Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu wandered around the city for a long time, and after making sure that no one was following him, he came to the Taiping Inn in the city.

Because Jinling Mansion is one of the most prosperous places in the world, there are not only merchants from all walks of life, but also overseas visitors. It can be said that people from all over the world gather here, so the Taiping Inn here is open twelve hours, and it is not isolated. .

When Qi Xuansu arrived at Taiping Inn, he saw that the entire lobby was brightly lit, and the night-time shopkeeper stood behind the counter, with a waiter next to him.

Qi Xuansu didn't waste any time. He changed his identity as the man in black and opened a room as Wei Wugui, spending sixty peacetime and covering it for a month. After all, after he started to carry out the tasks assigned to him by Lei Xiaohuan, if he could not return to Zhenwu Temple unless necessary, he would need a place to stay. The Taiping Inn, with its frequent personnel movements, was undoubtedly the best choice.

After completing the check-in procedures, Qi Xuansu followed the waiter to his room. After all, it cost up to 60 Taiping. It was called a room, but it was actually a small independent courtyard.

Entering the courtyard, Qi Xuansu said to the waiter: "I will call you if something happens, but don't come in normally."

This kind of request is not unusual. The clerk has seen it many times, so he is not surprised and agrees directly.

After the waiter left, Qi Xuansu looked around and did some tricks on the courtyard door, room door, and window. If someone entered his room while he was away, he would be able to detect it immediately when he came back.

Then Qi Xuansu put on the clothes of a Jianghu man here, waited until dawn, and then left through the side door of Taiping Inn.

Qi Xuansu inquired all the way and came to a breakfast shop. He ordered a basket of soup dumplings and a bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup, both of which are famous delicacies in Jinling Prefecture. He also put the horizontal knife on the table.

After a while, a young man dressed as a scholar came here, looked around, and sat directly opposite Qi Xuansu. He ordered a bowl of chicken soup wontons and specifically asked to add some balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar of Dantu Mansion is also excellent.

Qi Xuansu smiled and said, "Brother Tantai."

The person who came was none other than Zhang Yuelu, but he used the identity of Tantai Chu, just like Qi Xuansu used the identity of Wei Wugui.

Since Pei Xiaolou said that he could speak frankly to Zhang Yuelu no matter what, then of course Qi Xuansu would not hide it from Zhang Yuelu and went to see Zhang Yuelu before going to Tianji Hall.

After Zhang Yuelu learned about this, his attitude was supportive. In addition to telling Qi Xuansu to be careful, he asked Qi Xuansu to wait for her here and then talk in detail.

Qi Xuansu had been to Jinling Mansion before, but he was not familiar with it, so he had to ask all the way to find this breakfast shop. To be honest, the taste is quite good. I don’t know how Zhang Yuelu, a person who is fasting, found it.

Zhang Yuelu stared at Qi Xuansu's face fiercely, as if he was not used to it.

Qi Xuansu coughed lightly and turned away.

Zhang Yuelu didn't say anything. He picked up the spoon, poured some chicken soup, and drank it in small sips.

Qi Xuansu also lowered his head to eat the soup dumplings.

Zhang Yuelu suddenly said: "I once read a Western poem: 'The ancient night and distant music are eternal, but they do not belong to me.'"

Qi Xuansu thought for a while and said: "I don't like this poem. I think the night and music must belong to us. After all, the rainbow always follows the wind and rain."

Zhang Yuelu couldn't help but smile, and then said: "Let's get down to business, where do you plan to start?"

Qi Xuansu said honestly: "I don't have a clue yet, so I have to ask you, the female middle school Wuhou, for advice."

"Don't be such a talker." Zhang Yuelu said, "I dare not say that I am right. I can only give you a suggestion."

"Okay, you say it." Qi Xuansu put on a good-natured attitude.

Zhang Yuelu pondered slightly and said, "I think we should start with the local beggar gang."

Wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and there are many gangs in the rivers and lakes. These gangs do not have unified teachers and are engaged in various livelihoods. For example, the Cao Gang who relies on the Grand Canal for food is one of them. Its members are millions of Cao workers. host. In every big city, there are similar gangs, namely the Beggar Gang.

As the name suggests, the members of the Beggar Gang are mainly beggars, and the gang leader is also called the "King of Beggars". He is considered a semi-official figure, and the government relies on them for many things. Taoism believes that everything in the world is divided into yin and yang, so the same is true for the government. As the saying goes, the imperial power does not go to the countryside, but wants to govern the lower classes. The government has two legs. One is the gentry, who are the yang, and the other is the beggars, who are the yin. This combination of yin and yang is the government's method of governing the lower classes.

