Zheng Tie put down the teacup in his hand, picked up the letter, opened it, and took a look.
This is a letter of appointment with the seal of the Tiger Flag on it.
What surprised him was that it was not a captain-level appointment, but a director-level appointment.
It can be said that from the moment he got this appointment letter, he was at the same level as Yang Yuan and Zhao Yutu from the Logistics Bureau and others, including the two captains of the Thousand-Man Team, who were all in the same department as him. class.
Yang Yuan on the side said with a smile: "In the future, we will have more people at the bureau level of the Tiger Character Banner, Brother Zheng."
"You're welcome, Yang Tou." Zheng Tie bowed, not showing any signs of humiliation in front of Yang Yuan.
Although the two men are both at the bureau level of Tiger Character Banner, their statuses are obviously different.
He has only one level at the director level. He has less than two squadrons of soldiers under his command, and there is also a fortune ship under construction. Apart from that, there is nothing, not even a thousand-man team. Not even a captain.
On the other hand, Yang Yuan controls the foreign intelligence bureau of the Tiger Character Banner, reports directly to the head of the family on matters, and is also a close confidant of the head of the family. Even though the two people are now at the same level, they still have a lot of status within the Tiger Character Banner. Big gap.
Yang Yuan looked serious and said: "The master keeps you here because he trusts you, not to compensate you. The master also asked me to tell you to train more sailors. From now on, the tiger flag will have more than one sea." Boat."
"Yes." Zheng Tie nodded solemnly.
He had thought before that the headmaster's decision to keep him in Tianjin Wei was to compensate him for staying in Tianjin Wei. Now after listening to Yang Yuan's words, he realized that this was not the case, but that the headmaster attached great importance to what he was doing. .
Yang Yuan picked up the tea, blew it on, and said: "Tomorrow I will accompany Mr. Li back to Lingqiu. If you have anything, you can tell shopkeeper Zhang in the shop. He is the shopkeeper arranged here by the Foreign Intelligence Agency. For the convenience of cooperating with you."
Zheng Tie nodded and immediately said, "How many ships are you planning to build?"
"Then it's up to you." Yang Yuan put down the tea cup in his hand.
Zheng Tie looked puzzled.
Yang Yuan continued: "What the boss means is that if possible, it is best to build a dock yourself. However, Tiger Flag will not give you any more money, but it will allow you to retain the profits from sea trade and use it for shipbuilding and training." sailor."
"I'm afraid this will not be easy." Zheng Tie frowned and said, "There is no shortage of money. The key is that shipbuilding masters and sailors cannot be obtained overnight. Only Zheng Qianhu's two ships can train them. It takes too long to set sail.”
Yang Yuan smiled and said: "Otherwise, why would the boss promote you to the bureau level? Our Tiger Flag doesn't have many bureau levels in total."
"Yes." Zheng Tie rubbed his palms.
If it were something that could be easily accomplished, even a director-level person like him would not be convinced.
Yang Yuan picked up the teapot at hand, poured a cup of tea, and said, "There are more than a dozen Folangji people living in the shop. Are these the cannon casters you brought back? I think many of them are missionaries."
Zheng Tie said: "Louis and Simang are the cannon makers I brought back. The others are missionaries who took a boat from Xiangshan'ao to Tianjin Wei. However, each of these missionaries has some skills, especially Tang Ruowang, who is not only a mathematician but also a mathematician." He's awesome, he can also forge cannons, and that Bruce knows something called geometry. He said that after learning this geometry, the gunner can shoot the cannon very accurately."
Hearing this, Yang Yuan's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked: "Are these missionaries also going to Lingqiu?"
Zheng Tie nodded with a smile and said: "Originally, these missionaries were going to the capital to get the emperor's permission to preach in the Ming Dynasty. Later, they were deceived by Zhang Dun, who was beside Mr. Li, and finally agreed to visit Lingqiu."
