"Uncle Wang, that's Guitian over there!" It was almost noon, and Luohu Town could be seen in the distance. Yang Shidao was also an open-minded person, and had already gotten over the self-blame for his dereliction of duty. Hearing that Yang Ji said that this trip was divided between public and private matters, The smooth calling was restored.
Yang Ji looked along his riding whip and saw a field on the roadside full of bare fields.
Cotton poles, among the gray-black fields, you can occasionally see a few white cotton bolls, each like a blooming plum blossom, holding out the stamen-like snow-white silk wadding.
The word "cotton" did not appear in the Sui Dynasty, and the place where cotton was produced was called "礤". People in the Central Plains who grew it as a flower transliterated it as Baidiezi. Although Yang Ji was mentally prepared, when he saw these treasures from a distance, his heart couldn't help but beat loudly. He got off his horse and ran quickly towards the field, followed by more than a dozen personal guards in a hurry.
The owners of this piece of land were a pair of Huhua old Han people. They were looking for lost cotton bolls along the straight passages in the field. Suddenly, they saw an endless army of troops parked on the roadside, and many others were looking towards them. They came running from the field and hurriedly greeted them anxiously.
When Yang Ji saw the old man, he was trembling with fear and his face turned pale. He quickly said, "Old man, we just want to get to know Bai Diezi. We don't mean any harm. You can rest assured."
"I wonder what the general wants to know?" The male host could speak some Chinese, and when he saw the smiling Yang Ji, who was as handsome as an immortal, he instinctively thought that he was a good person with no ill intentions, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Old man Yang Ji had no harvest, and there were very few cotton peaches in the field. He asked, "I wonder if my father-in-law has more Baidianzi fruits at home?"
The old man said: "Yes, yes. General, please come with me."
"Wait a minute!" Yang Ji turned around and walked a few steps, handed a token to a personal guard, and ordered Xue Ju to lead a large force to Zhenyuan City first, leaving a thousand personal soldiers behind, and at the same time let Xiao Ying and others Come and join us.
Arrangements were made, and the group of people followed the old couple to a simple small courtyard. The courtyard wall made of rammed earth was less than one person tall, and the courtyard door was spliced with wooden boards. There were gaps everywhere. There were three mud houses in the courtyard, and there was a Populus euphratica tree on one side of the courtyard dam. A grape trellis was set up on one side of the tree. It was winter, but the grape branches and vines here were full of green. There were many polished stone benches of different sizes in the courtyard.
The old couple's faces were full of enthusiasm and sincere smiles. They first invited everyone to sit down, and then brought raisins, preserved fruits, and wine to entertain everyone.
Yang Ji knew that when dealing with hospitable people, there was no need to be modest and polite. Being too modest would be disrespectful to the host. He grabbed a handful of sweet and delicious raisins, stuffed them into his mouth, and drank another bowl of wine.
Xiao Ying, Liu Rumei and the other girls stopped after a brief taste and went to the grape trellis to watch the bunches of green grapes. Compared with Liu Rumei, Zhang Chuchen, Murong Xianyue and others, Xiao Ying, the master and the servant, encountered this subversive perception for the first time in their lives. , the natural wonders that subvert the four seasons, I am extremely shocked. If I had not seen it with my own eyes or heard it only by hearing it, I would not believe that there are green grapes in winter.
When he felt that the guests had almost enjoyed themselves, the old man went into the house and brought out a basket of cotton peaches, placed it in front of Yang Ji, and said with a smile: "General, these are the only white peaches left at home. The rest are woven into white peaches and sold for money."
"Let's take a look!" Yang Ji picked up one and took a closer look. The cotton bolls were much smaller than the long-staple cotton he saw in Xinjiang in later generations, and the gray-white velvet was small and short, but Yang Ji was still full of joy. It is unrealistic to plant large areas in fertile fields, but those uncultivated hillside wastelands are still idle. Just sprinkle the seeds on them, and then just come out to buy them, and the people themselves will go up the mountains to pick them and sell them for money. Although the output is far less than that of Yizhou, which specializes in cultivation, the small amount adds up to a considerable amount.
As long as the acquisition is clear in the second year, people can't make profitable crops on barren hills? Can't you raise her carefully?
The old man also picked up a shelled cotton boll and used it to peel off the cotton seeds inside. Although he was skilled in the technique, the progress and results made people anxious. He smiled and said: "The price of white cloth made of white velvet is higher than that of linen cloth." Good, but it’s difficult to remove the seeds. It would be good to have 22 jins of white velvet out of 100 jins of fruit.”
