"When I woke up in the morning, the sun was high, and I felt a tide in my heart, so I walked around the teahouse."

"Clear soup noodles, crispy fire, Longjing tea aroma."

"Mixed with dried shreds, high flavor, crab shell yellow, mille-feuille cake, jade roasted wheat, three Ding buns."

The quality of life of Yangzhou people is quite high, and Li Ling has been following Lu Liansheng and You Fei for more than a month to live a life of "skin with water" in the morning and "water with water" at night. I ate a lot of restaurants and restaurants, and occasionally went to Ye Wan's exquisite courtyard as a guest, and my life was quite comfortable. It's just that the peaceful life didn't last a few days. Deputy Uncle Yan Baoqi sent someone to summon him.

The three of them rushed to the designated place, and they were outside the city gate of Yangzhou. I saw that Yan Baoqi, the deputy uncle of the criminal department, was already waiting there, and there were about 20 Hongmen people and seven or eight bundles of sturdy carriages parked on the side of the road. In addition, Shen Zhongkui, who had a grudge against Li Ling for killing his son, watched coldly.

Lu Liansheng sighed slightly, the twenty or so Hongmen men were all people who had gaps or estrangements with Yan Baoqi, and they knew that this was his means to eliminate dissidents, and it was not easy to break it.

Yan Baoqi has always had a small belly, and he holds the command power of the mountain hall to dispatch troops, and those who go along will prosper and those who rebel will die, it is not a time to use means to clean up the mountain gate, but this time it is a little big, and it is justified, so that people can't speak.

Seeing the arrival of the three of them, Yan Baoqi said to Lu Liansheng: "You are the fifth child of Shantang, and your shoulders should be the main beam." Be sure to do things to perfection, and I will take credit for you on the day of triumph. This time the matter is up to you, and if someone violates the rules of the gang, you can cut it first. Narrow eyes stared at Li Ling thoughtfully. Let's Li Ling's hair stood on end.

"In addition, the matter of transportation is very important, and the carriage cannot be uncovered in the middle, and if anyone violates it, he should be punished by the Hongmen Gang, so everyone must remember it. Come on, Zhuang Xing wine. Yan Baoqi admonished everyone.

Li Ling was suspicious in his heart, since it was to protect the arms transported, he was not allowed to open it. If there is a heavy snowstorm, it will be put on the carriage and ignored. My heart moved, and I remembered that when I robbed the dock in Qingdao, I thought that the Northeast Gang ships were transporting ginseng and deer antlers, but I didn't expect it to be a batch of **, is there anything strange in it today.

The person who was already standing next to him slapped the mud seal of the wine jar, and each person slowly poured a bowl of wine and drank a bowl with Yan Baoqi.

Lu Liansheng wiped his mouth, raised his eyebrows, and shouted: "All the brothers go on the road together, and we will go through the wind, rain, ice, and fire." ”

The crowd applauded. Everyone is not a fool, they know that they are plotted by others, and they all know that this operation is dangerous, and they may not go back, but they can't disobey the order, and they all feel a little indignant.

"Bang", "bang", "bang", they smashed the empty bowls on the ground, and then pulled up the carriage and walked away without looking back. Yan Baoqi, who had not finished speaking, was a little embarrassed.

Everyone's mood was quite heavy, and they were all thinking about their hearts without saying a word. Lu Liansheng, as the leader of this time, has a handsome face tightened, and has repeatedly performed miraculous feats in Chunbaoshan over the years, but he ended up like this, which can't help but be a little sad. You Fei looked left and right like no one else, but in fact, his heart was not as calm as it seemed. And Li Ling knew that in order to protect themselves, these two righteous brothers did not hesitate to open the deputy hall master for criminal punishment before being carried out on this dangerous mission, and his heart was full of apologies.

The carriage left Yangzhou City and slowly advanced in Xiao and solemn. Suddenly, I heard a long neighing sound of a horse, and when I looked closely, I saw Ye Wan, the seventh sister of Hongmen, standing in the middle of the road, smiling and waiting for everyone to approach slowly.

Lu Liansheng squeezed out a smile and said, "Is the seventh sister here to see off the brothers?" It's okay, our brothers and sisters have been saying goodbye to each other for many years. ”

"Poof" smiled, Ye Wan was coquettish, and said: "Why do you look like life and death, I will act with you this time, Brother Lian Sheng don't want to play with me." ”

Lu Liansheng was shocked and said, "This time the road is dangerous, and it must not be." Seventh Sister is still waiting for our news in Yangzhou City, if you go together, it will be difficult for someone to maintain your safety. ”

Ye Wan smiled: "Li Ling's kung fu is good, it's good to have him to protect me, I must go with you this time." ”

With a wry smile, Li Ling said: "I can't protect myself, how can I protect the safety of the seventh sister, you better not go." Lu Liansheng also said categorically: "This time the stakes are very high, you must not go together, and you must not be willful." ”

Ye Wan, who was still smiling, suddenly turned red at the corner of her eyes, and said with a straight face: "In the past two years in Chunbao Mountain Hall, I have been maintained by all my brothers everywhere, especially Brother Lian Sheng has always spoiled me. Now you are going to the north to deliver munitions, and this is a life of death. If I wait for your bad news in Yangzhou City, it is better to go to this difficulty together, even if you want to die, you can be together. ”

Her pitiful whispers are so categorical that people can't refuse. Everyone was a little moved. Especially Lu Liansheng has been secretly in love with her for the past few years, but he can't find a chance to confess, but it turns out that Ye Wan knows everything, and there are some women who marry with their husbands, and there is some sweetness in her heart. swept away Fang Cai's bald mood and said: "Since the seventh sister lives and dies together, all of us should not live up to the seventh sister's heart." I've brought a few shell guns with me, and we've distributed them. You Fei took a few people to ride a horse to explore the road ahead, Li Ling and a few people broke off behind, and I protected the vehicle in the middle. If there is danger, everyone will respond to it. We break into the tiger's den in Longtan. ”

Everyone was infected by his pride and ambition, and they were full of fighting spirit, and they took action one after another, making their respective division of labor clear. You Fei took a few people with guns first. After Li Ling was arranged, it was actually the safest place for the convoy, and Ye Wan was also arranged behind. Lu Liansheng repeatedly told Li Ling that no matter when and where, he must protect her.

