Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 572 Qi Hefengyun 5
The matter of Fan Jian's arrest was kept strictly confidential, and very few people knew about it. As for what he confessed, not many people knew about it.However, I heard that Lu Xiangsheng, who was listening on the sidelines, crushed two water glasses.

The unlucky "Attempt to Assassinate the Champion Hou" incident did not have any impact on this annual event, and there was still an endless stream of people who came to participate.Of course, he didn't come empty-handed. With the experience of the past year, everyone knows that such a grand event gathers countless rich merchants and unlimited business opportunities. If anyone really comes empty-handed, then he is really stupid.Merchants from Shanxi brought anthracite, merchants from Hunan and Hubei brought tea, merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang brought silk and porcelain, merchants from Guangdong and Guangxi brought longan and lychees, Mongolians brought horses, and camels brought large bags of trona ...More people brought contracts and looked for business opportunities. The arrival of these businessmen added a lot to this event.

Foreigners from Spain, Holland, Portugal and other countries who made a splash last year are here again. These guys are born to like to join in the fun. Of course, such a grand event will not be missed.The Spaniards brought a large amount of high-quality timber, tin ore, and manganese ore that could be used for shipbuilding, the Dutch brought a boatload of guano and phosphate rock, and the Portuguese brought a boatload of sulfur and nitrate ore. There is no limit to the demand for things in the Heluo area, as long as they can be mined, they will not worry about selling, and the cost of mining is low----the cost of taking those people to mine without even paying wages, can the cost not be cheap?And now they have another buyer. Lord Lu is also interested in importing sulfur, nitrate ore, guano, and phosphate rock. It seems that they have to invest more money to expand production when they go back. The supply is in short supply. up.

Some businessmen from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian also brought in many items that Yang Menglong was interested in, such as timber that had been stored in the shipyard for a hundred years.These timbers were bought by Daming from Nanyang and planned to be used to make warships, but before they were used, the national policy changed and they had to be stored in the shipyard.These timbers are used to manufacture warships of more than [-] tons. According to the law of the Ming Dynasty, civilians are not allowed to manufacture ships of more than [-] tons, and those who violate the law will be punished. It is not cost-effective to use them to manufacture ships of [-]-[-] tons. Said that the champion Hou planned to build a warship, so he shipped it over to see if he could sell it, and it would not be a problem to pile it up in the warehouse like this.Yang Menglong's coke broke, and the wood used for shipbuilding has to be air-dried for at least a year, so that it can be dried naturally before it can be used to build warships. How can he waste so much time?These timbers are of great help to him, if you want them, I want as many as I have!By the way, there are quite a few shipbuilding craftsmen over there, right?Send some here, high price!
So, by the time this grand event was over, the giant trees with a length of tens of meters or even nearly a hundred meters had already piled up into a hill at the Nanyang Chengguan Wharf.

After a lot of calls, I finally looked forward to the opening of the sports meeting. Tens of thousands of citizens and businessmen poured into the arena. Standing in the center of the arena and looking at the past, rely on me, the pits and valleys are full of people!Black, red, yellow, green, and various small flags of different colors and patterns are waving in thousands of hands, forming a sea of ​​colors, which dazzles everyone.These small flags were made by people from different regions to cheer for the athletes in their hometown. Before the competition started, the atmosphere gradually became frenzied.

Prince Fu touched Zhu Yujian and said, "My nephew, how many people are there? They are so noisy that my head will explode!"

Zhu Yujian said: "There are at least 8 people."

King Fu was shocked: "God! Isn't that the whole city has gathered here?"

Zhu Yujian said, "It's almost there."

King Fu murmured, "It's terrible, it's terrible!"

"Scary?" Zhu Yujian smiled, "It's not scary at all, this is the real heavenly atmosphere!"

Businessmen and dignitaries from all corners of the country were also shocked. My God, there are so many people, it's too scary!But despite being terrified, everyone was quite proud. The overwhelming shouts and cheers, and the frenzied atmosphere made them feel "we are strong and united" involuntarily. This feeling is No other scene can give them.

Qian Yu said excitedly to Lu Xiangsheng: "Sir, we have come to Nanyang at the right time! It's so lively!"

Lu Xiangsheng looked at the large sea of ​​turbulent flags, smiled, and said in a low voice: "A big country should have such a scene!"

The sound of rumbling guns sounded, and the audience was silent.The four bronze cannons fired a total of four rounds, reminding everyone that Nanyang has passed four years since Yang Menglong's transformation, basically a year.After the four rounds of gunfire ended, Fang Yizhi walked up to the rostrum to deliver a speech, which was the same old routine.But this time his preparations were much better than last year. A speech was written with thousands of words, written in a brilliant manner, focusing on this year's achievements, citing classics, detailed data, and easy to understand. Even an illiterate farmer could listen to it with gusto. .When they heard that Nanyang's fiscal revenue this year was as high as 120 million taels of silver, the audience erupted in a tsunami-like exclamation; His sympathetic eyes turned to the long row of businessmen in the chief, but he was surprised to see these exploited guys smiling proudly, as if they were deeply honored that the tax they paid accounted for the vast majority of the fiscal revenue... ...and the vast majority of businessmen are proud of tax evasion and ashamed of paying taxes.

