Fang Fengshi, who gambled on the evening festival, immediately pushed forward the matter after getting Wanli's favor, because he was too familiar with the operation of the imperial court, and nothing could be delayed, it must be resolved quickly, and once it was delayed, it would be over.

Therefore, he immediately invited Guo Dan to come to the military department to sign the order.

After reading this batch of orders, Guo Dan was puzzled: "Lord Shangshu, the price of the five hundred bird guns in the back has not been determined, but a reasonable price range has been given, which is very difficult for me to do!" ”

Fang Fengshi was displeased and said: "I will give you the price of the imperial court to produce bird guns, and you don't agree, and this price range is the price of various places, and they also want to make money, as long as it is in this range." ”

Guo smiled lightly: "Lord Shangshu, about money, or do you explain it clearly, I don't know how those places are produced, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the firecrackers they produce?" Why don't I ask first, and then let's talk about the price? ”

"If you ask clearly, then this may change again."

Fang Fengshi sighed and said: "Guo Dan, this time the old man is betting on this black gauze hat, and if he loses this official position, he will lose it, if this thing is not done, then the old man will really die blindly." You take this order first, if there is really little money, the old man will make it up to you when the time comes, but you must do it for the old man, if it is not qualified, the old man will definitely find you to settle the account. ”

He didn't even consult with the Ministry of Household or the Ministry of Industry about how to draw up the contract, and he just added 500 bird guns directly behind the order for cotton armor, leather boots, etc., and the price was not determined.

Guo Dan's eyes widened and said, "Lord Shangshu, it's not so serious." ”

Fang Fengshi glared at him and said, "Why don't you even have a little self-knowledge?" ”

"Uh..."

Guo Dan scratched his head in embarrassment, he is indeed the focus of the ministers' care now, he muttered a little, and said: "Since Lord Shangshu has said so, if the grass people refrain from resigning, it will be a little uninteresting." In this way, for the sake of Lord Shangshu's face, these 500 bird guns will be set according to the price above, even if it is mine, it will be 500 in the end, but it is limited to this batch, and the next batch will be priced according to the actual production situation. ”

"It's a deal." Fang was not polite.

In fact, Guo Dan also wanted to settle down quickly, he was also afraid that it would change later, and the words he said earlier were just testing the time.

And he knew that Fang Fengshi's cooperation with him was facing a certain political risk, which also made him more or less relieved, no matter what Fang Fengshi's reason was, but the purpose of this was still a bird, not him.

Isn't cooperation all about taking advantage of each other?

The order was signed on the same day.

Back at Kou's house, Guo Dan handed the order to Kou Liansha and said apologetically: "I may have to go out again." ”

Kou Zhuansha took the order, just glanced at it, and got up with a salute.

"Madame, what are you doing?"

Guo Dan hurriedly supported Kou Zhuansha.

Kou Liansha raised her head and said, "The husband is running around for our family, and the concubine is grateful. ”

Guo Dan said: "I am also a member of this family, this is also for myself, why should Mrs. thank you, this is too foreign." ”

Kou Zhuansha asked rhetorically, "Then why should the husband feel guilty? ”

"Huh?"

Guo Dan was stunned for a moment, and then smiled bitterly: "Since you became pregnant, I haven't been able to stay by your side all the time, which I ......." ”

Kou Liansha shook her head and said: "Since I became pregnant, I can't give you more help, which I have always felt very guilty, if I still drag you down because of this, then my heart will be even more uncomfortable." ”

"I surrender!"

Guo Dan spread his hands, gently hugged Kou Zhuan Sha into his arms, and said with a smile: "In order to let my wife be able to raise the baby at home with peace of mind, I will ensure that my husband devotes himself to work." ”

Kou Shusha nodded with a light smile.

She really doesn't want Guo Dan to surround her every day, because it will make her feel that she is a useless person who will only drag everyone down, which makes her more uncomfortable than anything, her personality is very strong, she hopes that Guo Dan will not be affected by her.

After the husband and wife warmed up a little.

Kou Liansha picked up the order again, looked at it, and said, "What is the husband going to do with this order?" Do we do it ourselves, or do we contract it to other businessmen? ”

Guo Dan asked rhetorically: "I don't know if Madame has any suggestions?" ”

Kou Liansha said: "Cotton armor and leather boots can be contracted to other merchants, but this firearm is better to produce by yourself, after all, the process of producing firearms needs to be kept secret." ”

Guo Dan nodded slightly, and said: "I still hope to produce this bird gun in the form of shares, we are not gods, but not all business can be done, even if I can, I have no time to manage a workshop very carefully, so choose a collaborator who is good at doing this business, will get twice the result with half the effort." ”

Kou Zhuansha said: "But will the imperial court agree?" ”

Guo Dan said: "Your Majesty will send the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Eunuch to supervise this matter, and I will also explain everything to the other party in advance, and sign a series of confidentiality agreements, I believe that the merchant will make compromises with money." ”

Kou Liansha nodded slightly.

Guo Dan really doesn't have the time to stare at which workshop, the entire overseas plan has been put on the agenda, this is a big plan, he needs to make many preparations, and firearms are just one of them, at present, it is not the most important thing, the most important thing is to find out the situation overseas.

This requires Jinyiwei.

And over there, Tong Li had already ordered to send all the brocade guards he had just summoned to go overseas.

This was a secret order, but just an hour later, Dongchang knew about it.

In this land of Beijing, it is indeed impossible to hide from Dongchang.

