Of course, the craftsmen are definitely more important than the finished iron pagoda.

It's also more valuable.

Liu Feng stood up, pondering the gains and losses.

After all, if they had to cross the entire northern barbarian territory, their own army would be sitting ducks.

"How many people in your Jila tribe still know this technology?"

"General, the exact number is unknown, but a conservative estimate is over two hundred. The High Priest counted them before."

For Chinchilla, this was also a shameless choice.

Even if only a portion of the people can be rescued, it can still preserve a spark for one's people.

Let them live in Zhengde County and continue the tribe's lineage.

In their Jira tribe, these iron pagodas she mentioned are actually the tribe's treasures.

Moreover, there is a special organization within their tribe that controls these technologies.

Jinjila is the holy maiden of her tribe. Liu Feng has no doubt about her credibility that she would exchange such an important technology for Liu Jila.

Moreover, the fact that their tribe's artisans were able to create iron pagodas indicates that these artisans had made breakthroughs in iron smelting and steelmaking techniques.

Currently, there is a lack of such professionals. Although Zhang Tiechui is constantly training the people around him, there are only two or three people who can truly stand on their own right.

If Liu Feng really brings back these hundreds of skilled craftsmen, then he will have a talent pool to mass-produce firearms in the future.

Liu Feng considered that going through Wugong County was impractical, so the best way was to travel by waterway all the way to the source of the three rivers in Liaodong.

However, even by waterway, it would take a long time to reach the source of the three rivers.

It will take a long time to outflank the Northern Barbarians.

This operation carries both risks and rewards.

However, there is still one problem: Chinchilla has agreed, but will the craftsmen she brings back be willing to hand over their skills?

"General, does this mean you agree?"

Chinchilla immediately beamed with joy.

If Liu Feng were to personally lead the army, he would definitely take her along.

"Even if we go, we can't rush it. The world is in chaos right now. It's a journey of thousands of miles, and it will take at least three months to go back and forth."

"Even if I am going, I will send out scouts to find out the route first."

"Please be patient. If the war in Yanzhou can be delayed, we can set off sooner. If a major upheaval occurs in Yanzhou, we will have to wait until the rebellion in Yanzhou is quelled before we can set off."

Of course, scouting routes cannot rely solely on one's own scouts; if one's own scouts were to make a round trip, how long would that take?

The best way is to contact a chamber of commerce, which travels all over the world and is well-informed.

Liu Yuan finished his tour of the academy and was very satisfied. No matter what he did, cultural heritage was the most fundamental thing.

Now that the academy is completed, it has provided a place for scholars throughout Youzhou.

With this seed in place, even if Liu Feng were to die in battle the very next day, he would live on forever in the hearts of these scholars.

After settling some trivial matters, Liu Feng handed them over to Wu Jiang to handle, while he went to the inn to find Zhang Baodong.

The most suitable source of information for finding out who went to Beiman to bring back the Jila tribe is Zhang Baodong.

He knew the situation in Yanzhou better than anyone else, including the trade routes all the way to the source of the Three Rivers.

It's important to know that Yanzhou's fondness for pickled food stems from its border with Liaodong; the people who truly appreciate it are those from Liaodong.

Their winters are too long, so they chose this method to preserve their food.

Both the Zhang and Ye families are in this business in Yanzhou, so they must frequently travel this route.

In fact, Liu Feng's interest in these craftsmen was not solely due to their ironwork technology; he primarily valued their steel smelting techniques.

With their help, Liu Feng could easily create a tribe dedicated to weapons manufacturing.

If we develop steel crossbows by then, haha, my 5,000-strong Tiger Roar Army will be able to sweep across the world.

Composite bows made of steel were deadly weapons in the modern era, representing the pinnacle of cold weapons.

With our army now on the expedition, there will inevitably be casualties, and with casualties, there will be the loss of weapons.

Our existing crossbow technology will inevitably be copied by the enemy.

It's unrealistic to expect one to collect the weapons of fallen soldiers one by one after the battle.

Besides, he had already handed over the design blueprints for the ballista to the emperor.

The bed crossbow is just an enlarged version of the bow and arrow. The people in the Ministry of Works' Workshop were not fools. With just a little speculation, they could make a bow and arrow that everyone could be equipped with.

By then, the entire Dali army will be equipped with bows and crossbows, greatly diminishing their military advantage.

However, at present, although the crossbow is already the most powerful weapon, it also has many problems.

For example, one of them is that its ability to penetrate iron armor is quite weak.

For heavily armored cavalry like the Iron Pagoda, crossbows pose almost no threat.

Therefore, Liu Feng is going to bring back the artisans of the Jila tribe. He plans to make five hundred Ironclad Cavalry for Liu Lang's cavalry to wear, which will make them human tanks and, for the time being, invincible.

Unless it's a composite bow made from steel billets, or a musket or cannon, but only Liu Feng has the technology for that. Who else could make it?

Therefore, no matter what, the artisans of the Jira tribe are valuable.