Feng Jian smiled and said: "These foreign craftsmen are not as difficult as you think. They are adventurers who crossed the sea from the far west and came to our Ming Dynasty. What they are pursuing is nothing more than money and opportunities. I used to live in Dengzhou The main reason for following Governor Sun Yuanhua is that Sun Yuanhua can provide them with generous treatment and money. Now that we have come to Huluyan, as long as the money and treatment we provide will only be higher than those in Dengzhou, they have no reason not to do things for us. You don't have to do anything for us. Worried." Seeing that Zhang Dalai and Liang Yuanhao still looked worried, they turned to Shen Xiaoshan and joked: "It seems that what you just said really scared our two senior managers of the Military Research Institute, so we should find a way quickly. Remedy." Shen Xiaoshan smiled and said: "This is easy to handle. If these foreign craftsmen really want to make things difficult for the two senior managers, let Guo Tai come out and starve them for a few days to ensure that they are all obedient." Feng Jian laughed and scolded: "You will come up with blind ideas. If you really do this, we probably won't be able to make the Hongyi cannon." Everyone around the table laughed and talked about how these foreign craftsmen had given Zhang Dalai and Liang Yuan a good reputation. Come up with ideas and find solutions. Everyone was born in a ripple. Speaking is naturally inevitable vulgar and rude. Panny sitting on one side listened to his face flushed, and his eyes stared at the vulgar people. If it were on any other occasion, Pannier would have walked away long ago, but it was not easy to leave rashly today. Shen Hanyang, who was sitting next to Pan Nier, had an upright temper. Seeing Pan Nier's embarrassment, he loudly reminded everyone to speak with caution. Feng Jian also realized that an unmarried little girl was indeed inappropriate among a group of men who spoke vulgarly, so he said to Pannier: "If something happens to Captain Pan's medical team, you can leave first and don't be fooled by these vulgar people." The dirty words are dirty to my ears.¡± After hearing Feng Jin¡¯s words, I felt sad for no reason. Tears kept falling down like broken pearls, and I sobbed a few times. He hid his face and ran out of the meeting hall. Feng Jian was a little dazed. He only said those words out of concern. He didn't know why Pannier was crying. Shen Hanyang sighed, stood up and said, "I'm going to see what's going on with Ni'er!" "Yes, Dr. Shen is going to see if Captain Pan has been wronged in any way, and ask for the whole story. If there is anything difficult to solve, you can go directly to him. Me." Feng Jian said. Shen Hanyang agreed, but shook his head secretly. It seemed that Pan Nier was tender. The commander didn¡¯t know anything about it! Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao, as the president and vice president of Huluyan General Mutual Aid Association, are in charge of the allocation of money and grain in Huluyan. They are truly the most powerful figures in Huluyan's finances. But in the past few days, the commander made several big moves without warning, and Huluyan's finances were facing unprecedented pressure, making Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao frown and sleepless. Sun Fang plans to reveal Huluyan¡¯s family background to Feng Jian, so that Feng Jian can understand the difficulties faced by Huluyan. Huluyan harvested wheat last summer and harvested corn, soybeans, grains and other grains in the autumn last year. In addition to returning it to the villagers, the mutual aid association maintains operations and Huluyan¡¯s army of nearly 10,000 people is needed. Most of the remaining grain is transferred through Dayou Liangxing. The grain is sold through the Jiaolai River water transport to the Beijing-Tianjin area of ??Zhili for trafficking and sales, and then various materials are purchased locally and sold in Pingdu and surrounding areas. After removing the cost of the grain, the profits generated by the Jiaolai River water transport alone are made. It is almost equivalent to 30% of the grain harvest. It can be seen that with the opening of the Jiaolai River water transport, its huge benefits are gradually emerging. The control of this golden waterway is now in the hands of the Pingdu Prefecture Flood Camp. In the future, it will be another important source of Huluyan's finances. Speaking solely of Huluyan¡¯s finances, last year¡¯s cumulative gross income amounted to 1.1 million taels of silver. More than one million taels of silver seemed like a lot, but the expenses everywhere in Huluyan were like a bottomless pit. The silver disappeared like running water. At the beginning of the year, the Huluyan General Mutual Aid Association made a budget for the year's income and expenditure. Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao were also confident. After careful calculations by them and their accountants, Huluyan's finances would not only not suffer losses but also have a partial surplus after one year. However, a few days ago, a naval fleet of a hundred warships suddenly appeared. The cost of maintaining this huge naval fleet is not a small amount of money. It is at least 500,000 taels a year. This expenditure is not included in the list. In this year's budget, the finance suddenly had a gap of 500,000 taels of silver. ¡°That¡¯s not all. The day before yesterday, the commander siphoned off nearly half of Dayou Liang Bank¡¯s bank balance, and now he agreed to Zhang Dalai¡¯s expansion of the Military Research Institute. In just a few moments, Huluyan's finances have become unable to make ends meet, and the fiscal budget for the year needs to be significantly revised. No wonder Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao look like bitter gourds. Sun Fang complained to Feng Jian: "Commander, you know best how much money our Huluyan finance has."In the initial budget, the purchase of raw materials, the distribution of food and wages for nearly 10,000 soldiers, labor subsidy for mutual aid associations, and expenditures on various aspects such as mutual aid associations, military research institutes, breeding farms, and pigeon farms require at least 900,000 taels of silver, plus miscellaneous items Expenses are just about balanced. You have suddenly added a burden of five to six hundred thousand yuan, which is unbearable for Huluyan's finances! " Feng Jian also knows the difficulties of Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao. Unlike a year and a half ago when they were just