What happened to He Changsan's salt-carrying fleet was not accidental. On the same day, on both sides of the Yangtze River in Anhui, Taipingfu, Chizhou, Luzhou, and Anqing were launched at the same time, and a total of no less than 100,000 stones of salt were intercepted. The loss of the two Huai salt merchants is not small!

In fact, Mader had been preparing for this for a while. His 2,000 Fubiao battalion soldiers sent 1,500 on both sides of the Yangtze River in the four prefectures to act together with the 1,500 green battalion soldiers sent by Zhao Hengsheng, the chief soldier of Anqing. Moreover, because he was afraid that the fleets of those salt merchants would force their way through, he also prepared twelve iron cables to sink at the bottom of the river, and tied them to the iron stakes on both sides of the Yangtze River. As soon as those people showed signs of breaking through, the people guarding the river would pull the turntable with oxen and horses to raise the iron rope up the river. Moreover, because he was worried that there were outlaws among the bodyguards hired by the salt merchants to escort the transport, and they would fight with the officers and soldiers, which would cause more trouble, he also handed over the artillery captured from Shen Qingyu's hands to the army responsible for interception for deterrence!

It can be said that for this operation, Mader took all the possibilities into consideration. Then, when he picked up two Huai salt merchants, he started to do it.

The phrase "seize the smuggled salt" first pretended to let these salt ships enter the country, and then took them all. In Ma De's own words: "Regardless of whether you sell smuggled salt or not, stay in Anhui for three or two months!" In fact, Mader's words are the same whether he says them or not. Because, at least sixty percent of the salt from salt traders in the Qing Dynasty was smuggling! As a result, this is exactly what Ma De wants, as long as it is the illegal salt that is sold, it will be all detained, and then sold to solve the salt shortage in Anhui.

In order to boost the morale of the people below, Ma De even secretly agreed with the responsible magistrates that after the seized illicit salt was sold, 30% of the proceeds would belong to the local government!

Therefore, the officials who were ordered to investigate were all high-minded.

And Mader's hand is also amazing! Ruthless enough!

The Yangtze River enters Anhui from Taiping Mansion and exits Anhui from Anqing Mansion, which is an important passage for the two Huai salt merchants to sell salt to Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Guizhou.

However, "ruthless" and "absolute" correspond to both the two Huai salt merchants, and also to Ma De's own.

If the Yangtze River salt transportation is cut off, Huai salt will not be able to pass through Anhui, so there will definitely be a major salt shortage in the two lakes and Sichuan and Shaanxi.

If this problem cannot be solved smoothly, when the time comes, Ma De will not have ten heads enough for Kangxi to cut off.

However, in this case, the two Huai salt merchants can wait for a while because they have huge capital, but the people in the two lakes and Sichuan and Shaanxi areas cannot go without salt for such a long time, that is to say, Ma De has completely banned the crossing of Huai salt under the pretext of investigating illegal salt this time, which is tantamount to putting his life in an extremely dangerous situation. Unless, he can replace the salt merchants of Lianghuai to meet the salt needs of the people in Lianghu and other places.

*******

"Dad, what the hell is our governor trying to do? Is he crazy? The news of Anhui's complete ban on the crossing of Huaiyan reached the palace of Anqing and the home of Wang Weihe, president of the Hui Chamber of Commerce, as soon as possible. After Wang Weihe's eldest son Wang Wei heard the news on the street, he immediately ran back to his house and asked Wang Weihe when he caught him.

"He's certainly not crazy! Still, I can't figure out what he's trying to do! Wang Weihe sat on the Taishi chair in the main hall, frowning, and thinking hard.

"Although Master Ma has a deep relationship with that Fei Shangshu in Liaodong, he shouldn't think that he can supply salt from these five or six provinces at once with a Liaodong salt farm? It's impossible! Compared with the salt pans of Lianghuai, it is still a big difference! Wang Wei also sat on a chair under the hall and shook his head vigorously: "Dad, I think you have to go out again this time." At least, there are many people in the Lianghuai Salt Merchants Association, so there's no reason why you shouldn't take a look! ”

"It's hard. That Tang Jimei was the one I helped him to Yangzhou to do salt, and I saw my brother and brother on weekdays, respectfully, how do you see him now? Take my words as a deaf ear, the last time was better, and I didn't even see you directly! Wang Weihe sighed.

"Then we can't just watch. Otherwise, caught between the governor's yamen and those guys, we will only be two-faced and not human! Wang Wei said.

