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

Chapter 580
Although receiving a group of grass mud horses made Yang Menglong extremely upset, the guests were very interested in this kind of silly-looking and cute animals, and they discussed whether to get two of them into the zoo that will open next year, so that the children It was also an eye-opener... well, since everyone likes the grass-mud horses so much, Yang Menglong has nothing to say. He generously expressed that he would give all the grass-mud horses to the zoo...he doesn't keep them!Then, of course, these foreigners were invited to sit down and have a drink.

Zhu Cihong pulled the queen's sleeve with some fear, and asked in a low voice: "Mother, why do these Fanyi have red hair and blue eyes, like evil spirits?"

An Ning looked contemptuous: "You are stupid, all Westerners are like this!"

This little girl didn't take the noble status of His Highness the Crown Prince into consideration at all. In her eyes, His Highness the Crown Prince was too stupid and had too little knowledge, so she always said "You are stupid", which made the Queen very angry. Helpless, the scholars who were studying with the prince were so angry that they blew their beards and glared. How noble are the sons of the Tian family, how can they allow a little girl like you to be so insulting!But the Queen didn't say anything, and they had no choice. After all, this was not their territory.

The queen smiled and said to the prince, "An Ning is right. Westerners all look like this. They look scary, but they are actually quite knowledgeable. You should learn from them."

Zhu Cihong nodded vigorously.During this period of time, An Ning and Xiao Jun have despised him enough. Relying on her little knowledge in astronomy, geography, physics and chemistry, An Ning's little girl often asked him so dizzy that he couldn't answer at all.As for Mr. Xiao, he is even more powerful. You can tell me which aspect you want to compare. Whether it is Confucianism or Western learning, or the miscellaneous learning that Yang Menglong admires, take your pick. Anyway, the final result of the debate is hanging!This made Zhu Cihong feel very embarrassed, and secretly vowed to learn everything these two hateful guys know, so that they will never have a chance to despise themselves!

Over there, Yang Menglong introduced his Western friends to Lu Xiangsheng.The foreigners were overjoyed to learn that another Marquis of the Empire known for his enlightenment was also here, and rushed to talk to Lu Xiangsheng.No way, the competition here in Nanyang is too fierce. Luxuries such as black tea, sugar, spices, etc. are often priced but not sold, and other places are wary of them and are unwilling to deal with them frankly. I thought of Daming Road to find sources of goods, and by the way open up new markets for the mineral resources I have on hand.Now that Lu Xiangsheng is here, it's really great. They are enthusiastically discussing the possibility of cooperation between the two parties with Lu Xiangsheng. Of course, Lu Xiangsheng is also very happy to cooperate with them in this regard.

It’s just that the biggest problem in the cooperation between the two parties is that the Daming Road does not have an outlet to the sea, and unlike Nanyang, there is a waterway that can always lead to the sea, which is quite troublesome.Yang Menglong said helplessly: "It seems that you have to make the delivery in Cangzhou, and then transfer the goods to Daming Road by horse-drawn carriage."

Lu Xiangsheng frowned and said, "In this way, the cost will increase greatly."

Yang Menglong shrugged his shoulders and said: "There is no way, there is no outlet to the sea, so we can only do this." His eyes rolled, "Or, you can also form a fleet to transport goods in or out via the Hutuo River. It can save a lot of cost.”

Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a while, nodded vigorously, and said, "It is always cheaper to use a boat than to use a horse-drawn carriage. But before that, I am afraid that the river must be dredged first."

