Chapter 2184

This time, Golden Shield dispatched almost all local field personnel on duty, and the team was personally led by the boss Yuan Tao. The scale of the operation can be regarded as the largest since the establishment of the Zhoushan branch. There were also several active-duty soldiers pretending to be members to participate in the operation.

This shows that Haihan attaches great importance to this.

Although Ma Zhengping was not satisfied with the number of personnel dispatched by Jindun, both Yuan Tao and Duan Tiancheng said that this was the upper limit of the support that the Zhoushan authorities could provide at present. If more personnel were added, Ming officials would probably be concerned about this.

Feeling dissatisfied, it will not be the Zhoushan authorities that will be unlucky at that time, but Ma Zhengping and his group who are suspected of luring a wolf into the house.

Ma Zhengping also knew that this matter was indeed forced. The Yangzhou government would definitely have nothing to do with the Haihan people, but if the government found out about it, the Huizhou salt merchants would not be able to enjoy the same treatment. Nowadays, there are many people who are opponents in the Yangzhou government, and they are

If I get the chance, I will definitely make a fuss again.

Fortunately, Ma Zhengping was also invited to check out the weapons and equipment brought by the Golden Shield Transport. They were indeed all genuine muskets. He definitely wasn't taking these guys to Yangzhou for tourism. He knew that this was a reassurance given to him by the Haihan people.

But even if the Haihan people don't take such measures to express their attitude, they can only choose to believe in the other party. After all, this is the only external support that the Hui-based salt merchants can currently get. If they don't believe in the Haihan people, who else can they trust?

What Ma Zhengping can do now is to quickly build the business store in Zhoushan and start purchasing refined salt from Haihan to show his cooperative attitude to Haihan.

As for Haihan's request for Huizhou salt merchants to obey orders in the future, Ma Zhengping also explained it in the letter sent back to Yangzhou, and specifically emphasized the importance Haihan attached to this condition. Even he himself was not interested in this condition.

Tai agreed, but he hoped that other people in Yangzhou could put the overall situation first, at least at this stage, try their best to cooperate with the Haihan people's requirements and get over the fatal difficulties.

Yuan Tao is no stranger to the waterway from Zhoushan to the mouth of the Yangtze River. When the Zhoushan branch opened its business in Songjiang Prefecture two years ago, it was Yuan Tao who personally led the team to map out this route.

However, Yuan Tao had mostly taken this direction before to complete ordinary escort tasks, but the task he wanted to complete on this trip to Yangzhou was really special. After he was promoted to the semicolon shopkeeper, it has been a long time since he personally directed a battle on the front line.

, this is not because he rarely goes out, but because there are really no thieves in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who dare to attack Jindun. They will stay away from Jindun's flags when they see it, so it is difficult for a real battle to occur.

This time the Golden Shield dispatched as usual, a flag depicting the huge Golden Shield logo was hung on the mast. Although the Golden Shield's activity range is generally only in the area south of the Yangtze River, the number of people who recognize their flag is far more than that.

, the name of Golden Shield is also quite famous in Yangzhou, Huai'an and other places north of the Yangtze River. Even the government knows about this special organization affiliated to Haihan.

When arriving in the waters of Suzhou Prefecture at the mouth of the Yangtze River, Jin Dun's two ships encountered a patrol ship from the local Zhenhai Guard. After the ship identified the identities of Jin Dun's two ships, it had no intention of approaching for interrogation.

They took the initiative to avoid the passage of these two ships and did not want to have anything to do with them. After all, they also knew that Jindun was not easy to mess with. Last year, a major case involving hundreds of lives was committed in Yangzhou overnight. It is said that it was because the local salt merchants offended

Caused by the golden shield.

Fortunately, these people also know that Jindun generally does not take the initiative to cause trouble, so there is no need to worry about being attacked by the other party. As long as they keep a safe distance, there is no risk.

It was a smooth journey and we arrived at Guazhou, the entrance to the Yangzhou Canal. The river here narrowed, and ships entering and exiting the canal had to line up in single file. A small boat slowly approached Jindun's ship. Someone on the bow shouted, "But coming from Zhoushan

Friends? My master has specially appointed a villain to come here to greet you!"

When Yuan Tao heard the shouting, he ordered the gangway to be lowered and let the man come up. Before setting off, Ma Zhengping told him that when Jin Dun's team arrived in Guazhou, someone would be there to pick them up and take them to the arranged place to stay. Ma Zhengping also

He specifically explained how to confirm the identity of the other party to avoid being plotted by others when he first arrived in Yangzhou.

