Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

As soon as Ju Ming put down Huan Guo's article and read the materials on the reorganization of the new army sent by Shandong, the accompanying eunuch Li Hua stood at the door and said: "Your Highness, the officials sent someone to summon him, saying that cotton has arrived."

cotton?

Ju Ming stood up suddenly and walked out quickly.

Li Hua quickly followed, and Bai Sheng followed with two guards. They thought they were going to take a carriage, but unexpectedly, Ju Ming ran away on horseback, with everyone chasing after him.

There is also cultivated land in the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which has been found in the imperial palaces of all dynasties, showing that the emperor cares very much about agriculture.

Zhu Guoxiang was directing the eunuchs to take care of the crops. When he saw his son coming, he smiled and said, "It's very fast."

"Where is the cotton?" Ju Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang pointed to the side: "It's lying on the ground."

"There are two more?" Zhu Ming immediately lowered his head and looked down, but there were even cotton plants, one of which was obviously similar to a tree branch. "Is this the kapok?"

Zhu Guoxiang shook his head: "It should be tree cotton."

Zhu Ming didn't understand. "What's the difference between kapok and tree cotton?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I asked people to look through the classics and checked many ancient books and information. Kapok has the longest history of planting in China, mainly in Hainan Island and the southwest region. I also asked officials from the southwest, and they said that kapok can grow more than ten years old. Ten meters high.”

"What about Shumian?" Zhu Ming asked.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "There is no such thing as tree cotton yet, and it should have been a name that was changed later. Tree cotton comes from India, and is also called native cotton, Chinese cotton, and Asian cotton. It should have been planted on a large scale in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is originally a perennial shrub that can grow two to three meters high, but the one in front of me is just a cut."

The more Zhu Ming listened, the more confused he became: "How could the cotton that was widely planted in the Ming and Qing dynasties be a perennial shrub? I have read before that the top cotton planting technology in Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty was to plant cotton for three years and rice for one year, which can effectively solve the problem. Pests and diseases.”

Zhu Guoxiang guessed: "Then it can only be that between the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, the characteristics of the perennial tree cotton changed. It became an annual, and the plant became shorter."

"Isn't it possible that it is like this?" Ju Ming pointed to another short and small cotton plant.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "This kind of cotton is called grass cotton, also called African cotton. It was introduced to Turpan from Africa. I asked people to check ancient books. The cotton of African cotton is called Baidiezi, and the woven cotton is called Jibu. The cotton of Hainan Kapok It’s called weaving shells, and the woven fabric is called spotted cloth. As for tree cotton, which is Chinese cotton wool widely planted during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, no record can be found yet.”

"I know about cotton wool. It is recorded in "Tiangong Kaiwu" that cotton is divided into kapok and grass cotton." Ju Ming said, "By the way, how do you know so clearly?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The four major cotton species in the world belong to common sense knowledge."

"Well……"

Ju Ming was left speechless and asked: "What kind of cotton is widely grown in China in the 21st century?"

"Continental cotton comes from the Americas," Zhu Guoxiang explained simply. "Continental cotton comes from the Americas, as well as kapok from Hainan Island and Southwest China. These two species are tetraploid. And the tree cotton from India is from Africa. Gossypium gossypii, these two species are diploid.”

Ju Ming frowned and said, "In other words, the cotton that Zhu Yuanzhang ordered to be planted is still a perennial shrub?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "It is also possible that somewhere in the southwest, it has become an annual, but it is not widely known. Or maybe in India, it has become an annual."

"No, how could a perennial become an annual?" Zhu Ming couldn't understand.

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "In fact, there is no strict boundary between annual and perennial plants. If you plant an annual sweet potato in a tropical area, it may become a perennial."

"Is it possible to quickly turn tree cotton into an annual through artificial means?" Zhu Ming asked.

"Yes," Zhu Guoxiang said, "In a specific environment, if it blooms bigger and faster and overdraws its own vitality, its lifespan will become shorter. However, it is hard to say what the next generation will be. How many generations of artificial breeding does it take to become heritable?”

Ju Ming pointed at the African cotton wool: "Where is this thing?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Gossypium gossypium can also be divided into perennial and annual. Turpan gossypium spp. is an annual. The advantage is that it has a short growth cycle and is drought-resistant and hardy. The disadvantage is that the yield is extremely low and the cotton fiber is also very poor. You will know if you observe carefully. The quality of the cotton is far inferior to that of the tree cotton next to it. But this grass cotton is also useful and can be used for hybrid experiments."

Ju Ming asked again: "Can the tree cotton that grows in recent years bloom within a year?"

"Yes, but for now, the growth cycle is not short enough. Moreover, this thing has to grow two to three meters high, which requires too much nutrients and water," Zhu Guoxiang said, "I need to cultivate it some more. Or I can conquer the southwest region and look for Dwarf varieties that flower earlier.”

Ju Ming asked: "Where did you get these two cotton plants?"

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Tree cotton comes from Huainan, and it should have been spread from the south. Grass cotton comes from Shandong, and it should have spread to Shandong along the Yellow River. However, the planting area is not large, and it is only prosperous in some states and counties."

