Chapter 560: The Various Forces of Qingjiangpu

At those words, Zhang Yunxian's eyes bulged — no wonder the man hadn't said it up front; he meant to outdo him on numbers. But Tall Whip just grinned, paying no mind to the glare from this side.

"Those who can fight and kill" meant the ones who'd charge to the front and do the work. "Showing strength" meant the ones who'd follow along, looking like a dark, menacing mass to frighten people. The cart guilds had plenty of carters and no shortage of dock-wallopers who lived off loading and unloading — manpower was never a problem.

Lian Ping'an tapped two of his stubby fingers, a jade ring set with gems on one, against the tea table beside him. "Forget the show of strength," he said in a muffled voice. "I want men who can fight. Get the iron weapons into their hands. Both of your outfits are going."

Handing out iron weapons meant blood was going to be spilled. Both outfits going meant over a thousand able-bodied men would be used in a single move. A clash of arms on this scale — even by the standards of Qingjiangpu's turf wars — was a huge affair.

Even Tall Whip's smile faded. His expression turned solemn as he cupped his fists and said, "Master, if we're gathering that many men, the earliest would be the day after tomorrow. I fear it may delay your affairs."

"The day after tomorrow it is. This matter isn't about speed — it's about finishing it in one stroke. Gather the most men and flatten him in one push. Even if there's an investigation afterward, there'll be no loose ends. A local armed brawl — so what if his father's some pure-stream capital official? His son doesn't know how to conduct himself. Can't blame anyone else."

At this point, Lian Ping'an's face turned grim and somber. "I know you two don't get along," he said coldly, "but this time, don't drag each other down. Let me make this clear to you: a censor's son comes here to open a big cart firm — do you really think he's after the few coppers from hauling freight? Leave him unchecked, and he'll swallow both of you clean, then come swallow me next. Do you understand?"

That hit home for the two men. Zhang Yunxian and Tall Whip exchanged a glance, and much of the hostility between them faded. But Lian Ping'an cursed again in fury, grinding his teeth: "Some local thug from Xuzhou — who knows how many lifetimes of virtue his family scraped together to pass the exams and get a capital post — and now he's forgotten his own name! He actually dares come to Qingjiangpu to snatch food from our mouths!"

With the matter settled, the two men hastily took their leave. At the door they exchanged a brief greeting before going their separate ways. The Henan and Shandong cart guilds were openly hostile, but both were already large enough that neither could wipe out the other, and with a figure like Commissioner Lian above them, they still had some private contact. In a situation like this, they had all the more reason to share a common hatred.

The sun had already sunk in the west. Qingjiangpu had no city wall, and from a distance one could watch the sun hanging at the edge of the sky. Zhang Yunxian dozed off in his carriage, waking halfway through the journey, and began mulling over the mobilization of men. A big fight like this, where blood would be drawn and real effort required, demanded ample silver — otherwise no one was willing to risk their life. But afterward, Commissioner Lian would reimburse the expense. On matters of silver, Commissioner Lian had always been generous.

"Master Xian! Master Xian!" Still groggy, Zhang Yunxian was woken by his driver, only to hear a clamor of shouting and cursing up ahead.

Before he could figure out what was happening, the driver said urgently, "Master Xian, someone's making trouble right at our front gate..."

At those words, Zhang Yunxian jolted awake inside the carriage. He pushed aside the curtain and saw that the carriage had already reached his own front gate — where over a dozen of his household servants were gathered around four mounted men, shouting and cursing.

Seeing that the riders wore ordinary short robes and were no official figures, Zhang Yunxian's temper flared at once. Still holding the curtain, he roared, "You worthless trash! You're embarrassing me! Grab some weapons and get at them!"

At his shout, everyone — on horseback and on the ground — turned to look. Only then did Zhang Yunxian realize with shock that several of his servants had red welts on their faces, as if scars had appeared out of nowhere.

One of the riders, a stocky, burly man, gave a vicious grin. With a flick of his wrist — Crack! — came a sharp snap. Another servant cried out in pain, crouching down with his hands over his face. The others hastily scattered back. The five riders burst into loud laughter. Zhang Yunxian's expression turned hideously ugly. Only now did he understand: the other side had come to bully him right at his own doorstep.

"Are you Zhang Yunxian?" one of the men demanded, pointing directly at him with his riding crop.

The corner of Zhang Yunxian's eye twitched. In Qingjiangpu, not even the yamen runners dared act so brazenly toward him. But he couldn't keep too many men stationed at his own residence — in a neighborhood where wealthy and respectable families lived, having fierce, blade-carrying jianghu types around made a poor impression. And with only those household servants who waited on him, he was no match for the five riders before him. A real headache.

When he made no reply, the man went on of his own accord: "Our big brother says this: disband the cart guild, and we'll let you keep your life. You can also keep eighty percent of your current household property and wealth. If not — don't bother keeping anything at all."

When he finished, the whole street fell silent. For a moment Zhang Yunxian didn't react. He reached up and rubbed his forehead, wondering if he hadn't fully woken up. Someone was actually saying such unhinged nonsense — telling him to dissolve the cart guild. Without that setup, what would he even have left? And to hand over twenty percent of his family property — that was even more of a joke. It was what his father had scraped and bled to leave him, and what he meant to pass down to his own children. On what grounds should he give it away? The arrogance was beyond all bounds.

"Call the men! Call the men here! Kill these bastards! Kill them!" When it finally sank in, Zhang Yunxian trembled from head to toe, his features twisted. Pointing at the five riders, he screamed curses — he was utterly beside himself with rage.

