Chapter 189 Buy and leave, winner takes all
Since the Huitong River was built in the Yuan Dynasty, Linqing, located at the mouth of the Sancha River, has become one of the four major water transport ports along with Zhangjiawan, Dezhou and Jining, maintaining the normal operation of the entire water transport system.

Large and small ships, with black sails and white sails, come in, leave and dock in an orderly manner. After thousands of years of operation, the ships have become so well-matched here.

However, the largest berth at the dock was empty, with only a large ship moored there. Two flags were flying on the front and rear masts of the ship. The front flag had the Chinese characters “Ministry of Justice” embroidered on it, and the back flag had the Chinese characters “Prince of Beijing’s Palace” embroidered on it. There were many fierce guards with swords on their backs standing on the deck, so that the people on other ships were staring at the ship and the people on it.

The early morning river breeze made the flags on the boat rustle.

Shui Rong and Yang Qilong were standing on the bow of the ship at this time, quietly looking at the rows of merchant ships loading and unloading cargo, and the porters carrying goods and the businessmen who were giving orders up and down the dock.

“The court has issued a clear order that merchants are not allowed to wear linen and silk. Look at the attire of these merchants. This is only in Shandong. If they go to the south of the Yangtze River…” Shui Rong smiled coldly.

Yang Qilong smiled and said, “The good days of the Jiangnan gentry are coming to an end. These people will suffer the consequences.”

Shui Rong nodded.

Yang Qilong changed the subject: “So many days have passed, Huai’an should have dealt with it cleanly.”

Shui Rong didn’t say anything, just staring at the post road on the dock that led to the distance. He was waiting for news, waiting for the latest news from Huai’an. Before leaving Beijing, he sent his confidant to Huai’an to inquire about the news.

The moment he received the imperial edict, he made up his mind to just go through the motions, take a look at the scenery on both sides of the canal, and just relax.

He would not offend so many people for the emperor. He stopped and went along the way to give the Grain Transport Office enough time to deal with the matter and put forward a few scapegoats.

As for the emperor, he can believe it or not. If he doesn’t believe it, he will send his son to investigate!

“Here it comes!” Yang Qilong whispered in Shui Rong’s ear.

A galloping horse gradually approached and stopped at the top of the pier. The man immediately dismounted and ran towards this side like the wind.

Panting, the confidant said: “The people from the Ministry of Rites have gone to Huai’an.”

Shui Rong’s expression suddenly changed: “Is this true?!”

The confidant nodded and continued, “The people from the Imperial Household Department are running around in Huai’an Prefecture on the pretext of collecting case details for the prince, causing panic among the people of Huai’an Prefecture.”

“What a good trick!” Shui Rong’s hands were clenched so hard that they made crackling sounds.

Yang Qilong was also shocked, his eyebrows knitted tightly together, and then he sighed softly. With the emperor’s interference, things would be difficult to handle!
The confidant took a breath, looked around, then came forward and whispered: “When I passed by Yanzhou Prefecture, I heard a piece of news that the Qinglong Hall Master and the White Tiger Hall Master fell into the hands of the Imperial Household Department.”

Shui Rong’s brain buzzed: “What. What did you say?”

The confidant said: “It has spread all over Yanzhou Prefecture. The Imperial Household Department wants to use a prisoner car to escort the Qinglong Hall Master and the White Tiger Hall Master to the capital.”

Hearing this, Shui Rong’s head buzzed. He realized that danger was approaching him. Blood immediately rushed to his face. His heart was beating fast with panic, and his hands were shaking slightly.

Yang Qilong hurriedly supported him: “Young Master, don’t worry, things may not be as bad as you think. Even if the White Tiger Hall Master fell into the hands of the Imperial Household Department, he certainly did not confess. We still have a chance!”

Shui Rong suppressed his emotions with all his strength and held Yang Qilong’s hand tightly: “You are right, we still have a chance! We must not let the White Tiger Hall Master go to Beijing for trial!”

Yang Qilong also held Shui Rong’s hand tightly: “Young Master, rest assured, I will go there myself!”

