Chapter 75: Covering Mountains and Seas (Part 2)
When Zhang, the captain of Mouping County, learned that Huo Chong had invited him to drink, he came early. Huo Chong set up a table at his residence, invited Zhang to sit down, and said with a smile: "I don't know if there is any good restaurant here, so I can only invite Zhang here."
"Mr. Huo, no problem, no problem." Captain Zhang replied with a smile.
Huo Chong thought that people in the government knew the rules. As a person in the government, Huo Chong, who was preparing to be promoted to the sixth rank, and the county magistrate and county magistrate, all called each other brothers. The head constables all called Huo Chong "Master Huo", not "Sir" or something like that.
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Huo Chong mentioned Li Daoqiong's name. Captain Zhang couldn't help but frowned after hearing it, "Master Huo, is that guy here to cause trouble for you?"
Huo Chong laughed and said, "They seem to think that I am not following the rules because I came here and didn't pay homage to their leader." Then he told Captain Zhang what happened during the day.
After listening to this, Captain Zhang said sternly, "Master Huo, Li Daoqiong is a gangster. He ships some goods to Japan every year. If they dare to trouble you again, go to the government office and call me. I will arrest them immediately!"
The head of the police is also a big figure in the county. Although he has no real cooperation with Huo Chong, he dares to say this, which at least shows his attitude.
Huo Chong drank two more cups with Captain Zhang, and then asked, "Captain Zhang, if I'm asking you to make this trip, I think you should show some appreciation."
Captain Zhang looked at Huo Chong, thought for a while, and then pretended to be straightforward and said: "Mr. Huo paid so much tax when he came to our county, how can I have the nerve to ask Mr. Huo for hard work money."
When Huo Chong heard this, he looked at the disappointment that Captain Zhang inadvertently revealed, and gestured to the employee. Soon, the employee handed over a money bag. Captain Zhang was really rude, shaking it and opening it to take a look. He confirmed that there were two hundred yuan in it. He immediately put it in his waist. Then he said, "They are just some bad guys in the county. I will send someone to tell them when I go back today. If they dare to touch Mr. Huo's business, I will never let them go."
With Captain Zhang's assurance, Huo Chong still didn't quite believe it, so he could only say, "That would be tiring for Captain Zhang and his brothers. So, if you brothers go out, come to me when you're done, and I'll treat you all to a drink."
They talked for a few more words and drank another cup. Huo Chong was really interested in this Li Daoqiong. Or rather, he was very interested in the sea trade line that he could use to transport goods to Japan.
When Huo Chong met Feng Yukuan before, he wanted to sell the goods to Japan through Feng Yukuan, but Feng Yukuan said he couldn't do it. At least he didn't say he could do it. Now Li Daoqiong is also a trader. Although Huo Chong doesn't want to show weakness to Li Daoqiong, he really cares about this trade line.
Captain Zhang probably thought Huo Chong was worried about Li Daoqiong, so he didn't say anything like "Killing Li Daoqiong is like killing a stink bug." Instead, he said seriously, "Master Huo, Li Daoqiong is indeed a thief. He eats the sea route business and calls himself Li Longwang."
Huo Chong almost laughed out loud. He had only mocked those people during the day, so he used the term "Sea Dragon King". He had never expected that this guy would actually dare to call himself the Sea Dragon King. If he took this too far, wouldn't he be a traitor?
Captain Zhang continued, "Master Huo, the imperial court has issued another ban on sea travel. The county knows that Li Daoqiong has a large ship, and has long wanted him to hand it over. But he is cunning and can't be found. If Master Huo is willing to sue him this time, the county can arrest him."
Huo Chong immediately said that there was no need to do this, he just didn't want to be blackmailed.
After seeing off Captain Zhang, Huo Chong felt a little disappointed. If he hadn't come into conflict with Li Daoqiong right away, he could at least meet this person. It seems that he was too arrogant. Maybe he had been in contact with the government for too long and forgot that in this era, you have to be both black and white.
The next day, they continued to harvest seaweed. Huo Chong asked his employees to be on high alert to prevent Li Daoqiong's people from causing trouble again.
At night, while the agar processing was still going on under the light, someone outside was reported to be visiting. Hearing that the man claimed to be Feng Yukuan, Huo Chong quickly invited him in.
When Feng Yukuan saw Huo Chong, he asked with a dark face: "Master Huo, you asked the government officials to find Li Daoqiong, what does this mean?"
Huo Chong didn't expect Captain Zhang to actually take action, and thought this guy was quite capable of execution. However, he couldn't mention this to Feng Yukuan, so he told Feng Yukuan about Li Daoqiong sending people to cause trouble.
Feng Yukuan's expression improved a little after hearing this. "Master Huo, if that's the case, I'll go see Li Daoqiong again and talk it out. Master Huo, you still want to exchange for Japanese goods, why offend Li Daoqiong?"
Huo Chong was certain that Feng Yukuan would definitely favor Li Daoqiong, after all, they were both underworld people. Although Huo Chong himself had established a close relationship with Qian Qing's uncle Yang Youfang because of Qian Qing, in the eyes of underworld people, Huo Chong was also an official who ate government food.
Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Feng Yukuan came again and said, "Master Huo, do you want to go with me to meet Li Daoqiong?"
"What does the Sea Dragon King want to do by inviting me?" Huo Chong said jokingly.
Hearing Huo Chong actually mention Li Daoqiong's nickname, Feng Yukuan was stunned for a moment, then said: "Brother Li also heard me say that Master Huo and Brother Yang are also acquainted with each other, so I want to meet Master Huo."
"Haha, are you going to fight?" Huo Chong laughed.
"Master Huo, you beat up Li Daoqiong's men and made him lose face in front of so many fishermen. If we can clear things up this time, won't Master Huo have more friends and more options in the future?"
This was exactly what Huo Chong was thinking, "Master Feng, if that's the case, what should I bring with me?"
"Bring some gifts." Feng Yukuan said.
Huo Chong nodded and started to think about what gifts to bring. Then he heard Feng Yukuan say, "Bring the stuff too."
In the afternoon, Feng Yukuan led Huo Chong to a house. The house was quite impressive, but what was impressive was that there seemed to be parts similar to watchtowers at the four corners of the tall walls of the house. Although I don't know how people would view this kind of structure in this era, at least Huo Chong felt that it looked a bit like a turret.
The people at the door were all tanned, probably from the water. Moreover, each of them was carrying a weapon, and even those who were unarmed were mostly wearing vests, revealing their strong arms. They looked like they could fight.
Huo Chong slightly adjusted the sword hanging on his waist, and then secretly touched the pistol in his arms. Although it was unlikely that Li Daoqiong would kill someone in broad daylight, it was always better to be careful.
The two walked through the aggressive welcoming team and entered the courtyard. They saw a man standing on the steps of the main house in the courtyard. He was tall and had a stern look. Just looking at his posture was interesting. At least from Huo Chong's perspective of modern fighting skills, this man was a real martial artist.
Without waiting for Feng Yukuan to speak, the man stood on the steps and shouted, "Master Huo, are you coming to our county to destroy our reputation?"
