Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel

Chapter 1411 Skilled in the Use of Poison

Han Shichang, the leader of the Salt Gang, was also filled with indignation: "Master Shen, we have suffered financial losses and many of our people have been arrested. We must find a way to turn the situation around as soon as possible, otherwise our Salt Gang and the Shen family will be doomed."

After a moment of contemplation, Shen Wancai said, "It seems we need to rethink our strategy. The Prince of Han's mansion is currently on high alert against us, so a direct confrontation is definitely not an option. We need to lie low, conserve our strength, and wait for the right opportunity."

Han Shichang frowned and said, "Master Shen, are we just going to wait here like this? My brothers in the Salt Gang are all holding their breath."

A ruthless glint flashed in Shen Wancai's eyes: "Of course we won't just sit and wait. We can secretly contact other forces to see if we can find new partners. At the same time, we can use our remaining resources and connections to slowly rebuild our strength. As long as we have the opportunity, we will make the Han Prince's Mansion pay the price!"

Shen Wancai frowned, pacing back and forth in his study. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly stopped and said to the steward beside him, "Now that the Prince of Han's mansion is pressing us relentlessly, our Shen family and the Salt Gang are in dire straits. We must contact forces in the martial arts world to have any chance of turning things around. My first thought is of the 'Ghost Hand Sect,' which lives in seclusion deep in the mountains. They are famous in the martial arts world for their hidden weapons and mechanical skills. If we can get their help, it will definitely greatly increase our strength."

The butler nodded in agreement: "Master is wise. However, the Ghost Hand Sect has always been mysterious, and its leader, Ghost Shadow, is cautious and suspicious. I wonder who would be suitable to send to make contact?"

Shen Wancai pondered for a moment and said, "Send Zhao San. He is the most cunning and clever disciple in the Salt Gang. He will definitely be able to deal with Ghost Shadow."

Zhao San disguised himself as an ordinary merchant, carrying generous gifts, and traveled all the way to the deep mountains where the Ghost Hand Sect was located.

Upon seeing Ghost Shadow, Zhao San greeted him with a broad smile, respectfully presented the gift, and said, "Ghost Shadow Sect Master, I have long admired your name! Today I have come to pay my respects on the orders of Master Shen Wancai. I hope you will forgive my ignorance."

The ghostly figure squinted, sizing Zhao San up and down, and said coldly, "You don't come here without a reason. Speak, what brings your Shen family and the Salt Gang to me?"

Zhao San hurriedly said, "Sect Leader, you have keen insight. Our Shen family and the Salt Gang have been plotted against by treacherous people. The Prince of Han's Mansion is using its power to suppress us at will. Although we have some minor skirmishes on weekdays, it's just for our livelihood. Now that we've been forced into a desperate situation, if we don't unite to resist, we'll probably have no place to stand in the martial world in the future. We hope that Sect Leader can lend a helping hand and help us."

Ghost Shadow sneered: "Your Shen family and Salt Gang have done plenty of heinous things in the past. Now that you're in trouble, you want to drag our Ghost Hand Sect down with you? What a joke!"

Zhao San's heart tightened, but he maintained his smile and quickly explained, "Sect Leader, you are mistaken. We have indeed been tricked by villains. The Han Prince's Mansion is too arrogant. If we do not resist, we will be swallowed up by them sooner or later. Moreover, as long as Sect Leader is willing to help, our Shenyan Alliance will definitely reward you handsomely."

As he spoke, Zhao San took out a yellowed manual from his pocket and handed it to the ghost: "This is a secret manual of mechanical arts that my Shen family has treasured for many years. It is said to have similarities with your family's mechanical arts, and it may be able to inspire your family leader."

Ghost Shadow's eyes flashed with greed upon seeing the manual, but he quickly regained his composure. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "This matter is of great importance. I need to discuss it with the elders of the sect before making a decision. You wait here."

A few days later, Ghost Shadow summoned Zhao San again and said, "My Ghost Hand Sect agrees to cooperate with your Shenyan Alliance, but on conditions. You need to provide a large amount of gold, silver and precious materials for the development of my Ghost Hand Sect and the production of mechanisms; during the cooperation period, my Ghost Hand Sect disciples will not be under the direct command of your Shenyan Alliance, but will only obey my orders."

Zhao San was dissatisfied, but he still forced a smile and said, "Although the sect leader's conditions are a bit harsh, in order to achieve our goal, our Shenyan Alliance agrees. We hope that the sect leader can keep his promise and work together with us to fight against the Hanwang Mansion."

Ghost Shadow nodded slightly: "Of course, as long as you act according to the agreement, my Ghost Hand Sect will never break its word."

Besides the Ghost Hand Sect, Shen Wancai also plans to contact the Poison Scorpion Gang.

