Zhao Bufan's reasoning made Wei Chengfeng and Fan Ruhao deeply happy, and the two immediately took him to visit the wharf that was being renovated, and pointed out from time to time, telling him all the future plans, so that he could feel the future of Dongxian Port.

After some walking, Zhao Bufan faced the salty and wet sea breeze, relaxed and happy.

"Ride the wind, you let it go, I hope that in the near future, I will be able to see the Dongxian Port depicted in your mouth, and I will personally celebrate you at that time!"

"The subordinates will definitely do their best!" Wei Chengfeng and Fan Ruhao saluted in unison, and their tone was resolute like a man on the sea.

Zhao Bufan shook the horsewhip in his hand and looked back at the blue sea.

"I'm here this time to ask, can you still send some more money to the army every month?"

As soon as these words came out, Wei Chengfeng and Fan Ruhao's faces instantly became a little bitter, and they glanced at each other, and Wei Chengfeng said in embarrassment: "General Hui, we have really tried our best, and only 20% of the monthly net profit is left as the expansion fund, and 80% is given to the army, and if it is more, we can only temporarily stop the development of the Yun Navy!"

Zhao Bufan was silent for a moment.

"Now the Yun Navy has monopolized the shipping business along the Cangzhou coastline, there has been no war in the north recently, there are a lot of business contacts, your shipping business should be very good, how can you not make up money?"

"General, business is indeed getting better and better, but the cost of our business is not low!" Wei Chengfeng sighed, his face a little helpless. "According to the usual practice, the commission for this sea transport is indeed not low, but first of all, it is necessary to remove the income of the brothers, it is not easy for the sons of the sea, and the income is naturally very high, otherwise who will be willing to do it, and secondly, the cost of the maintenance and logistics personnel of the ship, which is not a small amount of money, and the third is that it must be paid to the tax of the city shipping company, and this money cannot be saved.

In addition, we must also follow the practice of filial piety to the upper and lower officials of the city, they control the sea routes, do not take care of them first, then no one's account is bought, directly can make us unable to land, even if it is destroyed as pirates, those people also have the shadow of the ministers behind the court, and the whole body is involved, the same can not be provoked, and the amount of this expenditure is enough to occupy one-tenth of our gross profit, fortunately, the current Zhizhou of Cangzhou is Liu Zhongwu's eldest son Liu Xi, who is considered half a good official, although he is not very in charge, but he is not arbitrary, only levy a small transaction tax set by the imperial court, otherwise this expenditure will not be saved。

In short, these internal and external expenses are carefully calculated, and the net profit left in the end is greatly reduced, but with the development of our side, the monthly supply of resources to the army is actually more and more, but I still often hear General Lin Chong say that it is far from enough, if we have a way, we will definitely not shirk, but it is really no way, this Dongxian Port is not better than Dengzhou Port after all, it is just a miniature port that has just emerged, no matter how it develops, it will take time, large and small ledgers and records are there, and witnesses are everywhere, if General Lin Chong wants to check, we are welcome at any time！”

Zhao Bufan quietly listened to Wei Chengfeng's complaints, and saw that he seemed to think that Lin Chong was complaining behind his back, and immediately explained: "It's not about Lin Chong that I came here this time, it's true that there is no money in the army, and before I came here, he also said that you have done your best, it's not that he suspects anything!"

These words made Wei Chengfeng and Fan Ruhao's faces soften a lot, and they didn't say anything more.

Zhao Bufan silently pondered in his heart, and asked again: "Then how much can you squeeze out of your operational reserves?"

Wei Chengfeng and Fan Ruhao glanced at each other, and Fan Ruhao, who was in charge of the accounts, immediately closed his eyes and calculated.

After a while, he slowly opened his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said stubbornly: "We will draw out part of the accident emergency fund and operation reserve fund in reserve, then we can take out up to 180,000 yuan at one time, this is the limit, if there is more, then the business will definitely not be able to run, and we must hope that there will be no major events in the next year, if there is a ship robbery or shipwreck, then there will be no aftermath!"

Zhao Bufan was also forced by the money, thought about it, and said decisively: "Okay, then the money you supply to the army every month will still remain unchanged from the previous plan, and this additional 180,000 yuan will be regarded as a loan, if something really happens, come to me, and when I breathe a sigh of relief, I will definitely return this money to the account!"

