A few days later, Li Si took away Zhu Xiang's handwritten letter.
Chunshen Jun became unable to sleep or eat after Li Si left. When he was sleeping at night, Zhu Xiang's cold face with a head full of white hair kept flashing through his mind. He drove to the south bank of the Yangtze River and waited for him.
As soon as Li Si crossed the Yangtze River, he opened Zhu Xiang's letter.
Zhu Xiang did not say whether this matter was related to him or not. He only introduced the habits of cotton and said that the Qin people wove cotton cloth to replace linen.
Cotton is softer and warmer than linen. If common people switch from linen to cotton, they may be a step closer to their ideal of "having enough food and clothing".
Zhu Xiang also reminded that the weaving process of cotton and hemp is different. If Chu blindly planted cotton without knowing how to weave it, it might harm the people. If Chu really wanted to grow cotton, it should first let the craftsmen modify the weaving machine before trying to grow it. Qin would definitely not sell cotton weaving machines directly to Chu.
Chunshen Jun read Zhu Xiang's letter over and over again, but could not figure out what strategy Zhu Xiang was using.
Am I really overthinking it
Cotton is indeed a good thing, and Qin itself is planting it in large quantities. How can Chu fall into the river if it walks on Qin's stones
Chunshen Jun couldn't help feeling a little guilty. He couldn't doubt Zhu Xiang's character just because he had been at odds with him.
Moreover, Zhu Xiang's strategy was based on the premise that he wanted to kill Zhu Xiang. If he did not intend to kill Zhu Xiang, Zhu Xiang's strategy would not work.
Chunshen Jun sighed and went to find the King of Chu with the letter.
After reading Zhu Xiang's letter, the King of Chu immediately put it in his arms and asked, "Does Duke Zhu Xiang mean that you don't approve of Chu growing cotton?"
Chunshen Jun said: "Duke Zhu Xiang is just reminding us that even though Chu grows cotton, it cannot weave cotton cloth."
A minister immediately said, "Merchants can buy cotton seeds, so they can also buy tools for spinning cotton. Your Majesty has not ordered the promotion of cotton planting throughout the country. What they plant on their private fields has nothing to do with Your Majesty."
The King of Chu thought about it and realized that this was the case.
He liked to wear silk. Even if he had to wear cotton, even if Chu could weave cotton, he would definitely only wear the best cotton bought from Qin, so he would not deliberately promote cotton planting.
The reason why he had someone refute Li Si before was simply because Li Si had accused the State of Chu of "stealing" cotton seeds, which had offended him and made him very angry.
Another minister said: "Common people don't know how to spin cotton, so they naturally won't plant cotton; merchants want to make a profit, so they can plant cotton and bear the profit and loss themselves. As long as the taxes can be collected, it will not be a problem for the State of Chu."
The King of Chu thought about it again and realized that this was indeed the truth.
Chunshen Jun's lips moved, his hands clenched on his knees, he sighed deeply in his heart, and did not argue with his ministers.
Apart from the fact that his current status was far lower than before and he could no longer argue with the ministers on his own, he also knew that even if he said something different from them, it would be of no avail.
Chunshen Jun originally wanted to say that in addition to collecting taxes, perhaps we could also pay attention to other matters.
Zhu Xiang changed hemp to cotton, certainly not because the farmers of Qin could not pay taxes, but because of what he said in the letter: cotton is softer and warmer than linen, and the clothes made from it are more comfortable.
The Chu State had many silkworms and mulberry trees, and silk and brocade were everywhere, but the people who raised silkworms and made brocade could not afford to wear silk and brocade. They could not even afford to wear fine linen, and could only wear coarse linen.
When Chunshen Jun followed the King of Chu, who was still a hostage in Qin, and suffered in Qin, he was imprisoned and wore coarse linen clothes. He knew how rough coarse linen clothes were and how they could rub people's skin red and rough.
Zhu Xiang persuaded farmers to switch from hemp to cotton so that they could wear soft cloth that would not rub their skin.
The fact that Qin cotton was popular in the six kingdoms was just a byproduct; that was all Zhu Xiang wanted.
If the King of Chu ordered the imitation of Qin's cotton textile machines and then replaced hemp with cotton throughout the country, the common people of Chu would also be able to wear this soft cloth.
But Chunshen Jun was just thinking about it.
For the Chu State, as long as the common people could pay taxes and bear the burden of corvée and military service, it would be enough. If it was cheaper than livestock, who would care what they ate and wore
So it's useless to say it yourself.
