Qing Yao

Chapter 61 There Really Is That Stick

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Zhao An was a little confused.

What the hell?
How did Qianlong become the old master of the Qing Gang!

If you say that Li Wei, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, is the leader behind the Qing Gang, Zhao An can believe it, because the territory and responsibilities that Li Wei manages do require the use of the Qing Gang, a huge civil organization.

But if you say that Qianlong, who completely denied his father Yongzheng, suddenly became the big boss behind the Qing Gang, that is hard to accept.

As we all know, after Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he began to suppress the Qing Gang!

So it is logically contradictory.

Seeing that the apprentice who came to him on his own initiative had a confused look on his face, as if he totally didn't believe that Emperor Qianlong was the biggest boss of the Qing Gang, Zhang Baofa couldn't help laughing, because he didn't believe it when he first joined the gang.

The apprentice had a doubt, and the master naturally wanted to answer it. He slowly said, "You know that Emperor Qianlong made six tours to the south of the Yangtze River. Each time, he used thousands of boats to transport the canals. Our gang was responsible for transporting them along the way. One day, the old master saw that our gang's rules were strict, like military orders, and that the gang members were united and close-knit, like family. He became curious."
He was introduced incognito by the abbot of Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang, and he wrote a letter under a pseudonym to become a disciple of the Jianghuai Si Gang's Fa generation. The uncle that the old man worshipped at that time was the old master Foxian of our gang. Later, the old master Foxian asked Chen Youquan, the head of the Xingwu Six Gangs' shipping company and a brother of the Fa generation from Tongzhou, Zhili, to preach to the emperor.

The Jianghuai Si Gang and the Xingwu Six Gangs are among the six branches of the Qing Gang across the country. Each branch uses a triangular or rectangular flag as its symbol.

The other four halls are Xingwusi, Jiabai, Jiahaiwei and Hangsan.

These six halls are the main gangs and the guest gangs, and each hall has more than hundreds of thousands of gang members.

In addition, there are three sluices, five embankments and 72 and a half docks on the canal under the control of the Qing Gang.

There were nearly 10,000 canal boats controlled by the Qing Gang on the canal alone, and the number of other incense boats, passenger ships, and salt ships was no less than that.

In addition, there are also members of the Green Gang conducting "business" in Changjiang.

It can be said that the Qing Gang is the real number one logistics group at present.

If they rebelled, the Qing government would definitely be in big trouble.

"This Panlong Staff was specially gifted to our gang by Emperor Qianlong, the Emperor, after he saw that our previous leader, Wang Gongjiangzu, had managed the grain transport business in an orderly manner. He used it to punish unscrupulous people. The Emperor also expanded our ancestral temple by ninety-nine and a half rooms. He also bestowed upon the first gate the plaque and couplet of Anqing Gate, saying that Anqing does not distinguish between near and far, and has been passed down from one ancestor to this day."

After saying this, Zhang Baofa explained that there were dragon stick paintings in branch halls, rudders, and docks in various places for disciples to pay homage to.

Whenever there is a major event in the gang, the six main halls, along with the heads of the four temples and six departments, must gather together and respectfully invite Panlong Gun to discuss it.

Otherwise, it is "illegal".

After hearing what he said, Zhao An noticed that there was indeed such a couplet posted at the entrance of the incense hall.

Then I thought that if we count according to the Qing Gang's generation levels of "Wen, Cheng, Fo, Fa, Ren, Lun, Zhi, Hui", Qianlong, who was of the Fa generation, is three generations older than Zhao An, who was of the Zhi generation. He is a real old man!

However, he really didn't understand why Qianlong joined the Qing Gang and became an old man. After hesitating for a moment, he seriously asked his cheap master Zhang Baofa the reason.

It can't be that he did it to pick up girls as shown in the movie "A Play on Qianlong".

The one who answered this question was Sun Rui. He smiled and said, "Junior Brother Zhi'an, you have to know that my Qing Gang has millions of members. No emperor would be at ease with them. Moreover, the grain transport is related to the lifeblood of the country. If my Qing Gang is disbanded, who will be responsible for the grain transport?"

Zhang Baofa then revealed an even more explosive piece of information, which was that as early as the Kangxi period, the Qing Gang had been recruited and used by the princes in Beijing.

