The effect of this military parade can be said to have far exceeded the expectations of the Executive Committee and the Military Police Department, and the morale of the militia soldiers is one thing, and it is the real joy to have such fanatical support from the local people. Of course, the people's reaction is not only a simple group effect, but also comes from their deep sense of recognition of the management of the Executive Committee and the local social system, which fully proves the role of various civil affairs measures during the time travel.

"The people's hearts are available!" Even the eldest old man Yuan Ruoxiu was moved by the previous lively scene, and he still sighed again and again after returning to the conference room.

"The people's support for the militia is so high, but it can reduce a lot of resistance to our plan to send troops. Yan Chujie was also very happy to smile. As the boss of the military and police department, he is most worried not about the danger of fighting across the sea, but about the opposition of the local people to this decision.

"All we need now is to wait for news from the North Vietnamese side. Tao Donglai also agreed with Yan Chujie's opinion that since there was no local public pressure, the last obstacle to sending troops was the attitude of the North Vietnamese regime.

The sailboat that Gu Kai and Qian Tiandun were on was still dozens of nautical miles away from the Tushan Peninsula at this time. According to the original voyage arrangement, it should have arrived at the destination at this time, but due to bad weather conditions on the way, it had to change the route of the direct voyage to the Tushan Peninsula and stayed on Fushuizhou Island halfway to avoid the wind and rain for a day. Fortunately, this small delay would not delay the business, and when they set out, the base camp had already contacted the garrison on Fushui Chau Island through the Guò radio, and asked Mu Shabai and Feng An Nan to contact the North Vietnamese envoy first, indicating that the Executive Committee was willing to send troops to help North Vietnam resist the attack of the "southern rebels".

When the North Vietnamese envoys were sent to the Tu Son training camp to transfer troops, they obviously did not have enough authority to handle affairs, and when they heard the news, they did not dare to make a rash decision, so they quickly sent people to ride up to Long Mansion to report that the Haihan people were willing to send troops to help, which was something that the North Vietnamese regime had never thought of before.

The journey was more than two hundred kilometers, so when the people from Zheng's side hurried from Thang Long Mansion, Gu Kai and Qian Tiandun had just arrived at the dock on the Tushan Peninsula. The two sides arrived at the training camp almost on their heels one after the other, and began to negotiate on the matter of Haihan's dispatch of troops.

This time, the representative sent by the Zheng clan was still Zheng Zheng, who had dealt with Tao Donglai before, and his Qing capital king Zheng was currently dispatching troops near Thang Long Province to personally lead the army south, which was probably directly related to the current unfavorable situation in North Vietnam on the battlefield.

Zheng Zheng seemed relatively calm, and greeted Qian Tiandun and the others one by one in a hurry. In addition to Zheng Zheng's meeting with Qian Tiandun, Gu Kai, Mu Xiabai and Feng Anan were all meeting for the first time. Seeing that the leader surnamed Tao didn't come last time, somehow, Zheng Zheng felt a little more relaxed in his heart.

"Mr. Zheng, we have also learned a little about the state of engagement of your army in the south. However, we have reservations about your desire to send this group of people from the training camp to fight on the front line. Although these soldiers are equipped with the weapons we provide, they have not been exposed to them during their training period, and their actual combat effectiveness may not meet your expectations, and the effect of forcibly sending them into battle may not be good. In order to avoid some undesirable situations, we have decided to send a certain number of military advisers to assist you in fighting the rebels in the south. As soon as Gu Kai came up, he went straight to the point and showed his intentions.

Zheng Zheng is not a fool, of course, he can think that the reason why the Haihan people offered to help will definitely not be because of idle eggs, there must be some quid pro quo to negotiate with him, just like the previous time he bought arms from them, and as a result, the Haihan people rented a large piece of land in the bay in the north. Fortunately, the area over there had no real value, and if the Haihan people were willing to go there to dig coal, it would be good enough, and Thang Long Mansion did not seem to have any actual losses. As for things like immigration, it's not a problem, it just so happens that there are a large number of idle people in Thang Long Province who don't know how to deal with it, and if they don't think about evacuation, something will happen sooner or later. From this point of view, the immigration demands put forward by the Haihan people have solved a difficult problem faced by Thang Long.

