Lord of the Desert

Chapter 419 Taken advantage of

The fourth day of October is the beginning of winter.

In the south of Liangzhou, the sky above Hongyi City was covered with velvety snow, as the first snow of this winter fell.

In the center of the city, the vast Tongyun Hall is as warm as spring, with a constant flow of visitors in the front hall and a blazing iron fire in the back hall.

On the only three-story building in the museum, ambergris was burning in a three-legged dragon-beard stove.

The luxurious and antique jade lotus clepsydra has become a decoration in the corner of the room, and the escapement-style single-pendulum clock purchased last year is placed on the side of the door, making a rhythmic clicking sound.

Zhu Leshan locked himself in his room for half an hour, thinking about what gift to give to his great-grandfather on his 120th birthday.

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and the person who came in was his confidant Chang Sui Zhang San.

"I told you not to bother me."

Zhu Er waved his hand without even raising his head.

"Master, this time I really understand!"

Zhang San's face was full of joy.

"Oh? Say it quickly!"

Zhu Leshan was cheered up.

"This time, the eldest young master wants to give me a cloisonné enamel crane incense burner. It weighs 24,000 kilograms and took two full years to make in Zhongzhou. The main material is Juzhou cloud copper, and each crane has its eyes dotted with top-grade chalcedony. It costs about 30,000 taels of silver!"

Zhang San lowered his voice.

Zhu Leshan was shocked when he heard this.

"Boss, you are really generous. You must have made a fortune for many years. Compared with this, my longevity porcelain vase from the official kiln in Shenjing is not as good as it seems..."

He began to worry, and after hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and asked again.

"Didn't I ask you to go to the Liu family again a few days ago? What did they say?"

"I'm afraid that's difficult."

Zhang San said with difficulty.

"Master Xingxian said that the blue dragon specimen was purchased three years ago. It is seventeen feet long and was made by a famous craftsman. It was the spoils of the war between the sea tribes of Zhanzhou. If it weren't for the urgent need for cash flow for the tribe now, he would never have thought of selling it. The asking price of fifty thousand taels is already based on the long-term friendship with the young master."

"Bullshit, he and I just drank wine together a few times, how can we have such a friendship?"

Zhu Leshan spoke anxiously.

"Fifty thousand taels, damn it, why didn't Liu Xingxian go and rob it?!"

He cursed and waved Chang Sui away, but before he could calm down, he was startled by a knock on the door.

The person who came in this time was Wang Wenhan, the third manager of Tongyun Pavilion.

"Why are you looking for me again?"

Zhu Leshan glanced at him with displeasure.

"Second Young Master, the report from Xijing has arrived."

Wang Wenhan smiled apologetically and held up the scroll in his hand.

Zhu Leshan was impatient at first, but he suppressed his temper after hearing this: "You don't have to show it to me. Just tell me if there is any news worth hearing."

"First, Xijing released a new three-list at the end of September."

Shopkeeper Wang unfolded the scroll and read.

"The leaderboard is still 'Little Dou Emperor' Qu Luoyi, 'One Arrow Piercing the Clouds' Hou Yueqiu is fifth, 'Fast Light Movie' Yi Shegongzi that you have seen in Shenjing is fifteenth, 'Red Sand' Hong Fan is thirty-eighth, and Feng Tianqing broke through to the Xiantian level by slaying three giants in a row in a blizzard on the top of Tietai City, ranking fifty-fifth, and getting a new title 'Snow Tortured Wind Glutton'."

He paused when he read this - Zhu Er usually didn't care about the last few dozen people on the Tianjiao list - but after hesitating for a while, he added a piece of news.

"Jin Hai Hong Sheng broke through and entered the Xiantian list, ranking 76th, with the title of 'Fire Phoenix'. The Hong family and the Yi family of the Langya royal family were both awarded the honor of having two geniuses, which caused quite a stir in Xijing."

Zhu Leshan sneered when he heard this.

