Chapter 2190

As for how to build fortifications based on buildings, anyone who has served in the Haihan Army can be regarded as a semi-expert outside.

Relevant content has been set as one of the compulsory courses in the recruit training program. Almost every Haihan soldier will never forget the days when he sweated profusely in the recruit camp digging trenches, building parapets, repairing barricades, and making barricades, even if

They have not experienced defensive battles since then, but they will not forget these skills that have been deeply ingrained in their bones.

Almost half of the people in Jindun Mali had served in the Haihan Army, and compared to the combat environments they had encountered in the past, the conditions in Daijiazhuang could not be better.

Not only is there good food and drink, there are enough laborers at your disposal at any time, there are tools and materials needed to build a defense system, and there are even detailed and accurate topographic maps for reference. Everyone is in a relatively safe environment.

Slowly planning and improving Zhuangzi's peripheral defense line, it can be said that it is difficult to have a better preparation environment than this.

As the person in charge of the armed and defense facilities of the Daijiazhuang militia, Dai Yingfan was also invited to participate in the Golden Shield war preparation meeting as an observer in order to coordinate and communicate the opinions and needs of both parties.

Dai Yingfan had to reconfirm the personnel selected for training in Zhoushan, so he was delayed for some time. When he rushed over, things had already started here. But he happened to skip the part where Yuan Tao introduced the situation in Daijiazhuang, and he happened to catch up.

Everyone was discussing how to improve the defense structure. He sat nearby and listened quietly for a while, and couldn't help but be secretly surprised at the professionalism of people like Jin Dun.

Dai Yingfan originally thought that he hired Jindun and others just because they had combat experience that ordinary people lacked, and when necessary, they could stand on the front line and engage in real battles with opponents. However, he did not expect that these people were far more professional.

Although I am new here, I already have a profound understanding of how to improve Daijiazhuang's defense measures, and all of them are aimed at the loopholes in the existing defense methods.

He is also a person who has eaten military food. When he heard it, he naturally understood that these opinions were not empty talk, but could actually improve Daijiazhuang's defense. Moreover, these measures are not complicated and are not difficult to implement. They are nothing more than necessary.

It's just a matter of investing some manpower to do the work, but this is a small matter for Daijiazhuang. After the meeting, the manpower can be gathered to start work immediately.

"Boss Dai, what do you think of the suggestions put forward by the brothers? Can they be implemented in Daijiazhuang?"

Yuan Tao's question awakened Dai Yingfan from his deep thoughts. He forced out a smile and replied: "I feel that everyone's opinions are very wise, and they should be implemented as soon as possible. However, I am afraid that the manpower and materials required for preparation are still too long.

It’s going to take a while.”

Dai Yingfan wanted to agree immediately, but suddenly he remembered that Dai Yingda had told him before that he should remember not to agree immediately to Jindun's request for defense adjustments, but to slow down and leave room for bargaining, and not let the Haihan people think that it was okay.

He asked for everything in Daijiazhuang. So he swallowed back the words that came to his lips, and followed the strategy instructed by Dai Yingda to slow down the rhythm first.

Yuan Tao did not immediately realize the mystery behind Dai Yingfan's words. He only thought that he might need to apply for permission from Dai Yingda and then allocate resources to implement these transformation measures. He did not urge Dai Yingfan at the moment.

By the time Yuan Tao's preparation meeting was in full swing, it was already dinner time, and the rest were chores such as personnel allocation. Dai Yingfan no longer needed to spend time listening to these irrelevant contents, so he took the initiative

He said goodbye and left, went straight to Dai Yingda's home, and informed him of the content of his communication with Yuan Tao.

"In your opinion, the strength of Jindun's gang is actually stronger than the local guard army?" After hearing the statement, Dai Yingda couldn't help but be a little surprised by Dai Yingfan's judgment.

Dai Yingfan said solemnly: "Maybe it's more than just a little stronger... Anyway, the health center I stayed at back then probably wasn't as powerful as them."

Dai Yingfan came out of Jindun's station. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the strength of Yuan Tao's group was beyond expectation. He even doubted whether the Haihan people intended to let Jindun bear a name, and the people actually sent here were actually from

Active-duty soldiers in the Haihan Army. This seems to perfectly explain why these members have such high military qualities even though they are the Golden Shield escorts of civilian organizations.

