The food envoy left, and Zhou Jun took Feng Changqing to the side hall. He first ordered his servants to brew a pot of cloud tea, and then spread out the map of Kucha Town.
Zhou Jun: "Qiuci Town has 6,970 households, 81,317 residents, and 15,000 victorious soldiers. It is the largest town in the Western Regions."
Feng Changqing knew that Zhou Jun was probably going to say something important next, so he listened quietly.
Zhou Jun: "Qiuci Town is adjacent to the Tianshan Mountains to the north, Daqi to the south, Yanqi to the east, and Congling to the west. It has many rivers and convenient transportation. There are over a thousand merchants in the town, the market is brightly lit, and there is an endless stream of caravans. Since ancient times,
It is the commercial and trade center of the Western Regions."
Feng Changqing nodded lightly.
Zhou Jun: "The land near Qiuci Town is vast and fertile, and there is still a large space that has not been developed, which is suitable for relocating the population."
Hearing this, Feng Changqing was a little confused and couldn't help but raise his hands and asked: "Guardian, Anxi is a vast land with sparsely populated areas. Qiuci Town is already the largest town. If the population is moved here, where will the immigrants come from?"
Come?"
Zhou Jun: "Firstly, the Daqi trade route that was originally damaged will soon be opened again. By then, more people will come to the Western Regions; secondly, Shazhou is close to Longle Mountain. In order to prevent the Tubo people from returning
If we invade, I plan to move some of the operations there to Anxi to reduce the risk."
When Feng Changqing heard these two reasons, he thought they made some sense, and asked: "If Qiuci Town is expanded, in the opinion of the Protectorate, how many residences for immigrants should be added?"
Zhou Jun thought for a while and gave a number: "One hundred thousand."
Hearing this number, Feng Changqing choked on his throat with a sip of tea. He coughed for a long time before regaining his breath: "One hundred thousand?! Protector, the current total population of Qiuci Town is only 80,000. How could there be one hundred thousand?"
Immigrants to Kucha?!”
Zhou Jun: "Don't worry about where the immigrants are coming from, just plan in advance."
Feng Changqing put down his tea cup and persuaded: "Protector, I'm here to settle the accounts. Even if Shazhou is moved for business, those industries can be dispersed and resettled, and not all of them will be moved to Qiuci Town. In addition, even if the Daqi Trade Road
When it is opened again, the preferred route for caravans is still the Yanqi South Route. Kucha Town is located on the northern route and will not absorb too many people. Moreover, adding a hundred thousand immigrants' residences to Kucha Town is not just about building houses.
This also involves road planning, daily water use, public security buildings, city patrols, etc. What if, once the planning is done and the houses are built, but no one comes to live in them, wouldn’t it be a waste of manpower and materials?”
After Zhou Jun heard this, he just smiled and said: "You and I have been together for a long time, but have we ever seen Jun Wu take aim?"
Feng Changqing was stunned. Zhou Jun always planned ahead when doing things, and indeed he never made random decisions.
Thinking of this, Feng Changqing softened his tone and just said: "One hundred thousand immigrants is not a small number. If a family of ten needs a small courtyard with single access, then one hundred thousand people will almost need 10,000 houses.
Hospital. Looking at the entire Qiuci Town, let alone the huge amount of materials used, the amount of the project alone is probably difficult to complete."
Faced with this problem, Zhou Jun was already prepared. He took out a drawing from the desk and spread it out.
The drawing shows a small building with two eaves that is common in Bachuan markets. This architectural pattern was more common in the Song Dynasty, but it was not yet popular in the Tang Dynasty.
Zhou Jun: "Using this kind of row of eaves buildings as a residence for immigrants, the area of a small building with eaves is only half the size of an ordinary single-entry courtyard, but the upper and lower floors can accommodate more than 20 people."
people."
Feng Changqing carefully looked at the drawings of the double-eaves building, nodded after a long time and said: "This kind of loft takes up less space and uses less materials, but it is narrow inside and the spacing is too small. I am afraid that if it is planned, it will need to break the original town layout.
,Redesign."
Zhou Jun: "Chang'an Bachuan uses this kind of double-eaves building. When people live in it, they will feel a little crowded at first, but it will get better after a long time. As for the materials used, the city of Yanqi Town uses fire clay, which is strong and sturdy.
Regardless of cost, it is the best choice, and Kucha Town can also imitate it."
