My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 442: Let the Wuhuan People Tie Their Hair and Wear Right-side Lapels
The next morning, Zhuge Jin took advantage of the cool weather and followed Zhou Yu to the new salt field on the seaside south of Tianjin.

Although he had been engaged in salt fields for six or seven years in the south, he was very familiar with the construction and production of salt fields.

But when I arrived in Tianjin and conducted some on-site investigation, I could still feel that it was very different from Guangling.

The wind in the north is really strong, and the sunshine may not be as strong as in the south, but the sunrise in summer is really early.

The tidal flats along the southern coast are mostly composed of loess and yellow sand, while on the Bohai Bay side, they are mostly mud flats of a darker color. Perhaps this is the result of silt carried by the Yellow River system for millions of years.

Because the road was muddy and difficult to walk, Zhuge Jin did not take a car or even a horse. He just walked along the coast and took a donkey. When he got tired of it, he would stay away from the beach and walk on a less muddy road, saving some effort on the donkey.

Zhuge Jin didn't take a car, so it was even more impossible for the others who accompanied him to do so. Even Zhou Yu temporarily led a donkey, and the others could only run the whole way.

Zhuge Jin walked along the coastline, stopping and starting until the sun was high in the sky, and inspected more than ten miles of land. There were tidal flats and salt fields along the coast. When he reached a high slope and looked ahead, he saw salt fields everywhere, but they were narrow and long like a belt, and the depth was not wide.

It can be seen that Zhou Yu was very executive in the past few months. Relying on the naval soldiers as the main labor force, he surrounded a tidal flat that was at least 20 to 30 miles long.

It was only after seeing it in person that Zhuge Jin finally understood why the large salt field in Tianjin was called Changlu Salt Field in later generations - because he could really see that even the small rivers near the coast had reeds growing on both sides of the river. Although they were not very dense, each one was very tall.

Zhuge Jin also climbed up to the top and looked around for a while. He pointed to the south and wondered, "Reeds in the south have always grown by the Danshui River. Why do reeds grow at the mouth of the river in Jizhou? Aren't these reeds afraid of the high salt content?"

Zhou Yu didn't know much about the freshwater and seawater habits of aquatic plants, so he could only answer with basic common sense from life, and said casually:
"This place is close to the mouth of the Zhangshui River. When the Zhangshui River reaches the lower reaches, the water flow slows down, and silt accumulates. The river channel keeps bifurcating. Some of the small bifurcations cannot be dredged in time, so more and more silt accumulates at the mouth, making it difficult for seawater to flow back. Therefore, even at the river mouth, freshwater reeds can grow."

Zhuge Jin nodded, this was in line with his geographical knowledge.

Many natural rivers, if the water volume is not very abundant, will flow slower when entering the sea, and the silt they originally carried will settle down, forming a delta terrain over time. The Zhangshui River originally belonged to the Yellow River system, and it also carried a large amount of silt from the North China Plain, so the siltation at the river mouth was very serious.

Many large rivers do not eventually form deltas. This is also the result of dredging and management by human activities, which are done to prevent waterways from silting up.

Just like in China, the Yangtze River estuary will not form an obvious delta, at most it will be bifurcated by Chongming Island, because the shipping value of the Yangtze River is very high.

But in the United States, the Mississippi River has a clearly silted delta. Because the American population is small, the Mississippi River basin is not a core industrial and commercial area, and no one has managed the shipping conditions. Otherwise, if we use the Chinese geographical template, New Orleans should be compared to Shanghai, not New York. But in reality, New Orleans is a broken N-line city.

Zhuge Jin looked at the vast reed marshes and decided to follow history and give the new salt field the same title:
"In this case, from now on, the new salt field from Tianjin to Nanpi will be named Changlu Salt Field."

Of course Zhou Yu would not mind such a small matter. He took whatever Zhuge Jin said as the truth and immediately asked someone to bring paper and pen to see if Zhuge Jin was interested in writing something.

