"Mr. Zuo, you are here so early. Have you had breakfast?" Xiao Chen sat down and changed tea three times before continuing to be polite.
"Xiaguan has been feeling seasick these past few days and can't eat anything." Zuo Weipan smiled bitterly, "If I had known better, it would be better to take the land route. Although the road is bumpy, I don't have to suffer this pain... Eunuch Gong has arrived.
Bar?"
"He arrived last night, but he was slightly unwell. I didn't dare to let him go, so he stayed in the house and ordered people to serve the soup and medicine. He is still resting at the moment. We are in the bitter cold land of Yanyun, and it is winter.
Good morning, Fengyang City is still as warm as spring now, right?" Xiao Chen said.
"Isn't it? It's the weather in autumn, it's so hot!" Zuo Weipan said, "Master Xiao, it's been a great eye-opener for me today. I thought that Yanyun County was in dire straits and was extremely depressed.
, but unexpectedly it is so prosperous, I think it is comparable to Fengyang City and Jiangnan County!"
"Master Zuo is serious. In fact, they are all business people. Aren't they here to collect leather goods just in time for winter? By the way, when Master Zuo goes back, I will definitely bring you more good leather goods." Xiao
Chen Dao.
"Sir Xiao, last time I was in Yihongyuan, many of my subordinates offended me. I always wanted to apologize to you, but I didn't get a chance to see you..." Zuo Wei climbed up from his seat and made a gesture of worship.
"Oh, Master Zuo, you can't do it!" Xiao Chen jumped up and supported him, "That was just a small misunderstanding. If Master Zuo didn't mention it, I would have forgotten it!"
"Mr. Xiao is a big man, so he certainly won't take such a small thing to heart, but some people always keep it in mind, which makes the official helpless." Zuo Weipan sat down, took a sip of tea, and sighed.
"Hahaha, that little thing has chicken intestines, and you will definitely get revenge... But Mr. Zuo, don't ignore him. Prince Fengyang is making the decision for you, why are you afraid of him?" Xiao Chen laughed, "By the way, the prince has always been well behaved.
?”
"The prince is busy with state affairs, but there is no peace. He is just a young man..." Zuo Weipan sighed, "Although he is young, he has been leading troops to fight for these years, and his body is not in good shape. This time...
The official came over and wanted to ask Mr. Xiao to help get some old wild ginseng to supplement the prince."
"It's all on me!" Xiao Chen slapped his chest loudly, "The thousand-year-old prince's body is of vital importance to our country and the country, but we must not ignore it."
"By the way, Mr. Xiao, I heard that you have several arsenals in Yanyun County. The muskets they produce are very sophisticated and advanced, and they can fire continuously. The prince is also very interested. He wants to ask you to buy a batch, but he doesn't know how.
Is it inconvenient?" Zuo Weipan changed the subject.
"Hahaha, those are all rumors and nonsense. How sophisticated and advanced are they? In fact, they are imitations of the old fire guns we used to have, with some random parts added to them claiming that they can fire continuously... They are just used to scare those Russians and northern Xinjiang tribes.
, Why does the prince take it seriously?" Xiao Chen laughed.
"Oh? But I saw it with my own eyes when I was at the Ministry of War, but it's not as bad as Mr. Xiao said." Zuo Weipan said with a half-smile.
"Since we want to fool people, we have to be more serious about it. Otherwise, can we fool people? Let me tell you the truth, only a batch of samples are real, probably more than a hundred, but these are all
I spent a lot of money to buy them from the West, each one costs three thousand taels of silver! If the prince wants it, I can help him buy some."
Xiao Chen was talking nonsense, but it sounded just like the truth.
"But those Westerners are so stupid. They only sold me guns, but they refused to sell me enough ammunition. Since Mr. Zuo, you have seen it with your own eyes, you must also know that those projectiles are specially made, right?"
We can’t make them either, unless we definitely pay a high price to buy projectiles, otherwise these foreign guns will eventually become scrap metal!”
This makes it more true.
Because at that time, Zuo Weipan and others also felt that such a sophisticated and well-made repeating musket could never be manufactured by the Yanyun County Arsenal, which had just been established for more than two years.
In particular, the production process of the percussion-type projectiles is particularly complicated, and they must not have the ability at all!
"Oh, that's it." Zuo Weipan sighed, "We can't afford such an expensive musket, but I'm going to stay in Changshan Prefecture for a few days. If I'm lucky enough to visit your arsenal?
There are fur factories, garment factories, canning factories, pastry factories... even the lower officials want to see them."
"That's no problem. Lord Zuo, just watch whatever you want, but I have a condition." Xiao Chen said.
"Oh? What conditions?" Zuo Weipan raised his eyebrows.
"Master Zuo, you can't look at it in vain. When you go back and see the emperor, you must give me a few nice words!" Xiao Chen said with a smile.
"Hahaha, definitely!" Zuo Weipan laughed loudly, a little arrogantly.
He didn't notice a sneer appearing on the corner of Xiao Chen's mouth.
Xiao Chen used the excuse of being busy with official duties and did not go to major factories with Zuo Weipan to inspect the factories in person. He only sent representative Xu Wenzhou to accompany him.
Xu Wenzhou's identity is also quite subtle.
It's not that high, because he is not a member of the county government and does not have any official position. It is okay to say that he is white-robed.
It's not too low to say it, because he is the chief steward of the Governor's Mansion, and he is Xiao Chen's confidant. Even if he is just a man of words in the Governor's Mansion, he is definitely a very important figure in Changshan Prefecture and even the entire Yanyun County.
.
Xiao Chen's intention of sending him to accompany Zuo Weipan is not easy to figure out.
If you say he is cold, that is a bit cold. After all, Zuo Weipan is a third-rank official in the imperial court, one rank lower than Xiao Chen and one rank higher than Liu Congshu, the governor of Changshan Prefecture.
In other words, except for Xiao Chen, no one in Yanyun County has a higher official rank than him.
So, isn’t it a little inappropriate for you, Xiao Chen, to take a photo of a butler accompanying you?
But if you say being intimate, it's quite intimate, because perhaps Xiao Chen wanted to deliberately make friends with or flatter him, so he sent his confidants to accompany him?
It means not seeing him in person and treating him as a close friend.
Anyway, it doesn't matter how you understand it.
However, the visit process was not smooth either.
First of all, the arsenal is heavily guarded, and the officers on duty are selfless and business-like.
Xu Wenzhou was very polite when he saw him, and he bowed and kowtowed to Zuo Weipan three times. The etiquette was in place. But when he heard that Zuo Weipan wanted to visit the arsenal, his expression immediately changed.
"Excuse me, Butler Xu, if you have the warrant for our Lord Lei?" What you want is Madman Lei's warrant, not Xiao Chen's.
"Oh, Governor Xiao asked me to accompany Mr. Zuo. Do you need Mr. Lei's warrant?" Xu Wenzhou said hurriedly.
"Haha, forgive me for not obeying my order. Our arsenal is an important place and no idlers are allowed to enter! Even if Governor Xiao comes in person, he must have Mr. Lei's permission, otherwise he will not be let in!" The officer didn't have any dignity at all!