Chapter 96 The harbinger of a new era
He Xi said: "Your Highness King Yan doesn't know something. This place is a combination of cotton and linen. Silk is not available for the time being. The reason why hemp is used now is because there is a large amount of linen material in Goryeo. It just happened to be used. There is not enough cotton cultivation in Liaodong, and I have already I’ve sent people around to purchase cotton. It’s estimated that we’ll be able to use cotton this winter.”
King Yan said: "Can cotton also be used?"
He Xi said the same thing.
King Yan's face suddenly darkened. He said: "Father, this------"
He didn't know what to say. But although he has no thoughts about the throne. But after all, he is the prince of the Ming Dynasty, and he knows more clearly that he shares weal and woe with the Ming Dynasty. Seeing such a huge hidden danger, I cannot but warn you.
Just linen.
Although linen was still worn daily by people in the Ming Dynasty, linen had a natural problem and was not warm enough. Since Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously promoted cotton cultivation, cotton has spread all over the world in the past 20 years. The textile industry in various places also changed from weaving linen to cotton.
Azabu has become a niche.
The dignitaries generally did not wear linen. Even if some common people wore linen, they did not buy it. But they knit it themselves. Therefore, no matter how cheap the linen is, they will not buy it. But cotton is different.
Cotton cloth has become a commodity that circulates on a large scale. The scale is already above silk.
A large number of people rely on the cotton cloth industry for their livelihood.
Today there are only a few hundred of these new looms here. So much for production. When everything is produced, what will the people do? There are too many risks here.
Although King Yan was not politically sensitive. But he also knows a very simple truth, that is, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, and the foundation of the Zhu family, is not in the scholar-bureaucrats, not in the nobles, but in the common people of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang's path to equalizing the world benefited too many people. It is precisely because people all over the world think Zhu Yuanzhang is the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang could kill decisively and kill whomever he said. We are not afraid of rebellion below. Because the people's minds are set. Everyone is busy living their lives. Who has time to play the game of rebellion with you?
The common people are the easiest to be satisfied.
Just like when He Xi handled the Guo Huan case. The people of Jiaxing were clearly taxed six times. But the people remained silent. It’s not that I don’t know the pain, but there is still a way to survive. This is also a portrayal of the vast majority of people in the Ming Dynasty.
It is naturally false to say that the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty was a paradise on earth. But Zhu Yuanzhang created a society in which a large number of people could survive.
Therefore, most of the people are working hard to survive, and individual dignitaries or scholar-bureaucrats who want to rebel will not follow them. The reason why the undercurrent is an undercurrent is that they are not recognized by the silent majority.
But this is different.
King Yan could not see anything farther away, but he knew that this thing would cause civil unrest.
Zhu Yuanzhang actually saw it more clearly than King Yan. He coughed and said, "Fourth, shut up, no one will silence you. Keep watching."
Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts were more complicated than that of King Yan.
Zhu Yuanzhang used the theories of later generations to interpret it. In fact, it is very clear where the basic foundation of ancient Chinese emperors lies. That is the yeoman. A good man. Because the gentry could evade taxes and servitude, but the peasants could not. They were the foundation of taxation in the Ming Dynasty.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not know this truth before. But we also do things according to this routine.
Whether it's migrating people or freeing slaves. Granting land to military households and so on. In fact, a large number of homesteaders were artificially created.
And what do yeoman farmers represent? It is a small-scale peasant economy in which men farm and women weave. As for women's weaving, women sell the cloth they weave at home, which is also a very important source of income for the family. Now the existence of this kind of textile factory will seriously hit the small-scale peasant economy of homesteaders.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't see clearly what it would bring. But he was instinctively disgusted.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang likes to have everything under control, whether it is military or political, he is like this. The affairs in front of him were beyond his control.
If he had not acquired the modern knowledge system, he would have had it eradicated. But he understands that this is inevitable. Even if he can suppress it, these seeds will sprout elsewhere in the future. Unstoppable.
