Chapter 271 Don’t be nervous
At night, at a quarry near Yan'an.

More than fifty Taoist soldiers were divided into twelve working groups and loaded the stone bars mined and polished by Lu Bu onto the carriages.

The carriage had been stripped of its body and decorations, leaving only the deck.

The wheels of this car are made of nanmu wood, and key components such as the axles are cast in copper and finely processed.

Including the car plates, they have all been used for a period of time, and after being run-in, they are refined with white mana.

As long as it is not seriously overloaded or rushing into a huge obstacle, this car will be fine.

The wear and tear caused during normal use can also be slowly restored.

The load was about three tons. Black Bear stood beside the wheel and carefully felt the slight noise when the bearing turned.

He controlled the twelve horses to slowly accelerate, and the carriage moved forward loaded with the load. The remaining Taoist soldier puppets each carried a stone slab and followed the carriage to the top of the mountain where the stone tower was being built.

The carriage drove steadily along the hillside road. After arriving at the construction site, the stone slabs were stacked in an orderly manner.

The black bear stood by and supervised the work like a contractor, but there was no torch for lighting.

He was thinking about the load limit of the carriage. When it was loaded to the limit, the axle would wear out more and it would take a longer time to recover.

With extreme load, high-speed driving, and accidental collision, the vehicle is likely to collapse.

So in normal use, four horses are enough, and the weight of the carriage, weapons, and soldiers should not exceed one ton.

With more than a dozen heavy chariots charging like this, they could break through Xu Chu's tiger warrior formation in one fell swoop.

We also need to add roller shutters. It doesn't matter how many people are killed or injured. The key is to create and expand the enemy's fear.

Make some vehicles that will be of greater use in the future.

It would be best to have a large amphibious vehicle so that I can go to more remote places to collect seeds in the future.

While he was thinking, the puppet Taoist soldier completed his work.

Black Bear got on the carriage again, controlled the carriage to go to the quarry, and continued to pull the prepared stone strips.

But this time, there are three more stone slabs than last time.

It was almost four o'clock in the morning when he stopped working and returned to the camp.

He basically fell asleep as soon as he fell on the couch, and before he woke up, ordinary things could not disturb his sleep.

Liu Bao arrived at the construction site on the top of the mountain at dawn. Seeing three extra piles of stones, he knew that all the stones stored in the quarry had been transported there.

In order to build the Zhanggong Stone Pagoda, three quarries and two lime pits were opened nearby.

When Liu Bao arrived, the stone tower construction base continued to dig the foundation, which was very deep and wide.

After the foundation is dug, stone strips will be used to build the foundation, and the gaps between the stone strips will be filled with glutinous rice juice mixed with cement.

The entire stone tower foundation will have four floors, all of which are secret rooms.

Above the four-layer foundation is the five-layer stone tower on the surface.

The stone tower will be six-sided, with a circular staircase inside and inscriptions on the inner walls to show its merits.

Black Bear didn't have that much time to build the tower. He came here just to fulfill his promise and ensure that Liu Bao could live longer.

The longer Liu Bao survives, the lower the probability that he will be assassinated as his prestige rises and his status becomes more solid.

When building the tower, the black bear saw that rainfall was scarce here and the drainage on the top of the mountain was good.

I thought of building a few secret rooms at the foundation of the stone tower to store a batch of information that was about to be destroyed.

When the secret room was sealed and he started to build the surface of the tower, he was ready to return to Guanzhong.

The next two most important things are dredging and iron smelting, and everything else has to be put aside.

The more I farm, the more I feel that Cao Cao is a poor guy.

The climate is unstable now... But how to say it, Guanzhong experienced a terrible drought during the reign of Li Jue. In the more than ten years since the drought, the probability of another severe drought is not very high.

I don’t know whether this calculation is correct, but in the minds of black bears and the general public, there are no examples of long-term severe droughts or floods.

Therefore, every year is very important in Guanzhong now. Only by storing enough food can we withstand the natural disasters that will occur in the next ten years or seven or eight years.

Sufficient food is more important than anything else.

While attacking Yuan Shang, one would expand the territory, but would also have to bear the pressure from the enemy's border defense; while attacking Cao Cao, one would also be able to expand the territory, but would also have to bear the enemy's embarrassing strategic position of being attacked from both the north and the south.

Although we cannot obtain much useful materials, as long as Guanzhong is stable, we can organize people to produce whatever we want in the future.

As long as there is a will, it is not a big deal if scholars offer each other a cigarette when they meet each other more than ten years later.

Nowadays, smoking is really beneficial to your physical and mental health.

