Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 398 The Fate of the Country Hanging Geshu (2)

"Saltpeter?" Zhao Xingde's heart moved, and he asked in a deep voice, "How much more money do you need?"

No one knows better than Zhao Xingde that the extensive use of firearms consumes so much saltpeter on the battlefield.He fought with firearms in both Song and Liaodong.In this era, because of the quality, the amount of gunpowder used in both iron barrel cannons and firecrackers is extremely high. The iron barrel cannons used in the Liao Kingdom have even reached the point where the entire gun barrel needs to be filled with gunpowder. .And just because the Liaodong Han army was desperately buying, the price of saltpeter on the black market in Song State had more than doubled.

"Brother Zhao misunderstood, it's not a matter of lack of money." Xie Ximin said with a smile, "We can still get the money to mine this saltpeter mine. The money in our hands is useless except to grow mold, so it's better to invest it in real money." In my business. However, as I told Brother Zhao just now, the price of saltpeter fluctuates too much, and the risk of mining saltpeter is too high for the firm. Therefore, another business is needed to balance this risk. Chunyu Iron Works The income is quite good, we want to exchange silver shares with the iron factory, [-]% of the silver shares of Gaochanghang, and [-]% of the silver shares of Chunyu Ironworks." Seeing that Zhao Xingde was hesitant, he said again, "Brother Zhao, Gaochanghang is in the west. The state is also a century-old brand, in addition to saltpeter mines, there are also iron ore, copper and charcoal mines. However, the iron ore and charcoal mines in Guanzhong have been sold to Chunyu Iron Works.”

"Exchanging silver shares?" Zhao Xingde repeated in a low voice.He successively participated in three partnership firms, Chunyu Iron Works, Yajiao Firm and Dongmu Firm.He is also very clear about the way to make money through joint ventures in the present age.There are roughly three types of investment stocks: talk stocks, bank stocks and body stocks.Talking about stocks, it is to arrange the seats of the owners according to the amount of money to join the company. When deciding on the big business of the firm, the big stocks overwhelm the small stocks.Silver stocks only eat interest, but have no right to speak in the firm.Body stock means that capable shopkeepers and master craftsmen use their body as dry stock, and they talk about affairs and get interest in the firm according to the size of the stock, but those who come from stock can no longer do anything for other firms.The exchange of [-]% of the silver shares means that Chunyu Iron Works will hand over [-]% of its annual income to Gao Changhang, and Gao Changhang will also hand over [-]% of its income to Chunyu Iron Works, but neither party will interfere with the other's business.The exchange of bank shares is usually the beginning of the in-depth cooperation between two commercial banks. If the cooperation goes well, they can also exchange business shares, become mutual contractors, and jointly appoint shopkeepers, etc.This is how the Eight Great Banks in Chang'an were organized.Small and medium-sized commercial banks also use this to combine vertical and horizontal alliances and strengthen their own strength.

Xie Ximin nodded and said with a smile: "This matter is of great importance. Brother Zhao can discuss it with Chunyudong's family. I hope to give Xie an answer next month." Zhao Xingde cupped his hands and said, "Thank you." "Why be polite," Xie Ximin shook his head and smiled. : "Our family used to be a blacksmith, and we are family friends with Chunyu's family. We can trust people who are trustworthy in Chunyu's family. If people don't deal with them, like those treacherous merchants, even if they hold gold and silver mountains, we will not Let him join the gang." Xie Ximin patted Zhao Xingde on the shoulder, letting him think about it slowly.

Zhao Xingde murmured silently, at least in this era, saltpeter is an absolutely important material.Just like Liao, Song or Xia, they didn't have enough gunpowder in reserve.Although they began to try to establish a large-scale firearms army in Guanzhong, the Ordnance Division and the Transportation Division still care about the ammunition reserves, without considering that it may cost several times or even ten times the price to buy firearms in a few years. medicine' raw material.

"Captain Zhao seems to have gained something?"

"Where is there." Zhao Xingde replied smoothly, looked up, but Yu Zangyun was beside him, and said solemnly: "It seems that Captain Zhao is very popular, and his colleagues in the Huguo Mansion are very welcome." Zhao Xingde said with a smile: "Still It's not thanks to Captain Yu." Yu Zangyun shook his head with a smile, touched the wine glass lightly with Zhao Xingde, but didn't drink it, and said with a frown, "I have received news that the Mierbo people who invaded Hedong are breaking Desired to be expelled, he seems to have fled from the east of the river to the north of the river, alas——it's another life in ruins." He sighed, raised his head and drank the wine in his glass.

"What?" Zhao Xingde lost his voice, "Hedong is surrounded by passes, how could it be possible for bandits to flee?"

"The pass also requires people to guard it." Yu Zangyun sneered, "Hey, this is not the first time, and it will not be the last time." Because the Mierbo cavalry moved quickly, it was extremely difficult to encircle and wipe out .Wang De, the guard of Zhending Mansion in Hebei Province, was known as "Wang Yecha".Therefore, it is possible to concentrate the army to defeat the mierbo army who invaded the bandits, and after taking back the captive people, they used the method of opening up on three sides and letting go on the other side, and forced thousands of remnants of mierbo to the range of Zhendingfu Road .

"How could this be?" Zhao Xingde felt uncomfortable, he didn't know what to say for a while, and murmured, "What's wrong with the common people."

