"This is also my negligence," Chen Zhi sighed, "Because the poisonous gas fire-breathing formulas are matched by Taoist priests, he felt responsible. Now that the details outside the city gradually came, he was of course dissatisfied, and it was inevitable that he would be unhappy with the Yang brothers."

"This thing comes down to the work of the prefect, and the thoughts of others are unsatisfactory." Su Liaoyi said with some reference, "In addition, there have been many people who have been sneaking in on paper shops or around Chenzhuang. Without asking, they are all spies sent by other forces. If you want to understand the reality of our side, especially the workshops, you can't catch them. After scanning a group of them, another group will soon come, and continue to disturb them."

"It's so normal!" Chen Zhi was not surprised. "It's strange that other forces don't care about it. They will definitely try their best to figure it out. Just blocking it will not stop them at all."

Su Liao turned to worry and said, "This is exactly what my subordinates are worried about. The power of fire is too great. At present, all parties will still believe and doubt it. Many attribute it to the sayings of ghosts and gods. But as time goes by, they will definitely gradually discover the true appearance. At that time, all parties will concentrate their eyes, and then a thousand eyes and hundreds of hands will be really unpredictable!"

"This is a natural phenomenon. Just arrange it and try to ensure that the relevant news is not leaked," Chen Zhi nodded, and then said: "This fire shatters involve a lot of things, which are quite complicated and are responsible for different people. Those who can be contacted are also strictly controlled and will not be leaked easily. If this kind of thing is taken away by the frontier tribe, it will be a lot of trouble, but there is no reason to guard against thieves all day long. Therefore, we still have to look forward and update new equipment as soon as possible."

New equipment?

Su Liao's heart burst and his thoughts were shaken.

He had already seen the power of the fire and single-tip cannon. It was amazing. Could it be that there were any equipment that could surpass it?

"No matter how powerful the single-stop cannon is, its lethality is very limited, and at most it can play a frightening role," Chen Zhi saw Su Liao's doubts. "I have emphasized more than once that what makes the enemy retreat is their fear. Whether it is outside this county, outside the city, or even outside the Daibei, it is the first time that people have seen single-stop cannons and fireflies. They are caught off guard and are inevitably at a loss. This fear spread among the crowd and caused morale collapse. But everything can be done, and they can scare them once or twice. But once the enemy gets used to it, or is familiar with the effect of fireflies, the degree of frightening will be greatly reduced. Therefore, real equipment must have real lethality!"

He narrowed his eyes, as if he was telling Su Liao, and seemed to be talking to himself: "Only with real killing and unavoidable huge impact can we ignore temporary motivation!"

As he spoke here, Chen Zhi stood and looked for a while. When Chen Zi also came, the three of them moved away together and went to the city to meet the Yang brothers who had just arrived.

The mine will be a long time away from the city. I was riding a carriage along the way and saw many farmers coming out to farm. Because of the battle that besieged Dai County, the Xianbei people chose to attack and advance. In order not to arouse Chen Zhi's vigilance, they did not damage the crops along the way. In addition, after just experiencing summer seeds, many of the fields looked bare, so the losses were not great. Many of these farmers looked relieved.

However, as he looked, Chen Zhi still asked: "How is the statistics on crop damage going on?"

Chen Zi replied: "I have already understood that about 10% of the crops have been damaged, which will not have much impact on the harvest in the coming year."

"There are still some damages." Chen Zhi nodded, then thought for a while, and said to Chen Duo, who was waiting outside the car and walking with the car, "Give me instructions. This year, the land rent for tenants under the Chen family will be reduced by half."

"No!" Chen Duo was stunned for a moment, intending to say something, but in the end he just responded.

However, Chen Zi couldn't help but say, "A lot of people from our Chen family have come recently. The expansion of Chenzhuang has consumed a lot of money and food. Nearly half of them are borrowed from the Yang family. I'm waiting for next year and the year after that. Now the land rent is reduced by half. This involves too wide a range of areas. Now there are more and more tribesmen. Even if they belong to different industries, they have to rely on family finances in the first few years, which is also a large expense. Now, the land rent is reduced by half, and I'm afraid it won't be able to survive!"

Now, the Chen family in Daijun first saw the clues, so Chen Zhi was the source, Chen family in Pengcheng was the main trunk, and Chen family in Xiapi was the supplement, and the two Chens were born together.

At first, Chen Zhi proposed construction, and then the Chen family of Xia Pi sent craftsmen and helpers, which were the first backbone. Later, the Chen family of Pengcheng sent the population. As the foundation of Chenzhuang, the Chen family of Xia Pi sent several elites to assist in the management, but they did not attract many people. After all, the Chen family is located in Xuzhou, the hinterland of the Central Plains, and is well-connected. Even if they have experienced natural disasters and man-made disasters, their living environment is not comparable to that of Youzhou.

