Zhuge Jin has been in seclusion to deal with housework for a few days, but Sun Qian's work of persuading farmers has been promoted very well.
Sun Qian is not good at scheming, but his execution ability is still good.
The next day after deciding on the plan, he organized a "exhibition" at the canal dock in the east of Guangling City.
Invite local prominent squires to watch the navy fish and sell fish to enhance the credibility of the technology he wants to promote.
In order to keep the technical details confidential, Sun Qian asked his soldiers to set up a cordon in advance and only showed the final harvest.
However, this kind of operation will inevitably make the gentry who attend the appointment become more and more uneasy and whisper.
They originally thought that the prince was short of money and food and would have to share the money again. So they all came to the appointment dressed in shabby clothes so that they could cry out for their poverty.
There were also two old men with gray beards among the gentry. They were very conspicuous. People bowed and saluted wherever they went. They were obviously the heads of large families in the county.
Soon, the two of them started chatting: "How is Duke Wei lately? I have made you recover Guangling a few days ago. Is there no military disaster in the clan?"
Another person replied: "Fortunately, Liu Xun fled directly back to Lujiang after his army was defeated. Liu Ye also knew that he was outmatched and did not dare to fight in the streets. Liu Shijun was righteous and did not harass the people, otherwise he would have to do what he did the year before last. In general, even if you don't die, you have to peel off your skin.
How is Bu Gong doing? I heard that Ji Ling had besieged Huaiyin for more than ten days. Was the food stored in his house confiscated by Guan Yu? "
The two of them exchanged some words with each other and found out that the other's family had not been purged, and then they felt a little thankful that they were in the same boat.
It turns out that one of them is Wei Hui, a famous wealthy family in Guangling County, and the other is Bu Long, a wealthy family in Huaiyin County.
A few years ago, they were all very wealthy, with vast fertile fields and mulberry gardens, and a large population. However, the year before last was severely damaged by the Zhe Rong disaster, the population dropped sharply, and all the savings were robbed. Fortunately, the fields could not be robbed, so they could slowly recover.
Liu Bei and Yuan Shu are at war again this year, and local landlords are even more worried. Many young people in the clan have actually fled to Jiangdong. Only the old and the weak are unable to leave their homeland and stay here to take care of themselves.
As we chatted, the topic soon turned to Liu Bei’s efforts to persuade farmers. Wei Hui first asked:
"This grandson has been urging you to plant winter mustard for seven or eight days under the orders of the envoy. I heard that there is another wonderful method to be demonstrated today. I wonder if Bu Gong plans to let the clan members respond to the call?"
Bu Long shook his head helplessly: "I have never heard of this winter mustard method in my entire life. After hearing Sun Zeng's propaganda, he sent people across the river to find out whether it was true or not.
Yesterday I just received a reply from my nephew Zhaer who immigrated to Wu County, saying that there are indeed people in the area who do such farming, but they are mostly in places around Taihu Lake and in places with warm and humid winters.
He also said in the letter that Jiangdong is now vast and sparsely populated. Due to Sun Ce’s Xu Gong War, many large families have dispersed. If you want to farm in a warm winter land, you might as well move your entire family there..."
When Wei Hui heard this, he also expressed the same feeling: "There are also some descendants and nephews in my clan who escaped across the river. If you ask me, we can't stand the trouble. It's better to wait and see for a year for these new things. If others plant them this winter, Now that we have learned the skills, it won’t be too late to follow suit next year.”
After going back and forth, everyone seems to have firmly decided that "no matter what Sun Qian tries to persuade, they will just wait and see this year to see others test the waters."
While everyone was discussing, there was a commotion at the Hangou River ahead. Countless people exclaimed, and Wei, Bu and others also approached to check.
"Look! There are so many sea bass!"
"What kind of fishing method is this? How can one net catch so many sea bass in the world? It's incredible!"
"Isn't it a fake? Even if you use sea bass to hang on the spines, there can't be so many, right? This net must be at least two hundred kilograms!"
Wei Hui and Bu Long were shocked to see it, and other gentry in the county had the same reaction.
"Bu Gong, could this be fake?" Wei Hui's face was full of disbelief.
Bu Long twisted his eyebrows and denied resolutely: "Impossible, how can there be such a fraud? Look at these big fish caught on the net, they are either bass or green and carp. It seems that the new fishing method used by Sun Cheng is specializing in fishing. It’s really unheard of to catch big fish that sink to the bottom.”
