Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 67 Early Payment
No one cared about the changes in the Ye family’s house, but the Ye family’s business activities attracted the attention of the Guangzhou business circle.
The shopping malls in Xiguan are crowded with wealthy people. Ye Dalin settled the bills with upstream merchants in advance. It is almost impossible to keep a business operation of this level secret.
The insurance dealers always delay in settling the bills, and almost never settle the bills ahead of time. However, Ye Dalin seemed to have taken the wrong medicine, and suddenly rushed to settle the bill ahead of time. At first, several insurance dealers were confused, but soon, Pan Yiliang Ma followed suit.
The entire Guangzhou business circle was secretly shocked by this.
On the other hand, at Wu's residence, no matter how windy or rainy it was outside, there was no movement at all, and at Pan Garden, everything remained the same as before.
It was just that the atmosphere was so popular that the upstream merchants of Cai, Xie, and Lu, who had originally not taken any action, also came to sound out the situation to see if these guarantors could pay them for the goods in advance.
Xie Yuanli politely declined at first, but after more than a dozen rounds of visits, he could no longer hold back and came to find Mr. Cai. As soon as they met, he asked, "Old Cai, what do you think of the commotion caused by the Ye family these past two days?"
Mr. Cai pondered and said, "Old Ye is a newcomer after all, so it's understandable that he's worried about this matter. He's smart, and he knows that once the money is out of his hands, even if something unexpected happens in the future, he won't be asked to donate again this time."
Xie Yuanli nodded slightly.
This time, in the situation where the evil dragon comes out of its lair and the beasts share the food, although the evil dragon and the beasts have the same goal, their purposes are actually different.
Cai, Xie and others, in addition to following the orders from their superiors, also have the personal purpose of taking the opportunity to stop the Wu family, so they not only want money but also lives, and want to kill the Cai family with one blow - if you don't kill the snake, it will surely be bitten back, this truth Cai Shiwen and Xie Yuanli both understand very well.
But it was not the case with Heshen. All Heshen needed was money to fill the deficit. As long as the money was in hand and the general situation was guaranteed, he didn't really care what the situation of the Guangzhou merchants was like.
Therefore, this time when Cai Xie was plotting against the Yang family, he chose to act when the Yang family's silver pool was at its fullest; when he was plotting against the Wu family, he used all kinds of conspiracies to lock up the Wu family's money flow.
After Ye Dalin was reminded by his daughter, he immediately decided to disperse the family's savings as soon as possible. As long as the Ye family's savings were insufficient, the higher-ups (Heshen) would lose their reason to take action against the Ye family. At that time, even if there were any changes in the forced donation situation, the Ye family would be safe. After some thinking, Pan Yiliang and Ma also figured this out, so they quickly followed up.
"Ye Dalin is as cunning as a devil, so it's not surprising that he has such insight." Xie Yuanli said, "But the Wu family is very strange. Even if Wu Chengjian is really a prodigal son, is Wu Guoying also senile? It has been four days, and there is no movement from the Wu family. Is the Wu family really prepared to wait for death like this?"
"It's not like there's no movement..." Cai Shiwen pondered and said, "Old Hou has been missing for quite a few days."
"Old Hou?" Xie Yuanli was stunned for a moment, then he realized that he was talking about Hou San, one of the four managers of Yihe Bank. He was an insider of the Cai family. Although the matter was confidential, Xie Yuanli was one of the few people who knew about it.
Cai Shiwen said, "His family went everywhere to look for him. The people at Yihehang said that the old merchant arranged for him to go to Macau - this is a blatant lie. Not to mention that no one has seen Lao Hou on that road in Macau, even if Lao Hou really went to Macau, he would definitely send someone to inform me."
"He's been exposed." Xie Yuanli said, "The Wu family must have secretly detained him. Humph, they probably want to get some information through him. Could it be that the Wu family's back-up plan is here?"
Cai Shiwen smiled: "Even if they find out something, what's the use? Can they rush into your storehouse and steal the tea? If the Wu family dares to do that, we can immediately ask for orders and charge them with robbery without waiting for three days."
Xie Yuanli said, "That prodigal son Wu Chengjian really knows a lot of people from all walks of life. Don't use any tricks to steal the tea."
