Hezimen is a hodgepodge of out-of-town associations that gather together to keep warm. Because it is so fragmented, there will be chaos every time when the speaker is elected. All kinds of internal conflicts will break out at this time, and it is easy to get into trouble.

Fire.

In order to keep this loose alliance of gangs from falling apart, and not to cause a big fire during the election and cause the entire gang to perish in internal strife, the gang stipulates that the retired and respected elders of the gang will vote for the election. The rules are simple and rough.

, ten elders will vote by a show of hands, whoever gets more votes will be the new speaker of Hezimen.

The so-called elders are nothing more than some old guys who have retired. The so-called top ten elders are basically powerless, and they usually rely on the support of the dozen or so heads of the current family.

Of course, these hall masters are almost all their former younger brothers, but whether the younger brothers will definitely honor their elder brothers who have retired, and how to honor their former elder brothers, in fact, it is difficult to say, whether the four words of loyalty, filial piety, and justice are actually ancient and modern

At home and abroad, it has always been easier said than done.

This right to vote can be said to be the only power these old guys have, so naturally they must use it properly and try to use this right to vote to benefit themselves or their younger brothers.

On the canal pier, two middle-aged men wearing only cloth shorts were squatting by the river, eating with food boxes in their hands. People who didn't know them thought they were coolies on the pier.

"Brother Leng, a few days ago, all our gang's business in Shengyifang was robbed by Yizimen. As far as I know, even in the east and west cities controlled by us, many shop owners are secretly planning.

We must get rid of us and hand over the protection money to the Yizimen. If this continues, the nearly 30,000 brothers in the gang will all drink the northwest wind."

The person who spoke was none other than Lin Huaile, nicknamed Young Master, and the person who accompanied him for dinner was the leader with the most brothers under his command in the entire Hezi sect, Qinlonghu Lenglao, who was in charge of about half of the docks in Yangzhou City, and the other half was in the hands of Du Mengdong.

inside.

"I heard that your business hasn't been very good recently. Rechangdong's power has been expanding very fast recently. Many brothers have jumped over from you. They don't have enough work now, and they have begun to steal work from you.

If this continues, all the docks in Yangzhou will belong to them sooner or later."

Leng continued to show off his rice, and gnawed on the meat nonchalantly and said: "I made the salt-baked ham. Try it. I used one pound of meat and three pounds of salt for one ham. You can eat it in Yangzhou or even the whole Zhou Dynasty."

You can't even find such salty meat. Last year, the court cracked down on the whole market and you couldn't buy even a pound of salt. My ham is still available. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have to eat the ham."

Lin Huaile understood what he meant. This was telling him that his main business seemed to be the dock business, but in fact, the real money maker was selling private salt in the name of salt-baked ham, and he was very capable. During the crackdown last year, his

Private salt is still selling well.

The subtext behind it is: I don't care at all if a few footworkers pass by on the dock. It's just a little hard-earned money to hide people's eyes. As for the gang's territory being robbed, what does that have to do with me?

"If I become the talker, I will definitely unite all the brothers to fight against Yizimen. I will lead the brothers to take over the entire east and west cities. When the time comes, look across the way and the other half of the docks will be yours.

Yes, tell Uncle Quan and vote for me."

Leng Lao glanced at him and said: "Uncle Quan will naturally decide who to vote for. No matter how he votes, he will definitely have his considerations."

After hearing this, Gongzi Le didn't speak for a long time, lowered his head and took two mouthfuls of food, and said: "Brother Leng, eight years ago you and I came to Yangzhou City to seek life together. At the beginning, we worked hard at the same dock, and then we used knives to kill people together.

, I treat you like my own brother, are you really not going to help me?"

Seeing him playing the emotional card, Leng Guy frowned with some dissatisfaction, and couldn't help but sighed, saying: "My ham needs to be shipped in bulk from Crazy Ghost's store, and I've been selling it for so many years.

I've never felt sorry for me, I don't want to fight, I'm sorry."

Young Master Le's face stiffened when he heard this, but he recovered in an instant and added a pretentious smile, nodded and said: "Understood."

Then he stuffed a whole piece of salty ham into his mouth and chewed it vigorously.

………………

On the other side, upstairs in Zhengyang.

Crazy Gui Qiang and Li Jiayuan arrived hand in hand. Seeing that neither of them had any bodyguards, Liu Dapao couldn't help but be overjoyed. He and Du Mengdong quickly stood up and greeted each other.

"Brother He, Brother Li went to the banquet alone. You are so courageous and generous. I have already told the waiter that no one will be allowed in on the entire third floor. Please."

When Mad Gui Qiang heard this, he was very arrogant and said: "I'm afraid you'll bite me. The whole world knows that you, the black-hearted bear, don't dare to fight now. You left us here and caused chaos in the world outside. I think

How do you explain to Governor Yang?"

The black-hearted bear smiled when he heard this. He usually didn't have much contact with crazy ghosts, or very little at all. For a while, he was really not used to this guy's straightforward way of speaking.

But what he said is indeed true.

After hearing this, Liu Dapao asked the two of them to sit down, waved his hand to indicate that the food could be served, and drove everyone away. He said with a smile: "Fighting is always not a good idea, not to mention injuring the enemy by a thousand and damaging himself by eight hundred. Now Yang

The prefect is about to leave office, and the entire yamen is trying to maintain stability. Stability is the overriding priority. No matter who wins or loses in a real fight, we will all suffer. Once Prefect Yang becomes hysterical, it will be of no benefit to anyone. If possible, I

I still hope to be able to be harmonious and consider harmony as the most precious thing."

"Master Xiong is Master Xiong, and what he says is so level. My eldest brother is dead, and Xiaoyuan's eldest brother has been arrested. Your Yizimen took this opportunity to annex our territory, absorb our younger brothers, and eat all our flesh."

You spit it out to us after eating it, and then you tell me that peace is the most important thing? I promised you, but even the nearly 30,000 brothers of the Hezimen would not agree."

Hearing this, Liu Dapao pointed his finger to the sky: "The higher-ups are trying to crack down on gangsters. I didn't mean to cause trouble. I'm just a gangster, and I can't do anything in the face of power."

As he spoke, Liu Dapao reached for the wine pot on the table and poured wine for the two of them.

It costs one hundred cents, but it is actually very ordinary rice wine. If you go to the villages and towns below to collect it, you can buy a small jar with thirty cents."

"More than 400 jars of this wine are sold every year in Yangzhou City alone, with a profit of nearly one million yuan. Why? Because the court does not allow people to make private wine and sell it, that's all. There is also the Lianghuai Salt Tax, so it's just like that

Is it really because salt is valuable that tens of millions of dollars can be levied? It's just because those who sell illegal salt are beheaded."

"You and I have nearly 50,000 brothers in total. Nearly half of them are slave laborers who sell themselves to make a living. The remaining half, including you and me, are doing nothing but licking blood and risking their lives."

In the money-changing business, can all of us together make two million dollars a year?"

"Dakoujiu died in front of me. He was also on such a small dining table. Magistrate Yang just moved his fingers slightly and his life was gone. I know that you and many people in the Zimen are dead.

With this debt settled on my head, does anyone dare to think about it, even if it’s just a thought, to trouble the real murderer, Magistrate Yang?"

"Civil violent organizations, in the face of public power, are like weeds compared to mountains, nothing more than bullshit. Brother, after all, the road to the world is very short. By the time you really become the talker of Hezimen, you will have already

At the end of the day, without the protection of public power, what we eat will always be the leftover scraps of public power."

"If you want to continue walking the rest of the way, then you can only join politics. If you want to join politics, you must break out of the confines of the world. You will always be a gangster without any brains."

"I know that your main competitor this time is Lin Huale, and I also know that his power is far inferior to yours, so he has to tie up the entire society and use the rhetoric of fighting with me to win people's hearts.

To rally those radicals to vote for him.

Once he really comes to power, it will be very troublesome for me, and the entire Yangzhou government office will be in great trouble, and you and Zimen will also be in great trouble, which will be of no benefit to anyone. So brother, I sincerely hope that you can come to power.

We must always value peace."

Hearing this, the crazy ghost nodded, picked up the wine glass on the table and took a sip, saying: "It sounds nice, but I don't know if things can be done beautifully. Boss Xiong doesn't intend to talk to me in vain today.

"

"Of course I won't just talk in vain. Let me tell you the conditions. First, if you come to replace Da Koujiu as the bad handsome man, I promise that not only will I not give you any obstacles in the yamen, but I will try my best to help you. I will also

I will fight a case with you."

"Secondly, I now have a wine license in my hand that can make money even while lying down. Lao San and I will invest in the purchase of Yanzi Building and build a wine shop. At the same time, we will contribute another 100,000 yuan.