Shui Rong moved his lips and looked at Yang Qilong as if he wanted to say something, but said nothing.

From afar, both sides of the post road were crowded with people watching the excitement. The crowds were moving, and everyone stretched their necks to look into the deep gate.

The soldiers of the patrol camp of Yanzhou Prefecture were standing like nails in the open space outside the gate. In front of them were the Yanzhou prefect Zhou Kui, the red-robed eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, and the guards of the Imperial Household Department.

Zhou Kui stood there and looked up at the sky, then said to the chief eunuch, “If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to reach Ziyang before dark.”

At this moment, I suddenly heard a noise from behind: “Here they come! Here they come! The White Lotus rebels have been brought out!”

Zhou Kui looked up.

A group of cavalrymen were divided into two rows and led the way.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of wheels was heard, and a row of more than a dozen prisoner vans drove out.

In the first prisoner car, the head of the Qinglong Hall sat with his hair loose, handcuffed and leg shackled, looking up at the sky. In the second prisoner car sat a prisoner with equally disheveled hair.

Looking at the long convoy, Zhou Kui was stunned for a moment, then looked at the chief eunuch: “Why are there so many people?”

“Let’s go.” The eunuch only said these two words, waved his hand, turned and walked towards the post road.

The guards from the Imperial Household Department who came with him replaced the cavalry from the Rui Shi Battalion and escorted the prison cart towards the post road.

The crowd of onlookers became agitated:
“I’m coming!”

“Look, the one in the front is the Azure Dragon Hall Master, and the second one is the White Tiger Hall Master!”

“Oh, the Qinglong Hall Master is still a cripple”

There was a burst of laughter from the crowd.

Behind the crowd of onlookers, a few men looked at each other.

A man spoke up: “It’s the Azure Dragon Hall Master and the White Tiger Hall Master. I can’t see their faces clearly, but their figures are very similar.”

Another man said: “Done! Hurry up and inform the brothers in Jinan Prefecture.”

Another man: “Let’s do it!”

The men quickly exchanged a knowing look, turned around and walked away.

Just under a few big trees on the northeast side of the post road, several pairs of eyes were looking here at this time.

They were the men pretending to be government officials. In front of them stood a young man in a brocade robe with crescent-shaped teeth. He was about eighteen or nineteen years old, very gentle and handsome, with a friendly face and a smiling face.

The young man put down the telescope and asked the man behind him, “Are you sure?”

The man also put down his telescope and replied, “It is definitely the Azure Dragon Hall Master.”

The young man: “Where is the White Tiger Hall Master?”

The man thought for a moment and said, “Just now a gust of wind blew, and the White Tiger Hall Master showed half of his face, but the position was not very good, so we can only say that it looked a bit like him.”

The young man said: “Second uncle said that we cannot let the White Tiger Hall Master leave Shandong alive.”

The man hesitated: “But.”

The young man raised his hand and said, “Even if it’s a trap set by the imperial court, we have to jump into it. We can’t afford to take the risk!”

The man: “Yes.”

The young man was silent for a moment, then continued, “There are still many White Lotus sect members in several prefectures in the north. Spread this news over there and let them take the lead. We will reap the benefits while we sit back and wait.”

At this point, he smiled and said, “Without the secret support of the White Lotus Sect, who among the untouchables would dare to go against us? The land in Shandong can only belong to the Kong family!”

The men smiled at each other.

The young man suddenly remembered: “Did those officials investigate yesterday?”

The man said, “We didn’t find any. We checked with the prefect of Yanzhou, but they didn’t find any. It’s impossible for the provincial capital to send people down so quickly. I suspect they are not from the government.”

The young man thought for a while and said: “Forget it. If we kill the White Tiger Hall Master, no one will know about those things. Get on the horse and go back to Qufu first!” After saying that, he saddled and mounted the horse.

This is the arrow tower. Li Hu is holding a monocular telescope and looking towards here.

To his left, Wang Yaozu put down his telescope and said softly, “These are the people who followed the general yesterday.”

Li Hu looked at the flying dust and said with a smile: “No matter which faction they are, the winner can only be me”

(End of this chapter)