Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 477: Sea Bodyguard Group?
When Zhang Shou said that a group of typesetters had been specially trained at the Beijing Public School, Young Master Jiang, who was instigated by Zhang Chen and Zhu Er, was dumbfounded. Cao Wu still had that honest and amiable look on his face, as if he didn't understand anything. Zhang Chen and Zhu Er, who had been looking at each other in confusion, continued to look at each other after hearing this.
Guan Tao, who really didn't understand what was said, was the one blinking his eyes with a confused look on his face. As for the group of Cangzhou martial artists who didn't dare to come over rashly and follow Cao Wu to the capital to look for opportunities, even though they heard most of what was said with their excellent hearing, most of them were still in a state of watching the fun.
After being stunned for a long time, Zhu Er shouted at Zhang Chen angrily: "It's all your fault. You kept exchanging information with Lu Sanlang all day long, making it seem like the real thing. I really thought you had some good ideas, but after all this time, it turns out that they were all the ones that others had thought of long ago! I told you that my future brother-in-law is a man who thinks three steps ahead. How could he underestimate those celebrities who were summoned!"
Zhang Chen ignored Zhu Er's words which were obviously meant to flatter Zhang Shou. He frowned and said, "It doesn't make sense that Fatty Lu wouldn't know about this? He runs a bookstore, and the school's chief academic officer is his father. How could he be completely unaware of what is taught there? Uh..."
He suddenly shut up, seeing Zhang Shou looking at them with a half-smile, he knew that he and Lu Sanlang were colluding with each other, so he had to confess awkwardly: "Lu Sanpang is indeed worrying too much, and he keeps sending people to tell me and Zhu Er to nip problems in the bud. We have no choice but to drag Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu with us. Isn't this thinking that a few cobblers can be as good as Zhuge Liang..."
"As disciples of the Ge Sect, we have to help our sect flourish, so we try hard to come up with an idea, don't we?"
After hearing Zhang Chen betray Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, and pulled out the banner of Gemen disciples, Zhu Er immediately betrayed him, saying, "In the end, it was Zhang Lu who came up with this idea from the newspaper office... He said that since many people use the newspaper office to copy government reports, we can directly annex several small newspaper offices in Cangzhou, so that we can spread news that is beneficial to us."
"In fact, you can do this in the capital, but there are too many bigwigs in the capital, so you have to be careful... Ouch!" Seeing Zhang Shou directly folded his fan and hit him hard on the head, Zhu Er immediately realized that Zhang Shou thought he was too talkative. But those who were brought here by him and Zhang Chen were all intended to be peripheral candidates, but after all, he had not discussed this topic with Zhang Shou before, so he could only shut up in dismay.
After Zhang Shou stopped Zhu Er from talking, he looked at Cao Wu, who had been trying to keep his presence as low as possible, and said with a smile: "Captain Cao, you are bringing a large group of people to the capital this time... to expand your business? Are you planning to open a martial arts school or an escort agency?"
"Ahem, it's not easy to live in the capital. We didn't dare to hope to gain a foothold in the capital." Cao Wu smiled again in a seemingly innocent way, then glanced at Zhang Chen and Zhu Er, and laughed dryly, "But thanks to the support of Master Zhang and Master Zhu Er, we plan to take on some insignificant things in the capital. For example, arrange some defense for this vegetable garden."
You are a bunch of experts who transport all kinds of people and goods to wealthy families all day long. How come you come to the capital to arrange defenses for a mere vegetable garden?
Are you sure this isn't an overkill?
Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh or cry, but seeing Cao Wu's expression that was full of "I'm serious", he finally understood why Guan Tao said excitedly before that he didn't have to worry about those garden thieves anymore. If the master guards the house, what's the point of worrying? However, since Cao Wu didn't want to reveal his true intention right away, he certainly wouldn't be in a hurry, and just nodded with a smile.
"If you are willing to do these little things, that's fine. But Guan Tao and his fellow monks are poor monks. I'm afraid they can't afford to pay you."
"Dr. Zhang introduced these good things from overseas to people in Beijing, which also made our Cangzhou famous. Now that there are villains coveting those seeds, we should certainly do our part. How can we ask for money?" Cao Wu said passionately, but seeing that Zhang Chen and Zhu Er both looked unconvinced, he laughed dryly as if a little embarrassed.
"In fact, we also have our own selfish motives. Since this vegetable garden is famous, we can also use it to spread our reputation. Otherwise, we outsiders may not be able to let the people in the capital know our abilities."
