Chapter 2008
Chapter 2008
Chapter 2008
The musketeers, which have poured a lot of energy and money from Shanxi salt merchants, have been regarded as a secret weapon by the council before, and will be used against competitors headed by Huizhou salt merchants at a suitable time in the future .And Lu Kangtai also has his own goal, which is to take this opportunity to regain the top spot in the Yangzhou salt business circle for the Lu family.If Ningbo Refined Salt hadn't caused too much impact on the market, this musketeer team with a limited establishment might remain hidden for a long time and would not be known to the outside world.
However, due to the strong appearance of foreign competitors, the Shanxi-Shanxi salt merchants had to use this secret weapon in advance to attack their transportation channels, so as to block the intention of the Ningbo salt merchants to expand their trade scope to the north.The advantage of using force is that it is effective. In the early stage, several salt caravans were successfully destroyed, and Ningbo temporarily stopped transporting salt to the Jianghuai direction.
And these victories also made the Shanshaan Salt Merchant Council a bit inflated, thinking that as long as the musketeers were dispatched, it would be enough to solve various difficult problems, but they didn't know that this team had already attracted the attention of the outside world after only dispatching a few times. It made the Haihan people in Zhoushan, Ningbo, fearful.
If only a few muskets were equipped in the militia, it might not have attracted Hai Han's attention. After all, it is not uncommon for sporadic muskets to flow into the people in this era.But at this time, gun-related cases also appeared in several other Haihan-related places, and through some evidence, they were connected to the attacks in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.After the linkage of cases in many places, the Haihan Executive Committee has been alerted and asked the Ministry of Security and the two major intelligence agencies of the Military Intelligence Bureau to jointly conduct a thorough investigation, which immediately turned the most suspected Yangzhou salt merchant into a suspect. object of concern.
The purpose of Gong Shiqi's coming to Yangzhou is to shake the mountain and lure snakes out of the cave. If the Shanxi salt merchants can calm down after Gong Shiqi's fleet arrives in Yangzhou, and wait for ten days and a half months without responding, then Gong Shiqi will not be able to find out in Yangzhou. No matter what the evidence is, in the end, he will definitely have to leave sadly.But they chose the wrong way to deal with it and tried to use force to solve the problem again, but they never expected that this time they kicked the iron plate solidly.
Not only were these "salt merchants" from Ningbo not defeated by Lu Kangtai's musketeer team, but they taught Lu Kangtai's team a lesson on the spot, what is real musket warfare.After this battle, only seven members of the Musketeers who attacked successfully escaped the battlefield intact, which shows that the real strength of the opponent far exceeds their own cognition.
Can the private armed forces of salt merchants have such a strong combat effectiveness?Lu Kangtai definitely didn't think so.If the private armed forces of the Ningbo salt merchants could have such strength, the first few attacks of the Musketeers would not have been so successful.
Thinking of the possibility of the true identities of these "salt merchants", Lu Kangtai couldn't help feeling a little chilled down his back, so he had to encourage the council to immediately use all means to stop those people in Yangzhou at all costs. Otherwise, it is very likely that there will be endless troubles.
But not everyone could understand Lu Kangtai's anxiety, and someone immediately retorted: "The musketeers are not effective in fighting. Is it because the opponent is too strong or the frontline personnel made a mistake in command? It is not known yet? At this time, we are required to Is it a little alarmist to copy guys together?"
Lu Kangtai said angrily: "What time is it? You still think that Lu is shirking responsibility! They only took one face-to-face to destroy my Musketeers. Do you understand what this means? It's an army! An army disguised as a team of salt merchants! It takes me a few times to understand that they are not here to do business in Yangzhou! And you, everyone here, don’t want to stay out of it!”
Lu Kangtai knew that many people in the Shanshan Salt Merchant were actually envious of the armed force in their hands. Some people must be relieved to see his jokes when something happened, but they seemed to have forgotten one thing, this musket The team is not only a weapon used by Shanxi salt merchants to fight against competitors, but also a protective umbrella over their heads.This armed team is gone now, but there are still many people who are not aware of the current risks.
