On November 3, Dolgon and nearly 3,000 Jurchen elites killed the remaining hundreds of Korean slave laborers as rations on the road, and then successfully arrived in Shengjing.

Brought back all the sixteen carts of sand gold that he had found.

On the 4th, Yue Tuo, the owner of the Zhenghong Banner, immediately took over the gold with people, and then went to the Liaodong Peninsula, and after sending an envoy in advance to greet the Guanning army, he was allowed to pass through.

On the 9th, the batch of sand gold mined by Houjin was successfully delivered to Lushun Port, and the gold ship of Xujiazhuang was already waiting at the port.

The professional staff of Xujiazhuang weighed the weight of the sand gold and measured the gold content with an instrument.

The total weight is 12.056 tons (about 321,500 taels).

The average gold content is 85%.

It is equivalent to 273,270 taels of pure gold.

However, considering that the detailed location of the gold mine was provided by Xujiazhuang, a professional guide was also sent to help guide the way, and the river rich in sand gold was found, and the equipment and tools used for gold mining were also provided by Xujiazhuang for free, and even asked Guan Ningjun to provide a number of food and materials of 200,000 stones to avoid the problem of insufficient supply.

Therefore, this batch of gold can only be exchanged for 9,564,450 silver dollars at a ratio of 1:35 - I don't know if this exchange ratio is acceptable?

"Yes, we can accept it."

Yue Tuo nodded, this ratio is quite conscientious, if you find Guan Ningjun to trade, it is estimated that the exchange ratio of one to twenty will not be reached, that is a bunch of bastards who knock on the bone and suck the marrow, it is better to cooperate with Xujiazhuang more in the future, although it will suffer a little loss, but it is more fair.

Nearly 10 million silver dollars of income came in.

But Yue Tuo did not get a piece of silver dollars, but a thick stack of bank drafts, not to mention the trouble of transporting silver dollars, and the security was also higher, in addition to Songshan City, a branch of Tianxia Tong Bank was set up this year, so they took these bills of exchange, in Songshan City, they could buy all kinds of materials they wanted.

"Representative Shen, we want to purchase more here in Port Arthur, and we also want to buy a batch of sophisticated weapons to deal with the white-haired monsters that appear in the north...... Representative Shen, we prefer to cooperate directly with Xu Jiazhuang, and we don't want to purchase items from Guan Ningjun's side, they are squeezing too much. Yue Tuo pleaded with Representative Shen in front of him.

"I can't be the master of this matter, I have to ask the above for instructions." Shen said.

Soon.

The senior management of Xujiazhuang headquarters sent two instructions:

First, Lushun Port is not a commercial-based port, and it cannot provide sufficient and complete materials, so it is better for Houjin to go to Songshan City to purchase, and the price of commercial goods in the market there is not high, so Xujiazhuang will say hello to Guan Ningjun and let them provide them with the convenience of allowing Houjin to go to the market for procurement.

Second, in terms of weapons, Xujiazhuang allows the sale of 1,000 steel crossbows and 100,000 arrows (all with special numbers) to Houjin, with a total price of 600,000 silver dollars, and must not be used to harm the Ming people.

For these two items, Yue Tuo immediately said that he could, because the steel crossbow made by Xujiazhuang is quite powerful, the effective range is not less than that of the firebolt, and the accuracy is high, the rate of fire is faster, the arrow can be reused, and it can also conceal the sneak attack, which has many advantages...... For the Jurchen warriors, this is a more practical and useful weapon than a firecracker.

Satisfied.

This transaction with Xujiazhuang can be described as happy and satisfied, including Yue Tuo, all the Jurchen warriors are smiling, and their favorability towards Xujiazhuang has increased by at least 30 points.

It's just that on the thirteenth, Yue Tuo and other Jurchens had bank drafts in their pockets and rode fast horses to Songshan City, full of anticipation, ready to make a big purchase of New Year's goods in the Songshan City commercial goods market, planning to have a fat year this year.

Walking through the stalls one by one, in the face of a dazzling array of various commodities, Yue Tuo and the others opened their mouths to inquire about the price.

Their smiles quickly froze on their faces, and they became extremely angry.

Because the price of goods has risen.

Nanyang rice, which is clearly priced at 1 silver yuan / stone, Yue Tuo opened his mouth and said that he planned to ask for 500,000 stones, can it be cheaper, and give a running price.

"I'm sorry, these rice are 2 silver dollars per stone, and I can't give a running price." The grain store owner said.

"But your price is obviously 1 silver dollar per stone, just now I saw someone buying rice, so you sold it at this price." Yue Tuo Road.

"That's right, the price of selling it to the people of Daming is 1 silver yuan / stone, but you are a slave and a Tartar, and doubling the price is already cheaper for you." A look of hatred flashed across the grain store owner's face.

"We spend the same amount of money, so why treat them differently?" Yue Tuo said angrily.

"Those Liao people who died under your sword, tell me, how expensive you can sell and how expensive you can sell, only double the price is cheap for you!" The grain store owner said.