He summoned his trusted steward, Qian Fu, and said, "The Poison Scorpion Gang is known for its use of poison and ruthless methods. If we can get their help, our chances of winning will increase even more. Take some generous gifts and go to the Poison Scorpion Gang headquarters. Make sure you can persuade Poison Lady to cooperate with us."

Qian Fu accepted the order and, with a large number of precious jewels and beautiful women, arrived at the headquarters of the Poison Scorpion Gang.

Upon seeing the Poisonous Lady, Qian Fu greeted her with a broad smile and said, "Poisonous Lady, I have long admired your name! Today I have come to pay my respects on the orders of Master Shen Wancai. I hope you will accept these small gifts."

The Poisonous Woman looked at the gift before her with a greedy glint in her eyes, but she did not immediately agree. She smiled and said, "Steward Qian, I have seen the sincerity of your Shen family and the Salt Gang, but this is no small matter. The Prince of Han's Mansion is not to be trifled with. If things are exposed, our Poisonous Scorpion Gang will be in trouble."

Qian Fu quickly replied, "Don't worry, Chief. Our Shenyan Alliance has a well-thought-out plan. As long as we work together, we will definitely succeed. Moreover, after the success, our Shenyan Alliance is willing to share the profits equally with the Poison Scorpion Gang."

Upon hearing this, Poisonous Lady's heart stirred, but she still hesitated: "The benefits are tempting, but the risks are also considerable. Steward Qian, please give me some more time to consider it."

Seeing this, Qian Fu's eyes darted around, and he used a provocation tactic: "Is the gang leader afraid of the Prince of Han's Mansion? The Poison Scorpion Gang is a well-known force in the martial arts world. If you miss this opportunity because of fear, wouldn't you become a laughing stock?"

Enraged by Qian Fu's words, Poisonous Lady slammed her hand on the table and said, "Fine! I'll cooperate with your Shenyan Alliance this once. However, you must keep your promise, otherwise, my Poisonous Scorpion Gang is not to be trifled with!"

Qian Fu nodded hurriedly and said, "Don't worry, Chief, our Shenyan Alliance will definitely keep our word."

Meanwhile, Shen Wancai and Han Shichang were also discussing the restoration of the Shen family's and the salt gang's economic power.

Han Shichang frowned and said, "Brother Shen, although we have now made connections with the forces of the martial arts world, without a solid economic foundation, it's all just empty talk. We must restore our family business as soon as possible."

Shen Wancai nodded in agreement: "Brother Han is absolutely right. The Shen family originally had a vast business network. Although it suffered a heavy blow this time, many of its business foundations remain. Let's first conduct a comprehensive review and integration of the family businesses."

So Shen Wancai began to take action. He summoned the core members of his family and said, “The situation is dire, and we must make changes. We must close some of the most loss-making and unrecoverable businesses and concentrate our funds and manpower on core industries such as salt, silk, and money lending.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Regarding the salt industry, Shen Wancai told his subordinates, "Use our remaining connections and resources to secretly contact some smugglers and re-establish smuggled salt sales channels. But we must be careful to be discreet and use more covert transportation methods to disguise the smuggled salt as ordinary goods and secretly transport it to various places by water and land."

The subordinate asked, "Sir, what about the local officials...?"

Shen Wancai sneered, "Bribe some local officials and make them turn a blind eye to the smuggling of salt. As long as the benefits are right, they won't refuse." In order to expand the scale of the silk industry, Shen Wancai said to his steward, "Hire a group of skilled craftsmen from the Jiangnan region to open a silk workshop in the Shen family. Purchase large quantities of high-quality silk and produce a batch of high-quality silk products."

The butler accepted the order and left.

Soon after, the silk workshop was completed, and the artisans began to get busy.

Looking at the scene in the workshop, Shen Wancai nodded in satisfaction and said to the people around him, "Through our existing business channels, we will sell these silk products all over the country and even export them overseas. We must open up the market and increase the reputation of Shen family silk."

Regarding the money exchange business, Shen Wancai summoned the managers of the money exchanges and said, "In order to improve the competitiveness of the money exchanges and attract depositors, we need to take a series of measures. We will raise deposit interest rates, lower loan interest rates, and launch some preferential activities, such as giving gifts for deposits and waiving loan handling fees."

The shopkeepers said with some concern, "Sir, this will greatly reduce our profits."

Shen Wancai firmly stated, "Now is not the time to focus on profits. Only by attracting more depositors and ensuring the bank's funds are plentiful can we have more capital to invest in other industries. In the long run, this will benefit the Shen family."

After hearing this, the shopkeepers nodded in understanding and began to implement the new policy according to Shen Wancai's requirements.

