Chapter 578: Bundle Up! Throw it in the sea! Continue without fear of death!

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

Suddenly,.

Because it was still night, the sea was exceptionally quiet, and the sound of artillery could be heard far away.

Huang Shijun hurriedly turned around and went out to check what was going on. Chen Yaoyang also went out to see what was going on. Zhang Zhun stood up, stretched, and listened in the direction of the cannon. Judging by the sound of artillery, the battle was not particularly strong. The number of ships participating in the war, it should not be very large.

Moreover, it can be judged that there is no sound of the Wyvern cannon firing. However, the two sides of the battle must be the Tianjin Navy Division and the Huben Army Navy. In the Bohai Bay, only these two water forces could clash. It's impossible for anyone else to come in here.

Sure enough, a moment later, Huang Shijun came in and reported to Zhang Zhun and said, "Lord Dudu, it seems that the warship under the command of Deputy Zhou Zhengyu has fought with the Tianjin Naval Division. ”

Zhang Zhun said with some surprise: "Zhou Zhengyu? ”

He frowned quietly and went to the outside deck, holding up the clairing mirror.

Sure enough, due south, there was the glow of artillery fire that constantly erupted. Because it was late November, the moonlight was already dark, and the visibility was not very good. Only when the fire is shining can the two warring sides be faintly seen. Judging from what was observed in the clairvoyant mirror, it was indeed two enemy ships besieging a Tiger Army's warship.

"Woooooo

"Woooooo

"Woooooo

The continuous low sound of a conch kept ringing.

Because it was night and the light was not good, the fleet commander Li Jicheng had no way to send out the flag, so he had to convey it through the sound of conch. The sound of a whining conch indicates that the enemy has been discovered, and that it is an enemy with combat effectiveness. According to the regulations, hearing this conch sound, all warships must be fully prepared for battle.

"Lean over and help!"

Zhang Zhun said without hesitation.

"Understood!"

Huang Shijun agreed, and immediately commanded the battleship and approached the battlefield.

Due to the north wind, the speed of the battleship was very fast, and the distance between the battleship and the two warring sides was constantly shortening. The flash of artillery fire became brighter and brighter, and the sound of artillery became more and more shocking.

"Knock knock!"

"Knock knock!"

"Knock knock!"

At this time, Li Jicheng's flagship came from a fierce drum beat.

The sound of the drums, of course, means a surprise attack by the whole army. As a result, all the lucky ships, as well as all the Cangshan ships, immediately took a pose and outflanked the battlefield to the south. The north wind was strong, and all a dozen warships were pushed into the battlefield at once.

Zhang Zhun held the clairvoyant mirror and carefully looked at the two warring sides.

Sure enough, it was Zhou Zhengyu's flagship, which was being besieged by two warships of the Tianjin Naval Division.

Zhou Zhengyu carried out a relatively special task this time, which was explained by Zhang Zhun alone, and others did not know. Therefore, when Zhou Zhengyu was on a mission, he was only accompanied by an ordinary No. 2 Fu ship, and there was no flying dragon cannon on board. The two warships of the Tianjin Navy Division chased them out desperately, obviously to intercept Zhou Zhengyu. The two warships of the Tianjin Navy Division are also the No. 2 Fu ships. Two-on-one, Zhou Zhengyu is slightly inferior.

However, with the arrival of Li Jicheng's fleet, the balance of power immediately changed. Li Jicheng's fleet had six Fu ships and five Cangshan ships, and the strength was several times that of the Tianjin Naval Division. Discovering the arrival of reinforcements from the Huben Navy, the two warships of the Tianjin Navy Division obviously retreated and tried to escape to the south. The Cangshan ship of the Tiger Ben Army Navy immediately chased after it like a rabbit.

"Force them to surrender!"

"Be sure to catch them!"

Zhang Zhun put down the clairvoyant mirror and said coldly.

The warships of the Tianjin Navy Division are actually showing off their might here? Still want to flee south? Don't they know whose territory is to the south? If you're here, don't go!

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

The warships of the Huben Navy opened fire one after another to intercept the Tianjin Navy warships that were trying to escape. The speed of the Cangshan boat was the fastest, and it rushed out like a sharp arrow, and went around in front of the two lucky ships of the Tianjin Navy, blocking their retreat path. In this way, it is very difficult for the two lucky ships of the Tianjin Navy Division to escape alive.

