Chapter III Preparations for Army Building The emperor is invited

Zhang Zhimu was a little big when he heard that Lu Chengxiang still wanted to report the account, "Mr. Lu, you still say a big number, and you and Huang Yukun will calculate the detailed account." ”

Lu Chengxiang smiled and said: "Oh, I've never seen a proprietor like you, and I don't care about silver." You say that we don't need silver to raise an army, buy a mine, build a school, build a factory, anything. ”

Zhang Zhimu hurriedly explained: "I am interested in silver, and I can't wait to earn all the silver in the world. How much silver do you think there is in the whole world? ”

Lu Chengxiang replied: "I can't say how much silver is in the world, but in the Great Song Dynasty, I could collect more than 20 million taels of silver every year. How much silver can you have? ”

"Then why can our Ming Dynasty only collect a few million taels?" Zhang Zhimu asked.

Lu Chengxiang said: "This is not good, one is that the Ming Dynasty engaged in a sea ban, and the tariff silver is collected a lot, and the other is that the Ming Dynasty has its own fiefdoms, and they can't collect the silver." The imperial court will only collect money from the common people, and it will not be able to collect a few pieces of silver even if the bones are squeezed dry. Those princes and big families who have silver can't collect it at all. Okay, I don't care about the world, I'm still talking about our own, you don't want to listen to it. I'll just talk about the big numbers that I recently recovered. ”

Lu Chengxiang glanced at Zhang Zhimu, and Zhang Zhimu nodded and motioned for him to continue.

Lu Chengxiang looked at the account book and said: "Together with the goods and horses that Li Mao transported last time, plus the goods and horses we brought over this time, there are a total of 20,000 taels of horses, the war horses are sold for more than 380 taels, and the ordinary horses are also sold for 25600 taels, and the silver for selling horses is 6.54 million taels; There are two kinds of goods we brought over, one is the goods we got from the north, and the other is our own goods in the kiln. The goods from the north were sold for one hundred and one thousand taels; More than 500,000 vehicles of our kiln goods were sold. ”

Zhang Zhimu asked: "Why do we have so much silver, and we don't bring much of our own goods in the kiln?" ”

Lu Chengxiang smiled proudly and said: "I think that the goods in our kiln are easy to sell and make money." Let's just say that the lock, the bigger one sells for ten taels of silver, and everyone still rushes to buy it; We sold a leather cooked in mutton fat for twice as much as the one we brought from the north. ”

Hearing Lu Chengxiang say this, Zhang Zhimu also came to ask with interest: "Then why is our skin tanned with fish oil so much?" ”

Lu Chengxiang is now very complacent, took a sip of water and said: "Our skins are all peeled off by ourselves after killing sheep, and then tanned with fish oil after being cooked with nitrate." The rough noodles are washed with alkaline water, and the skin looks clean and soft, can it not be sold? In the future, we will buy more sheep back, and we will almost earn mutton for nothing. ”

Zhang Zhimu shook his head when he heard this, and said, "Okay, tell me how much silver we have left now, right?" ”

Lu Chengxiang looked at an account book and said: "Remove the money that bought grain and goods, and the silver left for branches in various places, and remove the expenses, and this time I brought back 5.45 million taels of silver." This is a large number. At home, more than 1.3 million taels of silver were spent during this time, and there was also some income. The total of our house is 11,220,000 taels of silver. ”

Zhang Zhimu gasped and asked, "How do we have so much silver?" ”

Lu Chengxiang said: "It's not surprising that the silver of the eight major merchants in Zhangjiakou has all arrived in our hands, which they have earned for generations. Besides, the entire Ming Dynasty can still do business in the north and south, that is, we, the silver we earn, that is, the silver of the entire north-south trade of the Ming Dynasty now. Let's just talk about the horse, in the stable years, the average person transports a hundred and ten horses, and that is the big horse dealer. How can there be more than 20,000 horses like ours at once. During the stable years of the Ming Dynasty, the annual trade volume was tens of thousands of horses, and the profit of horses at that time was not as large as it is now. Now there are fewer horses, there are more people who use horses, and now they are all fighting, and they all want to buy horses. That's what we got caught. ”

Zhang Zhimu nodded and said, "It really doesn't cost much silver to buy food." I don't understand that the south is not as devastating as our north, nor is there a shortage of food. But why didn't the imperial court think of a way to transport some food to save the people? ”

