Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 96: Isn't it wonderful if everyone has clothes to wear?! (Subscribe)

"Weaving?"

"I can do this."

"I can do it, too. I've been knitting for more than 30 years."

"Okay, okay, this is good."

"."

As soon as Xia Zhibai's suggestion came out, everyone was immediately excited.

The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the cultivation of mulberry, hemp and cotton. Although some of them were cooks and some were honest farmers, they all knew how to weave cloth.

The white forehead of summer.

The textile industry, if he remembered correctly, was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution?
But the impact is mixed.

He had been thinking about these things after the family members arrived one after another.

He was always hesitant about starting a textile factory until he learned about and inquired about the planting conditions of mulberry, hemp and cotton in Ming Dynasty and finally decided to do so.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was the Duke of Wu, in the 11th year of Longfeng, he specified the amount of mulberry, hemp and cotton to be planted under his rule: "Everyone who has five to ten acres of land should plant half an acre of mulberry, hemp and kapok each, and those with more than ten acres should double the amount."

'If you don't plant mulberry trees, you will be fined one piece of silk per year.'

"If you don't grow hemp or kapok, you will be fined one piece of hemp cloth and one piece of cotton cloth."

In the first year of Hongwu, this regulation was extended to the whole country, and the corresponding number of taxes was also stipulated.

Eight taels of tax are levied on hemp per acre, four taels of tax are levied on kapok per acre, and the tax starts after four years of planting mulberry trees.

Xia Zhibai had previously worried about the so-called "sheep eating people" situation, but after learning about this policy, he was completely relieved, because the Ming Dynasty had grown enough hemp, mulberry, and cotton, and the related tributes were actually a considerable burden for the people.

There is actually great potential for textile factories.

But the world is busy with farming, and a lot of hemp and cotton have to be produced every year. Many people simply cannot handle it. If he pays money, he can collect the cotton and hemp from people's homes, weave them, and finally sell them.

Firstly, it can reduce the burden on the people. At least many families no longer have to worry about handing in the cloth. Secondly, it can also promote the textile industry and provide more jobs for the people.

It is beneficial to both the country and the people.

However, Xia Zhibai also knew that according to the existing textile technology, the efficiency would not be high. It was just putting the time originally spent weaving at home into the factory. Therefore, improving efficiency was the top priority. In this regard, Xia Zhibai also thought of a solution.

It's the 'Shuttle'!
As for the lathe, Xia Zhibai didn't consider it.

too expensive.

But it is still possible to make some improvements based on the big spinning wheel.

This also made Xia Zhibai feel emotional. Fortunately, he read the books carefully and listened to the lectures when he was studying, otherwise he would not have remembered such an epoch-making tool as the "flying shuttle".

Xia Zhibai said: "I do want to open a textile factory and hire a lot of people, but the current textile machines are not suitable, so I will make some improvements, otherwise it will be a complete loss."

"It is also a difficult matter to deal with the harvested hemp, cotton and mulberry, so we will not rush to start the work at the beginning."

"Instead, it will be like the salt factory and coal mine. We will do some 'liberation' and everyone will work together to think about ways to improve. If you have any good ideas or suggestions, you can tell the governor and others. If they are accepted, you will receive corresponding rewards."

Mobilize the masses and rely on the masses.

Believe in the power and wisdom of the people.

This is the path that Xia Zhibai is going to take now. Driven by the interests of money, many people will burst out with strong enthusiasm and creativity.

This is mutually beneficial.

It's just that this part of the "intellectual property" was easily bought by Xia Zhibai.

There was a burst of cheers from below.

They are not afraid of doing things, but are afraid of doing nothing.

Especially since Xia Zhibai's treatment was extremely good and he really had enough money. This was what they had been arguing about privately before.

The salt producers wanted to squeeze out the salt workers who came from farming backgrounds.

Those who have thought of ways to improve things but have been beaten to it by others want to squeeze out those people so that they can take all the generous rewards.

People from the same hometown and village form groups and try to squeeze out the smaller and weaker groups.

In the end it all comes down to interests.

Everyone is snobbish.

After these representatives finished expressing their happiness, Xia Zhibai coughed lightly to quiet down the surroundings.

He said in a deep voice: "Recently, factionalism has begun to emerge in the salt factories and coal mines. The mutual exclusion and oppression have become increasingly serious. In the future, we will crack down on this situation in the salt factories, coal mines, and textile factories that have not yet started construction. Once we find a case, we will eliminate it."

"Besides."

“Now the business is gradually getting on track.”

"After this month, I will use some money and grain to build fences near the salt factory and coal mine to keep outsiders out."

"At the same time, there will be a certain flow of personnel between the salt factory and the coal mine. Workers from the salt factory will go to the coal mine to work, and miners from the coal mine will also go to the salt factory to make salt."

"These jobs are never necessary for anyone!"

"I can also say something very straightforward. The salt factories and coal mines have passed the initial stage and are gradually entering a stable stage. In the past two months, a large amount of coal and salt production has indeed been needed, so it is so tiring. However, after the sale of these 500,000 kilograms of salt, the salt supply in the entire Yingtian Prefecture will be greatly reduced in the next few months."

