The celebrant calls out the names of the deceased in turn

"Former Water Hall Master of the Salt Gang, Li Tianshui"

"Liang Guangye, the deputy hall master of Shunshui Hall"

"Niu Gui, the deputy hall master of the former water hall"

"Xu Ming, director of Houshuitang Lishui Salt Farm"

"Jiao Tiesheng, the former director of Houshuitang Yamaguchizhuang"

"Mrs. Liu, the head of Houshuitang Yamaguchi Village"

......

"Dragon Tiger Hall Tiger Riding Battalion Leader Zhao Guan Fei"

"Dragon and Tiger Hall Master Lei Zhen"

"And one hundred and ninety-seven brothers of the Salt Gang who were killed by the government"

"Rest in peace for the dead, mourn for the living............"

The leaders approached the coffin in turn to carry the spirit, and finally, the helper signaled Wu Xiao to carry Lei Zhen's coffin with him at the end, and walked to the middle of the school field, twelve coffins were lined up in the middle of the school field, and there were old men wearing black and white dresses who held hot salt bowls, sprinkled a few handfuls of sea salt on each coffin, and then poured fire oil, a fire was lit, and twelve pillars of fire rose to the sky, bringing the souls of these salt gang brothers to the salt god.

The brothers at the bottom of the mountain also came up, and more than a thousand people gathered on the school field, and the helper walked up to a high platform, and the brothers below all looked at him.

"We have been in the Salt Gang for more than 100 years, and the disaster is not only today, not only this time, are we still here?"

More than a thousand people echoed in unison

"Every year, the court taxes, the filial piety of the Taoist platform, the government office, and the wharf have deprived us of seven or eight tenths of our harvest, do we hate it?"

"Hate"

"Under the scorching sun, braving the wind and rain, sweating, dripping blood, wearing out our shoulders, crippled our feet, and our family is still hungry every year, are we suffering?"

"Bitterness"

"The government wants to arrest us, kill us, fight with us, okay, we fight hard, you and me, do we have it?"

"Yes" The schoolyard on the top of the mountain was boiling, and the murderous aura rushed up to the nine heavens with the flames.

At night, the lobby of the Salt Gang was brightly lit, and all the leaders gathered like this, Ma Tianhong sat in the main seat, Wu Xiao sat in the first position on the left, Old Man Lin was behind Wu Xiao, and the other halls sat in turn, and the atmosphere in the entire hall was very solemn.

"According to the brothers, five warehouses have been taken by the government, and they are still investigating" Xiao Jing, the master of Houshui Hall, smoked a dry smoke and said: "I have already ordered the brothers to break up the whole and scatter them."

"All ferries have stepped up their investigations, and there are big official ships patrolling along the river, the waterways are basically broken, the dry roads are a little better, only Jiangnan Province has been checked more, and its provincial government has basically not moved" Zeng Asheng, the new head of the former water hall

"The brothers who took the goods were also arrested, so I told them to stop first," Li Caiyou, the master of Shunshui Hall, spoke

"So far, a total of 510 taels of salt, 4,500 taels of goods and silver, plus 6,700 taels of pension, not counting the cars and ships, this month's regular money will be taken out of the public school," the head of the Jinshui Hall took the account book and reported it

"Brothers, do you have any good ideas," the gang leader sighed, and everyone was silent

"Why don't you find Master Li and let him mediate and get a message," said the head of Jinshui Hall

"Lord Li has already sent a message this morning, let us lie dormant during this time, and don't go to him" Li Caiyou, the hall master of Shunshui Hall

"Hibernation, he takes the silver for nothing, and calls us dormant at a critical time, he delicacies from the mountains and seas every day, and we salt to help our brothers, wives and children starve at home" Zeng Asheng was very angry.

"Which Prince of Qi has what purpose, for what, and what is my salt gang that has offended him, he wants to suppress him like this," Zeng Asheng continued

"I heard the brother in prison say that it was a problem when he tried Li Tianshui's brothers, which King Qi was young, and somehow he wanted to interrogate him personally, and asked what the Tianshui brothers said, and the Tianshui brothers didn't say whether they were alive or dead, and scolded Li Caiyoudao."

