But the people in the middle hall were all dumbfounded. Is Gongsun Jian picking up a girl? It's a demon!

'Taizong is young and intelligent, especially the numbers are different from ordinary people. Every time Taizu tasted it, he said: My son is also a demon! ——"History of the Zhou Dynasty: Empress Taizong's Benji"

The movement of Shangjing City was soon transmitted to Linshui County through Gou Xiaowu. Of course, this is not Gou Xiaowu's energy alone. How do you think he, a person from a gangster in the capital, can know the news inside the imperial court. But this did not prevent him from opening the news channel under the banner of Gongsun Jian and with silver.

Whether it is the public family, or the King of Wei or even the princess of Ningguo, they will provide him with fixed news every once in a while. And there are countless other news of spending money to buy.

At first, Gou Xiaowu sent all the news to Linshui County, but later he found that a lot of news was actually unnecessary. In addition, the cost of each message delivery is too high. Gradually, start selectively sending something useful and focused. Although Gongsun Jian didn't say it, he became more and more satisfied with Gou Xiaowu's performance. It seems that this person really wants to grow in practice!

The public channel is naturally different from Gou Xiaowu's roughness. Before Gou Xiaowu's news arrived in Linshui County, Gongzhen's letter to his son had already arrived. After reading the letter, Gongsun Jian just smiled. casually threw it to Feng Huaidao on the side. But Feng Huaidao's face changed after reading it.

It turns out that the big family can still operate like this? A picked up female doll can actually be included in the family tree.

"My lord. It's almost the New Year. According to the current cost in the county, I am afraid that it will be ......" Feng Huaidao peeked at Gongsun Jian, but stopped halfway through speaking.

"Huh? How? If Mr. Feng has something to say, just say it. Do you and I still need to be hidden? Gongsun Jian drank tea and looked at the snowflakes flying outside the window, and said with some displeasure.

"Hehe, that's not true. It's just that our son-in-law doesn't give money. Feng Huaidao said in a low voice. Although he knew that Gong Yu Wu was talented in accounting and mathematics, it always made him feel a little awkward that the huge income and expenditure were all in the hands of a little girl.

"Oh? Why don't you want to give money? Gongsun Jian put down the teacup in his hand, turned his head to look at Feng Huaidao and asked, "Is Curry out of money?" It shouldn't be. A few days ago, a batch of table salt was gone. It stands to reason that at least we can earn tens of thousands of taels of silver. ”

Feng Huaidao shook his head and responded with a smile: "The son-in-law said that it is the end of the year, and the warehouse will be sealed." And the recent expenses are too large, and she is afraid that there will be a deficit in the coming year. Therefore, no one is allowed to withdraw money from the treasury. Everything will have to wait for a few years later. But the Ximen Wharf and the steel mill have not yet been completed, and the wages and materials that should be settled cannot but be given to others. ”

Gongsun Jian thought for a while and replied: "The wages of migrant workers must be paid. Material money will be talked about after the year. He stood up as he spoke.

"Actually, I told you. We've been spending too much lately, and we're not producing much. Relying only on the wharf to collect taxes and smuggle with the state of Wu. But that's not enough to keep up with the speed at which we spend money. At present, we have purchased more than one million taels of silver for iron ingots and ore alone. Don't hide it from Mr. Feng, in fact, Curry has long run out of money. ”

"Huh?" Feng Huaidao doesn't care about the accounts, only responsible for construction and production. So it's not very clear about that. Suddenly, when Gongsun Jian said this, he was taken aback.

"Lord, then do we have to stop our construction next? There is also iron material is not accepted for the time being. Otherwise, what will we pay for the New Year? ”

Gongsun Jian smiled, waved his hand and said, "It's okay." The first furnace of steel will be produced after the year. When the time comes, there will be money. In addition, we are now holding on to some of the payment money, and once the turnover is opened, we can naturally deal with it. Also, I plan to issue some bonds after the year. ”

"Bonds?" Feng Huaidao looked at Gongsun Jian suspiciously.

"Yes, bonds. Use our steel mills as collateral to extract cash from the rich. Wait until we have the money and then slowly buy it back. For the time being, it doesn't need much, just a million taels of silver is enough. ”

Gongsun Jian said it lightly, but Feng Huaidao's heart set off turbulent waves. Not more, one million taels of silver is enough. Are people stupid? and he who has no basis will give you money. Besides, is that steel mill really that valuable?

Gongsun Jian guessed what Feng Huaidao was thinking, smiled and said, "Mr. Feng, the first furnace of the steel mill on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year will be produced, and you will understand when you go with me to take a look." You built it yourself, don't you know it in your heart? ”

It is good to build it personally, but Feng Huaidao is only responsible for infrastructure projects, and the core content of the steel mill is controlled by Gongsun Jian alone. For this reason, 200 militia soldiers were specially sent around the steel mill to guard it, which can be described as heavily guarded.

Today's Linshui County militia claims to have 500 people, but in fact it has long exceeded this number. In order to avoid suspicion, Gongsun Jian, Tian Kuo and Qi Shi Ma Teng discussed for several days, and finally decided that the militia outside the southern city was the training base, and after training, a group would leave. But in reality, it was divided into several pieces. Ma Teng took the most elite fifty people to form a night detachment. Xie Wuyou selected twenty people, but no one knew why they went. Twenty more people joined Wei Meng's personal guard. The remaining 200 people were incorporated into the county government and city defense teams. Another 200 people went to the dock security management office, which was a new institution opened by Gongsun Jian. In this way, the first batch of 500 militia members recruited was almost divided, but now the militia still has 500 people. This does not include the 200-member escort team who went to the steel mill and more than 100 veterans of the former Northern Army who did not know where to go.

