Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 225

Chapter 225 Ask a Tiger for Its Skin
The black-clothed man looked at Qin Mubai with his empty mask. He seemed to be quite pleased with himself. He patted his clothes and sat down. He said slowly, “Don’t worry, General Qin. Business is a matter of time. We have already spent a lot of time talking about it. We don’t care about talking about it for a while longer.”

“What do you mean?” Qin Mubai sat down and asked.

“Ho ho!” The black-clothed man laughed heartily. “Today, I’ll tell you the truth! Since the tax payment began last autumn, we’ve been asking who will be the next governor of Xiangzhou and who will take over the Xiangzhou Military Manor. Later on, we found out that it was you and Li Ke. This really made us happy.”

“Why?” Qin Mubai couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed.

“Because only under the cover of a big shot like you can we live a better life and earn more money. When we earn enough money, it’s time for us to quit.” The black-clothed man chattered with a strange smile. “Don’t you feel angry, General Qin?” Actually, you don’t have to be angry. We don’t have the slightest intention of looking down on you. Actually, we are really afraid of you, especially you, Qin Mubai. You’re shrewd, tough, hard to deal with. Li Ke, with his reputation and fame, was actually not a threat, because his mind was very big. He only treated Xiangzhou as a mere place to pass by and didn’t care about it. So from the beginning, we had a detailed plan to deal with you. ”

Qin Mubai knitted his brows. “So, since we stepped onto the ground in Xiang Zhou, you’ve been keeping an eye on our every move with your passwords?”

“Wrong.” The black-clothed man said, “Ever since you haven’t left Chang’an, your every move has been under our surveillance. I even know that your father went to Lanzhou. Your unmarried wife runs a wine shop in Chang’an and is planning to open a shop in Xiang Zhou to make a living.”

Qin Mubai couldn’t help but be a little annoyed, “If you dare to touch my family, the consequences will definitely be very serious!”

‘”Don’t be angry, General Qin. We’re just asking for money. We never hurt people innocently, and we don’t want to make enemies everywhere. We’ve been working hard for a long time. Isn’t it to make friends with General Qin and make a fortune together?” The black-clothed man calmly said, “I’m sure you know a little about us.” I don’t have to hide it from you. Yes, we do have a lot of food on hand that we are eager to sell. Grain, you know. The climate in Jiangnan is moist and mildewy. Once it’s mildew, it’s worthless. Didn’t you pretend to be a merchant last time and pretend to be Chang’an Wu Yuanqing to go to Zhengchang Grain House to discuss business? The lion said that he wanted 500,000 stones of grain. Coincidentally, Zheng Anshun really came to Xiangzhou afterwards. This was a great opportunity bestowed by the heavens. And then there were some changes in our plans. ”

“Then can we talk about your original plan?” Qin Mubai said coldly.

“Ho-ho, there’s no harm in telling you!” The black-clothed man laughed loudly, “Originally, we were planning to wait for your unmarried wife, the famous businesswoman Wu Meiniang, to arrive in Xiang Zhou in recent years before we could find a way to get rich with her. Then, through her, we can get through to your doorstep and make things easier for us.” Unexpectedly, after we put on a show to test your attitude, you took the initiative to come to us. Unfortunately, you even moved out of Zheng Anshun. This was a great opportunity. The Zheng Clan in Chang’an was the biggest buyer in the world. In this way, a new plan was born. ”

“So, Zheng Anshun is missing, Princess Wu and her daughter are missing, and my deputy Pang Fei and the commander of the navy, Zhao Chong, are also missing, right?” Qin Mubai said coldly.

‘”You’re right. However, if something unexpected happens, General Qin, please take care of it! If we bandits want to sit down and discuss business with General Qin, we should have some capital, right? But don’t worry, we definitely didn’t dare to abuse any of them. We’ll all serve them deliciously. They’re all very safe and comfortable.” The black-clothed man said, “Say a thousand, say ten thousand. We just want General Qin to make a fortune with us. Everyone has their own ways. How leisurely is that?”

“What do you mean, we each get what we need?” Qin Mubai asked.

