gnovel Chapter 21 Mergers and Acquisitions
Chapter 21 Mergers and Acquisitions
The next morning, the rain stopped and the sky cleared.
The air at Luokou Wharf in Jinan was exceptionally fresh, as if the devastation of last night's Fish Market Lane had been washed away by the spring rain. But everyone who made a living at the wharf—whether they were brokers, gangsters, or well-informed merchants—knew: the world had changed.
The headquarters of the Wei Shui Gang, "Juyi Hall," has now changed hands.
The black signboard with gold lettering that had hung there for over a decade was taken down and chopped into firewood. In its place stood a black flag fluttering in the wind, bearing only a single large white character "陆" (Lu), written with vigorous strokes, exuding a chilling aura.
At 3:45 AM, inside the Hall of Gathering Righteousness.
Lu Yan sat in the tiger-skin chair that originally belonged to Master Ma, but he had the tiger skin removed and replaced with a clean blue cloth cushion. He held a cup of tea in his hand and looked calmly at the people below.
Opposite him sat a middle-aged constable dressed in a black-robed uniform with a goose-feather knife at his waist. This man was Constable Xing, who was in charge of security at the docks in Jinan Prefecture. He had taken a lot of dirty money from the Weishui Gang and was a notorious "smiling tiger" in this area.
At this moment, Constable Xing's hands trembled slightly, and the teacup lid clinked against the rim of the cup.
"Scholar Lu... oh no, Master Lu." Constable Xing wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his usually oily face now plastered with a stiff smile. "Last night... wasn't the commotion a bit too loud? The Prefect heard about the flood in Fish Market Lane this morning and inquired about it quite a bit. After all, hundreds of people disappeared overnight, this... this puts me in a very difficult position."
Officer Xing came to sound out the situation and also to make demands. With the Weishui Gang gone, his "monthly payment" was also gone. He was representing the government to "warn" this newly emerged outcast.
Lu Yan smiled slightly and put down his teacup.
"Officer Xing, you flatter me." He took out a pre-written document from his sleeve and gently pushed it over. "There was indeed a fire in Fish Market Lane last night. It was caused by an internal conflict within the Wei Shui Gang, which accidentally ignited a pile of debris. As for those people... as far as I know, Master Ma felt deeply guilty and took his men to another place to 'repair roads and atone for their sins.' I'm afraid they won't be back for three to five years."
Constable Xing's eyelids twitched. What the hell is this road-building for atonement?! Three hundred perfectly healthy people, turned into laborers overnight?
"As for Your Excellency..." Lu Yan pointed to the document, "This is a 'Strategy for the Improvement of Security and Tax Collection at the Wharf' that I have drafted. I am doing this to share Your Excellency's burdens. The wharf is a gathering place for vagrants, with numerous gangs and illegal checkpoints extorting merchants, which is truly immoral. Lu's Carriage and Horse Company is willing to step forward and assist the government in restoring order."
"How should we rectify this?" Constable Xing subconsciously picked up the document, and after just one glance, his breathing became rapid.
"First, abolish all privately set 'commission fees'." Lu Yan held up one finger. "From now on, at the docks, regardless of which porter's business it is, the loading and unloading prices will be uniform. Lu's will set the price at twenty-five cash per shi—half of the previous fifty cash from the Weishui Gang, but five cash higher than the official price. Of the extra five cash, two cash will go to Lu's as management fees, and three cash... will go to Constable Xing and his brothers as 'tea money'."
Constable Xing quickly calculated in his mind. The daily throughput of Luokou Wharf was at least five thousand shi (a unit of dry measure). At three coins per shi, that's fifteen taels of silver! That's four hundred and fifty taels a month! This is more than four times the one hundred taels monthly allowance that the Weishui Gang used to beg and plead for!
"Secondly, all porters will be registered as ordinary citizens." Lu Yan pointed to the square outside the door.
Through the window, one could see over three hundred people kneeling in the square—the very same Weishui gang members captured the previous night. Their heads had been shaved, their feet were shackled, and they were lining up to receive numbered tags under the watchful eyes of Zhao Changying and his guards.
"These prisoners, who are Master Ma's men, are now Lu's 'labor camp'," Lu Yan said calmly. "They are responsible for the dirtiest and most tiring work, such as dredging, road repair, and garbage transportation. The government doesn't have to spend a single penny to make this dock look brand new. This can also be considered an achievement for the Prefect."
