The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 88 Technical assistance across the ages

On the second day after meeting Shi Kuangwei, Pei Jin led six officials and quietly moved into Jiedu Mansion.

He also brought a large number of household accounts and land registrations, Zhangyi Town's income and expenditure account books in recent years, and lists of taxes paid by villagers and merchants in various counties.

Pei Jin had served as an envoy for many years, and he knew the financial budget and various expenditure accounting of Zhangyi Town very well. He was familiar with the local officials in various counties. With his help, the financial power that Jiedu Mansion had not interfered with for many years could be regarded as taking back more than half.

Pei Jin was determined to leave the Xue family, and did not want to go home and face his cruel wife. Firstly, he was worried about the Xue family's revenge, and secondly, he was even more afraid that the mother-in-law would know his thoughts and kill him in a rage.
In addition to missing his daughter, Pei Jin also settled in Jiedu Mansion with peace of mind.

At first, Zhu Xiu was more cautious and worried that Pei Jin had ulterior motives, so he arranged for Ma San to visit Pei Jin's official residence from time to time.

Ma San always acted loyal and honest in front of Zhu Xiu. In fact, Zhu Xiu knew very well that this guy had very poisonous eyes. After all, he had served as a jailer in the Cangzhou County Government Prison and had seen a lot of warm and cold people, as well as a lot of cruelty.

Ma San watched for a few days and came back to report that Pei Jin was quite honest. Apart from being lazy occasionally, he also led his staff to work diligently and did not look like he was pretending to surrender.

Zhu Xiu felt relieved and let him go.

Among the several important officials under the Jiedushi, except for the marching commander Xue Xiuming, the judge Song Shen, the support envoy Pei Jin, and the county magistrate Wen Tai are the most important.

Song Shen holds the power of the treasury and currently stays out of the dispute between Jiedu Mansion and the Xue family.

Pei Jin, the envoy, took the initiative and set an example to help Jiedu Mansion stabilize people's hearts.

Only Wen Tai, the magistrate of Anding County, seems to be still in the Xue family's camp.

The Wen family is a local wealthy family in Jingzhou and has deep connections in the county and township. If the Jiedu government's decrees are to reach the grassroots level, they cannot do without the support of the Wen family.

So Wen Tai is the one who must win.

Shi Kuangwei was not optimistic about this at first. The Wen Tai people were mature and would not express their attitude easily. It was the best choice for the Wen family to move closer to and please the Xue family and keep a distance from the Jiedu Mansion. .

After some investigation, Zhu Xiu felt that Mr. Wen was not unattainable, so he sent someone to invite him. Unexpectedly, he failed at the county government office three times in a row. Mr. Wen deliberately avoided him and had no intention of meeting him in private.

Zhu Xiu was not angry and decided to visit in person.

Wen's old residence is located in the west of the city, on the same central axis as Jiedu Mansion.

Taking Ma San and two servants carrying burdens with him, Zhu Xiu appeared in front of the Wen family's old house.

Ma San stepped forward and called the door, and there was a clanging sound.

No one responded at the house door for a long time. Zhu Xiu was not in a hurry and asked Ma San to continue ringing the door and shouting at the top of his voice: "Mr. Wen, Marshal Shi Jie has ordered me to come and visit you!~"

The shouts caused people on the street to look back frequently.

After a while, the door of the house creaked open a crack. Wen Tai looked through the crack in the door with a gloomy face and shouted angrily: "Zhu Xiu! What on earth do you want to do?"

Zhu Xiu dusted off his sleeves, bowed to Shi Ran, and said with a smile: "Nothing, it's just that the student has been settling down in An'an for a long time and has not yet formally visited the county's parents, so he feels ashamed. It just so happens that there is nothing to do today, and it happens to be Wen County. I am at home on leave and came to visit you!"

Old Man Wen was so angry that his teeth itched and he said angrily: "I understand, but I don't agree with you. There is no need to meet in private. Please come back!"

