A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 686 Guangzhou
"Guangzhou is located at the confluence of the East, West, and North Rivers and the South China Sea. With its dense network of waterways and winding coastline, it has always been a major maritime trading port."

The future holds great promise.

Shengyefang Prince's Palace Polo Field.

Two polo teams raced across the field, competing for the ball. Today's match was between the Prince Dai's Mansion Polo Team and the Yongkang Duke's Mansion Polo Team.

In the stands,
Prince Li Yi, Left General Li Dejiang of the Left Guard Yi Yi Prefecture, merchant Zhang San, and Liu Lancheng, the Duke of Pingyuan who was about to become the Governor of Guangzhou, drank and watched the game.

It's cloudy today.

It's fairly cool.
The competition on the field was fierce, with many incredibly exciting plays.

While watching the game, Li Yi chatted about Guangzhou and Haimao.

He also organized today's gathering.

Zhang San was a local bigwig in Lingnan and a leading maritime merchant. Liu Lancheng was about to take up a post in Guangzhou, so naturally he was willing to get to know him.

Moreover, it was Li Yi who introduced them, and Zhang San was also Li Jing's sworn brother.

Given these connections, he has to give them face.

“People from Guangzhou have always been good at building boats. The Classic of Mountains and Seas mentions that Panyu was the first place to build boats. People from Guangzhou knew how to make boats from wood in ancient times, and their special skill was building boats by setting fire to them,” Zhang San said.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Lingnan's development cannot be separated from the impetus of maritime trade. Local products from Lingnan, as well as goods imported from Southeast Asia, are transported to the Central Plains, while silk and porcelain from the Central Plains can also be shipped out to sea through ports such as Guangzhou and Jiaozhou."

I am very optimistic about it; it is entirely possible to create a prosperous Maritime Silk Road.

Inland trade requires road construction first, but sea trade doesn't need it.

Zhang San stroked his bushy beard. "There's no need for roads at sea; we can build ships. Guangzhou's shipbuilding technology is superb. Our ships have long been able to sail to the Lion Kingdom, even India, and further afield to the West."

In fact, the Maritime Silk Road had already been established during the Western Han Dynasty, with large ships from the South China Sea transporting bulk goods such as silk, jewelry, spices, and minerals between Guangzhou and the ancient Roman port of Aduri.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, merchant ships departing from Guangzhou Port could reach the port of Aden in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula.

At its peak, Guangzhou Port saw thousands of ships entering the port every year.

Li Yi was a time traveler; how could he not know the benefits of maritime trade?

The Age of Exploration created several empires on which the sun never set.

To sail the seas, you must first build ships.

The ships that Guangzhou merchants now manufacture are quite good, known for their large carrying capacity and strong wind resistance. They are well-suited to the geographical environment of the South China Sea, which is characterized by its vast and deep waters and numerous islands, and are particularly suitable for the deep-water routes of the South China Sea.

“I plan to invest money in building a shipyard in Guangzhou and engage in maritime trade. I’ll need your strong support then.”

Liu Lancheng naturally welcomed the offer; Li Yi's willingness to invest money was also a political achievement for him.

Zhang San, being Li Yi's future partner, was even more welcome.

He smiled as he introduced the ships he was using to sail the South Seas to Li Yi and Qi Lancheng: “They are mainly of two types: the Cang boat and the Mulan boat. The Cang boat is twenty zhang long and can carry six or seven hundred people, while the Mulan boat can carry a thousand people.”

The main materials used in the construction of the ships are Lingnan hardwoods, lychee wood, camphor wood, and ebony, which are connected and riveted with iron nails. The ships have a pointed bow, long hull, deep draft, small beam arches, and low deck ridges, giving them good seaworthiness and a long range.

Liu Lancheng's hometown is Beihai, which is Qingzhou in Shandong. Although it is also near the sea and has ships, they all sail in the near sea. Moreover, the coastlines of the Bohai and Yellow Seas in the north are relatively shallow. He also served as a clerk in Poyang County in the south, where the ships were inland river vessels.

Although Li Yi didn't know much about ships of this era, he did know some about historical maritime trade vessels.

He made some suggestions, such as watertight compartments.
Even Zhang San, a seasoned seafarer, was amazed when he heard this.