After all, he has lived for a long time and has lived in the Jianghuai water town for a long time. He still has rich life experience. There are also people from other tribes who are fishing, so they naturally know that it has been easy to catch snorkeling fish since ancient times, while fish that sink to the bottom are generally more valuable.
It is not that the Han Dynasty did not catch bottom fish, but they did not catch them with fishing nets, but by fishing one by one. Therefore, even carp and crucian carp were not cheap in this era. Only fish floating in shallow water were relatively cheap.
Just when they were shocked, Sun Qian had already struck while the iron was hot and started selling these catches.
As if to prove that it was easy for the government to catch these fish and the yield was high, Sun Qian deliberately set a very low price and left it open for everyone to buy.
This is obviously the best way to dispel public doubts.
Because there is only money in the world that will not deceive people,
If something can always be sold at a low price, it proves that the manufacturer has definitely mastered the new technology that can greatly increase production efficiency, otherwise it will not be able to survive with counterfeit subsidies.
While Sun Qian was promoting, he also noticed the two patriarchs Bu Long and Wei Hui in the crowd. He knew that they were the leading figures in Huaiyin County and Guangling County respectively, so he came to greet them personally:
"Bu Gong and Wei Gong, I heard that your clan has also suffered a lot of losses this year, so you feel sorry for the war that disturbs the people.
This new method of netting fish also allows you to let ingenious people come up with it in order to benefit the people. The two clans have a large population, why don't you consider supporting them? "
Of course, these old patriarchs would not object to buying cheap sea bass, because it is indeed a good deal. When Bu Long and Wei Hui each bought hundreds of rare large fish, there were also dozens of ordinary-sized fish of various sizes.
According to the price offered by Sun Qian, extra-large seabass weighing more than seven or eight kilograms is indeed rare and precious, and is a top delicacy for private guests. Therefore, each kilogram is equivalent to at least ten kilograms of white rice. Generally, one or two pieces are worth one stone of rice. .
The price of other smaller ones is several times cheaper at once. On average, it is only three or four kilograms of white rice for one kilogram of sea bass. Other varieties are even cheaper.
The worst kind of small fish is cheaper than white rice. Three pounds of white rice can be exchanged for five pounds of fish, or five pounds of coarse millet or beans.
In just a quarter of an hour, Sun Qian’s harvest today was sold out. More than three hundred shi of fish were exchanged for more than a thousand shi of grain and rice among the people. Of course, this was also because seabass flooded into the market in large quantities for the first time. Private demand has not yet been saturated, and wealthy households still find it rare to sell so much.
After a while, seabass will no longer be rare. It is estimated that 300 shi of various kinds of live fish can be exchanged for 700 to 800 shi of white rice, or 1,000 shi of miscellaneous grains.
Selling fish was not Sun Qian's main purpose, so after selling the fish, he immediately pulled the two clan leaders, Bu and Wei, to promote the idea of persuading farmers to grow winter mustard.
Sun Qian also knew that Zhuge Jin still wanted to keep a low profile. He even wrote poems that day and wanted to hide them for the time being so as not to become famous.
But this time, Sun Qian couldn't hide the invention of the gillnet fishing method from Zhuge Jin, and had to make it known to the outside world.
Because in the future history books will definitely mention who invented this thing. If you lie now, it will be difficult to change your story later.
Moreover, the Zhuge family is so smart, Sun Qian estimates that there will definitely be countless innovative things bearing the name "Zhuge so-and-so" in the future.
Therefore, it is easier to create a publicity effect by putting the prefix "Zhuge" on the several innovations currently on hand. From now on, when others hear that the prefix of this thing is Zhuge, they will know that it must be reliable.
Just like in later generations, even a group of grilled fish sellers would stick to the name "Zhuge".
After Sun Qian silently said sorry in his heart, he boasted to Bu, Wei and others: "Bu Gong, Wei Gong, you have also seen the effect of this razor net method. It is really unbelievable. And the effect of this net is In fact, the design and the method of cultivating the soil in advance to plant mustard that I told you a few days ago were both created by the same great sage.
