There was a lot of traffic in front of Duke Yi's mansion, and there was an endless stream of guests coming to visit.
Many people knew that Wu Huaiyu was appointed by the emperor as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition East Road, so they came to visit one after another, hoping to get a ride, or arrange for the family members to join the Northern Expedition to get gold or something.
Master Li sent another Haidongqing, and he also carried two cages of pigeons. They were not ordinary pigeons, but pigeons he had carefully trained.
"Can you fly pigeons to deliver messages?"
Since the Han Dynasty, pigeons have been called auspicious birds. It is said that Xiang Yu led his troops to chase Liu Bang. Liu Bang hid in a well and hunted him everywhere. There were two pigeons standing on the well. When the pursuers saw the birds in the well, they thought there was no one in the well. Therefore,
Exempted.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, pigeons were not only used to deliver messages, but also fighting pigeons were used for fighting competitions. Li Keshi raised many pigeons.
He named the pigeons Feinu, and not only trained fighting pigeons, but also homing pigeons. Not only could he release the homing pigeons in his hometown of Miyuan and fly them back to his house in Chang'an, he even once sent the homing pigeons to Danyang, a fiefdom in the south of the Yangtze River.
Can fly back to Chang'an.
Wu Huaiyu knew that pigeons had the characteristic of returning home, and they could prepare to return home no matter how far they were.
It is precisely by taking advantage of this characteristic that flying pigeons can deliver messages. However, there are also conditions for flying pigeons to deliver messages. Although carrier pigeons can fly hundreds of miles in an hour, they can only return home and cannot be said to be casual.
Flying doves to deliver messages to people somewhere.
"Erlang takes these flying slaves, and I will attach pigeon slaves to Erlang. After arriving in Youzhou, they can feed them carefully. Then these pigeons will remember that their nest is in Youzhou. Even if the soldiers and horses take the pigeons to Mobei, they will be released after they fly.
You can also prepare and quickly return to Youzhou,
Therefore, even if the soldiers and horses are on an expedition, as long as the pigeons are kept in cages and carried to the army, and released anytime and anywhere, they can quickly return to the location of the pigeon nest.
Not only can nests be built and raised in Youzhou, but they can also be raised in frontline military fortresses such as Guizhou and Yanzhou."
When going on an expedition, especially outside the Great Wall, the roads are difficult and there are no mature inns. The transmission of military information relies on fast horses. However, if you are behind enemy lines, there is also the risk of interception, so the transmission of military information often cannot be timely.
But this kind of homing pigeon is very powerful. If it is carried in the army and released day or night, it can fly back quickly. It can fly two hundred miles in an hour and easily thousands of miles in a day. No matter how fast the horse is, it can't compare.
, and is not restricted by terrain, roads, etc.
Of course, homing pigeons may also be intercepted by hawks, enemy troops, etc., so releasing a few more at a time will provide greater assurance.
Bring pigeons with you when you go on an expedition. If there is military information that needs to be conveyed urgently, just release a few pigeons, tie a small mailbox on your leg, put a letter in it and seal the mailbox, and you can quickly convey the military information back.
"Homing pigeons like one male and one female, and prefer to live in groups. When training, we usually separate the male and female, so that one is in the nest and one is outside. If you want to send a message, let the outside one fly, and it will return to the nest quickly.
, the letter was sent back.”
Master Li said it is easy, but in fact, training pigeons requires a lot of skills. Whether it is a homing pigeon or a fighting pigeon, it requires skills and a lot of money. You need to breed pigeons, train pigeons, and have enough training, especially stable routes.
, in order to make the pigeons more adaptable.
Master Li's nickname is Bird Thief, and he is a true expert in this field.
He had many pigeon slaves and pigeons,
Wu Huaiyu was really satisfied with these carrier pigeons. From Youzhou to Chang'an, even if the weather was good, it would take at least seven days to send the message to Chang'an. But if you use flying slaves, it can take at most two days, or even one day of fighting.
Of course, it can be used in the military to convey military information when going on an expedition, which is more timely.
