Chapter 55: The White Horse Assembly

  White Horse Association

  "Is it cash? Brother Yao, are you referring to paper money?" Li Jingfang asked.

  "It's indeed the issuance of paper currency! The imperial court issues paper currency, recalling silver and copper coins. Copper and silver are both metals that can be sold for money, so naturally there will be income. The Qing dynasty has issued a huge amount of copper and silver coins externally, which is counted in billions. Even if only 10 million taels of silver are recovered each year, it's still quite impressive, and it won't affect the normal market order of currency."

  Then the government uses the silver to buy machines from foreigners, build factories, produce goods such as foreign cloth, steel, dyes, steamships, etc. for domestic sales, gradually shrinking the market share of foreign goods.

  Yao Weng was completely unsure whether his nonsense would be passed on to Li Hongzhang's ears by the three little brats of the Li family, thereby affecting policy. The only thing he was sure of was that if the Qing dynasty really implemented these policies, it would invisibly shake its ruling foundation.

  Yao Wengdao: "As soon as paper currency is mentioned, someone opposes it and brings up the Ming dynasty's baochao. But the Ming dynasty issued baochao because its finances were already strained. However, this was then and that was then; our Qing dynasty's finances are still in good shape, making it the perfect time to issue paper currency. Nowadays, all Western countries are issuing paper currency; if the Qing doesn't follow suit, won't we be at a loss? Think about it: others use paper as money, while our Qing uses silver; who's losing out?"

  "It's easy to get the gentlemen of the imperial court not to oppose this matter! Just run a newspaper and that's all! As long as the newspaper portrays the imperial court's policy as a beautiful flower, people will discuss it less. If three newspapers praise it together, then public opinion will be unanimous and there will be even fewer critics. And if seven or eight newspapers all say it's good, who would dare to be a contrarian?"

  Li Jingfang said: "What if the newspaper also opposes it?"

  Yao Wengdao said, "Since the new Qing government's foreign affairs are all officially supervised and privately managed, as long as the officials in charge of managing newspapers agree with the imperial court's policies, they can just control it a bit, and those dissenting opinions on the newspaper will naturally disappear."

  The four of them discussed the issue of issuing banknotes for half a day before dispersing.

  The next morning, Yao Fan and his companions got up early, washed their faces simply, loaded the goods on the bicycle rack as usual, bought pancakes, scallions, sauce meat, and sausage from the inn to serve as dry food for the road, and set off with Li's family.

  Yao Weng only then discovered that Li's group was actually larger than his own 31-man merchant caravan!

  Apart from the three horse-drawn carriages ridden by the three Li brothers, there were also three large carts pulled by horses, loaded with trunks, oil umbrellas and other travel items. The Li family, apart from Fu Bo and ten robustly dressed family members, surprisingly had fifty attendants carrying large bundles following and protecting the convoy. Yao Feng looked at these people's physique, which seemed to be that of soldiers on a military payroll.

  Li Jingfang explained to Yao Fang: "These are also the servants of my family, they are all rough men. Yesterday I told them to rest at the big carriage store in the city. Brother Yao, why don't you get on the carriage and we can chat along the way."

  Yao Weng did not accept Li Jingfang's invitation to ride in the same car, and instead rode his bicycle behind the accountants.

  Li Deshu was a young man with a boyish heart, and he insisted on borrowing a bicycle from Yao Fang's shop. He transferred the trunk and the shop assistant to his family's large vehicle, and rode the bike to follow Yao Fang.

  "You're actually quite skilled at riding!" Yao Feng said with a smile.

  "Of course, I also ride at home, just haven't gone far. Brother Yao, this bike of yours is really good, it's comfortable to ride. The foreign horse at my house has front and rear wheels that are not the same size, the front wheel won't turn corners, relying on the rear wheel to turn corners, it's not as agile as yours, it's really far inferior." Li Desheng said.

  The young Li Mochou rode slowly with Yao Guang, who also tried to constantly attack the young man's mind with words. How could a young man as white as paper resist the influence of an old oiler like Yao Guang? Gradually, Li Mochou was infected by Yao Guang and began to admire him in his heart, even deliberately imitating Yao Guang's tone and actions.

  It was probably because he didn't sleep well after reading too late last night, so after eating dry rations at Shili Fort this noon, Li Desheng went to take a nap in his own car. After Yao Fang and the guys finished their dry rations in Shili Fort town, they continued to ride forward under the scorching sun.

  "Come on, guys, ride faster and let's get to a shady place ahead, we'll rest there and wait for them." Yao Feng didn't want to slow down.

  The Yao family's bicycle team gradually pulled Li and his group further and further away, leaving them behind.

  As they rode along, Yao Fan saw that the roadsides were lined with towering green sorghum fields that seemed to touch the sky. Yao Fan smiled and said, "This place is not bad, let's go in and lie down, the sun can't shine on us either."

  The buddies also agreed to hide from the sun in the high cornfield and wait for the convoy behind, so everyone was busy speeding up and riding inside.

  Yao Fanzheng urged Borbao to drive forward, grabbing the horse's head and shouting loudly:

  "Hey~~~~~~~~~~Sister, you dare to move forward!"

  Go forward, don't look back!

  The road stretches across heaven and earth, 9,999,999!

  …………”

  The yellow tassels of corn and green leaves on both sides of the road were swaying vigorously in the wind, constantly nodding their heads.

  The companions were laughing and having a great time, just as they were getting into the excitement, suddenly a group of people rushed out from the dense sorghum fields on both sides, surrounding them. Each person had an unsheathed single-edged sword in their hand, shining brightly and piercing to the eyes.

  These people were shouting in unison: "Those who want to live, don't move!!!"

  "No good! There's a hijacker!" He Shicheng shouted in a shrill voice!

