Su Lie followed Han Donghu and Feng Yi into the camp. It was hard to imagine that the camp in front of him was built in three months with only the few people who arrived earlier.
What caught his attention even more was that the shipbuilding yard located on the southeast side was quite large. It was much larger than when Yin Peng visited half a month ago, and was expected to build large and medium-sized ships.
On the way to see Han Qian, Su Lie couldn't help but ask Feng Yi: "The wood needed to build a big ship is said to have to be dried for several years before it can be used. How can we build a big ship here?"
Although Su Lie didn't know much about the specific things involved in shipbuilding, he still understood some basic common sense.
Newly cut wood is extremely moist. After drying in the shade, it can even lose up to 60 to 70% of its weight. If you directly use new wood to build a ship, it will deform and leak in a few days.
Not to mention large ships with a carrying capacity of three to four thousand stone, or medium-sized ships with a carrying capacity of three to four hundred stone. As long as you want to sail medium and long distances, you must not be careless about the requirements for wood.
It is difficult to resume work at the shipbuilding yard near Jinling. In addition to the large trees in the Jiangnan area that have been cut down over the years due to charcoal burning and large-scale palace construction, the more important reason is that even if firewood is now transported from Jiangxi and Hunan, the newly cut wood
After arriving at the shore, it takes at least three or four years to stock up and dry in the shade before it can be used.
Perhaps the Chishan Society will need to have its own shipbuilding yard in Shiliang County in the future, but at this time it should not waste too many resources here.
It is also unrealistic to transport the wood needed for shipbuilding from Syria on a large scale.
"Xuzhou has a method of drying wet wood. Newly cut wood can be used to build ships in as little as one month." Feng Yi said.
"Drying it directly with fire? That's not possible. Wood dried directly is very easy to crack and cannot be used to build ships." Su Lie was puzzled. He found that his understanding of Xuzhou was really very shallow. No wonder he thought to himself.
Xuzhou has been continuously building large ships over the years, and indeed there are too many secrets that are unknown to the outside world.
"I don't know the specific method. Since we are preparing to build some warships, merchant ships and drying cellars here, we will take a look and find out later." Feng Yi said confidently.
The Chishan Society's Three Views and Six Rooms are headed by Su Lie, Han Donghu, and Guo Quan. The Baiti Gang camp will eventually serve as the main hall of the Chishan Society. They will preside over and be responsible for everything done in Baiti Gang. Of course, there will be no
The need to keep it secret from Su Lie and others.
Seeing Feng Yi speak so firmly, Su Lie was also very happy.
Not to mention Hongzepu in the north, Fanliang, Shaobo and other lakes in the west, there are also large and small streams and rivers in Shiliang, with lakes crisscrossing them. If Chishan wants to establish a foothold here, where can they get away with boats?
Not to mention, the Chishan Society plans to develop its power along the Yangtze River waterway in the future.
Although Su Lie and Han Donghu had just visited Yangzhou for the first time, the attitude revealed from Yangzhou was obviously to restrict the Chishan Army from having too strong an armed force.
The warships in Xuzhou, not to mention passing through Yangzhou, were delivered to the Chishan Hui, and it was extremely difficult to get out of the Ruanjiang River.
Baitigang can immediately have the ability to build warships of two to six hundred stone level, which is really important to the Chishan Army.
While Huaidong can restrict Xuzhou's goods from passing through Yangzhou, it cannot restrict Chishan from building its own shore on the west bank of Fanliang Lake. This is probably something Huaidong did not expect beforehand, right?
However, Su Lie was worried about another thing and asked:
"Can Xuzhou afford such a huge expense?"
Not to mention anything else, Shang Wensheng, as the head of the various clans in the capital, knew the five weapons, poetry, and laws. He could also be said to be a man of practical ability. Su Lie had been with Shang Wensheng for many years, and was influenced by him.
He has also read a lot of books and is considered a very knowledgeable person in this world. He also knows economics.
To be honest, apart from being slightly inferior to Han Donghu in terms of martial prowess and experience in actually commanding combat operations, Su Lie was better than Han Donghu in other aspects. It was no coincidence that he could become the leader of a secret uprising before.
However, his perception of Xuzhou was still based on the old concept. He thought that it was true that Han Qian, the Marquis of Guizhou Yang, was granted the title of Xuzhou, but Xuzhou was located in a remote place. Even if he controlled the commercial road from central Guizhou to Xiangtan,
The financial resources are not comparable to those of Shangzhou in the Jianghuai region.
Xuzhou had previously spent 40,000 yuan as a fund for the preparation of the Chishan Army. Xuzhou also invested in the construction of the Baitigang camp. In the future, a batch of supplies will be reinforced every one or two months, and a new building will be built here.
The shipbuilding yard was building warships and merchant ships. Su Lie really didn't know whether Xuzhou's financial resources could sustain it.
