The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 283 The Second Generation of Armor in the Northern Frontier

Outside Hamili City in early spring, the snow had not yet melted completely, and the wind still carried a chilly feel.

A massive caravan was ready to depart, loaded with large quantities of provisions, silk, gold, and silver.

Accompanying her were one hundred beauties from Gaochang.

Of course, the most indispensable one is Consort Aisha.

At this moment, she was wearing a white fox fur coat, standing outside the carriage, looking up at the city wall of Hamili, but she never saw that familiar figure.

Chebido ultimately did not come.

She knew perfectly well why she was going to northern Xinjiang.

"Hey~"

A long sigh came from behind. Kudinayan, dressed in a purple robe, looked at her daughter's tear-streaked face, her cloudy eyes swirling with guilt and helplessness.

“Aisha, don’t blame His Majesty and Father for being heartless. We had no choice.”

He knew that anything he said at that moment would sound like an excuse.

But for the safety of Gaochang, he had no other choice.

They had just purged the remnants of Arcus's forces and needed time to recuperate and develop their national strength.

If the northern cavalry were to invade from the north, Gaochang would collapse instantly, like a house made of paper.

Therefore, Aisha's seemingly frail shoulders bore the heavy responsibility of the entire nation.

Aisha bit her lower lip hard, swallowing back the sobs that welled up in her mouth, but tears fell like broken beads onto the fur of her fox fur coat.

“Father, Aisha understands.”

"I don't blame you, nor do I blame His Majesty."

She raised her hand to wipe away her tears: "It's all that old scoundrel Alcus's fault for scheming against me, and it's all that my looks caught the eye of the Northern Protector."

"It's all fate."

"I only ask to win the favor of the Grand Protector and forgive the coup in Gaochang, so that I may exchange my withered and broken body for a moment of peace in Gaochang."

Seeing her daughter nodding while holding back tears, Kudinayan was filled with guilt. She felt she had let Aisha down.

But he had no choice. For the sake of Gaochang's stability and the glory of the Kudi family, he had to sacrifice Aisha.

Moreover, he harbored a secret plan: after Aisha set off, he would send his youngest daughter to the palace to serve Chebido.

Aisha has become a link between Gaochang and northern Xinjiang, and she goes to northern Xinjiang every year to "visit relatives".

Moreover, if Aisha were truly pregnant with the Grand Protector's child...

That would be a tremendous boon for the Kudi family. With the Li family bloodline from the Northern Frontier as their backing, the Kudi family would be invincible forever.

But for the Chibido and Gaochang royal families, this was a heart-wrenching humiliation.

Even if Qibido reluctantly agrees due to the Grand Protector's intimidation, he will definitely gradually distance himself from him.

Marrying the youngest daughter into the family would change everything.

If the youngest daughter could give birth to a child of Chibido, the Kudi family would be able to firmly hold onto the royal family.

If Aisha really gave birth to a child for the Grand Protector, even if the Grand Protector did not acknowledge the child, it would still be an indelible bond of kinship.

If the Grand Protector forces this child to inherit the throne of Gaochang in the future, the Kudi family will still be the biggest winner.

With the odds of winning either way, Kudinayan is bound to do it.

However, Aisha couldn't know about this. He was afraid that his daughter would go to the northern frontier with resentment, fail to serve Li Xiao properly, and jeopardize the important affairs of Gaochang.

The father and daughter exchanged a few more comforting words, and Aisha, supported by her maid, turned and boarded the carriage.

The hem of her fox fur coat brushed against the carriage shaft. She turned back for one last look at the Hamili city wall. The green bricks and gray tiles were still hazy in the morning mist, but she never saw that familiar figure again.

A lump rose in her throat, she clutched the handkerchief in her sleeve, turned and slipped into the carriage.

The moment the carriage curtain fell, tears finally broke free.

Meanwhile, on the city wall, Chibido was leaning against the crenellations, watching Aisha's figure disappear into the caravan, his face contorted with rage and his heart breaking.

"Li Xiao, you scoundrel..."

He squeezed out those four words through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse as if it had been ground against gravel.

He secretly vowed that one day he would make those damned slaves of the Northern Frontier pay a bloody price.

But for now, he can only endure it.

He endured the heartache of sending away his beloved, and the humiliation of sending away wealth and beauties, all to buy Gaochang some breathing time.

He wanted to seize every moment to strengthen the nation and train the army, waiting for the day when the northern border would show a weakness.

