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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 23: Changsha Rich Man

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    In the lobby of the Governor's Yamen in Changsha City, Xiao Yungui sat under the plaque hanging high in the mirror. He smiled and looked at the wealthy businessmen in Changsha City who were sitting on both sides. He saw that everyone was wearing very simple clothes. There was one  The owner of the grain store even wore a patched robe and mandarin jacket.  Xiao Yungui secretly sneered, they were all a group of smart people, they all knew what he wanted them to do, and they deliberately dressed shabbily, so that they would soon be called poor.

    Xiao Yungui coughed lightly, and dozens of brand-name swordsmen standing behind two rows of seats smashed the steel knives in their hands on the ground. There was a chorus of choking noises, and all the wealthy businessmen were startled. They looked at Xiao Yungui with earthy faces. Everyone  He was very worried and worried that the long-haired thief would kill him.

    Earlier there were rumors that the long-haired thieves had invaded Hunan, and these wealthy households were as anxious as ants on a hot pot. Everyone knew that mud-legged rebels had always rebelled, killing officials and robbing the rich was unambiguous. Some people originally wanted to go out of town for temporary refuge.  However, Luo Bingzhang, the governor of Hunan, swore that Changsha was the provincial capital and would be able to defend it. If he went out of the city, he would not be protected by the government and would be attacked by poisonous hands.  Seeing Luo Bingzhang recruiting local braves, mobilizing reinforcements, and renovating the city defenses, it seemed that it would be safer to stay in the city, so these big families chose to stay, and they also responded to the government and actively raised money, money, and food.

    Who would have thought that Changmao really attacked, and the army could not defend it for a day. The soldiers and horses sent outside the city were defeated so quickly, and Changmao disguised himself as a broken army and invaded the city. When these big families wanted to leave, they had already  That's too late.

    Fortunately, after the long-haired thief entered the city, it was calm for two days in a row, and no long-haired thief came to the house to rob or kill. The wealthy households secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They did not expect to receive an invitation from the Western King from the long-haired thief yesterday evening, saying  It is to invite everyone to come over and gather together.  These wealthy businessmen are all prominent figures in Changsha City. They are all smarter than monkeys. When they saw the invitation, they knew that they could not dodge this attack.  The matter of donating money and food has always been divided into cultural donations and military donations. Cultural donations are just like this. You send invitations politely, saying that you are attending a banquet, but in fact you have to donate your blood.  It would be much simpler to give military donations. You can directly frame the charges, send troops and horses to extort money, and even kill the whole family to steal all the money and food.

    After receiving the invitation, these elites all breathed a sigh of relief. Whether it was dealing with Mr. Futai or the green camp soldiers who usually came to the house to fight against the autumn wind, these wealthy families had their own way of dealing with it. As long as they didn't kill people and steal money like bandits, they would do it.  There are ways around it, but it's extremely difficult to get money and food out of their pockets.

    So before they came to the banquet with many invitations, they all changed into old clothes. As long as the Long-haired Western King didn't come to force him, it would be easy. There were also a few wily ones who understood that this Long-haired Western King  The reason why I sent a letter to donate must be that I don¡¯t dare to use force to avoid the rat. Since Changmao has some scruples, it¡¯s just a matter of dealing with Changmao.

    Xiao Yungui looked at the smiling wealthy people in front of him, took a puff from his pipe and asked Zeng Shuiyuan, who was standing by, "Are all the guests here?"

    Zeng Shuiyuan looked at the invitation list in his hand and said, "There are still three guests who have not arrived."

    Xiao Yungui frowned and said, "But which three are they?"

    Zeng Shuiyuan bowed slightly and said: "Zhu Changlin, the big shopkeeper of Zhugan Warehouse on Taiping Street, Wei Helin, the big shopkeeper of Deyu Trading Company in Chaoyang Lane, and He Yuanlun, the president of Baoqing Five Companions Association."

    After the names of these three people were read out, a group of wealthy people in Changsha started whispering. Xiao Yungui didn't know these three people, but seeing the way the wealthy people below were talking about them, he knew that these three people must have a good background.  , or very influential among wealthy businessmen in Changsha.

    Xiao Yungui asked in a low voice: "What are the backgrounds of these three people?"