Dai Yingfan expressed his doubts. Dai Yingda was a little stunned after hearing this, but then shook his head and said: "If they really want to do this, why bother to refuse in every possible way and show that they will never send troops to Yangzhou."

Dai Yingfan said: "The Haihan people were worried that sending troops to Yangzhou would offend our country, so they shied away from Lao Ma's lobbying. But if they let the soldiers change their identities, they might avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble. They don't want to tell us the truth.

, maybe they are also worried that the news will leak out."

Dai Yingda paced back and forth, thought for a moment, then raised his head and said to Dai Yingfan: "Whether they really sent soldiers here or not, we can only pretend that we don't know anything. Even if you find something, there is no need to ask them for confirmation, so as not to

The Haihan people felt that there might be problems with the cooperation, so they backed down midway and evacuated the people, then we would be left hanging."

After Dai Yingfan responded, Dai Yingda continued: "To be honest, if the Haihan people sent really soldiers, it might be better for us. But this possibility can only be thought about and cannot be treated by outsiders."

Dai Yingda could only tell his own people what he said. If word got out that the walls had ears, it would be a major incident of Huizhou salt merchants colluding with foreign troops to secretly invade the Ming Dynasty. To put it more seriously, it would be a serious crime of treason.

Of course Dai Yingfan also understood the seriousness of the matter and nodded to express that he would be more careful and would not let his subordinates discuss the matter at will to avoid getting into trouble.

For Huizhou salt merchants, the urgency of seeking self-protection has far outweighed the risk of attracting wolves into the house. Even if Haihan really arranged for soldiers to carry out this special task, the wisest choice for Dai Yingda and others at the moment is to pretend to be deaf.

Pretending to be dumb and ignorant.

The message Ma Zhengping sent back from Zhoushan specifically stated that in order to destroy the hostile forces that threatened their own security, the Haihan people did not hesitate to send a large number of troops across the sea to conquer Hirado, Japan. As a collaborator of the Hirado clan, the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants were in Hainan.

The image in the minds of the Han people is also conceivable, so Dai Yingda is not worried that Haihan will have reservations about his attitude towards Shanxi salt merchants. Instead, he is a little afraid that the Yangzhou government will forcefully intervene in the process and ruin his good deeds.

.

"What about the suggestion from Golden Shield?"

"If you think it's reasonable, just go back and do what they want. You are the expert in this area. You can make your own arrangements for whatever resources are needed." Dai Yingda didn't have any opinions on the arrangements for strengthening Daijiazhuang's defense. Since he invited

The Haihan people came to help because they took a fancy to the other party's professional ability, not to mention Dai Yingfan was supervising the execution, so he was not worried about what would go wrong in the process.

After seeing off Dai Yingfan, Dai Yingda returned to the study to meet a visitor who had been waiting for a long time.

"Chengye, thank you for waiting!" When Dai Yingda saw the visitor, he took the initiative to greet him.

The visitor is also one of the family heads of the "Seven Major Surnames", Yang Chengye. This young family head who was not very popular in the Huizhou salt merchant circle in the past has been treated much better in recent months and has become Dai Yingda.

of guests.

The reason for this change is also very simple. After the Haihan people took action in Yangzhou last year, the armed forces under the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants suffered heavy losses, and the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchant Lu Kangtai who was responsible for commanding that battle also had to bear the corresponding responsibility.

It disappeared from the market for a long time. Shanshan Salt Merchant did not think that the failure was due to the unstoppable Haihan people, but felt that someone had betrayed information about the Musketeers to the Haihan people.

Yang Chengye, who had a close personal relationship with Lu Kangtai but belonged to the Huizhou salt merchant camp, naturally quickly became the opponent's first choice for suspicion.

Yang Chengye didn't know whether Lu Kangtai passed the blame for the fiasco on him, because he also lost contact with Lu Kangtai. But after narrowly escaping from two assassinations in succession, he knew that he had to find a way to protect himself.

, otherwise sooner or later you will die at the hands of assassins who keep coming for the black market bounty.

Yang Chengye's life on the black market started with one hundred taels of gold. As the assassins died one after another, the price soared, rising tenfold in just half a month. In the eyes of ordinary people, it was undoubtedly already

It's an astronomical sum of money. As for who is the mastermind behind such a bounty, there is basically no suspense.

