"The princess couldn't bear to abandon her family and ignore the others. When she was besieged in the canyon at the foot of Shenyu Mountain, she decided that Zhang Canjun and I would take the opportunity to escort the young princess to break out of the siege. After the siege at the foot of Shenyu Mountain was lifted, the situation was relatively stable for the time being, but she was worried about returning to Beijing.
The journey of thousands of miles to Xiangyou will encounter too many twists and turns, so we did not take the little prince over without authorization..."
After holding a simple reception night banquet for Wang Ju and others' return, Xu Huai left Sun Yanguan alone again and listened to him detail Xiao Yanhan's current situation.
"It doesn't matter if he stays in Shenyu Mountain, he is half Khitan after all, and the situation faced by the remnants of Khitan now is much more severe than that of Jingxiang,"
More than two years ago, Xu Huai learned from Xu Guanshan and Zhang Xiongshan that Xiao Yanhan had given birth to a son for him and was temporarily living at Xiao Lin's knees to raise him. He was surprised and delighted at the time.
It was not that he had never thought about bringing Xiao Yanhan, Xiao Bai, mother and son to Jingxiang (Chushan), but considering that the remnants of the Khitan were in such a difficult time, Xiao Yanhan could not abandon his clan and ignore them.
Thinking about it calmly now, before the remnants of the Khitan can obtain a relatively stable and safe habitat, not only Xiao Yan Han cannot abandon his people, but Xiao Bai must continue to stay.
It’s best to be by Xiao Yanhan’s side.
Even though he was worried in his heart, Xu Huai sighed softly and said,
"By bringing Xiao Bai to Beijing and Xiangzhou, he will be safe, but where will he leave the Khitan people? This may be the responsibility he should bear since he was born!"
"Among the many gifts presented to the envoy, this rug was made by the princess herself..."
When they returned this time, Xiao Linshi and Xiao Yanhan also prepared a batch of gifts in addition to horses. However, Sun Yanguan, Xiao Chunyu, and Xu Zang returned first with Wang Ju, and the things they could carry were relatively limited.
At this time, Sun Yanguan pointed out that one of the carefully wrapped felt rugs was made by Xiao Yanhan himself when he was at the foot of Shenyu Mountain, and it must be handed over to Xu Huai first.
"You go and rest first. You have returned from a journey of thousands of miles. You should be reunited with your family for a while, but now the war is tense, and there is too little experienced generals like you in the army - we all have to grit our teeth and persevere.
Ah!" Xu Huai said.
"I feel at ease, but I have only one request. Please be kind to your envoy." Sun Yanguan said.
"Say." Xu Huai said.
"Before the night banquet, I heard from the envoy that the infantry were wearing heavy armor and were in battle to kill the enemy, and I was particularly yearning for it..." Sun Yanguan said.
"I am considering selecting the vanguard army to add one or two battalions of infantry training. If you are willing, then you can lead it!"
Seeing that Sun Yanguan was puzzled, Xu Huai smiled and said,
"Now my arms and legs are being pulled tightly by everyone, and I have no chance to go to the battlefield. The production department has recently come up with some new ideas for preparing armor, but I am not sure yet whether it is suitable for actual combat, so I have to
I am organizing and training one or two battalions of infantry in the Selection Front Army, so that I can follow the progress of the training at any time. Since you are better at getting infantry into battle, you will help me with this matter!"
"Yan Guan will live up to your high expectations!"
Sun Yanguan was famous for his bravery when he was in the Dongjing Allied Forces, and his subordinates were also rare elites in the Dongjing Allied Forces. He joined Hu Dangzhou to rebel without a single defeat, and he was very proud of himself. However, when Xu Huai personally went to Nancai
During the conquest of Dongjing by the recruiting army, he bumped into an iron plate and realized how far he was from the real elite soldiers in the world.
Furthermore, as a surrendered general, he did not expect to be able to compete with the direct generals of Beijing and Xiangxiang. He thought of a good man in his heart. Rather than stay in Xu Huaikong and hang out as a high-ranking general of Duyuhou and live a mediocre life,
It is better to lead a battalion of elite infantry and stand proudly on the battlefield.
And when he joined the Dongjing Alliance Army, he had imagined countless times that one day all the men under his command would be wearing strong armor and sharp swords.
Now Xu Huai had to organize and train one or two battalions of elite infantry and armor by his side, so that he could see the application of new armor at any time. Sun Yanguan did not expect that as a demoted general, he would receive such trust, and he felt extremely grateful for a moment.
After Sun Yanguan left, Xu Huai untied the felt blanket made by Xiao Yanhan under the candlelight.
The white-as-snow felt blanket is only six or seven feet square. It is much thinner than ordinary felts, and its tentacles are extremely soft and smooth. It is made of extremely precious fine velvet and can be used as a cloak to keep out the cold. This felt blanket is in
Some dyed cashmere is also added during hammering and kneading to form an exquisite landscape painting.
Xu Huai carefully identified that the picture frame formed by dyeing cashmere on the carpet should be the outline of the mountains in the Western Mountains of Shuozhou. This reminded him of the time he spent with Xiao Yanhan in the Western Mountains of Shuozhou, and he secretly thought that Xiao Yanhan should also be fond of that period.
Never forget.
Xu Huai spread the felt blanket on the long table, undressed and rested. When he woke up the next day, he suddenly thought of something.