Therefore, when we go to war now, the only enemy we have is the Hu tribe, and their cattle and horses are real ones.

If the military achievements are outstanding enough, there will be no moral or public opinion barriers to many things.

Even now in the various hundred-household offices in Guanzhong, the custom of shaving hair has spread as the weather gets warmer, but no one will use this matter to make trouble anymore.

There was also Liu Bei, who was originally worried that the other party would replace Cao Cao and integrate the war resources of Guandong in a more efficient way.

But now, after concentrating on farming, Black Bear is really not in a hurry.

If I don't take the initiative to attack Liu Bei, given Liu Bei's character, he won't take the initiative to attack me.

As long as a war breaks out, the natural barrier of Hangu Pass is there. I look down on the poor land of Guandong, so there is definitely no need for me to take the initiative to attack.

As long as Liu Bei dares to fight, the more troops he mobilizes... even if I defend and don't attack, I can still make Liu Bei suffer a great loss.

When the productivity of Guanzhong develops to a certain scale, many things can be solved in a diversified way. Even if I really can't beat Liu Bei, I can still wear him down!

Therefore, the black bear's mentality became more and more peaceful, and he felt refreshed after waking up from a good sleep.

After a simple meal, he sat under the wooden shed, brewing tea, and began to deal with the accumulated official documents.

At this time Liu Bao returned, and after a brief report, he sat next to the black bear and drank the tea shared by the black bear.

He frowned and said, "Sima, why does this tea taste a bit rough?"

"Tea from Jiaozhou."

Black Bear said calmly: "The four seasons in Jiaozhou are like spring and summer. There is no winter there. The trees are green and never wither. So the tea there grows a little faster."

"My Lord, you know the customs of Jiaozhou. Why is the tea party in Jiaozhou so bland?"

Liu Bao was puzzled and tasted the tea soup carefully, looking unhappy: "You also call this tea?"

"Why not tea? Jiaozhou can produce it, but it's a pity that it's hard to survive in the north."

Black Bear took a sip from the tea bowl and explained, "The best tea, from the perspective of solar terms, is the most concentrated tea during Grain Rain and Qingming. This is the essence accumulated by the tea tree over the winter. After the spring thunder, this winter essence is injected into the new leaves. This new leaf is truly a fairy product."

Black Bear also looked at the large pieces of tea leaves boiling in the teapot with some disdain: "There are three reasons why these Jiaozhou teas are not delicious. The first is that Jiaozhou's tea-making skills are not as good as those of Jingzhou. The second is that the price of tea has skyrocketed, and the people of Jiaozhou realized it too late. By the time they collected the tea leaves, it was already the hottest summer season. At this time, the tea leaves are already large and old, and the people of Jiaozhou are greedy for the profits of tea, so they pick the leaves and fry them."

He continued to drink, and Black Bear was helpless: "Third, Jiaozhou tea varieties have not been improved, and they grow rapidly."

Even so, this batch of tea is still in short supply.

Yuan Tan was also lucky. He was welcomed into Jiaozhou. The local Han tyrants in Jiaozhou also recognized the brand of the Yuan family of Runan, so Yuan Tan immediately sold the batch of tea.

He gave some to himself, Liu Bei and Liu Qi, and used the rest of the tea for profit.

It's just that I have to pay an extra tariff here, but with Liu Qi and Liu Bei, they are sold directly.

The tea produced in Jingzhou last year had already been sold out. The people of Jingzhou ate up all the tea on the market and sold it to the Central Plains.

If Yuan Tan had not launched tea diplomacy, the people of Jiaozhou would never have been able to sell tea to the north bank of the Yangtze River.

The people of Jingnan and Jiaozhou had a deep hatred for each other. If the people of Jiaozhou insisted on selling tea to the north, they would take the Xiangjiang River and rob every ship that came; unless they took the sea route, they would transfer the tea in Wujun and then go to Langya.

However, the profits from tea also spread to Jiangdong. Among the big names in Jiangdong was Sun Quan. How could they allow the people of Jiaozhou to make this money?

Liu Bao listened carefully and asked, "Grand Sima, tea is very profitable. Can Xiao Wang build a tea house in Nanshan?"

"This is a heavy tax. If you agree, I will naturally not object."

Black Bear looked at Liu Bao and said, "With your achievements and status, the Chanyu is above the princes. If you want to build a manor, I can grant you 10,000 acres of farmland, which can be converted into more than 30,000 acres of forest. With your status, it cannot be called a manor, but it can be a Chanyu's villa or palace. How about this, I will give you 50,000 acres of forest, and 80% of the tea tax in the future, which is equivalent to a government-run tea house. The land tax will also be permanently exempted."

