Fu Tang

Li Congjia looked at Hubu Shangshu's solemn expression and asked, "What's going on? Khitan broke the contract?"

Hubu Shangshu quickly said: "This is not true, but we signed a one-year document with Khitan before, and now the one-year time limit has come."

Li Congjia was a little surprised: "One year? Wasn't it a long-term intention before?"

Even a small vendor's supply contract cannot be signed for only one year. Li Congjia said it would last for ten years.

The Secretary of the Household Department looked bitter: "At the beginning, there were two contracts signed, one was the supply intention, and this one was signed for 20 years, just to give my country the right to purchase wool first, and the other was the specific supply. paperwork."

Li Congjia was almost stunned by this coquettish operation, and after a long pause, he asked again: "Why did you sign the supply agreement? Is this thing useful?"

Hubu Shangshu murmured: "The main reason is that we thought that buying wool from Khitan was just to stabilize them, and we have pastures and those tribes, and we collect a lot of wool every year, so we didn't sign long-term documents."

Who would have thought that Li Congjia would produce cashmere cloth and woolen cloth in a blink of an eye?

Li Congjia: Blame me.

"Tell me, what did the Khitan say? Are they very determined to stop selling wool?" Li Congjia didn't bother to get angry with these people. If he had that time, he might as well find out the reason and see if he could fool the Khitan into selling wool again.

Hubu Shangshu said: "The Khitan side is not so determined, but they want the weaving technology of cashmere and woolen cloth, and at the same time they want to increase the price of wool."

Li Congjia was almost not laughed at at the time, and used these two most important technologies in exchange for the opportunity to buy wool from Khitan, and at the same time, the price of wool was raised?Does he look like he's been taken for a ride?

Hubu Shangshu looked at Li Congjia's expression and couldn't help shrinking his neck. Now he was particularly worried that his majesty would beat Khitan in anger, and their Hubu would probably be cramped by the cabinet.

Li Congjia regained his composure and did not speak. Instead, he looked at Li Zhongyu next to him and asked, "Da Lang, what do you think should be done at this time?"

Li Zhongyu is not too young now, except when he was studying in the academy, Li Congjia took him by his side to observe government affairs at other times, instead of simply letting him read the booklets as before.

Li Zhongyu was also very angry when he heard the news just now, but as a prince, after he got angry, he began to think about how to deal with it.

In fact, Li Zhongyu didn't have a good solution, so he had to say: "Khitan is too deceitful, so what if we don't buy their wool? Everyone has bought almost all kinds of wool products this winter, and now we buy wool more for To prepare for next year, we might as well take this opportunity to support our herdsmen and just buy wool from them. It seems that Khitan this year relied on selling wool to barely make the people’s income more than last year. We don’t buy their wool, and we will start next year. They are the ones who can't hold on!"

Li Congjia smiled slightly, Li Zhongyu's answer could not be said to be the best, but it also made him feel relieved, because he didn't plan to fight Khitan anytime soon.

Of course, if other people know Li Congjia's thoughts, they may feel that he is the one who is least qualified to tell others not to be impulsive. After all, he often wants to fight when he is impulsive.

It's just that Li Congjia's decision was based on the fact that he had sufficient control over the empire and knew that he could afford the price. If he was really such an impulsive person, there must be one less Khitan and Datang by now.

Li Congjia glanced at the Hubu Shangshu, and the Hubu Shangshu said with a wink, "Your Highness, this road is blocked."

Li Zhongyu stared at Hubu Shangshu with wide eyes. Just now he felt that what he thought was right, how could he be rejected when he turned his head?

Li Congjia signaled the Minister of the Household Department to explain clearly, and the Minister of the Household Department said: "Your Highness, there are more than 300 million households in our country. Judging from this year, the demand for wool is very high. I am afraid that our own herdsmen cannot cope with it." .”

Li Zhongyu was at a loss: "How could it be? Wool won't harm sheep."

Li Congjia touched his head and said: "The main reason is that we don't have enough pastures, and there are not many places suitable for raising sheep. Many farmers raise one or two at home. The reason why Khitan dared to stop selling directly is because we know that we don't have enough sheep. The way to be self-sufficient is to rely on their wool, otherwise the price of wool products will rise too much, and the people in my Tang Dynasty will return to the previous situation where they will be frozen in winter."

Li Zhongyu looked up at Li Congjia and asked, "Then what should we do?"