Although the agreement between the Huizhou salt merchants and the Zhoushan authorities was highly confidential, Jin Dun's sending people to Hangzhou was an open action. Ma Zhengping had sent people back to Yangzhou to report the news in advance, asking them to prepare for the placement of Jin Dun's troops in advance, but

He was not sure whether this news would reach his opponent's ears and give him some evil thoughts, so he was extra cautious and specially arranged for someone to go to Guazhou to assist him.

After the man got on the ship, he first took the initiative to produce a piece of paper, which was handed over to Yuan Tao by the crew. Yuan Tao looked at the content and found that it was actually a piece of paper written by Ma Zhengping in front of him when he was in Zhoushan.

The content of the note was meaningless, and it was agreed that this would be used to confirm the identity, and then someone would be sent back to Yangzhou in advance.

The content of this note did not involve Jindun, and even if someone intercepted it, they would not know its meaning. Therefore, when Yuan Tao saw that it was indeed the content written by Ma Zhengping before, he immediately confirmed that the identity of the caller was reliable.

"The villain is Dai An, Dai Yingda's subordinate, and I'm here to welcome Shopkeeper Yuan and all the other gentlemen!" After the visitor saw Yuan Tao, he immediately announced his identity.

Yuan Tao knew Dai Yingda's name. Before departure, Ji Yuanqing specially provided him with relevant information about Yangzhou salt merchants, including information on the seven surnames of Huizhou salt merchants. And this Dai Yingda was one of these big salt merchants.

The person who made the decision in the alliance formed by the salt merchants, and it was probably his decision to send Ma Zhengping to Zhoushan to seek help from Haihan.

However, none of the seven family heads showed up in Guazhou, and only the Dai family sent one of their men to serve as a representative. This arrangement also made Yuan Tao a little dissatisfied, thinking that the other party did not seem to pay much attention to the arrival of Jin Dun.

Yuan Tao said: "Then should we continue to Yangzhou City now, or what?"

Diane responded: "My master has prepared a residence for you on the south bank of the canal. Please sail north along the canal first. The villain will remind you to dock when you reach the place."

Before setting off, Yuan Tao studied the map of Yangzhou provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau and knew that Yangzhou City is located to the north of the canal, while the south of the canal is relatively less prosperous. Yuan Tao thought that this was to arrange us outside the city, so

I don’t know what kind of medicine the salt merchant from Huizhou sells in his gourd. I can only wait until I get to the place and then adapt to the situation.

Jindun's two ships sailed north along the canal for another forty miles. After passing Wenfeng Tower, Dai An signaled them to dock. From this position, the outline of the Yangzhou City Wall on the north bank could already be faintly seen.

, within the city walls is one of the most extravagant flower worlds in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Yuan Tao did not go on this mission to experience this gold-selling cave, but he knew that almost all the leading figures of Shanxi-Shaanxi salt merchants lived on the north bank of the canal, and some of them lived in Yangzhou City. He believed that Huizhou salt merchants were

There must be a lot of real estate in the city. If Jin Dun's people were to be relocated to the city, they would not be able to find a suitable place. However, the other party did not make such an arrangement. Yuan Tao thought that this was probably because the Huizhou salt merchants did not want Jin Dun to make a high-profile move.

Appeared in Yangzhou City.

The place where Golden Shield's two ships dock is a small pier. However, although the pier is small, the infrastructure is very good. Not only is there a tower crane specially used for lifting cargo, but there is an open and flat road leading to the pier.

Inland. Judging from the more than twenty carriages waiting at the dock, the traffic conditions of this road should be no less than the official road.

"Is the place you arranged far away from here? Do you need to transfer to a carriage?" Yuan Tao asked Diane when he saw the many carriages parked at the pier.

Dai An responded: "Shopkeeper Yuan has misunderstood. These carriages are not used to carry Jindun's men and horses, but to haul goods. Use these carriages to transport the various supplies you bring that need to be brought ashore. As for the accommodation.

The place is very close to the pier, so there is no need to change to a carriage."

After speaking, Dai An pointed to the distance. Yuan Tao looked in the direction he pointed. There was a large manor about half a mile away, all with green tiles and white walls. The appearance was very regular. It should be where Dai An was.

That's the place to say it.

"That's your master's property?" Yuan Tao asked while mentally estimating the area of ​​the manor. Not to mention the more than 100 people who came this time, it is estimated that even if there were several times more people, they could all live in it.

.

Dai An smiled and responded with some flaunting: "Not only the manor, but also the dock and the surrounding land are all my family's property. The place that Shopkeeper Yuan saw is called the Dai family."

village."

