Unlike other places, which are desolate or prosperous, Luojian is really full of traces of human exertion.

The wharf here is also different from the side, beyond the long embankment, there are platforms of varying heights, on which in addition to many boatmen are active, there are also a large number of roulette nooses and cattle and horses pulling the wheels. The huge wooden box with a width and length of several zhang weighs more than thousands of catties, and the manpower handling requires the cooperation of at least hundreds of people, which is extremely troublesome and inefficient. But here, with the simple cooperation of a few nooses, it can be easily lifted and placed on the ship accurately and smoothly.

Whoever sees this scene will probably have a sense of pride in being born as a human being, and be able to use the combination of mechanical tools to exert a power far beyond themselves, which is a major advantage of humans from animals. It is an important support for the human body as the spirit of all things.

Looking south from the wharf, it is not the beautiful mountains and rivers or acres of mulberry orchards that can be seen elsewhere, but the large furnaces with billowing smoke, varying heights, water drains and water mills lining the riverside, and the air is filled with a scorched smell.

On the dock, two medium-sized cargo ships have been loaded. Luojian is also a rather large trading place, but unlike Runan, the goods traded here are only ordnance, and there are naturally not many people who are qualified to trade, but the amount of property involved is only a lot more than that of Runan.

On the dock next to these two ships, there were more than a dozen strong men surrounding a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was dressed in a dark brocade robe, with three strands of goat's whiskers under his chin, and his hands behind his back, staring at the scenery around the pier quite engrossedly. Although he has to come and go here several times a year, of course, sometimes he doesn't need to come in person, but he still can't help but come to see it, and every time there is a feeling that he can't explain.

"Captain, the goods have been counted, and they can leave at any time."

A family member hurried down from the boat and walked quickly to the middle-aged man's side to pray.

When the middle-aged man heard this, he nodded, signaled the cargo ship to go first, and he led a dozen people from the nearby side to board another slightly smaller ship, slowly sailed away from the dock, and then turned into the Huai Shui.

In March, the Huai River began to rise, and there were many flowers and plants in the blue waves, so that the whole river surface was filled with a faint fragrance. If you close your eyes and listen, you can still hear the faint cheers of singing and dancing upstream. Of course, this is just a psychological illusion, although Luojian is convenient from Shouchun, but there are hundreds of miles, no matter how large the scale of Shouchun's Shangsi celebration, it is impossible for the afterglow to be transmitted to Luojian downstream.

In order to avoid unnecessary disputes such as disputes, the water surface is also cut out by buoys, and the boats sail back and forth in an orderly manner.

The boat had traveled less than a few miles, and another ship came from the side, and the flag of the convergence was raised in the distance. After recognizing the identity of the comer, the middle-aged man signaled the speed of the ship to slow down, and soon the two ships approached, and on the deck of the other ship stood a slightly chubby general, waving his hand to the middle-aged man and smiling: "Daozuo met, what a coincidence, is Shikang already returning home?" On the occasion of the Huaishang event, why not stay for a few days for a little fun? ”

The middle-aged man also got up to salute, and by the way, he asked people to erect a bamboo ladder for the general in uniform to come over, and then said with a smile: "There are many trivial things in the army, it is really difficult for Brother Cao to be calm." I don't want to worship Liang Gong, but this time I have stayed for a long time, and I really dare not slack off. ”

The person in uniform is Cao Na, the town general here, and the middle-aged man is the governor of Linhuai County, Xuzhou, named Xu Ning. The two sides sat opposite each other on this boat, and Cao Na said to Xu Ning a little apologetically: "I also heard that Shikang's transaction was slightly blocked this time, and I am willing to help, but the military is really difficult to get involved in the affairs of the workshop, and I am powerless." This year, the town will be of great use, and all armies will have to use it diligently, so it is difficult for the city to be as calm as in previous years. ”

Xu Ning bowed slightly after hearing this, indicating that he understood. In fact, this matter is not a secret, when he came to Luojian, there was a subordinate official of the Huainan Governor's Mansion to inform him, saying that the volume of ordnance traded in the workshop this year will be reduced by half compared with last year, although he did not say it explicitly, but he can also guess that the Huainan Army will make a big move this year.

But it's one thing to understand, Xu Ning is also melancholy in his heart, Huainan has a well-used weapon, and it has become a consensus in Huaishui. These military leaders came to Luojian to buy ordnance, not only out of actual needs, but also a means to maintain the morale of the army, others are equipped with Huainan ordnance, if they do not have it, it will inevitably give people a feeling of disrespect for the soldiers, so that the soldiers feel unvalued and disheartened.

However, the quality of the Huainan Army's ordnance is indeed high, and it is worthy of the same high price. Because Xu Ning was one of the first batch to arrive early this year, after learning the news, he hurriedly sent a message back to his hometown, urgently raised a batch of goods, and placed another batch of orders compared with previous years. As for the late arrivals, they do not have this benefit, and can only buy shares at a high price from the hands of the first arrival. Relying on this alone, Xu Ning's purchase of a batch of ordnance for his own use this year is equivalent to giving it away for nothing. However, the goods brought with me did not have to be shipped back, and by the way, I made a deposit for the transaction in the middle of autumn.