"If you don't sell it, forget it, I won't buy it yet!"

Yue Tuo threw his sleeves away angrily.

It's just that in the process of continuing to shop, they found that the merchants and bosses in Matsuyama City seemed to be colluding, and as long as they saw them coming, no matter what they purchased, they would have to double the original price.

The same is true for grain and food stores.

The same is true for clothing stores.

This is true for grocery stores.

Even if they found an ordinary small restaurant to eat at noon, the boss charged them twice as much as the price of the meal.

It's clear that you want to slaughter them!

And the merchants of the entire Matsuyama City have reached a consensus, and it seems that they know that they have money now, and they will not be slaughtered for nothing.

However, Yue asked them to have no good way to deal with it, and they were not allowed to go to other cities to purchase, so they wanted to find a Han intermediary to buy on their behalf, and then the intermediary was threatened with death and had to give up helping.

In the end, Yue Tuo and the others had to grit their teeth and purchase materials totaling five million silver dollars at double the price, but because the price was doubled, which was equal to halving the quantity, Houjin's idea of having a fat year this year was lost.

……

The other side.

At a lavish banquet at the top of the Guanning Army, someone talked about the time when the procurement staff of Jiannu was deflated in Songshan City and was forced to spend twice the cost.

The banquet scene erupted in laughter.

"Hahaha, hahahaha!"

"The Jiannu actually have today."

"In our field, it is a dream to buy so many cheap materials without being slaughtered!"

"If you want me to say, the price has only doubled, it's a little cheaper for them, it's not too much to increase three or four times, after all, without our supplies, they all have to freeze to death and starve to death, these life-saving materials, how expensive they have to bear!"

"In fact, not selling a grain of grain or a piece of clothing is the best policy, and when all the slaves freeze to death and starve to death, the wood, gold, minerals, and ginseng in Liaodong will all be ours, which is much more than the profit of millions of silver dollars."

"That's right, Jiannu should have been exterminated a long time ago, and we already have the strength to kill none of them!"

Zu Dashou took a sip of wine and said fiercely: "I don't think there is any need to continue to cooperate with Jiannu, it is better to recuperate for a few months, and destroy Jiannu next year, so that everything in Liaodong will belong to us!" "In the past, after surrendering, after Jin, he was like a dog-like ancestor in front of the Jurchens, but now he is the most hawkish figure in the Guanning army, the most tough hawk figure in Houjin, when it comes to Jiannu, he is now shouting and shouting and killing at every turn, his face is very hideous, and his attitude is the most firm.

And Zu Dashou's tough remarks, he would not have received much support from many people before, and he would even feel that he had a problem with his head, but at this moment, there are countless people who support his views.

Cao Bianjiao got up and said: "Uncle Zu is right, Jiannu is just dry bones in the mound now, and his vitality has long been greatly damaged, and he can't withstand any new blows, and our Guanning army is getting richer and stronger, how can we occupy such a little place?" There are countless lands, forests, and minerals in Liaodong, as long as Liaodong is occupied, we don't know how much more money we can make in the future. ”

Zu Jinzhong said: "That's right, we have to expand our development space, we can't be trapped in one place, Xujiazhuang has built so many manor ports overseas, how can we be willing to live in the population?" ”

"Jiannu's strength is so weak, they still dare to occupy Liaoyang, Shenyang and other places, and if they don't go back to their hometown in Jianzhou, I think they are just looking for death and begging for beating, so there is no need to be polite to them."

"Now we have 100,000 elites, more than 2 million people under our rule, and a net income of 30 million silver dollars a year, which is richer than the imperial court, can't we take a small Jiannu?"

So many tough voices are heard.

even began to make some dissatisfied and radical remarks, feeling that Guan Ningjun was too soft, no good, without the slightest blood and bravery, and even a bloody Jiannu did not dare to fight, there must be someone with soft bones, afraid of death and things, it is better to let young people pick Liang Yunyun...... Its insinuations are obviously the giants in the Guanning army led by Wu Xiang today.

This made Wu Xiang immediately order that the matter should not be discussed again, and those who violated the order would be severely punished!

Those tough voices just stopped, and they had to be buried in their hearts, but it was difficult to guarantee that they would not complain next time.

The banquet ends.

In a private tea room.

Guan Ningjun's four important giants, Wu Xiang, Cao Wenzhao, Wang Yinghui, and Zu Dabi, all sat on the soft sofa chairs, either with steaming tea in their hands or drinking them in their hands, but they all frowned and fell into silence for a while.

As a matter of fact!

Thanks to the close cooperation with Xujiazhuang, the development of Guan Ningjun in recent years has been indeed excellent, opening countless mines, setting up countless factories, and making countless profits, so that several of their net worth have exceeded 10 million, and they are full of flowers and fire.

But that doesn't mean there are no worries!

Especially in the middle of September this year, I don't know what happened, Xujiazhuang's "Oriental Times", without even discussing with them, suddenly exposed Guan Ningjun's family background, introduced the development of Guan Ningjun's various industries, listed a lot of data, and tried their best to praise it.

