Chapter 75

"Sorry, I won't be stubborn anymore. From now on, I'll always be obedient. I'll do whatever you tell me to do. Sob, sob, sob..."

"Xiao brother, you scared me to death. I was really afraid I would never see you again. Sob, sob, sob..."

After experiencing the brink of life and death, people's emotions are always the most fragile. Hu Niu and Fu Hui, in broad daylight, actually dared to be so proactive, which was already a shocking act in the Qing Dynasty. Everyone on the street was stunned, even the usually calm and composed Ninth Marshal was taken aback, his mouth agape, not knowing what to do.

"Oh, this guy is really full of foreign devil's spirit. In broad daylight, he's rolling around on the street? And there's even a Manchu lady? What a talent, what a talent..."

Seeing this, Xiang Shaolong and his group quickly rushed over, forming a human circle facing outward and backs inward, tightly protecting the three people, thus avoiding the embarrassment of the scene.

In stark contrast to Xiao Letian's excitement were Ma Bao and Huang Juren, who were being escorted away by Zhou Tongzhi. Yesterday, they were still prominent figures in Tanggu, but now they had become two miserable chickens.

"Zhou brother, in the name of our long-standing friendship, please send someone to inform my family. Let as many as possible escape. I beg you... Zhou brother, if you help me send the message, I will tell you the location of my silver cellar..." Huang Juren was crying with tears and sobs, which made Zhou Mingkui very sad.

"Huang brother, if only you had thought of this earlier. Now you know how deep the waters in the capital are. Why did you jump in? Alright, I'll help you this time..." After saying this, Zhou Mingkui leaned in, and from Huang Juren's mouth, he learned the exact location of the silver cellar.

Zhou Mingkui nodded, and a constable ran off towards the city outskirts, apparently to inform the Huang family.

The riot in Tanggu began around 10:30 AM and lasted until around 4:00 PM, when Huang Juren and Ma Bao were arrested, and the riot gradually began to subside.

At this time, dozens of black smoke columns rose into the sky in Tanggu. Along the streets, shops were looted, except for those near the harbor. These rioters had long forgotten their true purpose today, and they couldn't even remember who the owner of Letian Trading Company was.

When the five cavalry squads under the Ninth Marshal began to cooperate with the constables and bailiffs of the county office to sweep the streets, the riot dissipated like an avalanche. This civil unrest was not a spontaneous act of the people due to long-term oppression; the participants were poor but not yet at the point of rebellion.

These people had only joined out of a bit of greed, and there were always people secretly inciting them, which made the situation increasingly uncontrollable. However, now, the news of Xiao Bian Sun's death had spread throughout Tanggu, and his followers, seeing the situation was dire, immediately fled.

Not only them, but even the special forces that Xiao Letian had planted among the rioters had received new orders. The mission was complete, and everyone began to gradually withdraw.

"Everyone, disperse... Marshal Ji has brought the army into the city. If you don't run, there will be a massacre. Go home quickly..."

"Run, run... The massacre has already started at the dock. The Green Standard Army is causing chaos, and the Hunan Army is slaughtering people. Run, run..."

"You guys, why aren't you running? Is the loot not enough for you? If you keep looting, you'll lose your lives..."

Various voices of persuasion echoed almost simultaneously among the rioters. Those who had led them to smash the shops suddenly changed their tune, trying to dissuade them.

It was proven that a loosely organized crowd always lacks perseverance. When the benefits and fear could no longer sustain their fervor, they would instantly transform back into obedient citizens, timidly hiding at home, hoping to avoid retribution. Of course, some would be unlucky and be killed, but most believed they were the lucky ones who could escape.

As the people scattered like an avalanche under the threat of the cavalry and constables, two of Xiao Letian's subordinates met with Zhou Tongzhi's constables in a looted warehouse. After confirming the location of Huang Juren's silver cellar, the two exchanged a cold smile and disappeared.

After a while, in a crowd of refugees in the northwest corner of Tanggu, a man in gray suddenly started cursing, "Damn it, what's going on? We haven't had any food or water since this morning, and we haven't gained anything. Are we just going to go home empty-handed?"

The crowd of about four or five hundred people was stunned, and the following words gradually made them uneasy.

"Everyone, think about it. Why did we come to the city today? Wasn't it because Huang Juren and Xiao Bian Sun promised to reduce our rent? If we go back now without accomplishing anything, we'll have wasted the whole day."

"Look at what you have in your arms. Is there anything decent? You, you, you... you good-for-nothings, you don't even have a share of the silver or foreign money. At least you should have two strings of copper coins! Look, you even looted a broken shoe? A ragged cloth as a treasure..."

As the man in gray incited the crowd, the people, who had been like bees without a head, suddenly woke up. They looked at the worthless items in their hands and gradually felt a sense of dissatisfaction.

