Chapter 2005
Chapter 2005
Chapter 2005
He Huan insisted that Lu Kangtai dispatch a musketeer team to deal with the Ningbo salt merchants by the canal. One reason why he would not take the initiative to speak out was his worries about Lu Kangtai and the armed force in his hands.
Although Lu Kangtai was one of his own people and a key figure in the Shanshan-Shanxi salt merchant group, He Huan was still worried about Lu Kangtai. The reason could be traced back to their ancestors.When Shanxi salt merchants entered Yangzhou to operate the salt industry, the He, Lu and Wang families were the main force at that time. However, it was not the He family who took the top spot at that time, but the ancestors of Lu Kangtai.
It wasn't until this generation that He Huan showed outstanding ability when he was young, and he managed the family business well. Only then did the He family gradually surpass the Lu family in strength, and took over Shanshan Salt from the previous generation of the Lu family. Chamber of Commerce.
However, although the previous generation of the Lu family was not very good, leading to the fall of power, Lu Kangtai, who is in charge of this generation, is a powerful figure. He has already become the head of the family at a young age, has taken over many properties of the Lu family, and has traveled extensively in foreign affairs. , met a lot of powerful people.The musketeer team, which was regarded as a secret weapon by the Shanshan-Shanxi Salt Chamber of Commerce, was actually formed by Lu Kangtai's own connections, but the council was worried that there would be many hidden dangers if this powerful armed force was controlled by one person, so it decided to use it at the formation stage. It was determined that the operating expenses of this team would be borne by each company.Fortunately, there was such a restrictive measure at the beginning, otherwise it would be difficult to mobilize this team now.
Lu Kangtai is rich and intelligent, whether he will use this armed force to regain the top spot in Shanshan salt merchants in the future has always been a hidden worry buried deep in He Huan's heart.If possible, He Huan would like to take Lu Kangtai's Musketeers into public ownership, at least in name, from private property to public property, so as to limit Lu Kangtai's performance.
This is not an easy goal to achieve. Although in name the musketeers are funded by various parties, in fact it is Lu Kangtai who runs up and down to operate the matter, and provides weapons, equipment and personnel training to the musketeers. The mysterious partner only trusts Lu Kangtai.The previous actions of the Musketeers were also planned and directed by Lu Kangtai, so if He Huan wanted to keep the establishment of the Musketeers, He Huan could not kick Lu Kangtai out of the game. It was picked out of Lu Kangtai's hand.
It was based on this idea that He Huan realized that now was an opportunity for the Shanxi salt merchants to form collective pressure on Lu Kangtai, forcing him to direct the actions of the Musketeers according to the intention of the council.
As for the risks mentioned by Lu Kangtai, He Huan still felt that he was making a fuss out of a molehill. All his judgments were based on some unsubstantiated conjectures. It was conclusive, but it sounded more like he was deliberately avoiding the battle.He Huan thought that Lu Kangtai was playing for his own little calculations, and wanted to use this to restrain the decision-making of the council. Of course, this was something he could not tolerate.Besides, Wang Yu's man was captured by mistake, and he had already exposed the Shanshan salt merchant's position to the other party. If there was no follow-up action at this time, the other party would definitely be taken as a sign of weakness.
So in the atmosphere where He Huan took the lead in exerting pressure, Lu Kangtai had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree to the request to dispatch the Musketeers.But these people present did not have a clear idea of how to act, let alone how to avoid the government's monitoring during the operation.When it comes to business, they are experts, but they are not good at carrying out paramilitary operations. It can even be said that they are basically laymen, and only Lu Kangtai is a little more professional. So how to arrange this operation in detail? In the end, he still has to be responsible.
"Give me three days and let me plan my actions." Lu Kangtai said with a tired face.Why didn't he feel the pressure from within his own camp, but he also knew that if he didn't agree to these people's demands, his situation would be even more difficult.His original plan was to persuade He Huan and others to continue to wait and see, lest the big backer behind the Ningbo salt merchants get caught, but now it seems that everyone will not accept this low-key response—especially when Wang Yu sent people After looking for faults but hit a nail hard.
