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Xiahou Rong didn't answer Xiahou Hui immediately, he slowly drank the porridge while thinking, until he finished eating the porridge in the bowl, he raised his head and looked at Xiahou Hui: "I want to go to Funan to have a look, I don't know if it's convenient." Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Xiahou Hui smiled and nodded: "Of course you can, Funan is a start-up, if you can give some good advice, then it's the best." ”

"And ......" Xiahou Rong looked a little hesitant, he took the towel from the maid's hand, wiped his mouth, and cleaned his hands, and then said slowly: "There is also a shortage of people in Guanzhong, if you want to make a good grain reserve for the Western Expedition, there are too many food reserves in the household registration, and it is not easy." I have long heard that the country of Yue is also vast and sparsely populated, but your food is very abundant, we don't understand it very much, and we really want to get some inspiration from you. This one...... Is it convenient? ”

Xiahou Hui was a little surprised to see Xiahou Rong confess so frankly, she thought for a while: "I want to ask the king about this matter." ”

Xiahou Rong smiled understandingly. He knew that this matter could be big or small, and if he thought about it deeply, it was also spying on the secrets of the Yue Kingdom, and it was really difficult to say whether Sun Shao could agree or not. Sun Shao is generous, after this East China Sea Alliance, he has very practical cooperation with the three countries, which can be said to be quite generous, but he did not take out any of the earth-shaking thunder and steam engine he demonstrated in the East China Sea, this is understandable to everyone, after all, this is the killing weapon of the Yue Kingdom, if it is easily taken out, what else can he use to deter the other three countries? Thinking about it from another angle, no country with such a killing weapon will take it out and share it.

Xiahou Rong didn't have much hope for this, but he couldn't help but say it, so he could only convey it through Xiahou Hui, even if it was rejected, it wouldn't be too embarrassing.

But he didn't expect that Sun Shao quickly agreed to his request, and Sun Shao said to him in person: "If you want to see Funan, of course it's no problem, except for the weapons prison, you can watch it casually." ”

Xiahou Rong was overjoyed, he never expected to be able to go to the weapons monitor, he didn't have to think about it, he was already very surprised to be able to let him see the others. He thought about it, and couldn't help but ask, "Is the steam engine subordinate to the Weapons Supervisor?" ”

Sun Shao's mouth crooked, he knew that it would not be so simple for Xiahou Rong to come, of course it was the goal to see the development of Funan, but it was definitely not the most important purpose, the earth-shattering thunder and the steam engine were the top priorities. However, the earth-shattering thunder is a killer, he can't give it to them, the steam engine is still a semi-finished product, it can be taken out to scare people, there is still a distance to be practical, but Sun Shao has other ideas, the purpose of this technological innovation is to apply, if it cannot be applied, it has been buried in development, the investment will be very considerable, not in line with the objective law of technological development, if you want technological progress, you must innovate in the application, so that more people and capital can participate in it. He asked Cao Zhang to mine in Bingzhou, to drain water and transport coal, all of which could use steam engines. Although the current steam engine is not very stable, and the power is not satisfactory, it is obviously much better than manpower, and now that all countries are short of people, the desire to use the machine is even stronger, and it is a good time to promote the steam engine.

Xiahou Rong took the initiative to bring it up, of course he couldn't ask for it, but he still made a very embarrassed look, touched his chin and hesitated for a while, until Xiahou Rong was about to be disappointed, he reluctantly laughed: "Although the steam engine is not considered a weapons supervisor, it is also developed by the technicians of my art academy, you can take a look, but you must keep it secret." ”

Xiahou Rong was overjoyed, where would he not follow, and nodded busily. In the next period of time, according to Sun Shao's arrangement, Xiahou Rong first visited Yuejun. Yuejun attracted a large number of people from Wudi, and attracted a lot of Shanyue from the mountains to settle down, although the population density is not as good as the Central Plains, but it is also dense. Xiahou Rong looked at a few places and secretly admired, no wonder farmers from all countries ran to Yueguo, Yueguo treated farmers too favorably. Although Vietnam attaches great importance to industry and commerce and does not emphasize agriculture, in fact, farmers are the most comfortable. Compared with these populations, there is a lot of arable land in Vietnam, and one hundred acres is not a problem at all. A family normally has two laborers, which can be divided into about 200 acres, and the amount of labor is not small, but the government has basically achieved one cow per family through a large number of cattle bought from Liaodong, coupled with local cattle, even if it is a little worse, it can also be shared by two families with one cow, coupled with the promotion of a large number of new farm tools, it is no longer an impossible task for a family to plant 200 acres of land.

More land, more grain production, even if it is to repay the money owed to ploughing cattle and farm tools, there is still a lot left, the rent of the Yue country is very low, according to the ancient system of thirty taxes one, this is the legendary low tax, since the Han Dynasty, although the court often reduces the tax, in fact, the real tax according to the proportion of thirty taxes is very rare, and now the Yue country is really implementing this standard. Two hundred acres of land, the normal harvest can have five or six hundred stones, after paying taxes there is a large amount of surplus, these savings can be kept for their own preparation for the famine, can also be sold to the government, the price is according to the market price, there are many merchants in the Yue country, the grain consumption is large, the price of grain is more expensive than the Central Plains, about one stone of one hundred and thirty or forty yuan, when it is expensive, it can reach two hundred yuan, the farmer sells the surplus grain in exchange for oil, salt and supplies, most of them can still have some surplus, and they can make some wine, eat some meat, and buy some new clothes during the New Year's Festival. It's hard work, but it's a good life.

In addition to the light taxation, there is also a very popular phenomenon, that is, the application of various machinery is very extensive. Waterwheels and mills can be seen along almost every river. Xiahou Rong inquired curiously, and then learned that some of these waterwheels and mills were built by farmers with funds, and some were built with the help of the government. For example, the mill, because of the water power, one mill is worth the labor of 50 people, which greatly reduces the burden of labor. Another example is the waterwheel, with the tireless operation of the waterwheel propelled by water, even the highlands where water is difficult to transport can be grown without consuming too much manpower.

Xiahou Rong really felt the benefits of machinery, he thought of Guanzhong, there are large areas of arable land in Guanzhong, but irrigation is a big problem, because of the war, many water conservancy facilities have been abandoned, and it takes a lot of effort to restore them. If there is no water, growing wheat is a big problem, and if more waterwheels can be built like in Vietnam, the water problem in Guanzhong can be alleviated to a certain extent.

Xiahou Rong felt the real benefits, and looked more seriously, he was not ashamed to ask, mingled with ordinary Qianshou, and asked them about various things. While telling him about all kinds of new machinery, those farmers also unmistakably passed on their heartfelt happiness to Xiahou Rong. Xia Hourong was happy on the one hand, but also frightened on the other. If we can't change the current way of exploiting the people as soon as possible, more and more people will focus on Vietnam, and the gap between Vietnam and Vietnam will become wider and wider. It is obvious that if Wei is attacked by Yue, the people of Wei will definitely not be as active as the people of Yue when Wei attacked Yue, the reason is very simple, the people of Yue protect their own good life, and the people of Wei are just working for others.

Xiahou was surprised and delighted.

After about two months, Sun Shao was about to travel south, and Xiahou Rong also ended his visit to Yue County and set off with Sun Shao. This time, Sun Shao left Yue County, and at the same time moved the capital from Qian Tang to Funante Mucheng, so there were not only officials and facilities of various temples and temples, but also a large number of officials' families, fortunately, Yue Guo now has ships, nearly 3,000 large and small ships, and they can't see the end at a glance, taking advantage of the strong north wind all the way to the south.

At Qiantangkou, Su Thick Legs, the governor of the East China Sea, and Shi Bao, the newly appointed supervisor, bid farewell to Sun Shao. This time in the East China Sea, Sun Shao and Su Thick Leg got together for more than three months, they discussed a lot of things, Su Thick Leg heard some rumors, someone suggested in front of Sun Shao that he be transferred back to Funan, so that he would not be guarding the East China Sea for a long time, Su Thick Leg was planning to attack Sanhan, as soon as he heard the news, he immediately became anxious, he thought about it, and asked Sun Shao to send a prison army to help him govern the East China Sea. Sun Shao listened to his worries, so he also responded, and clearly divided the rights of the two, Shi Bao is the main civil affairs, and Su Thick Legs is the main conquest, and the two cooperate with each other to focus on the overall situation. At the same time, Sun Shao asked Su to take Sanhan, and after taking Sanhan, he transferred the station of the Donghai Governor to Sanhan, and prepared to further capture the Wa Kingdom. Sun Shao said that although the Japanese country is not strong, but it is used to train troops, the best way to maintain combat effectiveness at all times is to fight, even if it is not a war, but also let them escort, to fight pirates along the way, in a word, can not let them rest, once let them rest, no matter how sharp the knife will rust.

Although Su Thick Leg had some opinions on the arrival of Shi Bao, but after listening to Sun Shao's words, he was full of joy, his biggest regret was that he had not been able to follow Sun Shao on the expedition, and there were not many opportunities for meritorious service, and now Sun Shao had arranged so many tasks for him, he estimated that he would have a few years of comfortable life, and he would no longer have to covet Cui Qian to always have the opportunity to go on the expedition.

Su Thick Legs and Shi Bao said goodbye to Sun Shaoyi and sailed away. He had already prepared for the expedition before he came, and set up his forward position in Shanzhou (present-day Jeju Island), and this time he did not return to Lianyungang, crossed the sea, and went straight to Shanzhou, preparing for war. According to the predetermined plan, after he took Sanhan, he would go north from Lelang County and Obifang County, echoing Cao Zhang's northern expedition. In order to ensure the superiority of the troops, and at the same time to temper the troops, the right general Chen Hai and the later general Yue Hai walked with him, with a total strength of 35,000 troops, 27 building ships, nearly 100 medium-sized warships, and more than 200 baggage ships and accompanying merchant ships.

Halfway through, Sun Shao and Guan Feng parted ways, Guan Feng took a large number of merchant ships and cargo ships to the south, first returned to Funan, Sun Shao took Xiahou Rong and others and more than ten building ships to rush to Yi County, inspected Yi County for more than a month, replenished fresh water and grain, and then rode the wind to the south, into the jurisdiction of Haizhou. Deng Ai, the governor of the South China Sea, had already received the news, and led the 5,000 South China Sea Fleet to meet him, and after meeting with the South China Sea Fleet participating in the parade, he also met Zhang Cheng, the long history arranged for him by Sun Shaoxin.

Deng Ai was very polite to Zhang Cheng, and asked Zhang Zhao about his situation as soon as they met. Zhang Cheng knew that Deng Ai was Sun Shao's cronies, so he didn't dare to slack off, and told Zhang Zhao about the situation, Zhang Zhao's health was very good, and now he became the captain of the court, which can be described as extremely glorious, and he has no regrets in this life. Deng Ai was also very happy and personally introduced the situation in the South China Sea to Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng has already learned a lot about the situation in the South China Sea from Zhang Zhao, and now that he hears Deng Ai say it again, he has more confidence in his heart.

Xiahou Rong followed Sun Shao all the way, saw the scattered archipelago, saw the aborigines of different forms, saw many rare birds and beasts that could not be seen in the Central Plains, as well as the legendary precious wood, and sighed with emotion and was fascinated. This time, when he was holding on to the railing, blowing the sea breeze, and looking at the sea that could not be seen, Lu Ji paced over and said with a smile: "Youquan, is there anything unusual?" ”

Xiahou Rong hurriedly bowed and bowed, in front of everyone like Lu Ji, he didn't dare to put on a shelf. He thought for a while and said with a smile: "The size of the sea frontier of Yue Guo is really beyond my expectations, although I have long heard that the sea frontier of Yue Guo is close to the Central Plains, and there are many rare things, but this time I saw it with my own eyes, it was still very unexpected." ”

"Hehehe......" Lu Ji stroked his beard with a smile, shook his head, stretched out a finger and pointed upward: "What I said is not this, I said yes to this." ”

"This?" Xiahou Rong raised his head in surprise and glanced at it, the sky was very blue and the clouds were very white, but was that what Lu Ji wanted to say?

Seeing that Xiahou Rong was at a loss, Lu Ji reminded again: "Youquan, didn't you notice that the position of the sun is a little different?" ”

Xiahou Rong blinked, and then he suddenly realized, he thought for a while, and suddenly saw something strange. It's July, and it should be the time when the sun is at its highest, and the shadow is the shortest, but no matter how short the shadow is, when the sun is in the Central Plains, the sun is always southerly, and now, the bright sun is clearly in his north, and it is very favorable, stretching his shadow to the south.

"This?" Xiahou Rong was puzzled, and he didn't know what to say for a while. During this time, he only cared about looking at the ground, and never noticed any changes in the sunlight, and was suddenly reminded by Lu Ji, he felt very incredible.

How could the sun have traveled to the north?

Lu Ji smiled quietly.

Xiahou Rong pondered for a long time, but he couldn't figure out the truth, according to his thoughts, even if he went far south, at most, he could only let the sun be at the top, and there would never be such a situation in front of him. But this incredible thing happened and shocked him. He thought for a while, and then said tentatively, "Could it be ...... Do we really live on the same ball? ”

"Have you read Xuanye Say?" Lu Ji nodded approvingly. A prodigy is a prodigy, and he can figure out the key to it so quickly, and he has always refused to believe Sun Shao's statement, even when he saw the sun appear in the north for the first time, he refused to believe it, and it took a long time to accept this fact.

"Read." Xiahou Rong smiled: "I have read all the articles published by Mr. in the communiqué. ”

"Hahaha......" Lu Ji smiled a little smugly. He published a number of articles on celestial phenomena in the Dahan Gazette, each of which caused a great repercussion among scholars of Xueyi. Yang Xiu's family is a scholar, but he is also familiar with Meng Shiyi, and he usually boasts very highly, but when he saw Lu Ji this time, he admired him and called him a master, saying that his explanation of the stars was unseen by the ancients. Yi Xue's family Yu Fu was also very envious of him, and said sourly that he didn't want to be a doctor of imperial history, but he took a fancy to the good treatment of scholars in Zhuya Academy, and the burden was light, and he was suitable for learning.

"Now that you've seen it, I don't need to rap with you." Lu Ji pointed to the sky as blue as a piece of jade: "If you think about it slowly, you will soon find that many of the seemingly correct ideas in the past are wrong, maybe it will help you understand the current situation of my big man." ”

After Lu Ji finished speaking, he walked slowly with his hands behind his back and a leisurely step. Xiahou Rong bowed and stood, watched Lu Ji leave, and then bowed his head in contemplation. Although he thought of Xuanye, it was still difficult to accept the fact that the earth was round, and it was difficult to help himself with the ups and downs of his thoughts for a while.

Sun Shao sat on the flying house, Deng Ai, Zhang Cheng and others sat aside, and saw the conversation between Lu Ji and Xiahou Rong clearly. Sun Shao smiled and teased: "The Xiahou prodigy is going to faint this time." ”

"It's not surprising." Zhang Cheng, who had already fainted, said with a smile: "Xunzi has clouds, and it is better to climb to the heights." If you can't travel thousands of miles after reading 10,000 books, you are a book fool, and your knowledge is limited after all. ”

Sun Shao turned his head and glanced at Zhang Cheng, stroked his palm and smiled: "Zhong Hei, I see that you are not talking about Youquan, but also about yourself, right?" ”

Zhang Cheng smiled: "Exactly." This time, the minister traveled across the ocean with the king, and his eyes were opened, which he had never seen in the sage's book before, and he had not even heard of it. Now it seems that Taishi Gong is too hasty to say that the Book of Mountains and Seas is a book of illusion, if he sees these strange things, it must not be able to write seventy volumes. ”

"It's really rare for Zhong Hei to be able to say such a thing." Sun Shao scratched his nose and said with a smile: "My teacher, even if he has lived in the South China Sea for more than a year, he will not say such a thing. ”

"Actually, my father already believed it, but he didn't want to say it." Zhang Cheng also smiled, and he told Sun Shao what Zhang Zhao said to him. Sun Shao listened quietly and nodded from time to time. The reason why he recommended Zhang Zhao to Luoyang to be a lieutenant was not that he felt that Zhang Zhao was a trouble, in this regard, he and Wu Shu were different, he took a fancy to Zhang Zhao not only was profound, but also had seen the world, and he would guide the thinking of Luoyang monarchs and ministers to be more convincing, if possible, he might become the teacher of the crown prince Liu Xing, and he would teach Liu Xing, which would definitely be much better than those Confucians who read books and read books. If the crown prince can broaden his horizons and no longer only know the square sky above his head like the previous emperors, it will be a good thing for the Han Dynasty.

"Great King, from here to the south, there are probably thousands of miles to reach the border of my Haizhou." Deng Ai pointed to the south and said in a calm tone: "However, the minister has just received accurate information, only five or six hundred miles forward from the border, there is a big island, its land is wide, and its things are different, I am afraid that it is no less than the South China Sea. ”

"Really?" Zhang Cheng was surprised.

"I'm afraid it's not as simple as an island, is it?" Sun Shao was not surprised, he had long known that Australia was on this sea, but he also knew that although Australia was a large place, it was not very suitable for human life, and it might still be a virgin land. Supposedly he should have taken this place now, but after careful consideration, he decided to take it slowly. As soon as he came to Australia, he was there, no one could grab it anyway, he could go whenever he wanted, and secondly, he was now worried about the lack of population, and there was no one to move to take Australia, so he could only leave it abandoned. For him, the top priority at the moment is to increase the population, stabilize Funan, and actively prepare for the war against Tianzhu. Rome was too far away, and the Romans were now too busy to take care of themselves, and there was no real threat to him, but Tianzhu was not, he controlled Borneo, and took all the spice islands into his pocket, which was tantamount to robbing the wallets of the Tianzhu people, and the envoys of Tianzhu had already come several times, and asked him to let go of trade, either hard or soft. The reason why he has been dragging on and not replying is that on the one hand, the situation in the Central Plains is not stable, and he must solve this problem first, on the other hand, he knows that although Tianzhu is also divided, a single country is definitely not his opponent, but if he wants to occupy Tianzhu, it is not to defeat one or two countries to solve the problem. Unlike solving the Funan problem, a proper long-term plan is needed to start a war with Tianzhu.

Deng Ai glanced at Sun Shao, but he was not surprised, although he stayed by Sun Shao's side for a long time, but he has never understood Sun Shao, for many things, Sun Shao seems to be able to learn many things, many things he knows by himself, there are too many amazing things, if he has long known the island, Deng Ai does not think there is anything strange.

"Shi Zai, Zhong Hei, think about it, how can I double or even quadruple the number of Han people in the shortest possible time?"

Deng Ai and Zhang Cheng glanced at each other and immediately knew what Sun Shao was considering. Yue is now divided into three major blocks, one is Yue County, Nanhai County, plus Zhuya County, the other is Yi County, and one is Taizhou, Taizhou's area accounts for more than half of Yue, and the total population is more than half, but the population of Taizhou is dominated by Funan people, and the Han people now account for up to one percent, this population structure is obviously not a long-term stable structure, if you want Yue to develop in Taizhou, the most important problem is to increase the number of Han people.

"Increase fertility." Zhang Cheng thought for a while and said cautiously: "On the one hand, you can reduce the oral endowment, and on the other hand, you must control the number of slaves and concubines, the most important of which is the latter, I think ...... Be cautious. ”

Sun Shao narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything, but he knew that Zhang Cheng was on point. It is true that reducing the oral tax, that is, the poll tax, can increase the population, but in this way, I am afraid that the population growth of the Funan people will exceed the growth of the Han population. The latter item is mainly aimed at the Han people, but this is mainly aimed at the rich Han people, and it is the rich and powerful who marry more wives and concubines, so that a large number of poor people cannot afford to marry wives, thus hindering the growth of the population. The reason why Zhang Cheng said to be cautious is because of this, such a situation is not only state-owned, but also Wu Shu, but everyone does not dare to do it easily, because it is too risky to go against all the rich.

After a long time, Sun Shaocai said slowly: "Zhong Hei, you write a detailed note and send it to the Prime Minister's Mansion, I want to discuss this matter with the ministers and see if I can come up with a good idea." ”

(To be continued)