bookrandom Chapter 646 Liaodong Governor
Chapter 646 Liaodong Governor
Many people in later generations thought that glass appeared relatively late in history. In fact, as early as 2,000 to 3,000 BC, the ancients in the Mesopotamian Plain in the Tigris and Euphrates River Basin had already made artificial glass.
In China, artificial glass first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The Sword of Goujian, King of Yue, unearthed later was inlaid with blue glass.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was popular to wear jade, but the amount of natural jade mined was limited and could not meet people's needs. When people made glass at that time, they added some materials rich in barium oxide to it, making the artificial glass turbid and similar to jade.
By the Han Dynasty, the glass manufacturing technology had improved a lot. Later generations discovered dark green glass spears, glass plaques, glass cups, etc. in ancient tombs of the Western Han Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han Dynasty sent troops to pacify Nanyue, which established connections between Lingnan and the Central Plains. It then opened up the Maritime Silk Road and introduced foreign glass manufacturing technology, making the glass produced more transparent.
Ge Hong, an alchemist in the Jin Dynasty, once wrote in Baopuzi: "Foreign countries make crystal bowls by mixing five kinds of ashes. Nowadays, many people in Jiaozhou and Guangdong have learned the method and are making them."
Later archaeologists also excavated glass vessels such as glass plates and glass ear cups from the tomb of Liu Bei's ancestor, Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan.
In fact, when Lu Cheng had confiscated some wealthy and unkind families in Liaodong, he found two colorful glass beads among the treasures he obtained.
In other words, although glass was rare in this era, it was definitely in the hands of the royal family and those true nobles. It was just that due to the limitation of the craftsmanship level of that era, the glass produced was not pure in color and the shape was not delicate and perfect enough.
When a product can be mass-produced, its price will decrease as the output increases.
Therefore, Lu Cheng is not planning to produce glass on a large scale yet. He is only using more advanced technology to manufacture glass in small quantities to ensure the scarcity of glass so that he can exchange it for more supplies from the nobles and foreigners.
Of course, there is also a completely transparent glass ball with a dragon and phoenix shape inside in Lu Cheng’s cross-border space. In this era, it is definitely a priceless treasure.
However, at this time, Lu Cheng's identity was still a traitor. As long as he took out the thick glass ball and sent it upwards, it was uncertain whether it could eventually be delivered to Emperor Ling of Han, or in whose name it would be delivered to Emperor Ling of Han.
To put it bluntly, you still need to have a decent identity first, so that you can do many things conveniently.
A batch of refined salt and some glass products were prepared for Wuji Zhen's family, in exchange for a large number of medicinal materials, brocades and other supplies that were in short supply in Liaodong.
After seeing off the Wuji Zhen family's caravan, they welcomed caravans from foreign tribes such as the Wuhuan, Fuyu, Goguryeo, and Xianbei.
Compared with the aristocratic families in the Central Plains, these northern barbarians rarely see glass and are willing to exchange more supplies for glass cups, glass plates and other utensils, such as war horses, cattle and sheep.
However, these foreigners were not fools. They were reluctant to exchange their best war horses, and instead selected ordinary horses or even inferior horses.
After understanding the situation, Lu Cheng once again threw out a big killer and took out several glass objects in the shapes of wolves, horses, and red deer that were carefully made by craftsmen.
Some of these grassland peoples used the wolf as their totem, while others used the red deer as their totem. When they saw their totems being made into lifelike glass objects, they were so excited that they expressed their willingness to exchange their most precious war horses for them.
In the blink of an eye, it was harvest time and various crops planted in Liaodong had gradually matured. Lu Cheng temporarily put aside his work and personally supervised the harvesting and storage of crops such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Only three to five kilograms of corn seeds are needed per acre of land to harvest thousands of kilograms of grain.
Since Lu Cheng's cross-border backpack carries the best seeds cultivated in the 22nd century, even in the late Eastern Han Dynasty when there was a shortage of chemical fertilizers, he could easily achieve a yield of over 1,000 kilograms per mu.
Those limited seeds only need two or three years of planting and cultivation to be sufficient for widespread cultivation in Liaodong.