"Is this worth mentioning? Hong Fan is fine, after all, he controls the destiny star, so he can make some friends; but people like Hong Sheng have no stamina, and they have reached the top by being on the third list."

"Is there anything else?"

He glanced at his subordinate.

"Yes, I just received the news."

Shopkeeper Wang nodded in reply, swallowed his saliva, and spoke more carefully.

"Second Young Master, our business in Xijing seems to have some problems - in the whole of late September, we only sold 20,000 kilograms of second-grade steel, a drop of two-thirds..."

Zhu Leshan thought he had misheard and was stunned for a moment before replying, "The price dropped from 60,000 catties to 20,000 catties per ten days. Are people in Xijing no longer buying steel?"

"No, Second Master, they bought it from someone else."

Wang Wenhan whispered.

"Who is so bold?"

Zhu Leshan patted the armrest and sat up straight.

"Did Hezhou Rongtie Palace overstep its bounds?"

"No, the manager in Xijing checked and found out that it was a new trading company called Tiannanxing."

Shopkeeper Wang replied.

"Their steel is of good quality, but they only sell it for 40 wen per pound, which is one-fifth of our price. We can't compete with them at all."

One catty, forty cents, one fifth.

This was the second time Zhu Leshan suspected that he had heard it wrong.

"Didn't I tell you before that the two iron mines in Canglang Mountain of the Shen family had changed hands and were no longer supplying us with ore? I went to Xijing to investigate these few days and found out that they were in the hands of Tiannan Bank."

Shopkeeper Wang added.

"You just said that Tiannanxing sells steel at 40 silver coins per pound?"

Zhu Leshan calmed himself down and repeated it.

"It's absolutely true. Our people in Xijing also went to buy 100 kilograms for a total of 4 taels of silver. The money and goods were paid."

Wang Wenhan replied.

"Ah!"

Zhu Leshan stroked the copper ring and laughed disdainfully.

"So who on earth is crazy enough to throw money into the water?"

He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out on the table.

"You can only grab business temporarily by using this method of taking advantage of others. In the end, you won't be able to keep the business even if you raise the price. Don't worry about it." "If you can't ship the goods in Xijing, just store them first. Ask your subordinates to find out who is behind Tiannanxing. Humph, he likes to interfere. I will chop him off one by one when the time comes."

After saying this, Zhu Leshan dismissed his men and began to think about the really important matter - how to collect 50,000 silver coins in a short period of time so that he could steal the limelight from his elder brother at his great-grandfather's birthday.

······
Ten days later, October 15th.

At dusk, darkness seeped out from behind the doors and under the eaves of thousands of houses, submerging Xijing bit by bit.

A middle-aged man about 1.7 meters tall sat upright in the study of Chaori Mansion, secretly glancing at the calligraphy hanging on the wall.

There were footsteps outside the door.

The man jumped up from his chair and suddenly caught a glimpse of a tall and strong figure coming in against the darkness. He didn't dare to look at him any longer and quickly bowed his head to salute.

"I am Niu Dequan, leader of the Bi Hai Gang. I am honored to meet Master Hong!"

He bent down and heard a familiar voice.

"Boss Niu, you are worshipping the wrong Buddha."

When Niu Dequan looked up, he found that the person in front of him was Shen Hong, who had just led him into the mansion.

Hong Fan just stepped over the threshold at this time. Seeing Niu Dequan's red face and wanting to bow again, he raised his hand to stop him.

"sit."

He spoke in a soft but unquestionable tone, walking around the tea table and sitting in the main seat.

Seeing this, Niu Dequan had no choice but to sit down as well.

He was not tall but very strong, and the chair creaked under his weight.

Hong Fan personally poured three cups of tea. Niu Dequan was flattered and took them with both hands. He drank only half a sip and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Boss Niu, I heard of your name when I first came to Xijing two years ago. You are the leader of the Bihai Hall of the Fubo Clan, and your nickname is 'Shenjiang Iron'. Is that right?"

