Yuan Shao's battle against Tian Kai did not undergo any substantial changes due to the addition of Cao Cao's 10,000 troops.
Tian Kai still couldn't hold on, and the Yuan-Cao coalition had no good solution, so they had to surround Dongpingling County, which was under the rule of Jinan.
Tens of thousands of troops were stationed outside the city in the ice and snow, and it was really miserable.
Fortunately, the first month has passed, the earth is gradually returning to spring, and everything is beginning to regain its vitality.
Since dozens of Chen Deng's family were killed by "Han slaves", the landlords and wealthy people in Pengcheng, Xiapi and other counties have chosen to keep a low profile with a tacit understanding.
Lu Bu was allowed to occupy large areas of "unclaimed" cultivated land everywhere, and then he was led by the second-class soldiers who failed the examination (mainly Qingzhou Yellow Turban surrender soldiers and Ji Ling tribe surrender soldiers), along with their families and Han slaves. The Hunu in , , and Prefectures built communes that were half military reclamation and half slavery.
The curved shaft plow "invented" by Lu Bu was also cast in large quantities and distributed to various communes along with many other slightly improved agricultural tools.
Compared with the old-fashioned long straight shaft plow, the curved shaft plow, which is short and equipped with a freely rotating plow disc, is small and lightweight, easy to turn around and turn, and is more flexible in operation, and can even adjust the depth of plowing.
Moreover, the curved shaft plow has a more scientific mechanical structure, and it is more labor-saving to plow the land.
The work that originally required one or two oxen can now be harnessed to a few Han slaves to plow dozens of acres of land in a day.
The rations consumed by a few Korean slaves were barely less than those eaten by two cows!
Sure enough, the heroes saw the same thing. Lu Bu in Xuzhou was farming wildly, and Cao Cao was not idle either. He also started farming wildly in various parts of Yuzhou.
Lu Bu sent Mi Fang to visit Changyi again with his gifts.
Cao Cao received him in person, and Mi Fang presented Lu Bu's letter. After reading it, Cao Cao put the letter away with a smile and said:
"Thank you very much, Marquis Wen, for your thoughtfulness! But I don't know what he meant by sending me a cross-shaped plow in his letter?"
Mi Fang hurriedly said: "This curved shaft plow is modified from the traditional wooden plow used by my master. It is made of Pengcheng fine iron. It is especially suitable for large-scale farming..."
Cao Cao was also quite moved when he heard Mi Fang boasting about the advantages of Qu Yuan Li:
"Oh? Is there such a good thing? This is exactly what I need urgently! I want to see the new stuff Fengxian has come up with!"
As he said that, he was accompanied by everyone and arrived at an open space outside the city.
Mi Fang personally directed several people to set up the curved shaft plow. One person drove two oxen, and the other held the handle of the plow behind.
Sure enough, without much effort, the solid land was plowed with sharp plows to create a deep furrow, and the clods of soil were also crushed.
Cao Cao himself didn't understand the art of farming, so he asked those around him who knew. He was overjoyed when he got a high evaluation:
"Lu Fengxian is indeed a talent! Not only is he good at leading troops in war, he also knows how to farm! Tell me, how much does such a plow cost?"
He has to cultivate tens of thousands of acres of land, and the ten-barreled plow sent by Lu Bu alone will definitely be a drop in the bucket.
No need to ask, Lu Bu is here to promote his products!
Mi Fang laughed and said: "My lord has said that he and Mr. Cao are as close as brothers, so naturally he will give Mr. Cao the most reasonable price.
Each Quyuan plow costs 3,000 yuan! If you only need a plow, you can get it delivered to your door with free shipping for only 2,200 yuan!
Of course, Cao Gong’s exchange of grain, cloth, livestock and other materials is also welcome! "
Cao Cao nodded. Mi Fang's offer was considered reasonable. After all, the war was in turmoil now, and iron was an extremely important strategic resource.
