lcionline Chapter 315 Xiao Yuqiang and Lin Wanwan lead their troops into battle
Chapter 315 Xiao Yuqiang and Lin Wanwan lead their troops into battle
"This salt factory was built by your Su family. If you hand over the management rights to us, how is that any different from outright robbery?"
"I'm willing to work at the salt factory for free, otherwise I'd be letting down the food the Su family provides!"
Shen Shuli did not expect Gao Fei's reaction to be so intense.
Xie Chengyuan also turned to look at Shen Shuli, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
His eyes seemed to say, 'See? I knew Uncle Gao wouldn't agree.'
Shen Shuli rolled her eyes at Xie Chengyuan, then quickly tried to appease him and explain.
"Uncle Gao, please don't get agitated. Let me explain slowly to you."
"Everything on our island is still under construction, and there's no question of buying or selling, so the ownership issue isn't important."
"It is estimated that within a few years, the salt produced by the salt factory will only be able to barely supply the entire island's population, so don't even think about transporting it outside the island to sell and exchange for money."
"To put it bluntly, everyone who worked at the salt factory in the past few years has been working for free."
"The reason why the Su family handed over the management rights of the salt factory to you and the Xie family is because you and the Xie family have 150,000 soldiers under your command."
"When the saltworks generate income in the future, you will be able to support these 150,000 soldiers on your own, won't you?"
Upon hearing this, Gao Fei was indeed somewhat tempted.
He simply couldn't bring himself to refuse.
If they refuse, wouldn't that mean the Su family would have to support so many soldiers for him indefinitely?
Where would the Su family get so much money and resources to support them?
If they could successfully operate the salt factory, they could exchange salt with the Su family for other goods.
Seeing that Gao Fei was clearly hesitant, Xie Chengyuan immediately added fuel to the fire, saying, "Uncle Gao, A-Li is right. We have to find a way to support these soldiers ourselves, don't we?"
"If you feel this is inappropriate, why not let the Su family take 60% of the profits?"
After struggling internally for a few moments, Gao Fei finally reluctantly agreed.
According to him, the Su family should receive at least 80%.
But Shen Shuli didn't want to take more.
The Su family would have been more than satisfied with taking 20%, but the other party even wanted to give them 80%.
After much persuasion, the Su family finally acquired 40% of the shares.
Of the remaining 60%, Gao Fei and the Xie family each account for 30%.
Shen Shuli wrote a contract on the spot and had Gao Fei and Xie Chengyuan sign and affix their fingerprints. Three copies were made to leave no chance for either party to back out.
The saltworks was only half the size of all the saltworks in the prefecture.
It's not that there's no space, but there's no need to build it too big. This size saltworks is enough for the island's residents.
It's not too late to expand later if needed, once the area has developed further.
There's no need to invest too many resources now.
Gao Fei wasted no time and immediately led 10,000 soldiers to the saltworks.
Of these 10,000 people, at least 5,000 were soldiers who had previously worked at the saltworks in Jeonju.
At the Quanzhou Saltworks, there were sometimes not enough workers, and in order to maintain production, Gao Fei had to have soldiers fill in.
Therefore, almost all of his soldiers knew the salt-making process.
Su Yunhai only provided the salt factory site; he did not prepare the necessary tools.
Because he didn't understand it, he could only let the people at Gaofei figure out a way to do it themselves.
Before leaving, Gao Fei entrusted the remaining 40,000 soldiers to his elder brother Xie Jiuzhong.
After learning about the saltworks, General Xie Jiuzhong, the Great General of the Northern Garrison, did not refuse Gao Fei's request again and agreed to take charge of the 40,000 soldiers for him.
He also dispatched another 10,000 soldiers to Gao Fei to help with the work at the saltworks.
After all, the Xie family also had a stake in the salt factory.
Xie Jiuzhong may lack technical skills, but at least he should send some people to do the work, right?
Otherwise, you would be getting a huge advantage.
Fortunately, the salt factory was large enough.
It can easily accommodate 20,000 people.
After seeing that Gao Fei had led his troops away to the saltworks, Shen Shuli and Xie Chengyuan also took their leave.
The saltworks haven't prepared any food or other supplies yet.
Shen Shuli and Xie Chengyuan quickly flew the helicopter to the salt factory and filled all the warehouses to the brim.
This amount of food and supplies is enough to feed at least 20,000 people for more than half a year.
After returning to the base, it was already late, so the two went home separately.
*
The other side.
Lihai City.
It took half a year.
Xiao Yuqiang's shipyard has finally built its first warship, which is even larger than a large ship.
The crew sailed the boat a short distance in the nearby waters.
Everything is perfectly fine.
Both its speed and sturdiness are much better than the previous treasure ship models.
Within the past two months.
Since no supplies had been lost within the city, Xiao Yuqiang and Lin Wanwan gradually lowered their guard.
The two of them breathed a slight sigh of relief.
To prevent the Su family from continuing to steal supplies.
Xiao Yuqiang built several secret passages in his residence.
Not only that.
He also had more than a dozen secret passages built throughout the entire city of Lihai.
This was all to confuse the public and successfully transport the supplies purchased from the immortals to the surrounding cities.
Fortunately, no supplies were lost during these two months.
Otherwise, Xiao Yuqiang would probably have had the secret passage dug to connect the eight surrounding cities.
Lin Wanwan has been shopping non-stop for the past two months.
