Author: Dongchen Yuanxiu

Chapter 265 Gathering at the Broken House in Jinling

at the same time,

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

A banquet was actually opened outside the hall. On the table were delicacies from mountains and seas, flying in the sky, running on the road, and swimming in the water. It was obviously not something that ordinary people and officials could afford.

This is the secret meeting place of the eight major salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River in Jinling, and the port outside can hide it from others.

bright moon,

Is it because the heads of the eight major salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River have made an appointment to come here to gather 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.

Of course, the first person to come was Chairman Su Jinkai, the host of the Jinling Salt Merchant. When the carriage was there, Su Jinkai asked;

"Has everyone been notified?"

The old slave driving the car narrowed his eyes slightly. Hearing the question, his eyes were half-opened, his eyes flashed, and he whispered back,

"Go back to me, sir. I've already informed you, so I won't fail to come."

"That's good, that's good. It's a troubled time for you, so please be careful about many things."

The carriage went around a few street corners, and then found itself in an alley not far from a dilapidated house, where you could walk in directly.

The courtyard here is very large, and there are houses covering a very large area. However, the appearance is very dilapidated. At first glance, it seems that it is a courtyard of ordinary people, but there is something else going on inside and outside.

Su Jinkai got the carriage and walked in with his old servant. He was familiar with the streets and there were secretly invited guards outside the surrounding houses to keep an eye on him, so he didn't worry about his own safety.

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

Su Jinkai was not polite and walked slowly to the main seat at the central table outside the hall, waiting for the arrival of the others.

Not long ago,

Did the heads of other families arrive one after another, and did they arrive as agreed upon, and not at the same time, which shows that the salt merchants were cautious and seemed to be quite knowledgeable in this area.

Just outside the courtyard, the carriage that just arrived stopped not long ago.

Yangzhou salt merchant Wang Yinghan, who had left his carriage, did not immediately enter the main house, but stopped to wait for a while.

Not long after, another gray carriage came in through the courtyard gate behind him. At first glance, it looked like the carriage of an ordinary wealthy family. There was also a thin middle-aged man in the carriage, not tall, wearing gray clothes.

He also wore a wide square hat that covered most of his face. Although it was inconspicuous, it gave people a sense of shrewdness.

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

When Huang Zhichun got out of the carriage and saw Brother Wang Hanying, who was also a Yangzhou salt merchant, he came over and said with a smile;

"It turns out that Brother Wang, I'm polite, but I have something to ask."

Huang Zhichun came over and asked in a low voice whether Ruming's situation made him a little uneasy.

"Is there something unexpected happening in Yangzhou?"

Wang Hanying also leaned over and asked in a low voice, they both belonged to the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, so they must be close, because he had been staying in Jinling those days and did not go back to Yangzhou City to live. Who knows if in those few days, Jiangnan, especially Yangzhou, had the news

It got tighter.

"Brother Wang, someone from the Yangzhou court has come. They went directly to the residence of Lin Ruhai, the salt inspector in the south of the Yangtze River. Well... there is no place to shut up."

After Huang Zhichun finished speaking, he looked around and saw many secret guards looking over there.

Wang Yinghan knew it well, so he nodded without saying anything, then waved his legs and arms and said loudly on purpose;

"Oh, Lao Huang, brother, I haven't seen my good brother for a while. I'm really a little worried."

Huang Zhichun responded with a smile and replied;

"Well, does Yudi miss his brother? Does he remember the scene of grilling fish by Jinghu Lake? The bright moon must be drunk before he can rest. Please,"

"Haha, let's go together."

"Brother please."

The two made concessions to each other, and then walked in side by side.

Once outside the hall,

I saw that many people had already arrived, each walking dully in his or her seat.

But someone unconsciously looked to the left and saw that Suzhou salt merchant Huang Rutai was more ostentatious, walking there eating fruit and drinking tea as if there was no one else around.

Others just pretended that they didn't see it, and no one cared about it. With Su Jinkai's face, how could he have a place among the eight major salt merchants?

