choke element

Yeseong Port is the largest seaport in Korea and the starting point of shipping on the Yeseong River. Bilanjeong, located outside Yeseong Port, is the largest commercial town in Goryeo.

This town is separated from Kaesong, the royal capital of Goryeo, by more than thirty miles of rugged mountain roads. It is connected to the dock area of ​​Yecheng Port by several roads as wide as several feet, so whether it is directly in charge of business or with It is very convenient for the nobles of Goryeo to come and go.

In the eyes of the ruling elite of the Goryeo Kingdom, this town is located on a flat area with no danger of being defended by the sea. If you want to go inland, there are mountains blocking it; if you want to go to the sea, you can go to the lower reaches of the Licheng River. The two mountains and stone gorges restrict the river course, forming a dangerous The shipping route, and further out, are still monitored by the Korean Navy on Ganghwa Island, so there is no chance of causing waves.

Not to mention, the prestigious General Cui Junwen came forward on behalf of the government and was stationed here just in case.

On paper, the terrain and people arrangements are solid.

This is not the case. General Cui's special status comes from his experience accompanying Li Yun. In Kaicheng, he boasted this friendship to the fullest, but in Licheng Port, there were too many people who knew what happened back then, so he couldn't boast about it. His reputation was only on paper, and he couldn't face it at all. This area is managed.

Fortunately, this is not a big trouble.

The Goryeo Kingdom has always had loose governance over the local area. Every monk, Taoist priest, mountain bandit, and water bandit in the region has its own territory. The court itself also has countless enemies and friends including the royal family, the royal family, military ministers, civil servants, etc. involved. Cui Junwen was tattooed in Bilanting and followed this management approach. He fought fiercely with the merchant leaders and only ruled symbolically.

The entire Bilanting is actually operated by officials, local forces and maritime merchants in coordination with each other. Anyone can move around here unimpeded, people with various tasks are active here, and they may even bump into their colleagues from time to time.

What's ridiculous is that unlike the tense situation among the big shots above, the dog-leggers active near Yecheng Port can easily get benefits here, so they are reluctant to leave this cornucopia. After a while, the henchmen got to know each other well, and each of them vaguely showed some affection. They even exchanged information about the master's family with each other in order to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

For example, at this moment, Cui Junwen was in a tall building overlooking the pier to the east of Bilanting. He was hiding in a quiet room drinking wine and watching the fleet slowly move into the berth. On the same floor of the restaurant, there is a private room with the same closed door. In the woods not far away from the restaurant, Cui Junwen's very familiar figure flashed.

Those that are too far away cannot be reached by Cui Junwen. The next door is separated by wooden boards and double gauze curtains, and there are a few people wearing black gauze hats watching and whispering.

Not long after the document proposing to take over Yin Chang was issued, Cui Junwen vaguely felt something was wrong. But he also knew that when a civil servant like Cui Zi does something, he must first properly remove himself and never leave any flaws for Cui Junwen to catch.

When ten months passed, the Japanese pirates in Cui Yu's hands did not move at all, and Cui Junwen became even more unable to grasp Cui Zi's leverage. However, Cui Zi had to arrange for his subordinates to do things. Cui Junwen had been keeping an eye on one of Cui Zi's right-hand subordinates for the past few days. By now, he had heard a few truths from them.

"The Japanese didn't dare to move? These people have been showing off their ferocious faces all day long, but it turns out they are useless when things get tough!"

"The Japanese ships have been waiting at Heishuiyang, and many warriors have gathered on Heishan and Yueyu Islands. We can't rely on them this time. There is no order from above at all."

"This shouldn't be the case from above... Are we just watching these Zhou people land ashore? Li Yun, the Zhou merchant leader, had a close relationship with Cui Junwen. If Yin Chang also sided with Cui Junwen, he would probably affect the royal capital. The situation is easy!"

"No, no, maybe the superiors have their reasons. Maybe Yin Chang is really here to do business, and the superiors feel that there is no need to create extraneous matters."

"At this time, a former military and political official rushed to Korea to do business? What a coincidence? Do you believe it?"

"Coincidence or not, that's another story. Did you notice his entourage?"

"Of course I've seen it before. Kong Wu is very brave."

"Sigh... You're not doing your job properly. There are only a few dozen of his subordinates who arrived on the ship with strong movements and murderous eyes. Although hundreds of others tried their best to look well-trained, we are here The familiar interpreter at the dock has heard that this group of people all have southern accents, and most of their identities are accountants, brokers, clerks, and some medical officers."

