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Volume 1: The Arms Dealer¡¯s Feast Chapter 284: Taking it Without a Knife

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    The negotiations here were at a stalemate, and Aying came over and whispered a few words in Jin Sanduo's ear.  Jin Sanduo's expression changed, and he said to the special envoy who came to negotiate: "Three thousandths."

    Eunuch Li quickly understood what it meant: "Three thousandths per person?"

    "A total of three thousandths." Just now Aying said the word kickback in Jin Sanduo's ear, and Jin Sanduo understood everything.  The officials of the Ming Dynasty were equivalent to a group of parasites adsorbed on the giant Ming Dynasty. Although the parasite and the host had a symbiotic relationship, they could continuously suck blood for nearly three hundred years, and the giant Ming Dynasty was also weak and about to die.  The money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue has never been in full. Why, because the Ministry of Revenue has allocated the full amount, what will the officials and minor officials in the Ministry of Household eat? This is the same as later generations thinking that the Finance Bureau is the most lucrative position. Even if they are not greedy, they will not be greedy.  Zhan is not worried about not being able to pay wages, bonuses and benefits. Anyone who has some energy wants to involve their family members.

    This phenomenon became even more serious during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As the world's money bag, there were many tricks to make money - for example, during the Quanqing Dynasty, there were bannermen who kept the treasury and took the silver from the bank back with their rectum.  At that time, Ku soldiers could only be bannermen, and they were hereditary. These people had practiced wrapping iron eggs in chrysanthemums since they were young.  Although Kubing soldiers have been rich and prosperous for generations, they are looked down upon by other bannermen - they are considered to be professional chrysanthemum sellers.

    In the Ming Dynasty, it was not so serious, but everyone knows the principle of relying on the mountain to eat the mountain. In addition to having to pay a layer of money every time it comes out of the warehouse, the most common method used by the Ministry of Finance is to exchange silver ingots with poor color in the warehouse for good quality.  Silver ingots - these silver origins are different, and the silver content in them is also different.

    This kind of thing gradually disappeared after the two yuan reforms were abolished. There are some counterfeit silver coins on the market, but the cost of this thing is high, not to mention the waiting list to catch them - the biggest drawback is that it really happened that Dayang held a silver coin between his nails.  It will produce a crisp buzzing sound. Even illiterate people can use this method to easily distinguish authenticity from counterfeit coins. It is still difficult for counterfeit coins to circulate in the market.

    If it hadn¡¯t been for A Ying¡¯s suggestion, Jin Sanduo would never have thought that this group of people would be in danger when the country was in danger - of course the Ming Dynasty would not think so.  They are also planning to get some money kickbacks and so on. Could it be that these people's sages' books have been read into the stomachs of dogs? Or maybe these Wenquxing masters have really understood the parts of the sages' books that Jin Sanduo could never understand.

    Eunuch Li pinched the orchid finger and said, "Too little. It's not easy for our family to make a trip. There are also a group of people from the Ministry of War over there who want to get money."

    "These goods are worth tens of thousands of gold. If the imperial court buys more, the two of you will get more. How much you can get in the end depends on how much business you can make." Jin Sanduo gave three thousandths of a percent as an ordinary salesperson.  The rebates received after selling goods are so small that these two people can't help but look down upon them.  You can't really cut prices drastically. If there are too many such things, Jin Sanduo won't be able to make the decision.  After all, Jin Sanduo only accounted for two thousandths of the Lushan's property.

    Then the focus of discussion between the two parties shifted from price to rebates - originally, Director Li also wanted to make some gray income through counter-offering. The Ministry of War was not richer than the Ministry of Household Affairs, let alone the Ministry of Personnel, which could not keep up with the evaluation and promotion of officials. If it were from arms  There's nothing to be gained from the transaction - so why bother.

    "Probably because of the psychological effect, Jin Sanduo felt a little disgusted when he saw these officials who had read the books of sages and worked thousands of miles away to be officials just for money.  The official salary customized by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was a little low, but it was not insufficient - otherwise Hai Rui would not be poor but would have starved to death long ago. Of course, officials like today have a large family of sedan bearers, old ladies,  The imperial salary for maids, masters, cooks, servants, and concierges is definitely not enough.

    These people always think that they should be superior to others just because they have read the books of sages, but no one on the Lushan who has received elite education dares to say that they are superior to others. After all, the books they read are summaries of previous knowledge, and those who go further still  I don¡¯t know how much more knowledgeable those who are doing research are in certain aspects than they are.

