Chapter 2201
Since last year, the battle between the two major salt merchant groups in Yangzhou has become increasingly fierce. The situation has gradually developed from a mainly civil fight in the past to a semi-open armed fight. Even some external forces have been involved, such as the transportation of Haihan refined salt. The caravan was attacked by armed men several times on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
Of course, the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants who planned and directed these attacks also paid a very heavy price for this. The musketeers they painstakingly trained were wiped out overnight by the armed squad sent by Haihan, and the Huizhou salt merchants The process of expelling Yangzhou was also interrupted, and the good situation was ruined.
But the fierce battle that took place on the canal that night also completely intensified the conflicts between the salt merchant groups. Both sides realized the shortcomings of their own strength, and no longer limited the competition to the scope of business, but each began to fight against each other. Be prepared to use force to resolve grievances that have lasted for generations.
The Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants are still following the same path as before, establishing private armed organizations by purchasing standard weapons from outside. The Huizhou salt merchants also believed that this was the only effective method that could significantly improve their armed strength in the short term. The difference was that the partner they chose to cooperate was Haihan, who was originally regarded as a competitor.
For Huizhou salt merchants, they initially chose Haihan as a partner out of helplessness, but as they learned more about Haihan, they also discovered that this might be the wisest choice they had made in recent years. Haihan can provide them with not only advanced weapons, but also a complete solution to help them deal with their competitors. This kind of assistance has actually greatly exceeded the expectations of the Huizhou salt merchants.
Of course, this is all aid in exchange for real money, and it may even cost more than the aid that the opponent obtained from Japan. If Huizhou salt merchants do not want to lose all their money, they can only follow the plan arranged by Haihan and implement it step by step.
Haihan did not want to take the risk of offending the Ming Dynasty and sent troops directly, so he sent a paramilitary organization like Jindun to Yangzhou to take charge of the overall situation. Yuan Tao could only adapt to the situation. After learning about the situation of the Huizhou salt merchants, he formulated a plan based on Daijiazhuang. Centered defense plan.
For Yuan Tao, the most ideal situation is of course that the arrival of Jin Dun can deter the opponent from taking action, and he can spend three months in peace until the trainees sent to Zhoushan come back to take over the defense. Then Jin Dun will be successful. Withdrew.
But judging from the information they have now, the other party probably doesn't have the patience to wait for a few more months, and if they know about the cooperation between Haihan and Huiji salt merchants, it will certainly not be difficult to make a clear judgment, that is, Huiji salt merchants The armed strength of the salt merchants will become stronger and stronger, and procrastination will only lead to longer nights and more dreams.
Therefore, Yuan Tao judged that while Jindun was stationed, the opponent would definitely be unable to restrain himself and launch an offensive. In addition to the urgent construction of fortifications, the preparation measures to be taken now were also an aspect that could not be ignored.
In order to minimize the leakage of information about Jindun, from the day they arrived at Daijiazhuang, people entering and leaving Zhuangzi have been subject to relatively strict restrictions. Starting from the next day, Jindun's people were dispersed throughout Zhuangzi. These people were originally from the Ming Dynasty, and there was no big problem in integrating into the local environment.
Although everyone in Zhuangzi has learned that Dai Yingda invited a group of people from Haihan to help, but what are the identities of these people, what weapons and equipment they have, and what is the purpose of coming to Daijiazhuang, there are only a few core personnel. clear.
This means that the outside world may get the news that Haihan sent people to Yangzhou to support Hui salt merchants, but it is difficult to get access to more inside information. Yuan Tao believes that standing still is the best way to lure the enemy, but at the same time, purposefully releasing some true and false news will also increase the opponent's suspicion and make them speed up their actions.
The restaurant with the best business in Yangzhou City is recognized as Qingfeng Restaurant. It is said that the backer behind it is the current prefect of Yangzhou. Therefore, thanks to this special background, local dignitaries are happy to go to Qingfeng Restaurant to spend money, especially since it is not a short supply of money. Salt merchants of all sizes were the most important. Almost every day, salt merchants of all sizes entertained guests at Qingfeng Building, and seven out of ten of them were people from the yamen.
But in fact, it is too troublesome to send money to the prefect in this way. The well-connected salt merchants naturally disdain to take this approach. They just like the stable environment of Qingfeng Tower. Here, whether they are discussing cooperation with officials or There is no need to worry about anything going wrong when negotiating with salt merchants from the opposite camp.
But in the past few days, Qingfeng Tower's business has suddenly become sluggish at a speed visible to the naked eye. Normally, the attendance rate would be at least 60-70% during meal time, but these days, not even half of the seats are filled.