Li Zhongyu is not at all frustrated that the method he came up with can't be used. After all, Li Congjia has always taught him not to rush for quick success, just try to do things within his ability, and don't try to do things that he can't do. What's more, just because you can't do it now doesn't mean you won't be able to do it in the future.

Li Congjia smiled slightly and said to the Minister of the Household Department: "Stop buying wool from Khitan, and the technology of wool weaving must also be kept secret."

Li Zhongyu:? ? ? ? ?How is this different from the method he just came up with?

Hubu Shangshu still waited calmly for Li Congjia's next order. He knew that Li Congjia would definitely not act on his will, and there must be a trick.

As a result, Li Congjia said directly: "Don't worry about other things for now, someone will solve them."

Hubu Shangshu... Hubu Shangshu left with his head full of questions. He didn't know how Li Congjia would solve it. After all, if he didn't buy wool now, the price of wool products next winter would really go up.

After Hubu Shangshu left, Li Congjia turned his head and saw Li Zhongyu's eager eyes.

Li Congjia patted his head and said, "Come on."

Li Zhongyu followed Li Congjia curiously. He originally thought that Li Congjia would take him to the study to tell him the purpose of doing this, but unexpectedly, Li Congjia asked him to change a suit of clothes directly, and the two of them left the palace together!

After leaving the palace, Li Congjia took Li Zhongyu to Zhuangzi on the Longshouyuan, and that Zhuangzi was where the old man Gongshu and the weavers were.

After two years of development, the originally somewhat barren place has formed a slightly smaller village centered on that Zhuangzi.

Li Zhongyu was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He was born as the prince's son. Even when Li Congjia was in exile, he lived a good life with his mother in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Although the quality of life in the Western Regions declined a bit, but It's not hard work either.

He has not been to many places, he has never been to a small village like this, and because the people living here are close to the Royal Manor, there will be no dirty and messy scenes at all, and they are basically cleaned up. It's clean, and the journey along the way feels a little bit like a dog and a dog in the traffic.

Li Zhongyu looked around curiously. Seeing him like this, Li Congjia began to think whether it is time for Li Zhongyu to get in touch with civilian life. Before that, what Li Zhongyu heard and saw was only on paper, and he couldn't really understand the needs of ordinary people. There is no way to make a correct judgment.

Of course, these are put in the back first, even if Li Zhongyu is allowed to experience it, it needs to be carefully arranged.

After Li Congjia brought Li Zhongyu to Zhuangzi, Li Zhongyu was stunned by the scene inside.

He has never seen a royal manor where all the rooms are made of spinning machines, this is simply subverting his cognition!

Li Congjia took him directly to see the old man Gongshu. After seeing Li Congjia, the old man said with joy, "Your Majesty, this cotton is really a good thing."

Li Zhongyu secretly pricked up his ears: cotton?Isn't that something for civilians?How can it be a good thing?

Li Congjia asked: "Has there been any results?"

The old man Gongshu nodded and said: "It has already taken a preliminary shape. We have already woven a small piece of cotton cloth, you can take a look."

While talking, the old man Gongshu carefully handed a piece of cloth to Li Congjia. From Li Congjia's point of view, the cloth was small and yellow, and it didn't look very good, but the old man Gongshu looked at it as if he was looking at a peerless beauty.

Li Congjia stretched out his hand and rubbed it, feeling that although the appearance is not very good, the hand feels really good.

He nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's good, but now the focus is on cotton filling, how about this?"

Li Congjia knows that cotton is actually good for keeping warm, second only to down. Of course, if you have the conditions, you must wear down, but how can so many ducks use it for down jackets these days?What's more, the cost is also very high, so we can only settle for the next best thing.

The old man Gongshu laughed, flicked his clothes and said, "Your Majesty didn't see it? My clothes are made of cotton, which is really warm. Compared with cashmere, if cotton can be vigorously promoted, it will definitely make more people feel comfortable in winter." Frozen!"

Li Congjia was relieved. He was worried that the cotton of this era would be different from the improved ones of later generations and would not keep warm. Now that the old man Gongshu thinks it is good, that's fine.

Li Congjia took Li Zhongyu away after wandering around in Zhuangzi. Before leaving, he also took some cotton and a new cotton coat made by the old man Gongshu!

Li Zhongyu looked at the reluctance of the old man Gongshu, and his curiosity had reached its peak, but he did not intervene casually, but after getting into the carriage and preparing to go back, he asked: "Father, What is this?"

