The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 178 Zhuge Ke: Guan Xing, you're making things difficult for me.

Conquering an empire is never a solo act, but the collective effort of a group of people.

While Guan Xing was getting married in Jianye, Deng Zhi, the governor of Wu Commandery, was also busy. With the support of his predecessor, Zhu Zhi, he successfully recovered all the counties in Wu Commandery.

Deng Zhi was extremely capable. In just over a month, he traveled to all thirteen counties of Wu Commandery, dismissed and dealt with six incompetent county magistrates and hundreds of assistant officials and clerks, and promoted a large number of capable people, thus initially completing his control over Wu Commandery.

If this trend continues, Deng Zhi will be able to complete the purge of all counties by the end of the year at the latest, thus gaining complete control of Wu County.

As long as the front lines remain undefeated, Wu Commandery can be completely transformed into Guan Yu's rear base, providing a continuous supply of provisions to the front lines.

As soon as Guan Xing, along with Zhou Xun, Zhuge Ke, and several hundred personal guards entered Wu County, they saw the thriving rice fields and the hardworking people.

The further they went, the more vivid the peaceful scene of the people working hard became, which made Guan Xing sigh with admiration for Deng Zhi's high efficiency. He was indeed a famous minister of the Shu Han Dynasty.

Arriving safely at the city of Wu, Guan Xing saw Deng Zhi leading the officials of the prefecture to greet him outside the city. Guan Xing quickly dismounted and led the group to greet him, bowing and saying, "Guan Xing greets Prefect Deng. It is truly an honor that the Prefect personally came out of the city to greet me."

Deng Zhi smiled and said, "Young General, what are you saying? You have won one victory after another on the front lines. Isn't it only right that I come out of the city to welcome you? A banquet has been prepared in the city. Please come in, Young General."

Guan Xing smiled and said, "Please, Prefect."

The two entered the city side by side and headed to the prefect's residence. On the way, Guan Xing asked impatiently, "May I ask Prefect Deng, how is the mobilization of the boatmen going? How much timber is stored in Wu County?"

In addition to skilled craftsmen, shipbuilding also requires sufficient timber. The timber needed for shipbuilding cannot be used simply by cutting it down from the mountain; it must be air-dried for more than three years.

Guan Xing couldn't wait three years, so he wanted to see if the gentry of Wu County had any timber stored up. He planned to use the gentry's timber in an emergency while also storing his own timber. By the time the gentry's timber was used up, his own reserves would be sufficient.

Deng Zhi smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. The shipyards of the four major families are all in Wu County. Moreover, I have taken over all the shipyards and craftsmen of the four major families and selected six thousand outstanding craftsmen after eliminating the old, weak, sick and disabled."

"We don't need to worry about timber at all. The Zhu family alone has enough timber for us to use for two or three years."

In the north, horses were raised; in the south, ships were built. Shipbuilding was the lifeblood of the Jiangdong gentry. Therefore, the gentry would stockpile a batch of timber every year, fearing that they would run out of supplies and have their business snatched away by competitors.

Now things are really messed up; the shipyard craftsmen and the stored timber have all been confiscated by Deng Zhi.

If the aristocratic families don't want to give it, fine, but the question is, do you have the power to refuse?

It should be noted that all four major families are currently in a state of near collapse. Zhu Huan, the head of the Zhu family, has surrendered to Cao Wei, and the elite Zhu Ju and the young master Zhu Yi have gone to Jiangling. With these people gone, how can the rest of the family members disobey Deng Zhi's orders?

The head of the Gu family, Gu Yong, and the clan elder, Gu Hui, are also in Jiangling. Gu Yong's eldest son, Gu Shao, died early, and his second son, Gu Mu, was killed by Guan Xing. What can the remaining little Karami do?

Zhang Wen, the head of the Zhang family, also went to Jiangling. Zhang Wen's younger brother, Zhang Zhi, rebelled and was killed. What's left?

The Lu family is in an even worse situation. Back then, Sun Ce killed off only two of their sons, Lu Xun and Lu Ji. Lu Xun is in Jiangling, and Lu Ji died of illness last year. The remaining male members are not yet adults. Under such circumstances, wouldn't Deng Zhi be able to do whatever he wants?

If you cooperate well, I'll only accept your shipyard; if you don't cooperate, well...

Guan Xing said excitedly, "That's great! With enough timber, I believe our warships will be able to be launched soon."