"Duan San, look how many private rooms have been booked tonight!"
When business is not going well, the shopkeeper is of course the most worried. Shopkeeper Ge of Qingfeng Building has been in charge of this restaurant for more than three years, but he has never seen such a situation where business is getting worse day by day. Although he had just asked the same question an hour ago, as meal time was approaching, he couldn't help but ask it again.
"Shopkeeper, today... we have booked two private rooms in total. One was reserved by Zhang Zhi of Taixing County who came to Yangzhou City on business. He was hosting a banquet for his colleagues and they have already arrived. The other private room was reserved by Master Lu Kangtai. , I didn’t say which distinguished guest was invited, and they haven’t arrived yet.”
Duan San's answer made Shopkeeper Ge a little frustrated. Usually, the booking situation of several private rooms in the restaurant has always been very good. When business is good, it even has to be booked several days in advance. However, the situation has declined sharply in recent days. Today There were only two groups of guests in the Dingya Room, and among them, Lu Kangtai was considered a regular customer of the restaurant.
"I don't know where these regular customers have gone recently..." Shopkeeper Ge said solemnly: "Did our colleagues in the city do something strange and pull away all our regular customers?"
Duan San lowered his voice and replied: "Shopkeeper, it's not that a regular customer has been intercepted by others, it's... that something big is going to happen outside!"
"What's the big deal?" Shopkeeper Ge stays at Qingfeng Tower every day, but he hasn't heard of any big events happening locally.
Duan Sandao: "I heard that the Seven Great Surnames spent a lot of money to invite Haihan people from Ningbo to come over and fight to the death with Mr. Lu and others!"
Shopkeeper Ge's eyes bulged out of his sockets when he heard this: "Haihan people? Fight to the death? Why are there Haihan people coming to Yangzhou again? Don't they have a feud with the local salt merchants?"
Duan San explained: "It's Mr. Lu and the others who have issues with the Haihan people... Anyway, as soon as the Haihan people came, many people never showed up again. Shopkeeper, do you think all the people with the seven major surnames have disappeared in the past few days? ”
Shopkeeper Ge touched his fleshy chin, nodded slowly and said: "When you say so, it seems that no one with the seven surnames has come to our restaurant for dinner in the past few days... That's not right, either. If people dare to cause trouble in Qingfeng Tower, they have nothing to fear, right?”
Duan San pretended to be mysterious and said: "Shopkeeper, you don't know something again. It's only a matter of time before the Seven Great Surnames start a war with the Shanxi salt merchants in the east of the city. People from the Seven Great Surnames are afraid that they won't be able to get out after entering the city!" ”
Shopkeeper Ge made sense when he thought about it. The territory of the seven surnames was in the suburban area south of the canal, and the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants had the final say in Yangzhou City. Since the two sides were going to fight, the seven surnames took the initiative to avoid the power of the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants. The scope is also a wise move.
Shopkeeper Ge didn't care about the fights between local salt merchants. No matter how fierce the fight was, these salt merchants would definitely not dare to cause trouble in Qingfeng Tower. After all, they still had to make a living in Yangzhou Prefecture, and they would not dare to offend the prefect anyway. Besides, the battles between salt merchants did not just start to appear recently, but have been fought for several generations. After this wave, it is not business as usual. It's just that these guys fought so hard that it affected Qingfeng Tower's business, which made Shopkeeper Ge very unhappy. He knew that Lu Kangtai was a big shot among Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants, so he decided to find an opportunity to chat with Lu Kangtai later and find out how long it would take for the commotion to subside.
However, Shopkeeper Ge did not fully accept the information provided by Duan San, and even gave Duan San a few words: "Don't spread the information you heard from hearsay everywhere. If it is heard by the adults in the yamen, , you kid won’t be able to eat anymore and just walk away”
Duan San responded quickly: "I remember, little one!"
In fact, the news that Duan San knew has slowly spread inside and outside Yangzhou in recent days. At first, few people believed the authenticity of these rumors, but the seven surnames disappeared from Yangzhou City almost overnight, which in disguise confirmed the authenticity of these rumors.
Of course, no matter how fiercely the salt merchants fought, they would not dare to cause trouble under the eyes of the government. Therefore, the social order in Yangzhou City was not significantly affected by this. However, high-end consumer places like Qingfeng Building were relatively large. Due to the fluctuations, half of the group with the most spending power disappeared. The scenes that Shopkeeper Ge usually liked to see, such as salt merchants competing for financial resources and flaunting their wealth, were completely gone these days.
