The general will eat grass

Nanji Market is very lively, with almost everything for food, clothing, housing and transportation.There is only one thing, the distribution of the stalls is a bit messy, those selling candied fruits in the south are next to those selling cats, dogs, birds and insects, and those selling northern leather goods and woodware are selling fire by the stove.There are also pure cotton cloth and barley flour from Da'ao, spices from the Western Regions, and rare fruit seeds. The stalls of these outsiders change every year, and some of them are pushed to the edge of the market, even lowered by several grades.

Zhao Yuansong bought Huanxilou because he wanted to integrate these goods merchants together and classify them according to the function and value of the goods. The private rooms on the second and third floors were leased to powerful merchants, and several rows of stalls of the same size were directly set up in the hall on the first floor. Small vendors selling civilian goods.This arrangement is not only convenient for the common people to buy, but also provides a fixed store that can shelter from wind and rain.Zhao Yuansong didn't know that he opened an ancient department store unintentionally, and his ultimate goal was to cover up the "ghost market" in the dark with things on the bright side.

The ghost market is the black market, and there are always a few families in the major cities and towns of Beixuan country who do this kind of business.The Huanxi Building has the Ninth Prince as a backer, acting as a guarantor between the buyer and the seller, responsible for identifying the authenticity of the goods, protecting the identities of the buyer and seller, and charging a certain handling fee.No, not long after it opened, Huanxi Building received an order to sell the construction drawings of a large-scale water mill. It is said that if such a water mill is built, each mill can produce more than 200 catties of flour per day.According to the terrain, water mills are built along the mountain. Twelve water mills can be dug out of the twenty-foot mountain wall. The water mills are connected end to end. The water flow drives the waterwheel, which can grind flour day and night, with a total output of 200 a day. More than 36 catties.Water mills reduce the use of manpower, mules and horses. If each water mill is equipped with three workers, shifting shifts in the morning, noon and evening, there are only [-] workers, which can fully support the consumption of an army of a thousand people.

The construction drawing of this large water mill comes from Da'ao. They mainly use barley and highland barley as their main food crops. Due to the sparse population, many equipment are controlled by institutions.The Central Plains also had organ arts, but in the period of Beixuan, the imperial court paid more attention to Confucianism, rites, laws and other theories that were beneficial to the rule of the country. During the period, there was no lack of pursuit and killing of talents in this field, and many families who were specialized in this field fled to Da'ao.

Zhao Yuansong likes organ wood armor very much, even more than travel notes and miscellaneous studies. It is a priceless treasure researched by all the craftsmen in Central Plains, and it is also a great inheritance of the development of Central Plains civilization.Therefore, he decided to go to battle in person and make a masked transaction with the seller.The two bargained back and forth, and finally reached a satisfactory price and the transaction was successful.

When the seller was about to get up and leave, Zhao Yuansong couldn't help but said: "If you still have such good things, welcome to trade again."

The seller paused, turned around and nodded to him, and then he followed the boy out of the tightly guarded private room unhurriedly.

"Master, I think this person should be from the Xiyi people." In the past half a year, Xiao Wu and Gong Duo came back from the scattered places where the Xiyi people lived.Their trip strengthened the connection between Beixuan and Xiyi, and greatly improved the living standards of the Xiyi people through the trade of Vajra Vine with Jishui County.Xiao Wu continued: "The pupils of the man's mask are dark blue, and it's hard to tell if you don't look carefully."

Zhao Yuansong raised his eyebrows, "People from Xiyi? Why did they come to the Central Plains? Aren't they afraid of being spotted and beaten?" Due to the special appearance of Xiyi people and the limitations of their identities, if someone enters the Central Plains alone, they are likely to be punished. To kill.

It is rare for Gondo to express his opinion: "There are always a few talented people who are bold."

Zhao Yuansong also thinks about it. The two places have developed trade and seen countless goods that have never been seen before. The people of the two countries will be curious about the other's people and country. "Let's go, let's go home."

In Dingguogong's study room, there are two blueprints side by side on the large desk, the big one is the water mill, and the small one is the water spinning wheel.Duke Dingguo clicked on the blueprint, "If this drawing can really be converted into a large-scale water spinning wheel, then the production speed of cloth will be greatly improved."

Feng Jingde shook his head: "The talent and cost required for construction will be quite objective."

Mrs. Dingguo agreed: "De'er is right. The terrain suitable for building a water mill is so easy to find. It is necessary to dig mountains and build canals to divert water. Isn't it a waste of time and money?"

Feng Jingwei: "However, the cloth produced can also be used as money. Although the initial cost will be higher, the profit in the future is still quite considerable." The water mill produces flour, and the water spinning wheel produces cloth. These are military supplies. .Soldiers work hard on the battlefield just to have something to eat and some clothes to wear.

What both parties said made sense. Duke Ding cast his eyes on Zhao Yuansong who was drinking tea quietly. Seeing that he was leisurely and contented, Duke Ding opened his eyes and pretended to be angry: "Songer, did you already have an idea? Look at us Is it fun to argue here?"

Zhao Yuansong raised his head to meet Duke Dinghu's eyes, smiled, put down the tea bowl in his hand and said, "Father, my son didn't watch the excitement, so he is still thinking of a way. Building this thing is beneficial to the country and the people, but it costs a lot of money, so, my son wants to do it." It’s the same as the way of dealing with Sepak Takraw Firebomb. Let’s study the technology first, and then sell the blueprints to the prince. If one place is rich, it’s better for the whole country to be rich. When Beixuan becomes really strong, who will dare to invade us?”