Come and renovate Yanzi Building from an ordinary brothel into a more high-end restaurant. The restaurant is managed by Brother Li Jiayuan, and I can give him 30% of the shares."

At this point, Li Jiayuan, who had been silent until now, finally couldn't sit still and said:

"Master Xiong, the Yanzi Building is originally ours, and the position of Bad Handsome is also ours. You killed Brother Jiu through collusion between government and businessmen, and put my boss, Uncle Long, in jail. Now you want to buy Yanzi

Lou, give me 30% of the shares and ask me to thank you. Isn’t it appropriate? What if I refuse?”

Before Liu Dapao could speak, Crazy Guiqiang on the side answered: "A Yuanzi, if you don't agree, I will support you. It's nothing more than a dead end."

"Thank you, Brother Qiang."

Seeing this, Du Mengdong was already a little anxious and said: "My eldest brother has made it very clear that Da Koujiu's death has nothing to do with my eldest brother. Uncle Long went to prison because of the crackdown on gangsters. This crackdown on gangsters is not something that my eldest brother can do.

Damn it, you two insist on putting these two accounts on us, do you really think we are soft persimmons? My eldest brother just doesn't want to fight, but he's not afraid of fighting."

Liu Dapao, in turn, stretched out his hand to suppress Du Mengdong.

The third child is a bit angry today, which is not quite like his style of doing things.

"I haven't mentioned my third choice yet."

"Okay, you tell me."

"Third, after Brother Xiaoqiang has become a stable talker of Hezimen, next year, I plan to give up my identity as a money catcher and fully support Brother Xiaoqiang in becoming the money catcher of our Yangzhou City."

After saying that, all the three people at the table were stunned. Crazy Guiqiang had a glass of wine in his mouth, but it dropped to the ground with a squeak and broke into pieces.

Liu Dapao, on the other hand, was very satisfied with their response.

You know, if he wants to wash his hands in a golden basin, the biggest difficulty that cannot be circumvented lies in the identity of this money catcher.

Lending money at high interest rates and forcing good girls into prostitution are all a way to make a living by giving birth to a son without an asshole. Others are attracted by the identity of this money hunter, but to him, this is a hot potato.

It's just that this money is as tightly tied to the Yangzhou magistrate's office as the land finance. Officials of all sizes in the government office and bad people who are temporary workers are all waiting for the government money to pay their wages. He can't stop even if he wants to.

I have long wanted to throw away this job, but I have never found a suitable reason, and I really can't find anyone to take over.

Just listen to Liu Dapao continue to talk: "When you come out to hang out, the bottom line is not money. The so-called harmony makes money. When you and I fight back and forth like this, we don't even have a little stock. I have more."

, you will have less, and if you have more, I will have less in my hands. This kind of struggle is completely meaningless in my opinion.

In recent years, Yangzhou's public money has been increasing year by year. Next year's public money will be about two million. But in fact, the entire Yangzhou government office cannot spend that much public money on daily operations. If we

If we spend one million yuan and the two of us work together, we can open workshops and shops, and we can even use the money to invest.

I heard that a large iron ore mine has been recently discovered near Ci County. With the combined efforts of you and me, and with a little bit of public money, we should be able to get it. By then, if we add one to five, we can do it.

Earn more money, why not?"

"I think Yanzi Building can be used as a pilot project for our two families to make good friends. If we have money, we can make money together. In any business, any business, if we can cooperate, we can cooperate. If we can't cooperate, we can keep the same.

Conflicts should be resolved through negotiation as much as possible, and peace is the most important thing."

"I hope that one day, we can all put down the machete, pick up the abacus, and be busy counting money every day instead of killing people, and then use the money earned to buy land, buy real estate, so that every brother can live a better life.

In order to live a happy life with no worries about food and clothing, we, whether we are big businessmen or capable officials, will gradually make people forget our origins as gangsters. Isn't this good?"

"After I've finished speaking, who has any questions?"

Not only can they get rid of their identity as money catchers, but they can also guide the Yizimen to clear their names and gradually engage in legitimate business. They can also resolve the crisis with the Zimen. In this way, they and the Zimen have become a cross.

The shoes have become porcelain. Naturally, the two pieces of porcelain will not touch each other casually. As for Yanzilou, it is more like a match.

Perfect.
Chapter completed!