Huichang is located at the transportation hub of three provinces. Once the rebellion was quelled, there was an endless stream of merchants coming and going every day. Qin Mu sent tax collectors to collect taxes on passing merchants at the key entrances. Although goods did not have to pay taxes when entering the city, the soldiers guarding the gate had to check the receipts issued by the customs, so the flow of people at the city gate was relatively slow and it seemed a bit crowded.
One or two large horses followed a caravan waiting to enter the city. The carriage looked very ordinary, even a little crude, from the outside, but the interior decoration was very comfortable.
Xu Yingjie, the owner of Rentong Trading Company, gently lifted the curtain of the carriage to look at the scene outside. Looking in from the city gate, Huichang City was much more prosperous than when he came last time. In particular, the optimistic expressions on the faces of the people on the street made it hard to believe that this small county had just escaped from war two or three months ago.
Sitting opposite Xu Yingjie was Xu Yi. Rentong Trading Company had a branch in Huichang, and this time Xu Yi was specially transferred here to manage the business there.
When Li Xiangjun fell into trouble in Nanchang, Qin Mu was so angry that he led his troops to attack the Censorate. This shows how important Li Xiangjun was in Qin Mu's heart.
And Xu Yi took good care of Li Xiangjun along the way from Jinling to Nanchang. Xu Yingjie transferred him to Huichang to take care of the business here. He simply wanted to take advantage of the relationship between Xu Yi and Li Xiangjun who had shared hardships together to facilitate his dealings with Qin Mu.
"Boss, is Qin Mu really worthy of this?"
Xu Yingjie did not answer but asked: "What do you think of Qin Mu?"
Shopkeeper Xu moved his bloated body and answered softly, "Since ancient times, anyone who is obsessed with women will have difficulty achieving great success. Qin Mu, for the sake of a brothel girl, did not hesitate to risk the world's disapproval and led his troops to attack the Censorate. Such a person is probably not worth the boss's investment."
Xu Yingjie shook his head and said, "You only know one side of the story. Qin Mu's attack on the Censorate for a woman may seem reckless, but judging from the result, it must have been a deliberate move after careful consideration and careful assessment of the situation.
More importantly, although Qin Mu spared no expense for Li Xiangjun, he was not really obsessed with her beauty. As far as I know, after returning to Huichang, Qin Mu did not spend time with the beauty under the moonlight, but immediately threw himself into the training of Huichang Qianhu Suo, working hard with ordinary soldiers every day. "
"Is this true?" Shopkeeper Xu was greatly surprised. Qin Mu valued Li Xiangjun so much that he should have been inseparable from her after bringing her back, and the king should not have attended court early in the morning from now on.
"It's true." Xu Yingjie showed a faint smile on his face. "Today, many heroes have emerged in the world, but I'm afraid it will take some fierce competition before the winner can be determined."
"Li Zicheng has become powerful, why doesn't the boss have high hopes for him?"
"In my opinion, Li Zicheng is a very violent person. Although he said that he would not pay taxes when he came, he wanted people to die. Wherever he went, no gentry or wealthy family was spared. All the scholars and wealthy people were unwilling to join his team. As the saying goes, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Li Zicheng lacks the magnanimity and pattern of a common ruler of the world.
More importantly, Li Zicheng has lost his sight. Since ancient times, there has never been a disabled person who was able to establish a dynasty. This is because disabled people must have little luck. They can't even preserve their body and hair, so how can they be blessed by heaven? "
Xu Yingjie's theory of destiny seems absurd, but many people believe it. Have you ever seen a blind emperor? How can you enjoy the world when you can't even preserve your body and five senses
"On the other hand, although Qin Mu seized people's land in disguise, he did not kill them all. He not only won the enthusiastic support of the lower classes, but also preserved the vitality of the gentry and the rich. This was not only conducive to the recovery of local people's livelihood, but also easy for the gentry and the rich to accept him once he became powerful in the future. Looking at his army, they obey orders and do not care about casualties during training. In a short time, they will become a strong army."
Shopkeeper Xu seemed to be more concerned about something else. He pondered and said, "Did the boss believe that Qin Mu could talk to the heaven during the sacrifice? There are also rumors that he got an ancient magic weapon when he opened the salt pond in Zhoutian?"
"It's true that we dug up the magic weapon. As for hearing the voice from heaven, it doesn't matter whether we believe it or not. What matters is that the people of Huichang believed it. In this world, adding icing on the cake is always worse than sending charcoal in the snow. You don't need to think too much, just do as I say."
Shopkeeper Xu thought about it and it made sense. Qin Mu's ability to quickly quell the rebellion in southern Jiangxi had already demonstrated his ability. From his actions, it seemed that this man was ambitious and had won the hearts of both the military and the people. It would be a wise choice to heat up his cold stove now.
On the side of the Bingbei Dao Yamen in the east of the city, there was originally a large courtyard for storing military supplies and equipment. Only a few ruins are left of the Bingbei Dao Yamen. This courtyard was also severely damaged and was only recently renovated by Qin Mu.
