Although Wuji and Xiaquyang belong to the two counties of Zhongshan and Julu respectively, they are adjacent to each other. They are only a hundred miles apart. The cavalry can arrive in half a day. On the appointed day, the group galloped on horseback and left the city in less than two hours.
In the Lujun territory, we set foot on the land of Zhongshan Kingdom.
The county of Zhongshan is governed by Lunu, and it has thirteen counties and cities, namely Lunu, Anxi, Liwu, Anguo, Wuji, Xinshi, Shangquyang, Wangdu, Tangxian, Puyin, Beiping, and Guangchang.
The Zhongshan Kingdom runs north to south, spanning the inside and outside of the Great Wall, and connects to the Taihang Mountains in the east. The north is close to the area where the Xianbei tribe lives, and has been repeatedly plundered by the Xianbei in recent years. The southwest is a plain, and Wuji County is in the southernmost part of the county.
When Wen Yuan led his troops into Wuji County, he was greeted by a group of knights on the road. These people were all dressed in black and not in Han army uniforms. Although they did not wear armor, they could tell that they were rare just by looking at their energy.
The elites are probably the private soldiers trained by the Zhen family.
When the knight saw Wen Yuan's flag, he hurriedly bowed and stood by the road. It was not until Wen Yuan approached that someone came forward and reported: "The villain Zhen Hu has come to greet General Zhang on the order of my lord.
Your Majesty has been waiting for a long time. General, please follow me."
Wen Yuan and his entourage continued to walk westward with the visitor, and saw knights running back and forth in front of them. In less than ten miles, five or six waves of welcoming teams came in succession. It seemed that Wen Yuan of the Zhen family paid special attention to them.
After walking for more than ten miles, I suddenly heard the sound of drum music in front of me, and saw a huge welcoming team of hundreds of people standing by the road. The leader was Zhen Yan, who was elegant and elegant in a wide robe and long sleeves.
Wen Yuan had already been riding on his horse, and when he saw Zhen Yan, he hurriedly urged his horse to meet him.
Before Wen Yuan could get off his horse, Zhen Yan had already bowed and said: "Zhen Yan has met General Zhang. The general came to Wuji despite his busy schedule. It really brings glory to my Zhen family!"
Wen Yuan dismounted and helped Zhen Yan up, narrowed his eyes and smiled gently: "Brother Zhen, why are you so polite? We haven't seen each other for a year, but you and I seem to be very different."
Seeing that Wen Yuan was not arrogant about his achievements, Zhen Yan also felt proud and said with a humorous smile: "Zhen Yan did not dare to overstep his bounds. Back then, General Zhang lived in a small county within a hundred miles, and Yan only had a small fortune, but
Now the general is already the governor of a county. Moreover, the general defeated Lu Bu, broke through the Black Mountains, and conquered the Weijia Sea. They are no longer the same, and they are no longer the same!"
Wen Yuan patted Zhen Yan on the shoulder and said, "Brother Zhen is so polite! How about we treat each other as brothers?" He thought to himself, your Zhen family has businesses all over the capital and four states in Hebei, and has a family fortune of hundreds of millions. If you still
If I only have a small amount of money, wouldn't I be worse than a beggar?
Zhen Yan joked for a while and stopped being pretentious, and said: "Since Wen Yuan said this, it is better for Yan to be respectful than to obey."
The two exchanged pleasantries, mounted their horses, and headed to Zhenjiawu Fort, playing and playing.
Zhenjiawu Fort is huge in scale. It is more appropriate to say it is a fort than a city. The fort is two miles long and one and a half miles wide. There are at least one or two thousand families living in it. In terms of scale alone, it is already comparable to
It is one-third of the total area of Quyang City.
The fort wall is made of mountain rocks, three feet high, and is very strong. There are trenches dug outside the fort, and the mountains and rivers are used to surround the city to form a moat.
