A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 343 Inventory and Wang Er

As the order was issued, the recruiting officials became busy, but others were not idle either, especially the warehouse managers, who were also extremely busy.

After more than ten days of counting, the various materials left behind by Zhang Xianzhong were finally counted and put into storage.

The great bandit lost almost all his baggage, and more than 5,000 of his old soldiers were killed in the battle. Although only 14,000 were beheaded, the actual casualties were more than 20,000.

Not to mention that during the retreat, except for some of the troops with horses, the rest of the bandits abandoned their armor and had nothing left except their clothes.

Therefore, when the battlefield was cleaned later, in addition to a large amount of gold, silver, and grain, the soldiers also seized nearly 7,000 tattered cloth armors, among which there may be hundreds of pierced armors, as well as cotton armors, leather armors, etc. There are tens of thousands of Class A items.

There was even a mountain armor that was ripped off from a rogue general. It probably belonged to a certain general who had died in the previous battle.

Obviously, the Ming army defeated in Huguang, Nanzhili, and Zhejiang some time ago and the inventory in the treasury contributed a lot of equipment to them.

In addition, there are more than 400 horses, tens of thousands of spears, swords, etc., and even more than 800 firecrackers.

However, these things seem to be a lot. In fact, except for the horses, Yan Ling has basically no use for the rest. Cloth armor and pierced armor, not to mention the differences in standards and families, he himself has been shot with muskets several times. If there is a hole in it, it would be better to make a new one by sewing it up and then remaking it.

All kinds of weapons have been eliminated long ago, and their quality is not much better.

After picking and choosing, in the end, Yan Ling didn't want to keep any of the other supplies except for Le Jia, who selected more than 2,000 intact items to prepare for the upcoming police force.

"How about melting them and recasting them?"

Yan Hongliang suggested.

Yan Ling shook his head, and he suddenly had a better idea.

……

"So, you have a batch of ordnance in your hands and you want to sell it to me?"

In the official office of Nanyang Fucheng, a middle-aged man wearing simple robes and a calm face sat on the main seat and looked down at the envoy below, saying this.

He is the second king, and is now the great enemy of the Ming Dynasty. He is known as the "Er Thief". He had 90,000 troops and was in southern Henan. He was the first rebel in the great uprising in the late Ming Dynasty. Even Gao Yingxiang was the first to defect after rushing out from Nanzhili. This shows his prestige and character. .

Among the many rebels today, Wang Er is a special case. He is one of the few rebels who does not coerce the people and only feeds the big families. He treats the people fairly well.

Although this cannot be said to be a benevolent person. After all, there are also benevolent people among wealthy businessmen who have a duty to do business. However, he can be regarded as a breath of fresh air in the late Ming Dynasty. Among the many rebels, he is the only one who can be called They are "rebels".

When the envoy entered the city this time, he saw that the city was in good order and the people's lives were relatively stable, so he confirmed that the information was correct.

Of course, it is incomparable with Ningbo and Luzon provinces and cities, but in this increasingly troubled world, it is already considered good to be able to maintain such a state during the war.

In Yan Ling's words, "This is what it looks like to conquer the world."

The other bandits are more like taking on the role of the Yellow Turbans and Huang Chao, causing chaos in the world, but there is no possibility of taking over the world.

So when he had a batch of arms on hand, he immediately thought of Wang Er. After all, if they were given to other bandits, they would probably be returned to the Ming army soon.

But Wang Er can probably convert these powers into actual combat power, and he can also make a fortune, killing two birds with one stone. It's not that he cares about money, but that he has the imperial court's biggest worry in front of him. When trouble breaks out in the future, he can share a lot of pressure.

"Sell arms to me, a traitor? Who is your employer? Aren't you afraid of being held accountable by the court and being exterminated?"

Wang Er seemed a little unbelievable and looked at the messenger.

"Leader Wang, don't worry about this. Since we dare to sell, we have naturally taken these into consideration."

"Why should I do business with a bunch of guys who hide their heads and tail? How can I know if you are lying to me?"

In fact, Wang Er already believed it. When the other party first met, he directly took out a hundred pairs of armor as a meeting gift. Such a generous gesture was indeed convincing. Now that he said this, he just wanted to suppress the other party's arrogance and control. Dominance.

The envoy was well prepared and smiled lightly when he heard the words:

"Chief Wang, as far as I know, the imperial court regards you as a serious problem! Your place is relatively peaceful now because all the eyes of the world are on Nanzhi. But if Nanzhi is pacified... then this place will become the target of public criticism again."

"If you don't take advantage of this moment to strengthen your strength, are you planning to return this great territory to the imperial court?"

Wang Er's face was gloomy, and the other party hit on his weakness.

After he occupied southern Henan, he adopted many policies, such as opening warehouses and releasing grain, which greatly strengthened his strength and won the hearts of the people. However, he did not get many craftsmen, especially those who were skilled in making armor and fire guns. There is no one. There is indeed an urgent shortage of various ordnance supplies.

Who made the Ming generals who guarded the city alert enough to take these strategic craftsmen with them when the city was breached and evacuated?

"What do you have?" He finally asked. The other party knew them so well that there was no point in speaking harshly.

Unexpectedly, after hearing his question, the messenger started to talk endlessly:

"We have mountain armor, pierced armor, cloth armor, cotton armor, leather armor, fire blunderbuss, bird blunderbuss, three-eyed blunderbuss..."

He said that all the generals were stunned. All kinds of ordnance, which were usually strictly controlled by the Ming Dynasty, were like cabbage in his mouth.

Wang Er was also a little surprised, but he was a big boss after all. He quickly adjusted his state and became serious:

"How much of these things can you provide? I want them all."

A smile suddenly appeared on the messenger's face, and he immediately replied:

"The king is so impressive! We have 7,000 cloth-faced armors, 600 piercing armors, and 800 firecrackers here... do you think?"

On the other side, listening to his words, Wang Er's face was already twitching:

"Are you really not kidding?"

Wang Er, who had always been steady, was a little overwhelmed at this moment. This number was really astonishing. It was enough to support an army. Anyone else would be unbelievable.

For a moment, a ridiculous idea even crossed his mind:

Could it be that the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty was generating revenue?

At this time, the messenger also responded:

"The silver is in the hands of the leader. If we can't take it out by then, how can we still rob it from the leader?"

Wang Er was silent for a moment.

Indeed, he will not give a deposit or anything like that. When the time comes, he will naturally pay the money and deliver the goods, and the other party will not be able to deceive him.

So the two parties discussed the price again, and finally settled on all kinds of firecrackers, 22 for a pair, cloth armor for 325 yuan a pair, pierced armor for 825 yuan for a pair, cotton armor and leather armor for 22 yuan, and waist knives and spears. The price of a set is one tael. In addition, gunpowder, blunderbuss, bows and arrows are also sold.

(End of this chapter)