A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 939 Jinshan
A fleet composed of nineteen large and small ships set off from Liuqiunan, went south along the archipelago, and arrived in Luzon in late July.

"This is Luzon Island, bigger than Liuqiu Island?"

On the deck of the flagship ship, Cheng Si, who had been studying with Wu Huaiyu for more than a year, asked curiously.

"Well, Luzon Island must be as big as Liuqiu,"

This time, not only Wu Chengsi was surprised, but also the other people following him on the boat.

"Why haven't you heard of it before?" someone asked.

"Actually, Luzon Island was discovered and recorded by Soochow ships as early as the Soochow period of the Three Kingdoms." Wu Huaiyu looked at the land in the distance. It was the mouth of the Cagayan River in northern Luzon, which is now secretly developed by the Wu family. One of the four strongholds established in Luzon, the northernmost one.

The Cagayan River is the longest river on Luzon, with a length of 700 miles. It originates from the Sierra Madre in the northeastern part of Luzon Island and flows northward into the Cagayan Valley, which is also a fertile basin rice-producing area. Apari flows into the Babuyan Strait and has many tributaries, most of which are navigable.

In the rainy season, wooden boats can travel up to five hundred miles, and in the dry season, they can travel up to more than two hundred miles.

At this time, the general situation on Luzon Island was similar to that on Liuqiu Island. Some indigenous tribes were doing their own thing, but many indigenous tribes were actually latecomers, but they became indigenous over time.
It is very primitive and backward. Although the island is very large, there are Cagayan Valley Plains in the north, Manila Central Plains in the mid-west, and Bicol Plains in the southeast. There are also many harbors, as well as some coastal plains and valley lowlands.

There are too few people here.

The wilderness of the sea,
Soochow was under pressure and only tried to control Jiaozhi and develop Liuqiu. It really had no interest in the more distant Luzon.

Now the Wu family has established four strongholds in Luzon, namely Cagayan Port, Lingayen Port, Manila Luzon Port, and Batangas Port. The four strongholds add up to more than 2,000 people.

However, it is located in a remote area, has a hot climate, and is greatly affected by typhoons.

The three major plains on Luzon Island add up to almost 40,000 square kilometers.

One Cagayan Valley has 20 million acres.
Even if Wu Chengsi is only eight years old, he still knows how huge this number is.
"Twenty million acres? Can they all be cultivated?"

Fortunately, Wu Huaiyu has the final say in the Wu family, and he and Kailiuqiu and Lu Song are his own people.
After two years of secret operation,

Even most people have long forgotten that there is Luzon in the sea, let alone where Luzon is and how big it is.

"Well, more or less, they can all be reclaimed and cultivated. After all, the river valley plain is seven hundred miles long. The Weihe Plain in Guanzhong starts from Fengxiang in the west and ends at Tongguan in the east, which is only more than six hundred miles."

I don’t understand, I really don’t understand.

This shows the huge potential of Luzon Island. In addition to the main island, the Luzon Islands also has many large islands with huge potential.

"Actually, don't compare this place with the Central Plains. Although Luzon is three times as big as Liuqiu Island, in fact it can't even compare with the Liuqiu natives."

Seven hundred miles of river valley plains, over 20 million acres of plains, what a powerful and rich civilized country this must have given birth to.
Wu Huaiyu sent several ships. Within two years, a stronghold was built here. There were 700 pioneers, but only one person could spread out per mile. How did they gain a foothold here?

It was a forgotten world under the sea.

Wu Huaiyu's words shocked many of the guests who followed him.
"Sir, with this 700-mile river valley and 20 million acres of plains, with such a favorable geographical location, isn't there a powerful country? Why can we, with only 700 people in our stronghold in this harbor, develop safely here?"

The Guanzhong Plain, known as the 800-mile Qinchuan River, has a total area of ​​less than 50,000 square kilometers.

Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, maritime trade in the Central Plains has gone south along the coast, passing through Jiaozhi, Champa and other countries. It is not only convenient for supply, but also convenient for trade. Who would go to Luzon, which is off the route, for the coconuts, bananas, durians and betel nuts there?

Subsequent dynasties, such as Song, Qi, Liang and Chen in the Southern Dynasties, mostly focused on Jiaozhi, or at most Linyi further south. Who would care about Liuqiu and Luzon.

The three major plains in Luzon Island are all very large. For example, the river valley plain where Wu Huaiyu and the others are about to land in Cagayan Port covers an area of ​​about 13,000 square kilometers. It was historically known as the granary of Northern Luzon.

When Soochow ships discovered the Luzon Islands, they had a low opinion of them. They felt that except for coconuts, bananas, and rice, there were not many products here. Especially because it was located in a remote area, it was inconvenient to travel, and it had no value for trade.

In fact, when Wu Huaiyu decided to open up Liuqiu Island, many people in the Wu family felt it was inappropriate. Later, when Wu Huaiyu wanted to send people to Luzon, there was even less support.

