1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2210
The Shanshan-Shanxi salt merchants' move was extremely vicious this time, and they aimed at the must-save places of the Huizhou salt merchants as their targets.As soon as the official document of the Salt Industry Yamen came out, the related business under his name would be interrupted, and the daily loss would be an extremely considerable amount.Even though the Huizhou salt merchants were well-off, they could not afford to be closed for a long time.

The seven surnames can fight to the death with the Shanxi salt merchants, but they cannot fight against the government. Once this seal is posted, all business will immediately come to a standstill, and the only countermeasure they can take is to try to make the salt Yemen lifted these sanctions and got the business back on track as soon as possible.

Except for Ma Zhengping who is still in Zhoushan, the heads of the other six families with the seven surnames have all been present.If it is difficult for them to have a real sense of participation in a fight that does not require personal participation, then the current crisis has really made them feel the pain.

"Has a situation like this happened before?" Yuan Tao was a little surprised when he heard the news. He didn't know the history of the two groups of salt merchants' past struggles, so he asked Dai Yingda a question.

Dai Yingda shook his head with a sullen face and said: "Although there have been many times in the past when using official connections to suppress the other party, there has never been a situation like this. The other party has done this to this extent, which is equivalent to tearing up the face and wanting to fight us to the death. Already!"

Yuan Tao nodded slightly and said: "I understand. It seems that they have no other means, they can only take out the means of suppressing the bottom of the box! But they probably paid a lot of money to get the yamen to come forward."

Dai Yingda said: "It's nothing more than money opening the way! As long as we can be squeezed out of Yangzhou, the money spent can be doubled and earned back, but using official contacts to suppress the other party will always be solved with money in the end. No one can do anything about it." The other party just fattened up those officials who collected money at both ends. Gradually, everyone realized that this routine can’t help the other party, so they don’t know how to use this method anymore.”

Yuan Tao said: "Since this is the case, then we can spend money to solve it. Why should Boss Dai be so nervous?"

Dai Yingda said: "Treasurer Yuan doesn't know something. The transfer of the salt transportation envoys in the two Huaihe Rivers is a big yamen. In addition to the salt transportation envoys in the palm, there are also official positions such as transportation judgments and promotions. People, there are at least a hundred people who need to be managed!"

Yuan Tao misunderstood what Dai Yingda meant, and asked with a frown: "Could it be that you have a problem with your account turnover? That's okay. If you need money urgently, our country can also provide low-interest loans, and you can borrow as much as you want! It was shipped from Zhoushan. It only takes a few days.”

Dai Yingda quickly explained: "I'm not referring to this matter, I dare not say anything else, but the seven surnames will not be short of money!"

"Since that's the case, what's the difficulty in handling this matter?" Yuan Tao felt that Dai Yingda called the heads of various families to discuss this matter, and even invited himself here. It should not only be for fundraising, but there must be something else Unaware of the difficulty.

Dai Yingda announced the answer in a deep voice: "The two Huaihe Rivers are located in the city of Yangzhou. If we want to settle this matter as soon as possible, there is only one way, and that is to go to the city in person... ...Well, it might take several trips, too!"

Yuan Tao suddenly realized why the seven surnames found it difficult to solve this matter.On weekdays, they only need to bring enough money to the yamen to visit these officials, large and small, and burn all the incense that should be burned, and the matter will naturally be almost resolved.

But in today's dangerous environment, the salt merchants of the seven surnames are not allowed to go out casually to prevent being attacked by their opponents, so how can they cross the river quietly and enter the city to visit the government?If you don't go, you will be forced to run out of food and lose your source of income. If you go, you will not only have to spend a lot of money to settle the transfer of salt transportation from the two Huaihe Rivers to the top and bottom, but you will also have to face possible attacks from Shanxi salt merchants.

Dai Yingda also mentioned that it is not easy for Shanxi salt merchants to create the current situation, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it cost a lot of money.But the other party knew that this method would be difficult to completely kill the seven major surnames, so they did it without hesitation. This was obviously not just to disgust the seven major surnames for a few days, but to use this method to force them to show up, and then use this opportunity to apply other means.

