The sheriff in the township was in a cold sweat, staring at the seventy or so outsiders standing next to the small grocery store. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

These men carried guns and daggers, and did not wear armor, so it was not a crime.

The leader was not tall and not very strong, and looked like some small shopkeeper or a small workshop family, not some swarthy miner's hired laborer or anything like that.

But the people standing behind the leader were full of hardships after years of hard work, revealing a sour look of poverty.

There have been many outsiders in this backwater town, but never before has there been such an organized group of people with guns and swords.

The sheriff was afraid, not of the guns, but of the outsiders who would splash like stones thrown into a pool, or even more terrible to dig the dam of the stagnant pool.

There are only six or seven people around him, counting the handjobmen in the hands of the Wang family, a little organization can disperse those unorganized miners, unorganized and moneyless scattered sand, and they are no opponent at all in the face of organized people.

The sheriff had heard of the reputation of the Mexican Party, because there was once a living one here.

But what I heard more was that the group of people in the Moxican Party opened a charity trading company, and occasionally donated money to the group of poor ghosts, and the first group of people who joined were all head problems or idle and had nothing to do.

However, that doesn't seem to be the case now.

Secretly wiped his sweat and asked someone to hurry to Wang's house to report the news, and the sheriff walked up to the person in charge and said, "Who are you who are the deceased?" What's your last name? ”

"Excuse me, surname Joe. We are...... Well, the relatives of the deceased. By the way, the Employees' Association took over the place. ”

The sheriff snorted and said, "According to the Guild Decree, miners, dock porters, carders, ginners...... and other 76 industries, due to insufficient annual income and high crime rate, no guilds are allowed to be organized. If there is no permanent property, there will be no perseverance, and such people will be organized into trouble, and most of the thieves, murderers, and scoundrels come out of these people. ”

The leader sighed, and one of the people behind him read with a heavy book: "According to the regulations on guilds in the Guild Decree, we are not a guild, but a mutual aid association for hired workers, and we have not violated any laws. The Employees' Guild is not a guild. ”

"In addition, the sheriff, according to the provisions of the Rebellion Act, etc., these miners did not deliberately sabotage, nor did they attack the peace office, let alone cause casualties, and did not constitute a rebellion. I don't know what your definition of their rebellion is, and what is the basis for the sentence that claims to be hanged immediately after being caught? ”

The sheriff cursed in his heart, and said coldly: "How old are you?" What's the matter here? ”

The leader said lightly: "It's not too old, you can hold it up when you're full, can you manage it?" ”

"I'm just scaring and scaring them, a group of people who are always trying to get something for nothing."

"Scare? That's good. You have the right to scare them, and I have the right to let them know the truth. ”

After saying this, he seemed to unintentionally fiddle with the powder bag and short gun on his waist, in fact, he was just the son of a soy sauce shop owner, and he didn't know much about it, but he knew that this thing could determine whether he was qualified to speak.

It doesn't matter if it's justified or not, it's no longer whether someone has money and a gun.

The sheriff looked at the men behind him and decided to back down, warning them not to do something treacherous in the town, or they would be punished severely.

Since the other party is still reasonable, it is easy to say. The truth has always been on its side, and if you dare to do anything out of the ordinary, it will be a rebellion, and the county will clean up this group of people at that time.

Most of the seventy men were strong and armed, and it was difficult to deal with a real conflict, and after warning the sheriff returned to his lodgings.

At night, in the courtyard of the Wang family's house, the sheriff was slightly drunk.

"Lao Wang, I'm afraid this matter is not easy to handle. These people from the Mexican Party are really full and have nothing to do, so they came here, what do they want to do? ”

"What? Nothing can be done. They can't be here all the time, sooner or later. The poor ghosts know who to listen to. When these people leave, it's not up to you and me to decide. Can't turn the sky over. ”

"But before this group of people appeared, how could it have happened that the poor ghosts ran away without working? I've always felt like this is a little different from what it used to be. ”

The sheriff recalls the people he had seen during the day, and felt a little uneasy.

