Chapter 184

Just now, when Wang Yan took the bag out and placed it on the table, Man Gui had already smelled a fragrance. Once it was taken out, the scent that had been stifled for the entire journey dispersed even more intensely. Man Gui frowned, curiously picking up a bar of soap. He opened the exquisite wooden box and saw an oval object with a slightly yellowish color, along with text and patterns pressed onto it; it looked quite valuable. He then opened a box of scented soap, which was even more exquisite, better looking, and smelled even stronger.

Playing with the scented soap in his hand, he asked, "What is this?"

Wang Yan chuckled, "My lord, the one you picked up earlier is called soap, used for washing clothes. This one here is called scented soap, used for washing faces and cleaning hands."

Without waiting for Man Gui to ask further, Wang Yan babbled on for a long time, introducing to Man Gui how this differed from the original *yizi* (soap-like substance), honey locust pods, and those things people made at this time using wood ash and grease.

Afterward, he also introduced its origins and such, expanding on the explanation he had given to Sun Fugui, weaving a story about a young man seeking knowledge and self-improvement all the way to the present. In any case, spit was flying everywhere, and he spoke as if it were the absolute truth.

In this era, for Man Gui to be able to become a Regional Commander and the big boss of the Liaodong Guanning Army, he was a master among masters. But in front of Wang Mou, who was well-versed in the art of hoodwinking and possessed a four-hundred-year era gap, he was truly no match, and he was completely bewildered by Wang Yan's bluffs.

After listening, Man Gui remained silent for a long time, staring fixedly at Wang Yan, as if trying to discern the truth from the lies.

"A man without hair on his lips cannot handle matters reliably"—of course, he wouldn't fully believe Wang Yan's mix of truth and lies. However, this suspicion was suppressed when he met Wang Yan's gaze, which did not dodge, looked back frankly, and was filled with sincerity. This child was only sixteen, had drifted from place to place, suffered many hardships, and naturally had his own opportunities; it was understandable that he was well-informed and possessed such a massive fortune.

Besides, Wang Yan brought these things to his door, saying they were just made; obviously, he intended to honor him, the Regional Commander. If an ordinary child of this age had such a source of wealth, how would he think of him? Wouldn't everyone else be stuffing their own bellies full? Looking at it this way, this child was still very thoughtful...

After a while, Man Gui, having figured it out, smiled in his eyes and asked a question he already knew the answer to: "Battalion Commander Wang, what is your intention in showing me these two things?"

Man Gui was still a decent person; regardless of anything else, he had shed his last drop of blood for the Great Ming. Of course, the general environment was just like that—shedding blood was shedding blood, but one couldn't delay grabbing silver either.

It had to be said, this old *Wang Ba* (bastard) was truly shameless; he knew perfectly well what was going on but still wanted him to point it out. Of course, interests were always naked, and they weren't like those civil officials who were ashamed to speak of profit yet grabbed silver to death without any shame.

Wang Yan thought for a moment and said, "Reporting to my lord, these two items before you are divided into three grades based on the different materials added, with costs ranging from two to six taels of silver. If produced on a large scale and raw materials are purchased in batches, the cost can be pressed down to between one and a half to just over five taels. This is an exclusive business of ours; there is simply nothing on the market that can be compared to it."

"After selling them like this, your subordinate estimates that even the lowest-grade soap and scented soap can sell for five or ten taels, and the top two grades should be even more expensive. If those wealthy merchants operate it, it should be even more. As for how much... your subordinate's knowledge is shallow, so I won't guess blindly in front of my lord."

Coughing a few times to clear his throat, Wang Yan continued: "So your subordinate's thought is to hand these two things over to my lord to find someone to manage. And my lord should also know that our Liaodong environment is complex, and our brothers have been living too miserably."

"Your subordinate only wants the silver saved from large-scale purchasing of raw materials, so that the brothers under my command can eat something better, and I will be satisfied. Of course, if my lord feels it is inappropriate, you can send someone to my place to sit in and supervise; all accounts for purchasing materials and so on are guaranteed to be clear."

