The next day Liu Yan and the flag officer Miao Shao rode their horses back to Dapanbao. At this time, Chen Xun had returned to the military camp and was leading hundreds of young military households to open up wasteland.
Zhao Min allocated one thousand three hundred taels of silver for this purpose, which was used specifically to purchase cattle and farm tools, and to build water conservancy facilities.
In the past few months, the income of the soap workshop and salt drying field has increased steadily. After deducting various expenses every month, Dapanbao can have a balance of more than two thousand taels of silver. Now Liu Yan has accumulated tens of thousands of taels of silver in his hands. In addition, there is still 7,000 shi of grain in stock in Dapanbao's warehouse.
It can be said that Liu Yan is now considered the richest man in the entire Wangjiazhuang, and he can be ranked high even among the thousands of households in front of Xiahe Village.
In the blink of an eye, it is the end of November, and the cold wind is raging in all parts of Lingshanwei. The Nanhe River has frozen in the cold wind, and you can even walk on the ice. From time to time, you can see military households and civilians in various places in Wangjiazhuang, walking Cross the Nanhe River and travel to various places.
The weather at this time was dry and cold, and the cold wind felt like a knife on my face, causing pain.
In the morning of that day, Liu Yan was looking at the maps of various places in Wangjiazhuang in the headquarters hall, studying where the bandits were suitable to occupy. Based on the information collected during the night, Liu Yan found out where the bandits were.
Just yesterday afternoon, Liu Yan had received an order from Wang Wenzhen, asking Liu Yan to mobilize manpower and military equipment to be ready to suppress bandits in case of illness.
It was Liu Yan's suggestion to send troops to suppress bandits in order to train troops through battle and suppress bandits to obtain wealth, so he naturally supported Wang Wenzhen's order with both hands.
Yesterday evening, Liu Yan had already given orders to several small flag officers, ordering everyone to mobilize before the war and prepare to send troops to suppress the bandits. As for which banner to mobilize for the battle, Liu Yan did not say clearly. He first asked all Dunjun soldiers to be prepared to prevent anyone from slacking off.
"Captain A!"
Just when Liu Yan was studying the map, he suddenly heard someone coming. He looked up and saw Miao Shao, the flag officer, knocking on the door, then pushing the door open and coming in. He said, "Here comes shopkeeper Wang from Wangjiazhuang Wanfu Oil Shop, Chief A." , are now waiting outside the General Flag Office, along with ten large vehicles, all waiting in the streets outside."
"Ten carts? There's sorghum on them!"
Miao Shao nodded and said: "Chief Jia made a clever calculation and discovered that it is sorghum. My subordinates looked at it and found that there is no less than two thousand kilograms of high-quality sorghum!"
Liu Yan said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Wang is really fast. Come on, let's go take a look."
The two people immediately walked towards the gate. The General Flag Office was not very large. They soon arrived outside the gate. Wang Jing immediately stepped forward with a smile and clasped his fists: "Haha, General Manager Liu Qi, we meet again."
Liu Yan cupped his fists and saluted, then looked at the ten carts behind Wang Jing and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Wang is really neat. It is not easy to acquire so much sorghum so quickly!"
Wang Jing waved his hand and said: "I will definitely do my best to handle the matters that Mr. Liu Qi told me, and I will never be negligent in the slightest."
"Please, let's go in and talk."
Liu Yan invited Wang Jing to the general hall of the flag, while Miao Shao went out to greet the ten carts and headed to the warehouse in Dapanbao. Over there, Zhao Min was busy registering the amount of newly reclaimed wasteland, which was just in time for Zhao The people put the sorghum into the warehouse.
In the main flag hall, Liu Yan personally made tea, but Wang Jing kept shouting that he didn't dare, and the two sat across from each other in the room.
"My official office is small and crude, and Shopkeeper Wang is laughing at it."
Wang Jing shook his head and said: "You can't say that. Nowadays, Dapanbao is one of the most numerous Datunbao in front of thousands of households in Xiahe Village. Such a scale and such a large population are all due to General Liu Qi. Without Mr. Liu, there would be no Dapanbao today. So, Dapanbao is Mr. Liu’s home, so how can it be said to be small and crude?"
