For those who are blessed, every day is auspicious.
On the third day after Zhou Hexuan arrived in San Francisco, Situ Meitang opened the altar and held an initiation ceremony for him.
On this morning, the Zhongyi Hall of Wuzhou Hongmen Headquarters was opened. In front of the hall, there is the "Five Ancestor Tablet", the "Guandi Statue" is enshrined, and the statues of male and female military advisors, alliance certificates, incense masters and other Hongmen ancestors are displayed.
The items on the incense hall include incense burners, official umbrellas, seven-star knives, seven-star swords, red sticks, ink fountains, etc. On the table are abacus, red lanterns, rulers, scales, mirrors, scissors, peach branches, strings of beads, wooden fish and other items.
There is another bridge under the case, paved with copper and iron plates.
These items all have symbolic meanings. For example, the scale represents impartiality and selflessness, the mirror can reflect the good and evil of people, the ruler is used to measure the words and deeds of Hongmen disciples, and the peach branches represent the three sworn brothers in the Taoyuan. In order to have them in the incense hall every time
Peach branches are available, and Hongmen even planted dozens of peach trees.
Zhou Hexuan was standing outside the hall and heard shouting from inside:
"Open the altar!"
"Congratulations to Xiang Chang!"
Situ Meitang was the first to enter. After worshiping and offering incense to the Five Ancestor Tablets and the statue of Guandi, he sat on the dragon-headed throne at the front.
"Please give me a certificate of alliance!"
"Alliance Certificate" is the witness during the oath of alliance. Like "Xinfu", it is also a first-class position and is usually held by Hongmen elders.
Let me make it clear here. Generally, newcomers who worship Hongmen can be witnessed by an ordinary "white flag" (one of the white paper fans, in charge of the law). But Zhou Hexuan is different. He is a "new blessing" and a "new blessing".
Outsiders sit directly on Hongmen's high posts, and must have an "alliance certificate" to witness and record the ceremony.
"Please call the torture hall!"
"Xingtang" belongs to the inner hall and is responsible for the criminal law within the sect.
"Invite to the auditorium!"
Hongmen has etiquette, and the auditorium is responsible for this.
"Please protect the sword and seal!"
"Sword Protector" and "Seal Protector" are both the highest-ranking members of Hongmen. I saw two old men holding swords and seals respectively, walking to stand behind Situ Meitang.
"All hall masters and incense masters are invited to take their seats and observe the ceremony!"
More than a dozen Hongmen bigwigs walked into the Zhongyi Hall and found their seats according to their status and seniority.
This is just the prelude to the ceremony, and the main show has not yet begun.
I just heard someone shouting from inside: "Please Xinfu!"
Zhou Hexuan strode in and saw the Hongmen elders and hall masters, as well as the incense masters sitting on the left and right. Situ Meitang, the incense master who concurrently served as the incense chief, sat at the top, with sword guards and seal guards standing behind him, and below him stood the execution hall hall master.
The host of the ceremony hall and the host of the ceremony stand at the bottom of the hall.
Situ Meitang asked: "Where is the recommender?"
Hongmen membership requires an introduction. Liang Dingjiang, the deputy leader who made a special trip from Seattle, stood up and said: "Here it is!"
Situ Meitang asked: "Whose surname is Xinfu, where is his birthplace, and what contribution has he made to our Hongmen?"
Liang Dingjiang said: "Xinfu's surname is Zhou Hexuan, and his courtesy name is Mingcheng. He is from Zhili. This gentleman is a world-renowned scholar and is highly respected by Americans. He has greatly increased the prestige and ambition of the Chinese people. I sincerely ask the incense owner to grant him the title of Hongmen Xinfu.
Bit."
Situ Meitang nodded and said, "Yes!"
The head of the execution hall asked: "I am here to declare the thirty-six oaths of Hongmen. The first oath is that when you enter Hongmen, your parents are my parents, your brothers and sisters are my brothers and sisters, your wife is my sister-in-law, and your children and nephews are
He is my nephew. If you do not respect this example and do not remember this sentiment, you will break your oath and be punished by five thunders! Second oath, if you have parents and brothers, they will live for a hundred years and be buried without silver... Zhou Hexuan, what do you wish?
Keep these thirty-six oaths?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "I will abide by my oath."
The leader of the Hall of Punishment also said: "When you enter Hongmen, you must not commit these ten taboos. The first taboo is to seduce the second sister-in-law; the second taboo is to kill brothers, betraying brothers, and betrayal; the third taboo is to embezzle public funds and be righteous; the fourth taboo is not to meet the sages.
, Emperor Guan refuses to worship; the five taboos are forgetting one's righteousness when seeking profit, and not following the moral principles of the world...Zhou Hexuan, are you willing to abide by these ten taboos?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "I am willing to comply."