Wang Yan took a deep breath, seemingly having made up his mind, his face resolute. With a 'crack', he knelt on one knee, and with a 'slap', he gave himself a loud mouth-slap: "I won't hide it from my lord, your subordinate was indeed blinded by greed at the time, thinking of making a quiet fortune with the brothers under my command. It was only later that I thought of the civil and military officials here in Liaodong, the grand ministers in the imperial court, and those wealthy merchants, which scared your subordinate until I was trembling with fear."

"Your subordinate has thought it over and over; only the Regional Commander can suppress the situation and lead your subordinate and the other brothers to seek wealth and live a good life. I wonder if the Regional Commander can help your subordinate?"

After hearing Wang Yan's words, Man Gui smiled and stood up to help Wang Yan up: "Get up quickly, get up quickly, what is this for? You didn't do anything wrong. After all, you are only sixteen, and you've lived through so many bitter years; it's perfectly normal to have such thoughts. Not to mention you, even I can't help but feel tempted when I think of those hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."

His intention was of course to forcefully seize the formula and do it himself, but that loud mouth-slap of Wang Yan's was not just a red handprint on his face, but it also slapped his heart.

He was the one truly blinded by greed; he was actually not as clear-headed as a child.

Was that damn civil official group easy to provoke? Was Wei Zhongxian easy to provoke? He was just a Regional Commander; how many had been brought down or even killed? Wasn't Commander Qi more awesome than him? What happened after Zhang Juzheng fell? Wasn't he also harmed by a bunch of civil officials?

Besides, this kid spoke quite frankly and even let him send someone to sit in and supervise. This showed that this kid wasn't feeling guilty, meaning that the matter of the cost was likely not fake. In fact, even if he didn't send anyone, he could know roughly how much it cost based on those purchased raw materials.

Since this kid wasn't greedy for more and only wanted that little bit of sesame seeds, why should he forcefully occupy it? After all, even if he took the formula, he would still have to find someone to produce it; what difference does it make who produces it? Could he, a dignified Regional Commander, not control such a child who luckily rose to power?

Moreover, this kid was also so capable in battle; his own personal harvest was equivalent to an average-scale battle, a living baby of military merit. Not to mention that even the Emperor far away in the capital knew of such a person; the Emperor's heart is unfathomable. What if the Emperor suddenly remembered him one day? If he harmed him, how would he explain it?

Calculating it inside and out, it was a completely losing business.

Wang Yan stood up and flattered him: "The Regional Commander is too modest. With your unshakable breadth of mind and spirit, how could you be disturbed by this silver and money?"

Man Gui ignored Wang Yan's flattery and pointed to the chair on the side: "Sit down and talk."

Wang Yan cupped his hands: "Your subordinate dares not."

Man Gui kicked over: "If I tell you to sit, then sit. Where do you get so much nonsense?"

Chuckling, Wang Yan cupped his hands: "Thank you, my lord." As he spoke, he very consciously sat in the lower position.

Man Gui sat in the upper position and said: "Just leave the things you brought here; don't worry about the rest. I will send someone to notify you when the time comes; not a single bit that belongs to you will be missing."

"Thank you, my lord." Wang Yan grinned foolishly: "My lord, then about the matter of sending someone over..."

"Forget about that; we are all our own people, can I not trust you?"

Wang Yan nodded heavily, sitting upright, with an appearance of baring his heart and shedding blood: "My lord, rest assured, your subordinate will never let my lord down."

With so much white, shiny silver, if the great Regional Commander Man really felt at ease, Wang Mou would have to pull his own head off and kick it like a ball. Even thinking with his toes, he should know that someone was definitely watching him.

Man Gui smiled and watched Wang Yan finish expressing his stance, stroking his beard and saying: "Regarding the production of this soap and scented soap, is there anything else needed?"

"I won't hide it from my lord, there really is."

Man Gui waved his big hand: "Just say it, no harm."

"It's like this, my lord, your subordinate currently has the manpower of six companies under my command. Now the Jianzhou Jurchens are ambitious and have not given up their heart to destroy our Great Ming, so the combat effectiveness of the men under my command must be guaranteed; after all, national affairs are paramount at all times. If we produce on a large scale in the future, the manpower in your subordinate's hands will be somewhat insufficient, so I hope my lord can permit your subordinate to fill the vacancies of the other four companies. In this way, provisions are one thing, and then there is the matter of Commandant Zhang..."

