Many Qin nobles did not care much about planting cotton.
It was just another kind of cloth for common people to wear, probably a different style of linen, and it required more careful care. Linen was very cheap, so they didn't like cotton.
But I heard that cotton is warmer than linen, so maybe the soldiers guarding the northern Great Wall would prefer this kind of fabric. Besides, discovering a new crop and expanding the types of crops that can be planted is better than not discovering anything. So they all agreed that this was a great achievement that could earn them a title.
The King of Qin knew that many of the policies he implemented were not supported by the ministers, but they did so only because of his authority.
The King of Qin did not think there was anything wrong with this at first, but one day he heard Zhu Xiang chatting and said, "It is a pleasant thing to see someone who originally looked down on you slap himself in the face." He also wanted to have such a pleasure.
He asked Zhu Xiang in advance what mature cotton looked like, and observed the unripe cotton fruits for a few days. After confirming that what Zhu Xiang said was true, he happily called the court officials to the cotton field to slap them in the face.
"Hemp needs to be crushed before spinning, silkworm cocoons need to be drawn in boiling water, but cotton is already a ball of usable silk when it matures?" The official in charge of farming squatted on the ground without caring about his image, stroking the cotton bolls with his hands. The soft touch made him immediately imagine how comfortable the fabric woven with it would be.
After fighting with Lin Zhi, Zhu Xiang, whose face was covered in mud, explained: "Cotton also needs to be processed."
He briefly introduced the processes of processing cotton thread, cotton wool, and refurbishing old cotton.
The old King Qin stroked his beard and said, "Can cotton be refurbished? A quilt like this can be used for many years, and the common people will have warm clothes in winter."
Zhu Xiang said: "It is best to add some new cotton to the old cotton to maintain a good warmth retention effect. But this is better than a quilt filled with only hay."
When there was no cotton, common people relied on collecting hay and dead leaves to keep warm in winter, just like wild animals.
They stuffed hay into their quilts to keep them warm. But when the weather got humid, the hay got moldy, and the warmth was reduced. They also got sick because of the mold.
The nobles had animal skins and quilts filled with animal hair in winter, as well as warmer cloth woven from animal hair sent as tribute by northern nomads.
At this time, the difference in life expectancy between nobles and commoners almost doubled. Every winter was a period when their life expectancy widened.
Before Zhu Xiang joined Lin Xiangru, he was also a commoner whose quilt was stuffed with hay.
After he fully accepted his memories and personality from later lives, he remained silent for a long time while looking at the civilians' winter quilts.
In the pre-Qin period, ethnic minorities in China's border areas had already used coarse-staple cotton originating from India, but cotton cloth did not attract much attention at that time. In addition to the fact that its place of origin was relatively remote and the planting technology was difficult to transmit, coarse-staple cotton fibers were very short and the yield was extremely low, and the planting cost was much higher than that of hemp.
By the Southern Song Dynasty, after generations of cultivation, the quality and output of coarse cotton had gradually improved to the point where ordinary people could generally use cotton cloth.
However, the quality and yield of coarse cotton have inherent disadvantages and cannot be improved much.
The cotton that was later promoted was fine-staple cotton originating from Central America. Coarse-staple cotton originating from India had been eliminated. After the introduction of fine-staple cotton in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, cotton cultivation quickly became one of the most important cash crops and gave birth to many textile workshops.
So he went to India in time to find coarse cotton, which was not of much use to the common people today.
Zhu Xiang thought at the time, should he wait until Qin Shi Huang wanted to go out to sea to seek the elixir of life, and then take the risk of sailing with the fleet to see if he could be lucky enough to reach America
Perhaps it was at that time that he could not help but describe to Lin Xiangru his desire for warmer clothes, and asked Lin Gong to give him cotton seeds before leaving.
"Why are you depressed? You are still depressed even though the cotton harvest is good. If my father is still in heaven, he will definitely beat you." Lin Zhi wiped the mud off his face, then patted Zhu Xiang's shoulder and wiped his hands with the cloth on Zhu Xiang's shoulder.
Zhu Xiang was initially touched by Lin Zhi's comfort, but then he quickly wanted to beat him up again.
