Tanggu City was indeed in chaos. At first, the gunshots coming from Tongzhi Yamen only surprised the people. But when the thunderous gunshots came from the official road in the west, the people in the entire city were all shocked. Pot.
The common people heard such intensive gunfire when the British and French forces landed at Dagukou five years ago. The tragic battle at that time was still vivid in their minds. Unexpectedly, they saw it again today. Could it be that the foreign army is coming again? There is no way I can survive this day.
The common people threw away their worthless rags, rushed into the night with their families, and fled in both directions, north and south. At first, there were only one or two scattered houses, but ten minutes of intensive musket shooting made all the people give up their unrealistic illusions, and more people joined the torrent of escape.
The entire city of Tanggu fell into panic. Adults shouted and women and children cried in the streets. Young gangsters took advantage of the chaos to rob money and sex. Big business houses closed down and loaded foreign guns to protect themselves. Even foreigners began to use armed sailors to protect expatriates. , many ships simply opened their decks to allow foreigners to board quickly.
Of course, there are exceptions in the chaos. For example, Matthew and Mike, two adventurous young men, put on a pair of lean cowboy riding clothes, with bullet belts wrapped around their chests, and two revolvers on their waists. Xiu also carried two Spencers on his back.
What's even more exaggerated is that guy Mike. He actually has a big tripod on his shoulder. He sticks a heavy camera on the side of the street and starts shooting. The two of them are actually collecting the latest material for "Matthew's Diary". They used the most advanced photography technology at the time to begin documenting the disorderly chaos.
Nowadays, the common people no longer care about the rumors about taking photos that capture the soul. They are rushing out of the city like crazy. Everyone is hiding from the official road due to the west. There is also a mess in the Tongzhi Yamen, and there are some small revolters. The gangster didn't know that he was wrong and wanted to rob the two foreigners who were taking the photo. As a result, Spencer's foreign gun fired three times in the sky. These gangsters escaped faster than rabbits.
"God bless these poor people. What kind of government are they encountering? Can't they even provide the most basic order to the people? This is hell... Oh my god, Matthew, look, that's not it. Xiao Letian’s alarm fireworks? It represents an emergency!"
Mike came into contact with Xiao Letian earlier than Matthew. He knew that Xiao Letian had a very interesting way of communicating at night, which was this kind of bright fireworks. Different colors represent different meanings, and the fireworks of this colorful ball represent an emergency, which shows that Xiao Letian has been in great danger.
That's right, Xiao Letian is almost choking to death now. Although he just used words to convince Sun Sanhu that he would not dare to kill for money and could only catch the living ones, no one thought that this unscrupulous bastard would actually be on top. Liangdou lit firewood and poured water on it while burning, creating billowing smoke that filled the house.
"Fan the wind, fan it hard...Bring me all the chili peppers in the kitchen, I will choke them to death, and then catch them alive...Smash rocks, smash all the windows, you bastard Be careful with your guns..."
Crossbows and foreign guns sprayed with iron sand suppressed Xiao Letian's counterattack, and thick smoke and coughing sounds were heard. In the room, Xiao Letian and others were lying on the ground. Among them, old man Fan Ru was too old and was almost dying from being choked.
The guards used daggers to cut pieces of the curtains and sprayed water on everyone. This barely blocked part of the smoke and dust. Fan Jian lay beside his brother and said earnestly.
"My good brother, do you know what kind of money we earned today? This is all money earned from selling one's life at gunpoint. You can't do it. If you escape safely this time, just go back to your hometown. This world has long been different. That’s what you thought…”
Fan Ru was speechless at this time. He only coughed and coughed, and tears were flowing from his eyes. He didn't know whether they were tears of choking or regret.
After waiting for a while, when bright red chili peppers, dark peppercorns and star anise were sprinkled on the fire, the poisonous gas was even more unbearable. Fan Ru, the oldest, was the first to be unable to resist. He rolled his eyes and fainted. land.
"Brother, wake up quickly, brother... cough, cough, cough!" Fan Qian didn't even shout a word before he started coughing.
At this time, Sun Sanhu's roar came from outside, "Surrender, surrender quickly! Xiao Letian, I tell you the truth, the Xiao family mansion is in danger now. Don't think that it's a big deal if you leave fifty guards with guns. Lord, I'm telling you the truth." We have found out clearly that there are all your women inside the gate of the mansion. If you don’t surrender, I will set them on fire and burn them to death. Don’t think that all my people are free labor!”
"Fuck! I see how dare you..." Xiao Letian's lungs were about to explode. On the one hand, he was choking on the thick smoke, and on the other hand, he felt useless after the battle plan was disrupted.
Xiao Letian really wanted to beat himself up. Could it be said that a victory over Naha would inflate him to this point? Underestimating the enemy, seriously underestimating the enemy. Although this decadent and declining Qing Dynasty has almost forgotten the ability to do good things, it has not lost the ability to do bad things to disrupt things at all, and it has even become more mature the more it studies.
