Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 74 Sugar Source (Uploaded, please read 4k words)

After breakfast, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Xiahou Lan, Shi Tou, and others carried more than a dozen buckets to the training ground.

Han Ji carried two scrolls of bamboo slips to teach elementary school students.

Zhang Xian also went to the blacksmith shop.

He had already used the infantry armor before; its defensive capabilities were reliable, but there was still much room for improvement.

During the ten-plus days on the road, he combined his own experience with optimization options, so he had to modify it himself.

We will strive to bring Song Bu Renjia to the forefront ahead of schedule.

Furthermore, the style of armor worn by the Peach Blossom Spring Clan also needs to be considered.

During the past ten days or so, Zhang Xian hadn't just been killing people. He discovered that the rate of iron armor among the Eastern Han city guards was not high; most of them wore leather barrel armor, the kind that protects the chest, abdomen, and back.

The officers were indeed clad in armor, but the armor plates were mostly arranged one next to another, unlike his fish-scale design where the plates were stacked one on top of the other.

How to improve the combat survivability of the army.

There are only three things in the external world.

Weapons.

Armor.

Grain and fodder.

Food and provisions are easy to say, but he dares to say that even the Imperial Guards of the Western Han Dynasty had a similar meat-eating rate among the people of Peach Blossom Spring.

With a diet rich in meat, oil, and carbohydrates, one's body is naturally strong.

The improvement of weapons is mainly due to the materials.

I wonder if the furnace for the steelmaking process has been built yet. I'll have to go check on it later. With the assistance of the steelmaking process, and the use of magnet carbon determination to forge steel weapons, this will be superior to the current weaponry of soldiers in various regions.

The only thing that hasn't been confirmed yet is the armor.

It's unrealistic to equip all of them with this kind of infantry armor. The Peach Blossom Clan isn't him; the weight of dozens of kilograms on their bodies would make it impossible for them to fight for long.

It's true that heavily armored infantry is good, but there are very few battles that require the use of heavily armored infantry.

Either they are on high alert and waiting for the enemy to charge, or in open field battles, heavy infantry will be lucky to even make it to the enemy lines to engage the enemy, let alone achieve any results.

If they encounter a cunning general, he will simply attack them with kerosene, and these weaklings will have no chance of escaping.

To maximize the effectiveness of heavy infantry, it is necessary to either engage in defensive battles or equip them with horses and auxiliary troops.

However, it's too early to think about this now. The number of Peach Blossom Clan members is too small, and they can't spare any auxiliary troops. Each of these four hundred-plus people has to be a main force!

The choice of armor must be lightweight yet provide sufficient protection.

After much thought, I decided that Han-style armor was the most suitable option, and there was no room for shortcuts in this regard.

Armor is a soldier's second life. Suitable armor can enhance the soldiers' combat effectiveness, while unsuitable armor will only have a negative effect.

As for internal enhancement, the discipline and obedience of the Peach Blossom Clan have been gradually honed through training in formation and standing posture. If it weren't for the lack of space to create a training ground, he might have even added internal affairs to the training.

The difference in combat capability between disciplined troops and loosely disciplined or even undisciplined troops has already been demonstrated to him by facts.

Moreover, his trump cards are not only enhanced both internally and externally, he also has a golden touch to add to them.

[Command: Sufficient Food and Pay: As long as your soldiers have sufficient food and pay, they will not easily leave you, and you will gain a 10% combat ability bonus.]

A 10% enhancement effect is equivalent to a 0.1% enhancement in a unit with a combat strength of 1, but in a unit with a combat strength of 10, the enhancement effect is 1%.

Meanwhile, the people of Peach Blossom Spring are striving to reach a combat power of ten.

Lost in thought, I arrived at the blacksmith's shop.

It was quiet here early in the morning, and Blacksmith He hadn't started work yet. This was also Zhang Xian's intention; if Blacksmith He started work early, then no one in the entire Peach Blossom Spring would be able to sleep.

The material box was half full of square iron sheets, which looked like they were made yesterday.