"This is a good thing. In the words of our boss, this is called talent. The more they come, the better." Yang Yuan said with a smile, "You have made a great contribution this time. When you went to Xiangshan Ao, you not only got a cannon caster, but also a cannon caster. You still get a dozen missionaries back for nothing.”
Zheng Tie laughed.
Before, he thought that the cannon-caster's matter was the most difficult to deal with. Unexpectedly, he saw Zheng Yiguan in Xiangshan'ao and easily helped him get two cannon-casters.
Similarly, if Zheng Yiguan had not said that these missionaries were very capable, he would not have let these missionaries board the ship, let alone have the opportunity to take these missionaries to Datong.
……………………
Outside the gate of Zuixian Tower in Xuan Mansion, carriages from various families in Xuan Mansion were parked on the street in front of the door.
"It's right here!" Tian Shenglan raised his head and glanced at the plaque in front of Zuixian Tower.
Huang Yunfa on the side took out an invitation, took a look at it, and said, "Yes, Fan Yongdou is here to entertain all the proprietors doing business in Xuanfu."
"Go in." Chen Liyun said, taking the first step and walking in.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, the waiter inside greeted them, stopped a few people, and said apologetically: "Guys, the restaurant has been booked tonight and is closed."
"I know, we are here for a banquet." Tian Shenglan handed over the invitation.
After seeing the invitation, the waiter put on a smile and said, "Since we are here for a banquet, please invite some of you inside. Boss Fan is upstairs, and the younger one will take some of you over."
"No need." Tian Shenglan stepped past the waiter and walked towards the wooden stairs in front.
Chen Liyun and Huang Yunfa followed closely behind.
As soon as the three people climbed up the stairs to the second floor, they saw a person guarding the stairs.
They had all seen this person before, he was the housekeeper beside Fan Yongdou.
"Three proprietors, please come inside. Seats have been arranged at the main table." Manager Fan said with a smile, turned around and walked in front to lead the way.
Tian Shenglan turned around and looked at Chen Liyun and Huang Yunfa before following them.
There were already many people sitting on several tables on the second floor of the restaurant. As soon as the three of them appeared, everyone saw them, and the scene suddenly became quiet.
Butler Fan came to Fan Yongdou and whispered: "Master, Boss Tian, Boss Chen, and Boss Huang are here."
Fan Yongdou raised his head, looked at Tian Shenglan who was walking in the front, and said with a smile: "Master Tian, please take a seat, the only thing missing is the three of you. You will have to punish yourself with three drinks in a while."
"Forget it about drinking. I haven't been in good health recently, so I stopped drinking." After saying that, Tian Shenglan walked to an empty seat at the main table and sat down expressionlessly.
Standing aside, Butler Fan's expression changed, and he was about to scold him when he heard Fan Yongdou say with a smile: "Since Boss Tian is not feeling well, then don't drink. Boss Chen, Boss Huang, you two are not feeling well too." Bar!"
"No, no." Huang Yunfa shook his head repeatedly.
Chen Liyun, who was standing next to Huang Yunfa, did not answer.
"You two, stop standing, please sit down!" Fan Yongdou raised his hand and motioned for them to sit down.
Huang Yunfa bowed his hands towards Fan Yongdou, and then sat down. Chen Liyun sat next to him.
At this time, Tian Shenglan asked: "I don't know what Mr. Fan is asking us to come to Zuixian Tower for?"
Unexpectedly, Fan Yongdou ignored him at all, raised his glass and stood up.
As soon as he got up, most people in the restaurant got up to accompany him.
Huang Yunfa, who was sitting between Tian Shenglan and Chen Liyun, hesitated for a moment and finally stood up.
"Everyone." Fan Yongdou raised his glass and said, "Fan invited you all here for no reason. It's because something big happened, and Fan had no choice but to take this step and invite you all here for discussion."
When the many proprietors present heard this, they all looked puzzled.
Fan Yongdou continued: "I wonder if all of you here have heard of the Tiger-Character Flag. This matter is related to the Tiger-Character Flag."
As the words fell, Tian Shenglan's expression suddenly changed.
