Chapter 1999

Regarding the threats posed by foreign competitors, Yang Chengye is obviously not as thorough and understanding as Lu Kangtai, and even seems a bit naive. He believes that this is just a matter of two ships of salt. At most, the salt will be detained and the people will be driven away.

The matter was settled, without thinking deeply about the nature of the matter.

But Lu Kangtai has much more information than he does, so he naturally knows that the Ningbo salt merchants are coming with bad intentions. The two ships of salt shipped this time are probably just a tentative stepping stone. If the Yangzhou salt merchants respond indifferently, this will

If they sit back and do nothing, Ningbo salt merchants will definitely increase their efforts to export more salt to Yangzhou to seize market share.

Lu Kangtai holds the main armed force of the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants. If He Huan makes the final decision to use force to deal with the Ningbo salt merchants, it will be Lu Kangtai who will command the action. But I don’t know how many there are at the moment.

His eyes were staring at the two salt ships from Ningbo in the dark. If he wanted to use his musketry team, it might cause a lot of trouble, so Lu Kangtai was still a little hesitant about this matter.

Lu Kangtai's musketeers were not easy to come by, and it was not his fault alone. There were other strong helpers behind the scenes. The people who helped him form the musketeers had already told him that this armed force should not be shown in public, and even more

You cannot enter the areas controlled by the Haihan people. In other words, try to avoid attracting the attention of the Haihan people. Otherwise, their source of weapons and ammunition will be cut off, and the muskets will have to be used as fire sticks.

Lu Kangtai had always followed this rule before. The Musketeers' several attacks were not sloppy at all. They withdrew after completing the transaction. In his opinion, there was no evidence left behind that would leak information about the Musketeers. And its activities

The scope has also been kept outside Yangzhou and Haihan controlled areas, trying not to let the outside world associate the muskete team with itself. Even within the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchant group, only a few prominent figures such as He Huan were able to do so.

He knew that the musketeers were actually under his command.

He believed that this could ensure the secrecy of the Musketeers to the greatest extent, and at the same time protect his own safety. If the outside world knew that the Musketeers were his men, it would probably be difficult to live in peace in the future.

However, what Lu Kangtai didn't know was that the Huizhou salt merchant actually knew a little bit about the Musketeers, but there was no conclusive evidence to prove his relationship with the Musketeers. In Dai Yingda's attack on the Shanxi salt merchants

In his plan, he planned to find an opportunity to report Lu Kangtai's musketeers to Haihan, and use borrowed knives to kill people to eliminate this armed force that he was very afraid of.

What all the Yangzhou salt merchants don't know is that the real purpose of this group of Ningbo salt merchants on the canal wharf came to Yangzhou was not to sell salt, but to find the elusive musketeers. Lu Kangtai didn't need this trick, as long as he dared

Using the musketeers, he would immediately become the number one target of the Haihan people. But his situation at this time was actually one foot on the edge of the cliff.

Yang Chengye was very hesitant about Lu Kangtai's persuasion. He didn't like the aggressive life and was unwilling to get involved even in the struggles between the local salt merchant camps, let alone the competition with external forces. Now, Ningbo is approaching fiercely.

The salt merchant seems to have affected the situation in Yangzhou, and may even drag him into the water, who has been sitting on the sidelines. This is definitely not a good thing for him.

"Brother Lu, even if this Ningbo salt merchant wants to come here to sell salt, he can't drive us out of Yangzhou, right? After all, we have been in Yangzhou for several generations, and they are just outsiders after all!" Yang Chengye still didn't want to.

I followed Lu Kangtai's advice and was still trying to find a way to evade it.

Lu Kangtai heard the obvious pushback in his tone and couldn't help but said angrily: "When is it! They are about to step on your face! If Ningbo salt merchants are allowed to enter Yangzhou for development, the first thing they will do is to clear the place.

, drive away all the local salt merchants who are unwilling to cooperate! As a salt merchant, you are destined to stay out of Yangzhou!"

Yang Chengye saw that the flesh on his face was shaking with anger when he spoke. Knowing that he was really angry now, he could only give in half a step: "Brother Lu, please give me a little more time and let me take my time."

