Chapter 87

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Liu Bei's recruitment order gave Gan Ning a glimmer of hope, so he gathered his band of pirates and prepared to join Liu Bei. Poor Gan Ning still hadn't figured out that no one had recruited him not because of his abilities or his pirate background.

As for Lu Jun and his group, they were just a side catch for Gan Ning. There was no way to resist; a ship full of salt, a strategic material worth millions of coins or even more. It wasn't that Gan Ning hadn't seen the world, but the fact was that salt was indispensable, especially when this ship was full of refined salt.

Gan Ning, who had already decided to stop being a pirate, immediately turned red-eyed at the news and decided to rob first.

To his credit, Gan Ning still maintained a certain level of decorum. The Lu family, due to their small clan, had all the men raised within the clan, so there was no chance of bullying or oppressing others. The family's reputation was good, and Lu Jun's behavior was so exemplary that Gan Ning felt he wasn't a pirate but a gentleman. As long as no one was killed, any request he made would be granted.

"This ship of salt is mine!" Gan Ning roared at Lu Jun after cutting through a small boat with his crescent moon slash and jumping onto the ship.

"As long as you don't harm our lives, we are willing to help you deliver the salt to wherever you want," Lu Jun replied, not with the usual plea for mercy, but with a deal. He was willing to give up the salt to save their lives.

It's not that this ship of salt cost anything; even if it did, Lu Jun would have given it up in this situation. The Lu family's direct lineage across three generations was fewer than the number of fingers and toes. They couldn't afford to lose a single person. Money could be earned again, but losing people would be disastrous.

Lu Kang's education was indeed effective. When encountering pirates, the Lu family would immediately surrender, offering money and even manpower to help, but they would never harm anyone. As long as no one was hurt, the Lu family would pay to redeem themselves later.

As you can see, the Lu family seemed very weak, but this weak family was rarely robbed. Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin would even escort them. Although they had been robbed before, over time, the Lu family frequently passed through, always offering some tribute. Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, being far-sighted pirates, were happy to accept the tribute. Although the Lu family never resisted, if they were robbed every time, it would eventually lead to starvation. It was better to maintain harmony.

Since the pirate leaders of the middle and lower Yangtze River had spoken, the Lu family would pay a toll when traveling on the Yangtze. The pirates would accept the tribute and remain peaceful. No one would touch the Lu family's merchant ships. Although everyone knew the Lu family's ships were very weak, they couldn't be completely wiped out. If they were, what would the pirates eat afterward? It was better to collect tolls than to risk their lives.

Over time, this became an unwritten rule. A single voyage could earn a million coins, and the famous pirates of the Yangtze River numbered only five or six. Each would receive 20,000 coins, and the smaller ones 10,000 coins. Distributing 200,000 coins would make everyone happy. The journey would be peaceful, and if the ship ran aground, the pirates would even search for the Lu family, maintaining a harmonious relationship.

Thus, the Lu family remained weak, but they still thrived on the Yangtze. When other merchants' ships were robbed, the Lu family would watch from a distance. They would see the other merchants being killed and their ships dragged away, and then they would pay a toll to have the pirates escort them through the area, with no issues.

Lu Jun, pulling a ship of salt, was preparing to sail upstream to Jingzhou and share some of the profits with the pirates. Everyone was struggling, and the current situation was uncertain. Who knew when they might need the pirates' help? So, he decided to exchange the ship of salt, worth millions of coins, for a future favor, distributing it among the pirates. After all, Mi Zhu had promised to send him three more ships after the salt was delivered, so it was better to use this ship to build relationships. Besides, he hadn't found these pirates to be ungrateful.

This is why, three years later, when Sun Ce attacked Lujiang and planned to exterminate the Lu family, the 12-year-old Lu Xun, along with the 10-year-old Lu Ji, could escape the pursuit of Zhou Yu and Sun Ce and make it to Jiangdong.

The entire Yangtze River pirate community remembered the Lu family's kindness. Although Sun Ce was the Little Overlord and the pirates couldn't challenge him, they could still help the remaining women and children of the Lu family. Having collected tolls from the Lu family for over a decade, the pirates valued righteousness. If they didn't help now and let the Lu family be wiped out, they would lose their reputation and respect.

Lu Jun guessed that the disappearance of his merchant fleet would cause the pirates great distress. The pirates of the middle and lower Yangtze River might already be searching for his ship.

Lu Jun's guess was correct. Zhou Tai had already contacted Jiang Qin to search for the Lu family's fleet. According to the schedule, the Lu family's ship should have already reached Zhou Tai's territory, but it never arrived. This was not a good sign. It couldn't have sunk...

So, Zhou Tai ordered the patrolling pirates to check if the Lu family's ship had run aground. If it had, they would offer 20,000 coins to help. This was good business. But the ship was nowhere to be found, and Zhou Tai was at a loss. It couldn't have sunk, as that would be hard to explain, especially since this was the Lu family's direct heir. If he were lost, the Lu family might stop using this route, and the pirates would have to rely on robbery, which was unpredictable and unsustainable.

So, he mobilized his men to search, determined to find the ship, dead or alive. This was their bread and butter. Without the Lu family, they would have to resort to robbery, which was unreliable and unsustainable. The Lu family provided a steady income every month, which was much better.

The entire Yangtze River pirate community was mobilized, causing Cai Mao in Jingzhou to be on high alert. The Yangtze River had over a dozen pirate groups, totaling nearly 5,000 men. Although it didn't seem like a large number, naval warfare was a technical specialty, and 5,000 pirates, if united, could pose a serious threat to Cai Mao's Jingzhou navy.

After reporting the news, the entire Jingzhou navy went on high alert. When the intelligence came in, Cai Mao was horrified. He never expected that the loss of one member of the Lu family would cause such chaos on the Yangtze River.

When this news spread through secret channels, everyone began to fear the seemingly harmless and weak Lu family. The loss of one direct heir caused such unrest on the Yangtze River. What more could they want? They were a classic example of a wolf in sheep's clothing!

Gan Ning, leaning against a wall to avoid the rain, had no idea that his robbery of the Lu family had infuriated the entire Yangtze River pirate community. The Lu family was the only one who paid the toll without resistance, while other families tried to avoid it or even caused trouble. The Lu family, being so compliant, would even wait if the pirates weren't at their usual spots to collect the toll. Removing such a well-behaved family was like challenging the rules of the Yangtze River pirates. Wasn't this asking for trouble?

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