Don't need to guess the result, it must be land cession and compensation!I don't know when the Jiawu indemnity will be paid off, and if I pay it again, what compensation will I get? What is even more frightening is that the country is so weak that if we really want to fight with foreigners, the world really doesn't know what chaos it will be like!The business of the Western Gang has become more and more difficult, and in another troubled world, it will really be a disaster. Just thinking about it makes people restless. After entering April, Rishengchang's calm and optimistic Liang Huaiwen couldn't sit still.He finally stepped forward and summoned all the veterans of the Western Clan in Beijing to gather at the Huiye Office in Lucaoyuan to discuss the righteousness and boxing chaos in Beijing.By this time, no one dared to be too optimistic, but they couldn't come up with any good strategy. It was nothing more than shrinking business, taking care of each account, and reporting the crisis in Beijing to the old account in time. It's just that shrinking isn't easy either. The situation in central Beijing is becoming more and more chaotic every day. The business circles, folks, and especially the dignitaries in the official circles all come to the ticket office to deposit money and exchange tickets. The momentum is unstoppable.The intention of people coming here to deposit silver is obviously that they are afraid of getting lost in the chaos. After depositing silver, they hold a paper note, which is easy to hide after all.In this chaotic situation, the ticket office can be safe if it collects so much money?But the merchants, people, and officials in Beijing and China were all determined at this time, and they trusted the Xibang bank very much, as if they also had magical skills, and they could transfer the money they had collected to the safe Jiangnan.They only know that the West Gang has the ability to transfer Juyin thousands of miles away, which is safer than hiding in a secret dark place or being guarded by military guards. You only need to keep the account book properly, isn't that enough? How can it be so simple to exchange a ticket number in another place, deposit in the north and release it in the south!However, at this time of crisis, Beijing officials, merchants, and people trust the Xibang voters so much, you really can't put a cold face on them and push them out of the name, right?The reputation of the West Gang for more than a hundred years cannot be destroyed at this time.Neither the estate was withdrawn from business, but the business offered by others was always repeatedly rejected, and they couldn't justify it.Especially the dignitaries in the official circles of the capital can't afford to offend them. Everyone discussed it for a long time, and felt that the century-old reputation of the West Gang should be the most important thing, and it should not be shrunk too hard.At this very moment, once you destroy your reputation, it will be hard to recover, and you don't have to think about repairing it. During the public discussion, Zhou Zhangfu, an old member of the Qi Gang Dade Tong, proposed whether it is possible to withdraw from the capital and return to Shanxi for a while, as in the case of the Taiping Rebellion, when the Xibang Piao Bank reported to the officials and closed down. Withdrawing from the capital is not a small move.To withdraw, it has to be