Although Ming Ho was very reluctant to deal with Xu Deshan, but Xu Deshan was obviously more responsive here, in order to be able to send Xu Deshan away, Ming Ho had to say hello to Xu Deshan, Xu Deshan didn't say anything to Ming Ho, just said a few words, and left, which made Ming Ho a little overwhelmed, and didn't know what Xu Deshan meant.

Ming Ho originally thought that Xu Deshan was here to say hello to himself, even if he didn't give himself any gifts, he had to say two good words to himself, vote for his own favor, and then win his own favor, but this Xu Deshan came, one didn't take anything, and the other didn't say good things, just like the two neighboring families got up in the morning to meet each other and said hello to each other, and they left after saying hello, without dragging the mud and water at all, Ming Ho couldn't understand it, didn't Xu Deshan come to pat the horse?

At first, Ming Ho really thought so, thinking that Xu Deshan went out and passed by himself, so he came in by the way to take a look and say hello, although it was a little bizarre, but it could also be said in the past, come on, just let him be as if he hadn't come, don't take it to heart.

But the next day, Ming Ho knew that he was wrong, Xu Deshan was serious, although the Terracotta Division was not far from the pacification embassy, but there were also two streets, and Xu Deshan appeared in his study on time, if he didn't pay attention to Xu Deshan, Xu Deshan didn't make a sound, just sat like this, and said a few words to Xu Deshan, Xu Deshan left, and the angry Ming Ho had no rut.

The next day Xu Deshan came, the third day Xu Deshan still came, Ming Ho was awkward in his heart, his heart said this Xu Deshan, if you want to pat the horse's ass, you can just leave quickly after you finish shooting, but don't take you so disgusting every day, Ming Ho has the heart to blow Xu Deshan out, but think about how Xu Deshan said that he is also a person brought by Jia Changchao, if he is driven away, his face is a little unbearable, and then he thought about it, and suddenly laughed, he Xu Deshan is not Jia Changchao's apprentice, claiming that a letter can go straight to Zhongshu Province, okay, If he comes again, I ask him a question, and if I can answer it, it will be fine, and if he can't, he will naturally be embarrassed to come again.

Thinking of this, Myeongho didn't do anything all afternoon, and prepared for the next day's exam questions very seriously. Ming Ho is also a serious 800 reading and reading, what subset of scriptures and history, is still proficient in everything, but Ming Ho thought about it, and did not make a question in it, first, it was too deliberate to do so, and secondly, since Jia Changchao can praise Xu Deshan so well, presumably Xu Deshan has some real skills, I am afraid that he will not be able to ask him easily, Ming Ho looked at the official documents sent by various armies on his table, and remembered a problem.

It turned out that a few days ago, Ming Ho received an official letter from the Yongbyon Army, saying that the Ordnance of the Yongbyon Army has not been replaced for five years, and the iron ordnance is okay to say, but those parts made of wood, especially the bow and arrow, including the iron arm bow, most of them have shown signs of brittleness and decay, and the light is to make do with it, and the strength of the slight use is large, the bow will be broken, and this bow and arrow is the most important weapon for the army to resist the Liao State, such weapons are damaged, once the Liao State invades, the consequences are unimaginable, and the Soldiers and Horses Division or other ordnance will be transferred from elsewhere, or give money and find a craftsman to make it yourself.

Ming Ho couldn't help but have a headache when he saw this official document, in the Song Dynasty, unless it was a time of war, at other times, the border army was the most non-existent force, what money, grain and grass, there must be money that could not be used elsewhere in order to be given to the army, and often this money, compared to the expenses in the army, half of it could not be reached.

What's even more pitiful is that now the Liao and Song dynasties have been friends for several years, the Song Dynasty mainly used troops in the northwest, and the armies in Hebei have become children that no one wants, and even the ordnance can not be supplied in time.

Therefore, the biggest problem of the Hebei army, that is, whether it is money or ordnance, there is no one, and this opening is not small, according to the loss of one-third of the army, then the need for new ordnance, about 30,000 sets, of course, armor and spears are cheaper, but this bow and arrow, purely handmade by craftsmen, not only slow, but also expensive, the price of a bow and a barrel of arrows, almost one or two silver, so these 30,000 bows, is 30,000 taels of silver, plus others, the minimum is 100,000 taels, Originally, the military budget was very tight, and where else could I squeeze out the 100,000 taels of silver.