The atmosphere was so exciting that Zhuge Jin couldn't refuse, so he picked up the pen and wrote casually. After he finished writing, he felt that it was ugly, so he found a way out for himself: "It turns out that my arm strength is not good enough. I don't practice martial arts to strengthen my body. I can't put my strength to write in the air, and the words are crooked. I'd better ask a famous calligrapher to copy it."

Zhou Yu wanted to invite him to the pavilion in front to sit down and write slowly, but Zhuge Jin declined, saying that he was no longer interested. The matter was dropped: "I write when I am in the mood, and I will stop when I am no longer interested. Why should I leave a word?"

After hearing this, Zhou Yu immediately asked someone to write down this elegant saying, hoping that it would be included in the "A New Account of Tales of the World" in the future.

After naming the salt field, Zhuge Jin casually asked a few questions about the current planned output and the progress of the cofferdam expansion.

Zhou Yu also invited him to observe the collection and brine cooking work in a salt field and weigh the final salt in person.

Then he took out the account book and told Zhuge Jin how many salt pans had been enclosed and what the total area was. He also checked the actual distance according to the map to show that there was no false reporting.

Finally, it was concluded that the more than 0.3 mu of salt fields planned for new enclosure this year (a mu is about of the modern mu), if dried once every ten days, can produce to jin of sea salt, more than million jin of sea salt per year, which can be used to feed millions of people. (Only half of the season each year is suitable for sun-drying production in the salt fields)

However, if it is used to pickle large amounts of meat, prevent food from spoiling, and trade with the Hu people, the scale of this year's salt field is still far from enough. After all, most of the output will still be eaten by the local Han people in Youzhou and Bohai County, and only a small part of it can be used for trade.

In order to win over the Hu people and tie them into the Han people's supply chain system, the Changlu Salt Field would have to levy corvee labor and expand every year in the following years.

Fortunately, before Zhuge Jin went north, he had asked Liu Bei that in order to stabilize Youzhou's self-sufficiency, he had the power to carry out all economic reforms and construction in the north. Therefore, the power to expand and monopolize the Changlu Salt Field at will was of course included.

(Note: In the previous chapter, some readers were worried that Zhou Yu was rich enough to rival a country. Let me explain this here. He was only asked to build and manage the salt field. The ownership of the salt field did not belong to Zhou Yu. The property rights belonged to the court.)
Zhuge Jin knew the priority of this matter, so he immediately stated: "When the battle against Gongsun Du is successful this year, and you, Gongjin, have made some achievements, I will ask the lord to recommend you as the governor of Bohai, and your military rank can be promoted from lieutenant to general of the house.

In this way, you can also manage Bohai's military and civil affairs. At that time, you must formulate a three-year or even five-year long-term plan, spend according to your income, and expand the Changlu Salt Field in an orderly manner year by year without affecting Bohai County's reclamation and naval training. The income can also subsidize the military pay of Youzhou and Bohai County. "

Zhou Yu respectfully accepted the order and said that he would live up to his mission in the future. He would try his best to allocate manpower to speed up construction while maintaining stability in Nanpi and Tianjin and the people living in the settlements.

Zhuge Jin was afraid that Zhou Yu would be too hasty and overwork the people, so he also mentioned that he should pay attention to providing certain material incentives to the people who were doing labor, at least to ensure that the government provided them with meals and enough fish to eat.

……

After inspecting the Changlu Salt Field and writing his name, Zhuge Jin rested enough in Tianjin and boarded the sand boat again, heading north along the water (Yongding River) to Yuyang (Miyun).

The sand ships used in the Bohai Sea can also sail in the water, but the ones with the largest tonnage have to be eliminated, which saves the trouble of changing ships for the accompanying guards.

One day in early July, Zhuge Jin finally arrived safely in Yuyang.

Zhao Yun and Mi Zhu also rode horses from Ji County to Yuyang to welcome Zhuge Jin and report on their work.