However, whether there will be spot deliveries in the middle of autumn, even the workshop cannot guarantee this. Specifically, it will depend on how Huainan will progress in the operation later.

"I really envy Brother Cao, I will vote for the Duke of Liang first, and I don't have to have such a trivial predicament like me."

Xu Ning sighed and said, in fact, he was also preparing to recruit a group of Ding Zhuang into the army this year, but Huainan suddenly locked up the arms deal, which hindered his army expansion plan. Of course, he also had other ways to obtain weapons, and he didn't have to rely on Huainan completely, but the idea of planning to elite the army was deeply affected.

The structure of Huainan's third-level non-commissioned corps has given great inspiration to the surrounding military leaders, although they can't do it on such a large scale as Huainan, but they have a small play. In fact, it is not inspiring, it is the innate instinct of the military leaders to give priority to equipping their own descendants and cronies, but it is the institutionalized structure of Huainan that maintains such a large scale of elite troops, and outlines an extremely magnificent blueprint for them, allowing them to find a balance between maintaining military strength and productivity.

Therefore, these military leaders also learned from Huainan, first large-scale disarmament, and then tried their best to arm a small number of descendants of the elite, through equipment to maintain combat effectiveness, the reduced soldiers were quickly put into production, and through the profits obtained, the number of descendants of the army was gradually expanded.

For example, Xu Ning himself, as the governor of Linhuai County, theoretically speaking, all the non-commissioned soldiers and county soldiers in the entire Linhuai County are under his control. But in today's Xuzhou, no one will take the official position seriously, and the strength of each person is measured by the descendants in their hands.

Xu Ning is different from other military leaders in Xuzhou still have the township party to rely on, he was originally a native of Lujiang, in the early years of the elders of the family served in Yuefu, the Yuefu army was defeated by Shile in the east, his family chief gathered a part of the rout to flee south, and then stayed around Huaiyin. Originally, it was also a very large force, with more than 1,000 people, but due to the lack of follow-up and the loss of war losses, it gradually became obscure.

However, the strength of the combat effectiveness of the Xu family soldiers is among the best in Xuzhou, after all, it is the elite of China and North Korea, and the reason why they were defeated by Shile in the early years was not a crime of war, but that the commander was too unbearable. Therefore, after recovering Huaiyin, Xu Ning's army was the main attacker, so the results were distributed afterwards and the land of the three counties of Huaibei was obtained.

Xu Ning also learned from Huainan, more than half of the more than 1,000 soldiers under his command were eliminated, and only 500 elites were retained, all of which were armed according to the standards of the Huainan Army, and then organized the township soldiers on the basis of the three counties to accumulate vitality at the same time, and now its headquarters has expanded to more than 1,500 people, although the number is not outstanding, but when it comes to strength, it has been among the best in Xu Town.

A military leader like Xu Ning, who accumulates vitality with his heart and then loses Huainan and exchanges for armor and arms, is not a minority in Xuzhou. It is precisely because of the elite armament provided by Huainan that many military leaders who were originally not strong are also qualified to support an army that is small in scale but full of combat effectiveness, which makes people dare not insult them, otherwise even if they are annexed, they will inevitably lose more than they gain, but they will suppress the internal fighting of the Xuzhou military leaders.

Thinking of his painstaking efforts, he only accumulates the armament of a few hundred people every year, and whether he can buy it depends on Huainan's own convenience. Like Cao Na, he doesn't have to worry about this at all, he can ask for and get high-quality ordnance, heavy grain and grass, and his mind can be more focused on military affairs, and he can obtain meritorious services more calmly. Such a situation is really enviable to Xu Ning and others.

"It's just that each has its own gains, and each has its own losses."

Hearing Xu Ning say this, Cao Na said with a smile.

Xu Ning was also silent when he heard this, of course he also understood that while Cao Na obtained these conveniences, he was actually giving up his independence. Although it is not easy to maintain military leaders like them, at least they still have a certain degree of independence, even if Duke Xi wants to dispose of them, they must be fearful. And Cao Na seems to be calm, but in fact, whether he can keep his position is only in Liang Gong's thoughts. What are the gains and losses, it is really not good to judge.

Although Cao Na said this, he did not regret it in his heart, and he did not regret his choice. Although he gave up his own troops, the army and power he now held were not comparable to Xu Ning and others. What's more, he didn't think that Xuzhou's current state could be maintained for a long time. He seems to have lost his independent status, but how can these semi-independent military leaders have a future? They are just a wave in the chaos, when they return to order, when they will be gone.

Is Cao Wei strong? When it was the most prosperous, it was widely embraced in the land of Sanzhou, but it was swept away by Shi Jilong's plough court and the people were defeated! Is Su Jun strong? When he was the most arrogant, he caused chaos in the entire Jiangdong, but was he not surrounded and suppressed by the public, and his name was destroyed?

Troubled times certainly give people more opportunities, but not everyone is qualified to ride them. Many people also understand this, but the reason why they are still in turmoil is only because they can't see the future clearly. Cao Na couldn't see clearly, but he believed that the people he followed could see it.

After a little silence, Cao Nacai looked at Xu Ning again and said with a smile: "I have a thoroughfare, I don't know if Shikang is willing to go along?" ”