weaving

After breakfast, Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng accompanied Zheng Zhibao for a stroll in the military camp and took him to appreciate the style and appearance of the Yongyi Army.

Zheng Zhibao had been fascinated by the Tiger Guard Cavalry's pistols before, so Xu Jinyong gave him his two service pistols. Now Zheng Zhibao was reluctant to part with the Yunzhou Type 2 quick-firing gun, and he even test-fired three guns in a row on the spot, praising its speed, convenience and accuracy.

In response to this, Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, immediately said that he could write a letter to Xuanfu and give Zheng Zhibao a hundred Yunzhou Type 2 quick-firing guns when his goods were delivered to the north.

Zheng Zhibao's army had no shortage of guns and cannons, and the Yunzhou Type 2 quick gun was actually an improved version of the Rumi gun. Craftsmen in the wealthy areas of Jiangnan could also make it, and its price would not exceed three taels of silver.

What amazed him was that Zhang Cheng was so generous. He had already inquired about the size of the Yongyi Army, which had more than 50,000 troops. They were equipped with more than 20,000 Yunzhou Type 2 quick-firing guns, in addition to chariots, baggage carts, and artillery pieces numbering in the thousands or even tens of thousands.

All these together would cost at least 100,000 or 200,000 taels of silver. In addition, there are war horses, mules, armor, swords and guns, as well as food for the soldiers, etc. It would probably cost nearly a million taels of silver to build an army of this size.

Even though the Zheng family was the largest pirate and largest maritime merchant military trade group in the Ming Dynasty, they could only support an army of more than 10,000 people, and their equipment had not yet reached the level of the Yongyi Army.

So Zheng Zhibao had been thinking about one thing in his mind, that is, how did Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng earn so much money and support such a large army.

If he was told that the money was raised by the imperial court, he would never believe it. They couldn't even provide enough food and wages to support the soldiers, so how could there be any extra money for Zhang Cheng to recruit soldiers?

Of course, Zheng Zhibao also knew how each force made money, which were their most core secrets. Even if he asked Zhang Cheng, he would not tell the truth, so he did not open his mouth to ask.

"Lord Yongning is really generous. The cost of this Yunzhou fast gun is at least three taels of silver per gun, and you just gave me a hundred guns as soon as you opened your mouth."

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "Mr. Zheng San, your business on the sea is making a fortune, so naturally you don't care about these few hundred taels of silver. I am grateful to you for not saying that people in the remote and poor town of Xuanfu are stingy."

"Where, where..."

Zheng Zhilong felt a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, saying, "My elder brother also thinks highly of the Earl of Yongning. He was going to go to Xuanfu in person this time, but something happened in Fujian and he was unable to go. He also specifically asked me to apologize to the Earl of Yongning."

"Hey, let's not talk about that. In my opinion... it's best if you come, Third Master."

Zhang Cheng saw that he had seen enough in the camp, so he led him back and continued, "Third Master, in addition to buying goods from you this time, I have something else to discuss with you."

Zheng Zhibao had thought about this matter before. Zhang Cheng sent several letters to invite Zheng Zhilong to send someone to discuss something important. It must be more than just to open up the trade route and request a stable supply from the Zheng family.

Now, seeing Zhang Cheng taking the initiative to mention this matter, he smiled and said, "Master, please tell me. With our friendship, there is no need to discuss anything. Your Master's business is my Zheng family's business."

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "With what you said, Third Master, I feel relieved."

He continued walking with Zheng Zhibao and said, "It's not a big deal. I just want to ask the general to send some people to help me train the Yellow River Fleet so that it can help me suppress the bandits."

"Yellow River Fleet?"

"Exactly."

Zhang Cheng smiled and continued, "Since your Zheng family has already dominated the sea, I will naturally not get involved in the affairs of maritime merchants and maritime fleets, so as not to hurt the hard-earned friendship between our two families.

My Yellow River Fleet only travels on the big rivers. It was originally a group of newly recruited water ghosts and bandits. They usually do things like boarding and robbing ships, which does not involve any high-level technical skills at all.

Now that the fleet has expanded, all the problems have come to the fore. I have been very tired and exhausted. Fortunately, the Zheng family has been sailing on the sea for many years, so this aspect is a common thing. Therefore, I want to ask the general to send some talents to help train my fleet. "

"Oh I got it."

