The steward was about to ask what was going on when he heard a sudden shout outside, and then two gatekeepers stumbled in. One of them had blood on his head and shouted: "No, it's not good..." Call in!"
Everyone at the banquet was stunned. They stormed the club in broad daylight. These thieves were so rampant! The person in charge quickly asked: "Who is he?"
"It's the people from Guandi Temple!" The gatekeeper covered his head with a rag and said in panic: "I don't know what happened, but more than a hundred people came in at once, and they didn't want money or food. Without saying a word, he smashed bricks and stones, and rushed in with a stick!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard banging and smashing outside, and dozens of voices yelled: "Tamp him down!"
"Kill these Chaoshan guys to death!"
"Dare to run wild in Guangfu!"
This kind of thing happened a lot in the guild hall. The late Ming Dynasty was an era when "beating shops" were rampant. Although there were no gangsters in Guangzhou, it was common to hire similar gangsters to fight. Many businessmen in the guild hall had done similar things. . Although the people present were a little frightened, they did not lose their composure.
The steward was very calm. He frowned and waved his hand decisively: "Close the second door!" Then he rushed forward and worked together with the servants to close the heavy second door forcefully.
When they had just fastened the bolt on the door, the attacker was already banging the door leaf loudly outside.
Shopkeeper Ding said angrily: "It must be someone from Yahang who is causing trouble!"
The steward shouted loudly: "Play the gong! Tell everyone to copy the guy!"
Chaoshan people have always been known for their emphasis on hometown friendship, and the Chaoshan area has "strong folk customs." Therefore, when the gong was played by the steward, other merchants living in the guild hall heard the sound and rushed out from all corners. Some of them even took the gong in their hands. Carrying the poles and sticks that he grabbed casually. Dozens of people gathered in the lobby in an instant. After figuring out what happened, everyone looked surprised and angry. Several young people couldn't help but started yelling. .
While they were discussing, the door shook violently. Probably the attackers had brought in the logs and were banging them from the outside. Everyone was surprised and quickly moved the rosewood tables and chairs in the lobby to block the door. The steward gestured for everyone to calm down. He raised his voice and shouted: "Hey! People outside, stop, stop! We have something to say!"
They screamed several times in a row, but the outside ignored them at all. On the contrary, the banging and yelling became even more crazy, and there was a crazy sound of smashing outside.
He Gao punched the door panel and shouted: "That bastard from Yaxing is really bullying! If we let him off this time, we Chaoshan people will never be able to gain a foothold here in the future! I Take the lead and go out and defeat them!" As he said that, he picked up the stick in one hand, strode to the steward, and glared at everyone angrily, "This is the business of our grain store. If you don't want to be here, Leave quickly."
At this time, people no longer hesitated and picked up sticks and poles. Someone else picked up a lot of bricks and stones. The steward shouted: "Don't be afraid, everyone. Beat me to death. If you beat me to death, the money for your life will be paid by the guild hall!"
The men and horses of the Guandi Temple here have used logs to knock open the second door. The beggars were shouting and cursing, pushing away the tables and chairs and rushing inside. The merchants inside were already waiting for the door. As soon as the door opened, the steward said: "Smash!" "The bricks, benches, tables and chairs in the hands of the merchants were smashed over like raindrops. The dozen beggars who rushed in front were instantly knocked upside down, with their heads bruised and bleeding. Some screamed and ran back. But he was pushed back again and fell to the ground to be trampled on.
The steward raised the pole and shouted: "Everyone, get on shoulder to shoulder!"
Dozens of businessmen screamed wildly, each holding a stick, and rushed over together.
The beggars and merchants started fighting at the second door. Up and down the door steps, inside and outside the threshold, people were suddenly beaten with bloody wounds, lying on the ground and being trampled back and forth, making heart-stopping wailing sounds. Curses, screams and shouts were heard all the time. The entrance was small, and the merchants were united, so the Guandi Temple troops did not have the upper hand. However, there were many people in Guandi Temple, and they kept pressing in. Step by step, they forced the merchants of the general hall back and gave way to the second door. More and more beggars poured into the courtyard and surrounded the merchants. A businessman was left alone and was immediately beaten until he was covered in blood and lay on the ground unable to move. However, the reputation of Chaoshan people as "brave and aggressive" is not earned in vain. Even though many people here are usually well-dressed businessmen, they fight with great vigor. He Gao is young and strong, holding a red sandalwood tree. The wooden bench was swung with great force, and anyone who touched it would suffer head injuries, bleeding, broken bones and tendons. Shopkeeper Ding was old and frail, so he used the stick to poke at his opponent's face and crotch. There was a scream when the stick came down.
Seeing that the merchants were gradually losing ground, at this time, they suddenly heard a crisp gunshot from outside, followed by a sharp whistle, which was a signal to summon the national army and police to urgently gather. The beggars who were fighting fiercely dropped their equipment, turned around and ran away. The Guandi Temple people who had been smashing and looting property in the guild hall suddenly retreated like a tide.
