Chapter 2008

This musketry team, which the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants have devoted a lot of effort and money to, has been regarded as a secret weapon by the council before and will be used at a suitable time in the future to deal with competitors headed by Huizhou salt merchants. . And Lu Kangtai also has his own goal, which is to take this opportunity to regain the top spot in Yangzhou salt business for the Lu family. If Ningbo refined salt had not caused such a huge impact on the market, this limited musketeer team might still be able to It will remain hidden for a long time and will not be known to the outside world.

However, the strong appearance of foreign competitors forced Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants to use this secret weapon in advance to attack their transportation channels to block the Ningbo salt merchants' intention to expand their trade scope northward. The use of force The good thing is that it was very effective. In the early stage, several groups of salt transport caravans were successfully eliminated, allowing Ningbo to temporarily stop transporting salt to the Jianghuai direction.

These results also made the Shanshan-Shaanxi Salt Consulting Council a little inflated, thinking that just dispatching the musketeers would be enough to solve various thorny problems. Little did they know that this team had only been dispatched a few times and it had already attracted the attention of the outside world. Its existence was already It made the Haihan people as far away as Ningbo and Zhoushan fearful.

If only a few muskets were equipped in the militia, Haihan might not be so concerned. After all, it is not unusual for sporadic muskets to flow into the civilian population in this era. However, at this time, there were several other Haihan-related incidents. Gun-related cases have also appeared in local areas, and some evidence has been linked to the attacks in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. After the cases were linked in many places, the Haihan Executive Committee was alerted and requested The two major intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Security and the Military Intelligence Bureau, jointly conducted a thorough investigation, which immediately made the most suspected Yangzhou salt merchant a target of attention.

The purpose of Gong Qi Qi's coming to Yangzhou was to knock on the mountain to frighten the tiger and lure the snake out of its cave. If the Shanxi salt merchants could keep calm after Gong Qi Qi's fleet arrived in Yangzhou and delayed for ten days and a half without responding, then Gong Qi Qi would not be able to investigate in Yangzhou. No matter what proof they get, they will definitely have to leave sadly in the end. But they chose the wrong way to deal with it and tried to solve the problem with force again. But they never expected that this time they kicked the iron plate solidly. superior.

Not only were these "salt merchants" from Ningbo not defeated by Lu Kangtai's musketeers, but they actually taught Lu Kangtai's team a lesson on what real musketry combat was. After this battle, the attacking musketeers had only The seven people successfully escaped from the battlefield intact, which shows that the opponent's true strength is far beyond our own knowledge.

Can the salt merchant's private armed forces have such strong combat effectiveness? Lu Kangtai certainly doesn't think so. If the Ningbo salt merchant's private armed forces could have such strength, the Musketeers' first few attacks would not have been so successful.

Lu Kangtai couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine when he thought about the possibility of the true identity of these "salt merchants", so he had to encourage the council to use all means immediately and intercept the group in Yangzhou at all costs. Otherwise, it is very likely to cause endless troubles.

But not everyone can understand Lu Kangtai's anxiety. Someone immediately retorted: "The Musketeers are not fighting well. It is not clear whether the opponent is too powerful or the frontline personnel made a mistake in command, right? At this time, we are asked to Isn’t it a bit alarmist to copy guys together?”

Lu Kangtai said angrily: "How long has it been and you still think Lu is shirking responsibility! They destroyed my musketeers in just one encounter. Do you understand what this means? That is an army!"

An army disguised as a team of salt merchants! You have to tell me several times before you understand that they are not here to do business in Yangzhou! And you, everyone here, don’t even think about staying out of it!"

Lu Kangtai knew that many people in Shanxi Salt Merchant were actually jealous of the armed force in his hands. If something happened, there would definitely be people who wanted to see his joke, but they seemed to have forgotten one thing, this musket

The army is not only a weapon used by Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants to attack their 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, please speak slowly and don't get too excited! In your opinion, what measures should we take now?" Wang Yu was the one who smoothed things over for Lu Kangtai. He had previously sent his men to the pier to find the Ningbo gang.

