The imperial cause at the end of the Han Dynasty was not one of partial peace.

Chapter 91 The Construction of the Changsha Jinshu and the Scale of the Navy

Upon hearing that Liu Bei had entrusted him with an important matter, Zhen Yao, brimming with vigor, readily agreed: "Brother-in-law, you have entrusted me with this matter despite my youth and inexperience. I will do my utmost to assist you!"

"The clerks in my Zhen clan have all managed the family's businesses and workshops for generations, and they are particularly skilled in weaving. Today, you may summon all the clerks in the clan and let your brother-in-law choose!"

Before long, five middle-aged men dressed in dark black robes and wearing headscarves entered the hall and knelt down to pay their respects to Liu Bei.

"This humble citizen, Cui An, courtesy name Zhongping, humbly serves as the Chief Accountant of the Zhen family, and respectfully pays his respects to Lord Liu." The leader prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed.

The four people behind him also signed up: Zhen Heng, Wang Du, Shi Liang, and Liu Zhun. They were all accountants in the Zhen clan, specializing in accounting, workshop scheduling, material procurement, and the management of craftsmen.

Liu Bei looked at them and said in a gentle voice, "You are all capable men of the Zhen family. You have traveled two thousand miles south without complaint, and I am deeply grateful. The reason I have invited you here today is not for any other reason than that I wish to establish an official brocade weaving bureau in Changsha and recruit weavers to specialize in weaving cloud brocade. However, there is no one in the prefecture or county who is skilled in weaving, so I wish to recruit you all to help me accomplish this great undertaking."

This matter sounds grand, but it's actually something these strategists are very good at. It's just about setting up a brocade weaving workshop, only on a very large scale.

Once the scale reaches its peak, the prefectural government will naturally send officials to manage it.

The initial site selection and construction, recruitment of female workers, and installation of machinery were all things they had done countless times in their daily operations.

Cui An immediately bowed and said, "Your Excellency, please forgive me. The craft of brocade weaving may seem like nothing more than the sound of a loom, but it is actually the most difficult of all crafts. From silkworm cocoons to finished pieces, a single piece of brocade must go through eight processes: reeling, spinning, winding, warping, threading, weaving, dyeing, and finishing. Each process requires specialized skills, and one cannot become proficient without years of experience."

"If we were to establish an official brocade weaving bureau, the work of the artisans alone would need to be divided into several departments—the silk reeling department is in charge of boiling cocoons and drawing silk, the silk binding department is in charge of combining threads into yarn, the silk winding department is in charge of managing the yarn on the loom, the warping department is in charge of arranging the warp and setting the width, the weaving department is in charge of casting the shuttle into bolts, and the dyeing and finishing department is in charge of dyeing and finishing."

"The Materials Department is in charge of purchasing silk and dyes, while the Accounting Department is in charge of calculating principal and interest. Each of the eight departments has one clerk in charge of their respective duties, covering an area of ​​12 tons."

It can operate smoothly and without chaos.

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly as he listened. Cui An was indeed worthy of being the chief accountant of the Zhen family. He spoke with a complete framework for the government-run brocade weaving bureau, which was well-organized and comprehensive.

He smiled and praised, "What you proposed is precisely the method for government-run textile production. The eight-department system will be adopted as you suggested. The Brocade Weaving Bureau will be set up with these eight departments, with A Yao as the supervisor, and you all as clerks in your respective departments. In addition, thirty people from our clan's guests who are knowledgeable in weaving and accounting will be selected as clerks. Their salaries will all be provided by the prefectural government."

Upon hearing this, Cui An was greatly encouraged, as it meant that they had transitioned from merchants to officials!

He rose from the bottom of the four classes of people to the top of the four classes.

How could they not do their utmost?

They quickly submitted a charter, stipulating that the Changsha Jinshu would have one supervisor, Zhen Yao, who would concurrently hold the position and oversee the entire operation.

It has eight subordinate clerks, whose rank is equivalent to 200 shi (a unit of grain measure).

In addition, thirty people were selected from among Zhen's guests to serve as clerks.

Liu Bei specially set aside a side courtyard on the west side of the prefectural government to serve as the temporary office of the Brocade Weaving Bureau, and also allocated 500,000 coins and 2,000 bushels of grain from the Ministry of Revenue as start-up capital.

