Chapter 2000
Lu Kangtai watched the man disappear at the top of the stairs, and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly, as if he was proud that he had successfully convinced the other person. He knew that although the other party kept saying to be careful and refused to let him use the musketeers to solve the current problem, he actually still hoped that he could open up the situation in Yangzhou and organize a secret force with real combat effectiveness. The Musketeers, currently only composed of a few dozen people, are obviously far from meeting the opponent's expectations. Expansion is just a matter of timing, and now seems to be a good opportunity.
Lu Kangtai and the Shanshan salt merchants behind him needed a powerful armed force to attack their opponents and protect their own interests. The other party hoped to find a powerful ally in the eastern coastal area of the Ming Dynasty to provide assistance in the future. The cooperation between the two parties can be said to be an instant hit. One party provided money and people, and the other party provided weapons, ammunition and military training, and established a secret musketeer team.
Money makes it easy to do things. Although this secret musketeer team serving the salt merchants of Shanxi and Shaanxi has not been established for a long time, its training and equipment level even surpasses the firearms battalion of the Yangzhou garrison. After all, the Ming army's military expenditures were limited, and most of them were invested in the war in the north and the Central Plains. Although areas like Jiangsu and Zhejiang were rich, military expenditures were still severely cut. Two training sessions in one month would be good. As for live-fire training, one year may not be enough. Can once.
As for the musketeers under Lu Kangtai, it can be said that they are completely fed by live ammunition. When real money and silver are thrown at it, the training effect is naturally extraordinary. It has formed combat effectiveness in a short period of time and accumulated it through several attacks. Got some practical experience. However, due to the limited establishment and the need to keep its existence secret at this stage, this musketeer team can actually perform few tasks. Only when it reaches a certain scale can it gradually form a real deterrent.
Whether it is the Shanshan salt merchants represented by Lu Kangtai or the mysterious partners who provide them with equipment and training, they all have the same attitude towards the goal of strengthening the Musketeers. Although the two have different ideas on how to use the Musketeers, this difference will not prevent them from joining forces at this stage to deal with the Ningbo salt merchants who have Haihan as their backer.
Lu Kangtai looked at the dock not far away and could still see the lights on the two ships. He noticed that there were two bonfires burning in the open space of the dock, and several tents were set up around them, faintly surrounding the two ships docking. This was obviously a conscious defensive measure. It seems that although this group of Ningbo salt merchants acted rampantly, they were very careful in details and were on alert at night. They were indeed well prepared.
However, he has been sitting here since before dark, and it has been more than an hour now, but he has not seen anyone come here to cause trouble for the Ningbo Salt Merchant. The attitude of the Anhui salt merchants on the other side of the river is still unknown, but He Huan, the boss of his own camp, has already sent a message to give these Ningbo salt merchants a look, but so far no one has responded, which makes Lu Kangtai think The plan to take the opportunity to spy on the opponent's strength could not be realized.
"These old foxes are all waiting for me to take action!" Lu Kangtai said to himself with a little disappointment: "But if I take action, the small trouble may turn into a big trouble. What should I do? ?”
No one can answer Lu Kangtai's question, but there are others with a similar mentality to Lu Kangtai, and they are also silently expecting someone to come here to cause trouble.
"Why are the local salt merchants so calm? There was only thunder and no rain all day long. Except for a few chattering guys who came in the morning, there was really nothing to do after they were driven away!"
Gong Shiqi was peeling peanuts and feeding them to his mouth, while venting his dissatisfaction to himself. During the mission, he was not allowed to drink at will, so he could only drink water instead. Naturally, the food that went with the wine was a bit bland.
Ji Yuanqing stared at the map in his hand and said with a smile: "You have complained seven or eight times after dark. It is not us who should be anxious. Since they are stable, then we can just carry out the plan step by step. I will I don’t believe that all the salt merchants in Yangzhou can stay calm!”
Gong Shiqi sighed: "You are right, I am too impatient. This time when I went back to the south to perform a mission, I always felt uneasy and wanted to finish the matter quickly and go back."
Ji Yuanqing said: "Brother Gong's mission in the north must be very important, but this case is personally supervised by the Executive Committee, which is enough to show the special nature of this case. Brother Gong should try to put aside his worries first and concentrate on handling it. This case.”
