Outside, Jiangning City is as prosperous as ever. On the streets, pedestrians are bustling and bustling. The teahouses and restaurants on the streets are bustling with people. At the entrance of the brothel across the street, scholars and students are constantly coming and going, and the girls are gorgeously dressed and flaunting the flowers in their hands.
The fragrant handkerchief showed off its youthful charm, attracting the passers-by to salivate and look eagerly at the fair skin exposed by the girls. Then they wiped their saliva, shook their heads, said some offensive words, and left.
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Behind them, the girls looked at these people with disdain, pouted and scolded them, and then continued to smile happily, putting their hands on the shoulders of the guests coming in and out, showing off their smiles.
But in Jiangning Mansion, it was a different scene.
Jiangning Mansion, which used to be very prosperous in the past, is now depressing and chilling.
The night is quiet. In front of Jiangning Mansion, the road that is usually decorated with lights and crowded with pedestrians is now empty of pedestrians. Heavily armed sergeants can be seen everywhere, holding steel knives, patrolling back and forth. Occasionally, pedestrians are seen passing by.
, the sergeants stared at these people with cold expressions, raised their hands and slowly grasped the handle of the knife at their waist.
The passers-by suddenly started to sweat, lowered their heads, pretended that I didn't see anything, and the older brothers continued, and then left with their heads down.
Outside the gate of Jiangning Mansion, hundreds of Jiangning garrison troops surrounded this quaint house tightly and impenetrably. They held spears in their hands and stared at the closed door with murderous intent.
In the house, in the hall.
Although the plate was full of delicacies, all the guests present had livid faces. They looked angrily at Hong Quan, who was sitting opposite the main seat, happily sipping a small drink.
These people who are doing this are all the leaders of the Salt Gang, which runs rampant in black and white circles in Jiangning City. Normally, they are all great figures with a powerful position. However, at this time, in the eyes of many murderous sergeants around them,
They were just a bunch of meat on the chopping board, and they were still very fat pieces of meat.
Just now, they suddenly received an invitation from Mr. Hong of Fu Yin, saying that Mr. Hong was hosting a banquet in the mansion today for the salt merchants who had contributed to serving the people of Jiangning City.
This group of people didn't know what was going on and thought it was an ordinary banquet. After drinking two cups of wine and saying a few words, the meeting ended. As a result, this group of people did not contact each other and came to Jiangning Mansion together.
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However, when they arrived, they found that things were completely different from what they thought.
First, the servants were pounced upon and disarmed by a group of tiger and wolf warriors. Then, they were pushed into the gate by a group of ferocious sergeants, and then brought into the hall by several strong men.
The angry salt merchants were about to point their fingers at Hong Quan's nose and ask him, "What do you mean by this?" However, when they came in, they found that the hall was even more murderous than outside. So these people,
He lowered his head with a very discerning look, not daring to say any nonsense.
In the spacious hall, the lights were bright, and Hong Quan was sitting alone at the table, sipping a small glass of wine. After seeing these salt merchants come in one by one, a simple and honest smile appeared on Hong Quan's fat face, and he stood with a toast.
He stood up and said: "Oh, everyone is here. Haha, I have been waiting for you for a long time. Come on, you're welcome. Come and sit down quickly!"
Then, the maids brought the sumptuous meals.
Mr. Hong chuckled, raised his wine glass, glanced at the salt merchants with strange faces, chuckled, and said: "Haha, fellow members, don't panic, an extremely bad thing happened in Jiangning City today. Hey, speaking of it,
It’s all because of my incompetence in governing. I didn’t expect that in this bright and prosperous world, in the always stable and peaceful Jiangning City, there would be a big family who was having fornication with foreigners, trying to put me in great trouble. In desperation, I decided to help Ning.
The prince has issued an order to block all the major streets in the city, and I invite everyone to come here today. Firstly, I want to thank you for your support for me, and secondly, to help you clear away suspicion."
Seeing Hong Quan's hypocritical smile, the salt merchants were immediately dumbfounded.
Damn, I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen you so shameless.
There are curfews and street closures. I think everyone is blind and deaf. When I came here, were all the people playing in the streets ghosts?
Just say it clearly if you want me to be placed under house arrest, and yet you go through so many twists and turns.