"I've already sent someone to call your brother, he's on an errand in the governor's yamen, so he should have at least some news. Let's see what our governor plans first......" Wang Weihe sighed. Many of the salt merchants in Lianghuai are people from the Huizhou Merchants Association, that is, those Huizhou merchants who have not joined the Huizhou Merchants Association, and there are also many who are salt merchants in Yangzhou. Therefore, he had to intervene in this matter, but the title of the president of the Hui Merchants Association is usually easy to use, but at this time, few people sell it. If in normal times, you don't bother to care if your eyes are narrowed, but now? Ma De has not been looking for his "trouble" in the past few years in office, and the friendship between the two is not bad, but at this time, if you don't help, you can't talk about it. Especially if he wants to mix in Anhui in the future, he can't think about it too much.

"Betraying their ancestors, those people are not afraid of being poked in the back?" Wang Wei said again. As a Hui businessman, he made a salt shortage in Anhui, and I am afraid that even the ancestral tomb is not stable.

"'I didn't cultivate in my previous life, I was born in Huizhou, I was twelve or thirteen years old, and I threw it away.' How many Hui merchants were not born poor? When your father and I went out to do business, we only brought three things: one was a net bag, one was a rope, and the other was rice noodles. Rice noodles, when you get hungry in a place, you just need to ask a local person to ask for water to flush it, and you can eat it with a remix, and you don't have to spend a penny. A net bag is used to carry things...... As for the rope, not everyone can make money when they go out, and more than eighty percent of them are in the city of sorrow, so the rope can be used to hang when necessary. …… You say, how many of them are dependent on their ancestors? Wang Weihe stared at Wang Wei for a while, then shook his head with a wry smile, "Although we people have made a Hui Merchants Association, power is greater than money." There are people behind those people, and they dare not listen? What's more, we Anhui people don't hold together! ”

"......" Wang Wei was speechless.

……

"Daddy, big brother!"

Wang Weihe and Wang Wei waited for a while, and Wang Weihe's youngest fifth son, Wang Mai, who was on an errand in Made's yamen, also returned. Far away, before entering the lobby, he shouted at Wang Weihe and Wang Wei.

"Old Five, what is the Governor's plan?" Wang Wei was in a hurry now, and without waiting for Wang Mai to walk in, he rushed out and asked.

"What are you going to do? I do not know! Wang Mai shook his head again and again, like a rattle.

"You don't know? The governor didn't tell you how to deal with the two Huai salt merchants? Wang Wei shouted.

"It's not that you didn't tell me, you didn't tell us all! slipped through more than a dozen staff, and even that Xing Ming didn't know the governor's plans. So, it's normal that I don't know! Wang Mai replied with some displeasure, and was very dissatisfied with Wang Wei's suspicion of his status in the governor's yamen.

"Is there anything unusual in the Futai Yamen?" Wang Weihe asked.

"Oh! Yes! Wang Mai nodded, "That Hailiu just came back from outside yesterday, and I don't know what to do." And the one named Amr was also sent out, and he hasn't come back yet. ”

"Both of these people are close associates of the governor......" Wang Wei smacked his lips, not knowing which direction to go.

"That's right, Dad." Wang Mai suddenly said to Wang Weihe again: "When I came back, Master Ma called me and asked me to ask you to go to Yangzhou again." ”

"Do what?" Wang Weihe asked.

"It's a trifle!" Wang Mai shrugged his shoulders in the way he learned from Ma De, "Persuade to surrender!" ”

"Persuasion?" Wang Weiqi said.

"That's right. Master Ma said that he would only give the two Huai salt merchants a one-month deadline. A month later, life and death are all fateful! Wang Mai said again.

"Life and death are their own destiny? Could it be that Master Ma still wants to fight in the ring and engage in a life-and-death duel? Wang Wei looked at his little brother and asked with a wry smile.

"Yes, it's a life-and-death duel. Master Ma said that a month later would be the time for him to launch in full swing. At that time, if the two Huai salt merchants have not restored the salt supply in Anhui, he will not be polite! He's not going to stop without putting those guys to death! Moreover, when the time comes, those salt merchants can invite the emperor to come forward, and it will be useless! Wang Mai pouted and said.

“…… Are you kidding? Wang Wei stared at Wang Mai for a long time, and after finding that he was not talking nonsense, he couldn't help but ask. The combined capital of the two Huai salt merchants is as high as twenty or thirty million taels of silver, which is only what he knows, and he doesn't know how much. With such a big strength, Ma De actually said that he wanted to put the other party to death? Don't forget, even the imperial court has to give these two salt merchants some face at some point.

