The tribes were disappointed that they could not buy firearms. Upon seeing this, Yang Wen told them another piece of good news: Although firearms are temporarily unavailable, they can buy a large number of well-made knives, swords, spearheads and arrowheads from the Pili Army, and they can even customize related weapons. It is said that although Miaojiang can also make weapons, they are all hammered out with nails and hammers in a small blacksmith's furnace. The quality varies, the output is low, and the cost is high. This led to the fact that among the tribal soldiers, only elite soldiers could be equipped with iron weapons, while the temporarily recruited tribal militiamen could only use farm tools or even wooden sticks.
Cold weapons have low technical content and are relatively simple to make. Coupled with sufficient high-quality iron, the Pili Army can now produce them on a large scale. The advantages of industrialized production are high labor efficiency, large output, and stable quality. The most important thing is that the price is not high and it is suitable for large-scale equipment. The Perak Army will also purchase military weapons--military crossbows and poisons--from Banzhou. Military crossbows and thunderbolts can also be made, but the requirements are small, and they have to be made by hand. The manufacturing cost is high, so it is better to buy them directly. Poison is a specialty of Miao territory and can be used in conjunction with military crossbows in special operations such as reconnaissance and sneak attacks.
In the Perak Army's layout, arms trade is only a small part of the tripartite economic cooperation agreement. After repeated consultations between the three parties, the economic cooperation agreement was reached with roughly four parts. The first part is daily trade, that is, the two parties exchange what they have. The Pili Army will export salt, ironware and other industrial products to the Miao territory, while the Miao territory will use ponies, buffalo and other large livestock as well as paint, tung oil and other specialties in exchange, and the shortfall will be offset by gold and silver.
The goods that the Pili Army chose to sell were carefully selected and not only highly profitable, but also urgently needed by Miao territory. Although the Miao territory is vast in area, it is mountainous and narrow with barren land. The few slopes have many stones and the cultivated land is very fragmented. In addition, there is a lack of iron farm tools, so the grain output is very limited. Lack of food has led to slow growth of the local population, and conflicts between tribes often arise over competition for land resources. The Pili army's iron tools and farm implements are well-made, and the raw materials used come from blast furnaces. The quality is even better than the weapons produced in Banzhou. In addition, there is also a sharp tool that allows the elderly, weak and women to cultivate mountainous areas - the plow, which will definitely greatly increase the food harvests of various tribes.
As for table salt, it will be welcomed by the people. There is only sporadic salt production in Miao territory, and most of the people's salt comes from the Zigong Salt Supervision Bureau in Chongqing and Luzhou. The Mongolian cavalry came and went like the wind, frequently raiding the land in central Sichuan, focusing on robbing and killing people to destroy the Song army's war potential. The well salt production areas in Luzhou and Chongqing were even more key targets. At present, these salt-producing facilities have either been burned down or not a single one of them remains. In addition, the government extorted excessive taxes to enrich the pockets of corrupt officials. Bandits were rampant along the way and the trade routes were disrupted. The price of salt transported to Bozhou with great pains was also very high. When it was transported to various parts of Miao territory, the price was even more horrifyingly expensive. Ordinary mountain salt People simply cannot afford salt.
People who cannot eat salt for a long time are like farmers on the grassland who cannot eat tea for a long time, and the consequences are very serious. Not only will it reduce appetite and make people physically weak, it will also reduce disease resistance and weaken the combat effectiveness of the army. The Bozhou Army was highly relied upon by the imperial court because of its strong combat power, so although the salt under its rule was expensive, it was still affordable. The various tribes in Miao territory suffer from a lack of salt. In some remote tribes, entire villages and villages even lack salt. Being able to buy salt from Banzhou was one of the reasons why they were willing to obey the Yang family.
The Pili Army's salt-producing land is in Qiongzhou, which seems to be much farther away than Luzhou and Chongqing. However, because it is by water and there is less exploitation, the cost of transporting it to Bozhou is not high. After Zhu Tiaozi's calculations, when shipped to Bozhou and coupled with a reasonable profit, the price was only one-fifth of the current official salt. Even if it was shipped to the main villages of each tribe, the price was only one-third. Although this price is still expensive for poor mountain people, it is at least affordable.
