Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 538, wool

"Of course the Western Regions produce cotton~"

"And from the Western Regions all the way to the west, this large area is all cotton-producing. The cotton produced is not only high in yield, but also has very slender velvet, the highest quality cotton."

Liu Jin nodded solemnly and said.

"However, the Western Regions are under the control of the Oirats. Now the Oirats have moved eastward and are annexing the former Tatar tribes. How can we get the Western Regions?"

At this time Xu Guangzuo said helplessly.

This matter is also a headache for Emperor Hongzhi now. The northern grasslands have become unstable again. Once Oala unifies the northern grasslands, another Mongol empire may arise at that time, which will pose a huge threat to Ming Dynasty.

"Nothing is impossible~"

"Last year we were able to completely wipe out the army of the little Tatar prince, and we were also able to clean up the Oirat army and drive the Oirats to the west."

Liu Jin smiled and said confidently.

"And the second method I mentioned to find alternatives is actually related to the northern grasslands."

"Cotton can be used for spinning and weaving, and wool can also be used for spinning and weaving. Compared with cotton, wool is more warm, and wool can be produced all year round, and the output is larger."

"wool?"

When Zhang Mao, Zhu Fu, and Xu Guangzuo heard this, they were dumbfounded again.

"Is it cashmere?"

Zhang Mao thought for a while and said.

"No, it's wool, which is completely different from cashmere."

Liu Jin smiled and shook his head.

"Cashmere is the smallest and softest wool on sheep, and the output is very small, and generally only a small amount of cashmere can be obtained from lambs."

"Wool is different. Wool is produced in large quantities, and it is sheared from adult sheep. After the wool is sheared, the sheep will grow wool again, and there is a steady stream."

"But this wool is very dirty and smells like sheep. Who would want this wool?"

Zhu Fu thought about it and said, when he said this, he looked disgusted.

Everyone knows that the wool on sheep is very dirty because it is mixed with grease, mud and many other things, and there are small animals in it. More importantly, the smell of wool is too strong, even if it is grassland. Nor would wool be used to weave anything.

"Come on, I'll take you to a place and see if you can find out if this wool can be used for weaving~"

Liu Jin smiled and said very mysteriously.

In fact, Liu Jin, who uses wool to weave cloth, has been researching this technology for a long time.

Wool is very dirty, and the smell of sheep is also very strong, but it can be disposed of with methods.

Clothes, towels, etc. made of wool in later generations are all good things.

"Mysterious~"

Zhang Mao, Xu Guangzuo, and Zhu Fu immediately became curious, and followed Liu Jin out of Liu's mansion to the southern suburbs outside the capital.

Here in the southern suburbs of the capital, Liu Jin specially created a large piece of land, and built a Tiangong Institute here to study various technologies.

Here in Tiangongyuan, Liu Jin has raised tens of thousands of blacksmiths, carpenters, potters, etc., who rely on craftsmanship and technology for a living in this era.

Learn Arabic numerals, mathematics and some simple knowledge of physics and chemistry, and then study various technologies according to Liu Jin's requirements.

When recruiting people, Liu Jin only recruited a few older people, most of them were teenage dolls and apprentices.

These people are still young, have a strong learning ability, and at the same time have a richer imagination and more plasticity. They will not be restrained and comfortable in researching various things, and they are more creative.

Artillery technology, flintlock muskets, explosive kits, new spinning machines, looms, etc. are all researched here. Of course, the most important technical guidance is provided by Liu Jin.

The entire Tiangong Institute is divided into three research directions, one is the physics research direction, and now it is mainly to study machinery and steel, to study how to manufacture more precise, faster and more effective machines, to study how to smelt better steel, how to Fast forging steel and more.

One is to study chemistry, mainly to study explosives, to develop more powerful explosives, and at the same time, to study the dyeing of cloth and the like.

The last one is the study of biology, mainly the study of medicine, because Liu Jin classified medicine into the category of biology. Here, he studies medicine, studies how to cure diseases and save lives, and studies the western medicine of later generations.

Tiangongyuan is regarded as the place that Liu Jin attaches the most importance to. He has invested a lot of money here and there. Just to feed the tens of thousands of people, it needs millions of taels of silver every year, not to mention all kinds of money. Research and the like also require a lot of money.