I picked up a piece and looked at the edges. The thickness is now very uniform. My skills have improved.

A thickness of two millimeters is required for the sheet metal, and both sides should be flat without the unevenness that was initially created.

He nodded in satisfaction. He was indeed somewhat disappointed with He the blacksmith's initial lack of skill, but people can all improve. Now, every single piece of iron is perfect.

'It seems we need to get Blacksmith He to start teaching, to train more blacksmiths, and eventually we can set up an assembly line.'

If armor making had an assembly line, it would undoubtedly greatly increase productivity. Some would be smelting ingots, others forging iron sheets, and once the iron sheets were formed, someone could immediately take them to be heated, cut, and perforated into armor plates.

After a final polishing, it was sewn by a skilled seamstress.

If the linings are prepared in advance, then with proper operation, a team of ten blacksmiths and a team of ten sewing armorers might be able to produce a set of armor a day. A set of armor has several parts, which is just right for multiple people to sew together.

Don't underestimate the speed of making one set of armor a day. You should know that the information you gathered when you were out there was that an official armor workshop with twenty skilled craftsmen could only produce eight sets of armor a month.

He can produce one set a day, which means his monthly output has already far surpassed that of the official armor workshops.

The key to saving time here is the water forging hammer.

The use of mechanical energy greatly reduces the time required for the armor plates to be formed. Otherwise, Taoyuan would have to do what ordinary workshops do: first pour molten iron into the mold, then form the plates, and hammer them one by one.

This is Taoyuan's advantage.

He looked up and gazed in the direction of the waterwheel.

The water flowing from the several-meter-high dam washes over the turning waterwheel.

'We could build another one across the river, but with two forging hammers working together, the speed at which armor plates are produced could be even faster.'

As long as there are enough nail plates and enough leather lining, the nail stitching team's production capacity will not stop.

Zhang Xian nodded, having made up his mind.

Light the fire in the stove and heat the charcoal until it glows red.

He also began practicing blacksmithing.

He also needed to improve his craftsmanship skills. He was able to build Peach Blossom Spring from scratch, thanks to the enhancement of each skill.

The clanging of hammers echoed as the large hammer roughly finished the work, and the blacksmith meticulously refined it with his small hammer. Before they knew it, the blacksmith shop had become bustling with activity.

Hearing the commotion, Blacksmith He rushed over and joined in the forging.

It just so happened that Zhang Xian told him about the blacksmith shop starting to teach apprentices.

He the blacksmith nodded in agreement, and by noon, there were thirteen more men here.

The labor force in Taoyuan has been decreasing, but fortunately, the number of refugees gathered outside Taoyuan has remained at around three or four hundred, which has barely kept Taoyuan running.

In the afternoon, Zhang Xian went to see Han Ji and asked if Taoyuan, given its current size, could recruit some refugees. He was told that it could.

"The more the better. My lord need not worry about recruiting too many refugees and arousing suspicion. Ji is quite familiar with the tricks of the Changshan aristocratic families. With Ji around, no one can find fault with my lord on the surface."

This is the confidence of someone who was once a descendant of nobility.

People in the upper class have their own ways of communicating, and now that Taoyuan has Han Ji's connections in official circles, it's clear that they have professional talent.

This is why Zhang Xian was willing to travel thousands of miles to win him over.

Professional matters should be handled by professionals.

In fact, Han Ji had already been working on it during the ten-odd days that Zhang Xian left Taoyuan.

He first used Zhang Xian's identity to formally apply to the Changshan Prefect for contracting land and forests with a "Decree for the Reclamation of Wasteland". At first glance, this seems to be Taoyuan's operating model all along.

However, unlike before, Zhang Xian had always relied on his own reputation and the influence of the Guo family to operate.

Han Ji, on the other hand, directly transformed the operation into an official affair.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, powerful clans were allowed to contract wasteland and forests, so the application was quickly sent back from the Zhen Ding County government and approved.