Yuan Tao couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He knew that these big salt merchants in Yangzhou were very rich. It was probably not an exaggeration to say that they were as rich as the enemy. But when the huge wealth was really displayed in front of him so intuitively,

Emotions will still be affected.

"It looks good!" Yuan Tao didn't know how to express his feelings, so he could only respond bluntly.

"Shopkeeper Yuan, please?" Seeing that the springboard had been set up, Dai An asked Yuan Tao to go ashore first.

After Yuan Tao landed, several people waiting on the shore immediately came to greet him. Dai An introduced him in the middle: "Shopkeeper Yuan, this is my master, this is Master Ji Qing, this is Master Yang Chengye...

"

Although Dai Yingda did not rush to Guazhou to greet him, he could be considered sincere to greet him here. Moreover, there were several other family heads of the seven surnames with him, which finally resolved Yuan Tao's previous dissatisfaction.

Most of it.

"The distinguished guest has arrived, but I hope you won't be offended by the delay in welcoming us. I hope that Shopkeeper Yuan won't be offended! I really have something important to do today, and none of us can leave. I'm sorry!" Dai Yingda was very direct, and talked to Yuan Tao first as soon as he arrived.

Apologizing makes it easier for Yuan Tao to get angry even if he has any dissatisfaction.

Yuan Tao could only say that he did not blame his master at this time, but he was actually a little curious as to what prevented these salt merchants, who were making a lot of money every day, from going to Guazhou to greet him. Of course, this was not the case.

It cannot be ruled out that it was just Dai Yingda's kind words. They had no intention of receiving them with such high standards.

Dai Yingda said: "Shopkeeper Yuan has been working hard all the way. I have prepared a reception banquet to entertain the brothers of Jindun. As for the residence, it has been prepared after receiving the news from Master Ma. Shopkeeper Yuan can check it out in person later.

"

Yuan Tao said a few polite words, thinking that this was a bit of a show of hospitality. If these salt merchants pretended to be pretentious in front of him, they would be in trouble later. Fortunately, judging from what Dai Yingda and others have shown so far,

Attitude, Yuan Tao felt that they should be very concerned about the military assistance provided by Haihan this time.

There was a lot of equipment and supplies shipped from Zhoushan this time, and it would take a while to unload them all. Dai Yingda invited Yuan Tao to go to the manor first to check the environment, and then hold a banquet to entertain the Golden Shield men later.

"My generation is the fourth generation of the Dai family living in Yangzhou. The Dai family's property has been slowly accumulated from generation to generation. However, most of the area around here is farmland, which is not as good as the one on the other side of the river.

Yangzhou City is so prosperous that it makes Shopkeeper Yuan laugh!"

Dai Yingda took Yuan Tao all the way to the manor on foot, introducing him to the general situation of Dai's Village while walking. Yuan Tao was thinking about it while listening, if the several miles around the canal were the property of the Dai family, what would it mean?

This land is probably worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. However, it seems that Dai Yingda lacks targeted management methods on how to turn these fields into commercial real estate, otherwise the value of these lands will be even higher.

This road, which is more than ten feet wide, is lined with farmland on both sides, and it is the summer harvest season. There are many farmers in the field bending down to harvest crops. When they see Dai Yingda and others, most of these farmers will stop temporarily.

To do some work, bow deeply to show respect, and then get back to work.

"Daijiazhuang supports about 2,000 tenant farmers. The local grain output not only meets the needs of Daijiazhuang, but also produces a slight surplus. So in addition to the salt industry, my Dai family also runs a rice business.

"

Yuan Tao thought that if there was only a "slight surplus", then it would definitely not be enough to open a rice store specifically for this purpose. It seemed that there was quite a lot of land under the name of Daijiazhuang. Perhaps this was the reason why Dai Yingda allowed these lands to remain farmland.

One, after all, as long as you farm, you can have stable income, and if you want to develop it into commercial real estate, the initial investment is by no means a small amount - as far as Yuan Tao knows, in the early stages of the development of Zhoushan Dinghai Port, Haihan official's local infrastructure

The investment is simply astronomical.

Even if these salt merchants have enough funds, they may not be willing to spend it on projects with uncertain prospects. Compared with huge investment in real estate development, farming farmland is probably the lowest-risk business method.

Of course, from another perspective, most of the profits of salt merchants are in the salt industry, so there is no need to run other projects with huge risks. Buying land to grow grain to protect the bottom line can be regarded as a way for rich people in this era to let their property

The most common way to increase value. Yuan Tao felt that if he had so much wealth, he would probably be like these salt merchants, buying land to grow grain and become a big landlord.
Chapter completed!