But the effect is still a little bit. To free Liu Jin from technical research, if he wants to come up with something, he can directly provide some information and let the following people study it. Basically, they can research it.

Liu Jin also often comes here to take a stroll, take a look, see if there are any new achievements, and then find a way to use these achievements to promote the development of capitalism.

At this time, I brought Zhang Mao, Zhu Fu, and Xu Guangzuo to the Institute of Chemistry. The entire Institute of Chemistry is also divided into many areas, each with different research contents.

"It smells so bad~"

"Liu Jin, what exactly is this place?"

Xu Guangzuo covered his nose, he couldn't take it anymore, the smell was too strong here.

"This is where I specialize in researching how to turn wool into a raw material that can be used for weaving~"

Liu Jin introduced with a smile.

Only then did everyone observe carefully, and saw that the huge open space was piled up with wool like a hill. It was obvious that the wool had been purchased from the grassland.

It was very dirty, a lot of wool was clumped together, and the white wool turned into black and gray, giving off an evil smell and smell of sheep.

Looking further into the distance, there is a large pool here, and the wool soaked in it is eaten. Someone is constantly cleaning the wool, washing the dirt on the wool and the like.

Because the wool is so dirty, the water in this pool is black, turbid, and very dirty.

Looking further into the distance, there is a large cauldron here. It seems that something is cooking in the cauldron, and a strong stench is coming from here.

"Come on, everyone follow me~"

Liu Jin looked at the disgusted look of the three people, smiled and said: "These wools are all wool bought from the grassland by my people."

"No one wants these wools on the grasslands, and the price is very cheap. A catty of salt can be exchanged for a cart full of wool~"

"Now, everyone, take a closer look at the wool. It is very dirty. It is mixed with mud, sheep's fat, etc., and it also has a very strong smell of sheep."

"To turn this wool into wool that can be used for weaving, it needs to go through several steps."

"The first step is to clean~"

While talking, Liu Jin led them to the cleaning area.

"Let's wash the dirt and the like from the wool with water first, so that the wool will become much cleaner~"

"Then remove some of the things on the wool, such as plant seeds and the like. You can take a look at the wool after washing. Does it look much better?"

Liu Jin picked up some clear and clean wool, smiled and said.

"It is indeed much cleaner, and it is also whiter~"

The three of Zhang Mao watched carefully, and couldn't help but nodded slightly.

"After washing, it is the process of removing grease. We can boil it in boiling water to remove some of the grease mixed in the wool, and we can also boil the lice and other things in the wool to death."

Liu Jin brought the three of them to the wool-boiling area. The washed wool was thrown into boiling water and boiled. It was clear that a lot of grease and some other dirty things had been boiled out.

"Let's see, after the wool is boiled, does it have much less odor and is not too greasy."

Liu Jin said with a smile while explaining.

Zhang Mao, Zhu Fu and Xu Guangzuo watched and listened carefully, and couldn't help but nodded.

"Next, the boiled wool needs to be soaked in potion to remove all the grease and mutton smell on the wool~"

Soon, Liu Jin brought the three of them to the big ponds. A lot of wool was soaked in these ponds, and each pond had different chemical substances in it.

Among them, there is a pool specially used to remove grease, which is added with calcium fatty acid specially used to make soap, which can completely remove the grease in wool.

There are also some pools that add bleaching chemicals, which can restore the color of the wool to a snow-white state; some pools are specially used to remove the smell of sheep, and the soaked wool has no peculiar smell.

"Let's take a look, these wools are wools that have undergone final treatment. Do you think this kind of wool is worse than cotton?"

Coming to the last step of the process, Liu Jin smiled and picked up a ball of wool, very white, snow white, snow white, as soft as cotton, the key is that there is no peculiar smell, and there is no smell of mutton anymore .

"Unbelievable~unbelievable~"

"Is this still wool?"

"This is better than cashmere~"

Zhang Mao held the wool in his hand and widened his eyes. Some couldn't believe it. Even though it was cashmere, it still smelled like sheep, but the wool in front of him had no peculiar smell at all and was very white.

"If this is the case, this wool can really be used for spinning and weaving~"

Xu Guangzuo also widened his eyes, couldn't help but nodded and said.

　Does wool need special sheep to produce?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)