When Wu Shigong gathered everyone, he began to speak at length. At this time, Wu Shigong had not yet calmed down from the excitement of robbing iron ore and saltpeter mines, so he was very excited and tried his best to explain the reason why he must send troops to Nanyang Mansion. It wasn't until Wu Shigong had spoken for nearly half an hour and his mouth was dry that he stopped his speech and waited for his subordinates to express some opinions that agreed with him.

But what Wu Shigong was facing was silence next, and everyone remained silent for a long time. This situation also made Wu Shigong see the signs, and it seemed that all his subordinates did not agree to his own troops.

In fact, at this time, Wu Shigong fell into a misunderstanding. For Wu Shigong, who vaguely knew that the Ming Dynasty was about to fall, maybe his choice was not wrong. But none of his subordinates here knew this, and in their opinion, Wu Shigong's dispatch of troops this time was simply too risky.

You must know that the current Wu Shigong, as the leader and core of this group, so his decisions are basically final, and his subordinates basically have to implement Wu Shigong's decisions, even if there are some objections, they are mainly reserved.

Moreover, Wu Shigong is now creating such a big situation as the Runing Camp, which was basically founded by Wu Shigong, it should be said that in the eyes of the people of the Ming Dynasty at that time, these were also Wu Shigong's private property, so how to use this private property should be Wu Shigong's decision alone.

This view should be said to be correct, but the group of Runingying has been established on a certain scale, and Wu Shigong's aides also have a certain status in this group. Therefore, the rise and fall of this group is also closely related to the future of Wu Shigong's subordinates.

Therefore, when Wu Shigong proposed such a risky move, his subordinates were unwilling to accept it. If it weren't for Wu Shigong's success in the past and his huge prestige, these subordinates might have interrupted Wu Shigong's words a long time ago to refute them, and they wouldn't just use such a silence to show their attitude.

Seeing the scene for a long time, Deng Qifan, as Wu Shigong's chief staff, had to start speaking: "My lord, why do you have to send troops? The student's statement is not necessarily true. But since those iron materials can be bought, those saltpeters should also be able to be bought. It's nothing more than for those miners to build another saltpeter mine. ”

"The students also know your judgment of 'three years of chaos in the world', and basically agree with your thoughts. But a few days ago, the students asked the account room to carefully calculate, even if they counted the income of the Yangzhou salt merchants, the expenses of the Runing camp every year had to be pasted into nearly 20,000 taels of silver. ”

"My lord, don't you think about it, what if the world is not in chaos? Or is there a big chaos in the world, and we can't come here in Runing Mansion for a while? Or will it take four or five years before the world is in chaos? If the adults are so extravagant, don't wait for the world to be in chaos, maybe our Runing camp will be in chaos after a few years because of the lack of silver. Adult, the student will advise you again, think twice! ”

Deng Qifan used a financial perspective to oppose Wu Shigong's dispatch of troops, and it should be said that he was also reasonable. But Wu Shigong didn't know the specific time of the chaos in the world, and he was also moved by Deng Qifan's persuasion. Wu Shigong frowned and thought about it for a while, but decided to listen to the opinions of others: "If you have anything to say, just say it openly, and this official is not a person who can't listen to opposing opinions." ”

So, Xue Yongli then raised objections from a military point of view: "Uncle, if you want to send troops, you will definitely not be able to do it if there are fewer people." At the very least, fifteen hundred soldiers must be needed, and the number of auxiliaries must not be less than that. ”

"Because after all, there were more than 4,000 miners who made trouble, and they all had military training, which was not the same as those of the Holy Spirit Society at that time."

"And the places where the battles are fought are all mountainous areas, and there are also families and local villagers of the miners nearby, and those miners are definitely much better informed than us. Therefore, Xiao felt that the difficulty of sending troops this time might be higher than the difficulty of exterminating Li Harrier's gang. ”

"Also, according to your judgment, uncle, those miners will definitely organize a decisive battle with us. But what if they don't fight? What about them hiding with us in the mountains like the Harrier? That battle will definitely be protracted. And in the future, the adults will also station an army in the local area to eliminate the remnants of the miners who are hiding, which will definitely contain some of your troops, uncle. ”

