Chapter 40 Section 40

Back in prison, Gao Heming treated Yang Guolin more respectfully.He always believed that Yang Guolin was a noble person, and every time he went to see him, he would close the door tightly.There was a jailer, suspicious of Mo Shi, one day he licked the paper on the broken window and peeped in. His eyes were horrified, and he saw "Master Senior Four" kneeling straight in front of "Master Yang" and answering.But the voice is low, can't hear what is said? As soon as the secret was revealed, the rumor spread like a stone thrown into a lake, ripple after circle.When the telegram was sent to Wuchang, saying that the Empress Dowager Cixi had set up a "big brother", and that the "big brother" would lead the salute on New Year's Day, and the emperor did not show up, which made people even more suspicious. "Big brother" will be in his right place soon.Even in the official circles in Hubei, some people believe that the mysterious figure who is guarded in Jiangxia County Prison and Prison Temple is the current emperor, and Yang Guolin is just a pseudonym.

※※※ Yu Chengge told this story for a full quarter of an hour.The wine was changed when it was cold, and the host and guest were in no mood to eat and drink, troubled by the many questions in this story. "I also vaguely heard that there was such a thing. It's just that there have been too many bizarre rumors in the past two years, so I ignored it. Who knew that such a thing really happened, wouldn't it be shocking!" "There are still shocking things." Yu Chengge said: "Yang Guolin actually still has a handbook, appointing that high school senior as the prefect of Wuchang."

"This is getting more and more strange!" Li Shan asked very interestedly: "It's getting more and more interesting. In the future, will the senior senior master be a 'big master' for a day?" "I don't know. But, no matter how confused the surname Gao is, he wouldn't be holding this 'manuscript' to take over Chen Kuilin's seal, right?" "He can't do it even if he wants to." Yu Zhuanger twitched and said, "Will Mr. Chen be willing?" After a short pause, he continued: "I don't understand, Master Zhang of Hubei actually endured such a ridiculous thing." ! Why not do it?"

"Go!" Li Shan clapped his palms vigorously, "It's clear! The most incomprehensible person is here. What does Zhang Xiangtao mean? Does he want to be a rare product?" "It's hard to say!" Yu Chengge said to Yu Zhuang'er: "Don't say anything about what I talked to Fourth Master Li!" "You are always too! Can I avoid it?" "No! No! Sit." Yu Cheng turned his face to Li Shan, "Zhang Xiangtao is really a new party member, but he is very good at being an official and has always been good at looking at people. According to my opinion, he wants to protect the emperor, but he dare not Offending the Empress Dowager. Sure enough, if there is an act of abolishing the establishment, he might make an article on Yang Guolin."

Li Shan listened attentively, pondered for a while, nodded and said: "Your words are very meaningful, but this article is not easy to write. Tell me, for example, if you are Zhang Xiangtao, how do you do it?" "It's very easy! Just get wind of the suspicious case from the newspaper's interviewer, and then give a memorial, saying that there are so many rumors among the people, so there are rebels who dare to pretend like this. In order to consolidate the foundation of the country and calm people's hearts For the sake of sake, the emperor should be invited to worship in the temple.

This time, wouldn't the ambition of Duan Wang and the others be suppressed? " "It makes sense!" Li Shan said, "Come on, come on, I should toast my brother." From then on, Li Shan looked at Yu Chengge with admiration.Originally thought that this "Master Yu Du" had no other strengths other than bluffing people, but now it seems that there are still some hills in his stomach. "Li Shaoquan has always laughed at Zhang Xiangtao as a scholar." Yu Chengge drank the wine, and the conversation became better. "Actually, scholars also have cute and admirable aspects of scholars."

