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Page 175



Page 175

Originally, his original travel route was to go straight from Fuzhou to Ji'an, visiting Guifeng, Longhu Mountain, Magu Mountain, Qingyuan Mountain and so on along the way.But the Luling Zhao thief made too much noise. Hearing that the abbot of Qingyuan Temple was abused (rumor) and died, Xu Xiake could only go to Nanchang to inquire about the situation.

He hired a boat and came with a lot of luggage. He brought a long bag with him, and the crew on the ship helped carry one bag, and he had to ask coolies on the dock to carry two bags.

There is a dew pavilion on the pier, which is actually an advertising board, with many commercial information posted, and sometimes the imperial decree and government notices are also posted.

I saw a group of people gathered there, and a scholar read aloud: "Mr. Zhao in Luling, we sincerely hire people who can build water-turning mills and water-turning spinning wheels. No matter the household or craftsman, there will be preferential treatment. If you make a machine , a reward of 20 taels of silver, those who wish to stay as officials can be given official positions, and those who wish to emigrate will share the land with their families! Those who can improve the loom will also be rewarded!"

When this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

A down-and-out scholar said angrily: "The bandit Zhao from Luling is so arrogant that he posted the notice to Nanchang Mansion!"

"Liu Xianggong, don't you just scold, do you dare to tear up the anti-thief's notice?" Someone acquainted with him teased.

The poor scholar immediately blushed: "I...why wouldn't I dare? There is an urgent matter at home today, I have to go back quickly, I will tear it up another day!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Everyone laughed.

Xu Xiake was inexplicably shocked when he heard it. The rebels posted the notice in the provincial capital, but no one dared to tear it up.

Are all the officials of Jiangxi's third department deaf or blind?

"I know the Water Turning Mill, but what is the Water Turning Spinning Wheel?"

"It's the water spinning wheel."

"Oh, it's a pity that I can't, otherwise I will definitely apply for the job."

"Speak carefully, don't let the officials overhear."

"What are you afraid of? Sooner or later, Nanchang will be taken over by bandits Zhao. I heard from friends who have been to Linjiang mansion that the people there live a good life, and bandits Zhao don't collect excessive taxes."

"This old cousin is right. My niece married and went to the countryside of Fengcheng. She got married quickly when the land was divided at the beginning of the year. I heard that as long as she married in time, she would be able to get four acres of land for herself. After she married, she really got it. "

"Then your niece is lucky, it's time to catch up."

"..."

Xu Xiake felt that there was something wrong with his ears. This is the provincial capital of Jiangxi, and a group of people were actually discussing the topic of thieves in a serious manner.

Xu Xiake couldn't help but ask the coolies he had hired: "The thief Zhao from Luling, why is he so arrogant?"

The coolie replied with a smile: "During the autumn harvest, Mr. Zhao won a big battle. I heard that tens of thousands of officers and soldiers were lost. Now everyone is looking forward to it. Mr. Zhao will occupy Nanchang sooner, and the future will be brighter." "

"Farmers can divide their fields, what can you get?" Xu Xiake asked.

The coolie said: "Under Mr. Zhao's rule, the vagrants also have household registration."

Xu Xiake was speechless for a moment. With only one household registration, the coolies were willing to follow the thief.

The reason is very simple. The imperial court does not issue household registrations to homeless people, acquiescing to the existence of a large number of such black households.But black households are black households after all, not only officials can oppress them at will, even ordinary people can bully them.Even if these vagrants were cheated out of money, they could not go to the Yamen to file a lawsuit.

On the way to the inn, Xu Xiake asked again: "The thief of Luling, why are you recruiting craftsmen who can make water and turn large spinning wheels?"

"I don't know." The coolie shook his head and said.

Of course it is to develop the textile industry!

When it comes to the textile industry in the Ming Dynasty, it is Susong, Changhu and other Jiangnan provinces.

But Jiangxi also has four major cotton-producing and textile areas, namely Jiujiang, Guangxin, Yuanzhou, and Ji'an, two of which belong to Zhao Han's territory.

The "Ji'an Mansion Chronicle" of the Wanli Dynasty records: "The land does not mulch, but the kapok is worn."

Before the Yuanzhou Mansion was in the orthodox dynasty, it was very inconvenient for farmers to transport cotton cloth and ramie (hemp) cloth to Anqing to earn grain for autumn.Zhou Ying, the magistrate of Fenyi County in the orthodox dynasty, asked the court to use cotton cloth and ramie cloth to directly fold rice into the tax, and the court agreed.

Farmers in a prefecture use cotton cloth and linen instead of autumn grain to pay taxes. It is conceivable that the local textile industry is very prosperous.

However, the scale of the Jiangnan prefectures did not form, and no large-scale textile factories appeared. All weavers spun at home by themselves.

Zhao Han is now formulating an economic development plan——

Linjiang Prefecture focuses on the development of medicinal materials, iron smelting, and trade.

Yuanzhou Mansion focuses on the development of textiles, iron smelting, ceramics, and commerce.

Ji'an Prefecture focuses on the development of textiles, cloth dyeing, ceramics, and commerce.

