Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 356 Embroidery and Needlework
"In recognition of your outstanding military achievements."

Lin Dao personally pinned a medal on Chang Yuchun's head.

"You are awarded the Gold Medal of Honor with Double Swords and Almond Leaves Inlaid with Diamonds."

Of the hundreds of thousands of troops in the entire Ming Dynasty, only Xu Da and Chang Yuchun have received this supreme honor.

"Your Majesty..."

Chang Yuchun was straightforward and would readily say, "I am unworthy of this."

He went beyond the Great Wall to attack various tribes on the grasslands.

With the help of large-scale high-altitude reconnaissance by drones, they found many hidden tribes and made significant gains.

Their military might even extended to the distant northern deserts, reaching the banks of the Onon River.

This achievement is undeniable, almost a feat akin to sealing the wolf's lair.

However, compared to Xu Da's consecutive conquests of Goryeo and Japan, his achievements still fall short.

Historically, the Yuan Dynasty fled into the grasslands, where it used local landlords' armed forces to subdue various tribes and establish the Northern Yuan.

After that, the two sides repeatedly engaged in a tug-of-war with the Ming Dynasty for many years.

But this time and space is different. Lin Dao destroyed the Yuan court's central government ahead of time, not giving them a chance to go to the grasslands to regroup.

When Chang Yuchun went beyond the Great Wall, the resistance he encountered was negligible.

In addition, given his meticulous nature, it was at this moment that he took the initiative to bring it up.

"Don't think so much."

Lin Dao patted him on the shoulder and said, "You've achieved the title of 'Fenglangjuxu,' so you deserve this honor."

Anyone with eyes can see that this move was for the sake of balance.

After all, even a powerful minister among civil officials can cause a bloody upheaval.

Once a commander with extremely high prestige emerges in the army, the consequences can be even more terrible than those of powerful civil officials.

A military commander can mobilize a large army.

Once armies in the agricultural era started fighting and bloodshed, it was extremely difficult to stop them.

Although Lin Dao was an emperor who conquered the world on horseback.

When he was alive, no one could match his prestige.

It is impossible for any powerful minister to emerge, whether in civil or military affairs.

But what if?
What if something unexpected happens to Lin Dao?
Xu Da was only in his early twenties, much younger than Han Xin was back then.

Therefore, everyone assumed that Xu Da needed to be given a rival.

Or rather, a powerful figure who checks and balances him.

Without a doubt, among all the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty, only Chang Yuchun had the qualifications, ability, and experience to do so.

"It's perfect that everyone's here today."

After the award ceremony ended, Lin Dao did not leave the reviewing stand.

Holding the microphone, he smiled and told the many civil and military officials below the stage, "I have some good news to share with you all."

"My son is betrothed to the daughter of Chang Yuchun since childhood."

"Let's all get together and celebrate today."

Cheers erupted from the audience, and everyone cast envious glances at Chang Yuchun.

From now on, you'll be a member of the royal family.

Only a few intelligent people looked over with meaningful glances.

Chang Yuchun himself also had a sudden epiphany, and for the first time, he could see the future clearly.

'Once that kid grows up, I'll never have the chance to lead troops into battle again!'

'No, it should be that there will be no more opportunities to gain control of the military!'

'I hope I won't be cooked.'

After the crown prince came of age, did his father-in-law still hold military power?

This is forcing the emperor to carry out a massive purge.

Looking back to the time of Emperor Wu of Han, if Wei Qing and Huo Qubing had lived until the crown prince came of age, Liu Ju probably wouldn't have had the chance to survive the witchcraft calamity.

Not long after Chang Yuchun's welcoming banquet, Fu Youde and Tang He held a farewell banquet.

They are substitutes.

They split up and sent troops into the grasslands, not to take territory, but to search for people and livestock.

Before the railway was built into the grasslands and cities and military outposts were established along the way, it was pointless to occupy the desolate lands on the grasslands.

Therefore, the Ming army was implementing an upgraded version of the Tartar population reduction strategy.

They went specifically to attack the vital forces on the grasslands.

Not only will the number of people be reduced, but livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses will also be reduced.

The livestock that could be brought back alive were brought back; those that couldn't be brought back were eaten on the spot or cured into salted meat.

If there are any left, just slaughter them and throw them into the water source.

As for the people of each tribe, try to capture them alive.

The large-scale construction of railway lines and mining operations in various places required a huge number of people to do the work.

In particular, the mines and forest farms in various places are desperately short of manpower.

Of course, none of those Mongol kings and tribal nobles would be wanted.

"I didn't have anything important to do before the railway was completed."

After finishing his official duties, Lin Dao's thoughts drifted.

"The fleet also kept going out to sea, following the sea routes taken by the eunuch Zheng He, and establishing settlements along the way."

"Is there anything else we need to do?"

Lin Dao's long military career made him somewhat uncomfortable, even though he didn't fight.

At this time, almost all places and spaces entered a period of calm.

It's not that we don't want to fight, but we can't fight a major battle until the logistical lines are repaired.

Minor skirmishes, such as constantly sending troops to the grasslands to reduce the population, fall under the category of minor skirmishes.

"Let's settle the bills first."

Through time-space trade, Lin Dao accumulated enormous wealth.

However, the various timelines he controls are all undergoing massive construction.

Reinforced concrete, various tools and personal protective equipment, etc.

Although the price is cheap, the purchase volume is too large, and the accumulated amount is astronomical.

