Chapter 512 - 512: 512
Ye Qing had said this to the Fu Bang people, to the Tianqing Gang people, and now he had finally said it to the Fierce Tiger Gang people.
But no matter whom he said it to, no one dared to underestimate Ye Qing's words, and Pi Junchao was no exception. He knew that Ye Qing was hinting at him that this was Ye Qing's territory, and it wasn't Pi Junchao's place to show off here.
Pi Junchao frowned deeply and said in a heavy voice, "Ye brothers, what do you mean by this? This is an internal matter of the Fierce Tiger Gang. You're not thinking of meddling in our internal affairs, are you?"
Ye Qing smiled faintly and replied, "Of course, I won't meddle in your Fierce Tiger Gang's internal matters, but I do have two questions. First, can you represent the Fierce Tiger Gang? Second, can you order them around?"
"Yeah, Pi Junchao, who the hell do you think you are, you're not the Gang Leader, what gives you the right to boss us around!" a man said angrily.
"Fuck you, Pi Junchao, you didn't say you'd cover for us when there was trouble, but now that it's over, you want to give orders. Who the hell do you think you are, by what right do you command us?"
Chen Laojiu and the others were shouting vehemently, and now they had completely turned against Pi Junchao. Although they weren't as powerful as Pi Junchao, now that Ye Qing was unmistakably backing them up, they were not afraid of Pi Junchao at all.
"You motherfuckers, say that again!" Pi Junchao roared furiously, "Have you guys forgotten? When the Tianqing Gang and the Fu Bang took over your turf, who protected you? Now you're saying that I have no right to order you around, why didn't you say this before?"
"Pi Junchao, stop flattering yourself!" Chen Laojiu said angrily, "Was that your protection? You just wanted us to side with you. You barely lifted a finger to resist the Tianqing Gang and the Fu Bang. How many people did you send out? And about that matter just now, did you fucking treat me as a brother? I took the fall when there was trouble, and now that it's over, you're still the boss, why the hell is that?"
"Chen Laojiu, what kind of attitude is that!" Pi Junchao was infuriated to the extreme, pointing at Chen Laojiu and yelling, "Don't forget, the Fierce Tiger Gang was built by my father. Do you believe..."
"Cut the crap!" Chen Laojiu glared and interrupted, "Right now you're not the Gang Leader, anything you say is pointless. If you want to leave, go ahead. What we few decide to do is none of your business!"
Pi Junchao was so angry he felt like his lungs were going to explode. He let out a furious shout and was about to hit Chen Laojiu but was directly blocked by Ye Qing.
"Pi, here at Tian Sheng, it's not the Fierce Tiger Gang. Here, it's best if you follow my rules!" Ye Qing said calmly, looking at Pi Junchao. Though he showed no expressions, he exerted immense pressure on Pi Junchao.
Pi Junchao glared and sneered, "Ye Qing, don't think I'm unaware of your little game. You want to win people's hearts, huh? All this talk of peace, it's all bullshit. You just want to swallow our Fierce Tiger Gang. Chen Laojiu, you few losers, don't you see? This is all a trap set by Ye Qing to get you to his side, and you motherfuckers actually fell for it!"
"Pi Junchao, spare me the bullshit!" Chen Laojiu said, "I don't know what 'winning people's hearts' means. All I know is that tonight, you sent me out as a scapegoat, but it was Ye who saved my life. Since this life was saved by Ye, from now on, I hand it over to him!"
"Well said, Old Jiu!" The others nearby nodded in agreement, already indicating they intended to side with Ye Qing.
Pi Junchao watched the crowd in astonishment, his mouth hanging open, unable to utter a word. After a long while, he raised his thumb at Ye Qing and said viciously, "Ye Qing, you're ruthless. We'll see!"
After that, Pi Junchao gestured with his hand and said angrily, "Let's go!"
Pi Junchao left with the few remaining people. When he arrived, he brought ten people with him. As he left, not even five remained. When they reached the entrance of Tian Sheng, two more left, leaving only three people following him.
Looking at the three people left beside him, Pi Junchao was so angry he felt like his lungs could explode. He knew these people were thoroughly won over by Ye Qing, and he could forget about bringing them back under his command in the future. And these people basically represented the Fierce Tiger Gang's thirty percent strength. This time his loss was severe, while Ye Qing took this opportunity to grow and strengthen!
As soon as Pi Junchao and others left, Chen Laojiu and his group immediately turned to Ye Qing, expressing their desire to take refuge with him. They hadn't even clarified things, when two more people rushed in through the entrance, also wanting to follow Ye Qing. They had witnessed Ye Qing's tactics and dominance that evening, believing that following Ye Qing would assure them of development. Moreover, having lost their own venues and thus their source of income, they too sought a powerful backer to protect themselves. And the rising Ye Qing was now the best choice.
Ye Qing's objective that night was to have these people defect to him. He didn't swallow up Fierce Tiger Gang whole because he knew he couldn't digest it all at once. Dividing Fierce Tiger Gang bit by bit and then gradually absorbing it was the best strategy. Once Ye Qing had digested this batch of people, it would be much easier to merge the rest of Pi Junchao's followers!
