Chapter Fifty-Nine: Calculations

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  Lao Lin Tan, the name sounds like a riverbank location, but it's actually a mountain valley. The valley is surrounded by an old forest that is rarely seen outside of this area. Although such old forests are rare in the surrounding areas, some large trees in Lao Lin Tan have grown luxuriantly under the protection of the valley, with trunks so thick that three or four people can barely encircle them.

  Outside, the terrain is flat and windy from time to time. Sometimes when the wind is strong, it will even roll up small stones on the ground. A mountain valley like Lao Lin Tan is a rare place to avoid strong winds.

  The big camp set up on the grassy slope is located here in the mountain valley, and this kind of windproof mountain valley at the entrance is actually a rare good place.

  Most of the bandits outside the pass are nomadic, drifting aimlessly, but the grassland drifters can't do so, which is also a consequence of having a big family and business.

  At the end of the Qing dynasty, in order to whiten himself, he joined the Iron Blood Army and took down several county cities outside the pass. He thought that this time he could have a stable life with Cao Erbao and his thousands of brothers under him, but unexpectedly, just a few months later, after Yuan Shikai came to power, the situation changed, and the Iron Blood Army was forcibly disbanded.

  Caoshangfei, who didn't dare to confront the Northern Army head-on, was forced to withdraw from the city with thousands of brothers. However, after living in the city for several months, most of these brothers had brought their families along and couldn't roam freely like before. In the end, Caoshangfei had no choice but to set up a large camp at Laolintan, a mountain valley, where thousands of brothers and their family members finally settled down.

  As time went on, these thousands of brothers and their families had a big problem, just eating was a huge issue, several thousand mouths needed tens of thousands of bushels of grain every day.

  It wasn't just a matter of a family floating on the grass, but when they first entered the Iron Blood Army, many good men from various gangs outside also encountered such problems. As a result, everyone started to draw boundaries in order to make a living, imitating the official style, and collecting protection fees from the farmers within their boundaries. This has become a common practice over the years.

  In this place, the Sima who opened the factory also had to pay this protection fee. Before the factory was set up, they started paying the protection fee and even paid a year's worth at once. It is precisely because of paying this annual fee that Sima's factory has been safe from bandit attacks until now.

  Everyone thought that the boss of the machine factory had promised them five thousand bags of foreign flour, five thousand pieces of silver, and three hundred new guns made in the East. This deal was a bit risky, but it was also worth doing. Not to mention other things, just those three hundred new guns made in the East were worth this price.

  All the way back, Mingfei was thinking about whether this deal was worth doing or not. Although the risk is great, but after all, this price is really too tempting.

  "Fourth brother! Are you saying he's really willing to give us three hundred guns? And five thousand silver dollars on top of five thousand bags of flour? You didn't hear wrong, did you?"

  San Dangjia Hu Zi was shocked when he heard the price quoted by Ming Fei, and immediately stood up from his chair. The price was too high! His big eyes stared wide open, as if he didn't dare to believe that there would be such a huge deal.

  "Three hundred guns! Five thousand silver dollars! Five thousand bags of silver ingots. That Sima fellow is indeed a formidable figure! A few tens of thousands of silver dollars can make us good men from the Green Forest Path willingly serve him. I must admire him!"

  Floating on the grass, muttering these prices, no matter how hard I try, I just can't find a reason to refuse this ridiculous deal. This price is really going to be the death of me! At the same time, I have to admire Sima's handwriting, it's truly too powerful, so much so that even I and my brothers are willing to work for him with all our hearts.

  "Big deal, although this business looks tempting, the risk is indeed too great. If we want to take on this task, we must first recall our past experiences."

  Although the conditions offered by Gao Zhanggui were really tempting, Mingfei himself would not be so dizzy with such favorable conditions. Obviously, the risks that need to be borne are behind such favorable conditions.

  "Fourth Master is absolutely right, although the high shopkeeper's price is indeed tempting, but that Lin Hong is not a good person to get along with. He also has thousands of people under his command. If we take on this task, it will inevitably lead to a fierce battle."

  Thinking of Hong's temper, Cao knew that if he took on this matter himself, the two sides would fight to the death and it would be a dead end. Unless one of them died, there would be no peace in the future.

  "Big brother, I'm afraid of what he's doing. I've been looking at him with disdain for a long time. He does everything to the extreme and never talks about morality. The second brother is actually blind to this bastard's hands. If it weren't for some rules in the underworld back then, we should have eliminated him a long time ago."

  The bearded man was shouting loudly, and in his heart he only felt that if he could get rid of the annoying red line that had been bothering him for a long time, and also gain such a great advantage, how could he let such a good opportunity pass by.

  "Third brother, although Second Brother was ruined by the Red Hand's line, it's also true that Second Brother broke a major taboo of the Jianghu first. It's not entirely the Red Hand's fault. Third Brother, let's just drop this matter from now on."