"The maximum we can produce is 100,000 kilograms of salt a month."

"This also means that the workload of salt factories and coal mines will be greatly reduced."

"I can definitely lay off more than half of the staff."

"You and your family members among you, don't think that you can be fearless just because you have some skills."

"Your technology is nothing compared to the flood of machines."

"With the continuous improvement of steam engines, the production of salt will become more and more process-oriented and standardized, and your so-called technology will have no place to be used." "I am not trying to scare you, nor do I want to scare you. I just want to tell you that it's time to focus on various struggles. There is no point in it. It will only cause trouble for yourself. It's useless."

"Look forward."

"Take the long-term view."

"My salt factories and mines will not stop here."

"It will definitely go global in the future."

"Some of you may be assigned to various parts of the country by then. Why do you just keep staring at this well?"

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

The people around him now have too shallow a vision.

They can only see the petty gains in front of them, and they fight overtly and covertly for these petty gains. He feels helpless, but it's not that he thinks these people are stupid.

But we are helpless that this is the norm in today's world.

It is easy to shake Mount Tai, but difficult to shake people's hearts.

Conservative and closed-minded thinking is too prevalent among the people.

It was quiet all around.

They did not take the second half of Xia Zhibai's words to heart. That was Xia Zhibai's own thoughts and had little to do with them. What they were worried about was that if they made Xia Zhibai unhappy, would Xia Zhibai directly lay off employees?
Without this "iron rice bowl", their livelihoods would probably be in trouble again.

Many people are worried.

No longer dared to make any noise of dissatisfaction.

The whole place was dead silent.

Xia Zhibai said: "You are the representatives elected by the workers' families. I have said everything I want to say today. You can convey it for me."

"Tell the others that no trouble is allowed in the salt factories and mines. Whoever provokes a dispute will be dealt with. I will also build a new textile factory in the next few months and will hire some of you then."

"As for the rest of the people."

"I also have a suggestion, which is to open up wasteland nearby."

“Grow some seasonal vegetables.”

"Then the salt factory, mine, and textile factory will purchase it, which will also be used to subsidize your household expenses. As for the land reclamation situation, I will report it truthfully to the Yingtianfu government, and I will give you a few years of tax exemption."

"If there are those who don't want to farm, the salt factory is only a few miles away from Yingtian Prefecture."

"You can definitely go to the city and find some temporary work."

“Life should be free from worries.”

"Be self-reliant and have enough food and clothing."

"This may be the only thing I can tell you right now."

Xia Zhibai bowed.

Then he left the open space directly.

He wanted to discuss with Zhou Ning about improving the textile machine.

But as he walked further away and looked at the red open space behind him, his heart moved slightly.

Because if the textile factory is really built, it seems that he has built an "industrial park" invisibly?
Although it is very basic and simple.

But it is.

However, if it is really planned as an 'industrial park', officials from the Ministry of Industry will have to be found to design it carefully. At least sewage drainage and other issues need to be paid attention to, and it is destined to be an expensive project. Thinking of this, Xia Zhibai secretly had a headache.

This money is really hard to spend.

It spends so quickly.

Especially since the Ming Dynasty was a dynasty that was short of silver.

When Xia Zhibai told Zhou Ning that he was going to open a textile factory, Zhou Ning was stunned for a moment and said with a wry smile: "Xia Jinshi, you are too ambitious. The salt factory and the mine have finally stabilized and have a stable income. You should have taken a steady approach. But you want to go into textile business, which is not easy at all."

"It's easy to lose everything you've got."

Zhou Ning couldn't help but give some advice.

Xia Zhibai said: "Food, clothing, shelter and transportation are what the people rely on."

"The price of salt has gone down, at least in Yingtian Prefecture. With the advancement of technology, the price will get lower and lower, and the salt fields will make more and more money. But Governor Zhou has also seen that there are too many people in the world who are hungry and clothed."

"As an official of the Ming Dynasty, how can I sit back and do nothing?"

"And I think the textile industry has a broad space and great potential."

"Especially cotton spinning."

"Since ancient times, the only two types of cloth used in China have been silk and hemp."

"But now we have added kapok. Before the Yuan Dynasty, the world never levied tribute for kapok. Now in the Ming Dynasty, under your majesty's regulations, cotton is planted all over the country. It is suitable for all places in the north and south. People, rich or poor, rely on it for clothing. In my opinion, the huge profits from it are a hundred times greater than those from silk and linen."

“It’s just that the kapok planting and textile industry has not yet reached a large scale.”

"If we can improve the textile machine and increase the efficiency of cotton weaving, with the current cotton planting situation, the annual seed production can reach 6 kilograms, which is enough to make everyone in the world have clothes to wear. This will benefit the people of the world. Why can't I give it a try?"

"If successful, I will protect the world."

Xia Zhibai looked excited.

It seems as if one has foreseen a prosperous era in which everyone has clothes to wear.

(End of this chapter)