Chapter 2004
Even at night, there were still many eyes staring at the two salt ships from Ningbo, so news of the brief fight that took place on the canal quickly spread among the local salt merchants.
"Wang Yu, are you okay? How come the person you sent to look for trouble was captured instead?"
In the He family manor, He Huan was angry with Wang Yu. Today, he asked the salt merchants to take measures to show off their counterparts in Ningbo, but Wang Yu's actions obviously failed to achieve this goal. Instead, they allowed the Ningbo salt merchants to take the initiative, which really disgraced the local salt merchants.
Wang Yu said with a look of shame: "Master He, I have indeed underestimated the strength of those Ningbo salt merchants, but fortunately there was no loss. Only one person was captured by mistake, and the others were slightly injured at most."
He Huan snorted coldly and said: "You think I don't know? The person who was caught is the leader of the team! If that person opens his mouth and bites randomly, it will give you a headache!"
Wang Yu said with a smile: "Those Ningbo salt merchants said they would sink people into the river. Maybe they are already dead by now, so there is no need to worry about leaking the secret."
He Huan said angrily: "Do you think your subordinate's loyalty can make him willing to die for you? In order to save his life, I won't do anything! If you don't have diamonds, don't take this porcelain job!"
Wang Yu was scolded by He Huan but did not dare to talk back. He arranged for people to go to the dock to trouble the Ningbo salt merchants. He did have the idea of taking credit for it, but he seriously underestimated the difficulties and fell into a big trap as soon as he took action. Somersault. However, he was a little dissatisfied with He Huan's nervousness. Even if the Ningbo salt merchants knew that he was the instigator behind the scenes, what would they do? Could they still organize a group of people to knock on the door?
Of course, such thoughts could only exist in his mind, and he did not dare to speak out to challenge He Huan's authority. However, he also knew that although He Huan was angry, he was actually just dissatisfied with the result, not that he had any opinions on his initiative to take action. As long as he didn't try to continue to defend himself at this time, He Huan would be angry after a while. It's okay.
Sure enough, He Huan calmed down before long and asked, "Where are the Lu Kangtai people? Why haven't they come yet?"
He Huan said that Cao Cao had arrived. As soon as He Huan finished speaking, a servant came in to report that Lu Kangtai had arrived.
After Lu Kangtai came in, he saw several people already in the study, all of whom were prominent figures in the Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants. He greeted everyone one by one, but he already understood something in his heart. These people did not rest at home in the middle of the night. They all gathered at the He family manor. Naturally, they came here after being notified by He Huan. The reason why He Huan was so anxious to get them over was probably because of the brief fight that just happened by the canal.
"I wonder which man's subordinate was the one who went to the canal to bring trouble to the Ningbo salt merchants just now?" Lu Kangtai took the initiative to ask after he sat down.
Wang Yugong cupped his hands and said: "These useless servants make Brother Lu laugh!"
Lu Kangtai smiled and said: "I was eating near the pier just now, and I happened to see this scene. Brother Wang, there is no need to be modest. From what I have seen, these Ningbo salt merchants are not simple!"
"Oh? Where do you start talking about this?" Wang Yu asked puzzledly.
Lu Kangtai said: "The opponent's manpower has obviously been specially trained and can handle this kind of situation with ease. Although Brother Wang's men have a large number of people, they have become a mess in front of the opponent. But Brother Wang's people are still very powerful. , and when he found out he was losing, he quickly retreated without fighting, at least without any losses.”
Wang Yu's face turned red and he took the initiative to admit: "My people retreated because the leader of the team was caught by the other party. This is the reason why Brother Lu said there was a mess."
Lu Kangtai was far away at that time and did not see Gong Shiqi take action to restrain the leader of the gang. After listening to Wang Yu's words, he understood why the gang was killed by Ningbo Salt as soon as the two sides fought. Shang's men were driven away. Without a leader, this group of people had not received formal training, so they naturally lost their will to fight. Rather than retreating on their own initiative, it would be more accurate to say they scattered in all directions.
