Ming Zuo

Chapter 22 Methods
"Mechanical force is not like human power, it does not need rest, and it is several times, dozens of times more than human power. After using mechanical force, these spindles can spin around day and night. You said, in this way, the output gauze How much will the quantity increase? And how much will the price of gauze drop if the input of labor and other costs is reduced? Not only that, the mechanical force is stable, and the quality of gauze released by this power is also better than that of hand-spun yarn. At that time, the cost will be higher Low-quality, better-quality gauze floods into the market, and those hand-spinners will definitely be hit and go bankrupt.”

It is rare to have a person who can tell, Zuo Menggeng said happily.

There was not much joy on Xu Ruolin's face.

"In this way, wouldn't many ordinary people have their homes destroyed? This is a disaster."

This is a matter of knowledge of the times.

"The traditional model of men farming and women weaving is bound to collapse, but after these small people go bankrupt, there is no way out. They can leave the land and become industrial workers. Just like those weavers in your family, they do not rely on Farming and working can also support a family.”

Xu Ruolin was not so easily persuaded.

"That's different. In Jiangnan, although there are many people who don't farm, there is a lot of farmland. According to your expectation, once the scale of textiles increases, more land will be needed to grow cotton and linen, and farmers will also Occupied. But without food, what do the people eat?"

Zuo Menggeng was also excited.

"You have a misunderstanding here. In fact, the food supply in the south of the Yangtze River does not depend on the local area. If the farmland in the south of the Yangtze River is planted alone, even half of today's population cannot survive."

"Where is that?"

Zuo Menggeng said two words.

"Huguang."

He added: "Huguang is ripe and the world is full. Now the main grain-producing area in Daming is Huguang. Most of the food supply in Jiangnan and Jingshi relies on Huguang. Among them, Jingshi is not only the food supply of Huguang, but also a considerable part. Also from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong and other places.”

Xu Ruolin thought of something.

"You said earlier that the current climate is the Little Ice Age. The severe drought in the north and the plague of locusts will cause thousands of miles of bare land and no harvest. Wouldn't that cause chaos in the world?"

Zuo Menggeng smiled bitterly.

"My Miss Xu, haven't you experienced it yourself. This world is in chaos."

He was in the habit of talking, but Xu Ruolin blushed and couldn't help spit.

What nonsense about "your" and "mine", have they agreed?

"Yaya once said that the disaster in the northern region is as urgent as a spark, but there are still corrupt officials and people who are left to succeed, and various water conservancy projects have been in disrepair for a long time. If this goes on, will there be any salvation for this great Ming country?"

Zuo Menggeng did not agree with Xu Guangqi's point of view after experiencing this era.

It can even be said that many people in later generations have the same misunderstanding of this era.

"In the face of such a natural disaster, it is impossible for humans to resist. Although there is a solution, the imperial court cannot do it."

Xu Ruolin didn't hear what he meant.

"If the imperial court can clarify the management of officials, use more competent officials and officials, reduce or exempt extortionate taxes, build water conservancy, and persuade farmers to teach mulberry, the people will be able to restore some vitality."

Zuo Menggeng sighed deeply and had to hit her with ruthless facts.

"It's useless. Corrupt officials and extortionate taxes are the last straw that crushes the people, but even without these, the people of the Northland will still go to a dead end. Now the biggest problem in the Northland is natural disasters."

Xu Ruolin didn't believe it at all.

"how is this possible?"

Zuo Menggeng spread out his hands, helpless.

"That's the truth. What if there are honest officials like Haigang Peak all over the North? If it doesn't rain, it doesn't rain, and if there's no water, there's no water. After years of drought, the rivers dry up and the reservoirs bottom out, so what's the use of building water conservancy projects? ?"

In many time travel books, there is a big misunderstanding of the natural disasters in the north of the late Ming Dynasty, as if it can be alleviated or changed by human beings.

But in fact, this is absolutely impossible.

Take the construction of water conservancy, the most commonly used means of drought resistance, for example, is it really useful to face such a disaster?

This kind of drought will last for months or years. Even if the reservoir is built and water is stored, the water in the reservoir will evaporate completely within two months. What's the use?

The construction of water conservancy projects has an outstanding effect on dealing with small-scale droughts and floods.But in the face of this apocalyptic disaster, it can only be in vain.

What is Chidi Qianli?

Large swathes of vast land did not rain for several years, and even the Yellow River stopped flowing in the worst case.

This level of disaster, with today's technical means, simply cannot be solved by any official.

Xu Ruolin was born in a family of officials, and her father and grandfather listened in during the demonstration.But even her grandfather, Xu Guangqi, underestimated the disaster in the late Ming Dynasty, which made her understanding impossible.

At this time, Zuo Menggeng revealed the bloody fact, and couldn't help being stunned.

"Could it be... Is it really that God wants to destroy my Daming Jiangshan? There is no way?"

"Have."

Zuo Menggeng's resolute statement made Xu Ruolin excited.

"What can be done?"

"Colonize, colonize outward."

He was afraid that Xu Ruolin would not understand, so he explained it in depth.

