Chapter 56: Night Kill (Requesting Follows)

Prince Shen was the ninth son of Emperor Shenzong; in his youth he suffered a sudden convulsion that nearly cost him his life. He was cured by the famous physician Qian Yi, but was left with an eye ailment that impaired his vision.

At that time, Empress Dowager Xiang and the ministers deliberated on the succession. Zhang Dun first proposed Zhao Si, the thirteenth son and younger half-brother of Emperor Zhezong, as the legitimate heir, but Empress Dowager Xiang rejected him. He then proposed the ninth son, who was also rejected; this was Prince Shen, Zhao Bi.

Zhao Ti had been close to him since childhood and often visited after leaving the palace. Aside from his somewhat dim eyesight, Zhao Bi was sharp-minded and very intelligent.

"Prince Shen said that today is the Mid-Autumn Festival and came to the residence to visit Young Master Wang. He waited for Young Master Wang for a long time without his return, and only then departed," the young eunuch reported.

Zhao Ti nodded. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, every household stayed up late admiring the moon, so he ordered someone to immediately send a gift back with a message asking when to gather at the residence. Then he practiced Wu Gong in the study for a while before retiring.

The next day, a secret letter arrived from Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower. Zhao Ti opened and read it, then after pondering, led Zhou Dong and Bai Zhan out the door.

He went to the tower. Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower was located on Zhu Que Street in the southern part of the inner city of Jingcheng. This street was not the most bustling, but it was extremely wide, with shops on both sides selling mostly calligraphy, paintings, antiques, jewelry, and jade.

When Zhao Ti left the palace, he brought seven Imperial City Guard guards. Bai Zhan and Su Dayu remained in the residence, while the other four worked at Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower.

Among them, Shang Qi possessed the highest Wu Gong and became the tower master, while Hou San and Zhu Si served as assistants.

This tower had shops on the first floor and courtyards behind; Zhao Ti had purchased it for a heavy sum from a merchant of Jiang Nan, made slight modifications, and used it as the main building.

At this moment, entering from the rear courtyard, he saw several men holding stone locks to train their strength. Seeing him arrive, they all put down their tools and stepped forward to greet him.

At this time, Shang Qi also came out to welcome him from the tower. He was a middle-aged man with a face as hard as carved stone, yet his expression carried a touch of gloom. Bowing, he said, "Young Master, please go upstairs."

Zhao Ti nodded and said while walking, "The branch mentioned in the letter indeed broke the rules?"

Shang Qi replied, "Young Master, that is indeed the case. The other party seems to have some backing, so I did not act rashly. Please decide how to handle this matter."

They entered the second floor and went into the meeting hall. "They actually call themselves the Three-Fractions Hall. What arrogance! Do they intend to take one-third of Jingcheng, or one-third of the world?"

Shang Qi said, "It does not seem that someone from the common folk could have established this."

Zhao Ti said, "The Jianghu of Jingcheng is shallow. Those who build castles in the air and exert force only within this small patch of the capital region, even if they have some backing, surely cannot extend beyond the court."

Shang Qi said, "What Young Master says is very true. I saw their arrogance and fear they are not of an ordinary background."

Zhao Ti sat down. Zhu Si brought over hot tea, and he asked, "How many men has the other party gathered?"

Shang Qi pondered and said, "Most of the remnants of the gangs previously eliminated by the tower have been taken in. Those ruffians, having no means of livelihood, naturally come when called. There are roughly several hundred of them. Now they are entrenched on the west bank of the Cai River in the outer city, once again collecting laborers' 'safety money'."

"What about the gang that originally held the west bank of the Cai River?"

"They were wiped out by the Three-Fractions Hall. Their gang leader was hacked to death by chaotic blades and thrown into the Cai River. Now he has drifted to who knows where."

When Zhao Ti returned to Jingcheng, only two or three gangs remained in the city, none posing a great threat. To conceal the existence of Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower, he ordered them to remain. Those gangs were willing to follow the lead of Golden Wind Tower, no longer causing trouble in the markets, and had turned to honest trades. Now, however, they had been swallowed by the newly risen Three-Fractions Hall.

