Ma Wanli mentioned to Zuo Liangyu about transporting salt, which made Zuo Liangyu feel very embarrassed, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe Ming Dynasty implemented a monopoly on salt, and all the sale and transportation of salt were under the control of the imperial court, and the sale of salt outside the imperial system was smuggling, which was to be severely cracked down.

"Why doesn't General Zuo want to wade into this troubled water." Ma Wanli pressed forward step by step.

"No, this is against the rules of the court." Zuo Liangyu said helplessly.

"Then forget it, I have a thousand taels of silver here to give, and I hope General Zuo will lead the army of tigers and wolves to win and eliminate the thieves." Ma Wanli said lightly.

"It's, it's not like that, I just want to know how much salt I'm going to ship out." Zuo Liangyu thought that if he transported it a few times without knowing it, if it was known to others for a long time, he would be caught, and it would be very troublesome to be played by those imperial historians.

"I have found a good channel, I can supply me with a steady stream of salt, and I will ship as much as I can sell, and General Zuo can get the silver according to his share." Ma Wanli sent an enticing offer.

"If that's the case, I can think of a way." Ma Wanli's words changed the direction of things. Zuo Liangyu was afraid that the large amount shipped out would be discovered and it would be difficult to do, but when Ma Wanli promised him to withdraw the silver according to the share, Zuo Liangyu was afraid that the amount would be less. And Ma Wanli said that you can get as much supply as you can sell, which is even more tempting. Due to the control of salt by the imperial court, the price of salt eaten by the common people has always been very high. In the peaceful years, the price of salt per catty was also sold for about one and a half cents of silver, and now due to social turmoil, the price has risen to three or four cents, if it is converted into the price of later generations, that is, in the case of the people's income is generally not high, it costs 100 to 200 yuan to buy a catty of salt, and salt is a necessity for people's lives, and the huge profits can be imagined. With a huge sales network owned by a large merchant like Ma Wanli, as long as there is a source of supply, the amount of salt sold will be very considerable. As long as you have a small share of it, you don't have to worry about the soldiers' salaries. At this time, Zuo Liangyu didn't agree, just wanted to get more benefits in the next share negotiations.

"Go back and send a master to discuss with my buddies the share of profits between the two sides and what needs General Zuo's help." With the identities of the two parties not suitable for face-to-face bargaining, Ma Wanli decided to leave it all to his subordinates.

"Okay, that's it." Zuo Liangyu's spirit was greatly lifted, this trip to Kaifeng was really not in vain, when he had money and trained his own soldiers, those imperial history civil officials did not have to be afraid to participate in the performance.

"I don't know what the situation of the marshal's soldiers and horses is now." As a businessman, Ma Wanli still has a good understanding of the reality of society, and the current officials and soldiers are corrupt and sloppy, and most of them don't even have any combat effectiveness, let alone exterminate the thieves, even if they are used to escort the caravan, they can't do it.

"I have thousands of veterans who have experienced bloody battles outside the border, as long as there is food and salary, tens of thousands of elite soldiers can be trained soon, plus the soldiers and horses in Henan are nominally under my jurisdiction, I dare not say anything else, we can still be unimpeded in Henan." Zuo Liangyu knew what Ma Wanli cared about, but when he had the silver, his confidence immediately increased, and he must be a fierce general who had fought against the Jin people outside the gate for many years, and it was not a problem to deal with some local forces and thieves.

"That's fine, I happen to know some people who can get their hands on fine weapons and armor, and we can introduce them to you if the general needs them." Ma Wanli thought to himself, and he couldn't let you take it all easily.

"There is such a businessman?" Zuo Liangyu thought to himself that these merchants were too powerful, and they even sold weapons and armor. However, he had long lost faith in the weapons provided by the court. The Ming Dynasty's craftsman registration system has become an obstacle to the development of production during the Chongzhen period, most of the craftsmen in the foreman and officials under the exploitation of the food can not even eat, how can they have the heart to produce, the officials who manage the craftsmen in order to make profits from it to find ways to cut corners, the quality of the weapons produced can be imagined. Firearms produced by the imperial court often had accidents such as exploding chambers when they were in use, and there were many casualties without hitting the enemy himself. This is why soldiers are reluctant to use a variety of firearms at this time, and it is not uncommon for cold weapons such as swords to break in battle.

"Take a look at this first." Ma Wanli took out the short knife given to him by Zhang Chu and handed it to Zuo Liangyu.

Zuo Liangyu has been in the military for more than ten years, of course, he can see the quality of weapons at a glance, and he can't help but light up when he takes a short knife. This knife has no ornate decorations, and the details have not been carefully trimmed, but Zuo Liangyu can see that the material of the short knife should be fine steel, and the materials used are no worse than the sword he often wears.

"You give it a try." Ma Wanli put a stack of copper coins on the table and motioned for Zuo Liangyu to try the blade.

Zuo Liangyu waved his right hand lightly, and the blade accurately slashed at the copper coin, and the copper coin was immediately split in half and flew in all directions.

"A good knife, a good knife." Zuo Liangyu withdrew the knife and looked at the blade and praised. Zuo Liangyu had already seen that the blade had not been damaged at all after chopping the copper coin.

"This knife was made by the same people who sold weapons. It is said that all weapons can reach this level. "Ma Wanli is very confident in this knife. He had already asked the martial artist of the nursing home to see it at home and did the experiment, so he was not surprised at all that Zuo Liangyu cut the copper coin.

"If that's the case, I can buy some of these swords from them, but I don't know if I can meet them for the price." Zuo Liangyu knows that the better the thing, the more expensive it is, and if it is too expensive, he can't buy too much, and it won't make a difference.

"Those people are my friends, and they promised to sell me weapons at a not too expensive price, and if General Zuo wants to see them, I can find a time to make an appointment with them." Ma Wanli first emphasized that the other party was his friend, and told Zuo Liangyu not to think about trading directly with the other party by crossing himself, but he was not afraid that Zuo Liangyu would meet Zhang Chu. No matter how bold those Shanxi merchants were, they didn't dare to buy weapons from the thieves here, and they put aside themselves and sold them directly to the officers of the court.

The outcome of the meeting was very satisfactory, the two successfully completed the exchange of interests, everything in this world is business, if there is enough profit, all moral and legal rules will be thrown aside.

In order to complete the transaction as soon as possible, Ma Wanli decided to arrange for Zuo Liangyu to meet with those Shanxi businessmen, so he sent a letter to Yu Chunguang to explain Zuo Liangyu's situation, and asked if Zhang Chu, Wang Jijie and others could be arranged to meet with Zuo Liangyu.

Yu Chunguang, who received the letter, was very entangled, this matter is getting bigger and bigger now, first beating the world, and now he has to arrange for Zhang Chu, the leader of the big anti-thieves, to meet with the deputy general who led the troops in the court, which is too crazy. There was no way, he could only ask Zhang Chu what he should do.

Zhang Chu was very relaxed, he had not yet met the generals of the Ming Dynasty directly, and he decided to meet this historical celebrity. (To be continued.) )