The Brocade Weaving Bureau was very efficient. On the third day, they surveyed the site for the workshop and reported back to the governor: "Your Excellency, Orange Isle is flat and located near the Xiang River, making it easy to obtain water. There are already several abandoned houses on the isle, which can be temporarily used as workshops with a little repair. More importantly, this place is far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, making it easier to manage the weavers and also convenient for future expansion."

Liu Bei personally went to Orange Isle to inspect the site and found it to be a suitable place to build a factory. He immediately decided on the location.

For the next month, Cui An led his team to work day and night.

The abandoned houses were converted into multiple factories for spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing, and two rows of houses were built for the weavers to live in.

The carpentry workshop worked day and night to produce spinning wheels, winding machines, and looms, while Kou's ironworks supplied iron machine parts.

By mid-April, the Changsha Jinshu had taken initial shape, with a silk winding workshop containing twenty winding machines.

There is a spinning mill with more than ten spinning machines.

The weaving workshop is the most spacious, housing three hundred looms, most of which are refurbished old machines, but still usable.

There is a dyeing and finishing workshop with more than 50 dyeing vats and more than 500 drying racks.

Everything was vibrant and full of life; everyone was working with great enthusiasm.

However, the great undertaking of weaving brocade is not as easy as it sounds, as if it could be accomplished with a wave of the hand.

The procurement of materials, the construction of workshops, and the institutional framework are all manageable, as the Zhen family has the manpower and resources to handle them.

Recruiting weavers, however, is more than ten times more difficult than all of the above.

The Han dynasty inherited the legacy of the Warring States period, and its people were mostly cunning and shrewd. The Jingchu region, in particular, retained the Chu culture and was known for its fierce and valiant spirit.

The silk reeling and weaving techniques were far less advanced and sophisticated than those in the Central Plains.

In addition, the rural areas were still somewhat backward, with men farming and women weaving being the norm. Women mostly stayed at home spinning and weaving, so it was not easy for them to show their faces and work in government workshops.

Mi Zhu offered a suggestion: the prefectural government should post recruitment notices at the city gates of each county and send officials to various villages to announce that the brocade weavers would receive three bushels of millet and six hundred coins per month, with additional rewards for those who were skilled.

The salary was nearly twice that of weavers in the Central Plains, but after the notice was posted for more than ten days, very few people came to apply, and most of them were poor women from really difficult families.

Seeing this, Cui An sighed and said, "My lord, brocade weaving is not like ordinary weaving. A piece of plain silk can be woven by any ordinary woman. However, cloud brocade has intricate patterns and requires meticulous stitching; if even the slightest mistake is made, the entire piece is ruined."

"Even the most skillful women need months of practice to master the craft. What we lack most right now are not ordinary weavers, but experienced weavers who are proficient in embroidery and knotting. Such experienced weavers are mostly found in Sichuan and Xiangyi; they are almost impossible to find in Changsha itself."

"Now we can only send people with a large sum of money to recruit in Sichuan and Xiangyi. However, the journey is long and will take at least two or three months, which is far from enough to solve the immediate problem."

Fortunately, Liu Bei was not in a hurry. He wanted to establish a state-run handicraft industry. In reality, this was only a few words in history. It would take at least five years, or even decades, to achieve this goal.

So Liu Bei comforted them, saying, "Don't worry. The Brocade Weaving Bureau is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Right now, we should recruit skillful women from Jingchu and have a hundred of the Zhen family's weaving girls teach them one-on-one. We'll teach as many as we can."

"As for the weavers in the Central Plains, I have already sent people to Luoyang, Wancheng, and Xiangyang to keep an eye out. When the time is right, weavers will come south in an endless stream."

If we rely on natural recruitment, it will probably not be very effective for several years.

The people of the Central Plains are attached to their homeland and will not leave their hometowns for a mere double salary unless absolutely necessary.

But as the saying goes, when the time is right, heaven and earth lend their strength!

The world will surely turn to his aid. It is now the fifth year of the Zhongping era, less than a year before the emperor's death and Dong Zhuo's usurpation of power.

When the Central Plains were in turmoil and the people were displaced, hundreds of thousands of scholars and commoners flocked to Jingzhou, and naturally a large number of weavers would come with their families.