"Go back and recruit, recruit until full." Man Gui said indifferently: "Don't worry about provisions; they will be allocated in full. As for Commandant Zhang, I will talk to him; after all, you are working under him, so you can't forget him."

Wang Yan nodded: "In that case, I will just wait for my lord's order, and your subordinate will organize the manpower for large-scale production."

"Haha, good..."

Man Gui laughed loudly and picked up the tea on the table that had already cooled.

Wang Yan stood up and cupped his hands: "My lord, then your subordinate will take my leave first."

"Go, go, someone will naturally find you when the time comes."

Having received the response, Wang Yan turned around, opened the door, and walked out.

After Wang Yan left, Man Gui drank the tea in the cup and shouted to the outside of the door: "Someone come..."

Exiting the gate of the Regional Commander's mansion, he called Sun Fugui, who was gossiping with someone there, and the two mounted their horses and returned to their station.

Sun Fugui didn't gossip; looking at the Battalion Commander who was smiling all the way, how could he not know what was going on? Thinking of the piles of silver in the future, he couldn't help but grin and reveal a lewd smiling face...

As for the slap mark on the Battalion Commander's face, hmm... can the Battalion Commander accomplish great things?

Man Gui's efficiency was very high; mainly because his network of relationships was not something Battalion Commander Wang could compare to, and the key was that he was also eager for wealth.

Three days later, someone came directly to send silver notes. After talking to Wang Yan about how much goods were needed and learning a rough pickup time from Wang Yan's mouth, they didn't say much and left directly.

And at this time, Wang Yan hadn't even recruited more than 400 people.

There was no way; this was a border army where one would be beheaded for fleeing while fighting for one's life on the real battlefield, and it was voluntary recruitment, not forced conscription. Although his treatment was good, there was no way to post it on a notice. After all, there were more than 100,000 troops in all of Liaodong, and only his side had good treatment; what would others think?

Blocking others' path to making money would inevitably lead to a collective attack on Battalion Commander Wang, and he would have to step down within three days. Man Gui's words wouldn't even be effective, and whether he dared to speak was another matter; after all, that would offend all the middle and lower-level military officers who were grabbing money.

So after these three days passed, Wang Yan only recruited less than 200 people.

Now this soap business was enough for him to eat; there was no need to consider the matter of money in the short term. The cost was truly too cheap; how the hell could it be as high as two to six taels? It was just bullying Man Gui for not knowing the truth.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of being discovered. After all, Wang Mou had been a big brother for so many years, and he basically knew all the daily operational businesses of a company. As for the financial work that modern enterprises keep closed, he was even more handy. Plus, all those random things Wang Mou mixed into the soap to confuse the public meant that even if someone came to look, they wouldn't find any faults, let alone secretly finding someone to research it behind his back.

However, it had to be said that this Man Gui was truly a sensible person; after all, he didn't plan to kick Wang Yan out. And he was quite decent; being able to... conspire for wealth with Man Gui was truly quite helpful to him. To put it bluntly, he was just a damn Battalion Commander; what kind of onion was he? Daring to talk business with a Regional Commander—that was truly not knowing how to write the word 'death'.

In the end, it was still because he, Wang Mou, was awesome, had strong personal strength, could perform meritorious service, and was also in an imperial society, a person whose name was known by the Emperor. Of course, the main reason was the latter; otherwise, no matter how well he could fight, he would just be a thug.

And having solved the money problem, the matter of training troops was the top priority. After all, this was the foundation; the earlier they were trained, the more fiercely Battalion Commander Wang's strength would expand.

As for military equipment like flintlock guns, he couldn't build them if he couldn't guarantee them; the current fire sticks were quite good, and if not, he would use bows and arrows.

Nothing else, mainly because he was afraid that after making them, the Later Jin cavalry would howl and shoot at him... Although the things he made were supported by basic steel alloys, industrial equipment, etc., wanting to perfectly replicate them was a pipe dream. But the principle was there; one must never underestimate the skilled craftsmen of this era. With beheading and heavy rewards, plus someone betraying them, they could truly build them...

