Changsha, the wharf outside Chaongu Gate.
This wharf, located on the eastern bank of the Xiangjiang River and outside the city of Changsha, has always been a bustling place. Not only have welcoming and farewell events from the Hunan bureaucracy taken place here, but also the various products from different parts of Hunan, especially rice, would first be gathered here before being sold elsewhere.
The imported cigarettes and various rare items from the southern Guangdong Province were also delivered first to the Chaozongmen Gate Wharf before being transported to the city for the lords to enjoy.
The Huang Family's "Huang Family Old Store" in Eutang Huang's family in Changsha opened its business on the street that directly led to the pier outside Chaozongmen Gate. It was a shop with a wide facade and grand atmosphere, as if telling passersby about the past glory of Huang Family Old Store.
Since that glory belongs to the past, naturally, the present is left with only desolation and anxiety.
Everyone in Changsha knows that the founder of Huang Family Old Store, Eutang Huang's family, has its roots in Daozhou. That is the biggest landowner in Daozhou!
Now that five ports are open for trade, doing business on the trade route from Guangfu to Wuchang is tough for everyone. Only Huang Family Old Store, with its large amount of land support and solid foundation, can still manage to stay in business.
Therefore, the Huang Family Old Store has always enjoyed top-notch reputation in the Changsha marketplace. They could make purchases on credit and collect a significant deposit in advance for sales. This back-and-forth transaction has made the balance sheet of the Huang Family Old Store much more comfortable.
Who would have thought that this seemingly sound and wealthy Huang Family Old Store could suddenly become invalid!
After the news of Daozhou's occupation and the division of land, property, and floating wealth by the Long Mao in Daozhou reached Changsha, the sky fell for Huang Family Old Store! They were closed for business for many days——the doors were blocked by creditors!
The merchants who had sold local produce on credit to Huang Family Old Store in Changsha, as well as the opium dens that had paid a deposit to buy imported cigarettes from Huang Family Old Store, were desperate. They sent people every day to block the doors and demand payment.
It's not that they are heartless and without compassion, but rather that these years, their own conditions have become increasingly poor.
The difficulties faced by Eutang Huang's family are not unique to them. Who among the wealthy families of Changsha does not face similar challenges? Who is not struggling to maintain the facade of a wealthy household while dealing with internal problems that can only be temporarily resolved by borrowing from one part of the business to support another?
"Da Afu" Huang Li Shih, the wife of Huang Shijie from the Huang family, was trapped inside Huang Family Old Store now, with tears in her eyes but none to shed. She was not alone; she brought along several hundred relatives of gentry from Daozhou, leading them through Guangyong and Chenzhou states, entering the Chenzhou River by land, and then arriving by water.
Not to mention the hardships they endured on the journey, or the considerable expenses for transportation and fares. Moreover, their hasty escape left them with very little in the way of valuable goods.
Upon arriving in Changsha, they thought they could rely on the assets left by the Huang family to maintain a comfortable life for a few days. However, they encountered creditors blocking the doors, demanding payment.
Huang Li Shih, of course, would never agree to hand over the goods stored in Huang Family Old Store. If she did, the entire Huang family with over a hundred mouths to feed would likely starve to death in Changsha.
However, the creditors had promissory notes issued by Huang Family Old Store, and the principle of lending money and repaying it was legitimate!
Some creditors have already gone to the county town to report the matter and two days ago, official agents came to the door with warrant papers demanding the arrest of the head of Huang Family Old Store.
Huang Li Shih, in a hurry, even brought several strong men from the Huang family to block the entrance with their bodies, refusing to let anyone in. It seems she has made up her mind to be a deadbeat.
The judicial officer Zhao in the county magistrate's office of Shanhua County must have accepted some money, as he was waving the warrant and shouting fiercely, "Madam Huang, what are you doing? I have the arrest warrant for Shanhua County here. You blocking the door and not letting the officials in to arrest someone, do you think you're rebelling?"
Upon hearing the words "rebellion," Huang Li Shih suddenly remembered "The Art of Rebellion" and secretly thought, "My husband has already been establishing the military training group, so let's pretend to rise up and show them a fierce appearance. Perhaps we can scare them away."
At the moment, she stood with her hands on her hips, looking self-assured as she declared, "Master Zhao, my husband has already gathered a thousand-strong militia in Daozhou before it fell. They are all members of our family's clan, fellow students from our village, and closest confidants. Zhuang Baotong of Lingtang is in command, and he has also received some former subordinates of General Yu."
He led his troops to escape when the city of Daozhou fell. Perhaps he defected to the Zongshang. Don't press me anymore! If my husband finds out, he might send someone to kill you!"
The Zhao official naturally wouldn't be intimidated by a mere woman, and his face turned serious. He waved his hand and ordered, "Come on, boys, charge in and take this troublesome woman!"
"Yes!"
"Acknowledged!" the court officials responded, then charged inside.