The leader of the Hall of Punishment also said: "Those who enter our Hongmen are not allowed to collude with officials or government officials, are not allowed to bully brothers and sisters, are not allowed to sell their siblings, are not allowed to eat inside and outside, are not allowed to molest sisters, do not bring harm to their wives and children, are not allowed to shrink from anything, and are not allowed to reveal secrets.
...Do you remember?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "Keep it in mind."
The leader of the execution hall continued: "If you violate the above taboos, I swear, you will be punished with three swords and six holes. Can you listen to me?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "It's clear."
The master of the auditorium said: "When you enter Hongmen, you must observe etiquette..."
This person talked about Hongmen etiquette for a long time, and also taught Zhou Hexuan some Hongmen incisions, and the ceremony finally entered the final process.
In the courtyard outside Zhongyi Hall, the sound of gongs and drums was heard, which is called "Lion Dance to Present Auspiciousness".
Then someone brought a bowl of wine, Zhou Hexuan cut his palm and blood dripped into it.
The pigs, cattle and sheep outside the door began to bark wildly, indicating that they were about to kill three animals. Only important members would enter with such a grand ceremony.
After Zhou Hexuan drank the blood wine, Situ Meitang shouted: "Seal to open the treasure!"
"Gu Jian" drew his sword, "Gu Seal" opened the seal box, stamped the Hongmen seal on the alliance oath document provided by "Alliance Certificate", and Zhou Hexuan also signed and stamped it.
Situ Meitang shouted again: "Pass the reward!"
The Hongmen disciples who were responsible for preparing and busy with the initiation ceremony entered one after another. Zhou Hexuan nodded to them one by one to thank them and began to distribute red envelopes.
Situ Meitang shouted again: "Thank you for the reward!"
Those Hongmen disciples who received the red envelopes lined up in a row and saluted Zhou Hexuan collectively: "Thank you, Uncle Zhou, for the reward!"
Situ Meitang continued to shout: "Send off guests!"
Hongmen disciples lined up to leave Zhongyi Hall.
Situ Meitang smiled and announced: "The ceremony is completed!"
The initiation ceremony was finally over, and all the Hongmen big men stood up one after another and came over to congratulate Zhou Hexuan with fists in his hands.
Zhou Hexuan's initiation ceremony was too grand. Generally, when a disciple is admitted to the Hongmen Hall, he only needs to invite tea, give out red envelopes, and seal gifts. It does not need to be so complicated at all.
Situ Meitang held Zhou Hexuan's hand, and everyone went to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
The banquet was paid for by the Hongmen government to welcome Zhou Hexuan, the "new blessing" newcomer. Unlike the Qinggang, Hongmen called each other brothers by seniority. However, as Zhou Hexuan was a "guest", everyone still called him "Mr. Zhou"
.As for those ordinary Hongmen disciples, they respect Zhou Hexuan as "Uncle Zhou".
Zhang Mouzhi was the father-in-law of "Uncle Zhou" and was also treated as a distinguished guest. Even their entourage was included in the banquet.
Sun Yongzhen sat at a table with several ordinary disciples, and he said happily: "Sir, you are in great glory this time."
Lu Dafu, the entourage Zhang Mouzhi brought with him from the United States, said: "Yes, today is really an eye-opener. I didn't expect that joining Hongmen is like this."
Hongmen disciples asked about Zhou Hexuan's deeds one after another, but it was a pity that Sun Yongzhen was not good at speaking. If his younger brother Sun Yonghao were present, Zhou Hexuan would definitely be blown away.
As for Zhou Hexuan, after the banquet, he took his father-in-law to visit Situ Meitang alone. He talked about avoiding the (Harmony) condom factory and hoped that Hongmen could help.
The "Chinese Exclusion Act" in the United States only restricts Chinese immigration and does not prohibit Chinese from opening companies and factories in the United States. However, the United States is definitely discriminating against Chinese people. If you want to open a factory, it is best to have a local gang to take care of you.
Hongmen is a very suitable backer.
In order to make friends with Hongmen, Zhou Hexuan also spent a lot of money and directly donated US$10,000. He also promised that in the future, Chinese workers would be given priority for contraceptive (factory) condoms, which was very tempting to Hongmen.
Situ Meitang gave them some advice: "If you want to open a factory, the first choice is naturally California. This is the base of the Hongmen headquarters. I guarantee that no one dares to make trouble. If you want to open a factory in the east, I suggest choosing New York. I
There is an old friend named Roosevelt, who is the governor of New York State, and can help you introduce him."
Zhou Hexuan sweated that the future President of the United States, Roosevelt, was actually an old friend of Situ Meitang...