The most expensive thing is the railway.

Initially, they bought scrap rails, but later the head office said they had sold all the ones they could, and if they wanted more, they would have to order new ones.

Cement sleepers and steel rails became the biggest expenses.

"One, two, three, four, five~~~" Lin Dao counted the numbers on the bill, his scalp tingling.

"Building a house is a huge drain on my wallet~" "The ancients were right."

After sighing repeatedly, he picked up a pen and paper and wrote down his orders.

They urged mines and forest farms in various regions to accelerate the pace of mining and logging.

Relying solely on gold, gems, traditional Chinese medicine, antiques, and the like is no longer enough to fill the hole in the bill.

He had previously received guidance from a kind supplier at a dinner party.

They say it's a mining corporation that buys up minerals, basically any kind of ore, and not only are the prices fair, but they can also help you get loans by smoothing things over.

Nowadays, Lin Dao's main source of income, besides selling gold, is selling minerals.

The main products are coal and timber.

Although the South African coal he sold varied in grade, composition, calorific value, and other indicators, as long as he insisted that it was mined from the same mine, people wouldn't question it and would buy it all at market price.

There are also all kinds of timber, and we buy as much as we can get.

Lin Dao was unable to establish a modern mining system in the mines of various times and spaces.

The only thing we could do was to send people down into the mine to carry coal.

The only thing that can be called high-tech is the chainsaw in the forest farm.

He would collect the coal mines he had dug out in several different time periods and the timber he had cut down, and transport them to the modern world.

Then it was transported to China under the guise of South African coal and South African timber.

This was also a key reason why he agreed to Xu Da's proposal to postpone the massacre and instead allow him to work in lieu of death.

We can't expect the people of the Central Plains to go to dangerous mines to mine.

Criminals are excluded.

Especially serious offenders.

Whether they are teenagers or old men, they are all dealt with the same way if they commit crimes.

After finishing his tasks, Lin Dao went outside and saw Ma Xiuying sitting in a chair, doing embroidery.

Her hands deftly weaved various colored threads back and forth with a needle, creating a beautiful pattern.

Ma Xiuying stood up to greet him.

Seeing Lin Dao staring at the embroidery in his hands, he smiled and handed it over, saying, "Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Her personality is generous and straightforward, without any of those petty or submissive attitudes.

In this respect, among all the women Lin Dao has encountered in various time periods, only Xie Daoyun can rival him.

"The embroidery is quite beautiful."

Lin Dao glanced at it casually, not paying much attention.

He has little artistic cultivation; when it comes to these things, he only has two opinions: whether they look good or not.

He prefers powerful weaponry or overwhelming capabilities.

He handed the embroidery back, and was about to say something when he suddenly remembered something.

He reached out and took the embroidery back.

Seeing Lin Dao staring intently at the embroidery in his hands, Ma Xiuying looked puzzled but did not disturb him.

"This is a good thing."

"Wait a minute!"

Lin Dao took the embroidery, turned around, and left, entering the forbidden cultivation room before returning to the modern world.

Search for information online.

Prices for various items, including peace and blessings, appliqués, three-dimensional embroidered flowers and animals, embroidered ornaments, handmade pendants, large-scale landscape embroidery, flower and bird screens, as well as Suzhou embroidery and cross-stitch, vary from high to low.

There are also various types of Hanfu, which are in huge demand.

Lin Dao nodded repeatedly, printed out a batch of patterns, and returned with the embroidery.

"Can this thing be made?"

Ma Xiuying took the drawing from Lin Dao and examined it carefully.

"It's possible to do it, but it will take some effort."

Lin Dao nodded and smiled. "How many women in the world do you think would do that?"

Ma Xiuying smiled at the question, "Your Majesty, women all need to learn needlework before they get married."

"If a woman does not know needlework, she will be looked down upon by her husband's family after marriage."

The term "women's needlework" refers to needlework, weaving, embroidery, sewing, and other similar tasks.

There were no ready-made clothing stores in this era; if you wanted ready-made clothes, you had to go to a pawn shop.

Everyday clothes were made by the women in the family themselves, who bought the fabric.

That's why most women do needlework.

"Good, good, good."

Lin Dao said "good" three times in a row.

"Selling raw silk alone feels like a loss."

"I'm giving you a task."

He instructed Ma Xiuying to "recruit female workers in various places—mainly in Jiangnan—to make work according to these patterns."

"Pay them for their services, while strictly controlling the quality."

"These handmade products are not cheap."

In the modern world, machine production is fast and of high quality.

But people have started to pursue purely handmade items because labor costs have risen.

What Lindao has the least shortage of is labor.

They can do it without even much training.

"And these Hanfu (traditional Han clothing)."

"It refers to the clothing from different dynasties."

"I want to use high-quality materials and exquisite workmanship."

Lin Dao also plans to promote the program in other timelines and arrange for more people to work.

In these times and spaces, not only was labor cheap, but raw materials were also inexpensive, and silk was one of the taxes that people needed to pay.

He plans to shift from simply selling raw silk to engaging in deep processing.

As for Ma Xiuying, who gave him the hint, Lin Dao said he would pay her a reward.

"Your Majesty~"

Ma Xiuying carefully declined, saying, "You should go to the various concubines' quarters. I am in charge of the palace, and I will certainly be fair."

"Do you think I'm merchandise?"

Lin Dao frowned and picked him up.

"I can chisel however I want!"

(End of this chapter)