Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 112 Showers
After the meeting at Xinting, Huan Hong, Yuan He and Huan Daozhen went to Dongshan in Kuaiji County for another meeting. They were not seen for two consecutive months.

Liu Daogui also admired them. The gentry lived such a comfortable life, so why would they think of going on a Northern Expedition?
After dealing with the accumulated military affairs at the government office, it was already May.

News came from Yandu that the last batch of money and silk had arrived.

Liu Daogui and Gao Xun left the city overnight and arrived at Shebi, west of Yandu, at dusk the next day.

Two hundred elite soldiers had already gathered. Each of them had disheveled hair, a quilt tied on their forehead, and wore linen clothes on the outside, iron armor and leather armor on the inside. Their heads were covered in sweat, but they did not move.

Liu Zhong also specially made two large flags, one side was inscribed with "Three Officials Appear in the World" and the other side was inscribed with "Enforcing Justice on Behalf of Heaven".

When this group of people stand together, they feel more like the Tianshi Dao than the Tianshi Dao.

"If it's impossible, retreat immediately. I will support you outside and look for another opportunity." Gao Xun repeatedly reminded him.

If something happens during the winter transfer window, no one will be able to escape and the implications will be huge.

He was not originally allowed to come, but he was worried, so he took more than 20 men with him to spread the word in case of any emergency, and also to gather some prestige.

Liu Daogui laughed and said, "This isn't the first time I've done this kind of business. The brave will die of overeating, while the timid will die of starvation. What are you afraid of?"

Gao Xun was stunned. "Why do your words always sound so profound?"

"Hahaha, I have innate wisdom and I am not an ordinary person!" Liu Daogui said half-truthfully.

Gao Xun smiled and said, "If you become a monk, you will definitely become a great monk."

"My six senses are not pure, and I have no affinity with the Buddhist path."

Liu Daogui turned and left.

The night wind howled and the wilderness was solemn. Every time he killed someone or set a fire, his heart was always burning. He didn't know whether it was the awakening of the bloodline of the Liu family's ancestors or whether he was born to be a restless person.

We only live once, so we should live it to the fullest.

If you come from a poor family and don’t work hard these days, you will never get ahead.

Looking back at the soldiers behind him, there was a faint light in their eyes, like a group of hungry wolves in the wilderness.

The night enveloped the earth, and Yandu City was lit up with flames in front.

As usual, there were countless illegal salt dealers coming and going.

The smallest group has forty or fifty people, while the largest has two or three hundred people. Many private dealers are actually members of the Tianshidao sect.

The two hundred or so people were not surprised to see Liu Daogui, and some even greeted him enthusiastically, "Brother, where are you from?"

Among the three officials of heaven, earth and water, the Tianshi Dao respects water the most. The south of the Yangtze River is densely covered with water networks, so the Tianshi Dao divides its followers according to the rivers.

"Luoshui!" Liu Daogui opened his mouth.

"Ah, isn't this the poor fellow from Luoyang? Hahahaha..."

The salt smugglers laughed.

Liu Daogui had never expected that discrimination was also practiced in the Tianshi Dao. Being ridiculed, he became furious.

A nearby person suddenly shouted, "How dare you underestimate us heroes of the Central Plains? I, Zhang Mazi, will be the first to object!"

"What if you underestimated me? What if you don't accept me? If you have the guts, go and challenge the barbarians. I, Li Daosan, admire you for being a real man. If you don't have the guts, yet you come to our Jiangzuo to grab our territory, you deserve to die!"

Clang, Clang, Clang...

Both sides drew their swords at the same time, and the bright blades gleamed coldly under the light of the torches.

Liu Daogui was stunned. He didn't expect that this group of people was more excited than himself. However, the two groups looked at each other in the eye and neither took action.

Another passerby came out from the side and said, "We are all Daoists, please give me some face, Kuai En, and don't start a fight. Please don't start a fight!"

Private salt dealers are all ruthless people who live on the edge of a knife and will explode at the slightest spark.