"You don't have to worry about this." Feng Yi laughed and said.
After meeting Lin Zongjing, he learned that the Wuchuan Salt and Iron Institute under the leadership of Guo Que had successfully drilled four brine salt wells with a depth of more than 50 feet in the mountains of eastern Guizhou. This not only showed that the small-hole drilling method was effective, but also
The big effect comes from using it too much.
Before the end of the year, Wuchuan will be able to build more brine-producing salt wells, and preparations for brine filtering and brine boiling are also being made quickly. By then, Xuzhou will not only be self-sufficient in the nearly 20,000 tons of salt it needs every year, but will also have a surplus.
Exported to central Guizhou, Nanzhao and other places.
Prior to this, the imperial court raised the salt tax twice. In order to maintain a stable salt price within the territory of no more than 30 yuan per catty and not to overly infringe on people's interests, Xuzhou had to subsidize almost ten yuan per catty of salt.
With a population of more than 200,000 and livestock of all sizes, Xuzhou exports pickled foods, which requires more than 24.5 million kilograms of salt every year. This means that Xuzhou cannot be self-sufficient in salt. Every year, the state
The finance department will invest 25,000 to 6,000 yuan.
Now that the situation has been reversed, instead of having to pay back, Xuzhou can earn more than 50,000 yuan of salt profit every year. This is a difference of 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, and the financial resources can be greatly relaxed.
Tens of thousands of former members of the Guangde Army moved to Shiliang to establish a foothold, and the preliminary preparations for the Chishan Conference cost a huge amount of money. However, once they have established a foothold, most members of the congregation will be engaged in various businesses, and there will no longer be any need for large expenses.
Xuzhou subsidy.
When the expenditure of Xuzhou stabilizes, and Xuzhou has formally formed a production system that can export salt, cloth, tea and iron to surrounding areas on a large scale, it will have enough financial resources to maintain a standing elite combat force of 10,000 or even larger.
force.
At that time, Xuzhou will no longer need to pretend to be a little daughter-in-law and suffer as much as before.
…………
…………
Feng Yi, Su Lie, Han Donghu and others walked to the meeting hall that was converted from an ancestral hall deep in the village. No need to inform, Han Qian was already waiting in front of the hall with Feng Liao, Guo Rong, Lin Sheng, He Liufeng and others.
Seeing Han Donghu and Su Lie walking into the yard, Han Qian said with a smile: "But we finally got you here, so we don't have to work hard anymore."
Su Lie walked to the courtyard, knelt down and saluted: "My subordinates are incompetent, I only rely on you to control the overall situation, so that there will be no mistakes..."
Su Lie knew that the ritual of kneeling down and worshiping was not popular in Xuzhou, but unlike Han Donghu, he was a direct descendant of Xuzhou, so he had to express his allegiance clearly.
As Su Lie said, Han Donghu and several accompanying main leaders also knelt down in the courtyard to salute.
Seeing Su Lie like this, Feng Liao, Guo Rong and others were also happy.
"One family does not talk to two families," Han Qian stepped forward to lift Su Lie up and invited everyone into the hall to talk.
Su Lie first reported the preparations and organization of the Chishan Society in Guangde Mansion and along the Taihu Lake during this period.
Some of Zuo Guangde's old troops and families whose lands were invaded in Guangde Prefecture sought refuge with relatives and friends to make a living on their own. There were almost more than 12,000 people who were struggling to make ends meet.
In addition to the congregations and family members who had moved to Shiliang County, Han Donghu, Su Lie and others who had previously attracted congregations in Guangde Mansion came forward to serve as meeting leaders and organized seven meetings in the form of mutual aid bidding, a form of private financing and lending that originated in the Han and Sui dynasties.
Eight or a dozen people either rent the fields of large families for farming, or buy boats to enter Taihu Lake to catch fish and shrimps, or sell commercial goods. They first maintain the livelihood of most people, and at the same time they organize manpower and work in groups.
They entered the towns and cities along Taihu Lake to work and earn a living.
Later, more than 3,000 women and children were transferred here. The livelihood of the old troops of Zuo Guangde Army and their small families who had lost their land would not be a problem. However, if the Chishan Association wanted to further expand its scale, Guangde Mansion still had 140,000 to 50,000 old troops of Zuo Guangde Army and their small families.
, I still think about the former Maker in my heart.
"That's it for the time being." Han Qian doesn't want the scale of Chishan Club to be too large yet, mainly because the money and food invested in the early stage are too high.
Feng Yi then went on to talk about many situations when he and Guo Xiao went to Yangzhou and Chuzhou: "We stayed in Chuzhou for more than half a month and could not see King Xin. Yin Peng showed up again and said that it was done.
——I guess King Xin must have summoned old officials who are good at salt matters to consider whether our new method of drying salt is feasible, and then finally gave in. By the way, King Xin really wants to follow our new method of drying salt and build a new factory along the coast of Haizhou.
