Continue trading with Northwest

Chapter 74: Continued trade with the Northwest

Shi Weian and the male members of his clan were sentenced to immediate execution, and the women were exiled to the northern border. Their status as slaves could not be changed without special pardon.

Others who had evidence of having dealings with Shi Weian were either beheaded or exiled. Their cries lingered in front of the execution platform in Fengjing for three days.

The Minister of Revenue Xu Mingda was rewarded with two thousand taels of silver and one hundred pieces of silk and satin for his meritorious service in disaster relief. The eldest prince was rewarded with one thousand taels of silver for his meritorious service in assisting the disaster relief. All officials, big and small, who were involved in the disaster relief work received corresponding rewards.

Of course, the two beauties brought back by the eldest prince could not escape everyone's eyes. The disaster relief team was composed entirely of men, and suddenly two beauties dressed as maids appeared. Moreover, the two looked exactly the same, so it was hard not to think too much.

The eldest prince's wife was calmer than everyone else. She had already heard the rumors of the two living in the same courtyard. She was content with having a son and didn't care about these trivial matters.

When Chu Huaibei received the letter and saw the eldest prince's behavior, he sighed and said, "This man must be the reincarnation of Teddy!"

Very good, even in this unformed state, the second and third princes probably feel less pressured. The court officials would not like an emperor who is addicted to women.

August

Manager Zhang's caravan successfully brought back wild horses on credit from the northwest and delivered them to the palace's horse farm in batches.

"Master, all three tribes have settled their debts. Furthermore, they're asking if they can continue exchanging food this year. They don't have many cattle or sheep, and I'm afraid they won't be able to survive the winter."

Manager Zhang reported the three clan leaders' joint request to his master, who then made the final decision.

If Manager Zhang himself said so, it would be good enough if he was saved once. Those who are not of our kind must have different hearts, and they might bite us back in the future.

Chu Huaibei came specially to meet Manager Zhang. This man is quite capable. He has been able to return safely after going in and out of the grassland for so many years.

As soon as he entered the room, he heard the inquiries of Zhang Guanshi and asked, "Mother, how much grain do we have left in the granary?"

"I have met your Majesty."

"Well, Manager Zhang, please don't be polite."

"Not a small amount, there are still 300,000 stones."

"Yes, okay, mother. I want to continue trading with the Northwestern Tribe. However, this time, we're trading grain for people. We're trading grain for people who can weave exquisite felt. One hundred kilograms of grain in exchange for one person who will stay with me for a year, and I'll also teach them weaving techniques."

"Of course, if one person is willing to stay here for three years, they can be exchanged for 300 kilograms of food. Let's see what they choose."

Manager Zhang remained calm on the surface, but inwardly he was screaming, "Oh no! The prince is even trying to trade in foreign people! Is this even feasible?! If we let foreigners into the city, aren't we afraid of spies sneaking in?"

"Where does Your Majesty want to place the people? According to the ancient rules of the Northern Territory, outsiders are not allowed to enter the city."

The Concubine Dowager did not immediately deny the plan, but only reminded Chu Huaibei of the regulations regarding foreigners in the northern border.

"Yes, I know, mother. I plan to build a farm at the foot of the barren mountain in Qizhou to provide a convenient place for the guards there to live. It will also be a good place to keep the foreigners under surveillance. Those who want to study there will go there in batches, with a new batch every two months."

"What do you think, mother?"

Seeing that Chu Huaibei had already considered everything, the concubine nodded in agreement.

"Manager Zhang, please trade according to the prince's request. It's best to only trade women. As for men, only older ones are needed."

"Yes, Master. I will go and do it right away."

Manager Zhang thought that this time they could only bring back some old, weak and sick people, and there was no need to think about women. No clan leader would agree to exchange women.

After bowing to his master and the prince, Manager Zhang took his leave first.

"Why is Huaibei here? Are you here to see Manager Zhang?"

"Oh, mother is amazing. You guessed it all."

"My son was just curious and came over to recognize their faces. They can actually walk across the vast grasslands without getting lost, and even find the hiding small tribes. They must have great abilities."

Chu Huaibei praised them, saying that this caravan’s ability to find the way was not much worse than that of the scouts in the military camp.

"Yes, they do have the ability. Some of them are naturally good at identifying directions, and some can infer the direction of the tribe's movement based on the traces left on the grass. So no matter where those small tribes move to, they can find them."

"Great, great, mother. If there's a chance to counterattack Mongolia in the future, I'll ask you to lend me some men. Don't worry, I'll definitely return the jade intact, without any missing limbs."

Chu Huaibei felt in his heart that this might really happen. As long as she defended the northern border for two years, a counterattack would only be a matter of time.

"Yes, of course."

The queen mother was unaware of the true situation and thought her son was ambitious and dreamed of unifying Mongolia, so she agreed very readily.

October

The acre of sweet potatoes planted produced a bumper harvest. Due to the fertile soil and proper fertilization, the yield per acre reached 3,000 kilograms, which surprised everyone.

Chu Huaibei was quite calm. In his previous life, the yield per mu could reach 6,000 kilograms. After the seedlings were cultivated and domesticated, the yield would be gradually increased.

The output was a thousand pounds more than expected, so Chu Huaibei was generous and gave twenty pounds to the sugar factory, asking them to cook it and give some to everyone to taste.

Twenty kilograms were left in the palace, and ten kilograms were sent to Xue Zhan and Qin Feng's families, along with a recipe.

I sent one hundred kilograms to my grandparents' house, along with planting methods and recipes, so they could decide whether to plant or eat it.

For those who tasted the soft, sweet and delicious sweet potatoes for the first time, it was simply irresistible, especially for the female members of the Qin family, as most of the sweet potatoes sent to them ended up in their stomachs.

