I

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Xu Xiake's sixteenth trip was also the last trip in his life.

Originally, the original travel route was to go straight from Fuzhou to Ji'an, visiting Guifeng, Longhu Mountain, Magu Mountain, Qingyuan Mountain, etc. along the way. However, the Zhao thieves in Luling made too much trouble and heard that the abbots of Qingyuan Temple were tortured to death (rumors). Xu Xiake had no choice but to go to Nanchang to inquire about the situation.

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

There is a pavilion on the pier, which is actually an advertising board, with a lot of commercial information posted, and sometimes the emperor's edicts and government notices.

I saw a group of people gathered around, and a scholar read loudly: "Mr. Zhao of Luling, we are looking for people who can make water to turn a big mill, and water to turn a big spinning wheel. Both households and craftsmen will be given preferential treatment. If it can be made into a machine , a reward of twenty taels of silver, and those who are willing to stay and serve as officials will be given official positions, and those who are willing to move their families will share the fields with their families! There will also be a heavy reward for those who can improve the loom!"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

A down-and-out scholar said angrily: "The Luling Zhao thieves are so arrogant that they posted the notice in Nanchang Mansion!"

"Ms. Liu, if you don't just scold me, do you dare to tear up the anti-thief notice?" an acquaintance next to him teased.

The down-and-out scholar suddenly blushed: "I...why don't I dare? There is something urgent at home today, so I have to go back quickly. I'll come back another day to tear it up!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Everyone laughed.

Xu Xiake was shocked. The rebels posted the notice in the provincial capital, but no one dared to tear it down.

Are all the officials of the three departments in Jiangxi deaf or blind?

"I know the water-turned mill, but what is the water-turned spinning wheel?"

"It's just water turning a spinning wheel."

"Oh, it's a pity that I don't know how to do it, otherwise I would have to apply for the job."

"Be careful what you say, don't let the officials hear you."

"What are you afraid of? Sooner or later, Nanchang will be taken over by Zhao thieves. I heard from friends who have been to Linjiang Prefecture that the lives of the people there are very good. Zhao thieves do not impose excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes."

"This old cousin is right. My niece got married in the countryside of Fengcheng. She got married quickly when the fields were 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. She actually got it. "

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

"..."

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

Xu Xiake couldn't help but ask the coolie he hired: "Why is the Zhao thief in Luling so arrogant?"

The coolie replied with a smile: "During the autumn harvest, Mr. Zhao won a great victory. I heard that tens of thousands of officers and soldiers were killed. Now everyone is looking forward to Mr. Zhao taking Nanchang as soon as possible, so that he can have a good start in the future." "

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

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

Xu Xiake was speechless for a moment. With only one household registration, the coolie was willing to become a thief.

The reason is very simple. The imperial court does not issue household registration to homeless people, acknowledging the existence of a large number of such illegal households. But a gangster is a gangster after all. Not only can officials exploit them at will, but even ordinary people can bully them. Even if these vagrants are defrauded of their money, they cannot go to the Yamen to file a lawsuit.

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

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

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 prefectures.

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 Prefecture Chronicle" of the Wanli Dynasty records: "There are no sericulture on the ground, but kapok is the clothes."

Before the Zhengtong Dynasty in Yuanzhou Prefecture, farmers transported cotton and ramie (linen) cloth to Anqing to earn food for the autumn tax, which was very inconvenient. Zhou Ying, the magistrate of Fenyi County in the Zhengtong Dynasty, requested the court to use cotton and ramie directly as rice to fill the tax, and the court agreed.

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

However, it did not reach the scale of the Jiangnan prefectures, nor did large-scale textile factories appear. Weavers weaved their own textiles at home.

Now Zhao Han is formulating an economic development plan——

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

Yuanzhou Prefecture 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 cash crop cultivation (tung oil, wood paint, camellia oleifera, tobacco, etc.) and commerce.

Why is there commerce?

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

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

As for the large water-spun spinning wheel, it was born during the Southern Song Dynasty. Its working efficiency is more than 30 times that of the human-powered spinning wheel, and it can spin more than 100 kilograms of linen yarn every day.

Unfortunately, cotton fibers are too short for this kind of water-powered spinning wheel.

Therefore, after the popularity of cotton cloth, water-powered spinning wheels were also eliminated, and by the end of the Ming Dynasty they were almost extinct.

Zhao Han decided to take three steps:

The first step was to rebuild a large water-driven spinning wheel and spin a large amount of linen yarn. The linen yarn is then sold to weavers, who spin it into linen cloth, which also has a market.

