Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were still working hard to earn back their capital. Wang Juan had started training the army. Wang Juan had found three thousand soldiers from Henan Province. She was preparing to train them to deal with the upcoming troubles.
The three thousand people were not obtained for free. They were exchanged for ten thousand soldiers from the province. Ten thousand for three thousand. Not only did they have to take care of the food of the ten thousand people, they also had to take care of the three thousand people. It was impossible to favor one and discriminate against the other.
For the sake of the army's combat strength, Wang Juan had also bought a large amount of meat and wine from elsewhere. She fed the three thousand people with all her might for five days in a row. On the sixth day, Wang Juan was ready to train fiercely. If they did not work hard after eating the wine, it would not make sense.
Zhang Xiaobao was still in charge of economic matters. One hundred and thirty thousand people, no, it should be said that one hundred and sixty thousand people had to be taken care of by him. At this moment, he was only going in and not going out. He had calculated that one year, only one year, he would need to pay two hundred thousand strings of coins, including food, drinks, and clothes.
A child's consumption was more than two adults. They needed to drink milk, eat eggs, books, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Zhang Xiaobao remembered that in Japan, a cup of milk strengthened a nation. He understood that what truly strengthened a nation was not the cup of milk, but the spirit of the cup of milk. No matter how bitter or poor it was, they had to maintain this spirit.
He wanted to continue this spirit and let the people of Khitan and Xinluo retreat in front of this spirit.
Zhang Xiaobao realized something. Here, or rather, the three northeastern provinces, there were not that many ceramics that could be used. For example, the Khitan. Ceramics were still good things among them, but because of the transportation problem, the price of ceramics had become very high.
When ceramics were transported from other places, whether it was grass or branches of various plants, there would always be a lot of damage. This was especially so when it was transported by land. In a batch of ceramics, it would be considered good if 20% of them could be used in the end.
It was the same even if it was transported by ship. After all, the Khitan was not close to the sea. They still had to take the mountain roads.
What's more, ordinary small merchants didn't dare to come here, afraid that others would rob them. At that time, not to mention making money, it would be good enough if they were still alive.
Zhang Xiaobao was thinking about ceramics. He did not count on ceramics, but there were a lot of pottery in Changning. He could cooperate with them. The first thing he thought of was the Millennium Chamber of Commerce.
In the beginning, he didn't intend to deceive them. He wanted to do business properly, but he was unwilling to give up. He had to take revenge. That was why he came up with the idea of cooperating with the Millennium Trade Consortium.
Of course, he didn't know that his name could suppress others to the point of suffocation. He was only thinking about whether the Millennium Commerce would cooperate or not.
"Whether they cooperate or not, we can weaken them." With this in mind, Zhang Xiaobao sent two people from the Inner Yard to Changning County to negotiate.
After the two people left, Zhang Xiaobao leisurely walked to the seaside. He happened to see Wang Juan teaching 3,000 people to swim. Wang Juan had a bow in her hand with an arrow nocked. She was aiming back and forth. She asked the 3,000 people who could swim to swim, and those who couldn't swim to stay in the water.
If anyone exposed their chest for more than two breaths, she was ready to shoot an arrow.
The effect was very good. None of the 3,000 people dared to do it. They were all hiding there. Those who could swim tried their best to swim back and forth in the water. Those who couldn't swim also squatted in the water.
When Zhang Xiaobao saw the 3,000 people, he knew that they would be very obedient. It was not because Wang Juan's bow was very sharp, but because Wang Juan was too famous. The army was a place where strength spoke. Of course, there was also the issue of seniority.
Not to mention Wang Juan's strength, her command was impeccable. The 3,000 people who could come were all veterans. They wanted to get more benefits, and they also wanted to be soldiers under Wang Juan. That way, they would be able to face others in the future.
Seeing that the people who couldn't swim deliberately looked wronged, Zhang Xiaobao said to Wang Juan, "Cuckoo, aren't you being too cruel?"
Wang Juan loosened her hand and an arrow flew out. It was right next to a person who was about to stand up and move for a breath. The person was so scared that he immediately squatted down.
"How is it cruel? Just take a bath in the water. It's not cold now. "As Wang Juan spoke, she nocked another arrow, which made the people in the water even more scared.
"You don't understand what I mean. If they stay in the water and don't move, they will be cold. It's better to let them catch some small crabs or something and go back to fry them for Xiaobei and the others as snacks. If they catch a lot, they can also send them to school as a reward for the hardworking children."
Zhang Xiaobao said loudly to Wang Juan, as if he was concerned about the soldiers in the water.
The people in the water, who were close by, almost fainted when they heard this. They all looked at Zhang Xiaobao as if they were looking at a demon.