    Zeng Shuiyuan quietly told Xiao Yungui what he had learned about the backs of the three people.  These three people are indeed very famous in Changsha City. Zhu Changlin, the big shopkeeper of Zhugan Warehouse on Taiping Street, comes from a well-off scholarly family in Heping Village, Ansha Town, Changsha. After repeated attempts and failed, and the family's situation deteriorated, he came to  Tang Yinong went to Changsha to join the wealthy gentry and became a bookkeeper. A few years later, he opened a grocery store on Taiping Street and started business.

    In the 24th year of Daoguang's reign, there was a great harvest in central Hunan, and the price of grain was as low as one thousand qian and three shi. The price of grain plummeted, and ordinary people were afraid of leaving it behind. Only Zhu Changlin borrowed money to absorb a large amount of grain. Unexpectedly, the next year, there was a drought in Changsha and Dongting Lake.  However, there was a flood, and the price of grain suddenly rose sharply, reaching 5,000 yuan per stone. From then on, Zhu Changlin became one of the richest households in Changsha.

    In the 28th and 29th years of Daoguang's reign, the same situation happened again. There was a good harvest in the first year and a big disaster in the next year. Zhu Changlin still made a lot of money by relying on natural disasters, but this time the disaster was so serious.  Heavy rains lasted for three consecutive months from March to June, causing floods in the Yuanli River in Xiangzi, and even more lakeside fences collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of victims gathered in Changsha and Shanhua, and people on Yinglu Road in Ningxiang died of starvation.  In Anhua, a fight of rice cost a hundred coins, and men and women who sold men and women could only get a fight of rice. In Yongshun, a fight of rice was worth 3,600 coins. Officials and landlords exchanged a rice dumpling for a woman, and some bought a woman for 400 coins.  One woman and one son, this is the famous Hunan "Taoist""The famine of Guangjiyou". The Zhu family made a fortune by relying on the famine, and became one of the few wealthy people in Changsha City. However, the Zhu family's conscience was not lost, so they adopted the method of providing work-for-relief and mobilized the refugees to build Zhu's building.  The family has a big house, built its own courtyard, and provided a large number of relief to the victims, which has a good reputation in the local area.

    Wei Helin, on the other hand, is a native of Daxian Town, Dongxiang, Changsha, Hunan. The Wei family has been rich for generations, and the ancestral land produced more than 4,000 stones. Wei Helin, like Zhu Changlin, started his business in grain, tea, and salt. He opened the "Deyu Salt Store" and "Deyu Salt Store".  "Yu Tea House" is no less big than "Zhu Qian". He is also a philanthropic person and has a good reputation in Changsha City.

    And He Yuanlun, a member of the Baoqing Five Subordinates Association, was also a figure. Businessmen in the Qing Dynasty were accustomed to distinguishing subordinates based on geographical relationships. The caravans composed of Hunan merchants were called the Hunan Merchant Gang or the Xiang Gang. The Xiang Gang's business camp in the three towns of Wuhan was very  Huge, its power even exceeds that of the Hui Gang.  In the three towns of Wuhan, the Hunan Gang is known as the Five Prefectures and Eighteen Gangs.  The Five Prefectures refer to Changsha Prefecture, Hengzhou Prefecture, Baoqing Prefecture, Changde Prefecture, and Chenzhou Prefecture, and the Eighteen Gangs refer to the small gangs within each prefecture.

    And this He Yuanlun is from Baoqing Prefecture. The Baoqing Gang led by him has a huge commercial power in the docks of Hankou in the three towns of Wuhan. He is the leader of the Hunan merchant gang here.  In the early years of Xianfeng's reign, in order to strengthen the cohesion of the Hunan people in Hankou, businessmen from the Baoqing Prefecture in Hankou built the "Baoqing Five Folks Association" on Baoqing Street in Hankou. He Yuanlun was the first president. This time he  He went to the Changsha branch to deliver goods, but he didn't want to be detained in the city, so he naturally became one of the people invited by Changmao.

    After hearing the background of the three people, Xiao Yungui nodded secretly. It seemed that these three people did have some influence, so he said slowly: "Since there are still three people who have not arrived, I will send someone to urge them." Then his face darkened coldly.  He snorted and shouted: "I am not used to waiting for others!"

    He had a loud voice, and he shouted so loudly that the people below were startled. Everyone secretly thought that these three people were going to be in trouble.  Xiao Yungui didn't know that Zhu Changlin and Wei Helin would later become the richest people in Changsha.

