Ma Xianglin told Han Zhongwen and Zheng Haizhu that when he returned to the capital in autumn, the Ministry of War was not only mobilizing soldiers from the northern border towns, but also intended to mobilize soldiers from the south.
He looked at Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Azhu, the rough-and-tumble General Mao last time was General Liaodong. Did he tell you about the situation on the Jurchen side of Jianzhou?"
Zheng Haizhu nodded: "When General Mao sent me back, I didn't think he was a bad person, so I talked to him a bit on the way. He said that Nurhachi should not be underestimated, or it might become a big problem for Liaodong. The Jurchens invaded the south hundreds of years ago. Once upon a time, the Song Dynasty died because of this, and it is a good thing that the court has not taken it lightly now."
Ma Xianglin said: "It is said that Xu Guangqi and Xu Hanlin, who are unemployed in the capital, have written a memorial, warning the court to mobilize southern troops as soon as possible for defense. Shangguan, the head of the Ministry of War, informed me that Xu Hanlin specifically mentioned that Zhejiang troops and our Sichuan troops should be mobilized."
Zheng Haizhu met his eyes and instantly caught the different light flashing in his eyes. It actually had a little interesting meaning of asking for credit, and he immediately reacted.
"General Ma said he would help our Han government earn 'internal foreign exchange', but he wants to make cotton dark armor?"
Ma Xianglin pursed his lips and said, "That's right."
Then he turned to Han Zhongwen and said: "Mr. Han, Miss Azhu is really a good hand in business. A few months ago at the Gu family's Wenzhe Academy, she told me that if our Sichuan army one day wants to go north to defeat the captives, in Liaodong, In a bitterly cold place, the soldiers had to prepare dark armor made of cotton wrapped with iron sheets and filled with cotton wool. The cotton from Songjiang Prefecture had to be used. After the bandits were suppressed in Nanzhili, the Holy Spirit rewarded me with a thousand taels of silver, so I Take it out and try to make it into dark armor first, so as not to have to ask for payment from the superiors, but the gentlemen from the Ministry of War will peel off a layer and have to find another cotton merchant."
Nowadays, it has become an open rule that unless the officers leading troops in various places have solved the problem of military pay and military supplies by themselves, if they ask for money from the court, the Ministry of Household and Military Affairs and other departments must go to another level. There is nothing that cannot be said.
Therefore, for teams like the Shili Tusi Army, many commanders simply spent their own money to purchase the equipment for their sergeants.
When Han Zhongwen heard this, he didn't show any pretense. He was even more happy than when he heard that he was going to make face towels and sell them to the merchants.
The sale of military uniforms is a bigger business.
But after he was overjoyed, his always cautious character soon made him ponder: "But these items for protection in battle are much tighter than ordinary clothes, trousers, and face towels. My workshop has never been involved in it..."
Ma Xianglin said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, I will go back to Runzhou first and finish training the new soldiers of the guard station that the imperial court asked me to train. By then, your family's thousand handkerchiefs should be finished. I will personally think about the secret armor with Miss Zheng." It’s a key point. The skill of the craftsmen cannot be overemphasized. It just requires rough men like me who have actually fought in battle to imitate the actual combat to ensure that the dark armor made is not an embroidered pillow and a loss of the lives of our soldiers."
"That's very good, very good." Han Zhongwen said repeatedly.
After Ma Xianglin finished talking about the two transactions, he got all the points that should be said overtly and covertly, so he stood up and left.
Han Zhongwen stood at the door, watching Ma Xianglin and Yazu go away. He turned around and saw Zheng Haizhu looking a little nervous, and couldn't help but laugh.
"Azhu, what are you afraid of? General Ma has made the situation so strong for you, how dare we, the Han Mansion, make you suffer?"
Han Zhongwen said no more and ordered Zheng Haizhu to follow him into the flower hall of the inner house. He first asked Lao Peng to disperse a few maids and ladies standing there.
Before the sad-looking Yang could react, Han Zhongwen said solemnly to several women: "Azhu has taken over a big business for our Han family. They are all errands for the court. General Ma will have to come and keep an eye on the whole family." The owner should have clear rewards and punishments. Her monthly salary has been increased to three taels of silver. Ximeng, please take Azhu and Shoukuan back to your yard first. You can eat your own food today. There is no need to come out to accompany you to dinner. I am tired. No more, no appetite."
