Chapter 496: The Arrival of the Craftsmen
Chapter 496: The Arrival of the Craftsmen
One thousand and eighty artisan households, about five to six thousand people, all came by boat. Except for a section of mountain road in Sanmenxia, they took the boat the whole way. Each family had a passenger ship of 1,000 tons, loaded with more than ten years' belongings and longing for their hometown, and they came from thousands of miles away.
At present, they are all temporarily living in the large military camp in the north of the city. Each household has a big tent. Fortunately, the weather is gradually getting warmer, so there is nothing wrong with living in the big tent. Moreover, the big tent they live in is not the general tent that soldiers live in, but a sheepskin tent. There are curtains inside to separate the small rooms, which are covered with carpets, which is also quite interesting.
Groups of children were running and playing between the big tents, and smiles were blooming on the faces of the elderly. Their hometown was just on the other side of the river, but Jiankang had been burned down by a fire. They knew that their home was no longer in Jiangning County, but as long as they could smell the scent of their hometown, they would have no regrets.
Officials have registered them one by one and are considering how to resettle them?
Xiao Xia arrived at the camp and found Gao Jiong and Liu Wenjing. Xiao Xia walked into the tent and asked with a smile, "Have you two thought of a suitable resettlement plan?"
The two of them quickly stood up and saluted, "When did your highness come back?"
"I just arrived too. I heard you were discussing this on site, so I came to take a look."
The two asked Xiao Xia to sit down, and Gao Jiong took out a registration summary form and gave it to Xiao Xia, "Your Highness, please take a look!"
Xiao Xia took the summary sheet and looked at it carefully. All of the 1,080 households were craftsmen from the Military Equipment Bureau. Most of them were craftsmen from two generations, father and son. There were sword makers, halberd makers, spear makers, bow and crossbow makers, armor makers, and even nearly a hundred large military equipment makers. These were precious talents!
After the Sui Dynasty destroyed the Chen Dynasty, all kinds of official craftsmen were plundered. Now there are only 500 craftsmen in Yetang left who can make military weapons. Moreover, all the weapons they make are sent to the court and are not allowed to stay in Jiangnan. Therefore, it is difficult to find high-quality weapons in the Jiangnan market. Even if there are any, they are left over from the previous dynasty.
With these excellent craftsmen, Xiao Xia can make his own weapons and armor without being strangled by the imperial court.
"These craftsmen must be settled in Jiangdu!" Xiao Xia expressed his attitude decisively.
Liu Wenjing said, "Your Highness, Lord Gao and I both think so. In fact, we have discussed with the artisans and they are willing to stay in Jiangdu. They also know that they have lost their homes. The only request they made is that we can take them back to their hometown by boat so that they can visit their parents' graves."
Xiao Xia nodded, "This request is not excessive and can be agreed to. Let's think it over carefully and prepare a dozen large ships with a capacity of 10,000 tons to send them to Jiangning in batches to visit their relatives and visit their graves. I will ask the officials of Danyang County to arrange ox carts for them to pick up and send them, and they can stay on the large ships at night."
Liu Wenjing said quickly: "Your Highness, please rest assured. I will definitely take care of this little thing!"
At this time, Gao Jiong said slowly: "Your Highness, there may not be enough vacant houses in Jiangdu City for resettlement. I have discussed with Liu Changshi that we can solve the problem by building Jiangdu Sub-City, and then relocate Yetang Prison and Megan Prison here as well."
Gao Jiong's suggestion hit the nail on the head for Xiao Xia. It would be easier to manage if the craftsmen were to live together. Xiao Xia happily asked, "Do you have a plan?"
Gao Ying took out a roll of sketches and spread it on the table, saying with a smile, "Your Highness, please have a look!"
Gao Jiong pointed to the south of Jiangdu City and said, "We can build a sub-city in the south, which will gradually expand into a new county town in the future. It will be about ten miles away from Jiangdu City. After the construction is completed, it will be only five or six miles away from the dock. We can build an official road to connect it to Jiangdu City, and dig a canal to connect it to the canal."
"A county town with a circumference of twenty miles?"
"Exactly!"
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "The plan is good, but distant water cannot quench immediate thirst!"
Gao Jiong smiled slightly and said, "I am considering digging a canal to replace the city wall first, and then gradually build the city wall outside the canal. What do you think, Your Highness?"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "There's no need to dig canals. We can just build a board wall like a military camp. We can build it wider so people can walk on it. We can compact the soil and it won't be affected by wind or rain. It can be completed in a month."
