June 13.

Pizhou, outside the north gate of the town.

The sun was blazing, and it was scorching on the ground, as if it was about to roast everything around it.

Gao Yan and a man wearing a hat and rolled trouser legs walked on the road of Fengcheng Street in Beiguan, surrounded by chaotic houses and potholes on the dirt road, in addition to the pervasive smell of garbage, there was also a faint fishy smell.

There are Zhou Lake and Liuhu Lake ten miles away from the north gate here, and then more than 20 miles, there are Man Lake and Clam Lake, and the water of the Yi River flows to the west of the city.

"Brother Gao, we were a family hundreds of years ago, so we will be this guarantor and guarantee this good thing to you." The man with his trouser legs curled up looked simple and ordinary, but his words were earth-shattering, "What's the point of walking on your feet?" The hard days of being full of hunger and hunger are often beaten and scolded. It's the same life, why don't you find a good job? As long as you join the gang, I will ensure that you eat meat and drink wine in a big bowl, which is happiness. ”

Gao Yan said gratefully: "Thank you Brother Gao for lifting up, my brother will not forget Brother Gao's kindness." ”

He is the thug Gao Yan of the "New Shunyi Footwalk", after the conflict that day, Teng Zhi'an, the "little head" of the footwalk, was worried that the footman Gao Yunjing was involved with Liu Dayou, the shopkeeper of Pizhou Chaotian Pot. As a result, when the news came, Gao Yunjing was involved in the relationship with the shopkeeper Liu, and became a shipper in the restaurant.

Teng Zhi'an is much more cautious now, and sometimes when he sees Gao Yunjing even rarely showing a smile, Gao Yan is not angry, but he is rejected and scolded, and he feels that he can't get along with his feet. happened to have known him for half a year, and the bold brother Gao Jun introduced him to join the gang, and Gao Yan naturally changed his career.

Of course, Gao Yan knew what "joining" meant, but he didn't care, his parents died when he was a child, and he wandered outside alone for many years, and he did everything to survive. Especially after doing the "New Shunyi Foot Walk", there is more than one life in his hands, and his heart is as dark as something.

From beating lang to bandit, in his opinion, he is just a guy who eats, and he is fighting with his life.

And compared to the foot-walking thugs, the bandits' backers are heavy, and they are atmospheric when they say it. Thinking of this, Gao Yan thought that he was different, and he looked at the people on the street with arrogance, making others look at them with surprise and fear.

Looking at Gao Yan's appearance, Gao Jun frowned: "Brother Gao, if you want to join the gang, you have to put away your green skin, and it's best not to let others notice you, you know." ”

Gao Yan hurriedly said: "Thank you Brother Gao for waking up, brother knows." But he was a little disappreciative in his heart, and his mind drifted to the other side of the dock, secretly hating the porter Gao Yunjing, and even the "little head" Teng Zhi'an.

He thought to himself, when he made a world, he would definitely want these two to look good.

Especially that Gao Yunjing, a white bear, dare to give himself a face, what Huangzi?

The two of them walked on the street, sweating on a hot day, and finally, when they were one mile away from the city gate, Gao Jun took Gao Yan into an alley. Dozens of steps deeper, a slightly better house appeared behind the thatched reed house, but the brick walls were still broken and the eaves were peeling.

At this time, the door was closed, and Gao Jun went up and knocked on the door, the technique was light or heavy, which seemed to be a kind of code.

Gao Yan waited, suddenly a little flustered, he looked around, it was very quiet next to him, and there was a Dongyue temple next to the house, but it seemed that the incense was not prosperous.

Soon the latch opened, and several men appeared faintly, it was very dark inside, Gao Yan couldn't see their expressions clearly, but he always felt that these people had an indescribable sense of oppression, completely different from the thugs on the dock, and his heart was shocked, and he was in a cold sweat.

He heard Gao Jun whispering to a few men, and one man said, is this the person? He also looked cold.

Gao Jun said yes, and said that the Gao Yan brothers "have a clean net worth, clear heels, and can join the gang".

