MLMD – Chapter 20 Purchasing a Steel Factory

Seeing the old matriarch’s astonished expression, Yue Yang felt both embarrassed and helpless. Training soldiers was not like farming or reclaiming wasteland—something you could handle just by finding any tenant or old farmer.

Training troops was a skill strictly controlled by the state. In any feudal dynasty, it was a monopoly of the imperial court. Manuals on troop training were usually held by the court itself or by military aristocratic families; ordinary people had no chance of ever seeing them. A common landlord family like the Yue family had even less access. Moreover, generals truly proficient in training troops were exceedingly rare—practically national treasures. As far as Yue Yang knew, in the present Great Ming, the number of experts who could truly train troops could be counted on one hand: Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong, Lu Xiangsheng, and Hong Chengchou. But for Yue Yang as he was now, these figures were people he could only look up to from afar.

Since no one could help him train soldiers, Yue Yang had no choice but to do it himself. Yet having only participated in a few rounds of military training in his previous life, this greenhorn really had no idea what kind of state he might end up training those local militias into.

Seeing the awkward look on Yue Yang’s face, the old matriarch understood her grandson’s difficulties and couldn’t help but smile bitterly to herself. As long as the child likes it, let him do as he wishes, she thought. These militias are only meant to intimidate the Wang and Lin families anyway. At most, they’re just for padding numbers.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Yue Yang lowered his head and said to her, “Grandmother, since the paperwork for the militia has already been approved, I expect Wang Shoucheng and the others will soon come asking for the Sanggan River. Our drilling work has already officially begun, so it doesn’t really matter if we give them the Sanggan River. I’ll leave that to you to decide. I plan to go out again in a few days, so I’ll leave the affairs of the estate in your hands.”

The old matriarch raised her eyebrows. “What? You’re going out again? Where are you going this time? And for how long?”

“Of course to prepare armor and weapons!” Yue Yang said in surprise. “Since we’re recruiting militia, we can’t very well let them fight wearing cloth robes and holding wooden sticks, can we? At the very least, each man should have a set of our Great Ming mandarin duck battle armor. Didn’t the Wang family hand over fifteen hundred taels of gold yesterday? I’m planning to buy some armor and weapons.”

“You—” The old matriarch was so amused she scolded him with a smile, pointing at him. “You rascal! Do you know how much a decent set of mandarin duck battle armor costs? I may never have bought armor myself, but I know the market. Let me tell you, one set costs no less than twenty-five taels of silver. And then there are the soldiers’ sabers, swords, shields, bows, crossbows, and so on—without fifty taels of silver, you can’t fully equip a single soldier.”

“What? That expensive?” Yue Yang exclaimed.

Yue Yang had been here for over a month and had basically figured out the local prices. Silver in the Ming dynasty still held strong value—one tael of silver roughly equated to about 600 yuan in modern terms. The gold-to-silver ratio was about 1:8. That meant the fifteen hundred taels of gold from the Wang family amounted to twelve thousand taels of silver. At fifty taels per soldier, that money could only equip 240 soldiers. That was absurd! This was twelve thousand taels of silver—were these soldiers made of gold?

Thinking this through, Yue Yang was stunned. He had originally figured that with over a thousand taels of gold, he could at least equip a thousand men to try things out. Who would have thought that after his grandmother’s explanation, it would already feel so tight?

But then another thought struck him. Wait a second—aren’t I backed by modern society? In the future there were countless steel mills and small workshops. With modern machinery, wouldn’t making armor be ridiculously easy? Did it really have to be this difficult?

With that realization, Yue Yang’s gaze gradually hardened again. He said firmly, “Grandmother, I still want to give it a try. I’ll buy as much as I can.”

“You’re going to look for that Frank again, aren’t you?” the old matriarch asked, her eyes now carrying a hint of teasing.

“Yes,” Yue Yang replied stiffly. “For now, he’s the only one I can turn to.”

He knew the old matriarch harbored some doubts about the mysterious Frank he had fabricated, but she was wise enough not to expose him. Having lived so long, she understood that everyone had their own secrets—even family members shouldn’t pry too deeply. One should always leave some room for freedom.

She nodded. “Then go. Remember to leave early and come back early. The estate still needs you to preside over things.”

“Yes, Grandmother. I’ll go make preparations right away!” After giving her shoulders a few more pats, Yue Yang took his leave.

