The sky was blue and misty.

In the afternoon, the living room of John Barrow's house was filled with more than a dozen of the most powerful businessmen in Songjiang Mansion.

Some of them, with big thick braids with red ropes hanging down their backs, melon skin hats, and silk robes with red blessing patterns, sat at the table, frowning and silent.

Some of them are feathered and hewed, with white jade as the crown, hanging rings around their waists, sitting on the sofa, and playing with a pair of golden walnuts in their hands with a little restlessness.

As the owner of this house, John Barrow is nearly sixty years old this year, his body is a little fat, he does not like to wear formal dresses, but is dressed in a cardigan and suit trousers, his beard is carefully trimmed, and the two whiskers on the upper lip, like black scissors, droop around the corners of his mouth.

John Barrow's grandfather, who was once a reciprocal of the mission representing the British royal family, visited the Qianlong Dynasty, learned Manchu Chinese, learned about the pattern of the interior, and used it as a family tradition.

When the Britons occupied Songjiang Province, John Barrow was one of the interpreters accompanying the army, and although the British withdrew, he stayed and became a representative figure of foreign merchants in Songjiang Province.

But even in his capacity, in the face of these people who come to the meeting room now, most of the time, they are all equals.

Although he can be said to be a representative of the local foreign businessmen, any of these people also represents the will of a group of wealthy businessmen in Songjiang Prefecture, and he is by no means alone.

"After this period of observation, it can be determined that the prefect's yamen is not pretending this time, showing their teeth and claws, and wants us to sell some of our interests in exchange for their quietness."

The pigtailed merchant near the window sighed, "The so-called new regulations on working hours added to the Songjiang Prefecture Code are not a clumsy excuse, but really intended to be enforced. ”

"There were already a lot of factories that were quickly controlled and enforced by the Songjiang government because they ignored this decree."

He said bitterly, "Reducing sixteen hours to eight hours is enough to cut half of the benefits, and many delivery dates have to be delayed, and the real loss of the manufacturer is far more than fifty percent." ”

"What kind of madness did Ling Duxian commit? If it goes on like this, he will have to reduce the tax he himself by more than half, so he is really not afraid that when the adults from all over the world come to collect money, they dislike the lack of money and take away his official position? ”

When the old man in the feather coat heard this, he sneered.

"He can even do such a thing as a smoking ban, what else is there he not to do?"

The old man in the feather coat had a gloomy expression, "Since he doesn't want money, he wants fame, and he doesn't need to do it to this extent." ”

"I think this person's ambition is not small, I'm afraid he is not satisfied with the position of this prefect's yamen, but wants to completely buy people's hearts and truly dominate one side."

"Have you noticed that the first group of people to respond to him were themselves big cigarette sellers? How ruthless and how much expense does it have to be to make people who sell big cigarettes take the initiative to stop smoking, and even let those who smoke big cigarettes stop smoking?! ”

"And I heard that some of the people who control the factories are actually retired from the factories, and they are familiar with the conditions of the factories they used to work in, and they have very good conversations with their workers."

"Originally, many of my partners wanted to incite the workers to march in front of the government to protest against the greedy prefect yamen under the pretext that the government wanted to make them unemployed."

"As a result, because of the existence of those retired workers, the plan failed before it could be launched."

The golden walnut clattered in the palm of his hand.

The old man in feather robe took a deep breath.

"The prefect's yamen was able to anticipate the means we wanted to use, and it was obvious that planning these things was not done overnight, but was deliberated over a long period of time and with great energy."

"It is no longer possible for us to rely on words and money to persuade the prefect and the yamen to make concessions."

For these truly successful wealthy businessmen, they understand very well that a person is most determined when he does something.

It's not driven by sudden emotional impulses and emotions, but it's been a long time, a lot of things, and it's been planning this.

The investment in the early stage, if you can't earn it back, is absolutely unwilling.

They couldn't figure out what kind of means the prefect's yamen used to make those retired workers thrive, but they could imagine that the price must be high.

