The next day, in the capital, King Qin's Mansion.
"What is it? Zhu the Fifth wants me to get more than three hundred craftsmen, twenty thousand catties of high-quality wood, and ten thousand catties of iron to his supply camp?”
"And you want to gather them today?"
Zhu Rong, who was drinking tea leisurely in King Qin's Mansion, almost spat out a mouthful of tea.
In front of Zhu Xiong, a centurion of the supply camp nodded respectfully.
The centurion was actually quite nervous.
He was afraid that the King of Qin would kill him in anger.
He still could not figure out how their chief knew His Highness the King of Qin, and why he was so confident to ask for something from His Highness the King of Qin.
Unexpectedly, even though the King of Qin was shocked, he was not as angry as he had imagined. Instead, he scolded,
"Three hundred craftsmen is fine, twenty thousand catties of wood is fine, but where can I get ten thousand catties of iron? Isn't this making things difficult for me?"
In ancient times, salt and iron were both important strategic materials and were strictly prohibited from being traded.
Even if Zhu Rong was the king of Qin, it would be a very troublesome matter to get ten thousand catties of iron.
After cursing, the King of Qin fell silent for a moment before saying to the hundred households,"
"Go back and tell Zhu the Fifth that the craftsmen and wood are easy to deal with. This king will send people and wood over in the morning, but ten thousand jin of iron might not be gathered in such a short time. This king can only try his best.”
The centurion was a little stunned. He really didn't expect the king of Qin to agree so readily.
He did not dare to be negligent and quickly cupped his hands.
"Yes, sir!"
After the centurion left, Zhu Rong muttered,"
"Fifth Brother, what are you trying to do? Ten thousand catties of iron? Where can I get so much iron?"
"However, it's rare for Fifth Brother to ask me for help, so I'll do it for him no matter what.”
Thinking of this, Zhu Xiong immediately shouted,"
"Men, this king is going out. Prepare the carriage!”
"Yes, sir!"
At the same time, in the Imperial Palace, inside the Hall of Heaven's Tribute.
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and looked at Zhu Biao.
"Are you saying that Fifth Brother hasn't set off with the supply camp? Instead, he sent people to King Qin's Mansion to ask for craftsmen, wood, and iron?”
Zhu Biao nodded slightly.
"That's right. When your son heard this news, he was also puzzled. The army has already gone north, but Fifth Brother suddenly asked for these things.”
"Your son has asked around. Fifth Brother asked Second Brother for more than three hundred craftsmen and asked Second Brother to bring twenty thousand catties of wood and ten thousand catties of iron to the supply camp today.”
"What is Old Fifth doing?"
Zhu Biao was confused.
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said,"
"I don't know what Old Fifth wants to do, but I believe that Old Fifth isn't a person who cares about his priorities.”
"Since he did this, he must have his reasons. He asked to go north with the army. I don't believe that he will mess around at this juncture.”
"How about this, Boss? Didn't Fifth Bro ask for ten thousand catties of iron?”
"With Second Brother's ability, he will definitely have a headache. Think of a way to help Second Brother and gather the iron for him as soon as possible.”
"I also want to see what kind of medicine Fifth has up his sleeve.”
Zhu Biao nodded slightly.
"Yes, Imperial Father."
……
Xuanwu Lake Camp, the logistics camp.
The soldiers of the supply camp were exceptionally busy today.
They didn't know what was wrong with their chief officer today.
Not only did they not set off north, but they even found hundreds of craftsmen from god knows where to start building things.
As they watched the countless wood and iron being transported to the supply camp, the soldiers of the supply camp became porters or tools for the craftsmen.
Although they had no idea what the chief was going to build with the craftsmen, it did not stop them from obeying the order.
A day passed quickly.
In the middle of the night, the King of Qin, Zhu Xi, came to the baggage camp to see Zhu Xi.
"Fifth Brother, Second Brother has gathered everything you want. Do you know how many places Second Brother has gone to today for your sake?”
"Look at Second Brother, he's already dark.”
Zhu Rong looked at his second brother and found it funny.
"That's enough, second brother. Look at how you've gained weight since you opened the residence. This younger brother is helping you exercise appropriately.”
Zhu Rong laughed and scolded,"
"You brat, Second Brother has been busy with you for the whole day, and you're still teasing me. You're too much!”
