Chapter 432 - 432: A Cunning Plan? A Brilliant Strategy!
Ye Qing deliberately cornered Pi Junchao with his words, "Either you lend me your men, or I go straight to the Tianqing Gang and the Fierce Tiger Gang to settle things."
Ye Qing had figured out that Pi Junchao was behind this matter; therefore, Pi would never dare let him go to the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang. As the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang were not involved in this affair, if Ye Qing approached them, they would certainly assume that the Fierce Tiger Gang was framing them and would definitely move against the Fierce Tiger Gang.
In fact, Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang had long been eager to swallow up the Fierce Tiger Gang. If they really caught hold of a handle on them this time, it would spell the end for the Fierce Tiger Gang.
Pi Junchao was particularly worried about this, so after hearing Ye Qing's words, he became frantic with anxiety. After hesitating for quite a while, he finally bit the bullet and said, "Ye brothers, I... I'll lend you the men!"
"Ah?" Ye Qing looked at Pi Junchao and shook his head, "Pi, you're so busy on your end, how can I have the nerve to bother you? Forget it, I'll go to them instead!"
"No, I'll lend you the men!" Pi Junchao grabbed Ye Qing's arm, fearful that he'd leave, and said, "I can put off my affairs for a bit. After all, we're one of our own. Your matters are my matters. If I don't help you, what face would I have to keep mixing in these circles? Don't worry, I'll lend you a group to hold the fort for a while. There's no need to fall out with the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang at this time. It's not appropriate!"
Inside, Ye Qing sneered, but outwardly he said, "If it's inconvenient for you, Pi, then let's just forget about it!"
"It's not inconvenient at all, let's settle it like that!" Pi Junchao stood up, summoned a lackey, and instructed him to go find fifty people to come over and await Ye Qing's orders.
Ye Qing didn't stand on ceremony. Since Pi Junchao had sent the men over, it suited him just fine. Immediately, he split the men into two groups: one to protect Lin Mengjie and Chen Jun, and the other to provide close protection to Li Lianshan.
With this move, even Li Lianshan's own underlings could be pulled back. These people were borrowed from Pi Junchao, and with them protecting Li Lianshan, any danger that befell him would become their responsibility. Therefore, Ye Qing let them protect Li Lianshan with peace of mind, knowing that Pi Junchao wouldn't dare let Li encounter any danger, or he'd be unable to explain himself!
Having borrowed men from Pi Junchao, Ye Qing thanked him repeatedly and left with Black Bear in a grand manner.
Watching his men being taken away by Ye Qing, Pi Junchao felt as if his heart was bleeding. Now, at the most critical time for merging with the Fierce Tiger Gang, what he lacked most was manpower. To have a batch of his people taken away by Ye Qing at such a time, how could he not be angry?
The most imperative thing was that Ye Qing and Li Lianshan together didn't command many subordinates. Those fifty men going over constituted a substantial increase in their forces, and Pi Junchao was effectively strengthening Ye Qing and Li Lianshan's power with his own men—this was what he found most unbearable.
Just after Ye Qing and Black Bear left, the group of old-timers came out from the next room. They had been sitting in the adjacent room, listening to the conversation here with surveillance equipment.
"Ye Qing must know that it was us who did this, but he hasn't disclosed it explicitly. Instead, he used this as leverage over us!" an elder grumbled angrily, "He forced us to give him fifty men to work for him. It's infuriating!"
"This Ye is so cunning!" another elder lamented angrily, pounding his chest, "He actually used such a tactic to fool us, extracting fifty men from us. Damn it, that's despicable!"
Another person said, "The key point is, by sending men to help him, the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang might think we're getting close to him. The Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang have always wanted to deal with Ye Qing and Li Lianshan. At such a time, if we get involved with Ye, it's uncertain whether the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang won't make a move against us!"
Everyone felt extremely frustrated—Ye Qing's maneuver had caught them off guard. However, as the person who attacked Li Lianshan was dispatched by them, they were simply unable to shake off this matter. Now, they watched helplessly as Ye Qing took away their fifty underlings, and no one had any way to stop it; they all felt extremely stifled.
Pi Junchao was the most distressed of all—clenching his teeth, he bellowed out, "This Ye is really too difficult to deal with. Last time he deceived us and took twelve venues from our side. During the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena incident, he actually used that kind of trick, deceiving the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang, and even hoodwinking those gangs from other provinces, in one fell swoop seizing ownership of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena. His methods are too varied, his stratagems too insidious; he's incredibly difficult to contend with!"
Recalling past events, everyone was profoundly shaken. The several big moves that Ye Qing had made in Shenchuan City were truly astounding, but initially, no one took seriously the grudge between Ye Qing and Yang Shitao of the Lin Family or with the Ding Family, because bravery without strategy was not fearsome. Yet, Ye Qing's two subsequent astonishing strategies had firmly established his position in Shenchuan City, and this alone made everyone wary. In the underworld, having both courage and strategy—that's truly terrifying.
An elder said in a grave voice, "No, from now on, we must avoid conflicts with this Ye at all costs. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trickery he might use against us next!"