Then Zheng Zhen agreed: "Although the adults have a lot of troops now, it is difficult to mobilize. Adults may not know that there is a big drought in Henan this year, except for those tuntians of adults, many other places are still not harvested. ”

"And now that the autumn harvest is approaching, every day around your farmland, there are some hungry people sneaking into the fields to steal the grain that is about to ripen. And the number of those hungry people is large, and the people of the village protection team can't take care of it at all, and they are often maintained by the soldiers of the Runing battalion. ”

"If you send troops this time, there will definitely be insufficient manpower to maintain and protect the autumn harvest, and the food in your farmland will also suffer a great loss. Adults, don't lose a big deal because of a small thing! ”

Yuan Xingshan then spoke: "My lord, after the shopkeeper in the trading house met with those horse bandits this time, those horse bandits were also quite polite, and there was no refusal of people. According to the villain's estimate, it should be no problem to buy iron and saltpeter from those horse bandits. Adults don't necessarily have to be soldiers! ”

Zhang Xuebin also came up with an idea: "Dongjia, the student has an immature idea. Since the owner wants these two mines so much, then Weishenme has to fight with troops? You can bring in all those bandits and miners. According to the students, those bandits and miners also want a way out. If you agree, the student will send someone to find out what they think, and then the owner will make a decision when there is news. ”

Wu Shigong saw that only Zhou Xun, who was sitting on the side, did not speak, so he named and said: "Zhou Xun, what do you think?" ”

Zhou Xun immediately stood up and hugged his fists and said: "My lord, the villain doesn't understand what the gentlemen say, but I feel that there is some truth in it." However, as long as the adults make up their minds and give an order, the villain will definitely take the soldiers to the soup and fire to open the way for the adults, and drive the troubled miners out of the two mines. ”

Wu Shigong immediately smiled and made a gesture for Zhou Xun to sit down, and then joked: "Look at it, since this Xiao Zhou got married, his flamboyant skills have increased!" Good! If Zuihou sends troops, then the general who leads the team will definitely be you. ”

Wu Shigong's words provoked all the people present to be hahadaxiao.

Wu Shigong then thought for a while, and then said to everyone: "The official did not think about it just now. However, the officer still decided to send troops. ”

"I just listened to your opinions, and I summarized that there are two objections: First, I feel that there is no need for the Runing battalion to send troops, and those iron materials and saltpeter can also be purchased. However, there is no need to discuss this point, the official knows a truth, what is in his own hands is better than looking at other people's faces. ”

"And the iron and saltpeter are simply too important to our Runing camp. This is no less important than the blacksmith's workshop and those tuntian. The official is absolutely unwilling to put his lifeblood in the hands of others. ”

"Also, I feel that the gains and losses of sending troops outweigh the losses. That's what the officer thinks. After seizing those two mines, if you can add the salt goods trading in the two counties where Li Garrison was stationed, from the perspective of income and expenditure, this dispatch of troops is not without gains. Even the food and salary for raising soldiers in the mining areas in the future can be solved. ”

"As for the protection of the grain in the tuntian, this official will also soon establish an army dedicated to local security, and the commander of that army will also be Xue Qiang. In the future, the Runing battalion will only be ready to fight, and this kind of local affairs will no longer be involved. ”

"Also, Mr. Zhang's idea of recruiting an just now is very good. But if you want to recruit security, you must also hurt those troubled miners. Otherwise, those miners have just won the battle against Li Shoubei, and they are in full swing, and if we take the liberty of recruiting An, they may be hot-headed and offer some conditions that are difficult for us to accept. ”

However, Mr. Tang's consideration of the cost of the Runing camp is indeed reasonable. So be it. If we don't drive those troubled miners out of those two mines within a month, our Runing Battalion would rather just withdraw from Nanyang Mansion than take care of this matter anymore. In this way, if we don't succeed, we can still afford the cost loss. ”

"Also, all of this must be discussed with the gentry who own the private mines, and if they give us enough benefits, our Runing battalion can send troops. Otherwise, I would rather give up this opportunity. Do you think it's the right thing to do? ”

Seeing that Wu Shigong had made up his mind, all the people reluctantly nodded in agreement.

So, after the meeting was dismissed, Wu Shigong immediately called Chang Meng over and ordered: "You go to Li Shoubei to run here now." Tell him, sir, I'll have a family dinner for him tonight. Remember, let him come alone. ”