Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 401: Bandits Are Hard to Get Rid of

"Fuck, that woman just now was such a jerk. She just wanted to steal some money. Why did she fight to the death?"

Wu Shan gritted his teeth, reached his fingers into the wound on his left shoulder, groaned, and pulled out the burning bullet stuck between the muscle and bone.

The deft cobalt blue water flow wrapped around the hideous wound. After about a dozen breaths, a light pink scar replaced it, healing Wushan's shoulder that had just been accidentally injured by a stray bullet.

The cobalt blue water stream, whose name is [Beizao], is the secret enhancement of Wushan’s inheritance [Flag of General Cat·Red Banner]. It belongs to the five elements and can heal as well as protect. Even among the secret enhancements collected by Yan Zhaohui, its quality is ranked top.

Wushan was holding a jewelry box that he had stolen from the Shi family's private residence. Not long after he walked out of the alley, he came across a screen wall that extended to the edge of the street and had a lonely word "dang" engraved on it.

All businessmen in this world generally avoid having a wall in front of their shops, after all, it is a bad omen, and it is said that such a wall blocks both the path to wealth and the feng shui. There are only a handful of businesses that can ignore these and have a screen wall in front of their doors.

"pawnshop?"

Wushan stopped and glanced at the dark-skinned man who suddenly appeared from nowhere in the distance. He didn't want to deal with this group of mad dogs that bite anyone they see with a suspicious look on his face for the time being, so he turned around and walked into the pawnshop with high doors and thick walls in front of him without much hesitation.

"Sir, do you want to pawn it to redeem it?"

An old official with gray hair was sitting behind a tall counter, fiddling with an abacus while looking at an account book. When he saw Wushan walk in with a jewelry box, he immediately started soliciting business as usual.

"Well, as some jewelry."

Wushan casually threw the jewelry box into the pawn slot, jumped up, and immediately sat down beside the high counter, staring at the old Chaofeng with a pair of cold eyes.

"Old man, let me tell you in advance that my eyes are sharp, so don't play any tricks on me."

When the old Chaofeng saw Wushan smelling of alcohol and with blood on his shoulder, although he didn't know what he was up to, he was obviously on guard.

"Of course, of course. Don't worry, sir."

He opened the jewelry box and saw all kinds of dazzling jewelry inside. The golden hairpins, jade hairpins, and fire coral bracelets were so colorful and gorgeous that people couldn't take their eyes off them.

[Golden Step-Shake], valuable item, can be exchanged for 150 Yama Points

[Jade Hairpin], valuable item, can be exchanged for 80 Yama Points

The jewelry here is worth 700 points if converted into points. For Wushan, who is at the Tenth City level, it is a considerable windfall.

"The amber hairpin with peony in gold seems to be from the Kangxi period. It can be sold for about 1,000 taels of silver. The jade hairpin with wrapped silk and dotted with kingfisher feathers is of very good quality, but the carving is average. The market price is around 500 taels of silver."

The old official counted them one by one, ticking away the time on the abacus in his hand.

Wu Shan listened to the old man mumbling with a blank expression on his face. The information reflected by his [Glance] on his iris indicated that the market price reported by the old man in front of him was at least half lower than the actual value, not to mention that he would have to lower the price again according to industry practice later.

"Okay, stop wasting time and give me a total price. I want cash."

Wushan knocked on the iron gate in front of him and pulled the calculating old Chaofeng out of the abacus beads.

"Then it's three thousand taels of silver, Beiyang's silver note, you can take it now by presenting the note."

The old official closed the jewelry box and held up three fingers.

"Okay, bring the money."

Wushan lowered his eyes, and four colors of brilliant light flowed on his dangling fingertips.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will be back soon."

The old court official was pleased to see Wushan did not bargain. He walked to the room behind the counter with the jewelry box in his hand, muttering to himself that he had made a lot of money today. The counter was filled with loose copper and silver. If one wanted to make a large transaction, one had to first go to the pawnshop's special cash box to get the bills.

When Wushan saw Lao Chaofeng leaving, he waved his hand, and the red ball [Nanli] burned the dozen or so steel bars blocking his way red. The cobalt blue water stream [Beizao] followed closely behind, rapidly cooling the iron bars whose temperature had risen sharply.

Heat expands and cold contracts!

Listening to the tiny cracking sounds coming from inside the iron bars, an apricot-yellow light [Zhongwu] bypassed the gap in the iron bars, and the left and right ends were tied to the blue-green long stick [Dongsu] like soft ropes. Wushan exerted force to twist the long stick clockwise, and in an instant, more than a dozen iron bars were twisted into a twist, and it was pulled off the counter!

Dang rang~
When the old Chaofeng heard the unusual movement, he quickly stuck his head out to look back, only to see a blue-green stick head getting bigger and bigger in front of his eyes!
Bang!
[Dong Su] The long stick easily smashed the old Chaofeng's head, blood burst out, and a bit of pale brain matter splashed onto Wushan's toes.