Liu Bao frowned and thought: "My prince wants to buy a private property, and it is not appropriate to use the title of Chanyu. Otherwise, if the Chanyu position falls to someone else in the future, wouldn't my efforts be wasted on outsiders? According to my prince's wishes, this place can be the property of my grandchildren."

After thinking about it, Liu Bao made up his mind: "Please ask the Grand Marshal to handle the matter impartially. The tea tax should be paid as it should be, and there is no need to waive the house tax. I just hope that the Grand Marshal can consider my hard work and make the tea garden bigger."

I don't dare to hope for a permanent exemption of the house tax. The exemption of the house tax is for this tea garden, not for his descendants, Liu Bao.

Even if it was aimed at his descendants, based on Liu Bao's understanding of Chinese studies, if he lost the throne of Chanyu in the future, it would be difficult for his descendants to keep a huge tea garden that was exempt from housing tax.

Only by paying the housing tax every year will the higher-level management unit take care of the estate.

"In this case, I will allocate 30,000 mu of forest to the Chanyu."

As Black Bear spoke, he took out a page of silk book, spread it flat, picked up a pen and began to write. Then he stamped it with his own private seal "Huang Chao Jushi". He then got up and went back to the barracks, took out the heavy Liang Hou Seal and the Da Sima Seal and stamped them respectively.

Seeing Black Bear using Dabao, the chief clerk Yang Fu, who was calculating on the abacus outside, stood up and stepped forward, clasping his hands: "Your Majesty."

"Copy it into the files and send it to the Jingzhao Commandery."

"only."

Yang Fu took it with both hands, bowed and turned to look for the historian Zhang Chang. The reason why Zhang Chang, the second son of Zhang Huan and a master of cursive script, took the initiative to apply for a job was very simple, which was to learn Jin Jian calligraphy.

Make a copy and put it into the files, then make another copy, seal it and send it to Sima Zhi, the commander of Jingzhao.

After Zhang Chang studied and copied it repeatedly, the original was returned to Black Bear by Yang Fu.

Black Bear handed it to Liu Bao and said, "Ask your trusted person to take this order to Sima Zhi. Sima Zhi will arrange for people to help you build the tea garden. If you are still worried, you can also spend money to hire old tea farmers in Jingzhou."

Of course, opening up roads, tidying up tea mountains, building estates, purchasing tea seeds, etc. all cost money, and this money naturally had to be paid by Liu Bao.

It was also the first time that Liu Bao saw the golden book. He held it in both hands and examined it carefully, and exclaimed sincerely: "This can be a family heirloom!"

In response, Black Bear just smiled and said, "The underground secret room will be completed in another seven or eight days, and I will return to Ganquan Mountain. Shanyu, are you interested in visiting Guanzhong?"

Liu Bao thought about it seriously, looked at the silk book in his hand, and said, "With this gift from the Grand Marshal, I can lobby the clan elders. Before this matter is accomplished, my life will not be in danger."

As he spoke, he looked up at Black Bear and said, "In June, the warriors of the various Xiongnu tribes will meet at the Lishi Royal Court. Will the Grand Marshal be free? When the warriors from all sides compete, General Taishi will surely be the bravest of the three armies. In this way, the warriors from all tribes will naturally be attracted to him."

Seeing Black Bear thinking, Liu Bao continued: "By then, the Hetao tribes and the Central Xianbei will also hold a meeting. All warriors will go. This is a good opportunity to intimidate them."

Liu Bao also said: "In the past, Lü Fengxian of Wuyuan and Zhang Zhishu of Yunzhong won the championship in the royal court with their horse riding and archery. Since then, all the Xiongnu tribes have respected these two people and regarded them as the elders of their tribes."

"Don't worry, I'll come."

Seeing that he was sincere, Black Bear felt that he should support such things.

Fearing that Liu Bao might be planning something else, he said, "I have no intention of associating with the Hetao and Xianbei tribes. If we develop a friendship with them, it will be difficult to kill them on the battlefield in the future. I will only be here for five days. You can hold the meeting as usual, and I will come alone."

Liu Bao was stunned, but smiled awkwardly and explained: "Does the Grand Marshal know the Dou tribe in Hetao? I was entrusted by the tribe to invite the Grand Marshal to Hetao to discuss the return of the Hetao tribe to Han."

"In that case, I will lead 3,000 cavalry out of Yulin Pass, and please inform the tribes in Hetao so that they don't get nervous."

"Uh... Xiao Wang will do his best."

(End of this chapter)