Chapter 2005

He Huan insisted that Lu Kangtai send out the musketeers to deal with the Ningbo salt merchants by the canal. This was not just to protect the interests of the Shanxi salt merchants, or to express his attitude of continuing to crack down on Ningbo refined salt.

One reason he would not take the initiative to say it out loud was that he was worried about Lu Kangtai and the armed force in his hands.

Although Lu Kangtai was one of his own and was a backbone of the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants, He Huan was still worried about him. The reason could be traced back to their ancestors. When the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants entered Yangzhou to operate

The three families of Salt Industry, He, Lu, and Wang were the main players at that time, but it was not the He family that held the top position at that time, but the ancestors of Lu Kangtai.

It was not until this generation that He Huan showed outstanding ability at a young age and ran the family business successfully. The He family gradually surpassed the Lu family in terms of strength and took over the Shanshan-Shaanxi Salt Industry from the previous generation of the Lu family.

business meeting.

However, although the previous generation of the Lu family was not very good, resulting in the loss of power, Lu Kangtai, the head of this generation, is a powerful figure. He became the head of the family at a young age, took over many of the Lu family's industries, and traveled extensively abroad.

, got to know many powerful people. The musketry team regarded as a secret weapon by the Shanshan-Shaanxi Salt Merchant Council was actually formed by Lu Kangtai’s own connections, but the council was worried that such a powerful weapon would be controlled by one person.

There are many hidden dangers, and it was arbitrarily decided during the formation stage that the operating expenses of this team would be shared by each company. Fortunately, there was such a restrictive measure at the beginning, otherwise it would be difficult to mobilize this team now.

Lu Kangtai has money and brains. Whether Lu Kangtai will use this armed force to regain the top spot among Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchants in the future has always been a hidden worry buried deep in He Huan's heart. If it is possible, He Huan would prefer it.

Taking Lu Kangtai's Musketeers into public ownership means, at least in name, converting them from private property to public property. Only in this way can Lu Kangtai's performance be restricted.

This is not an easy goal to achieve. Although the operating funds of the Musketeers are nominally contributed by various companies, in fact it is Lu Kangtai who runs the operation and provides weapons, equipment and personnel training to the Musketeers.

The mysterious partner only trusts Lu Kangtai. The previous operations of the Musketeers were planned and directed by Lu Kangtai. Therefore, if the establishment of the Musketeers is to be retained, He Huan cannot kick Lu Kangtai out.

We can only find ways to wrest the command power out of Lu Kangtai's hands bit by bit.

It was based on this idea that He Huan realized that the present was an opportunity for the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants to form collective pressure on Lu Kangtai and force him to direct the actions of the musketeers in accordance with the intentions of the council.

As for the risks mentioned by Lu Kangtai, He Huan still feels that he is making a fuss out of a molehill. All judgments are based on some speculations without evidence. They are conclusive, but they sound more like they are deliberately avoiding fighting. He Huan believes that

Lu Kangtai was playing his own little plan to influence the council's decision-making. This was of course something he could not tolerate. Besides, Wang Yu's men were captured by mistake, which exposed the Shanxi salt merchants to the other party.

position, if there is no follow-up action at this time, it will inevitably be regarded as a sign of weakness by the other party.

So in this atmosphere where He Huan took the lead in exerting pressure, Lu Kangtai could only bite the bullet and agreed to the request to dispatch the Musketeers. However, the people present did not have a clear idea of ​​how to act, let alone

Consider how to avoid government surveillance during the operation. When it comes to doing business, they are experts, but when it comes to carrying out paramilitary operations, this group of people is not good at it. It can even be said that they are basically laymen, and only Lu Kangtai

He is a little more professional, so in the end he has to be responsible for the specific arrangements for this action.

"Give me three days to plan an action." Lu Kangtai said with a tired look. He didn't feel the pressure from his own camp, but he also knew that if he didn't agree to these people's requests, his situation would be

It will be even more difficult. His original plan was to persuade He Huan and others to continue to wait and see, so as not to let the big backers behind the Ningbo salt merchants get the handle, but now it seems that no one will accept this low-key response - especially in the

After Wang Yu sent someone to find trouble, they hit a snag.

