Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 321 I want to marry a wife
Yang Menglong rubbed his swollen, aching belly, and walked into the living room with a lawsuit face on his face. Oh, Cheng Shi, Cheng Jun, Cheng Ji, Zhang Tong were all there, as well as several squires who had a decent relationship with him.Upon seeing him, all the merchants, officials and gentry stood up together and bowed their hands in salute: "Congratulations, my lord, for your triumphant return!"

Yang Menglong waved his hands and said, "Congratulations, congratulations! I haven't seen you for a few months, how are you all? Boss Cheng, how is your bank doing?"

Cheng Jun said with a smile: "Thanks to my lord, it is booming. Since its opening two months ago, it has absorbed deposits of tens of thousands of taels of silver, and even issued a loan of 6000 taels!"

Yang Menglong chuckled and said, "I just said that this bank can make money!"

Cheng Jun said: "That's right! Now the people who have a few extra money in their families have deposited their money in the bank for interest! Even some squires are planning to deposit large sums of money in it!"

A country gentleman surnamed Li said with a smile: "Depositing money in the bank is not only safe, but also has a lot of interest every year. It is such a cost-effective thing. It is a fool not to do it! Anyway, the old man is planning to transfer 3000 taels of silver from the cellar. Get it out and deposit it in the Limin Bank!"

Wang Xiangshen said: "The old man has already deposited 1000 taels of silver!"

Yang Menglong was very satisfied: "That's right, silver will not give birth to cubs here, and it is safe to deposit it in a bank, and you can still get interest, what a bargain!" Looking at Cheng Ji: "What about you? Business how?"

Cheng Ji said with a smile: "We have set up two more potato noodle processing workshops. The potato output is getting bigger year by year. It turns out that those workshops are simply too busy."

Yang Menglong said: "If you are too busy, you can contract more processing for others, and concentrate on expanding sales channels by yourself. Don't keep thinking about saving all the profitable business in your own hands, picking sesame seeds and losing watermelons."

Cheng Ji said: "Your Excellency is right! I'm looking for a partner and plan to contract out half of the potato processing business!"

Yang Menglong said: "That's right!" Glancing at Zhang Tong, he exclaimed in surprise: "Master Zhang, I haven't seen you for a few months, why are you losing weight instead?"

Zhang Tong smiled wryly: "As long as the local officials who are staying in Nanyang for the winter and spring are willing to do something practical, how many of them can't lose weight?"

Yang Menglong asked: "What's the matter? Is someone bothering you?"

Zhang Tong said: "There are too many! There are thousands of threads, and none of them are satisfactory!"

Yang Menglong sat closer: "Quick, tell me quickly!"

Everyone complained about their suffering.It turned out that the security situation in Nanyang has taken a turn for the worse since Yang Menglong led his troops to the expedition. The bandits and bandits who had already been suppressed by him and turned into rare animals frequently went down the mountain to rob. Batch after batch made Nanyang people very nervous, from the magistrate to the local officials, all tensed up.Although Yang Menglong left more than 1000 soldiers, he took away all the officers and generals who could fight, and the more than 1000 soldiers ran around like headless chickens, with nowhere to use their strength.Fortunately, most of the refugees and rogues who flooded into Nanyang came here to eat their fill, not to kill or set fire. One of the characteristics of Wuyang Guard is its stability. As long as it is not ambushed or attacked by the enemy, even a Commanded by idiots, they could all defeat the enemy by virtue of their strong combat power and tacit cooperation. Those small bandits and bandits were no match at all, and after a while, they were finally wiped out.

"Also, more and more ordinary people are going to join the army, even those whose families have more than ten acres of land. If things go on like this, what will happen!" Zhang Tong was worried.

In the past two years, the taxation has become heavier and heavier, but the grain output is so much, without any improvement in quality, the life of ordinary people will naturally become more and more difficult.Seeing that the military field production in Wuyangwei is booming, the military households can not only eat enough to eat, but also have surplus grain to sell. Those farmers who can hardly find enough food after a year of hard work are also moved and ask for Join the military.At the beginning, it was the bankrupt farmers, then the tenant farmers of the landlord's family, and in the end, even the farmers with more than ten acres of land in their families were moved by this idea, which caused the number of military households in Wuyangwei to soar.