"Don't work? Their wives and children are all here, don't work and eat? was bewitched by the group of well-fed people who didn't work, and in the end it was themselves who suffered. Consume it, it won't be long before these poor ghosts know that there is no good end for these people who follow the Mo Party. ”

The sheriff sighed and said, "Those people today really understand the law, and it may not be enough to scare them, what if they are really caught?" In the past, we could directly kill chickens and monkeys, but now we can't make a move when they're here. ”

"Then wait until these people are gone. These poor ghosts must have a long memory, otherwise they really think they can turn the sky upside down. They came this time, probably for the sake of the person who died, and wanted to blackmail some money. I also didn't expect that these people could have such a big power, I've heard of some before, and I heard that the leaders are also a figure in the county, but I think the one who made trouble before was also a poor ghost before, and I really didn't expect it to cause such a big trouble. ”

"Money? You say they're just trying to get money? ”

"In addition to this, there may be some kind of thinking about justice and other things that can be fed up, so let's get close to them. The man ran away, the wife and children are still there, and sooner or later I have to come back, even if I don't make this money, I have to treat this group of poor ghosts, otherwise it won't work if something happens in the future. These days, you also go the extra mile. ”

"I'm afraid they're not here to get money. This group of people, not quite like that. ”

"There's nothing to be afraid of, do you really dare to do it? If you dare to do it, it is rebellion, and you are also the sheriff here. Even if these people have some power, if they really put on the hat of rebellion, they will be suppressed and hanged in an instant. Well, I'll send someone to talk to them and see what they really want. ”

"That's all it can be."

…………

A few days later, the faces of the sheriff and the people of the Wang family, who had always been calm for many years, changed.

The people who had been sent to talk talked to him talked for a long time, and took out the great price of four hundred silver coins that were very appealing to them as the cost of labor, and asked them to go back.

But these people were unmoved, looked at the four hundred silver coins and sneered a few times, and sent them outside along with the people and money.

Everything changed from the time these people were stationed at the small grocery store in town.

These people did not seem to be short of money at all, and a steady stream of food was brought in from outside, which was delivered on time to the homes of the men who had fled to the mountains and forests.

There were several clashes with the crouching thugs and gunmen, but the newcomers with red armbands restrained themselves from their actions, neither guns nor daggers, but simply used sticks to disperse the watchmen who were patrolling the streets.

Even more terrifying was one evening, when the miners who had fled the mountains and forests returned and gathered outside the grocery store.

Soon after, there was a burst of singing outside the grocery store.

Two flutes accompanied them, while the rest sang aloud in a hoarse, ungraceful voice.

Come on all good workers,

I have good news for you:

This union that everyone has built,

Never left will stay here.

Which side are you on, lad?

Which side are you on?

Which side are you on?

Which side are you on?

Your father was a miner,

You are the son of a miner,

You should follow the union,

Until this battle is won.

They say in the town of Blackwater,

There are no neutral people.

You're either a union person,

Either it's the villain of the Wang family.

Miners, can you put up with it?

Oh tell me, how can you bear it?

Are you going to be a villain worker?

Or be an upright man?

Don't be a thief to the boss,

Don't listen to their lies.

We are scattered and have no chance,

Unless we organize.

The simple lyrics and simple melody were sung by more than 100 rough voices, and the voices that scared the Wang family and the sheriff broke out.

The song grew louder and heavier, and more and more voices joined.

The miners who were scared before, the women who stayed at home at the beginning, and the children who knew that their father was a miner......

From a distance, in the midst of the singing, one of the miners who had escaped before was preaching loudly to the workers.

