Chapter 60
In front of the Zhonggu Tunnel Camp, horses galloped past, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Soldiers rode into battle on horseback, holding ring-handled swords and fighting in pairs. One soldier pulled the reins, and the horse stood up, neighed, and galloped towards the opponent. He seized the opportunity and swung the ring-handled sword hard, and the two swords collided with each other, making a sharp sound.
The opponent tried to block, but the soldier broke through with great force. The tip of the knife passed through the air and passed by the opponent's ear.
The soldiers around who had not yet joined the battle cheered immediately. They put away their ring-handled swords, said "Thank you," and dismounted and ran straight to Xie Chen.
Today's training is about the soldiers' combat skills on horseback. Xie Chen stood with his hands behind his back while the clerk beside him wrote down the names of the victorious soldiers. There will also be a reward and punishment system in frontier training to motivate the soldiers' enthusiasm for fighting.
"Captain, I won again." The man said with sweat on his face and a big white smile.
This soldier was Xie Chen's personal guard. He was very smart and had some skills in fighting, so Xie Chen picked him out to be his personal guard.
Xie Chen hummed, and the air suddenly became quiet.
The personal guard, He Xin, immediately became unhappy, "Captain Sui, but you said that if I win five games in a row, County Magistrate Lin would give me half a pound of the meat jerky that he asked me to bring."
He Xin has never forgotten Lin Shuge's cooking since he tasted it. Before leaving, Lin Shuge asked him and another personal guard to bring something to Xie Chen, and he also gave them a portion, but of course it could not be compared with Xie Chen's portion.
He has outstanding abilities, but one shortcoming: he is greedy. In order to get some snacks, he has been training with the soldiers in the military camp for several days.
According to the rules of the military camp, there would be rewards for winning the competition. He took the initiative to ask Xie Chen not to ask for other rewards, and specifically asked for the meat jerky made by County Magistrate Lin.
Xie Chen would not agree at first, but after He Xin boasted every day about how delicious the food cooked by his brother, the captain, was, and several of his men took turns to fight, he finally agreed to give a portion of the food to the soldiers in the camp as a prize.
Upon hearing this, Xie Chen glanced at him and said coldly, "Go get it yourself."
He Xin sighed and followed Xie Chen happily, "Captain, I won't take much. I promise to leave some for you. My brothers are still waiting for relief food to satisfy their cravings."
Although there were many cattle and sheep in the northwest, the soldiers lived in poverty and had no snacks to satisfy their cravings on weekdays. He Xin shared some of the food he brought back from Lin Shuge that day with his brothers, but unexpectedly, everyone clamored for food.
But this time, everyone can just take a share, he worked so hard to win it.
Xie Chen came out of the tent and casually threw a package to him. He Xin caught it with his backhand, opened it and sniffed it. It was indeed the smell. He took out a piece and bit it in his mouth, mumbling, "Thank you, Captain."
Xie Chen's face was stinking. Today's training was over, and he was about to go back to the tent to rest, but he didn't expect to hear a "Gugugugu."
"Oh, isn't this the pigeon sent to County Magistrate Lin?" He Xin shouted.
Xie Chen stretched out his hand, and the pigeon landed steadily on his arm, "Do you have anything else to do?"
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll take my leave now." He Xin said while holding the jerky.
Xie Chen was in a good mood. He brought the pigeon into the tent, placed it on the table, and took off the letter tied to the pigeon's leg.
It was indeed a letter from his brother, which said that he had recently adopted a cat and planted peppers. When the peppers grew up, he would ask someone to bring them to Xie Chen to taste.
Most of them were about trivial matters in life, and at the end, she earnestly urged him to be careful and not to be careless. There was worry and concern between the lines.
Xie Chen picked up the letter and sniffed it gently. He seemed to smell a faint fragrance. His face turned red and he couldn't help but sniff it a few more times. He felt that this behavior was ungentlemanly and quickly threw the letter away.
After a while, he took the letter again with a red face, read it over and over again, and then picked up the pen to write a reply.
Cheers came from outside the tent. In the distance, a pair of wild geese flew side by side in the sky, and against the distant Gobi Desert, it seemed like an eternal painting.
Lin Shuge was very busy. Today, Magistrate Li sent someone to tell him that some merchants came to report that the profit of papermaking had declined and was far less than in previous months. He guessed that someone might have secretly sold the recipe.
"Sir, can you find out the reason?" Lin Shuge asked as soon as he came in.
"Today, Qian Wancai told me that several bookstores in Beili County have been buying paper from him, but their attitude has been wrong recently. It must be that they have other sources of goods, and the prices are lower than ours, so those shops naturally have become disloyal." said County Magistrate Li.
Lin Shuge pondered for a moment and said, "Maybe paper has been made in other places as well. After all, the recipe for making paper is not difficult." It's just an improvement. Some experts might be able to see the clues at a glance.
Moreover, in terms of papermaking technology, the South was the major papermaker in his time, and many famous papers in later generations came from the South.
At this time, Zhou Du rushed in and said, "Sir, my brother went to Yandu a few days ago. He said he saw a new type of paper in Yandu. It is different from Ganzhou paper. It is exquisitely made and even printed with colors. It is called Caiyun Paper. Everyone in Yandu is scrambling to buy it, but no one is interested in our Ganzhou paper."
