British writer

The admissions process for the Columbia University School of Journalism has come to an end for the time being.

Lu Shi took Goodman back to the hotel.

As a result, as soon as he entered the room, he received a card from the front desk, saying that there was a Chinese named "Situ Meitang" outside who wanted to see him.

Lu Shi looked at the card,

It was probably a self-made business card. It was made of thin cardboard with shiny golden text, and it was of high quality.

What it says is:

Anliang

Situ Meitang.

Situ Meitang is the future leader of Hongmen. He is quite loyal and has launched many fundraising campaigns to support the domestic revolution.

But he should be active in Boston and San Francisco recently,

Why are you here in New York?

Lu Shi pondered and decided to call Goodman, and then asked the waiter to invite Situ Meitang into the room.

At this time, Situ Meitang was still young, but he already had the aura of a big boss who could tell the truth.

However, compared with Lu Shi, it was still slightly inferior.

He sat down carefully and then said hello:

"Sir Lu."

He spoke Chinese, but in a southern dialect.

Lu Shi poured the other party a cup of tea and asked, "Mr. Situ, why did you come to see me this time?"

Also in Chinese.

Of course Goodman next to me didn’t understand.

But he was self-aware and knew that Lu Shi came to him only to provide consultation when necessary, so he drank tea leisurely without asking any questions.

Situ Meitang pondered,

For a long time, he picked up the tea cup and drank tea, but could not speak.

Lu Shi smiled and said, "It seems that there is something unspeakable... Could it be that you are here because of An Liang Tang and Xie Sheng?"

Situ Meitang nodded slowly,

"Brother Li was temporarily detained by the NYPD. I went to visit and heard about you from him. I learned that you and Sheriff Rocky have some connections, so I wanted to try my luck. We are both Chinese, so you must also have a heart. Tie……"

There is no need to explain the following words too clearly.

Situ Meitang turned around, took out a half-foot-square wooden box from his bag, and placed it on the table.

"Mr. Lu, please excuse me."

Lu Shi glanced at the wooden box and pushed it back without even opening it.

The son of a rich man will not sit down in the hall;

He cannot charge into battle for a church.

Situ Meitang's expression did not change at all, and asked: "Sir Lu, aren't you curious about what's inside?"

Lu Shi smiled and said, "Wine, sex, wealth, and energy, whatever you can give me, I can take for myself, so why do I need to owe any favors?"

Situ Meitang was speechless.

I understand in my heart that my status is far different from that of the person in front of me.

What he can do is something that others don't like at all.

Lu Shi pondered: "It stands to reason that Mr. Li will be detained for at most one day and then he will be released, right?"

Situ Meitang smiled bitterly,

"Guan? He is now 'protected'."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"What's the meaning?"

Situ Meitang sighed helplessly and explained: "The reason given by the NYPD is that Brother Li was personally threatened by the Chinese church and his life was in danger. Staying at the police station can avoid trouble. They said this, but we didn't take any action at all."

Lu Shi complained in his heart,

Look at the Americans, how good they are at playing?

It's simply way ahead.

Don't protect someone for a few days, and then suddenly the news comes out that "suicide was shot seven times in the back."

Lu Shi leaned into Goodman's ear and whispered for a moment,

The latter nodded repeatedly,

"Yes. Any experienced lawyer can easily solve it."

Situ Meitang understood English, and after being confused for a while, he realized that his thinking was too narrow.

Now that the NYPD has intervened, it is not something that can be solved within Chinatown.

In this case, it is better to take a different approach.

You don't have to attack gangsters to deal with them, you can also hire a lawsuit to outwit them~

He handed over to Lu Shi,

"Thank you Sir Lu for pointing out a clear path."

Lu Shi shook his head and stopped dwelling on the topic. Instead, he asked, "Is your conflict with Xiesheng just because of the opium den and gambling stall?"

Situ Meitang shook his head,

"Not only. You must know the Chinese Exclusion Act, right? Some time ago, due to the "Inversion", the bill was slightly relaxed. But the economy is getting worse and worse, and it has begun to become serious again."

Lu Shi asked in confusion: "What does it have to do with the bill?"

Situ Meitang replied: "The implementation of the bill has resulted in a serious shortage of Chinese women in Chinatown. Therefore, the appearance of a Chinese woman in Chinatown will attract the attention of a large number of men. This will lead to various...the more beautiful, the more trouble."

Of course Lu Shi knew,

He even heard that because there were too many monks and too few people, many Chinese men would marry Irish or Italian women who were also at the bottom.

This thing sounds quite magical if you think about it in modern times.

But it was quite normal in the early 20th century.

"Tsk..."

Lu Shi was speechless.

"So, the matter also involves jealousy?"

Situ Meitang said: "It was just a bit of a thing at the beginning. But later it became more than just a personal grudge."

Everyone in the church attaches great importance to face.

Anyone who shows weakness will be laughed at in the arena.

Generally speaking, the NYPD will not care about matters in Chinatown, because the Chinese usually do not ask the police for help, but solve it internally.

This makes it difficult to stop a fight within the church once it starts, requiring a long period of negotiation to reach a ceasefire agreement.

After all, no one wants to lose the right to speak.

Lu Shiyin asked in a deep voice, "I heard that there was a fire this time?"

Situ Meitang was embarrassed,

"..."

This silence was tantamount to an answer.

Lu Shi said: "I think you need a legal advisor."

Situ Meitang was a little confused.

"Prosecution?"

In his view, prosecution is a cowardly act of suing the teacher if he cannot be beaten.

Lu Shi said: "This time the house was burned down and lives were lost. I don't even want to go to court. I mean in the future. Because hiring legal counsel is a long-term matter and requires long-term planning. Moreover, Mr. Li has not been responsible for many people before. Did the lawyer send out an invitation?”

Situ Meitang's expression changed slightly.

On this matter, he and Li Xiling had completely opposite views.

Lu Shi also probably knew what the other party was thinking.

Looking at the resume,

Situ Meitang took the oath of marriage in 1885, when he was less than 18 years old;

In 1886, he was sentenced to ten months in prison with hard labor for beating to death a white man who was eating King's meal;

In 1894, a separate system was established and Anliangtang was organized. Under the banner of "hoeing the strong and supporting the weak, eradicating violence and bringing peace to the good", it expanded rapidly.

…

Young Situ Meitang is at the age where he dares to fight hard.

So it's not surprising that he views hiring legal counsel as weakness.

It is also understandable that Li Xiling is older and is considering seeking stability and clearing her name.

In the direction of developing Anliangtang, the two people have some different ideas.

Seeing the uncertainty on Situ Meitang's face, Lu Shi waved his hands and said, "I just said it casually, just pretend you didn't hear it. Okay, please."

After saying that, I have to see off the guests.

He has no likes or dislikes towards the other party,

If you have different opinions, please go out.

Situ Meitang stood up and walked towards the door.

As a result, he held the door handle and hesitated to turn it. Finally, he turned around, sat down again, and saluted Lu Shi respectfully.

"Mr. Lu, please give me some advice."

His "sir" means teacher.

The posture is very low.

Moreover, after finishing speaking, he bent down and raised his hands above his head to serve tea to Lu Shi.

Lu Shi was speechless,

"Why?"

Situ Meitang replied angrily: "I haven't read much, so I can't understand many things. Mr. Lu is a man of great knowledge and wisdom, and he will definitely be able to answer my questions."

Goodman can’t understand Chinese, but he can understand how to serve tea.

He whispered: "I told you earlier that this Anliangtang is different from Xie Sheng. Their leaders are normal people."

Lu Shi looked at the tea cup but did not take it immediately.

"I told you beforehand that I won't come forward in anything."

Situ Meitang understood,

"I know."

Lu Shi took the tea cup, took a sip, and asked, "What do you want to ask?"

Situ Meitang said: "Why do you need to hire a legal adviser?"

Lu Shi said: "We can provide you with the most professional advice in the shortest possible time from the perspective of safeguarding your rights and interests, so that you can avoid or reduce economic losses. Sometimes, it can even eliminate jail time."

This answer is quite official.

Situ Meitang sighed,

"Mr. Lu, can you please stop using the official tone? For us..."

Lu Shi interrupted: "What I'm talking about is the real thing."

Situ Meitang still looked confused.

"Is it really necessary to hire legal counsel?"

Lu Shi said: "How many people are there in Anliang Hall now?"

Situ Meitang made an estimate in his mind.

"If you refer to New York alone, it's about 1,700 people. But if you look at the United States, let's say less than 20,000."

Twenty thousand church members,

What is the corresponding population size of the Chinese community?

Lu Shi sighed in his heart,

The Chinese are indeed resilient and have been able to take root in the United States despite the Chinese Exclusion Act.

He asked: "Mr. Situ, haven't you ever considered establishing an Anliang main church in places like New York or Boston and integrating various churches?"

Situ Meitang:! ! !

I couldn't help but look at the landing in shock,

"Sir, you...you have really thought of me. The place I have chosen is New York."

Three years later in history, in 1905, he established the Anliang General Hall in New York.

Lu Shi raised the corners of his mouth,

"You didn't consider finding a legal adviser because the church under your jurisdiction has not yet reached that scale. But once the Anliang General Hall is established, the scale will be large and there will be a lot of disputes. Some of them can be solved with fists. Some can't. For those that can't, if there are more incidents and more losses, you have to find legal counsel to eliminate the risk."

Situ Meitang was still confused.

Obviously didn't understand.

Lu Shi could only let Goodman next to him explain.

The latter thought for a moment and said with some helplessness: "The responsibilities of a legal advisor are too broad. They must provide advice on all matters related to law. For example, contracts, disputes, risks..."

Lu Shi said, "Just give me a simple example."

Goodman said: "Just like reviewing a contract, sometimes a clause can save a client thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars."

Situ Meitang understood the numbers.

He lowered his head and thought for a moment,

"The contract...but the problem is that many of the businesses in the hall are not very clean."

Lu Shi complained: "What do you mean by 'not so clean'? You clearly said it's illegal."

Situ Meitang was a bachelor, and admitted openly: "It is indeed illegal. In this case, what kind of contract should we sign?"