agreed by the old accounts of Qi, Tai, and Ping.The capital was in chaos, and everyone kept reporting it to the old account, and none of the master shopkeepers had any intention of withdrawing from the village.Besides, during the Xianfeng period, in order to avoid the Hongyang Rebellion, the Xibang ticket offices withdrew from the capital one after another, taking away huge sums of money, which made the market in Beijing depressed, and the imperial court was very unhappy.It is hard to say whether the present Boxers can become the climate of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.Therefore, there was no much discussion about the withdrawal of the village, and it was just passed by. In retrospect, this was the biggest mistake made by Jingshi Huiye colleagues!If in April of the Gengzi Year, the Xibang Bank could plan for a rainy day and resolutely withdraw from Beijing and Tianjin, what a good strategy it would be: one step earlier, it would have avoided the catastrophe.At that time, it was clear that the wind and rain were coming, but there was still hope for the imperial court. No matter how bad the situation was, they did not expect that the sky of the capital, the sky of the Guochao, would really fall down! No matter how conceited the West Gang is, they absolutely dare not publicly discuss whether the sky of the country will collapse. After that meeting, all the families in the capital turned to the Jingshi Escort Bureau one after another, and hired martial artists to come to the house for the night.I heard that there are several families who even summoned martial arts masters from Shanxi.It was only later that I learned that no matter how good these martial artists were, they couldn't stop the flood of boxers. In mid-April, I heard that churches were burned and foreigners were killed in Zhengding and Baoding.Later, I heard that from Zhuozhou to Liulihe, the boxers were already digging up the Lu-Han railway, cutting the wires along the way, burning the railway vehicle factory, bridge factory, material factory, and the residences of foreign workers hired by the railway.The embassies of various countries stationed in Beijing even made severe representations to the Prime Minister's Office, demanding that the Boxers and the Broadsword Association should be suppressed as soon as possible, otherwise, troops would be sent to protect the embassies and overseas Chinese. The situation in central Beijing is really worsening day by day, but the court still seems to be sitting still.Notices about the banning of boxing clubs were continuously posted, but the banned officers and soldiers did not appear.On the contrary, the post about Yihequan was also distributed all over the streets.It is said that there are more than 1,000 places at the mouth of Yihe boxing altar in Beijing, and there are 100,000 boxers!The knife business in the blacksmith's shop is indeed more popular.Dai Ying met with several acquainted doctors and principals in the household department, they said that the imperial court continued to issue orders, ordering the infantry to command the Yamen, Shuntian Mansion, and Wucheng Yushi, and severely investigate and deal with the Yihe Boxing Association.But where can we see the movement of officers and soldiers? There are still many customers who come to deposit money at the counter of the shop.Cash registers are very busy, but it is getting more and more