"Brother Tianshui is righteous, don't betray friends, of course don't say it, the emperor Lao'er is coming to Jiangnan, what are we hindering him, local officials are engaged in political achievements, we want to clean up, yes, we don't appear, there have been this kind of things in the past, we cooperate, everyone knows how to play openly and secretly, but this King Qi wants to move the real character, okay, you move the real character, we will accompany you to move the real style" Zeng Asheng was excited

"The official Fang of Mingyuan has sent a message in the morning, and Daotai Feng Jingxian Feng wants to make an appointment with me for an interview," said the Ma gang leader

"Can't go," several hall masters objected in unison

"I want to go, I can't go without going, but not now" The helper got up and paced, he suddenly turned to Wu Xiao and asked, "You are now the hall master of the Dragon and Tiger Hall, what do you think?"

Wu Xiao stood up and said: "I want to go, but I will go when they are hurt, disabled, and out of control, and it is not us who will see him, but he will come to see us."

"Well, it coincides with my thoughts, and it is more daring than me," said the horse gang leader excitedly

Several other hall masters also stood up and said in unison, "How do you fight?"

Wu Xiao turned to the hall masters and said: "The court has been using troops in the north for ten consecutive years, and there will be no army coming at this time, only the Daotai, the soldiers and horses of the state capital will come to suppress us, not to mention the small number of people, not to mention that they are all rabble, it is okay to bully the common people, but it is not okay to fight, these people, we have to be disabled", after speaking, he looked at the helper and the hall masters, and saw that everyone was thinking, but then said: " Those who usually eat us, take us, and hide them at critical times, we have to make them eat poorly, sleep restlessly, and hang a sword on their heads every day, and we will hurt these people"

"That makes sense," Zeng Asheng nodded

Wu Xiao continued: "Don't they want peace in the world, do they want to sing and dance, do they want the emperor to see the wind and rain, okay, let them see what peace is, what is song and dance life, what is smooth weather, and when it is out of control, they will know what to do."

Wu Xiao looked at the helper and said, "At this time, it is just the right time for the helper to go again."

The gang leader laughed: "Brother Ximing is really the reincarnation of Zhang Liang, Han Xin of the Salt Gang", everyone also laughed, and the gang leader continued: "In addition, I have also sent a letter to the old man Qian Langsheng, the leader of the Cao Gang, he has agreed to help us transport the goods, don't do the business in Jiangnan first, transport all the goods away, turn them into pieces, let the brothers work hard, run more", all the hall masters are happy.

"In addition to the main hall freight with the Cao Gang, Qianshuitang picks a group of clever brothers to take care of which officials and masters eat, drink, and take, and Shunshuitang also picks a group of brothers to go to various streets, docks, markets, and yamen to make some moves, not afraid of making a big fuss", and all hall masters should have errands

The gang leader turned his head to Wu Xiao and said: "Dragon Tiger Hall Tiger Riding Battalion, Dragon Riding Battalion, Leopard Battalion, Night Owl Battalion Four Battalion Brothers, more than a thousand people listen to your reprimand, you are going to cripple them for me"

"I only have fifty cavalry and a hundred horses," Wu Xiao said

Everyone looked at Wu Xiao, Zeng Asheng stepped forward and grabbed him: "It's not a joke, what can you do with such a small number of people, the officers and soldiers are the men and horses of the entire battalion."

Wu Xiao said calmly: "Don't worry, I will only select fifty good hands, one hundred horses, and the rest of the people and horses will be deployed from all over the country to respond, and guard the main hall, fifty people are enough", Zeng Asheng still wanted to say something, but the helper stopped, "I believe in Brother Ximing, you go and choose, let go and do it, I will arrange the things that are received from all over the place, and you can rest assured that I will guard here from the town."

The big event was agreed, all the hall masters dispersed, Wu Xiao went back to the small courtyard arranged by the salt gang for him, the small courtyard was not big, a row of weapons were placed against the wall, there was a stone table in the courtyard, a few stone chairs, no one used it for a long time, there was a layer of light moss, the full moon hung in the sky, sprinkled into the courtyard, it seemed very quiet, Wu Xiao did not enter the house, he had not entered the house, he did not know the furnishings of the machine, he sat down on the stone chair, I don't know what he was thinking. Soon the door of the courtyard was pushed open, and Redfish walked in.

