Daming Yinghua

Chapter 70 The Sissy Collar and the Cloth Armor for Tough Battles
Ma Xianglin originally took the opportunity of not having to participate in the conversation, so he could quietly look at Zheng Haizhu from the side and carefully observe the expression on her face.

That expression of concentration, trying to persuade others with justice and interests, to some extent, is very similar to the expressions of their generals when they plan on the battlefield, but not so tense and serious.

He loves to watch it.

Unexpectedly, the woman approached him in a few steps, stood on tiptoe, lifted a piece of cloth much larger than a sweat towel, and wrapped it around his neck.

General Xiao Ma was at a loss for a moment, surprised and embarrassed, and backed away.

Eunuch Liu laughed lowly, and secretly sneered: This Sichuan army boy, after all, is a cucumber who has not married a wife.

On the other side, Ma Xianglin had already coughed twice, and asked curiously, "Miss Zheng, what is this?"

Zheng Haizhu made up his mind to work steadily at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and not to easily fall in love with a man who is committed to this world, so since seeing Ma Xianglin again at the end of autumn, he has treated each other like a friend.

Taking him as a model today does not mean to be ambiguous or tentative, but I hope to show my attitude through generous behavior.

Seeing him embarrassed at this moment, Zheng Haizhu also thought to herself, it's better not to challenge the ancient concepts in a hurry.

Then he handed over the fabric in his hand, and said in a harmonious voice: "This is a fake collar that we want to make and sell to foreign merchants. The man's lining is on the neck, just like the hem of our Ming robe. General Lao Ma will help you try it. The neckline, let us two little tailors see how we can make it more suitable."

"well."

Ma Xianglin concealed his embarrassment with his frankness, took the strange sweat towel, put it around his neck, and couldn't help frowning: "This, this is for men?"

Before Zheng Haizhu could explain, Eunuch Liu burst out laughing.

Smiling, he stepped forward and grabbed the piece of cloth on Ma Xianglin's broad shoulders, and asked Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, what is this collar? This is clearly a big white peony that has bloomed as an oiran. Amitabha, Are the foreign men at Frankie's side really willing to wear this thing?"

Zheng Haizhu said solemnly: "One side's water and soil support the other's customs. My arsenic is the other's honey. Fanbang men not only wear this kind of blouse with pleats like flowers, but also wear socks with bows. If you don't believe me, ask Haojing The officials over there are fine. Besides, in the previous dynasty, during the Song Dynasty, didn’t the men wear flowers in their buns?”

"So Da Song died."

Ma Xianglin said lightly, took off the baroque Songjiang cotton fake collar and returned it to Zheng Haizhu.

He is a warrior who thinks he is brave and masculine, so he really doesn't like this kind of makeup look.

After thinking about it, I felt that my words were a bit blunt, so I added: "Miss Zheng, the size of this collar is quite comfortable."

Zheng Haizhu took it with a smile, and said to Liu Shimin: "Elder-in-law, as long as you can exchange for silver, it doesn't matter what flower collars, colorful socks, and girlish belts, we have good cotton cloth and craftsmanship, why don't you do this?" Buying and selling? The raw silk and silk silk that the Japanese are currently using has already robbed me of a lot of business from Daming Foreign Trade, but when it comes to cotton cloth and embroidery, they are not good enough. I heard that in some island countries in Southeast Asia, the cotton grown can also be spun into good cloth. Yes. Cotton cloth is easy to wash and durable, we can’t let the small country earn most of the money.”

Liu Shimin listened and began to nod frequently.

At the end, he said softly: "Well, although Yuegang stated that only Han boats are allowed to leave the port, and foreign ships are not allowed to enter the port, many fan merchants can still enter Haicheng County with the Han boats that have boats .When we got back to Yuegang, our family asked the county magistrate to find a few of them to see Miss Zheng's idea."

Zheng Haizhu smiled longingly, glanced sideways at Ma Xianglin, turned around and entered the cabin, and took out a cotton robe.

In the past few days on the deck, Ma Xianglin would ask about the development process of the dark armor shirt in front of Eunuch Liu, and Zheng Haizhu knew that he did not shy away from Eunuch Liu.

Although a young commander of a local chieftain army paid out of his own pocket to buy equipment for middle and low-level sergeants, even to the emperor, it is something that can be put on the table, but Zheng Haizhu can still realize that Ma Xianglin is helping her to ask Liu Gonggong hint.

Since the Sea Trade List that the Weaving Bureau took to exchange for silver can be made by the Han family, if Eunuch Liu has someone in the Ministry of War, or if he is acquainted with some royal relatives in the capital, he can also get in touch with the Han family to try making cloth armor.

