Usurping the Mongols: My Father-in-Law is Genghis Khan

In fact, it was three days later that Zhao Shuo received Zarathushtra.

There was nothing he could do, he was too busy.

First, there was the issue of the artisans.

After the Mongol army broke through Zhongdu, Zhao Shuo was allocated seven thousand artisans.

In addition, there were the artisans obtained from sweeping Hebei?

And the artisans that Jochi, Jebe, and Muqali allocated to him?

In fact, Zhao Shuo's artisans had reached more than eleven thousand three hundred people.

He left three thousand artisans in Fuchang and Huan states.

The remaining eight thousand three hundred artisans followed him to the Hulunbuir Grassland.

These artisans, along with their families, numbered more than forty-three thousand people.

So many people had to settle down on the grassland, with countless details and many things that needed Zhao Shuo's approval.

Secondly, there was the Balu Battalion.

The Balu Battalion warriors under Zhao Shuo reached forty thousand, and he left ten thousand in Fuchang and Huan states, with the remaining thirty thousand Balu Battalion warriors following him to the grassland.

But what about the future?

The sudden increase of more than seventy thousand people made it extremely uneconomical to transport grain from the Central Plains, and they had to find a way to become self-sufficient.

Winter came early on the grassland, and enough fields had to be opened up now so as not to delay the spring plowing next year, so that there could be a harvest next autumn.

That's right, the land on the grassland was not suitable for growing grain due to soil and climate reasons.

However, there was no big problem in growing some grain in areas along rivers and lakes, as Sun Wei had already tested it before.

However, Sun Wei was commanding a thousand Balu Battalion warriors at that time, and now it had suddenly increased to forty thousand, Sun Wei's management talent and experience could not keep up, and Zhao Shuo's help was needed.

In addition, Zhao Shuo brought forty Han army Eight Banner officers as a precaution.

These officers all had certain management experience, could read and write, and were very knowledgeable about agriculture.

In this way, Zhao Shuo, Sun Wei, Mo Chibie Du Wen, forty Eight Banner officers, and twenty herdsmen familiar with the local soil and water held meetings one after another to formulate a rough wasteland reclamation plan.

Where was suitable for opening up how much wasteland, how many people and how many farm tools were needed, how many livestock were to be transferred, and how to mobilize the enthusiasm of the Balu Battalion for production, all had to be arranged in detail one by one.

At night, Zhao Shuo rested in the tents of Hulan, Aliya, and Suna respectively.

Originally, Aliya had been on expeditions with Zhao Shuo for more than a year without getting pregnant because Zhao Shuo had taken certain measures to ensure that Hua Zheng gave birth to the eldest son.

Later, after Zhao Shuo returned to the grassland, Zhao Shuo mainly accompanied Hua Zheng, and did not spend much time with his other wives and concubines, so Hulan, Aliya, and Suna did not get pregnant.

And Hua Zheng had just given birth to Little Zhao He, and Zhao Shuo was worried that too frequent births would hurt her body, so he also took certain measures.

Now, watching Wokuotai have four sons, Jochi have two sons, and Chagatai have two sons and a daughter, Zhao Shuo only had one son, Hua Zheng was also a little anxious, and asked Zhao Shuo to spend more time with other women, the more children the better.

In short, it was not until three days later that Zhao Shuo finally had some free time to receive Zarathushtra.

"Zarathushtra Amir, greetings to the great consort! I'm sorry, I have violated our agreement and am two years, seven months and nine days late."

As soon as Zarathushtra saw Zhao Shuo, he quickly paid his respects and expressed his apologies.

Zhao Shuo didn't really care about his apology, and said, "So, those things I wanted, are they all ready?"

"They are all ready.

Initially, the consort wanted forty Arabian horses, twenty males and twenty females.

To express my apology, this time I have brought you four hundred Arabian horses, two hundred males and two hundred females, not only are they all tall and strong, but they are also around three years old, the most suitable age for breeding."

