novelonline Chapter 342 The Beginning of the Great Xia Version of the Enclosure Movement
Chapter 342 The Beginning of the Great Xia Version of the Enclosure Movement
Chapter 342 The Beginning of the Great Xia Version of the Enclosure Movement
It's October, the crops have been planted in the ground, and the farmers have nothing to do except to water the crops.
This year is a good year, and it is a royal manor. Farmers don't have to worry about the persecution of corrupt officials. After paying the imperial grain, the remaining grain not only fills the granary, but also enough to feed the children of the family.
The warm sunshine drives away the chill of late autumn, Daiyu sits with a group of women and children in the yard of an old nun's house, smiling and asking the farmers about their daily life.
During the reign of the Holy Son of Heaven, life in the past two years can almost be said to be as beautiful as a dream.The old mother kept the embroidery needles in her hands, and at the same time she was talking to Daiyu about the past few years.
People like to recall the past when they get old. Nanny Lu was born in a Gusu embroidered family and used to be a female official in the East Palace.
Because the palace change in the last years of Zhaowu was affected, fortunately the fourth master had a good adoptive mother, and the former Eastern Palace maid was rescued by Empress Dowager Cao and sent out of the palace.
The old mother and several maids had nowhere to go, so they settled directly in this Huangzhuang, helping the steward Zhang Qian to manage the village on weekdays, and at the same time embroidered some embroidery to exchange for money.
With the increase in the number of heroic widows taken in by Zhuangzi, most of the old women and wives of this group of soldiers have no skills to support themselves, and they don’t use much energy to do farm work. Even with Huangzhuang to take care of them, life is miserable. .
After thinking about it, the old mother taught embroidery to this group of women and children, and even took a lot of jobs in Xiufang, the capital city. Although she couldn't become rich, she could still earn a lot of money.
Otherwise, how could these little dolls in Zhuangzi grow up strong one by one, practicing martial arts with Qin Da and others.
"Who says women are inferior to men, Mother Lu led everyone to exchange embroidery products to support a large family, which is worse than many men."
Daiyu looked at the embroideries in the wooden box, even if they were just ordinary fabrics, with the exquisite embroidery and exquisite patterns, they were better than the embroideries of several big showrooms in the capital.
However, because the Xiufang that picks up the work is average, the embroidery work and patterns are all excellent, and the money that can be exchanged is also limited.
She thought that Xiangyun now had an embroidery shop, and she had a plan: most of the people in the Zhuangzi were women and children, and they would definitely take in more widows of heroes in the future.
If this group of women and children can have a stable livelihood, such as embroidery workers.It's better to open a show shop in Zhuangzi and let Xiangyun's shop sell it...
Wait a minute, Dad once said that the silk embroidery of the Celestial Dynasty is extremely popular overseas, and the nobles of the eastern and western barbarians all honor wearing the silk brocades of the Celestial Dynasty.
That being the case, women and children in this Zhuangzi can support their families as embroidery workers, so can women and children in other places do it too?
Sister Yun has a shop in her hand, and the Xue family even runs several Xiufang.In addition to the second sister, third younger sister, fourth younger sister and the noble daughters of the clan, if they can unite, wouldn't they be able to help more lonely women and children?
Which woman of this age can't embroider a few stitches?High, medium and low-end embroidery will not worry about sales.
In addition, the embroidered women in the palace can be said to have mastered almost all the embroidery methods of the country. As long as they are managed properly, the huge sea trade is enough to exchange these embroidery products for a large amount of silver.
The Queen Mother is kind and would probably agree to let the embroiderers in the palace help.The worst she can do is go to Cining Palace a few more times a month and play the game of pretending to be the golden boy with the old lady...
Daiyu looked through the embroideries in the box one by one, but she had already drawn up a rough plan in her mind.
The imperial court has opened several shipping departments along the coast, and the expansion of maritime trade is just around the corner. This is an excellent opportunity.
If this is done, at least those widows of military households who have lost their head of family will have a stable income. Coupled with the pension from the court and the production of the family's land, it will not be a problem to support the family.
Thinking of this, Daiyu's brows and eyes were curved, and her bright eyes were full of fighting spirit.
Her Royal Highness, who had recovered from her contemplation, asked with a smile, "Would you like to accept more apprentices, I want to open a showroom on Zhuangzi..."
……
Today is the Cold Clothes Festival, and there is a bumper harvest. Zhang Qian is a quick-witted person. He sent a booklet to the palace earlier, saying that Zhuangzi will set up a running water mat today, to express his gratitude to the mighty grace of heaven, and to celebrate the coming of the prosperous age.
Originally, he just wanted to show his face in front of the emperor, but Zhezi, who didn't want to be tentative, actually invited the emperor.