As Old Man Wen was about to ask the concierge to close the door, Ma San immediately shouted loudly: "Shi Jieshuai praised Mr. Wen for caring for the people and being a model for the nine counties in Changyi Town! Jieshuai said that he must report it to the court. Please give me credit for Mr. Wen."

Many people on the street stopped and watched to see who was making a loud noise at the door of the magistrate's house.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Wen Tai was anxious and angry, wanting to reach out and cover Ma San's mouth.

Ma San shut up and smiled kindly, but Wen Tai felt more and more disgusting the more he looked at it.

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "Mr. Wen doesn't want to communicate with me in private, just because he is worried that it will spread to other people's ears and cause misunderstandings. But if the stalemate continues like this, I am afraid it will cause people to talk about it, and won't the news spread faster?"

Wen Tai's expression changed and he gave him a fierce look: "Come in and follow me to the side hall to talk."

The concierge opened the door and let them in. Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Wen. Sorry for bothering you."

Wen Tai angrily walked forward with his hands behind his back, Zhu Xiu followed suit step by step, and Ma San and the porter fell behind.

The little old man was very angry and walked in a hurry, as if the god of plague was following behind him.

Entering the side hall, the guests and hosts sat down. Zhu Xiu looked around and said with a smile: "I've been waiting for a long time, and I'm a little thirsty."

Wen Tai shouted impatiently: "Come here! Serve tea!"

After Zhu Xiu slowly finished half a cup of tea, Wen Taicai couldn't help but said: "Zhu Xiu, I respect you as a disciple of a famous scholar, with quite a bit of literary talent. From now on, you and I can live in peace and harmony with each other, please?" Don’t bother me again!”

Zhu Xiu put down the tea cup and said with a smile: "Mr. Wen's words are serious. The student has not yet stated his intention. How did you know that you are causing trouble? Maybe the student will send you a good thing!"

Old Man Wen ridiculed: "How could I not know your purpose of coming? You have been lobbying everywhere these days. First you went to see Song Shen, then Pei Jin, and finally you came to me. Unfortunately, I am not Song Shen, and I don't have the patience to listen to your long speech. , I’m not even Pei Jin, I can’t even bring peace to my house, so I came to you crying for help, it’s so shameful!~”

"Huh? Mr. Wen is well-informed!" Zhu Xiu was surprised that the seemingly inconspicuous old man Wen actually knew everything about what happened in Anding City.

"Hmph!~ As a county magistrate, I must have complete control over the territory under my jurisdiction!" Wen Tai stroked his white beard, feeling quite proud.

Zhu Xiudao: "Since Mr. Wen knows it well, the students will not beat around the bush. Please express your opinion, Mr. Wen!"

Wen Tai said calmly: "How the Jiedu Mansion and the Xue family get along, and how the rights and responsibilities are divided have nothing to do with the Wen family, let alone get involved in the fight between your two families."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "Isn't Mr. Wen worried that after the dust settles, the Wen family will be excluded from the core of power in Zhangyi Town?"

Wen Tai said with confidence: "The Wen family has been rooted in Jingzhou for more than 200 years. There are many disciples of the Wen family in each county and township. There are also a large number of Wen family's descendants in each township, elders, village chiefs, and village chiefs. Regardless of the reasons for the Jiedu Prefecture, Whoever is in charge of the family can't do without the support of the Wen family if he wants to take care of the three-acre land in Jingzhou."

Zhu Xiushen nodded in agreement: "What Mr. Wen said is absolutely true!"

"So, why does the Wen family need to get involved in the fight between the Xue family and the Shi family?" Old Man Wen's face was full of arrogance.

Zhu Xiudao: "The Wen family can indeed stay out of the matter, but as far as the family's interests are concerned, Duke Wen's choice at this moment will determine the future situation of the Wen family."

Wen Tai frowned, thought for a moment and said, "What do you mean by this?"

"As far as the students know, the Xue family gave up their hemp business in Jingyuan Prefecture in exchange for Wen's support. Is this true?"

Wen Tai said calmly: "Not bad!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "But the Xue family did not cede all the money, but asked the Wen family to take half of the profits every year and hand it over to the Xue family! Really or not?"

