Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1333 Development

Yuan Xi knew that Dong'an at this time was naturally far from being comparable to the wealthy Jingzhou. The mother and son had probably suffered a lot in the past few years here, so he casually said: "Jingzhou is now half in the hands of Hannan and half in the hands of Wei. There are occasional battles between the two sides, and it is not peaceful."

"After Cai Degui (Cai Mao) surrendered to Hannan, he was still the admiral of the navy, and he did a great job."

"If the State of Wei is destroyed and the world is pacified in the future, Madam and Marquis Ping'an will definitely have the opportunity to return to visit their relatives."

Liu Cong and Madam Cai were delighted when they heard this and quickly thanked him. Yuan Xi wanted to say a few more words, but when he caught a glimpse of Master Bu Lian's amused look, he immediately restrained his expression and said, "Madam and Marquis Ping'an go back first. I will host a banquet for all the officials later. If it's convenient, you two can come over."

"The weather is cold, you two should go back first."

After seeing off Liu Cong and his mother, Yuan Xi said to Liu Ji and Wu Jing, "Let's go and take a look at the dock."

After hearing this, Liu Ji and Wu Jing hurriedly led the way and took Yuan Xi to visit the pier which had not yet been fully completed. They walked on the bluestone pavement of the pier, and lined up in front of them were berths for ships surrounded by thick wooden piles.

Building a berth for a ship at sea is quite labor-intensive. It requires digging a pit under the water, then driving thick wooden piles into the ground as a foundation, and then laying wooden planks and stone bricks on the shore to provide a place for the ship to dock.

In the past few years, the Dong'an wharf has expanded several times and can accommodate up to hundreds of ships. Although there are steam engines to help with piling, a lot of work still needs to be done manually. When Yuan Xi looked, he saw that next to the berth, there were many local natives who were thin but agile and capable, gathered, carefully inspecting and repairing the work.

Liu Ji said: "These are the local Shanyue people, they are quite able to endure hardships."

"Thanks to the agreement between the king and the Shanyue leader, many Shanyue people came out from the mountains to make a living. They can work here to get food and money, and their children can go to school. It is naturally much better than living in the mountains, so more and more people are coming out of the Shanyue area."

"Although they are not the strongest, they are agile and quick in action, and are naturally suited to being sailors on ships. As shipping becomes more prosperous here, I'm afraid the Shanyue people in the mountainous areas will gradually move to Dong'an and nearby towns and villages."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "You two have done a great job. Jiangdong has been in chaos for years and has a scarce population, but Shanyue fills this gap. Given time, Dong'an will surely become an important hub connecting the North and the South."

“If we can build a large scale, it will be much easier to build a port in Dongyi in the future.”

Dongyi was the name for northern Taiwan during the Eastern Han Dynasty, and was also used to refer to the entire island of Taiwan. In comparison, central Taiwan, known as Yizhou, and southern Taiwan, known as Chanzhou, were extremely desolate and rarely visited.

In later generations, it was Sun Quan who sent large ships and soldiers to develop Taiwan and incorporate it into the territory of the Wu Kingdom. Now that it was Yuan Xi's turn, he would naturally take the lead and turn it into a springboard to Southeast Asia.

The reason why he went to so much trouble was because of the war at the end of the Han Dynasty, the shipping routes to the southern ports were lost.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, China's real major ports were Hepu and Jiaozhi in Guangxi. However, with the wars between the two Han dynasties and the separatist rule of the southern barbarians, the seaports and trade routes in this area were greatly affected. Finally, the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the late Han Dynasty caused the Han court to lose control of the Jiaozhi region.

If Yuan Xi wanted to regain control of Jiaozhi, he had to first pacify the southern barbarians within a radius of nearly a thousand miles, but this was obviously not a task that could be accomplished within a few years or even ten years.

