Chapter 4353 Chapter 4355 [Dilemma]
"Brother's opinion is very good." Xiang Nan nodded, "If we form an alliance with any family, it will break the current situation of the three powers and lead to the outbreak of war.
However, our Song clan is not yet fully prepared. Those crops have not yet been promoted on a large scale, and the construction of steel plants has not yet been completed. Weapons, armor, artillery, and gunpowder were not yet equipped on a large scale.
So we need more time, and the later the war breaks out, the better for us. Therefore, we must not only listen to Big Brother and not form an alliance with any clan, but we must also pursue the strategy of "building walls high, accumulating food widely, and becoming emperor slowly" and let them fight each other while we only develop our own. "
"Build the wall high, accumulate food widely, and slowly become emperor?! Very good, that's very well said, let's do it like this." Song Que pursed his lips and smiled, "They think they can bribe me, Song Que, by giving them a small profit. , You really underestimated me."
In the end, the Song clan declined the request of the three clans to form an alliance, saying that they had no intention of rebellion and only wanted peace.
The three gatekeepers naturally knew that he was talking nonsense. If they just wanted to be safe, why would they buy the entire Pegasus Ranch? Are you just raising so many war horses for fun?
But even though everyone knew it, they didn't say it out loud. After all, the Song Clan is so powerful that no one of them is sure of winning if they fight against it.
And as long as there is a fight, the other two families will take the opportunity to attack it. At that time, even if they defeat the Song clan, they will not be able to escape the fate of being annexed.
So they had no choice but to do it. Fortunately, the Song clan has not formed an alliance with any clan clan, which is a good thing.
The wedding banquet lasted for eight full days, during which the guests began to leave one after another.
Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan are the last ones to leave. They plan to retreat to the world, wander around the world, and enjoy the great rivers.
"Master Zhong, Feixuan and I are leaving." He said to Xiang Nan, "You and Miss Yuzhi, please take care of yourself."
"Don't worry." Xiang Nan nodded, "You are welcome to come and play with me at any time. By the way, Guilin's scenery is the best in the world. You can go and take a look."
"Okay." Xu Ziling smiled.
…
Some time later, the crops planted by Song Queming's farmers finally reached the harvest season.
When people pick sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, peanuts, etc., they call them one and they are all amazing. The yields of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn are all very high.
The yield per mu of sweet potatoes reaches 4,000 jins, that of potatoes reaches 3,500 jins, and even the yield of corn exceeds 500 jins, which is much higher than the yield of rice.
The key is that sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn are all delicious. Sweet potatoes are sweeter and more delicious than taro; potatoes also taste crisp and soft. After the corn is ground into flour, the porridge and steamed pancakes are also very fragrant.
Peanuts are even more oily when eaten, and they are very fragrant when eaten raw or fried. The peppers are even more appetizing, and the tomatoes are also sweet and sour...
Such a yield and such a taste made Song Que very pleasantly surprised, "Very good, very good. This kind of yield is much better than rice. If it is popularized, no one in Lingnan will be hungry."
Lingnan has many mountains and hills and not many plains, so it is not suitable for farming.
Even in modern times, the cultivated land area in Lingnan is only 30 million acres. In comparison, the cultivated land area in Yanzhao, which is not much different, is as high as 90 million acres.
Only with enough food can we feed enough people, support enough troops, and have enough food and wages to fight wars. Therefore, these high-yielding crops are truly a gift from God.
"Zhong'er, it's really an honor for our Song family to have you as our son-in-law." Song Que said with a smile. "You're welcome, Dad, it's my pleasure." Xiang Nan waved his hand and smiled.
…
Subsequently, the soap and glass produced in Song Clan's workshop also began to be put on the market, and the sales volume was naturally very good.
Especially glass products, such as glass mirrors, glass cups, glass pots, glass statues... are simply all the rage, and one piece costs hundreds or even thousands of jars.
But in fact, its materials are not expensive, just cheap quartz sand and plant ash. Just by processing it like this, there are dozens or hundreds of times the profit.
Song Que was very moved, this was like "turning stone into gold" and making a lot of money.
And as these products are sold all over the world, they also bring a lot of income to the Song clan. Massive amounts of copper coins and silver flowed into Lingnan, greatly increasing the Song clan's financial reserves.
Half a year later, the small blast furnace led by Xiang Nan was officially built. Taking iron ore from Jiangmen and Qingyuan, and using the coal mines in Pingxiang, Ganzhou, together, steel can be made.
At the beginning, two thousand kilograms of steel could be smelted in one day. Later, with the accumulation of experience, it can be stabilized at around four to five thousand kilograms. And what you practice is steel, not iron.
Steel is more tough, elastic and ductile than iron, more durable and more resistant to corrosion. Therefore, weapons made of steel are sharper and more durable, and armor made of steel is stronger and more resistant to damage.
It can be said that the quality of weapons made of steel is better than that of weapons made of iron. It is precisely for this reason that the ancients respected "steel" more. In order to obtain steel, iron had to be beaten repeatedly, so there is a saying that "steel can be made by a hundred times."
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao once asked skilled craftsmen to make five precious swords, which were named "Hundred Swords" with "dragon, tiger, bear, bird, and sparrow" as their recognitions. One of them was awarded to the prince Cao Pi, and the other to Cao Zhi. One was awarded to Cao Lin, and the remaining two were used for his own use.
The reason why the sword is called "Baipida" is because it is a weapon made of steel that has been tempered many times and is extremely precious. That's why Cao Cao regarded it as a treasure.
It can be seen that during the Three Kingdoms period, steel was also extremely rare, and it was probably more valuable than gold and silver. So when Song Que saw the steel that was made, he was very excited.
Even if the output of the small blast furnace is not as high as Xiang Nan said, which can reach 10 million kilograms a year, it can produce two to three million kilograms of steel per year, which is quite impressive.
…
With the promotion of crops, the forging of steel, and the hot sales of glass and soap, the strength of the Lingnan Song clan is expanding rapidly and is visible to the naked eye.
The strengthening of the Song clan has also made the other three clans increasingly fearful. They realized that if the three families did not decide the outcome and achieve unification as soon as possible, then once the Song clan's strength expanded to a certain level, Song Que would definitely send his troops northward.
At that time, with the strength of the Song Clan, the three gates will only be defeated by him one by one. Therefore, we must decide the outcome and unite as one to be able to fight against the Song clan.
But there is another problem, that is, once the three of them start fighting, their strength will be damaged. At that time, the Song clan took the opportunity to send troops northward and took advantage of his illness to kill him. They were also in trouble.
Faced with this dilemma, the three gatekeepers were also very restless. Everyone wanted to take action, but did not dare to take action. They were in a dilemma for a while.
But at this time something happened, which stirred up the situation in the world.
Happy National Day to everyone!