Unlimited employment

Chapter 205, Section 204: [The Canal Gang]

As a place of great importance, complexity, and difficulty, Linqing is naturally a melting pot of all sorts of people.

The canal transport authorities, the river management authorities, local government offices, chambers of commerce from various regions, canal gangs, martial arts schools, and wandering martial artists... all these forces are intertwined, weaving a vast web that covers everyone, with each person in their own web, a veritable tangled mess.

What binds those caught in this web are the laws established by the government, the customary rules, and the complexities of human relationships.

Being in this network and following the rules will make things much easier, but even those who frequently navigate this network can stumble at times.

Chen Sheng's counterpart in this world, Fang Yuan, fell on this path of the martial world.

Last night, under Chen Sheng's skillful torture and interrogation, the woman who had secretly killed her predecessor confessed.

She wasn't some con artist who tried to kill him for money; she was a hitman hired by someone to assassinate him.

As for who actually wanted to kill him, the woman who only took orders from her superiors, despite being tortured into fabricating many lies, actually knew nothing about the identity of the person who hired her.

but it does not matter.

As a henchman of the Grand Canal Gang, he had offended many people, but there were very few who could afford to hire assassins of this caliber.

Chen Sheng quickly sorted through his memories and identified several suspicious targets:
A month ago, the original body helped a wealthy landlord in Liaocheng collect rent, and accidentally killed a martial arts disciple who was helping farmers resist rent.
Two months ago, Elder Wang's family was fighting over land with someone else. His predecessor rushed to Yanggu and killed the head of the opposing family.

Three months ago, the leader of the next dock of the canal gang embezzled gang funds and was to be punished according to gang rules by having his kneecaps removed. The leader ran away quickly, and the former leader could only make up for the loss by selling the other party's wife and daughters into a brothel.

Four months ago, a passing merchant borrowed money from a gambling den run by the Canal Gang and refused to repay it. His former self broke one of his legs and locked him in a latrine to eat and survive until the merchant's family paid money to ransom him and released him.
About half a year ago, the wife of the third son of the leader of the Linqing Cao Gang had taken the initiative to seduce my former best friend. They had an affair for more than three months until she became pregnant and then the contact ended.

These five grudges could all lead to death, but after much thought, Chen Sheng still felt that the third son of the Grand Canal Gang was the most suspicious.

During their tryst, the original owner of this body unexpectedly learned that the Third Young Master was a eunuch.

His wife was forced to seduce men because her husband was powerless to help her and demanded that she get pregnant as soon as possible.

The fact that the person who hired the killer knew the exact details of Tiger's death and the situation at Tiger's home made Chen Sheng suspect that the Third Young Master wanted to kill him to silence him after successfully conceiving a child.

"As for why the Third Young Master is willing to be cuckolded but is still determined to have children?"

It seems he's doing this so he can inherit his father's position as gang leader.

As Chen Sheng walked along the increasingly crowded street, looking at the gaunt boatmen pulling the boats beside him, a guess arose in his mind.

The Caobang is a large gang that evolved from the Luo sect. It inherited some of the Taoist traditions of the White Lotus sect, Linji sect, Zhengyi sect, and Quanzhen sect. After absorbing grassroots followers along the canal several decades ago, it suddenly expanded into the largest gang in the world.

At its peak, the Grand Canal Gang controlled the canal transport and had millions of canal workers at their disposal, making them one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Unfortunately, after being suppressed once during the Jiajing era, the Grand Canal Gang lost its head leader, and each branch in each city operated independently without any subordinate to one another. Apart from cooperating closely with the Grand Canal and Waterway authorities in transporting grain and smuggled goods, they were completely unable to unite in other matters and remained highly independent.

The position of leader of the Linqing branch is a father-to-son succession position entirely decided by the old leader.

The Third Young Master, this eunuch, is actually willing to send his beautiful wife on a pilgrimage just to compete with his two older brothers. He's quite the ruthless one.

Of course, the above ideas are just Chen Sheng's speculations for now, and whether they are true or false still needs to be verified.

His purpose in this reincarnation is to cultivate the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts. Although he cannot yet see what is special about this world that requires Gu worms to cultivate, as long as he can climb to the peak of cultivation, he will eventually get the answer.

During the initial developmental period after reincarnation, he must create a sufficiently safe environment and eliminate all threats around him.

His mind was in turmoil the whole way, and by the time Chen Sheng stopped, he had already arrived at the gate of the Linqing Canal Gang.

This is a five-courtyard siheyuan complex consisting of three separate courtyards. The massive complex is surrounded by high walls, making it look like a fortress.

The vermilion gate, studded with copper nails, is made of century-old jujube wood and red copper, and has the effect of suppressing Taoist magic.
The two enormous stone lions by the gate contain the souls of two lion demons. If anyone tries to hide inside, their presence will be revealed by the lions' roars.
Steel nails were driven into the top of the two-zhang-high courtyard wall, and cinnabar was mixed into the wall to ward off evil spirits and prevent people or demons from climbing over the wall and entering.

As the local stronghold of Linqing, this building represents both the substance and the image of the local canal gang.

Chen Sheng stopped at the entrance of the gang, and as was customary, bowed to the two stone lions, offering a small amount of incense to the lion spirits, before quickening his pace and going inside.

He greeted acquaintances familiarly, passing through gates and courtyards along the way, and from time to time he could see signs with the words "Ministry of Rites" and "Ministry of Justice" written on them outside some courtyards.

The canal gang's governance structure was modeled after the imperial court, with six ministries—work, household, rites, personnel, justice, and war—each controlling most of the gang's affairs.

The Ministry of Rites managed the connections of the Canal Gang in both the legitimate and underworld circles. Every year, they had to spend a lot of money on bribes and also cultivate relationships through food, drink, entertainment, and catering to the gang's tastes. Only in this way could they have friends all over the world and make money from all directions.

The Ministry of Revenue managed money and grain, the docks pumped water, the black market lent money, and there were also legitimate businesses such as restaurants, pawnshops, brothels, gambling dens, and human trafficking. They did whatever made money.

The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for key functions such as managing the recruitment, promotion, and expulsion of disciples within the clique.

The Ministry of War was responsible for managing the thugs who practiced martial arts within the gang, sending people to smuggle salt, and fighting fiercely when conflicts arose with other gangs.

The Ministry of Justice is in charge of family law, and those who violate the gang rules will be subjected to various forms of torture.

The Ministry of Works oversaw shipbuilding, weapon forging, and house construction.

After the split of the Grand Canal Gang, the local branches of the Grand Canal Gang all set up their organizations according to this method.

The gang leader holds the highest position, and the six departments are directly under his command. The elders, who are quite powerful, only control some marginal departments with little power. They can only exert some influence over gang affairs by placing their disciples in the six departments.

(End of this chapter)