No matter how strong the northern border is, it cannot win forever.

Arrogance leads to defeat; the wheel of fortune turns, and their day will come.

Once the Northern Frontier Army is utterly defeated and the vast territory falls apart, that will be the time for Qibido to exact revenge.

The cold wind howled, whipping up the snow on the city walls and stinging Chebido's face like a knife.

He stood on the city wall for a long time, until the caravan's silhouettes completely disappeared into the vast land outside the city, before slowly turning around.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was contorted like that of an enraged beast: "Guards!"

"Drag out all the remaining members of the Alcus faction!"

"cut!"

"I will personally oversee the execution!"

Soon, the clattering sound of iron chains dragging on the ground could be heard outside the gates of Gaochang.

One batch of prisoners after another were brought out, including elderly people with white hair and infant boys. As long as they were male, they were all executed to eliminate any potential threats.

The executioner's cleaver fell again and again, a flash of cold light, heads rolled to the ground, and blood spread on the snow, forming a scarlet stream.

The wails, cries, and pleas for mercy mingled together, but they did not shake Chebido's resolve in the slightest.

He stood on the execution platform, a glass of strong liquor in his hand, watching everything unfold before his eyes.

There was no pity, no emotion; instead, a perverse pleasure rose within me.

"Hahahaha~"

"Kill, kill, kill them all for me."

Thinking of how that old scoundrel Alcus manipulated him like a puppet, and how he humiliated Aisha by sending her to Li Xiao's bed, Chebido wished he could dig that old scoundrel out of his grave and tear him to pieces.

Unfortunately, the old thief is already dead.

But he still ordered that Arcus's corpse be whipped for three days, and that a sky lantern be lit. He tried every vicious punishment he could think of on the rotting body, but the hatred in his heart was still hard to quell.

When the remaining followers had been mostly killed, the last to be brought in were Alcus's brothers and nephews.

Pei Luo was chained up, his usual arrogance completely gone. He was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, his crotch soaked.

"Your Majesty, Pei Luo is arrogant and domineering, bullying men and women, and harming the common people. It would be too lenient to kill him with a single blow."

Mocuo Wuba knelt on one knee and said in a hateful voice, "This humble general requests permission to personally dismember him!"

He would never forget the day when Pei Luo broke into his outer residence while he was away and defiled his beloved woman.

That beastly face and the woman's desperate cries were branded onto his heart. He could not quell his hatred without tearing Pei Luo to pieces.

"it is good."

Chebido responded coldly. He had only been in power for two days, yet he already exuded the aura of a superior, while his eyes concealed a murderous savagery.

“And Wu Zhuotu, cut him up too.”

Uzhutu is Arkus's most valued son. He is calm and cunning. If the old thief succeeds in usurping the throne, this man is the most likely to inherit the throne.

Anything that Alcus cherished, he would destroy with his own hands.

The executioner quickly brought over two torture beds and bound Pei Luo and Wu Zhuotu tightly.

Mocuo Wuba personally picked up a sharp knife, walked up to Pei Luo, and his eyes were filled with hatred that was almost overflowing.

"Pei Luo, today I will let you taste what it means to wish you were dead."

"No, General Mochuo Wuba, I was wrong, please spare my life, ahhhhh~"

The knife slashed through Pei Luo's clothes, and amidst his screams, a patch of bloody flesh was cut off.

……

The extreme cold has passed, and life is gradually returning to the land of Jinzhou.

Tender grass sprouts emerge from the thawing permafrost, ice and snow begin to melt, and babbling streams, carrying the crisp scent of melting snow, nourish the land of Jinzhou.

Inside the huge factory outside Hexibao, the clicking of spinning machines echoed incessantly.

Li Xiao, dressed in a black cotton robe embroidered with gold trim and featuring patterns of the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, stood in the center of the factory, watching the busy female workers around him.

They were skillfully operating the spinning machine, and clumps of snow-white cotton and fluffy wool were fed in from the feed inlet, and in the blink of an eye they were turned into fine yarn and wound around the wooden spindle.

These threads were then sent to another weaving factory to be woven into cotton cloth.

"These female workers are all family members of our soldiers in the Six Garrisons."

Li Dongkun, the general manager of the Hexi Trading Company standing next to him, pointed to the woman who was changing the yarn spindle and introduced her, saying, "She comes here in her spare time to earn some money to supplement the family income and also to buy a new piece of cloth to make clothes for her child."