The iron output in Yanzhou and Yuzhou is not high and cannot meet military needs. Where can we get the excess refined iron to make this thing?
But Cao Cao is really short of money! He now has nearly 100,000 soldiers to feed!
Food and cloth are the hard currency he urgently needs!
Look at this curved shaft plow made of fine iron, which can make his farm project twice the result with half the effort!
Cao Cao gritted his teeth and said, "First give me eight thousand...ten thousand fights!"
At the same time, Yuan Shao from Jizhou also gritted his teeth and said: "Give me fifteen thousand first!"
The wealthy landowners in Xuzhou also saw the benefits of Quyu plows and actively requested to buy Quyu plows.
The land in their hands ranges from thousands to tens of thousands of acres, to tens of thousands and tens of thousands of acres. If they can all use curved shaft plows, they can really save a lot of labor.
(Forcible explanation: In the Han Dynasty, there were large acres and small acres. Large acres were equivalent to 0.7 city acres today, and small acres were about 0.3 city acres.
Converted to today's units, the output of one acre of land is one to two hundred kilograms of corn. After excluding various taxes, a family of three must cultivate at least 70 acres of land to make ends meet. )
Lu Bu also refused to accept their requests, but this time he didn't want money, just food and cloth!
These large households have a lot of grain in their hands, and they must squeeze out as much of this grain as possible!
Lu Bu now needs a lot of food to raise soldiers, slaves, and make wine!
As the labor force in iron mines increases and iron smelting blast furnaces become more mature, newer and larger blast furnaces are constantly being built, and the output of Pengcheng Iron Mine is also increasing steadily.
Although people like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are big customers, the spending power of wealthy landowners in various states cannot be underestimated.
While Lu Bu was busy sorting out Xuzhou's internal affairs and training troops, Pengcheng welcomed another guest.
Bingyuan, whose courtesy name is Genju, was born in Zhuxu, Beihai. He has a long history as a general with five sense organs under Kong Rong's account.
Introduced into the hall for the ceremony, Lu Bu asked, "I've been invited by Bing Changshi. How is Kong Beihai?"
Bing Yuan cupped his hands and said, "I have met Marquis Wen, and I can tell you the truth. This time I came to Xuzhou to ask for help at the request of Prime Minister Kong!
Please also ask Marquis Wen to send troops to save the people of Beihai for the sake of the past! "
Lu Bu couldn't help but frown after hearing this: "Why did Kong Rong have someone beat him up again? But he was making trouble with the Yellow Turban Bandits again? Don't be impatient first, tell me in detail..."
Bing Yuan agreed and started talking.
It turns out that although Qingzhou is also one of the thirteen states, its governor is Jiao He.
When the Yellow Turban Army was in rebellion, Qingzhou's soldiers were many and well-armed, but Jiao He had no military talent at all. He did not set up patrols and walked away looking for the enemy. He only prayed to the gods.
In the end, Qingzhou became depressed and turned into ruins, and Jiao He himself died of illness.
After Jiao He's death, Qingzhou was even more leaderless. Now Pingyuan County, Jinan County and Le'an Kingdom in the east are controlled by Gongsun Zan's subordinate Tian Kai.
Beihai was naturally the territory under Kong Rong's actual control, while Donglai County, located at the easternmost point, was controlled by Liu Yi, Gongsun Du's crony.
Gongsundu, whose courtesy name was Shengji. A native of Xiangping, Liaodong.
Recommended by his fellow countryman Xu Rong, Dong Zhuo appointed him as the governor of Liaodong.
After Gongsundu established his foothold in Liaodong, he attacked Goguryeo in the east, Wuhuan in the west, and the Liaodong Peninsula in the south, which also created a large territory.
While the eighteen princes were attacking Dong Zhuo, Gongsun Du was recuperating, and Liaodong was far away from the Central Plains. However, many people from the Central Plains took refuge in Liaodong.
Taishi Ci also ran to Liaodong to hide for a while.
