Guo Ye found that the fishing boat did not stop immediately after entering the reed swing, but continued to move forward slowly, as for the place where dozens of lanterns were lit just now, at most it could only be regarded as a sentry post set up by the salt gang on the periphery of the reed swing. According to the spy who supported the boat, it was specially set up to prevent the government army from searching here.

Then, though there were no lights to guide the way, he found that the men seemed to be accustomed to holding boats in the dark, and they were moving forward almost without hindrance.

He didn't know how far he had traveled through the reeds, but he felt like he had been turned into a daze, and he didn't know where he was going.

I don't know how long it took to spin, and I don't know how big the reed was, but the fishing boat made a muffled crash as if it had touched land, and then shook twice, and seemed to stop.

I saw several spies put away their braces one after another, and one after another jumped ashore, and one of the spies who had chatted with Guo Ye helped him up and said, "This guest, when you arrive at the place, please come ashore with me." ”

Guo Ye stood up from the boat with some discomfort and said in surprise: "Could it be that we have already left the reeds?" ”

The spy helped Guo Ye to the shore, stomped the ground with his foot, and said with a smile: "This is just a small island in the reeds, and our hall is located here." Hehe, ordinary people have found this reed swing in Yangzhou waters, and it is impossible to find this island in the reeds. ”

An island in the midst of the reeds?

When Guo Ye heard this, he couldn't help but think of the Jiangxin Island he found on the Minjiang River when he formed the Cao Gang that day.

Both should be similar, and there should be similarities.

After going ashore, he was confronted by two men carrying lanterns for lighting, and shouted, "How can you bring strangers up to the hall?" Could it be that you have forgotten the rules of the Salt Gang and forgotten what the Law Enforcement Hall is? ”

Several spies hurriedly greeted them and explained how Guo Ye found their fishing boat, how to tell the joint code, and explained the intention for Guo Ye.

Obviously, these two men carrying lanterns should be from the Salt Gang Law Enforcement Hall, otherwise these spies would not be so jealous.

After listening to the explanations of several spies, the faces of the two law enforcement hall men improved slightly, and they took the lantern and shone it on Guo Ye's face a few times, and then said: "Since it is a friend of our salt gang, it is naturally fine." Our Gang Leader Chen is discussing with Deputy Gang Leader Ruan, and several hall masters are discussing in the Gathering Hall, so you can go with us first. ”

After speaking, without saying a word, he dragged the front lantern like 2580,000 to illuminate the road, left a few spies who worked hard to lead the way, and led Guo Ye towards the direction of the Juyi Hall.

There was probably a long section of the rather rugged and steep thorny road, which brought Guo Ye to a place.

This place is flat and houses are lined up, and patrols of five and ten people with torches can be seen everywhere, and this is probably the place where the Salt Gang live on the island.

Seeing that Guo Ye had brought him into a wooden house, one of the men from the Law Enforcement Hall said, "You wait here, and I'll go and inform our helper." ”

Saying that, he asked another man to keep an eye on Guo Ye here, don't let him run around and wander around.

All the way to now, Guo Ye can be regarded as having figured it out, the vigilance of these people in the salt gang is quite strong, and the division of labor is also very detailed, and the gang rules and levels are also strict.

However, the more this is the case, the greater his expectations for the Salt Gang, and only such strength can help him fight against the Yangzhou Zhang family.

Seeing that the man was about to inform Chen Lang, Guo Ye suddenly stopped him and shouted, "This brother is slow, please give me these two letters to Gang Master Chen." After reading the letter, he knew what I was trying to do. ”

As he spoke, he took out two letters from his bosom and handed them into the other's hands.

The man also took the letter and didn't ask too much questions, and left directly.

These two letters, one is a handwritten letter written by Su Dingfang to Chen Lang, and the other is written by Guo Ye himself, in addition to introducing his identity* and origin, the letter is more about his intention to come to the Salt Gang to invite Chen Lang to serve as the commander of Zhichong.

As Su Dingfang reminded him before, only by sharing the same hatred with Chen Lang and pulling him to the united front can he persuade the other party.

At this time, the night was dark, and he sat bored in the wooden hut listening to the insects, frogs, and crickets outside.

