Chapter 148 Dyed Khalkha
"The cleaned wool is here." Pointing to a small basket on a side table, Yin'e beckoned the Ninth Prince over.
He strode over and sat down next to Yin'e, and the Ninth Prince casually reached out and touched the wool in the basket.
Upon touching it, the Ninth Prince looked at Yin'e in surprise, exclaiming with admiration and astonishment, "So soft and fluffy! I never imagined wool would be like this after being washed."
The Ninth Prince had seen unwashed raw wool. To put it bluntly, he couldn't stand touching or even looking closely at the slightly yellow and smelly wool, let alone touching it.
Although Yin'e had told the Ninth Prince long ago that wool stained with grease could be washed clean, the Ninth Prince was still amazed to see the difference in the clean wool after washing compared to before washing.
If the truth wasn't told to the Ninth Prince, and the raw and clean wool were placed in front of him at the same time, he might think they were two unrelated and completely different things—he couldn't find anything in common between them, so of course he wouldn't believe they were the same material.
"What should we do next?" The Ninth Prince took a piece of wool out of the basket, held it in his hand, and asked while rubbing it, "Can these strands and clumps of wool be woven into cloth and made into clothes like silk and hemp?"
Before Yin'e could answer, the Ninth Prince took a strand of wool from the wool in his palm and examined it carefully. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "This wool is soft and fluffy. Even if it is not spun into yarn or woven into cloth, it can be stuffed into cloth as a lining, just like cotton."
He squeezed the wool in his hand tightly, testing the feel of the wool after pressing it even more tightly. He found that it was not so easy to loosen after pressing it. The Ninth Prince nodded, his expression delighted: "It can be used to make winter coats and cotton shoes. It will definitely be warmer than stuffing cotton."
Most importantly, cotton was still a rare commodity in the Qing Dynasty, and ordinary people were unwilling to use their land for growing crops and grains to grow cotton.
The Qing Dynasty's cotton production is very small now, and most poor people can't afford it. They are lucky if they can have a thick paper coat to wear in winter. Most people get through the winter by wearing several layers of clothes.
With an approving look at the Ninth Prince, who had such a quick mind and had figured out how to process the product into a commodity so soon, Yin'e nodded in agreement and said, "After the wool has been washed and combed, the wool fibers will be of varying lengths due to the different quality of the wool."
"Long wool fibers can be spun into yarn, and then easily processed into blankets and sweaters; short wool fibers are considered miscellaneous wool, and it is difficult to twist them into yarn. These discarded miscellaneous wool fibers can be compacted and stuffed into linings, just like you said, Ninth Brother, to make winter coats and cotton shoes."
Yin'e picked up the pin comb that was placed aside and showed it to the Ninth Prince: "Ninth Prince, look, after the washed wool is completely dry, you can comb it with a pin comb to remove the short stray hairs and comb the long wool into strips."
"Use a spindle to stretch and thin the wool strips, then twist them into yarn. While continuously rubbing the yarn, continue adding wool strips to create long yarn."
"As the yarn is stretched, it becomes thinner and thinner. Twisting it further tightens the yarn, making it less likely to come loose. Once twisted into yarn, it is also easy to weave."
The Ninth Prince listened intently, his eyes shining as he looked at the wool in his hands: "This wool can be spun into thread so easily?"
It doesn't sound difficult; he thought spinning yarn from wool would be hard. After all, even the longest wool is only so short, and it seems far from being able to form a continuous line.
Staring intently at Yin'e, and after Yin'e nodded in affirmation, indicating that it was indeed that simple, the Ninth Prince tossed the wool back into the basket, rubbed his hands excitedly, and suggested with great interest, "If it's so simple, then let's try it ourselves."
Yin'e hadn't expected the Ninth Prince to be so interested in spinning thread. He blinked and said, "Um... I didn't prepare a spindle. You need a spindle to do this." It wasn't that he couldn't spin thread without a spindle; he could just twist it by hand.
However, Yin'e was only thinking about it; relying solely on hand-spinning wool yarn would be too tiring and troublesome. If tools were available, then he would use them. Anyway, he wasn't in a hurry to see the finished product, so there was no need to rush.
The Ninth Prince, who had been eager and impatient, slumped his shoulders in disappointment: "Ah... I see. I'll try it when I get a spindle."
Yin'e glanced at the somewhat dejected Ninth Prince, then looked around the room and gestured for everyone else to leave, leaving only Xiao Linzi and the Ninth Prince's personal eunuch behind.
After clearing the room and leaving only the four of them, Yin'e gently nudged the Ninth Prince, who was hanging his head, and whispered to him, "Spinning wool into yarn is not difficult, but there is one more step before spinning and weaving, which is dyeing."
"The wool can be dyed directly before spinning, or it can be dyed after the wool has been spun into yarn. You know how important the dyeing process is, so I won't go into details."
The Ninth Prince, who had been somewhat disappointed, looked up, his phoenix eyes widening slightly, his attention immediately diverted: "Wool can be dyed, and can be dyed into the same variety of colors as silk?"
"Of course, if the color is dyed well, wool fabrics can be made just as gorgeous and beautiful, with more than just the advantages of being warm and lightweight." Yin'e nodded with a smile.
In later generations, Yin'e saw wool yarn in many colors, not only in solid colors, but also in gradient colors and combinations of several colors, which were incredibly colorful and varied.
