Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 226 The seeds of faith take root

Rules of the world!

What are the rules of the underworld?
Nowadays, whoever has the bigger fist rules the rules!
Yang Yankang, the young leader of the Cao Gang, saw that Chen Jie, the commander-in-chief of the Ximen Hall, did not give their Cao Gang any face at all.

For a moment, I felt bitter inside!

He had always heard that Ximen Tang was arrogant and overbearing, and even razed the Piaoxiang Building of Taipinghao to the ground over a disagreement.

but,

He really didn't expect that the leader of the rebel group appointed by the imperial court would be so domineering.

You know, Cao Gang is also a gang of heroes, and also the leader of Cangzhou gang.

If we talk about the status in the underworld, the Cao Gang is a long-established force in the underworld.

If Ximen Tang had not been stationed at Dagukou Fortress and defeated the Western Allied Forces, Chen Jie would have been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the rebel group by the imperial court.

Then,

The status of the Cao Gang in the underworld is even greater than that of the Ximen Hall in Xicheng District of Beijing.

Before Ximen Hall became powerful, there were only 500 people!
The Cao Gang has tens of thousands of members, making it a truly large gang.

The key point is that the Cao Gang has always been responsible for the salt transportation of the entire Daqian Dynasty and is one of the richest gangs.

There are many experts in the gang.

Many officials appointed by the imperial court had close ties with the Cao Gang.

Throughout the country, there are very few gangs that dare not give face to the Cao Gang.

but,

Today, Yang Yankang, the young leader of the Cao Gang, finally met a tough opponent.

Originally, he came to visit today because he wanted to show off the power of the Cao Gang in front of Ximen Tang.

Although Ximen Tang has been very powerful recently, it is still a new force in the martial arts world after all.

According to the rules of the underworld, Ximen Tang must at least give some face to the Cao Gang, a veteran force.

Moreover,

According to the information we received, there are no top masters in the Ximen Tang Righteous Group.

The strongest one is Zhang Changfeng, the leader of the Eagle Claw Sect. I heard that he is the leader of the "Eagle Division" and his strength is only in the middle stage of Iron Bone Dark Energy.

Yu Haishan, one of the thirty-six earthly evil spirits of the Cao Gang, is at the middle stage of Yi Sui Hua Jin!
With Yu Haishan's strength, after he entered the inn, ordinary muskets could not get close to him at all.

not to mention,
There are dozens of Cao Gang masters outside the inn.

But the final result made Yang Yankang, the young leader of the Cao Gang, extremely frightened.

Chen Jie, the commander-in-chief of Ximen Hall, is not very good at martial arts, but the personal guards around him are all equipped with muskets that can fire continuously!

Yu Haishan failed to give Ximen Tang a warning, but was beaten to death on the spot.

A master in the middle stage of Yi Sui Hua Jin was beaten to death just like that.

How could anyone from the Cao Gang dare to move when facing Ximen Tang's muskets?

Their martial arts are not as good as Yu Haishan's if they dare to take another step forward.

Ximen Tang’s personal guards will open fire directly and kill all the members of the Cao Gang.

Yang Yankang took a deep breath, raised his head and shouted to the people around him:

"Everyone, retreat!"

Wow——!
All the members of the Cao Gang, upon hearing the young leader's voice, quickly retreated, fearing that they would be shot on the spot if they were a second late.

After Yang Yankang asked his men to leave, he took two steps forward, stood about ten meters away from Chen Jie, and bowed, as a greeting according to the rules of the underworld.

Chen Jie said calmly, "Come in!"

After Yang Yankang entered the room of the inn, Chen Jie sat on the chair with his arms and legs stretched out.

There was only one chair in the room.

Yang Yankang could only stand there with his hands clasped in silence.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the room seemed very depressing.

After a moment of silence, Chen Jie said calmly, "Ximen Hall and Cao Gang have always kept to themselves."

"Although I was appointed by the court as the leader of the righteous group, in charge of the righteous groups throughout the world."

"But our principle has always been not to interfere with other gang forces."

"I just arrived in Cangzhou today, and you guys from the Cao Gang came to see me. What do you want from me?"

Although his tone was calm, he naturally exuded a sense of arrogance as he was in a high position.