"This year alone, more than 2000 farmers have joined the military! There are still a large number of requests for military registration backlogged in the yamen, and the officials have not had time to deal with it!" Zhang Tong said, "In addition to the refugees recruited from other places, Wuyang Wei’s military households have already exceeded [-], and it is enough to open two guards! If this continues, the entire population of Nanyang will become military households, how can this happen!”

Yang Menglong was taken aback: "1 households! When did we have so many people in Wuyang Wei!"

Cheng Ji said: "1 households are absolutely true." He often cooperates with Wuyangwei, and he knows the situation of Wuyangwei very well.

Yang Menglong waved his hand and said: "Whatever, if they want to join the military, let them join. Anyway, we will not default on the food payment due. After they join the military, they pay even more than before." many!"

One of the more fucked things about the military household system is that anyone can join the military as long as they want to.This presents a big loophole: it does not make corresponding regulations on guard overstaffing.Those who think about how to deal with the over-staffing of the guard must have their brains trapped by the door, and it is too late for the military households to escape, and they are still over-staffed!That is to say, Wuyang Guard can confidently continue to absorb military households until the military field can no longer accommodate so many military households!However, this seems to be a bit difficult. The innovation of irrigation technology and the emergence of phosphorus fertilizers have turned a lot of land that was not suitable for farming into good fields. The high-yielding crop of potatoes allows Wuyangwei to feed more people with less land, and There is also the ability to sell surplus grain. Wuyangwei is now working hard to develop Biyang. This is a famous wheat producing area in Henan. It is a trivial matter to reclaim hundreds of thousands of acres of land. How many people are enough to feed hundreds of thousands of acres of fields?

Yang Menglong didn't care, but those squires all had bitter faces, obviously, they cared a lot.Those sharecroppers are their source of wealth, and those bankrupt farmers are their potential labor force. Let Yang Menglong catch them all, how can they mess around!Yang Menglong saw through their thoughts and said, "Oh, let me tell you, can you broaden your horizons? There are countless ways to make money. Do you have to plan for food in those few acres of thin fields? If it were me, I would kill The fields are sold, and the money is used to set up factories!"

Li Xiangshen said: "My lord, we also know that farming is not very profitable, but we don't know how to run a workshop..."

Yang Menglong said: "Bullshit, you haven't tried it, how do you know you can't manage it? Let me tell you the truth, the emperor assigned Luoyang Guard to me, and asked me to integrate Nanyang and Luoyang to train a new army with many soldiers. Up to 8000 people! I want to find a reliable partner to provide field rations for the new army. We provide the formula of the field rations, and we specify the types. The price is negotiable. Anyone who is interested can talk to me. If I were you, I would send Sell ​​out the land and raise funds to set up a workshop to produce military rations for the army!"

The eyes of the squire suddenly became brighter than a hundred-watt light bulb. An army of 8000 people, with the Wuyang Guards’ training intensity, how much dry food will they eat in a month?This business is a guaranteed profit!Li Xiangshen grabbed his hand and said, "Sir, I am willing to provide field rations for the army, but I don't know how much money is needed to start?"

Yang Menglong said: "There is no five or six thousand taels of silver, don't even think about it. My requirements are very strict. The production and storage of field rations must be 6000% clean, otherwise the soldiers will eat up their stomachs. I want yours." Life."

Li Xiangshen said: "The price..."

Yang Menglong said: "As the cost goes up, the price will naturally go up. In short, it will make you rich. I dare not say if it is too much. A profit of 3000 taels a year is indispensable."

The eyes of the squires brightened. A profit of 3000 taels!How much money do they earn in a year despite all the hard work of dealing with those idiots?If you have 1000 taels, you should snicker!
Li Xiangshen was a little frustrated: "In this case, I will not have enough funds."

Cheng Jun said enthusiastically: "There is not enough funds, you can apply for a loan at Limin Bank! As for the interest, we can talk about it, talk about it!"

Yang Menglong rolled his eyes, good guy, it's really not the usual enthusiasm to get a loan!

"We want to prepare a large number of bows and crossbows, and we need a lot of fish glue. Who wants to set up a fish glue workshop? Priority order!"

"Actually, you can also order tinplate from me, then open a canning workshop, and sell the cans to the surrounding provinces!"