Zheng Zhibao initially thought that Zhang Cheng was going to get involved in the sea affairs. Now, when he heard that he was only sailing on the Yellow River and not going into the sea, he felt relieved. After a little thought, he said, "Sea ships are different from river ships, and sea battles are also different from battles on rivers. The commander should know this. I think there is nothing I can do about this matter."

Zhang Cheng's expression remained unchanged. He smiled slightly and said, "I have thought of this, but I really have nowhere to learn from. I originally wanted to ask the court to send someone to practice with me, but you know, asking the court to send someone is not only complicated and time-consuming, but it is far less convenient than finding a way myself.

I think that although the methods of sailing and fighting at sea may not be applicable to the Yellow River fleet, you can be considered experts in this area anyway. Even if there are some difficulties, I think you can overcome them. "

He finally added, "Don't you agree, Mr. San?"

Zheng Zhibao was speechless for a moment. He walked slowly following the footsteps of Earl Yongning, seemingly in deep thought. Zhang Cheng did not disturb him, and the two of them walked forward in silence.

After a moment, Zheng Zhibao seemed to have made a decision. He said, "Since Master Shuai trusts my Zheng family so much, I will make the decision on this matter for my brother."

"Okay."

Zhang Cheng smiled happily and said, "Third Master is really generous and very much suits my personality. Let's continue tonight and not stop until we are drunk."

This time it was Zheng Zhibao's turn to feel a little embarrassed. He said, "General, you are in a stalemate with the bandits and are busy with military affairs every day. How can you accompany a rough man like me to get drunk every day?

Zhang Cheng couldn't help but stop when he heard this. He pointed at Zheng Zhibao and said, "My most important task right now is to keep you company, Third Master Zheng."

He turned around and continued walking towards the big tent, saying as he walked: "It will take a long time to wipe out the bandits. I have made arrangements for this battle, so it should be fine. But you, Mr. Zheng San, are my honored guest. After this, I don't know when we will meet again. How could you be so careless?"

Zheng Zhibao felt a little touched, but was immediately abandoned by him. He warned himself not to act on his emotions.

But he finally asked the question in his mind: "Master Shuai, Zhibao also has something unclear, I would like to ask Master Shuai to help me solve it." "Oh, what is troubling you, Master San?"

"I see that the soldiers under your command are well-equipped and look better than other government troops. I also heard from General Xu that all officers and soldiers of the Yongyi Army are paid full wages. I wonder how you can support such a strong army of tens of thousands of tigers and wolves?"

"Hahaha……"

Zhang Cheng laughed loudly after hearing this and said, "You want to ask me where I got so much money, right?"

Zheng Zhibao had never thought that Earl Yongning would be so straightforward. He smiled a little embarrassedly to hide his embarrassment, but heard Zhang Cheng said without hesitation: "I have some industries in Xuanzhen, and I produce cigarettes and other new things to make a profit. You already know this.

In addition, I implemented a salt, iron, alcohol, tobacco and tea monopoly system in Xuanzhen, and collected profits and taxes from merchants. Although I was criticized for competing with the people for profits, I had no choice but to do so.

Another thing is to eliminate all the big and small bandits in various places inside and outside the city. However, although this job makes money quickly, it is a one-time deal and is not a long-term solution. "

As he spoke, he took out a silver dollar from his pocket, handed it to Zheng Zhibao and said, "If you want to talk about the biggest profit, it's here."

"This is... a silver dollar."

"Yes, it is the silver dollar."

Zhang Cheng said as he walked: "Not only silver dollars, the biggest business in Xuanzhen is actually the military notes of the Yongyi Army."

"Military notes? What is this?"

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "I don't have this military note with me, I'll ask someone to show it to you later. However, I can explain the principle. This military note is a bit similar to the treasure note of the Ming Dynasty. Initially, it was only because of the shortage of money and food that they thought of using it to replace the silver to distribute to the soldiers, so that they could use the military note to directly exchange for grain, cloth, salt and other items at the official warehouses.

But later people found that the military notes could be exchanged for all kinds of items, without being affected by price fluctuations. The amount marked on the notes could be exchanged for the same amount of physical objects. As a result, they became increasingly popular. Some families even used silver to exchange for military notes so that they could exchange them for food in years of disaster.

