My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Less than three days.

The recruit's festering wound began to heal.

The news spread, and Xiao Heng seized the opportunity to push forward the new medical regulations.

The situation of wounded and sick soldiers in the army began to improve visibly.

Wound cleaning, relatively clean dressing changes, regular inspections, and simple antipyretic measures, though seemingly basic, have greatly reduced the rate of death from wound ulceration and infection.

Xiao Heng was not satisfied and used his points to deduce more complex fracture treatments and the flu, which was then called "typhoid fever" or "epidemic".

However, some of the methods were difficult for the veteran doctors to understand, as they relied on inherited medical principles and experience, which Xiao Heng could not explain to them.

They didn't believe it, but some people did. A young man surnamed Sun went to dig up a corpse in the middle of the night...

Therefore, Xiao Heng turned his attention to salt production, the foundation of Donghai County.

He restarted the simulation, attempting to find a large-scale, highly efficient method for salt production.

The ancient books in my mind truly present ideas such as "salt field sun-drying method" and "branch rack for concentrated brine" that surpass the efficiency of current stove cooking, and even involve more refined division of labor and process management.

However, when Xiao Heng tried to implement these methods, he encountered unexpected resistance.

Salt producers and salt cooks in the East China Sea mostly live in families or small clans, passing down the ancient salt-making techniques from generation to generation.

They had their own simple salt stoves and were familiar with the tides and weather. From drawing the tide, storing brine, boiling, to making salt, the whole family worked together. They controlled most of the salt produced, but in the end, it all went to Xiao Heng. However, this method was not efficient enough.

Xiao Heng's envisioned division of labor and cooperation meant separating the processes of brine storage, boiling, purification, and crystallization, with different people specializing in each task to form an assembly line operation.

While this could improve overall efficiency and output, and facilitate standardized management, it directly impacted the salt farmers' established production methods and profit distribution.

They only have one concern: can their entire family still rely on salt for food?

Even with Xiao Heng's promise of official credibility and potential future rewards as collateral, very few people responded.

After several tentative meetings, Xiao Heng had no choice but to temporarily shelve this overly ambitious plan.

He knew that without sufficient authority and trust, and without demonstrating substantial and tangible benefits, forcibly pushing forward this change in production relations could backfire and shake the foundations of the salt industry.

Attempts at technological improvement have also encountered bottlenecks on another front.

Looking at the sophisticated ballistae seized from Yuzhou Island, Xiao Heng had the idea of ​​developing and even improving crossbows on his own.

He gathered several old carpenters and craftsmen who knew some mechanisms, and also allocated several damaged bows and crossbows for disassembly and research.

However, problems soon emerged: a good bow arm requires specific wood that has undergone a long period of special treatment, and it takes at least a year to make a composite bow.

The materials mentioned in the simulation are either expensive to obtain and process, or the technology cannot be mastered in the short term.

But Xiao Heng did not give up this time, and the bamboo forest on Xiaozhu Island came in handy.

His requirements weren't high; he just wanted someone who could effectively injure a person within fifty meters.

Before we knew it, it was mid-March. The chill of spring hadn't completely dissipated, and the sea breeze still carried a hint of cold.

On this day, on the west side of Yuzhou Island, the renovated water fortress wharf welcomed several inconspicuous merchant ships.

It did not fly any conspicuous flags, had an ordinary shape, but a rather deep draft.

At the dock, Xu Xianzhi appointed one of his guards, Xu San, as the contact, while Deng Jing observed from the distant water fortress. Meanwhile, most of the island's troops were hidden away.

The arrival of these "guests" was not accidental; their origins lie with Chiganhun.

Before the fall of Yan, the Chigan Hun tribe followed Murong Ke in Qingzhou. After Murong Ke's death, Murong De also briefly took over the area.

Xiao Heng naturally didn't completely believe it, so he immediately sent several groups of spies to infiltrate Langya Port. After several twists and turns, they successfully made contact.