What King Yan wanted to say. Zhu Yuanzhang knew it all. He only felt that King Yan was noisy.
Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent. Follow He Xi as she walks through the textile factory. From the initial processing of linen to spinning into silk thread. Woven into cloth. Zhu Yuanzhang saw it all. But Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help being surprised by the other machine.
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the big iron lump and said, "What is this?"
He Xi said: "Your Majesty, this is an experimental product. A sewing machine."
Speaking of this thing, I have to say that He Xi was so playful when she was a child that she took the sewing machine at home into eight pieces and couldn't put them together anymore. Naturally, he was severely beaten, even though the sewing machine was no longer used. But at home, grandparents are still just a thing.
However, it was this beating that made He Xi remember the general structure of a sewing machine.
While the textile factory was being constructed, He Xi thought of this. So some blacksmiths were found. Start manufacturing. Although it is said that all the skilled craftsmen in the world are in the College of Engineering and Science. However, those made by humans are still not as good as those made by machines in later generations.
In He Xi's opinion, he was stupid, clumsy and clumsy.
Because many of the craftsmanship was not in place, what was originally a small sewing machine for home use turned into a large machine. It takes one person to step on the roller and provide power to sew the cloth, not to mention that the failure rate is extremely high.
The needle keeps breaking.
That's why it's a test subject.
There is no problem with the basic structure. But the basic structure of the machine is correct. It doesn’t mean it can be used. There are many details that need to be considered. So I put it here and want to use it for a long time. to find out enough questions.
"Sewing machine?" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't believe it for a moment.
Yes. Zhu Yuanzhang knew that many things in later generations were produced by machinery. However, it is still difficult to estimate the extent to which large-scale mechanical production will reach. For mobile phones and computers, it has exceeded Zhu Yuanzhang's understanding. No matter how He Xi explains it. Zhu Yuanzhang can only understand it in terms of divine creations.
But there is the matter of sewing clothes. Zhu Yuanzhang is too familiar.
It’s so clear.
After all, today, the hostess of almost every household knows this skill and is called a female worker. This is not just a trend, but a real need. Because the most important job of a hostess is to make clothes for the whole family. Therefore, mothers or wives making clothes under an oil lamp are lifelong memories for many men.
There are many ingenious female craftsmanships that women can be proud of.
And the thing in front of me can already be done by a machine.
So, there is nothing in the world that machines cannot do.
This greatly shocked Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't understand the kind of killer weapon that could destroy the world and cover the whole world in dozens of minutes. He didn't have to understand it. But the sewing machine is so familiar. It became increasingly difficult to accept it. Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward and took out a piece of sewn clothes.
This is a very simple pair of pants and top. Ordinary Mingren style. But very tolerant.
He Xi stepped forward and said immediately: "I am going to distribute these clothes to the soldiers. Just because the soldiers have different body shapes, I will make them in a big way. Make sure there is enough fabric, and if they are uncomfortable, you can tighten the trousers. Or you can have your wife change them. Just change it. And it’s so big and easy to produce.”
The military uniforms of the Ming Dynasty were not issued uniformly. Instead, the soldiers received the cloth themselves and asked their families to make it. Many of them were simply given money by the court, or they were not even given money and were asked to prepare their own money.
For example, official robes are like this.
He Xi also wants to provide some benefits to the people below. It can be regarded as appeasing the soldiers for their hard work in the past two years. It is also to expand the market for the future.
But this is not what Zhu Yuanzhang cares about. Zhu Yuanzhang stroked the seams of his pants with his hands. Looking at the densely packed stitches, although they are a little rough, each one is extremely strong. For a moment it reminded him of Queen Ma's needlework.
I was crazy for a while.
Suddenly I felt a torrent deep in my heart. An unstoppable torrent.
The beginning of a new era, and the end of his era. It doesn't matter whether he likes it or not. Nothing can be changed. He can even transform the world he is familiar with into a world he is unfamiliar with.
It's very complicated inside.