Difficulties are difficult, but leaders never want to know the difficulties of their subordinates, this equipment can not be supplemented, no one says about you, but in case there is a Liao invasion one day, or something happens, the army loses because of poor equipment, the court wants to find, the first one is Ming Hao, the head of the Soldiers and Horses.

At the beginning, Ming Hao wanted to ask Jia Changchao for money, after all, the money and property in Hebei were in the hands of Jia Changchao, but he told Jia Changchao a few times, Jia Changchao did not agree, and the reason is very good, now the Yellow River is flooding, the people are displaced, even if there is a penny left, it must be used to govern the river, where can it cause the weapons to rot in the warehouse.

Ming Ho didn't even fight with Jia Changchao, because Ming Ho knew that the officialdom of the Song Dynasty was like this, this lawsuit, even if it was in front of the emperor, the result was still the same, so Ming Ho was worried about this matter, just Xu Deshan made trouble, Ming Ho planned to embarrass Xu Deshan with this matter, Xu Deshan wanted to say that it was easy to do, then ask Xu Deshan to manage Jia Changchao to ask for silver, and Xu Deshan wanted to say that there was no way, then don't think about entering Ming Hao's house in the future.

On the second day, Myeongho was in a good mood, thinking that no matter what happened today, he would be able to solve one of the two big problems

It was a fortunate thing, so I specially made tea, prepared fresh snacks, and waited for Xu Deshan to come.

Xu Deshan did not live up to Ming Ho's expectations, stepped into Ming Ho's study, and looked up to find where Ming Ho was, but saw Ming Ho sitting on a chair, waving to Xu Deshan.

Xu Deshan was stunned, this is something that has never happened before, as the saying goes, the cat greets the mouse for the New Year, there must be no good intentions, Ming Ho is like this today, there must be something to ask for himself.

Xu Deshan felt very uncomfortable, he has always liked to take the initiative, but he doesn't like to fall into other people's pits, but making friends, don't you have to be like this, taking advantage of each other is considered to be making friends, otherwise you will only be asked to take advantage of yourself, others will suffer, who is willing to take care of you.

Xu Deshan was clearly aware of this, stepped forward cautiously, and greeted, "Lord Ming, good morning." ”

Myeongho smiled and nodded, "Xu Deshan is here, sit down, I have prepared some snacks for you, and taste whether it suits your appetite." ”

Xu Deshan was really polite, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, and said, "Yes, it's much better than yesterday, okay, then we'll see you tomorrow." ”

Where can Ming Hao tell Xu Deshan to leave like this, and said, "Deshan go slowly, I heard that Master Jia said that you are very smart, I just have a problem here, I don't know if Deshan can answer one or two for me." ”

Xu Deshan said, "Eating people has a short mouth, and taking other people's hands is soft, who told me to eat you, okay, just talk about it, what are the problems?" ”

Ming Ho was a little embarrassed to see Xu Deshan being so naïve, and said, "My question is a little difficult, you have to sit down and listen to it." ”

Xu Deshan said, "Well, who do you want to take a look at first." ”

Ming Ho said, "It's such a thing, now my Hebei Road Ningbian Army has reported that the ordnance is old and decaying, and it needs to be replaced, but I don't have any money in my hand, can you help me solve it." ”

Xu Deshan was stunned for a moment and asked, "Want money?" Why don't you go to Lord Jia, what are you doing with me? ”

Ming Ho smiled bitterly, "If I can ask for money from Lord Jia, what else do I want you to do, since you are a disciple of Lord Jia, you may help me persuade him to increase his popularity, and ask him to give me tens of thousands of taels of silver, so that I can fill the hole in the ordnance." ”

Xu Deshan has also learned a little about Hebei's financial situation in Jia Changchao's daily official documents in the past few days, think about it, only Beizhou alone, there are 300,000 yuan of money, only tens of thousands of taels of silver, it is really not a big deal, Xu Deshan said, "The army is a major national matter, I see that Lord Jia governs the Yellow River, and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are spent at every turn, tens of thousands of taels of silver, how can it be a problem." ”

