Chapter 134: Immediately reach the first peak of Mount Wu (Part 2)
In a place like Suzhou with developed water transportation, rivers are full of beaches where boats can dock.
Not long after, all the Eastern Army led by Lin Tailai disembarked.
Originally, there were some idle people watching the excitement on the shore. When they saw the Eastern Army landing here inexplicably, they immediately dispersed.
Next to the landing site, there is a small village along the river, with about twenty or thirty households.
Lin Tailai took the lead, and more than 200 people armed with various sticks walked toward the small village aggressively.
It also frightened the children playing at the entrance of the village and ran away. They just wanted to go home to find their mother.
There was only an old man in his sixties, holding a stick, standing alone at the entrance of the village, asking: "What are you strong men going to do!"
Lin Tailai didn't waste any time and asked directly: "What's your surname, old man?"
The old man with a stick scolded: "You bandits from the East are invading my territory, and you still don't know my surname? If you live here, of course my surname is Wu!"
"Oh!" Lin Tailai looked at the map again, "Since the surname is Wu, that's right!"
Then he threw the map to the guardian beside him, stepped forward and grabbed the collar of the old man with the stick, and shouted:
"Old man! I advise you to be sensible and call all the people in this village, otherwise I will send you to take a bath in the Xujiang River!"
"Bah!" the old man with the cane said uprightly and unyieldingly: "Young man, how can you be a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death? If you have the courage, you will rob your house and rob your house in broad daylight!"
Lin Tailai threw the old man to the ground and ordered his subordinates: "Tie him to a tree by the river and show him to the public!"
Then he ordered: "Catch all the people in the first family at the entrance of the village!"
The men looked at each other in confusion, what on earth are you doing today? The main force of the Western Army is in the town on the other side, not in the village here!
They are all gangsters, not roaming bandits. Breaking into homes and robbing homes is a bit too much.
But the order to sit in the restaurant must not be violated. In the blink of an eye, everyone in the first house at the entrance of the village was pushed out by the thugs.
There was a farm man, his wife and son, a typical small family of three.
Lin Tailai said to the farm man unceremoniously: "I am Lin Tailai, who is sitting in Anle Hall. Today I have a chance to lend you something!"
The farmer's face suddenly changed, he protected his wife, and shouted in panic:
"How dare you, thief! If you want to commit adultery, kill me first!"
Lin Tailai: "."
The Zhang brothers couldn't bear it anymore and rushed out and cursed: "How can we, sitting in a restaurant, be so discerning that we can see such a crude appearance of your wife!"
Lin Tailai angrily threw two large ingots of silver at the feet of the peasant man, and then ordered his subordinates: "Burn him! Burn his house!"
The peasant man picked up two ingots of silver and took a few bites as if they were real.
He couldn't help but fell into confusion again, which song was he singing?
So in this small village where most people were named Wu, the first house at the entrance of the village burned down.
I don’t know if cow dung was added or something, but the fire was blazing and the smoke was rising. Even the other side could see that it was on fire.
At this time, dozens of angry men rushed out of the village!
If we were able to close our doors just now, it's impossible now.
These foreign thieves have started setting fire to the village. Who can still stay at home?
There is no other way but to rush out and the net will be broken.
But anger is useless. Dozens of men holding farm tools are obviously no match for more than 200 thugs plus one Lin Tailai.
"Keep burning! Burn a few more!" Lin Siguan threw money and shouted crazily!
At this moment, the main force of the Western Army in the town on the north bank looked at the other side, dumbfounded.
They saw a respected old man being tied to a tree, a peaceful village being set on fire, and innocent villagers being brutally beaten.
These people in the Eastern Army are not social figures at all. They are simply bandits and bandits. What they have done is outrageous!
With such a lack of bottom line, aren't we afraid of the king's law, and aren't we afraid of thunder and lightning from the sky?
"No! No! No!" Wu Yingsong, the head of the Wu family, one of the four major families in Mudu Town, rushed to the river, holding his head and howling towards the other side.
Because the small village opposite is where a branch of their Wu family lives!
Unexpectedly, the Eastern Army completely ignored the rules, broke through the bottom line, and started burning and killing ordinary villages.