As a result, the scene was a bit embarrassing. Lu Kangtai laughed dryly and said: "Brother Wang's men must have underestimated the Ningbo salt merchant and were not prepared for the other party's sudden attack, so they were captured by mistake."
"You don't have to defend him, it's clear that his people are not well prepared and unable to cope!" He Huan was not interested in listening to Lu Kangtai's excuse for Wang Yu, so he interrupted and said: "Tell me what you think. ”
Lu Kangtai said: "I think the other party is well prepared. They know what kind of trouble they may encounter in Yangzhou and have a proper response plan. And their manpower is likely to have received special training, which is not ordinary. sailors and bodyguards.”
As the only person among the salt merchants in Shanxi and Shaanxi who has mastered high-level armed forces, Lu Kangtai's opinions are undoubtedly quite influential. If he believes that this opponent has the strength that must be faced seriously, it means that only ordinary market gangsters will be dispatched. It is difficult to threaten the other party.
Wang Yu felt grateful after hearing this. He felt that Lu Kangtai exaggerated the opponent's strength, and one of his purposes was to absolve himself of the crime of failure. However, since Lu Kangtai has raised his opponent so high, the only one who can handle this situation is probably the mysterious armed force under him. Wang Yu feels that this is the second purpose of Lu Kangtai, to make others retreat in the face of difficulties. He came to take on this job, and when the job is done, he can enjoy the credit alone.
Not only did he think so, but most of the people present, including He Huan, also felt the same way. He Huan followed Lu Kangtai's words and asked, "How about you take action and deal with this group of people?"
Everyone thought that Lu Kangtai would take advantage of the situation and agree immediately, so that everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. However, Lu Kangtai's answer was beyond everyone's expectations: "It's inappropriate. In my opinion, it's best not to rashly try to conflict with this group of people again."
"Why is this?" He Huan asked in confusion: "If you send out your troops, how difficult will it be to capture this group of people?" "I just said that this group of people is most likely to come prepared. The purpose of their coming to Yangzhou is not necessarily to sell salt. In the previous attacks we launched on the Ningbo salt caravan, the other party must have been trying to trace the clues. No matter what evidence they found, they would definitely be able to trace the source. They came from Yangzhou." Lu Kangtai explained: "I suspect that the purpose of these people coming to Yangzhou is to find out the whereabouts of the Musketeers. If they confirm the whereabouts of the Musketeers, there may be big trouble later! ”
"What trouble can there be? Aren't we the ones who have the final say in Yangzhou!"
"Brother Lu is too cautious. The other party is just a group of salt merchants who take risks to make money. Why do you talk like an army!"
"Since we know that they come with bad intentions, why not strike first and keep this group of people in Yangzhou!"
After hearing what Lu Kangtai said, everyone expressed their opinions one after another, but without exception, they did not agree with Lu Kangtai's idea, and still hoped to use stronger means to deal with the Ningbo visitors by the canal.
Lu Kangtai smiled bitterly and said: "Everyone, you just saw that the previous few operations were relatively smooth, and you didn't realize the risks at all. Don't forget that the backers behind the Ningbo salt merchants are the very difficult Haihan people! Even The imperial court has nothing to do with them. If the Haihan people are really attracted to take action, what role can this musketeer team play? "
These salt merchants still have some knowledge of the strength level of the Haihan people. There are islands and ports occupied by the Haihan people along the coast of many places in the Ming Dynasty, and their troops even stationed in Liaodong and fought back and forth with the Qing army in the north. This kind of military strength is definitely not something that Lu Kangtai's small musketry team can compete with. Even the local garrison will be careful to avoid provoking the Haihan people.
However, since the conflict of interests between the two salt merchants, the Haihan people have never come forward to directly negotiate with the Yangzhou salt merchants, which has also made some people gradually forget who the real operator behind the Ningbo salt merchants is. Hearing Lu Kangtai mention it at this time, everyone also remembered that the backer behind the Ningbo salt merchant was not easy to deal with.
