Bandits, local armed gangs or their members who make a living by robbing houses and houses halfway. Disturb public order.

In people's concept, bandits # are a mob. They make a living by robbery and extortion, lack political foresight, and are the destroyers of law and order. They act bohemian, do whatever they want, and are unwilling to be bound by anything, and so on. However, in fact, any kind of organization in human society must abide by certain rules and be bound, and it is impossible to be absolutely free and unconstrained.

Bandit organization is indeed the most dissolute, loose and unwilling to be bound among all kinds of organizations in human society. However, this means that they are not bound by the laws, morals and other public rules of normal society. Generally speaking, most bandits are bound internally, and some bandits are quite strict in discipline.

"Bandit" is a very general term. Different times or different classes and strata at the same time refer to bandits with different connotations. However, in the eyes of ordinary people, "bandits" are always compared with "thieves". Anyone who forcibly plunders or steals other people's property and does evil deeds is called a bandit or a thief according to the seriousness of the circumstances. The word "soil" before the word bandits means local bandits or bandits who are active in the local area. In fact, bandits are not limited to local people, and their activities are often not limited to their own hometown.

During the Republic of China, there were a lot of reports about bandits in newspapers and magazines almost every day. Judging from the content of the report, the name "bandit" includes all "criminals" from thieves to social revolutionaries. Among them, there are both unknown "gentlemen on the beam" and famous outlaws, both bourgeois revolutionaries and proletarian revolutionaries. It is really a fish and dragons, black and white, and the concept of bandits is confused.

Combined with the actual situation of bandit activities in modern China, we believe that bandits are such a group of people:

(1) They come from agricultural society, and they are the direct products of periodic famine and serious natural disasters and wars in rural society. In order not to starve to death, they ganged up and armed themselves and did whatever they wanted.

(2) Their existence and activities are not allowed by national laws;

(3) Although their behavior is a protest against reality and objectively antisocial, they lack a clear political purpose;

(4) They are divorced from production, and violent robbery and ransom are the main sources of their lives. To sum up, bandits are people who go beyond the scope of law and have no clear political purpose, and make a living by robbing and ransom.

According to the above definition, it is not difficult to see that those social revolutionaries and activists in the Republic of China, whether Kuomintang or * * * producers, even anarchists and trade unionists, have nothing to do with bandits. Because their activities are active and have a clear political purpose, what they seek is a major change in society. Warlords, landlords and bureaucrats all branded these people as "bandits", which is a means to deliberately undermine their political reputation.

There are many kinds of bandits in China. According to the regional characteristics of bandit activities, there are mountain bandits, "horse thieves" and "ringing horses" in the plain, border bandits, pirates and lake bandits.

The so-called mountain bandits refer to bandits who have been active in mountainous areas all the year round, such as those in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. One refers to bandits who are based in shanzhai, but their activities are not limited to shanzhai areas. Such bandits are common in the Republic of China, such as Bai Lang of Henan Province, who established a base area in Haoshan. "There are 2,000 smokers in the mountain, and the situation is difficult to attack." "There can be 2,000 or 3,000 people in the mountain, and they can gather grain to get rich. Sun Meiyao, a Shandong bandit, is based in Baodugu, which is located at the junction of Yixian, Linyi and Tancheng. The surrounding mountains are arched like lotus petals, with flat land inside, and it is a bandit's nest. The terrain is often extremely dangerous, so the officers and men went to fight for years and all abandoned their armor. " The famous Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai Departments were developed based on Jinggangshan, Jiangxi Province, where the forest is deep. Others, such as Hudou Mountain and Gudou Mountain in Xinhui, Xiangshan, Guangdong, were famous thieves' nests during the Republic of China.

