Chapter 26 0026

"Let me tell you the truth, Ba Ye." The head of the police department said in a bit of embarrassment: "The banditry has become like this, let's not talk about it, just the group of people newly picked up by Judge Zhu Si, we will deal with it." I can’t miss him. ——He didn’t rob the salt ship, but now he is more powerful than the defense army. He wants to wipe out the whole salt market and use it as his duozi kiln!... He made a clear plan with the defense army. Illegal salt will be transported, sold, and taxed by him, and the benefits will be shared equally! In this way, it will be over for the merchants in the salt market and the salt government office. What we mean is that there is only one villain like Judge Zhu. Baye, you can hold him down; in Beidi Wanjialou, you repelled him with just a dozen guns from the Liuhe gang. If the dam pays for the guns, plus your Baye's reputation, you can climb up and shout , pull up a militia group,..."

Guan Baye smiled and said: "The defense army doesn't protect official salt, why should I? I can't even protect private salt. Of course, in the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhongxiangqi advocated the benefits of fishing salt, boiled sea for salt, salt Returning to the state, the prosperity of the Qi State, I have no objection to the return of salt to the state, but now the official salt has fattened the Beiyang generals who abused the people and bandits, and made the people miserable, so the salt lords are all over the rivers and lakes; now I go alone in the rivers and lakes, only protecting my private Salt does not protect officials...Maybe one day, I will take off the head of the fourth judge, but it will never be because of his occupation of the salt market."

"Baye doesn't want to pull militias, so of course it's inconvenient for us to strengthen each other," said the owner of Qianfu Inn, "But, but, we are talking behind closed doors. Recently, I heard that the revolutionary army in the south is going to march north. The people's army was raised to occupy the Caohe River, (that is, to transport the Salt River, which was called "water transportation" in the Qing Dynasty.)... At that time, Ba Ye, you have a deep relationship with that side, and I hope you can help me..." "You messed it up," Guan Baye said in astonishment, "I shoulder the burden for the common people. That's my private business. The Revolutionary Party is far away, and it's true that I have nothing to do with them.  …The Revolutionary Party If you come to implement benevolent government one day earlier, who else do you need me to speak for?"

"I said Baye, I'm afraid you still don't know who led the militiamen in the Great Lakes?" Wang Shaodong of Fuchangzhan said: "He is the old man Peng you released in the black pine forest..." "Ah!" Guan Baye let out an ah, and then his frowns relaxed.The old man Peng raised the militia to respond to the revolutionaries, and he was on the right path.Originally, under the tyranny of the Beiyang Army, it was not a human life to live horizontally or vertically. It should be right for you to form a militia to suppress the banditry, but you can't suppress the Beiyang soldiers who are disabled!You worked your life for the dam, and you only took advantage of this bunch of rich and rich big belly Jia!If you go alone to save the people from fire and water, even a man of iron will not be able to survive the fangs of both officials and bandits!The old man Peng was right, he was right.

The salt merchants are well-informed enough, you talk about the old man Peng in the Great Lakes, how many people he gathered, and the defense forces of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces dare not approach the lakes, how he Recruitment teams from all over the country bombed camps and defected to him.Only then did Guan Baye figure out why the officials and merchants in the salt market were flattering him so much. It turned out that they had ulterior motives. "That's it," Guan Baye pondered for a while and said, "If you follow my advice, after the revolutionary army arrives, I will ask Old Man Peng to try to save you. The first one is that the Salt Office will treat private lords leniently from now on. They worked together to eradicate the gangster Zhu Si Judge. In the case of Eryi, from now on, they will no longer provide food and salaries for the Beiyang Defense Forces, and use salt to raise the dam... This is also the way for you to protect yourself. I hope you think twice.... Yanhe Dam There are more than 7,000 settled households, plus the victims of the shantytowns in Badong and Baxi. There are thousands of guns, and tens of thousands of people; Dare to resist Beiyang and defend against bandits, how is this place better than Wanjialou? After the revolutionary army arrives, the officials will have their own legal system, and the common people can rest in peace. Who will break the law and engage in private lords?!"

These words were vigorous and upright, which moved all the officials and businessmen present. Guan Baye said again: "If you really listen to the words of Guan, brother, you can go and visit Mr. Dai and invite him The old man came forward to help....As far as my brother knows, Mr. Dai is by no means a "nameless person" as the seat said, and the martial arts skills of his disciples are several times higher than those of his brothers, but they just refused to be used by Beiyang at the beginning." "Baye, don't be angry," said the chief inspector, "I really can't believe that that sick old man Dai Wang and his gang of useless apprentices can really do anything special?... Tomorrow I will live in the snow, and I will accompany Baye Let's go, don't delay your rest tonight, I think we should all say goodbye."

Everyone and the girls from each hall were waiting to get up, when Guan Baye suddenly greeted the girl from the Northern Gang and said, "Please stay a little longer, I want to talk to you. I will personally send you back later,——I I'm an acquaintance with your boss, Liu Liu!" The girl didn't say anything, but suddenly shook her shoulders and began to cry, which made the guests who were about to leave stopped again. "It seems that you have a grievance," Wang Shaodong said, "Ba Ye is here, if you have a grievance, you can just say it out, and Ba Ye will make the decision for you. Don't be afraid, you have agreed!" "Ba Ye Lord, save me!" said the girl, and when she wanted to say something, she choked on her crying.After repeated questioning by Master Guan, she intermittently revealed her surname as Chai. She was the niece of Second Master Chai in Chaijiabao, north of Wanjialou. She was kidnapped by Judge Zhu and sold to Liu Mao.