The salt merchant's troubles were easily solved. At that time, Lu Kangtai put in a good word for him at the meeting and relieved him of his responsibilities. Now that something happened to Lu Kangtai, he finally had the opportunity to reciprocate.

Lu Kangtai did not respond immediately, but looked at He Huan who was sitting at the top. Although he was somewhat interested in the seat under He Huan's buttocks, he also knew that in this situation, He Huan's authority still had to be taken into consideration.

If he doesn't express his position, even if he talks dryly, others will still not immediately agree with his proposal.

In fact, He Huan was a little confused after hearing the news that Lu Kangtai brought back. However, he controlled his expression well, so he still looked calm and steady. He really didn't quite understand what Lu Kangtai was doing.

How could the musketeers, who had become "the invincible enemy in Jianghuai", be defeated by an out-of-town caravan inexplicably? 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 this time it was very dangerous.

Maybe he got into big trouble.

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 strength comparison between the two warring parties, but why there are troops disguised as caravans and came to Yangzhou to torment

This scene.

Lu Kangtai believes that the other party is coming for the Musketeers, which means that the matter will probably not end here. The main messengers behind them must also be within the scope of the other party's investigation. Once the other party decides to pursue the victory, including

It would be 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 leaves Yangzhou quickly at night after the battle. After all, the two ships are just cargo ships, and they can only have so many people on board. If the local salt merchants think of a way, they will still

There are many ways to make it difficult for the other party to come and go. And Lu Kangtai wants to keep the other party in Yangzhou, naturally to avoid future troubles, otherwise the next time the other party appears outside Yangzhou, there may be more than two cargo ships and dozens of people.

.

He Huan was able to secure the top spot as a Shanxi-Shaanxi salt merchant. After all, his vision and vision were better than most of the people present. He quickly figured out the stakes and said in a deep voice: "The current situation is no longer just

There is competition and conflict among fellow salt merchants, and tonight’s battle has injured so many of our men. How can we let them leave Yangzhou so easily! Kangtai, tell me, how should we respond now?"

When Lu Kangtai saw that He Huan had expressed his support for him, he said frankly: "Everyone gathered manpower and ships as soon as possible and rushed to the dock beside the canal in the south of the city. I don't want you to sacrifice your manpower to fight with the opponent to the death. I just want to block the canal."

The water channel is enough to prevent their ships from leaving Yangzhou. In addition, Mr. He is asked to contact the government in the city as soon as possible. No matter what the cost, the government and army must be invited to send troops to encircle and suppress this group of murderers who massacred innocent people along the canal!"

In fact, Lu Kangtai had already thought about how to take remedial measures on the way to Hejia 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,

Of course, it is not a problem to deal with other civilian armed forces with lower strength. No matter how many times more people go, it will only increase the casualties.

So his idea was to try to block the other party's way, and then let the government come forward to solve the matter. No matter who the other party was, or which country's army he was true to, Yangzhou was the territory of the Ming Dynasty after all, and there were sufficient crimes for the government to prosecute him.

They take coercive measures. If the other party uses force to resist the Yangzhou government's pursuit and arrest, then the matter will rise to a higher level, and their responsibility as the instigator will be greatly reduced.

In other words, as long as this matter can be resolved within Yangzhou Prefecture, the salt merchants may still use their own power to cover the lid and minimize subsequent troubles. But if the other party is allowed to leave Yangzhou and return to Ningbo, all parties will

If you plant evidence and take the captives alive, something big will happen next.

As for whether He Huan can ask the government to come forward, Lu Kangtai is still very confident about this. Although in recent years, the official relations operated by Huizhou salt merchants have gradually surpassed those of Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants, at any rate, their Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants have

Yangzhou has been established for several generations, and there are still many official connections available. And although many officials will favor Hui salt merchants in their stance, they do not have to draw a clear line between them and Shanxi salt merchants, as long as they have no contact with them.