Yang Chengye's character is inherently aloof, and he has always been unwilling to take the initiative to participate in the battle between the two factions of salt merchants. His relationship with Lu Kangtai has also been strongly opposed by other members of the Seven Surnames for a long time.

But not fighting does not mean that he can stay out of the matter. After fighting and fighting, he was finally involved, and the trouble was no longer the level of getting his shoes wet at the water's edge. If he stepped into this puddle of muddy water, he would be up to his neck and drown.

People.

Now that a catastrophe is approaching, Yang Chengye knows that his means are limited. If he does not rely on the support of the Huizhou Salt Merchant Group behind him, even if he has a huge family fortune, no matter how Buddhist he is, he will not be able to enjoy anything after death. He immediately took the initiative to ask for help.

Come to Dai Yingda to express regret for all the past, and to stand unswervingly on the side of your own people in the future.

Of course, verbal promises are far from enough. To make fellow salt merchants believe in their sincerity, the best way is to prove it with money.

Yang Chengye donated one thousand taels of gold in the name of the Yang family to the militia armed forces jointly formed by the seven major surnames to fund activities against Shanxi salt merchants. This amount of money was exactly the same as the reward for his life on the black market.

Yang Chengye also used this to show his determination. After all, after donating the money, it would be impossible to continue his neutral persona. The Shanxi salt merchants' hatred of him would only intensify and they would not stop fighting. Even Lu Kangtai

If you come forward again, you won't be able to resolve this hatred.

But the problem is that the reward offered by the enemy is probably cobbled together by the salt merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi. One share for each family is enough, but he operates independently and cuts off the meat to donate this large sum of money. No matter how rich Yang Chengye is,

, it can’t help but feel very painful.

But fortunately, this sincere donation also gained the understanding and recognition of the seven major surnames. Of course Dai Yingda and others could not sit back and watch Yang Chengye, who had just paid a large sum of money, be killed by his enemies, even if they provided him with the most stringent protection.

measure.

Dai Yingda even sent half of his dead soldiers to Yang Chengye, guarding him twelve hours a day, not even daring to take a bath or sleep.

But despite this, the money given by the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants was too much, and some desperadoes would still take risks for the almost astronomical wealth. After several more assassinations were foiled, Dai Yingda simply asked Yang Chengye to join him.

His family moved together to live in Daijiazhuang. This Daijiazhuang is almost full of core members of the Dai family, and the risk is obviously much smaller than that of Yang Chengye's family, which has been infiltrated by assassins.

When things have reached this point, Yang Chengye also understands that it will be difficult for him to return to his previous life. If he wants to regain his freedom, he can only hope that his own camp can drive his opponent out of Yangzhou, and this is not the case.

An easy goal to achieve.

The two factions of salt merchants have been fighting in Yangzhou for several generations, and no one has been able to completely gain the upper hand. Now, although most of the advantages of Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants have been wiped out due to Haihan's unexpected intervention, it will take a long time to uproot them.

Easier said than done.

Yang Chengye would not be so arrogant as to think that he had donated a thousand taels of gold, which would be enough to build a strong army and beat his opponents to pieces. When he had a good relationship with Lu Kangtai in the past, he had heard the other party comment on both sides.

There was a gap in military force. Lu Kangtai said very bluntly at the time that if he had not been concerned about Wang Fa, his musketeers would have attacked with all their strength and would have wiped out all the Anhui salt merchants in Yangzhou Prefecture within ten days.

Yang Chengye knew that although Lu Kangtai was arrogant, he would not brag. If he dared to say this, he must have a relatively accurate understanding of the strength comparison between the two sides. Although Lu Kangtai's musketeers were said to have been wiped out by the Haihan people overnight, Yang Chengye

I felt that the Shanshan Salt Merchants were neither short of money nor short of people, and a second musketry team would definitely appear in due course. And this speculation became a reality within a few months.

Therefore, Yang Chengye agreed with both hands and feet to seek help from Haihan. The reason is also very simple. The Huizhou salt merchants now have no other way to make a comeback. If it continues, it will only become more and more disadvantageous for itself.

Haihan, no one can provide them with adequate assistance.

The Haihan people are a group of businessmen, and their intentions are very clear. The Huizhou salt merchants can also help them achieve their goals. At worst, the Yangzhou salt market will have to share part of the profits with the Haihan people in the future, but that is still better than being sold by Shanshan.

It would be much better for the salt merchants to drive out of this market completely.
Chapter completed!