Ju Ming muttered: "The Yuan Dynasty set up a Kapok Promotion Department and ordered people across the country to plant Kapok extensively. I used to wonder, since the Kapok trees are so tall, did the Yuan Dynasty ask the whole country to plant trees and harvest cotton? Now that I think about it, the Kapok promoted by the Yuan Dynasty, It should be tree cotton. Moreover, tree cotton was still very tall at that time, at least over two meters, and had not yet been dwarfed. Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered the promotion of kapok, and this kapok is not that kapok!"

"If this kind of record is true," Zhu Guoxiang guessed, "then in the Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty, the tree cotton may not have become dwarfed. It was under the vigorous promotion of the imperial court that the people continued to prefer flowering when saving seeds. Early and large-flowered ones are used as seeds. From generation to generation, the best ones are selected. The tree cotton blooms earlier and earlier, and the flowers become larger and larger. This in turn increases the growth burden of the tree cotton, so the plant becomes shorter and shorter. Only in this way can we ensure the supply of nutrients.”

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Then promote it on a large scale. If everyone can plant it, it will be much faster than just one person."

"That's right, but you can't give the order immediately, otherwise it will waste people and money," Zhu Guoxiang said. "We should first obtain tree cotton seeds, select one or two states and counties in each province, and send agricultural officers to try planting in small areas. According to the local climate conditions , constantly adjust specific planting methods, and try to breed high-quality cotton seeds. After a few years, we will summarize the situation in various places, select the most suitable areas for planting, and carry out targeted promotion and planting. Areas that are not suitable for growing cotton will not If it is promoted indiscriminately, how many people will be harmed otherwise."

Ju Ming laughed loudly: "The Yuan Dynasty and Zhu Yuanzhang, as you said, carried out rough promotion across the country, making people in some provinces miserable. As far as I know, there were three places in the Ming Dynasty with the largest cotton planting area. One was Shandong , the second is Jiangnan, and the third is Huguang. As for Huguang, whether it is Hunan or Hubei, I don’t know.”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I also asked about cotton textile technology, which is very primitive and rough. The related spinning machines and looms also need to be invented and improved."

Ju Ming was particularly happy and flattered him sincerely: "Dean Zhu is still awesome. If it were an ordinary time traveler, facing two or three meters of cotton, he would probably think that he had found the wrong one, and he would probably build a fleet and go to India to search hard. ."

Over the years, Ju Ming has been thinking this way. He has always wanted to go to India to find cotton.

"Place it in tropical areas, and if all conditions are met, and with careful care, this kind of cotton can grow five to six meters high." Zhu Guoxiang suddenly said.

"I'm convinced." Ju Ming said it was unimaginable.

Both father and son were in a good mood. Whether it was the agricultural era or the early industrial era, the textile industry was an extremely important industry.

Especially the industrial revolution, which was originally spawned by the textile industry.

But if there is no intervention by time travellers, there must be a large enough market demand if the industrial revolution is to be born naturally.

The Industrial Revolution was able to break out in England, and Portugal and Spain helped a lot.

This pair of enemies who were the first to engage in overseas colonization not only collapsed their own local handicraft industry, but also suppressed the development of colonial handicraft industry and brought back a large amount of raw materials and funds. In this way, with funds, raw materials, and markets all available, the British textile industry was unable to meet the huge market and urgently needed to improve textile machinery.

After Britain satisfied the European market, it deliberately killed the Indian textile industry and continued to gain a larger market. The Indian market is also satisfied, that is, driving ocean-going ships and using cannons to blast the Chinese market.

If the promotion of cotton is completed, the father and son will suddenly build a steam engine one day and bring textile machinery with them. I am afraid that what is coming is not an industrial revolution, but a large-scale bankruptcy of the traditional textile industry, which will trigger a series of social contradictions.

We have to proceed step by step, first improving hand machinery, such as the spinning jenny, so that society can have a period of adaptation.

Then we have to open up overseas markets. North Korea and Japan are the first choices, followed by Southeast Asia and India.

Ju Ming stated his thoughts and asked, "Am I thinking a little too far?"

Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said: "Let's wait until the Jin Kingdom and Xixia are destroyed. By then, the comparison of history will be the early Southern Song Dynasty. It is indeed too early for you to start the industrial revolution. Moreover, the industrial revolution will aggravate land annexation, right?"

"More than just aggravating it," Ju Ming said, "during the Industrial Revolution in England, the capitalists almost occupied all the land. The king tried his best to stop the land enclosure movement, because much of the enclosure was public land, and the people who were driven away were all The king's tax base. But it's useless. The British king can't stop it at all. Before traveling, I saw a set of data. In the 21st century, less than 5% of the land in Britain is in the hands of ordinary people. If this were placed in ancient China , I don’t know how many times there have been peasant uprisings.”

Zhu Guoxiang said: "So in China's industrial revolution, the most important thing is to suppress land annexation, but this is contrary to industrial production and capital development. Unless, you can also invent chemical fertilizer!"

"Let's talk about it later." Zhu Ming was a little confused.