Chapter 181
"This is a good idea, but can Zhang Tong, the governor of Lelang, really have so many Goguryeo prisoners?"
Although Goguryeo at this time was still a primary slave state centered on Wandu, it was not a small East Asian power that would be able to resist the several conquests of Sui Yang Emperor and Tang Taizong in the future. 6 eight 6 eight 6 read 6 books, o
However, Liu Yu remembered that in history, the collapse of the Western Jin government's rule in Lelang and Daifang counties was due to the successive invasions of Goguryeo. Even Zhang Tong, the governor of the two counties, could only lead more than a thousand Han families to migrate to Liaodong County and surrender to Liaodong County. Murong Xianbei's subordinate.
Therefore, Liu Yu was still very doubtful whether Zhang Tong, the governor of Lelang, had the ability to capture so many Goguryeo prisoners at this time.
"The fleet from Donglai heading to Lelang and Daifang counties told me several times that there were a large number of Goguryeo captives in Lelang and Daifang counties. Due to repeated attacks, the people of the two counties could no longer take care of those who were far away from the city dock. Farmland cannot be used even if there are many prisoners.”
Wang Li's words surprised Liu Yu quite a bit.
Liu Yu knew that since Goguryeo invaded the south, the land transportation between Lelang and Daifang counties and the Central Plains had been completely cut off. With thousands of households and tens of thousands of Han people in the two counties, they could not only resist Goguryeo's invasion, but also capture captives. A large number of babies.
Is the military strength of Lelang and Daifang counties so strong?
"I remember that Lelang and Daifang counties only had a few thousand families, and their military strength was probably less than ten thousand. How could they be so strong and capture thousands of Goguryeo Dingkou?" Liu Yu did not hide his surprise.
"General, I don't know. The soldiers and people in these two counties are all generals who moved to guard the border since Cao Wei pacified the Gongsun clan. Everyone is skilled in swords, guns, bows and horses. It is not too difficult to deal with the wild men in the Gaima Mountain Forest. Disaster."
Obviously, Wang Li, who had stayed in Donglai County for a long time, was already quite familiar with the situation in Lelang and Daifang counties.
After hearing this, Liu Yu was a little surprised again. If this was the case, then it shouldn't be. If the Han people in these two counties had such strong military force, why would Zhang Tong, the prefect of Lelang, be forced to lead more than a thousand families a few years later? The Han people migrated to the Murong tribe
"However, I heard that the territory of these two counties seems to be getting smaller and smaller, and the situation of the scholars in the two counties is getting worse and worse." Liu Yu asked.
After hearing this, Wang Li rubbed his hands and said.
"What the general said is indeed true."
"If the two counties had such powerful soldiers, why would they do this?"
Liu expected that if Lelang and Daifang counties were border fortress towns and there were thousands of strong soldiers, then guarding the land route with Liaodong County should not be a problem. Why was the situation getting worse and worse.
"General, you don't know something. Since the invasion of Goguryeo, almost regardless of spring, autumn, winter or summer, as long as there is a suitable opportunity, the Goguryeo chieftains will send barbarians such as Muji, Haoqian, and Fuyu to raid, not only plundering the population and property, but also It also makes the people of the two counties unable to farm and work with peace of mind. The two counties are already insufficient in self-sufficiency of grain. In normal times, if there is a war or famine, grain must be transported from the Central Plains. Now that the Goguryeo people are doing this, the harvest in this field is There are fewer and fewer, and we can barely maintain our troop strength."
After hearing these words, Liu Yu understood somewhat.
Lelang and Daifang counties are located in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. The light and heat conditions and geographical location here are not very good for farming. Coupled with the frequent harassment by the Goguryeo people, the survival of the Han people in the two counties has appeared. Big problem. Eighty-eight reading, o
"In this case, Zhang Tong, the governor of Lelang, why not use the captured prisoners as serfs, so that more soldiers can patrol, wouldn't it be possible to maintain this?"
The soldiers in frontier counties like Lelang and Fang were all farmers and soldiers. They trained as soldiers when farming was slack and became farmers when farming was busy.
If he could serve as an off-duty soldier, wouldn't he be able to defend himself against the Goguryeo invaders during the busy farming season?
"No, almost all of the captured prisoners are Haoqian people. These people are already very good at weaving stone and wood. They have no ability to farm at all. It's not enough to expect these people to gain anything from farming. They eat a lot of seeds secretly."
Obviously, Wang Li despised these slaves driven by the Goguryeo people.
Even being a serf is unqualified.
