Aoyama

Chapter 293: Jianghu Affairs

At midnight, the Port of Lushun was still brightly lit.

Unable to enter the port during the day, the smuggling ships stopped outside the port and waited. At night, the boatmen hung rows of lanterns, lighting up the port as bright as day.

There are certain rules for hanging lanterns.

On weekdays, official ships would hang three lanterns in a row, which was called "three lanterns in a row". These ships usually entered the port during the day and left at night, and could come and go freely.

Smuggling ships have to hang lanterns according to daily notifications. Someone will row a small boat to the sea to notify each ship one by one. After receiving the protection fee, they will give you the code for tonight. If you hang the right lantern, you can enter the port. This is called "water pay lantern".

When the two-masted ship that Old Man Yao was on entered the port, dozens of smuggling cargo ships were leaving the port. Like ghosts, they came quietly and left quietly.

The sailors on the ship were raising the sails with their bare chests. There was even a crossbow mounted on the ship. I don't know who they were guarding against.

Zhu Yunxi stood on the deck, silently watching the big ships even have their "ship bronze plates" removed and the engravings under the masts smoothed out.

Old man Yao was on the deck, and said calmly, "These are all merchant ships from my Ning Dynasty that are smuggling. Half of them are going back to Dongying, and the other half are going back to Qidong."

Liang Mao'er was stunned and asked, "No one cares?"

Old man Yao stood with his hands behind his back, and said indifferently: "The soldiers on the front line of the border army are fighting to the death, but there are people in the back who are secretly communicating with the Jing Dynasty to do business. I don't know what the point of fighting this war is."

Liang Gou'er came to the deck without knowing when, his right sleeve was empty: "The Chen and Xu families deserve to die."

Old man Yao sneered, "Little Dog is naive, but if he goes to Jing Dynasty with such a simple mind, he won't live long. Do you really think that only the Chen family and the Xu family are doing this business in Ning Dynasty? In the 14th year of Jianing, Jing Dynasty was hit by a locust plague. In order to smuggle grain to Jing Dynasty by land, the eight major Shanxi merchants colluded with the Hu family to transfer troops from Datong... The roots of Ning Dynasty are rotten."

Liang Gou'er wondered: "Does the emperor know about these things?"

Old Man Yao was amused: "What's the use of knowing? Can he manage it?"

After that, Old Man Yao glanced at everyone and calmly said, "When you get off the boat later, if you meet someone with a red lacquered long sword on his waist, don't make a sound and just follow them. The road traffic in Jingchao is very strict, and you can't move forward without the support of the Military Strategy Department."

Zhu Yunxi looked at the black and surging sea: "I know."

At this time, the big ship docked and the rough cry of crows was heard.

Old man Yao frowned and turned around, only to see Crow standing on the highest point of the two masts staring at the port.

He looked back and saw more than a dozen sailors and boatmen coming and going on the shore wearing red lacquered long swords, waiting for something. In the distance, someone holding a torch was approaching quickly.

After Liang Gou'er got off the boat, he was about to join the troops from the Military Strategy Department, but Old Man Yao stopped them and said in a deep voice, "No, we should blend in with the crowd."

After saying that, they mixed in with the boatmen, lowered their heads and walked past Junluesi, with no intention of recognizing him at all.

I hadn't walked far when I saw dozens of young soldiers wearing black pheasant tails, holding torches and long swords, rushing into Lushun Port and shouting: "Privy Council Yuan Cheng, Military Strategy Department Jiang Tan, Military Intelligence Department Lu Guanwu, are deceiving the heaven and deceiving the superiors, confusing the moral principles, forming cliques for personal gain, and blocking the way for the wise!"

"Today, we are following the orders of Lords Yuan Xiang and Lu Jin to kill the treacherous officials in the court, eliminate the three evils, and save the people. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed without mercy!"

Amidst the shouting, dozens of young soldiers rushed towards the military strategy department personnel.

Liang Gou'er cursed, "How could this happen? Our contact person was hacked to death right after we got off the boat? What the hell are we going to do? Old man, shall we rescue them?"

As Old Man Yao followed the boatman out, he frowned and said, "Zhongshu Pingzhang Yuan Xiang and Lu Jin have joined forces. The Jing Dynasty is about to change. What's the point of saving a few minions?"

Liang Gou'er was puzzled: "What is the position of Zhongshu Pingzhang?"

Old man Yao said unhappily: "Do you usually drink fake wine? That's the prime minister of the Jing Dynasty, which is equivalent to our cabinet chief minister!"

Liang Gou'er said, "What's the name of the person we want to rely on?"

Old man Yao said calmly, "Military Strategy Department, Jiang Tan."

