Late Tang

Not all the prefectures in the five provinces of the Northeast Province that Li Jing ruled were in the Northeast. Li Jing first started his business in Dengzhou, then occupied southern Liaoning, then returned to Ziqing, and later obtained Pingzhou in Hebei.Several pieces of land spread out around the Liaohai Sea. Last year, Liaoxi was captured and Goguryeo was defeated. Liaodong and Liaoxi were connected and joined together.Daxingtai was established, and the government office was also established in Liaoyang City on the banks of the Liao River. Shandong Province, located at the eastern end of Henan, became an enclave across the sea under Daxingtai.

The four provinces of Liaodong, Liaoxi, Andong, and Beiping are connected into one piece, and they can only be connected with Shandong province by sea.Although the maritime transport in Northeast Province is well developed now, there are countless passenger ships and merchant ships that come and go every day, which is very convenient.But across the Liaohai Sea, there will be inconvenient times after all.

During the two to three months of each year when the Liaohai Sea freezes in winter, it is the most inconvenient time for transportation between Shandong Province and the other four provinces of Daxingtai.The three major ports of Dengzhou Port, Duli Port, and Shirenwang will all freeze, and the estuary of Jishui and the Yellow River will also freeze.The only transportation can only rely on the three ice-free ports under the Daxing stage: Qingdao Port in Laizhou, Qingni Port in Jinzhou, and Qinhuangdao Port in Pingzhou.

Although there are three major ice-free ports, the winter route is extremely inconvenient and the risk increases.

Da Weizhen knew that it was difficult to travel by sea, and the Hebei land route was blocked by rebels, so she simply used this as an excuse to stay for a long time.If an agreement cannot be reached with Li Jing, how could he be willing to go back.It's a pity that he has never had the opportunity to be summoned by Li Jing alone. He has heard some news that Li Jing is preparing to lead an army to the Central Plains to reinforce Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty.If you can't see Li Jing again, you may not have another chance in a short time.

In the end, he had no choice but to use a foolish way to visit the county prince's mansion with a cheeky belt and gifts every day, guarding Li's mansion for a whole day, waiting for Li Jing to come home.

But for several days in a row, he was so familiar with Li's residence that he even found out the names of all the stewards, but he didn't even see a single figure of Li Jing.

Da Weizhen couldn't close her eyes for several days and nights, worrying about gains and losses in her heart, she wanted to ask Li Jing's whereabouts directly, but she also knew that this was also a secret.In the end, Da Yue'er was a little assertive. After discussing with Da Weizhen, she knew that Bohai Kingdom was facing a difficult situation. If one of them could not handle it well, this time Bohai Kingdom would really be in trouble.When he came back to his senses, he immediately cooked a lot of exquisite meals and went to the Heavenly Wolf Hall in Dengzhou City. Although Li Jing now set up the Daxingtai in Liaoyang, it is still preserved here as a place for Li Jing to live in. The temporary shogunate in Dengzhou.

Li Jing, who stayed in the Heavenly Wolf Hall for several days to discuss with the Staff Council, was a little surprised to see Dayueer coming.I am very happy to see the meals that she cooked with her own hands.Smiling, he pulled Jing Xiang and other civil servants and generals to eat together, and Da Yue'er waited in the side room, but he didn't know how to say this.Although she is the princess of Bohai Kingdom, she is now Li Jing's seventh wife. She also knows that her husband never likes women in the backyard interfering in outside affairs. In the past, the third wife was reprimanded several times.

Fortunately, after Li Jing ate this rare delicacy, she took the initiative to ask her about it.

"Is it for the affairs of Bohai State?"

After Li Jing made it clear, Dayue'er felt unspeakably embarrassed, as if she had done a very unbearable thing behind her husband's back and was smashed.

Seeing Dayue'er's flushed face and stammering expression, Li Jing smiled.It's nothing that Da Yue'er came to him for Bo Hai's affairs, even if it's an ordinary family, if her mother's family has something to do, she will definitely ask her husband for help as soon as possible.

In fact, the affairs of Bohai State are also very important to Li Jing, especially when he is about to send troops to the Central Plains, Li Jing hopes to have a stable neighbor.At this stage, Li Jing's goal in the Northeast is to stabilize himself, and then to attack Khitan and continue to naturalize Xi and Qi.Bohai wasn't Li Jing's first target before, and it isn't now.It's just that Li Jing has been busy with all kinds of preparations for sending troops these days, so he can't take care of Bohai for a while.