Wen Tai's face changed and he remained silent.

This is the biggest conflict between the Wen family and the Xue family.

The Wen family took over the Xue family's hemp twisting business and paid for all the costs themselves, but had to give half of the profits to the Xue family every year. This made Wen Tai always grudge.

It stands to reason that the Xue family left behind several hemp workshops and workers, as well as relationships with hemp farmers in various places, as well as sales channels in the Hedong area of ​​Guanzhong. The initial preparation of these assets cost a lot, and the Wen family should compensate them.

But after so many years, the Xue family's initial investment has long been recovered, but they are still enjoying the profits divided by the Wen family every year, which makes the Wen family members quite unhappy.

It is the Wen family who works hard, but it is the Xue family who enjoys the benefits. The Wen family has the reputation of being a big Jingzhou Jianma family, which is actually equivalent to working for the Xue family.

Wen Tai approached Xue Xiuming several times to negotiate and wanted to lower the profit sharing ratio, but Xue Xiuming kept putting him off for various reasons.

This matter was not a secret. Zhu Xiu sent someone to inquire about it and found out the entanglement between the Wen family and the Xue family.

Hemp is the main economic crop in the two prefectures of Jingyuan. The hemp stalks are peeled and spun into hemp yarn. Although the output is not as good as that in the south, it is also exported to Guanzhong, Hedong and other places.

After the Wen family took over the twisted hemp business, they took full advantage of the local snakes and mobilized the villagers to expand production. The overall benefits exceeded those of the Xue family. However, due to the existence of the unequal profit-sharing treaty, the Wen family's actual income was not too high.

Wen was a migrant worker who worked hard but had to endure exploitation. Thinking about it, Zhu Xiu felt aggrieved for them.

"This matter has nothing to do with you!" Old Man Wen was poked in a painful spot and began to frown.

Zhu Xiu didn't take it seriously and waved to Ma San who was waiting outside the hall.

Ma San walked into the hall with the two porters. When the porters put down the two large baskets, Ma San took them out again.

"Please take a closer look, Mr. Wen, what is this?" Zhu Xiu pointed at the basket and smiled.Wen Tai glanced at it and said coldly: "It's just two baskets of linen yarn."

Zhu Xiu smiled again and said, "Please take a closer look, Mr. Wen. What's the difference between these two baskets of linen yarn?"

Wen Tai patiently stood up, walked closer, grabbed a handful of linen yarn from the basket, and twisted it carefully.

"Huh?" Wen Tai was suddenly startled and hurriedly grabbed some from each of the two baskets of linen yarn to compare.

Of the two baskets of linen yarn, one basket is rough, brittle, hard, yellow, and prone to fluffing and breaking, while the other basket is as white as snow, as thin as silk, flexible and resistant to folding. At first glance, it is an excellent raw material for linen spinning.

"Where did these linen yarns come from?" Wen Tai's dim eyes widened and he asked in shock, pointing to the basket of high-quality linen yarns.

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "I think Mr. Wen must have noticed that the basket of coarse linen yarn was produced by Wen's twisting workshop, and the basket of fine white linen yarn, haha, was made by the students who had temporarily hired someone to twist it for the past two days. of."

Wen Tai was so shocked that he hurriedly grabbed the fine white linen yarn and twisted it carefully. Sure enough, it was sticky with moisture. He put it under his nose and smelled it, and there was a pungent smell.

"You actually know how to twist hemp yarn?" Old Man Wen stared at him with great curiosity.

Zhu Xiu said calmly: "Students learn a lot of things, just drill techniques, trivial things, they are not worth mentioning!"

Old Man Wen was so choked that he couldn't speak. As far as he knew, only the hemp spinning families in the Jiangnan area could twist hemp yarn into such a white, soft and soft texture without losing its toughness. They also used ramie as a raw material to twist the yarn. Ma yarn, those are all first-class tributes.