When having breakfast with Wang Ju, Shi Zhen, Xu Wuqi, Han Gui and Wang Xian in the camp, Xu Huai asked Xiao Chunyu to be found and asked: "How are Khitan carpets made? Do you know?"
Regardless of the Khitan people, the Chihu people, or the Dangxiang people, felt-making has a long history. In daily life, felt is used to build yurts, pave kangs, make boots, make hats or sew felt clothes. It can be said that felt is the product of nomadic peoples.
Necessities of life.
Xu Huai had some knowledge of felt before, but he was not particularly familiar with it, so he called Xiao Chunyu over and wanted to know more.
Xiao Chunyu had been well-fed and well-dressed since he was a child. After the fall of the Yan Kingdom, he followed his father and brother to conquer the north and south. He endured a lot of hard work and grew up, but he was still not very familiar with the things that ordinary tribesmen worked for every day.
However, in addition to Xiao Chunyu, there were dozens of people waiting to guard him. At this time, there were also many Han civilians in the army who had moved south from Yunshuo and other places.
Seeing that Xu Huai was interested in felt making and Xiao Chunyu didn't know much about it, Han Gui immediately called for two people. Xu Huai learned from them that manufacturing methods include hammering, rolling, rolling, etc., as well as embroidery, painting and color mixing.
Wait for the method to make exquisite tapestry.
And because the felt made by nomadic people is usually thicker, it is far inferior to making felt clothes such as linen and cotton, let alone silk. Therefore, in the Central Plains, except for the occasional use of felt blankets by wealthy people, felt has always been used as a blanket.
There are no big needs.
Since the founding of the Dai Viet Dynasty, the scale of felt trading in the Landai and other places with the Khitan and other parties was extremely limited.
Of course, thin velvet felts like those sent by Xiao Yanhan could be cut into warm cloaks, but they were too precious and could not be used by ordinary gentry.
In recent years, there have been frequent battles between Jingxiang and Chihu people, and the army has also seized a lot of felt products, which are mainly used to make raincoats and various mats. They are also mixed with tung oil to make various leak-stopping agents, but the scale of use is limited.
.
Xu Huai not only inquired in detail about the types of cashmere goats commonly raised by the Khitans, but also asked the generals to bring over some felt products that had been seized and used.
Seeing that Xu Huai ignored the progress of the war in Guangcheng, but repeatedly identified various felt products and was thinking about something, Shi Zhen asked: "What do you think of?"
Xu Huai said:
"For thousands of years, the tribes in the Central Plains and the grasslands have been fighting endlessly. Even when the Central Plains dynasty was strong, they had entered the depths of the grasslands and wastelands several times, but their fundamental purpose was still to eliminate threats. Although from the perspective of the empire, there were
The ability must do everything possible to weaken or even eliminate potential opponents to ensure border security. However, the cost of military conquest is extremely high, and it is often difficult to continue when the Central Plains falls into weakness. It has been criticized frequently within the dynasty, and there are many
The pedantic people think that expeditions are a waste of life and money, and are completely useless. Think about it since the founding of the Dai Viet Dynasty, scholars and Confucian people have roamed the temples, and the wind of criticism has become even more intense. Even the Han, Wu and Tang Zong etc.
A generation of heroes can't escape the criticism of being a belligerent. In the past few years, we have shipped salt, cloth, soldiers, and armor to Xiao Shuai in exchange for horses. Whether it is for the overall situation or the morality of being united over the years, we must do it.
It’s done, but with such a high price, there’s no dissent within the production department, I don’t think so, right?”
If the purpose is simply to obtain horses, we should push Jingjiang Prefecture and Yongzhou to expand the scale of negotiation with Dali State, and then transport the horses from Jingjiang Prefecture and Yongzhou to Jingxiang, the cost is much lower.
If it is finally confirmed that there are mountain trails in the Qionglai Mountains that can connect the western Shu and the eastern areas of Duogansi, the remaining Khitan troops can retreat to the western foot of the Qionglai Mountains and maintain close contact with Beijing and Xiangzhou, but the price will be extremely high -
—
The price is not only that the road is long and dangerous, which limits the scale of commercial cargo transportation, but also needs to consider the various threats that will be encountered along the way - this means that Beijing and Xiang must pay an extremely high price to maintain the smooth flow of this trade route.
If we just use this road to trade hundreds or thousands of good horses from the remnants of the Khitan every year, in the eyes of many people, the price will be too high.
For example, this time an armed merchant group of three to four thousand people went to the banks of the Lushui River to support the remnants of the Khitan troops heading south. Not to mention the loss of nearly a thousand elite members due to diseases and other diseases, the materials consumed along the way were as high as 300,000 guan.
.
Although the strategic significance of supporting the remnants of the Khitan forces moving south is of great significance, if support for the remnants of the Khitan forces is to be maintained for a long time, the balance of import and export items must be considered.
Otherwise, the production company's wealth will not be able to handle too many things.
"It's a pity that the Central Plains clothing and robes have long been made of linen, silk, gauze and other fabrics. In recent decades, soft cotton has become popular in Jianghuai, and felt is really looked down upon," said Shi Zhen, who was in charge of money and grain.
Even more emotional, I felt extremely melancholy when I heard Xu Huai say these words, but then I thought of a thought, raised my eyebrows and said, "Unless..."
"Since silkworm cocoons, cotton and linen can be twisted and spun into thread, do you mean that wool can also be used for weaving?" Han Gui reacted very quickly and asked Zhense.