    Only then did Jin Sanduo understand why his father and his generation spared no effort to promote education for all instead of building more expensive teaching ships. For elites like teaching ships, if there is no competition, it may not be a good thing.  .

    Manager Li was very disappointed. In the end, he only negotiated for one percent, and he had to give a share to the dead eunuch next to him.  This concession is already quite large for the Lushan. This concession was made through repeated negotiations because of the relatively large purchase quantity in the Ming Dynasty.

    There are forty Hongyi steel cannons, two hundred Dahuzun steel cannons, and three thousand Australian fast guns. Although the Ming Dynasty has mastered the manufacturing technology of Australian fast guns, the materials used by both sides are different, so the performance is limited.  There is a distance, and the other thing is that the molds used by the Australian 1628-type fast guns are the same, that is, the parts can be interchanged, while the imitations of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the interchangeable parts, are not consistent in the caliber of the guns, so they are custom-made.  Bullet technology also requires everyone to make their own lead bullets and powderBao, that's quite troublesome.  Not to mention that after buying this Australian fast gun, even if the fast gun can no longer be used, you can still make money by melting it with molten steel. Since anyone can be an official and reach a high position, there is no fool. Hai Rui can only do that.  A local official.

    The arms deal of 230,000 taels is also the largest arms deal that the Lushan has done so far - it is probably the same for Chongzhen. When Chongzhen first came to power, the family still had some money left by his brother and Jiu Qiansui. By the time Chongzhen  In the seventeenth year, even the gold and silver utensils in the palace were awarded to the soldiers who came to King Qin.

    According to the tradition of the arms industry, the Lushan actually paid for 42 Hongyi steel cannons, 205 Big Tiger Zun steel cannons, and 3,200 Australian fast guns - because there are not no cannons, and every gun has been tested.  Yes, according to the standards of the military industry, a scrap rate of one thousandth is acceptable.  Of course, if damage such as bumps and losses on the road are taken into account, you will need to pay more for every large transaction as compensation for the scrap.

    Finally, there is a 1% kickback from these two people, which is 2,300 taels.

    At this time, the arms produced by the Lushan in the past few months were almost wiped out. The time-traveling people who had received the money sent immigrants from Tianjin Wei to go shopping in Tianjin Wei. It can be said that except for real estate, there is almost nothing that this big iron ship has.  The boat didn't like it.  Of course, my favorite ones are mules, horses, sheep, cattle, camels, people and some daily necessities.

    In the winter of the first year of Chongzhen, Tianjin Wei already had a large number of refugees from Shaanxi - the road guide system almost collapsed in the late Ming Dynasty, especially in the Chongzhen Dynasty.  A number of local officials in Shaanxi were killed by peasant troops such as Gao Yingxiang this year, and no one was willing to clear the way for them.

    Chongzhen and the imperial court spent so much money to buy Australian arms this time. First, they found that these arms were of good value, and they would not lose money even if they melted molten steel.  The second is to buy arms and go to Shaanxi to fight the peasant army.  Over the past year, various peasant armies of the Shaanxi rebellion have gathered a large number of people and called them the "Million Army". After they moved around, they robbed every place in the country. The wealthy families either ran into Xi'an and other fortified cities, or formed a knot.  The village protects itself, but in the end it is the people at the bottom who are unlucky.

    For these people who don't have enough to eat, there are only three ways to go. First, join the peasant army and join the gangsters who rob the hygienic and ineffective production - after robbing a few times, no one will like to go to production once they are addicted.  , this is for sure.

    Second, stay away from the war-torn Shaanxi and go to other places to escape famine.  The term "escape from famine" is unique to China, because China is so large that its territory includes various terrains, including sub-cold, temperate, and tropical regions. Disasters hit some places almost every year. Those who cannot bear the disaster have to go out to escape from famine.  Along the way, they ate wild vegetables, peeled off tree bark, and begged for food. They could do anything just to survive. In a year of great disaster, cannibalism is not a big deal.

    The third is death.  There are always some old, weak, sick and disabled people who cannot run away and are burdensome that even the peasant army is unwilling to take, so they have no choice but to die.  There are also those who are unwilling to escape famine - in this era, it is not about moving trees to move dead people, but people leaving their hometowns. Often after a family eats the last grain, they all hang themselves or collectively jump into the rolling Yellow River.