But from Yuan Tao's point of view, of course, he doesn't want the heads of the seven surnames to put themselves in danger. If any accident happens to them, there will be great changes in Jin Dun's mission in Yangzhou. This situation is not what Yuan Tao wants to see of.

Yuan Tao asked: "Visiting the government to do some joint work, do these things have to be done by you in person?"

Dai Yingda replied: "The people who run errands below don't need us to show up in person, but it would be too impolite for officials and lords like the Salt Transport Envoy and Tiju to send their subordinates to visit, otherwise it will backfire. It’s safe to go there.”

Yuan Tao also felt that it made sense when he heard it. After all, those high-ranking officials in the yamen need not only money, but also face.An Hui nationality salt merchant wants to beg others to let him go, but he doesn't even show his face, and sends a few men to deliver the money and it's over?I'm afraid that even if the amount of money is enough, the yamen will deliberately make things difficult and won't let this matter go away easily.

Yuan Tao murmured, "But going out of the village and entering the city is really a bit risky... Could it be that we can't find other solutions? Or just procrastinate until the situation improves. What I want is money, not forcing everyone to ruin their families."

The heads of the seven surnames whispered to each other, and finally Dai Yingda responded: "Procrastination cannot be delayed. For us, this is not just a matter of loss after business stagnation. The people in the yamen don't know our current situation. , if we don’t show up at the Yamen, some people will really think that we are at the end of our ropes, and then there will be people who can’t stand the temptation of our family and will make trouble for us. Now the official documents of the Yamen only say that it is an investigation, but once the charges are revealed Sit down, and things will get serious!"

If the seven major surnames have not made a formal response to the investigation of the salt industry yamen, then the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants will definitely add fuel and instill some dangerous ideas to the officials, making them convinced that the seven major surnames have reached the stage where they are powerless to resist. Fat.

When someone starts to believe that the seven major surnames have become targets of slaughter, the situation will really become very dangerous.Because no matter how much incense money they receive from the seven surnames, it is absolutely impossible to compare with the income of the seven surnames who ransacked their homes and lost their property.And once the conviction is reached, it will be difficult for the seven major surnames to solve the troubles by managing the government. At that time, there may be far more than one local government organization that wants to benefit from it. It is estimated that they will come and step on it.

Even if there is a golden shield stationed in Daijiazhuang, it is impossible to protect the seven surnames in such a situation.The salt merchants either resigned to their fate and were slaughtered, their homes were ransacked by the government, or they had to give up most of their real estate and go overseas. In short, it was impossible to keep their current industries.

The reason for this is not complicated. After Dai Yingda explained it briefly, Yuan Tao understood the seriousness of the situation.The seven surnames must react to this in order to prevent the other party from continuing to drag themselves into the abyss.

"In this way, we have to go to the city to fight against them!" Yuan Tao said slowly: "But this matter is extremely risky, I suggest that the fewer people who come forward to deal with this matter, the better, otherwise it will be difficult to protect .”

Dai Yingda said happily: "Master Yuan would like to send someone to accompany him as a guard? That would be great!"

After Jin Dun's people came to Yangzhou, they tried every means to persuade Yuan Tao to take the initiative to attack, but Yuan Tao's attitude was very firm, he just guarded Daijiazhuang and did not plan to take any proactive measures.Dai Yingda knew that someone had to enter the city to resolve this crisis, but he thought that Jin Dun would not leave Daijiazhuang, so Yuan Tao probably would not send someone to perform the escort mission, but he did not expect Yuan Tao to take the initiative after knowing the whole story. brought it up.

If Jin Dun is willing to make a move, then the safety factor of this trip will definitely increase a lot.After all, Jin Dun and his group are professionals, so the defensive measures they adopted must be more rigorous and reliable, and Dai Yingda knows that the government will be a little bit afraid of their identities, and this may be a life-saving detail when it comes to critical times.

Yuan Tao said: "This matter is beyond the scope of Jin Dun's mission. I can only give you an answer after I ask Zhoushan for instructions."

Dai Yingda hurriedly said: "Of course, I would like to ask Master Yuan to give you some kind words so that General Shi can agree to Brother Jin Dun's participation. If this can be facilitated, we will prepare an extra generous gift for Master Yuan and the brothers who participated in the operation." in thanks."

