Daming Yinghua

Chapter 34 My Dasongjiang's Cotton Cloth

The old woman had gray hair in a bun and wrinkled face, but her complexion was delicate, her cheekbones were ruddy, and her eyes were even more radiant.

"Little Aunt," Gu Shouqian hurriedly stepped forward to salute, pointing to Han Xiying and Zheng Haizhu, "This is the third lady of the Han family, and this is Ximeng's maid. The Han family is here today to give a thank you gift to General Ma."

This hale and hearty old woman is the concubine of Gu Shouqian's grandfather, Gu Mingshi, the Miao family.

After Gu Mingshi became a Jinshi, he served as Shang Baocheng in the capital, and when he returned to Songjiang, there was another woman with elegant manners and a good charm, that is, Miao Shi.

Mrs. Miao has worked in the palace for ten years, and at the age of 24 or [-], she is considered a veteran palace official. She was about to reach the rank of a female official in the inner court in the sixth bureau and first division, but she seemed to have no intention of promotion. For the empress who likes her to make the decision, pointing to Gu Mingshi as a concubine, it can be regarded as giving her a peaceful home to return to the common people and take care of her husband and children.

Because of such a background, although the Miao family is not the main wife and has only given birth to one daughter over the years, she is extremely respected in the Gu family.

After Gu Mingshi's first wife passed away, Mrs. Miao had been in charge of the Gu family for more than ten years. A few years ago, she handed over the power of the inner house to her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Liu, Gu Shouqian's aunt.

The first time Zheng Haizhu saw Mrs. Miao was at this year's Dragon Boat Festival.

That day, after Han Ximeng who fell into the water due to crowding was rescued, Zheng Haizhu was about to give Han Ximeng CPR according to the surviving memories of modern people, but a group of socialites around her scolded her for not being able to untie her daughter’s body in the market. placket.

Before Zheng Haizhu could get angry, Mrs. Miao, who brought her family members to see the boat, was helped by her servants, and said to the surrounding without anger and prestige: "If you are in a hurry, you all shut up and listen to this faithful man." Otherwise, miss Han's treatment will be delayed, and I will go to your old man's house and file complaints one by one!"

Therefore, Zheng Haizhu has a good impression of the old lady of the Gu family.

Not expecting to meet in the academy today, she hurriedly stepped forward to give a blessing in surprise and joy.

Mrs. Miao said to Zheng Haizhu: "I know you child. I rescued Ximeng from the water on the Dragon Boat Festival. This time, I made a contribution to the court. The whole Songjiang knows about you."

Then he looked at Han Xiying again, sizing her up meaningfully.

Han Xiying had a sweet face, and blessed her obediently, with a jujube pit in her mouth that she couldn't swallow, she said in a soft and greasy voice: "Aniang is healthy."

Mrs. Miao said kindly, "Oh, so you are a little girl from the third house of the Han family. No wonder you look a bit like Ximeng, and you are quite upright."

"Qi Zheng" means "beautiful" in Wu dialect.

Han Xiying laughed even wider: "Thank you, Ma'am, for your compliment."

Mrs. Miao nodded: "The weather is getting cooler, you should go out for a walk. Don't say you little girls, even old women like me, will be bored at home. I heard Shouqian come back yesterday and said that General Ma Leading soldiers to live in my family’s academy, I’ll come to see our majestic good men of Ming Dynasty, oh, there are also horses. Look, when did Jiangnan see such a beautiful horse.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Haizhu quickly glanced at the basket in the hand of the maidservant next to Mrs. Miao, saw the brushes and porcelain jars of paint inside, and asked respectfully, "Madam, do you want to draw those horses?"

"Exactly. I was in the capital when I was young. I was fortunate enough to follow Shengjia and watch the drills of the Fifth Army Battalion. Those horses were magnificent and majestic, like heavenly horses. When I returned to the palace that day, the queen ordered me to embroider a picture of the capital performing martial arts."

Speaking of this, Miao's eyes fell on Gu Shouqian's face, showing more and more love.

"A Qian, you are going to marry Miss Han in the spring of next year. Auntie wants to give you a picture of a godly horse as a congratulatory gift. My eyes are not so good when I need a needle, but it doesn't bother me when I write. I will draw a good look first." , and let the masters of the juniors embroider it for you and Ximeng, I hope you can see it well."

Gu Shouqian scratched his head, grinned and said, "Grandson likes it, likes it very much!"

Zheng Haizhu also hurriedly followed: "My maidservant first thank Madam on behalf of my eldest lady."

Mrs. Miao stared at Gu Shouqian earnestly, "Scholars from the south of the Yangtze River are weak if they only understand poems, books and articles. You can't just play with stones and listen to music. Ah Qian, weren't you looking at swords and guns with the soldiers just now? Don't gossip with us women anymore."

After Gu Shouqian was dragged here by his future sister-in-law, he felt impatient and wanted to pull his legs, so he smiled and said, "Little Aunt, I'm over", and went back to the Sichuan soldiers in the corridor with a sigh of relief, and began to explore the war with them again. .