So Yu Chengge told an anecdote.When Wu Sangui invited Qing soldiers, Li Zicheng was expelled, Shunzhi entered the pass, and Emperor Hongguang ascended the throne in Nanjing, two princes were found in the north and the south at the same time.The prince in Nanjing is a fake. His real name is Wang Zhiming. He is very young and very articulate.During the interrogation of the ministers, someone called him "Wang Zhiming", and he asked in response, "Why don't you call me the King of Ming?" The faction that supported Hongguang at that time was very troubled by this Wang Zhiming, because they knew it was false, but they could not provide evidence of his falsehood.Therefore, a person was invited to verify the authenticity. This person was Fang Gongqian. During the Chongzhen period, he was a lecturer in the Eastern Palace. He met the prince and the prince day and night. Of course, he is the most authoritative. "What do you think of the result?" Yu Chengge asked himself and answered: "Fang Gongqian neither told the truth nor lied. He met each other and never said a word."

"Doesn't this mean that it is true by default," Li Shan asked, "Is it deliberately making trouble?" "By the way! It turned out that Fang Gongqian's intention was to make everyone misunderstand this. Because although Emperor Hongguang was elected as the emperor because of his close relatives, he was weak and heartless. So Fang Gongqian deliberately made trouble, as a Protest." Yu Chengge went on to say, "Zhang Xiangtao has to know this story. He kept Yang Guolin from dealing with it, and he learned the trick from Fang Gongqian. In the past two years, he said that the emperor was sick every day, and the prescriptions were given. Proclamation from time to time. If someone has ulterior motives and usurpation is true, Zhang Xiangtao might as well pretend that the emperor is out of danger, and declare to the world that a separate court will be established to exercise great power. Nowadays, in the southern and central provinces, there are many hearts for the emperor. The ministers of various countries are also willing to help the emperor.

Sure enough, when we got to the field, there was really a lot of fun to watch! " Hearing such outrageous remarks, even Yu Zhuang'er stuck out her tongue, thinking it was too much.Li Shan hurriedly spoke in other words: "Talk about wine, talk about wine! Come on behalf of Master Yudu!" "If you talk about my drinking, it's considered drinking." Yu Cheng was still in his prime, and wanted to talk about the current situation again, "On the first day of the new year, I will go to a row of fleeting time to see a picture as usual. It's okay to listen to the fortune teller There is some reason, folklore: "In the eighth month of leap, use the sword." This year is the eighth month of the gengzi year, and I am afraid that this year will not be quiet."

"Leap August is not bad. The first year of Tongzhi was Leap August. There were two Mid-Autumn Festivals in the palace that year. I remember it very clearly." Li Shan thought for a while and said: "That year when Li Zhongtang fought in Shanghai, Zeng Jiushuai surrounded Jiang Ning, Zuo Hou counterattacked in Zhejiang. Hong Yang's destruction was laid in that year." "That's right! But it's true that there were swordsmen everywhere in that year, and they fought fiercely. As for pushing forward, the first year of Xianfeng was also in the eighth month of leap, so it would be very miserable. Hong Xiuquan was called king in the eighth month of that year. Since then, both water and land have flowed downstream from the Yangtze River, and have been troubled for ten years, causing disasters to more than ten provinces. I hope this year's leap in August can pass safely. I'm afraid..." Yu Chengge shook his head and said nothing. go down.

