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On Saturday, January 31, 1643, the twelfth day of the twelfth month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Empire.

In the yamen of the governor of Guangzhou City, in a study room in a side hall, Zhao Mingchuan was leisurely admiring the calligraphy and paintings on the wall.

I heard that Zhao Youheng, the governor of Guangdong, was known as a handsome talent in Shandong when he was young, and he was especially good at calligraphy, and now the study room is full of the mountains and forests created by Zhao Youheng over the years, and some calligraphy and paintings also mention poems. Zhao Mingchuan, who has been busy for many years and has long been away from qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, was greatly admired at this time.

"Mr. Zhao has been waiting for a long time." A calm male voice came from the door, and I saw Zhao Youheng, who was dressed in civilian clothes, walking slowly in square steps.

"Don't dare, it's rare to have such leisure, and it's a great blessing to see the governor Mobao, and I feel comfortable waiting for another hour." Zhao Mingchuan had a rare sense of humor and hurriedly bowed.

"The last time I met Mr. Zhao, it should have been seven or eight years ago, right? Time flies, and when I first saw him, Mr. Zhao was still a scholar. I heard that there is a custom in Huamei Bangguo, guests must shake hands to show sincerity, I have known Mr. Zhao for many years, but I have not shaken hands once, haha! Zhao Youheng also greeted Zhao Mingchuan with a joke like an old friend, and waited until the host and guest were seated before showing a straight face, "This time, Brother Yu invited Mr. Zhao to come, but there is something important to ask." ”

"Your Excellency, please speak." I also asked Liu Yaoyu before I went out, but the other party was mysterious and didn't want to talk more, and now I saw that Zhao Youheng's attitude was very strict, so he quickly stood up.

"Sit, sit down and talk. Hearing that the amount of ordnance imported from Macao has dropped sharply recently, the Ministry of War has repeatedly asked the Guangzhou coastal defense troops to prepare for the road. Dare to ask, what has changed? Zhao Youheng didn't go around in circles, and went straight to the point.

"In recent years, the countries of Tessio Europa have been at war. The procurement of transoceanic ordnance is ten times that of the Ming Dynasty, but the annual ordnance production of the Guozhong Workshop is limited, and the road is long, and the transportation cost is high, so it is difficult to supply the Ming Dynasty in sufficient quantities for a long time. ”

After initially receiving the approval from the domestic headquarters, Zhao Mingchuan was still a little shocked, but after seeing the unique analysis of domestic public opinion on the Ming war in the newspaper, he also felt helpless. Facing the questioning of a Ming governor like Zhao Youheng. Zhao Mingchuan can only use official articles to prevaricate the past.

"Mr. Zhao, do you know about the current war in the Northland?" After taking a sip of tea, Zhao Youheng changed his words and talked about state affairs again.

"I have heard of it, but there are many rumors, and it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood." Zhao Mingchuan said lightly.

"The southern country is warm and moist, and it has been the land of fish and rice since ancient times, unlike the bitter cold of the north. I want the two Cantonese business to prosper. We waited for the wine to be in the cup, and we had enough food and clothing, but the northern land of the Central Plains was full of hunger, and thieves and slaves were rampant. Nowadays, although the state affairs are not quiet and the danger is everywhere, the saint is working hard to govern the country, and there are loyal and virtuous ministers to serve and support. Huangming Zhongxing is also promising...... A few months ago, the saint had ordered the local governor to reorganize the military affairs, and he heard that Sun Chuanting and Sun Inspector had recruited and trained tens of thousands of Qin soldiers in Guanzhong, and he would be able to go out of the customs to clear out the Liukou in a few days. ”

Zhao Youheng said casually, while secretly observing Zhao Mingchuan's expression. However, Zhao Mingchuan at this time, in addition to nodding slightly. There is no special change in the expression.

After all, it was a long time to abandon the country and enter the country, and the price of business all day long. has long been familiar with the affairs of the homeland...... Seeing that the other party was very calm, Zhao Youheng sighed slightly in his heart.

"The governor is worried about the country and the people, and we and other ordinary people have occasional small discussions after tea and dinner, and they don't dare to say much about such important military affairs in the court, which disappoints the governor." Zhao Mingchuan probably guessed what Zhao Youheng's eyes meant at this time, and quickly changed his smile.

"The affairs of the world are the affairs of the people, and if the people ignore them, how can the court handle them properly? I heard that Huamei imitated the ancient Zhou, the national republic, and all things were decided by the officials and gentry. I also have a system of cabinet ministers and court discussions, and scholars and doctors rule the world together, which is the same end. Zhao Youheng smiled, but when he saw Zhao Mingchuan's surprised face, he knew that the gorgeous information he had collected for a long time was right, so he stroked his beard proudly, "Speaking of my Ming state affairs, there is something related to Mr. Zhao." ”

Seeing that it was finally on time, Zhao Mingchuan held his breath.

