Tantai Crane Love has deep connections in many places in the south of the Yangtze River, and cloth merchants from all over the country work hard for Tantai Crane Love.
With more and more cloth merchants participating, Tantai Heqing is no longer fighting alone.
Of course, cloth merchants are separated by mountains, and they suffer in many aspects. However, there is one advantage that grain merchants cannot match - that is, most cloth merchants are very rich.
When cloth merchants have money, they use silver to spend it. Whether it is the purchase price of grain or the cost of hiring personnel, they use silver to spend it.
This makes the grain merchants unable to speak out, but they can only bite the bullet.
The competition for grain became more and more fierce and turned into a war between cloth merchants and grain merchants.
On the Suzhou City side, Lu Tao never closed the city gate from beginning to end. He turned away the people who came from other counties and showed his willingness to accommodate as many as they came.
Under normal circumstances, Lu Tao's attitude would have calmed down the people's minds.
It's just that Zhu Clan is behind this matter, adding fuel to the flames, and the turmoil continues.
In Zhu's study room, Zhu Donglai asked: "Zhu Quan, why can Lu Tao still hold on?"
Zhu Donglai originally thought that Lu Tao would be forced to close the city gate today, and then he could use all means to bring down the reputation of the Lu clan.
Zhu Quan responded: "Originally Lu Tao couldn't survive today, but Lu Tao used the military ration quota."
When Zhu Donglai heard this, he was not angry but happy, laughing loudly: "Lu Tao is getting deeper and deeper. Don't you know that this will make more and more messes?"
Zhu Quan didn't know how to answer. Big men are very courageous. They dare to do things that ordinary people dare not do, and they also have the courage to bear serious consequences.
Lu Tao is such a character!
"Master, what should we do now?"
Zhu Donglai said calmly: "Don't worry, let the fish bite the bait deeper and it won't be able to get rid of it."
He had already thought of the next way to deal with Lu Tao, which was to shake the morale of the army.
The first batch of grain was transported back to Suzhou, with a majestic convoy of thousands of people and hundreds of oxcarts and carriages. The scene was very grand, no less than the grain army transporting grain and grass.
Based on the calculation that a carriage can transport ten to fifteen shi, this batch of grain exceeds 10,000 shi.
Huo Duan's ability is indeed amazing. This is the first batch. In the next critical few days, this situation will continue, making it difficult for people to believe that Huo Duan is just a businessman.
This is probably why even the kings of Silla and Goryeo valued him so much.
When this convoy was still three miles away from the gate of Suzhou City, it was stopped by the troops from the Tunqi Camp of Zhechongfu. The person who led the team personally was Zhu Shaozhi, the captain of Zhechong.
Zhu Shaozhi seized the grain of the convoy in the name of search.
The leader of the convoy often dealt with the local army. The army would not stop them for no reason. Reasoning with the army would not work. They immediately sent someone to inform Huo Duan.
As long as the above is taken care of, the army will naturally let it go.
Huo Duan sat firmly in Suzhou and did not panic after receiving the news.
He has seen all the recent events in Suzhou.
Ordinary people can't see the details, but for Huo Duan, who is well-informed, he can't help but see that the Lu clan and the Zhu clan are fighting.
Even the Zhechong Mansion, which is only used during war, was used. Such a big scene was no small matter.
Obviously the Lu clan and the Zhu clan had a falling out, which was beyond Huo Duan's expectation.
There are so many things involved in bidding for a Jiangnan Dongdao Grain General Merchant, and the fact that the Lu family can stand so resolutely is related to an important person.
This person is Xie Fu, the incoming military governor of Huainan Province. Xie Fu obviously has the support of the Lu clan.
In addition to the fact that Gu Clan dispatched Tiger Guards to escort Tantai Mansion's silver carriages and horses in the past two days, two families from the four families in Wuzhong already stood on Xie Fu's side.
Now there is only one Zhang Clan who has not expressed his position. If Zhang Clan also sides with Xie Fu, then Zhu Clan will have no choice but to resist stubbornly and eventually withdraw from the stage of history.
But if Zhang Clan sides with Zhu Clan and adds a Di Zong, Suzhou will become a stable and prosperous place.
, will be shaken up.
The law of historical evolution is either to achieve greater brilliance or to reach the bottom.
Where is the confidence of Zhu Vale and Zhu Donglai? After much deliberation, Huo Duan has only one possibility, and that is that Zhu Vale and Zhang Vale have secretly reached an alliance.
Seeing that Huo Duan had not given instructions for a long time, his subordinates asked: "Master, what should we do now?"
Huo Duan smiled: "If the goose plucking its hair, what else can we do?"
"How about asking Mr. Lu for help?"
Huo Duan smiled and said: "Master Lu is in a state of distress right now, and the government troops and government officials don't dare to sit idle. How can we help?"
