Chapter 447: If we inform Marquis Jing'an, how can we have the chance to take action?
The Luo family of Jizhou.

In the magnificent hall, all the elders of the Jizhou Luo family gathered.

Luo Changsheng stared blankly at a piece of paper on the table in front of him. This piece of paper was the calligraphy that Yang Zhengshan asked Luo Shang to give him.

When he took the calligraphy from Luo Shang, he felt his soul trembling. Then he returned to Jizhou City from Chongshan Pass in a daze with the paper in his hand.

After traveling for several days, he had no appetite, could not sleep at night, and was in a daze.

At this time, his face was haggard, his eyes were like dry wells, and he looked distraught.

"Changsheng, Changsheng~~"

An old voice sounded, and Luo Jiangqiu, the elder of the Jizhou Luo family, called out in a low voice.

Seeing that Luo Changsheng was still in a daze, Luo Jiangqiu frowned and reached out to pat Luo Changsheng.

"Ah!" Luo Changsheng laughed violently.

"Uncle Three!"

Luo Jiangqiu said with an unhappy look on his face: "Changsheng, now that you are the clan leader, you should act like a clan leader."

Luo Changsheng's eyes were dull, as if he hadn't heard what he said at all. Instead, he murmured, "Uncle San, what should I do?"

Compared with his previous arrogance in Luo Shang's house, he was more like a frightened cub at this moment, as if he was being stared at by a ferocious beast and he might be swallowed by the beast at any time.

It's no wonder that he was so timid, because Yang Zhengshan's calligraphy was really unusual.

This calligraphy was written by Yang Zhengshan when he was filled with murderous intent. If you just glance at it casually, you will think it is very ordinary, but if you observe carefully, you will feel the murderous intent in every word.

Especially those seven words "kill", which were like a gun pointed at the throat.

When Luo Shang saw the calligraphy, she felt chilled to the bone. What's more, Luo Changsheng had been staring at the calligraphy for so long that his mind had already been pierced by these words of killing.

Luo Jiangqiu couldn't understand Luo Changsheng's feelings, and he didn't actually take the calligraphy to heart.

It's just a piece of calligraphy, and it's not as good as his.

Although the meaning of the words was somewhat disturbing, Luo Jiangqiu only thought that they were just a few threatening words.

"Changsheng, although Marquis Jing'an is powerful, this is Jizhou, not Chongshan Pass. We don't need to be so scared!"

Luo Jiangqiu said softly.

"But~~" Luo Changsheng wanted to say something.

Luo Jiangqiu interrupted him and said, "This time we have joined forces with many officials and businessmen for only one purpose, which is to drive Jing'an Hou's forces out of Pingyuan!"

“There’s no turning back now!”

Does Yang Zhengshan have power in Pingyuan?

You can say no, or you can say yes!
Yang Zhengshan has never placed anyone in Pingyuan Province, but because of the Tenglong Guards, many forces in Pingyuan Province have close ties with him.

Such as the Zhen family of Yanzhou, the Qi family of Huai'an, as well as all large and small merchants and families that have interests in Tenglongwei.

There are also families like the Zhang family of Liao'an and Luo Shang. Although they are not forces in Pingyuan, their business empires include Pingyuan Province.

The sphere of influence does not necessarily refer to the territory in your hands, but also includes the areas you can influence.

As of now, Yang Zhengshan's influence covers the entire Liaodong.

From Chongshan Town to Liaoyuan Province, and then to Pingyuan Province, these are all areas where he can make things happen at the touch of a button.

Of course, compared with Liaoyuan Province, Yang Zhengshan’s influence in Pingyuan Province is undoubtedly much weaker.

This is also why no one in Liaoyuan Province dared to provoke Yang Zhengshan, but so many people in Pingyuan Province dared to stand up against Yang Zhengshan.

Luo Jiangqiu's concerns were correct. Now that the Jizhou Luo family had already gotten involved, it would be impossible for them to withdraw.

The threat posed by Yang Zhengshan is still in Chongshan Town, while the threat of collusion between officials and businessmen in Liaoyuan is right in front of them.

If they side with Yang Zhengshan today, the Luo family may have no place to stand in Jizhou tomorrow.

"Uncle San, can't we quit?" Luo Changsheng still had a glimmer of hope.

"No!" Luo Jiangqiu shook his head slightly, "There is only one way before us, and that is to cut off the influence of Tenglongwei on Jizhou!"