Inquire. This matter cannot be rushed. If Old Man Dai discovers that I have another purpose, I am afraid that I will be driven out of Yangzhou without waiting for the Ningbo Salt Merchant to take action!"

Yang Chengye's words are also very true. If Dai Yingda gets the evidence that he colluded with Shanxi salt merchants, he will have to shed his skin even if he doesn't die, and he will definitely not be able to stay in Yangzhou anymore. Even if Lu Kangtai has it, people can't ignore it.

His strength cannot protect Yang Chengye on this issue, unless he has the courage to face the attack by a group of Huizhou salt merchants.

Lu Kangtai changed his emotions very quickly. After hearing these words, there was no trace of anger on his face. He smiled and said to Yang Chengye: "Brother Yang, the purpose of asking you to come forward to inquire about the information is also to deal with

Driving away these Ningbo merchants will also bring a lot of benefits to you Hui salt merchants. If you think more about the benefits, you won't be under so much pressure."

Yang Chengye snorted and said: "Brother Lu, I treat you as a friend, so I tell you these things frankly. If you think my idea is wrong, just say it, but don't force me to do something I don't want to do."

Things to do! If too many interests are involved in our friendship, it will be meaningless. I would rather be a fair-weather friend with you than to become a partner who takes advantage of each other."

Lu Kangtai was silent for a long time, then picked up the wine pot and filled the cup in front of Yang Chengye, poured himself another cup, then raised the cup and said: "Brother Yang, I am too eager for quick success, so this cup of wine is for you."

Make amends!"

Yang Chengye did not reject Lu Kangtai's apology. He drank a drink with him, wiped the corners of his mouth and said: "It's getting late, and there's nothing to see in this place. That's it for today. If there's anything new,

News, we will contact you again.”

Seeing that he was planning to leave, Lu Kangtai did not stay at the table anymore, so he got up and sent him to the door. However, he did not leave with Yang Chengye. After sending Yang Chengye away, he continued to return to the table and sat down, asking the waiter to

He came over and cleared away the leftovers on the table, put on new dishes and chopsticks, and ordered two cold dishes and two hot dishes. It seemed that there was another social event to follow.

After a while, as expected, another man in black came and sat down opposite Lu Kangtai silently. But this man seemed to have no intention of enjoying the food and wine on the table. After sitting down, he stared straight at Lu Kangtai.

, as if there was a flower on his face.

"Don't want to eat something? This is a dish specially ordered for you. Although the environment of this restaurant is average, the food tastes pretty good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made an appointment to meet you here." Lu Kangtai said in his mouth,

Without stopping, he pulled off a chicken leg from the plate and took a big bite, as if the meal he had just eaten had already been digested in his stomach.

"The food is too greasy, I don't like it. Besides, you made an appointment to meet here, isn't it because this place happens to be where you can see the two boats on the river?" The visitor revealed the secret.

Lu Kangtai calmly sucked the oil and water on his fingers and said to the visitor: "It seems that you are quite well informed. You know that the Ningbo salt merchants have come to Yangzhou so quickly. You must also know that I was in Yangzhou just now.

Have you seen anyone here?"

The visitor snorted and said: "Then Yang Chengye has no talents. If he refuses to cooperate with you, he will be completely useless to us!"

Lu Kangtai said: "I know whether he is useful or not. You don't need to say such things to influence me. Although he doesn't have much ability, I need to understand the dynamics of Huizhou merchants through him, because I doubt these two

The ship is not a Ningbo salt merchant at all, but a trap set by Hui merchants to deceive me into showing up in Yangzhou and then use the government to suppress our Shanxi salt merchants."

The visitor was silent for a moment after hearing this judgment, and then said: "The situation is unclear, so you are right to be careful. You must be cautious when dispatching the musketeers, and don't give anyone a chance to get a handle. Regardless of whether this group of people is

The salt merchants from Ningbo are still playing tricks on Huizhou merchants. I suggest you not to use the musketeers."

"But I'm afraid it's not up to me to decide how to deal with this matter." Lu Kangtai threw away the chicken leg bone that had been chewed clean, and reached out to pull off another chicken leg: "If you don't move, I won't be polite.

... Mr. He has already expressed his stance that he wants to give these Ningbo salt merchants some color. Although I have not taken the credit, if things don't go smoothly, Mr. He will probably name me to handle the matter.

