Chapter Ninety-Six: The Harbinger of a New Era

He Xi said: "His Royal Highness King Yan doesn't know something. Here 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 hemp in Goryeo. I just used it. There is not enough cotton cultivation in Liaodong, and I have already sent people to buy cotton everywhere. It is estimated that cotton will be able to be used this winter. ”

Yan Wang said: "Is cotton okay?" ”

He Xi said the same.

King Yan's face suddenly sank. He said, "Father, this ------"

He didn't know what to say. But he didn't have any thoughts about the throne anymore. But after all, he is the prince of the Ming Dynasty, and he knows better that he shares weal and woe with the Ming Dynasty. Seeing such a big hidden danger, I can't help but remind you.

That's all there is to sackcloth.

Although linen cloth is still worn by the people of the Ming Dynasty, linen cloth has natural problems and is not warm enough. Since Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously promoted cotton planting, cotton has spread all over the world for 20 years. The textile industry in various places has also changed from weaving linen cloth to cotton cloth.

Linen has become a niche.

Dignitaries generally did not wear sackcloth, and even if some people wore sackcloth, they did not buy it. Rather, they weave it themselves. So, even if the linen cloth is cheaper, they won't buy it. But cotton is not the same.

Cotton has become a commodity that circulates on a large scale. The scale is already above the silk.

There are a large number of people who depend on the cotton industry for their livelihood.

Today, there are only a few hundred of these new looms. That's all there is to it. When it's all produced, what will happen to those people? There's too much risk.

Although the king of Yan is politically insensitive. But he also knows a very simple truth, that is, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty is also the foundation of the Zhu family, not in the scholars, not in the honors, but in the Ming people.

Zhu Yuanzhang has equalized the road of the world, so that too many people have benefited. It is precisely because the people of the whole world think that Zhu Yuanzhang is the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang can kill decisively, and he will kill whoever he says. Nor is there any fear of rebellion from below. Because the people's minds are determined. Everyone is busy getting by. Who is free to play the game of rebellion with you.

The people are the easiest to satisfy.

It's like when He Xi handled Guo Huan's case. The people of Jiaxing were obviously taxed six times more. But the people remained silent. It's not that I don't know the pain, but there is a way to live. This is also a portrayal of the vast majority of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

It is naturally false to say that during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, it was a paradise on earth. But in the end, Zhu Yuanzhang has created a society in which many people can live.

Therefore, most of the people are trying to live, and some dignitaries or scholars and doctors want to rebel, but they do not follow. The reason why the undercurrent is an undercurrent is that they don't get the approval of the silent majority.

But it's not the same.

King Yan couldn't see anything farther, but he knew that it would cause civil unrest.

Zhu Yuanzhang actually looked at it more clearly than King Yan, coughed, and said; "Fourth, shut up, no one will dumb you. Keep watching. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's mind is 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 plate of ancient Chinese emperors is. That's homesteaders. Good family. Because the gentry could escape servitude, the yeoman peasants could not escape, they were the basis of the Ming Dynasty's taxation.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know this truth before. But it is also done according to this routine.

Whether it is the migration of the people, or the release of slaves and maids. Grant land to military households, and so on. In fact, a large number of yeoman farmers were artificially created.

And what does the yeoman represent? It is a small-scale peasant economy where men plough and women weave. As for women's weaving, women take out the cloth woven at home and sell it, which is also a very important source of income for the family. The existence of such textile mills today would deal a serious blow to the smallholder economy of homesteaders.

What will be brought, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't see clearly for a while. But he instinctively loathed.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang likes everything under control, whether it is military or political, he is like this. The affairs in front of him are beyond his control.

If he hadn't been given a modern body of knowledge, he would have had it eradicated. It's just that he understands that this is inevitable, and even if he can suppress it, these seeds will sprout elsewhere in the future. Unstoppable.