difficult to send out cash.The capital was almost besieged by the Boxers to death, and even the Beijing pay for the officers and soldiers to be released from custody could barely pass.Dai Ying tried his best to recruit, wooed everywhere, lowered the interest rate and then lowered it, and tried every means to lend out the silver he had collected.Among them, the largest household is the household department.The Beijing salary cannot be paid on time, and the household department is also struggling.However, every family was vying to lend money to the household department, and Tian Chengyuan could not monopolize it.Therefore, in addition to the big head of the Ministry of Households, other yamen, as well as money houses, account houses, and furnace houses, also tried their best to solicit.In addition, with the cooperation of various numbers in the south of the Yangtze River, some business of exchanging Beijing rates was obtained, and the official messengers were recruited, and they brought money orders with them, trying to bring them here.Only in this way can some of the pressure of depositing silver be offset, and the business can still be maintained. On April 22, a young eunuch from the palace came up from the cabinet.He saved his private savings for the Grand Priest who was in charge of him.When Dai Ying heard about it, he hurriedly invited the little father-in-law into the counting room at the back and served him tea.This little eunuch came here often, so Dai Ying was already familiar with him, and everyone on the cabinet knew his nickname, Er Fuzi.After talking some gossip, he asked if the palace knows about Boxer Boxing outside. Er Fuzi said, "Why don't you know? The palace is exactly the same as the outside!" "Exactly the same?" Dai Ying still didn't understand what exactly the same meant. "It's not exactly the same! Yihequan is also practiced in the palace, and there are also red scarves on their heads and red belts around their waists. They come in and out." When Dai Ying heard this, he was really dumbfounded: My God, the emperor also practiced Yihequan in the palace? "Everyone in the palace also practices righteousness and boxing? Is this the imperial decree of Lafayette?" "It's not Lafayette's decree, so some people don't practice it. But those princes and Baylor whom Lafayette trusts are all obsessed with Boxing, why can others not follow suit? Boxing is not very particular High and low, like us palace guards, guards, and maids, are also allowed to follow the practice. Everywhere you look, you can see that the palace is as red as the outside!" "Those who like Boxing Boxing, Lord Youduan, right?" "It's not just Prince Duan! Prince Qing, Prince Yi, Baylor Zai Lian, Zai Ying, and Fuguo Gong Zai Lan are all obsessed with righteousness and fists! You can't see, Zai Ying, Zai Lian, Zai Lan these masters Hey, what a man, his attire has been similar to that of Boxer Boxing recently, with a short jacket with narrow sleeves and a red scarf around his waist. His spirit is different from usual, as if he has become more confident and fierce. I have seen it with my own eyes I've seen it once, Master Zai Lan summoned a god possessed, his eyes were straight, his face was ferocious, he shouted and jumped up and down, as if he was crazy and drunk, it was really scary." "Little eunuch, is this really the case?" "Can I coax you, Shopkeeper Dai? But Shopkeeper Dai must never tell the