It’s about 1,1200 miles from Youzhou to Baidao. Although it’s not that far, it’s not easy to walk after leaving the Great Wall to Bashang, heading west, and finally reaching Baidao Pass in Daqing Mountain.
, especially the desolate area outside the Great Wall, basically the sphere of Turkic influence,
It's really good to use pigeons to convey military sentiment.
Li Keshi was very grateful to Wu Huaiyu for recommending him to be the governor of Yanzhou, and he caught up with the Northern Expedition.
"We are all in-laws, so we don't say so polite words." Huaiyu said with a smile.
Wu Huaiyu's daughter has been promised to Li Keshi's grandson, not to mention that Huaiyu is still Li Jing's student.
"It would be best if we could get closer," Li Keshi said with a smile, "How is the relationship between Erlang and Sanniang recently?"
"I have been in the countryside of Fanchuan some time ago, and Sanniang once visited me," Huaiyu said.
"It's not easy for Sanniang. Now that she has come back from Emei, our whole family doesn't want her to come back again. I think you are also interested in concubine, so why not..."
Wu Huaiyu didn't know how to answer. This matter was indeed very awkward. Now that things have happened, the Li family has decided to let it go. They don't care about the reputation or the comments. They just hope that Li Sanniang can live a good life. As long as she is willing and doesn't mind, then the Li family
Don't force it either.
But for Wu Huaiyu, the current situation is indeed quite embarrassing, so let's just let it go.
"Ask Sanniang to go back to Youzhou with you, so that the two of you can get along with each other more."
Guest Master Li can be regarded as acting on behalf of the Li family.
"If Sanniang is willing to go to Youzhou for a walk, that's fine," Huaiyu said.
Master Li was very happy and even offered to give Wu Huaiyu some pigeons and pigeon slaves, and even generously expressed his willingness to teach him how to raise pigeons.
Wu Huaiyu was quite surprised. People in this era were very secretive about technology and other things, treating them as family heirlooms. Even the doctor's prescriptions were often passed down only to his direct descendants.
"Actually, it's just a toy. It costs a lot of money and manpower, but there's no secret. It's the same as raising horses and a polo team."
After Li Keshi left, Li Ji's younger brother Li Bi paid a visit and gave him some gifts.
Li Bi served as an official in Weiwei Temple. His official position was not very high, but his father Li Gai was the Duke of Shu and his elder brother Li Ji was the Duke of Cao. No matter how small his official position was, he was still the representative of the Li family in Caozhou. Li Bi did not also want to go to Hebei.
The Li family's current status does not require a war, not to mention that his elder brother is the general manager, so there is no need to ask for help from Wu Huaiyu.
After some pleasantries.
Li Bi said that he heard that the Wu family was now growing cotton, and the Li family also wanted to learn from it, and wanted to ask for some cotton seeds, as well as the Wu family's cotton spinning technology.
The Wu family had actually started growing cotton three years ago and were improving cotton seed removal, embossing, spinning and weaving tools.
Up to now, it can be regarded as a small fortune. In terms of cotton spinning technology, it can be said that it has far surpassed Gaochang, a major cotton producer in the Western Regions, and is much better than the raccoons in Lingnan.
People in Gaochang still remove cotton seeds by hand, but the Wu family has begun to use roller gins to remove cotton seeds, use bows to strike and vibrate to remove the soil and knots in the cotton, use yarn rods and a spindle to spin the fibers into threads, and then use them to weave cloth.
Machine weaves yarn into cotton fabric.
Even now, the Wu family is still studying the animal spindle. This is a relatively complex mechanical device. It consists of a large wheel, a small wheel, a long rod and multiple small spindles. The large wheel is pulled by cattle, horses and other livestock to drive the small wheel.
Rotate, causing the long rod to swing up and down, driving the cotton on the small spindle to twist into thread.
If it can be developed successfully, this kind of animal spindle spinning wheel will be much more efficient than the human hand spinning wheel.
The four basic processes of Wu family cotton weaving are rolling, stretching, spinning and weaving. The division of labor is clear. Textile tools have been continuously developed and improved. Its efficiency can be said to be far superior to that of Gao Changguo, not to mention the Fanyang Lu family who currently grows a small amount of cotton in China.