At this time, Dai Yingda will not feel bad about money anymore, he has even made up his mind that as long as Yuan Tao is willing to help carry this matter over, then even if he offers a high price, he will accept it.Compared with the family property owned by the seven surnames, the money spent now is really just a small amount of money.

Yuan Tao said: "Put this aside for now, let me ask, how many people do you plan to go to?"

Dai Yingda said sternly: "Since shopkeeper Yuan said that the fewer people the better, then I will go alone. I have been to the Yamen of the Salt Transport Envoy many times, and I have a certain idea of ​​how to deal with those officials. .”

Dai Yingfan next to him immediately objected: "This is inappropriate. Elder brother is the leader of the seven surnames. If something happens to you in Yangzhou City, won't the seven surnames and our Dai family cause chaos? I think it's better to hand over the errand Give it to me, isn't it just a gift of money, and I should be able to represent the seven surnames, right?"

Dai Yingda shook his head and said: "You don't have much time to deal with these officials and lords. You don't know their various ways. You should stay in Daijiazhuang! If anything happens to me, I will quickly recruit Ma Lao to come back to take charge of the overall situation. As for the Dai family , and Cheng Liang took over the position of Patriarch."

Dai Yingda made arrangements for the funeral in a few words, obviously planning for the worst.Seeing that he took the initiative to take on this dangerous task at such a critical moment, Yuan Tao couldn't help secretly admiring his courage. It seems that it is no accident that this person can become the leading figure among these salt merchants.

Dai Yingda took the initiative to ask for orders, but the other heads of the family secretly breathed a sigh of relief.Fortunately, Dai Yingda didn't come directly to appoint a target, or draw lots to decide, otherwise, if they were to accept this task, it would probably take a long time to consider whether or not to take this risk.

At present, the heads of the various families also spared no effort to praise Dai Yingda, and they all patted their chests and said that the seven major surnames will still follow the lead of the Dai family in the future.

Yuan Tao looked on coldly, and felt that Dai Yingda was really good at taking advantage of opportunities. In such a crisis situation, he stabilized the morale of the army with a few words, and further enhanced his prestige in the group of seven surnames.After this matter is settled, if the opponent's conspiracy can be successfully resolved and the property of the seven surnames can be preserved, then no one will dare to disagree with him in the future.

Of course, to obtain such a status, one must first bear corresponding risks.Even if Yuan Tao temporarily agrees to this matter, he is not fully sure whether he can successfully escort Dai Yingda.He also has no way to predict what kind of killing situation the opponent will set up now, waiting for Dai Yingda to step into it by himself, if it is really a fight in Yangzhou City, the situation will be much more complicated than defending Daijiazhuang.

After learning about the general situation, Yuan Tao returned to the station first, sent a telegram back to Zhoushan, and asked Shi Diwen for instructions on the matter.From a personal point of view, Yuan Tao does not want to take this risk, but as analyzed by Dai Yingda, if he does not respond as soon as possible, the foundation of Huizhou salt merchants in Yangzhou may be shaken. The support measures Haihan has made all fall into the void. If they want to set foot in the rich market of Yangzhou in the future, they may face more difficulties than they do now.

So from the standpoint of Haihan, trying to keep the seven surnames is the current goal.Whether it's Shanxi salt merchants or government yamen, Jindun has to do its best to resolve these troubles.Yuan Tao clarified the stakes in the telegram, and expressed his willingness to personally lead the team to carry out this special mission with high risks.

Two hours later, he received a call back from Zhoushan.In his reply, Shi Diwen expressed his support for his decision, and asked him to try his best to ensure Dai Yingda's safety under the premise of self-protection, but he should not directly intervene in the negotiations between the seven surnames and the local government, so as not to trigger higher-level diplomacy dispute.

Yuan Tao let out a sigh of relief after reading the call back. As long as Zhoushan can support his decision, he can also let go of his hands and feet to deploy.If the other party really planned to carry out an attack while Dai Yingda was in and out of the city, then he wouldn't mind showing some real skills to let these salt merchants know what a professional team is.

However, before taking action, Yuan Tao still needs to carefully discuss the specific arrangements with Dai Yingda. At the same time, he has to make corresponding arrangements for the left-behind personnel and prepare a response plan for possible situations.

(End of this chapter)