"Brother Lu, speak slowly, don't get too excited! In your opinion, what measures should we take now?" It was Wang Yu who smoothed things over for Lu Kangtai. He sent his men to the dock to look for the Ningbo gang earlier. The salt merchant's troubles were resolved easily by others. At that time, Lu Kangtai said good things for him in the meeting to reduce the responsibility. Now that Lu Kangtai has an accident, he finally has the opportunity to reciprocate.
Lu Kangtai did not respond immediately, but looked at He Huan who was sitting at the head.Although he is somewhat interested in the seat under He Huan's buttocks, he also knows that in this situation, He Huan's authority must be considered. Immediately agreed to his proposal.
In fact, He Huan was also a little confused after hearing the news brought back by Lu Kangtai, but his expression was well controlled, so he still looked calm and stable.He really didn't quite understand how the Musketeer team, which Lu Kangtai called "the invincible all over Jianghuai", lost to a foreign caravan for no reason.It wasn't until Lu Kangtai pointed out that the opponent was most likely a professional army disguised as a caravan, that he realized that he might have caused big trouble this time.
If compared with the army, the strength of the Musketeers in their hands is naturally far from enough, but this is no longer just a question of the comparison of the strengths of the two warring parties, but why some troops disguised as caravans and went to Yangzhou to toss This one.
Lu Kangtai believes that the opponent is coming for the Musketeers, which means that the matter may not end here, and the main messengers behind them must also be within the scope of the opponent's investigation. Once the opponent decides to take advantage of the victory, that includes It is very difficult for everyone including He Huan to fight back when facing such an opponent.
Of course, what is more likely to happen is that the opponent will leave Yangzhou at night after the battle. After all, those two ships are just cargo ships, and there can only be so few people on board. If the local salt merchants think of a way, they will still There are many ways to make the other party come and go.And Lu Kangtai wanted to keep the other party in Yangzhou, naturally it was to avoid future troubles, otherwise the next time the other party appeared outside Yangzhou City, there might not be just two cargo ships with dozens of people.
He Huan was able to sit firmly on the top spot of the Shanshan-Shanxi salt merchants. After all, his foresight was better than most of the people present, so he quickly figured out the stakes and said in a deep voice: "The current situation is no longer just The competition and conflict among the salt merchants, and the battle tonight has hurt so many people on our side, how can we easily let them leave Yangzhou! Kangtai, tell me, what should we do now?"
Seeing that He Huan expressed his support, Lu Kangtai said frankly: "Every family gathers manpower and boats as soon as possible, and rush to the wharf by the canal in the south of the city. I don't want you to sacrifice your manpower to fight with each other, as long as the canal is blocked." The waterway is enough to prevent their boats from leaving Yangzhou. In addition, Lord He please get in touch with the government in the city as soon as possible, no matter what the cost, we must invite the government and army to send troops to encircle and suppress this group of murderers who slaughtered innocent people by the canal!"
In fact, Lu Kangtai had already thought about how to take remedial measures on the way to He's Manor. He knew that it was unrealistic to rely on the armed forces of other salt merchants to change the situation. Since the other party could easily defeat his Musketeers, It is no problem to deal with other civilian armed forces with lower strength. If there are more people going there, it will only increase the casualties.
So his idea is to try to block the other party's way, and then the government will come forward to resolve the matter.No matter who the other party is from or which country's army his real identity is, Yangzhou is the territory of the Ming Dynasty after all, and there are sufficient charges for the government to take compulsory measures against him.If the other party uses force to resist the Yangzhou government's pursuit and arrest, then this matter will rise to a higher level, and then their responsibility as the initiators of it will be greatly reduced.
In other words, as long as this matter can be resolved within the scope of Yangzhou Prefecture, the salt merchants may still use their strength to cover the lid and minimize subsequent troubles.But if the other party is allowed to leave Yangzhou and return to Ningbo, and bring back all kinds of evidence and living prisoners, then big things will happen in the future.
