Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 222 Cotton is troublesome, young Ying wants to be expensive

When the sun sets, the whole Xiyuan looks golden.

Zhu Youtang was lying on the soft couch, and since the scorching heat had passed, now he chose to sip fragrant tea while leisurely fishing in the waters of Tingchao Pavilion.

The breeze is coming slowly, and the water waves are not happy.

On the left is the Tingchao Pavilion for viewing and sheltering from the rain, on the right is the long fishing pavilion, and in the center is naturally the [-]-acre Taiye Pond. A light breeze rolls up shallow ripples, and everything is like being in a picture scroll.

This pristine lake is home to a variety of fish, and now the focus seems to be on the waters of Tingchao Pavilion, where fish are constantly looking for the smell of bait.

As the fish mark sank, Zhu Youtang seemed to be quick to lift the rod, and an extremely beautiful red carp leaped out of the water, flicking that golden tail vigorously.

Zhu Youtang really likes the feeling of lifting the rod to catch the fish. The instantaneous surge of adrenaline hormones brings a strong sense of excitement, which is an experience that people can't stop.

Because there are too many fish in this lake, it is impossible to judge. Now I see a beautiful red carp caught in the original ecology, and I can't help showing a smile on my face.

The skin color of the carp, the vigor of the carp, and the gluttony of the fish in the middle of the lake may only appear in this era.

A few drops of water brought by the red carp fell back to the surface of the lake, everything seemed so close to nature.

Although I deal with a lot of government affairs every day, with my previous life's vision and knowledge, after figuring out the matters that need to be paid attention to in handling the memorials, I am already handy now.

Although Wan An was despised by people in later generations, this old chief assistant was indeed a hardworking and responsible one. The most important thing was that he was able to recognize his position.

Like this time, when he learned that he was going to start a war against the Li Dynasty, not only did he not try to stop it, but he also conscientiously allocated food, soldiers and weapons.

After all, Zhu Youtang shouldered the mission of China's rise, but he couldn't help but feel a kind of pressure. Only by coming here to fish can he completely relax himself.

He turned his head and saw Liu Jin skillfully taking fish and throwing them into the wooden basin, but he felt that he was doing quite comfortably as an emperor, at least much better than Fu Bao 996 in his previous life.

"Your Majesty, please use tea!" The tea girl, with her slender hands, gently brought a cup of freshly brewed tea to the table, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance.

The girl is about seventeen years old, with a delicate face, a pair of strong eyes, and a pair of proud long legs. She looks very obedient sitting here making tea.

After a long time of observation, this girl has a maturity that does not match her youth, and she is also a woman who knows the rules very well. At least all her actions are better than the previous tea girl.

Zhu Youtang stretched out his hand to pick up the teacup, and asked indifferently, "Han Youying?"

"The servant is here!" Han Youying responded respectfully when she heard Zhu Youtang call her name directly.

Zhu Youtang looked up and down at this well-behaved woman, but suddenly said seriously: "You were the one who almost drowned my little cat yesterday?"

Just judging from this woman's appearance, I really didn't expect this woman to have such a vicious heart.

Because the little cat has been sticking to Niu Mengmeng, and Niu Mengmeng is going to assess the remaining [-] beautiful women, so if there is nothing to do, he will take the little cat to the West Fifth Institute of Qianqing Palace.

It happened just yesterday that the little cat ran to this woman's residence, and the woman actually drowned the little cat into the water tank in the courtyard.Fortunately, someone found it in time, otherwise the little cat would have been drowned by her.

"I don't dare! I don't know that it's just a royal cat, I just help it to bathe!" Han Youying's pretty face changed, and she knelt down to defend herself.

Liu Jin was hanging the bait, and it was only at this time that she realized that the little cat was almost drowned, so she turned her head to look at Han Youying in surprise.

Zhu Youtang took a sip of tea, immediately frowned slightly and said: "Do you know what crime it is to deceive the emperor?"

"Your Majesty, we each hold our own opinion. Why do you conclude that the servant girl is lying? You are so unfair!" Han Youying said with stubborn eyes, showing unwillingness.

"Bold, are you tired of working? How dare you question His Majesty's injustice?" Liu Jin had already hung up the bait, and Dang even scolded furiously.