"Third," Lu Yan pulled out a five-hundred-tael silver note from his pocket and placed it squarely on the document, "this is a small gift from Lu Ji to Constable Xing. From now on, I don't want to see any other flags on this dock besides Lu Ji's. Those scattered small gangs and troublemakers will have to be dealt with by Constable Xing."
Officer Xing looked at the silver note, then at the bandits being "reorganized" outside the door, and finally at the gentle yet incredibly capable young scholar in front of him.
He took a deep breath, quickly stuffed the silver note into his pocket, and his expression instantly became righteous and awe-inspiring, as if his hesitation just now had never existed.
"Master Lu is truly righteous! This Wei Shui Gang has been bullying the villagers for days, and I, the constable, have long wanted to deal with them! Last night, they fled to escape punishment, which they deserved! Since Master Lu is willing to take on this mess, it's a blessing for the people of Jinan Prefecture! I, the constable, will fully cooperate! Anyone who dares to cause trouble in Master Lu's territory is going against me, Xing!"
"Then thank you very much, Officer Xing." Lu Yan served tea to see the guest out.
After seeing off Constable Xing, Hu Jingshui, who had been hiding behind the screen, limped out. He held the abacus in his hand and looked at the "integration" taking place in the square outside the door with a complicated expression.
"Master, five hundred taels... isn't that too much?" Old Hu looked pained. "That's all the cash we have right now."
"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub." Lu Yan stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the busy dock outside.
At this time, the Luokou Wharf had been completely restored to order.
The originally chaotic group of porters was divided into dozens of neat teams, wearing vests printed with the character "陆" (Lu).
The prisoners of the former Weishui Gang became the lowest-level laborers, working desperately to atone for their sins under the urging of the overseers.
The men who were originally in Group A at Lu's company were promoted to "foreman" and "guards," standing ramrod straight and commanding a number of men several times their size.
After witnessing the downfall of the Wei Shui Gang, the individual porters and small gangs all voluntarily came to Lu Ji to "affiliate" with him, receiving a numbered wooden plaque and obediently paying a 20% management fee, just hoping to make a living within Lu Ji's system.
"Old Hu, look." Lu Yan pointed to the orderly flow of people, like an ant colony, "In the past, the Weishui Gang relied on violence to collect money, which was a low-level tactic. Now, we've set the standards, monopolized the channels, and controlled the pricing power."
"From today onward, every tael of silver flowing through this Luokou Wharf will first pass through our accounts. The government will gain political achievements and tax revenue, the merchants will gain efficiency and time, the laborers will gain wages and security, and we will gain profits and power."
Lu Yan turned around, his eyes flashing with a cold light known as "monopoly capitalism":
"That's called integration."
Hu Jingshui listened with great excitement, her hands moving rapidly across the abacus beads: "Master, I just did a rough calculation. After consolidating the territory and manpower of the Weishui Gang, our current transport capacity can reach an average of five thousand shi per day! Add to that the management fees charged to individual farmers, and those three hundred unpaid laborers... after deducting bribes to the government, the net profit per month will be at least three thousand taels!"
"Three thousand taels?" Lu Yan smiled, his gaze drifting to the more distant north. "This is just the first step. We have the money, the people, and more importantly, this 'organizational system.' Next, what we need to do is spread this model like a plague along the Grand Canal all the way to the capital."
Just then, Zhao Changying strode in, still carrying the lingering scent of blood from the previous night, and carrying a brocade box that had been searched from the Weishui Gang's warehouse.
"Brother, we found this in Master Ma's secret room."
Lu Yan opened the brocade box, inside which was a letter and a waist tag.
The letter was addressed to a prominent figure in the capital, detailing a shipment of special "private goods" that would arrive at Luokou Wharf in three days, and demanding that the Weishui Gang "protect it properly and without fail."
The waist tag clearly bore the three characters: "[Imperial Horse Stables]".
"The Imperial Stables?" Hu Jingshui exclaimed in surprise. "Master, is this Master Ma a eunuch? Have we stirred up a hornet's nest?"
Lu Yan held the waist token, remained silent for a moment, and then a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.
"No, Lao Hu." Lu Yan put away the waist tag. "This isn't a hornet's nest, it's a ladder."
"Just when I was worried about how to climb up the ladder, it came to me by itself."
He turned to Zhao Changying and ordered, "Pass down the order: in three days, increase security. The Weishui Gang can't transport this shipment, so my Lu's Carriage and Horse Company will do it for this eunuch! This isn't just business; it's our pledge of allegiance to the capital!"