The system level has now been upgraded to level three.
In addition to food and clothing, the system shop now also offers meat, eggs, dairy products, and vegetables.
Various cooked meat products, pickled vegetables, cold dishes, sesame seed cakes, steamed buns, dumplings, and other fast food.
And various beverages, coffee, milk tea, tea, and various snacks.
It even includes all the food-related delicacies that every restaurant in the modern world can make.
The improved food quality in military units across the country greatly enhanced the prestige of Xiao Yuqiang and Lin Wanwan.
Apart from the eight cities surrounding Lihai City.
More and more people from neighboring cities, having heard the news, are migrating here.
Among them were refugees who had fled from the north.
They heard that the Emperor of Dayong was in Lihai City and that he provided food to the people every day.
Many people willingly stayed in nearby cities to work for him.
Lin Wanwan's system has increased the daily spending limit to 3 billion system coins.
In the past two months, the money plundered from wealthy merchants and nobles in various places has been almost completely exhausted.
The money we earn each day is almost insufficient to meet the demand.
In order to buy up all the limited quotas held by the immortals every day, Xiao Yuqiang organized the army to search for craftsmen among the people.
They were tasked with making various porcelains, pottery, calligraphy and paintings, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, silk brocades, embroidery, sandalwood, and golden nanmu wood, among other things.
He had all the valuable items that any 'immortal' took a liking to made made.
He himself personally wrote poems and painted, and even personally wrote imperial edicts and affixed the national seal.
Anything he handled that was related to the royal family could fetch a hefty price when sold to the 'immortal'.
However, as he produced more and more, he discovered that the exchange rate given by the immortals was getting lower and lower.
In other words, his calligraphy, paintings, and other objects are becoming increasingly worthless.
Xiao Yuqiang could only place his hopes on skilled people and encourage them to participate in the production process.
It will also provide the people with everything they need, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
This was barely enough to maintain daily expenses.
However, the production of some expensive luxury goods takes time, and there is no shortcut.
Xiao Yuqiang's anxiety was useless.
"My dear consort, the large ship has been successfully built, and the crew has conducted a trial run at sea without any problems."
"We have stockpiled a lot of supplies during this period, enough to feed the armies in each city for at least a year."
"Make preparations in the next two days, and lead the troops with me on the expedition."
Lin Wanwan had long known that Xiao Yuqiang would target other neighboring small countries.
Otherwise, the little silver I have is simply not enough.
If it weren't for the fear of the Su family stealing her stockpiled supplies, she wouldn't be living in constant anxiety, dreading the news of the stolen supplies one morning.
Fortunately, the Su family has been behaving themselves lately and hasn't targeted the supplies again.
They also took advantage of this time to stockpile a lot of food in dozens of places.
We won't be wiped out in one fell swoop.
"Your Majesty, I would naturally like to go on the expedition with you, but I am six months pregnant with twins. The journey will be arduous, and I am really worried about the children."
Lin Wanwan was reluctant to go on the expedition with him.
War is by no means a simple matter.
She was a frail woman, and a pregnant woman at that; how could she possibly endure such torment?
She was pregnant.
No matter how much Xiao Yuqiang cared for her, he could not understand the pain of pregnancy.
Moreover, with the outside world covered in ice and snow, even a luxurious carriage would find it difficult to withstand the cold wind.
The carriage was only so big; it was difficult for her to even turn over.
Nothing beats staying at home.
Xiao Yuqiang was determined to bring Lin Wanwan along.
When leading troops into battle, the most important thing is the supply of materials.
As long as Lin Wanwan is there.
He would no longer need to carry heavy provisions, nor would he have to worry about them being stolen.
It would be so much more convenient to have Lin Wanwan buy the food when it's time to eat!
Xiao Yuqiang also knew that Lin Wanwan had physical difficulties and was worried that the child might have problems.
After all, he never expected that Lin Wanwan would get pregnant with twins at once!
Regardless of gender.
in this era.
Conceiving twins in one attempt is considered an auspicious omen.
Even girls are precious!
"My beloved consort, do not be afraid. I have already made up my mind. I will have warships accompany you. You can simply ride on the ship."
"I will have the army carry a week's worth of rations each day. Once they run out, you can resupply them at a suitable place."
"I have specially prepared an eight-horse carriage for you. There is enough space inside for you to live in. If you encounter special circumstances that prevent you from joining the army, you can use the carriage temporarily. Don't worry, I will not let you suffer any grievances."
Xiao Yuqiang planned to have the army travel along the coastline so that they could meet up with the large ships at any time.
Listening to Xiao Yuqiang's arrangements, Lin Wanwan knew that she had no choice but to obey him.
"Since Your Majesty has made such a thoughtful arrangement for me, then I will respectfully comply."
Lin Wanwan harbored resentment in her heart, but on the surface, she had to be grateful to this scoundrel for making her travel a long distance while pregnant!
"Hmm, see if there's anything you'd like to bring, and I'll have someone bring it for you as well."
Xiao Yuqiang affectionately stroked Lin Wanwan's belly, occasionally feeling the baby's playful movements.
"Understood, Your Majesty," Lin Wanwan replied gently.
Three days later.
Xiao Yuqiang set off with Lin Wanwan and an army of 200,000.
Xiao Yuqiang had Lin Wanwan travel on a warship, while he personally led the troops to maintain morale.
He was determined to win this war and looked exceptionally spirited.