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Cheng Xi was not surprised at all when faced with the visitor from the Lu family.

As early as five days ago, the Qingfeng Gang sent back the few people who had stayed in Panyu. Given Yang Qing's cautious nature, how could he dare to take risks if the city was not stable?

He threw the bag back in a hurry, and it was only a matter of time before Lu Jian sent someone over.

But the questions had to be asked, so Cheng Xi asked, "What's the situation in Panyu now? Is Brother Lu safe?"

The manager smiled and said, "Don't worry, boss. The situation is now settled. The only thing left is the struggle in the court. This is exactly what my master wants..."

After listening to his slow narration, Cheng Xi finally understood the current situation in Panyu City.

That day, the prison was robbed and a number of important imperial criminals escaped. Although Prefect Lin tried to make amends and immediately announced that he had beheaded one of the straw raincoat bandit leaders, and the traitor Qiu party also died in the fire, it was obvious that the other bandit leader was missing, alive or dead, and only a few straw raincoat bandits were captured.

This is a huge matter, and it involves more than just Prefect Lin. The court must be given an explanation.

Just at this time, a fugitive who had escaped from prison was caught. He was the ruffian who had failed to assassinate Lu Jian and was sent to prison instead.

How could such a guy have any backbone? After several days of desperate investigation, the authorities followed this clue and found the culprit.

The group of ruffians who assassinated Lu Jian were hired by a shopkeeper of the Lu family, and the old shopkeeper happened to disappear before the prison break.

The government office was in an uproar. On the night of the prison break, the two sons of the Lu family were fighting each other, setting fires and assassinating each other, which distracted the defenders in the city. If this was all planned, wouldn't it be a huge crime?

Now that he had a pretext, Prefect Lin no longer cared about anyone's face. He immediately reported it, detained several managers of the Lu Mansion, and sent people to watch over Lu Jian.

That was why the messenger he sent was a few days late.

Cheng Xi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he heard this: "Even with all the commotion going on, isn't Brother Lu worried?"

Lu Jian had sent those assassins to jail, so even the victims couldn't clear themselves of suspicion, right? Wasn't he afraid that if he got too far, he'd get himself in jail too?

The steward chuckled, "The head of the family is the eldest son of the Lu family. Even if someone wants to target the master, they won't dare to kill him easily. They will most likely charge him with lax management of the family and distance themselves from the traitor."

This is the essence of political struggle. If the son commits a crime, the father will inevitably be implicated. Dismissal from office is common. If this is the case, it will be a fight to the death.

But it is another matter if relatives indulge their servants. Lord Lu will most likely be obstructed from entering the cabinet, and may even be moved to a new position in the Ministry of Personnel, but it will not cause any real damage.

But if this happens, the Lu family’s foundation in Panyu will probably be completely destroyed, and the stepmother may also be implicated.

Cheng Xi smiled and said, "Brother Lu, you have finally achieved your wish. So, what are your plans for the future?"

The steward stroked his beard and said, "I would also like to ask Gang Leader Cheng to dispatch a group of ships to transport 2,000 dan of rice from Hepu to Panyu. The family master is willing to give you another 2,000 dan as a reward for this trip."

This number is not small. Two thousand stones of rice require five or six fully loaded sloops to transport. Add the two thousand stones for delivery and the warships that guard the merchant ships, and it will be a large fleet of more than ten ships, which will definitely take up half of the Red Flag Gang's ships.

It would take more than half a month to go back and forth. Wouldn’t that delay the plan to ambush the ocean-going fleet?

Yan Yuan, Lin Meng, Sun Erlang and the others all frowned slightly, but Cheng Xi smiled and said, "Are you trying to take advantage of the situation or show weakness to the enemy?"

The steward was slightly surprised, then sighed, "The Patriarch was right. The Gang Leader saw through it instantly. After such a catastrophic incident, how could Madam let it go? However, with Panyu's foundation completely destroyed, it's impossible to train a new group. So the Patriarch suspects they'll ally with familiar bandits to attack Luoling Island, while simultaneously sending Lu's merchant ships south to meet the returning ocean-going vessels. But the Red Flag Gang is so powerful, who would dare attack them so easily? Only if the Gang Leader sends a ship to deliver food will they take the bait."

"Brother Lu, you trust my methods." Cheng Xi smiled and shook his head, then suddenly changed the subject, "Let me guess, could the bandits the Lu family is colluding with be illegal salt dealers?"

The manager laughed. "Boats and people? They must be the salt merchants. The Lu family has connections with both the Ling and Qian salt merchants. It's hard to tell who they are."

"Do you know the details of those two families?" Cheng Xi asked.

The steward pulled out a letter from his sleeve: "Please review it, Boss Cheng."

Seeing this situation, Tian Yu, who was sitting next to her like a decoration, finally changed his expression. He didn't expect that the topic would turn to the private salt dealers. She had expected this a long time ago, but she only thought of this possibility after hearing what she said that day.

However, no matter what the cause is, it will lead to a result.

The Red Flag Gang is about to clash with one or several salt merchants.

As long as we can win, will we have to worry about not finding an excuse to deal with those illegal salt dealers in the future? At that time, whether it is collecting taxes or occupying land, it will be a matter of course.

What's strange is that although he had brought a powerful enemy to the Red Flag Gang, Mr. Lu didn't even mention any reward. He also expected that the Red Flag Gang would use this opportunity to get involved in the illegal salt trade. Wouldn't Cheng Xi definitely not refuse?

Wouldn't his proposal then become a joke?

Tian Yu's expression grew increasingly grim, and he lost interest in even listening.

However, he was unwilling to push the wheelchair away in front of outsiders, so he watched Cheng Xi reach an agreement with the other party and asked the other party to go down and rest.

After seeing off the guests, Cheng Xi said to those around him, "It seems we will have to fight on two or even three fronts this time. Mengzi, this voyage is quite dangerous, and you have to lead the team. A brig to lead the way, and select twelve sloops, which should be able to transport the 4,000 dan of grain. Don't worry about the ships being fully loaded, your mission is to lure the enemy and then slowly return. Ayuan, when the fleet sets sail, there will definitely be people coveting this island, you stay behind to watch over the house, and don't be polite if any enemy comes."

After receiving the order, the two men immediately stood up and responded.

The next step should be to arrange for Sun Erlang, but Cheng Xi turned around and said to Tian Yu with a smile: "Danhui, this time I want Erlang to return to the camp on the shore with me, do you want to come with us?"

Tian Yu immediately revealed a look of disdain: "Do you want me to take care of the camp's account books? Do I look like a clerk to you?"

The tone of his voice made people want to beat him up, but Cheng Xi smiled and shook his head: "That's not the case. I'm going to meet the magistrate of Dongning County. I wonder if you are interested in joining in the fun?"

Tian Yu was stunned. How could a wealthy man from the sea dare to run to the county government office at will?

He seemed, as if, really interested in following and watching...