The Yangjiawu Fort is several times stronger. Even if thousands of troops come to attack, it will probably be difficult to capture the castle.
The Zhenjia Fort is divided into two parts: the inner and outer forts. The main relatives of the Zhen family live in the inner fort, while the outer fort is inhabited by relatives with other surnames who depend on the Zhen family. Outside the Zhenjia Fort, there are more than a dozen large and small castles scattered around.
The village is inhabited by tenant farmers of the Zhen family, at least over 10,000 people!
Although the castle is small, it is well-equipped with all kinds of shops and workshops. When people in the castle see Zhen Yan, they will salute from a distance. Zhen Yan is cheered in front of him and supported by others, as if he is the local emperor here.
The two entered the main hall and sat down separately. Someone had already served tea to them. They exchanged greetings and then the conversation gradually turned to the main topic.
Just listen to Wen Yuan take a sip of water and say: "Brother Zhen, in addition to expressing my gratitude, I also have a big deal to discuss with you!" With a folding fan, Wen Yuan received a bonus of three thousand gold.
So... Wen Yuan looked at Zhen Yan with a smile.
Businessmen are profit-seeking by nature. When he heard that there was a big business, Zhen Yan's eyes immediately lit up and he said: "Oh? Wenyuan, tell me quickly, tell me quickly." Not to mention that Wenyuan was already the prefect of Julu County. As a businessman, he was naturally willing to do so.
Zhen Yan made a fortune thanks to Wenyuan's creative folding fans. In just one year, Zhen Yan made a huge profit! So when she heard Wenyuan say there was a big deal, her heart suddenly started to beat wildly.
Wen Yuan was not in a hurry and said slowly: "I have heard for a long time that there are many skilled craftsmen in Zhenjiabao. I wonder what the papermaking skills are like?"
Seeing Wen Yuan's irrelevant question, Zhen Yan couldn't help but be a little confused, but he still said truthfully: "It has been nearly a hundred years since Cai Hou invented the art of papermaking in this dynasty, and it has been widely spread. The craftsmen in our castle are also
It can be done, but Caihou paper is yellowish in color, uneven in thickness, and difficult to write on. Even if it is made, no one wants it! Recently, Saeki from Dongnai has made a new kind of paper, which is smooth and neat, suitable for writing.
I don’t know what craft formula was used!”
"As long as you are familiar with it, it will be fine!" Wen Yuan said unconcernedly: "I have a method. If Brother Zhen's subordinates know how to make paper, I can guarantee that the cost of making paper will be much less than that of Saeki paper, and the paper quality will be higher than that of Saeki paper.
Torai Saeki is better!"
"Seriously?" Zhen Yan couldn't help but ask from the table. Although Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty had invented and improved papermaking, the paper produced was average and the output was small. Slips and silks were still the main tool for communicating and transmitting written information.
, the common social problem of "silk is expensive, simple and heavy, and not convenient for people" has not been fundamentally solved. Although Saeki paper has been greatly improved in terms of paper quality, the problem of output has not been solved. Therefore, Saeki paper
Paper is still very valuable and only used by aristocratic families or officials.
The papermaking technology that Wenyuan came up with borrowed the production technology of rice paper.
Although Wenyuan had never made paper by himself in his previous life, he was lucky enough to go to a relative's house in Xuancheng, Anhui Province. By the way, he visited an ancient rice paper workshop that has been preserved to this day, and learned about some rice paper production techniques.
Before coming here, Wenyuan discussed the papermaking technology at that time with the Ying pottery craftsmen. Comparing the two, Wenyuan's rice paper manufacturing technology was not only five to six hundred years advanced, but the output was dozens of times more efficient than papermaking at that time!
Seeing Wen Yuan's confident look, Zhen Yan knew that he was asking too much. However, as a businessman, he was cautious and continued to ask: "With the manpower and material resources of Julu County, it is easy to make paper.
Why would Wen Yuan use his hands to let me take such a big advantage?"