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Zhao Xunting came back from inspecting the construction site, and saw Zhu Daolin and Wu Gonggong sitting cross-legged on the edge of the dock from a distance, as if they were nervously discussing something, after thinking about it, he didn't continue to walk over, turned to the dock above the dock and chatted with a few little eunuchs who were chatting in a low voice, and the little eunuch quietly told him that his father-in-law and Xiao Zhu Daochang had been sitting there talking for half an hour.

Zhao Xunting nodded thoughtfully, walked to the other side and sat down, took out a stack of drawings given to him by Zhu Daolin and studied it attentively.

Zhu Daolin listened attentively to Wu Gonggong's detailed account of how to improve the shipbuilding workshop, how to select 500 senior craftsmen in various industries who originally belonged to the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing, how to use means to make 500 families of senior craftsmen who were in trouble leave the Ministry of Industry and become a citizen, and then how to recruit them to Hushan Manor by signing a contract, and so on.

After listening to the words, Zhu Daolin finally saw how chaotic and corrupt the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty was, and at the same time, he was deeply glad that he recognized this eunuch uncle.

Wu Jingxian was reluctant to stop after speaking, and continued to turn the topic to a deeper level of interests: "I'll help you do this, you just wait, at the latest ten days, the 500 craftsmen I carefully selected for you will come to your Hushan Manor, and your four major workshops will be put into production one day earlier, which is also an extra help for me." ”

"In addition, you have to choose a few cronies with good skills, first ask Wei Guogong to enter his name into the military household, and grant the position of a hundred households, and when I and Old Man Ying get through the joint, Wei Guogong can justifiably restore the Sailor Shangyuanmen Hundred Households, and you can justifiably have your own guards and warships."

"However, we can't rush to handle this matter, let alone make a statement, and there will be a result in three months at the latest."

"Thank you, uncle! The little nephew remembered. ”

Zhu Daolin nodded heavily, and the pressure in his heart was reduced a lot.

Gonggong Wu continued: "Starting from the next batch of copper materials, the copper yuan bureau under my jurisdiction and the Fangshan Manor coinage workshop of Wei Guogong have all switched to copper coinage, and all brass has to be used to cast cannons to make muskets, and I will pay you the silver according to the original purchase price plus 20%, which is my private purchase." ”

Zhu Daolin felt that it was a pity to use such a good copper material to cast cannons, but he didn't know if he could find a factory willing to cast antique steel cannons as soon as possible in the name of the film and television base after he went back, so he hesitated and didn't know how to speak.

Gonggong Wu saw that Zhu Daolin seemed to have an idea, and immediately encouraged him to speak out: "Daolin, can you get artillery from the Tianshu Pavilion?" ”

Zhu Daolin nodded: "The artillery over there in Tianshu Pavilion is a hundred times stronger than the artillery of Daming and even the Franc machine, I heard Brother Deyi mention it during the casual chat yesterday, saying that his father is worried day and night about the iron cannon that has been used for more than 20 years by the guards of the Jiangnan Army Division, and he also wants to change it to the bronze cannon of the Franc machine." ”

"However, the Tianshu Pavilion has already eliminated the copper cannon and iron cannon, all of which are steel cannons, not only exquisite craftsmanship, but also light weight and great power, the range of artillery bombardment is far above the copper cannon and iron cannon, and it is not easy to explode, I thought earlier, whether to buy it 20 steel cannons on the cargo ship, but my ship has not been built yet, so I had to put this matter down."

"Seeing that my uncle was worried about this matter, I also thought of the steel cannon of Tianshu Pavilion, and I was worried that it would take too long to go back and forth, so I was embarrassed to say it."

Grandpa Wu was overjoyed: "This is a great thing!" What's so embarrassing, if you can buy fifty or sixty steel cannons back, wouldn't it be more helpful to the emperor to my Ming army? ”

"But I'm even more worried that the Ming army will collapse at the touch of a button, and give the high-quality steel cannons that our uncle and nephew worked so hard to get back to the Manchu Tartars, once they are in the hands of the Tartars, wouldn't it be even more dangerous?" Zhu Daolin finally said the most worried and unacceptable worry in his heart.

Gonggong Wu was speechless, and was stunned for a long time before nodding painfully: "I understand, in fact, I am also afraid that something like this will happen!" The Ming army is rotten to the bones, and they will cry poor all day long, and they want guns, cannons, silver, and food when they open their mouths. ”

"Alas...... Although I have a martial arts, I have never learned military strategy, let alone led soldiers, and I am afraid that I will be used as a scapegoat for defeat by those embarrassed civil and military officials, otherwise I would have begged the emperor to let me go to Liaodong to supervise the army. ”

Wu Jingxian's painful lamentation made Zhu Daolin extremely moved, and he couldn't help but be in awe of the eunuch in front of him who was full of loyalty and patriotism!