"What?" Yu Zhuang'er was a little scared, "You always seem to be a prophet, what do you see?" Yu Chengge said slightly apologetically: "It's not that I scare you, it's really scary. Have you heard of Boxing?" "So it's about Yihequan?" Yu Zhuang'er laughed, "Why don't you know? It's a bluff." "That's right, it's a bluff. But," Yu Chengge said seriously, "don't underestimate that group of people. They don't accomplish enough, and they do more than bad things. And if they aren't bad things, they are enough. Any bad things will cause big trouble." He turned to Li Shan again and said: "Yuan Weiting is a villain, I have always looked down on him, but there is one thing that I have to admire him for." "You mean he was doing Yihequan in Shandong." "By the way! It's a pity that he is not the governor of Zhili!" Yu Chengge said, "Yihequan can't survive in Shandong, and it has spread to the north. Now Zaoqiang, Jingzhou, Fucheng, and Dongguang are practicing boxing like a plague." It’s the same, and it’s spreading very quickly, so this matter is very worrying. Yufu, you often have the opportunity to meet the Empress Dowager, why don’t you record it with the camera?” "I don't dare to meddle in this nosy business." After speaking, he looked at Yu Zhuang'er and didn't say any more. Knowing this, Yu Zhuanger stood up and said, "The soup is cold. I'll ask them to make it again." Holding a bowl of vinegar pepper fish soup, he left the table. "Let me tell you the truth! There are some masters in the boxing of Yihe. They used the pretense of 'helping the Qing and destroying the foreign', and immediately touched Duan Wang's heart. Gang Ziliang also had the intention of defending him, and he said at every turn:' Yihequan, Yihequan, the word fist means righteous people.'Rong Zhonghua was noncommittal, meaning to suppress, but he didn't say anything. Now the Duanwang brothers are working hard in front of the empress dowager. Think, how can I It’s so uninteresting to talk too much.” "You are also a minister of the country. Seeing that during the Jiaqing period, there were boxers who were ordered to be punished and revived, so you couldn't bear to say a word." "Ah, my Lord Yudu, I'm not a sage, and your accusations are a bit pointless. What kind of minister am I? I'm just running errands for Lafayette. But you, as a speech officer, have a duty to speak, why not Speech?" "Of course I have to!" Yu Chengge, who was drunk, said loudly: "Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I will be on the paper." "Forget it, forget it! Old Yu, don't take my joking words seriously. Come, come, talk about romance." Yu Chengge was silent, and he was not speculative when he had something to say, and the two of them couldn't drink anymore.At this moment, Yu Zhuang'er brought a strong young man, Li Shan recognized him as Zhao Yushan, a martial artist in his team. "Little Zhao'er, it's Yihequan. If the two of you are interested in this bluffing thing, just ask him." "Oh," Yu Chengge asked, "how could you be a Boxer?" "It's fun!" "What's the fun in that?" "Everyone is practicing, and he is also practicing with them." Yu Zhuang'er replied for Zhao Yushan, "He is a martial arts student, and his waist and feet are sharper than others since he was a child, so he is still a 'Second Senior Brother'!" "I'm so disrespectful!" Yu Chengge asked, "Where did you practice boxing?" "Wu Qiao." "Wu Qiao? Isn't Wu Qiao not allowed to practice boxing?" It turned out that Zhao Yushan was from Wuqiao County, which borders Dezhou in Shandong Province.Last autumn, because my mother was sick, I resigned from work and went back to Wuqiao to visit her.Soon, some neighbors came to persuade him to enter the altar to practice boxing.Zhao Yushan was bored living at home, and because Boxing was incompatible with foreigners and religious people, and his family had suffered from the religious people's losses in the early years, which aroused old hatred, so he replied, "I'll go and have a look." The boxing altar is a large open canopy covered by reed mats. Five square tables are connected to form a large altar on the north side. The table is surrounded by red cloth and incense candles are burned high. There are five statues for offering. ?Zhao Yushan only felt that the attire was extremely familiar, and when he looked closely, he suddenly remembered that the one holding the seal was Guan Ping, the one holding the order flag was Yang Zongbao, and there were two more, one was Wu Song who killed his sister-in-law, and the other was Huang Tianba who worshiped the mountain , are all characters who have played by themselves or who are often on the same