Upon hearing that all the cotton-padded coats that had been sewn together were to be taken apart, before Gu Yuzhi could even speak, Wen Xiuzhu became anxious: "Teacher Shu, do you know what you're saying?"
"You've taken them all apart? Are you kidding me?"
Wen Xiuzhu admitted that he was indeed opportunistic when he was alive, but during the time he spent with the young prince, and by hearing Mr. Huo talk about the wars against the Northern Barbarians and the tragic story of the White Fortress in Jingxiang, he had unknowingly changed himself.
So when he heard Shu Xiaohan say she wanted to remove the willow catkins, he couldn't contain his anger: "I know you've done a good job teaching His Highness the functions and cultivation methods of cotton, but for thousands of years, warriors have been doing it this way..."
Shu Xiaohan found Wen Xiuzhu's anger inexplicable: "Why are you so angry? Let me finish speaking!"
Seeing that Wen Xiuzhu was about to speak again, she simply rolled her eyes and interrupted him: "Just because you say that warriors have lived like this for thousands of years doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do!"
“I come from a thousand years in the future; we have summarized these experiences by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
She turned to Gu Yuzhi and said, "Young Prince, in later generations, down jackets are what we wear to keep warm in winter. Compared to cotton-padded jackets, down jackets are warmer and lighter."
She only knew that down jackets were filled with duck and goose down, but she really didn't know how to fill them evenly without the down escaping.
Shu Xiaohan briefly explained how to disinfect, then urged Gu Yuzhi to get started: "Your Highness, it's already October. According to previous years, it will snow by the end of October, so we need to hurry up and make the down jackets."
Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head, turned around and found Chief Secretary Xie to tell him about it.
Unlike Wen Xiuzhu, Xie Changshi was not resistant. After thinking about it for a while, he found it quite reasonable: "Those ducks and geese are more resistant to cold than humans. It must be related to the down on their bodies."
His eyes held a hint of expectation: "Your Highness, do you think we should call a halt now?"
Gu Yuzhi shook his head: "No."
He looked up at Chief Secretary Xie, his eyes resolute: "Chief Secretary Xie, this is what I'm thinking: the cotton-padded jackets will still be made according to the previous method, with duck down and goose down, and we'll sew vests."
Chen Dianyi had ordered the rush to produce cotton-padded clothes some time ago. Now, dismantling the operation would not only mean that the textile factory workers would have worked for nothing, but it would also make Chen Dianyi doubt the value of his efforts over the past period.
So he definitely won't allow it to be demolished.
The best solution is to sew a vest!
Gu Yuzhi smiled and said, "Nobody knew that duck down and goose down were useful before, so they must have all been disposed of. There's not much usable now. It would be great if we could even sew a thin vest."
He certainly believed what Teacher Shu said, but they could only figure out how to make down jackets on their own.
Chen Dianyi, Liu Dianyi, Qin Yuanpan, and other key members were quickly summoned. After learning about the amazing existence of the down jacket, they all agreed with the young prince's idea.
Everyone was busy with their own tasks, some contacting the prefect, others issuing orders. By mid-October, news that His Highness Prince Wen wanted to collect duck and goose down had spread throughout the entire northern desert.
According to Gu Yuzhi, duck and goose down should be purchased, but the people of Mobei knew that these things were used for the Mobei army, and besides, it was the young prince who wanted to collect them, so how could they possibly ask for money?
Many people would pack cleaned duck and goose down into bags in the middle of the night and throw them directly into the prefectural government office, making it impossible for the prefects of various prefectures to pay them.
The duck and goose down were first sterilized by boiling in hot water, and then laid on a hot kang (a heated brick bed) for both sterilization and drying. Sewing began within two days.
Gu Yuzhi had been staying at the textile factory for the past few days, wanting to see just how warm this down vest was, and how it compared to fur coats.
He muttered to himself, "Teacher Shu, could you make this down jacket a little prettier? I want to give it to my mother."
Shu Xiaohan nodded and said, "Of course!"
Her eyes lit up: "Young Prince, if you want to give it to your mother, I think you can make it in the style of a cloak. The fur on the hood can be made of fox fur or rabbit fur. That way it will be both beautiful and warm."
Gu Yuzhi tilted his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I can't think of what it should be like. However, I can ask the embroiderer."
Both the innermost and outermost layers are made of silk, embroidered with peonies that my mother liked. They don't need to be too big or too complicated; small ones are just fine.
My mother likes exquisite things.
Gu Yuzhi was happily discussing with Teacher Shu when, not long after, the textile factory manager came out carrying a down vest: "Your Highness!"
The shopkeeper's eyes were red-rimmed: "Your Highness, look, this is a down vest. I just tried it on, and it's really warm."
The young prince, a member of the royal family, wears expensive silk and fox fur, and even his boots are made of tiger skin. Unlike ordinary people like them, who wear rough coarse linen with layers of willow or reed fluff inside, and are always huddled up in winter.
But just now, as soon as he put on the vest, the shopkeeper immediately noticed the warm feeling on his back.
He was confident that if this thing were sold, the profit would be enormous!
But the shopkeeper dared not say, because the young prince had said from the beginning that these were all for the soldiers in the northern desert!
Gu Yuzhi took the vest and weighed it in his hand: "It's really light."
He tugged at the seam and looked at it, then rubbed it vigorously: "Teacher Shu said that if it's not handled properly, it's easy for the fibers to come loose. The textile workers should have done this specially, right?"
He couldn't figure it out himself, but he had everyone around him try it, and they all gave very good feedback. Only then did Gu Yuzhi finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He handed the down vest back to the shopkeeper and said softly but solemnly, "Shopkeeper, these vests are for the soldiers, so please ask the craftsmen to put in extra effort to ensure quality while rushing to complete them."
Fearing it would cause panic, he dared not mention the possibility of a Northern Di invasion, and could only repeatedly remind the shopkeeper to be careful and not to slack off.
The textile factory manager found it strange, after all, the young prince wasn't the type to distrust his subordinates...
But since it concerned the soldiers, the shopkeeper knew the importance of the matter and solemnly said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely keep a close watch on things."
Gu Yuzhi nodded his head. As soon as he stepped out of the textile factory gate, he looked up at Chief Secretary Xie and said, "Chief Secretary Xie, we will set off for Quanzhou tomorrow."
Chen Dianyi had already shown him the harvest of various grains in Xinliang this year. If it weren't for the war, the grain in his fiefdom could have been sold off.
So right now, the most important thing is the situation across the entire state.
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