Chapter 46 Let’s fight!
"How is this going?"
Liu Zheng asked anxiously.
This person was none other than Huang Zhiyuan, the newly appointed purchasing team leader of the Shengong Workshop. He was under the jurisdiction of Wei Tiezhu and was mainly responsible for purchasing the iron ore needed by the Shengong Workshop. Yinzhou was a small place with many salt lakes and salt mines, but no iron ore. However, the Shengong Workshop still needed a lot of iron ore.
Whether it is for making farm tools or weapons, a large amount of iron ore is indispensable.
So they could only purchase iron ore from Yangzhou and then make iron and steel. This matter was originally in cooperation with the Cao family. Later, after the Cao family obtained the sales rights of "Zuiyinzhou", they gave this line to Shengongfang, and Huang Zhiyuan was in charge of this matter.
"Young Master!"
"On the way back from purchasing ore, we encountered a group of bandits. They..."
Huang Zhiyuan knelt on the ground and cried loudly.
Liu Zheng was furious when he heard this.
Because Liu Zheng received a large sum of money as dividends from the Zheng family this time, and Yinzhou Li needed a lot of steel, Liu Zheng invested all the money he had into purchasing iron ore.
After all, at present, spring plowing and war preparations are both very important.
One hundred tons of iron ore, half was used to make Yinzhou plows, and the other half was used to make weapons.
This is a full ten thousand taels of silver!
Who would have thought that a pair of horse thieves suddenly appeared on the road that Huang Zhiyuan had been very familiar with, not only robbing all their iron ore, but also openly killing several workers! They even clamored that the iron ore should be redeemed by 20,000 taels of silver from the Yinzhou County Houfu!
"Bandits?"
Liu Zheng's eyes turned cold and he asked, "Where are the bandits on the border between Yangzhou and Yinzhou?"
Zheng Yueru also said: "That's impossible!"
The two states and counties were quite close to each other, and there were no deep mountains or steep hills to hide in. In addition, Liu Zheng had just wiped out a large group of bandits on his way to Yinzhou. How could a group of bandits be formed in such a short time?
"Sir, they are undoubtedly the thieves! And they are quite powerful, estimated to be around a thousand!"
Huang Zhiyuan cried.
Liu Zheng and Zheng Yueru looked at each other in horror.
A thousand bandits is already a big deal. After all, compared with officers and soldiers, these bandits are more flexible and maneuverable. They can be pulled away like the wind and cannot be caught.
"How can this be possible!"
Liu Zheng shouted fiercely: "Follow me back home!"
Arriving at the county mansion, he asked the doctor to take Huang Zhiyuan down to heal his wounds. Qin Changfeng quickly ran back: "Sir, I just received a report that this group of bandits is quite powerful. They have robbed many merchant caravans traveling to Yinzhou in the past few days. The merchants are complaining and have reported the case many times!"
Liu Zheng's face was as gloomy as water.
Bandit?
He definitely doesn't believe this!
Such a group of bandits suddenly appeared in a short period of time. There must be something fishy about it!
Suddenly, Zheng Yueru's face changed slightly: "Brother Liu, could it be from Yangzhou?"
Liu Zheng took a deep breath and nodded. A few days ago, Zheng Yueru reminded him that Chen Kui, the old thief, had fled to Yangzhou and attached himself to Lu Zhengyi, and gave all his property to Lu Zhengyi, just wanting Lu Zhengyi to help him fight back to Yinzhou and continue to be the master of his prominent family.
Now it seems...
Coincidentally, this bandit appeared on the border of Yangzhou and Yinzhou. He did not disturb Yangzhou, but specifically dealt with the caravan coming to Yinzhou. This was actually very obvious.
"Master, give Changfeng a thousand elite soldiers, and I will go and crush these bandits!"
Qin Changfeng shouted angrily.