“Haha, why would General Qin pretend to be stupid?” The black-clothed man smiled, “Previous governors of the Xiang Province and the Commandant of the Military Manor, which one of them isn’t with us?” It is precisely because we know that King Wu Li Ke and General Qin’s morale is extraordinarily arrogant that we are cautious and prudent. Seeing that you seem to have put on an attitude that is incompatible with ours, I have no choice but to make this decision. Actually, why are you doing this? Life is a lifetime, but vegetation, earn more money, live a good life, sweet wife beautiful concubine land ten thousand hectares, full of food and carefree all day, don’t you leisurely? You are of noble birth, so you don’t have to worry about money and livelihood when you are born. We bandits were originally just poor commoners, but if we want to be rich and honorable, we have no choice but to find our own ways. ”

“So you robbed and murdered people and stole goods?” Qin Mubai sneered.

“Alright! I’m not here to tell you these great truths.” The black-clothed man seemed to be a little impatient. He lightly knocked his fist on the table and said, “I have the sincerity to cooperate with General Qin and make a fortune together. I just don’t know, what does General Qin think?”

“To be rich, everyone wants to be rich. No one has any hatred for money.” Qin Mubai rubbed his chin and said, “I just want to know how we work together, what should I do, what can I get, and what risks do I have to take?”

“Alright. General Qin’s words are the attitude a person who talks about business should have.” The black-clothed man nodded and said, “What we need General Qin to do is actually very simple. That is, for the next few days, you will ignore the matters on the surface of the river. At the same time, you will issue a military order to allow us to travel freely on the Han River.”

Qin Mubai smiled. “Then do you want to lend the Divine Fish Ship of the Military Manor to you? That thing has a large loading capacity and no one can inspect it. I’m afraid there’s no safer loading tool in the world than a military ship.”

“General Qin, don’t be sarcastic.” The black-clothed man said calmly, “Actually, as long as you are sincere and sincere enough to cooperate with us, you don’t need to do anything.” Every year and every month, we take the initiative to show filial piety before the meeting. I guarantee that even after the Mid-Autumn Festival Dragon Boat Festival, you will receive more filial piety money than your salary for three years. “If you want, you can become the local emperor of Xiang Prefecture. Whether it is in the official circles or in the green forest, you will definitely be able to respond to every request. Everyone will follow your lead.”

“What about King Wu Li Ke?” Qin Mubai said, “He is the secretary. Logically speaking, he is the lord of Xiang Province.”

“He” The black-clothed man chattered with disdain. “Although he is a prince from the common people, his ambition is not small. He came from far away to Xiang Zhou to be an official, neither seeking fame nor fortune, it is difficult for us things to impress him. But I can guarantee that he will live a very peaceful and peaceful life in Xiang Zhou these days. He will not be impeached like when he was in An Zhou. As you know, although Li Ke is smart and strong, he has a lot of bad habits. Choose any one of them. It’s a metaphor for being addicted to gambling. It’s enough to join the Emperor in playing a book for him. ”

Qin Mubai’s eyebrows sank slightly, and he couldn’t help but feel somewhat surprised. This group of people actually had such heaven-reaching abilities? !

“Don’t be surprised, General Qin. Don’t even think about it.” The black-clothed man said calmly, “We are just a bunch of bandits. There is no one to support us in the court. However, the official system of the Great Tang Dynasty is very clear. It is not difficult for ordinary people to sue the prince. Anyone who writes a lawsuit to the Chang’an Martial Temple or the Imperial Stage will not dare not accept it or hide it, will they?”

“You are indeed scheming. You are vicious and despicable!” Qin Mubai shouted.

“Haha, thank you for your compliment.” The black-clothed man smiled and said, “In these days, either the righteous gentleman has long since passed away, or two meals and three meals have not been served.” In contrast, I am still willing to be a despicable and shameless villain. Actually, we are really a bunch of useless bandits. All we want to do is earn some money and then go back and be a good citizen. He didn’t want to be rich and noble, but it was enough for him to live a slightly better life than an ordinary family. If General Qin is in a dilemma, I’m afraid that it will be difficult to explain to the Imperial Court and the Emperor. We can also make a promise. After we sell this batch of grain, we will wash our hands and retire to Jianghu, and the West River Water Ghost will disappear from here on out. In the future, General King Wu and General Qin can also report this achievement to the Imperial Court, saying that after you take office, the political purity thieves under the rule of Xiang Zhou will have no worries and will receive a great reward. “Isn’t this both beautiful?”

