Chapter Seventy-One: The Cotton War

Zhu Xiongying said, "I don't know where my uncle is going to start?"

He Xi said: "The news from Huang Zicheng, Ding Xian is ready to invite those nobles in Nanjing to go back and set up a factory. But what kind of factory can they run? I thought about it, and all I could do was spin cotton."

Zhu Xiongying was stunned for a moment and said, "Why?"

He Xi said, "Because these people want to make money. I want to make money by setting up a factory. It's better to run a light industry with a relatively small cost, and these people are not willing to do it, and the most profitable thing is nothing more than cotton spinning."

If there is an outlet in this era.

That must be cotton spinning.

Without him, there are limits to heavy industry.

So much steel, is it for people to eat? Even He Xi felt that there was already some overproduction in Liaodong and Zunhua Iron and Steel Works. If there is no overseas market, the Western Regions market, there are also surplus products consumed on the battlefield. It's hard to say what it looks like now.

Cotton is the first commodity in the history of the world economy for a reason. Why did the Industrial Revolution start with the textile industry? Unlike other industries, food, clothing, housing and transportation are the most important things for people. Among them, only clothes are the most convenient goods.

The appetite varies from place to place, and it is easy to spoil. The dwelling cannot be circulated. You can't ship a house all over the world. Finally, there is a huge market, and people have to wear clothes. When you meet these tribes in Southeast Asia who don't know how to wear clothes, you can also teach them to wear clothes.

Because of such a strong demand.

Looms gradually became the most profitable industry, so much so that cotton was scarce, and even cotton was transported from India.

Everyone wants to participate. But it's not easy to participate here in Beijing. The most important thing is the raw materials.

As long as you can get the raw materials in Nanjing, even if you transport the raw materials to Beijing, you can make a lot of money, not to mention the construction of a textile factory in Nanjing. It's a lucrative business.

Zhu Xiongying was still a little puzzled, and said, "What's wrong with this cotton spinning?"

He Xi said, "There is no problem, the problem is to do this in Jiangnan. I have thought about this question for a long time, to be honest, the place with the most cotton today should be Jiangnan. Jiangnan itself has a thriving cloth industry, and every household weaves cloth."

Only then did Zhu Xiongying grasp the main point. He said, "Every household weaves cloth."

He Xi said, "Yes, every household weaves cloth. To be honest, I admire Ding Xian a little. I had this idea at first, but in the end it was gone. It's just that I'm worried that it's easy to ignite, but it's not easy to do things. Now Ding Xian dares to do it, in the future, I don't know how to end?"

Zhu Xiongying said, "What is my uncle going to do?"

He Xi originally intended that he was not ready to participate in this matter. After all, He Xi himself wanted to take advantage of this great war to carry out a social revolution. And the most developed place of feudal handicrafts in the whole Ming Dynasty is Jiangnan, even in history to the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the native cloth is still tenaciously produced in some places. It can be seen that they are tenacious.

As far as social reform is concerned, Ding Xian is in the same trench as He Xi. As far as He Xi intended, he actually wanted to see what Ding Xian could do, and in the future, he would continue to do what Ding Xian did.

He doesn't feel like meddling.

But Zhu Xiongying is obviously different.

For Zhu Xiongying, he has always been the first to win the throne, and the others are second. From the great opportunity he heard from He Xi's mouth, how could he not intervene. Destroying Nanjing from the inside, he knew that Yao Guangxiao was now in Nanjing.

He Xi said, "I am going to do two things. The first thing is to vigorously support these nobles to set up factories in Nanjing, and find ways to guide them to do the textile industry, and the second thing is to plan to fight Shandong."

Zhu Xiongying was stunned, he couldn't understand He Xi's train of thought. This is clearly a textile matter, how can it be said that it is a war again.

Zhu Xiongying said, "What does my uncle mean?"

He Xi said: "Shandong has the most cotton in the whole north. I need Shandong cotton, and I can't go into Jiangnan."

Zhu Xiongying suddenly realized and said, "

It's a cotton war."

He Xi said, "You can say the same."