If Huang Rutai was smart enough to follow Chairman Su closely, playing the role of Ma Qianxi, he himself knew that he only had to hold on to the thigh of Su Jinkai, the head of the salt merchants, to secure his position.

When he saw the two coming in, he greeted them;

"So the two brothers from Yangzhou are here. Come on, please leave."

The two of them ignored it and walked directly to their seats. Huang Rutai smiled awkwardly and looked annoyed.

Su Jinkai didn't shut up when he saw him. He just walked there with his eyes closed and calmed down, waiting for everyone to arrive. He had finished replenishing his energy.

The first person to walk in was Jiang Chunyue, a salt merchant from Suzhou. She was dressed in plain clothes and wearing a wide hat, and staggered into the yard on an old carriage.

After the carriage stopped,

Jiang Chunyue got out of the carriage, straightened her clothes, took a look at the house, and smiled to herself. She didn't know how long this place would last. She shook her head and walked into the main room. Looking around, she saw that a table of people had already arrived.

, the only thing missing is yourself.

As soon as he came in, he crossed his legs and saluted the people present, and said;

"Everyone, Jiang came a little late, I apologize, I apologize."

"It's not too late, Lao Jiang, if they can get there first, come on, hurry up and go east."

Suzhou Huang Rutai, who had been at the table for a long time, was greeting her with a bulging belly. Jiang Chunyue smiled with a trace of disgust in her eyes;

"Haha, thank you, President Huang."

"You're welcome, you're welcome. Is President Jiang too careful? He refuses that broken carriage every time. I said I'm not tired?"

Huang Rutai seemed to be walking there enthusiastically, and after greeting Jiang Chunyue for President Su as he walked east, he said teasingly, as if he meant something.

His face was neither smiling nor smiling, just annoying, and others were watching silently.

After Jiang Chunyue finished her salute, she came to the table, gathered her cuffs, rolled up her sleeves, took the tea bowl, took a sip, and then replied as if admonishing;

"Be careful. If you keep an eye on that fat piece of meat in Jiangnan, if there are many people there, don't jump too high. The feeling of capsizing in the gutter will be unpleasant."

"I!"

The people around me didn't refute what I said. It's true. If the wind is blowing, it's better to be careful.

Huang Rutai really wanted to shut up.

Unexpectedly, Su Jinkai, who was at the forefront, saw that everyone was here, so he picked up the wine cup and said first;

"Everyone, stop chatting. You can come. Do you want to give Su some face? I would like to thank you all in advance. Let's do it."

Su Jinkai picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp, showing his pride, while Huang Rutai on the side couldn't hold it in, his face turned red and he couldn't hold back.

"President Su, you're welcome."

"President Su has met someone else."

"We are no longer brothers, there is no need to be like this."

The heads of other salt merchants responded politely.

When Su Jinkai put down the wine cup, he didn't go around in circles. He looked at everyone present and saw that they were all prominent figures in Jiangnan.

Suddenly said;

"Everyone, in the early morning of the bright moon, the canal must have started. General Jiao led the Jinling Guards and soldiers from the Jiangnan Camp to ambush Xihe County. It is estimated that they have already crossed the line. It's done! It's possible to give him some time to wait.

If your tone fails, please prepare your own escape route."

As soon as he finished speaking,

The banquet was originally quite lively, but suddenly the table became strangely quiet. All the salt merchants present looked gloomy, and all the family heads knew in their hearts that something was going on, whether the imperial envoys were hiding and wanted to punish the nine tribes.

No one expected that Ru Ming would reach this point, and Ru Ming would not regret it. Of course, many people are lucky.

Immediately afterwards,

Su Jinkai raised his eyes, as if he knew some people were disapproving, and then said;

"Everyone, is it a beheading business? Needless to say, money, no one has taken less in those years. Is it possible that all that salt was exchanged for human lives, let alone snatching food from the imperial court's legs? Let's arrange it according to the worst. Come on.

Marquis Fuluoyun of the south of the Yangtze River and his eastern army."

"Hiss, no him."

Cheng Zhiying took a breath of air as he walked in the east direction.

"Then, no way."
To be continued...