My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 446 False Way to Attack Guo
The construction of Yuyang border city is progressing in this rhythm of encountering and solving problems, step by step, through adjustment and improvement.

Time passed quickly and it was already the middle of September of that year. Everything was initially on track and Yuyang City became the second most prosperous place in Youzhou after Ji County.

Although the old city area of Yuyang was completely unusable, the newly built prosperous areas were all located outside the city and along the river valleys.

This day was around September 19th. Zhuge Jin, who had been touring Youzhou for more than two months and had basically understood the situation in Youzhou and checked for omissions, returned to Yuyang again.

As the governor of Youzhou, Mi Zhu currently had other important matters to deal with and could not keep an eye on Yuyang all the time, so Tian Yu was still responsible for receiving Zhuge Jin's inspection.

In addition, there is Tian Chou, who is responsible for liaison with the Wuhuan tribes. He has recently been granted a new official position. Zhuge Jin also has something to find him, so he asked Tian Yu to summon him in advance to await instructions.

At the same time, Zhao Yun, the defense commander of Youzhou, recently left Ji County quietly and was recruited to Yuyang by Zhuge Jin. It was obvious that he was preparing to take action.

However, Tian Yu and Tian Chou were of too low a rank and did not know about Zhao Yun's transfer, so they did not take it seriously. They thought that the princes' visit was just a routine inspection and they wanted to see the latest construction situation in Yuyang, so they did not make any special preparations.

In order to keep the secret, Zhuge Jin did not point it out and just let things take their own course, inspecting it first before getting down to business.

……

Early that morning, Zhuge Jin and Zhao Yun arrived in Yuyang together. Tian Yu personally went to the south of the city to greet them dozens of miles away. When he saw Zhao Yun, he was a little surprised, but he still came over to pay his respects immediately.

Zhuge Jin did not mention Zhao Yun's accompanying them, but just asked Tian Yu to take them on a quick tour to see if there were any changes here after more than a month of not being here, and whether they encountered any new problems or difficulties.

Tian Yu obediently took everyone around for a look.

I haven't been here for more than a month, and I've seen a number of new tanning factories built on both sides of the river in addition to the slaughterhouses. And the scope of this "development zone" has obviously extended a lot downstream.

But when the carriage approached, a faint pungent odor could be smelled from afar.

Zhuge Jin couldn't stand the smell, so he didn't go deep into the tanning processing area to take a closer look. He just took a quick look and asked someone to bring him some newly made cowhide armor and other cow and sheep leather products to see the quality and ask about the output.

After passing through this foul and smelly area, we returned to Yuyang City, where the environment improved completely.

Zhuge Jin also keenly discovered that the sanitary conditions in Yuyang City had improved a lot - when riding a horse on the street, he no longer saw puddles of feces and urine everywhere.

You have to know that at the end of the Han Dynasty, although the technology for building sewers had already existed, only big cities like Chang'an and Luoyang were able to use sewers or even culverts for drainage.

In remote and impoverished areas, even in county-level cities, at most they would dig an open channel to drain sewage. With such sanitary infrastructure, coupled with the lack of attention to sanitation management in poor border areas, it was common for people to casually take care of their physiological emergencies along the ditch on the street, which over time became smelly.

(This is not black. Even in the Republic of China or just after the liberation, it was very common to do that on the roadside in small places.)
But now, in Yuyang City, at least there is no filth to be seen as far as the eye can see. How could Zhuge Jin not be surprised?
He nodded rarely and asked how Tian Yu managed it.

This was the first time that Tian Yu saw the princes show praise on their faces. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly cheered up and introduced:
“Because there are more and more downstream tanning workshops, there are a lot of raw hides of cattle and sheep that need to be stripped of hair roots and grease first.

Therefore, many wealthy families in the city paid to build public toilets. Some of them were separated and flushed with water, and the whole city was renovated. "

After all, these transformations were dirty, and Tian Yu did not want to say anything obscene, so he introduced them in a more obscure way.

When talking about the toilets with flushing facilities, Tian Yu also pointed to a small water tower within sight. It was a wooden frame building, similar to the sentry tower in the military camp, except that the lookout on the top of the sentry tower was replaced by a water tank.

But Zhuge Jin understood it immediately, and he thought to himself: No wonder Tian Yu sent someone to ask me how to build a water tower last month.

It turns out that not only were toilets widely built in Yuyang City, but also that Yuyang actually had water-flushed toilets while other places at the same time used dry toilets.

Not only that, feces and urine are specially separated here. The urinals are collected separately, and after being flushed with water, they are collected together and merchants who run leather tanning workshops come to buy them.

As we all know, in ancient times, tanned leather required soaking in urine for pre-treatment in order to remove certain components in the original hide.

Theoretically, it doesn't have to be human urine, some animal urine will work. But the problem is that humans can't control and train animals to go to a fixed place to defecate, and animals don't know how to separate their urine and feces, so if they are mixed together, they can't be used.

