At that moment, Gu Tong, having heard the words, immediately dropped the knife in his hand and hopped onto the gangplank, trotting over to clasp his hands in greeting, "Disturbing the master’s rest at midnight, Gu Tong is at fault!"
Since Yang Ge had been promoted to a thousand households at Shangyou, it had been a long time since Gu Tong had a chance to speak a word with him.
Yang Ge, smiling, supported him lightly, "We’re all brothers here, no need for such formality... What’s the matter?"
Gu Tong replied excitedly, "Reporting to the master, we’ve just caught some people, haven’t had the chance to interrogate them yet, but from their behavior, they seem to be habitual offenders. They even used knockout smoke; if it weren’t for the alertness of the brothers, our ship would have capsized in the sewer!
"Knockout smoke? They must really be habitual offenders!"
Yang Ge nodded in surprise, "Did you catch them all?"
Gu Tong quickly bowed, "Master, Gu Tong did not manage it well. There should have been six or seven of them, but we only caught two!"
Yang Ge glanced over there, saw that most of the strongmen were drenched, and then gently patted his shoulder, "You can’t be blamed for all of this. A dragon can hardly repress a local snake... Go get to work, I’ll wait for your message!"
He waved to someone behind him, and immediately, a strongman brought a chair and placed it behind him. He then comfortably sat down.
Gu truly understood and clasped his hands again, "Just watch, sir. If even one crook escapes tonight, old Gu will fill the gap with his own head!"
After saying this, he tightened his belt, turned, and with a big jump, he leapt back onto their boat, shouting, "Come, bring these two distinguished guests inside the cabin, treat them well!"
Amid their commotion, lights on other boats moored at the Suzhou Wharf also lit up, and silhouettes of people watching this way flickered everywhere.
Fang Ke, seeing what was happening, became restless and whispered, "Chief, perhaps I should go over there and take a look..."
Yang Ge, disinterested, waved dismissively, "A few petty thieves, are they worth your personal attention, in your flying fish robe? Is it so cheap?"
Fang Ke pondered for a moment, then replied, "Then I will take a look around... Judging by the situation, they seem to be old hands at this water-based livelihood!"
Yang Ge smiled, "You think more carefully. Go ahead!"
Fang Ke bowed, then with a wave of his hand, led several strongmen and lowered a small boat to approach those lit boats.
The river wind was bitterly cold. Yang Ge tightened his heavy overcoat, his muddled head bobbing just like a chicken pecking rice.
Soon, Gu Tong returned, rubbing his bright red hands together, "Master, it’s all clear now. These two crooks are lackeys from a water gang known as the Haihe Gang!"
"The Haihe Gang?"
Yang Ge propped up his heavy head, using his not very nimble mind to recall for a moment, and found he had not heard of this gang before, then responding with a yawn-filled voice, "Since you know where our guests come from, go the extra mile and send them home... You’re the old hand here, I need not teach you the rules, right?"
Gu Tong grinned humbly, bowing, "Not at all, not at all. Every word you say, old Gu keeps in his heart, recites daily, and dares not forget till his dying days!"
Yang Ge closed his eyes smilingly, waving his hand, "Go and come back quickly!"
Gu Tong bowed once again, turned and jumped back onto their boat, his naive smile slowly turning sinister, "Brothers, grab your tools, let’s send our guests home... Move quietly, don’t disturb the master’s sleep."
"Heh heh heh!"
The murderous bunch, upon hearing this, all revealed grins as zealous and kind as Gu Tong’s.
Quickly, dozens of burly men dragged two figures like dead dogs down from the boat and hurried off.
No sooner had Gu Tong and his men departed than Fang Ke, who went to scout around, came back, "Chief, I have looked into it clearly."
Yang Ge, without even opening his eyes, responded hazily, "I know, the Haihe Gang, I’ve already sent old Gu to handle it..."
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Fang Ke glanced in the direction where Gu Tong and others had gone, and whispered softly, "Chief, what I found isn’t just about the Haihe Gang!"
Yang Ge waved, "Speak."
