The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 45: Trip to Liaodong
After finishing all the affairs, at night, Tian Ze looked at the more than 30,000 strands of spiritual energy that had accumulated in his body, and he couldn't suppress a smile.

After he became the governor, with the continuous submission of more than 300,000 people from Liaodong, the spiritual energy in his body increased rapidly. Now, it has finally accumulated enough, which should be enough to meet the needs of breaking through the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Tian Ze concentrated his mind and held his breath, quickly absorbing spiritual energy to improve his cultivation. With more than 4,000 strands of spiritual energy being absorbed, he successfully broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

However, he did not stop there and continued to absorb spiritual energy. After absorbing more than 20,000 strands of spiritual energy, Tian Ze's cultivation reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Although the spiritual energy in his body was used up again, the smile on Tian Ze's face grew instead of diminishing.

Tian Ze actually didn't care much about the improvement of his cultivation. After all, he had no rivals in this world, so the level of his cultivation didn't make much difference.

However, the new techniques that can be performed after breaking through the fifth level of Qi Refining are what Tian Ze attaches great importance to and needs.

Seed extraction technique.

This technique can use spiritual energy to activate the activity of seeds and improve the quality of seeds.

It was originally a technique used by monks to grow elixirs, but for Yu Tianze, it was an excellent way to increase food production and forage quality.

With this technique, Tian Ze can refine wheat seeds, grass seeds, etc. on a large scale, improving their yield and properties such as cold and drought resistance, without having to consume too much spiritual energy to frequently perform the Spirit Rain Technique.

With fertile soil and high-quality seeds, even without the nourishment of the spiritual rain technique, under normal circumstances, Liaodong can achieve two harvests a year.

In this way, the consumption of spiritual energy can be reduced by nearly half, and the road to immortality is one step closer!
At the same time, the improvement in his cultivation brought him a stronger physique, longer lifespan and more solid magical power, which made him feel more at ease.

……

In the northern Bohai Sea, on a ship, looking at the endless waves, Xun You's heart was in turmoil.

Having lost his parents at a young age, he is sensitive yet extremely calm by nature, and gradually developed a somewhat dull character.

But those who are truly close to him know that he is foolish on the outside but wise on the inside, timid on the outside but brave on the inside, with good plans and great talents.

He lacked a sense of security and had long realized that the world was about to fall into chaos. He originally planned to take refuge in Luoyang or go to the relatively safe Yizhou, but he did not expect to receive a call from Tian Ze.

Liaodong is far from the Central Plains and has a closed terrain. For him, it is also a good place to go, so he decided to come and take a look. If this place is good, it is not a bad idea to stay here temporarily.

But after boarding the ship, he keenly discovered that this matter was by no means simple.

The people in charge of the escort seemed to have a special preference for water routes. It would have been fine if they had just taken a boat eastward along the Yellow River, but they actually changed to a sea vessel directly at the mouth of the Yellow River.

He was worried about the risks of going out to sea and wanted to take the land route instead.

However, the escort said that the land route was not only slow, but also had to beware of barbarians and bandits. These ships were specially built for the sea, and they had been sailing along the islands. They had traveled back and forth on this route dozens of times without any mistakes.

Xun You felt the other party's confident eyes and tone, and learned a lot about the situation indirectly. His "intuition" talent enabled him to realize that the journey should be harmless, so he felt relieved.

But after boarding the ship, he had more doubts.

The Liaodong governor was quite powerful and seemed to attach great importance to him.

A fleet of more than ten huge ships.

The rest of the ships were filled with hundreds of refugees, except for their ship, which had only four people. Their ship was surrounded by other ships in the middle, carrying an unusually large number of crew members and guards.

In addition, the ship they were riding seemed to be specially made and was very stable. Even Tian Feng, a northerner, did not feel any discomfort.

The food and services were excellent, and the guards around were all strong and sturdy. Their every move revealed their excellent qualities. They must be the elite in the army.

"Gongda, what are you thinking about?"