That’s right, the biggest goal of the Jizhou Luo family is to cut off the influence of the Tenglongwei navy on Jizhou’s maritime trade.

Today, the Tenglongwei Navy is the overlord of the Liaohai Sea. No matter which ship wants to sail in the Liaohai Sea, it must be protected by the Tenglongwei Navy.

Even the Jizhou Maritime Customs and the Liaodong Maritime Customs could not compete with the Tenglong Guard.

After hearing this, Luo Changsheng collapsed on his seat like a deflated ball.

Seeing him like this, Luo Jiangqiu shook his head slightly, "Since Marquis Jing'an is unwilling to give us face, there is no room for maneuver in this matter!"

"Everyone, go get ready, we'll proceed according to the plan!"

Inside the hall, the other elders looked at each other and finally nodded in agreement.

Although Luo Changsheng is the patriarch of the Jizhou Luo family, the real leader of the Jizhou Luo family is Luo Jiangqiu.

These elders all obey Luo Jiangqiu's orders.

Not long after the Luo family meeting ended, inside the Hengdao Gate, in a room with simple decorations, Ji Zhen sat by the window with an immortal look, leisurely sipping tea.

Outside the window, willow trees were covered in smoke and the curtains were heavy. The slightly hot wind blew into the room through the fluttering willow branches, lifting Ji Zhen's snow-white hair.

"Master!" Ji Hai came into the room.

"Yeah!" Ji Zhen responded casually, his cloudy eyes looking at the willow trees swaying outside the window.

"Luo does not intend to withdraw!" Ji Hai did not care about Ji Zhen's reaction and went straight to the point.

"Haha~~"

Ji Zhen chuckled, "A bunch of arrogant and ignorant people, since they are looking for death, let them die!"

The Hengdao Sect is the overlord of Jizhou. In the martial arts world, Jizhou is the territory of the Hengdao Sect. All the well-known martial artists who come to Jizhou must first come to the Hengdao Sect to pay homage to the mountain gate.

In the officialdom, the Hengdao Sect also has many connections, and even quite a few officials were supported by the Hengdao Sect.

The world of martial arts has never been just the world of martial artists; officialdom is also a part of it.

It’s just that most of the time, underworld forces are under the powerful, but this does not mean that underworld forces cannot grasp power.

If a gangster force like the Hengdao Sect did not have power in the officialdom, how could it have held the top spot in Jizhou?

What's more, Hengdao Sect also has a strong military force. What Luo family fears, Hengdao Sect doesn't care about at all.

However, Ji Hai frowned and said, "Master, isn't it a bad idea for us to do it? Should we inform Marquis Jing'an in advance?"

Ji Zhen stood up, his cloudy eyes still looking at the willow trees swaying outside the window.

He put one hand behind his back and stroked his long beard with the other hand. His skinny body stood straight, as solid and steady as a pine tree.

"If we have informed Marquis Jing'an, how can we have a chance to take action?"

"You are always hesitating and lack decisiveness!"

"What we want is not the Luo family's assets, nor the business benefits, but the thank-you gift from Marquis Jing'an!"

"Haha, after you finish this matter, you can go to Chongshan Pass in person. Jing'an Hou should not be a stingy person!"

Ji Zhen's cloudy eyes flashed, and suddenly revealed a brilliance that was difficult to conceal.

Ji Hai couldn't guess what he was thinking.

Marquis Jing'an's thank-you gift?

Apart from wine and tea, what other thank-you gift could Marquis Jing'an give?
But he would not question Ji Zhen's determination, "Then let me control the Luo family first!"

"Well! Don't worry about anything. This time we have to act openly! We have to let everyone know that in Jizhou, our Hengdao Sect cannot be ignored," Ji Zhen said in a clear voice.

Ji Hai was slightly stunned. He felt that his master today seemed a little different from before.

But he couldn't tell exactly what was different.

……

There is a canal in Jizhou, which originates from the Beiru River in Beiyuan Town, flows through western Liaoning, merges with the Xiliao River in western Liaoning, then passes through Changqing Mountain and merges into many small rivers and streams in Changqing Mountain.

Therefore, the Jizhou Canal is a river with very large water flow, especially the section from Changqing Mountain to the sea, which is large enough for large Fu ships to sail. However, large Fu ships cannot pass through the river section within Changqing Mountain. If you want to continue sailing west, you can only take a medium-sized Fu ship.