What King Yan wants to say. Zhu Yuanzhang knows it. He only felt that King Yan was noisy.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say a word. Follow He Xi in the textile factory. From the very beginning of the processing of the linen to the spinning of the silk thread. Woven into cloth. Zhu Yuanzhang saw it all in his eyes. But another machine suddenly made Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but be surprised.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to this big iron bump and said, "What is this?" ”

He Xi said: "Your Majesty, this is a test subject. Sewing machine. ”

Speaking of this thing, I have to say that He Xi was greedy for fun when he was a child, and he dismantled the sewing machine at home and couldn't fit it together. Naturally, he was beaten heavily, although the sewing machine was not used for a long time. But at home, grandparents are still a thing.

However, it was this beating that made He Xi remember the general structure of the sewing machine.

At the same time as the construction of the textile factory, He Xi remembered this. So I found some blacksmiths. Start of manufacturing. Although it is said that the world's skilled craftsmen are all in the engineering and science colleges. However, the artificially created ones are still not as good as those made by later generations.

In He Xi's opinion, stupid and stupid.

Because many processes are not in place, what was originally a small sewing machine for home use has become a big one. It takes a person to step on the rollers on one side to provide power, and then the cloth is sewn on the other side, not to mention that the failure rate is particularly high.

The needle is always broken.

That's why it's a test product.

There is no problem with the basic structure. But the basic structure of the mechanical thing is right. It doesn't mean that it can be used, and there are many details that need to be considered. So I put it here and use it and want to use it for a long time. to find out enough of the problem.

"Sewing machine?" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't believe it for a while.

Yes. Zhu Yuanzhang knew that many things in later generations were produced by machinery. However, it is still difficult to estimate the extent of large-scale mechanical production. For mobile phones and computers, it has exceeded Zhu Yuanzhang's understanding. No matter how He Xi explained. Zhu Yuanzhang can only be understood by immortal creations.

But sewing clothes is one thing. Zhu Yuanzhang is too familiar.

Got it too much.

After all, and today, almost every mistress in a house will have this hand, called a female worker. It's not just fad, it's a real need. Because the most important job of the hostess is to make clothes for the family. Therefore, the mother or wife, making clothes under the oil lamp, is a lifelong memory for many men.

Many ingenious female craftsmen are also means for women to be proud of.

And the machine can already do it in front of you.

So in the world, there are still things that machines can't do.

This greatly shocked Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

For the kind of world-destroying weapon that covers the world in dozens of minutes, Zhu Yuanzhang can't understand it, he can't understand it. But the sewing machine is so familiar. It's getting harder and harder to accept. Zhu Yuanzhang stepped forward and took out a sewn piece of clothing.

It is a very simple pants with a top. Ordinary Ming style. But it is very lenient.

He Xi stepped forward and immediately said, "The minister is going to distribute these clothes to the soldiers." Just because the soldiers are of different sizes, they make a lot of money. Leave the fabric to be more than enough, and if it's uncomfortable to wear, you can tighten the trouser rope. Or let yourself change it. And it's so big and easy to produce. ”

Daming's military uniforms were not uniformly issued. Instead, the soldiers brought their own cloth and let their families make it. Many of them were simply given silver by the imperial court, or even silver, and let them bring their own.

For example, the official robe is like this.

He Xi also wanted to give some benefits to the people below. It can be regarded as appeasing the hard work of the soldiers in the past two years. It is also to expand the market for the future.

But Zhu Yuanzhang is not concerned about this. Zhu Yuanzhang stroked the place where the pants were sewn with his hand. Looking at the dense stitches, although they are a little rough, they are extremely strong. For a while, he remembered Queen Ma's needlework.

I was stupid for a while.

Suddenly I felt a torrent from the depths of my heart. An unstoppable torrent.

The precursor of a new era, and the end of his era. He likes it or not. None of them can be changed. Even he can transform the world he is familiar with into a world he is not familiar with.

It's complicated inside.