The sunshine in the winter afternoon shines lazily on the streets of Dadu. Zhu Wenkui was riding a horse and chatting wordlessly with Captain Jashka next to him.
Behind them was a carriage. Little Jeanne poked her head out boredly, but was pulled back by Princess Ma. Behind the carriage, the heroine Jeanne was still looking around with interest, not knowing what attracted her to this road that everyone else was tired of walking.
At this time, the noise coming from the front attracted everyone's attention.
Zhu Wenkui wanted to take a look out of curiosity, but Captain Jessica stopped him immediately. He signaled to the back, and Jeanne, who was lying on the horse, immediately straightened up and called the coachman to prepare to turn around.
He asked Zhu Wenkui to stay where he was, lowered the sword belt on his shoulder, hung it on his waist, held the sword hilt in one hand and the reins in the other, and galloped forward on his horse.
Zhu Wenkui had no choice but to drive his horse back to the carriage.
"What's going on?" he asked Jeanne.
"Look." Heroine Jeanne pointed directly at Jessica.
Zhu Wenkui turned around and saw that when he came to the street entrance in front, he did not stop, but accelerated his horse and ran over quickly.
When he passed the intersection, he looked back and forth before rushing to the other side. After running for a while, he turned the horse's head again and returned at a brisk pace. This time it was a little slower, so when he passed the intersection, he looked at it carefully again.
"Scared me." He waved his hand and shouted towards the carriage in unfamiliar Greek: "It seems like a businessman is doing propaganda, not that...that..."
"What is that?" Zhu Wenkui asked.
"Gaopingling!" Captain Jashka said in smooth Chinese.
"..."
"I think his Greek is at a loss." Little Jeanne poked her head out again and commented.
Jessica had just been sent over by Zhu Yunwen, and she had been staying with them. Although I said at the time that I wanted to learn Greek to facilitate daily communication.
But the few people around me all speak Chinese all day long. And because he himself had been in the court and often interacted with priests, he knew a little Latin, so in the end, it became this hodgepodge of "Greek" mixed with Chinese words, Latin words and even the dialect of his hometown of Bohemia. .
Normally this is fine, but when I'm in a hurry and can't find the words, it becomes even more serious. As for where he learned this allusion... after all, he chatted a lot, Zhu Wenkui actually couldn't tell. Maybe this story impressed him deeply, so he directly used this Chinese word as a referent for a large category of events.
"Uh..." Heroine Jeanne was also a little embarrassed: "It doesn't matter. I mean, Captain Jessica has worked hard in European cities, so he is very experienced in various situations. Sooner or later, Young Master, you will have to be on your own. Let’s learn from others.”
"Okay, I will learn from it and be more vigilant. But..." Although Zhu Wenkui acknowledged it, his expression was obviously unbelieving. He looked around and muttered: "Can anyone really rebel in this place like Dadu?"
"Should we go and have a look?" Little Jeanne was more interested in the merchant's promotional activities: "With so many people gathered, it should be something very interesting."
Captain Jessica and Lady Jeanne both looked at Zhu Wenkui, wanting his opinion.
Zhu Wenkui himself actually has no interest in these things. Most of this area is a land and sea hub with a large concentration of businessmen and travelers. It is normal for some people to sell some rare and novel gadgets, which attracts everyone's attention. But these things are nothing more than rare birds and animals, rare jewelry, fur brocades and the like. It's really not that attractive to him.
In this regard, as a child trained in traditional Confucian education, he actually agrees with the view of his good friend Guo Kang: luxury is harmful, and the luxury of the upper class is one of the sources that corrupts the national atmosphere and causes the decline of the dynasty. If others like this thing, he won't directly care about it. But he himself always held a contemptuous attitude.
Instead of going there to join in the fun and squeeze in for a long time, it's better to go home quickly. While there is nothing official to do today, you can go and see the design of the workshop and see if you can make any changes.
However, little Jeanne was very interested and kept protesting, but Zhu Wenkui coaxed her a few words to no avail. He had no choice but to look at his mother in the car.
"It's all here, let's go take a look." Princess Ma pondered for a moment and finally said.
Zhu Wenkui had no choice but to nod, scratch his hair under his hat, and said to the two people outside: "Then let's go over there and take a look."
