Zhang Chu stood on the platform outside the gate of the Beiping League, looking down on the large construction site under the mountain.

Five or six thousand sturdy laborers opened the mountain to take stones and kilns to burn bricks at the foot of the mountain.

From his point of view, the laborers walking back and forth on the construction site at the foot of the mountain are like diligent worker ants...... Small, humble, leaving no trace.

The recruitment notice, which was put up yesterday morning, has so many people that it is estimated that it will have to quadruple by tomorrow.

Zhang Chu was actually quite emotional.

People are really the cheapest labor in the world.

Machines, burning oil and electricity, often break down.

Livestock can only do some clumsy work and have to be served with fine grain.

And those laborers at the foot of the mountain, what is their treatment?

Five big dollars a day, two dry meals, one thin meal, and one meat dish in ten days.

The salary is paid once a month, and those who work for less than a month have no money to get out.

This treatment was not proposed by Zhang Chu.

It's true that he is a capitalist, but he has never liked to make money from poor people, he likes to make money from rich people.

The treatment he proposed was 20 yuan a day, two dry meals and one thin meal, with meat and fish, and the wages were paid daily.

It's a pity that his proposal was ruthlessly vetoed by Lao Niu, the chief architect of the Beiping League.

The dry little old man, relying on his age and seniority, still kicked his nose and pointed at him as a loser, and wasted money indiscriminately......

Zhang Chu was speechless.

That old fellow is indeed old enough, and he is indeed old enough, what can he do with him? Forgive him, of course!

At most, go back to his son Niu Thirteen!

Now this treatment was proposed by Lao Niu after rejecting his proposal.

Zhang Chu felt that it was too harsh, and felt that no one would come.

But he usually only controls the general direction, rarely asks about these details, and lets Lao Niu toss it himself.

As a result, before dawn this morning, the laborers who had been recruited to come lined up outside the gate of the formation, and there were many of them, all of whom had rushed to the city overnight with torches and dozens of mountain roads overnight, lest they miss this "great opportunity."

Zhang Chu felt a little slapped in the face.

When Lao Niu pinched a crooked teapot, held his dry chest, and took a step of 2580,000 yuan, leading more than a dozen old craftsmen to go out to pick people, and the joyful and crying beings who were not selected were staged outside the town gate, Zhang Chu was shattered by the young man in Tsing Yi and the three views that had not grown up after the collapse began to shake again.

He suspected that he might not have really seen the world at all, and he didn't know about the people at the bottom of the world.

He was also poor.

When he first crossed over, his family was so poor that there were only a few cold wild vegetable nests left, and he ran into a wall when he was looking for a job, so he could only drink some cold water every day to cheat his stomach.

The kind of hungry heartburn, hungry stomach seems to be twisted into a ball, and the taste of sour water coming out of a hungry mouthful of cold water, Zhang Chu can still barely recall it.

But the life of starvation and freezing for more than a month was too short compared to his life of more than 20 years of eating, drinking, and worry-free food and clothing.

Compared with the northern barbarians attacking the city and moving 500 miles south, the experience was so miserable that even living was a luxury.

He didn't forget.

But it has long been diluted.

Now the old cow taught him another lesson.

Although the little old man is a nest, he does know more about the life of the low-level lihan than himself.

Zhang Chu thought for a long time.

It is impossible for him to live a poor life any longer.

It can't be in this life.

But can he do something to make the lives of these ordinary people around him a little better?

The ancients said that if you are poor, you will be good alone, and if you are good, you will help the world.

Zhang Chu didn't know if he was developed now.

But with his current strength, if he just makes the life of the people around him a little better, it shouldn't be difficult, right?

Even if it's just a little bit......

People live a lifetime, and they always have to work hard to try, so that the world is a little different because of themselves!

"Master Chu, there are people under the mountain who ask to see you. ”

Da Liu's voice woke Zhang Chu from his contemplation.

Zhang Chu asked without replying, "Who?" ”

Da Liu: "Someone came to blow up his house, and Yang Youcai, the second housekeeper of Zhenbei Wangfu." ”

Zhang Chu frowned.

