The Salt Gang was a familiar term to many people.
Since ancient times, salt and iron had always been a business that was strictly regulated by the imperial court. It was usually monopolized by the government, and the profits were the greatest. Therefore, whether it was the collusion between officials and merchants, or the salt gang formed by the Jianghu, it was an extremely profitable profession. The person Jun Yue wanted to meet today was a member of the salt gang!
There were many salt gangs, and they were formed by those wild salt merchants. They were distributed in the major rivers along the coast, and 99% of them sold illegal salt. But in fact, the Salt Gang was also legal. The Salt Gang that was recognized by the imperial court was undoubtedly someone with a powerful background.
Jun Yue used to be good friends with Old Master Yan of the Jiangnan Salt Gang, but after Old Master Yan's death three years ago, his business fell into the hands of his only granddaughter, Yan Yan. This woman was also very resourceful. In less than three years, she had organized hundreds of salt gangs of all sizes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and even expanded her business to the Yellow River area, controlling at least 50% of the business of the Lianghe Salt Gang.
What was the scale of a 50% business?
In terms of wealth and power, Shen Caishen was inferior to her!
After all, normal official salt was a huge profit. The illegal salt sales in private definitely far exceeded the profits on the surface. Once exposed, the richest man in the world could instantly change hands.
Yan Yan had already received the news of Jun Yue's arrival. She had made a promise that even Jun Yue had to take seriously because he knew what it meant. With this promise, Junyue's trip to Nanjing would be complete!
"Good!"
Jun Yue looked at the pretty girl. He wanted to see what she had up her sleeves.
"Hehehe, since Mr. Yue is known as the Gentleman Sword, we will use the Six Arts of Gentleman-zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting!”
Jun Yue nodded upon hearing the girl's words. At this moment, the group of scholars were also looking at everything curiously. They knew how powerful the four women were.
Brothel, brothel, these were two different concepts!
Brothels were places where people sold their bodies. This was also common. However, in ancient times, women who could enter brothels had to be of pure social status, talented, and then beautiful. Therefore, their talents were even inferior to most of the scholars.
Some great scholars might be able to beat them in one aspect, but in four aspects, the geisha in their hearts was not inferior to the top scholars in their hearts. They looked at Jun Yue curiously. If Jun Yue was really so powerful, they would even want to befriend martial artists.
"The first test is Young Master's zither skills. As long as Young Master can make Young Lady light the lamp, Young Master will pass this test!”
"Good!"
Upon hearing Jun Yue's words, all the scholars looked at Jun Yue curiously. They were also curious if Jun Yue's zither skills were as exquisite as Miss Xiaowan had said.
"Mr. Yue is a senior who has a very close personal relationship with our Old Master Yan. This Jiu Xiao Huan Pei Qin was bought by Miss from a zither master at a high price.”
Jiu Xiao Huan Pei Zither!
Even Jun Yue, who had just started playing the zither, knew the name of the zither. It was like the supreme existence among swords. Looking at the zither that was slowly being lifted up, the young masters looked at Jun Yue with envy. Some of the people who were proficient in the zither were even burning with envy!
Looking at the zither in front of him, it was an ancient Fuxi coin. The zither was made of white jade and was exquisitely carved. The burnt tail of Yue Shan was made of red sandalwood and had a neat craftsmanship. The body of the zither was painted vermilion, and the antlers were gray. The whole body was mainly made of broken patterns of small snake abdomen, and occasionally broken patterns of small cow hair.
Jun Yue leaped forward, and the distance from the cabin door to the seat of honor was at least ten meters. However, Jun Yue actually leaped forward like a crane spreading its wings. The scholars cheered loudly!
In fact, that man did not have the dream of wielding a sword in the martial world. However, most of the martial arts cultivation was out of the question. Even if one were to get started, one would need to practice in the winter and in the summer.
" Hehehe, Mr. Yue's Qinggong is so handsome. He can leap 30 feet in one leap. This is also the top in the martial arts world."
Jun Yue looked at the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei Zither in front of him and tested its sound quality. It was indeed much better than the zither he had used before.
The song 'Smiling Proud in the World' was not because he was really exquisite, but because he quoted the long-lost Guangling San from the previous scholars. As soon as Jun Yue started playing, everyone closed their doors and listened.
They were all people who had been involved in the zither, so they naturally understood Jun Yue's exquisite performance. While they admired him, they also didn't want to miss this piece.
Even Xiao Wan, who was standing at the side, looked curiously at the young man who was playing the piano. He had white hair and a youthful face. He was not an old man, but in her heart, he had instantly become Prince Charming.
In the Salt Gang, they naturally knew the importance of strength. However, they were also talented and wanted to find a man who was skilled in both literature and martial arts.
