As the Minister of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, Ai Husheng, the God of Wealth, is undoubtedly a busy man. There are so many people asking him to do things every day. Even if he holds Li Xiao's note, he can't see anyone for three or five days. After all,

The money bag of the entire Ming Dynasty was in his hands. As long as someone passed the door of the Hubu yamen, he wanted to get some money from it.

When Joseph wanted to see Ai Husheng, he didn't have to wait three days or five days because a mysterious figure appeared behind him.

After meeting Li Xiao, Joseph met Ai Husheng at his home that night. Of course, Li Hu was sitting next to him.

The third master had to give him face. Ai Husheng knew that although Li Xiao didn't like the third brother on the surface, he still liked Li Hu's recklessness in his heart. If everyone in a powerful family knows the rules and etiquette, it will

Extremely dangerous.

Ai Husheng knew Li Xiao very well.

If a new empire wants to rise, it needs corpses as high as a mountain. Li Xiao doesn't want the corpses to be descendants of the Chinese, so they can only be from other ethnic groups. Too many savages in Southeast Asia have been captured, so that the local fragile

The population has been structurally damaged.

Before the Japanese army arrived, the natives in many places were still living a life of slash-and-burn farming. The productivity was so low that they could not feed much of the population. The army captured all the young men and women, and without the young labor force, it was difficult for the elderly and children to survive.

Come down.

The Ming Dynasty was so big. Over the years, labor was needed to build roads, railways, and various mines. Labor here is not normal work, but coolie. And life is hard, and you will die if you are not careful.

coolie.

There are water toads in coal mines and stone rats in mines. Tunnels need to be opened when building roads, and dams and culverts need to be built during water control. These harsh and dangerous jobs are all done by foreign coolies.

Ai Husheng once saw with his own eyes that when cannons were set off in mines to blast mountains, foreign coolies had to pull out the unexploded blastholes. Some of the blastholes were not exploded because the explosives were damp. Some simply had poor quality lead and burned too quickly.

There is slowness.

If a foreign coolie is killed by a bomb, his life is considered good. If his life is not good, his arm or eye is blown off, and he is left in a work shed with no one to care about him. Maggots even grow on the wound, and the person becomes stinky and is still alive.

He was rolled up in a straw mat and thrown into the cremation field. The last ashes were sprinkled into the ground to be used as fertilizer!

The reward for pulling out the explosives was just a bowl of braised pork. For a bowl of braised pork, those coolies would actually rush to do such a dangerous thing.

Now it's better, with more high-quality coolies filling in. According to the telegram sent back by Li Xiu, the physical condition of the Egyptians, no matter where it looks, is much better than that of the savages in Southeast Asia.

The letter from Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Singapore, also proves that the physical fitness of the Egyptians is better than that of the natives of Southeast Asia.

When the Chinese do things, in fact, negotiations are just a formality. Everything on the table is discussed in private. Everyone goes over to put on a show and show off.

What's more, both parties at the negotiating table have interests in this matter.

The French expedition to Egypt naturally had a lot of prisoners of war to deal with. Using the Ming silver dollar as the intermediate currency, the French got the weapons they wanted, and the Ming Dynasty got the human resources. The hidden political benefit was that the Ming Dynasty would establish friendly relations with France.

Perhaps in the near future, Ming Dynasty will be able to form an alliance with France.

According to the Marshal, France and England are just neighboring countries separated by a strait. It would be very meaningful for the Ming Dynasty to have such an ally in distant Europe. What's more, a century-long war broke out between France and England.

Under the mediation of Li Hu, the negotiations progressed at an alarming rate. When we left Ai Husheng's house, it was almost ten o'clock, and all the intentions were basically reached.

For France, the Ming Dynasty sold everything they had. Rifles, grenades, mortars, mines, revolvers, and even long-barreled cannons. Anyway, except for things like machine guns, howitzers, and airships, they sold everything they could.

The next step is to go to the weapons testing site in Shanhaiguan to see the power of these weapons with his own eyes. This will also allow Joseph to choose the first batch of varieties to purchase. After all, the supply of weapons and ammunition is now tight. Orders must be placed in advance!

With Li Hu's help, the two parties signed a contract at the Ministry of Household Affairs the next day. Then Joseph went straight to the Shanhaiguan Weapons Testing Ground to watch the test firing of various weapons.

After seeing the weapons of the Ming Dynasty, Joseph was hooked. Some of these weapons were more useful than the English weapons. In the past few years, the weapons of the English army have undergone surprising changes.

The emergence of various new weapons gave the English army an absolute advantage in Europe. As a neighbor of England, France was naturally wary. When their spies knew that these weapons all came from England's eastern territories, they immediately sent out troops to expedition.

Egypt hopes to open up a passage to the East. On the matter of navigation, France devotes too much attention to the Mediterranean.

Joseph quickly placed an order, which was beyond Li Hu's expectation. Joseph ordered a large number of mortars, and all the remaining money was spent on cannons. Other weapons such as rifles, grenades, and landmines were just a token purchase.

