In the late Qing Dynasty, Beijing mainly relied on coal for heating in winter. Rich people burned good charcoal, but ordinary people could survive the winter by buying some crushed coal. Because of this, the air quality in the capital in the late Qing Dynasty was really not very good. If you look carefully at the sky in the capital at dawn every morning, it is all gray.
The weather is cold and the air quality is not very good, so those who have the conditions are willing to stay in the hot bed for a while. The people coming and going on the street are people who have to get up to make a living, as well as idlers who have developed the habit of taking a morning walk.
The men of the Eight Banners were strolling on the street early, some carrying bird cages and some carrying winter crickets to play with. Whenever they met, they would always greet each other with long tones. Regardless of whether it is false or sincere, no matter how much you talk about it, you have to support a few tables of food and drinks, no matter whether you honor it or not, anyway, this politeness is absolutely indispensable.
But today, when a few idle men from the Eight Banners took to the streets, they found that a group of different people suddenly appeared on the long street. Judging by their clothes, they were all those who came to Beijing to take the exam.
"Hey, Mr. Huang, I haven't heard of any pub opening at this time. Why don't these reading people go out to sleep in a hot bed or study and go out on the street to drink the northwest wind?"
"You're right, Mr. Liu. The exams will start in half a month. People who don't warm up to their studies go out on the streets every day. Recently, they even got into fights. We've never seen scholars so aggressive, right?"
"Ouch! That's bad, look at where these scattered scholars are going? Houhai, they are all heading to Houhai..."
"Grandma, isn't that Prince Gong's Mansion over there?"
That's right, under the surprised gazes of this group of Eight Banners idlers, countless movers began to gather in front of the gate of Prince Gong's Mansion. At that time, just after eight o'clock, hundreds of movers had already gathered at the gate of the palace.
This is a group of silent but angry people, and their emotions have reached the breaking point. In the past three or four days, members of Western learning in Beijing were provocative everywhere and openly clashed with prominent scholars on various occasions. From scolding wars to fist fights, from internal fighting among literati to social idlers also joining in.
Yes, some scholars, some scholars, and students who are not even qualified to be candidates are actually bewitched by Western learning, and they dare to stand in front of the candidates and accuse them of being wrong.
It's unbearable, and the people who hold the exam are going to explode. The resentment in their hearts could not be vented. There was no point in burning down Xiao Letian's home. They did not dare to go to the imperial city to force him into the palace. After much deliberation, he wanted to learn from the Western traitor Yi? He was the best punching bag.
Since last night, these scholars have been secretly communicating. They have had enough. In the face of such blatant provocation, they cannot just passively be beaten, they must take the initiative.
More and more people gathered together. At this time, the palace concierge had already reported the news to the prince, but Yi? At this time, he did not realize that today's conflict was bound to evolve into the beginning of a great revolution that would shock the world. Looking at it from the perspective of the past.
"Let the Shuntian Mansion and the Jiumen Admirals send people to expel them, and then send a message to the old man later, asking him to disperse all these people... Who really thinks that the imperial court is a face? The imperial city forced the palace and the imperial court tolerated it. This Are you still addicted? Look, I’m easy to bully!”
Prince Gong Yi? complained a few times, put on his training clothes and ran to the back garden to play Manchu wrestling with the guards.
With the prince's order, the guards of the royal palace were not polite. They opened the side door and more than 20 strong men with round waists walked out. They lined up in front of the door. "It's gone, it's all gone! Aren't you afraid of the king's law?" ! What is this place? This is Prince Gong’s Mansion, what do you want to do by gathering a crowd to block the door? "
The tough attitude of the guards caused an uproar among the examinees. As they spoke, a examiner with a southern accent stepped forward and saluted, "I, Fan Minxing, the examiner from Zhejiang Province, hope to see the prince. We are not here to cause trouble. We are just here." I would like to ask the prince a few words, please do it for your convenience..."
"Meet the prince? Is the prince something you can meet if you want? If you don't prepare for the exam quickly, why are you meeting the prince? Let's go, let's go, the prince doesn't have time to see you..."
"Haha, I still want to see the prince. Damn, in the imperial city, you even dare to beat the prince, and you dare to use violence. Even if I don't catch you in prison, I'm merciful. What's wrong? You rushed over here to ask for a beating... "
The guards of the palace were eating the food rewarded by the prince, so they had to stand up for their master. These slanderous men dared to hit the prince. If the prince hadn't been so generous, they would have rushed up and started to attack him.
The group of guards didn't mention the incident of forced labor, but it was fine. As soon as they mentioned the crazy forced labor that day, the enthusiasm in the hearts of the candidates present started to boil again.
At this time, another official squeezed out from the crowd and said angrily, "What are you talking about? It is the duty of scholars to write on the bus. We give advice to the court. Why did the prince send troops to disperse? I want to ask today I asked the prince, why did the Prime Minister’s Office push for this industrial zone? And Xiao Letian was so rebellious, why didn’t the imperial court send troops to destroy it?”
This little man spoke with a unique Sichuan accent, as if he had eaten a pound of red pepper, and showed no mercy at all. The first few guards put their hands on their hips and glared and cursed, "Hey? Whose belt was not fastened tightly and exposed you, and you dare to question the prince? You have the guts to leave a name..."