Feng Changqing: "Fire mud is not a problem. There is a forest in the north of Qiuci Town. The trees are cut down for iron smelting and heating. The charcoal residue is accumulated in the north of the town and is used to fill the mountains. It can be used to build the city."
Zhou Jun: "The construction of these residences cannot be delayed. The progress needs to be accelerated."
When Feng Changqing heard this, he vaguely felt that Zhou Jun was hiding some information, but he couldn't ask directly, so he agreed.
Zhou Jun: "After solving the issue of residence, the Anxi Protectorate needs to do another thing."
Feng Changqing: "What are you talking about?"
Zhou Jun didn't answer, got up and went to the inner room. He walked out holding a pot of plants in both hands.
Feng Changqing saw the plant with straight stems and white velvet flowers blooming at the top, so he asked, "Isn't this the white velvet flower?"
Zhou Jun: "This thing is called cotton."
Feng Changqing: "Cotton... cotton is quite appropriate."
Zhou Jun: "Draft a general order to promote the planting of this plant in Qiuci Town."
Feng Changqing was stunned on the spot and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
After a while, he stammered: "Protector...this thing is inedible, and it needs to be taken care of when planted, which is quite troublesome. The most important thing is that this thing is of no use to the people except for viewing."
"Even if we harvest it, we can't sell it at a profit, and I'm afraid no farmer will be willing to plant it."
Zhou Jun: "If farmers are worried that they will not be able to sell the cotton after planting it, then the Duhufu will purchase it at a unified price. If no one is willing to plant it, the Anxi Army's military fields will be allocated to grow cotton."
After hearing this, Feng Changqing closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his fingers, appearing to have a headache.
Zhou Jun placed the flower pot on the table, pointed to the cotton on it and said: "Although this material is not edible, it has a large yield and can be used for weaving. The fabric obtained is no less than silk, and the seeds can also be used to extract oil.
It is also an important military material."
Feng Changqing looked up at Zhou Jun, and his trust in the latter made him finally nod in agreement.
After talking about these two things, Zhou Jun took a long breath and said again: "Next, let's talk about the envoy Dashi."
Feng Changqing also breathed a sigh of relief, hearing that now, Zhou Jun finally started talking about business.
Zhou Jun was silent for a moment, and then said: "This time I went to Dashi as an envoy to promote peace between the two countries. I intend to... take up the post of envoy personally."
When Feng Changqing heard this, he was so shocked that he stood up and shouted directly, regardless of his dignity: "This is nonsense!"
Zhou Jun looked at Feng Changqing: "How can this be nonsense?"
Feng Changqing said sincerely: "Dashi is newly defeated, and the subjects of the country may hate the governor and the Anxi army to the bone. If Erlang goes to Dashi as an envoy at this juncture, isn't he in danger?"
Zhou Jun: "Dashi's country is unstable, and he is eager to make peace with the Tang Dynasty, so that he can free up his hands to deal with his own affairs. I am going to Dashi as an envoy. In order to conclude a peace treaty as soon as possible, they will naturally keep me safe, so how can they do anything to me?"
Am I disadvantaged?"
Feng Changqing: "Although the principle is so correct, for the post of envoy to Dashi, you only need to find an official with a smart tongue. Why should the Protector take risks himself?"
Zhou Jun: "If it is just about peace talks, then it doesn't matter who is sent to send envoys. However, when we go to Dashi, besides negotiating peace, there are two other things that need to be discussed with the caliph of Dashi country. In addition to
Apart from me, I’m afraid no one can have the weight to bargain with Dashi.”
Feng Changqing: "Two other things?"
Zhou Jun: "The first thing is that in the last battle of Talas, the Dashi Kingdom captured more than 10,000 Tang army soldiers. These people must find ways to rescue them."
Feng Changqing frowned.
Indeed, more than 10,000 soldiers of the Tang Army were captured by the Dashi Kingdom. If they could be released, it would be a great help to Anxi.
However, the combat effectiveness of the Tang Army is obvious to all. From the perspective of its own safety, Dashi Country cannot easily release these soldiers no matter what.
Feng Changqing thought about it and felt that this matter was difficult to handle, but seeing Zhou Jun's confident look, he felt that Zhou Jun had already made up his mind and might actually be able to accomplish this matter.
After pondering for a moment, Feng Changqing asked: "What about the second thing?"
Zhou Jun: "As the envoy of Dashi said, there are two biggest enemies in Anxi at the moment. One is Dabolu, and the other is..."
Feng Changqing's eyes lit up: "Do you want to drive a wedge between Dashi and Ge Luolu?"