The man looked at Gao Yan for a while, and when he saw that his heart was chilling, he nodded.

They went in and went to a room, and the man said, "We are in the wind and rain, and we are doing business with our heads. If you don't have a sponsor and hang the pillar yourself, you have to pass through the hall, two plates and three plates. But with the Gao Jun brothers as guarantors, it's simple, just set up a note. ”

As he spoke, he took out a note and read it to Gao Yan, on which there were words such as "Flying Horses and Dust, regardless of life and death", as well as the name of the person who was raised and the name of the person who joined the gang, and showed it to Gao Yan.

Gao Yan was illiterate, so according to the meaning of Gao Jun's eldest brother, he drew a charge and pressed his handprint, and the man's complexion was a little pale, and he accepted the note.

His expression was solemn, and he turned solemnly and said: "Since the inquest is clear, Brother Gao Yan is his own person, worship incense and join the gang!" ”

They held an induction ceremony in a large house, including Gao Jun, several men lined up on both sides, with solemn expressions.

Then in front of the hall, there is a shrine written on red paper "Guan Sheng Emperor", a candle table is set up to make offerings, and nineteen incense sticks are burned, which are inserted in five piles, three in the front and four in the back, five on the left and six on the right, one of them.

Gao Yan stood in front of the throne with three sticks of incense in his hand under the guidance of Gao Jun's eldest brother, and swore with him: "The emperor is above, and I, Gao Yan, come to join the gang today, and I will have the same heart as the brothers." If I don't have one heart, I'd rather have five thunders in the sky and let the big boss intervene in me. Now that I have joined the gang, I will be of one heart with all the brothers, and I will not betray my brothers and abide by the rules. If I violate, I will be cut by a thousand knives, the corpses of the five dogs will be divided, and the liver and brain will be smeared, and I will be allowed to be intervened by the big boss!"

After taking the oath, Gao Yan knelt in front of Guan Yunchang's throne uprightly, respectfully kowtowed three heads, and folded the incense in his hand into two, indicating that if he violated this oath, the end would be the same as the incense in his hand. At this point, the incense worship ceremony ended, and Gao Yan officially became a member of the bandits.

Several men glanced at each other and nodded slightly, and the man said, "Okay, Brother Gao Yan, from today onwards, we are like a family like flesh and blood." ”

He commanded: "Come, pour blood wine!" ”

There was a man who came out with a wine jar, and everyone poured a large bowl of wine in front of him, and dripped chicken blood, and raised the bowl together.

The man said: "From now on, they are all brothers, they have money to use together, they have meat to eat together, and women to play and drink together!" ”

Everyone looked solemn and raised their bowls and drank them all.

Gao Yan's heart was excited, he felt a sense of ritual, that sense of dependence, and that exciting feeling, which he didn't have in the footwalk before.

He looked at everyone, and after drinking, they all dropped the bowl in their hands, and smiled at each other, like a family like flesh and blood, which made Gao Yan even hotter, and had an urge to roar and shout.

In the end, all the ceremonies ended, and the man said for the new Gao Yan brothers that the team was taboo and disciplined, roughly four covenants, eight reward rules, eight chopping rules, the most prominent point is "not to sell the rivers and lakes", and "no draft".

That is, it is forbidden to sell brothers, and it is forbidden to embezzle stolen money and goods, these two articles are absolutely prohibited, and if any of them are violated, they will be punished by gouging out their eyes, cutting their tendons, and stabbing them three times.

In the past, there were prohibitions such as "don't pick flowers" and "rabbits don't eat grass by the nest", but now that the world is declining, these two are like nothing for many bandits. Especially for some village bandits, rabbits eat grass by the nest, and what they particularly like is to kidnap tickets and blackmail people in the same village.

There are many prohibitions, and those who dare to violate them have severe punishment methods waiting for them, such as "burying them alive", "carrying hair", "hanging armor", "wearing flowers", "looking at the sky" and so on.

