Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 7 Big Trouble
"A-choo, A-choo!"
In the early morning at the northern parade ground of the Sichuan Army, Yang Qiulian, who was described by the leader Qin as being carefree, sneezed continuously, and kept muttering in his heart that it was his buddies from his previous life who were thinking about him.
Perhaps it was because the reward from the Governor of Sichuan yesterday was too generous, there was not a single soldier to be seen in the huge North Parade Ground. Fortunately, he didn't have the heart to chat with others, so he started running around the parade ground to exercise.
This was a habit he developed when he was serving in the military in his previous life, and he never stopped doing it after retiring, because jogging 10,000 meters every morning not only exercises the body, but also ensures that the muscles are in peak condition throughout the day. Especially now that they are living in troubled times and it is unclear if they are the enemy or not, they need to be more careful.
Because there was no training equipment, after running, Yang Qiu stretched his body and changed his clothes. He also put on the fake beard that he asked Bingwen to find last night. Finally, he put on his hat and checked his pistol again. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he quietly sneaked out of the barracks.
After Zhao Erfeng's "propaganda" yesterday, we can't say that he is going to fight and kill, but at least he has become the most unpopular person in Sichuan, so he must be careful when going out. Originally, Xiao Anguo had repeatedly reminded him yesterday that he must take them with him when he went out, but after thinking about it, Yang Qiu felt that this matter must be done alone.
What's up?
Exchange money!
After checking the purse snatched from Du Laoliu, Yang Qiu discovered that there were as much as 5,000 silver dollars in it. Originally, he could exchange it in Wuhan, but he should go out for a walk since he came to Chengdu. In addition, he had forgotten the day when the Railway Protection Movement evolved into an armed revolution, so he decided to exchange it for cash first just in case.
Heshengyuan Bank was a famous Shanxi merchant bank in the late Qing Dynasty. It not only had stores all over the country, but also opened stores in Japan and Southeast Asia. So after looking around for a while, Yang Qiu decided to choose this one.
"Sir, are you going to... exchange them all?" The shopkeeper, holding the banknote and wearing reading glasses, looked Yang Qiu up and down, which made him very unhappy. He put on a bully look and shouted in the Northeastern accent he learned in his previous life: "What's the matter, you don't want to exchange it?"
"No, no." The old shopkeeper knew at a glance that Yang Qiu might not understand how much five thousand dollars there were, and said with a smile: "Sir, five thousand dollars can still be exchanged for Shengyuan, but where are you going to put it?"
Yang Qiu didn't understand at first, but when he saw the old shopkeeper constantly looking at his empty hands, he suddenly realized.
It is now the late Qing Dynasty, and many poor areas would sell their children for one or two silver dollars, so even the average wealthy family would not keep so much cash at home, because it is not light, and each silver dollar weighs half a tael. After Xiao Anguo and the others left last night, he did not touch the three hundred silver dollars, so he did not notice the weight at all. Now he thinks that five thousand silver dollars weigh more than one hundred pounds, and even a "big man" like him cannot carry it away.
Yang Qiu scratched his head, knowing that he had wronged the old shopkeeper. However, he still didn't like silver notes. After all, the Xinhai Revolution was just around the corner, and no one knew whether the silver notes would depreciate after the war. However, it was not convenient to carry five thousand silver dollars with him. After thinking about it, he asked, "Old shopkeeper, can we exchange them into US dollars?"
"Dollar?"
The old shopkeeper was slightly startled. He was also a man of great experience and good eyesight, but it was the first time he saw someone come to the bank to exchange foreign money. He pushed up his reading glasses and said with a smile: "Sir, this is a bank. If you want to exchange foreign money, you need to exchange silver first and then go to the foreign bank to exchange money. Don't say that the old man is long-winded. If you really want to exchange foreign money, you'd better be more careful. There are many tricks involved."
Yang Qiu didn't know that the ticket number could not be exchanged for US dollars. He thought they all belonged to the banking system.
After guessing what Yang Qiu was thinking, the old shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and said, "Sir, I think you are going on a long journey. In my opinion, you might as well go to the Hankou foreign concession. You can exchange money there, but you may have to pay a price. If you don't mind the trouble, it's better to go to Shanghai, where the price is more reasonable."
The old shopkeeper was quite enthusiastic. He not only told Yang Qiu how to exchange the money, but also roughly explained the exchange rate. According to the official price in Shanghai, 10 silver dollars can be exchanged for 1 pound, and 1 pound is equal to about 5 US dollars.