How much production can be increased by drying sea salt?"
"At present, Huaidong only has a thousand Zao soldiers in Haizhou who cook sea salt secretly, and they can get seven to eight thousand dans of sea salt every year. If we really need experienced officials who are good at salt affairs to perfect the new method, there will be no problem in getting 20,000 dans of salt every year.
." Han Qian said.
"Ah, then, as long as King Xin sends four to five thousand more Zao soldiers, wouldn't it mean that Huaidong's own salt consumption would be no problem? It would really give them a big advantage." Feng Yi asked.
"Huaidong has too many standing troops and horses, and the supplies are unsustainable. Without the pressure from the court, Huaidong must take the initiative to abolish a large number of standing troops and arrange them for farming. They are in Haizhou
There is absolutely no problem in arranging four to five thousand more old and weak soldiers to dry up the salt. I gave him such a big deal, but I just asked him to turn a blind eye to the Chishan meeting. If he doesn't allow it anymore, I will
It’s really a bit too unkind.” Han Qian laughed.
Feng Yi also talked about meeting Yao Xishui in Guazhou Port and Chun Shisanniang taking the Weaving Bureau's procurement ship to get a closer look.
Han Qian smiled and said: "No matter how long the cooperation with Huaidong will last, in the eyes of outsiders, Xuzhou and Huaidong have already merged into one force. Next, you will go to Yangchu and other places for me to make more trips.
Some people are so suspicious..."
Now that Han Donghu and Su Lie have arrived at Baiti Gang, Han Qian still has to leave the daily affairs of the Chishan Society to them, and the focus of the follow-up work is still on the construction of the camp.
"At this time, even if there are no boats, the refugees can still go into the water naked and barefoot to catch fish and shrimps. But in another month, the cold current will move southward and the weather will be freezing. They will no longer be able to go into the water, and there will be very few fish and shrimps to eat.
If the situation is difficult, looting will occur frequently. The imperial army may have to delay for another month before they can completely capture Chaozhou. Counting the time spent chasing and defeating the enemy, the imperial court may not have enough time to help the refugees nestled in this corner this winter.
,"
Han Qian said to Su Lie, Han Donghu, and Lin Sheng,
"The shipbuilding yard is preparing to build ships worth about 600 kilograms in the future, but this matter can be postponed. First, we can build more fishing boats and sell them on credit. This may help more refugees make a living on the lake and survive this disaster..."
The total number of households belonging to Zuo Guangde's old army that had their fields and homes invaded was only 3,000. If they were all moved here, there would be only 14,000 to 5,000 people, most of whom were old, weak, women and children.
Even if they don't take care of business matters, the Chishan Society will not be able to mobilize too many elites to form the water camp armed forces, let alone try to control Fan Liang under the eyes and noses of the more powerful Huaidong troops and the Anning Palace rebels.
The waters on the west side of the lake or the south side of Hongtaekpo.
However, if they can guide the refugees who are stranded in Shiliang County to move to Hongzepu and the coast of Fanliang Lake, and even enter Huxinzhou and Huxin Island, rely on the water for a living, and form fishing villages near the lake,
If the Chishan Club can still maintain sufficient influence among the Shuizhai forces at this time, it will be of great benefit to the Chishan Club to take root here in the future.
Selling fishing boats on credit can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
Although Han Qiancai transferred more than 30 skilled shipwrights from Xuzhou, more than 4,500 people had gathered near Baitigang. Most of them were old members of the well-organized Zuo Guangde Army, and women and children were also hard-working and capable.
Two to three thousand strong laborers were organized to cut down wood and collect materials. They also had various tools shipped from Xuzhou, and there was no need to use large materials. It was naturally very fast and convenient to build a fishing boat that could be used by three or five people on the lake.
It doesn’t require so much attention. With the previous preparation work, I don’t need to worry about the supply problem for the time being. I can start work with all my strength before the cold winter completely sets in. It won’t be a problem to build four to five hundred fishing boats.
Su Lie secretly sighed after hearing this, thinking that they only wanted to move as many of Zuo Guangde's old troops as possible, and wanted to build a batch of warships as soon as possible, but they never thought that with the same investment, they would also have to work hard to bring them back.
Their influence expanded to the extreme; but they never thought that even if they built a batch of warships, apart from exposing their strength in advance and arousing Huaidong's vigilance, there would be no more benefits...
Han Qianchao mainly met with Su Lie and Han Donghu for face-to-face discussions, but the construction of the camp, the subsequent development and growth of the Chishan Society, and the construction of the intelligence network in the Jianghuai area involved so many aspects that they could not be finished in one time.
Han Qian planned that Feng Liao would be responsible for it, so Feng Liao would be responsible for guiding Su Lie, Han Donghu and the others in more specific matters.