Dong Zhao, Tian Feng, and Guo Yuan, who were traveling with Xun You, were chatting. They were all recruited by Tian Ze. Seeing Xun You's wandering eyes, Tian Feng asked, "Yuan Hao, how many refugees are there on these ships?" Xun You looked at the surrounding ships, his eyes revealing a thoughtful look.

"About five or six thousand people."

"General Ling said that they travel back and forth twice a month, and they have more than one fleet. That means Liaodong attracts tens of thousands of refugees every month," Xun You said calmly.

"Yes! With such a big move, this Governor Tian is truly a capable man." Tian Feng said with emotion.

"I believe we will gain a lot from this trip to Liaodong." Dong Zhao said with a smile.

"That's right. I would like to see how this Governor Tian deals with these refugees. In such a cold and bitter place, he can manage it so well that he has the spare capacity to attract a large number of refugees. In comparison, some officials in the county are really a bunch of idiots." Guo Yuan also spoke out.

"If Governor Tian can maintain this level of recruitment, perhaps he can solve the refugee problem in the Central Plains," Dong Zhao said meaningfully.

His talent of "going with the flow" enables him to sense the general trend and even the potential trend. In the direction of Liaodong, he vaguely saw a hidden dragon.

Tian Feng heard this and shook his head: "It's impossible. Liaodong is a bitter and cold place, with not much food. We also have to raise troops to guard against foreign tribes. It's already quite good for Governor Tian to attract 100,000 refugees."

Guo Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, if we want to solve the refugee problem, it may be possible to develop the south in the future. Given the conditions in Liaodong, it is indeed unrealistic."

Dong Zhao said: "The Liaodong Plain is fertile and flat. If it is properly developed, it will be no less beautiful than the Guanzhong Plain. It's a pity that the surrounding terrain is harsh. Unless we can completely solve the problem of invasion by foreign tribes such as the Xianbei and Buyeo, it will be impossible to develop it."

Xun You frowned slightly. He agreed with the three people's views. He also thought so before. But what he saw and heard along the way made him feel a little strange.

They built so many ships, and recruited at least 5,000 refugees just this time... All of this seemed extremely unusual. His intuition told him that Liaodong was hiding a huge secret, and the number of refugees it accommodated must be quite a lot.

"How many soldiers do you think are guarding these ships?" Xun You asked again.

"It is estimated that there are nearly a thousand people, and they are all well-trained," said Tian Feng.

In order to ensure the safety of the four people, Tian Ze specifically asked Ling Cao to prepare sufficient weapons and manpower on the ship, especially this ship, where no less than three hundred soldiers were arranged, and they did not take off their armor at night to prevent any accidents.

Tian Feng once served in the court, but he resigned and returned home because he was angry about the eunuchs in power and the harm done to virtuous officials.

He had seen the elite troops in the capital. Although these people in front of him could not compare to them, they were somewhat similar and were definitely not ordinary soldiers.

"There are nearly a thousand people in the shipping fleet alone, and they are all elite..." Dong Zhao understood what Xun You meant and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Liaodong and its vassal states are located in remote areas, with a total population of only 400,000. Even if we add the refugees, the total population is 500,000. With enough farmland, given Liaodong's soil quality, climate and other conditions, the per-acre yield and tax revenue should not be high."

"Based on the food and salary consumption of ordinary border troops, the limit is to be able to support more than 20,000 soldiers. If it is elite troops, I am afraid that more than half will be reduced, and at most a few thousand soldiers can be supported." Guo Yuan, who was familiar with agricultural taxes, made a rough calculation and immediately realized the problem.

"Zini, you have overlooked a very important factor. If the local tyrants are taken into account, this number should be reduced by at least 80%." Dong Zhao added.

Tian Feng's eyes flashed with a gleam of light: "It seems that this trip to Liaodong will definitely yield great results for us."

……

Ling Cao, who was guarding from a distance, vaguely heard the conversation between the four people and was extremely surprised.

He finally understood why his lord was so cautious and demanded that these people be protected at all costs.

In just a few words, he felt the horror of this group of people.

If it weren't for the lord's unique abilities that are unimaginable to ordinary people, I'm afraid Liaodong's secrets would have been uncovered by this group of people.

(End of this chapter)