As for whether He Huan can ask the government to come forward, Lu Kangtai is still very confident about it.Although the official relations operated by Huizhou salt merchants have gradually overwhelmed the Shanxi salt merchants in recent years, they have established a foothold in Yangzhou for several generations, and they still have many available official contacts.Moreover, although many officials tended to favor Huizhou salt merchants, they did not draw a line with their Shanxi salt merchants. As long as the money was in place, many things could be discussed slowly.
He Huan also knew that he should no longer argue with Lu Kangtai about the division of labor at this time, so he nodded decisively: "Then according to what Kangtai said, everyone should leave as soon as possible. When gathering people to block the other party's cargo ship, it will be Kangtai. Continue to command. I will try to get in touch with the city later, but it is estimated that the government will have to wait until after dawn to send troops."
It is true that He Huan did not shirk the matter of sending troops. Although he has some friendship with the military attache stationed in the city, it is not a military attache who can make a decision on dispatching the army, let alone open the city gate in the middle of the night for civil disputes. Troops are dispatched.Being able to send troops from the city when the city gates are opened at dawn is probably the best that can be achieved at present.
Everyone took their orders and left, but when Lu Kangtai was about to leave, He Huan stopped him alone: "Kangtai, how serious the consequences of this matter will be, tell me the truth."
Lu Kangtai slowly turned his fat body around, and while wiping his sweat with his hands, he said to He Huan: "Master He, I didn't dare to say that there were so many people just now, but I actually suspect that these Ningbo salt merchants are pretending to be Haihan people. If it is really Haihan this time If the Han people intervene, it will not only be unlucky for us, but even those who help us organize and train the Musketeers will also suffer together."
Lu Kangtai didn't fully understand the situation at this time. In fact, the real target of the opponent was the partner who provided them with military assistance, and they, the Yangzhou salt merchants, were the ones who were implicated and suffered.But let alone this kind of inside story, no one in the entire Yangzhou city knows the mystery.
As for Lu Kangtai's words, to He Huan's ears, the seriousness of this matter is very vivid. Although the people who helped them form the musketeer team are quite powerful, they are still very afraid of Haihan. What role did it play in this matter.
"About this speculation, don't tell other people...you and I will do our best, and try to get through this difficulty first!" Although He Huan was shocked, he still tried his best to control his emotions and cheered Lu Kangtai up.
Lu Kangtai cupped his hands and said, "You should try your best."
While the Shanxi salt merchants in the north of the canal were in a hurry, the Anhui salt merchants in the south of the canal were watching the fun.Naturally, the battle that took place by the canal could not be hidden from the eyes of interested people. In fact, the Hui salt merchant camp had noticed the abnormality here since the clearing began in the evening, and sent several small boats to monitor nearby after nightfall.
After the battle was over, news was also quickly received here. This time, the heads of the seven surnames, including Yang Chengye, all rushed to Daijiazhuang to meet up after receiving the notification.However, unlike the anxiety of their counterparts on the other side of the river, most Huizhou salt merchants were overjoyed when they heard about the battle.After all, they have been afraid of the armed forces in the hands of Shanxi salt merchants for a long time, and they wish someone could take action to remove this hidden danger for them.As for whether the person who made the shot would pose a threat to them with such powerful force, they were more optimistic.
"It is the Shanxi salt merchants who are against the Ningbo salt merchants. It has nothing to do with us. If they want to avenge their previous revenge, they will not make trouble for us." Ma Zhengping I am very relieved about this, thinking that my camp will not be directly affected by this matter.
Ji Qing also replied: "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman will benefit. They will do us no harm if they break their heads. Let's see how those people on the other side of the river respond!"
Yang Chengye didn't express his opinion, he was really surprised when he heard the news.Before Lu Kangtai asked him to inquire about this group of Ningbo salt merchants in the circle of Hui nationality salt merchants, but when he hadn't made any progress, Lu Kangtai directly attacked first, and he still lost. Flat out.Of course he can now be sure that this Ningbo salt merchant fleet has nothing to do with his side, but it is a pity that it is too late to inform Lu Kangtai of this news.
Dai Yingda said: "They have suffered such a big loss, I'm afraid they won't stop here, we might as well wait and see what interesting things will happen next."