The Ninth Prince is truly talented in business. At this time, his mind is very sharp and quick-witted, completely unlike the "dullness" he showed when he was studying in the Imperial Study.
The Ninth Prince, his spirits lifted, shook off his previous disappointment. His wide, phoenix-shaped eyes shone brightly, and his face was full of excitement: "Wool yarn can be sold for a higher price after being dyed!"
Just like with fabrics, the more vibrant, gorgeous, and rare the dye, the more expensive the fabric.
“That’s right, the dyeing step is very important and has great potential.” Smiling, Yin’e looked at the Ninth Prince, who had regained his energy, and gave him a high five.
After the Ninth Prince calmed down and regained his composure, Yin'e looked at him and slowly nodded, then continued to whisper to the Ninth Prince: "The technology for dyeing fabrics is already very mature. We don't need to start from scratch or delve into it."
“We can simply buy a dyeing workshop and take over the dyeing workers, or we can poach a few dyeing craftsmen from the Imperial Household Department. The former will cost money, but the latter is free. We can just use our connections and ask the Imperial Household Department for free.”
Although two options were presented, Yin'e actually preferred the second one.
Besides wanting to save money and get a bargain, it was also because the artisans serving the royal family were of a higher skill level—not that there were no master craftsmen in the common people, but that it was not easy to find a master craftsman whose skill level was higher than that of the artisans supported by the royal family.
As for whether doing so might be seen as taking advantage of Kangxi, Yin'e puffed out his chest and thought righteously: Anyway, they are princes, Kangxi's sons, so what's wrong with undermining Kangxi's influence? The Crown Prince's wet nurse, Lingpu, has almost completely undermined the Imperial Household Department, so why can't they get involved?
Yin'e's brazen leeching off his parents wasn't because he believed it was his right to live off his father; rather, it was because even if he wanted to strive for success, Emperor Kangxi might not allow it.
Given his birth as the son of Consort Yin'e and the power of his maternal family, the Niohuru clan, even if Yin'e were to rise up and strive for success, even if his goal was to make money and build a commercial empire, Emperor Kangxi would still have doubts. He would wonder which direction Yin'e truly intended to pursue and whether Yin'e was interested in the dragon throne beneath him.
Rather than having the princes stand up and strive, only to end up getting involved in the struggle for the throne, Emperor Kangxi might have preferred his sons to live off their parents, considering it a way to avoid trouble (not really).
The Ninth Prince and Yin'e were indeed kindred spirits... no, they were good brothers who shared the same thoughts. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Tenth Brother, you are right. We don't need to study the dyeing process, and we don't need to bother training craftsmen from scratch. We can just ask the Imperial Household Department for them."
Standing quietly to the side, Xiao Linzi and the Ninth Prince's personal eunuch lowered their heads silently, both of them pretending not to exist and acting as invisible figures, not daring to participate in the conversation between Yin'e and the Ninth Prince at all.
Because the wool yarn hadn't been spun yet, the subsequent weaving and garment-making processes were difficult to discuss. After discussing the dyeing process, the Ninth Prince, who didn't want to return to the Fourth Palace so soon, shifted his position on the spacious armchair and moved closer to Yin'e: "Tenth Brother, do you think we'll go to war with the Dzungars?"
After the start of spring, the Dzungar tribe became increasingly rampant, and its conflicts with neighboring tribes that had submitted to and were close to the Qing Dynasty intensified, seemingly with the intention of weakening the Qing Dynasty's influence over Mongolia.
Yesterday, an urgent report came from Mongolia that Galdan of the Dzungar Khanate was leading a large number of cavalry to plunder the Khalkha, causing Tushetu Khan, Chechen Khan, and Zebzundanba Hutuktu to all report the danger, plunging the beginning of the 29th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign into turmoil.
Yin'e tilted his head and pondered for a moment before carefully answering: "The food and supplies of the Tushetu Khanate, the Chechen Khanate, and the Zebzundamba Khutuktu① were already quite depleted last winter. Although there was no white disaster in Mongolia last year, the northern Mongolia was extremely cold and harsh, making survival difficult."
"Galdan raided the Khalkha tribes at the beginning of spring, causing the Tushetu Khan and other tribes to suffer heavy losses of supplies and severe shortages of food. They had no choice but to request the court to provide relief."
At this point, Yin'e paused for a moment before continuing, "The Khan will definitely distribute grain to relieve the disaster. Because of this, even though the Khan originally planned to personally lead an expedition against the Dzungars, he had to postpone the start of the war."
When the Dzungar Khanate made its move last year, Emperor Kangxi had already made preparations. He not only mobilized troops but also sent auxiliary troops to transport grain from various places to the border for storage, ensuring that the Qing Dynasty would have sufficient military supplies after the war with the Dzungar Khanate began.
However, now that the Khalkha had been plundered by Galdan, Kangxi could not sit idly by and had to distribute grain to relieve the disaster. This would inevitably cause some of the Qing Dynasty's grain to flow out of the country, and it might even require the use of military grain stored at the border.
Once military rations are used, it takes time to restock them. Even if Kangxi wanted to wage war against the Dzungar Khanate, he would have to wait until the military rations were replenished.
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Author's Note: ①: Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, also known as Jebtsundamba, is the largest lineage of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism in northern Mongolia, belonging to the Gelug school; Khutuktu is a title bestowed by the Qing Dynasty upon high-ranking Living Buddhas in the Mongolian and Tibetan regions.
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