The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 119 The same spirit connects branches
Xue Baoqin sat quietly with her brother. The two siblings seemed like wooden figures, listening silently to their father and Wang Xin talking about business.

Xue Yan calculated every account clearly.

Although he wanted to avoid the limelight, he was loyal to the person who entrusted him with the task, so Xue Yan still handled the matter of the Western muskets that Wang Xin had asked him to do carefully.

A musket and a Portuguese pistol.

"I had the Portuguese arborist weighed. Each one weighs about 200 jin. The quote from the other side is 240 taels per arborist. The best iron in our Great Zhou is Fujian iron, which costs 1.6 qian per jin. So the cost price of each Portuguese arborist is about 30 taels of silver. Taking into account the wages of the master craftsmen, etc., the maximum cost should not exceed 100 taels of silver per arborist."

Xue Yan smiled bitterly: "There's nothing I can do. They're the only ones who have this Portuguese machine, so I can only accept their offer."

Then speaking of bird guns, it's all the same.

Finally, Xue Yan looked at Wang Xin and said, "I've asked a craftsman to take a look. They are confident that they can imitate it, but the initial cost is not small, so it's better to buy it directly."

At this time, Xue Ke couldn't help but sigh.

"My Great Zhou is a land of vastness and abundance, with many talented people and beautiful scenery. I never expected that we would be surpassed by small Western countries in terms of firearms. It's truly pathetic."

Xue Yan frowned.

Xue Baoqin was unconvinced and said immediately, "There are so many people in our Great Zhou, and my brother has only met a few of them. How can you know that no one can make it? Maybe it's just that father hasn't encountered it yet."

Xue Ke was unwilling to compete with his sister.

Seeing this, Wang Xin smiled. It seemed that Xue Baoqin had a good life. She had a father who loved her and a brother who gave in to her.

Xue Ke heard Wang Xin's laughter and mistakenly thought that Wang Xin disagreed with his words, so he said unconvincedly: "The Fujian region has many sailors and a wealth of experience. The best artillery craftsmen are also in the Fujian region. Although the artillery craftsmen in the Beijing camp were famous, they are far inferior to what they used to be and are no longer as good as the artillery craftsmen in Fujian."

He didn't say everything, leaving some room for maneuver, which is quite like his father's style.

Wang Xin nodded.

Unexpectedly, Xue Ke smiled as he was recognized for what he said. Xue Baoqin beside him pouted and looked unhappy. Da Zhou was the most powerful, but the elder brothers did not refute him, and Xue Baoqin did not want to embarrass herself.

"The Great Zhou enjoyed a hundred years of peace, and most of its armies fell into disuse, let alone armaments. Without demand, technology naturally developed slowly. Conversely, the Western kingdoms remained like they did during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with constant wars and suffering among the people. Although many kingdoms had fertile land, their populations remained small for thousands of years."

Xue Yan's eyes lit up, and he understood what Wang Xin meant. This angle was quite novel.

Xue Ke was not an ordinary teenager. He was not competitive. When he heard something he had never heard before, he actually listened seriously.

Xue Baoqin's eyes were curved with smile.

I know that my elder brother will definitely help me, and he is speaking for me now.

Wang Xin concluded, "Due to the millennia of relentless warfare, the demand for the military grew ever greater. The military was extremely important. Western nations developed knights, similar to the samurai of the Japanese pirates, all because of the long-term demands of warfare, which fostered these classes, which shouldn't have existed. But things have their ups and downs. The demands of war and the emphasis on the military led to the constant innovation of artillery."

"In that case, it's a bad thing that our Great Zhou hasn't fought a war for many years." Xue Ke felt incredible.

Wang Xin smiled and said, "Our Great Zhou is fortunate to be so large. Although our demand for armaments is slow, we have a large number of craftsmen and a wealth of technical expertise. As long as we frequently communicate with other countries, they will fight and shed blood, and produce all kinds of new equipment. We will also continuously absorb their technology by doing business with them. As the ancients said, if there are three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me. If it is good, we must naturally absorb it, integrate it, and take it to the next level."

"Well said."

Xue Yan couldn't help but applaud.

Xue Ke looked convinced.

