1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2212
Although the battle among salt merchants in Yangzhou is about to tear apart the face, and even the government office in charge of the salt industry has been dragged into this muddy water, the situation in Yangzhou has not yet caused chaos, and there are still a large number of people and people every day. Goods entered and exited through multiple checkpoints and city gates in Yangzhou City.For the vast majority of ordinary people, their lives have not changed significantly because of this, and how to live is still business as usual.

The people who will be really affected are basically the direct participants in this battle.For example, Lin Zhong, who has lived in the city of Yangzhou for 20 years as a peddler, from the moment he received the order from the messenger last night, he is no longer a peddler walking around the streets, but serving the great salt merchant Dai Yingda of the dead.

Since the Dai family even sent the deed of selling their lives back then, Lin Zhong believes that this has shown that the risk of this mission is very high, and he may need to fight with his life.But he also understands that he has no choice but to complete this task before he can retire smoothly and enjoy a comfortable life.What's more, his son's future destiny is firmly bound 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. up.

Pushing a grocery cart around in and out of the city is a very labor-intensive job, so Lin Zhong usually sleeps until it is dawn, but today he woke up just after five o'clock, washed and tidied up, and then got up from under the bed. He took out a tightly wrapped oiled paper package.

Lin Zhong put the oiled paper package on the table, brushed off the dust on it, and then slowly unfolded the wrapped oiled paper layer by layer, inside was a sheathed dagger.

There is no mark on this seven-inch long dagger, and the cowhide sheath has turned sour black, which shows that it is quite old.Lin Zhong slowly pulled out the dagger, but 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, and it has been kept in his hands for 20 years.The reason why it is so well preserved is firstly because it has never been used, and secondly, he takes out the dagger every year for maintenance, carefully rubs off the rust, and rewraps it with new oiled paper.

Lin Zhong had never practiced martial arts, and he lived in Yangzhou City as a salesman, and no one would think of him, and he really didn't need to carry a dagger with him.But the mission to be performed today may be more dangerous than all the missions in the past 20 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 guarded by an expert, and he would not be able to make a move even if he tried his best. The main purpose of carrying this dagger was for self-defense.If there is a surprise attack on the home, no one will take care of him when the scene is chaotic, so he can only try his best to save himself.

It's just that Lin Zhong himself is not sure whether he will have the courage to draw out his dagger and fight people desperately at that time. He just doesn't want to be slaughtered and wants to leave Yangzhou City alive.

In view of the fact that he will be traveling with Dai Yingda today, he no longer has to push a cart to go out as a shopkeeper, which makes him feel a lot easier when he goes out.

When Lin Zhong walked to the door, he looked back at the small courtyard where he had lived for many years, and he knew that he would probably never come back after this walk, but he didn't have much attachment to this place, so he just stayed for a while and then walked out of the courtyard After pulling the door and locking it, he threw the key directly over the door into the yard, and left without looking back.

Yesterday the messenger told him that the meeting place was at the Qianli Chariot and Horse Shop near Yijiangmen. Lin Zhong was no stranger to that place, and every time he went to the wharf outside Yijiangmen to buy goods, he would pass by that cart and horse dealer.

When Lin Zhong went out, the sky had not yet dawned. Although the streets in the city had been lifted, there were still very few pedestrians on the streets.Lin Zhong knew that the gate of the city was not open at this time, and that 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, some soup dumplings, siu mai, and steamed dumplings. Sit down and enjoy this breakfast slowly.

In fact, he seldom eats breakfast outside, usually the leftover porridge or cold steamed buns from the night before, and he just makes do with the morning meal.But today he doesn't plan to save this money. After all, it's hard to say what to eat next meal, where to eat it, or even whether there will be another meal. This breakfast must be full and good.

After breakfast, Lin Zhong went to the vicinity of Qianli Chariots and Horses.At this time, there were horse-drawn carriages coming out of the chariot and horse shop one after another. Judging from their whereabouts, they should go to the Yijiang Gate and wait for the gate to open before leaving the city.

There were some people standing there at the base of the wall outside the carriage gate, and Lin Zhong knew that these were laborers waiting to load and unload goods.These people are not affiliated with the chariots and horses, they are all here waiting to get jobs.Lin Zhong walked over calmly, and stood silently at the farthest position.

He didn't intend to compete with these people for jobs, he just didn't want to draw attention to himself.When Dai Yingda arrives later, he can also observe it here for the first time.

However, Lin Zhong seems to have overlooked a problem. At this time, Dai Yingda must avoid revealing his whereabouts prematurely. When he enters 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 five quarters of Yin time, the morning bell rang and the gates of the city opened, and the whole city began to be alive. There were many people on the streets who got up early to work.Thousands of miles of chariots and horses have also begun to become lively, with laborers for work, errand runners for delivery and pickup, and businessmen who hire chariots and horses, constantly passing in and out of chariots and horses.

Lin Zhong didn't wait for too long, and saw a group of carriages coming from the direction of Yijiangmen, and the leading carriage carried a small flag of traveling thousands of miles.Before the convoy approached the gate of the carriage and horse shop, the laborers who wanted to take the job had already rushed forward, planning to occupy a favorable position that was closer, so that the boss could find himself 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, and immediately figured that Dai Yingda should be hiding in it, and then slowly followed the crowd to get up.

The crowd who gathered around heard that the convoy did not employ laborers, and soon scattered in all directions.But Lin Zhong didn't leave, he approached the familiar face and asked, "Does the boss need a guide?"

The man glanced at him, nodded and said: "It's just in time, you get in the car first, there is room for you!" After 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.

