When Helian Jue mentioned the horse farms in the Northwest, Xie Yuan's eyes began to light up.
"Your Highness, when will the first batch of warhorses arrive?"
It's summer now, and in a few days it will be autumn and winter.
The hot and humid weather in Lingnan provides ideal conditions for snakes, insects, rodents and ants to thrive.
Helian Jue had always wanted to send troops to take Luozhou.
The concern is that it will be too hot in the summer, and there might be miasma in the jungle.
Based on last year's experience, Helian Jue and Xie Yuan both believed that it was best to take military action in winter.
An army marches on its stomach.
For Xie Yuan, food was not a concern.
The Champa rice she tried planting has already been harvested three or four times.
In addition to accumulating a large amount of grain, it also allowed the old farmers in the village to accumulate a wealth of planting experience.
Following Xie Yuan's instructions, they also began selecting the best-performing seedlings for further acclimatization.
Xie Yuan's breeding farm has also entered a virtuous cycle.
Rabbit meat, pork, mutton, etc., are all produced in an industrialized manner, which can fully guarantee the daily supply of tens of thousands of troops in the Yue King's Palace.
Salt is even more plentiful.
After three months of drying, Helian Jue had accumulated a large amount of sea salt.
Not only are they self-sufficient, but they also have a very large quantity available for external sales.
A sugar business cannot last long, but the salt business can continue for a very long time.
Helian Jue was very confident about this.
He had already instructed Zhao Min to lead men to open up several trade routes for salt, with boatloads of sea salt being transported out and boatloads of copper coins being transported in.
...The Yue King's Mansion now has everything it needs.
Even warhorses and fine iron have a stable source.
Helian Jue and Xie Yuan devised a plan for a "winter offensive".
Once the first batch of warhorses arrives from the Northwest and the cavalry battalion is successfully expanded into a cavalry legion, we can proceed!
That's why Xie Yuan had such high expectations.
"Helian Chen has sent a letter. It is estimated that he will escort the warhorses back in about half a month."
The matter of warhorses was of utmost importance, so Helian Jue immediately dispatched Helian Chen.
"That's good!"
Xie Yuan rubbed his hands together, feeling a little excited.
The thousands of warhorses, and the continuous supply that followed, were all repaid with horseshoes.
"Ah Yuan, are you really going to build a bridge over the sea?"
Helian Jue asked, "Do you really want to?", not "Can you really?"
Although there is only a one-word difference, it is enough to show that Helian Jue's belief in Xie Yuan's abilities has reached the point of superstition.
If it were anyone else who boasted that they could build a bridge across the sea, Helian Jue would definitely think they were bragging.
But since Xie Yuan was the one who said this, Helian Jue had no doubt about it.
A Yuan can definitely do it!
Let alone building a bridge over the sea, even if she said she could build a ladder to heaven, Helian Jue would believe her!
"Yes, Crescent Moon New City must be connected to He County New City. Our royal residence cannot be too far from the inland!"
Xie Yuan had carefully observed the terrain when he first chose Crescent Moon Town as the location of the royal residence.
She stood at the small, pointed corner of Crescent Moon Town, where she could see Hexian County, a few miles away.
At that time, she thought that a bridge could be built between the two to shorten the distance between Crescent Moon Town and the county seat.
This would be very convenient not only for the royal family but also for the common people.
Regarding how to build a cross-sea bridge resistant to seawater corrosion in ancient times without cement or concrete, Xie Yuan, a million-follower online celebrity familiar with little-known historical facts, said:
This is no big deal!
Never underestimate the wisdom of the ancient working people.
It's possible to succeed even without cement, steel bars, or concrete!
Xie Yuan habitually pulled out a sheet of white paper and began sketching his design.
She also explained in detail the key points of bridge construction.
Oysters?
Helian Jue's pupils widened slightly; clearly, Xie Yuan's answer was something he hadn't expected at all.
"Ah Yuan, aren't oysters for eating? And even if their shells are very hard, they can't be used like stones, right?"
Helian Jue tried to imagine it in his mind, then shook his head. He couldn't understand it at all, nor could he imagine such a scene.
"The oysters are not used as stones, but rather oysters are cultivated on the bridge foundation."
"Oysters grow by attaching themselves to rocks. They secrete a kind of mucus that locks them firmly to the rocks."
"It makes the reefs very hard, so that they will not break even when subjected to erosion and corrosion in the sea for many years."
"On the contrary, as the oysters continue to reproduce and grow, the outer layer of the reef is covered with oyster shells, which makes the reef harder."
"...Your Highness, if you don't believe me, let's go to the beach sometime and try it out, then we'll know."
In later generations, Xie Yuan personally went to dig for oysters.
Tsk tsk, that process must have been quite strenuous.
"Okay! Let's give it a try!"
He Lianjue listened to Xie Yuan's amazing description and couldn't help but feel a little longing for it.
He suddenly felt that after being so busy these past few days, it would be nice to go to the beach with A-Yuan.
Even if you're not there to dig for oysters yourself or verify the "oyster bridge" theory, you can still enjoy the sea breeze, eat seafood, and completely relax.
During this period, Xie Yuan was busy building the new city, while Helian Jue was busy with various military camps, as well as recruiting and training soldiers, and repeatedly negotiating with the Northwest.
The couple, who were still living in the same palace, never saw each other from morning till night.
With both new cities finally completed and his military camps in good order, Helian Jue felt it was time for him to enjoy himself with A Yuan.
However, Helian Jue never expected that two clueless guys would squeeze into what should have been a sweet time for two.
"Sister Yuan, I've long heard that the pearls from Hexian are excellent, but I never imagined that the sea in Hexian is also so clean."
Princess Xu was carrying a small bucket, inside which was a small hoe.
She boldly tied her skirt around her waist, revealing a section of her trousers and her tanned feet.
Xie Yuan's attire was relatively simple, but she looked more noble and elegant than Princess Xu.
Seeing Sister Yuan like this, Princess Xu was so envious that her mouth watered.
Waaah, this is the noble lady from a prestigious family she had imagined.
Even when picking up seashells or digging for oysters on the beach, they exude a unique charm from the inside out.
"Pearls from Hexian?"
Xie Yuan was taken aback.
Huh?
How could she have forgotten about that?
After arriving in Lingnan, Xie Yuan was focused on large-scale construction, farming, and pig raising, forgetting about a highly profitable industry—
pearl!
In ancient times, pearls were always offered as tribute.
Because all the fishing is done by manpower in the sea.
It's very risky, and you also need luck.
Pearls are very rare, and as the saying goes, scarcity makes them valuable, so their price is extremely high.
It wasn't until later, with the development of artificial cultivation techniques, that pearls moved from the court and nobility to ordinary people's homes.
Hmm, perhaps. But we could try cultivating them. Making money is one thing, but this way, those poor pearl divers wouldn't have to risk their lives to harvest pearls.
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