A great man of the Northern Song Dynasty

Zhao Zhen was still recovering from his illness. When he heard that the prince and his son asked for a visit, he said, "I'm afraid it's urgent. Let me in quickly."

When Zhao Shu and his son came in, Zhao Zhen asked, "But is there something going on in the outer court?"

This attitude of waiting for father and son to come together might lead to rebellion.

Zhao Shu said: "Dad, cotton is out."

"Cotton? What?"

Zhao Zhen had long forgotten that incident, and Zhao Shu sighed in his heart, knowing that it was because of his age.

"Dad, it's the Bai Diezi that Shen An ordered Mangshan's army to collect in Liao territory last year..."

"Oh...I remembered it. What's wrong?"

Zhao Zhen regained his energy and remembered something.

"Those cottons have all borne fruit and are being spun and weaved...and...what else?"

Zhao Shu looked at his son.

"And playing cotton."

Zhao Zhongzhen didn't know what the cotton wool in Shen An's mouth was, but it must be something good that could make Shen An happy.

Zhao Zhen frowned and said, "Is the cotton okay?"

"Good." Zhao Zhongzhen said happily: "The woman spinning the thread said it is much better than flax."

Zhao Zhen couldn't sit still.

There are many kinds of fabrics these days, but the cheapest is linen.

"Call the gentlemen, where is Bao Zheng? Call them, hurry up..."

His breathing was a little rapid, and so was Zhao Shu. Only Zhao Zhongzhen looked calm.

Zhao Zhen thought that he did not understand the importance of this, so he said: "There are silks and satins in the Song Dynasty, but what the people use most is linen. Linen is mostly produced in Chengdu, and it is also available on Guangnan West Road. The price is relatively cheap, so it is the most suitable. It is used by the common people. But after all, there is still too little, so that the common people sometimes have clothes that do not cover their bodies... If there were more cheap cloth, then the world... would have enough food and clothing."

Having enough food and clothing means a prosperous life, so Zhao Zhen became more energetic when he mentioned this.

"yes."

Zhao Zhongzhen responded obediently. Later, the ministers and ministers came and stood outside the door.

"The cotton that the Mangshan Army went to the Liao border last time has yielded fruit. Now they are spinning and weaving outside the city. Bao Qing... you just came, tell me."

Bao Zheng had just come back from outside the city, and now he looked proud and proud, which made people hate him.

He looked at several ministers and said: "At first, I said that Shen An was reliable in his work, but some people were muttering on the side, saying that young people were frivolous in their work. If the Liao people caught him, the Song Dynasty would be destroyed in an instant. It’s as dangerous as an egg…”

He was taunting the prime ministers, and Zhao Zhen said with black lines on his head: "Let's get down to business."

I don't want to care about the grudges of you old men. Just don't affect the government.

Bao Zheng glanced at Han Qi and then said slowly: "That cotton is drought-resistant and not afraid of the sun..."

Han Qi originally wanted to deal with Bao Zheng, but was stunned when he heard these words.

Drought tolerant? Not afraid of the sun?

What is this?

Most cash crops are afraid of the sun, and drought is their biggest enemy.

But isn’t cotton afraid?

Han Qi said in a deep voice: "Don't lie!"

Bao Zheng said coldly: "This is the court."

Han Qi laughed angrily: "You didn't see the planting process, so you probably just listened to Shen An's side of the story. You believe him."

Ouyang Xiu asked: "How much can be harvested from one acre?"

This is the most critical issue.

Bao Zheng said: "It's less than a hundred catties."

Less than a hundred pounds...

"so many?"

Han Qi said it almost subconsciously.

Zeng Gongliang said happily: "It is drought-resistant, not afraid of the sun, and has so much yield per acre. If it can be used, Your Majesty, the people of the world will be happy."

Zhao Zhen was also a little excited: "Dating back thousands of years to the present, every time in the cold winter, the people are freezing and wailing, and I can't help but cry when I think about it. If this cotton can be used in a big way, it will be a great achievement. Come on, I want to leave the palace."

"Your Majesty, no!"

The expression on the doctor's side changed greatly, "Your Majesty, your body must not be moved lightly, you must rest."