"Three days? We don't have the patience to wait for three days." He Huan shook his head again and rejected Lu Kangtai's suggestion: "At most, prepare for one day tomorrow, and do it the day after tomorrow!"
"There is only one day to prepare, it's too hasty!" Lu Kangtai sighed: "This is outside the city of Yangzhou, under the watchful eyes of the government, and you have to greet everyone. It takes only one day to do this." Not enough."
"This matter can be done by other people. You only need to be responsible for preparing for the Musketeer's action." He Huan was not in a difficult situation, and said that he could share part of the preparation work for him.If you understand it from another angle, it means that He Huan rejected his request to postpone action in disguise.
Lu Kangtai knew that the situation was going out of control, but his influence was limited, and his words were obviously not very useful. Moreover, seeing the fanaticism of these people present, everyone wished to give the Ningbo salt merchant a visit at their doorstep. Even the pot is served.And here he was the only one who saw how the group of Ningbo salt merchants easily defeated Wang Yu's men near the pier. Everyone else's judgment on the strength of Ningbo salt merchants was questionable.
"Since this is the decision of the council, I will obey it. Then I will resign first and go back to prepare related matters." Lu Kangtai is not in the mood to argue with these people anymore. Since this hurdle cannot be avoided, he can only Can think of ways to increase the grasp of success.
The next day, after hearing the news, more people came to buy salt than the previous day.Compared with the table salt in the Yangzhou market, the salt shipped from Ningbo is of higher quality and cheaper, which is still quite attractive to ordinary people who value benefits.Of course, it is not uncommon for no one to think why outsiders would bring salt to Yangzhou for sale, but since the local government and salt merchants did not come forward to obstruct it, it means that the salt can be bought home with confidence.
Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing actually thought it was a bit strange that the local salt merchants did not try to drive or stop the people who came to buy salt by the canal, and the government did not come forward to find fault, which made some countermeasures they prepared in advance all fall through null.
"It seems that we misjudged the previous reaction to the local salt merchants. At least not everyone is unwilling to accept us." Gong Shiqi said: "Perhaps some people wish we could disturb the muddy water in Yangzhou."
Ji Yuanqing replied: "I heard that the Huizhou salt merchants are very comfortable following the official route. It seems that at least the Huizhou salt merchants have shown mercy to us."
"It may be because they are showing mercy, or it may be because they want to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight." Gong Shiqi reminded: "The fact that they don't make a move doesn't mean they have good intentions for us. Maybe they just want to use us to attack their competitors."
Ji Yuanqing said: "Brother Gong is right, the information that person recruited last night seems to be in line with the current situation."
They caught the prisoner yesterday and finally couldn't stand the psychological offensive and opened his mouth. They recruited him to be sent by the salt merchant Wang Yu to bring people here to make trouble.But obviously, both Wang Yu and the gang leader seriously underestimated the strength of Gong Shiqi and his party, which led to the tragedy of overturning the car as soon as they fought.
However, no matter how Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing hinted and clichéd, this person did not recruit any news related to muskets. He only heard that muskets were used in a few salt merchant fires in nearby state capitals, but The specific situation is probably not known to the two of them after the interrogation.
Either this person's level is too low to have access to information related to the Musketeers, or his master has no direct connection with the Musketeers.In their view, the latter is more likely, because since this person can be entrusted with a heavy responsibility to lead the team here to make trouble, it means that he is at least Wang Yu's trusted confidant, but this person is very concerned about the situation of the Musketeers. No knowledge, obviously no contact with relevant information.
The really valuable information is probably the only one that Wang Yu belongs to the camp of Shanxi salt merchants.Although the musketeers seem unlikely to be Wang Yu's subordinates, the party that took the initiative to take force measures obviously has a greater suspicion in their view that it is related to the previous attack, so the Shanshaan salt merchants have naturally changed became the prime suspect.
But Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing have shown up in Yangzhou now, and they dare not leave the pier to investigate in the city. They can only leave it to a few intelligence personnel who arrived in Yangzhou in the early stage to secretly collect relevant information, and what they can do It is to wait patiently at the pier, waiting for the progress of intelligence collection, and at the same time waiting for the local salt merchants to take further actions.
They knew very well that this kind of waiting was not indefinite, but they were betting that the local salt merchants would not be able to hold back, and finally sacrificed the big killer in their hands.As long as the Musketeers can show up, their mission is more than half done.And Wang Yu's shot gave them hope. Obviously, some people have begun to lose their temper, and the next step is to wait for the other party's actions to escalate.
But just like the calm before the storm, the day ended without incident, not to mention the Musketeers, and even the lobbyists who came to ask them to leave Yangzhou wisely yesterday were gone.But this abnormal situation made them more cautious and alert, thinking that the time when the opponent would launch was getting closer.
After nightfall that day, sure enough, the surrounding piers gradually disappeared, and even the boats moored on the shore left without a sound. For a long distance, only these two cargo ships were left alone. leaning against the shore.And the hawkers who sold all kinds of food near the pier two days ago have completely disappeared today.
"It looks like it's tonight." Gong Shiqi was the most alert to this change in the atmosphere, and had already noticed the unusual surroundings.
"Okay, tonight is the end of the day. Let's finish this matter as soon as possible. Let's leave Yangzhou earlier." Ji Yuanqing also hoped to settle the affairs of Yangzhou as soon as possible. The current situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light is really uncomfortable. "
In order to welcome the arrival of the "guests", they re-adjusted the defensive deployment, and further shrunk the tent circle used as the fortification towards the river to reduce the defensive area.And a rapidly deployable concertina-style barbed wire was drawn between the tents. The barbed wire used by the army is specially coated with a layer of black paint. If there is not enough lighting, this thing is almost invisible after dark. Excellent defense against enemies charging at night.If the opponent tries to rely on a large number of people to rush to close hand-to-hand combat, the barbed wire can play a certain blocking effect, so that the people on the river bank can safely withdraw to the boat.
The men responsible for serving as musketeers also received all weapons and ammunition after dinner and entered a state of preparation for battle.Some of them built the first line of defense with tents and barbed wire on the river bank, while others stayed on the boat and used the ship's side as a fortification to build a second line of defense.The height difference formed between the two lines of defense is just enough to form a three-dimensional firepower network, which is basically a simplified version of the amphibious beachhead defense position.
If measured by military standards, this team has less than two platoons of personnel. Building such a defensive position relying on two cargo ships will inevitably have many weaknesses, but considering the strength of the opponent It is just a private armed force supported by salt merchants, and its combat effectiveness cannot be compared with that of the regular army. This kind of deployment is basically enough.
Commanding this kind of positional warfare, as a soldier, Ji Yuanqing must be more professional than Gong Shiqi, and he himself is a veteran who retired from the front-line combat troops. He is very familiar with the positional warfare tactics that Haihan is best at, and he is also very good at arranging defense lines. Gong Shiqi followed suit and learned some very practical methods.
"If there is a real exchange of fire with the other party tonight, then we will have to leave overnight." Gong Shiqi said: "I have already asked the sending soldiers to contact our warship, and asked them to come to pick us up near Wusongkou tomorrow. "
Ji Yuanqing said: "If we can make a quick decision and resolve this matter before dawn, then we still have a great chance of getting out safely. After all, they don't have telegrams, and they can't notify the downstream to try to stop us."
What they are worried about is not that the salt merchants will organize a fleet to chase after the fight, but that the Ming army will dispatch naval warships to intercept them.There are no heavy weapons such as artillery on these two ships, and there are tens of thousands of catties of unsold salt. If they want to fight while fleeing, they are likely to fall into a bitter battle.So if something happened that they expected tonight, they had to leave before the Ming army in the city received the news and responded. To be precise, they had to leave before the gate of Yangzhou city opened in the morning.
"One or two hours should be enough to resolve the battle. Maybe we will still have time to interrogate the prisoners again—if we can catch them alive." Gong Shiqi was confident about the battle that might occur next.