This was not the kind of person who was well-versed in both literature and martial arts in the eyes of those young masters from aristocratic families. He was truly well-versed in both literature and martial arts. He had the absolute strength to protect them, and he also had absolute talent.
The ups and downs of the Smiling Proud in the Pugilistic World and the exquisite music soon convinced the group of people. They fantasized about the elegance and boldness of walking the world with their swords. When the song ended, everyone still did not come back to their senses for a long time.
Yes!
Jun Yue looked up and saw that one of the four lanterns above his head had lit up.
"What is the name of Mr. Yue's song?”
"Smiling Proud in the Pugilistic World is a song jointly written by Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang of Mount Heng.”
"That's how it was. I've also heard of these two's great names. Unfortunately, the righteous path and the devil path can't be tolerated. I have a presumptuous request. I wonder if Mr. Yue can make a copy of this score for me. I'm sure I'll be…"
"No need. Take this score! What's the second stage?"
Hearing the conversation between Jun Yue and Xiao Wan, the scholars and nobles also woke up. They looked at the music score that the white-haired young man casually threw out, and a trace of admiration flashed in their eyes.
It was the first time they had heard such a peerless and famous song. Although this song was not only available in the sky, it was really rare to hear it in the human world!
When they saw the score, they knew that they could listen to it here often.
"Thank you, Mr. Yue. The second round is chess. Mr. Yue, my sister Xiao Qiao will compete with the young master in chess!”
Then, a beautiful girl with yellow tassels walked out. Looking at the girl, Jun Yue was also surprised.
It was exactly the same!
Looking at the red-dressed Xiao Wan beside him, the yellow-dressed girl was almost identical to Xiao Wan except for her clothes. Even Jun Yue was surprised.
"Mr. Yue, we're quadruplets. Mr. Yue, don't be surprised!”
Although it was an explanation, Xiao Wan's tone could not help but carry a hint of seduction. Perhaps one of them was a top-notch beauty, but they could not reach the level of one of the top ten courtesans of Qin Huai. However, when they stood together, they were even more stunning than when the four of Qin Huai's top ten courtesans stood together.
"Yes, Miss Xiao Qiao, please!"
Although Xiao Qiao wasn't as beautiful as the Qiao brothers in history, her delicate and pitiful temperament made many people feel a sense of pity for her.
Jun Yue and Xiao Qiao were sitting opposite each other on the chessboard, and there was a canvas placed beside them. On the canvas, there were many chess moves, and below the canvas, a scholar was holding a pen and presenting the chess moves of the two of them in front of everyone.
Although Jun Yue had never delved deeply into the theory of chess, there was a book on Mount Hua that was rumored to be passed down from Patriarch Chen Zhuan of Mount Hua. It recorded some chess games, and he had read through it and remembered them by heart.
In addition, Jun Zijian and Yue Buqun were also somewhat familiar with chess. With the verification of each other, Jun Yue gradually recovered from the initial disadvantage!
What kind of people were there? They were all interested in playing chess. Naturally, they could tell that Jun Yue was not even as good as them at the beginning. Later on, Jun Yue actually defeated Miss Xiao Qiao, who none of them could defeat, with only half a stone. They all looked at Jun Yue in disbelief.
"Mr. Yue, you're good!"
Looking at Junyue, Xiao Qiao's eyes were filled with resentment.
That's right, she had underestimated Jun Yue when she saw that his chess skills were worse than those of the people below, but she didn't expect Jun Yue to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. When she realized that Jun Yue was a wolf in sheep's clothing, it was already too late, and she won half of the chess pieces due to her carelessness.
"Hehehe…"
Jun Yue didn't explain. He didn't need to explain, as long as he won.
"Xiao Qiao, a loss is a loss. Moreover, the chess skills that Mr. Yue displayed later on are already above yours. If I'm not wrong, Mr. Yue's chess skills were his true level from the beginning.”
A light and seductive voice was heard. Everyone looked inside in surprise, but Xiao Qiao looked at Jun Yue in disbelief.
Who would believe that a rookie had become a master in the time it took to brew a cup of tea? It would be strange if he didn't treat her as a lunatic.
"Hehehe, that's right. This Yue has never studied the theory of Go in depth before, but I've memorized a Go manual from Huashan's library.”
Ssss…
Chess manuals were chess manuals, and chess skills were chess skills!
Perhaps one's Go skills would naturally improve after reading more Go manuals, but one shouldn't play with people like this. If the world could understand everything just by reading Go manuals, then there would be no need for scholars and teachers.
"Mr. Yue is indeed a genius."
As the young lady spoke, the second lantern lit up. Everyone looked at the silver-haired young man on it with disbelief in their eyes.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]