"You know those missionaries from the West. Have you ever heard them say that Europa is also plagued by disasters today?"

Xu Ruolin showed an annoyed look, quite embarrassed.

"I didn't ask."

In this regard, Zuo Menggeng can only regret it.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the communication between the Chinese and the West was too limited, and many important information were not grasped.

In fact, the disaster that tormented China in the late Ming Dynasty was also rampant in Europe, and the harm caused was also not small.

Why has Europe survived?
Some people say that it is because the common people in the West are submissive, and they dare not resist no matter how difficult their life is.

This is bullshit.

When people are hungry, they can do all kinds of crazy things, how can there be any such thing as resignation?

One of the fundamental reasons why the catastrophe caused by this little ice age did not cause a devastating blow in Europe is that today's Europe has begun an era of colonization.

A large number of Europeans migrated to the Americas, Africa and many other unowned lands, which eased the land pressure on Europe at once.

Colonization not only diluted the local population pressure, but also provided ample supplies from overseas colonies to feed back to the local area. This is the truth of Europe's smooth passage of the Little Ice Age.

"Why did the Europas come so far to come to us? It's because they traveled all over the earth and found many fertile and unowned lands. They sent a large number of people from the mainland and took those lands for themselves. Yes. It turned out that the mainland may be the same as us, and there is no one mu of land per person. Now more than half of the population has gone overseas, so the per capita arable land area will increase significantly. With the abundant supply of overseas products, such natural disasters will not affect the For them, it's nothing."

The reason is very simple. Following Zuo Menggeng's description, Xu Ruolin easily drew a complete picture in her mind.

"Is it only possible to emigrate?"

Zuo Menggeng nodded heavily.

"In today's situation, either a large amount of population is transferred to the outside, diluting the population per unit area; or the population can only be greatly reduced by disasters and wars. The ultimate goal of both is actually the same, both are to reduce land use. bearing pressure.”

Xu Ruolin couldn't help shivering, her eyes were blank.

"But where can I, the people of China, move to?"

Zuo Menggeng felt that she was thinking too much.

"The problem now is not how to emigrate, but it is impossible for the imperial court to support foreign immigration."

Xu Ruolin woke up, puzzled.

"Why is this?"

Zuo Menggeng's face turned cold, and he made no secret of his malice.

"The emperor, nobles, and landlords all regard the common people as pigs and sheep in the pen, and they happily suck the flesh and blood from the common people. If the common people are let go, how can they satisfy their greed? For these people, it is better to let the common people If they rot in the pot in Xinjiang, they will never let the people get out of control while they satisfy their last bit of greed before they die."

Zuo Menggeng's eyes became far-reaching, and his words became heavy.

"The person who sits on the dragon chair is called the Son of Heaven. In the world, is it the emperor's private property; the person holding the stick seal is called the herdsmen, who drives the people to be like cattle and sheep. I have only heard of shepherds and horses. How can there be herdsmen? The people are in their minds, What is it again?"

Xu Ruolin thought she was deviant enough, but after listening to Zuo Menggeng's angry words, she realized that she was actually kind.

But her inner knowledge was telling her that Zuo Menggeng's remarks were actually right.

The natural disaster is irreversible, but the corrupt and depraved court has blocked all the people's livelihood.

However, the family, the country, the world, the topic is heavy.

The two of them, a second-generation general and a wealthy and noble woman, seem to be out of their hands to guide the country.

Xu Ruolin sighed in her heart, cheered up, put on a smile, and raised the manuscript to Zuo Menggeng to read.

"This masterpiece of yours, let alone the writing style, even this word is so ugly."

Zuo Menggeng was very ashamed.

"In my hand, it's okay to dance knives and guns, and to write, it's good to be able to recognize them."

In fact, the "Wealth of Nations" he wrote was not even half of the first.It is really too slow to write with a brush, delaying efficiency.

But Xu Ruolin was so fascinated by it that she couldn't wait for a moment.

She rolled her eyes and suggested, "How about this? You tell me, I'll write. Although Miss Ben has little knowledge, her writing is still so-so."

Saying that, she grabbed the paper and re-copied the parts she had already written.

As soon as Xiuya Shuli's hairpin came out, Zuo Menggeng had nothing to say except giving a thumbs up.

"Miss Xu is a talented person, can you polish this crude work of mine?"

Zuo Menggeng was most entangled in that the "Wealth of Nations" in his memory was translated from plain text.

This kind of writing is seen by scholars of this era, and I am afraid that I will laugh out loud.

Guess Xu Ruolin did not agree.

"There are a lot of arguments in your article. If you write it in this vernacular style, it is accurate and detailed. If you use it correctly, it will not be beautiful."

Is that the case?

Zuo Menggeng is very self-aware.

Talking about literary affairs in this era, he is definitely not as good as Xu Jiazhen.

Since Xu Ruolin was so sure, he could only obey.

In the days that followed, the two were often together.

Zuo Menggeng said that Xu Ruolin wrote, and unconsciously, the content of "The Wealth of Nations" gradually accumulated.

Regarding the content, the two discussed it repeatedly, and both felt that they had benefited a lot.

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(End of this chapter)