Having no land or livelihood to offer when they went south, the Jinshu Bureau in Changsha was naturally their best refuge.

With Liu Bei's calm arrangements, Cui An and the others started from the basics.

By early May, the Jinzhou government had recruited more than 500 women, mostly from poor families in Linxiang, Luoxian, Yiyang and other places.

Some of these women had woven coarse cloth at home, while others had never even touched a loom before; everything had to be taught from scratch.

Cui An divided the more than 500 people into three groups. The first group of more than 100 people were younger and more dexterous, and the weaving techniques were taught by the Zhen family weavers. The second group of more than 200 people were taught how to wind and spin silk, and the third group of more than 100 people were taught how to dye and polish silk.

More than a hundred Zhen family weavers taught her step by step, starting with how to hold the shuttle, how to step on the pedal, and how to connect the threads, patiently and meticulously explaining each step.

However, the skill of brocade weaving is not something that ordinary women can easily master.

The winding process alone requires straightening each silk thread, ensuring they are of uniform thickness and tension; the slightest mistake will result in a broken thread. Bundling the threads is even more difficult, requiring several fine threads to be combined into a single thick thread with consistent tension; otherwise, the woven brocade will have an uneven surface.

As for weaving, it is even more complicated. Each loom requires two people to work together, one to draw the pattern on top and the other to throw the shuttle below.

The jacquard weaver must memorize the pattern and know which warp thread to pick for each shuttle; a single mistake will ruin a piece of brocade.

The person throwing the shuttle must have even hand strength, and the shuttle must move at a moderate pace; otherwise, the weft threads will be uneven in density.

Over the course of ten days, nearly half of the more than 500 people were eliminated just for spinning silk – some used too much force, causing the silk to break frequently; others had poor eyesight and could not distinguish the thickness of the silk threads.

Of the remaining 300 people who learned silk spinning, more than 100 were eliminated.

In the end, only about a hundred people were able to learn weaving on the loom.

Of these hundred or so people, Cui An sighed to Liu Bei, "There may be seventy or eighty who can learn to weave plain silk. But those who can learn to weave brocade are probably less than fifty."

This made Liu Bei clearly understand why brocade, a specialty of the Central Plains, was sold well in the West, yet the Western barbarians could never learn to make it.

Brocade weaving has always been a craft!

It is impossible for anyone who is not highly skilled to do this.

The Book of Rites of Zhou, Record of Trades, states: "Those who are wise create things, those who are skillful describe and preserve them; the world calls them craftsmen."

The art of brocade weaving is the kind of skill that requires generations of inheritance and constant exposure to mastery.

Fortunately, Liu Bei was never in a hurry to do things. Every few days, he would personally go to Orange Isle to check on the progress of the brocade workshop. He saw that although the women were clumsy, they were focused on learning how to spin and weave silk. He also saw that the weaver Zhen patiently demonstrated the techniques again and again.

He then gently encouraged them, saying, "Everything is difficult at the beginning. When Shu brocade first emerged, it also started from nothing. You just need to teach diligently, and with daily accumulation, success will come naturally."

By May, the first batch of plain silk from the Jinshu (锦署) was produced.

When Liu Bei led his officials to inspect the Jinshu Bureau, Zhen Yao excitedly presented a bolt of plain silk that had just come off the loom.

"Brother-in-law, please look. This is plain silk woven by some of the most skilled women among this group. Although it cannot yet be woven into brocade, it is already worthy of being used as scrolls..."

For use in clothing.

"Given time, once their skills become more refined, they can be taught the art of embroidery and knotting, at which point they will be able to weave real brocade."

Liu Bei stroked the plain silk; it was indeed smooth and delicate, almost as good as that produced in the Central Plains.

He smiled and praised, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

He handed the plain silk back to Zhen Yao, his gaze sweeping over the rows of looms running in the weaving workshop, and asked, "How is the output of these female workers right now? How much plain silk can they produce in a month?"

Zhen Yao handed the plain silk to the official beside him and calmly replied, "Brother-in-law, not all of these hundred-odd looms are currently in operation. There are only about a hundred people who can weave on the looms, and most of them are beginners who are not yet skilled. With two people per loom, they can only weave three or four feet of plain silk a day. At present, the brocade department produces only about two hundred bolts of plain silk per month."