(End of this chapter)
He Huan insisted that Lu Kangtai dispatch a musketeer team to deal with the Ningbo salt merchants by the canal. One reason why he would not take the initiative to speak out was his worries about Lu Kangtai and the armed force in his hands.
Although Lu Kangtai was one of his own people and a key figure in the Shanshan-Shanxi salt merchant group, He Huan was still worried about Lu Kangtai. The reason could be traced back to their ancestors.When Shanxi salt merchants entered Yangzhou to operate the salt industry, the He, Lu and Wang families were the main force at that time. However, it was not the He family who took the top spot at that time, but the ancestors of Lu Kangtai.
It wasn't until this generation that He Huan showed outstanding ability when he was young, and he managed the family business well. Only then did the He family gradually surpass the Lu family in strength, and took over Shanshan Salt from the previous generation of the Lu family. Chamber of Commerce.
However, although the previous generation of the Lu family was not very good, leading to the fall of power, Lu Kangtai, who is in charge of this generation, is a powerful figure. He has already become the head of the family at a young age, has taken over many properties of the Lu family, and has traveled extensively in foreign affairs. , met a lot of powerful people.The musketeer team, which was regarded as a secret weapon by the Shanshan-Shanxi Salt Chamber of Commerce, was actually formed by Lu Kangtai's own connections, but the council was worried that there would be many hidden dangers if this powerful armed force was controlled by one person, so it decided to use it at the formation stage. It was determined that the operating expenses of this team would be borne by each company.Fortunately, there was such a restrictive measure at the beginning, otherwise it would be difficult to mobilize this team now.
Lu Kangtai is rich and intelligent, whether he will use this armed force to regain the top spot in Shanshan salt merchants in the future has always been a hidden worry buried deep in He Huan's heart.If possible, He Huan would like to take Lu Kangtai's Musketeers into public ownership, at least in name, from private property to public property, so as to limit Lu Kangtai's performance.
This is not an easy goal to achieve. Although in name the musketeers are funded by various parties, in fact it is Lu Kangtai who runs up and down to operate the matter, and provides weapons, equipment and personnel training to the musketeers. The mysterious partner only trusts Lu Kangtai.The previous actions of the Musketeers were also planned and directed by Lu Kangtai, so if He Huan wanted to keep the establishment of the Musketeers, He Huan could not kick Lu Kangtai out of the game. It was picked out of Lu Kangtai's hand.
It was based on this idea that He Huan realized that now was an opportunity for the Shanxi salt merchants to form collective pressure on Lu Kangtai, forcing him to direct the actions of the Musketeers according to the intention of the council.
As for the risks mentioned by Lu Kangtai, He Huan still felt that he was making a fuss out of a molehill. All his judgments were based on some unsubstantiated conjectures. It was conclusive, but it sounded more like he was deliberately avoiding the battle.He Huan thought that Lu Kangtai was playing for his own little calculations, and wanted to use this to restrain the decision-making of the council. Of course, this was something he could not tolerate.Besides, Wang Yu's man was captured by mistake, and he had already exposed the Shanshan salt merchant's position to the other party. If there was no follow-up action at this time, the other party would definitely be taken as a sign of weakness.
So in the atmosphere where He Huan took the lead in exerting pressure, Lu Kangtai had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree to the request to dispatch the Musketeers.But these people present did not have a clear idea of how to act, let alone how to avoid the government's monitoring during the operation.When it comes to business, they are experts, but they are not good at carrying out paramilitary operations. It can even be said that they are basically laymen, and only Lu Kangtai is a little more professional. So how to arrange this operation in detail? In the end, he still has to be responsible.
"Give me three days and let me plan my actions." Lu Kangtai said with a tired face.Why didn't he feel the pressure from within his own camp, but he also knew that if he didn't agree to these people's demands, his situation would be even more difficult.His original plan was to persuade He Huan and others to continue to wait and see, lest the big backer behind the Ningbo salt merchants get caught, but now it seems that everyone will not accept this low-key response—especially when Wang Yu sent people After looking for faults but hit a nail hard.
