According to common sense, if you violate the gang rules and accept the punishment, you should go directly to the city lord's palace, just because this is the main altar of "Wanjin Hall" and the place where the sect executes punishment. If Xiong Bailing really wants to plead guilty, he will definitely
You can escort your son who has committed a crime here and ask Sima Rulan to deal with him in accordance with the sect's rules, but you should not choose another place outside and hold a banquet for the so-called "application of guilt under a bush".
Moreover, the banquet place he chose is located in the west of the city, closer to Xiongjiazhuang and far away from the city lord's palace, which is even more unreasonable. This approach does not look like an ordinary apology at all, but rather like an appointment between two Jianghu forces.
The negotiation was ordinary, but this so-called apology letter was more like a letter of war.
Hua Bushi read the words on the paper carefully and asked, "Do you know where Mingxiangzhai is in the west of this city?"
Yao Yuanxiao said: "Mingxiangzhai is a tea garden on Gangwei Street. It is a property under the name of 'Xinglong Village'. The tea garden is not far from the port and is in a busy city. It is surrounded by shops.
It’s easy to set up an ambush, and it’s difficult to detect the opponent’s manpower once they sneak into the street shops.”
Hua Bushi frowned and said, "Why is it the property of Xinglong Village? The RT-Mart restaurant we went to today is also owned by Xinglong Village."
Chai Lin said: "Chai told Mr. Hua last time that dozens of big businesses in Okura City have formed a secret alliance, and the leader is Gu Zhengyuan, the owner of Xinglong Village. Now it seems
, I’m afraid the real leader behind the scenes is Xiong Bailing.”
Yao Yuanxiao said: "Mingxiangzhai is not far from Xiongjiazhuang, and it is the property of Xiongjiazhuang. Xiong Bailing must have bad intentions when hosting a banquet there. I think the eldest lady must not go!"
Chai Lin said: "The matter is not that simple. Since the other party has made it clear that they will hold wine at Mingxiangzhai to apologize, if we don't go, we will not only show weakness to others, but also be at a disadvantage in terms of principles. I'm afraid it will be worse in the future.
It is difficult to hold Xiong Tiannan accountable for the crime he committed today, so this must be what Xiong Bailing had in mind."
Yao Yuanxiao said: "Then we can't let the eldest lady go and take risks. Why don't we gather people now and go to Xiongjiazhuang to ask for the crime? We don't have to wait until tomorrow to go to Mingxiangzhai!"
Chai Lin shook his head and said: "This move is even more inappropriate. You don't know the strength of Xiongjiazhuang. The 300 Dazhu tribe trained by Xiong Bailing in the village is the strongest war department in Okura City. He
As the deputy leader of this hall, he also controls most of the people of Wanjin Hall in the city, and the city lord's palace has only about a hundred guards, so you will definitely not get any favors from a head-on confrontation with him."
Yao Yuanxiao said: "I think that although Xiong Bailing can mobilize the men of this hall, except for the men of Xiongjiazhuang and the 'Dazhen tribe' trained by himself, the other brothers in the hall will definitely not follow him to become the enemy of the city lord's palace!
"
Chai Lin said: "Yes, if the other people of Wanjin Tang in the city can help us, there is no need to be afraid of Xiong Bailing. But now that they all don't know the truth, how can they obey our orders? Xiong Bailing is hosting a banquet to invite us.
He can calculate that Miss Lan'er may not go, so that he can gain the upper hand in theory, which will make it easier for him to deceive people."
If the city lord Sima Zhufeng was still alive, his prestige in the city alone would be enough to suppress everyone, and none of these things would have happened. But now that the city lord is dead, whether it is the masters in the "Wanjin Hall" or Okura
All major business houses in the city are ready to take action, and civil strife in the city is imminent.
Yao Yuanxiao knew that what Chai Lin said was true, but he couldn't think of a way to do it, so he had to stamp his feet heavily and lower his head in silence.
Chai Lin looked at Hua Bushi, who was standing aside, and said, "How to deal with the current situation? Does Mr. Hua have any good ideas?"
Hua Bushi thought for a while and said: "How many people do we have now, and how different is the strength from Xiongjiazhuang? Can the two elders tell the truth?"
Chai Lin said: "There are about a hundred guards in the city lord's palace. Chai Lin came to the island with only a dozen followers. Adding the manpower of the Chai family business on the island, there are about thirty people who can fight."
Yao Yuanxiao said: "I can mobilize about a hundred people on the dock, but they are all ordinary disciples, and there are no masters among them."
Hua Bushi said: "So, our current manpower is about 230, but I don't know how many people Xiong Bailing has?"
Chai Lin said: "Xiong Bailing is responsible for the defense of this city. All the men and horses of our sect in the city are under his command, a total of more than 2,000 people. However, these brothers in the 'Wanjin Hall' should not help him with the city lord's mansion."
As an enemy, the only people he can really use are the 300 people of the Dazong tribe who he personally trained, and the hundreds of villagers in Xiongjiazhuang."
He paused briefly and said: "There are also dozens of business houses in the city that have formed an alliance, and they are likely to be used by Xiong Bailing. The combined manpower of these forces may be as many as five or six hundred."
