Unlike other places, desolate or prosperous, Luojian really shows traces of human power everywhere.

The dock here is different from the side. In addition to the long embankment, platforms of varying heights are set up. In addition to many boatmen, there are also a large number of roulette nooses and cattle, horses and animals that pull the roulette. The huge wooden box with a width of several meters weighs more than thousands of kilograms, and the manpower transport requires at least hundreds of people to cooperate, which is extremely troublesome and inefficient. However, here, it is only necessary to simply cooperate a few nooses to lift it up and accurately and steadily on the ship.

No matter who sees this scene, he will probably feel a sense of pride as a man. He can use the combination of mechanical tools to exert power far beyond his own. This is a great advantage that humans are different from animals. It is an important reliance for human beings to be the spirit of all things.

Looking south from the dock, it is not the beautiful mountains and rivers or the mulberry gardens that can be seen everywhere else, but the large furnaces with rolling smoke and varying heights, water drains and water pestles are standing by the river, and the air is filled with burnt breath.

There are two medium-sized cargo ships on the dock that have been loaded. Luojian is also a very large trading ground, but unlike Runan, the goods traded here are only one type of weapons, and naturally there are not many people qualified to trade, but the amount of property involved is only a lot more than Runan.

On the pier beside these two ships, there were more than a dozen strong men surrounded by a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was wearing a dark brocade robe, with three wisps of goat whiskers under his jaw, carrying his hands, staring at the scenery around the pier with great concentration. Although he had to travel several times a year, he did not need to come in person sometimes, but he still couldn't help but look at it. Every time he felt a sense of inexplicable emotion.

"The Chief Commander, the goods have been counted and can be started at any time."

A family member hurried down from the boat and quickly walked to the middle-aged man to report.

After hearing this, the middle-aged man nodded and signaled the cargo ship to go first. He led a dozen people near the border to board another slightly smaller ship, slowly sailed away from the dock, and then turned into the Huai River.

In March, the Huai River first rose, and many flowers and plants floated in the blue waves, making the entire river surface filled with a faint fragrance. If you close your eyes and listen, you can still hear the silence of singing and dancing in the upstream. Of course, this is just a psychological illusion. Although the waterway of Luojian is convenient to Shouchun, it is still hundreds of miles. No matter how large the Shangsi Celebration in Shouchun is, the afterglow cannot be transmitted to Luojian downstream.

Here, boats and boats come and go frequently, and most of them are powerful military leaders in various places. In order to avoid unnecessary disputes such as road disputes, the water surface was cut by floats, and the boats and boats sailed in an orderly manner.

The boat was less than a few miles away, and another boat came to the side, and he raised the banner of connecting the strings from afar. After recognizing the identity of the visitor, the middle-aged man signaled the speed of the boat to slow down. Soon the two ships got closer. A slightly fat general in military uniform stood on the deck of the other ship. He waved his hand to the middle-aged man and smiled: "It's a coincidence that we met with the left. Is Shikang already back home? It's a grand event on the Huai River, why not stay for a few days for a short recreation?"

The middle-aged man also stood up to greet the courtesy, and asked someone to raise a bamboo ladder to let the general in uniform come over. Then he smiled and said, "There are so trivial matters in the army, which is really hard to be as calm as Brother Cao. I also want to join the Liang Gong, but I have been staying for a long time this time and I really dare not slackewer any more."

The person in uniform is Cao Na, the town general here. As for the middle-aged man, he is the commander of Linhuai County, Xu Ning. Both sides sat opposite each other on the boat. Cao Na said to Xu Ning apologetically: "I have also heard that Shikang's transaction was slightly blocked and helpful, but the army is really difficult to deal with workshop affairs and is powerless. This year, the town general has great efforts, and all troops must use it diligently, so markets and other things are difficult to be as calm as in previous years."

After hearing this, Xu Ning nodded slightly and said that he understood. In fact, this matter is not a secret. When he came to Luojian, an official from the Huainan Governor's Office came to inform him that the volume of military equipment produced in the workshop this year was reduced by half compared with last year. Although there was no clear statement, it was also possible to guess that the Huainan Army would make big moves this year.

But knowing that is one thing, Xu Ning was also very melancholy. The use of Huainan machinery has become a consensus among the Huainan waters. Their military leaders came to Luojian to purchase weapons, which was not only out of actual needs, but also a means to maintain morale in the military. Others were equipped with weapons from Huainan. If they did not have one, they would inevitably give people a feeling of not caring about the soldiers, making the soldiers feel unrespected and their hearts were disintegrated.

However, the quality of the military ordnance of the Huainan Army is indeed high, and it is worthy of the same high price. Because Xu Ning was a batch that arrived early this year, after learning the news, he hurriedly sent people to return home and urgently raised a batch of goods, and placed another batch of orders compared to previous years. As for the subsequent ones, there was no such benefit, and he could only buy a share from the first one. With this alone, Xu Ning purchased a batch of military ordnance for his own use this year, which was equivalent to free delivery. However, the wealth brought did not have to be shipped back, and he also placed a deposit for the transaction in the autumn.