"At that time, Master Ma laughed very happily, as if he was joking!" Wang Mai said solemnly.

“……”

"That's it, I'll leave for Yangzhou tomorrow!" Wang Weihe sighed and said.

"By the way, Dad, Lord Ma still has something to ask you to help with!" Wang Mai said again.

"What's the matter?"

"Borrow a boat!"

"I knew it! …… How much to borrow? Wang Weihe sighed again and asked.

"One hundred!" Wang Mai stretched out a finger.

"Nope!" Wang Weihe stood up suddenly.

"Dad, I answered the same as you did. As a result, Master Ma said, if Dad also said that he didn't, he would borrow 150 ships! Wang Mai took two steps back with an extremely innocent expression.

"You! …… You stinky boy, you have leaked all your family resources? We only have a total of 150 boats, how can we lend them all at once? Wang Wei also jumped up suddenly, stepped in front of Wang Mai in two steps, pointed at Wang Mai's nose and shouted.

"Daddy! Eldest brother! I don't know how Master Ma knew about our family. He even knows exactly how many of the boats on our side are sea boats and how many are river boats. Wang Mai said with a bitter face.

"Humph! …… Tell me clearly, how many boats does Mader want? Glaring at Wang Mai fiercely, Wang Weihe didn't bother to call him "Master Ma" or anything like that, and directly called Ma De's name.

"Daddy, you're sage. Master Ma wants you to gather a hundred sea-going ships anyway, including the ships and sailors, and he will pay fifty percent more of the hiring money. In addition, Master Ma also said......" Wang Mai said this, and his eyes began to light up: "As long as you help him, when the time comes, he will allow us to buy shares within two months and deal with the two Huai salt merchants together." Dad, this must be a big business, if it really succeeds, it is enough to withstand our hard work for more than ten years! ”

"Two months? He's so confident! A month later, I was allowed to take a stake in two months, what was his plan? But why can't I count him on the slightest chance of winning? Wang Weihe frowned vigorously, puzzled.

**********

Ma De's initiative reached Jiangsu in less than two days, and as a result, it immediately caused an uproar in Jiangsu.

Jiangsu Governor Song Ying originally just wanted to stay out of this matter, but in the face of such a situation, he couldn't afford not to take action. On the day he received the news, his impeachment memorabilia was sent to Beijing on a 600-mile expedited horse.

At the same time, the Jiangsu Domain's Yamen, the Zhentai Yamen, the Xuetai Yamen, the Jiangnan Provincial Imperial Envoy, Guo Xiu, the "Second Pole" Zuodu Imperial Envoy who was ordered to inspect Fujian and Zhejiang, and all kinds of officials, large and small, submitted dozens of letters and folds immediately afterward. In addition, Wei Dongting, the governor of the customs of the four provinces, Cao Yin of Jiangning Weaving, and Mu Zixu of Suzhou Weaving, also quickly chased to Beijing.

And these twists and turns have only been sent out less than a day, and another piece of news has also reached Jiangsu. Although the actual significance of this news is not great, it is still extremely shocking, and it is even more shocking than Ma De's cutting off the Yangtze River salt transportation: Yu Chenglong, the governor of Henan, ordered the whole province to strictly investigate illegal salt! Shandong Governor Zhun Tai ordered the whole province to investigate illegal salt!

Surrounded on three sides!

Originally, the water and land roads in Anhui could not be passed, and the two Huai salt merchants could still make some efforts to detour from Shandong to Henan, and then turn to Hubei. However, these two orders of Yu Chenglong and Zhun Tai are equivalent to completely blocking their passage.

Of course, they can go to Zhejiang, but then they have to go through Jiangxi! Jiangxi is mountainous and hilly...... Below is Fujian, mountains and more!

It's a game that everyone can't understand!

Yu Jackie Chan's Henan eats the salt of the Changlu Salt Farm in Zhili, so it doesn't matter, but Shandong lacks salt, which tendon in Zhuntai is wrong? Why is it also making trouble? Especially what makes people feel incomprehensible is how did Ma De pull these two powerful feudal officials to his side?

Enigma!

……

For this "mystery", Song Ying, the governor of Jiangsu, was almost so angry that he vomited blood...... Is your own personality so bad? Who did you provoke? Why did three neighbors stab themselves together? Xu Zuyin of Jiangsu Zhentai scratched off the hair on his head for half a while, thought about it left and right, and finally didn't figure out what the reason was! …… However, they were not in a hurry to figure out how the three of them got together, it was more important for them to think about how to solve this matter. The three feudal officials joined forces, and no one had to weigh this weight carefully!

