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

"Alright, enough talk, let's hurry back to the main camp! A feast has been prepared there, with fragrant mutton and flowing mare's milk wine, everything you could want. I'm giving you a welcome reception!" Hua Zheng said with a smile.

Soon, the group returned to the encampment.

Aliya and Hulan were led by maids to the tents that had been prepared for them.

Zhao Shuo and Hua Zheng went to another tent to enjoy their time alone.

"A Shuo, do you know?"

Hua Zheng personally poured Zhao Shuo a cup of mare's milk wine and said, "Since you left on the expedition, many children have been born on the grasslands, more than in previous years."

Zhao Shuo smiled slightly and said, "That's because Father Khan has pacified the eastern grasslands. With peace, couples are more settled, and it's easier to conceive."

A stable environment affects people's hormones, increasing the success rate of pregnancy. The post-war baby boom is an example of this.

In fact, not only humans, but even the fertility rate of livestock will increase somewhat.

After that, Hua Zheng talked about some trivial matters.

For example, Jochi's eldest son, Orda, was born.

For example, Ogedai's legal wife, Boraqchin, is too soft-hearted and a pushover. After Ogedai's death, Boraqchin couldn't control the situation at all. Ogedai's four concubines fought endlessly, almost resulting in deaths, and Börte had to personally intervene.

Another example is that among the craftsmen in Zhao Shuo's territory, there is an exceptionally talented one named Sun Wei. The improved distillation technology is mainly due to his efforts.

Zhao Shuo also talked about some interesting things from the Western Expedition, such as the process of subduing Jin Shanshan.

Suren is the youngest son of the old general Suhe. He wasn't selected for the army conscription last year. This year, he is already fourteen years old, which is considered the youngest age for a warrior on the grasslands, and he can go into battle.

Zhao Shuo nodded slightly and said, "Suren's martial arts were learned from me, so he is indeed capable. How has he been behaving lately?"

Hua Zheng also admired Suren very much, saying, "It's not just that this child's martial arts are good, the key is that he is very clever. Suren helped me a lot while you were away on the expedition. I've now entrusted the management of the workshops to him. However, his ambition lies elsewhere, he still wants to make a contribution on the battlefield. By the way, he was the one who discovered and promoted Sun Wei, so he has a good eye for talent."

Zhao Shuo said, "Indeed, Suren is half my disciple and stronger than his two older brothers. It's a bit of a waste of his talent to be in the workshop."

Hua Zheng leaned against Zhao Shuo's chest and said, "And Suna, she..."

As Hua Zheng spoke, Zhao Shuo didn't want to continue the tender atmosphere. His hand stroked Hua Zheng's smooth back, gradually moving downward.

A blush spread across Hua Zheng's fair cheeks, her body grew warmer, her breathing quickened, and the words she was about to say trailed off.

Zhao Shuo curled his lips, lowered his head, and kissed Hua Zheng's cheek and ear.

"Hua Zheng, other families have had so many children, shouldn't we have one too?"

In the warm, dimly lit cashmere blanket, Hua Zheng's eyes suddenly widened, and after a moment of stunned silence, they sparkled with light.

She didn't speak, but with a gentle smile, she reached out and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.

Zhao Shuo's face was submerged in the warm, fragrant haven, and for a moment, Zhao Shuo couldn't resist any longer.

...

...

The next day, Zhao Shuo and Hua Zheng were both physically and mentally refreshed, with smiles on their faces. Together, with twenty attendants, they went to inspect the workshops.

"Greetings, Prince Consort and Princess!"

Hearing that Zhao Shuo and Hua Zheng had arrived, Suren quickly led his older sister and several managing craftsmen to greet them.

Although Suren was just fourteen years old, he was already quite tall, almost as tall as Hua Zheng, and only half a head shorter than Zhao Shuo. The young man had rosy lips, white teeth, and a handsome appearance. If he were in later generations, he could easily become an idol in a few more years. But now, his face still had a significant air of childishness.

"Greetings, Prince Consort and Princess!"

Suren's older sister, Suna, glanced at Zhao Shuo and quickly lowered her head, her cheeks flushed with a faint blush, like the morning glow in the sky at this time.

This was an extremely beautiful girl, with a fiery figure. She wore a tight-fitting sleeve shirt on her upper body and a Mongolian-style characteristic long skirt on her lower body, with a black leather belt around her waist. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows were slender and curved. The tip of her nose was small and delicate, her lips were rosy and full, and her hair was black and shiny, as smooth as silk, tied with only a piece of fur and satin, tucked behind her ears and at the back of her head.

The most striking feature was her pair of heterochromatic eyes.

Her left eye was amber, lighter than the common Mongolian eye color, with a light and warm luster. Her right eye was ice blue, clear and deep, like a mysterious lake hidden deep in the grasslands. A pair of eyes clear and bright, like two pearls on the grassland, shining brightly.

Normally, with Suna's appearance and the status of Suhe, the chieftain of the thousand households, the young talents pursuing Suna would definitely form a long line.

However, on the grasslands, heterochromatic eyes were too rare, and the young talents were frightened by them, so no one had ever come to propose marriage.

Old Suhe was extremely worried about his daughter's marriage.

When he discovered that Zhao Shuo didn't dislike Suna's heterochromatic eyes, he was both surprised and delighted. Otherwise, why would old Suhe, who was taciturn and not one to curry favor, have mentioned the marriage several times?

Now, Suna clearly knew that her marriage to Zhao Shuo was almost certain.

Originally cold and indifferent, she couldn't help but feel shy.

"Greetings, Prince Consort!"

A dozen managing craftsmen followed closely behind, paying their respects to Zhao Shuo and Hua Zheng.

"You may rise."

Zhao Shuo nodded and said, "Suren, A'Na, we are all family, you can just call me Big Brother."

"Suren wouldn't dare!" Suren quickly and firmly refused.

Originally, Suren regarded Zhao Shuo as his teacher since Zhao Shuo taught him martial arts. In the beginning, he felt it wasn't respectful enough and somewhat inappropriate to call Zhao Shuo Big Brother according to seniority.

Now that he had finally changed his address to Prince Consort, how could he change it back?

Suna, on the other hand, didn't dare to answer, blushing slightly and lowering her head.

She naturally liked Zhao Shuo.

With Zhao Shuo's figure, appearance, bravery, and status, it was no exaggeration to say that any invitation he made to any woman on the grasslands would be met with an enthusiastic response.

Suna, who had grown up by Zhao Shuo's side, naturally revered and admired Zhao Shuo.

Now that she knew her father wanted to marry her to Zhao Shuo, Suna felt both joy and unease, and also a vague sense of inferiority.

Especially with Zhao Shuo's wife, the beautiful and noble Princess Hua Zheng, standing in front of her, she dared even less to look directly at Zhao Shuo.

She felt as if she were a thief, trying to steal the light of the sun and moon.

Zhao Shuo didn't know Suna's complex thoughts and looked at Suren, asking, "Suren, how is the workshop developing now?"

Although Zhao Shuo already had five workshops for sheepskin, winemaking, ironware, bows and arrows, and white salt, each workshop was small in scale. Before Zhao Shuo went on the expedition, there were only fifty-six people in total.

Suren said, "According to your instructions, Prince Consort, we have used the profits from the workshop's production to expand the workshops and invite skilled craftsmen from the Central Plains. Now, as you can see, each workshop has at least doubled in size. Even the number of people has increased to one hundred and ninety-two. Would you like me to take you and the Princess around first?"

Zhao Shuo said, "Not in a hurry. Is Sun Wei, who improved the purity of distilled liquor, here?"

"I am Sun Wei, greetings, Prince Consort."

A young man of short and stocky stature, twenty-three or four years old, with a shrewd and capable look on his face, stepped forward and bowed to Zhao Shuo again.

"So you are Sun Wei. I have heard your name several times while I was far away in Western Xia, it can be said that your reputation precedes you!" Zhao Shuo said, praising as he looked Sun Wei up and down.

