Chapter 539: Fight against the Tartars, bring some private work

To the north of Laizhou City (Ye County), about twenty miles.

After Zhang Zhun passed the city of Laizhou, he continued to travel in the northeast direction, aiming at the former office of Wang Xuzhai. Before, he said that fishing on Furong Island was actually wrong, and it was purely to provoke Shi Kefa. To be precise, the location of the port that Zhang Zhun needs is in front of Wang Xuzhai.

The former place of Wang Xuzhai is about sixty miles away from Laizhou City, which used to belong to the battle sequence of the Daming Water Division, and later was abandoned. Wharves, trestles, warehouses, barracks, berths and other equipment and facilities were all abandoned. However, since the basic structure is still in place and the port is not clogged with sediment, it will not be particularly difficult to renovate. It may be a bit difficult to expand it into a military port, but it is not too much trouble to convert it into a general civilian port.

Don't look to the north of Laizhou, the coastline is very long, and there may be a lot of harbors. In fact, this perception is completely wrong. In the coastal area of Laizhou Bay, the number of ports is very scarce. Because most of the coast is tidal flats, it cannot be used as a port at all. This is the location of the famous Laizhou Bay Salt Works, and the coarse salt produced every year is as high as tens of millions of catties. If it is produced at full capacity, it will not be much worse than the Changlu Salt Farm in the north and the Jianghuai Salt Farm in the south.

After the Tiger Ben Army took control of Laizhou Prefecture, a very important direction of economic development was to co-opt and transform these salt farms, let them produce at full capacity, and then convert most of the coarse salt into refined salt, transport it to various places for sale, and then make huge profits. At present, the profit of refined salt has basically been maximized, and Zhang Zhun has nearly 150,000 taels of silver every month. Coupled with the profits of glass, Zhang Zhun has an income of at least 250,000 taels of silver every month. This is where Zhang Zhun's confidence lies - if you have money, you can smash it as much as you want.

Having said that, Zhang Zhun is still not satisfied with his current income. There are too many places where money is needed, and money is always too slow. The increase in the production of refined salt means that more markets must be opened. The refined salt currently sold by the Tiger Benjun has basically reached the upper limit. After all, both the population and the market are limited. The markets in Shandong, Huai'an, Guide and other places are completely saturated. If you want to get more profits, you have to advance to the north and south and the deeper Central Plains. Even, Zhang Zhun once considered opening up overseas markets.

In fact, Zhang Zhun is ready to make a big move in Beizhili, and there is another reason that cannot be said publicly, that is, to destroy the Changlu Salt Farm. The geographical conditions of Changlu Salt Field are better than those of Laizhou Bay Salt Field, and the yield and quality of coarse salt are higher than that of Laizhou Bay Salt Field. The coarse salt produced by the Changlu Salt Farm every year basically monopolizes the market in Beizhili and Shanxi.

Zhang Zhun's refined salt, if he wants to enter Beizhili, it is not easy. When it comes to the issue of money bags, all the Ming officials are as vigilant as owls. Even the slightest trick to hide from the local officials cannot be hidden. As long as it is possible to endanger their interests, they will refuse. Sun Weina, Huang Shilang, Guo Mingtai and others have spent a lot of thought in Beizhili, but there has been no improvement.

The reason why the North and South Zhili are called Zhili is that they do not have their own system of political envoys, envoys, and capital departments, and government affairs are directly under the jurisdiction of the six ministries. In other words, the prefects of the North and South Zhili were directly facing the high-ranking officials of the Six Ministries. To put it more bluntly, these local officials are all cronies of high-ranking officials of the six ministries. The Changlu Salt Farm was originally an ATM for all the senior officials, and Zhang Zhun is now ready to smash other people's money bags, how could the senior officials of the Sixth Ministry agree?

Since the soft ones can't be used, only the hard ones come out. If the Changlu Salt Farm can be destroyed and the salt source of Beizhili can be cut off, the coarse salt and refined salt produced by the Laizhou Bay Salt Farm can penetrate the entire northern market and snatch the big market of Beizhili. If the Changlu Salt Farm is destroyed, the senior officials of the Six Ministries can only be in a hurry.

The Changlu Salt Farm starts from Huanghua in the south to Shanhaiguan in the north, and is located in the coastal area. Under normal circumstances, they are under the protection of the Tianjin Water Division. According to Zhang Zhun's plan, he originally wanted to use the navy to pretend to be pirates, defeat the Tianjin Navy Division first, and then directly bombard these salt works. But now it seems that there is no need to be so direct, so rude, and so authoritarian. Isn't the Tartar going to launch the third invasion? As long as the Tartars go south, the Changlu Salt Field will definitely be impacted. As long as the Tiger Ben Army puts on the cloak of fighting against the Tartars, many things can be carried out openly.