At the same time, they can also patronize the Yuyang Border Market which is about to open, and guard against accidents caused by a large influx of Hu people into the interior.

"Zilong, Zizhong, I haven't seen you for a few months. You seem to be doing well in Yuyang. It seems that everything is going well. Thank you for your hard work." The two sides met at the water wharf outside Yuyang City. As soon as Zhuge Jin stepped ashore and stood firm, he praised him with a smile on his face. Zhao Yun felt a sense of admiration in his heart. While greeting him, he exclaimed: "Ziyu is really a genius. We successfully bought a batch of expensive grain from Cao thieves, and finally robbed a handful of grain, and frightened Zhang He. Who else in the world can plan and strategize like this? He knew that Cao thieves would suffer a loss and dared not act rashly."

"It's just a trivial skill, not worth mentioning." Zhuge Jin opened his folding fan and waved it a few times casually.

Zhou Yu, who was standing behind him, also came forward to salute. Zhou Yu's official rank was lower than Zhao Yun and Mi Zhu, so he naturally did not dare to neglect them. Zhao Yun and Mi Zhu also returned the salute calmly.

The group got on their horses and chatted happily. Zhao Yun wanted to lead them into the city first. Zhuge Jin waved his folding fan and said, "Don't worry. It's not tiring to take a boat these few days. When we get to Yuyang, let's take a look at the planning of the market."

Mi Zhu shook the reins, speeding up his horse slightly, and rode almost side by side with Zhuge Jin, competing for the same horse's head. Then he pointed his whip at a group of inns far upstream on the river bank and said:
"Don't worry, it's not far from the upper reaches of the river. When the envoys of the various tribes of the Hu people gather, it won't be too late to come and see it.

Zilong persuaded Tian Chou to cooperate with the government and has summoned all the Wuhuan tribes in the three counties to send people to discuss matters of mutual benefit on the border. All the people will be there within two or three days.

When the time comes, I will have to trouble Ziyu to persuade these barbarians. We are only good at doing business, and we cannot talk about the great principles of mutual benefit. "

Zhuge Jin looked in the direction pointed by Mi Zhu, and indeed there was a large stretch of markets, warehouses, stations, and post houses, and probably some entertainment and daily supporting facilities. Judging from the scale of the planned area, it would not be smaller than the old city of Yuyang County.

This is not surprising, after all, it is the place where the future centralized trade with the Wuhuan of the Three Commanderies and other Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei tribes scattered in the north of the Three Commanderies will take place. The number of livestock traded every autumn is estimated to reach the order of hundreds of thousands.

How could the original ordinary small county towns accommodate such a large scale of border trade?

"In this case, I fully trust Zi Zhong. It won't be too late to go and take a closer look on the right day." Zhuge Jin let go of his power and rode back to the city. He first had a banquet and rested, and accepted the welcoming hospitality of Zhao Yun and others.

……

Two days later, it was the day for border negotiations that the middleman Tian Chou had arranged with the three counties' Wuhuan and other Hu tribes.

The tribes that were supposed to come all hurried to gather. Some tribes had not yet arrived, probably not because they were late, but because they wanted to play dumb and wait and see what was going on with the tribes that had arrived.

See how the Han government gives specific preferential treatment, and see whether Liu Bei's people can gain a firm foothold in Youzhou and get the support of the local people.

If the conditions are good and they can stand firm, they will find another excuse to trade next time.

If the conditions are not good, just pretend that nothing happened, or even pretend that you don’t know that the Han princes in Youzhou have changed their masters.

After Zhuge Jin received the list of tribes that responded to the call, he just sneered and said nothing, and did not intend to attack immediately - as for those who were unwilling to come, he would use his strength to make them regret it, and let them know that if they missed this opportunity, they would never get it again.

Early that morning, Zhuge Jin dressed formally and, accompanied by Zhao Yun and Mi Zhu, came to the prefectural government of Yuyang County, where he was going to formally meet with the Hu and Han guests.

