Ming Zuo

Chapter 282 Songjiang Cotton Spinning
Since Huang Daopo brought back the textile technology from Hainan, Songjiang has leaped from a barren land to a rich man in the world.

The entire Songjiang Prefecture has a population of one million, all supported by one industry.

That is cotton spinning.

Cotton cloth is available in every inch of land, and ten rooms of looms must be available.

This is the current situation in Songjiang Prefecture.

Randomly grab someone on the street, even if it is not the person himself, the relatives in the family are all related to cotton spinning.

The over-prosperous cotton spinning industry has also profoundly affected the local agriculture in Songjiang.

Xu Guangqi once said in "Nongzheng Quanshu", "If the government and the people's army reclaim two million acres of land, most of them are planted with cotton, and it should be more than one million acres."

Even so, locally produced cotton cannot supply production needs.Therefore, the acquisition of foreign cotton has become a necessary means for Songjiang cotton spinning industry.

Shandong is an important source of raw materials for the Songjiang cotton spinning industry.

In other words, the cotton supply of the entire Ming Dynasty depends on Shandong.

Because the six prefectures in one province in Shandong, especially the three western prefectures, that is, Jinan, Dongchang and Yanzhou, account for half of the country's cotton production.

Last year, the White Lotus Sect rebelled and smashed the whole of Shandong. The most serious consequence was that the cotton spinning industry in Songjiang Prefecture lost its source of raw materials.

Pan Yunlong's grandfather, Pan En, used to be the secretary of the Ministry of Industry. With this convenience, the Pan family became the largest cotton purchaser and supplier in Songjiang Prefecture, and had very close ties with all parts of Shandong.

"Since the turmoil in Shandong last year, the supply of cotton has been sluggish. The old man has sent people to negotiate many times, but the old friends can't be found everywhere. What can I do?"

The cotton spinning industry in Songjiang Prefecture is already highly specialized. Take Pan's purchase as an example, they even paid Shandong cotton merchants a deposit in advance.

In this way, after the cotton is harvested, it can be directly shipped to Songjiang Prefecture.

As a result, there was chaos in Shandong last year, and all Shandong merchants who supplied cotton to the Pan family lost their news.

Pan Yunlong once sent people to Shandong to make contact, but as a result, many local people left houses empty and villages destroyed.Apparently, many merchants died in the chaos of the war.

Even the people sent by Pan Yunlong encountered the White Lotus Sect's rebels several times and narrowly escaped death.

Faced with this situation, Pan Yunlong wanted to cry but had no tears, but he couldn't think about it.

This was caused by the war, which is a force majeure factor, and no one can be found responsible.

Those workshops that signed a supply agreement with the Pan family could not be blamed on the Pan family.The most difficult thing facing everyone today is that there is no work to do.

This has seriously affected the livelihood of Songjiang Mansion. If it continues, it will definitely lead to economic crisis and social unrest.

Knowing the situation, Zuo Menggeng inevitably became more cautious.

He found that his previous thoughts were actually simpler.

After developing the hydraulic drive, what he thought was to develop the cotton spinning industry in Shandong and rely on the cheaper cost in Shandong to seize the market.

But after consulting with everyone in Songjiang Mansion, he realized that this matter has almost no possibility of success.

First of all, there are many processes in cotton spinning. Just one cleaning process is divided into four processes: cotton opening, cotton cleaning, cotton blending, and rolling.

There are dozens of processes such as carding, sliver rolling, combing, roving, spun yarn, winding, twisting, shaking, baling, warping, sizing, drawing in, and weaving.

And each step requires a large number of mature craftsmen to complete.

It is only through the accumulation of more than [-] years that Songjiang Prefecture can achieve its current industrial scale.

That is to say, it will take decades at least to establish a new cotton spinning center in Shandong.

This is very bad value.

Although Zuo Menggeng did not have any profound attainments in the economic field, he knew about the development of Shanghai in later generations.Anyway, it will be his own territory in the future, so there is no need to destroy the existing industrial base of Songjiang Mansion and start a new one.

On the contrary, the predicament of Songjiang Mansion made him see a god-sent opportunity.

That is the opportunity to take the opportunity to wrap the entire Songjiang Mansion on his chariot.

Cotton spinning is the foundation of Songjiang Prefecture, and the most important raw materials are in his hands.

In the blink of an eye, Zuo Menggeng immediately made a decision.

"After a fierce battle by our army, the rebellion of the White Lotus Sect is no longer a problem. At least the rebels in Jinan, Dongchang, and Yanzhou have been wiped out. Seniors, please rest assured. The younger generation will immediately send an order for them to bring cotton over."

Everyone in Songjiang Mansion was overjoyed and thanked him again and again, so they almost offered Zuo Menggeng as a bodhisattva.

Seeing this scene, Xu Ji felt emotional.

Has this son-in-law actually reached the point where he can decide the death of millions of people with one word?
He was still worried, and asked: "Shandong cotton production has always had rules. I am afraid that the acquisition will be unfavorable, and there will be more trouble."

What he thinks is that those who can do cotton business are those with deep backgrounds, and I'm afraid they won't give Zuo Menggeng face.

In front of everyone, Zuo Menggeng slightly showed his fangs.