Just as Gong Shiqi was about to say a few words, someone knocked on the door outside the cabin and said: "Boss, a guest is coming!"
Of course, there won't really be any important guests visiting at this time, but there will be signs of an emergency. Gong Shiqi perked up as soon as he heard this. He stood up and threw the peanuts in his hand and said: "Business is coming, let's take a look!"
The two people quickly left the cabin and came to the deck. They saw a large, dark group of people on the pier gathered in the open space outside their tent. Some of them were holding sticks and other things in their hands. They were obviously not people who came to buy salt. Our own manpower has also gathered thirty or forty people, and they are in a confrontation with the opponent. However, the opponent's equipment is not as neat as our own. Everyone here is holding an identical eyebrow-level stick in their hands, which is specially prepared for collective fighting. Although there were twice as many people as their opponents, they were not inferior at all in terms of momentum.
"You keep an eye on the boat, I'll go down and have a look." Gong Shiqi was used to seeing all kinds of dangerous scenes, and was not panicked by the current situation, so he asked Ji Yuanqing to stay on the boat and command the ambushed musketeers. He wanted to go down in person. Meet these people for a while and see if they can find out where each other is coming from.
As for why the other party chose to take action after dark, Gong Qiqi could actually think of several reasons. In addition to the need for time to arrange action plans and gather manpower, and the dark sky making it easier to use some extraordinary means that are not legal, Gong Qiqi could think of several reasons. Shiqi believes that the main reason is that the other party wants to wait until Yangzhou City closes the city gate before taking action. In this way, no matter whether they, a group of outsiders, want to enter the city to report to the official, or want to seek help from the nearby city defense army, they will not be able to do it at night. .
Of course, Gong Shiqi had expected to launch a night attack, and had made targeted arrangements in advance, so when the group tried to approach the two ships, they were stationed on the dock. The manpower was blocking the perimeter. The attackers didn't seem to intend to take action as soon as they met. They didn't start a fight after being blocked, and a confrontation formed on the pier.
"Friends who buy salt, please come early tomorrow!" Gong Shiqi deliberately said loudly: "There will be no business tonight!"
"Stop howling, no one is buying salt tonight!" A strong man with a sinister face stood out from the crowd opposite, slowly walked up to Gong Shiqi, put his hands on his hips and said to him: "I'll give you a day's worth of salt. It’s time to leave Yangzhou, and it seems that he doesn’t plan to move. You really can’t listen to what people say, right?”
"Are you speaking on behalf of the Yangzhou government by speaking in such a loud tone?" Gong Shiqi replied with an unchanging expression: "If you can produce the government's official documents, I might consider it, but speaking in vain, I Why should I obey your command?”
"You are so tough! It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin!" The strong man saw that Gong Shiqi was speaking rudely and did not back down because of his threats. He was ready to give the order to take action.
Gong Shiqi watched the other party's words and spoke before he made any move: "Before taking action, could you please tell me where you are?"
"Are you scared?" When the strong man heard that, it seemed that things were about to turn around, he couldn't help but mocked. Gong Shiqi sneered and said: "As the saying goes, when you beat a dog, it depends on its owner. I'll ask who your master is first, so that I can better control my strength when I hit you later. If you don't know your master, then I won't be merciful! ”
"You..." The strong man was about to have an attack, but found that the other party had already dodged in front of him. Then he felt a chill on his neck, and a cold and sharp thing was pressed against his throat. He immediately subconsciously moved his back I swallowed half of the sentence.
Gong Shiqi stared into his eyes and said: "Guess, will I cut your throat? If you guess wrong, then I will do it!"
The strong man thought to himself that no matter which outcome he guessed, the other party seemed to have a reason to take action. He did not dare to say anything at that moment, fearing that if the sharp blade in Gong Shiqi's hand shook, he would be killed by the knife for no reason. Although he could be regarded as a desperado who licked blood from his knife edge, he did not want to be killed by the other party in such a cowardly way. Moreover, he fell so fast that he could not even think of struggling to resist for a while.
The people present probably did not expect that their leader would be taken down with a dagger while he was talking. Even those standing nearby did not see where Gong Shiqi took out the dagger. dagger. But after the leader was captured, the others took action and did not dare to take action without permission.
