175: Chapter 175 Using Economic Power to Rule the Xiongnu

Zhao Fusu admired the First Emperor's strategic vision immensely.

In history, it was indeed as the First Emperor said: Modu Chanyu led his cavalry to reclaim the eight-hundred-mile Hetao Plain occupied by Great Qin, and even besieged Liu Bang at Baideng Mountain, nearly causing Liu Bang's death there.

The First Emperor glanced at He Zhi and said, "Report all the news gathered by the Black Ice Platform's Shadow Guards to Fusu."

"Understood!"

He Zhi had a massive map brought up and began explaining the latest power dynamics within the Xiongnu Kingdom to Zhao Fusu.

"The most powerful figure in the Xiongnu Kingdom is the Chanyu. Beneath the Chanyu are the 'Four Horns,' namely the Left Worthy King, the Left Guli King, the Right Worthy King, and the Right Guli King."

"Beneath the Four Horns are twenty-four Commanders of Ten Thousand Cavalry."

"According to the infiltration by the Shadow Guards, there are definitely more than twenty-four such commanders!"

"After the Xiongnu's expansion, they likely possess forty units of ten thousand cavalry!"

"Therefore, the Xiongnu people can assemble four hundred thousand cavalry!"

He Zhi's expression was grave.

Ten thousand cavalry already looked like a dense, dark mass; imagining four hundred thousand was a sight where the cavalry truly covered the mountains and plains.

What a sight it would be for four hundred thousand cavalry to gallop together!

It would surely send rocks flying and fill the sky with yellow sand, like an approaching sandstorm!

"Two years ago, our Great Qin defeated the Chanyu's tribe led by Touman Chanyu."

"After Touman Chanyu was killed by his son Modun, Modun became the new Chanyu of the tribe. After defeating the Donghu to the east and incorporating the Donghu people into his tribe, his strength has long since recovered to a hundred thousand cavalry!"

He Zhi's face was incredibly solemn.

To be honest, this Modun was indeed terrifyingly strong.

Only two years ago, the Xiongnu's main tribe had been severely damaged by Great Qin. Under Modun's leadership, their strength had recovered so quickly; one could even say they were stronger now than they were two years ago!

"Fusu, their folk customs are fierce; they worship a wolf culture and are all masters of horsemanship."

"If they can't beat our Great Qin, they can simply flee on horseback. This is why our Great Qin could only drive them away and build the Great Wall."

"Have you thought of a way to conquer those unruly Xiongnu people?"

The First Emperor began his questioning.

Zhao Fusu took a deep breath and said calmly, "Father, our current grain supply is fully capable of supporting the Xiongnu people. I believe that rather than fighting them to the death, it would be better to take a different path: exchange wool for grain. We can use economic power to rule the Xiongnu, shaking hands to make peace from then on to achieve a win-win cooperation."

This line of thinking from Zhao Fusu was inspired not only by a certain modern leader but also learned from Tsarist Russia.

Starting from 1700 AD, Tsarist Russia began establishing rule over the Kamchatka Peninsula and subsequently entered into direct conflict with the Chukchi people.

Between 1701 and 1711 AD, Tsarist Russia sent troops four times to conquer the Chukchi, but all ended in failure.

Around that time, the Chukchi also repeatedly attacked Russian expeditions heading to North America in search of gold, leading to even larger-scale Russian conquest operations.

However, after suffering heavy losses in troops and generals, Tsarist Russia had to abandon its policy of armed conquest of the Chukchi.

Yet, this change unexpectedly produced a 'willow planted by mistake' effect; the Chukchi became dependent on Russian goods and voluntarily joined Tsarist Russia instead.

Zhao Fusu intended to use economic means to deeply bind the Xiongnu, allowing them to integrate into Great Qin.

This method of economic conquest was quite advanced for its time.

Therefore, the First Emperor did not understand it.

"What?"

"Wait, hold on a moment."

The First Emperor asked Zhao Fusu to wait so he could process this; he really couldn't keep up with Zhao Fusu's train of thought.

"You want them to trade wool for grain?"

Qin Shi Huang's eyes widened as if he were hearing a fairy tale. He looked at Zhao Fusu with utter disbelief and said, "If you wanted the Xiongnu to trade gems and gold for our Great Qin's grain, I could still understand. But why wool? What are you going to do with all that wool?"

Qin Shi Huang stared at Zhao Fusu, his face full of bewilderment and incredulity.

If grain could be traded for wool, the Xiongnu would certainly provide massive amounts of wool for it.

However, he didn't understand what Zhao Fusu intended to do with so much wool!

The First Emperor's expression grew more confused as he watched Zhao Fusu. He could understand taking some wool from the Xiongnu to make clothes.

Clothes made from sheep's wool were indeed very warm.

But Zhao Fusu wanting wool in bulk was something the First Emperor couldn't grasp.

He had no idea what Fusu wanted to do with that much wool!

Zhao Fusu explained, "Father, I plan to open textile and garment factories to process the wool into warm Wool Sweaters."

"Currently on the market, the clothing used by nobles to ward off the winter cold is mainly Fur Garments."

These Fur Garments were made from tanned animal pelts; common materials included fox fur, mink fur, and sheepskin.

The prices for fox and mink fur were the most expensive, reaching thousands or even tens of thousands of coins!

Even ordinary sheepskin fur cost three hundred to five hundred coins.

A Village Chief's monthly salary in the Qin Dynasty couldn't even afford one.

If silk edging or embroidery were added, the price would rise to eight hundred or a thousand coins.

"The wealthy and commoners wear Lined Robes."

These Lined Robes consist of two layers—an outer layer and a lining—which serve to block the wind and keep out the cold.

If the weather got even colder, they used a second method: stuffing the space between the layers with filler.

The wealthy would use high-quality silk floss, while commoners used coarse hemp, kudzu, or reed catkins as stuffing.

Zhao Fusu said to the First Emperor, "The market price for a simple unlined hemp garment is three hundred to four hundred coins. The price for a Lined Robe doubles to six hundred or eight hundred coins."

Zhao Fusu had been shocked when he learned the price of an unlined hemp garment.

Among ancient clothing, the unlined hemp garments worn by ordinary people were the cheapest.

Yet, the market price converted to modern currency was six hundred to eight hundred yuan!

That was not cheap at all!

Because commoners couldn't afford to buy clothes, they solved their clothing problem by spinning hemp into balls of thread themselves, weaving it into cloth, and then making the clothes.

Zhao Fusu suddenly realized something.

In some films and TV shows he'd seen, ancient women had to be skilled in Needlework—that is, they had to know how to make clothes.

Parents would also force their daughters to learn dressmaking.

Those media works portrayed this as feudal society discriminating against and oppressing women.

But now that Zhao Fusu had actually returned to ancient times and realized that even the cheapest unlined hemp garment cost six hundred to eight hundred yuan, he suddenly understood: this was clearly oppression by life itself!

For the people at the bottom, when even food and shelter were a struggle, if there wasn't someone in the house who could make clothes, they would likely have to go naked!

Therefore, the person in the family who could make clothes surely held a very high status.

If an ancient man was looking for a partner, he definitely had to find someone who could make clothes.

Even if they couldn't eat their fill, at least they wouldn't be naked!