When Xue Baoqin first wandered around the bustling and prosperous places, she was thinking about the story of General Wang. Such a heroic figure was like her elder brother.

That would have been fine, but she was outstanding in every way, and was extremely patient with everyone, even with their little daughter, without a trace of the look of a man looking down on a woman.

So when he saw that his father and brother were both persuaded by Wang Xin, he felt very proud.

Wang Xin explained, then looked at Xue Yan and said, "I need twenty Portuguese arquebuses, which only cost 4,800 taels in total. If I ask the craftsmen to make them, the price of each arquebus would be exorbitant. It would only be worthwhile if there was a large, long-term demand for them."

Xue Yan looked surprised.

Only experts can understand this principle. I just said it casually, but I didn't expect him to understand it.

As the saying goes, different fields are like different mountains. Although Wang Xin in front of us is young, he always amazes people. It seems that he can say a few words about anything in the world. How can one person know so much?
He is truly impressive. I had already thought highly of him, but every time I come into contact with this young general, I often find that I have underestimated him.

Suppressing his inner shock, Xue Yan smiled bitterly and said, "Indeed, five hundred blunderbusses and twenty Portuguese arquebuses have been quoted a total of seven thousand three hundred taels. There's also all sorts of gunpowder, shells, lead bullets, and so on, all in all, a little over ten thousand three hundred taels. They only took a fraction of that."

"Are there any copper cannons weighing several thousand kilograms?"

Wang Xin asked again.

"This cannon is the naval gun on their ship. It's incredibly powerful and has a long range." Xue Yan sighed, "This cannon weighs at least two or three thousand kilograms and is not easy to move. I'm afraid the price will be shocking."

"Can the Xue family provide horses?"

"It's all right for the general to have slow horses, but not for military horses. Horses, like humans, bully the weak and fear the strong. Military horses are different from civilian horses. Civilians raise only one or two horses, and they are afraid of humans and dare not disobey. Military horses, however, are raised in large numbers, and they must select those that can adapt to the military environment. Many horses have unsuitable personalities for military use, so they must be selected in large numbers."

The horse farm of the Beijing Camp has been abandoned.

Many years ago, it was occupied by various families and became the ancestral property of each family's prime farmland. After so many years, it has become impossible to distinguish them. It is impossible to take it back even if you want to. What's more, it is a matter of the imperial court, and a guerrilla general like me cannot do anything about it.

But cavalry is still valuable. There are cavalry in the Beijing camp and in the border troops.

Of course, you also need cavalry.

Everyone has his own way.

Zhu Wei is the admiral. He can suck the blood of soldiers from other units to build his own cavalry and only supply his own unit. But think about it from another perspective. He could have led 30,000 elite soldiers, but in the end he only had a few thousand elite soldiers.

I have no control over other people's actions, nor do I look down on them. Three thousand elite soldiers, I have gone too far, Zhu Wei only has a few thousand elite soldiers, I am a guerrilla, but my strength is not worse than that of the admiral, so I only leave two thousand, of course the more elite the better.

The best war horses, the best firearms, and the best cannons.

United as one.

Invincible in battle and victorious in every attack.

Unfortunately, there are so many difficulties.

Seeing Wang Xin remained silent, Xue Yan, thinking he was disappointed, suddenly thought of something and offered a suggestion: "Originally, my eldest brother was in charge of the capital, and I was in charge of Nanjing. Later, my eldest brother passed away, and the business he left behind has been declining year by year. However, the route to the northern border is still there. If General Wang really needs it, I can help mediate."

This is the foundation of the four great families.

Unlike others who look down on the Xue family, Wang Xin knows what the Xue family is most valuable.

The most important thing in doing business is channels. Channels cannot be established overnight by just spending money, especially in today's Zhou Dynasty where news is slow. Channels of the scale of the Xue family require several generations of success.

Now that we have a direction, the most important thing is money.

The military salary he set himself was around 40,000 taels of silver per year.

Wang Xin was not very satisfied with the high military pay because he had two thousand real soldiers under his command and they all received real military pay. In fact, he was not very satisfied with the military pay he set. Compared with the current benefits of being a soldier, the military pay should be higher.