"Two hundred bolts." Liu Bei pondered for a moment; this number was indeed not much. A bolt of plain silk was about four zhang long, so two hundred bolts would only be enough to make a few hundred sets of clothes.

This was clearly not what Liu Bei was aiming for by investing heavily in establishing state-run handicraft industries. With that much money, he could have bought thousands of sets of clothes for ten soldiers.

Seeing Liu Bei hesitate, Zhen Yao added, "Brother-in-law, these two hundred bolts are only those woven by the new weavers of the Brocade Bureau. They do not yet include the work done by the women of the Zhen family."

The Zhen family has over a hundred skilled weavers here, producing thirty bolts of brocade each month.

"If we include the Zhen family's private workshops, Changsha can produce 500 bolts of plain silk and 50 bolts of brocade every month, which is already quite considerable."

Of the four basic necessities of life—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—clothing is the most important.

Five hundred bolts of silk could produce over a thousand sets of clothing each month, enough to arm the entire army.

Liu Bei was overjoyed and asked, "The brocade can already be woven?"

Zhen Yao nodded and said, "Both the Jinshu and my private workshop have weavers brought from Zhongshan. They have been learning the craft since childhood and are very familiar with embroidery and knotting. They can even do the most difficult cloud and thunder patterns and continuous wall patterns with ease."

"Moreover, it is the season when spring silkworms come to market. Spring silk is the best, with long and tough fibers and a pure white color, making it most suitable for weaving brocade."

"In three to five years, when the mulberry groves in Changsha are lush and the silkworm industry is booming, we will surely be able to weave brocade."

Then he took an account book from the clerk and presented it to Liu Bei: "Brother-in-law, this is the detailed expenditure of the Brocade Bureau last month, including the purchase of silk..."

The total expenditure for dye purchases, weavers' wages, and factory repairs amounted to five million coins, along with over four hundred bushels of grain.

"Once the plain silk and brocade begin to be sold, the principal and profit can be gradually recovered, and the treasury can be replenished."

Liu Bei took the document, glanced at it briefly, and then handed it back to Zhen Yao, instructing, "The Jin Department should not be in a hurry to make a profit. It should focus on expanding the factory, recruiting female workers, and improving the techniques."

"I can support you for three years. The time to see the results will come after three years."

Zhen Yao, invigorated, cupped his hands and said, "I will certainly live up to the important task entrusted to me by my brother-in-law."

So Liu Bei left Jinshu. As soon as he stepped off Orange Isle, he saw dust billowing on the official road in the distance, and a black horse galloping towards him like a whirlwind.

The man on horseback had a leopard-like head and piercing eyes, with a bushy beard and a bristling halberd. Before he even arrived, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Big Brother! Big Brother!"

The shout made the leaves of the surrounding orange trees tremble, and several women washing clothes on the bank were so frightened that they dropped their washing mallets into the water.

Before the man even arrived, his voice preceded him, and Liu Bei knew that his third brother had come.

Sure enough, the next moment, Zhang Fei dismounted and rushed to Liu Bei: "Hey! Brother, why have you been running around Orange Isle these past few days, only paying attention to women's livelihoods? Even we, the fierce warriors and elite tribesmen, have been neglected."

Liu Bei laughed loudly. Was Princess Feifei feeling neglected?

He chuckled and patted Zhang Fei's arm, saying, "I've entrusted all military affairs to you two so I can manage the affairs of the Jin Department. Third Brother, what brings you here? Is there something important?"

Zhang Fei slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering the important matter, and said anxiously, "It's something big! I almost forgot."

He grabbed Liu Bei's sleeve and said urgently, "Brother! I went to the granary today to collect money and provisions. Summer is almost here, and according to regulations, I should..."

The Gengshi Camp was issued two sets of summer uniforms. But Liu Zihui, the granary clerk, told me that the treasury was already running low on funds and asked me to wait a while!

If Liu Zihui hadn't been a virtuous minister he had recommended, he was certain that Liu Zihui would have been in need of money and provisions from everyone else, and he would have been furious. So he had no choice but to come to his elder brother. After all, in Princess Feifei's eyes, his elder brother was a hero of the world, upright and capable of anything.

