Fang Xingwu on the side has been reporting to Zhao Dezhao about the recent affairs of the weapons supervisor, but in Zhao Dezhao's eyes, there has not been much progress, all the inspiration seems to be bound, and there is no potential to stimulate people's hearts.

Human potential is unlimited, but it will be subject to changes in the environment, the most important of which is one's mind.

The most fundamental thing for a person is his thoughts, fortunately, this era is not the era when Cheng Zhu Lixue was unscrupulously promoted by the rulers, nor is it the era when the Qing demon was strangled by the disciple rules and the literary prison, the backbone and spirit of the dignified nation are still there, as long as it develops in a good direction, everything will change, and now the Great Song Dynasty is still sleeping in infancy.

There is a bad side to this era, and there is an outstanding side, and everything is in urgent need of change, and the core is urgently needed.

So there needs to be a change, to weed out some of the bad things.

Man should be the ruler of all things, and this is the meaning that nature gives to man.

Therefore, man is the foundation of all things in heaven and earth.

At present, the business of the Great Song Dynasty is prosperous, and the prosperity of commerce has played a role in promoting the development of a country, and now the Great Song Dynasty is like this, and Zhao Dezhao is still very comforted by this.

Militarily, the Great Song Dynasty was also much stronger than in history, the pacification of most of the south of the Yangtze River, that is, the expansion of the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, colleagues also provided a site for the Great Song Dynasty to open up the south, some wasteland in the south was reclaimed, and many places became the land of fish and rice, and it did not cause much damage to the natural environment.

Nowadays, the most eye-catching is the cement chi, a cement chival from Runzhou to Hangzhou is also under construction, from the north Dengzhou port all the way to the south, Fuchuan and other sea ships along the coastline, in turn to Shanghai Port, Xifu Port, Quanzhou Thornton Port and Liuzhou Keelung Port, Kaohsiung Port, Guangzhou Port, etc.

The south is full of water and heat, suitable for growing rice, and the rice seeds of Champa have been sown in turn this spring, while in the southern paddy fields, the seeds of Champa rice have germinated and extracted roots, and the clear water has come out of the sheath of green.

From the paddy fields on the banks of the Guangzhou River, to the Jinghu Plain, Jianghan, Huaihe, Changzhou, and even the north, spring plowing began in turn.

The meal has to be eaten in one bite, the road has to be walked step by step, there are still many things to do at the moment, and now it is still necessary to concentrate on the battle in the north.

The North is the key.

Zhao Dezhao did not see Wei Pi in the Ordnance Prison today, he was left behind in Tokyo, and he wanted to guard the land of Gyeonggi for the Son of Heaven, and he had to consider the Great Song Dynasty in terms of government affairs, military affairs, business, etc., and when the Son of Heaven left Beijing, he also had to guard against those forces who were secretly ready to take advantage of the opportunity to jump...... This period of time was busy, and Zhao Dezhao was a little physically and mentally exhausted.

…… Zhao Dezhao patrolled the armory prison for a while, and the more Fang Xingwu spoke, the more energetic he became, as if he had an inexhaustible strength in his body.

Zhao Dezhao was also secretly happy, it seemed that the enthusiasm of the craftsmen in the ordnance prison was still very high.

A few hundred steps outside the ordnance prison, the little nobleman hurriedly drove the carriage to the side of Bianshui, a small village-like building surrounded by a wall, and there were many forbidden soldiers waiting around the wall, anyone who stepped into this place at will would die, and only the emperor's permission could enter and exit.

Xiao Guizi waited anxiously at the door, his clothes were stained with some scattered yellow petals, Xiao Guizi knew the rules here, and the sun was a little fierce this day, there were no layers of clouds in the sky, and Xiao Guizi's inner clothes were soaked.

Zhao Dezhao finished shopping in the ordnance prison, he planned to go to a nearby restaurant for lunch, the nearest restaurant here is Xi Shi Restaurant, which was sponsored by Zhao Dezhao to Shang Haobin, and it costs money to do things, and it is absolutely impossible to do things without money.