  The guys suddenly messed up! One by one, some fell off the car with a soft foot, some crashed into the front guy, and some lost their grip on the steering wheel and flipped over to the ground. It was chaotic everywhere.

  Yao Cong was suddenly flustered, he never thought that under the bright sun he would encounter bandits! Just now he was still happily singing, but at this moment he had to come up with a response strategy, his mind was a bit blank.

  "Everyone, get your tools! Grab your sticks!" shouted Li Jun, the head of the carpentry class.

  Liu Jinbao, who had once offered to take the blame for Yao Fang, wanted to stall for time and shouted loudly: "Good fellow from across the way! Which immortal are you? How much spirit money do you want?"

  He Shicheng, Zhou Di and others were busy pulling out the machetes from the back of the car. By the time the chaos subsided, the blades had been placed on everyone's necks, and the crowd suddenly fell silent.

  A cold steel blade rested on Yao Fang's shoulder, the blade stuck to Yao Fang's neck, and Yao Fang's goosebumps rose instantly!

  He was so scared that his hair stood on end, and he almost immediately wanted to flee in terror, but he was also afraid that his speed would not be fast enough, and a sudden escape would provoke the other party into anger, with one knife coming down, and he would lose his head and return to 2011.

  At the critical moment, Yao Fang calmed down and said bravely: "Good man, spare our lives! Let's talk it over! Take what you want yourself, but don't lay a hand on us! We're all just doing business on the rivers and lakes, with elderly and young at home. Good fellow, have mercy and think of our families!"

  A black-faced man who looked like a leader stepped out and said, "Are you the boss?"

  Yao Feng saw that he was not tall, with a round shoulder and head, and a sturdy body. He slowly bowed his fist and cupped his hands, not daring to startle the knife-wielding man beside him. He praised: "What a fine fellow! Truly born with a leopard's head and ringed eyes, majestic and powerful! Today I've finally met you, your reputation is well-deserved! I am Yao Feng, at your service, good sir!"

  The burly man with a dark face scowled and said, "Do you know me?"

  Yao Weng's cold sweat came down, and he said without reserve: "Good fellow, first ask this brother beside me to put down his knife. It's scary to stick it to my neck like that. I'm an unarmed merchant who doesn't know martial arts, why are you afraid I'll make a move?"

  The man nodded to the thug beside Yao Fang, who drew his knife and scared Yao Fang so much that he almost fled in terror. Fortunately, Yao Fang saw clearly that the man was just putting away his sleeve, or else he would have run away immediately.

  Yao Weng wiped away a cold sweat and thought that this would give him more time to escape.

  "He swallowed his saliva and said, 'Good fellow, you're here to collect the road toll, right? We merchants have already prepared our respects. Each of you will get one share, ten taels of silver per person. What do you think? Let's discuss it if there's anything that needs to be discussed.'"

  He Shicheng hastily said: "The silver is in a package at the back of our cart, I'll get it for you, General, please let us go."

  Upon hearing this, a red-faced man immediately stepped forward beside the leader, untied the bundle behind the cart driven by He Shi-cheng, and found inside it fifty or sixty silver ingots weighing ten taels each. He then picked up the thick quilted package weighing over thirty catties and handed it to a woman beside the leader.

  The leader of the black-faced men said to Yao Wengdao: "This shopkeeper, I'm asking you a question, do you recognize me?"

  Yao Feng hastily cupped his hands and smiled: "I really haven't seen a good fellow like you before. But I've heard people say that there's a heroic figure who robs the rich to help the poor appearing around here."

  "You know, good fellow, we who do business on the rivers and lakes value harmony and wealth. When we meet on the rivers and lakes, it's a destined encounter. As the saying goes, 'once familiar, twice intimate'. In the future, when I, Yao Fang, lead my merchant group through this place again, I will definitely prepare enough silver to show respect to you. After all, everyone has to make a profit, and we must follow the rules of the rivers and lakes."

  The black-faced man's expression slightly eased after being spoken to by Yao Fang, but his mouth still coldly said: "You're quite the eloquent shopkeeper. Originally, it would have been fine to just collect a toll, but recently the drought has been severe and the old and young in our village are all starving, so I'll have to trouble you, shopkeeper, to leave all your goods behind. Don't worry, as long as you're honest and don't make any moves, my White Horse will only rob you of your wealth, not your lives."

  Yao Fangxin said "Alright! If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not being enlightened!"

  "On both sides of the official road, there is a dense field of tall sorghum, like a forest! The common saying goes that when you encounter a forest, don't enter it. I should have been on guard beforehand, but now the knife is already at my throat, and it's too late to haggle over the price."

  After Yao Feng made it clear, the light stick said: "Since that's the case, then let's move, everyone listen, don't make a fuss, if you hurt yourself, I, Yao Feng, won't be able to explain to your family. Money is just material wealth, losing some today can be earned back tomorrow, don't worry about it."

  The woman beside the black-faced leader smiled and said, "You're a rare boss who's kind to your employees. I've never seen a merchant like you before. Remember this: from now on, when you travel this road, White Horse will not charge you tolls."

  Yao Fan cursed in his heart: "I am your grandfather! I am your grandfather!! I am your grandfather!!!!"

  His face smiled and said: "Yao Fan thanks this female knight for her care!"

  Then the companions were driven to one side by the bandits and sat on the ground, while Yao Fan was taken to the leader's side to instruct the bandits to unload the goods from the bicycles.

  Just as Yao Fang was watching his goods being taken away by the bandits with a bitter face, a loud shout of killing suddenly erupted from all directions. A group of people holding shiny steel knives rushed out of the cornfield. Yao Fang took a closer look and found that they were Li's family members who had followed him. With their fierce and heroic faces, they looked like seasoned soldiers who had been through many battles.