"My lord, you're too fast, I can't keep up."

Wang Mingyu said breathlessly in the back.

When Zhang Zhun passed through Laizhou City, he also called Wang Mingyu. Once the Tiger Ben Army really fought with the Tartar cavalry in Cangzhou, Wang Mingyu, the prefect, had to personally grasp the logistics supply. As a result, the young prefect of Laizhou Prefecture had just learned to ride a horse not long before he was caught on horseback by Zhang Zhun. Bumpy along the way, he couldn't keep up a bit.

"Hey, hey."

Zhang Zhun laughed dryly and slowed down.

Fortunately, Wang Mingyu was born in the military, and his body is still relatively strong, although he was bumped by the horseback, he was able to endure it. If it is an ordinary civil official, such as Zhou Ming and others, it is really a bit troublesome. There are indeed not many civil officials like Lu Xiangsheng who can be literate and martial, and can ride a horse and gallop. Gao Hongtu, Zhang Shenyan and others entered and exited either by carriage or by sedan chair.

"My lord, you have a good horse under your crotch, and if you move, you can leave me far away."

Wang Mingyu complained helplessly.

"Huh!"

Zhang Zhun smiled again.

What he rode today was a white dragon horse, and the speed was quite fast. Wang Mingyu rode just an ordinary war horse, and in order to prevent accidents, he was still the most docile war horse. A war horse without a temper will naturally not run too fast. In terms of speed alone, Bai Longju can indeed leave Wang Mingyu's mount for several streets.

"The road over here needs to be repaired."

Zhang Zhun said slowly.

"Good! I know. ”

Wang Mingyu immediately recorded it.

The roads in the north of Laizhou Prefecture are okay, and the roads from Changyi, Weixian to Ye County have been specially repaired, and they are much easier to walk than before. However, the road from Ye County (i.e., Laizhou City) to the former place of Wang Xuzhai has not yet had time to be repaired. In the past, no one expected that Wang Xuzhai would be put back into use so soon. At that time, it was conjectured that when the Huben army counterattacked Liaodong, it was necessary to rush to the dock in front of Wang Xuzhai.

The purpose of repairing the road is, of course, to facilitate the transportation of materials. At present, the transportation of materials on land mainly relies on wheelbarrows, ox carts, flatbed trucks, etc. If it is a hard bottom road paved with cement, the speed of transportation is several times faster, and the cost is greatly reduced. But in general, the cost of land transportation is still much higher than that of water transportation. Whenever possible, the Tiger Army gave preference to water transportation.

"Da Da Da!"

The sound of horses' hooves was crisp, and Wang Xuzhai arrived soon.

"Your Excellency."

Zhou Zhengyu came up to greet him.

After receiving Zhang Zhun's order, Zhou Zhengyu drove the warship and docked in front of Wang Xuzhai in advance.

Once Zhang Zhun decided to open up a battlefield in Beizhili, he would definitely be inseparable from the strong support of the navy. The Navy can help the Army to carry out effective agitation on the coast, and it can also make the Tartars sigh. What's more, while fighting against the Tartars, Zhang Zhun also arranged a lot of private work for the navy to do. Some private work can only be carried out quietly and secretly, so Zhang Zhun called Zhou Zhengyu over and gave him a face-to-face lecture.

"Let's go!"

Seeing that all the personnel were already in place, Zhang Zhun nodded, jumped off the horse, and led the group directly to the dock in front of Wang Xuzhai.

At the beginning, the Daming sailors built a water village here, in fact, as a supplement to Dengzhou City, to meet the needs of Liaodong shipping. At the time of the prosperity of the Daming Naval Division, the scale of the wharf was still very large, with 20 large berths. At that time, with so many berths, it could be regarded as a large-scale port. During the Wanli period, the Ming army fought against the Japanese army in Korea, and many materials were also shipped here and then sent to Korea.

Now, of course, the dock is deserted. The trestle is gone, and the warehouse is gone. As long as everything can be dismantled and sold, it is all gone. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Household Registration Order", the entire military household in the former office of Wang Xuzhai has been relieved of the status of military households, and they have been assigned their own fields, and they have honestly cultivated land and farmed.

"To load twenty merchant ships a day, a lot of equipment had to be installed."