"Twenty-two pounds?" Yang Ji was surprised. He thought that one out of ten would be good, but he didn't expect that the lint was as high as two out of ten? Even if this is not the case for every family, it is still considerable.
As for the difficulty of removing seeds, it is not a problem at all. Anyone who has traveled to Xinjiang has almost seen and played with the ancient seed-removing gin, which is as simple as a wooden ladder.
"Yes!" the old man replied: "It takes a good year to produce the best white stacks to weigh twenty-two pounds. I have lived for sixty-three years and have only encountered them more than twenty times."
"Not bad!" Yang Ji asked with a smile: "Do you still have white folding cloth at home?"
"There is one left at home! I'll get it." The old man quickly got up and went into the house, happily getting a piece of white folded cloth.
Yang Ji asked the two soldiers to unfold. Xiao Ying and Liu Rumei also came to watch curiously. She saw Bai Diebu for the first time and asked: "Lang Jun, is this Bai Diebu?"
Liu Rumei had seen it before. She said: "Madam, this is white folded cloth. It is slightly better than linen cloth, but it is much more expensive."
Yang Ji looked at it and found that the white folded cloth was relatively rough. Not only was it not as good as the cheesecloth of later generations, but it was only slightly better than the current burlap. So he said, "I have seen millet cloth." The white laminated cloth sold by Te people in the capital is very fine, but although this cloth is a bit coarse, it is very warm."
The old man standing aside quickly said: "The general doesn't know anything. This piece was woven by my wife. She is old and dim, the yarn she spun is relatively thick, and the cloth she spun is rough. The white fabrics of Zhangjia Workshop and Wujia Workshop in the county In fact, the folded cloth is no worse than the big food cloth. The cloth you see in the capital may be the cloth of these two families. But the Sogdians are very cunning. In order to make huge profits, they like to talk about the nearby things. Far away, so you can sell it at a high price.”
"..." Yang Ji's face darkened. How is this different from the "made in a" that tourists buy in foreign countries? It seems that the fabric of the boxer briefs he is wearing is "made in yizhou".
Seeing that the old man was very poor, Xiao Ying said, "Old man, I like this piece of white folded cloth very much. Can you sell it to me?"
The old man shook his head repeatedly and said: "This fabric is very rough and not worth much money. If you like it, madam, just take it."
"How can that be done?" Yang Jixiao asked: "Old man, why are there only the two of you at home?"
"My eldest son works as a clerk in the county, and my daughter-in-law and grandchildren also go there; my younger son joins the army and becomes a captain with fifty soldiers under his command; and my younger daughter-in-law earns money by weaving in the Zhangjia workshop." He said somewhat proudly: "My husband and I originally lived with our eldest son, but we were not used to life in the city, so we came back to serve these acres of land."
Yang Ji smiled and said: "I am also a soldier. It seems that I have returned home."
"Yes, that's right." The old man felt very cordial and nodded repeatedly: "It's so hard for you children who serve as soldiers. I especially like you children who protect the people."
"So the family did not talk about the two families and left a silver bead for the father-in-law." Yang Ji confessed to Liu Rumei, and then said to Yang Shidao: "Let's go to the workshop in Zhenyuan City now."
Fearing that the old man would refuse, he took Xiao Ying out of the yard and walked from the field path to the main road.
The old couple took the cloth and silver beads and chased them out, only to see the large team leaving in a mighty manner.
. . . . . . .
Zhenyuan County is located in the west of Yizhou. It is the only way to go to Gaochang and the Western Regions. From Yiwu City, the official road is opened, and when you reach Zhenyuan County, it is divided into two, one goes to Tingzhou in the north, and the other goes to Gaochang in the west. This The two official roads are the North Road and the South Road of the Silk Road, and Zhenyuan County, which spreads from military towns, is located in the middle of the ">" shape formed by the two officials.
Since Yizhou was an important logistical center for the Sui Dynasty's march into the Western Regions, and the county town Yuancheng was an important area on the western frontier, the imperial court granted permission for Zhenyuan City to be built according to state governance standards. After the construction work day and night by the people and prisoners of Yizhou, the red city with a city span of 20 miles and a wall four feet high was like a fire dragon entrenched on the ground. In the sunlight, it looked extremely spectacular.
The city is laid out in the shape of a "well". Although the population is far less than that of cities in the mainland, it is very prosperous. Among them, the middle part of the "well" is the most lively and prosperous, with inns and restaurants concentrated here.
