Chao Gai understands the role of the Ma Army very well, it is highly mobile and has great combat lethality, this is definitely a sharp weapon, and it must be sharpened.

Seeing Xu Guanzhong say this, Chao Gai and the others were immediately relieved. Xu Guanzhong is a figure who travels south and north, even if it is Chao Gai, he is not very clear about the internal affairs of this Khitan Liao State.

Xu Guanzhong's meaning, Chao Gai also understood. In any royal family, everyone is eyeing the position of the Ninety-Five, and they are silent.

Especially some "children of the royal family" who have some ability and qualifications to chase this position, but fail for various reasons, are always secretly wooing some meritorious generals or real power figures, and are actively preparing openly and secretly, which is simply the norm under the imperial power.

And Xu Guanzhong's intention is to solve this problem by intervening in such relationships, which is undoubtedly a good way. As long as you find a good "customer", then the feasibility of this matter is very high.

In this way, as long as the problem of horses is solved, the key problems existing in the construction of the horse army can be easily solved.

Thinking of this, Chao Gai suddenly smiled and said: "After the Duan Jingzhu brothers return this time, we will consult with him in detail and work out a feasible plan, and then let the Duan Jingzhu brothers fight the front station first." Then, Brother Xu and I went to the Northland again! ”

"Follow my brother's orders!" , Xu Guanzhong saw Chao Gai making such an instant decision, and glanced at Xiao Jiasui, and they couldn't help but nod with satisfaction.

Chao Gai's trust and fancy for himself in front of him actually gave him a sense of complacency in his heart.

Maxima's meeting Bole is undoubtedly the happiest thing in the world. And the style of Chao Gai in front of them did not make them feel disappointed in the slightest, and it was much higher than expected.

For a while, Xiao Jiasui and Xu Guanzhong did not realize that the identification with Liang Shanbo and their new identity began to take root in their hearts.

"As for the water army, as Xiao Qi said before, there are only three of them and three leaders at present."

Lin Chong continued: "Although the number of the Navy brothers is over 5,000 now, for the three of them, this load is indeed a bit big."

"Regarding the matter of the water army, to be honest, Lin Chong is also a layman. I had also consulted the three of them before, but the three of them unanimously decided that now that everything is entangled in things, although the navy army is organized into three battalions, they do not want to affect the strength of the entire cottage army, and they are all integrating the current three battalions of the navy into the ranks of the new army and the deputy army. ”

"However, as far as I know, these three brothers are notoriously strict with the soldiers of the navy, and the difficulty of their assessment is by no means lower than that of our infantry and horse brothers. At present, I am afraid that the number of people in the entire naval army who have only passed the assessment of the new army and become deputy troops will definitely not exceed 1,500."

"Oh?"

When Chao Gai heard this, he immediately became interested. Although the development of the navy is relatively lagging behind, Chao Gai's attention to the navy is actually definitely more than that of the infantry army. After all, in Chao Gai's long-term planning, the navy must not only bear the heavy responsibility of long-distance transportation, but also have the absolute strength of water warfare.

"Brother doesn't know, although these three brothers say that", Wu Yong smiled and interjected: "There is a lot of energy in my heart!" ”

"Not bad!"

Lin Chong nodded and said with a smile: "These three people used to compete separately, but now seeing the development of the infantry army and the horse army, they have formed a rope, strictly controlling each pass, and they have the courage not to be left behind!" ”

"That's a good thing!"

When Chao Gai heard this, he suddenly smiled and said: "At present, there are indeed difficulties in the development of the navy, but it is absolutely commendable to be able to strictly control the quality!" ”

Such a contest, Chao Gai is definitely supportive. The army has always needed to develop, and it is necessary to have this sense of competition, otherwise, it will be like the forbidden army of the Great Song Dynasty today, which is extremely corrupt and declining.

"As for the logistics system, there's not much to say!"

Wu Yong smiled and shook the goose feather fan in his hand: "Now there are more and more copycat people, there are more people, and there are naturally more mouths." The cost of the entire logistics is also extremely huge! It just so happened that Cao Zheng, Wu Dalang, and Zhang Qing joined the three brothers, each in charge of one place, but it was orderly. The specific numbers are not clear for a while, but fortunately, everything has accounts to check, and my brother will look through the accounts later! ”

However, despite the huge expenses, the elder brother first used all his 100,000 yuan of family property as materials for the cottage, and then developed the salt industry. Today's salt industry is in full swing. ”

"According to average statistics, the whole process of salt production can be produced in a maximum of ten days. Now, in addition to the original experimental salt fields, the second brother and the Tang Bin brothers have not only expanded the area of the original two experimental fields, but also added eight salt fields, reaching as many as ten."

"Each salt pan can produce more than 2,6700 to 3,000 catties of salt almost once. In this way, the salt pan in my cottage can produce salt three times a month, and the total amount can reach more than 90,000 catties. ”

"And now most of the official salt in the imperial court is a piece of salt, all of which are based on five catties, and the salt has a third-class selling price, from forty-four to thirty-four yuan per catty. If it is sold privately, it will cost 50 or even 55 yuan per catty."