"Okay, good boy." Dingguo slapped the table and smiled.

Mrs. Dingguo was worried, "It's just that, will our family become the object of fear of the above again?"

"Mother, don't worry, the baby will arrange it." Zhao Yuansong said with a smile.

Officials do not do business, except that he, Zhao Yuansong, filed a record with His Majesty the Emperor. Other officials are taboo about doing business. His Royal Highness put all his properties under the name of a huge staff group, leaving only a few in his hands. Home farm and cloth village.Zhao Yuansong took the Ninth Prince and ran to find a steward to talk about the cooperation in planting cotton. By the way, he mentioned that there is a large water mill in Daao. I wonder if Beixuan can build this kind of water spinning wheel.The steward's eyes lit up after hearing this, but he said on his mouth: "There is no blueprint for such a magical thing, and there is no craftsman who understands this aspect. You don't have to take it seriously, Mr. Zhao, maybe the person who passed it on to you is just bragging Woolen cloth."

Zhao Yuansong shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "You are right in charge, maybe that person is bragging. But if you really want to build such a large-scale device, you must have talents in this field."

The Ninth Prince interrupted: "Oh, Yuan Song, do you need craftsmen? The Armament Bureau of Taipu Temple has a lot of them."

"Hey? Is the Military Weapons Bureau also affiliated to Taipu Temple? I really don't know." Zhao Yuansong looked surprised, and then said with regret: "But, even if they belong to Taipu Temple, I, a fifth-rank official, have no real power , can’t you borrow craftsmen from them?”

"It doesn't matter, I'll go to my father tomorrow and ask for a favor." The Ninth Prince vowed.

The steward was stunned, and looked at Zhao Yuansong without any trace, secretly thinking that this person would not want to be promoted, and use the Ninth Prince as a spearman, right?

---

At the same time when the Huns were defeated and retreated, Qi Liangtu, the great shaman of the Daxi tribe, just ended his audience with the believers.In the majestic white King Kelin's court, the leader of the Daxi tribe, the current Xiongnu Shanyu Daxi Dali, got the news that Michal was defeated and the Beixuan army possessed super weapons.

"Father, don't you believe your son's words? The great shaman Qi Liangtu's ability has weakened. He predicted that we will be sure to win this time, but General Michal's expedition this time almost wiped out the entire army!" The little prince Daxi said in a cold voice: "We have lost the number one general, Uncle Shuode, and we can no longer lose General Michal." In the last battle of Changyang Pass, Daxi Shuode was injured and fled back, but could not survive. that winter day.

Daxi Dagu lost his uncle and cousin in an instant, and if he lost General Michal again, he would no longer have the strength to compete with other brothers.The great shaman Qi Liangtu secretly supported his half-brother, and united with other tribes to advocate continuing to send troops to Beixuan, obviously to rob more food and grass, but secretly, it was weakening Daxi Dagu's support in a disguised form.

Recently, he heard that the Dongyi shaman suggested that Murong Tu should do business with the Beixuan people, and the mined coal, rock and phosphorite could be sold at a good price in Beixuan.There are also Xiyi people, that group of miscellaneous hairy people living in the desert oasis, who actually exchanged a large number of weeds and rattans with Beixuan to buy food and salt and other important daily necessities. Repaired credentials.

As the name suggests, the letter of credence refers to the covenant between two countries. The Huns are so powerful, they have their own royal court and great shaman, but they haven't dared to stand up and say that they have established a country. Why are those two small tribes like this? With a big face, put gold on your own face! "Father, there are two barbarians from east and west. They are becoming more and more arrogant. If we let them go, they will gradually become stronger and become a disaster. They will compete with us for the entire Mumaerqin Grassland and force us to retreat to the land of Qingru. "

Dali Shanyu patted the table, and the buttered tea bowl on the low desk jumped, "Dagu, don't let other people's ambitions grow! The East and the West are not enough to cause trouble, and the people in the Central Plains are timid by nature. They can't beat us. Bang doesn't care about our group of 'barbarians', what are we afraid of them? Besides, the Beixuan court has many forces, and now there is no Jiang family. It is the time when their internal fighting is the most intense. How can we miss such a good opportunity? !"

"However, the people of Beixuan have that kind of fire-exploding weapon, and we have lost a lot." Dagu couldn't help his father's stubbornness, so he didn't directly contradict him, but raised a new question.

"Whether it's sending out random people or buying people from the Central Plains, you must get the manufacturing blueprint of the new weapon as soon as possible. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, we must have more food in the next spring." Dali Shan finally made a decision.

Dagu withdrew from the royal court depressedly, just in time to meet Qi Liangtu who had come back from the pilgrimage meeting, Dagu stopped, and couldn't help but sarcastically said while saluting: "The great shaman's prophecy is really effective! I don't know before defeating Beixuan, Will my mother clan die on the battlefield little by little like the Tuoba tribe?"

Qi Liangtu put his soft leather shoulder to shoulder, and said with a half-smile: "Master Dagu was joking, I don't dare to predict the rise and fall of any tribe."

"Hmph, wait for me!" Da Gu gave him a hard look, turned around and left.He needs the support of more people, and he must not let Qi Liangtu and them get what they want.