In this central area, you can see businessmen leading Luo Zhu everywhere. The most conspicuous ones are the several brothels opened by the Hu people. At the door of each brothel, there are some coquettish and strong Hu Ji, who are crowded at the door. She solicits customers in a sweet voice. Whenever she sees a single man, she either entangles him with him or goes up to her and lifts her skirt, revealing her clean and slim body, and uses her unique posture to lure the man into the courtyard. middle. Several men walked together talking and laughing, but before they could even react, they were swarmed up by the tall orchids and drowned in the sea of flesh. This casual team only took a moment to be brutally " "Divided into pieces by five horses", each one was carried into several brothels by the strong Hu Ji like a chicken.
There was a roar of laughter and curses in an instant.
…
The troops from Ganzhou and supplies to assist Tingzhou were stationed in the military camp outside the city. Yang Ji, Xiao Ying and other women, escorted by 300 soldiers, followed Yang Shidao into the exotic Zhenyuan City. During this visit to Tingzhou, Zhenyuan City’s business was also one of the stops. Seeing that the city was more prosperous and lively than Yiwu City in the state, he said to Yang Shidao: "It seems that it won’t be long before Zhenyuan City will replace Yiwu and become the East and West." It’s a transit point for both sides.”
"It's difficult." Yang Shidao said with a smile: "Although Zhenyuan City has the advantage of terrain, it also has the insecurity common to border towns. Therefore, Zhenyuan City can only be a resting place for businessmen, not a place to hoard supplies. They generally I just rested here for one night and then hurriedly transported the goods to Yiwu City or Gaochang."
"That's not bad. Zhenyuan City can develop the two major industries of food and housing." Yang Ji said casually and asked: "Where are the workshops of the Zhang family and the Wu family?"
"Both of them are in the east of the city." Yang Shidao knew this. He pointed to a large yard in front and said, "That is the Wu family's workshop."
"Let's go and see their white cloth." Yang Ji strode over.
After Yang Shidao's introduction, Yang Ji had a general understanding of these two workshops.
The Wu Family Workshop is the largest textile workshop in Illinois. It was opened by the three Wu brothers. There are 200 looms and more than 400 workers in their workshop. The raw silk and lint purchased from all over Illinois are concentrated here. It is processed into threads and cloth, and then woven into silk, satin and white laminated cloth and then sold to the Western Regions; the same is true for the Zhang family workshop. In today's terms, these are two export-oriented factories.
In fact, there were many such factories in the Sui Dynasty, such as Dugu Min. The white porcelain factory she opened in Xingzhou had more than 2,000 workers for a long time; the porcelain factory in Ganzhou also had more than 3,000 workers. The former produces high-quality products; the latter produces utensils used by ordinary people, and the products they make are mainly for export. Moreover, since the Jinshan and other mountains in the north produce a lot of gold, silver and jade, and the northern Hu people do not know how to process it themselves, they usually take the rough gold, silver ingots and raw jade to the border in exchange for very few supplies and refined ceramics. Dugu Min saw it The Turkic Khanate collapsed, and her son was the leader of Liangzhou, and his safety was guaranteed, so she opened a large-scale gold, silver and jade processing factory in Ganzhou, and the products would also be exported abroad.
If there were not so many factories specializing in workmanship, and only relying on the private sector to do it intermittently, the Sui Dynasty would not be able to supply enough, so how could there be products for export?
In places such as Yizhou and Yangzhou, as early as the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were many large-scale Shu brocade factories, silk factories, and porcelain factories.
In other words, as early as the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, domestic small workshop-style capitalism had already sprouted.
Soon, Yang Ji, led by Yang Shidao, came to the Wu family workshop.
Like traditional factories, the Wujia Workshop implements the layout of a shop in the front and a house in the back. The counter of the shop is very long and the shelves on the left and right sides are very high. However, at this time, the counters and shelves are empty. From this, you can imagine that the products are on the market. At that time, there was a scene of merchants coming in, but now there is only one clerk sitting at the counter guarding the empty shop.
"Is your proprietor here?"
Yang Shidao knocked hard on the counter. The clerk who was nodding and taking a nap was startled. He stood up quickly and said, "Are you here, do you want to buy some fabric?"
When he saw clearly that the person coming was the county magistrate, he started to stutter when he spoke, "Magistrate Yang, wait a moment, I'll call the proprietor." As soon as he finished speaking, he ran behind him.