The prefect's yamen and various temples and tobacco houses, on the recent books, must be losing large sums of money every day.

How can I earn back after losing so much? I'm afraid that when the time comes, half of them will be raided as a stepping stone to the rise of new warlords.

John Barrow listened to these people's discussions, silently picked up the teacup, and took a sip of steaming black tea.

The ripples of the tea, against the backdrop of the white porcelain teacup, seem to glow with orange-red, and exude a faint apple aroma.

This is authentic Keemun black tea.

The British people's universal love for tea makes it a little difficult for the Chinese family to understand.

Merchants in London would even collect the tea residues brewed by the nobles, stir and dry them in Prussian blue, and then mix them with the leaves of hawthorn, blackthorn and elderberry, and sell them to the lower classes, claiming to be imported Wuyi tea.

Among the ordinary residents of Britain, there is also a rumor that many merchants would use sheep dung to re-flavor the tea leaves and sell them to customers.

Even so, the demand for tea in Britain is still skyrocketing every year.

The British East India Company, the means used to offset the dumping of tea, the first was to rely on cotton, and the second was to rely on tobacco.

Moreover, because of its magic power, Dayan is considered by them to be a more risky and important commodity to sell.

Under John Barrow's name, although some factories were ordered to rectify and control, what made him more alarming was the ban on big smoke.

The most powerful tripartite warlords in the interior of China, out of consideration for the ability to supply troops, all had orders to ban the sale and smoking of large cigarettes on their own territory.

But about the strength of execution, it's a joke.

On the other hand, the recent smoking ban in Songjiang Prefecture is the real strength that makes tobacco growers feel angry.

"Gentlemen, listen to me."

John Barrow put down his teacup, "I have sorted out the recent report of Songjiang Mansion, and I have used my limited favor to make this report appear as quickly as possible in the Prime Minister's official residence in Downing Street and on the desk of the Governor of the East India Company and the Earl of Staunton." ”

"There's still a long way to go from Downing Street, and Governor Staunton is so concerned about it that he's called the directors together and come up with a solution."

The businessmen in the living room were all in good spirits.

The old man in the feather coat said: "Could it be that the British government wants to come forward in person and remove Ling Duxian from his position?" It's best to bring enough troops. ”

"No, no, if our side mobilizes like that, there will only be more trouble, but this matter is indeed resolved as soon as possible, and it cannot be delayed."

John Barrow explained, "So the Governor, in the name of the entire East India Company, hired the famous Celestial Organization to settle the problems of Songjiang Province, and generously paid a deposit of thirty percent. ”

"The remaining 70 percent of the deposit, of course, needs to be paid by us together."

The old man's face changed slightly: "Heaven is unique?!" ”

Tianjue is a well-known killer organization that has emerged in the past two years, and it is said that its headquarters may be located in Liaodong, or even close to the territory of Tsarist Russia.

Among the nearly 100 warlords in the mainland, at least 20 have completed the change of dynasty in the past two years with the participation of the Tianjue Organization.

Those who claimed to be generals and commanders were killed by their subordinates, sons, adjutants, fathers-in-law, etc., hired murderers, and the territory was also taken over by the murderers.

The most terrifying thing is that this Heavenly Absolute Organization has participated in several battles between foreigners.

The foreign slave owners on the other side of the South Seas hired Tianjie to kill their opponents.

After receiving a high deposit, Tianjue showed the strength to directly attack the city and break the army, seized the territory of several local armed forces, and handed it over to his employer.

This kind of behavior, how can it still be considered a killer?

It is said that the foreigners have already called the Heavenly Absolute Organization the most powerful mercenary group in the Far East.

"This ...... If the people of heaven and the people of the prefect's yamen fight together, I am afraid that it will be no different from fighting. ”

The pigtailed merchant hesitated and said, "Our property won't be destroyed in the chaos of war, right?" ”

John Barrow nodded: "Your Excellency the Governor, this matter has also been taken into account for us, and we can directly explain this in the mission requirements." ”

"The reason for this is that they are able to meet the requirements of their employers to the greatest extent possible."