Li Xiao nodded, his gaze falling on the spinning machine.

This is a machine he personally improved; it is actually the so-called spinning jenny.

In the past, a skilled woman could only spin one even thread; now, with the improved spinning machine, eight threads can be spun at the same time.

Spinning efficiency increased by a full eight times.

This is just the initial version.

With further improvements, we can even make machines that can spin sixteen or even eighty threads at the same time.

In short, the textile industry has initially become a pillar industry of the economy in northern Xinjiang.

“This factory building is newly built. There are five more factories like this one,” Li Dongkun continued.

"Our cotton fabric is always in short supply on the market."

"As per your orders, Grand Protector, we have been prioritizing the needs of the northern frontier, but the demand is simply too great."

"My subordinates are thinking of continuing to expand the factory so that every soldier and civilian in the northern border region can wear cotton-padded clothes."

The northern Xinjiang region is bitterly cold, with a chill even in the height of summer and a freezing winter that can crack rocks. The demand for cotton cloth and cotton clothing has always been high.

In addition to ensuring the supply of cotton armor for the soldiers in the six towns, their families and newly relocated residents also urgently needed warm clothing.

The machines at the Hexi Textile Factory run day and night, and the female workers take turns working overtime, but the demand still exceeds the supply; there are simply not enough machines.

Li Xiao looked at the busy figures in the factory and nodded slightly, saying, "Uncle, you can handle the matter of Hexi Trading Company."

“I trust you to get things done.” “However, after the factory is expanded, we can select female workers from the new immigrants to give them a way to support their families.”

As the birthplace of prosperity in northern Xinjiang, the people of Jinzhou have always been well-off.

Most of the middle and high-ranking generals in the six towns were from the old Jinzhou, with herds of cattle and sheep, vast fields, and treasures plundered from battles.

But the new immigrants have nothing and desperately need jobs.

Although the Protectorate General would lend them cattle and sheep, encourage land reclamation, and promise a ten-year tax exemption, life was still difficult for the first two years.

Fortunately, textile mills, arms dealerships, paper mills, ceramic factories, brick and tile factories, glass factories, and Hexi caravans were all short of manpower, so there were plenty of opportunities to make a living.

Li Xiao relocated these 30,000 households to Jinzhou not just for farming and herding, but mainly to fill the labor shortage in Jinzhou.

"I understand," Li Dongkun said, nodding emphatically.

"We will give priority to women who are unemployed and have heavy family burdens."

He was no longer that scoundrel; he was well aware of what the Hexi Trading Company meant to the Northern Frontier.

How much money can be made is secondary; the most important thing is to regulate the economy and solve some problems that the Protectorate General cannot take care of.

For example, much of the food and supplies needed by the people of the eight prefectures in northern Xinjiang were obtained through the sale of goods by the Hexi Trading Company.

Even more so, many of the spoils of war of the Northern Frontier Army were first sold to Hexi merchants and then transported back to the Northern Frontier.

There were no merchants accompanying the troops; this was a state-owned enterprise accompanying the troops.

Therefore, the Hexi Trading Company needed a large number of caravans to transport goods.

This necessitates a significant increase in the labor force.

"The demand for cotton fabric and cotton clothing in northern Xinjiang will only increase."

Li Xiao changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious: "If the textile industry in Hexi is not producing enough capacity, then we will build a few more textile companies in the desert."

He walked to the window, looked at the endless snowfields in the distance, and said in a deep voice, "Compared to Jinzhou, the desert has more advantages."

The cotton needed for textile production came almost entirely from Gaochang and the Gobi Desert.

Two years ago, the desert was unstable, so Li Xiao had to focus all his business on Jinzhou.

Now that Northern Xinjiang's control over the desert is becoming increasingly secure, it's time to relocate industries elsewhere.

Golden State is more suitable to be a political center; its geographical location makes it unsuitable for economic development.

Moreover, the economy and industries have always relied on the mountains and rivers for sustenance.

The desert is rich in cotton, so cotton cloth is spun.

Jinzhou is rich in wool, so we will spin wool.

In later generations, the price of a woolen garment was far higher than that of an ordinary cotton coat.

But things are different now. Jinzhou has as much wool as the desert has cotton, so woolen fabrics are very cheap and ordinary people can afford them.

"Most of the cotton used for textiles comes from Gaochang and the desert. By building factories there, making garments, and then transporting them back, we can save a lot of transportation costs and time."

