Chapter 2212
Although the battle between Yangzhou salt merchants is about to break out, and even the government office in charge of the salt industry has been dragged into this muddy water, the Yangzhou market has not yet caused chaos, and there are still a large number of people and people every day. Goods enter and leave through multiple checkpoints and gates in Yangzhou City. For the vast majority of ordinary people, their lives have not changed significantly because of this, and how they live their lives is still business as usual.
The people who will really be affected are basically the direct participants in this fight. For example, Lin Zhong, who has lived in Yangzhou city as a salesman for twenty years, from the moment he received the order from the messenger last night, he was no longer a salesman walking around the streets, but served a big salt merchant. The dead man of Dai Yingda.
Now that the Dai family has sent the deed of betrayal, Lin Zhong believes that this shows that the risk of this mission is very high, and he may need to risk his life. But he also understands that he has no retreat option. Only by completing this task can he retire smoothly and enjoy a happy life. What's more, his son's future future and destiny are firmly tied to the Dai family. If the Dai family and the Huizhou salt merchants lose to their opponents in this competition, then his son may not have a good life in the future. .
Pushing a grocery cart around the city is a very physically demanding job, so Lin Zhong usually sleeps until it gets dark before getting up, but today he got up right after midnight, washed and tidied up, and then got out of bed from under the bed. Pull out a tightly wrapped oil paper bag.
Lin Zhong placed the oil-paper package on the table, brushed off the dust, and then slowly unfolded the oil-paper package layer by layer. Inside was a sheathed dagger.
This dagger, which is only seven inches long, has no markings on it, and the cowhide sheath has turned into a dark brown color, which shows that it is quite old. Lin Zhong slowly pulled out the dagger. There was no rust on it, and it was still shining coldly.
This dagger was a self-defense weapon issued to him by the Dai family when he was sent to lurk in Yangzhou City. It has been in his hands for twenty years. The reason why it is so well preserved is that it has basically never been used. Secondly, he takes out the dagger and maintains it once a year, carefully grinding off the rust and re-wrapping it with new oil paper.
Lin Zhong has never practiced martial arts, and he lives in Yangzhou City as a salesman. No one will try to take advantage of him. There is indeed no need to carry a dagger with him. However, the mission to be carried out today may be more dangerous than all the missions in the past twenty years combined, and he has to prepare for the worst in advance.
Lin Zhong's move was not entirely to protect his master. He knew that Dai Yingda was protected by an expert, and even if he tried desperately, it would not be his turn to take action. Carrying this dagger was mainly for self-defense. If there was a raid on his home, no one would look after him when the situation was chaotic, so he would have to try his best to save himself.
But when the time comes, Lin Zhong himself is not sure whether he will have the courage to pull out the dagger and fight with others. He just doesn't want to be killed and wants to work hard to leave Yangzhou City alive.
Since he was going to be traveling with Dai Yingda today, he no longer had to push a cart and go out as a salesman, which made him feel much more relaxed when he went out.
When Lin Zhong walked to the door, he looked back at the small courtyard where he had lived for many years. He knew that he would never come back after leaving. However, he didn't have much attachment to this place. He just stayed for a moment and then walked out of the courtyard. After closing and locking the door, he threw the key directly over the door into the yard and left without looking back.
Yesterday the messenger told him that the rendezvous place was Qianli Carriage and Horses Store near Yijiangmen. Lin Zhong was no stranger to that place. Every time he went to the dock outside Yijiangmen to purchase goods, he would pass by the carriage and horsemanship store.
When Lin Zhong went out, it was still dark. Although the streets in the city had been opened, there were still very few pedestrians on the streets. Lin Zhong knew that the city gate had not opened at this time and Dai Yingda would not show up for a while, so he first found a nearby breakfast shop that had just opened and ordered a bowl of Yangchun noodles, soup dumplings, siu mai, and some steamed dumplings. Sit back and enjoy this breakfast.
In fact, he rarely eats breakfast outside. He usually eats leftover porridge or cold steamed buns from the night before, and makes do with this morning meal. But he didn't plan to save this money today. After all, it was hard to say what he would have for his next meal, where he would have it, or even whether there would be another meal. He had to be full and satisfied with this breakfast.
