usatvline Chapter 113 Group
Chapter 113 Group
There's still some time before the end of June, so Shao Shuyi doesn't need to rush to set off immediately.
During this period, apart from making a trip to Suzhou by boat to bring back some grain and oil to Liujiagang, the only other thing he did was to move the celadon wares sent from Chuzhou into the warehouse. By this time, the inventory of porcelain had reached 44,000 pieces, of which 20,000 were custom-made.
For the rest of the time, Shao Shuyi was looking for candidates to fill the ten-person group that Liang Tai had mentioned.
On the last day of June, Wang Huadu and others returned from Shanghai, and Shao Shuyi's coloring game was finally roughly completed.
"Tie Niu, you're so clumsy." Wang Huadu poked at it repeatedly with a bamboo pole, teasing it as he spoke.
Tie Niu held a shield in his left hand, struggling to block the bamboo pole that Wang Huadu was thrusting at him, while wielding a ring-bladed knife in his right hand, trying to cut the bamboo pole in half, but he could not succeed.
Finally, perhaps out of desperation, he pressed his shield against the wall and charged forward, rushing to Wang Huadu's side and brandishing his sword.
"Iron Bull!" Shao Shuyi shouted.
The knife stopped in mid-air and slowly retracted.
Wang Huadu abandoned the bamboo pole, rolled over and got up from the side. His face was pale, but he didn't say anything sarcastic. Instead, he silently dusted off the dust on his clothes.
"Tie Niu." Liang Tai walked over and said with a serious expression, "On the battlefield, people are packed together. If you step out from the crowd like this, you are likely to be stabbed to death by a spear coming from the side, and you will also disrupt the formation."
Tie Niu slowly caught his breath and said in a deep voice, "I am from the Zhang family."
Liang Tai was taken aback, not understanding the meaning of those words.
Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "Tie Niu means that we are only facing small-scale situations, a few people or a dozen people. The other side may not have a formation, let alone long spears that can be thrust from the side. If we just hold on and charge in front to kill the opponent, we will win."
Tie Niu nodded.
Shao Shuyi added, "Tie Niu, what if you encounter a large group of smuggled salt dealers in the future? Hundreds or even thousands of them, how will you handle it? You still need to have a plan. Don't rush, stay calm."
Tie Niu grunted in agreement, sheathed his sword, and went to rest to the side.
"Li Fu, come here," Shao Shuyi said, beckoning him over.
Li Fu stretched his limbs, then stepped forward with his sword and shield.
Wei Erdi leaned on a bamboo pole, glancing at Wang Huadu and then at Shao Shuyi.
"Go!" Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said.
Wei Erdi responded and poked Li Fu with a bamboo pole.
Li Fu was more skilled than Tie Niu, often parrying Wei Erdi's bamboo pole before swinging his knife to strike.
A series of "thump" sounds rang out until a "crack" sounded, and the bamboo pole broke in two.
Wei Erdi stared blankly at the half-bamboo pole in his hand, speechless.
"They still need to train," Liang Tai said expressionlessly. "On the battlefield, any soldier whose spear shaft can be cut by swordsmen and shieldmen is unqualified."
Wei Erdi was filled with shame.
Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "Second brother has only just begun to learn the skills. Just put in more effort in the future."
"Definitely, definitely," Wei Erdi said with a hint of flattery.
"Go and rest." Shao Shuyi waved his hand.
Wei Erdi felt as if he had been granted a pardon and slipped to Tie Niu's side.
"It's my turn," Wang Huadu said as he walked over, carrying his anchor axe.
"Go away," Shao Shuyi said with a laugh. "There are no armored warriors here for you to test your axe skills."
Wang Huadu gave an awkward smile and said nothing.
Shao Shuyi had actually already discovered this problem.
Liang Tai organized personnel and tactics according to the military routines he had learned from his surroundings. Long-handled axes and halberds are very heavy. You could call them sharp weapons, but they can also be used as blunt weapons, which is even more in line with their original design purpose.
On the battlefield, when the enemy is clad in iron armor and spears and ring swords cannot penetrate their defenses quickly enough, striking with a long-handled blunt weapon is a common tactic. In fact, it's not necessary to use expensive axes or halberds; dense wood can achieve the same effect—designed to be thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, it's both inexpensive and effective. If you're still not confident, you can add some iron nails to the top of the wooden club to make it a spiked club, which is even more effective.
The question now is, do smugglers have armor? It's hard to say, but most likely they don't.
However, Liang Tai insisted on taking the proper route from the beginning in order to deal with various emergencies, and Shao Shuyi respected his opinion.
He had also consulted Cheng Ji, who said that most places didn't have any armor for sale and were willing to pay a high price. But Old Cheng seemed to be frightened and didn't reply.
Shao Shuyi thought to himself that Cheng Ji was still too upright. There must be someone in the capital who would dare to sell this thing. He would think of another way later.
As for why Shao Shuyi was so fixated on the armored vehicle, the main reason was that Liang Tai's initial tactics required a heavily armored, skilled "jumping warrior" or "battle vanguard" to form a team with the archers.
Before close combat, crossbowmen can fire two or three arrows, and archers can fire four or five volleys, weakening the enemy as much as possible. Then, the vanguard charges in, disrupting the enemy formation and shaking their resolve. Swordsmen, shieldmen, and spearmen from the rear pour in through this opening and break through the enemy lines. At the very back, two people should be left as reserves, generally not participating in direct combat, but providing support when necessary.
Without armor, we have to settle for second best: first, we shoot arrows at the enemy, then the remaining men advance quickly and fight them.
