In the spring of the fifteenth year of Yongtai, in a certain river basin of Longshui.
In the early morning, a medium-sized cargo ship drifted on the river.
The water flow under the boat is very gentle, but the situation on the boat... is extremely rough.
The sounds of weapons clashing and people shouting to kill were heard one after another.
There were more than thirty people fighting on both sides. It looked like a lively fight, but in fact the strength gap between the two sides was very different. The stronger group almost always fought with bare hands against the other side holding weapons.
Yes, but as they fought, the weapons were all taken away by them.
And along with the weapons, there were also living lives taken away...
As blood splashed out and stained the deck red, the battle came to an end.
There were fifteen people on the defeated side, and almost all of them were wiped out. Only the last strong man was left. Although he was knocked to the ground and covered in blood, he still screamed desperately to avenge the others.
Unfortunately, the reality before us cannot be changed by momentum and determination.
Soon, the only survivor was captured by three or four people. After being tied up with ropes, he was led to a man in white.
"What is your name?"
The man in white clothes who asked the question looked to be in his fifties, and his movements showed the majesty and indifference of a superior.
"Bah! If you want to kill, kill! What are you talking about!" As for the strong man, not only did he not answer the other party's question, he even spat at the other party's feet without fear.
Snapped--
The next second, the strong man was slapped hard in the face by the person holding him down.
"Hey~ forget it." The man in white waved his hand, signaling his men to stop fighting, and said to the strong man again, "Actually, it doesn't matter whether you say it or not, because I already know your name.
." He paused, "Not only do I know your name, I also know all the fourteen people lying on the ground."
Hearing this, the strong man snorted coldly: "Hmph...so you have been targeting us for a long time?"
At this moment, in the heart of this strong man, he thought that the other party was "taking advantage of others".
but……
"I'm not just staring at 'you'." The man in white's next sentence changed his view, "but 'everyone'."
The strong man was not stupid. He thought about this for a moment and then realized: "Are you from the government?"
"Okay, smart." The man in white nodded, "Then I won't beat around the bush with you. To put it simply... I will spare your life today so that you can fight with the other small fish selling smuggled salt on this waterway.
Xia made it clear that if you want to do this business, you should obediently go to the government to get the 'salt guide', otherwise..."
He didn't finish what he said, and he didn't need to finish.
The fourteen corpses on the ground have already spoken for him.
"Nonsense!" But the strong man immediately said angrily, "If we can get the 'salt guide', who is willing to take the risk? It's not the local state officials who are greedy and want too much, which forces us to have no choice but to
I can take refuge in the green forest!"
The situation he described is very realistic, but also very helpless.
It was impossible to catch all the corrupt officials in Dashu, and even if anti-corruption work was being done at that time, it was progressing very slowly. Generally speaking, as long as officials do not go too far during their term of office and only force some people to death,
Not all of them, those can basically be transferred until the next time.
In the past few years, they, a group of salt dealers in the Luoding area, just happened to meet a state official who took advantage of their industry, making a big fuss about "salt introduction" and extracting bribes.
Large groups like the Salt Gang can naturally cope with this situation, because they cooperate with the government across the country. It's just that it's not a big problem to fix things in a certain place. If it doesn't work, they can still ask some people who are being
They asked larger officials who had "finished it" to help them coordinate.
However, ordinary small businessmen and hawkers do not have that ability, so they, who have been cut off from their livelihood, can only turn to bandits and find some water bandits on the green forest road to cooperate and form a clique for private ownership.
"I can't control that." The man in white didn't have much sympathy for the strong man. He just replied indifferently, "Whether you want to be arrested or change your profession and endure a few years, you can choose for yourself."
The strong man was clearly dissatisfied, and immediately shouted: "They are all transporting private salt on the same river. Why don't you ignore the boats of Hao's men? Aren't they also on the Green Forest Road?"
"Ha..." The man in white smiled, "Are you talking about Hao Jingyu?" He paused for half a second and then continued, "We have already negotiated with him, and he is 'facing the imperial court'."
The strong man's voice became louder: "I can talk too! I can also talk to the court!"
The man in white looked at him, was silent for two seconds, and then continued: "What is your identity? Hao Jingyu is the talkative person of the 'Cangdu Gang'. In a few years, he may be the boss of the Green Forest Road Waterway...
...What about you? Why are you talking to 'us'?"
As soon as he said this, the strong man's eyes suddenly changed. He stared at the man in white, and his voice became firm and deep: "As long as I become as powerful as him, everything will be fine."