But it's one thing to do business, it's another thing to send troops to help fight the war. Zheng Zheng asked cautiously, "Mr. Gu, I don't know what conditions you have?"

Gu Kai smiled and said: "There must be a few conditions, after all, our soldiers have to come across the sea, and the consumption is huge, so you must compensate for it." ”

Zheng Zheng nodded and said: "If it is military expenses, then it is better to say, we are willing to pay 20,000 taels of silver, and ask you to send troops to drive away the southern rebels." ”

Gu Kai coughed dryly: "Twenty thousand taels...... I'm afraid it's not enough. ”

Zheng Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "I don't know how many troops you plan to send?"

"Within a thousand people. Gu Kai also knew that the next conditions to be proposed would probably make the other party a little uncomfortable, so he simply said the number of troops to be dispatched.

"This ...... But a team of 1,000 people, 20,000 taels of silver is not enough?" Zheng Zheng felt incredulous: "Mr. Gu may not know that in my Annan country, 20,000 taels of silver is enough to pull up an army of nearly 10,000 people. ”

"The quality of the army is not the same as the army. Qian Tiandun interjected: "Mr. Zheng, since you are willing to open this training camp and transfer soldiers and generals to learn advanced tactics from our side, this is already very revealing. The army of 10,000 people you are talking about is, in our opinion, nothing more than tens of thousands of peasants, and there is still a long way to go from the requirements of a professional army in terms of combat skills and will to fight. I can say unceremoniously that this kind of army is nothing more than a chicken and a dog in front of our army. ”

Zheng Zheng's face turned red and said: "Our side can recruit 100,000 troops in Shenglong Mansion alone, even if the combat power is not high, but after all, there are many people......

"Mr. Zheng, fighting a war is also about feasibility, even if you can recruit so many soldiers temporarily, do you have so many officers to command? Or do you want to break up all your existing troops and send them down to be commanders? Then how much combat effectiveness do you think your 100,000-strong army can have?" Qian Tiandun unceremoniously pointed out the fallacy in Zheng Zheng's remarks: "Besides, 100,000 people only eat half a catty of rice a day, which is also 50,000 catties of grain. I don't know how Mr. Zheng plans to solve this transportation problem by transporting so much grain from Thang Long Province to a war zone 800 miles away?

"You...... You ......" Zheng Zheng pointed at Qian Tiandun and wanted to continue to argue, but these operational theories were his own weaknesses, and he was afraid that Qian Tiandun would catch the loophole again.

"Alright, alright. Gu Kai lost no time in jumping out and singing red-faced: "Lieutenant Qian has no malicious intentions, he just wants to explain to you the disadvantages of temporarily recruiting troops from the civilian population." Mr. Zheng, recruiting from the civilian population is not only inefficient, but also worrisome, even if it is reluctantly pulled into the battlefield, it may not be able to turn the tide of the war, but may consume a lot of materials in vain. As for the negative impact that this kind of conscription will have on the people, I think even if I don't say it, Mr. Zheng should have a good idea of it. ”

Of course, Zheng Zheng knew all the disadvantages of temporary conscription from the people, and these peasant soldiers could still be used if they fought a good war, but if they did not fight well, a large number of deserters would immediately appear. Moreover, because this kind of conscription is almost one-size-fits-all, all men of appropriate age are forcibly conscripted into the army, and it is very easy to provoke civil unrest among the people. However, at present, the war in the south is tight, and the conscription of peasant soldiers has almost become the last option for North Vietnam.

Zheng Zheng snorted in his nose, but he didn't express his attitude towards Gu Kai's statement.

