Chapter 234: Didn't we just get in?
Madam Li's beautiful eyes flickered with a hint of doubt.
"Then what should we do? Force our way in?"
"Forcing our way in is so unrefined."
Shen Yulou looked at the merchants outside the pass, who were complaining loudly due to the congestion, and a mischievous plan instantly formed in his mind.
"Sister-in-law, could you please get two sets of guard uniforms?"
This was easy for Madam Li.
Her figure swayed, and like a wisp of smoke, she disappeared into the crowd.
A moment later, she returned with two sets of armor that still carried body warmth.
As for the two unlucky guards, Madam Li had thrown them somewhere unknown.
The two found a secluded spot to change into the uniforms, and in a flash, they became guards of the pass.
Shen Yulou led Madam Li, swaggering to the outermost part of the entire queue, which was the first checkpoint.
Madam Li flicked her finger, and two small pebbles flew out silently, accurately striking the pressure points of the two guards on duty.
The two instantly became like wooden puppets, unable to move.
Shen Yulou and Madam Li dragged them into the city gate tower, then stood at the entrance, taking their place.
The merchants outside saw this but said nothing, merely assuming that the two had been standing for too long and might have suffered heatstroke.
As soon as Shen Yulou took his post, his demeanor immediately changed.
The phrase "a dog acts fierce on its master's power" was perfectly embodied by him.
Shen Yulou pointed at the queuing merchants with a ferocious expression and said,
"All of you, line up! You want to enter the city, right? Pay up!"
He shouted arrogantly at the merchant ship that had just reached the front of the line, his voice even more brazen than the junior leader's.
"Entry fee, one hundred taels per person! Goods are calculated by cart, five hundred taels per cart!"
Originally, this first checkpoint did not collect money; it only performed an initial verification of documents.
Shen Yulou's shout stunned everyone.
Some experienced merchants looked puzzled, wondering, "Don't they usually collect money only at the final inspection? Why are they collecting it at the first checkpoint today?"
Madam Li stood behind him, watching him expertly snatch a money pouch from a merchant, weigh it, and then shove it into his embrace with a look of disdain.
Madam Li frowned and whispered,
"What's the use of us collecting this little money here?"
"Sister-in-law, you'll know in a moment."
Shen Yulou collected money while giving her an on-the-spot lesson.
"This move is called 'conflict escalation.'
When you encounter a problem that you can't solve yourself, or are too lazy to solve personally...
The best way is to transfer it out, letting it become a bigger conflict.
Then, naturally, someone else will solve it for you."
Soon, Madam Li saw the effect.
Shen Yulou, like a goose plucking its feathers, let more than a dozen merchant ships pass.
Although these merchants felt a pang of pain, thinking of entering the city sooner, they gritted their teeth and accepted it.
But when they reached the innermost checkpoint, in front of the goat-bearded junior leader, they instantly exploded.
"What?! We have to pay again?!"
A hot-tempered merchant directly slammed his money pouch onto the table.
"We already paid once at the first gate outside! Are you guys robbing us?!"
"Exactly! One hundred taels per person, five hundred taels per cart of goods! The officials of your Yan State are too greedy!"
"I'm not paying anymore! Give me back the money I just paid!"
The merchants' anger was instantly ignited!
Although these merchants had little status, those in business were more cunning than ordinary people.
Being bullied and exploited to this extreme, naturally some would resist.
The goat-bearded leader was utterly bewildered by the commotion, his face blank.
"Outside? When did they start collecting money outside? Who the hell dares to steal my business?!"
His heart sank, and he immediately dispatched two subordinates.
"Go! Go to the first gate and see what the hell is going on!"
At this time, Shen Yulou and Madam Li had already taken off their armor, changed back into their own clothes, and stealthily blended into the angry crowd.
Shen Yulou looked at the tense scene before him, and, fearing nothing more than peace, he started shouting to incite the crowd.
"These corrupt officials are insatiably greedy! They've collected money twice and still want a third time!"
"Brothers! The money we earn through hard work is our blood and sweat, we can't just let them rob us of it!"
"Fight them! Charge in!"
The merchants, already seething with anger from exploitation, were incited by him, and the last string of their reason snapped!
"Damn it! Charge!"
"Kill these corrupt officials!"
The crowd instantly rioted, like a bursting dam, surging towards the junior leader!
Originally, they were already exploited layer by layer in business, and the money they ultimately received was not much.
They might be slightly wealthier than common folk, but they were still in poverty.
Now, with this layer-by-layer stripping, their lives became even more difficult.
With Shen Yulou's incitement, everyone immediately flared up.
The goat-bearded junior leader was still in a daze when he was surrounded by dozens of angry strong men.
What awaited him were countless fists and large feet of size forty-something.
"Ouch!"
"Don't hit my face!"
"Damn it, who the hell kicked me in the crotch!"
Screams and curses rang out in unison.
Shen Yulou stood on the periphery of the crowd, his arms crossed, watching the goat-bearded man being beaten into a pig's head, and smiled contentedly.
He turned to Madam Li beside him and said,
"Sister-in-law, you see, isn't that solved?"
"Now, we can enter the city."
Madam Li looked at Shen Yulou, and in her usually cold eyes, a hint of... admiration couldn't help but flash.
She silently gave Shen Yulou a thumbs up.
Clever, truly clever.
Killing without seeing blood, cursing without using foul language.
This mind, it's truly not something an ordinary person could possess.
The first on the fengyun ranking was for martial arts.
If there were a ranking for cunningness, Shen Yulou would definitely be first, and by a landslide.
While the goat-bearded man was being kicked around like a ball by the merchants, the two swaggered onto their official boat.
The key thing was that Shen Yulou, before leaving, casually picked up several money pouches that had fallen during the earlier chaos.
He didn't spend a single cent, and even made a small profit.
Capitalists would weep upon seeing this.
The official boat sailed along the river, heading deep into Yan State territory.
After a day and a night of travel, when a magnificent city built upon a network of waterways appeared before them, Shen Yulou knew that Water City had arrived.
However, upon entering Water City's territory, the atmosphere instantly changed.
The air was no longer filled with the gentle charm of a Jiangnan water town, but rather a suffocating tension, like the calm before a storm.
On the river, patrol teams of soldiers could be seen from time to time.
But upon closer inspection, the styles of their armor and their flag emblems were surprisingly different.
Just now, a fast boat flying a 'Chen' flag and a multi-deck boat flying a 'Wang' flag almost collided due to vying for the right of way.
The two groups of people cursed at each other from their boat prows, their hands on their sword hilts.
Each of them was agitated, and if not for other boats blocking them from behind, they probably would have started fighting on the spot.
The entire Water City was filled with a very oppressive, tense atmosphere.
Even Madam Li, who was usually fearless, was uncharacteristically nervous at this moment.
Her beautiful eyes constantly scanned her surroundings, emitting a subtle chill.
Her ears also twitched slightly, as no rustle of grass or movement could escape her notice.
Protecting Shen Yulou's safety was her top priority.
Absolutely no accidents could occur.
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