After finishing the meal absentmindedly, Zhao Ting hurriedly returned home and asked the housekeeper to summon Luo Sha, the commander of the navy.
Zhen Haijun is a Xiang army, and no one thinks that Xiang army can fight these days.
The only function of this gang of Qiu Ba is to serve as slaves.
Build bridges and pave roads, dig rivers and build bridges...
Do anything but fight.
If there is no war, there will naturally be no need for training. Therefore, as the commander of the capital, Luo Sha lives in the mansion of the county town all day long.
Not long after, Luo Sha, led by the housekeeper, entered the study.
"I have met Mr. Zhao in my humble position. I wonder why Mr. Zhao called me in?"
Luo Sha bowed and bowed, his posture extremely low.
In terms of official positions, he is the commander of the horse and foot command of the Xiang army in a state, and he is a serious fifth-rank official.
But in front of Zhao Ting, the magistrate of the state, he is not even as good as a county magistrate or a bookkeeper.
At this moment, Luo Sha felt uneasy and didn't know the purpose of Zhao Ting calling him late at night.
Zhao Ting did not speak, and Luo Sha did not dare to stand up. He just bowed and maintained a salute posture.
After a moment, Zhao Ting slowly spoke: "How many soldiers are there in Zhen Hai now?"
Luo Sha's heart skipped a beat and he quietly took a look at Zhao Ting.
Seeing that his expression was neither sad nor happy, Luo Sha swallowed his saliva and replied: "My lord, the military personnel of the Zhenhai Navy used to be 12,600, but in fact... it is actually 8,500."
"Ah."
Zhao Ting raised a sneer at the corner of his mouth and said sullenly: "Are you sure?"
Luo Sha was startled, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly changed his words and said, "My lord, please forgive me. I misremembered my humble position. It was actually 5,300 people."
Picking up a cup of hot tea, taking a sip, Zhao Ting said, "Think again!"
At this moment, Luo Sha was really panicked.
He didn't know why Zhao Ting suddenly wanted to punish him. The monthly filial piety money he was supposed to give was not a penny less.
Luo Sha's brain was racing and he kept thinking wildly.
Zhao Ting was not in a hurry and sipped the tea slowly.
For a moment, Luo Sha felt an invisible pressure coming towards his face.
After a moment, he calmed down and answered truthfully: "My lord, there are actually one... one thousand eight hundred people!"
It is a common practice in the army to eat empty pay. If they don't eat empty pay or drink the blood of soldiers, how can these generals enjoy the good life and find concubines?
Even the three types on Qin Feng Road still eat empty pay and drink the blood of soldiers.
It's just that Zhong Shidao and others are not so exaggerated. There are one hundred thousand Western troops, and only about ten or twenty thousand are left in the sky.
Luo Sha was even more outrageous. The Zhenhai navy had 12,600 soldiers, but the actual number of soldiers was only 1,800, which was almost nine out of ten.
"That's right. Just tell the truth in front of me. Don't play tricks."
ah?
Luo Sha was stunned.
Zhao Ting's words and tone didn't seem to be about accountability.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but raise his head and smiled flatteringly: "How dare I lie to my husband in my humble position? I just drank some wine and my head is dizzy, so I can't remember clearly at the moment."
Zhao Ting smiled noncommittally and asked in a casual tone: "Are you still practicing in the army?"
Realizing that Zhao Ting was not trying to deal with him, Luo Sha suddenly became more courageous and answered truthfully: "When Magistrate Zhang was here, I practiced a few times, but now I haven't practiced for a long time."
More than a year ago, when Zhang Shuye was serving as the magistrate of Qingzhou, he organized the army.
As a result, when he arrived at Zhenhaijun Barracks, he was so angry that he beheaded the deputy commander on the spot.
Luo Sha was so frightened that he patted his chest and promised that he would recruit all the soldiers within ten days.
As a result, not long after, Zhang Shuye received a transfer order and was promoted to the prefect of Jinan.