After everyone discussed, they asked for the specific amount, and finally made up their minds.

"Dare to change sixteen hours to eight hours, this is not to give us a way to live."

"We'll let him not survive first!"

In the middle of the night that day, the gold paid by everyone was handed over to the people of the Heavenly Absolute Organization by John Barrow himself to the agreed place in the suburbs.

The wooden-framed carriage was painted black and the corners were hung with dead wind lamps.

The sound of horses' hooves, accompanied by the bells on the horses' necks, rings softly all the way through the quiet night.

The coachman has been John Barrow's personal guard for many years, with a capable temperament and good martial arts, but after arriving in the suburbs, the carriage and horses were walking, and suddenly they heard John Barrow exclaim.

"Baron!"

The coachman hurriedly turned back.

I saw that in the carriage, John Barrow was sitting in a daze, and a black leather box that he was holding in his arms had disappeared, leaving only a note in his hand.

"Yes, it was the Heavenly Absolute who took the thing."

John Barrow, who was in a state of shock, breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the words and imprints on the note.

He suddenly remembered that in his jacket pocket, there were still task requirements that needed to be handed over to the Heavenly Absolute Organization, but when he reached out and touched it, he found that the paper that recorded the task requirements was also gone.

John Barrow looked at the carriage and his guards, and for the first time felt that the carriage was so unsafe.

During the whole process, he, the person who was holding the box himself, didn't know what the box was taken from.

"Go back, hurry!"

John Barrow urged the coachman to go home.

There was a figure in white clothes standing not far in front of the carriage, but from beginning to end, both men were completely unaware.

After the carriage left, another man in strong clothes, with a box and a piece of paper, came to the white-clothed man with crane hair and a childish face.

"Elder, the gold is fine, it's their request on paper."

The man in white pinched the piece of paper and looked at it.

"Non-smoking?!"

The man in white's eyes flashed, "When I received Staunton's commission, I already felt that something was wrong. ”

"Now it seems that the news that Songjiang Mansion returned to the sect is very wrong."

"Shamen's mission is a complete failure, and he himself is afraid that there will be no good end."

That's right, this big leader of the Heavenly Absolute Organization, who has just returned from overseas, is actually a person from the Innate Sect.

In other words, the entire Heavenly Absolute was originally a part of the Innate Sect.

The high-level of the Innate Sect initially set up this killer organization, not because of any foresight, but because of a very difficult problem.

Innate Teaching...... Lack of money!

The White Lotus Sect, from the Yuan Dynasty to the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, changed its name several times in the process of naming the Xiantian Sect.

During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, this white lotus descendant was called the Bagua Sect, although it was enshrined to Maitreya Bodhisattva, but the slogan was "Niu Eight Sun and Moon", that is, the set of anti-Qing Dynasty and Ming restoration.

Maitreya Bodhisattva is at the door of the Buddha, referring to a future Buddha, and when he arrives at the Bagua Sect, there is another set of sayings.

They claim that "Shakyamuni, the old thief, stole the opportunity of Maitreya Bodhisattva and became the Buddha master of the world today, so that he raised the head of villains and thieves all over the world, and the world is restless, so that all sentient beings who are honest and responsible are tormented in fire and water, and they cannot be reborn."

Now that the catastrophe is coming, Maitreya Bodhisattva has a prophecy, "Anti-Qing and Restoration of Sight, in the great light, Maitreya Bodhisattva was born, drove away Shakyamuni, and killed the princes and generals to change the species, and since then the old and young masters have achieved bliss."

Just by looking at this set of four dissimilar statements, you can taste it, the so-called gossip religion is to take advantage of the huge grievances and sufferings accumulated by the people at the bottom since the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs to seek things for themselves.

Nine and a half out of ten of the senior brothers and masters who burned incense and erected altars in various places only took the opportunity to develop believers and sat to collect incense money and foundation money.

