Guanzhong was an important grain-producing area during the Qin and Han Dynasties, but today, its output has been unable to meet the grain needs of Daxing City. The garrison in Guanzhong, Daxing officials, travelers, the wealthy families gathered here, and non-productive groups such as Yun slaves, students from the Imperial College and Imperial College, temples and Taoist temples all consumed large amounts of food every day.
In the early days of the founding of the Emperor, once a disaster occurred in Guanzhong, there would be worries about food shortages. The late emperor Yang Jian had to take officials and people to Luoyang for food every time there was a disaster. Therefore, some people secretly nicknamed him the "Begging Emperor".
In order to get rid of the shameful nickname of "Begging Emperor" and to save the people of Guanzhong from running around, Yang Jian was angry and dug Guangtong Canal, and built Guangtongcang and other official warehouses in Guanzhong. During every flood season, a large amount of grain from the south would be transported to Guanzhong and sold open all year round, keeping the price of grain floating between two, three, and four qian per bucket of rice.
Once the price of grain reached four cents, the officials immediately opened Guangtongcang, Changpingcang, and Taicang to sell grain. Later, grain will be transported from Luoyang Heyangcang and Luoyang Changpingcang (Luoyang Shaanzhou), which are generally "transfer stations", to supply the Guanzhong official warehouse; if these two major granaries are also somewhat tight, then the eastern Weizhou Liyangcang and Huazhou Baima The grain from the granary supplies these two granaries.
It is precisely because Yang Jian built granaries on both sides of the Yellow River and hoarded large amounts of grain that officials and generals did not have to worry about food no matter whether the north encountered droughts, floods or launched large-scale wars.
The prosperous water transport in Guanzhong also prospered because of this. And he fed a group of people who relied on water for their meals. These people were named Caoding and Caofu.
On the one hand, the men transporting grain contended with turbulent rapids, dangerous terrain, and unpredictable weather; on the other hand, they also had to contend with extortionist local bullies and officials, and local snakes at various docks... In the end, only Only after winning everything can we transport boatloads of food to Guanzhong and exchange for food rations for the whole family.
Therefore, people who depend on water can only improve their survival ability by uniting together, so they naturally form "gangs" of different sizes. However, competition among each other is also very fierce. Over time, some small "gangs" are merged by other "big gangs", some "big gangs" fall apart due to internal fighting, and some small "gangs" develop into Big "gang".
The Xuanwu Gang, whose headquarter is located in Xinfeng County, is one of these gangs. The Xuanwu Gang has only more than 500 members, ten large ships and twenty small boats. In Xinfeng County, where there are many water transport gangs, its strength is only It's considered average.
The leader of the gang is named Wang Nianzu. Although he is a reckless hero of low origin, all four generations of his ancestors are prominent figures, especially his grandfather Wang Gui, who brought the Wang family to its peak, but it was Wang Gui who brought the Wang family to its peak. Into the abyss.
Wang Gui was a prominent figure in the Northern Zhou Dynasty due to his dignified character, foresight, wisdom and bravery. He first assisted Emperor Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, Yu Wenyong, to get rid of the powerful minister Yu Wenhu, and then conquered the cities of Jinzhou and Bingye in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and then destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty and established a good foundation for the Northern Qi Dynasty. The Northern Zhou Dynasty captured the Yellow River Basin and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. He also led the army to annihilate the elite army of Chen State, and achieved great fame. He was worshiped as the general of Zhu State and the general manager of Xuzhou.
However, when Yuwen Yong and Wang Gui discussed the successor, Wang Gui believed that Yu Wenyun, then the crown prince, had shallow virtues and insufficient abilities, and might not be able to shoulder the great cause of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Yu Wenyong thought so, but except for Yu Wenyun's one adult son, all the others were young, so he could only let Yu Wenyun continue to be the prince. But Wang Gui and Yu Wenyun became enemies because of this. After Yu Wenyun came to the throne, the first thing he did was to send the internal historian Du Qianxin to Xuzhou to kill Wang Gui.
