my grandfather was qin shi huang

Chapter 269 Zhao Gao: Play Cotton, Play Cotton
Now, because of Liu Bang's carload of seeds, this process has been accelerated for more than 1000 years!
"Come here, put away this cart of seeds, be careful, don't be harmed by insects, ants or mice..."

Just came back from the palace, and encountered such a good thing. Zhao Ying was in a good mood, and personally directed the servants in the mansion to carefully store the cart of cotton seeds. He also specially instructed the steward of the mansion to take good care of the cart. cottonseed.

After finishing the work, Zhao Ying returned to the side of several carts of cotton.

He turned around a few times with a happy face.

To the touch, the bundles of cotton felt like a young girl's delicate white and tender skin, soft and plump, making Zhao Ying meticulously full of joy, and finally in this era, he saw a trace of familiar traces from his previous life.

He had a vague impression that this kind of cotton, which was introduced from the Indian Peninsula to the Western Regions and then to the Central Plains, seemed to be short-staple cotton, but its thermal performance was still excellent, and even if it was spun cotton, it was more expensive to weave. Silk is cheaper.

It is beneficial but not expensive, and it is really a good thing that ordinary people can afford.

"I want to send these to the wing room of the west courtyard, I will use them tomorrow—"

……

"Husband, what is this thing that you value so much?"

Seeing that Zhao Ying came back from the palace without taking a rest, he was busy around several carts of goods, Wang Nan couldn't help being curious, and asked with a smile.

Zhao Ying looked around and saw that everyone, including Mi Ji, looked at him curiously, and explained with a smile.

"A good thing brought from the Western Regions, because the petals overlap and fluff like white clouds, so the locals call it Baidiezi—of course, I prefer to call it cotton..."

Speaking of this, Zhao Ying said seriously.

"Although this kind of thing is inconspicuous, if you can take out the cottonseed and stuff it into the bedding, its warmth retention effect is far better than that of hemp, wadding, silk, etc., and it is far better than straw, which can be sewn into the clothes. , it is comparable to animal fur, and if it is used to spin cotton and weave, it can be made into light and comfortable clothes, far superior to linen clothes!"

The more Zhao Ying said, the more excited he looked.

"The most important thing is that it is not only light, but also cheap. It only takes one acre of land for each family, and it is enough to provide heating and clothing for a family——"

As soon as Zhao Ying said this, even if this group of women seldom pay attention to these things, they couldn't help but gasped.

For ordinary people, what is the most important thing.

Of course food, clothing, housing and transportation!
Clothes are even more important than food, because clothes not only keep warm and keep out the cold, but also symbolize people's shame, which is also the first element that distinguishes people from animals.

Without food, people will starve to death, but without clothes, it is equivalent to tearing off the last piece of human skin. At that point, people are no different from animals that can only struggle to survive.

Rather die.

This is also the heaviest and humblest expectation of the sages.

Therefore, even if it is a poor family with ragged clothes, there must be a strand of clothes. Runaways, yellow and emaciated, starved to death on the road, and it is rare to see someone walking naked in front of others.

Of course, those in later generations who wish to show everything to everyone are not included. They are female Bodhisattvas who help the poor and save all sentient beings.

"But how to take off the cottonseed, I just looked at it, the cottonseed is very small, and it is in the thick cotton wool, it seems a bit difficult to take it out..."

Mi Ji usually spins yarn and weaves wonderfully at home, and she also checked the cotton just now, so she discovered the crux of the problem immediately.

The rest of the female relatives couldn't help nodding.

Just now they followed suit, and it was indeed as Mi Ji said, the cotton seeds are so small that they are not easy to pinch with hands, and if you want to take them off one by one, the effort involved is almost unimaginable.

"I already have a preliminary idea. I'll think about it after dinner. It shouldn't be a big problem..."

Zhao Ying had no way to say that there were many techniques for removing cotton seeds in his mind, so he could only deal with it vaguely.Although what he said was vague, Mi Ji, Wang Nan and others had full confidence in him.

After all, this guy's brain is ridiculous, so there is no problem that others can't solve.

Among other things, the few pedal spinning wheels lying in the room were created by this random thought. Before that, who would have thought that the spinning wheels could look like this?
Because he remembered that Zhao Ying was going to be busy with business, he ate dinner three minutes faster than before.

During this period, the younger sister Zhao Xi struggled several times to join him, but was forcibly taken back by Mi Ji mercilessly.

"Don't disturb your elder brother, he has business to do today..."

This made Zhao Ying dumbfounded.

However, he couldn't say much, so he could only smile and speed up his meal.Little Zhao Xi was so anxious that he kept making gestures at himself.

