Chapter 45 Cao Jie: Professor, these talents need to earn money to go up the mountain

When he left, he had clean sleeves and rode his horse at the top of its spur, and he traveled a thousand miles across the land.

When he returned, he brought with him a fine horse, fur coats worth thousands of gold coins, and countless treasures, as well as some goods that could not be seen in public. Although they had been disassembled into parts, he could not be careless.

Therefore, we have to spend more time on the road.

Shi Xiu, known as the Desperate Sanlang, and Meng Kang, known as the Jade Banner Pole, were both wanted criminals by the Song Dynasty court, and their only place to go was Liangshan.

It is not a good idea to show up in public. If you are not careful and reveal the truth, you will be sent to jail and be punished for your crimes.

Originally he was going to say goodbye at Lijiadaokou, but since he was already here, it wouldn't take much time to send his brother up the mountain and take a look at how Wang Lun had built the mountain stronghold.

"elder brother!"

"elder brother!"

Unlike the last time they went up the mountain, this time the boat hadn't yet docked, but the leaders had received Zhu Gui's message and were already standing at the dock, eagerly waiting.

Wang Lun stood between Song Wan, Du Qian and Jiao Ting. He was wearing a long gown and his three-foot long beard was swaying in the autumn wind. No one knew what he felt.

"elder brother……"

When the boat stopped, Wang Lun took a few quick steps and went to meet Cao Jie first, with a smile on his face.

Although the smile seemed a bit fake, the person was very humble!

Cao Jie naturally had to give him face.

After some greetings, Cao Jie emphasized the introduction of Shi Xiu and Meng Kang who were preparing to become bandits, and then he once again reviewed his team on Liangshan.

Song Wan and Jiao Ting led a group of personal soldiers, all of them were fat and muscular men, looking ferocious and fierce, giving people a full sense of security.

"Captain Wang, the village has grown a lot in the past six months!"

Cao Jie was genuinely happy. It seemed that Wang Lun had been very busy in the past six months.

There is nothing to say about this infrastructure capability.

Wang Lun looked at his hard work proudly and said with a modest smile: "I only played a role in the overall planning, but the leaders have made great contributions."

"Without Chief Wang, I think it will be difficult to build Liangshan. Chief Wang is really capable! Look at how magnificent this pass is... and how neatly the planned building foundation is... This is the result of your hard work, brick by brick, building it with your own hands!"

"Yes! I built this with my own hands!"

Wang Lun's heart was bleeding. He looked up at the sky, hoping that the wind would dry his moist eyes as soon as possible.

Now even his only confidant Du Qian has betrayed him, hanging out with Song Wan and Jiao Ting all day, hoping to join that damn Hongmen. What can he do? What can he dare to do?
Only one line of poetry can describe his current mood: I bitterly regret having to weave gold thread year after year to make wedding dresses for others.

In the early stages of the development of the mountain village, all it lacked was money and food.

As for the population, these days countless people have moved to the mountains to become bandits just to get food.

Anyway, after suffering a disaster and having nothing to eat, they become refugees and will be incorporated into the imperial army.

The Xiang army is not much better than the bandits.

Living on the edge of a knife, there is no difference between being a soldier and being a bandit.

The problem of redundant soldiers in the Song Dynasty has existed for a long time, and now it has become a terminal problem.

Now, Chai Jin and Cao Jie have reached a strategic partnership and have just made a fortune in the Liao Kingdom.

Yes, I have the money.

If you have money, everything will be easy.

If there is no looting and no disturbance to the people, the government will not care.

Now, the boss behind Liangshan has changed from Chai Jin to Cao Jie.

Naturally, you have to worry about it.

"Captain Wang, Shi Xiu and Meng Kang are both talented men, especially Meng Kang, who is good at building large ships. The chief must make good use of him."

In the gathering hall, Cao Jie focused on introducing Meng Kang's abilities.

Wang Lun was stunned when he heard this, and his interest suddenly became high: "Now the construction of the first water fort is almost finished. With Brother Meng Kang, an expert in shipbuilding, here, we can build a hundred or so large ships in Liangshan, and we will be able to travel across the 800-li Liangshan."

That's all you have.

Roaming across the 800-li Liangshan Lake, what a great ambition!
"Then I will entrust Brother Meng Kang to Chief Wang."

As for Shi Xiu, there is no need for Cao Jie to say anything. With his abilities, he will soon be able to come to the fore.

Now that he was here, Cao Jie carefully reviewed all the properties on Liangshan Mountain and could only say that there was almost nothing.

Without any industry and only doing business without capital, it is almost impossible for Liangshan to develop a small workshop into a large group.