After breakfast, Lin Zhong went to the vicinity of Thousand Miles of Carriage and Horses. At this time, carriages were coming out of the carriage house one after another. Judging from their destination, they should be waiting for the city gate to open and then leave the city.
There were some people standing under the wall outside the carriage house. Lin Zhong knew that these were laborers waiting to load and unload goods. These people are not affiliated with the horse and carriage shops, they are just here waiting to get jobs. Lin Zhong also walked over calmly and stood silently at the edge.
He didn't intend to compete with these people for work, he just didn't want to attract attention. When Dai Yingda arrives later, he will be able to observe it here for the first time.
However, Lin Zhong seems to have overlooked one issue. Dai Yingda must avoid exposing his whereabouts prematurely at this time. When entering the city, he will probably disguise himself or even try to hide. No matter how wide his eyes are, he may not be able to see Dai Yingda appear.
At the fifth quarter of the Yin hour, the morning bell rang, the city gate opened, and the whole city began to come to life. There were many people on the street who got up early to work. The Thousand Miles Carriage and Horse Shop has also become lively, with laborers taking jobs, errands delivering goods and picking up goods, and merchants hiring carriages and horses, constantly coming and going.
Lin Zhong didn't wait too long when he saw a group of carriages coming from the direction of Yijiangmen. The first carriage carried a small flag that symbolized the journey of thousands of miles of carriages. Before the convoy even approached the entrance of the carriage house, workers who wanted to take over the job were already swarming in, planning to occupy a vantage point that was closer so that the boss could pick them first when hiring people.
At this time, some people jumped out of the carriage, blocked the laborers, and told them that there was no need to hire laborers to unload the goods.
Lin Zhong got out of the car and found a familiar face among these people. He immediately thought that Dai Yingda should be hiding among them, and he slowly followed the crowd to get closer.
The crowd that gathered around them quickly dispersed when they heard that this convoy did not employ labor. Lin Zhong did not leave, however. He approached the familiar face and asked, "Does the boss need a guide?"
The man glanced at him, nodded and said, "You're just in time, you get in the car first, I'll be of use to you!" After saying that, he pointed to the car behind him. Lin Zhong didn't say much when he saw this, and immediately He opened the curtain and ducked in. When others saw this, they couldn't help but secretly regretted why they didn't ask more. However, this guide does not require many people like laborers. Usually one guide can serve a caravan. Sure enough, someone went up and asked again, and the man said No need to hire a guide anymore.
After the motorcade drove thousands of miles, it did not stop in the crowded front yard, but moved to the relatively secluded backyard. Several more men in black came from these carriages. They did not move around, but stood guard outside the convoy to prevent irrelevant people from approaching the convoy.
In addition to him, there were two people in the carriage that Lin Zhong boarded. One was Dai Yingda, the head of the Dai family, and the other was a middle-aged man. According to Dai Yingda, this was a master specially invited from Haihan Kingdom. The surname is Yuan, and most of the people who serve as guards outside the carriage are his men.
Although the light inside the carriage was relatively dim, Lin Zhong could see that the eyes of the man whom Dai Yingda called "Shopkeeper Yuan" were bright and clear, like a beast foraging for food in the dark.
"Lin Zhong is one of the most reliable people under my command. He has lived in Yangzhou City for twenty years. He is very familiar with every inch of this city and handles matters safely. I believe he can serve as our role today. A living signpost, pointing us to the safest passage! ”
Dai Yingda's introduction to Lin Zhong was quite high-profile, which even made Lin Zhong himself feel a little frightened. He didn't feel that he was as strong as Dai Yingda described him, and he suddenly felt that the pressure on his shoulders was much heavier.
Yuan Tao cupped his fists at him and said, "I'm going to bother Brother Lin with leading the way today!"
"Don't dare to be a villain. Shopkeeper Yuan can just call the villain by his name!" Lin Zhong saw that Dai Yingda also respected the boss Yuan. He knew that his identity was probably not just an ordinary bodyguard leader. How could he dare to do so now? In front of his boss, he said a few polite words.
Yuan Tao just pretended not to hear what he said and continued: "Brother Lin, can you first explain to us how to arrange today's course of action?"
Lin Zhongdao: "After receiving the order from the Patriarch yesterday, I repeatedly considered several routes, but considering that there may be various variables today, I did not decide on a specific route in the end. I only formulated a rough action plan and asked the Patriarch to Shopkeeper He Yuan gave guidance.”
