"Brother is very right!" Xu Hecheng said with a smile: "Then Batur Khan said in advance, as long as anyone can come up with new goods, he can give away some of this kind of goods for free next year, I went to see him this time The wool is very cheap, even if you buy a few thousand bags, it is not worth anything." “

Liu Cheng said with a smile: "Brother, the younger brother has an ugly saying in front of him, this wool trade is not for nothing. “

Xu Hecheng was stunned when he heard this, and then laughed and said: "That's natural, this business was originally thought up by your brother, and you should have a share, how much do you say?" ”

"No!" Liu Cheng shook his head: "Shares are a trivial matter, brother, you have been in business for so many years, you must have used Songjiang cloth, have you ever seen how Songjiang cloth is spun?" ”

"Not really!" Xu Hecheng said with a smile: "I have been walking around the northwest all these years, and I have never been to the south of the Yangtze River, but I heard that every household there has a flower field, and the cotton is spun into yarn during the slack time, and then sold to the weavers, and then the weavers weave the cloth uniformly. ”

"Not bad!" Liu Cheng nodded: "But my business is different from that of Songjiang, from the beginning of opening bags, washing wool, to later spinning and weaving are all hired by themselves, and the capital investment is very large, the site must also be next to the river, it is convenient to use water, and it is convenient to transport by boat."

As soon as this business opens, one person can do the work of hundreds of people, and thousands of families will lose their jobs because of your brother, and Brother Tai will no longer be the leader of the caravan who walks freely, but a businessman who sits on the ground and takes root, all kinds of troubles are overwhelming, and it will make you have a headache and it is difficult to sleep well. ”

"Hahaha!" When Xu Hecheng heard Liu Cheng say this, he suddenly burst out laughing, his back straightened, his eyes were like electricity, and he asked proudly: "Brother, you have known me for some time, do you think that I Xu Hecheng is a person who is afraid of trouble?" ”

Liu Cheng remembered the experience of the night he first met Xu Hecheng, and couldn't help but show a knowing smile: "Brother is naturally not afraid of trouble, to be honest, brother doesn't go to others to make trouble, others should recite Buddhism!" “

"Brother Xian said this, it seems that our family is a street gangster who scolds people and money!" Xu Hecheng stretched out his hand and patted Liu Cheng's shoulder: "To be honest, I always felt that when I met my brother that night, it was destined by God, and I didn't want Xu Hecheng to simply live this life, and I would definitely do a great career." Brother, you are well-informed, if there is anything you want me to do, just say. ”

"Okay." Liu Cheng took out a map and said while pointing to the painting: "The caravan is generally hard when it comes out, and most of the camels are empty when they come back, and the freight is just that, but if it is spun into gauze, it is necessary to consider the cost of marketing." The reason why Songjiang cloth can be sold all over the world is because it is cheap and beautiful, and on the other hand, because it is located at the place where the Yangtze River enters the sea, it is very convenient to sell to merchants in the sea or to domestic merchants. Therefore, I plan to place my business in Chaoyi, which is adjacent to the Yellow River, without thinking about the water source, and opposite Puzhou in Shanxi, which is very convenient to go to Shanxi or down the Yellow River to Henan, and there is also a waterway to Xi'an. After a few years, the business went smoothly, and the Tartars could also transport the wool goods down the Yellow River, saving a few more freight. ”

"Well, my brother is really thoughtful!" Xu Hecheng looked at the map for a while, nodded with a smile: "Then I'll go back to Xi'an and go to Chaoyi after I'm done with that stall and take the land down first." Find a place near the river, where the river is slow and the boat can dock, right? ”

"Exactly!"

"In that case, now I'm going to pack up my things, and our brothers will get drunk together at night, and I'll go back to Xi'an tomorrow!"

