20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 521: Xi Fenglie's Debt Collection

Make a feint to the east and attack in the west before attacking again in the east.

Just half an hour ago, the Shilipu Jinyuan Wharf was still calm with the chirping of water birds.

The office was filled with smoke, as if covered with a layer of dust.

Lou Jingyuan put out the cigarette in the ashtray, checked the time on the ferry table in his hand, stood up, pulled up his trousers, put on sunglasses, and waved to the bodyguards in the room.

"Let's go, the ship is coming."

There was a loud bang of tables and chairs colliding around immediately.

Lou Jingyuan took the lead and when he reached the gate, he turned around and reminded, "Bring all your stuff with you, don't be careless."

"Okay, got it."

Everyone responded, picked up various sticks from the corner of the warehouse for self-defense, and then rushed out of the dock shops.

Even though they did as they were told, there was no sign of seriousness on their faces.

They can't be blamed for this.

Ever since receiving the news that the Axe Gang might come to rob the wharf, Lou Jingyuan immediately dismissed the workers from Anhui Province, gathered his men, and prepared for battle. However, after waiting for three to five days, there was still no sign of trouble at Jinyuan Wharf. Instead, surprisingly, something went wrong at Sanjin Company.

After a few days of wasting time, everyone's morale declined and they became increasingly lazy. Even Lou Jingyuan himself began to believe that the Jinyuan Wharf was just a cover for the Axe Gang to deal with the "Three Tycoons". As a result, the military preparedness was relaxed and gradually only an empty shell remained.

Little do people know that those who are good at using troops avoid their strong points and attack them when they are tired and retreat.

As long as thieves are targeting you, there will be no peace. If you relax for a moment, they will take advantage of you and break in.

Lou Jingyuan was completely unaware of this. As he walked towards the pier approach bridge, he loudly scolded the workers who were resting on the shore.

"Get up, get up, stop pretending to be dead. Can you still do it? If you can, do it. If you can't, get out of here. There's no more or less people on the dock. You all come here to enjoy the good life. Get up now!"

The dock workers were sleepy in spring and exhausted in autumn. Not long after they had a rest, they were scolded again. Although their waists and legs ached, they dared not delay for a moment. They quickly stood in two rows and gathered near the approach bridge, looking out at the river, yawning, waiting for the cargo ship to arrive at the ferry.

Lou Jingyuan stood by the river and looked around. He saw that the workers at the neighboring docks were increasing in number, noisy and busy. Then he saw that his own workers had no work, so he became furious and started cursing at everyone for no reason.

Fortunately, just after noon, a small steamer arrived on the river as scheduled and slowly approached the ferry.

The dock workers immediately helped to anchor the ropes and prepared to rush on board to load and unload the cargo.

Lou Jingyuan cursed at the bridge as usual: "Hurry up and be gentle, no one dares to be lazy!"

At this moment, a brother beside him suddenly stretched out his arm and reminded him quickly: "Brother Yuan, here I come!"

"Nonsense, didn't I know the ship was coming?"

"Brother Yuan, it's not a boat, it's the Axe Gang that's coming!"

"What are you talking about?" Lou Jingyuan's heart trembled, and he turned around quickly to look around.

Facing the direction of Dongjia Ferry and looking into the distance, I saw a huge crowd of one hundred and twenty people, like a dark cloud pressing down on a city or a strong wind passing through a valley, led by the camel of the Axe Gang, rushing towards us quickly!

Everyone suddenly panicked.

But what really confused Lou Jingyuan was not the one hundred and twenty Axe Gang members, but how could so many gang members appear so quietly, as if out of thin air, and by the time he noticed it, they were already right in front of him?
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the Axe Gang members had been hiding among the surrounding dock workers. Now they have united as a group, armed with sticks, knives and axes. Their numbers are increasing, and they are aggressive and murderous.

Upon seeing this, the entire Shiliupu Wharf immediately became a commotion.