Chunshen Jun suddenly wondered if Zhu Xiang had already anticipated this, so he didn't care about giving the cotton seeds to the State of Chu
Perhaps I was doubting Zhu Xiang for no reason again.
Zhu Xiang probably just thought that the common people of Chu were still common people, and cotton was not something that could improve the national strength of Chu, so everyone could grow it.
When Chunshen Jun left the palace, he asked the King of Chu for Zhu Xiang's letter.
The King of Chu bluntly stated that he wanted to collect Zhu Xianggong's calligraphy and refused to return it.
Chunshen Jun refused to give in and kept asking for more. The King of Chu stood up and turned to leave, asking his guards to stop Chunshen Jun.
Seeing the King of Chu playing tricks, Chunshen Jun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Everyone joked that if the King of Chu had not snatched it first, they would have wanted to snatch it too.
Chunshen Jun laughed and chatted with the people around him, and sighed on the way back home.
The King of Chu and some of his ministers really admired Zhu Xiang, which is why they did such an absurd thing as snatching the letter Zhu Xiang wrote to them.
But no matter how much they admired and respected Zhu Xiang, they completely failed to understand Zhu Xiang's ideals, nor would they try to understand them.
On the contrary, I, a person who wanted to kill Zhu Xiang, could understand him.
Chunshen Jun reached into his sleeve and took out a few pages of letter paper.
He did not give the entire letter to the King of Chu. Zhu Xiang wrote a few pages of greetings and methods of growing cotton, which he kept.
Regarding the method of growing cotton, he would re-copy it several times and then hand it over to the King of Chu and other feudal lords.
"I should write a letter to Changping Jun to thank him for his generosity." Chunshen Jun looked at the cotton planting method written by Zhu Xiang and sighed deeply again.
When spring plowing is busy on the south bank of the Yangtze River, the Jianghuai Plain is also busy.
After the merchants from the seven countries learned that Chu could also grow cotton, they hurried to Chu to place advance reservations for cotton.
Qin had very strict control over imports and exports. Merchants from other countries could only buy cotton cloth, and it was difficult to buy raw cotton. The price of cotton cloth increased several times. Even if merchants could still make money after selling cotton cloth to other countries, for merchants, if they made less money, they would lose money.
Cotton cultivation had long been promoted in the Guanzhong and Guandong plains of the Qin State, and farmers had simple cotton gins and textile machines that could be used for both hemp and cotton. It was easy for merchants to buy cotton gins and textile machines, but they didn't know how to grow cotton, so they were still waiting and watching.
The State of Chu actually obtained the cotton planting method written by Duke Xiang of Chu himself. They believed that the State of Chu could definitely grow cotton, so they came to purchase from the people of Chu.
Most of the fertile land in Chu was in the hands of the feudal lords. The farmers did not dare to change from hemp to cotton, and the feudal lords themselves did not wear linen, so they immediately forced the farmers to change all the hemp to cotton.
When merchants came to reserve cotton, they used cotton seeds as a deposit and part of the cotton cloth as a deposit, so the Chu State had no shortage of cotton seeds and only needed to focus on planting.
Later, more and more merchants rushed to buy cotton, the purchase price became higher and higher, and a new "profit sharing" model emerged.
That is, the merchants provided the cotton seeds, textile machines and textile workers, and the feudal lords only needed to provide people and land to grow cotton. After the cotton cloth was woven, they would share the profits.
There is such a good thing? The nobles of Chu State invested in cotton planting.
As for the work of making and improving cotton gins and cotton spinning machines, no one was doing it.
In this era, most people still looked down on craftsmen. If the Chu State attached great importance to craftsmanship, it would have rewarded craftsmen generously when fewer craftsmen migrated south and craftsmanship declined. Why would even the bronze ware used by the King of Chu be so crude
The merchants helped the nobles to weave cloth and sell it for money, and the nobles just waited to collect the money and would not bother with these vulgar things.
Zhu Xiang was sitting on the ridge of the field, with Chunshen Jun's letter on his lap and Lu Buwei's letter in his hand.
Chunshen Jun thanked him for his generosity in the letter, and then sighed that the court of Chu did not understand his love for the common people. But he would work hard to change hemp to cotton on his land so that farmers could also wear soft cloth.
Lu Buwei proudly said that there was a cotton-growing craze in the State of Chu, and many feudal lords only cared about the immediate benefits and reduced the planting of grain.
Now only a few feudal lords who are short of money are doing this. When the cotton grows this year, more and more feudal lords will follow suit.
