In the mechanical workshop under the Gewu Academy, Dai Quanzheng and a group of craftsmen were tinkering with a special equipment.

"Li Langjun, this cottonseed is still not clean, and there are always one or two grains left in it."

"According to the hint of the prince, the principle should be like this, and judging from the current deseeding situation, the method is also correct."

Li Yan held his chin in his right hand, looked at the strange machine in front of him, and fell into deep thought.

"Senior Brother Li, if we make this drum out of hard logs and cloth it with thin hook teeth, so that when we shake the crank handles on both sides, we can pull out the cotton, leaving the cotton seeds to fall in the pocket below."

Di Renjie also followed Li Yan to the mechanical workshop today.

Now, he is also a little famous in Guanshishan Academy, as a disciple of Li Kuan, his identity is not ordinary, and he is proficient in arithmetic, scriptures and other fields, which makes other students feel extraordinary.

When a person is a little better than you, you can easily be jealous of him.

But a person who is countless better than you, you will only admire and envy, and there is no way to talk about jealousy.

It's like the richest man or the leaders of various countries in later generations, how many ordinary people will be jealous of them?

There was only admiration and envy left in everyone's hearts.

"Do you want to add more thin hooks?"

Li Yan also attaches great importance to Di Renjie's opinions, and in the past year, everyone who does not pay attention to Di Renjie has ended up making themselves disgraced.

He remembered the scene when Di Renjie asked the "senior brother" a few questions.

"That's right, it turns out that this roller is too rough, although it can pull out some cotton, but there is no way to peel all the cottonseeds, which not only wastes the cottonseeds, but also makes the cottonseeds break and oil when the cotton is spun into cotton threads, which stains the cotton threads."

Chu Wangfu has planted more than ten acres of cotton this year, so much cotton, it is naturally impossible to rely on manual to pick out cotton seeds one by one.

The difficulty of removing cottonseed is also an important reason why cotton cultivation was not popularized in the early days.

If the cotton seed is not removed, when the cotton is filled into the clothing, it will slowly rot and deteriorate.

Not to mention spinning into cotton threads.

Therefore, when this year's cotton began to bloom, Li Kuan asked the machinery workshop to start developing a machine that could quickly remove cottonseeds, and by the way, the threshing machine was also made to improve production efficiency.

As for how to process the cotton with the cotton seed removed into cotton thread and how to spin the cotton thread into cotton cloth, this is not so difficult.

Because in the wool workshop of the Chu Palace, similar machinery has been relatively mature, and as long as it is simply transformed, it can be used to weave cotton.

"Lao Dai, the method Huaiying said seems to be feasible, why don't we make a prototype first and try the effect?"

Li Yan conceived the method Di Renjie said in his mind, and then closed his eyes and thought about the scene when this kind of machine was working, and felt very interesting.

"Okay, it's not difficult to just nail all kinds of fine hooks on the log."

In the mechanical workshop, there are not only all kinds of steel and iron, but also all kinds of types and quantities of wood.

It was only half an hour before a new type of wood-iron hybrid machine appeared in front of everyone.

"I'll shake it!"

Di Renjie was still young after all, and after seeing the equipment he conceived was made, he couldn't help but want to confirm the effect in person.

……

With all the cotton on the south bank of Weishui being picked, Chang'an City became more curious about the rumors that 10,000 acres of cotton were about to be planted in the Chu Palace.

"Lang Jun, I heard that all this cotton has been sent to the wool workshop."

In the eldest grandson's mansion, the eldest grandson Chong listened to the news reported to him by his subordinates, and fell into hesitation for a while.

Isn't this cotton for ornamentation?

Why was it sent to a wool factory?

Could it be that this cotton can also be used for weaving?

Changsun Chong couldn't help but pick up a cotton flower on the table, which was secretly picked by the subordinates from the fields of the Chu Palace.

In fact, many nobles in Chang'an City have a few stolen cotton flowers.

There are even a few people who have learned to plant a few plants in their backyards.

"You're watching from the sidelines when those cotton are picked?"

"Yes, I watched from the side for a long time, in fact, there were a lot of people watching the excitement that day."

"Then in your opinion, how many catties of cotton per mu is there?"

Although it is not certain whether the cotton can be used for weaving, once it is confirmed that the cotton is really useful, then how much it can be produced becomes very critical.

Eldest Sun Chong still has this knowledge.

"Lang Jun, listening to those farmers muttering, I am afraid that the output of this acre of cotton will not be more than 200 catties, and it is not surprising that it is even more."

"So much?"

Changsun Chong couldn't help but show a surprised expression.

One acre of land, if it is used to grow corn, is only about one or two hundred catties of harvest, and it can be sold for two hundred yuan at most.

