"Hi...... Hey...... The highway and railway are used as flat shoulders, and the Yangtze River is used as a shoulder. A trumpet yo the warehouse is full, and the warehouse is empty with a wave of both hands. "This is the most common trumpet sung by the workers on the docks. In the era when there were no large cranes, the loading and unloading of goods was all carried out by flat shoulders. Dock workers have a short life span and low literacy. Because of the excessive force, many people suffer from hernias. Those who do well and live long will use skill. In fact, the dock is cruel to get very, if your sack is not held steady, hit someone, the other party may kick you into the sea, and those who will make the force of the dock workers carry a bag on their shoulders, and then erect a bag, as the saying goes, "monkey with a hat", but also under the feet of the wind, walk lightly. But more of them need to be picked up with a flat pole.

At the end of the 18th century, the flat poles used on Chinese docks were made of wood, with stiff elbows and no shoulder injuries. Usually a tree is cut in half and divided into two poles. As for the bamboo pole, there is none, that is because the bamboo pole picks up one or two hundred catties of things, but the wharf picks up the goods much heavier, otherwise the merchants feel that "they can't row". Every time the cargo ship arrived, the coolies on the dock grabbed the flat pole that was still sitting under their buttocks and rushed over, while showing off their muscles to show that they were very strong, and they also made various gestures to indicate the price. Then wait for the merchants on the ship to order all the people to start decorating the goods, and exchange their own strength for a day's food for the family.

However, even if they are at the same pier, they can't change places casually. Because where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and where there are people, there are spheres of influence. If you don't belong to that force, you can't get past the boredom of being in a hurry and you're idle, and vice versa.

However, with the expansion of the standard container mode in the world, especially in the Chinese area of East Asia. There is less and less such labor required on the docks. Because a large number of cranes have been installed on the dock, TEUs can be lifted directly from the ship leaning on the dock. Then, in the time when the cargo is not needed, the TEUs are hoisted onto the flat frame of the train parked on the railway. You can let the train pull away. Even for some bulk cargo, there are special hanging nets and other tools, and now there are fewer and fewer places for the wharves in the Chinese area to need coolies.

Huang Peixue was also a member of the young coolies at the dock, but he was not willing to work hard for such a generation, so he would go to the literacy class opened by the imperial court in the city every day to learn and understand. Later, when the first crane was erected on the dock, he went to sign up for crane learning. also became the first crane driver on this pier because of his excellent grades. The crane driver's job is very hard, he needs to work from dawn to night, and there is only one meal at noon. Sometimes when it's busy, I work overtime until late at night under the lights. In the summer, the driver's cab is like a stove. In winter, the thin glass can't stop the cold wind. But for the 12 yuan salary that he could make all his family live without worry that month, he has been sticking to the crane cab. He sat high in the cab and watched the whole busy port, which was his only pleasure in his work, and it was at his very moment, as the number of cranes increased, the coolies that used to be raging on the dock gradually disappeared and became a place where machines roared.

The former coolies are gone. And he left the driver's cab with a job to become a dock stevedore. Now that he is no longer exposed to the wind and sun, his monthly salary is already 25 yuan, and it is more than 6 taels of silver. Now that he has a daughter-in-law and a lovely son, his income can already allow his family to live a rich life. That's the life he wants.

Huang Peixue stood up and walked out, he had just arrived at the ship, and the cargo of the ship was very important and there must be no mistakes. So he decided to see for himself. Huang Peixue pushed open the door and walked towards the cold wind.

With the industrial development of the Great Qing Kingdom. With the use of a large number of industrial equipment, the days of simple use of manpower are over. It's not that no one has ever complained that the crane has robbed him of his job. But that's the trend, and it can't be stopped. Fortunately, with the massive use of industrial equipment, more factories are needed for production, and more roads are needed for transportation.

But this is in China, and the Japanese docks across the ocean are still full of coolies. When the loud whistle sounded, a cargo ship from the United States began to slowly approach the Yokosuka dock under the command of the navigator. The countless ragged coolies on the docks all stood up, and they swarmed their wooden poles towards the cargo ship, letting the snow fall on their barely sheltered clothes.

Just as they were about to approach the freighter, a group of strong ronins intervened from the side to block their way, and the cold light on the blades matched with the vicious eyes of the ronins, the running coolies had to stop, and then watched with jealous eyes, as the ronins beckoned another group of coolies to take over the porterage.

"It's the Genyosha gang again, they've robbed us of our business."