Wu Yingsong turned his head and shouted eagerly to Yang Zhen, the nominal commander-in-chief of the Western Army: "Send people across the river quickly!"
Yang Zhen made a calm judgment and said: "This is the Eastern Army's plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain. Don't act rashly!"
Wu Yingsong pointed to the other side and asked: "Are we just going to sit on the sidelines and watch helplessly?"
Yang Zhen replied: "The town is on the north bank, can the Eastern Army still make a huge move on the south bank?
The more Eastern Army commits suicide on the south bank, the greater the crime will be! We must be stable and cannot be easily mobilized!"
"Poke your mother! I'm not from your tribe!" Wu Yingsong was originally one of the main managers of the wealthy Wu family, and his status was just higher than that of the leader of the society. He scolded him back in desperation.
The Wu family produced a champion, Wu Kuan, the Minister of Rites, more than a hundred years ago!
Then Wu Yingsong shouted: "We, the Wu family, all come out and follow me across the river!"
As the head of a large family, if Wu Yingsong just watched a large number of his clansmen fall into dire straits and ignored them, how could he have the face to show off to others?
Immediately, fifty or sixty people came out and approached Wu Yingsong.
Yang Zhen quickly advised: "Master Wu, calm down! What can happen if fifty or sixty of you go over there! There are more than 200 Eastern Army troops on the opposite side!"
Wu Yingsong looked at the fire on the opposite side and shouted: "Who is willing to help my Wu family cross the river to rescue their fellow clansmen!"
The head of the Yan family, one of the four major families, stood up and said, "We, the Yan family, are willing to help!"
Together, these two families can bring away more than 100 people.
As the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, Yang Zhen became anxious and stopped in front of Wu Yingsong: "Mr. Wu, please don't act recklessly! We must have unified orders and cannot fight independently!"
Wu Yingsong replied: "That's good! All our troops will be dispatched to cross the river to attack the Eastern Army!"
Yang Zhen insisted: "This is the town area, and it is the place we must defend! How can we mess up our position just for the sake of some villages on the other side!"
However, Wu Yingsong's statement that the whole army crossed the river aroused a chorus of agreement.
More than 200 Eastern Army troops are on the south bank. How can they fly over? What's the point of guarding the north bank?
Seeing the Eastern Army burning, killing, and looting on the other side, I couldn't justify standing still on my side!
As long as we cross the river and rely on the strength of the people to defeat the Eastern Army, won't that be the end of it?
When Yang Zhen saw that the soldiers were so motivated, he could only shout: "The Eastern Army must have a treacherous plan!"
Wu Yingsong refused to listen and took the people on board the boat to cross the river.
Three small boats suddenly appeared on the river, blocking the dock.
On the two boats next to it, there were government servants holding high-legged signs with the words "Wuxian Zuotang", "In charge of money and food" and other words on them.
On the small boat in the middle, there is an official wearing a black gauze hat.
The boats are very small, and it seems that just a slight collision can cause the boat to capsize and fall into the water.
So everyone on the shore immediately recognized it. The official on the boat in the middle must be Guo Xiancheng, who was in charge of food!
Guo Xiancheng shouted to the Western troops on the north bank: "Don't fight!"
Everyone in the Western Army: "."
Is this county magistrate here just to be cute?
Guo Xian Cheng persuaded again: "I have worked so hard to come here just to persuade you to make peace!
You two, the east and the west, drink from the same river, so harmony is the most important thing!"
No one in the Western Army wants to hear these nonsense. Why don't you, Guo County Cheng, tell the Eastern Army this?
But the problem now is that if a large number of ships are dispatched together and the county magistrate's boat blocks the river, it will easily be collided and overturned.
The charge of openly killing an official is tantamount to rebellion! It is done for no reason, and no one wants to stand out and take this risk.
Wu Yingsong shouted on the shore: "There is no place to talk on the boat! I will prepare some tea and invite Mr. Guo to go ashore to talk!"
Guo Xian Cheng sat down on the boat and replied: "I respect myself in the name of honesty and integrity, and I don't want to take advantage of the people's wealth!"
Then he took out a handful of rice balls and continued: "So I won't bother to entertain you! I will have my meal here!"
Everyone in the Western Army: "."
