Money will and Jiangxi

In the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), after the official start of the money meeting, the team was divided into two branches, the north attacked Ruian and Wenzhou, and the south attacked Fuding. There is little written information about the Southern Expedition of the Money Society, and some historical figures and events have been circulated only by oral retelling. With fewer and fewer people in the know from the older generations, that period of history is almost obliterated in the river of time. To this end, based on folk oral accounts, the author refers to the "Xianfeng Eleventh Year Zhejiang Pingyang Money Association Case" in the First Archive of Chinese History, the "Fuding County Chronicle of the Republic of China", the Republic of China's "Pingyang County Chronicle", Sun Yiyan's "Chronicle of the Bandits", Liu Zhufeng's "Chronicle of the Bandits" and other relevant materials, and preliminarily sorted them out in order to form a clear context.

Little coppersmith "from the bottom of the bridge"

Zhao Qi (1832-1863), a zhao qi, was the chief of the money association in southern Zhejiang in the late Qing Dynasty. The Book of Qian Yu and the Chronicle of the Bandits both state that Zhao Qi was a Qiancang person, "setting up a restaurant on the river." The "Chronicle of the Qian Bandits" is even more clearly recorded: "There are Zhao Qi, Pingyi Qiancang people, Chinese New Year's Eve more, set up a rice shop in his hometown..." Since Zhao Qi had more than Chinese New Year's Eve when he opened a rice shop in Qiancang, where was Zhao Qi before he was more than thirty years old? It is impossible to find relevant historical materials from the literature, but the answer is found in the oral history of jiangxi yuan.

Jiangxi 垟, that is, the confluence of Pingyang Beigang (the main stream of the Aojiang River) and the South Port (Hengyang Branch Of the Aojiang Tributary) is the common name of the water network plain west of the confluence. Although the money warehouse of Xiaonanyuan is the birthplace of the money club, it is a traffic artery, which is not conducive to being a base area. The Jiangxi River is separated by the river on three sides, and the geographical location is relatively remote, so "all the villages near Xiaojiadu are from thieves" and "thieves are in Xiagu Bridge", and the Xiagu Bridge (now part of Pingyang Xiaojiang) in Jiangxi Has become the base of the Money Society, and its status is quite important. Xiagu Bridge has become an important base of the Money Society, and it has a lot to do with Zhao Qi's experience as a teenager.

In Jiangxi, regarding Zhao Qi's life, some say that Zhao Qi was born in Xiaguqiao, lost his father at a young age, and then remarried to Qiancang with his mother; others say that Zhao Qi was born in Qiancang only a few months ago, and his mother died early and was fostered in Xiaguqiao from an early age.

Consulting the "General Genealogy of the Zhao Clan in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces", Zhao Qi was born in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar in 1832, his birth mother Zhang Shi died in the fourth month of the lunar calendar in 1833, Zhao Qi was born and Zhang Clan died less than half a year ago, and Zhao Qi was fostered in XiaguQiao from an early age, which can be confirmed. As for Zhao Qi's statement that "the teenager lost his father and remarried to the money warehouse with his mother", there is no evidence.

Zhao Qi grew up living by the Xiagu Bridge, and the locals called him "From the bottom of the bridge". When he was a child, he learned to play copper with people, and there was originally a puddle called "Fire Charcoal" on the side of the bridge, which was the puddle used by Zhao Qi to beat copper for quenching. The young Zhao Qi was very good with the local Xiang Ayou, Hu Shenghuai and several other people, and formed a righteous brother. Zhao Qi turned over the copper coin, cast the four words "Money Righteousness", and gave it to several little brothers as a keepsake. After Zhao Qi returned to the money warehouse, he organized money to cast "money righteous memories" copper coins as a souvenir, which stemmed from this experience when he was a child. Later, when Zhao Qi and Ah You led the money to practice fighting with the Lei Du Wen Family Regiment, they were stationed at the Xiagu Bridge. And several of his younger brothers in his youth became the backbone of the Money Society, participating in the attack on the Lei Du Wen family regiment training, the Southern Expedition to Fuding and so on.

There are more legends about Zhao Qi's life in Xiagu Bridge. It is said that Zhao Qi is a descendant of the Zhao and Song royals and lives in the Zhao Residence, so it is called "Zhao Di Qi" (Ou language and "bridge bottom up" homophone). Zhao Di is a very large mansion, and the location of the current Xiaojiang Xiaqiao Community Office Building was originally called "Zhao Di Huan", which is a large pond in the back garden of the Zhao family mansion.