During the autumn harvest, Zhou Cang had already led the Liaodong army to sweep across Lelang County and brought all the remaining cities of Lelang County under the jurisdiction of Liaodong.
At this time, after a winter of training and study, and with the help of body-building pills, Zhou Cang's overall strength has achieved a leap forward. Even compared with Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, he is not much worse.
As long as he goes through some actual combat training, improves his military tactics and accumulates enough experience, Zhou Cang should be able to become a figure at the level of the Five Tiger Generals in the future.
In the winter of the second year of Zhongping, before the first heavy snow arrived, Zhou Cang successfully occupied the entire Lelang County.
At this point, the Liaodong vassal state, Liaodong County, Xuantu County, Lelang County, a total of 41 counties, have all fallen into Lu Cheng's hands.
In just one year, Lu Cheng successfully took over the entire four counties of Liaodong.
Of course, many cities now only put up the "Lu" flag, and they did not completely control the entire Liaodong. There are still many unstable factors in various places, which require a certain amount of time to clean up and govern.
For the entire winter that followed, Lu Cheng rushed back and forth between various places, busy with improving public order, cleaning up the bureaucracy, and training troops. He never had a moment of rest.
Due to Lu Cheng's current identity as a traitor, few of the children, whether they are children of aristocratic families, children of officials, or children of humble origins, are willing to serve under Lu Cheng.
The Han Dynasty, which lasted for 400 years, had long since established its legitimacy among the people. Even now, when it is in decline, its prestige remains unshakable.
It was not until later, when Dong Zhuo arbitrarily deposed and enthroned emperors and Cao Cao held the emperor hostage to control the princes, that the prestige of the Han Dynasty was gradually exhausted, allowing those ambitious people to no longer conceal their ambitions.
In the winter of the second year of Zhongping, Zhen Yi of the Wuji Zhen clan sent someone to contact the Ten Eunuchs, presented generous gifts, and sought the position of Liaodong governor for Lu Cheng.
When Emperor Ling of Han heard that Lu Cheng was from the Yellow Turbans, he was unwilling to agree, but then he heard Zhang Rang, one of the Ten Eunuchs, say, "Your Majesty, Liaodong is a cold and bitter land, far away from the Central Plains, and is often invaded by the Wuhuan and Xianbei, so it is not peaceful. Now that Lu Cheng has occupied Liaodong, if we raise an army to attack him, the army will have to go on a long expedition and will waste money and food.
If we subdue him and allow him to stop the Xianbei and Wuhuan, it will also be beneficial to our Han Dynasty. Moreover, Lu Cheng has sent people to deliver generous gifts. If we give him the post of Liaodong governor, and let him pay tribute every year in the future, it will be very beneficial. If he is unwilling to pay tribute, it will only take an imperial decree to remove him from the post of Liaodong governor. "
"That makes sense. Then give him the post of Governor of Liaodong."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
There was only one reason why Zhang Rang tried so hard to persuade Emperor Ling of Han: Lu Cheng gave enough and promised to give more after the matter was accomplished.
Therefore, at the beginning of the third year of Zhongping, Lu Cheng, who was far away in Liaodong, received an appointment from Luoyang and got the official seal of Liaodong Governor issued by the Han Dynasty. He finally had an official identity.
After obtaining the official seal and documents, Lu Cheng immediately posted recruitment notices everywhere in Liaodong in the name of the Liaodong governor, and set up hero competitions in many cities such as Xiangping and Changli to recruit talents.
Unlike before, this time, after he had an official position and a formal identity, many children from poor families came to join him.
As for the children of aristocratic families and officials, most of them looked down on Lu Cheng's background and did not come to join him.
However, Lu Cheng never thought about integrating into the circles of those aristocratic families. What he wanted were those children from poor families who had real talents and hard work.
Not only that, Lu Cheng sent out small cavalry teams, carrying conscription documents stamped with the official seal of the Liaodong governor, to various states and counties to directly recruit some talents of humble origins.
If it weren't for the fact that he still needed to stay in Liaodong, Lu Cheng really wanted to travel around the Central Plains and recruit talents from all over the world...