The small arms and legs give people an indescribably funny feeling.

Zhao Ying didn't think much about it either.

With a smile, I picked up a chopstick of chicken for her.

"Come and eat more, I will play with you when Big Brother is free..."

Little Zhao Xi's face turned red from holding back, but she remembered that the cauldron had told her that the matter of the little mouse was a secret between her and the cauldron, and she could not tell others, so she actually held back.

"Go and do your business first..."

Seeing her eldest son put down his chopsticks, Mi Ji immediately urged Zhao Ying to leave.

Zhao Ying: ...

Back in the study, Zhao Ying took the pen and paper, and began to ponder in his mind, which set of cottonseed removal techniques he should come up with.In fact, in the history of later generations, around the Song Dynasty, a very simple method of removing cotton seeds appeared.

It's called rushing.

The tools are simple and rough, just an iron rod and a supporting board. When operating, put the seed cotton on the supporting board and rub it back and forth with the iron rod.Due to the high friction between the cotton fiber and the iron rod, the fiber will roll against the iron rod, while the friction between the cottonseed and the iron rod is very small, and finally the fiber is taken away by the iron rod, leaving only the cottonseed, thus playing the role of removing seeds. Effect.

The advantage is that it is easy to learn, and the tools are simple. Even ordinary people can do it at home. The disadvantage is the same as the simple tools, that is, low efficiency.

In the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, Huang Daopo invented a more efficient joystick on the basis of the rubbing method.The main part of the rocker is two rollers with different thicknesses, which are respectively connected with the rocker.During operation, two persons rotate the two rockers respectively, and the other person feeds the seed cotton between the two rollers.The lower roller is thicker and rotates slower, which is equivalent to the original pallet, and the upper roller is thinner and rotates faster, equivalent to the original iron rod.

Of course, the most powerful thing is the four-legged mixer truck that appeared in the Ming Dynasty, which can be operated independently by one person and is more efficient.

But the tools are relatively complicated. In this era, the cost is not low, and it is not easy for ordinary people to make.

As the eldest grandson of the emperor, when he thinks about problems, he can no longer simply consider whether the efficiency is high or not, but also has to consider the bearing capacity of the common people.Just like the hydraulic spinning wheel he launched earlier, the efficiency is really high, far ahead of the times.

But judging from the effect of the feedback later, he regretted it a bit.

That thing is only suitable for large-scale production, and ordinary people can't afford it at all. Except for the workshops of the government, only the rich and nobles in those places can afford it.

Even if ordinary people are willing to spend a lot of money to build it, it's useless, because they don't have so many raw materials available!

What did you build it for?

Keep it at home?
But the worst thing, and what annoyed him the most was not this, but because the appearance of the hydraulic spinning wheel greatly improved the weaving effect of the government and wealthy households, which directly led to a drop in the price of cloth spun by the people!
The common people not only did not get any benefits from it, but became the biggest victims...

It is also fortunate that the Qin Dynasty implemented a policy of restricting commerce, otherwise, it would have a greater impact on the people under the small-scale peasant economy.

With this lesson learned from the past, when Zhao Ying launches new agricultural tools, he will subconsciously think about whether this thing can be produced, whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for the common people, instead of simply considering production efficiency as before. up.

After pondering for a long time, Zhao Ying decided to launch the first two first.

Catch rub method and rocker.

Nothing else, that is, the cost is low, and ordinary people can afford it themselves.Moreover, he does not want to encourage the development of the commodity economy on a large scale at this stage. This stage is not the time to develop this.

In this era, the model of small peasant economy is the most suitable model for this era.

Others, no matter how advanced they are, are poison to the common people of this era.

So, after thinking it over, he didn't hesitate anymore, and drew a rough drawing based on the old objects he saw in the museum. After thinking about it, he drew a schematic diagram of the hanging bow, and then asked someone to take it to the mansion The carpenters rushed to make it.

Because these two tools are too simple, it hardly takes much effort, so after sending out the drawings, within a quarter of an hour, several carpenters delivered the tools he requested.

Whether it is the hanging bow or the joystick, this is the first time he has touched the real thing.

"Go, go and try—"

He also wanted to try whether these two gadgets could be used.

But he was too tall, so it was not suitable for him to use it, so Zhang Liang lifted the joystick, Zhao Gao took the initiative to put on the hanging bow, and as for Zhao Ying, he picked up the iron staff and the support plate.

Mi Ji and the others were all paying attention to the movement here. They heard that the tools for removing cotton seeds had been brought here, so they stopped chatting and doing work immediately, and came directly to watch the excitement.