What beggars do on a daily basis is not just begging. There are a large number of middle-aged men in the beggar gang. In addition to begging, they also do various side jobs that ordinary people are not willing to do, such as guarding the village, watching the streets, collecting unclaimed corpses, and filling in weddings and weddings. The number of people, and even the establishment of a ghost market, all kinds of tomb robberies, stolen goods, etc., foreign bandits, thieves, flower girls and other low-ranking people want to do business in and outside the city, and they also get local beggar gangs to come and pay homage to the mountain. Seek refuge.

In addition, many Renyazi also have relationships with the Beggar Clan. To put it bluntly, Renyazi is just a middleman, and the "source of goods" is provided by the Beggar Clan. Many maids and servants who were sold by wealthy families were also resold by Renyazi to the Beggar Clan. , and then the beggars take action.

Then there are those who act as thugs. Most beggars have no family and no shelter. If they are killed in a fight, there will be no consequences, and the pension will be even meager. So every time there is a fight, it is when their business is open.

The Beggar King has absolute power over the lives and deaths of the beggars. He enjoys the worship of the beggars. Not only does he have fine clothes and fine food, and he has slaves and maids, but he also has many wives and concubines. He is almost the same as a wealthy gentry family.

The members of the Beggar Clan hardly travel around the world, but are scattered in major towns, and they are not affiliated with each other. In other words, the Beggar Clan in Jinling Prefecture and the Beggar Clan in Imperial Capital are both beggar cliques, but they have nothing to do with each other. The power of the beggar gang is closely related to the local government. As the government becomes more powerful, the beggar gang becomes weaker. The more inactive the government is, the easier it will be for the Beggar Clan to grow bigger.

The power of the Beggar Gang reached its peak in the late Wei Dynasty due to famine, war, and political chaos. However, after the Daxuan court seized power, it carried out large-scale rectification of beggar gangs. Many beggar gangs were completely disintegrated. The Beggar King was beheaded and his house was ransacked. No one with a murder case was spared. The remaining members were all sent to Liaozhou for reclamation. Military camp.

The Daxuan court's thunderbolt methods made the Beggar Gang almost extinct for a time. However, in the past hundred years, the Daxuan court has been different from the Qingming Dynasty in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Therefore, the Beggar Gang has revived and became a leg of the government again.

As a person who has been in the world for a long time, Qi Xuansu certainly knows about the existence of the beggar gang, but he rarely interacts with the beggar gang.

"This is a good idea." Qi Xuansu said thoughtfully, "Compared with secret societies, the power of the Beggar Gang is really nothing, but they are real local snakes and must be well-informed. But the current situation is that some of you I, you are among me, it is difficult to distinguish between myself and the enemy, I cannot reveal my identity at will, and I am an outsider, how can I get in touch with these local snakes? "

Zhang Yuelu hesitated for a moment and said: "Cihang's lineage is quite influential in Jinling Mansion. I have a senior sister named Bai. She may have some connections."

"Chief Deputy Palace Master Bai Yingqiong?" Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu nodded and said: "Yes. However, the attitude of my senior sister is quite ambiguous. Although she is a member of the righteous Taoist movement and is my master's disciple, she has been rooted in Jiangnan Taoist House for many years, and there are inevitably stakes involved. I am trying my best to win over her. I want to come. There are not many changes, after all, the master is still here.”

This is also reasonable. Unless Master Cihang succeeds in becoming the head master, Bai Yingqiong can already see the end of his future. No matter how focused on the overall situation, Zhang Yuelu is the biggest beneficiary, which makes Bai Yingqiong not take any risks. Motivation, but no matter what, the current leader of Cihang's lineage is still Cihang, not Zhang Yuelu, so Bai Yingqiong still has to be cautious and maintain a neutral attitude.

Qi Xuansu thought sharply for a while and said, "That's all it can do."

In fact, Qi Xuansu still had a line, but he couldn't tell Zhang Yuelu clearly.

That is the Qingpinghui.

The Qingping Society has a small number of members, but each member has multiple identities. Key people in key positions often have unexpected effects. This is the fundamental reason why Lei Xiaohuan chose him to perform this task. It's just that Qiniang hasn't arrived at Jinling Mansion yet, and Qi Xuansu can't wait in vain. Instead, he can start with the Beggar Gang.

Zhang Yuelu finally said: "I will go to see Senior Sister Bai again, and I will give you the news in three days or one day. You can also go and find out the details first."