Gong Shiqi threatened the other person, holding a dagger against the strong man's throat with one hand, and quickly touched around his waist with the other hand, then seized a short knife and threw it to the man behind him. subordinates.
"With your skills as a three-legged cat, you still dare to make trouble? Tell me, who asked you to come? I'll let you go." Gong Shiqi smiled and said: "Speak nicely, I won't hurt you!"
The strong man had slowly recovered from the shock after being restrained at the beginning. He acted quite tough at the moment and responded angrily: "If you dare to do something, then do it. With so many of my brothers, I will do it for you." I take revenge!”
"Okay, let's give it a try, who will risk their lives to avenge you!" Gong Shiqi said with a wink, and his men immediately came over to restrain the strong man.
"Since this good man is ready to die, I will let you do it." Gong Shiqi said loudly and deliberately: "Tie him up and put him in a sack, use ballast stones to sink him into the canal. From now on, your family will worship you and burn it by the canal. Just light the incense and paper money”
Before the man could struggle, a numbing core was stuffed into his mouth, and then a layer of cloth was tied around the outside. He whimpered but could not speak. Several people pushed him to the ground and tied his hands and feet behind him almost instantly, making him unable to move at all. Then the four people raised their hands and feet and carried him to the ship along the gangplank.
The people brought by the strong man did not completely stand by and watch, but Haihan had already formed a formation with eyebrow-level sticks to block the opponent's approach. Several guys who tried to break through this line of defense were stabbed heavily in the chest and abdomen with sticks, and were immediately blocked. This kind of bayonet fighting technique used by two or three people is effortless to deal with these gangsters.
The number of people on both sides is inversely proportional to their fighting strength. The Haihan side with fewer people actually took the initiative. Although the opponent had the advantage in numbers, the leader was taken down as soon as he came up. At this time, there was no command. Some wanted to fight and others wanted to talk. There are still people who want to wait and see. When their ideas are not consistent, the counterattack will naturally appear messy and weak. The attempt to snatch back the strong man was shattered in a very short period of time by the well-formed Haihan side.
"Whose subordinate is this? He is such an incompetent person, so disgraceful!"
On the second floor of the restaurant in the distance, only Lu Kangtai's table was left, but he seemed to have no intention of paying and leaving. Instead, he ordered a few more dishes and a bottle of wine, and watched the scene on the pier with relish. Conflict taking place.
Although he was far away and couldn't see the specific details, and he didn't know the content of the exchange between the two parties, Lu Kangtai could roughly judge what was happening on the dock. This group of people who went to trouble Ningbo Salt Merchant were not prepared at all. As soon as they came up, the other party took the initiative. They were already at a disadvantage before they took action. It seemed that one of them was captured. Lu Kangtai couldn't help but be greatly disappointed. He thought he could see the two sides fighting, so that he could judge the strength of the opponent. However, these guys who were looking for trouble were too weak to make the other side use their true strength. ability.
Lu Kangtai could see clearly that although the foreign salt merchants had taken the initiative, they did not resort to cruelty. They just used a well-trained system to block the opponent's offensive and at the same time wear down the opponent's will. This approach obviously left a certain amount of room. .
Lu Kangtai raised his hand to signal, and immediately a subordinate came quickly and bowed to listen to his instructions.
"Go and see what's going on nearby, and find out which family that group of people belongs to." Lu Kangtai pointed in the direction of the dock and gave the order.
Lu Kangtai took a sip of wine and sighed: "Yang Chengye left early. If we stay a little longer, we can watch this wonderful show together."
Little did they know that Yang Chengye was being scolded severely by his elder Ma Zhengping at home because he did not go to Daijiazhuang to participate in the discussion today.
"Think about it clearly, if you only spend your time living and drinking and not doing your job, then the status of the seven major surnames of the Yang family will be in jeopardy!" Ma Zhengping advised sadly: "If you are squeezed out of the seven major surnames, the Yang family will have a lot of business in the future. You cannot participate directly, let alone participate in the discussions of Huizhou salt merchants, and all the efforts of your parents and ancestors will be in vain. Do you understand?”
(End of chapter)