The second step was to improve the large water-turned spinning wheel and make it suitable for spinning cotton yarn, which gradually gave 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, looms cannot adapt to industrial development, and businesses must invest in improving looms themselves, thus forming a virtuous cycle of technology research and development.

Jiangxi has a dense water network. It would be a pity not to use hydraulic machinery!

After coming to stay at the inn, Xu Xiake began to organize his diary and revise his articles about visiting Longhu Mountain and Magu Mountain. At the same time, he also wanted to record what he had just seen and heard. "Xu Xiake's Travels" also wanted to write about events, and he used the Spring and Autumn style of writing in secret. The Jiangxi Travels alone satirized several people.

"Dong dong dong!"

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

"Brother Shizai, look what good stuff I got."

""Records of Female Generals of Datong"? I have read this book. They are all women who do not follow the rules of women."

"Hey, please open it again and take a look."

"Hey, there are illustrations. Which bookstore printed them?"

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

"Don't be impatient, let me take a look at your painting skills."

"..."

Xu Xiake has read "Datong Collection", and that stuff has spread to Fuzhou and Raozhou.

This "Record of Female Generals of Datong" 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.

All I can say is that Jiangxi is really a magical place!

In fact, Zhao Han didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "The Records of Female Generals of Datong" is for women. Prostitutes, maids, among them literate women, you will definitely be yearning for it after reading it.

I didn’t expect that men would also like to watch it. It was completely out of curiosity, and it spread faster than "Datong Collection". As a result, unscrupulous booksellers quietly pirated copies and now even produce illustrated editions.

He specializes in the art field and is worthy of being a bookseller. He understands the psychology of readers very well.

The people next door are still chatting——

"To talk about the 108 female generals of the Great Tong Dynasty, Tianyingxing Zuo Shangyun is the most lovable. She comes from a branch of a wealthy family, and is not a prostitute or a maid. She also has excellent poetry. "The Battle of Qingjiang" is about "Qingjiang Yue", the lyrics were written by this woman. Alas, if she is not a thief, she is also a talented woman. "

"I like Tianweixing Pan Saisai even more. It is said that she was born as a famous prostitute in Ji'an Prefecture. She has a charming appearance and graceful figure, and her voice is especially clear when singing. This illustration is also very good. I don't know which artist painted it."

"This Heavenly Killer Liu Fengying is also extraordinary. Brother, please read the book. He was helping to divide the fields in Wugong Mountain, and suddenly encountered dozens of thieves. The chief officer was afraid and wanted to retreat, but Liu Fengying remained calm in the face of danger and organized a missionary group and a peasant association. More than ten people waved flags and shouted in the forest, and then led the crowd to suddenly attack and captured more than fifty bandits on the spot. She is really a heroine, I can't wait to see her beauty!"

"..."

Xu Xiake laughed in the room, but at the same time he felt deeply that the rebels were so cunning that they actually used a beauty trick on a scholar.

Zhao Han could only scream that he was wronged. He didn't want to use a beauty trick. It's those unscrupulous booksellers who come up with some damn illustrated editions where all the female missionary officers are beautifully drawn, causing the stinky men who read the books to become lustful themselves.

If things continue like this, there will probably be storytellers in the teahouses who turn all those female missionaries into legends!

Beauty and novelty are really easy to spread. The folk influence of "Datong Female Generals" can surpass "Datong Collection" by a hundred streets.

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

It was late autumn at this time. Xu Xiake entered the mountains and found sweet potatoes planted everywhere.

Only a few mountain people are tending the fields, while most of the mountain people are building roads. 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 but walked over, clasped his fists and asked, "My father-in-law, is the corvee heavy here?"

"Building your own road, what kind of corvee is that?" The old man is actually not old, he is only in his fifties, but his hair is gray and wrinkled.

Xu Xiake had no choice but to ask again: "If you are not a corvee, can the government pay you wages?"

The old man smiled and said, "How much does it cost to build your own road?"

Xu Xiake said in confusion: "If you don't pay wages, it's not considered a corvee, so what does it mean to build a road?"

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

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

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

In fact, the reason is very simple. In the past, when roads were built, the biggest beneficiaries were the landowners in the mountains.

Now the beneficiaries of road construction are all farmers!

The old man keeps talking about "building his own road", which shows that he has a sense of ownership. They couldn't make the decision before, but now they can. They themselves are the masters of the mountain road.

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

They don't take any wages from the government, bring their own tools and dry food, cut mountains and stones, and build their own roads. After the repairs are completed, they need to be maintained every year, and men, women and children work enthusiastically.