Ming Ho was very concerned about this batch of ordnance when he heard Xu Deshan's words, and his impression of Xu Deshan couldn't help but change a lot, and said, "If it's so simple, where do I need to ask you for help, only these tens of thousands of taels, Lord Jia really can't take it." ”

Xu Deshan was puzzled and said, "Tens of thousands of taels of silver, but one percent of the money on Hebei Road, I see Master Jia making a plan, the survey on both sides of the Yellow River needs more than 100,000 vehicles, where to squeeze out, can't squeeze out tens of thousands of taels of silver." ”

Ming Ho said, "To be honest, this is not to blame Lord Jia, the Yellow River is so big, far away you can imagine, every year in order to control the Yellow River, hundreds of thousands of people have to be recruited, plus the bulk of the materials, this silver looks a lot, but it is only a little bit in everyone's hands, Lord Jia is also embarrassed, where can I take care of this bit of armament." ”

Xu Deshan nodded and said, "So, your current difficulty is that you lack silver?" ”

Myeongho said, "Or you can get me three ...... 40,000 sets of ordnance are also OK, especially bows and arrows, which are sharp weapons to restrain the Liao State, if there is no bow and arrow, the cavalry of the Liao State can be flattened and pushed straight to the Daimyo's mansion. ”

Xu Deshan didn't think about it, and suddenly thought of a question, and asked, "You said 40,000 sets of ordnance, how many taels of silver?" ”

Ming Ho thought that he would be able to scare Xu Deshan away at once when he said this problem, but he didn't expect Xu Deshan not only didn't run, but asked about the details, which greatly surprised Ming Ho, Ming Ho could only explain to Xu Deshan, "This 40,000 sets is actually a bit general, the weapons and armor in the army are different, and the price is not the same, according to the report of the Yongbyon Army this time, most of the wallets, bows and arrows that need to be replaced, most of these items are rotten in water, so they are much worse, but those iron ordnance can still be used for some time, even so, 40,000 leather armor bows and arrows." , also need 10,000 taels of silver. ”

Xu Deshan said, "You mean, 40,000 sets of wallets and 40,000 bows and arrows will cost 80,000 taels of silver?" ”

Myeongho nodded and said, "This is still a little bit of a word, if you catch up with the nervous time, this price will be doubled." ”

Xu Deshan was surprised: "Then who are these ordnance handed over to?" ”

Ming Ho said, "Under the Daimyo's house, there are more than 3,000 craftsmen on the register, if you want to make something, you will give them a penny, a few bows and arrows or a few sets of leather armor per person, and then give them two taels of silver, set a date, and they will hand it in at that time." ”

Xu Deshan said, "But isn't it a waste to do this?" ”

Myeongho frowned and said, "What kind of waste?" ”

Xu Deshan said, "Of course, it is repetitive labor and low efficiency, have you ever thought about gathering these craftsmen together to make these ordnances?" ”

Myeongho wondered, "What's the difference in that."

This? ”

Xu Deshan suddenly laughed, asked about another thing, and said, "Lord Ming, since you lack armaments, then if I have 40,000 sets of armaments here, do you want Lord Ming?" ”

Myeongho was stunned, "What do you want to do?" ”

Xu Deshan said, "You don't have to worry about this, I can give you the money, and I can also make the ordnance for you, you just wait and see." ”

After Xu Deshan finished speaking, he immediately got up and said goodbye, before Ming Ho could react, Xu Deshan turned around and left, leaving Ming Ho standing there in a daze, touching his head and thinking, the matter was solved so happily? Moreover, it seems that two troubles have been solved at once, looking at Xu Deshan's crisp appearance, this Xu Deshan, maybe he really has two hits.

