Lu Ming

Chapter 342 Opening of Port ([-])
Facing the ruined bridge, Wu Sanye was in a daze, and soon realized his negligence.

He dealt with this matter according to the concept of fighting for land in the Jianghu, but this time the opponent is different from those in the past: their purpose is only land.As for this private port, what the third master didn't know was that it would definitely be bulldozed in the future, and then buried together with the small island to form a straight coastline.

Therefore, in the eyes of the third master, such as trestle bridges are extremely precious means of production, but in the eyes of Xiong Dao, they are waste products that will be demolished sooner or later.

This led to the third master's misjudgment: he thought it was aimed at people, who knew that people would smash the pots and pans first.

So what to do now?Build another trestle bridge?Will it be burned after it is repaired?

Just when someone was in a state of confusion, his subordinates reported: the Du Ya people came again.

Continuing to stretch out his fingers and push away the sharp knife on his neck, Du Ya said with a half-smile: "Third Master, it doesn't look like you to be rude in front of middle-aged people?"

Seeing the teasing in Du Yaren's eyes, the third master swallowed his anger in hesitation.After waving his hand to signal his subordinates to put away the knife, he asked in a nasty voice, "What are you doing here again?"

"Hey, I've been working so hard, Mr. Xiong came here early this morning, and I still have a message."

"Let it go!"

"Master Xiong's meaning: Since the trestle is gone, half of the amount mentioned earlier will be removed. In addition, if everyone is willing to contribute, Master Xiong is still willing to let go of the past."

"Third Master, please tell me if it's possible, so I can go back and report to you." After Du Yaren finished speaking the conditions, he stared at Third Master and waited for him to reply.

Wu Meng seems to be a little faster today than yesterday. It seems that burning the trestle is still useful.He raised his hand to stop the noisy demonstration of his brothers, and said slowly: "Brother Du, please go back and tell Master Xiong, let Wu Meng think about it for a few days before speaking."

"It's easy to say, easy to say, Du Mou will leave."

Three days later, the inner courtyard of the Crane Tower.

Tonight is the last quarter moon, the moon has only one crooked fang, coupled with the thick clouds in the sky, it makes the surrounding dark, only the sound can be heard but no one is seen.

After a "crash", Liao Shuangding's head stuck out from the pool, with a piece of green lotus on it.After looking left and right, Liao Shuangding discerned the direction, slowly swam to the side of the lotus pond, stretched his arms, and rushed ashore silently.

Liao Shuangding belongs to the county Deng's Daxing.They are thieves who specialize in stealing and searching for property in the fighting industry.

Daxing is an urban gang organization that gradually emerged in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

In essence, there is not much difference between Daxing and the underworld in later generations. They are both illegal organizations that rely on violence to make profits.

As the name suggests, the main business of fighting is naturally fighting.The thugs organized by urban hooligans were originally established for the purpose of renting out thugs. The government is dark and incompetent, and disputes among the citizens can sometimes be resolved quickly by hiring thugs.

So Daxing developed from the Su and Song areas, where the economy is the most developed and the floating population is the largest.

The result of the booming development is that the government can’t stand it—— During the Jiajing period, Weng Dali, the inspector of Suzhou, began to rectify the crimes. Whoever wanted to fight the crimes but ambushed his hands in the alleys. Like a bird".

Later, when the conflict between the two parties was thoroughly aroused, Daxing organized its personnel to rob the prison late at night, and released all those arrested by Weng Dali, and then rushed into the inspector's office, scaring Weng Dali and his wife over the wall and leaving.

Later, Daxing set fire to the public house, and then "led the crowd to rob the government", and was bravely defended by the governor Wang Daoxing.This group of people saw that there was no advantage to take advantage of, so they "cut through the pass and fled into Taihu Lake".

The fundamental reason for the arrogance of Daxing lies in the declining political environment of the Ming government.

First of all, the heavy Fu in the Ming Dynasty was famous.In the Ming Dynasty, the land in the south of the Yangtze River accounted for only 6% of the country, but the tax and grain accounted for nearly 22% of the country. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, 400 million shi of grain were transported to the capital every year, and the five Jiangnan prefectures in Jiangsu alone provided more than a third of the total.

Hangjiahu not only has a high amount of taxation, but also has a ratio of up to 90% of shipments. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, under heavy taxation, the "skin and bones in the south of the Yangtze River have dried up", and the officials, gentry and landlords can still pass their burdens on to the small people. But Xiaomin had no choice but to sell his sons and daughters, and then fled as a last resort.

As a result, a large number of unemployed rural people flooded into the urban area, which fundamentally undermined the law and order and provided a solid manpower foundation for Daxing.

Secondly, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the population became more and more prosperous, and those towns in the south of the Yangtze River that were originally deserted "had houses connected to the clouds, boats and boats gathered scales, surrounded by mulberry and hemp, and became a majestic town."

Under such circumstances, in the face of the sudden outbreak of the business environment, the original management resources of the government cannot keep up.And at this time, Daxing came into being naturally-thinking that if there is only one police station in a district, social security will definitely not be much better.

However, in the late Ming Dynasty when the crossovers appeared, Daxing has evolved into a professional criminal gang integrating violent robbery, extortion, and group theft. secondary business.

