A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1308: There will be times when the wind and waves break

From Anshi City, go down along the Yangliu River for about sixty miles and you will reach Niuzhuang.

Niuzhuang is backed by the Taizi River and faces the Yangliu River to the east. It is a newly built village. After the expedition to Liao began, the Tang army built a wharf and a post station here. People and goods came and went, and there were ships coming and going at the wharf all the time.
Wu Huaiyu sent his son here to take a boat back to Luzon.

“Why is this called Niuzhuang?”

In fact, Wu Chengzhi is not very willing to go back to Luzon now. He has been living with his father day and night during this period, which makes him feel the long-lost family affection. Moreover, he can also observe such a wonderful war on the spot, which is extremely rare.

"It's called Niuzhuang because it was originally a cattle farm of the Goguryeo people in Anshi City. Later, our army took over this place and built it as a post station and transportation wharf, so everyone just called it Niuzhuang."

Niuzhuang was originally a cattle farm. Later, after the establishment of a post station, a wharf, and a fortress for garrisoning troops, a large number of stolen cattle and horses were penned here, waiting to be loaded onto ships.

Later, the Tang army built a batch of cargo ships here, which were specially used for transportation in the Liaohe, Hunhe, Taizihe and other inland rivers. The bow of this kind of ship was raised forward, high in the front and flat in the back. After setting sail and raising anchor, the high bow, coupled with the iron anchors on both sides, looked like a strange bull floating on the water.

People call boats "niuzi". Niuzhuang is a busy wharf with many cattle boats docked, so it is more natural to call it Niuzhuang.

Until now, many people don’t even know that Niuzhuang was originally named because it was once a cattle farm of the Goguryeo people.

Liucheng River, later known as Haicheng River, originates from Dixiongling Mountain. It is like a glittering jade belt that shines among the mountains, hills and plains of Anshi City, and finally merges into Taizi River in Niuzhuang.

The total length is less than 180 li, but it is also the longest river in Anshi City. There are many tributaries in the upper reaches, the river is tortuous, the slope is steep and the current is fast. After passing Anshi City, the flow rate slows down and the river gradually widens.

There are hundreds of thousands of acres of arable land along the river basin.

However, the lower reaches of the Haihe River below Anshi City were now a vast expanse of barren grasslands, full of potholes and filled with water all year round. In summer, they almost all became lakes. A heavy rain would cause flooding, with the water several feet deep on flat ground.

Although the Goguryeo people had occupied this place for a long time, they had basically never governed it. This was not only the case with the lower reaches of the Haicheng River, but also the lower reaches of the Taizi River and the Hun River.

The Liaohe Plain, once rich and fertile, is now barren.

The same is true on the west bank of the Liao River, a large swamp 200 miles wide.

In fact, if we put some effort into managing these places, dredging the rivers, building dams, and digging drainage channels, the amount of arable land that can be reclaimed will be quite astonishing.

In later generations, the cultivated land area in the Liaohe River Basin was more than 80 million mu, and the cultivated land area in the lower reaches of the Liaohe River was also tens of millions of mu.

This is a precious land, but now it is a wasteland.

Moreover, the lower reaches of the Liaohe River not only have a lot of land that can be reclaimed, but also have other valuable features. The Tang Dynasty will continue to invest manpower and material resources in sweeping across Liaodong this time, not only in stationing troops, but also in immigration and development.

The future development of Liaodong will be the main basic national policy of the Tang Dynasty, and there will be countless policy inclinations.

Liaodong is the future outlet.

There is so much potential here.

The lower reaches of the Liaohe River will have the advantage of water transportation in the future and will inevitably become more prosperous.

Whoever makes the first move now will have the first-mover advantage.

"What do you think about the future of Niuzhuang?" Huaiyu asked the third brother.

Wu Chengzhi looked around this place with a rather rustic name. It was very lively, but everything was very simple. The village was just surrounded by a wooden fence and didn't even have an earthen wall. The dock was also very simple.

"I think this place is quite simple but full of life, very similar to our Luzon,"

Wu Huaiyu nodded and praised his son, "You are right. This place may look simple now, but it will become an important water and land port in the future."

"Aye, then we can start investing money here now. This place is so simple and lacks everything. It will definitely be cost-effective for us to buy land now."

