After breakfast, Wan Jinlan, Mrs. Song, Wang Shu, Wei Xian, Li Dazhuang and others gathered in the simple study.
Although Li Dazhuang trains with Wei Xian on weekdays, he is also responsible for purchasing and other matters within the mountain village.
The people of Liangzhou are tough. Although the horse bandits have been dealt with by them, there are still people who take risks to rob people on the road, so the people responsible for purchasing naturally have to be strong enough.
The account book records everything in great detail, including how many kilograms of meat and vegetables were purchased each time, how much was spent, the various silver coins used to build the house in the back mountain, and other expenses such as medicinal materials.
Before she left, she left Xiao Feng ten thousand taels of silver notes. After he left, he left behind seven thousand taels, and now there is still a lot left.
After looking at the accounts, I had an understanding of the current situation in the village.
Wei Xian said, "Starting next month, everyone in the back mountain will receive a salary, which will be more conducive to rallying people's hearts."
Wan Jinlan knew that these things could not be saved, so he naturally did not object. "It's up to you, sir, to decide."
"Also, we don't have enough weapons. We need to find a solution."
Wan Jinlan took the opportunity to bring up the matter of establishing a weapons workshop.
After she concealed Lu Yuan's specific identity, she said that she needed a lot of copper and iron to build a weapons workshop.
Wei Xian frowned. Putting aside the power of the firearms she mentioned, iron ore and copper ore were very difficult to obtain.
Salt and iron are both state-run, and there are still loopholes in salt production, but minerals are really difficult to obtain.
After the agricultural tools were modified, the people could purchase iron tools, but there were grades and many restrictions. How could they get enough copper and iron?
Li Dazhuang asked excitedly, "Madam, do you want to mass-produce that kind of crossbow?"
Wan Jinlan said, "It's a firearm more powerful than a crossbow."
She had seen how powerful these things were. With them, the difficulty of fighting was greatly reduced.
Wang Shu said, "Iron is not difficult to find, but copper is not easy to get."
Wei Xian looked at him and asked doubtfully, "Isn't iron hard to find?"
Wang Shu and Wan Jinlan came up with the same idea. They both had their eyes on the Mangshan Iron Mine, which was a ready-made resource.
Wei Xian quickly realized what was happening. He frowned and said, "After what happened last time, Mangshan must be heavily guarded. I'm afraid it won't be easy to get it."
Wan Jinlan said: "As long as I can think of it, I can find a way, but I don't know where the copper will come from."
Of the various materials my uncle had asked me to prepare, copper and iron were the most troublesome. In addition, saltpeter was not easy to find either.
At this time, Li Dazhuang suddenly said, "Madam, when I fled all the way from Qingzhou, I knew there was a copper mine thirty miles away from Lincheng in Yongzhou. An old miner there took pity on me and gave me a steamed bun."
Wan Jinlan thought for a moment and then said, "Wang Shu, take a few brothers and follow Li Dazhuang to Lincheng. I will give you 6,000 taels of silver notes. Bring back as much copper as you can."
Li Dazhuang was not as smart as Wang Shu, so she was still worried about letting him do the job.
Just as she was thinking this, she heard Li Dazhuang scratching his head and asking, "Should we go buy it? The mine is government-owned, they definitely won't sell it to us privately."
Wan Jinlan is a bit hard to describe.
Li Dazhuang seemed to be a little confused.
Wang Shu sighed and looked at Li Dazhuang, "You should talk less when you go out in the future."
"Government-run minerals naturally cannot be bought and sold privately. We need to break through from within. It would be best to find the greedy individuals and conduct the private transactions."
Li Dazhuang suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."
Seeing Wan Jinlan's expression, Li Dazhuang asked, "Madam, are you disliking me for being stupid?"
Wan Jinlan: "I think your name may have affected your mind."
Big and strong, with well-developed limbs and a simple mind.
When several people heard her say this, they all laughed.