Zhu Youtang gently raised his hand, looked into Han Youying's eyes and said, "Niu Mengmeng was the one who stood up to protect me when I had the least authority. Do you think I should trust her or you?"

"Is she really so nice?" Han Youying's eyes flickered, and she murmured in surprise.

Zhu Youtang drank the rest of the tea, then nodded lightly and said: "Yes, she is very loyal, otherwise I would not let her walk around the Forbidden City at will! You don't have to quibble, let's talk about it What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty's draft selection is unfair, and this slave has resentment!" Han Youying knew that she couldn't hide it, so she immediately decided to go all out.

Zhu Youtang gently put down the teacup, and found that this woman was more and more like his first love, so he asked calmly, "How do you say that?"

"My servant has obviously worked very hard and done very well! It's just that in this round of assessment, this servant only got No. 6, but the one surnamed Lin is obviously far inferior to this servant, why can she be ranked fifth?" Han Youying had already gained insight into the inside story of this selection, so she said angrily.

Zhu Youtang was stunned for a moment, then looked at Liu Jin next to him and asked, "Which one's surname is Lin?"

"Your Majesty, you have explained it!" Liu Jin reminded softly with an embarrassing expression on his face.

Zhu Youtang knew that as early as the time when [-] beautiful women entered the palace, several of them had already been escorted, so he pretended to cough and said: "One empress and two concubines need to know about family status and background, so you won't be like this No, but you can fight for nine concubines!"

Now most of the 50 beautiful women have been eliminated, and only the last 5 people are left to compete for the title of one queen, two concubines and nine concubines, and this woman can be ranked No.[-], which proves that there is a great chance to win the title of nine concubines.

Of course, at this point, their appearance and etiquette are not much different, so the important thing is their background and family status, and the scholarly family has always had a natural advantage.

Han Youying's eyes flashed a kind of innate stubbornness, as if she wanted to fight against fate, and said: "This servant has no ambition to be a queen, but she also wants to be a noble concubine instead of trying to win a nine concubines!"

"You are only from a tea family, and you still want to be a noble concubine? It's really wishful thinking!" Liu Jin laughed angrily, and couldn't help but sarcastically said.

Han Youying's eyes turned red immediately, but she bit her lower lip hard, looking very unwilling.

"Your Majesty, Qin Ji has been waiting here for a long time!" Liu Jin reminded softly, not paying attention to this humble girl.

"Slave maidservant, I respectfully greet Sheng An!" Qin Ji had been waiting here for a long time, and immediately knelt down and saluted respectfully.

Zhu Youtang's face was slightly gloomy, and he glanced at it lightly and said, "Qin Ji, the daily output of the Royal Weaving Factory has not decreased but increased?"

"Your Majesty, there was indeed a little accident in the new factory recently, but today's daily output has reached [-] pieces!" Qin Ji is the main person in charge of the Royal Weaving Factory, and immediately reported the report.

Zhu Youtang glanced at the empty teacup, then at Han Youying.

Han Youying knelt on the ground with red eyes, and when she saw Youtang's gaze, she quickly picked up her mood and started making tea for Zhu Youtang again.

Zhu Youtang was not satisfied with this data, and immediately snorted coldly and said, "Two hundred? In other words, after one month, only six thousand cotton cloths can be produced, so what are you going to do with it?"

Due to the birth of the shuttle loom, the production efficiency of cotton cloth has been improved, and the quality of the produced cloth is more solid and durable. It is like opening Pandora's box, and the popularity of shuttle cotton is far beyond imagination.

The first batch of cotton cloth produced by the Royal Weaving Factory was sold to North Korea, but the situation on Sanzhi Island was more optimistic than expected.

Xu Shiying not only traded with North Korean cloth merchants, but also opened up the markets of the Muhu and Nanshan tribes in Sanzhi Island, which not only digested the [-] bolts of cotton cloth, but also ordered [-] bolts.

The Mongolian mission came to pay tribute, and after the leader of the mission saw the high-quality and cheap flying shuttle cloth from the Royal Weaving Factory, he made an appointment with the Royal Weaving Factory through the bridge of Beifei Yikexi. thousand horses.

Now the market demand has far exceeded previous estimates. Not to mention the delivery of [-] horses from North Korea and Mongolia, even the payment of the cloth tickets rewarded to cotton growers earlier is very difficult.