"And build a log cabin?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Wooden houses will be quicker. There is a lot of wood for building civilian ships at the shipyard, which has not been used in the past few years. We can just transport the wood here to build houses. Each household will have one acre of land, and we can build some shops on both sides of the main street, and then pave the main street with stone slabs."
Liu Wenjing said with some concern: "Your Highness, we need to build nearly 2,000 wooden houses. I'm afraid we don't have enough wood!"
"If there is not enough wood, we can go to the Jiangbei mountain area to cut wood. In addition, starting from the artisans, every household should use honeycomb coal, which can effectively prevent fires. Regarding honeycomb coal, I will ask Fang Xuanling to provide you with a drawing later."
Xiao Xia is the lord, he is only responsible for deployment, and how to do it is the business of his subordinates.
Gao Jiong suddenly remembered something and said, "Your Highness, speaking of coal, I remembered something. When Your Highness went to Jiangning, did you hear about the Jiangning Iron Mine?"
Xiao Xia shook his head, "No mention of it!" "Maybe the local government doesn't know either."
Xiao Xia's eyes lit up, and he asked anxiously, "Has Jiangning Iron Mine made any discovery?"
Gao Jiong nodded. Three days ago, he received a report from Zhang Wentao, the director of the Mining and Metallurgy Bureau. They found more than a dozen iron ore veins. In fact, five of them are high-quality iron ore with huge reserves, which can be smelted into fine steel. "
This news was really exciting. Xiao Xia said happily: "With excellent craftsmen and high-quality iron ore, we don't have to worry about our equipment!"
Gao Jiong also smiled and said, "I also suggest that the ore be initially refined near the mine, so that the rough iron blocks can be brought back to Jiangdu instead of the ore."
Xiao Xia shook his head. "I've thought about this. The initial smelting requires very high skills, and coal is needed as fuel. If we smelt in Jiangdu, there will be high-level craftsmen involved, so we can smelt good iron. Besides, it's not far away, so it won't cost much for transportation."
Gao Jiong nodded, "Your Highness is right. I didn't think enough!"
It was still early, and Xiao Xia returned to the government office. Just as he sat down, Du Ruhui reported at the door, "Your Highness, Judge Pei wants to see you!"
"Invite him in!"
Not long after, Pei Wen'an came in quickly and handed a report to Xiao Xia. "This is an urgent report sent by General Luo Shixin from Wujun. I received it yesterday. The Shanyue people's sneak attack on the camp failed. The mastermind has been arrested and is currently being escorted to Jiangdu. Judging from the time, it is estimated that it will be delivered tomorrow."
Xiao Xia read the report, nodded and said, "Send them a pigeon letter, let them learn a lesson and never do it again!"
Xiao Xia did not intend to hold Wang Bodang responsible, but just hoped that they could learn a lesson.
In contrast, Xiao Xia was more interested in the upcoming Lan Zhaohe, from whom he could get more intelligence.
"Once Lan Zhaohe arrives, we must interrogate him thoroughly and get valuable information from him."
Pei Wen'an bowed and saluted, "I obey your orders!"
Pei Wen'an left. Xiao Xia walked a few steps in the room with his hands behind his back, and then said to Fang Xuanling, "Go find Li Luming!"
Fang Xuanling went there quickly. Not long after, footsteps were heard in the yard and Li Luming appeared at the door. "Your Highness, are you looking for me?"
Xiao Xia smiled and waved her hand, "Come in and talk!"
The tall Li Luming walked into the room and bowed, "Your Highness!"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I just want to ask, has there been any news from the men you sent out?"
"Reporting to His Highness, at present, only Dongyang County has some news, and there is no news from other counties."
"Then tell me about the news from Dongyang County!"
The ones who surrendered to the Wujun camp this time were all servants of the Lou family in Dongyang County. In addition, the supply of iron ore in Dongyang County was cut off, so Xiao Xia actually became interested in Dongyang County.
"Your Highness, the Lou family in Dongyang County has been deserted. It is said that Lou Shigan has gathered an army of 2,000 people and stationed them deep in the mountains. It is estimated that his family has also moved to the mountains."
"What else?"
"Also, the Yan family and the Wang family in Dongyang County are working hard to open mines. The ore has been shipped to Yuhang County by ship. These two families have not moved away, and it is just like usual."
Xiao Xia nodded, "I know, keep reporting any news!"
(End of this chapter)