Chapter 55: Hundreds of Strategies [Update 1]
Wei Shengxue racked his brains to dig out relevant knowledge from his memory.
"Nomadic peoples use a tribal chief system. The leader of the strongest tribe becomes the Khan. The Khan has a certain degree of control over the tribes, but each tribe has its own leader."
Ying Zheng hit the nail on the head: "The Zhou emperor and the princes."
The only difference is that one territory is granted by the emperor, and the other is occupied by oneself, but the final result is that the supreme commander cannot directly command the people under him, and each leader has his own little thoughts.
"Tribal leaders and nobles prioritize political gain, but for herders and minor nobles, immediate benefits are the real benefits."
"Limited to 400 milliliters of rainfall, the grasslands lack the climatic conditions for farming, leading to a water-based lifestyle."
Zhisu Neishi raised his hand and asked, "What does 400 milliliters of precipitation mean?"
Wei Shengxue explained simply: "Annual precipitation above this line allows people to survive by farming, while below this line relies on grazing."
The explanation is simple enough, but no one has ever understood it from this perspective before.
The others were taking notes frantically, even Princess Yangzi, who originally wanted to leave, was grabbed and asked to write.
Wei Shengxue continued, "The grasslands are unsuitable for farming, lacking food and fruits and vegetables. They have no fixed habitat, and cannot produce a stable supply of salt. Therefore, food, salt, and iron tools are what they need most."
This is not difficult to understand. Gold, silver and jewelry are very precious, but what can make people feel at ease are hard currencies such as food and cloth.
"What's the reason for tea?"
"Tea," Wei Shengxue glanced at the system data. "People on the grasslands mostly eat beef and mutton, which is already a heavy burden on the digestive system. The lack of vegetables can lead to constipation, mouth ulcers and other problems. Tea can solve some of these problems."
Another major factor is that tea is easy to carry and is more suitable for long-distance trade compared to perishable fresh vegetables.
"That is to say, tea is an indispensable item for them, and its status is not much different from that of salt." The heir of the Zongheng family stroked his beard, his eyes slightly narrowed, and only the occasional gleam of light revealed his inner shrewdness.
Wei Shengxue said: "Some things are gone if you don't have them. Once you have them and then lose them, it's hard to accept."
For example, money, for example, tea.
Shi Ling, who had just come to his senses, joined the group chat: "We can sell it to the Xiongnu at a low price first. Once they are used to eating tea, we can raise the price so that they will have no choice but to buy it."
Wei Shengxue secretly offered a suggestion: "It's not the lack of wealth that's worrying, but the inequality."
The strategist was well aware of this and sighed, "There's only so much tea left. It's not enough for the Qin Empire itself. The amount we can squeeze out is limited, so naturally we have to give it to the tribes that are on good terms with the Qin Empire first."
As for which tribe has a good relationship with Daqin?
Whichever tribe ranks second or third in strength will be a good friend of Daqin.
The Huns did not have the etiquette and ethics of the Central Plains. The long-term lack of resources made them develop the habit of plundering, not only externally but also internally.
After receiving the tea, the previously unwell bodies recovered. If it was just one or two people, that would be fine, but what if the entire tribe became healthier? That would lead to an increase in the tribe's strength.
I've become stronger, so I want to be the boss.
This is a very normal way of thinking among nomadic people.
If the former leader saw his subordinates trying to rebel, could he tolerate it? If not, he would have to fight.
What? Can't fight? Do you think all the strategists are dead? If we tell them to fight, they have to fight!
They have to fight if they want to, and they have to fight if they don’t want to. They will fight with all their might and will never return empty-handed!
Why do you think they would rather fight among themselves than attack the Qin Dynasty?
The three generals present raised their palms as big as palm-leaf fans and pulled the corners of their mouths to reveal their white teeth.
Little Hun, do you want to eat it or not?
Weishengxue looked at the gentle old man stroking his beard on the left, the ruthless man of the Zongheng family; he looked at the young man on the right who proposed the promotion of tea, the black-hearted man of the Ji Ran family; then he turned his sight and saw three tall and strong warriors on the battlefield who could kill anyone they glared at.
Originally, I thought she was painstakingly teaching the hardworking and honest Qin people, but I found out that her schemes were so cunning and her evil ideas came up one after another, for fear that the Huns would not be defeated thoroughly enough.
Her role is probably to find out the gaps and fill them.
Wei Shengxue quickly flipped through the system data, analyzing and summarizing each case. "If a genius like Fellow Daoist Ying Zheng appeared in the grasslands and integrated all the tribes..."
The heir of the Zongheng family said: "The young wolf wants to challenge the position of the Wolf King, so he needs time to hide his strength." He chuckled, "What if the Wolf King finds out in advance?"
He touched the corner of his eye in a pretentious manner and said, "Ah, what a pity for such a rare talent."
They are very experienced in sowing discord and killing people with borrowed knives.
All the capable fighters of Zhao were defeated in this way.
"To control the grassland with tea, in addition to the necessary military force, we must also control the routes of tea smuggling." Weishengxue reminded them.
Once tea gains a status similar to that of salt, its value in the grasslands will surely skyrocket. Such huge profits are enough to make merchants take risks.
"Li Si..." Ying Zheng called out subconsciously, but found that Li Si was not there.
"Meng Yi, remember this."
"Yes." Meng Yi replied.
"The tea plantation needs to be expanded. Remind me of this at court tomorrow."