Shen Xing's face changed drastically. "No way, sir. This must be Lu Zhengyi's conspiracy! He used these 1,000 bandits to lure us deeper. I'm afraid that the soldiers from Yangzhou will be waiting for us! I think this matter should be reported to Liangzhou Prefecture first, and then a decision can be made!"
Zheng Yueru also nodded in agreement with this guess.
Qin Changfeng was anxious: "Shen Xing, you coward, what can you do if there is an ambush? As long as I am here, I will kill gods and Buddhas! When we were in Yangzhou, I thought that Lu Zhengyi was not a good guy, and I guessed it right! How can we weaken the prestige of the Yinzhou soldiers in front of that old villain?"
He is now the chief soldier of Yinzhou Prefecture, so naturally he thinks that his brothers are capable of fighting.
Shen Xing snorted coldly, and several people started arguing.
Liu Zheng, on his side, fell into deep thought.
This matter is really tricky.
Yinzhou was now in a period of vigorous development, and he didn't want to cause trouble, so when he heard that Yangzhou was preparing troops, he didn't take it seriously and thought he would wait until the New Year was over.
Who would have thought that if I didn't bother with them, they would come and provoke me!
And what a vicious trick!
On the one hand, the iron ore urgently needed by Yinzhou was seized . If this batch of iron ore could not be delivered in time, it would most likely affect the spring ploughing in Yinzhou. On the other hand, the caravans that came to trade were harassed, which was a bigger blow to Yinzhou. Now Liu Zheng wanted to attract more people to Yinzhou to engage in business activities, so as to revitalize the economy of Yinzhou.
so.
Not going?
No, the iron ore must be obtained! We must also give an explanation to those caravans. If these horse thieves are not eliminated, who will dare to come to Yinzhou to do business in the future?
But where to go?
Just as Shen Xing said, this must be a conspiracy from Yangzhou. If the 3,000 soldiers from Yinzhou were to encounter an ambush, they would not be willing to lose even one Liu Zheng.
"stop fighting!"
Liu Zheng shouted, and the whole place fell silent.
Qin Changfeng at the main station was still staring coldly at Shen Xing.
Liu Zheng asked Huang Zhiyuan again: "How many days will the bandits give us to redeem the ore?"
"Seven days!"
Huang Zhiyuan said with a bitter face: "Sir, you must be careful about this matter! I see that the bandits are well-trained, with excellent war horses and weapons, and they come and go like the wind. They don't look like bandits, but more like scattered soldiers!"
Everyone's face changed drastically.
Skirmishers?
This is something unique to this era. The term "wandering soldiers" means vagrants. In the words of later generations, they are mercenaries! This kind of small-scale organized army often belongs to the feudal lords. Later, for various reasons, they broke away from the previous organization and became free and professional soldiers.
These mercenaries will follow whoever pays them!
Shen Xing said: "Yes, sir, these must be the scattered soldiers hired by Chen Kui!"
"Think twice, young master!"
"Judging from the situation, the number of these scattered soldiers is definitely more than one thousand!"
"Seven days..."
Liu Zheng shouted: "Qin Changfeng, listen to my orders!"
"Changfeng is here!"
"Lead two thousand elite soldiers to guard the caravans. There will be a pavilion every thousand meters and a guard post every hundred meters!"
Qin Changfeng shouted: "Changfeng obeys the order!"
"Shen Xing!"
"I'm here!"
"Merchants in the city are not allowed to leave the city at this time. They can leave after seven days."
"yes!"
"Wei Tiezhu!"
"exist!"
"Follow me to the Divine Workshop!"
After Liu Zheng gave the order, Liu Dahao came running over: "My son, my son, I am late! There are bandits disturbing our Yinzhou, how can this be! My son, do you have any plan?"
Liu Zheng smiled bitterly and said, "Dad, go back and continue drinking. Leave this matter to me."
Upon hearing this, Liu Dahao smiled brightly: "Zheng'er, you must be careful, hiccup...you must be careful!"