This guy, Kuai En, appeared to be trying to mediate the fight, but his tone was odd. It would have been fine if he hadn't tried, but as soon as he did, both sides started howling and started swinging their knives at each other...

Liu Daogui was speechless for a moment. How could such a trivial matter have escalated into such a vicious situation? But then he thought about it and realized that in the past eighty years since the migration of the Han people to the south, the conflicts between the northerners and the southerners had been extremely serious.

There was a lot of hatred accumulated from the people to the court. The Sima family took the lead in being inhumane and used local soldiers from Jiangdong to quell rebellions in various places. When it came to dividing power, they turned around and kicked others away.

The wealthy families who migrated south were not good people either. They annexed the land and population of the left and forced others into a desperate situation.

"To do it or not?" Liu Zun's eyes glowed red, and the eyes of other soldiers also became sharp. This group of people became extremely excited when they saw blood.

"They're killing each other, what's it to you?"

Liu Daogui didn't have time to pay attention to them. He didn't have a good impression of the Tianshi Dao and hurried on with his men.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay. You look unfamiliar. I have never seen you in the sect before, and your accent doesn't seem to be from Luoyang." The man named Kuai En followed with a grin.

"Where the hell are you from? How dare you meddle in my business?" Liu Zun took two steps forward with his knife.

There were seventy or eighty people on the other side, all of them had fierce looks on their faces, and it was obvious that they were not good people.

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding... People with different ideals cannot work together. Goodbye, goodbye." Kuai En held down the troops around him.

He instigated others to fight, but when it came to his turn, he was so cowardly and decisive.

He is a man of character who can bend and stretch. Liu Daogui couldn't help but look at him a few more times and was stunned. The light of the torch reflected the dim light of the iron armor on their bodies.

Ordinary Taoist priests are so poor that they can't even afford to wear armor.

This person's demeanor and behavior clearly don't resemble that of a Taoist priest...

"See you later." Liu Daogui bowed. He had important things to do and had no time to chat with him. However, he was also going to Yandu, so maybe they would meet later.

"Then we'll meet again later." Kuai En smiled with his eyes narrowed, and led his troops to the southeast. Their figures were gradually swallowed up by the night.

"Where do these people come from?" Liu Zun also noticed some clues.

"The Tianshi Dao is a mixed bag. Who knows what they are here for?" Liu Daogui didn't think too deeply about it.

The more chaotic Yandu is, the better, so that we can escape easily.

After walking for half an hour, they no longer encountered large groups of Taoist priests on the road. However, the weather was a bit hot and humid, with faint flashes of lightning in the sky and the night wind becoming increasingly humid, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.

Liu Daogui secretly cursed God for being blind. If it rained heavily and he couldn't set the fire, his plan would be half-failed.

As soon as he finished cursing, raindrops fell on his head.

The torches were extinguished...

"It's over... We didn't check the almanac before going out this time..." Liu Zun sat down on a tree stump by the roadside.

Liu Daogui was also extremely depressed.

Plans can never keep up with changes, and the group looked at each other in confusion in the rain.

Murder and arson have always been one and the same.

Without the help of the fire, the two hundred or so people would definitely not be able to deal with Ru Qianqiu's five hundred navy and the tens of thousands of Tianshi Daoists in the city...

"Don't worry, fellow Daoist. The weather in May is like a child's face, and things can change at any time. Yandu is close to the sea, so there are only sudden showers at this time of year. The rain will stop as soon as the wind blows."

Kuai En's intermittent shouts came from the southeast.

"Damn it, you stop just like that?" Liu Zun cursed.

But there was no sound from the other side, as if the person had gone far away.

There was a roar of thunder, the night wind blew in the face, and the heavy rain actually stopped. Liu Zun widened his eyes in disbelief, "Could it be that the guy is really a god?"

"How can there be gods these days?" Liu Daogui looked at the direction where those people left and thought that this person was quite interesting.

(End of this chapter)