Once the money is in place, many things can be discussed slowly.

He Huan also knew that he should not argue with Lu Kangtai about the division of labor at this time, so he nodded decisively and said: "Then according to what Kangtai said, everyone should set off as soon as possible. When the manpower is gathered to intercept the opponent's cargo ship, Kangtai will

Continue to command. I will try to get in touch with the city later, but for the government to send troops, I guess it will have to wait until after dawn."

It is true that He Huan did not shirk the matter of dispatching troops. Although he had some friendship with the military attachés stationed in the city, no military attache could make a decision alone on dispatching troops, let alone opening the city gates in the middle of the night for civil disputes.

The troops have been dispatched. Being able to dispatch troops from the city when the city gates are opened at dawn is probably the best that can be achieved at the moment.

Everyone took the order and left. When Lu Kangtai was about to leave, He Huan stopped him alone: ​​"Kangtai, how serious the consequences of this will be, tell me the truth."

Lu Kangtai slowly turned his fat body, raised his hand to wipe his sweat and said to He Huan: "Master He, there were so many people just now that I didn't dare to say it clearly. In fact, I suspect that these Ningbo salt merchants are Haihan people pretending to be Haihan people. If this time it is really Haihan.

If the Han intervene, not only will we be in trouble, but the people who helped us organize and train the musketeers will also suffer."

Lu Kangtai didn't fully understand the situation at this time. In fact, the real target of his opponents was their partners who provided them with military help, and their Yangzhou salt merchants were the ones who were implicated and suffered. But let's not talk about this kind of inside story.

, no one in the entire Yangzhou city knew the mystery.

Lu Kangtai's words made it very clear to He Huan how serious this matter was. Although the people who helped them form the Musketeers were very powerful, they were still very afraid of Haihan.

What role did it play in this matter?

"Regarding this speculation, don't tell others yet... You and I should do our best and try to get through this difficulty first before talking about it!" Although He Huan was shocked, he still tried to control his emotions and cheer up Lu Kangtai.

Lu Kangtai cupped his hands and said, "You should try your best."

While the Shanshan salt merchants to the north of the canal were busy, the Anhui salt merchants to the south of the canal were watching the excitement. Naturally, the battle that took place by the canal could not be hidden from the eyes of interested people. In fact, the place was cleared starting in the evening.

The Huizhou salt merchant camp had already noticed the anomaly here and sent several small boats to monitor the area after dark.

After the battle, the news was also received quickly. This time, the heads of the seven major surnames, including Yang Chengye, rushed to Daijiazhuang to meet up after receiving the notice. However, they were anxious with their colleagues on the other side of the river.

It was different. Most of the Anhui salt merchants were overjoyed when they heard about the battle. After all, they had been wary of the armed force in the hands of the Shanshan salt merchants for a long time, and they wished that someone would take action to eliminate this hidden danger for them. As for the person who took action had such a powerful force

Whether it will pose a threat to themselves, they are relatively optimistic.

"The ones who are against the Ningbo salt merchants are Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants. They have nothing to do with us. Every injustice has its owner and its debtor has its owner. Even if they want to avenge their previous revenge, they will not find trouble to find us." Ma Zhengping

I am very relieved about this and believe that my own camp will not be directly affected by this matter.

Ji Qing also responded: "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. It's no harm to us if they break our heads. Let's see how those people on the other side of the river deal with it!"

Yang Chengye did not express his position. He was really surprised when he heard the news. Previously, Lu Kangtai asked him to find out information about this group of Ningbo salt merchants in the circle of Huizhou salt merchants, but he had not made any progress yet.

, Lu Kangtai took action directly first, and lost miserably. Of course he was now sure that the Ningbo salt merchant's fleet had nothing to do with him, but unfortunately it was too late to inform Lu Kangtai of the 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."
Chapter completed!