Four hundred Arabian horses, if bred in the future, would save Zhao Shuo at least three years of time.

This Zarathushtra's apology was really sufficient!

Zhao Shuo was overjoyed and said, "What about Damascus steel?"

Zarathushtra said, "This is the main reason for my late arrival.

In fact, two years ago, I had already found a way to get twenty artisans, which could basically meet the consort's requirements.

However, thinking that I was already late anyway.

In order to express my apology to the consort, I had to do my best."

Zhao Shuo said, "What do you mean by best?"

Zarathushtra explained in detail, saying, "Although Damascus steel is very sharp, its toughness is very poor.

It is only suitable for making knives and swords worn by nobles, and not suitable for making long knives and spears on the battlefield.

If those long spears on the battlefield were equipped with Damascus steel, they might break directly when attacking the heavily armored warriors of the enemy army."

Zhao Shuo had never heard of this before.

However, thinking about it, it was not surprising.

In his impression, only Damascus knives were very famous, and there seemed to be no Damascus spears?

It was said that the steel used on the spearhead was far less than that on the knife?

If it was because Wootz steel was too expensive, and ordinary soldiers were not equipped with such good spears, what about the generals in the army?

Didn't they use it either?

Zhao Shuo said, "And then what?

What measures did you take?"

Zarathushtra said, "I heard that there was a skilled craftsman named Harish who made Damascus knives that were not only very sharp but also had very good toughness.

However, the local Indians regarded him as a divine craftsman and protected him very closely.

I laid out plans for a full year before I managed to secretly transport Harish and his family out of India."

"Well done!" Zhao Shuo blurted out.

Zhao Shuo was going to conquer the whole world.

If the Damascus knives made were only very sharp but not tough enough, and could only deal with lightly armored or unarmored targets, or were used for pretending, then it would be of little significance.

A skilled craftsman who could make Damascus knives with both hardness and toughness was his most real need.

Moreover, Zhao Shuo had obtained many artisans who were good at iron smelting from Yanjing.

What kind of sparks would these people and Harish create together?

I'm afraid it won't take too long for the knives and spears of Zhao Shuo's soldiers to be the best in the world.

In addition, although the name of the Damascus knife is "Damascus", it is actually produced in India.

Now, the Indian city-states are numerous, and indeed far from comparable to the Central Plains government.

However, it was quite difficult for Zarathushtra, an outsider, to get the whole family of a local skilled craftsman who was highly valued by the Indian city-states.

This was a talent!

By now, Zhao Shuo no longer cared about Zarathushtra's three-year late arrival.

He was about to open his mouth and allow Zarathushtra to sell Hulunbuir's goods to Persia.

Anyway, Zhao Shuo had obtained too many artisans now, and presumably it wouldn't take too long for the output of various commodities in his workshops to usher in a big blowout.

It was also a good thing to have such a big distributor now.

Unexpectedly, there was another surprise.

Zarathushtra said, "In addition to Harish, I also searched for five households of cotton processing artisans in India.

If the consort needs them, then Zarathushtra is truly honored."

"Cotton processing artisans?"

Zhao Shuo was slightly stunned at first, and then a burst of ecstasy arose in his heart.

Clothing, food, housing, and transportation, this was another great source of wealth!

Now, the Mongol Empire's ruling area includes most of the Xinjiang region, and some cotton is planted in these places.

However, in this era, cotton in the Xinjiang region exists as an ornamental plant, with a very small planting area and little practical value.

There was no other reason, people in this era were accustomed to processing long-fiber materials such as hemp and silk.

Cotton, a short-fiber material, could only be processed in very few areas.

For example, some areas in India, or perhaps Hainan Island.

The reason for saying "perhaps" is because Zhao Shuo was not very sure.

Huang Daopo, who was recorded in history, would not be born until more than thirty years later.

After she grew up, she learned some cotton processing techniques from the Li people, and improved them, and cotton was officially introduced to the Central Plains.

Now, Zarathushtra directly brought Zhao Shuo some artisans who could process cotton from India.

