Rebirth of the Three Kingdoms: Da Qiao doesn't want to be a widow anymore

Chapter 361 Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse
Liu Qi's surrender of Jingzhou was a matter of great importance, and Zhou Yu rushed back to Jingkou overnight after receiving the news.

Just after the end of the year in the twelfth year of Jian'an, a great controversy arose over whether Jiangdong should be incorporated into Jingzhou.

Faced with the situation in Jingzhou, the officials of Jiangdong split into two factions. One faction, led by Zhang Zhao and others, argued that they should not continue to expand westward. It had taken more than a year for the three counties of Changsha and others to fall into Jiangdong's hands, and they should not be so aggressive.

Moreover, the situation in Jingzhou is complex and entrenched, with various forces eyeing it covetously. If Jiangdong were to intervene, it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of Cao Cao in the north.

Now that Cao Cao has eliminated Yuan Shao's old troops and is preparing to conquer the Wuhuan in the north, if Sun Quan extends his reach to Jingzhou, Cao Cao will surely send troops to intervene, and Sun Quan will be caught in a passive situation of being attacked from multiple sides.

Another faction, led by Zhou Yu and Lu Su, argued that they should take advantage of the chaos and that Cao Cao's northern expedition against the Wuhuan would leave him unable to advance south.

If we do not fight now, Cao Cao will surely turn his attention south after he succeeds in his campaign against the Wuhuan. If we do not unite with the forces of Jingzhou and divide the north and south with Cao Cao, we will be powerless to compete with Cao Cao in the future.

Zhang Zhao sat on the seat and said, “Cao Cao holds the emperor hostage and commands heroes all over the world. He also has hundreds of thousands of troops. He uses the emperor’s name to conquer all directions. Who would dare to disobey him?”
The Jiangdong region can only resist Cao Cao by relying on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River; Cao Cao is determined to take Jingzhou. My lord, you should not confront him head-on; only then can Yangzhou be preserved.

Sun Quan lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Zhou Yu stood up and retorted, “Zhang Gong’s words may be reasonable, but Cao Cao has seized control of the Han emperor for his own private use. All the emperor’s orders come from Cao Cao. In this way, he controls the government, treats the emperor as a puppet, and endangers the emperor. How is his behavior any different from that of Zhao Gao and Dong Zhuo?”

Now that the Han Dynasty is in trouble, it is the time for Jiangdong to exert its strength in resistance. Your late father raised an army to respond to the destruction of Dong Zhuo, which was for the sake of loyalty to the Han Dynasty; your late Lord Wu plotted to seize Xuchang, which was also for the sake of loyalty to the Han Dynasty.

Today, Your Excellency wishes to seize Jingzhou and resist Cao Cao in the north, which is also a sign of loyalty to the Han Dynasty. If you avoid Cao Cao's sharp edge out of fear of his tyranny, as Zhang Gong said, and wait for Cao Cao to succeed in his northern expedition against the Wuhuan and then move south to seize Jingzhou, sharing the danger of the Yangtze River with Cao Cao, then Cao Cao's momentum will be unstoppable.

Zhang Gong's claim that Yangzhou can be saved is nothing but wishful thinking. With the entire land under Cao Cao's control, when the Cao family seizes power and changes everything, will Zhang Gong claim to be a subject of Han or Cao Cao?

Upon hearing Zhou Yu's words, Zhang Zhao was immediately speechless.

Zhang Hong had no choice but to bring up matters concerning taxes and supplies within Yangzhou, saying, "Indeed, we are not as skilled as the generals like the Central Protector General in matters of the battlefield, but the battlefield is not just about fighting and troop deployment. Off the battlefield, the population, the allocation of grain and fodder, the taxes of the state treasury, and the conscription of soldiers are also the foundation of the war."

The defensive line is now extremely long, making the transport of supplies a huge challenge.

Jiangdong's battles are mostly swift, and once a protracted war begins, Jiangdong will find it difficult to sustain its strength.

This was originally hindered by the fact that the Jiangdong region is mountainous. Even though it is rich in fish and rice, has a dense network of waterways and well-developed waterways, the transportation of supplies is often limited by the complicated and difficult mountain roads.