There is indeed a force within Langya Port that has long engaged in private transactions with certain "maritime figures" in the south.

The trade ranged from pig iron and leather to medicinal herbs, and while the scale was small, it was ongoing.

Soon Xiao Heng also received news that the person who traded with these people was Zhou Laosi.

"Zhou Laosi!"

When Xiao Heng heard this name, he understood. Yuzhou Island had been entrenched for many years, robbing merchants and travelers, yet it had always managed to stand firm.

The island even stockpiled sophisticated military-grade crossbows. Who would believe that it had no connection with certain local bullies along the coast?

Xiao Heng even suspected that Wang Shi might be kept in the dark.

Once the planks were in place, a merchant from the Central Asian region, dressed in a sheepskin coat and wearing a felt hat, was the first to disembark.

His noodles were rough from the sea breeze, clearly indicating that he had been exposed to the sea breeze for many years.

His eyes quickly swept over the guards on the dock, and a smile immediately appeared on his face as he took out a letter.

Xu San took it and carefully examined the sealing wax mark and the hidden patterns on the letter paper.

After confirming that everything was correct, his expression softened slightly, but he didn't say much, only turning to the side and making a gesture.

The merchant understood and, without further ado, turned around and gave a few instructions in his heavily accented northern dialect.

His men immediately stepped forward and began inspecting the baskets of white salt that had already been piled up on the open ground of the dock.

A moment later, a shop assistant returned to the merchant and whispered a few words in the Hu language.

Hu Shang nodded, his smile seeming more genuine, and turned to Xu San, speaking in slightly broken Chinese.

"The goods are of excellent quality, exactly as agreed."

He then ordered the ship to begin unloading cargo.

Bags of millet from Qingzhou were carried down and piled in a designated area, where Xu San's men came forward to count them.

Throughout the entire process, Hu Shang and his men behaved very well. Apart from the necessary handover, they did not make any unnecessary moves and did not attempt to approach the water village or other sensitive areas.

The transaction proceeded exceptionally smoothly until the last batch of millet was unloaded.

The merchant then ordered his men to bring out a heavy, long wooden box.

He opened the box himself. Inside were not gold or silver, nor ordinary goods, but twenty or thirty ring-pommel swords neatly stacked!

The design is typical of the Jin army's style, but most of them look old, and some even have dried and blackened bloodstains on the handles.

Hu Shang pointed to the box of knives and said to Xu San.

"These are some secondhand goods I picked up along the way. They're still usable; I wonder how much salt I can exchange for them?"

His eyes were fixed on Xu San.

Xu San's expression changed slightly. The grain transaction was still within the agreed scope, but these events were beyond his expectations.

Seeing Xu San hesitate and remain silent, the foreign merchant's eyes flickered, as if he understood something.

He stopped looking at Xu San and suddenly turned towards the water village, raised his voice, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect like a southerner, and said loudly.

"Greetings, friends of the village! To be honest, I used to do business with the former owner of this island, mainly dealing with salt from the south and rice from the north—each of us getting what we needed. We both understood the rules. Now that the former owner is gone, the rules have changed, but business must go on. These old iron pieces might be useful to you; it's a token of my sincerity. The price is negotiable!"

His voice carried clearly through the empty dock and the sea breeze, reaching the water village.

Hidden in the shadows, Deng Jing knew this foreign merchant was no ordinary person and could tell at a glance that Xu San couldn't make the decision.

Moreover, his words implied his relationship with his former master and suggested he understood the rules here.

After a moment's thought, Chen Jing whispered a few words to the guard beside him.

The guards received the order and quickly emerged from their hiding places, rushed to the dock, and spoke to Xu San and the foreign merchant.

"The garrison commander has ordered that the steward be invited into the stronghold for a discussion."

Xu San breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside.

The merchant's smile widened, showing no fear whatsoever.

He only instructed his men to guard the dock and watch over the goods, then straightened his sheepskin coat and followed the soldier toward the water fortress.

......