Seeing that Chen Laojiu and the others were truly deciding to join him, a faint smile crossed Ye Qing's lips; everything was going according to his plan. However, he didn't directly accept Chen Laojiu and his group. Instead, he left the matter to Li Lianshan.
Ye Qing himself had no interest in being a gang leader; he was just interested in making money to support his orphanage and the children there. However, making a stable income in Shenchuan City was no easy feat. With Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang always covetously watching, Ye Qing knew he needed enough strength to overpower Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang for peace, so he had to absorb Fierce Tiger Gang.
However, as for the matter of being gang leader, Ye Qing had no intention of taking it on himself and left it to Li Lianshan instead. Firstly, Li Lianshan had more experience, and secondly, Li Lianshan truly relished these affairs.
Hearing that Ye Qing had won over nearly thirty percent of the Fierce Tiger Gang members, Li Lianshan admired Ye Qing so much that he rushed over to handle the matter with Chen Laojiu and the others.
Ye Qing accompanied Li Lianshan as they arranged for Chen Laojiu and his group to settle in a private room, where they talked for more than an hour. In fact, it was Ye Qing whom Chen Laojiu admired, but since Ye Qing and Li Lianshan were allies, it didn't matter who the leader was. What mattered was protection and the opportunity for them to make money and develop.
Chen Laojiu and his group had lost their venues and were left with nothing but a group of followers, practically hollow shells. Coming over to seek protection put pressure on both Li Lianshan and Ye Qing, as they didn't have that many venues themselves. Li Lianshan and Ye Qing offered up three venues each for Chen Laojiu and his group to settle in. Fortunately, the business at the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena was doing well and there were no immediate financial issues. However, to wield a significant influence, they would still need to develop more venues in the future.
Li Lianshan was experienced and after negotiations, earned some admiration and trust from everyone, finally gaining recognition as their leader. After that, everyone immediately went back, gathered all their brothers, and came over to join Ye Qing and Li Lianshan.
Among these new recruits, the stronger ones had about one hundred underlings. Those with less clout still had sixty to seventy people. In total, four to five hundred people joined, more than doubling the strength of Ye Qing and Li Lianshan.
Next, Li Lianshan began to arrange future responsibilities for Chen Laojiu and the others. He seemed intent on forming a gang and made arrangements in an orderly manner. His own followers and those from Fierce Tiger Gang were assigned without conflict, each placement carefully considered.
Chen Laojiu was assigned to Ye Qing's side, his life had been saved by Ye, so his admiration and loyalty to Ye Qing were profound. Ye Qing had Da Fei take him around various venues, considering they were all part of the same faction now, and to get him acquainted with the environment.
Chen Laojiu now got along very well with Da Fei. Firstly, they had a good conversation, and secondly, having chosen to take refuge with Ye, it was only natural for him to get close to a few of Ye Qing's trusted lieutenants to elevate his own status, and Da Fei was the prime candidate. Under these circumstances, their relationship was extremely harmonious, and after going around together, they felt like long-lost brothers and almost decided to become sworn siblings.
On Ye Qing's side, Chen Laojiu had gotten his revenge, and the people from Fierce Tiger Gang had found a backer and a source of income, naturally creating harmony. On the other hand, things were different with the Fu Bang.
With a loud "smack," Li Wenyuan hurled the purple clay teapot in his hand to the ground, shattering it into pieces, mirroring his own mood—furious beyond measure.
"Ye Qing, you jumping jack!" Li Wenyuan gnashed his teeth in rage, "Do you really think I wouldn't dare to touch you?"
A few people stood by, heads lowered, too scared to speak up. Yue Gaoyang had helped Li Wenyuan rise to power and was his most trusted right-hand man. And now, Yue Gaoyang had died on Ye Qing's territory, and they hadn't even managed to bring back the murderer. No wonder Li Wenyuan was so angry.
"I've been mixed up in Shenchuan City for so many years, seen every kind of scenario, and weathered every storm. Ye Qing, who do you think you are, daring to go against me and even killing my brother? If I, Li Wenyuan, do not make you pay back a hundred, a thousand-fold, I'll take your surname!" Li Wenyuan cursed bitterly until his anger subsided a little, then he lifted his head to look at the people in front of him and yelled, "Trash! A bunch of trash! Following Old Yue to Ye's venue, you let the Deputy Chief get killed right under your noses. What use do I have for you?!"
The men looked at each other, each one embarrassed yet unable to argue back. When Yue Gaoyang had gone out to use the restroom, there were a few people waiting outside for him. Upon entering the hall, however, they were distracted by two provocatively-dressed girls, completely losing sight of what was happening near the restroom. With such an incident, they were indeed left with nothing to say.
Seeing that his subordinates were silent, Li Wenyuan grew even angrier, slamming the table and cursing, "Worthless, a bunch of worthless trash!"