Horse thieves are gangs active in northeast China, so they are called horse thieves. Because they all ride horses, there is a folk saying that "one man, one horse, one gun, is lazy to be a big gang". The horse thief's riding and marksmanship are two unique skills. They ride horses without saddles, can sleep soundly on horseback, and gallop long distances without falling to the ground; And you can put two guns together without missing a shot. Horse thieves are also called bandits. It is said that when they go out to rob, whether they have beards or not, they all paint their mouths with red as beards, so they are also called red beards. Xiangma, originally a gang active in Zhili and Shandong in North China Plain, is called Xiangma because it goes out like a horse thief and will ride a horse. After the Republic of China, such bandits have tried their best to combine with Hu bandits. The ups and downs of bandits' activities are often subject to the climate change of the four seasons. Generally speaking, at the turn of summer and autumn when Lin Jing is dense and Tian He is flourishing, it is a period when Hu bandits are rampant. At this time, they were in groups of three or five, with hundreds of gangs, galloping across the vast plains, looting homes everywhere, attacking cities and plundering land. When it comes to winter, all the trees are withered, the wind is biting, the snow and ice are accumulated, and there is no place to hide in the forest of Yuan Ye. It is the period when the bandits are dormant. At this time, they either couldn't get out of the nest, or disguised as merchants and grain farmers to sneak into the city and take shelter from the wind in the kitchen inn. At this time, the detective police took the opportunity to investigate the inn and catch the bandits.

The so-called border bandits are bandits who live in the border areas between provinces or counties. During the Republic of China, many famous gangs were active in the border areas. For example, in the mid-1920s, dozens of bandits of about 200,000 ~ 300,000 were gathered on the borders of Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, among which dozens of famous bandits were Gu Delin, Pang Zizhou, Fan Mingxin and Yu Sanhei. This kind of border area has particularly favorable conditions for bandit activities. First, geographically, the topography of many border areas is extremely dangerous, or the mountains are chaotic, or the lakes and harbors are divided, which is conducive to the appearance of bandits. In addition, these areas are blocked in atmosphere, tough in folk customs, and aggressive, which is the den of thieves. Second, politically, the local governments in these areas are relatively weak, especially in the era of warlord melee, they have all become "three-no-care" or "four-no-care" zones, thus becoming a "paradise" for bandits.

Pirates are gangs that rob at sea. They are based on coastal islands and have fleets and weapons. From time to time, they go out to sea to rob merchant ships passing by, and sometimes they rob land residents. There are many gangs among pirates, such as Cai Qian Gang and Huang Kui Gang during Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty. There are also gangs divided by various flags, such as the black flag gang, the white flag gang and the red flag gang. Pirates in the Republic of China mainly roamed the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong.

Lake bandits are mainly gangs engaged in looting activities in the branches of inland rivers and lakes. During the Republic of China, bandits in Taihu Lake, Chaohu Lake, Hongze Lake, Weishan Lake and Dongting Lake were rampant. During the Republic of China, Xu Laowozi, Song Laowozi and Guan Dadu were famous bandits on Taihu Lake.

According to the nature of bandits, we can divide them into thieves who rob the rich and help the poor to get justice (that is, social bandits as hobsbawm said), accumulated bandits who specialize in looting, burning, killing and redeeming, as well as soldiers, social bandits, teaching bandits, owls and cigarette bandits.

The so-called social bandits are the heroic outlaws in Liangshan. They are some peasant gangsters regarded as criminals by the government, but they exist in the peasant society and are regarded as heroes, victors, avengers, fighters fighting for justice, and perhaps even liberation leaders, and they are always admired, helped and supported. " During the Republic of China, Bai Lang in Henan and Lu Guofan in Sichuan were such figures.

The so-called accumulated bandits are habitual bandits who specialize in robbery, burning and killing, kidnapping and ransom. Wherever they go, they indiscriminately looted the people, leaving them in a miserable situation. This kind of bandits was more common in the Republic of China.

The so-called soldiers and bandits are mostly soldiers who have been abolished or defeated, or soldiers who have mutinied and fled, and have become bandits because of their lack of life. They often appear to be troops, but in fact they are bandits, or they are troops during the day and bandits at night. This kind of bandits appeared in large numbers in the early years of the Republic of China, especially during the rule of Beiyang warlords.

Guild bandits and teaching bandits are members and organizations of gangs engaged in bandit activities; Owl bandits are gangs specializing in smuggling salt; Tobacco bandits are gangs specializing in opium and drug smuggling.

According to relevant information, the organizational leadership and organizational forms of bandits are basically divided into three categories.