The envoys from the Hu tribes had not yet come to the audience, but Tian Chou, as the middleman, came to pay his respects early in the morning. The order could not be wrong.

Zhuge Jin took the time to meet him first and find out more about Tian Chou's background.

"I, the barbarian Tian Chou, am here to pay my respects to the princes." As soon as Tian Chou entered the hall, he stepped forward, bowed his hands as a sign of greeting, and did not dare to look up.

Zhuge Jin sat still and just nodded slightly: "My lord, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, is benevolent and virtuous. Wherever he goes, all the righteous men in the world are eager to come. Tian Zitai, I heard that you are well-known in Youyan. Why did you come so late?"

Tian Chou: "The barbarians live in the Yanshan Mountains, where the roads are cut off and the wind is blocked, so they are slow to react. Since we came out of the mountains, we have seen that Envoy Mi does not plunder, but sincerely works for the trade between the Hu and Han people, and Envoy Zhao does not let his soldiers bully the people. Only then have we been convinced."

Zhuge Jin smiled, "I don't think they are completely convinced. I heard from Zilong that you once believed that the most capable leaders among the Hu people could strictly order their people to break away from Han customs, tear silk and cloth, drink milk and cheese, and eat fishy and smelly food. Even if we Han people have various strategies to soften the customs of the Hu people, they may not be effective in the long run. Is that what you said?"

Tian Chou was a little embarrassed, but he still admitted through gritted teeth: "I did think so. General Zhao also said at the time that just because no one else in the world could do it and even the ancients couldn't do it, it doesn't mean that the princes and your brother can't do it. I don't dare to question it and I'm just going to wait and see."

"Then just wait and see." Zhuge Jin didn't waste any more words with him.

Afterwards, there was another round of cumbersome formalities for the reception. Around the end of the Si hour, close to noon, the envoys from various tribes on the grassland had all arrived. Tian Chou also helped introduce them one by one, and the envoys from various tribes came forward and bowed to Zhuge Jin.

Zhuge Jin noticed that Tadun, the leader of the Wuhuan in the three counties, and Louban, the son of the previous Chanyu Qiuliju, had sent people. The tribes of these two people were mainly distributed on the grasslands north of Yuyang and Youbeiping counties.

However, the Supuyan tribe, a major tribe that controlled the grasslands north of Liaoxi County, did not send anyone. Perhaps it was because the Supuyan tribe spanned Liaoxi and Liaodong, and had some contacts with Gongsun Du, so they were unwilling to take sides.

Zhuge Jin did not take it seriously. After all, they were all guests. He comforted them one by one, then hosted a banquet for them and asked them to take their seats in turn. The banquet was held in the mansion of the Yuyang prefect.

After three rounds of wine, Zhuge Jin took the initiative to talk about business: "Since the Zhongping years, You and Ji have been in turmoil for nearly twenty years, affecting the grasslands. You have all experienced the past, and you should know that except for the six years when Liu Youzhou Bo An was in charge, the Hu and Han were able to truce. The tribes were able to maintain their livelihoods by trading with the Han people and the rewards they received for serving the court.

In the remaining ten years, whether it was Gongsun Zan or the late General Yuan who was in charge of Youzhou, trade was almost cut off, and there was no way to serve the court in exchange for rewards.

Now that my lord, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, has entered Youzhou, he is going to eliminate the accumulated problems and give Youzhou a new look. We will restore the situation of the Han and the Hu peoples in peace as it was during the time of Lord Bo'an, or even better than before. If the tribes are willing to respond to the call today, then they are all friends. Those who are unwilling to trade peacefully with the Han people and insist on plundering for a living, I will make them pay the price sooner or later."

-

PS: I boasted yesterday...I said I would update early in the morning.

I actually wrote the draft in advance, but I didn't set a time. I slept in on the first day of the Chinese New Year and just got up now.

(End of this chapter)