Fenghou

Chapter 873 Trading
At night, Chen Qing sat on the table and looked at the map. He was so engrossed that the tea next to him was already cold. At this moment, Zhao Yingluo quietly stepped forward to change the tea for him. Chen Qing suddenly woke up from his contemplation. , waved his hand and smiled: "The weather is still relatively hot, and drinking herbal tea is also good!"

They left Jingzhao in mid-April, and before they knew it, more than three months had passed, and it would be August in two days. The hottest days were spent at sea, and they didn't feel the heat much. Come quietly.

Before Zhao Yingluo objected, Chen Qing had already drank the herbal tea in one gulp, he was really thirsty.

Zhao Yingluo pursed her lips and asked with a smile, "What is my husband looking at so fascinated?"

"Does Yingluo still have an impression of Dangtu County?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

"Dangtu County?"

Zhao Yingluo thought for a while, "It doesn't seem to be far from here, that's all I remember, and I didn't pay attention to the others."

"It's true that with Wuhu here, most people don't remember Dangtu. There is also a small port there, but it mainly supplies supplies along the way. The county is also small and the population is not large. Almost all of them go to Wuhu port to find work. Done."

"Why did my husband think of Dangtu County?"

Chen Qing said with a smile: "I need a transit place for supplies, otherwise it would be too far from Quanzhou to Jiangling, and it would be wasteful for Wanshi ships to sail on the Yangtze River, so there is a place for transit. Get off the goods and return to Quanzhou, and the goods will continue to be transported by inland ships."

"I understand what my husband means, so why not choose Wuhu?"

"Because I want to garrison troops, it's too sensitive to have thousands of troops stationed in Wuhu. The court will know about the boats coming and going here, but Dangtu is different. If I reach an agreement with Zhang Jun, he will cover it up for me. If there is no war, the imperial court will never know that I still have an army stationed in Dangtu County."

"Husband, I think it's a bit unbelievable. How could the court not know? An official passed by Dangtu and found out that it wasn't the court army. Don't you know?"

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "This is why you don't know some unknown rules in the Song army. Zhang Jun's army is called Zhangjiajun, Yue Fei's army is called Yuejiajun, and Han Shizhong's army is called Hanjiajun. Not all of these troops are given by the court. Some of the money and rations are their self-raised military salaries and grass. It was the same when I was in Qinzhou. These self-raised troops have no records in the Ministry of War and the Privy Council. They are actually private troops, so my army can pretend to be Zhang Jun’s. The private army is stationed in Dangtu."

"That's why Zhang Junda had the same idea, and wanted to make a deal with your husband."

Chen Qing nodded, "It should mean that!"

At this time, a female guard reported from outside the tent, "Report to the lord, Counselor Zhou told you that the messenger who was talking about during the day is here!"

When Zhang Jun's envoy arrived, Chen Qing nodded, got up and walked towards the big tent of the Chinese army.

Zhang Jun's emissary is his cousin Zhang Yuxuan, [-] years old, who served as Cangcao in Zhang Jun's army and was in charge of the army's logistics. He is very shrewd and capable. It can be said that he is Zhang Jun's confidant. He has full power to operate military funds.

Zhang Yuxuan was talking to Zhou Kuan, when Chen Qing walked in, Zhang Yuxuan hurriedly got up and saluted, "Please refer to King Yong for the humble job!"

"You're welcome, please sit down!"

The three of them sat down as guest and host. Chen Qing took a look at Zhang Yuxuan, vaguely familiar, and asked with a smile, "Have we met?"

"Reporting to King Yong, in the first year of Shaoxing, Beizhi also participated in the recruit contest, and once led five hundred soldiers to fight against King Yong."

Chen Qing chuckled, "That's how it is. I said it looks familiar. It's been eight years now."

Zhang Yuxuan also sighed: "The soldiers who followed King Yong to participate in the competition back then, I heard that they were the worst commanders. They followed King Yong, which was the most correct choice in life."

Chen Qing was a little surprised, "You guys even know this?"

"I just heard some rumors. We have never investigated the secrets of King Yong's army."

Chen Qing didn't take this matter to heart either, it was indeed a rumor, how could they all serve as commanders, and some unsatisfied guys are still headed now.

He smiled and said: "It seems that your commander also has something to ask for from me."

Zhang Yuxuan also smiled slightly and said, "Don't King Yong want to find a transit port in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River?"

Chen Qing chuckled, "Looks like it's each other, I don't know what you guys want?"