No wonder the downstream of Yuyang City is so smelly, but the city has become much cleaner and more sanitary.

Zhuge Jin frowned and reminded Tian Yu: "After all, this water is an important water source downstream, and it must flow all the way to Tianjin City and into the sea. When you tan leather, you must also start and end well. The sewage after soaking the raw hides should be used as fertilizer as much as possible and cannot be discharged directly into the water.

Normally, the river can purify the waste of tens of thousands of people and livestock naturally. But now there are hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep gathering in Yuyang every season, and the river may not be able to bear the centralized discharge. "

Although he was preaching, Zhuge Jin didn't think it was a big deal in his heart, so his tone was not harsh.

Now it is the Han Dynasty. It is an honor to be able to worry about the "pollution problem caused by industrialization". Others are not qualified to worry about it.

Until the early 19th century, there were still people in Britain who sang praises of London's big chimneys and dark fog, believing that these were manifestations of prosperity and good people's livelihood.

Tian Yu could also tell that the princes' words were more encouragement than criticism, so he quickly accepted them sincerely.

Zhuge Jin then asked whether he had encountered any new difficult problems in the past month, and helped him sort out the new industrial chain.

After some sorting out, Zhuge Jin actually discovered several new problems.

For example, as sheepskin was transformed from being sewn directly into coats with the wool on to being mass-tanned to make leather goods, a lot of the shaved wool could not find efficient ways to be used.

The people of the Han Dynasty always made full use of sheep wool, but the means of utilization were relatively simple. Without the wool spinning technology, they simply made coats with the wool and skin.

The leather of this kind of coat is not tanned, so it has a short shelf life. It will emit a foul smell of rancid oil after a short time of wearing, and it is easy to breed insects and lice. The leather will become very stiff within a year. In comparison, tanned leather is definitely more practical, more durable, and can be stored for a long time, and is more suitable for large-scale industrialization. However, the hair cannot be retained during tanning, which is also a new problem caused by the refinement of the industry.

After hearing about this, Zhuge Jin felt it necessary to popularize the tools for spinning yarn and wool.

As long as there is wool yarn or wool thread, subsequent weaving is not difficult. The traditional looms for weaving linen and silk can also weave cloth by replacing the fibers with wool yarn. Therefore, the loom does not require much advanced improvement technology, just a slight adjustment under the existing conditions.

If it really doesn't work, as long as there is thick wool, let the women take a few bamboo sticks and knit sweaters directly - before Zhuge Jin traveled through time, he also saw women knitting scarves, gloves, etc. with sweaters. Although he didn't understand how to plan this craft, he could let the women figure it out themselves.

Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin couldn't help but think of the women at home.

Zhen Mi and Xiao Qiao and Bu Lianshi didn't think any of them had particularly good skills and could figure out how to tinker with this thing. It seemed that at most they could think about how to knit a sweater with bamboo sticks.

As for the wool spinning wheel work, I can only write to my second brother and ask my sister-in-law Huang Yueying to find a way. I can provide some ideas, and with Huang Yueying's brain and hands-on ability, she should be able to figure it out.

Even if Huang Yueying couldn't do it alone, when the wool was shipped to Tianjin in large quantities and handed over to Zhou Yu, she could ask her second sister Zhuge Lan to help her think of a solution. The women of the Zhuge family were knowledgeable and experienced, and they must have known much better things than other women of the same era.

Thinking of this, Zhuge Jin actually felt a little ashamed and sad.

His own sisters and brothers' wives were much more capable than his wives and concubines. But this could not be blamed on his wives and concubines, but on himself - others married for their virtue and concubines for their beauty.

He doesn't care about you marrying a wife or taking a concubine. He doesn't care about anything else. He just wants the most beautiful woman in the world and only cares about his own pleasure. Isn't this retribution? When he needs a woman to work, he can only look for his own sister and brother's sister.

After thinking of the plan in his mind, Zhuge Jin instructed Tian Yu: "Since we can't find a way to efficiently utilize the wool shaved from the tanning, we should wash and dry it first, and build more warehouses to store it.

It's probably too late this year. I will find a way to deal with it next year. By then, there will be more industries around Yuyang. If the land in Yuyang is small and no one is weaving, we can also use boats to ship the wool down the river and transport it to Tianjin. I will let Gongjin set up another workshop there."

Tian Yu quickly agreed and said that he would immediately arrange a new warehouse to clean, dry and store the wool.

He also felt that if wool could be used alone, it would not be appropriate to place this industry in Yuyang, because the local transportation was not very convenient after all, and the Han population was not large enough. Most of the hired workers were Hu people, and Hu women were not very good at weaving, and could only sew fur coats at most.

If these wools can be used for weaving in the future, it will be easier to hire enough Han women workers in Tianjin. As for Yuyang, it would be good to teach the Hu women to weave sweaters in the future, which can also be regarded as finding some work for them.

