Feng Jian said with a smile: "These foreign craftsmen are not as difficult as you imagined, they are all adventurers who crossed the sea from the far west and came to our Ming Dynasty, and what they are pursuing is nothing more than money and opportunities." In the past, I followed the governor Sun Yuanhua in Dengzhou, mainly because Sun Yuanhua could provide them with generous treatment and money, but now when we come to Huluyan, as long as we provide us with money and treatment will only be higher than Dengzhou, they have no reason not to do things for us, you don't have to worry at all. ”

Seeing that Zhang Dalai and Liang Yuanhao still looked uneasy, he turned his head to Shen Xiaoshan and joked: "It seems that what you just said really scared the two directors of our Military Research Institute, so hurry up and find a way to remedy it." ”

Shen Xiaoshan grinned and said: "This is easy to do, these foreign craftsmen really want to embarrass the two big supervisors, so let Guo Tai starve them for a few days to ensure that they are obedient one by one." ”

Feng Jian scolded with a smile: "It will be a blind idea, if you really do this, it is estimated that our Hongyi cannon will not be able to be built." ”

Everyone at the table laughed, talking about these foreign craftsmen, and giving Zhang Dalai and Liang Yuan good ideas and solutions.

Everyone was born as a bandit, and it is natural to be vulgar and rude when they speak, and Peniel, who was sitting on the side, turned red when she heard it, and her eyes glared at the person with vulgar language.

If it had been on other occasions, Peniel would have thrown her hands away a long time ago, but today it is not good to leave rashly.

Shen Hanyang, who was sitting next to Peniel, had a straight temper, and when he saw that Pennier was embarrassed, he loudly reminded everyone to pay attention to proportion.

Feng Jian also realized that a little girl who was not married was indeed inappropriate among a group of vulgar men, so he said to Peniel: "Captain Pan's medical team has something. You can leave first, and don't be polluted by these crude nonsense. ”

After hearing Feng Zhen's words, he was inexplicably sad. Tears kept falling like broken pearls, and I sobbed a few times. Hiding his face, he ran out of the council hall.

Feng Jian was a little stunned, he said those words completely out of concern, and he didn't know why this Peniel was crying.

Shen Hanyang sighed, stood up and said, "The old man went to see what was going on with Nier!" ”

"Yes, Dr. Shen will go to see if Captain Pan has been wronged, ask the reason, and if there is anything difficult to solve, you can directly contact me." Feng Jian said.

Shen Hanyang agreed, but shook his head secretly, it seemed that Penier was tender. The commander didn't know it!

Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao, as the president and vice president of the Huluyan General Mutual Aid Association, are in charge of the allocation of money and grain in Huluyan, and they are really the real power figures in Huluyan's finances.

But in the past few days, the commander has made several big moves without warning, and Huluyan's finances are facing unprecedented pressure, making Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao sad and uncomfortable.

Sun Fang planned to show Feng Jian Huluyan's family background, so that Feng Jian could understand the predicament faced by Huluyan.

Huluyan harvested wheat in the summer and corn, soybeans and grains in the autumn last year, in addition to returning it to the cottage households, the mutual aid association to maintain its operation, and the needs of Huluyan's army of nearly 10,000 people. Most of the surplus grain is transferred through the Dayou grain bank.

The grain is sold to the Beijing-Tianjin area of Zhili for trafficking and sales through the water transportation of the Jiaolai River, and then various materials are purchased locally and sold in Pingdu and the surrounding areas, except for the cost of grain, and the profits generated by the water transportation of the Jiaolai River alone. That's almost 30% of the grain harvest.

It can be seen that with the opening of the Jiaolai River water transport, its huge benefits are gradually emerging, and the control of this golden waterway is now in the hands of Pingdu Prefecture Xunying. In the future, it will be another important source of Huluyan's finances.

Speaking of Huluyan finance alone, last year's cumulative gross income was 1.1 million taels of silver. More than one million taels of silver looks like a lot, but the cost of Hulu Rock is like a bottomless pit. The silver disappeared like flowing water.

At the beginning of the year, the Huluyan General Mutual Aid Association made a budget for the year's income and expenditure, and Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao were also full of confidence.

However, a few days ago, there was suddenly an additional fleet of 100 warships, and the amount of silver spent on maintaining this huge fleet of sailors was not a small amount, at least 500,000 taels a year, and this expenditure was not included in this year's budget, and there was a shortfall of 500,000 taels of silver in the finances at once.

This is not counting, the day before yesterday, the commander suddenly took away nearly half of the silver deposited in Dayou Grain Bank, and now he has agreed to Zhang Dalai to expand the Military Research Institute.

In these few clicks, Huluyan's finances will become beyond their means, and the financial budget for a year will be greatly revised, no wonder Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao look like bitter melons.

Sun Fang complained to Feng Jian and said: "Commander, you know best how much silver we have in Huluyan's finances, the budget at the beginning of the year purchased raw materials, distributed food and salaries for nearly 10,000 soldiers, and the labor subsidy of the mutual aid association, the mutual aid association, the military research institute, the breeding farm, the pigeon farm and other aspects of the expenditure at least 900,000 taels of silver, plus miscellaneous expenses, just able to balance. You have added a burden of five or six hundred thousand yuan all of a sudden, and Huluyan's finances are unbearable! ”

Feng Jian also knew the difficulties of Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao, Huluyan was not like a year and a half ago when it was a small bandit, now there are two major systems, Zhenshan Camp and Mutual Aid Association, all aspects need money and food support, Huluyan looked at a lot of food income last year, but it needs to spend more.

