The next morning, on a battleship docked on the shore of Suzhou, five people sat in the cabin on the second floor. It was Chen Fan and others who had set off early in the morning. With the arrival of Chen Fan and others, the ship set sail.
When he returned to Hudu this time, Chen Fan decided to take a good look at the scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and no longer wrote poems or chatted about chess. Of course, he still had to chat.
"Aqing, why did you put the sword on your waist today? I've never seen you wearing a sword before."
"Master Huang now allows me to carry the sword." Xiao Qing looked at Master Huang and said.
"Oh, do you have any explanation?"
"No, it's just that my swordsmanship is stronger now than before, so I brought it with me." Xiao Qing said a little proudly.
"Really? Then your true essence can come out of your body? So fast!" Chen Fan was a little surprised. He had just started to refine a little sword essence. Wouldn't it be annoying to compare this person to others?
"Not yet." Xiao Qing said a little embarrassed.
Chen Fan felt a little relaxed, and finally understood that it is okay to have differences when making friends, but it is better to have a gap where you are worse than others, rather than a gap where you are not as good as others. Otherwise, no matter how good your friends are, you will inevitably have some differences in your heart. So a sense of loss. "Oh, by the way, what did you say last time that a fist move turned into a sword move? Have you mastered this?"
"It's a small success." Xiao Qing nodded.
"This is okay. The moves are dead, but the person is alive. It's just sword moves. With the help of 'Cheng Yin', I will catch up quickly." Chen Fan, who didn't know how hard it was to practice swords, comforted himself in his heart. .
"Then if you can, practice for us. I haven't seen you practice swords yet."
"This cabin is a bit small and cannot be used for dancing. It would be terrible if it damages your brother's boat. I will practice it for you when I get home."
"Alright." Chen Fan nodded.
"Brother, what's the name of this river?" Chen Fan decided to change the topic and turned to chat with the eldest brother.
"Loujiang, follow this river straight into the Yangtze River, and then go east, almost to the mouth of the sea, and you will reach Hudu."
"It's not hard to remember when you're on the road. Can a river that's more than ten feet wide be called a river?" Divided into meters, it's only about thirty meters, which is still far from the width of the river in Chen Fan's mind. The narrowest part of the Yangtze River is Even at the Yangtze River Bridge, there is a width of 1,001 meters. The river is called a river, which is really a bit narrow.
"Well, we have just left Gusu City. The river is relatively narrow, but it will soon become wider. The widest part is twenty or thirty feet." The eldest brother explained the width.
Chen Fan just asked casually to find out the width of the river. Suddenly, a loud shout attracted Chen Fan's attention, "If you don't leave, don't blame me for being rude to you."
Following the sound, I saw a fishing boat on the shore not far ahead. Standing on it were tall and surprisingly strong people, shirtless and wearing shorts, holding a harpoon in their hands. Confronted by two men in black attire.
Maybe Chen Fan's sensing ability has been strengthened now, maybe it's because he was already closer, and he could only hear the sound coming clearly.
"Lang Libai, I advise you to put down the harpoon and give your share of the money, otherwise you will never want to sell fish here."
"I've already paid the commercial tax, why can't I sell it?"
These two men in black are not from the government, they should be collecting protection fees. It seems that gangs are rampant in this era, but modern society has basically put an end to this phenomenon. Chen Fan quickly made a judgment in his mind, and at the same time his mind brightened, and an idea came into his mind, Lang Libai, I wrote down the name, I would like to meet him if I have a chance in the future, but I am short of manpower now.
The battleship Chen Fan was on was traveling very fast, and in a blink of an eye it passed the fishing boat where the dispute occurred. Looking from a distance, he saw Lang Libai and two men in black getting into action. Who won and who lost? Chen Fan Fan Dao is not particularly concerned. In Chen Fan's opinion, if Lang Libai can't deal with these two ruffians, then his ability is average and he needs capable people.
"Brother, look, the two men in black and a fisherman are taking action." Everyone looked in the direction of Chen Fan's finger.
"This kind of thing happens often. Fa Sheng, you don't come out much, so you don't see much. Don't go out alone, let Hou Feng follow you. It's not safe for you to be outside alone." The eldest brother said calmly.
"When the boat was sailing by just now, I heard the two men in black talking about paying a share of money. What is a share of money?" Share money, in modern society, is a gift, and it is paid voluntarily. Chen Fan naturally knows that, but Here, of course, I have to ask my elder brother for advice.
"Oh, that's a way of saying gangs collect money. It's actually protection money. It's found everywhere."
"Oh, then do we also have slander?"
"We don't have any gangs. The main reason is that the place is small and everyone basically knows each other. I have never heard of anyone forming a gang to collect protection fees."
"Then why is there Gusu? Does the government not care?" The last sentence, the government doesn't care, is the focus of Chen Fan's concern.
"People come and go in Suzhou, and there are many people from outside the country who come to do business. When there are more people, there will be more disputes. Fights are common, and there are still people who have no work to do, so they naturally show evil intentions. The government alone cannot control this. Later, some people took advantage of this opportunity and established gangs. In name, they maintained local security and protected people's property. In fact, they colluded with the government and collected protection fees from all walks of life. They gave them a nice name and called them elements. Part of the money is for the government, so of course the government doesn't care."