The first category is small bandits. Generally, one or two leaders pull up poles in the local area, gather dozens of people, become sworn gangs, and carry out robbery activities in a relatively small geographical area. The internal organizational structure of a small band of bandits is relatively simple. Each band has one or two bandit leaders, who become the leader or the leader of the gang, and all below the leader are brothers. At the beginning of gathering into a gang, small bandits usually hold a swearing-in ceremony, which is called "lonely village" in Henan area, similar to the swearing-in ceremony of the gang. According to relevant records, Guan Yunchang was worshipped by bandits in their "lonely village" (sworn). In addition to the display for candles, Browning and self-invited pistols were placed on the table, and several people stood in sequence, with solemn manners.

When they burn incense and kowtow, the mantra they read is: Guan Ye is on the top, disciple XXX is on the bottom, and tonight, one of my brothers will be "lonely". From then on, we will support each other and treat all the brothers. We are not allowed to be half-hearted. If we are half-hearted, we will go to the front line and shoot through the heart, and five dogs will be dismembered and the liver and brain will be everywhere. When everyone kowtows, they first burn a wick incense, then burn a watch, and kneel before Master Guan squarely. After reading this mantra, they kowtow to Master Guan three times and still stand in their original positions (see Yao Wenwei: The Remains of the Robber's Cave, No.24 Collection of Henan Literature and History Materials). Finally, the bandit leader swore and added a few spells to show his sincerity and honest and frank. This kind of bandits combined by sworn brothers mainly depends on the relationship between life and death and * * * between leaders and members, but most of the bandits are skilled in martial arts, brave and good at fighting, and can protect the masses; The bandits serve the leaders with their loyalty and are familiar with them, so they have strong cohesion. During the Republic of China, a small number of bandits spread all over the country. According to Wang Rugui and Wang Geng Xi Tan, 19 12, there were more than 30 bandits in Baofeng and Wuyang counties of Henan Province (see Du Chunhe: Bai Lang Uprising). According to incomplete statistics at that time, before the "September 18th Incident", there were more than 100 horse thieves and bandits only distributed in a few local areas in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The names of small bandits vary from place to place. They are called "Zi" in Northeast China, "Gang" in North China and "Tang" or "Gu" in South China. According to Lu Rongting's report, in the early years of the Republic of China, bandits were rampant in Guangxi, and Guanyang area in Gongcheng. "According to the bandits' nests, there are eight pavilions, including Tiansheng, Longsheng, Luda, Mingsheng and Daosheng. There are hundreds to hundreds of people in each museum, and they are armed with fast guns and knives, stealing villages, arresting people for ransom, and hiding in the village.

The second category is big bandits. One is composed of several or dozens of small bandits, and the most powerful and courageous one is the big leader, also known as the head of the total pole, also known as the master and the shopkeeper. The big leader has the right to give orders, kill and seize, and has the right to contact everything on behalf of his department. The bandits call the big leader uncle, and the following leaders are called Sir Zhong, Sir Zhong and Young Master in turn. Large bandits, ranging from hundreds to thousands or even tens of thousands, plunder in a wide geographical area. The organizational system of the headquarters and branches of this big bandit is different from place to place, and the number of joint bandit shares depends on the needs of the situation and strategy.

It is reported that 19 13 When the Bailang Uprising reached its climax in August, he had joined 34 bandits with hundreds of people each, totaling 20,000 to 30,000 people (some reports said 50,000 people). Bai Lang is the head of the big pole (the head of the total pole), and 34 people, including Bai Blind, Song Laonian, Zhang Qiyun, Zhang Jiande and Li Hong, are the heads of the sub-poles. "It's hard to count the others" (see Du Chunhe: Bai Lang Uprising). In addition to the clear organizational system between the main pole and the sub-poles, large bandits generally have a core leadership organization at their headquarters, and the Bailang Department is composed of Bailang and Song Laonian. Sun Meiyao Group in Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, has set up a six-member committee, and its division of labor usually has different names such as stockade leader, second stockade leader and strategist. Some bandits have posts in the core, such as Xiang, viceroy, pioneer, official in charge, minister of household affairs, patrol envoy, etc. (see "North Eleven" in the file of the War Department). In addition, within the bandit team, there are also official documents, accountants in charge of financial banks, and detectives who spy on information. This detailed division of responsibilities, 1925, an expert on bandits, wrote in the book "A Study of Bandits in China": Bandits "have a number of staff officers outside the head of the cottage, and they are called military advisers, also known as teachers; Several secretaries, nicknamed White Fan, also called Niu Yi; Several accountants, in charge of the whole mountain bank and cashier affairs, called account rack, also called water tank; Commanding several people, commanding bandits to advance, retreat and defend the war, nicknamed the gun head ... Its organization is so tight that it really makes people speechless. "