Since the founder of Genyosha, Mitsuru Toyama, and the president Kotaro Hiraoka, disappeared on the way to the Qing Kingdom, their community program also declined. The Japanese civil society, which had once been determined to seize Korea and the three eastern provinces of China for the sake of the Japanese Empire, finally became a local protectionist underworld gang in order to survive without the financial support of the military, and the competition for the dock became the main source of income for the Xuanyang Society. The complaining words of the local coolies were heard by the leading ronin, who shouted for the talker to come forward, and waved their knives in their hands to show the coolies their strength.

"We haven't been given a week's worth of life, and if we continue like this, our wives and children will starve to death—" I don't know who shouted, and the coolies were immediately indignant, and some of them had already inserted the triangular pyramid into the pole. It is said that this method came from China, and a triangular cone was inserted into the top of a wooden flat pole, and a spear was held in the hand after a meal was placed on the ground. The American cargo owner on the ship saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly asked the coolies to quickly pick up the goods that had just been picked up, because in his opinion, the situation had to be fought today, and he did not want his goods to suffer any unnecessary losses.

"We have to take care of our parents, we have to support our wives and children, and we take back our jobs." The crowd erupted in unwilling rage, and all the spears pointed straight ahead. I don't know who in the crowd shouted "rush", and the coolies, who had been holding back their anger for a week, rushed forward.

It is said that an inch is long and an inch is strong. The flat arm is much longer than the knife in the hand of the ronin, but it is not as strong as other people's martial arts. I saw a ronin turn sideways and let go of the eight spears. The figure flashed, and the movement of his hand was a flash of cold light, and a knife slashed a coolie to the ground. Blood was splattered not only on the ronin, but also on the other coolies. The ronin who wanted to use death to intimidate the coolies, but he didn't expect that death would bring the coolies in front of him not fear but despair. If they don't fight again, their future survival will be completely ruined.

The ronin who had just chopped down the coolies was suddenly nailed to the ground by several Zhanghachi spears, and the coolies in the back also burst out their last strength for their own survival, and the ronins in the front row were instantly engulfed by the surging flow of people. After the initial panic, the ronin quickly came to their senses, and they used their high martial arts and sharp steel knives to block the crazy coolies. They worked closely with each other, and the man cut off the shoulder with one sword, and the other made up for it, and hacked the coolie to the ground. Although the number of ronins is small, the terrain of the pier makes it difficult for the coolies to be more numerous. As the ronins held the ground, the coolies' courage was also lost.

Just when the coolies began to retreat in fear. Three coolies, five big and three thick, squeezed out of the crowd, and they pointed their modified spears at the seven or eight ronins in front of them and rushed forward. To the surprise of the ronin, the martial arts of these three coolies were even better, and they killed these ronins one by one by two, and even the last ronin who escaped far away was nailed to the ground with a spear thrown by the man at the head.

The man at the head waved his hand to signal the coolies to be quiet, then bent down to pick up the knife of the ronin, pointed at the coolies brought by the ronin, and said, "Don't get out yet." The coolies brought by the ronin left the guys behind and fled in panic, and the coolies burst out with the most enthusiastic cries.

"Today, we have paid with our blood and lives to save our source of livelihood, and we will never give him up again." The man raised the knife in his hand and said loudly, "I, Yuo Matsushita, guarantee with my life." From today onwards, no one will dare to take our turf, and from now on, the entire Yokosuka Pier will be ours...... We have too many brothers killed and wounded for today's victory, and I propose that the entire proceeds of the day be distributed to the families of these brothers who have been killed or wounded...... We want to unite and form our own associations. to protect our own lives......"

Every time Yuo Matsushita said a word, the other two big men supported it loudly, and at the instigation of these two big men. All the coolies on the dock decided that Yuo Matsushita in front of him was their boss. The Boss has spoken now and cleaned up the docks. Because this is the place where the work is done. Yuo Matsushita came to the American shipper and bowed: "Sir, please leave the handling work to us." We don't deliberately raise prices. What is the old price? ”

For an American shipowner, it is none of his business who will unload the cargo as long as the price is right. Yuo Matsushita picked up the flat pole on the ground and said loudly, "Brothers, it's time to work." ”

Yuo Matsushita clearly divided the money one by one in front of all the coolies, and then distributed the money to the family members of the dead and wounded coolies accompanied by several people, and it was late at night when he got home. Yuo Matsushita has a small home with a yard in Yokosuka, which is the only property passed down from his ancestors.