"Yes." Meng Yi changed to another booklet and wrote a few words on it.
Wei Shengxue called for more tea, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and then continued, "Trading with them for salt, tea, grain, and other things in exchange for useless wool might raise concerns among tribal leaders and nobles, but for ordinary herders, it's a lucrative business."
Why were nomadic peoples so powerful? First, their cavalry, and second, the common people would starve to death if they didn't rob.
They are fighting for survival!
Once the fighting spirit of ordinary herdsmen is destroyed, those nobles on horseback will be left without troops. If trade is strictly prohibited, the tribe may become unstable.
The strategists smiled slightly, this was their specialty.
Wang Jian looked at the key points he had written down and said in a deep voice, "If this matter is to proceed smoothly, we must first hurt them! Beat them until they are scared!"
Let them know what they can grab and what they can’t touch!
Why didn't the Lu State dare to directly seize the grain when it was plotted against so badly in the past? It was because they couldn't win the battle.
King Huai of Chu was tricked and fooled by Zhang Yi many times. Why couldn't he attack Qin to seek revenge? He did attack but failed to win.
Wei Shengxue turned the teacup and chuckled, "Dignity lies only on the edge of a sword, and truth lies only within the range of a crossbow."
The difference between having strong soldiers but not using them and not having strong soldiers at all is huge.
Weishengxue has said everything he can say. How it will be implemented depends on how ruthless the Qin monarch and his ministers are, or rather, how clever they are.
Shi Ling looked at this, then that, scratched his head, unsure where to join. It seemed like he was participating, yet it also seemed like he wasn't. Finally, when he left, he was carried away by Zhisu Neishi.
The original textile factory was just a small gadget to please the immortals, but now it has been upgraded to a key point concerning national affairs. Ying Zheng waved his hand and expanded it several times. All the craftsmen focused on building there first, and relied on the number of people to speed up the progress.
This matter is very important, and I need to discuss it with the small team before tomorrow's court meeting.
Wei Shengxue handed over the affairs of the textile factory and wool workshop to others, but there was still no sign of honeycomb coal and kang.
-----
Jingyang.
A few months later, the place was expanded again. The blast furnace worked day and night, continuously producing molten iron, which flowed into molds made in advance. After annealing, it became agricultural tools and weapons.
Some distance away from the blast furnace is a large furnace for refining coking coal.
The temperature of coal is not enough to turn iron ore into molten iron, so coking coal with a higher temperature must be used.
This is a huge structure built against the mountain. Recruited workers carry wet coal washed in the Jing River and pour it into the furnace.
In order to facilitate the operation, they also built a small path on the mountain for the purpose of pouring coal.
Not far from here, there is a small room, or it would be more appropriate to call it a shed.
The greenhouse is covered with grass and mud all around, and when you walk in you can see small pieces of fine charcoal.
Nothing to do with romance
Large pieces of charcoal cannot be moved, but small pieces of charcoal like this, which are not much bigger than a fingernail, can be taken out. Too much is not allowed, but if you only put it in your pocket when you go home every ten days, even the guards at the door will not say anything if they see it.
This is an invisible benefit of working in a coal mine.
Li is a villager in Houtou Village. Thanks to the relationship between an old man in the village and Wu Chenghou, he successfully passed the recruitment process. However, after training and assignment, he was assigned to a coal factory.
Although he also complained that he was not among the first group to get the sickle, now touching his bulging pockets, he felt that this was a blessing in disguise.
The winters in the north are too cold. Every year, people freeze to death due to lack of firewood. Even in their village, there are several such cases. But now that they have coal, they don’t have to worry about heating their family this year.
Save a little each time, and by winter it will be enough to support several bundles of firewood.
Thinking of this, Li Lian's steps became much lighter.
He walked through most of the village, opened the door of his home as if he knew the way, and shouted loudly: "Father, Mother, I'm back, hurry up and bring the basket."
The broken coal is really broken, and needs to be carefully sieved to pick out relatively complete coal blocks. As for the remaining coal powder and coal particles, they are reluctant to be thrown away, so they are collected and placed in baskets and put out separately.
In the past, as long as he shouted, someone would come out with a basket to collect the broken coal, but today it was very strange. Not only was there no one, there was not even a sound.
Li looked around the rooms and couldn't find anyone, but he was afraid that the broken coal would be crushed even more if he carried it on his body, so he had to unload it first.
Finally, a neighbor passing by called him and he followed the voice to find his parents.
Before he even walked in, he heard excited shouts:
"It's on fire!"
"Try it and see if it's hot!"
"Ouch!" Someone screamed, as if he was scalded.
"Let me touch it too. Oh, it's really hot."
"Whose kettle is empty? Quickly get some water!"
Li squeezed in following the familiar voice and saw his father squatting in front of several piles of "coal" and blowing hard with his mouth.
Seeing this scene, his first reaction was: It's over, a large piece of coal has been stolen from the village! If we are discovered, we will be doomed!
Then I realized that they didn't have that ability.
"Where do we get such big pieces of coal?" he asked around.
"My fifth uncle's little grandson was naughty and threw some mud into the coal ash pile. My aunt couldn't bear to throw it away, so she just picked up some and threw it into the stove to burn. But the fire was particularly strong that day, so she suspected that they had added coal. Today, I'm trying to see if the peat alone can be lit."
"peat?"
"This coal with mud in it is peat."
As he was speaking, his father got up from the ground and slapped his thigh in anger, "It's too solid, it can't burn inside."
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