What kind of bad intentions can the little prince have?

Sure enough, Li Yue blinked his eyes, and then showed a very innocent smile: "Uncle Cheng, if you are talking about being a fool, there must be one!"

Cheng Zhijie suddenly got excited, he didn't even drink alcohol, he dragged the beard stool, and sat down next to Li Yue, his tone was so intimate as if he had sprinkled a few catties of sugar, Li Yue's goosebumps came out when he heard it : "His Royal Highness Ning, my old Cheng is an honest person. I believe everything you say, so, well, what about Ning Wang, why don't you talk to me, Old Cheng?"

Li Yue said with a smile: "Uncle Cheng, do you know where it is from Yumen Pass to the west?"

Cheng Zhijie tentatively said, "Is it the Western Regions?" There is no such thing as the Silk Road in these days, and this is the name that everyone picked up during the archaeology later.Naturally, Cheng Zhijie couldn't think of that many things, but he was thinking about what was going on in the Western Regions. When Hou Junji defeated Gaochang in the first battle, the whole place was defeated, so he couldn't leave it alone, so Li Shimin was on Gaochang's side Anxi Dufu was established.But I haven't heard of anything of value there.For example, changing defenses to the Anxi Protectorate’s Mansion is really hard work. The climate there is different from that in the Central Plains. It is winter for almost half a year every year. There is also the problem of military rations. Every year, a large amount of food has to be transported to the Anxi Protectorate’s Mansion. , This is actually a heavy burden for Datang.And for the troops stationed there, it's even more troublesome. There are many small countries in the Western Regions. It is said that there are 36 countries, but it is actually just an imaginary number. Sometimes, a few small cities are also a country, and the relationship between them is very complicated. , There will be war at every turn.The Anxi Protectorate's Mansion is sometimes like the aunt of the neighborhood committee. When encountering such a situation, it has to find a way to mediate, lest the Western Regions really become chaotic, and someone will fish in troubled waters later.Then there are endless horse thieves. The origin of these horse thieves is very complicated. Some of them are pretended by the armies of some small countries, and some are some tribes that have been wiped out on the grassland. These horse thieves have no lower limit, they can do anything.However, they are generally skilled in riding and come and go like the wind, so even if the army of the Duhufu wants to deal with them, it will take a lot of effort, but they don't have much military merit in dealing with horse thieves. A lot, clinkingly poor actually.The things they snatched could not be sold at all, and most of them were made by the merchants who sold the stolen goods.

Cheng Zhijie also had a general idea about the affairs of the Anxi Protectorate, and after some calculations, he was a little disappointed. It seemed that there was nothing lucrative in the Western Regions.

Li Yue chuckled and said, "That's right, it's the Western Regions. Many Hu people we usually see come from the Western Regions, and some come from places farther west than the Western Regions. Their specialties are various Spice Gems!"

Cheng Zhijie was a little disappointed immediately: "Do business with them?"

Li Yue shook his head and said: "Of course not. These merchants can come from thousands of miles away just to make money. Their good things will not be sold at cheap prices. The imperial court can set up a company that specializes in doing business with merchants from the Western Regions." In the local area, the Anxi Protectorate will collect taxes, but we can't do this kind of thing! However, the Western Regions actually have a lot to do!"

Cheng Zhijie muttered, and said, "There is more sand than land in the Western Regions. Is there any place to make money? Could it be selling sand?"

Li Yue really wants to roll her eyes, if I can make chips, I can sell the sand, okay?However, although the desertification of the Western Regions is quite serious now, no one will build a country on the sand, no matter what, they have to occupy several oases.The Western Regions is a good place. Later generations planted a large number of cash crops there, such as cotton, sugar beet, and various fruits and nuts. These crops have relatively high economic value, but nowadays, although most countries in the Western Regions also cultivate , but their more source of income is actually doing business and grazing.

However, it is not easy to develop the Western Regions. Since ancient times, it is not enough to rely on the administrative power of the state to achieve anything, especially when the people's wisdom is not developed, everyone only has their own eyes. The benefits of an acre of three-point land are the same even for aristocratic families. What they value more is the continuation of the family. If betraying the country can make their family go further, they will not hesitate too much.And now the transportation is inconvenient, what kind of immigration do you want to do, not to mention how much food the government has to prepare to eat on the road, just because of unacceptable water and soil, and other problems, I don’t know how many people will die on the road.Therefore, in the end, it is still necessary to drive them away with profit. If you say that you can pan for gold over there, make sure that a large number of people bring their own dry food and rush to go there.