Zhou Zhengyu breathed a sigh of relief and commanded the warship to leave the battlefield, and at the same time approached Zhang Zhun's flagship. At the same time, Huang Shijun commanded the warship to approach. After a while, Zhou Zhengyu's warship leaned to the side of Zhang Zhun's flagship. The sailors threw ropes and tied the two ships tightly together, and laid a gangplank between the two ships to facilitate the passage of the boats.

Zhou Zhengyu, who was overjoyed, hurriedly stepped on the springboard, came straight to Zhang Zhun, stood up and saluted, and shouted happily: "My lord! ”

Zhang Zhun returned the salute solemnly, and then asked with concern, "How is the situation?" ”

Zhou Zhengyu said happily: "Don't worry, my lord, the people on the list have been invited." ”

Zhang Zhun nodded with satisfaction, and said, "What's the matter with the Tianjin Water Master?" ”

Zhou Zhengyu said briefly: "They have too deep a relationship with the big salt merchants in Leting, and they will know it as soon as we do it." They didn't know what we were doing with the salt merchants, so they followed, trying to get them back halfway. I asked some salt merchants, and they had to pay more than 100,000 taels of silver to the Tianjin sailors every year. The silver was divided among the high-level officials of the Tianjin Navy Division, as well as officials at all levels of the imperial court. It may be the stimulation of silver, and they fight quite fiercely. ”

Zhang Zhun nodded thoughtfully, and subconsciously looked back at Chen Yaoyang behind him. This old man, who is also a high-level member of the Tianjin Water Division, seems to have made a lot of money. The salt works in Beizhili are all by the sea, and in order to be safe, of course, a large amount of silver is indispensable to honor the Tianjin sailors.

Sensing Zhang Zhun's ill-intentioned gaze, Chen Yaoyang hurriedly explained: "Lord Governor, don't misunderstand, the silver of the salt merchants in Beizhili is all for the filial piety of the emperor's relatives and relatives, as well as the ministers of the cabinet and the six ministries. The number is more than 100,000 taels, at least 1 million taels per year. As a guerrilla like me, I am not qualified to participate at all. Even if it is the admiral and general of our Tianjin Navy Division, what he gets is a little bit exposed between other people's fingers. ”

Zhang Zhun said quietly: "Take me to see the guests." ”

Zhou Zhengyu agreed, led the way in front, and came to his boat.

Zhang Zhun looked around and said casually: "There's still a little moonlight, take them out of the deck." ”

Zhou Zhengyu agreed, and soon asked people to bring out fifteen people from the cabin.

These people are different in height, fat and thin, different in age, different in their faces, and different in their clothes. However, they all have one identity in common, and that is that of salt merchants. These people are the big salt merchants who Zhou Zhengyu "invited" back from Leting according to Zhang Zhun's instructions.

Leting is one of the largest sea salt distribution centers in Beizhili, the sea salt sold from Leting every year weighs more than 30 million catties, and the annual profit is more than millions of taels of silver. Among the three major salt farms in the country, the highest yield is the Changlu Salt Farm in Beizhili. And Leting is the highest production area of Changlu Salt Field. Many salt merchants in Beizhili made their fortunes here.

Of course, they weren't the biggest salt merchants in Northern Zhili. The largest salt merchants in Beizhili are all in Beijing. There are also parts in Tianjin. These people are the high-ranking officials of the imperial court, as well as the relatives of the emperor. Without a strong backstage, it is absolutely impossible to become a salt merchant.

Zhang Zhun glanced at all the salt merchants, and said bluntly: "I am Zhang Zhun!" ”

All the salt merchants were slightly surprised. They didn't expect to meet Zhang Zhun here. I didn't expect Zhang Zhun to be so young. If he hadn't introduced himself, they would have thought that the other party was just an ordinary soldier of the Tiger Army.

Zhang Zhun swept his eyes and continued: "You guys, I invited you back. ”

He particularly emphasized the word "please" and made no secret of his violent methods. Yes, it was he who instructed Zhou Zhengyu to use violent means to "invite" all the big salt merchants in Leting back. To accurately describe such an act, perhaps another word should be used - kidnapping. They were kidnapped back by Zhou Zhengyu.

