When it comes to raising sheep, Xiangbu became interested: "When talking about farming, we are not as good as the Han people in the mainland, but if we say raising sheep, we are stronger. Since I can walk, I will help her family sheep. When I look at the sheep, I will know if I am sick and what should I feed."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Practice makes perfect, which is naturally good. But we cannot rely solely on this, but we must record this knowledge, pass it down from generation to generation, summarize it bit by bit, and gather the wisdom of everyone, so that we can do things quickly and well."

Xiangbu disagreed: "What's the best thing about this? As long as she is herding sheep since she was a child, she will naturally know."

After hearing this, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but think of a joke in his previous life, which was about the sheep-raising people in this area. He smiled and preached to Xiang: "I heard someone tell a joke before. A man accidentally entered the mountain and saw a sheep-herding child. He asked him: 'What did you do when you grow up?' The child replied: 'What did you do to herd sheep?' The man asked again: 'What did to herd sheep?' The answer was 'Selling money.'' What did to sell money?'' Save money to marry a wife.''What do to marry a wife?'' "Give a baby.'' What do to have a baby?'' Answer: 'Green sheep.'' He asked again: 'What do to herd sheep?'' "Green a wife."

After saying that, Du Zhongxiao, Cheng Wenli and others laughed together.

Xiangbu was confused and said to Du Zhongxiao: "This child is very simple, and every sentence he answers is reasonable. What's wrong? Shed sheep and save money, save money to marry a woman, marry a woman to have a baby, and then put more sheep. This is how we passed down from generation to generation."

Du Zhongxiao was stunned when he heard this, and looked at Cheng Wenli with each other, not knowing what to say for a moment. Just like the children of Han people who know how to farm and work hard since childhood, they are good people in the eyes of others. The children of herders who know how to herd sheep since childhood, what is wrong with them?

After considering it, Du Zhongxiao said: "Wizhang, this child may not be wrong, but there is something wrong with this place. If a person can only live like this generation and have to live and have children, wouldn't he have no hope? It's like a farmer. It's good to work hard, but he has the spare time to read and recognize words. Accumulate several generations, farming and studying to pass on family members, and become an official, he will change his family. He only knows how to raise sheep and have children like the previous generation. How can he be passed on? One day, there will be no pasture, no sheep, and no craftsmanship, what should he do?"

In fact, Du Zhongxiao wanted to learn some other knowledge so that future generations could come out to see the world, so that their ancestors would not be in the mountains for generations. However, the most decent thing in this era was to be an official, so they could only say this. For hundreds of years, there have been frequent wars in this area, and it is actually impossible to herd sheep in the mountains from generation to generation. Even Xiangbu himself, his ancestors moved to this place for not many generations.

Xiangbu heard this and thought about it for a while, shook her head: "That's what big men like like officials think. We ordinary people just want to live in a peaceful and prosperous era and be safe. Whether raising sheep or farming, it is a blessing to be able to eat and wear warmth. How dare you think about those things!"

Du Zhongxiao and Cheng Wenli looked at each other, shook their heads, and said nothing. The slow social development, and the simple repetition of each generation is the norm of this era, and the principles of their previous lives may not be useful now. If you want to change people's thoughts, you should rely on social reality. If the people around you read and read, learn craftsmanship, and live a better life, Xiangbu and others will naturally learn to do it. If the people who have been honest in raising sheep since childhood are winners, the people who have been tossing and tossing are not as good as them, and people will naturally cultivate in that direction.

Everything about the Volcanic Army has just begun. Those who come here just want to live a safe life and do not realize the large number of opportunities.

After drinking tea for a while, Du Zhongxiao said, "I heard that the staff raised hundreds of sheep, I don't know if it was a sheep or a goat?"

Xiang preached: "There are also sheep and goats. The young ones said that sheep produce more wool, but the price is not high. Although goats have less wool, they are more expensive than gold. If the small ones want to see which one is more cost-effective."

Du Zhongxiao heard this and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, that's what it should be. But you have to know one thing, for example, now that sheep make money, everyone raises sheep, the price of wool will naturally drop, and the price of cashmere will rise. Which one of goats or sheep, will make money change?"

This area was famous for cashmere in later generations, so it naturally makes sense. The wool here is thick and hard, with low quality, which is far from comparable to the prairie in the north. The terrain is broken and there are many hills, and it is suitable for goats. However, goats are much more troublesome to pick up wool than sheep, and the quality is not high with a brush, and manual extraction is intensive. The price of top-quality cashmere is not exaggerated at this time, and the price of fabrics is even far superior to that of top silk.