Looking at Xu Hecheng, who was walking like a fly, Liu Cheng's face showed a smile, and the strategy he had planned for a long time finally had a hint of eyebrows. In many time-traveling texts that I have seen on the Internet in my previous life, the protagonist will dig coal and make steel, burn glass, make guns and cannons, and make money to train soldiers whenever he has the opportunity, lest he live up to the knowledge of the time-traveler who "transcends the times". However, regardless of whether the ability of one person alone can establish such a complex system engineering, anyone who knows a little about modern history will know that the first step in the industrialization of almost all modern countries is the textile industry, not metallurgy and chemical industry. The reason is very simple, whether in the East or the West, the income of the vast majority of people in the ancient world can only be used to meet their most basic living needs, and their purchasing power is almost zero in other aspects, unless the traveler takes the high-end route for a few aristocratic and wealthy merchants, and the business that can earn money is nothing more than clothing, food, housing and other necessities. Although glass and soap are high, ordinary people have no purchasing power at all, and the total amount of profits they can obtain is certainly not as good as those industries that are open to the general public.

Secondly, ancient China was a society with extremely scarce capital and abundant manpower supply, and many shops did not even need to pay salaries to the low-level guys, only provided food and accommodation, and at the end of the year, a few red envelopes were sent away, and there were still groups of laborers to apply for jobs. In such a society, it is clear that it is more advantageous to start with labor-intensive industries with low investment in fixed assets and can absorb a large number of laborers. A capital-intensive heavy industry like metallurgy must invest huge amounts of capital to build roads and blast furnaces at the beginning, and train high-quality skilled workers before it can begin; At the beginning, the textile industry only needs to recruit dozens or even hundreds of women and even children, prepare dozens of textile machines to start, for the beginning of the stage of travelers, from the latter to start accumulating capital and then invest in heavy industry is the right way. The most important thing is that the developed textile industry also has a great bonus effect on the combat effectiveness of the army. For a soldier, it is good to have a good bow, a good sword, and a good armor; But a pair of comfortable shoes, a pair of leggings, a thick robe, and a lightweight, warm blanket are much more affordable. After all, even if it is a soldier at the border pass, there is no need to fight with the enemy every day, but marching and working is something that must be faced every day, and when the shoes are broken, they will wear out and even frostbite their feet, lose their combat effectiveness and even amputate their limbs; In the seventeenth century, China was a world without antibiotics, and a small cold could turn into pneumonia and send a sturdy soldier to the west, not to mention typhoid fever, plague, cholera, and other mass murder weapons. On the battlefields of ancient times, far fewer soldiers died from spears and crossbows than from disease. Thus the soldiers who have lost the battle will lose their armor, but they will never lose their blankets if possible, because they know that they will not necessarily die without weapons, but without robes and blankets, there is only one way to die.

For this, the ancient Chinese commanders can be said to have a deep understanding, Tang and Song poems mentioned that the palace emergency clothing to the border army soldiers is not uncommon, for the Song Dynasty soldiers winter clothing is an important part of the salary. But after putting on the fat jacket (the military uniform of the Ming army), Liu Cheng was surprised to find that it was not easy to warm his soldiers, first of all, there was no money. After the new household department Shangshu Bi Ziyan open source and throttle, the financial situation of the central government of the Ming Dynasty is finally much better than the last years of the Apocalypse, from almost bankrupt to bankrupt, but the little money that was finally saved was also spent on the Liaodong battlefield and Denglai to train the new army, such as the northwest Ming army This secondary battlefield was gorgeously ignored by Emperor Chongzhen and his ministers. It is no wonder that many scribes in the late Ming Dynasty called them unclothed and shoeless when they mentioned the border soldiers in the Xuanda area of the northwest, like beggars.

Secondly, even if you have money, you may not be able to get enough military supplies, the Ming government is not without special institutions to be responsible for the production of these military supplies, for example, the Ming Dynasty palace in the twenty-four prisons of the imperial horse supervisor has the responsibility of producing the military supplies needed for the army, but due to the low status of craftsmen, the materials are inferior, and the military supplies they provide have always been known for their poor quality. However, civilian enterprises also do not have the experience of producing large quantities of military supplies, so the army has to rely on temporary requisition and even plunder to obtain the necessary materials, which not only undermines the discipline of the army, but also seriously affects the army's mobility and combat effectiveness, because the normal mobility and combat of an army must be based on adequate and timely supply. Therefore, Liu Cheng planned to start with the establishment of his own textile factory, and gradually establish a reliable source of military supplies that could supply his army in the future.

Beijing, Qianqing Palace.