"Brother, a government cannot function without integrity! Our soldiers risked their lives and shed their blood to serve us brothers, which is why they joined the army. How can we delay their pay and rations? Wouldn't that break their hearts?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei sighed inwardly.

He gazed at the merchant ships shuttling back and forth on the river, at the newly built brocade factory on Orange Isle in the distance, and further still, at the rows of shops and residences in Linxiang City.

This prosperous scene is the result of his tireless efforts and hard work day and night since he arrived in Changsha.

But behind the prosperity lay the dire situation of the treasury gradually drying up.

But he didn't blame Liu Zihui at all. This granary clerk was an old man he had followed since Hebei. He was upright and honest, skilled in accounting, and never showed favoritism. Back when he was in Mount Tai, the granary had 600,000 bushels of grain and more than 50 million coins in storage. Liu Zihui managed it very well and never made a single mistake.

But times have changed!

Since he entered Changsha, he has implemented new policies, reduced or exempted taxes, built water conservancy projects, and established government offices and wards, all of which require money and grain.

The largest expense, of course, is expanding the military and maintaining troops.

When Liu Bei was at Mount Tai, he only had a thousand followers, of whom five hundred were paid by the county soldiers and the other five hundred were supplied by Liu Bei's own money.

In reality, the treasury could only cover the food and money consumption of 500 people at that time.

However, upon arriving in Changsha, Liu Bei recruited a large number of soldiers. As of now, the entire Changsha prefecture has more than 15,000 infantry, cavalry, and naval troops!

Even if the governor of Liangzhou, a border prefecture, were to gather troops from the prefecture, there would only be a little over 20,000 men.

Liu Bei himself had 15,000 men!

Moreover, unlike ordinary county soldiers, Liu Bei's army was a professional conscripted force that received monthly salaries.

He divided the entire army into three classes.

The highest rank was naturally the Jingse Iron Cavalry, the elite of the entire army. Each ordinary soldier received a monthly salary of nine hundred coins, plus three bushels of millet, one dou of salt, one dou of soy sauce, five jin of dried meat and pickled vegetables, and two jars of wine.

This treatment exceeded the salary of an ordinary village head.

The middle ranks consist of the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, the Gengshi Camp, and the Archer Camp, with a monthly salary of 600 coins, 3 bushels of millet, half the amount of salt, soy sauce, dried meat, and fermented meat, and one jar of wine.

The lowest rank was that of ordinary laborers, who received a monthly salary of three hundred coins and three bushels of millet.

Although it was considered a lower-ranking soldier, in other prefectures and kingdoms, it would have been considered the treatment of an elite soldier.

This is just the monthly salary. In addition, soldiers will receive four to six bolts of silk and several bolts of brocade each year.

Those going to battle in spring and summer will be given an additional battle shirt, a pair of battle trousers, a set of travel baggage, and three pairs of hemp shoes.

If the expedition is to be launched in winter, additional winter clothing such as cotton-padded coats, felt hats, and gloves will be provided.

These silk garments, if converted into money and grain, would amount to a huge sum of money.

There were also weapons and armor. Swords, spear tips, bows, arrows, armor plates, and iron plates—all of which cost a fortune.

Not to mention the warhorses, his army had more than two thousand warhorses and more than three thousand pack horses, donkeys and mules.

Each warhorse is fed three bushels of millet and beans and ten bundles of hay per month. Horse feed alone requires tens of thousands of bushels of grain per month.

Ju Shou and Liu Zihui had repeatedly calculated this amount. For 15,000 people, the monthly salary alone would require more than 8 million coins and 60,000 bushels of grain.

If we add in expenses for clothing, weapons, horse feed, construction, medical services, and supplies, the annual cost of maintaining the army would amount to hundreds of millions of coins and nearly a million bushels of grain.

Liu Zihui has done her best.

Every month when salaries were distributed, he would repeatedly calculate and rack his brains to squeeze out every penny from the treasury, first ensuring the soldiers' monthly salaries, then the rations for the warhorses, and only then would other expenses be considered.

He simply couldn't afford the annual gifts of silk and new clothes for the changing seasons, so he had to keep putting it off.

Zhang Fei was not unaware of Liu Zihui's predicament, but as a general, not a minor official, he naturally had to fight for the interests of his subordinates.