From Huo Duan's point of view, Lu Tao does not dare to transfer his people from their posts easily now. Once they are transferred, riots will break out in Suzhou at any time instigated by some people with evil intentions.
In other words, Lu Tao has no manpower available at the moment.
"Don't worry, if they want to seize and search, just let them search as much as they can."
The subordinate was surprised and said: "Master, if you do nothing, the next operation of Zhe Chong Mansion will be requisition."
This is a consistent method used by the local army to seize it for itself, and these grains and grains that were painstakingly purchased at high prices were only exchanged for an IOU that no one knew who to cash.
Huo Duan is a man who has experienced strong winds and waves. He smiled lightly and said, "No need to worry. From the day Zhechong Mansion is opened, I will be prepared to guard against them."
The subordinate asked in surprise: "What preparations?"
At this moment, a subordinate walked into the inner hall. This person was also Huo Duan's confidant.
"Sir, the fleet has approached the Suzhou River and is docked near Xianqiao on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal."
Huo Duan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll tell you to go down. After nightfall, load them into small boats and enter Suzhou City on the boat at midnight."
The waterways in Suzhou are more developed than the land ones, but large ships cannot enter the city's water alleys. Huo Duan's move was broken into pieces, and even if the Zhechong Mansion army knew about it, there was nothing they could do, let alone not know about it.
His subordinates were surprised, and Huo Duan smiled and said, "That mighty motorcade is just a cover."
"Sir, isn't the convoy transporting grain?"
Huo Duan responded: "Of course it's grain. Otherwise, how could we attract them there? We could just hide in Chen Cang secretly. We're just small heads."
He said with emotion: "I have never done such a big business in my life, it is really a big business!"
…
It was already dark, but Lu Tao's study room in the government office was still brightly lit.
Feng Shoudao stood aside, waiting for Lu Tao's instructions. Even if he used the military ration quota, he could only cope with it for one day, and now he has no food on hand.
If people cannot buy food tomorrow, all previous efforts will be in vain.
Moreover, even the morale of the military would be unstable. Feng Shoudao could not imagine the terrible situation that would follow.
Lu Tao frowned. Zhu Clan, who had killed the dragon to protect his family, had now turned into an evil dragon.
If he lost this confrontation with the Zhu clan, it was because he put the people first and had so many concerns.
But Zhu Donglai had no scruples and did whatever he wanted, without caring about the life or death of others.
At this moment, a subordinate came to report: "Sir, Mr. Xie is here."
Before Lu Tao could speak, Feng Shou said happily, "Master Xie is here."
For Xie Fu, Feng Shoudao always had an inexplicable trust in his heart. When the Wang family recruited relatives, Xie Fu passed through all the obstacles, leaving a shocking impression in his heart.
"welcome."
As soon as Lu Tao finished speaking, Xie Fu strode into the study, but he kept following the leader, unwilling to wait even for a while.
He raised his hands in salute and called out, "Master Lu!"
Lu Tao stood up and led Xie Fu to sit down and talk, and said with a smile: "Shaodian, why are you here so late?"
Xie Fu smiled and said, "I'm here to help you solve your problems."
Lu Tao said oh.
Xie Fu smiled and said, "Are you worried about the people buying food tomorrow?"
Xie Fu was a man in the game, so Lu Tao's use of military rations could not be hidden from Xie Fu.
eyes and ears.
Seeing Fu Xie's confident look, Lu Tao smiled and said, "Shaodian, are you mocking me?"
Xie Fu laughed and said, "If I want to ridicule you, I have to wait until you have nothing to do before I mock you."
Lu Tao smiled lightly: "Shaodian, to be honest with you, I have nothing to do now."
Xie Fu said: "Your Excellency has countless strategies to deal with the situation at hand, but you don't bother to use these strategies. This is what Xie Fu deeply admires."
"Tomorrow I will put a human head on my neck, so what is there for you to admire?"
"My lord is joking. The grain purchased by He Qing has arrived in Suzhou, which can solve your urgent need."
When Lu Tao and Feng Shoudao heard this, they cheered in unison.
Lu Tao said excitedly: "It came just in time!"
Xie Fu nodded and said: "The initial estimate for a convoy of over a thousand people is no more than ten thousand dan. Let alone ten or eight days, it is not a problem even if it takes an adult to deal with it for a month."
Lu Tao burst out laughing, his laughter full of joy after being suppressed for a long time.
"Man's calculation is not as good as God's calculation. Zhu Donglai is destined to fail in the way of heaven and humanity."
Lu Tao smiled and suddenly asked with a serious face: "Shaodian gave me the grain and bid with the Zhu family in Hangzhou, what should I do?"
Xie Fu smiled faintly: "Xie Fu still knows clearly what is more important. Even if he loses the bid in the end, Xie Fu will be very happy to help you win the hearts of the people."
Feng Shoudao, who was standing aside and listening, was so excited that he couldn't help but slap his thigh hard.