"Taixi has delivered business opportunities to our doorstep! Daming and Taixi have been in contact for more than 200 years, and the relationship will only become closer and closer. The era of closing the door to live their own lives is over!" Fang Yizhi said excitedly. , "The only things we can sell to Westerners are silk, tea, spices, and porcelain. What else can these things bring to the common people? We should have more factories , to produce more cement, glass, steel, refined salt, sugar, carriages, cloth, fertilizers, canned food, etc., so that the whole world can use what we produce! Let the wealth of the world flow into our pockets !"

Everyone froze for a moment, and then shouted enthusiastically: "Make all the money in the world!"

Fang Yizhi clenched his fists, his face was flushed, and he said: "I have a wish, that one day the people of Daming will no longer have to turn their faces to the loess and their backs to the sky, busy all year round and barely able to get by! I have a wish, that is Daming's One day the common people will not have to rely on the few acres of Susukida at home, and the money they earn from working in the factory for two or three months will be enough for them to have enough food and clothing, and even have enough money to take the whole family on a long trip! I have another wish, that Daming no longer has The war is chaotic, there are no more homeless people, and all the people can sit together like today, talking and laughing, watching the wonderful competitions like today after a year of busy work! I would like to encourage everyone!"

Tens of thousands of people became more and more excited, and the applause exploded like thunder: "That's great, long live!" Stop and rest, to support the family, after a year of hard work, most people can barely make ends meet, if there is a natural disaster, it will kill people.If possible, who wouldn't want to take a break for one or two months a year and enjoy the fruits of labor?Fang Yizhi was talking about their hearts.

The speech is over and the game begins.The first race was still a very popular horse race. Amidst the cheers one after another, a well-dressed knight rode a muscular and shiny horse on the field. Xue Siming, Zhong Ning, Cao Jun, Zu Dabi, Zu Da Le, Qian Yu...all of them are full of energy.Several knights from Mongolia were also as excited as chicken blood. Their compatriots won the championship of this event last year, and they have to make persistent efforts this year. It would be shameful to lose.Among these knights, the three knights from Europe were the most conspicuous. They rode extremely tall European horses, and they stood out among the Chinese knights who were mainly Mongolian horses.It seems that this group of foreigners came well prepared. In order to get good grades, they actually specially entrusted someone to transport three high-quality war horses from Europe.The Han people quit, and they all yelled that this gang of scoundrels, their horse legs are so long, what kind of shit are they playing?The Mongols were busy comforting them: "Don't worry, their horses don't have enough stamina. Our ancestors used to hang and beat them!"

As soon as the whistle sounded, more than 30 horses rushed out like arrows from the string, and they were galloping on the runway. Everyone's hearts were raised to the top of their voices. Whenever a knight grabbed No.1, there would be a thunderous sound. The applause was so loud that it became hoarse.When the European knights took the lead, a group of foreigners danced and danced. Even the missionaries, who have always been dignified, threw their gentle appearance out of the sky. When the Chinese knights took the lead, tens of thousands of people roared. Almost knocked them out.

In the end, after an extremely fierce competition, Xue Siming finally cleared his shame and won No.1. When he rushed across the track and raised his fist and galloped his horse, all the girls in the audience screamed loudly, without any shyness. Expressing one's love, which was unimaginable in the past, but today, everything is taken for granted.

The European knights won No.2 and No.3. This result surprised everyone. A group of Hammond knights angrily demanded another match. They were very unconvinced by the loss, but the European knights refused. Their Tall horses have strong explosive power, but their stamina is not enough. There is no guarantee that they will win again. They are already very satisfied to win the silver and bronze medals.

Yang Menglong was very disappointed: "Why did these foreigners take away the silver and bronze medals? I am so disappointed!"

Catherine asked without losing the opportunity: "Our European war horses have a huge advantage in terms of size and explosive power. How about it, do you want such a war horse? If you want, I can help you get a batch."

Yang Menglong said: "Forget it, your Venetian navy is very powerful, but the army is a scumbag, and you can't expect any good war horses from you."

Catherine said proudly: "Venice does not produce excellent war horses, but we can import them from other countries! British, French, German, Turkish, Hungarian, Polish, as long as you want, we can find a way Help you buy it!"

Yang Menglong's eyes lit up: "Can you really help me buy a European war horse?"

Catherine said, "Why lie to you?"

Yang Menglong waved his hand: "So-so, give me two thousand horses!"

Two thousand horses is not a small amount, but Catherine didn't even bat an eye: "Yes!"

Yang Menglong asked: "Then... how much is a horse?" I was a little guilty, and it would take unimaginable manpower and material resources to transport two thousand European war horses to Asia in a healthy and healthy way, and the price is certainly not much cheaper. go!

Catherine smiled sweetly: "You don't need money, you can just exchange cannons."

Damn, I know this foreign girl is uneasy and kind!
Yang Menglong flatly refused: "Don't even think about it, I won't change!"

Catherine said, "Ten horses for one cannon!"

Yang Menglong said: "You are dreaming."

Catherine has perseverance: "Fifteen horses for one gun! One must know that a war horse in Europe is also very expensive. With fifteen horses, you can get three best bronze naval guns!"

Yang Menglong was very arrogant: "Your thing is called a naval gun? It's almost the same as a fire stick!"

Catherine said: "Twenty horses for one cannon, okay? Please, exchange it!"

It actually started to act cute!

Yang Menglong still said: "No change!"

This guy really grew up eating rocks, his heart is too hard!

(End of this chapter)