“I wouldn't dare, I'm just a craftsman, my humble name is really unworthy of the Consort's noble ears.” Sun Wei immediately bowed and lowered his head, respectfully saying.

Zhao Shuo said: “What are you saying? If a craftsman does well, he can still enjoy wealth and fame for eternity. This time in defeating the Western Xia, if my Mongolians had some good craftsmen, why would we have lost so many brave warriors' lives?”

Sun Wei said: “This humble one will definitely remember the Consort's teachings and be a good craftsman.”

“By the way, Sun Wei, where are you from?”

“Reporting to the Consort, I am from Hunyuan Prefecture, Xijing of the Jin Dynasty.”

“How old are you this year?”

“Twenty-four.”

“Who else is in your family?”

“My mother, two younger brothers, and a younger sister.”

… …

After chatting about family matters for a while, Zhao Shuo asked: “It must be three or four thousand miles from Datong to this Hulunbuir Grassland, right? You left your hometown to come to such a distant place, mainly for money?”

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Zhao Shuo entrusted the Ongud tribe to search the Central Plains for skilled craftsmen in the grasslands. The most skilled craftsmen are all under the control of the Jin Dynasty, and the Ongud tribe has no good way to find them, so they can only look for them among the people. Unexpectedly, the Ongud tribe is so resourceful that they even found them in Datong.

“It really is for money.”

Sun Wei said with a wry smile: “When I was young, I was naughty and active, and I liked to use my brain. After growing up, I liked to invent some new things, and I have some fame in Datong.

It's just that last year, my mother fell seriously ill and needed a lot of money to treat her. The imperial court's exploitation was also severe, so even I couldn't earn much money.

That's why I accepted the recruitment of the Ongud tribe, left my hometown, and came to the grassland to earn money. With two brothers supporting my old mother, and the Ongud tribe gave one hundred taels of silver as a settlement fee, even if I die, it won't be a loss.”

The Jin Dynasty lacked copper. After its establishment, paper money quickly became the main currency in circulation throughout the country, while silver was only used by nobles and wealthy merchants.

However, with the rampant issuance of paper money, the currency depreciated more and more rapidly, and the people became more and more resentful. The Jin Dynasty court had to carry out currency reform.

Forty-four years ago, the Jin Emperor issued an edict that the silver ingots, which were originally only cast in fifty-tael denominations, should now be cast in one-tael to ten-tael denominations to facilitate the military, civilians, and common people. Since then, silver has become one of the legal currencies of the Jin Dynasty.

The settlement fee given to Sun Wei by the Ongud tribe, of course, had to be the hardest of hard, real gold and silver.

Zhao Shuo looked at Hua Zheng and said: “Sun Wei improved the distilled liquor technology and made such a great contribution, have you rewarded him?”

Sun Wei took the initiative to answer: “The Princess was generous and rewarded me with twenty taels of silver.”

“Twenty taels is a bit too little, um, this Consort will reward you with another eighty taels, making it a full hundred taels.”

“Thank you, Consort!”

Sun Wei's face showed a look of ecstasy, and he paid his respects with a grand salute, kowtowing to express his gratitude.

One hundred taels of silver was the settlement fee given to Sun Wei by the Ongud tribe, in other words, it was money for selling his life. At least in Sun Wei's mind, this life of his was more than enough to be bought for one hundred taels of silver.

Now, Zhao Shuo rewarded him with another hundred taels, greatly exceeding Sun Wei's best hopes, how could he not be overjoyed?

The rest of the foremen craftsmen all showed a strong look of envy in their eyes.

One hundred taels of silver!

That's one hundred taels!

The purchasing power of silver in the Jin Dynasty was about equivalent to 3,000 yuan RMB in later generations. One hundred taels of silver is 300,000! Even in later generations, it would be a considerable fortune. Moreover, this is in ancient times where productivity was underdeveloped?

Zhao Shuo said to these foremen: “You can pass on my words, from now on, any craftsman in my workshop, as long as they make a major breakthrough, will be rewarded according to this example. Even if there is no major breakthrough, even a small breakthrough can be rewarded.”

“Thank you, Consort, for your generosity!”

The craftsmen all bowed and thanked him, looking delighted.

Only now did Zhao Shuo ask Sun Wei the key question: “Are you proficient in casting armor?”

Sun Wei said: “Armor is an important weapon of the military and the state, and I haven't studied it much. However, one principle applies to all, if the Consort gives me a ready-made set of armor, I should be able to imitate it. It's just that, one or two sets of armor, I'm afraid the Consort won't care. If there are too many, I'm afraid it will be difficult to raise iron materials, but I do have a suggestion.”

“What suggestion?”

“I heard that in the Jin Dynasty army, there is a kind of paper armor, which is made of paper. Paper armor is much cheaper and easier to manufacture than iron armor, and it is not much weaker than iron armor. There are only two shortcomings, one is that it is not suitable for rainy weather, and the other is that it is easily damaged.”

If it were in the Great Song Dynasty, Zhao Shuo would have agreed to Sun Wei's proposal. But this is Mongolia, not only is there a shortage of iron materials, but paper is also very scarce.

However, if there are conditions in the future, he can let Sun Wei study paper armor and cotton armor, especially the cotton-iron composite armor of the Qing Dynasty.

The strength of the army's combat effectiveness, the quality of the armor accounts for a very important factor.

Zhao Shuo looked at Sun Wei and shook his head: “You have also seen our conditions, paper may not be easier to raise than iron materials. If we open a paper mill, it will require a lot of manpower, which is still very uneconomical. Besides, the cheapest papermaking uses bamboo as raw material, and there is not much bamboo production on the grassland.”

“Uh… I still have an idea, but it's not very mature yet.”

“Whatever method you have, just say it. If there are any mistakes, it's on me, it has nothing to do with you.”

Sun Wei said: “I have always had an idea to create a special kind of armor, called sinew and feather armor.

This kind of armor is made of wild cattle, wild horses, and yellow sheep's sinews, combined with the feathers of birds of prey and wild geese, without using half a catty of iron or half a sheet of paper.

Moreover, it is light, flexible, and elastic, has strong impact resistance, and good defensive performance, I am afraid it is better than iron armor and paper armor.

I have never had the raw materials and have no way to experiment, I don't know if it will work. These things are not lacking on the grassland. How about the Consort let me try it?”

It's done!

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Zhao Shuo's mouth, this was the words he was waiting for!

In fact, Zhao Shuo had seen the introduction of Sun Wei in the historical records of later generations.

Sun Wei is a famous military equipment manufacturing expert in history!

In historical records, this person joined Temujin's command seven years later. Three years later, he invented the "sinew and feather armor". Temujin personally test-fired it, and the arrow could not penetrate it, so he heavily rewarded Sun Wei.

It's just that Zhao Shuo is not sure whether this Sun Wei is the Sun Wei recorded in history.

Moreover, Sun Wei is still young, and he doesn't know if he has the idea of making sinew and feather armor now.

So he tested it out, but he didn't expect that this Sun Wei was really the Sun Wei recorded in history, and at this time, he already had the idea of making sinew and feather armor.

What a pleasant surprise!

Immediately, Zhao Shuo decided: “Try it, you can rest assured and boldly try it. Whatever you lack, I will give you. If you really make the sinew and feather armor, I will not only reward you with another one hundred taels of silver, but also give you two beautiful female slaves from Western Xia.”

Talents like Sun Wei must not be missed.

In addition to money, he must also be given a home.

With generous rewards and beautiful female slaves serving him, I'm afraid you can't drive him away even with a stick!

“Thank you, Consort, for your generosity!”

At this moment, Sun Wei's eyes seemed to be able to emit light.

Don't mention any dreams, values, or status.

For a young man in his twenties like Sun Wei, money and beauty are the most attractive rewards.

Before a man has money and women, it is difficult to concentrate 100% on his career.

Sun Wei's needs are simple and straightforward, and Zhao Shuo can obviously satisfy this point.