In Rio Grande do Sul, as Li Mingyuan set off for Paraguay, Chinese people living in various places began to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Worshiping the moon, appreciating the moon, visiting temple fairs, after more than a year of hard work, the Chinese people who had saved some of their wealth spent their second Mid-Autumn Festival in Rio Grande do Sul in their own way, while on the other side of the continent in the United States In San Francisco, a group of Chinese people dressed in costumes also held a solemn ceremony during this festival.
"1 Since entering Hongmen, your parents are my parents, your brothers and sisters are my brothers and sisters, your wife is my sister-in-law, and your son is my nephew. If there is any violation, the five thunders will kill you.
2. If there are parents or brothers who have lived for a hundred years and have no money to bury them, and when Bai Ling flies there to ask for help, they will immediately tell them that if they have money, they will provide money, but if they have no money, they will provide help. If they are cheating and do not know, they will be killed by five thunders...
36. Scholars, peasants, industrialists and merchants each have their own skills. After entering Hongmen, they must put loyalty and loyalty first and make friends with brothers from all over the world. In the future uprising, they must work together to kill the Qing Dynasty and protect the restoration of the Lord of Mi as soon as possible to avenge the burning of the Fifth Patriarch. , If you are half-hearted when encountering a problem and cannot avoid using your strength, you will die under ten thousand swords."
A young Chinese man with pigtails sat on his knees in the center of the auditorium. After reciting thirty-six oaths, he respectfully placed the incense candle in his hand in the incense burner in the middle of the table.
"Master, after the congregation has finished reciting the oath, it's your turn."
"Ahem... Chen Yuandong, a native of Xiangshan, entered our Hongmen Hongshun Hall on September 8, 2016. With the approval of the Patriarch and all the deacons, Chen Yuandong is admitted as a disciple of the An generation of Hongshun Hall..."
After some complicated etiquette, more than 40 Chinese people completed the initiation ceremony, but as the main host of the ceremony, Huang Shengui looked a little tired.
"Master, there are a total of forty-seven brothers who have joined Hongshun Hall. This is the specific list. Please take a look."
The "accompanying hall" within Hongshun Hall, who is responsible for assisting the hall master in managing Hongmen affairs, handed over a brand new book.
"Are these the total number of people?"
Huang Shengui asked after flipping through the roster.
"Thirty-two local Chinese workers, 13 brothers who came to San Francisco with the hall master from Canada, plus the hall master and the villain, a total of forty-seven people."
Hong Shun Tang’s “accompaniment” explained carefully, “The Tang Master has been away from California for seven years and may not know much about the situation here.
Six months ago, a group of Chinese who claimed to be from Rio Grande do Sul came to the United States. They reached an agreement with the company that built the Pacific Railway, and they paid to transport the Chinese workers who completed the railway construction. Therefore, half of the Chinese workers who built the railway were transferred to them. Transported to Rio Grande do Sul, some of the remaining half of the Chinese workers joined other Hongmen churches in San Francisco, some left San Francisco to seek life elsewhere, and many were seduced by a Chinese named Wang Youtian and chose to stay. Waiting for the arrival of the immigration ship, they immigrated to Rio Grande do Sul just like the Chinese immigrants earlier, so the number of brothers who joined Hongshun Hall was not very large."
"Rio Grande do Sul?" Huang Shengui muttered silently and asked, "How much do you know about them? Are they like Yee Hing Tang in the Malay Peninsula, selling Chinese slaves in the name of immigration?"
Yixing Tong is one of the two most powerful Chinese forces on the Malay Peninsula. The leader of Yixing Tong, Hou Yaoguang, is not only the leader of Hongmen in the Malay Peninsula, but also the largest human trafficker in the British Straits Settlements. Hou Yaoguang Relying on his 3,000 to 4,000 subordinates, he obtained the monopoly rights of human trafficking in Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and other places by seeking refuge with British Straits Settlements officials and local kings in the Penang area, and continued to defraud money from the mainland in the name of his Guangdong company. , buy Chinese and then sell them to Southeast Asian regions such as the Malay Peninsula, the East Indies, and the Southeast Asian Peninsula.
The operation of human trafficking has accumulated a lot of wealth for Hou Yaoguang and Yixingtang. With the profits from selling Chinese labor, Hou Yaoguang maintains a force of more than 500 people equipped with muskets. It is precisely by relying on the core force of more than 500 people under his command.