"By the way, you can also set up a noodle workshop and process potato noodles into noodles for sale. There are so many ways to make money, why do you have to stare at that little field?"

Yang Menglong kept giving advice to everyone, in short, in short, it is: there are many ways to make money, and it is the most stupid to focus on digging in the fields——sell the fields to me, and then start a business and set up a workshop Bar!Zhang Tong smiled wryly at the side, this guy was really good at fooling around, and with just a few words, the gang of gentry couldn't tell the difference between east, west and north.But then again, these squires have suffered enough from Yang Menglong. The yield of potatoes in Wuyang Weijun Field is so scary that the purchase price of grain in Wuyang has plummeted to the point where it is almost impossible to sell. This is unprecedented. This is the first time that this gang of squires will go bankrupt. If there is a connection, of course they should hurry up and do something else!
He interrupted Yang Menglong's eloquence: "My lord Yang, I have received a report from the imperial court. My lord led the Wuyang guards to smash the red flag of Jiannu on the banks of the Daling River, and stabbed to death the horse of the slave chieftain Hongtai. Hearing the news, being frightened, being honored as the champion of Ming Dynasty by His Majesty has really earned enough face for our Nanyang elders!"

Yang Menglong smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed, revealing a few big white teeth: "Haha... don't say that, I... I didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it..."

Zhang Tong rolled his eyes, you didn't mean to beat Jian Nu so badly, if you did it on purpose, then it's fine!He bowed his hands sincerely and said: "Jian slaves have been raging for decades, and the poison is endless. Wanlizhong took the Nu Chieftain King's Banner directly, greatly boosted our army's morale, destroyed Jiannu's prestige, and let the officials replace those people who died under Jiannu's knife, thank you sir!"

The country gentry looked solemn, stood up together, straightened their clothes, and bowed deeply to Yang Menglong.

Yang Menglong said: "You are too polite, I am not as great as you think. On the battlefield, when encountering the enemy, there is nothing more than one word: go! Can you turn around and run, and let people chase after you like a dog? Jian Nu obviously didn't fight as well as I did, so they lost, well, it's that simple!"

Everyone said in their hearts: "You are so impolite!"

Zhang Tong said: "I am here to tell my lord that Lord Fang is going to organize a celebration banquet in Nanyang Mansion to celebrate Lord Yang and the soldiers who have returned in triumph. Nanyang local officials, gentry and great scholars will participate, and even Tang Shisun will attend." To attend, my lord, please leave for Nanyang quickly, don't keep everyone waiting!"

Yang Menglong grunted: "It's almost New Year's Eve, so don't worry about it? It's so far from Wuyang to Nanyang..."

Zhang Tong said sternly: "It's just because the Chinese New Year is coming soon, so we have to make it more grand! My lord, this is the wish of Nanyang's elders, I hope you don't refuse."

Yang Menglong said distressedly: "But now I just want to stay at home and sleep late! I have been running back and forth for several months, running thousands of miles, can't you let me take a rest?"

Zhang Tong said: "This banquet is funded by the Tang Palace, who dares to refute this face?"

When he heard "Prince Tang's Mansion", Yang Menglong's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't forgotten that Chongzhen had said that he would betroth the princess of King Tang or King Fu to him!With a glimmer of hope, he asked cautiously: "Is there no princess in Prince Tang's palace?"

Zhang Tong was baffled, why did it involve whether there is a princess in Tang Wang's house?A squire smiled and said: "My lord does not know that there are as many as seven or eight princesses in the Tang Palace, and all of them are as beautiful as flowers."

Yang Menglong's heart skipped a beat: "Then... then the Princess of his family should be married off?"

The squire said: "Not yet! There are still three or four suitable families that have not yet been found. Why, which princess in Tang Wang's mansion does your lord like? If this is the case, it will be a great thing. If you have a little friendship, you have to ask for this matchmaker's wine to drink whatever you say."

Yang Menglong jumped up and shouted: "Drink your sister! Come here, come here! Hurry up, hang up the wedding couplets, lanterns, and magical horses that you bought last time, and light the red candles. Let’s find a few more dexterous bridesmaids to put on makeup for my future wife, I want to get married, and I want to get married right away!”

(End of this chapter)