The Daliang Kingdom severely punished serious crimes of rebellion. Once confirmed, all the families were executed and the nine ethnic groups were exterminated. After the Han Mansion in Yangzhou was defeated, no one dared to take over the old house. The most important thing was that the government funded the demolition and reconstruction, transformed it into a neighborhood market, and moved it from other places. Scholars and people settled there, and the locals in Yangzhou called it "Xinhanji".
Guo Chuanlin and Li Qixian spent a whole day shopping in Xinhanji. The once prosperous big family was uprooted by a storm and completely destroyed. Nothing was left. The two asked the owners and clerks of nearby shops for information. , but most of them were immigrants who moved to Yangzhou five or six years ago and knew nothing about the Han family's past.
At dusk, they stepped into a small tavern with a light business, ordered a few home-cooked dishes, a pot of home-brewed rice wine, and chatted while eating. Li Qixian didn't like the astringent taste of rice wine, so he put it down after taking a sip. He had only one chopstick but no chopsticks. He ate a few bites of dishes to accompany him. Guo Chuanlin poured himself a glass of wine and drank it. He finished the pot of wine in no time, and called out again. I ordered two bowls of vegetarian noodles as my main meal.
Although there was nothing gained from this day, Li Qixian was still very happy. Being able to stay with Guo Chuanlin, even if he was running around and working hard, was better than waiting for him to come back alone. She has a little selfishness and wants to be a useful woman to him. She knows what he is doing and tries to keep up with him. Only in this way can she surpass the gentle and lovely Qin Rong and truly occupy a place in his heart. .
After finishing the noodles and taking a few mouthfuls of noodle soup, Guo Chuanlin stood up and was waiting to pay. Suddenly he saw a person staggering in, lying on the table and shouting: "Waiter... come... have a bowl... sobering up soup." ..." Looking at his appearance, he was obviously very drunk.
Guo Chuanlin sat down again and asked Li Qixian in a low voice: "Is that drunk man Liu Yi, the steward of He Mansion?"
Li Qixian glanced at it for a few times and said hesitantly: "The figure from the back looks familiar, but..."
Before he finished speaking, another person followed him into the tavern. He was in his forties, thin, holding a short knife in his hand, with a hooked nose, deeply sunken eyes, and a sarcastic grin on his lips: "Liu Second son, you have never done anything wrong in your life, and you are not afraid of ghosts knocking on your door in the middle of the night. Why are you hiding from me? I recognized you at a glance!"
Knowing that he couldn't hide, the drunk man slowly raised his head, squinted his eyes and looked at it for a long time, and said with a big tongue: "You...you are...Kong...Kong Gang Leader..." His voice was trembling, unclear, and he didn't know. Is it because of drunkenness or fear.
"That's right, Butler Liu." Li Qixian recognized him. When she was working as a maid in the He Mansion, she and Butler Liu often met and occasionally exchanged words with each other. However, Guo Chuanlin went out early and came back late, so she wasn't very close to him. familiar.
Footsteps came one after another outside the tavern, and seven or eight strong men were blocking the place tightly. Even the back hall was guarded. Outsiders could not get in, and people inside could not get out. They were obviously coming for Liu Yi.
"Why are you running away? If you can escape the first day of the lunar month, but not the fifteenth, you will always fall into my hands!" Gang leader Da Ma Jin Dao sat opposite Liu Yi and slapped the dagger on the table hard, scaring him. Shivered.
The waiter stood aside with a bowl of piping hot sobering soup, shaking his head, switching from left hand to right hand, and then from right hand to left hand, not daring to come forward without saying anything. Liu Yi waved his hand and said: "Put it down...put it down..." The waiter stretched out his arms in a hurry, put the sobering soup in front of him, and hid in the back hall.
Liu Yi's face turned red and white, and he leaned over the edge of the bowl. He drank three or four sips in a row without caring about the heat. His expression became a little more sober, and he remained silent with a sad face.
"Liu Laoer, stop pretending, there is no sand in the eyes of a bachelor!"
Liu Yi saw that he couldn't hide, so he had to bite the bullet and said: "Gang Leader Kong, the young one...even if he took the leopard's courage, he wouldn't dare...dare..." The smell of alcohol surged up, and he hurriedly covered it with his hands. Shut up and burp.
Gang Leader Kong raised his fingers and tapped the table gently, and said with a sinister smile: "I have been hiding for so many years, but I didn't expect you to be hiding in Yangzhou City. If God hadn't been wise, and I happened to bump into you, I would have thought you were dead without seeing your body! Hehe, Hehe, tell me, what do you do for a living now?"