Lu Chengxiang snorted and said, "Hmph! I think the emperor is in a hurry for the imperial court, and no one will worry about those ministers. Officials from all over the country are even more mountaineering and far away, and everyone is in charge of these. The imperial court's annual four million stone grains and grain can't complete the transportation task, how can they care about other people. You don't know, that Cao Yun, everyone along the way has to scrape some oil down, a stone of rice to the capital, the freight rate is several times higher than rice. Do you say that the imperial court has the ability to transport grain to save people? ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "No matter what else, I think we still try our best to buy more food." ”

Lu Chengxiang said: "If we buy more grain, the cave will not be able to fit, we are to repair the hole at the bottom of the cave with lime, absorb the water in the hole, and dry it by the wind, so that the current grain can barely be put down." ”

"This is easy to do, we will build another batch of granaries outside the cave, and clean all the trees around it that can be lit, and the granaries will not be built without wood and firewood, so as not to catch fire." Zhang Zhimu said.

Mr. Lu nodded and closed his big account book and said, "Mr. Zhang, I have a suggestion." You see that several of our ships are being converted into steam engines, and the ships we came back from the south were all towed by steamboats. I don't think we should build some of our own flat-bottomed boats. Such a flat-bottomed boat does not need to add sails. Such a ship is a shell, that is, the cost of sail rigging is saved, and a large place can be poured out to load the goods, and such a ship can be towed by a steamer. Then we won't have to hire someone else's boat. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Mr. Lu, you have a good idea. Actually, the kind of ship you're talking about is called a barge. We can also build barges with glass windows and beds for seating. In this way, the barge is towed by a steamer, there is no noise of the steamship on board, the wind does not blow, the rain does not rain, it is fast, and the passengers are indispensable. ”

Lu Chengxiang continued: "I mean, in the future, we will be escorted by a warship, and a flat-bottomed boat can be transported back and forth flexibly with such a boat. You don't have to wait until our brigade goes out together. A lot of goods can come in and out at any time. This is especially true for the transportation of personnel, and we can even send scheduled ships. ”

In fact, Zhang Zhimu knew that in his previous life, the boatmen who engaged in transportation on the water used this mode of transportation for transportation. However, hearing Lu Chengxiang say this, Zhang Zhimu was still very happy and said: "Mr. Lu, just with your idea, I should give you a credit." ”

Lu Chengxiang was more enthusiastic when he heard Zhang Zhimu say this, and said politely: "I think, if we build a passenger ship." Just build a steel-hulled ship, which is strong and safe. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Yes. Passenger ship safety comes first. But I'm more concerned with building grain ships. Now we are working too hard to load and unload grain, so we have to let Li Yunhe and them build some loading and unloading machines, at least use a crane to hang them down. If it is specialized in transporting bulk grain, it can also be loaded and unloaded with conveyor belts. ”

Lu Chengxiang didn't understand these things, Lu Chengxiang said: "Actually, we in Shanxi should not lack food. Qinpingyuan and Jinnan are both grain-producing areas. But the problem is that when it rains, there is a lot of water, and when it doesn't rain, there is a drought. If we can take Shanxi, I will take Mr. Lu Bingyi to take a good look and repair all the rivers and canals, so that our Shanxi can harvest both drought and flood. You see, in the same place, in the hands of our kiln, the crops there grow differently than elsewhere. I don't think it's good to be managed. Also, those rich landowners, if you let them spend money to build canals for irrigation, it is like killing them. They don't know the reason why they can earn more money by repairing the canals. ”

Lu Chengxiang was obviously a little happy today, and he rarely said so much in ordinary times. However, Zhang Zhimu can see that Lu Chengxiang is definitely not just a small shopkeeper, this person still has something in his belly. It's not easy to rely on his knowledge.

Zhang Zhimu and Lu Chengxiang talked for a long time this time, and the more they talked about it, the more Zhang Zhimu felt that Lu Chengxiang was not an ordinary person. He seems to be calculating the things of money every day, but in fact, he is also very aware of other things. Zhang Zhimu was thinking about how much more he would have to worry about if he didn't have Lu Chengxiang. At the very least, I won't let go of my own business like I do now.

When Lu Chengxiang said goodbye, Zhang Zhimu came out with him, and he felt that there were some things to discuss with Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He.

When he came to Chen Yufeng's command center, Zhang Zhimu told the two of them about the news from Wang Shichang and the fact that Gonggong Li wanted to see him.