The emperor brought his three children to the feast. Zhang Qian was excited and extremely nervous at the same time.
Fortunately, all the people in Zhuangzi were trustworthy, and tables were set up one after another, and pots of big pots of vegetables were brought up. The school grounds couldn’t even accommodate everyone in the Zhuangzi, and the dining tables were placed on the street along the two exits of the school grounds. in the alley.
There were no exquisite banquets, and no delicacies from the mountains and seas. They were just pork stews, roasted game, steamed buns made of sorghum noodles, mutton braised cakes, etc. Most of them were meals customarily eaten by the military.
Only the emperor and the two princesses put a few plates of delicate dishes in front of them. These were the fish just picked up from the river by the people on the Zhuangzi, and the cook specially made them.
Chun'er, who is less than five years old, is very happy today, with many friends.
Like the little doll in Zhuangzi, she picked up a bowl full of pieces of meat, hula la, and planed rice into her mouth.
Seeing that his daughter was eating happily, the emperor's master was all smiles on the faces of the farmers, and they were naturally in a good mood.
In addition, the few people who sat with him were all warriors, because he deliberately suppressed his cooking speed because of his identity as the emperor.
But after all, he couldn't compare to this group of rice cooks, and the bowl on Zhuangzi was bigger than that in the palace, so he was a little bit full after eating two bowls.
"Fourth Master's appetite is not as good as it used to be. Do you still remember that you could eat at least three bowls of rice in one meal? Fourth Master spends his energy and mind on state affairs every day. How can you eat this?"
Qin Da frowned as he looked at the gray-white exposed from the emperor's temples.
"Fourth master, don't blame the general for his rough speech. Back then, you and His Highness practiced martial arts with the old man. How strong would you be? This is not good. It is a blessing for millions of people to have a sage like you in the world. You have to Practice more, the big guy is still looking forward to your long live."
If these words are picked on by someone with a heart, you will be charged with unwarranted charges when you meet a fatuous king.
The whole table fell silent. On the contrary, after hearing this, the emperor first smiled bitterly, and then shook his head freely.
"How many people are looking forward to my early death, that's why you tell me these things... I know, and I will regain my martial arts in the future. In two years, when the crown prince grows up, I will lead everyone to restart the Northern Expedition and realize my brother's original goal." desire."
On the way back to Beijing, the emperor's mood was very complicated. The farmers were grateful for the emperor's kindness, and dedicated the best of their harvest to the emperor.
Eggs from this house, pheasants hunted by that house, potatoes from the east house, pumpkins from the west house...
The emperor did not refuse these things, and Zhang Qian arranged for three carriages to bring the farmers' hearts back to the capital.
He planned to use these things to entertain the officials at the court meeting, so that they could also taste the people's gratitude to him, the emperor, and the court.
……
Rongguo Mansion had guests today, and Grandma Liu brought her grandson to kowtow to the old lady to thank her.
Last winter, her family survived the famine with the help of the Rongguo Mansion. This year's harvest is excellent, and her family has no shortage of food and money. The grandson has also gone to school, and now he has learned a lot of words.
Although the handwriting of the copied Buddhist scriptures was crooked, and some words were obviously copied, Jia Cong could still feel the true feelings of the Wang family.
The old lady's sense of Grandma Liu got better, and she said with a smile: "The child is smart and can copy Buddhist scriptures after only one year of study. Maybe he can get a good reputation in the future. Originally, I wanted to keep the grandparents of the Liu family. I stayed for a few days, but it's a pity that the child will go back to school tomorrow, so he had to be sent back after lunch."
"Study should not be delayed. It is not easy for the peasant family to have the opportunity to study. Wang Gou'er's family is also a person who knows how to be grateful and considerate. The grandson will help them. Let someone send some books over another day. Talent, our family can accept him as an apprentice."
Jia Cong thought more deeply than the old lady. The Rongguo Mansion had no shortage of veterans in terms of generals, but there were not many people who could be used by civil servants.
He will take the path of both civil and military skills in the future, and from now on he must search and train more helpers.Grandma Liu's family has a good character, and Wang Ban'er has a talent for reading, so why not help him now?
The old lady understood Jia Cong's thoughts as soon as she heard it, and felt relieved after being surprised.Every generation of the Ning Rong Jia family will have amazing and talented people. The first generation Ning Rong Ergong, the second generation Jia Daishan and Jia Daihua, the third generation Jia Jing... well, neither does the eldest son. good stubble.
She originally thought it would be Baoyu in this generation, but now it seems that Dafang's brothers have clearly left the others behind.
And compared to Jia Lian, Jia Cong is several times stronger.No matter in terms of temperament, talent or conduct, this brother Cong is simply a monstrous existence.