Mrs. Miao looked at her grandson with loving eyes for a while, then turned her head and scolded Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, you are here to do the ceremony for the Han family, and let Lao Peng greet General Ma alone. What does it look like for you? Go about your business."

"Madam is right, but it's just that it's not right for Miss San to be here alone..."

"No problem," Mrs. Miao turned to Han Xiying, his eyes full of anticipation unique to the old man, "Third girl, can you follow Auntie to see the horses? When Auntie draws horses, you help me grind the toner and help me. .When your servants finish their work, they will come to call you."

Han Xiying only felt a blockage in her throat.

This old lady of the Gu family is really annoying!

When she went to the Jiaoyuan Poetry Club where celebrities often gather this afternoon, she met Gu Caiying, the youngest daughter of the third-bedroom master of the Gu family.Hearing that Gu Caiying said that her second brother Gu Shou was lurking in Wenzhou Academy, she was secretly delighted, so she went back to her cloth shop and pestered Lao Peng and Zheng Haizhu to bring her over.

Han Xiying has secretly admired the elegant and unrestrained second son of the Gu family since the beginning of love. After learning of the marriage contract between the eldest sister and the second son of Gu, she once hid in the quilt and cried for three or four nights.

This time, I finally boasted that I was brave and clever, and I seized the opportunity to be so close to Gu Erge and have a chat with Gu Erge, who has always been quite accomplished in Kunqu Opera.

Just now, Second Brother Gu also praised him softly for his ability to write lyrics. The way he looked at him, it was clear that there was no sign of embarrassment and dodge at all, and the more he talked with him, the happier he would be.

I don't want to, just as it seems to be entering Zhilan's elegant room, the old concubine of Gu's mansion stepped in to make trouble, and brother Gu disappeared in the blink of an eye.I still want to see some horses with the old lady.

What's good about a horse, it stinks.

It's like falling from the orchid room to the Bao room.

Zheng Haizhu looked at Han Xiying's embarrassing and approving expression, and guessed that her heart must have been rolling for a while, "Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo".

Older gingers are more spicy.

Old lady Miao in Gu's mansion is a bit interesting.

As she thought about it, she carried the reed cloth and walked towards Ma Xianglin.

……

Ma Xianglin is leading a few tooth soldiers, handing over the distribution of cloth to Lao Peng.

He didn't wear the flying fish suit today, only a blue cloth short robe with narrow sleeves, his power is much weaker, but looking around, he still has a capable and tough air.

Ma Xianglin has been paying attention to Zheng Haizhu's figure since people from the Han family brought things in.

Finally, the old man from Gu's family who came to draw horses greeted the young daughter of the Han family, and Miss Zheng came over.

Ma Xianglin hurriedly picked up a bundle of cloth and went to meet him.

"Miss Zheng, I have been lying in ambush for half a year in the bandits' stronghold in Suzhou Prefecture. I have heard the water bandits say that I can't buy all the Songjiang cloth, and I can't collect all the Weitang yarn. I saw the Songjiang cloth in your mansion today. It really is cotton. It is soft, waxy and supple, and it is not much inferior to the Husi Hangjin that Qiu Wanliang loves to grab."

Zheng Haizhu smiled, thinking, Qin Liangyu, the son of a brave general, has quite a lot of adjectives, he is both civil and military.

Then he twisted the reed cloth in his hand and said: "General Ma, this kind of Yexie reed cloth should not be considered light and thin. It is very comfortable to wear as an inner garment, and it can indeed be superior to silk. The nobles in the capital like it very much. It is said that in the palace, the little prince The diapers of the little princesses are all made of Yexie cloth from Songjiang."

"Oh, so, I wonder if this kind of thick diamond cloth can be used to make cotton armor for the soldiers?" Ma Xianglin was very interested, and asked Zheng Haizhu for advice with his eyes full of enthusiasm.

This sentence really cheered Zheng Haizhu up.

For example, entrepreneurs are waiting for such questions when facing knowledgeable angel investors.

Zheng Haizhu looked cautious: "General Ma, the padded armor you are talking about is the one that you and a few of your followers wore when you were fighting in the bandit village that day?"

"Exactly."

"That's a pity. The beauty of Songjiang cloth lies in the dyeing and weaving methods. The cotton armor mentioned by the general should be made from a large amount of unwoven cotton, sewn into a jacket with ordinary coarse cloth, soaked in water, and dried repeatedly. , can it be made as hard as a thin plate to withstand the blade of a knife and gun?"

Ma Xianglin was quite surprised.

Unexpectedly, she is a young woman who understands the principles of armor.

After thinking about it again, I can't help but feel that I am narrow-minded.Why can't women understand this?The two porcelain thunders that prevented Qiu Wanliang from escaping and saved his life were also carried by Miss Zheng and threw them decisively.

What's more, isn't my mother, Qin Liangyu, who led the Shijie white spear cavalry to fight everywhere and was invincible, is she also a woman?
"Miss Zheng is right, then these rhombic cloth should be made into cloth robes for the sergeants."