The third category is bandit troops. That is, militarized bandits and bandit troops. They are all organized according to the military establishment, with troops, divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, companies and platoons, as well as staff officers, military supplies, military law and detectives. Its desertion, drills, martial law passwords, etc. are also modeled after the army. For example, Mao Sizhong, a bandit in Shandong Province, "his subordinates have accumulated more than 10,000 people, but according to the army's establishment, they were named Dingguojun, and there were staff officers, ordnance, law enforcement, secretaries, reconnaissance and other departments" (see Times 19 17 10/2). This is an militarized bandit. It is also reported that in the early years of the Republic of China, many defeated troops in Sichuan Province were stationed in various places and acted as bandits. They were "ordered, uniformed, coached, restrained, well-equipped, and well-equipped, just like the arrangement of the army" (see North Eleven, the file of the War Department). This is the bandit-like army.

There are some differences in bandit discipline in different regions, but some bandits generally follow it. The punishment for those who violate the discipline is severe. hobsbawm, a British scholar, defined "social bandits" and paid special attention to enforcing discipline.

According to the investigation by Josiah, an expert on bandits, most bandits are required to abide by the following disciplines: four covenants, eight rewards and regulations, and eight beheadings.

Four covenants

The four covenants are as follows: ① Keep secrets strictly; 2 observe discipline; ③ Adversity and * * *; (4) and mountain * * * Hugh.

The origin of the Four Covenants is the "Four Covenants" organized by bandits. According to experts concerned, it first came from secret societies, and later bandits pledged to help each other. For example, during the reign of Daoguang and Xianfeng, the secret association organization Heaven and Earth Society began to popularize the Thirty-six Oaths of Hong Men. There are many similarities between the four covenants of bandits and the Thirty-six Oaths of Hong Men. Obviously, it is the bandit organization that has absorbed some internal norms of Heaven and Earth Society.

Bandits and secret societies are both lower-class organizations, and some of their activities are consistent. Moreover, bandits and secret societies have various relations. They have similarities in restraining and coordinating the pace of their members' actions, effectively fighting and avoiding the pursuit of the government, and ensuring their own survival and development. Therefore, it is not surprising that some rules of bandits and secret societies are similar.

Eight reward rules

Eight reward rules are: ① those who are loyal to mountain affairs will be rewarded; (2) those who refuse enemy officers and soldiers are rewarded; (3) those who get the most horses are rewarded; (4) those who expand mountain affairs will be rewarded; (5) those who spy on the enemy are rewarded; 6. The person who leads the most people will be rewarded; ⑦ Those who strive for the first place will be rewarded; Today, those who work together will be rewarded.

Eight chop strips

The eight rules are: ① those who reveal secrets will be beheaded; (2) those who refuse to obey the order will be beheaded; (3) those who run away from the battle will be beheaded; (4) adultery spies beheaded; (5) water diversion with line cut; ⑥ Those who engulf the water head will be beheaded; ⑦ bully others of the same kind; Today dally with women beheaded.

In modern China, gangs, large and small, flooded all over the country, doing evil. Most of them don't work, farm or engage in legitimate business activities, but they often have delicious food and gorgeous clothes, and some gangsters even have a lot of money and live a luxurious life. So, where did their property come from?

There are many ways for bandits to collect property: attacking rich households and looting towns are the main means; Kidnapping for ransom, hard apportionment and drug trafficking are their specialty.

(1) robbery

Violent robbery is a long-standing bandit action mode. In the secluded place of the main road, a big man with thick arms and round waist suddenly flashed out, shouting: "I opened this mountain and planted this tree. If you want to cross from now on, stay and buy money." The timid merchants had to unload the goods and throw out the money.

(2) Kidnapping and extortion

The act of kidnapping hostages is called kidnapping. "Ticket" means money, so it is called "meat ticket", also known as "God of Wealth" because it is tied to people. In Sichuan area, it is called "fat pig"; In Xiangxi area, kidnapping is called "leading the sheep". Kidnapping is one of the main channels for bandits to rob property. Bandits, big or small, whether righteous or evil, all engage in kidnapping.