Even his own husband, the old man in the Rongguo Mansion is not as good as this grandson, maybe Brother Cong's fortune will be even greater in the future, it may not be impossible to be a family of three men.
Grandma Liu sent a lot of melons, fruits and vegetables grown by herself, as well as game she bought from the hunters in the village.During dinner, the family took advantage of this to taste something fresh, and talked about the farm for a long time around the table.
Lin Ruhai was forced to take a vacation by the emperor, but he was a person who couldn't be idle. After learning about his daughter's plan from Jia Cong, not only did he not stop him, but he enthusiastically helped to make suggestions.
Compared with Jia Cong and Daiyu's crude plan, Master Lin, who is familiar with the political economy of the country, almost overturned the entire strategy drafted by Daiyu.
"You can't just seek perfection when doing things. As the saying goes, governing a big country is like cooking a small dish, and the same goes for doing business, not to mention the big issues that concern the families of women and children."
Lin Ruhai picked up a pen and circled a few of Daiyu's original partners and said, "It's true that Haimao is a cornucopia, but Haimao is both a cornucopia and a beast that devours people. Every ally must be carefully selected, such as These few..."
Jia Cong and Daiyu approached, and saw that Lin Ruhai circled the Hengyang Grand Princess' Mansion, Jianninghou's Mansion, Songjiang Xu's House, and Chengdu Yuan's House.
I only heard Lin Ruhai say: "Princess Hengyang is old, she has been ill for the past two years, and her sons and daughters are useless, and their character is unreliable. The Jianninghou Mansion does run a silk business, but his family The business is obtained by forcibly forcing the Fujian Chamber of Commerce through the power of the Marquis. There are also imperial merchants such as the Xu family and the Yuan family, who are too ambitious to make friends with..."
Lin Ruhai has been in the ups and downs of the officialdom for more than ten years, and now he is a first-rank official, in charge of the household department, and his control over people's hearts can be said to be superb.
He analyzed the two of them one by one, picked out the best among them, and divided them into several grades.
And began to guide Daiyu to formulate a plan, for example, it can be piloted in the capital first, and the scale does not need to be too large.At the beginning, there is no need to find others to cooperate, just bring in the sisters in the family.
After making some achievements, you can find people with good character in the clan to cooperate and expand the scale.Of course, this matter must be led by the queen mother or imperial concubine.
When the scale is large enough, it is best to get the permission of the emperor to set up an imperial merchant and join the imperial court's maritime trade plan.
……
In the first ten days of October, Jia Cong and Daiyu both had their own jobs, busy without touching the ground.
Although the plan against Wala was taken over by the central boss, Yilan seemed to have identified Jia Cong. Now that he was free, he came to Rongguo Mansion to find him almost every other day.
The emperor probably felt that he was so busy every day that he didn't even have time to go to the harem. He felt unhappy seeing his courtiers leisurely, so he even crowned Jia Cong with the title of doctor of the Ministry of Rites and asked him to entertain the future King of Shunyi.
Yilan came to look for Jia Cong again, because with the coming of Iron Net Mountain hunting this year, when he will accept the emperor's imperial seal, A Luotai's people will also arrive in the capital.
He really didn't know where Wala would go in the future.It doesn't matter if you don't have a sweat position, but if Wala's blood flows into rivers because of his own plan, then he will really become Wala's sinner.
"Uncle Yongfeng, what is this?"
In Jia Cong's study, Yilan saw the newly-made clothes on the table, which were strange in style and not what Han people wear today.
Jia Cong curled his lips: "Wool, that is, clothes made of wool. Yilan Khan, the most indispensable thing in the grassland is wool, and the Central Plains has technology. When this technology matures, you can tell me that the people of Wala will still be able to use wool." Will you be short of money to buy food and salt?"
This woolen coat is the first finished product that the Ministry of Industry has spun by hand with a hydraulically driven loom.
The craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry are really amazing. Jia Cong only provided a rough idea. They actually manufactured several kinds of looms in just one month, changing the use of wool from the traditional plain weave and twill weave. Wool fabrics, tufted blankets, etc. have crossed over to wool clothing.
Clothes made of wool are more marketable than blankets and the like.The strong warmth will definitely make woolen clothing a popular fashion in cold autumn and winter.
At least Jia Cong is very satisfied with the woolen coat on the table. Although it looks a little weird, but the winter in Beijing is really cold, it would be better if there is another thick woolen sweater.
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
Today I fell asleep while coding, and the dream has been updated. I woke up in the middle of the night and only wrote more than 1000 words. I cried to death.
I just added [-] words, so let’s update one chapter first.Will update again tonight.
(End of this chapter)