(End of this chapter)
The musketeers, which have poured a lot of energy and money from Shanxi salt merchants, have been regarded as a secret weapon by the council before, and will be used against competitors headed by Huizhou salt merchants at a suitable time in the future .And Lu Kangtai also has his own goal, which is to take this opportunity to regain the top spot in the Yangzhou salt business circle for the Lu family.If Ningbo Refined Salt hadn't caused too much impact on the market, this musketeer team with a limited establishment might remain hidden for a long time and would not be known to the outside world.
However, due to the strong appearance of foreign competitors, the Shanxi-Shanxi salt merchants had to use this secret weapon in advance to attack their transportation channels, so as to block the intention of the Ningbo salt merchants to expand their trade scope to the north.The advantage of using force is that it is effective. In the early stage, several salt caravans were successfully destroyed, and Ningbo temporarily stopped transporting salt to the Jianghuai direction.
And these victories also made the Shanshaan Salt Merchant Council a bit inflated, thinking that as long as the musketeers were dispatched, it would be enough to solve various difficult problems, but they didn't know that this team had already attracted the attention of the outside world after only dispatching a few times. It made the Haihan people in Zhoushan, Ningbo, fearful.
If only a few muskets were equipped in the militia, it might not have attracted Hai Han's attention. After all, it is not uncommon for sporadic muskets to flow into the people in this era.But at this time, gun-related cases also appeared in several other Haihan-related places, and through some evidence, they were connected to the attacks in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.After the linkage of cases in many places, the Haihan Executive Committee has been alerted and asked the Ministry of Security and the two major intelligence agencies of the Military Intelligence Bureau to jointly conduct a thorough investigation, which immediately turned the most suspected Yangzhou salt merchant into a suspect. object of concern.
The purpose of Gong Shiqi's coming to Yangzhou is to shake the mountain and lure snakes out of the cave. If the Shanxi salt merchants can calm down after Gong Shiqi's fleet arrives in Yangzhou, and wait for ten days and a half months without responding, then Gong Shiqi will not be able to find out in Yangzhou. No matter what the evidence is, in the end, he will definitely have to leave sadly.But they chose the wrong way to deal with it and tried to use force to solve the problem again, but they never expected that this time they kicked the iron plate solidly.
Not only were these "salt merchants" from Ningbo not defeated by Lu Kangtai's musketeer team, but they taught Lu Kangtai's team a lesson on the spot, what is real musket warfare.After this battle, only seven members of the Musketeers who attacked successfully escaped the battlefield intact, which shows that the real strength of the opponent far exceeds their own cognition.
Can the private armed forces of salt merchants have such a strong combat effectiveness?Lu Kangtai definitely didn't think so.If the private armed forces of the Ningbo salt merchants could have such strength, the first few attacks of the Musketeers would not have been so successful.
Thinking of the possibility of the true identities of these "salt merchants", Lu Kangtai couldn't help feeling a little chilled down his back, so he had to encourage the council to immediately use all means to stop those people in Yangzhou at all costs. Otherwise, it is very likely that there will be endless troubles.
But not everyone could understand Lu Kangtai's anxiety, and someone immediately retorted: "The musketeers are not effective in fighting. Is it because the opponent is too strong or the frontline personnel made a mistake in command? It is not known yet? At this time, we are required to Is it a little alarmist to copy guys together?"
Lu Kangtai said angrily: "What time is it? You still think that Lu is shirking responsibility! They only took one face-to-face to destroy my Musketeers. Do you understand what this means? It's an army! An army disguised as a team of salt merchants! It takes me a few times to understand that they are not here to do business in Yangzhou! And you, everyone here, don’t want to stay out of it!”
Lu Kangtai knew that many people in the Shanshan Salt Merchant were actually envious of the armed force in their hands. Some people must be relieved to see his jokes when something happened, but they seemed to have forgotten one thing, this musket The team is not only a weapon used by Shanxi salt merchants to fight against competitors, but also a protective umbrella over their heads.This armed team is gone now, but there are still many people who are not aware of the current risks.