It turned out that new paper was created.
Magistrate Li slumped in his chair. "What should we do? Without the income from Ganzhou paper, so many workshops will not be able to survive for long."
Not only that, a workshop can only afford to hire workers if its business is good and the profits are high. During the slack season, Ganzhou people mostly earn money in paper mills and cashmere workshops. If the income from the paper mills is gone, many people would probably have a hard time.
The paper mill outside the city has become a small light industrial zone, spawning a number of other industries. Many people have even settled there with their families. Street vendors in the county also sell their goods there because there are many workers and a large flow of people.
If business shrinks, large workshops may still be able to hold on, but small workshops with small businesses may not be able to hold on at all. The butterfly effect caused by this will be difficult to deal with.
Magistrate Li had a gloomy face, and Zhou Du was also worried. They both looked at Lin Shuge, who had been silent.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside. Lin Shuge went out to see that it was the merchants who had signed the agreement with the county government at that time.
"We have something to discuss with the county magistrate and the county magistrate. Please inform them for us."
"What should I do? My paper mill still has a lot of paper that hasn't been sold yet."
"I heard that there is a new paper coming out from Nanjun, which is as thin as a cicada's wing and as colorful as colorful clouds. It is much better than our Ganzhou paper."
"Do you think County Magistrate Lin will be able to come up with a solution?"
After this was said, no one dared to speak. No one knew whether County Magistrate Lin would have any new ideas, but there were so many papers piled up in the workshop and it was a problem if they could not be sold.
As soon as Lin Shuge came out, everyone rushed over and said in unison, "Lin County Magistrate, you've heard everything, right?"
"I wonder if the county magistrate has any good plan?"
There was an impulsive impulse, "Master, you can't just ignore our lives, otherwise we..."
Lin Shuge glanced at him indifferently, and the man took a few steps back angrily and said nothing more.
When everyone saw this scene, they all quieted down. Qian Wancai said, "Sir, Wan Lu was also anxious for a moment. I hope you won't blame me."
Lin Shuge sighed and said slowly: "I have heard about the incident. The county magistrate and I are trying to find a way to help everyone overcome the difficulties. We should all work together to make paper. I don't want anyone to have disloyalty once something goes wrong."
Lin Shuge glanced at the crowd, and several merchants in the crowd looked at each other and lowered their heads.
"But I understand your anxiety. This is related to the livelihood of each family. At that time, everyone trusted me and bet all their wealth on the paper mill."
He softened his tone and continued, "But everyone, please be patient and go back to the workshop to continue producing paper. I have already figured out a way. In five days, everyone can come to the county government office to find me."
Liu Gui bravely asked, "Are you serious about what you said, sir?"
"I never tell lies." Lin Shuge looked at him sincerely and said.
Several merchants asked again: "Sir, can you tell us something? It's not that we don't trust you, but we are really worried."
Lin Shuge chuckled and said, "It is not convenient to reveal it for the time being, but everyone rest assured, I will not let you down."
The merchants all looked at Qian Wancai, expecting him to stand up and speak. Everyone knew that the Qian family had a close relationship with County Magistrate Lin. His young master was rescued by Lord Wei, and he and Lord Lin were classmates.
Qian Wancai knew what everyone was thinking, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "Since your Excellency has said so, we will believe you."
He looked at the merchants and said loudly, "You all trusted me back then, so you are now what you are today. Why do you doubt my words and character just because of a small incident?"
These words made some merchants feel ashamed. They bowed and said, "I am sorry for being rude today. I hope you will forgive me. I will wait for your news in five days." After that, they left.
Some still had doubts in their hearts and only bowed and left after being reminded by their companions.
Qian Wancai waited until everyone left before saying, "If you have any difficulties, please tell me. I am willing to help you share your worries."
Lin Shuge smiled and said, "Thank you for today." He thought for a moment, "I really need to borrow some people from you."
Seeing that he was calm and not at all embarrassed, Qian Wancai said, "Borrowing someone is not a big deal. Just tell me, sir. What I mean is..."
"Boss Qian, don't worry. I do have a way. Come with me." After saying this, Lin Shuge took the lead and walked ahead.
Qian Wancai followed him into the county government office with doubts in his heart.
In the lobby, Magistrate Li was walking around anxiously. Seeing Lin Shuge coming in, he hurriedly asked, "Have all those merchants been sent away?"
He wanted to ask a few more questions, but when he saw Qian Wancai, he shut up and said nothing.
"Sir, I have a method that you can try, but it's not the papermaking technique." Lin Shuge suggested.
Ganzhou can also make colored paper, but if all Ganzhou merchants were to engage in a price war, it would probably not be enough to fight against the wealthy people in Nanjun. After all, if he wanted to compete with these people in technology, Lin Shuge believed that he only knew a little bit and was completely incomparable to those real geniuses. However, he could try to be original and find another way from other places.
"Oh?" Magistrate Li was anxious, but with outsiders present, he remained calm and said, "Tell me about it."
Lin Shuge described everything exactly as he had described. Magistrate Li was shocked at first, but then his heart was pounding. He wanted to hug Lin Shuge and ask her to try it quickly so that he could see the results.
"Just as you say," he told the guard at the door, "go tell Xiang Ligu."
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