"Three days? We don't have the patience to wait for three days." He Huan shook his head again and rejected Lu Kangtai's suggestion: "At most, prepare for one day tomorrow and start the day after tomorrow!"

"There is only one day to prepare, this is too hasty!" Lu Kangtai sighed: "This is done outside Yangzhou City, under the eyes of the government, and you have to greet all parties. Just doing this takes one day.

It’s not enough.”

"This matter can be done by others. You are only responsible for preparing for the Musketeers' operation." He Huan did not force others to do anything, saying that he could share part of the preparation work for him. If you understand it from another angle, it is actually

He Huan rejected his request to postpone the action in disguise.

Lu Kangtai knew that the situation was developing out of control, but his influence was limited, and his words were obviously not very useful. And looking at the fanatical state of the people present, they all wished they could give Ningbo Salt Merchant a gift at their doorstep.

Even the pot was taken away. But here he was the only one who saw how the group of Ningbo salt merchants easily defeated Wang Yu's men near the dock. Others had problems with their judgment of the strength of the Ningbo salt merchants.

"Since this is the decision of the council, I will obey it. Then I will resign first and go back to prepare related matters." Lu Kangtai was not in the mood to argue with these people at the moment. Since he could not avoid this issue, he would just

Can think of ways to increase the certainty of success.

The next day, after hearing the news, more people came to buy salt than the previous day. Compared with the salt on the Yangzhou market, the salt shipped from Ningbo was of higher quality and cheaper, which was quite attractive to ordinary people who value economic benefits.

.Of course, no one thought about how outsiders would bring salt to Yangzhou for sale, but since the local government and salt merchants did not come forward to obstruct it, it means that this salt can be bought home with confidence.

Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing actually found it a bit strange. The local salt merchants did not try to drive away or block the people who came to buy salt by the canal, and the government did not come forward to find trouble. This made all the countermeasures they had prepared in advance failed.

null.

"It seems that we have misjudged our previous response to the local salt merchants. At least not everyone is unwilling to accept us." Gong Shiqi said: "Maybe some people are eager for us to disturb the muddy waters of Yangzhou."

Ji Yuanqing responded: "I heard that Huizhou salt merchants are very comfortable following the official route. It seems that at least Huizhou salt merchants are merciful to us."

"Maybe they are showing mercy, or maybe they want to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers." Gong Shiqi reminded: "Their lack of action does not mean they have good intentions towards us. Maybe they just want to use us to attack their competitors."

Ji Yuanqing said: "Brother Gong is right. The information that the person recruited last night seems to be exactly in line with the current situation."

The prisoner they captured yesterday finally couldn't resist the psychological attack and spoke. They recruited him because he was sent by the salt merchant Wang Yu to bring people here to cause trouble. But obviously, both Wang Yu and the gangster leader seriously underestimated

The strength of Gong Shiqi and his team led to the tragedy of overturning as soon as they fought.

However, no matter how Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing tried to hint and talk, this person did not reveal any news related to muskets. He only heard about the use of muskets in several salt merchant firefights that occurred in nearby state capitals, but

The specific situation is probably not clear to the two of them yet.

Either this person is too low-level and has no access to information related to the Musketeers, or his master has no direct connection with the Musketeers. In their opinion, the latter is more likely, because this person has

Being entrusted with the important task of leading the team to cause trouble here means that he is at least a trusted confidant of Wang Yu. However, this person has no knowledge of the situation of the Musketeers and has obviously not had access to relevant information.

The really valuable information is probably that Wang Yu belongs to the Shanshan-Shaanxi salt merchant camp. Although the Musketeers seem unlikely to be Wang Yu's subordinates, in their view, the party that took the initiative to take force measures

It was obvious that there was a greater suspicion related to the previous attack, so the Shanxi Salt Merchant naturally became the number one suspect.

However, Gong Qiqi and Ji Yuanqing have now appeared in Yangzhou, and they dare not leave the dock easily to go to the city to conduct investigations. They can only leave it to a few intelligence officers who arrived in Yangzhou early to collect relevant information secretly, and what they can do

They were waiting patiently at the dock for intelligence collection to make progress, and at the same time waiting for the local salt merchants to take further action.