Taizizhu coughed dryly and signaled to the two young men with his eyes that there were outsiders here and they should quickly tidy up their appearance.
Zhu Xiang kept Xu Ming and Xiang He to answer questions about cotton planting and processing for the King of Qin and the ministers, and took Lin Zhi to take a bath and change clothes.
Old King Qin watched with great interest as Xu Ming and Xianghe processed a batch of cotton on site.
Although it took a long time, this group of the most distinguished nobles did not feel bored at all. They all had excited expressions on their faces, and many of them rolled up their sleeves to participate on the spot.
For the first time, Xue was called before the crowd by the King of Qin and was given the important task of promoting and teaching cotton weaving.
The noble ladies also need to learn weaving and sewing. The King of Qin heard that Xue was good at spinning and weaving, so when the Mo family was researching a loom suitable for cotton, Xue also participated. And cotton would definitely stay in Zhu Xiang's house for further research. As the wife of Changping Jun, Xue must be the first person to learn how to use cotton.
The King of Qin said that once he had figured out how to use cotton for weaving, he would let the women in the palace and the wives of the nobles learn together, and then the women of each noble family would pass on the new spinning and weaving skills to others.
Xue was extremely nervous.
She asked, "Why don't you send the weaving girls from each family to learn from me?"
The King of Qin smiled and said, "No, let the lady come."
The King of Qin did not explain to Xue, and Xue did not dare to ask. She wrote down her doubts and planned to ask her husband at night.
Some of the ministers were surprised at the King of Qin's decision, but when Prince Zhu patted his chest and said that he would let his favorite Lady Huayang also spin and weave, what else did they dare to say
They could only keep praising Prince Zhu, saying that the future queen was weaving by herself and was a role model for women all over the world.
Ying Xiaozheng listened carefully to what the King of Qin and the ministers said, his little head turning constantly.
If my grandfather asked the noble ladies to learn and promote the new cotton weaving, it would surely quickly attract imitation from the lower-class scholars and wealthy merchants. Most of the land in Qin was in the hands of the nobles and wealthy merchants. As long as the nobles and wealthy merchants started to grow cotton, cotton would quickly spread throughout the Qin.
When farmers saw that nobles and wealthy merchants had started to grow cotton, they would put aside their concerns and set aside some land to grow cotton.
Moreover, it is difficult to promote technology to farmers by relying solely on the power of the government. Local tyrants are the ones who can most easily contact farmers directly and pay them to learn technology.
But Great-grandfather Zeng would not directly order the promotion, because once the order was given, some nobles might be blinded by greed and force farmers to pull up crops in the fields and plant cotton in order to obtain rewards from the monarch.
They will not uproot their own crops, and will not care whether farmers will starve to death because of switching from grain to cotton.
Yes, just like when the State of Zhao promoted potatoes.
Although Qin's control over local areas was much stronger than Zhao's, such incidents would not occur widely, but even if they did occur, they would weaken Qin's strength.
And...and my uncle would be very sad about the farmers who shouldn't have starved to death because he took out the cotton.
"Zheng'er, do you have any suggestions for Grandfather Zeng?" The old King of Qin had been observing Ying Xiaozheng. Seeing Ying Xiaozheng's thoughtful expression, he smiled and picked up Ying Xiaozheng steadily in front of all the ministers and asked with a smile.
Ying Xiaozheng said: "I was thinking, if Grandfather Zeng forced cotton planting, I'm afraid some officials would ask farmers to switch from grain to cotton in order to win credit. Grandfather Zeng asked my aunt to weave cotton cloth with the noble ladies of Xianyang, and made cotton fabrics a fashion..."
Seeing the others' puzzled looks, Ying Xiaozheng said, "Fashion is the most popular thing at this time. Cotton cloth has become a fashion among the Qin nobles, and other scholars and wealthy merchants who want to make huge profits will definitely imitate it. There is no need for Grandfather Zeng to order the promotion, cotton will naturally be promoted."