The Hu Li family is waiting.
Li Ji is not only a famous figure in the Tang Dynasty military today, but his family was a famous powerful family in Caozhou during the Sui Dynasty.
Li Ji's family was born in Shangfang, the northern ancestor of the Xu family in Gaoping. He moved to Huazhou in the late Sui Dynasty. His ancestors were also officials for generations. However, when the Northern Qi Dynasty fell, the Xu family was also involved. The family was weakened, but it was still the richest man in the place.
Nowadays, although the national surname is given and the surname is Li, Li Ji's family has grown rapidly, far exceeding the prosperity of his ancestors.
Although Li Ji has not moved much in officialdom in recent years, the Li family's wealth is still expanding rapidly.
The Li family owned a large number of fields in Henan, Shandong, Hedong, and Hebei. They also grew a lot of cotton and weaved cotton cloth. They occupied a place in the white cloth market of the Tang Dynasty.
It should be said that the Wu family currently grows very little cotton, but this technology is already the most advanced. Li Bi came to want the latest cotton spinning technology from the Wu family, which was very abrupt.
But Li Bi is not that kind of playboy bully.
No matter how stupid you are, you are not stupid enough to dare to snatch something from Emperor Xinwu Shaobao. Besides, everyone is from the Wagang family. Although Li Ji and Qin Qiong represent the two hills of Wagang, they are all from Wagang after all.
, Wu Huaiyu is the adopted son of Qin Qiong and the young leader of his lineage.
Li Bi showed his sincerity. Each of Henan, Hebei, Hedong and Huainan had 2,000 acres of land, and he was willing to use 8,000 acres of land in exchange for the latest new technology of elastic textile in the hands of the Wu family.
Eight thousand acres of land, very sincere.
The Wu family's cotton spinning technology is very good, but if there is not much cotton grown, then this technology will not be of much value. Of course, in Wu Huaiyu's eyes, this technology is very precious and valuable. After all, the Wu family is planning to plant a large amount of cotton.
Increase cotton production and produce more cotton products or quilts.
"How about adding another thousand acres of land to each of Guanlong?"
Seeing that he did not respond immediately, Li Bi took the initiative to add another two thousand acres, and even one thousand acres were Guanzhong land. Even if it was not from Yongzhou, as long as it was from the Guanzhong Plain, a thousand acres of land was still rare.
"Actually, although my family has done some research on cotton ginning and weaving and bought some tools, it's not worth that much," Huaiyu said.
He now believed that Li Bi didn't really want to buy the Wu family's textile technology, but was just using it as a reason to build relations with the Wu family.
Li Ji's family is very rich and powerful. However, in recent years, Li Ji has lost his temper due to many historical reasons. For example, he is the only remaining representative of the Shantou warlords in the late Sui Dynasty. Although Li Mi is the Shantou of Wagang, he also died early.
However, Li Ji was the founder of Wagang who still occupied most of Wagang's old land and troops after Li Mi was defeated and surrendered to Guanzhong.
Furthermore, in the Xuanwumen Incident, Li Ji failed to stand in line in time, which was also crucial.
Due to these many reasons, Li Ji's current position is quite embarrassing. Although he has always been cautious and cautious, which puts him in a good situation, but seeing Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, even Li Daliang, Huang Junhan, etc. getting better and better, Li Ji is also a little uneasy.
Even reluctantly.
But he was very young, only a few years older than the emperor. He didn't want to end up like Luo Yi, Du Fuwei and others, so he could only find ways to actively get closer, and even get closer to Qin Qiong, Wu Huaiyu, Li Jing and others.
Purchasing the Wu family's cotton spinning technology with 10,000 acres of land was actually just a pretense. Although the Li family grew cotton, it was only a small industry.
Compared with the more direct method of marriage, Li Ji chose to exchange 10,000 acres of land for the Wu family's "advanced cotton spinning skills", which also showed his ambivalence. He wanted to marry an upstart like Wu Huaiyu, but he also wanted to marry an upstart like Wu Huaiyu.
Worried about arousing the emperor's suspicion and dissatisfaction,
"Actually, the cotton spinning machines made by my family are nothing unusual."