The snapping sound made the two of them look at Feng Shoudao gently at the same time. Lu Tao asked: "Shou Dao, what's wrong?"
Feng Shoudao said excitedly: "Young Master Xie understands righteousness very well, I admire you greatly."
Lu Tao paid tribute to Xie Fu and said with deep meaning: "Young man, Shou Dao rarely admires others so much."
Feng Shoudao answered: "There are only two people who can make me bow to Yuanmen. Now I have one more person to thank, Master."
The two of them smiled and thanked Fu for returning to the topic: "Sir, it's just that this batch of food is outside the city and is being held by the Zhechong Mansion army. I need to ask you to help me."
Lu Tao thanked Fu with his finger and joked: "So that's it, I'll repay you for being anxious for me."
Xie Fu smiled and didn't answer. With Lu Tao's status, it shouldn't be difficult to get the food back from Zhe Chong Mansion. However, Lu Tao said, "Shaodian, but I can't help you with this matter."
Xie Fu looked surprised, and Feng Shoudao took the initiative to explain: "The Zhechong Mansion army is not under the direct control of Mr. Lu, so you can completely ignore Mr. Lu's orders."
"To get this batch of grain from Zhechong Prefecture, we need to use the Suzhou Prefecture Army. But the Suzhou Prefecture Army is sticking to its post at the moment. Once they withdraw, I believe there will be a riot in Suzhou City in an instant."
Lu Tao nodded.
Xie Fu asked: "So, the Lord has no one to use."
Lu Tao sighed with emotion: "Young idiot, do you know how many people have poured into Suzhou City these days, and how many of them are ready to cause trouble? Many soldiers have not had a good sleep for several days."
Xie Fu frowned, then he was just thinking of another strategy. Suddenly he saw Lu Tao smiling calmly and asked, "My lord, you seem to have an idea."
Lu Tao smiled and said, "Our manpower is not equivalent to others not having manpower."
An idea flashed in Xie Fu's mind: "Third Master."
Lu Tao smiled and said, "Yes, Shudu's Tiger Guard, not to mention a temporarily activated Zhechong Mansion army, even a large army can be snatched back by you."
Xie Fu said, "Aren't you afraid, sir?"
Lu Tao chuckled: "Many things are discussed with fists, and we can rationalize things later. You are not a member of the officialdom, so I can't explain it to you right now."
Feng Shoudao explained: "You can completely kill the Zhechong Mansion army, and then file a memorial afterwards saying that they were ambushed by bandits."
Xie Fu was stunned for a moment: "Can such a big thing be covered up?"
Lu Tao smiled: "For example, the people in the city clearly know that this person is a corrupt official and does nothing but evil. Why?
There was nothing they could do about him. Even if the court knew that he was guilty, they would have to secretly collect evidence if they wanted to convict him. "
Xie Fu understood everything at once. He always wanted evidence. If he couldn't produce any evidence, it would be useless. He asked softly: "But if we do this, will the observation officer Xu Fulai be willing to give up?"
Lu Tao said calmly: "What's the difficulty? Just kill him all together. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. In Suzhou, I am the king."
Then he patted Xie Fu's shoulder gently: "The imperial court is not an adult who can distinguish right from wrong. If you need to turn a blind eye, you can do so. Everything is based on interests."
Xie Fu said with a smile: "It's like you are ready to rebel with strong troops and horses. Instead of saying that you are rebelling, the imperial court will try to appease you."
Seeing Xie Fu casually say the word "rebellion" in front of Mr. Lu, Feng Shoudao looked surprised. Then he thought, Mr. Lu could express his intention to murder the minister, so why should Xie Fu joke about it?
As expected, Lu Tao smiled faintly and said, "That's exactly what happened."
He stood up and said, "Let's go, let's take a trip to the Gu Mansion."
When they came to Gu Mansion and met Gu Xuan, Gu Xuan introduced the two of them into the inner hall to talk.
This was the first time Gu Xuan met Xie Fu after the farewell to Jinling, and they had a very cordial reminiscing about old times.
After reminiscing about old times, it’s time to get down to business.
Lu Tao explained his intention. After hearing this, Gu Xuan said calmly: "What's the problem? I immediately ordered the tiger guards to come over and said that this is the grain of my Gu family. If they dare to stop them in the slightest, they will treat this army as bandits." killed."
Lu Tao said: "Uncle Du, don't be too violent. Just kill the leaders and the other soldiers will naturally obey."
Gu Xuan smiled and said, "Master Lu, I will listen to you, but the formation needs to be well prepared, otherwise they will think that I, Gu Xuan, are joking with them."
After saying that, he will give the order.
However, Lu Tao pulled Gu Xuan to sit down: "Uncle Du, don't worry. If possible, it would be better if someone else does this."
Xie Fu blurted out: "Who?"
Lu Tao smiled and said, "Zhang Chou advocated the right river."