outside world." "Little eunuch, do you still not trust us?" "I can't believe you, what can I say?" "Lafayette, today's majesty, let them practice in the palace like this? We are grassroots outsiders, and we always feel that we behave like this in the forbidden place of the court. Doesn't it hurt the system of the pilgrimage? The emperor is the son of heaven, Lafayette, the current emperor is originally a dragon body ordered by the gods, and he is the god who came down to earth, how can he invite gods like this?" "I heard that Lafayette also said about them, and they are reasonable. Once, Zaiying actually raised an argument with Lafayette. I heard that they almost overturned the imperial case!" "so smart?" "They have their reasons!" "What's the point?" "It is said that those who practice righteousness and boxing are righteous people, loyal and brave, and abide by the rules, and their magic skills are amazing. After the gods possess the body, the blade cannot enter, the gun cannot hurt, that is absolutely true. Why? Hula, there are so many righteous people with incomparable miraculous skills? They were sent by God to protect our Qing Dynasty when they saw that the foreigners were too presumptuous. The boxing club has been opened up. Otherwise, there will be so many people in the palace who have followed Lian Yihe boxing?" "Little eunuch, you often come out of the palace, have you seen people practicing righteousness and boxing outside?" "I've touched it. Especially recently, I accidentally touched it." "Then do you think these boxers outside are really as good as the legends in the palace say?" "How can I see it? It's just that kind of vigor and fierceness. It's almost the same. It's useless for me to say whether they are good or not. Today is your shop, and I saw you Dai shopkeeper, so I whispered more A few words. In the palace, who dares to talk too much? That’s it. I was yelling a while ago, saying that there are also errats in the palace, and they have to be pulled out one by one for inspection. The palace guards and maids who are so frightened all ran to Lafayette , crying and complaining." "The palace is also arresting dummies? Then what is the inspection method?" "I heard that it's about reciting a few spells, and then slapping you hard on the forehead. If you're an idiot, there will be cross marks on your forehead immediately. It's so evil, who can't feel hairy?" "Is Lafayette allowed to inspect Er Maozi in the palace like this?" "Lafayette said that gods and Buddhas don't wrong people, so let them take pictures of you." "How many dudes did you really shoot?" "If Lafayette let it go like this, who would really go to check it? Those who yell at the bastards will lose face, and they will be confused." "Little eunuch, it's the first time I've heard that this is the way to check for a dude. Excuse me, you can also pat me on the forehead to see if I am a dude?" "Haha, shopkeeper Dai, how can I have that ability!" "Then let me take a picture of you?" "How can a dry shot be successful? I heard that you have to chant a spell." "I can also recite a few words about the incantations of Boxing Boxing: Heaven is Lingling, Earth is Lingling, I ask the patriarch to manifest the spirit." "Master Dai can recite mantras, so I don't ask you to take pictures." "why?" "I still feel pain!" "Hahaha!" The little eunuch told Dai Ying about the many situations in the court, and before