Chapter 2183

Yuan Tao's answer made Ma Zhengping a little disappointed. Of course, he hoped that Haihan's side would take stronger measures, the better. The best thing would be to send troops to directly push down Yangzhou's competitors.

Of course, the possibility of such an extreme situation is slim. The Haihan people have made it clear that they will not directly send troops, and they will certainly not go back on their word so soon. Jindun will send a small number of unofficial armed personnel to Yangzhou to station. This is of course not for the purpose of starting a war, but for

We need to show our attitude to the local salt merchants and the officials behind the salt merchants, that is, Haihan has decided to support the Huizhou salt merchants.

However, Haihan's support methods will not easily cross the line, so as not to affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The process of truly defeating the Shanxi salt merchants still needs to be completed by the Huizhou salt merchants themselves.

Yuan Tao explained: "While we are sending personnel to Yangzhou, we also hope that you can organize a group of people to go to Zhoushan for training as soon as possible. If you hope to defeat your opponents with force, then this group of trainees is your real hope.

"

Haihan's unwillingness to do it himself is not entirely a bad thing for Ma Zhengping. At least they get the opportunity to train personnel, and these trainees will definitely be selected from the core circle of the "Seven Surnames".

In the future, a private armed force with strong combat effectiveness will finally be available.

Since it was training, there would definitely be expenses, so Ma Zhengping took the initiative to ask Yuan Tao about it.

Yuan Tao responded: "The training fee is five taels of silver per person per day, including food and accommodation. However, the ammunition and other weapons and equipment consumed during the training need to be calculated separately. The training process is not the responsibility of our Golden Shield, but of

The Zhoushan garrison has sent a special officer to take charge, and if nothing unexpected happens, it should be Major Duan Tiancheng whom Boss Ma met before."

"Master Duan is in charge? That's great." Ma Zhengping's eyes lit up when he heard the news.

Although he and Duan Tiancheng had just gotten to know each other in the past few days, Ma Zhengping thought that he could still get along well with Mr. Duan. Duan Tiancheng collected money quickly and did things quickly. This style suited Ma Zhengping's taste.

If Duan Tiancheng is also responsible for the subsequent personnel training matters, it will definitely be more convenient.

It doesn't matter whether Duan Tiancheng regards him as a friend. As long as Duan Tiancheng can get things done after collecting the money, Ma Zhengping won't mind giving him a few more benefits.

As for the training cost mentioned by Yuan Tao, although it is indeed not cheap, since it can be solved with money, it is not a big problem in Ma Zhengping's view. When he came to Zhoushan, he only wanted to spend money.

The attitude of solving the problem is now just fulfilling his wish. Such simple and clear conditions save a lot of extraneous troubles.

"How long will it take for training to produce results?" Ma Zhengping asked with concern. Although he also knew that military training cannot be accomplished overnight, he still hoped to produce results sooner. This was not because he was worried about money, but because he wanted to be early.

Settle the grudges with the salt merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi.

Yuan Tao responded: "If it is based on our country's standards for training new recruits, it will take at least a hundred days of training. Of course, we will flexibly adjust according to the progress of the training, and it may end early."

If Ma Zhengping was asked to wait for three months, he would definitely be a little panicked, because three months is enough time for a lot of things to happen, and the opponent would definitely not stop and wait for his side to slowly train his troops. But fortunately, Haihan will send

When people go to Yangzhou, I hope the situation will not deteriorate too quickly.

Ma Zhengping actually calculated very clearly. If one hundred people were selected to be sent to Zhoushan for training, according to the cost mentioned by Yuan Tao, the basic cost would only be 500 taels of silver per day. In three months, it would be 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver, plus the other party

The ammunition consumption and other expenses mentioned should not exceed one hundred thousand taels of silver.

The training cost is indeed not low, but if you consider that it will obtain an armed force directly descended from Haihan and establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the Zhoushan authorities and the Haihan military, it seems acceptable.

Of course, the main reason is that these expenses will not be borne entirely by Ma Zhengping, but will be shared among the "seven major surnames". After averaging, the figures are not too outrageous.

Yuan Tao was also a little surprised by Ma Zhengping's endurance. He agreed to his terms without even blinking. It seemed that his offer was far from enough to make the other party hesitate.