Li Xiao calculated, "Moreover, this time another 30,000 households have moved to the desert. Besides farming, those women can work in the textile industry, which can be considered as adding a way for the new immigrants to the desert to increase their income."

Li Dongkun nodded quickly: "The Grand Protector is wise."

"I will make arrangements immediately. First, I will send people to the desert to survey and select a few places with high cotton yields and convenient transportation to start construction."

"Ah."

Li Xiao responded and then looked back at the spinning machine: "The newly recruited female workers need to be properly trained. Their wages will be graded according to their skill level, and those who do a lot of work will be given bonuses."

He knew that the foundation of the northern frontier lay not only in the iron cavalry, but also in the cotton cloth woven by these spinning machines and in the copper coins held in the hands of the people.

Only by making people's lives more prosperous can we truly keep their hearts in the northern border region.

Then, Li Xiao stepped into the adjacent weaving factory.

The scene here is even more spectacular, with hundreds of looms neatly arranged. Female workers stand in front of the looms, their hands and feet working in perfect coordination. The wooden shuttles shuttle swiftly between the warp threads, and in the blink of an eye, they weave thick cotton cloth.

The freshly woven cotton fabric was rolled into large rolls and transported by a special person to another factory building, which was the dyeing area.

Bright yellow, crimson, black and gray dyes glistened in the large vats. Craftsmen were immersing cotton cloth in the dyeing vats, stirring and drying it. Each step of the process was orderly and the division of labor was very clear.

Finally, Li Xiao arrived at a heavily guarded special factory.

Unlike ordinary factories, there are no noisy crowds here, only a squad of armed guards with long guns patrolling the perimeter day and night.

This is because the factory produces armored vehicles for the northern border regions.

Piles of uniformly sized iron sheets were stacked on the ground, with smooth edges and even curvature, all forged by the Tanggu Ironworks.

With the help of a hydraulic forging device, not only is the forging efficiency greatly improved, but the hardness and toughness of the armor plates also far exceed those of hand-forged plates.

After these finished iron sheets are transported to Hexibao, they will be sewn into armor by professional female workers using strong silk thread.

"Great Protector, please look, these are the armors we have mass-produced."

Li Dongkun took a yellow-and-red suit of armor from the shelf and handed it to Li Xiao.

In fact, Li Xiao was already familiar with the style and quality of the armor.

After all, such a major matter concerning the safety of the soldiers in the six garrisons had to be personally reviewed by him before mass production could begin.

The finished product in front of me is almost identical to the sample that was initially reviewed.

However, the difference between the new armor and the standard cotton armor currently worn by the Northern Frontier Army is quite obvious.

To be precise, the new armor was cloth armor, not the original cotton armor.

The cotton armor worn in northern Xinjiang consists of a layer of armor plates sewn into a thick cotton-padded coat; strictly speaking, it should be called composite cotton armor.

This design was originally intended to adapt to the harsh environment of northern Xinjiang.

The soldiers wore cotton-padded coats with armor plates underneath, which could protect them from both swords and spears as well as the cold wind, achieving two goals at once.

However, as the Northern Frontier Army advanced southward and made the Central Plains its primary target for future conquest, the shortcomings of the cotton armor became glaringly obvious.

I'm afraid of the heat!

In the Battle of Yanzhi Mountain last year, the cavalry of the northern frontier fought against the Western Xia army while wearing heavy cotton armor.

It was June or July, and the sun was blazing. The soldiers were suffocating under the scorching sun, and many collapsed from heatstroke, resulting in a significant number of non-combat casualties.

Therefore, Li Xiao launched the second-generation armor of the Northern Frontier.

Cloth armor!
The construction of this cloth armor is also very simple, consisting of two layers of cotton cloth sandwiching a layer of iron plate, with no cotton filling in between.

This armor has excellent breathability and can easily adapt to the hot combat environment.

If it gets cold, you can simply put on a cotton coat underneath to keep out the cold. It is very easy to change and is much more suitable for the ever-changing combat environment in the northern frontier than a cotton armor.

However, this design also has drawbacks, as it increases costs.

Back then, Jinzhou was impoverished, and manpower and resources were scarce. In order to save time and money, a cotton armor had to take into account both warmth and protection.

Thus, the 'composite cotton armor' came into being, consisting of two layers of cotton fabric sandwiching cotton and nail plates.

You can switch to a combination of cloth armor and a cotton-padded jacket, which would require a layer of cotton, a layer of armor plates, and four layers of cotton cloth.