The supporter behind Pan Qing, one of the three ancestors, was Yongzheng's third brother Yinzhi. Later, in the same month that Yinzhi was imprisoned for treason, Pan Qing died suddenly and inexplicably.

At that time, the gang suspected that it was Yongzheng who was responsible, but no one dared to avenge Pan Zu.

During the turmoil between the nine sons of Emperor Kangxi in his later years, the Thirteenth Prince, Yinxiang, on behalf of his Fourth Brother, Yongzheng, wooed the Qing Gang's Hangsan Tong. However, the Eighth Prince, Yinsi, wielded the greatest influence within the Qing Gang. The Xingwusi, Jiabai, and Jiahaiwei Tongs were all controlled by the Eighth Prince, known at the time as the Wise King.

Later, the Eighth Prince fell and became "Aqina". Yongzheng then sent Li Wei to reorganize the Qing Gang, and the Qing Gang was completely controlled by Yongzheng.

As for why Qianlong "lowered his status" and joined the Qing Gang, on the one hand it may be because Qianlong was young and had fun at the time, and on the other hand Qianlong wanted to use this to control the Qing Gang.

In fact, Qianlong did this, because the Qing Gang disciples now had to obey the "law stick" bestowed by him, the old man, even when they had to follow the rules.

Another meaning of worshiping the stick is naturally loyalty to the emperor.

Combined with the fact that the rise of the Taiping Rebellion led to the change from canal transportation to sea transportation, and the Qing Gang was transformed into an underground anti-Qing organization, it can be seen that Qianlong's transformation of the Qing Gang was very successful.

As for suppression, it is normal. The old man is also afraid of these millions of gang members!
After figuring this out, Zhao An respectfully kowtowed three times to the Panlong Stick Statue.

Afterwards, Zhang Baofa briefly explained to him the high-level organizational structure of the Qing Gang.

"Our gang has four temples and six divisions to manage its members. The four temples are like government offices. They are Zhu Temple Temple, Liu Temple Temple, Huang Temple Temple, and Shishi Temple Temple."

According to Zhang Baofa, Zhusi'an was a preacher, teaching Zen and martial arts, and was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice.

Liu Si'an was in charge of money. He taught business transactions and financial management, and was in charge of the Ministry of Works.

The abbot of Huangsi Temple taught the theory of business management and the teachings of ancient sages, and was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue.

Shisi Temple teaches gang rules and imparts to new members the spirit of loyalty and underworld etiquette. It can be said to be a pre-employment training center and is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.

After Zhang Baofa finished his general talk, Zhao An asked a question that every disciple wanted to know, which was who was the current leader of the Qing Gang.

Qianlong was the boss behind the scenes, and there must be a puppet in the front.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Baofa shook his head and said, "Our gang currently has no leader." He then sighed and said, "Ever since the previous leader, Wang Gongjiangzu, passed away, the position of leader has been vacant for twenty years."

Zhao An felt strange: "Why not elect a new gang leader?"

Zhang Baofa glanced at him. There was no way to talk about this matter because there were too many old masters in the Four Temples, Six Departments and Six Major Halls who could compete for the position of gang leader, and no one was willing to submit to the other. In addition, old master Qianlong did not want the Qing Gang to have another gang leader, so the position of gang leader was vacant.

"When you officially join the gang and start your work at the Shisi Temple in six years, someone in the temple will tell you."

Zhao An nodded and asked curiously, "Master, is the Coiled Dragon Staff bestowed upon our gang by Emperor Qianlong stored in our Four Temples?"

As a result, his cheap master, who was frighteningly white, told him that the Panlong Stick was not in the hands of the Qing Gang, but was kept by the Liangjiang Governor's Office in Jiangning.

If there was a major incident in the gang, the leaders of the four temples would go to the Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang to ask for punishment.

Who made this rule? It was Emperor Qianlong.

The time was two months after the death of the previous gang leader Wang Jiangzu - the 36th year of Qianlong's reign.

The reason was that the Panlong stick bestowed by Emperor Qianlong was regarded by Wang Jiangzu as a token of inheritance for the gang leader.

Whoever has the Panlong Stick will be the gang leader.

Author's note: It has always been a folk legend that Emperor Qianlong joined the Green Gang. In recent years, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan discovered some documents that can prove this.

The author does not judge whether it is true or false. This book is based on folk legends, and there is no smoke without fire.

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(End of this chapter)