    Those who were brought back from Australia are lucky because they have been here twice. Since the big iron ship from Australia docked in Tianjin Port, many people here know that this ship takes people to open up wasteland and farm overseas.  Once the reputation is established, there is no stopping it. People from every household begin to board the Australian ships from small boats.

    For these immigrants, Australia now has corresponding management methods-that is, the old bring in the new.  Every time they return home, immigrants from all over the country take a few of them with them, using them as fellow countrymen - these are one of the four most exquisite brothers in the Ming Dynasty.  Come to receive these newcomers, tell them the rules on the ship and the prospects of a new life - to divide the land after three years of working for the Australians.

    In their mouths, Australia is a place with no less land than the Ming Dynasty, but the population is not as large as Tianjin Wei - hundreds of thousands of indigenous people have been inadvertently ignored.  The land there is a wasteland overgrown with weeds. As long as you put some effort into clearing the wasteland, you can grow something.

    The most important thing is that Australians allocate land on a per capita basis, so it is best to go as a family, and the Australian government does not charge rent - the people in the 1960s had no idea about agricultural taxes - just that little output  How much is appropriate?  It would be faster than making some steel, blowing glass, burning cement, and doing some scissor skills.  Besides, the Republic does not collect agricultural taxes, but it still collects personal income taxes and commercial taxes - the big landowners cannot escape.

    Yabei gently wiped his cold steel sword with an oily cotton swab in the room. Now the Samurai Iron Artillery Team is no longer the iron artillery team only equipped with Australian iron cannons. Except for artillery, all the people who think they have skills  The outstanding warriors received a cold steel sword made of alloy by Australians.

    In fact, this sword no longer needs to be maintained like a Japanese sword - but Yabei, who is known as a swordsman from Shininryu, still takes care of it carefully every day.  Since these world-famous names have promulgated the "After the "Knife Order", wandering samurai no longer feel safe when going out. If you don't bring a sword, you will suffer a loss if you don't keep it all. When seeing a wandering samurai in rural areas in Japan, they often attack them in groups, seize their clothes and armor, and take them to the city.  Selling for money is a traditional activity in rural Japan to kill defeated soldiers.  If you carry a sword when you go out, the chance of the peasants attacking in groups is small, but the government will also want to arrest them - their strength is not as strong as the peasants in the countryside - if they encounter a few swordsmen and swordsmen, those townsmen follow the  The force of force is not enough - the more mature Machi Shoshin only needs one look in his eyes to know whether he can be offended or not.

    Because Yahei has practiced the Shinin-ryu no-tori style, it doesn't make much difference whether he goes out with a sword or not. He is always sure that he can take the sword from the enemy's hand, but no-sword style has also been defeated in Kyushu. Since ancient times,  It is difficult for Youdao to defeat four hands with two fists, let alone being surrounded by dozens of iron cannons. When you are forced by long-range weapons before you get close, Youdao Totori is helpless. As a swordsman, Yabei  There is only the fate of getting on the ship honestly.

    "What a great sword." After the maintenance was completed, Yabei admired the pattern on the blade under the light.  This kind of pattern has only been seen on those precious swords and Seshu Muramasa, who is known for his sharpness. However, after the Tokugawa family took over the world, they thought that the Muramasa killed too many people of the Tokugawa family and characterized this Muramasa.  For the demon sword - Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandfather, father and legitimate son all died at the hands of Muramasa. Ieyasu himself also had his finger injured by Muramasa - because Muramasa's swords and spears are known for their sharpness, the Mikawa samurai, who are famous for their bravery, equipped Muramasa's swords.  The ratio is very large, which is not surprising. Tokugawa Ieyasu's own sword used to be Muramasa's.

    Now Yabei's identity has become the deputy company commander of Australia. At first, Yabei didn't know how senior a deputy company commander was. After getting familiar with it, he found out that he was helping the company commander train the team and implement the company commander's orders -  -This company of 200 people is roughly equivalent to Japan's Ashigaru General.

    This time, Mibei asked someone to send a message to pick up his wife and children. As an ashigaru general, he is well-paid. It is said that the monthly salary of the lieutenant and deputy company commander has reached 30 taels of silver, which is 60 yuan in Australian dollars that has not yet been released.  It looks like, in addition to some miscellaneous training subsidies, cold protection expenses, heat protection expenses, outing subsidies, etc., maybe I can get more than 40 taels a month - the expenses are very small, my family has ration subsidies, how much money is there in Australia?  I can't spend it for the time being, and my food, drink, clothing, and accommodation in the army are free.

