After wandering around the Shizhu countryside, even a silly boy like Zhu Hexing had already noticed that there was a huge difference between Sichuan, which had been ruled by bandits for twenty years, and the southeastern part of the Ming Dynasty that he was more familiar with!
In other words, Ming Southeast and Sichuan are simply two eras!
The southeastern part of the Ming Dynasty is already a prosperous semi-capitalist and semi-feudal society. The flow of population, goods, and capital is quite free and there are few controls.
Moreover, the people in the southeast are also used to this kind of mobility. They are also used to going to the city to make a living if they are unable to do farming. If they don't do well in the city, they will go to the big cities to look for opportunities. If it doesn't work, they will go across the ocean to make a living... ..The vassal states and vassal towns established by the Celestial Empire in the New World and Southeast Asia have now become a pressure relief outlet for social conflicts in the southeastern part of the Ming Dynasty!
In the relatively free villages and cities in the southeastern part of the Ming Dynasty, failure and success are equally common - whether it is studying, farming, learning crafts, or doing business, there are some who do well and some who do poorly, and some who are lucky and unlucky. of. And those who are particularly unsuccessful and unlucky can eventually go to the New World and Nanyang to make a living, and maybe return home in glory... It is precisely because of this opportunity (the probability of turning over is not low) that the people in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty Only then can society be stable in the primary stage of capitalism, which is characterized by fierce competition and lack of security.
In fact, the same phenomenon also existed in Europe at the same time - colonies were not only raw material collection places and commodity markets, but also an outlet to release the pressure of the local class DZ. Without this opening, there would be "sheep eating people" in the UK, and various sects would persecute me, and I would persecute you, and we would have to fight a civil war every day. What kind of capitalism would be possible?
However, even if this pressure relief vent exists, it does not mean that the situation in the southeastern part of the Ming Dynasty is as stable as Mount Tai. Although large-scale civil unrest has not been seen for many years, small-scale riots and various black forces still exist for a long time and are difficult to eradicate.
Moreover, the balance between the contradictions caused by free competition and the export of domestic contradictions overseas in the southeast cannot be established overnight, but has been formed step by step after a long period of evolution and development. It is not achieved in one or two steps. of.
And here in Sichuan, due to the 20 years of feudal rule and the one-hole policy of the Dashun Dynasty, the original sprouts of capitalism have completely disappeared... Even the commercial flow between state capitals is in Dashunhu Under the firm control of the government, even the commercial activities of the prefecture and county are under the strict management of the provincial government departments. As for the movement of personnel, it is subject to extremely strict controls!
And this kind of control has become a part of Sichuan people’s life!
It can be said that under the rule of the Dashun Dynasty, Sichuan's economic life almost returned to the early Ming Dynasty, so the people here in Sichuan are very unaccustomed to the free movement of people and goods!
In Li Jinxue's old house, Zhu Hexing and Ding Yuying saw the homespun cloth woven by Li Jinxue's grandmother and a tattered spinning wheel.
Li Fengshi (Li Jinxue's grandmother) has gone to Shizhu City to "enjoy happiness", and Li Jinxue forced her to keep the spinning wheel and linen in the old house - Li Jinxue did not want his grandmother to work hard all her life, so she was not allowed to take those things with her. Something went downhill.
"What kind of cloth is this?" Ding Yuying was more attentive. When she took a short rest in this dilapidated thatched hut, she immediately saw the homespun cloth placed on a wooden platform in the corner.
A Guards soldier immediately handed the roll of gray-white homespun cloth to Ding Yuying. Ding Yuying took it over and looked at it carefully, and found that it was very rough and did not look like cotton.
"It's linen," Li Jinxue said. "There is no cotton here in Sichuan, and few people raise silkworms and spin silk. Everyone grows linen and weaves cloth. The household records of the rogue pirates and puppet dynasties also collect linen. If anyone can hand in more linen, , and can be exchanged for more leisurely corvee work... At the folk grass market, linen can also be used to exchange for firewood, rice, oil and salt. When Sichuan people marry girls and take wives, linen can also be used as marriage capital!