After a long time, the man who went to report the news had not returned, Guo Ye couldn't help but look at the other man who was staring at him in the wooden house, and asked: "This brother, it's so late, what are you Gang Leader Chen and that Ruan, oh yes, Deputy Gang Leader Ruan are discussing?" ”

The man yawned and blurted out, "What else can there be?" It's nothing more than the two gang leaders arguing about the Zhang family in Yangzhou, otherwise they wouldn't have summoned several other hall masters one by one so late. Hey, our deputy Ruan gang leader, what the fuck...... Hey? Why do you ask this? ”

Before he finished speaking, the man suddenly lowered his face, looked at Guo Ye with hostile eyes, and shouted: "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, this is a secret in our gang, how can we tell you an outsider?" ”

Guo Ye laughed twice, muttered two accusations, and then stopped squeaking.

However, he probably heard the taste, and dared to feel that in the position of the Zhang family in Yangzhou, the first and second leaders of the Salt Gang had different opinions. Could it be that Deputy Ruan Gang Leader didn't want to be an enemy of the Zhang family? Grandma's, this is not a good sign, if the Salt Gang does not fight with the Zhang family in Yangzhou, how can I invite Chen Lang to go out of the mountain and work for myself?

If it's not appropriate, you have to think about it as soon as possible.

At the thought of it, countless ideas flashed through his mind, and the whole thing fell into silence.

Time passed, and the man in charge of guarding him was so sleepy that he was napping......

Another hour passed.

Squeak~

The door of the hut was pushed open, and the man who had told the news had returned.

The man who was napping was almost woken up and lay on the ground, while Guo Ye slowly got up and looked at the other party and asked, "Have you Gang Leader Chen, your deputy gang leader, and several hall masters finished discussing the matter?" ”

The man who reported the news shook his head and said, "No, but Gang Leader Chen and Deputy Gang Leader Ruan have read your letter." I don't know what you wrote in your letter, but the two gang leaders quarreled in front of the hall masters. By the way, our Gang Master Chen invites you to go to the Juyi Hall. ”

After Guo Ye listened, he became more and more sure that the Salt Gang was really not the monolith he imagined.

Especially the deputy gang leader Ruan, maybe it will really become an obstacle for him to invite Chen Lang out of the mountain and win over the Yan Gang to work for him.

That's it, after going to the Justice Hall to meet Chen Lang, let's improvise.

Led by the messenger, he left the hut and went to the Righteous Hall.

After a while, they arrived at the place, and compared to the vast night outside, the hall of righteousness at this time was really shining with fire, and the hall was bright.

However, as soon as he entered, he felt a strong smell of gunpowder, especially a fierce gaze that was hanging over him, revealing naked hostility.

He turned his head to look and saw that the gaze was from a man sitting in the top spot on the left side of the hall.

This man is about thirty years old, wearing a white robe, with beardless cheeks, and the whole person looks extremely delicate, but there is a cold aura on his body. Guo Ye's first feeling is that this person is insidious and cunning, and he belongs to the type of stabbing in the back.

Since he was sitting in the top spot on the left side of the hall, it must be the deputy leader of the Salt Gang.

And the other five positions scattered on the left and right sides are naturally the five hall masters of the Salt Gang.

As for Chen Lang, the leader of the Salt Gang, there is no doubt that he must be the one sitting on the head of the hall.

Chen Lang, who is about the same age as Su Dingfang, is no more than forty years old, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a thick beard on his cheeks, giving people a rough and thick feeling.

At this time, all the eyes of the Gathering Hall were focused on Guo Ye, but Guo Ye's eyes were always staring at Chen Lang, and they were not scattered to any of the others.

He and Chen Lang looked at each other expressionlessly, and neither of them spoke first to break the silence.

In the end, it was the gloomy Ruan deputy gang leader who couldn't help but smile, and asked: "I didn't expect the new Yangzhou Assassin Shi to be so young, tsk, it's really young and promising." Although we are all people in the rivers and lakes who are begging for a living on the river, the four words of Longxi Guo Ye are like thunder. Tsk, it's really better to be famous than to meet, but at such an age, it is rumored to be mysterious and mysterious, hehe......"