But if this cotton can really be used for weaving, then one acre of cotton is at least worth the same amount of money, right?

This......

Isn't this going crazy?

"Lang Jun, that cotton, all over the fields, two hundred catties, should be true."

"The wool workshop in the Chu Wangfu, I heard that there are more than 1,000 helpers, you spend some money, find a few more people to inquire, and see what the cotton is used for after it is transported to the wool workshop? Pay special attention to inquire whether the cotton can be used to spin cotton thread or cotton cloth. ”

The useless wool was tricked by Li Kuan raw.

Today, wool products and linen have divided ninety percent of the "clothing" market.

If this huge amount of cotton can really be used for spinning, then Changsun Chong will definitely not waste this opportunity.

How many times have you learned this lesson?

……

Liao Zhang is an old employee of the wool thread workshop in the Chu Wangfu.

Moreover, because when he leased the textile to Dongfang Ping, this scholar would instruct his son to recognize a few words from time to time, so Liao Zhang also learned some words.

In this way, in the night school in the wool factory, Liao Zhang quickly stood out.

She was soon appointed head of the group and led a dozen women workers to weave wool thread.

A few years later, she is now the head of the workshop dedicated to spinning wool into wool thread.

After the cotton is sent to the wool workshop, it is natural that it must be spun into cotton thread like wool, and then it can be further woven into cotton cloth.

As a relatively senior person in the wool workshop, Liao Zhang naturally became the person in charge of this newly opened cotton thread workshop.

"Lao Liao, do you know? During this time, everyone was discussing the matter of the Chu Wangfu to plant 10,000 acres of cotton. ”

As soon as she got home, Liao Zhang couldn't help but tell her husband what she had seen today.

"What do I know?"

Uncle Liao saw the mysterious appearance of his mother-in-law, and asked very cooperatively.

"It's that cotton, aren't many people laughing at His Royal Highness the King of Chu for being extravagant and wasting land, in fact, those people don't understand His Royal Highness the King of Chu at all."

Liao Zhangshi thought of the scene where the first cotton cloth came out of the workshop today, and couldn't help but sell Guanzi.

"You know what you say."

Uncle Liao felt that he was also "those people" in his mother-in-law's mouth, so he was a little unhappy.

"Don't say it, I really understand. In the words of the professor of the night school: The bird knows the ambition of the bird. This time, everyone in Chang'an City misunderstood His Royal Highness the King of Chu. ”

"Really?"

Uncle Liao helps in the honeycomb coal workshop, doing manual work, usually everyone's gossip is relatively not so much, and when he returns home, he is tired and rarely goes out to chat with others, and he really doesn't know how to talk about His Royal Highness the King of Chu during this time.

"Why lie to you, those cottons can be woven into soft, smooth, and more delicate cloth than linen, and it feels very good."

Touching the material of his clothes, and then thinking of the cotton cloth in today's workshop, Liao Zhang couldn't help but feel a little disgusted.

With the income of their couple, Chang'an City in this era can be regarded as a typical middle class.

However, they are still reluctant to consume such expensive textiles as silk, and basically, they wear clothes woven from linen or wool.

"Can cotton be weaved? Isn't that cotton planted to look good? ”

Uncle Liao looked at his mother-in-law a little puzzled, he didn't hear of cotton for the first time, but cotton can be woven for the first time.

"It's beautiful, but you can't weave cotton without saying it's beautiful!"

"So, the Chu Wangfu is ready to plant 10,000 mu of cotton next year, not because His Royal Highness the King of Chu likes cotton, but because cotton can be woven cloth?"

"Of course, what do you think?"

Since the wool workshop did not ask the helpers to keep the news that cotton could be woven secret, this secret soon became the news known to the noble people of Chang'an City.

"Sure enough, fortunately, the old man learned wisely this time and did not impeach His Royal Highness the King of Chu, otherwise he would have been laughed at like that He Qinlao."

In Yang's mansion, Yang Benman also heard the rumor that cotton could be woven from Yang Dong for the first time.

"Yes, if cotton can really weave cloth, then it makes sense for the Chu Wangfu to plant 10,000 mu of cotton in one go."

"You just said that the yield per mu of cotton is quite high?"

Yang Benman thought of something, and hurriedly confirmed with Yang Dong further.

"Yes, it is said that there are two or three hundred catties, and if this can weave cloth, one acre of cotton can weave a lot of cloth."

"If that's the case, then growing cotton is more profitable than farming. Especially now that there are still few people who grow cotton, the price of cotton cloth is certainly not cheap, and the output of one acre of cotton land is estimated to be as high as ten acres of corn land. ”

Yang Benman quickly calculated the income of planting cotton in his heart, and felt that he might make more money than growing tea.