Li Congjia looked down at the cotton in the box and smiled slightly: "Good stuff!"

Li Zhongyu stared at Li Congjia with a pair of big eyes, of course he knew it was a good thing, anyway, the things his father made are not bad, the question is what is it?He hadn't seen this thing before.

Li Congjia looked at Li Zhongyu with question marks on his face and smiled, "Let's explain together later, I don't want to say it too many times."

Li Zhongyu nodded, knowing that his father might go to the cabinet after returning.

Sure enough, Li Congjia didn't return to the palace at all, but went directly to the cabinet.

Several assistant ministers in the cabinet were about to leave work at this time, but they were dragged away by the unscrupulous boss.

It's just that when Li Congjia took out the things, they also became curious and forgot about going home.

"Your Majesty, what's inside this dress?" Fan Zhi was very surprised when he held the padded coat. He thought it was filled with kapok, but after touching it, he knew it was definitely not. The kapok was definitely not so soft and thick.

Li Congjia raised his chin: "It's the thing in the box."

After everyone stretched out their hands around the box and squeezed it, they looked up at Li Congjia one by one.

Li Congjia said: "This is cotton. The national teacher found it in the frontier before. Because it looks similar to kapok, I asked someone to test it and found that it is much better than kapok. The clothes made are also very warm. The most important thing is The most important thing is that the cost is much cheaper than wool and cashmere, and I plan to promote it next year to allow large-scale cotton planting in the Western Regions."

Obviously it was Li Congjia who asked Shi Xueting to find Mianmian, but he changed hands and gave the credit to Shi Xueting. After all, although Shi Xueting didn't need merit so much for not mixing with the court, Li Congjia wanted him to do it. A sense of existence, don't look back and leave even a little bit of his legend in the hall. In the end, Shi Xueting, the national teacher, may not be respected by anyone.

When Li Congjia said that it was warmer than wool, Zhao Pu, who was not particular about it, had already put the cotton coat on his body.

Because the assistant ministers working in the cabinet are generally older and not resistant to frost, the earth dragon in the cabinet has always been very hot. Li Congjia and Li Zhongyu father and son both came in sweating, and Zhao Pu was older than Li Congjia, so it was limited. The rammed goods were put on directly and took off after a short while.

"This is really good." Zhao Pu hesitated and asked, "Your Majesty... this technology...isn't it easy? When will you apply for a patent?"

These days, only the academy can compete with Li Congjia in terms of patents. However, the academy is a whole group, and Li Congjia is just one person. What is more powerful is Li Congjia.

Even many ministers in the court were surprised, not knowing where Li Congjia found so many powerful people, and he was able to produce so many things.

However, they don't know that it is the most difficult thing to do research without a direction. Once you have a direction and then reverse it, it will naturally be much easier. Li Congjia is the person who realizes knowing the direction. He proposed If you meet the requirements and let your subordinates go on to meet them, it is definitely not something the academy can match.

Li Congjia smiled when he heard Zhao Pu's words, and it was not in vain that he had been emphasizing the importance of patents all these years, and now the ministers of the cabinet thought of patents first when they saw something new.

He said very generously: "Forget it, let's go to the Ministry of Households for the patent this time, lest Lao Ji see it and get jealous."

Zhao Pu and others were a little surprised. They did not expect Li Congjia to give the patent to the imperial court so happily. Yes, although it is said that it is counted with the Ministry of Households, if someone uses this patent in the future, all patent fees will be calculated at the head of the Ministry of Households. In the end, it was not handed over to the treasury?

Before they figured it out, Li Congjia said: "However, there are too many things made of cotton, and there are also many patents. Let's open the patents for making cotton tires and cotton batting."

The so-called open patent means that although this is a patented thing, anyone can use it, and naturally no patent fee will be charged.

After hearing this, everyone was very helpless. They just thought that Li Congjia was so generous that he actually gave the patent to the country, but the patent fee flew away in a blink of an eye.

Seeing their expressions, Li Congjia had no choice but to explain: "Cotton is different from cashmere and wool. Although we bought a large amount of cashmere and wool from Khitan at a low price before, because of the complicated craftsmanship and limited finished products, we could afford it in the end. After all, the people are a minority, and the Khitan blockade of wool and cashmere this time doesn’t really affect us that much.”

Although the market for cashmere and wool is booming, according to the data Li obtained from Jia, basically only families above landlords can afford it, and ordinary people can only resist.