That's why he came to find his omnipotent elder brother. He hurriedly said, "Brother, you must go and see! The soldiers are all eagerly awaiting my return in the camp. I can't go back empty-handed and disappoint them, can I?"

"In any case, give me a definite answer, brother, so I can go back and reply to the soldiers."

This immediately reminded Liu Bei of the military governors of the Five Dynasties period, who had to borrow money from merchants to pay the salaries of their troops.

If these arrogant and fierce generals don't give a good answer, it will not only disappoint the people, but could also cause real trouble.

Liu Bei then gently patted Zhang Fei on the back and solemnly said, "Third brother's words are quite right!"

"We aspire to build a great enterprise, gather heroes, comfort the common people, and restore the Han dynasty, relying on the principles of integrity and righteousness." If we cannot even ensure the basic needs of our soldiers, how can we talk about a great enterprise? How can we speak of bringing peace to the world?

"Let's go, I'll go to the army with you. There's no need for empty promises; today I'll give them an explanation in front of the entire army."

Zhang Fei was overjoyed, grinning broadly, his trust in his elder brother unwavering: "Excellent! With you personally in charge, there's nothing in the world that can't be resolved!"

He immediately mounted his horse and led the way, saying, "Brother, hurry up! This is the time when the whole army is training. When you arrive at the camp, you can see how magnificent our newly trained army is!"

Despite his complaints, the fact that it took him so long to come to see Liu Bei meant that he had been having a very enjoyable time recently.

With over 15,000 troops stationed in Changsha, Guan Yu was already overwhelmed with dealing with both the cavalry and the navy.

The remaining 10,000-plus foot soldiers, archers, baggage handlers, and other soldiers were all trained by Zhang Fei.

It made him exclaim with delight, for with these ten thousand elite troops, they could roam the world freely – that was the way of a true hero!

The Linxiang military camp was located on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, nestled against the mountains and overlooking the river, with both land and water routes connected.

Since Liu Bei entered Changsha last year, this camp has been expanded several times. Now it is a magnificent military fortress with both land and water defenses. Eight thousand generals are stationed here, training day and night. The sound of drums and horns can be heard for miles.

Liu Bei rode his horse to the camp gate and saw that the camp was built with rammed earth walls, about two zhang high, with red flags planted all over the top of the walls, fluttering in the wind.

Each of the four corners of the camp wall was equipped with a corner tower, in which soldiers stood guard with bows.

Outside the camp gate, a moat about two zhang wide was dug, into which water from the Xiang River was diverted. A suspension bridge was erected over the moat, which was opened during the day and closed at night, with strict regulations.

On either side of the camp gate stood a watchtower, its body constructed of blue bricks, over three zhang high, its top covered with blue tiles and upturned eaves. Copper bells hung from the watchtowers, their clear, melodious ringing in the wind.

This is the "gate tower" system commonly seen in Han Dynasty military camps—whenever a general sets out for a campaign, he must erect two gate towers to enhance the military's prestige and facilitate observation and command.

Upon seeing Liu Bei arrive in person, the gatekeepers quickly bowed. Liu Bei rode into the camp, and the view before him suddenly opened up.

The entire camp was divided into land and water sections. The land section was in the east, on slightly higher ground, and was where the infantry and cavalry camps were located.

The water area is located to the west, adjacent to the Xiang River, and was the naval base.

The riverbank was reinforced with wooden piles, and three piers were built extending into the river, each capable of accommodating more than ten warships.

Next to the pier is a dock, where craftsmen are repairing boats, the sounds of sawing wood and hammering echoing in the air.

This was the prototype of Liu Bei's navy, which included more than 30 warships. The largest was a Mengchong, about eight or nine zhang long, with iron plates covering the bow and baffles on both sides of the hull, with firing holes on the plates.

The shields were covered with raw cowhide to block enemy arrows. Each warship could carry fifty or sixty soldiers, and was fast and agile, making it the main force in naval battles.

In addition to the warships, there were more than ten fighting ships and more than thirty small boats.

The entire navy consisted of more than 3,000 people, with boatmen, helmsmen, and oarsmen each having their own duties. They were all skilled swimmers recruited from the riverside areas of Changsha, Lingling, and Wuling.

There were also more than thirty ships of various sizes, which can be said to have formed a considerable scale.