"Brother Lu, speak slowly, don't get too excited! In your opinion, what measures should we take now?" It was Wang Yu who smoothed things over for Lu Kangtai. He sent his men to the dock to look for the Ningbo gang earlier. The salt merchant's troubles were resolved easily by others. At that time, Lu Kangtai said good things for him in the meeting to reduce the responsibility. Now that Lu Kangtai has an accident, he finally has the opportunity to reciprocate.
Lu Kangtai did not respond immediately, but looked at He Huan who was sitting at the head.Although he is somewhat interested in the seat under He Huan's buttocks, he also knows that in this situation, He Huan's authority must be considered. Immediately agreed to his proposal.
In fact, He Huan was also a little confused after hearing the news brought back by Lu Kangtai, but his expression was well controlled, so he still looked calm and stable.He really didn't quite understand how the Musketeer team, which Lu Kangtai called "the invincible all over Jianghuai", lost to a foreign caravan for no reason.It wasn't until Lu Kangtai pointed out that the opponent was most likely a professional army disguised as a caravan, that he realized that he might have caused big trouble this time.
If compared with the army, the strength of the Musketeers in their hands is naturally far from enough, but this is no longer just a question of the comparison of the strengths of the two warring parties, but why some troops disguised as caravans and went to Yangzhou to toss This one.
Lu Kangtai believes that the opponent is coming for the Musketeers, which means that the matter may not end here, and the main messengers behind them must also be within the scope of the opponent's investigation. Once the opponent decides to take advantage of the victory, that includes It is very difficult for everyone including He Huan to fight back when facing such an opponent.
Of course, what is more likely to happen is that the opponent will leave Yangzhou at night after the battle. After all, those two ships are just cargo ships, and there can only be so few people on board. If the local salt merchants think of a way, they will still There are many ways to make the other party come and go.And Lu Kangtai wanted to keep the other party in Yangzhou, naturally it was to avoid future troubles, otherwise the next time the other party appeared outside Yangzhou City, there might not be just two cargo ships with dozens of people.
He Huan was able to sit firmly on the top spot of the Shanshan-Shanxi salt merchants. After all, his foresight was better than most of the people present, so he quickly figured out the stakes and said in a deep voice: "The current situation is no longer just The competition and conflict among the salt merchants, and the battle tonight has hurt so many people on our side, how can we easily let them leave Yangzhou! Kangtai, tell me, what should we do now?"
Seeing that He Huan expressed his support, Lu Kangtai said frankly: "Every family gathers manpower and boats as soon as possible, and rush to the wharf by the canal in the south of the city. I don't want you to sacrifice your manpower to fight with each other, as long as the canal is blocked." The waterway is enough to prevent their boats from leaving Yangzhou. In addition, Lord He please get in touch with the government in the city as soon as possible, no matter what the cost, we must invite the government and army to send troops to encircle and suppress this group of murderers who slaughtered innocent people by the canal!"
In fact, Lu Kangtai had already thought about how to take remedial measures on the way to He's Manor. He knew that it was unrealistic to rely on the armed forces of other salt merchants to change the situation. Since the other party could easily defeat his Musketeers, It is no problem to deal with other civilian armed forces with lower strength. If there are more people going there, it will only increase the casualties.
So his idea is to try to block the other party's way, and then the government will come forward to resolve the matter.No matter who the other party is from or which country's army his real identity is, Yangzhou is the territory of the Ming Dynasty after all, and there are sufficient charges for the government to take compulsory measures against him.If the other party uses force to resist the Yangzhou government's pursuit and arrest, then this matter will rise to a higher level, and then their responsibility as the initiators of it will be greatly reduced.
In other words, as long as this matter can be resolved within the scope of Yangzhou Prefecture, the salt merchants may still use their strength to cover the lid and minimize subsequent troubles.But if the other party is allowed to leave Yangzhou and return to Ningbo, and bring back all kinds of evidence and living prisoners, then big things will happen in the future.