"...Accountants, brokers, clerks, doctors? Hundreds of people? Is...is there something wrong with this old man? Is there any reason in the world to lead hundreds of people to eat for free before business has started?"

The topic of those people completely changed and they started to discuss what kind of business Yin Chang would do in Goryeo. After a while, the discussion really came to no result, so the two went downstairs again, intending to explore the background of Yin Chang and others. Cui Junwen kept listening.

Behind Cui Junwen, an interpreter whispered and immediately translated their words into Han Chinese language so that Yin Chang, who was sitting opposite Cui Junwen, could understand them.

Yin Chang seemed to be smiling but not smiling, neither surprised nor scared. After the interpreter finished speaking, he asked: "In other words, Cui Zi, an official of your country in Yecheng Port, had private contact with a big shot in Kaesong and wanted to use Japanese people to take my life?"

"Yes."

Cui Junwen nodded repeatedly: "To be honest with Mr. Yin, the situation in our country in Korea is quite tense these days. But I, Mr. Cui, made an agreement with Mr. Li of your country back then to ensure that the people of your country are safe. So Mr. Yin Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re fine. But…”

He leaned forward and said sincerely: "You should let me know your purpose of coming here. Only by knowing my heart can I help you seek advantages and avoid disadvantages."

The more sophisticated of the two spies had discovered that Yin Chang really didn't bring much force with him on this trip. No matter how large the fleet is, no matter how fierce the sailors are, they still cannot get ashore. Just relying on dozens of guards and hundreds of messy guys, no one can turn the tide.

He also noticed that the accountants and clerks had obviously received military training. But this only made Yin Chang feel a little guilty and timid, and he had to use others to make up for his courage. It seems that this person who was demoted and dismissed by the Emperor of Zhou really has no strength at all.

As a result, Cui Junwen became much bolder when talking to Yin Chang. After using Li Yun's name to establish relations, his words also contained a little bit of intimidation.

If you are talking about this, the powerful people in the Goryeo Kingdom all have other focuses of attention at this moment. If you don't have a strong background or big business, just stay at Bilanting in Licheng Port, don't talk nonsense, and just make a little money with peace of mind.

This is not a bad suggestion. It's a pity that Yin Chang never thought of staying honest, and he still wanted to rush to Kaicheng.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Yin Chang laughed.

"General Cui, I also have a friendship with Langzhong Li, the right-hand man of Dazhou! I won't hide it from you. Yin couldn't stay in Nanjing properly. Marshal Fang Zhen, who originally commanded tens of thousands of troops, was reduced to a noble man. The country, working with merchants... Life is already so miserable, and all they do is to seek a little wealth."

"What wealth? How much wealth?" Cui Junwen asked warily.

"A little bit! A little bit of wealth!"

Yin Chang took out a thin book from his sleeve and put it in front of Cui Junwen: "Four or five waves of people at the dock have secretly looked at my accompanying personnel. They have not yet been able to detect the supplies that are accompanying them clearly. However, There’s nothing shameful there, here’s the list. General Choi, you’ll know what I’m going to do in Goryeo.”

Cui Junwen looked down for a long time, his expression became strange.

"The construction model of the high platform outside Xuande Gate in Kaifeng? A ten-foot-long model of the flying bridge and ladder that can be leaned on the railing to overlook? The materials of various gate towers, colorful flags, and lanterns? And...hiss...high-quality and refined The polo clubs? The leather armor worn during the game? The five-color trainers worn by the horses? And the matching sheng orchestra and gambling equipment? So many? "

"How is it?" Yin Chang patted the book reservedly: "I have a small business in Kaifeng, and some people who run errands. They are responsible for arranging various lantern festivals, sumo acrobatics, and even Cuju and polo scenes. Even a gathering of twenty or thirty thousand people can be arranged in a lively, safe and magnificent manner. Over the past few years, this industry has become famous in Shandong, Zhongdu and other places. It is not difficult to make a few bucks by organizing a gathering for others. Hundreds or thousands of dollars. Well, the gathering we are invited to host this time is in your country."

"Is it possible..."

Yin Chang smiled and said: "The high-ranking officials and nobles of your country are famous for their love of polo. In a few days, there will be a grand polo match in Kaicheng, the capital of your country. The match will last for ten days, at least dozens of times. The team members represent all parties from the government and the opposition. It is said that the king and prime minister of your country will watch the whole process. I, Yin, and my subordinates...are here to organize this competition."