    Now Yabei no longer hates those people who were caught by the Mori family on the ship. If they hadn't been wandering somewhere, waiting for the opportunity to serve in the army - it would be very difficult to serve in this era when a large number of samurai are laid off.  .  If you are a lineage retainer of a certain family, only the eldest son can inherit your father's position, and the other heirs can only work for the eldest brother or go out to look for other opportunities to serve as officials.

    On this big Australian iron ship, Yabei's horizons were opened. The lamp that can illuminate a room very brightly without lamp oil, and the extremely strong big iron ship - at first everyone thought it was a symbol of Nobunaga's.  The male armored ship was covered with a layer of iron, but after actually living in it, I realized that even the rooms, walls and floors inside were made of steel.  With such magical power, it is not surprising that these Australians come up with more and better iron cannons and artillery.

    Of course, there are also rumors. Some people say that the big iron ships of the Australians are driven by ghost power. You see, they recruit so many immigrants on the ship just to kill and perform evil sacrifices on the sea and use their souls to drive them.  This big iron ship - who told this ship to have no sails? This rumor has gained a little popularity in Guangdong recently.

    Yabei sneered at this, because he had seen the Australian city being built from scratch, as well as the large tracts of farmland that had begun to be developed and the cattle and sheep that were grazing.  If Yahei was not a professional samurai and was recognized by the family owner as soon as he got on the ship, he would probably have followed him to open up fields or work with a hoe - if possible, people still like to do their own thing.

    Yabei was not the only one who was given this cold steel sword. It was only because of his higher military rank and martial arts skills that Yabei was the first to receive this cold steel sword made by Australians. It is said that everyone will have a share in the future. After all,  This iron cannon is not conducive to close combat - when the enemy approaches, the samurai will use the close combat capabilities of the cold steel sword.

    Another use of this three-foot-long cold steel knife is to insert it under the barrel of the Australian 1628-style fast gun and lock it to use it as a long weapon-this can be used against cavalry. The gun blade has six  It is already as tall as a person in feet, just wait for the cavalry to hit it and die.  As for the infantry, there is no need to be so troublesome. Among these samurai there are many swordsmen or quasi-swordsmen like Yabei. After being hit by volleys of guns and artillery, they can just go up and hack down the remaining infantry.

    In fact, after seeing the power of Australia's fast guns and cannons, even Yabei didn't know how the infantry could charge over alive.  Even the elite members of the Tokugawa family would not dare to charge forward under such firepower.

      Seeing her father lost in thought, Yabei's eldest daughter Ginko held up a piece of Australian candy and said, "Dad, you eat candy too."

    Seeing the warm look on his daughter Yabei's face, he put away the knife: "You can eat the money, dad doesn't like sweets. If you eat too much sweets, your heart will become soft, and you won't be able to go to battle to kill the enemy for your lord."

    Yinzi took the candy and gave it to her mother: "Mom, eat the candy. If the mother eats the candy, there will be sugar in the milk, so my brother can also eat the candy."

    Once upon a time, sugar could be said to be a high-priced medicine for this family or a luxury product that could only be enjoyed by the senior samurai class, the merchant class, and the monk class. Japan did not produce sugar cane, so it did not produce sugar. Brown sugar and white sugar could only be obtained from the Ming Dynasty.  Imported from China, where can the unemployed samurai afford imported candies at high prices?

    However, after the Australians imported a large amount of brown sugar from Guangdong, they made various candies - the reason why they did not make white sugar is because the nutritional content of white sugar is not as high as that of brown sugar. Everyone's opinion on this point is surprisingly consistent, that is, white sugar can be used as a candy in the future.  It is a commodity, but what your family eats must be brown sugar. In this era, women in the Ming Dynasty also ate brown sugar and eggs during confinement. In many places, this tradition still exists hundreds of years later.

    Many diseases in this era are caused by malnutrition. There is a saying in the field of traditional Chinese medicine a long time ago that medicinal supplements are not as good as food supplements - which means that a balanced diet can completely eliminate the need for supplements or that it is the best supplement in itself. However,  For many families, this has to be affordable or affordable.

    The mother who coaxed the child opened her mouth to eat the candy sent by her daughter: "It's so sweet, and it costs money." (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)
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