On the morning of the 20th.

Harbour City, Chengxi Industrial Zone, the first bicycle production plant.

After more than two years of continuous adjustment and improvement, the factory's bicycle production has increased from less than 1,000 bicycles per week to 1,000 per day, and the production cost has also dropped significantly, to less than 30 silver dollars per vehicle.

Spacious and bright assembly line workshop.

For the brand-new bicycles, Xu Yuan introduced: "Now this factory, a year can produce 350,000 Jinlong and Jinfeng brand bicycles, the future production capacity, will increase to 500,000, 1 million, bicycles will become the main means of transportation for the people of Daming, for their production and life to bring great convenience." ”

"The price of your bicycles is so expensive, can ordinary people in Daming afford it? Can you sell so much production? Zhang Yan immediately questioned.

"The price will drop to 200 silver dollars, 100 silver dollars or even 50 silver dollars in the future, I think that at the price of 50 silver dollars, most of the people of the Ming Dynasty will be able to buy it if they save a salary for about a year, and they will be able to afford it."

"There are so many workers in your factory, bicycles are sold cheaply, and they are losing money, but can the workers' wages be paid and the workers can be fed?" Zhang Yan asked again.

"Now the production cost of a bicycle is less than 30 silver dollars, and it will be reduced to 25 or even 20 in the future, and there is still about double the gross profit, not only to feed the workers, but also to give them a wage increase, becoming an enviable blue-collar class, and it is also very popular in the blind date market, according to some young men, he has been picky and can't pick it, I don't know which one is better, and he said that he wants to have three wives and four concubines, but he was beaten by the woman and scolded as a scumbag, and I personally don't support this kind of scumbag behavior."

"Hahaha~"

"Hahahaha!"

There was a lot of laughter at the scene, and some workers who were working with oil stains on their bodies also smiled embarrassedly.

Zhang Yanqiao blushed and secretly took a sip, I think you are a disciple and a scumbag!

Then I went to the cold weapon military factory in the three places next to it: the plate armor factory, the alloy knife factory, and the steel crossbow factory.

See for yourself how strong the plate armor is, how sharp the alloy knife is, and how lethal and precise the steel crossbow is.

The yields are even more staggering.

The maximum production capacity of plate armor is 1,500 sets per day, and now only one-fifth of it is running.

The maximum production capacity of alloy knives is 5,000 per day, and now only one-tenth of them are in operation.

The maximum production capacity of steel crossbows is 1,000 per day, and now only one-fifth of them are in operation.

That is, the production capacity of these three cold weapon factories can match the cold weapon manufacturing capacity of the entire Ming Dynasty, and it is completely explosive in quality, and it also has a cost advantage, so even if the war of cold weapons breaks out, Daming does not have any advantages.

"Hmph, if you are reckless, you will die sooner or later." Zhang Yan couldn't help but sneer and criticize.

"The workers of these three military factories add up to less than 5,000, and a considerable part of the armor produced was sold to the Ming army and sold to the logistics and transportation caravans, which not only did not consume Xujiazhuang's funds, but also brought millions of silver dollars in profits every year. Xu Yuan asked rhetorically.

"Anyway, it's not good to produce these, it has brought countless fights and killings, and if you have good intentions, you should shut down these factories." Zhang Yan said again.

"It is precisely because of my good intentions that these factories not only cannot be closed, but must continue to produce, and with armor and weapons, those greedy officials and officials do not dare to oppress ordinary villagers; The logistics and transportation team can also send goods to all corners of Daming, not only to defend the safety of the goods, but also to protect their own safety; The young and strong Ming who went to colonize overseas can also use knives and crossbows to create a living space, so as not to be driven and killed by the natives. If you are unarmed, you will only be insulted and hurt by others, and it is better to be fully armed and kill all those evil forces. ”

"You always want to fight and kill, can't you coexist peacefully?"

"Peaceful coexistence?"