stage. Just as he was laughing and wanted to ask, Zhao Yushan suddenly became alert and shot him from all directions with hostile gazes.When I looked down, I realized that my clothes were different.Most of them, including his neighbors, wore red scarves on their heads and red belts around their waists. There were four words written on the headscarves: "Xietian Great Emperor".Some only wear a red scarf bellyband with a circle drawn on it, and there is a word in the circle, "Heart Protector Mirror".Others dyed their eyebrows with thick ink, and drew two straight lines on both sides of their noses, as if they were dressed like little demons on a stage.But he was dressed as usual, a long robe and mandarin jacket, but turned into a strange dress. "Old Zhao," his neighbor also noticed that the situation was different, and quickly reminded him, "Put away your watch chain, it's a taboo." It was only then that Zhao Yushan remembered that the pendant on the watch chain was a gold pound, and that foreign characters were most taboo in Yihequan, match fire was called "take lamp", foreign cloth was called "wide fine cloth", and foreign lamp was called "bright lamp".The gold pound is foreign money, how can it openly appear here?He hurriedly took off the watch chain and put it in his pocket. "Old Zhao, when you meet senior brother, you will change your attire after receiving the Fa?" Now that he was here, he couldn't help himself, so Zhao Yushan tactfully agreed.Eldest senior brother was very polite, and asked attentively if he had eaten?After a while of politeness, he began to teach the Dharma, instructing how to raise Qi, how to breathe out, and finally imparting mantras. "'Iron brows, iron eyes, iron shoulders and chest, not a single quarrel is airtight!'" said the senior brother, "Before practicing Qi, read it three times. After practicing for three years, the spirit will possess the body, making it invulnerable to swords and guns. Travel all over the world at that time, brother, no one can hurt you. " "Old Zhao," the neighbor chimed in, "It's true! We have several brothers here who have successfully practiced." "Do you think Sun Laowu is here?" After a while, Sun Laowu was found, he was an extremely strong young man.Apparently, the elder brother came to him to practice invulnerability for others to show.Zhao Yushan was curious and skeptical, so he really wanted to recommend himself, so he asked, "Let me chop him up, okay?" "Fifth brother," said the elder brother, "test your kung fu." "Cha!" Sun Laowu stood in a T-step, put his left hand on the back of his right hand, bowed and said, "Brother, be merciful!" "You have practiced well, but your qi is a little buoyant. Remember! You need to use the qi of your dantian when you recite the mantra." So Sun Laowu stood facing the southeast, raised his head slightly to practice Qi, his face was flushed red.The muscles in both arms twitched, as if a little mouse was crawling around in the flesh. Suddenly, Sun Laowu shouted: "Iron brows, iron eyes, iron shoulders and chest, not a single word of mouth is ventilated!" It was the two mantras taught by the elder brother to Zhao Yushan.The voice gushed out, full of vigor.After chanting the mantra, he threw himself forward, threw his body to the ground, then jumped up, recited the mantra again, prostrated himself again, recited three times and prayed three times, shook his head, closed his eyes tightly, and passed out. Zhao Yushan was shocked, seeing that others didn't care, he realized that there was something wrong with it.After waiting quietly for a while, Sun Laowu stretched out his hands and feet, let out a long sigh, then stood up straight, straightened his eyes, and put on airs to practice his fists.Zhao Yushan is an expert in this way, but he can't see how his punches are?But the punch is fast and powerful.It seems that it is not easy for ordinary people to bear him. After practicing a set of boxing, someone asked loudly: "Where is the holy one coming?" "It's the Great Sage Sun!" Saying that, Sun Laowu arched his feet, shrank his shoulders, raised his right hand to rest on his eyebrows, and looked around, just like Yang Yuelou singing "An Tianhui". Zhao Yushan almost laughed out loud, but shut his mouth tightly, his face flushed from holding back.At this moment of distraction, seeing that Sun Lao Wu was already practicing kung fu, he slapped the green brick on his chest, and it shattered.Then there was applause, and "Sun Dasheng" danced and danced, as if he was overjoyed and delighted.After jumping around like this for a while, suddenly his eyes widened, and he fell to the ground again.This time, not only