Qing Yao

Chapter 166 Even a Poor Person Can Fly to Heaven

Zhao An didn't want to go too far.

It is not compromise, not surrender, and certainly not womanly compassion.

Rather, it is pragmatism.

If Ding Jiu's claim of frequently killing entire families is true, it might be manageable if it happened once or twice, but how could the government remain indifferent if it happened repeatedly?

Whether they were salt merchants or transport merchants, they were all backed by the government; the only difference was the "power" they were affiliated with.

If the canal gang were to be so aggressive and attempt to wipe out all the transport merchants, it would inevitably force the transport merchants to unite and fight the canal gang to the bitter end.

In the end, even if the Grand Canal Gang wins, their losses will inevitably be huge.

Because your shipping guild dared to wipe out entire families, these gang of thugs from the shipping merchants will do the same to wipe out your shipping guild's entire families.

It should be noted that most of the lower-level members of the canal gang lived in shantytowns along the canal. How many elderly, weak, women and children would die in a man-made fire?

How many of the gang members can bear the consequences?

Unless the canal gang initially designated all transport merchants as assassination targets and launched simultaneous attacks to wipe them all out completely.

Obviously, this is impossible.

It's impossible, at least not now.

Therefore, Zhao An had to put the brakes on Ding Jiu, whose head was already burning with "adventurism," and cool him down.

When you're out in the game, you're after money.

It's only when you can't get wealth that you'll lose your life.

Only Zhao An knows for sure who killed Zhang Baofa. To outsiders, the Jiao family is mobilizing its forces to fight the Canal Gang at the docks, so Zhang Baofa's death must have been caused by the Jiao family.

Explanations are useless; the facts are clear: whoever benefited most from Zhang Baofa's death is the murderer!
Bringing the corpse to your door and drawing lots, the Jiao family can decide what to do.

The moral aspect has also been completely reversed.

The canal gang was wrong before; they shouldn't have cut off the Jiao family's source of income. Now it's the Jiao family's turn to give an explanation.

Without a clear explanation, it's not a brawl or a fight over interests, nor is it a battle for territory; it's a fight to the death!

"Alright, I'll do as you say, Young Master!"

Ding Jiu also realized that expanding the crackdown on the current Cao Gang would not be beneficial, since the Cao Gang was actually fighting on two fronts.

One line represents literature, the other represents martial arts.

"Wen" refers to the canal transport office, and "Wu" refers to the Jiao family.

He immediately declared that he would lead the men to carry the corpse to the Jiao family. If the Jiao family did not agree to give up half of their business to the Canal Gang, he would immediately hold an incense hall to draw lots for death, and see how much blood the Jiao family had to shed.

Once the Jiao family, the ringleader, admits defeat, things will be much easier for the other transport companies.

Zhao An looked at the wall and, finding no map, couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He then said in a deep voice, "We can't go there now. We have to use a feint to lure them away from the mountain!"

What does that mean?

The fight at Xiaguan Wharf had to be a large-scale brawl to force the Jiao family to mobilize all their available manpower. This would leave the Jiao family's "base camp" vulnerable, and if the canal gang gathered a crowd to carry the corpse to their door at that time, it would put enormous pressure on the Jiao family.

Look, this is what a professional looks like.

He also needs to understand military strategy to fight in gang wars.

"We must be strong on both fronts. We must win at the docks; only then can we force the Jiao family to admit defeat!"

At this point, Zhao An inquired about how much money Ding Jiu's branch had in its accounts.

Ding Jiu informed him that there were more than 50,000 taels.

"Pass on my message to the brothers: don't be afraid of killing people or dying. Anyone who is injured while fighting for the gang will receive fifty taels of silver, and anyone who dies will receive one hundred taels! Those who are crippled will be cared for by the gang and will receive five taels of silver per month."

He paused, then asked Ding Jiu if he, as the young master, could make this decision. "With Uncle not here, the young master has the final say!"

Ding Jiu supported Zhao An's decision without hesitation, and immediately went with Zhao An to the incense hall to inform the remaining gang members that the death of "Uncle" might be related to the Jiao family.

The members of the gang were naturally outraged and clamored for revenge against the Jiao family.