"You're back." The young wife put down the sleeping child in her hand and greeted her, but when she saw Younan covered in blood, she asked in a panic, "Are you hurt?" What happened? ”

"Leave me alone, I've eaten, now I'll go take a bath, you can sleep first." After Younan finished speaking, he held his wife in his arms but said softly in Chinese in her ear: "Send a telegram to Lord Observer immediately, a batch of guns from the United States today?" branches, at least two thousand. ”

The young wife nodded and said, "You've worked hard." Then he went upstairs and into a well-spaced attic.

At this moment, the Tokyo observer Xiao Yu'er panicked, and reported guns on the docks in Yokosuka, Tokyo, Osaka and other places for three consecutive days? The total number of branches has reached 6,000, which is still conservative data. The inflow from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and even the Qing Dynasty exceeded 4,000 from the United States alone. This is by no means a normal phenomenon. After sorting out the information, Xiao Yuer sent a wireless telegram back to China.

In the residential area of Japanese high-ranking officials not far from Xiaoyuer, Prince Fushimi Palace, Prince Sadachi, met his eldest son, Fushimi Palace, Hirokoto Wang Aixian, who had returned from studying in the United States.

"Father, I'm back!" Aihyun bowed deeply to his father.

"My son is grown, hurry up and sit down." Prince Zhenai personally poured a cup of tea for his eldest son: "My studies haven't finished yet, why did I return to China?" ”

"My son came back for the revival of the Great Japanese Empire."

Aixian's words frightened Prince Jungai and stood up in a panic. Fortunately, there was no one else around: "Don't say this kind of thing in the country in the future, if it spreads, it will be a big trouble." Your identity as King Fushimi Miyahiro Gong can't protect you. ”

"Father. Are you scared? Ai-hyun also stood up, looking his father in the eye. He said word by word: "As the prince of the Great Japanese Empire, shouldn't you work hard for the future of the Great Japanese Emperor?" What made my father so weak? Where is your courage and audacity? ”

"It's not a matter of courage and guts, it's a reality." Prince Chald Ai motioned for his son to sit down and speak: "We also tried to overthrow the puppet Saigo Congdao government, but we failed. ”

Then, in a mournful tone, Prince Zhenai recounted what had happened in the years since Japan's surrender to the Qing Kingdom. After the establishment of the puppet government of Saigo from the province with the support of the great powers, weapons and shells were confiscated, the army was disbanded, and even the machine tools, shipbuilding equipment and factories purchased by His Majesty the Emperor at great expense were all collected by the Shina people as indemnity. Gentaro Kodama, Sotomi Yamaguchi and other generals of the older generation were reluctant to submit to the great powers. He had led his troops to retreat to the northern region to fight against the government forces, and the princes and ministers who remained in Tokyo also actively cooperated in the shadows, providing various support such as weapons, food, and intelligence. However, this is a disarmed Japan, and it is also a Japan firmly blockaded by the great powers, and the weapons in the hands of these older generals cannot be replenished. Soon after the war, Saigo Seitamichi established a self-defense force of 20,000 men who had become Saigo's thugs, and with sufficient supplies, they quickly defeated Kodama Gentaro and others, and these people were imprisoned, and although they were finally released, they were still closely monitored.

"Even if there are no weapons. Imperial? Can't a soldier use a bayonet? Can't you use a broadsword and a spear? They are all a bunch of waste. ”

"Presumptuous, you are not allowed to say that about your predecessors." Prince Zhenai sighed: "Grain." Japan has never had enough food to eat, and it has always had to be imported from the Qing Dynasty. Since Kodama Gentaro and others raised troops, the Qing Kingdom stopped exporting grain to Japan for a time. If it weren't for the Kurokawa Railway, which imported a batch of grain through smuggling, I am afraid that half of the people in Japan would starve to death. The lack of enough food is the fundamental reason why Gentaro Kodama and others surrendered to the government army. ”

"Where is the future of the empire, and where is the hope of the empire?"

And so on. Wait for the Great Powers to break out into conflict with the Qing State. Then they would forget about the existence of Japan, and that was when the empire would rise. ”

"Father. The opportunity for the rise of empires has arrived. Ai Hyun said firmly. As early as Japan's defeat and surrender, many Japanese students studying abroad were angry and tried to restore the glory of the Great Japanese Empire. They formed various societies and began to join together. After two years of planning, they finally got to the point where they could implement it, and they bought more than 10,000 guns from abroad, which have now been safely shipped to Japan. The seniors who came back in the early stage have already contacted a large number of aspirants in various places, and this year's Japanese students abroad will return to their home countries under the pretext of the Chinese New Year. Now all you have to wait for is a gun? When the New Year's bell rings, Tokyo, Osaka, Yokosuka, Kyoto and other places will revolt at the same time, destroying the puppet army of Saigo and the garrisons of the various powers.

