open sea

Chapter 277 Self-sufficiency
The winters in these years are getting colder every year, especially in the north.After following Chen Mu to northern Xinjiang for only one winter, Deng Zilong's face became more weathered. This is the inevitable price to pay for military training.

During these days, Deng Zilong, like Hu Liangpeng, not only did his own military affairs, but also did Chen Mu's affairs, helping him train and recruit troops.

In the orthodox war at the provincial level of the Ming army, the commander-in-chief led the regular soldiers to control the guards, the deputy commander-in-chief led the surprise soldiers, the guerrilla general led the guerrillas, and the participating generals led the reinforcements, which are called the four soldiers.

The main soldiers of the Xuan Mansion were selected by Chen Musha, who eliminated the old and the weak, so they had to recruit new soldiers.Last year, I and I fought from spring to autumn, and the cost of harvesting the fields was not good, and because of the war, families were ruined, and the livelihood of the people was even worse in winter, so it was especially easy to recruit soldiers.

"The riders scattered all over the country will bring back more than 1000 recruits who meet the general's requirements after the new year, and they will be incorporated into the general's army first. If this continues, all the soldiers will be recruited before the spring is over." This is Deng Zilong's biggest heart "There are also weapons and horses sent by the Ministry of War. More than 2000 tall horses have been transported one after another, and they have to be picked up four times in the spring. The total number of pack horses is [-]."

Speaking of Deng Zilong, he recruited his chief secretary and presented the list to Chen Mu. There are seven thousand eight hundred troops, of which the number of southern horses and northern horses is almost the same.The rest were pack horses for luggage, among which [-] pack horses were added by Tan Lun before he left, and they were specially used to pull cannons for him.

The old man who listened to the opera still remembers him when he returns to his hometown for vacation.

"Well, the matter of recruiting soldiers and supplying supplies is very important. It will be difficult for us Xuanfu to get things from the Ministry of War later on. We have to rely on our own abilities."

Chen Mu nodded thoughtfully, all his acquaintances left the Ministry of War, Tan Lun and Wu Guifang all went home, and Yang Bo is now taking over from Shangshu.This is also a fierce man. From Emperor Sejong's eighth year of Jiajing Jinshi, there was only one magistrate who had nothing to do with military affairs, and the rest were all civil and military positions.

20 years ago, he was Minister of the Ministry of War. In Gubeikou, he defeated the [-] troops of the Mongolian leader Baduer and Dalaisun. Now the old man’s job is Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and he also manages the affairs of the Ministry of War. There should be no changes in the general direction. Just wait Just let Tan Lun come back.

"General, the weapons and armor brought to us by the Ministry of War are not bad!"

Deng Zilong called the two sergeants, and showed Chen Mu the brand new armor and weapons on their bodies. The padded iron armor and arm armor were quite thick, and the waist knife was also sharp and well-made.

Chen Mu said with a smile: "Can it be the same? We were the deputy of Qianhu in the south, and the ordnance we received must be the worst batch. Now you are a general and I am the chief military officer, and the ordnance we get must be the best." Yes, this is Xuanfu!"

"The commander-in-chief and the four armies need to use rotten things, what do you use to guard the border?" Chen Mu said, shaking his head, and said: "The ordnance sent by the Ministry of War is enough for the battalion, and the weapons of the [-] guards It's not like you don't know what armor looks like."

In other words, it wasn't that the Ministry of War gave them good things, but that the Guards Army itself was a third-line soldier. Even the Guards under the command of Chen Mu, the general officer of the Xuan Mansion, still couldn't get the best weapons.

They were all forced out, and now even if he was given the best ordnance from the Ministry of War, he would not look down on it, because he already had a better choice.

If you are used to bird guns, you will look down on fire guns, and the same principle applies to armor.

"Craftsman, is there a craftsman here?"

Speaking of craftsmen, Deng Zilong was not as elated as he was when he talked about ordnance before. He turned his head to the side to see the army array running on the vast campus, and sighed: "More than 100 people have come, and more people are still on the road, ragged and hungry." Frozen, a few died on the road and did not survive.”

"Dead on the road?"

Deng Zilong shook his head, as if he didn't want to say more about this matter, he just said: "The humble official has sent people to inform the stations along the way in the Xuanfu, and asked them to prepare porridge sheds and charcoal basins for the craftsmen, build houses on the construction site, and send medical craftsmen , treat their sores and see a doctor.”