What others built would definitely not be as powerful as his, but no matter what, they were guns, guns that would leave a hole with one shot. He made them to form a crushing advantage over the enemy, not to make them and let others turn around and shoot him. It was better to just fight with real swords and guns like this. When he developed and trained a batch of professional military doctors to carry out post-war treatment, and harvested experienced veterans who had experienced war scenes, it would be more appropriate.

If he really wanted to build them, he would have to be the big brother of Liaodong, or his subordinates would have to be strong enough to stand firm. Otherwise, after making them, he would just be looking for trouble for himself.

Seeing the messenger leave, Sun Fugui walked in: "My lord, is it done?"

Wang Yan smiled and gestured to the silver notes on the table: "They are all here."

Seeing Wang Yan nod, Sun Fugui carefully stepped forward to pick up the silver notes, gathered the face value, and his hands trembled: "This... so much?"

"The goods needed are not few; besides, aren't our goods worth so much money?"

"Hehe..." With a lewd smile, Sun Fugui, who knew the truth, shook the stack of silver notes, listening to that intoxicating sound: "It's too damn worth it..."

"Look at your lack of ambition." Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "Is the manpower organized?"

"Rest assured, my lord. They are all brothers I can trust, and I have also divided them into teams according to your instructions, guaranteed no problem."

Since returning from the Regional Commander's mansion in Shanhai Pass, he had begun to prepare for production matters.

After three days, he pulled the laborers who were building the fortress over to build a simple factory near the station. As for delaying the progress of building the fortress, stop joking; with his big brother backing him, what was he afraid of?

Wang Yan had been a Battalion Commander for two months. In the words of Gong Baosen: I have looked at people all my life, and I have never misjudged anyone to this day. He also had a rough idea of what his little brothers were like. So he produced a list, all of whom were capable little brothers, and let Sun Fugui lead them to work and earn money.

As for the matter of dividing teams, it was an assembly line; the key formula had to be kept secret. Things like caustic soda, glycerin, etc., all had to be kept secret; the key things were just these few items. As for other herbs and such, just mix them blindly; it was more just for show.

Nodding, Wang Yan said: "Have the craftsmen and physicians I asked you to find earlier been found?"

"They have all been found, temporarily arranged together with the brothers in the kitchen."

"Okay, let's just do it like this for now." Wang Yan nodded and said: "Since everything is ready, you take people to purchase raw materials, contact and find two stable merchants to supply them, no need for me to say anything about price reduction, etc., come back as soon as possible to start production; the time delayed is all piles of silver."

"Yes, my lord, then I will take the brothers and go?"

"Go, go early and return early."

Cupping his hands, Sun Fugui rushed out to pull people; he didn't dare to delay.

This damn Battalion Commander was truly his noble person; they hadn't known each other for two days, and not only did he fight his way to Vice Battalion Commander in one battle, but not long after, he was about to make a fortune...

Two days later, Sun Fugui led people back pressing the caravan, killing pigs and sheep, and starting production.

Doing more and doing less made no difference; even with more manpower, the division of labor was clear and it was done even faster.

These things were naturally managed by Sun Fugui; there was no need for Wang Yan, this big brother, to go out in person. He was researching and starting to train troops.

The veterans were okay, their bodies had been tossed around enough, but the new recruits were all starving like hell, and they would get diarrhea just from eating meat. This made Wang Yan rich, and by using the relationship of production, he bought a lot of pigs. The veterans just ate meat, and the new recruits just drank soup to nourish their bodies.

After three days of nourishing, he didn't say a word and pulled them out to start training directly.

Of course, it was impossible to train them to death like in *The Grandmaster*; after all, these were ordinary people, and their good physiques could not be compared to those martial artists.

It was like a modern army, starting from standing in military posture, marching in step, and folding quilts, to teach these big-headed soldiers what cooperation was, what obedience was, and what discipline was.

At the same time, Wang Yan also let Sun Fugui tie up a few old scholars and threw heavy money at them just to teach these big-headed soldiers to read. He didn't teach any Confucian classics or profound principles; it was just recognizing characters, and he even let these old men work together to compile a literacy textbook.