Deng Zhi said, "That's right, but Anguo, I took a stroll around the shipyard and found that the shipyards of the four major families are particularly well-built. It would be a real pity to give up so rashly."

Guan Xing frowned and said, "I understand what you mean. The shipyards of the four major families have been built by them over several generations. They are fully equipped and we can use them right away. But if we move the shipyards to Zhang'an, we will have to rebuild the shipyards and all the facilities needed for shipbuilding. It will be time-consuming and laborious, right?"

Deng Zhi praised, "The phrase 'fully equipped' is excellent. That's exactly what I meant. So, do you think we can avoid relocation and build it right here in the shipyard of the four major families, saving us the trouble of traveling back and forth?"

Guan Xing pondered, "If possible, that would be best, but Wu County is too close to the mouth of the Yangtze River. The Wei navy could easily come and interrupt our spellcasting and destroy our nascent navy if they wanted to. Wasn't that why we decided to move our shipyard to Zhang'an?"

Deng Zhi said, "Of course I know that, but it feels a bit foolish to build a new one when there's an existing dock."

"How about this: I'll build warships here, and you can construct a shipyard and train a navy in Kuaiji. Once I've built one, I'll send it to Kuaiji for the navy to receive. That way, even if the Wei navy really attacks, they'll only destroy the shipyard, not the warships we've already built."

"As for the shipbuilding craftsmen, they turned and ran when the Wei army came. If the Wei navy wanted to chase them, they could only go ashore. But the navy didn't have warhorses, so how could they catch up with the shipbuilders who were also on foot and familiar with the terrain?"

Guan Xing laughed and said, "That's great. You build ships in Wu County, and I'll build a shipyard in Kuaiji. This way, neither side will be delayed. If the shipyard in Wu County is destroyed, we can use the shipyard in Kuaiji as a replacement. Let's do it this way."

Deng Zhi laughed and said, "Let's go. We'll have dinner and rest tonight. Tomorrow I'll take you to the shipyard. I forgot to tell you, besides the shipyard craftsmen and timber, I also got six large ships and various other warships from the four major families. The navy can use them right away."

Guan Xing exclaimed with delight, "That's wonderful!"

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the prefectural governor's mansion, where everyone ate, drank, and made merry until nightfall.

After resting for a night, at dawn Deng Zhi led Guan Xing and others to the Zhu family's shipyard in Lou County, which was also the largest shipyard in Jiangdong.

Upon entering, they found that the dock's facilities were very complete, and even the roads around the dock were neatly repaired. If Guan Xing were to rebuild such a dock, even with sufficient manpower and advanced tools, it would probably take more than half a year. So it's better to use the existing one.

Deng Zhi only stayed at the shipyard for half a day before returning to Wu County, but Guan Xing stayed temporarily. While inspecting the shipbuilding process, he also made improvements to the shipyard's management plan and production efficiency.

First, Zhuge Ke was appointed as the head of the shipyard, fully responsible for shipbuilding matters.

Secondly, an assembly line was established, and the shipwrights were assigned to their respective production lines, each responsible for a single process.

Finally, production tools were improved, including fixed and movable pulleys, simple lifting devices, and wooden rails for easy transportation.

In addition to these, Guan Xing also built a simple crane, which was a lever-like structure built on a wooden cart using wood or bamboo poles. The cart could move, and the lever could lift weights, that was all.

The shipbuilders on site are all skilled workers with family traditions, possessing superb skills and rich experience. With advanced tools at their disposal, it's hard to imagine that their shipbuilding efficiency wouldn't be high.

Guan Xing stayed at the dock for ten days, making sure everything was in place before preparing to leave.

Before leaving, he summoned Zhuge Ke, the person in charge, and Lin Jin, the manager selected from among the shipwrights, to his room. Pointing to the silk on the table, he smiled and said, "The shipyard is now in your hands. Before I leave, I'll give you a gift. Open it and see for yourselves."

Zhuge Ke and Lin Jin curiously unfolded the silk, and were dumbfounded when they took a closer look. The silk depicted a giant ship they had never seen before, and the edges of the silk also showed the ship's dimensions and other key data. The giant ship was forty-four zhang long and eighteen zhang wide.

Zhuge Ke exclaimed in surprise, "How could such a large ship be built? General Guan, are you joking with me or deliberately making things difficult for me?"