Chapter 156: Forcing the Fish to Compete for Food

Zhangsun Jincheng was very angry, and the consequences were serious. This was the second time he had been woken up from his dream that night, and when he woke up, he saw those new hall masters and small gang leaders causing a ruckus with knives in Changfu Garden. How could he not be furious?

"Presumptuous!" Zhangsun Jincheng roared with authority. The new hall masters and small gang leaders were involuntarily taken aback. Although they were extremely dissatisfied in their hearts, they stopped their rampage and quieted down, waiting for Zhangsun Jincheng to continue speaking.

"Making a big fuss and shouting about fighting and killing in the residence of the leader of the Jiang Gang in the middle of the night. What kind of behavior is this?" Zhangsun Jincheng, after all, had some authority, and he started to raise the issue to a higher level. "Do you still have me, the leader, and the Jiang Gang in your eyes?"

A new hall master tried hard to hold back his anger, stepped forward and bowed. His tone was not calm as he said, "Your subordinate didn't know that the leader was in a sweet dream. It's just that your subordinates were attacked by the Shuai Army everywhere. We waited in vain for the leader's support but didn't get it. Then we heard that the leader was also under attack. We were afraid that something might happen to the leader, so we specially led our brothers to fight our way through with our lives on the line, hoping to come here to relieve the leader. Unexpectedly, not only did the leader not appreciate it, but he also misunderstood our good intentions."

Everyone knew that there was hidden sarcasm in the new hall master's words. He was讽刺 Zhangsun Jincheng for not coming to their rescue and also explained the difficult situation they were in and their selfless loyalty.

Zhangsun Jincheng was an old fox. How could he not hear the hidden sarcasm of the new hall master? He was furious in his heart. Throughout his life, he hated most to have his authority challenged, especially when someone didn't give him face in public. Coupled with the anger of being woken up at night, Zhangsun Jincheng couldn't hold back. He stepped forward and kicked over the hall master who had讽刺 him, shouting, "Do you think I don't know what you mean? Fighting your way through? Is the Shuai Army really that powerful? I think you're just cowards running to Changfu Garden to take refuge. If it weren't for the fact that you joined the Jiang Gang, I wouldn't have taken you in at all. I would have left you homeless or even cut you down with a single knife."

The faces of these new hall masters and small gang leaders all changed slightly. They didn't expect that Zhangsun Jincheng not only didn't feel guilty for not coming to their rescue but also called them cowards. Their hearts turned cold. Indeed, it was like they were from different families even though they were supposed to be on the same side. They were just wild children who joined the gang voluntarily. In Zhangsun Jincheng's eyes, they were even worse than children raised by a stepmother. He would use them when they were useful and kick them away when they weren't.

A small gang leader said cautiously, "I wonder if the leader will help us get justice, take back our territory, and give us a place to live and make a living?"

Zhangsun Jincheng was slightly taken aback. It wasn't worth it to have a full-scale war with the Shuai Army just for them at this moment. Moreover, he hadn't made all the arrangements yet, and Sister Li hadn't come back either.

"Actually, since your territory was taken away by the Shuai Army, if you're real men, you should take it back," Zhangsun Zijun appeared out of nowhere, wearing a piece of clothing. Her face showed fatigue, and she said indifferently, "Take it back the way you lost it, instead of crying here. As men of the Jiang Gang, don't you have the backbone for that?"

"Then please, Miss Zijun, give me a hundred elite brothers. I promise to take back the lost territory even if I have to die," the new hall master who had讽刺 Zhangsun Jincheng said.

Zhangsun Zijun naturally wouldn't give them elite brothers, let alone as many as a hundred. She smiled slightly and said, "How many people from the Shuai Army attacked you? Why do you need a hundred elite men? As long as you all unite, it will be enough to drive out the Shuai Army members who occupied your territory, take back what's yours, and even wipe them out. As long as you're ruthless and willing to fight with all your might."