However, the salt merchants secretly glanced around. Around the hall, they saw soldiers holding steel knives, bows and arrows, all staring at them with cold faces.
Moreover, many people's hands have already pressed down on the handle of the knife. It seems that just waiting for Hong Quan's order, they will start a killing spree here.
Hey, who told people to have hard fists? People under the eaves have to lower their heads. Let’s do this for now, it’s important to save your life!
After hearing what Hong Quan said, the salt merchants immediately looked flattered, raised their glasses, and hurriedly said with smiling faces: "You're welcome, sir. Haha, it's our honor to help you solve your problems!"
"
"That's right, that's right, your lord said this, but you just look down on me. Although I have some spare money and some people are helping me, we are the common people under your lord's rule after all. Haha, I'm honored to be able to help you solve your problems."
Extremely awesome!"
Most of the people in the crowd said good things, but there were also some who said they were just to share the worries of the adults. But the threat contained in their words was self-evident.
Kong Longming, the salt gang boss of Jiangning Salt Merchant, is one of them.
Hong Quan naturally knows the details of Kong Longming. This person was formerly the housekeeper of an official in Tokyo. Five years ago, he came to Jiangning and started a business of official salt. With the support of various people, he joined the
This man was ruthless and ruthless, and within five years he had become famous. He became the representative figure of Jiangning Salt Merchants. Moreover, according to the news from the informants, this man was the boss of Jiangning Salt Gang.
And he is the person that Master Lu personally sent someone to tell him that he must pay special attention to tonight.
At this time, he was holding the wine glass, looking at the plump Hong Quan with a smile, and smiled: "Yes, although there are often noble people above telling me, don't be afraid, who dares to bully you,
I asked him to die without his body intact. However, your Excellency will never bully us. We all know this, right?"
"That's right!"
"that is!"
As soon as Kong Longming spoke, many salt merchants agreed. Most of them looked at Hong Quan in front of him with expressions of watching the excitement. Look at him and see what he should do.
Hehe. Everyone knows who the person above Kong Longming is. The salt merchants who are working there don’t believe that Hong Quan has the courage to touch Kong’s boss.
Salt merchants in the Yangtze River have existed since ancient times, and these people were either overtly or covertly related to certain people in the imperial court. Otherwise, successive imperial courts would have known that the salt gangs were selling private salt, but they continued to ban it.
Anyone with a discerning eye knows that a large number of beneficiaries of the Salt Gang's transactions are high-ranking officials in the DPRK.
Haha, only a fool would do it to cut off his own financial path.
And successive emperors also knew that the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government were involved in the case. Moreover, these ministers who were able to control the Salt Gang were often representatives of aristocratic families.
Considering the stability of the country and the eternal stability of the country, the emperor also had no choice but to turn a blind eye to the Salt Gang who had repeatedly banned it.
After all, the Salt Gang can sometimes play a positive role.
Every time there was a war, these salt gangs would often make some moves to show favor to the court, such as selling private salt in the market. Or directly donating huge amounts of private salt to the court.
This amount is often greater than the amount of official salt held by the imperial court.
Therefore, all the successive governors of Jiangning knew this trick, so they turned a blind eye to these salt merchants and let them go.
However, in recent years, more and more evidence has shown that the boss behind Jiangning Salt Merchant is likely to be the current prince and future emperor.
Therefore, even Hong Quan, for more than ten years, ignored these salt merchants who were engaged in illegal trading.
However, as things developed in an uncontrollable direction, the wealthy families began to blatantly deal with the children of poor families, and the battle between the crown prince and the prince was once again staged in Ouchi.
As for the emperor, he has not said a word. It seems that he does not care about the current practices of the princes competing for the throne.
As a result, various forces began to seek their own spokespersons.
Of course, as a member of a poor family, Hong Quan, who had always lived in Jiangning and had no interest in court affairs, was also deeply aware of the depth of the situation. After deep consideration, he decided to join the fight for the crown prince.
However, he was on Wu Ningyuan's side.
Prince Ning was the backbone who urged the emperor to depose the prince.
Haha, as for who Prince Ning supports to come to power and who will be his majesty in the future, that is not important. What is important is that as long as he wins this battle, at least his life will be saved.
Of course, Hong Quan had hesitated before whether to participate in this unfathomable melee. He was originally indifferent and did not want to be involved in this political fight.
However, as various forces came to the door, they used all kinds of methods, threats and inducements, and used all possible means. Among these forces, the special envoys of the prince's family were particularly annoying.
Damn it, Hong Quan was so angry that his whole body was shaking when he thought of that special envoy with his nostrils turned upward.
What's so awesome! Isn't he just a prince who was almost deposed?
So, the day after the prince's men and horses came to his door, Hong Quan felt deeply that he could not escape from this chaos. In desperation, he jumped onto Wu Ningyuan's pirate ship. From then on, he fell into the world.
Now, he already knew that Kong Longming belonged to the prince. However, he was already a barefoot person who was not afraid of wearing shoes. He saw the hidden threat in his words to him and a sinister smile on his face. Hong Quan
Apart from despising him in my heart, I will naturally not be afraid of him.
Hong Quan chuckled and ignored Kong Longming's threat. Instead, he held the wine glass, took a pleasant sip, smashed it in his mouth, and then, in the eyes of everyone with angry eyes, he picked up the chopsticks again and picked up the chopsticks.
After having a piece of meat and enjoying it, he said: "Speaking of this suspicion, I thought that no one here today would participate in such an immoral and unscrupulous thing. But, hey, it really makes me sad.
People are filled with grief and anger. You are all the pillars of our great Zhou Dynasty. I can’t believe that there are people among you who would do such immoral things and be stabbed in the spine by future generations! How sad!”
As he spoke, Hong Quan shook his head and sighed with a look of disgust on his face. His expression was so sad that it would be like that after his own father died.
Kong Longming listened to the fat man and asked if he had anything to say. He suddenly narrowed his eyes, and an indelible cold light flashed in his eyes. He picked up the wine glass, looked at Hong Quan with a smile, and said in surprise: "My lord, these words
What do you mean? Does it mean that someone among us is collaborating with the enemy and treason?"
Hong Quan was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and laughed. Then, the fat man wiped his mouth with a handkerchief very elegantly. After putting down the handkerchief, he looked at Kong Longming with a smile, raised his chin, and was cheerful.
He said: "Yes, I am talking about you. Didn't Boss Long hear it?"
As soon as he said this, the whole hall was shocked!
Kong Longming was stunned for a moment, then stood up, patted the table and pointed at Hong Quan sitting opposite, and shouted loudly: "Hong Quan, what do you mean?"
The roar of the dragon in the sky was so powerful that the table shook with its slap. The dishes on the table vibrated and clattered non-stop. Even the wine in the glass splashed everywhere.
Hong Quan had an honest smile on his face, looked at Kong Longming, whose expression changed greatly, and said: "I don't mean anything, I just want to kill you!";
Hong Quan chuckled, suddenly put away the smile on his face, stared coldly at the frightened Kong Longming, and said to the warrior behind him: "Come on, Kong Longming has collaborated with the enemy and treason, and deserves death. Give it to me."
Take it!"
Kong Longming took a step back and looked around for a way out, but was disappointed to find that all corners of the room were guarded by heavily armed sergeants.
At this time, these soldiers were approaching him step by step, holding steel knives in their hands.
Kong Longming still did not give up resistance. He held the last straw and threatened Hong Quan: "Hong, don't say I didn't warn you. In three days, the imperial envoy will come to Jiangning. If you dare to touch me, believe it or not.
All finished?"
Hong Quan's face froze, but he soon regained his composure. He held the wine glass, took a sip, and said with a sneer: "Believe it, of course I believe it. How can I not believe what you said, Boss Kong? But, ha,
Everyone who is doing this can prove that you are treasonous and treasonous. Right, fellow members?"
Hong Quan sneered and stared at the other people on the table. He tapped his fingers on the table and asked in a deep voice.
"Sir, you are right, I will bear witness for you!" Seeing that their lives were in danger, their heads might be chopped off at some point. The other salt merchants, seeing that the situation was not good, turned around and sided with Hong Quan.
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Hong Quan nodded with satisfaction, stroked the mustache at the corner of his mouth, and said to Kong Long, who was ashen as ashes on the opposite side: "How about it, Boss Kong? You died, and you deserved death. Even the imperial envoy will not avenge you."
Yes! Haha, feel free to go!"
Hong Quan chuckled and suddenly lowered his raised palm.