Duan Tiancheng had previously reminded him that he could be a little bolder when setting prices, but judging from Ma Zhengping's current reaction, it was obvious that he was not bold enough. However, the salt merchant would definitely purchase a batch of weapons from Zhoushan in the future.

Ammunition, you have to remind the military to raise the price. After all, this is a rare fat sheep. If you just let it go, it would be a bit sorry for God's arrangement.

Ma Zhengping doesn't care so much anyway, as long as the other party's conditions are not too outrageous, he will agree to it first and eliminate the possibility of the other party going back on his word during the bargaining process. He also knows that Haihan people attach great importance to business reputation, as long as it is in the transaction.

The negotiated terms will basically not be changed.

Things were talked about in a loose manner, and the meal was almost finished. After Ma Zhengping asked Yuan Tao, he had the banquet removed and replaced with hot fruit tea, and then asked Yuan Tao when he would be ready to set off.

To go to Yangzhou, do we need to hire another ship to transport Jindun's manpower and materials?

Yuan Tao responded: "Three days. We can set off from Zhoushan in three days. We have our own ship and there is no need to hire another ship."

Due to its special attributes, Golden Shield has always had sufficient operating funds. Almost every branch has its own transport ship, and some even have more than one or two ships. For example, the Zhoushan branch has four comprehensive transport ships.

Ships can carry both people and cargo. Before the East China Sea Fleet went to Hirado, two of them were requisitioned as supply ships.

Yuan Tao has already planned to dispatch three of them to carry out this mission, leaving one in Zhoushan for emergencies. But after taking this big order from Yangzhou, I am afraid that there will be no spare manpower in the past two or three months.

Taking over other business.

Yuan Tao asked: "Will Boss Ma go to Yangzhou with us, or will he stay in Zhoushan to coordinate follow-up affairs?"

Ma Zhengping said: "I am planning to build a business store in the port area. I have already contacted the construction personnel. In addition, there will be people coming here for training in the future. I just happen to stay here to take care of them. Shopkeeper Yuan can rest assured.

, I will send another person back to Yangzhou today to deliver the message, so that the reception there can be prepared in advance. Someone will also set off with you in three days, ensuring that the business will not be delayed. "

Yuan Tao said: "It would be best if Boss Ma has a thorough arrangement. Later I will ask someone to prepare a document and send it over, stating the content of this transaction. If Boss Ma has nothing else to add, please sign the agreement.

Draw a stamp."

It is necessary for large transactions to have contract documents in white and black letters. Even if Yuan Tao does not take the initiative to bring it up, Ma Zhengping will definitely not ignore this link. As for who will draft the contract content, this is not a big problem.

Anyway, the conditions have been basically finalized during the banquet just now, and there should be no further changes.

When Yuan Tao said goodbye and left, Ma Zhengping did not forget to give him a favor. Yuan Tao did not refuse much, accepted it with understanding, and then left the inn in a carriage.

After settling this important matter, Ma Zhengping finally calmed down a lot. As long as the personnel sent by Golden Shield arrive in Yangzhou, the situation should be able to relax a little.

When Yuan Tao returned to Jindun's base, he immediately summoned several of his leaders, conveyed the mission to them, and announced that everyone would cancel their recent vacations and other work arrangements, and focus on dealing with the Yangzhou mission first.

Yuan Tao also emphasized one thing during the meeting: "We suffered losses near Yangzhou last year. If we go again this time, we will probably fight with those people again. If a situation similar to last year occurs again, then we will be a little bit more

Don't hold back any hands, I'll kill them all!"

Last year, Jindun encountered a sneak attack by Yangzhou salt merchants' armed forces while carrying out the task of transporting salt, and there were casualties during the battle. This incident has always made Yuan Tao worried. Even though Haihan later sent people to Yangzhou to solve the problem

A musketeer team, Yuan Tao still hopes to have the opportunity to personally carry out revenge on the mastermind behind it.

Of course, Yuan Tao is not a hot-blooded young bird. In the past few years in Jindun, he has long learned to deal with things calmly and will no longer be as impulsive as when he was in the army. Moreover, the nature of the mission this time is very clear, and it is not to send Jindun to

If you go to Yangzhou to kill the enemy, you can't take the initiative to attack, so the possibility of Yuan Tao's wish coming true is actually not very high, but using this incident to encourage his subordinates will definitely have a good effect.