"Unless he agrees to our terms, we will not return to work, let them go to mining on their own. Tell everyone that they can't do without us, not that we can't do without them. We don't work as miners, we can dig canals and pick cotton...... But what can they do but exchange our blood and sweat for money? It won't be us who will starve, but them! ”

"It used to be difficult for us to explain to our crying children why your father didn't back down and let this family suffer from the seedlings, and the mother and child starved for days and were frightened like this. But now, I want to tell my wife and my children that I will not hold back, so that this family will no longer suffer and be intimidated by those villains! ”

"The union is back, but the union has not left, will not go now, and will not leave in the future. Stand up! All workers, lay down your pickaxes, put down your baskets, come here, stand with us, and stand until the demons promise us! ”

"All we want is to stop being suffocated in the coal mine when it catches fire! All we want is that they are not allowed to be whipped with leather whips and intimidated by the law! And all this cannot be desired, and we must let these villains see our power. ”

…… The sheriff and the people of the Wang family did not listen to the words after that, but these words had made them sweat coldly.

Only now did they know that this group of people was not here to extort money at all, but really wanted to take root here and change the situation of this pool of stagnant water.

The group had guns and swords, but they were able to keep all the participants under control, and several attempts to provoke a rebellion were unsuccessful.

Just a few days ago, the sheriff deliberately sent a few hooligans to make trouble, trying to force the other party to do it, as long as the gun was fired, everything was easy to say.

However, the group of people was stunned and did not move, and the sheriff was suddenly shocked, knowing that this group of people was really different from the past, and his head knew the bottom line of what he could do, even if many popular green tendons burst out, the leader could still control the scene, which was terrifying.

The courage of the moment even used knives and guns to fight, that is not terrible, just a fool. The sheriff understands that these people are not fools, but a group of terrible miners with a backbone who understand what to do and what not to do.

This group of people has money and can continue to support it, and these miners are also iron-hearted, as if they are obsessed, and follow this group of people.

That night, the request submitted by the trade union to resume work was sent over, and the above demands were not excessive, but only required that the union have people involved in safety management, prohibit criminal laws such as whipping, prohibit the dismissal of several miners who are in charge, and ensure that in the event of an accident in the coal mine, people must be rescued first and then the mine must be protected, and the miners' representatives will supervise it.

These are the only things that the Wang family cannot accept.

The property damage is not very large, but once the opening is opened, it will be more and more difficult for these miners to manage in the future.

If you want one, you will ask for two, especially after these miners have tasted the sweetness, the roots of the union will be deeper.

As a mine owner who wants to maintain the old system, but does not want to be a martyr of the old system -- if they fight desperately, eighty percent of these miners will be counted as a rebellion, and even if there are not many people on their side, they will fight hard to cause more than 100 deaths and injuries, and when the time comes, someone will come to clean them up, and eighty percent of the trade union will be forcibly dissolved.

But the question is, he must have been killed by these angry miners by then, so why should he use his own death to defend the rest of the beneficiaries of the old system?

The sheriff's face was even darker, and the energy of these people on the other side was far greater than he thought, and he was afraid that these people would do something in the county, and some people who wanted to make a name for themselves would investigate thoroughly, and there was a trade union protecting the miners to let them speak, and he was afraid that something big would happen.

The people of the Wang family thought about it for a long time and finally made a decision.

"Drag with these people first, neither refuse nor agree, and slowly drag with them. I immediately went to Mincheng and discussed with the people of the Mining Guild to come up with a result. ”

The sheriff was puzzled and asked, "Draw a salary from the bottom of the kettle?" How to smoke? ”

"The council legislates the dissolution of the trade union and prohibits the activities of the Mexican party."

"But...... I heard that their power is not small. ”

"Not small? What if a single piece of coal can't be transported into Mincheng? Those who reel silk, dye cloth, and burn porcelain...... They know which side they should be on. ”

"The county...... Will there be an opinion? ”

"We are the county, and the county is us. Could it be that the workshop owners will stand with the poor ghosts? Everyone is together, how can there be opinions? We're always going to win, always. Without us, the county guard would be a fart. ”