Zhang Yuxuan was silent for a moment, then said slowly: "Fire oil!"

Chen Qing asked lightly: "Fire oil is of great use to you?"

Zhang Yuxuan sighed and said: "To be honest with King Yong, our army's combat capability is not good. In the past, when we fought against the Jin soldiers or the puppet Qi army, we basically suffered repeated defeats and lost the city. Now, for a whole year, we faced the enemy's thirteen attacks without retreating, and the commander-in-chief was rewarded and canonized by the court and the emperor. As a result, there is not much left of the [-] barrels of kerosene traded in Jiangling, and our commander is very anxious."

Chen Qing appreciated Zhang Yuxuan's frankness, this way of negotiating made him feel very comfortable, at least the other party was very sincere.

"I am very grateful to your commander-in-chief for his sincerity, and I am also willing to help him fight against gold. I have considered that Wuhu's location is a little sensitive. Would it be better if it is placed next to Dangtu County?"

Zhang Yuxuan laughed, "King Yong and our commander wanted to go together. Our commander said that if King Yong takes Wuhu, he can give [-] people. If it is Dangtu County, he can give [-] people. The entire Dangtu County can be handed over to King Yong, and even the magistrate of Dangtu County can be recommended by King Yong."

"If I am elected as Tu County, what will I have to pay?"

Zhang Yuxuan stretched out a finger, "[-] barrels of kerosene per year!"

The requirements are not high. With the current oil production in Fushi County, it is not a big problem to distribute [-] barrels to Zhang Jun every year.

Chen Qing asked again with a smile: "Then why does my army exist in Dangtu County?"

"Of course the army does not exist in the name of the Western Army, but uses the flag and designation of the Shaking Heaven Army. King Yong should understand what I mean!"

Chen Qing nodded, as he had expected, the Shaking Army was Zhang Jun's private army, with more than [-] soldiers, and the court knew that if the flag of the Shaking Army was erected, no one would come to make trouble.

Chen Qing smiled, got up and said: "The specific details are finalized by Zhang Canjun and Zhou Counselor. If the problem is not serious, we can arrange it before we leave."

In the morning of the next day, Zhou Kuan handed over to Chen Qing a detailed draft drafted overnight. This was drafted by Zhou Kuan himself. It could be seen that he took a rest very late. After all, he was old and looked very tired.

"Counselor Zhou has worked hard!"

Zhou Kuan said with a smile: "Time is tight, and you have to work hard to make it clear today. Zhang Yuxuan will rush back to Luzhou today to return to his command."

Chen Qing took over the draft and said: "Actually, I only care about two issues. One is how to arrange the port, and the other is how to arrange the county magistrate. Did you mention it?"

"There are two options."

Zhou Kuan turned a few pages, pointed to the terms and said: "This is the port. The current port of Dangtu is too small. It has a good harbor, but the pier is too small to berth Wanshi ships. We must invest in expansion. It also includes buying land and building warehouses.

What Zhang Yuxuan meant was to find a businessman to invest as a cover. That's what they did. The famous Wei's firm on the Yangtze River was run by Zhang's family. They can hand it over to expand the port, build warehouses, and then put it on the Wei's firm. Brand, and then, my idea is to hang the brand of Wei's Trading Company, we do it ourselves, and the other party agrees, but the condition is that an additional thousand barrels of kerosene will be added every year. "

Chen Qing said indifferently: "Just hanging a brand is not enough. A thousand barrels of kerosene is not so easy to earn. In case of any disputes in the fleet, Wei's Trading Company must come forward to resolve it."

"There is this one. If there is a shipping or port dispute, Wei's Commercial Bank will come forward to resolve it."

"Then how to deal with the armor and equipment of the Shaking Army, is it mentioned in the draft?" Chen Qing asked again.

"We have all the armor and equipment of the Shaking Army, and the other party will provide us with a hundred military flags."

Chen Qing nodded, "Tell me about being the magistrate of Tu County."

"There is no problem with the county magistrate. Zhang Yuxuan said that Dangtu's Jiang magistrate belongs to them. If we want to replace it with our own people, they can arrange it."

Chen Qing thought for a while and said, "Let's continue to use Zhang Jun's people! It's always inconvenient to replace my people."

Zhou Kuan suggested: "But I feel that we need to install one of our people, even if it is a county lieutenant."

"Yes! Just choose a civilian from the army to be the county lieutenant."

(End of this chapter)