fighting bandits, Huluyan now has two major systems: Zhenshan Camp and the Mutual Aid Association. All aspects need financial and food support. Huluyan last year The income from food seems to be a lot, but there are more expenses. It is very rare for both of them to be able to support the smooth operation of all aspects of Huluyan. Feng Jian is very satisfied with this. There was a reason why the grain bank took away one hundred thousand taels of silver. Feng Jian came to Huluyan this time to explain to the two of them. He also said that Commander Feng Jian suddenly threw out one hundred thousand taels of silver to bribe important figures in the court, Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao. Although people are distressed, they can understand that the commander's purpose is to control the Dengzhou Navy warships. As long as the emperor and the court ministers give permission, the court will allocate a fixed amount of salary every year. Yan's finances do not have to bear the navy's expenses. In fact, even if the court does not bear the navy's food and salary, it is not a big problem in Feng Jian's opinion. The food harvest of the Huluyan Mutual Aid Association is increasing year by year, and the food trafficking on the Nanjiao Lai River is increasing year by year. There are fees for going up the river. These are industries that generate huge profits. Even a navy with the same staff can support them. The current financial situation is only temporarily tight. Feng Jian believes that Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao can also see this. : "President Sun and President Qin, I know the difficulties of your mutual aid association, but the navy is an important force in whether our Huluyan can carry out shipping freely on the sea and fight against the enemy. Moreover, even if the navy fleet's food and salary supply requires Huluyan's financial burden, the required money will not be provided by your finances all at once, but will be allocated monthly. I think it won't be a big problem if the mutual aid association adjusts the budget. " Sun Fang said to Feng Jian with a bitter face: "Commander, if we don't increase the new budget. Although the mutual aid association's finances will be stretched thin, it can still cope with it! Feng Jian smiled and said to Sun Fang and Qin Huaibao: "In fact, the increase in financial expenditure shows that our Huluyan is growing rapidly. If we invest now, we will get a return of ten times or a hundred times in the future. This is a good thing in my opinion. You guys The mutual aid association should take a more long-term view when managing finances. Let¡¯s think about it carefully! "Although everyone didn't quite understand the vocabulary in the conductor's long words, they could still understand the general meaning, and the words were full of motivation. The two of them quickly nodded in agreement. After the luncheon, Shen Xiaoshan and Guo Tai led the way, and Feng Jian saw them The twenty-seven foreign craftsmen who were kidnapped by the soldiers of the Hunting Division saw the arrival of a group of people wearing bright red battle coats of the Ming army. Among them was a young man wearing the official uniform of a fifth-grade military attach¨¦. The foreign craftsmen were a little surprised, but no one spoke. Many foreign craftsmen stared at Guo Tai in the crowd, with anger in their eyes. Shen Xiaoshan took a few steps forward and said to these foreign craftsmen. : "You have always wanted to meet my master. My adults are here now. " With that said, he bowed to Feng Jian and said, "Commander, this is the foreign craftsman rescued by our enemy hunting department. " A bearded foreigner in his forties suddenly stood up and said: "We are not craftsmen. We are messengers who came to the far east to spread the gospel of God. We were hired by Mr. Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai. Please respect us. " Feng Jian knew the identities of these people. In May of the third year of Chongzhen, Sun Yuanhua was appointed governor of Denglai. At that time, Xu Guangqi planned to recruit more than 300 Western soldiers as mercenaries. Just as these 300 mercenaries were heading to Beijing On the way, he wrote a letter to Lu Zhaolong to object, and was finally sent back to Macau by Chongzhen. Sun Yuanhua argued with Lu Zhaolong and asked to transfer these mercenaries to Dengzhou. As a result, only 27 Portuguese gunners served under Sun Yuanhua. Among them were Xi Lao, the former mercenary commander of Gongsha, and Lu Ruohan, the translator. This should have happened after Ji Mao in March of the fourth year of Chongzhen, because Lu Ruohan completed the task of sending the recruited mercenaries back to Macau and returned to Beijing to return to Chongzhen. On this day, "Cha Jun Fu Ming Shu" was published. It was these twenty-seven Westerners who built more than 20 Hongyi cannons and more than 300 Western artillery pieces in Dengzhou City in just one and a half years. Everyone looked at him with admiration. Feng Jian took a step forward and said: "Of course we respect you and your religion. I am Feng Jian, the garrison officer of Pingduzhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty. If my subordinates have offended me in the past, please forgive me. Guests coming from afar are forgiven. ¡± All the foreign craftsmen¡¯s eyes were focused on Feng Jian.??It is unimaginable that this gentle and gentlemanly military attach¨¦ would have a group of vicious subordinates! The foreigner who spoke before bowed slightly and said: "General Feng, there is no need to be polite. I, Lu Ruohan, will respectfully serve as the interpreter for the twenty-seven of us." Feng Jin nodded slightly and said: "It turns out to be Mr. Lu, I'm sorry!" "I don't dare to be Mr. "General Feng, just call me Lu Ruohan. I would like to ask why General Feng sent people to capture us here." The corners of Feng Jian's mouth turned up slightly, showing his signature smile: "What you said is wrong, I didn't capture you." Instead of being captured here, I will rescue you here. You don¡¯t know that Dengzhou City has been captured by Kong Youde¡¯s rebels! After the rebels captured Dengzhou City, they burned, killed and looted everywhere. Both officials and civilians were likely to be killed by the rebels. "If you continue to stay in Dengzhou City, you may not be able to escape the fate of being killed." Most of the foreigners present could understand Chinese, and Feng Jian's words made them unbelievable. They all looked shocked, and some of them were speechless. He kept crossing himself and praying. ! ! (To be continued)