Most people in Chang 'an knew that for some unknown reason, Old Chao of Spring Breeze Pavilion was reluctant to mention the name of his gang, the Fish-dragon Gang. He preferred to call the biggest gang in Chang' an Spring Breeze Pavilion. Many people guessed that it was because he had lived in the Spring Breeze Pavilion Henger Street since he was a child. His enemies secretly ridiculed him, thinking that he had killed too many people, made too much money, and done too many bad things. But he didn't want others to call him vulgar, so he insisted on associating himself and his gang with the seemingly elegant name of Spring Breeze Pavilion.
Spring Breeze Pavilion was located in the slum area of Eastern City. Its buildings were dilapidated. From day to night, it was full of peddlers and idlers. It couldn't even be called quiet, so it was not elegant at all. But today, the area of Spring Breeze Pavilion was extraordinarily quiet. It was so quiet that the sound of rain falling was like thunder. It was so quiet that the sound of cold wind blowing through the shabby pancake shop's signboard was like the sound of pines. From the Henger Street to the Henger Street, there was no passerby walking in the rain. Not even the cry of a baby could be heard. It was as if nothing existed except for the wind and rain and the streets shrouded by the chilling atmosphere. It was deathly quiet.
The distance from Lin 47th Street to Spring Breeze Pavilion was not too far. The two people walked slowly like tourists. It didn't take them long to enter the quiet street and dark alley.
The Spring Breeze Pavilion ahead was hidden in the darkness and the sound of wind and rain. They could only vaguely see a shabby pavilion, but they didn't know how many enemies were also hiding inside and outside the Spring Breeze Pavilion.
Ning Que, wearing a black mask and carrying a lot of things on his back, walked behind Chao Xiaoshu with an oil-paper umbrella. He played the role of a waiter very well. No one knew when he had taken the umbrella from Chao Xiaoshu's hand.
Chao Xiaoshu, as usual, walked with his hands behind his back. Even though his cyan robe was mostly wet by the rain from the oil-paper umbrella, he still wore a faint smile on his face, which illuminated the wind and rain outside the umbrella to some extent.
It was deathly quiet around the shabby pavilion.
The people lying in ambush here didn't expect that there weren't 3,000 brothers in cyan robes as they had imagined, but only Spring Breeze Pavilion's Old Chao alone. Then, accompanied by wind and rain, he broke in with a silent teenager.
After a long period of silence, after confirming that only Old Chao and Ning Que of the Spring Breeze Pavilion were there, the enemies hiding in the night wind and rain no longer hid their whereabouts. Accompanied by the continuous footsteps, the patter of the soles of the boots on the shallow water, and the grinding sound of the sharp knives being slowly unsheathed, hundreds of solemn-looking Jianghu men walked out from the back of the pavilion and from the side of the house from the alley.
Old Chao and Ning Que of the Spring Breeze Pavilion stood not far from the shabby pavilion, quietly watching the dense crowd coming from all directions. Chao Xiaoshu smiled and did not ask whether the lad behind him was afraid of such a boring question. He raised his arm to wipe the rainwater off his face and pointed to a slightly plump middle-aged man in the middle of the crowd.
"This man is called Lord Meng, the head of Southern City. The bald man beside him is called Tietou Song. Lord Meng is Tietou Song's elder brother, and Tietou Song is the elder brother of the so-and-so who went to your shop to make trouble that day."
As the green-clothed middle-aged man raised his arm, the crowd surrounding them in the rainy night suddenly became restless. The expressions of the men who stood at the very front with sharp blades in their hands to show off their bravery to their boss stiffened, and they subconsciously took a step back. Ning Que stood behind him and quietly watched this scene. He roughly understood the status of the Fish-dragon Gang in the dark world of Chang 'an City and the deterrent power of Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion in the hearts of these Jianghu people.
Chao Xiaoshu smiled and did not say anything to ridicule him. He pointed to a thin and tall man deep in the east side of the crowd and said, "This is Junjie, the manager of Western City. He also has many men under his command. My brothers are very close to him."
Then he looked at the crowd standing in a small circle behind the pavilion and slightly frowned. He said, "Those are Uncle Mao's men. Uncle Mao has always hung around with the Chang 'an Local Government. He is very unruly and disgusting. I am naturally not afraid of him, but since his sister-in-law is the concubine of the Registrar General of the Chang 'an Local Government, I have to show him some respect. "
"Those men are more troublesome. They are all retired from the City Gate Guards and have real martial arts. What is more troublesome is that the City Gate Guards themselves are very dissatisfied with me because I don't need to pay tribute to them for the freight routes I am in charge of. If I kill them, I don't know whether the City Gate Guards will be stupid enough to continue to make trouble."
In the rainy spring night, hundreds of Chang 'an heroes gathered around the Spring Breeze Pavilion in order to besiege and kill him, the leader of the biggest gang in Chang' an. However, in the face of such a situation, he very gently introduced to Ning Que who came tonight without leaving out any one. He seemed to be extraordinarily patient or confident.
Ning Que lowered his voice and said, "You can introduce them, but don't introduce me. They are all Chang 'an gangsters. If they know my identity, how can I live in Chang' an City?"
"After tonight, if these people are not killed, they will probably be scared out of their wits." Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion looked at the crowd in the rainy night with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "If so, why are you still afraid of them?"