, half a month ago, Hou Yaoguang and Qiu Tiande, the leader of the Grand Hall, which is the two largest Chinese forces in Malaya, not only rejected the recruitment of the National Defense Forces, but also killed the envoy sent by Sun Bin.
Yixing Tang and Tai Kung Tang wantonly oppressed Chinese workers, helped foreigners suppress their own people, and vigorously suppressed other Hongmen halls. This has long caused dissatisfaction among many Hongmen branch halls, including Huang Shengui. However, due to Yixing Hall, Ta Kung Tang is powerful.
, and had the support of foreigners, so other churches did not join forces to deal with them.
The reputation of Yixing Tang and Ta Kung Tang has become notorious in overseas Chinese circles. When Hong Shun Tang's "accompanying hall" heard Huang Shengui mentioning Yixing Tang, he immediately understood that Huang Shengui had misunderstood the Chinese people in Rio Grande do Sul, and immediately explained
"The villain originally suspected that Wang Youtian and others had bad intentions in transporting Chinese workers. However, two months ago, the villain personally asked more than a dozen Chinese workers who returned from Rio Grande do Sul. From their mouths, they had some opinions about the situation in Rio Grande do Sul.
Got some understanding.”
The "accompanying hall" paused for a while and asked Huang Shengui: "Have you ever heard of a group of Chinese establishing a country in the southern part of the Brazilian Empire?"
"Canada is located in a remote place, and it is difficult for me to get news from the outside. However, when I took the railway to the east coast, I heard from several Chinese workers that the Chinese workers in Peru rebelled and defeated the Peruvian army that encircled and suppressed them. But South America
Didn’t the Chinese workers rebel in Peru? Why did they go to the southern part of the Brazilian Empire to establish the country?”
"The news that the hall master heard is not wrong. The Chinese workers in South America first rebelled in Peru. Then they gave up the territory they occupied in Peru and moved all the way to southern Brazil. Together with the Paraguayan troops, they defeated the main force of the Brazilian Empire and conquered Brazil in one fell swoop.
The land in the two southern states was occupied, forcing the Brazilian Empire to recognize the fact that the Chinese occupied the two southern states."
"The Chinese labor brothers in South America are quite powerful. They defeated the armies of several countries unarmed and seized a piece of land from foreigners. I really want to see what kind of person the leader who led the Chinese labor uprising in South America is like!"
After listening to the introduction by the companion, Huang Shengui did not complain that Wang Youtian and others had robbed Hongshun Hall of potential members. Instead, he became interested in the leader who led the South American Chinese labor uprising.
"I heard from other Chinese workers that the king of Rio Grande do Sul is Li Mingyuan, the son of the Taiping Rebellion Prince Li Shixian. He leads troops like a god and has never lost a battle since he led the Chinese workers in the uprising."
"Servant Prince Li Shixian is indeed a rare famous general. I didn't expect that his son, at such a young age, can command battles no less than his ancestor."
The Taiping Rebellion lasted for more than ten years. In 1862, when the war between the Qing army and the Taiping Army was still in its infancy, Huang Shengui came to the United States to seek life. He was one of the earliest Chinese to come to the United States. At that time, the main force of the Taiping Army still existed.
, Huang Shengui was living in the south and had heard many stories about Li Shixian, Li Xiucheng and other famous generals of the Taiping Army. He was deeply impressed by Li Shixian's bravery and prowess in battle.
"Seven days ago, Wang Youtian invited representatives of Chinese laborers in the east coast region to discuss matters. The villain saw more than 300 young and strong Chinese in charge of security guards there. Although they did not carry weapons, from the appearance of the three hundred
The Chinese guards are not comparable to ordinary Hongmen congregation members."
"Wang Youtian once invited you to discuss matters?"
"Yes, Wang Youtian wants the Chinese forces in the United States to defect to Rio Grande do Sul."
"How many forces agreed to join them?"
"There are a lot of ordinary Chinese workers who are willing to immigrate to Rio Grande do Sul, but there are not many Hongmen members who are willing to join them."
"Each overseas Hongmen church is doing its own thing, but it is not easy to add an administrative body to them." Huang Shengui thought.
"Hall Master, do you think Wang Youtian and others will be polite before fighting? After our Hongmen rejects their request for surrender, will they use force to suppress Hongmen?"
"Overseas is no better than in the mainland. Even if they want to forcibly incorporate Hongmen, they can't go too far. However, our Hongmen have been developing in the United States for too short a time, and the power of various churches is scattered. If they want to deal with Hongmen, the situation will be different.