"Commander-in-chief! This is really a misunderstanding!"

"The commander-in-chief arrived in Cangzhou today, and County Magistrate Lin and all the officials greeted him at the street intersection."

"We in the Cao Gang thought that since the commander-in-chief has come to Cangzhou, as one of the righteous groups under Ximen Tang, we naturally have to come and pay our respects."

"I just didn't expect Mr. Yu to act so rashly and offend the commander-in-chief—!"

The Cao Gang enjoyed a very high status in the entire Central Plains region and even in the entire Daqian Dynasty.

What's more, they control the lifeline of salt transportation and influence the entire Daqian economy.

This is why many officials appointed by the imperial court have close ties with the Cao Gang.

They have infiltrated the people and the government, including all walks of life.

Even compared to the Taiping, the Cao Gang has been passed down for hundreds of years and has a much greater influence.

The influence of the Cao Gang extended from the Guangdong and Guangxi regions to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, Hanzhong, western Sichuan, northern Shaanxi, etc.

Chen Jie wanted to gain a foothold in Cangzhou and wanted Ximen Tang to guard the entire Cangzhou water transport terminal.

Then,

The Cao Gang is a major force that cannot be avoided.

In fact, long before Chen Jie came to Cangzhou, he asked Zeng Xuanhuai to establish contact with the Cao Gang.

You have to know that many of the lower classes of the Cao Gang are poor people.

They were all dock workers or salt boatmen.

Judging from the actions of the Cao Gang over the years, they have not done anything harmful to the world.

The most important point is that the Cao Gang did not collude with Westerners or Easterners.

of course,

They also knew very well that as long as they cooperated with the Japanese, the Cao Gang would be dismembered by the Japanese and would be doomed to a road of no return.

Chen Jie wants to develop business and promote the development of Ximentang's various businesses. Cooperating with the Cao Gang is definitely the wisest choice.

Therefore,
Chen Jie didn't really want to deal with the Cao Gang.

but,

Today, Yu Haishan from the Cao Gang was so arrogant and domineering that he even dared to disrespect me.

If we don't deal with him, how will Ximen Tang gain a foothold in Cangzhou and how will it gain respect from all the gangs in the world?
This is why even if Chen Jie does not want to make enemies with the Cao Gang, he must kill Yu Haishan.

at this time,

Chen Jie listened to Yang Yankang's words and nodded slightly.

"Someone, bring a chair over here!"

Soon, the guards quickly moved a chair from the next room.

Yang Yankang thanked him and sat down. The waiter of the inn quickly came to the room and began to serve tea.

Chen Jie spoke first:
"No one comes to visit me for no reason. You Cao Gang came to visit me, so there must be something else, right?"

The purpose of Yang Yankang bringing the Cao Gang members to the inn today was to give Ximen Tang a warning.

but,

Unexpectedly, it backfired.

At this time, hearing Chen Jie's question, Yang Yankang couldn't help but take a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"We have branches in Cangzhou, Hanzhong, East China, Guangdong and Guangxi, and even offices in Tianjin, Beijing and other places."

"We are just doing business. We are not interested in the affairs of the court."

"The headquarters of Ximen Hall is in Tianjin, in the Xicheng District of Beijing. Just like what the commander-in-chief said just now, our two major forces should not interfere with each other!"

finished,

Yang Yankang fell silent, then raised his head and stared at Chen Jie and said:
"I would like to ask, why does Commander Chen want to kill all of our Cao Gang?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie's eyes widened with surprise.

Kill them all?
When did I ever have such a thought?
But judging from Yang Yankang's expression, he was not joking.

Chen Jie asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Young Master Yang, why do you say that?"

When Yang Yankang heard Chen Jie's question, he stopped hiding it and said straight to the point:

"The merchant ships of the Dutch Trading Company and the transactions between us and them have reached the final moment!"

"I didn't expect Ximen Tang to intervene and buy all the Dutch merchant ships at a high price!"

"Commander-in-chief, your Ximen Hall has never been involved in salt transportation. Why do you suddenly want to buy all the merchant ships that we were going to buy from the Dutch?"