Both of them are not professionals, and it is rare to be able to support the smooth operation of Huluyan in all aspects, which Feng Jian is very satisfied with.

This time, the sudden withdrawal of 100,000 taels of silver from Pingdu Dayou Grain Store was also for a reason, and Feng Jian came to Huluyan this time to explain to the two.

Similarly, for the commander Feng Jian throwing out 100,000 taels of silver to bribe the important people in the DPRK and the central government, although Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao were distressed, they could understand it.

The purpose of the commander is to control the warships of the Dengzhou Navy Division in his own hands, as long as the emperor and the ministers of the court allow, then the court will have a fixed amount of salary and silver every year, and then the Huluyan finance will not have to bear the cost of this water division.

In fact, even if the imperial court did not bear the food and salary of the water master, in Feng Jian's opinion, it was not a big problem, and the grain harvest of the Huluyan Mutual Aid Association increased year by year. Trafficking of goods on the water of the South Jiaolai River, plus river checkpoint charges. These are all industries that generate huge profits.

Even another sailor of the same establishment can support it, and now the finances are only temporarily tight. Feng Jian believed that Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao could also see this.

Feng Jian said: "President Sun, President Qin, I am well aware of the difficulties of your mutual aid association, but the sailor is an important force in whether our Huluyan can freely carry out shipping at sea and fight against the enemy. Moreover, even if the food and salary supply of the naval division fleet needs to be borne by Huluyan, the silver required is not for your finances to be taken out all at once, but allocated month by month, and I think it should not be a big problem for the Mutual Aid Association to adjust the budget. ”

Sun Fang said to Feng Jian with a bitter face: "Commander, if you don't add a new budget. Although the finances of the mutual aid association will be stretched, it will be able to cope with it! ”

Feng Jian smiled and said to Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao: "In fact, increasing financial expenditure shows that our Huluyan is growing rapidly, and if we invest now, there will be a tenfold and hundredfold return in the future, which is a good thing in my opinion. ”

Although everyone didn't understand the words in the commander's words, the general meaning could still be understood, and the words were full of encouragement. The two hurriedly nodded in agreement.

After the luncheon, Shen Xiaoshan and Guo Tai led the way, and Feng Jian saw the twenty-seven foreign craftsmen who had been kidnapped by the soldiers of the Enemy Hunting Division.

Seeing a group of people wearing the red coats of the Ming army coming, a young man dressed in a five-grade military attache uniform was clustered in the middle of this group of people. The foreign craftsmen were a little surprised, but no one spoke, and many foreign craftsmen stared at Deguo Tai in the crowd. There was a look of indignation in his eyes.

Shen Xiaoshan took a few steps forward and said to these foreign craftsmen: "You have always wanted to see my family. Now my family has arrived. ”

As he spoke, he bowed to Feng Jian and said, "Commander, this is the foreign craftsman rescued by my enemy hunting division. ”

A bearded foreigner in his forties suddenly stood up and said, "We are not craftsmen. We are messengers who have come to the far east to spread the gospel of God, and we have been hired by the governor of Tenglai, Lord Sun Yuanhua, so please respect us. ”

Feng Jian is clear about the identities of these people, and in May of the third year of Chongzhen, Sun Yuanhua was appointed as the governor of Denglai. At that time, Xu Guangqi planned to recruit more than 300 Western soldiers as mercenaries, and when these 300 mercenaries were on their way to Beijing, Lu Zhaolong wrote a letter to oppose the incident, and was finally sent back to Macao by Chongzhen's order.

Sun Yuanhua argued with Lu Zhaolong and asked these mercenaries to be transferred to Dengzhou. As a result, only 27 Portuguese gunners served under Sun Yuanhua, including Xilao, the former mercenary commander Gongsha, and Lu Ruohan, the interpreter.

This should have happened after Chongzhen's fourth year and March, because Lu Ruohan completed the task of sending the recruited mercenaries back to Macao, returned to Beijing to return to Chongzhen, and on this day, he went to "Poor Completion and Resumption of Life".

It was these 27 Westerners who built more than 20 Hongyi cannons and more than 300 Western artillery pieces in Dengzhou City in only one and a half years, which has to be impressive.

Feng Jian took a step forward and said: "Of course we respect you, and we also respect your religion, I am Feng Jian, the garrison officer of the Pingdu Prefecture Flood Camp of the Ming Dynasty, if my subordinates have offended before, please forgive the guests who came from afar." ”

The eyes of all the foreign craftsmen were focused on Feng Jian, and they couldn't imagine that this gentle and gentlemanly military attache would have a group of fierce and vicious subordinates!

The foreigner who spoke before bowed slightly and said, "General Feng doesn't need to be polite, contemptible Lu Ruohan, I am respectful to the interpretation of our twenty-seven people." ”

Feng Jian bowed slightly: "It turned out to be Mr. Lu, disrespectful!" ”

"Don't dare to be called a gentleman, General Feng can call me Lu Ruohan, I want to ask why General Feng sent someone to capture us here."

The corners of Feng Jian's mouth turned up slightly, revealing his signature smile: "You are not right, it is not to capture you here, but to rescue you here." You don't know yet, now Dengzhou City has been captured by Kong Youde's rebels! After the rebels captured Dengzhou City, they burned and looted everywhere, and both officials and civilians could be killed by the rebels, and if you continue to stay in Dengzhou City, I am afraid that you will not escape the fate of being killed. ”

Most of the foreigners present could understand Chinese, and Feng Jian's words made them unbelievable, and they all showed shock, and some of them kept drawing cross prayers in their mouths. (To be continued......)