Yang Shidao ignored the panicked waiter and introduced to Yang Ji: "Uncle Wang, the Wu family workshop was opened by the businessman Wu Yuanlu. He was originally from Dunhuang, but due to the influx of the six major families of Zhou, Qi and Chen into Dunhuang , he was squeezed out and unable to gain a foothold, so he moved his family to Yizhou and became a native of Yiwu country. Later, he opened a workshop in the old city of Yiwu. However, he was also rejected and exploited by the old nobles of Yiwu country, so he ran away again. He went to Luohu Town to establish himself. After his death, his three sons took over the workshop, and they moved here after Zhenyuan City was built. The Wu family workshop now has more than 200 looms. The boss, Wu Xingfeng, is mainly responsible for selling goods and Dealing with the outside world; the second brother, Wu Yufeng Pipe Factory, and the third brother, Wu Chengfeng, collect raw materials. The three brothers have a clear division of labor and perform their own duties. The second-ranked Zhang family workshop only has more than 60 looms, which is only 30% of the scale of the Wu family. "
Yang Ji asked: "Besides textile workshops, what other workshops are there in Zhenyuan County?"
Yang Shidao replied: "There are more than thirty breweries of different sizes, but the Wu family is the only one that employs more than 400 workers."
Just as he said this, there were rapid footsteps from behind the lobby, and a tall and burly middle-aged man trotted over. From a distance, he cupped his hands and said, "Why is County Magistrate Yang free to come to the store?"
"This is Wu Xingfeng, the boss of the Wu family." Yang Shidao quickly said to Yang Ji, returned a salute to Wu Xingfeng, and introduced Yang Ji to him: "Dongzhu Wu, this is the King of Wei of the Sui Dynasty, and also ours. The governor and general manager of Liangzhou."
Wu Xingfeng was shocked, and a few drops of sweat instantly shed from his forehead. As the largest businessman in Yizhou, he was very well-informed. Not only did he know that the general manager was Yang Ji, but he also knew that the other party had killed Chuyuebu and Dahu District with corpses and rivers of blood everywhere. , it is no exaggeration to say that it is killing people like hemp.
This evil god suddenly came to the Wu family. He didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse. He stepped forward uneasily and bowed to the ground: "Young man, martial arts, please see King Wei."
Seeing the sweat rolling down his chubby face, Yang Ji knew he was frightened, and returned the favor with a funny smile: "Don't worry, Master Wu. I heard that Wu's factory is the largest in Yizhou, so I came here to see yours." workshop."
Wu Xingfeng breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly opened the door, and bowed repeatedly: "King Wei, please come with me. However, the workshop is very smoky, so I ask King Wei to take care of you."
Yang Ji said: "It doesn't matter."
"Please, please." Seeing that Yang Ji was easy to talk to, Wu Xingfeng, who was no longer worried, felt flattered again. After all, he was just a small businessman, while Yang Ji was a high-ranking prince. The status between the two The difference is nothing short of exaggerated.
When a group of people walked into the middle courtyard, they heard the sound of machines "clicking, clicking". The workshop was connected by two rows of long bungalows. More than two hundred looms were placed in the large and spacious house. In a corner of the room, there were more than a hundred spinning wheels. Almost all the people spinning and weaving were young women. There were also ten old women sitting in front of dustpans filled with lint, grabbing out the lint. Use handfuls of lint to carefully pick away hard and dirty objects.
Wu Xingfeng introduced to Yang Ji: "King Wei, the white folds collected from all over the country are gathered here. Now is the busiest season for the workshops; after the new year, Hu merchants will come to buy the fabrics."
At this time, a middle-aged man who looked similar to Kai Xingfeng came over, but this man seemed dull and did not say a word for a long time. Wu Xingfeng said quickly: "King Wei, this is my second brother Wu Yufeng. He He was born unable to speak, but he was so dexterous with his hands that he could repair any loom he broke."
Only then did Yang Ji suddenly realize that Wu Yufeng didn't like to talk, but he had something to say that he couldn't say.
At this time, Xiao Ying inhaled fine hairs in her nose and sneezed several times. Wu Xingfeng repeatedly held his hand: "Madam, this is how the workshop is, even if the windows are opened everywhere, I'm really sorry!"
"It's okay, it's okay!" Xiao Ying covered her nose and said angrily.
Yang Ji saw a lot of fine fluff floating in the air, the whole room was gray, and the workers' hair and clothes were all covered with fluffy white fluff. He looked at it carefully and said, "The 'culprit' that caused the dust Mainly in the process of sorting cotton wool, followed by spinning. Although the looms that use yarn to weave cloth also produce dust, there is very little dust. You can divide it into three rooms, and each of the three links performs their own duties. , have nothing to do with each other, so that the weavers are hardly affected.”