"Nonsense! This will give the Great Powers an excuse to send troops! I command you to cease immediately. ”

"It's too late to stop now. Father, I would like you to take me to meet His Majesty the Emperor. ”

On Chinese New Year's Eve in 1900, there was a national independence movement in Japan, and fierce gun battles broke out in Tokyo, Osaka, Yokosuka, Kyoto and other places, and the consular guards or garrisons stationed in various places suffered more or less losses. In the riots in Tokyo, the German envoy to Japan was killed, the Qing envoy to Japan did not escape the death of the legation on the night of attending a Chinese Chinese New Year's Eve party in a foreign country, and the embassies of Britain and the United States in Japan were all attacked by rioters, and the rioters also destroyed the factories of enterprises in Japan of the United States, Britain, and Qing and other countries. Japanese Prime Minister Saigo Shomichi came forward that night to accuse the rioters of pushing the country into the abyss, and sent a self-defense overnight to try to quell the riots. However, most of the officers and men of the Self-Defense Forces were angry at the exploitation of Japan by Britain and the United States, and participated in the riots. If it weren't for Saigo's quick response and escape from Tokyo, it is estimated that he himself would have been unlucky. Only the riots in Osaka were quelled by the Kurokawa Railway.

In response to the sudden riots in Japan, governments of various countries immediately convened relevant meetings to discuss Japan's affairs. At the Qing Foreign Ministry in Beijing, the envoys to China stimulated debates on how to deal with the Japanese riots, and in particular, the German minister Barland's speech was the most exciting: We must take revenge against Japan and organize an army to completely occupy Japan.

The organization of the coalition forces is a major matter, and many matters such as which country will command the most troops and how to deal with Japan after the war must be confirmed before the coalition is organized. And while various countries were discussing the organization of coalition forces and other matters, the riots in Japan escalated into turmoil. The rebels occupied Tokyo, Yokosuka and other places, and organized a provisional government headed by Prince Sada Ai Fushimi to take over Japan in an all-round way. At the same time, a statement was issued: the total expulsion of the armies of various countries in Japan will be carried out. At this point, the new Japanese government had a total of more than 20,000 troops in Tokyo and more than 8,000 troops in Yokosuka.

The joint meeting in Beijing could not be held because the new Japanese government had already made its attitude clear. Organizing the United Nations? The army was officially put on the agenda. In one day, Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Qing and Russia reached a total number of troops to be sent by each other: 11,832 troops were sent by the Qing State to the Sixth Division of the DPRK, 10,085 people were sent by Germany to a division of the Far Eastern Army, 10,000 people (mostly Indians) were sent by the British, 8,562 people were sent by Russia, 3,130 by France, 3,125 by the United States, 394 troops were also sent by Austria-Hungary in an attempt to get a piece of the pie, and Italy also gathered 85 sailors to participate, and the total strength of the coalition army reached 47,213 people. For the UN? The British opinion on the selection of the commander-in-chief of the army was that of the British Vice Admiral Edward? Hobart? Seymour came to command, but the British performance in the Boer War, countries were skeptical of the military level of the British, especially let a naval general command the army combat is ridiculous, no wonder the British were beaten by the Boers. The Russians wanted to fight for it, but they were rejected by the British and Qing countries at the same time. In the end, the Qing Dynasty's proposal that the commander-in-chief of the German Far East Army, German Lieutenant General Horst, be the commander-in-chief was finally adopted, and the total number of troops of the Qing and German armies was close to half of the allied forces.

So on March 2, 1900, when the Allied forces were still assembling, the first German army and two regiments of 6,208 men set out from Zoseburg and entered Shimonoseki. On the same day, Japan began to strengthen its defense of Tokyo Bay and ordered the armed forces of the whole country to assemble in Tokyo to "prepare to defend the motherland against foreign aggression." However, the Fourth Division of Japan's Self-Defense, which had the most complete national defense force in Japan at that time, refused to obey the orders of the illegitimate government.

By 21 March, the British, American, Russian, German, French, Austrian, Italian, and Qing allied forces, carried by ships from various countries, arrived off the coast of Tokyo Bay at the request of Lieutenant General Michael of Qing Guo, chief of staff of the allied forces. (To be continued......)