This great sage had an extremely rich family background, and he was knowledgeable about astronomy and geography. He was an expert in medicine and divination. He also helped stabilize the military morale and defeat Liu Xun. How could anything made by him not be worth it? Easy to use?
You should stop doubting it and let your tribesmen plant winter mustard this year. Guangling has suffered from three consecutive years of military turmoil, and the people have already been exhausted to the extreme. It is necessary to use all means to restore the people's strength as soon as possible so that you will not harm you. "
Sun Qian's words were sincere and he also used a whole set of systematic rhetoric to emphasize that these artifacts were all made by the same person, which indeed greatly enhanced his persuasiveness.
The two clan leaders, Bu Long and Wei Hui, finally nodded, expressing their agreement in principle and going back to persuade their clansmen to plant winter mustard as soon as possible.
After this breakthrough was opened, several other powerful families in Huaiyin and Guangling counties also felt that this matter should be reliable. If the tribesmen put in more effort, they will be able to guarantee an extra season of winter vegetables with a high probability, which can be considered a small supplement.
After all, the technology Sun Qian demonstrated today was really ahead of their imagination. It was at least ten times more efficient than traditional fishing methods. It was a complete qualitative improvement.
However, Bu Long and Wei Hui are experienced people after all and are used to the world. After agreeing in principle, they still chased Sun Qian and asked many details in order to feel at ease.
"Sun Zhanzheng, I have accepted your kindness. I just want to ask, who is the great sage who you said was very knowledgeable in astronomy and geography who helped Liu Shijun? Is he from Guangling? I have been in Guangling for many years. , I have never heard of such a capable person in the local area.”
Sun Qian knew that the other party would not be completely reassured if he did not explain this issue clearly, so he thought about it and whispered in his ear: "I don't dare to hide this from you. This great sage is indeed not from Guangling. You haven't heard of it." Strange, but we are indeed from Xuzhou.
That is Mr. Ziyu, the eldest son of the Zhuge family in Langya. Mr. Jungong and his younger brother, the previous generation of the Zhuge family in Langya, are also erudite and talented people. They are located in the county and government. Their family has a very deep connection with astronomy, geography, and military arts. , so don’t worry. "
Wei Hui and some other local elders did not know the Langya Zhuge family. After hearing Sun Qian's boast, they became more relieved and expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation with the government.
However, Bu Long was the only one in the crowd who showed a surprised look.
He originally listened to Sun Qian's solemn words and believed it somewhat, but when he heard the name Zhuge Jin, he immediately had a reaction.
Bu Long also saved face for Sun Qian. After Wei Hui and other clan elders were sent away, he took Sun Qian aside alone to talk:
"Who am I asking? It turned out to be Zhuge Jin's handiwork? How could he have such a skill? He, my nephew Zhi'er, and Yan Zhen from the Yan family in Pengcheng studied together in Guangling for a year. I have always known You know! Aren’t they equally talented and learned?
The day before yesterday, Zhi'er wrote me a reply and asked me to help him find out Zhuge Jin's whereabouts. He said that he had made an appointment in a letter a few months ago and had found a place to stay in Wu County, but he had not yet come to the appointment. Zhuge Jin turned out to be Did you vote for Liu Shijun? "
He considers himself an elder, so he never addresses people by their names when speaking. Judging from his words, it seems that Zhuge Jin was not an outstanding celebrity in Guangling County for more than a year.
Sun Qian had never been to Guangling before, so of course he didn't know Zhuge Jin's reputation there in the past.
At this moment, after listening to the discussions of these local elders, I realized that they seemed to know more about Mr. Tzuyu.
"It turns out that Mr. Tzuyu still has so much unknown past? In that case, should we inform him and let him contact his old classmates such as Bu Zhi and Yan Jin?
And according to Bu Lao, his nephew and Yan Zhen are actually as talented as Mr. Tzuyu? At least he is a knowledgeable person, do you want to recommend it to the lord..."
Sun Qian didn't know that all these people knew about Zhuge Jin came from the trouble caused by the original owner of Zhuge Jin before he traveled through time.
The so-called Bu Zhi and Yan Jin Caixue are in the same category as Zhuge Jin, and they are also the same as the original Zhuge Jin. If the current Zhuge Jin were compared with them, those guys would have been completely destroyed.
Out of caution, Sun Qian decided to report the information he found to his lord first, and let the lord decide.