As soon as the door of the armory supervisor opened, the little nobleman at the door moved, looked inside, he didn't care about wiping his sweat, and called excitedly: "Your Highness." ”

Zhao Dezhao saw Xiao Guizi's urgent appearance, as well as the yellow petals on his shirt, in normal times, Xiao Guizi paid the most attention to dress code, but now he looked a little embarrassed, he immediately asked: "Little Guizi, why are you here too, is there a big matter?" ”

Xiao Guizi exclaimed excitedly: "Your Highness, the cotton you asked the merchants of the Western Regions to find has been found. ”

Zhao Dezhao was pleasantly surprised: "Oh? Where are they? Take me to see it. "Cotton, a plant, he has been looking for a long time, but he has never found it.

Cotton is a plant native to India and Arabia, and before it was introduced to China, only cotton flowers filled with bedding were used in Chinese life, and during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it was only cultivated in the border areas.

Now that the feudal merchant has found him, it is like fishing out a tiny needle at the bottom of the vast sea, but it has made Zhao Dezhao happy for a long time.

Xiao Guizi saw his master's happy look, he knew Zhao Dezhao's thoughts, as for why his master valued this thing, Xiao Guizi was puzzled, this sounds like just a flower, is it a rare panacea, now Xiao Guizi has to guess so, and then he said: "Your Highness, the big food merchants Mei Lezhi and Ke Lizhi have arrived at home, Your Highness's carriage is at the bridge, I will drive over." ”

The big food merchants Mei Lezhi and Ke Lizhi mentioned in the mouth of Xiao Guizi came along the sea route, and the two of them met overseas with camels, and now the two of them are in Kaifeng

Home is now a happy place.

On the outside of the home, there is a large field, and a large area of rape is planted on one side around the paddy field, and now the temperature is rising too fast, and the rape in the field has sporadically bloomed some yellow flowers, and a gust of wind blows, full of the smell of rape flowers.

And the yellow petals on the little nobleman were brought from here.

The carriage drove along the concrete road, over the newly built covered bridge, through a field of rape flowers, and everything around was pleasant, and at the end of the rape flowers were dozens of artificial fish ponds intertwined, on both sides of which were planted with mulberry trees.

After crossing the second stone bridge, you will arrive at home.

There are modern villas, there are also Tang and Song style buildings, and there are some buildings from the Western Regions, although there are more architectural styles, but it is also the embodiment of cultural exchanges, and throughout the whole Song Dynasty, the architectural formats here are rich and changeable.

There is a commercial street on the east and west sides of the home, and there are markets at the east and west ends, with Wowanjia on the east side and Kangzhuang on the west side.

The styles of Wowanjia and Kangzhuang are both local styles of the Great Song Dynasty, that is, the style of the Tang and Song dynasties.

There are many bridges here, and each unique bridge represents a condensed architectural history, and they constitute a unique scenery on the Bianshui River.

"You look at the scenery from the bridge, but it also becomes a unique scenery." Zhao Dezhao lifted the curtain from the window and watched, and he was also feeling the changes here.

As soon as Zhao Dezhao's carriage and horse stopped, there were enthusiastic businessmen and squires who came over, asking long and short, Zhao Dezhao looked helpless, people were afraid of being famous and pigs were afraid of being strong, he just said a few words, and politely rejected their kindness, these people were not disappointed, they were Zhao Dezhao was busy with official business, and had to go back temporarily.

Xiao Guizi pointed to the dhows docked on the pier in the distance and an inn not far away, and said, "Your Highness, the wharf where the dhows docked is the ships of the Great Food Domain, Mei Lezhi and Kriezy, and they have asked His Highness to meet at the inn." ”

"Hmm."

When they arrived at the Shilipo Inn, Zhao Dezhao and Xiao Guizi entered the inn.

When the appointed hour came, there was a faint sound of hurried footsteps on the wooden building, and Zhao Dezhao heard that the sound was probably the footsteps of two adult men. 、

Upstairs walked down two Fanbang people wearing Song people round-necked robes, with high cheekbones, and when they saw Zhao Dezhao, their eyes were rolling.

The little nobleman muttered in Zhao Dezhao's ear, and Zhao Dezhao nodded.

Zhao Dezhao said in Chinese: "Hello Mei Lezhi and Ke Lizhi, welcome to the Great Song Dynasty." ”

Although Mei Lezhi and Ke Lizhi are big food merchants, they have been going back and forth between big food and the Song Kingdom all the year round, so they can speak fluent Chinese.

"Mei Lezhi (Ke Lizhi) has seen His Royal Highness the King of Wei." Mei Lezhi and Ke Lizhi bowed slightly to Zhao Dezhao with standard etiquette.

