A man ran away quickly, and not long after, Zhang Yangquan and the Qin sisters came over.
As soon as the three of them entered the room, they felt a wave of scorching hot air coming towards them. Zhang Yangquan stared at the iron-making furnace and said, "Is the furnace ready?"
Hu Guangcao said hurriedly: "Yes, two village leaders and military advisors, please see that this knife has been burned soft. If you want to make a gun head, you only need to chisel it into three pieces of iron and beat it into shape again!" Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "Hu Gong is worthy of having served as the director of the Ministry of Industry." He was immediately appointed as the owner of the blacksmith workshop, and more than 20 people were assigned to him.
Qin Lingjun suddenly said: "Mr. Hu, since you have worked in the Ministry of Industry for so many years, do you know how to make gun barrels?"
Hu Guangcao hurriedly said: "It's not difficult to make, but I wonder if there is any wood needed for the gun shaft in the village?"
Qin Lingjun wanted to test him and said, "I don't know what kind of wood to use?"
"Ox tendon wood is naturally the best, followed by sword spine wood, but I heard that the natives in Guangxi Province like to use thick wood as gun shafts, and the effect is also good."
Qin Lingjun admired and said: "Hu Gong is knowledgeable and knowledgeable, and he can be Lingjun's teacher!"
With Hu Guangcao as a capable person, the task of making the spear can be left to him alone.
Zhang Yangquan also asked Monkey to recruit some carpenters, stonemasons and masons from the villagers. He asked the carpenters to help Hu Guangcao make gun shafts, the masons to specialize in making stone bullets, and the masons to be responsible for planning and building houses.
In the eyes of others, these craftsmen are of low status and not worthy of elegance, but in Zhang Yangquan’s eyes, these people are senior engineers and talents!
Amidst the busy construction, the spinach in the mountain field is finally ripe.
As agreed, Zhang Yangquan sent people to the Bian family and asked them to come over to discuss the acquisition.
Bian Ying originally planned to send his second son Bian Yuantong to make the trip in person, but Bian Yuantong was unwilling to go, so he had to send his eldest son Bian Yuanheng to run errands.
In addition, this is the first time that Persian food has entered the market. Zhang Yangquan also sent someone to notify Shen Qianqian, and the three parties will jointly set the price.
After Bian Yuanheng went to Longtan Village, Bian Yuantong came to Bian Ying's study alone... He felt that his father had made a mistake this time, and he must remind him!
Businessmen need returns on their investments. The Bian family invested a lot in Longtan Village this time. If Longtan Village ceases to exist, all those investments will be in vain.
"Father, I have received the exact news. The Red Scarf Army will not last long. Brother Wang Meng will return to the city soon. By then, Longtan Village will be over!"
Bian Ying raised her head from behind the desk and said calmly: "Really?"
Bian Yuantong gritted his teeth and said: "You should make a decision quickly, immediately destroy all the account books of 'Fushun Trading Company', and transfer the people of the trading company to Fuzhou. Otherwise, if Longtan Village is breached, Brother Wang Meng will definitely follow Fushun Trading Company and find us!" Fushun Trading Company is a trading company secretly established by the Bian family. All transactions between the Bian family and Longtan Village are in the name of Fushun Trading Company.
Bian Ying took a leisurely sip of tea and said slowly: "Yuan Tong, why do you still don't understand?"
Bian Yuantong snorted and said: "My child understands that you put your chips on Longtan Village because of your brother."
Bian Ying shook his head: "You are wrong. The reason why my father agreed to cooperate with Longtan Village was not because of your eldest brother, but because of Shen Qianqian!"
Bian Yuantong was stunned: "Just to compete with the Shen family?"
Bian Ying glanced at him sideways and said: "Don't underestimate that girl, you are far less astute than her in business matters!"
Bian Yuantong snorted and said: "If the father thinks that the child is incompetent, just leave all the business to the elder brother!"
"Alas, you kid is here again!" Bian Ying shook his head and said seriously: "Okay, sit down first, and I will tell you the truth slowly as a father!"
Bian Yuantong hesitated for a moment and sat down next to Bian Ying.
Bian Ying looked serious and said, "Do you still remember that some time ago, there was news that Xu Shouhui was going to attack Hangzhou?"
"The news has been circulating for so long and we haven't seen Xu Shouhui attacking. It's probably just a rumor!"
Bian Ying said solemnly: "I thought it was a rumor at first, but recently I discovered a strange thing. The Shen family sent a lot of goods to Shen Qianqian in Zhenjiang. However, Shen Qianqian only sent a small part of the goods to Jiangdu. After being sold, most of the others went to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River by waterway."
Bian Yuantong was stunned.
"Not only that, even when Shen Qianqian was entangled by Da Shi, the Shen family fleet from Zhenjiang was still moving up the river in a steady stream."
"Father is saying that Shen Wansan sent her here not for Jiangdu?" Bian Yuantong's eyes widened.
Bian Ying squinted his eyes and said: "Yes, conquering Jiangdu may be just a small purpose, the Shen family has a bigger purpose!"
"What is it?"
Bian Ying said coldly: "The upper reaches of the Yangtze River are in the hands of Xu Shouhui, what else do you think it could be?"
Bian Yuantong said in astonishment: "The Shen family is sending supplies to Xu Shouhui? This is impossible, isn't Shen Wansan's backstage Fang Guozhen?"
"Judging from the current situation, he may be planning to abandon Fang Guozhen and switch to Xu Shouhui, which is why Shen Qianqian came to Jiangdu to open up the Jiangdu market, but secretly sent supplies to Xu Shouhui."
Bian Yuantong suddenly said: "The Shen family dared to do this because they must have known in advance that Xu Shouhui would capture Hangzhou!"
Bian Ying said with a smile: "That's right. This also explains why Shen Qianqian took the risk to cooperate with Longtan Village, because she knew that Hangzhou would soon change hands. When the time came, the court would be furious and would mobilize Yangzhou Road soldiers and horses to attack Hangzhou. Wang Meng would only I can obey orders!"
Bian Yuantong was stunned for a long time and sighed: "It turns out that my father has thought about it so much!"
Bian Ying glanced at him and said in a deep voice: "The power of the imperial court is getting weaker and weaker. Maybe Jiangdu will change hands at some time. There is nothing wrong with leaving an extra escape route!"
"The retreat my father is referring to is Longtan Village?"
Bian Ying said seriously: "Yes, they have just defeated Qingyi Village, which is enough to prove their strength. Coupled with stable financial income, they will be even stronger in the future. When our family reaches a critical moment in the future, they will be a force we can borrow!"
”
"I understand, kid." Bian Yuantong took a deep breath and looked to the north: "Eldest brother should be arriving at Longtan Village soon. I hope his trip goes well!"