However, despite Lou Jingyuan's skinny appearance and his bullying demeanor, he was not intimidated by the Axe Gang's momentum at this moment. Instead, he raised his arms and shouted, "Brothers, Liang Qingzi, fight them!"

The brothers were stunned and tried to dissuade him tremblingly: "Brother Yuan... I, I think they have too many people!"

"Yes, a wise man never suffers a loss in front of him. How about we run away first?"

Seeing that the Axe Gang members were gathering more and more, and the number was approaching 200, the brothers couldn't help but be afraid and just wanted to escape.

Lou Jingyuan cursed: "What are you afraid of? They are just a bunch of little bastards. The ones who can really fight are the ones in the front row. As long as we get rid of the leader and drag him to the police station, we can defend the dock!"

Having said that, the brothers still did not dare to act rashly.

At this time, the crew on the ferry steamer saw this situation and hurriedly stopped the dock workers.

"Don't move, don't move!" the captain shouted, "Weigh the anchor and quickly drive the boat into the river. Don't go to the shore, don't go to the shore!"

After that, the noisy boat bells began to boil over, making people even more panicked.

The dock workers were thrown into chaos.

Lou Jingyuan took the opportunity to shout at the three approach bridges: "Brothers, don't be afraid, grab your weapons and fight them. If the northern Anhui people take away our dock, everyone will lose their jobs. Do you understand?"

Everyone was stunned and thought that it did make some sense.

It seemed only natural for the Axe Gang to seize the dock and hand it over to the people from northern Anhui.

As their jobs were at stake, a dozen young men jumped down from the approach bridge, held up poles horizontally, and pretended to defend the dock. Gradually, more and more dock workers joined in.

Lou Jingyuan then stabilized the situation and ordered seventy or eighty young dock workers and a dozen Green Gang disciples to prepare for a head-on battle with the Axe Gang members led by Camel.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a burst of shouting and cursing came from not far behind.

"Lou Jingyuan, stop talking nonsense. The Axe Gang is here for you today. It has nothing to do with the other workers!"

Everyone was startled and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see that Chen Lixian had quietly arrived at the bank downstream with another team of Axe Gang members.

Chen Lixian came from the direction of the Bund. At first, he had only a dozen brothers with him. However, every time he passed a dock along the way, a dozen or twenty workers from Anhui Province would join him, under the banner of the Axe Gang. Their purpose was very simple - to seek justice for their fellow workers!

Workers from the same hometown connected with each other, and word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. The number of people gathered and the momentum grew.

When we got near Jinyuan Wharf, we saw crowds of people. A quick glance showed that there were no less than three hundred people.

At this point, it no longer matters whether the Axe Gang had robbed Sanjin Company of its local products.

What’s important is that people are willing to believe that the Axe Gang robbed the local products of the Sanjin Company; people are especially willing to believe that the “three big bosses” of the Green Gang are extremely afraid of Wang Laojiu from Anhui Province; and people are especially willing to believe that Wang Laojiu will support and make decisions for his fellow workers.

Then, everything began to become real.

Finally, on the west bank of the Huangpu River, two turbulent torrents converged towards Jinyuan Wharf at the same time.

It happened so quickly that Luotuo and Chen Lixian approached from the south and north respectively, and in the blink of an eye they had already rushed in front of the enemy. They put their right hands behind their backs and inserted them diagonally at their waists, and with a shake of their arms, the sharp blades of their axes were exposed.

The accompanying members stood with their poles raised, their momentum undiminished, and then bursts of shouting and roaring broke out.

The morale of the troops at Jinyuan Wharf immediately dropped.

Luotuo and Chen Lixian shouted intimidation: "All the workers on the dock, please stand aside. If anyone dares to protect the man named Lou, be careful that our axes have no eyes!"

Lou Jingyuan is right.

Gang fights may seem grand, but in fact, only a dozen or so people in the front row are actually capable of fighting, and the rest are just following suit to make up the numbers.

If they win, they'll sneak through the gaps between people and kick them a few times; if they lose, they'll turn around and run away without hesitation.