Fang Ke, "I found out that the stretch of waterways from Suzhou to Huai’an is controlled by Lianhuan Fort. Every cargo or passenger ship that passes through these waterways has to pay tribute to Lianhuan Fort. The Haihe Gang is just a pawn for Lianhuan Fort, helping them collect money..."
At this news, Yang Ge finally opened his reddened eyes: "This Lianhuan Fort, how does it compare to the Jiangzuo Changfeng Gang?"
Fang Ke waved to disperse the nearby strongmen and whispered, "I’ve heard a bit about this Lianhuan Fort too, and judging from the information I’ve gathered, it seems even mightier than the Jiangzuo Changfeng Gang, though the former is purely a river gang while the latter has connections with both officials and merchants!"
"Damn it..."
Yang Ge cursed in frustration, "It’s damn hard to make an honest living these days!"
Fang Ke: "My lord, men exploit the mountains and waters they live by, as has always been the case."
Yang Ge: "Just because it has always been so, does that make it right?"
Fang Ke dared not reply.
After weighing it in his mind briefly, Yang Ge impatiently said, "Damn whatever Lianhuan Fort or Iron Chain Fort, it was the Haihe Gang who targeted us first. We have every right to seek trouble with the Haihe Gang wherever we go!"
"If they from Lianhuan Fort keep thinking a powerful dragon can’t press down a local snake... then let the battle begin!"
"Let’s see whether we tear down their chains first, or they bring us down first!"
Even the numerous officials, big and small, in the capital hadn’t been pampered by me.
Can I tolerate the insolence of a bunch of river pirates?
After thinking it over, Fang Ke responded, "It doesn’t need to be that complicated, just by displaying our Brocaded Guards’ banner. Even if you give them from Lianhuan Fort several guts, they wouldn’t dare to openly attack an official ship of the Brocaded Guards!"
Yang Ge: "Then let’s display it. I want to see whether they actually have the gallant spirit of the rivers and lakes, or if they are just bullies who prey on the weak!"
Fang Ke couldn’t help laughing, "Do you actually hope they come, or do you hope they do not?"
Yang Ge: "What do you think?"
Fang Ke replied, "I guess you definitely want them to come..."
Yang Ge smiled, "Why else do you think I say you’re a smart man? If they dare to come, I’ll actually respect them a bit more, proving that their so-called chivalry of the rivers and lakes is somewhat interesting."
"If they don’t dare to show up upon seeing the Brocaded Guards’ banner... a haven for scum, better not go at all!"
Fang Ke shook his head: "My lord, you are mistaken, the chaos of various kinds in the rivers and lakes is what makes it what it is!"
Yang Ge digested his words, admiringly stated, "Mount Tai doesn’t refuse any soil, hence its greatness; the rivers and seas don’t pick the small streams, hence their depth... high-level insight, indeed!"
After pondering over Yang Ge’s words, Fang Ke also couldn’t help but express his admiration, "My lord, your learning is as vast as a wagonload of scrolls, wisdom as high as a stack of buckets, my adoration for you flows endlessly like a mighty river, and is as uncontrollable as the flooding of the Yellow River. Listening to your words is better than reading books for a decade!"
It felt good.
It felt really good.
The flattery that had been pent up inside for so long had finally been released.
Yang Ge sneered and scolded, "Stop feeding me this intoxicating nonsense, go, call the brothers on duty from the second company, to assist Gu and the others, and make sure we don’t capsize in the gutter!"
Fang Ke saluted, "Yes, my lord!"
He turned and hurriedly left, soon calling up fifty stalwarts, and disembarked to support Gu Tong and his group.
Yang Ge watched them depart, and finally closed his eyes again, wrapped himself tightly in his cloak, and sang softly in a voice only he could hear, "When you witness injustice, you roar out loud; when it’s time to act, you just act... Hey ya yi yi..."
He might not have decided yet what kind of person he wants to be in this lifetime.
But that’s okay.
Several models were already laid out before him.
He was willing to learn from them, to do the things within his power, things that are not so difficult to do.
After all, while living, one must make some noise...
He wanted everything in his sight to be just as it should be.