Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 78 The sound of copper coins clashing (Please read 4k words)

"In the past few days, the students have actually learned three more lessons, and their handwriting is much neater than before Ji left."

"My lord, how did you manage that? Do you possess some unique teaching techniques?"

Late at night in the thatched cottage, Han Ji was grading the homework that had accumulated over the past two days when he looked up in surprise at the person beside him and asked.

Zhang Xian shook his head with a slight chuckle: "No, no, they all use the same teaching methods as Gongzhi. Perhaps it's because of my status as the manor lord that they have no choice but to take it seriously."

He wouldn't dare admit that his teaching efficiency is higher than yours. He's already busy all day, and if he were to teach a group of eight- or nine-year-old or ten-year-old kids on top of that!
Forget it, this job is no easier than sending someone directly into battle.

Seeing that Zhang Xian didn't want to talk, Han Ji didn't press him, but simply took out a few pieces of cloth from his pocket and handed them over.

His other hand didn't stop either; the brush, stained with vermilion, traced a circle on the white paper with writing on it.

Those are the students' mistakes; they'll have to copy them a hundred times tomorrow as punishment.

Zhang Xian took the cloth and examined it one by one. The more he looked, the more delighted he became.

"You've worked so hard!"

These pieces of cloth turned out to be official documents issued by the Zhen Ding Prefecture government.

Han Ji chuckled as he continued grading the assignments: "I'm just glad I didn't fail you."

"The prefect has granted quotas for military households to be incorporated into Taoyuan. From now on, Taoyuan will be able to produce weapons, arrows, and armor on its own."

"However, there is a price to pay: every year, the government must provide 200 spearheads, 130 ring heads, 10,000 arrows, and 12 suits of iron-clad armor."

"It's not much; Taoyuan's production capacity can handle this amount." Zhang Xian nodded nonchalantly, then asked, "When and where will it be delivered?"

"Hand over?" Han Ji asked in confusion, then quickly realized and explained, "My good lord, you are truly a great benefactor! This batch of military equipment is not being handed over, but being sold!"

"Sold!" Zhang Xian's eyes widened. "You mean, this isn't a tax?"

"How can it be a tax!"

"We provide military equipment to the prefectural and county garrisons, how dare he collect our taxes? If he does, who in the world will still provide military equipment to their subordinates?!"

"However, if the supply cannot be provided, then the lord will have to purchase the weapons himself and sell them to the government office. If the quantity is insufficient, there will be a fine and confiscation."

"Oh—!" Zhang Xian understood.

So Taoyuan won twice, inside and out! Insufficient production capacity? How could that be? Taoyuan can produce just as much as the Zhending government needs in a month.

"However, we need to help Blacksmith He and the others improve their forging skills. We haven't forged any weapons ourselves yet."

Han Ji nodded upon hearing this: "That is necessary, but there is still plenty of time. We can sell it to the government office before this time next year."

"also."

Zhang Xian nodded, pointed to another piece of cloth in his hand, and asked, "How much do I understand about this Baojia system?"

"But what is the meaning of the seventy-eight ceremonial items and fifty-four hunting tools permitted by the imperial decree?"

He didn't quite understand it.

After grading the last assignment, Han Ji set the blank paper aside and stood up to explain: "Baojia is a kind of militia. My lord belongs to the powerful families of Zhending, so I asked for these three hundred baojia positions."

"I see. In that case, the people of Peach Blossom Spring will have a legitimate identity to use from now on."

"That's right, but the Baojia are, after all, the common people, so they are not allowed to wear armor or carry crossbows."

“That’s normal.” Zhang Xian nodded in agreement.

"Therefore, the Peach Blossom Spring group could only have seventy-eight suits of armor and fifty-four powerful crossbows."

？ ！！

"They call these things ceremonial implements and hunting tools?!"

"Hahaha, the powerful clans tacitly agree to this, but on the surface they always have to give the government some face, which is why there are so many acceptable methods."

Han Ji burst into laughter.

Zhang Xian shook his head: "That's why honest people can only be bullied."

"It seems that using horses for postal services in this case is a legally acceptable method."

He took out the last piece of cloth that Han Ji had given him and pointed to the number written on it.

Han Ji nodded and smiled lightly, "Indeed."

Zhang Xian scoffed. One place can reveal the whole territory. Even the powerful clans in a military stronghold like Zhen Ding can play like this, so there's no need to say more about other places.

Previously, he didn't quite understand the description of local tyrants exploiting their local communities, but after Han Ji helped him secure the face and convenience that a powerful family should have, he realized that...

He now understood how the fish meat was prepared.

