Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2671 Salt and Sugar Production, Border Trade

The great war, which lasted for almost two years from the last year of the Yuan Shi era to the first year of the Qian Yuan era, seemed to be abruptly stopped in the second year of the Qian Yuan era.

Of course, it wasn't completely and directly stopped.

However, all the major legions are following the adjustment orders issued at the end of last year, cutting back on the old, weak, sick and disabled in their troops, dismantling excess cavalry units, or trying to convert some infantry units into cavalry units.

On the Southeast Asian battlefield, Bai Qi's side has entered a strategic stalemate phase. Given that the Great Jin will not increase its investment in the short term, Bai Qi will not actually directly invade the Kushan homeland.

Moreover, he didn't have enough troops to support him in doing so.

He might gain some advantages in the short term, but without further investment from the Great Jin, he would not be able to fight against a vast empire with his own army.

Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, following Chang Yuchun's conquest of all Southeast Asian regions except for those occupied by the Kushan Empire last year, the eight vassal kings of the Han Dynasty also took office one after another from the end of last year to the beginning of this year.

Every vassal king, whether his own son or another member of the royal family, at least on the surface, received the same level of support from Li Xiang.

Each person was given 500 infantrymen, including 100 armored soldiers, and 1,000 households of civilians, plus a certain amount of money, food and supplies as their initial capital.

However, although Li Xiang outwardly offered the same support, each of the vassal kings had their own power base behind them. Just like those princes, they had their mothers and maternal clans in addition to their fathers.

Li Xuan, for example, was also a legitimate son, born of the same mother as the Crown Prince, both born to the Empress, but he was not the eldest legitimate son.

When Huo Qubing went to his fiefdom, Wei Qing not only gave him 800 soldiers who were about to be laid off, but also sent his sons to the four Mo brothers, Huo Qubing's trusted generals.

Although both young men were born to the four Mo brothers and a local woman, they also possessed their father's courage and had unparalleled strength.

Li Wen and Li Wu were the sons of Zhang Lihua and Tu Lu, respectively, and both were captured and brought to the palace.

Therefore, it's impossible for them to have a large and wealthy family like the Empress, and thus be able to provide their sons with as much support.

However, having been in the palace for many years, they still had some savings. Although they couldn't give them troops and generals, they did give them a large sum of money.

Like Li Xuan, Li Zhao was also born to the Empress, and among the Empress's three sons, he was the youngest.

Therefore, he received more support than his elder brother Li Xuan. Of the four Mo brothers, the sons of the third and fourth brothers stayed by their side.

The Eighth Prince, Li Sheng, was born to Yin Lihua. The Yin family was a prominent clan in Nanyang, Jingzhou. Although the support they received was not as great as that of the Empress's two sons, it was still far greater than that of their two elder brothers, Li Wen and Li Wu.

In fact, not every prince wanted to go out and take up a fief.

Once they were enfeoffed, it meant they had absolutely no connection to the throne.

Moreover, Southeast Asia at that time was synonymous with poverty and remoteness, and most of the princes would naturally not want to go to such a poor and remote place.

However, once the imperial decree was issued, how could they not obey it?
At the Poyang Lake naval base, Qi Jiguang was intensifying training for newly recruited soldiers to quickly restore the Yangtze River navy's combat strength and prepare for an attack on Yizhou at any time.

The Youzhou war zone is currently the only area where the Jin army is still engaged in combat. Although the Jin Dynasty has decided to adopt a blockade strategy against the Li Tang, this is primarily a blockade, not a complete abandonment of military measures. It's important to remember that the orders given to Xue Rengui and Li Mu, in addition to the blockade, also required them to seize opportunities for battle independently.

However, this region will not be attacked directly and without restraint like last year. Instead, there will be intermittent feints, without any real fighting. They will launch attacks on the border from time to time to force the Tang Dynasty to maintain a large number of troops, especially to force the other side to station a large number of troops on the border, thereby depleting the other side's national strength.

In addition, the Jin Dynasty's southern blockade plan was based on Han Xin's capture of the entire southern part of the Li Tang Peninsula.

Last year, Han Xin only managed to capture two-thirds of the southern part of the peninsula, so naturally the region has not yet completely ceased hostilities.

Furthermore, in addition to the land blockade, there was also naval harassment.

By launching small-scale naval raids along the tributaries of the Li Tang dynasty's rivers, the Li Tang's economy could be directly attacked, further weakening its national strength and creating an opportunity for a final all-out offensive.

Therefore, blockade and military means have always been complementary and intertwined, rather than parallel.

It is precisely because of this that the Youzhou war zone has become the only war zone in the Great Jin Dynasty where fighting is still ongoing.

Of course, this intensity is nothing compared to previous years.

On the other hand, in order to support the construction of various projects within the country, the Great Jin Dynasty also raised more funds to support the reorganization of the army.

The border markets were opened, and goods such as silk, tea, brown sugar, and refined salt were imported into the Kushan Empire and the Yuan Dynasty.

Long before that, the Great Jin Dynasty already had new methods for making sugar and salt.

If it were about making guns and cannons, that would indeed be difficult for Li Xiang, as he truly did not possess the skills.

However, sugar and salt production are things that, once you understand the general principles, can be improved step by step by your subordinates, and are not difficult to master.

However, before this, although we had mastered it, we had not promoted it in a comprehensive manner.

Only now that they have finally achieved unification, with only external enemies remaining on the grasslands, have they been able to fully open up the country.

After all, before unification, if things are fully liberalized, it will be much easier for something with no technical content to be copied.

Just like Li Xiang's potatoes and Yu Ji's Champa rice from the south, after they were planted on a large scale, weren't they all stolen from each other by various lords?

Some things can naturally be kept secret on a small scale.

But once you fully unleash the potential on a large scale, there will always be opportunities for others to learn from you; it's just a matter of how much time and effort will be wasted!
This is precisely why, although these technologies had already been improved, they only circulated within a small, upper-level context before unification.

Only now have I truly let go.

Furthermore, it sold on a large scale to the Kushan and Mongol empires, thereby contributing to the political, economic, and military development of the Great Jin Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)