Pawn Crossing the River

The last time Qi Xuansu came to the tavern in Nancheng was during the day, and he didn't feel much. This time he came at night, but it was a different scene.

Although it is already winter, the curfew has not yet reached the time. The bustling sounds of the night market can be heard far away, and the streets are filled with the aroma of various foods.

Spices from the Western Regions, fish and shrimps from the East China Sea, pastries from the south of the Yangtze River, pasta from the Central Plains, fried dumplings, wonton sellers, and mutton soup, all are dizzying to see.

Although the night was chilly and people coming and going were wrapped tightly in cotton-padded clothes, they still couldn't resist the excitement.

Seriously speaking, this was Qi Xuansu's first visit to the night market in Imperial Capital. It was true that he had been out several times at night, either killing people or arresting people. How could he be so relaxed and relaxed?

Walking in the bustling night market, Qi Xuansu had no reason to think of his past self.

That was the first time he did "business" alone. As expected, he failed. He was in a mess, with several wounds on his body. His horse also ran away. He walked back alone, trekking dozens of miles of mountain roads in the dark at night. , feet are muddy, the lights of the city are in the distance, bustling with activity, but above the head is a half-waning moon, and what time is the lone star.

That day happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Being a stranger in a foreign land, I miss my family even more during the festive season.

Qi Xuansu thought of his master's tragic death, but as a Taoist priest, he had to wallow in the quagmire of the rivers and lakes, with an uncertain future. He staggered along the way, and the pain on his body was almost numb. He couldn't help but feel sad and almost shed tears.

But Qi Xuansu still held back, telling himself that he was already an adult and no longer a child.

He gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he walked through the night.

However, when Qi Xuansu returned to his and Qiniang's residence, he found that Qiniang was not asleep, still waiting for him, and even made two cakes.

Qiniang didn't say anything, she just gave him a moon cake.

To be fair, Qiniang's craftsmanship is quite average, and the taste of the mooncakes can only be said to be not unpleasant.

But at this moment, the tears that Qi Xuansu had been holding back for a long time finally flowed down, and he swallowed them together with the mooncakes in his mouth, which were sweet and salty.

Over the years, no matter how Qiniang's identity changed, Qi Xuansu always remembered the woman who ate mooncakes with him.

Thinking about this, Qi Xuansu walked through the busy night market and came to the door of the pub.

At this time, the tavern was brightly lit and there were many guests sitting there.

Qi Xuansu lifted the cotton curtain, walked into the tavern, looked around, saw Qiniang puffing away her breath, and walked quickly towards Qiniang.

Qiniang also saw Qi Xuansu and smoked the pot.

Qi Xuansu sat opposite Qiniang. Qiniang put away her cigarette rod and said straight to the point: "This is the last time."

"What do you mean?" Qi Xuansu actually understood, but just wanted Qiniang to be more specific.

Qiniang said: "The Qingping Society is not a brotherhood, and it is impossible for us to really fight the "Inn" to destroy the society, so this is the last act of revenge. It will be good if it succeeds, but if it doesn't, then we will admit defeat and leave it at that. . "

Qi Xuansu had no objection.

Qiniang continued: "The Inn has a branch in Imperial Capital and a main office, which is the core of the entire Inn. The accounting office has been stationed here all year round. "

Qi Xuansu said: "Even if the "proprietor" is not in the main office now, just a few of us are going to raid the main office of the "inn". Isn't it a bit too much? At least call those eight heavenly brothers. "

Qiniang said: "We are not going to raid the main office of the "Inn", but the "Inn" has a rule. The branches in each county must regularly submit their account books and income to the branches in each prefecture, and the branches in each prefecture will then submit them to the branches in each state. In the end, the branches in various states were handed over to the Royal Capital. The main office in Dijing is not open to the public, so an additional branch in Dijing was set up to handle business in the Dijing area. Logically speaking, it should be more convenient to use banknotes, but the Taiping money in the "Inn" is shady black money and cannot be deposited in the Taiping Bank on the spot, so it has to be transported to the Imperial Capital by ship. "

Qi Xuansu had already understood that Qiniang still couldn't afford it early.

Qiniang made a fortune teller's usual gesture: "I counted with my fingers, and there happened to be a silver ship that was about to arrive. It's going to be transported by water."

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but said: "Qiniang, you have even found Yang Gu. Together we are going to be the old couple who eat the money from the piaozi this time."

"Why do you think it's so disgusting to say that you are an old man who only eats money?" Qiniang said with dissatisfaction, "As the saying goes, destroying a person's wealth is like killing his parents. We are killing the parents of the "Inn", mainly because we emphasize revenge. "

Qi Xuansu was very moved: "Qiniang, if it works out, I can ask for a bowl of water for everyone to drink afterwards."

Qiniang said happily: "This is natural, otherwise I wouldn't have called you."

Qi Xuansu immediately became alert: "Qiniang, when you called me, you just wanted to get an extra share, right? In the end, my share will still fall into your hands, and you call it my safekeeping."

Qi Niang was poked into her thoughts by Qi Xuansu, and she said, "Are we two still going to forcefully separate each other? After a hundred years, this little bit of property will not all be yours, and you can spend it how you want."

Qi Xuansu said angrily: "I'm afraid that you, the white-haired man, will send the black-haired man away, and I won't be able to see that day."

"What are you talking about? Stop talking nonsense." Qiniang immediately slapped Qi Xuansu.