Little Jeanne cheered happily, leaving Zhu Wenkui speechless for a while.
His sister sometimes seems to be very precocious, and she talks quite sensibly on many topics; but in many other aspects, she is no different from a child, very childish.
This does not mean that because she knows certain things, she is easier to take care of than other children. On the contrary, because she understands some things that seem to be quite profound to outsiders, she is much more difficult to deal with than the average naughty child.
For example, ordinary urchins are usually stubborn only for the things they like; but she will argue with Zhu Wenkui every day for the things she likes, which makes him have a headache...
There was no other way, so everyone had to change direction and rush towards the market.
The metropolitan city has a special status, and its commerce is very developed. There are many commercial districts with different positions and functions. Their area is already an upper-class residential area, but there is still a sizable market.
After everyone got closer, they realized that this place was not as lively as usual. The dense crowd had several layers inside and outside. No wonder someone shouted in unison just now, which made Captain Jessica think something happened.
A block away, they saw a large flag with "Yuan" erected on the central square of the market; next to it was a smaller flag with the logo of the Java Chamber of Commerce. Under the flag is a huge two-story wooden frame, which is densely filled with various parts.
"What is this? Is it a mechanism?" Jeanne's level of surprise was no better than that of the surrounding citizens.
"Let me take a look." Hearing that it was a machine, Zhu Wenkui became interested again. He didn't care about criticizing and educating little Jeanne. He quickly straightened up, stood in the stirrups, and looked inside.
"This is a loom..." he muttered.
"I've seen looms before, and there are quite a few in my hometown. But why are the looms so big?" Captain Jessica was also quite surprised.
"Let's go in and take a look." Zhu Wenkui said.
Although there are many people here, most of them should be ordinary citizens who were attracted. Zhu Wenkui put on airs and asked the two of them to help clear the way, and the people next to him wisely got out of the way. Even Princess Ma followed curiously and took little Jeanne's hand to the front row.
There was a temporary wooden platform in front of me, and on it was this huge machine. It is obviously divided into two floors, with two beams on the upper floor and numerous wooden poles between the beams. There are many silk threads hanging on the complex wooden and iron parts. Through complex coiling, they are braided into many bundles and interconnected with the wooden mechanism. And at the bottom is a piece of brocade that has just been woven with a beginning.
People around were talking a lot, saying that although this thing was only a loom in theory, it was already about the size of a small church. It is indeed something made by the Seris people. It is truly worthy of the name and looks high-end at first glance.
There were several people dressed as workers on the stage. Some were explaining to the audience, while others were watching at the loom. They were probably craftsmen assisting in operation and maintenance. There is another girl wearing a simple and elegant gown, sitting upright next to the brocade, probably presiding over the operation of the loom.
When they saw the performance of Zhu Wenkui and his party, they immediately realized that this was a big shot and thought that business was coming. A waiter hurriedly ran to the shop opposite to call someone. After a while, a round-faced, fat businessman in gorgeous robes hurried out and followed him to the stage.
Zhu Wenkui had met him before and quickly recognized him as the big Javanese businessman "Sun Shiwan" whom Guo Kang had introduced before.
And the other party also recognized him. Although they had not interacted with each other many times before, "Sun Shiwan" still put on his signature smile, cupped his hands, and greeted: "It turns out to be Mr. Zhu. Are you here to take care of Sun's business, or are you here to compete in the ring?"
"The ring?" Zhu Wenkui was surprised again: "Isn't this a loom? How can it still be in the ring?"
"Please look over here." Sun Shiwan looked confident and pointed to a notice board next to him.
Only then did Zhu Wenkui notice it. He turned around and saw that there was actually a challenge notice written on the sign.
"Sun put this Hualou machine here for a month. If someone can copy it or invent other machines to make brocade of the same quality, the challenge will be considered a victory," Sun Shiwan explained.
He waved his hand and pointed at the loom and the girl next to him: "If someone succeeds, Sun will give him the loom and the Weaver Girl together as a prize. If no one succeeds after a month...it doesn't matter." Just treat it like Sun paid for it and invited everyone to see something new."