Although the Royal Weaving Factory is operating at full capacity every day, its daily output is only about [-] pieces, which cannot meet the demand of the market at all.

The sky failed, and people planned to build a new factory building to increase production capacity, but the fire did not know where it came from, and half of the newly built factory building was burned down.

In addition, Qin Ji was fine in managing the imperial dining room in the palace, but it seemed to be beyond his ability to complete this kind of business operation.

"Your Majesty, the servants are guaranteed to increase their production later!" Qin Ji swallowed and spit, and even if he made a guarantee, he said.

Zhu Youtang picked up the freshly brewed tea, and immediately expressed doubts: "If I remember correctly, you said similar things at the end of last month, but it was a little bit more!"

"Your Majesty, this servant must do his best to ensure that enough cloth will be produced on schedule this time!" Qin Ji felt Zhu Youtang's doubts, and expressed his position seriously.

"No need! I don't need people who do their best, what I need are people who can do things well!" Zhu Youtang directly vetoed, and then directly arranged: "The Royal Weaving Factory you manage is based on a daily output of [-] The output of the horses is produced, the joint workshop is responsible for [-] horses, and the remaining [-] horses are directly subcontracted!"

"What is subcontracting?" Qin Ji was stunned for a moment, and asked in confusion.

Han Youying, who was making tea, raised her head slightly to observe Zhu Youtang secretly, but she also didn't understand what it meant.

Zhu Youtang drank the tea in the remaining cup, and then instructed: "You immediately find all the cotton cloth workshops in the capital and cooperate with them. You provide them with flying shuttle looms, and they are responsible for producing cotton cloth. All the cotton cloth they produce will be sold back to the Royal Weaving Factory for five cents!"

Originally the best way was to expand production capacity, but now it is too late, so the only way is outsourcing.

The so-called subcontracting is actually outsourcing part of the order, borrowing personnel and venues from other weaving workshops, so as to rush out the gaps in this batch of cotton cloth.

Due to the need to produce cotton cloth of uniform specifications and quality, they also need to provide shuttle looms to the workshop.

"Your Majesty, isn't it too much of a disadvantage for us to do this?" Qin Ji swallowed and spit, Dang even reluctantly said.

Liu Jin found that the purchase price was indeed very high, especially since they also provided the shuttle looms, so she couldn't help turning her head to look at Zhu Youtang in confusion.

Han Youying noticed that Zhu Youtang was drinking tea very slowly, so she stopped making tea and looked thoughtfully at this unfathomable emperor.

Zhu Youtang realized that there was a generation gap with these people, so he gently put down the teacup in his hand and said, "We make money as soon as we change hands, so where do we suffer?"

"Your Majesty, we provide them with machines and buy back cotton cloth at such a high price. Isn't that too much?" Qin Ji met Zhu Youtang's gaze, looking cautious and authentic.

Zhu Youtang found that Qin Ji was indeed short-sighted, and suddenly felt a burst of dissatisfaction: "Man dies for money, and birds die for food! If you want people to work hard and learn how to use the shuttle loom, then you can't go too far." Be stingy! Do this matter immediately according to my wishes, if you can’t complete the order on time, you don’t have to go back to the palace, go to Liang Fang’s and wait for orders!”

"The servant obeys the order and will live up to His Majesty's expectations!" Qin Ji was shocked immediately, and hurriedly expressed his opinion.

Zhu Youtang waved his hand lightly, and found that Qin Ji might have relatively strong management experience, but his vision was still a bit lacking.

Although it seems like a lot for them to supply machines and buy back cotton cloth at a high price, this is the price that needs to be given to ensure on-time delivery.

Money can make ghosts turn the clock, this can be said to be a well-known saying in business, but now when encountering difficulties, it is natural to ask for money to clear the way, not to mention that the whole business is actually still dominated by oneself.

Even though the production cost of cotton cloth will be increased through subcontracting, the quality of cotton cloth is guaranteed, and what you do by yourself is not a one-off sale.

For the Ming Dynasty, the most important thing is not how much it can earn from this transaction, but to establish an industrial scale through these production processes, so as to form the advantages of the country's textile industry.

