Thousand households.
Whether Xiao Cheng rebels or surrenders has nothing to do with Pei Yun. No matter how fierce the fighting outside is, as long as it does not threaten him, Pei Yun is too lazy to pay attention.
He became the imperial envoy to the Southern Barbarians, but his mission was not just to do this. The imperial edict said that he also had to establish trade, allowing Yizhou and the Southern Barbarians to trade, and expand it from Yizhou to Jingchao, to ensure that the Southern Barbarians would no longer jump around, only then could he truly pacify the barbarians.
Only in this way could he be considered to have completely completed his mission as an imperial ambassador, so returning from his mission to the Southern Barbarians was only the first step.
Now Pei Yun is going to start the second step.
That is to establish a trade market at the border between Yizhou and Nanman to allow the two sides to trade with each other.
Originally, Pei Yun planned to choose a location near the border town, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was not appropriate. Now the border troops have all submitted to Xiao Cheng, although he does not know the specific results of the court's suppression of the rebellion.
But Pei Yun felt that it was not so easy to take down Xiao Cheng.
The geography of this world is exactly the same as that of ancient China. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Kingdom of Shu relied on the natural barrier of Yizhou to hold out for more than 40 years.
Although Prime Minister Xiao does not have the ability of Prime Minister Zhuge, he has 500,000 troops and the support of the people of Yizhou. The court is also at war with the Northern Hu. With all these factors added together, it should not be a problem for him to hold out for three to five years.
Xiao Cheng is now at war with the imperial court and cannot take care of him. It is time for him to focus on development. It will not be too late to settle accounts with Xiao Cheng after transporting a large amount of saltpeter back from the Nanman.
In addition, Pei Yun also planned to speed up the production of firearms, so that even if he only had a thousand soldiers, as long as they had guns, they would be invincible.
Pei Yun is still considering the trading location.
Before the mission to the Southern Barbarians, Pei Yun was thinking of establishing a trade market near the border town, so that the trade order could be maintained with the border troops. But now that Xiao Cheng has rebelled and the border troops have gone out to fight, Pei Yun has other ideas.
If you want to capture the border town directly, you don’t need to build a trade market, you can directly use the border town as a trade market.
Tell Lu Jingxuan about this idea.
Lu Jingxuan shook his head, "Not appropriate."
"Linnanguan is an important military town. The alleys in the city are narrow and winding, and there are few shops and warehouses. If it is converted into a commercial port, it will be very inconvenient to load and unload goods."
"What's more troublesome is that the water source inside the pass is drawn from the underground canal behind the mountain, which is only enough for daily use by the military and civilians. If a large number of caravans gather, I'm afraid drinking water will become a problem."
"In addition, the families of the border troops live here. If we seize the border, we can suppress them now, but if the front-line troops come back to support us, these families will definitely join forces with us."
"Also, the Linnan Pass defense system was designed for the Nanman. Although we have a good relationship with the Nanman now, my lord, you have saved the lives of the entire Nanman tribe."
"But the Nanman are fickle by nature. If we open a market here, we will have to relax the checkpoints for merchants and travelers. If the Nanman suddenly turn hostile, it is very likely that they will occupy this place..."
After hearing what Lu Jingxuan said, Pei Yun felt that he was indeed a bit one-sided. He only thought about using ready-made ones and did not expect that there would be so many disadvantages.
"Jingxuan, then where do you think the trading address should be?"
Lu Jingxuan looked at the map on the table and pointed at a river bend. "This place is surrounded by mountains and rivers. We can attack or defend. Even if the southern barbarians turn hostile, we can quickly block the river and give them time to react."
"Besides, this place is not too far from the border town. When Xiao Cheng is defeated, the imperial court will take over the border town again. At that time, the order of trade can be handed over to the border army, and then the lord will be relieved."
Pei Yun's gaze also fell on the place where Lu Jingxuan pointed. This place not only solves the problem of water use, but is also convenient for defense. It is indeed a good place.
"Okay, let's choose this place. I'll also leave the construction of the trade market to you. You can take all the craftsmen in the Qianhu Division with you."
"Also, I will go find Magistrate Xue and ask him to mobilize all the craftsmen in the county to you. In addition to building a trade market, we will also build a cement road."
"Road repair?"
Lu Jingxuan was stunned. "Isn't there a road? Why build one?"
Pei Yun smiled and said, "You don't understand this. If you want to be rich, you must first build roads. The current roads are too bad, which seriously affects the speed of transportation."
"If we build a cement road, the kind that goes from the bottom of the mountain to the top, it will be much easier to walk on, and we can even collect tolls then."
Lu Jingxuan's face twitched.
"My lord, we are now the regular army of the imperial court, and you are still the imperial ambassador. It is not appropriate for you to collect tolls."
Pei Yun patted his shoulder and said, "You've got it wrong. The toll I'm talking about is not what you think. I spent materials, money, and manpower to build the road. If you want to take this road to quickly reach the trade market, or for the caravan to quickly return, it's not too much to ask them to pay a little toll."
After hearing this, Lu Jingxuan thought about it and felt that it was indeed not excessive.
Building roads should be the court's business, but now that the lord is paying for it out of his own pocket, it's only right that he get some of the cost back.
Moreover, with better roads, the travel time has been shortened. Previously, I could only make three trips a month, but now with better roads, I may be able to make six trips a month.
It improves efficiency and allows merchants to make more money, so it is reasonable to collect tolls.
"Then do as the Lord says."
Lu Jingxuan admired him in his heart. Why didn’t he think of this way to make money? In fact, Pei Yun was just using the model of future highways.
This skill makes trade faster and he can also make money, killing two birds with one stone.
After the two of them had discussed it, Pei Yun gathered all the craftsmen in the Qianhu Suo and told them their new tasks.
The craftsmen were immediately excited. After the construction of the cottage was completed, they basically had nothing to do.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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