"Three days? We don't have the patience to wait for three days." He Huan shook his head again and rejected Lu Kangtai's suggestion: "At most, prepare for one day tomorrow, and do it the day after tomorrow!"
"There is only one day to prepare, it's too hasty!" Lu Kangtai sighed: "This is outside the city of Yangzhou, under the watchful eyes of the government, and you have to greet everyone. It takes only one day to do this." Not enough."
"This matter can be done by other people. You only need to be responsible for preparing for the Musketeer's action." He Huan was not in a difficult situation, and said that he could share part of the preparation work for him.If you understand it from another angle, it means that He Huan rejected his request to postpone action in disguise.
Lu Kangtai knew that the situation was going out of control, but his influence was limited, and his words were obviously not very useful. Moreover, seeing the fanaticism of these people present, everyone wished to give the Ningbo salt merchant a visit at their doorstep. Even the pot is served.And here he was the only one who saw how the group of Ningbo salt merchants easily defeated Wang Yu's men near the pier. Everyone else's judgment on the strength of Ningbo salt merchants was questionable.
"Since this is the decision of the council, I will obey it. Then I will resign first and go back to prepare related matters." Lu Kangtai is not in the mood to argue with these people anymore. Since this hurdle cannot be avoided, he can only Can think of ways to increase the grasp of success.
The next day, after hearing the news, more people came to buy salt than the previous day.Compared with the table salt in the Yangzhou market, the salt shipped from Ningbo is of higher quality and cheaper, which is still quite attractive to ordinary people who value benefits.Of course, it is not uncommon for no one to think why outsiders would bring salt to Yangzhou for sale, but since the local government and salt merchants did not come forward to obstruct it, it means that the salt can be bought home with confidence.
Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing actually thought it was a bit strange that the local salt merchants did not try to drive or stop the people who came to buy salt by the canal, and the government did not come forward to find fault, which made some countermeasures they prepared in advance all fall through null.
"It seems that we misjudged the previous reaction to the local salt merchants. At least not everyone is unwilling to accept us." Gong Shiqi said: "Perhaps some people wish we could disturb the muddy water in Yangzhou."
Ji Yuanqing replied: "I heard that the Huizhou salt merchants are very comfortable following the official route. It seems that at least the Huizhou salt merchants have shown mercy to us."
"It may be because they are showing mercy, or it may be because they want to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight." Gong Shiqi reminded: "The fact that they don't make a move doesn't mean they have good intentions for us. Maybe they just want to use us to attack their competitors."
Ji Yuanqing said: "Brother Gong is right, the information that person recruited last night seems to be in line with the current situation."
They caught the prisoner yesterday and finally couldn't stand the psychological offensive and opened his mouth. They recruited him to be sent by the salt merchant Wang Yu to bring people here to make trouble.But obviously, both Wang Yu and the gang leader seriously underestimated the strength of Gong Shiqi and his party, which led to the tragedy of overturning the car as soon as they fought.
However, no matter how Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing hinted and clichéd, this person did not recruit any news related to muskets. He only heard that muskets were used in a few salt merchant fires in nearby state capitals, but The specific situation is probably not known to the two of them after the interrogation.
Either this person's level is too low to have access to information related to the Musketeers, or his master has no direct connection with the Musketeers.In their view, the latter is more likely, because since this person can be entrusted with a heavy responsibility to lead the team here to make trouble, it means that he is at least Wang Yu's trusted confidant, but this person is very concerned about the situation of the Musketeers. No knowledge, obviously no contact with relevant information.
The really valuable information is probably the only one that Wang Yu belongs to the camp of Shanxi salt merchants.Although the musketeers seem unlikely to be Wang Yu's subordinates, the party that took the initiative to take force measures obviously has a greater suspicion in their view that it is related to the previous attack, so the Shanshaan salt merchants have naturally changed became the prime suspect.
But Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing have shown up in Yangzhou now, and they dare not leave the pier to investigate in the city. They can only leave it to a few intelligence personnel who arrived in Yangzhou in the early stage to secretly collect relevant information, and what they can do It is to wait patiently at the pier, waiting for the progress of intelligence collection, and at the same time waiting for the local salt merchants to take further actions.