"This loom can produce nearly one piece of high-quality brocade in one month. Since I have entrusted the help of the Roman government and colleagues from the merchant association in the market, I can lend it to you." He bowed his hands to everyone: "Then this Pijin, Sun will not take it away."
"There is a place for betting here." He pointed to a stall next to him and said, "If you are interested, you can come and bet every day to see if anyone else can succeed in the challenge. Those who win the bet, With the number plate issued every day, you can also participate in this Guanpu transaction. This brocade is regarded as the first prize. What do you think?"
Everyone immediately cheered.
Zhu Wenkui probably understood what he meant.
The so-called Guanpu is a lottery, which is an activity played by people in the Song Dynasty. According to the rules set by Sun Shiwan, the more numbers in your hand, the greater your chances of being drawn. So around here, many middle- and upper-class citizens who have nothing to do will come to cheer. And this news will spread quickly as they spread it by word of mouth and even trade license plates.
In this way, no matter who wins in the end, Sun Shiwan will get a piece of brocade and publicize his loom greatly. There are many merchants from all over the metropolis. When people see that he has such advanced equipment in his hands, they will definitely trust his quality and supply ability, and even hope to buy his looms directly at a high price. In this way, it is equivalent to a huge publicity in the entire Mediterranean market.
"Do you really think that people here can't make this loom in a month?" Zhu Wenkui asked.
"If you are interested, you can take a look at it. I put it here for everyone to see." Sun Shiwan spread his hands: "If you are a professional shopkeeper or craftsman who really wants to exchange experiences, let's talk to Sun. You can do it yourself. What's wrong?"
Zhu Wenkui was speechless for a moment.
Sun Shiwan's meaning is something that you can't even imitate if I give it to you. Moreover, judging from what he meant, since he dared to sell it openly here, based on the habits of businessmen like them, he must already have a more advanced set of things in his hands.
"This is not a carpenter's problem." Sun Shiwan also explained thoughtfully: "The structure of the loom itself is not complicated. I think everyone who knows the industry knows the basic principles. But the special thing about this machine is that It lies here.”
He pointed to the wire harness in the loom: "As long as you make such a set of flower books, you can weave the patterns on the brocade without having to manually control each thread. Similarly, when you want to change the pattern, you only need to Just replace the flower book."
The other onlookers watched in confusion, while a few people in the crowd who were dressed extravagantly opened their mouths in surprise.
They were probably Sun Shiwan's local colleagues, and they could tell at a glance what this meant: ordinary looms require very high technical skills from weavers. Sun Shiwan's machine is equivalent to transferring the technical difficulty from the weaver's control of silk threads to the production of flower notebooks. As long as we can produce this kind of pattern, weavers with average skills can also make high-quality brocades of similar quality. As a result, production will of course increase by leaps and bounds, creating a crushing situation for other competitors.
"Let's demonstrate." Sun Shiwan clapped his hands: "Continue, continue!"
Following his order, a waiter climbed up the tall flower tower, shouting out commands while lifting and putting down different strands of thread. Zhi Niang, who was sitting below, sang harmony with him, as if reciting a spell. , constantly facing the unintelligible codes, and then performing different operations.
There was another burst of admiration from other spectators. But Zhu Wenkui suddenly remembered something else.
This was not the first time he had seen this method of shouting slogans. When he visited Guo Kang's monastery before, he discovered that the monks under Guo Kang also shouted commands and operated machinery in this way.
And if he thought about it carefully, Guo Kang had told him about the loom before.
According to Guo Kang, the Central Plains-style textile machine is actually a "programming" machine. Merchants will draw patterns according to customer needs; then, specialized craftsmen called "artisans" will design the arrangement and distribution of the thread bundles based on these patterns; and finally, weavers will operate these thread bundles to weave.
Guo Kang believes that this kind of large-scale textile machine actually turns patterns into "programs" and records them on these silk threads. Since these thread heddles with stored patterns were woven by hand, he called the process "weaving".
He believes that this idea can not only be used for textiles, but can also be used for calculations. It's just that he has been working on more basic things and doesn't have time to do these, so he gave Zhu Wenkui a general idea once and didn't continue.
And now it seems that regarding what Guo Kang said, even if Sun Shiwan doesn't know the term "programming", he is obviously very clear about its principles.
