Emperor Sui Yang

That night, Yang Ming was still living in Feng Yuzhi's dormitory. He went to Dugu Feng'er's first, and then came here to sleep after finishing his work.

After all, after a hundred days of injury, Feng Yuzhi twisted his ankle. It took a hundred days to get back to normal. Within three months, Yang Ming didn't plan to have sex with him.

While changing clothes, Yang Ming suddenly saw Feng Yuzhi's coat on the hanger, which was quite delicate, so he walked over and touched it.

This is a cotton coat?No wonder it looks soft and thick, but it is a bit rough.

"Is this the clothes you brought back from your hometown?" Yang Ming turned around and asked.

Feng Yuzhi lay on the bed, turned his neck and nodded when he heard the words, and said, "It's clothes made of Jibei."

"What is Jibei?" Yang Ming asked curiously.

Feng Yuzhi explained: "It is the cloth made of cotton wool from the fruit of the kapok tree. We call it Jibei in Lingnan."

Can you make cotton cloth?Yang Ming looked surprised.

Of course, this cotton cloth is not made of cotton, but the cotton of the kapok tree, so the quality of the cotton cloth is worrying, but it is warm.

Why does Lingnan have it?Because the kapok tree is a subtropical plant, only Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan have this kind of tree in China. After the fruit of this tree is opened, there is a ball of cotton inside, but this is short-fiber cotton, which is mainly used as a filler. Clothes have high requirements on textile technology.

The long-fiber cotton that can really be used to make clothes has to be imported from the Americas, and the one imported from India is also short-fiber cotton.

However, the cotton in ancient China was really imported from India.

"I have been making this coat for several years, and more than 70 embroiderers weaved it little by little," Feng Yuzhi said.

Yang Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, let me just say, Lingnan has this kind of textile technology?Feelings are hard-woven over the years, so it won't become a commodity. No wonder the style is so simple, just like a cloak.

But having said that, the ancient kapok textile technology in China was really developed in Lingnan first, and the representative figure was Huang Daopo in the early Yuan Dynasty.

Huang Daopo is a native of Shanghai, who went to Hainan, and then integrated the textile technology of the Li nationality in Hainan with that of the south of the Yangtze River, and summed up a new set of technology.

What Huang Daopo spins is kapok.

In the Tang Dynasty, Guangxi's cotton textile technology was very powerful. It was called Guiguanbu. Bai Juyi wrote a poem: Guibu is as white as snow, Wu is as soft as clouds, and the cloth is heavy and thick.

It can be seen from this poem that cotton textiles are mainly produced in the south.

After Yang Ming took off his clothes, he lay on the couch, thinking about cotton in his mind, and was at a loss as to what Feng Yuzhi's hand was doing.

At the moment of the Sui Dynasty, there were frequent exchanges with the Western Regions. The cotton from Tianzhu must have been brought in. According to historical records, the African cotton from Africa was introduced to Xinjiang in the third century AD, and to the Central Plains in the fifth and sixth centuries.

Isn't it the sixth century now?African cotton is long-fiber cotton, which is best used to make cotton cloth.

At present, the East Palace is an official, and Shi Yao Silian, the master of Menxia Fang, mentioned in the "Liang Shu Biography of the Northwest Zhurong" written in history:
Gaochang has a lot of vegetation, the grass is as solid as cocoons, and the silk in the cocoons is like fine silk.

This white stack is African grass cotton.

Good guy, I must go to Neiku to have a look tomorrow. If this thing can be planted on a large scale, it will be of great benefit to the country and the people.

"Okay, stop groping and go to sleep," Yang Ming moved Feng Yuzhi's hand away, then turned to the side and fell asleep.

Looking at his harem at present, Feng Yuzhi has the lowest appearance. It doesn't mean that he is not good-looking, but that other people are too good-looking.

If it was Chen Shuyi who teased him like this tonight, he would definitely not be able to bear it, but Feng Yuzhi's charm is limited.

After the court meeting the next day, Yang Ming went to the Zuo Zangku and Right Zangku in the palace.

These two treasuries are the internal treasuries of Yang Guang and the Empress, and they are nominally under the management of the Taifu Temple, but the key is held by a small official of the Taifu Temple, whose surname is Yang.

"The prince is looking for the kapok that came from the Western Regions, is there any here?" Yunshou asked.

Da Sui is called kapok, there is no such thing as cotton.

Ku Guan surnamed Yang nodded and said, "Yes, I planted some in the Queen's garden the year before last, and this year too, but there are quite a variety of them. I don't know what kind the prince is looking for?"

"Take me to see," Yang Ming said.

The back garden of the imperial palace is in the area where the Xuanwu Gate comes in. It has a large area and has everything that should be there. There is a place in it that is specially used for seed cultivation.

That is to say, the seeds bought from the Western Regions were planted here for trial.

Yang Ming saw the African cotton at a glance, with white flowers, and it happened to be harvesting time, but right now, it is used as an ornamental plant.

To be honest, there is nothing to watch, isn't the peony better than this?
Yang Ming walked over and pulled out a small ball, and rubbed it in his hands. Yes, it is long-fiber cotton, which can be used for weaving.

I'm so tired, do you want me to improve the textile technology?

