Helping the army transport military supplies is not a profitable business, especially for the early Han army operations, it is only a loss, and there are even huge risks. If the loss exceeds the regulations, or is overdue for no reason or even loses the baggage, it will also be a loss. If you are dealt with by military law, your head will be lost. It can be said that in the early days, Kang Ning fully supported the front line out of his "loyalty" to the court.
At that time, the imperial court was very poor and could not afford much extra money for the transportation of materials. The army's material transportation was mainly through free labor, corvee service, and auxiliary soldiers eliminated from the army reorganization.
It was rare at the time for people like Kang Ning to take the initiative to get involved. Many people even made fun of him, thinking that this person was crazy. But Kang Ning didn't care about this. Just like a gambler, he put his wealth and destiny on the Han Dynasty, which was still in trouble internally and externally and was in turmoil.
Not only the Battle of Pingdu, but also the subsequent suppression of the rebellion in Hezhong, the two counterattacks against Shu, and even the support of Youzhou. Kang Ning took his servants to participate, running between the front and the rear. The overall proportion is not large, but it still plays a supplementary role in the transfer of the imperial baggage and is an active support for the officers and soldiers' expeditions east and west.
It was a real loss. The part of the transfer money allocated by the Ministry of War could not make ends meet, and part of it was withheld.
However, there was no light in the east and light in the west. Taking advantage of the opportunity of transferring baggage, Kang Ning could walk openly on the Han army's transportation line. With the approval issued by the court, he could pass through various places without any hindrance, and he could do business and sell goods normally. Most of the troubles that could be encountered have been avoided. After all, what stands behind is the imperial court under the wartime system, and the backer is the army. In the environment that has not yet emerged from the martial arts era, there is no more solid backer than weapons.
In this process, it is normal and even natural to bring in some private goods while completing the military supplies transportation task. As for this part of the goods, there is no need to pay taxes, and it can avoid exploitation at various checkpoints. No matter how bold the local officials are, no matter how arrogant the feudal town is, they will not dare to draw blood from the "military supplies" of the imperial imperial army... .
As for Kang Ning's private actions, it was not that there were no reports, but they were all suppressed. Of course, the court must protect such "loyal people".
Of course, for Kang Ning's career to develop greatly and his wealth to grow explosively, he had to expand with the expansion of the imperial court after the imperial court calmed down the internal strife and faced external aggression.
The Battle of Huainan can be seen as a beginning. The main business of transporting grain, grass and baggage for the army is still the main business, but the various "side businesses" accompanying it have significantly increased. After all, the previous wars were basically based on the territory, and many means could not be used. from.
Huainan was different. At that time, it belonged to the "Tang Dynasty", which was an enemy country and enemy people. Although Emperor Liu regarded it as his own territory from the beginning, the soldiers below, especially some at the bottom with a "simple" understanding The officers and soldiers are not so aware.
At that time, the Han Dynasty, ranging from high-ranking officials and nobles to peddlers and foot soldiers, were all hungry and thirsty. The Han army that went out to war, named Wang Shi, was ordered to fight against rebellion, but in reality it was a vicious wolf with green eyes. Huainan is a big piece of fat.
Although the Han army has been consciously restrained, it is only a big aspect. It is impossible for Qiu to commit no crimes. Even if Zhao Kuangyin's army, which took the lead in attacking Yangzhou, did not loot wantonly under Zhao Kuangyin's strict restraint, in fact there were still The action of "tricking grass in the valley" was learned from the Khitan people. Some rules of war cannot be easily challenged, otherwise it will easily cause chaos.
The common people have no money, so merchants and rich peasants can always "borrow" some; the wise men and women in the county cannot be touched lightly, and those die-hards who disobey the king will always confiscate their homes and exterminate their clans; the things in the official warehouses cannot be touched, and the soldiers are "captured on the battlefield" We always have to get a share of the pie.
Therefore, all the gains made by the Han army in the Huainan War can be basically divided into three parts. The imperial court accounted for the majority, the army accounted for the small portion, and the remaining part was reserved for Huainan Road, which had newly become the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty.
Among them, people like Kang Ning followed the court and the army to eat some scraps of cold soup and drink some leftover soup and water, but even so, it was enough to eat and drink enough, and even burst their stomachs.