Although maritime trade is risky,
But the profits are also high.
Sometimes, even if ten boats go out to sea and only one succeeds, you can still make a lot of money.

not to mention,
Zhang San isn't going to Southeast Asia to trade rhinoceros horns, ivory, coral, or Kunlun slaves anymore; he's going to trade spices.
That would yield even higher profits.

Li Yi not only had to go to Lingnan to build ships to transport spices to Southeast Asia, but also...

He also wants to grow sugarcane and produce sugar in Lingnan.

Sogdian merchants brought Indian sugar from the Silk Road and made a fortune in Chang'an. However, the sugar they claimed was as white as frost and snow was not white at all in Li Yi's eyes. It was too yellow and looked like it had been urinated on.

Sugar decolorization technology doesn't seem to be too difficult.
Ordinary cane sugar, after being refined and decolorized, can increase in value more than tenfold.
We can't let these foreign merchants keep exploiting the Tang Dynasty and making huge profits.

Li Yi could establish more estates in Lingnan to grow sugarcane, produce sugar, and sell it. The Tang Dynasty was a huge market with a massive demand for sugar.

He even planned to grow cotton in Lingnan.

Even though cotton was basically no longer grown in Guangdong and Guangxi in later years,

Historically, the Sanluo area of ​​Yunfu, Guangdong, was an important cotton-producing region.

When people think of cotton cultivation in later generations, they usually think of Xinjiang cotton, where the climate is suitable for large-scale cotton cultivation.

In fact, China has five major cotton-producing areas, including not only the Northwest region, but also the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin, North China, and South China.

Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and other places have subtropical and tropical monsoon climates and fertile soil, making them high-yield and high-quality cotton-producing areas. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, from the two lakes to the two rivers, became the core supply belt for commercial cotton during the Ming and Qing dynasties, supporting the developed cotton textile industry in the Jiangnan region.

These few years,
The Li family has always grown cotton.
However, the scale of production is not large.

A cotton textile industry was gradually established.
Although it is not as famous as the white quilted cloth of Gaochang Kingdom, its quality is already comparable, and its craftsmanship has even been improved.

Li Yi has always been optimistic about cotton and the cotton industry.

Previously, the Tang Dynasty didn't have cotton cloth produced in Gaochang, but when merchants from Central Asia brought it to the Central Plains, they sold it for several times the price of silk. Li Yi felt this was also a form of exploitation.

Growing cotton and weaving cotton cloth is not much better than growing mulberry and hemp and weaving cloth and silk.

There isn't much difference in the technology used to grow and process cotton and linen, but in terms of usage, cotton processing is far superior to linen.

Whether it's woven into cloth or made into warm clothing, bedding, shoes, and hats.

The biggest advantage of growing sugarcane and cotton in Lingnan is that the area is far from the central government and has a large, sparsely populated land.

If conditions permit, large-scale plantations can be established.

This is not convenient in the mainland, where there is a large population and limited land, especially after peace, when it is even more important to prioritize food production.

We don't have the resources to allow you to grow other cash crops on a large scale.

Previously, when the Li family planted cotton and medicinal herbs on a small scale, the government would always remind them. If it weren't for their status, the local government would even directly remove the seedlings of other crops from their fields and force them to grow grain.

The only trees that the imperial court allowed the people to plant in large quantities were mulberry, hemp, jujube, and elm.

There were fewer restrictions on establishing plantations in Lingnan.

There, they could even acquire a large number of cheap laborers for agriculture, allowing them to directly enslave and cultivate crops. The barbarian tribes of Lingnan, the island barbarians of Liuqiu Island in the East China Sea, and the Kunlun slaves of the South Pacific islands...
The indigenous peoples in the Indochina Peninsula further south, and so on.

These industries have excellent potential to grow large.

And there's no need to worry about being suppressed or restricted immediately.

After all, the Lingnan region is far from the reach of the emperor.

If conditions permit in the future, the Li family may even expand to Liuqiu Island, a large island in the East China Sea, and Qiongya Island in the south.

"I sold several thousand hectares of land this time."

The plan is to invest all the money from the land sale in Lingnan, building ships, planting sugarcane, and cotton.

Liu Lancheng thought Li Yi was joking.

Seeing his serious expression, I couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Is the Prince of Dai really going to invest such a large sum?"