"I'm afraid it's too late now!" another elder sighed, "Listening to the way he was talking just now, it's very likely Ye Qing has set his sights on us. I suspect that he intends to use us to deal with the Tianqing Gang and Fubang!"
An elder said angrily, "What a joke, if we don't help him, could he possibly force us to go against the Tianqing Gang and Fubang?"
The elder shrugged, "We weren't planning on helping him in the first place, but now, didn't he manage to take fifty of our men anyway? Who can predict what will happen next? This Ye Qing has too many tricks up his sleeve, we still need to be cautious in dealing with him!"
The crowd nodded in agreement, to be honest, after several confrontations with Ye Qing, these people were already afraid of him.
Meanwhile, Ye Qing, having obtained fifty men from Pi Junchao, immediately assigned them to protect Chen Jun and Pi Junchao.
Black Bear followed Ye Qing without saying a word from start to finish, and couldn't help but greatly admire him as he watched Ye Qing take fifty men from Pi Junchao.
"Boss, that Pi Junchao must be about to explode with anger now!" Black Bear said with a laugh, "Fifty men, and now they're protecting his enemy. If it were me, I'd probably be spitting blood with anger!"
Ye Qing gave a faint smile and said nothing. His reason for going to see Pi Junchao alone with Black Bear was exactly to use this matter to threaten Pi Junchao. Li Lianshan's injuries weren't serious, and for this reason, there was no need for Ye Qing to have a direct confrontation with Pi Junchao. Instead, using the situation to extract some benefits from Pi Junchao was the most practical. With those fifty men, it could at least guarantee Li Lianshan's absolute safety before the opening of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena!
"However, if the Tianqing Gang and Fubang get wind of this matter, could they overthink it?" Black Bear looked at Ye Qing and said, "With Pi Junchao's men protecting Li Lianshan, the Tianqing Gang and Fubang might think he has formed an alliance with us. They've been quiet these few days, but if this incident draws them out, that wouldn't be good!"
"That's exactly what I want them to think!" Ye Qing said, "In Shenchuan City, the three great gangs are Tianqing Gang, Fubang, and the Fierce Tiger Gang. The Fierce Tiger Gang has already fallen, and both Tianqing Gang and Fubang are not our friends. Under such circumstances, to fight against Tianqing Gang and Fubang, we are at a great disadvantage. So if we want to stand our ground, we must pull the Fierce Tiger Gang to our side; only then will we have the strength to be on equal footing with the Tianqing Gang and Fubang!"
"Oh?" Black Bear was stunned, then said, "Pull the Fierce Tiger Gang to our side? Boss, is that even possible? We've snatched these venues from the Fierce Tiger Gang, compared to the Tianqing Gang and Fubang, the Fierce Tiger Gang hates us the most. How could they stand with us?"
"That's why I want the Tianqing Gang and Fubang to think that the Fierce Tiger Gang has already allied with us. That way, Tianqing Gang and Fubang will try to deal with the Fierce Tiger Gang!" Ye Qing said with a light smile, "The Fierce Tiger Gang now is no match for Tianqing Gang and Fubang. After they are beaten to the point where they can't hold on anymore, they'll think of ways to preserve their lives and will be willing to join forces with us!"
"I see!" Black Bear suddenly realized. He finally understood that there was a deeper significance to Ye Qing's demand for the fifty men from Pi Junchao that night.
Poor Pi Junchao could foresee the implications, but he had no choice but to lend the men to Ye Qing. After all, Ye Qing was one step ahead, unparalleled in strategy, and everything Pi Junchao did was within Ye Qing's control!
Just as Ye Qing had anticipated, not long after Pi Junchao had dispatched those fifty men to the care of Li Lianshan and Chen Jun, the Tianqing Gang and Fubang successively received the news.
Indeed, the Tianqing Gang and Fubang had been lying low these past few days, not bothering Ye Qing further. However, they weren't planning on letting Ye Qing off the hook. As Ye Qing had predicted, they were indeed brewing a larger plan, preparing to join forces to trap Ye Qing during the opening of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena. This plan was designed to ensure that even if it didn't cost Ye Qing his life, it would still cripple the opening of the Dog Field.
What they hadn't expected was this current development. Pi Junchao had sent fifty men to protect Li Lianshan, what exactly was the message being conveyed?
Shangguan Tian was pondering over this matter, and so was Li Wenyuan. However, no matter what they thought, they both deemed it a dangerous signal. The Fierce Tiger Gang was sending people to protect Li Lianshan—were they trying to tell them that the Fierce Tiger Gang had already formed an alliance with Ye Qing?
Although the Fierce Tiger Gang was now in disarray, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. It was once one of the three great gangs, a force that could contend with the Tianqing Gang and Fubang. If Ye Qing had truly taken control of the Fierce Tiger Gang, it would mean he possessed the strength to stand on equal footing with them. Coupled with Ye Qing's combined intelligence and bravery, as well as the shadows of the Poisonous Mantis and Fire Butterfly, Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan suddenly felt a surge of panic.
With Ye Qing controlling the Fierce Tiger Gang, what if the next step was to swallow the Tianqing Gang and Fubang too?