The Founding of the Red Chamber

Tu Xiaosan's heart is sometimes so broad that even Lin Jing feels that she has a bit of a woman's benevolence.For example, when Tu Xiaosan offered Governor Zhang the knife-casting formula they worked so hard to get from the Japanese kingdom, although Lin Jing didn't object, he was not as selfless as Tu Xiaosan in his heart.However, Lin Jing didn't object to Tu Xiaosan's offer of the knife.Just offer it, Lin Jing believes that no matter what kind of panacea, it depends on whether the person still has medicine to cure.

However, after the sword was presented, the sword issued by the court after three months was still the old sword and gun made by the old Fangzi.

Tu Xiaosan was still surprised, and said to Lin Jing in private, "Our forging recipes have been presented, and we haven't seen the supply of weapons for so long. I thought the court was busy making new knives. Now the old ones are still issued. Since they are old-style swords and guns, why did they take so long?" The swords made by the court's original forging recipe are not as sharp and strong as Japanese swords.Speaking of which, this is one of the reasons why Jiangnan has not been able to calm down even though the Japanese pirates are limited.If it is said that in the past, when there was no such way of casting swords, it would be fine to use some old weapons, but now that there is this new forging formula, how can the old swords still be issued.

Lin Jing said, "How should I say this?"

"How do you say it?" Tu Xiaosan didn't understand Lin Jing's words, and said, "Isn't that hard to say?" What's wrong with talking privately in one's own place?

"It's not hard to say." Lin Jing organized his words, Fang said, "If normal people, like you and me, get this recipe, I will immediately order craftsmen to try casting swords according to the recipe. Do you remember? , we tried to forge new knives for the first time, and it took four months to get it. After that, after the craftsmen became familiar with it, it took three months to forge a batch of new knives. These things are up to you, third brother, of course you know .”

Tu Xiaosan nodded. Indeed, the armory workshop for forging weapons is not very clean, and the temperature is high, and the environment is not very good. Lin Jing went there once for Jianchen and knife shavings, but his throat felt uncomfortable. After more than half a month, the decoction prescription was cured.Afterwards, Tu Xiaosan refused to let Lin Jing follow him to watch the forging of weapons, and Tu Xiaosan would go there from time to time.Therefore, Tu Xiaosan knew more about the forging of weapons than Lin Jing.Tu Xiaosan said, "That's what I don't understand, even if the weapons are distributed later, we should have newly made knives." This is also what Tu Xiaosan couldn't understand.

Lin Jing smiled, "Third brother, you have been an official for many years, why do you think that the imperial court acts like us and does what it says? It is His Majesty's order to forge new knives. His Majesty sent it to the Ministry of War, and the minister of the Ministry of War ordered the servant, the servant to the master, the master to the doctor, and the doctor to the craftsman. It will take time. After the trial production is successful, it will be forged on a large scale. That's it. It's all going well, and getting a new sword within half a year is already a great efficiency. Besides, how can it be so smooth? Don't mention it, the most important thing about weapons is what you say?"

"Naturally, the top and bottom are united. The superior should not procrastinate, and the subordinates should do their jobs with all their heart. Hurry up and make a new knife."

"No, it's silver." Lin Jing poured himself a cup of warm tea, moistened his throat, and Fang continued, "It's important to work together, but silver is even more important. If we need 100 taels to make a knife, When it comes to the imperial court, it will not be less than 500 taels. This Japanese sword is very useful, but in order to make the Japanese sword, you, the poor third brother, have not bought a new dress for a year. Naturally, your majesty is not a Extravagant man, but he works hard for himself, where does the money for making knives come from? It’s not that he is hard on himself, so the people below don’t cut off the money from the ordnance silver. Take a look, this is for us. The batch of weapons is naturally much stronger than the previous ones, but they are not brand new weapons. Even if you are kind enough to present the new sword, the imperial court may be powerless in wanting to make this Japanese sword."

Tu Xiaosan knew that Lin Jing's words were reasonable, but his heart seemed to be stuffed with a ball of cotton, he couldn't get up or down, and he felt a little choked, but he didn't know who to talk to about his mood.Tu Xiaosan really wanted to tell Lin Jing a thing or two, but seeing Lin Jing's natural expression, Tu Xiaosan could only sigh, "Although you always said that the court has always been like this. Hey, sometimes I look forward to it." Isn't the imperial court fighting for one breath? Isn't this going to the outside world? How many benefits will there be if you defeat the Japanese pirates?"

"It's only you who think so, third brother." Lin Jing smiled slightly, "You can't say that, I'm afraid that many high officials in the court think so, but they are too high to cure the court's long-term illness."