leaving, Dai Ying reminded: "Little eunuch, it was hard enough to go out for this trip, and the little tea money for my filial piety is written in your booklet. " The little eunuch said, "You're welcome, shopkeeper Dai." He lifted his foot and left. Xibangjing also has thoughtful means to win over eunuchs who can enter and leave the palace.Little eunuchs like this kind of errands are not underestimated, and they are happy every time they take care of them.They did not dare to take the gift money back to the palace, so they made a booklet, kept the name, and when they took it, even if it was ten or twenty years old, they would recognize it even after they left the palace.Therefore, the Xibang ticket number also has a good reputation among the palace supervisors, and they whispered many things that should not be said. After seeing off the little eunuch, Dai Ying was really scared.There are actually so many people in the palace who have faith and fists!Even today's favored princes and ministers firmly believe in such a foolish and foolish sorcery.The announcements to wipe out boxing clubs and suppress boxing bandits all over the street seem to be nothing to count on.If this is the case, the situation in the capital does not know where the turbulence will go! That night, Dai Ying wrote the situation in the palace as a secret letter and sent it back to the old Taigu.The situation in Beijing and Central China has become so bad, whether to withdraw from the farm or stay behind, the old name should have made a decision early, right? However, it is difficult to predict when this urgent letter will be sent to Taigu.In the past, when the Private Letter Bureau sent letters to Shanxi, it went out of Beijing to the south, passed through Zhuozhou, Baoding, and Zhengding, and then went west to Shanxi.Now Jingnan Road is the world of Yihequan, so I have to go out of Beijing by North Road, go around to Xuanhua, and then go south to Jin Dynasty.But recently, the North Road has become increasingly unsettled, Boxing Boxing has spread to the north of Beijing, there are often barriers to travel. The private letter bureau opened by the Ningbo gang has been "friending" with the Xibang ticket office for a long time. It has always been invincible in accepting tickets and passing letters, and rarely makes mistakes.Recently, I have also lamented bitterly, saying that entering and leaving the capital is like going through life and death, and there have been several incidents of messengers being killed as erotic sons.The business of the letter bureau is almost impossible. Who wants to die? The ticket number operates financial remittance in different places, relying entirely on the credit bureau to issue the ticket.Once the letter bureau was closed, the ticket office had to be closed. Entering May, Jinghao received fewer and fewer letters from Jinhao.The distance between Beijing and Tianjin is very close, and the postal route is also blocked, which is not a good sign. It is said that the warships of the great powers of various countries have gathered at Dagukou in Tianjin, and they want to send troops ashore to enter Beijing from Tianjin to protect the embassies of various countries. Boxers then tore down the Lujin Railway to prevent foreigners from entering Beijing.Beijing and Tianjin have become a battlefield, how can the postal route be smooth? Dai Ying was even more worried when he couldn't get the