If economic and trade relations are to last for a long time, they must be voluntary and reciprocal. The Pili Army sold salt, iron and other goods, and also needed to buy things to achieve a balance of trade. However, among the items sold in Miao territory, large livestock such as ponies and buffaloes are important means of production. Even if the tribes are willing to sell them all, the Perak Army will not do such a thing. Tung oil is a good thing. It can be used not only in the shipbuilding industry, but also in making firearms. However, the demand is not large, and the demand for the same paint, bristles and other materials is not large. Fortunately, Miao territory is rich in gold and silver, and there are small-scale mines in many places. Gold sand can also be found in rivers, which can be used by various tribes to make up for the lack of exchange materials.
The second content of the economic agreement is to open mines and build factories. The Pili Army is thousands of miles away from Bozhou. Even if they take the low-cost waterway, it will still take ten and a half days. If you go to the tribes and tribes such as the Luo clan ghost country around Banzhou, you still need to travel hundreds of miles. Most of these roads are mountainous and some sections are very difficult to navigate. If all the goods were transported from western Sichuan, not only would they take a long time on the road, but they would also be easily blocked due to war and other reasons. Therefore, the Perak Army decided to cooperate with Bozhou and various tribes to open mines and build factories on the spot. To be precise, they cooperated with various tribes to develop mines, and with the Bozhou Yang family, they opened mines and built factories.
Miao territory is rich in resources, with abundant coal and iron ore, and extremely rich mercury ore resources. In addition, there are many lead-zinc ores and saltpetre ores. In the early stage, Pili Army technical personnel, accompanied by Bozhou, conducted a detailed exploration of locations suitable for mining and building factories. According to the plan, the Perak Army will provide funds and technology for mining, while each tribe will contribute resources and manpower. Mines such as gold, silver, mercury and nitrate will be mainly mined, while coal and iron will be mined in places with convenient transportation within Bonju to facilitate transportation. Adjacent industrial area. This industrial zone is located near Hailongtun. The terrain is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The factories built in the first phase include a coking coal factory, a steel factory and a foundry that produces cold weapons and agricultural tools.
The third content of the economic agreement is the development of trade routes and the construction of trade strongholds. Yang Wen told all the powerful chiefs that only by opening up trade routes to distant places and bringing in more urgently needed resources can the lives of the Miao people get better. Of course, the powerful chiefs understood this truth and were unwilling to suffer poverty. Naturally, they supported the idea of extending the trade route through their tribe's jurisdiction to the coast and Dali Kingdom with both hands and feet. In fact, they also know that there are more good things in the distance. For example, Dali Kingdom, which borders Luo Shi Ghost Kingdom, is rich in a large amount of copper. It is a good thing second only to gold and silver. It can be used to make gongs and drums. The most valued ritual vessel.
Naturally, various tribes also supported the Perak Army in building trade outposts on the trade routes. According to the plan, the Pili Army will establish a series of strongholds on the two main trade routes leading to the coast and Dali. Each of these strongholds is fifty miles apart and is built in the mountain stronghold of each tribe. In order to improve the local education and health level, in addition to two caravan members, each trading stronghold will also be equipped with a doctor and a teacher to teach students and treat mountain residents for free. In fact, the two caravan members were also intelligence collectors for the Thunderbolt Army.
Both Ouyang Xuan and Yang Wen know very well that relationships formed by interests are the strongest. Therefore, the last article of the economic agreement is profit sharing. According to the agreement, the mining revenue will be divided 50-50 between the Pili Army and the party where the mine is located; the factory revenue will be divided 50-50 between the Pili Army and Bozhou; Pili and Bozhou will establish a joint caravan and will use the profits earned by the caravan in Miao territory. One-fifth of the total is used to build roads, bridges, and medical and educational undertakings for various tribes.