"Liangguang has been an important town in the southern gateway since ancient times, and since the year of Longqing, the number of plagues and thieves in the border sea has gradually increased, and disasters and famines have also occurred from time to time. Although the local health guards and towns have made great efforts to prevent and control them, they are not enough, coupled with the long-term shortage of food and equipment, and the dispersion of military households, the camps and towns of the local health centers in Guangdong have long been useless, and Mr. Zhao must have known about it. The Holy Lord has repeatedly visited the court to personally deal with Cantonese affairs, and he is quite concerned about both commercial and civil affairs. A month ago, with the permission of the Holy Lord, Benfu followed the example of Guanzhong Qindi, cut off and scattered, reorganized the border and sea to prepare the Japanese camps, open up sources and reduce expenditure, selected the children of good families, and organized and trained new camps. ”

After speaking, Zhao Youheng also shook his hand to the north.

"The governor has a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, and the preparation of the new army is a matter of protecting the country and benefiting the people. Zhao Mingchuan's whole body was shocked, but after a few seconds, he still regained his composure, and just raised his hand to salute.

"The recruitment and formation of a new army is nothing more than four things: generals, soldiers, food, and equipment." Seeing that the other party was fascinated by this, Zhao Youheng hurriedly lowered his voice, "Generals and soldiers are not critical, but food, rice, and ordnance are a big difficulty." I heard that the Oriental Union Group has a wide business route in Nanyang, with high quality and low price, and this new military grain and equipment procurement is carried out, I wonder if Mr. Zhao is interested? ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Youheng no longer delved into the topic, but deliberately pretended to drink tea, but his heart was a little up. He is a feudal official, and he can be so frank and honest with a foreign maritime merchant to talk about this, if the other party is smart, he should know what it means.

The Oriental Union Group approved Nanyang rice from the Hong Kong port, and each stone was less than one tael of silver, and the two Guangzhou, Fujian, and Zhejiang maritime merchants competed quite fiercely. Of course, these are nothing, the most important thing is the monopoly of the Oriental Union Group's ordnance business, and even the Chinese military ordnance sold to the Ming Dynasty by the officials of Macau's Franc Robot was diverted from the hands of the Oriental Union Group. Now that the number of Chinese and American military weapons that have been exported to the Ming Dynasty in Macao has decreased sharply, the Oriental Union Group has said so many excuses, I am afraid that it has nothing to do with the fact that the price is too low.

"Grain and rice are trivial, if the governor is to support the new army, the quantity and price can be excellent. In the case of ordnance, according to China's U.S. law, the export of guns and ordnance must be approved by the Department of Defense before it can be released. Mingchuan can't be the master, and he still needs to ask. ”

Zhao Mingchuan knew that this kind of business that took the initiative to deliver to the door would not be so simple, and then contacted Liu Yaoyu's mysterious expression at first. Zhao Mingchuan knew that the other party was in the way of the official face, and there were more things that he did not say clearly. I am sure that I will pass it on to Liu Yaoyu in the future.

"I heard that the Oriental Union Group sells more Nanyang refined salt through Hong Kong, and loses more than 10,000 stones a year, but each stone of refined salt is only posted eight cents of silver, and it is used to pay tribute to the Guangzhou City. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, salt affairs must be monopolized by the imperial court, and even if they are merchants in the Hong Kong concession, they have no right to set salt taxes privately...... However, Mr. Zhao is a close friend of his wife and brother, so such trivial matters are forgotten. "They're all smart people. Zhao Youheng no longer talked nonsense, but changed his words, "It's getting late, Mr. Hard is running, let's settle down overnight in the house." Ten days later, the dog will get married, and I hope that Mr. will appreciate it! ”

"The joy of the Governor's marriage, Mingchuan will come to the door to congratulate."

A dignified governor. actually took the well-known Hong Kong refined salt wholesale business to talk about things. How could Zhao Mingchuan not understand what the other party meant, and immediately smiled.

……

At the same time that Zhao Youheng and Zhao Mingchuan were testing each other, Shen Tingyang, the prefect of Qiongzhou and the military preparation road, also rushed to Ding'an County, accompanied by Liu Yaoyu, the big treasurer of the South China Sea business, and met with the Wang family, the most powerful in Qiongzhou.