Therefore, he was indeed confident about the promised gift: the real core technology of this machine does not lie in these wooden parts, but in the "programming" skills and design ideas.
Similarly, although the weaver girl is beautiful and skillful, it would be of no use even if she were given to others - she is just one of the weavers, not even the most important role. She alone could not operate this big thing and make it work properly.
In other words, even if someone succeeds in the challenge, makes similar equipment, and gets this Hualou machine, he will definitely choose to cooperate with Sun Shiwan in order to expand production faster and obtain more stable technical support. Get complete resources and maximize the benefits.
In this way, it seems to stimulate local technological progress and create competition, but in the end it just digs out a capable partner for itself.
Therefore, no matter what the result, Sun Shiwan seemed to be generous, but in fact he was guaranteed to make a profit.
Zhu Wenkui sighed secretly, feeling that this profiteer was indeed not as simple as he seemed. However, it also inspired his competitive spirit.
"Are you really willing to admit defeat?" he asked.
"Of course." Sun Shiwan nodded: "Master Zhu is also a guest from the Central Plains, but you are not in this business, so you may not know. Apart from the Central Plains, this machine is only available in Persia, and they also clearly learned it from the Central Plains of."
"Instruments based on this principle have been around since the Western Han Dynasty, but it has been more than a thousand years now. There are countless Hu merchants traveling to and from the Central Plains, and merchants and craftsmen traveling in and out of the border areas. Then why is there no third company that can use it in large quantities? Where is this kind of equipment?"
"So, not everyone can learn this thing." He shook his head: "The Persians' textile skills are actually so advanced that they can export some technologies to China. If there are people here who can learn it, then It shows that he is also worth communicating with each other. Can’t we learn a lot?”
"Of course, my Persian assistant firmly believes that Europeans are not good at it." He said with a smile: "Maybe, after a few hundred years, they can learn it."
Zhu Wenkui didn't know how to refute for a moment. He had no choice but to criticize: "Then why do you still hang a big flag with the word 'Yuan' here? You have already said that this is Chinese craftsmanship."
"You use the banner of the Yuan Dynasty and display and sell it everywhere without the consent of the Chinese court. This makes no sense in theory!"
"We are a chamber of commerce in Dayuan, why can't we be admitted?" Sun Shiwan was a little surprised and immediately retorted: "Isn't the one in Dayuan from China? What else could it be?"
"That's right, my Yuan Dynasty is not the imperial court of China. Could it be that it belongs to Mongolia?"
"He Lin has a fever again, right?"
"Is it weird to have this technology? Dayuan Technology is the best in the world!"
"So what about Dayuan? What happened to you in our Dayuan!"
"..."
Seeing the boss quarreling with others, the employees also stepped forward to help and refuted the boss.
"Well……"
These people were sharp-tongued. Zhu Wenkui was not good at debating in the first place, so he didn't know what to say. He hurriedly looked at the people traveling with him, but little Jeanne and others were just laughing and didn't care about him.
"Okay, okay." Probably not wanting to make a big fuss, Sun Shiwan quickly stopped everyone: "Does Young Master Zhu also want to challenge?"
"Okay! Count me in!" Zhu Wenkui became excited for a while.
"Brother, are you okay..." Little Jeanne reacted this time, hurriedly pulled him and asked softly.
"No problem." Zhu Wenkui agreed directly.
"Well, I'll give it to Mr. Zhu as well." Sun Shiwan didn't care, and cupped his hands towards him: "Sun will just wait for the good news!"
A man with a pen and paper came over and handed him the booklet.
Most of the onlookers didn't know what was going on, but when they saw someone challenging, they still applauded. No matter what, everyone is still happy to see the excitement.
"By the way, who else were there before?" Zhu Wenkui took the pen, thought about it, and asked.
He decided to visit other skilled craftsmen when he had time. Although the technical level in Haixi seems to be far inferior to that in the Central Plains, there should still be hope if we concentrate the talents of outstanding craftsmen and study a product.
"Oh, not yet." The guy said honestly, "You are the first."
"..."
"Pfft..." Little Jeanne couldn't help but laugh.
(End of chapter)