The extra two layers of cotton fabric alone would have been an unbearable expense in Jinzhou back then, so Li Xiao had no choice but to opt for composite cotton armor.

But things are different now. Northern Xinjiang is becoming increasingly prosperous, so using two more layers of cotton cloth or making an extra garment is no big deal.

With a clang, Li Xiao picked up the cloth armor in his hand.

Compared to the heavy cotton armor, this cloth armor weighs only a dozen kilograms, making it lightweight and flexible to hold, and adaptable to various combat environments.

It's important to know that the Qing Dynasty completely phased out cloth armor and switched to cotton armor in the mid-Qing period because the development of firearms rendered cloth armor useless for protection.

The cotton inside the armor can disperse the force of bullets, making it even more effective at protecting the wearer.

However, the situation in the northern frontier was quite the opposite. Li Xiao had no plans to open the musket dungeon too early, since the performance of muskets in the early stages was far less reliable than that of bows and crossbows.

Of course, he was also secretly preparing to assemble a musket research and development team, waiting for the technology to mature so that it could be gradually equipped to the army.

"Take out the complete set of cloth armor and go outside to test its effect," Li Xiao instructed.

The cloth armor of the Northern Frontier is modeled after the Ming Dynasty army and consists of six parts: body armor, skirt armor, arm armor, shoulder guards, neck guards, and plume helmet. It combines flexibility and protection and can be regarded as an upgraded version of cotton armor.

Soon, a soldier from the Wuwei Army put on his new armor.

The yellow armor with red trim was particularly eye-catching in the sunlight; this first batch of new armor was originally prepared for the Wuwei Army.

The soldier mounted his horse and galloped across the open ground, slashing and dodging with fluid movements, showing no sign of hesitation.

"How is it?" Li Xiao asked loudly.

"Reporting back to the Grand Protector, it's so light and convenient, much more nimble than wearing cotton armor!" The soldier patted his chest on horseback, his voice full of surprise.

"My arm doesn't feel constricted when I swing the knife anymore, and I don't feel heavy when I bend over. The breathability is also excellent. Although it was chilly when I first put it on, I warmed up after moving around a bit."

Li Xiao watched the soldiers nimbly weaving through the crowd on horseback and nodded in satisfaction.

This cloth armor not only solves the problem of fighting in hot environments, but also takes into account its suitability for cold weather. The extra cost of the two layers of cotton cloth is well worth it.

Just as Li Xiao finished inspecting the factories and was preparing to return home, a member of the Wuwei Army suddenly rushed over.

"Grand Protector, urgent report from Gaochang!" the guard said in a deep voice.

This military officer was a trusted confidant of Li Xiao, specifically responsible for liaising with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. After all, Zhang Shitou had to manage the overall situation and couldn't be by his side at all times.

This intelligence was delivered urgently by a spy from the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had infiltrated Gaochang.

"Bring it here."

Li Xiao took the wax pellet, and with a gentle pinch of his thumb, the wax shell shattered, revealing a strip of paper rolled into thin strips inside.

Upon unfolding it, there was only one simple line of text: "The Gaochang Coup: Kudinayan bribed Mocuo Wuba, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, to ambush and kill Arkus at Tengri, and then returned power to Chibido."

Currently, a purge of the remaining followers of Alcus is underway in Hami.

Upon seeing this line of text, Li Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing across his face, but his heart remained calm.

As for the struggle between Arcus and Chebido, whoever won or lost was within his expectations.

The only thing that surprised him was how quickly Chebido's side won.

"Arcus is a complete waste."

A faint sneer curled at the corner of Li Xiao's lips. "They actually got tricked and killed by a bunch of rabble."

He shook his head secretly, not feeling sorry for his cheap father-in-law at all.

Although Arkus had always treated him with utmost respect and had never stopped sending tributes over the past two years, in the face of the interests of the northern frontier, anyone who stood in his way deserved to die.

"Grand Protector, what about Gaochang..." Li Dongkun asked cautiously from the side. After all, Arkus was Li Xiao's father-in-law, and this sudden coup would inevitably affect the situation in the northern frontier.

“It’s alright.” Li Xiao raised his hand to interrupt him, his tone as calm as if he were talking about something ordinary.

"No matter who wins or loses, in the end, only my Northern Frontier will win."

"Besides, winter is over, and it's time for my northern army to get moving."

(End of this chapter)