"Are you doing this to wipe out our Cao Gang? You want to replace our Cao Gang, right?" "We in the Cao Gang have never offended Ximen Tang, and we have never thought of becoming an enemy of Ximen Tang!"

"We are willing to obey, willing to submit, and even willing to sacrifice our own interests!"

"But you, Ximen Tang, are going to cut off the livelihood of our Cao Gang, leaving more than 100,000 of us with no way to live!"

"You rebuilt the shipyard in Tianjin, built merchant ships on a large scale, and seized the right to garrison the Cangzhou Canal Transport Terminal—"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie quickly stopped and said, "Stop!"

After hearing this, Chen Jie finally understood why the Cao Gang was so hostile towards him.

Merchant ship!

It turned out that it was because he bought twelve Dutch merchant ships.

in addition,

Ximentang’s shipyard in Tianjin was kept strictly confidential, and the Cao Gang had no idea of the specific circumstances inside.

Chen Jie had never thought that the purchase of twelve merchant ships would cause the Cao Gang to become suspicious.

The key is,
When he purchased merchant ships from the Dutch trading company, he was unaware of the dealings between the Cao Gang and the Dutch.

It now appears that Simon Tang bought the Dutch merchant ship and produced it in secret at the Tianjin Shipyard.

From the perspective of the Cao Gang, there is indeed a trend of wanting to replace them.

It seems that

This batch of merchant ships is very important to the Cao Gang.

Ximen Tang captured twelve thousand-ton merchant ships at once, making the Cao Gang feel the crisis of survival.

The Cao Gang didn't know that Ximen Tang's purpose in purchasing merchant ships was to convert them into warships!

What a big mistake!

Chen Jie couldn't help laughing, but then he fell silent again.

Canal transport is the main mode of transportation in the Daqian Dynasty.

Especially the transportation of large quantities of materials is basically done through water transport.

Grain, salt, iron ore and other materials were basically transported by water.

However, transportation on land is very difficult.

Ximen Tang wants to gain a foothold in Cangzhou, and in the future will connect Cangzhou with Shandong, and even transport various supplies to various parts of Daqian.

Then, we cannot rely solely on water transport.

All of a sudden, Chen Jie had the idea of building a railway in his mind.

If the Daqian Dynasty had railway transportation, transportation efficiency would be greatly improved.

During the "Westernization Movement" of the Daqian Dynasty, Westerners proposed the idea of helping Daqian build railways.

but,

Because Daqian had no money, and the Western Allied Forces' fleet was approaching.

So the plan to build the railway has been shelved.

There must be a reason why the Cao Gang has been able to develop for so many years.

not to mention,
Although the Cao Gang only had tens of thousands of people, it affected the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.

Even if Ximen Tang had the power to wipe out the Cao Gang, he would never do such a thing as killing the chicken to get the eggs.

After a moment's silence, Chen Jie looked up at Yang Yankang and said:

"So you're worried that Ximen Tang's shipbuilding business, which involves the canal transportation business, will cut off your livelihood?"

Yang Yankang nodded and said, "Great Commander, isn't it?"

Chen Jie shook his head and said in a deep voice:

"You think too much! We bought merchant ships from the Dutch, not for shipping!"

"As for the specific purpose, you are not qualified to know."

"you--!"

Yang Yankang couldn't help but stand up, turned around and was about to leave.

"Since the commander-in-chief has said so, then I'll just pretend that I haven't been here today. Goodbye!"

Not qualified to know!
After all, I am the young leader of the Cao Gang, but I am not qualified to know!

Then what else is there to talk about?
Chen Jie said calmly, "Sit down! As the young leader, you are so impatient that you didn't even wait for me to finish my words. How are you going to explain this to the leaders and stewards of the Cao Gang when you go back?"

Yang Yankang took a deep breath, pondered for a moment and said:

"Ximentang opened a shipyard, built merchant ships, and is now stationed at the Cangzhou Canal Transport Wharf!"

"You are determined to cut off the livelihood of our Cao Gang. What else is there to talk about between us?"

"Now Ximen Hall has received strong support from the imperial court, and our Cao Gang is weak. I was rude."

"But we, the Cao Gang, will never sit still and wait for death!"

