1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2004
Even at night, there were still many eyes on the two salt ships from Ningbo, so news of the brief fight by the canal quickly spread among local salt merchants.

"Wang Yu, can you do it? Why did you send the person who was looking for trouble, but was taken down by others?"

In He's manor, He Huan was attacking Wang Yu.Today he asked the salt merchants to take measures to impress the Ningbo counterparts, but Wang Yu's actions obviously failed to achieve this goal. Instead, the Ningbo salt merchants took the initiative, which really discredited the local salt merchants.

Wang Yu said with a look of embarrassment: "Master He, it is true that I underestimated the strength of those Ningbo salt merchants, but fortunately, there is no loss. Only one person was captured by mistake, and the others were slightly injured at most."

He Huan snorted coldly and said, "Pretend I don't know? The person who was caught is the leader of the team! If that person opens his mouth and bites, it will give you a headache!"

Wang Yu smiled and said, "The Ningbo salt merchants said that they would sink people into the river. Maybe they are already dead at this time, so don't worry about revealing the secret."

He Huan said angrily: "Do you think the loyalty of your subordinates can make him willing to die for you? At that time, in order to save his life, he will recruit everything! If you don't have diamonds, don't take this porcelain job!"

Wang Yu was reprimanded by He Huan, but he didn't dare to answer back. He arranged for people to go to the wharf to find the trouble of Ningbo salt merchants. He really had the idea of ​​fighting for success, but he seriously underestimated the difficulties, and he fell into a big mess when he made a move. Somersault.However, he didn't take He Huan's nervousness seriously. Even if the Ningbo salt merchants knew that he was behind the scenes, so what, could they still organize a group of people to call him?

Of course, such thoughts can only exist in his mind, and he dare not speak out to challenge He Huan's authority.However, he also knew that although He Huan was angry, he was actually only dissatisfied with the result, not that he had any opinion on the fact that he took the initiative to take action. At this time, as long as he doesn't try to continue to defend himself, He Huan will be fine after a while. never mind.

Sure enough, He Huan calmed down after a while, and asked, "Where is Lu Kangtai? Why hasn't he come yet?"

It was said that Cao Cao Cao Cao had arrived, and as soon as He Huan finished speaking, someone came in to report that it was Lu Kangtai who had arrived.

After Lu Kangtai came in, he saw that several people had already arrived in the study, and they were all prominent figures in the Shanxi salt merchant group. He greeted everyone one by one first, but he already understood a little bit in his heart.These people didn't rest at their respective homes in the middle of the night, they all gathered in He's manor, and naturally they rushed over after being notified by He Huan.And the reason why He Huan was so anxious to let them rush over was probably the short fight that happened by the canal just now.

"I don't know which brother's subordinate is the one who went to the canal to find the Ningbo salt merchants, who was unlucky?" After Lu Kangtai sat down, he took the initiative to ask.

Wang Yugong cupped his hands and said, "Brother Lu laughed at these useless servants!"

Lu Kangtai smiled and said, "I happened to see this scene when I was eating near the pier just now. Brother Wang doesn't need to be modest, as far as I can see, these Ningbo salt merchants are not simple!"

"Oh? Where did you start?" Wang Yu asked puzzled.

Lu Kangtai said: "Obviously, the opponent's manpower has undergone special training, and they are able to handle this kind of situation with ease. Although Brother Wang's men are numerous and powerful, they become a mess in front of the opponent. But Brother Wang's people still know how powerful they are." If you find that you are invincible, you will take the initiative to retreat quickly. If you don’t love fighting, at least you won’t lose anything.”

Old Wang Yu blushed, and took the initiative to admit: "My people retreated voluntarily because the leader of the team was caught by the other party. This is the reason for the loose sand that Brother Lu said."

Lu Kangtai was relatively far away at the time, and he didn't see Gong Shiqi shot to restrain the leader of the gang. Hearing Wang Yu's words, he understood why the gang was captured by Ningbo Salt as soon as the two sides fought. Shang's men were driven away.There is no leader in the group, and this group has not received formal training, so they naturally lost the will to fight. Rather than retreating actively, it is more accurate to say that they scattered and fled.

As a result, the scene was a bit awkward. Lu Kangtai laughed dryly and said, "Brother Wang's subordinates must have underestimated the Ningbo salt merchants, and they didn't guard against the opponent's sudden attack, so they missed and were captured."

"You don't need to explain it to him, it's obvious that his people are not prepared enough to deal with it!" He Huan was not interested in listening to Lu Kangtai's excuse for Wang Yu, and interrupted: "Tell me what you think. "

Lu Kangtai said: "I think the other party came prepared. They are well aware of the kind of trouble they may encounter in Yangzhou, and they have a proper plan to deal with it. Moreover, their personnel may have received special training, which is not unusual. sailors and bodyguards."

As the only person in the Shanshan-Shanxi salt merchant group who has mastered high-level armed forces, Lu Kangtai's opinion is undoubtedly quite influential. If he thinks that this opponent has a strength that must be faced squarely, it means that only ordinary street gangsters are dispatched. It is difficult to threaten the other party.

Wang Yu was grateful when he heard it. He felt that one of the purposes of Lu Kangtai's exaggeration of the opponent's strength was to exonerate himself from the crime of missing.However, Lu Kangtai raised the opponent so high, and the only one who can handle this situation is probably the mysterious weapon under his hand. Wang Yu thinks this is the second purpose of Lu Kangtai, to let others retreat in the face of difficulties. He came to take up the job, and he would be able to enjoy the credit alone when it was done.

Not only did he think so, but most of the people present, including He Huan, also felt the same way.He Huan then followed Lu Kangtai's words and asked: "Then it's up to you to deal with this group of people, how about it?"

