Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 265
at the same time,

In the main room of a dilapidated house in a hidden house in the southern city of Jinling City in the south of the Yangtze River.

There was a table of banquets in the hall. On the table, there were delicacies from mountains and seas, everything that could fly in the sky, run on the road, and swim in the water. Obviously, ordinary people and officials could not afford it.

This is the base of the secret meeting of the eight major salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River in Jinling, and the outside is just a deception.

today,

It was the heads of the eight major salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River who made an appointment to come here secretly to discuss important matters. There may be changes in the south of the Yangtze River.

Outside the alley, ordinary carriages kept turning in one after another.

The first one to come was naturally President Su Jinkai, the host of the Jinling Salt Merchant, on the carriage, Su Jinkai asked;

"Has everyone been notified?"

The old slave who was driving squinted his eyes slightly, and when he heard the question, his eyes were half-opened, his eyes flashed, and he replied in a low voice,

"Go back to the master, we have all been notified, and we will definitely not fail to come."

"That's good, that's good, it's an eventful time, so you have to be very careful about many things."

The carriage walked forward for a few street corners, and then turned again. In an alley not far from a dilapidated residence, the carriage could be walked in directly.

The courtyard here is very large, and there are even houses that occupy a very large area, but the appearance is very dilapidated, and at first glance, one may think it is a compound of ordinary people, but there is something different inside.

Su Jinkai got out of the carriage, and walked in with his old servant. He was familiar with the way, and there were secretly hired guards watching from the surrounding houses, and he didn't worry about his own safety.

Entering the house, the magnificent decoration and bright room are refreshing, and it is completely different from the dilapidated appearance outside.

Su Jinkai was also polite, he moved his feet and sat on the head seat of the central table in the hall, waiting for the arrival of the rest.

soon,

The heads of several other families also came one after another, and they came as if they had agreed to come, not at the same time. It can be seen that the salt merchants are cautious, and they seem to be quite well-versed in this place.

It's just that in the courtyard, the carriage that just arrived stopped for a while,

Wang Yinghan, a Yangzhou salt merchant who got off the carriage, did not immediately enter the main house, but stopped and waited for a while.

Not long after, another gray carriage came in from the courtyard door behind him. At a glance, it was the frame of an ordinary wealthy family. A thin, middle-aged man stepped out of the carriage. He was not tall, and he was wearing gray clothes. Wearing a wide square hat, covering most of it, although inconspicuous, it gives people a sense of shrewdness.

"Brother Huang, I have been waiting here for a long time."

When Huang Zhichun got out of the carriage, he saw Brother Wang Hanying, who also belonged to the Yangzhou salt merchant, and walked over and said with a smile;
"It turned out to be Brother Wang, my younger brother is being polite, but I have something to ask."

Huang Zhichun came over and asked in a low voice, the current situation is a little uneasy.

"Did something happen in Yangzhou?"

Wang Hanying also leaned over and asked in a low voice, he belongs to the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, so he must be close, but he has been staying in Jinling these days and has not returned to live in Yangzhou City. .

"Brother Wang, there are people from the Yangzhou court, and they went directly to the mansion of Lin Ruhai, the censor who patrols salt in the south of the Yangtze River. Cough...this is not the place to talk."

After Huang Zhichun finished speaking, he looked around, and many guards secretly looked here.

Wang Yinghan knew it well, knowing that this place should not be elaborated, he nodded, then waved his arms, and said loudly on purpose;
"Oh, Lao Huang, I haven't seen my good brother for a long time, so I'm really panicked."

Huang Zhichun also responded with a smile and replied;

"That's right, brother Yu also misses brother, but I still remember the scene of grilling fish on the edge of Mirror Lake, I must get drunk today. Please,"

"Haha, let's go together."

"Brother please."

The two gave way to each other, and walked in together side by side.

Once in the hall,
I saw that many people had arrived, and they were all sitting in their seats dullly.

But some people didn't realize it. Looking to the left, Huang Rutai, a Suzhou salt merchant, was more ostentatious, sitting there eating fruit and drinking tea, as if no one was around.

The others just didn't see it, and no one cared. If it wasn't for Su Jinkai's face, there would be no place for him in the Eight Great Salt Merchants.

It's just that Huang Rutai was smart, and he followed Chairman Su's back tightly, acting as a pawn. Only he knew that he hugged Su Jinkai's thigh, the head of the salt merchant, to secure his seat.

He greeted the two of them when they came in;

"It turns out that the two elder brothers from Yangzhou are here. Come on, please sit down."

The two of them ignored it, and went directly to their seats and sat down. Huang Rutai smiled awkwardly, making fun of it.

Su Jinkai didn't say a word when he saw it, he just sat there with his eyes closed and rested his mind, waiting for everyone to arrive.

The last person to come in was Jiang Chunyue, a salt merchant from Suzhou, dressed in plain clothes and wearing a wide hat, and staggered into the courtyard in an old carriage.

After the carriage stopped,

Jiang Chunyue got out of the carriage, straightened her clothes, glanced at the house, and laughed at herself. She didn't know how long this place could last, so she shook her head and walked into the main room. Looking around, everyone at the table was already there. It's up to me.

As soon as he came in, he bowed his hands to the people present and said;

"Everyone, Mr. Jiang came late, forgive me, forgive me."

"It's not too late, Lao Jiang, we're just one step ahead, come on, sit down."

Suzhou Huang Rutai, who had been sitting on the table for a long time, greeted him with his stomach outstretched. Jiang Chunyue smiled and said with a trace of disgust;

"Haha, then thank President Huang."