Moreover, although Zhao Shuo would not process cotton, he knew how Huang Daopo improved the cotton processing technology.

For example, Huang Daopo improved the hand-cranked cotton gin into a foot-operated one.

For example, Huang Daopo improved the one-foot-long bow into a four-foot-long one.

For example, Huang Daopo improved the single-spindle hand-cranked spinning wheel into a foot-operated three-spindle one.

Although the cotton processing technology in India may be very different from the processing technology of the Li people.

However, processing cotton is nothing more than four steps: removing seeds, opening, spinning, and weaving into cloth.

The principle is the same.

With these five Indian artisans, plus Zhao Shuo's guidance, and those textile artisans from Zhongdu… Zhao Shuo's cotton industry line could be opened up soon.

Cotton is a good thing.

Purely from a cost-effective point of view, cotton cloth kills all other fabrics.

The ones with better effects are much more expensive.

The ones that are cheaper have much worse effects.

How big of an industry would it be if Zhao Shuo could spin and weave cotton cloth?

And there's keeping warm.

In the Central Plains, people in this era keep warm, the rich wear fur coats, and the poor can only wear a few more hemp clothes.

The poorer people can only stuff kapok "mian" or even reed catkins into their clothes, and the warmth effect is even worse.

Even if Zhao Shuo only sells seedless cotton for people to keep warm, it would be a considerable business.

Moreover, if the cotton is processed well, will cotton armor be far away?

Cotton armor is very easy to make, and the price is very low, it is easy to make in large quantities, and it has a strong protective power against early firearms.

Firearms have already appeared in this era, and in the future, as the intensity of the war increases, the power of firearms will inevitably become stronger and stronger.

Pure iron armor is not very effective against firearms.

In historical records, from the Yuan Dynasty, there appeared cloth-faced armor with cloth on the outside and iron pieces in the vital parts on the inside, which was the predecessor of cotton armor.

In the Ming Dynasty, formal cotton armor appeared with iron pieces lined inside and fixed with copper nails on the outside.

The Qing army's cotton armor was initially captured from the Ming army, and later improved it themselves, and equipped it in large quantities, and was well known to later generations.

If Zhao Shuo makes 10,000 sets of cotton armor, he will have a key trump card in future wars.

Of course, one must eat a mouthful at a time, and walk one step at a time. From the large-scale promotion of cotton planting in the Xinjiang region to the formation of a cotton industry under Zhao Shuo's control, the time required will not be short. What Zhao Shuo is dealing with now is Zarathushtra.

He said, "Since you have overfulfilled the task, I will not pursue the matter of being more than two years overdue. From now on, your status will be the same as all Mongolian caravans. All the goods from the workshops under my command can be purchased. However, you can only sell them in the Persian region."

"Then... does that include glassware?" Zarathushtra asked cautiously.

"Of course, it includes glassware. However, the profit from glass is too high. Currently, the tentacles of our Mongolian caravans have not yet reached Persia. The price you pay for glass is five times that of Mongolian merchants."

"Thank you, Consort!"

Zarathushtra was overjoyed and bowed deeply to Zhao Shuo again.

Initially, Zarathushtra came to Mongolia wanting to purchase goods from Zhao Shuo, only for items such as white salt, white liquor, and floral water.

The most ⊥ new ⊥ small ⊥ say ⊥ in ⊥ six ⊥ 9 ⊥ ⊥ book ⊥ ⊥ bar ⊥ ⊥ first ⊥ hair!

He never expected that this time he came to Mongolia, he would see such pure glassware in Zhao Shuo's workshop.

You must know that in Zarathushtra's mind since he was born, the original color of glass was green, and only by adding some metallic impurities would it turn into other colors. He had never dreamed of such pure crystal-like glassware.

He estimated that selling these glassware back to Persia would yield at least a double profit, or even three to five times the profit!

The profit from glass alone would be enough for Zarathushtra to revive his family business and have some left over.

Moreover, where is this going?

