Zhu Yunwen did not return to the palace, but stayed in Zhan Shifu and convened Zhuo Jing, Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru, and Lian Zining to discuss matters. After everyone sat down, Zhu Yunwen retired from everyone, circulated today's recital to everyone, and said, "Who do you think is responsible for this arson?" ”

Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru have been compiling the "Hongwu Dictionary" recently, so they don't know much about things, so they don't speak.

Qi Tai said first: "Your Highness, the minister thinks that it is likely that the rich textile merchants in Songjiang hired water bandits, because the amount of sand produced by their three-spindle spinning machine is much lower than that of the new spinning machine, and the operation difficulty of the new spinning machine is lower than that of the three-spindle spinning machine, the new spinning machine is hand-cranked, and the three-spindle spinning machine is foot-pedal. Therefore, the minister thought that the new spinning machine had the greatest impact on the rich spinning households in Songjiang and Suzhou, and they were the most likely. ”

"Well, that's a possibility, what else?"

Lian Zining participated in this kind of discussion for the first time, and was a little restrained, and when he saw that he was a little cold, he said: "Your Highness, my lords, the lower officials think that there is a possibility that those affected family spinning households, and the new spinning machine is only a matter of earning more and earning less for the rich textile households, and it will not affect their livelihoods. But for ordinary weavers, it's a matter of life and death. So it's very likely that these weavers did it. Because ten days ago, there was also a burning of textile workshops in Suzhou, which was done by weavers. ”

Qi Tai patted his head and said with annoyance: "Yes, I have the impression of this matter, the number of looms in Suzhou is second only to Jingshi, there were dozens of weavers at that time, rushed to a small workshop, the workshop only has about thirty or forty looms, there is no care for the home and the like, the two parties clashed, and finally the loom was destroyed sixteen, a total of seven people were injured, fortunately no one died." At that time, I remember that the weavers called the new machines 'demon machines'. ”

At this time, Fang Xiaoru understood the reason for the matter, stood up and arched his hand: "Your Highness, the minister agrees with Huang Zhi's opinion in the matter, and the new textile machine should be banned. ”

One word shocked everyone, especially Lian Zining, he looked at Fang Xiaoru in astonishment, and said in his heart: Today, these people should be His Highness's henchmen, don't you know that this Fang Xiaoru didn't know that the new textile machine was made up by His Highness?

Zhu Yunwen rubbed his eyebrows and said, "Mr. Fang, why is this?" ”

Fang Xiaoru stood up, looked around, and then said: "Your Royal Highness, the minister thinks that the first thing to govern the country is to support the people, that is, to let the people live and work in peace and contentment. But the minister thought that it was necessary to go further, and the well field system should be restored, because the root of raising the people lies in the equalization, "Zhou Li, Diguan, Xiao Situ" contains: "It is through the land and the well, the pasture of its field, the nine husbands for the well, the four wells for the yi, the four yi for the mound, the four hills for the dian, the four dian for the county, the four counties for the capital, to do the land and order the tribute, all the things that are taxed." 'Jingtian is a good law of ancient times, and the violent Qin destroyed it, but unfortunately the sages of the former Han Dynasty failed to persuade Han Gaozu to restore Jingtian. Since then, China has enjoyed a short period of time, and there is no more grand occasion of the 800-year Zhou Dynasty. The minister thinks that the well field system is the best, and the nine husbands are the well ......"

"Therefore, the minister thinks that the new textile machine will inevitably make the people rich and poor, and the people are tired of running for their lives, which is contrary to the foundation of the Ming Dynasty to govern the country with benevolence, and the people will inevitably lose their morality for a long time, and there will be no more men and women weaving, working at sunrise, and resting at sunset."

Fang Xiaoru's words deeply shocked everyone, everyone was really stunned, and they didn't know how to answer for a while. After a long time, Zhu Yunwen said: "But sir, the new textile machine can save manpower, spin more yarn, and then weave more cloth, isn't this good?" ”

"Your Highness, although this loom can reap temporary profits, but it will inevitably be a disaster for ten thousand years, first of all, this kind of machine is expensive, individuals cannot have it, they can only go to the workshop to work, so that the workshop owner will oppress the people, and the people have to rely on their noses, these rich merchants will take wealth and threaten the court, there will be great trouble; In addition, the people all go to work, and the people who can't work will inevitably plant mulberry hemp, so there will be a shortage of grains and grains. How can the people save themselves? ”

Saying that, Fang Xiaoru knelt down and said, "Your Highness, this kind of loom is called a "demon machine", which is not an exaggeration at all, and it will inevitably greatly affect the national fortune of my Ming Dynasty." ”

Zhu Yunwen was a little stunned, he didn't expect the arson case to be discussed here, but when he saw Fang Xiaoru kneeling down, he quickly stood up, helped Fang Xiaoru up, and said: "Mr. Xizhi, we will discuss this matter later, today we will discuss who did the arson case?" ”

Fang Xiaoru was stunned, and said: "Your Highness, the minister has forgotten a little, and I hope that His Highness will atone for his sins." ”

"It's okay, it's okay, Mr. Nozomi, who do you think might have set the fire?"

