After listening to Lin Yi's story, Yan Huan's brows wrinkled tightly: "Do you think this thing is credible?" "That is a major event of the robbery of the official ship, no matter how bold the Yan Gang Master is, he still feels nervous when he suddenly hears such a thing. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Lin Yi's face was also very solemn, and he nodded: "There should be no problem with this, there is no doubt that Cui Dingshan is indeed a salt merchant, and he does have the motive to do so." ”

"Really?" Yan Huan still has some trust in Lin Yi, but this matter is not trivial after all, although the Cao Gang also did some things to destroy ships, rob ships and kill people in the past, they have never been involved in such a big thing, if it is really known, I am afraid that their entire Cao Gang will be finished.

Of course, Lin Yi also had concerns about this, and when he saw Yan Huan like this, he also echoed and said: "Helper, this matter is indeed very dangerous, after all, official salt is different from other goods, once something happens in the canal, the government will inevitably investigate strictly." But ......" Speaking of this, he suddenly smiled mysteriously: "I have a good way to kill two birds with one stone, not only can we avoid being found by the government, but also lead the disaster to Hangzhou." ”

"Really?" Yan Huan, who already hated Luo Chengzhang and them, was in high spirits when he heard this, and hurriedly asked, "But what is the idea?" ”

"We just need to ......" Lin Yi approached Yan Huan, lowered his voice and said what he meant, and finally said: "In this way, the government will definitely think that this matter is not ours, and as long as our people insist on seeing Luo Chengzhang's person appear, this matter can be completely planted on their heads!" ”

After thinking about it for a while, Yan Huan was also impressed: "This is indeed a good way to kill two birds with one stone, not only to get us a large sum of silver to solve the current dilemma, but also to drag Luo Chengzhang and them into the water, wonderful!" ”

"Do you think this is possible?" Lin Yi asked again.

"In our current situation, can we still push the business out? And, although it was dangerous, it didn't matter, because I had a more difficult business. Yan Huan smiled bitterly, and told him about his previous cooperation with the Xu family.

At this moment, Lin Yi was also stunned: "There is still such a thing?" Why did his Xu family find us? ”

"After all, our Cao Gang has a good reputation in water transportation, they want to go to sea, and they can't find a suitable candidate in China, so they can only find us. Although there are many differences between the sea and the canal, there are some things that can be figured out. Moreover, the Xu family also knows our current situation, and feels that looking for us at this time can support us at the lowest cost. Yan Huan said guessingly.

Lin Yi groaned slightly, and nodded unconsciously: "The helper expected that it should be very different." So you promised them? ”

"Don't you promise? Don't say it's now, even at the beginning, we didn't dare to offend the Xu family. And it did make some money, so I agreed. Yan Huan smiled: "I didn't expect to take over a tricky thing here, and you also ...... But that's fine, anyway, one sheep is to drive, two sheep is to release, since they have all taken over the life-threatening work, it's not bad to do it again! ”

Yes, it is a capital offense to violate the maritime affairs prohibited by the imperial court's order, and indeed they don't have to care about robbing the official salt later. Lin Yi also nodded and said, "What the helper said is very true, then I will give them a letter of approval." ”

"Wait." Seeing that the other party seemed to want to leave, Yan Huan suddenly stopped him: "You just said that Cui Dingshan was willing to pay 500,000 taels of silver for us to do this?" ”

"Exactly, and he is willing to pay a deposit of 100,000 first." Lin Yi nodded in response.

"Hmph, he had a good plan, but he took us for fools. Once the northern provinces are really short of salt, the salt in his hands will be worth more than gold. And we have done so many things for him, and he is only willing to give such a small amount of money? Yan Huan stretched out a finger as he spoke, "In this way, you go and tell him that if you want us to help him do this, you have to ask for a reward of one million taels of silver." Also, the deposit has to be doubled! ”

Lin Yi nodded in agreement. He also felt that the price was a little low before, but because the stakes were high, he was not good at determining the matter on behalf of the Cao Gang, so he did not bargain with Cui Dingshan. Now, of course, it's different.

But then, Lin Yi said a little unwillingly: "Even so, compared with what Cui Dingshan can earn, what we get is still very little." ”

"Ha, that's wrong, it's not him who can really make money." Yan Huan chuckled and shook his head, looking like he had already planned.

"What's that?" Lin Yi was stunned again, not understanding what other plans his gang leader had.

"What we really want is the salt. Do you understand what I mean? Yan Huan sneered.

