Chapter 292: Affairs of the Jianghu

At the Zi hour, Lüshun Port was still brightly lit.

Ship after ship of large smuggling vessels that couldn't enter the port during the day would wait on the sea outside the port. At night, the shipworkers would hang rows of lanterns, illuminating the port as bright as day.

How to hang the lanterns was a skill.

On ordinary days, official ships had to hang three lanterns, in a row of three, called "three lamps connected pearls". These ships always entered the port during the day and left in the evening, coming and going freely.

Smuggling ships had to hang lanterns according to the daily notification. People would row small boats to the sea surface one by one to notify them. After receiving the protection fee, they would be given tonight's secret signal. If they hung the correct lanterns, they could enter the port. This was called "water tax lanterns"!

Just as Old Yao Tou's two-masted large ship entered the port, dozens of smuggling cargo ships sailed out!

Like ghosts, they came and went quietly!

The sailors on the ship had their upper bodies bare as they raised the sails. Surprisingly, there was even a bed crossbow set up on the ship. It was unclear who they were defending against!

Zhu Yunxi stood on the deck, silently watching those large ships. Even their 'ship use copper plaques' had been removed, and the yin engraving under the mast had been wiped smooth!

Old Yao Tou said calmly on the deck, "These are all merchant ships from my Ning Dynasty that are smuggling. Half are returning to Yingkou, and half to the East!"

Liang Mao'er said in surprise, "No one manages them?"

Old Yao Tou put his hands behind his back and said with an indifferent expression, "The frontier soldiers fight life and death on the front line, yet behind them, there are people secretly trading with the Jing Dynasty. I don't know what meaning this war has!"

Liang Gou'er didn't know when he had come to the deck, his right arm sleeve hanging empty. "The Chen family and the Xu family should die!"

Old Yao Tou sneered, "This little dog is indeed simple. But if you bring this simple brain to the Jing Dynasty, I fear you won't live long! Do you truly think only the Chen family and the Xu family in the Ning Dynasty are doing this business? In the fourteenth year of Jia Ning, the Jing Dynasty had a locust disaster. The eight great Jin merchants, to smuggle grain to the Jing Dynasty by land, actually colluded with the Hu family to divert the Datong border army... The roots of the Ning Dynasty are rotten!"

Liang Gou'er was puzzled. "Does the Emperor know about these matters?"

Old Yao Tou was amused. "What's the use of knowing? Can he manage it?"

After speaking, Old Yao Tou glanced sideways at everyone and calmly instructed, "When we get off the ship in a while, if you see someone with a Zhu lacquer dagger hanging at their waist, don't make a sound. Follow them! The road passes in the Jing Dynasty are extremely strict. Without the Strategy Office receiving us, we can't move an inch!"

Zhu Yunxi looked at the undulating black waves of the sea. "Understood!"

At this moment, as the large ship approached the shore, the coarse cry of a crow sounded!

Old Yao Tou frowned and turned his head, only to see the crow standing at the highest point of the two-masted ship, gazing at the port!

He turned his head again and saw that among the shipworkers and sailors coming and going on the shore, there were just over ten people wearing Zhu lacquer daggers, waiting for something!

Further away, people holding torches were quickly approaching!

After getting off the ship, Liang Gou'er was about to meet up with the people from the Strategy Office, but Old Yao Tou stopped them and said in a low voice, "Something's not right. We'll blend in with the crowd and walk!"

After speaking, the several of them mixed among the shipworkers, walking past the Strategy Office people with their heads down, completely ignoring them!

They hadn't walked far when they saw dozens of young armored soldiers with ink pheasant tails on their heads, holding torches and carrying daggers, rushing into Lüshun Port, roaring: "Yuan Cheng of the Pivot Secret Institute, Jiang Tan of the Strategy Office, Lu Guanwu of the Military Intelligence Office, deceive heaven and superiors, confuse common principles, form parties for private gain, and block the path of the wise."

"Today, we obey the orders of adults Yuan Xiang and Lu Jin, execute and kill court traitors, remove the three harms, save ten thousand people. Those who resist will be executed without pardon."

Amidst the shouts, dozens of young armored soldiers charged towards the personnel of the Strategy Office!

Liang Gou'er cursed, "Why did they have to die at this moment? We just got off the ship, and they've chopped our contact person to death. What the hell are we going to do now? Old head, should we save them?"

Old Yao Tou walked towards the outside with the shipworkers, frowning as he said, "Yuan Xiang of the Central Secretariat and Lu Jin are joining forces. The sky is changing in the Jing Dynasty. What's the use of us saving a few small subordinates?"

Liang Gou'er doubted, "What official position is Yuan Xiang of the Central Secretariat?"

Old Yao Tou said exasperatedly, "Did you usually drink fake wine? That's the Prime Minister of the Jing Dynasty, equivalent to our Grand Secretariat."

Liang Gou'er said "Oh," then asked, "What's the name of the person we were supposed to rely on?"

Old Yao Tou said calmly, "Strategy Office, Jiang Tan!"