Li Dazhuang blushed slightly. "My family was very poor when I was little. My parents just wanted me to have enough food to eat and grow taller and stronger, so they named me Dazhuang."
Wan Jinlan coughed lightly and instructed, "Learn more about the art of kingship when you are outside. Talk less, observe more, think more, and don't let others cheat you and then give them money."
"Bring a few more brothers with you. If you really can't buy the copper, come back. You must ensure your own safety at all costs."
After Wang Shu and Li Dazhuang left, Mrs. Song also had to take care of the affairs of the village, so she got up and went out.
Immediately afterwards, Wan Jinlan and Wei Xian talked about the Mangshan Iron Mine.
Wei Xian had worked as a miner there and knew the internal terrain, so he immediately drew a map.
Wan Jinlan took out the drawings that Xiao Feng had drawn when he surveyed the terrain of Mangshan from the wooden table.
I have to find out the specific situation outside Mangshan in person before I can make a plan.
Now that Xiao Feng was considered the second son of the Li family, Wan Jinlan didn't want to buy the iron ore by buying the copper ore. If she wasn't careful, she would alert the enemy. Neither robbing nor buying would work. She looked at the blueprints, thinking about Mr. Wei's news that Mangshan would send out a batch of iron ore every fifteen days, and she was calculating.
For the next three days, Wan Jinlan, Yu Song and An Xi left the village every day at sunset and headed towards Mangshan.
The three men acted extremely cautiously. There were guards everywhere around Mangshan. Compared with the past, there were more than three times as many guards. It could be said that there was no way to start a attack here in Mangshan.
The three of them were lying on the high ground opposite Mangshan Mountain, looking down, when they saw a convoy approaching from a distance, forming a long line. They were lucky; today must be the day for transporting iron ore.
At this time, the sky was almost completely dark, and the transportation of iron ore naturally could not be carried out during the day, and it had to be concealed from the public.
Wan Jinlan was thinking, Xiao Minghuan had suffered a great loss here. Could he have been frightened? Otherwise, why didn't he think of revenge? It had been two months, and Liangzhou was still calm.
Wan Jinlan guessed that even if the imperial court noticed the unusual phenomenon in Liang Province, it would not dare to take any open action now.
Wan Jinlan's guess was correct. Even though Xiao Minghuan had reported to Emperor Jian'an that there was an iron mine in Mangshan, implying that the Liangzhou Governor had ulterior motives, Emperor Jian'an did not dare to punish him. He simply sent a military supervisor and bestowed upon him an imperial sword. The imperial sword was merely a deterrent. Even if the military supervisor discovered any unusual activity by the Liangzhou Governor, it was still questionable whether he would have the courage to draw his sword in Liangzhou.
This military supervisor is just a civil official. He arrived in Liangzhou more than a month ago and is now in Yongcheng, the front line.
Since ancient times, generals have been annoyed by military supervisors. What they fear most are those who have no ability but like to give orders and use chicken feathers as their authority.
There was a cool breeze, but it was no longer as bitingly cold as in winter.
Half an hour later, in the darkness of the night, the convoy came out of Mangshan. The carriages were covered tightly with linen. Judging from the arched shape, there were baskets of iron ore underneath.
The three of them followed silently along the mountain path in the darkness.
There were nearly a hundred men escorting them. Wan Jinlan had already counted them and found that there were thirty carriages in total.
The three of them followed for nearly two hours and arrived in An County. The convoy stopped at the foot of a low mountain.
In the moonlight, the east was dark, and it looked like a village. The sound of dogs barking could be heard faintly.
There were dark shadows at the foot of the mountain, which must be a courtyard. After the gate opened, carriages went in one after another, and when they came out, the carriages were empty.
The night was very quiet. The three of them used the trees and grass to hide their figures and watched the men who escorted the iron ore leave in a very orderly manner. In just half an hour, complete silence returned to the outside of the courtyard.
Yu Song made a gesture, and An Xi stood up with him. Wan Jinlan whispered, "Be careful."
The two figures entered the courtyard as nimbly as ghosts.
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