In the evening, another piece of shocking news came: Jun Ruyan, the deputy leader of the Flood Dragon Triad, had suffered a stroke! Until now, the Flood Dragon Triad still hadn't taken any action against the Shun Sect.
Qiao Mu was a veteran in Jianghu. Maybe his ability was not as good, but his vision was not bad. All these were enough to show that the girl did have an extremely powerful force behind her. Qiao Mu thought it through, so he stood on Gu Zhuting's side.
He had no choice. Other small sects didn't care about being annexed by others as long as they could make a living, but he couldn't. He carried the glory of his ancestors, but he couldn't restore the glory of his ancestors. This had become his biggest worry. He would rather die than let the inheritance of his ancestors be destroyed.
Even if there was only one boat left in the Shun Sect, at least the name was still there. This might be a very stupid idea, but in Qiao Mu's belief of respecting his ancestors, this kind of persistence was the belief he had been fighting for all his life. Therefore, he couldn't give up, even if the flag of the Shun Sect was already broken.
If he didn't give up, under the full suppression of the Flood Dragon Triad, he could only give his ancestors an explanation with his life. In the end, the Shun Sect still couldn't escape the danger of being destroyed. But now Miss Gu stood up. She might not be able to protect him forever with her martial arts, but she was obviously not alone.
If the Master that this young lady spoke of really had such great power, and if her Master could even command the Dugu Family, then wouldn't it be possible for the Shun Gate to be safe from danger? Wouldn't it be possible for the Dugu Family to regain its former glory? Wouldn't it be possible for the Shun Gate to be restored?
Therefore, after hearing the news of Jun Ruyan's stroke, Qiao Mu returned to his room, holding the sewn and dusty flag of the Shun Sect, and thought for a long time. When he went out of his room again, he summoned his two brothers and several stewards of the gang, and decisively issued an order: from now on, his "niece", Gu Zhuting, would be the leader of the Shun Sect.
There were more than 20 people in the Shun Sect who could fight. These people had seen Gu Zhuting's martial arts and were naturally convinced by her, so there was no resistance to this appointment. However, all of these people were currently injured. If something were to happen now, it was likely that Miss Gu would have to take action alone. There were more than two hundred strong men in the gang, but with their mediocre martial arts, having them take action would only add to the medical expenses of their already strapped lives.
Then, Qiao Mu asked Zhuo Yiqing to go out with his wounds. According to Gu Zhuting's order, he went to visit the other small gangs that were also bullied by the big gangs and asked their Grand Masters to come to the Shun Gate to discuss some matters.
At dusk, Li Hei and Yan Shiwei returned from Chang 'an City. They first went to the Wen Mansion and lit a stick of incense for Wen Changxing's memorial tablet. They said a few words to Young Master Wen, who was keeping vigil, and then quietly returned to their own homes. They did not mention when they would support Young Master Wen to ascend to the throne, nor did they mention taking revenge on the Shun School.
The leaders of the small gangs who received Qiao Mu's invitation did not go to the Shun Sect immediately. Instead, they kept a close eye on the Flood Dragon Cult's reaction. They were not as powerful or capable as the Flood Dragon Cult, but it didn't mean that they were not as smart. The abnormal behavior of the Flood Dragon Cult made them decisively walk out of their homes and rush to the Qiao family.
Obviously, there was going to be a change in Ba. Although the Shun Sect had not revealed their trump card, judging from the reaction of the Flood Dragon Cult, they must have something to rely on. It was always good for them to go to the Shun Sect and find out what was going on. Compared with the Flood Dragon Cult, they were closer to the Shun Sect, which had also been bullied.
"Brother Qiao, how are you?"
When the leaders of the small gangs arrived at the Qiao family, they pretended to ask about Qiao Mu's injury, but their eyes kept glancing at Gu Zhuting.
Although they had long known that it was this woman who made the Flood Dragon Cult suffer a great loss. The leader of the Flood Dragon Cult died suddenly, the helmsman of the Caokou suffered a stroke, the helmsman of the Caoquan School, and another deputy leader of the Caoquan School didn't dare to say anything because of her. But when they saw her with their own eyes, they still couldn't believe that she was such a delicate and timid woman. Her waist wasn't even as thick as my thigh.
After Qiao Mu introduced Gu Zhuting one by one, he said to the leaders, "This is my niece. Her surname is Gu. From now on, she is the helmsman of the Caoquan School of the Shun Sect. I'm injured and need to recuperate for a while, so she is now in charge of all the affairs of the Shun Sect. Today, I invited you here because I have something to discuss with you. Zhuting, tell your uncles about it. "
Gu Zhuting nodded and neatly cupped her hands to the crowd. Then, she said in a clear voice, "Seniors, in terms of seniority and age, I, a junior, have no place to speak in the Shun Sect. Since my uncle has put this burden on my shoulders and my brothers trust me, I have no choice but to take this responsibility! I'm young and inexperienced. If I've said something wrong, please forgive me. "
Han Yuantang of the Iron Helm Gang said, "In Jianghu, those who are capable come first. Miss Gu, don't stand on ceremony. Our muscles and bones are rusty, but our old eyes are still sharp. We know what happened on Ba in the past two days. Hehe, if we really compare, we are old loaches in a shallow ditch, while you are a dragon girl in a big river. If you have anything to say, just say it! "
"Okay!"