Fang Xiaoru thought for a while: "The minister thought it was done by the angry weaver. ”

Zhu Yunwen smiled bitterly, the weaver will weave the household, and add an "angry", it seems that Fang Xiaoru is also eager to burn the weaving machine, and said: "Mr. Fang and Master Lian all think that the weaver did it, what about the others?" ”

Zhuo Jing has been promoted to the head of the household department, so he is also more stable, and he asked a question: "These weavers have no money and no organization, how can they make such a big case?" ”

A word woke up the person in the dream, and everyone stretched out their index fingers in unison and said, "White Lotus Sect." ”

Qi Tai clapped his hands and said: "It must be the White Lotus Sect, whenever the people are in trouble, the White Lotus Sect will take advantage of the situation, and now that the weavers are bankrupt and their livelihoods are difficult, the White Lotus Sect will definitely not let go of this opportunity." ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "Gu has asked the weaver workshop to recruit a large number of weavers to work, trying not to affect their lives, and even opened a textile workshop for all women, and also opened a kindergarten and nursing home for those with difficult families. ”

Everyone didn't know what a kindergarten or nursing home was, and after listening to it, Fang Xiaoru said: "Your Royal Highness, this move is ridiculous, how can there be a three-year-old child to be taken care of by others, and the mother works by herself, and it is even more unreasonable to spend money to let people wait for the elderly. ”

"But if there are only old people, women and children in the family, and the women don't come out to work, how can they support their families?"

"This is simple, ban the 'demon machine', and women can naturally support their families."

This, Zhu Yunwen suddenly found that this is an unsolvable problem, return to the original point, naturally there is no problem at all, but if science and technology are not developed, then the Western colonizers will come soon, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Spaniards and Portuguese have already arrived at the door of China. But if you want to say that you will be beaten if you are backward, Zhu Yunwen is afraid that it will cause laughter, and the people present will think that it is a fantasy.

Huang Zicheng continued: "Your Highness, after all, there are only a few people who are willing to come out to work, and there are not so many workshops, so some people will inevitably go bankrupt or even starve to death." In addition, working in a workshop is subject to the beating and scolding of the overseers, and is not free, and the minister thinks that even if there are enough workshops, there will still be people who are unwilling to come out to work. ”

Zhu Yunwen had a headache, and he suddenly found that it was not a good thing for him to travel to a prosperous empire. In the last days, everyone is willing to change, just like in the late Qing Dynasty, after the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, China has almost become a testing ground for all kinds of ideas, as long as it is not the emperor, there are people who are willing to try. And now, the strength of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be invincible all over the world, and the northern Mongols are no longer a problem, although there are occasionally some robbers from the sea, but the number is small, the scale is small, and the impact is not great. As for the food and handicraft industries, they are all leading in the world, so what is the need for the people of the Ming Dynasty to change? However, the Ming Dynasty was a backward dynasty with a comprehensive decline in science and technology, and for the first time purchased and introduced red-coated cannons from the West, but this did not alert the Chinese, and it is a little strange to think about it.

Fang Xiaoru is right, the introduction of new technology has led to the decline of morality, the days of simple sunrise and sunset are gone, in later generations, there are millions of people who don't sleep all night in China every day, not to mention supporting the elderly, beating and scolding the elderly are endless.

In his later life, he was just an ordinary programmer, and he often cursed the degradation of national morality, but in this era, he wanted to put China on the path of the Western powers, and the consequences that Fang Xiaoru said would be fulfilled little by little.

But if you don't change now, the Chinese of future generations will need to pay a hundredfold or a thousand times the price to change, and these costs are necessary, Zhu Yunwen forced himself to think so......

"Well, what Mr. Huang said is reasonable, is there any other possibility?"

Everyone is a smart person, knowing that Zhu Yunwen has not heard what he wants to hear, and everyone here has actually thought of it, but today there is one more Lian Zining, and he doesn't dare to speak without knowing the roots. Zhu Yunwen quickly realized this problem and said, "Lian Shilang, is there any other possibility?" ”

Lian Zi Ning paused for a moment, felt the sweat on his forehead come out all of a sudden, gritted his teeth and said: "Your Highness, the minister thinks, the minister thinks ......" finally made up his mind and said: "It may also be the vassal king, it may be the king of Yan." ”

As soon as Lian Zining's words landed, he clearly felt that everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "Then there are three possibilities: the rich textile family in Songjiang, the bankrupt weaver of the White Lotus Sect organization, and the vassal king." ”

"Let's talk about the first one first, if it was done by the wealthy people in Songjiang, how did they plan the arson, and what other means are there in the follow-up? How can we respond? ”

Everyone began to talk about it, and seeing this kind of scene, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but think of Prince Wang Du, it would be nice if he was here, the people here are a little square, and they are not good at intrigues.

The final conclusion was that the rich families of Songjiang were hiding behind the scenes, bribing the bandits, and killing and setting fires, so that even if the bandits were caught, it would be difficult to track down these rich people. After tomorrow, there are two possible means for them, one is to spread rumors and make things bigger in the market, and the other is to mobilize the imperial historian to impeach and ban the new textile machine.

If it was the White Lotus Sect, the water bandits might be their subordinates, but at most they could only track down the water bandits, and higher-level personnel could not track them down. They may also continue to set new arsons, causing panic and spreading rumors to intimidate those who use new looms.

If it is a vassal king, this is very confusing, this does not seem to be good for the vassal king, at most it is a blow to the prestige of the imperial grandson, so it is more likely that King Yan will be.

In either case, if the imperial court bans new looms, it will be a serious blow to the prestige of the imperial grandson, which will be considered to be not knowing how to govern the country, young and blind, causing heavy losses, and needing the assistance or replacement of the old generation.

So whoever set the fire, the next step would be to inadvertently unite and ban the new looms.