Steel Dynasty - Chapter 263

[Chapter 263 Cotton Jacket]

“Your Highness, this winter seems to be colder than before?”

In the bedroom, Luluo held a black-trimmed sapphire blue satin round-neck robe with a layer of cotton sewn inside. The clothes seemed a little heavy.

In the Chongqing Kingdom, nobles generally still wear furs in winter, while cotton cloth and cotton-padded jackets are mostly worn by merchants and common people.

Lu Luo’s casual words at this time made Xiao Ming frown. This sentence seemed to be just a common saying, but it proved that an objective fact in history was happening, that is, the Little Ice Age.

According to historical records, the Little Ice Age lasted from 1350 to 1850. In the 17th century, the Little Ice Age reached its peak. This period was the coldest period.

It was precisely because of this period that grain production in the Ming Dynasty decreased, civil unrest broke out, and the Jurchen tribe in the north was even more lacking in food and clothing.

Although the Jurchens attacked the Ming Dynasty out of hatred, part of them was for survival.

Such historical events also occurred during the Yuan and Song Dynasties. The warm climate in the first half of the period allowed the Mongols to multiply in large numbers. In the later period, the cold weather caused the grasslands to fall into chaos for the sake of grassland. At this time, Temujin unified Mongolia and then moved south.

Although every historical event has multiple factors, in Xiao Ming’s view, this climate still had a huge impact on the ancients who relied on the sky for their livelihood.

Last year, many livestock died on the grassland due to severe cold. This year, another cold winter is coming. If a large-scale famine occurs among the barbarians, the only way for the barbarians to obtain food is to rob it.

If the weather continues to be this cold, the situation may become even more severe next year and the year after.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming felt a little worried. After all, when one race invades another race in order to survive, the war is not just an invasion, but a life and death battle.

The victory in the first battle of Cangzhou can be said to be a fluke. This second battle of the city wall can be said to be Beishan’s attempt to preserve his strength.

Xiao Ming knew very well that gunpowder cans and artillery alone could not stop the barbarian attack. The final result could only be that the soldiers retreated into the city and continued to rely on the city wall for defense.

In the two wars, the losses of the barbarians were basically the same as his. The real barbarians did not lose much, only the slave soldiers died, and the barbarians had more slave soldiers than the regular army, so the barbarians would not feel bad.

After all, the countries in the Western Region are now under the rule of barbarians. It is easy to capture some slaves, and the local residents of Youzhou are also the source of slave soldiers.

Therefore, until now, Xiao Ming has not been exposed to the real fighting power of the barbarians at all, and this is what he has been worried about.

If they encounter a real field battle, can his army withstand the barbarian attack?

“Your Highness, how are you? Does this cotton-padded jacket fit you?”

Luluo’s questioning voice broke Xiao Ming’s thoughts.

He shook his head, as if he wanted to put the problem away. At this time, he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a long gown, but his body was a little bloated than before, which was all supported by cotton.

“Well, very good, you and Zi Yuan are really good at craftsmanship.” Xiao Ming said with a smile.

Being praised by Xiao Ming, Luluo’s eyes immediately turned into crescent moons with smiles. While she was adjusting Xiao Ming’s clothes, she said softly: “This servant and sister are still afraid that His Highness won’t like him. After all, His Highness is the prince, so he is afraid that His Highness will dislike him.”

“How could that happen? “

What? The king and the people are both made of flesh and blood. The people can wear it, so why can’t I wear it? And next, I will promote cotton clothes and trousers in the fiefdom, and I can’t let the people suffer in the cold winter.” .

Although there have been bumper grain harvests in the two seasons this year and the people basically have no problem eating, other supplies in the six states are still scarce.

After all, it was only one year, so there were not many things that could be changed, and Xiao Ming put his focus on maintaining the stability of the fiefdom, including the steel workshop, military workshop, equipment department, cement, printing imitation, glass workshop, fine wine, soap, etc. Some of the industries were to prepare for the defense against the barbarians, some were to make money from trade to buy raw materials, and some were to build city walls, but in general, he invested very little in people’s livelihood.

After all, only by fending off the barbarians can we continue to develop further, and the textile workshop is his further effort to improve people’s livelihood.

Once the textile mills can produce a large amount of cheap cloth, the people’s opportunities for food and clothing will gradually be solved. Only when there is no problem with food and clothing, the people will think about sending their children to school.

Otherwise, Xiao Ming’s promotion of education at this stage will only be met with many obstacles, and the biggest obstacle is the people themselves. After all, if they can’t even eat, how can the people send their hard work at home to school.

In modern remote mountainous areas, many people are still illiterate, let alone their fiefs.

After walking around in a circle in his cotton-padded jacket, Xiao Ming walked out in his cotton-padded jacket. When the servants of the palace saw Xiao Ming coming out in his cotton-padded jacket, they all smiled knowingly. They felt that Prince Qi was getting closer to them.

“Why are you laughing? Doesn’t this cotton-padded jacket look good?” Xiao Ming asked.

A servant carefully looked at Aster, who was looking at her eagerly, and said, “Your Highness, it looks good, so pretty.”

Hearing this, Aster smiled proudly, and a pair of dimples appeared on her face.

He stood in the cold wind and felt it. He had to say that this cotton-padded jacket was quite thick and very wind-resistant. After a while, his body felt warm.

He became more and more satisfied and said to Ziyuan: “How many cotton-padded jackets can the textile workshop sew every day?”

“If it is a fine cotton-padded jacket, it will only be about ten pieces a day. If it is an ordinary coarse cotton-padded jacket, thirty pieces a day is still no problem. “Xiao Ming said.

“Thirty pieces a day? It’s still too few.” Xiao Ming said: “In this way, the textile workshop is now responsible for weaving and sewing cotton jackets. You might as well separate the two now, and one part is responsible for weaving and the other is responsible for weaving. “It’s winter now, and the people are idle at home. Recruit more female workers and give them more salary.”

The textile industry will be Qingzhou’s main industry in the future. This industry is light industry and non-polluting, making it suitable for vigorous development. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Britain relied on the textile industry to accumulate a lot of wealth.

Xiao Ming has great ambitions. In the future, he will not only occupy the market of Dayu, but also sell cotton-padded jackets overseas.

However, this would require a large number of female workers.

Zi Yuan nodded after hearing this and said: “That’s no problem, but Your Highness, I have to borrow your newspaper for this, otherwise there will be too few people who know about the textile mill, and there are still many people during this period. The female worker asked if she could weave at home because she was afraid of being judged.”

(End of chapter)