The reason why Jizhou's business was so developed was, firstly, because Jizhou was the only way to enter Liaodong, and secondly, because Jizhou's canal could lead directly to Beiyuan Town.

In the past, Jizhou's maritime trade was far more prosperous than that of other places in Liaodong. Almost all ships from Jiangnan would choose to dock at Jizhou's wharf. However, now because of Tenglongwei, Jizhou's maritime trade has suffered a considerable blow.

Even so, Jizhou is still the most prosperous commercial area in Liaodong, and its prosperity is even higher than Tenglongwei.

After all, Tenglongwei is just a garrison, and its commercial radiation range is limited to Liaoyuan and the eastern part of Chongshan Town.

However, Jizhou's commercial radiation range includes Liaoxi Province, Shanhe Province, Beiyuan Town, etc.

Therefore, Jizhou is still the most prosperous commercial place in Liaodong today.

As night falls, the canal dock south of Jizhou City is still brightly lit, with a large number of ships and migrant workers moving goods.

There are still many ships sailing in the river under the moonlight.

On the river more than 20 miles away from the Jizhou City Pier, a fleet consisting of two large ships and seven small and medium-sized boats was slowly approaching along the river.

The cool moonlight fell on the surface of the river and was dispersed by the waves created by the boats.

In the quiet night, there was no other sound except the sound of splashing water.

But suddenly, more than a dozen small boats appeared on both sides of the river.

These small boats rushed towards the fleet at an extremely fast speed, and before the sailors and boatmen in the fleet could react, the small boats had already thrown ropes over the side of the ship.

One by one, nimble figures climbed onto the boat along the ropes.

"who!"

"The Maritime Customs is conducting a search! Be quiet!"

A middle-aged man in a green official robe climbed onto the big boat and shouted in a solemn voice.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of officers came forward and took the sailors and boatmen into custody.

A chubby middle-aged man ran out of the cabin. "Hey, isn't this Lord Jiang? I, Luo Cai, greet Lord Jiang!"

The Maritime Customs had one supervisor, who was of the fifth rank, and two deputy supervisors, who were of the sixth rank. It was affiliated with the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office. Although it was in Jizhou, the Maritime Customs was not under the jurisdiction of the Jizhou prefecture office, but was directly managed by the Pingyuan Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office.

The middle-aged official in front of him was Jiang Cheng, one of the two deputy supervisors of the Jizhou Maritime Customs.

Luo Cai is the manager of the Luo family, responsible for the Luo family's maritime trade affairs.

Luo Cai naturally knew Jiang Cheng, and even their Luo family had a good relationship with Jiang Cheng.

After all, the Luo family was one of the richest businessmen in Jizhou, and they had been engaged in maritime trade for many years, and had dealt with many officials from the Maritime Customs.

Jiang Cheng looked at Luo Cai, grinned, and said, "Manager Luo, I'm sorry!"

"Ah!" Luo Cai was startled. "Master Jiang, you are joking. This is my fault!"

He was a little confused about Jiang Cheng's purpose. Why did he come to search in the middle of the night when he was not at home properly? He hadn't heard that anything happened in Jizhou!
Jiang Cheng didn't explain and directly ordered: "Capture it!"

The next moment, two officers came forward and arrested Luo Cai.

"Sir Jiang, Sir Jiang, why is this happening?" Luo Cai exclaimed.

However, Jiang Cheng ignored him and just watched as the officers tied up everyone on the boat.

There were still people on the boat who wanted to resist, but they were quickly hacked to death.

Luo Cai looked at the bloody scene and shuddered, "You are not the officers of the Maritime Customs!"

Naturally, he knew best what kind of strength the people on his ship had.

The man who just attacked was a gangster, a bodyguard hired by their Luo family at a high price. He took the risk because he had a wanted warrant on him.

However, this fierce gangster was not able to escape a single blow at the hands of the officers from the Maritime Customs.

"Hey, I'm from the Hengdao Sect!" said a big man who was escorting Luo Cai with a grin.

"You!" Luo Cai's face was full of astonishment and disbelief.

Hengdao Gate!
Why did the Hengdao Sect rob our Luo family’s ship?
And why did the Maritime Customs Office collude with the Hengdao Sect?

He couldn't figure it out, and no one else cared whether he could figure it out or not.

After capturing everyone, Jiang Cheng and the officers sailed the boat to Jizhou Pier.

(End of this chapter)