"No, it's great. It's definitely a good thing. Our Li family also plans to have a variety of cotton, but the efficiency of ginning, removing seeds, and spinning has been too low. Now the Wu family has such a good thing.
, if we are lucky enough to buy it, then there will be no restrictions on growing cotton and spinning in the future, it will be quite cost-effective."
In any case, Li Bi was very sincere and eager for the Wu family's cotton spinning technology.
The core of this technology is still a few tools, including cotton gins, slingshots, spinning wheels, and looms.
Hand-operated and foot-operated cotton seed gins, four-foot long bows, foot-operated four-spun spinning wheels, foot-operated looms, and even animal-spun spinning wheels under research, etc.
In terms of efficiency, these machines are more than ten times more efficient than before.
The Li family still cut the seeds by hand, used a hand-operated single-split spinning wheel, and used a linen loom to weave cotton, which was very inefficient.
The Wu family's spinning wheels all have three or even four spindles, and they have even been changed to pedals. They are still researching beast-spun spinning wheels and even hydraulic spinning wheels.
If more cotton is used, cotton spinning is vigorously carried out, and the Wu family's new machines are available, the Li family's cotton fiber industry will indeed have great potential. After all, the Li family is a big landowner and has much more fields than Wu Huaiyu, covering an area of several thousand hectares and 800 hectares.
Wu Huaiyu was unable to catch up with him.
The Wu family all started to study the cotton weaving jacquard technology, and the techniques of staggered yarn color matching and heddle stitching.
Li Bi said that the Li family really wanted the Wu family's new technology, which was worth ten thousand acres of land, and they sincerely wanted to buy it.
I hope Wu Erlang can give me some face.
Speaking of which, it is obvious that the Li family has good intentions.
Ever since, Wu Huaiyu began to bargain with Li Bi.
"A thousand acres of land, actually. There's nothing unusual about those machines. It's just a layer of window paper. You can understand it at a glance."
"The window paper can't be poked or broken. I hope you won't be too short on ten thousand acres of land."
"How about I harvest 2,000 acres, and I can't harvest more."
"Ten thousand acres cannot be less than one acre. If it is too little, I will add another two thousand acres."
"No, no, it's not worth it."
"Value, very valuable."
During the bargaining, the buyer Li Bi kept increasing the price, while the seller Wu Huaiyu took the initiative to reduce the price.
The two sides were trying to pull each other's buttons, and they didn't reach an agreement for a long time.
Finally Li Bi said, "Don't refuse, Shaobao. Let's just start counting, eight thousand acres of land, one thousand acres in Guanzhong, one thousand acres in Longyou, one thousand acres each in Shuofang, Hedong, and one thousand acres each in Henan, Hebei, Huainan, and Jiangnan."
One thousand acres, how about eight large farms, it is also convenient for farming,"
"If it's too spread out, we'll give it 4,000 acres each in Henan and Hebei."
"It's really not worth that much, and it doesn't have any skills."
"Then, when Wu Shaobao's family improves their cotton spinning technology in the future, they will also teach it to my family, even if our Li family takes advantage of Shaobao."
"If we can get the skills of the Wu family, my family plans to plant 100,000 acres of cotton next year,"
Wu Huaiyu was very surprised when he heard this. The Wu family has been planting cotton and studying cotton spinning for three years. So far, they have only planted about a thousand acres. Even if there is a breakthrough in technology now, they only plan to plant about 10,000 acres next year.
But Li Ji's family is very wealthy and powerful, and they will plant 100,000 acres.
If this is done, it will be difficult for cotton to maintain its luxury status.
Wu Huaiyu put down the teacup,
"Okay, it's settled."
Eight thousand acres of land in Hebei and Henan, eight thousand acres of village, in exchange for the continuous sharing of Wu family’s cotton spinning technology.
Wu Huaiyu is not at a loss anyway. Of course, this transaction is not just as simple as it appears on the surface. Behind it, there is also a good relationship between the Miyuan Wu family and the Li family of Lihu.
No wonder Li Ji is so awesome. Such a generous move and this way of doing things are naturally unfavorable.