So, at night, the courtyard of the Changgongzi's mansion was brightly lit.

"Here, untie the cotton and try—"

Standing next to Zhang Liang, Zhao Ying carefully explained the operation method to him - this thing is not only simple in structure, but also easy to use, just a general introduction, everyone can understand it.

Two people were needed, and Zhao Ying didn't need to greet him, so Zhao Gao took off the hanging bow on his body, and took the initiative to cooperate with Zhang Liang.

Watching the seed cotton being sent in, turning it around, and taking off the cotton seeds completely, a group of people couldn't help but be delighted to see it, although until now, they still can't figure out why it is so simple to grind, The cottonseed just fell off by itself.

"Big Brother, Big Brother, what is this for..."

Zhao Qi curiously touched the iron staff and the pallet beside him, but he could see that his elder brother was still holding this thing just now.

"It's also used to remove cottonseed..."

Having said that, Zhao Ying paused slightly.

"If ordinary people can't even afford to build a joystick, they can use this instead..."

As he spoke, Zhao Ying took Zhao Qi's iron rod and pallet, put them on the table beside him, grabbed a handful of cotton wool, and rolled it—then, coughed lightly, and put the things away.

In the first operation, the strength was not mastered, and the cottonseed oil was directly pressed out...

It's annoying when you're strong.

Fortunately, Zhao Qi didn't notice the embarrassment of his elder brother at all, so he took it with great interest, and imitated Zhao Ying's appearance, and rolled back.Patiently, after rolling for a long time, he finally took off the cottonseed. At this time, Zhang Liang and Zhao Gao, accompanied by two people, had already come out of a pile, and suddenly they lost all energy.

"This won't work, the efficiency is too low..."

Zhao Ying nodded, and said to the younger brother with a feeling in his heart.

"Don't underestimate anything. For the head of the world, there is no best, only the most suitable - no matter how good the tool is, it is not a really good tool if the common people can't afford it..."

Zhao Qi was ignorant of what he heard, but Zhang Liang, who was busy removing seeds from the cotton, couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and Zhao Gao couldn't help but glance at Zhao Ying, who was holding an iron staff, with a look of emotion on his face.

Although he was already used to seeing the greatness of the eldest grandson of the emperor, he was quite shocked when he heard these remarks today, especially Zhao Gao, who was in a complicated mood.

It's only been a long time, and the eldest grandson of the emperor has grown to this point.

Back then, when the grandson of the emperor launched the grandson mill and grandson car, he didn't worry much, because what he saw was the eldest grandson's talent, intelligence and eagerness to perform, but today, the eldest grandson gave His feeling, however, has lost half of the original fireworks.

It even gave him the illusion that he was facing His Majesty directly.

He suddenly felt very fortunate that he had refused to participate in that decision.Based on his understanding of the first emperor, not to mention just an unwarranted framing, even if such an emperor's eldest grandson really did some outrageous acts, there might not be any fatal consequences.

And if he can't be killed with one blow, he may have to bear all the terrible consequences.

He suddenly felt that it was necessary for him to go back and tell his stupid brother.Even if you kill him, you can't get involved!

"Mr. Zhao be careful..."

Hearing Zhang Liang's reminder, Zhao Gaocai suddenly came back to his senses. Just now he lost his mind and almost sent his hand in.

"Mr. Zhao, you might as well take a break, let me try—"

Mi Ji saw that Zhang Liang and Zhao Gao were working so hard, she couldn't help but be eager to try.

"I'm coming too—"

Seeing this, Wang Nan couldn't help but walk out with a smile.

Zhang Liang and Zhao Gao turned their heads to look at Zhao Ying, Zhao Ying nodded, and then they bowed back and gave up the joystick.Zhang Liang stood behind Zhao Ying, Zhao Gao thought for a while, walked to Xuan Gong silently, and put it on again.

Bouncingly pulled the bowstring.

Seeing the snow-white cotton wool beating, Zhao Ying inexplicably thought of that magical song:

"Flipped cotton, plucked cotton/Half a catty of cotton has been plucked into eighty-two-eight yo/Old cotton has been plucked into new cotton/It has been plucked into a quilt, that girl is going to get married, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh..."

After everyone has passed the freshness, the cotton has popped out more than ten catties!

Zhao Ying happily played with the freshly baked cotton, and looked at Mi Ji and his wives and concubines.

"After playing like this, it can be stuffed into bedding or clothes to make a cotton-padded jacket. If you want, you can also use it as a line of defense and weave it into a cotton cloth that is thicker and warmer than silk..."

(End of this chapter)