"Overseas?"

Zhang Whale blinked, and asked the eunuch who had passed the message, "All of them are sent overseas?" ”

"Yes."

The eunuch said: "And that Tong Li also hinted at those people that this overseas area is not controlled by our East Factory. ”

Zhang Whale smiled: "As for the dangerous place overseas, if they are willing to go, let them go." ”

The eunuch said, "Duke, our people don't want to go over there. ”

Zhang Whale frowned, and suddenly took a breath and said, "You said that they are not hiding cats here, they are deliberately scaring people, and their purpose is to prevent us." ”

The eunuch nodded and said, "Slave maid, there is really such a possibility." ”

"I'll have to think about it."

Zhang Whale thought for a while, and said: "You go and tell them, let them go first, and when they get to the beach, if they really have to let them all go to sea, let them come back, but they have to keep an eye on whether everyone else has gone to sea, and then I will promote them to officials." ”

"The slave obeys."

......

In a small house in the east of the city.

I saw Aunt Xu sitting on the edge of the bed, checking the pulse of a young woman of her age on the bed.

And in the bed stood a middle-aged man in his early thirties with a thin body.

This person's surname is Zhao, a famous Shizhen, and he is currently serving as the chief bookkeeper in Honglu Temple.

After a while, Aunt Xu put down her hand and said with a smile: "Master Zhao, don't worry, Mrs. Zun is just a menstrual disorder, there is no big problem, wait for me to prescribe a few doses of medicine to Mrs. Zun to regulate her body, and she will recover soon." ”

When Zhao Shizhen heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and said again and again: "Thank you, thank you." ”

"No thanks."

Aunt Xu bowed slightly.

When the two came to the outhouse, Zhao Shizhen asked, "I don't know how much it costs to take these medicines, I ...... now!" ”

He grabbed the money bag in his hand, and his voice stopped abruptly.

Aunt Xu glanced at the shriveled money bag on his waist, and said with a smile: "Master Zhao, don't see outside, I'm not Langzhong, so I don't charge money for helping people treat diseases." ”

"It's ......."

Zhao Shizhen was embarrassed, but according to his character, he would never be favored by others in vain, and said: "This is useless, and the money that should be given must still be given, but now I am shy in my pocket, and I can't take out the money for the time being. ”

Aunt Xu didn't refuse, but said: "If Master Zhao is short of money, I can borrow some money from Master Zhao." ”

"No, no, no!"

Zhao Shizhen waved his hand again and again, and said: "Thank you for the kindness of the layman, there is no shortage of food in this house for the time being, and I am not afraid of your jokes, this is all because I usually like to tinker with some gadgets, and I spent a lot of money, and I am afraid that I will use all the money I get from eating, so whenever I send it down, I buy enough food to ensure that I will not starve." ”

If this Ming Dynasty official is not greedy, he is indeed living a very poor life, and he is set a little lower.

"I see."

Aunt Xu smiled and nodded, and said, "Master Zhao's behavior reminds me of a person. ”

Zhao Shizhen asked, "I don't know who it is?" ”

Aunt Xu said: "It is a talent from Jiangnan, called Xu Guangqi, this person is talented and intelligent, with excellent grades, and his hobbies are also very similar to Zhao's main book, not only good tools, but also good farming."

Later, he was appreciated by Guo Dan, a merchant in Weihui Mansion, and hired him to be in charge of water conservancy projects in Weihui Mansion and Kaifeng Mansion, as well as to study agricultural production. Recently, he made a very surprising decision, that is, to give up the scientific expedition and choose to continue to stay in Weihui Mansion. ”

"Abandon the imperial examination?"

Zhao Shizhen was slightly surprised.

Aunt Xu nodded and said: "This person is not very old, but he is in his twenties, but he clearly knows what he wants, he thinks that if you want to enrich the people and strengthen the country, it is nothing more than agriculture and industrial tools, improve agricultural production, enrich the people, improve weapons, and strengthen the country."

However, the imperial court did not attach importance to these, and even if he passed the imperial examination, he was afraid that it would be difficult to make a difference, so he chose to give up the imperial examination. ”

Zhao Shizhen stroked his beard and suddenly smiled, "It turns out that the layman came here this time to see a doctor for Neiko just under the guise of being a lobbyist. ”

Aunt Xu smiled: "It's not wrong to say that I am a lobbyist, but I am not here for people, but for the country." I know that Zhao Zhuzhu was born in Binhai, and when he was young, he suffered from the plague of war, so he always hoped to develop sophisticated firearms to defend the country and protect the people. However, Zhao has been the chief secretary of Honglu Temple for ten years, but he has not been promoted, and he has no ability, but he cannot use it, which is really regrettable.

Instead of spending time at Honglu Temple, it is better to choose a place where you can show your ambitions. Having said that, if Master Zhao is firm in his own ideas, it is the way to strengthen the country, then wouldn't it be beautiful to stay in Weihui Mansion and shine and return to the court at that time.

This is the way of the official, not to sail against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat, sometimes a small step back, just to prepare for a big step forward in the future. ”

Zhao Shizhen said with a smile: "About Guo Dan, I have also heard a lot about his deeds, and I also know that the imperial court recently appointed him to help the Shenji Battalion produce bird guns, but I am a scholar, how can I help a businessman do things." ”

Aunt Xu said with a smile: "As far as I know, the Ministry of War is planning to send someone to Weihui Mansion to guide him in the production of bird guns. ”