Three Kingdoms: Ten Times Speed, Diao Chan Says I'm Too Fast

The old king of Baima Qiang and a group of Qiang leaders stared wide-eyed at Duan Yu, completely bewildered.

That was as if they were asking why Duan Yu was showing them a big bug.

Duan Yu took the wooden box from Tie Shitou's hand and said to Bai Long, "This is a new silkworm breed that I painstakingly searched for before coming to Liangzhou."

"You all know what silkworms are used for, right?"

Bai Long and the others all nodded.

More than a hundred years have passed since the Han and Qiang people began living together. The Qiang people have transformed from a people who were entirely fishing, hunting, and herding to a people who are half nomadic and half agricultural.

They have already learned many of the skills of the Han people.

"This type of silkworm is more cold-resistant, has a faster growth cycle, and produces more silkworms."

Bai Long understood halfway through Duan Yu's sentence.

Silkworm raising and cloth weaving are not unfamiliar to the Qiang people.

Before the Qiang people migrated into Han territory, their clothing was mostly made of animal hides or the hides of cattle, horses, and sheep.

However, as the Qiang people migrated inland and their contact with the Han people became longer, the Sinicized Qiang people initially used furs and the like to exchange for cloth with the Han people.

For more than a hundred years, the Qiang people have also been continuously learning the techniques of the Han people.

This includes silkworm rearing and cloth weaving.

However, the Qiang people's technology was far inferior to that of the Han people, since fishing, hunting, and herding were the Qiang people's main sources of livelihood.

Even after they started farming, herding and hunting still accounted for more than half of their livelihood.

"General Duan means... that we should raise silkworms?" Bai Long asked tentatively.

Duan Yu nodded and said, "That's right."

"Of course, I won't let you raise silkworms and weave cloth for nothing," Duan Yu said. "I will naturally buy back the silk you get from raising silkworms, and at the same price as the Han people buy back silk. I will absolutely not squeeze any of your profits."

“Weaving may be difficult for you, but raising silkworms and spinning silk is not that difficult. You can learn it with just a little study.”

"Moreover, I will provide all your silkworm eggs and will not charge you any money in the early stages. You are only responsible for raising silkworms and reeling silk. As long as there is silk, I will buy it back."

"Whether you want money, grain, or silk, it's up to you."

"Don't underestimate this income." Duan Yu said to Bai Long and the Qiang leaders, "If you raise silkworms well, the money and grain you get from selling silk can be more than you can earn from herding and farming."

Duan Yu was not lying to them about this.

Today's society is one where men farm and women weave.

Why is it said that men plow and women weave?

Men farmed and worked, while women stayed home raising silkworms and weaving cloth.

The money a woman earns from raising silkworms and weaving cloth at home is equivalent to one-third, or even more, of a family's income.

The new silkworm breed he has developed now has a longer growth cycle, greater resilience, and higher yield than ordinary silkworms.

Doubling one's income is almost never a problem.

That's why he dared to say that.

As for why he said it refers to raising silkworms and refining silk, rather than including weaving cloth.

First of all, weaving cloth is a rather difficult thing.

It's not easy to learn.

But raising silkworms is much easier.

It won't take long to promote it on a large scale.

There is another reason.

Silkworm silk is only a semi-finished product, so its price is naturally not as high as that of woven silk fabric. Moreover, woven silk fabric can be directly exchanged for money and used directly as money.

He promoted silkworm breeding in Liangzhou, but he wanted to retain the right to weave cloth.

In this way, he would decide where the finished silk fabrics would be sold and at what price.

This is also a restriction on the Qiang people, preventing them from selling the woven silk directly without permission.

Another major reason for choosing to weave cloth was that Liangzhou occupied the only route to the Western Regions.

Silk was an important product in the Han Dynasty's foreign trade.

By controlling Liangzhou and holding onto silk, they will have a continuous stream of wealth in the future.

As for whether the Qiang people will secretly weave cloth in the future, they definitely will.

But that's alright.

Because the silkworm eggs are still in his hands, as long as he doesn't provide more silkworm eggs, the Qiang people will never be able to cause any trouble.

The Qiang leaders looked at each other blankly.

After all that, Duan Yu's condition was actually... letting them raise silkworms?

"General Duan, this..." Bai Long, the old king of Baima Qiang, seemed a little incredulous at his ears.

Duan Yu said with a stern expression, "Didn't I just say that?"

“I came to Liangzhou to govern Liang, not to fight with you.”

“If I had come here to fight you, there would be no need for me to sit here and waste so much time talking to you.”

"The right to choose whether to believe or not is yours."

At this point, Duan Yu stood up with a cold face and said, "Liangzhou is not only home to you Qiang tribes."

“Longxi doesn’t need your tens of thousands of people.”

"Stone, pack your things, let's go."

Duan Yu turned around abruptly, not even giving Bai Long and the others time to consider.

This startled Bai Lin, who had been listening from the sidelines.

He quickly reached out to pull his father: "Father, General Duan is leaving!"

"General Duan!"

Bai Long finally realized what was happening and quickly called out to Duan Yu.

"General Duan, please calm down, please calm down. We believe you, we believe you," Bai Long quickly explained.

Duan Yu, who had just mounted his horse, paused and then turned to look at Bai Long.

"You said it yourself, I didn't force you."

"In that case, it's settled then. Before next spring, I will send someone to your seed department to deliver silkworm eggs and teach you how to spin silk and raise silkworms."

"Also, there are still quite a few tribes in Jincheng County that I have scattered or scared away. You can deal with them yourselves."

"Furthermore, if there is any news about Beigong Boyu, inform me immediately."

After saying this, Duan Yu did not linger and spurred his horse toward Lintao County.

After Duan Yu had completely left, Bai Long and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

...........

Time flies, and several days have passed.

Everything was peaceful in Ji County.

It seems that after the Battle of Yunwu, the entire Liangzhou region has calmed down.

There are not as many people coming and going from the prefect's residence every day.

However, these past few days have been exceptionally agonizing for Niu Yaodi and Dong Huang.

There has been no news from my hometown of Lintao.

There was nothing unusual about Duan Yu's prefectural residence.

This made Niu Yaodi gradually realize that something was wrong, something unusual.

noon.

Niu Yaodi, who was resting in her room, summoned Dong Huang.

"What's wrong with you in broad daylight? What will you say if someone finds out?" Dong Huang looked at Niu Yaodi with some displeasure.

Niu Yaodi immediately straightened her face and glared at Dong Huang: "Why didn't you say this when you used to come here every night?"

"Hey..." Upon hearing Niu Yaodi's words, Dong Huang quickly explained, "That's not what I meant. The problem is this isn't our home. What if someone sees us..."

"Alright, alright." Niu Yaodi said with a frown, "I didn't call you here to talk about these things. I just feel a little... a little uneasy."

"So many days have passed, how come there's still no news?"

"The people I sent to gather information have not replied."

"Could it be..."

Dong Huang's eyes widened instantly: "You mean it's not something?"

"Could it be Duan Yu...?"

"Shh!"

Niu Yaodi quickly shushed her, saying, "Why are you shouting so loudly? Are you afraid others won't hear you?"

"I'm just guessing, it should be..."

"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"