Yang Qiu thanked the old shopkeeper, took out two dollars and exchanged them for some copper coins, then put the silver bills back into his arms. However, he did not notice that the pistol under his lapel had slipped out. The young man standing next to him with his hands hanging down was slightly stunned when he saw the gun, and after thinking for a moment, his eyes suddenly showed ecstasy.
After Yang Qiu left, the young man made up a lie to ask for leave from the old manager, then ran quickly to the dock.
…
"Brother Wang, they are all made in Germany."
In the warehouse next to Su Wharf, the man in black picked up a German-made Mauser rifle and threw it to Wang Tianjie behind him. The latter played with it skillfully for a few times and nodded with satisfaction. Although two hundred rifles are not a lot, they can still play a big role as long as they are used well.
"Brother Wang, I'll ask the Brotherhood to pick up the goods."
"Stop." Wang Tianjie stopped his men and pointed at their noses, cursing, "You idiot! Qin Zaigeng is just a gangster. We can use him, but if we give him a few more guns, who will listen to us in the future?"
"But……"
"No buts." Wang Tianjie did not to speak, pointing at the guns and saying, "Let our brothers come to pick up the goods and bring them all back to Rong County. I tell you, guns are the foundation of our survival and overthrow of the Qing Dynasty."
Seeing Wang Tianjie staring at them fiercely, the subordinates dared not say anything anymore, but they were somewhat dissatisfied with this matter in their hearts. No matter what, the Triad Society was the main force this time, and everyone was grasshoppers on the same rope. If they failed in the end because of the lack of this batch of guns, everyone would be unlucky.
After he finished speaking, Wang Tianjie took out a list from his arms and handed it to his men: "This is the list of our revolutionary comrades in Sichuan. You should take it back later and keep it for the future..."
The subordinate was slightly stunned. Before he could figure out why Wang Tianjie kept such an important thing with him, he suddenly saw a companion who was watching outside running in and shouting anxiously: "Brother Wang, someone found Yang Qiu on the street!"
"What!" Wang Tianjie jumped up suddenly, his eyes flashed with murderous intent, and then he became excited. It was as if he saw himself killing Yang Qiu and being appointed as the Governor of Sichuan after the revolution was successful. So he stuffed the list back into his arms without thinking, then gritted his teeth and fiercely picked up a rifle, loaded dozens of bullets and said, "I'll be back soon, you guys go ahead and transfer your money." After saying that, he ran out without looking back, leaving his subordinates looking at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to do.
…
Walking on the street, Yang Qiu felt much better.
Although he did not exchange it for hard currency, the old shopkeeper's words gave him a rough understanding of the value of the silver dollar. He realized that the five thousand dollars in his arms was indeed a considerable fortune, because in those days it would only cost a few tens of thousands of dollars to open a spinning mill of considerable size.
However, he had no intention of building a spinning mill. Even if he did, it would be squeezed out by Japan and the great powers. Moreover, he had no people and no territory now, so it would be better for him to find a way to exchange the money into hard currency such as US dollars and keep it.
Now that he had money, he could be considered a small wealthy man, which made him more active. Besides, he felt that he didn't need to rush on his way after disguising himself, and his new arrival's mind was also aroused, so he walked much slower.
The vigorous railway protection movement seemed to have affected the city as well. Large-character posters promoting the railway protection movement could be seen everywhere on the streets. Yang Qiu bought a copy of the famous local newspaper "Shu Bao" and found that most of the posters were promoting the importance of the Hanchuan Railway and the idea of protecting the railway and serving the country.
“Get out of the way, get out of the way…”
Just as he was reading with great interest, a small team of Qing soldiers patrolling the streets appeared in front of him. When the people saw them, they all made way for them. After one of the Qing soldiers took down a big-character poster, his eyes suddenly lit up and he walked towards Yang Qiu.
"Oops!"
Seeing this guy staring at the newspaper in his hand with a gloating expression on his face, Yang Qiu thought to himself that it was not good. He remembered that the founder of Shu Bao was a revolutionary named Deng Xiaoke, who was also one of the initiators of the Railway Protection Movement. I wondered if these guys were going to use this as an excuse.