When Yuwen Yun came to the throne, Wang Gui knew that a disaster was coming. When the news of his execution reached Xuzhou, many of his subordinates persuaded him to surrender to Nanchen. However, Wang Gui believed that he had received great favor from the late emperor and could not do it because of his Abandoning the justice of the country in life and death, he only hoped that after a thousand years, the world would know his loyalty to the Northern Zhou Dynasty, so he finally waited for Du Qian to come and kill him.
But Yu Wenyun was still angry after killing Wang Gui, and then killed Wang Gui's family. Wang Ninzong's father was lucky to escape because he was leading troops outside. After that, he hid in Tibet, and his family declined. .
Wang Nianzu sat on a stone bench in the dock square, behind which were large granaries reflected in the blue sky and white clouds.
He is forty-two years old. He is tall and burly. His face is tanned due to running boats all the time. His feet and arms are also unusually thick. He looks like a tiger sitting on the ground, but there is a fierce look on his face. His expression of hesitation and worry formed a strong contrast with his burly figure.
Now they encountered a big obstacle. Wang Nianzu, who even dared to break through the Sanmen Gorge, known as the Gate of Hell, really felt desperate this time. He knew that they could not get through this obstacle at all.
Speaking of which, the Xuanwu Gang was the first group of people to do canal transportation, and they were once a powerful member of the canal gang. The reason why they fell into this situation was actually caused by Wang Nianzu's temperament.
He is capable and far-sighted, but like his grandfather, he is too upright, generous and upright in everything he does. Because they were too righteous, too upright, and too fair, Wang Gui caused the decline of the Wang family, while Wang Nianzu caused the decline of the Xuanwu Gang, which he founded and was once glorious.
In today's Xuanwu Gang, the intelligent people did not get the status and money they deserved because of the equal distribution system, so they all left because they felt deeply unfair; there were still some people who couldn't see a good way out and left... …and many, many gang members died in the fight. The remaining people can no longer support the Xuanwu Gang.
When Wang Nianzu realized something was wrong and planned to change, he had already missed the best time for development. Coupled with the high competition and pressure, he did not have the courage to "break and then build".
Crouching in front of him were more than thirty gang members who he had called to discuss important matters. However, these people are top-notch masters in boat control and fighting, but they don't know a lot of Chinese characters. If Wang Nianzu asked them to kill people, they would be fine. But when it comes to long-term events, development plans, etc., it is simply difficult for them.
One or two of them squatted on the ground with their arms folded, some looked around, and some were distracted. But more people rested their chins on their arms, either staring silently at the empty space in front of them, or boredly drawing "patterns" on the ground with their fingers that they didn't even know what they were.
In short, no one dared to look into Wang Nianzu's eyes. It would be embarrassing if Wang Nianzu mistakenly thought he had an idea and asked him to speak.
There were more than 20 young people standing in the distance. They were the most prosperous young people in the county. Their chests were full of passion. Their expressions were different from the worried elders. Each of them clenched their fists tightly, with angry chests. It undulated like a bellows, as if it was holding back great anger.
Their crisis this time comes from the Jiangnan League, which has risen in recent years. From the beginning, the Jiangnan League has used persuasion, inducement, and coercion to annex countless small and medium-sized gangs. Anyone who does not agree will die. If they encounter a gang with comparable strength, , the Jiangnan League used their official connections to kill the gang leaders one by one, and then annexed them. After a few years of this, Jiangnan will become the largest gang.
The Jiangnan League had long wanted to annex the Xuanwu Gang. After they failed to coerce Wang Nianzu, they used violent means to attack on land and on the water, and at the same time used official force to suppress them. Over time, the strength of the Xuanwu Gang was reduced sharply. This look.
In fact, the Xuanwu Gang could no longer resist the year before last. However, when the Xuanwu Gang was about to die, the Jiangnan League suddenly converged and changed its expansion to internal integration. This gave the Xuanwu Gang a chance to breathe. However, secret suppression is definitely indispensable, so the Xuanwu Gang can survive but cannot grow.
Today, the Jiangnan League has begun their expansion trend again. After several years of internal rectification and digestion, the strength and cohesion of the Jiangnan League are even greater than before, and their actions are naturally more domineering.