    As soon as he finished speaking, two wealthy gentry in their thirties strode in from outside the lobby. Different from others, both of them were dressed very brightly. One of them wore a blue Hunan embroidery brocade robe with a jade belt decorated with flowers around his waist.  He wears a Hotan jade pendant, a small round hat on his head, an jadeite inlaid in the middle, and a silver tide hookah in his hand.  The other man wears a light blue Suzhou embroidered silk robe, a gold jade belt around his waist, a brocade sachet, a round hat with a red agate in the middle, and a blue and white jade snuff bottle in his hand.

    The two of them came hand in hand. The wealthy gentleman in green stepped forward, cupped his hands and said with a slight smile: "Zhu Changlin, Zhu Gan, has met the prince."

    But the rich gentry in blue just slightly cupped his hands and said with a straight face: "I have met the prince in Wei Helin." There was no respect in his tone.

    Xiao Yungui smiled slightly, stood up and returned the courtesy, then pointed to the two empty seats on the left and said, "Please sit down, both of you."

    Zhu Changlin thanked her again before sitting down, but Wei Helin turned around and sat down with a stern face without saying a word.  It can be seen that Zhu Changlin is more tactful, but Wei Helin seems to be very unwilling to deal with Xiao Yungui, the long-haired Western King.  Xiao Yungui secretly sneered in his heart, but his face remained calm. He looked at the two of them for a few more times before sitting down.

    Just as he sat down, a loud and old voice outside the hall yelled: "Which one is the Long-haired West King? You have been invited four times, but I just don't want to come. If you have the guts, kill me!"

    Xiao Yungui frowned. Although everyone in the Taiping Army knew about this long-haired title, many civilians also called it secretly. Even if they heard it, the Taiping Army wouldn't care too much about it, but this man openly declared it,  No respect at all.

    I saw two swordsmen in the lobby carrying an old man who was over sixty years old. They put the old man down when he arrived in the hall. This man had a white beard, a melon skin hat on his head, a white arrow-sleeved jacket, and white bloomers.  Wearing a blackboard belt around his waist, he is energetic and heroic. He looks less like a wealthy businessman and more like a gang leader in the world.

    When the swordsmen saw the old man uttering arrogant words, they shouted angrily: "Bold!" The swordsmen of dozens of people were all elites in hundreds of battles, and their shouts naturally contained a solemn murderous aura. The old man was furious when he heard this.  He was stunned, but still snorted contemptuously: "I have no intention of getting out alive when I come here, He Yuanlun. Just mark out whatever you have, and I will follow up!"

    Xiao Yungui saw that He Yuanlun had more gang habits and was old-fashioned, and knew that he was different. Such a figure in the world was always soft-spoken, so he stood up and said with a smile: "What did He Yuanlun say? Today's Japan  The king is hosting a banquet, how can he talk about life and death? Please take a seat first!"

    He Yuanlun glanced at Xiao Yungui for a few moments, slightly cupped his hands and said: "Seeing that you still have some manners in this life, I will sit down and listen to what you have to say!"

    Xiao Yungui smiled secretly. Sure enough, this old man had a hot temper, but he was a soft-hearted guy. As long as he was polite and thoughtful, he would not be too ugly.

    Meeting guestsWhen everyone arrived, Xiao Yungui stood up and walked down from the table, came to the center of the hall, cupped his hands on both sides and smiled: "I raised troops to attack the Hunu Qingyao. I conquered Changsha City three days ago. When I arrived in Changsha City, I heard that all the good people are here.  Mr. Weng Xianming, I originally wanted to visit you personally at the mansion, but due to busy military affairs, I have no choice but to invite you all to gather at the Yamen here."

    He Yuanlun snorted and said: "You didn't invite me, you forced me to come here!"

    Xiao Yungui smiled and said: "Hero Hero He is an elder with great virtue, so naturally he needs to be carried. If not, I'm afraid I can't help but respect him. I, Taiping, respect senior heroes like Hero He the most, but don't  Dare to neglect."

    He Yuanlun waved his hand and said: "You are a young man who speaks well. Forget about trying to provoke me. If you have anything to say, please tell me quickly."

    Xiao Yungui touched his nose and smiled secretly in his heart. This old man was not difficult to deal with. He immediately said loudly: "I invite you all to come here today because I have three things I want to discuss with you." All the wealthy gentry were shocked when they heard this.  Wasn't it because King Changmao invited him here because of money and food?  Are there other more difficult things to do?

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