Chen Jie stood up and looked out the window in the direction of Cangzhou Caoyun Wharf.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Ximen Tang bought twelve merchant ships from the Dutch and sent them to the Tianjin Shipyard. The Cao Gang should have investigated it, right?"

The Cao Gang was very concerned about Ximentang's purchase of a Dutch merchant ship.

This concerns the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Cao Gang members. How could they not want to know what Ximen Tang is trying to do?
but,

The Tianjin Port Shipyard is in a closed state, and all shipyard workers are living and eating in the shipyard.

Even outside the shipyard, there were people from Ximen Hall stationed to guard the area.

The Cao Gang investigated for a long time but did not obtain any useful information.

When Yang Yankang heard what Chen Jie said, he lowered his head helplessly without saying a word.

Chen Jie pondered for a moment and said calmly:
"Currently, maritime trade is mainly based on shipping!"

"But have you ever thought that there are not many rivers in Daqian, and it is impossible to transport grain to all places."

"I wonder how much you Cao Gang people know about the West? With the widespread use of steam engines, the West has begun to build railways inland and use trains for transportation!"

"If the Cao Gang keeps guarding the canal transportation, even if they are not replaced by our Ximen Hall, as long as the court starts to build railways, your livelihood will still be replaced!"

"If you don't keep up with the times, you will be eliminated by the times!"

Yang Yankang didn't understand what Chen Jie meant at once, and asked in confusion:
"Of course I know about the West, and I know they have built railway transportation!"

"However, with our current industrial level in Daqian, we can't even build large shipping merchant ships, so how can we build railways?"

"What's more, a major project like building a railway will not make any progress without decades of work."

Chen Jie said calmly: "Who told you it would take decades?"

After thinking for a while, he continued:
"After all, aren't you from the Canal Gang worried that Ximen Tang's merchant ships will be used for canal transportation and cut off your livelihood?"

"I can tell you clearly that we are not interested in canal transportation!"

"But the construction of the railway is imperative. Within half a year, our Ximen Hall will start building railways in Cangzhou, Shandong, Tianjin, and Beijing."

"At present, the imperial court has transferred the steel mill in Hebei to Ximen Tang for operation."

"I will give you the Cao Gang a chance to invest in a joint venture, let you participate in the construction of the railway, and let you run all the business of water transport and land transport!"

Yang Yankang asked with some concern: "Is Ximen Tang really not going to get involved in the canal transport business? And is he going to cooperate with our canal gang to build a railway together?"

"But - I heard that building a railway will cost a lot of money. How can our Cao Gang afford it?"

Chen Jie smiled:
"You don't need to pay for the money! Since it's a collaboration, we pay the money and you just provide the manpower!"

"The construction of the railway is a multi-phase project. It won't be long before our Ximen Hall will be stationed in Shandong."

“The first railway was built from Cangzhou to Shandong.”

"Young Master Yang, you are a smart man. You should know what to choose next!"

"The Age of Exploration has arrived. Steam engines have begun to replace all kinds of manpower, and the amount of materials transported from inland will increase!"

"And maritime trade will become more and more prosperous in the future!"

"The road for canal transportation will become narrower and narrower. This is the general trend. In the future, sea and land transportation will be dominant. Canal transportation will not disappear, but it will be difficult to expand its scale."

"Besides, if we, Ximen Hall, wanted to deal with your Cao Gang, why would we go through so much trouble?"

"Go back and think about it carefully. Discuss it with the stewards of the Cao Gang. Cooperating with our Ximen Hall will be an opportunity for your Cao Gang to take off!"

"—"

In the moment of persuasion.

Om-!
Chen Jie used the "Bible Spiritual Cultivation Technique" to plant the seed of "faith" in the mind of Yang Yankang, the young leader of the Cao Gang!

and,

As Yang Yankang continued to nod, the seeds of "faith" took root.

Ever since Chen Jie practiced the "Bible Spiritual Cultivation Technique" to the second level - Soul Devouring.

His mental strength is much stronger than before.

Although Yang Yankang's martial arts is stronger than Chen Jie's, his level of spiritual cultivation is several levels lower than Chen Jie's.

Therefore,
Chen Jie used the power of [Soul Shaping] to deeply influence the young leader of the Cao Gang.

(End of this chapter)