Therefore, although Li Congjia was angry about Khitan's behavior, he was not to the point of blowing his hair. After all, he had already found a substitute.

After Li Congjia explained in detail, everyone found out that Li Congjia had found this item for the common people to use. Indeed, no patent fees should be charged, otherwise the common people would still not be able to wear it in the end.

However, Li Congjia is not so generous. He just let go of the ordinary cotton tire making, filling and the simplest cotton weaving technology patents. For other more special fabrics, you still have to pay patent fees if you want to make them.

After all, those who have the ability to buy these fabrics should have good family conditions, and of course they cannot be treated the same as ordinary people.

After discussing with the people, they found that if this thing is really grown on a large scale, the so-called stop selling cashmere wool in Khitan will really have no effect. Anyway, Datang also produces these, and the rich can afford it no matter how expensive it is. There are substitutes for money, so what are you afraid of?

It was at this time that they realized why Li Congjia was so calm this time, because he had this trump card in his hand!

At the same time, Ye Luxian was waiting for Datang's response. The previous stop of selling wool was the result of careful consideration by him and his subordinates. He knew that this move might anger Li Congjia, but he was also sure that Li Congjia would not go to war because of such a trivial matter. The reason why they did this is because cashmere and wool products were spread to Linhuang Mansion.

Ye Luxian also had clothes made of cashmere and wool. When he got the two clothes, he felt that it was really unfair. They were the Khitans who were rich in wool. Why did the Han people make it in the end? Such a warm fabric?

The most irritating thing is that he got the finished product, and he asked people to study it, but no one could make it out!

Ye Luxian remembered that Datang had bought looms from them before, and thought that they would be able to produce looms if they had them, after all, it was their Khitan who wove wool from the very beginning.

As a result, he never expected that what those looms wove was completely different from what he had in hand.

No matter how stupid Ye Luxian is, he knows that Datang must have improved their looms, and the Khitan people...maybe good at herding and fighting, but they are not good at inventing and creating. Seeing that their people really can't figure it out Therefore, Ye Luxian had no choice but to make a bad move.

Khitan's geographical location is not very good, it can be regarded as bitter cold, and there are only a few days of warm and comfortable days throughout the year, so they need this kind of thing more urgently than those hard and thick wool felt that is not suitable for making clothes.

Ye Luxian knew that Datang might not accept their request, but the trade between countries was originally negotiated with each other. He felt that even if Datang disagreed, he would ask for a marriage.

Anyway, the marriage between Datang and neighboring countries often sent various advanced technologies. Didn’t Tubo gradually rise because of a Princess Wencheng?

If the price of wool can be doubled, and then the textile technology of wool and cashmere can be obtained, Ye Luxian can't help but call Li Congjia father-in-law in disgust. What is a good reputation?

As for the fact that Li Congjia had only one son and no princess, Ye Luxian didn't care too much about it. What he valued was not the princess, but the various advanced tools and technologies brought by the princess!

So no matter what the woman's identity was before, as long as Datang admits that she is a princess, then she is!

For this reason, Ye Luxian even thought about whether to directly let Princess Datang be the empress?Anyway, as long as the princess is not allowed to give birth to a son, it will be fine. As for the rule that Khitan Khan’s wife must be from the Xiao family, if the predecessors can decide, he can also abolish it, not to mention that he made such a choice for the sake of Khitan. I believe that someone will understand him by then.

Yeluxian planned well, he had even started to select envoys and dowries to propose a marriage, but he never expected that the news of Khitan's refusal to sell wool spread, and Datang didn't even respond at all!

Ye Luxian thought that the news was not conveyed accurately, and asked the messenger to emphasize again that he refused to sell it, rather than temporarily not selling it. As a result, he replied that he had to wait for the court's ruling, and within two days came a message: If you don't sell it, don't sell it.

Ye Luxian was a little confused, what's the answer?If you don't sell it, you don't sell it?Shouldn't it be a bargain at a time like this?Even sending someone to condemn it is the correct process.

He regretted it a little at this time, he knew that Li Congjia was a person who didn't play cards according to the rules, so he shouldn't speculate according to the thinking of normal people!

Just when Ye Luxian was thinking about how to proceed to the next step, the envoy sent back with a sullen face brought back a message: Datang began to completely ban the sale of all items to Khitan, including but not limited to grain, salt and cloth!