After listening to Zhang Zhimu's words, Chen Yufeng said: "This emperor is fooled enough, and he has to come out to borrow silver!" ”

Ouyang He said very carefully: "Mr. Zhang, you still have to think about how you should deal with it if the emperor really borrows money." In my opinion, if the emperor is not too excessive, we can spend some silver. As long as he can withstand what is going on north of us. We'll talk about it when we get to our feet. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "I have also thought about this matter clearly. It would be best if Chongzhen could stabilize it with a little silver now. But borrowing too much is not a no-no. One or two million is not too much for us, but we can't give it all at once. Give him a part of the kiln coins, so that the emperor will turn the kiln coins, and our kiln coins can really circulate all over the world. ”

Zhang Zhimu's words caused Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He to laugh loudly.

Ouyang He said: "Mr. Zhang never forgets to do business when he comes." But I don't think it's necessarily a matter of borrowing money for you to see Gonggong Li tomorrow. Because the emperor borrowed silver is a shame that cannot be said to the outside world, he can only borrow it secretly. I'm afraid that he announced that you would enter Beijing, and that he would enter Beijing secretly. He will tell you to your face about borrowing money. ”

After Ouyang Heyi said, Zhang Zhimu also felt that this was the truth. said: "In the current situation, the emperor announced that I would enter Beijing, and I can't help but go." I should also meet the emperor. ”

Ouyang He shook his head and said, "Mr. Zhang, let's think about it, I'm afraid that your entry into Beijing this time is a bit dangerous." Because you are secretly entering Beijing, those ministers in the court know that it will be against you, and you can't be too public. ”

Chen Yufeng said: "Before leaving, remove their eyeliner first." ”

Ouyang He said: "That's just to tell people that we have something." That doesn't work, we're going to find a reason to get out. Or find an excuse not to go. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "No matter what the reason is, it will be a falling out with the emperor." It's similar to rebellion. I want to go and have a good talk with him, and if he can keep the Manchus and the Mongols at bay, I'd rather spend a little silver. ”

Chen Yufeng said: "This matter, you go to see Gonggong Li tomorrow, listen to what he has to say." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "I have some matters to discuss with you about the formation of an army this time. I think that the army we have formed should be a new type of army, and they must first have ideals, so that every officer and soldier knows why they are fighting; In addition, this army must have strict discipline, without strict discipline there will be no combat effectiveness, and it will not be supported by the people; Our armed forces must not only have advanced organizations and advanced weapons, but also use the best military uniforms and other supplies. ”

Chen Yufeng asked: "Zhimu, do you take into account the cost?" ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "I have thought about it. Tens of thousands of troops we are equipped with. Tomorrow I will ask Lu Qi to weave twill and canvas out of a textile machine. Twill was used to make military uniforms for soldiers, and canvas and rubber were made into canvas upper rubber-soled shoes. The shoes are durable and comfortable to wear. Each soldier was equipped with a sail buckle rucksack as a carrying gear. The helmet is made of rattan on Taihang Mountain and then painted, and the armor on the front and back chest is also made of rattan. As for the organization of the army, I have thought about it for a while, and here is a list for you to take a look at, and if there is anything wrong, we will revise it. ”

After speaking, Zhang Zhimu handed Ouyang He a document and materials.

After Ouyang He took it, Zhang Zhimu continued: "From now on, we will start a public opinion war with Li Zicheng. Didn't they say that when the king came, he would not pay the grain? We'll comment on him. Ask him if he doesn't pay food, what hundreds of thousands of troops eat, and what kind of food they eat. From this point of refutation, he is said to be hypocritical and deceptive. Didn't he use these few words to buy people's hearts? We tell you that this statement is false and deceitful. At the same time, we slowly introduce our proposition. But we can't say openly that we are advocating it yet, and we need to let everyone discuss it in the newspapers. ”

Ouyang He said: "Mr. Zhang's method is very good, we will use our newspaper as a weapon, and this time we can choke Li Zicheng's anger." The public opinion war that Mr. Zhang said is also very interesting. ”

Chen Yufeng said: "On the issue of military discipline, we now have a very strict set in the army, and we just need to improve it. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "This is the best. I also have to design military emblems, military flags, and different teams must have flags that are not compatible. The team was roughly divided into cavalry, infantry, navy, and Li Wei's artillery. In the future, a military rank system will be implemented in the ranks. The rank system and organization are in my paper. ”

