20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 574: A War Without Kindness and Justice (Part )
"Clang!"

In the southwest corner of the French Concession, there is a small courtyard owned by Li Guodong.

Jiang Lianheng sat alone on a bench in the side room. He picked up an axe, chopped two pieces of firewood and threw them into the brazier.

It was very quiet all around, as most of the brothers had gone out to do their own work, leaving him alone with three or two "Shuixiang" to guard the stronghold.

Rangers can act recklessly, but the leader cannot. There are too many things to consider. Without the leader, everything is in vain. Therefore, Jiang Lianheng can only prioritize his own safety and wait for his brothers to come back and report.

The humidity in the water town of Jiangnan is very high, and it is late autumn at the end of the year, so the nights are even colder and damper.

In the huge copper basin, the new firewood met the old fire and gradually burned, making the firewood crackle, sparks rise, and finally burned to ashes.

There is a warm light in my chest.

Jiang Lianheng was warming himself by the fire while staring at the firewood in the brazier, thinking about something and remaining silent.

At the end of the light, Huang Jute Pi was tied up, leaning against the wall, slumped on a bunch of dry grass, listless and silent, about to collapse.

His eyes were still covered with a black satin ribbon and his mouth was still not sealed, but he was tactful and understood the rules and never shouted loudly.

At first, Huang Ma Pi would ask questions intentionally or unintentionally, sometimes asking "Where are you from, brother?", sometimes asking "Can you tell me your number?", or simply asking directly: "Brother, how long do you plan to keep me locked up?"

However, all questions went unanswered.

As time went by, the old man felt that he was getting bored and gradually became tired. He stopped talking and became drowsy, as if he was half asleep.

"Crack!"

An old piece of firewood suddenly burned out.

The embers were still burning, and the light in the room slowly turned into a dark red hue.

Huang Jute Pi shuddered in response, cricket pupated a few times in the haystack, and then hummed and pretended to lie down.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Jiang Lianheng suddenly spoke.

"Old Huang?"

He stared at the firewood in the brazier and asked questions in a daze.

"Have!"

Huang Ma Pi hurriedly struggled to sit up.

Jiang Lianheng smiled, without looking at him, and said, "It's late at night, and you have nothing to do anyway, so tell me about the last time you were kidnapped!"

Huang Ma Pi smacked his lips. He naturally didn't want to talk about the embarrassing things in the past, but he really couldn't make the decision in the current situation. So he hesitated for a while before asking, "What do you want to hear about?"

"You are welcome to do whatever you want. I will listen to whatever you say."

"This……"

Huang Ma Pi thought for a moment and finally sorted out the whole story from beginning to end.

However, no matter what, he was a man who cared about his reputation, so whenever he talked about the details of the kidnapping and the suffering he had endured in the dungeon that day, he deliberately downplayed them; until he talked about how he was rescued and "met and laughed away all grudges" with the father and son of the Lu family, he started to write about it in great detail.

Finally, he muttered to himself: "Alas, that matter was just a misunderstanding after all. It's all over now, over..."

"Then have you ever thought about taking revenge on Mr. Lu?"

"Ah? No, no, absolutely not!"

Huang Ma Pi was horrified, and seemed to be still in shock. He quickly shook his head and denied it, saying, "He is the son of the governor. How could I possibly want to take revenge? My business still depends on General Lu. Brother, don't talk nonsense. I don't have that intention... Uh, do you know Mr. Lu?"

"Didn't I tell you that I don't know him?" Jiang Lianheng said impatiently, "I'm just asking casually. You've lost so much face, what are you thinking? I'm curious."

"No! I don't have any idea! If I have to have any idea, I would only be grateful. I am grateful to General Lu for his magnanimity, and to Master Lu for his generosity!"

Huang Jute Pi spoke with certainty.

Obviously, he still doubted Jiang Lianheng's identity.

After all, the Lu family is now the most powerful warlord in Jiangnan. Even if Huang Mapi had eight hundred times more courage, he would not dare to say anything different.

But Jiang Lianheng didn't buy it. He immediately picked up a piece of firewood from the brazier, suddenly approached Huang Mapi's face, and whispered, "Old Huang, if you dare to fool me with this kind of nonsense again, I will stuff this piece of firewood into your mouth!"

This scene seems familiar.

Huang Mapi only felt a burst of heat in front of him, and even the hair on his face curled up immediately. He hurriedly stepped back, begging for mercy.

"No, no, no, I'm telling the truth. Even if...even if I want to take revenge, my disciples won't agree!"