They knew very well that this kind of waiting was not indefinite, but they were betting that the local salt merchants would lose their composure and finally use their big killer weapon. As long as they can make the musketeers show up, their mission will be completed.

More than half the time. Wang Yu's action gave them hope. Apparently some people were losing their composure, and they were waiting for the other party's actions to escalate.

But just like the calm before the storm, the whole day turned out to be uneventful. Not to mention the Musketeers, even the lobbyists who came to ask them to wise up and leave Yangzhou yesterday were gone. This abnormal situation made

They are more vigilant, believing that the time when their opponents will attack is getting closer.

After nightfall that day, as expected, the surrounding docks slowly disappeared from sight, and even the boats moored on the shore left without making a sound. For a long distance, they were the only two cargo ships left alone.

The ground was leaning against the shore. The vendors who were selling all kinds of food near the pier two days ago were completely gone today.

"It looks like it's tonight." Gong Qiqi was the most alert to this change in the atmosphere, and had already noticed the unusualness of the surrounding environment.

"Okay, tonight's business is tonight. Let's deal with this matter as soon as possible and let's leave Yangzhou as soon as possible." Ji Yuanqing also hopes to settle the affairs in Yangzhou quickly. The current situation where the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light is indeed a bit uncomfortable.

"

In order to welcome the arrival of the "guests", they re-adjusted their defense deployment, shrinking the tent circles used as fortifications further toward the river to reduce the defense area. They also pulled up quickly deployable accordion-style barbed wire between the tents.

, this kind of barbed wire used by the army is specially coated with a layer of black paint. If there is not enough lighting, this thing will be almost invisible after dark, and it has an excellent defensive effect against enemies charging at night. If the opponent

Trying to use the crowd to show off and rush to a close fight, the barbed wire fence can have a certain blocking effect, allowing the people on the river bank to safely withdraw to the boat.

The people responsible for serving as musketeers all received weapons and ammunition after dinner and entered into a state of preparation for war. Some of them built the first line of defense with tents and barbed wire on the river bank, while others stayed on the boat and used the side of the boat to

For the fortification, a second line of defense was constructed. The height difference between the two lines of defense was just enough to form a three-dimensional firepower network, which was basically a simplified version of the amphibious beachhead defense position.

If measured by military standards, this team has less than two platoons of personnel. Building such a defensive position relying on two cargo ships will inevitably have many weaknesses. However, considering the strength of the opponent,

It is just a private armed force supported by salt merchants. Its combat effectiveness cannot be compared with that of the regular army. This kind of deployment is basically enough.

In commanding this kind of positional warfare, Ji Yuanqing is definitely more professional than Gong Shiqi as a soldier. Moreover, he is a veteran who retired from the front-line combat troops. He is very familiar with Haihan's best positional warfare tactics and is also very knowledgeable in setting up defense lines.

Gong Shiqi followed suit and learned some very practical methods.

"If we really exchange fire with the other party tonight, then we will have to leave overnight." Gong Shiqi said: "I have asked the dispatcher to contact our warship and ask them to arrive near Wusongkou to meet us tomorrow.

"

Ji Yuanqing said: "If we can make a quick decision and resolve this matter before dawn, then we still have a good chance of getting out safely. After all, they don't have a telegram and can't notify the downstream to try to stop us."

What they were worried about was not that the salt merchants organized fleets to chase after the fight, but that the Ming army would dispatch naval warships to intercept them. There were no heavy weapons such as artillery on these two ships, and there were tens of thousands of kilograms left unsold.

After finishing the salt, if they had to fight while fleeing, they would probably be in a hard fight. So if something happened tonight as they expected, they would have to leave before the Ming army in the city received the news and reacted, accurately.

In other words, we must rush before the gate of Yangzhou City opens in the morning.

"One or two hours should be enough to resolve the battle. Maybe then we will have time to interrogate the prisoners again - if we can catch them alive." Gong Shiqi seemed confident about the battle that might follow.
Chapter completed!