Nowadays, the wool fabrics here in the Volcanic Army are mostly made of local wool mixed with wool collected from the north. Cashmere can also be added into it to improve the level. As for fabrics made of pure cashmere, it is a high-end luxury.

The wool produced in the territory of the Song Dynasty and Dangxiang was not of high quality, thick and short, so there were many goats. However, wool was not commercialized in the past, and there was no unified market, and the prices were uncertain. The wool industry of the volcanic army had just begun, and everything was full of uncertainty.

After listening to Du Zhongxiao's words, Xiangbu pondered for a long time, but had no idea. Goats or sheep make money? He always had to give it a try. One day, a large amount of wool was imported from the north, and it would be too late to change to raising goats.

After drinking tea, Xiangbu took Du Zhongxiao and others to see the sheep he raised. Now in summer, the nearby hillsides are abundant, and his sheep are driven by several hired shepherds and wandering on the mountain. A few days later, Xiangbu and his sons took turns to check it out. This was also their habit when they were herders in the mountains. There was a summer pasture on the mountain, and in winter, they went to the valley to spend the winter. Now that they have home, they go back to the village directly in winter.

Outside the village, not far away is a grain of millet, about a dozen acres. Xiangbu pointed to Du Zhongxiao and said, "Officials, this is the largest land in the village. I have five acres of millet here, and it is growing very well this year."

The land in this area is far less than the level of land commerce. It is rare to have more than ten acres per piece. Because of this land, the village is located here. Most of the other places are three or five acres per piece, so it is not as convenient as planting here.

Du Zhongxiao looked at it and preached to Xiang: "If there is a small piece of land here, be careful of being washed away by the rain and nothing will be left. There was a notice a few days ago that you should report to the yamen and the yamen to see it. For nothing else, I am afraid that you will be reclaimed wasteland indiscriminately."

Xiang Bu nodded and said yes, but didn't care. There are a lot of wasteland around now, and he can't be reclaimed, and he is not afraid of restrictions from the yamen.

Along the way, I saw a field of fields, growing millet and beans from time to time, which seemed very lively. When I walked through my own land, I would like to introduce the famine. When was the wasteland opened, how many kinds of food was cut, how much food was expected to be harvested, and I was very excited.

Walking up the nearest mountain, Xiangbu pointed to a flock of sheep not far away, with about seventy or eighty sheep, and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Officials, that is the group closest to my village. I hired a foreigner to graze. This man has no wife or children and is alone, which is very suitable."

Du Zhongxiao nodded and looked at the surrounding hillsides with green grass, and a flock of sheep eating grass freely. A foreigner leaned lazily under the tree, looking at the flock of sheep not far away, with two dogs lying beside him, elegant and quiet.

Du Zhongxiao knew that he could grazle seventy or eighty sheep alone, and he was very leisurely.

Why must we develop the wool industry? Is it just to make money? Of course not. The commercialization of textile raw materials is the beginning of industry, and this is one of them. More importantly, Du Zhongxiao needs the commercialized materials of the grassland to be sold to the Central Plains. Once the wool industry has reached a scale, it can fundamentally change the production method of the grassland and change the relationship between nomadism and farming.

The production of wool is exchanged from the Central Plains for food and materials needed, and the exchange of existence and non-provincial existence is organically combined with farming and nomadic economy. The trade between farming and nomadic areas is severely exceeded by thousands, absorbing the wealth there. The products of nomadic peoples are optional for the farming people in the Central Plains, but the goods from the Central Plains are indispensable for the nomadic peoples, which has led to many contradictions.

Wool can be produced stably, and compared with livestock grazing by nomads, it has the least risk and is easiest to cash out. If the northern grassland becomes a place of wool production, it has a stable income and its offensiveness will be greatly reduced.

Without the wool industry and grasslands, the dangers there cannot be eradicated. The grasslands are there and cannot be turned into arable land. The cost of long-term rule of the Central Plains is too high. With the wool industry and economic stimulus, everything will be much better, and the Central Plains dynasty also has the motivation to operate.

Grazing mainly produces wool, and nomads have the conditions to transform into fixed herds, and a new situation will emerge. Without the change of production methods, operating grasslands will not be realized in the end.

Wool is produced in the northern grassland, cotton is produced in Hexi to the Western Regions, and textile raw materials are provided for the Central Plains. Once this pattern is formed, powerful force will be used and the captured land will be stabilized.
Chapter completed!