We have to make the people who are already miserable and dizzy, squeeze some oil and water out of the bones and slag, and eat and fatten themselves.

When it really happened, the first person to run away was this kind of person.

In the early years of Jiaqing, there was a big outbreak of the Bagua Sect, which affected several provinces, claiming to be millions of people, and shaking half of the dynasty.

As a result, in only three years, they were defeated and defeated, and the rest turned to retreat, fled, and spent the next few years in the deep mountains and old forests.

The biggest reason is that these middle- and upper-class elder brothers who are incense masters really can't support their big responsibilities.

Before the incident, it was already rotten, and as soon as it happened, its true colors were exposed.

When the Bagua Sect was renamed the Congenital Sect, it was half because of the outstanding martial arts of the new sect leader and the participation of many masters, and it was also half by luck that they really captured the Forbidden City, occupied the palace, and ambushed Emperor Jiaqing, who was rushing back from the summer resort at that time.

However, in the sect, from the most basic management, most of them are money cheating speculators, and this style is still continuing.

Obviously he killed the emperor and shocked the world's famous rebel leader, but for so many years, he has been repeatedly, and he can only go around the Forbidden City and Taihang Mountain, and the rudders in various places have been destroyed, and the power has not increased but decreased, which shows how the success of the Innate Sect is.

In the past two years, the high-level leaders of the Innate Sect have even discovered that even the most basic territory around the Forbidden City has been made too poor and a little unstable because of their poor governance.

Of course, these people will not reflect on where they have spent their money for so many years, and it is absolutely impossible to launch a self-inspection of their homes.

Even if it is a Shamen Taoist priest, who can be called ambitious in the Innate Sect, he will only think about quickly getting money from the outside first, and then come back to stabilize the situation.

Secretly contacting the Songjiang Prefecture, coercing and luring, and cultivating opium poppies on a large scale is one of the strategies of the Xiantian Sect to increase its efforts to make money.

And this "Heavenly Unique", which integrates the traditional killer organization and the Westerner mercenary system, is also one of the money-making strategies.

Directly going to various places to kill people and loot is easy to make too many enemies, and it is difficult to transport the resources obtained intact.

Taking advantage of the existing contradictions within the forces in various places, and being hired to kill people and seize money, the means are relatively relaxed, and there can be a group of temporary accomplices to help cover up the operation afterwards.

Killer is known as the oldest profession in the world, and in the long history, no matter how the dynasty changes, it has always been vibrant and glowing with special brilliance, and it is indeed more advantageous than a simple bandit profession.

The British, the Dutch, and the forces that pioneered the colonies were all called the East India Company.

The Innate Sect has tasted a lot of sweetness in the past two years, and is also thinking internally, thinking that it can develop a Heavenly Mercenary Company.

Their customers have now spread all over the world, as far as Nanyang and other places.

If it is completely transformed, it may not be impossible to quickly realize the revival of the Innate Sect from another level, and even surpass the peak period of the past.

In the name of a mercenary company, it is much more profitable to reasonably select allies, get a deposit, become famous, interfere in the government affairs of various countries, and radiate influence at home and abroad than to sit in one place and be the leader of a sect?

Therefore, the Heavenly Absolute Organization, which was not very valued at first, has been upgraded several times within the Innate Sect.

The direct person in charge of the organization has been changed from the incense master to the Dharma protector, and the ranking of the Dharma protector has moved forward.

This year, it has been replaced by the sect leader's sworn brother, the Fa Wuchang Elder who is the head of the elders of the Innate Sect.

"Ling Duxian's identity was originally a little unclear, but now it seems that he has finally revealed his ambitions."

Fa Wuchang said softly, "Others see him as crazy, but I think he is very courageous." ”

"Back then, when our few people dared to enter the Forbidden City, how many people didn't think we were crazy?"

A fierce and expectant smile appeared on his face, "Okay, you guys arrange a plan according to the requirements above, and we will personally meet this transformed Songjiang Prefect's Yamen for a while!" ”

(End of chapter)