Let's practice when we have some time.
Shao Shuyi was also trying to improve the system, but unfortunately he lacked professional knowledge. He could only rack his brains to recall how Qi Jiguang's combat teams, which were suited to the dense, narrow, fragmented, and non-open, flat terrain of the south, operated.
In the end, he only remembered one thing: the Wolf Banner, because that thing was too special...
The departure was on the first day of the seventh lunar month, several days later than originally scheduled.
Three ships, fully loaded with goods, headed to Jiangxi.
This time, it wasn't just Shen Niangzi's goods, but also the goods of a Taicang merchant introduced by Qi Le, a clerk in the prefectural government.
That's how circles are; they accumulate and expand gradually.
Qi Le had been a clerk for over a decade, and naturally, merchants had asked him for favors. Out of courtesy, helping them once or twice was no big deal, and it was a good way to repay those favors. In return, Qi Le converted those favors into cash, because Shao Shuyi had given him some gifts.
Because of the strong southeasterly winds, the westward journey was made easier by the winds, greatly increasing the speed of the ship.
Before leaving, Shao Shuyi found a secluded place and pulled Wang Huadu and other core members aside to discuss the smuggled salt business.
"There are many places that deal in salt," Wang Huadu said. "The salt farmers and villagers in Tingmin have kept a lot of it for themselves. After we arrived at the Xiasha quarry, Wei Erdi went to see his old friends and neighbors, and they all sighed."
In the eleven salt fields of western Zhejiang, the cost of regular salt was 20 strings of cash per ton and surplus salt was 25 strings of cash per ton. This was already meager, and officials further deducted from it. At the end of the year, being able to save one or two tenths was considered a lot.
However, if a family member has a minor ailment like a headache or fever and needs to get medicine, or if there are occasions like weddings or funerals that require money, their savings can be quickly wiped out, and they may even end up in debt.
Salt producers also had to perform various corvée labor duties, and if they were gone for several months, their families would be in dire straits. If they were gone for a year, they might have to sell their children. Wei Erdi was heavily in debt, and when debt collectors came to his door and beat him, he fled in the middle of the night.
Shao Shuyi didn't say anything after listening.
Salt producers are actually quite similar to seafarers. According to Kublai Khan's system, they were initially able to make money and even live quite well.
The problem is that inflation is too severe, while the increase in labor costs/transfer fees is limited, so people gradually can't make ends meet. In more fashionable terms, the boom has passed, and newcomers have to bear the losses.
"Brother Shao, the Xia Sha quarry is a large quarry. It can still produce more than 30,000 tons of salt a year now, and it used to produce 40,000 to 50,000 tons," said Wang Huadu. "Actually, I guess it can still produce more than 40,000 tons a year now, but a lot of it has been resold by corrupt officials, and salt farmers have also kept some for themselves, unwilling to hand it over. I heard from people in the quarry that they have seen smugglers go directly to the approval office to get salt."
Damn! Although Shao Shuyi was mentally prepared, he was still speechless.
"We visited more than twenty salt-producing households, and each one could produce ten or eight catties of salt. They were willing to sell to anyone willing to buy, all saying they were unwilling to sell to the corrupt imperial court," Wang Huadu continued. "Second Brother Wei said that in the past, there were smugglers who bought salt for one or two hundred coins per catty, and there were many sellers. Some even came with salt after hearing the news, only to find that the salt smugglers had already left, and they stamped their feet in regret and wailed loudly."
"The salt farmers are suffering," Shao Shuyi sighed.
After saying this, he looked at Liang Tai, Yu Yuan, Kong Tie, and the others behind Wang Huadu, and said in a slightly embarrassed yet sacred tone, "Smuggling salt may sound dishonorable, but it is a virtuous act. Salt merchants get money so their families can survive, the people get good salt so they don't have to eat that inferior salt mixed with who knows how much mud and sand, and we also 'make a little money' to improve our own lives..."
Wang Huadu looked at Shao Shuyi with admiration and said, "Brother Shao, I can't say these things. I don't have that kind of insight."
"Brother Shao, there's no point in saying more. I'm willing to do this with you." Wu Heizi smiled lightly and said, "To be honest, the profits from sailing to and from Jiangxi are too low. It's better to smuggle salt."
Shao Shuyi nodded at him.
Gao Daqiang also came today, saying, "You can't make much money in legitimate business, and you'll just get exploited by corrupt officials. Let's do it. If we can rob ships, what's a little salt smuggling? Sandou is with me, so we don't need to ask him anymore."
Seeing their stance, Shao Shuyi was also very pleased, as everything was going as expected.
Wang Huadu, Kong Tie, Liang Tai, Li Fu, Jiang Sanbao, Wei Erdi, Wu Heizi, Gao Daqiang, Tie Niu, plus myself, ten people are enough. Actually, we need some substitutes in case someone can't make it at the last minute.
Shao Shuyi favored Zeng Yi, the unorthodox swordsman, while Wu Heizi suggested bringing Wu Shangyuan over. Gao Daqiang recommended Bian Sandou and the three Zhao brothers, and Wang Huadu suggested recruiting a few more trusted acquaintances and so on, saying that they still had enough manpower.
In fact, Yu Yuan was a little sad that he hadn't been assigned to the combat team, and suggested adding two more musketeers, for which he was willing to give up a musket to someone else.
Shao Shuyi did not agree for the time being, only saying that he was still considering it.
After reaching a consensus, the three boats set off that very day, heading straight for Jiangxi.
Seven or eight days after they left, a ship returning from Dadu appeared on the horizon off the coast of Liujiagang.