The shooter was Corporal Zhang Gengshuo of the White Horse Team who was guarding the Haiyang Guild Hall. He and a squad were originally going to enter the Haiyang Guild Hall according to Lin Baiguang's order, but they were opposed by Mu Min:
"Chaoshan people have always had a bad reputation in Guangzhou, and there are deep geographical barriers. As a new government, we cannot directly send people to the guild hall to protect them. People will think that we are giving a platform to Chaoshan people. This will be detrimental to future public security work."
Because of her opposition, the class was eventually stationed in a dilapidated temple half a street away from the guild hall.
Because the people in this team can't even speak New dialect, let alone Cantonese. Therefore, Mu Min sent another retainer to monitor the entrance of the Haiyang Guild Hall, and alert the White Horse Team if there was any situation.
Seeing the Guandi Temple troops rushing into the hall, the government official quickly ran to call the police. Although he couldn't understand the language, his gestures made Zhang Gengshuo understand what he meant. He quickly blew the whistle and summoned the soldiers of the White Horse Team. Run there.
However, as soon as he arrived at the entrance of Haiyang Guild Hall, Zhang Gengshuo was surprised. He originally thought that only a few dozen people would come, but he didn't expect that the door was crowded with people everywhere. They were all in rags and disheveled, but they were holding sticks and poles in their hands, and they were menacing.
"Everyone, bayonets on!" Zhang Gengshuo shouted. His Korean words immediately caught the attention of the people watching the excitement.
"You! Move away - stop - call - them." Zhang Gengshuo pointed at the beggars and said to the retained government servant.
The yamen servant quickly opened his throat and shouted: "Three old men and four young men! The official mission has arrived. If you have anything to say, come to the yamen!"
According to his experience, in the past, when he shouted like this, it meant that the government officials had arrived, and all parties would usually stop and disperse. The government officials also did not arrest anyone. After the people dispersed, as usual, the county magistrate visited the scene and examined the injured. If someone died, the prosecutor came to do an autopsy. After collecting the team and going back, people will naturally come to the Yamen to "surrender".
However, Zhang Gengshuo said again: "You! Sit down - hold your head -" He made a head-holding gesture, "Shout - them!"
This is the standard procedure for handling riots by the Senate's internal security system. However, when the yamen officer yelled like this, the beggars realized that the Australians were going to take someone on the spot, and they couldn't help but feel fear in their hearts: the Australians have very strict laws, and what they did today was, to a large extent, gathering people to cause chaos. The Australians would definitely kill people to establish their authority. If he were caught on the spot, he would probably be hanged before anyone could "surrender".
"Everyone, run!" the beggars shouted, and the beggars fled in all directions. There was chaos at the entrance of the Haiyang Guild Hall. The merchants who were watching the excitement were knocked down, their belongings were robbed, and their burdens were pushed away... There were screams and curses mixed together.
Seeing that the beggars completely ignored the authority of the Senate, Zhang Gengshuo couldn't help but became furious, turned the nose of the machine open, and shot the fleeing beggars.
"Fire!" he roared.
When Lin Baiguang received the emergency report, Lin Baiguang was surprised. He had expected that the people in Yahang would probably resort to violence, but he did not expect that Yahang could mobilize hundreds of people to attack Haiyang Guild Hall in an instant. There was only one squad of members of the White Horse team stationed outside the guild hall to "guard" them. If they hadn't had Nanyang rifles and the team leader could immediately give the order to fire, the situation might not have been suppressed at all.
Even so, the scene was ugly. According to police reports, more than 40 people were injured as they trampled on each other in the chaos, more than a dozen shops were damaged to varying degrees, and seven mobile vendors' goods were completely lost. Three people from the police and the National Army were slightly injured. More than 40 people were arrested at the scene and six were killed.
As for the Haiyang Club, Mu Min, who went to the site to investigate, said: "It was a mess and blood flowed like a river."
One beggar who attacked the guild hall was beaten to death, and more than 20 people were injured among those arrested. One person from the guild hall also died, and almost everyone was injured.
"It's like a street fight inside. There are injured people everywhere and bloodstains everywhere. Every table, chair and bench is destroyed." Mu Min said, "I have also worked in security work. I have seen a lot of big and small fights. It's really... I’ve never seen someone so ruthless.”
Although both parties in the fight followed the Ming Dynasty legal principle of "seeing the sword for violence" and all used blunt weapons, the damage caused by the blows was not much less. Those with broken bones, concussions, bruised internal organs, and vomiting blood... Liu San took a rough look around and said that the condition of a few injured people was not optimistic and they would not survive tomorrow.
"Our public security environment is really not optimistic." Lin Baiguang shook his head. He was very angry. He didn't expect Yaxing to be so bold and the Guandi Temple people to be so rampant. During the day, a large number of people were gathered to attack the guild hall. This is simply a rebellion! (To be continued.).
