He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 86 Development Matters (Continued)

The workshops in Xuzhou are now basically led by the Xuzhou government, and relevant officials are directly assigned to manage them.

Others only need to provide funds; they do not participate in decision-making or operations, and simply wait to receive their share each month.

Mi Zhu immediately began to consider in his mind who should cooperate: "Should we build a branch workshop on the existing one?"

As a result, Lu Wan dropped a bombshell right away: "It's not about building branch workshops. I have an idea, which is to improve the existing looms to make weaving more efficient."

Why did the industrial revolution in history first occur in the textile industry?

The reason is that the demand for clothing in human society has always existed and is enormous. Moreover, unlike grain, cloth is not perishable and can be transported long distances like other commodities. Due to its stable production time and labor added value, cloth can truly be regarded as a medium of exchange. Although Xuzhou now has better options for anchoring the value of commodity trade, cloth still retains its important value.

The Eastern Han Dynasty is currently enjoying a rare period of relative peace and development. The first round of major conflicts has subsided, and the various warlords have begun to recuperate.

During this period, people's lives became more stable, and with enough food to fill their stomachs, they naturally began to consider the issue of clothing.

In the context of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the mainstream textile materials were still raw silk and hemp. Raw silk, for example, was used to make silk fabrics. At that time, no other region in China produced silk that could rival Shu brocade, and Xuzhou itself wasn't a silk-producing area. If Xuzhou wanted to develop silk production, it would first need to develop a whole host of prerequisite technologies, such as mulberry cultivation...

Training skilled silkworm farmers and having a market with huge demand are conditions that Xuzhou currently lacks (silk is not something that ordinary people can afford).

Even if Liu Bei gritted his teeth and managed to develop silk production, the well-developed and systematic Yizhou Shu brocade could have easily defeated Liu Bei and his forces with its advanced technology and strong market presence.

For this reason, Lu could only focus on hemp.

Pedal looms had already appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty. These advanced looms used foot pedals to control the heddles (devices for lifting the warp threads).

The lifting mechanism directly frees the weaver's hands, allowing them to focus more on shuttle throwing and weft insertion, greatly improving both speed and quality.

The weakness of hemp yarn in weaving is that it is very stiff. A lot of effort must be put into weaving it to make the weft threads tight and produce a dense and durable fabric.

Moreover, the hemp thread has very poor elasticity and may break with the slightest pull.

Lu Su designed a simpler, more robust ratchet locking mechanism for the warp and weft beams. A wooden pawl and toothed groove make adjusting and securing warp tension easier and more secure, reducing loosening during weaving, making it particularly suitable for linen weaving that requires heavy weft insertion. The frame is constructed using thicker woods such as elm and jujube. The strength and weight of the "box" (a comb-like component) have also been significantly increased; the improved, heavy-duty reed will be more efficient in determining warp density and tightening weft threads. Finally, the lever structure has been modified to provide more force and a crisper weft insertion with each foot pedal stroke.

Such a device could not possibly be successfully produced on the first try, so Lu Wan called on Mi Zhu to see if they could collaborate to turn the blueprints in Lu Suo's hands into a mass-producible machine.

"Is that all? I'll send someone to handle this matter immediately." With that, Mi Zhu stood up, bowed, and prepared to return to his work.

"No, no, don't rush, we haven't finished talking yet," Lu Wan reassured her, as there was still an important matter to discuss.

As we all know, just like a jungler's task is not only to quickly build up combat power, but also to find ways to steal jungle camps from the enemy's jungle, preventing them from developing. While your own development speed is important, hindering the development of others is even more crucial.

Liu Bei was not a corrupt person, and he did not feel any moral burden about causing trouble for others, especially in certain moral vacuums: "Zizhong previously mentioned that we should establish trade relations with Sun Ce. Wen Yuan and I both felt that it was a very insightful plan, so we called Zizhong here this time to further improve the plan."

"I think the contingency plan we made before was fine, or has something new happened on Sun Ce's side?" Mi Zhu was also very concerned about the plan, after all, this was his debut in strategy, and he couldn't afford to embarrass himself right away.

"The Jiangdong aristocratic families have learned their lesson. This time, they only sent a few secret letters. Unlike before, when they immediately demanded a large number of troops to march south and help them deal with Sun Ce and reclaim their land."

At this point, Liu Bei couldn't help but laugh. The powerful families of Jiangdong were a bit abstract, and people thought that as long as they offered a price, Liu Bei would immediately rush over to fight Sun Ce to the death.

They also said that Liu Bei was a descendant of the Han imperial family and would certainly not stand idly by while loyal officials of the court were wantonly killed by the traitor Sun Ce, their words were full of moral blackmail against Liu Bei.

It's quite interesting. When Liu Bei first became the governor of Xu Province, almost no one in the world took him seriously. When his name was mentioned, people would arrogantly say, "Liu Bei? Who is he?" Now, Liu Bei has not only defeated Yuan Shu, a powerful figure with the surname Zhong, but has also become a well-known warlord. He has also been officially recognized as the General of Chariots and Cavalry and the governor of Xu Province.

A large group of people began spreading rumors that Liu Bei was a descendant of some king, or that the house was filled with red light when Liu Bei was born, frightening his father into thinking the house was on fire. These strange phenomena were proof that Liu Bei was born to restore the Han Dynasty. Some even argued heatedly with others, as if they had witnessed Liu Bei's birth. Some even risked their lives to travel to Liu Bei's hometown, Zhuojun, to check the county records. Even if the records contained some unverifiable flaws, the Confucian scholars would write a rigorous article to prove that Liu Bei was indeed a legitimate member of the Han imperial family.

Correspondingly, the scholars' attitude towards Liu Bei was unprecedentedly favorable. The government offices in Xiapi were frequently crowded with officials and strategists. Countless scholars and advisors, carrying bamboo slips and silk scrolls, lined up to seek an audience, not to offer strategies for conquering cities and territories, but to present their meticulously crafted works, such as "A Study of the Lineage of Liu Bei," "A Critique of the Great-Grandsons of Emperor Jing," and "On the Mandate of Heaven for Liu Bei, Governor of Xuzhou."

Wait for the article.

Liu Bei, a seasoned veteran of countless battles, knew that these people were merely trying to curry favor with him, creating a facade of legitimacy for him. He had little interest in these political opportunists. However, he offered all but direct assistance to the letters and requests from the powerful families of Jiangdong.

Lu Suo's idea was to incorporate various civilian ironware into trade, thereby squeezing out the civilian ironware market in Jiangdong.

Since Xuzhou relies on water power for iron forging, its annual output far surpasses that of purely manual labor. Once the blacksmiths in Jiangdong lose their livelihood due to Xuzhou's dumping of their products, they can be attracted to Xuzhou through merchant caravans to produce military equipment. This weakens the enemy while strengthening themselves—why not?

Lu Wan then spilled all his mischievous ideas, making Liu Bei and Mi Zhu realize that they were still lacking in experience.