Liang Gou'er recalled the slogans of the young soldiers to kill traitors: "He may not be able to protect himself now."

After leaving Lushun Port, the killing continued in the city.

Young soldiers, armed with spears, galloped back and forth in the city, hunting down the "rebels".

Old man Yao said solemnly, "This is different from what the prince planned. I didn't expect Lu Jin to be reinstated so quickly. I think it's not just Lushun. I'm afraid that Zhongjing Road, Xijing Road, Dongjing Road, and Shangjing Road are all fighting. We can't go to the Military Strategy Department anymore. We have to wait until the dust settles."

Liang Gou'er thought for a moment: "Why can't we go to Lu Jin and Yuan Xiang?"

Old Man Yao sneered, "How do you know they will definitely be the winners? Over the past thousands of years, many mutinies have succeeded, but many have failed. If they stand on the wrong side, the prince's plan will be in vain."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the city of Lushun, sticking to the shadows under the eaves all the way, carefully following the guidance of the crows and avoiding the swords and weapons.

If they passed by an inn, they could not stay there even if they had money in their pockets.

The household registration system of the Jing Dynasty was much stricter than that of the Ning Dynasty. One needed a travel permit to stay in an inn, to leave the city, and to enter the city.

Without the Jingchao pass, you cannot stay in any inn or leave the city.

They could try to force their way in, but how could they get out? They came to Jingchao not just to survive.

At this time, Liang Gou'er, Liang Mao'er, and Zhu Yunxi all looked at Old Man Yao helplessly. Old Man Yao sneered, "Why are you panicking, you newbies? Just stay in the alley for one night and we'll talk tomorrow if anything happens."

Liang Gou'er didn't care: "Compared to your age, who isn't a newbie?"

The four of them found a secluded alley and hid in its shadows.

Zhu Yunxi found a few broken baskets, stacked them together, and gave them to Old Man Yao: "Please sit on the baskets, don't catch a cold."

Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "You have quite a keen eye."

He lifted up his skirt and sat on the basket with his eyes closed, while Zhu Yunxi leaned against the wall and looked up at the sky above the alley. In the narrow alley, the walls on both sides squeezed his sky into a crack.

Zhu Yunxi said: "Doctor Yao..."

Old Man Yao looked up at him and said, "You still call me Doctor Yao? Do you want to trick me to death? Just call me old man like you do to a puppy. I am a broad-minded old man and I won't bother with you."

Zhu Yunxi hurriedly said: "How about I call you Master too, you have taught me a lot along the way."

Old Man Yao shook his head: "No, I don't accept such a bad disciple."

Zhu Yunxi opened his mouth, but was choked and couldn't speak for a long time.

Liang Gou'er couldn't stand it anymore and said sarcastically, "How good can your precious disciple be? He's just two eyes and a mouth. Do you really expect him to enter the realm of the gods?"

Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "You know shit."

He looked up at the sky, then closed his eyes and stopped arguing. …

……

It was getting light.

Old Man Yao stood up and walked out slowly: "Follow, but don't follow too closely."

Zhu Yunxi hurriedly helped Liang Gou'er up and followed behind Old Man Yao from a distance, not knowing what the other party was up to.

Lushun Port has become lively again. It is not yet dawn. Boatmen and sailors squat on the roadside, eating silently with bowls in hand. Unlike Ning Dynasty, everyone here seems to be silent.

Old man Yao took out a purse and tied it around his waist. When he walked, the silver inside collided with each other, making a heavy sound.

On the side of the road, a young man dressed as a boatman stared at his waist, put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up and followed him.

Zhu Yunxi was not far away and watched the young man deliberately bump into Old Man Yao. As soon as the two made contact, the purse fell into the other person's hands.

Liang Mao'er was about to go get the money bag back, but Liang Gou'er said lazily, "Don't move, the old man did it on purpose."

The next moment, Old Man Yao turned around and followed the young man. The young man turned left and right, happily heading towards the market outside the port, and then disappeared into a small alley.

Old man Yao stood in front of the alley with his hands behind his back.

Zhu Yunxi stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Follow him to find someone," Old Man Yao walked inside and explained slowly, "This kind of thief is generally called a 'xiaoluanzi' or 'laorong' in the jargon. Those who sleep during the day and work at night and steal things from people who come to their homes are called 'heiqian', and those who sleep at night and work during the day and steal things from passers-by are called 'baiqian'."

"All the small gangs have to pay homage to the chief. If they steal something, they can't sell it immediately. They have to keep it with the chief for three days, and then sell it and give him 70% of it."

Zhu Yunxi heard of this rule for the first time and asked curiously, "Why should we put it in the hands of the chief for three days first?"

