Feng Haijiao couldn't sleep these days.
His hometown: Qinglianwei is in a panic and commotion. The news of Sun Dabiao's demise was brought here by a few distracted minions the next day.
At first, Feng Haijiao didn't believe it, because there were five or six hundred people in Sun Dabiao's place, and there were less than 200 thieves in total. How could they dare to attack Sun Dabiao and not even take the county seat?
However, the little guy pointed to the sky and the earth and swore that what he said was true, which aroused Feng Haijiao's vigilance. As soon as day broke, he sent a few elite men to Dalangwei and the county town to find out the news. Unexpectedly, the news he brought back was worse than the last. Dawangwei was broken, and there were more than 200 spears poking at the heads of Sun Dabiao's men along the road toward the county. Two large graveyards were built at the intersection of Dalangwei, which were sinister and cold, making people scared. Sun Dabiao himself and the main leaders of his men were captured, and now they are "displayed" in front of the county government office. They look disgusted. They were tortured so severely that all of them were deformed into human beings.
Who said that Feng Haijiao and Sun Dabiao were secretly unwilling to deal with each other? A few days ago, the two sides almost had a conflict over the issue of the sphere of influence over the collection of food and wages. However, they have been brothers who have been worshiping each other for many years, and they also know the truth of death due to cold lips. The sudden destruction of Sun Dabiao and his group was like ringing the death knell on Feng Haijiao's head.
Spring in March turns to cold winter and snow in a blink of an eye. Feng Haijiao and his gang were originally arrogant and arrogant, but now everyone is in panic all day long, feeling that the end is approaching. Not only did the steady stream of good guys from all walks of life who came to "join the gang" in the past no longer appear, but even those who joined the gang found various excuses to escape, and some even had to leave without saying goodbye.
Feng Haijiao tried to maintain his composure, and during the meeting with the leaders, he even said a few words of disdain for Sun Dabiao to show that Sun Dabiao was of no importance to him. However, behind his back, he was already in chaos. Several groups of people were sent to Xinlao Nanzhuangzi to ask Zhan Zhekun about his plans - especially to get a true answer from him: Are the Ming officers and soldiers coming yet?
However, these words never came. Instead, they waited for the news that Sun Dabiao and others were beheaded in the county seat.
"Really killed?!" Although Feng Haijiao had already expected Sun Dabiao's fate, he was still shocked when he heard the news, "Who else?"
"Not a single one of those who were captured and sent to the county town was left. They all had their heads chopped off. Jiang Xiaotian was also killed - the thief Kun even killed his mother and uncle!" The gangster who went to inquire about the news said in panic. "Sun Dabiao's sons and grandsons were all beheaded..."
"This woman is cruel enough." Feng Haijiao had already heard that the new county magistrate was a woman. Now that he heard that she destroyed Sun Dabiao's family together, he couldn't help but admire him a lot more. "Kill the other family members too?"
“No,” the minion said, “I heard that if the family members of various heads of family were caught, men would be punished if someone accused them - that is, they would be hanged; other women and children would be free to seek refuge if they had a place to stay, and those who had no place to go would be exiled overseas. That’s what he said, but enemies from each family were waiting on the road, and they came out to kill one by one, leaving no chicken or dog alive... Nowadays, many people would rather go into exile... Sun Dabiao’s wife hanged herself that night..."
"His wife has never dealt with him very much, but she is willing to hang herself for him. She is a loyal woman!" Feng Haijiao gave a thumbs up, "Where are his concubines? Have any of them hanged themselves?"
"There's not a single one. They all went back to their parents' homes."
"TNND, what a pity, his seventh aunt is such a beauty..." Feng Haijiao suddenly became lustful and slapped his thigh, "Why doesn't she come to me!"
"Well, maybe she doesn't know that the master admires her, right?" The men quickly said jokingly, "How about we get her here..."
Feng Haijiao then thought about it, now he was in danger, let alone his concubine, maybe if he was killed by the thief, his wife might not be willing to hang herself. Unexpectedly, my interest waned.
Sun Dabiao, who had been calling the shots for decades, ended up like this, and Feng Haijiao was naturally in despair. And Sun Dabiao's defeat brought more than that: the limelight in the county suddenly turned. The powerful people who had actively interacted with him in the past avoided the people he sent. The food and salary collection that had been quite smooth now also failed. becomes very difficult. Many villages simply refuse to pay - even if they are willing to pay, there are a lot of excuses for them, either delaying the payment or paying less. It made him very angry. As time went by, I became somewhat stretched.
He now also has a big family and a big business, with nearly 500 brothers under him, and he needs dozens of kilograms of rice just to eat every day. His main income in the past was from "living on the river", specializing in extorting and robbing passenger and cargo ships. Since the war in Guangdong, there have been few passenger and cargo ships on the Lianjiang River. As for the Australians, there were quite a few ships. Bi Xuansheng encouraged him several times to ambush the Australian fleet, and even got him some firearms, but he never had the courage - and he was afraid of a head-on confrontation with the Australians. Both sides suffered losses, and Sun Dabiao took advantage.