At this time, customers with spending power like Lu Kangtai are particularly important. So when Lu Kangtai's carriage arrived at Qingfeng Tower, shopkeeper Ge enthusiastically went to the gate to welcome him and personally led Lu Kangtai to the private room.
"I wonder which distinguished guest Mr. Lu invited today? The restaurant just received dozens of jars of sorghum wine sent from the north yesterday. If you like drinking liquor, you can try it." Shopkeeper Ge found an excuse and naturally tested it. Lu Kangtai.
Lu Kangtai was so shrewd that he knew what the other party was saying as soon as he heard it. He immediately responded with a smile: "I'm inviting a senior officer today. What kind of wine does he like to drink? Shopkeeper Ge must know better than me, right?"
Shopkeeper Ge quickly responded: "General Gao Shen is from Shaoxing and likes to drink Shaoxing rice wine. It happens that there are two jars of high-quality rice wine in the store. I will send them over later. Mr. Lu needs to find someone to sing a few songs. A ditty to cheer you up?”
The "General Gao" mentioned by Lu Kangtai is Gao Yongshou, the leader of the Yangzhou City Defense Army. He is also a frequent visitor to Qingfeng Tower, which is why Shopkeeper Ge is so familiar with him.
Lu Kangtai waved his hand and said: "The senior counselor and I will have business to discuss. No strangers can be around, so there is no need to sing."
Shopkeeper Ge responded, but had no intention of leaving. Lu Kangtai saw this and said, "Shopkeeper Ge, do you have anything else to say?"
Shopkeeper Ge said: "I heard that some Haihan people have arrived in Yangzhou recently, with the intention of doing harm to Mr. Lu. Mr. Lu should be more careful when he comes in and out."
Shopkeeper Ge pretended to be concerned, but in fact he wanted to get some talk from Lu Kangtai. As for whether the Haihan people came to Yangzhou to fight against Lu Kangtai, or for some other reason, he actually didn't really care. Even if people from Haihan come to Yangzhou to open a restaurant, shopkeeper Ge will not worry about his business being taken away.
Lu Kangtai said: "Shopkeeper Ge is very well-informed! He even knows about the Haihan people coming to Yangzhou... But as the saying goes, a strong dragon will not suppress the local snake. If the Haihan people really intend to do something bad to Lu, they must do a good job. Don’t be prepared to leave Yangzhou!”
Hearing Lu Kangtai's tone, Shopkeeper Ge didn't seem to deny the rumors, so he immediately asked: "I wonder if Mr. Lu will take action to expel them from Yangzhou?"
Lu Kangtai smiled and said: "Shopkeeper Ge is a little too curious. These things are probably not things you should ask about."
Shopkeeper Ge smiled awkwardly and said: "I'm just out of curiosity. Since it's not convenient for Master Lu to reveal it, just pretend that I haven't asked. I'll go to the kitchen first to order the dishes. The senior counselor will arrive later. Master Lu will give the order." Available.”
Shopkeeper Ge didn't find any valuable information from Lu Kangtai, so he didn't take it seriously. He just wanted to satisfy his curiosity. Lu Kangtai refused to reveal it. He would just find another way to find out later. There are many local prominent figures coming in and out of Qingfeng Building every day. If you really want to inquire about something with peace of mind, there are actually many sources of information.
Not long after, Gao Yongshou arrived at Qingfeng Tower on horseback with two personal guards. Shopkeeper Ge knew that this was Lu Kangtai's guest, so he took him directly to the private room.
After the two met in the private room, they dismissed their entourage. They arranged this meeting, of course, not just to have a meal together.
"Mr. Gao, we are old friends, so I will speak frankly. Recently, a group of Haihan people arrived in Yangzhou. These people secretly hid weapons and had evil intentions. I just want to ask Mr. Gao whether the city defense army has any responsibility for this matter. No matter?”
Lu Kangtai made his intentions clear as soon as he opened his mouth. He hoped that the government could interfere with the reinforcements brought in by Huizhou salt merchants, and preferably deport them, which would save a lot of trouble.
"The Haihan people... this matter is not easy to handle." Gao Yongshou shook his head and said: "Now the imperial court is counting on the Haihan people to drag the slaves in Liaodong, so it turns a blind eye to the various movements of the Haihan people in our country. Eye. I have also heard about what you are talking about. The Qida family hired Haihan's escort agency to look after the home. If the government directly intervenes in this matter, who can take the responsibility if the Haihan people make trouble? ?”
"Does the magistrate just turn a blind eye to this?" Lu Kangtai thought something was wrong in his heart, but he still asked.
Gao Yongshou said: "Don't talk about the magistrate, even if this matter is brought to Yingtian Mansion, no one will be willing to come forward."
(End of chapter)