Therefore, those who are really willing to come here are distant relatives who have no way out at home, as well as some people with relatively low status. Many of them are even like Chen Ju. Although they are children of the Chen family, they have become servants because of their family decline and no background support.

In order to support Chen Zhi, the Chen family in Pengcheng has set rules. As long as these tribesmen who have become servants are willing to go to Dai County, their families will be self-service. Anyone who can make achievements with Chen Zhi or stay for a while can restore their hometown.

There was such a temptation that even the war could not stop them.

Of course, some of these people who went north did suffer along the way and had no trace of information, but the situation in Hebei is now in a corruption. Not to mention them, even if they are high-ranking officials and nobles, they may still fall into the wave of refugees, so Pengcheng doesn't care.

Under such circumstances, the number of Chen family members who have arrived recently has decreased, but the number of people gathered is increasing. Now it is an objective number. According to Chen Duo's statistics, the Chen family members who currently live in Chenzhuang, together with tenant farmers, subordinates, and servants, have already tended to have more than 3,000 people!

"The daily consumption of so many people is a pile of money and grain. Even if a system has been gradually established that can make the Chen family in Dai County self-sufficient, whether it is the construction of the fort or the arrangement of personnel, money will be spent every moment. The compensation originally received from the Zheng family has been consumed almost the same. Now that the Liu family has supplemented it, it may not last long. If it is not supplemented from other aspects as soon as possible, it may have to borrow money from outside again."

Chen Zi's words made Chen Zhi nod his head silently.

This is not a chaotic world. Even if the situation in the north is complicated, the general order still exists further south of Jizhou, so it is inevitable that there will be control over others if you borrow money. For the sake of the independence of interest groups, whether it is Chen Zi or Su Liao, you are unwilling to have too much foreign debt, at least you cannot identify one.

Chen Zi said again: "Now, with the two battles over, it is normal for the number of people from the clan to go north to rise. I often send letters to my family. No matter what origin or branch, I will come to the head of the Chen family. After discussing it, I will write a letter to me. But these people often have no ability, otherwise they will have already made a fortune when they were in Pengcheng. How could they travel thousands of miles to come here? The only thing that these people can praise is their courage, but they cannot exert their courage for a while. After the first half of the month, they can only consume rice and grain. They should always save more money and grain in case of emergency."

"I can understand your concerns," Chen Zhi was silent for a moment and made a decision. "But the accumulation of money and grain is generally said to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Simply reducing expenditure is often not effective, and it will fall into a vicious cycle of demolishing the western wall and repairing the eastern wall. Therefore, the key is to increase revenue. I have already made arrangements for this. According to the practice of the northern region, half of the harvest of the mine belongs to the government and half as a reward for the Chen family's assistance. Of course, the part reported to the court will also conceal 30% according to the rules! This can also subsidize the tribe."

Su Liao smiled and said, "If you report to the court, you have to go to Youzhou, because our county cannot negotiate directly with the court. Of course, we have to hide more, because not many, it is equivalent to investing in the enemy!"

The salt and iron specialty of Xinhan, the official mine store, was originally intended to be accumulating money, but it also had the effect of maintaining stability. However, this effect was almost ineffective in the north. Since Wang Jun's family dominated, most of the income and gains in these limited mines in Youzhou were intercepted by Wang Jun.

Not to mention, the discovery of this mineral deposit was entirely due to Chen Zhi's use of his own advantages and the ability to open up the mines with hundreds of years of experience and the ability of the sign-up. Otherwise, this mineral deposit would not have been buried until when, and would not have been released at this time, and it would have been almost made out of nothing.

In this case, in order not to be told by the court, Chen Zhi must report it with a mine, but the reported money must be controlled, otherwise all of it will become Wang Jun's wealth. The governor of Youzhou broke his face with him, so how could he hand it over it completely?

"Actually, I am about to report to the prefect of this mine." Su Liao finished speaking and changed the subject. "Youzhou has sent someone to ask about the mine, and conveyed Wang Jun's meaning, saying that they are interested in taking over the business, and don't know how to reply?"

If you hand over, you will definitely not hand over. As long as Chen Zhi has not left Dai County and Wang Jun will dominate Youzhou, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the two sides will fight another battle. Now they are not ready, and they will be able to work and restore their vitality at the same time. Where can they hand over? I believe Wang Jun knows that it is impossible, but he also needs a remark if he refuses.

Chen Zhi said calmly: "Just say that this mineral deposit still needs exploration. If Youzhou Prefecture has the help, please send me some craftsmen."
Chapter completed!