Han Qi also advised: "Your Majesty, I'll just wait and see. If it's good, come back and tell me. If it's not good, just scold me on the spot. Why bother..."

Boss, please stop fussing, okay?

Zhao Shu also tried to persuade him, but Zhao Zhen was determined to go and see: "I am afraid of the cold in winter. This is still me, the one who is well-clothed and well-fed. But the common people have no clothes to cover their bodies... I remembered what happened last time. The shoes of the three of them, father and son, are torn, and the toes are black from the cold...The clothes were stuffed with hay...I feel sad when I think about it now, hurry, I need to change my clothes."

Zhao Zhongzhen looked at the nominal grandfather again. He wanted to see some hypocrisy, but his face was full of excitement, and he couldn't wait to take off the quilt.

This is a king who really cares about his people!

No wonder everyone praises him.

He thought about his future and felt that he should be better than his predecessors, so he was in a good mood.

"Eaves, lift the eaves!"

"Don't let His Majesty get wind of it!"

After going out later, the eaves were replaced by carriages, and the monarch and his ministers headed out of the city.

On the carriage, Zhao Zhen couldn't wait, "Have you blocked the news? If the Liao people find out, they will also plant it."

Chen Zhongheng, who was beside the carriage, said: "Guan family, all those cottons are grown on Zhuangzi, no one knows what they are."

Zhao Zhongzhen nodded slightly, and the concept of Renjun was refreshed.

His benevolence was mostly given to the Song Dynasty. As for the Liao people, that's none of my business.

All the way to Zhuangzi, the cavalry rode in, but they were intercepted by the country soldiers, and both sides started shouting and cursing.

"Grass mud horses! This is Shenjiazhuang. Who told you to ride horses? Get out!"

"Get out? You don't even look at who's in the carriage behind!"

"Who is it? Even if the officials come... The officials are kind and will definitely not let people trample on the people's fields!"

"That's right, what did Lang Jun say... By the way, Cao Cao's men trampled on the fields, so he cut off his hair as a beheading. Are you better than Cao Cao?"

"Who is Cao Cao?"

"Cao Cao is...Does the Three Kingdoms know?"

"..."

The two gangs quickly went from being at war with each other to a state of popular science, and Han Qi couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

"Don't worry, go in."

Zhao Zhen only wanted to see cotton, so the carriage drove by.

"I've met the official family!"

When Shen An got the news and went out to greet him, the country soldiers were dumbfounded.

"Really an official?"

"I've met the officials."

This was the second time Zhao Zhen came to Shenjiazhuang, and it immediately caused a sensation.

"Madam, the officials are here, come and see them quickly!"

"Dad, hurry up and carry Daddy out, let him take a look at the official family and get lucky."

"Da Lang, come and show me to the officials, maybe you will become smarter."

Zhao Zhen was helped out of the carriage before he was surrounded by people.

"I've met the officials."

Everyone saluted, and an old man looked at it with squinted eyes, and then said: "Is the official in poor health?"

It was confidential and no one would answer him.

"Guanjia, please take care of yourself!"

"Yes, long live you."

"We pray at home morning and night, hoping that you can live long!"

"Long live the official family!"

Everyone from the elderly to children were shouting. Zhao Zhen's eyes were red and he kept blinking.

Zhao Shu and Zhao Zhongzhen stepped back and left this honor to him.

"This is what the people want!"

Zhao Shu is teaching his son: "If you are kind, the people can see it. If you are hypocritical, the people can also see it. Good or bad is just a thought. So be consistent."

"yes."

A few old people came out, held their hands tremblingly, and then said some words of congratulations. Zhao Zhen also smiled and chatted with them about household matters, asking about the family's income and population, and even asked about marriages.

After some exchanges, his face turned slightly red and he was in better spirits.

"Where's the cotton?"

Shen An accompanied him into the workshop, where several women were busy at work, two spinning and two weaving.

Han Qi picked up a bunch of cotton, squeezed it, and said, "It's fluffy and very light."

He put the cotton on his face, his eyes filled with joy: "It's still warm."

Zhao Zhen reached out for the cotton, felt it carefully, and said happily: "It's a good thing, take a look, take a good look."

