gnovel Chapter 33 Using a borrowed knife to slaughter a sheep!
Chapter 33 Using a borrowed knife to slaughter a sheep!
In the study, the atmosphere instantly became somewhat heavy because of Gage's two sentences.
Li Wei held his wine glass, a gentle smile still on his face.
He certainly understood that the investigation of the docks was real, but the target was not necessarily those small fry.
Li Wei gently swirled the amber-colored liquid in his glass and slowly began to speak.
"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Gage. It seems it's time to get rid of some of the unruly rats from my docks."
Emerging from the living room of Adjutant Gage's residence, filled with the aroma of expensive brandy, Levi and Fiona strolled along the riverside path, calming their emotions.
Half an hour later, Li Wei returned to the dock warehouse. A familiar smell, a mixture of fishy odor, damp wood, and cheap rum, hit him, which actually made him more clear-headed.
He took off the dark purple robe that had won him admiration in the salon and put on a simpler, more practical cloth jacket.
The scarlet uniform, the gleaming riding boots, and Gage's suggestive "clear dream" kept swirling in his mind.
It was both a well-intentioned piece of advice from a friend and an ultimatum from the Governor's Office.
The crocodile of the Governor's Mansion finally bared its fangs after tacitly allowing him to swallow Jack, the little fish.
We'll see if this dragon crossing the river will continue to stir up trouble, or if he'll be tamed into a mandarin fish responsible for cleaning up the smaller fish in the pond.
Li Wei knew that he needed to submit a pledge of allegiance to the Governor-General's office.
He had Fiona light all the whale oil lamps in the warehouse. The dim light dispelled the darkness in the corners and made the smell of cheap burning grease in the air even stronger.
Finn and Seamus were roused from their sleep by Levy's messenger, arriving in a chill and bewilderment before the blackboard with the map of Boston hanging on it.
Fiona was already waiting to the side, serving the two of them hot tea.
"Sir, what's wrong so late?" Finn's voice was low, but he still couldn't hide his anxiety.
Li Wei stopped and turned to face his two generals.
"The Governor's Office is going to inspect the docks next week."
"Therefore, we need to 'clean up' the dock ourselves before they take action."
"What?" Finn's voice suddenly became louder, and the teacup in his hand wobbled.
"Clean up? You want us to be lackeys for those Red Shrimp soldiers? Mr. Li, we just won over those brothers from the South District. They followed us because they thought we had backbone, not to bow down to the British! If word gets out, morale will collapse!"
Finn's reaction was exactly what Levi had expected.
This sentimental one-eyed man always thinks about problems from the most basic principles of chivalry.
In his view, bowing to the authorities was a betrayal of the dock workers.
Clear, but foolish.
Seamus didn't speak, but his hand, resting on the spear shaft, tightened slightly. Clearly, his thoughts weren't far from Finn's.
"Finn, I'm asking you, what do we need most right now?" Levi didn't directly refute him, but instead posed a question.
"Of course it's manpower! It's territory! It's ensuring all the brothers have enough to eat!" Finn answered without hesitation.
"That's right. But all of this requires a prerequisite."
Li Wei walked to the blackboard and, using the light, forcefully wrote two characters on it with a charcoal pencil.
"time."
He turned to the group and said, "We are still too weak. Any direct conflict with the Governor's Office would wipe out everything we have worked so hard to build."
"We need time to digest the Blood Hand Gang's territory, time to turn the Southern District brothers and those surrendered soldiers into our real strength, and even more time to turn the money in Fiona's account into weapons and manor that can protect us."
"Therefore, we can't go against the lobster soldiers. Not only can we not, we should help them."
"Help them?" Finn still couldn't understand.
"What...what's the difference between this and being a lackey?"
"Of course there's a difference. Dogs bite wherever their owners point. We, on the other hand, use our owners' names to bite the prey we want."
Li Wei used his charcoal pencil to draw three circles on the map, enclosing three areas outside their territory.
"Finn, helping doesn't mean backing down."
"Here, in the fish market, is the 'Salted Fish Gang,' a group of guys who make a living by smuggling dried salted fish and brewing 'murderous liquor.' Their leader, Old Mike, is a cowardly old fox."
"Here, in the dock area, the 'Hook Gang' specializes in stealing copper nails and ropes from ships. Their leader is somewhat clever, but not much."
"And here, in the southern warehouse area, there's the 'Stone Fist,' a bunch of idiots whose brains are also filled with stones. They'll do any dirty work that can get them 'shillings'."
Livy's charcoal pencil moves across the map, as if a general were strategizing a battle on a sand table.
"You're right, we can't bow down to the lobster soldiers. So we should use them, use the Governor's knife, to remove the rotten flesh from our bones and cut off the good meat for ourselves."
Finn and Seamus were stunned. Their minds, honed by dockside brawls and cargo handling, couldn't immediately grasp the convoluted meaning behind the sentence.
"I've already gotten the details of the sweep operation from Lieutenant Gage. For example, on which day, at which time, and in which damn muddy alley those red lobsters will appear."
"I will 'sell' this information to these three companies."
Finn's mind hadn't quite caught up. "Sir, why should we help these... these scum?"
"I won't help them fairly."
"Finn, go tell Old Mike of the 'Salted Fish Gang' that I, Levy, admire his business principles and would like to be friends. As a gift, give him a heads-up: next Wednesday night, have all his ships and cargo removed from the fish market and hide in Black Isle Bay. The Lobster Soldiers' patrol will arrive promptly at midnight."
He then pointed to the Charles River crossing.
"Then, go see the leader of the 'Iron Hook Gang.' Tell him that I've heard the Governor's Office is planning something big soon, and warn him to be careful. That's all you need to say, not a single word more."
Finally, Li Wei pressed his finger heavily on the southern warehouse area. That was the territory of "Stone Fist," the most ruthless and unruly group among the three factions.
"As for 'Stone Fist'..."
Li Wei drew a heavy cross on the circle representing "Stone Fist" with his charcoal pencil.
"As for that idiot from 'Stonefist,' go tell him I'm willing to pay for his dock. If he's not willing, give them the wrong time and the wrong place, and let them gleefully lead their biggest shipment straight into the Governor's gun barrel."