Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 30 Indentured Labor

  A large group of people gather on the bank of the river, which is divided into two clearly.

  In the empty area of ​​the space, four blood-stained men lie down on their knees. They know that they are Chinese gold diggers by looking at their outfits, all with long braids on the back of their heads.

  The three of them have lost their lives, and there is still a young man groaning in pain, one of his arms is softly pulled, and his body is stained with blood.

  If Li Fushou was here, he would recognize the young man as Liu Shuan who disembarked with him.

  The fearless young man who dared to realize his dream of wealth in the Australian gold mine, at this moment, is like a frightened quail. Seeing the pale face of the vicious white man with a gun in front of him, he muttered:

   "All dead, all killed by you... there is nothing left..."

  A few white men savagely found gold sand from the dead, and several little finger-sized gold bumps. These alone were worth tens of pounds, which made them laugh with excitement.

  There were hundreds of Chinese gold diggers onlookers, with numbness, hesitation, fear, and anger in their eyes, but no one dared to come forward.

  Three Royal Australian Mounted Police officers riding on the tall knights appeared on the hillside, glanced indifferently, Shi Shiran continued to move forward, and soon disappeared in the lush bushes.

  Only the rampant laughter of the perpetrators echoed in the air, money stimulated their brains, and a larger-scale robbery was about to happen.

   "My God, what happened here?"

Steve McQueen, the captain of the armed guard of the gold mine, drove people over. From a distance, he saw "Wild Wolf" Birken stuffing a handful of glittering things into a leather horse bag, and couldn't help cursing. ; "How can you **** wild wolf appear in my mine? Are those mounted police eyes blind? You ignore the notorious bank robbery habitual criminals. You should all go to hell."

   "Don't be impulsive, man, we are law-abiding citizens."

While talking, "Wild Wolf" Birken winked at his comrades. The other gangsters wisely stopped. The clothes of the dead Chinese worker's corpse had been stripped off, the hair braids were loosened, and his sleeves and waistbands were brutally torn. , Is to find the gold hidden in the body.

"law abiding citizen?"

  Steve McQueen couldn't help but sneered. He didn't care about the Chinese workers who were dead on the river bank. He watched more of this situation and just threw it into the Palmer River.

"as far as I know;

  8 of Australia’s 9 dominions are offering you a reward. You **** **** committed 22 serious robbery and homicide, robbed valuable postal parcels and banks. The methods were very brutal, with no fewer than 40 victims.

  Let me think about how much is the bounty?

  120 pounds or 150 pounds, anyway, it's not a small amount of money. Are you going to catch it or are you ready to resist? "

Steve McQueen's hands are less than a punch distance from the revolvers on both sides of his thigh, his eyes fixed on Birken in front of him. The atmosphere quickly became tense because of the confrontation between the two sides, and the armed guards of the gold mine quietly appeared. Surrounding the formation, they have an advantage in numbers.

"Okay, don't be nervous buddy, you are here for money in this horrible place, and I am the same." The notorious bank thief, Birken, shrugged indifferently, walked over to the other party, and said from his mouth; Although we have done some wrong things before, it is all over. Now everyone is working together to squeeze these Orientals. This is more profitable than robbing banks. Put your guard down and let's talk about..."

  "Stop, Birken, I can't help but draw a gun and shoot your head."

   "As you wish, you, an idiot with muscle bumps in your head, can earn £150 a day here. Don't bother me now, you will get your share."

  Bilken stopped, facing Steve McQueen, who was a head taller than him, not timid, and looked like sending a dog to throw a purse.

  Steve McQueen cut his hand to catch it, feeling heavy in his hand, and opened it to see the glittering golden light, which contains 30 pounds worth of gold sand.

   "Oh... Praise Jesus, you are such a generous person."

   "Go away now!"

  "Dear Mr. Pilken, then we will not hinder your important matters. I kindly remind you that Master John Dennis is in the mine today. If it can be solved with a knife, I think that is a more secure method."

   "Uh-huh...Steve McQueen, you are a good dog with great eyesight. Go and beg the owner for a few bones, like that little Irish lady."

"Thank you for the compliment. I hope you will die on the wasteland soon. This is not where you should stay." The wrinkles on Steve McQueen's face stretched out of joy. Winked.

   Come fast, go faster.

  The gangsters turned their faces and stared greedily at the large group of Chinese workers, seeing as if they were moving golden mountains.

  A lot of Chinese...

  The white people at Dennis Gold Mine did not choose to start with the Chinese workers who had their hair cut off, nor did they choose to start with the Chinese workers with the words "Hong Men" on their chests, nor did they choose contracted laborers to start, and only found the free Chinese workers who had a dish of loose sand.

  The few people who were killed just now were free Chinese workers. They had no background and no powerful heels, and they were the weakest group that was most likely to be bullied.

  Mid-nineteenth century

  After the rise of the foreign gold rush, there was a gold rush that lasted for more than 40 years in San Francisco in North America, which was called San Francisco by Chinese workers.

  In the middle and late stages, there was a gold rush in Australia that lasted for more than ten years, which was called the "New Golden Mountain" by Chinese workers.

  During the late Qing Dynasty, the coastal provinces of China were struggling to survive, and the contradiction between population and land became more and more prominent. The large-scale fighting among the people for water and land has reached an alarming rate of hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries. The local government was helpless.

  In this historical background, Chinese people have gone to Southeast Asia or even across the ocean to develop on the other side, just for the hope of survival.

at the same time

   "Going to the west" in northern Shaanxi and people in the neighboring Jiaodong area "breaking through the east" are struggling to find a way out in this difficult world.

  The difference between contract Chinese workers and free Chinese workers is actually very simple.

  Chinese workers who come to Australia will go through the stage of "contracted Chinese workers" because they cannot pay huge amounts of fare fares. Many young men who are forced to make a living have signed a deed of sale, which is commonly known as "selling piglets" in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

  This part of the Chinese laborers came to the other side of the ocean for thousands of miles, working diligently in the gold mines, and paying off their debts with the sands they scoured.

  This is called indentured labor. The gold mining factory arranges food, lodging, and goes to work in a unified manner, and the income is used to pay off debts.

Two-thirds of the sands scoured by the indentured laborers are handed over to the mine, and the remaining one-third is not owned by themselves, but used to pay debts. If you are lucky, you can pay all within a few months. Debt becomes free labor.

  In view of the large influx of Chinese workers, Australia has introduced a poll tax that restricts the entry of Chinese workers, and each person has to pay 10 pounds, which greatly increases the burden of gold diggers.

  But as long as the dream of scouring money for money is not shattered, there will still be a steady stream of Chinese coming across the oceans.

  After becoming a free laborer, you only need to pay the mining tax of four shillings a month in the gold mine, and everything else is yours.

  Indentured labor is the property of the gold mine. White gold prospectors will not be allowed to touch their cakes, and they will be spared.

  Now a large part of Queensland’s free laborers have joined Hongmen. This is a very powerful gang. White gold prospectors know that they can’t afford it. Generally, robbery and extortion will avoid this group of people.

  The remaining part of free laborers is reluctant to pay two shillings a month, which is as much as two pounds this year. This part of the people is the group that has been the most victimized.

  Working hard in the gold mine for several months, Liu Shuan is lucky to pay off his debts and become a free worker.

  The dream of getting rich was shattered before it was realized. This was a huge blow to Liu Zhu. He sat on the river beach blankly, completely unable to hear the crying and begging of the weak Chinese workers in his ears.

  I don’t know why, Liu Shuan has never joined the popular Hongmen in Chinatown. Instead, he chose to advance and retreat with a group of fellow villagers. The three dead lying on the ground were some of them.

  Wrong, wrong too ridiculous...

  The chaos in the evening continued. Most of the Chinese workers belonging to Hongmen were not harassed. They silently walked past the bullied Chinese with a look of intolerance on their faces.

  One thing these Chinese workers have in common is that a patch the size of a cigarette case is attached to their chests, with the words “Hongmen” written in Chinese on it, and the lower row of small characters is; a member of the Qinglong team.

   "Brother Ahu, are we really going to die?"

  "How can we save it if we are unarmed?"

   Hearing this, the man who looked back abruptly, wears the Qinglong team vice commander's mark on his chest. He is about 30 years old, has a big waist and a sturdy look. He is Li Heihu, known as Brother Ahu.

  The eldest brother Li Baihu and the second brother Li Heihu are all seeking a living in Australia. They came during the last Victorian gold mine boom, more than ten years ago.

  Because the two brothers have outstanding military value and are fair and loyal, they were elected as the captain and deputy of the Qinglong team.

  The worker was stopped by this rhetorical question, his face flushed, and said; "We Hongmen brothers have the meaning of helping those who are in trouble!"

"Oh, how do you learn the rules of the mountain gate in the auditorium, we have the meaning of helping any brother in the same sect when he is in trouble. This does not include other people." Liu Heihu casually reprimanded, holding his fists with his hands to the sky with a solemn expression; The mountain owner once said;

  A red river passes through it, and the green hills on both sides are full of enchanting.

  Brotherhood is all over the world, and there is no one who does not cross Guanshan.

  As long as my Hongheshan brothers are united, ghosts dare not bully us, and others can't control their nostalgia.

  Hongmen Xiangtang is open in Chinatown. These colleagues who have been bullied by others can go in with their feet raised. I believe they will not be troubled. "

Having said this, Li Heihu's voice became louder and he confessed to the Hongmen brothers around him; "I warn you not to cause trouble to your own sect. If you take the initiative to break the rules, even if you finally get it out of the white man I don’t need to remind you of accepting the severe punishment of the Xingtang and the Hongmen’s strict laws. Those who do not listen to the orders will hit with a stick, or three knives and six holes until Shenhai.

   "Brother Tiger, don't worry, we dare not."

  "The kind of reckless guy doesn't care about it, let him fend for himself, and we will be quiet."

   "That is, we are all rules-abiding people."

The noise here attracted the attention of the white people. Standing on the big rock, the "Wild Wolf" Birken, who was urging his men to search the Chinese laborers, narrowed his eyes dangerously. He raised his leg and jumped off the rock and strode over. .

  (End of this chapter)