Tu Xiaosan said, "If we only use a hundred taels to make knives, the imperial court can turn them into 500 taels, so no one cares about this matter? You also said that there are still many promising officials in the court, not others," Tu Xiaosan paused, and said, "It's your elder brother. Although I haven't dealt with Mr. Lin before, I can see you, Ah Jing, and heard a lot about Mr. Lin's deeds. I think he is not incompetent."

Lin Jing sighed, "Third brother, this is not a matter of one person."

Lin Jing said, "Third brother, let me put it this way. For example, the people under our command now have five hundred renminbi a month. We are short of money, so we want to reduce the monthly silver to three hundred renminbi. Tell me, will the soldiers be willing?"

Lin Jing has always been very clear when speaking, this analogy, Tu Xiaosan's heart suddenly became clear, and Tu Xiaosan said, "If we are on our own, such as Xiao Si, Xiao Niuzi, A Teng, A Nian and the others, naturally there is nothing wrong with it. , but many of the soldiers below want to use this monthly silver to support their families, I am afraid that some people will not like it."

"It's actually the same reason." Lin Jing said lightly, "Those officials in the imperial court don't care about the salary of tens of taels a month. Not to mention, those who work in the six ministries and nine officials every year pay respect to charcoal. , Where did the money come from? Don't talk about the filial piety of the people. To put it bluntly, the wool comes from the sheep, and it all comes from the imperial court. It's a trivial matter to respect the ice and charcoal, but do you know? No one refers to the salary to support the family. Like forging weapons, how many people have to go through the procedures one by one. In today's imperial court, there is only a small official who guards the storehouse. They think they are taking advantage of the oil and water. In the final analysis, they are taking advantage of the court. Therefore, as long as a promising king is in power, he will definitely clean up the officials. The root of official governance is not only to rule the court Senior officials, as well as these invisible hands at key levels. Because, no matter how prosperous the imperial court is, it can't help the subordinates to pick their skins layer by layer."

When Tu Xiaosan saw Lin Jing's expression of emotion, he couldn't help feeling a little bit in his heart, and said, "Although His Majesty's actions are a bit unethical, I always feel that he doesn't have the ambition to be a wise king of the prosperous age."

"What's the use of having ambition? Back then I wanted to be a famous official of the generation." Lin Jing always disliked Chen Qibao, and said to Tu Xiaosan, "Chen Qibao talks about benevolence, righteousness and morality. Those Qingliu people in the imperial court who are all about him have a good impression of him. What's the use of this, Qingliu can be the head of a place, be a county magistrate, a magistrate, or a censor, everything is fine, but They can't do much."

This is the biggest difference between Lin Jing and ordinary officials. He came from a wealthy family, and although he has read the books of sages, Lin Jing has a clearer understanding of power. Lin Jing said, "These principles, Chen Qi It's not like Bao doesn't understand. You see, if he wants to fight against the Japanese, he has the intention of being involved in military power. If the war against the Japanese can be won, Chen Qibao's prestige in the court will definitely increase. If one day, he holds great power, it might not be impossible Clean up the government. At that time, what will you do, third brother?" Ever since Tu Xiaosan asked to present the knife, Lin Jing wanted to pour cold water on him.

Lin Jing asked this question, but Tu Xiaosan couldn't answer it. Tu Xiaosan knew that Lin Jing had great expectations for him, but as Lin Jing said, if Chen Qibao was really a material for a prosperous Mingjun, Tu Xiaosan would still take it seriously. Not those who dream of becoming an emperor, Tuo Xiaosan said, "If that's the case, let's go back outside the pass. Although the weather outside the pass is colder and bitter, we are not afraid when we are together."

Lin Jing smiled, "Don't worry, although Chen Qibao has a good plan, it's impossible for him to do this. First of all, after several wars in the south of the Yangtze River, it is no longer the rich land it was before. The court's taxes have been fixed in recent years It's not as good as every year. Chen Qibao insists on fighting against the Japanese at this time, and he must be under great pressure in the court. But since this matter has been started, the investment in money in the later period will not be a small amount. In terms of money , he has to worry. Let's talk about Chen Qibao, I always feel that this person doesn't have the appearance of a wise king."

Apprentice Xiaosan couldn't help being amused.

Lin Jing glanced at him, "Why are you laughing, I admit that I don't like this person very much, but what I said is definitely out of selfishness."

"I'm not kidding, Ah Jing, you treat people with sincerity. However, you scholars speak in a high-level way. What is the appearance of a wise gentleman? It's not clear. Could it be possible to tell from the face?" Tu Xiaosan asked.