Gu Kai is so good, he said in his heart that if you don't defend it, it will be a tacit acquiescence, and then he immediately persuaded and said: "Although the army sent by our side is small, they are all elites, not to mention the peasant soldiers, even if your regular army is pulled out, the strength is still a big difference." Moreover, all other combat materials other than military rations are prepared and transported by our side, and there is no need for you to handle them; just imagine how much manpower, material, and financial resources can be saved for you by these 800-mile transportation routes? The cost of our troops is certainly not cheap, but it is certainly very expensive!"

Zheng Zheng pondered for a moment before asking again: "Then I don't know how to calculate your military expenses?"

Gu Kai couldn't help but feel happy in his heart, and counted his fingers for Zheng Zheng and said: "The military expenses required by our troops are mainly divided into three parts, and the first part is the cost of shipping. In order to bring the personnel and materials of our combat units across the sea, we must dispatch at least seven or eight sea-going ships, and these ships must be on standby near shore in the course of the war, so that they can maneuver at any time. After the war, people and supplies had to be transported back, so this freight was unavoidable. By the way, if you really plan to send all these soldiers from the training camp to the front, then we can send sea ships to transport them on your behalf, and the freight will be calculated at the lowest cost, and it will only take two or three days to reach the area of engagement, which is definitely much faster than a land march. ”

"The second part is the cost of our soldiers' garrison, including the material consumption and military pay of our soldiers during their garrison. This is a very reasonable fee, so I won't explain it much. The third part is the cost of participating in the battle, if our personnel are directly involved in the battle, then the combat reward must be distributed to the combat personnel, and the ammunition consumed must also be included in this part of the cost. Of course, if there are casualties among our personnel during the battle, then the subsequent bereavement expenses must also be taken into account. Gu Kai finished speaking in one breath about the rules for calculating military expenses, and then observed Zheng Zheng's face in order to adjust his next strategy.

Zheng Zheng pursed the corners of his lips and asked obviously unpleasantly, "Has Mr. Gu calculated the approximate number?"

Gu Kai nodded and replied: "If it is only stationed and does not directly participate in the battle, the daily military expenditure of our army is about five thousand taels, considering the good cooperative relationship between our two sides, this figure already includes the cost of shipping, and the cost of shipping during the operation does not need to be calculated separately." If you go straight to the war, then you have to add the expenses I just mentioned......"

Zheng Zheng couldn't help but gasp when he heard this, five thousand taels a day! This is still the cost of garrisoning, and if he directly participates in the battle, it is not surprising that the other party will immediately double this number. Last time, the Tao chief, who had been smiling and grinning, also put forward a lot of harsh conditions, and the Haihan people really have the same lineage in this regard! I seem to have heard Lieutenant Qian introduce that Mr. Gu seems to be the cousin of the Tao chief? Wait, I seem to understand something......

Gu Kai saw that Zheng Zheng's face was ugly, so he comforted him again: "Mr. Zheng, don't think how expensive five thousand taels a day is, can you buy the peaceful attitude of the southern rebels with five thousand taels of silver? Can you exchange it for victory on the battlefield? It's not the first time we've done business, and the previous transaction was at least a hundred thousand taels of silver, right? Where can we boast about our products in the slightest? But can there be any actions that damage integrity?"

Zheng Zheng shook his head and said: "No, your things are indeed worth the money, there has never been a deduction in the transaction, and I have done my best to train our soldiers, I know all this." ”

"That's it!" Gu Kai continued to persuade: "We will not ask you to pay for a long time in advance, if you want, you can pay day by day, if you feel that our army is not worth the price, you can terminate this cooperation at any time." If you miss our mention this time, where will you go to temporarily organize a fighting army to come out to stabilize the overall situation?"

Zheng Zheng said in his heart, what you said is good, but in fact, it does not leave a way for people to retreat, and pays day by day, my Zheng family has not been stingy and slammed the door to that point! If you really want to do this, how can you raise your head in front of the Haihan people and talk about the conditions in the future?