Meanwhile, the core members of the Salt Gang gathered to discuss matters related to economic recovery.

One of them said, "Our Salt Gang has some influence in the underworld. Why don't we start some illegal gambling and prostitution businesses and make huge profits from them?"

Another person chimed in, "This plan is feasible. We can secretly open casinos and brothels in various places. As long as we keep it well hidden, the government will have a hard time finding out."

The gang leader nodded in agreement: "Let's do it that way. In addition, we can also collude with some pirates and rob passing merchant ships to obtain wealth."

Shen Wancai said to Han Shichang, "Brother Han, if our Shenyan Alliance wants to establish itself in the martial arts world, we must have a group of promising, loyal and reliable young men. We will select some of these people and send them to a secret training base for rigorous training."

Han Shichang nodded in agreement: "Brother Shen is absolutely right. Let's choose that remote valley as the training base. It's surrounded by high mountains and there's only one hidden path leading to it, so it's very safe."

So they selected some young men from the Shen family and the Salt Gang and sent them to the training base.

Inside the training base, the trainers had been waiting for a long time.

A highly skilled trainer said to the young disciples, "From today onwards, you will receive comprehensive training here, including martial arts, hidden weapons, mechanical arts, and the use of poison. We will pass on all our skills to you without reservation, but you must also put in the effort. Those who cannot endure hardship should leave as soon as possible."

The young men were filled with enthusiasm and expressed their loyalty to the Shenyang-Yancheng Alliance, vowing to contribute their efforts to its development.

During the training process, Shen Wancai and Han Shichang also established a strict assessment system.

An assessment is conducted every month, covering both skill level and ideological awareness.

After the assessment, Shen Wancai looked at the results and said to Han Shichang, "Several disciples performed exceptionally well in this assessment. We should give them generous rewards and opportunities for promotion to encourage others to learn from them. As for those disciples who failed the assessment, they need to undergo additional training. If they still cannot meet the standards, they will have to be eliminated."

Han Shichang nodded in agreement: "Brother Shen's consideration is thorough. Only in this way can we cultivate a strong, loyal, and reliable team."

Shen Wancai summoned the leaders of the Jianghu forces and the core figures of the Shenyan Alliance, saying, "Now that our strength has recovered to some extent, it's time to launch a counterattack against the Hanwang Mansion. We've decided to use the strengths of the Jianghu forces to create chaos and panic in the capital, and then seize the opportunity to launch an attack and defeat the Hanwang Mansion in one fell swoop."

Ghost Shadow nodded and said, "My Ghost Hand Sect disciples are skilled in mechanisms and hidden weapons. They can set up a large number of mechanisms and hidden weapons in some important buildings and streets in the capital. These mechanisms and hidden weapons are very cleverly hidden. Once someone triggers them, they will cause a series of chain reactions and cause huge damage."

Poisonous Lady also said, "My Poisonous Scorpion Gang disciples are skilled in using poison. They can poison the water sources in the capital, causing the people of the capital to contract the plague and thus causing social unrest."

Shen Wancai nodded in satisfaction: "Good! Let's do it that way. At the same time, we'll organize an elite assault team to launch a surprise attack on the Prince Han's mansion. This team will consist of experts from the Shen family and the Salt Gang, as well as some Jianghu forces. They are all highly skilled in martial arts and well-equipped. Our plan is to infiltrate the Prince Han's mansion on a dark and windy night, taking advantage of the chaos in the capital, to kill Zhu Han, Lu Chenzhou, and other important figures, and seize power in the Prince Han's mansion."

Everyone responded enthusiastically and began preparing for the operation.

However, the conspiracy of the Shenyan Alliance did not escape Lu Chenzhou's notice.

Lu Chenzhou said to his subordinates, "I had long anticipated that the Shen family and the Salt Gang would not let this go. Arrange for a large number of people to closely monitor the Shen-Salt Alliance's every move, and report to me immediately if there is any news."

Upon learning of the Shenyan Alliance's plot, Lu Chenzhou immediately reported to Zhu Han: "Your Highness, the Shenyan Alliance is attempting to create chaos in the capital and then attack the Prince Han's residence. We must formulate a response plan as soon as possible."

Zhu Han calmly said, "General Lu, don't panic. Let's hold back and make full preparations first. When they make their move, we'll wipe them out in one fell swoop."

Lu Chenzhou led his naval officers and soldiers and the garrison of the capital to make full preparations.

On the night the Shenyan Alliance planned its operation, the capital city appeared to be in chaos, but in reality, Lu Chenzhou had already arranged for the garrison to patrol various locations.

When the Ghost Hand Sect disciples triggered the traps and hidden weapons, the guards immediately appeared and surrounded them. (End of Chapter)