Jiang Lianheng took back the firewood, nodded and said, "You seem to be telling the truth this time."

"I never lie!" Huang Ma Pi complained. "If I say I want revenge now, Master Lu will probably know about it tomorrow morning! No one will support me, not A Yong, and even less Zhang Xiaolin. By then, I'm afraid that before I can take revenge on them, I will be wiped out by those guys!"

Everyone thinks that if one becomes a leader, he or she will be able to gain the support of hundreds of people and thousands of disciples will go through fire and water for him or her.

Little do they know that when they really sit on the throne, many things are no longer under their control. It would be better to be alone and wander the streets.

There was silence for a long time.

There are some things that only those who are in the same situation can resonate with and communicate with.

For a moment, Jiang Lianheng and Huang Mapi, although they were enemies, inexplicably felt a sense of empathy.

Jiang Lianheng fiddled with the brazier twice and said with some emotion: "This is the handle of the dragon's head."

"Ah, what's the dragon head and ladle handle!" Huang Ma Pi suddenly sighed, "In fact, I am just the head of a family! Every day when I open my eyes, so many people all rely on me for food, drink, defecation, urination and sleep. If my hands are not black, how can I feed so many people?"

Obviously, this is just an excuse for greed and a sophistry of profit.

But Huang Ma Pi didn't think there was anything wrong, and continued to talk to himself: "Brother, I see that you are also a person who is in charge of the family. I guess you have been in the underworld for many years, right?"

Jiang Lianheng thought about it, but shook his head and said, "Not really. I just got out of this in a muddle."

"Oh, brother, don't be too modest! Nowadays, everyone gets to where they are by accident. You must be destined to be rich and have a noble person to help you!"

"What do you want to say?"

"Alas, there is nothing to say, in fact, they are all the same!"

Huang Ma Pi seemed to be moved as well, and said, "For those who work in this business, what we have under our control is not a pack of dogs, but a den of wolves. If we give them meat today, they will behave themselves; but if we can't provide meat one day, they will turn around and eat us first!"

"Is this how you comfort yourself?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

"How can this be a comfort? This is the truth, isn't it?"

"What's the truth?" "The truth is, I'm not short of money at all. If you're short of money, I'll ask my family to send gold bars to redeem you."

"No need to discuss."

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about it."

Huang Ma Pi hurriedly changed his words and said, "What I mean is that my family property is enough for me to spend. Even if I lie and say that it is not enough for me to spend, you will definitely not believe it. But I have enough to spend, what about my apprentices? Even if I don't want to steal other people's business, my apprentices will force me to do it. My way of making money is their way of making money. If I retire, they will not agree. Do you understand what I mean?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded: "So, you dare not retaliate against Mr. Lu."

"If it were you, would you dare to retaliate against him?"

Jiang Lianheng looked down at the embers in the brazier, remained silent for a long time, and ultimately did not answer.

If it were a dozen years ago, he would have answered without hesitation: He dares!

Moreover, he would not hesitate to put his thoughts of revenge into action.

But now it’s different. He is no longer “I have to rely on myself anyway”.

He has a large family with a wife, children and the elderly to take care of, and more than a dozen brothers who are as close as brothers to him depend on him for food. He has long been unable to do things based on his own likes and dislikes. He doesn't know when it started, but he no longer lives for himself - if he falls, all these people will be doomed!
Only at this point did Jiang Lianheng finally have a deep understanding of why his seven uncles had all remained bachelors their entire lives.

Isn’t the affection of “Chuan’erhong” for “Sea Owl” obvious enough?

"What's the name of that poem?" Jiang Lianheng suddenly remembered a Song Dynasty poem that his uncle had taught him.

"What poem?" Huang Ma Pi was stunned and naturally didn't understand the meaning.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, a faint chanting sound came from outside the door.

"I always regret that this body is not mine. When will I forget the hustle and bustle?"

"Who the hell is yelling at the door?"

Jiang Lianheng cursed loudly, and then he saw the door open a crack, and Chuanghu poked his head in and asked:

"Boss, you are talking about this one, right? This is the lyrics!"

"Get lost and stop talking nonsense!"

Chuanghu nodded and bowed, and quickly said with a smile: "Boss, that..." He glanced at Huang Mapi, "Then whoever is back, Hubi."

Jiang Lianheng stood up in response, and while walking towards the door, he ordered Chuanghu: "You stay here and watch him."

After saying that, he opened the door, walked through the courtyard, and took a few steps towards the main entrance when he saw Zhao Guoyan and others standing with their hands hanging down with embarrassed looks on their faces.