"Luo Tongwen, the Sichuan scholar, is here. Do you think I'm afraid of you... My classmates, fellow students, and all the scholars in the world, listen, this is going to threaten revenge. Not only do you not dare to meet, but you also want to beat someone up?" What if I tell you my name?"
The crowd immediately went crazy. "Since we are here, we are not afraid of retaliation. Who dares to sign up for a name... I am a Zhili Juzi, I am an Anhui Juzi, I am a Shaanxi Juzi..." The registration number in the crowd The sound is endless.
Now there are hundreds of young people gathered in front of the palace gate, and there are countless spectators in the distance. The dark mass of heads makes dozens of guards feel the pressure.
"Stand back, all of you, stand back, you are rebelling! You really think that the king's law is just for show..." Before he could finish his words, he saw a broken shoe flying towards him from the crowd, and hit the guard who was speaking with a snap. On the face.
"We scholars are not easy to bully. Let Guiziliu come out and give an explanation to the scholars all over the world..."
"The imperial court must abolish the special zone. We in the Qing Dynasty do not want any foreign industry. We must drive out Western learning and give our Xianxue a clean sky..."
"Severely punish Xiao Letian for being rebellious and send troops to eliminate..."
The slogans in the crowd were loud. These scholars seemed to have planned it for a long time. All the slogans were shouted in an orderly manner, and the long street was in chaos.
The guards were sweating now. They linked arms one by one and tried their best to stop these moves. Reinforcements continued to pour out of the gate behind, and the human wall was long and dense.
"Back off, back off, don't push forward... Oh my feet, who stepped on me... My braids, why are you pulling my braids? Bah... Who threw the damn shoes again... …”
Once a verbal conflict evolves into physical contact, it is difficult to control people's emotions. It is definitely unrealistic to not fight back or scold back. The fanatical perpetrators are not light or heavy in their hands, plus the crowd There were some fishermen in troubled waters, and soon several guards were secretly injured.
"Ah! My ribs are broken... That bastard kicked me..." With a scream, a guard stepped back four or five steps, leaning on the bluestone steps and sweating profusely.
This has angered the guards of the palace. Whoever defends will suffer at this time. The dignified palace of the prince is bullied by the sour scholar. This makes the guards who are used to being domineering and domineering in the past unbearable.
"Fight, fight... break up these bastards. I don't believe it. Do the Han people still want to ride on our heads and run wild?" A group of guards rushed into the crowd like tigers rushing into a herd of sheep.
Once the Quanwu Xing started fighting, the people watching around burst out in an uproar, "Oh, the fighting has started. The palace guards are beating up the scholars. This is a excitement that is rare in a thousand years. Please call people to watch the fun..."
The Eight Banners men jumped excitedly and were about to call someone, but four or five of the lifters who had been knocked away took a few steps back and suddenly bumped into him. They were caught off guard and fell flat on their backs.
"Hey, why are you beating up even those who are watching the fun! Am I easy to bully? Are you going to end up..." It was completely chaotic now, and the people watching the fun around were also dragged in, and the long street Four to five hundred people were beaten into a pot of porridge.
Just on the south side of the chaotic street, on the roof of an ordinary courtyard, several figures are secretly lying. The positions of these few people are very clever. They can observe the chaos on the street and avoid the surrounding eyes. It is difficult to was discovered.
In this house, Chun Shisanniang was staring at a map of the capital in a daze, surrounded by green forest people disguised as ordinary people from all walks of life. These were all left by Xiao Letian in the capital. core strength.
"Reporting to the Hall Master, the streets are now in chaos. Although there are many people, they are no match for the guards. Do we need our brothers to take advantage of the chaos and help?"
"Hall Master, reinforcements from the disciples have arrived. Imperial students from the capital have been mobilized, and they have also brought many scholars and students who support Xianxue. There are three hundred in total..."
"Sir, more than a hundred scholars have appeared in Nancheng, and they have also rushed over to support... There are also many scholars from the countryside who have appeared outside Chongwen Gate. It seems that they are all here to support these protests... "
Chun Shisanniang finally opened her eyes, and she smiled strangely, "Wonderful, really wonderful... How did Mr. Sir grow his brain? The temper of these scholars has been completely understood by Mr.... Since these people If the academics and corrupt scholars are so cooperative, what are we waiting for if we don’t take action?"
"Continue to observe. When the number of demonstrators exceeds 1,000, it is time for us to take action. Everything will proceed according to the original plan!"
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves finally sounded on the long street outside the house, and the soldiers sent by the Nine Admirals and Shuntian Mansion finally arrived.
"Everyone stop it, fucking stop it... The cavalry squeezed in and separated the two groups of people... Where are the shield soldiers, why are you still standing there? Get up quickly..."
The leader of the team today is still the unlucky Muge. Now he wants to give himself two big mouths. What kind of fate is this? All troubles have to wait until I am on duty. I really have to go to Tantuo Temple to burn incense tomorrow.
The soldiers and government officials, led by tall horses, fought their way into the fighting crowd, pushing, beating, and scolding them for half an hour before finally separating the crowd.
The guards of the royal palace crowded at the gate, guarding against the counterattack of this group of rioters. The people who were watching the excitement and the old men of the Eight Banners Taipingquan were controlled to the west of the long street, while the east side was full of rioters.
The three groups of people just glared at each other with big eyes and small eyes. The smell of gunpowder in the air did not decrease, but became stronger and stronger.