"

"Then among you Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants, is there anyone who wants to take this credit?" the visitor asked.

Lu Kangtai responded vaguely: "Doing such a thankless job is risky and has no direct benefits, so no one wants to take on this task. Having said that, if these people are more bloody, they will be better at this kind of thing."

If we are more proactive, how can we allow Huizhou merchants to catch up from behind? We can't just watch the outsiders sell out the salt in Yangzhou and then leave. If there is no movement tomorrow, I think Mr. He will ask for my name."

The visitor chuckled and said: "This is not necessarily a bad thing for you. If you handle it well, it will also help you establish your prestige. If you want to replace He Huan, you have to do more things."

"But you just said that it's best not to use the Musketeers." Lu Kangtai said: "The risk of the operation will be much greater! Since this group of people has the courage to come to Yangzhou City to sell salt, they must have been prepared. This is probably

It’s a hard nut to crack!”

The visitor responded: "Boss Lu, you have to understand one thing. Our purpose of helping you form a musketeer team is not to make you brave and fierce, or to use it in the struggle for interests between salt merchants. Previously

The several times you were allowed to dispatch the musketeers were only for actual combat training. If you have forgotten the purpose of setting up the musketeers, then I can remind you again."

"No need to remind you, I remember... you are going to use this method to train a group of people. When the time is right, you will use these people as the backbone to build a team that can fight on the battlefield in a short time!" Lu

Kangtai muttered in reply: "But if there is no peace in Yangzhou, how can the Musketeers develop safely?"

The visitor said: "It's good that Boss Lu can remember. If two ships can disrupt Yangzhou City, then I think even if I give you ten times the number of musketeers, you won't be able to make good use of this force."

Lu Kangtai didn't respond, but he didn't stop using the chopsticks in his hand, and started working on another plate of dishes.

The visitor changed the subject and said, "I think Boss Lu's appetite is still so good, so he shouldn't have been greatly affected. If you complain to me in a different way, you must have other conditions to raise in the end, right?"

When Lu Kangtai heard this, he finally stopped his chopsticks and said with a grimace: "I am just worried about the Ningbo Salt Merchant, so I have no appetite. Otherwise, why would I only order so many dishes... Also,

I am not complaining, I just want to explain my situation and thoughts to you first, so that you can understand me and provide me with more weapons and ammunition."

The visitor's face darkened and he said: "I have already said that it is best not to dispatch musketeers in Yangzhou City. Why do you want to apply for more weapons and ammunition?"

Lu Kangtai said: "The only reason why we don't use the Musketeers is that our strength is not enough and there are too many objects to worry about, so we need to be secretive and mysterious. If the scale of the Musketeers is large enough, then we may not need to

After considering so many things, I just need to dispatch the musketeers to solve the problem. I have money, manpower, and a training environment. If you give me more weapons and ammunition, I can train more musketeers, and I won’t have to do this again in the future.

Do things carefully, don’t you think?"

"Boss Lu, you are really good at talking! I finally know why the higher-ups chose you as a partner!"

Lu Kangtai shook his head and said: "No, you don't know comprehensively enough! Not only can I speak, but I'm also very good at doing things. Think about it, have I ever failed to do what I promised you? When it comes to business, I

I value credibility, and I hope you can have more trust in me and provide me with the conditions I need!"

The visitor was silent for a long time this time, and then asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Boss Lu, I have always wanted to know, if one day you really get a position and become the leader of Shanxi-Shaanxi salt merchants, what will happen to you?"

What will be your goal then? Of course, if you feel inconvenienced, you don’t have to answer me."

Lu Kangtai said: "I still have a lot of things to worry about when I do things now. I hope that by then I can do things more freely and be qualified to decide for myself what I can and cannot do. I don't have to think about Yang Chengye and Yang Chengye as I do now.

How you feel. By that time, the goals I want to achieve will probably be different from the current ones, so I can’t give you a clear answer to your question for the time being.”

"Your answer is quite frank, but being a big shot is not as easy as you think." After hearing this, the visitor had no expression on his face, but he stood up and prepared to leave.

After taking a few steps, he turned back to Lu Kangtai and said, "What you want will be delivered to your dock by ship in five days."
Chapter completed!