"Honorable Order!" Wei Chengfeng and Fan Ruhao didn't say much, and responded loudly.

After that, Zhao Bufan had no intention of staying longer, and politely declined the warm invitation of the two to have dinner in private, and simply ate something and set off again.

Although it is said that the public is public and the private is private, Zhao Bufan really didn't dare to face Wei Chengfeng and Fan Ruhao, they worked hard to drift on the sea, for the growth of the Yun Navy, for the development of Dongxian Port, and for the common dream, but now he has taken away all the foundation that people have worked hard for, how can he feel good in his heart, and now when facing the two of them, his face is hot.

A day later, he took Hao Siwen, Lu Fang, and Guo Sheng to Juxianzhuang in Dacheng County.

When He Daye heard that he was coming back, he happily threw down his hoe and ran to greet him, but before he could say a few words, he heard him mention the matter of money, and his whole face collapsed immediately, and he was so bitter that he could drip water. "My little ancestor, you want my life!"

After complaining, he was not in a hurry to explain, and directly pulled Zhao Bufan back to the apricot orchard, and when he came to the warehouse where the account books and archives were stored, he immediately threw down the side of the cabinet for a while, and then took out a stack of thick account books and threw them directly on the table.

"Owner, this is the recent account book of Juxian Village, you can see it yourself!"

Zhao Bufan gently opened the account book full of wrinkles, and asked while looking at it: "Daye, this silk from Juxianzhuang has now been sold to the north and south of the river, and the textile workshop is also an assembly line production, the efficiency should not be low, really can't you give the army more money?"

He Daye took a deep breath, and the wrinkles on his old face were squeezed into layers.

"Owner, don't think I'm talking too much, it's really that this person still needs to do what he can, when I was a soldier with you, I felt that you were too aggressive, and you were always in a hurry, now it's okay, you make a mess, how can this end?"

Zhao Bufan put down the account book and raised his head to look at him.

"You also know the dilemma in the army?"

"How can I not know, I have also been a soldier for decades, how much does it cost you to raise so many people, I have a number in my heart, and it is strange that there is no shortage of money. To tell the truth, our business in Juxianzhuang is indeed booming, the people of the entire Dacheng County are raising silkworms, it is precisely because our own silkworms in Juxianzhuang are completely insufficient, and a large number of foreign purchases are needed, although this will lead to different levels of silk quality, but we also weave out the silk are divided into grades, the price is high and low, and the shipment is never worried, and the textile workshop now has thousands of people working in it!"

He Daye said this proudly, and then stared at Zhao Bufan with excitement, and said cracklingly: "But even if the money made by this Juxian Village is piled up, how many people do you want to raise? That's tens of thousands of forbidden troops, and even have to buy weapons, armor, and war horses, what a huge amount of money? Although we make a lot of money, do we have to pay the people in the workshop? Do we need capital to buy silkworms and raise silkworms? Do we need to spend money to transport and escort silkworms? Do local governments have to collect taxes?"

Okay, I won't talk about these things, I'll just say that the net profits earned by Zhuangzi, in addition to the part of expanding business, also have to reserve some money for circulation, and then reserve for you the money that is given to those traitorous ministers of Liang Shicheng every year, and in the process of doing business, you must pay attention to the officials in various places, and sometimes you will encounter normal goods discount, how much expense is this?

In general, the amount of money we withdraw to the army every month is already the limit, and there is no way to increase it, if you really want to feed so many soldiers and horses for a long time, then you have to find another way to make money. Now the two soldiers and horses under your command have not yet been fully formed, and may be able to barely support them, but when they are really formed, you may not know how much it will cost, the most terrible thing about raising an army is not the Yulu, it is the logistics support, it is the reserve and maintenance of armor and weapons, at that time, not to mention our Juxianzhuang, even two Juxianzhuang can't afford to raise!"

He Daye was like an elder in Zhao Bufan's heart, so he reprimanded him so straightforwardly, and Zhao Bufan did not rise to disgust, but was very sad for what he said, at this time there were only two of them, and Zhao Bufan rarely showed his true heart, showing his exhaustion and powerlessness.

"So what now, is there really only one way to go, disarmament?"

