1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2183
Yuan Tao's answer made Ma Zhengping feel a little disappointed. Of course, he hoped that Haihan's side would take more measures, the better, and it would be best to send troops to directly push Yangzhou's competitors.

Of course, the possibility of such an extreme situation is very small. The Haihan people have made it clear that they will not send troops directly, and they will certainly not backtrack so quickly.Jindun sent a small number of unofficial armed personnel to Yangzhou to station. Of course, this was not to start a war, but to express their attitude to the local salt merchants and the officials behind the salt merchants, that is, Haihan was determined to support the Huizhou salt merchants.

However, Haihan's support means will not easily cross the border, so as not to affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The process of actually defeating the Shanxi salt merchants still needs to be completed by the Huizhou salt merchants themselves.

Yuan Tao explained: "While we are sending personnel to Yangzhou, we also hope that you can organize a group of people to receive training in Zhoushan as soon as possible. If you hope to defeat your opponent by force, then this group of trainees is your real hope. "

Haihan's refusal to do it himself was not entirely a bad thing for Ma Zhengping's side, at least they got the opportunity to train personnel, and these trainees would definitely be selected from the inner circle of the "seven surnames". In the future, there will finally be a private armed force with strong combat effectiveness available.

Since it was training, there would definitely be expenses, so Ma Zhengping took the initiative to ask Yuan Tao about it.

Yuan Tao responded: "The training fee is five taels of silver per person per day, including food and accommodation. However, the ammunition and other weapons and equipment consumed during the training need to be calculated separately. The training process is not in charge of our Golden Shield, but by The Zhoushan garrison dispatched a special officer to take charge, and if there is no accident, it should be Major Duan Tiancheng whom Boss Ma met earlier."

"Master Duan is in charge? That's great." Ma Zhengping's eyes lit up when he heard the news.

Although he and Duan Tiancheng had just met in the past few days, Ma Zhengping thought that he and Duan Tiancheng could get along quite well.Duan Tiancheng collected money neatly and handled affairs quickly. This style suited Ma Zhengping's taste. If Duan Tiancheng was also in charge of the subsequent personnel training, it would be more convenient.

It doesn't matter whether Duan Tiancheng regards him as a friend, as long as Duan Tiancheng can settle the matter after collecting the money, then Ma Zhengping won't mind giving him a few more benefits.

As for the training fee mentioned by Yuan Tao, although it is indeed not cheap, since it can be solved with money, it is not a big problem in Ma Zhengping's view.When he came to Zhoushan, he had the attitude of spending money to solve the problem, but now he just fulfilled his wish. Such a simple and clear condition saved a lot of extra trouble.

"Then how long will it take to train to produce results?" Ma Zhengping asked with concern.Although he also knows that military training is not a one-time achievement, he still hopes to achieve results earlier. This is not because he loves money, but because he wants to settle the grievances with the Shanshan salt merchants earlier.

Yuan Tao responded: "If it is according to our country's standard for training recruits, it will take at least a hundred days of training. Of course, we will flexibly adjust according to the progress of the training, and it may end early."

If Ma Zhengping had to wait for three months, he would definitely panic, because three months was enough time for many things to happen, and the opponent would definitely not stop and wait for his side to train slowly.Fortunately, Haihan will send people to Yangzhou, so the situation will not deteriorate too quickly.

Ma Zhengping actually calculated it very clearly. If 100 people were selected to be sent to Zhoushan for training, according to what Yuan Tao said, the basic fee would only be 500 taels a day. The cost of ammunition consumption should not exceed 5 taels of silver.

The training cost is indeed not low, but if it is taken into account that it will obtain an armed force inherited from Haihan and establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the Zhoushan authorities and the Haihan military, it seems acceptable.

Of course, the main reason is that these expenses will not be borne entirely by Ma Zhengping, but shared by the "seven surnames". After averaging, the figures are not too outrageous.

Yuan Tao was also a little surprised at Ma Zhengping's tolerance, and he agreed to his terms without blinking an eye. It seemed that his asking price was far from enough to make the other party hesitate.