Ganzhou Prefecture focuses on the development of commercial crops (tung oil, wood lacquer, camellia oleifera, tobacco, etc.) and trade.

Why is there commerce?

Because there are important water transport towns, commerce and trade are already developed!

After Zhao Han abolished exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes, the commerce and trade within the jurisdiction became more prosperous, and many merchants from other places were willing to do business.The development of commerce and trade can expand the market for various commodities, and merchants will bring local specialties and sell them to various provinces.

As for the water-turned spinning wheel, it was born in the Southern Song Dynasty. Its work efficiency is more than 30 times that of a manual spinning wheel, and it can spin more than 100 catties of flax yarn every day.

Unfortunately, cotton fibers are too short for this water spinning wheel.

Therefore, after the popularization of cotton cloth, the hydraulic spinning wheel was also eliminated, and it almost disappeared by the end of Ming Dynasty.

Zhao Han decided to take three steps:

The first step is to rebuild the water-turned spinning wheel and weave a large amount of hemp yarn.Then sell the linen yarn to the weavers, and the weavers weave it into linen. There is also a market for this linen.

The second step is to improve the water-turned spinning wheel, making it suitable for spinning cotton yarn, and gradually giving birth to a large-scale industry.

The third step is to improve the loom.When cotton yarn can be produced in large quantities and quickly, merchants will inevitably invest in improving looms themselves, and a virtuous circle of technology research and development will be formed.

Jiangxi has a dense water network, so it would be a pity not to use hydraulic machinery!

After coming to the inn to stay, Xu Xiake began to sort out his diary and revise his articles about visiting Longhu Mountain and Magu Mountain.At the same time, he also wanted to record what he saw and heard just now. "Xu Xiake's Travel Notes" also wanted to write about events, and secretly used the spring and autumn style of writing. Only the Jiangxi Travel Notes satirized several people.

"Boom boom boom!"

There was a knock on the door next door, followed by another conversation.

"Brother Shi Zai, look what good things I got."

""The Record of Female Generals of the Great Tongue"? I have read this book, and it is not a woman who obeys women's morals."

"Hey, open it again and have a look."

"Hey, there are illustrations, which bookstore printed them?"

"I don't know, anyway, someone is secretly selling it, and the price is quite expensive."

"Don't worry, let me have a look at the painting skills."

"..."

Xu Xiake has read "The Collection of Great Harmony", and it has already spread to Fuzhou and Raozhou.

What is this "Record of the Female Generals of Datong"? It sounds like a propaganda book for rebels.However, not only did it spread unimpeded in Nanchang, but there were also booksellers who took the initiative to print illustrated editions to make money.

It can only be said that Jiangxi is really a magical place!

In fact, Zhao Han also can't laugh or cry, "The Record of Female Generals of Datong" is for women.Prostitutes, maids, among them literate women, after reading it, they must be yearning for it.

I didn't expect that men would like to watch it too. It was completely out of curiosity, and the spread speed was faster than "Datong Ji".As a result, unscrupulous booksellers quietly pirated copies, and now they even produced illustrated editions.

As expected of a bookseller, he has a specialization in art and understands the psychology of readers very well.

The neighbors are still chatting——

"If you want to talk about the one hundred and eight female generals of the Datong, the Tianying star Zuo Shangyun is the most pleasing. She is from a branch of a wealthy family, not a prostitute or a maid, and she has excellent poetry. The novel "The First Battle of Qingjiang" "Qing Jiangyue", the libretto comes from this woman's handwriting. Alas, if she is not a thief, she is also a talented woman."

"I prefer MSI Pan Saisai. It is rumored that she was born as a famous prostitute in the Ji'an Mansion. She has a charming appearance and a graceful figure, and her voice is especially clear when she sings. This illustration is also well drawn. I don't know which artist it is from."

"This day's killing star Liu Fengying is also extraordinary. Brother, let's read the book. He was helping to divide the land in Wugong Mountain, but he suddenly encountered dozens of thieves. The chief officer was afraid and wanted to retreat, but Liu Fengying remained calm in the face of danger. More than ten people waved flags and shouted in the forest, and led the crowd to rush out suddenly, and captured more than fifty bandits on the spot. They are really heroines, and I can't wait to see her face!"

"..."

Xu Xiake laughed when he heard it in the room, but at the same time, he was deeply impressed by the cunning of the rebels, so he actually played tricks on scholars.

Zhao Han could only yell that he was wronged, he didn't want to play a beauty trick.It's those unscrupulous booksellers who produced a hell of an illustrated version, drawing all the female missionaries beautifully, which caused the stinky man who read the book to become lustful.

If it continues like this, there will probably be storytellers in the teahouse, and all those female missionaries will be made into legends!

Beauty and novelty are really easy to spread. The folk influence of "Datong Female General Record" can throw "Datong Ji" out of a hundred blocks.

Knowing that thief Zhao did not kill people indiscriminately, Xu Xiake only stayed in Nanchang for one day, and then went straight to Qingyuan Mountain outside Jishui County by boat.The Qingyuan Mountain in the Ming Dynasty was not just that one peak, the surrounding mountains were collectively called Qingyuan Mountain.

