Chapter 2001

The fathers of Ma Zhengping and Yang Chengye were close friends. Knowing that today's situation is hard-won, they naturally couldn't bear to see the Yang family, which was originally quite prestigious among the Huizhou salt merchants, lose at the hands of Yang Chengye. Today Yang Chengye

He did not appear in Daijiazhuang to participate in the discussion and was named by Dai Yingda alone. Ma Zhengping also knew that Dai Yingda would never just give a verbal warning. If Yang Chengye still did not repent, then the Yang family would be kicked out for seven years.

I'm afraid the countdown is about to begin.

If the Yang family loses this special status, the impact will go far beyond the "many businesses that cannot be directly involved" mentioned by Ma Zhengping. Even the existing business will be greatly reduced due to the change in status.

The decline is likely to be decided in a few words.

The "Seven Great Surnames" are the upper-class figures among the Huizhou salt merchants. They are rich, powerful and influential, and they have the best market resources. Losing this special status means that they are likely to lose everything they have in hand.

Part of the market and sales channels - these excellent resources must be given to subsequent successors to ensure that they can enjoy treatment commensurate with their status.

The composition of the "seven major surnames" is generally decided by the existing seven major families through discussions. As long as more than four families agree, the existing members can be changed. Therefore, although the Yang family is among the group of Hui-born salt merchants,

It has a certain influence, but this does not mean that its status will be stable forever. If Dai Yingda takes the lead in proposing to remove the Yang family from the seven major surnames, then other families except Ma Zhengping will most likely agree with Dai Yingda.

Kick Yang Chengye away.

Yang Chengye himself, as the party involved, obviously did not realize the seriousness of his situation and the problem, and Ma Zhengping was angry for this reason.

Yang Chengye said helplessly: "My uncle taught me well, but my nephew was in Yangzhou City today and didn't even know that a Ningbo salt merchant came from outside the city, let alone that Mr. Dai had convened everyone for a discussion. My nephew just couldn't receive it in time.

Notice, there is no intention to avoid the discussion."

Ma Zhengping said: "Even if I believe you, others may not believe you. If you want others to believe you, you have to do something to prove your loyalty and role to the Seven Surnames."

Yang Chengye wondered: "How to prove this?"

Ma Zhengping said: "Let me ask you, who is our biggest opponent?"

Yang Chengye was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly replied: "Of course it's... the Shanshan Salt Merchant across the river."

Ma Zhengping nodded and said: "It's good that you know! You usually have a close relationship with Lu Kangtai. Have you ever thought about using him to attack Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants?"

When Yang Chengye heard this, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated a lot, and he quickly excused himself: "Uncle, I was just joking. My nephew and the man named Lu are just acquaintances, so there's no way we can take advantage of him!"

Ma Zhengping sneered and said: "If you don't want others to know, you have to do nothing yourself. When you and Lu Kangtai show up in Yangzhou City, do you really pretend that no one sees you?"

Yang Chengye didn't expect Ma Zhengping to say such a thing, so he murmured: "Uncle, don't blame me...it's just a normal social interaction, it can't be taken seriously..."

"You don't need to explain. I'm not forcing you now. Mr. Dai has already ordered your generals and asked you to be responsible for taking action against Lu Kangtai. If you can do it, you will naturally forget the blame. If you do well, there will be more.

For example, the Yang family would have priority to enter the salt industry markets in Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture that Lu Kangtai originally controlled." Seeing that Yang Chengye's attitude had softened, Ma Zhengping immediately began to further coerce and induce him.

If Yang Chengye was the person who put his interests first, he would not get together with Lu Kangtai. Moreover, he himself did not have a strong sense of professionalism. He had not even thought about seizing the market from Lu Kangtai.

Hearing Ma Zhengping's suggestion, he was immediately dumbfounded and didn't know how to respond.

When he met with Lu Kangtai previously, the other party asked him to inquire about the internal information of Huizhou merchants to determine whether the Ningbo salt merchants outside Yangzhou were related to Huizhou merchants. This already made Yang Chengye feel very embarrassed. Unexpectedly, when he returned home,

There was also Ma Zhengping waiting for him, and his demands were even more excessive than Lu Kangtai's. Yang Chengye felt that he was now a rat in the bellows, suffering from both sides.

Whether it is betraying fellow villagers or betraying friends, Yang Chengye thinks it is a taboo that cannot be done. Besides, his friendship with Lu Kangtai is not to obtain any actual benefits from the other party, and his objective conditions are even better than Lu Kangtai.