After dinner, Yue Yang told the Linglong sisters that he would be away for a few days. Under their reluctant gazes, he pretended to leave the estate. Once night fell, he quietly returned to the small courtyard on the west side of the estate and, under cover of darkness, crossed over to modern society…

By morning, dressed in modern casual clothes, Yue Yang drove the used 2.5-ton small truck he had bought last time to the entrance of Zhongxin Pedestrian Street in Pearl City. When he arrived, Zhao Santong—whom Yue Yang had dealt with once before—was already waiting there with seven or eight security personnel.

Seeing Yue Yang struggling to drag a nearly hundred-pound burlap sack out of the cab, even someone as composed as Zhao Santong couldn’t help but shake his head and smile bitterly. “Brother Yue, if I didn’t already know what’s inside, I’d think you were just carrying a sack of scrap metal. You’re really… really…” At that point, Zhao Santong didn’t even know what words to use to describe him.

“Hehe!” Yue Yang laughed. “Brother Zhao, you’re getting hung up on appearances. No matter what I put them in, their value won’t change. Genuine goods are genuine goods. You wouldn’t give me a different price just because I changed the packaging, right?”

“Uh…” Zhao Santong was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he gave Yue Yang a thumbs-up. “Brother Yue, you really are something else. Looks like I was in the wrong this time. Hahaha…”

Laughing, Zhao Santong gestured for several guards to lift the heavy sack. He himself slung an arm around Yue Yang’s shoulder, and the two of them headed into the pedestrian street together.

An hour later, Yue Yang was sitting in Zhao Santong’s office, holding a bank card with another eleven million yuan on it. As he pondered where to commission armor, Zhao Santong, seated across from him, said, “Brother Yue, I really didn’t expect you to have such connections—able to move this much merchandise. I’m honestly impressed. Of course, I know the rules and won’t ask where your goods come from. But if you have gold or antiques to sell in the future, I hope you’ll remember to take care of my business.”

Zhao Santong dealt in jewelry and antiques, with operations spread wide and a constant need for supply. Someone like Yue Yang, who could provide large quantities of goods, was exactly what he needed. Naturally, he treated Yue Yang with great respect.

“That goes without saying,” Yue Yang replied with a smile. “Brother Zhao has taken such good care of me—if there’s something good, I certainly won’t forget you.”

Then, as if casually, Yue Yang added, “Brother Zhao, I’d like to trouble you with something. You’ve got extensive connections in Pearl City—could you help me ask around and see if there’s a small steel foundry for sale? I’m thinking of buying one to play around with, to forge some small items.”

“A steel foundry?” Zhao Santong was taken aback. Looking at Yue Yang in surprise, he asked, “Brother Yue, instead of focusing on your gold business, why are you thinking about buying a steel factory? Are you planning to enter the steel industry?”

“Brother Zhao, you’re joking,” Yue Yang said, secretly wiping sweat from his brow. Entering the steel industry? That was something even he wouldn’t dare dream of. That kind of business involved hundreds of billions—without state backing, who would dare touch it?

“It’s like this,” Yue Yang explained. “My personal hobby is ancient weapons and armor. I want to buy a steel factory specifically to make some ancient-style armor and weapons. That way I can do something I really enjoy.”

“Oh, I see.”

Zhao Santong nodded. With his wide social circle, he knew that many wealthy people had peculiar hobbies—some chased women, some sought thrills, some loved cars. This one, it seemed, was an enthusiast of ancient armor and weapons. That was hardly unusual.

Smiling, Zhao Santong said, “What a coincidence. Just a couple of days ago, I heard about a boss looking to sell a steel manufacturing plant he owns. It’s small—only a few dozen workers—so no one’s been willing to take it over. If you’re interested, that would be perfect. I’ll give him a call right now.”

“That would be fantastic—thank you so much, Brother Zhao!” Yue Yang was overjoyed. He had been worrying about where to produce weapons and armor. If he could buy a factory, both secrecy and safety would be greatly improved. Besides, who in modern times would pay attention to a small factory making ancient-style armor? His luck was truly incredible.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Yue Yang said eagerly as he stood up. “Let’s go take a look right away!”

With the news in hand, Yue Yang could no longer sit still and urged Zhao Santong to take him to see the factory at once…