The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 175 The Transformation of the Little Person
The night is like ink, and the new moon is like a hook.In the prison of the Salt Transportation Department in Miaowanchang, Li Hongji was walking back and forth like a trapped animal, his eyes were red, and his whole body was exuding a terrible aura of violence. His cousin Li Hongyi was huddled in the corner without saying a word. To avoid getting into trouble with my cousin Li Hongji.

There were not only the Li brothers in this cell, but also five prisoners, two of whom were local kitchen households. They were caught by the searchers because they tried to take them away while cooking salt, so they were locked up as a punishment.The other three prisoners were caught selling illegal salt and were temporarily detained here, preparing to appear in court for interrogation.

It is said that the salt laws of the Jin Dynasty are quite strict. Anyone who is found guilty of selling private salt will be punished with a hundred sticks and three years in prison.In other words, as long as you are convicted of selling illegal salt, no matter how much, even one and a half grams, you will be beaten with a hundred sticks and imprisoned for three years.

Not to mention a hundred sticks, if they were really beaten, even thirty sticks might kill someone, so many salt sellers were beaten to death, and three years in prison were spared.

In addition, if a person who sells illegal salt possesses weapons, his crime will be increased by one level; if he falsely accuses an ordinary person, his crime will be increased by a third level; if he resists arrest, he will be executed.The salt trucks, boats and other public transportation vehicles used in the crime were confiscated and returned to the government.The person who leads the Ya people and the one who harbors them has a staff of ninety and only two and a half years.Those who carry burdens have eighty sticks and only serve for two years.Those who buy salt for private consumption will be given a hundred rods, and those who resell it will be given a hundred rods. They will serve for three years.

Therefore, as long as you violate the Salt Law, the consequences will be very serious. Even buying private salt for food will cost you a hundred rods. Therefore, people who sell private salt are often desperadoes. They would rather die than fall into the hands of officers and soldiers. If unfortunately If you are caught by officers and soldiers, those with connections and connections can spend money to eliminate the disaster, but those without connections can only resign yourself to fate.

At this moment, the three private salt dealers who were locked up next to Li Hongji were probably disturbed from their rest by Li Hongji walking around. One of them yelled angrily: "Damn it, you're still lying dead in the middle of the night." , Dangling here and there, dangling your uncle."

Li Hongji suddenly turned his head, stared at the man fiercely and said, "Do you have the guts to say it again?"

The salt dealer was a desperado, so he could not be intimidated. He stood up, crossed his arms and sneered: "I will marry your mother, your wife, and your ancestors. What can you do to me!"

Li Hongji roared, rushed forward like a hungry tiger, and slammed into the iron railing with a bang. This momentum actually made the salt prisoner take a step back.

The other two salt dealers, who were still laughing and watching the fun, saw this and immediately stood up with ferocious expressions. One of them was probably the leader. When he flipped his wrist, there was a dagger. I don't know how he was brought into prison. .

"Boy, do you want to cause trouble? Mr. Dog wouldn't mind bleeding you." The salt dealer said and stepped forward.

Li Hongji's heart trembled slightly and he subconsciously stepped back.

The salt dealer grinned with a contemptuous sneer. One of his front teeth was actually golden. He knocked on the iron fence with his dagger and said with a smile: "Boy, you have to thank this thing, otherwise my gold-toothed dog will not be able to give it to you." There are several bloody holes in your body."

Li Hongji was both ashamed and angry. He stared at the gold-toothed dog in silence. Li Hongyi hurriedly smiled and said: "Master Dog, please calm down. My eldest brother is just in a bad mood and has offended a few of you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The three salt dealers looked at each other, as if they didn't want to make things worse. They sneered and retreated, continuing to close their eyes and meditate.

"Brother, one more thing is worse than a small thing. Just rest." Li Hongyi approached Li Hongji and persuaded him in a low voice. The latter's expression changed, but he finally retreated and sat against the wall.

On the wall of the cell, there is an iron window more than two meters above the ground. A faint moonlight shines in from the outside. As time goes by, the moon shadow turns from the west to the east.

At this time, a rapid gong sound suddenly sounded outside, and someone shouted: "The thief is coming, the thief is coming!"

The three salt traders, who were closing their eyes and concentrating, started to play, and you could see that they were all happy.