Huo Hongye's people?

What to do?

Didn't the recipe for explosives give them?

Could it be that they can get the formula wrong?

You can't be so stupid, right?

Zhang Chu pondered for a few seconds and said, "Take him up and go to the lobby to see me." ”

"Yes, Master Chu. ”

Da Liu clenched his fists, turned around and walked away quickly, the sword hanging from his waist slapped his armor, making a dull sound of gold and iron clashing.

Zhang Chu also turned around and walked towards the lobby.

......

After a short time, Da Liu led an old man in Tsing Yi into the lobby: "Helper, someone will bring it." ”

"Look at the tea. ”

"Yes, helper. ”

Zhang Chu looked at the old man in green clothes under the hall, and saw that this person had gray hair, his body was slightly rickety, his hands were in his sleeves, and he was dressed as a slave in green clothes and green hats...... To Zhang Chu's secret surprise, this old man's aura was very obscure, and his realm seemed to be a little higher than him!

However, he was not surprised for long, and suddenly remembered that the mule seemed to have said that this old thing smelled of spies.

Huo Hongye's spy chief?

The old man in Tsing Yi in the hall noticed Zhang Chu's gaze, and his old face smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum, and every fold was conveying a smile.

He bowed to Zhang Chu: "The old slave Yang Youcai, please say hello to the master of the Zhang League, this is a token of my son-in-law, please take a look at the master of the Zhang League." ”

He took out a red metal token from his sleeve and presented it to Zhang Chu with both hands, with a very polite attitude.

Zhang Chu took it over and checked it carefully, it was indeed Huo Hongye's young marshal order.

He handed the token back to the old man in Tsing Yi, nodded with a smile and said, "The boat is tired, Elder Yang has worked hard, please take a seat." ”

At the right time, Da Liu came in with two bowls of tea.

"Elder Yang, please drink tea. ”

"Thank you, Leader Zhang, please. ”

Zhang Chu picked up the tea bowl that Da Liu had enshrined on the table, took a symbolic sip, then put down the tea bowl, and asked, "Old Yang has gone and returned, but what is wrong with the secret recipe of gunpowder in this seat?"

Yang Youcai hurriedly waved his hand and said: "No, no, Zhang Mengzhu's gunpowder is extremely powerful, and the mountain cracking stone is also idle, my son-in-law watched the test explosion of gunpowder, he was amazed, and he also thanked Zhang Mengzhu for his generosity. ”

Zhang Chu smiled and didn't comment.

He was still not optimistic about the Zhenbei Army.

With the benefit of gunpowder, the Zhenbei army may be able to catch the northern barbarians by surprise and take advantage of it for a while.

But the restrictions of gunpowder are too much, and when the northern barbarians react, the battle will soon be pulled back to square one.

In the final analysis, the overall strength of the Zhenbei Army is inferior to that of the Northern Barbarians.

If there are no reinforcements to help, the Zhenbei Army will never be able to defeat the Northern Barbarian Army and recover the four northern counties!

However, the Zhenbei Army itself, if he can't get out of the quagmire of Jintian Mansion as soon as possible, he may even have to get into the last bit of capital.

The gains and losses, pros and cons, Zhang Chu believes that Huo Hongye can also see it.

It's just that Huo Hongye is probably involuntarily......

"Then Yang is old and returns, what is the matter?"

Yang Youcai said: "The leader of the Zhang League, the Northern Expedition is stalemate, and the situation cannot be opened for a long time, and the 150,000 soldiers of the Northern Army in our town eat horses and chew, and consume countless grains and grasses every day. ”

"At present, the grain and grass of Jintianfu are in an emergency, and the grain and grass of the four southern counties should have been handed over to my Zhenbei Army a long time ago, but the county guards of the four counties have repeatedly shirked and refused to hand over the grain, so that the 150,000 soldiers of the Zhenbei Army are hungry and cold, and there is only one bowl of porridge to eat every day.

"I really had no choice but to send an old slave to ask Master Zhang to buy grain for the sake of the love of the robe......"