Hua Bushi frowned and said: "It seems that the troops in Xiong Bailing's headquarters are stronger than the city lord's palace. If we add the help of other forces in the city, there will be nearly a thousand people, which is three times more than the manpower we can use.
.”
Chai Lin said: "This is indeed the case. Moreover, Xiong Bailing's three hundred 'big warriors' are all rigorously trained elite warriors. They are much stronger than ordinary disciples. Even with the same number of people, the guards of the city lord's palace are also
Will he be their opponent?"
The two sides were fighting fiercely. The difference in numbers was more than three times. It was already difficult to fight against each other. And there were 300 elite masters in the opponent's formation. The comparison of strength was even more disparate. Even if Hua Bushi was smart and good at commanding battles, such strength was huge.
However, the gap is difficult to change. If they really want to fight, it can be said that they will definitely lose.
After hearing what Chai Lin said, the young master could only lower his head and ponder in silence.
For a moment, the meeting hall fell into silence, and no one made a sound.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Hai Hongzhu couldn't bear it anymore and said loudly: "Why are you all so timid? If Xiong Bailing dares to invite us, then we dare to go. At worst, everyone will risk their lives to kill that bear."
Just kill the father and son!"
This sea woman has been filled with righteous indignation for Xiong Tiannan's ulterior motives in kidnapping Lan'er's sister. She just wished she could kill that bad guy Xiong Tiannan with one blow. These words came straight out of her mouth, but she was even more heroic than the reckless heroes in the world.
Chai Lin waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Mrs. Hongzhu's words are wrong! The current situation in the city is that the enemy is strong and we are weak. If we can't make a decision before taking action, we will only lose our lives in vain, but let Xiong Bailing's treacherous plan succeed. Will it happen tomorrow?
We have to think carefully before going to Mingxiangzhai for an appointment."
At this time, someone suddenly heard someone say: "Sister Hongzhu is right. Since Xiong Bailing invites us, we have no reason to be afraid. We should definitely go to the appointment!"
The voice came from behind the screen in front of the back door, but it was Sima Rulan's voice.
Everyone turned to look, and saw a slim figure in a plain dress walking out from behind the mahogany screen. It was the eldest lady of the city herself. Her face was still pale, and there were still tears on her cheeks, but her expression had recovered.
She has become normal, and her beautiful eyes still show perseverance.
Hai Hongzhu said happily: "Sister Lan'er, it's great that you came out! That guy Hua Bushi likes to talk nonsense, but I have known for a long time that Sister Lan'er has a lot of people, so I won't be seriously angry with him!"
According to what the Sea Girl said, it was as if Sima Rulan was sad and refused to come out in the backyard all because Hua Bushi said the wrong thing.
Sima Rulan moved lightly, came to Hua Bushi, and said: "Mr. Hua's words of enlightenment just now are actually quite right. Lan'er has decided that she will inherit her father's wish and protect Okura City from now on.
The common people here will do their best to build this place into an ideal city that allows them to live and work peacefully in troubled times."
Hua Bushi stared at the girl in plain clothes in front of him, his best friend in Okura City, his eyes filled with admiration.
There is still deep sadness on Sima Rulan's beautiful cheeks, but she has come out of the shadow of her father's death. She no longer complains about the injustice of the world, but is willing to bravely take on responsibilities and complete the tasks.
Father and her own ideals.
At this moment, Hua Bushi had secretly made up his mind to do his best to help this strong girl, calm down the current crises, and protect Okura City!
*
Zhai is the largest property under the name of "Xinglong Village". The huge garden covers an area of more than fifty acres. The towers, pavilions, plants and rocks in the garden are all modeled after famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River. It can be said that
The scenery is picturesque.
In addition to dozens of tea garden houses, there is also a small lake of more than ten acres called "Xiaoxizi Lake".
It is very rare for Mingxiangzhai to be built on Gangwei Street. Just because this is the most prosperous street in Okura City, the monthly rent of an ordinary shop along the street reaches hundreds of taels, so it is difficult to build such a large restaurant here.
A garden can only be built by a wealthy boss.
Although Mingxiangzhai is called a teahouse, it is not just for drinking tea. When guests come here, they can also eat, watch theater, gamble, and even find a girl to spend the night with. There is no problem. As long as the guests have something in their pockets
There is a way to spend your money here, and you will definitely be very satisfied with it.
Xiong Bailing is very satisfied now.
He stood in the middle of the entrance to Mingxiangzhai. On his left was Deng Ran, the elder of the outer hall of "Wanjin Hall", and on his right was his son Xiong Tiannan. The man known as "Seventh Master" stood beside him and behind him.
Seven feet away.
Behind Xiong Bailing, there are more than 20 people with different clothes and hats, and different heights. They are all shopkeepers of various shops in Okura City. The owner of this garden, "Xinglong Village" Gu Zhengyuan, is also the owner of the garden.
Among them was a middle-aged man wearing a sapphire robe and a long beard. The short fat man next to Gu Zhengyuan was Zhu Zi, the owner of another shop in the city, "Qibaoju". The two of them were the merchants who formed an alliance.