"Yes, I'm optimistic about Lingnan. Relying on the trade along the Maritime Silk Road, its future is limitless. Moreover, Lingnan is a treasure trove that hasn't been fully developed yet."

The earlier you arrive, the better spot you can get.

Zhang San greatly admired Li Yi's foresight and courage. He was a native of Lingnan and a descendant of Kunlun slaves.
Lingnan looks chaotic now.
It is indeed a treasure trove of undeveloped land.

“The Prince of Dai is farsighted and decisive, which Zhang San admires. If you trust me, Zhang San, and are willing to cooperate with me, I will never let you down.”

"I, Zhang San, may not be good at anything else, but when it comes to navigation, I'm an absolute expert."

Li Yi nodded, "I absolutely trust you. You'll be responsible for bringing back spices like pepper, cinnamon, and cloves from Southeast Asia, as well as hawksbill turtle shells, rhinoceros horns, ivory, and coral. I'll arrange for porcelain, silk, tea, paper, and other Tang goods to be transported from the Central Plains to Guangzhou and Jiaozhou ports, from where you'll ship them overseas..."

"What you need to do, Governor Liu, is to maintain the docks, build a naval fleet, and protect the coast from pirate raids."

Then we can collect taxes and enjoy the benefits of maritime trade.

Li Yi and Zhang San made money, while Liu Lancheng gained tax revenue and political achievements.
This cooperation between government and business is just perfect.

"Go ahead and do it boldly. I'm in the central government, here to support you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Lancheng felt more confident about his upcoming trip south to take up his post, but he still pleaded, "Now that rebellions are breaking out all over Lingnan, Guangzhou must not be lost."

"On my journey south to assume my post as Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of Guangzhou, I still wish to request the court to grant me several thousand troops to be stationed permanently in Guangzhou. This will not only protect the city's security but also deter the surrounding powerful chieftains."

Li Yi naturally supported this.
"I will bring this up in the Council of State and try to get you two or three thousand soldiers to garrison Guangzhou. After you get there, you can also recruit local people to form state troops and militias. I will try my best to get you armor and weapons."

Zhang San offered a suggestion from the side.

"Guangzhou is where three rivers converge, facing the South China Sea. It is very important to organize a naval force. Along the southeast coast, there is a group of people who live on boats and are perpetually on the water."
Known as boat dwellers or Tanka people, these people live scattered along the coast at sea and are all excellent swimmers.

"Once Governor Liu arrives in Guangzhou, he can recruit some young and valiant men from these Tanka families to serve as naval soldiers."

Liu Lancheng had never met these people before, but he was quite interested when he heard that there was such a group of people, and asked Zhang San a lot of questions about the specifics.

In the Lingnan region, boat dwellers and Tanka people live scattered at sea, while those in the inland plains are mostly called Li or Li, and those living in the mountains are called Liao or Dongliao.

These are all derogatory and contemptuous terms.

Having experienced the southward migration of the Jin dynasty and the development under the Southern Dynasties of Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen, there were actually quite a few Han Chinese in Lingnan. For example, the Feng clan of Gaoliang, the Chen clan of Longzhou, and the Ning clan of Qinzhou were all powerful Han Chinese clans that migrated south during the Southern Dynasties.

They established a firm foothold in the area, formed marriage alliances with local powerful chieftains, and built a strong local force.

If the central government is weak, they could become like the Cuan clan of Yunnan, ruling as local emperors for hundreds of years.

The Xian family were the leaders of the Li people in the southwestern coastal area of ​​Lingnan East Road. Feng Ang's grandmother, Lady Xian, was known as the Holy Mother of Lingnan because her family was the largest Li family in Lingnan. Her husband's family, the Feng family, were members of the Northern Yan royal family who migrated south and rose to prominence in Gaoliang County. The alliance of the Feng and Xian families naturally made them the strongest in the area.

Those most rebellious against the court were naturally the barbarians and savages, while powerful figures like Feng, Ning, and Chen were not necessarily entirely loyal to the central government and each harbored their own agendas.

Fortunately, Liu Lancheng went to Guangzhou.

Li Yi reminded him, "Once Liu arrives in Guangzhou, he should simply sit back and watch the fight; he shouldn't get involved too easily."

(End of this chapter)