A moment later, there were chaotic footsteps and the sound of shouting and fighting outside the cell. Then there was a loud bang, the cell door was knocked open, and a jailer screamed and fell in, falling motionless in a pool of blood. .

Soon, several gangsters holding open fire rushed in, and one of them shouted: "Master Dog, where is Master Dog?"

"I'm here, howling in mourning for your mother!" the salt dealer said loudly.

Several gangsters heard the sound and came to the cell door. They cut off the iron bars on the fence with a few bangs and kicked the cell door open. They rushed in and said with a smile: "Master Dog, Third Master asked me to We'll take you out."

The gold-toothed dog said happily: "The third master is here in person?"

"Hey, not only the third master is here, but the fourth master and the seventh master are also here. However, the fourth master and the seventh master are chasing the dog officer, and they probably have almost succeeded. The third master is leading the brothers outside to move the salt. Those salt soldiers are all here. He’s a piece of trash, he’s gone away from everyone he meets.”

The golden-toothed dog laughed and said, "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Wait a minute!"

Gold Tooth Dog and others were trying to leave when someone suddenly shouted.

The gold-toothed dog stopped and looked at Li Hongji inside the fence, and said with a ferocious smile: "If you don't say anything, I almost forgot, how about it? You really don't want to live long?"

Li Hongji gritted his teeth and said, "Let me out and I will join you."

The golden-toothed dog was stunned for a moment and said playfully: "Join us, do you know what we do?"

"Selling illicit salt, robbing homes, and doing no good things anyway." Li Hongji said calmly.

The golden-toothed dog was not angry but smiled and said: "That's right, we don't do good things, we don't even do human affairs. We commit murder, arson, and all kinds of evil. It's a life-threatening job. Do you dare?"

Li Hongji said ferociously: "Now even if the emperor stands in front of me, I dare to kill you. Do you think I dare to kill you?"

The golden-toothed dog gave a thumbs up and said with a smile: "Good job, okay, let him out!"

A bandit immediately stepped forward, cut off the iron lance with a few blows, and released Li Hongji.

"Brother!" Li Hongyi called hesitantly, and Li Hongji immediately shouted: "Stop talking nonsense and follow me."

Li Hongyi had no choice but to follow Li Hongji out of the cell. "I've seen Mr. Dog!" Li Hongji came to the golden-toothed dog and bowed his head. Upon seeing this, Li Hongyi also quickly saluted and called him Mr. Dog.

The golden-toothed dog laughed and said: "Okay, go ahead, you brothers will follow my golden-toothed dog from now on. I will ensure that you enjoy the good life and drink hot food. You will no longer have to look at the faces of those dog officials. Let's go and take you to see our boss." Third Master."

"Wait a minute!" Li Hongji said quickly: "Can Mr. Dog borrow a dagger?"

One of the gangsters immediately said vigilantly: "What do you want a dagger for? Don't do any tricks!"

The gold-toothed dog chuckled and actually threw the dagger. There were so many brothers around him, and everyone had long weapons. He was not worried at all that Li Hongji would attack him, but he was just a little curious about what Li Hongji wanted to do.

"Thank you, Mr. Dog!" Li Hongji took the dagger, walked to the cell where the two Zao households were imprisoned, waved to the cell inside and said, "You two, come over?"

These two kitchen households were imprisoned and punished for stealing salt. They were released after a few days. It was not a serious crime. When they saw this group of people killing officials and escaping from prison, they were so frightened that their faces turned pale and their legs were weak. When they saw Li Hongji again After calling him over, they were so scared that they hid in the corner and kept shaking their heads in rejection.

Li Hongji looked sharply, turned to the machete-wielding gangster and said, "Brother, please cut the chains apart."

"You're a lot of trouble, kid." The gangster muttered, but he still stepped forward and cut off the chain.

Li Hongji pushed the door open and walked away. He stabbed the two kitchen households to death with a few cuts. Then he walked out as if nothing had happened and said, "Master Gou, let's go!"

When all the gangsters saw how ruthless Li Hongji was, they couldn't help but feel secretly in their hearts. The golden-toothed dog's expression also changed, and finally he gave a thumbs up and said: "This kid has a future, and he also knows how to kill people and silence them."