In the end, these military notes even replaced silver and circulated throughout Xuanzhen. Merchants of all sizes recognized this little thing, so I had people print some new military notes with the words "one tael", "two taels", and "five taels" written on them. I used this to replace silver to pay the soldiers. Only with this method was I able to barely train the Yongyi Army. "

  Zheng Zhibao was stunned when he heard this. He naturally knew the significance of the military notes replacing silver in circulation in the market. He couldn't help but wonder: How did Zhang Cheng do it?

Even with the strength and influence of the Zheng family in Fujian, they probably could not issue military notes. After all, everyone only believes in real gold and silver. Who would believe in those pieces of paper?

However, he also believed that what Zhang Cheng said was not false. After all, if not, he would definitely not be able to come up with the millions of taels of silver to train and support an army of such size.

…………

After staying in the central military headquarters of Yongning Earl in Xincheng for three days, Zheng Zhibao said goodbye to Zhang Cheng. He wanted to go to Xuanfu Town in person to see the various changes there, especially the military notes that Zhang Cheng mentioned. He had to see it with his own eyes.

Zhang Cheng naturally knew what he was thinking, so he did not force him to stay. He just arranged for an entourage to lead the way for him, and wrote a letter to Guo Yingxian and Wu Zhizhong who stayed in Xuanfu. In addition to instructing them to prepare gifts for Zheng Zhilong, he also asked them to be good hosts and entertain Zheng Zhibao well.

In fact, Zhang Cheng has always wanted to develop his own maritime power, but he also knows that if he does so, he will probably be regarded as an enemy by the Zheng family because he is touching their cake and cake.

That is why they would spare no effort to show goodwill to the Zheng family and establish contact first. When their own strength is further developed and strengthened in the future, they will completely dominate the land and be deeply bound to the Zheng family in business. At that time, even if they extend their tentacles to the sea controlled by the Zheng family, it may not be impossible.

There are only a few major forces in the world now, namely the Ming Dynasty court, the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the three great bandits Chuang Cao and Xian. They are considered the three most powerful factions in the open.

Within the Ming court, there was a group of civil servants, represented by the Donglin School, which were tied to the big families and big merchants.

Secondly, there are major military groups such as Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, Wu Sangui, the General of Jinzhou, and the Zheng family of Fujian. The general Zuo Liangyu who escaped from the battlefield can actually be regarded as a major force, but he currently has no territory of his own.

The rest can only be called military leaders, such as He Renlong, Liu Zeqing and other fierce generals. Although they have some strength, they cannot be called an independent force and are not qualified to sit at the table.

So at present, Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng established contact with Wu Sangui in Liaodong through last year's war to aid Liaodong. The two sides even cooperated in the dried fish business. Moreover, Wu Sangui also has shares in the tobacco factory opened by Yongning Earl in Liaodong. The two sides are already deeply bound together.

Now, he has established connections with the Zheng family in Fujian. In the future, through a series of operations, he will bind Xuanfu Town and the Zheng family closely together. When they dare not completely turn against him, it will be the beginning of his march into the sea.

Thinking of this, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but smile...

…………

However, there is still an important person waiting for an audience with Earl Yongning, and almost at the same time, fierce battles broke out at the front lines at Dajunction and Xianggong Temple. Only Liuzhuang was a little quieter.

Now, the Earl of Yongning just wants to meet the new Shaanxi Governor Sun Chuanting as soon as possible so that he can concentrate on dealing with the battle with Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion.

After Sun Chuanting was released from prison by Emperor Chongzhen, he first served as the acting governor of Baoding for a few days. With the arrival of Zhang Fuzhen, he became a free official again.

  But how could he stay idle?

Therefore, taking advantage of the time when he had no official position, he took his servants to Xuanfu Town to investigate how Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng raised such a strong army, and to take a look at the changes in Xuanfu in recent years.

At that time, the Earl of Yongning happened to lead his troops to aid Henan, and the two of them passed each other and did not meet. It was originally harmless, but just last month, the court suddenly issued an imperial decree to appoint Sun Chuanting as the governor of the three borders of Shaanxi, and ordered him to leave for Xi'an immediately to take up the post.

In addition, Emperor Chongzhen also ordered him to train a combat-capable Shaanxi army within one year so that they could enter Henan Province to assist in suppressing the rebels. Emperor Chongzhen vowed to cut Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, into pieces.

Sun Chuanting knew that he had a heavy responsibility, so although he hurried all the way after his death, he secretly took a detour to Kaifeng in order to meet Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, and ask him to help him take up his post in Xi'an. (End of this chapter)