But He Huan still refused to give up so easily. He shook his head and said: "The Haihan people are Haihan people, and the salt merchants are salt merchants. There is currently no evidence to prove that this group of Ningbo salt merchants by the canal can make the Haihan people come forward. What are you worried about? Everything is just based on your intuition. If we pretend to be deaf and ignore their presence in Yangzhou, wouldn’t that be a blatant show of weakness to the other party? ”
"There has been no movement across the river. I suspect they are also involved." Seeing that everyone did not accept this reason, Lu Kangtai dropped another bombshell.
Across the river are the old enemies Huizhou salt merchants, and if they are involved in this matter, the situation will be even more complicated.
When He Huan heard this, his expression changed and he said, "Do you have any evidence?"
"Not yet, but I met with Yang Chengye tonight and asked him to go back and inquire first to see if he has any inside information." Lu Kangtai responded: "Maybe we should wait a little longer. Make sure this is not a trap before considering taking action.”
Lu Kangtai was unwilling to take risks at home, partly because his intuition smelled danger, and partly because of warnings from his partners. If the Musketeers are noticed by the Haihan people, it means that their cooperation is likely to end, and Lu Kangtai does not want to ruin the great prospects of cooperation because of a risky attack - he believes that as long as the cooperation can continue, then It is only a matter of time before Hui salt merchants are expelled from Yangzhou and regain their lost market share. By then he would have both prestige and strength, so it was only logical that he should hold the top position among the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants.
As for the Ningbo salt merchants, Lu Kangtai doesn't think they can cause much trouble in Yangzhou, especially after his musketeers grow stronger, he will have more confidence to take tough measures to deal with them.
However, Lu Kangtai would definitely not express these small calculations, and could only find some more high-sounding reasons to shirk He Huan's request to send out the Musketeers.
But the more he behaves like this, the more others feel that such caution is unnecessary, and some even think that his statement is a bit alarmist. Moreover, someone immediately pointed out that Lu Kangtai's Musketeers were not built with his own money, but that several salt merchants provided the initial capital in the form of contributions. The reason why the Musketeers were given command by Lu Kangtai was just because the partner had a better relationship with him. In order to facilitate the subsequent purchase of weapons and ammunition from the other party, arrange training matters, etc., having Lu Kangtai in charge would save a lot of unnecessary trouble. .
"This musketeer team is our common property. Everyone here has the right to participate in the discussion on how to use it. I think this way, the minority will obey the majority. If you want to use the musketeer team, everyone can raise their hands. !" Seeing that it was difficult for both parties to agree on an agreement, and Lu Kangtai was unwilling to give in, He Huan immediately proposed a seemingly compromise solution.
But Lu Kangtai knew very well that such a vote would only have one result. These people here only see that their own interests may be damaged by the arrival of Ningbo salt merchants, but they are completely unaware that the potential risks are far greater than limited economic losses. Once things develop in an uncontrollable direction, Shanshan Salt Merchants may lose more than just a musketry team.
The result of the show of hands vote made Lu Kangtai feel chilled. Except for himself, everyone present said that the musketeers should be dispatched to attack this group of arrogant people. Although Lu Kangtai did not agree with such an opinion, he had no right to oppose such a collective decision.
"Everyone, you are risking your own property. Once something happens, we will not have another chance to reorganize a musketeer team." Lu Kangtai still wanted to try to persuade these companions who were already fighting, but He soon realized that it seemed too late.
The previous operations of the musketeers went too smoothly, which gave everyone a blindly optimistic attitude, thinking that with this armed force, they could conquer the world. But Lu Kangtai knew very well that even the partners who provided them with weapons and ammunition were very careful in everything, for fear of being exposed and noticed by the Haihan people. If the previous family is so low-key, how can Shanxi Salt Merchant have the confidence to act arrogantly?
But his companions didn't think so. If the musketeers were not dispatched to drive away these Ningbo salt merchants, it seemed that it would not be enough to deter competitors. A beautiful victory, in addition to driving away potential competitors, will also give them more confidence when facing local Anhui salt merchants.
"You see, this is what all of us mean. If you feel that you are not competent, then hand over the command of the Musketeers first, and then return it to you after the matter is settled." He Huan stared at Lu Kangtai's face, The final decision was announced to him calmly.
(End of chapter)