Zhao Dezhao asked eagerly: "Mei Lezhi, Ke Lizhi, where is the thing you are talking about now?" ”

Merozie and Corrizzie immediately asked their servant Vander to bring three potted plants from the inn room.

The servant Fande brought three pots of cotton in turn, and then placed them on the table for Zhao Dezhao to see.

In these three pots, there are only green seedlings, and Zhao Dezhao took a look at it, which is about the length of an index finger, and they are still seedlings.

This is the seedling of cotton, Zhao Dezhao still knows this plant, in later generations their relatives are cotton planters, according to this plant, these flowers should be white cotton, and then Zhao Dezhao asked Mei Lezhi and Ke Lizhi if they had seeds.

The servant Vander immediately pulled out four or five shriveled capsules from a black pocket, with white cotton wool peeking out of them. This fruit is also called cotton boll. The cracks of the capsule are separated along the longitudinal axis of the carpel, like the bones of a blooming flower, and the white cotton wool is mixed with a lot of black cottonseeds.

Zhao Dezhao opened an oval capsule with his hand, tore the white cotton wool vigorously, and then peeled the seeds out of the cotton wool, these seeds are the cotton seeds of cotton, and now there is some cotton.

"Yes, that's what I want." Zhao Dezhao nodded and smiled, and then said, "You two have worked so hard, and it can be regarded as an indispensable contribution to my Great Song Dynasty people and Great Song Sheji, and when the emperor returns from the expedition in the future, I will naturally tell him." ”

Mei Lezhi and Ke Lizhi understood what Zhao Dezhao said, and the two of them immediately wept with gratitude and fell to the ground after hearing it.

"You two get up."

"Your Highness."

……

Now that he has cottonseeds and three pots of cotton seedlings, Zhao Dezhao plans to plant cotton at home, and in the future he can plant cotton in the Jianghuai Plain, Jianghan Plain, Southern Xinjiang Cotton Area, Central and Southern Hebei, Northwest Shandong, Northern Henan Plain, and the Coastal Plain of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

After Zhao Dezhao came out of the inn, he went to the cultivation area of the homeinn, where he has a small yard of his own, and in the small courtyard, there is a small greenhouse built of glass, which is specially used to cultivate some new varieties, last year he tried to plant potatoes and other things here, and this year he will plant cotton here.

Cotton is indeed too important for Zhao Dezhao, from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties for more than a thousand years, the people mainly use silk, linen and other materials, which are the necessities of the people's life, and the damage of silk and other things is too large, and it is not easy to use it for many years.

In addition, silkworm women raise silkworms to cure cocoons, spin weft in linen, and accumulate wisps and inches, which is also quite laborious, and it is also the reason why the price of silk is expensive.

Nowadays, the Great Song Dynasty court follows the system of the Later Zhou Dynasty, that is, it is stipulated that those who pay the government must pay a silk horse with a width of 2 feet 5 minutes, a weight of 12 taels, and a length of 42 feet (according to the 1 Song ruler is 31 centimeters, which is equivalent to about 113,866,866 meters).

The cloth of the Great Song Dynasty government was mainly used by the army and officials. In the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty in history, the soldiers of the forbidden army issued 6 horses of silk and 12 taels of silk on average every spring and winter every year, and 6 horses of silk were equivalent to about 78 meters.

…… The use of cotton can solve problems such as the dress of the army and the growth of the population. There will be great changes in all aspects such as clothing, medical care, and military, and it will change the entire Great Song society.

Zhao Dezhao thought about this, and then ordered people to put three pots of cotton into the greenhouse, and he only took some of the other cotton seeds and planted them in the greenhouse.

……

Ps.

(1) "Song Dynasty Cotton Planting Examination": The production of cotton was widely planted in the Fujian and Guangzhou areas of the Song Dynasty, and the production of Jibei cloth was not limited to Hainan Island. By the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, the cotton planting in Zhejiang and Jiangnan had a tendency to be promoted.

(2) During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, according to the "Song Hui Yao" Food and Goods 37-2, the prefectures of Sichuan and Shaanxi were ordered to weave all kinds of exquisite silk fabrics to pay tribute, "only weaving and buying silk, Luo, 紬, silk, cloth, cotton, etc.", it can be seen that Xichuan has cotton cloth production.