As an intelligent woman from a scholarly family, Huang Li Shih had read and understood the principles in "The Art of Rebellion." She had memorized them well. As long as her husband had a few hundred soldiers, she knew she could withstand any trouble. Therefore, the more firm she appeared, the less likely others would dare to move her.
Back to reality, the woman roared, displaying a stubborn and defiant demeanor: "Beat me up! My husband is leading troops, even Zongshang will indulge him. We're not afraid!"
Several members of the Huang family had already picked up bamboo poles and sticks and positioned themselves at the door. Upon hearing Huang Li Shih's order, they didn't hesitate and swung their weapons at the attackers.
The Zhao official and the other officials from Shanniao County had never seen a "deadbeat" like this one who was so arrogant. They didn't know what to do, and they were hit several times. The Zhao official even had his head broken by the flying bamboo stick, with blood gushing out.
However, the Zhao official was older and slower to react. He started screaming, "Rebellion! Rebellion by the people of Huang Family Old Store! Quickly, quickly! Please call the county magistrate to gather the local militias to catch them!"
"Yes!" a court official responded immediately.
Huang Li Shih thought to herself, "This is going to be bad." As a woman who had never been involved in running the household, she had never even dreamt of leading people as a "deadbeat" and challenging the government.
Now, they've been accused of rebellion. What can be done?
Just as she didn't know what to do, someone suddenly shouted, "Master Zhao, the soldiers and officials are coming!"
"So quickly?" Zhao official was surprised, covering his head and looking towards Chaozongmen Gate to see if there were any soldiers. However, he didn't see any officials.
"The soldiers and officials are coming from the pier," the man said again.
From the pier?
Zhao official turned around and saw a group of soldiers carrying military flags and long spears, looking a bit rough and ready to approach. The leader was a black-skinned short man with high cheekbones, looking very bandit-like.
It seems something's wrong!
Where did these soldiers come from?
The soldiers looked so confident and arrogant! They looked like bandits. Soldiers aren't usually that healthy, are they? They're all addicted to opium.
Among the creditors who came with Zhao official, there was an old scholar who was furious about Huang's behavior and didn't fear the soldiers. So he went up to the "bandit-looking general" and said, "Sir, there is a unscrupulous merchant named Huang who owes money but won't pay it back. He even beat up officials in public and tried to start a rebellion!"
After saying this, he pointed towards Huang Family Old Store.
The official raised his eyes and looked at the direction of the man's finger. Then he glared at the man and asked, "What is written on that signboard?"
"Yellow Family Old Store! The old store of Huang family from Eutang!"
"Dammit!" The Guangdong military officer immediately turned on him, raising his hand and slapping him across the face. Then he cursed, "Are you blind? That's the business of Mr. Huang! Mr. Huang is a close friend of our big shot, and also a big shot in our Daozhou camp. Do you think a big shot needs to pay back debts? Men, take him down!"
Coincidentally, today's troops that arrived from the Chaozongmen pier in Changsha were indeed the Daozhou camp led by Huang Shijie, Zhang Dingxiang, and Zhang Guoliang.
The one leading a group of "grass shoes" and "hired hands" from the Tiandi Hui was a double-flower baton fighter under Zhang Guoliang named Dai Wenying. He was a gold medal enforcer under Zhang Guoliang! He had fought the Qing troops, the Tiandi Hui, and the Taiping Army. In short, wherever his big shot ordered him to fight, he wouldn't hesitate.
Now that someone is demanding payment from the big brother of the master, a fight is inevitable!
How could Huang master possibly repay the debt? He keeps so many soldiers, not to evade repayment, what else for?
So he efficiently dealt with the people, both those blocking the door of Huang Family Old Store demanding payment and those with arrest warrants from Shanhua County Magistrate's Office, and had them all tied up and thrown in front of Huang Family Old Store, waiting for Huang master to come and deal with them personally.
The "grass shoes" soldiers who were originally from the Heavenly Society were all wild. After tying up the people, they pulled out their broadswords and showed a fierce appearance, as if they were going to cut people's heads on the spot. This frightened the ten or so creditors, officials, and Zhao official.
Also shocked by this scene, including Wang Kuiyi, who was there with Huang old deadbeat, no, Huang master, and had come to Changsha with him.
He claimed to be "detained and taken to the capital," but in reality, he was dressed in plain clothes and accompanied by Huang Shijie's detachment. He had come to Changsha under the guard of his "family member" Zhang Zhongqing. Now, he was following behind the detachment led by Dai Wenying and had witnessed the arrogance of Huang's militia.
The county official's office in the provincial capital apprehending officials on the streets like this is too audacious!
Wang Kuiyi couldn't help feeling a bit gleeful at the moment. He thought to himself, "Will this Huang also be locked up with me? That would be good. I'll have a companion on the way to the capital, and I won't be lonely when we go to Cai Shi Ku market."