However, this theory not only applies to others, but also to himself.

Seeing that the enemy outnumbered us and the strength disparity was huge, the workers at Jinyuan Wharf immediately jumped back onto the approach bridge and watched from the sidelines.

Lou Jingyuan was attacked from all sides, and the riverside dock was blocked by cargo ships and workers, so he quickly called a few personal bodyguards and said, "Run, run to the French Concession!"

The Axe Gang has been planning this for a long time - Want to escape? Just dreaming!

Lou Jingyuan and the others scattered in a hurry, showing signs of defeat. Chen Lixian quickly led his men to rush up, chasing and intercepting them, swinging the sharp axe in his hand, and chopped two people in the blink of an eye, and their lives were in danger.

The young brother behind him held a long pole and poked and stabbed the bodyguard next to Lou Jingyuan in the face. He caught the right moment of force and flicked his wrist, actually popping out the bodyguard's eyeball, leaving only a bloody hole as wide as a finger on the right side of his face.

On the river bank, there were sudden screams and wails.

The Axe Gang members ran for their lives, climbed up the river bank, relied on their numbers, surrounded one person, and swooped down.

Seeing that he was trapped in a jar, Lou Jingyuan panicked and blocked left and right. Escorted by a few bodyguards, he stumbled all the way. After being hit several times, when he regained his senses, he realized that he had arrived at the entrance of the Jinyuan Wharf shop.

"Go in, go in, hold the door open. Hold it open a little longer. My uncle and the police will send someone to rescue us. Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Several people were in a panic and had no time to think carefully. They just rushed into the house, blocked the door, wiped the blood off their faces, and searched everywhere for a sharp weapon to defend themselves.

Lou Jingyuan rushed into the office, opened the drawer, and took out a box gun imitated from the Shanghai Arsenal. He held it in his hand, and just as he turned off the safety, he heard the sound of the glass window shattering, followed by a series of roars of smashing windows and doors, as if the whole house began to tremble slightly.

"boom!"

Lou Jingyuan subconsciously fired a shot out of the window, and shouted bravely: "Don't push them too far, or I'll kill anyone who comes in!"

A figure flashed outside the window, and there was silence for a moment.

Just when Lou Jingyuan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly saw three sharp axes flying in the air, crackling and piercing through the glass windows, and then continuing to chop down vertically by force of inertia.

One sword embedded itself in the table, one sword smashed the wall clock, and one sword brushed past Lou Jingyuan's ear and fell to the ground.

At the same time, there was a loud "clang" outside the house, and the door of the shop suddenly fell into pieces, turning into countless scattered wooden boards.

Chen Lixian broke in and led the Axe Gang members. In no time, they subdued all of Lou Jingyuan's bodyguards and then filed into the office.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Lou Jingyuan was about to escape through the window, but he didn't expect that the entire dock shop had been surrounded by the Axe Gang. At that moment, another sharp axe flew towards him, scaring him so much that he quickly ran away.

When I looked towards the door again, there were already twenty or thirty Axe Gang members gathered in the office.

"Don't come here, don't come here!"

Lou Jingyuan held the gun in both hands, glanced around, and unknowingly retreated to the wall, feeling terrified and extremely angry.

"I'll say it one last time, don't come over here! Whoever wants to die, just take a step forward and try!"

Chen Lixian stepped forward, smiling, and said in a gentle voice: "Manager Lou, don't be impulsive. Listen to me. Put down the gun and let's talk it out."

"Now that things have come to this, what else is there to talk about!" Lou Jingyuan roared to give himself courage.

"Of course there is something to talk about!" Chen Lixian smiled and said, "Manager Lou, I'm planning to introduce a friend to you!"

"Friend?" Lou Jingyuan was a little confused. "Who?"

Chen Lixian did not answer, but turned sideways and waved to his brothers.

Someone was passing a message at the door.

After a while, the Axe Gang members moved their feet and stepped aside to make way. Then Li Zhengxi was seen walking slowly into the office from outside the door.

