Qing Yao

Chapter 222 The main focus is speed.

The Imperial Censor on the Grand Canal cannot only speak well of others and not speak ill of them, because the main duty of the censor is to point out the shortcomings in the work of officials and the various social ills that exist in the local area.

Therefore, Zhao An's report to the old master clearly stated that there were lawless elements in the grain transport gang that needed to be severely cracked down on, otherwise it would easily lead to disaster, threaten the transport of grain and thus shake the foundation of the country.

Zhao An happened to have the governor's troop deployment documents, and the governor also hoped that he could crack down on the illegal forces of the canal gangs. So he took this opportunity to make some political achievements, help the Qing Dynasty to rectify the security environment, and clean up the cancerous tumors entrenched in the canal.

Who should we call first?
Ding Jiu suggested calling over Cui Laoda, who was the weakest, first, and leaving Chen Gong, the strongest, for last.

In military strategy, this is called "trimming the wings".

Even if Lord Chen doesn't come to the incense hall for the meeting, he can't hold out alone if he eliminates the others.

Zhao An, however, did the opposite and suggested that they first eliminate Chen Gong, who was the most powerful among them.

In military strategy, this is called "a group of dragons without a leader."

It seems that the best interpretation of military strategy actually rests with the winner.

Zhuang Yingjiu was sent to inform Chen Gong to attend the meeting. When he arrived, Chen Gong was discussing with several confidants the matter of smuggling salt using the two routes from the Jiao family.

Chen Gongxin was ruthless; he not only wanted to profit from the salt merchants' transportation fees, but also wanted to use the guise of transporting salt to sell his own smuggled salt.

These days, who wouldn't complain about having too much money?

The idea of ​​several confidants was to recruit the original team from the Jiao family on these two lines into their ranks. This would not only get the business up and running immediately, but also save a lot of expenses.

The Jiao family is currently in a slump. Although a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, many of them have switched to other forces after this battle. If Lord Chen extends an olive branch now, it could attract a group of Jiao family members to join him.

The distribution of the pie with the other bosses was basically settled: Chen Gong would take the lion's share, taking 40%, while the remaining 60% would be split equally among the other bosses. However, the routes had to be managed by Chen Gong's people because the smuggled salt trade was extremely profitable.

The other leaders weren't unaware of Chen Gong's scheme, but they were happy to receive tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year without doing anything.

After all, without Chen Gong taking the lead in putting pressure on the helm, they might not have been able to get a share of the money.

“Grandpa, Ding Jiu is officially in charge of the guild now, but it’s actually that young master who’s in charge in the shadows. Although you’ve given the guild 100,000 taels, that young master and Ding Jiu aren’t fools. They might not be willing to give you any connections. Besides, I heard that this young master is an official. If he doesn’t agree, you can’t just force him, can you?”

After speaking, it was Chen Gong's adopted son, Chen Quan, who had been helping Chen Gong with business matters.

"It's harder to handle things if you're not an official,"

Chen Gong scoffed, "Prepare a generous gift for me, and I'll pay a visit to this young lord tomorrow. At worst, I'll give him a share of the profits. Have you ever seen an official who doesn't like money?"

Chen Quan thought it made sense. Just as he was about to ask his godfather what gifts to prepare, the gatekeeper came over and said that the guild had sent someone to invite the master to the incense hall to discuss the two operating routes of the Jiao family.

"It seems that Ding Jiu has already conveyed our message to that young lord. Very well, let's go over and hear what that kid has to say."

Since Zhang Baofa took over as the head of the Yangzhou branch, Chen Gong has never been to the incense hall, because he looks down on Zhang Baofa from the bottom of his heart.

But he was determined to go this time, no matter what, even if he planned to bribe the young official in private.

Of course, it would be best if that young lord, being sensible, took the initiative to give the route to the head gang. This would not only save money but also make the matter legitimate, rather than the head gang "bullying" the guild by relying on their power.