"Because we have to save our lives," Old Man Yao said casually, "We'll keep the stolen goods for three days, waiting for someone to come looking for them. If they stole something from a big shot, the government will come to the chief to ask for the stolen goods, and the chief will have to give them. If they can't give the stolen goods, many people will die."

Zhu Yunxi asked again: "Then why give 70% to the leader? It's too much."

Old Man Yao sneered, "If you don't hand it over, the chief won't have to do it himself, he can just call the constables in the yamen to arrest you. You don't really think that the chief took all this 70% by himself, do you?"

At this time, Old Man Yao came to a house and knocked on the door politely.

With a creak, the wooden door opened a crack from the inside, and a middle-aged man half-exposed his face and asked cautiously, "Who are you looking for?"

Old Man Yao smiled and said, "Let's go find your boss to discuss some business."

Without waiting for the person inside to react, he pushed the door open and walked in.

In the yard, several people with naked backs were exercising with stone locks.

A muscular middle-aged man was sitting on a recliner, and in front of him stood the young man who had just entered the yard.

The middle-aged man asked the young man, "With so much silver, I wonder if some high-ranking official took it? Who did you steal it from?"

Seeing the door being pushed open, Xiao Luanzi was startled and pointed at Old Man Yao: "I stole it from him."

The middle-aged man was also startled, then he stood up with his eyes narrowed, turning two iron balls in his hands: "I wonder where this dragon from across the river came from, and he wants to find me, Jiang?"

Old Man Yao didn't waste time on him and got straight to the point: "I need four travel permits to go to Liaoyang Prefecture on the Tokyo Road. The silver in your hand is the money to buy the travel permits."

The middle-aged man weighed the silver and sneered, "I have enough silver, and I also have a pass. But I can't sell it to you immediately just because you come to my house and say you want to buy it. You're breaking the rules by coming to my house directly."

Old man Yao's eyebrows twitched slightly.

In an instant, he picked up a stone lock on the ground with his toes and kicked it towards a martial artist in the yard.

The martial artist heard the stone lock whistling towards him and tried to take it head-on, but his chest collapsed when the stone lock hit him, and blood spurted out a dozen feet high. The middle-aged man's face changed, and he turned around and tried to run, but his leg was broken by another stone lock.

After three breaths, when he looked back, there were only corpses on the ground in the yard, and he was the only one still alive.

Liang Gou'er's expression changed and he looked at Old Man Yao in surprise.

Old man Yao put his hands behind his back, hunched over and stood in front of the chief. "Can you talk properly now?"

The middle-aged man said in a panic: "The pass is in the second box from the left in the room, you can take it yourself! I was blind just now, please don't hold it against me!"

Old Man Yao waved to Liang Maoer and Zhu Yunxi and said, "Take the pass. Find four passes to Liaoyang Prefecture on Dongjing Road. Remember to make sure they match the ages of the four of us."

The so-called road permit clearly states the identity, age, residence, origin and destination of the holder of the road permit, and one cannot run away in the meantime. Anyone who crosses the checkpoints without a written permit will be caned 80 times. If one crosses the checkpoints at the border, he will be caned 100 times and sentenced to three years in prison.

After an incense stick of time, Zhu Yunxi came out with four road passes and said, "I found it, but it's hard to find one that matches your age, so I could only find one for a 64-year-old."

Old Man Yao sighed: "It's barely usable."

Liang Gou'er joked, "I'm afraid it will be exposed, right?"

Old man Yao glared at him and Liang Gou'er quickly shrank his neck.

Old Man Yao looked at Zhu Yunxi again, pointed at the chief who was lying on the ground, and said calmly: "Kill him."

Zhu Yunxi was startled: "We have already got it..."

Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "After we leave, he will report to the authorities. Wouldn't this pass be taken for nothing? If you still have a soft spot for me, I advise you to find a three-foot white silk and hang yourself. Don't waste my time any longer."

Zhu Yunxi knew that he would kill someone sooner or later, but when the moment came, he still hesitated.

Old man Yao stared at him, and then said slowly: "Sir, this is the martial arts world."

Zhu Yunxi was stunned. It turned out that the world of martial arts was not beautiful at all.

Different from the storyteller's stories, there are no lovers joining forces with their swords in the world of martial arts, no romance and romance. In this world of martial arts, there are only travelers who never return.

Old Man Yao turned and walked out the door: "If we can kill him, we will continue to move forward. If we can't kill him, I will go alone."

The next moment, Zhu Yunxi picked up a machete from the courtyard, raised his hand and chopped the chief's neck. Blood splattered everywhere, and the blood on his face was like plum blossoms blooming and falling, dotted with stars.

Zhu Yunxi looked up and asked, "Old man, where are we going next?"

Old man Yao said lightly: "Martial Temple, looking for an old friend."

(End of this chapter)