Chapter 28: Bringing Blessings to One Side

  Hehe, ranking has some fluctuations, but still in eighth place. Lao Bai still needs to ask everyone to continue voting and collecting, let's work hard together!

  Thank you everyone

  －－－－－

  Li Meng just recovered from his thoughts and smiled:

  "Not bad, you brought thirty people with you today, just keep bringing them from now on!"

  After finishing speaking, Chen Liu's dark face turned slightly purple, obviously excited and thrilled to the extreme, Wang Hai and Zhao Nai on the side also had a face full of envy.

  Li Meng patted his own head, thinking that there was no need to rush, after all, he had only been training for less than two months. In the past, new recruits hadn't even finished their training yet. Gradually increasing the intensity, with three drills and two lectures, using up all five hundred of these young whippersnappers, he didn't believe they couldn't be trained.

  "This salt is from our Jiao State people, if you are here from Changyi to trade, leave half of the salt behind!"

  "What kind of poor guy is this? Doesn't he want to live anymore?"

  ……

  "Don't toast if you don't drink, or you'll be punished with a drink! Old Zhang from Gaomi, put down all the salty dishes, lest you get beaten!!"

  "It's not cheap even if you give me half a cent more, I didn't buy it cheaply at the salt market either."

  ……

  "Who let you come to Mangzhong Town to sell salt? Leave your salt goods behind and get out of here quickly!"

  "Next time I dare not, I dare not, sir! Can't we make a deal?"

  ……

  "Big brother, what are we afraid of with these poor devils holding bamboo poles? Let's go and fight it out with them!"

  "You little scoundrel, are you looking to die? This is a salt pole, quickly unload the salt goods. What are you standing there stupidly for? Drop whatever is in your hand and put a smile on your face, or else you'll die without even knowing how!"

  ……

  "This salted fish is really impressive, it's delicious to eat and can also be used as a weapon. We brothers have some strength too, why don't we go in and ask for some food? I heard that Li Meng is the reincarnation of Erlang Shen!"

  Time flies quickly, after entering the fifth year of Chongzhen in December, Ling Mountain Wei and Pingmeng Town have become a peaceful world. Individuals and teams smuggling private salt have all disappeared. Those salt bandits who came to Ling Mountain Salt Field from other states and counties were all in this or that condition with "salt sticks".

  These salt smugglers and salt yards have been in a relationship for many years. When buying salt, they can get it at a relatively low price, but if they want to pass through this section of land, they must provide half of the salt goods to the salt stick, otherwise, they cannot enter or exit. Although these salt smugglers do not lose much, they also delay their journey, let alone those who transport private salt in small quantities, everyone wants to find a loophole.

  Those Ling Shan Wei and surrounding village fishermen who went to Mang Town to sell salt, no matter how hidden they were, at most they would only succeed once. If they wanted to go again the second time, they would be immediately blocked by the salt stick people, beaten violently, which was still considered light, and even the salt dried in their village would have to be sold at a reduced price.

  This money wasn't earned, got a beating, and still had to suffer the white eyes of the villagers, it's better to honestly deliver salt to Xishan Village under the command of Commander Xue.

  The salt bandits were fed up with the abuse they suffered in the last month of the year. The two groups from Pingdu and Changyi, totaling over 60 people, planned to teach the salt smugglers a lesson. However, on their way, they were intercepted by the salt smugglers, who had brought over 80 men this time. On the spot, seven of them were killed with bamboo sticks.

  The rivers and lakes have never been so violent, the salt merchants are bold and desperate, but they still tremble with fear when they see such a bloody scene, immediately kneeling down to beg for mercy, the salt stick holders did not press them, directly took 100 loads of salt, warned them and then drove them away.

  What made these small and large private salt smugglers frightened was that their movements seemed to be firmly grasped by the salt control stick. They appeared at what time, in what place, the other side had an accurate judgment. So they came out, but they didn't even have a slight advantage.

  No matter how hard you fight, your moves are all accurately judged by the opponent, and there is only one way to admit defeat.

  That is to say, now about 80% of the salt sales from Lingshan Saltworks are controlled by Li Meng. Shandong official salt has no profit, and the geographical location of Lingshan Saltworks is poor, all relying on private salt to support it. Li Meng has already monopolized Lingshan Saltworks and surrounding private salt business in fact.

  Li Meng of the Xue family's thousand households is now a respected person, although his identity is only that of an ordinary military household. The identities of the thousand households, hundred households, general flag and small flag are all higher than his, but when people see Li Meng, their respectful and polite expressions far exceed those they show to the above-mentioned people.

  The reason is simple, Li Meng has money. The five hundred households in Xue's family are almost all dependent on Li Meng for salt drying and selling, relying on the silver collected by Li Meng to make ends meet. Moreover, Li Meng's business is also based on benevolence and righteousness, never delaying or withholding payment. Although the neighboring Dengzhou is still plagued by war and natural disasters, this life feels slightly better than in previous years.

  It's not just about having money, but also people. These young men, known as salt sticks, have grown to around 200 in number, almost taking up one-seventh of the strong and able-bodied men within the thousand households. They eat well and train hard, and when they go out and fight against others one-on-one, they usually gain the upper hand. These are two hundred capable fighters, whereas the thousand households' commanders are only allowed to lead troops into battle. Even the commander-in-chief of the Ling Shan Guard only has a dozen or so personal bodyguards, but those bodyguards seem to be no match for these salt sticks.

  One side is safe, in the past, because of the salt fields nearby, the smugglers and private salt traders from Laizhou Prefecture, Dengzhou Prefecture, Qingzhou Prefecture, and even Yanzhou Prefecture all came to this place to sell salt. These people relied on their own courage and numbers, making the local area chaotic and sometimes resulting in cases of violence.

  The guards are already very weak, and no one is willing to come out and preside over justice. The local authorities have no right to handle the case of the guards, it's really a case of having grievances with nowhere to appeal.

  Since Li Meng was possessed by "Erlang True Lord", he led these salted rods to sweep away the dark and evil things, making the local area peaceful again. Such a person naturally became a role model in everyone's eyes, with skills, ideas, and decisiveness.

  "Li Erlang, aren't you going out today?"

  "Brother Li, can I go into the salted fish?"

  When Li Meng walked through the thousand households, everyone he met was very polite and greeted him with a smile. However, Li Meng was puzzled that his family only had one child, so why did people call him "Li Er Lang"? Nowadays, even the salt vendors were called Li Meng's own people, but they couldn't find a better name.

  As he walked along the road of Qianhu, all the way to the seaside, Li Meng felt a sense of pride rising in his heart as he watched the changes happening around him. He had only been here for a few months and had already done many things. Many people were able to increase their income by boiling seawater to produce salt, which not only helped them avoid being exploited by salt merchants but also improved the lives of these kind-hearted poor people, allowing them to live in peace and contentment, which was also an achievement.