He then took his adopted son Chen Quan and several others by car to the incense hall. As soon as they got out of the car, they saw Sun Rui, who had been arrested and imprisoned by the canal transport authorities not long ago, coming to greet them.

Chen Quan recognized Sun Rui and couldn't help but laugh, "Old Sun, you've lost a lot of weight. Looks like you've suffered a lot in prison."

"Don't even mention it, damn it. I'm lucky to have survived this time, let alone not lose weight!"

Sun Rui smiled and bowed to Chen Gong as he got out of the car, "Mr. Ding and Shaojun were just asking if Uncle had arrived yet."

Chen Gong nodded and asked Sun Rui who else was in the incense hall besides Shao Jun and Ding Jiu. "How many leaders from the Second and Third Gangs are there?"

Sun Rui glanced at the incense hall and lowered his voice, saying, "Uncle, it seems that the second and third gangs are unwilling to give the Jiao family's influence to our first gang."

"So what if those poor bastards don't want to? It's none of their business to talk about things at the helm."

Chen Gong waved his hand, indicating that Sun Rui didn't need to help him. "What do Mr. Ding and Shaojun mean?"

Sun Rui said in a low voice, "Young Master has no objections, but Mr. Ding thinks 100,000 taels is too little and wants our First Gang to add a little more."

"Oh."

Having made up his mind, Chen Gong indicated that Chen Quan and the others should go in with him.

"Uncle, please slow down!"

Sun Rui quickly led the way, but as they crossed the gate, he stopped Chen Quan, who was about to enter the incense hall with his godfather, saying, "Uncle, you can go over there and talk. We'll go over there and have a couple of drinks with the brothers."

"this?"

Chen Quan wondered if he could look at his godfather.

Seeing this, Chen Gong casually waved his hand and said, "Go on, but don't overindulge in wine."

He had no doubt that the incense hall was a trap set for him.

Just then, a leader from one of the three gangs came over from the incense hall and greeted him from afar: "Boss Chen is here. Mr. Ding and the others are waiting for you. I have something to attend to, so I'll head back first."

"Okay, you are busy with your work."

Chen Gong smiled and nodded to the leaders of the three gangs. Looking at the familiar building, he strolled towards the incense hall.

From afar, one could see several people sitting in the incense hall talking. As one approached, one clasped hands and addressed them loudly, "I have long admired your reputation, Young Master. Meeting you today, I can confirm it is indeed true."

Before Chen Gong could finish his polite words, two people suddenly appeared from either side of the gate. One grabbed Chen Gong's neck with his arm without saying a word, while the other grabbed his legs.

"Uh"

With his neck tightly strangled, Chen Gong couldn't make a sound and had no idea what was happening before he was quickly dragged to the backyard of the incense hall.

Everything happened so fast that even the young lord in charge of the official position didn't know which one it was.

Just as Chen Gong was about to suffocate and faint, his neck suddenly loosened. The sudden "freedom" made Chen Gong instinctively gasp for breath. Then, realizing something, he was about to shout loudly for his adopted son Chen Quan and the others when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. After a moment of pain, a jet of blood spurted from his neck, splattering half the wall with blood.

Ye Zhigui shoved Chen Gong forward from behind, and with a thud, Chen Gong crashed into the wall, clutching his throat with both hands, his eyes filled with terror.

"It's hopeless, let's go!"

Xu Lin wiped the blood off the dagger with his sleeve, and returned to the incense hall with Ye Zhigui without changing his expression.

Zhao An glanced at the two of them and nodded slightly.

Xu and Ye exchanged a glance and then walked towards the side hall not far away. Soon after, the sound of tables and chairs falling to the ground could be heard.

Soon, everything returned to calm.

In front of the portraits of the three patriarchs hanging in the incense hall, Zhao Antong, Ding Jiu, and others continued to drink tea.

(End of this chapter)