Chapter 823: Development in the North

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

Huang Wenxian hurriedly said, “I’m a low-leveled general in Your Highness’s army. My etiquette can’t be abolished.”

Besides, was he kneeling for the princess?

She was clearly the future Little Princess Consort!

The military advisor had a high position and did not have any real power, but he had a scholarly status. He had the privilege of not kneeling when he saw an official. After Huang Wenxian saw her, he could directly cup his hands and bow. There was no need to be like a general.

Yu Youyao had always been respectful to others. “Military Advisor Huang is an elder in the army. He has a.s.sisted King Ding and King Yue Fei in guarding the North for many years and has worked hard. He’s a member of the Yue Fei’s Residence, so he’s naturally a guest of mine.”

Huang Wenxian was also a straightforward person. Seeing that she was not putting on airs, he heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m bold, so I’ll accept it respectfully.”

The two of them sat down.

Huang Wenzhu calculated for Yu Youyao. “Silk, tea, salt, and porcelain are the main industries of the Great Zhou Dynasty, especially silk. They’re also deeply loved by the overseas countries. Every year, 300,000 pieces of silk can be sold through maritime trade. One ordinary piece of silk can be bought for five taels of silver in the Great Zhou Dynasty and 20 taels of silver overseas, not to mention those more exquisite silk…”

He clicked his tongue and calculated everything. From Jiangnan to Yungui, he counted how many looms there were in Henan, how much silk could be produced every season, and how much each piece of silk cost.

In the end, he concluded, “There are about 300,000 looms in the area of Jiangnan, Yungui, and Henan in Shandong. If they weave silk day and night, they can produce about 500,000 pieces of silk every year. The profits of silk from the Great Zhou Dynasty every year can reach more than ten million taels.”

Yu Youyao knew that the profits of silk were high, but she had never calculated this account in detail. “This is almost the entire year of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s expenses. The profits of salt, tea, and porcelain should be no less than the profits of silk. In addition, there are other miscellaneous taxes. Why isn’t the treasury able to cover the deficit every year?”

Huang Wenxian smiled. “Apart from the high risk of maritime trade, there are often j.a.panese pirates and pirates hijacking ships. The remaining profits have been stripped by the officials below layer by layer. In the end, only about 30% of them can really enter the treasury.”

The Zhejiang capital had colluded with the pirates. The hijacked merchant ships were equivalent to the share that the Zhejiang capital had paid as “tribute” to the pirates.

Yu Youyao gasped. “How greedy.”

Huang Wenxian agreed deeply and continued, “Chinese oak silkworms eat a lot. Overly raising silkworms will destroy the forest environment. Considering that we have to keep developing, we have to control the number of Chinese oak silkworms we raise. This way, the production of silk is actually very limited. However, the temperature along the coast is suitable. I suggest that we import high-quality mulberry trees from Zhejiang and plant them in places that are not suitable for farming.”

Huang Wenxian was from Liaodong and knew Liaodong very well. He had also been to Zhejiang in the past and understood the terrain and environment of Zhejiang. Only with evidence did he dare to say this.

“Domestic silkworms don’t eat much and need to be raised at home. The mulberry tree grows quickly and can grow in almost three to five years. Not only can it greatly increase the production of silk in the Liaodong area, but it also gives the forest a certain amount of s.p.a.ce to grow. Only good trees can produce the best quality silk.”

Yu Youyao was a little impressed by Huang Wen. This person was really smart and always kept track of the accounts in his heart, so she was not in a hurry to talk.

Indeed!

Huang Wenxian changed the topic and continued, “At the current scale of silk raising in the Liaodong area, a total of 50,000 looms can be set up. They can produce nearly 100,000 pieces of silk every year. The silk is better than mulberry silk, and the price is almost double. The profits are very considerable.”

The Great Zhou Dynasty still focused on mulberry silk.

There was even less production of wild silk. It was usually used for armor making and some high-end silk for the upper echelons. Ordinary people could not touch it.

Therefore, the profits of Chinese oak silkworms were higher than those of domestic silkworms.

It wasn’t that domestic silkworms were inferior to Chinese oak silkworms.

There were also many expensive silkworms among the domestic silkworms, such as the snow silkworm and the amber silkworm. The silk they produced was precious. There were less than a hundred pieces of them every year, and almost all of them entered the palace.

Yu Youyao was deep in thought. The domestic silkworms could be very useful along the coast of Liaodong.

Huang Wenxian said, “When the silkworm industry in Liaodong develops, we can add another 50,000 looms. When the domestic silkworms develop to a large scale, we can add another 50,000 looms. According to the growth speed of the mulberry trees, in at most five years, the number of looms in Liaodong will reach at least 150,000.”

After taking in the refugees, the Liaodong area did not lack people and had a lot of potential for development.

Yu Youyao was a little surprised. “The silk produced in Zhejiang already accounts for half of the country’s total production. If the scale of silk breeding in Liaodong can develop, it can be comparable to Zhejiang.”

She had not calculated this previously.

Huang Wenxian nodded. “The drought is a disaster, but it’s also an opportunity. By using the national policy, we can develop the silk industry wantonly. The silk production, weaving, printing, dyeing, cutting, embroidery, and other activities related to the silk industry can almost drive the entire North. Silk is a military necessity and has a high demand. Silk can be sold to overseas countries and exchanged for the unique items of other countries, as well as food, spices, medicinal herbs, and so on.”

Yu Youyao noticed that Huang Wenxian advocated selling the Great Zhou Dynasty’s silk to other countries in exchange for their resources. This way, they could avoid the situation of developing silkworms wantonly, causing food production to decrease and supplies to be scarce.

It also put an end to excessive commercialization in the North, causing business to be more important than the people, and the people to be cheaper than business. As a result, the merchants would bully the people, and their productivity and food production would decrease.

He was indeed far-sighted.

He had also considered all the questions she had been worried about previously.

Huang Wenxian continued, “The production of sweet potatoes is high and cheap. With just a few fields, we can harvest a large amount of food. With self-sufficiency, we can vigorously develop the silkworm industry. There’s a lot of potential.”

If Princess Shaoyi couldn’t grow sweet potatoes, then the first thing the North had to guarantee was food production. However, the North was vast and spa.r.s.ely populated, and the food production was low, so they needed to mobilize most people to farm to ensure that the food produced could support the local people and even military supplies. Then, they wouldn’t have anyone to raise silkworms and develop business.

To put it bluntly, the development of the North was based on sweet potatoes.

Including accepting refugees, settling them down, implementing national policies, and even later crossing swords with the n.o.bles, sweet potatoes were the confidence of the You army.

Huang Wenxian’s words encompa.s.sed the future development of the North.

Yu Youyao had an idea. “According to you, if we want to introduce foreign merchants into the Liaodong area, we have to prioritize businesses related to silk and food production, right?”

Most of the foreign merchants were here for her and Yin Huaixi. Many merchants had brought a large number of supplies over to contact the government. They had even sent “filial piety” to her and Yin Huaixi through the government. The Imperial Court had issued a national policy, and a large number of supplies had rushed to the North. The government did not dare to make decisions on their own and needed her and Yin Huaixi to be thorough.

However, the development of the North was not clear, so the merchants had to be careful when expressing their goodwill.

Neither she nor Yin Huaixi could do something like taking advantage of others for nothing.