It was late autumn at this time, Xu Xiake went into the mountains and found sweet potatoes growing everywhere.

Only a few mountain people are taking care of the fields, but most of the mountain people are building roads. Both men and women, even young and old, come to help.

The four-year compulsory education cannot be extended to the mountains for the time being, and children still do farm work at a young age.

Xu Xiake couldn't help walking over, clasped his fists and asked, "Old man, is the corvee heavy here?"

"Building your own road, what kind of corvee?" In fact, the old man is not old. He is only in his 50s, but he has gray hair and wrinkles.

Xu Xiake had no choice but to ask again: "Since it's not a corvee, can the government pay wages?"

The old man smiled and said, "How much do you pay for building your own road?"

Xu Xiake was puzzled and said: "If you don't pay wages, it's not considered a corvee, so what is this road construction?"

The old man said happily: "Mr. Zhao asked us to build the road, so we will do our best. All the mountain roads in this area belong to Dashu'ao (village). When the road is repaired, it will be easier to go down the mountain. If you have nothing to do at home, it's better to come and repair it." The road cannot be repaired this year, and it will be repaired next year, and it will be repaired sooner or later."

"Didn't the government force you?" Xu Xiake asked.

The old man was still laughing: "Do you need the government to force you to build your own road?"

In fact, the reason is very simple. In the past, the biggest beneficiaries of road construction were the landowners in the mountains.

Now road construction, the beneficiaries are all farmers!

The old man opened his mouth and said "build his own road", which shows that he has a sense of ownership.They could not call the shots before, but now they can call the shots. They themselves are the masters of the mountain road.

From the founding of New China to before 2000 AD, Chinese farmers also built village roads in this way.

Don't take any wages from the government, bring your own tools and dry food, dig mountains and rocks, and build your own roads.After the repair is completed, it needs to be maintained every year. Men, women and children are working hard.

Chapter 209 [Agronomy Enthusiasts and Travelers]

When Xu Xiake came to Jiangxi this time, he still had his mother's will to complete.

During the Yongle period, Zhang Zonglian was demoted to be the Tongzhi of Changzhou.Because of his honesty and integrity, he rescued the people, and when he died of illness, thousands of local people went to the funeral in plain clothes, and raised funds to build the "Zhanghou Ancestral Hall" for him.

In the past 200 years, the incense has continued, and the kindness is still remembered.

Xu Xiake's mother's 78th birthday was supposed to be a birthday celebration, but all of it was donated to rebuild the collapsed Zhanghou Temple.After the repairs were completed, Xu Xiake was told by his mother that he would visit Zhang Zonglian's descendants in the future and enshrine Zhang Zonglian's portrait, relics and calligraphy.

Historically, he directly sought help from his relatives, that is, Xu Fusheng, the prefect of Ji'an, and soon learned about Zhang Zonglian's descendants.

But now, Xu Fusheng was already dead, and Zhao Han stabbed him to death when he cheated the city!

Xu Xiake walked around Qingyuan Temple and felt that Zhao Han was not a villain.As for Xu Fusheng's big vendetta, he didn't bother to pursue it, anyway, his relationship with Xu Fusheng was not very close.

"Jiangyin Xu Hongzu, please see Mr. Zhao." Xu Xiake came to the General Military Mansion and asked to see him without any psychological burden.

Suddenly, another scholar came with two servants: "De'an Chen Xisong, here to present the "Nongshu". In the book, there is a map of carrying water and spinning the big spinning wheel!"

The guard hurriedly said: "Mr. Chen, please come in." Then he said to Xu Xiake, "Mr. Xu, please wait a moment, I have to report first."

Zhao Han had already ordered that those who offered water to spin the spinning wheel could be led directly to the General Army Mansion.

Chen Xisong was brought into the living room, and not long after, he saw a young man approaching.

Or, more like a teenager.

Zhao Han cupped his hands and said with a smile, "My humble Zhao Yan, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Zhao...Mr. Zhao?" Chen Xisong was quite surprised, and hurriedly bowed, "Meet Mr. Zhao."

"Please sit down," Zhao Han asked with a smile, "Sir, are you from De'an?"

Chen Xisong replied: "Exactly, the late born came from the Chen family of Yimen, and has been living in De'an since the Tang Dynasty."

Zhao Han really didn't know what the Chen family was, so he just praised politely: "It's a son of a famous family, it's a bit disappointing."

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yimen Chen family grew so strong that the imperial court feared it. Wen Yanbo, Bao Zheng and others all suggested forcibly separating the family.

What was the final score?

The imperial court dispatched special officials to supervise and divide the Yimen Chen family's property across several provinces into 291 shares, and then divided the Chen family's children into 291 shares.Then, Chen's property in Jiangxi was further divided into 47 shares.

The Yimen Chen family was divided into 338 families in total!

It's a pity that Zhao Han had never heard of it, so he asked directly, "Sir, can you make water and turn a spinning wheel?"

Chen Xisong asked his servant to open the box, took out a thick stack of ancient books and said, "This is the "Book of Agriculture".


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