She was a little anxious: "As long as you can, are you going to send such a few people to death? Where are you putting me, and explain my mind, I see it's all on the lips", she got angry, he came over and sat opposite Wu Xiao, and looked at Wu Xiao sideways. Wu Xiao took her hand, rubbed it on her hand, and said: "I put you in my heart, always in the first place, higher than the salt gang, higher than me, higher than my revenge", when she looked up, Hongyu's eyes were full of tears, she responded to Wu Xiao: "Why do you have to tell me, why only bring fifty people, you have been like this since you were a child, words are more expensive than gold, but I am not as smart as you, I can't guess it."

Wu Xiao looked at her and said: "The soldiers and horses of the Jiangnan Provincial Prefecture have added up to tens of thousands, even if I bring everyone in the Dragon and Tiger Hall, the difference is too big, I can't stand anything, what I want to do is to become a needle in the tiger's belly, fifty people run fast, they will lead it, and leave after the fight, they don't know where we are, there are too many people."

Hongyu burst into tears and laughed: "Why did you say it earlier, I was worried that this old man had been coming to me in a hurry for a long time, and let me persuade you."

"When are you not worried, you are worried about everything I do, I am worried that you will let me join the salt gang" Wu Xiao squeezed her

"It's different, it's a good thing, and it's incumbent on us to contribute to more than 20,000 poor farmers," Hongyu said

"You don't want to go anywhere during this time, just wait here for me to come back," Wu Xiao said

"But I still have ............" Before Hongyu finished speaking, Wu Xiao grabbed the white and said: "Don't do it, it's so messy outside, maybe the government has been eyeing you for a long time, I don't want you to have something."

"Okay, I'll wait here for you to come back," Redfish gave up on her

The two talked for a while, Hongyu returned to the woman's residence, and Wu Xiao also briefly freshened up and rested.

The next day, Wu Xiao came to the barracks of the Dragon and Tiger Hall under the leadership of Lin Xiong's old hero, the barracks were built on a slightly flat open space on the mountainside of the Gorge Mountain, covering a large area, training, accommodation, eating, deliberation and other constructions were readily available, Wu Xiao came to the conference hall, the main and deputy battalion commanders of the four battalions were already waiting in the conference hall, except for the dead Zhao Guan Fei, as soon as Wu Xiao stepped into the door, the seven people immediately knelt down on one knee and said respectfully: "See the hall master" , Wu Xiao hurriedly helped them up one by one, and then motioned to sit down, Wu Xiao sat down on the main seat, glanced at each of them, and said: "You have been walking on the rivers and lakes for many years, in terms of qualifications, experience, and popularity, you are all higher than me, the helper can look up to me, let me take the Dragon and Tiger Hall, and I will help all the brothers of the Salt Gang here in the future."

"Of course," everyone responded

"What is the purpose of the Salt Gang raising the Dragon and Tiger Hall? It is to be able to bear the Dragon and Tiger Hall at a critical time, to be the sharp blade of the Salt Gang, to be the sharp blade of the 20,000 bitter men, the Lord of Lei Zhentang has a responsibility, he defended the glory of the Dragon and Tiger Hall with his death, I can also bear it, my heart for the Salt Gang is the same as the Lord of Lei Zhentang, and the heart of everyone in my Dragon and Tiger Hall is the same as that of the Lord of Lei Zhentang" Everyone lowered their heads and listened quietly

"I know that some people are dissatisfied, some people are watching, some people are waiting, you can disagree, you can watch, you can wait, but the rules of the Dragon and Tiger Hall cannot be broken, the law and discipline of the military camp cannot be broken, if there are those who violate the rules and disciplines, they will all act according to the rules, and those who slack off and destroy will be severely punished."

After hearing this, Lin Xiong took the lead in standing up, clenched his fists and said firmly: "Yes", and the rest of the people also claimed yes, much more respectful than before.