Iron Dynasty

The king of Chu held the information from Qingzhou that he sent back from Qingzhou, and his fingers trembled slightly.

For Qingzhou, the occupation of Kanto by the army of the Great Yu Kingdom was a cause for celebration, but it was a nightmare for him.

In the early days of the Northern Expedition, he had always held the mentality of watching the excitement, hoping that Xiao Minghe could fight with the barbarians and lose both, so that he would have more time to recuperate.

But after the fall of Pingzhou, he was extremely disappointed. Obviously, he seriously underestimated Xiao Ming's strength. At this time, he thought of taking the opportunity to attack Qingzhou north.

However, Xiao Ming obviously had one-handed defense against him. Fifteen battleships of the Great Yu Kingdom were moored at the Jinling City Wharf, and Jinling City was also heavily guarded.

Although his army had improved a little under the training of the French, it was not enough for him, because after the start of the Northern Expedition, he had dispatched dead soldiers to attack the soldiers of the Dayu Kingdom in Tongzhou pretending to be Japanese pirates.

What annoyed him was that the 300 dead men with muskets were routed by fifty musketeers guarding the Tongzhou Pier.

According to the returning corpse, the muskets of the soldiers of the Great Yu Kingdom had a longer range and greater power than their muskets. What's more, Xiao Ming's soldiers were very disciplined. In the face of their attack, an array of fifty soldiers No mess at all.

The Golden Horde is over, who will be next? The King of Chu looked a little desperate. He knew that he was definitely not Xiao Ming's opponent now.

What's more, in the process of dealing with the barbarians, two strange weapons are said to have appeared.

Cao Kun accompanies the King of Chu, which is different from his humble status once, and now the Cao family occupies a place in the state of Chu.

In order to resist Xiao Ming, the King of Chu carried out reforms on the state of Chu. On the one hand, he imitated Xiao Ming, and on the other hand, he followed the advice of the French and prepared to follow the example of Europe.

No matter what it is, now their Cao family has made a lot of profits, and compared with Xiao Ming's strict prohibition of businessmen from participating in politics, now the King of Chu is more tolerant to businessmen.

There are already many big businessmen in the maritime trade among the staff of the Chu palace.

His Royal Highness don't need to worry too much. Although Xiao Ming defeated the barbarians, he was also injured. It was just the Battle of Pingzhou that killed a lot of people. Now that the teacher is returning to the court, he must have to rest. Cao Kun pondered for a while. said.

So what? After resting, he didn't want to call. Some time ago, Cut Fan had already revealed a clue. Although he dismissed the fold, in my opinion, it was just a plan to slow down the army. The King of Chu sighed.

Cao Kun used to hate the King of Chu, because the King of Chu tried to destroy the Cao family to get the wealth of the Cao family, but now it is different. Compared with Xiao Ming, he prefers the King of Chu, because here he sees the future of the Cao family.

If the state of Chu continues to develop, he firmly believes that the Cao family will have extremely high power in the state of Chu. Once the power is mastered, the Cao family can use the power to make more money.

Like him, many businessmen with such hopes came to the King of Chu, and they were all deeply influenced by Western businessmen.

Your Highness, Cao has a way. Cao Kun suddenly said.

The King of Chu was stunned for a moment, with an eager look on his face, Come and listen.

At this critical moment, for His Highness Cao, I can only take risks. Does Your Highness remember the Cao family's bank in Qingzhou? Cao Kun narrowed his eyes.

Of course I remember. The King of Chu snorted softly. Of course, the Cao family's head was on both ends. This Cao family's bank was a gift to Xiao Ming.

Cao Kun showed an embarrassed look, Actually, it's not just Qingzhou, the Cao's bank has now spread all over the northern provinces, and because of the reputation of the Cao family, many merchants have deposited their money in my bank, and now I only need an order, Cao Cao The bank can immediately flee to the state of Chu with the money, and when the money is gone, the merchants, commoners, and nobles of the various prefectures will be in chaos, so Xiao Ming will be busy enough at that time.”

The King of Chu looked excited, It's so wonderful, so wonderful, just like this, isn't the Cao family a thorn in Xiao Ming's eyes, a thorn in the flesh, your Cao family's business?

Don't worry, Your Highness, before that, I will ask Zhengyang to take stock of the Cao family's business. At that time, I will say that the Cao family has lost a lot of money overseas and can't make ends meet. Now the Cao family is poor and can't exchange money, maybe at that time Xiao Ming Not only will he not punish the Cao family, but he will find a way to save the Cao family, otherwise it will be a huge blow to the industry and commerce of the Great Yu Kingdom. Cao Kun looked confident.

After a pause, Cao Kun continued: Of course, this is only one of them. Although the barbarians are newly defeated, the dead camels are bigger than horses. Your Highness may wish to send merchants to the Golden Horde and the Japanese. As long as they can hold back Xiao Ming, we can continue to expand our army.

The King of Chu kept nodding his head. He had to say that Cao Kun had learned a lot from Western businessmen, at least this was something he could not have imagined before.

He said: If this plan can be accomplished, this king will let Cao Zhengtong be the king's long history, how about it?

Cao Kun was overjoyed, bowed and said, Thank you, Your Highness, when Cao returns, he will send someone to Qingzhou.

The King of Chu nodded in satisfaction.

After this matter was settled, Cao Kun left the Chu palace.

Watching Cao Kun leave, the King of Chu sighed deeply. If it wasn't to survive, why would he cooperate with the French and these vulgar businessmen...

At the same time, Cao Kun did not return to Cao's residence, but rode a carriage to Lin'an Pier.

He stopped the carriage in front of a restaurant on the pier and looked left and right before entering the restaurant.

This restaurant is well-known in Lin'an, because Western merchants often come and go. When Cao Kun entered the restaurant, he went straight to the third floor and knocked on the innermost room of the aisle. At this time, the door was opened, revealing a Westerner's face. .

Mr. Munster. Cao Kun was very respectful to the blond westerner.

The middle-aged man known as Munster nodded with a smile on his face, and said, Mr. Cao Kun, you are welcome.

Entering the room, Cao Kun said solemnly: Mr. Munster came here this time, I don't know what order he brought.

Manster also put away his smile at this time. He picked up the teacup and poured a cup of tea for Cao Kun, and said lightly: The association is very uneasy and confused about the development of Dayuguo's technology. It's about figuring out where these technologies come from.

Hearing this, Cao Kun said: So it is, but sir, don't worry, both the King of Chu and our Cao family have sent people to sneak into Qingzhou University, and we are also trying to bribe students from Qingzhou University. As long as the benefits are enough, I will Believe it is not difficult to do.”

Munster said: Indeed, since the Dutch bought back the steam engine from Qingzhou, their congress is willing to even trade an earl's position for a student from the Great Yu Kingdom.