Although, as more and more people grow cotton, the price of this cotton will definitely fall sharply, but no matter how it falls, growing cotton is more profitable than growing corn.

He still has this judgment.

"Shall we also plant some cotton?"

Yang Benman has been an official in Chang'an City for many years, and he also has his own fields and tenants outside the city, so Yang Dong immediately asked if he wanted to use these lands to grow cotton.

"Of course, but there are definitely not a few people in Chang'an City who have this idea. Now the seeds of this cotton are only available in the Chu Wangfu, if you just want to plant cotton, you must also have seeds. ”

A faint sadness rose from Yang Benman's heart.

With his relationship with the Chu Palace, this cotton seed must not be so easy to get.

Seeing an opportunity to make money slip away from his eyes, he was very anxious.

One step ahead, one step at a time.

Don't look at planting ten acres and eight acres of cotton land next year, you won't make much money in total.

But without these ten acres and eight acres, you will not be able to obtain hundreds or thousands of acres of seeds, so how can you make more money.

This feeling of knowing that you can make money, but there is no way to enter the market, is uncomfortable.

……

The courtyard of the Chu Wangfu is a city these days.

At the beginning, Li Kuan also took the initiative to meet the guests, and later found that these people had the same meaning in and out of their words, so he immediately took Cheng Jingwen and Xiaomai to Guanshishan Academy to hide in Qingjing.

"Whoa!"

Li Kuan peeked out of the pool, wiped the water droplets with both hands, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The swimming pool here is similar to the hot springs, and even in late autumn, the water is not too cold.

"Lord Wang, a while ago, everyone was still slandering you for your extravagant things, and when you turned around, everyone wanted to plant cotton, and these people's attitudes changed too quickly."

Cheng Jingwen refused to wear a swimsuit to swim with Li Kuan, and watched Li Kuan's father and daughter play in the pool on the shore.

"The world is bustling, all for profit; The world is crowded, all for profit. These nobles are shrewd, and after a little calculation, they know that planting cotton is much more cost-effective than growing corn, and their attitudes naturally change immediately. ”

Sometimes, the grapevine is more convincing than the official declaration, whether it is the Tang Dynasty or future generations.

Originally, there were countless eyes in Chang'an City staring at the usefulness of cotton after picking, but in the wool workshop, intentionally or unintentionally, the news of spinning cotton into cotton cloth was spread.

This kind of news from the mouth of insiders is the most convincing.

In addition, logically speaking, this news just explains why the Chu Wangfu will plant cotton on a large scale next year.

As a result, many people can't sit still.

There are a lot of nobles in Chang'an City, but there are not many people who really make money every day, and they are not bad for money.

Most of the families are guarding some fields, collecting some rent, and opening a few shops, and barely have some surplus in their annual income and expenditure.

Just like Fang Xuanling's mansion, if it weren't for Fang Xuanling's love, they would have been able to get a lot of silver money from the East China Sea fishery and Ajinomote, and their life in the mansion would have been a bit tight.

After all, no matter how much land rent is collected, there is a fixed amount.

"That's right, in this way, you don't have to worry about how to promote cotton planting."

Cheng Jingwen naturally knew that Li Kuan wanted to promote cotton on a large scale, and she thought it would be more difficult before, but she didn't expect it to be an easy start.

"If it weren't for the fact that the imperial court had decided to promote Nanyang rice on a large scale in Gangnam Province and Shannan Province, it would not have been a good thing for the nobles to be so keen on cotton planting."

There is no doubt about the significance of grain production to the stability of a country.

At this time, even if you are rich, you can't be self-sufficient in food, which is something that no emperor can accept.

It is expected that next year, the imperial court will promote the cultivation of millions of acres of rice in Nanyang, and the planting area of cotton, due to the limitation of seeds, is at most more than 10,000 acres.

However, after that, there will be an opportunity to soar to the scale of millions of acres, depending on whether cotton is really so profitable.

"Last year, you said that cotton cloth would replace linen cloth, I don't believe it, but now it seems that this possibility is very big."

Cheng Jingwen thought that more than a dozen pieces of cloth could be woven from cotton produced on one acre of land, and if millions of acres of cotton were really planted, the price of one cotton cloth would definitely be much lower than the current linen.

The price is lower, the quality is better, where is there still room for sack?

"It's not a question of how likely it is, it's basically a matter of course."

"Then when the eldest brother came to ask you yesterday, why did you let him go to Lingnan to plant sugarcane and disagree with him to grow cotton?"

Cheng Jingwen couldn't help but ask the questions she had been holding in her heart all day.

Li Kuan couldn't help but laugh out loud, which provoked Cheng Jingwen to stretch out her little foot and kick his arm gently.

However, Li Kuan stretched out his hand and directly pulled her from the edge of the pool to the water.