"When I do business, I never default on payments to others. So as long as they are willing to grow cotton, they will definitely make money. With my integrity, they will definitely increase the cotton planting area year by year!"
A trade war is not something that can be achieved overnight. If Zhu Xiang had not announced the trade war he was promoting, even the King of Qin would not have known what he was doing, and might even have thought that he was being a saint again and was giving benefits to the State of Chu for nothing.
Two years, three years... Considering the short-sightedness of the Chu people, two or three years might be enough.
"The next step is to sell them food at a low price." Zhu Xiang said, "What excuse can you use to sell them food without arousing suspicion? Zheng'er, it's up to you."
Ying Xiaozheng stood beside Zhu Xiang with his hands behind his back: "Don't worry, uncle."
"I'm naturally relieved when Zheng'er does things." Zhu Xiang sighed and put the letter paper away. "I heard that Xia Tong went to Shu County, and Lin Li will also go south soon."
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Uncle Lin will definitely like the scenery of Wujun. As for my father... with his health, is it really okay for him to have a bumpy journey?"
Zhu Xiang said: "Even if he has a relationship, he can't stay idle. He is just like you."
Ying Xiaozheng wanted to say that he was not like that, but thinking of the "memories" of the great Ying Zheng in his dream, he changed his words and said, "He is not like me. I am strong."
Zhu Xiang laughed: "That's right. It's going to rain, let's go back."
When he stood up, he suddenly felt some abdominal pain.
Zhu Xiang pressed his body without saying much. When he went home, he drank some water boiled with pumpkin seeds, and the discomfort went away.
Xue Ji noticed that Zhu Xiang felt a little tired, so she applied a cloth dipped in hot water to his legs and hands and massaged him.
Xue Ji complained: "You are no longer a farmer, but you still go to the fields every day. You always blame Xia Tong, but have you ever taken care of your health?"
"You can live a long life by working as a farmer," Zhu Xiang said with a smile. "I am definitely healthier than those people who sit still all the time."
Xue Ji said: "I don't care about your crooked ideas, you have to rest for a while."
Zhu Xiang did not refuse: "Okay. I will rest for ten days before going out."
Only then was Xue Ji satisfied.
Zhu Xiang kept his word and stayed at home for ten days.
When he felt well and could return to his beloved farmland, the small vegetable garden at home gave him a surprise - cabbage was finally successfully cultivated.
Zhu Xiang looked at the cabbage seedlings in the yard, happily lying on the ground to examine them carefully, only calling "baby" and "good boy" with a slightly obscene expression.
After Lin Zhi secretly came to Wujun, he immediately went to find Zhu Xiang, hoping to scare him.
Seeing Zhu Xiang lying on the ground, he immediately put on a wicked smile, tiptoed behind Zhu Xiang, lifted the corner of his robe, and kicked Zhu Xiang hard on the butt, completely knocking Zhu Xiang to the ground.
Before Zhu Xiang could get up, he heard Lin Zhi's laughter, which he hadn't heard for a long time but was still very familiar to him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Lin Zhi!"
Lin Zhi laughed loudly: "Why call you brother?"
Lin Zhi immediately became covered in dust and dirt.
"Hmph!" Lin Zhi leaned over, grabbed a piece of dirt and threw it at Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang was not willing to be outdone and continued to smash.
Xue Ji, who came with Lin Zhi, saw this scene and couldn't help screaming, "This land has just been fertilized with manure!"
Lin Zhi paused for a moment, then gathered up a bigger lump of mud and smashed it even harder.
When Ying Xiaozheng heard that Lin Zhi was coming, he quickly put aside his official duties and went to Lin Zhi to ask about the affairs in Xianyang.
Seeing this scene, Ying Xiaozheng was wondering whether to help his uncle, but was grabbed by Xue Ji and his eyes were covered.
"Zheng'er! You are not allowed to learn!" Xue Ji's voice was very sharp, "You are not allowed to play with feces!"
Playing with dirt... Ying Xiaozheng was speechless.
It’s such a dirty and smelly thing, but as long as it’s done by Uncle Lin, it doesn’t feel out of place at all.
Later, Lin Zhi and Zhu Xiang stopped obediently under Xue Ji's scolding and went to take a bath together.
On the way, the two of them kicked each other and smeared mud on each other. Their childish behavior was so childish that even a five-year-old child would dislike them.
Xue Ji once again reminded Ying Xiaozheng that he must never learn from Lin Zhi and Zhu Xiang.