The benefits of taking the canal are obvious. If the water flow is sufficient, it will not be a problem for a larger sailboat to transport tens of thousands of kilograms of cargo. If you use a horse-drawn cart, you need at least five four-wheeled carriages to move it.However, if the waterway is used, the two parties can only deliver the goods in Zhengding County in the end, because there is no canal on the Daming Road that leads directly to Cangzhou, which is cheaper than Zhending Prefecture.In the end, the two parties decided that these foreigners would provide Daming Road with [-] tons of phosphate rock and guano, [-] tons of nitrate ore and sulfur every year. Lu Xiangsheng also needs these things to transport the fruits to Daming Road before they go bad.This business made the foreigners overjoyed, it was simply picking up money!Phosphate ore and guano are almost worthless to them. Nitrate ore and sulfur are abundant in Southeast Asia, especially sulfur. There are so many volcanoes that generate a lot of sulfur every day. Can't finish digging!Mining these minerals, shipping them to Daming Road to sell, earning a lot of money and then buying goods such as silk and porcelain and shipping them back to Europe, the profits will be dozens of times as soon as they change hands.They were extremely excited and said that they would be able to deliver the goods on time and in full, and they were innocent. At the same time, they secretly regretted that there are too few knowledgeable Ming officials like this, and this kind of business can only be done with Yang Menglong and Lu Xiangsheng for the time being...they There are still a lot of nitrate ore, sulfur ore, and phosphate rock in my hand, but I can't find a buyer. Alas!
Yang Menglong raised his wine glass and said loudly: "Come here, I wish us a happy cooperation and make more money next year, let's make a fortune together!"

The foreigners smiled and shouted in unison in blunt Chinese: "Let's spend money together!"

Zhu Cixiang asked An Ning in a low voice: "The Ming Dynasty is a vast land with abundant resources. Everything is available. Why do the Champions and Suyi have to do business with these foreign barbarians and let them take our money?"

An Ning rolled her eyes and said, "You are so stupid, how much money can they earn by transporting the ore over by boat? Even if they earn money, they still have to buy a lot of tea from us , porcelain, silk, do you know the price of these things? A barrel of tea leaves is worth a boatload of ore! This is equivalent to our money going from one person’s pocket to another person’s pocket, and there is no loss , and also got a lot of ore that we urgently need, if you don’t do this kind of business, what kind of business do you do? You’re so stupid, you have to learn from my brother in the future!”

Zhu Cihong's brows were drawn like a steamed bun, there was no other way, he really had no impression of doing business or anything.But the Queen understands that the foreigners worked so hard to open mines, and then transported them to Daming to sell them, they didn’t actually make much money. A barrel of tea leaves was enough for them to dig a boatload of mines!Moreover, the money earned from selling the ore was used to buy Daming’s goods. The money just circulated in their hands, and then returned to Daming’s pocket, with tons of ore on the way... Tsk tsk, this business is worth it. have to!She smiled and said to her son: "An Ning is right, you have to learn from Champion Hou!"

Zhu Cihong nodded her head vigorously, but she was rather depressed in her heart: This little girl An Ning is only a year older than him, how can she know so much?

The queen was filled with emotion, looking at Yang Menglong who was chatting enthusiastically with the foreigners, and thought to herself: "I hope the emperor can always trust him and leave him to the emperor... With the help of a smart person like him, the emperor will succeed." After taking the throne, I will definitely not have to endure any hardships, and the lives of the people in the world will be much easier!"

At the same time, under the city of Changsha, in the camp of the Huguang Volunteer Army.

"Congratulations to the general!" Wang Rui raised his wine glass with a smile.

Qin Mai also raised his wine glass: "Congratulations to the general!"

A large group of rebel generals raised their glasses with smiles.Today is the big day for the champion Hou. They have no way to go back to drink the wedding wine, but this does not prevent them from having a little wine in the camp to celebrate.

After drinking a glass of wine, Qin Mai's eyes brightened and he touched Wang Rui: "Qilang, the general forgot the auspicious time when he married Miss Xiao, and the whole Wuyang people mobilized to find him. Will the second marriage continue to cause trouble?"

Wang Rui laughed: "That's for sure, if there is no trouble, his surname will not be Yang."

Qin Mai shook his head and sighed: "Two years ago it was Miss Xiao who couldn't laugh or cry, now it's Miss Cheng and Miss Liu who can't laugh or cry." He drank another glass of wine and murmured, "I really want to go back to Nanyang to see... Now that we have reached Changsha, we should be able to take Guangdong and Guangxi next year, right?"