After he raised the banner of the Ming Dynasty, he used it to collect grain and pay from the surrounding areas. After Wang Chuyi failed in Dalangwei, Feng Haijiao was in the limelight for a time. He used the name of Yangshan Right Wing General to collect grain and pay. For a time, The scenery is endless, and gold, silver, money and food continuously flow into his Qinglianwei. Now not only can't they collect food and wages, but the National Army in the county has also stepped up patrols. When the team goes out to collect food, they often encounter patrol teams, more or less leaving several brothers behind.
If it continues like this, it will be over sooner or later. Feng Haijiao was tormented in his heart and discussed with Bi Xuansheng several times. Bi Xuansheng persuaded him to abandon this place and join forces with Zhan Zhekun - Xinjiazhuang was not only remote, but also had dangerous terrain, which was conducive to rejection.
"Mr. Yang in Guangning has a mountain stronghold not far from Xinjiazhuang. If troops are stationed here, it can echo it."
He could trust Xin Laonan, not to mention that this person had limited strength and could not play with fire and subjugate his ideas - if he were Xin Laonan, he would probably have to guard against Feng Haijiao coming to annex him.
But Feng Haijiao could not make up his mind to give up Qinglianwei, the "feng shui treasure land" where he made his fortune.
In such a panic dilemma, Feng Haijiao lived a life of trouble sleeping and eating. He used to be very superstitious, but now he regards this as his spiritual sustenance. He burns incense and worships God every day, hoping that some "miracle" will fall from the sky and save him from the critical moment of destruction.
However, the situation showed no signs of improving. There were fewer and fewer villages willing to pay money and food. On the contrary, he heard that the big families in the county not only gave the Australians money and food, but also gave many young men to the Australians. Now the female county magistrate Her men have strong soldiers and horses - needless to say, she has so many soldiers and horses, and sooner or later they will have to deal with her.
Feng Haijiao was so exhausted that he had to send Bi Xuansheng to Xinjiazhuang again to ask Zhan Zhekun for advice. In his opinion, this man with the aura of "staff of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi" was his last hope.
After Bi Xuansheng set out, he calculated that he should be back yesterday, but he did not go up the mountain as scheduled. He slept anxiously all night, and the next day he came out of his mansion, dressed in his military attache uniform, and took a few soldiers with him to inspect his subordinates.
Although Qinglianwei used to be a commercial port, since it was occupied by Feng Haijiao, it has become a gangster's den without any shops or residents. He originally had only a hundred people under his command and few houses. Since becoming the general manager, the team has expanded rapidly, and many people have no place to live. Many gangsters can only live under thatched huts. At this moment, people are sleeping, sitting, gambling, noisy, and lazy, scattered in a mess along the river, without any appearance of a procession. Even when he passed by, only the minions who were close stood up to greet him, while those who were farther away simply pretended not to see him. He looked at it for a while, and he couldn't help but feel melancholy when he recalled the scene when heroes from all walks of life came to "dock at the dock" when he was the boss. Seeing the color of the military attache uniform on his body: he was so proud to wear it at first, and his subordinates even praised him for his "official authority" when they saw it. However, at this moment, this gorgeous costume seemed to be mocking him - he was not worthy of wearing it at all. use.
Feng Haijiao asked Bi Xuansheng again if he was back, and became even more disappointed after receiving a negative answer. He completely forgot about his past contempt and defensiveness towards Bi Xuansheng, and couldn't help but hope that he would come back soon so that they could have a discussion.
As the sun turned to the west, there was still no trace of Bi Xuansheng. Feng Haijiao returned to the mansion disappointedly. Ignoring the diligent care of his aunt and the girl, he walked back to the study with heavy steps and sat down. In the Taishi chair, he collapsed softly on the bed, looking up at the old roof, sighing long and short, without saying a word.
The sky had just turned dark when suddenly a maid shouted outside the door: "Master!"
Feng Haijiao blinked his eyelids twice and said softly, "Hmm", but did not move yet. The maid could only report at the door: "Master Bi is back..."
Upon hearing these words, Feng Haijiao immediately became energetic. He suddenly sat up and said, "Put down the banquet. I want to take care of Master Bi!"
In an instant, the maids set down a banquet table and poured wine. Feng Haijiao looked at Bi Xuansheng eagerly - his face was dark and dusty, and he had obviously suffered a lot on the road.
Seeing that Feng Haijiao just bowed hastily, he eagerly went to the banquet. After sitting down, he was not polite: he first grabbed a chicken and gnawed it, then tore the chicken clean in two or two bites, and then stretched out the oil. Wang Wang drank the wine in the glass with his hand. One after another said: "Pour the wine!"
Feng Haijiao quickly signaled to pour the wine and said: "Don't be anxious, there will be plenty of wine and meat."
Bi Xuansheng was not polite. He ate wine and meat, eating wine and meat without any politeness. He ate so much that he only made a mess of dishes on the table. Then he stopped and breathed heavily.
Feng Haijiao looked at it and was secretly shocked. What happened to Bi Xuansheng? Actually made it look like a starving ghost reincarnated? And he was almost two full days behind schedule!
