The last three kingdoms

Chapter 294 Preparations before the expedition
The cotton crop actually existed in the Han Dynasty, but people regarded it more as an ornamental plant. Until the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a clear record in the history books: there was grass on the ground, which was like a cocoon, and the silk in the cocoon For example, it is called Baidiezi.People in this era have not yet realized the economic value of cotton, and the clothes that people wear are all made of silk and linen. The gentry and wealthy households wear silk and satin, and the common people wear coarse linen.

The climatic conditions in Shu and Nanzhong determine that people here do not need to wear too thick clothes for the winter, and the officials of the Shu Han did not store enough winter clothes. Even in the cold north, soldiers only wore clothes filled with hemp wool in winter. Because the thermal performance of hemp batting is too poor, only a thicker thermal layer is needed, so the soldiers' winter clothes look very bloated.Those with better conditions wear animal skins to keep warm, but both wild animal fur and domestic animal fur are expensive, and it is difficult to popularize them on a large scale.

Therefore, in the north where the dripping water turns into ice, soldiers are generally not used in the weather of March [-]th. Fighting at this time, because the loss of non-combat personnel due to freezing to death and frostbite is often greater than the loss of fighting.

The biggest difficulty in crossing the snow-capped mountains is the low temperature and coldness. Keeping warm is the most important condition. Now that there is a lack of winter clothes, Liu Yin must find a way to solve this problem. Otherwise, more than 3 horses will be frozen to death on the way.

Although animal skins are a good choice, and there are a lot of wild animals in the Nanzhong area, it is obviously unreliable to make leather clothes for 3 people in a short period of time, but these animal skins can be purchased in large quantities. To make boots, fur hats, gloves and other items, as a bulk of winter clothes, you have to find another way.

Liu Yin thought of the silk quilt that he had covered in his previous life. It was light and thin, but it was better than cotton in terms of cold protection. The brocade industry in central Sichuan was well developed, and isn't the raw material of Sichuan brocade just silk?Liu Yin immediately sent someone to check in the official warehouse. Sure enough, tens of thousands of catties of raw silk were stored in the official warehouse. When they retreated from Chengdu, these raw silk and more than 20 bolts of brocade silk were transported to Nanzhong In this era, silk, grain and grass even have the function of preserving value than gold, silver and copper coins. In the years of war, people would rather barter than ask for money. Silk was the real "hard currency" at that time.

Liu Yin unceremoniously accepted the tens of thousands of catties of raw silk with a smile. Liu Chan had already let go, making the best use of people and making the best use of things. Such support made Liu Yin very grateful. Who said Liu Yin was fatuous and incompetent? At critical moments, there is still a wise side.

It takes about a catty of raw silk to make a winter coat. Obviously, the stock in the official treasury is not enough to equip the entire army, so Liu Yin paid a high price to buy silk widely from the people.However, Liu Yin himself did not show up. Instead, he entrusted several commercial firms to make purchases. Apart from silk, animal skins, animal meat and medicinal materials were all his targets for purchase.

Shu brocade is the economic pillar of Sichuan. Almost every household grows mulberry and raises silkworms to make silk brocade. This time they move south, real estate and real estate cannot be taken with them, but silk brocade food is a must-have item for every household, so the purchase of silk is very fast. smoothly.

However, using silk to make winter clothes is quite extravagant. Fortunately, Liu Yin has collected a lot of treasures from Huang Wuhao, which is more than enough for him.

Liu Yin didn't use the official name, just to prevent Wei Guo's spies from figuring out what to do, relying on these clues to see through his plan, buying in the name of a private firm would not arouse others' suspicion, Liu Yin is very good at this point cautiously.

After the silk animal hides are purchased, the processing locations are also scattered, and a batch is ready to be shipped out and shipped directly to Hanjia.

Animal meat is also processed into jerky, which is easy to carry.Although food is scarce now, no matter how scarce it is, there is no shortage of military rations, and the emperor does not send hungry soldiers. Chen Shou rushed to Hanjia, and has already raised enough food and grass for the [-] army to last for at least two months.However, Liu Yin knew that when crossing the snow-capped mountains, people's physical strength was extremely exhausted, and it was difficult to replenish the calories consumed by cereals alone. Only high-calorie animal protein could meet the demand.In addition to buying some wild animals captured by hunters, Liu Yin also ordered people to slaughter a lot of pigs and sheep, and made them into portable jerky, which were also shipped to Hanjia.

In addition to winter clothes and food, there are indeed a lot of things to prepare. The list that Liu Yin listed in the plan is a long list. Liu Yin handed over all these miscellaneous matters to He Pan and Du Zhen. With the talents of the two, they are somewhat overkill.

The firearms workshop had just arrived in Nanzhong, and before it had time to choose a site for reconstruction, Liu Yin decided to take them with the army and take them to Longxi.Firearms are the most important weapon that Liu Yin relies on. Although the firearms workshop still had some stocks in Chengdu, the production has been at a standstill all the way to the south. After arriving in Nanzhong, there was no time to rebuild it in a short time, so There has been no output.Liu Yin must take away the current firearms in stock, but after arriving in Guanlong, he will face a big battle. Liu Yin can't tell how long this igniter can last, but Nanzhong is far away from Guanlong, and when it is used up It would be a problem to add it later, so Liu Yin simply took away the entire firearms workshop. Fortunately, the firearms workshop did not have much bulky equipment, mainly craftsmen. With these craftsmen, it is easy to get raw materials Make gunpowder.

During this northward march, Liu Yin did not consider carrying many bulky supplies, because no matter it was snow-capped mountains or grasslands, the transportation vehicles were impassable. In addition to relying on manpower, the rest could only rely on animal power. For this reason, Liu Yin Some horses and mules have been prepared to transport food and supplies. At critical times, these horses and mules can also be used as food.

After more than ten days of intense preparations, Liu Yin finally completed all the preparatory work. He immediately went to the palace to bid farewell to Liu Chan and prepared to go to Hanjia. On the bright side, Liu Yin's letter to Liu Chan was to go to Hanjia to defend against the enemy. , And wait for an opportunity to recover Chengdu.

The plan to enter Hanjia did not meet the slightest resistance in the Shu Han Dynasty. Hanjia was not only the main road leading to Chengdu, but also the gateway to guarding Nanzhong. Liu Yin had a strategy of attacking instead of defending when he entered Hanjia. Moved to Nanzhong, but the Shu people still have deep feelings for the Shu land. They all think that one day they can restore the old land and return to their hometown. Still quite welcome.

At the same time, Liu Yin also invited Liu Chan to play, and it was time for Liu Xun, who was in charge of the army, to accompany him on the expedition.

(End of this chapter)