In particular, "looking at the sky" is a very cruel criminal law, that is, the victim is inserted into the buttocks by a small green willow tree with a thin bowl mouth and a sharp end, and after letting go, the person is picked up to the sky, and finally dies in great pain.

All kinds of cruel punishments are also to tell the people who join the gang that if they become bandits, they must go all the way to the dark, and they must obey the orders, and they must not have any luck to escape, otherwise what awaits them will be a miserable end.

However, the man also told Gao Yan that their team also had a future, and they were much more disciplined than other bandits. For example, there are many halls, and the structure is clear, and the responsibilities are detailed, the military division is the military division, and the book office is the book office. There are also bookkeepers, patrols, commands, sentinels, etc., each performing its own duties and not exceeding each other.

This one of them is a group of people under the Sentinel Hall, and there are all kinds of leaders on it, which can be described as a large number of people and a bright future.

The man told Gao Yan that he heard Brother Gao Jun say that Brother Gao Yan can fight and give up his life? Such an elite is what the team needs. After doing a few votes, he may not be able to become a big bone, and he may even be introduced to Mama's side.

Instructed Gao Jun to continue to be in charge of Gao Yan's affairs, warned him of some precautions, let him receive the treatment and equipment he deserved, etc., the man asked Gao Jun and others to go down, he sat in the house for a while, then got up and walked out of the house, turned east and west, and soon entered the Dongyue Temple next to him.

He entered the wing room, and a young man was sitting here, with a green shirt and a scarf, and his literary quality was polite, and it was Zhao Huanlu, a student in the "Unenvious Immortal" teahouse that day.

Seeing the man come in, Zhao Huanlu glanced at him: "How many newcomers have you recruited?" ”

The man stood with his hands down, and said respectfully: "Back to the young master, there have been more than 20 people hanging on the pillar recently, all of whom are homeless and innocent homeless people, and it is not easy for the government to find out the roots. ”

Zhao Huanlu tapped his finger on the side of him, and he said slowly: "From today onwards, don't recruit people from Pizhou." Then Lord Yang set up a patrol and arrest bureau in Pizhou, and wanted to set up a joint defense. The joint defense team is all locals, and they know the roots of Guan Xiang, and no matter how homeless they are, they are easy to be caught. ”

He seemed to have a good reputation, and as soon as he said it, the man said respectfully: "Yes, the little one will go to Suqian, and Shuyang will think of a way." ”

Zhao Huanlu nodded and instructed the man: "These newcomers have joined the gang, and they can't be idle, and they can't do big stock trading, so let them go to the countryside to tie up some meat tickets." Those who can be used are lifted, and those who are not able to be used are buried. Be careful, don't do it in the city area just yet. ”

The man replied respectfully, "Yes." ”

For their bandits, the way to make money is to loot and ransom with tickets, but it is not easy to loot and loot, and it is necessary to dispatch a large team of men and horses, and they must also be sentinels in advance to understand, determine the virtual and real geography of each robbery location, the offensive route, the direction of wealth, how to retreat and respond, etc., the movement is very big.

It's much easier to tie up tickets, just a few people.

After the man went, Zhao Huanlu was still sitting in the wing, he thought silently for a while, and then shook his fan out of the temple.

He went to another alley to the street, and from time to time someone greeted him "Zhao Maocai", with a respectful demeanor, in the Ming Dynasty, Xiucai was always respected.

Zhao Huanlu smiled and nodded, he leisurely shook the folding fan, and went to the northeast corner of Fengcheng Street, where there are temples such as the Three Emperor Temple, the Xuandi Temple, and the Temple of the Overlord of Western Chu.

Soon Zhao Huanlu arrived near the Temple of the Overlord of Western Chu, where there was a large mansion with several entrances, built on a high platform, with strict protection and waterproofing, showing that the financial identity of the owner of the house was quite unusual.

When he entered the house, the servants and subordinates were all capable, and it seemed that even some rough maids and women were not simple.

Zhao Huanlu went straight into the lobby and asked a long casual question: "Where is the master?" ”

The chief said: "Back to the young master, the master is discussing with a few heroes in the second hall." ”