At night, Chen Qing sat on the table and looked at the map. He was so absorbed in what he was looking at that the tea next to him had gone cold. At this time, Zhao Yingluo quietly walked forward and wanted to change the tea for him. Chen Qing suddenly woke up from his meditation.
, waved his hands and smiled: "The weather is still relatively hot, drinking herbal tea is also good!"
They left Jingzhao in mid-April, and more than three months had passed before they knew it. In two days, it would already be August. The hottest days were spent at sea, and they didn't feel the heat yet. Autumn was here.
Came quietly.
Before Zhao Yingluo could object, 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 are you looking at, husband, so fascinated?"
"Does Yingluo still have any impression of Dangtu County?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.
"Dangtu County?"
Zhao Yingluo thought for a while, "It seems to be not far from here. I just remembered this and didn't pay attention to anything else."
"Indeed, there is Wuhu here. Most people will not remember Dangtu. There is also a small port there, but it mainly supplies supplies along the way. The county town is also very small and the population is not large. Almost all people go to Wuhu Port to find work.
Done."
"Why would 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 a waste to sail the Wanshi ship on the Yangtze River, so there is a transit place. After the ship arrives here, it is unloaded."
Unload the goods and return to Quanzhou, where the goods will continue to be transported by river vessels."
"I understand what you mean, so why not choose Wuhu?"
"Because I want to garrison troops. It would be too sensitive for thousands of troops to be stationed in Wuhu. There are ships coming and going here, and the court will know about it soon. But it is different in Dangtu. If I reach an agreement with Zhang Jun, he will cover it up for me. As long as
If there is no war, the imperial court will never know that I actually have an army stationed in Dangtu County."
"Husband, I find it a bit unbelievable. How could the imperial court not know about it? Officials passed by Dangtu and found out that it was not the imperial army. Wouldn't they know it?"
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "This is because you don't know some unknown rules in the Song army. Zhang Jun's army is called Zhang Jiajun, Yue Fei's army is called Yue Jiajun, and Han Shizhong's army is called Han Jiajun. Not all of these armies are given by the imperial court.
Part of the money and food was raised by them themselves. It was the same when I was in Qinzhou. These armies that raised their own money and food had no records in the Ministry of War and the Privy Council. They were actually private armies, so my army could pretend to be Zhang Jun's.
Private troops are stationed in Dangtu."
"So Zhang Jun also had this idea and wanted to make a deal with my husband."
Chen Qing nodded, "That's probably what it means!"
At this time, a report came from the female guard outside the tent, "Your Majesty, Counselor Zhou is telling you that the envoy mentioned during the day is here!"
Zhang Jun's envoy arrived. Chen Qing nodded, got up and walked towards the Chinese army's tent.
Zhang Jun’s envoy was his nephew Zhang Yuxuan, who was thirty years old and served as Cang Cao in Zhang Jun’s army. He was responsible for the logistics of the entire army. He was very smart and capable. It can be said that he was Zhang Jun’s confidant and the one who secretly dealt with Liu Guangshi.
He has full control over military resources.
Zhang Yuxuan was talking to Zhou Kuan when Chen Qing walked in. Zhang Yuxuan quickly stood up and saluted, "I'm sorry to see you, King Yong!"
"You're welcome, please sit down!"
The three of them sat down respectively. Chen Qing looked at Zhang Yuxuan, and he looked vaguely familiar. Then he smiled and asked, "Have we met before?"
"Reporting to King Yong, in the first year of Shaoxing, Beizhi also participated in the recruit competition and led 500 soldiers to fight against King Yong."
Chen Qing chuckled and said, "I see. I thought it looked familiar. Eight years have passed in a blink of an eye."
Zhang Yuxuan also lamented: "The soldiers who followed King Yong to participate in the competition, I heard that the worst were all made commanders. They followed King Yong, which was the most correct choice in life."
Chen Qing was a little surprised, "You even know this?"
"I just heard some rumors. We have never explored the secrets of King Yong's army."
Chen Qing didn't take this matter to heart. This was indeed a rumor. How could he be the commander? Some unsatisfactory guys are still suffering from headaches.
He smiled and said: "It seems that your commander-in-chief also has some appeals to me."
Zhang Yuxuan also smiled slightly and said: "Don't you think King Yong wants to find a transit port in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River?"