Liu Yu, a "Yuqian man", had little impression of this name.
"They are the barbarians east of Lelang and Daifang and south of Goguryeo. They are barbarians who are stronger than the barbarians who drink blood. They know some slash-and-burn farming methods and can raise some livestock."
Wang Li saw that Liu Yu seemed to be very interested in this, so he continued.
"Most of these Haoqian people are groups of dozens or hundreds of families. I heard that they have the same ancestors as the Goguryeo people. Since Goguryeo invaded the south, they have become the servants and minions of the Goguryeo people. They specialize in making some things in the two counties. Burning, killing and looting.”
Later, Liu Yu learned that these Haoqian people were probably still in the era of slavery. They did not know how to cast iron tools and did not have good handicrafts. They could be bribed by the Goguryeo people with some small favors.
"Oh, since these Haoqi people can't even farm, can we buy them to do hard work?" Liu Yu was a little worried about whether these Haoqi people, who were still in a barbaric state, could be qualified to work as miners. .
"There's definitely no problem. On these islands, struvite is exposed on the surface. It doesn't require any skills, as long as you have the strength."
When Wang Li followed Liu Yu's request and searched the Beimiao Islands, he found that the guano ore on these islands was all exposed in the open air. Unlike copper mines and iron ores that require digging caves, it was basically zero difficulty. Mining.
After listening to Wang Li's words, Liu Yu felt that this was a very good deal.
As long as these people have the strength, it is enough. Moreover, these islands with guano are surrounded by the sea. There is no need to spend too much energy and manpower to guard them. As long as they can control them, they can keep forcing them. They mine.
Moreover, there is another place that makes Liu Yu even more excited.
That is, the official rule of the Western Jin Dynasty in Lelang and Daifang counties has almost collapsed. What remains now are some Han people on the frontier who huddle together for warmth. After these people have had their normal production disrupted, it is difficult to maintain the original farming and war garrison.
Liu Yu planned to use this business of buying captives as coolies to support the frontier soldiers in these two counties. In this way, the people from Lelang and Daifang counties could become Liu Yu's slave-catching team. After all, these two The county's frontier soldiers had considerable advantages over the Goguryeo people.
After careful consideration, Liu Yu finally decided to send Wang Li to Lelang County to meet Zhang Tong in person, tell him his plan, and see how Zhang Tong reacted.
At this time, it was already the early spring of the fourth year of Yongjia.
The warm wind in early spring was just right. Wang Li was going from Qingzhou to Lelang County. He could complete the return trip in just a few days, which was much less laborious than taking the land route.
A few days later, when Wang Li returned, it was beyond Liu Yu's expectation.
Because Wang Li did not come back alone, he was accompanied by Zhang Tong, the governor of Lelang and Daifang counties.
After only a brief visit, Liu Yu had almost forgotten Zhang Tong's appearance, and Zhang Tong had no impression of Liu Yu.
However, although they were almost strangers, Zhang Tong came here with great sincerity.
Because the caravan trade between Donglai County and Lelangdaifang is quite frequent, the salt, cloth, ironware, etc. shipped from Donglai County are also in short supply in Lelangdaifang County, and the two counties of Lelangdaifang The furs and timbers of Donglai are also very popular in Donglai, but the recent attacks from Goguryeo have become more and more severe. These furs, timbers and other goods have been greatly reduced. This has also made Lelang and Fang two counties The purchasing power of the people has been greatly reduced.
After all, during the Western Jin Dynasty, Lelang and Daifang counties were both barbaric frontier fortresses, with almost no other good output. They were far from being the great military-first country that would be abundant in materials and food and clothing for later generations.
"General Liu, Zhang is so presumptuous that he really has no choice but to ask the general to show his respect." The gray-haired Zhang looked apologetic.
"Mr. Zhang, you come from a famous family. It's a blessing for me to catch a glimpse of you today. Why would you dare to just say it?" Liu Yu replied.
After all, Zhang Tong's grandfather was Zhang Liao, who was so powerful in Xiaoyaojin that he beat Sun Shiwan and fled in embarrassment. He was worthy enough to be regarded as a queen of this famous family.
After a few polite exchanges, the two quickly got into topics of common interest.
Because Zhang Tong took the post of governor of Lelang and Daifang counties by himself, that is, he took it on his own without being formally appointed by the Jin court, and Liu Yu's official position was also obtained through deception, so The two hit it off quickly.
"Mr. Zhang, when you come here in person this time, you must have something important to discuss in person," Liu Yu said.
