Gang Leader Qiao sat on a stone roller in front of the empty field. Behind him were granaries that were set against the blue sky and white clouds.
Arbor was tall and burly. Because he had been working on the ship all year round, his feet and arms were abnormally thick and strong. He looked like a tiger sitting on the ground. However, his face was full of hesitation and worry. This kind of weak expression formed a strong contrast with his burly figure.
The Qiao family was considered an aristocratic family in the shipping industry. It wasn't a noble family in Shandong or a noble family in Guanlong, but an aristocratic family in Jianghu. Since the fifth generation, Qiao Mu had been involved in the transportation business. His descendants had been running boats for a living.
On Qiao Mu's left stood his second younger brother, Qiao Lin, and on his right stood his third younger brother, Qiao Sen. Standing on both sides of him were the elite backbones of the "Shun Sect". There were twenty young disciples in total. Unlike the worries of the three elders, they clenched their fists tightly, and their angry chests heaved up and down like bellows, as if they were suppressing great anger.
Qiao Mu was silent for a long time. Then, he let out a long breath and said in a deep voice, "Yiqing!"
A bronze-skinned man with big eyes and thick eyebrows stepped forward and cupped his fists. "Here!"
This person's surname was Zhuo, and his full name was Zhuo Yi Qing. He was in his early thirties, and was a leading figure among the younger generation of the 'Smooth Sect'.
Qiao Mu said, "If we can't settle this matter today, our Shun School will be finished. This is the foundation of our Qiao Family that has been handed down by our ancestors. I am duty-bound to take responsibility for it. I can only pay the death penalty to my ancestors! After I die, you … should join the Flood Dragon Union with your brothers. "
Zhuo Yi Qing was unable to restrain his anger and said: "How can the Sect Leader say that? Which brother of our Shun Gate is greedy for life and afraid of death? If worse comes to worst, we'll just fight the Flood Dragon Union. I'll be the first to kill anyone who dares to betray our master! "
Qiao Mu shook his head and said sadly, "Which one of us doesn't have a family to feed? We have a whole family to support. What are you going to use to fight with them? Can we even fight with them? It was I, Qiao, who was incompetent and could not protect the ancestral property. I, Qiao, will bear all the responsibility. You don't need to worry! "
In a loud voice, Zhuo Yi Qing said, "Ever since I, the one surnamed Zhuo, was born, I have been a member of the Shun Men's boat! In life, I am a man of the Smooth Gate. In death, I am a ghost of the Smooth Gate! I can't betray my master and defect to the enemy! The brothers couldn't do it either! Brothers, they want to swallow up our Shun Gate, do you agree? "
"No! Fight it out with them! "
The twenty burly men spoke in unison, their expressions unusually heroic. Qiao Mu flew into a rage. He glared at Zhuo Yiqing and said, "I'm still the Sect Master of the Shun Faction. How dare you disobey my orders?"
Zhuo Yi Qing was extremely terrified, he hurriedly knelt down and said, "This disciple does not dare to disobey, but … but this kind of order, this disciple cannot obey!" As he spoke of his grievances, the huge man actually prostrated himself on the ground and cried loudly.
The reason why Zhuo Yiqing was so terrified was not because Qiao Mu was strict. In fact, rather than saying that they were from a gang, it would be more accurate to say that they were from the same clan. As soon as they were born, they inherited their father's position and became members of the Shun Family. Qiao Mu was their father's brother and their uncle. When they grew up, they went to work on the boat. Only then did they have a clear hierarchy and were bound by the gang rules.
The reason why he was so terrified was because the rules of the Water Gang were very strict. He could not bear the crime of disobeying orders.
Ever since the arrival of the water transport, the river laborers naturally gathered into groups and gradually formed their own set of rules. The water transport gangs were always managed according to quasi-military standards.
Every year at the end of January, the river laborers would set off from their homes and sail to Yangzhou. After about a month, they would gather at Yangzhou and load the local grain onto the ships. Then, they would continue to load grain from various grain producing areas. In April, they would pass through the Huai River and enter the Bian River. In June and July, they would reach the mouth of the Yellow River.
At this time, the Yellow River was rising. Their ships would wait at the mouth of the river for more than a month. In August and September, when the water level of the Yellow River receded, they would pass through the Yellow River and enter the Luo River to transport the grain to Luoyang. Some of the grain ships would unload at Luoyang, while the others would continue up the river, pass through the dangerous Sanmen Gorge and enter the Guanzhong Waterway. Finally, they would pass through the Wei River to Chang 'an.
In this way, they would be floating on the water for nine months every year. Only three months would they be able to reunite with their families because of the frozen river. In these nine months, they had been guarding their own ship, carrying boatloads of food through the main transportation artery of the Empire, supplying it with blood and nutrients.
In the army, if a soldier disobeyed a military order, it might not necessarily affect the fate of the entire army. But on a ship, every sailor had an irreplaceable position. Once they slacked off, the whole ship would be buried with them. Therefore, there had to be some strict rules on the ship. They used gang rules that were close to military rules and sometimes even stricter than military rules to restrain everyone.
In the process of sailing, if any troublemaker dared to disobey an order, he would immediately be tied to a stone and thrown into the river to be executed. Even the families of the deceased would tacitly agree to this rule. If someone reported it, the government would also acquiesce to their "rules". They would refuse to accept the case because there was no evidence. And the families of the deceased would be abandoned by the whole Cao Gang. They would never be able to carry on this business again.