After Zhao Ting took over and found out his character, Luo Sha dismissed all the newly recruited soldiers and continued to receive free wages.
Zhao Ting asked again: "How is the ordnance preserved?"
Luo Sha replied: "The ordnance has been stored in the arsenal, and most of it has been damaged due to disrepair."
Mostly damaged?
That’s all money!
Zhao Ting's face was gloomy and he asked in a bad tone: "How many intact ones are left? Let's tell the truth!"
"More than 100 pieces of iron armor, more than 300 pieces of leather armor, more than 800 swords and spears, 600 bows, and 200 crossbows."
It was also thanks to Zhang Shuye's army reorganization in the past two years, otherwise he really didn't know how much ordnance he still had in the arsenal that could be used.
The Xiang army in the Northern Song Dynasty was very lacking in weapons and equipment. Even the iron armor was not full-body armor, but half-body armor. It was only inlaid with iron armor on the chest, and the shoulders and thighs were covered with bamboo pieces.
This kind of armor is enough to deal with bandits, but it cannot be used on the battlefield.
"Gone?"
Zhao Ting's movement of drinking tea was stagnant.
"Gone."
Luo Sha shook his head.
Snapped!
Zhao Ting put down the teacup heavily and frowned: "The huge Zhenjun army has only five hundred armors and less than a thousand swords and guns?"
"Xianggong Zhao, Xiang Jun was born to a concubine, and these weapons were left behind when Emperor Shenzong was on the throne." Luo Sha shouted to Tianqu.
It's really not his fault.
Emperor Shenzong was a few decades old, and it is already very good that these weapons are still left.
As for the annual appropriation from the imperial court, by the time it fell into his hands, there was not much left.
Luo Shayin's product has some taste. This is about drills and ordnance. Is it going to be a war?
Thinking of this, he hurriedly sneered: "My husband also knows what kind of character the Xiang army is. These people are just doing coolies because they are so picky, but they can't fight!"
Zhao Ting took a deep breath and ordered: "You should pay more attention in the past two days and find some craftsmen to repair and repair some of the ordnance that is not seriously damaged. I will be of great use by then."
"From the Ministry of Home Affairs."
Luo Sha quickly agreed.
Zhao Ting waved his hand: "Just step back."
"I resign from my humble position."
After bowing again, Luo Sha left the study in confusion.
After he left, Zhao Ting started writing a letter.
…
…
The next day.
Early in the morning, a long caravan left the county.
It was not peaceful at the moment, so Han Zhen sent more than a hundred soldiers to escort him.
Nowadays, uprisings are frequent, and bandits in various hills are ready to take action. If they are robbed halfway, they will lose all their money.
The channels have already been negotiated, and the refined salt will be divided into three batches and sent to Zichuan, Yidu and Qiancheng respectively.
After it was delivered, more than 40,000 yuan was immediately earned.
Except for 30% of Changzhi County's money, the rest was used to purchase grain, pig iron, coal, coarse salt and other materials locally and then transport them back.
Come and go, two or three days at most.
In the lobby of the county government office, Han Zhen was reading the urgent letter sent by Zhao Ting.
"Does Zhao Ting take me for granted?"
Han Zhen laughed angrily and threw away the letter in his hand.
Uncle Fu on the side picked up the letter and handed it to Changzhi County.
At first glance, Chang Zhixian raised his eyebrows slightly with a strange expression.
It’s no wonder that Han Zhen was so furious. Zhao Ting was no longer just asking for a lot of money, but he was asking for a lot of money. He asked for a hundred and twenty skewers for half armor, forty skewers for leather armor, ten skewers for long swords and spears, and as for the crossbow, it was even more exaggerated. Twenty strings.
You know, the price of ordnance is linked to the price of steel at that time.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, steel production was low, so the price of a pair of Mingguang armor was naturally high.