And in this case, Wang Weihe also arrived in Yangzhou by boat leisurely, he didn't look for anyone, but after hiring a painting boat, he sent someone to the president of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, Tang Jimei, the head of the salt merchants, to send an invitation post, and then waited on the boat.

……

"Brother Weihe is really Yaxing. As soon as I arrived in Yangzhou, I looked for a 'thin horse', haha......" Tang Jimei came as an appointment, and saw Wang Weihe enjoying the song and dance on the boat, so he laughed a few words first.

"Don't dare, don't dare, Brother Tang is the real good Yaxing. I, Wang Weihe, are just having fun on the spot, just having fun, but Brother Tang, you have played around a few provinces. Wang Weihe motioned for Tang Jimei to sit down, and replied at the same time.

"Brother Peacekeeper, you're laughing at me! How can I do this? Tang Jimei shook her head and smiled, and then said: "Actually, I was forced to be helpless this time!" Otherwise, if you say a word to Brother Weihe, what would I dare to make trouble with Tang Jimei? ”

"Huh...... That's a nice sound, I thought you would be 'not at home'! …… It's just that it sounds like Brother Tang, you didn't plan to talk to me this time! Wang Weihe smiled, motioned for the prostitutes to leave, and looked at Tang Jimei a few times as if he had no other intentions, then didn't say anything, just lowered his head to eat and drink.

Tang Jimei saw that he didn't speak, and he didn't speak anymore, but instead fell on the table and ate and drank.

After half an hour, Wang Weihe wiped his mouth, raised his head again and asked Tang Jimei: "Brother Tang, I came to you this time because of the past friendship between the two of us. This time, you also saw that not only Anhui, but also Shandong and Henan provinces also started together. Especially Yu Jackie Chan, this person also served as the governor of Jiangsu, with him coming forward, where can these people in Jiangsu make trouble again? Without the support of the officials and the gentry, you can't fight Mader! ”

"Brother Peacekeeper, this is a friend's words! In the current situation, if I mean it, it is natural that it cannot be forced. Yu Jackie Chan has a big face, as soon as he makes a move, Ma De will be stable for the time being, and no one will be able to participate in a short period of time! Tang Jimei also wiped her mouth, "But, now my brother and I are also difficult to ride a tiger!" In Yangzhou, my words don't count! ”

"You're out of business?" Wang Weihe was taken aback and couldn't help asking.

"That's right!" Tang Jimei nodded.

"Who is it? On the official face, it's still ......" Wang Weihe narrowed his eyes slightly, and stopped talking.

"Brother Peacekeeper, wouldn't you still have guessed? It doesn't work to make you, the president of the Hui Merchants Association, speak, who else? Of course, it's your old enemy! ......" Tang Jimei smiled a little ugly.

"I see! ......" Wang Weihe leaned back in his chair, "This time, they sent Brother Tang to come to me to investigate the situation, right?" ”

"That's right. I'm coming back to find out what you're talking about! Tang Jimei did not deny it, and said directly.

"It's okay to open it!" Wang Weihe nodded, "I also came back with a message, and the governor of Anhui, Lord Ma, asked me to tell you that the salt supply will be resumed within a month, otherwise, you will bear the consequences!" ”

"That's amazing! But does he have what it takes? Tang Jimei asked a little jokingly.

"I don't know. However, it is better to be careful. lest you not even be able to turn your head back when you get it! Wang Weihe said.

"I remember what Brother Weihe said!" Tang Jimei nodded.

"Just remember. …… Let's go! Wang Weihe didn't say any more, just waved his hand and motioned for Tang Jimei to leave.

"Brother peacekeeper, take care. I'll go to Anqing to see you in a few days! Tang Jimei didn't feel that she had lost her share, so she arched her hand towards Wang Weihe and said goodbye.

……

"North Kang Nan'an! Hum! …… Anqi, Anqi, you pearl dog minion! When Mingzhu fell, you rolled up tens of millions of taels of silver and hid, and now you dare to come out again, you really don't know how to write dead characters. Well, I'm going to see what you can do! …… There is also 'Nanji', I don't know what their Taixing Ji family will do, their financial resources are not inferior to Shanxi Kang Si Ding! Wang Weihe smiled fiercely, and then sighed.