Wang Lun was good at infrastructure construction, but he was just a failed scholar after all. It was already a great ability for him to create this foundation with his bare hands.

But the strength of an entrepreneurial army depends not only on the quality of its soldiers, but also on its weapons and equipment. Fearlessness is not enough to win a war. Wars are fought with logistics, weapons, and horses, which can crush the opponent. Unless the commander in chief is a fool, or God does not want you to win, there is no reason to lose.

With the "Yanzong" caravan in the Liao Kingdom, there was no shortage of war horses.

But as for weapons, we can’t expect to secretly buy a few sets of armor from the Liao Kingdom!

You still need to have your own technological achievements and create your own entrepreneurial tools.

"Talent! Talent is needed everywhere."

"We must build a steel mill first..."

"There is a lot of water in Liangshan Lake, so I think there is still room for development in water-powered forging."

'How do you burn cement?'

"Black powder, one part nitrate, two parts sulfur, three parts charcoal, and then crush the granules with egg white..."

Steel is also iron, and iron is also iron.

But the two are completely different.

It's like everyone is hard, some people can't even lift up their pants, while some people can hang a ten-pound weight.

That's the difference!
How to have a strong fist to demand money, food, and talents!
Just when Cao Jie was worried about this, Wu Yong, the Hongmen White Paper Fan, followed him up the mountain.

"Brother, when I received your letter, I knew you were going to come up the mountain. Sure enough, brother and all the heroes are here."

Wu Yong held a goose feather fan, bowed to Cao Jie, and then looked at the unfamiliar faces.

"This should be Brother Shi Xiu, the hard-working man..."

"Shi Xiu has met the military advisor."

"Brother Cao Zheng, my sister-in-law has already been settled in Yuncheng."

"Thank you, brother military advisor."

"Yufangan Mengkang, you are indeed a handsome man. I heard from my brother that you have great shipbuilding skills. You can show your talent in Liangshanpo."

"I will build the boat with all my heart to repay my brother for his kindness."

"You... should be Shi Qian."

"It's me! It's me!"

Shi Qian was a petty thief who stole things and had the lowest status. He habitually nodded and bowed when he spoke.

"Professor, you came at the right time. I think the village is still lacking some professional talents. I have listed a few, and you can see how to attract them to the mountain."

Cao Jie handed a list to Wu Yong.

Wu Yong took it and looked at it: "Leopard Tang Long? Where is this hero from?"

Cao Jie shook his head: "The professor asked around in Shandong and Hebei, and found out that this person is good at making military weapons."

"Oh! A hero who makes military weapons. This is a talent." Wu Yong nodded in agreement.

Wang Lun, who was sitting in the first chair, opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

"Purple Bearded Earl Huangfu Duan?"

"This man was originally a veterinarian in Dongchang City. He was a good friend of Zhang Qing, the general of Dongchang Prefecture who had no feather arrows. Professor, you must find him."

Wu Yong shook the goose feather fan in his hand and nodded, "The number of horses coming from Liao is increasing day by day, and we really need a veterinarian to take care of them. I know the scholar Xiao Rang. The jade arm craftsman Jin Dajian?"

"In addition to these, there is also a miracle doctor named An Daoquan." Cao Jie added another one.

Shi Xiu was also from Jiankang Prefecture in Jinling, and he nodded immediately and said, "Brother, I do know this genius doctor An Daoquan, he has a great reputation in Jiankang Prefecture."

Wu Yong calmly waved his goose feather fan and asked, "Brother Shi Xiu is also from Jiankang Prefecture, right?"

"It has been two years since I left my hometown."

"That……"

For Wu Yong, luring people to the mountain was just a piece of cake. It was a sure thing and he didn't need to think about it much.

Of course, Cao Jie had made three rules with him long ago: he could not harm the lives of a family just to get them to go up the mountain. No matter what, he had to take the whole family up the mountain.

After all, a family should be together!

Wu Yong remembered Cao Jie's order to lure people up the mountain, then leaned in and whispered in his ear:
"Brother, please return to Yuncheng as soon as possible. The county magistrate has prepared a lot of gold and silver and asked Wu Song to escort it to his relatives in Tokyo to ask for help in seeking a promotion.

Since my brother is planning to find an official position for Wu Erlang, perhaps he can take advantage of the favorable situation from County Magistrate Shi..."

Cao Jie's eyes lit up. He had been planning to go to Tokyo at the end of the year, but he didn't expect that Wu Song would also be going to Tokyo on business. Isn't this a coincidence!

(End of this chapter)