I don't have that skill.

Yang Ming held a ball of cotton in his hand and showed it to Yuan Shou: "This one can weave cloth. We recruited some textile craftsmen from Lingnan and Jiangnan to study how to weave cloth. Of course, it needs to be planted on a large scale. This is not about your Taifu Temple."

Taifu Temple is in charge of the handicraft industry and planting, and it is the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

After finishing speaking, Yang Ming looked at Kuguan Yang, and said, "This kapok is a year old, right?"

Ku Guan nodded and said, "Return to Your Highness, yes."

Annual plants germinate, grow, bloom and then die within a year. This requires a large number of seeds to be purchased, first planted in a large area, and then reserved.

Then, Yang Ming had to find Sinong Si, who was in charge of trade.

Si Nong Siqing, who was originally Yang Chudao, was punished and demoted to Shaoqing, and Qing is now Cui Shu.

As soon as Yang Ming stepped into the gate of the official office of Sinong Temple, Yang Chudao greeted him first:
"Your Highness, don't come to my place when you are free, please come in quickly."

He belongs to the clan and has worked in Sinong Temple for half his life. He is relatively pedantic and incompetent, but his surname is Yang.

"Where's Cui Shu?" Yang Ming asked.

Yang Chudao hehe said: "He went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the minister sent someone to call him."

Yang Ming smiled: "I heard that you don't get along well with others? Is there such a thing?"

"Disagreement on official matters is inevitable, and there is absolutely no personal grudge," Yang Chudao apologized with a smile.

If a colleague in a unit has an enmity because of official business, it will definitely become a personal enmity, this is absolute.

"You are getting old, sometimes when you do things, don't be too aggressive. They are doing things for the court, so don't be a stumbling block," Yang Ming smiled and said something with a warning tone.

The clan also needs to be beaten. Relying on their own status, they often look down on their superiors, and their superiors are not easy to control because of their status.

Yang Chudao hurriedly smiled and nodded: "No, no, don't worry, Your Highness."

After entering Sinong Temple, another young minister, Cui Hongzhou and Cui Lao Wu also came out to welcome him.

When he saw Yang Ming, he felt a little uncomfortable. Although their family had Cui Churen working in the East Palace, there was another Cui Lingzi who was being detained in the East Palace right now.

Whether the relationship with the prince is close or far, they themselves are also very confused.

"Take out the list of this year's trade with the Western Regions, and I'll take a look," Yang Ming sat down on the chair and ordered.

After a while, several officials came up with stacks of files.

"Too many, it's up to Gao Chang," Yang Ming said.

So Gao Chang's copy was picked up separately and presented to Yang Ming.

Gaochang is Turpan, where African cotton was planted earlier than in the Central Plains, and the African cotton introduced by China was also bought from Gaochang in history.

"A catty of kapok seeds cost 320 gold?" Yang Ming asked, "You spent so much money to buy them and plant them in the back garden?"

In Gaochang, although five baht coins are considered currency in circulation, they mainly accept gold and silver, because they buy things from other places, and people want gold and silver.

Cui Shu, who had already rushed back from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said: "This kind of kapok can be weaved, and it is planted in the garden to observe its growth conditions and process, so that it can be widely planted in the future."

This is a person who does practical things. Yang Ming nodded and said, "If you say that, you won't be wronged if you spend the money. Then, where do you think it is suitable for planting?"

Cui Shudao: "Looking at its characteristics, it should be the first to try planting in the Yellow River and Jianghuai River Basins."

Cotton cloth, even if it is made, is not very expensive, because it is not beautiful and high-grade, and it will not become a high-end product like brocade silk, but for ordinary civilians, it is a treasure to keep out the cold.

As long as the planting area is large enough, it will not be too expensive to make cloth in the future.

Of course, this is an idealization. If you really want to spread it out in an all-round way, it will be impossible for decades.

"You negotiate with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Starting next year, let them open up a cotton area in the Yellow River. Try planting some first, see the situation, and buy more seeds this year," Yang Ming said.

"If you buy more, you can't buy much," Cui Shu said: "There are not many kapok seeds in Gaochang, and they won't be sold to us too much, and they are not suitable for storage. The ones that can be cultivated are less than three One out of ten."

Yang Ming said: "Then you can buy as much as you can, do you still need me to teach you?"

Cui Shu smiled and said: "But His Highness has to approve the note. Using gold to buy goods, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will not recognize us. You have to come forward."

"It just so happens that I'm going to the Ministry of Civil Affairs too, so all three of you come with me," Yang Ming said and left first.

It's definitely not a problem for him to spend the winter by himself, but spending the winter at ordinary people's homes is really like passing through the gates of hell.

Especially the older ones, which is why older people can't always survive the winter.

In the Sui Dynasty, the elderly were mostly concentrated in the aristocratic class and the south. It was not easy for the common people in the north to live a long life, and winter was a big hurdle.

This is why, in later generations, many people in the Northeast region went to the south for the winter. At that time, there was central heating.

Although in the eyes of the imperial court, the loss of the labor force of older people is of little benefit to the country, it has a great effect on social stability.

He won't act recklessly if his parents are in charge of him. (end of this chapter)