news from Tianjin. Last year, Liu Guofan committed suicide in trouble, and Jin Hao was greatly hurt.After closing the accounts at the end of the year, we should have sent a new and old gang to Tianjin to reverse the situation as soon as possible.But the shopkeeper of the old account, Sun Da, still called Dai Ying from the Beijing account, and took care of him; on the other end of the Tianjin account, he asked the assistant assistant Yang Xiushan to take over the estate temporarily. In fact, shopkeeper Sun Da has already selected a new Jinhao old gang, that is Wang Zuomei who leads the village in Zhangjiakou.Zhangjiakou, commonly known as Dongkou, is also a big wharf, and its business is no less than that of Jinhao.Wang Laobang has been stationed in Dongkou for many years, and they are far superior to Liu Guofan in terms of talent, means, and seniority.Shopkeeper Sun transferred Wang Laobang to Jinhao this time, obviously with the intention of self-blame and repentance.However, when Wang Zuomei received a new appointment, he requested to postpone his trip to Tianjin: he will have another year before the deadline to leave work, so he wants to get off work in Dongkou for three years before resigning and taking a vacation to transfer to Tianjin.The stall he spread out was afraid that others would not clean it up halfway.I don't know if Wang Laobang deliberately made things difficult for shopkeeper Sun, anyway, shopkeeper Sun actually agreed to Wang Zuomei's request. There has never been a precedent for this in the past, and it cannot be said that it is indistinguishable, and orders and orders are prohibited. How can it be called the big shopkeeper of Lingdong!It seems that Sun Beiming is sincerely blaming himself and repenting. Wang Zuomei's postponement saved him from a catastrophe. During this time, Dai Ying suffered a lot!The situation in the capital is already enough for him to fight, and there is one more Tianjin.Entering the Year of Gengzi, both Beijing and Tianjin are making troubles for righteousness and boxing, and Tianjin is even more violent than Beijing. Jinmen is the largest trading port in the north, and there are more foreign firms and foreign schools than the capital, and the Zizhulin area has long since become a barbarian place bought by foreigners, which is what was later called the concession.The people in Jinmen were bullied even more by foreigners. When the Boxers said that the hatred of religions would destroy the foreigners, the responders naturally surged up.Jinghai, Duliu, and Yang Liuqing have all emerged as senior senior brothers who are like leaders. It is said that they have extraordinary magical skills, as if they can really call wind and rain. Tianjin also has a unique boxing event for women, called Hongdengzhao.All the women joining the association wear red clothes and red trousers, hold a red lantern in their right hand, and a red folding fan in their left hand. The elders wear their hair in a high bun, while the younger ones wear a double bun.The elder sister who shines in the red light is called "The Madonna of Huanglian", and it is said that her skills are also amazing.The women who entered the red light, followed the elder sister to practice boxing in the quiet room, and within a few days, they will be able to achieve Taoism.Once the operation is completed, hold the red folding fan and fan it slowly, and you will be able to ascend to the