Lou Jingyuan had never seen Xifeng before, so he immediately raised his gun, looking terrified and alert.

"Who are you?" He stuttered and threatened, "Don't come over here, stand there, don't come over here!"

Li Zhengxi did not retreat, and walked towards him, asking as he walked: "You dare to point a gun at me? You dare to point a gun at me!"

"Don't come over here. If you take another step, I'll shoot you. Do you know who my uncle is? I'm not afraid of killing people in Shanghai!"

"I have to remind you that one gun can't kill so many people." Li Zhengxi remained calm and explained the pros and cons. "If you don't shoot, you still have a chance to survive. If you shoot, even gods can't save you."

Lou Jingyuan swallowed his saliva, hesitated for a while, but still didn't put down the box gun.

"Are you sure you can kill me with just one shot, huh?" Li Zhengxi lifted up his shirt, revealing the Browning at his waist. "You're not the only one with a gun, think it over carefully. I'll say it again, put the gun down."

Lou Jingyuan weighed the pros and cons. Seeing that there were still hundreds of Axe Gang members outside the window who had not come in, he thought again and again, and finally placed the box gun on the table, pushed it gently, and slid it in front of Xifeng.

"Hey, that's right!"

Li Zhengxi approached step by step, looked him up and down, tilted his head and asked: "You are the only one called Lou Jingyuan?"

Lou Jingyuan trembled and said in a trembling voice: "Brother, we are all wandering around. We have our ups and downs, and everyone has their losses. We don't have any deep hatred, so don't push us to a dead end--"

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish his words, Li Zhengxi slapped him in the face: "I asked you if you are Lou Jingyuan."

Lou Jingyuan nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I am Lou Jingyuan——"

"Snapped!"

Li Zhengxi slapped him in the face again!

"You still hit me after I told you so?" Lou Jingyuan covered half of his cheek and cried out in injustice, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Li Zhengxi grinned, stretched out his palm and waved it in front of Lou Jingyuan, and said with a smile: "My hand is scratching, what's wrong, are you unhappy?"

"No no."

"Then again?"

"Is this necessary?"

"It is necessary. Be obedient. This is the last one."

After saying that, Li Zhengxi suddenly swung his arm, and with a loud "crack", he knocked Lou Jingyuan to the ground. He saw stars, his nose bled, and his cheeks twitched and swelled up quickly.

Lou Jingyuan just felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, his vision was full of red and his eyeballs were full of bloodshot.

Chen Lixian and others looked at each other in surprise, and became more curious about the Jiang family outside the Great Wall.

"Fuck you, I despise people like you who take advantage of others' power!"

Li Zhengxi grabbed Lou Jingyuan by the collar, pulled him up from the ground, pushed him against the wall, and slapped him several times in the face.

"Stop, stop!" Lou Jingyuan held his head and begged for mercy, "Brother... Brother, what on earth do you mean by Nong? From your accent, you don't sound like someone from northern Anhui!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Li Zhengxi grabbed Lou Jingyuan's neck and asked sternly, "Let me ask you, who is Zhang Xiaolin to you?"

"My... my uncle..."

"Who the hell is Du Yong to you?"

"My... ahem... my master."

Li Zhengxi dragged Lou Jingyuan horizontally to his side, then raised his foot and pushed him into the office chair, turning him over on his back.

"Brother, brother, what on earth are you doing?" Lou Jingyuan begged bitterly.

Li Zhengxi lifted up a chair, sat down, pointed his finger at Lou Jingyuan's nose and said, "Your master, your uncle, and that old bastard surnamed Huang, go back and tell them that the three of them owe my boss something, so pay it back as soon as possible."

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely pass on this message when I get back. The key point... the key point is who exactly is Nong Dongjia?"

"When the three of them go back and find the things, they will know who my boss is."

"What on earth is that thing?" Lou Jingyuan had no idea.

Li Zhengxi snorted coldly, and then uttered two words - visiting card!
(End of this chapter)