Kangtai is better. In terms of family property, Lu Kangtai is not necessarily richer than him; in terms of appearance, Yang Chengye is also considered a talented person, far better than Lu Kangtai who weighs more than 200 kilograms; in terms of talent, Yang Chengye is not the "wine bag and rice bag" described by Dai Yingda.

His reputation as a scholar was actually obtained from the imperial examination, and Lu Kangtai was just a businessman.

Yang Chengye believed that his relationship with Lu Kangtai was free of desires and demands. Most of the time, they were just fair-weather friends. But now both parties have made some excessive demands on him, which made him vaguely aware of this personal relationship.

Too many interests have begun to be involved, making him feel uncomfortable.

But he also understands that he cannot escape from the current environment. After all, his background as a Huizhou salt merchant has limited the range of choices he can make. Unless he can really give up his current status and the corresponding special treatment,

But if he could make such a decision, he wouldn't be in this dilemma.

"Uncle, you also know that my nephew has never been good at fighting. This matter really can't be solved!" After Yang Chengye thought for a moment, he continued to shirk, refusing to comply with Zhengping's request.

Ma Zhengping said angrily: "You don't need to plan this matter yourself. As long as you agree to it, someone will follow up and formulate a plan. Then you just need to cooperate. The musketeers under Lu Kangtai are extremely hostile to us."

He is a huge threat. If this person is not eliminated, our Huizhou merchants will have trouble sleeping and eating every day. Don’t you understand this?"

Yang Chengye fell silent again. He had also heard a little bit about the mysterious armed force under Lu Kangtai. He even knew that several attacks against Ningbo salt merchants in nearby state capitals were caused by this armed force. Its strength was indeed

It may be far above your own side.

But as of now, he knows that Lu Kangtai has not used this armed force to deal with Hui salt merchants, and the two of them have a tacit understanding and have never discussed this issue. After all, if Lu Kangtai kills Yang Chengye's fellow villagers, then

The personal relationship between the two could no longer be maintained. Even if Lu Kangtai had previously asked Yang Chengye to provide internal information about Huizhou merchants, he only said that he was worried that these Ningbo salt merchants were a trap set by Huizhou merchants and hoped that he could help.

I avoided stepping into the pit and did not completely pierce the window paper.

Yang Chengye knew that there was no way to persuade Ma Zhengping to accept his idea. After all, the struggle for interests between Huizhou salt merchants and Shanxi salt merchants had lasted for a hundred years. During this period, there were fights and peace, and there were many people like him and Lu Kangtai who made friends across camps.

example, but none of the results ended well. Now it seems that the relationship between him and Lu Kangtai is heading in this direction.

Yang Chengye sighed and said, "Does Mr. Dai have any specific plans?"

Ma Zhengping heard that he wanted to relent, and quickly said: "In the past two days, you have led Lu Kangtai to the place where the Ningbo Salt Merchant parked his ship. It would be best if you can get him to come forward and talk to the Ningbo Salt Merchant, and then we can find a move.

, and then blame the Ningbo salt merchant. This can not only get rid of Lu Kangtai, but also draw the fire to the Ningbo salt merchant. Isn’t this the best of both worlds? Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to do it yourself. I will take care of it by then.

Someone leads you away."

Yang Chengye thought to himself that I just met Lu Kangtai nearby. If Old Man Dai knew about it, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood. But this matter must not be publicized. After all, he just claimed that he only had a casual acquaintance with Lu Kangtai.

, and today I did not even participate in the internal discussions of the Huizhou merchants, but went to observe the activities of the Ningbo salt merchants with Lu Kangtai. This cannot be justified in any case.

However, the plan Ma Zhengping mentioned really made him tremble with fear. Although Lu Kangtai was alert, if Yang Chengye wanted to calculate with intention and without intention, there was at least a 70% to 80% chance that Lu Kangtai would fall into this trap.

Someone pretending to be a dock worker and attacking Lu Kangtai at the Ningbo salt merchant's docking station does have a great chance to muddy the waters - after all, Lu Kangtai has been the mastermind behind the recent attacks on Ningbo salt merchants.

It is reasonable for the character to come to seek revenge after someone finds out the clues.