was Zhao Yushan not surprised, but he could guess that the possessed "Sun Dasheng" had gone back to the Water Curtain Cave in Huaguo Mountain. After a while, Sun Laowu got up with his back, and returned to the elder brother with his usual demeanor and clasped his fists as a salute, expressing his return.The elder brother said with a smile on his face: "It's rare! Sun Dasheng is not a man of the world. Your climate is almost the same! Work hard." "You saw it!" The neighbor tugged at Zhao Yushan's clothes, "As long as you are sincere, you can practice kung fu like Sun Laowu. If you have more kung fu, you will be invulnerable." "This is probably the work of the iron cloth shirt and the golden bell cover." "Do you know how?" "I won't." "Practice it. Come on, come on!" The neighbor enthusiastically dragged Zhao Yushan to the back of the hood, where there was another small reed mat hood, inside which were stacks of red cloth turbans, belts, steel forks, white wax poles and other weapons.The manager saw that there was no need to ask, so he smiled and brought out a set of boxing clothes.Zhao Yushan was disrespectful, so he had no choice but to accept it. From that day on, he was often dragged to the altar by his neighbors, and besides chanting mantras to practice Qi, he often danced with spears and clubs.Zhao Yushan's fists and feet are like the wind, and his gestures and moves are beautiful. He quickly became a crane among chickens and was honored as the second senior brother.Although Zhao Yushan didn't believe in pretending to be gods and playing ghosts in the altar, he was very popular and flattered as soon as he arrived, so he felt very interested. After more than a month like this, Lao Naixuan, the magistrate of Wuqiao County, posted a notice saying that Yihequan was a remnant of the White Lotus Sect. Gathering crowds to resist the officials is an obvious sign of rebellion." From the date of the announcement, it is not allowed to set up altars to practice boxing.He also compiled an article "Examination of the Origin and Development of Yihe Boxing", which was widely distributed, revealing the true face of Yihe Boxing.Of course, the banning was not limited to just a notice. Baojia was investigated, thoroughly searched, and merciless means finally forced Wuqiao's Boxer Fist to either disappear or be relocated for good! Zhao Yushan's elder brother decided to lead the crowd to the north, and because Zhao Yushan was the second elder brother, he stayed in Wuqiao for fear of retaliation from the disciples, so he had no choice but to follow the crowd.Anyway, if you go north to Beijing, you can go back to work and sing opera, and you can still keep your job.Therefore, his family also agreed that he should leave Wuqiao early. Yihe boxing in the south of Zhili spread to the north, roughly divided into two routes: the east route, from Dongguang and Cangzhou to Tianjin; the west route, through Hejianfu to Baoding.Zhao Yushan and the others took the west road, but Baoding is where the Zhili Governor's Yamen is located. The prohibition is strict and no misconduct is allowed, so it is difficult to gain a foothold.When the board and lodging of the brothers were also quite difficult, suddenly a middle-aged strong man from Laishui came to visit the elder brother with a red copy.This person's name is Wu Youcai, and the name on Dahong's full post is Yan Laofu. "My village chief Yan has long admired the great name of senior elder brother. He was very happy to hear that he led his brothers to practice the Taoism. He specially sent brothers to come here to honor his request. Senior elder brother is invited to come and set up an altar in our village. I dare not say anything else. Share the blessings, share the difficulties, and never dare to wrong the elder brother and the brothers." Upon hearing this, the senior brother was overjoyed and agreed wholeheartedly.On the same day, he pulled out the team and set off.Jingxiong County and Xincheng arrived at Gaoluo Village in Laishui. Gaoluo Village is also known as Gaolou Village, and the first thing in the village is Yan Laofu.As soon as he heard that the elder brother had arrived, he went out of the village to greet him, slaughtered pigs and sheep, and arranged a big feast.During the banquet, the admiration of Sheng Dao made the elder brother feel flattered and suddenly realized that such a deal was not all due to respect and love for Yihequan, there must be other reasons for it, so after the wine was gone, he asked the reason frankly. "Since the senior brother asked, if I don't tell the truth, I would be insincere. I ask the senior senior brother to move to