The nominal treasurer of the Nanhai firm is Liu Yaoyu. But behind it is the Ding'an royal family that has been pulling in local tyrants and squires from all over the world for many years. Relying on strong contacts and commercial capital, the Wang family has also obtained many good official positions in Nanjing, Liangguang and Fujian, and has also formed a good relationship with a group of literati in the Fushe. It can be regarded as the biggest umbrella of the South China Sea firm in the Ming officialdom.

It can be said that the Wang family is one of the most influential squires in Qiongzhou and even in the Liangguang region. In addition to Shen Youlong, the governor of Liangguang, who can communicate with each other on an equal footing, even Zhao Youheng, the governor of Guangdong, can only claim to be a junior in front of the Wang family, and Shen Tingyang is even more of a small sesame.

If the support of the Qiongzhou squires is gone, not to mention that the problem of money and food cannot be solved in the future, whether they can recruit soldiers or not.

The old man in charge of the Wang family was quiet, but it only showed that the gentry of Qiongzhou would fully cooperate, and even promised to donate 10,000 stone of rice and grain on the spot for the expenses of recruiting soldiers in the early stage. Seeing that the rich man of Qiongzhou took out 10,000 stone of grain without saying a word, Shen Tingyang was very grateful.

Before Shen Tingyang left, the old man of the Wang family called Liu Yaoyu to the study, and Weng's daughter-in-law closed the door and talked about big things.

"Yu'er, Governor Zhao is your relative, I heard that the son of the Zhao family will get married in ten days, so you can go for the old man. In addition, the old man promised Lord Shen the food expenses for recruiting soldiers, you let people prepare in advance, remember to use good rice. ”

The old man of the Wang family touched his gray beard and looked at his son-in-law with a smile. In recent years, with the support of the Oriental Union Group, the son-in-law has expanded very smoothly in the territory of the two Guangzhou, and the Wang family has easily taken up a lot of interests in this process, and the whole family is very satisfied. I thought that I almost dizzy back then and wanted to eat my son-in-law's industry, but now it seems that the Nanhai business is fortunate to have a son-in-law, so it has today's good situation.

"Old Taishan, please rest assured, the nephew of the Zhao family will marry him, and the son-in-law will go to congratulate him. As for the rice grain, we will definitely choose last year's best autumn grain to send it. Liu Yaoyu hurriedly bowed his head.

"Sending rice grain? is really a confused son-in-law, the old man is a rare 10,000 stone grain? The old man of the Wang family widened his eyes and pointed at Liu Yaoyu a little angrily, "If it's just 10,000 stone of rice grain, I can't let the old man let you say it in person." ”

"Please also ask Lao Taishan to give advice......" Liu Yaoyu was so embarrassed that he hurriedly smiled.

"Now that the state is restless, there are many places to take care of, and there are more places to take care of in the land of Qiongzhou...... Listening to what Lord Shen said, Lord Governor was ordered to recruit and prepare a new army this time, in addition to the Fubiao battalion, there were two other ones. One of them is in my Qiongzhou, which is run by Lord Shen. Speaking of which, in the future, this new battalion in Qiongzhou will be my children in Qiongzhou, if the generals and their families are occupied by those outsiders, it will be worth it! You should pay more attention to this trip to Guangzhou. At that time, my royal family will come forward, and the local gentry will donate a few times, and the Lord Bingxian will definitely be easy to say. When you can't save this money and food, don't save it. ”

Speaking of this, the old man of the Wang family snorted coldly, and a few beards were broken by his fingers, fluttering to the ground.

I see, Lao Taishan planned to let me come forward to walk around in front of my brother-in-law and promote the children of the local squires in Qiongzhou to be the officers and generals of the new camp in Qiongzhou in the future...... Liu Yaoyu suddenly realized.

"Although the 6 Shengli in Qiongzhou have been born some of them over the years, the great trouble is still there, if there is another Shengli rebellion, then the guest soldiers will enter the country, and it will be a disaster. With this new camp in Qiongzhou, not to mention the local fathers and elders, your Nanhai business can also rest assured, right? This matter is very important, and it should not be spread before there is no eyebrow, so as not to cause extraneous branches. ”

After speaking, the old man of the Wang family took out a fine porcelain vial from his sleeve, and a purple-black pill was everywhere from it, and he took it with clear tea. This is the precious propolis purchased by the Oriental Union Group from North America, and when the domestic supply is completely in short supply, the old man of the Wang family in Ding'an, Qiongzhou has also become one of the special suppliers, which shows that the Oriental Union Group attaches great importance to the interests of the Far East.

"The son-in-law understands, Lao Taishan cultivates well." Liu Yaoyu bowed deeply and understood.