The expressions of those big salt merchants were a little unnatural. People who do business, with their eyes on six roads and their ears on all directions, of course it is impossible for them not to know Zhang Zhun's name. Zhang Zhun was in Shandong and on the coast of Liaodong, and they were all very fierce. Even the tartar was in front of Zhang Zhun and fell hard. Recently, he even extended his black hand to Beizhili, which made the people of the Beijing division panic, thinking that the Tiger Ben Army was going to attack the Beijing Division.

Now, Zhang Zhun used violent means to forcibly kidnap them, what good fruit will he eat? They don't know where they heard the news, saying that the gentler Zhang Zhun spoke, the more irresistible he was. Now Zhang Zhun's tone sounds quite gentle. As a result, they are even more pessimistic. Don't be thrown into the sea by this wicked man to feed the fish, it's a real corpse with no bones left!

After a slight pause, Zhang Zhun's gaze stayed on the face of each salt merchant for a while, and said slowly: "Since you have been invited, I hope you can see the reality clearly and make a wise choice." The so-called person who knows the times is Junjie. I don't want to see bloodshed. ”

All the salt merchants, their bodies sank slightly.

Bloodshed? Is Zhang Zhun going to kill them? It's so cruel, it's too domineering, it's so unreasonable. This is **naked kidnapping, this is **naked violence! However, Zhang Zhun kidnapped them and violated them with violence. What can they do? Each of these big salt merchants has a lot of money. The most important thing for them now is safety. If your life is gone, what do you want so much money for?

Zhang Zhun squinted at the Tianjin Naval Division who was being besieged, and said coldly: "As for the Tianjin Naval Division...... See for yourselves. They're already too busy to take care of themselves! ”

In fact, those big salt merchants don't need to look at it at all to know that the Tianjin water division is not good. All around are the warships of the Tiger Navy, and it is difficult for the Tianjin Navy to escape, let alone defeat the Tiger Navy. The Tianjin Navy Division did not have a few ships, and if these two were also killed by the Tiger Army, the remaining forces would be even weaker.

Tianjin Sailor is gone, and the salt merchants are not heartbroken at all. The problem is that without the Tianjin Naval Division, Bohai Bay is completely under the control of the Tiger Army and Navy. Sea salt, sea salt, can only be dried by the sea. The Changlu Salt Farm includes hundreds of salt farms, large and small, all of which are by the sea. If the Tiger Army and Navy continue to come and harass them, they will not be able to produce normally.

This is exactly where Zhang Zhun depends. To put it bluntly, Zhang Zhun wanted to use such means to make the salt merchants of Beizhili submit. If you don't give in, I'll make it impossible for you to produce properly. I sent warships to harass you twice in three days, and even went directly ashore to grab salt. There's nothing you can do. What the? Fight? Even the Tartars are not the opponent of the Tiger Army, do you think the army of the imperial court can be sure to defeat the Tiger Army?

Zhang Zhun yawned exaggeratedly, casually reached out and patted his mouth, and said a little tiredly: "I haven't slept last night, I'm very sleepy now, really sleepy, so I don't have time to talk too much to you." I'll cut it short. What do you think of this Bohai Salt Industry Alliance? ”

Those salt merchants, you look at me, I look at you, and they don't speak.

The so-called salt industry alliance mentioned by Zhang Zhun is actually very domineering and rude. The Tiger Army demanded to take over all the salt works in Beizhili, as well as all the sea salt sales network. These salt merchants have since become subordinates of the Refined Salt Division of the Tiger Ben Army. All business activities must be under the command of the Refined Salt Division under the Government Affairs Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office of the Tiger Army.

If they really joined the Bohai Bay Salt Industry Alliance, most of the profits from Haiyan trading would definitely be snatched away by Zhang Zhun. The salt market in Beizhili was originally a competition between the Changlu Salt Farm and the Laizhou Bay Salt Farm. If the two salt farms were controlled by Zhang Zhun, the entire salt market in the northern part of the Ming Kingdom would be controlled by Zhang Zhun.