After the decree for the reclamation of wasteland was granted, Zhang Xian then used the excuse of unpredictable natural disasters and the displacement of refugees to write to the government office to "provide relief in lieu of porridge" to eliminate the potential risks of gathering refugees outside Taoyuan.

Then, during those ten days or so, he discussed with Xiahou Lan and invited the head of the kiln pavilion to meet with him. Then, he had all the refugees verbally identify themselves as runaways from a certain place, and then re-registered them in the Yellow Register. He also paid the "renewal tax" to the Zhengding government under the pretext of re-registering them, bribing a large number of officials of all ranks in the government.

Thus, Taoyuan transformed from a rural estate that was essentially a place for gathering esteemed people into a member of the powerful Changshan clan.

Under these measures, the Zhen Ding government actually reduced its surveillance of Taoyuan, and many of the eyes and ears in the surrounding area were withdrawn.

The vast city of Changshan isn't incapable of accommodating a new powerful clan; it simply cannot tolerate an 'outsider' unwilling to conform to its corrupt ways!

In fact, he's been calculating his 'business owner' qualifications these past few days.

With this, Taoyuan could openly produce armor and weapons, becoming one of the arms dealers of the Eastern Han Dynasty and supplying armor and weapons to the prefectures.

What is meant by "professional"?
This is called professionalism!
Looking at Han Ji, a refined and scholarly man sitting at his desk grading students' homework, Zhang Xian remarked with a touch of admiration, "You guys really know how to have fun."

"Haha, my lord, you've been dealing with them for a long time, so you'll naturally know these things too."

Putting down his brush and blowing on the ink on the last sheet of white paper, Han Jishu said with a sigh, "These country bumpkins aren't stupid, it's just that their handwriting is a bit ugly."

"It's understandable since you're just starting out."

Zhang Xian pulled a blank sheet of paper from the pile of homework, glanced at it, and put it back: "Never mind what I said, Gongzhi still needs to put in the effort to teach me."

"Haha, of course."

Nowadays, the students in Taoyuan use gray-white paper produced in Taoyuan. Every day, the Taoyuan paper mill can produce more than 100 kilograms of paper. Zhang Xian has no intention of selling this paper yet. He wants to keep it hidden and it can only circulate within Taoyuan. So he simply uses it for the students' primary education.

This isn't too wasteful, as the paper used for writing is collected and then remade, just like paper made from tree bark. Although there is some loss, it's not significant.

"Brother Xian!"

Just as Zhang Xian was about to ask how to obtain the 'camper' qualification, Xiahou Lan rushed in from outside the thatched cottage.

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Xian glanced at him.

"The Zhou family's caravan has arrived, and they've brought what you requested!"

"Things?" Zhang Xian was taken aback, then remembered.

It's sugarcane!
He stood up and said, "I won't disturb you any longer. We can discuss the camp household matter in detail tonight."

Han Ji rose and bowed respectfully: "My lord, important matters are of utmost importance."

Zhang Xian returned the greeting, and then led Xiahou Lan out of the thatched cottage.

Outside the Taoyuan warehouse, dozens of horse-drawn carriages were parked beside the warehouse, currently loading wine jars.

"Manager Zhou, it's been a long time. You're still as charming as ever."

Zhang Xian greeted a middle-aged man. The Zhou family's caravan had traveled to Taoyuan several times, so they were quite familiar with each other.

"Haha, Mr. Zixu is still as dashing as ever. I'm no match for him. I've been living a life of hardship and I'm practically a wild man now."

"Fortunately, I did not fail in my mission. I found the Zhuzhe that Mr. Zixu was looking for. This thing is really hard to find. If I hadn't met a merchant from Lingnan, I would have had no clue whatsoever."

Manager Zhou laughed and took out a bundle of short, black sugarcane from a carriage behind him. There were about seven or eight of them, short and not thick, and they looked completely different from the sugarcane Zhang Xian remembered.

"Thank you for your trouble, Steward Zhou. Alan, go and fetch a hundred catties of fine wine. This is a small gift for Steward Zhou."