Liang Gou'er recalled the traitor-weeding slogan of those young armored soldiers. "He's probably having trouble protecting himself now."

Leaving Lüshun Port, the killing in the city did not stop!

The young armored soldiers, carrying daggers and spears, galloped back and forth in the city, chasing and killing the "rebel party"!

Old Yao Tou's voice was heavy. "This is different from the Prince's scheme. I didn't expect Lu Jin to recover so quickly. I guess it's not just Lüshun. I fear the Central Capital Road, West Capital Road, East Capital Road, and Upper Capital Road are all in the midst of killing. We can't go seek the Strategy Office anymore. We must wait for the dust to settle!"

Liang Gou'er thought for a moment. "Why can't we go surrender to Lu Jin and Yuan Han?"

Old Yao Tou scoffed, "How do you know they are definitely the winners? Over several thousand years, there have been many military rebellions that succeeded, and not a few that failed. If we stand on the wrong side, the Prince's coal plan will be wasted!"

After speaking, he turned and walked into Lüshun city, sticking to the shadows under the eaves all the way, carefully following the crow's guidance, avoiding weapons!

Passing by inns, they couldn't stay even if they had silver in their pockets!

The Jing Dynasty's household registration system was far stricter than the Ning Dynasty's. Staying at an inn required a road pass, leaving the city required a road pass, and entering the city required a road pass!

Without a Jing Dynasty road pass, they couldn't stay at inns, and they couldn't leave the cities!

They could try to rush out, but what then? They didn't come to the Jing Dynasty just to stay alive!

At this moment, Liang Gou'er, Liang Mao'er, and Zhu Yunxi looked helplessly at Old Yao Tou. Old Yao Tou sneered, "What are you panicking about? A bunch of greenhorns. First, find a small alley to make do for the night. We'll talk about what to do tomorrow!"

Liang Gou'er said indifferently, "Compared to your age, who isn't a greenhorn?"

The four of them found a remote alley and hid in the shadows!

Zhu Yunxi found several broken baskets piled together and gave them to Old Yao Tou. "You sit on the baskets. Don't catch a cold!"

Old Yao Tou glanced at him sideways. "You do have some sense!"

He lifted his clothes, sat on the baskets, and closed his eyes to rest. Zhu Yunxi then leaned against the wall, looking up at the small alley above!

The walls on both sides of the narrow alley squeezed his view of the sky into a seam!

Zhu Yunxi opened his mouth and said, "Imperial Doctor Yao..."

Old Yao Tou opened his eyes and looked at him. "Still calling me Imperial Doctor Yao? Do you want to screw me over like you did with that little dog? Just call me Old Tou. I'm an old man with a broad mind. I won't argue with you!"

Zhu Yunxi quickly said, "Or, I'll also call you master. You've taught me a lot along the way!"

Old Yao Tou shook his head. "No way. I don't acknowledge such a poor disciple!"

Zhu Yunxi opened his mouth, choked for a long time, and couldn't say anything!

Liang Gou'er, listening from the side, couldn't stand it and scoffed, "How good can that treasure disciple of yours be? He still has two eyes and one mouth. Do you truly expect him to reach the divine path realm?"

Old Yao Tou glanced at him. "You understand nothing!"

He lifted his head, looked at the sky, then closed his eyes and stopped arguing!

The sky gradually brightened!

Old Yao Tou stood up and slowly walked outside. "Follow me, but don't follow too closely!"

Zhu Yunxi quickly helped up Liang Gou'er, staying far behind Old Yao Tou, not knowing what the other person was up to!

Lüshun Port was already bustling again. The sky was not yet fully bright, and shipworkers and sailors were squatting by the roadside, silently eating their meals from bowls!

Unlike the Ning Dynasty, everyone here seemed silent and taciturn!

Old Yao Tou took out a money bag and tied it to his waist. As he walked, the silver inside clinked, making a heavy sound!

By the roadside, a young person dressed as a shipworker stared at his waist, put down their bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and followed!

Zhu Yunxi, not far away, watched wide-eyed as this young person deliberately bumped into Old Yao Tou. In just a moment, the money bag fell into the other person's hand!

Liang Mao'er was about to go chase the money bag, but Liang Gou'er lazily said, "Don't move. Old Tou did it on purpose."

The next moment, Old Yao Tou turned around and followed that young person!

The young person turned left and right, excitedly rushing towards the market outside the port, and then disappeared into a small alley!

Old Yao Tou stood still at the entrance of the alley with his hands behind his back!

Zhu Yunxi walked forward. "What are you doing?"

"Following him to find someone." Old Yao Tou stepped inside, slowly explaining, "This kind of thief, we generally call them 'small thief' or 'old glory'!

Those who sleep during the day and work at night, stealing things indoors, are called 'black front'. Those who sleep at night and work during the day, stealing from people on the road, are called 'white front'.

All small thieves must worship the dock and are managed by a single boss!

They cannot immediately sell the stolen goods. They must keep them with the boss for three days, then sell them and give seven fen to the boss!

