My bad words were heard by all the civil and military officials in the court

Chapter 183 The Hu Tribe with Lots of Wool

Ye Shengxin slapped his head and looked up at the sky: "The temperature will drop in a few days, so wool should be put on the agenda. Maybe we can catch up with the winter wool sweater."

Zhang Liang's eyes lit up. Woolen sweater, is it made of wool?

This is fine. If done well, not only will the people have an extra source of income, but fewer people will freeze to death in winter.

Zhang Shuyu was also interested. He stood up and said, "Don't worry, I have two skills. If you don't mind, I am willing to help you with this job."

Ye Xingxin looked at Zhang Shuyu's pretty and harmless face, nodded and promised: "When the sweater is ready, I will let you be the first to wear it, and you will be the most handsome boy in the whole capital."

When talking about dealing with wool, Ye Shengxin also brought up the issue of cleaning the cells.

The two tasks proceeded at the same time. Ye Shengxin worked for seven or eight days before he finally found a slightly cleaner environment for the prisoners.

Under the command of Ye Shengxin, the soft wool was also processed with the painstaking efforts of Zhang Shuyu and the servants to clean it.

The woolen yarn rolled into tubes was spread out on the table. Ye Xingxin looked at it with a smile on his face. "At this point, as long as we have good knitting skills, it won't be a problem to make solid-color clothes."

"But I'm not very familiar with dyeing. I need help from dyers in the dyeing workshop, and I also need a few skilled embroiderers."

Emperor Jingming picked up the knitting needle that was placed aside and said, "Shengxin, this is..."

"This is a knitting needle. I only know simple stitches. I can knit flat surfaces. The treatment of sleeves and collars requires the embroiderer to study according to my stitches."

Ye Shengxin took the knitting needles and divided them between Emperor Jingming and Zhang Shuyu. Then, right under their noses, she taught them how to knit sweaters, threading the needle one by one.

Zhang Shuyu learned it very well, but Emperor Jingming did not move.

The memory of doing embroidery work before came back to him again, and Emperor Jingming was a little dazed.

He really didn't understand why Ye Shengxin, who already knew his true identity, would still be so bold as to ask him to do a girl's work.

Don't you really think he needs face?

"Little Duck, hurry up and get started. Shuyu has already woven two rows. Your embroidery is so good, you can't be worse than him."

Emperor Jingming subconsciously grabbed the knitting needle and wool thread, and instantly had the urge to start knitting. As soon as he moved, his face froze.

Can this damn desire to win come into play at this time?

Under the sky, the prince looked expectantly, wondering whether the woolen sweater knitted by his father would be given to him, his good son who had worked diligently for him for four months.

The queen touched her sleeves with her fingertips. The weather was getting colder, and it was time for her to make new clothes.

This year, the Great Zhou was unlucky and encountered a drought. She and her concubines and princesses donated a lot of money and reduced a lot of expenses in the palace. Not a single new piece of clothing was made.

The emperor must give her one at least. She is not greedy.

Before leaving work at night, Ye Xingxin knitted herself a small half wool scarf with wool. The soft material was very skin-friendly. Ye Xingxin smiled and said, "Once the embroiderer can develop a better and faster knitting method, this thing can be popularized."

“I can teach people for free.”

Zhang Shuyu liked the woolen gloves he made for his old father more and more as he looked at them. They were very warm to wear. If his old father could wear them when he went to court this winter, his hands would not get frostbite.

"It's really good."

Emperor Jingming touched the wool scarf he had woven himself and said, "However, there are not many families in the Great Zhou who raise sheep. If we want everyone to be able to wear this, the source of sheep is a problem." When he said this, his words were deep and he unconsciously looked worried.

Ye Xingxin had expected this, and he expressed his plan after hearing this: "Duanzhuang said that Luoshan is a good candidate for military commander. It just so happens that the nomadic people in the north of the Great Zhou, the Hu tribe, are good at raising sheep."

"When the Great Zhou has time, let Luo Shan defeat the Hu tribe. Then we can provide food to the Hu people and hire them to herd sheep for the people of the Great Zhou. We won't have to worry about the wool supply."

The Hu people are quite large in number, roughly estimated at 3.5 million, occupying a large area of ​​the grassland. Each of them is an expert at raising horses and sheep.

The most important thing is that the sheep they raise not only have more than 50 kilograms of meat than the sheep in Da Zhou, but also have more wool than the sheep in Da Zhou. They also grow fast and can be harvested in two months.

I don't know what species it is, but its whole body is full of treasures.

Such a good thing, after Ye Shengxin started the wool weaving plan, he had the idea of ​​secretly flattering Emperor Jingming.

Once the Great Zhou has calmed down and the Wancai race has passed, it will be time to expand the territory.

Ye Xingxin said this simply, but Zhang Shuyu felt a little reluctant: "Xingxin, fighting will kill people, it is not something that can be done easily."

Ye Xingxin naturally knew this, but——

She settled an account with Zhang Shuyu and Emperor Jingming.

The population of the Great Zhou was 98 million, and every winter as many as 100,000 people froze to death. If we add to this the young soldiers who died in conflicts with the Hu people, then the Great Zhou suffered at least 120,000 unnecessary losses every year.

If this continues every year, it will be 600,000 in five years.

Such a horrific number of casualties not only shocked Emperor Jingming, but also the conservatives who thought Ye Shengxin was extremely naive after hearing her thoughts.

Did so many people die in the first year of the Great Zhou Dynasty? How much less money did the treasury collect?

Ye Xingxin: "So, if we can subdue the Hu tribe early and use the wool there to benefit the people of Da Zhou, the annual population loss can be reduced by at least one third. Of course, there will be soldiers and generals dying in a war, but if the benefits are for the present and for future generations, then these sacrifices are worth it."

Ye Xingxin smiled as he said this: "The Hu tribe has been harassing the Great Zhou for many years. Although the situation is stable now, it is inevitable that war will break out again in the future. If we take the initiative to attack and catch them by surprise, our chances of winning will be greater."

Zhang Shuyu lowered his head and asked, "Can't cotton replace wool?"

Before Ye Shengxin could reply, he punched himself first.

He also knew what Da Zhou's cotton production was like. It was basically the same number every year, so low that it made people cry.

No matter how practical this thing is, the land cannot all be used to grow cotton. Wouldn’t the people be able to survive?

Ye Xingxin patted his shoulder and said, "Wars have always been bad, but the resources harvested after wars are very valuable. In this social environment, in addition to ensuring our own well-being, we must also lay down a large piece of land for our descendants. This is the most important thing."

Emperor Jingming had to admire Ye Xingxin's eloquence, but after calming down, he took his hand away from the wool scarf:

"This is not enough to convince the court officials. You know, the accommodation of three million Hu people is not a small issue."