Most of the hemp yarn produced by Wen's twisted hemp workshop can only be woven into coarse cloth. Not to mention that it belongs to the bottom of the industrial chain, the quality is relatively low, and the price is not dominant at all. It only depends on large quantities to make certain profits.

The top craftsmen in the hemp spinning industry are still mostly concentrated in the official workshops of the imperial court and the major weaving households in the south. In a remote village like Zhangyi Town, it is really impossible to find twisters with a high level of craftsmanship.

Wen Tai's mouth moved and he gritted his teeth and said, "Tell me, what do you want?"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "If Mr. Wen is willing, the students can teach the full set of the new twisting method to the Wen family, and they will teach you! With the hemp leather texture of Jingyuan and Yuanzhou, if the new twisting method is used, it can be sold to Guanzhong The price increase in Hedong by [-]% is not a problem at all.”

Wen Tai squeezed out two words between his teeth: "Conditions?"

Zhu Xiudao: "The Wen family opened a new type of twisting workshop, and [-]% of the annual profits were paid to the Jiedu Mansion as taxes. From then on, the Wen family should draw a clear line with the Xue family and fully support Shi Jieshuai and the Jiedu Mansion."

Wen Tai rolled his eyes wildly and said evasively: "The Wen family has never intervened in the dispute between Xue and Shi. I can assure you that the Wen family will never take sides."

Zhu Xiu shook his head, and interrupted unceremoniously: "If you want enough benefits, you have to pay enough price! If Wen wants to get the new twisting method in my hands, he must show his attitude and support Shi Jieshuai!"

After a pause and ignoring Wen Taiqing's blushing face, Zhu Xiu said coldly: "This set of techniques is in my hands. If I don't give it to Wen, it will be the same if I find any merchant to cooperate with. The worst thing is that it will be slower to start.

From now on, Jingyuan Erzhou City will be full of fine white linen yarn produced by the new method, and the price will be about the same. Who would want Wen's inferior goods?Mr. Wen, you have to think clearly and understand what this business means to the Wen family! "

".I am old man." Wen Tai clenched the white linen gauze tightly, his face full of hesitation.

"Let me tell you another news. Wei Hu, led by eight hundred elite tooth soldiers, will rush back to Anding soon!" Zhu Xiu threw a heavy bomb lightly.

Wen Tai was shocked and frightened for a long time before he murmured: "Jie Shuai finally couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to attack the Xue family? But doing so would be tantamount to committing suicide, and Zhang Yijun would only be injured. "

Zhu Xiu said solemnly: "It was the Xue family who jumped over the wall first. They did not hesitate to kill Li Guangbo and wanted to use the power of the Dingnan Army to seize power! The Zhangyi Army is cutting out their flesh to save themselves. It is imminent!"

Wen Tai took a deep breath, and his wavering eyes finally calmed down.

"I must first make sure that the new squeezing method you mentioned is feasible!"

Zhu Xiu nodded and said, "Yes. I have prepared a blueprint here, which includes the first half of the process flow. Please trouble Duke Wen to find some skilled wrought workers. I only need to explain a little, and they will understand."

Wen Tai thought about it and thought it was feasible, and ordered the housekeeper to do it.

After a while, the housekeeper arrived with three men wearing burlap.

The three men are quite old, the youngest is between 40 and [-] years old. They have a thick smell of vegetation and ash on their bodies. It is obvious that they have stayed in the hemp twisting workshop all year round.

"The little man is here to meet Mr. Wen."

The three men knelt down and kowtowed respectfully.

"Get up." Wen Tai waved his hands seriously.

Zhu Xiu took out a schematic diagram of the process flow that he had drawn last night, unfolded it for them to see, and briefly explained it.

The three of them were illiterate, but the circles and stick figures on the pictures were very intuitive and clear. Zhu Xiu's words were also straightforward and concise, and the three of them quickly understood the meaning of the drawings.

The eldest one among them blurted out in disbelief: "Could Mr. Xiaolang be from the south? Is his family a big weaver?"

Zhu Xiu laughed and said: "My uncle guessed wrong. My family is farming and I have never done weaving."