If it is the rainy season in Jiangdong, the mountain roads are even more slippery and difficult to travel, making it difficult to reach the front line on time. The supplies take an extra day to travel, and the rations consumed also amount to a day's worth of food.

If grain is to be requisitioned locally, the local powerful clans and aristocratic families will be an unavoidable obstacle.

All of these are problems.

Zhuge Liang and Qiao Wei sat behind the screen, watching Zhou Yu and Lu Su argue their case, overcoming all opposition to devise a strategy for Jiangdong to march west.

"I have long heard that the Commander of the Central Army is a handsome and dashing man. It is truly an honor to meet him today. He is exceptionally courageous and farsighted. Jiangdong has one more than all the famous scholars and strategists in Jingzhou."

"If the Commander of the Central Army heard you praise him so highly, he would surely be pleased to have such a kindred spirit in his life!" Zhou Yu took out a document and a map. "The matter that the Chief Clerk is concerned about is profound. The mountains of Jiangdong are remote and difficult to traverse, but this matter is not insurmountable."

Mr. Zhuge and his wife once presented a picture of "wooden ox and flowing horse" to solve the difficulty of transporting grain in mountainous areas.

Before the New Year, Madam Qiao had already sent the drawing to Baishi. The craftsmen built the wooden ox and flowing horse according to the drawing, and made improvements based on the terrain of the Jiangdong mountains and fields.

Today, the wooden oxen and flowing horses can carry enough grain for a year, and can travel dozens of miles a day by special means, or thirty miles by a group. The number made to date can supply at least 50,000 troops with provisions and supplies.

Given more time, its quantity could supply an army of 100,000. This would alleviate the difficulty in transporting supplies mentioned by the Chief Clerk.

This wooden ox and flowing horse technique was originally created by Huang Yueying and her father for transporting grain from the fields for their household servants. It was also originally adapted from the deer cart used for transportation in Sichuan.

The deer cart is a wooden wheelbarrow commonly used by the people of Sichuan to transport grain, designed to cope with the mountainous terrain of Sichuan.

Inspired by his travels, Huang's father modified his cart into an oxcart.

After Huang Yueying entered Jingkou, one day Madam Oubei brought her son to Jingkou to visit Qiao Wei, and brought along many wooden toys for young children to play with, including a deer cart.

During their conversation, they discussed Qiao Wei's mention of terracing Baishi Mountain and also the Ou family's reform of the system to allow for the transport of grain and fodder in the mountains.

Huang Yueying always wanted to repay Qiao Wei for saving her life, so she brought the oxcart that her father had modified and gave Zhuge Liang the blueprints for the chariot that he had modified without reservation.

Qiao Wei immediately understood; wasn't this the original form of the wooden ox and flowing horse that would be passed down in later generations?

Upon seeing the blueprints, Madam Oubei immediately understood the value of Huang Yueying's map. She took it back to Baishi Mountain and, within two months, modified the oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages according to the terrain of Jiangdong.

Thus, the first generation of wooden oxen and flowing horses in the Jiangdong region came into being.

Over several months, they were deployed to the army to escort grain supplies, which significantly improved the efficiency of grain transport.

What used to take three days to transport from the mountains can now be done in less than two days.

It is said that an army marches on its stomach. This approach greatly facilitates the army's reserves and reduces the consumption of food supplies during the journey.

"As for the amount of grain and fodder, Wu Fan, the Agricultural Commandant, and Lu Xun, the Colony Commandant, have already experimented with the double-cropping rice technique in Wu County, Haichang, Danyang, and Haihun. Last year, the grain and fodder tax revenue in these experimental counties exceeded half of the previous year, which shows its effectiveness."

This year, diviners have calculated based on celestial phenomena that the Jiangdong region will enjoy three years of favorable weather. Coupled with the technique of double-cropping rice, how can we worry about insufficient grain supplies?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong's serious expression eased slightly, since the taxes and grain yields reported by the granaries in the double-cropping rice experimental areas, as Zhou Yu had mentioned, had indeed increased significantly.

Although the celestial phenomenon explanation in the second half of the sentence is somewhat untenable, it does not diminish Zhang Hong's ambition to continue promoting the double-cropping rice technique in the Jiangdong region.