Only Qin Feng ate the whole thing. The other men only took a bite when their wives snatched the food away. They could do nothing but stare blankly. He smacked the new thing in his mouth. It was indeed delicious, with a sweet and soft texture.

Then they urged Qin Feng to go to the palace to ask where this thing could be bought, and they would pay to buy some.

Everyone was greatly disappointed by the first half of the news Qin Feng brought back: "Sweet potatoes are not available for sale for the time being."

The second half of the sentence: Next year, I will give you an acre of potato seedlings, and you can plant them yourself. Everyone instantly perked up.

"You are so old, why do you gasp when you speak?" Zhuang slapped her youngest son in annoyance.

After being slapped by his mother, he finally said the last sentence: This sweet potato yields 3,000 kilograms per mu...

At this moment, everyone in the main room was so quiet that they could only hear their own overly active heartbeats.

"The prince said that the land must be fertile and properly fertilized. Usually, it might be two thousand kilograms."

Qin Feng added.

"Two thousand kilograms is a pretty impressive yield, considering the wheat yield is only one hundred and twenty kilograms!"

Zhuang has high expectations for the sweet potato yield of up to 2,000 kilograms per mu.

Needless to say, the prince would later distribute the crops to the people for cultivation. As for increasing land production and improving people's lives, the prince never cared about his own gains or losses in all matters related to increasing land production and improving people's lives.

Just like this wool workshop, so many people have benefited from it.

Seeing the admiring expressions on the faces of his family, Qin Feng puffed out his chest, looking proud. His prince served his country and his people with integrity and selflessness; he was the best!

In the same month, Chu Huaibei sent people to meet them in advance, and Manager Zhang's caravan went directly to Qizhou without entering Youzhou.

This time, the patriarchs of the three tribes made a tacit and unified choice without prior discussion. They asked those in the tribe who were old enough to have one foot in the grave to sign a three-year indenture contract. Some of them originally wanted to sign a five-year contract, but they shut their outrageous mouths under the creepy gaze of Manager Zhang.

Or a man with an injured leg who couldn't ride a horse was useless to a nation that relied on horseback. In such cases, some people voluntarily signed a twenty-year indenture, the shortest being five years.

This resulted in not bringing back many people, but they did exchange a lot of food for them, which was about the same as Manager Zhang had estimated.

Chu Huaibei and his mother listened to Manager Zhang's report together. They accepted it well. The longer the time, the better. As long as the person's hands were not disabled, it would be fine.

Originally, Chu Huaibei was very confident in making felt blankets. In subsequent practice, he found that using tools to poke wool to form felt was suitable for making small objects. It was similar to the poking fun he played in his previous life, where wool or fiber was poked into various dolls.

But to make it bigger, especially a large carpet several meters square, is obviously impossible. The craftsmanship is somewhat similar but also different. There is no other way, so I can only ask the craftsman to teach me personally.

After settling the people, Chu Huaibei immediately sent the first batch of veteran employees in the workshop to learn. He also provided dyed wool and let these craftsmen directly teach the patterns.

Now that you have learned everything, of course you will learn the one that sells the best and is the most expensive!

The woolen dolls made based on the designs Chu Huaibei had drawn before sold well in Fengjing City and were very popular among children. They even became the top gift for young people from wealthy families to make friends.

The adorable giant panda is the best-selling item. As expected, no matter whether you have seen this animal or not, just one look at it can capture people's hearts.

Chu Huaibei specifically instructed that for foreigners who entered Qizhou Manor, their food, clothing and other necessities must be the same as those of other people, and no harsh treatment was allowed. Of course, going out was absolutely forbidden.

However, Chu Huaibei didn't think they would escape. He first considered whether they could climb out of the heavily guarded high-walled compound. Even if they went out, they would be discovered by either the forest guards or the common people.

The guards realized they could still keep someone alive and informed them that they were indentured victims. When the common people found out, they had no other choice but to be beaten to death.

As early as when the former King of Zhenbei was suspected of being injured by a spy, the royal palace had issued a decree that all foreigners seen in the northern territory would be killed and handed over to the government in exchange for a corresponding reward.

This decree spread throughout Mongolia and northwestern tribes in the early years.

The man who had sold himself for twenty years was from the Tuoba tribe. His right leg was cut off in the middle of the thigh. It was a miracle that he survived.

The guard reported that he was the best craftsman of the ten and that his blanket had the most beautiful pattern. A month later, the guard delivered a beautifully crafted felt blanket, seven feet long and wide, with the message that the foreigner was present and wanted to review it.

The concubine, Chu Huaibei and Aunt Wen gathered around the exquisite blanket and looked it over. The quality was better than any they had seen before.

I don’t know if the guys from the northwest sold them inferior products before, or if they wanted to show that they would not cause trouble after coming here and bring their craftsmanship to the extreme.

If they heard this, they would definitely cry out in injustice. How could they dare to sell inferior goods to Manager Zhang? The wool provided to them was simply processed perfectly, without any impurities, and directly dyed.

Due to lack of water or fuel, it is impossible for them to wash the wool with hot water eight or nine times. They just need to remove the grease and ensure that the wool will not rot later. The quality of raw materials directly affects the quality of the finished product, so you really can't blame them.

Chu Huaibei originally asked his mother to keep it for herself, but the concubine had always been frugal and thought it would be better to send it to a shop in Fengjing and sell it for one thousand taels.

According to the current price of wheat, one thousand taels of silver is eight cents per catty, which can buy one thousand two hundred and fifty stone of wheat, enough to feed seventy people. After calculating this account, Chu Huaibei no longer tried to persuade his mother to sell the wheat.

It’s better to spend the money wisely.