Don't explain how the pickaxe corrected his attitude towards Xu Deshan, just say that Xu Deshan, came out of Ming Ho here, and went straight to Jia Changchao, Xu Deshan really regarded this place as his home, and passed all the way unimpeded, and came to Jia Changchao's study, Jia Changchao was reading the official document, and when he saw Xu Deshan coming, he didn't raise his head and said, "I said that you kid Jia Changchao treated you badly in the afternoon, the house was also matched to you, and the maid was also found for you, why do you still run to Ming Hao all day long, do you think that I am not good and want to change the court?" ”

Xu Deshan said, "It's not that I don't think you're good, it's because you did something wrong, so I ran out to play." ”

When Jia Changchao heard this, he jumped up and said, "Did I do something wrong?" I've been an official in the Jia Chang Dynasty for decades, and no one has ever said that I did anything wrong, okay, Xu Deshan, you can tell me what I did wrong, if you can't say it, be careful that I spank you. ”

Xu Deshan said, "I only ask you, the Yongbyon army is in an emergency, why don't you allocate money to rebuild and repair it?" ”

Jia Changchao was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and said, "It turns out that this is the case, it seems that Ming Ho has not said bad things about me in front of you." ”

Xu Deshan asked, "How do you know that Master Ming said bad things about you." ”

Jia Changchao said, "That old boy, he stares at this bit of silver in my hand every day, how does he know that the silver in my hand is not enough to govern the Yellow River, where is there spare money to get him some weapons." ”

Xu Deshan said, "But weapons and equipment are also very important, not to mention that the Ningbian army wants to resist the Liao State, not to mention that now Maitreya Buddhism is about to rebel, if the army does not even have weapons and equipment, where can the rebellion be quelled." ”

Xu Deshan's sentence is to the point, Jia Changchao has been an official for so many years, and he also knows the truth, ordnance is such a thing, you can usually not give it, this is called focusing on the overall situation, but if something happens, Jia Changchao will also be responsible, Jia Changchao thought of this, he was a little loose, and hesitated, "But this year's silver, the budget has been prepared, that is, there are some reserve silver taels, and it is not much, I remember Ming Ho said that this time to build ordnance, it will cost 40,000 sets, 100,000 taels of silver, this amount is really a bit big, I can't make it up. ”

Xu Deshan asked, "Then how much silver do you have in your hands now?" ”

Jia Changchao said, "There are still fifty or sixty thousand taels." ”

Xu Deshan said, "It's not a lot, it's almost, you can also make these ordnance." ”

Jia Changchao smiled bitterly and said, "Where is it so simple, this manufacturing of ordnance must be bought and sold according to the market price, and those craftsmen will not make it for you for a penny." ”

Xu Deshan was puzzled, "You are a dignified appeaser, can't you order a few craftsmen?" If you put a knife around his neck, he will make it for you even if you don't pay him to make it. ”

Jia Changchao said, "No, it is not precisely because of the promotion of benevolence to govern the country and mutual equality that my Great Song Dynasty can have such prosperity. ”

Xu Deshan suddenly remembered something at this time, and said, "My lord, then you give me the money, as long as you give me 50,000 taels of silver, I will make you 40,000 sets of ordnance, can you?" ”

Jia Changchao frowned and said, "You kid, what the hell do you think, that ordnance is an important weapon of the country, how can it be called privately manufactured." ”

Xu Deshan was puzzled, "Call those craftsmen to make it, aren't they also private?" ”

Jia Changchao said, "Those craftsmen have craftsman certificates, so naturally they are not private. ”

Xu Deshan said, "Isn't there a place for the official to build their own ordnance, when something really happens, they still ask these people to build ordnance for us." ”

Jia Changchao said, "Then what can be done, although we have an ordnance bureau, but such a large amount of ordnance, may not be able to be made once a year, if these craftsmen are raised, it may cost how much silver, it is better to be like now, if there is something to do, just ask them to do it, don't care about them if they have nothing to do, even if they ask for more expensive, it is more cost-effective than others." ”

Xu Deshan thought for a while and said, "So, let's build ordnance and cooperate with these craftsmen, which is completely market behavior?" ”

Jia Changchao was puzzled: "What is market behavior? ”

Xu Deshan said, "That is, we contribute money, they contribute, cooperation in the middle, equality and voluntary, only monetary connection." ”

Jia Changchao said: "That's pretty much what it means." ”

Xu Deshan smiled, "That's easy, I'll let them understand the power of the capital market." ”