Ning Que held the umbrella and looked at his back. He explained very seriously, "I am not afraid of killing people, but I am afraid of trouble."
Just when the two were talking softly under the umbrella, the crowd in the rainy night finally couldn't bear the humiliation of looking down on the heroes of Chang 'an. After several discussions, they forced Lord Meng of the Southern City to speak for them.
Although it seemed that Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion was bound to die, to be honest, no one dared to be presumptuous in front of him until he died. Lord Meng of the Southern City was the same. However, at this time, he had the most people and the most power, and he was suppressed by the Fish-dragon Gang the most. It was unreasonable for him to not show up.
"Unloading the grain, moving the warehouse, the logistical support of the Military Ministry, and the guard of the warehouse of the Ministry of Revenue are the most profitable secret jobs in the Tang Empire. These years, your Fish-dragon Gang has occupied all of them, and you don't even share some of the soup with your brothers. Is there really such a reason in the world?"
Lord Meng of the Southern City looked at Chao Xiaoshu coldly and said, "You should be very clear about what it means to offend the public. In the past, your brothers respected you because of your seniority in the Spring Breeze Pavilion. However, now that the imperial court wants to punish you, you are still so stubborn. Then don't blame us for being rude to you."
"The cultural level of people in Jianghu is never high, so they can only say these words over and over again. Years ago, I had to negotiate with people in person, and these words are really getting calluses."
Standing under the umbrella, Chao Xiaoshu looked at Lord Meng of the Southern City who was speaking with fervor and assurance, and said softly with a smile. Of course, his words were not for Lord Meng, but for Ning Que behind him.
Seeing that Chao Xiaoshu despised him so much, Lord Meng of the Southern City looked extremely gloomy. He heavily hit the ground with his crutch and shouted, "The Fish-dragon Gang claims to have 3,000 cyan-robed men, but you and I both know that there are no more than 200 people who dare to fight for you. Now, your brothers who are best at fighting are all suppressed in the Valiant Cavalry Battalion of the Yulin Royal Guards by the nobles. Tonight, I want to see how you can escape!"
Looking at his slightly twitching fat face, Chao Xiaoshu suddenly smiled and answered, "Let me answer your first question first. Whether it's the distribution of grain, storage, or transportation, I've monopolized these businesses for so many years. Naturally, I'm qualified to monopolize them. Whether it's you, Junjie, or Uncle Mao, none of you have the ability to monopolize these businesses. Even if these businesses were placed in front of you, you wouldn't dare to take them.
"You don't need to test whether I have a backup plan or not. I can tell you that none of the brothers of Spring Breeze Pavilion will come to the Spring Breeze Pavilion, and Qi Laosi is not here. Don't you feel strange? Don't feel strange, he and his brothers have gone to your home. I believe that at this time, the Southern City, Eastern City, and the outer house of your Uncle Mao have begun to be disturbed. "
As these words resounded around the dilapidated pavilion, the crowd in the rain suddenly became even more restless. They had surrounded Chao Xiaoshu here and had sent people to track his whereabouts. Who would have thought that Chao Xiaoshu would use himself as bait to lure them here, and then send all the remaining forces of the Fish-dragon Gang to their lair!
"Don't bring disaster to your wife and children's homes!" The retreating men of the City Gate Guards sternly rebuked, "Chao Xiaoshu, you have gone too far!"
Chao Xiaoshu's face was slightly cold, and then he slightly shook his head and said, "You besieged me in front of my home. If I didn't disperse my family members in advance, does it count as bringing disaster to my home? But don't worry, I, Old Cao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion, always do things according to the rules. I don't intend to kill you in front of your home and make your parents, wives, and children sad. "
After a short pause, he looked at the crowd and calmly said, "But after tonight, don't think about having a home in Chang 'an City."
Don't think about having a home in Chang 'an City.
Such a simple sentence made a lot of images appear in the minds of the people present. The five words "Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion" was a promise of faith. If he said he wouldn't touch their families, he definitely wouldn't. However, on a slightly cold spring night, their old parents, sick wives, and children were rudely driven out of their homes, and then the houses and shops they had operated for many years were destroyed by the men in black robes of the Fish-dragon Gang. Who could accept such things happening to themselves?
Lord Meng's fat face twitched again. The umbrella in his hand didn't block all the rain, and this twitch actually flicked off some raindrops on his flesh. He coldly said, "No house can be built again, and the dead can't be brought back to life. As long as we kill you, Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion, Jianghu will be different from then on. Chang 'an City … will be ours!"
"Chang 'an City will always belong to His Majesty the Emperor." Chao Xiaoshu slightly mocked and lowered his head to look at the sword at his waist. Then he raised his head to reveal a heart-warming smile and said, "Speaking of killing me, have you ever seen me fight?"
Ning Que, who was behind him, closed the oil-paper umbrella and casually threw it to his feet. Then he raised his right hand to the hilt of the rain cloud behind him.
Chao Xiaoshu slowly reached out his hand to hold the hilt of the sword at his waist. At the moment when his slender fingers touched the hilt of the rain-stained sword, his black robe slightly shook, and countless raindrops were flicked off into fine water powder, like a misty fog.
The middle-aged man with a gentle smile suddenly became murderous, as if he had become another person. The cold raindrops around him seemed to have felt something. They swayed and tilted to avoid him silently, and no more raindrops dared to touch his black robe.
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