However, whether there will be spot delivery in the autumn is not guaranteed. The specific details depend on how the Huainan battle progresses later.

"I really envy Brother Cao. I will join the Liang Gong Mansion first, so there is no need to be such trivial difficulties as if I were to have such trivial problems."

Xu Ning sighed. In fact, he was also planning to expand a group of Ding Zhuang into the army this year, but Huainan suddenly locked in the arms transaction, which blocked his plan to expand the army. Of course, he also had other ways to obtain arms, so he didn't have to rely on Huainan. However, the idea of ​​planning to be a good army was deeply affected.

The structure of a three-level sect in Huainan has greatly inspired the surrounding military leaders. Although they cannot do the large scale of Huainan, they have small things to do. In fact, there is no inspiration. Prioritizing the equipment of their own confidants is the instinct of the military leaders. It is just that the institutionalized structure of Huainan maintains such a huge scale of elite soldiers, and draws an extremely magnificent blueprint for them, allowing them to find a balance point for reference between maintaining military strength and productivity.

Therefore, these military leaders also learned from Huainan, first on a large scale, and then tried their best to arm a small number of elite troops from the direct line to maintain combat effectiveness through equipment. The reduced soldiers quickly entered production, and gradually expanded the number of troops from the direct line through the profits obtained.

For example, Xu Ning himself, as the commander of Linhuai County, theoretically all the soldiers and soldiers of Linhuai County are under his control. But in today's Xuzhou, no one will take the official position seriously. The one who measures everyone's strength is the direct people in his hands.

Unlike other military leaders in Xuzhou, Xu Ning still had a village party to rely on. He was originally from Lujiang. In his early years, his elders served in Yuefu. The Yuefu army was defeated by Shi Le. His family gathered some of them to flee south. Later, he stayed around Huaiyin. He was originally a huge force with more than thousands of people, but because of the loss of the battle, he gradually became lost and lost.

However, the Xu family soldiers are at the forefront of Xuzhou. After all, they are the elite troops of the Chinese and Koreans. The reason why they were defeated by Shi Le in their early years was not a crime, but the commander was too unbearable. Therefore, after the recovery of Huaiyin, Xu Ning's army was the main force to attack first, so they were allocated their achievements and obtained the land of the three counties in Huaibei.

Xu Ning also learned from Huainan. More than half of the more than a thousand soldiers under his command were eliminated, and only 500 elite soldiers were retained. They were all armed according to the standards of the Huainan Army. Then, they organized the township soldiers based on the three counties and accumulated vitality. Now his headquarters has expanded to more than 1,500. Although the number is not outstanding, in terms of strength, it is already among the top in Xu Town.

Military leaders like Xu Ning who accumulate vitality and then transfer to Huainan and exchange armored soldiers are not a minority in Xuzhou. It is precisely because of the elite armed forces provided by Huainan that many military leaders with poor strength are qualified to support an army that is not large in scale but has strong combat effectiveness, which makes people dare not insult them. Otherwise, even if they annex, it will inevitably be a loss, and instead suppress the internal struggle of the military leaders of Xuzhou.

Thinking of my hard work, I only accumulated hundreds of armed forces every year, and whether I could buy them depends on whether Huainan was convenient. For example, Cao Na did not have to worry about this at all. I would like to ask for excellent military equipment, supplies, and food. I could focus more on military affairs and gain more calmly. This situation really made Xu Ning and others envious.

"It's just that everyone has gains and losses."

Hearing Xu Ning say this, Cao Na smiled.

Xu Ning was silent after hearing this. Of course, he also understood that while Cao Na obtained these conveniences, he actually gave up his independence. Although military leaders like them were not easy to maintain, at least they still had a certain degree of independence. Even if Mr. Xi wanted to deal with them, he had to be afraid. However, Cao Na seemed calm, but in fact, whether he could maintain his position was only in the minds of Mr. Liang. It is really hard to judge whether he gained or not.

Although Cao Na said this, he had no regrets in his heart and did not regret his choice. Although he gave up his troops, the army and power he holds now are not comparable to those of Xu Ning. What's more, he didn't think that Xuzhou's current state could be maintained for a long time. He seemed to have no independent status, but these semi-independent military leaders would have a future? They were just a wave in disorder, when will they return to order and when will the corpse be gone.

Is Cao Yi strong? When he was at its peak, he was surrounded by the three states, but he was swept the cave by Shi Jilong, and his body was destroyed by death! Is Su Jun strong? When he was at its peak, he was in trouble with the entire Jiangdong, but he was still surrounded by the crowd and killed and his body was destroyed?

In troubled times, it is true that people can give more opportunities, but not everyone is qualified to sport it. Many people understand this, but the reason why they are still very upset is because they cannot see the future clearly. Cao Na cannot see clearly, but he believes that the people he follows can see clearly.

After pondering for a moment, Cao Na looked at Xu Ning and smiled and said, "I have a thoroughfare. I wonder if Shikang is willing to walk with me?"
Chapter completed!