At least the Han family is a Jiangnan family that cares about their face, and they are not stupid. They will not be like Concubine Li Gui, the father of a mason, who has no bottom line and directly stuffs rotten rusty iron and straw mixed into the cloth armor. As a result, many soldiers at the Jizhou border gate froze to death. Qi Jiguang was so angry that he drove hundreds of miles starry night, and rushed back to the capital from outside the pass to file an imperial complaint.

Sure enough, after Zheng Haizhu shook off the face robe in his hand, Liu Shimin also came up to watch carefully.

"Polu, come and tell Eunuch."

With encouraging eyes, Zheng Haizhu ordered Fan Polu.

After boarding the boat, the little girl found that Eunuch Liu, the biggest official, was the kindest and not so timid at all, so she explained fluently: "Eunuch Liu, General Ma, the uncles of the grass people, once returned I visited a relative in Jiangnan once. When talking about fighting Tartars, not only did the Ming armor have to be wiped and repaired frequently, but also in close combat, the enemy could easily see the flaws in the armor plate. Therefore, Sister Azhu and I used the iron plate to drill The way to sew it is to sew it on our Songjiang Jiansi cloth and rivet it with foam nails."

Liu Shimin held the semi-finished cloth face armor with great interest, looked at the iron sheets in the quilting grid, and asked curiously: "Why is this silk cloth so stiff, not like pure cotton?"

Zheng Haizhu explained: "Elder-in-law, people in the world often have misunderstandings. They think that silk or pure cotton is always the best. In fact, the materials used are like using people. The correct way is to use them correctly. We in Songjiang use both silk and weft threads. It is cotton thread, and the warp thread is hemp thread extracted by soaking and kneading the local yellow grass, so the cloth is as crisp as a board, resistant to abrasion, and waterproof is much better than pure cotton cloth armor..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Ma Xianglin at the side had already lifted the front of the cloth armor, staring at the pattern in the middle of the quilted lattice, pinching the lattice again.

Seeing his move, Zheng Haizhu smiled knowingly: "Does General Ma think that the weaving method of the silk cloth can make the enemy unable to guess the connecting edge of the armor piece?"

Ma Xianglin raised his eyes to look at her, and said happily: "Yes, you are also very smart. I was just looking at it. If we meet and fight on such a narrow road, I may not be able to figure it out immediately. , Where should the tip of the spear be pierced, so as to cut through the seams and scatter the armor. Fighting is life and death, often in a few breaths."

Zheng Haizhu thought to himself that those with actual combat experience know the most, so he patted Fan Polu on the shoulder without hesitation: "This is the credit of little sister Polu, she cares about this critical point."

Fan Polu didn't flinch, and said honestly: "Sister Azhu said that this cloth armor is worn by the sergeants led by General Ma, and my two uncles often saw blood with the Tartars, so I thought about it. When I was wearing armor, all I thought about was how to save my life."

Ma Xianglin also gave Fan Polu an approving smile, then turned to Liu Shimin and said: "Elder-in-law, I found out that if you use this Songjiang and silk cloth as armor, there is another advantage. In each grid with nails, With cotton batting in it, it can be thrown even bigger."

Liu Shimin has lived in the Beijing palace for many years, so how could he not understand the principle of keeping warm better than Ma Xianglin, a southerner.

The silk cloth mixed with plant fibers may not be as soft as real silk satin or worsted cotton, but because it is harder, the space in the quilted lattice is larger, and the warmth retention effect is better after it is filled with wadding.

In the freezing Liaodong, not only the brave and savage Tartars were fatal, but also the extremely cold weather.

Those who wear cheap cloth armor are all low-level soldiers. Such soldiers have to face the severe cold outdoors most often.

When the governors and governors were chatting and laughing with their generals in the name of strategizing in the official office or in the warm tent, those soldiers were often marching in a hurry in the ice and snow, or laying in ambush in the dark to prepare for a night attack.

Wearing cotton-wool cloth armor worn by the royal relatives who have never experienced greed and cutting corners, these soldiers who really defended Ming Dynasty against foreign aggression will not be frozen into ice sculptures.

Only by surviving, whether in the rain of guns and arrows or in the severe frost and bitter cold, can you win.

Liu Shimin calmly looked at Ma Xianglin, a titan who was not yet fully satisfied, and asked Zheng Haizhu and Fan Polu for a bunch of corrections. He was gentle but serious, emphasizing how to keep his soldiers alive. .

Liu Shimin couldn't help thinking of many years ago, when he heard from his father how the master escaped and laughed, his father said to himself coldly: "Ruoyu, if the first emperor didn't use this trick to survive, where did you come from! How can there be any possibility of recovering the country."

(End of this chapter)