Zhu Yunxi was indeed hearing this rule for the first time and asked curiously, "Why do they have to first keep the stolen goods with the boss for three days?"

"Because it's to protect their lives."

Old Yao Tou said casually, "Keeping stolen goods for three days is to wait for people to come find them! If they steal from a big figure, officials will come to the boss to demand the things. The boss must give them! If they can't produce the things, many people will die!"

Zhu Yunxi asked again, "Then why give the boss seven fen? That's too much!"

Old Yao Tou scoffed, "If you don't hand it over, the boss doesn't need to lift a finger himself. He'll directly call the yamen's constables to arrest you! You don't truly think this seven fen is all eaten by the boss, do you?"

At this time, Old Yao Tou came to a household door and politely knocked!

With a creak, the wooden door opened a crack from the inside, and a middle-aged person exposed half of their face, asking vigilantly, "Who are you looking for?"

Old Yao Tou smiled, "Looking for your boss, to discuss some business!"

Before the person inside could react, he had already pushed open the door and walked in!

In the courtyard, several people were bare-backed, lifting stone locks to temper their bodies!

A muscular middle-aged person was sitting on a lounge chair, and in front of him stood the young small thief who had just entered the courtyard!

The middle-aged person asked the small thief, "So much silver. I fear it's from some official or noble. Whose body did you steal this from?"

Seeing the door pushed open, the small thief was startled and pointed at Old Yao Tou, "I just stole it from him!"

The middle-aged person was also startled, then narrowed his eyes, stood up, and turned two iron balls in his hand. "I don't know which crossing-the-river dragon wants to find me, Jiang something?"

Old Yao Tou didn't waste words and got straight to the point. "I want four road passes to go to Liaoyang Prefecture on the East Capital Road! The silver in your hand is the money for the road passes!"

The middle-aged person weighed the silver and scoffed, "The silver is indeed enough, and I have road passes! But you can't just come to the door and say you want to buy them, and I immediately sell them. You coming directly to the door breaks the rules!"

Old Yao Tou's eyebrows slightly twitched!

In an instant, he picked up a stone lock from the ground with his toe and kicked it towards a martial artist in the courtyard!

That martial artist heard the stone lock whistling towards him and still tried to catch it hard, but the stone lock smashed his chest cavity, and a mouthful of blood sprayed ten zhang high! The middle-aged person's face changed and he turned to run, but another stone lock broke his leg!

After three breaths, when he turned his head to look again, there were only corpses on the ground in the courtyard. Only he was still alive. Liang Gou'er's face changed, and he stared at Old Yao Tou in shock!

Old Yao Tou stood in front of the boss with his hands behind his back, his back hunched. "Can you speak properly now?"

The middle-aged person said in a panic, "The road passes are all in the second box from the left in the house. You can take them yourself. I had eyes but didn't recognize Mount Tai just now. Please, please don't hold it against me."

Old Yao Tou waved his hand at Liang Mao'er and Zhu Yunxi. "Take the road passes, find four that go to Liaoyang Prefecture on the East Capital Road. Remember, they must match our ages!"

So-called road passes clearly stated the identity of the holder, age, where they lived, where they came from, and where they were going. They couldn't move around randomly in between! Anyone crossing passes without a document would be caned eighty times! If they crossed the border passes, they would be caned one hundred times and exiled for three years!

An incense stick later, Zhu Yunxi came out holding four road passes. "Found them. It's hard to find ones that match your age. I only found one for a sixty-four-year-old!"

Old Yao Tou sighed, "It can reluctantly be used!"

Liang Gou'er teased, "I fear it will be exposed!"

Old Yao Tou glared at him, and Liang Gou'er quickly shrank his neck!

Old Yao Tou then looked at Zhu Yunxi, pointed at the boss lying on the ground, and said indifferently, "Kill him!"

Zhu Yunxi was startled. "We've already gotten..."

Old Yao Tou glanced at him sideways. "After we leave, he'll report to the officials. Then these road passes won't be for nothing, will they? If you have womanly compassion again, I advise you to find a three-foot white silk now and hang yourself. Don't waste my time!"

Zhu Yunxi knew that he would have to kill people sooner or later! But at the moment he actually had to kill someone, he still hesitated!

Old Yao Tou gazed at him and then slowly said, "My Prince, this is the rivers and lakes!"

Zhu Yunxi was startled. The original rivers and lakes were not beautiful at all!

Different from the storytellers' tales, there were no lovers fighting with intertwined swords, no romantic gallops across ten thousand li of wind, flowers, snow, and moon. In these rivers and lakes, there were only guests who never returned!

Old Yao Tou turned and walked out the door. "If you can kill, we'll continue forward. If you can't kill, I'll walk alone!"

The next moment, Zhu Yunxi picked up a plain knife from the courtyard, raised his hand, and brought the knife down, chopping at the boss's neck!

Fresh blood splashed everywhere. The bloodstains on his face were like scattered plum blossoms, like scattered stars!

Zhu Yunxi looked up and asked, "Old Tou, where do we go next?"

Old Yao Tou said lightly, "Wumiao. To seek an old friend!"