Chapter 287 Hiroshi Abe is getting anxious!

Did the Shen family really get granted titles so easily?

That's a marquis! If it were a man, the title would be hereditary, and the Shen family would change their status and become marquis descendants with a noble title.

However, the person who was granted the title of Marquis happened to be a woman.

Will this honor extend to the sons of the Shen family?

...

It's harvest season again. In Shen Lanxi's jurisdiction, it's a bumper harvest. The military and civilians worked together to harvest the grain, and everyone's face was filled with smiles of joy.

After Shen Lanxi came to the Northwest, he built water conservancy projects and promoted agriculture and animal husbandry. He adapted to local conditions and soon tasted the benefits of the vast land and sparse population.

"General, thank goodness for the improved farming tools, otherwise this much grain certainly wouldn't have been able to get out of the warehouse so quickly!" Che Mingyuan's smile was brighter than ever before.

Throughout history, many great heroes and powerful figures started their careers by cultivating land and farming. Even after their power grew, they never forgot to do so. This was because they all came from humble backgrounds and knew the consequences of starvation.

But their general wasn't poor and destitute, so why would he value land reclamation so much and know so much about its elements?

How strange! How bizarre!

Shen Lanxi: "Although it's not spring now, there are still many plants that can be planted."

These words weren't meant for Che Mingyuan, but for Liu Yanhui, who was standing nearby.

"In the northwest, the wind and sand are too strong during spring, autumn and winter. Planting trees on sandy soil can stabilize the sand, improve the soil, and retain moisture. After a few years, when the trees are lush and green, the sandy land can be transformed into arable land!"

Liu Yan nodded: "The Qinglong Lake water diversion project is two-thirds complete. We are diverting water while utilizing both sides of the canal. We have now cultivated more than 800 mu of vegetable fields on both sides of the canal, as well as 30 underground shelters for growing vegetables in winter and 30 underground pits for growing mushrooms. There are also 10 warm sheds for fattening and hatching chickens, ducks and geese, pigsties and cowsheds..."

Ban Sicao listened with a dizzy head. He never expected that the commander-in-chief of an army would be in charge of these things in addition to fighting.

So far, he has accompanied Shen Lanxi on countless inspections of the vegetable sheds, chicken, duck, goose, cow, sheep, and pig pens, watched her plow the land, helped her plant vegetables, assisted cows in giving birth, and observed breeding pigs mating...

Wow, all I can say is, raising so many soldiers is really not easy!

It's often said that starting a business is easy, but maintaining it is difficult. In Shen Lanxi's case, it's become that recruiting soldiers is easy, but keeping them is difficult.

If it were that foolish prince, he would probably have been scared away by a bunch of soldiers who eat every day.

Although Liu Yanhui explained it in detail, Shen Lanxi still managed to find fault with it.

"Where's the feed? Have you finished making the feed I asked you to make?" Livestock won't grow big if they only eat hay and leaves, and the egg production of chickens, ducks, and geese won't increase.

Liu Yan almost missed catching it, but fortunately, there had already been some feedback regarding the feed.

"The livestock officer has already made soybean cakes and tested them on chickens and ducks. The egg production and egg size have both increased significantly!" Liu Yanhui blushed when she gave this report for the first time.

Over time, there was no time to blush anymore. Before, a hen's egg was only slightly larger than a quail's; now, a chicken egg is twice the size. Before, a hen would lay an egg every two or three days; now it lays eggs every day. Before, a hen's monthly egg production wouldn't even fetch ten coins; now, a hen's monthly egg production can sell for six or seven hundred coins.

They can earn this much from just one chicken. They raise six or seven thousand chickens. I can't even imagine how much they earn in a day!

After Liu Yanhui understood the implications, he no longer dared to underestimate these farmers and livestock herders.

"The feed has been formulated. It uses powder made from pig bones, fish bones, and seashells, as well as corn cobs and straw. After a month, cattle and sheep that eat this feed will grow six or seven pounds more than those that don't."

Shen Lanxi nodded in satisfaction; the infrastructure for raising troops had finally caught up.

The next step is to maintain stability, prolong this state, and ensure that logistics and military operations progress in tandem, developing and growing together.

The annual grain harvest season is always the most restless time for foreign tribes.

After years of war, the Great Zhou Dynasty had completely severed trade ties with the three tribes. The salt they now consume is purchased at high prices from these foreign tribes.

There are also cloth, sugar, tea, and herbs. If they don't successfully negotiate with the Great Zhou to reopen the trade routes as soon as possible, their three clans will suffer the consequences.

The three tribes held numerous discussions on the issue of trade routes and mutual markets, led by Abe Kudo.

Every time, what started as a joyful beginning ended in a bitter breakup, and the root cause was always money.

Persia was willing to provide the Turks with salt and cloth, but at exorbitant prices. Similarly, the Turks were willing to provide Persia and the Tatars with furs and dried meat, also at astronomical prices. The Tatars cultivated large tracts of barley, intending to sell it to the two tribes, but were holding out for the highest bidder. The three tribes were unwilling to compromise and barter, resulting in a stalemate that has continued to this day.

During these years of war, the Turks suffered significantly greater losses than the other two tribes. Due to the prolonged standoff with the Great Zhou and the failure to reach a peace agreement, Abe Hiroshi's prestige within the Turkic community began to decline.

Recently, opposition to Abe Hiroshi has grown stronger within the Turkic community, to the point that voices in the court have begun to resist the Empress Dowager's regency and demand that she return power to the Turkic princes.

When Hiroshi Abe received the message from the Imperial Court, he panicked and immediately convened a meeting with his subordinates that very night.

The next day, the Turkic envoy approached Che Mingyuan again.

Che Mingyuan went to negotiate peace with the three Turkic tribes again.

"How many times has this happened?" Xiao Fang shook his head, watching Che Mingyuan's departing figure with his arms crossed.

I really don't understand these scholars and strategists; what's there to talk about?

It all boils down to one thing, and we keep arguing about it endlessly. Is that really meaningful?

If you're so capable, then fight back fiercely!

Qian Feng laughed and said, "Be patient. Do you think a battle between two armies is that simple?"

Xiao Fang had also gone to check on the logistics and supplies with Shen Lanxi, so he knew that fighting a war was not as simple as the words on the surface suggested.

He's just impatient!

"I guess the only thing I'll ever do in my life is go into battle and kill enemies!"

Qian Feng patted him on the shoulder: "The war will be over sooner or later. After it's over, who will you fight next?"

Xiao Fang: "..."

Time flies, and several months have passed in the blink of an eye. On the winter solstice, Abe Hiroshi suddenly sent an envoy, willing to give up the occupied city on the condition that trade with the Great Zhou be restored.

Che Mingyuan immediately repeated the other additional conditions, easily sending the Turkic envoy away.

The envoys from both sides then went back and forth like they were playing football, and finally, as the year drew to a close, the three tribes made concessions.

The Turks were willing to cede the occupied city, return the people and slaves of other ethnic groups they had abducted from the Great Zhou, and pay the Great Zhou 20,000 taels of silver and 2,000 head of cattle and sheep. They also put forward one condition.

"General, the Turks want to sign a ten-year peace treaty with our Great Zhou, and they also want our Great Zhou to support the eighteenth prince in becoming king!" Che Mingyuan unfolded the scroll with the terms written on it and placed it in front of Shen Lanxi.

"According to our spies, a coup occurred in the Turkic court some time ago. The Turkic Queen Mother has been claiming illness ever since, and three of her princes have died!"

Wei Dongzhu: "No wonder Abe Hiroshi was so proactive, it turns out something happened within the Turkic territory!"