These new hall masters and small gang leaders all snorted softly in their hearts. No matter how beautifully Zhangsun Zijun talked, she just wouldn't give them any manpower. She even wanted them to take back the territory on their own. What was the difference between this and not joining the Jiang Gang? If the Jiang Gang couldn't support them and stand up for them, why did they come to join the Jiang Gang? Maybe they wouldn't have provoked the Shuai Army if they hadn't joined the Jiang Gang. Although these thoughts were swirling in their hearts, no one dared to say them out loud, for fear of making Zhangsun Jincheng and those old guys angry and having them vent their anger on themselves.

"Leader, leader!" A guard rushed in hastily and shouted, "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

"What's the matter that makes you so flustered? Has the sky fallen or the earth caved in?" Zhangsun Jincheng snapped. These gang members always liked to exaggerate things.

"Twelve Japanese corpses were found at the gate. They were carrying various weapons. Our brothers guessed that they were killers," a guard wiped his sweat and blurted out the words that shocked Zhangsun Zijun.

"What? Japanese corpses?" Zhangsun Zijun's face changed slightly, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "Could it be that Chu Tian killed all the Yamaguchi-gumi killers that Sister Li invited to deal with the Shuai Army?"

Zhangsun Jincheng's face also changed slightly. It seemed that Chu Tian was really capable. Even the Yamaguchi-gumi killers couldn't defeat him, and instead, they ended up like this.

When those new hall masters and small gang leaders heard that they were Yamaguchi-gumi killers, they secretly despised Zhangsun Zijun and the others. It was really contemptible to invite those Japanese killers in the fight among Shanghai's underworld gangs. They knew how many heinous crimes the Japanese had committed in Shanghai during the invasion. Now the Jiang Gang was actually cooperating with the Japanese. If this got out, their friends in the underworld would probably look down on the Jiang Gang. At the same time, they were also secretly shocked by Chu Tian's abilities. Even the Japanese killers couldn't deal with Chu Tian. He was really powerful.

Zhangsun Zijun and Zhangsun Jincheng led these new hall masters and small gang leaders to the pile of corpses. When they saw the tragic state of the members of the "Cherry Blossoms All Over the Sky" group, Zhangsun Zijun almost vomited. The new hall masters and small gang leaders secretly became afraid of the Shuai Army. They didn't expect the Shuai Army to be so powerful that they could kill these thorny Japanese killers so thoroughly. Some were hacked to death with knives, some had their throats pierced, and some had their throats cut by something. It seemed that the Shuai Army had shown mercy tonight. Otherwise, they would have already died. At this moment, the last bit of their intention to take back the territory disappeared completely. After some thought, they even had the idea of pleading with the Shuai Army or joining them.

At this moment, Chu Tian's hands were roaming over Ke'er's body. Just as he was about to go further, looking at Ke'er's shy face, her panting, and her slightly nervous expression, Chu Tian knew that this girl was experiencing this for the first time. So he became even more gentle and teasing. Ke'er looked at Chu Tian's gentle eyes, smiled sweetly, and said softly, "Brother Chu, if I don't serve you well tonight, please forgive me." Chu Tian was slightly taken aback, but his body involuntarily pressed forward, and he began to move.

Chu Tian's "forcing the fish to compete for food" plan could be said to be very successful. Coupled with the twelve corpses of the members of the "Cherry Blossoms All Over the Sky" group, it was enough to make those new hall masters and small gang leaders shift their resentment towards the Shuai Army to the Jiang Gang. Everyone's resentment grew stronger, and their emotions became more anxious. But without anyone's support, they clearly didn't dare to have a direct conflict with Zhangsun Jincheng. Several new hall masters and small gang leaders gathered in a side room, secretly united, and quietly discussed countermeasures.

Brother Cheng walked around a few times, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and pretended to be angry as he said, "Brothers, we used to be bosses, big or small. We thought that joining the Jiang Gang would give us a backer. Who knew that this backer not only wouldn't stand up for us but also gave us a hard time. You know, we were attacked by the Shuai Army like this because we're part of the Jiang Gang. It's really outrageous. I think they're even more hateful than the Shuai Army. It's bad enough that that old guy Zhangsun Jincheng refused to provide support or stand up for us, but he even refused to give us a piece of territory to live on. If the three direct halls of the Jiang Gang squeezed out a little bit, it would be enough for us to make a living. It seems that we're really like unwanted children."