They knew very well that this kind of waiting was not indefinite, but they were betting that the local salt merchants would not be able to hold back, and finally sacrificed the big killer in their hands.As long as the Musketeers can show up, their mission is more than half done.And Wang Yu's shot gave them hope. Obviously, some people have begun to lose their temper, and the next step is to wait for the other party's actions to escalate.
But just like the calm before the storm, the day ended without incident, not to mention the Musketeers, and even the lobbyists who came to ask them to leave Yangzhou wisely yesterday were gone.But this abnormal situation made them more cautious and alert, thinking that the time when the opponent would launch was getting closer.
After nightfall that day, sure enough, the surrounding piers gradually disappeared, and even the boats moored on the shore left without a sound. For a long distance, only these two cargo ships were left alone. leaning against the shore.And the hawkers who sold all kinds of food near the pier two days ago have completely disappeared today.
"It looks like it's tonight." Gong Shiqi was the most alert to this change in the atmosphere, and had already noticed the unusual surroundings.
"Okay, tonight is the end of the day. Let's finish this matter as soon as possible. Let's leave Yangzhou earlier." Ji Yuanqing also hoped to settle the affairs of Yangzhou as soon as possible. The current situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light is really uncomfortable. "
In order to welcome the arrival of the "guests", they re-adjusted the defensive deployment, and further shrunk the tent circle used as the fortification towards the river to reduce the defensive area.And a rapidly deployable concertina-style barbed wire was drawn between the tents. The barbed wire used by the army is specially coated with a layer of black paint. If there is not enough lighting, this thing is almost invisible after dark. Excellent defense against enemies charging at night.If the opponent tries to rely on a large number of people to rush to close hand-to-hand combat, the barbed wire can play a certain blocking effect, so that the people on the river bank can safely withdraw to the boat.
The men responsible for serving as musketeers also received all weapons and ammunition after dinner and entered a state of preparation for battle.Some of them built the first line of defense with tents and barbed wire on the river bank, while others stayed on the boat and used the ship's side as a fortification to build a second line of defense.The height difference formed between the two lines of defense is just enough to form a three-dimensional firepower network, which is basically a simplified version of the amphibious beachhead defense position.
If measured by military standards, this team has less than two platoons of personnel. Building such a defensive position relying on two cargo ships will inevitably have many weaknesses, but considering the strength of the opponent It is just a private armed force supported by salt merchants, and its combat effectiveness cannot be compared with that of the regular army. This kind of deployment is basically enough.
Commanding this kind of positional warfare, as a soldier, Ji Yuanqing must be more professional than Gong Shiqi, and he himself is a veteran who retired from the front-line combat troops. He is very familiar with the positional warfare tactics that Haihan is best at, and he is also very good at arranging defense lines. Gong Shiqi followed suit and learned some very practical methods.
"If there is a real exchange of fire with the other party tonight, then we will have to leave overnight." Gong Shiqi said: "I have already asked the sending soldiers to contact our warship, and asked them to come to pick us up near Wusongkou tomorrow. "
Ji Yuanqing said: "If we can make a quick decision and resolve this matter before dawn, then we still have a great chance of getting out safely. After all, they don't have telegrams, and they can't notify the downstream to try to stop us."
What they are worried about is not that the salt merchants will organize a fleet to chase after the fight, but that the Ming army will dispatch naval warships to intercept them.There are no heavy weapons such as artillery on these two ships, and there are tens of thousands of catties of unsold salt. If they want to fight while fleeing, they are likely to fall into a bitter battle.So if something happened that they expected tonight, they had to leave before the Ming army in the city received the news and responded. To be precise, they had to leave before the gate of Yangzhou city opened in the morning.
"One or two hours should be enough to resolve the battle. Maybe we will still have time to interrogate the prisoners again—if we can catch them alive." Gong Shiqi was confident about the battle that might occur next.
(End of this chapter)