Zhang Shou knew that Cao Wu would not do anything without profit, and he felt that this reason, which sounded plausible, might not be the truth. Therefore, he said indifferently, "Since that's the case, you two can just talk and do it. But it's rare to have a fellow villager coming from Cangzhou, and Xiao Huasheng didn't come out with me, otherwise the boy would be happy."
"Master, as long as you stop forcing him to recite poems, Peanut will definitely be happy."
Zhang Shou could hear Ah Liu suddenly say something, and he immediately glared at him angrily - I was just talking nonsense to change the subject, what nonsense are you talking about? But at this moment, Ah Liu suddenly added: "And they are not old salted fish."
It had been quite a while since they last saw Ah Liu, and Zhu Er and Zhang Chen both felt that the way he spoke was something worth remembering. Moreover, it was rare to see Ah Liu and Zhang Shou arguing, so they were naturally happy to just sit back and watch the fun.
Zhang Shou could understand what Ah Liu meant by that. With Xiao Huasheng's awkward personality, unless Lao Xianyu or Xian Yunhe came over, he would never be happy to see a fellow villager. He could only scold angrily, "Didn't Lao Xianyu go back to contact the boat to Qiongzhou Prefecture? Once he sets sail, he won't be back for a year or two."
"That's why Peanut is worried about him!"
Ah Liu seemed to be unaware that he was talking to Zhang Shou at cross purposes, and that they were completely at odds with each other, and he seemed to have not noticed Zhang Shou's expression of being at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He suddenly glanced at Cao Wu and said thoughtfully, "Xiao Huasheng is afraid that it's not safe at sea... Actually, I think that the escort agency business can't be done at sea, and Lao Xianyu and his men can also bring bodyguards when they go out to sea, right?"
After these words were spoken, Zhu Er and Zhang Chen, who were just watching the joke of Zhang Shou and A Liu, the master and servant, were stunned, and Cao Wu's fake smile froze on his face.
The other escort agency members who were standing a few steps away to show their closeness to each other had a bigger reaction. One of the burly men slapped his thigh, but when he was about to speak, Cao Wu gave him a glare and forced him back.
Zhang Shou also didn't expect that Ah Liu would suddenly bring up this. After a slight pause, he couldn't help but look at the boy with some surprise.
When Ah Liu was in the countryside, he was often silent and a bit dull. After arriving in the capital, he seemed cold and aloof most of the time. He had no interest in studying and always positioned himself as a fighting man. But now it seems that he really underestimated others. This kid is still quite thoughtful.
However, when Zhang Shou accidentally glanced at Cao Wu, he found that he was obviously flustered, as if... his intentions that he had been trying hard to hide were suddenly exposed. Realizing that Ah Liu might have accidentally revealed Cao Wu's true feelings, he immediately laughed with interest and said, "Could it be that Chief Escort Cao also has the ambition to make a living at sea?"
"How dare I be so arrogant!" Cao Wu immediately laughed, "The sea and the land are not one family. If those heroes on land really got on the ship, many of them would vomit all over. Even if I have the intention, I don't have the courage or the man to do it!"
Seeing that Cao Wu was trying his best to deny such an intention, Zhang Shou's heart moved, and he immediately said with a smile: "That's why I said that Ah Liu's idea was really unrealistic. After all, even if you, Chief Escort Cao, are a good man who can handle both land and sea, it's hard to say about the people under you. Ah Liu, you have never been to sea, so don't give people random advice!"
Zhang Chen was better at observing people's expressions than Zhu Er. He saw that although Ah Liu was scolded by Zhang Shou, his face remained calm, while Cao Wu's expression changed drastically in that instant. Naturally, he felt that there was something wrong with this guy who volunteered to be a bodyguard to escort them to Beijing.
Thinking back to the beginning, he was the trigger for the first purge of the Tianjin Linhai Camp - there was no other reason, because he was the one who opened the lid. At this time, although Zhang Chen didn't know what Cao Wu meant and what Zhang Shou meant, he just followed Zhang Shou if he didn't understand anything, so he immediately spoke eloquently and packaged himself as an expert in maritime affairs.
"A Liu, you've come up with a bad idea this time! There are rules on the sea. The fighting among pirates is different from the fencing on land. Many land masters have become nothing more than worms when they go to the sea."
He tried his best to search for the past events that the victim had told him, and then added other things he had read in books and heard from others, deliberately exaggerating: "In a war at sea, no matter how high a person's martial arts skills are, they cannot match the ramming of a large ship with a thick ram. It is said that in the far west, pirates have been driving such ships to rob merchant ships since ancient times, and then they would engage in a fierce battle after ramming them..."