After explaining these things, Zhuge Jin did not make any more comments on the industrial development of Yuyang. He knew very well that one must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. This year, many new jobs have been opened at once. The new Hu people who came to Yuyang to seek employment can basically find jobs, or they can be trained first, and then there will not be enough workers.

Slaughtering, pickling meat, tanning leather, making strings... If we start spinning and weaving woolen cloth, it would be too big a step and easy to get into trouble. It is better to wait until next year to do it slowly, so that the people can have a rest and the construction speed can match the growth rate of the labor force.

……

After inspecting Tian Yu's work and giving him sufficient guidance, Zhuge Jin was taken by Tian Yu to the Yuyang Prefecture's Mansion, where he met Tian Chou who had been waiting for an audience there.

After inspecting for a whole morning, everyone was a little tired, so Tian Yu asked someone to quickly deliver the welcoming banquet that had been prepared long ago so that the princes could eat, rest and talk about work.

Zhuge Jin drank a few cups and took a break before asking about the second purpose of this inspection:
"This border market has been open for more than three months. Which Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes have performed well? Which ones have remained stubborn and refused to cooperate? When we run border markets and convert the Hu people, we cannot just use soft tactics. We must combine firmness and softness, and use both kindness and force.

For those who refuse to cooperate, if they still refuse to obey after enough time and opportunities, then we must take action - this is also the purpose of my asking Zilong to come with me this time."

Zhuge Jin's remarks sounded high-sounding, and were mainly intended for "outsiders" like Tian Chou to hear.

As for Tian Yu, who had followed Liu Bei's camp for many years, he certainly knew whether the princes' words were true or false. At most, only a small part of them were their real purpose, and the other half was hidden under these superficial rhetoric.

Tian Chou thought he suddenly understood: No wonder the princes brought General Zhao with them this time, it turned out that they wanted to take the opportunity to find a troublesome clan member to deal with and give him a beating.

Tian Chou thought it was inappropriate to start a war just because of a border trade dispute or a refusal to cooperate, so he tactfully advised: "Please understand, my lords, although some tribes have refused to cooperate since the opening of the market three months ago, they are not hostile to the Han Dynasty after all.

They just don't come to trade. If we use military force against them for this reason, it will damage the benevolence and integrity of our Han Dynasty. Moreover, Youzhou is poor. Since the grain trade with Jizhou was cut off, the people of Youzhou would have starved this year. The princes worked hard to come up with so many good policies, but they just made up for the deficit and let the people have enough food.

If we start fighting again, I am afraid that the military rations will be wasted and it will be difficult to continue. Please think twice. It will not be too late to attack the barbarians after we have enough food and rest. "

Zhuge Jin waved his hand in a proud manner: "This is not a problem you need to consider. The court has just promoted you to the position of Youbeiping County Magistrate, so you naturally have to take on this responsibility. Considering that you offer advice out of public interest, I will not blame you. At most, I promise that this time, I will not mobilize too many infantry and exhaust the army on a long expedition.

As long as the opportunity is right, let Zilong lead a few cavalry to launch a surprise attack to shock them, that's all - just tell me which tribes have been the most disobedient in the past few months!"

Tian Chou saw that Zhuge Jin was still listening to his advice. Although he still looked like he had to fight, he at least calculated the cost. He also knew that the local military rations could not be spent too much, and he was willing to use only a small part of the cavalry to fight a battle to scare the enemy. In this case, Tian Yu could not force him to do anything.

He thought for a while, gritted his teeth, and reported truthfully: "Since May, Chou has been running around and contacting various tribes. So far, the Wuhuan Su Puyan tribe is still the most stubborn. But they must have their own unspeakable reasons for taking this attitude.

Among the three Wuhuan counties, the Supuyan tribe was located the most eastward, in the northern part of Liaoxi County, and also spread to the grasslands north of Liaodong County, across the Liaoze. The Supuyan tribe bordered not only Liaoxi County controlled by the imperial court, but also Liaodong County controlled by Gongsun Du and the Goguryeo Kingdom in the northeast.

Su Puyan also knows that Gongsun Du now respects the court held hostage by Cao Cao, and is at odds with our lord, the General of Chariots and Cavalry. So Su Puyan wants to play it safe, asking for prices from both sides, not offending anyone, and hoping that both sides will offer a high price to win him over. If we just force him with force, I'm afraid Su Puyan will be forced to Gongsun Du's side."

Zhuge Jin nodded: "So that's it - that's him. As for forcing Gongsun Du, haha, that's not something you need to worry about. We killed the chicken to scare the monkeys, and by beating one, the other tribes will naturally be more awed.

Please collect and list for me all the specific and disrespectful crimes that the Subuyan tribe has committed in the past few months by disrespecting the imperial court and refusing to cooperate. "

As Zhuge Jin spoke, he had already thought of a route to catch rabbits while sniping at grass.

If in the future when stabbing Su Puyan, he accidentally uses too much force and pierces Gongsun Du behind him, there will be nothing that can be done.

(End of this chapter)