During the autumn harvest, both Tuolongguan and Zhaocheng were immersed in the joy of harvest. This year's grain harvest was bumper, and Ji Jie ordered a 20% rent reduction. The farmers burst into tears of gratitude. There was not enough food every winter, and this year they no longer had to worry about going hungry.
Even if the rent was reduced by 20%, the granaries in Tuolong Pass were still full, and each one was like a hill. Sima Xueran not only supported the important task of the paper mill, but also took care of other daily affairs in the pass. Everything was kept in order, including the household registration system, grain and grass filing and other complicated matters, which were all a piece of cake in her hands.
Ji Xueling, who is also a girl, is not so bright in this regard, but she is very good at training an assassination team with three hundred people. She once competed with Ji Jian's elite infantry and ended up with five hundred infantry. Before they could figure out the situation, they were surrounded and "annihilated", and the commander-in-chief Ji Jian was also made a prisoner inexplicably.
After watching this contest, Zhao Ling, who was originally eager to give it a try, gave up. In his own words - I am not asking for trouble. I washed my neck and handed it over even though I knew I was losing. Isn't that asking for death?
Ji Xueling divided the 60 most heroic and skillful people among the 300 people into three groups, with 20 people in each group. He kept one group for himself, and gave the other two groups to Ji Jie and Sima Xueran to be responsible for their daily security. Tuolong Pass is getting stronger and stronger day by day, and it is difficult to guarantee that it will not attract the attention of some conspirators. Ji Jian and Zhao Ling are already generals in the army and are protected by guards, so there is no need to send more manpower.
What makes Ji Jie gratified is that the relationship between Ji Xueling and Sima Xueran is becoming more and more harmonious, and the two of them also consult each other's strengths from time to time.
The status of Tuolongguan has long surpassed that of Zhaocheng, the fiefdom. Except for leaving some farmers to continue farming in the fiefdom, he arranged for the rest to mine coal in Qishan, and carts of black coal were continuously transported there.
The blacksmiths who were accustomed to using wood found it difficult to adapt to the temperature of coal. Under the leadership of Ou Ming, they continued to explore and summed up a set of experiences. Coal smelting completely replaced wood, and the output and quality of pig iron were greatly improved. Big improvement.
If it weren't for Ji Jie's modern brain, a simple process would have taken generations and decades of exploration. But now, it only takes a short time to achieve it. To put it bluntly, Tuolongguan Nei The level of science and technology still exceeds that of any other country outside. If Ji Jie is willing to keep it secret to the end, they will never catch up even if they are given a hundred years.
The autumn harvest had just been completed and everyone had not had time to take a good rest. That day someone came to report that the Zhao State and the Yan State were at war. A group of Yan State refugees fled outside Tuolong Pass and asked Ji Jie to take them in.
"Refugees?" Ji Jie asked, "How many are there?"
"There are probably thousands of people!" The person who came to report replied: "They are in ragged clothes. They must have suffered a lot to get to us!"
Since the day Tuolong Pass was returned to Ji Jie, it has been a place with a very complicated personnel structure. Farmers, craftsmen, soldiers, etc. are all outsiders, so he has never thought of the difference between locals and outsiders. In his opinion, Come, as long as you are willing to stay and contribute, I will give you food, clothing and a place to live.
"Take me to see it!" Ji Jie got up and headed to the pass.
On the ground outside the customs, refugees were clustered in small groups. An old man always stood upright, standing out from the crowd.
"This is the leader of the refugees, named Hua Lixi! This is Zhaowenjun Ji Jie!"
"Greetings to Mr. Zhaowen!" Hua Lixi hurriedly saluted and said, "The people in distress have heard about Mr. Zhaowen's wisdom and came here to seek refuge. I wonder if you can accept it?"
Ji Jie returned the courtesy and said: "Mr. Hua, you are so polite. You come to seek refuge with me because I, Ji Jie, do not want to welcome you. However, since you are here, you must abide by my rules here. Can you do that?"
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"Of course!" Hua Lixi said respectfully: "Outsiders should abide by the rules of Your Majesty's place. As long as Your Majesty can give us a bite of food, I will lead my tribe to repay Your Majesty's service!"
"Haha, this is a place where everyone is equal!" Ji Jie waved his hand: "As long as you abide by the law, no one dares to bully you, just follow me into the city!"
Through understanding, most of the people led by Hua Lixi were handcrafters, and some were farmers. Most of them were engaged in pottery making, and the utensils they produced were all over the north. This time Zhao Yan went to war, and the battlefield happened to be where the workshop was.
After the war, everything was lost. King Yan had no time to care about their lives and ordered the army to retreat. In order to survive, he had to leave his hometown.
Although pottery may look a little rough, it is also an indispensable item in daily life, including plates and bowls for serving rice and vegetables, earthenware jars for water, clay pots for cooking, etc.
Why not porcelain, but pottery? Porcelain is not only exquisite but also more practical.
The answer is simple. Porcelain has not been invented yet. The evolution from pottery to porcelain is also arduous and long. Ji Jie decided to shorten the process of history again and put porcelain on the agenda.
Since we are vigorously developing the economy, we should develop it in a diversified manner. Although the income of the paper mill is very considerable, its current scale can only sustain the expenditure of 10,000 troops for a year. If you want to recruit more troops, you must
Start from other aspects and gather the world's wealth.
Pottery and porcelain are two different concepts. The first is the difference in raw materials. The requirements for raw materials for making pottery are very low. Ordinary clay can suffice. However, the porcelain clay required for firing porcelain cannot be found everywhere, and it is not available everywhere.
I haven't heard of anyone doing any research on this yet.
After settling Huali Xi's clan members, Ji Jie's first task for them was to go out and search and bring back the surrounding soil of various textures for research and experiments to ensure that they found the existence of china clay.
Huali Xi's tribe was sheltered by Tuolong Pass and was able to survive the war. It is no wonder that they were grateful to Ji Jie and worked hard.
As autumn turns to winter, the production of paper mills is affected by the temperature, and the output decreases. However, this does not stop merchants from all over the world who come here to take advantage of it. They all want to make a profit.
Ji Jie's opinion has always been firm. Paper sales are only done through Qin's Trading Company. If you want paper, no problem, please talk to Qin's Trading Company. Qin Qing greatly appreciates this, because few people in business can do it.
Not being moved by immediate profits, Ji Jie could make more profits as long as he left Qin's Trading Company aside, but he did not do so.
Qin Qing also showed her greatest sincerity and handed over 80% of the profits to Ji Jie, leaving only 20% for herself, and used it as capital to continue to develop the market.
At the end of the year, porcelain clay was found, and pieces of porcelain that were more exquisite than pottery turned out. Although they were not equipped with exquisite patterns and patterns, and the colors were only white, black, and sky blue, they were different from the rough pottery.
In comparison, there is simply a difference between heaven and earth.
Ji Jie was not satisfied with this, and immediately ordered the search for glazes and pigments. With these finishing touches, the quality of the porcelain would be improved to a higher level. He also selected a group of young people with ingenuity and dexterity to start learning painting skills.