  Ming Fei immediately spoke up, saying that even if he took the blame this time, it was because he had eaten someone else's food and received their kindness. Moreover, the first red thread had already broken the rules earlier, and now Third Brother's words made it seem like they were taking revenge here.

  "Old Three, Old Four is right. From now on, let's not mention Old Two's matter again. That thing was a major taboo in the Jianghu world, and I know you still hold a grudge against that one thread of red. However, at that time, it was also done according to the rules. Let's consider this matter settled, and we'll just take the money and help others resolve their grievances."

  Old Hua was about to say something, but Cao interrupted him hastily. This was not the time for unnecessary talk. Lao San had never thought before speaking or acting anyway.

  "Alright, we'll take on this task, but we need to think carefully about how to do it. If we just blindly take it on, I'm afraid our brothers under us will suffer heavy losses. Even if we manage to wipe out the Red Vulture's men, it might not be worth it, and there's even a chance we'll end up doing someone else's dirty work."

  Since it's already been decided to take on this task, in Ming Fei's opinion, how can they get these benefits while minimizing their own losses? That's the most important thing. The rest isn't a big deal.

  "It seems like you have an idea, fourth brother, come on and tell your older brother about it"

  These years, Ming Fei has a better understanding of him. As soon as he heard this, he knew that his fourth brother had already had some idea in mind, so he quickly said.

  "It's actually simple, we must take on this task, but can't do it now, have to wait for the right time, and then take care of it. At that time, let Sima be grateful and indebted. Best to swallow him whole in one bite, without giving him any chance to turn things around."

  If you want to do it, do it well, otherwise you will suffer endless troubles. If you want to take on this task, you must first choose the right time to start.

  "Fourth brother, what's this?"

  Cao Shang said that he didn't quite understand what Ming Fei meant. Should they take it now or wait for some other time?

  "It's actually simple, for now we don't need to give that high-ranking official any assurance, let's just humor them, apart from asking us for help, I'm afraid there aren't many people outside who are willing to get involved in this mess."

  Ming Fei said with a determined look on his face that they had no other choice but to rely on themselves.

  "With a family as big and powerful as theirs, wouldn't they have some tricks up their sleeve to continue causing trouble outside? When I came, I specifically went to their large factory and saw that they were frantically building a high wall with large stones. It seems they are preparing for any eventuality. If they can provide us with 300 guns, they must have at least 600 guns in hand. As long as they rely on the high wall and defend it for half a day, the Red First Division will likely not achieve anything good. When the time comes and the Red First Division is exhausted, we can take action then. For now, we need to spread the rumor that San Laizi was killed by them to the Red First Division, so they can find the real culprit."

  When Ming Fei expressed his plan, his originally somewhat gloomy face became even more so. This kind of killing two birds with one stone seemed simple, but in reality it was not easy to operate.

  "Fourth brother, it's still up to you, this matter will be handled according to what you said, but how can we inform the Red Guards without arousing their suspicion?"

  Although Fourth Brother's plan goes against the rules of the Jianghu, if everything were done according to the rules, perhaps not many of these bandits would have survived, and Cao almost agreed without thinking.

  "Reported to the head of the newspaper, Scar Six came to burn incense and worship the mountain. This is his incense-burning notice."

  Just then a knife-wielding swordsman rushed in from outside the door, walked to the grass and floated in front of him, knelt on the ground with both hands presenting a red invitation.

  "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives. This scarred face has indeed come as promised to burn incense, and he's arrived just in time."

  It's better for Zuo Ci to come, Ming Fei was overjoyed, this way he saved his own effort.

  "Little scar, you've seen six masters. Our master has entrusted Little Scar to ask after the health of Master Third and Master Fourth. It's been some days since we last saw Master Third; our master often thinks of him."

  Scar Six saw the three masters, Cao, Hu, and Ming Fei, waiting in the hall, and hastily dismounted his horse to greet them. He looked extremely respectful.

  "It's been ages since you've come to this dump, I don't know what made you think of coming here today. You haven't been around for a while and your skills have improved quite a bit, huh?"

  Looking at this scar six, Cao Zong couldn't help but laugh out loud. Who doesn't know that this scar six is almost as good at talking as farting? It's clear that he has been taught by someone else to speak like this.

  "Hey! It's still the master of the house who knows me. When we came, our teacher specifically instructed us that it's not worth mentioning how much more embarrassing it is for the mother to speak like this."

  Scarlet Six heard the words floating on the grass and immediately revealed his true form. The words he said earlier almost made Scarlet Six speechless, and there were several people outside who didn't know what kind of person Scarlet Six was. This scene wasn't supposed to be played out like this either.

  "Scar six, you little rascal! How come you have time to visit your old grandfather today? Speak up! What's the matter? If there's nothing, that big shot of yours probably can't even remember this broken temple."

  Although Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were not on good terms, they had a long history together. In their early years, they had been in the same faction within the imperial court, and later, outside of it, they had interacted with each other more than once. Although their social status had changed significantly over time, they still maintained an old friendship. It was normal for them to have some disagreements at this point.