Regarding the complaints from the Japanese envoys, the King of Yue could only say:
"Now that Vietnam is transferring grain and grass, although you have lost some gold and silver, what you have gained is enough to fill your stomach."
Prime Minister Gongsun Qian on the side also plausibly said: "If our country does not turn around, how many people will starve to death in your country, and how many farmers will remain miserable?"
"Your country should be grateful to our country."
Hota Masatoshi said expressionlessly: "Our country has always been closed to the outside world. We are only allowed to do business in Nagasaki. We only favor the country of Yue and are allowed to go to Edo. What kind of favor is this?"
"If your country still has this attitude, then let's leave it at that!"
Gongsun Qian screamed in his heart, this kid has a very poisonous mouth.
He immediately smoothed things over to prevent the negotiation from breaking down: "Hahaha, our king married a princess of your country. If we don't speak the same language, how can we be so open-minded?"
"If your country has any requests, just ask them. Although our country is poor, we will definitely do whatever we can."
The implication is that we won’t do what we can’t do. Who makes us poor?
Only then did Hota Masatoshi reveal a smile: "I heard that the Yue Kingdom has multiplied a lot of military horses. I wonder if they can be sold to our country at a fair price?"
After hearing this, the King of Yue's expression changed and he smiled bitterly: "My army horses are mostly kept by the imperial court. They come from Heilongjiang and other places. They are Northeastern horses. There are not many in our country..."
"Ten taels of gold!" Hota Masatoshi said softly without squinting.
"Doesn't this make me violate the imperial court?"
"Twenty taels of gold."
"How about forgetting it? I also raise cattle and sheep here, and Edo should also like to eat them..."
"Thirty taels!" Hota Masatoshi said decisively: "According to what foreign ministers know, a good horse in the Ming Dynasty only costs a hundred yuan, and a good horse only costs two or three hundred yuan."
"For an ordinary Northeastern horse, my price is really not low."
"If it's a rare horse, it's worth a thousand gold coins."
The King of Yue was confused: "For the sake of my father-in-law, I will let you do it!"
In this way, after some negotiations, Vietnam and Japan reached an agreement.
The Yue Kingdom sold good horses to Japan at a price of 30 gold per horse, 300 horses per year.
With this alone, Yue will be able to receive an additional 9,000 taels of gold, or 90,000 silver yuan, every year.
The trade between the two countries is extremely extensive.
The goods transported by Vietnam to Japan include furs, cattle and sheep, salt, grain, ironware, horses, etc., while Japan transports cloth, cotton, porcelain, lacquerware, copper, etc.
It can be seen from these trades that the country of Yue is short of people.
Cloth and other handicraft industries are short of manpower and cannot meet the country's demand, so they can only import from Japan.
Especially for winter cotton, Vietnam basically does not meet the planting requirements.
The total annual trade volume between the two countries exceeds 3 million yuan.
Among them, the country of Yue, because of its vast territory and sparse population, obtained a large amount of gold and silver from its exports of grain, cattle, sheep, furs, etc., with a net income of more than two million yuan.
It is precisely because of this that the country of Yue can continue to develop.
"Your Highness, our country has 170,000 people, including 60,000 Japanese people, 30,000 imperial people, 20,000 Ezo people, 10,000 Mongolian people, and only more than 50,000 Han people..."
These Mongols were rewarded by the emperor and recruited by the King of Yue himself. They were important military support.
Gongsun Qian said softly: "Nowadays, immigration from Japan and North Korea can be suspended. Ten thousand people can enter the country every year. What is urgently needed are Han people."
"Slow down!"
The King of Yue rubbed his temples: "The people in our country have only been waiting for three years, right?"
"Yes."
Gongsun Qian was also surprised: "The location of the Yue Kingdom is excellent. Except that it is a little colder and a little barren, it is really not bad. It is close to the North and the Sun, and across the sea is the Heilongjiang General's Mansion."
"I will go back to Beijing and try to get some Han people to come over. I will also educate those Japanese and North Korean immigrants. The minimum requirement is to be proficient in Chinese."
The King of Yue said casually.
"I have been dispersing the people and living together with the Han people. The adults reluctantly refused to come, but the children were very quick. I think they will be able to speak Chinese in a few years."
Gongsun Qian showed a smile.
The King of Yue nodded and was about to leave, but Gongsun Qian stopped him:
"Your Highness, there is also a big island in the north of my country, Yue. Do you know?"
"What about Sakhalin Island?" The King of Yue was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "I think I heard someone say that it's just to the north of us, across the sea, very close."
"This island was given to me by God as a gift to the country of Yue."
Gongsun Qian smiled broadly: "The island is as wide as ours. I heard that there are many sea beasts on the island. I don't know how much money it can be sold for."
"Now our country can send people to conquer it."