He thought for a moment and continued, "Farmers are the most conservative and do not know what happened in the capital, so they will definitely plant cotton last. By then, cotton planting and textile technology will have matured. Even if they switch to new crops, it will not cause too much negative impact."
The King of Qin smiled and said, "Well said."
The King of Qin put Ying Xiaozheng down, patted Ying Xiaozheng on the shoulder, and asked Ying Xiaozheng to stand next to Prince Zhu: "Watch the child."
Prince Zhu happily took Ying Xiaozheng's hand.
See how awesome my grandson is? Hahahahahahaha.
Meng Ao whispered to Meng Wu, "Did Lord Changping teach you this, Master Zheng?"
Meng Wu whispered, "It's definitely not Zhu Xiang who taught him. Father, you've never lived in Zhu Xiang's house, so you don't know how smart Zheng'er is. Sometimes when I chat with Zheng'er, I feel like he's already an adult."
He paused and added, "When he carried Zhu Xiang on his back, he seemed like an adult."
Meng Ao was curious: "What about in front of Lord Changping?"
Meng Wu imitated Zhu Xiang's words and said, "Uncle, I'm hungry and sleepy. I need a hug."
Ying Xiaozheng turned his head suddenly and looked at Meng Wu with eagle-like eyes.
Meng Wu immediately shut his mouth.
Why could Ying Xiaozheng hear Meng Wu's words, and why could he stare at Meng Wu even though he was so short? Of course, it was because Meng Ao and Meng Wu were standing behind the Crown Prince's Pillar to protect the King of Qin and the Crown Prince.
Ying Xiaozheng frowned.
Meng Wu in the dream is a taciturn person. He has little contact with them and is more familiar with Meng Tian and Meng Yi.
Meng Tian and Meng Yi were both very thoughtful people, whom he trusted and valued very much. In his imagination, Meng Wu should also be a mature and stable person.
But wasn’t the Mengwu he came into contact with a bit “off the mark” as his uncle had said
He thought that only Meng Wu was like this, how come Meng Ao was like this too? Was this passed down from father to son
Could it be that Meng Tian and Meng Yi have a side to them that he doesn't know about
Ying Xiaozheng knew that the King of Qin was examining Meng Tian and Meng Yi, and would let them become his study partners after the examination.
Not knowing what Meng Tian and Meng Yi look like in this era, Ying Xiaozheng is somewhat looking forward to it.
After Zhu Xiang and Lin Zhi took a bath and changed their clothes, they tied up their wet hair to show courtesy.
Xunzi already knew about the commotion Zhu Xiang and Lin Zhi had caused in the cotton field, and wanted to give them both a few punishments with a ruler.
Do you know the etiquette now? Why didn't you know it when you were having a mud fight in the cotton field
Seeing Xunzi's ugly face, Zhu Xiang and Lin Zhi ran away like two thieves who were discovered by their owner after stealing something.
Xunzi originally wanted to scold the two men, but when he saw them running away so quickly, he became so angry that he kept hitting the ground with his crutches.
After thinking about it, Xunzi was still angry, so he turned his crutch horizontally and broke it.
Han Fei's shoulders trembled and shrank, and he shivered uncontrollably.
Every time he saw Xunzi angry, he was scared.
He felt that he could not become the successor of Confucianism after Xunzi. Besides the fact that he was more inclined towards Legalism, his martial arts ability was also a big problem.
He certainly couldn't do something like Xunzi, at his old age, where he would get so angry as to break his walking stick to vent his anger.
"Do you want to go and see the cotton fields?" Xunzi asked after he calmed down a little and threw away his broken crutch.
Han Fei shook his head in frustration.
Xunzi did not ask Han Fei why he was depressed. He said, "Then go back and read."
Han Fei: "Yes."
Before entering the study, he glanced in the direction of the cotton field with a very lonely look.
The King of Qin brought the Crown Prince and the ministers to inspect the cotton fields in person. Can the King of Han do it
No king of Han in history has ever been able to do this.
There are records of wise kings in ancient times who personally farmed and wove. He thought that these things were no longer possible as the times changed.
But the behavior of the ancient wise kings also appeared in this era, but it appeared in the people who were criticized by the six countries as tigers and wolves.