Everyone adjusts their work and rest time, rises day and night, and moves forward slowly. And You Fei sent back a message from the front, and many gang figures on the road knew about this operation, but fortunately, it was in the sphere of influence of Chunbao Mountain, and there were local Hongmen brothers who took care of them privately along the way, and nothing happened to them.

Li Ling frowned secretly, it stands to reason that such a thing as escorting arms should be kept secret, why can it be spread out with great fanfare, isn't this an opportunity for people with ulterior motives. After discussing with Lu Liansheng, he resolutely changed the original route, came to the canal, hired a medium-sized freighter, and pulled the men and horses forward.

The "Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal" began to open up the north-south confluence from the Yuan Dynasty and was used for water transportation. In the water transportation around the canal, the related grain allocation, collection, sending, escorting, unloading and storage and other aspects. In the Qing Dynasty, due to the rebellion of the Hongmen people and the repeated robbery of grain ships, the Qing government recruited talents. Weng Tang, Qian Jian, and Pan Qing of the Hongmen Branch Tiandi Association unveiled the list and established an organization to compete with the Hongmen, the Green Gang.

The Green Gang mainly started out as a transporter, and most of them lived on both sides of the Grand Canal. From south to north, there are 128 and a half gangs, and 72 and a half wharves are set up, and each wharf has a wharf officer, and only the wharf official can open an incense hall to accept apprentices to expand his own power.

Later, after the diversion of the Yellow River, the eastern section of the canal was gradually silted. Since then, Caoyun has mainly changed to sea routes. In the year of Xinhai, the Jinpu Railway was opened to traffic. Since then, the status of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the cities along it has plummeted.

The members of the Youth Gang lost their original value and flocked to Shanghai, Tianjin and other places. Some high-ranking figures broke the rules and began to accept apprentices. Each generation of the Green Gang has a character generation, and the generation of the Green Gang during the Republic of China is generally "Datong Wuxue." Shanghai tycoon Du Yuesheng is just a member of the "Wuzi generation".

The highest generation alive now is the "big" generation, about a dozen or so. For Buzhang Wu, Gao Shikui, Fan Jincheng, Liang Shaotang, Zhang Shusheng, Cao Youshan, etc. Yuan Shikai's second son, Yuan Kewen, once went to the tombstone of a Qinggang ancestor to worship a few times, and he became a "big" member of the Qinggang at a young age. It is Du Yuesheng's grandfather.

On this day, the ship traveled to the Huaiyin area, but the captain wanted to stop, no matter what, he did not move forward, and said: "There has been a recent rise of water bandits in front, led by Liu Sheng, the water leper of the Green Gang, who often robs passing ships, only robs money and pays back, but some people do not obey a little, and they will harm people's lives." Don't go. ”

Lu Liansheng summoned Li Ling Youfei, and after discussing, he had to deal with it carefully step by step. Unload the cargo from the "Gansuke Wharf" in front of you, and then drive the horse-drawn carriage forward.

At this time, at noon, the huge area of "Gansuke Wharf" is sparsely populated. The boat docked, and was about to lead the horse-drawn cart to the shore, when suddenly he saw a row of figures jumping out of the bushes and thorns on both sides, and all of them were carrying spears and knives.

Li Ling and the others were careful all the way, but they still encountered bandits, and they looked for objects to hide. It's just that the ship has already docked, and even if the ship is sailing, it is difficult to escape, and it is difficult to break through when it goes ashore. In the midst of the confrontation, I saw a twenty-four-five-five-year-old young man on the other side holding a short gun in each hand, and shouted: "I am Liu Sheng in this area, and I want to pass through safely without reporting my name to the pier today, so I can't help but take me and other brothers in my eyes." ”

Lu Liansheng was helpless, so he had to hug his fists and said: "Today, I transported some timber from Yangzhou, I came in a hurry, and I didn't have time to greet you when I passed through your place, and I asked my brother not to blame, I have some silver dollars to invite my brothers to drink, I hope to laugh." ”

Liu Sheng laughed and said: "Transported wood, how did I hear that a batch of guns is going to pass through here, it can't be your gang, right?" ”

Lu Liansheng's face changed when he heard this, it seemed that the other party had already prepared, and knew that he couldn't give up, and said: "We are from Hongmen Chunbao Mountain, and we are transported goods on the order of the mountain lord. If you can be safely released, I am grateful to the whole mountain hall, if you insist on interception, please respect. ”

"Hmph, isn't it great to put pressure on the Hongmen? Today is the day when my brethren are rich, and all three hundred of my brethren from the top of the hill have come and have not handed over their things, and I see how you can escape. ”

Although there are no exaggerated 300 people, there are more than 200 guns. Although some of the bandits are in rags, it can also be seen that they are ruthless. The ships of Li Ling and others were surrounded in an arched shape, forming an iron barrel