"There are no five ghosts moving things in this world!" Cai Shiwen sneered, "Let's take a step back. Even if he really stole the tea, it can't change the Wu family's dead end. What else can Wu Chengjian do now? People from all walks of life have always only added icing on the cake, who would help in times of need? When Yihe Bank had a lot of money to spend, naturally all kinds of people would come to him, but now the Wu family is in decline, even the turtle slaves in Baihua Bank have to give him a cold shoulder, even the so-called Tietou that he has raised for several years has turned against him, taking the Wu family's money and provoking trouble in Foshan every day, how can he care about the life and death of the Wu family? If it weren't for the flag soldiers guarding the door these days, the Wu family would not be able to live in peace. In just one or two days, I'm afraid that the Wu family will not be able to keep Huachahao."
"Flower number?"
Cai Shiwen said: "Someone is going to make a move on Huachahao. Haha."
Many secrets are not secrets at all to other people.
That day Zhou Yijin suddenly asked Tanka Sanniang to invite Weng Xiong over and said, "If there are thieves within a hundred people, or more than thirty or fifty people, who climb up to Huachahao at night, can the Tanka men take care of them?"
Tan Sanniang had no idea why Zhou Yijin called Weng Xiong over, and she raised her eyebrows when she heard this.
Weng Xiong said, "Why, there really are some ignorant people who want to offend Huachahao?"
Zhou Yijin didn't say anything, but his expressionless face clearly showed his agreement.
Weng Xiong said, "The people in the nearby Tanka villages are mostly indebted to the Third Young Master and the Third Lady. If I go and call them, even five or six hundred young men can come over."
The people of Guangdong are tough and sturdy. When the natives and the Hakkas fight, the two sides can mobilize thousands of people each, and even bring out some illegal weapons. In comparison, the Tankas are much weaker than the Cantonese and the Hakkas, so they are forced to work hard on the water. However, if they want to deal with hundreds of bandits on the water, it will be no problem.
Zhou Yijin said: "No need to make a big fuss, I can roughly know when they will come, you can go on board in advance and set up traps."
Weng Xiong said: "If that's the case, then what is there to worry about? We can set up a trap array and catch them all in one fell swoop."
Zhou Yijin asked: "How many people are needed at least to achieve a complete victory?"
Weng Xiong said: "If the enemy is in the open and we are in the dark, we only need to mobilize the one hundred boatmen on the sandbar."
"The current situation is slightly different from what I judged a few days ago." Zhou Yijin said, "I will allocate some money to you. You go to secretly gather people and make an appointment with these young men from the boat families. Find another excuse and don't leak the news. Wait until the day after tomorrow morning, and let all the fishing boats attached to the Huacha leave Baietan. Tell the public that they see the fishing season and go fishing, so that they can come without worry. Hide the seventy young men in the boats. The other thirty young men hide on the sandbar. When they see the pirates' boats approaching, wait for them to get on the boats, and then the young men hiding on the sandbar will come over to cut off their retreat. It's best not to let any of them escape."
After hearing the arrangement, Weng Xiong said, "If that's the case, then what do we have to worry about? If one of them leaks out, I, Weng Xiong, will be embarrassed."
Huachahao is isolated in the wind and waves of Baietan Lake and has a special location. If the thieves' retreat is cut off, and if the boatmen who are familiar with the water also cut off their retreat, none of them will be able to escape.
Weng Xiong said suspiciously, "But... Master Zhou, why do you know so much about the number and movement of the bandits?"
Zhou Yijin smiled and said, "Don't ask me about this. Just do as I say."
Weng Xiong suppressed his doubts and took Zhou Yijin's money. He went to several nearby Tanka villages and found a dozen young leaders. These dozen young men then called together more than a hundred people. Because the Tanka people lived on the water and had no contact with people on land, although Weng Xiong's call involved hundreds of people, it did not reach the shore within a day or two.
On the third day, the Tanka village announced that warm water had rushed into the Lingdingyang from the Baietan Lake, which alerted other Tanka villages nearby. Even the fishing boats that had been attached to the Huacha were all dispatched to catch the fishing season. This was a common occurrence for the Tanka people, so it did not attract much attention. However, Weng Xiong and more than 70 Tanka youths quietly hid on the Huacha.
That evening, Zhou Yijin suddenly called the sailors to the deck. When the sailors saw nearly a hundred boat people standing behind him, they all felt uneasy.
Zhou Yijin said: "Tonight, some thieves will come and rob Huachahao. One of you is their accomplice."
The sailors looked at each other in horror and suspicion.
Zhou Yijin pointed out one of them and said, "Ke Twenty-Eight, please stand up."
The sailor named Ke Ershiba jumped up and said, "You, you... don't slander me. I'm not an insider."
Zhou Yijin smiled and said, "When did I say you were an insider? But you admitted it pretty quickly."