Indeed, the importance of this battle is not to capture Shandong, but to seize Shandong's cotton, or it is okay to say that Shandong does not produce cotton. Thus striking at the Jiangnan textile industry. And when the foreign raw materials cannot meet the production, these people naturally focus on local cotton.

In this way, these people will compete for raw materials among local textile households in Jiangnan.

Cotton is the foundation of the textile industry. Men and women weave are also an indispensable part of the smallholder economy.

In the end, there was a civil uprising, and it is not surprising that He Xi is not at all.

He Xi's idea is not only because of Zhu Xiongying's needs.

And not even just because of cotton.

He Xi never took Ding Xian's factories to heart, and even vaguely had some more vicious ideas, such as waiting for a few years later, after Ding Xian ran it well, the northern army came to the city and took down these factories, which could be regarded as a bloody return for the imperial court.

But unfortunately, Zhu Xiongying was a little breathless.

On the other hand, He Xi also had to admit that it was because of the Huaiqing Campaign.

The result of the battle of Qinyang, He Xi must also admit one point. Fu Youde, a famous general, is not a vegetarian.

Even though He Xi's intelligence agency told him that the number of troops that the Southern Army had completed its reorganization did not exceed 100,000, and even that number was difficult to increase, there were many problems and restrictions, such as restrictions on the production of ordnance in the rear and restrictions on military spending. and even the restriction of Fu Youde's power and so on.

In other words, even if all the new armies of the Southern Army were placed in Huaiqing, they would only reach the two armies of the Northern Army.

It's nothing.

But Fu Youde started from scratch, from being beaten very embarrassed, to now forming a new army, even if he crosses the river by touching the northern army, this speed is also terrifying. It's like getting pregnant with a glance.

Fu Youde is very human. Can these restrictions really limit Fu Youde?

He Xi didn't know.

Although He Xi told Zhu Xiongying that the loss of strategic superiority is inevitable. But He Xi wants to take advantage of today's strategic advantages, and do one thing if he can do something, and when the Shaanxi strategy is delayed, He Xi has already pondered the battle of Shandong.

Without him, although Shandong is also in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the channel of the Yellow River in Shandong is the channel of the Daqing River, and the terrain is relatively low. That is, the downstream embankment bursts, it is more likely to break away for several miles, rolling east along both sides of the river, rather than the southern section of the Yellow River.

And He Xi also wondered if he could bypass the Yellow River.

The Yellow River defense line, even if it is not mentioned the danger of the Yellow River itself, just talking about the castles along the Yellow River, Fu Youde and Sheng Yong have made great efforts, if they really want to fight, it is impossible not to hit their heads and break the bloodstream.

In fact, the Huaiqing campaign was launched to cut off Shanxi. In essence, it is also to avoid the flooding of the Yellow River. But there's more than just one way to avoid the Yellow River. There is another way, that is, to directly cross the sea to attack Denglai.

It's just about other places.

In this area of Denglai, the Liaodong Naval Division and the Tianjin Naval Division are very familiar.

Without him, most of the sea vessels follow the coastline. The most intersecting with the two places is Denglai Water Port.

A lot of people have been to Den Lai.

From the waterway, it is also very smooth. Denglai Water Division, that is, Shandong Water Division, everyone has been fighting for so long. It is even more knowledgeable. Now, after taking Denglai, logistics materials can be transported directly from Liaodong. It would be even more convenient without having to go through the canal.

It is also a good way to take Denglai as the core, bypass the Yellow River, go south along the coast, and directly hit the Lianghuai area.

How do you not hit this before.

On the one hand, the main force of the previous Southern Army was in Jinan, which was too close to Denglai. It's easy to support. On the other hand, the sailors of the Northern Army have something to do, and the number is limited.

Now both things have changed.

First, because of the Huaiqing Campaign, the main force of the Southern Army was transferred to the west.

The elite of the Southern Army are all in Huaiqing, so it comes

The Battle of Huaiqing is likely to be protracted. At that time, everyone will not be able to withdraw, and the other armies of the Southern Army will be okay to defend the city, and they will not pay attention to other things. The 600,000-strong army of the Northern Army has a similar level of training.