"How is this going?"
Liu Zheng asked anxiously.
This person is none other than Huang Zhiyuan, the purchasing captain who was just appointed by Shengongfang. He is under the jurisdiction of Wei Tiezhu and is mainly responsible for purchasing the iron ore needed by Shengongfang. The small area of Yinzhou is full of salt lakes and salt mines, but there is no iron mine. But Shengongfang still needs a lot of iron ore.
Whether it is making agricultural tools or weapons, large amounts of iron ore are indispensable.
So we could only purchase iron ore from Yangzhou and then make iron and steel. This matter was originally a matter of cooperation with the Cao family. Later, after the Cao family obtained the sales rights of "Drunken Yinzhou", they gave this line to Shengongfang, and Huang Zhiyuan was responsible for this matter.
"Master!"
"On my way back from purchasing ore this time, I encountered a group of bandits. They, they..."
Huang Zhiyuan knelt on the ground and cried loudly.
Liu Zheng was furious after hearing this.
Because this time Liu Zheng received a large sum of money from the Zheng family's dividends, and Yinzhou Plow needed a lot of steel, so Liu Zheng invested all his money in purchasing iron ore.
After all, at present, spring plowing and war preparations are very important.
Half of the one hundred tons of iron ore was used to make Yinzhou plows, and the other half was used to make weapons.
This is a full ten thousand taels of silver!
Who would have thought that on the road that Huang Zhiyuan was already walking on, a pair of horse thieves suddenly appeared and not only snatched away all their iron ore, but also openly killed several workers! They even clamored to ask the Marquis of Yinzhou County to redeem these iron ores for 20,000 taels of silver!
"Bandits?"
Liu Zheng's eyes turned cold and he asked: "Where can there be bandits on the border between Yangzhou and Yinzhou?"
Zheng Yueru also said: "It's absolutely impossible!"
The two states and counties are quite close to each other, and there are no deep mountains to hide in. In addition, Liu Zheng had just wiped out a large group of bandits on his way to Yinzhou. How could the bandits be formed in such a short time?
"Sir, there is no doubt that they are master thieves! And the thieves are not weak, they are estimated to number around a thousand people!"
Huang Zhiyuan cried.
Liu Zheng and Zheng Yueru looked at each other in shock.
A thousand bandits are already quite impressive. After all, these bandits are more flexible and mobile than officers and soldiers. It is pulled away like the wind, and even if you want to grab it, you can't catch it.
"That's unreasonable!"
Liu Zheng shouted loudly: "Follow me back home!"
When he arrived at the county magistrate's mansion, he asked the doctor to take Huang Zhiyuan there for treatment. Qin Changfeng quickly ran back: "Sir, Changfeng has just received the report. These bandits are not weak. They have robbed many caravans traveling to and from Yinzhou in the past few days. The merchants have complained endlessly. Report the crime!”
Liu Zheng's face was as gloomy as water.
Bandits?
He definitely doesn't believe this!
In a short period of time, such a group of bandits suddenly appeared, there must be something fishy among them!
Suddenly, Zheng Yueru's expression changed slightly: "Brother Liu, could it be from Yangzhou?"
Liu Zheng took a deep breath and nodded. A few days ago, Zheng Yueru reminded him that Chen Kui, an old thief, had fled to Yangzhou, clung to Lu Zhengyi, and gave all his family property to Lu Zhengyi. He just wanted Lu Zhengyi to help him fight back to Yinzhou and continue to be him. A noble man.
Now it seems...
This bandit coincidentally appeared on the border between Yangzhou and Yinzhou. He did not disturb Yangzhou and only dealt with the caravan coming to Yinzhou. This was actually obvious.
"Sir, give Changfeng a thousand elite soldiers, and I will crush these thieves!"
Qin Changfeng shouted angrily.
Shen Xing's face changed greatly at the side: "Absolutely not, Young Master, this must be Na Lu Zhengyi's conspiracy! Let these thousands of bandits lure me deep, I'm afraid those Yangzhou soldiers waiting for us will be ! I think this matter should be reported to Liangzhou Prefecture first before making a decision!"
Zheng Yueru also nodded in agreement with this guess.
Qin Changfeng was anxious: "Shen Xing, you coward, what can you do if there is an ambush? As long as I, Qin Changfeng, are here, I will kill the gods when I encounter them, and I will kill the Buddha when I stand in the way! When I was in Yangzhou, I didn't think that Lu Zhengyi was nothing. Good bird, I guessed it right! How could I weaken the majesty of the Yinzhou soldiers in front of that old thief?"
He is currently the president of the Yinzhou Prefecture, so he naturally feels that his brother is good at fighting.
Shen Xing snorted coldly, and several people quarreled.
Liu Zheng, on his side, was deep in thought.
This matter is really tricky.
Now that Yinzhou is developing vigorously, he didn't want to cause trouble, so when he heard that Yangzhou was preparing troops, he didn't take it seriously and wanted to wait until this year passed.
Who would have thought that if you left them alone, they would come to your door provocatively!
And it’s still such a poisonous trick!
On the one hand, the iron ore that Yinzhou urgently needs is seized. If this batch of iron ore cannot be received in time, it will most likely affect Yinzhou's spring plowing. On the other hand, it harassed the caravans who came to trade, which was another bigger blow to Yinzhou. Now Liu Zheng can't wait to attract more people to come to Yinzhou to engage in business activities, so as to revitalize Yinzhou's economy.
so.
Not going?
No, iron ore is a must! Those caravans must also be given an explanation. If these horse thieves are not eliminated, who will dare to do business in Yinzhou in the future?
But to go?
Just like what Shen Xing said, this must be a conspiracy on the Yangzhou side. If the three thousand soldiers of Yinzhou were ambushed, they would be reluctant to lose even one Liu Zheng.
"stop fighting!"
Liu Zheng shouted, and the whole place fell silent.
Qin Changfeng at the main station still stared at Shen Xing coldly.
Liu Zheng asked Huang Zhiyuan again: "How many days will the bandits give us to redeem the ore?"
"Seven days!"
Huang Zhiyuan said with a bitter face: "Sir, you must be careful about this! I think that bandit is well-trained, has well-equipped horses and weapons, and comes and goes like the wind. He is not like a bandit, but more like a skirmisher!"
Everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Skirmishers?
This is something unique to this era. This guerrilla means stragglers. In the words of later generations, they are mercenaries! This small-organized army often belonged to the vassal king. Later, due to various reasons, it broke away from the previous organization and became a free and professional soldier.
These mercenaries will follow whoever gives them money!
Shen Xing said: "Yes, Master, these must be the skirmishers hired by Chen Kui!"
"Master, think twice!"
"Looking at the situation, the size of these skirmishers must be more than a thousand!"
"Seven days..."
Liu Zheng shouted: "Qin Changfeng obeys the order!"
"Changfeng is here!"
"Lead two thousand elite soldiers to guard the caravans, one pavilion for one thousand meters, and one post for one hundred meters!"
Qin Changfeng shouted: "Changfeng takes the order!"
"Shen Xing!"
"The official is here!"
"At this time, merchants in the city are not allowed to leave the city for the time being. They will not leave until seven days later."
"yes!"
"Wei Tiezhu!"
"exist!"
"Follow me to the God's Workshop!"
When Liu Zheng finished issuing the order, this time. Liu Dahao just ran over: "My son, my son, it's too late to be a father! There are bandits disturbing my Yinzhou, how can it be unreasonable! Does my son have a plan?"
Liu Zheng smiled bitterly and said, "Dad, go back and continue drinking. Leave this matter to me."
When Liu Dahao heard this, he smiled happily: "Zheng'er, you must be careful, Hiccup... you must be careful!"
Then, with the support of several maids, he went back to drink.
Suddenly, the news of bandits appearing outside Yinzhou spread throughout the city.
In Fengming Tower.
Many businessmen are in turmoil.
"Bandits?"
"How's the thieves doing?"
"Is Yinzhou safe?"
These businessmen, in this troubled world, are used to making money that is scary and life-threatening. It's just that this is the first time I have encountered such a thing in Yinzhou, and I can't help but feel a little scared.
"I see that the county lord's mansion is in good order, so it's nothing to worry about!"
One person said.
The people next to him sneered: "How long has the Yinzhou County Marquis Mansion been established? How can the government soldiers be able to fight?"
"You see, what about the elite soldiers of the Chen family?"
"But this time they are a group of elite skirmishers. How can they compare to the old, weak, sick and disabled?"
In Fengming Tower, they immediately divided into two groups and began to argue.
One party felt that they should trust the Yinzhou County Marquis and wait for good news. The other side felt that Yinzhou was a small place after all, and its military strength was not strong. If they encountered these professional skirmishers, the situation would not be optimistic. Some people already want to open up a relationship and quickly escape from Yinzhou.
"Everyone, everyone!"
"The County Marquis has an order to wait for seven days! During these seven days, all merchants will stay at Fengming Tower, and all expenses will be borne by the County Marquis!"
At this time, a deacon came over to announce the county order.
When everyone heard this, they cheered.
Regardless of how the Yinzhou soldiers were, it was the first time in this era that they, the lackeys and traders, could be treated so favorably.
…
And here.
Liu Zheng has arrived at Shen Gongfang.
As soon as he got off his horse, he asked Wei Tiezhu: "How much refined iron is there? Iron ore?"
Wei Tiezhu replied: "Sir, there are still five thousand kilograms of refined iron! Fifty thousand kilograms of iron ore!"
Five thousand pounds...
Liu Zheng nodded, making some calculations in his mind. Fifty thousand kilograms of iron ore can be used to refine 20,000 kilograms of refined iron! That’s twenty-five thousand kilograms of refined iron!
"Bring them all to me!"
Liu Zheng ordered.
Everyone was amazed when they heard this.
Now everyone in Yinzhou is watching this matter. It can be said that this is the first time that the county has faced such a challenge since its establishment. No matter noble families, foreign businessmen, or ordinary people, they are all paying attention to the county magistrate at this time. The outcome of this matter will directly affect the dominance of the county governor here and the future stability of Yinzhou.
Liu Zheng then asked Wei Tiezhu to summon all the blacksmiths in the Shen Workshop.
In fact, no matter how much Shen Xing and Qin Changfeng quarreled, Liu Zheng already had a conclusion in his mind.
war!
There is only war.
Since others have already stepped on you, why do you still have to be conciliatory and swallow your anger?
This is not Liu Zheng's style.
Moreover, what happened this time was not all challenges, but also opportunities.
That's right.
Others may not be able to see the opportunity hidden behind this incident, but Liu Zheng can.
Mercenaries?
hehe!
Since ancient times, there have been no more than these types of armies under rulers. Your own army, mercenaries, reinforcements, mixed armies! Among them, mercenaries and reinforcements are useless and extremely dangerous! Because these mercenaries are disorganized, ambitious, undisciplined, and unfaithful!
Because they only value reward, but the reward you pay is not enough to make them work hard on the battlefield!
so.
Lu Zhengyi's move was already a huge mistake. If so, why couldn't Liu Zheng use it?
soon.
Jingtie has been pushed over, and at this time, Liu Zheng has also drawn a drawing.
"In the next few days, we must rush to produce at least two thousand weapons like this!"
The blacksmiths came rushing over.
On that drawing, there was a long weapon that they had never even seen before.
Everyone was shocked.
"Sir, what is this?"
