After arranging everything, Xiao Rui finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It is difficult for a wise woman to make a meal without rice. No matter how great one's personal ability is, it is still only the courage of an ordinary man. If you want to get involved in this kind of war involving tens of thousands of people, it's absolutely impossible without soldiers and horses. Even if he is rich, and even has an intelligence network like the Xiao Family Chamber of Commerce, which is comparable to the secret guards of the imperial court, he does not have real power, so he can only be a spectator.
After seeing off Li Junxian and others, Xiao Rui had nothing to do and took Fang Er with him to return to his old place and board the Yueyang Tower.
Raise your glass and lean on the railing to look at Dongting Lake. Although you can't see the dark warship, you can feel an inexplicable tense atmosphere, as if heaven and man are interacting, which makes people uneasy.
Fang Er asked curiously: "Brother Xiao, didn't you say that I have the advantage? I have arranged everything and just wait for the results. Why are you frowning today? Is there something troubling you?"
Xiao Rui nodded, "Yes, for some reason, I always feel that something is not right, as if something bad is about to happen? Yiai, please help me recall, is there anything I have missed? "
Fang Er smiled honestly, "Brother Xiao, aren't you making things difficult for me? I've always been too lazy to use my brain when I can do it. You want me to help you check for leaks and fill in the gaps? Why don't you let me kill him in the lake alone? It’s not easy.”
"Besides, who are you, Brother Xiao? You have always planned everything, so how could you have missed something? It must be an illusion."
Go, go, let you help me, I didn’t let you flatter me...
Xiao Rui laughed and cursed, then turned around and sat back in his seat, no longer looking at the depressing lake.
After calling the waiter up, Xiao Rui casually chatted with him while taking orders.
"Well, I have been to Yueyang Tower several times, but it has never been as boring as today. Why does it feel so quiet on the entire Dongting Lake? Not only that, even the entire Yueyang City is different from the past."
Waiters are generally talkative people. They have seen all kinds of guests coming from all over the world. No matter what the guests say, even if it is a topic that they do not understand, the waiters cannot let the guests lose face. I'm ready to accompany you and let's chat for a while.
"Sir, are you from the south? You must have been away from Yueyang for a long time, so you don't know the current situation. A big event happened on Dongting Lake. The Jingxiang navy fought with the Dongting bandits with real swords and guns. Not to mention the lake, even the Yangtze River in the entire Jingxiang area has been strictly prohibited by the Jingxiang Navy for more than a month."
Xiao Rui pretended to be surprised and said: "Oh? Is this happening? No wonder everyone in Yueyang City seems to be in a hurry. Oops... No, no, no, I have to rush across the river to do business. This The river is blocked, how can I cross the river?"
The waiter spread his hands and consoled with sympathy: "Then there is nothing we can do. It's your misfortune to catch up. I heard that this war was led by the imperial envoy sent by the imperial court. The ban on the river is a strict order. You can do whatever you want. The powerful and powerful people are useless, the imperial envoy who came is Wei Zheng, the famous black-faced prime minister of the imperial court, no one dares to go against this man."
"So you can't cross the river for the time being. It's best to find a place to live in the city and wait until the war ends and the ban is lifted."
hiss……
Such a big move?
Xiao Rui exclaimed: "It seems that the imperial court is really serious about it. I have always heard that the Dongting water bandits are unparalleled, and there are even rumors that the Jingxiang navy cannot defeat them. Now it seems that the rumors are not credible, and the imperial court is legitimate. The navy is powerful. Alas, I don’t know how long it will take for this battle to end? If it really continues for another month, then my business will be ruined."
The waiter lowered his voice and said, "Sir, you may not know because you are an outsider. The Dongting water bandits are quite powerful. The Jingxiang navy wants to eat them casually, but I'm afraid it won't be that easy. There are rumors that the Dongting water bandits Laihu said that with the strength and savings of the Dongting Water Village, even if he can't stand still, he can still have nothing to do for three years. These people are rich."
What? ? ?
Three years?
Xiao Rui was so angry that he pushed the cup and said feebly: "If we really want to be sealed for three years, then why should I do business between the north and the south? I can just go back to my hometown and farm the fields."
"A group of water bandits with such huge financial resources usually rob merchants and people on the river, right?"