"Father-in-law doesn't know something. After the White Lotus Sect caused chaos, people's livelihood in Shandong was completely destroyed. Now there are thousands of miles of uninhabited land, and there are barren fields everywhere. Most of the cotton fields are in the hands of my son-in-law. It is not a problem to meet the needs of the seniors."

War has this advantage, which can cause the redistribution of property.

The big landlords and businessmen who originally controlled the land, because of their strong background, Zuo Menggeng could only watch.

However, under the ravages of the White Lotus Sect, many places were destroyed, and the original owner of the land was gone.

In this case, why is Zuo Menggeng being polite?
Of course, try to collect land as much as possible, and put it all under your own name.Some of them still have owners, if you can buy them, you can buy them, if you can't buy them...then let them become ownerless.

Zuo Menggeng's action received the full support of the major families in Linqing and Dongchang.

For the first time, the expansion of capital provided Zuo Menggeng with a boost.

The huge profits of vegetable companies and agricultural reclamation groups have made all major families eager to expand production.No amount of land can satisfy their appetite.

Similarly, cotton fields with higher returns cannot be let go.

Knowing the situation in Shandong, everyone in Songjiang Mansion changed immediately.

They didn't expect Zuo Menggeng to be able to help, they just wanted to find out about the situation in Shandong, so that they could know what was going on.

Unexpectedly, not only will the cotton supply be restored quickly, but the young man in front of him has even monopolized the cotton output in Shandong.

That is to say, in the future, the entire Songjiang Mansion will rely on his breath.

As long as this young man coughs, the Songjiang Mansion will tremble three times.

However, everyone in Songjiang can't take care of so much anymore, and the urgent need is more important than anything else.

But Xu Ji was very worried about Zuo Menggeng taking over everything.After seeing off the guests, he said with concern: "The feudal prince of Ludi and Kong Zhuo are the people who reach the sky, and the rest of the big families are also extraordinary. Without their support, can your promise be fulfilled?"

Most of the land in Shandong is in the hands of several vassals and the Kong family, and the same is true for the cotton fields.

Xu Ji was very worried that Zuo Menggeng promised to do well here, but he failed to provide the source of goods and broke his promise.

Zuo Menggeng was full of confidence.

"Father-in-law is at ease, as long as the canal is in the hands of my son-in-law, he will do what he says."

Xu Ji couldn't help being terrified, it was the first time he realized that this son-in-law could be so ruthless.

But Zuo Menggeng was right.

Now that he has tens of thousands of troops in his hands, as long as the canal is blocked, what ships can pass and what ships cannot pass is not a matter of his words?
No matter how many gods there are in Shandong, it is impossible to transport a single cotton flower without passing through him.

Not to mention that Shandong is in a mess now, and the imperial court's control over the local area has reached the weakest level.Large tracts of land have been barren and become unclaimed land.

Zuo Menggeng took the opportunity to take these lands into his hands and arranged labor to manage them well. Next year, the cotton production in his land alone will be astonishing.

Xu Ji thought that what Zuo Menggeng did was cruel enough, but he didn't know that in Zuo Menggeng's mind, those vassal kings and the Kong family had already been sentenced to death.

It's just that the time has not come yet, and let them be arrogant for a while.

Because of Zuo Menggeng's promise, the Songjiang market has visibly reappeared in prosperity.

Now the people of Songjiang Mansion no longer dare to underestimate this Xu Manor's new son-in-law.

All of a sudden, congratulatory gifts from various families came one after another, piled up like a mountain, even if Xu Ji repeatedly emphasized that the Xu family advocated simplicity.

Pan Xiaona followed Pan Yunlong's advice and invited Zuo Menggeng to travel in the name of his brother-in-law, so as to get closer.

Liu Zongzhou and Huang Zongxi have already returned to Zhejiang, and Li Banghua has also returned to Jiangxi. The wedding will take some time, and Zuo Menggeng has nothing to do.

Thinking of taking the opportunity to learn more about the situation in Songjiang Mansion, he readily accepted the appointment.

When he asked to see the cotton spinning situation in Songjiang Prefecture, Pan Xiaona immediately made arrangements.

"Zhongheng, look, this is the place where my Pan family's cotton cloth is distributed, and it is also the largest cotton cloth producing area in Songjiang Prefecture. Qu Mansong's family is a leader in this place, they do things fairly, and everyone respects them."

Pan Xiaona brought Zuo Menggeng to Loutang Town and explained the importance of this place to him.

Standing on the bow of the boat, Zuo Menggeng looked around and found out the strength of Loutang Town.

Compared with other places in Songjiang Prefecture, it is connected to Songjiang in the east and Suzhou in the west, so it is very convenient to collect and transport goods.

The Hengli River passes through the town, all the way to the northeast, and finally flows into the mouth of the Yangtze River.

In addition, there are two other tributaries connected with the Hengli River.

A tributary passes through the town and connects to Liuhe in the northwest.Through the Liuhe River, you can go directly to Yangcheng Lake and go deep into the hinterland of Nanzhili.

Another tributary connects Yantietang and Huanzaobang in the southwest, and finally connects to Wusong River and enters the canal.

Such well-developed water transportation facilities have created Loutang Town's prestige as the first town of Songjiang Cotton Spinning.

Zuo Menggeng is looking forward to seeing how powerful Songjiang Cotton Spinning is here.

In the distance, I saw a young man running out of the town and heading straight for the pier. It was Qu Ye.

(End of this chapter)