Compared with simple robbery, kidnapping for ransom has three obvious advantages:

First of all, this method is basically accepted by the victims, so the risk is small;

Secondly, families who are kidnapped will generally redeem the victims;

Finally, the kidnapping can be moved and easily taken away when the gangs migrate.

Kidnapping must first find the target. Before deciding to kidnap, bandits should make clear whether the victim has enough money to take risks. Before kidnapping, bandits sometimes emphasized "courtesy before soldiers". Before "hanging sheep", the bandits in Xiangxi wrote to ask for money, either opium, food or going abroad according to the situation of the other side. If the victim delivers it on time and according to the number, the bandits will also issue a receipt. If the victim invites officers and men to encircle him, bandits will take advantage of the victim's surprise and come to kill and rob things. If the victim is lucky enough to delay paying, the bandits will officially order "hanging the sheep" and extort money. Under normal circumstances, bandits in the northeast always give "priority" to those wealthy families who have oil and water to squeeze, but such kidnapping has to take great risks. Many small and medium-sized families will also become the main targets of bandits' kidnapping, because although their families have a little property, they still can't reach the level of hiring bodyguards.

The bandit is most likely to kidnap the householder. The kidnapped person should occupy a very important position in the family. For example, the only child, the family will be forced to hand over the ransom immediately in order to ensure the continuation of blood. As the target of kidnapping, it may also be a child (known as "holding a boy" in slang) or a girl to be married (demanding redemption on the same day, and not wanting it after the night, so it is called "quick ticket" in slang). If the master is a dutiful son, the bandits kidnap the old man or the old lady. Bandits will also kidnap the main figures in the village, such as the village head, and the whole village will raise money to pay the ransom.

In a word, bandits will never risk their lives to tie a worthless meat ticket.

(3) foreign tickets

Modern bandits also kidnapped foreigners in China, known as "foreign tickets." During the Republic of China, it was common for foreigners to be kidnapped and redeemed. Bandits kidnapped foreigners, not out of national hatred, nor entirely for ransom. Instead, it takes advantage of the government's fear of foreign countries and regards foreign tickets as a "trump card" against the authorities. Taking "foreign tickets" as hostages, bandits used them as bargaining chips with the authorities when negotiating the conditions of being reorganized into an army and demanding high ransom.

It is the old foreigner gangs who successfully use the magic weapon of "foreign tickets". From the second half of 1922, old foreigners kidnapped 14 foreign hostages. When attacked by government forces, the old foreigners not only used meat stamps as a shield. He also used "killing tickets" to threaten the loyalists not to pursue them too much. In the face of imperialist diplomatic pressure, the Beiyang warlord government was fearful and did not dare to destroy it, so it had to send people to woo.

Bands from all over the country were greatly inspired and joined forces to follow suit. 1923 In May, another carjacking case occurred in Lincheng, which shocked China and foreign countries. More than 20 foreigners were taken hostage. At the same time, the kidnapping of "foreign tickets" spread to the whole country, especially the Yangtze River basin. 1923 In this year, 4 1 American, 23 British and 14 Japanese were kidnapped.

(4) Apportionment

Apportioning donations is another way for bandits to gather wealth. In order to enrich themselves, many bandits make excuses in the name of protecting the place on their occupied territory, collecting grain and distributing money on the spot, and plundering the people's wealth.

(5) Drug trafficking

In the early years of the Republic of China, the price of tobacco soil in many areas was close to gold on the black market, which was full of great temptation for bandits. High-priced opium smoke is a cash cow for bandits. In order to get opium, bandits forced farmers to grow cigarettes, and besides collecting tobacco tax, they also trafficked opium. In addition, bandits also used opium to buy off the government and the army.

As long as you become a bandit, you must learn to speak slang. Slang is an important symbol for bandits to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, unite teams, keep in touch and exclude outsiders. According to statistics, during the Republic of China, there were * * * groups 134 of bandit slang in various places, and there were five forms of expression.