This was the foundation, the seed, the spark that would start a prairie fire; Wang Yan naturally would not relax.

Twelve hours a day, nine hours of training and learning, no face to speak of; Wang Yan was not used to their illnesses. Whoever dared to be cheeky with him, not training or learning well, would be kicked for a while without a word.

At first, these people were howling like ghosts and wolves, but later, gradually, except for the neat slogans, footsteps, and clear sounds of recognizing characters in the military camp, there was basically no noise from the past.

Half a month later, the large batch of soap and scented soap ordered earlier was completed. The person Man Gui sent earlier also arrived on time with people to take away the goods.

How much money was sold and how it was divided, Wang Yan didn't know. But most intuitively, every time Zhang Xinggui saw him, it was "Little Brother Wang," and other Commandants, Garrison Commanders, etc., were also quite polite to Wang Yan. Going out for a stroll was quite prestigious. Man Gui, who benefited the most, went without saying; every time he went to lick... report work, there were seats and hot tea...

And for Wang Yan, the most practical thing, besides the many things he took the opportunity to grab, was that the armor of his little brothers had been upgraded, all brand new and shiny. And he himself was an infantryman, but Regional Commander Man waved his big hand and got him fifty quite capable iron-armored warhorses.

Wang Yan didn't pay attention to what was happening on the market; that had nothing to do with him. Anyway, he was earning the money of the rich; those without money would continue to live as they couldn't. As for someone eyeing this or that, that was even less of a problem; that was all the burden of big brother Man Gui.

Three days after the delivery, the person Man Gui sent earlier came again. And this time, the order quantity doubled...

This time, the goods needed were many, and the manpower to do the work was not enough; of course, even if it was enough, it was not enough.

He didn't lick his face to find Man Gui to add another company, but pulled some people from the military households building the fortress to help, and then he applied to transfer a batch of military households over.

After all, the military establishment was there, and he was not a general who couldn't recruit retainers; the rules still had to be followed. Of course, following the rules was one thing, and other things were another. Daily, these military households also had to be trained, just that the amount was relatively worse, which could be considered a reserve force.

Man Gui couldn't not know about these things; he just turned a blind eye. A baby of military merit, a boy who sends wealth—couldn't he even give this much face? Besides, even if Wang Yan recruited troops, how many could he recruit? Wasn't it all a matter of one of his transfer orders? The problem was not big.

And after he finished this batch, after a period of fermentation, it was estimated that it should spread to the south. The wealth there was even more than in the north, and sales were expected to be even more popular. And the maritime smuggling of people near the sea there was quite evil; if not handled well, they could even go directly abroad...

It had to be said, there were really many rich people in the Great Ming...

After thinking about it, Wang Yan handed everything over to Sun Fugui, and he turned to start training military doctors, discussing with craftsmen from time to time. As for the matter of training troops, Wang Yan promoted a few more little brothers and let them lead the training. After all, it was just those few things back and forth, and there was nothing difficult. The reason he went out in person was just to establish the rules from the beginning.

As for the external situation, at this time, Yuan Chonghuan probably didn't have any direction in his heart and was researching strategies there. After all, the good situation left by Sun Chengzong before had been beaten into a mess after the Battle of Ningyuan, and this was all his burden, so there were no big moves.

Thus, now, except for occasional friction with the Later Jin at the very front, there was basically nothing at all.

Battalion Commander Wang's station was relatively in the rear, and he was not short of money at all now; after all, he wanted money to buy materials, and he himself had grabbed a lot while making soap and scented soap, not to mention there was still a lot of surplus. With so much money and materials, raising the more than a thousand people under his command was truly easy and happy.

It was also for this reason that he was extremely idle, with nothing to do all day long.

Of course, Battalion Commander Wang had a broad mind and great ambitions, so he would definitely not let himself be idle.

So besides occasionally paying attention to production and training, his other time was mainly spent training military doctors, which was the foundation of future medical and health care, and secondly, discussing with craftsmen, which was the foundation of future industry.

He didn't go to find people on a large scale again; now these were enough with a foundation, and things had to be done step by step. After all, it was not easy to explain why he had gathered so many physicians and craftsmen; wait until his position was higher...