Of course, where there is cooperation, there is collusion.
It is said that the imperial court gave the order to the grain shipping gang, but in fact it is better to say that it is a collusion between the water transportation yamen and the grain shipping gang. Whether it is the governor of water transportation or the local water transportation yamen and the grain shipping gang, the activities are too numerous to describe. The water inside is worse than the Grand Canal.
It's also deep, such as various kickbacks, such as the grain ship gang stealing rice but saying it is a loss of rice and so on.
The imperial court turned a blind eye to the dirty things happening here. It had neither the ability nor the inclination to control it. Even if it did, it would not dare to strictly control it. After all, the Grain Shipping Gang is the largest and only logistics gang.
Moreover, it is a religious gang with tens of thousands of people, and it will cause big troubles if pressed.
Chang Yu didn't want to care about it. He firmly believed that when the water was clear, there would be no fish. Although the grain boat gang harbored dirt, it was indispensable and played a huge role for the court. In addition to water transportation, the grain boat gang had other uses.
As the largest gang in the Ming Dynasty and a true member of the Jianghu community, we are much better informed about the Jianghu world from them.
Such a big gang, how could Dongchang and Jinyiwei not be close to them?
A while ago, Li Zicheng tried to escape from the capital several times by water but was unable to do so. What does this mean? It means that Dongchang has obtained the information.
Of course, some people speculate that the grain ship gang deliberately tipped off Li Zicheng to prevent him from taking the waterway.
This possibility also exists. After all, the Grain Boat Gang is a gangster and a black society, but they also cooperate with the imperial court, so to put it bluntly, he is a black and white man who has friendship with both black and white men. He can provide information to the court.
You can tip off the thieves, and you can't help yourself in the world.
Although Wei Changde was rude and illiterate, he was not stupid. He also knew that Dongchang had many spies and eyes in the Liangchuan Gang. In fact, he was the same, and he even suspected that the leaders of the Liangchuan Gang were working for Dongchang or Jinyiwei.
There's just no evidence.
Anyway, Jianghu people want to be all-rounded. Wei Changde doesn't think that working for Dongchang is a hawk. If we talk about hawks, aren't those who serve as officials for the imperial court all hawks? How many people would like to be hawks.
Going down the river, the boat speed is very fast.
The boatmen were working hard on the oars, and several of Wang Zhengnan's personal attendants stood on the side of the ship, looking at the scenery on both sides of the river without saying a word. Chang Yu was still talking to Wei Changde in the cabin, but not aimlessly but asking him about some rumors about the world.
Trying to find clues to Li Xingtian's mysterious organization.
Unfortunately, no useful information was obtained from Wei Changde. Chang Yu was a little regretful, but he had already ordered the spies to start digging deeper. So many eyes and ears in the Liangchuan Gang also began to collect relevant information. I believe there will be clues soon.
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Is it faster to ride a horse on land or to ride a boat in water?
On horseback, of course.
Just when Chang Yu's boat entered the waters of Nanyang Lake from Surabaya, Tu Yuan and Zheng Zhilong had already arrived in Teng County next to Dushan Lake.
Along the way, Tu Yuan's 20 riders were guarding the two carriages and ran non-stop. The road was smooth and no suspicious people were found to follow them. However, both Tu Yuan and Zheng Zhilong thought that someone must be following them, so they were very careful along the way. Gu Youma, who pretended to be Chang Yu,
He never showed up in the car.
After staying in Teng County for one night, they should have gone straight south but instead ran due east, traveling dozens of miles to a mountain pavilion, stopping their horses to rest, sightseeing in the mountains and rivers, and even going in and out of wine shops and brothels.
This move may seem unbelievable, but it was actually done deliberately. Chang Yu secretly changed the waterway in Yanzhou because he was afraid that the thieves would follow him and find out the purpose of his trip, so he asked Tu Yuan and Zheng Zhilong to divert the attention of the thieves openly, but they could not
They must lead the thief all the way, otherwise the thief will know the purpose of their trip even if they follow them, so they must get rid of the thief midway.
How to get rid of the enemy in the dark?
It's very simple, just let them know that they have been fooled.
So when a group of people turned around and headed east, and Gu Youma got out of Chang Yu's car and went sightseeing in Shanting, the following thieves knew that they had been fooled. They analyzed that this group was just trying to distract them, and the real
The great eunuch has already taken his body and gone to him. As for where he took his body from and where he is going, this will take time and effort to review.
The thieves who knew they had been tricked would naturally stop following this group of people. Even if they did, they would only send one or two eyes and ears. Moreover, no matter how grandly Tu Yuan and Zheng Zhilong went to Xuzhou at this time, they just thought they were deliberately taking them in a detour.
.
Two days later, at a remote place by the canal outside Pei County, Chang Yu and his party disembarked from the boat and landed. Wei Changde saw him off alone, his behavior extremely respectful.
"I think someone will ask your grain boat gang about the governor's whereabouts in the near future. That information is very valuable." Chang Yu half-smiled, and Wei Changde knelt down after hearing this: "Don't worry, sir, I am a rude person."
But Jianghu people are loyal. If you are not at ease, sir, just kill us all." Then he looked back at the dozen or so men wearing clothes on the shore in the distance: "If it is inconvenient, sir, I can do it myself.
”.
Chang Yu smiled: "That's not necessary. I still believe in Brother Wei's character. If you don't keep your faith, it's okay for me. But if you really keep your faith, maybe we can become friends!"
Friend! Wei Changde couldn't help but be inspired to become friends with the most powerful eunuch in the dynasty!
"If anything about today's events is leaked, I don't need you to take action, and I will die to apologize!" Wei Changde knelt down and cupped his hands with a fierce look on his face. Chang Yu reached out and helped him up: "Brother Wei, see you in the world." He cupped his hands.
He got on his horse and left.
Knowing that Chang Yu and his party had disappeared, Wei Changde sighed and walked back slowly. As soon as he got on the boat, one of his brothers asked: "Master, those people are..." Before he could finish his words, Wei Changde slapped him in the face.
He walked over and yelled angrily: "What I said before were all nonsense!
Everyone under his command was shocked.
Wei Changde said fiercely: "Don't say that I am unkind. In fact, you are all my closest brothers. I don't let you ask or tell me. It's all for your own good. I will tell you openly now. In the past few days,
If anything is revealed at all, you will be killed. Maybe you are not afraid of death, but think about the orphans and widows in your family after you die."
"Hall Master, we understand that we will never tell anyone what happened today, not even the King of Heaven!"
"Yes, this matter is rotten in my stomach..."
Besides, after leaving, Chang Yu was smiling bitterly and shaking his head, just because Su Jing said: "The dignified governor of the East Factory is like a shameless mouse. Who is the weird one, insisting on marrying a wife?"
Others did not dare to say this, but Chang Yu was not angry after hearing it. He even felt that he was right. With his current power, he did not need to be so low-key when traveling, and he was not afraid of being followed or ambushed by thieves, let alone worrying about gains and losses. But this time it was
In order to get married, the eunuch's marriage was a big scandal with extremely bad consequences. This matter had to be kept low-key. Moreover, he did not want to cause trouble for the Zhang family, so he had to make this decision.
But Chang Yu believed that his "bad strategy" was enough to get rid of the people who were following him. In this era of lagging information, it would be very time-consuming and laborious for them to find clues and re-track them. By then, they might have already returned to the capital.