The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 104: A Time of Great Conflict, Jinzhou's Transformation

In Li Xiao's plan, Xifenglie and cloth will become the two pillar industries of Jinzhou.

As for the fur industry, it is better than nothing and can be considered a bonus.

After all, there are cattle and sheep everywhere in the grasslands of the Western Regions, and there is no shortage of furs.

It’s just to find a market for the furs in the hands of Jinzhou herders.

Li Xiao didn't expect to make much money in the fur business.

The real huge profits come from brewing and textiles.

Both of these are representative industries of light industry.

There is no need to say much about winemaking. Li Xiao also has some ideas about textiles.

Reform spinning and weaving machines to improve production efficiency in the textile industry.

Transform traditional family workshops into industrialized collective factories.

Li Xiao planned to set up a "cotton spinning company" in Jinzhou, recruit female workers, and produce cotton cloth on a large scale.

The finished cotton cloth is sent to the desert and Yinshan Mountains for sale.

As for the problem of raw materials, it is also easy to solve.

Because Xinjiang in later generations became the largest cotton-producing area in China.

The main planting areas are in southern Xinjiang and the area between the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains and the Gurbantunggut Desert.

This area has a hot climate and abundant sunshine, which is very suitable for growing cotton.

In contrast, the climate in Jinzhou is too cold, so only crops such as wheat can be grown, and it is not suitable for growing cotton.

So, Li Xiao then discussed the purchase of cotton with Xiao Tuladuo.

Every year, a certain amount of cotton is purchased from the desert, then processed into cotton cloth in Jinzhou and sold back to the desert.

The same goes for wine. They also buy grain from the desert to make wine, and then sell it back to the desert.

In this way, Jinzhou's business has begun to develop. Once the two major industries mature, they can provide Li Xiao with a large amount of wealth every year to support the army.

"The most important thing is that the cotton armor has been found."

After Li Xiao and Xiao Tuladuo finished a glass of wine, their faces turned red and they thought secretly in their hearts.

That’s right, his ultimate goal is to produce cotton armor in large quantities.

Nowadays, the army under Li Xiao has only one hundred sets of iron armor, and the other soldiers are all wearing leather armor.

Everyone knows that iron armor is good. Li Xiao certainly hopes that everyone in his army will have a set of iron armor, or even wart armor.

But this is simply unrealistic.

Iron armor was too expensive to make, and it was prone to rust, making it even more expensive to maintain.

At the peak of the Jin Dynasty's Iron Pagoda, the number of people would never exceed 10,000.

The famous Xixia Iron Harriers only had about 3,000 people during the reign of Li Yuanhao.

It’s not that they don’t want to produce more heavy cavalry, but they really can’t afford it.

So Li Xiao prepared to walk on two legs. On the one hand, he forged as much iron armor as possible and developed heavy cavalry.

On the other hand, a large number of cotton armor were produced to replace the leather armor of light cavalry.

Although the defensive power of cotton armor is not as good as that of iron armor, it is far stronger than leather armor.

Moreover, cotton armor is not as heavy as iron armor. Soldiers can move more conveniently when wearing cotton armor, and it can definitely become the preferred equipment for light cavalry.

The most important thing is the warmth retention of cotton armor, which is unmatched by any other armor.

After all, the climate in the northern border and grassland is too cold. It's okay in the summer, but in the spring and autumn, fighting in armor is a complete torture.

The cotton armor can protect soldiers from the biting cold wind on horseback. This alone is enough to give them a great advantage in fighting with the enemy.

"But in this case, aren't we too dependent on the desert?"

After the banquet was over, Li Xiao led his men to send Xiao Tuladuo out of the military camp. Looking at their shadows disappearing in the night, Li Dashan suddenly shook his head and said.

The raw materials come from the desert, and the finished products are also sold to the desert.

Once the relationship between Jinzhou and the desert becomes rigid and trade routes are cut off, Jinzhou will inevitably fall into a passive position.

Of course, Li Xiao is also very clear about this.

But what can be done?
At that time, Jinzhou was extremely poor and had nothing except agriculture and animal husbandry.

If you want to develop business, you can only rely on the desert first.

"Wait a minute. As long as we spread the fame of our Jinzhou, even without the desert as a transit point, those merchants will definitely come to our Jinzhou from afar just for Xifenglie and cloth."

Li Xiao said in a faint voice.

After all, these two are Jinzhou's exclusive products, and they have a monopoly position in the market. Only Jinzhou has them in the whole world, and there is no other brand.

So, Li Xiao was not too worried.

The worst that could happen is that they would return to their current state of poverty. Li Xiao would continue to lead the tough Jinzhou herdsmen to plunder other places.

"The desert is a good place, but it's a pity that I can't use it for my own benefit." Li Xiao shook his head slightly.

Having said that, at this moment, Li Xiao also had the ambition to annex the desert in his heart.

Although most of the Great Desert State is desert, it is richer and more populous than Jinzhou, especially the number of Han people is almost twice that of Jinzhou.