A few days ago, the Jiangnan League actually impounded ten large ships carrying official supplies from the Xuanwu Gang on the Yellow River. If Wang Nianzu did not surrender, they would burn the ships.
This batch of grain transported by the Xuanwu Gang is not only official grain, but also military grain for the imperial court to support Liangzhou. This batch of grain started from Heyangcang. After arriving in Guanzhong, it will be transported directly to Xiangzhou, Weizhou, taking advantage of the large flow of the Wei River. Wu County, after unloading the goods here, they were transported by land to the official warehouse of the Taozhou Army in Liangzhou.
This is the rations used by the Liangzhou military to prepare for war. It cannot be delayed for a day, so let alone the ship being burned, even if the date is delayed, Wang Nianzu, as the carrier, will also be severely punished by law and military law.
If the army was defeated because of this, the military would only believe that the lack of food was the reason for the army's defeat. As for the reason for the delay, it had nothing to do with the military, because that was a matter that only the government had to deal with. In order to give the military an explanation, the government would definitely kill everyone including Wang Nianzu and other leaders.
Therefore, this time the Jiangnan League was completely scheming together. Apart from surrender, it seemed that there was really no other option.
Wang Nianzu saw that the "old man Su" squatting on the ground was avoiding his gaze, so he couldn't help but let out a long breath, looked at the energetic young man, and shouted in a deep voice: "Wang Tao."
"The child is here!" A young man with bronze skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes strode forward and saluted Wang Nianzu.
He is the eldest son of Wang Nianzu, a man of both civil and military skills, and a wise man. He is also the leader of the younger generation of the Wang family and the Xuanwu Gang.
"If we can't get back those ten ships today, our Xuanwu Gang will be doomed. This is the foundation that countless brothers and I have built with our lives. I can only protect it with my life. Even if I die, I will seek justice from the Jiangnan Alliance! After my death, you take your brothers and defect to Shi Wanbao." Wang Nianzu ordered.
Wang Tao said loudly: "How can Aye say that? No one in our Xuanwu Gang is greedy for life and afraid of death. At worst, we will fight with their Jiangnan League. If anyone dares to be unfaithful and unjust, I will be the first to kill him." !”
"That sounds nice!" Wang Nianzu shook his head and said sadly: "Brothers are all the breadwinners of the family, and there is a family of young and old that they need to support. How can we fight with those desperadoes? What can we use to fight with others? Fight? It’s because I’m incompetent, it’s because I can’t protect the Xuanwu Gang, I’ll be responsible for this matter alone, you don’t need to worry about it!”
"Uncle, we will fight with them!" A young man came out, saluted Wang Nianzu, and then shouted angrily: "I, He Lie, have been a member of the Xuanwu Gang since I was born. Everyone who wants to plot against us, Xuanwu The people who helped me are all my enemies. Now that they have forced us to this point, we absolutely cannot bear it any longer, or we will die together with them."
After He Lie finished speaking, the young men all came over excitedly and shouted: "Uncle, if you fight with them, you may die."
When Wang Nianzu saw this, he felt happy and sad at the same time. These young people were Caoding orphans whom he had trained, just like his own children.
These energetic children are not only the hope of the Xuanwu Gang, but have also become the backbone of the Xuanwu Gang. They will have to be trained a little in the future to become great talents. But the Jiangnan League was so powerful and had a strong backing that the Xuanwu Gang couldn't fight it. So how could he let these children die in vain?
He glared at He Lie, slapped his thigh fiercely, and shouted loudly: "This is my order. Do you dare to disobey my order?"
"Uncle, this disciple is definitely not disobeying orders, but...but for such an order, this disciple would rather die than listen to it..." Speaking of his grievances, such a big man like He Lie actually shed tears.
The reason why He Lie was so frightened was not because Wang Nianzu was a strict person, but because the gang rules set by Wang Nianzu were very strict and he could not bear the crime of disobedience.
They are a group of people who live under the law but are free from the law. They have the characteristics of "jianghu people" but must abide by the government's system. They are completely different from the gangsters who kill people and steal goods.