As a former soldier, Zhu Daolin did not lack patriotism at any time, every time he looked at the historical records of the massacre of Han people by the Manchu army such as the Ten Days in Yangzhou, the Three Massacres in Jiading, etc., Zhu Daolin felt extremely angry and painful, he also wanted to shoot the case, gallop on the battlefield to fight against the Manchu army that was inferior to the beasts, and was willing to do everything to help the suffering people of the Ming Dynasty, but with the increasing understanding of the Ming society, he hesitated - who am I fighting for? After winning the war, will the suffering people of the great tomorrow be able to benefit?

"Daolin, can you come up with a way to have more pros and fewer disadvantages?" Gonggong Wu was still unwilling to give up.

Zhu Daolin shook his head bitterly: "Even you have lost confidence in the Ming army, what can I do?" ”

"Didn't you ever serve in the military? Why can't it be helped? Wu Jingxian was a little anxious.

Zhu Daolin didn't know how to explain it, so he had to come up with some lofty arguments as a shield, trying to make this stubborn uncle no longer entangle this matter:

"At present, any war in the Ming Dynasty is related to the national fortune of the Ming Dynasty, such a war is not a single person can decide the outcome of the war, it requires tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have undergone strict training, officers at all levels who are united in one heart and one mind, and the generals who will never give up, the emperor's firm position, and the need for civilian officials to continuously transport grain, grass and ordnance in the rear to support the battlefield ahead......"

"If you can do this, the quality of the weapon is not the most important thing, but can it be done now? I think that at least the civil officials in the court, mainly the Donglin Party, can't do it, the officials at all levels in the rear and the wealthy families who have enjoyed the national favor for more than 200 years can't do it, even if they can, they don't want to do it, every time it comes to life and death, it is thousands of ordinary soldiers and ordinary people who are sent to death, in the face of such bureaucrats, such an army, what can our uncles and nephews do? ”

"Somebody has to do it!"

Wu Jingxian screamed in grief and indignation, but after shouting, he was also discouraged.

Zhu Daolin said earnestly: "Don't worry, aren't we doing it?" I know that after you have worked hard to mint copper coins and send them to the capital, it would be good if a small half of them could fall into the royal treasury, and in most cases, the copper coins have just arrived, and your majesty will divide them, but despite this, haven't you been working hard? ”

"Which of those ministers in the DPRK and China is not worth millions of fertile land, why do they always cry poor? Always do everything possible to snatch money from His Majesty? But he is unwilling to take out some family property to serve the country when the country is in crisis? Instead, he was insatiable and scraped in every possible way, pounced on Daming's dying body and continued to suck blood? ”

"In contrast, you have done a good job, your old morality, your old patriotism, far higher than those so-called famous ministers!"

Wu Jingxian stared blankly at Zhu Daolin, who was constantly enlightening him, and two lines of tears burst out of his eyes: "Could it be that I am really hopeless......

Zhu Daolin felt a tingling in his heart, but he still resisted the urge to say his true thoughts, and took a deep breath to comfort: "Uncle, don't be sad, I will try to bring back as much copper as possible, no matter how uncle builds ships and cannons, I will support it." ”

Wu Jingxian buried his head in wiping away his tears with his big sleeves, raised his head and laughed self-deprecatingly: "I didn't expect that at this age, I haven't cultivated to my home, and I actually lost my temper in front of you, a little cub, okay, I'm not sad, just keep doing it, just do your best, alas!" I don't know when the Manchu Tartar army will hit the Yangtze River. ”

Zhu Daolin's heart moved, and he pretended to be rude and asked: "Where is it so fast?" At least ten years, the Tartars will not be able to hit the edge of the Yangtze River, as long as there is a strong sailor, the Tartars will not think about crossing the river, if they can be more active, and after the Tartar army enters the customs, they will directly drive hundreds of warships and troop carriers, send tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to the Tartars' nest, learn the Tartars' style, kill people when they see them, burn them when they see houses, toss him for a month or two, and turn Liaodong and Liaoxi into ruins, and see how arrogant the Tartars are? Without the nest, it will become a rootless duckweed, how many days can it be tossed? ”

Wu Jingxian stared at the grinning Zhu Daolin blankly, until Zhu Daolin turned around with a smile, he sighed sincerely: "I didn't expect you to be more ruthless than I expected, not bad!" I like your character, and this is how you should treat enemies who don't share the same sky, and you must not learn from the benevolence and morality of those literati, but you will never do anything. ”

"How can I learn from those literati? They are different, one day the Tartars called, they knelt down and kowtowed, and after finishing shaving their heads, they were still their officials, I can't do it, although I can't do it and would rather die standing than kneel and live, but I still have the backbone to pick up a knife and gun and run away, haha! Zhu Daolin smiled playfully.