Wang Juan suddenly understood and nodded, "That's right. Why didn't I think of that? It's too cruel to just let them soak in the water. Now listen to my orders. Catch crabs. Everyone catch at least ten. If they catch ten, they can eat dinner tonight. If they don't, they will be hungry for the whole night. If they catch more than twenty, they can drink wine. If they catch more than thirty, they can eat canned food.
Do your best. "Following Wang Juan's orders, the people in the water began to catch crabs like crazy. It wasn't because they missed out on a meal, but because if they caught more than thirty crabs, they could eat canned food. They had only eaten canned food once since they came here, and it tasted better than anything they had eaten before.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't think much of canned food. If they could eat normal food, who would want to eat canned food? The two of them watched the three thousand people struggling to catch crabs, big and small. The only requirement was that they couldn't catch crabs on the beach, because it was very fast to catch crabs on the beach.
"Actually, I don't want them to learn how to swim and then fight in the water. I just want them to train their bodies by swimming in the water. After all, training on flat ground is different from training in the water. If there is a way to make them not afraid of water and train in the water, that would be even better."
Looking at the people struggling back and forth in the water, Wang Juan said to Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao didn't say anything. He thought about Wang Juan's words and also looked at the people swimming back and forth in the water. After a while, Zhang Xiaobao's eyes suddenly lit up. He said to Wang Juan, "I know a way to make them not afraid of water."
"What is it?" Wang Juan asked in surprise.
"Listen to me." Zhang Xiaobao began to whisper in Wang Juan's ear.
*****
Early the next morning, salt pans were built in suitable places by the sea in Ji Li Province. Although there was less sunlight here compared to Lu Zhou, it was still by the sea after all. Moreover, the temperature was not low. It was much hotter than Shenyang and Fushun, which were further inland.
Many salt pans were built. Just when other people thought that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan wanted to sell the salt produced by the salt pans, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan organized a lot of people and began to carry out civil engineering work in this place.
A big pit was dug with the efforts of hundreds of people. Then, cement was transported from other places and rubbed back and forth in the pit.
A few days later, a super-large open-air swimming pool was built. Xiao Bei and the others had been thinking about swimming in it for a long time. They wanted to demonstrate to those who did not know how to swim and at the same time, enjoy the freedom of swimming.
This was not a normal swimming pool. After waiting for a few days, the concentration of the salt water in the salt pans reached a certain level. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan asked people to pour the salt water into the swimming pool that was built.
While many people were puzzled, Xiao Bei and the others jumped in themselves. Not only did they not swim in the water in their swimsuits, but they also took out a lot of food and placed it beside them on a large piece of oil paper.
The four sides of the oil paper were slightly folded, but even so, many people found it mysterious, especially the movements of Xiao Bei and the others. Normally speaking, they should be lying flat on the surface of the water. Otherwise, they would have sunk.
However, at this moment, they were actually sitting on the water. Only their legs and the area above their navel had sunk an inch. The rest of their bodies were still above the water. Through the water that was not too deep, everyone could see that Xiao Bei and the others did not make any movements of treading water.
People who lived by the sea knew that if they were treading water, they would only be able to leave their navel above the water for a short period of time. After that, they would sink again.
Everyone first exclaimed in surprise, then carefully observed them. They were looking forward to learning the skills of Xiao Bei and the others. This kind of swimming was not ordinary.
Wang Juan watched Xiao Bei and the others perform a demonstration and asked Zhang Xiaobao, "Is there too much salt? It has long been saturated. I reckon that the bottom of the swimming pool is full of salt crystals."
Zhang Xiaobao was not thinking about the value of the salt. He was thinking about how to let people who did not know how to swim dare to swim in this swimming pool in the future. This was the artificial Dead Sea, using the density of the salt to lift people up.
In fact, normal people who did not know how to swim would not be able to reach the level of Xiao Bei and the others. Xiao Bei and the others did not move their legs, but they were constantly adjusting their breathing. They tried their best to let their breaths go into their stomachs so that they could float on the surface.
Hearing Wang Juan's words, Zhang Xiaobao nodded, "Let's not worry about the salt first. Let's think about training the soldiers here first. I think that if we don't have to sell salt, we can make a profitable business."
"What business? The Dead Sea? There aren't that many rich people who are willing to come here. "Wang Juan immediately thought of Zhang Xiaobao's idea, but she did not agree with it.
"Who said that we have to do it here? Changning County is a good place. We can use boats to transport the salt there. When the time comes, we can build a bigger swimming pool there. This can increase the county's tax revenue and attract more people to go there. It's not far from the capital, so we can get a tour group to specially design a route."
Zhang Xiaobao's thoughts were not on the local area, but on Changning County.
"Then what do you think is more important, the price of the salt or letting others eat it?" Wang Juan asked again.
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