From Zhao Shuo inventing white liquor and white salt, to inventing floral water, and then to soap and glass? How many years has it been?

Presumably, in the future, Zhao Shuo will invent more novel things and seize massive profits.

Zarathushtra seemed to see a golden road appearing in front of him.

It seems that his trip to Mongolia was the right one! Spending five years of hard work to collect these things for Zhao Shuo was not in vain!

Zarathushtra secretly made up his mind that in the future, no matter what the Consort ordered, he would complete it like this time, without fear of hardships, and rack his brains to complete it. Not only must he complete it, but he must also do it to the best of his ability.

It's a pity that the Consort only asked him to collect some Persian intelligence after returning, it's really a waste of effort!

Huh?

Persian intelligence?

Could it be that Mongolia intends to target Persia?

At that time, wouldn't our Zoroastrianism be able to turn over? What would our Zarathushtra family be like at that time?

Although Persia is too far away from Mongolia, the possibility is small. However, having this possibility is exciting just thinking about it!

Zarathushtra felt that he not only had to work hard to collect intelligence from the Persian region, but also had to make some other preparations to welcome that one in ten thousand possibility.

After a few more days, Zhao Shuo summoned Lu Zibu and asked him what position he wanted to take now.

When Lu Zibu first came to the grassland, Zhao Shuo had only five departments under his command: herdsmen, caravans, and workshops, as well as the Black Riders and the Balu Camp. Even if Zhao Shuo determined that Lu Zibu was a talent, there was no place to place him, at most letting him be his secretary. However, Zhao Shuo had always had Gerile兼职 as a secretary, and there was no need to add another person.

Now Zhao Shuo's family business is huge, and there is a great shortage of talents.

For example, the artisans and their families, numbering as many as 50,000 (including Zhao Shuo's original artisans), Sun Wei is so busy that his feet don't touch the ground, and he urgently needs an assistant. For example, the 30,000 Balu Camp warriors who are reclaiming wasteland also need someone to help Zhao Shuo manage the garrison affairs. Even Zhao Shuo's strength has expanded too much, and Gerile is a little too busy, and he really needs someone to share the burden.

However, Lu Zibu shook his head slightly and said, "To be honest, when I first came to the grassland, I wanted to be an official under the Consort's command. However, now my thinking has changed. Consort, do you really think that being an official under your command is better than not being an official?"

"What do you mean?"

Lu Zibu said, "I have been on the grassland for four years, and I have some understanding of the Mongolians. They are actually no different from our Han people. It's just that life on the grassland is difficult. In order to compete for pastures, livestock, women, and even a little bit of supplies that can allow them to survive, they picked up knives, guns, bows, and arrows to fight. Finally, it was passed down from generation to generation, and they became so bloodthirsty and brave."

Zhao Shuo said, "So what?"

"So, I hope to continue doing what I am doing now. Let the children on the grassland be able to write a few words and understand some principles of being a human being. Let more Mongolians realize that they are actually no different from the Han people. If I, Lu Zibu, can do these things, then I will not have lived in vain in this life."

"Very good!"

Zhao Shuo was very satisfied with Lu Zibu's statement.

Wasn't what he had been planning all along to share the world between the Mongols and the Hans?

Why should the Mongols and Hans share the world?

Do the Mongols recognize it?

Zhao Shuo naturally made various efforts to change the Mongols' views. However, he still needs more helpers, and Lu Zibu is one of them.

Regardless of whether Lu Zibu's purpose is to reduce the killings of Han people when the Mongols go south one day, or whether Lu Zibu guessed Zhao Shuo's purpose. What Lu Zibu is doing is no different.

The first thing to do is to make the Mongols realize that both sides are human beings. Although there may be differences in combat power and customs, there is no difference in essence.

The next day, Zhao Shuo took Lu Zibu to Temujin's golden tent with dozens of Black Riders as guards.

When Temujin heard that Lu Zibu hoped that the children on the grassland would understand some Mongolian characters, he was very happy.

