Early in the morning, as soon as Zhang An, the eunuch guarding the town of Datong Mansion, finished washing up under the service of the two little maids, someone came in to report: "Master, the new Cao Zongbing has come to visit the mansion." Do you see it or not? ”

"Cao Yue, General Cao?" After Zhang An got the confirmation of his subordinates, he smiled, "The miscellaneous family thinks that he should come too!"

"Master," Zhang An didn't say whether he saw it or not, and his subordinates were a little confused, so he had to ask again, "Master, are you ...... Ready to meet him? Still is...... The little one also brought a generous gift!"

"Go, please ask Mr. Cao to the main hall!"

"Yes, sir!" The next person hurriedly went to the fart.

Zhang An didn't dare to slack off, and went to the main hall to greet him first. After a while, the subordinate just now led Cao Yue into the hall.

Cao Yue was followed by two entourages, carrying a box in.

"I don't know that General Cao is visiting, and the miscellaneous family has lost sight, forgive me, forgive me!" Zhang Anpi stepped forward to salute without smiling, his eyes naturally fell on the box brought by Cao Yue, and he was guessing what it contained.

Zhang An's small actions naturally did not hide from Cao Yue, he pointed to the box and said to Zhang An with a smile, "Father-in-law Zhang, it is just a small courtesy, not a respect!"

"Mr. Cao is polite," Zhang An suddenly smiled: "How dare the miscellaneous family accept Mr. Cao's gift!"

"Please also ask Grandpa Zhang to smile," Cao Yue said, instructing the two attendants behind him to open the box.

The box was full of white silver, which made Zhang An squint all of a sudden.

to less than 20,000 taels of silver, which suddenly made Zhang Anle happy. Datong is a barren place, and the filial piety that Zhang An can get is only a few thousand taels at most, and seeing that Cao Yue gave him such a rich meeting gift, his happy eyes are about to narrow into the flesh.

Cao Yue looked at Zhang An's surprised look after seeing so much silver, Cao Chao was right, Zhang An was really a money fan, and when he saw the silver, he couldn't take his eyes off. He knew that as long as Zhang An accepted his gift, he would listen to him in the future.

After a while, Zhang An came back to his senses from the shock, rubbed his hands, and said embarrassedly: "Chief soldier Cao, you are too outward, your gift is too heavy, and the miscellaneous family doesn't dare to accept it!"

"Father-in-law Zhang is polite, this is just a little meaning of the lower official. Although my father once guarded Datong, the lower official was too young, and he couldn't get his father's cuteness, and he still needed Zhang An'an to take care of and help him in the future.

"Mr. Cao is so polite," Seeing that Cao Yue understood the world so well, and was so generous, Zhang An's impression of the new Datong Chief Soldier suddenly changed, and he smiled and said: "Since Mr. Cao said so, the miscellaneous family didn't dare to refuse, so they accepted it." ”

Zhang Gong also immediately ordered the two little eunuchs around him to carry down the box containing silver, and then put the other servants back. He is a good person, and knowing that Cao Yue sent such a generous gift, he must have something to ask for. He has already received the emperor's secret order, and Cao Yue is so sensible, as long as he is not embarrassed, he decided not to make things difficult for Cao Yue, and will try to cooperate.

Seeing Zhang Anping retreating from the people around him, Cao Yue also asked the two entourages to withdraw from the house.

After only him and Zhang An were left in the house, Cao Yue also got straight to the point and said: "Father-in-law Zhang, the Datong town soldiers were almost completely lost in the Battle of Songshan, and when the last general left Beijing, His Majesty repeatedly ordered that the Datong army should be rebuilt as soon as possible to avoid accidents. The last general will not dare to disobey, so some of the recruitment of soldiers and the rectification of the army, please ask Grandpa Zhang to support a lot!"

"This naturally has to be supported," Zhang An agreed without hesitation, "Your Majesty also has a will to come to the miscellaneous family, and the miscellaneous family will give full support to General Cao's recruitment and rectification of the Datong army." It's just that the miscellaneous family is not very familiar with military affairs, and some places also ask General Cao to remind him more. ”

"Father-in-law Zhang is polite, and he will remember Father-in-law Zhang's goodness in the end," Cao Yue knew that Zhang An was an old fox, and he often wanted benefits, but he didn't break it, and continued to ask Zhang An, "Father-in-law Zhang, there is something I still need your help with." ”

Zhang An said with a smile: "Although General Cao commanded, as long as the miscellaneous family can do it, he will definitely do it." ”

"That's right," Cao Yue saw that Zhang An was very talkative today, and understood that it was because of the generous gift he gave, and immediately said his request, "Father-in-law Zhang, this time my Ming army repelled the siege of Jiannu outside Songshan City, all relying on firearms. Now there is a great shortage of firearms in Datong Town, and I want to use the armory workshop under the control of my father-in-law to build a batch of firearms. Of course, all the expenses required to build firearms do not need to be worried about by the father-in-law, and he will find a way to solve them. After the firearm is completed, there will be another filial piety to the father-in-law. ”

"Cao Zongbing is too outward," Hearing Cao Yue say that there were benefits for him, Zhang An's heart blossomed, originally he wanted to cooperate with Cao Yue, and he readily agreed at the moment, "The miscellaneous family thought it was a big deal, but it turned out to be this." Although Mr. Cao was relieved, Ming'er and the miscellaneous family said to the manager of the armory workshop in Datong, and everything was under the orders of Mr. Cao. There is one thing that Mr. Cao doesn't need to worry about, the materials needed to build firearms are all available, and the workshop technicians are quite complete. ”

Unexpectedly, Zhang An agreed so quickly, Cao Yue was surprised, and immediately got up and hugged his fists to thank him: "Then thank you Zhang Gonggong for it." ”

Zhang An returned the salute with a smile: "Mr. Cao, we will work together in Datong in the future, we will definitely cooperate happily, and you will not be polite to the miscellaneous family in the future." If you want help from the miscellaneous family, please just say it!"

Zhang An couldn't imagine that Cao Yue was so sophisticated at a young age, he honored him with great courtesy, and promised to continue to give him benefits in the future. Zhang An knew that when building firearms, it must cost a lot, and he was happy to have some of the silver flowing into his pocket.

If Cao Yue really gave him kickbacks, he hoped that Cao Yue would build more firearms and spend more money.

And what Cao Yue needs most now is a large number of high-quality firearms, and the firearms used in the army today are not of good quality, and they must not have a good quality control when they were built. Before the crossing, he spent many years in the field army, and he was quite good at firearms. Although today's manufacturing process is completely incomparable with that of later generations, he still has some experience in grasping the quality.

If you can personally master the process of firearm manufacturing, the quality of the finished product will definitely be better, and the probability of failure will be less. Today, firearms factories everywhere, including those in Beijing, are all run by eunuchs. Although Cao Yue is quite dissatisfied with this, he is powerless to change now, so he can only accept and adapt, give benefits to others, and get what he needs.

Cao Yue knew the important use of firearms in war, and the combat effectiveness of an army armed with guns and explosives was definitely far better than that of an army that was also trained and not equipped with firearms. After Cao Yue came to Datong, he was ready to train his troops and train an elite army.

While training, he had to arm his army well, and building firearms and ordnance was something he had to do immediately.

He has done a lot of preparation for this!