A knife in love

Chapter 3137

After Murong Danyan finished speaking, Ding Guan smiled and said: "Miss Mu is right, if the Songtian family takes this wharf, they will have at least 8 to [-] taels of silver a year, enough to support another one or two thousand. Soldiers and horses. It’s just that the Matsuda family is salivating at such a big piece of fat, but they dare not swallow it. They have to do it, and they really can’t.”

Although Li Qiufeng, Murong Danyan and Ding Guan have only known each other for more than a month, they get together every day, and they know a thing or two about this man, knowing that although he is cunning and tricky, he is a man who is ignorant and ignorant.Unexpectedly, he suddenly uttered the words "It is necessary to do it, it is impossible to do it", both of them were stunned, thinking to themselves how a vulgar person like Ding Guan could say such elegant words?

Ding Guan went on to say: "The rise of the Matsuda family has only happened in the last ten years, and this wharf has existed for nearly a hundred years. It has always been the secret place for some big businessmen in Fusang to smuggle with Ming and Western businessmen. At the beginning This pier is not well-known, not many people know about it, and it is safe to do business here. Later, the pier became more and more famous, and the bandits and pirates of Fusang Kingdom got to know the news and came here to rob merchants and rob property Afterwards, the court of Fusang Kingdom knew about this and immediately sent troops to suppress the bandits. Although the bandits and pirates were arrogant and domineering, they could not resist the officers and soldiers after all. They were defeated and fled far away. Go here and rob.

"After the officers and soldiers of the Fusang Kingdom beat off the bandits and pirates, they originally planned to set up officials here to collect tax money. Unexpectedly, civil strife broke out in the court of the Fusang Kingdom. Several princes competed for the throne. Go to this pier? The officers and soldiers who occupied this pier only stayed there for three or four months, then retreated in a hurry and went straight to the capital to help in the war.

"After the officers and soldiers of Fusang Kingdom retreated, bandits and pirates came back, planning to kill and loot. Unexpectedly, businessmen from all over the place knew that the officers and soldiers of Fusang Kingdom had retreated, and they immediately dispersed. They dare not come here to do business again. The bandits and pirates are aggressive. As a result, there was not even a single person on the pier. Disappointed, the bandit and the pirate started fighting again, and the two sides fought on the pier. It is said that this scuffle lasted for three days and three nights. The bandit Almost died together with the pirates, and only a dozen people escaped by chance."

When Ding Guan said this, he paused for a while, and then continued: "Last night, Lao Ye told us a story about ghosts on the cliff mountain and sea. But I have heard it with my own ears. It is said that bandits and pirates fought here in the past, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. The corpses either fell into the sea and were buried in the belly of fish, or lay their corpses on the pier, where they became food for tigers and wolves. Although these dead ghosts lost their lives, they were full of resentment and lingering spirits. They haunted the wharf and killed many people in Fusang. As a result, not only foreign merchants dared not come to this wharf to do business, but even the local The people of Fusang did not dare to approach here. In a few years, this place will be a barren place, and no merchants will come here to do business.

"The court of Fusang Kingdom became torn apart and the world was in chaos because of the princes vying for the throne. Later, a prince killed several of his brothers and seized the throne, but the rise of famous names in various places was like the separatism of the Tang Dynasty. , Ignore the imperial court of Fusang Kingdom at all. These daimyo set up tax collectors in their own territories to collect taxes and use them as military pay to recruit soldiers and attack other daimyos.

"Two of the daimyo's territories are too small, and they don't occupy important positions. They can't collect taxes from merchants like other daimyos. They lack money in their hands, and no one comes to join them. Their power is getting smaller and smaller, and they are about to be annexed by other daimyos. The two daimyos got together to discuss how to get out of the predicament. One of the daimyo's retainers gave them an idea, saying that there was a pier by the sea that had been abandoned for many years. Foreign businessmen and businessmen from the Fusang country are confident and bold to do business here, and then collect taxes from them, they will definitely make a lot of profits, so why worry about recruiting troops without money?

"After the two daimyos heard what the servants said, although they were quite disturbed in their hearts, but after thinking about it, it is the end of the road. If they can't think of a way, they will be swallowed up by other daimyos. So the two daimyos gritted their teeth, He mobilized all his capable soldiers, set off overnight, and headed straight for this place. At that time, the pier was already deserted, and no one dared to approach it except for poisonous snakes and beasts. The two daimyo led the soldiers under them, and they took over the pier without any effort. for existing.

"After the two daimyos seized the wharf, they built houses on the wharf, and sent people overseas to invite businessmen to come here to do business. After a few years, the wharf became prosperous again, and the two daimyos made a lot of money. My heart is full of joy. It’s just that these two big names made a fortune by relying on the pier, which attracted the covetousness of other big names. For decades, in order to compete for this pier, I don’t know how many people died here. Often a certain big name captured After the dock, within five or six months at most, it was taken away by other daimyos.

"Later, these daimyos got tired of fighting and knew that no one daimyo could monopolize the pier, so they had to get together to discuss how to avoid the disaster of swordsmanship. After some open and secret battles, they announced that the four most powerful daimyos would jointly control the pier The four daimyos each sent tax collectors to station at the wharf to collect the tax money from the merchants, and then divided up the tax money according to the contribution of each daimyo. Although the court of the Fusang Kingdom was dissatisfied with these daimyos, it was beyond their reach, so they had to turn a blind eye Close your eyes and let these big names make a fortune.

"About more than ten years ago, the Matsuda family rose up and captured a large area of ​​land in the north of Fusang Kingdom, as well as Songtian Rock Island. They were unparalleled for a while, frightening the court of Fusang Kingdom and other daimyos. This pier is so fat Well, it’s not far from Songtianyan Island, so the Songtian family naturally wanted to take it as their own. However, the Songtian family sent troops to attack three times, but they were all repelled by the joint efforts of various daimyos. In the end, they knew that with the strength of the Songtian family, they could not To subdue all the daimyos, if they want to attack forcefully, even if they can capture the pier, they may not be able to hold it. Therefore, the Matsuda family had to give up the plan to capture this pier, and worked hard to manage Matsuda Rock Island."

When Ding Guan said this, he paused for a while, and then continued: "It's just that Matsuda Yandao has great ambitions. He has been eyeing this pier all the time. He will take it away when his wings are full. Naturally, all the big names know that Matsuda According to the plan of the family, in addition to sending tax collectors and soldiers to guard the pier, they also stationed soldiers and horses at many fortresses near the pier. Once the Matsuda family attacked in a large scale, these soldiers and horses would rush to the pier to help."

(End of this chapter)