After conquering the desert, Li Xiao will have more manpower and wealth to expand his army and prepare for war.

At this moment, Xiao Tuladuo and his group, who had already left the camp, were slowly heading towards their own camp in the darkness.

Xiao Tuladuo was riding on his horse. The cool breeze blew on him, and he became drunk. His eyes became more and more blurry, and he began to stagger on the horse. There was no other way, so Xiao Tuladuo's personal guard captain could only ride on the same horse with Xiao Tuladuo and support him.

"Si Gele, Li Xiao's damn west wind is so strong, it's really fucking strong."

"I haven't been this drunk in a long time."

Xiao Tuladuo was riding on his horse, muttering to himself.

While complaining about Li Xiao, he also laughed.

After all, for this old drunkard, this half-drunk and half-awake state is really comfortable.

The captain of the personal guards sitting behind him said with some concern: "Commander-in-chief, do we really have to cooperate with Li Xiao?"

"Will Governor Xiao Linta blame us?"

After all, when Xiao Simo was appointed, the relationship between the three governors and the three deputy governors of the Northern Frontier seemed to become delicate.

Xiao Tuladuo's relationship with the deputy governor of the desert, the Uighur, was just superficial and not hostile.

Once Xiao Linta finds out that Xiao Tuladuo and Li Xiao have a business partnership, will he think that Xiao Tuladuo is deliberately picking on him?
"Hey, hey, what are you afraid of?"

"I've known Xiao Linta for thirty years and I know him best."

"He looks generous on the surface, but he's actually very petty."

"Even if this incident didn't happen, Xiao Linta would still overthink it if something else happened in the future."

"After all, I can't just go and tear my face with Li Xiao just for the sake of my friendship with Xiao Linta, right?"

Xiao Tuladuo muttered to himself, looking drunk.

"Besides, Li Xiao has a very close relationship with Kunji. It seems that he has become Kunji's lover."

"As long as the king agrees, that brat Li Xiao will probably be able to make the leap to success."

"It would be unwise to break up with him at this time."

"Besides, what Li Xiao asked me to do was just something I did conveniently. I just wanted to give Kunji some face."

Xiao Tuladuo's voice grew farther and farther away in the darkness until it disappeared into the Desert Army's camp.

On the other side, Li Xiao returned to the tent with a drunken face.

Xiao Yanyan was seen curled up under the sheepskin blanket, with only a pair of arms as smooth as lotus roots exposed.

She leaned on the bed, her face full of charm after the rain, her cheeks rosy, her eyes seductive, and she looked at Li Xiao lazily.

"What did Xiao Tuladuo say?"

However, Li Xiao seemed to have not heard Xiao Yanyan's words at all. His eyes were red and his breathing became heavier.

Under the stimulation of alcohol, Li Xiao approached the bed step by step like a mad bull.

Finally, amid Xiao Yanyan's screams, he grabbed the woman's white ankles and pulled her over.

Immediately afterwards, charming voices were heard in the big tent.

On the morning of the second day, Xiao Tuladuo led the desert army away.

Xiao Simo led the generals to see him off. Li Xiao was wearing a black leather armor and looked energetic, with no trace of fatigue after the madness.

After the desert army left, Xiao Simo turned back to the crowd and said in a deep voice, "The world today is experiencing a period of great conflict that only occurs once every three hundred years."

"The Jin, Song, and Xia kingdoms are all undergoing reforms to strengthen their states and armies. Even the eastern grassland tribes are fighting each other more fiercely than they have in the past hundred years."

"The world is changing, and the Liao Dynasty has reached a point where it must change."

"This king has decided to register the people of the four states in the northern border."

Xiao Simo said in a low voice, looking at Li Xiao and other Jinzhou generals, tribal leaders, etc.

His expression became more serious as he spoke, "Jinzhou is the most loyal and warlike state under my rule. I believe you will support my decision."

As soon as the words fell, Li Xiao and others felt a heavy pressure coming over them.

What else is there to say at this time?
It is imperative to register all citizens in Jinzhou, and Li Xiao and others are all vested interests in this reform.

Li Xiao has already taken four positions of thousand households.

So Li Xiao has changed from a speculator to a firm supporter of reform.

"Your Excellency is wise."

Li Xiao and others said.

Even if someone's interests were harmed, in the face of the general trend and Xiao Simo's 20,000 troops, everything was in vain.

No one dared to oppose it directly.

"it is good!"

Xiao Simo smiled and said with satisfaction, "From today on, Jinzhou will begin a unified population survey and household registration. Every household will be issued an iron plate to prove their identity."

"Let every household under the rule of the Great Liao be able to witness the resurgence of the Great Liao together with me."

"As ordered!"

In this way, Jinzhou began a large-scale population census and registered all the people.

The original structures of each fort and tribe were broken up and replaced with units of one hundred households each.

This period lasted until before the wheat harvest, and the reforms of the various forts and tribes in Jinzhou were initially completed.

And Li Xiao also truly became the deputy governor of Jinzhou and the commander of the left captain.

(End of this chapter)