Then there are weapons, mules, donkeys, clothes, armor, etc., all of which cost money.

Relying on the court's military pay, if the court could pay the military pay on time, there would be no rise of the household servant system. The household servants raised by generals were equivalent to the generals' private soldiers, and the court turned a blind eye to it due to practical difficulties.

Who told the court not to pay the soldiers?

Generals always have to find ways to feed their troops.

I have too many soldiers. It would be fine if I could only keep two or three hundred servants and make sure the rest don't starve to death.

This way, my life will be much better.

But it was a waste of his own abilities. With the system in hand, he could lead loyal troops, and of course the more the better. If he was not worried about external suspicion, he would have brought 3,000 troops with him instead of the current 2,000, which is one third less.

In addition to the bonuses and part of the surrender, the Japanese were also rewarded with 60,000 taels of silver during the six months of suppressing the Japanese.

The bird guns and Portuguese arquebuses purchased by the Xue family cost 10,000 taels of silver. Taking into account their travel expenses, labor costs, and profits, it would probably cost several thousand taels more. Add to that the horses, and the cost of war horses is huge.

There is also military training and firearms training which also costs money.

Wang Xin hesitated for a moment, then asked, "I heard that my uncle went to Tongzhou a few days ago. What's the market like outside Hexi Xiaoying?"

Xue Yan immediately understood Wang Xin's idea and said with a smile, "Although it is good, it is still the property of the imperial court. If the general seeks another job one day, it will be easy for him to become a bride for others."

This requires a commitment.

"I did want to go back to Yangzhou before, as I didn't want to get involved in too much trouble. But things are different now. Now that I'm in the capital, I can't waste my time. It might be a good idea to turn Hexi Xiaoying into a family business."

Just like the Wei system of the former Ming Dynasty.

He was already a true general, and it was not difficult for a son to inherit his father's business. The small camp in Hexi was located beside the Tongzhou Canal. No one could know about things that happened in the distant past. He should first calm Xue Yan's heart. He would never treat him unfairly.

The fact that Xue Yan took the initiative to go and see it must have been told by the shopkeeper of the Xue family.

What is worth Xue Yan seeing?
When it comes to business, it’s of course profit.

The market was opened, and this was a big piece of fat meat. Wang Xin did not get his hands on the territory of Xiaoying in Hexi, but Xue Yan could represent himself. The Xue family was in charge of the management. They were the local tyrants in Jinling and had close relations with the merchants in Yangzhou. Not only was it harmless, but it was beneficial, and the business was getting bigger and bigger.

You don’t need to worry about these business matters yourself, as everyone has their own expertise.

Wang Xin said, "I have two requests. I will provide five thousand taels of silver, and the Xue family will hire craftsmen to research and imitate Western firearms, including those copper cannons weighing several thousand kilograms. Our Great Zhou is short of copper, and the price is too high to make them. Please ask the craftsmen to research and use fine iron to cast cannons."

Xue Yan calculated that a copper cannon would cost three to five thousand taels, plus travel expenses, etc. However, he could still get some of his investment back in the end. Although there would be no profit and he might even lose money, it wouldn't be a big problem. So he asked, "What about the second one?"

"The second is that the Xue family must ensure that the craftsmen and technology are kept in their own hands and cannot be passed on to outsiders."

Arms can be sold to oneself or to others.

The Xue family controlled the channels, craftsmen, and technology, so they could sell to whoever they wanted. However, for a mere five thousand taels, the Xue family could only sell to Wang Xin, which was a huge loss for them.

So Xue Yan, a boss, personally went out to sea just for a business worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, with a profit of at most a few thousand taels of silver?
Xue Yan looked at Wang Xin.

Wang Xin nodded.

Smart people don’t need to say much.

Since they use the Xue family, of course they will also support the Xue family. This is what it means that the four families are of the same blood.

However, the prerequisite is that others must believe in themselves.

Whether you believe in your own character, your own strength, or your own future, a guerrilla general in his twenties can become a general by accumulating experience, which will never be a loss.

Xue Yan agreed to Wang Xin's request.

General Wang’s character is trustworthy, and Xue Yan doesn’t think that General Wang would lie to him.

(End of this chapter)