Now that Dayueer brought it up, Li Jing smiled and said, "You can talk to the prince later, let him come over and talk about it in detail."

Li Jing didn't send someone to inform Da Weizhen directly, but asked Da Yue'er to talk about it, and also let Bohai Kingdom inherit Dayue'er's love.

After seeing off the joyful Dayue'er, Li Jing immediately returned to Jietang.

Bohai didn't have many requests, as early as when Da Weizhen arrived in Liaodong to meet Li Jing last year, he made a request.

They hope to reaffirm the original peace treaty with Li Jing and re-determine the current boundary between the two parties.Secondly, the Bohai State is going to submit an arms purchase case to Li Jing, the amount is quite large.Thirdly, Bohai State also wanted to borrow a troop from Zhen[***] to go to Huaiyuan Mansion and Anyuan Mansion on the border with Heishuimohe to assist in the battle.

"There is no problem with the requirements for military purchases. We have changed our equipment since last year. Except for some of the replaced military equipment, there are still a large number of them piled up in the arsenal. What's more, our military armor workshop Both produced a large amount of armor and weapons, and these were originally sold.” The Minister of the Ministry of Finance and Li Rang, who participated in politics, agreed to sell arms to Bohai.Arms trading has always been a major output of Li Jing's subordinates.

"Although Bohai is not our target right now, in the long run, if we conquer Khitan, Xi, Yu, etc., we will eventually fight Bohai. Is it appropriate to sell weapons to them now?" The directly subordinate leaders, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Guo Chengan, who participated in politics, said with some concern.Although Bohai is not an enemy now, it will still be in the future.

Staff Officer Jing Xiang said with a smile: "I don't think it matters. Bohai looks strong now, but it is actually weak. They couldn't resist a small black water mole. Didn't the [-] army be defeated by us in one fell swoop. Now that we are going to send troops to the Central Plains, the stability of the Bohai State is more beneficial to us than chaos. Besides, it is just some obsolete old-fashioned ordnance, so it will not be a big problem to give them to them."

If the Bohai Kingdom is strong, like the Khitan and Xi people, then it will be a threat to Li Jing and others.But with the current situation in Bohai Sea, everyone is not worried about it.The Bohai Sea has long been rotten, and like the Tang court, it is strong inside and dry in the middle.Zhen [***] has a lot of weapons, and those seized from the Bohai people, Goguryeo people, and Khitan people are already quite astonishing.What's more, Daxingtai himself has just completed his outfit change, and there are still a large number of obsolete ordnance.

After hearing the news from Da Yue'er that Li Jing wanted to see him, Da Weizhen came in a hurry along the way, full of excitement.

Li Jing looked at Da Weizhen who was sweating profusely in the cold weather, and said with a smile on his face, "I've been very busy these days. We've been thinking about the prince's previous request, and we've reached a conclusion today."

Da Weizhen stared at Li Jing, looking forward to Li Jing's answer.

"First of all, regarding the ordnance, this king has already decided to sell it to Bo Hai. I wonder how much the prince needs?"

"As many as we want." Da Weizhen blurted out.

Li Jing laughed, "His Royal Highness, let me give you an accurate number. I have a lot of ordnance in my hand, at least 20 sets in stock. Don't you all want to eat it?" When the Bohai people were defeated, they gave away almost [-] sets. The ordnance was given to Li Jing, and after the destruction of Goguryeo, there were almost the same number before and after, and then he beat the Khitan and Lu Longjun, and he gained a lot. There were also changes in the army, plus the production of his own ordnance workshop, Li Jing can now be said to be The largest arms dealer in the entire Tang Dynasty.

Da Weixuan couldn't keep his mouth shut when he heard the figure of 20 sets. If possible, he would like to eat this batch of ordnance in one go, but he also knew that this is not realistic.

After frowning and thinking for a long time, Da Weizhen said: "I hope to buy 200 sets of iron armor, 200 leather armors, [-] spears, [-] horizontal knives, [-] iron helmets, [-] bows, and [-] arrows." [-] million rounds, another [-] individual crossbows, [-] Fuyuan crossbows, [-] million arrows, [-] iron shields, [-] leather shields, and [-] sabers." After thinking about it, he added One sentence, "I also want to buy Shenhuo and Tianhuo for three thousand each."