The compound covers an area of nearly 50 acres and contains a number of large warehouses. These warehouses are not connected to each other for fire prevention purposes. Originally, there were eight-foot-high fire walls, but most of them have collapsed and have not yet been rebuilt.
There was a chair placed in the middle of an empty warehouse, with Qin Mu sitting on it. Behind him stood Zhu Yijin and Li Shi, and opposite him stood Xu Yingjie and Xu Yi, as well as twenty-six craftsmen.
One of them, an old craftsman named Zou Yan, was talking about his resume in a torrent of words. His voice was quite loud, and it echoed in the empty warehouse: "The Arms Bureau produces dozens of firearms, including three-barreled guns, ten-barreled guns, crooked guns, bird guns, raised guns, thunder guns, divine fire flying crows, a swarm of bees, a hundred tigers running together, ten thousand enemies, fire dragons emerging from water, Portuguese cannons, fire guns, red cannons, crouching tiger cannons, land mines, sea mines, etc. I have been in the Arms Bureau for twenty-two years. Although I dare not say that I am proficient in all of these firearms, I know a thing or two about them."
Qin Mu nodded and said, "Well, very good, next one."
Zou Yan thought Qin Mu was asking something, but he heard that it was indeed the next person. He looked a little embarrassed. A middle-aged man in his forties stood behind him and bowed to Qin Mu, saying, "Sir, my name is Hu Si, and I was originally a craftsman in Liaoyang Mining. After Liaoyang was occupied by the Tartars, I fled to the border alone. I have been managing the mines in Liaoyang for eight years and am most familiar with iron smelting and copper casting..."
"Okay, next one."
“… ... ... ... .”
Qin Mu first briefly asked about everyone's background and specialties, and then asked about some professional knowledge in a targeted manner.
Overall, he was quite satisfied with the craftsmen Xu Yingjie found.
Huichang’s current infrastructure is weak, and the most basic raw materials such as steel have to be purchased from outside, so it is impossible to manufacture guns and artillery on a large scale.
Qin Mu asked Xu Yingjie to look for craftsmen. Currently, he mainly wanted to use them for research and development. He would provide some relatively advanced firearms technology and let the craftsmen digest it first. After they have mastered the technology, they could start production.
As for the Ming Dynasty's existing firearms technology, it was not enough to fight against the Qing cavalry in terms of range, rate of fire, mobility, and actual lethality. Instead of spending a lot of manpower and material resources to manufacture these, it would be better to train a strong cold weapon army that dares to fight and die.
Of course, some gunpowder, landmines, sea mines, and Baihuqiben rockets still need to be produced first. These things are very useful for ambushes and blocking battles, and southern Jiangxi is mountainous, which is very conducive to ambushes.
After spending half an hour questioning the twenty-six craftsmen one by one, Qin Mu said, "Zou Yan, you will temporarily serve as the manager here. I have a booklet here, you can take a look first. Remember, this booklet is top secret. Anyone who leaks the contents will be killed without mercy."
After Qin Mu finished speaking, he took out a thin booklet from his sleeve. It was only about 20 to 30 pages long, but it contained pictures and the truth, as well as detailed text instructions. As long as some manufacturing process problems were overcome, the weapons in it could be manufactured.
But the key lies in the processing technology, which is why Qin Mu asked them to study it. For example, Qin Mu knows the formula and synthesis method of TNT, but how to extract raw materials such as ** is a problem;
Another example is the Type 97 assault rifle. Qin Mu can quickly disassemble and assemble it with his eyes closed. He is more familiar with each of its components than with a woman's vagina. However, if you want to manufacture it, it involves a lot of basic technology, and it is not something that can be made with just a picture and the truth.
Xu Yingjie thought for a moment and took the initiative to speak: "Sir, Xu Yi has been managing my business for many years and has accumulated rich experience in management. If you trust him, you can hand this place over to him. Xu Yi will definitely manage it in an orderly manner..."
"I appreciate Mr. Xu's kindness, but it would be a waste of talent to let Mr. Xu run such a small workshop. Let's wait until it develops in the future."
Actually, Xu Yingjie was just testing the waters and didn't expect Qin Mu to really hand the place over to Xu Yi to manage. Qin Mu's answer of "let's talk about it later" already made Xu Yingjie very satisfied. This showed that Qin Mu didn't mean to keep people at a distance, but just because both parties had not established enough trust, he refused to let Xu Yi get involved.
He then said with a smile: "Sir, I have prepared a few glasses of light wine at the restaurant in the city to thank you for saving the Nanchang branch. I hope you can come and enjoy it."
"Then I am sorry to bother you." Qin Mu still had something else to discuss with him, so he just agreed. Then he turned around and instructed Zhu Yijin, "Tell Liu Meng to immediately dispatch a general flag to garrison here. No one can enter or leave at will without my order."
"Yes, sir."
...