Since my family only has one mother-in-law, I can't weave much linen. After the household transfer, there isn't much left. I don't even have enough to clothe myself, so I'm relatively poor. In wealthy families in the countryside, the men usually farm and the women weave. "
It turns out that among Sichuan folk, linen has a currency function!
Zhu Hexing frowned and glanced at the rag in Ding Yuying's hand. Now the Ming Dynasty royal family doesn't do anything for the palace... Weaving, official kilns, etc., in Zhu Cixiang's opinion, they are all money-burning departments. What is needed? Just send someone to buy it on the street, that will save a lot of money. So the fabric Zhu Hexing used was the best on the market, not the best, but it was much better than the linen cloth Ding Yuying had on hand!
He looked at the linen and shook his head, whispering: "Isn't this cloth too ugly?"
Ding Yuying nodded: "Not only is it ugly, but it is also rough... If it leaves Kuimen, no one will even pick it up if it is thrown on the ground!"
"Isn't that true?" Li Jinxue glanced at the clothes of Zhu Hexing and Ding Yuying. They were indeed very bright! He had never seen such beautiful clothing materials when he was teaching in Shizhu City - the high-ranking soldiers here in Shizhu only wore high-quality linen clothes. Where could such beautiful silk clothes be found?
Ding Yuying's beautiful eyebrows frowned tightly. Seeing her expression, Zhu Hexing asked curiously: "Yuying, what did you find wrong again?"
Ding Yuying said: "Husband, if cotton and silk from Jiangnan enter Sichuan, no one will want such linen!"
Zhu Hexing glanced at the roll of linen with disgust, "It's normal for no one to want this kind of stuff!"
"But here in Sichuan, men have been farming and women have been weaving for how many years..." Ding Yuying said, "Many middle- and upper-class families probably still have a lot of linen in storage! What will these families do if the linen is worthless? Are they all going bankrupt?"
"This..." Zhu Hexing thought it was right, but he didn't jump to conclusions easily. Instead, he looked at Li Jinxue.
Li Jinxue's brows were knitted into a knot, as if he was thinking hard about something? After a while, he sighed softly: "Sichuan people always suffer in the hands of rogue bandits! I didn't expect that Master Wang will have new hardships to endure..."
"Yuying," Zhu Hexing said to Ding Yuying again, "Why don't we ask Mazhi County for any good ideas after we return to the city."
Ask Ma Wanchun? Ding Yuying said in her heart: Is it appropriate for a magistrate from the eighth grade to raise such a big issue with a magistrate from the sixth grade?
...
In the end, Ding Yuying did not stop Zhu Hexing from asking Ma Wanchun questions, and this question overwhelmed Ma Wanchun, who was busy organizing and training Xiangyong.
He looked at the two nosy children in front of him and felt quite troubled... If it weren't for their background, he would have cursed them long ago!
What should a county colleague ask about this kind of thing?
Besides, you just have to have a way to deal with it...you don’t even know what to do, so why are you asking! Do you think I can do anything about it? If I have a solution, why should I be a county magistrate? I have long since joined the cabinet and become a cabinet minister!
"This, this..." Ma Wanchun suppressed his anger and said patiently, "Zhu Tongzhi, you have to know that although we are the parents of the people, we are not parents who can do everything! You This matter is more troublesome... No one wants Azabu, and the parents of the people can't do anything about it!"
Zhu Hexing nodded and thought to himself: That's for sure. After all, not all parents are as capable as my parents!
"How about we report this matter to the higher authorities!" Zhu Hexing said, "We will jointly draft a report and report it to Yong'an Palace!"
What? Report this matter to the palace? Ma Wanchun was stunned again and again. Isn't this just looking for trouble? The emperor has so many things to do every day, can I have time to take care of this? Besides, no one wanted the cloth woven by the common people. What does this have to do with the emperor? There are millions of farmers in Sichuan, and they have to hand over two to three million pieces of linen a year just for household registration. What will happen if no one wants it?
Ding Yuying saw the embarrassment on Ma Wanchun's face, smiled and said: "County Lord, please jointly submit the memorial with my husband... After the memorial is sent, my husband and I will leave Shizhu County soon."
Now Ma Wanchun is finally interested! This is a good thing!
The old group is booming again, everyone is welcome to join the new group for this book, group number: 635667889
(End of chapter)