To put it simply, the current Linshui County can at least form a regular army of more than 1,000 people if it gives an order. Of course, this is also an assumption and budget, and a lot of equipment is not yet in place. The main reason is that Gongsun Jian is too harsh on equipment. I want to wrap and arm every soldier invulnerable, and I won't be injured and killed. Tian Kuo and Qi Shi also had no temper in this regard, but Ma Teng and Xie Wu were very happy.

This is also the main reason why the Linshui County Council, which has a wide range of financial resources, still owes its debts.

According to Wei Meng, as far as the fifty people of his personal guard team were to go to the northern army to confront the army of Qi before, they would be able to compete with the other party's two or three hundred people, and they could only win and not be defeated. Why? Others can't cut you, and if you go down with a knife, let alone people, even weapons and armor are all the same as papier-mâché.

Although it is not as exaggerated as Wei Meng said, Gongsun Jian, who graduated from a modern military academy and has actual combat experience at the grassroots level, attaches the most importance to protection. The armor should be light and not hinder combat, but the protection should be strong. For this reason, the craftsmen of the steel mills did not lose their hair. But the salary given by the father-in-law is high! And the father-in-law is not just watching, he comes up with ideas from time to time, and he can always open everyone's minds. The shore of Fenshui is not only a wharf, but also a hydraulic transmission machine. These are all things that the father-in-law came up with for people to do. Today's armor is all hydraulic forging, which is more efficient than manual work, and can also ensure stable quality. Those old craftsmen who have worked all their lives regard their father-in-law as a god.

These things naturally can't escape the eyes of Zhang Han and Hu Tianyi. And it has become a direct evidence that Gongsun Jian has antipathy. But when the imperial court's palindromic letter asked them to explore and master that unique steelmaking technique, both men were dumbfounded.

For half a month, Hu Tianyi sent out five subordinates, and none of them came back alive the next day. Then someone was caught by the county government and broke his leg because of spitting on the street, and then Hu Tianyi and Zhang Han were completely crazy. And check the fart! The imperial court directly sent troops to sweep away Linshui County.

In the month after the year, Linshui County became even more lively, and even the merchants of the Northern Qi Dynasty, who had always been hostile to the Great Zhou, appeared in Linshui County. At this time, the three-story trade exchange on the West Gate Wharf outside the city was also officially opened.

In the middle of the lobby on the first floor of the exchange is a circular hollow counter, which is staffed by specially trained men who are responsible for reporting and counting the latest quotations from time to time, and then changing the wooden signs hanging above the counter. The wooden sign indicates the type and demand of the product, as well as the offer. Those in need can go to the counter at the back of the hall to submit a trading application according to the prompts of the wooden card, and the exchange will match the transaction.

Of course, the exchange is not free. Everyone who wants to trade must open an account on the exchange and pay a certain amount of margin. Only then can you enter the exchange and participate in trading. The amount of margin can be quite large, and each customer who can enter the exchange also needs at least a margin of 1,000 taels of silver. Those who are able to enter the second floor are called VIPs. The amount of the deposit was ten thousand taels of silver. But there is also a different service to offer. For example, things that can't be bought and sold outside are basically not a problem here. In addition, the news here is faster than in the hall on the first floor, and the service in all aspects is also better.

As for how the exchange makes a profit, it's even simpler, draw a bonus. Depending on the amount of each transaction, the exchange will take a different percentage of the bonus. For transactions below 1,000 taels, the exchange will take 3/1000, that is, 3 taels of silver. 2.5 per 1,000 for less than 1,000 taels and more than 1,000 taels, 2/1,000 for less than 1,000 taels and more than 5,000 taels, 10,000 to 100,000 taels will be calculated according to 1 thousandth, and only 0.8 per 1,000 for more than 100,000 taels will be charged.

It seems that the proportion of the bonus is not high, but the number of daily turnover is huge. Of course, these are not the main incomes, the main ones are the salt, iron, tea and some rare goods that were monopolized by Gongsun Jian and the county government. The other is the large warehouse area outside the West Gate that is still being covered. In addition to the fact that many of the original warehouses were sold and rented out in their entirety, the warehouses built later were directly operated by the county government. Every day, even if you stay for a day, you need to pay storage fees, as well as handling costs and trade taxes.

The trade tax is unique to Linshui County, of course, you don't have to pay, but you can ensure that your goods are absolutely nothing more than passing through the north and south, and those who come from Wu can't get out of Linshui, and those who come from Zhou can't go to Wu. It's useless if you have a backer and a background. The official may not care, but the Linshui County Customs smuggling brought by Ding Feng will not let you go.

As for saying that you are really strong, even your father is the emperor. Well, there's a 'water bandit' not far ahead, but don't blame us for not reminding you to stay safe. When the goods are gone, people will die, but it has nothing to do with us.

It is Gongsun Jian's set of standardized management and orderly operation, as well as the means of thunder. This is why the trade in Linshui County has become more and more prosperous. Everyone knows very well that as long as you pay taxes and buy and sell, Linshui County can almost 100% ensure your safety. Most of the merchants who often come here to trade are the first thing they do when they arrive, they go to the county office to pay the money and then file the record. The advantage of this is that both your personal safety and the safety of your goods are guaranteed, and the county government will be responsible for full compensation in case of an accident. In fact, this is an alternative insurance researched by Gongsun Jian, Liu Dayuan and Feng Huaidao.