The old man's voice was very loud, and his breath was long, and he didn't have to breathe so many words in one breath, Zhang Chu wanted to interrupt him several times, but he couldn't find a chance, after listening to him, he said straight This old guy has a good tooth and mouth, and he is a good hand at being a lobbyist!

Zhang Chu slowly frowned.

This old guy crackled a lot just now, and there was only one sentence, and Zhang Chu felt that he had a point.

For the sake of the robe......

Xuanbei Prefecture has fallen to this point, it is not a crime of war!

Whether it is the officers and soldiers of the Zhenbei Army who threw their heads and spilled their blood in the northern Xinjiang in the past, or these soldiers of the Zhenbei Army who are working hard in Jintianfu now, Zhang Chu thinks that they are good, and he respects them.

There is a way not to look at the face of the monk but to look at the face of the Buddha.

Only rushed to these soldiers, Zhang Chu also felt that he should not refuse.

But the question is, what about the Zhenbei Army, there are still 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers and horses, if the government has not paid food, how long can it last by relying on his Beiping League?

He still has tens of thousands of people under his own command waiting for him to feed!

Yang Youcai saw Zhang Chu's hesitation, but said that Zhang Chu didn't see the pigeon and didn't scatter the eagle, so he hurriedly got up and said: "In order to express his gratitude, my son-in-law specially ordered the old slave to bring his saber and give it to the master of the Zhang League, and asked the master of the Zhang League to accept it with a smile." ”

As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and a young servant in the same green coat and blue hat, holding a long black cast-iron box in both hands, walked in quickly, and swept it to the bottom of the hall.

Zhang Chu glanced at it, sighed and said: "Elder Yang misunderstood, this seat is not in a hurry to reply because he is unwilling to help, but he feels that the shoulders of the Beiping League are still too immature, and I am afraid that he will not be able to bear such a heavy responsibility." ”

Sabre?

What saber?

Is there any gold with diamonds?

Who to look down on!

How can Yang Youcai believe it?

He immediately got up and walked to the little man in Tsing Yi, and said: "Master Zhang might as well take a look first, this knife is called 'Purple Dragon', but my lord personally went to the earth to take the earth's core iron as the main material, and used the power of the Purple Flame Divine Lotus of the Master of Jiuyang to dissolve it, smelted seventeen kinds of precious minerals, and the knife was formed, killing a thousand-year-old evil Jiao to open the front, it is a first-class fire divine weapon from Kyushu!"

As he spoke, he opened the swarthy cast-iron box.

Two feet away, Zhang Chu actually felt the heat wave on his face, and the flames around him were really ready to move!

"Kind of interesting!"

He was finally interested.

He walked out from behind the desk, and when he walked to Yang Youcai's side, he saw a gorgeous long knife with a purple body and only a dark gold gauntlet, lying quietly in the cast iron box.

The shape of this knife is simple, there is no exaggerated, middle two carvings, just a few golden lines and other golden sights, on the scabbard enough to create a very simple dragon shape shining in the scabbard.

The blade is not as wide as the big knife, the widest part is not more than three fingers, and the head of the knife is not like the tip outlined by an upward arc like the idle long knife, but the clean and neat cross-sectional blade of the Tang knife, which has a different kind of masculine beauty.

But the most striking thing about this knife is not the blade, but the handle, which is at least one foot and a half long, almost half of the blade...... This means that this knife is not a good-looking decorative knife, but a sharp weapon for cutting people like cutting vegetables!

Virile!

Atmosphere!

Simple!

Zhang Chu liked it as soon as he saw it.

He looked intently at the treasure knife in the box and said, "Can I get my hands on it?"

Yang Youcai smiled and made a gesture of please: "This knife is a gift from my son-in-law, of course you can get your hands on it." ”

Zhang Chu immediately grabbed the long knife in the box and lifted it up, held the handle of the knife with his other hand, and pulled it hard.

"Khooth. ”

The sound of the knife is clearer and clearer, like a silver rod slashing through the sound wind chimes.

Before he could see the appearance of the blade, a huge force far beyond his expectations rose up along the blade, breaking free of his palm in an instant, and was about to fly towards the roof of the eaves of the lobby.