Then, with the help of several maids, she went back to drink.
In a short time, the news that bandits appeared outside Yinzhou spread throughout the city in an instant.
In Fengming Tower.
Many businessmen were in a state of panic.
"Bandits?"
"How's the thief's situation?"
"Is Yinzhou safe?"
These merchants who traveled around the world made money in this chaotic world with fear and anxiety, so they were used to it. But this was the first time they encountered such a thing in Yinzhou, and they couldn't help feeling a little panic.
"I see that the county magistrate's mansion is in good order, so there should be no trouble!"
One person said.
The people around him sneered and said, "The Yinzhou County Marquisate has only been established for a short time. Can the soldiers there be ready for a fight?"
"How about you see the elite soldiers of the Chen family?"
"But this time they are a group of elite scattered soldiers. Are those old, weak and sick people comparable?"
In Fengming Tower, people immediately split into two factions and started arguing.
One side thought that they should trust the Yinzhou County and wait for good news. The other side thought that Yinzhou was a small place after all, with a weak military force, and the situation would not be optimistic if they encountered these professional scattered soldiers. Some people had already tried to make connections and quickly escape from Yinzhou.
"Everyone, everyone!"
"The County Marquis' Office has issued an order to wait for seven days! During these seven days, all merchants will stay at Fengming Tower, and all expenses will be borne by the County Marquis' Office!"
At this time, a deacon of the county magistrate came over and announced the county magistrate's order.
When everyone heard this, they cheered.
No matter what these Yinzhou soldiers are like, it is the first time in this era that they treat peddlers like them so well.
…
And here.
Liu Zheng has arrived at the Divine Workshop.
As soon as he got off his horse, he asked Wei Tiezhu: "How much refined iron do you have? Iron ore?"
Wei Tiezhu replied: "Sir, we still have 5,000 kilograms of refined iron and 50,000 kilograms of iron ore!"
Five thousand kilograms...
Liu Zheng nodded and calculated in his mind. Fifty thousand catties of iron ore can produce twenty thousand catties of refined iron! In other words, twenty-five thousand catties of refined iron!
"Pull them all here for me!"
Liu Zheng ordered.
Everyone was amazed when they heard this.
Now, the people of the entire Yinzhou are watching this matter. It can be said that this is the first time that the County Marquis's Mansion has faced such a challenge since its establishment. No matter whether it is a prominent family, a foreign merchant, or a commoner, they are all paying attention to the County Marquis' Mansion at this time. The outcome of this matter will directly affect the County Marquis's ruling power here and the future stability of Yinzhou.
Liu Zheng also asked Wei Tiezhu to gather all the blacksmiths in the Shengong Workshop.
In fact, no matter how Shen Xing and Qin Changfeng argued, Liu Zheng had already made up his mind.
war!
Only war.
Since others have already stepped on your head, why should you still pretend to be submissive and swallow your anger?
This is not Liu Zheng's style.
Moreover, this incident is not all about challenges, it also means opportunities.
That's right.
Maybe others cannot see the opportunity hidden behind this incident, but Liu Zheng can.
Mercenary?
hehe!
Since ancient times, the armies under the rule of rulers are nothing more than these types. Their own army, mercenaries, reinforcements, and mixed armies! Among them, mercenaries and reinforcements are useless and extremely dangerous! Because these mercenaries are scattered, ambitious, undisciplined, and untrustworthy!
Because they only care about the compensation, but the compensation you pay is not enough to make them fight for their lives on the battlefield!
so.
Lu Zhengyi's move was already a huge mistake. If that was the case, why couldn't Liu Zheng take advantage of it?
soon.
The refined iron had been pushed over, and at this time, Liu Zheng had already drawn a blueprint.
"In the next few days, we must rush to produce at least two thousand of these weapons!"
The blacksmiths came rushing over.
On the blueprint, there was a long weapon drawn that they had never even seen before.
Everyone was shocked.
"Sir, what is this?"
