Iron Dynasty

What Dudu Niu said is reasonable, maybe this king thinks too much.

Xiao Ming suddenly realized that he was taking care of himself a little too much now. This was all because of the problems brought up by the previous two wars. He always felt that every attack of the barbarians had a direct relationship with him.

In fact, the most unlucky people in this barbarian southward journey were King Liang and King Zhao. Just as King Zhao and King Liang were sitting on the mountain to watch the tiger fight, he now seems to be in the position they used to be.

Niu Ben continued: Although His Highness is the prince of the Great Yu Kingdom, His Highness is also the lord of the vassal state. The two should weigh the pros and cons. After all, when we fought bloody battles, everyone was watching jokes. I have always been dissatisfied. For these soldiers, they only have His Royal Highness in their hearts. If they are allowed to die for King Liang and King Zhao at this time, they will not be happy.

Hearing this, Xiao Ming suddenly sighed, this is the current reality of the Great Yu Kingdom.

In fact, the people of the Great Yu Kingdom have no family and country in their hearts. For them, only the clansmen and vassal kings are the objects of their allegiance. Now that there are no clansmen in his fief, they are the only ones who are loyal to him.

Niu Ben reminded him now, just to tell him that he needed to give the soldiers a reason to fight, otherwise the morale of the soldiers would be very poor.

This king understands.

Xiao Ming said, he is now eating radishes and worrying less, the emperor is not in a hurry for eunuchs, and Xiao Wenxuan is so calm, what does he worry about.

While the two were talking, suddenly the servant said outside the main hall: Your Highness, is a general who calls himself Luo Hong asking for an interview?

Luo Hong? Isn't this Luo Xin's brother? Xiao Ming asked in surprise.

Niu Ben also showed a puzzled look, he said: Why did Luo Hong come to Qingzhou, there must be a reason.

Xiao Ming nodded and said, In that case, let him in.

The servant turned and left, and after a while, Luo Hong in uniform appeared in the main hall.

Luo Hong sees His Highness, sees Governor Niuben. When he arrived in the main hall, seeing Xiao Ming and Niu Ben both present, Luo Hong bowed and saluted.

Xiao Ming said: General Luo excuses the ceremony, please take a seat, you don't have to be polite, this king and Ling Zun have a good relationship, so there is no need for these virtual ceremony.

His Royal Highness, if you come to Qingzhou to play, you will naturally not be so polite to His Royal Highness, but this time I came to Qingzhou by the emperor's order.

Oh? Is it Qingzhou where your father asked you to come? Xiao Ming wondered.

Exactly. Luo Hong nodded, then took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Xiao Ming, His Royal Highness, please read it.

After taking the letter, Xiao Ming looked at it. In the letter, Xiao Wenxuan mentioned that there are many signs that are different from the past in the grasslands recently. One is that the barbarians have tightened the sale of war horses, and the other is the trading volume of iron ore and saltpeter by the barbarians in the border trade. The third is that the barbarian tribes cruising in the grasslands all sent their flag heads to Shengdu.

Regarding these unusual events, Xiao Wenxuan deduced that the barbarians may be fighting fiercely, preparing to sack the Great Yu Kingdom again and make the Great Yu Kingdom submit to the barbarians.

However, in the letter, Xiao Wenxuan did not show any worries in the past, but seemed to be ambitious. He only talked about the purchase of 500 artillery pieces and 15,000 arquebuses from Qingzhou. All these things were entrusted to Luo Hong. , Because Luo Hong is now the main general of the firearms battalion, he also ordered Xiao Ming to be responsible for letting Luo Hong participate in the training of the Qingzhou Army, and making Luo Hong a general who commands the firearms troop just like Luo Xin.

Five hundred artillery pieces, fifteen thousand arquebuses, big business. Xiao Ming grinned.

Luo Hong seemed to already know the content of the letter, he said to Niu Ben: Captain Niu, I will rely on the governor from now on.

Niu Ben was baffled by Luo Hong's actions, and looked at Xiao Ming strangely.

Helplessly smiled, Xiao Ming gave the letter to Niu Ben. After reading it, he suddenly realized that Xiao Wenxuan was really good at this time. Not only did he purchase firearms, he also asked Xiao Ming to help him train the generals of the firearms battalion.

This time, besides Luo Hong, thirty other generals from the firearms battalion arrived in Qingzhou.

Xiao Wenxuan naturally thought about letting Luo Hong go out. One is because Luo Hong and Qingzhou Army used to fight side by side, and they were familiar with each other. Luo Xin was in Qingzhou Army when he came here. This is also a relationship.

Since this is the request of the royal father, this king can only obey, Governor Niu, this matter is left to you. Xiao Ming winked at Niu Ben as he spoke.

Niu Ben understood and said, Yes, Your Highness.

After deciding on this matter, Luo Hong continued: Your Highness, the change of the barbarians made King Liang and King Zhao also worried. It is said that he sent officials to Qingzhou to buy firearms to defend against the barbarians. It seems that His Royal Highness will make another profit this time. It's full.

Really? I haven't heard of this, but if there is such a thing, I'm very happy. Xiao Ming said with a smile.

The two chatted and laughed with Luo Hong for a while before Niu Ben left with Luo Hong.

After sending the two away, Xiao Ming's brows furrowed. This time, Xiao Wenxuan's actions made him suddenly have a sense of enlightenment. As Niu Ben said, he did not have to participate in the war himself, but wanted to use the war to make a fortune.

And training generals for Xiao Wenxuan means that he is engaged in a proxy war. As the name suggests, he does not directly participate in the war, but sells weapons to the court, King Liang, and King Zhao to let them fight for himself.

In this way, he can not only stay in the rear, but also make a fortune by selling war materials, while the imperial court and King Zhao and King Liang need to pay only money.

After he figured this out, Xiao Ming smiled lightly. In this way, he could not only consume the living power of the barbarians on a large scale, but also make money. Why not do it? Just as Luo Hong said, only four days later, the procurement officials sent by King Zhao and King Liang appeared in Qingzhou, and asked Xiao Ming to buy artillery and arquebus respectively.

This time, King Zhao did not send Zhao Yuanliang over, but sent an unfamiliar official over, and he probably understood the conflict between Zhao Yuanliang and him.

The same is true of King Liang, who is also a trusted official.

Among them, King Zhao proposed to buy 600 cannons and 7,000 arquebuses this time, while King Liang proposed to buy 400 cannons and 6,000 arquebuses.

In addition to the orders from the imperial court, the military workshop now has a business of 1,500 artillery pieces and 28,000 arquebuses.

His Royal Highness, now the fief's finances are relatively comfortable. Pang Yukun was so happy when he learned of this that his teeth were out of sight.

The huge arms orders brought huge wealth to Qingzhou, and Xiao Ming, who was at a loss for money, suddenly became rich.

With this money, the industrialization process of Qingzhou will develop more steadily. Xiao Ming has no choice but to sigh that he still sells arms to make money.