Obviously only the wily Dai Yingda could come up with such a ruthless strategy. Yang Chengye couldn't help but have a thought in his mind. If he was unwilling to obey the arrangement of the council, how would Dai Yingda deal with him? If he just removed the Yang family from

If it is eliminated from the seven major surnames, it is probably the lightest level.

Yang Chengye shook his head to drive this idea out of his mind. He really didn't want to think about the worse situation that might happen, but one thing he was sure of was that Dai Yingda would never stop at making threats.

To the extent that if he did not handle the current situation according to his wishes, Dai Yingda would really be ruthless and use some extraordinary means to deal with the Yang family.

"Uncle, if this matter is to be implemented, there are still many details that need to be perfected, and Lu Kangtai is not a stupid person. Sending an invitation rashly will only make him wary. In my nephew's opinion, this matter should not be rushed." Yang Chengye asked.

In this dilemma, we can only try to buy time first.

Ma Zhengping snorted and said, "Don't think that I don't know what your plans are in your mind! If this matter is left unsolved until the Ningbo Salt Merchant leaves Yangzhou, then the best opportunity to take action will be lost. Do you think you can

How much time do you have to slowly prepare? It’s only a day or two at most! This matter must be resolved quickly without delay! As for the problem you mentioned, if you can’t solve it, it only means that you are not capable, so keep it

What use are you in the council?"

Yang Chengye secretly complained in his heart. It seemed that his plan could not be hidden from Ma Zhengping, but if he really wanted to implement the plan mentioned by the other party, he felt that he could not be ruthless enough to design Lu Kangtai. And looking at Ma Zhengping's attitude, it was obvious that

Dai Yingda is going to get rid of Lu Kangtai soon. It is estimated that there will be no room for maneuver in this matter.

If nothing happens to Lu Kangtai, then Yang Chengye will be unlucky. If he wants to protect himself, he will have to drag Lu Kangtai into the water. This seems to be an irresolvable knot.

Unless the group of Ningbo salt merchants at the center of the storm disappeared from Yangzhou immediately, Dai Yingda's plan could not be implemented, and he did not need to provide Lu Kangtai with internal information about Ningbo salt merchants from Hui merchants. But the Ningbo Salt Chamber of Commerce suddenly disappeared

Of course the answer is no. Yang Chengye doesn’t even think that Lu Kangtai or others can drive away these Ningbo salt merchants in a short time. Since they have the courage to come to Yangzhou to cause trouble, they have naturally made corresponding preparations, and the local salt merchants

But because of various scruples, he didn't dare to let go and do things. He probably could only say harsh words to scare the other party in person.

Yang Chengye finally managed to deal with Ma Zhengping, and after sending him away, he still felt a headache. Now the situation was almost an unsolvable dead end. Both sides wanted to use him to achieve some of their own goals, and he was also very worried.

Although he knows this, he is still unwilling to offend any of them, and of course he is not willing to sacrifice his own interests for this.

What should we do? Yang Chengye felt that his head was about to burst. To solve this dilemma, did he really have to find a solution from the Ningbo salt merchants?

Yang Chengye thought about some of the news he learned from Lu Kangtai and Ma Zhengping today about this group of Ningbo salt merchants, and suddenly a very bold idea came to his mind. If it can be implemented smoothly, it may be able to temporarily solve the problem he is currently facing.

of this problem.

But the reason why this idea is so bold is that he has to take huge risks for it. If he makes a mistake, he is likely to be involved in it. And his plan may not get any results.

A group of local salt merchants supported it.

But after this idea popped up in his mind, it was like lighting a fire in his heart that could never be extinguished. He shut himself in his study and thought for a long time, and still felt that the only way to resolve the situation was by doing this.

The dilemma is high, but the results are worth looking forward to.

"If we don't take the risk quickly, it might be too late tomorrow!" Yang Chengye hesitated again and again, but finally made up his mind. He was actually surprised that he could bear such a big risk, but since this single-plank bridge has been placed on him

Now that it’s in front of you, you can only have the courage to give it a try.

Yang Chengye left the study and asked the boy to call his housekeeper. The sleepy housekeeper came to the study and was a little baffled when Yang Chengye asked him to prepare for the river crossing: "Master, at this time... we still need to cross the river? City

The door has been closed long ago!"

"I'm not going into the city... Just hurry up and get ready if I ask you to do so. Don't ask so many questions!" Yang Chengye waved his hand impatiently, signaling the housekeeper to get started quickly.
Chapter completed!