The five riders showed not the slightest fear. Two of them cracked their whips forward — the whip-tips snapped like firecrackers, making the Zhang household servants shrink back. The five men laughed loudly and rode off without a care.

From the moment he stepped out of the carriage until he sat down in his chair, the trembling in Zhang Yunxian's body never stopped. The cart guild had been in Qingjiangpu for decades, and no one had ever dared treat him like this. The words those five had spoken had truly driven him mad with fury.

"Go find Tall Whip. Tell him he absolutely must send out those desperadoes he keeps. I'll pay for them myself." Zhang Yunxian sat in his chair, speaking through gritted teeth.

He didn't even bother with his evening meal. Over a hundred gang bosses of the cart guild in Qingjiangpu all gathered at Zhang Yunxian's residence. Zhang Yunxian put it to them even more bluntly: "I know every one of you has a few ruthless desperadoes at your disposal. Bring them all out this time. Any fierce, fight-ready characters you know — call them all in. After it's done, report the numbers and the guild treasury covers it. Whatever you get, you keep. And that cart firm — it's got at least several dozen carts and over a hundred head of large livestock!"

The gang bosses were all excitement. Report the numbers and the guild treasury covers it — that was a chance to line their own pockets. And those dozens of carts and over a hundred head of large livestock were an even fatter prize. They were all men of the jianghu — who didn't know a few ruthless desperadoes? Call them over and get rich together.

They knew about the thugs who'd had their hands and feet broken. They knew about the yamen runners who'd come off worse. But in their eyes, those incidents meant nothing. Those types were fine for extortion, blackmail, and intimidation — but when it came to tearing off all pretense and fighting with real blades and real guts, they were no match.

The men, bristling with murderous intent, swore their loyalty and dispersed. Zhang Yunxian had always played the respectable gentleman and preferred to be called Squire Zhang. Today's conduct showed just how furious he was.

The residence had barely quieted down when another household servant came hurrying back. Zhang Yunxian, who had barely sat down all day, was already exhausted. His expression was now extremely sour. Seeing the servant return, he immediately glared and demanded, "Little Six got his arm broken, and there's another corpse. What did the yamen say...?"

"... They say they're short-handed, and the Prefect has also sent down instructions. But the goodwill from you, Master, still counts for something — they'll stay neutral, helping neither side..."

Before the stammering servant could finish, Zhang Yunxian slammed his hand against the armrest and roared, "All those favors — fed to the dogs!"

Just then, another servant who had been sent to the Gao household hurried into the room. As soon as he entered, he said, "Master, Tall Whip's side has agreed. He says there's no need for you to pay — he'll send out all the men he has. He also said he hopes our house won't hold anything back."

Zhang Yunxian was still in the heat of his rage. At those words, he burst out cursing: "Tall Whip's playing that same damned trick on me again! Even at a time like this, he's still scheming!"

Once he'd finished venting, the household servant said nervously, "Master, this humble one thinks Tall Whip was speaking the truth. Today, someone also went to his house and told him to disband the cart guild and hand over twenty percent of his family property."

Zhang Yunxian froze at those words. He stood there stunned for a long moment — and then, unexpectedly, he laughed. "And here I thought Wang Dagang had brought in some wolves, tigers, and leopards," he said, laughing as he spoke. "Turns out it's just a pack of fools like this. They think our Qingjiangpu is the same as their Xuzhou? Ridiculous. Truly ridiculous."

Though nominally they were Shandong and Henan outfits, and the men under their control did indeed come from those two provinces, the guild's upper ranks had long since come to think of themselves as locals.

The reason for his laughter was simple: who made enemies like this? Not content to provoke just one, they had to provoke both at once. Were they afraid they weren't dying fast enough?

If it were just the Shandong and Henan cart guilds alone, they might not be able to muster too grand a show. But with Granary Commissioner Lian Ping'an driving things forward, the whole of Qingjiangpu was already in turbulent motion. Every jianghu faction with any connections was being contacted; anyone with manpower was joining in.

The labor bosses on the canal docks drew their best fighters from their crews. The enforcers and guards from the gambling dens and brothels were inevitably roped in too. The forest bandits operating on Qingjiangpu's outskirts and the river pirates working the waterways also sent men. Even a portion of the granary guards and laborers from the Ever-Full Granary were pulled out, to be counted as cart guild manpower. Every faction used fast riders to communicate, and replies came back the same day. Everyone made their living in Qingjiangpu; everyone profited within the existing order. The moment they heard outsiders were ignoring the rules, their instinct was shared enmity — and they were all the more willing to contribute men and effort.

Besides, with Lian Ping'an, a local heavyweight, driving things behind the scenes, anyone with half a brain could see: sit this one out, and you probably wouldn't have a place here anymore.

The only thing the cart guild's liaisons found odd was that none of the salt-smuggling outfits made a move. But there was nothing to be done about that — those people had the Yangzhou magnates behind them, formed their own closed circle, and were only passing through here.

What neither Zhang Yunxian nor Tall Whip had expected was that Lian Ping'an had actually talked his way into the Shanyang County jail and secured the release of over twenty serious offenders. Men like that were already facing death sentences or heavy charges — they had no scruples in a fight, were ruthless and vicious, and had no fear of bloodshed or murder charges. That boosted everyone's confidence even further.

Thanks to the four new and old friends "User Cold Night, Er Tan, Yuan Heng Li Zhen, and Lonely Walker" for their tips, and thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets.

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