On the other hand, as long as you can continuously provide high-quality cotton cloth, whether it is produced by the Royal Weaving Factory or not, you can exchange cotton cloth for resources from various countries.

For example, in the trade with Mongolia and North Korea this time, it has solved the demand for cattle, horses, ginseng and medicinal materials in the domestic market, and thus has more social resources.

Han Youying watched Qin Ji leave, but suddenly said softly: "Your Majesty, I don't know if I should say something or not!"

"Say!" Zhu Youtang took the fishing rod and threw it down, then said calmly.

Han Youying looked at Zhu Youtang's side face, and said with certainty: "Your Majesty, this person is short-sighted. If you ask him to handle this matter, you will definitely get kickbacks from it, which may delay your Majesty's overall layout!"

"My overall layout?" Zhu Youtang asked with some interest when he heard this word.

Han Youying nodded lightly, and said in a smooth manner: "The reason why Your Majesty promotes the endless trade of buying horses and medicinal materials with North Korea is like our Daming and the Northwest Tea Horse Company. The servant has been observing Qin Qin just now. Father-in-law, Eunuch Tan cares so much about one city and one pool, but he can't understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts at all! Now if you want others to use new machines, only enough profits can impress them, and even the business with the royal family has to be paid in advance. Deposit, otherwise people won't be too at ease. According to my servants, Eunuch Tan may be short of money, and may make mistakes in the end!"

"How do you know about these merchants?" Zhu Youtang looked at this face similar to his first love, and asked curiously.

Han Youying hesitated for a moment, looking a little disappointed and said: "My servant's family is in the tea business, and there is a small workshop for frying tea at home. My servant likes to study how to make money since I was a child!"

"Liu Jin, keep an eye on Tan Gui. If he really acts up to you, take him down!" Zhu Youtang believed the woman's judgment, and immediately ordered him.

"Obey!" Liu Jin glanced at Han Youying in surprise, looking very respectful.

While talking, the fishing rod suddenly sank.

Zhu Youtang seemed to be quick to lift the rod, and a beautiful crucian carp jumped out of the water, looking very lively and lively, but was caught by Liu Jin.

Han Youying found that Zhu Youtang's eyes were on her, and she was both happy and uneasy.

"I heard from Niu Mengmeng that the little cat scratched your foot yesterday?" Zhu Youtang didn't want to accuse you, but just beat him.

Han Youying pursed her lips, then nodded lightly and said: "Don't lie to Your Majesty, this servant doesn't know that she is a royal cat! Because I was just ridiculed yesterday that this servant is the daughter of a lowly businessman, and because of the unfair selection in the round, this servant was Feeling sulky! When stepping over the threshold to enter the house, the servant stepped on the tail of the little cat, and was scratched by the little cat. The servant was not liked by her parents since she was a child, and her temperament was unavoidably withdrawn. At that time, she was so angry that she scratched the cat Get up and put it in a water tank!"

"You really want to drown that cat!" Zhu Youtang frowned slightly, and Dang even asked with a straight face.

Han Youying didn't dare to look into Zhu Youtang's eyes, but she shook her head gently and said, "Your servant doesn't know! It's just that your servant has already relieved her anger at that time, so she picked up the cat and was about to throw it aside, but someone happened to bump into her!"

"It's no wonder that you are squeezed out by others with such a temperament, I am also afraid!" Zhu Youtang seriously examined this unconventional good woman, and said seriously.

Han Youying's eyes suddenly glistened with tears, but she turned her head to look at the glow in the west, and then said with a sad smile: "Your Majesty, I just vented my dissatisfaction with a cat recently, but how many people kill people without blinking an eye! It’s not that I don’t want to be a good woman, but I’ve been a concubine since I was a child, and I’ve looked at the workshops and shops very well, but in the end they let me pass the first few rounds of drafts with money, I just don’t want to be bullied!”

"After this election, how can you ignore your family status and background? Since you made a mistake, it is inconvenient to go back to the West Fifth Office of Qianqing Palace. You can stay and join Qianqing Palace to make tea full-time!" Zhu Youtang knew that this was actually a A stubborn woman made an immediate decision.

Han Youying knew that her dream of being a noble concubine was shattered, but this is indeed not a title that can be obtained only by hard work, so she nodded silently and said: "The servant obeys the order!"

(End of this chapter)