"Keep going." Huaiyu encouraged him.

"Let's buy more land and build farms. We can also invest money to build houses, inns, warehouses, hotels and restaurants. We can also invest money to build docks and shipyards. In the future, when the court manages Liaodong, this waterway will definitely be extremely busy. The Taizi River connects Anshi, Liaodong, Baiyan City, etc., and it will definitely be more lively."

Wu Chengzhi, who has lived in Luzon for many years, is very experienced in land reclamation.

In fact, there are opportunities everywhere in Liaodong. For example, after the Tang army captured the big cities, they moved all the Goguryeo people out, either to the inland areas or to the surrounding countryside.

Then these empty cities will definitely be the center of the Tang army in Liaodong in the future, and future industrial and commercial trade markets will be inseparable from these towns.

In addition to these cities, when immigrants from the Tang Dynasty come here in the future, the towns in the plains will definitely develop more, and the mountain cities will be transformed into places that focus on military garrisons.

Then new plain cities are also a hot spot.

Those places where water and land are connected will naturally have great potential, and water and land transportation are also pools of wealth.

In addition, mines and land are actually common.

But all this has a prerequisite.

It is to ensure that the Tang Dynasty will be able to quickly occupy and control the entire Liaodong region in the future, and even destroy Goguryeo, so that Liaodong can be smoothly developed, rather than being trapped in a long-term war, especially not being able to drag on and repeat.

Otherwise, no matter how much you invest, it will all go to waste.

Opportunities and risks coexist.
In fact, the Wu family was the first to take the initiative after Su Dingfang captured Beisha City last year. The two ports of Shimajin and Qingnipu, which are Dalian and Lushun in later generations, were not developed in the hands of the Goguryeo people.

After Su Dingfang was captured,

The Wu family was the first to enter the two ports and invested a large amount of money. They also brought in many partners to develop the two ports together. They not only expanded the docks, but also expanded and renovated the port cities to create a new market. Now the returns are also very high.

The Tang army launched a massive attack on Liaodong, and the two ports in southern Liaoning became important shipping bases, with countless personnel and supplies being transported there continuously.

As the imperial court's offensive in Liaodong went smoothly, countless slaves, cattle, horses, livestock, and various spoils of war continued to flow southward.

The two ports also became the busiest slave auction market in Liaodong and the largest grain market in Liaodong.

After all, sea transportation is the most convenient and efficient.

Niuzhuang is insignificant in the whole Liaodong area, but if we look at the future development trend of Liaodong as Wu Huaiyu said, that is, from points to lines, and from lines to areas,

Niuzhuang is a small place, but it is quite important.

It has a good location, at the mouth of the Liaohe River, close to the sea, but due to siltation at the mouth of the Liaohe River and problems such as tides and wind and waves, there is no good dock port at the mouth of the river.

Yingkou, which was bustling in later generations, is now deserted. Although it was called Liaokou during the Three Kingdoms period and sea transport ships entered the Liaohe River from here, there is no port or terminal here now.

On the contrary, at the mouth of the Daqing River in the southeast, there is an important town called Jian'an City, which is Gaizhou in later generations.

In the Ming Dynasty, Yingkou was called Liangfangkou Pass, where checkpoints were set up to collect taxes. It was not until the early Qing Dynasty that Yingkou became an important port for trade between the Northeast and the interior.

So now, the largest wharf at the mouth of the Liaohe River is actually this inconspicuous Niuzhuang.

Niuzhuang was indeed very powerful in history. It was once the most important water and land trade center in Northeast China during the Qing Dynasty and was at its peak. After the Second Opium War, it was opened as a foreign trading port together with Dengzhou, Tamsui, Chaozhou, Qiongzhou, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Jiujiang and Hankou, becoming an important port for trade with the foreign powers.

The fact that it can be ranked alongside ports and terminals like Jiujiang, Hankou, Nanjing and Zhenjiang shows how powerful it was.

Niuzhuang itself has a very good geographical location.
This was originally just a ferry, but the river is deep and wide, the berthing conditions are excellent, and it is close to the sea.

The key to this place developing into an important water and land port is that the river channel here is deep and wide, making it convenient for berthing. The conditions are much better than those at the current river mouth, and it is not afraid of wind or tide.