sky and fly freely in the air.At this time, wherever the red light on the right hand is thrown, there will be a sea of ​​flames, and its power is like a bomber today. In Jinhao's letter, deputy assistant Yang Xiushan wrote about such situations from time to time.Dai Ying had seen it, so naturally he would not believe in the miraculous skills of those big brothers and sisters, but he was very worried about the arrogance of Tianjin Boxing Boxing.The imperial court still can't stop the Yihe boxing in the capital, but who can suppress it in Tianjin? Sure enough, the recent letter from Tianjin even said that Tianjin has become a boxer world, with many altars, swords cast everywhere, thousands of boxers, all over the street, and the government can only humiliate and avoid it.The big brother of the boxing club was walking in the market, and when he met an official, instead of avoiding him, he would give an order, ordering the official to sit in the sedan chair and get off the horse, and the horse rider to get off the horse.The officials and gentlemen listened to it, hurried down, took off their official hats, and stood on the side of the road to avoid it.The situation has come to this point, and incidents of burning churches and killing foreigners are not uncommon. However, the situation was so critical that Yang Xiushan of Tianjin did not request to withdraw from the village.Judging from the positive reports and retaliations sent, the business of Jinhao is not less than usual.Dai Ying sent letters and repeatedly warned that in this chaotic situation, one must be cautious in doing things, and would rather shrink and do less in business than dare to be rash.Usually, if you accidentally make a mistake, you can still make up for it. Now if you miss it, who knows what disaster will happen?在今乱局中，拳民，洋人，官府，我们对谁也得小心，不敢得罪，也不敢太贴近。对黑道上的匪盗，街市间的青皮混混，也得细加防范。世道一乱，正给了他们作恶的良机。 可杨秀山似乎是处乱不惊，说津门局面虽然危机重重，但还能应付。义和拳势力高涨，洋商洋行只好退缩，尤其西洋银行几乎不能跟华商打交道了，正好空出许多盘口，由我们来做。 杨秀山说的，那当然是个不寻常的商机。但这样的商机，也不是寻常人能驾驭得了。 杨秀山以往给戴膺的印象，也并不是那种有大才，有胆略的人，他也敢走这样的险招？或许以往在平庸的刘国藩手下，不便露出真相？ 戴膺对杨秀山处乱不惊，从容出招，当然不能泼冷水，只是叫他前后长眼，谨慎一些。但心里对津号是担忧更甚了。 现在，京津间的信报越来越不能及时送达，电报也是时断时通，戴膺哪能不着急？ 到五月初九，终于收到津号的一封信报。这是进入五月后，戴膺头一回收到津号的信件。急忙拆开看时，还是写于四月二十四的信！从信报能看出，津号依然平安，杨秀山也依然从容不迫。可是这封信件居然在京津间走了十四五天，实在也叫人不敢宽心。 戴膺打发手下伙友，给津号发一封问讯的电报，跑了几天电报局，还是发不出去：有一段电报线，又被义和团给割了。说是派了官兵护线、抢修，谁知什么时候能修通？ 熬到五月十五，依然得不到津号的一点消息。就在这天午后，柜上闪进一个乞丐似的中年人，站柜的伙友忙去阻拦，那人已瘫坐在地，哑着嗓子无力地说： “快告戴掌柜，我是津号来的……” 听说是津号来的，站柜的几个伙友都围过来，看了看，又不敢相信。义和拳入京以来，街头乞丐也随处可见。一伙友便说：“你要是津号来的，那你用太谷话说。” 那人嗓音嘶哑，又疲惫之极，但改用太谷乡音说话，却是地道的。 京号几个伙友听了，才真惊慌起来，有的赶紧搀扶这位津号来客，有的已跑进去禀告戴老帮。 戴膺一听，慌忙跑出来，见真是乞丐似的一个人，吃惊不小。 “戴掌柜，我是津号跑街李子充……” 戴膺是常去天津的，对津号的伙友都熟悉。只是眼前这个乞丐似的人，满脸脏污，声音嘶哑，实在辨认不出他是津号的李子充不是。但对方能认出他来，似乎不会有错吧——时局这样乱，他不能不小心些。 “你既到了京号，就不用慌了。”他转而对柜上的伙友说：“你们快扶他进去，先洗涮洗涮，再叫伙房做点熨帖的茶饭伺候。” “戴掌柜，我有紧急情况禀告！” “我能看出来。还是先进去洗涮洗涮，喘口气。既已到京，不在乎这一时半会儿。”他极力显得镇静。 来人被搀扶进去了。戴膺心里当然镇静不了：要真是津号派来的人，那天津就不是出了小事！ 果然，他回到自己的账房不久，这位天津来客就急急慌慌地跑来求见：他已经洗涮过，换了衣束，但只是吞咽了几口茶水，就跑来了。现在，戴膺能认出来了，此人的确是津号的跑街李子充。 “戴掌柜，津号遭抢劫了……” 果然出了大事。 天成元的津号，是在五月十一凌晨遭到抢劫的。 那几天津门局面乱是乱透了，但国人开的大商号铺子，还没听说谁家遭了抢劫。遭义和拳打劫焚烧的，主要还是洋人教堂、洋人住宅。洋行、银行早都关门停业了，货物、钱款也随之转移。津门是大商埠，商家不存，立马就会成为一座死城。所以，洋商收敛后，国人自家的商贸买卖依然在做。特别是银钱行业，似乎想停也停不下来。市面混乱，生计艰难，当铺、钱庄的生意，似乎倒比平素还火热一些：大多生计断了，靠典当、借贷也得活呀！而当铺、钱庄的资金，又一向靠票号支持。所以，那几天津号的生意也一直在照常做着。 副帮杨秀山见局面太乱，也从镖局请了一位武师，夜里来护庄。初十那天夜里，镖局武师恰恰没有来柜上守夜：他往五爷的宅子护院去了。 五爷失疯后，什么都不知道了，就知道不能离津。所以只好给他买了一处宅院，长住天津。原先跟着五爷五娘出来的保镖田琨，深感五娘的被害是自己失职，就留下来陪伴疯五爷。那几天，五爷的宅院忽然有了异常。白天，常有敲门声，可开了门，又空无一人。尤其到了夜晚，更不断有异响，提了灯笼四下里巡查，却什么也查不见。 