However, the current steel output is high, and a pound of pig iron on the market costs only thirty or fifty cents. In addition, various forging technologies and processes are becoming more mature, and the cost of ordnance is several times lower than in the Tang Dynasty.
Take infantry armor as an example. A complete armor including a mantle, slings, body armor and a collar, has a minimum weight of 38 kilograms. Taking into account losses, it is only the cost of pig iron materials. Just less than five strings.
Even if you include the cost of craftsmanship and miscellaneous materials, it costs more than thirty guan.
One hundred and twenty coins are enough for him to build four pairs of full-body armor!
When he captured Songshan Ridge earlier, Han Zhen had asked Blacksmith Yuan about the manufacturing prices of various weapons and ordnance, and he basically had an idea.
For example, strong crossbows are not difficult to make and the cost is very low. The cost of a good crossbow will not exceed two guan of gold, and an arrow will cost 70 gold.
After folding the letter and putting it into his sleeve, Chang Zhixian asked doubtfully: "Is Zhao Ting not planning to sell you off, or is he sure that you are in urgent need of weapons?"
The price offered was so outrageous that he was a little unsure of what Zhao Ting meant.
Han Zhen sneered: "I think he just wants money and goes crazy!"
"How are you doing?"
Chang Zhixian asked.
Han Zhen muttered: "Let him wait for a few days. If Zhao Ting doesn't respond, it means he really doesn't intend to sell."
"You can just wait and see what happens."
Chang Zhixian nodded in agreement.
After chatting for a few more words, Han Zhen left the lobby and went all the way to Bo Hall.
He and Chang Zhixian are very busy now.
Changzhi County is responsible for civil affairs, levying light corvees and low taxes, building water conservancy projects, and reclaiming wasteland.
Originally, there were many runaway households in the mountains. Recently, due to the imposition of Ding's money and the rebellion launched by the Black Mountain bandits, many people have fled into the mountains and become fugitives.
The population of Linzi County is already small, and after such a hassle, there are even fewer people.
Some villages were even completely deserted and became dead villages.
At present, Changzhi County is sending government officials and ordinary people into the mountains to publicize the situation, trying to attract the fleeing households from the mountains.
But so far, the results are not very good.
When the fugitive in the mountains saw the government servant, he ran faster than a rabbit. No matter what the government servant said, he would not go down the mountain.
Changzhi County plans to change its strategy and try another approach.
Han Zhen took the scribes and tax collectors to check the accounts.
Because the county's accounts were too confusing and complicated in the past, which made people's heads hurt, Han Zhen simply abandoned them and rebuilt the accounting system.
Han Zhen first set up a general ledger, which included the assets of the entire county.
Under the general ledger, the village is divided into several sub-accounts, including Xiaowang Village and Songshan Village.
After waiting, all accounts will be clear at a glance.
…
Two days in a row.
Zhao Ting waited and waited, but still couldn't wait for Han Zhen's reply, and he felt a little frustrated.
So, I revised another book.
Maybe he himself felt that the price was a bit outrageous and took the initiative to lower it.
Well, it really just dropped a bit. The iron armor dropped from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and ten.
When he received the letter, Han Zhen was checking accounts with the scribe in Bo Hall.
After opening the letter and glancing at it, he tore it into pieces and threw them into the wastebasket.
Goulon!
The scribe swallowed, secretly horrified.
He could clearly see that there was the Zhizhou seal printed on the letter just now.
Zhizhou actually had contacts with the county magistrate.
Throwing away the letter, Han Zhen continued: "The accounts of Xiaowang Village are wrong. Please take someone there. When you get there, just look for Zhu Zhengze. He will cooperate with you to clear the accounts."
"Got the order!"
The clerk clasped his fists in response and hurried out of the hall.
At this moment, a government official trotted in and said with an anxious expression: "County Magistrate, I dare you to besiege Qiancheng County with your army. Zhu Yuanwai is now trapped in the city and cannot come back!"
(End of chapter)