What is a tiger-wolf king? What is a benevolent king
Han Fei could not concentrate on reading, so he stood up and walked to Xunzi, respectfully asking: "Xunzi, what is benevolence? Duke Zhu Xiang must be benevolence, then, the King of Qin..."
After he asked, he smiled bitterly and said, "King Qin, King Qin is definitely not the one."
"If he can be compassionate to the common people, then no matter how bad his personal morals are, he is still a benevolent monarch." Xunzi was still holding the bamboo slips in his hand.
Although the students of Xianyang Academy were copying books from bamboo slips onto paper, Xunzi still liked to hold the bamboo slips in his hands.
Han Fei asked: "Is this also true? Is this Xunzi's benevolence?"
Xunzi said: "It is not only my benevolence, but also the benevolence of my teacher Confucius."
Xunzi stared at the bamboo slips without looking up and said, "Don't learn from Zixia and Mencius. They are a bunch of cheap Confucianists who only know how to talk about morality and seek fame. They have distorted the ideas of our forefather Confucius and are sinners of Confucianism."
Listening to Xunzi's routine scolding of other Confucianists, Han Fei's shoulders shook again.
The most terrible thing about being a disciple of Xunzi is listening to him scolding the ancient sages. Even though he claimed that he did not respect the ancient sages, he did not say that he did not respect the ancient sages themselves.
But Xunzi... Ha, what a cheap Confucian.
Han Fei, who still respected his predecessors, did not know that he would inherit Xunzi's sharp tongue in the future, so he wrote an article that was similar to Xunzi's, cursing all schools of thought that were not his own.
However, Han Fei was not as ruthless as Xunzi, who only criticized Mohism, Confucianism, and chivalry, and criticized the issues rather than the people. Xunzi, on the other hand, directly named the people.
After his routine scolding of the lowly Confucian scholars, Xunzi finally put down the bamboo slips and started talking about "benevolence".
On the surface, Confucius was a defender of Zhou rites, but in reality all he did was to undermine Zhou rites.
For example, the Zhou Li required that only nobles could read and write, but Confucius was the first to open a private school. Not only the lower-class scholars, but even the "barbarians" who were not even considered commoners at the time could enroll in the school.
In Confucius' mind, the highest evaluation of people is "benevolence", but he once commented on Chen Wenzi, a scholar-official whose character was almost perfect at that time, and said that he was not "benevolent".
Confucius scolded Guan Zhong many times, and had many complaints about Guan Zhong's ideas and personal morality.
But Guan Zhong was a rare person praised by Confucius as being "benevolent".
Guan Zhong allowed the State of Qi to live and work in peace and contentment, and enabled the State of Qi to strive for hegemony without the need for military force. Confucius praised him highly, saying “How benevolent he is, how benevolent he is!” and as if once was not enough he said it twice.
Therefore, in Confucius' mind, "benevolence" is not a personal virtue, but the ability to assist the monarch and allow the people to live and work in peace and contentment. Even if one does not use military force to plunder others, one can still enrich the country and strengthen the people. This is the noblest person in Confucius' mind.
"So if the King of Qin, with the assistance of Zhu Xiang, could turn the tyrannical Qin army into a righteous army that saves the world, then why can't the King of Qin be called a 'benevolent monarch'?" Xunzi asked in return.
Han Fei was silent.
Xunzi asked, "Do you want to go and see the cotton fields?"
Han Fei said: "No."
Xunzi sighed and said, "Then do you want to continue reading?"
Han Fei said sadly: "I can't see it."
Xunzi picked up the scroll and said, "Whenever you want to go to the cotton fields, I'll take you there."
Han Fei silently shrugged his shoulders, as if he wanted to curl up.
Xunzi glanced at Han Fei and sighed in his heart.
Han Fei will be on his way out whenever and wherever he can straighten his back and shoulders.
However, for Han Fei, as long as he still has the Han royal family in his heart and cannot give up his identity as a prince of Korea, it will be difficult.
Alas, among the Korean royal family, the only one who cares about Korea is an unappreciated prince of a side branch. How could such a Korea not perish
(End of this chapter)