"According to my brother's instructions, although the Tianwang salt in my cottage is also sold according to its condition, the average price is between 30 and 35 Wen. It is precisely because of the low price and good condition of our cottage Tianwang salt, so as long as the people know about the Tianwang salt, they have abandoned the official salt and do not buy it, and even many people are afraid that it will be out of stock, as long as there is some money left, they will return the goods. ”

"This is spread ten times and hundreds, but the monthly Tianwang salt in my cottage has been sold cleanly, and even the people who have requisitioned it have appeared in advance. Based on this calculation, the cottage Yantian can earn more than 2.7 million taels of Tianwang salt per month with 90,000 catties of Tianwang salt, which is equivalent to 770 Wen in the Great Song Dynasty today, about 3,500 taels of silver."

"More than three thousand five hundred taels a month?"

Xu Guanzhong and Xiao Jiasui couldn't help but be shocked when they heard this. Even though I knew that this Liangshan salt field was making money, I didn't expect this salt field to be so profitable.

Moreover, Chao Gai actually sold the price of his Tianwang salt to the people for ten yuan lower, which is simply unheard of, and Chao Gai cannot not know that this move, in the long run, is equivalent to how much silver Liang Shan has lost.

However, the two of them also knew that although Chao Gai's move gave up some benefits, it made the people get real benefits. If this continues, more and more people will surely return to Liangshan. No wonder Liangshan has never been worried about the source of soldiers, and I think this is Chao Gai's way of governance!

"An income of three thousand five hundred taels per month", Chao Gai heard this, and his heart was also secretly speechless, he didn't expect that the salt rate of this salt pan would be so high, and it must be that the concentration of sea water in the salt field is extremely high. Then Chao Gai looked at Wu Yong and asked, "How much does the cottage spend every month now?" ”

Hearing this, Wu Yong suddenly had a painful expression on his face: "It's hard to say, the monthly cost of eating and drinking in the cottage is enough for seven or eight hundred taels of silver." It's just that Brother Tang Long and Brother Duan Jingzhu, these two brothers, they are all bottomless pits! ”

"My brother instructed me earlier that these two brothers should be earmarked for exclusive use and teach me unconditional support. It's just that the account book, Rao is me, and I can't bear to look at it! ”

"On average, the monthly expenses of the cottage are more than 2,000 taels, and the monthly surplus is only 1,500 to 1,000 taels!"

"What should be spent must be spent, otherwise the money will be of little use! Even if it's not enough, find a way to make up for it! ”

Chao Gai said in a deep voice: "At present, the cottage has not used sword soldiers, but this surplus is far from enough. It seems that we still need to open more salt pans! ”

"At present, it is expected that up to five more salt pans will be opened on the Yantian side, and there will be no room for it. The reason why the previous increase was to ten salt pans was actually because Xiao Wu and Xiao Er's side were already a little full. And ......", speaking of this, Wu Yong suddenly stopped talking a little.

"And what?" Seeing this, Chao Gai immediately asked.

"Moreover, on the Laizhou side, according to the second brother and Tang Bin brothers, I am afraid that it has attracted attention at present", Wu Yong smiled bitterly.

When Chao Gai heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "Now the salt field is the main source of the cottage's economy, and it must not be touched by outsiders. There is no need to discuss this matter, check it out specifically, and teach Brother Tang Bin and the second brother and fifth brother to strengthen their vigilance! Be sure to keep all the hidden dangers out of the way! When necessary, extraordinary measures can be taken, and Lin Jiaotou will give full support! ”

"When my brother said this, my younger brother was relieved!"

Wu Yong, as the big housekeeper who controlled Liangshan's money bag, naturally paid special attention to the salt farm. Previously, he also intended to strengthen the defensive strength of the salt field, but at this time, Chao Gai slapped the board, so naturally there was no need to hesitate.

"As the saying goes, it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice. This matter must not be taken lightly, and in two days' time, you and I will go to the salt works again," Chao Gai said again.

After a pause, Chao Gai said again: "Now it seems that the expansion of this salt pan is also imminent. It seems that we also need to expand the scale of the Yantian again! ”

"The little brother obeys the orders of the elder brother!" Seeing this, Wu Yong immediately clenched his fists happily and said.

"The so-called soldiers and horses have not moved, and the grain and grass go first. It seems that today's cottages, where all the logistics and military needs are well prepared, is a good opportunity for the development and growth of soldiers and horses. It seems that I should wait for that matter to be put on the agenda as soon as possible", Xu Guanzhong looked at Chao Gai and said with a smile.

"Okay", Xiao Jiasui couldn't help but nod when he heard what Lin Chong said about the situation of the entire Liangshan soldiers and horses.

"Today's cottages, infantry, horse army, and navy, although they have different degrees of development, are all beginning to get on the right track. Now that the major arms are complete, what the cottage needs is time! ”

"Yes", Wu Yong nodded, and then said with a sigh: "We have broken through Qingzhou before, and the imperial court has not seen any movement yet. Brother Dai Zong has been staring at the capital, but in my heart, I am still a little apprehensive. Who knows what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd of Zhao Guan's family? ”

"Brother Heavenly King!"

Everyone was talking, but at this time, they saw Zhu Gui suddenly enter the door, holding a letter in his hand, and walked towards Chao Gai with an anxious face:

"Brother, someone sent a letter to the hotel earlier!"

Seeing this, Chao Gai took it from Zhu Gui's hand with a surprised expression.

I saw that on the front of the plain letter, there were only four big words:

Chao Gai personally opened!