"This is just like Liuqiu Island and Zhuya Island cannot be compared. Luzon is more remote and backward, and there are many indigenous people. But in this 700-mile river valley alone, there are multiple tribal alliances,"

When the warrior expedition fleet arrived, they chose to establish a stronghold at the bay of the river mouth. First, they traded with the indigenous people along the coast and near the river mouth.

He gave gifts first, and his attitude was very good. Even the land at the port was obtained in exchange for gifts.

The Wu family established strongholds and fortresses, equipped with advanced ships, crossbows, swords, guns, catapults, and arrow towers. As long as the Wu family did not take the initiative to attack the natives, the natives would not be able to tear down the castle after it was built.
Although the castle is not big, no small indigenous tribe can defeat it. The indigenous tribes along the coast are relatively weak.

After all, in the closed Northern Luzon, apart from the many typhoons, there are no advantages along the coast. The inland river valleys and plains are more stable.

"Don't look at it. We only have 700 people in this harbor, but in this area, we are already very strong." Huaiyu said with a smile.

Of course, the current business strategy of the Wu family is to focus on friendly trade first. The various commercial goods shipped by the Wu family by sea are very attractive to the indigenous people here.

With the backward production level of the native people, they really want everything and everything.

After hearing this, a guest couldn't help but said, "This island is so backward. If we bring goods here to trade, won't we lose money? What can we get in exchange? Coconuts, betel nuts, rice, bananas, salted fish?"

"Don't underestimate these island barbarians. Although it is true that coconuts and bananas are abundant here, there are actually good things."

Such as gold, such as copper, such as spices, fur,
"Is gold produced here?"

"Well, on Luzon Island, especially in the northern mountainous area, it is said that there are many gold mines, even a Jinsha River, and there is also natural gold nugget that can be picked up,"

After the Wu family ships came here, they traded with the indigenous tribes. They did not want their bananas and coconuts, but exchanged the goods for the gold, copper, spices, furs and other items in their hands.

Gold is also a good thing among the indigenous people, but the indigenous tribes are not large in size and are relatively primitive, with only a few hundred or thousands of people. The tribes along the rivers and coasts can also drive boats, but they are all small crab boats. Their tribe There are also transactions between people, but most of them are barter.
Gold is mostly used for decoration.

The Wu family likes gold, and they can get a lot of good things by exchanging gold for goods on the ship. "Ms. sir, I don't understand. Since there are so many good products such as gold, brass, spices, etc. on this island, as early as the Three Kingdoms period, We know about Luzon, but why has no one come yet?"

Wu Huaiyu smiled and said,

In fact, the main reason is because of technology.
In the past, navigation mainly depended on the wind, which was the monsoon. Every autumn and winter, the northwest monsoon started. People loaded up their cargo and sailed south to sea. In the spring and summer, when the southeast monsoon prevailed, they quickly bought spices and other goods in the South China Sea and set sail back.

Due to backward navigation technology, we not only had to rely on monsoon winds to travel back and forth, but also had to sail mainly along the coast.

And Luzon,
Because it is far away from the shipping route, the monsoon passing through Luzon neither goes to the Central Plains nor originates from it.

Not only the monsoons are like this, but even the ocean currents don't pass there.

Therefore, when the Soochow ship arrived in Luzon, it accidentally drifted to the island due to a storm.

Now that the Wu family's ship can come to Luzon, firstly, Wu Huaiyu knows the details here and intends to develop it. Second, shipbuilding technology and navigation technology have improved significantly.

If you think about it, you can come and go.

Although we cannot directly borrow monsoon ocean currents, wind is enough, and it does not necessarily require monsoon.

The ship enters the port.

An excellent haven,
Although the red castle in the harbor is small, it stands tall and full of domineering power.

Hundreds of people stationed here rushed to the pier to greet them. At the pier, you could even see some native crab boats and those dark-skinned natives.
"Welcome to Jinshan Port, Mr.

The person in charge of this port stronghold is a middle-aged man named Zhao. He was the pharmacist who first opened Qianjintang in Wu Huaiyu. Later, he became the third shopkeeper, the second shopkeeper, and the semicolon shopkeeper...
He was selected and sent here two years ago and became the general manager of this stronghold.

Under his leadership in the past two years, the business here has been good. A lot of gold, copper, beeswax, etc., as well as various dried mangoes, betel nuts, dried coconuts, etc. have been traded back from here.

"Jinshan, this is a good name. You have obtained a lot of gold from here in the past two years. I heard that gold nuggets weighing more than ten kilograms have been purchased for thirteen yuan? And gold nuggets weighing more than half a kilogram have been purchased for hundreds of yuan?"

Zhao Cheng hurriedly said, "We just received a larger gold nugget a few days ago,"

"We can no longer call it Dog Head Gold. We have to call it Camel Gold, because it looks like a camel and weighs more than 180 kilograms."