Hong Fan asked, with a look of reminiscence.

"It is a shame to be given such a lowly reputation by my friends on the street. I dare not mention it in front of you, sir."

Niu Dequan lowered his head and replied with great respect.

"What is the current situation in Yaohe?"

Hong Fan asked again.

"There are five forces on the river now. Three of them, including the small one, are former leaders of the Fubo Gang who set up their own factions. One is the underworld leader Lian Yi from Qinghuai City in the north who moved south. One is the union of the Yaohe boat gangs."

Niu Dequan replied.

"So why did you look for me through Shen Hong?"

Hong Fan asked.

"My Lord, I can deal with the gangs from other places and the boat gangs that stick together for warmth, but my two former brothers each have their own support, one is the Bai family, and the other is the Feixia Sect."

Niu Dequan answered.

"So you came to me to swallow them up and create a Fu Bo Gang?"

Hong Fan asked again.

"Mr. Hong is joking."

Niu Dequan wiped his sweat.

"Why are you joking?"

"I also heard about this. The Governor's Office doesn't want the whole Yaohe River to be as united as it was when the Liu family was in power, so everyone is only fighting for the amount rather than the life and death. Everyone knows their limits."

After this duet, there was no sound in the room for a while.

Hong Fan drank his tea silently, looked at Niu Dequan who was feeling very uneasy for a while, and finally nodded.

"Boss Niu, I heard from Shen Hong that there have been fierce fights among several gangs in Yaohe recently. You want some money to bribe people, to establish some relationship with the Siwu Department of the Zhangwu Academy, and also want some marrow cleansing pills."

He held out three fingers.

"These requests are not difficult, I can give them to you."

Niu Dequan couldn't help but be delighted when he heard this. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, my lord. I will serve you wholeheartedly!"

Hong Fan waved his hand.

"Boss Niu, I don't need you to die for me, nor do I need you to be loyal to me. We each get what we need, and there may be a distinction between superiors and subordinates, but there is no master-servant relationship."

He said lightly.

Niu Dequan could feel that the other party looked down on underworld gangs from the bottom of his heart, and he made no secret of it.

But that didn't matter to him.

What the newly born Bi Hai Gang needs now is a backer, not the dignity of a gang leader.

"I'll help you with my wealth in exchange for information."

Hong Fan continued.

"If there are any changes in Xijing in the future, you can give me a heads-up beforehand and give me a rough idea afterwards, then I won't be letting you down."

"I will definitely live up to your trust!"

Niu Dequan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and expressed his loyalty.

At this time, he saw Hong Fan standing up and hurriedly followed suit. He was hesitating and wanted to kneel down and kowtow, but he was supported by an invisible energy force.

For a moment, the world seemed to freeze.

The blazing flames licked Niu Dequan's jaw, making his mouth dry and forcing him to look up at Hong Fan's eyes.

"I have one last thing to say..."

The sound came from all directions, hollow and blurry, burning everything. It seemed that the one speaking was not a person, but the origin of fire.

"It is impossible for Xijing to be without Yaohe River transport, and it is impossible for transport to be without disputes. From now on, you can handle inter-gang matters according to gang rules, and no one from Chaori Mansion or even the Hong family will cause trouble for you."

"But Niu Dequan, there are some boundaries you must know."

"If I find out that anyone in the Bi Hai Gang has been involved in robbery, human trafficking, or murder, I will chop off your head with my own hands even if you are ten times more respectful to me than you pretended to be!"

It seemed like an eternity had passed, but the thunderous shouts of command still lingered.

It was not until Shen Hong, who was waiting outside the door, coughed that Niu Dequan came back to his senses with a trembling voice. He saw that there was no one and no fire in the study, only an oil lamp burning silently, and he himself maintained a half-kneeling posture.

He forced himself to calm himself and wanted to pour a cup of tea to moisten his mouth, but he found that the half pot of water left in the silver pot had evaporated dry at some point.

(End of this chapter)