Deputy Ruan's soft voice was extremely harsh in Guo Ye's ears, how could he not understand what was in the other party's words? is nothing more than secretly ridiculing his own fame, which is actually difficult to deserve, and exaggerating is a wasted person.

However, harsh is harsh, Guo Ye knows that the most direct way to deal with a person surnamed Ruan is not to ignore him, it is best not to even look at him, so that the other party knows that he didn't take him seriously at all.

That way, he will be more awkward and uncomfortable.

Immediately, the corners of Guo Ye's mouth twitched slightly, and his eyes continued to look at Chen Lang at the head of the hall.

And Deputy Ruan's gang leader was really angry by Guo Ye's ignorance, and he gritted his teeth and frowned, as if he was going to pounce on Guo Ye at any time and tear Guo Ye to pieces.

Guo Ye looked at Chen Lang, arched his hand and asked straight to the point: "Gang Master Chen, I guess you have also seen the letter between me and Brother Su, I wonder if Your Excellency is interested in inviting me?" ”

When Chen Lang heard Guo Ye mention Su Dingfang, he couldn't help but have a simple smile on his face, and said in other words: "I haven't seen Brother Dingfang for a long time, although there are frequent correspondence, but I still miss it." Since Master Guo is a friend of Brother Dingfang, he is a friend of my Chen Lang, come, please take a seat! ”

Guo Ye heard that Chen Lang was really a bit of a wave, and he actually played with me to change the topic.

Immediately, he politely refused: "Gang Master Chen, let's open the skylight and say something, as I said in my letter, as long as Gang Master Chen is willing to agree to take up the position of Lieutenant of Yangzhou Zhichong, your gang is willing to assist me in pulling out the Zhang family in Yangzhou." I promise that in the future, I will set aside a number of salt farms for your gang and issue salt guides to your gang. Gang Leader Chen is a person who understands, as long as your gang has its own salt farm and the salt guide issued by the salt transportation yamen, then your brothers don't have to hide their heads and hide in Tibet under the name of selling illicit salt, right? ”

Because in the Tang Dynasty, iron and salt belonged to the monopoly of the imperial court, and they were not allowed to be sold privately without the permission of the imperial court. Therefore, if individual traders or non-governmental organizations want to sell salt openly, they must get a salt guide issued by the imperial court, otherwise it is a sale of illegal salt.

Selling illicit salt, that's a felony, at least it will be a raid, or at worst, you will lose your head, who let you compete with the court for profit.

Chen Lang saw Guo Ye asking, and said with a smile: "Guo Tingshi's intentions and conditions are written in the letter, and Chen can see it clearly. It's just that the power of the Zhang family in Yangzhou is too big, and it is not so easy to get rid of. Hehe, how can we talk about this matter another day, how? ”

Guo Ye was a little unclear, so he said strangely, Chen Lang wanted to speak and stopped, and passed the buck many times, what was going on?

Immediately, he stubbornly asked: "Gang Master Chen, is it because the official has not opened you well enough?" What exactly are you waiting for? Have you forgotten those brothers who died at the hands of the Zhang family in Yangzhou over the years? I heard that the Zhang family in Yangzhou not only hated you salt gang because you were competing with them for profit; And I also heard that the Zhang family had set up such a rule in Yangzhou, anyone who carried the head of a salt gang disciple could exchange five catties of official salt in the Zhang family's salt shop in Yangzhou City. Is that right? ”

Scold~

Chen Lang was furious when he heard this, and suddenly stood up, his face was full of hideousness, and his eyes could almost spew fire.

And the other five hall masters were also indignant, and scolded the Zhang family for not dying well, cutting off children and grandchildren, and so on.

But from beginning to end, no one responded to support the cooperation with Guo Ye.

After Chen Lang stood for a while, he sighed again and slowly sat back on the chair.

Still didn't give Guo Ye a reply.

At this time, Guo Ye wanted to try to persuade and lobby again, when he suddenly heard a soft sneer coming from the mouth of the deputy gang leader Ruan.

He turned his head and glanced at it, and found that this guy slowly stood up with a smug face, and said to Guo Ye: "This Guo Tingshi, I look at you, don't try in vain to lobby my helper." Hehe, let me tell you why Gang Master Chen is not impressed by your conditions, and why he is reluctant to reply to you......"