Li Yue naturally does not have the qualifications to go to the court to call for immigration, but it is absolutely possible to set up military settlements, so that the Anxi Duhu Mansion should not try to grow food there. There is not enough rain, and ordinary crops can be planted. Yes, the output is also limited, a waste of effort.But growing cotton is different. Cotton can be turned into cotton cloth, padded jackets, and cotton quilts. This will never worry about sales. Of course, cotton is a crop that needs to be handled more carefully, but this is how farming is.Why did people continue to grow corn for a long time in the Qin and Han Dynasties, even though there was already wheat and the yield of wheat was relatively high.On the one hand, there was no stone mill at that time, and the wheat and rice were rough and difficult to eat. On the other hand, compared with corn, which can be harvested without much effort after the seeds are sown, wheat is a crop that requires intensive cultivation. At that time, if the whole family planted dozens of mu or hundreds of mu of land and planted wheat, it would not be enough for the whole family to spend every day in the field.That is, later, the population grew, and the per capita arable land was not much. Everyone had to grow more food in the limited arable land. Then, smart people would find ways to make wheat easier to import.

It's the same now, put in more effort to let everyone know that cotton is a good thing, and then spread the word that the cotton in the Western Regions is good cotton, which is better in quality than those grown in the Central Plains, so people will rush to grow cotton later.Even, looking back, there is not enough land in the Anxi Protectorate, and those with vested interests can force the imperial court to attack the Western Regions and occupy land suitable for farming in the Western Regions, so that they can grow cotton widely and earn enough profits.

Of course, Li Yue won't tell Cheng Zhijie about these things, he just asked someone to bring them the cotton that is still called Baidiezi, which is an ornamental plant, a piece of cotton cloth spun from cotton, and a cotton coat. Put it in front of Cheng Zhijie.

Cheng Zhijie probably saw the colorful appearance of cotton when it bloomed, but he never paid attention to what it turned into later.He is a rough man, that is, he has seen cotton planted in the imperial garden, and his family has never had anything to do with these flowers and plants.They also planted flowers and plants in the garden of their home, but after being trashed several times by father and son, Cui gave up and had to replant some flowers and plants with stronger vitality, so as not to look back and feel distressed.Therefore, seeing what Li Yue asked someone to bring up now, Cheng Zhijie was a little confused: "What is this!"

Li Yue explained, and asked Cheng Zhijie to change into the cotton coat to see how it felt. Cheng Zhijie was not polite, untied the brocade robe on his body, and put the cotton coat on his body.At this time, Ningzhou has just entered spring, and everyone still has to wear jackets. Cheng Zhijie is not very afraid of the cold. There is also charcoal burning in the room, but after changing the cotton clothes, Cheng Zhijie feels My front and back started to sweat.His eyes lit up: "This padded coat is so warm, and this white bag is really useful!"

Li Yue then said: "This bacilla is actually a crop from the Western Regions, but it has always been used as an ornamental crop and has not been planted on a large scale. However, the climate here is indeed suitable for the growth of bacilla. The cotton grown from seeds is much stronger than linen, and if the technology is better, the hand feel will not be inferior to silk, and it is soft and breathable, and it is a magic weapon to keep out the cold when made into quilts and cotton clothes!" Li Yue lowered his voice. He raised his voice: "Uncle Cheng has fought for so many years, so he naturally knows that since the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains conquered Goguryeo several times, why they always made great strides at the beginning, and then there was no more. It is difficult for the Central Plains army to adapt to the bitter cold. But if there are these cotton-padded quilts as military supplies, then even if Goguryeo wants to delay until winter, it will be useless!"

Cheng Zhijie became more and more excited when he heard it, but he still asked: "Is it really so profitable to plant these white jelly seeds?"

Li Yue snorted softly and said, "If you make a small fuss, you won't make any money. However, as big as the Western Regions are, even if only [-]% of the land can grow cotton, it must be a huge land! Even if one mu of land can only make money It’s always money, but the land price here is very cheap. If you enclose thousands of hectares casually, how much does it cost, Uncle Cheng? Besides, think about it, Uncle Cheng, a piece of silk on the market costs two hundred yuan. Cotton cloth is much stronger than silk, and only a little worse than brocade. It shouldn’t be a problem to sell it for [-] renminbi! No matter what happens to this acre of land, a hundred catties of cotton will be produced. A few bolts of cloth! Uncle Cheng, do the math again, how much is it?"

Those who can be generals are not too bad at counting. After all, they must at least know the strength and military supplies. Cheng Zhijie thought about it in his heart, and his eyes were red. Manpower is not worth much these days, but money is very valuable. You usually plant Land, one mu of land can earn hundreds of dollars a year, even if it is capable, and the price of food is actually very fluctuating, it is cheap in good years, and expensive in disaster years. The problem is that food harvests also fail in disaster years.But cotton is different, or different fabrics are hard currency. Everyone has to wear clothes, and clothes are also consumables.Doing the math like this, one mu of cotton can earn several guan, even if the food, clothing and chewing expenses of those who grow the land are removed, earning three guan is not a problem. If there is a ten thousand mu of land, that is thirty thousand What's more, some places in the Western Regions are completely uninhabited, and you can enclose tens of thousands of hectares of land by just running a horse.He looked at Li Yue with red eyes, slapped the table, almost knocked over the wine jar, and said firmly, "It's done!"