How many people died out of a hundred?
Chen Mu's face was gloomy and terrifying, and he ordered to Zhao Shizhen: "write articles for me, and send them to post stations along the way. Let them take good care of the craftsmen who come to Xuanfu on the way! To the south of the Yellow River, provide convenience; to the north of the Yellow River, all craftsmen No cotton clothes, no food to satisfy our hunger, let the inn take care of it, and there must be no more cases of craftsmen dying of illness and starvation!"

Unexpected.

This reminded him suddenly of the scene when Guan Yuangu took his two sons looking for him in Qingyuan, carrying the craftsman's box, and the father and son packed up their belongings and found him who was on duty at the post station outside from the Qianhu Office, and they only walked for a few days Miles.

Different from this, he recruited craftsmen from all over the world, from the nearest North Zhili to Sichuan, Sichuan and Guangxi. And know.

This time, Chen Mu dispatched craftsmen from Nanjing Ministry of Industry through his old boss Zhang Han to recruit all kinds of craftsmen from all over the world.In terms of skills, they are the elite among the elite. In this era when no one pays attention to craftsmen, they are all treasures in Chen Mu's eyes.

One can't be less!
"Later, I'll visit the artisans—they're here."

Just as he was talking, he saw Long Junxiong, who was wearing a helmet and wearing armor, led his horse and horse into the edge of the school field. Chen Mu said to Deng Zilong: "The merchants and internal officials who buy and sell coal mines are here."

The merchants sent by Wang and Zhang's family were named Shen, and their name was Shen Jiang. He was very old and a well-known salt merchant.He also has another identity, the brother-in-law of Wang Chonggu, Governor of Xuanda.

"Hearing the story of the general riding out of the fortress alone, I am heartbroken. I have wanted to meet the general for a long time. I have been waiting for the general in Xuanfu for a long time, and I finally met today!" Shen Jiang is not like the fat head and big ears in Chen Mu's impression. The merchant, with a well-proportioned and strong body, was full of energy even though he was old, he smiled and clasped his fists at Chen Mu and said, "Old man Shen Jiang, I pay my respects to General Zhenshuo!"

Behind Shen Jiang, the three internal officials, who were as old as Shen Jiang and as young as Chen Mu, saluted Chen Mu one by one, and the elder said to Chen Mu: "When we came, Governor Feng told us Well, the coal issue is mainly about military affairs, and secondly, it is General Chen's good intentions for the palace, this is a good thing, it cannot be spoiled by others, and everything must be listened to by General Chen."

These three eunuchs are all working eunuchs of the Yumajian, and they are also majestic figures elsewhere.

"Several please sit down. Mr. Chen didn't intend to torment the elders. This matter is on business for the emperor. It is inappropriate to discuss it in the mansion." Although it is a school ground, there is also a yamen with three guards. Chen Mu led four people into the yamen and brought Zhao Shizhen After sitting down, he said to several people: "When Mr. Chen didn't come, you should have already talked about it. I heard that the briquette business is going to Gan Ning and Lianghuai. How to talk about it, let me talk about it."

"The general set the price for coal in the capital, and the old man can't break the general's rules no matter how big the stall is. The old man in the commercial market has already negotiated with the neighbors, and the silk, copper and other things are handed over to others, and they are in the coal business. Let Shen take a step, the key is pricing."

Shen Jiang talked eloquently, looked at Chen Mu and said, "Shuntian and Xuanfu are in charge of the general, and the general will draw points for Shuntian at a base price of [-] yuan, [-]% and [-]%. The same is true for Xuanfu, and the general will also be drawn. [-]% and [-]%, outside Xuanfu Shuntian, the general will take [-]%, how about it?"

According to what Shen Jiang meant, he wanted to take care of everything, but the share was actually similar to Chen Mu's imagination, after all, he only sold a shovel.

Chen Mu asked: "Shuntian Chen has calculated these points, and the annual points should be around 3000 taels. How do Xuanfu, Beizhili and Shanxi count, and what else do they count?"

"Xuanfu is 7000 taels a year, Shanxi is 5000 taels a year, and Beizhili is 25 taels a year. The rest of the year should be around 32 taels, which is 5000 taels a year. This is the minimum."

Chen Mu nodded slowly, deducting part of the money given to the emperor, the military expenses of Xuanfu can be self-sufficient.

"In this case, how about paying half in advance and the remaining half to Chen in the middle of the year, and then delivering 32 taels in February and August every year?"

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)