January 11, 1877, evening, seven o'clock

Hongmen, which has a long heritage, has added a new ding, and the Honghe Mountain vein officially opened a fragrant hall in the Red River Valley Ranch in Queensland to recruit disciples.

Li Fushou appointed himself as the first mountain master, adding himself the identity of the leader of a secret association, effectively organizing the scattered Chinese to form a huge underground hidden force.

Under the command of Honghe Mountain, four inner halls and four outer halls were set up, each with its own duties.

The four inner halls have an auditorium, a torture hall, a deacon hall and a pipe hall.

Guan Tang is the logistics manager of the entire Honghe Mountain, and the hall owner Fan Asheng.

Guan Tang is responsible for the purchase of materials, the summary and handover of income, the pension of the children of the gang due to injuries, treatment, aftermath and arrangements for the elderly and weak women and children, etc.

The hall owner of the auditorium, Fat Lao Chun, is in charge of the etiquette of the Hongmen in the hall, obeys the orders, the young and the old are orderly, strictly prohibits illegal and other matters, abides by the strict gang rules and prohibitions, and is in charge of the welcoming ceremony of the opening of the mountain and the church of the main door and other major matters.

Nan Huaiyu, the master of the torture hall, is in charge of the criminal responsibility in the hall, and his subordinates have the most core 40 gunmen, and they are the most elite hall in Honghe Mountain.

Liu Shan, the head of the hall, is a powerful military operations department in the hall, capable of mobilizing hundreds of Chinese gunmen to participate in the operation.

The outer four halls are filled by the other four big shopkeepers of the Fu Linmen Hotel, each recruiting manpower to develop the hall and expand the power of the hall.

There is nothing to do in the heavy snow, and the Red River Valley ranch is still a noisy and lively scene.

The welcoming ceremony of the opening of the mountain and the church of the Honghe Mountain was held for 5 consecutive days, the incense and candles were swirling, the black smoke was full of miasma, and the feudal superstitious activities were carried out with great fanfare, which will not be repeated here.

In recent years, Jianghu Tangkou has been very marketable, and there are many gold diggers who want to join without mobilization.

The deadline is the last day of the ceremony

It snowballed to more than 2,000 people, more than 1,500 of whom were Red River Valley ranch workers, as well as Fulinmen Hotel employees and other well-informed people.

The Hongmen brothers pay attention to benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and faith, and help each other when they go out, and they can't starve you if they have a bite to eat.

This is exactly what overseas Chinese urgently need to rely on, when the white gold diggers rob and kill lives with guns, and when the ghost mounted police extort money, thinking that there are thousands of Hongmen brothers behind them, the courage is not ordinary.

Ultimately

The Chinese have a long clan tradition, which is a memory deeply engraved in the blood, and it is inevitable that they will feel helpless when they go out without relatives.

Hongmen opened a mountain at this time, just to cope with this urgent psychological need, and with the deep power endorsement of the Red River Valley Ranch, it was natural to get the approval of the Chinese workers.

Hug your thighs, who wouldn't?

At the grand ceremony, the owner of the mountain, Li Fushou, donated 1,000 pounds with a wave of his hand, and the other hall owners responded enthusiastically, donating different amounts of funds for the establishment of the "Brother Fund".

What is the "Brother Fund", this is actually a name, used to help the Hongmen brothers in difficulty and illness, help the poor and solve problems, reflect the brothers' mutual help and care, all accounts are open, and individual applications are open.

The 13th Taibao is composed of brothers who are fair and righteous in the Guantang, and is responsible for the deliberation and distribution of the brothers' fund, which is publicized in advance and made public afterwards.

The club has a strict organization, strict rules and precepts, maintains the brotherhood of Hongmen with the righteousness of the rivers and lakes, and the "brother fund" full of friendship and care, so that the brothers who join the club have a strong sense of belonging.

Therefore, there is the proposal of the Hongmen brothers to lose no time;

The "Brother Fund" belongs to everyone, and it is not just the leaders and the bigwigs who contribute money, but every Hongmen brother should make a contribution, pay a membership fee once a year, and tentatively set a shilling.