"Ha ha."
Liu Yan laughed and said, "Shopkeeper Wang is really good at talking."
"only……"
Wang Jing changed the subject and said, "There is something I want to ask. I wonder if it would be inconvenient for Mr. Liu to tell me?"
Liu Yan said: "Shopkeeper Wang, please tell me. As long as it is not a confidential matter, I will tell you everything I know."
Wang Jing clasped his fists and thanked him, and then said: "That's it. The two thousand kilograms of sorghum that General Liu Qi asked for this time have been gathered and shipped here today. But I don't understand why General Liu Qi wants so much sorghum. What?"
Although sorghum was mostly used for winemaking at this time, it was only a small part. Most of the liquor was fermented from beans, rice, glutinous rice, and even various grains, fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the amount of sorghum required for brewing wine was not large, and Wang Jing naturally did not think about it.
The biggest demand for sorghum is the army. Sorghum is a very good feed crop and can be used to feed war horses. Therefore, the Ming army purchases a large amount of sorghum every year. This is the biggest demand. Of course, the prices given by the Ming army for procurement were also very low, and they often defaulted on payment. In the end, it was not impossible to simply default on the debt. After all, the court was already very poor at this time, and military expenditures were even more limited.
Liu Yan looked at Wang Jing's expression and said with a smile: "Does Shopkeeper Wang want to ask if our Lingshan Guards are doing something big? That's why I am hoarding sorghum and want to take this opportunity to make a fortune?"
"hehe,"
Wang Jing smiled and said: "I know this is a major military and state matter, and it is definitely not convenient for General Liu Qi to talk about it. But if there is really any trouble in this regard, please let General Liu Qi know at his convenience. The trumpet also earns some pocket money."
Liu Yan laughed loudly and said: "Shopkeeper Wang has thought carefully, but this time he has thought too much. Our Lingshan Guards have not taken any big actions, and I am not hoarding so much sorghum just to make horse feed."
"That……"
Wang Jing wanted to continue asking, but realized something was wrong, so he smiled and stopped talking.
Liu Yan looked at Wang Jing's hesitant expression and said, "Since Shopkeeper Wang has asked, I don't have to hide anything. After all, I will need Shopkeeper Wang's assistance in the future to stockpile sorghum in large quantities."
Wang Jing understood that Liu Yan regarded him as one of his own, so he clasped his fists and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu, what I said today is just doubt in my heart. There will never be anything from Mr. Liu's mouth until it enters my ears." Others know it.”
Liu Yan said: "The reason why I stocked up on sorghum in large quantities is to prepare wine."
"Wine wine?"
Wang Jing obviously didn't believe it. After all, sorghum wine was not very popular at this time. Due to the limitations of distillation technology, the taste and taste of sorghum wine in this era were very poor, far behind rice wine and rice wine. Whether it was for dignitaries or ordinary people, , both yellow rice wine and rice wine are popular. Only rural farmers will drink sorghum wine, grain wine, etc.
So when Wang Jing heard that Liu Yan was planning to brew sorghum wine, he naturally didn't believe it. Wasn't it obvious that he was planning to lose money?
"Haha, Mr. Liu is joking, can I make money from this sorghum wine?"
Liu Yan said: "Others will naturally lose money when brewing sorghum wine, but I am different. I have a secret recipe!"
Wang Jing mistakenly thought that this was Liu Yan's trick, so he smiled and stopped asking, but Liu Yan continued: "Shopkeeper Wang, don't think too much, I am indeed planning to make wine, and two thousand kilograms of sorghum is not enough. I hope Shopkeeper Wang After I go back, I will continue to purchase large amounts of sorghum. As long as the quality of the sorghum is good enough, I can collect as much as I can from Dapanbao!"
Now Wang Jing was completely convinced and said worriedly: "Mr. Liu, please think carefully and don't be reckless. After all, it's not easy for Mr. Liu to save some money."