After Yang understood it, he raised his head with blazing eyes, and met Han Zhongwen's cold and stern gaze. After all, he was afraid that his second uncle would really have an attack. He, a woman, was alone in Songjiang and would suffer a lot. In the end, he gritted his back teeth. Groove, staring at the backs of Han Ximeng and Zheng's aunt and nephew hiding behind the moon cave door, he couldn't bear it.
"I don't want to separate families." Yang said bitterly.
"It's up to you." Han Zhongwen replied calmly.
…
The eyebrow moon is in the sky, thin and curved, not very dazzling, but the stars are as bright as the street lights in the sky, which is really beautiful.
Ma Xianglin only brought two of his close followers, galloping in the cold night.
At the foot of the mountain, Ma Xianglin left two people to guard his mount and walked alone to the ancient temple in the forest.
"who?"
"Shima Xianglin."
Along the way, after four or five interrogations, Ma Xianglin finally came to Chai Fei.
The maid behind the fence had good night vision and took the initiative to open the door. She said in a bowling voice: "General, please come in. The senior and the justice are talking in the room."
Ma Xianglin bowed his hands to the maid, walked through the flower path in the courtyard, and entered the Zen room.
"I've met my predecessors, I've met Eunuch Liu." After Ma Xianglin saluted the people in the room, he stood with his sleeves hanging down in the shadow of the lamp.
The old man, who was respectfully called "Senior", waved his hand with a smile, asked Ma Xianglin to sit on the futon opposite the table, and asked kindly: "Did Xianglin come here from Han Mansion? That girl has you to help her, so she didn't eat." Is it the fault of the third daughter-in-law of the Han family?"
Ma Xianglin leaned forward respectfully, but when he replied, he spoke with a sense of sincerity: "The second master of the Han family is a fair man."
Liu Shimin, who was sitting next to the old man, burst into laughter: "No matter how fair you are, we don't trust you. Otherwise, why would you worry about the beauty's safety as soon as you heard me tell you who the mastermind of the murder was, and bring you a meeting gift?" Came to the door."
Ma Xianglin said nothing.
The old man still had a kind face and said to Liu Shimin: "Ruoyu, am I right? That girl is clever and lovable. It's rare for a young person to be prudent in doing things. She is really attractive to people."
Liu Shimin took the initiative to pour a cup of tea for Ma Xianglin, pushed it in front of him, and responded to the old man: "If the seniors like it, then cultivate it slowly and use it in the future."
"Well, okay. What do you think of Xianglin?" the old man asked in a solicitous tone, "If you like this girl very much and want to welcome her into your home in the future, Lao Liu and I will look for someone else."
Ma Xianglin's face was calm, but his chest was filled with clouds.
Since childhood, both his father and mother have constantly taught him that without close family ties, he should never reveal his trump cards, even between friendly troops on the battlefield.
The two people in front of him were completely different from the group of Concubine Zheng and Prince Fu. They were the ones that Ma Xianglin really decided to cooperate with.
But they are also two old foxes.
After sipping the tea, he admired the color of the tea and said seriously: "Ma is a junior, and we haven't said goodbye yet at such an old age. It's natural for seniors and Eunuch Liu to joke about Ma. Now that the joke is over, how much does Ma have?" I have something serious to report to both of you. First, as we have discussed, I told Concubine Zheng’s people before the concubine and Mr. Cui got suspicious. I would take the opportunity of escorting the Weaving Bureau to sell goods and get close to Mr. Liu. Let's see who Wang An, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, has won over to help the prince. Secondly, the bosses of the Ministry of War also know that many of the soldiers in Jiubian are useless. They think that our Sichuan army can fight, but they are afraid that our locals People are unruly, so someone wanted to go to my mother to find a matchmaker and marry me the daughter of Zhang Quan, the Minister of War."
When Ma Xianglin said this, he paused, raised his eyes, faced the four sharp gazes on the opposite side and said: "This is really a good opportunity that fell from the sky. How could Ma not be the son-in-law, senior and Eunuch Liu of the Zhang family?" What do you think?"
After a moment of silence in the room, Liu Shimin's lips curled up: "Shilang Zhang's daughter is so lucky."
The old man beside him also nodded and said seriously: "Xianglin, you are young and have a bright future. I need you to think more carefully about using troops."
Then he pointed at Liu Shimin: "It's not easy for you, Ruoyu. I only have two words for you: make money."
Liu Shimin's face became more thoughtful. After a while, he said to the old man: "When it comes to making money, Miss Zheng has a good idea. I want to take her to the south to gain experience, and then think about it carefully when I come back. From there the foreign monkeys If we don’t rob the money dug out of the wild continent, will we still keep the Zhu family for the capital?”