During the water transportation process, they have to be exploited by officials and petty officials at all levels. If they are not satisfied, they will make things difficult for them. While resting on various docks, local snakes will also collude with local officials to cause trouble and extort money...
None of these can be solved by violence, so gangs of all sizes that rely on water transport will inevitably have unruly "disciples" acting on their whims, which will bring big troubles and losses to the gangs. They formulated a set of strict systems to restrain their own people. Over time, strict "family laws" and "gang rules" with the nature of military law were formed.
Because there are many young people who are stupid, and these people are self-righteous and have always been troublemakers. When their elders come to help them wipe their butts, instead of being grateful, they regard their elders' humiliation as weakness and incompetence. Integrity and blood; therefore, in order to restrain such people, and at the same time to allow the elders to better complete their tasks, various gangs have raised the "not to disobey the orders of elders" to the most severe level.
Now that Wang Nianzu mentioned "disobedience", He Lie, who was not even afraid of death, was so frightened that he cried.
"Uncle, something bad is going on." A man with a bruised nose and swollen face ran over and said loudly: "Someone is coming to kill me."
"Are they from the Jiangnan League?" Wang Nianzu and others were shocked, and the elders who were squatting on the ground also stood up.
Their Xuanwu Gang has declined to the point where they only have ten old large ships and twenty small boats, while the Jiangnan League has more than 300 large ships. There is no comparison between the two, and it is not worth the Jiangnan League's large-scale war; and they want to If you want to destroy the Xuanwu Gang, there is no need to go to such trouble. But the objects that the Jiangnan League, the emerging "Caogang", coveted were not those old ships at all, but their group of people.
The reason is that the Jiangnan League has developed too fast and has insufficient foundation. Although they have many ships, they have few experienced boatmen; few "boat bosses" dare to cross dangerous terrain like Sanmenxia. In order to avoid shipwrecks and fatalities, the Jiangnan League had no choice but to let ships from the east stop at the dock in front of Sanmenxia, then take a land route, and then load the goods to waiting ships in the west; in this way, not to mention transportation In the process, money and manpower are wasted, and time alone cannot be afforded.
As a veteran water transport gang, the remaining members of the Xuanwu Gang are all veterans who have excelled in difficult terrain. As long as the Yellow River is not frozen, their "boat boss" can sail through all sections of the river. If the Jiangnan League If the Xuanwu Gang can be surrendered, hundreds of "ship bosses" and sailors who can sail the entire journey will immediately be added.
However, those people from the Xuanwu Gang who are willing to stay are themselves characters who value friendship and cherish old friendships, so the Jiangnan League's high interest rates cannot seduce them at all; and the Jiangnan League's goal is them, so naturally they cannot kill them with deadly hands, so they are extremely arrogant. The Jiangnan League has been restrained in dealing with the Xuanwu Gang.
The Jiangnan League has never done anything like the act of going to the headquarters to represent complete hostility.
If the person knocking on the door this time is the Jiangnan League, it means that the Jiangnan League has lost patience and escalated its actions from secret fighting and coercion to violent attacks.
If there is a violent showdown, the Xuanwu Gang will definitely die.
"It's not the Jiangnan League, it's another group of people!" The man glanced at Wang Nianzu, lowered his head, and continued: "The leader is a young lady. She said she came to save us."
Hearing that he was not from the Jiangnan League, Wang Zunian breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Since you claim to be saving us, why do you beat people?"
The man's voice became even lower: "The little lady is so beautiful, brothers couldn't help it for a moment..."
"You can't help teasing others? Yes or no?"
"Yes!" The man nodded and said in a low voice: "It's not that the brothers couldn't help it, it's all her fault that she is too beautiful."
"First Elder, catch these unsatisfactory guys and punish them according to the gang rules!" Wang Nianzu laughed angrily. You have teased others and blamed their parents for being too beautiful. Do you still have Wang Dharma in your eyes? Are there any rules?
What's more, they came with good intentions, and no matter how the final discussion ended, it would not lead to unrelenting hostility.
But you are lucky enough to have molested this woman who is most likely to be an ally at this critical moment.
It is true that there is not enough success and more failure than success.
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