As soon as these words came out, He Daye's eyes widened even more, and he scolded angrily: "Disarmament? How can you cut it? After the layoff, your reputation will be ruined, how difficult is it for the people to control you? How difficult is it for the soldiers to care about you?" They only saw you accumulating money everywhere, and then began to disarm, and then speculated that you were a traitor, people are terrible, and it is useless for you to say that you have broken your mouth, at that time, you will have more and more no way out, not a traitor is also forced to become a traitor, plus those real traitors come to pull you at the right time, even if this pit is in, you will be a member of the traitor from now on!

Do you want to retreat? Yes, then your future wife and children will be buried with you! Do you think everyone is born a bad person? When Cai Jing was young, he still wanted to enrich the country and strengthen the army, but as a result, he still slowly embarked on the road of traitorous ministers? Become worse than anyone else? People will change, if you don't keep it today, you won't be able to keep it tomorrow, the entire Great Song Dynasty is rotten from top to bottom, people's hearts are lost, and if you are determined to change, then you must do what no one else can do!

Zhao Bufan was anxious when he heard this, and complained: "What you said is equivalent to not saying it, the key is how to solve the problem?"

He Daye calmed down, looked at him softly for a long time, and let out a long sigh.

"Forget it, it's too late to say anything now, let's first take out a part of the liquid and development assets reserved by Juxianzhuang, and then mobilize all the tenants of Juxianzhuang to get together 350,000 yuan, there should be more than 200,000 yuan, you take it to the emergency first, and then find another way to make money!"

"Are the tenants willing? Don't make the backyard catch fire again, I'm really annoyed now!" Zhao Bufan sighed.

He Daye seemed to be smiling, as if mocking, as if he was emotional, in short, his voice was full of the vicissitudes of seeing through the world.

"Although this world is in charge of each person, the human heart has been lost, but after all, it is still flesh long, everyone has become rich with the owner over the years, you treat them well, they will naturally respect you very much, as long as you say that you have difficulties, it is not difficult for them to donate a few dollars per household, even if not every family is willing, but most of them are still willing, as long as most of them are recognized, then the remaining small number of people will worry that you are targeting them, and they will naturally choose to conform to the herd, it doesn't matter!"

Zhao Bufan was also helpless, so he could only nod in agreement.

"Okay, everything will be done as you say, but what about in the future?"

This time, He Daye didn't speak for a long time, but sat on the chair next to the bookcase, closing his eyes and saying nothing.

Zhao Bufan has known him for many years and knows that this is his habit when facing difficult problems, so he didn't rush to ask, just sat quietly and waited.

After about a quarter of an hour, He Daye opened his eyes, looked at Zhao Bufan seriously for a long time, and sighed: "There is a way, but I am worried that you will slowly change your original intention when you embark on this road, until you can never go back!"

"What way?" Zhao Bufan asked urgently.

"Selling illicit salt!" He Daye said these four words categorically.

"Selling smuggled salt?" Zhao Bufan gasped and was speechless for a long time.

When He Daye said these four words, he instantly understood in his heart that this is indeed the fastest way to get money at present, the production cycle of salt is relatively short, as long as the manpower is sufficient, it can be made quickly, and this is also one of the most profitable industries that can be achieved by the current technical conditions, all dynasties and dynasties are directly operated by the imperial court, and private salt sales are a felony, but anyone who sells illegal salt is either a bandit or a bully who runs rampant, but whoever is caught and convicted by the imperial court, then it is either a broken corpse or a family extermination.

Embarking on this road is tantamount to telling the general public that I am a villain, and there is no point in explaining anything, because the people of the Great Song Dynasty know that the process of illicit salt from manufacturing to selling to the market is all stained with blood, and contention, collusion, murder and plunder are inevitable, just like an old saying: All profiteering beyond common sense must contain evil.

At this time, there was silence in the room, and after a long time, Zhao Bufan opened his dry throat and asked hoarsely: "Do you really want to take this road?"

"There is no other way in a short period of time!" He Daye replied very affirmatively, stared at Zhao Bufan for a long time, and then continued: "There are so many traitors in the Great Song Dynasty, no one dares to sell illegal salt directly, at most they make money from the profits of official salt, but no one dares to do this piece of private salt, but if anyone reports to the court, no matter who it is, they will definitely not be able to eat and walk around! This is the only way I can think of, can you do it?"

Browse and read the address: https: