?On the official road, a large number of cavalry guarded several carriages heading north. On one of them, Yuwen Wen was talking to his brother Yu Wenming, and the content said was not suitable for public discussion.

"Although the steel filling method is good, it is still necessary to explore how to make steel from Daye Iron Ore. It will take some time for the production of Su Tie Dao to increase."

"It's okay, the iron armor and the knife are already good. If you go to the battlefield, no matter how good the knife is, you will be like a broken knife."

"Brother, will the court use troops this year?"

"I don't know, my father said the court is still considering it." Yu Wenming said this, glanced at Yu Wenwen and smiled, "Even if it's a fight, it's not Erlang's turn to go into battle, right?"

"It's not the turn of Sui State, but Chen State may not be."

"The court must first deal with the Sui Kingdom, take down Luoyang and drive the Sui army to the west of Tongguan. It is best to take down Bingzhou and other places west of Taihang Mountain, so as not to escape from the eight passes of Taihang."

"Let the south beside you? Isn't it good to not take the Chen army in Huainan seriously?"

Yuwen Wen began to complain that although Chen Jun was a little weak, he still had some ability to stab him in the back.

"The Chen State has more than one defense and insufficient attack, and its strength is not comparable to that of the Sui State. To be honest, I think the court's idea is good. If we attack Chen State first, even if Jiankang is taken down, we need to scatter many troops to guard the Yangtze River. Once the Sui army advances eastward in large numbers, it will be too risky."

This is Yu Wenming's view, and Yu Wen Wen did not comment. His current concern is how to "cultivate internal strength", that is, to greatly improve the strength of the Huangzhou General Administration. The first problem he faces is to digest Ezhou.

Ezhou is the original Chen State Yingzhou, which is now under the jurisdiction of the Huangzhou General Administration. It is also the only prefecture and county south of the Yangtze River. It directly cuts off the water connection between the east and west ends of the Chen State.

As usual, Chen Guohui tried his best to snatch Yingzhou back, but now in order to protect the Huainan prefectures that the State of Chen has finally obtained, he has no time to care about the life and death of Yingzhou.

Therefore, Yuwen Wen had to race against time. Before Chen State recovered, he could manage Ezhou well and fight against the upstream Chen Guoba and Xiang state troops, and withstand the downstream Chen army of Jiangzhou.

It is easier said than done. It was a strategy set by Yuwen Wen that made Yingzhou so hard that it had been unrecovered for several consecutive years. Now it is time for him to pay off his debts.

It is still the strength to turn the blame. Zhou Fashang was appointed as the governor of Ezhou. Zhou Erlang worked hard and was the unscrupulous "big leader": Ezhou has been well managed, but the general manager is good at its management. If the governance is not good, I will use your head for it!

In other words, Yuwen Wen is still very powerful as the chief supervisor of Huangzhou. Zhou Fashang was the governor of Ezhou appointed by him. He had to support him no matter what. The first problem to be solved is people.

The original people of Ezhou (Yingzhou) were moved to Jiangbei that year, and the land was abandoned on a large scale. If they wanted to restore agriculture, they would have to be in the first place.

If there is no one, there is no way to farm. If there is no harvest, then Ezhou will not be able to raise the garrison itself and need blood transfusions elsewhere. Yingzhou became the ulcer of Chen State back then. If it is not handled well now, Ezhou will become the ulcer of Zhou State.

Most of the people who moved north had already divided their land in their current residence at that time. After several years of land reclamation, many people miss their hometowns, but they were even more reluctant to give up on these fields, so they would rather not return to their hometown in Jiangnan than to guard the land they had finally obtained.

A good cook cannot cook without rice, and no one will be able to harvest, but this problem is also easy to solve.

Years of military use have led to turmoil in the territory of Jingzhou, Shannan. Although the population is large, it is impossible to cultivate the fields with peace of mind. Since several years ago, the government has begun to move the people of Jingzhou south to Han Mian and other areas to reclaim wasteland, so there is no problem in continuing to move south to Ezhou, Jiangnan.

Yuwen Wen got Zhou Fashang, and he also mobilized the power of the states under Huangzhou to transport the corresponding materials. If Zhou Erlang finally messed up, he would really dare to borrow the head for it.

The convoy arrived in Wuchang and successfully entered the city. Yuwen Wen and Yu Wenming changed into casual clothes and moved to a increasingly prosperous market in Wuchang to visit.

There are many markets in the world, no matter how big or small it is, there are only three types of people in the market: buyers, sellers, and passers-by. The market here is no exception, but the slightly different from most markets are goods.

Slaves are sold here.

The slave trade, a life full of blood and tears, paving the way for another group of people to rise with the bones of a group of people, is considered an unforgivable sin in later generations, but it is common in this era.

There are many wooden cages in the market, and all kinds of people are locked in it, but no matter how old or old, they are all men. This is the most direct labor market. The slaves sold are all male barbarians captured from the mountains and can act as laborers.

Labor is needed everywhere, first of all, miners are miners. More than half of the miners in Daye are slaves, while lime kilns in quarries and lime kilns in Huangzhou also require a large number of slaves. These people do not need wages and are the guarantee of maximizing profits for the owners.

The development of wastelands in the Han Mian area requires the construction of water conservancy facilities, and a large number of these slaves are needed. The market in front of us is a "bulk goods" market that is open to the public.

Buyers of all kinds are choosing "goods", just like choosing chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep. Many "goods" are taken out of the wooden cage and taken to the north pier of the city after the buyer paid the money. Yu Wenming frowned and asked, "Erlang, is this what you are talking about for slave trading?"

"Yes, it's a hindrance to be honest."

Yu Wenming was a little uncomfortable with this scene. After watching it for a while, he withdrew his gaze and sat in front of the desk. Yu Wen Wen closed the window and began to accept "question".

"All these slaves were captured from the mountains?"

"Yes, the mountains south of Ezhou are continuous, just like the Dabie Mountains in the north of the Yangtze River, and countless mountain barbarians live. They have built villages and stand up, and of course they do not obey any government orders."

"How did these slaves be captured?" Yu Wenming continued to ask.

"The village owners on each mountain will do their own things. Big fish eat small fish and small fish eat shrimp. As long as the village owners know that slaves can be exchanged for salt, cloth or even iron tools, that's enough, and the market will not be short of supplies."

"So, it's the same story as the Dabie Mountains in Jiangbei?"

"That's right, they are killing each other, and the government basically doesn't need to take action." Yuwen Wen added: "Of course, if any village leader dares to worry about others fighting against such a deal, it must be eliminated."

"Is it really effective? What if these people attack states and counties and plunder the people as slaves?"

"It's not impossible, so we need to set rules. First, people who speak Chinese are not allowed to trade regardless of their origin. Secondly, they dare to attack the villages of prefectures and counties, and the whole village will be left without leaving any family or dog!"

"What should I do if I deliberately make the person dumb?"

"There is a reward for reporting, and more than half of the confiscated property belongs to the whistleblower."

"Wouldn't the person who reports the report be afraid of revenge afterwards?"

"Who dares to take revenge and kill the whole family!"

Yu Wenming was speechless. Yu Wenwen's response was simple, rough and bloody, but it was also the most intimidating. The question was asked, and the topic turned to his most concerned content: "How many slaves can be captured in Ezhou?"

"Brother, the development of wasteland in Han Mian is actually filled with human lives. The people under the government cannot waste this way, so they need slaves. As long as the government clearly states that the large-scale development requires labor and is willing to pay the appropriate 'labor fee', then there will naturally be 'sellers' to deliver the goods to their door."

The Huguang area was not developed on a large scale until the Tang Dynasty and took shape during the Song Dynasty. During this period, Huguang could only be filled with human lives to develop quickly.

To control water, you have to build river embankments, ditches, and water conservancy in reed marshes densely covered with schistosomiasis. People will be abandoned before the embankments are well repaired. Mosquitoes are growing in places with a lot of water. Once malaria or plague breaks out, the land reclamation group will be completely destroyed.
Chapter completed!