As for whether He Huan can ask the government to come forward, Lu Kangtai is still very confident about it.Although the official relations operated by Huizhou salt merchants have gradually overwhelmed the Shanxi salt merchants in recent years, they have established a foothold in Yangzhou for several generations, and they still have many available official contacts.Moreover, although many officials tended to favor Huizhou salt merchants, they did not draw a line with their Shanxi salt merchants. As long as the money was in place, many things could be discussed slowly.
He Huan also knew that he should no longer argue with Lu Kangtai about the division of labor at this time, so he nodded decisively: "Then according to what Kangtai said, everyone should leave as soon as possible. When gathering people to block the other party's cargo ship, it will be Kangtai. Continue to command. I will try to get in touch with the city later, but it is estimated that the government will have to wait until after dawn to send troops."
It is true that He Huan did not shirk the matter of sending troops. Although he has some friendship with the military attache stationed in the city, it is not a military attache who can make a decision on dispatching the army, let alone open the city gate in the middle of the night for civil disputes. Troops are dispatched.Being able to send troops from the city when the city gates are opened at dawn is probably the best that can be achieved at present.
Everyone took their orders and left, but when Lu Kangtai was about to leave, He Huan stopped him alone: "Kangtai, how serious the consequences of this matter will be, tell me the truth."
Lu Kangtai slowly turned his fat body around, and while wiping his sweat with his hands, he said to He Huan: "Master He, I didn't dare to say that there were so many people just now, but I actually suspect that these Ningbo salt merchants are pretending to be Haihan people. If it is really Haihan this time If the Han people intervene, it will not only be unlucky for us, but even those who help us organize and train the Musketeers will also suffer together."
Lu Kangtai didn't fully understand the situation at this time. In fact, the real target of the opponent was the partner who provided them with military assistance, and they, the Yangzhou salt merchants, were the ones who were implicated and suffered.But let alone this kind of inside story, no one in the entire Yangzhou city knows the mystery.
As for Lu Kangtai's words, to He Huan's ears, the seriousness of this matter is very vivid. Although the people who helped them form the musketeer team are quite powerful, they are still very afraid of Haihan. What role did it play in this matter.
"About this speculation, don't tell other people...you and I will do our best, and try to get through this difficulty first!" Although He Huan was shocked, he still tried his best to control his emotions and cheered Lu Kangtai up.
Lu Kangtai cupped his hands and said, "You should try your best."
While the Shanxi salt merchants in the north of the canal were in a hurry, the Anhui salt merchants in the south of the canal were watching the fun.Naturally, the battle that took place by the canal could not be hidden from the eyes of interested people. In fact, the Hui salt merchant camp had noticed the abnormality here since the clearing began in the evening, and sent several small boats to monitor nearby after nightfall.
After the battle was over, news was also quickly received here. This time, the heads of the seven surnames, including Yang Chengye, all rushed to Daijiazhuang to meet up after receiving the notification.However, unlike the anxiety of their counterparts on the other side of the river, most Huizhou salt merchants were overjoyed when they heard about the battle.After all, they have been afraid of the armed forces in the hands of Shanxi salt merchants for a long time, and they wish someone could take action to remove this hidden danger for them.As for whether the person who made the shot would pose a threat to them with such powerful force, they were more optimistic.
"It is the Shanxi salt merchants who are against the Ningbo salt merchants. It has nothing to do with us. If they want to avenge their previous revenge, they will not make trouble for us." Ma Zhengping I am very relieved about this, thinking that my camp will not be directly affected by this matter.
Ji Qing also replied: "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman will benefit. They will do us no harm if they break their heads. Let's see how those people on the other side of the river respond!"
Yang Chengye didn't express his opinion, he was really surprised when he heard the news.Before Lu Kangtai asked him to inquire about this group of Ningbo salt merchants in the circle of Hui nationality salt merchants, but when he hadn't made any progress, Lu Kangtai directly attacked first, and he still lost. Flat out.Of course he can now be sure that this Ningbo salt merchant fleet has nothing to do with his side, but it is a pity that it is too late to inform Lu Kangtai of this news.
Dai Yingda said: "They have suffered such a big loss, I'm afraid they won't stop here, we might as well wait and see what interesting things will happen next."
(End of this chapter)