The Southern Barbarians were different from the Central Plains in that they were not civilized and did not abide by agreements, so they often rebelled. Although Zhuge Liang pacified the Southern Barbarians several times in later generations, after Zhuge Liang's death, the Southern Barbarian tribes broke away from control again and rebelled from time to time, which was quite a headache.

Throughout the thousands of years of Chinese history, the Northern Hu and the Southern Man have always been two major hidden dangers that the Central Plains could not completely deal with. It was only because the damage caused by the Hu people outside the Great Wall in the north was too great that the Southern Man was not as famous as the Northern Hu. However, in terms of stubbornness, they are even more stubborn.

This also led to the fact that the southern territorial boundary of China has been repeatedly stretched in the Guangxi and Vietnam regions. This was determined by the complex land geographical environment in ancient times. Hundreds and thousands of miles of primitive dense forests and swampy mountains were the biggest obstacles to the expeditionary forces' expansion of the border.

Yuan Xi now has two choices: one is to slowly build a road to southern Xinjiang, and the other is to go around it by sea.
After some thought, he decided to adopt the latter option, which was to advance step by step, build ports and terminals along the sea routes, and steadily advance the territory.

This plan had actually been tested when he occupied the Korean Peninsula before. He conquered Baekje by water, driving a nail into the rear, and then let Tian Yu use it as a base to surrender Silla, conquer the Three Han, and finally force Goguryeo to be included in the territory. It can be said to be a very mature plan.

The same is true in Southeast Asia today. First build Dong'an, then occupy Taiwan, and then go directly to Hainan Island. The ultimate goal is Siam and the Strait of Malacca, thus opening up a complete route.

As the starting point for everything, Quanzhou in later generations is undoubtedly very suitable. It is moderately far away from the previous transit point Guangling, across the sea from Taiwan, and far away from the war-torn areas of the southern barbarians, making it extremely suitable as a transit hub.

He told Liu Ji about his ideas and finally said: "Jingyu has become familiar with Guangling and coastal affairs over the years. This will be the most important trade route for our Jin State in the next hundred years. In the future, we will not only be able to go to Southeast Asia, but also to Sindhu (India), Parthia and other places."

"Traveling by land is too difficult, but traveling by sea is much easier. This step we are taking may be the most important step in China's future expansion."

"So I'm going to set up a new official position, the Eastern Route Governor, who will be at the same rank as the governor of a state, in charge of the construction and deployment of coastal ports, and at the same time have an independent military unit to suppress pirates, pacify bandits, and ensure the safety of the people along the coast."

"I have seen everything Jingyu has done in the past two years. This position belongs to you."

Yuan Xi turned to Wu Jing and said, "As for my brother, I have other plans as well."

"The entire Jiaozhi-Hepu area is occupied by the southern barbarians. We will have to take it back sooner or later."

"Brother, take command of the General Zhennan, train the navy in Dong'an, and then go south to reclaim the Jiaozhou coast and Zhuyazhou (Hainan Island)."

"I will confer the title together tomorrow. You two should work together to expand the territory for our Great Jin."

After hearing this, the two of them quickly leaned forward to receive the order. Yuan Xi looked at the busy dock, pointed at the red sun on the sea in the distance, and sighed: "This era will be a critical moment of inheriting the past and ushering in the future, getting rid of the old and embracing the new. If we can take this step well, we can open up a bright road for future generations." "If you think about it this way, your life will not be in vain."

Liu Ji and Wu Jing were also excited after hearing this, and they both looked at the sun. The scorching sun seemed to leap out of the sea and fly high into the sky, flying towards the endless deep space.

That evening, Yuan Xi hosted a banquet at the post house to entertain Dong'an's civil and military officials. He said to those present: "Everyone, I know that Dong'an has a lot of work to do and it is indeed a bit difficult. You all have really put in a lot of effort."

All the officials hurriedly declined, and Yuan Xi continued, "I have indeed seen many prosperous places along the way, but there are also some places where life is much worse than Dong'an."