Seeing this, the others couldn't help but secretly regret why they didn't ask this question more, but this guide doesn't need many people like Ligong, usually one guide can serve a caravan, and sure enough someone went up to ask again, and that person said No need to hire a guide anymore.

After the convoy drove into the thousands-mile drive, it did not stop in the crowded front yard, but turned to a relatively secluded backyard.Several men in black clothes came up and down from these carriages, and they did not walk around, but stood on guard outside the convoy to prevent irrelevant people from approaching the convoy.

There were two other people in the carriage that Lin Zhong boarded, one was Dai Yingda, the patriarch 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. Surnamed Yuan, most of the guards outside the carriage are his subordinates.

Although the light in the carriage was relatively dim, Lin Zhong could see the eyes of this man whom Dai Yingda called "Treasurer Yuan" had piercing eyes, like a beast looking for food in the dark.

"Lin Zhong is one of the most reliable people under my command. He has lived in Yangzhou City for 20 years. He is very familiar with every inch of land in this city, and he handles things safely. I believe he can serve as a way of life for us today. Mark, point 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 trembling.He didn't feel that he was as strong as Dai Yingda described, and suddenly felt that the pressure on his shoulders was much heavier.

Yuan Tao clasped his fists at him and said, "Brother Lin will be bothering you about leading the way today!"

"Don't dare to be a villain, just call the villain's name directly!" Lin Zhong saw that Dai Yingda also respected the attitude of this treasurer Yuan, and knew that his identity might not be just an ordinary head of bodyguards. In front of his boss, he raised his eyebrows and quickly said a few words of politeness.

Yuan Tao pretended not to hear what he said, and continued, "Brother Lin, can you explain to us how the course of action is arranged today?"

Lin Zhongdao: "After receiving the order from the Patriarch yesterday, the villain has repeatedly considered several routes, but considering that there may be various variables today, so in the end he did not determine a specific route, but only formulated a rough action plan. Please also ask the Patriarch Treasurer He Yuan gave advice."

Regarding why the Shanxi salt merchants took so much effort to create the current situation, Lin Zhong agreed with Dai Yingda, that is to lure snakes out of their holes, force the top figures of the seven surnames to show up in Yangzhou City, and then attack them.

However, Lin Zhong believes that even if the Shanxi-Shanxi salt merchants are bold, the actions they can take will be limited. Just decide not to do anything, otherwise where will the dignity of the government be?
"So the villain's plan is to try to keep a low profile when going to the yamen, choose a secluded route with few people, and avoid unnecessary complications. When the Patriarch finishes his work in the yamen and comes out, the other party must have spotted our whereabouts. If we want to get rid of them in the city, it will be very difficult. It’s difficult to achieve, so we simply took the busiest road, crossing the river from the south of the city, so that they dare not take 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.”

It is precisely because Lin Zhong is very familiar with the roads in the city that he did not give a specific route, but intends to adapt according to his own strategy and the external situation.This approach is extremely bold. If Dai Yingda insists on stability, his rhetoric may hardly satisfy Dai Yingda.

However, Dai Yingda did not express his opinion in a hurry, but first asked Yuan Tao's opinion: "What do you think of Master Yuan?"

Yuan Tao said in a deep voice: "I think Brother Lin's opinion is good, but Brother Lin still needs to warn us about the dangers on the way so that we can be prepared! In addition, we have already done corresponding things about sending boats on the canal. Brother Lin, you don’t have to worry about the arrangements.”

Dai Yingda saw that Yuan Tao did not raise any objections to this, even though he was a little uneasy, he didn't say anything more.If he doesn't trust the judgments made by Lin Zhong and Yuan Tao, then there is no need to continue this adventure, and it may be too late to turn around and go out of the city to hide in Daijiazhuang now.

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 Yuan Tao's defensive measures in case of emergency.The two met for the first time, and neither of them knew the other's behavior style, so they had to confirm the key details before taking action, otherwise, if something unexpected happened on the way, it would lead to poor communication between them and affect the safe evacuation of Yangzhou City. .

Although Lin Zhong has not received any professional training, he is very familiar with the road conditions in the city, and he has been in a small business for 20 years, and his agility is absolutely unmatched.Which route should the convoy take to come and go smoothly, so as not to be stuck in a dilemma in a certain alley because of the narrow road? This has to be planned in the mind of Lin Zhong, a living map, and then lead the convoy forward. This is exactly the ability that Golden Shield lacks.

After discussing with him for a while, Yuan Tao felt that Dai Yingda's previous introduction was not an exaggeration. This person really knew the situation inside and outside Yangzhou City, and he had clear thinking and calm handling, so he was a reliable partner for cooperation.

As for how to safely cross the canal and return to Daijiazhuang after leaving Yangzhou City, Yuan Tao did not tell Lin Zhong the details out of careful consideration.He just told Lin Zhong that after leaving the city, he must obey the command and never leave the convoy.

After agreeing on the itinerary, the convoy pulled off all the small flags with the logo of Qianli Chariots and Horses on the car, and then quietly came out from the back door of the car and horses, and headed for the northern urban area.Lin Zhong thought he was quite familiar with this carriage and horse shop, but he didn't know that the back door, which can only be passed by people on foot, could quickly remove the door frame to allow carriages to enter and exit.If someone had noticed the arrival of this convoy outside the carriage and horse shop before, they would probably have guarded at the gate, but it was hard to imagine that this convoy would leave the carriage and horse shop without a trace.

Only then did Lin Zhong realize that even if this carriage and horse dealership 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 will let him go to this carriage and horse dealership to complete the rendezvous.How many such secret industries of the seven major surnames are there is probably only the heads of the various families know.

(End of this chapter)