Zheng Haizhu shook his head again, and said, "It's not that this material can't be used as armor. Cotton armor is not good, but has the general heard of 'dark armor'?"

Ma Xianglin replied honestly: "I have never heard of it. Our Sichuan army sergeants wear paper armor, cotton armor, and iron armor. My father and mother wear bronze armor. What is the dark armor that the girl is talking about?"

Zheng Haizhu tried to be concise and concise: "The dark armor is based on the strengths of the cotton armor and the iron armor, and the iron sheet is fixed in the cloth jacket with rivets. There are three advantages of the dark armor. One is that cotton can be stuffed between the iron sheet and the cloth layer to keep warm; two. It is because the iron sheet is stuffed in the cotton wool and cloth surface, so it is not easy to rust, and it does not need soldiers to dismantle and polish the strings frequently, which saves manpower consumption; third, if the rivets replace the rope, the fish scale armor can be turned into a large piece of flat armor, which not only saves Consumption of iron, the key is better mobility, soldiers are not easy to lose strength in close combat."

Ma Xianglin opened his mouth slightly, and said in a daze: "Miss Zheng, you, how do you know so much? Could it be like making porcelain mines, from Brother Ling's collection of books?"

"No, this time, I didn't read it from the book, but heard it from Mao Wenlong Mao's garrison. General Ma knew about the Korean War, right? I, Li Rusong, the eldest son of Li Chengliang, the Liaodong general of the Ming Dynasty, smashed the Japanese invaders in Pyongyang. When in the army, the soldiers under his command wore dark armor."

In Ma Xianglin's eyes, the light went out.

Then, the pair of eyes briefly lost focus, indicating that the owner of the eyes seemed to be lost in thought.

His brave nature and acquired military accomplishments allowed him to imagine the scene of the Ming army wearing battle armor and bathing in blood on the city of Pyongyang without too much effort.

The land of Sichuan and Shu, which is located in the southwestern border and where natives live together, is actually the same as the northern part of the empire, and it is often plagued by wars.Heroes cherish heroes. From his parents to his uncles, Ma Xianglin's elders, who are good at fighting, often mention the few who can fight in Liaodong.

After the silence, Ma Xianglin showed a complicated expression, and sighed softly: "It is better to experience hundreds of battles than to read hundreds of military books. My mother and I used to fight chaos in the southwest. Now I came back to the southeast to suppress bandits. It is not a big battle." War. The climate in these places is warm, not as cold as in Liaodong, so I have never thought about cloth and dark armor."

Zheng Haizhu said without any shyness: "Then, when the general returns to Beijing this time, please mention it to the Ministry of War. This kind of dark armor was not only used by Li Rusong, but also used by Qi Shaobao when he attacked Mongolia. Mongolia is also a place of bitter cold. .By the way, this year I heard that the chief of the Jianzhou Jurchen claimed to be the Great Khan. I'm afraid that from now on, our Ming's northeast frontier will be even less peaceful. If the Ministry of War wants to make dark armor, use our cotton cloth from Songjiang."

Ma Xianglin knew that the woman in front of him was not a pretentious Miss Jiao who had to hesitate for a long time, but he didn't guard against her direct business.

For a brief moment, Ma Xianglin felt a little lost.

The sassy beauties who met by chance and hit it off, seemed to have suddenly turned into those female shopkeepers who kindly recommended the good wine in their shop.

Zheng Haizhu sensitively caught the change in his eyes, and hastily apologized: "I was aphasia and disrespectful, how can I talk about state affairs and say bad things that are not peaceful."

The corners of Ma Xianglin's mouth curled up slightly: "That's all right, everyone in the world can discuss the affairs of the world."

While comforting the person in front of him, he reflected on himself in his heart.

Thinking about it from another angle, Miss Zheng clearly refers to "the cotton cloth of our Songjiang", not "the cotton cloth of our Han family". Why are you concerned?
Taking a step back, even if she hoped that the Han family would be able to buy and sell the military uniforms of the Ministry of War, it was still her duty as a loyal servant.

As a general, if all the soldiers under his command are as aggressive and astute as this, then it would be very satisfying.

General Ma's thoughts went round and round like this, but he still decided that the girl Zheng was getting cuter the more she looked.

Then he raised his sword eyebrows and said frankly: "Okay, I will be the cotton cloth of Songjiang, and I will go to the Ministry of War to be a lobbyist. Besides, the situation in Liaodong is changing. If one day the imperial court sends our Sichuan soldiers out of the customs to resist Jiannu, I will also I will propose with my mother to use Songjiang cotton cloth to sew cloth armor. What do you think?"

Zheng Haizhu smiled and said, "There are also fair and fair ladies in Sichuan, who are used to Sichuan brocade and Qingluo. You can also try our Songjiang cotton cloth."

"Well, well, I don't want to deceive you, the light red and lake blue materials that your mansion gave to my mother are the colors that all girls from Shijiao to Chongqing mansion like, like a hibiscus just blooming, like a spring river rising. "

(End of this chapter)