This is something they cannot promise. Don't look at how much money they have, they all have at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, in fact, the real masters are high-ranking officials at all levels of the imperial court. In a special place like Beizhili, except for the emperor and high-ranking officials of the imperial court, others basically have no stage. The salt business is quick and profitable, and of course the high-ranking officials of the imperial court will not let it go.

However, if they don't join this salt industry alliance, the fate will definitely be conceivable. The warships of the Tiger Ben Navy will definitely come to greet them warmly twice in three days, and they may even come ashore as guests. The entire Bohai Bay is under the control of the Tiger Ben Army and Navy, and it is impossible for the salt works to be relocated inland. I can escape the first year of junior high school, but I can't escape the fifteenth!

In the face of Zhang Zhun's aggressive methods, all the salt merchants desperately hoped that the imperial court would come forward to suppress Zhang Zhun's arrogance. The imperial court was in Beizhili, Shanhaiguan, and Jinzhou, and there were still relatively strong armies. If these troops are mobilized to deal with Zhang Zhun, they may be able to give Zhang Zhun a little color.

It's a pity that Zhang Zhun doesn't care about this at all. If you want to cut meat from someone's mouth, you must have the sharpest knife. The Tiger Army is his knife. Seeing that all the salt merchants were silent, he said bluntly: "No opinion? No view is joined! ”

Finally, a salt merchant couldn't help but say: "Zhang Zhun, there is no such thing as doing things, you also have to experience our difficulties!" ”

Zhang Zhun rolled his eyes and said disapprerovingly, "What should I do?" ”

The salt merchant said dissatisfiedly, "You have to give us time to think about it, right?" ”

Zhang Zhun stared at the salt merchant for a moment, and said slowly: "Your name is Tang Tonghu, right?" ”

The salt merchant replied distraughtly, "Yes." ”

Zhang Zhun said coldly: "I thought you were Tang Bohu!" ”

Tang Tonghu had no choice but to be speechless.

Zhang Zhun waved his hand casually and said coldly: "Find out Tang Tonghu's information." ”

Zhou Zhengyu immediately sent someone to find it, and soon turned out Tang Tonghu's information and handed it over to Zhang Zhun. Of course, this information comes from the intelligence network of the Wenxiang Sect. Leting is very close to Luanzhou, the capital of the Wenxiang Sect, and the Wenxiang Sect is naturally very familiar with these salt merchants in Leting.

Zhang Zhun took the information, flipped through it casually by the light of the fire, his face was cold, and he said in a cold tone: "Tang Tonghu, you still did a good job...... In the fifth year of the Apocalypse, you sold 250,000 catties of sea salt to the Mongols...... In the sixth year of the Apocalypse, you sold 750,000 catties of sea salt to the Mongols...... In September this year, you sold 1.3 million catties of sea salt to the Mongols......"

The cold sweat on Tang Tonghu's forehead all came out. He didn't expect that the Tiger Army would even know this. It must be known that according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, selling illicit salt to the Mongols in private is definitely a capital crime of stealing the family and exterminating the clan. He was shocked and frightened, could these materials in Zhang Zhun's hands be obtained from Dongchang and Jinyiwei?

Zhang Zhun closed the information book, glanced at Tang Tonghu indifferently, and said slowly: "Tang Tonghu, my record is not wrong, right?" ”

Tang Tonghu immediately felt that something was wrong, and knelt down with a puff, and shouted loudly: "Wronged! Wronged! My lord, I was really wronged! ”

Zhang Zhun said quietly: "Wronged? I just wronged you! So what? ”

Tang Tonghu hurriedly shouted: "Zhang Zhun, I am Gao Gonggong's person!" Those sea salts were all sold according to the orders of Grandpa Gao! You dare to do it against me! Grandpa Gao won't let you go! ”

Zhang Zhun really reacted, as if he obviously hesitated.

He didn't know which one Gao Gonggong was.

Zhou Zhengyu said in a low voice: "It's a high dive." ”

Zhang Zhun reacted at this time, and his face was a little strange. It turns out that Gao Gonggong is a high dive! I almost forgot about this old man. Gao Qiqian is the supervisor of Liaodong, with a high position and power, and all the affairs of the border pass are in his hands. No wonder Tang Tonghu was able to sell so much sea salt to the Mongols, it turned out that there was a channel for high diving.