Wu Jingxian seemed to think of something: "Dao Lin, if I give you an official position in the army, would you be willing?" ”

Zhu Daolin looked very surprised: "I'm a Taoist priest!" There are degrees and seals, and my name and law name are on the rosters of the Beijing Rite Department and Honglu Temple. ”

Wu Jingxian waved his hand: "Don't talk nonsense!" Let me ask you, if you can do it, would you like it? ”

Zhu Daolin shook his head again and again: "Don't do it!" ”

"Why? This doesn't look like your personality! Are you willing to give your hands to the Tartars of the great inheritance you have worked so hard to build? Wu Jingxian stared at Zhu Daolin's eyes suspiciously.

"When I really get to that point, I'll take everything away, take a boat overseas, occupy a desert island or something, and continue to be my rich man. Okay, let them go around with the Manchu Tartars then, I don't want to play with them, haha! Zhu Daolin said with a smile.

Wu Jingxian was so angry that he kicked Zhu Daolin: "Who did you learn from this cheeky person?" Don't tell me it was the old guys who taught you Ziyangguan. ”

Zhu Daolin finally put away the smile on his face and looked at his eunuch uncle: "If you really want me to do more for the emperor, it's not impossible, but I want to know, how much official can you give me...... Don't be angry! I am very serious, just as you always try to become a eunuch in Nanjing, I also have my own ideas, that is, if you want to do it, you will be a big official, otherwise it is better not to do it. ”

Wu Jingxian immediately came to his senses: "You say, how big an official do you want to be?" ”

Zhu Daolin thought for a while: "At least I have to be a general with military power, otherwise I spent my own money and worked hard to build an army to build dozens of warships, and I was taken away in a blink of an eye, who should I cry to?" How to serve the country loyally? If you don't have a good temper, you just leave it alone and go to the sea to be at ease. ”

Wu Jingxian nodded: "The requirements are not high, and they are also very realistic, but if you really want to be a general, then you have to go to war, you can ignore other people's recruitment, if the emperor transfers you to lead troops to fight, do you also refuse?" ”

Zhu Daolin smiled: "Uncle, nephew, I want to form a water master!" If the emperor is willing to make me a general of the Jiangnan Navy Division and allow me to form a fleet, I dare to guarantee that no thief can cross the Yangtze River. ”

"If I am allowed to form 5,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry, I will cover the defense of the entire Jiangbei region, including the imperial tomb Fengyang, and send the emperor millions of stone grain every year, plus 50,000 stone refined salt, directly to the Tianjin Wei wharf!"

Wu Jingxian was moved after hearing this, he had no doubt that Zhu Daolin had such an ability, but he couldn't satisfy Zhu Daolin's big appetite, even if the emperor agreed, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty would not be able to get by.

The only way can only be to come step by step, quietly give the emperor a sum of money, and then share the benefits and disadvantages with a few colleagues in the inner court around the emperor, and say a few good words in the emperor's ear together, with Zhu Daolin's merits of helping all the people, casting money and cannons for the emperor, and providing a large amount of copper materials, it is no problem to ask for the command of the four products of the water master, and it will not cause much reaction from the Chinese courtiers of the court, and then slowly draw it, accumulate merit and be promoted to the general of the three products or the commander of the guard, you can achieve the goal of leading an army alone, but in this way, It will take at least three years before and after, and I don't know if this nephew, who is rich in martial arts and rich in the world, but is ruthless and cunning, has the patience.

After weighing it again, Wu Jingxian put away his smile and asked very solemnly: "First be a fourth-grade commander, hide under the wings of Wei Guogong for two years, and after two years, I will ensure that you become a third-rank general who leads an army alone, are you willing?" ”

Zhu Daolin was secretly frightened: "What are you really doing?" ”

"How could I joke with you about such a big thing? If you make up your mind, I will naturally have a way to facilitate this matter, which will also be of great benefit to your next shipment, at least no one in the entire Yangtze River will dare to touch a single hair. Wu Jingxian replied solemnly.

When he was really faced with the choice, Zhu Daolin finally hesitated, pondered for a long time and asked in a low voice: "Let me think about it for a few more days, I'll give you an old word after the Lantern Festival, is it okay?" ”

Wu Jingxian nodded, and pulled Zhu Daolin to stand up together: "Go back, everything that should be talked about is discussed, go and see the gilded statues you got back, I heard that the three statues of Sanqing are golden in the sun, each of them is five zhang high, if you didn't quietly tell me the truth, I really thought it was flying down from the sky, so I have to go and see it." ”

Zhu Daolin followed Wu Jingxian and walked to the col ahead: "What happened to the Buddha machine man you always said at the beginning?" Are you really going to buy your two big mirrors? ”

"Not only that, I guess they came from Ningbo and Songjiang in a hurry, not only for the two big mirrors and those novelties you brought, I guess they probably found out about your ability from somewhere, and came to you on purpose......"

Wu Jingxian replied in a low voice: "Wei Guogong and Zhang Houye are both soldiers, they are definitely not willing to deal with businessmen, Ying Laosan is a giant businessman who is famous in the south of the Yangtze River, and his peers are like opponents, so they entrusted a few officials of the Ministry of Rites to find me, and I will probe their bottom when I go back, you wait for my news." ”