"Your navy must draw up a basic plan, and then negotiate with Wang Mingyu to restore the function of the dock as soon as possible."

Zhang Zhun said slowly.

Once the war really starts, the transport task of the navy is still quite heavy. If the navy's logistical supply cannot be helped, the Tiger Ben army in Cangzhou will be in trouble. This is absolutely inadmissible. The navy has enough transport ships, and the key is how to organize them effectively and carry out the most efficient operation.

Fortunately, from the former place of Wang Xuzhai to Huanghua Port, the distance is really close, and you can go back and forth in one day. Moreover, this waterway is very calm, there will be no wind and waves, even the most primitive sampan, you can come and go freely. The key is to speed up the loading and unloading of goods. The loading in front of Wang Xuzhai and the unloading in Huanghua Port must be fast.

To meet this requirement, it is necessary to install a large number of gantry cranes, pulley sets, and build a large number of warehouses to stock up on various strategic materials. It is also necessary to professionally train a group of stevedores. Fortunately, these are civilian equipment and facilities, and there are ones in stock at the Partridge Bay Wharf, as long as they are pulled over and installed. As for clearing the berths, as long as there are manpower. As for the construction of the trestle, the construction period can also be greatly shortened after the cement is available.

Zhang Zhun preliminarily estimated that it might take about 30,000 taels of silver to restore the use function of the wharf in front of Wang Xuzhai. For a purely civil wharf, such an investment is still relatively high. Since it is civilian, it should be a private investment, and the Tiger Benjun generally does not invest. However, the money is worth it in the long run. Because, in the future, the counterattack on Liaodong, the wharf in front of Wang Xuzhai can also be used.

Judging from the current situation, the material production of Laizhou Mansion is much more than that of Dengzhou Prefecture. Weapons, food, ammunition, and even the source of troops are mainly produced in Laizhou Prefecture. In the future, the main material supply for the counterattack on Liaodong should also come from Laizhou Prefecture. The materials are loaded directly in front of Wang Xuzhai, which is faster than loading in Dengzhou City. Landing in Liaodong and opening up a battlefield in Cangzhou are completely different things. With the same troop projection, the material support needed to land in Liaodong was at least several times that of opening up a battlefield in Cangzhou.

In fact, if there were only 7,000 troops, it would be impossible for Zhang Zhun to land in Liaodong. It is the territory of the Tartars, and the Tartars occupy the right time and place, which can create a lot of pressure on Zhang Zhun. If you want to fight in someone else's house, you don't have the strength of yourself, you can only be beaten by others. The most conservative estimate, landing in Liaodong, without 20,000 elites, is basically impossible to gain a foothold. The Tartars went south, just to loot, and their desperate strength would be a little weaker. But when his lair is attacked, the Tartars are about to get out.

"It will be completed at the end of December, will it be in time?"

Zhang Zhun asked with a grim face.

Zhou Zhengyu and Wang Mingyu briefly discussed, and then replied affirmatively: "It's too late!" ”

It's October, and there are still two months to go, and there is no problem at all with the construction of twenty berths. As for the warehouse, it can be built at the same time. Because this is not a military port, just a purely civilian port, as long as there are docks, berths, trestles, warehouses, gantry cranes, pulley sets, and workers, it can run at high speed. More problems can be solved in the process of operation.

"Hard Bottom ......"

"Twenty berths ......"

"Gantry crane, pulley set ......"

Wang Mingyu meticulously recorded Zhang Zhun's requirements.

To restore the port function of Wang Xuzhai, the biggest pressure lies in Laizhou Mansion. All the people must have the organization of the Laizhou government. In order to restore the functions used before Wang Xuzhai within two months, at least 300 craftsmen and 2,000 people are needed. However, with the arrival of a large number of refugees, the number of people is not a problem at all.

I don't know if the people brought by the red lady from the Daimyo Mansion have had an effect, and now there are many refugees from Beizhili and even Shanxi. Along the way, the government heard that the refugees were going to seek refuge with Zhang Zhun, and they all opened the door to convenience. Some even deliberately led the refugees to run to Zhang Zhun's territory. In their opinion, it is best to throw these troubles to Zhang Zhun to solve, and they are happy to get rid of these burdens.

They never thought that when these people arrived at Zhang Zhun's territory, once they were organized, they would be transformed into productive forces. And productivity will be transformed into combat effectiveness. As the population of Laizhou and Dengzhou increases more and more, the power accumulated by Zhang Zhun will become stronger and stronger. Eventually, this force will be like a flood without an embankment, breaking away all the obstacles around it at once and rolling down.