Look at what Kang Ning did in the Huainan War for more than half a year. In addition to transporting baggage, he "organized" civilian reinforcements on the spot, raised military supplies, and even killed the defeated soldiers of the Tang Army and guarded the prisoners. Maintained city law and order...
From one aspect, war is costly, but from some aspects, it is a hugely profitable business. As the victorious party, everyone involved was well fed, but those who suffered losses and injuries were the miserable Jiangnan court and thousands of people in Jiangbei and Huainan.
And Kang Ning only collected various "trophies" from the officers and soldiers. After all, even excluding the part that was handed over, the amount of things in the hands of the grassroots officers and soldiers was huge. When the Han army was in Huainan, not to mention scraping three feet of ground, half of it After all, there is.
For soldiers, compared with floating wealth such as gold, silver, money, and silk, there are many things that are inconvenient to carry and are a burden on the march. It is best if they can be liquidated, and Corning just meets the needs of some officers and soldiers... ....
In this process, it is reasonable for him to earn some profits, but the average Qiu Ba does not care about the twists and turns behind the transaction, and only focuses on the money he gets.
After the Battle of Huainan ended, the army returned triumphantly, and the officers and soldiers who managed to return to the capital alive had huge pockets. Similarly, many merchants in the capital were interested in those "trophies", and even the three envoys had to sell part of the trophies to make up for it. Finance, prepare pensions and rewards.
Smart people like Corning have already done this kind of business in Huainan.
With the experience of the Huainan War, I will be even more comfortable in doing these things later. Taking Jingxiang, taking over Hunan, and destroying Meng and Shu were all common patterns. Even Hunan, which was already in decline at the time, allowed Corning to produce a lot of "special products." And behind the chaos after the pacification of Shu, In a gluttonous carnival, the soldiers of the Han Dynasty suppressed the rebellion and made meritorious service, while "officials and businessmen" like Kang Ning gnawed like vultures on the leftover rotten meat plowed by the army.
By the time of the First Northern Expedition, the Han Dynasty had a lot of financial resources and began to fight for wealth. At that time, in order to meet the transportation needs of the Northern Expedition's military supplies, the pressure was shared through private car and ship caravans, which were larger in scale and in terms of price. It also made a profit.
But at that time, it was no longer possible to participate casually. Except for people like Corning who got on the car early, those who were qualified were caravans composed of some backed by powerful people or simply retired officers and soldiers, and those loose ships and loose trucks , just through these people to make a living.
Of course, this is still just a supplement to transportation capacity. They are more efficient and have less loss. It's just that the imperial court couldn't rely on these merchants and caravans for key supplies and army logistics. The most important ones were the baggage troops and dozens or millions of local civilians. These were just servants. In the early stage, the imperial court basically only had to bear the transshipment distance. For the losses incurred after the war, a certain amount of pension will need to be paid according to the situation.
What is different from making war fortune in the past is that during the First Northern Expedition, Corning was very restrained, so he avoided being like some unscrupulous businessmen and was put in the end of hoarding or even treason. He kept all his property. The family will be ruined and people will be destroyed, and they will perish forever.
Corning's efforts were made after the war to help clean up the battlefields, especially large battlefields such as Nankou and Jinzhou. There are many good things that are left or missing. Sensitive things are not allowed to be touched, but those with dual military and civilian uses are fine. Organize with confidence and boldness.
After many battles of the Han army, some ordinary surplus materials were directly distributed to the soldiers and civilians accompanying the army and the local people, not to mention damaged grain, wood, clothing, iron, dead and injured horses and livestock.
After thirty years of such ups and downs, when the Han unified the north and south, conquered the Khitan in the north, and the world gradually settled down, Kang Ning's accumulated wealth was already considerable.
So Corning began to try to transform. In Wang Yansheng's impression, the "fur goods seller" was the business that Corning later started, specializing in collecting all kinds of high-quality furs and making various leather goods. For this purpose, several large factories were specially built. Manual processing factory.
Most of the leather goods produced are sold to arms workshops under the Ministry of War and the military, which are large consumers of leather goods. For civilian use, they focus on the high-end market. After more than ten years, they have become the leader in the high-end leather goods market in Han City. ....