女佣就说是闹鬼，怕是五娘嫌冤屈未伸，来催促吧。 田琨却说，真要是五娘回来显灵，倒也不怕。怕的是活着的匪盗歹人！现在外头这样乱，要有强人来打劫，五爷又不懂事，再出意外，我们也别活了。 田琨跟津号说了说这番异常，杨秀山就把字号雇的镖局武师打发过去了。因为字号一直还算平静。两位武师守护一处宅子，强人也该吓跑了吧。等五爷那头安静了，再回字号来护庄。 谁能想到，镖局武师只离开了两天，这头就遭了抢劫！ 十一那天凌晨，杨秀山和津号的其他伙友，几乎同时被一声巨响惊醒：那是什么被撞裂了的一声惨烈的异响。紧接着，又是连续的撞击，更惨烈的断裂声……晨梦被这样击碎，真能把人吓傻了。 老练的杨秀山给惊醒后，也愣了，还以为仍在噩梦中。定过神来，意识到发生了不测，急忙滚下地来，将自己房中几本字号的底账翻出，抱到外间一个佛龛前。这佛龛内，有一个隐秘的暗门，打开，里面是一个藏在夹墙内的密窑。杨秀山拉了一把椅子，跳上去，移去佛像，打开暗门，飞速将那几本底账扔进了密窑。随即关了暗门，又将香炉里的香灰倒了些，撒在佛龛内，掩去暗门痕迹，再放回佛像。 杨秀山在做这一切时，尽管迅疾异常，但外面已是混乱一片，砸击声、喝骂声如暴风骤雨般传来。他刚冲到院里，就见一个伙友满脸是血，一边跑，一边说：“杨掌柜，他们撞毁门面护板，破窗进来了！” 杨秀山刚要说什么，一伙红巾蒙脸，手提大刀的人，已经涌进来。 前头的一个喝道：“爷爷们是义和团天兵天将，来抓二毛子！大师兄说了，你们字号的掌柜，就是通洋的二毛子！哪位是掌柜？还不出来跪下！” 别的蒙脸人跟着一齐喝叫：“出来，出来！” 杨秀山听说是义和拳的，知道已无可奈何了，正要站出来跟他们交涉，忽然发现：这伙人怎么用红巾蒙脸，只露了两只眼，就像强人打扮？街面上的义和拳也见得多了，都是红巾蒙头，趾高气扬，一脸的神气，没见过这样用红巾蒙了脸的呀？ 正这样想，柜上账房的孔祥林已经站出来，拱手对那伙人说：“各位师傅，在下就是敝号的掌柜。各位可能听了讹传，敝号一向也受尽洋行洋商的欺负，对洋人愤恨得很，决不会通洋的……” 领头的那人立刻就喝道：“你找抽啊？大师兄火眼金睛，能冤枉了你孙子？” 说时，已举手向孔祥林狠扇去。孔祥林比杨秀山还要年长些，被这一巴掌扇下去，早应声倒地了。 “去看看，是不是二毛子！” 领头的一吼，有两人就过去扭住孔祥林的脸，草草一看。 “不是他，不是他！” 杨秀山见这情形，就过去扶孔祥林，一边说：“各位不要难为他，他只是本号的二掌柜，敝人是领庄掌柜。我们西帮对洋商洋行，的确是有深仇大恨，早叫他们欺负得快做不成生意了！各位高举义旗，仇教灭洋，也是救了我们。能看出各位都有神功，敝人是不是通洋的二毛子，愿请师傅们使出神功来查验。” 领头的那人瞪了杨秀山一眼，就又一巴掌扇过来：“嘛东西，想替你们掌柜死？滚一边呆着！” 杨秀山只觉半边脸火辣辣一片，两眼直冒金花，但他挺住了，没给扇倒下。 “搜，快去搜！他就是钻进地缝，也得把他搜出来！” 领头这样一喊，跟他的那伙人就散去了几个。 其实，自这伙人破窗而入以来，砸击、摔打、撕裂、破碎的声音，就一直没有停止过。闯进来的，肯定比刚才见着的这五六个多。现在散去几人，还留着三人，但不断还有别的蒙脸人押了柜上的伙友，送过来。 很快，全号的伙友都押来了，他们还在翻天覆地地搜寻。他们在找谁？找已经死去的刘国藩？ 领头的还在不停地喝叫：“说，你们的二毛子掌柜，到底藏哪了？” 大家已不再说话，因为无论说什么，都只会遭到打骂凌辱。 杨秀山也希望，众伙友不要再冒失行事。这是祸从天降，也只能认了。别处的账簿，不知是否来得及隐藏？还有银窖！西帮票号的银窖，虽然比较隐秘，但这样天翻地覆地找，也不愁找到。只愿他们真是搜查人，而不是打劫银钱。 不久，就见匆匆跑来一个蒙脸同伙，低声对领头的说了句什么。领头的一听，精神一振。他过去一脚踢开了杨秀山住的那处内账房，吆喝同伙，挥舞起手里的大刀片，把津号所有的人都赶了进去。跟着，将门从外反锁了。 “你们听着，爷爷要烧香请神了，都在屋里安分呆着，谁敢惹麻烦，小心爷爷一把火烧了你们字号！” 领头的吼完，外间真有火把点起来了。天刚灰灰亮，火光忽忽闪闪映在窗户上，恐怖之极。 门被反锁，真要焚烧起来，哪还有生路！ 外面，砸击摔打的声音已经没有了，忽然显得安静了许多。他们真要请神了。请了天神来，到底要抓拿谁？ 渐渐地，听到外面有杂沓匆促的脚步，但听不见说话声。他们在举行降神仪式吗？ 杂沓的脚步声，很响了一阵。后来，这脚步声也消失了。外面是死一般沉静，但火把的光亮仍在窗纸上闪动。 又停了一阵，见外面依旧死寂一片，有个伙友就使劲咳嗽了一声。 外面，什么动静也没有。 有人就走到门口，使劲摇晃了摇晃反锁着的房门。 Still nothing. 杨秀山忽然明白了，慌忙喊道：“赶紧卸门，赶紧卸门！” 几个年轻的伙友挤过去，七手八脚，就卸下一扇门来。那时代的民居门板，虽然厚重结实，但都是按在一个浅浅的轴槽里，在屋里稍稍抬起，便能卸下来。 门被卸下，大家奔出来，见火把只是插在院中的一个花盆里，似乎一直就没人在看守！ 杨秀山又慌忙喊道：“快去看银窖！” 奔到银窖，果然已被发现，洗劫一空！ 西帮票号做全国性的金融汇兑生意，银钱的进出量非常巨大。因此，银钱的收藏保管成为大事。票庄一般都是高墙深院，有的还张设了带铃铛的天网。在早先，西帮还有一种特殊的保管银锭的办法：将字号内一时用不着的银锭，叫炉房暂铸成千两重的大银砣子。那时代法定流通的银锭，最重的仅五十两。所以这千两银砣子，并不能流通，只是为存放在银窖内安全：如此重的银砣子，盗贼携带也不方便。纵然是能飞檐走壁的强人，负了如此重的银砣子，怕也飞不起来了。所以这银砣子有一个俗名，叫“莫奈何”。不过到后来，西帮票号也不常铸这种千两银锭了：事业走上峰巅，经营出神入化，款项讲究快进快出，巨资一般都不在号内久作停留。 当然了，再怎么进出快捷，票庄也得有存放银钱的银窖，也即现在所说的金库。西帮的银窖，各家有各家的巧妙，各家有各家的秘密。外人不易发现，号内自家人存取时又甚方便。 天成元津号的银窖，处置得不算是太巧妙：只是将设银窖的库房，布置成为一处普通伙友的住房：盘了一条大炕，炕前盘了地炉子，火炉前照例有一个深砌在地下的炉灰池，池上嵌盖了木板。看外表，没有一点特别。津号的银窖，就暗藏在地下的炉灰池一侧，寻常的炉灰池其实正是银窖的入口处。当然，地面上嵌盖的木板，暗设了机关，外人不易打开。 这伙蒙脸的劫匪，居然把隐藏在此的银窖寻出来，打开了。他们没耐心破你的机关，砸毁盖板就是了。存在里面的四万两银锭，自然全给抢走了。 他们哪里是来抓二毛子？不过是来抢钱！ 杨秀山忙赶到临街的门面房，那里更是一片狼藉，但劫匪早无影无踪。从被撞毁的那个窗户中，已有晨光射进来。 开门出来，见门外撂着一根碗口粗的旧檩条。显然，劫匪们是举着这根檩条，撞毁了临街的窗户。 门外，还有牲口粪和分明的车轮痕迹。劫匪是赶着车来打劫？ 看了这一切，杨秀山更断定，这伙人不是义和拳民，而是专事打家劫舍的一帮惯匪！ 朝街面两头望了望，尚是一片寂静。这帮劫匪为何偏偏来打劫天成元？ 京号的戴膺听了津号遭劫的情形后，也问李子充：“当天，还有谁家遭劫了？” 李子充说：“没有了，只我们一家。遭劫后，到我离津那几天，也没听说谁家又遭劫。” “就偏偏拿我们天成元开刀？你们得罪义和拳了？” “津门已经是义和团天下，我们哪敢得罪？看那活儿，也不像拳民所为。” “那就怪了！” “出事后，我们雇的武师和五爷的保镖，都赶来了。他们依据抢劫的手段，推测是江湖上老到的强盗所为。出事前，骚扰五爷的宅子，只怕就是他们声东击西。从破窗而入，到盗了银窖，活儿做得够利落。尤其他们只劫财，未伤人，更不是义和拳那些乌合之众所能做到。义和拳真要认定谁家有通洋的二毛子，不杀人能罢手？” “江湖上老到的盗匪？那你们津号得罪江湖了？” “没有呀？” 戴膺忽然拍了一下额头，说：“我明白了！这次津号遭劫，只怕与去年我在你们那里演的空城计相关吧？” 李子充忙说：“我们招的祸，哪能怨戴老帮！” “你还记得吧？去年夏天，五娘被撕票，你们刘老帮又忽然自尽，惹得挤兑蜂起，眼看津号支持不住。不得已了，我由京师调了四十多辆运银的橇车，号称装了三十万两银子，前来救济津号。这四十辆银橇在津门