"I appreciate Shopkeeper Wang's kindness."
Liu Yan said with a smile: "But don't worry, Shopkeeper Wang, this sorghum wine business will never lose money. This will be another way for my Dapanbao to make money, and Shopkeeper Wang will also make a lot of money."
Wang Jing smiled, clasped his fists and said, "Haha, okay, then I will follow Mr. Liu Qi to make a fortune."
At this moment, Xiaoqi officer Miao Shao came in with a delivery order, clasped his fists and said: "This is to inform the commander, the sorghum shipped by shopkeeper Wang has been completely counted. The quantity is two thousand kilograms and the quality is good. According to the market price The transaction was completed at a price of twelve cents per catty, which is equivalent to a total of twenty-four taels of silver. This is the delivery slip."
Liu Yan took the delivery slip and looked at it, then handed it to Wang Jing and said, "Shopkeeper Wang, check if there are any discrepancies?"
Wang Jing smiled and put the delivery slip away without reading it, and said, "You don't need to look at it. I can certainly trust Mr. Liu in his work."
Then Wang Jing took the twenty-four taels of silver handed over by the flag officer Miao Shao and put it into his purse with a smile.
"Okay, now that all my property and goods have been cleared, I will go back and continue to purchase sorghum and squeeze soybean oil for Mr. Liu."
Liu Yan sent Wang Jing out with a smile, and then asked the flag officer Miao Shao to escort Wang Jing out of the fort.
When he walked to the gate of the General Flag Office, Liu Yan pretended to be unintentional and said: "Next time shopkeeper Wang comes to deliver goods, you can ask Miss Wang to come with you to take a look at the style of Dapanbao and relax. Last time I haven’t even had time to thank Miss Wang for the grease she gave me.”
Wang Jing agreed with a smile and thought to himself: "It seems that this silly girl like me has a chance to make a big deal in her life. It seems that she will have to think about it after she goes back."
After sending Wang Jing away, Liu Yan went to the warehouse to check the sorghum being stored, and then found Zhao Min to inquire about Dapanbao's current financial situation.
Zhao Min went to Liu Yan and complained. Originally, Zhao Min's idea was to teach and educate people, but Liu Yan treated Zhao Min as a copywriter, almost squeezing him, and made Zhao Min work every day and night. I was so busy that I barely had time to eat.
Liu Yan looked at Zhao Min, who had lost a lot of weight, and said with a smile: "I can see the hard work of Mr. Zhao, but the situation in our Dapanbao is like this now. Not to mention learning, even literate people There are very few of them. If Chief Zhao hadn’t taught the small banner officers and some Dunjun soldiers how to read during this period, I’m afraid there would be only one scholar in the fort, Chief Zhao.”
Zhao Min also knew these situations, but he still said: "There are too many people and affairs in the castle now. I am the only one with a few apprentices, and it is really too busy. It's not that I am afraid of being tired, but that Worried about missing the affairs in the fort."
Liu Yan nodded and said: "I know what Director Zhao is like. In this way, during this period, I will send someone to Wangjiazhuang to recruit some literate guys. They can help Director Zhao to some extent."
Speaking of this, Liu Yan suddenly thought of something. The reason why Zhao Min didn't get along in Wangjiazhuang before was because of his different ideas.
Zhao Min is a scholar who puts pragmatism first. Unlike those bookworms who are obsessed with being an official and studying hard, Zhao Min wants to do practical things and pass on what he has learned and his spirit.
Liu Yan had had drinks with Zhao Min several times before, and Zhao Min talked about this and seemed very excited.
So Liu Yan continued: "As for the rest, I plan to wait until our Dapanbao develops, and then set up a private school for Mr. Zhao. Mr. Zhao will be responsible for teaching, specifically teaching scholars for our Dapanbao, and teaching scholars who can work hard. ,how?"
When Zhao Min heard this, he immediately became excited, stood upright, saluted and bowed, and said: "Zhao really admires the magnanimity of Chief A, and I should obey his orders! From now on, Zhao will be a pawn of Chief A, and he is willing to do all his work for Chief A." !”