Lu Shi glanced at him,

"Are you going to keep running the opium shop?"

"Ah this..."

Situ Meitang was a little ashamed.

But after all, he is a fool and cannot let go easily.

Lu Shi also knew that he would definitely not be able to persuade the other party with emotion, so he had to use reason.

He said: "The profits are too big and it is not a good business."

Situ Meitang was surprised,

“Is big profit a bad thing?”

Lu Shi replied: "Aren't you afraid that the people below will start their own business?"

Profits are high and money comes quickly, followed by ever-expanding ambition and power.

From now on, it will be time to replace the old with the new.

American dramas have done this very clearly,

XX society, XX family, XX company...

It will not flourish for more than twenty years.

Among them, only a few were strangled to death by the authorities, and most died from internal fighting and mutual strife.

On the contrary, many of those who are conservative and engaged in "small business" can clean up their reputation.

But the extremely high profits lead to beheadings, and there are always people involved.

Those who consider themselves "heroes" feel that they are diners on the table, and they can get away after a feast, but they do not know that they have already appeared on other people's menus.

Situ Meitang pondered,

He found that although Lu Shi was a scholar, he understood these twists and turns very clearly.

He was somewhat moved.

Lu Shi continued: "There should be more than thirty management positions in Hongmen, right?"

Situ Meitang was surprised,

"Sir, you actually understand this?"

Lu Shi said: "If I remember correctly, there is a position called Bronze Chapter, which is specifically in charge of waist cards. If he earns hundreds of dollars in a few days and turns most of it over, but can only keep a few dollars, he Can you not rebel?"

Situ Meitang sighed,

"It's unjustifiable if you don't say otherwise."

Because this situation has already occurred in some opium dens and gambling stalls.

Money comes so quickly and easily, which does lead to the risk of the power structure being overpowered.

Situ Meitang said: "But there are always people who will do this kind of business."

Lu Shi smiled and said nothing.

He had made his meaning very clear just now and didn't want to repeat it again.

Situ Meitang gritted his teeth.

Since we are planning to establish an Anliang General Hall in New York, we must have the determination of a strong man to cut off the cancerous tumors that will create instability.

What's more, he has figured it out now,

Those who do those businesses will not last long. They will fade away in ten years at most. The old goes and the new comes, and so on.

Therefore, we still need to take a longer-term view.

Situ Meitang said: "Sir, I think you are right. After experiencing the painful lesson of 1840, how can we, the Chinese, be tortured again?"

This was said with righteousness and sincerity.

Lu Shi smiled and said, "I know this is what Mr. Situ is thinking."

Situ Meitang sighed,

"Ashamed~Ashamed~"

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"It doesn't matter. People are complicated."

Situ Meitang took a deep look at Lu Shi,

"Sir, are you forced to do something?"

Lu Shi replied: "With my current status in Europe, there is almost nothing I have to do."

This is what Lu Shi said,

If others say so, they will be regarded as bragging.

Situ Meitang admired him even more.

He said: "In this case, after I solve the matter in New York... well... since I have to find a lawyer, it's better to get it right in one step. I'd better go back to Boston first, hire a legal consultant, and let him solve it. This conflict with Xie Sheng should be treated as a test of ability."

Lu Shi asked: "Why do you want to go back to Boston? There are also many practicing lawyers in New York."

Situ Meitang explained: "The first Anliang Hall was established in Boston and was run by me personally. It can be said that it is my Chinese military headquarters and I am very familiar with it. Moreover, Boston also has good schools, such as Harvard. "

Lu Shi was curious,

"You're going to Harvard to get legal counsel?"

Situ Meitang said: "After all, it is the best university in the United States~"

"Tsk..."

Lu Shi couldn't help but secretly dumbfounded.

Unexpectedly, the world line would always circle back to its origin in strange places.

According to true history, the legal advisor hired by Situ Meitang was the future President of the United States, Roosevelt.

Roosevelt Jr. even called Situ Meitang "Big Brother."

At this moment, Roosevelt was studying at Harvard.

Situ Meitang looked at Lu Shi seriously,

"Sir, are you willing to serve as a member of our Anliang Hall..."

Before he finished speaking, Lu Shi shook his head.

"Thank you Mr. Situ for your kindness, but I think I can't satisfy your family's "Thirty-six Oaths", so I'd better let it go."

The "Thirty-six Oaths" can be understood as the rules and precepts of the sect, which must be recited together with other brothers before entering the door.

for example:

"Though the Hong family brothers were not acquainted with each other, if they met someone with a fake name and talked about speculation without acknowledging each other, they would die under the knife."

Very harsh.

Lu Shi definitely couldn't do it.

What's more, his current status is not suitable for joining the church.

Situ Meitang chuckled,

"It doesn't matter. For a great talent like Mr., the Thirty-six Oaths can be simplified. You just need to swear, 'Love brothers, not gold,' and the matter will be settled."

Lu Shi smiled and said,

"I quite like gold. So, forget it."

How could Situ Meitang not understand the continuous decline?

But he had already made up his mind,

If the Anliang General Hall is successfully established and can exist for more than thirty years, Lu Shian must be given a position in the industry.