Poof!

Cheng Jingwen is completely not calm.

"Lord Wang, you are so annoying."

"Cluck, cluck."

The little corn was a pleasure to watch.

"I told you, don't hold it in your heart if you have something to say, this is a small punishment for you. How's that, your clothes are all wet, do you want to swim together? ”

Cheng Jingwen also knows how to swim, but she only swims when Li Kuan is not present.

"I don't, Lord Wang, you let me go."

Seeing that Li Kuan's hands and feet were not honest, Cheng Jingwen was taken aback.

Her face is thin, and she can't do anything like a pool fight.

"Didn't you just ask me why I didn't agree to let the Suguo Mansion also grow cotton?"

Li Kuan saw Cheng Jingwen's flustered eyes, and couldn't help but think of some scenes from a few years ago.

However, she was not happy, and Li Kuan naturally would not be reluctant, so the two of them simply leaned against the pool and talked.

"Yes, isn't your logic a little contradictory?"

"Not contradictory. This cotton planting is certainly profitable, but Chang'an City has countless nobles are staring at it, in a few years, cotton planting will become a very common thing, although the income will still be more than growing food, but not much. Moreover, this cotton is not suitable for growing everywhere, and the land and climate requirements are higher than other grains, so I offer an alternative option. ”

As his brother-in-law, he is destined to inherit the title of Duke of Suguo in the future, and he has to take on the responsibility of the rise and fall of the Cheng family, and Li Kuan will naturally help him.

"Is that what you said about going to Lingnan to grow sugarcane?"

"That's right, now Guangzhou has also set up a city department, and Dongfang Ping has completely gained a firm foothold there. As an important supply point in the South China Sea, Guangzhou's position is also very important, and I intend to increase the investment in the East China Sea fishery in Guangzhou. ”

"Then what does it have to do with letting the eldest brother arrange someone to go to Lingnan to plant sugarcane?"

"Sugarcane can be used to make sugar, look at the price of sugar in Chang'an City, even if the price is cut in half, it is sky-high."

The Chu Wangfu basically monopolized the production and sales of white sugar in Chang'an City, and was naturally very clear about the huge profits in it.

"But for the production of white sugar, don't we need to buy frosting from Tianzhu merchants to process it?"

Although Cheng Jingwen heard that sugarcane is very sweet and can be used to refine frosting, this technology is in the hands of Tianzhu people.

At that time, my mother's family planted a large amount of sugarcane in Lingnan, but there was no way to make it into sugar, wouldn't it be a pity?

"Do you know how to make black icing into sugar, and don't you know how to make sugarcane into frosting?"

Cheng Jingwen is obviously concerned about chaos, and her intelligence is obviously not reflected.

"Huh? Does the prince have a way to extract frosting from sugar cane? ”

"Now you know why I said I was going to Lingnan to grow sugarcane."

Li Kuan pecked Cheng Jingwen's little face.

"But Lingnan is too far away, and it used to be only for prisoners to go there. I heard that the Nanban there often disobeyed the discipline, wouldn't it be very risky to grow sugarcane in that kind of place? Can it be planted in Guanzhong? ”

No matter how smart Cheng Jingwen is, after all, she has not accepted countless information bombardment on the Internet like Li Kuan.

She didn't know what the environment was like for sugarcane.

"No, sugarcane is not alive in Guanzhong, it likes to grow in hot climates, the further south, the better it grows, and the higher the sugar content. If you want to grow sugarcane in Datang, you must at least go to the vicinity of Quanzhou, and it is even more stable near Guangzhou. As for the Nanbans you mentioned, if they don't obey discipline, there will be a shortage of helpers in the sugar cane fields. ”

Now is the time when the national strength of the Tang Dynasty is thriving, and Li Kuan is really not afraid of the Southern Barbarian rebellion.

Besides, since ancient times, the threat faced by the Central Plains Dynasty did not come from Lingnan.

As long as some nobles are guided to Lingnan to plant sugarcane, when everyone tries the sweetness, more and more resources will be invested, and the development of Lingnan will become possible.

Don't look at the hills and mountains everywhere in the south, in fact, a large area around Guangzhou is still very flat, enough to develop a one or two million acres of fertile land.

Whether these fields are used to grow sugarcane or rice, they are very beneficial to Datang.

Since the Han and Tang dynasties, the Central Plains Dynasty has been too far from the Guanzhong region, where too many people have gathered, and the consumption and destruction of the environment have become more and more serious.

In particular, the farmers have relocated to their land, even if the per capita land area in Guanzhong has decreased, they are not willing to leave their hometowns, and Li Kuan needs to use more lucrative interests to stimulate the farmers in Guanzhong, especially those who do not have a few acres of fertile land at home.

The tree dies, and the man lives.