As Du Yuesheng's bodyguard, Gu Jiatang saw that the Green Gang members had been decimated by Li Caifa. The fact that Du Yuesheng sent someone to see 14K to ask him to stop was already a sign that Du Yuesheng was giving 14K a lot of face. 14K's people understood this clearly.
However, the timing of Du Yuesheng's arrangement for Gu Jiatang to meet Huang Dehong made those with ulterior motives exclaim that he was shrewd and cunning.
When Chen Zhongying was killed, the members of the 14K had no time to consider who would succeed Chen Zhongying; they were only focused on revenge and starting a war. However, when the Green Gang was beaten to the point of being unable to fight back, internal conflicts began to surface. Although Ge Zhaohuang was still respectfully called the Old Mountain Master, he had suffered a stroke and needed to recuperate, so he did not have the energy to manage the 14K. Furthermore, after he went to Taiwan to seek help and was abandoned by the Kuomintang, his ambition was gone, and Chen Zhongying had long since taken over the management of the 14K for him.
As for Ge Zhixiong, after Chen Zhongying's death, Ge Zhixiong was immediately put on the spot. When the Green Gang was being attacked, the Outer Eight Halls gang announced to the members of the 14K gang that Young Mountain Master would be in charge of the overall situation. However, the real elders of the gang knew that Ge Zhixiong had more courage than ability. When Ge Zhixiong was seventeen years old in Guangzhou, he had already shot and killed someone in the city center for stealing a woman. His ruthless methods of killing were no less than his father's. But when it came to managing the 14K, Ge Zhixiong, who only knew how to sing, dance, pick up women, and kill, was not only inferior to the talented and ambitious Chen Zhongying, but probably not even to a woman like Qi Weiwen.
Therefore, during the later stages of the conflict between the 14K and the Green Gang, the gang had already subtly split into a three-way power struggle.
The first force was naturally Ge Zhixiong and his trusted loyalists who came to Hong Kong with the Ge family, who strongly advocated that Ge Zhixiong inherit his father's business and take charge of the overall situation.
The second force supported Elder 14K. When Chen Zhongying served as the Incense Master, You Chunhua, the second-ranked Left Chancellor Prime Minister of the Inner Eight Halls, filled the vacant Incense Master position and continued to temporarily manage Elder 14K on behalf of the Old Mountain Master.
The third person, the most popular among the lower-ranking members of the three factions, is Chen Zhongying's trusted lieutenant. In this battle against the Green Gang, he was responsible for all the direct combat, leading his men to eliminate several prominent figures in the Green Gang, including Huang Dehong, the Chief Flower Arranger the Outer Eight Halls. His organization and deployment of gang members were orderly and composed under pressure, displaying the demeanor of a great general. He always took the lead in every battle, much like Chen Zhongying when 14K first arrived in Hong Kong, leading the charge to secure a foothold for 14K. However, although Huang Dehong was highly respected among the lower-ranking members due to his fighting prowess, he was far inferior in seniority and experience, being the strongest but the lowest in status.
The power struggle between the three forces was originally conducted behind closed doors. On the surface, everyone remained as usual, addressing each other as brothers. However, Du Yuesheng arranged for Gu Jiatang to meet with Huang Dehong, which happened to be the same day that Ge Zhaohuang and You Chunhua were meeting, and he was asked to keep an eye on Ge Zhixiong.
After Gu Jiatang arranged to meet Huang Dehong, in front of many local peacemakers, he addressed Huang Dehong as "Brother Dehong" in a thick Shanghai accent, which almost made up for Huang Dehong's lack of status in the underworld.
Whether it was Ge Zhixiong, You Chunhua, or even Huang Dehong himself, they all knew that Du Yuesheng was deliberately stirring up trouble. They were experienced and insightful enough to understand, but the lower-ranking members of the 14K, who were all brawn and no brains and only knew how to risk their lives, didn't. They only saw that even the Shanghai Bund tycoon Du Yuesheng had to show weakness and admit defeat to Huang Dehong, and that Gu Jiatang, Du Yuesheng's personal bodyguard, had to fawn over Huang Dehong and call him brother. Who would dare say that Huang Dehong wasn't senior enough or had insufficient experience? Let Ge Zhixiong and You Chunhua try it and see if Gu Jiatang would call them brothers.
The conflict escalated, starting with constant arguments and quarrels among the subordinates of the three parties. With the encouragement of their superiors, it escalated into physical fights. Although no knives were used to completely break off relations, the three parties met with hostility and went their separate ways. 14K was almost on the verge of falling apart.
Qi Weiwen, caught in the storm, became the object of courtship by all three parties.
Although Qi Weiwen is a woman, she is shrewd and calculating, and her prestige and experience are no less than those of men. Even if she doesn't want to get involved, she has power that is coveted by three parties, and once you're in the martial world, you're not in control of your own destiny.
The Twelve Kowloon's Eighteen Tigers of Mong Kok Twelve Golden Hairpins were all chosen by Qi Weiwen under the instruction of Chen Zhongying. Chen Yanni, his direct disciple, was selected by Scribe Tan. These two organizations, composed of men and women from different clans who formed a sworn brotherhood and supported each other, performed well in the battle against the Green Gang. Ge Zhixiong, You Chunhua, Huang Dehong all witnessed this. Scribe Tan arranged for the sworn brothers of the Kowloon's Eighteen Tigers to help expose Li Caifa's men. Heizai Jie, Shar Pei Dog, and several other sworn brothers who were on good terms with Scribe Tan even personally led a hundred people to support 14K.
Chen Yanni's sworn sisters in the Mong Kok Twelve Golden Hairpins were mostly women of Police Force Detective Chief Inspector or triad Big Brother. A few sweet words and coquettish gestures in bed were enough to get the police to shut down Li Caifa 'Li Caifa business and deport many of his men.
Both Chen Yanni and Scribe Tan, the founders of these two organizations, were disciples of Qi Weiwen. They were Qi Weiwen 'Qi Weiwen direct disciples. Naturally, whichever side Qi Wei-wen stood on, the forces of the Mong Kok Twelve Golden Hairpins Kowloon's Eighteen Tigers would support that side.
So recently, Qi Weiwen has been very annoyed by the power struggle within the 14K. This morning, after getting up, she went out early to take a walk along the street to avoid being blocked at home by the three parties one by one. The three parties tried to win her over as a woman, but Qi Weiwen did not feel like she was being fawned over. She only felt that Ge, You, Huang San without restraint.
Ge Zhixiong, the dignified 14K Prince, was only in his early twenties. He arrogantly told her that as long as she, Qi Weiwen, agreed, he could marry her regardless of their age difference. In that case, her support for him would be legitimate, and they could work together as husband and wife.
How can someone who speaks without thinking be in charge of 14K? Does he even deserve to say such things? Chen Zhongying felt unworthy of Qi Weiwen and never dared to have any improper thoughts about her until his death. Ge Zhixiong, a spoiled brat, I don't know where he got the courage from.
You Chunhua's every word was nothing more than that Ge Zhixiong was young and spoiled, and Huang Dehong's seniority in the gang was insufficient. He said that they needed someone like You Chunhua, who was mature, prudent, and had the right qualifications and seniority, to manage 14K. He even had the kind of talk about how emperors take turns ruling, and next year it would be his turn. You Chunhua's words were practically etched on his face.