"Hmph," Yu Zangyun said with emotion, "It's okay if the Guandong Fanzhen is like this. The commander of the Anbei Army can obviously drive eastward to attack the Mierbo tribe. In the Huguo Mansion, the commander of the Anbei Army stopped the troops and let the Mierbo When Erbo people went south, some people thought that the two tigers of the Liao and Song Dynasties should be allowed to fight each other. Such a plan is no different from a compromise." His eyes were complicated, and he seemed deeply ashamed.

Zhao Xingde didn't speak, but nodded heavily, and the laughter and laughter in the room seemed to have turned pale.

"In their eyes, it would be good if the Guandong kills a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. At that time, Wang Shidong will go out to Hangu Pass to clean up the world. It will be easy to defeat the two sick cats, and he will win the hearts of the people in the Guandong. Hmph, what a good plan." Yu Zang Yun patted Zhao Xingde on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Lieutenant Zhao, we must not allow this shameless idea to continue in the Huguo Mansion. I want to unify the world, and the Huguo Mansion's vision can no longer be limited to Guan. West, but to look at the world, the people in the Guandong are also the people of my Great Xia Dynasty in the future. If I sit and watch like this, I will not kill Boren, and Boren will die for me. If you and I can do nothing, then let it go. Since If you are in the Protector's Mansion, if you don't fight against it and try your best to win people's hearts, you are a sinner in this world."

"Create food at Yin time, and go out of the city to form an array at Mao time," Yang Yanqing said in a deep voice, "All armies should obey orders and fight hard, and should not be ashamed of the elders of Hedong."

"Yes—" All the generals of the Hedong Army under the tent took orders in unison.The clank of armor echoed in the tent.During this period of time, the Liao army attacked repeatedly, and the [-] Hedong army stood firm in Yunzhou, and never fought a decisive battle with it.In addition, the Mierbo people plundered the east of the river, but they let them go, which made the soldiers in the camp extremely dissatisfied.The autumn was crisp and the Hu people went south to herd horses. However, Yang Yanqing sent cavalry to test several times, and found that the Liao army was exhausted from the siege of the city for several days.

Of the [-] troops, only more than [-] Xiangjun archers and old and weak guards were left to guard the rear of the formation with cannons and crossbows at the top of the city.[-] heavy armored crossbowmen, [-] long-handled axes and long-handled gunmen, a total of more than [-] heavy-armored infantry formed a large formation under the city, and another [-] cavalry formed a kidnapper formation on both sides, and there were brave generals. Wang Lin led [-] cavalry out of the city a few days ago, circled a circle of hundreds of miles, and ambushed in the north of the Liao army, preparing to attack the Liao army's flank from north to south when the two armies were fighting fiercely.

Xiao Tachi was unable to attack the city. He originally intended to withdraw his troops temporarily, but when he saw the Song army marching out of the city to invite them to fight, he immediately decided to fight.The Liao army attacked the city for several days, and more than half of the originally more than [-] signed troops were lost, leaving only tens of thousands of people.The [-] Xi army, Jurchen soldiers and artillery craftsmen formed a large formation of the central army, and the Baidiaoying battalion and the commander-in-chief were even behind the formation.Because the formation of the cavalry is sparse, stretching far to the north and south wings, more than [-] cavalry seem to be boundless.

"After this battle, we will spend the winter in Yunzhou City." Xiao Tachi smiled casually.However, looking at the Song Army formation, he was secretly startled.He had never seen the strict formation of the Song army before.The soldiers and horses of all ministries have a clear banner, and the camps defend each other.Banners were erected in the formation, and a big "Yang" character was written on it.Because the Song Army's robes were red, looking from a distance, more than a dozen square formations were blushing, and there were various drums and horns echoing in the formation, and the mobilization of various ministries was orderly. Without any hesitation, under the drumbeating military order, the cavalry formation slowly moved forward, rolling forward like red waves.The rising sun shone on the armor of the Song army, reflecting a dazzling metallic luster. The Liao army and the Song army fought fiercely for many days, and they were secretly shocked to see this situation.

Seeing the large formation of the Song army approaching step by step, Xiao Tachi couldn't help frowning.Yang Yanqing defended Yunzhou for many days. He thought that this person was cautious, but he didn't expect that the battle would be an all-out attack.The various Liao armies attacked the city for several days, and they originally had a lot of heart, but now they are in a hurry and have not adapted to it. At this moment, under the pressure of the Song army, some soldiers actually showed panic on their faces. '.Even the war horse snorted uncomfortably.

"Boom—" "Boom—" The cannons on both sides of Song and Liao rang out almost simultaneously.

Huge stone bullets crossed arcs and landed on the ground, forming a big hole, and falling into the crowd, it was a bloody mess.Because the Song army went out of the city to form an array and launched an attack, the period of time was extremely short. The artillery in the artillery barracks at the front of the Liao army had no time to lower their muzzles, and the Song army was about to 'close' in front of them, causing the Liao army's cannons to be solid. Most of the shells fell behind the Song Army, but most of the solid shells of the Song Army at the city head fell near the Liao Army's artillery fortress.

"Damn it," Xiao Tachi cursed secretly, "useless things." Under the bombardment of artillery, the Liao army, which was originally defending, suffered more casualties than the attacking Song army.Seeing the Song army getting closer and closer, "Change to a swarm, a swarm!" shouted from the Liao army's artillery barracks, and soon, clumps of locusts and iron bullets flew towards the Song army's formation.At the same time, the crossbowmen in the Song Army's formation bent their bows and set their arrows, countless arrow feathers streaked across the sky, and the arrows fell on the Liao Army's formation like raindrops, making a "jingling" sound on the armor.