In the surging enthusiasm, the delegates raised their hands and voted to pass, which became the rule of Honghe Mountain and has been passed down for a long time.

Li Fushou announced on the spot;

All the dues paid by the Hongmen brothers went into the "brothers' fund", and no one was allowed to use this important fund under any circumstances, and it could only be used for special funds to help the Hongmen brothers solve their difficulties.

This statement once again received a warm response from everyone.

The image of the mountain lord Li Fushou has thus become taller, a fair and dignified, anxious for justice and righteousness, a person from all over the world, and a positive image of being willing to contribute generously to the Hongmen brothers, which has been highly praised by the brothers who have joined the association.

The excellent reputation of righteousness and fairness will slowly be transformed into personal prestige, spreading from Queensland to New South Wales, Sydney and Canberra, and affecting the extremely remote areas of Western Australia.

No one should underestimate one shilling per person, the Hongmen brothers need to pay every year, and with the expansion of the base, it is a huge amount of money that is difficult to ignore.

Winters in Australia are not very cold, but there is a large temperature difference between day and night, with temperatures dropping below zero at night and rising to over 20 degrees Celsius at noon, so the snow melts very quickly.

After a few days of festive activity, various construction projects are in full swing again.

The Chinese laborers found a wonderful thing, and the relationship between them seemed to become harmonious, and the quarrels and disputes also decreased dramatically, because they were all Hongmen brothers and should help each other.

Even if there is any conflict, after the mediation of the gang leader, he will be relieved quickly, and he will not really hold a grudge against the other party.

All this is what Li Fushou wants to see.

Ten days later

In the warm sheepfold shed, at a glance, there are newborn lamb cubs, and they are all cute and cute.

The Red River Valley Pasture has changed from extensive animal husbandry to more manpower for the care of pregnant ewes and cows, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of herds.

Hundreds of lambs and more than a dozen calves are now born every day on the farm, and they are carefully fed in the nursery before weaning, which leads to a peak survival rate for lambs and calves.

Li Fushou is inspecting the incubator and listening to the report of Cai Guangfa, the relevant person in charge;

"Farm owners, according to the current momentum, by the end of this year, the size of our sheep herd will expand to about 32~350,000.

The size of the herd will expand to more than 3,500 heads, which is already far beyond the market's capacity, and the slaughtered beef may not be sold, and the hides will not be cared for.

Comparatively speaking, the problem of the flock is a bit greater.

Brisbane has a small population, and it is unlikely that meat fur from pastures will be sold in neighbouring New South Wales.

Neighboring states are also suffering from an overabundance of agricultural and animal products, and if we add the expensive freight, it is actually better to kill the fertile fields. ”

Cai Guangfa is a veteran gold digger, who has been in Australia for nearly 10 years, and can skillfully use English to communicate with white people, and has worked in white ranches for a long time, so he has a relatively good understanding of the ranch situation.

Australia is rich in agricultural and animal husbandry products, cattle, sheep, horses and poultry products, coupled with the vast territory and vast territory, basically local production, because the high freight is enough to make people desperate.

In this era, the main force of cargo transportation was four-wheeled carriages, and the only way to sell the herd to other autonomous prefectures was to drive the herd through a long migration of two months or more.

When the herd arrives at its destination, it will inevitably lose serious fat, be skinny and dull, and naturally it will not be able to sell at a good price.

To tell the truth, it is better to kill the fertile fields that are thrown into the ground.

The limited size of the population restricts the size of the market, and the sales market is so large, if the herd is wantonly developed, it will inevitably cause the surrounding ranchers to besiege the herd.

According to the calculation of a female sheep breeding 2~3 lambs per year, minus the normal mortality rate, if it is released to breed, the size of the flock will nearly double in a year.

Therefore, the ranches generally slaughter rams and lambs on a large scale to supply the meat sheep market.

Rams have no value in continuing to develop, and the same is true for rams, which can disrupt the entire flock by competing for the right to mate with the ewes.

Don't Queensland ranchers know the benefits of careful feeding?

The answer is no.

It is through extensive stocking that nature weeds out more than half of the weak lambs, selects the strongest remaining lambs to survive, and limits the number of the entire flock.

Li Fushou picked up a lovely lamb, gently stroked the white fluff and said; "Although you are trying your best to expand the size of the herd, I have my own countermeasures for the rest, by the way, how much is the stock of pigs today?"

"Back to the farmer, a total of more than 600 breeding sows, more than half of them have brought cubs, we have recently purchased more than 1,000 gilts through other pastures, and you can bring cubs after May, so that you can develop nearly 10,000 heads by the end of the year, and sows give birth to seven or eight to ten piglets in a litter, and the number grows faster."

"Well, the focus is on expanding the size of the herd, and you can't afford to slack off."

"I understand, I will do my best."

After a long time in the smelly incubation shed, Li Fushou made clear instructions after understanding all aspects of the situation;

Continue to vigorously develop the herd, the more the better.

Expand the workforce by 150 in two steps to cope with the growing herd and more heavy lifting.

Establish an evaluation system that rewards attendance and punishes laziness, widens the gap in income, and promotes supervisors with reference.

As a rancher, Li Fushou personally went to the front line of the ranch to understand the needs, guided the production and construction of agriculture and animal husbandry, and never left the opportunity to fool.

Under its strict supervision, the Red River Valley ranch is running at full speed like a winding clockwork, showing an unstoppable exuberance.

Coming out of the breeding base, Li Fushou and his entourage were stopped halfway, and it turned out to be Fan Asheng, the logistics director, who came to report in person, which seemed to be a very important matter;

"Young master, the news from Brisbane just came that Ludendorff Ranch is about to be auctioned, and the time is at 2:00 this afternoon."

"What...... It's close to noon now, and you're telling me it's going to be auctioned at 2:00 p.m.? ”

"No way, we don't have a source in the state attorney's office." Fan Asheng looked bitter, and cold sweat broke out on his anxious head; "You hurry up and get a charter, what the hell are we going to do?"

"Wait...... Something is wrong! ”

After experiencing the initial shock, Li Fushou quickly calmed down, and after thinking about it calmly, he felt that this seemed to be more like a trap.

The state attorney's office simply did not have enough time, and after receiving the news, Red River Valley Ranch had to rush to Brisbane as soon as possible, otherwise it would be equivalent to an automatic withdrawal.

What do you think...... All smacked of intrigue.

This can't blame Li Fushou for thinking too much, unlike the local Tuao, which is a corner of peace, the history of the Chinese nation for thousands of years is the history of strategy and wits and courage, and there are too many things to learn from, too much......

The ancients had clouds;

The first to rot is rotten.

The spear shoots the first bird, and the knife cuts the head snake on the ground.

Happiness begets sorrow, and wealth is the original sin.

The wood is beautiful in the forest, and the wind will destroy it.

It is the most dangerous to get rich before you are strong, just like a child holding money through the city.

……

There are too many similar proverbs and aphorisms, the so-called people are afraid of being famous, pigs are afraid of being strong, don't overestimate the moral bottom line of robbers.

Think about it for a moment

Li Fushou pulled Fan Asheng over, whispered in his ear, and then galloped towards the manor.

Not too much for a while

A large group of men and horses drove out of the manor, huddled in bulletproof armored carriages, and headed in the direction of Brisbane.

A hilly area with dense foliage

The grey-black road that runs from Brisbane comes to an abrupt halt in the distance, about halfway to the Red River Valley Ranch, 15 or 6 kilometres from the city.

These cinder roads have advanced a lot more than they did more than they did just over a month ago.

In the bushes behind the hills, a large number of armed bandits lurked, and in the bushes sturdy herds of quarthorses gathered in the lower part of the hills with occasional snorts.

Heavily armed cowboys are constantly reaching out to stroke the horses' backs, and some are feeding some black beans and water to soothe the sensitive and anxious horses.

Smith, a tall and lanky rancher, stared coldly ahead, a solemn look in his eyes.

On the dirt road, two full barrels of black powder, weighing more than 300 pounds, were buried, which, once ignited by a fuse on the edge of the grass, could throw the armored wagon into the sky.

At worst, it can also shock all four horses to death.

This is almost a lifeless game, as long as the arrogant Oriental boy dares to step into the trap, there will definitely be no life or death.

It's up to you to take the bait?