Yanshan City, Duwei Mansion.
Cheng Xingba, the captain of the government, was a senior official of the fourth rank who retired from the dynasty, and his family, the Cheng family, was considered a first-class family in Yanshan City.
When Lu Sheng, Chen Ying, Ouyang Ningzhi and Elder Wang arrived at the mansion, it was already evening.
The news had already been received in front of the gate of the Captain's Mansion, the lights were bright, and the servants and servants lined up in front of the gate to welcome them.
In addition, there was a tall military officer with a round body and a big belly, standing at the door, waiting for them with his hand on the handle of his waist.
As soon as he saw the carriage of the Red Whale Gang arriving, the pregnant military officer also hurried forward.
"Master Chen, chief Luwai, elder Wang and chief Ouyang are here too." The man squeezed out a smile, his expression was stiff, as if he didn't want to get in touch with them at all. But it is true, the current Red Whale Gang, those who are well-informed know that they have caused a big problem and are in trouble.
"Cheng Duwei is polite, I wonder if all the distinguished guests have come?" Chen Ying asked in a low voice, "In addition, Lu Wai Shou has now succeeded as the official leader of my Red Whale Gang, and is no longer the Wai Shou."
Cheng Xingba was stunned for a moment, and quickly squeezed out a smile again, with a trace of shock and surprise, he cupped his hands and asked Lu Sheng for his guilt.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was negligent. Leader Lu is young and promising, with superb martial arts, and has the courage to be undeserved. It is a matter of course to succeed the leader." .”
"Well, let's go in." Lu Sheng sent people through the intelligence network in Yanshan City in advance to spread the meaning that the Red Whale Gang wanted to find another family to join, and the main information was sent to the Supervision Department.
Sure enough, not long after, the Supervision Department held a small gathering in the Captain's Mansion and asked Chi Jing's people to go.
In addition, several real distinguished guests were found. They are the spokesmen representing various forces.
Several people walked into the mansion one after another, Chen Ying took the lead, and Lu Sheng remained silent. This was agreed by several people before, Chen Ying communicated first, and Lu Sheng listened behind, so it was so convenient to buffer.
Entering the mansion, passing through a thumb corridor, in a small pavilion in a side yard, everyone saw representatives from all walks of life gathering together to drink tea and chat.
In the small octagonal pavilion, the black curtain hung down, only the side facing Lu Sheng and the others was opened, and there were four people sitting inside.
Old Daoist Baifeng was on the list, and the other three were a man and two women.
Lu Sheng walked behind Chen Ying and stood outside the pavilion together.
"Master Lu, please take a seat." Bai Feng's tone was much softer and more polite than before. At this moment, he looked at the road and said with a smile: "The main force of the Lu Gang defeated the masters of Hongfang, and it was a big battle. Let me wait for a feast."
Lu Sheng's eyes were fixed, knowing that he couldn't hide it, he stretched out his hand to stop Chen Ying who was about to speak. He signaled him and the others to leave first, and waited until several of them were led away by the servants.
"Daoist Baifeng is well informed." He glanced at an empty seat in the pavilion, and suddenly understood, walked in without hesitation, and sat down with Dama Jindao.
"My Red Whale Gang is full of sincerity. Now that you are here in person, you must have a plan in mind, right?" he said in a deep voice.
Apart from Bai Feng, the other people sitting in the pavilion were the three representatives from each party.
One is a fat man like Yuanwailang, holding a 100-fold fan in his hand, and wearing a white hat with a big word "乐" written in the middle of the hat. This person has a kind face, which makes people feel close to him at a glance.
The other two are a white-browed woman wearing a black crown, like an ancient master's dress.
And a beautiful woman with long hair and a green emerald mask on her face.
The three of them have very different styles, and they are impressive at first sight.
"Let me introduce you." Taoist Baifeng smiled and stretched out his hand, first pointing to the chubby Yuanwailang.
"This is Xiao Hongye, Xiao Yuanwai."
He pointed to the woman with the white eyebrows in the crown.
"This is Shangyang Jiuli from the Shangyang family."
Finally, he pointed to the beautiful woman with the emerald jade mask on her face.
"This one is from the Xu family, Miss Xu Feihong."
Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes, except for the fat man who didn't introduce him, the other two women are from Shangyang's family and Xu's family respectively.
He doesn't know much about these two families, but since they are both introduced with family as the background, they must be from aristocratic families. And at this time, the forces that dare to swim in this muddy water must be of extraordinary strength.
"I've seen three of you." He clasped his fists and said loudly.
"We all saw the battle between Lord Lu and Deputy Lord of Red Square. It was really extraordinary. I just don't know which family you were originally from?" the fat man Xiao Hongye asked softly with a smile.
"Lu Mou is just a martial artist, and his background is clean. Shouldn't you all check it?" Lu Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Leader Lu is straightforward." Xiao Hongye said with a smile, "I'm just an ordinary person. If I don't have a foundation, how could I rise so quickly? Of course, since the leader doesn't want to say it, let's let it go. Let's talk about the affiliation of the Red Whale Gang one thing.
Since you are all sitting here, of course you have stated your conditions, everyone, I am willing... "
"My Shangyang family only needs to offer 70% of the offerings every year, and there can be one person permanently." Shangyang Jiuli said coldly, interrupting Xiao Hongye directly with white eyebrows.
"My Xu family needs 90% of the confession, but it can guarantee the absolute safety of the two commercial routes leading to the Central Plains. But it cannot be permanent." Xu Feihong said softly.
To be permanent means to send someone from the aristocratic family to be stationed in the gang to deal with any possible troubles.
The Xu family asked for 20% more confession than the Xiao family, but what they brought were two safe trade routes leading to the Central Plains. The benefits in this are actually more than that of the Shangyang family.