If we can't go out to cross the river together, we can only go around the county magistrate's boat one by one and then cross the river, and then disembark one by one, wouldn't it be broken into parts and take turns delivering food to the Eastern Army on the other side?
Little did he know that Guo Xiancheng was also cursing in his heart. What kind of script did Lin Tailai arrange for him?
Let an official use his own safety as a bargaining chip to block the river in person. Who knows what kind of dirty-hearted person can come up with this plot!
Also, these are such shameful lines!
Wu Yingsong was so anxious that he saluted Prime Minister Guo and said, "If Mr. Guo is really here to persuade for peace, why don't you go to the other side to persuade him?"
After finally hearing these words, Guo Xian Cheng quickly put down the unpalatable rice dumplings and responded:
"You are allowed to bring ten people with you. Do you dare to cross the river to meet Lin Tailai?
I, Mr. Guo, will guarantee your safety with my official position. If the negotiation fails, I will send you back to the north bank!"
Wu Yingsong gritted his teeth and said, "Why don't you dare!"
Others can "watch the fire from across the bank", but he, the head of the Wu family, cannot! Because the fire on the other side belongs to the Wu family!
The commander-in-chief of the Western Army, Yang Zhen, was originally worried about falling into a trap and was unwilling to attack with his entire army. After hearing this, he immediately arranged a ship to send Mr. Wu across the river.
Guo Xiancheng personally escorted Wu Yingsong to the other side. Lin Tailai was already waiting on the shore.
Wu Yingsong pointed to the still burning cottage and asked Guo Xiancheng angrily:
"In broad daylight, they openly beat villagers and set their houses on fire. Are these vicious bandit acts ignored by the government?"
Lin Tailai laughed and said: "I was ordered by the imperial court to open the Mudu Port branch and acquire land here. It is legal and reasonable, so how can I become a bandit?"
Although he had made many plans in his mind, Wu Yingsong still didn't expect this answer at all.
"Land acquisition?" Wu Yingsong was stunned for a moment, "The town and the wharf are on the north bank, but you, Lin Tailai, went to the south bank to acquire land. How is it unreasonable?"
Lin Tailai said contemptuously: "You are not young at your age, how can you be so childish?
Who said that the Mudu Port branch must be at Mudu Town? It must be at the main wharf of Mudu Town?
In my mind, the Mudu Port branch can be here on the south bank, or it can be two or three miles upstream, or it can be two or three miles downstream!
No matter where the customs office is located, it’s all my decision! No matter where it is located, it won’t have much impact on setting up a card to collect taxes!
At the same time, I can refuse people from the four major families in Mudu Town to make a living where the customs is located!
What I mean, do you understand?"
Wu Yingsong felt like he was falling into the clouds, vaguely feeling that this information was important, but he didn't understand it clearly.
At this moment, he suddenly saw an old man in colorful robes and a ghostly face jump out.
Then the old man hugged Lin Tailai's thigh and shouted exaggeratedly:
"Tell me quickly! Where will the Mudu Port Customs House be located?
If I, Zhang Youyu, had purchased nearby land in advance, wouldn’t I have made a fortune?”
These few words were like lightning, striking into Wu Yingsong’s mind!
Mudu Town has prospered because of business, and the four major local Baidao families have benefited a lot from this. Not only can they get rich through business, but the land value can also increase!
But if a customs is set up elsewhere nearby, and all passing ships have to stop at the customs to pay taxes, then the commercial center will naturally move to the customs in the future!
As for Mudu Town, which has lost its status as a cargo hub, commercial decline will be inevitable!
At the same time, a new town will be formed around the customs office to replace the current Mudu Town!
And Lin Tailai just made it clear that he has the right to refuse people from the four major families of Wu, Shen, Xu, and Yan in Mudu Town to make a living at the customs location!
Wu Yingsong couldn’t even think about the consequences!
So what Lin Tailai really means is that Mudu Town urgently needs Mudu Port Customs, not that Mudu Port Customs needs Mudu Town!
Lin Tailai said quietly: "Have you, Wu Yingsong, ever figured it out?
It's a pity that there are bad people in your town, and they even murdered my wife and framed it for me, but I'm too lazy to solve the case, what should I do?"
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