Chapter 32: Borrowing Strength from Volume A

Just as he had time to climb out of the water to the shore, he felt a bit of cold pressure on his neck, followed by a slightly surprised voice: "It's a child? Hey, isn't this Erlang Zuo from the Liuli Well?"

Feng Ziying did not expect Zuo Liangyu to be quite famous in Linqing City, and he could be recognized by people outside the city.

 Following this was a loud conversation, and then a deep voice: "What's going on?"

"Go back to my boss' house. These two people just came ashore from the water. They should have swam out from the east water gate of the city." Feng Ziying was already tightly pressed on the shoulder. He did not resist. Although he had been practicing swords, sticks, fists and kicks for several years , but it is just a way to strengthen the body. If adults who specialize in eating this bowl of rice try to compete, they will be humiliating themselves.

"Oh? This is Zuo Erlang who came out of the city?" The middle-aged man with a rich voice must also know Zuo Liangyu, and his words seemed to be much more relaxed, "Zuo Erlang, why did you dive out of the city in the middle of the night? ? Could it be that you also joined the Luo Jiao?"

“Humph, I never associate with those who use evil words to deceive the public.” Feng Ziying said the term “exotic words to deceive the public,” and Zuo Liangyu immediately remembered it and learned and used it now.

 “Yo, you are quite arrogant.” A voice joked: “Then why are you acting so sneakily out of the city?”

"You have something big to do, young master." Zuo Liangyu realized something was wrong as soon as he said the words, and immediately stopped talking. He allowed the men around him to tease her without saying a word, and just focused his eyes on Feng Ziying.

At this time, Feng Ziying had time to observe the surrounding situation.

Several strong men in short jackets each held swords and formed a loose semi-arc circle. The one holding them was a short and sturdy man, and the man standing outside the circle was wearing a gray robe and had a crown-like face. Jade, holding a jade hairpin in her hair, looked at herself coldly with her hands behind her back.

 This is probably the so-called boss.

The fish skin bag Zuo Liangyu brought contained the clothes of the two of them, which are essential tools for living on the water. The two of them were wearing short clothes, which was really embarrassing in this situation.

But Feng Ziying didn't care. These people were obviously not from the White Lotus Sect, but more like merchants and their guards.

With a little thought, Feng Ziying can guess a rough idea: Shanshan Liang Gang.

This is one of the most powerful business gangs in Linqing City. It almost monopolizes the entire Shandong grain market, even the northern grain market. The supply of military grain in Jiubian is almost monopolized by these Shanxi businessmen.

Moreover, these merchants have a close relationship with water transportation and have deep connections in the court. Every year, the drama between new and old grains is always played out between these grain merchants and the grain stored in the water sub-warehouse, and a tacit understanding has been formed among everyone.

Noting that the man in brocade clothes was looking at him up and down, Feng Ziying was not afraid. After confirming the identity of the other person, he was no longer afraid.

 The Liang Gang may have suffered a lot of losses this time. Although it is not sure what the White Lotus Sect’s group intends to do, it will definitely be detrimental to the Liang Gang. This is an opportunity.

 It would take at least a day for me and Zuo Liangyu to walk to Liaocheng like this, and it would be much easier if they could get help from the food gang.

Although the Liang Gang has been driven out of the city by the White Lotus Sect, Feng Ziying has long heard that the Liang Gang is very powerful. In a sense, he even doubts Wang Chaozuo's willow weavers and Pier Lifu. , and kiln workers outside the city may have the Liang Gang behind them.

The tax supervisor's establishment of a card in Linqing will be a fatal blow to the entire Linqing business. All businesses have dropped sharply by at least 30%, especially large-scale businesses like Liangbang, which have dropped by more than half. I am afraid that anyone All unbearable.

Moreover, the establishment of the tax supervisor seems to be long-term. If this continues, I am afraid that the Liang Gang will really have no choice but to drink from the northwest wind, so some small actions are inevitable, but they probably did not expect it. Let the White Lotus Sect find an opportunity and sneak in.

The man in brocade robe only paused for a moment on Zuo Liangyu before returning to Feng Ziying. He knew a lot of people at a glance and could tell that this young man was probably the leader of the two, and he showed it. His indifferent demeanor is quite impressive.

“Young man, why did you and Zuo Erlang leave the city?”

"Of course the bandits have to leave the city if they want to cause trouble." Feng Ziying replied simply. He knew that these were just a formality and would soon get to the point. I am afraid that the Liang Gang was unwilling to suffer such a catastrophe. Have some plans.

"Oh, the city gate has been sealed for a long time. Even the Dongshui Gate is guarded by bandits. How can you get out?" The voice of the man in brocade robe is somewhat feminine, and combined with his pale and beardless appearance, if it weren't for this man, he is clearly a grain merchant. , Feng Ziying almost doubted whether the other party was that Eunuch Chang.

“There is such a big canal running across the city. Where can I find a place to launch it?” Feng Ziying had no intention of quarreling with the other party, but he also knew that if he wanted to win the other party's trust and recognition, he could only spend some time on words.