“That sounds good. It’s really tempting. I, someone from the Qin Empire, don’t have to do anything. I can earn a lot of money, get peace, and get praised.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “But I feel like I’m trying to hide from a tiger.”

Qin Mubai thought very clearly. The so-called thief, a thief’s heart does not die. Just like those guys who sold Ecstasy K powder on the dance floor of Hall D in their previous lives, they tricked those ignorant young people, even if they didn’t give it away for the first time and said how much fun it was. After that, when other people became addicted to drugs, they would be on the same boat as thieves, and they would start to coerce them, and even force them to become prostitutes.

Right now, the black-clothed man was only using the same trick. He started to talk about smallpox and tried his best to drag him into the water. After he went into the water, he had no choice but to put the blame in the other party’s hands. The so-called barefoot ones weren’t afraid of wearing shoes. They were all water ghosts who had their heads on their waists and were ready to get their heads cut off at any moment. Officials like Qin Mubai didn’t want to risk their lives so much, so they had to submit and under their coercion, continuously seek benefits for them, completely turning them into tools and puppets.

This is often said, often in the river, where there are not wet shoes; Since his shoes were wet, he could just take a shower. Once in the water, never go ashore.

This was probably the method that the water ghosts of the West River Channel had always relied on for their livelihood. As for the incumbent officials, they coerced and lured people into the water, and then, with the indulgence and support of the government and the army, they began to act recklessly. Every time a new official was appointed, they would do the same. Because he always held someone else’s hand, he was always fearless. For those who refused to cooperate, it would probably end badly. Either they were excluded, or they were accused of dirty charges and impeached, presumably a lot of people would die in the end.

At this moment, Qin Mubai was even more certain that Du Chengyuan in the military manor was definitely a fellow member of the Water Ghost Faction. They were very clever and would never take the lead as the “first in command”. Instead, an officer wearing a sinner’s puppet above their heads had helped him endure it. Actually, he was the most undeniable Earth Overlord in the military manor.

On the other hand, Wei Aochen must be in the same situation in the secretariat’s mansion.

As a result, over the years, the governor of Xiangzhou and the commandant of Xiangzhou Military Manor had become puppets, scapegoats, and scapegoats. No wonder the people in these two positions changed more and more frequently, but everyone kept their mouths shut and didn’t reveal any news about the water ghost to the public.

Thinking about it, Xiangzhou’s water ghost, the government, and the army almost formed an “industrial chain”. There were many hidden rules.

…

“Actually, we are the ones who are scheming against the tiger.” The black-clothed man took Qin Mubai’s words and said, “Throughout the history of the governors of the Xiang Province and the commandants of the military, there is nothing more troublesome than you and Li Ke.” In the past, we only needed to send a lobbyist to give two cages of gold and silver to solve all the problems. At most, we could use some of the despicable and shameless tricks you said to force people to submit. But you can’t. You are all people with great backgrounds, and you have some abilities of your own. We don’t dare to force you to submit to us as our puppets. We are just humble enough to show filial piety to you. After making money, the big head is yours. We only earn a small profit to support our family. Is this too much? ”

‘”Does that mean that from now on, I, Qin, will only need to sleep in the military manor. I don’t need to do anything else to make an official rich, right? Otherwise, I will never be able to live peacefully. I might lose my official position, lose my family and friends, or even my family.” Qin Mubai said.

The black-clothed man nodded solemnly, “If I put it bluntly, this is indeed the situation.”

“Looks like I don’t have a choice anymore!” Qin Mubai smiled bitterly.

“General Qin is a very smart person. We believe that you will make the right choice.” The black-clothed man said.

“I need to seriously consider it.” Qin Mubai said, “And before I make my decision, I should know if the princess, Pang Fei, and Zhao Chong are safe.”

‘”Don’t worry, they are all very good. Bandits have their ways. We do things according to the rules. Otherwise, we won’t be able to survive for so many years. You will see them when things are done. Please forgive me for being unreasonable and not letting you see them.” The black-clothed man said, “Within three days, we’ll be waiting for good news from General Qin. When you decide, let Hua Niangzi know.”

Qin Mubai glanced sideways at Hua Niangzi, who was standing at the side. The woman giggled and said, “General Qin, why are you so narrow-minded? Are you still angry with this servant? This servant only sees you handsome and wants to play with you. It’s just like when you guys meet beautiful women and always want to flirt with them. It’s no different.”