It's already two watches, Chongzhen hasn't fallen asleep yet, the master of the Ming Empire is walking around in the courtyard, not far behind him on both sides of the Danqi, two eunuchs silently playing the palace lamp, like two human-shaped stone pillars, the other eunuchs and palace maids on duty are standing far away in the dark shadow, and they don't even dare to breathe out of the atmosphere, only the occasional sound of iron horses coming in from the eaves of the palace from outside breaks the death-like silence. But Chongzhen didn't hear this little sound at all, his whole body was overwhelmed by the bad situation in front of him, he stopped from time to time, and wanted to sigh, but an invisible pressure blocked the sound in his throat. After a long time, he lowered his head and sat down in front of the imperial case with heavy steps.

The reason for Chongzhen's bad mood was a telegram from Liaoxi, according to which the Houjin government had just issued a new order to increase the amount of grain collected that year, and reaffirmed the prohibition of food-consuming activities such as winemaking, and organized large-scale hunting, all of which could only point to one result - in the autumn of that year or the spring of the following year, the Houjin army was going to launch a new attack. But whether Houjin wants to break through or attack Liaozhen, he needs to mobilize troops for reinforcements, and all of this requires money, as soon as he thought of this, Chongzhen's chest was stuffy for a while.

"The treasury is like a wash, what should I do?"

A few days ago, Yang He, the governor of the three sides in the northwest, sent a twist again, claiming that Shaanxi has not had a single rain since the beginning of spring, and there is a great drought again, and the soothing thieves have begun to riot again because they have no money and food, and ask the court to send money and grain for relief, but where is the money and grain? As soon as he thought of this, the roots of Chongzhen's teeth itched, it was this Yang He who said every day that as long as he used Zhaofu, he could calm the northwest without spending a penny, and he could also collect taxes to help the urgency of Liaoxi, but now why did he only know that he was shouting for money and food? Don't you know how many people in the court have impeached you for cowardice and reliction of trouble, and if it weren't for me to keep all these folds for you, you would have been in prison by now. As soon as he thought of this, Chongzhen felt a breath of evil in his chest rushing towards the top door, he suddenly grabbed the piece of Duan Yan worth a thousand gold on the imperial case and smashed it down, scolding in his mouth: "Yongchen misleads the country, it is extremely hateful!" ”

Duan Yan smashed on the ground, and suddenly made a loud noise, and the scattered fragments hit the eyes of a eunuch next to him, and the unlucky eunuch fell to the ground with a terrible scream, and blood flowed out from between the fingers that he was tightly covering his face. Chongzhen looked angrily at the eunuch who was rolling on the ground in pain, as if he was Yang He who asked for money and food from him, and shouted: "Damn! ”

Cao Huachun, who was on duty, hurriedly stepped forward and waved the dust whisk in his hand, and the two eunuchs quickly carried the injured companion out, and the other two palace maids quickly cleaned up the debris and blood on the ground. Cao Huachun cautiously looked at Chongzhen, who was still angry, and said in a low voice: "Emperor, it's late, rest early!" ”

"Rest?" Chongzhen smiled bitterly: "There are so many folds, some impeached Yang He, and some asked for silver, the military situation is urgent, how can I rest?" ”

Cao Huachun hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "None of these courtiers are as hard as the emperor, your dragon body is the foundation of our Ming Dynasty!" ”

"Hey, this is the world of my ancestors, so how can I not work hard?" Chongzhen shook his head, leaned his back on the throne, sighed and said: "Everyone in the world thinks that this dragon chair is easy to sit on, but they don't know that it is hard and cold, and it falls down accidentally, and I am afraid that the most difficult place in the world is here!" “

"The hardest thing is the emperor's family!" Cao Huachun sighed, standing behind Chongzhen, he could clearly see that there were already dots of white hair at the root of the Son of Heaven's hair, and he was still in his early twenties! Cao Huachun clearly remembered how high-spirited the Son of Heaven was when he first entered the palace to inherit the unification a few years ago, and he eliminated Wei Zhongxian without moving, he was really happy in his heart, thinking that the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty had a spirit in the sky, and at this time of internal and external troubles, he descended a British lord for the Ming Dynasty, and did not want to work in just a few years. As soon as he thought of this, Cao Huachun felt like he had fallen into an ice cave, and he didn't dare to think about it anymore.

"Cao Daban, what should you do when you look at Yang He's request for money?" Chongzhen leaned on the throne and asked in a sleepwalking voice while closing his eyes to recuperate.