Everyone thought that Lu Kangtai would take advantage of the situation and agree, so that everyone could breathe a sigh of relief.However, Lu Kangtai's answer was beyond everyone's expectations: "No, in my opinion, it's best not to rashly try to conflict with this group of people."

"Why?" He Huan asked puzzledly: "If you send out your troops, how difficult is it to take down this group of people?"

"As I said just now, it is very likely that this group of people came prepared. Their purpose of coming to Yangzhou is not necessarily to sell salt. We have launched several attacks on the Ningbo salt caravan before, and the other party must also be trying their best. To track down the clues, no matter what evidence they find, if they trace the source, they will definitely find Yangzhou in the end." Lu Kangtai explained: "I suspect that the purpose of these people coming to Yangzhou is to find out the whereabouts of the Musketeers. They have confirmed the whereabouts of the Musketeers, and there may be big troubles in the future!"

"What trouble can there be? Don't we have the final say in Yangzhou!"

"Brother Lu is too careful. The other party is just a group of salt merchants who are desperate to make money. How do you say it looks like an army!"

"Since we know that they are not good people, why don't we act first and keep this group of people in Yangzhou!"

When everyone heard Lu Kangtai's words, they also expressed their opinions, but without exception, they did not agree with Lu Kangtai's idea, and still hoped to use stronger methods to deal with the Ningbo visitors by the canal.

Lu Kangtai smiled wryly and said: "Everyone, you just saw that the previous few operations were relatively smooth, and you didn't realize the risks involved. Don't forget that the backer behind the Ningbo salt merchants is 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 effect will this musketeer team have?"

These salt merchants have heard a little about the strength of the Haihan people. There are islands and ports occupied by the Haihan people along the coast of many places in Ming Dynasty, and their troops have even stationed in Liaodong, fighting back and forth with the Qing army in the north. This kind of military strength is definitely not something that Lu Kangtai's small musketeers can compete with.Even the local garrisons will carefully avoid provoking the Haihan people.

However, since the conflict of interests between the salt merchants in the two places, the Haihan people have never directly negotiated with the Yangzhou salt merchants. This has also made some people gradually forget who the real trader behind the Ningbo salt merchants is.At this time, when Lu Kangtai mentioned it, 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. At present, there is no evidence to prove that the Ningbo salt merchants by the canal can make the Haihan people come forward. What are you worried about?" Everything is just from your intuition. If we pretend to be deaf and dumb and ignore their existence in Yangzhou, wouldn't we be showing weakness to the other party?"

"There has been no movement on the other side of the river. I suspect that they are also involved." Lu Kangtai saw that everyone did not accept this reason, so he threw another blockbuster.

On the other side of the river is the old enemy Huizhou salt merchants, and if they are involved in this matter, the situation will be even more complicated.

He Huan's expression changed when he heard this, and he said, "Do you have evidence?"

"Not yet, but I have a meeting with Yang Chengye tonight, let him go back and inquire first, and see if he has any inside information." Lu Kangtai replied: "Maybe we should wait a little longer, first Make sure it's not a trap before you consider taking action."

Lu Kangtai's reluctance to take risks outside his home was partly due to his intuitive sense of 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 cooperation prospects because of a risky attack-he believes that as long as the cooperation can continue, then It is only a matter of time before the Huizhou salt merchants are expelled from Yangzhou and the lost market share is regained.At that time, he will have both prestige and strength. Of course, it is only reasonable for him to sit on the top spot of the Shanshan salt merchant.

As for the Ningbo salt merchants, Lu Kangtai didn't think they could cause much trouble in Yangzhou, especially after his Musketeers grew stronger, he would have more confidence to take tough measures against them.

However, Lu Kangtai would definitely not announce these small calculations. He could only find some more high-sounding reasons to evade He Huan's request for him to dispatch the Musketeers.

But the more he was like this, the more others felt that such caution was not necessary, and some even felt that his statement was a bit alarmist.Moreover, someone pointed out right away that Lu Kangtai's musketeer team was not built with his own money, but was initially funded by a number of salt merchants in the form of pooled members.The reason why the musket team was handed over to Lu Kangtai's command was simply because the partner had a good relationship with him. In order to facilitate the subsequent purchase of weapons and ammunition from the other party, arrange training matters, etc., Lu Kangtai could save a lot of unnecessary trouble up.

"The Musketeers are our common property. Everyone here has the right to participate in the discussion on how to use them. I think so, let the minority obey the majority. If you want to use the Musketeers, please raise your hand." !" He Huan saw that it was difficult for the two sides to unify their opinions, and Lu Kangtai refused to take the initiative to give in, so he 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, the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants may lose more than just a musketeer team.

The result of the show of hands voting made Lu Kangtai feel cold. Except for himself, everyone present said that the Musketeers should be dispatched to attack these arrogant people.Although Lu Kangtai did not agree with such an opinion, he also had no right to oppose such a collective decision.

"Everyone, this is risking your own property. If something goes wrong, we will not have the next chance to reorganize a musketeer team." Lu Kangtai still wanted to try to persuade these companions who were already fighting, but He soon realized it seemed too late.

The previous operations of the Musketeers went too smoothly, which made everyone have a blindly optimistic mentality, 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 always very careful in everything, lest their deeds be exposed and be noticed by the Haihan people.The Shang family is so low-key, how can the Shanxi salt merchants 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.And a beautiful victory, in addition to driving away potential competitors, will also give them more confidence in the face of local Huizhou salt merchants.

"You see, this is what all of us mean. If you feel incompetent, then hand over the command of the Musketeers first, and return it to you after the matter is over." He Huan stared at Lu Kangtai's face, Announced the final decision to him calmly.

(End of this chapter)