The three of them looked at each other in surprise, with obvious disbelief on their faces.

If they weren't from a weaving family, who would know how to twist hemp yarn?
A few simple words of advice gave the three veteran trainers a sense of enlightenment.

Wen Tai shouted with a straight face: "I didn't call you here to let you have a relationship! Tell me, are the techniques on this drawing useful?"

The three of them discussed in low voices for a while, and the older worker bowed and said: "Reporting to Mr. Wen, what Xiao Langjun said is absolutely true! I have seen similar processes in Chang'an back then. It's just the process on this drawing. , It seems that it is not complete. If a few key steps are missing, this method will not work."

Wen Tai was delighted at first, and then his face trembled. Such a cunning boy Zhu deliberately threw out a piece of fragrant bait and waited for him to take the bait.

But this hook was too good for his old fish to bite.

"Okay, you go down! Just pretend that you have never seen this drawing, and you are not allowed to talk about it to others."

Wen Tai waved his hand and ordered the three of them to retreat.

"How about Mr. Wen, is it credible now?" Zhu Xiu put the drawings on the table in front of Wen Tai.

Wen Tai took a deep breath and said, "I agree to your terms."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "The day after tomorrow, when Wei Hu returns to the city, Marshal Ji will greet him at his house. Please also ask Duke Wen to attend on time! Then, the students will present the complete craftsmanship."

Wen Tai stood up and cupped his hands and said, "I understand. Please report back to Jieshuai. Wen Tai will definitely attend the meeting as scheduled!"

"Mr. Wen will stay, and the students will take their leave!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and bowed before saying goodbye.

Before walking out of the hall, Zhu Xiu looked back and saw Wen Tai holding the simplified picture in his hand and caressing it gently, his old wrinkled face full of greed.

Zhu Xiu raised her lips slightly and walked away with Ma San.

As long as Wen dares to be greedy, he will dare to offer enough benefits to win over him.

Today, the hemp twisting industry in the north still uses a lot of boiling and twisting methods that have gradually matured since the Han Dynasty. Boiling water is used to remove the gum in the hemp bark to disperse the fibers. Plant ash is added to the water, and alkaline substances are used to degumm the hemp fibers.

The ash treatment method he taught involves soaking and boiling mulberry firewood ash and lime until the hemp bark is loosened into strands, then mixed with lime and simmered, rinsed with clean water, spread flat on the bamboo curtain on the water, and half-soaked. After half-drying in the sun and harvesting at night, after three days, the linen yarn is as white as snow, as thin as silk, but its toughness is not reduced at all.

The process is quite complicated, but once you become proficient, it will have little impact, and assembly line production can speed up the process.

From the boiling and wringing method to the ash curing and wringing method, it seems that only lime boiling and sunlight assistance are added, but it is an improvement spanning thousands of years.

At present, what the major weaving companies in the south of the Yangtze River have mastered is only the prototype of the gray knitting method. Even the government-run workshops in Kaifeng are far from figuring out the tips for improving the technology.

The "Nongsang Collection" written in the early Yuan Dynasty has a detailed record of this. Calculating the time, it will have to wait until more than 300 years later.
In Zhu Xiu's view, the improved technique of twisting and twisting hemp yarn is not considered cutting-edge. The core process is not very technical and will not take much time. It must be a technology that can be promoted to the whole society.

Allowing Wen's temporary monopoly can only make temporary hot money.

Zhu Xiu had already secretly planned that when the Xue family's poison was eliminated, he would find a few merchants and "accidentally" leak out the gray treatment twisting method, and twisting workshops would probably spring up like mushrooms after a spring rain.

Breaking Wen's industrial monopoly is only a matter of seconds.

After all, only competition can lead to progress, and this is also for the sake of the healthy development of the industry.

Old man Wen is still immersed in the excitement that Wen's will soon become a giant in the hemp hemp industry in Hexi, but he doesn't know that Wen's business has not yet started, and the time of decline has been clearly arranged by Zhu Xiu.
　Big chapter. Don’t say I’m short, I’ve always been a long and thick dog.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)