Chen Qing chuckled, "It seems that we are mutually exclusive. I wonder what you commanders want?"
Zhang Yuxuan was silent for a moment and said slowly: "Fire oil!"
Chen Qing asked calmly: "Is kerosene very useful to you?"
Zhang Yuxuan sighed and said: "To be honest with King Yong, our army's combat capabilities are not good. In the past, when we faced the Jin soldiers or the puppet Qi army, we basically suffered repeated defeats, losing the city and abandoning the soil. It was really embarrassing, but from July last year to
Now, for a whole year, we have faced thirteen attacks by the enemy without retreating. The commander-in-chief has also received awards and canonizations from the court and the emperor. The fundamental reason is that kerosene played a huge role in defending the city and defending the Huaihe River.
As a result, there are not many 30,000 barrels of kerosene traded in Gangneung that year, and our commander is very anxious."
Chen Qing admired Zhang Yuxuan's frankness. This kind of negotiation method made him feel very comfortable. At least the other party was sincere.
"I am very grateful to your commander for his sincerity, and I am also willing to help him fight against the financial crisis. I have considered that Wuhu's location is a bit sensitive. Would it be better if it was placed in Dangtu County next to it?"
Zhang Yuxuan laughed, "King Yong and our commander thought of going together. Our commander said that if King Yong takes Wuhu, he can give a quota of 1,000 people, and if it is Dangtu County, he can give a quota of 3,000 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 choose Dangtu County, what do I have to pay?”
Zhang Yuxuan stretched out a finger and said, "Ten thousand barrels of kerosene every year!"
The requirements are not high. With the current kerosene production in Fushi County, 10,000 barrels of oil are given to Zhang Jun every year, which is not a big problem.
Chen Qing smiled and asked: "Then how come my army exists 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 Tiansha Army. King Yong should understand what I mean!"
Chen Qing nodded, and it was consistent with his expectation. The Heaven-Shaking Army was Zhang Jun's private army, with more than 10,000 people. The court also knew that if the flag of the Heaven-Shaking Army was raised, no one would come to cause trouble.
Chen Qing smiled, stood up and said, "The specific details have been finalized by Zhang Canjun and Counselor Zhou. If the problem is not major, we can make arrangements before we set off."
The next morning, Zhou Kuan handed Chen Qing a detailed draft that he had drafted overnight. This was drafted by Zhou Kuan himself. It could be seen that he had rested very late. After all, he was old and looked very tired.
"Thank you for your hard work, Counselor Zhou!"
Zhou Kuan said with a smile: "Time is tight, and I have to work hard to confirm it today. Zhang Yuxuan will rush back to Luzhou to resume his duties today."
Chen Qing took 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 it for the county magistrate. Have you mentioned it?"
"There are two options."
Zhou Kuan flipped through a few pages, pointed to the clauses and said: "This is a port. The current port in Dangtu is too small. It has a good harbor, but the pier is very small and cannot berth thousands of ships. It must invest in expansion.
It also includes buying land to build warehouses.
What Zhang Yuxuan meant was to find a businessman to invest as a cover. This is what they did. The famous Wei's Trading Company on the Yangtze River was founded by the Zhang family. It could be handed over to it to expand the port, build warehouses, and then list it as Wei's Trading Company.
Then, my idea was to put up the Wei’s Trading Company brand and do it ourselves, and the other party agreed, but the condition is that another thousand barrels of kerosene will be added every year.”
Chen Qing said calmly: "Just hanging a sign is not enough. A thousand barrels of kerosene are not so easy to make. If there is any dispute in the fleet, Wei's Trading Company must come forward to resolve it."
"With this article in mind, if there is a shipping or port dispute, Wei's Trading Company will resolve it."
"Then how to deal with the armor and equipment of the Heaven-Shaking Army? Is it mentioned in the draft?" Chen Qing asked again.
"We all have the armor and equipment of the Heaven-Shaking Army, and the other party will provide us with a hundred military flags."
Chen Qing nodded, "Tell me about the issue of being the magistrate of Tu County."
"There is no problem with the county magistrate. Zhang Yuxuan said that Jiang Zhixian who is in charge of Tu is one of theirs. If we want to change it to one of our own, 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 switch to my people."
Zhou Kuan suggested: "But I feel that I need to place one of our people, even a county captain."
"Okay! Just choose a civilian from the army to be the county captain."