"Okay, let me put it another way." Qi Xuansu said in a good tone, "I think Qiniang, you can survive a heavenly catastrophe and stay in the world for two hundred years. By then, if I am lucky, I will have ascended and passed away. If I am not lucky, I will be stuck in the loess. Anyway, I can’t see that day anymore.”

Qiniang lowered her face and said, "A naughty kid has a lot to do. Let's just say that the money will be divided among the four of us afterwards. The average share will be 25% for each of us. However, we definitely can't divide it like this. I contribute the most, and I have to take care of the black money afterwards." , we must take the bulk, which is 40%. "Meng Xingyun" has the most power. He has connections in the Cao Gang and can help us move the silver ship, and he will get 30%. "Taichang Yin" introduced several reliable channels, all of which are big players in the antique business. Antiques are the most expensive, and they can make a lot of black money. "Taichang Yin" acts as a middleman and gets 20% of the money. As for you, take ten percent. However, we agreed in advance that this 10% is for the two outsiders, "Meng Xingyun" and "Taichang Yin". In fact, I can only give you half of it, and the remaining half will be handed over to me. "

The so-called Caobang came because of water transportation. A grand canal connects the north and the south. The imperial court relied on the canal to divert grain from the south to the north to supply the imperial capital and border defenses. As a result, a set of intricate rules developed around the collection and transportation of grain, called "Caoguan", and they relied on water transportation for food. There are more than a million people there, which is where the so-called "millions of water workers depend for their food and clothing" comes from. This was also the reason why the previous Wei Dynasty was unable to promote sea transportation.

Since the Wei Dynasty, the power of the Caobang has continued to expand. When Daxuan replaced the Wei Dynasty, the Caobang gradually turned from dark to bright. It was nominally under the control of the Governor-General of the River, helping to handle water transportation, and it was regarded as half an official status. It's just that Daxuan is different from Dawei. Sea trade is prosperous. This is the lifeblood of the Taoist sect. Naturally, it doesn't care about "the food and clothing of millions of laborers". If you are brave enough, you can rebel. It depends on whether it is the heavenly spirit or the fire blunderbuss. It was even tougher, forcing many Cao workers to change careers and become seafarers, so today's Cao Gang no longer has a million people, only a hundred thousand people.

Nowadays, the Caobang is a mixed bag, including gangsters and grassroots bandits. Even the Hedao Yamen dare not say that it can completely control the Caobang. There are many small and large forces within it, which are not subordinate to each other. They just share the name of Caobang, which is similar to Gangs of beggars everywhere.

It is not surprising that "Meng Xingyun" can control the power of the Cao Gang. At least 10% of his 30% must be distributed to the people below him.

As for whether to hand over part of it to the Qing Ping Hui, Qiniang didn't mention a word.

What a joke, two members of the Privy Council and one member of the Council, they are the Qingping Society.

Qi Xuansu, who was used to being poor, was very satisfied and asked: "How should I calculate the merit I owe?"

Qiniang said: "Business matters, but the Silver Ship is not a branch after all, so there are not so many heavenly beings for you to kill."

In fact, after the two battles, not counting injuries, a total of four heavenly beings died, one Tianzihao boy, three earthly name boys, two died in the hands of Qi Xuansu, and of course many of the other Xuanzihao boys died. But not a celestial being. One Tianzihao guy is at the Infinite stage of cultivation, and the three Dizihao guys are all at the Xiaoyao stage. If you add in the Tianzihao guy who died at the hands of "Qing Shishi", the two families are almost even.

Because of this, Qingpinghui is willing to give up.

After dividing the spoils in advance, Qiniang took out another map and spread it out on the table.

During the whole process, the people around them seemed to have not heard and turned a blind eye. They had no idea what Qi Xuansu and Qiniang said or did, and subconsciously ignored them. Compared with the large-scale "Chaos God", this method is undoubtedly more sophisticated and mysterious. At least Qi Xuansu can't do it yet. He can kill everyone easily, but he can't do such delicate work.

Qiniang pointed to the map and said slowly: "The food of the Imperial Capital mainly comes from the south of the Yangtze River and is supplied by the Grand Canal. When Daxuan's men in black attacked the Imperial Capital, they mainly did two things. One was to block the dragon veins, and the other was to cut off the water transportation. That is, Occupy Lu County, Yuyang Prefecture, at the northern end of the Grand Canal. Although Yuyang Prefecture is under the jurisdiction of the Zhili Governor, Lu County is the end of the Grand Canal, and it is under the jurisdiction of the Hedao Yamen. The location of our action this time is in Lu County, where we will rob. After the ship, hand it over to the men of "Meng Xingyun". They will turn the ship around and go south along the Grand Canal. They will unload the peace money in batches and hide it in warehouses at various docks, along with other cargo. Mix it up and work on it slowly. However, I have to be careful that the "inn" has marked these peace coins, so I have to personally check the handler. If I want to completely digest this batch of peace coins, it will take at least half a year. "

Qi Xuansu asked: "I can't wait so long, can you advance the official ticket for me in advance?"

"Yes, but you have to give up one more profit. For your 10%, I will get six points and you will get four points." Qiniang agreed happily.

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

Now that he was short of money, he booked a room at the Taiping Inn for the convenience of movement. Of course, the shopkeeper of the Taiping Inn had a relationship with him, but he couldn't show his true identity, so he could only spend Taiping's money honestly. Qian, the Taiping money on his body has bottomed out, but this month's regular silver has not arrived yet. Who asked him to prepare it in Ziweitang? Yujing is tens of thousands of miles away from the imperial capital, and his regular silver is still on the way. Now is the time when money is urgently needed, so we can only compromise.

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