Of course, Yingkou still has the conditions for development in the future.

But Wu Huaiyu is certain that in the next few decades, Niuzhuang will inevitably become the most important land and water port in the Liaohe River estuary area. A city will soon be built here, and troops will be stationed there. At the same time, the port market will become more and more prosperous.

The Wu family has advantages in shipping and experience in port terminals, so they can definitely seize the initiative and build the port terminals first. Now the Wu family has already deployed early to seize the initiative from Qingdao, Yantai, Dengzhou, and then to Lushun and Dalian.

Next, Jian'an City, Niuzhuang and Liaodong City can continue to leverage this advantage. If water transportation and trade can be developed, the rate of return will be amazing.

You can also buy some wasteland and develop it slowly.

"Don't you think that there is still so much land to be developed in Luzon, why do we have to take risks in Liaodong?" Huaiyu asked the third brother.

Wu Chengzhi thought for a moment and said, "I think Aye's arrangement is right. Luzon is our private land, so there is no rush to develop it slowly. However, Liaodong has huge potential and will be developed soon. If we miss the opportunity, then countless people will rush in and grab land everywhere, and we will miss the chance."

"anything else?"

"The future development scale of Liaodong will be very large. This is a very broad market. Grabbing the territory now will benefit the entire Wu family and Luzon,"

"You are very mature to think this way."

Luzon is the Wu family's private land, but Luzon's development is inseparable from the Central Plains Tang Dynasty. After all, Luzon is still dominated by foreign trade industries, and the main sales area is the Central Plains. Whether it is agricultural products, transit trade, or other processing industries, they are inseparable from the Central Plains.

Luzon is simply unable to produce and sell its own products.

Liaodong will be an emerging market with huge potential, and it is very suitable for Wujia and Luzon to develop the market.

"Your Majesty has agreed to exchange slaves for grain from Luzon. I think this deal is very cost-effective. This time when I go back, I plan to get more ships, bring more grain, and fill them with Goguryeo slaves on the way back. Not only can we make a lot of money in one round trip, but these slaves can also solve the labor problem that Luzon is in urgent need of right now."

The Wu family is invincible in Luzon.
But there is a lack of people.

It is already very difficult for Central China to recruit immigrants now.
Development began to enter a bottleneck period, and Wu Chengzhi and his men in Luzon could only sweep away the rebellious island natives. However, these island natives were not very useful. Apart from mining, growing sugarcane, picking cotton, logging, and drying salt, they were not easy to assimilate.

The Wu family could only take a slower approach in Luzon, which was to select the smarter and more capable indigenous children from a young age and bring them to the city schools for education. They adopted a semi-closed management and teaching method, separated them from their original indigenous families, and even arranged for these children to be fostered by Han Chinese families in Luzon when they were older.

After completing about six years of education, some indigenous teenagers will be sent to be apprentices, while some of the better ones will be sent to learn some specialized skills, such as medicine, drawing, shipbuilding and sailing, etc.

The second generation of indigenous people who were brought up in this way are pro-Wu family and more loyal to the Wu family, but it just takes too long.

However, that kind of consumable rough labor is still needed. Whether it is mining, shipbuilding or planting, labor is needed.

Goguryeo slaves were quite cheap, especially when exchanged for food. These slaves transported from Liaodong could even be used with greater ease than the local island natives.

"Luzon has developed quite well in recent years, but you must always remember two things. First, you must control the Spice Islands and keep it secret. The spice trade is extremely profitable, and monopolizing the Spice Islands will allow Luzon to make continuous profits."

"Another thing is to be careful of the indigenous island barbarians. The biggest problem or hidden danger in Luzon is that although we Han people are now the ruling class, our population is still too small. On average, one Han person rules ten barbarians. We must be vigilant and not only find ways to immigrate more people from the Central Plains,

Moreover, it is not only necessary to implement Han education for Yi children, but also to encourage Han and Yi marriages, encourage Han men to take Yi women as concubines, and have more children...”

Immigration from the mainland, Chinese education of the natives, intermarriage with the natives...all of these were done to make the ruling foundation of the Luzon Wu family more solid.

"Remember, Luzon is an island in the sea after all. If you want to prosper, maritime trade must be given priority..."

(End of this chapter)