In the conversation just now, Zhang Tong clearly felt that Liu Yu respected his grandfather Zhang Liao. You must know that this was only a few decades away from the Three Kingdoms era, and without the influence of storytelling, ordinary people had little respect for Zhang Liao's reputation. It is not as familiar as it was in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Zhang Tong was somewhat flattered by Liu Yu's attitude towards his grandfather Zhang Liao. Accordingly, Zhang Tong's favorable impression of Liu Yu also greatly increased.
Therefore, Zhang Tong was quite straightforward in his words and deeds, without any pretense.
"Hey, general, let me tell you the truth, Lelang and Daifang counties are at the end of their rope."
Zhang Tong sighed helplessly, and then poured out his bitterness to Liu Yu.
It turned out that the situation in the two counties of Lelang and Fang was far worse than Liu Yu expected. After being frequently harassed by the Goguryeo people, not only the cultivation of food was affected, but also the collection of furs, medicinal materials, etc. was almost cut off. Once there, there were almost no items that could be traded with Dongnae merchant ships.
"General, you don't know something. After several years of fierce fighting, the soldiers of Lelang and Fang are now seriously lacking in armor, weapons, iron arrowheads, cowhide, etc. Without these military supplies, no Goguryeo people can fight even once." , the soldiers from the two counties will be weaker, and when these strong and powerful soldiers are exhausted, they will have to trade their lives with the Goguryeo people." Zhang Tong's tone was full of pessimism about the future.
Hearing this, Liu Yu nodded frequently. What Zhang Tong said must be true, because in addition to armors and weapons that require a large number of craftsmen to make, even the cowhide used to make leather armor and tandem armor leaves are in today's Le Neither Langdaifang nor Langdaifang County could find many cattle. Even if they could find cattle, they lacked salt processing.
"I already knew what Mr. Zhang said, so I wholeheartedly wanted to help my colleagues in the two counties. Qingzhou happened to be short of labor, and there were many Goguryeo and Haoqi captives in Fang County under Zhang Gong's lelang belt. They could all be replaced with salt and Cloth, if Mr. Zhang wants armor or weapons, that's fine too." Liu Yu said, thought for a moment, and continued.
"Let's do this. I will take all the captives as many as there are in Zhang Gong's hands. As for the price, the price can be favorable depending on the quantity. The more you sell to me, the higher the unit price of each captive will be. At the highest, one captive can be converted into ten stones. food."
Liu Yu hadn't figured out how much a prisoner could be priced at, so he decided to leave it at the end. This was a buyer's market anyway.
Hearing what Liu Yu said, Zhang Tong felt ecstatic in his heart.
A prisoner can be converted into up to ten stones of food, which is far beyond Zhang Tong's expectation.
However, the happy expression on Zhang Tong's face flashed across his face, followed immediately by an expression of embarrassment and regret.
"The general is really generous, but it's just for this reason that I came here this time." Zhang Tong glanced at Liu Yu and continued quickly.
"Oh, general, don't get me wrong. I'm not the kind of businessman who cares about anything. I'm not here specifically to discuss the price of captives with the general."
These words made Liu Yu a little confused. He came across the sea not to discuss the price of the transaction, but for what purpose? Could it be that his domineering spirit has leaked out and he wants to surrender?
"Mr. Zhang, if you have something to do, you might as well tell me directly. I will do my best to help the soldiers in the two counties guarding the Han family's land." Liu Yu said immediately.
"Well, Zhang is not here to beat the autumn wind." After hearing this, Zhang Tong said with some embarrassment.
"General, when you sent Wang Li to Lelang to tell you that you wanted to buy prisoners, the scholars in Zhang and Lelang led the two counties were very happy. This is a new hope for the people in the two counties."
"It's just, it's just"
Zhang Tong began to hesitate to speak.
"It's just nothing, Mr. Zhang said it doesn't matter." Liu Yu was a little anxious.
"It's just that the people sent by the general arrived a little late."
"What do you mean it's a step too late? Did Zhang Gong release all the prisoners?" Liu Yu thought to himself, Zhang Tong and you guys have made peace with Goguryeo again.
After Zhang Tong heard this, he waved his hands repeatedly and said.
"No, no, the barbarians of Goguryeo have a sworn hatred with the scholars of the two counties. How can we negotiate peace?"
Zhang Tong continued.
"It's not that the prisoners were released, but because more than three thousand prisoners in total have been killed." After Zhang Tong finished speaking, his face was full of regret, as if he had dropped tens of thousands of dollars.
"Ah killed it" 11