Weng Xiong had already led a few young Tanka boys over and held Ke Ershiba down. Ke Ershiba kept cursing and tried to encourage other sailors to help him. However, the number of Tanka people was several times more than the sailors on the ship, and Ke Ershiba was new, so the sailors did not take any action for a while.
Zhou Yijin ignored him and said to the sailor leader Deng Dachang: "Take your men to search where he sleeps. You should be able to find some phosphorescent powder. That's what he's going to use to send a signal tonight."
Deng Dachang was a little suspicious and took people there . Not long after, he hurried back with a bag and said, "Sure enough, there is phosphorescent powder. We also found some arson tools under his bed."
At this moment, the sailors all believed what Zhou Yijin said.
Zhou Yijin said: "Tie up Ke Ershiba and lock him up in a cabin."
Then a sailor and two young men from the boat family took Ke Ershiba away.
Weng Xiong and Deng Dachang stepped forward and asked in unison: "Master Zhou, what should we do next?"
At this time, they all believed that there would be an attack by thieves. Baietan leads directly to the open sea. If a large group of pirates came here in the opposite direction, they would not be able to resist them with the limited number of people on the ship.
Although the Huacha was originally a warship, it had long been converted into a water garden. Wu Chengjian had always kept only a minimum number of sailors for this giant ship. With these sailors alone, it was no problem to move near the shore, but it would be difficult to go out to sea, and as for fighting, forget it.
Zhou Yijin saw through their concerns and said, "Don't worry, they are not large pirates from outside Lingdingyang. There is Xin'an on the left and Macau on the right of the Pearl River Estuary. The imperial court's sailors and foreign ships are intertwined, and large pirates cannot get past them and go straight to Baietan. If not, how could the Huacha have been peaceful in Baietan in recent years? The people who came are just some servants we fired before, who colluded with bandits in and outside Guangzhou City. There are only a few dozen people at most. If there is no insider, these people may not even be able to get on the ship."
Deng Dachang said, "Master Zhou, how about we report it to the police?"
Zhou Yijin said: "First, it's too late. If we report it to the authorities now, the thieves will be approaching before the authorities send anyone. Second, you all know the current situation. If we report it to the authorities, it will not end well if we involve the Wu family."
Deng Dachang asked, "What should we do then?"
Weng Xiong said loudly: "If Master Zhou's intelligence is correct, then we have many more people than the enemy, and the enemy is in the open while we are in the dark. If the thieves don't come, forget it. If they do, we will just shut the door and beat the dog. What are we afraid of?"
Deng Dachang said: "We should be able to win, but if there are hundreds of people fighting together, what if they don't know how to control their strength and kill or maim several people?"
Zhou Yijin said calmly, "We are on the sea here. According to the court's rules for dealing with boat people, boats are houses. According to the Qing Dynasty's laws, anyone who enters someone's home without reason at night will be punished with eighty strokes of the cane. If the host kills him immediately, there will be no punishment."
Seeing that Deng Dachang and Weng Xiong didn't quite understand, he explained, "That is to say, anyone who enters someone's house without permission at night will be taken to the government office and beaten with eighty sticks. If the person is killed on the spot by the owner, the owner will be exempted from punishment and can just pretend that nothing happened. So if these thieves don't come tonight, it's fine. If they do, we can just kill a few of them."
Weng Xiong was overjoyed: "If that's the case, that would be great."
Deng Dachang thought about it and nodded - no one who can make a living as a sailor on the water is really afraid of anything.
Zhou Yijin said: "Go and arrange it."
Deng Dachang and Weng Xiong immediately set up traps in various places where people might board the ship - mainly thick fishing nets. If the thieves really came up, they would be caught with the nets and then beaten with sticks. Unless they were facing experienced sailors or cunning pirates, it would be difficult to resist even with hundreds of people, let alone dozens of people.
This ship was originally a warship. Although it had been modified, its basic structure that was conducive to defense could not be changed. With Deng Dachang's guidance, it didn't take long for the boatmen to set up the trap . After nightfall, they just waited for the thieves to arrive.
I waited and waited, until the second watch, but still there was no movement.
The sailors and boatmen were getting a little irritated.
Zhou Yijin called a young man from the Tanka tribe and said, "Go, use this packet of phosphorescent powder and smear it on the bow of the boat."
Deng Dachang asked: "What is this for?"
Zhou Yijin said: "I don't like waiting either. Instead of waiting, why don't we decide when the thief will attack?"
Soon after the phosphorescent powder was applied, there was indeed movement on the dark water surface - originally the visibility was very poor at night, but both the boat people and the sailors had experienced many storms, and if they were paying close attention, they still noticed something.
“It’s coming!”