The waiter turned around and looked around. Due to the situation, Yueyang Tower's business has been bleak recently. The table on the top floor was the only table today, and the price was generous, so the waiter wanted to accompany him as much as possible, so he said a few more words. In fact, it's not just this. Part of the reason is that the waiter also complained about the one-month closure of the river.
"My guest, you don't dare to talk nonsense."
"What? The Dongting water bandits are your relatives? A group of bandits, let alone talking behind their backs, just scolding them, isn't that what they should do?" Xiao Rui said dissatisfied.
The waiter lowered his voice and said: "Outsiders all think that the Dongting water bandits are a group of bad people. But think about it, the force that has been able to dominate Dongting Lake for more than ten years relies entirely on robbing the surrounding people, so it is impossible for them to survive until now. In fact, it is impossible for them to survive until now. In our local area, everyone has long been accustomed to them, and there are even many businesses in the cities around Dongting Lake that are owned by them."
"There are also people farming and fishing in the surrounding areas, and there are many of them."
"It's rare to hear that they rob merchants. They basically rely on self-sufficiency to survive. More often than not, it's hard to tell whether they are common people or water bandits. We usually jokingly call these people the people who live in the city in the middle of the lake. With The difference between the people of the Tang Dynasty is that the people of the Tang Dynasty were under the jurisdiction of the government in other cities, but when they came to the island in the middle of the lake, they were under the jurisdiction of the water bandits' stronghold there."
"To be honest, the people on the island in the center of the lake are more benevolent and righteous than the government. They never bully the people. Therefore, many people around Dongting Lake are willing to go there to do business. The island in the center of the lake is the largest black market trading place in Dongting within 800 miles."
oh? In this way, these water bandits are really extraordinary.
Xiao Rui wondered: "Since this is how they survive, why do the government want to encircle and suppress them? Isn't it nice to live in peace and quiet? If the two sides fight, people will die and money will be spent."
The waiter shook his head and said: "How do we ordinary people know this kind of thing? I just made a guess when listening to others talking about it, saying that the Dongting water bandits are suspected of separatist rule. You know that, sir, the court We can tolerate bandits and bandits, but we can never tolerate the rebellion of those who paint the earth as their king. So..."
Xiao Rui made a long sound: "Oh...I see. So, these people are not satisfied with the status quo and want to rebel against the king? Isn't this looking for death? How many years has it been since the end of the Sui Dynasty? The thirty-six What will happen to the anti-king and Seventy-Two Yanchen? They are just a group of water bandits who dare to stand on their own?"
"Hush, hush... I dare not say that." The waiter quickly stopped Xiao Rui from shouting, "Sir, this may not be the case. Many of the Dongting water bandits are Yueyang people, and they say this is a frame-up by the imperial court. What is it that you want to inflict a crime on? I haven’t read any books, so I don’t understand it well..."
Xiao Rui frowned and said: "It seems that the reason behind it is very complicated, and it is impossible for us ordinary people to know."
"As for suppressing bandits but not bandits, what does it have to do with us? They have been around for more than ten years, so what should we do? You also said that although they are called water bandits, they do not rob the people, so He should be considered a good person.”
"But it's good now. The imperial court has nothing to do to suppress the bandits. It doesn't matter to you to suppress the bandits. Blocking the river bank has cut off our financial path. What's going on? To be honest, they are more hateful than those water bandits!"
The waiter quickly dissuaded him: "Don't dare, don't dare to shout... Sir, let's just curse in private, don't dare to shout so loudly. Over the years, there have been repeated rumors that the Dongting water bandits do not rob, but they usually The people who intercepted the checkpoints on the river to extort people and caravans were all called the Jingxiang Navy of the imperial court's regular army. These people were openly setting up traps to steal money. They were like the living kings of hell, fighting water bandits for water bandits."
"But under the government, cards are set up to collect money, and all kinds of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes have a name. We ordinary people dare to be angry but dare not speak out, alas..."
"If the Dongting water bandit disappears, the black market will disappear, and our life will probably become even more difficult."
Xiao Rui's heart moved. So, the Jingxiang Navy was cut off because of its financial path? That’s why you dare to decisively launch an encirclement and suppression campaign?