Zhang Chu reacted instantly, slapped his palm, and laughed: "Little thing, where are you going?"

The golden true qi surged out, and the last hair came first to wrap the purple dragon knife that was about to break through the top of the tile eaves and fly out.

It's strange to say.

The purple dragon knife that was "my life is up to me" a second ago, vowing to "break through this sky", was wrapped in Zhang Chu's incinerating true qi like this, and it was frozen at once, and it floated in Zhang Chu's true qi out of thin air.

Zhang Chu's heart fluttered, and he tried to move his slight true qi, and found that the purple dragon knife was also moving with his true qi.

His eyes lit up, and he muttered to himself in his heart: "This, could it be the legendary Qi Imperial Sword?"

However, in front of Yang Youcai, he still restrained himself and did not show his love for this knife.

Negotiation, then there is a direct hole card at the beginning?

He wants to show that he has to say, what should this old guy do if he sits on the ground and starts the price?

Zhang Chu turned a few thoughts in his heart, and his subordinates pulled back violently with their claws, and the purple dragon floating in the air was sucked back into his hand when he arrived.

He also returned the knife to the sheath, and put it back into the cast-iron box as if nothing happened: "Jintianfu, how much grain and grass do you need?"

His reaction was not unpleasant.

But Yang Youcai is such a human spirit, how can he be so easy to deceive.

Just based on his expression of eagerness to get started at the beginning, Yang Youcai could already tell that Zhang Chu liked this magic weapon very much!

Therefore, as soon as Zhang Chu's words came out, Yang Youcai raised a finger without thinking about it and said, "Ten thousand stones!"

In fact, when he came, Huo Hongye explained to him that it was only 5,000 stones.

Five thousand stone is definitely not enough, but it is almost enough to hold on to the four southern counties and hand over to them the grain and grass that should be given to them in the northern part of the town.

Give them the ability to stumble and play tricks in the northern part of the town, and the county guards of the four southern counties have it.

But if you really want to talk about the money and food of the northern army of their town, let alone the county guards of the four southern counties, even the state pastor Yan Shou is clumsy, and he doesn't have the courage!

Huo Hongye only needs 5,000 stones, and he wants to use this knife to further deepen his friendship with Zhang Chu.

He ordered Yang Youcai to bring Zilong over, not because he wanted to use Zilong to buy grain and grass in the first place.

With such a divine weapon as Zilong, how could it be exchanged for a few thousand stones of grain and grass?

It's a pity that Yang Youcai didn't understand his intentions, and seeing that Zhang Chu couldn't put down this knife, he doubled his own opinions.

10,000 stones, saving some food is enough for a month's consumption of 100,000 troops!

Zhang Chu thought about it carefully for a while, last year was a good year, there were bumper harvests everywhere, and there should still be a lot of grain in stock.

And this year's spring is also very bright, which should also be a good year......

So, he said neatly: "30,000 stones! Within two months, I will send someone to send 30,000 stones to Jintian Mansion in batches." ”

According to the weights and measures of Dali, one stone is equal to ten buckets, one hundred and twenty catties!

30,000 stones, that is, 3.6 million catties!

With such a large number, a government and a county must not be able to afford it, and many ordinary people starved to death by forcibly looting it.

Therefore, Zhang Chu decided to disperse this number to the three prefectures in the northwest of Yan, and raise a little bit in one county, so as to minimize the impact of this batch of grain on the livelihood of the people in the three northwestern states of Yan.

It can be regarded as the first run-in cooperation after the establishment of the Beiping League!

When Yang Youcai heard this, he was so excited that he didn't know what to say, so he had to bow his hand again and again: "The great kindness of the master of Zhang Meng, all the soldiers of the Northern Army of our town, must remember the five internal ......."

Zhang Chu raised the purple dragon knife in his hand and interrupted him: "It's worth the price." ”

The meaning of the words is...... It's a deal!

Although there is a dislike of copying the bottom, the situation of the Zhenbei Army is here, and it has to be slaughtered anywhere!

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