Wu Huaiyu was shocked.

A gold nugget weighing more than 180 kilograms?

"Oh, it's unheard of and unseen. Take me to see it."

Zhao Cheng quickly led the way. In the underground treasure house of the castle, Wu Huaiyu saw the piece of camel gold. It really looked like a camel, about 60 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide, and weighed one hundred and eighty-three kilograms and eight taels. Seven coins.

"We have tested it and it is indeed a piece of natural nugget gold,"

Nugget gold is a naturally produced nugget of impure quality with irregular shape.

"how did it get here?"

"In exchange, we exchanged it with a mountain tribe. We directly exchanged a shipment of goods for him, and even gave him the ship," Zhao Cheng said with some excitement.

More than 180 kilograms of natural gold nuggets. Even if it is not very pure, such a large gold nugget is worth more than pure gold regardless of whether it is pure or not. The bigger it is, the rarer it is.
Even if calculated as pure gold, this is more than two thousand taels. Calculated as one tael of gold and eight thousand coins, it is worth more than 23,000 coins.
As for this unique piece of nugget gold, no one would be stupid enough to cut it, melt it, and refine it. It would be more valuable to store it directly.
A shipload of goods and a ship together took away their clan treasure from the tribe. Wu Huaiyu was definitely not at a loss. After all, the good things in the eyes of the tribesmen were actually silk, porcelain, cloth, tea, salt, wine, and some ironware, pottery, and medicine. wait,

No matter how valuable it is, it cannot be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
"The tribal leader was very satisfied with the deal. He was afraid that we would reflect on it and kept the nugget gold. He immediately asked us to help him drive the boat and the goods back along the river."

The Cagayan Valley is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on one side.

The river valley is surrounded by rolling peaks and lush forests.

There are many gold mines here, gold sand in many rivers, and even many tribes have collected dog head gold. Almost every tribe has collected some dog head gold of different sizes.

The mountain tribe exchanged the large nugget of gold nugget that their tribe had collected for many years with Jinshan Port for a cargo and a ship. They felt that they had made a huge profit. No matter how big the gold nugget was, it was just a gold nugget. It was not that rare here. The cargo and ship of the Tang Dynasty were strange in their eyes.
So when the deal was concluded, they felt that they had made a lot of money, and they were afraid that the Tang people would reflect on it, so they hurriedly exchanged their things and ran away.

After Zhao Cheng and the others completed the transaction, they were so excited that they couldn't sleep for several days. They quickly sealed off the castle and sent people to guard it, for fear that the tribes would regret it and come back.

"These tribes in Northern Luzon are richer than we thought. It seems that they still have a lot of gold in their hands. They need to transport more goods to exchange for their gold." Wu Huaiyu laughed.
With just this piece of nugget, the Wu family has made back all the investment they made in the two years of operating in Luzon, and there is still a huge profit. Not to mention, they also collected more than ten kilograms of nugget gold, and more than half a kilogram. There are still more than a hundred yuan left.

"We are also quietly collecting information about gold mines from the indigenous people," Zhao Cheng told Wu Huaiyu. Now this stronghold is mainly engaged in trade. They have also begun to open up some land next to the castle and grow their own food to ensure self-sufficiency. They will also send boats out to sea for fishing.

Of course, growing grain, vegetables and fishing are just to ensure self-sufficiency. The main focus of Jinshan Port is on trade with the indigenous people.
They are now going deep into the interior along the Cagayan River, trading with various tribes in exchange for the gold in their hands.

Then in the next stage, I started to consider mining gold myself, starting with gold sand panning.

"We have found several rivers that produce gold sand, but to pan for gold, you need more people and a lot of specialized tools,"

"There is a shortage of people everywhere now," Wu Huaiyu told Zhao Cheng. It was not possible to get a lot of people for the time being, so he could only do it step by step.
"Since there are gold resources here, gold mining must indeed be the main industry of development, but agriculture, fishery and breeding should not be given up. If Jinshan Port wants to develop, it must first be self-sufficient,"

"I know the shortage of people. You can cooperate with the tribe, teach them to grow sugar cane and improve rice farming. You can't even buy slaves from the tribe,"

"We don't have to attack tribes to capture slaves now, but we can exchange them for commodities, and tribes will capture and sell them. In this way, in exchange for slaves, we can pan for gold and plant..."

Wu Huaiyu, who was in a good mood, announced that all the seven hundred people in Jinshan Port would be rewarded. Lao Zhao even got a big reward, and he was rewarded with a gold nugget weighing more than five kilograms directly from the warehouse, which was worth more than a thousand dollars. , and allocated a hundred acres of land outside the castle to him to build a manor.

If you have merit, you will be rewarded, and the reward will not be delayed. Wu Huaiyu has never been stingy in this regard. The greater the value created, the greater the reward.

(End of this chapter)