"Brother Cheng, you're absolutely right. You've really hit the nail on the head," a new hall master chimed in.

A small gang leader said, "Yeah, we have nothing left now except these brothers. Without territory and support, we'll starve to death sooner or later."

Brother Cheng smiled slightly, lit another cigarette, and said, "Zhangsun Jincheng wants us to deal with the Shuai Army and take back the territory from them. I don't dare to do it. They even chopped up the Yamaguchi-gumi killers from Japan. What chance do we have?"

Everyone in the side room nodded their heads and sighed, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, Brother Cheng slapped the table and said excitedly, "I have a plan, but I don't know if you guys dare to take a risk."

"Brother Cheng, tell us, tell us," the new hall masters and small gang leaders suddenly perked up and gathered around to listen to Brother Cheng's plan. After hearing it, they couldn't help but clap their hands and praise it. Then they each went to take action.

In the following days, hundreds of people from these newly joined small gangs of the Jiang Gang united and, on the pretext of hunting down the Shuai Army or having discovered the Shuai Army, rushed into the small and medium-sized economic establishments controlled by the three direct halls of the Jiang Gang. Then they took over these places with what they considered to be legitimate reasons. In just a few days, they had "legitimately" controlled more than a dozen small and medium-sized economic establishments, which made the people from the three direct halls of the Jiang Gang extremely angry. Without waiting for Zhangsun Jincheng to mediate, they dispatched their elite forces to chase and attack these "brother gangs" who were seizing the territory. Naturally, those new hall masters and small gang leaders didn't back down. They were all part of the Jiang Gang, so why should the three direct halls have places to live and make a living while they had to live in some shabby factory buildings provided by Zhangsun Jincheng? So they fought back fiercely, shouting the slogan "The Shuai Army is pretending to be the three halls of the Jiang Gang" and engaged in a legitimate battle with the three direct halls of the Jiang Gang. Because they were resisting out of resentment this time, they showed no mercy. By the time Zhangsun Jincheng and the others came to mediate, both sides had suffered more than a hundred casualties.

When Zhangsun Jincheng and Zhangsun Zijun arrived and saw the bloody scene and the large number of casualties among the people from the three direct halls of the Jiang Gang, their hearts ached. Zhangsun Jincheng, who always protected his own people, immediately chopped a new hall master who was leading the trouble to death on the spot. This action made the brothers from the direct halls of the Jiang Gang feel extremely satisfied, but it made the new hall masters and small gang leaders who had newly joined the Jiang Gang extremely disheartened.

A small gang leader stepped forward cautiously and angrily asked, "Leader Zhangsun, it's not about having too little but about uneven distribution; it's not about being poor but about lack of stability. Now, Leader Zhangsun, you haven't given us a place to live and make a living, nor have you given us elite manpower. How can we survive? We just accidentally took over the territory of the three direct halls. The three direct halls then came after us and killed and injured so many of our brothers. Leader Zhangsun, not only did you not comfort us, but you didn't even ask about the reason before chopping Hall Master Liu down. How can you convince all the brothers?"

Zhangsun Jincheng's anger still hadn't subsided after chopping someone down. When he heard the small gang leader questioning him, he said coldly, "Why do I need you to be convinced? You killed and injured so many people from the three direct halls, and you deserve to die." After saying that, the knife in his hand suddenly slashed towards the small gang leader. The small gang leader had already been on guard and blocked Zhangsun Jincheng's knife with his own. He said coldly, "Is Leader Zhangsun going to kill me too? We respected the Jiang Gang as the largest gang in Shanghai, so we all came to join Leader Zhangsun. We didn't expect Leader Zhangsun to treat his brothers like this. You don't support us when we're in trouble, you're unfair in handling things, and you kill people casually. It really makes us feel disheartened."