"promise."

Xiahou Lan cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and turned to leave.

Manager Zhou hurriedly said, "No, no, Mr. Zixu has relieved Changshan of the suffering from smallpox. How can we accept any favors from him for such a small matter?"

“Hey, you can’t say that.” Zhang Xian warmly took Manager Zhou’s hand: “One thing at a time. If you don’t accept it, how can I feel at ease troubling you in the future?”

Manager Zhou hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement: "Then thank you for your kindness, sir!"

That's what they say, but Zhang Xian could tell that Manager Zhou was very excited. Taoyuan wine had now gained a reputation, selling for several hundred coins per jin, and a hundred jin could fetch tens of thousands of coins.

Although Manager Zhou is in charge of the Zhou family's business dealings and his annual salary is considerable, money is money, and who would complain about having too much money?

After chatting with Steward Zhou for a while by the outer warehouse, Xiahou Lan also came over carrying a wine jar.

It's called a fine wine, but it's really just a thick wine with half the amount of water added.

This liquor is strong, but its aroma is even more fragrant than the diluted liquor sold outside. No wonder Manager Zhou couldn't help but twitch his throat twice when he smelled it.

It's clear that this is also one of the target audiences for Taoyuan Wine.

In no time, dozens of horse-drawn carts were loaded, carrying nearly 80,000 catties of liquor, almost emptying all the wine in the warehouse.

After several successful business trips, the Zhou family had tasted the benefits, and this time they placed an order for 80,000 jin.

The entire order, worth six million, filled Taoyuan's warehouse with salt, iron, and copper coins.

Putting everything else aside, the coarse salt we've just earned from the Zhou family these few times is enough to feed the more than two thousand people in Taoyuan for several lifetimes.

However, Zhang Xian still insisted that half of the cost of the goods could be offset by salt and iron, and insisted on taking as much as he could get.

Three million copper coins would be enough for a bunch of laborers in Taoyuan to carry for a while. Now, in order to store these copper coins, one money vault after another has been built in Taoyuan.

There was nothing he could do. The Zhou family of Changshan might not have much else, but they had the most copper coins among all the powerful families in Changshan. According to the Han Dynasty decree, the salt and iron monopoly could only be conducted using Wuzhu coins, so even if he wanted to use silk, he couldn't.

There was too much money, and Zhang Xian didn't have the time to guard it all, so he sent Shi Tou to watch over it.

He squatted down beside his homestead and cut the sugarcane stalks, burying them in the cleared-out field.

Sugarcane is good. Even though it's a local variety, as long as it produces sugar, it's a good product.

The tribute of Zhegao (a type of medicinal herb) from Lingnan to Luoyang was more valuable than gold.

Speaking of gold, Zhang Xian wondered if he should also find someone to exchange his copper coins. Although gold trading was not popular among the common people, in the imperial court, a pound of gold could be worth ten thousand coins.

Of course, the "one jin of gold" here actually refers to a gold ingot weighing 235 grams.

A single gold ingot can fetch ten thousand coins; this was also a common trading method among powerful and wealthy families for large-scale business transactions.

Otherwise, in businesses involving millions or tens of millions of dollars, just finding horse-drawn carriages to transport the money would be a major headache.

A thousand coins would weigh three or four kilograms.

Ten million coins would amount to eight million catties. What kind of honest person would carry such heavy coins to negotiate a business deal? Wouldn't they be afraid of accidentally coming to a standstill on the way?

Similarly, carrying silk was also inconvenient, mainly because silk was graded. Ten meters of top-grade silk was worth a thousand coins, ten meters of medium-grade silk was only worth six hundred coins, and ten meters of low-grade silk was only worth three hundred coins.

If you bring silk to discuss business and claim it's top-quality, does that mean it's top-quality? This can easily cause problems during settlement.

Therefore, the function of gold ingots gradually became apparent.

[More updates to come]

　(Damn those Chinese weights and measures, my head is about to explode.)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)