"I heard that the Heilongjiang General's Office is also interested in this place..."
The King of Yue hesitated for a moment, and then made up his mind: "I am going to the capital, and I must ask His Majesty the Emperor to come to this island."
"I would like to wish Your Highness all the best——"
…
On the streets of Beijing, there are particularly many soldiers wearing military uniforms these days.
Because of the Northern Expedition's return to Beijing and the transfer of border camps to Beijing, many soldiers accumulated a large amount of wealth and did not spend it in this short period of time.
Beijing is a purely consumer-oriented city that produces almost no products and relies purely on the supply of Lumi from all over the world.
Although civil and military officials, officials and nobles consume a lot, they only buy high-end products. In fact, the main force of consumption is the children of the Beijing camp.
The 200,000 Beijing Battalion and the 150,000 border troops mobilized and integrated with each other, allowing the 200,000 Beijing Battalion to maintain long-term protection around the capital.
This also means that there are at least 300,000 to 400,000 Jingying family members living in Shuntian Prefecture and around the capital, maintaining surging consumption power.
Since the main income of the family members is the military salary, which is not reduced by disasters but is abundant by rewards, it is extremely stable and they are the most important consumer force in Beijing.
There are four major camps in Beijing. Among them, Beida Camp is located in Yingzhou, more than a hundred miles away from the capital. It is the closest to the Great Wall and is the gateway to Beijing.
South Daying is Marco Polo Bridge, near Fengtai.
The West Camp is in Yuquan Mountain to protect this summer resort.
As for Dongdaying, it is located in Tongzhou, guarding the capital's most important food concentration area and transportation thoroughfares.
Therefore, if there is any coup in the capital, the West Camp and the South Camp are the fastest. The cavalry can arrive in one or two hours without any effort.
Because his family is centered in the capital, they live not far away. Even if it is a holiday, if they want to gather into an army, as long as the superiors confirm the military order, they can gather within one day.
"Winter clothes have been distributed——"
Soon after September arrived, Fengtai camp began to distribute autumn clothes, also winter clothes, because autumn in the north is really too short.
All of a sudden, the military camp became lively, and everyone started to line up and pick up the items in order.
Many people keep a close eye on it, fearing that they will get a broken or old one.
As the commander of the camp, the horse guard does not need to pick it up in person. He can have ten soldiers who will naturally pick it up for him.
He put wine and food on the table and drank alone, which was quite enjoyable.
Soon, the soldiers received their military uniforms.
Ma Wei glanced at it and immediately saw the military rank above:
A silver five-pointed star.
In an instant, his eyes widened and he smiled broadly: "I've finally been promoted."
Nowadays, in the implementation of military ranks, the commander in charge of a hundred-man team is generally a sergeant, and only the deputy commander is a right sergeant.
At the same time, the deputy battalion commander, chief of staff, and military judge all have the rank of left sergeant, while the battalion commander has the rank of staff sergeant.
The first-level military officer has a three-pointed star, which is sewn on the shoulder for easy identification.
When reaching the rank of captain, it is a five-pointed star, the captain is a crescent moon, the general is the sun, and the general is embroidered with the sun and moon at the same time.
There are also many rules in the military. First-class soldiers use copper wire, captains use silver wire, and captains use gold wire.
At the level of a general, the moon is embroidered with silver thread and the sun is embroidered with gold thread respectively. The rules are strict.
He went to Beihai and came back. He was promoted from deputy battalion commander to battalion commander, and he also received the lifelong title: brave captain.
This is not a military rank, but a title.
The brave captain and the brave captain are all designed to reward soldiers who are brave in battle, as well as low-level officers who are not worthy of barons.
You can receive fifty silver dollars every year.
In the army, each regiment has only two quotas among three thousand men, and they are awarded to brave men and officers respectively.
This is also how he was able to jump from sergeant to right colonel and enjoy the treatment of captain in advance.
From this, a tradition was formed in the military: the rank follows the person.
As the name suggests, what matters in the military is not the level of official position, but the level of military rank.
For example, if he, the commander of the Beijing camp, is removed from his post and appointed to the frontier army, he will no longer be the commander of the camp, but the deputy commander or chief of staff.
Unless he commits an unforgivable mistake, no one can lower his military rank.
According to the fifth rank of sergeant, captain, captain, general and general (there are only two) and eighteenth rank, his right colonel is from the seventh rank, second only to the county magistrate.
"Congratulations, Commander——"
All the soldiers congratulated one after another, with heartfelt smiles on their faces.
Allocation of high and low ranks is not common in the military. Generally, positions are filled as vacancies arise, and promotions occur within a few months.
When the time comes, these soldiers will also rise with the tide.
As the soldiers of the battalion, they enjoy the treatment of a corps commander, and if they are the deputy regimental commander, or the chief of staff, they enjoy the treatment of a captain.