The man in the brocade robe chuckled lightly, and even more leisurely said with his hands behind his back, "Hey, you said it so lightly, could the young man be a prostitute?"

This section of Gulou East and West Street is two to three miles long, and this section is where grain merchants gather, and it is also the focus of the garrison of religious bandits. It is not easy to enter the water in this section, and it is very easy to swim out of this canal. The thieves realized that they could only go into the water near Dongshui Gate.

Feng Ziying knew that "Water Margin" was still very popular in the Zhou Dynasty.

There are many storytellers in this tea house and restaurant who cut out one of the passages and use it as their own classic song.

There are still some memories in this body. Heroic characters such as Wu Erlang, Hua Monk, Black Whirlwind and Drum Flea are very popular with the lower class people. There are also many storytellers in teahouses in Linqing City. People tell this passage from "Water Margin".

Feng Ziying did not expect that the other party was so sharp-tongued, so she pondered for a moment and said, "Is your honor the person in charge of the Grain Gang?"

The man in brocade robes was a little surprised, but then he thought about it. This man has an extraordinary bearing, and he can tell that his identity is ordinary. He nodded: "I guess, I wonder who the young man is?"

Feng Ziying was not polite and said directly: "My father is Shenwu General Feng Gong, and Xiao Ke is now studying at the Imperial College in the capital."

The man in brocade robe was slightly shocked.

He still knows the names of the three Linqing families. The reason why the Feng family is among the three families is because one branch followed Emperor Taizu to conquer the country when the dynasty was first established, and became the Conglong family of that year.

It's just that this Feng family seems to have started a little later than the Dragon Age, so it is far less prosperous than the four princes and eight princes back then, but it can still be regarded as a noble family, at least it can be regarded as a luxurious and wealthy family in Linqing Prefecture.

"I'm sorry, I'm disrespectful. It turns out to be Mr. Feng." The face of the man in brocade robes became warm and friendly, "I am Wang Shaoquan of Hongdong, who is the deacon of Linqingshan Shaanxi Guild Hall."

As expected, it was a Shanxi merchant, and Feng Ziying felt a little complicated.

 Historically, the reputation of Shanxi merchants during the Ming and Qing dynasties was notorious.

Although Feng Ziying didn't know much about their specific situation, she also knew that Shanxi merchants had always been an important force in Chinese business gangs, and they were inevitably inextricably linked with the Tatars outside the Great Wall and the Jianzhou Jurchens outside the Pass. But just like when his father was the commander-in-chief of Datong Town, didn't he also have to deal with Shanxi merchants?

Without the food they brought, what would the hundreds of thousands of border troops in this nine-border land eat?

“Oh, Feng Ziying is so polite.” Feng Ziying didn’t dare to be scornful. The Shanshan Guild Hall was also the core of the Linqing Shanshan Merchant Gang. Feng Ziying didn’t know its internal structure, but presumably the deacon was no ordinary character.

 “Young Master Feng just escaped from the city? This is truly a blessing.” Wang Shaoquan was no stranger to the Feng family. After all, Feng Tang had also served as the commander-in-chief of Datong for many years, and he knew that Feng Ziying was Feng Tang’s legitimate son.

The Shanshan-Shaanxi Grain Gang and the Nine Border Army Generals all have a deep connection. Every year, most of the grain transported to border towns from China and France is contracted by the Shan-Shaanxi Grain Gang. Even the imperial merchants have not been able to take away their dominance. Location.

It’s just that in the past one or two decades, imperial merchants and some wealthy businessmen who were closely connected with important ministers in the DPRK began to infiltrate the salt industry to trigger the devolution of power, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of the Open China Law.

This also greatly undermined the enthusiasm of merchants and villages in the frontier areas, and the enthusiasm of transporting grain was also greatly affected, so the situation became increasingly tight.

"I was lucky enough to escape, but I still have some family members who are trapped in the city." Feng Ziying asked while trying to figure out the other party: "Both the east and west streets of Gulou were occupied by the bandits, and the grain in the warehouse was also used by the bandits. I don't know if Wang Sir, do you have any countermeasures?"

Wang Shaoquan laughed, "The guards didn't respond at all. Wang is just a merchant, what can I do?"

"The Shanshan Liang Gang is not an ordinary merchant. It is the leader of merchants in Linqing and even the North. Could it be said that they just let the bandits wreak havoc?" Feng Ziying knew that she must be thinking that she was a child and did not want to talk to herself more about this. Now she is talking to herself Nonsense, it was just for the sake of the Feng family, so he went straight to the topic, "Can Xiao Ke have a private conversation with Mr. Wang?"

Wang Shaoquan was surprised and didn't respond for a while. It wasn't until Feng Ziying's impatient face showed some impatience that she finally realized: "Oh, what's the matter with Mr. Feng? I need Wang's help, but the gangsters are so powerful that there's nothing we can do." ah."

Feng Ziying didn’t say anything and just smiled. Then Wang Shaoquan said sarcastically: "Of course,..."

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 (End of this chapter)