After Yue Fei was settled, Wang Xiao went to the official hall and summoned Wang Ruohai and Wang Yan to discuss matters.
As soon as the two entered the official hall, Wang Ruohai hurriedly asked: "Did Xuanfu promise Yue Kuan to give him artillery?"
Wang Xiaolie nodded. Said: "They want cannons to defeat the Jin Army. This is something that benefits the country and the people. How can I refuse?"
Wang Ruohai said: "But if they have cannons, their combat power will greatly increase, and they may even surpass us. By then, many things will be difficult to say."
Wang Xiaolie looked at Wang Ruohai, then at Wang Yan, and saw that the two of them had similar expressions. He couldn't help but sigh: "Staff, Secretary, do you think it's because our army has artillery that it is better than others? After so many years of founding the army, the only one that used artillery was the Battle of Jingxi. Is the previous record so bad? ?”
Wang Ruohai hurriedly said: "Of course not! However, artillery is indeed a battlefield artifact and cannot be taken lightly!"
Wang Yan also said: "Xuanfu, although the army has won battles before, compared with having artillery, the victory is still very difficult. With artillery, whether it is Liu Yu's army or Li's army in Junzhou, Zhong, they all fell in one battle. Even if you turn off the speed and are blocked by artillery in the city of Shaanzhou, there is nothing you can do. How can they compare?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "I have never denied the role of artillery, otherwise I would not have paid such a high price and there are so many equipments in the army. However, although artillery is a sharp weapon on the battlefield, it cannot be relied on. It can truly determine the victory on the battlefield. The loser is our army, our officers and men. As long as all the officers and men in the army have strong beliefs, sufficient training, and reasonable command, there will be a basis for winning the war. At this time, having artillery in the army is the icing on the cake, and This is not a help in times of need. You must remember that neither artillery nor other weapons determine victory or defeat on the battlefield."
Wang Yan said: "Despite this, it is still different whether such a sharp weapon is in our army or in someone else's army."
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "You have to understand that if the Jin army robbed the artillery and had the plans, they would be able to equip a lot of them very quickly. At this time, if the other generals did not have artillery, they might be beaten by the Jin army. Caught off guard. All said and done, we had to give."
After a moment of silence, Wang Ruohai said: "When Xi Shenzheng was here, although Xuanfu said that he was loyal to the imperial court, there was no respect in his words. At this time, if the imperial court had artillery in its hands, I'm afraid something unexpected would happen. "
Wang Xiaolie said earnestly and sincerely: "Do you think that I said casually that if the Holy One can unite the subjects, restore the Central Plains in the Northern Expedition, and avenge the humiliation of Jingkang, I can let the court handle it? No. If the court can do it, it is the best thing in the world. Fu, why should I care about myself?"
Wang Ruohai and Wang Yan looked at each other and shook their heads, unable to say anything else.
Wang Xiaolie also sighed secretly in his heart. Wang Xiaolie couldn't tell whether it was for the sake of the common people in the world and not caring about himself, or because he believed that Zhao Gou couldn't do it, so he said this. If Zhao Gou really did it, it's hard to say whether he would hesitate or whether he would be killed.
what is the relationship? Things in this world are so difficult and unclear. If you can’t explain it, you can’t explain it clearly, so what’s the point? As long as what you do is worthy of the world, you don't have to worry too much.
After a moment of silence, Wang Xiaolie said: "I have promised Yue Fei that a cannon will cost one thousand six hundred feet. When I see the money, I start making cannons. They give money, either copper coins or gold and silver. If there is no money, there will be no money." gun--"
Wang Ruohai couldn't help but frown after hearing this: "One thousand six hundred dollars, we don't make much."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Cannons are used to defeat the Jin Army. We don't expect to use them to make money. As long as we can ensure that we don't lose money, and the original factory can provide monetary compensation after transferring other machines, that will be enough. One cannon One thousand six hundred guan, I won’t make much, but I won’t lose money either.”