Wang Rui said: "It's almost...Old Qin, have you noticed that our progress is getting faster and smoother? Often before the army arrives, the local people have risen up and surrounded the city we want to attack. ?”

Qin Mai said: "I know, this is the people's will! We will uproot all these intertwined interest groups. When the general sends troops next year, we can successfully bring the entire Huguang under his rule, and our mission will be completed." !”

Wang Rui smiled: "Yes, I really look forward to the arrival of next year..."

The generals also showed longing for the color.What will next year look like?Surely it will be better than this year?Next year, they will wash their swords in the warm sea waters of the coastal areas of Guangdong, millions of rebels will return to their fields, and tens of millions of people in Huguang will be assigned to the land where they hope to live, and live a life of food and clothing... Really looking forward to it!

In a guard outside Changsha City, a large number of craftsmen are making warships day and night.Next year, after taking Changsha City, the rebels will take these warships and advance along the Xiangjiang River by water and land, and go straight to Guangdong!Although I don't know why the two great kings attach so much importance to Guangdong, but they are working hard, and their treatment is not very good, just enough to eat, and they have a little wages --- most of the rebels don't even have military pay.This is enough, thinking that this land is about to change its appearance, and that it has its own contribution here, everyone's heart is hot and full of passion.

Once the fanaticism hidden in the marrow of the Chinese people breaks out, the whole world will tremble.

On Jigong Mountain in Xinyang, in Hongniangzi's Dazhai, thousands of people are practicing decently, and their roars are loud.These thousands of heroes include thieves who rushed to the state, bandits who robbed the poor and donated to the rich, and rebels who were drawn by the red lady from the Huguang volunteer army. Of course, there will be no shortage of farmers who can't survive.Originally, Hong Niangzi couldn't put together such a huge army, but with Yang Menglong's support, it's another story. With the weapons supported by Yang Menglong, she quickly formed an army with [-] elite cavalry, [-] soldiers, and [-] soldiers. The army of [-] crossbowmen, [-] crossbowmen, and [-] pikemen were strictly trained according to the skills she had learned in the Heluo New Army.Although after training for so long, they still can't reach the level of [-]% of Heluo's new army, but the formation and marching discipline are in good shape. At least it is absolutely not a problem to sweep the whole of Xinyang.Seeing her own strength increase little by little, she also felt a sense of accomplishment.No, I am watching the army drill with great interest.

Her right-hand assistant Feng Ting ran over and said with a grimace: "Sister, there are too many people and not enough food!"

The red lady asked: "How long can I eat?"

Feng Ting said: "I can only eat it for half a month at most."

When she said this, those leaders who were also watching the army's drill with great interest were not calm. Food is related to the life and death of the army. The disaster in Xinyang is serious, and there is nowhere to raise food. What should I do?
The red lady waved her hand calmly, and said, "It's okay, Feng Ting, you take my letter and go to Nanyang, and ask Champion Hou to borrow five thousand shi of grain!"

Feng Ting asked cautiously: "Will he borrow it?" If she remembered correctly, the equipment of tens of thousands of horses was "borrowed" without giving a dime, and now she borrowed it again, she was worried about the champion Hou would throw her into Han River or Dan River.

The red lady raised her eyebrows: "If he doesn't borrow it, try it? You tell him, if he dares to borrow it, I'll rub his head into a bird's nest, and then squeeze his face into a pig's head!"

Feng Ting held back her smile and responded, and went as she did.

The red lady looked up at the sky, and suddenly she missed that little boy with a round face.It’s been a long time since I pinched his face, I really miss that bouncing feeling, heh heh, I’ll go to Nanyang next year after I win Xinyang, and I’ll beat you to death!

For next year, the female bandit is full of confidence!
———— "The end of this volume"

(End of this chapter)