Hearing this list, Li Jing smiled.

Shaking his head lightly, he said, "Are you sure you want all of these?"

"All!"

"Then you should know that although these ordnance are not all brand new, they are definitely not cheap."

Hearing this, Da Weizhen was stunned immediately. It is true that armaments are cheap, not to mention that even if they are old, since they are bought from Li Jing, they must be more expensive than buying new ones.After all, ordnance is a strategic material. Sometimes, even if you have money, others will not sell it.

"I will only charge you one hundred for a set of iron armor, sixty for a set of leather armor, two for a spear, five for a horizontal knife, two for an iron helmet, ten for a bow, and ten for an arrow. Two pennies for a piece, you will receive [-] pieces of single crossbow, [-] pieces of saber, [-] pieces of leather shield, [-] pieces of iron shield, and [-] pieces of Fuyuan crossbow. Prince, this is because of Da Yueer On the surface, the ex-factory price of my own friendship."

For these simple OnePlus, there are already 400 million.What's more, things like Skyfire and Shenhuo must be more expensive.

400 million guan is not a small sum for Bohai State.The Bohai State will definitely be able to come up with the money, so Guan Jian will pay for it.

Li Jing smiled at Da Weixuan and said, "Actually, we are all a family. How about this? The 400 million ordnance, plus the Skyfire and Shenhuo that I will give you worth 100 million guan, add up to 500 million guan. What about these, I I won't charge you any more."

Da Weizhen couldn't believe it when she heard the words "no money charged".

Sure enough, Li Jing smiled and said: "In addition, I can also send my 1 troops from the Korean Army and the Goguryeo Army to support you in fighting the Black Water Department, how about it?"

There is no such thing as a free pie in the sky, and Da Weizhen is not stupid.Li Jing wouldn't be so generous, he didn't have such a big face yet.

"Then what do you want from us in return?"

Li Jing kindly took Da Weizhen's hand and walked to the side, where there was a large map spread out.

"What we mean is that the 500 million pieces of ordnance are not free of money, but that you will not be charged for the time being, and you can deliver it in installments. We also don't want gold, silver, and silk. Bohai Kingdom can pay for this amount of ordnance in three years. , with slaves, cattle, horses and other materials as payment. Of course, for such a large amount of money, we also have to collect some deposits. After I think about it, Bohai Kingdom will cede Yalu Mansion and Nanhai Mansion to us."

Li Jing said with a slight smile, as if talking about a trivial matter.

Da Weizhen looked at the map and was taken aback. Li Jing had previously cut off Yalu Mansion to Hengzhou and other places, and removed more than half of it.Now what Li Jing meant was to cede Yalu Mansion and Nanhai Mansion to Li Jing.In this way, both sides of the Yalu River completely belonged to Li Jing.

"Brother, these ordnance are very scarce. A few days ago, the Ministry of Blackwater sent people to buy ordnance from us, but they charged a very high price."

Da Weizhen was startled.

Li Jing continued, "Besides, we are very sincere. Not only have we rejected the Blackwater Department, but now we have brought out such a large number of ordnance, and we will give you [-] soldiers and horses to support you. Think about it, if you lose the Blackwater Department It is estimated that most of the Bohai Sea will not be guaranteed. With our military equipment and soldiers and horses supporting, defeating Bohai might not be a problem. Maybe you can take the opportunity to enter the Blackwater Department and conquer them. What do you think? After all, which one is better?"

"This matter is so important that I can't make the decision?" Da Weizhen said with difficulty.

"Your Highness, when you came here, the King of Bohai seems to have given you full power. Besides, the Bohai Kingdom can't afford to wait now. You don't want to wait for a long time, and you will get our weapons After the horse's support, the Blackwater Department has entered the Longquan Mansion in Shangjing, right?"

After hesitating for a long time, the Prince of Bohai bargained with Li Jing again, and Li Jing added a lot of ordnance. Finally, the two sides finally reached an agreement and made this extremely astonishing transaction.

Li Jing took out ordnance worth 600 million guns to the Balhae State, and supported the Bohae State with 1 soldiers from the Korean Army and the Goguryeo Army.Bohai State promised to use slaves, prisoners of war, cattle and horses and other materials and minerals to pay for the repayment in batches within three years, and ceded Yalu Mansion and Nanhai Mansion to Li Jing. (To be continued.)