Zhu Xiong chuckled and said,
"I won't let you work for nothing. 30% of this month's perfume revenue will be given to Second Brother. How about it?”
Zhu Rong's expression changed and he frowned."
"Fifth Brother, what do you mean? Did Second Brother help you for that bit of money? Yet you used money to slap Second Brother in the face?"
Zhu Rong knew that he had misspoken and quickly explained,"
"Second Brother, don't be angry. I misspoke. I know that Second Brother is sincerely helping me. I remember Second Brother's kindness in my heart. The reason why I don't want this month's perfume profit is because I still need Second Brother to help me with a small matter.”
After hearing Zhu Rong's explanation, Zhu Rong's expression eased a little. He asked,"
"What else do you want?"
Zhu Rong said in a low voice,"
"Help me get 2,000 horses. They must have strong endurance and can travel long distances.”
"Also, help me arrange for two hundred horses to be placed in each of these places.”
As he spoke, Zhu Rong handed him a piece of paper. On it were some place names.
Zhu Rong looked at it and looked at Zhu Rong in surprise.
"Are you trying to shorten the time to go north by constantly changing horses?”
"But your supply camp has so many supplies. Even if you constantly change horses, your marching speed won't increase much, right?”
Zhu Xiong smiled and said,"
"Of course I have my own way. If this method succeeds, we might be able to make more money.”
"And it's only a little more than the perfume business.”
Zhu Rong's eyes lit up."
"Tell me, tell me, what business?”
Zhu Rong shook his head.
"Forgive me for keeping you in suspense. I'll tell you in detail when I return from the northern expedition.”
Zhu Rong laughed and scolded,"
"You brat, you only know how to keep people in suspense. Alright, I'll wait for you to come back and talk to you.”
"As for the horses, don't worry, leave it to me. Save your 30% interest. It's just 2000 horses, not war horses.”
Zhu Rong didn't argue."
"Thank you, Second Brother."
……
For the next two days, Zhu Xiong basically did not leave the supply camp.
With 300 craftsmen and over 1,000 soldiers from the supply camp working at full speed.
Two hundred brand new large carriages appeared.
This kind of large carriage could carry half a ton of supplies at once.
The body of the car weighed about 150 pounds, and each car had four wheels. The important parts were fixed with iron frame steel nails to prevent the body from falling apart due to long-term bumps.
The craftsmanship used had all been calculated by Zhu Rong. It was a completely ingenious manufacturing technique.
After testing the performance of the carriage, the 300-odd craftsmen in the supply camp who had participated in the entire carriage manufacturing process were all stunned.
They had never thought that such a large carriage could be so light and fast.
The group of craftsmen actually wanted to surround Zhu Rong and ask him about the principle behind this carriage.
However, they had low statuses and did not dare to approach Zhu Rong.
Of course, Zhu Rong didn't waste time explaining.
After the carriages were completed, he immediately ordered the soldiers of the supply camp to load all the supplies onto the carriages.
Actually, the supply camp did not have much to transport.
Even more so, supplies like grain and fodder would not travel thousands of miles from the capital to Yanmen Pass.
If that was the case, there was no need to fight this war.
The supplies that Zhu Xiong was transporting were basically weapons, armor, bedding, and a large number of bows and arrows.
All of these things were loaded onto the carriages, and only seventy carriages were used.
The remaining 130 carriages were used to transport the soldiers of the supply camp.
In this era, there was no such thing as a military transport vehicle. Infantry soldiers basically relied on their two legs to move.
The reason why Zhu Rong had built this kind of large transport truck was to break this thought.
With this kind of carriage, an ordinary horse could pull five to eight soldiers and travel two to three hundred miles a day without consuming much of the soldiers 'physical strength.
His speed was not inferior to the cavalry at all.
When they encountered danger, they could even use the carriage as cover and form a formation to face the enemy.
It was definitely a good thing that killed two birds with one stone.
After loading the supplies, Zhu Xiong decided not to stay any longer.
After three days of delay, it was time to go north to Yanmen.
Under Zhu Rong's orders, the soldiers of the supply camp boarded the carriages, fully armed.
Soon after, the two hundred carriages left the Black Tortoise Lake camp and headed north.
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