This also means that once it is released, it will grow forever.
Ma Wei laughed a few times, stopped talking, and looked at the military robes on the table.
In the military, military uniforms are generally made in summer and winter styles, with two sets in one style.
The rules are strict, like shoes.
Ordinary soldiers, below the rank of captain, can only wear walking shoes and are not allowed to wear boots.
Non-commissioned officers can only wear pigskin boots, captains can wear sheepskin boots, captains can wear cowhide boots, and only those who reach the general level are allowed to wear deerskin boots.
The set in front of him consisted of two pairs of sheepskin boots, which were quite exquisite in style and looked different from others.
In addition, there are stockings, belts, trousers, linings, etc., piled up on a table.
Although he has enough money to do things, how can he be as comfortable as the imperial court?
As for the military robes, they were two military coats, occupying half of the table.
It is filled with nearly ten kilograms of cotton, making it extremely warm when worn on the body.
This is a benefit.
Just when he was proud, suddenly the deputy battalion asked to see him.
"Aren't military uniforms issued at this time? What is he doing here?"
Ma Wei muttered.
After the popularization of the chief of staff system, the power in the military was basically divided into four.
For example, in his battalion, the chief battalion officer is responsible for directing operations, and the deputy battalion officer is responsible for baggage, food and other chores. He is a big housekeeper.
Needless to say, military judges control the discipline of the military. They also record the military's meritorious deeds and daily speech and actions. They are known as the generals and supervisors of the military.
The chief of staff is responsible for formulating march, combat, and training plans and is an important assistant to the battalion commander.
At this time, the military uniforms have been issued, and the deputy battalion should be very busy.
After all, he only has twenty or thirty people under his command, including the gang leaders of each team.
"Head, that's too outrageous."
The deputy battalion commander was holding a pair of military trousers in his hand, frowning and complaining.
I saw that the black military trousers had a big hole at this time, and they were as wide as a fist. They were of extremely poor quality.
"Just make up for it."
Ma Wei said casually.
He has seen this kind of thing too many times.
The materials used by officers like him are all fine linen, while ordinary soldiers basically use coarse cloth, which is made of pure cotton and carefully woven shuttle by shuttle on spinning wheels and wooden looms.
This is very common among people.
If suppliers and buyers are greedy, the quality will be poor.
The soldiers were used to it, so they often mended it. It was free, as long as they liked it.
"Commander, half of the cotton here is missing."
The deputy battalion said what he was doing seriously.
When Ma Wei heard this, he jumped up and said, "Isn't this fatal?"
In the frontier army, there may not be a drill once a month, but in the Beijing camp, daily drills are indispensable. Even the big drill is once every ten days, and heavy snow cannot stop it.
The same is true, military robes are generally in the three-three-one pattern.
That is, three kilograms of cotton are used for tops, three kilograms of cotton are used for trousers, and one kilogram of cotton is used for shoes.
Only in this way can the soldiers keep warm and practice in the winter.
The reason why green is used is naturally because green dye is cheap and conspicuous in winter.
Three pounds of trousers have become one and a half pounds. In winter like Beijing, it is easy for soldiers to get frostbite.
"Damn it, how dare you take advantage of this to your death?"
Ma Wei said angrily.
The deputy battalion commander was also angry: "In the future, it won't matter if it's a pound and a half short, but now it's a pound and a half short. Isn't it fatal?"
At this time, the chief of staff also arrived and put on new clothes. Just when he was about to show off, he heard the news and became furious:
"If the soldiers get frostbite, wouldn't it be serious to be absent from duty? How can we still practice? Aren't we going to be scolded?"
"Don't the Yamen of the Imperial Envoy in Beijing want to remember our mistakes?"
The chief of staff is responsible for daily drills. If this is not good, he will have to take the blame.
Ma Wei also felt bad about this.
If Fei Zhan loses too many people, it will also be bad for his reputation.
No, he hesitated for a while and then said: "Materials for military supplies are basically contracted by imperial merchants. If you cut corners like this, I'm afraid it's a shame..."
It should be noted that the Beijing Camp is independent of the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Governor's Office, and is managed by the Beijing Camp Envoy Department. The Ministry of War is only responsible for food and grass supplies when the armies go on expeditions. It has no control at all on weekdays.
Nowadays, Jingying is cutting corners like this, and the reason behind it is really not trivial.
"Go and ask if it's just me or the whole battalion."
Ma Wei said cautiously.
The deputy battalion commander and the chief of staff nodded and went to each battalion to inquire about the news.
There is good and bad in this news.
The robes of each battalion are different, some are thick and some are thin. It is obvious that cutting corners is not the norm, but only partial.
At this time, Ma Wei breathed a sigh of relief.
If he had to deal with all the imperial merchants, he would not dare to do so. In part, he was right: