Chapter 433

"Maids are unnecessary; I can still manage the household."

Jia Xu, holding a cup of hot tea, spoke softly.

Duan Yu smiled and nodded: "Everything shall be as Wenhe wishes."

"Wenhe, you have come at the perfect time today; there are a few matters I would like to discuss with you."

Duan Yu looked toward the maid at his side and nodded.

The maid understood Duan Yu's intent, turned to the side chamber, and brought out a wooden tray.

On the tray sat an ordinary wooden box.

The maid placed the tray and the wooden box before Jia Xu.

Jia Xu looked up at Duan Yu in confusion.

"Wenhe, open it and take a look."

A puzzled Jia Xu lowered his head and opened the wooden box.

The moment the box was opened, Jia Xu's brows immediately furrowed.

Inside the box before Jia Xu, several white, finger-length worms were wriggling.

Jia Xu glanced at them twice in confusion, then looked back at Duan Yu, asking uncertainly: "These are… silkworms?"

Duan Yu smiled, nodded, and asked: "Wenhe, do you find these silkworms different from the ones you have seen before?"

Jia Xu frowned and said perplexedly: "These are silkworm larvae, but they are clearly larger than ordinary ones."

"Furthermore, this is not the season for silkworm eggs to hatch, is it?"

As stated in the "April Command, March."

Command the silkworm wives to manage the silkworm rooms.

The meaning is roughly that the Qingming Festival marks the beginning of the silkworm-rearing season.

Silkworms, as one of the products domesticated in early society to aid life, have a history spanning thousands of years.

For ordinary families, silkworm rearing is also an extremely important source of income.

The so-called "men plow, women weave" refers to men tilling the fields and harvesting in autumn, while women raise silkworms, reel silk, and weave cloth.

The income of the Eastern Han commoners generally consisted of three parts.

The first important part was farming.

Grain could be traded for copper coins or used for the family's daily consumption.

However, under normal circumstances, grain grown by a family would not be sold, because unless it was a wealthy household with a surplus, the grain grown by an ordinary family was basically insufficient for the family's own consumption and often required additional purchase.

And the purchase of grain, along with other living necessities, made up the other two parts of their income.

One was wage labor.

This is roughly the same meaning as "working for a wage" in later generations.

During the slack farming season, provided there was no corvée labor, the young and strong of the family would go to work as laborers for wealthy households or powerful clans; besides this, some would work for the government on construction projects.

Usually, working as a laborer for the government in peaceful and stable times, a young man could earn two thousand coins a month.

Working for private individuals, such as wealthy households or powerful clans, the daily wage ranged from ten to thirty coins, depending mainly on the specific nature of the work.

Besides this, the other largest part of a family's income was silkworm rearing and weaving.

The price of one bolt of silk was approximately eight hundred coins on average.

An adult woman, from the start of the silkworm-rearing season, could produce a total of about ten bolts of silk.

According to market value, this was equivalent to about eight thousand coins.

But many did not weave the cloth and instead sold the raw silk directly, which was worth about three to four thousand coins.

The so-called "men plow, women weave" was the main source of income for a family.

Jia Xu's confusion was normal.

At this time of year, the silkworm-rearing season had long since passed.

It was only because these silkworms were cultivated by Duan Yu using the system.

"Wenhe, do not be confused; these are indeed silkworms."

"It is just that they are different from the silkworms of the past."

"This type of silkworm has a longer growth cycle and is more resilient; I obtained them by chance," Duan Yu explained with a smile.

Jia Xu glanced at the silkworms in the wooden box, then looked at Duan Yu and asked: "What is the meaning of the Lord showing me these silkworms?"

Duan Yu tapped his index finger gently on the tabletop and said: "To be honest, Wenhe, after hearing your words that day, I felt as if I had been enlightened."

"Therefore, I have some new ideas regarding the governance of the Qiang."

"I will tell you now, Wenhe, and you can help me fill in the gaps."

Jia Xu nodded, listening attentively.

Duan Yu began to speak slowly.

"The reason for the Qiang tribe's chaos was already explained to me by Mr. Wenyu previously."

"The Qiang tribe's chaos is mainly due to their environment and their livelihood."

"Nowadays, the weather is temperamental, the seasons are inverted, and disasters are rampant; the Qiang tribe's original habitat is no longer sufficient for them to continue to thrive, yet the mixed living of Han and Qiang constantly creates friction."

"This is the primary conflict between the Han and the Qiang."

Jia Xu nodded slightly upon hearing this, expressing his agreement.

War is inseparable from the factors of survival and space.

"Therefore, my thought is that if we want to stabilize the Qiang tribe, relying solely on military means will certainly not work."

Duan Yu said: "The war between the Han and the Qiang has lasted for a hundred years, but the Qiang tribe has not only not perished, but their development is now increasingly moving toward the Three Auxiliary regions."

"Whether it is Zhang Huan, Huangfu Gui, or Duan Jiong, all three used military force to suppress the Qiang tribe, but in the end, none could completely eradicate the Qiang threat."

"War cannot solve the basic survival problems of the Qiang tribe."

"Therefore, my idea is to teach the Qiang tribe the techniques of silkworm rearing and mulberry planting that I have, which are cold-resistant and can be promoted in the Liangzhou region."

"Of course, this is just a general plan."

"The exact plan still needs to be detailed."

Duan Yu picked out the important points and said: "In promoting silkworm rearing among the Qiang, I will provide them with silkworm seeds and mulberry seeds, but we will unify the acquisition of the cloth produced by the Qiang tribe's weaving."

"Let the Qiang tribe sell the silk in their hands to us, and then we will sell it to the Central Plains and the Western Regions through our channels."

"In this way, once the Qiang tribe has production, they will reduce their chaos."

"And we will control the Qiang tribe through the silkworm seeds, mulberry seeds, and the sales channels."

"In this way, it is equivalent to seizing their lifeline."

"Furthermore, once the Qiang tribe has income, they will also improve their lives, and we can promote manufacturing in Liangzhou to collect the wealth gained by the Qiang tribe."

"In this way, a perfect cycle can be formed."

"It both governs the Qiang and strengthens Liang, while storing wealth among the people."

As Duan Yu spoke, Jia Xu's eyes grew brighter.

"Does Wenhe think it is feasible?" Duan Yu asked, looking at Jia Xu, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Jia Xu looked at Duan Yu in shock: "These… are all the Lord's own thoughts?"

Duan Yu nodded and said: "I have been staying behind closed doors these past few days thinking about how to govern the Qiang; of course, this was all prompted by your reminder, Wenhe."

Duan Yu did not mention that he had actually been staying home chasing chickens, feeding ducks, and planting trees.

The shock in Jia Xu's heart could still not be concealed.

"The Lord's strategy for governing the Qiang… is indeed feasible."

"However…"

Duan Yu knew there would definitely be a "however" afterward.

He alone, after all, could not think of everything so comprehensively.

"However, I have a question: how does the Lord intend to promote silkworm rearing and mulberry planting among the Qiang tribes?"

"Will the Qiang tribes believe the Lord?"

"Also, if the Qiang tribe gains wealth and is still not satisfied with the current status quo, or rather, if they become even stronger once they have no worries about their livelihood?"

Duan Yu had also thought about this question.

"Wenhe, have you heard that I hold war in my left hand and peace in my right?"

"Before promoting silkworm rearing and mulberry planting, I will make the Qiang tribe understand one principle."

At this point, the smile on Duan Yu's face gradually faded as he said: "I will make them understand that under my rule, they must either submit or perish."

"If they do not submit, then I will beat them until they do."