With money, soldiers, and power, how could the people of a place possibly resist? If large-scale riots could not be formed, then the annexation of land by powerful clans would be a natural consequence.

With a sigh, he tucked the three documents into his sleeve.

"It's late, you should rest early."

"I know, my lord, you should also rest early."

The two parted ways at the entrance of the thatched cottage.

The next morning.

The first thing Zhang Xian did after opening his eyes was to head to the armor-making workshop.

Inside, about twenty women used specially made steel needles to connect the armor plates to the cowhide lining.

They actually got up even earlier.

Upon seeing Zhang Xian enter, the group of women hurriedly rose and bowed.

"The owner of the village."

Zhang Xian waved his hand: "No need to be polite. I came today to ask you sisters-in-law to sew some packages. The style is just like the one on this paper. Please sew some first and leave them for me to check."

"Yes."

He left behind a pattern sheet and went to the training ground.

Nowadays, he leads the morning exercises in Taoyuan, including running, standing posture, and lining up.

Firstly, it was to let everyone know that he was the leader of the team, and secondly, it was to improve their habit of following his orders.

The morning training at the martial arts training ground started with running around Taoyuan a dozen times, followed by marching in formation like military training in later generations, moving left, right, forward, and backward in unison.

It's important to be able to distinguish the direction, and it's also important to be able to keep pace.

Especially in the era of cold weapons, if a unit could maintain synchronized movement while advancing on the front lines, it would exert tremendous psychological pressure on the enemy, sometimes even achieving the effect of subduing the enemy without fighting.

This was one of the military strategies he learned during the monthly military lectures given by Han Ji. In fact, the people of Taoyuan had been training like the military training of later generations since they had plenty of meat and oil from the beginning.

However, back then Zhang Xian was just imitating others, while now he is receiving training with his own needs and designs.

His training time was not long, about an hour in total excluding the morning run, with a rest of about ten minutes in between.

After his drills are completed, Huang Zhong, who is also undergoing training in the army, will take over his authority and, after a short rest, begin practicing battle formations.

Zhao Yun would also lead his cavalry out for horseback riding practice. The training of the Peach Blossom Spring people was very rigorous and intense, which is why Zhang Xian went to great lengths to provide them with nutrition.

Once sugar production is on track, the people of Taoyuan will need to supplement their diet with sugar in addition to their usual meat and oil intake.

After finishing his morning exercises, he went back to take a shower and then rushed back to his home and fields.

As usual, weeded and fertilized the sugarcane. Once we had the experience, we harvested the two hundred sugarcane stalks that had grown on time.

After harvesting the purple sugarcane, the tops and bottoms were removed, and the sugarcane was piled up on the ground, leaving about 700 jin of the sweetest parts.

The severed head and tail were not wasted; the tail was buried in the ground to serve as seed, while the head was dragged to agricultural and pastoral areas to be used as fodder.

However, only cows can chew this stuff. Horses, being natural wastes, would have gone extinct many years ago if they hadn't found humans to rely on.

After managing the agricultural and pastoral areas, as the area of ​​agriculture, animal husbandry, and farmland expanded, new problems also emerged.

That is, it takes too long. Although he gains a lot of experience, it can take him half a day to manage hundreds of chickens and ducks by himself.

He was considering whether to delegate some tasks, even though he would have less experience, he would have much more time.

While managing and thinking things through, the agricultural and livestock aspects were finally completed.

Looking up, I realized it was already afternoon.

After returning to his room and eating a meal that Mrs. Huang had specially left for him, he had to get back to work as fast as he could.

All the tools and materials for sugar making were ready, and the Shukong charcoal was undergoing the final drying process.

With plans to produce sugar already in place, several houses in Taoyuan were naturally converted into a sugar-making workshop.

Upon arriving there, one would find hundreds of bamboo strips laid out in the courtyard, with charcoal neatly stacked on them.

These are all activated carbons that have undergone activation treatment. Based on the technology obtained in the future vision, these charcoals are steamed in a ceramic pot for eight hours, then extracted and purified with a mixture of saltpeter solution and wood ash, and then soaked in a diluted acid solution of steam water.

Its activation level is no less than that of activated carbon from the Song and Yuan dynasties, and may even far exceed it.

With all the materials and tools ready, he naturally summoned the trained workers he had selected over the past few days and began the second round of sugar-making experiments.

The first step is still juicing, but this time he uses a lever-operated juicer that he built himself.

Simply place the sugarcane on the pressing table, pull down the iron rod, and gravity will force the sugarcane to release its juice.

It's more than a hundred times faster than pounding with a stone mortar and pestle.