"But this won't work for our warships, because when you're about to hit us, you'll be within the range of our cannons and muskets. When they fire, your ship will sink and your men will die. Moreover, even in a boarding battle, firearms like muskets are much more powerful than swords. Even bows and arrows are far less useful than firearms because they are easily affected by moisture at sea."
"However, our merchant ships do not have firearms, so we are at a disadvantage in naval battles when we encounter pirates. Many of us have hired many skilled fighters to accompany us on board, but in fact, they are useless."
Zhang Chen didn't seem to think that it was a big deal for him, a future duke, to swear. After saying the last four words, he even smiled.
"A few years ago, in the heinous case of Tianjin Linhai Camp, a military ship attacked a merchant ship at sea, using the excuse of investigating pirates. At that time, one ship hired two very famous escort masters from Heluo, but when the officers and soldiers boarded the ship, they dared not say a word, and when more than ten people blocked the doors and windows and fired randomly, they didn't even have a complete body."
Zhang Chen shrugged his shoulders with a sense of unfulfilled meaning after saying this: "In short, the escort agency has expanded its business to sea vessels a long time ago, but the result was tragic. The two most famous masters of the Heluo escort agency died without a burial place, and the victim came to demand compensation, so they immediately scattered."
"In short, Cao Wu, you should think about it carefully. Don't rush into developing a career at sea! Every profession has its own expertise. Even if you want to do it, you must think of a foolproof plan first, otherwise don't say I didn't warn you!"
Zhang Shou didn't expect that he just casually poured a basin of cold water, but Zhang Chen simply said something that was equivalent to throwing Cao Wu directly into a pool of ice water.
However, Cao Wu tried his best to maintain his expression, laughing and saying that he learned his lesson. The burly man next to him, who had just slapped his thigh hard but had remained silent because of Cao Wu's look, finally couldn't help it this time, and nodded repeatedly with lingering fear.
"Thanks to Master Zhang, otherwise Brother Cao and we would have been cheated! Isn't there a plan to build a port in Cangzhou? The Hua family, the richest family in Suzhou, approached us privately, hoping that we would provide manpower to serve as bodyguards on the ship, and promised us generous compensation."
Cao Wu had never expected his sworn brother to be so quick-witted. He was in a dilemma and extremely embarrassed. He had just denied it, but if he couldn't find a good excuse now, the image of being knowledgeable and interesting that he had established in front of Zhu Er and Zhang Chen would be in vain. Even Young Master Jiang, who had acted as a matchmaker between him and the Hua family, would probably blame him for not keeping his brother's mouth shut.
So, he immediately made a decisive decision. On the one hand, he never mentioned Young Master Jiang's matchmaking, and on the other hand, he sincerely blamed himself.
"I really didn't mean to hide it just now. Although some of the brothers can swim, it is said that swimming in the sea is completely different from swimming in a river. If you really fall into the water, it will be impossible to even collect the body, so I have actually been hesitant about this matter."
"But this pie in the sky is too big. I am unsure, but greedy. I thought that no matter what, I should go to Beijing to meet with the head of Suzhou Hua family, Mr. Hua Si. If the risk is too great and we can't reach an agreement, then I will quit this matter and see if there are other opportunities in Beijing. I was too embarrassed to tell the truth just now because I was afraid of being embarrassed."
Zhang Shou then realized that the Suzhou merchants had made preparations in advance and had even thought of hiring an escort agency.
However, he had just deliberately exaggerated the difficulty of being a sea bodyguard, but he did not really want to stop Cao Wu from bringing people into this industry. Therefore, when he saw Cao Wu bowing to him and Zhang Chen and Zhu Er repeatedly, he shook his hand.
"This kind of thing is supposed to be discussed in private. You are abiding by business ethics by keeping silent about it. There is nothing wrong with that."
He smiled as he spoke, gently rubbed his chin with two fingers, and then said lightly: "Just now I said that land masters can't get used to sea battles . This is indeed true, but since you, Chief Escort Cao, are willing to bring people to the capital to meet with Fourth Master Hua, I think you believe that your men can also fight on the water, but you just didn't consider the difficulties Zhang Chen mentioned."
"After all, a group of bodyguards stationed on a ship to provide protection for people and cargo are of limited use in the vast ocean."
He paused, as if thinking about something interesting, and then smiled and said, "Captain Cao, you might as well stay in the capital for a while. There are many places like this vegetable garden that need security, and you might make a lot of money."