Xu Yuan looked at the woman in front of him, with a hint of evil light in his eyes, and asked with a smile: "Miss Zhang, do you want to give it a try, without any guards, just go to the countryside around Harbour City and take a walk around, and see how people will react when a beautiful woman like you walks by the side of the road, whether they will live in peace with you, or will they pounce on you?" ”

"You-"

Zhang Yan was startled, hugged her chest with her hands, took a few steps back, gritted her silver teeth and said: "You thief, do you think that everyone in the world is like you, and your mind is full of evil thoughts, if there is really someone like you, I would rather commit suicide than let people defile their innocence." ”

After that, she reached out and pulled out a hairpin from her head, grabbed it in her hand, and looked at Xu Yuan with great vigilance.

"I'm just making an assumption, why be so excited, and your reaction like this proves that what I said is right, doesn't your set of things work at all?"

Xu Yuan looked at her helplessly and said, he felt that it was difficult to reason with women.

Later, under the persuasion of Queen Zhou, Zhang Yan inserted the hairpin back into her head, but her guard was not reduced, at least she had to keep a distance of more than three meters from Xu Yuan, and as long as Xu Yuan's eyes looked at her, she would sensitively hug her chest, dodge sideways, or glare back in displeasure.

This greatly reduces the number of conversations and opportunities with Xu Yuan.

But it's good to be missing this bar essence.

In the next inspection and visit, Xu Yuan's focus on the object of work became the more reasonable Queen Zhou.

……

On the morning of the 21st, the barracks.

Xu Yuan ordered the army commander Shi Yong to temporarily hold a large army parade of 10,000 people, with 50 infantry phalanxes and 10 equipment phalanxes neatly passing in front of the viewing platform, stepping on sonorous and powerful steps, shouting "serve the people", "obey the command", "protect the family and defend the country", "long live the owner" and other roaring slogans, all the royal family members who watched were stunned and shocked.

Because the spirit of this army is so different.

In the tactical drill that followed, the whole team was assembled within 10 minutes, the combat formation was set up within 30 minutes, and the actual combat attack drills such as mortar salvos, rifle salvos, and grenade drops were carried out, and in less than an hour, the imaginary enemy positions were captured and countless targets of all kinds were destroyed.

It moved quickly.

The weapons are advanced.

The tacit understanding of battlefield cooperation.

is fully worthy of the title of "the strongest army in the world", and some of the Jinwuwei brocade guards who watched it were full of defeat, which scared the two eunuchs on the spot, and most of the royal family members who watched were silent.

"To put it mildly, such an army, with a number of 10,000 people, is at least comparable to the new army that the emperor is training for at least 100,000, and it has a crushing advantage, there is a way to end the battle with low or zero casualties, and no matter how much money and food His Majesty the Emperor invests, it is meaningless." Xu Yuan said frankly.

Empress Zhou fell silent.

"Master Xu, your Xu family army is so strong, will you use it to fight the imperial court?" Seven-year-old crown prince Zhu Cihong looked up and asked.

"No, Xujiazhuang's army is only 30,000 people, and it is enough to protect itself, and it will not blindly start a war, but will only respond to the provocations of hostile forces." Xu Yuandao.

"Then the Xu family army can be used by the imperial court, can it be regarded as the army of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Cihong asked again.

"If the royal family can form an alliance with Xujiazhuang, then it must be counted, if not, then it will be a friendly army at most."

"Then if you form an alliance, the army in the hands of my father and emperor can become as powerful as the Xu family's army, and can Xu Jiazhuang help improve the combat effectiveness of the imperial army?" Zhu Cihong's question made the eyes of many people next to him light up, although the prince is small, but he is extremely intelligent, he can actually ask such a high-level rhetorical question.

Since it is a blessed and shared ally, it should be an obligation to help improve the combat effectiveness of the imperial army, after all, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is so large, and there are many elite soldiers and strong generals needed.

"No problem at all."