Lin Yi quickly turned around: "Miaoah......" As long as they keep an eye on the destruction of official salt and only hide part of it, they can also make a lot of money by it when the northern provinces are short of salt. And in this way, they can earn more than a million taels of silver.

"Gang leader wise, let's do this!" Lin Yi bowed to Yan Huan convincingly, and then went happily.

And Yan Huan, who stayed in place, also showed a smug smile on his face, as if he saw the scene of a large sum of silver returning to his hand. Then, his face sank again: "Luo Chengzhang old horseman will let you be proud for a few more days, when I breathe a sigh of relief, I will definitely return the previous humiliation to you with interest!" ”

As the saying goes: the people live on food. In fact, not only ordinary people, but also the imperial court regarded food as the top priority, because no matter which dynasty is good, those in power understand a truth, once the common people are hungry, it is not far from the end of the dynasty.

Because of this, each dynasty attaches great importance to the collection and transportation of grain, and the Ming Dynasty is naturally no exception. Every year in September and October, after the autumn harvest, the boats on the canal are carrying grain from all over the south to Beijing and the northern provinces. At this time, no matter how big the face is, it is difficult to find a ship to transport other goods, this is an order issued by the local government, who dares not to obey, even if you are transporting important materials such as salt and iron necessary for the imperial court.

Those salt merchants naturally understood the key and the importance of this, and it was impossible for them to embarrass the government, so they set the day for their own salt transportation before the autumn harvest every year, that is, in July and August. In this way, there is no need to compete with the more important means of transporting food.

This year's situation is naturally average, and it is only in early July, and the major salt-producing states and counties in the south have begun to prepare for transportation. And what surprised them a little was that this time, there was a little more protection on the canal - the Cao Gang actually provided their own guards for free.

In fact, a few years ago, these salt merchants always found the Cao Gang, and they helped transport salt to the north. But in the subsequent changes, Yan Huan's status as a gang plummeted, and these big salt merchants never took care of his business anymore.

For this reason, Yan Huan and they also put a lot of effort into wooing, but unfortunately they still failed in the end. Moreover, these salt merchants are trafficking in official salt, even if the Cao Gang has a grudge in their hearts, they don't dare to really attack them.

Of course, there are some problems in safety after all without the protection of the Cao gang on the canal, so the major salt merchants will always find people from the major gangs to take care of them, and even find government guards, so they dare to walk the waterway of the canal, otherwise if they are robbed by some water thieves and bandits, they can't afford to bear such a big responsibility.

Originally, this year's plan was also average, but when they began to load bags of salt on the ship, the people of the Cao Gang suddenly came to the door and bluntly said that they were willing to help them escort the goods to the north for free.

In this regard, these budget-conscious businessmen agreed after a little consideration. Because they felt that this was just a means for the Cao Gang to re-woo themselves so that they could do further business. Even if they are still not interested in doing business with the Cao Gang, this benefit can still be in vain, after all, the Cao Gang's strength on the canal is sometimes greater than that of the government, so there is no need to worry about any water thieves. And in this way, it can also save a lot of money on hiring bodyguards, which makes businessmen even more unable to refuse.

So when several big ships left the port, the unique banner of the Cao Gang was planted in front of them, which also looked a lot more majestic.

On the Yangzhou Canal Wharf, looking at the figure of the salt merchant standing at the stern of the boat and thanking him again and again, the corners of Yan Huan's mouth unconsciously showed a cold smile: "I hope they can have a smooth journey......

And beside him, Lin Yi, who knew all the inside story, also laughed: "Helper, this time they are dead, and they won't think that it was our hands." Moreover, when they gratefully took over the banner of our Cao Gang, it had given us a lot less trouble, and it would have been much easier to find them on the canal later. ”

"Hehe, greed, that's their biggest problem." Yan Huan looked full of confidence, and made a final evaluation of the businessmen who had entered the palace. But he didn't know that he was not greedy.

"Did things go so well?" After Yang Zhen looked at the news sent by the flying pigeon, he was stunned for a moment, and then a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "It seems that our Yan Gang Master is indeed a little impatient, so even if this matter looks really dangerous, he can only give it a try." ”

Luo Chengzhang, who read the news earlier than him, frowned: "Zhen'er, you don't have to play with fire, otherwise this responsibility is not something you and I can afford." ”

"Father-in-law, don't worry, I've calculated everything, and they can't afford to make any waves. This time, Yan Huan and his subordinates are completely finished! As Yang Zhen spoke, a murderous intent faintly flashed in his eyes......