"That makes sense, that makes sense." Wu Xingfeng nodded repeatedly.
"There is another way..." Yang Ji picked up a piece of white folded cloth from a loom, folded it into the size of a handkerchief, and then covered it over his mouth and nose, and continued: "Fold a few layers that are the size of the lower half of the face. Sew the handkerchief carefully on all four sides, put strings on both sides, and hang it on your ears while you are working, so that fine hairs will not be sucked into your mouth and nose, and you will not sneeze."
Wu Xingfeng thought about it carefully and said happily: "What a good idea! Why didn't we think of it?"
Seeing that he had understood, Yang Ji led the team out of the workshop and said to Wu Xingfeng in the corridor, "Do you have any plans to expand the workshop?"
"Reporting to King Wei, we have actually wanted to expand the workshop for a long time. We also want to do silk, linen, white folding cloth, felt, and blankets. The problem is that we don't have the manpower." Wu Xingfeng saw that Yang Ji did not do anything unfriendly. , his hanging heart slowly relaxed, he sighed and said with a wry smile: "Actually, the wages we give are not low, but Hu women are not very flexible and have no patience to learn, so they can't make much money. , so we would rather go to herd than work in the workshop. There are very few Han and Huhua Han women who are willing to work, and we really can’t recruit them. I heard that the imperial court moved many Han people to settle in Tingzhou, and we are going to When the area settles down, we can open a workshop there. If there are enough people, we can move them all there."
"There's no need to go to such trouble." Yang Ji said: "After the new year, 100,000 Han households will come to settle in Yizhou. I will resettle 50,000 households in Zhenyuan County. If your workshop expands several times, you will not be afraid of being left without manpower, but I There is also a condition.”
Wu Xingfeng said happily: "King Wei, please speak."
"Give me all the white folded cloth you produce from now on. Don't sell it to the Hu merchants. The price is the same as the Hu merchants. You will never suffer a loss."
"completely fine."
"You make me three things. The first is the mask I just mentioned, the second is the gauze roll, and the third is the sleeping bag. I will draw a pattern for you."
Yang Ji took the paper and pen, first drew a mask, and then carefully drew a sleeping bag, marked the dimensions, and handed it to Wu Xingfeng, saying: "The former is a mask; gauze is something to bandage wounds. A palm width is sufficient. There is nothing much to say about this. The pocket called a sleeping bag is made of white folded cloth inside and outside, and is filled with wool. You will make ten samples for me first. If you are satisfied with your work, I will not only place an order in the future. Fifty thousand sets will be made, and even marching blankets and military uniforms can be handed over to you.”
Wu Xingfeng took it and looked at it carefully, asked some more details, and finally said: "These are relatively simple, there is no problem at all."
"That's good." Yang Ji nodded and said, "I'll take a look at your samples when I come back from Tingzhou."
After leaving the Wu family's workshop, I was going to see the Zhang family's workshop.
However, they saw several cavalrymen rushing towards Yang Shidao and said, "Report to the county magistrate, the scouts have come to report that a large number of cavalrymen have appeared west of the Chishi Mountain pass. Judging from their movements, they should be the army of the Western Turks."
Western Turkic army?
Yang Ji touched his chin, a little confused.
Although the Western Turks actually occupied Gaochang, even if the Sui Dynasty occupied Yizhou and Tingzhou controlled by the Western Turks, the Western Turks never came forward to negotiate with the Sui Dynasty.
The Sui Dynasty now occupies the entire territory of the two states, and its army and power are far greater than before. However, the Western Turkic army has appeared sneakily. Why is this? Could it be that Xue Wanjun burned down their important logistics areas and saw that the Sui army had relatively few troops in Zhenyuan, so he wanted to take advantage of the situation and use the Sui Dynasty to establish his authority?
But it doesn’t make sense…
There were ten thousand Sui troops in Zhenyuan. The fighting power of the soldiers defending the city and fortresses was vastly different from that of those fighting in the field. Without fifty thousand men, they would not have been able to capture the fortresses.
Could it be that the Western Turks didn't understand this and wanted to challenge the Sui Dynasty head-on?
"Let's go and have a look." Although Yang Ji was a little confused, since the enemy was coming, he had to avoid it. He asked his personal guards Xiao Ying and other women to go to Guanyi to rest, and then he and Yang Shidao rushed to the military camp.
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