"Fuck, let me go out and kill him..." Mr. Long wanted to go crazy on the spot, but Xiao Letian held him down. "Don't be impulsive. We are outnumbered and we cannot act recklessly. Send the signal. Send the most urgent signal. I will Don’t you believe me, Xiao Letian, I don’t even have a single friend in my life?”
In Master Long's hands, the specially made fireworks ball shot diagonally toward the sky along the window, exploding into blossoming flowers in the dark night, visible to the entire city of Tanggu.
Sun Sanhu obviously didn't know the use of this kind of fireworks. He just thought that Xiao Letian was sending a signal to his new army. He laughed arrogantly, "Xiao, don't you just rely on the Japanese army in your hand? I know. The foreign guns they have are very powerful, but remember, I have mobilized two thousand green soldiers, and you will not be able to kill them all even if you are exhausted. By the time they come to rescue you, you will have become my prisoners, haha Ha ha……"
Just as Sun Sanhu was laughing arrogantly, bursts of thunderous roars suddenly erupted in Tanggu city. It was not clear at first but after ten minutes it became one.
"Gather, rush...save Mr. Xiao, save Mr. Xiao..." Amidst the shouts, Sun Sanhu's face turned extremely green.
Matthew and Mike, who were on the street in the distance, silently recorded everything during the conflict with their cameras. Their eyes were filled with excitement. They never thought that when Xiao Letian's warning fireworks flew into the sky, the doors of countless shops in Tanggu would open, and the men with foreign guns, led by the shopkeepers, would rush towards Tongzhi Yamen like crazy.
"Run, run, everyone, speed up. I will give you three times the salary. I only want you to rescue Mr. Xiao..."
"Brothers, we can beg for food in Tanggu, thanks to Xiao Letian's protection. We must not forget our roots. Without Mr. Xiao, we are nothing..."
"Let's fight, let's fight. Anyway, this family fortune was given by Lotte and Matheson. Even if it's all wasted, it won't be a pity. Let's go and repay the favor..."
The businessmen, headed by Niu Shopkeeper of Sihai Trading Company, turned into iron-blooded generals one by one, and rushed towards the Yamen with their armed men against the flow of people.
Businessmen, although they are all slaves to money, are also the pioneers of the entire society who open their eyes to the world. Their vision is always the most advanced.
During the riots in the summer, these businessmen had gone bankrupt. It was Xiao Letian's grace that gave them another chance to revive. They will never forget this kindness. In the Qing Dynasty, when would there be loans with interest of one cent or two cents? This is something that no one dares to imagine, but only Xiao Letian, this idiot from overseas, actually lent it to everyone at such a low interest rate.
Not only that, he doesn't play the trick of compounding profits, and he doesn't steal everyone's physical business. In the past few months, Lotte Matheson has been picking up businesses that everyone is unwilling or unable to do. This shows that Xiao Letian is not here to steal everyone's business.
This is grace, this is love. How can a person be ungrateful throughout his life? Anyway, this life was saved by Xiao Letian, so let’s return it to him today.
The merchants are very smart. They are not only doing it for favors, they also value actual interests. These maritime merchants more or less know what Xiao Letian did in Naha, and they are very clear about Xiao Letian's strength. In today's conflict, if they didn't bet on Xiao Letian, who else could they bet on?
Based on various considerations, Tanggu business district all defected to Xiao Letian's camp without any prior discussion. When they saw the fireworks asking for help today, they all went crazy. They opened the door and rushed onto the street with their clerks.
The dead soldiers outside Tongzhi Yamen never expected that a group of crazy guys rushed up in the dark, and before they could say anything, a burst of foreign guns were fired from their pockets.
"Hit, beat, open fire, kill all these thugs pretending to be guards, let's go rescue Mr. Xiao!"
In the hail of bullets, one dead soldier was beaten into a sieve. The surviving guys rushed into the Yamen. After a while, the dead soldiers guarding the Yamen launched a desperate counterattack. But they underestimated the energy of these businessmen. Even though a foreign bank could only provide twenty or thirty clerks, there were countless foreign banks in Tanggu business district, and soon three to four hundred gun-wielding clerks surrounded them.
What’s even more frightening is that these foreign businessmen were so rich that the muskets they bought were all famous guns in the world at that time, the most famous of which was the famous Remington gun from the American Civil War.
Although this kind of rifled gun is not as powerful as Spencer, it is enough to deal with the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty. It has a long range and high accuracy. It often fires outside the range of the crossbow. It is impossible to kill these dead soldiers. Don't start.
"Move the stone, smash the door, let's rush in and save people!" Following the roar of shopkeeper Niu, the big bluestone they were carrying hit the black lacquered wooden door, and there was a loud bang. The door of the Yamen was smashed. Crush.
"Open fire and repel these grandsons!" Dozens of black gun muzzles stretched out from outside the hole, and a dense burst of flames made the dead soldiers inside the door cry out for their fathers and mothers.