"I hate profiteers most. You, an old ghost, ran into me today. It's your destiny to meet this disaster."

Wushan snorted coldly, stepped over the old man's body which was still warm, swung his stick to knock over several shop assistants who came out to watch, and looted all the treasures and gold in the cash box.

Soon, as Wushan put all his belongings into his personal space, a vague and illusory female voice came to his ears.

"The value of the valuables you have collected has accumulated to 2,000 Yama points. You have obtained the information about [Secret Treasure Enhancement·Kundalini]."

Wushan glanced at the information about Yanfu, smacked his lips, and felt a little unsatisfied: "It's a pity that it's not [Huojin]. It seems that I have to go through more troubles on this trip."

Lu Zu Hall.

"There are only eighty items left from the eighty-one secret treasure enhancement information. Please keep up the good work, all of you Yamafu Walkers."

The man looked intently at the juggler in front of him who was throwing a ball around his body, then raised his hand and threw down another silver dollar.

"Master, if you have anything new, feel free to use it. I will pay you enough."

Cai Lizi, with sparse hair and cloudy eyes, didn't even look at the silver dollars on the ground. He just threw the solid iron ball by himself, and incredible arcs were drawn around him.

The man didn't get angry when he saw Cai Lizi ignored him. Instead, he took out a few iron balls from his arms, raised his hand and threw them at Cai Lizi with force!

In an instant, there was a loud roar of wind and thunder!

Liulichang.

"Boss Han, you are an expert in the antique world, so I won't say much. Please take your time to look at this old work by the painting master Wang Hui."

The woman unfolded a well-preserved landscape scroll and left her position to Han Shaoci, the owner of Yunguzhai, a well-known shop in Liulichang.

Han Shaoci lowered his eyes and took a closer look. He saw that the painting was majestic in style. There were pines all around and several other trees, shading the cottages. A guest was crossing a bridge with the help of a cane, and the water under the bridge hit the rocks, making a sound.

This is undoubtedly the scene that often appears in Wang Hui's works.

Looking at the signature and seal on the painting, [Gengyan Waishi Wang Hui], the white square seal [Wang Hui's Seal], and the red square seal [Gengyan Waishi], there is no mistake at all.

"Miss Xiang, I heard you are from Changshu?"

"That's great. Boss Han, do you have any questions?"

The woman smiled and authentic Changshu dialect came out of her mouth.

After hearing this, Han Shaoci's last doubts disappeared. Changshu was Wang Hui's hometown, there was no doubt about it.

"Here is the 1,000 taels of silver you asked for. Take it and walk slowly."

The woman took the banknote and pretended to be reluctant to leave. She looked at Wang Hui's "original work" a few more times before saying goodbye and leaving.

HSBC Bank in the British Concession.

"Mr. Lan, the technology you provide is very useful to the empire, but can we negotiate the price?" The blond-haired, blue-eyed British man held a stack of documents and started bargaining with the young man sitting next to him.

"Of course, if you can come up with cash right away, I can only charge 90% of the price above."

"Is fifty percent okay?"

"At least 80%."

"Sixty percent, we are very sincere."

"make a deal."

The young man in a suit and tie with a fair complexion nodded with a smile. After all, it was a business with no capital investment, so any profit he could make was good.

Bang bang bang!
At this moment, there was a burst of gunfire, loud explosions, and bandit-like shouting from downstairs.

"Hurry up, Lao Si, they are just some old antiques, it's not that troublesome, just come in and collect the money after you finish cleaning up the place!"

"Brother, right away, I'm coming!"

"Help! Help!"

For a while, the sounds of fighting and wailing were endless. Seeing the British man in front of him change his expression drastically, the young man was about to speak when he saw two golden, round objects smash the window and roll into the house, making his scalp numb.

It contains 60 grams of TNT, has a throwing range of thirty to forty meters, an effective killing radius of thirty-five meters, a short detonation time, and strong lethality. It is the Soviet F-1 fragmentation grenade nicknamed "Lemon"!
"Grass!"

The young man cursed angrily. He no longer cared about the British at this moment. He immediately rushed out and fell into the corridor.

boom!
The horrifying sound waves that tore through the air swept over, along with the shrapnel like a violent storm, turning the luxuriously decorated office into pieces.

At the same time, there are many more places where strange things happen, including Tianhou Temple, Guangdong Guild Hall, Putuoyu Dingdong Mausoleum West Queen Mother Tomb
For a while, bandits and thieves who came from nowhere were everywhere in Beijing, Tianjin and Zhili, causing countless landlords and wealthy people to panic.

The flame of a candle licked the night sky, and the city of Tianjin, which had been bustling all day, finally quieted down temporarily.

In the Governor's Mansion, Yuan Xiangcheng, who was calm and pretending to be stupid, stood face to face with Prince Qing, who had a stern face and hint of anger. On the table between them was a thick stack of petitions.