He glanced at the crowd, counted them, and found that a few were missing. Jiang Lianheng had already guessed the general idea in his mind.

"Boss, I'm embarrassed for you."

Zhao Guoyan lowered his head and spoke in a muffled voice. Even though they had killed many Qing Gang disciples tonight, they had not been able to pursue the most important target. Zhang Xiaolin's life or death was uncertain, so they could only speculate based on the worst-case scenario.

Jiang Lianheng's face suddenly turned gloomy.

When the brothers saw this, they all cried out for justice.

"Boss, you can't blame us for this! Something might have gone wrong with the Third Master, and none of the bodyguards at the Zhang Mansion have been transferred away!"

"Yes, and the people in the Du Mansion seemed to have been prepared in advance. The Du family didn't come back all night, and Zhang Xiaolin was rescued halfway!"

"Is the Third Master back now?"

Seeing that everyone was blaming each other and gradually trying to involve Li Zhengxi, Zhao Guoyan was immediately furious and turned around and cursed: "Shut up, are you still a man? What excuses are you making?"

After saying that, Zhao Guoyan knelt down in front of Jiang Lianheng with a plop and took all the responsibility on himself.

"Boss, the plan has changed just now. I was the one who asked everyone to take action. If there is any punishment, it should be me. The brothers have fought for their lives just now. Please give me a favor, Boss!"

Seeing the "Jiang Family Protector" act like this, all the brothers immediately shut up and knelt down without saying anything else. They only said, "I accept the punishment too!"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard hurried footsteps coming from outside the courtyard gate.

Jiang Lianheng looked up and saw Li Zhengxi holding a blunt-edged machete in his left hand and a mirrored box in his right hand. His clothes were disheveled, he was panting heavily, staggering and stumbling, and he led three bandits and rushed into the courtyard.

Seeing Xifeng's face covered in blood, the brothers couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. They went to take a closer look before they breathed a sigh of relief.

The blood on my face is the blood of my enemy.

Li Zhengxi only suffered some scratches and was not seriously injured. However, he had just been through a fierce battle and was inevitably exhausted.

I hurried forward to inquire and only then did I know the whole story of the fight at Shilipu Wharf.

It turned out that the Guangdong Gang crossed the Huangpu River at night, came out in full force, and attacked the shore. Li Zhengxi and his companions fought and retreated, and finally returned to the Anhui Hometown Association Hall. The Axe Gang leader came forward to fight, and the two sides made a big fuss in the French Concession, which finally attracted the French police to come and put pressure on them.

However, this time, Lao Chai from the police station did not take sides. Instead, at the instruction of Huang Ma Pi, he focused on suppressing the Guangdong Gang.

Wang Huai-Meng, the gang leader who caused trouble in Heaven, killed two Lao Chai on the spot, which alarmed the top brass of the French police station. They then sent in several more Annan patrolmen and issued a killing order, and only then were they able to drive the Guangdong gang out of the French Concession.

It seems that the Green Gang is the oldest secret society in Shanghai; the Guangdong Gang is the business gang with the deepest roots in Shanghai, and the Chaozhou Gang is the wealthiest local product merchants in Shanghai.

These three forces joined forces to hunt down the Axe Gang, and no one would be able to resist them.

The Jiang family has few members, so they can only rely on surprise attacks to win.

Unfortunately, most of the time things don’t go as planned, and it is difficult to take risks and take everything into consideration.

When most of the plan is completed, that is human calculation; when countless enemies are killed and the time comes to bite the bullet, that is God's calculation.

At this point, both Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi were trembling with fear and did not dare to look up at Jiang Lianheng.

If these two are like this, there is no need to say more about the other "Xiangzi".

If it were in the past, Jiang Lianheng would have been furious and held everyone accountable.

However, for some reason tonight, Jiang Lianheng was rarely angry. Instead, he stared at his brothers in a daze, suddenly patted Zhao Guoyan's shoulder, then pinched Li Zhengxi's arm, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers!"

Everyone was stunned and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Jiang Lianheng continued, "After all, this is not our home. As the head of the family, I have not been able to pave the way for you guys in an official manner, so you don't have to blame yourself too much. Guo Yan, remember to write down the names of the brothers who got into trouble, and take good care of their families afterwards."

As he spoke, he suddenly raised his watch, looked at the time, and muttered to himself:

"The Guangdong Gang... is only one step away. Let's wait a little longer! Also, send a telegram home tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)