They were a group of people who lived under the law, but also dissociated from the law. They had their own set of stricter "laws" to restrain themselves. They were stricter in carrying out orders and prohibitions than the army. Over time, they formed a special team with gang traditions and military characteristics. That was why Zhuo Yiqing was so terrified when Qiao Mu said that he disobeyed orders.
"Hahaha, touching. It's so touching! I seem to have come at the wrong time. Xu Xiaolian, why don't we wait a little longer? We can talk after Gang Leader Qiao finishes dealing with their family affairs. "
A sarcastic voice suddenly sounded. The speaker was in his early twenties. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, long pants, and leather boots. His clothes were thin and narrow, which made him look as slim as a bean sprout. He had thin eyes and light eyebrows, and his face was frivolous. When he walked, he clasped his thighs and swayed his buttocks like a coy woman. It was Wen Bin, the young master of the "Flood Dragon Gang".
Gang Leader Wen had two sons, both of whom died young. Therefore, he spoiled his youngest son very much. In order to raise him better, he specially dressed him as a girl. As a result, when he grew up, he also smelled of rouge.
Beside Wen Bin, there was a middle-aged man in a slanted green robe and a net scarf on his head. He had a mustache, which made him look gentle and dignified. Behind them, there were nearly a hundred strong men with their trousers and sleeves rolled up. Their muscular arms and calves were exposed, and their faces were ferocious.
Looking at their posture, Qiao Mu was shocked. It seemed that the other side didn't want to settle this peacefully.
Qiao Mu braced himself to greet the middle-aged man in a green robe with a mustache. He cupped his hands and saluted him, saying, "Xu Xiaolian, thank you for coming. The disciples of the two gangs are young and impetuous, and there was a little conflict. Now, the harmony has been damaged. Xu Xiaolian, you are a person of virtue and prestige. I hope you can come forward to mediate. "
This Mr. Xu was called Xu Lin. He was originally a scholar who took part in the imperial examination and was honored as a Juren. He was also a member of the Grain Gang, an important figure of another big gang, the "Heavenly Eagle Gang".
A weak scholar became an important figure of a big gang and led a group of unruly Jianghu people, which was exactly the characteristic of the Grain Gang. Because the Grain Gang was different from the underworld and the underworld. They lived in a gray area. Although they had the characteristics of Jianghu people, they had to abide by the system of the government in some matters.
The imperial court had a special organization to manage the collection and transportation of the grain, which led to a complicated system of hidden rules. The peasants handed over grain to the Grain Transport Yamen. The bailiffs, petty officials, and officials who collected the grain tax would exploit them layer by layer, taking advantage of them in the name of donations.
During the process of transportation, the officials, petty officials, bailiffs, and odd-job workers at the gates would also exploit them layer by layer. If they didn't satisfy them, they would make things difficult for them, not allowing them to pass. If they missed the deadline, the losses would all be theirs. When they stopped at the various docks, the local bullies would also collude with the officials to cause trouble, extorting and extorting.
Even when they were on the water, when they encountered official ships and other ships with the right of way, the grain boats had to give way. If they deliberately made trouble for them, they could block them at the narrow river, and they would have to wait impatiently behind them. These were not things that these Jianghu people could solve with force.
But if they let others exploit them like this, their losses would be too great. In this case, the Grain Gang could only make friends with the gentry and deal with the government through them. The gentry had connections and power in the government, and they had the right to speak. When they came forward, the officials couldn't be as unscrupulous as they were when they directly exploited the people.
As time went by, the status of these gentry in the Grain Gang grew higher and higher, and their role became more and more important. Some even joined the Grain Gang and became one of the leaders of these Jianghu people. At present, the largest few Grain Gangs all had the participation of gentry, and some were even led by them behind the scenes.
Xu Lin cupped his hands at Qiao Mu and said with a faint smile, "Gang Leader Qiao, the matter between you and him is very tricky. After much persuasion, Young Gang Leader Xu has finally agreed to bury the hatchet. However, your Shun Gang has to cancel its name and merge with the Flood Dragon Gang. From now on, we are on the same side, so a little conflict is naturally nothing! "
Qiao Mu's expression froze as soon as he heard that. This was originally the condition proposed by the Flood Dragon Gang. Xu Xiaolian was not mediating, but clearly on the side of the Flood Dragon Gang.
The more than 20 disciples behind Qiao Mu exploded as soon as they heard that. "You want to annex our Shun Gang? No way! We won't agree!"
"Right! We'd rather die than agree! "
In an empty field in the distance, a little village girl with a green handkerchief wrapped around her head and a green cloth skirt bent over with grass in her hands suddenly raised her head. She used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat on her forehead and turned her head to the side. As she straightened her posture, her beautiful breasts immediately revealed a moving arc, and her narrow waist concave into a charming curve.
"It seems that they are going to fight?"
The pretty little village girl looked into the distance and said with a smile.
A burly man next to her stood still with the help of a bamboo rake in his hand. He slightly raised the bamboo hat that was pressed down to his eyebrows, cast a cold glance in that direction with a pair of sharp eyes, and said with a frown, "There are almost 200 people. Little sister, can you handle them?"
The little village girl smiled noncommittally, showing two shallow dimples on her cheeks. "If I can't handle them, you guys can do it!"
As she said that, she walked with extremely light and graceful steps toward the place where the swords were drawn …
…
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