Gaolou to rely on magic power to eliminate harm for the village." Yan Laofu replied, "The great harm in this village is the Catholic Church. Ermaozi, there are more than 30 families in total, and six of them are the worst. They are not Catholic, so they are called Mormons..." These six Mormons have been feuding with Yan Laofu for many years.At first it was Yan Laofu who believed that Mormonism was "obscene".A paper was handed over to the Yamen of Laishui County, and all the males from the six families were arrested.The six families suffered humiliation and enmity, and changed into the most powerful Catholicism.Several years later, Fang Shi begged the French priest to avenge Yan Laofu.The priest was more serious and did not reply for a long time.Later, a French priest came, young and impatient, and when the six families reapplied their previous application, they agreed without hesitation. This is what Guangxu said in the winter of the twenty-fourth year.In the first month of this year, for Yan Laofu to set up a lantern tent, the six families deliberately provoked, knocked down the lantern tent, and spread the fire to a small church, which caused a huge disturbance. The church people bully others by taking advantage of their power, which has always been "going up".If the teaching plan can reach the prime minister's office, there is no reason not to take advantage of it.This time it was Priest Dou who moved out of the provincial capital, forcing Qinghe Road to suppress Laishui County Magistrate Gao Zhuoyuan to send guards to first detain Yan Laofu and apologize to the six families.Then hold a banquet and ask a leader surnamed Zhang among the people to mediate the matter.The conditions put forward by the religious people are: to pay 10,000 taels of silver to rebuild the church, and Yan Laofu will serve wine and kneel at the door to make amends. "Eldest brother," Yan Laofu gritted his teeth, "Look at the devil and the ermaozi deceiving people to such an extent! Can you bear it, can't you bear it?" "Then, Lao Yan, let me ask you first, did you agree to it?" "I'm willing to let it go. But our officials are afraid of things. Qinghedao is urging us with official business every day, and the local gentry come forward to mediate. They made me pay two hundred and fifty taels of silver, set up more than 20 tables of wine, and forced me to go to Anjia. The Zhuang Church kowtows to make amends." At this point, Yan Laofu's voice changed, and his eyes burst into flames, "If you don't avenge this revenge, you will not die with peace. Senior brother, I beg you!" After saying that, he fell to the ground, Kowtow down.The elder brother hurriedly supported him, "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be! You have something to say!" He asked, "How do you plan to take revenge now?" "I am at odds with the religious believers. Since that time, there have been more than 20 religious believers. They bully others, which is extremely abominable! Senior brother, Yihequan can help the Qing Dynasty and destroy the oceans, and it can control the lives of those people. Be sure to rely on mana and fight for us." "Okay, okay! It's my duty, it's my duty. I'll do it tomorrow, so you can vent your anger." The words were spoken, but the big brother had nothing to say.Because the local religious people also knew that the grievances were too deep, and they conspired to protect themselves. Every family had several foreign guns, added fences, raised earth walls, built crenels on the walls, and set up guns for defense.If the senior brother wants to make a move, he must first estimate his own strength.At the same time, the government also issued a notice that boxers are strictly forbidden to cause trouble. Even if they succeed, can they stop the officers and soldiers from encircling and hunting them?must also be carefully considered. Therefore, the eldest brother had no choice but to pretend to delay.Seeing that it can't be delayed, discuss with Zhao Yushan and plan to burn a church.Zhao Yushan then asked: "How to burn?" "At the end of the last two days, there is no moon, and it is cold, and there is no one on the road in the middle of the night. Let's get a few buckets of kerosene, pour it around the church, and shoot it with earth cannons. The kerosene will catch fire, and it will naturally burn. The northwest wind these days It's very big, so I'm not afraid that it won't be burnt. Beforehand, I said to Yan Laofu, "Please burn the church with fire within three days." When the time comes, won't our words be fulfilled? But the government can't grasp the evidence that we set the fire. Do you think this is a good idea? "