"Joseph! Other light weapons are also very useful. For example, you should order more revolvers. For close combat within ten meters, revolvers are the best weapons." Li Hu and Joseph were together these days, and their friendship quickly heated up.

Especially after Li Hu took Joseph to visit a brothel, Joseph vowed to take Li Hu to the best nightclubs in Paris.

"These things were all requested by my brother Napoleon. He said that after the war entered the age of firearms, the most useful thing for the war was artillery. Infantry is just the person who solves the battle after the artillery."

"What your younger brother said is similar to what my elder brother said. My elder brother also said that future wars will be artillery wars. You don't know that when we fought with the Tatars, we didn't have artillery. We could only use trebuchets to throw explosives.

Such a big and heavy trebuchet can only be thrown so far." Li Hu pointed to a place 200 meters away.

Looking back on the situation at that time, I felt really helpless. When I started my business in Pi Dao, it was not easy all the way. If my elder brother Li Xiao had not turned the tide during this period, let alone my current position of power, even my ability to survive would have been a big problem.

"Oh! God! This is what my brother did in Egypt. Do you know there is a kind of Mamluk cavalry in Egypt? Those enemy soldiers were wearing solid armor and holding Damascus steel knives with snowflake patterns in their hands. They were extremely tough.

, our French cavalry are no match for them.

My brother used the method you mentioned, using a trebuchet to throw out the explosive packets. With the help of a line formation of flintlocks, he defeated the powerful Egyptians."

"He really did that?" Li Hu scratched his head. He didn't expect that there were people as smart as his elder brother Li Xiao in the world.

"Really! How else could we defeat the Mamluk cavalry? By the way, the Damascus steel sword they used is very good. When you get to Egypt, I will get you one. The price of a Damascus steel sword in Cairo can be worth five virgins

.

I heard that during the Crusades, King Richard the Lion-Hearted saw with his own eyes that Saladin easily cut off a veil with a Damascus steel knife in his hand. I also once seized a Damascus steel knife, which could cut off a goat or sheep every time.

It was easy to cut off the waist with one knife, as if there was no resistance, and the blood flowed along the blood groove of the Uzi steel knife. It is said that an Ottoman general once chopped a cow into two pieces with one knife!"

"Really so powerful?" Li Hu's eyes widened. He had several Japanese knives given to him by the Japanese. It is said that they were all made by skillful Japanese generals. Although the Japanese knives were sharp, they were not as powerful as Joseph said. One knife

Split a cow into two pieces and I'll believe you.

"Really! Go and swear to God. When you get to Cairo, I will get you a try and you will know." Seeing that Li Hu actually questioned his statement, Joseph swore and even brought out God as a witness.

"You are so small-minded, one number is nothing. At least four are enough. Each of our brothers can have one." Hearing what Joseph said, Li Hu immediately opened his mouth. Most military families like these swords and other things, and the Li brothers

No exception.

"No problem, I'll take care of it."

"Doesn't that require more than a dozen virgins?"

"It's no problem if you want a virgin, there are many in Cairo."

"There is a place called Hairpin Flower Tower in Shanhaiguan. I heard that there are Korean ladies there...!"

With Li Hu's help, Joseph's trip to the capital of the Ming Dynasty was extremely fast. It only took seven days to reach a labor-for-weapons agreement with the Ming Dynasty. In the past, it would not have taken seven days for Ai Husheng to meet.

.

After returning to the capital to finalize the contract, Li Hu and Joseph boarded the train bound for Tianjin Wei.

At Tianjin Wei Pier, there is an ocean-going cargo ship parked. In addition to a whole shipload of arms, there are also 237 retired Liao officers and soldiers on the cargo ship. These are all Li Hu's old subordinates.

"Master Hu!" Li Hu walked into the huge restaurant, and everyone stood up and shouted in unison.

"This time, I'm going to do something big overseas. Let's make it clear first that this is a head-in-the-belt business. If I don't get it right, the more than 100 kilograms will have to be handed over overseas, and I won't even be able to send the ashes.

Come back. If you are in trouble at home and don’t want to risk your life anymore, get off the ship now. No one will laugh at you." After Li Hu finished speaking, he scanned everyone.

None of the two hundred and thirty-seven people avoided Li Hu's eyes. They stood like nails, waiting for Li Hu's order.

"Okay! I succeeded this time, and the wealth each of you will get will be more than you can spend in three lifetimes. If I, Li Hu, can't do it, I would rather be beaten into a sieve by a machine gun."

"Master Tiger! You don't need to swear such an oath. We are all soldiers brought out by you. Since the Battle of Jiangnan, these more than 100 kilograms have been yours. These years, the things have been taken care of by you, and the family has lived a good life.

It's getting better day by day. We live in high-rise buildings, and there are plenty of hot beds for wives and children.

People know that we are your subordinates, Master Hu, so whoever doesn’t take a high look at us will always sit in the first place at the table!

All this is given by your Lord Tiger. You have carved out a path, and my brothers will follow you in water and fire. Since ancient times, wealth has been sought in danger, and even if the bones are broken into slag, we will not blame you." Once upon a time in

Hao Dayong, who served as company commander under Li Hu, answered with a puffed-up chest.
Chapter completed!