Jiangxi Yu'a right as a military division

Xiang A right (1819-1862), the name of Xiang Jilou, Xiangdian near Xiagu Bridge, is the most legendary figure in the legend of the Money Society in Jiangxi Province, and the folk have left slang words such as "jump up A right" and "head rise a right color". Ah Right is the "military master" of the Money Society. It is said that in order to expand the influence of the Money Society, Ah You made a plan. One night, a strange fire suddenly appeared on the river near the Xiagu Bridge, which attracted many people to see it. Ah You and the others said that there must be a "hall of fame" under the firelight, so they dug out a copper coin and cast the words "Money Righteous Record" on it. Ah Right said, "This is Providence, and those who receive the copper money are brothers, and they will share the same hardships and prosperity in the future." This was a trick that the peasants had repeatedly tried and tested in the two thousand years since the chen sheng and Wu Guang uprisings at the end of Qin, and all of a sudden, thousands of people in Jiangxi Province participated in the money meeting.

Later, the Jiangxi Yuanqian Association became more and more powerful, and a dispute arose with the Mabu Lei Du Wen Family Regiment. On August 19, 1911 in Xianfeng, Zhao Qi, Ah You, and others took the Xiagu Bridge's Yanxin Hall as their headquarters (known as the "Golden Ruan Hall" in the folk) and led the money congregation to attack Lei Du. Money will be in the south, and the Wen family regiment will practice in the north, "sharp cannons are used against each other, regardless of victory or defeat." At noon, there was a sudden strong wind, and the cannon smoke reversed the rebellion", the money congregation took advantage of the situation to kill the thunder, and the Wen family regiment could not resist, and more than 60 people were killed. The head of the regiment, Wen Jun's father, Ru Ye, was killed, and Wen Jun and his wife threw themselves into the river and died. Wen Chuiding, a clan member, took advantage of the smoke to flee overnight to Sansha, Fujian Province, with the same surname, to put Zongwen Defu in the camp.

In the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), on August 27, Zhao Qi and Cai Hua and others gathered at the Niangniang Palace in Ruian Shayuan, and the soldiers were divided into two routes: one attacked Ruian and Wenzhou in the north in response to the Citi troops of the Taiping Army entering Zhejiang; and the other went south to attack Fuding, in order to strangle the throat of Fujian and Zhejiang, block the aid to the Zhejiang and Fujian troops, and solve the problem of material supply. In charge of the Southern Expedition were Ah You and his Jiangxi Yuan money society. However, the southern expedition of the Money Society did not go well, and it was not until the middle of october of the lunar calendar that it entered Fuding, but it was ambushed by the Qing army and defeated back to Xiagu Bridge. On the 29th day of the 12th lunar month (January 28, 1862), the Qing army of Qin Ruhu arrived at Xiagu Bridge. "Xiang A right resisted with intent, and gathered the remaining bandits to meet the enemy with swords and weapons, and Xiang A right killed three soldiers and braves"; "The bandits entangled and resisted the enemy with weapons, and the officers and men were all annihilated in front of the battle, and they were revived and escaped from the criminals Xiang A Right and Zhang A Xiao..." "(Xiang Ah Right was) escorted to the province"; "According to the rebellion against the law of late execution, Ling Ah Right should be executed later"; "Xiang Ah Right slaughtered the corpse as usual, and hung the place of the crime with each offender and cut off the first rank, so as to show the warning."

In the folk historical memory of Jiangxi Province, Ah You was the leader of the Qianhui second only to Zhao Qi, and the main planner and actual commander of the attack on Lei Du and the Southern Expedition to Fuding. However, what is puzzling is that the "Book of Qian Yu", "The Chronicle of the Bandits", and the "Chronicle of the Bandits" do not see Xiang Ayou's name, but they impressively record that "(Money) Huihui Head Xie Gongda and others burned thunder to desecrate the Wen clan", while the oral history of the Wen clan does not mention Xie Gongdaqi. According to the Chronicle of the Bandits, Xie Gongda is one of the eight leaders of the Money Society, but his identity is unknown.

The most telling thing is that in the "Case of the Money Society in Pingyang, Zhejiang in the Eleventh Year of Xianfeng" compiled by the First History Museum of China, 15 war reports on the conquest and suppression of the Money Society were collected, and it was recorded that from May of the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861) to August of the first year of Tongzhi (1862), the Fujian army marched from Fuding to Ruian and Wenzhou to suppress the Money Society, without mentioning Xie Gongda, but clearly described the capture and killing of Xiang Ayou and others, such as "Qin Ruhu sent his men to capture the puppet military division Xiang Ayou". If, as stated in the Chronicle of the Bandits, Xie Gongda was captured, qingduan and Qin Ruhuyan could not mention such a major event? According to this article, Xie Gongda and Xiang Ayou should be the same person, and "Xie Gongda" is a pseudonym. The "Chronicle of the Bandits" contains "On the twenty-ninth day, Qin Ruhu soldiers went to Xiaojiangdu, burned the nests of thieves in the area along the river, and captured the thief Xie Gongda", which is consistent with the time of the capture of the Two Hundred People of the Lei Du Wen Clan, who went home at the top of the river, took more than 200 people of the clan, and sent the pseudo-military division Xiang Ah Right and the false Five Xianshen Zhang A Xiao, and on the twenty-ninth day, the time of the capture of the Qin camp was consistent, and it is enough to explain the problem.