Tu Xiaosan had wanted to ask this question a long time ago. This was not the first time Lin Jing had said that Chen Qibao didn't have the appearance of a wise king, but, in the past, he was afraid that if he asked, it would be obvious that he was not learned.Now his relationship with Lin Jing, although Lin Jing is a little slow on some things, but Lin Jing always thinks about himself, looking at him is better than looking at Chen Qibao, the king of a country, so there is nothing Tu Xiaosan can't ask .It doesn't matter if he is uneducated, Brother Ah Jing is as long as he is educated.

Sure enough, when Tu Xiaosan asked this question, Lin Jing gave him a big white eye for free, and said to him, "You are so stupid, you still believe in the skill of physiognomy."

"Well, don't the history books just say that Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, was caught by his father-in-law at a glance, and said that Liu Bang had an extraordinary face, and Fang Xuzhi loved his daughter." Tu Xiaosan actually really believed in physiognomy or something.

Lin Jing said, "It's written like that in the history books, and it's over after you read it like that. Who knows what happened at that time, you still take it seriously."

Tu Xiaosan brought the topic back, "Cheng Cheng, then tell me about Your Majesty, how can you say that you don't have the appearance of a wise king?"

Lin Jingdao, "You can know whether you know the king or not by looking at what this person does. You have to know that when the king is in power, there must be good ministers. As you said, my eldest brother is a good minister, but he can't be regarded as a good minister. Your Majesty."

"Mr. Lin doesn't even count?"

"It doesn't count." Lin Jing shook his head and sighed, "Although my elder brother stands upright and fulfills his duties as an official, he can't be regarded as a good minister. You just mentioned Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, so let's talk about the emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty You said Han Gaozu was a pavilion chief in his hometown for decades, and his background was mediocre. If you want to say what skills he has, he himself said that he is not as good as Han Xin in war, not as good as Zhang Liang in strategy, and not as good as Xiao He in logistics. However, unrivaled heroes such as Xiang Yu were defeated by Liu Bang. My aunt also said that to see if you are a wise king, you can tell by just one thing, whether there is a talented and capable minister who is willing to work hard for it, leaving aside life, honor and disgrace You can see that. Kings and ministers don’t just pay attention to power and wealth. Apart from power and wealth, they should be of the same heart and share common aspirations. You said that people like Zhang Liang and Xiao He were born and died with Liu Bang in the past. Is it just for future glory? Wealth? You must know that Liu Bang was driven to Hanzhong by Xiang Yu back then. He was so embarrassed. Although the people around him betrayed him, they did not include a capable minister like Xiao He. If it was only for wealth, how could he come here? My aunt said, the king of fainting , seeking pleasure, seeks his own enjoyment and happiness. A mediocre monarch seeks fame, and seeks the name of a wise monarch; There is nothing in him that attracts outstanding people in the world. He is a person who pays too much attention to fame. I am not saying that it is not good to pay attention to reputation, but too much fame is suspected of hypocrisy. Look at how many times he has done things before, hypocrisy In addition, there is another layer of indifference. The matter between myself and him is just a trivial matter, but back then, the affairs of the Guanwai army were all buried, and there was no further news. What did he do to Gao Fan? He felt that the Guanwai Army was gone anyway, and Gao Fan and the forces behind him were available. The lesser of two evils, the more important of two benefits. But he didn't know that in this world, apart from the two words of benefit and harm, There is still justice. As the old saying goes, justice is in the heart. He thinks he is very smart, but how does the general in the army think of him? General Guan even declined the reward and returned to Bianzhou. So I Said, this person is difficult to become a great weapon, because what he did was really petty. At the beginning, we went south to suppress the rebellion for him, but in the end, there was no justice after death. Chilling."

"It's your kind offering of this method of forging knives. Just wait and see if you can see new knives this year. Besides, there are many small people in the imperial court. This new knives forging method is our kind offering. Right now, it is possible. It’s a good job, it’s okay for the future, so it’s hard to say.” Lin Jing waved his hand, “Forget it, let’s not talk about him, let’s go, go and see those under Brother Mu, I heard that they train better than our soldiers Be ruthless."

At the beginning, Lin Jing proposed to open an escort agency with Mu Qiuting, and Mu Qiuting was responsible for the manpower. Originally, this training method was taught to Mu Qiuting, but Mu Qiuting directly brought the young men under his command to Haiyan. After paying the food expenses, he resolutely trained with the soldiers under Tu Xiaosan.

When Lin Jing said this, Tu Xiaosan smiled and said, "Master Mu really has great ambitions."