"Now under my rule, due to various reasons, the gap between the rich and the poor is huge. My idea is that all people can live a good life one day."

"Of course, this is not about forcing equal distribution, but about making everyone rich."

"So I will invest more manpower and material resources in relatively poor and distressed areas so that they can catch up with wealthy areas, rather than making the rich richer and the poor poorer."

"This naturally includes all of you who have worked hard to build areas like Yong'an. I call this supporting poor areas, and your performance rating will be upgraded by one level."

"As long as you work diligently, I will definitely pay you back accordingly. This is the credit for expanding our territory, and I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

When everyone heard this, they were all excited. This was equivalent to saying that as long as Dong'an did a good job, everyone would be a hero!

Now that the world is about to be pacified, except for a few military generals who can still establish merits and be promoted to titles, most of the civil officials are following the routine. However, Yuan Xi has now made his attitude clear. A place like Yong'an, which has been a place for exiling officials who made mistakes since ancient times, can become a highlight of the political achievements of a group of civil servants who are moving up. It can be said to be a brand new path!

Mrs. Cai, who was listening below, seemed to be thinking about something. If what Yuan Xi said was true, then when he asked her and her son to come to Yong'an, he might have really pointed out a way forward.

You have to know that both he and his mother surrendered to Wei State, not Jin State. They were captured by Yuan Xi during the battle and did not contribute any credit to the surrender of Jingzhou. Strictly speaking, both of them were prisoners.

In this situation, Yuan Xi was already giving Liu Cong enough face by conferring the title of Marquis of Ping'an on him. Most likely, it was because he had turned to Cai Mao of Hannan. As for himself and his mother, they had lost all their power. What value were they to?
In this situation, if Liu Cong could go to a place like Yong'an and do something meritorious, he would have a reasonable reason to return to Jingzhou in the future and even regain his freedom.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Cai felt complicated. Maybe Yuan Xi really didn't make things difficult for her and her son.

After the banquet was over, she took Liu Cong back to the mansion and told him her thoughts. Finally, she said, "This should be the opportunity that the King of Jin has given us mother and son. You must seize it."

"Tomorrow you will hand over all the extra wealth in your home to help expand the dock and purchase food. This will also help you gain some reputation."

Liu Cong felt very sad after hearing this, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "I will listen to you, mother."

Seeing that Liu Cong was still not understanding, Madam Cai said angrily, "You really can't think straight. Money and property are just external things. Can you take them into the grave?"

"In fact, we are now facing the King of Jin directly, so our chances are much better than your brother. He is now an official in Hannan State, but Liu Bei is dead and his son is still young. Even if there is an emperor, what can it do? Sooner or later, won't it be annexed by Jin State?"

"The King of Jin actually sees it very clearly. As long as you work honestly, you won't have any problems living a peaceful life, even if you don't move up."

"We should be thankful that we were caught in Jingzhou. Otherwise, if we followed the Wei Kingdom, what good would have happened to us now?"

"I heard that the Wei Kingdom can no longer hold on to its own. I'm afraid its fall is just around the corner."

"Okay, go back."

Liu Cong agreed obediently and walked out. Suddenly he stopped and said, "Mother, the King of Jin will be leaving in a few days. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to meet him again in the future, right?"

"Mother, could it be that..."

Mrs. Cai raised her eyebrows, "What do you mean by that?"

"Do you suspect that I have some secret relationship with him?"

"I'll beat you to death you little bastard!"

Seeing that Madam Cai was about to pick up the tea tray on the table and hit him, Liu Cong quickly ran out, "Mother, that's not what I meant. Why are you angry? Hey, hey, hey..."

Seeing Liu Cong running away, Mrs. Cai leaned dejectedly on the chair, thinking that she might be too old and ugly. Why was that man so decisive last time?

Looking at the young Mrs. Bu beside him today, he really looks old in comparison.

(End of this chapter)