Unexpectedly, Xu Yuan was very open-minded and said: "The military academy in Xujiazhuang can be open to the royal family and train qualified and excellent generals. In the future, the royal army can also come to Harbour City to receive training, forge into a combat effective force like the Xu family's army, and even reimburse part of the expenses, weapons and ammunition can also be provided, if the royal family can become stronger, it will also be good for us, since it is a win-win thing, why not? ”

"Master Xu, we will definitely consider this alliance." Zhu Cihong said with a serious face.

……

In the afternoon, the sea east of Harbour City.

In the command room of the captain of the ironclad warship "Tianxia", which was launched at the beginning of this month.

Quite a bumpy environment.

Xu Yuan, Empress Zhou, Zhang Yan, Zhu Cihong and others, all holding a high-powered telescope in their hands, watched the ironclad warship 'Invincible' not far away, using the quick extinguishing cannon on the side to shoot at the floating target set on the sea.

Boom Boom!

Boom Boom!

A carbon-red tracer traces an arc.

After the explosion, a large number of white water columns were stirred.

After more than a dozen rounds of shooting in a row.

The sea surface targets several miles away were all blown to pieces, and the strike effect was quite good.

And after watching this exercise of the Xu family's naval fleet.

Zhou Yufeng, the queen of Zhou, has already made up her mind, and even stated on the spot that the royal family wants to form an alliance with Xujiazhuang to form a community of interests, share the same fortune and fate, never deviate, and move towards the future hand in hand.

Anyway, why is she so eager to make a statement, visit for a few more days, think about it for a few more days, and no one wants her to make a choice so quickly.

In fact, since that exchange with Fang Qingyan, Empress Zhou has secretly made a plan that for the long-term wealth of the royal family, she must form an alliance with Xu Jiazhuang, and she must take the initiative to propose it, so as to strive for better alliance conditions.

And just now Xu Yuan said to her in person, the current development focus of Xujiazhuang is mainly to develop overseas interests, for which about 80% of the energy and resources are put into overseas estates and the construction of the naval fleet every year, and only 20% of the resources invested in the territory of Daming have never increased.

Thus!

Xujiazhuang really has no intention of seizing the Ming Dynasty, otherwise the resource investment only needs to be increased by 10%, and the elite army of 10,000 will be expanded every year, and in three or five years, it will have the ability to swallow the south of the Yangtze River, swallow the south of the Ming Dynasty, and then annex the entire Ming Dynasty.

Since Xu Yuan has been open and honest, revealing so many hole cards and sincerity, if he is entangled and hesitant, he will not know the current affairs, he will not know what to do, and he will miss the outlet of Xu Jiazhuang to conquer the world and seize global interests.

Get on board early and reap the benefits early.

If you always stare at the Ming Dynasty, this acre and three points of land, and your thinking is narrow and extreme, sooner or later you will suffer a lot.

And firmly bound to Xujiazhuang and establish an alliance, in the future, Xujiazhuang will get the resources and wealth of the world, and the Ming royal family will also become the world's royal family, ruling the entire planet, and have greater power, even if it is a little puppet, even if it will be too dependent on Xujiazhuang, but so what, at least the supreme power is in the hands, and most of the population and land are still ruled by the emperor, which is completely enough.

"Okay, that's the smart choice."

Xu Yuan said to her: "But I have to leave for a while tonight, the specific cooperation rules, you talk to Qingyan and Yang Zhongyuan, and when I come back in the next year, as long as most of the terms are okay, then sign an alliance and form a formal alliance." ”

"This ......"

Zhou Yufeng was a little stunned, such a major matter as forming an alliance with the royal family, this owner of Xu Zhuang couldn't preside over it personally, and he had to leave for a while, so that she could discuss the details with Fang Qingyan, could this woman handle such a big matter at will?

But this naval exercise ended, after the battleship "Tianxia" docked at the port.