Chen Yufeng said: "That matter, let's take a look at what you said." Now I want to do it earlier, and expand a cavalry of about 10,000 people with Liu Chenghuang's cavalry as the mainstay. This is our mobile team, elite soldiers who can be pulled out at any time. In the future, they will be equipped with the best weapons and horses. When we defend, we don't use them, and when we counterattack, it's a heavy punch. ”

In fact, this is exactly what Zhang Zhimu thought, and Zhang Zhimu of course agrees with Chen Yufeng's opinion. Zhang Zhimu said: "We still have more than 10,000 horses, many of which are good horses, and I didn't let Mr. Lu sell them, so I kept them to form cavalry." ”

Chen Yufeng said: "What I am most concerned about now is when your rifle will be made." Recently, Ouyang He and I studied the use of ** in defense. If you can make the kind of rifle you are talking about, our army will really be a hundred. Then it will be easier to deal with Li Zicheng. It is even possible to completely consume Li Zicheng's main force in Shanxi. Give us a year or two to get it out. ”

The three of them discussed the formation of the army for a long time, and when it was a little dark, Zhang Zhimu and Chen Yufeng realized that they were hungry and it was time to go back to eat.

Early the next morning, Zhang Zhimu and Li Zhi took the same carriage, and Li Jing took a team of people and horses directly to see Li Lianxi and Li Gonggong.

When I saw Father-in-law Li, Father-in-law Li's first sentence was: "Hey, Dongjia Zhang has invited you, dare to come into the house quickly, we still have important things to discuss." ”

After entering the house, Gonggong Li's score was not small, and he said, "Everyone should step down!" We have important things to do. ”

Everyone went out, and Gonggong Li said, "Zhang Dongjia will take the order." ”

Zhang Zhimu's most annoying thing is kneeling, but now he can't kneel. Zhang Zhimu had no choice but to kneel down and pretend to be pretending to be, and said, "Take the order!" ”

Gonggong Li recited the holy decree with the voice of the male duck, which meant that Zhang Zhimu thought of it, and asked Zhang Zhimu to enter Beijing secretly, saying that there was something important. Zhang Zhimuxin said something important, isn't it just borrowing silver?

After getting up, Gonggong Li asked: "Zhang Dongjia, what a great honor it is for the Holy Lord to announce that you have entered Beijing, I didn't see you happy." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Alas, where do I have time, I was about to have a wedding, and Yang Yulin saved my life, and I promised others to marry her immediately." It's not going to be easy. ”

Gonggong Li laughed and said: "Zhang Dongjia is a lover, in fact, this matter is not in a hurry, you can just go to Beijing after completing the marriage." ”

Zhang Zhimu was waiting for this sentence, and hurriedly said: "Then please ask Gonggong Li to inform the emperor." ”

"Okay, Zhang Dongjia. When are you ready, let me know, I'll go to Beijing with you. But you have to think of a reason to go out, and never let people know your true whereabouts. Gonggong Li said.

Zhang Zhimu said: "Don't worry about this, I will arrange it." I just don't know if Gonggong Li knows what the emperor is doing this time? ”

Gonggong Li laughed again and said, "How dare I guess the emperor's holy will." Zhang Dongjia will know when he arrives, so don't worry about it. ”

Zhang Zhimu saw that he couldn't ask anything, so he returned to the kiln with Li Zhi and others. saw Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He tell the situation.

Ouyang He said: "Mr. Zhang has to prepare for going to Beijing now, and he also has to prepare for the wedding. I think the wedding should be grand, not too big. The time is set for you to enter Beijing to prepare, and we will hold the wedding again. ”

In the evening, Zhang Zhimu told Huang Yukun about going to Beijing to see the emperor, and Huang Yukun hugged Zhang Zhimu and said, "I think you will try not to go if you can." I don't know what the emperor is thinking. What if he doesn't let you go, if he asks for money? ”

Zhang Zhimu really didn't expect this layer, if Emperor Chongzhen was really vicious, and he took himself as a hostage, he wanted silver, but what should he do?

However, Zhang Zhimu thought about it again, Chongzhen is now a poor person, and even worse someone who can help him solve problems. He will definitely not hold himself back, because then the emperor will lose a force to support him.

Huang Yukun said: "Then hurry up and prepare for your marriage with Yang Yulin." Yang Yulin was in a hurry. ”

But Zhang Zhimu suddenly felt at this time that in addition to his marriage to Yang Yulin, there seemed to be a lot of things that needed to be explained.

------------------

Calculus formulas, tables of chemical elements; Conquer Japan in the east and attack Mayi in the south; Penicillin, syringe. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".