Zhangsun Jincheng glared at the small gang leader who dared to block his machete and said coldly, "It's not up to you to teach me how to be the leader. You keep saying that you joined the Jiang Gang, but you haven't brought any benefits to the Jiang Gang. You couldn't even hold onto your own territory. When I asked you to take it back from the Shuai Army, you refused. And you even dared to use underhanded schemes to seize the territory of the three direct halls. You really don't know the consequences of your actions."

The small gang leader opened his eyes wide and said sarcastically, "Even you, Leader Zhangsun, don't dare to provoke the Shuai Army. How can we, these small gang members, dare to?"

Zhangsun Jincheng glanced at them disdainfully and didn't bother to talk to them anymore. He turned to the people from the three direct halls and the more than a hundred elite men he had brought and said, "Chop up all these cowards who are afraid to fight the Shuai Army and only know how to compete for food among their own brothers. Throw them into the Huangpu River." The people from the three direct halls and the nearly a hundred men brought by Zhangsun Jincheng shouted and charged towards the more than two hundred new hall masters and small gang leaders.

The new hall masters and small gang leaders might not have been a match for these elite forces of the Jiang Gang under normal circumstances, but today was a matter of life and death. Moreover, the resentment and anger that had accumulated over many days were intertwined. They couldn't help but shout, "Brothers, let's fight to the death!" So more than two hundred of them also charged towards the elite forces of the Jiang Gang. Brother Cheng hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly. When no one was paying attention, he quietly hid in the ventilation duct he had already spotted.

The next morning after the fierce battle between Zhangsun Jincheng's direct forces and the newly joined small gangs, Chu Tian woke up and found that Ke'er wasn't by his side. He smiled slightly, guessing that this girl had gone to make her complicated breakfast again. After washing up, Chu Tian went downstairs and indeed saw four wooden breakfast trays on the dining table. Each tray contained: one raw egg, a small piece of fish with black bean sauce, two slices of smoked ham, two shrimps, two slices of seaweed, a little pickled vegetables, one preserved plum, half a small bowl of soup, and one and a half taels of white rice. In the half a small bowl of soup, there were also five or six things like dried shrimps, sausage, bean jelly, and bok choy.

Hai Zi and Guang Zi also came back from their training outside at this time. They seemed to really like this kind of breakfast and quickly sat down. They had praised Ke'er's cooking skills and character in front of Chu Tian more than once and had even lamented that they didn't have to shout "Warriors, get ready for battle" anymore.

When Chu Tian thought of "Warriors, get ready for battle", he couldn't help but think of Sister Mei and Lin Yuting. He secretly thought that once the situation here stabilized, he should go to Beijing to visit them. He had been so busy fighting these days that he had almost forgotten about them.

Following Ke'er's instructions, Chu Tian and the others first cracked the raw egg and mixed it into the white rice, then covered the rice with seaweed and ate it with the pickled vegetables. Although they were a bit unaccustomed at first, after taking a bite, they felt extremely comfortable. Not to mention how appealing it was in terms of color, aroma, and taste, just in terms of nutritional value, it was truly impeccable. The appetites of the three of them were immediately whetted, and they started to eat slowly.

Ke'er watched tenderly as Chu Tian ate the breakfast she had made bite by bite, a happy smile spreading across her face.

While having breakfast, Guang Zi began to report on the battle situation of the past few days. His tone was very excited. Everything was as Chu Tian had expected. The "forcing the fish to compete for food" plan had achieved very good results. In just a few days, the three direct halls of the Jiang Gang had suffered nearly two hundred casualties. The newly joined small gangs were in an even worse situation. They had originally united with more than three hundred people, but after the fight with the Jiang Gang, there were only more than eighty people left. They were huddled in a factory building on the outskirts, with nothing to eat and nothing to wear. The Jiang Gang hadn't sent anyone to pursue them anymore, perhaps because they were afraid that the Shuai Army would take advantage of the situation.

Chu Tian smiled slightly. After swallowing the last bite of rice, just as he