Seeing that the surrounding area was becoming more and more desolate, full of uncultivated wild grass and bushes, Zhang Junde was a little panicked in his heart. After walking again, I couldn't help it, and asked Du Zhongxiao in front: "Official, I see that there are many villages and a lot of wasteland by the river in front of me?" We are just there to open up the wasteland by the village, why should we be so far away? ”

Hearing this, Du Zhongxiao knew that these people were suspicious of them, so they had to be arranged far away from the camp and field affairs. Smiling, Du Zhongxiao turned to a few people: "You are skilled people, if you want to spin wool, of course you have to find a suitable place." Just follow me, and when you get to the place, you will understand. There are also wastelands, and there are residents, so don't worry. ”

Everyone was suspicious, followed behind Du Zhongxiao and the others, all the way east, and slowly the hills began to increase, and high mountains appeared in front of them.

When he saw the river, Du Zhongxiao said: "It's almost there, let's go faster." ”

After walking a short distance along the river, you will see a dam built where the river comes out of the mountain pass. Next to the dam, there are some thatched huts, which are small villages with three or five families.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Here, this is the first place to place you." While speaking, Du Zhongxiao got off the horse and led everyone forward.

When they arrived at the entrance of the village, several villagers waited there early and saluted together.

When he arrived at an open space and sat down with a few club leaders, Du Zhongxiao said: "It takes far more effort to weave wool into wool than linen and silk, especially the final rinsing, which is still labor-intensive. We are all using water wheels, water wheels, and woolen wool. The place I came to was too gentle to set up a water wheel. The villages where wool is woven are all in the mountains where the rivers come out. In addition to here, there are more than a dozen small villages along the foothills of this area. And your people settled in these villages, weaving wool with skill, and cultivating the fields by themselves. Taking advantage of the warm weather now, the yamen will lend you seed and farm tools to open fields nearby. There are manpower in the camp and field, and the yamen organization has come to build houses for you. ”

Only then did everyone understand what Du Zhongxiao meant, and thanked them together. Wool is woven into horses, and unlike silk and cloth, it must be rinsed at the end, otherwise it cannot be cut into clothes to wear. Without this process, the coarse hair is short and brown, then it is worthless, and the party item is also worn by lower-level talents. The commercial products that Du Zhongxiao wants are not the kind of worthless things, and this process is particularly important.

The rinsing process is the most labor-intensive, and it is now the most labor-intensive link in woolen wool. Not far away, there are even hydraulic hammers, so it is logical to build some small dams and use water power for rinsing.

Except for the Yellow River, there are no big rivers here, but there are many small rivers. They all came out of the nearby mountains and flowed into the Yellow River not far away. The flow of these small rivers is unstable, the water rises during the flood season, and many of them are cut off in winter and spring. To make use of it, only dams can be built to store water. Fortunately, these small dams are built in mountain passes, so there is no problem of water competition, and there are some flood prevention and drought control functions.

Du Zhongxiao also thought about water-powered weaving, but he was not familiar with weaving, and he didn't have the energy to study it carefully, so he had to put it first. Now Dasong's human resources are sufficient, the demand for textile machinery is not urgent, and the most important thing is commercialization. It is a pity that there is no textile machinery, which cannot drive the development of related industries, and can only be done step by step.

Taking a few heads of the club to the small dam next to them to take a look, and then looking at the hydraulic washing device that was working, Du Zhongxiao said to them: "Which people you assign to stay in this village and make a list together." However, the meaning of the yamen is that it is better to have people from each community in each village, so as not to have conflicts in the future. In addition, it is dispersed, and there are craftsmen in each village, and it is also convenient to twist yarn and weave cloth. ”

The heads of the society knew that the yamen was still on guard and let them disrupt the organization. Fortunately, Du Zhongxiao said it gently, and the request was not too much, and several heads of the company discussed it and agreed.

Several families who live here now belong to the camp and specialize in rinsing woolen here. But now there are not many products, only sporadic blankets are delivered, and they are mainly cultivated land.

After looking at the surrounding terrain, in order to prevent conflicts, Du Zhongxiao asked several leaders to put the people placed here on the opposite side, and chose a flat land to build a village, with a river in the middle separating it from the current residence. As for which arable land will be cultivated, it will be arranged later.

Leaving the village, we headed south and passed through five similar places, each of which housed the people. At noon, I went to the ranch managed by Chen Qin and rested there. The pasture is a hilly plateau that divides the valley into north and south.

Chen Qin bought a lot of horses from Tanglong Town, and has been very busy recently, printing and making books and dividing horses into groups. After this period of replenishment, the garrison of the Volcano Army was not short of horses, and the surplus horses were kept here. Du Zhongxiao was selecting and training village soldiers, many of whom were cavalrymen. These people took turns to come to the pasture to learn horsemanship, but they were not given horses, but only reserves.

After preparing the meal, Chen Qin invited Du Zhongxiao to take a seat, and surrounded him with several club leaders to toast together.

Du Zhongxiao drank a glass of wine and said, "You have come thousands of miles, and everything is waiting for you." There is a lot of land here, there is no shortage of money and food, as long as you work hard, you will not have to worry about food and clothing in the future. The government has loaned you all the seeds and farm tools, and now you will plant some beans and wheat in the autumn. Wait until the wheat is harvested the next year and then return the seeds. The money for farm tools is based on the rules of farming, one is rent, the other is bought. The rent is paid when the seed is repaid, and the purchase is paid in five years, with the principal and interest. As for the craftsmen who have the craft, their own officials will come and arrange work for you. The tools are lent to you, and each of you is counted as a wage. ”

A middle-aged man asked, "Official, don't know how to calculate wages?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There are also two algorithms. One is to count the money by piece according to the number of things, such as the number of horses weaved. There is also a way to count money by the number of days. In the workshops where you work, you receive money and food according to the number of days. ”

When many of these people were in Hexi and the Western Regions, they worked in slavery. Some were official slaves, some were private slaves, and the mercenary system was rare. Du Zhongxiao said that the method of calculating money, they seemed to understand it or not, and they roughly understood what it meant, and they agreed one after another.

After drinking for a while, Du Zhongxiao said: "After dinner, there is a Tuguan Cheng official who comes here, and he will take you to see it elsewhere in the afternoon." I have other things to do in my yamen, so I will say goodbye to you. If there is something in the future, just go to the yamen to find me. ”

Zhang Junde said: "Thank you to the officials for taking care of you all the way, the little ones are grateful." We people have been in Hudi for a long time, and we don't know the rules of the Central Plains, and if there is anything wrong, the officials will forgive us. ”

Du Zhongxiao waved his hand: "It's okay, it's natural to be familiar after a long time." This area is vast and sparsely populated, and it is a time when there is a shortage of people, so you can live in peace and take care of your life. Whether it is farming or working, it will not be disadvantaged to you. ”

Everyone said yes together and thanked Du Zhongxiao. Seeing the place and having a place to stay, these people's hearts are completely down-to-earth. In their hearts, many people are thinking about how to build a house and how to open the land, looking forward to their future life.

After eating, Du Zhongxiao was accompanied by Chen Qin to look at the horses bought by the ranch these days. Many of the horses here are actually used as cattle, and there are many more horses, but the quality is a little unbearable.

After walking again, Du Zhongxiao said to Chen Qin: "I see that there are also people selling donkeys in Tanglong Town, you can buy some as you like." If the nearby households want to use it, they rent it out and collect a sum of money. The most important thing is not to breed with horses by mistake and raise some mules. ”

Chen Qin agreed and wrote them down one by one.

At this moment, Cheng Wenli walked over quickly and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Zhijun, Tanglong Town sent a book, saying that there is a Yelu Buhua in the Khitan who has arrived there, so you can go back and discuss something." ”

Du Zhongxiao was stunned, remembering that Yelu Buhua was the Khitan who negotiated with him years ago. It was he who agreed to make Tanglong Town a place of free trade. This person seems to be particularly keen on business.