Gu Zhuting said straightforwardly, "You are all like our Shun Sect. You are all bullied by those big gangs and sects, and you all seek a way to survive through the fingers of others. Now that I'm the helmsman of the Caoquan School of the Shun Sect, I have to think about the Shun Sect. I wonder, if we all stick together, will others still treat us as pushovers?
Seniors, each of you has five or six boats and a hundred brothers. If we stick together, we will have thirty or forty boats and eight or nine hundred brothers. At that time, let alone others, at least gangs like the Flood Dragon Cult will not dare to bully us casually. "
Han Yuantang frowned and interrupted Gu Zhuting. "Miss Gu, you must have never been in the transportation business, haven't you? Some things are not as simple as you say. "
Gu Zhuting smiled and said, "Please enlighten me, Senior."
Han Yuantang said, "If it's just to stick together, do you think we will wait until now? Brother Qiao's Shun Sect is an old name. It used to be the most famous signboard in the underworld. Brother Qiao doesn't want to ruin his ancestral business, but we don't have such concerns.
We've worked hard for half of our lives and pieced together these broken boats just to make a living. If we could have a big tree to rely on, we'd be more than happy to have it. But … we have too many people and too few boats. Those big sects don't care about us. It's even harder to make a living on our own. Our boats are neither big nor small, and our disciples' water skills are just passable. We can't take some jobs, and we don't dare to take some that we can, because those big gangs won't let us go if we block their way of making money. They don't need to use force, but they will make trouble for you along the way, and you won't be able to continue your business.
From collecting taxes and grain to shipping, from Yangzhou to Chang 'an, all the profitable places had long been divided up by the big gangs and sects. We were weak, and we didn't have the Cao Kou to take care of, so we could only follow behind the big gangs and sects, picking up the scattered businesses that they were too lazy to do or that weren't profitable.
Those big gangs have connections, means, and backers. That's why they want to do business as big as possible. We don't have any of these things. We only have a few broken boats and a hundred brothers, and we can barely fill our stomachs. Once we stick together, how can we do business? "
Gu Zhuting's clear eyes swept across the crowd and asked, "Seniors, do you all have the same concerns?"
The crowd nodded one after another, all talking at once, sighing endlessly.
Gu Zhuting smiled and said, "If I say that these are not problems for me, then would you all be willing to join me?"
The crowd listened and looked at each other. Han YuanTang asked doubtfully, "Miss, do you really have this ability?"
It was no wonder that he didn't believe her. If the Shun Gate could solve these problems, why would they need to pull them in? They had fewer boats and more people, and their skills in sailing were poor, so they would be a burden to others.
Just as Gu Zhuting was about to speak, Zhuo Yiqing suddenly walked in and rushed to Gu Zhuting's side. He whispered a few words into her ear. Gu Zhuting smiled lightly, and a pair of attractive dimples appeared on her cheeks. "Uncles, please follow Brother Zhuo. I'll treat you to a good show!"
…
At night, Baishang Town was still bustling with activity. This place was originally a relatively isolated and isolated environment. Other than transporting water, the locals were mostly doing business. Therefore, the gradually desolate and desolate atmosphere of the long streets in Chang 'an City before the curfew could not be seen here.
The people strolling on the streets were still taking leisurely steps, and the small businesses were still doing well. The taverns were bustling with noise, and the gambling dens were shouting and drinking. The gamblers were shouting until their ears were red, and the low-end brothels had red lanterns hanging high. The sounds of birds chirping could be heard. Baishang Town at night was even livelier than during the day.
There were more than 40,000 watermen and sailors in Baishang Town, and this did not include the families of those who were already married. Adding on the original families of the town's farmers, and some merchants who came to the town to do business as watermen, it formed a special group with a high population density.
The main force of this group was the tens of thousands of watermen and sailors, most of them were bachelors. Wine, women, avarice, and anger were their favorite places to spend their time, and thus caused the abnormal prosperity of Baishang Town. This abnormal prosperity appeared at the end of every year, because the watermen had all returned to the town, and it was especially lively.
When they were about to reach Baishang Town, Yang Fan changed his appearance. A messy beard appeared under his chin, and his eyes were still handsome. Because of this beard, it gave him a bit more of a rough and heroic feeling of a Jianghu person. This was something Yang Fan had learned from Ah Nu before he left the capital. It could not be said to be very brilliant, but it was just a simple disguise. It could not be hidden from acquaintances, but it was enough to deceive people in Baishang Town.
Yang Fan had just entered the town with his horse, and from the way the townspeople looked at them, he felt that something was wrong. This was not Luoyang City, nor was it Chang 'an City. It was not the kind of big city where scholars and merchants from all over the world came to study. Here, even if there was only one person, as long as you were a stranger, it would be like a drop of water splashed into a pot of boiling oil, immediately attracting the attention of the people of Baishang Town.
Although Baishang Town had a population of more than 100,000, and not all of the townspeople knew each other, but from a person's attire and temperament, they could easily distinguish whether you were a townspeople or not. Yang Fan's group of five was a bigger target. Moreover, such a big incident had just happened in the town today, which made it even more eye-catching.
Yang Fan had not yet made contact with Gu Zhuting, so he did not know how the situation was going. It was not suitable for others to know his purpose now, so he decisively dispelled the idea of directly going to the Shun Gate. In a low voice, he said to Ren Wei, "Let's first find an inn, and stay there before we talk!"
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