The so-called percentage refers to the ratio of resources and wealth collected by the Red Whale Gang within the jurisdiction. The percentages here refer to the share handed over to the family.
Lu Sheng finally looked at the fat man Xiao Hongye again.
Xiao Hongye waved his hands again and again: "We don't dare to compete with the two great families, don't look at me, don't look at me, brother, just talk to these two in detail."
Lu Sheng squinted his eyes, always felt that this fat man was not as friendly as he appeared on the surface, he was probably a smiling tiger type.
The two representatives of the Shangyang family and the Xu family are both women, but Shangyang Jiuli and Xu Feihong have completely different styles, and their attitudes are also unpredictable.
"Speaking of which, I'm still relatively new to the two families, so I wonder if I could introduce them a little bit?" Lu Sheng thought for a while and asked calmly.
"It's easy to say, this old Taoist knows a little bit." Taoist Baifeng said with a smile, "Master Lu is young and promising, so it's understandable if he doesn't know."
He glanced at the two women and saw that they did not respond or refuse, so he smiled.
"The Shangyang family is one of the nine families in the Central Plains. It has strong strength and is known as the silver hook painted on iron. It mainly involves medicinal materials, shipping, and silver villages."
Shangyang Jiuli didn't even look at him, his eyes were slightly closed as if he was in a trance.
Taoist Baifeng pointed to Xu Feihong again.
"And the Xu family is the royal family of the Jurong Kingdom. It is mainly a jade business. It is known as the Jade Talisman Family. It is also powerful.
As far as force is concerned, no matter which of the two of them is weaker than the Zhen family. It is even stronger, so Lord Lu doesn't have to worry about it when he thinks about it. "
Lu Sheng nodded.
"Thank you, Director Baifeng." He looked straight at Xiangyang Jiuli.
"May I ask Miss Shangyang, if I choose Shangyang, how will the Red Square issue be resolved?"
Shangyang Jiuli didn't open his eyes, and said calmly: "The master of the Red Square is out, don't pay attention to her for the time being, when she comes back, I will come to visit her personally."
Lu Sheng's heart trembled when he heard this.
He looked at Xu Feihong on the other side.
Just looking at Xu Feihong's eyes, she knew that she was a very beautiful woman. She was wearing a pink robe, sitting in the pavilion, as if her whole body was buried in the wide and soft delicate robe, and her jade arms like lotus root were faintly visible in the robe.
Seeing Lu Sheng looking over, she smiled slightly.
"Peace is the most important thing in the world. On the other side of the Red Square, the servants can also go to negotiate peace in person."
Lu Sheng nodded and pondered for a while. Still facing Shangyang Jiuli and said softly.
"It seems that I have to trouble Miss Jiuli with this matter."
His statement meant that he had chosen the Shangyang family.
Xu Feihong didn't change her expression, she just nodded slightly to the others, smiled at Lu Sheng, and then got up and left slowly.
Shangyang Jiuli only opened his eyes at this time, and looked at Lu Sheng with some surprise.
Her attitude can't be said to be good, and even this trip to recruit the Red Whale Gang was a little careless, and the benefits she gave were actually far inferior to the Xu family. Even the Xu family gave the condition that no one would be stationed to supervise, which meant that no one would interfere with the gang's management.
But even so, Lu Sheng still chose her.
Originally, she thought that she was just here for a stroll.
"Hohohohoho! Congratulations to the two of you. The Red Whale Gang is the largest gang in the North, and the Shangyang Family is also one of the nine Central Plains families. Their strength is extraordinary. This combination will definitely be able to better maintain the stability of the North." Xiao Hongye let out a weird laugh, covering her small mouth with a folding fan.
"En, you are not bad." Shangyang Jiuli glanced at Lu Sheng approvingly. When she came out this trip, she was just planning to relax. She never thought about completing any task at all, but she did not expect to complete it for nothing.
"I don't know when Miss Jiuli will solve the Red Square." Lu Sheng asked bluntly without being polite. He showed his strength, and only then did he win the right to choose among the aristocratic families. Otherwise, according to what senior brother Hong Mingzi heard before, the Red Whale Gang has no right to choose at all. They can only wait for the Shangyang family to compete with the Xu family, decide the winner, and passively accept the master.
"It's simple, just tonight." Shangyang Jiuli acted resolutely, she liked Lu Sheng, and she was already impatient with these mundane matters, so she had the attitude of dealing with things as soon as possible.
"Thank you, Miss Jiuli!" Lu Sheng clasped his fists seriously.
"Since a few of you are confirmed, how about having a reception at the Captain's Mansion?" Xiao Hongye suggested. "It just so happens that I am waiting for all the decision-makers in the Northland to be here. Such an opportunity is rare." A smile appeared on his fat face.
"No time." Shangyang Jiuli refused without saying a word. She stood up and threw a stone tablet to Lu Sheng. "This is the contact token of my Shangyang family. It can be sensed by burning it with fire. I can detect it within a thousand miles."
Lu Sheng caught the stone tablet and looked through it carefully.
On the trapezoidal white stone tablet, there is a chapter length of an unknown text written clearly. Judging from the vigorous and vigorous brushwork, it should be written by everyone.
"I'll go to Red Square first!" Shangyang Jiuli turned around without waiting for a few people to reply, then he jumped lightly and disappeared outside the pavilion in a blink of an eye.
Only when Lu Sheng looked away from the stone tablet did he lose sight of Shangyang Jiuli.
"Governor Lu is really extraordinary." Xiao Hongye said to Lu Sheng with a smile as soon as Shangyang Jiuli left. "Unexpectedly, without knowing anything, he made the best choice for the Red Whale Gang."
"Oh? Why did Xiao Yuanwai say that?" Lu Sheng raised his eyebrows.