The yellow soup in Liu Yi's stomach turned into cold sweat, and he said with a smile: "Gang Leader Kong doesn't know how much the small one weighs - it's just for helping people to make a living!"
"What kind of servant?"
"Hey, you can earn some hard-earned money by working as a housekeeper for an adult family." Liu Yi was afraid that he would muddle through and say the wrong thing, so he hurriedly drank a few more mouthfuls of sobering soup, and thoughts were racing through his mind.
Yangzhou is not Longxi, strong dragons cannot suppress local snakes, and Gang Leader Kong does not dare to be too presumptuous. Although Liu Laoer happened to be blocked in the tavern, after all, there were outsiders, so he would not necessarily silence them. He glared at Guo and Li, With a fierce look in his eyes, he threatened: "The man and woman over there, if you know what they are talking about, just pretend you didn't see them. If you talk nonsense, I will pull out your tongue!"
He waved over two strong men, and just as he was about to take Liu Yi away, Guo Chuanlin stood up and walked to the table, smiling: "Steward Liu, long time no see! What, this is your friend? Why don't you introduce me to him? one time?"
Gang leader Kong's eyes flashed coldly. Even after talking about this, there are still people who are not interested in joining in. Do you really think that I won't dare to kill people after leaving Longxi? He stood up from the table and met Guo Chuanlin's gaze. Without a chill in his heart, his expression immediately changed and he cupped his hands and said, "May I ask who this brother is? Is he Liu Laoer's old acquaintance?"
Liu Yi's expression suddenly changed, as if he had seen a ghost during the day, and he stammered: "It turns out... it turns out to be Guo... Guo... Coach Guo!"
Gang Leader Kong rolled his eyes, patted Liu Yi on the shoulder, and said word by word: "Steward Liu, could you please introduce me to him——"
Liu Yi said with a mournful face: "Gang leader Kong, this is... Coach Guo, the fist and stick coach, surnamed Guo Xingsi. Coach Guo, this... this is Gang Leader Kong from the Quicksand Gang..."
Liu Yi was originally from Longxi and was a scholar. He had been in the Liusha Gang for a while and served as a dog-headed strategist. Once, he lost his wits and embezzled a small sum of money from the gang. For fear of being found out and punished with "three swords and six holes", he simply stayed away. He went to a different place and joined Wei Wentao's subordinates. He pretended to be powerful and lived a good life.
The Liusha Gang has a large number of people in Longxi. Under the leadership of the gang leader Sha Zili, there are also three deputy gang leaders Kong Rui, Zheng Kuisan, and Duan Hefei, each guarding a branch. Sha Zili and Zheng Kuisan are unable to do their job well, and even their lives are entrusted to them. Halfway through, Kong Rui and Duan Hefei took the opportunity to eliminate their dissidents and stabilize their position as the largest gang in Longxi. There was no spare capacity for further expansion.
It is a serious crime to intercept and kill an official of the imperial court. At present, rebels are everywhere and the imperial court is in turmoil. For the time being, it is unable to take action to rectify the Liusha Gang, but sooner or later it will be paid back if it comes out to hang out. Sha Zili died unexpectedly, and the crime fell on the two deputy gang leaders, Kong and Duan. The position of gang leader is a big fire pit, and no one wants to jump into it. The two of them pushed each other and pushed each other, but they couldn't get away with it, so they had to discuss it. Duan Hefei was in charge of Longxi, and Kong Rui went to Yangzhou to find out the news. Whether it was through coercion or inducement, they tried to persuade Magistrate He not to pursue the matter anymore and to temporarily fool him. As for what happens next, we’ll talk about it later.
Kong Rui had just arrived and was unfamiliar with the place. He happened to bump into the drunk Liu Yi on the street. He recognized him at a glance and blocked him in the tavern. He deliberately took him to a quiet place and asked him carefully. He didn't want to make a mistake. It was a coincidence that he was killed that day. The true masters of Sha Zili, Zheng Kuisan and Ouyang Di.
Guo Chuanlin burst into laughter and said: "It turns out to be Gang Leader Kong from the Liusha Gang. I've admired you for a long time. I'm so glad to meet you! Gang Leader Kong is so brave. He actually dares to show his face in Yangzhou City. Do you know which family Butler Liu is in charge of now?"
Kong Rui's heart tightened and he subconsciously asked: "Could it be... that it's Mr. He, the magistrate of Yangzhou?"
Guo Chuanlin said: "Exactly, Gang Leader Kong will not open any pot this time and stick his head into the tiger's den!"
Liu Yi's face turned pale, his knees softened and he fell to the ground, saying without hesitation: "Instructor Guo, help me! Instructor Guo, for the sake of Wei Tongpan, please save me!"