Temujin was ambitious and talented, and of course he knew the importance of education. Previously, he had already issued an edict to let Tata Tong'a teach the children of nobles to read and write. He didn't expect that Lu Zibu directly wanted to popularize Mongolian characters to the people on the grassland.

This is a good thing!

Moreover, after Temujin returned to the grassland, he also knew what Lu Zibu had done on the grassland, just like Zhao Shuo, and knew that Lu Zibu was a talent.

Immediately, Temujin appointed Lu Zibu as "Grand Preceptor" and allocated 100 households of herdsmen to support him, so that he could teach the people to read.

However, it was only the title of "Grand Preceptor" and 100 households of herdsmen. Temujin did not give more support.

After all, compared with military and state affairs, this matter is too small. It has no significant effect on the strength of the Mongolian state, and can only be regarded as icing on the cake.

Then, Zhao Shuo returned to the Hulunbuir grassland to build a new city.

That's right, it's a new city.

Zhao Shuo has more than 50,000 artisans and their families under his command, 1,100 Black Riders plus their families are also close to 6,000, as well as Zhao Shuo's wives, concubines, maids, and more than 1,000 female slaves. Nearly 60,000 people live together, and it is impossible for him to take 60,000 people to nomadize, so he also needs to build a city.

This city does not need any walls.

Zhao Shuo does not believe that anyone in this era can reach the Hulunbuir grassland.

Therefore, it is only necessary to build Zhao Shuo's Consort's Mansion, workshops, residential areas, military camp areas, and eight areas including the trading area and the urban area.

Well, Zhao Shuo built the entire city with reference to the Tekes Bagua City in Xinjiang.

The entire city is circular, and the central location is a huge park square, which can be used for people to rest and hold large gatherings.

The square is built very large, which can meet the needs of tens of thousands of people for military parades.

Around the park square, there are eight streets arranged radially from the center, dividing the entire city into eight parts. There are no walls, and it can be infinitely expanded outwards.

Consort's Mansion, workshop area, workers' residential area, military camp area, trading area, urban area, noble area, residential area for foreign envoys and merchants, and cargo storage area are these eight parts.

The manpower to build this new city is the artisans who are not on duty and their families.

Anyway, in Zhongdu, when these people guarded Zhongdu City, they also did the work of repairing the city walls.

Moreover, Zhao Shuo will not be as stingy as Wanyan Yongji. Not only will he let these people eat their fill, but he will also give some rewards.

The artisans are simply like they have come to heaven from hell, and they work very hard.

By the way, the herdsmen on the grassland heard that the Consort was going to build a new city, and many of them came to serve voluntarily.

There is no way, Zhao Shuo gives too much.

In the process of attacking the Jin Kingdom, Zhao Shuo made the greatest contribution, and the soldiers naturally divided the most spoils.

Even the most ordinary Mongolian soldiers brought home property worth about 300 taels.

Poor Mongolians, where have they seen so much money!

They can't earn so much money by herding sheep for a lifetime!

The eyes of their wives and children are simply intoxicating to think about.

Their gratitude to Zhao Shuo also directly exploded.

Now, hearing that the Consort is going to build a new city, especially to build a Consort's Mansion, what are they waiting for? Hurry up and take the initiative to serve.

As for what to do at home? Forget it, working at home for a hundred years is not as good as following the Consort to rob once, what is it worth? It is important to serve the Consort as soon as possible.

Therefore, the entire new city quickly took shape at a speed that Zhao Shuo had not expected.

It was not until winter came and the land could not be chiseled that these herdsmen returned home.

Although the warriors of the Balu Camp could not reclaim wasteland, they were not idle. The east of the Hulunbuir grassland is the Greater Khingan Mountains. They went to the Greater Khingan Mountains to cut down logs. These logs will be transported to the location of the new city next spring by the water power of the Ergune River.

Zhao Shuo estimates that by next summer, this new city will be built almost.

He named this city Khalkha Guicheng, which means a city without walls in Mongolian.