With several people working together, it was done quickly.

The 700 jin of sugarcane was turned into several vats of murky juice, and the sugarcane pulp, after losing its moisture, was piled up all over the ground.

These slags won't be wasted; they'll either be used to try making paper or become fodder for livestock.

700 jin of sugarcane yielded more than 400 jin of juice, which is a significant improvement in juicing efficiency.

Prepare the iron pots and boil the broth. Use four or five iron pots to boil at the same time. This step is the same as the first time. You need to boil the broth into syrup first.

However, with the technical support of the Song and Yuan dynasties, he was able to control the heat perfectly this time.

Before the syrup in the pot reached the required viscosity, all the firewood was removed, and the syrup was stirred using the residual heat of the iron pot until it reached the correct viscosity.

He carefully explained this step to the villagers he had brought to learn the craft, ensuring they could also master the control of the heat when boiling sugar.

Once the syrup was ready, the earthenware jars with spiral patterns inside came in handy. The syrup was poured into these jars, moved under the thatched shed to avoid the light, covered, and left to crystallize.

After removing the sleeve from his wrist, Zhang Xian called several apprentices to his side.

“It usually takes eight or nine days for the sugar solution to crystallize, but if you rub the walls of the urn with a bamboo stick for two quarters of an hour every day during these days, you can shorten the time to three days.”

“The thatched shed is not a suitable place to store them. You will all move them inside later. These pottery urns will be yours for the next few days.”

"promise!"

The apprentices solemnly accepted, as if they had received some momentous mission.

In the following days, Zhang Xian visited less often, continuing to be busy with various matters in Taoyuan and steadily promoting its development.

A second blacksmith shop was built across the river from the original blacksmith shop.

Taoyuan now has a fast armor-making speed but a slow supply of armor plates, so a second one was built.

Han Ji was also searching for a second suitable site for building a dam along the winding stream, but Taoyuan was not very big. By the time he found the location by following the stream, it was already three or four miles away from Taoyuan.

However, the convenience of water conservancy could not be abandoned. Since there were still suitable places three or four miles away, Zhang Xian once again used his financial power. Under the operation of the wasteland reclamation order, Taoyuan expanded again naturally.

However, this expansion mainly involves acquiring an additional piece of land outside the area, which is still quite a distance from Taoyuan.

However, this doesn't matter. The land that Guo initially gave away was a good piece of land, with the surrounding countryside being quite far away. Sometimes, you might not see a village even if you traveled ten or twenty miles.

Therefore, as long as Zhang Xian is willing to spend money, he will be able to connect the two territories sooner or later.

The second plot of land, more than 500 mu, was also wasteland overgrown with weeds and trees.

By September, he didn't want to keep the villagers busy anymore, so he simply leveled out the land beside the stream to build a dam.

He plans to use this water conservancy site to build a new mill.

Today, Taoyuan still uses the old method for threshing crops: stone rollers and stone mills. The only slight improvement over other places is that Taoyuan's stone rollers and stone mills are pulled by oxen and horses, rather than by oxen and horses.

However, biological energy can never compare to mechanical energy. Having already gained experience in the blacksmith shop, the second cofferdam was also being constructed in an orderly manner under Han Ji's guidance during his spare time.

Three days passed by in a flash.

Following the scent of icing crystals, Zhang Xian once again arrived at the sugar-making workshop.

After boiling and thickening the juice from the previous batch of over 400 jin, about 100 jin remained. I wonder how much sugar has solidified into that 100 jin of syrup.

"The owner of the village."

Upon arriving at the workshop, the apprentices were still diligently following Zhang Xian's instructions from three days prior, carefully rubbing the walls of the urns with bamboo sticks inside the room. When they saw him arrive, they ran out of the small house to greet him.

"No need to be so polite from now on. It's about time for today. Let's bring out all the pottery urns and see how they turn out."

"promise!"

Upon receiving the order, the apprentices quickly began moving the items.

The syrup, weighing over a hundred kilograms, filled only three earthenware jars, so it only took a few minutes to move all three jars out.

Zhang Xian circled the pottery urn a few times, then leaned down and tapped the urn's wall with his ear. Listening to the sounds coming from inside, a smile appeared on his lips.

"This sound is correct. You should listen to it too, remember this sound, it will be valuable experience in the future."

He still prioritizes teaching.

Upon hearing this, several apprentices followed suit and listened intently.

Zhang Xian did not urge them, leaving them to remember the sound.

The rustling sound is the sound of sugar liquid crystals falling and hitting the wall of the jar.

It was also the sound of copper coins clashing together.

(End of this chapter)