Yan Liqiang suddenly laughed after hearing Eunuch Ou’s words. He looked at Long Tiezhou and said, “In the Great Han Empire, there are two regions with the most grasslands. One is the western region and the other is the northern region. It will be easy for the Storm Army to access the grasslands on the territories they control. With grasslands, they can rear sheep and get wool. With wool, they will be able to make woolen fabric. With woolen fabrics, they will no longer have to worry about having their throat squeezed for the sake of money. In fact, the Storm Army won’t even have to sell woolen fabric for long. As long as they have wool, countless people will come to begging for them. By then, exchanging wool for money, weapons, and food will not be a problem…”
A small smile also appeared on Long Tiezhou’s face, “Indeed, there are also many vast grasslands in the territories controlled by the Storm Army in the Jin, You, and Shuo Provinces. They are most ideal for raising animals and in fact, the Storm Army’s ranch is also there. We’ve never seen the value of those places as they are filled with nothing but grass and rocks. After my visit to Gan Province this time, I realized we can start a big business just by rearing sheep on those grasslands!”
“The Storm Army is known to be an army of a million strong. What other businesses did it run in the past aside from disbursing the funds from the imperial court?”
Long Tiezhou sighed. “The Jin, You, and Shuo Provinces are poverty-stricken lands in the Great Han Empire — they are poor in resources and scarce in natural resources. The lands there are flat, and the silver and copper mines are all controlled by the local bureaucracy and the Anbei Military Governor’s Office. Since the Storm Army has military steeds to take care of, we are given control over several grasslands and fields. Apart from the steeds, we also keep some livestock like cows and goats on the grasslands for food, and use their skins for making armor. We only have enough to barely sustain ourselves and not much can be exchanged for money. Other than that, the Storm Army only controls a few small iron mines, market towns, two salt wells, and a toll collection at the borders. These businesses may seem considerably profitable, but they are utterly inadequate, given the huge number of people we have in our army. Hence, the Storm Army still largely relies on the funds from the imperial court…”
“I see!” Yan Liqiang nodded. “When we return today, I’ll send someone to accompany Lord Long to the mill to observe the entire process of turning wool into fabric. If you have any questions, you may ask me. When Lord Long returns this time, I’ll prepare some documents for you to take away. You can even bring a few spinning frames and looms back as samples. With these, it’ll be easy for the Storm Army to build a similar mill!”
“Words are not enough to express our gratitude to you, Lord Yan, but the Storm Army shall remember your kindness!” Long Tiezhou cupped his fist solemnly to Yan Liqiang.
“You are welcome, Lord Long. The Storm Army works very hard to defend the nation’s borders. As a subject of the Great Han Empire, it is my duty to help the Storm Army in any way I can!”
Eunuch Ou spoke up, “I am glad Liqiang is understanding. Before we came here, His Majesty was worried …”
“Hahaha, His Majesty worries too much. The wealth of the world is for everyone to take. There’s no way I can monopolize such a huge business! Perhaps it is the Will of Heaven that I can be of help to the Storm Army…”
“Yes, perhaps it is the Will of Heaven. Otherwise, when the Storm Army is facing a crisis, Yan Liqiang wouldn’t so coincidentally discover how to turn useless wool into goods in Gan Province. The Storm Army doesn’t have much other than grasslands that can be used for raising sheep. From now on, they’ll be able to make money with the wool. I reckon that a roll of woolen fabric can be sold for just as much as a roll of fine silk fabric. Who knew wool would pretty much be silk?! People say that the southern parts are the wealthiest part of the Great Han Empire, but half of its wealth came from silk…” Eunuch Ou let out an emotional sigh.
Yan Liqiang nodded.
The Emperor had thought of everything. The only thing he didn’t expect was that Yan Liqiang had no intention to hide the secret knowledge of scouring wool.
Not only the Emperor, but everyone probably didn’t expect Yan Liqiang would do that. If he had kept the knowledge of scouring wool a secret to himself, then he would be able to monopolize the wool textile industry for a long time in the Great Han Empire and earn mountains of gold and silver. However, if he were to make the knowledge public, then the ones who learned it would become Yan Liqiang’s business competitors and there’d be no way for Yan Liqiang to monopolize the industry. Hence, doing so would mean he was forfeiting the great benefits of the monopoly.
Was there anyone in this world who would willingly give up their own advantage for the interest of others?
The Emperor’s answer was a ‘no’, so he had to take twists and turns by awarding Yan Liqiang with so many promotions and had Eunuch Ou bring a representative from the Storm Army here, hoping Yan Liqiang would share the secrets of producing woolen fabric with him. As soon as the Storm Army was able to generate money through wool, then Lin Qingtian and his accomplices’ suppression and control over the Storm Army would be greatly reduced. This would revive the Storm Army as one of the Emperor’s chess pieces and play a big role in the future.
Yan Liqiang never thought of monopolizing this business from the start. He had only made all these creations to unconditionally propagate them. The more people knew about it, the better. This was the reason why he wasn’t stingy in sharing the wool weaving techniques with the Storm Army. He only feared that they wouldn’t be able to pick up the skill. It was unexpected that Yan Liqiang would let His Majesty’s efforts go to waste, but even so, it was a good outcome for everyone. Eunuch Ou managed to complete his task, the Storm Army managed to acquire the technique in turning wool into valuable objects, while Yan Liqiang managed to make great progress in his plans…
Yan Liqiang secretly thought to himself — in the 15th year of the Yuanping reign back in the Heavenly Realm, the Storm Army hadn’t been in a rush to shake off the control that the Anbei General’s Office had on them yet. Everything was still normal and there was no sense of urgency. Yet, Long Tiezhu had appeared before him now. After some thinking, Yan Liqiang arrived at the conclusion that the effect of the letter he wrote to Storm Army General Long Feicheng was probably starting to kick in as the Storm Army had started planning ahead for the worst possible situation.
This was a good thing!
A sense of accomplishment in silently turning the wheel of history welled up in Yan Liqiang’s heart, but he had no one to share this feeling with.
…
“Liqiang, you have the money and fame that you desire. With the title of Northwestern Reiver that His Majesty has conferred upon you, you now have the rights to gather a troop to maintain peace in the northwestern region. His Majesty heard about the chaotic situation in the Gulang Plains, so this is your chance, Liqiang! The chance of making a meritorious contribution is right before your eyes!” Eunuch Ou whispered to Yan Liqiang in the carriage when they were leaving the archery academy.
Yan Liqiang was silent. Perhaps the Emperor was enjoying his control of the country like how he could easily move chess pieces on a chessboard. He seemed to be even more anxious than Yan Liqiang in regards to the Gulang Plains.
“Rest assured, Eunuch Ou. I know what to do!” Yan Liqiang nodded.
As soon as they returned to the Yan Fortress, Yan Liqiang arranged for people to bring Long Tiezhou to the woolen mill. At the same time, he also instructed the manufacturing bureau to deliver a few sets of spinning frames and looms that were properly packaged in wooden crates.
The cloth merchants in the northwestern region who heard the news late poured into the Yan Fortress over the next two days. The existence of ‘The Greatest Mill’ in the Yan Fortress had certainly stirred up a huge commotion within their circle…
By this time, the first batch of wool blankets and woolen fabrics from the mill was ready…
