Chapter 27: Kill the Chicken with a Cow Knife

  Tomorrow there will be at least two more updates. Everyone is welcome to recommend and collect, hoping that I can move up one place in the new book rankings. Thank you everyone, Lao Bai has gone all out ^_^

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  In the tenth month of the lunar calendar, the Shandong coastal area was quite cold, especially at this time when it was almost dark. These young men were all bare-chested, some standing in line, some running, and others holding bamboo poles to thrust forward. Li Meng sat in the middle, watching the people around him practice, correcting anyone who made a mistake immediately.

  The sun in the distance was about to set into the sea, and Li Meng had just corrected someone's movement there. He thought with a wry smile: "After coming to the Ming Dynasty, I have made progress compared to when I was in modern times. At least as a soldier, I was a squad leader, managing nine people, and at the escort company, I was a small team leader, managing twelve people. Now, I'm managing over a hundred people, at least I'm a battalion commander!"

  There is a profit in private salt, and there are teams selling private salt everywhere. However, the number of salt fields is not many. Originally, places like Changyi and Yi County in the north of Laizhou Prefecture needed to buy salt from Fushan Salt Field in Dengzhou Prefecture. After Kong Youde's rebellion, Huang County and Dengzhou Prefecture City happened to block this section of coastline.

  The imperial court assembled a large army to blockade Dengzhou, and naturally also blockaded the coastal areas. As a result, all the salt merchants came to the Ling Mountain Salt Field to purchase salt. What's strange is that several salt merchants in Fengmeng Town did not sell their goods to these places, but instead stockpiled enough salt and then transported it away by water.

  In this era, crossing counties and prefectures is not a trivial matter. The salt merchants from Changyi, Yiyuan County, Pingdu, and Gaomi are all in teams of forty or fifty people to do business here.

  On October 5th, more than thirty private salt smugglers from Pingdu Prefecture came to Jiaozhou City under the guise of selling dates. They first rested in Yīngmǎng Town for a day and then set off for Língshān Salt Field the next day.

  There is also an official road between Mengzhen Town and Lingshan Salt Field, but these private salt smugglers dare not take it. Although they are all fugitives, this is still a forbidden thing, so it's better to cover up. The salt police in Jiaozhou City are specifically targeting these outside private salt smugglers for arrest, with great benefits and low risk.

  These salt smugglers took a relatively remote path, which they were also familiar with. They set out early from Fengmeng Town. The local people in Shandong Salt Field only sold to locals and the sales route was not smooth. The official salt merchants did not want to do business, relying on these private salt smugglers instead. It didn't take long for them to complete their transaction. Since they were taking a small path that required concealment, these men were also pushing chicken carts.

  On the way back, it was just after breakfast time. After walking for over ten miles, the leader suddenly raised his hand to signal everyone to stop. The salt merchants in the back were puzzled, but doing this kind of business, they still had some vigilance, and instantly, they all took out their weapons and crowded to the front.

  There has never been any strong man between Mang Town and Lingshan Salt Field, how did it appear today? But this is good, a strong man is better than a salt official, can't afford to provoke him, spend some money to buy a pass, can provoke him, then have a fierce battle.

  "We're from Pingdu City, where are you guys from?"

  The man opposite him didn't make a sound, he waved his hand and the thirty or so men behind him, armed with knives and axes, took a few steps forward. As they drew closer, it was clear that these people were also of poor origin, each holding a bamboo pole and standing there silently.

  In Pingdu County, the salt smugglers thought to themselves that they and their brothers were holding steel knives and iron axes, while you poor men were only holding bamboo poles. If you got close, wouldn't you still be chopped down? And judging by the number of people, the other side had about thirty people, but our side had a slight advantage.

  They just stood there silently, facing those poor men, and had a taste that couldn't be expressed. The salt smugglers from Pingdu Prefecture also had some intuition about danger and didn't dare to come forward rashly. However, the companions behind him were already loudly cursing. He stretched out his hand to stop them and opened his mouth to say:

  "The road is wide and open to all, everyone walks on their own side. When going out, it's not just about seeking wealth, why hurt the harmony? Any matter can be discussed!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, someone on the opposite side shouted out:

  "Brother Da Hai, this salt is all from our people in Jiaozhou. You folks from Pingduzhou come to do business here, and it's like you're sucking the blood of our ordinary people! You should at least give us some compensation. Let's be straightforward, we'll sell you this salt for five silver coins per dan (unit of weight). This isn't a bad deal for you either - when you buy from your uncle, it's four coins and seven cents per dan. I'm even throwing in the foot money for you!"

  When he heard the other party calling out his name and making it clear that he was related to Ling Shan Salt Field, Chi Da Hai's whole body trembled with fear, thinking that the other party had indeed figured out his secrets. The salt tax envoy of Ling Shan Salt Field was Chi Da Hai's uncle, relying on this relationship, every time he could get four or five mace of silver per dan of salt, after transporting it back to Pingdu Prefecture, because Pingdu is a landlocked area, the price of salt is also high, and the profit is extremely thick, this money is shared with his uncle, making a fortune.

  The other party has fewer people than us, yet they say such unreasonable and ruthless words. How can we continue to negotiate? Chu Dahai is also a seasoned trader, he's not ambiguous either. He waved his hand and shouted:

  "Brothers, don't hold back!"

  As soon as this was said, the salt smugglers who had been holding back their anger in the back immediately cursed loudly and charged forward with their knives and axes. When encountering such a robbery on the road, what matters is who dares to fight to the death. Everyone does these things for money, food, and clothing, so it's not worth risking one's life. Therefore, whoever has the courage to fight to the death or appears to be willing to do so often gains the upper hand.

  What's more, judging from his appearance, he looks like a peasant from a nearby village who wants to make some extra money or a poor soldier, what is he capable of!

  Someone on the other side shouted as they charged forward:

  "Steady up, hold steady!"

  Listening to this voice, they all trembled a bit, and the salt smugglers' courage grew bolder. Their footsteps quickened, but the person charging at the front was somewhat troubled. The opponent's bamboo pole was over ten feet long, and it was indeed troublesome to charge to the front of the opponent.

  Based on past experience, charging forward with knives and axes like this is usually enough to scare off even the strong mountain bandits, who often disperse in such a situation.

  These salt smugglers shouted louder and quickened their pace, anyway the bamboo poles were all flat-headed, couldn't kill people. The salt smuggler who rushed to the front heard someone shouting something among those holding flat bamboo poles, but didn't hear clearly in a hurry, already rushing to the opponent's side.

  A dozen or so bamboo poles with a whistling sound came rushing over from right in front of me.