One is to infiltrate the meaning of bandits' special needs on the basis of dialects; The second is to learn from the ready-made code words of secret societies; The third is to derive argot from specific things; The fourth is to find a substitute word to form a code word because of taboo; The fifth is to separate a kind of argot from bandits' behavior hobbies.

Code words cover all aspects of daily life, and all languages in which people live and socialize have corresponding words, which are divided into several categories, such as eating and wearing, greeting, making friends, contacting, surnames, human organs, articles, animals, general terms and fighting.

Bandit organizational system

The mountain is called "shelf" and the mountain is called "climbing shelf". Bandits in stock are called "poles", and gangs are called "poles", "poles" and "poles". Ordinary bandits are called "ringing horses" and "swordsmen". The gang leader is called "General Racer", "Racer", "Trip Commander" and "Master". The deputy under the bandit leader is called "the head of the pole" and "the two poles". Bandit parties are called "touching poles" and merging is called "joining poles". The bandit soldiers are called "the sons and daughters", and the secretaries are called "Niu Yi" and "White Fan". The staff officer is called "division", the cashier is called "account rack" and the scout is called "patrol".

In terms of horse fighting

"Going on a business trip" means going out to rob, "going on a personal business trip" is a private action, "martial errand" is a big robbery, "flapping the wind" is to meet the enemy head-on, "opening the taste" is to open fire against officers and soldiers, and "handing over the shell" is a fierce battle. "Falling into the water" means being caught or killed by officers and men, "being colored" means being injured, "being stuck with gold" means being shot, "crossing the side" means being dead, and "sleeping" means being killed. "Winning the wind" means winning the battle, "losing the wind" means losing the battle, "going with the water" means retreating, and "going against the water" means returning to the mountain. The stolen goods are called "Shuitou", and the place where stolen goods are traded is called "Shelf Building". "Blossoming" and "splitting bully" refer to dividing the spoils, "putting the table" refers to gambling, "signing the ticket" refers to road robbery, and "wiping the Woods" refers to robbing villages. The pike is called "arm" and the machine gun is called "spray tube" and "water duck". Pistols are called "abductors" and "waist pushers", and bullets are called "white rice", "an elixir of gold", "ocean" and "nails". The knife is called "the mouth is sharp", the beheading is called "the city circle", the spanking is called "patting tofu", the killing is called "the beam", and the shooting is called "knocking" and "collapsing".

Other code words

"Water" is wealth, "big water" is great wealth, and "small water" is small wealth. Yaotang is a house, Red Kiln is a burning house, Dumb Kiln is a temple, Jumping Kiln is a brothel, Running Water Kiln is a hotel, Bitter Water Kiln is a drugstore, Bitter Water Kiln is a restaurant, Mixed Kiln is a bathhouse, Fog Earth Kiln is an opium hall and Art Kiln is a theater. Wheels are cars, crazy people are horses, tall-legged people are mules, long-necked people are donkeys, blowers are cows, humps are sheep, humps are pigs, skins are dogs, sharp-billed people are chickens and flat-billed people are ducks.

These bandit argots used to be systematic and plentiful, but it is difficult to collect them today. Many people can't remember so much. These are the argots collected in Luoning, and some of them are provided by Ruzhou people who work in Luoyang. Experts have verified that the "mother tongue" of bandits' argot in the Central Plains is in Ruzhou, which is based on Ruzhou dialect. After the emergence of bandit argot, it gradually developed, and then added import orders and secret gestures and actions, forming a special "language family".

Because there are too many bandits, sometimes bandits are too lazy to greet each other in argot, so they greet each other in plain language. If these seem normal, there are also special "routines". If the answers are confused, it will prove that you are not in the Jianghu.

The following is the common Ming language among bandits in Ruzhou, jia county and Baofeng:

Q: Where are you from?

A: I come from where I come from.

Q: Where are you going?

A: I'm going where I want to go.

Q: What do you have with you?

A: I have three sticks of incense and 500 yuan cash. Friend, I may have come to you, but I have left (when I say the last sentence, the newcomer points his finger behind the questioner).

The first few words, when asked and answered, seem to be clear, but they are also strange. Especially the last sentence, if you don't know, you can't answer it, which means that you are no longer a gangster, and the other party may find you trouble.