Duan Tiancheng had reminded him before that he could be a little bolder when asking the price, but judging from Ma Zhengping's current reaction, it was obvious that he was not bold enough.However, the salt merchants will definitely have to purchase a batch of weapons and ammunition from Zhoushan in the future, and they will have to remind the military to raise the price.After all, this is a rare fat sheep. If you let it go easily, you will be a little sorry for God's arrangement.

Anyway, Ma Zhengping didn't care so much, as long as the other party's offer was not too outrageous, he would agree to it first, so as to prevent the other party from going back on their word during the bargaining process.He also knows that Haihan people attach great importance to business reputation, as long as the conditions are negotiated in the transaction, they will basically not change them.

The matter was discussed at random, and the meal was almost finished.After Ma Zhengping asked Yuan Tao, he asked people to remove the banquet and replace it with hot fruit tea, and then asked Yuan Tao when he was ready to leave for Yangzhou, and whether he needed to hire another ship to transport the manpower and supplies of Golden Shield.

Yuan Tao replied: "Three days. After three days, we can start from Zhoushan. We have our own boat, so we don't need to hire another boat."

Due to its special attributes, the operating funds of the Golden Shield Escort have always been sufficient. Almost every branch has its own transport ship, and some branches even have more than one or two ships under their name.For example, there are four integrated transport ships under the Zhoushan branch, which can carry both people and goods.Before the East China Sea Fleet went to Hirado, two of them were requisitioned as supply ships.

Yuan Tao has already planned to dispatch three of them to carry out this mission, leaving one in Zhoushan for emergencies.It's just that after taking the big order from Yangzhou, I'm afraid there won't be any spare manpower to take on other deals in the last two or three months.

Yuan Tao asked: "Will Boss Ma go to Yangzhou with us, or stay here in Zhoushan to coordinate follow-up affairs?"

Ma Zhengping said: "I am planning to build a commercial warehouse in the port area. I have already contacted the construction personnel. In addition, there will be people who will come here for training later. I just stay here so I can take care of them. Don't worry, Master Yuan. , I will send another person back to Yangzhou to deliver the letter today, so that there will be preparations for the reception in advance. There will be someone to set off with you in three days, so I guarantee that the business will not be delayed."

Yuan Tao said: "Boss Ma makes a thorough arrangement. I will ask someone to draft a document and send it over later, stating the content of this transaction. If Boss Ma has nothing to add, please sign the agreement." Draw a bet."

There should be contract documents in black and white for large transactions, which is also the right thing to do. Even if Yuan Tao didn't take the initiative to mention it, Ma Zhengping would definitely not ignore this link.As for who will write the content of the contract, this is not a big problem. Anyway, all the conditions have been basically finalized during the meeting just now, and there should be no changes.

When Yuan Tao said goodbye and left, Ma Zhengping did not forget to give him a favor.Yuan Tao didn't make any excuses, and accepted it knowingly, and then left the inn in a carriage.

After this important matter was settled, Ma Zhengping finally calmed down a lot.Next, as long as the people sent by Jindun arrive in Yangzhou, the situation should be able to ease up a little.

When Yuan Tao returned to Jindun's base, he immediately summoned several of his leaders, informed them of the mission, and announced that they would cancel everyone's recent vacation and other work arrangements, and focus on the Yangzhou mission first.

Yuan Tao also emphasized one thing during the meeting: "Last year we suffered a loss near Yangzhou. If we go again this time, we will probably fight against those people again. Don't keep your hands, let me get all of them to death!"

Last year, Jindun encountered a sneak attack by armed salt merchants in Yangzhou during the implementation of the salt transportation mission, and there were casualties during the battle. Yuan Tao has always been worried about this incident.Even after Haihan sent people to Yangzhou to deal with the Musketeers, Yuan Tao still hoped to have the opportunity to personally take revenge on the mastermind behind it.

Of course, Yuan Tao is not a fledgling fledgling. He has learned to be prudent in the past few years in Golden Shield, and he will no longer be as impulsive as when he was in the army.Moreover, the nature of the task this time is very clear, it is not to send Jindun to Yangzhou to kill the enemy, nor can he take the initiative to attack, so the possibility of Yuan Tao's wish being realized is not very high, but using this incident to encourage his subordinates has the effect. Certainly not bad.