"Weiting, Zhili Province has been in chaos recently, and many fierce people have emerged. The ancestor wants you to mobilize the Beiyang New Army to patrol the city, suppress all kinds of people, and maintain the image of the court. Why are you hesitating to act?"

"Your Majesty, it's not that Wei Ting doesn't want to do it, it's just that he can't do it."

Yuan Xiangcheng put down his teacup and pointed at the petition on the table: "The national treasury is empty, the Beiyang army is short of money, and it is already difficult to maintain the expenses on the front line. If the prince wants the brothers who stay in the capital to risk their lives to fight those vicious people again, without offering huge profits, I am afraid it will be difficult to do!"

"Then what do you want?"

Prince Qing frowned and asked along the topic. He knew very well that the current financial situation of the court was not optimistic, and the total amount of money was far less than that of the Beiyang Bank controlled by Yuan Xiangcheng.

"We can issue patriotic bonds, saying that we are borrowing some money from officials and citizens across the country because we love the Qing Dynasty."

"Alas, Weiting, the country is in trouble, and the people are in even more trouble. Are you issuing patriotic bonds to make a few copper coins from the general public, or to make some fat from the royal family?"

Prince Qing looked at Yuan Xiangcheng with a deep gaze, and his words were vaguely tentative.

"Your Highness, you are joking. Wei Ting is only thinking about the Queen Mother and the Regent, and wants to protect the Qing Dynasty!"

Yuan Xiangcheng was a shrewd and calculating man, and what he said was very high-sounding.

"I hope so."

Seeing Yuan Xiangcheng's pretentiousness, Prince Qing paused, turned around and said, "During the meeting the other day, the Queen Mother said that this country has become a Northern and Southern Dynasties. What do you think about this?"

"What the Queen Mother said is all true."

Yuan Xiangcheng was sincerely convinced and nodded to indicate that it was right.

"I don't think so. The fires in Honolulu and other provinces became more and more intense. This was one dynasty. The Boxers on both sides of the Yangtze River were rioting but could not be suppressed. This was another dynasty. Add to that the current dynasty in Beijing. How can this be the Northern and Southern Dynasties? I think it's the Romance of the Three Kingdoms~"

"Your Majesty, I understand."

Yuan Xiangcheng smiled slightly, willing to be the supporting actor.

"I'm afraid to think about this matter in detail. It's really evil when I think about it."

Prince Qing stared at Yuan Xiangcheng and said slowly, "Sun Quan ruled by dividing the river in the past, and he was the group of criminals who revived the Boxer Rebellion today. Suddenly, Liu Bei appeared, the man from Honolulu who hid his head and showed his tail, and had three burrows. In just one night, in the blink of an eye, most of China's territory was lost."

"Hmph, I just don't know who is the Cao Cao who openly protects the Han Dynasty but secretly usurps power?"

Prince Qing narrowed his eyes and looked at the person in front of him. Yuan Xiangcheng looked as if he had suddenly realized something. He retreated to advance and asked, "Then, Your Majesty, which one is it?"

"That's hard to say."

Prince Qing naturally would not say it clearly at this critical moment, but stared at Yuan Xiangcheng intriguingly: "However, if Cao Cao really appears, I will be the first one to not let him go!"

"Weiting, this is all I have to say. I still have some things to do in the capital. Bye."

Yuan Xiangcheng watched Prince Qing walk out of the yard, with an incomprehensible meaning flashing in his eyes.
-
"Prince Qing said that if Cao Cao really shows up, he will be the first one to be punished."

Yuan Xiangcheng was reviewing the official document in his hands, and his words seemed to be self-mocking.

"Hahaha, so what if he became Cao Cao? If there was no Cao Cao in the Han Dynasty, who knows how many people would have claimed to be kings and emperors, and how could there have been the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty?"

Yang Xizi pointed to the map behind him and didn't take Prince Qing's warning seriously.

"But after all, the Three Kingdoms were under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, not the Han Dynasty."

Yuan Xiangcheng shook his head and continued.

"That doesn't matter, as long as the country can be unified again."

Hearing Xizi's words, Yuan Xiangcheng paused, and then continued: "What you said is true, but I don't know where our Qing Dynasty will go in the future~"

"Let's not talk about this anymore, Xizi. Yesterday I asked you to invite your colleagues to the government office to discuss matters. What did he say?"

"Master Li has always disliked worldly affairs, and this time it is no different. It's not him who came, but his apprentice."

"Oh? Is it Huo Dian Ge who has been presiding over the Baji Sect for him all these years?"

Yuan Xiangcheng was not surprised to see that Li Shuwen did not come.

"No, it's his senior brother, Master Li's eldest disciple, Qin Huai, who just returned to Tianjin recently. Wei Ting should have met him before."

"Oh, it's him."

After being reminded by Xizi, Yuan Xiangcheng also remembered the tall and straight young man whose words and actions were quite angular.

(End of this chapter)