"Then why doesn't the government just accept it? Doesn't it mean that the government is short of money?"
"The money is definitely bad, but even if you want to collect it, you can't. The main reason is that the local people are simple, the people are poor, and business is difficult to do. No one is willing to pay. Besides, not everyone can set up this gang. Just now Didn't you see the two men in black fighting with the fishermen? Without a certain amount of force, a gang cannot be established. To collect protection fees, you need to find someone. Also, the county magistrates who have always been in office are not willing to collect money. , no one wants to be the first person to start collecting protection fees. If they start collecting protection fees, businesses will definitely raise prices and let the people bear the cost. They are not afraid of 10,000, but are afraid of triggering a civil uprising. event."
This is true. Officials can only pretend not to know about any gangs and secretly take some benefits. If they come forward to lead the establishment, if they are taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives, it will become a big deal and no one will want to do so. Chen Fan nodded secretly, gaining a deeper understanding of this society.
"Then the money these gangs gave to the government, did it go into the government's account, or did it go to an official?" In Chen Fan's view, if it went into the government's account, then the gang is actually an extension of the government, and the protection fee It is equivalent to a local tax. This fee has a certain rationality. To deal with this gang, you must first obtain the permission of the local government. After the gang is eliminated or replaced, continue to pay the protection fee to the government; if it is given to an official, To deal with gangs, you can consider establishing a good relationship with the officials behind them, or deal with them together with this official. Relatively speaking, the method is much more flexible.
"Of course it was given to an official. This money cannot be recorded in the account. As for how the official handled it, I'm not sure."
It seems that the water here is very deep. Fortunately, there are some things that you need to understand first. After all, you are still in a learning stage. You can prepare for the future, but there is no need to rush it. Chen Fan found that he lacked a sense of security since arriving in this society. This society is not like modern society. It is a peaceful era, with legal protection and police help. In this turbulent era, only if you have the power, can you He protects himself very well, so Chen Fan always unconsciously wants to have power and plan for the future.
"In a place like Suzhou, do you have to pay a share fee no matter where you open a store?"
"That's definitely not necessary. This gang collects money from people who have no foundation. Generally, they only collect money from those who have no foundation. If you open a shop like Fa Sheng, brother, I will set up shop for you. If anyone dares to collect money, I will help you. Beat him out." Chen Dao and Tan Hao said angrily.
"Okay, thank you first, brother." Chen Fan said with a smile. What the elder brother wants is to fight the gang members out, while Chen Fan wants to use the gang for his own use. This is the gap.
The boat was sailing along the Lou River, and several people were chatting while looking at the scenery. Chen Fan's eyes suddenly widened. The Yangtze River had arrived. The boat turned right and went east along the river. To express his feelings, reciting poetry is also a good choice. Chen Fan finally understood the thoughts of the ancients. In an era without television and newspapers, to pass the time and express one's thoughts, poetry and song were indeed indispensable things for literati.
"Brother, when will you take me to your barracks?" Chen Fan was actually asking where Hudu's water camp was? But he didn't know if the original owner knew, so he asked a different question. Chen Fan remembered that when he was at Youpanmen last time, his eldest brother said that the 1,000 navy troops under his father's control were stationed in Hudu, but he came to Gusu by boat before. I have never seen any water camp, so I naturally wanted to inquire about it today. If possible, Chen Fan would like to see the scale of Shuiying. In addition, I walked around the pier. When I set out last time, I saw fishermen eating at the pier. I thought there should be a fishing village nearby. If possible, I could go there.
"Let's wait for another day. This water camp is built on the Yangtze River. We will disembark at the Shenjiang Qingpu Town Pier. It will be quite a distance before we can get there."
"Then let's take this boat there. After a round trip, we'll be dropped off at the pier. We'll arrive at Hudu today and it's still early. We can just walk around for a while without getting off the boat." Chen Fan continued to try to persuade, while secretly I think, according to what the elder brother said, it was probably the boat on the pier of Qingpu Town last time. The fishermen I saw might live in Qingpu Town. Tianshui College is also in Qingpu Town, so I should go and take a look.
"Well, Shuiying is not far from the mouth of Shenjiang River. You can drive about five miles east to get there. Take a look around and then return."
"Okay, thank you brother." Chen Fan was overjoyed.
"By the way, Ah Qing, you used to go to Qian Taoist Temple to practice, but now you don't go. Do you feel it's a pity?" Chen Fan didn't know where Qian Taoist Temple was in Hudu. It would be better if he could find out by the way.
"No, I think it's good now." Xiao Qing looked at Chen Fan and said.
"Then you don't care about Baiyun Temple anymore. There is the Five Elements Formation and the "Shangdong Sutra" there. Don't you want to see it?"
"I don't want to." Xiao Qing shook his head, "Those may not belong to me. It's best to get them in front of you."
"I can't tell, it sounds quite philosophical. Is it because I am too greedy? Why do I just want to read the "Shangdong Sutra"? Is it a side effect of Cheng Ying?" Chen Fan couldn't help but ask himself. , and then said: "I would like to read the Shangdong Sutra. It would be better if I could learn it."