Before Yang Zirong went to Mount Weihu, he had seriously studied bandit argot. In the Peking Opera "Taking the Tiger Mountain Outward", Yang Zirong hits the tiger up the mountain, enters the bandit cave, and has a conversation with a mountain sculpture.

Mountain carving: the king of heaven covers the earth!

Yang Zirong: River Demon in Baota Town!

Bandits: Huh? Huh?

Yang Zirong: Speaking at noon, nobody has a home!

This is all slang, translated as: mountain carving: how dare you! How dare you be angry with your ancestors? Yang Zirong: In that case, let me fall from the mountain and die! Fall into the river and drown! Bandits: Why did you do it alone before? Yang Zirong: Speaking at noon, Xu Da is from the mountain!

Next, the mountain carving uses Ming language, and suddenly comes: What are you blushing about? Yang Zirong replied: refreshed-why is it yellow again? Yang Zirong unhurriedly replied: Cold-proof wax!

The argot and the plain language were asked and answered, and Yang Zirong was not stumped, and there was no flaw. The mountain carving was relieved, and Yang Zirong was identified as the bandit Hu Biao. It can be seen that bandits all over China use argot to distinguish between camps and distinguish between true and false. Argot is really a soft environment for their survival, and they can't leave for a moment. When new bandits join in, they should learn code words first. After learning the code word, you can go down the mountain and do some simple robbery business.

Bandit kingdom

Western Henan, with Luoyang as the center, is the birthplace of Chinese civilization, and has long been the first place in the center of civilization, but it has also become one of the places where banditry is the worst in China.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, western Henan became a kingdom of bandits. According to historical data, in 19 1 1 year, Luoyang officials complained that western Henan had become a "bandit zone", but they were at a loss to see that almost no village was free from bandits. In the past, swordsmen only went out at night and only started work in remote villages; Now the towns are robbed in broad daylight, and at four or five o'clock in the afternoon, the roads in urban and rural fields are sparsely populated, and the gates and zhaimen are closed one after another.

What kind of scene is that-the scenery in Qiu Lai in western Henan is different, and there is no news of the geese in Luoyang. Bandits began to sound in all directions. Thousands of miles away, the long smoke and the sunset are closed! In this situation, villages and towns in western Henan have built villages to guard against bandits. Whenever bandits cross the border and gongs ring at the head of the village, the people will help the old and take care of the young, bring valuables and hide in the villages one after another. The older generation says this is called "running bandits". So the confrontation between people and bandits in western Henan became a typical picture of the small-scale war in old China ...

There are two famous bandit areas in western Henan, one of which includes Linru, Baofeng, Lushan and jia county counties. During the Republic of China, the once famous bandit leaders Bai Lang, the old foreigner, Fan Zhongxiu and widow Zhang all came from this. Li Zicheng used to recruit here in the late Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, bandits in this area were quite active. At the beginning of the Republic of China, the Bailang Uprising swept the land of Zhongzhou and shocked the whole country. 1922 Feng Yuxiang said that there were six or seven thousand bandits here.

Another bandit area in western Henan is the northern foothills of Funiu Mountain Range and Xiong 'er Mountain Range, including Songxian, Luoning and Lushi areas, from which Wang Yaozong, the "Hero of Zhongzhou", and Ding Laoba, the famous grand theft auto, all come. In the 1920s, it was estimated that there were 6,700 bandits in Luoning county alone, accounting for 3% of the county's population and 1/3 of the total number of bandits in western Henan.

During the Republic of China, bandits in western Henan were famous all over the country for their large number and scale. Causes: the natural environment such as topography and climate provides external conditions for the emergence of bandits; Agricultural overpopulation provides sufficient sources for bandits in western Henan; The exploitation of feudal landlords is the basic cause of bandits in western Henan; Corruption in official administration has intensified the emergence of bandits in western Henan; The warlord melee stimulated the growth of bandits in western Henan. According to estimates, bandits accounted for about 0.5% of the total population at that time, and bandits in Henan accounted for about1%of the population, while western Henan was the place with the strongest bandits and the highest proportion, and it was hard to distinguish between the people and the bandits.

Bandits in western Henan not only gathered in the mountains, kidnapped and looted, but also attacked Jizhai. They not only conquered the county town several times, but also left after looting. They even ran thousands of miles to plunder in eastern Henan, Anhui and Hubei.