Sure enough, when Yuan Tao's bosses heard him mentioning this matter, they couldn't help but immediately remembered the situation last year, and immediately expressed their attitudes. If they had the opportunity, they would definitely avenge last year's death in Yangzhou.

Yuan Tao saw that the effect of boosting morale was good, so he asked his subordinates to prepare separately.Then he called the clerk in and asked him to write down the content of the transaction.This content was basically agreed upon by Yuan Tao with Duan Tiancheng and Ji Yuanqing before, and Ma Zhengping had already accepted it in its entirety, so there was no need to make any changes. Yuan Tao dictated it, and the clerk wrote it down.

What is really complicated is the various preparations that need to be done before departure.Considering that the time for this mission to be stationed in Yangzhou is likely to exceed one month, and may even last for two or three months, which is a rare situation in Jindun's usual business of escorting valuable goods, so the members There are many more personal items that need to be brought than when going out on missions.

Although Ma Zhengping promised that he would try his best to provide the Golden Shield members with all the necessary supplies after arriving in Yangzhou, but it is more practical to bring some things by yourself.

In addition, Yuan Tao had to consider how to maintain regular contact with Zhoushan during his stay in Yangzhou.The most ideal way is of course to bring a radio, but although the Golden Shield has a certain official background, it is not qualified to be equipped with such an advanced tool as a radio.Yuan Tao still had to submit an application to the military, but he felt that with the assistance of Duan Tiancheng and Ji Yuanqing, there should be a great chance to apply for the use of the radio station.

Of course, even if you apply for the qualification to use the radio, this precious thing will not be directly handed over to Yuan Tao. The military must send one or two communication soldiers who master the radio technology to join the Yangzhou as guards. among the teams.

This is also one of the reasons why Yuan Tao agreed with Ma Zhengping for three days. He was also worried that the process of applying for the radio station would not be smooth. It would probably take a day or two just to go through the process and submit it to Shi Diwen for approval. Allow three days. will be more stable.

In addition, Yuan Tao had to apply for another batch of rifles from the military.The Golden Shield itself is equipped with a certain number of rifles, but it is not fully equipped according to the number of field personnel, at most it is only a little more than half of the number.

Only those who perform escort tasks outside can receive guns, and return them to the arsenal in the base after the task is completed, so in fact, not so many guns are used.But this mission is quite special. Yuan Tao must have enough rifles according to the number of people traveling, and more for safety.

In addition, it is necessary to apply for some short guns, which are used for self-defense when entering and exiting.After all, after going to Yangzhou City, it is impossible to carry a conspicuous rifle when going out. That would be too much to ignore the local government and garrison.

Because he had already greeted Duan Tiancheng and Ji Yuanqing beforehand, the weapons were quickly applied for.In addition to preparing eight revolvers for Golden Shield, the military even issued four seven-shot rifles that only a few main combat troops were qualified to equip. This unexpected joy also made Yuan Tao quite excited.

Yuan Tao didn't have much chance to touch advanced weapons like this, so he spent half a day specially taking a few of his cronies to the shooting range on the island to try out the guns.Of course, it is said to be a test gun, but it is actually learning how to operate this new type of rifle that has never been used before.

"This thing is not a last resort, so try not to use it. We used it when we fought in Yangzhou last year. It is indeed powerful, but it is a standard weapon in the army. If you use it publicly as Haihan people , might cause unnecessary trouble.”

During the gun test, Ji Yuanqing also specifically told Yuan Tao to use this new rifle with caution.

Yuan Tao understood that Ji Yuanqing was worried that this would make the Ming officials seize the opportunity to cause trouble for the Zhoushan authorities at the diplomatic level, so he immediately agreed.

Two days later, the radio station Yuantao applied for was finally approved. In this way, Jin Dun can regularly contact Zhoushan through the radio station to report on the situation during his stay in Yangzhou.If some special circumstances occur, Yuan Tao can also ask Zhoushan for instructions in time, so as not to delay the fighter plane.

Three days later, Jindun's personnel and supplies were all prepared, and it set off from Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, heading north along Hangzhou Bay to the mouth of the Yangtze River.

(End of this chapter)