He looked at the spinning, and the two women were a little flustered when they saw him coming, and they broke the thread several times in a row.

"Don't panic, don't panic, be fine."

Zhao Zhen went over to look at the weaving cloth again.

The loom moved back and forth. Zhao Zhen reached out and touched the fabric formed in front, felt it carefully for a while, and said, "It's a good thing!"

The ministers all went up to touch it, and their movements were very gentle.

"Guan Jia, here are just some. If there were more varieties, and the sky was covered with cotton, the scene would be..."

Ouyang Xiu's eyes were not very good, so he took the cotton and played with it in his hands. Just for fun, the cotton got into his cuffs, and then he went to grab the cotton again.

Shen An saw it and didn't say anything, because everyone was there with him.

Zhao Zhen sat there and waited. When the cloth in front was available, he would have it delivered.

"Put it on!"

He stretched out his hand, and Chen Zhongheng put the fresh cotton cloth on his body first, as if testing the poison.

Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "Where is the poison? Hurry up and get it."

He put on the cotton cloth and pulled it tighter.

"warm!"

As soon as he said it was warm, Han Qi couldn't help it. Regardless of any taboo, he reached out and touched the fabric.

Very strong!

The cotton cloth was of course strong, and Shen An grinned widely, feeling that these bumpkins really looked like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

In later generations, cotton cloth was everywhere, and no one took it seriously, but now this thing is a magical weapon, a magical weapon that can blow up many people.

Zhao Zhen let go of his hand and said excitedly: "It's very warm! Bao Qing, how many pieces of linen are there?"

Bao Zheng said: "I remember it seems to be four hundred articles."

Zhao Zhen thought for a while, "How much cotton can be harvested from this acre of land?"

"A little over seventy pounds."

"Seventy pounds..."

After just a simple conversion, Bao Zheng came up with the result: "The official family deserves to be planted!"

"good!"

Zhao Zhen said with a red face: "Where are the seeds?"

Are you preparing to burn bridges?

Shen An said: "The officials have harvested the seeds. They will be planted in more than a month."

"Hand it over!"

Zhao Zhen was in a good mood and said: "Last time you had to ask the Mangshan Army to get this white stack. UU Reading www.uukanshu.net I thought it was a joke. Even if the seeds were obtained, I didn't pay much attention. , now it seems that you were right and I was wrong."

The officials actually admitted their mistake?

He took the lead in admitting his mistake, but Han Qi could only hold his nose and said: "If this thing is planted everywhere, Shen An, if people in the world can have enough food and clothing, you will have done a great job."

Shen An said seriously, "This is just my duty, I don't expect any great achievements."

When he turned around, he found an excuse and resigned with Zhao Zhongzhen.

After they left, Zhao Zhen sighed and said: "I thought I had a lot of experience, so I always felt that young people were unreliable, but Shen An came up with this cotton, leaving me speechless. Sirs, do you have anything to say?"

Han Qi shook his head, "I have nothing to say."

What can be said?

If this cotton was widely cultivated, there would be no shortage of cloth in the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Sheng said: "Officials, in the past, the military uniforms of the Song Dynasty were made of cloth bought from the Liao people. If this cotton can become popular all over the world, the Liao people will probably have a headache."

Bao Zheng said approvingly: "That's right. The Liao people are still weaving, but they don't know that the Song Dynasty is accumulating cotton. When they have enough, they will stop buying their cloth... Who can those cloth be sold to?"

Zeng Gongliang gloated: "I'm afraid it will fall into my own hands."

Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "With so much cloth, Yelu Hongji can sell it to the Xixia people!"

Zhao Shu has been exposed to a lot of political affairs recently, so he dares to speak at this moment: "Liao people's fabrics are expensive, and Xixia people are reluctant to buy them."

Bao Zheng smiled and said: "Then let's discount it in half. The Song Dynasty has a large population. If they are willing to sell it at half price, they will buy them all."

"Then the Liao people will lose money?"

The king and his ministers looked at each other, feeling like they couldn't help but laugh wildly when they saw someone else's family being in trouble.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

…

The third update is here, good night!