Qin Mubai frowned coldly in his heart and said, “Are you here to find her?”

The black-clothed man nodded and said, “I have to warn General Qin. Your every move is under our watch. Please don’t play any tricks. If you anger us, it will be a matter of life and death. Please forgive us, General Qin. We only want money and don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Alright, I understand.” Qin Mubai stood up and said, “I’ll give you an answer in three days. However, please make sure that all the hostages you kidnapped are safe and sound. Especially the sickly princess and young princess. If anything goes wrong … the consequences will be on your own!”

“Don’t worry. We know this kind of thing. General Qin just needs to take care of himself.” The black-clothed man also stood up and slowly nodded. Two cold rays of light shot out from the empty hole in his mask and landed on Qin Mubai. He said, “I also ask General Qin to be careful not to do anything he shouldn’t do. Otherwise, he will also bear the consequences.”

“See you later!”

Qin Mubai shook her robes and walked downstairs.

‘”Giggle–” Lady Hua smiled and touched the black-clothed man. She rubbed the man’s elbows with her full breasts and said, “Dead devil, I’m so angry with this little man’s coquettish aura that my whole body is on fire. Quickly, come and get it on me!”

“Alright, hahaha!” The black-clothed man deliberately laughed loudly and grabbed Hua Niangzi’s breasts with both of his hands. Hua Niangzi immediately groaned loudly.

Qin Mubai, who had just gone downstairs, suddenly felt his heart tremble. His entire body was hot and his mouth was dry. There was a fiery fire burning in his lower abdomen. There was almost only one thought left in his heart. He wanted to lie on Hua Niangzi’s body and kill her alive!

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with me?” Qin Mubai touched his face with both hands, and it was as if it was burning!

“Not good, I was poisoned by aphrodisiacs. I actually only discovered it now!” Qin Mubai looked vigilantly at the eight glass lamps on the roof and was shocked. Right, this strange fragrance was a poison!

“Keke!” Hua Niangzi smiled and shook his body down the stairs naked. He covered his breasts with his hands and snorted coquettishly, “Come on, handsome little man, big sister will definitely love you!”

“Bitch, you actually poisoned me!” Qin Mubai roared angrily.

“Oh, don’t be angry! Could it be that sister’s appearance is really unfortunate for you?” Hua Niangzi licked his lips on the stairs and waved his finger at Qin Mubai. “No man has ever been able to escape from my palm. You won’t be the first. You’ve already been poisoned by my strange flower poison. If you don’t have a good time with me, you’ll become a eunuch from now on. How about it, you choose for yourself?”

The black-clothed man upstairs scolded, “Bitch, I told you not to attack General Qin, but you refused to listen. He is our distinguished guest!”

“What’s the point? It’s just fun. It won’t ruin him. In the end, I’m the one who’s at a disadvantage!” ‘”Then again, if he doesn’t have the bad habit of cheating, how can he be poisoned? Don’t you think we’re fine?” Said Hua Niangzi with a charming smile.

Qin Mubai was stunned. Could it be that when I climbed over the wall and entered, I picked a gardenia flower to smell and mixed it with the exotic fragrance in the lamp oil in this room, causing me to be poisoned?

“Bitch, old witch, this daddy would rather be a eunuch than have sex with you! Bah, you can eat cucumbers!” Qin Mubai rushed forward after cursing, only to find that the door was locked tightly. He was furious in his heart and used all his strength to kick down. The huge and sturdy door was knocked over by him just like that, only scaring the black-clothed man and Hua Niangzi.

“Stinking bitch, you seem to have gone too far!” The black-clothed man scolded.

“How did I know he was so strong? How could there be such a man in this world?” Lady Hua was also a little stunned. She said regretfully, “Every man has obediently obeyed me after having fun with me, Yun Yu. Isn’t this also one of your plans?”

“Looks like … we still don’t know him well enough. He is indeed not an ordinary man!” The black-clothed man sighed, “Forget it. Fortunately, it’s just a small potion that is not very poisonous. It will cure itself in an hour or two. Why did you frighten him just now? If you didn’t immediately have fun, you would become a eunuch?”

“Because no man can withstand such coercion and temptation.” “Is this guy a eunuch?” Lady Hua stomped her feet angrily.