"Are there many experts in that hall?"

"Replying to Young Master, there are only a few; most are merely ruffians and hooligans."

Zhao Ti said, "Go over tonight to take a look and simply wipe them out."

Shang Qi said, "Yes, Young Master. I will go prepare immediately."

Zhao Ti nodded, then stayed in the tower without leaving. In the afternoon, he ate dinner early and went to the outer city of Jingcheng before nightfall.

The outer city of Jingcheng was vast. Although not as exquisite and bustling as the inner city, its population was several times that of the inner city. Several rivers flowed east-west or north-south through the outer city, with docks built on each river, and a huge number of laborers and porters.

The Cai River was in the southern part of the outer city, very close to the Martial Arts Academy. This newly established Three-Fractions Hall was located not far from Yinan Bridge to the southwest of the Cai River.

This place was originally the headquarters of the previous gang. After being swallowed by the Three-Fractions Hall, it was directly occupied and used as their own main hall.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to darken. Most of the laborers on the docks had gone home, while a small portion had been temporarily hired by cargo owners to guard their goods here.

Zhao Ti, accompanied by Zhou Dong and Bai Zhan, arrived at the side of Yinan Bridge. He saw that the bridge was rugged, not as elegant in appearance as Zhou Bridge.

Standing on the bridge, he saw several covered boats drifting in the Cai River, but most were cargo ships moored beside the docks.

The headquarters of the Three-Fractions Hall was in an alley on the other side of the bridge. The alley was called Yinan Bridge Alley. Originally, it was inhabited by honest families who made their living at the docks. Later, it was gradually encroached upon by gangs, either bought at extremely low prices or acquired through other cunning pretexts, becoming a famous underground den in this area.

Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower did not deploy too many men. In fact, even though they now controlled eighty percent of the underground world of Jingcheng, they did not reach five hundred people.

If judged by the previous underground landscape, this was not few, but not many either. However, now that they were the decision-makers for the entire capital region, it seemed somewhat thin. After all, Song Dynasty Jingcheng was currently the largest city in the world, with the greatest area, the largest population, and the most extensive wealth and commerce.

However, Zhao Ti adhered to the principle that soldiers need not be numerous but must be elite. No matter how many people there were, if they were a mob, they would not be of much use.

This time, a total of only one hundred and fifty men were sent, led personally by Shang Qi, who dispersed them along both banks of the Cai River, waiting for the hour of Zi to act.

The sky grew dimmer by the minute. Although Jingcheng had no curfew, this area was not bustling to begin with. In the thick night, it gradually became extremely quiet, with only the sound of the Cai River flowing slowly echoing in the night breeze.

As the appointed time arrived, under the hazy moonlight, one could see figures of black-clad men, like ghosts of the dark night, beginning to creep into the alley from various directions.

Shang Qi possessed the highest Wu Gong and led everyone in daily martial arts training within the tower. These men of the tower, while not necessarily able to fight ten or eight opponents each, could certainly handle two or three without issue.

A fierce battle in the alley was about to erupt. Zhao Ti stood on the bridge, watching with cold eyes.

No particularly violent commotion was heard. Caught off guard by the surprise attack, the Three-Fractions Hall never expected Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower to be so bold as to dare to kill directly to their doorstep.

In just one or two ke (quarters of an hour), someone in the alley was seen holding up a candle and waving it as a signal. Zhou Dong said, "Young Master, we have taken them!"

Zhao Ti nodded: "Go over and take a look."

As the three of them had just reached under Yinan Bridge, a squad of soldiers suddenly came running from a distance, about a hundred in number. The leader was riding a horse and was hurrying towards the entrance of the alley.

Bai Zhan, standing nearby, identified them: "Young Master, it seems to be the Night Patrol of the Infantry Command of the Imperial Guard, but they should not be riding horses during night patrol."

Zhou Dong said, "Could it be that the backing of the Three-Fractions Hall has arrived?"

Zhao Ti said calmly, "Then we must go over and take a look even more!"