On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Zhaocheng Temple Fair kicked off. In order to achieve the desired effect, Ji Jie did not hesitate to sell some paper at half price. Of course, it was only retail and not wholesale. This move attracted many people.
Exquisite porcelain is placed in rows on wooden shelves, including plates, bowls, dishes, bottles, jars, jars, etc., which makes people who are accustomed to using pottery shine. Compared with pottery, these porcelain are not only exquisite, They are also more durable because they are watertight and easier to clean.
Although the price was ten times higher than that of pottery, thousands of pieces of porcelain were still sold out. There were hundreds of thousands of finished products in Tuolongguan's warehouse, but Ji Jie was not in a hurry to sell them. After the first batch of porcelain entered the market, After a period of running-in, it will definitely attract the attention of wealthy households.
In another prominent location of the temple fair, a shooting range was specially opened, and dozens of round targets were made, plus ten bows and crossbows. They were all made of fine steel, with the same standard, and the tension and shooting performance were also exactly the same. same.
Few people among the Seven Kingdoms can master the skill of making crossbows from fine steel. Most of them use iron-tired composite bows and pure composite bows. Some even directly use hard wood as raw materials. Even if the appearance of such crossbows is the same, , there is also a big difference in nature.
After several months of hard work, Ou Ming and others have mastered the toughness and hardness of forged fine steel, and can produce different raw materials according to different requirements. The crossbow requires steel sheets with excellent toughness to make the bow arm. To ensure strong tensile force, after a series of destructive tests, the fine steel arm bow produced by Tuolongguan can be stretched tens of thousands of times without deformation. It can be soaked in water for half a month and taken out for simple rust removal without affecting its use. .
In comparison, the crossbow is more complex in production. It is also made of fine steel and has a longer service life than the wooden crossbow. The crossbow machine that is cut and polished after being cast from fine steel is extremely exquisite and is more durable than the bronze crossbow machine used by the Qin Army. It rises more smoothly, reduces the force required when launching, and improves the accuracy of the crossbow arrows.
The crossbows are not for sale, but are mainly for display. After the temple fair, they will be handed over to Qin's Trading Company, who will take them to the seven countries for promotion and sales.
The foundry supervisor also unified the weapons and armor according to Ji Jie's requirements. Knight's lance, short spear, knight's shield, infantry lance, knife, sword, shield, axe, hammer, etc. were all made according to unified graphics.
During this process, Ji Jie strived to be simple and practical. Weapons such as Ge, Yue, and Fork that often appeared on the battlefield but were not very important were directly rejected and soldiers at Tuolong Pass would never use them.
Western weapons such as machetes and piercing axes have also been promoted. These seemingly strange weapons are actually very lethal. Ji Jie is very confident in this and even can't wait to test its power on the battlefield.
In terms of armor, the helmet made of pure steel protects the soldier's head. The body armor is based on cowhide and decorated with steel sheets of moderate hardness. Heart guards are added to the front and rear chests. Elbows, knees and other vulnerable parts of the human body are also equipped with corresponding double protection. For protection, officers above the rank of captain can also wear a set of chain armor inside their armor.
Zhaocheng, a small and inconspicuous place, suddenly became the largest commodity distribution center in the area overnight. To everyone's surprise, several nearby prosperous small towns began to decline.
On the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, Ji Jie summoned Ji Xueling, Sima Xueran, Ji Jian and Zhao Ling to discuss this year's development strategy.
The four of them did their respective jobs very well. Ji Xueling's assassination team was responsible for the daily escort of the caravan, as well as the collection of surrounding intelligence; Sima Xueran's paper mill business was booming, and the affairs in the city were also handled in an orderly manner; Ji Jian was responsible for There have been no military or bandit troubles in the Tuolongguan and Zhaocheng areas under the Central Government, and the expansion of the new army is still top priority; Zhao Ling led his elite cavalry to build a camp on the Gobi at the junction of Zhou and Yan, which was enough to station two thousand troops and thousands of civilians. .
Ji Jie took out a map that he spent several days drawing. On the map, three cities were at the horns of each other, and one of them was the current Tuolong Pass.
"Your Majesty, have you ever thought about building a city?" Ji Jian asked cautiously.
Ji Jie nodded and said: "I do mean so! One Tuolong Pass cannot meet future needs at all. It is already a little crowded now. After the New Year, the scale of the paper mill, casting supervisor and porcelain workshop will be further increased. As the population grows larger and larger, the area for food cultivation must also be expanded, and the thousands of hectares of land in the pass will soon be divided up!"
According to Ji Jie's plan, Tuolongguan will eventually develop into a city focused on manufacturing, controlling the economic lifeline of the kingdom. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, has few natural disasters, and has a good foundation for industrialization.
Build a city near Zhaocheng for business and trade, and temporarily plan the administrative center within it. Whether a new city can prosper and develop in a short period of time depends on the arrival of a steady stream of goods and a large number of merchants.
"The new city will be mainly commercial!" Ji Jie pointed to the location of the fiefdom Zhaocheng and said: "The scale of the city construction is five miles from the north to the south. Of course, there will be expansion areas around it. An inner city will be formed first and then gradually expanded. Until it becomes a large city with a radius of more than twenty miles!"
Since it is mainly commercial, the first batch of buildings in the city are mostly storefronts, warehouses, car dealerships, etc. The streets should be wide and flat to lay the foundation for the circulation of goods to the maximum extent.
"The geographical location of Zhaocheng is actually very important!" Ji Jie unfolded a longer map and said: "This place is at the junction of the four kingdoms of Zhou, Qin, Yan, and Wei, and is connected to the vast desert to the north. Once the trade route is opened, it will become an important goods gathering and distributing areas. The goods sent to the gathering places of nomads will even exceed the local sales volume, and the profit earned from the same item will be several times higher than that of the local area."
The four people listened with excitement, and a prosperous city seemed to have appeared in their minds.
"Everything is difficult at the beginning!" Ji Jie said confidently: "Now there are tens of thousands of people in Tuolongguan and Zhaocheng, and they need countless money, food and supplies every day. Even if those merchants are skeptical, At the beginning, I was reluctant to come, but as time goes by, I will realize the business opportunities!"
The construction of the city was fully agreed. Ji Jie arranged the tasks on the spot. Ji Xueling was responsible for recruiting craftsmen and civilians, as well as the placement of these people; Ji Jian was responsible for purchasing materials; Zhao Ling was responsible for material transportation; and Sima Xueran was responsible for the dispatch of money and grain.
Ji Jie, on the other hand, took the position of commander-in-chief and handled all related matters.
Qin's Trading Company received the news immediately, and Qin Qing immediately sent people to Xincheng to select a location for the trading company's branch, becoming the first trading company to enter Zhaocheng.
Ji Jie's ultimate ideal is to own three cities, one is a handicraft city based on Tuolongguan, the other is a commercial city based on Zhaocheng, and the other is a royal city centered on military and political affairs.