"Awesome! Awesome!" The chief of the police department stuck out his tongue and said, "I didn't expect someone in Yanshi to communicate with the fourth judge." Turning his face, he told Ma Bian, "Hurry up and call the security squad, so that they can arrest Liu Mao immediately. Come!" "Wait." Guan Baye said: "All the servants and girls in the brothel here are aggrieved for the time being, wait for a rest before leaving, and there is also a temporary delay over there, no need to scare the snake, I just want to ask a familiar guide to lead the way , I’m going to personally arrest this six-headed man—there’s still a private account between us that’s gone!”

"I'll take Master Ba for a walk," said Lao Cao, who was carrying his son, outside the door, "I'm most familiar with Liu Mao's family." Despite the heavy snow in the winter, the long streets of Yanshi are still very lively.Taiping Wharf, Yangjia Wharf, Sansheng Wharf, Gongmao Wharf, Zhangjia Wharf, huge Kongming lanterns are projected on high iron frames.Before the river closure season, the newly arrived salt ships berthed at dusk. Thousands of shippers and bargemen braved the wind and snow to rush the salt into the warehouse at night. Trouser legs, white scarves around the neck, sacks on the shoulders, swarms, like ants carrying salt bags, trampling the white snow along the way into black marks; in order to eliminate the loneliness of long-term work, When the husbands carried salt in groups, they chanted loudly:

"Ouch! Ho! Hey!Hi!Hi... huh! Sometimes the chants of the docks are concatenated, and sometimes they echo one after the other. The thick and loud voice that spills out of the working life shakes the town, and the sound waves have been swaying out of the street. . The wine shop on the main street, the tea house and the bathhouse with lanterns are also brightly lit, and the crowds are constantly flowing; at the T-shaped intersection in the east of Yangjia Wharf, behind two big ginkgo trees that are thick enough to hug, is the most lively Dawang Temple in the salt market. , the night market in Dawangmiao was not left out because of the heavy snow.

The verandahs on both sides of the large temple are almost all occupied by folk artists who travel all over the world, forming many indoor places; Dawangmiao Bookstore. "The southern end is Xie Juntang, who specializes in "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness". Half of the west corridor is the "Jianghuai Paste Shop" (that is, the opium shop.), and the other half is the place where Mr. Xue Er discusses poetry rhyme; There are trick-players, foreign filmmakers, and gamblers. In the huts around the ginkgo trees, there are all kinds of snacks, such as pepper soup, smoked and tied hoofs, and yuanxiao wonton. Yes, for those who buy hare meat, hexagonal glass lamps are hung on the shoulders of each load, illuminating the dancing snowflakes on the square. This crowded, juggling, and storytelling place is a good place for leisure in the salt market. The masters of each salt store, beside the door, camels who do odd transactions (small-scale transshipment merchants who transport salt by mules and donkeys) .), the townspeople in the shore merchants are used to leisure and leisure, and as soon as it gets dark, they gather here with teapots and muffs to pass the long night; except for poetry rhymes, listening to books, and lying on the cigarette couch, "Jianghuai There are also many countertops in the "paste shop" for people to fork sparrows, fight leaves, or drink tea and chat. Under a corridor outside the "Jianghuai Paste Shop", it was originally the stall of an old man who played oriole opera, but tonight it was replaced by a dice shaker with a bet. It's a pair, the upper line is: "Ma Wu blind man set up a gamble" and the second line is: "Monk Jigong also loses money!" "Hey, what a big breath!" One unconvinced made a bet, and immediately several others followed!The Ma Wu blind man was not very old, and he looked only in his thirties. He had a crew-shaven head, and his messy hair stood upright, so that the copper basin hat full of holes was tilted to one ear. When I went up, my thin face was as dirty as an unwashed rag. The left eye didn't look blind, but a red cloth plaster was stuck on the right eye.Rolling dice was originally a simple thing. Three dice were placed in a shaking bowl, and the size was written on both sides of a piece of white paper. Blind Ma Wu of the dice stretched out his hand to grab the shaking bowl, shook it a few times and lifted the bowl cover. If it is above nine, it is big, and below it is small; this kind of thing is usually available in Dawang Temple, and there are not many people who gamble, but , Ma Wu's couplet really aroused the curiosity of many people. They obviously didn't want to gamble, but they came over and threw two copper coins to place a bet. Let's see what this Ma Wu is capable of.How dare you boast about this kind of sea? ! Unexpectedly, Blind Man Ma Wu is really a little tricky. If there is a lot of money on the big bet on the table, he rolls a small one, and if there is a lot of small bet on the table, he rolls a big one. A man in a long black gown and a top hat askew squeezed behind Ma Wu blind man and gave him a light tug. Ma Wu blind man turned his head and yelled, "Beat, bet, come, come! Be big? Or bet?" Little?..." One side said in a low voice; "What's the matter? Master Six?"