"Yes." Chen Daqing said, "If we want to stand firm on Dajuan Island, we must have powerful sea ships. We cannot rely on Fuzhou, unless we can be like Li Dan, with tens of thousands of sailors and thousands of ships under his command. , relying on the large number of people and large ships, it is possible to fight the red-haired barbarians offshore."
"This is impossible." Yang Yuan said, "Sailors cannot be cultivated overnight, and the red-haired barbarians will never allow a second force like Li Dan to exist. Even Li Dan will not allow another force on the sea to exist. A force like him appears."
Zhao Yutu was speechless this time.
He believed that Chen Daqing would not joke about this kind of thing. He could only say that the situation on Dayuan Island was not as good as he imagined, and it was also full of crises.
"Can you withdraw all the people from Da Yuan Island?" Huang Zhong asked tentatively.
"impossible."
Without waiting for others to speak, Zhao Yutu took the lead in rejecting Huang Zhong's proposal.
Over the past year or so, Hu Ziqi has invested a lot of energy and spent countless money on Da Yuan Island. Withdrawing it now means that the money spent previously was wasted.
Once they withdraw their large number of people, it will definitely affect sea trade. This will have an impact on the Tiger Flag as much as if there is a problem with the commercial road on the grassland, and it will also cut off most of the sea trade revenue.
Liu Heng turned the teapot in his hand and said: "Arrange for Xu Xuewu to go to Pi Island and exchange grain and weapons for big wood. I believe Mao Wenlong will be willing to do this deal."
Yang Yuan on the side said: "Liaodong is mostly deep mountains and old forests, and the most indispensable thing is big trees. It can be said that there are many, but they are not worth much. As long as Mao Wenlong is not stupid, he will not object, but his subordinates are worried that he will take advantage of us. Now Jiangdong Kaizhen, Mao Wenlong was promoted to deputy general, and several businesses have already suffered losses on Pidao."
"It doesn't matter!" Liu Heng waved his hand and said, "As long as it's not too much, let him. If it's too much, give him a warning through Wei Zhongxian."
Hu Ziqi has invested so much time in Wei Zhongxian, and he believes that Wei Zhongxian will not refuse such a small thing.
"Proprietor," Huang Zhong said aloud, "How to solve the lack of silver in the Weapons Bureau? Once the silver is cut off, it will definitely affect the number of soldiers and armor."
He couldn't use the money earned from sea trade, and the weapons bureau was short of money, and the shortfall was not a small amount. He had no choice but to ask Liu Heng for advice.
He was just a blacksmith before and couldn't think of a way to get money.
Zhao Yutu said: "The food, meat and eggs consumed by several soldier camps every day cost a lot of money, and the monthly salary is a huge expense. As the several soldier camps gradually become full, More money will be needed in the future, and the Logistics Bureau is also somewhat unable to make ends meet."
"Don't you still have the money from Xu Tong? It's all used up so quickly!" Liu Heng frowned.
Zhao Yutu said with a wry smile: "To be honest, Xu Tong has already spent most of the money, and the remaining money is only enough for two months at most."
Hearing this, Liu Heng frowned.
He didn't expect Xu Tong's money to be so useless. Not long after it passed, it was almost used.
Huang Zhong, who was standing next to Zhao Yutu, hesitated for a moment and said, "Why don't we think of a way to prepare meals? For several soldiers in the camp, why not change it to one meal of meat every three days, and then change the three meals to two. This will save a lot of money.”
"No." Zhao Yutu shook his head and said, "Now our soldiers have long been accustomed to eating meat and eggs every day, three meals a day. If it is changed to two meals a day, some people will not be able to bear it and cause trouble. Then the problem will be even greater. big."
Liu Heng nodded in agreement and said: "That's right, the food of the soldiers cannot be withheld. Nowadays, several soldiers' camps are training their troops. If the food is withheld, the bodies of the soldiers below will not be able to bear it. .”
"There is another way." Huang Zhong said, "If we can delay one month's salary, we can still save a lot of money."
Liu Heng shook his head and said: "Not only can we not deduct food, but we cannot deduct military pay. Otherwise, what is the difference between us and the frontier army? Once the soldiers below are dissatisfied with us because of the pay, then who will be willing to give us tiger characters in the future? Flag does things.”
As he spoke, his tone became more severe.
Many people are aware of the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty army. If Hu Ziqi follows the example of the frontier army and treats the soldiers below, he is really seeking death. Therefore, he will never allow this to happen to the soldiers of Tiger Zi Banner. .
Zhao Yutu turned his head to look at Huang Zhong and said: "Don't talk about such bad ideas in the future. Our tiger-shaped flag cannot use the same style as the border army. Otherwise, what is the difference between us and the border army? The soldiers below How can you be willing to work for the Tiger Flag?"
Huang Zhong lowered his head in shame.
He was also in a hurry and sought medical treatment. He was really forced by money to have no other options, so he suggested these two methods.
Liu Heng tapped his fingers on the outer wall of the teapot in his hand, pondered for a moment, and said, "Isn't Fan Yongdou planning to send a caravan to the grassland? He can also make some money with this batch of goods."
Fan Yongdou's caravan in Datong has not yet reached the grassland, and in his heart this batch of goods already belongs to the Tiger Flag.
"Fan Yongdou's little goods are just a drop in the bucket and can't be used for long. Moreover, those goods cannot be turned into money so quickly. They still need to be sold to Beilu." Zhao Yutu said.
"There are still cattle and sheep from the Hatan tribe." Liu Heng said, "You can sell these cattle and sheep to the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Wu!"
With that said, he shouted towards the door.
"My subordinate is here." Zhao Wu walked in from the door.
Liu Heng said: "Arrange someone to go to the grassland to find Deputy Director Li, and ask the Deputy Director to send the cattle and sheep from the Hatan Department to Daming as soon as possible."
"Yes, I will make arrangements right away." Zhao Wu agreed and retreated from the room.
At this time, Zhao Yutu said: "The Hatan tribe still has horses. If we get the horses back and sell them, we can make more money."
Liu Heng thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "Those horses cannot be sold, they must be left to our own cavalry. The cavalry in the armored cavalry battalion is still too few, at least there must be more than a thousand people."
"What a pity." Zhao Yutu sighed.
War horses are far more popular than cattle and sheep in the Ming Dynasty, and the price is also much higher.
Yang Yuan said: "Master, who will inform Xu Xuewu? Why not let people from the Foreign Intelligence Bureau go to Dagokou?"
"That's fine." Liu Heng nodded in agreement and said, "Go ahead and make arrangements!"
"My subordinates will make arrangements now." Yang Yuan said.
Liu Heng nodded.
Yang Yuan retreated from the signing room.
Although Zhao Yutu and Huang Zhong did not receive any money from the sea trade, having the cattle and sheep from the Hatan Department relieved their pressure, so they proposed to resign.
The Logistics Bureau and the Ordnance Bureau still have a lot of things that they need to do.
After several people left, only Chen Daqing and Liu Heng were left in the signing room.
At this time, Liu Heng said to Chen Daqing with a solemn expression: "How is Zheng Tie's situation on Dayuan Island?"
The situation he was talking about was no longer the situation that Chen Daqing told others before. Instead, he was asking whether the other party had betrayed the Tiger Flag and gained independence.