Li Hongji clasped his fists and said, "I still have family members in my hometown. If the government knows that I have joined you, I'm afraid it will harm my family. I have to take this step as a last resort."

The golden-toothed dog chuckled and said, "Understood, let's go!"

A group of people walked out of the prison. At this moment, the entire Miaowan Field was in flames. Many buildings in the salt transportation department were also on fire. The salt soldiers and kitchen households were running for their lives in chaos, while a large group of pirates were carrying the contents of the salt warehouse openly. The salt was carried in horse-drawn carts, and it was so lively.

As the saying goes, enemies often meet in narrow streets. Not far from the prison, Golden Tooth Dog and his entourage met Jia Xin, the ambassador of the Yancang Division, who fled in a hurry.

It was his enemies who were extremely jealous when they met. Li Hongji's eyes turned red immediately and he roared: "Guan Guan, where are you running from?"

Jia Xin, the ambassador of the Yancang Department, was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground and kowtowed: "Master Li, please forgive me, Mr. Li. It was all my fault before. I was blind and offended Mr. Li. Your Excellency." Don’t remember the villain’s faults…”

Li Hongji was so happy that he stepped forward and kicked Jia Xin to the ground. He said with a ferocious smile: "Guan Guan, when you insulted me, robbed me of salt, and demanded a ransom of 1000 taels, you never thought that you would be here today, right?"

"Master Li, I was wrong. I will compensate you! I will compensate you 5000 taels of silver!" Jia Xin begged for mercy while taking out a stack of silver notes from his arms.

Li Hongji snatched it over and found that it was indeed a banknote from the Dajin Bank. He cashed it as soon as he saw it. One piece was worth 1000 taels, making a total of 5000 taels. He became furious and said, "You dog officials, I don't know how much people's wealth and wealth you have plundered. How many people have been ruined and killed, but you can’t be left alone!”

Li Hongji stabbed Jia Xin in the neck, and found more banknotes, as well as gold and silver items from the latter's body.

"Master Dog, this money is all the ill-gotten gains from corruption by this dog official. Please keep it!" Li Hongji understood the idea and gave all the money to the gold-toothed dog.

The golden-toothed dog smiled and patted Li Hongji on the shoulder and said: "Do a good job, and you may be the tenth person on Dulong Island from now on."

Li Hongji's eyes flashed and he said happily: "Thank you, Mr. Dog."

The golden-toothed dog smiled and said, "Don't thank me yet. I'm ranked ninth on Dulong Island. If you want to be the tenth, we have to say it."

"May I ask what the name of our leader is?"

"Hey, have you heard of Gu San Mazi's name?"

Li Hongji was shocked. Gu Sanmazi was the largest salt lord in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. His name was well-known. He was a gangster in Suzhou back then. Later he went to sea and became a pirate. It is said that he had hundreds of warships and nearly [-] troops. , the regular army could not do anything to him, and several encirclement and suppression campaigns failed.

"It turns out to be Dulong King. I've admired his name for a long time." Li Hongji quickly complimented.

Since Gu Sanmazi was entrenched in the Dulong Island area, he declared himself King of Dulong, which shows how arrogant he was. No wonder he dared to declare that he would behead Lin Ruhai, the Yangzhou salt censor.

The golden-toothed dog said triumphantly: "By the way, what's your boy's name?"

Li Hongji rolled his eyes and replied: "My name is Li Ji, and this is my brother Li Yi, from Shanxi."

The golden-toothed dog nodded and did not go into details. Anyway, Li Hongji killed the official and handed in the certificate of surrender. There was absolutely no turning back. There was no need to worry that he would betray him and could only go all the way to the dark side, so he took the Li family with him. The brothers went to see the third master.

Li Hongyi followed Li Hongji and whispered uneasily: "Brother, this is a business that requires beheading. Do we really want to join?"

Li Hongji sneered: "If you can't get 1000 taels of silver, you will die anyway, so you might as well have a fucking good time. After this incident, I have seen through it. If you don't want to be bullied, you can only be a master." , kill anyone who bullies me, kill anyone who looks down on me, kill me to the highest point, no one will dare to bully me, and no one will dare to look down on me, it is only my duty to bully others!"

(End of this chapter)