At that moment, Zheng Zheng shook his head and said: "What Mr. Gu said is indeed true, but the price you mentioned is too high, and I can't agree with it." ”

Gu Kai asked unwillingly, "Then what kind of price does Mr. Zheng think is reasonable?"

Zheng Zheng was silent for a long time this time before he spoke: "If you can reduce half of the previous price, then you can agree to this matter immediately." ”

"If the price is halved, then the number of troops we send will also be halved. Qian Tiandun replied to Zheng Zheng without showing weakness: "Mr. Zheng probably forgot one thing, it is not us who urgently needs to help your civil war now, but your side." If the South Vietnamese army really could advance all the way north, how much real loss would it be for us? We were just merchants, and what we could sell to you, we could also sell to the new authorities. If you feel that you can't turn the tide of the battle if you continue to fight, you might as well think about the way back first, as we did......"

"That's enough!" Zheng Zheng's face turned red again, but this time it turned red more because of anger: "No matter what, it is absolutely impossible for Ruan Yi to continue to advance north! Even if my Zheng clan fights to the last soldier, I will never compromise with Ruan Yi!"

"Mr. Zheng, we admire your courage, but what is needed for war is not only courage, but also sufficient strength. And in our opinion, the army under your control at present lacks the strength to turn the tide of the war. Even if you pull all the musketeers here into the battlefield, you may not be able to beat the opponent, after all, judging from the current battle situation, the opponent's musket troops were formed much earlier than you, but they have not been used. ”

"Most of them are those hateful Western priests who are behind their backs!" Zheng Zheng never doubted that the Haihan people would sell the same weapons to the south, in his opinion, the most hateful should be those Western people who sold muskets to the rebels in the south, Hoi An has always had merchants and missionaries from the West active, and there must be some outsiders who are willing to interfere in the civil war situation in Annam.

Of course, when Zheng Zheng thought so, he selectively forgot that the negotiator sitting opposite him wanted to say that he was interfering in the civil war situation in Annam, and that the Haihan clique was the real "conspirator", and even had already designated the areas still under the control of the South Vietnamese regime and the Champa State as strategic targets to be occupied in the future. This kind of foresight, based on the accumulation of centuries of history in the future, was far beyond the reach of the missionaries and merchants who were active in South Vietnam, and those involved could not have imagined the real purpose of the Haihan people's involvement.

In Zheng Zheng's view, Gu Kai's lion's big mouth is very much in line with the consistent business behavior of the Haihan people, looking at everything from the perspective of a businessman, everything is calculated in money, and the biggest purpose of this group of greedy Haihan people to put forward this military aid plan should be to make a war fortune from the civil war in Annam. For the Zheng family, although the offer of the Haihan people is high, it is not unaffordable, in fact, the tens of thousands of North Vietnamese troops stationed in the war zone are not a small amount per day.

But in any case, Zheng Zheng could not have agreed to Gu Kai's offer immediately, otherwise how would the two sides talk about business in the future? Hai Han said that as much as he wanted, where would the Zheng family of North Vietnam put his face? Therefore, no matter how Gu Kai persuaded him, Zheng Zheng just bit the price problem and refused to let go.

After talking for an hour, Gu Kai took the initiative to ask for a pause to rest for a while, and Zheng Zheng also wanted to discuss it with his staff again, so he agreed.

After Zheng Zheng left, Qian Tiandun spoke: "It seems that Zheng Zheng has no objection to our sending troops, and his scruples should be mainly for economic reasons. ”

"It's easy to talk about money, after all, our real purpose is not just to gain economic benefits from this war, and when the time is right, we can just take a step back. Gu Kai is obviously very satisfied with the current progress of the negotiations: "Even if we take a step back, the money we earned from this dispatch of troops will be enough for your military and police department to be happy!"