Yang Qiu turned around and wanted to leave, but as soon as he turned around, he found a large group of people who looked like porters walking towards him from a distance. A young man he had met in Heshengyuan before was also in the crowd. He was whispering with the leading porter and pointing in this direction.
This scene made his heart sink suddenly, and he realized that he was being targeted! He glanced around unconsciously.
There is a row of houses on the right. Rushing in would be a dead end if I didn't know if there was a back door. There is an alley on the left, but the three vegetable vendors at the entrance of the alley looked a little weird.
Seeing Yang Qiu's eyes drifting away, the leading porter knew that something bad was going to happen. He didn't care about exposing himself and suddenly pulled out a big knife from his back pointing at him and shouting: "Catch him, he is Yang Qiu, the Qing court thief who killed my brother!"
"He Shengyuan! Just wait and see!"
Yang Qiu thought that He Shengyuan had betrayed him, so he vented all his anger on the banknote exchange. He turned around and was about to run away, but he found that the Qing army patrolmen he had seen before also ran over. Not only did they not have the slightest intention of coming to protect the "number one hero of the Qing Dynasty", they also kept sneering at him!
"kill him!"
As the shouts rang out, the three vegetable vendors on the left took the lead. One of them pulled out a shiny embroidered spring knife from under the basket and chopped it down in the chest. Yang Qiu, who had guessed it, dodged and before he could see the situation clearly, a carrying pole next to him had already swept his chest.
The violent collision and pain almost made him faint. He staggered and took several steps back before he could stand firm. At this time, two more brothers in robes had already rushed to him. After Yang Qiu dodged the first man's sword, the second sword came before he could catch his breath.
This is really terrible!
Seeing this, Yang Qiu quickly dodged half a step, used his left leg as the axis and kicked the guy away with a sharp whip kick, then grabbed the basket next to him and threw it back. The basket blocked the guys who rushed over, and finally bought him a little space. He took out the pistol in his right hand and pointed it at the vegetable vendor who launched the attack.
After seeing the terrible pistol that Du Laoliu described in prison last night, this guy was so scared that he dodged quickly. Yang Qiu himself didn't want to make another big enemy, so since the other party had dodged, he quickly dodged to the alley on the left. Unexpectedly, before he entered the alley, a Mauser rifle suddenly poked out from inside.
This frightened him to death. Without even having time to think, he suddenly grabbed the barrel of the gun with his left hand and lifted it up. Then he aimed the M1911 in his right hand at the man's chest and shot him.
Snap, snap!
Gunshots rang out almost simultaneously , as a bullet grazed Yang Qiu's scalp and a young man in a Japanese student uniform flew backwards, hitting the wall hard, his eyes wide open, as if he couldn't believe he was shot.
"Wang Tianjie, it's Master Wang Tianjie from the Tongmenghui! Come quickly, the bastard Yang Qiu killed the leader of the Tongmenghui!"
"Wang Tianjie!!!" This name made Yang Qiu's head explode! Remember that this guy was an active participant in the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement and one of the leaders of the Tongmenghui in Sichuan!
Wang Tianjie died with his eyes wide open. He never thought that he would be shot after secretly bringing a gun out just after receiving the news, intending to take the opportunity to kill this Qing court lackey to establish his authority in Sichuan. He also did not expect that this guy would have such an amazing reaction speed when being chased by so many Pao brothers.
Looking at Wang Tianjie, whose chest was almost broken and who was slowly falling down like soft rubber, leaning against the wall, Yang Qiu knew that he was really finished!
Several Qing army patrolmen were also panicked. They did not expect Wang Tianjie to suddenly appear here and try to sneak attack Yang Qiu with a rifle. Although they also wished Yang Qiu dead, this guy had killed the head of the Sichuan branch of the Tongmenghui in public, which was a huge achievement. The news would definitely reach the Governor's Office and even alarm the imperial court!
It would have been fine if this guy had been killed, but now he had already entered the alley, and his "vicious" methods could not be stopped at all, so they were scared and immediately changed their attitude and blew the whistle to catch the pretending to assassinate the revolutionaries. In an instant, the whole city was filled with sharp arrest whistles.
Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Yang Qiu glanced at the blood and mud on the wall, gritted his teeth, and went deeper into the alley.
However, he didn't notice that a policeman who chased in from behind, when checking whether Wang Tianjie was dead, actually quietly took out a note from his arms, then gritted his teeth in ecstasy and disappeared along the fork in the road.