Sure enough, when several of Yuan Tao's leaders heard him mention this matter, they immediately remembered the situation last year, and immediately expressed their attitude that if they had the opportunity, they would avenge last year's attack in Yangzhou.

Seeing that the effect of boosting morale was good, Yuan Tao asked his subordinates to go separately to prepare. Then he called the clerk in and asked him to write down the contents of the transaction. This content was basically the same as Yuan Tao's previous relationship with Duan Tiancheng.

What Ji Yuanqing agreed upon has been fully accepted by Ma Zhengping, so there is no need to make any changes. Yuan Tao can just dictate it and the clerk can write it down beside him.

What is really more complicated is the various preparations that need to be done before departure. Considering that this mission is likely to be stationed in Yangzhou for more than a month, and may even last two or three months, this is a situation that Jindun usually uses to escort valuable cargo.

This is a rare situation in a business where the main focus is on the mission, so the members need to bring many more personal belongings than usual when going on missions.

Although Ma Zhengping promised that after arriving in Yangzhou, he would try his best to provide all kinds of materials needed by the Golden Shield members, but it is more practical to bring some things with him.

In addition, Yuan Tao must consider how to maintain regular contact with Zhoushan while stationed in Yangzhou. The most ideal way is of course to bring a radio, but although Jindun has a certain official background, he does not have the qualifications to equip such an advanced tool as a radio.

Tao still had to submit an application to the military, but he felt that with the assistance of Duan Tiancheng and Ji Yuanqing, he should have a good chance of applying for the use of the radio station.

Of course, even if you apply for the qualification to use it, this precious thing will not be handed over directly to Yuan Tao. The military must send one or two communications soldiers who have mastered the technology of using the radio to join the trip to Yangzhou as a guard.

among the team.

This is one of the reasons why Yuan Tao made an appointment with Ma Zhengping for three days. He was also worried that the process of applying for a radio station would not go smoothly. It would probably take a day or two just to go through the process and submit it to Shi Diwen for approval, so he had three days to spare.

It will be safer.

In addition, Yuan Tao had to apply for another batch of rifles from the military. Jindun itself was equipped with a certain number of rifles, but it was not fully equipped according to the number of field personnel. At most, it was only a little more than half of the number.

Only those who perform escort missions outside can receive guns, and they will be returned to the weapons depot in the base after the mission is completed, so in fact not so many guns are used. But this mission is quite special, and Yuan Tao must allocate them according to the number of people traveling.

You have enough rifles, but you also need to prepare some more for safety.

In addition, you also need to apply for some short guns for self-defense when entering and exiting. After all, after going to Yangzhou City, it is impossible to carry a conspicuous rifle when going out. That would be too dismissive of the local government and garrison.

Because they had already informed Duan Tiancheng and Ji Yuanqing beforehand, the weapons were quickly applied for. In addition to eight revolvers prepared for the Golden Shield, the military even issued four pistols that only a few main battle units had.

Yuan Tao was also quite excited about this unexpected surprise that he was eligible to be equipped with a seven-shot rifle.

Yuan Tao actually had no chance to touch such advanced weapons, so he dedicated half a day and took a few close friends to the shooting range on the island to try the gun. Of course, it was said to be a test gun, but in fact

Just learn how to operate this new type of rifle that has never been used before.

"You should try not to use this thing unless it is a last resort. We used this when we were in Yangzhou last year. It is indeed very powerful, but it is a standard weapon in the military. If you use it openly as Haihan people,

, it might cause unnecessary trouble."

When testing the gun, Ji Yuanqing also specifically told Yuan Tao to use this new rifle with caution.

Yuan Tao understood that Ji Yuanqing was worried that this would allow Ming officials to seize the opportunity to cause trouble for the Zhoushan authorities at the diplomatic level, so he immediately agreed.

Two days later, the radio station Yuan Tao applied for was finally approved. In this way, Jin Dun could regularly contact Zhoushan through the radio station for reports. If some special circumstances occur, Yuan Tao can also

You can ask Zhoushan for instructions in time to avoid delaying the fighter plane.

Three days later, Jindun's personnel and supplies were all prepared, and they set off from Dinghai Port in Zhoushan and headed north along Hangzhou Bay to the Yangtze River Estuary.
Chapter completed!