Qing Yao

Chapter 156 Teacher Zhao's Speech is Truly Firm (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

The gang leaders were quite respectful to Zhao An, the young master who had been granted the title of Jinshi (a high-ranking scholar in the imperial examinations).

As soon as Zhao An entered the incense hall, he was greeted by the enthusiastic calls of "Young Master".

Several burly gang members even bowed to Teacher Zhao, imitating the manner of a scholar.

It looks out of place, but it also shows sincerity.

"Zhi'an, you're here."

Uncle Zhang Baofa was not only the head of the Yangzhou branch, but also Zhao An's mentor, so there was no need to greet him like everyone else.

Ding Jiu, standing behind him, nodded to Zhao An without saying a word.

Judging from his expression, he didn't look too good; it seemed that Sun Rui was having some trouble.

"Brothers, I haven't been in the gang for long and I don't interact with you much, so I don't know many of you. If there's anything I've done poorly or lacked in manners, please forgive me!"

At the club activity center, Zhao An naturally tried his best to project a club-like image, otherwise his overly polite demeanor would feel somewhat strained.

Following the example of others, he cupped his hands in greeting to this person and clasped his fists in a fist salute to that person.

Whether they knew each other or not, everyone had a bright smile on their face.

Surprisingly, the results were pretty good.

The two sides, who had been locked in a bitter argument, suddenly reconciled, and the atmosphere began to "thaw."

This is the benefit of being an official.

In Zhao An's previous life, if two gangs of thugs were about to fight with machetes, and the police chief happened to pass by and greeted both sides, how could he not give them face?

When villagers hold events at home, they must invite even someone as insignificant as the team leader to drink with them.

And what about Zhao An, the director of the education bureau?

Among millions of members, you are such a precious gem, a fellow Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). Everyone would look at you with high regard.

"Zhi'an, please sit down. Everyone, please sit down too. Now that the young master is here, let's discuss this matter openly."

Zhang Baofa gestured for Zhao An to sit in an empty chair to his left. There were twelve other chairs in the hall, and those qualified to sit and speak were all prominent figures in the gang, and were basically the leaders of the three gangs under the jurisdiction of the Yangzhou branch.

The reason for this public discussion was already explained by Ren Chaoyang on the way here.

Public discussion, simply put, is voting by raising hands.

Whichever side gets more votes, we'll follow their opinion.

The current dispute involves the first and third gangs of Yangzhou.

The gang leader believed that they had to sell everything they owned to redeem Sun Rui and the others, because they had gone to Huai'an to work for the gang, and there was no reason to leave them to die.

If we stand by and do nothing, who will be willing to help the gang in the future?

If word got out, the Green Gang would be laughing their heads off.

Those who disagreed were the members of the three gangs in Yangzhou. Their reasoning was that 100,000 taels was not a small sum, and that Sun Rui and his group had been identified as kidnappers by the canal transport authorities. Without knowing whether Sun Rui and his group were working for the gang or were simply acting recklessly for personal gain, the gang had no obligation to pay for their ransom.

The second faction is neutral, meaning they're open to anything.

The First Gang had a greater influence than the Second and Third Gangs because the First Gang controlled at least 50% of the gambling and prostitution business in Yangzhou.

In other words, most of the members of the leading gang had left their original profession of canal transport and switched to the entertainment service industry.

There are many instances of forcing women into prostitution and engaging in bullying and market manipulation.

Because the First Gang had more income, more territory, and more people, its influence in the branch gradually surpassed that of the poor Second and Third Gangs, and it was already showing signs of transforming into a criminal organization.

Zhao An suspected that the Shanghai Green Gang in his previous life was formed by the descendants of these former leaders.

The First Gang was willing to pay the ransom because Sun Rui was one of their men. However, the First Gang insisted on diverting the ransom to the other three gangs, meaning they would have to pool their money to get him released.

The reason is also very good.

The root cause of this matter is the 60,000 taels demanded by the Grand Canal Administration. Without that 60,000 taels, none of this would have happened. Now the Grand Canal Administration is demanding 100,000 taels, and the branch headquarters can't resolve the issue. So, everyone has to chip in to settle things.

Otherwise, who would have a good life?

The grain transport authorities don't need to do anything special. Just stop the ships from Yangzhou when they inspect grain in Huai'an next year. I estimate that a lot of people will die in the branch.

Even with three different teams, things are difficult.

On the way to Tongzhou to transport grain, three boats belonging to the three gangs sank and dozens of brothers died. They had no idea how to pay the compensation to the families of the deceased brothers. How could they possibly be willing to pay this money?

If we were to agree to the first group share the money, then we would have to collect it from each of the brothers below, going door to door.

Where can we find money at the end of the year?
Many of the brothers in the gang don't even have the money to chop up a piece of meat for their wives and children for the Chinese New Year!

They have to pay for this? Who would dare ask for that?

However, the biggest obstacle to this matter was not the three gangs, but Uncle Zhang Baofa, the person in charge of the branch.

Regardless of which faction you belong to, all profits are managed and controlled by the branch headquarters.

Zhang Baofa wouldn't even part with 60,000 taels, so how could we possibly ask him to come up with 100,000 taels?

And this uncle also has a point. What point?
When Sun Rui handled this matter, he had instructed that if anything went wrong, he would be responsible for all the consequences. Now that something has really gone wrong, we should follow the rules. A hero takes responsibility for his actions and not implicate the gang.

If the lives of Sun Rui and his companions could save the guild tens of thousands of taels of silver, then this matter would definitely be worthwhile.

However, Zhang Baofa could not openly express his thoughts, so he let the three gangs and the head gang argue without expressing his own opinion, only saying that if the problem could not be resolved, they should discuss it publicly.

In this way, he can be completely removed from the role of "uncle".

"Now that the young lord has arrived, arguing won't solve anything. Let's discuss it together!"

The first group of people were getting impatient.

Zhao An didn't speak, but glanced at Zhang Baofa, who nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Zhi'an, you're an official, so you should be involved in the gang's affairs, but you don't have to get involved."

The implication was that Zhao An could choose to remain silent and not support either side.

This stalemate couldn't be resolved, so under Ding Jiu's direction, the officials began voting.

Each person is given two beans, one red and one black.

Red indicates agreement to redeem the person, while black indicates disagreement.

Just hold the beans in your hand and drop them into the jar.

It's a very traditional and fair way of voting.

Unexpectedly, the second group abstained from voting, and they had no objection to the result.

The remaining leaders of the First Gang, the Third Gang, and the branch gangs all defected.

Zhao An was pondering a dilemma: if he supported the First Gang, he would offend the Third Gang; if he supported the Third Gang, he would offend the First Gang. So he didn't want to cast his vote, but he couldn't just stand by and watch Sun Rui and the others be killed by the Grand Canal Administration.

Because he still needed this guy to do things for him, and besides, he was the one who "caused" this trouble, so there was no reason for him to stand aside and listen to Zhang Baofa.

Just as I was pondering how to solve this, I heard Ding Jiu's voice: "Young Master, please accept the beans."

Zhao An then noticed that Ding Jiu had walked up to him and was holding two soybeans, one red and one black, in his palm.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhao An slowly stood up and addressed the group of gang members who were looking at him: "Brothers, I believe this matter does not need to be discussed publicly, because the person must be saved, but we absolutely cannot give any money! We will not give a single copper coin!"

(End of this chapter)