Ying Xiaozheng nodded vigorously.
Who plays with shit? I didn’t even play with it when I was a kid!
Wait... Ying Xiaozheng suddenly thought of a scene from his childhood, when Lin Zhi taught him to pee in the yellow mud and then make little figures out of the mud.
Ying Xiaozheng's expression froze.
Sometimes it’s not good for a person to have a very good memory. Why should I remember this thing!
I don’t want to remember at all how many stupid things I did as a child under the guidance of Uncle Lin and my uncle!
Ying Xiaozheng suddenly thought, in order to prevent himself from always thinking about the stupid things he did in his childhood, should he transfer Lin Zhi far away when he becomes the King of Qin
Mr. Lin once led troops before, so it would be easy for Uncle Lin to guard the northern or southern borders.
I am not excluding Uncle Lin! Only the people I trust the most can guard the northern and southern borders!
Ying Xiaozheng's thoughts became a little confused, and he wanted to hold his head and shake it hard to get rid of the dark history in his mind.
When I enter the dream room today, I must complain to Daying Zheng.
Look at what Uncle Lin has done! How could I have an uncle who takes his nephew to play in the mud
He is not even as good as Lu Buwei, the Zhongfu!
Lu Buwei's status in Ying Xiaozheng's heart temporarily improved.
Lin Zhi and Zhu Xiang first washed the mud off their bodies, then jumped into the bath side by side, splashing countless water.
After playing with the water in a super childish way for a while, they finally sat in the bathtub and chatted frankly.
"You actually want to cause chaos in the State of Chu. This is not in line with your kindness." Lin Zhi said, "Why, have you finally come to your senses? Don't you want to be a good person anymore?"
Zhu Xiang said unhappily: "I have never thought of being a good person."
Lin Zhi perfunctorily said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you just did what you wanted to do. What provoked you to take the initiative to attack the State of Chu?"
Zhu Xiang knew that Lin Zhi would definitely ask him this when he arrived, and he had already prepared an answer.
"When I was helping Li Mu and Wang Jian with logistics, every time they went south, there would always be dozens of casualties." Zhu Xiang said, "And this was just the looting and training."
"Plunder is plunder, there is no need to make excuses for them in front of me." Lin Zhi sneered, "So what? You think if Qin and Chu fight, more people will die, so weaken Chu first, so that fewer people will die on both sides."
Lin Zhi paused and said, "It is unknown whether many people will die in the chaos in Chu, but fewer people will die in Qin."
Zhu Xiang said: "The number of people who died in Chu would be even less. Even if Chu became chaotic, the nobles knew each other and would probably divide Chu directly through conspiracy, and there wouldn't be a big war. During this period, Li Mu would extradite a large number of Chu civilians to the south."
Lin Zhi said: "Like the three families dividing Jin and the Tian family replacing Qi? Indeed."
Lin Zhi spread his hands under the water, then clenched them tightly, causing water to splash.
There is no special meaning to this. He was just playing in the water and organizing his thoughts while playing in the water.
"Zhu Xiang, you are no longer just farming for the Qin State. Are you going to stand in the front?" Lin Zhi asked.
Zhu Xiang said: "I originally farmed for more than just the Qin State."
Lin Zhi rolled his eyes at Zhu Xiang and said, "But all the things you did were just internal affairs. You didn't even interfere directly with the internal affairs. At most, you were an aide to the King of Qin. Are you going to appear in front of people as Lord Changping now?"
Zhu Xiang was silent for a long time before he smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know."
Lin Zhi raised his voice: "Don't know?"
Zhu Xiang said: "I do want to speed up the pace of Qin's unification and reduce the difficulties it faces on the way. The smoother Qin's unification progresses, the fewer people will die. A tug-of-war is like a stone pestle and a stone mortar that smash meat, which will grind more people into meat paste. But I really don't know if I will stand in the front, because I don't know what the point of standing in the front is."
Zhu Xiang explained: "I can't lead troops in battle, and I'm not as good as Cai Ze and you in sowing discord. Even if I say I want to split up the Chu State, I just saw this opportunity and then handed it over to you. In the end, I still didn't stand up."
Lin Zhi frowned: "I don't care whether you stand out in the eyes of others. I only ask you whether you think you have stood out, stood in front of others, and personally promoted the Qin unification war. You only need to answer me, yes or no."
Zhu Xiang was silent.
Lin Zhi raised his fist to threaten him.
Zhu Xiang smiled bitterly: "Yes."