Xu Yuan disappeared, it was impossible to find it if he wanted to, and remembering some legends about his origin, Zhou Yufeng had to believe that this was an exotic immortal with a mysterious whereabouts.

Not long after leaving, though.

Xu Yuan sent a batch of gifts, a few for her and the prince, and most of them for the imperial sister-in-law Zhang Yan.

Among them, there is a smart phone, which is extremely functional, with a supporting power generation and charging device, and among the mobile phones, dozens of games, nearly 1,000 songs, hundreds of movies, and tens of thousands of movies have been downloaded, which can pass the time of boredom.

There is a set of high-end cosmetics, which is enough to last for a year, to maintain the young and beautiful appearance of women, and stay young for a long time, even if they are sixty years old.

There was a box of jewelry, more than three hundred pieces, worth at least tens of thousands of silver dollars.

As well as silk scarves, stockings, ribbons, belts and other women's accessories, each piece is delicate and beautiful, attracting attention.

Finally, there is an apology letter, which said that there were many abrupt and rude things in the first two days, and these gifts are used to express apologies, hoping not to shirk, and a paragraph is written at the end of the letter -

The rose is thorny, but it is as red as fire, the fragrance does not change, the years go by, the flower will wither and look old, and what remains unchanged is its pride and independence. The world is like a sea of suffering, but there is also joy and color, may beauty always be with you, and happiness will return to you as soon as possible.

After reading the letter.

"Dengzi!"

Zhang Yanqiao's face was full of red glow, and she was about to tear up this so-called apology letter.

Queen Zhou hurriedly stopped her, snatched the letter and looked at it, her aunt's smile couldn't help showing a smile on her face, and teased: "Imperial sister-in-law, this Xu Yuan is so attentive to you, I'm afraid I don't like you, these days you have refuted and blamed him everywhere, but he is extremely tolerant and patiently explained, if it wasn't for your intentions, I'm afraid he would have been furious, right?" ”

"Dengzi, wishful thinking! Indecent queen, this is the crime of the Nine Clans! ”

Zhang Yan's face turned even redder, her angry chest rose and fell more violently, and she was ashamed and annoyed, eager to kill.

"Imperial sister-in-law, you have been widowed for many years, lonely and miserable, as long as your identity is appropriate, it is okay to remarry someone else, this Xu Yuan is rich in the world, and his literary talent is outstanding, it is not impossible to consider, but it can consolidate the relationship between the royal family and Xu Jiazhuang." Empress Zhou's eyes lit up.

"Shut up, I'm just dead! I would never consider this disciple! ”

Zhang Yan gritted her teeth and said with a firm face.

"Then do you want these apologies he sent?" Zhou Yufeng asked.

"Don't, take it all and throw it outside!"

"It's a pity to throw it away, you don't want it from me, sister-in-law, Xu Yuan said in the letter, this is an apology for us, and I have no problem taking it."

Zhou Yufeng immediately took a big bag and asked the palace maid and eunuch to carry most of the gifts to his residence, but the most expensive smartphone was still kept and not taken away, this is a fairy thing, a priceless treasure, only a few people in Xujiazhuang have it, and others can only drool with envy - this is true, when Fang Qingyan took out her pink mobile phone, Zhou Yufeng was stunned and felt extremely envious and curious.

Xu Yuan gave Zhang Yan one to pass the boring time, and the meaning of this pursuit is simply clear at a glance.

Most of the gifts in the room were packed and taken away, and when she saw the smartphone on the bed, Zhang Yan took it in her hand, pushed open the window, and planned to throw it out, but the screen lit up, and the brightly colored wallpaper pictures attracted her attention, and she thought of its value, so she had to put it away, and said secretly: "I will give this thing to Fang Qingyan tomorrow, and let her see her husband's virtue." ”

Just put the phone in his hand to study and play for a while, unconsciously, the thought of returning it slowly went down, and the next day I didn't see her take the action of returning, but thinking that it would be okay to return it another day......