"You're welcome, you're welcome. President Jiang is too careful, every time it's that broken carriage, don't you think you're not tired?"

Huang Rutai seemed to be sitting there enthusiastically, and after greeting Jiang Chunyue to sit down for President Su, he laughed there, and seemed to mean something.

His face is also a superficial smile, which is annoying, and the others are also silent, watching there.

After Jiang Chunyue finished her salute, she went to the table and sat down, gathered her cuffs, rolled up her sleeves, took a sip from the tea bowl, and then replied as if admonishing;
"Be careful, there are many people who are eyeing this piece of fat in Jiangnan, so don't jump too high, it's not good to be capsized in the gutter."

"you!"

The people around did not refute it after hearing it. This is true. Now that the rumors are tight, it is better to be careful.

Huang Rutai still wanted to talk.

Unexpectedly, when Su Jinkai was seated at the top, seeing that everyone was present, he picked up the wine cup and said first;

"Let's gossip less, everyone can come, it's also for Su Mou's face, here Su Mou thank you first, do it."

Su Jinkai picked up the wine cup and drank it down in one gulp, showing arrogance, while Huang Rutai, who was at the side, turned red from holding back and couldn't get angry.

"President Su is polite."

"President Su is out of touch, isn't he?"

"They're all old brothers, there's no need to be like this."

The family members of other salt merchants responded politely.

When Su Jinkai put down the wine cup, he didn't go around in circles, and saw that everyone present was a figure with a reputation in Jiangnan.

suddenly said;

"Everyone, this morning, the canal must have started. General Jiao led the Jinling Guards and some soldiers from the Jiangnan Camp to Xihe County to lay an ambush. It is estimated that the fight has already been fought, and it is done! Can you give me a breath of relief?" If it doesn’t work out, you all have to prepare your own way out.”

The voice just fell,

There was still a lively banquet, but suddenly the table was surprisingly quiet, all the salt merchants present had gloomy faces, and the heads of the families knew what was going on, the ambush of the imperial envoy was to punish the nine clans.

No one expected to get to the point where they are now, but now they can't regret it. Of course, many people are still lucky.

Then,

Su Jinkai looked up, as if he knew that some people didn't think so, and continued;

"Everyone, this is a beheading business. Needless to say, no one has taken less money these years, but the salt is bought in exchange for human life, and it is even snatched from the imperial court. Let's arrange it according to the worst, come on. Those in the south of the Yangtze River are Marquis Luo Yun and his frontier troops."

"Hiss, it's him."

Sitting down, Cheng Zhiying took a deep breath.

"Well, it won't."

Wang Yinghan was also a little puzzled, how could he come here, shouldn't he be a civil servant.

"President Su's news is accurate."

Jiang Chunyue also felt a chill in her heart, this is troublesome.

"This news was obtained by the old man last night. It can't be wrong. Also, the people over there also asked for money to buy the morale of the army. Therefore, the old man had to prepare for the worst when he ambushed the navy fleet of the imperial envoy today. You all just want to discuss, what should we do in the future?"

The people at the table were all frowning, thinking about each other.

"President Su, I have something to say."

Bao Zhiyong who was sitting got up and said,

"please say."

"The old man thinks that now, we are starting to contact the gentry and nobles in the south of the Yangtze River. Even if Luo Yunhou came here, he would not dare to stretch out his hand. He is from outside the customs. If we hold a group, he can still offend the whole of Jiangnan. Besides, the people over there are cut off. Kill the mastermind of the navy!"

Bao Zhiyong said confidently, as if he didn't care about Luo Yunhou coming to Jiangnan.

"Shen Yan, we can't hide, the money is all paid by us, but what you said is a way."

Huang Rutai kept nodding in agreement on the table.

"Any more?"

"Yes, President Su, the people over there can't tell, but those officials and dignitaries in Jiangnan who participated in the shares should contribute. The Jia family, the Shi family, the Wang family, the Xue family, and even the Zhen family all have shares. Those prefects and co-prefects took our money a lot in those years, but they kept all these letters."

Huang Rutai said sullenly from one side, and everyone nodded in agreement, feeling much safer in an instant.

But outside the door,

"Report, President, there is an urgent message."

While the people in the house were discussing, there was an urgent voice from the steward outside the door.

Su Jinkai's expression froze, and he thought something was wrong in his heart, so he said;

"Bring it in,"

"Yes, President."

The steward outside the door bowed in and handed over the secret letter from the carrier pigeon.

After receiving the secret letter, he touched the lacquer seal, and it was intact, so Su Jinkai opened the letter and took a look. It said that there was a change in Yangzhou, and the Imperial City Division was under investigation.

a bunch of trash,
Su Jinkai put the secret letter on the table with an ugly face, and cursed secretly.

"Everyone, Su has bad news. Today's banquet will not be eaten. The imperial city office in Yangzhou was taken away. It was done by the people in the capital, and there may be letters left there, so Everyone, hurry up and finish."

The family members of the salt merchants present all looked livid. It was really a leak and it was raining all night. They didn't expect that something happened behind them.

"Trash, it's all trash."

Ma Rilu, the head of the salt merchant in Suzhou, couldn't help but scolded.

"So passive, you can take care of yourself, leave!"

Cheng Zhiying, a salt merchant in Yangzhou, also felt that time was running out, so he got up to say goodbye and was about to leave.

Rumble.

A thunder, a moment,

It started to rain heavily outside again.

(End of this chapter)