Hu Shenghuai three occupied Fuding City

Hu Shenghuai (1831-1862), also known as Hu Heng, lived on the south bank of the Xiagu Bridge. He grew up strong and generous. Because of his friendship with Zhao Qi, he led his clan to join the qianhui camp.

In the eleventh year of Xianfeng (1861), Ah You led the southern expedition, and Sheng Huai served as the vanguard of the southern expedition. On September 29, the vanguard and the Zhejiang Min army encountered a bridge pier gate, and the initial battle was unfavorable, and then the money would rush to turn defeat into victory. On the fifth and fifteenth day of october, money will pounce twice on the water, not gram. On October 18, breaking the water barrier, divided into four roads and three breads to raid Fuding City, the vanguard attacked the city from the small road. The next day, hearing that Baibu would sneak up on Jiangxi Province, he withdrew from Fuding to return to reinforcements, learned halfway through that the base area was not in danger, and reoccupied Fuding City on October 24, and stayed there for more than 20 days.

On November 23, Qin Ruhu, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, led an army to counterattack Fuding City. The vanguard was outnumbered and withdrew from the county seat, and Qin Ruhu pursued it to Shuibeixi. On the twenty-sixth day of November, Ah You led the main force of the Money Society to counterattack Shuibei creek, and was defeated in an ambush under the Wanguting Ridge, retreating to the bridge pier gate. At that time, Hu Shenghuai led the vanguard to attack Fuding City for the third time, but was surrounded by an iron barrel in the city. Sheng Huai led his troops to break through, and at the end of the battle, he found that there was no brother behind him, so he relied on his bravery, grabbed the flagpole and swept around, knocked down dozens of people in a row, rushed out of the city, and retreated to the bridge pier gate. On December 17, he retreated to Lingxi with the main force. On december 20, Qianhui and Qin Ruhu fought a great battle at Lingxi, winning first and then losing. In December (January 1862), on the 21st and 24th, the Money Society counterattacked Lingxi twice, but failed, and the people scattered and fled back to the Jiangxi Base Area.

On The 29th of December of the eleventh year of Xianfeng (January 28, 1862), Qin Ruhu led his troops from Xiaojiadu along the river to Xiagu Bridge, and all the members of Jiangxi Yuanqian were killed. Hu Shenghuai was arrested and killed on the eighth day of the first lunar month of the first year of Tongzhi (February 6, 1862).

Qin Ruhu slaughtered Jiangxi

Qin Ruhu (秦如虎), a native of Shanxi, was the commander-in-chief of The Town of Shaanxi. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng, feng Min Governor Qingduan adjusted the money association. Qin Ruhu believed that money would be a ragtag bunch, and it would be easy to kill them. The Taiping Army, which had already entered Lishui, would be a big problem if it and Wenzhou's money would be opened up, which would be a big problem, so it was suggested that Qingduan occupy Wenzhou as soon as possible. Qingduan thought that it was very right, and sent Qin Ruhu to lead his troops to retake Fuding, and led the troops to Xiaojiadu, along the river, directly pounding the Xiagu Bridge, and destroying the money congregation.

Qin Ruhu was the sworn enemy of the Money Society, very cruel. He used the caught money to pierce the nostrils with wires, lead them through the streets and kill their heads; the heavy ones were skinned alive, smeared with vegetable oil, and rolled in a mound and burned, which is called "oil bricks" in Jiangxi yuantu dialect. For a time, the corpses on both sides of the Xiagu Bridge were scattered all over the field, becoming a hell on earth. Qin Ruhu also burned a large number of houses in the area around Jiangxi Province, plundered by arsonists, and injured many innocents. As Gao Nanying's "Remembering the Troubles of Bandits" said: "It is the thief who retreats, and the soldiers who spin to the end, need to ask for a hundred ends, wantonly plunder, and the people are deadly, no more than this!" ”

Jiangxi Yuanqian would be annihilated, which directly led to money besieging the main force of Ruian City and being attacked by the enemy, and quickly moving towards rout. On the first day of the first lunar month of the first year of tongzhi (January 31, 1862), Qin Ruhu crossed the Aojiang River at night and conquered Qiancang. On the third day of the first lunar month, Pingyang was captured. At the same time, the Northern Branch Money Society was defeated and retreated under the suppression of Zhang Qixuan in Fujian Province, and on the fourth day of the first month of the first month, the Jingushan base area was captured, and by the 21st of May of the first year of Tongzhi (June 17, 1862), the Taiping Army and the remnants of the Money Society were defeated at Mayu in Ruian, and the Southern Zhejiang Money Society was completely defeated. Qin Ruhu was promoted to the post of Viceroy of Zhejiang because of his "merit" in suppressing money.

Source: Binh Duong News Network

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