As a result, this report became known to tens of millions of readers and listeners of Daming.

Regardless of how much of a sensation this caused among the people, at the level of the court and officialdom, it was like dropping a bombshell, so that countless bigwigs in the Ming Dynasty knew for the first time: Guan Ningjun is so rich? !

By opening a mine and setting up a factory, the money earned in a year is equivalent to the financial income of Daming?

What's the matter!

Emperor Zhu Youzhen was jealous.

The civilian officials were red-eyed, and immediately found out countless black materials of the Guanning army, carried out crazy impeachment, and murderous, saying that they would abolish the posts of the Guanning army, collect taxes on the mines and factories, and transfer Wu Xiang to Guangdong as the chief soldier, let Cao Wenzhao lead the troops to Yunnan to quell the rebellion, and let Wang Yinghui go to Ningxia to defend against Mongolia, etc.

Fortunately, after more than a month of desperate maneuvering, Wu Xiang sent people to smash 6 million silver dollars, bribed most of the civil officials in the court, and said that Guan Ningjun did not need a penny of military salaries and food from the imperial court in the future, and then bribed the emperor's inner servants and eunuchs with heavy money, promising to provide 1 million silver dollars to the emperor's internal treasury every year - paying a small price, he barely settled the gluttony in the court and kept the power and wealth in his hands.

It can be said that the breaking news article of the "Oriental Times" has caused them to lose at least tens of millions, and they will have to pay every year in the future, otherwise they will be used by civil officials, and they have to be careful to be a man with their buttocks, and they can't be caught with any handles, and the crisis will always be there.

They were cheated by Xujiazhuang.

This should not be intentional, but it may also be deliberate, after all, the current Guanning Army has become a new capital interest group integrating the army, commerce, industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, etc., and it has developed rapidly and has great potential, which may make Xu Jiazhuang feel a certain threat, so it is suppressed in the way of killing.

Then Jin suddenly reached a cooperation with Xujiazhuang, and soon dug up a large amount of gold, which may also be Xujiazhuang's means against their Guanning army, the purpose is still to contain and slow down the development of the Guanning army.

But sitting on a sofa chair and sipping tea.

Wu Xiang, Cao Wenzhao, Wang Yinghui, Zu Dabi and others did not dare to think deeply, did not dare to imagine Xujiazhuang too badly, they would rather believe that Xujiazhuang did it unintentionally, not to suppress and restrict them.

"Brother Wu, do you think Jiannu can be destroyed? Does Xu Jiazhuang agree to let us go to destruction? Finally, Cao Wenzhao couldn't hold back and asked this question that reflected his inner anxiety and worry.

"Can't be extinguished! In the future, you have to continue to do business with Jiannu, and you must not use swords and soldiers. ”

Wu Xiang waved his hand and said immediately.

"But aren't the resources of Liaodong all cheap tartars? Besides, our mines will be dug up sooner or later, and what will we do when there are no mines? What will future generations do to make money? ”

Cao Wenzhao said, Wang Yinghui and Zu Dabi, who listened, nodded, indeed, for the sake of future generations, it is absolutely impossible for Guan Ningjun not to expand.

"You must not be too greedy, Xu Jiazhuang asked Jiannu to send people to Songshan City to purchase materials, that is, we can tacitly allow us to slaughter Jiannu, so that we can make a net profit of tens of millions of silver dollars on Jiannu every year, Liaodong's resources, we have already accounted for a lot of benefits, if you are still dissatisfied, want to destroy Jiannu, directly occupy Liaodong, Xujiazhuang will never allow and tolerate, will take severe measures to suppress us, if we offend Xujiazhuang, everything we have accumulated in recent years, maybe it will quickly fall apart and come to naught... … We must not disobey Xu Jiazhuang in this matter. Wu Xiang said with a clear mind.

"Aren't we confined then?" Cao Wenzhao said with a depressed face.

"No, as long as we show sincerity and gain trust, then we will not be limited and we will definitely get what we want." Wu Xiang said.

"Then how can we gain the trust of Xujiazhuang?" Wang Yinghui asked.

"The gold accumulated by Guan Ningjun over the years was all sold to Xujiazhuang at a low price, and the sons of several of us were sent to study in Xujiazhuang to serve as a proton...... Anyway, show greater sincerity and let Xujiazhuang trust us more, only in this way, even if we want to take Liaodong in the future, Xujiazhuang will not object, that Xu Zhuang owner is a kind person. Wu Xiang said.

"It makes sense."

"As long as Xu Jiazhuang trusts us more, he should agree to our destruction of Jiannu."

"Needless to say being a proton, my son is clamoring every day to study in Xujiazhuang."

Cao Wenzhao, Wang Yinghui, Zu Dabi and others all nodded, agreeing with Wu Xiang's plan, but it was just a competition to curry favor, with Guan Ningjun's financial and material resources, if he tried his best to curry favor with Xujiazhuang, could it not be compared to the poor ghost-like Jiannu? In addition, everyone is from the Huaxia clan, and Xujiazhuang will definitely be on their side.