"Everyone, Huang Juren promised to reduce our rent if we attacked Letian Trading Company and fought the foreigners. If we go back like this, will they still reduce our rent?"

At this moment, another man in black suddenly spoke, "It's easy to say, but the Hunan Army is already killing people in the city. Are we going to send ourselves to our deaths?"

"That's right, I heard that Huang Juren and Xiao Bian Sun have been arrested by the army. Even if we attack the trading company, no one will reduce our rent!" The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

As the crowd's emotions became increasingly chaotic and their dissatisfaction grew, the man in gray suddenly jumped onto a broken cart by the roadside. "Everyone, we can't go to Tanggu, but we can go to Huang Juren's house to demand justice! Huang Juren has been arrested, but his wife and son are still there. We can make them reduce our rent, which is three dou of grain..."

"Everyone, you haven't even had a hot meal all day, and you haven't gained anything. Are you going to go home empty-handed? Others have already taken a lot of foreign money and silver, while we only got a couple of broken shoes. Are you satisfied?"

The people were already full of anger. They were hungry and had gained nothing. Hearing that the three dou of grain was also in jeopardy, they all went mad.

"I'm not satisfied... I don't want to..." The crowd went wild.

"Huang Juren's house is five li to the northwest. Let's go together and demand justice..." The man in gray raised his arm, and the crowd lost all reason. They had only one thought: I can't be the one who loses out. Those who don't go are fools.

The group of several hundred people, growing along the way, quickly became a thousand-strong force, heading straight for Huang Juren's house.

By this time, it was already around 5:00 PM. The summer day was still bright. Outside Huang Juren's house, the ruins of the still-warm fire site, Huang Juren's wife, a woman as fat as a pig, was sitting in a chair, her eyes glaring at the black smoke rising from the city.

"Burn, burn, burn the whole of Tanggu. My grain is burned, so you won't have it either..." The fat woman's face was trembling, showing how deep her hatred was.

The fat woman had been sitting there all day, excitedly waiting for her husband to bring good news. In her mind, her husband was the king of Tanggu, and there was nothing he couldn't do.

At this moment, a timid little maid suddenly whispered, "Madam, why are the smoke columns coming from all directions? Your husband only went to deal with a trading company, so the fire should only be in one place... Besides, why are the sounds from afar so terrifying..."

"Shut up! You little slut, how dare you curse your husband..." The fat woman, like a madwoman, scratched the maid's face with her long nails and pinched her with all her might.

"You shameless thing, how dare you curse your husband. I'll sell you to a brothel tomorrow. I'll make you curse... I'll make you curse..." The vicious woman cursed and pinched, and soon the maid's face was covered in bruises.

"I won't, Madam, I won't. Please spare me..." The talkative maid knelt on the ground, not daring to dodge, only using her arms to block. None of the other maids dared to intervene.

At this moment, a chorus of shouts suddenly came from the main road. At first, it was unclear, but soon everyone could hear it clearly.

"Together... together... three dou of grain... We want three dou of grain..." The voices grew louder, like a tsunami, crashing over.

The fat woman finally came to her senses, staring dumbfounded at the dust rising from the road, her mouth wide open, big enough to fit two steamed buns.

Suddenly, a group of black shadows emerged from the small forest, and upon closer inspection, it was a crowd of people.

"Together, together... three dou of grain... our three dou of grain..."

The crowd, shouting wildly, rushed towards Huang Juren's house. Their eyes were filled with greed, and some were even bloodshot, who knows what they were about to do.

"Charge... In Huang Juren's house, there are ten thousand taels of gold and countless taels of silver... Break the door and loot..." The man in gray, seeing the crowd's excitement, knew it was time to act.

At this moment, Huang Juren's wife finally understood what was happening. These crazy people were coming to ransack her home. "Oh, my God..." The fat woman, running at an unprecedented speed, headed for the house.

"Close the gate! Protect the estate!" The fat woman shouted as she ran, but she had forgotten that most of the guards had been taken away by her husband today, and there were fewer than thirty men left in the house who could fight.

"Charge... Kill... Huang Juren is already in prison and will be executed soon. Don't die for them, join the looting..."

The thousand-strong mob surged forward like a tidal wave. The thirty guards were terrified, and when they heard that their master was gone, no one dared to stop them, and they scattered on the spot.

"You bastards, stay and protect me, and I'll give you a reward... You ungrateful bastards, I'll curse your ancestors..." The fat woman, crying and rolling on the ground.

As she was cursing, a foot suddenly kicked her to the corner. "Damn it, I've had enough of you. You always cut our wages and curse and hit us. I'll be the first to loot you... Brothers, loot!"

Led by a guard, the guards and servants, who had been oppressed by Huang Juren and his wife, all joined the looting. Huang Juren's house was completely ransacked.