When calculating the materials, Wang Xiaolie would of course go into more detail. For example, when money is spent to cast a cannon, the material used is not pure copper. Copper only accounts for 80%, and the rest is lead and tin. Wang Xiaolie did not count the other materials of the money, only pure copper. The artillery in Wang Xiao's hunting army cost less than a thousand guan each. But at this time, if the cost of one thousand guan was Wang Xiaolie's request for 3,000 guan, it would not be considered a sin. One thousand, six hundred guan was indeed a conscientious price.
Wang Ruohai said: "Sixteen hundred guan will not be a loss. However, if we need hundreds of guans at once, how can we do it?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "It was originally impossible. It depends on the amount of money each army brings, and it is produced in installments. Look at it being September. It would be a great thing to deliver it to each army before the year. I think, in order to prevent the Jin Army For a sudden attack, it is enough to give each army one or twenty gates as soon as possible."
After saying that, after thinking for a while, Wang Xiaolie added: "If the money is enough, and if any army needs it urgently, we can give them the cannon from our army."
Wang Yan said hurriedly: "How can this be done? If there are no cannons in the army, what will happen if there is a war?"
Wang Xiaolie shook his head with a smile: "Secretary, where will there be a big war this winter? The Jin Army in Hedong has no artillery this year. How can it dare to fight? Liu Yu in the north, even if it is equipped with artillery, the Jin Army will not be able to fight. Don’t dare to go south.”
Wang Ruohai said: "The artillery for the army is nothing. Originally, after the First World War in Jingxi, many artillery broke down, and the new artillery has many improvements. In the past six months, in order to prepare artillery for the newly established army, many artillery pieces were built. . The armies brought the money, and we cast it again."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "That's right. We must try our best to provide artillery to all armies, and at the same time, we must not treat ourselves badly."
If so many artillery were suddenly needed, Wang Xiaolie would be extremely benevolent to the court if he didn't take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. Being able to bring out the artillery in one's own army for emergencies is a sign of loyalty to the court. If the generals make further demands, it will be too much.
Yue Fei returned to the post house and carefully considered Wang Xiaolie's words. He knew in his heart that even if he had a relationship with Wang Xiaolie, he would still have to make the transaction in cash. Why did Wang Xiaolie put so much emphasis on destroying money to make cannons? Just tell yourself that the money must be sent to Luoyang as soon as possible. Without money, there will be no cannons.
The only way to transport copper coins from Ezhou was by water, which took too long. Yue Fei thought about it and wrote a letter to Wang Gui. Ask him to exchange the cash in the army for gold and silver, about thirty thousand taels, and ask Xu Qing to send it over. Don't take the water route, change horses along the way, and get to Luoyang as quickly as possible.
In a few days, Jie Yuan and others will arrive. It would be bad if they had money or other means to get ahead of themselves. Wang Xiaolie's production capacity is limited. Of course, the sooner the money arrives, the sooner he can get the cannon.
One hundred cannons cost 160,000 yuan. Yue Fei couldn't afford so much money at once, so he could only slowly think of a way.
Yue Fei's territory, Qi and Huangzhou, had been ravaged by Li Cheng and Kong Yanzhou for several years. It was also after the war, and they could not collect money in a short time. Jinghu North Road has also experienced many wars in recent years, and Yue Fei is new here. It is not easy to raise money in a short time. Yue Fei was very envious of Wang Xiaolie. He used Huizi to rule and kept his copper coins in the bank, so he would never be short of money. However, Wang Xiaolie's methods could be learned from other places, including the imperial court, but they could not be copied. In recent years, the imperial court has issued several huizi, which cannot stabilize the currency value at all. In less than a year, these huizi will depreciate massively, no matter what.
(Sure enough, it’s Yang. There’s only one update today. Sorry. The updates may not be stable these days. I’m sorry.)
(End of chapter)
