Mao Chenglu said: "My son also tried to persuade me, but the people in the Tiger Character Banner refused to listen and insisted on sending people to Kuandian."
"You agreed?" Mao Wenlong looked at Mao Chenglu.
Mao Chenglu leaned forward and said, "I don't dare to make the decision in private, so I came here to ask my adoptive father to make the decision."
Withdrawing his gaze, Mao Wenlong held the lid of the cup with two fingers, stirred the tea in the lidded bowl, and asked, "What do you think of this matter?"
Mao Chenglu hesitated for a moment and then said: "Haier thinks we should reject the Tiger Character Banner's proposal and not allow them to send people to Kuandian."
"Tell me the reason." Mao Wenlong picked up the bowl, put it to his mouth and took a sip.
Mao Chenglu said: "Huzi Banner is just a business from Datong. They came to Dongjiang Town for our big trees. If they go to Kuandian and let them cut down the big trees, it will definitely affect our big wood business in Dongjiang Town." .”
"Well, that makes some sense." Mao Wenlong nodded.
Mao Chenglu continued: "It is precisely because they proposed to arrange manpower in Kuandian that the children here can't even mention the increase in the price of big wood."
"What does Chen Zhong mean?" Mao Wenlong asked.
Mao Chenglu said: "Chen Zhong didn't say anything, but the big trees sold to Huzi Banner have always come from Tieshan. Now Huzi Banner wants to cut down the big trees in Kuandian. Chen Zhong probably doesn't want the people of Huzi Banner. Go to Kuandian.”
"That's right. If the tiger-character flag goes to Kuandian, it will affect Chen Zhong's profit from the big wood." Mao Wenlong tapped the outer wall of the tureen with his fingers and said, "It seems that Chen Zhong deliberately blocked the tiger-character flag several times. The big wood of the flag makes the people of Tiger Flag flag dissatisfied.”
At this time, a soldier came in from outside, holding a tureen in his hand, put it next to Mao Chenglu, and stepped aside.
"Drink tea and get rid of the smell of alcohol on your body." Mao Wenlong raised his finger and pointed.
Mao Chenglu picked up the bowl, put it to his mouth, took a small sip, took it away, and said: "The Tiger Flag wants to get enough big trees, so it requires our Dongjiang Town, even if you don't let the Tiger Flag If people go to Kuandian, they probably don’t dare to have any dissatisfaction.”
"I dare not say dissatisfaction with my mouth, but there must be dissatisfaction in my heart." Mao Wenlong said lightly.
After saying that, he picked up the bowl in his hand, blew on the hot air, brought it to his mouth and took a sip.
Mao Chenglu said: "As long as the people in the Tiger Flag want to continue building ships, big wood will be in urgent need. They can only ask our Dongjiang Town. Only our Dongjiang Town can provide them with enough big wood."
"You don't have to ask us. Don't forget, there is Houjin!" Mao Wenlong said, "Now the situation in Liaodong is obviously that Houjin has the advantage. Guangning can only defend passively and cannot send troops to fight in the field. As for Dongjiang Town, Outsiders don’t know clearly, but you and I know best. At most, it’s just a sneak attack when Hou Jin is not paying attention. We in Dongjiang Town are no match for Hou Jin.”
"The people in the Tiger Flag should not be so bold!" Mao Chenglu frowned and said, "Aren't they afraid of being beheaded by the court for colluding with Hou Jin?"
"Hmph, businessmen are chasing profits. There is nothing these businessmen dare not do." Mao Wenlong snorted coldly.
Mao Chenglu said hesitantly: "So, we in Dongjiang Town can only agree with Tiger Character Banner to send people to Kuandian."
"Promise them!" Mao Wenlong said, "The quality of Tiger Character Banner's armor is good, and it is urgently needed for Dongjiang Town. You go back and tell the people of Tiger Character Banner that they can arrange manpower to Kuandian, but Tiger Character Banner There will be one hundred sets of armor for the flag."
"Yes, I will tell Xu Xuewu when I get back and ask them to prepare a hundred sets of armor and send them to Pi Island." Mao Chenglu stood up.
Mao Wenlong raised his hand and pointed to the bowl of tea on the table, and said: "After drinking the tea, don't waste it. This is new tea given to me by Mr. Wang."
Mao Chenglu grabbed the tureen beside him, took off the lid, and drank the tea in one gulp like a cow.
Wiping a handful of tea that flowed from the corner of his mouth, he said: "Father, please rest, my son, please leave."
Mao Wenlong nodded.
Mao Chenglu bowed out of the room.
When he came to the door, he said to the soldiers he brought with him: "Come back with me."
After talking for a while and drinking a cup of strong tea, Mao Chenglu felt that his head felt much better than when he came, and his steps were much lighter when he went back.
When he returned to his yard and came into the house, he saw Xu Xuewu sitting at the table drinking tea, while Chen Zhong was lying on the table with most of his body, his eyes looking straight ahead, obviously drunk.
"You two, help General Chen to the bed." Mao Chenglu ordered the two soldiers in the room.
His house is not as elegant as a civil servant's house, and there is no separate room such as a living room. The place where several people eat is the main room where they sleep.
There was an earthen kang built in the house, which was used for boiling water and cooking. A lot of firewood was burned in the stove, so the kang was warm.
Chen Zhong was carried to the bed by two soldiers and covered with a quilt. Soon he started snoring.
Mao Chenglu withdrew his gaze from Chen Zhong, turned to Xu Xuewu on the table, and said, "Do you have to send people to Kuandian to cut down the trees?"
Xu Xuewu did not answer directly, but asked: "Does the Commander-in-Chief agree to meet with the civilians?"
"The adoptive father did not agree to see you." Mao Chenglu changed his tone and said, "However, the adoptive father allowed you to send people from the Tiger Flag to Kuandian. As a condition, you need to send one hundred sets of the Tiger Flag to Pi Island. Armor."
He was a qualified soldier general, but not a qualified businessman. One hundred sets of armor was Mao Wenlong's request, so he directly told Xu Xuewu about one hundred sets of armor without making any changes in the number.
"A hundred sets?" Xu Xuewu frowned and shook his head and said, "A hundred sets are too many. It will be difficult to get so many in a short time."
Naturally, he could bring out a hundred sets of armor and tiger-character flags. This time, there were more than a hundred sets of armor on the ship that came with him to Pi Island. But he didn't want to agree to Mao Chenglu so easily. If he agreed easily, it would only make Dongjiang uncomfortable. The people in the town felt that the request they made was too simple, and they would put forward more stringent conditions next time.
When Mao Chenglu saw Xu Xuewu rejecting his conditions, his face darkened and he said: "One hundred sets of armor is my adoptive father's request. If you, Tiger Character Banner, want to send people to Kuandian, you must agree to this condition."
Xu Xuewu showed hesitation, and kept tapping the back of his hand with his fingers. He pondered for a long time before saying: "A hundred sets are really too many, and it is difficult to get them all at once. How about sending the hundred sets of armor in several times?" Pi Dao, this time the grassroots brought fifteen sets on board, give them to the general first, and the rest will be made up later."
One hundred sets of armor is not a small number. If Tiger Flag had not had many hydraulic machines, it would have been difficult to build so many armors in a short period of time.