Lin Zhong had the same view as Dai Yingda as to why the Shanshan salt merchants went to great lengths to create the current situation, which was to lure the snake out of its hole, force the seven leading figures with surnames to appear in Yangzhou City, and then attack them.
But Lin Zhong believes that even if the Shanshan salt merchants are bold, the actions they can take will eventually be limited. For example, in sensitive places like outside government offices, or in places with a large flow of people like traffic arteries in the city, the other party will I am determined not to take action, otherwise where will the dignity of the government be concerned?
"So the villain's plan is to be as low-key as possible when going to the Yamen, choose a quiet route with few people, and avoid unnecessary complications. When the owner of the family comes out from the Yamen, the other party will definitely have discovered our whereabouts. If we want to get rid of them in the city, it will be very easy. It is difficult to achieve, so we simply take the busiest section and cross the river from the south of the city to prevent them from easily taking action on the way. However, we must deploy ferries and manpower near the canal in the south of the city in advance, otherwise it will still be difficult to escape even if we leave the city. "< br>
Precisely because Lin Zhong was extremely familiar with the roads in the city, he did not give a specific route, but planned to adapt to changes according to his own strategy and the external situation. This approach is extremely bold. If Dai Yingda wants stability, his remarks may not satisfy Dai Yingda.
However, Dai Yingda did not rush to express his position, but first asked Yuan Tao for his opinion: "What do shopkeeper Yuan think?"
Yuan Tao said in a deep voice: "I think Brother Lin's opinion is good, but if there are dangerous places on the way, Brother Lin still needs to warn us early so that we can be prepared! In addition, we have already made corresponding arrangements for sending a boat to pick up the canal. Brother Lin, don’t worry about the arrangements.”
When Dai Yingda saw that Yuan Tao had no objection to this, he said nothing more even though he was a little uneasy. If he doesn't trust the judgments made by Lin Zhong and Yuan Tao, then there is no need to continue this adventure. It may be too late to turn around and leave the city to hide back in Daijiazhuang.
Yuan Tao and Lin Zhong briefly discussed and communicated how to coordinate the forward route on the way, and how Lin Zhong should cooperate with the defensive measures commanded by Yuan Tao in the event of an emergency. It was the first time that the two met, and neither of them knew the other's behavior style, so they had to confirm key details before taking action. Otherwise, if an emergency occurred along the way, it would lead to miscommunication between them and affect their safe evacuation from Yangzhou City. .
Although Lin Zhong has not received any professional training, he is very familiar with the road conditions in the city. Moreover, he has been in small business for 20 years, and his agility is unparalleled. Which route should this convoy take so that it can come and go smoothly and not be stuck in a certain alley due to the narrow road? This all has to be planned in Lin Zhong's mind, a living map, and then lead the convoy forward, and This is exactly the ability that Golden Shield lacks.
After Yuan Tao discussed with him for a while, he felt that Dai Yingda's previous introduction was not an exaggeration. This person did know the situation inside and outside Yangzhou very well, and he had clear thinking and calm handling. He was a trustworthy partner.
As for how to safely cross the canal and return to Daijiazhuang after leaving Yangzhou City, Yuan Tao did not inform Lin Zhong of the details out of caution. He just told Lin Zhong to follow the instructions after leaving the city and never leave the convoy.
After agreeing on the itinerary, the convoy took off all the small flags with the logo of the Thousand Miles of Cars and Horses on the vehicles, and then quietly exited the back door of the horse and carriages and headed for the northern city. Lin Zhong thought he was quite familiar with this carriage house, but he didn't know that the back door, which usually could only be passed by people on foot, could be quickly removed to allow carriages to enter and exit. If someone had noticed the arrival of this convoy outside the carriage house before, they would probably have been guarding the gate. However, it was hard to imagine that this convoy would have left the carriage house without leaving a trace.
Only then did Lin Zhong realize that even if this horse and carriage shop was not owned by the Dai family, it probably had a very close relationship with it. It's no wonder that Dai Yingda's order asked him to complete the rendezvous at this carriage house. How many secret industries like this there are among the seven major surnames? This is probably only known to the heads of each family.
(End of chapter)