Gao Qiqian knew that by selling sea salt to the Mongols, he was subsidizing the Tartars, but he sold it correctly. Zhang Zhun doesn't want to know about the Tao here, and there is no need to know. For such rotten people and things, his way of dealing with them is usually to cut them off with a knife. This system of the Ming Kingdom is completely rotten, and a new system must be rebuilt.

Tang Tonghu thought that Zhang Zhun was afraid of Gao Qiqian, so he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and hurriedly said: "Zhang Zhun, if you offend Gao Gonggong......"

"Someone!"

"Bundle up!"

"Throw it into the sea and feed the fish!"

Before he finished speaking, he heard Zhang Zhun shout coldly.

Two Tiger Ben soldiers came up, grabbed Tang Tonghu like wolves, tied his limbs with ropes, and then dragged him to the edge of the deck and pushed him down directly. Tang Tonghu yelled in despair, but it was completely ineffective.

"Poof!"

The waves splashed, Tang Tonghu's body smashed into the seawater, and slowly floated up after a while. He struggled in the water, floating, rising and falling. He wanted to struggle, he wanted to cry for help, but he found that his limbs were tied and he couldn't struggle at all. I wanted to shout for help, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I was poured into it by the sea. Soon, he was silent. Eventually, the water calmed down.

The other fourteen salt merchants suddenly felt cold sweat break out on the soles of their feet. Zhang Zhun is not even afraid of high diving, who else is he afraid of? In fact, every salt merchant has its own backstage, and people without a backstage can't do salt business at all. However, the problem now is that their backstage is not as strong as the high potential.

Zhang Zhun glanced at all the salt merchants and said coldly: "I have always persuaded people with virtue. You guys make some black money, it's nothing. But to sell salt to the Mongols, is to sell it to the Tartars! That's a traitor! It's a traitor! It's going to raid the house and exterminate the clan! ”

He spoke in a strict and high-sounding manner, as if he was the embodiment of justice. However, the salt merchants present were not very frustrated in their hearts. In fact, who of every big salt merchant present had not sold salt to the Mongols? People die for money, birds die for food, and the market in Beizhili can't digest all the sea salt produced by Changlu Salt Farm. The Mongols offered high prices and huge profits, how could they not sell?

What's more, all the people present understood that Zhang Zhun just took a fancy to the huge profits of the salt industry monopoly and wanted to snatch this business. What was sold to the Mongols, what was sold to the Tartars, what traitors, what traitors, were all Zhang Zhun's excuses. But what if they did? The Tiger Ben army is powerful, and if they want to survive, they can only obediently join this Bohai Bay Salt Industry Alliance. Otherwise, you will wait to be tortured. As a result, they all unanimously expressed their willingness to join the Bohai Bay Salt Industry Alliance and accept the guidance of the Refined Salt Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office of the Tiger Benjun.

Zhang Zhun glanced at everyone and said slowly: "Very good!" You made the right choice! This time it's a warning! Not an example! If you don't believe in my methods, you will continue as usual! ”

The fourteen salt merchants hurriedly said that they would definitely strictly follow the orders of the Tiger Ben Army in the future. The sea salt they produce will be under the direct management of the Refined Salt Division. At the same time, without Zhang Zhun's approval, he would never sell half a tael of salt to the Mongols.

Zhang Zhun nodded with satisfaction and said to Zhou Zhengyu: "Let them go!" ”

Those salt merchants breathed a sigh of relief, and their lives were finally picked up.

Zhang Zhun returned to his ship, while Zhou Zhengyu commanded his ship and turned around and headed for Leting.

By this time, the naval battle over there had long since ended. The two warships of the Tianjin Navy Division found that something was wrong and hurriedly raised the white flag and surrendered. Gao Yu and Lu Liangyu led two teams of marines and went up to control the two ships. Zhang Zhun naturally unceremoniously ordered them to follow behind Li Jicheng's fleet and sail to the port of Liujiabao together.

If the guess is correct, at this time, Hejian Mansion should be in flames of war. Xu Dingguo will definitely not see him in private, so he can only speak on the battlefield. If the imperial court wants to use force against itself, then come on!