And Liao Shuangding, who emerged from the pond in the Crane Tower today, is a habitual thief in a family in the county.

Nowadays, thieves also have companies.Some famous "big thieves" "attract undocumented sticks from all over the world, raise them at home, dig in the market at leisure, and drill cabins in rivers and roads at night, causing great harm to the people."

This skill of raising thieves has even been passed down to later generations, both at home and abroad—it is very vividly portrayed in Oliver Twist.

The reason why he was sent to the Crane Tower by the "leader" today to "do a task" is because Liao Shuangding is very familiar with the terrain here: this guy used to be a servant in the Crane Tower back then, and later because he stole the property of the master's house, he After being severely beaten, he was kicked out of Crane Tower.

Liao Shuangding, who was wearing a cowhide sweater, quickly jumped out of the lotus pond, and then he pinned the pig urine foam used to store gas to his waist, and ran forward.

In the dark night with only twilight, Liao Shuangding's movements were accurate and fast: he had cleaned every inch of land here, and his sweat was sprinkled on it, so he could find his destination even with his eyes closed.

However, after running for a certain distance, he felt something was wrong: where did the vegetation go?
In his current position, theoretically, he should pass through a field of flowers.Opposite the flowers is a long corridor. After turning over the long corridor, run along the railing to the end, and then pass through a moon gate, which is the purpose of his trip: the library.

However, there was a ghost tonight, until Liao Shuangding turned over the promenade, he did not see the flourishing flowers, trees and bushes in the past.

This situation made Liao Shuangding highly vigilant: flowers and trees are the best cover, and it would be quite unfavorable for him if his field of vision is empty now.

Fortunately, the flowers and trees are gone, but other buildings are still there.Although Liao Shuangding was muttering in his heart, he ran to the end of the corridor and hid under the corner to observe carefully.

Usually, the guards roam around at night.So Liao Shuangding had to wait for the guards to pass through the moon gate before rushing in, so as not to be bumped into - after all, he had been away from here for a long time, and the patrol time of the guards must have changed long ago.

But just as he bent down and waited for the guards to pass by, something unexpected happened: he did it.

The trotting all the way after getting out of the lotus pond, coupled with the time of lurking and waiting, caused the water droplets on Liao Shuangding's body to be gradually dried and evaporated, so he did it.

Liao Shuangding, who didn't feel that it would have any effect if he was dry, was able to wait for the two guards in black who came out of the Moon Cave Gate not long after.After the guards passed by, Liao Shuangding quietly "bent down and walked forward quickly" and got into the moon cave gate.

What Liao Shuangding didn't know was that the moment he got into the moon cave, the heat emitted from his body surface showed the outline of his body on a pair of infrared lenses.

So when Liao Shuangding ran to the door of Zangshu Pavilion, took out the sealed leather pocket in his arms, and was about to take out tools to pick the lock, he suddenly heard the wind behind his head. Then he rushed.

"Wow", a basin of cold water was poured on someone.

Liao Shuangding, who was instantly awakened, quickly began to struggle, but he was already tied to a grand master's chair.The most frightening thing is that he is now naked and completely naked.

Bright kerosene lamps illuminated every corner of the house, so when Liao Shuangding looked up in horror, he found himself in an extremely familiar place: the woodshed where he had fought and lived.

Of course, he was not familiar with these big men with obscene smiles on their faces.

"Boy, tell me the truth, from which corner did you get in?"

A dark and thin man who spoke Huainan dialect saw that the prisoner had woken up, so he reached out and patted his cheek, and began to question him.

At this moment, all of Liao Shuangding's terrifying memories came back to life—he was hanged and beaten in this woodshed after he stole the owner's property.

"Masters, the little one came in over the wall." Liao Shuangding repeatedly begged for forgiveness: "I was arrested before I succeeded, and I hope that I will spare my life, and there will be a report!"

"This kid is dishonest."

At this time, someone behind Liao Shuangding spoke.

"Tight-fitting leather jackets, waterproof leather bags, pig urine foam for storing gas, and things to start fires and oilcloths." A fat young man said while rummaging through the clothes on the table at this time: "This kid is from It doesn’t look like it’s for property, it’s probably for arson.”

Liao Shuangding thought it was a bad situation.The waterway from the small river outside the wall to the crane tower pond is a secret passage he has kept for many years, in order to get into the crane tower someday to make a fortune.Originally, he planned to turn on the Zangshu Pavilion tonight and return the same way, but he didn't expect that his secret would be exposed after being arrested.

"Boy, you dare to talk nonsense at this time. It seems that if you don't teach you a lesson, you don't know how powerful we are."

At this time, the thin black man picked up an iron ruler and patted Liao Shuangding's work twice, then he turned to the young man and said, "Group Leader Liu, why don't you show off to everyone? Let us see it too." The results of the training at the headquarters."

Hearing this, the young man smiled and showed his white teeth that had been washed by ultrasonic waves: "Hehe, the headquarters didn't have time to learn so much, so I just learned a few things. It doesn't matter if you shoot at me and cross the river with chickens, anyway, the night is still long." , It’s also a lot of fun to use this kid to practice his craft today.”

(End of this chapter)