Lin Zhi sneered loudly, and then cursed: "Idiot!"
Zhu Xiang lowered his head and dared not refute.
Lin Zhi said, "How could I have such a stupid brother like you? We have taken such good care of you, why do you insist on showing off? If you get sick because of a stubborn attitude, how could you be worthy of us? Without you, would it be difficult for Qin to unify the world? If Li Mu heard what you said, he would punch you twice, and beat you hard!"
Zhu Xiang lowered his head and said, "Don't tell him. If he accidentally uses a little more strength, he will have to cry in front of me in the end. I don't want the future Wu Anjun to cry in front of my bed. It's unlucky."
Lin Zhi sneered again and said, "Then you should be more honest."
Zhu Xiang said: "But if I see something I can do..."
"I couldn't help but do it." Lin Zhi rolled his eyes. "I knew you wouldn't behave. You also suddenly went crazy in Handan and insisted on going to Changping."
Zhu Xiang said awkwardly: "People sometimes can't control themselves..."
Then Zhu Xiang started talking about nonsense like "a man will always have a youthful heart until his death" and so on. Lin Zhi crossed his arms and watched Zhu Xiang talking nonsense silently.
"Have you said enough?" Lin Zhi sneered.
Zhu Xiang lowered his head: "That's enough."
Lin Zhi said, "Tell me your plan in detail, and then you can plant your crops and stop meddling in other people's business."
Zhu Xiang said: "But..."
Lin Zhi said, "No buts. This time I am not doing this for you, but for this plan. Your plan does have a high chance of success, but it must be foolproof. Do you think it is easy to incite the nobles of a country to cause chaos? If there is even the slightest mistake, all the previous efforts will be wasted."
Lin Zhi extended his fist and hit Zhu Xiang hard on the head. "If you are soft-hearted halfway, all our previous preparations will fail. Do you think you are a great strategist? Can you use others ruthlessly? Wake up, who knows you better than me? Even Xue Ji doesn't know you as well as I do! Xue Ji can only say 'My dear, I can do it. My dear, I can do anything.' Oh, Zheng Er is the same!"
Zhu Xiang touched his head and said, "Although I am not a great strategist, but..."
"But you, have you ever plotted against others?" Lin Zhi asked, "Have you ever really wanted to kill someone, and then plotted against them and succeeded? Even if you shouted 'let him die' to the King of Zhao, and actively targeted Chunshen Jun, you never really took action."
There is no need to talk about King Zhao, he brought disaster upon himself and Zhu Xiang was implicated; although Zhu Xiang provoked Chunshen Jun with words, he only made Chunshen Jun take action against him and then exposed his own connections with Chu in Qin, he did not actually take the initiative to harm Chunshen Jun.
"So who can believe that you can do this? How can the King of Qin and I entrust such an important matter to you?" Lin Zhi said seriously, "Do you understand?"
Zhu Xiang sighed: "I understand."
Indeed, he is just a keyboard politics expert and has no practical experience at all. If he is really allowed to take the lead, Zhu Xiang is indeed unsure.
It is more appropriate to see the opportunity yourself, then use your skills as a keyboard expert to make a plan and let professionals execute it.
Maybe I am not really suitable to be a conspirator or something like that.
Seeing that Zhu Xiang was truly convinced, Lin Zhi's expression returned to normal: "Zheng'er has grown up a lot, he must be even more powerful."
"That's right!" Zhu Xiang immediately praised his own Zheng'er.
Lin Zhi listened to Zhu Xiang's endless words and the corners of his mouth curled up.
Zhu Xiang is really easy to please. All you have to do is let Zhu Xiang praise Zheng'er.
But Zheng'er is indeed more powerful.
"Ahem... Ahem..." Zichu lay in the carriage, the white cloth wrapped around his shoulders oozing red, "Write letters to my father, Cai Ze, and Lin Zhi. When you send the letter to Lin Zhi, you must not let Zhu Xiang know!"
His most trusted retainer, Bu, knelt on the ground, his eyes bloodshot: "Yes!"
Zichu smiled: "It's just a minor injury, no problem. Humph. I have to thank him for his stupidity."
Ying Ziqi, you finally took action.
I finally got the chance to get rid of you before I ascend the throne!
Zichu covered his shoulder. He had deliberately leaked his itinerary to attract the assassin. It was just an accident that the arrow scratched his shoulder.
But I can't let Zhu Xiang know, otherwise he will scold me for several years.
(End of this chapter)