The morale and public support are definitely valuable.

The truth is no longer important.

Ding Jiu went a step further and said, "Young Master means that the Jiao family can earn several million taels of silver a year by transporting salt. If they give half of their business to us, our guild can earn two to three million taels more a year. If other merchants follow the Jiao family's example, our canal guild will have plenty of money in the future. Who will dare to call us 'the shed' anymore!"

Yup!

Those who hadn't realized this were suddenly enlightened, as if they'd been blessed.

Driven by the allure of revenge and the lure of self-interest, he was like a man possessed, determined to fight the Jiao family to the bitter end.

Zhao An pressed his advantage: "This battle isn't for me, the young lord, nor for the guild; it's for the brothers themselves! Whether we can live a life of luxury from now on depends on how ruthless the brothers are!"

"Don't worry, young master, there are no cowards in our Canal Gang!"

The group members were eager to get started, showing a strong sense of unity and determination.

"Listen to Young Master, fight!"

At Ding Jiu's command, the Xiangtang command center, which had been temporarily paralyzed due to Zhang Baofa's death, quickly started operating again.

At this time, the Jiao family was also in a bit of a mess, because news kept coming from the dock that the canal gang was constantly reinforcing the dock, and the two sides were already fighting fiercely and had even used knives.

As a major merchant family, the Jiao family, like the salt merchants, also purchased land in Jiangdu County to build a garden. Although it was not as luxurious and grand as the salt merchants' gardens, it could definitely be considered a mansion.

"Sir, there are too many poor bastards from the shipping guild at the docks. I'm afraid the brothers can't hold them off!"

The speaker was Chen San, Jiao Zheng's "leader," who used to be a salt smuggler.

"A bunch of poor bastards think they can fly to the sky?!"

Despite being dressed like a wealthy man, Jiao Zhengzong, who was over fifty years old, could not hide his fierce temperament. He coldly ordered Chen San: "Go and transfer all our people from the city over there. Tell the brothers that the canal gang has cut off our source of income. If we can't win, we won't be able to get through the year!"

"Alright, I'll lead the men there myself. Let's see if these poor bastards are afraid of death!"

Chen San, who led a team to transport salt by boat for many years, was also a desperate man. He went to work without saying a word.

After Chen San left, Jiao Zheng's eldest son, Jiao Heng, said with some worry, "Father, I heard that the canal gang's blocking of the canal this time is a showdown with the canal transport authorities. We're fighting them to the death now, what if the canal gang holds a grudge against us?"

“Zhang Baofa is a living devil. This living devil can’t fight against the canal transport authorities. In a few days, the canal transport authorities will have to send troops to deal with these living devils. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Jiao Zheng didn't take the canal gang seriously at all. Besides, he was in the right. No matter how much the canal gang and the canal transport government were at odds, they had no reason to cut off their source of income.

Jiao Heng understood this reasoning, but he was still worried that there were too many people on the canal gang side. Therefore, he suggested that his father go to the prefectural government office to ask the prefectural magistrate to send some soldiers to the dock to suppress the canal gang.

"Why would something from the martial arts world bother Lord Shen? If word gets out, the Canal Gang will think your father is afraid of them."

Jiao Zheng reassured his son that the canal gang was only concerned with their own pride. As long as the Jiao family persisted, Zhang Baofa, that living devil, would probably come to greet them before nightfall.

"Have ten thousand taels deposited into the account, and give two taels to each of the brothers going to the dock."

Just as he was giving instructions, the steward rushed in from outside, shouting in a panic, "Master, something terrible has happened! The shed has come to our door!"

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear."

Jiao Zheng laughed heartily, "I knew Zhang Baofa was a living ghost who couldn't hold on. Let's go and meet this living ghost."

Contrary to Jiao Zheng's expectations, the person who came to his door was not the living ghost Zhang Baofa who came to say hello.

It was the dead Zhang Baofa.

Thousands of impoverished members of the canal gang, dressed in white mourning clothes and carrying mourning sticks, stood densely behind the coffin of the dead Zhang Baofa, staring menacingly at the Jiao family's gate.

(End of this chapter)