Chapter 837 834 [Breakthrough in spinning technology]
Chapter 837 834 [Breakthrough in spinning technology]
Whether it was Liu Hanyi seizing Batavia or Zhang Huangyan changing Mindoro Island to Mayi County, Zhao Han has not received news about these matters yet.
The first thing Zhao Han received was the memorial sent by Xu Ying from Jiangsu.
Xu Ying said in the memorial that the leaders of the Jiangnan Textile Guild, entrusted by textile merchants, requested him to deliver a joint letter from the textile industry. Due to the major breakthroughs in steam spinning machines and the serious shortage of cotton raw materials, they requested to open up the Indian market.
Obtain Indian cotton as raw material for spinning.
If the imperial court is willing to send troops, textile merchants from all over the south of the Yangtze River and shipping merchants from Guangdong are willing to jointly raise 30,000 taels of silver and donate it to the imperial court free of charge for military supplies.
In addition, they are also willing to subscribe for low-interest military bonds, which will be gradually deducted from their taxes in the future.
Zhao Han was not surprised at all the donations and debt purchases. The imperial court had done this before, especially during the attack on Luzon. Military expenses and food were all raised in this way. It was normal for merchants to taste the benefits and want to do it again.
What Zhao Han really values is the major breakthrough in the spinning machine!
Xu Ying's memorial came with a drawing of a small device with a very simple principle - a spindle wing.
A high school graduate named Li Min, because of his poor family, did not go to college at his own expense, nor did he choose to be a county official. Instead, he was hired as a senior employee in a textile factory. It took Li Min four years to invent the spindle wing.
, and has been put into production after repeated improvements.
To weave cotton cloth, you must first spin it into cotton yarn.
Whether it is a water conservancy spinning machine or a steam spinning machine, there is a serious problem. That is, the strength of cotton fiber is not enough, and it is easy to break when twisted. There have been many related inventions before, and even roller devices have appeared, but spinning
Cotton sliver breaks often occur during the yarn process, and someone must guard and manually assist in twisting.
The "spindle wing" device invented by this high school graduate named Li Min can be perfectly matched with the "roller" device and can complete the two steps of twisting and winding at the same time.
Spinning efficiency is doubled!
Moreover, this device can be added to both water spinning machines and steam spinning machines for production.
After Zhao Han saw the drawings and descriptions, his first reaction was: family-style spinning activities will gradually become a thing of the past, and peasant women have lost a major source of income.
This dying process may last for ten or twenty years. As steam spinning machines continue to improve and become more popular, hand spinning will inevitably become a thing of the past.
For the time being, there is still room for the finest fine cotton to be manufactured only by manual spinning. Due to insufficient technology, the cotton yarn spun by steam engines can only be used to weave mid- to low-end cotton cloth - historically, worsted cotton yarn
The invention of the machine was several years later than Watt's first improved steam engine.
The high school graduate named Li Min opened Pandora's box and ushered in a new era.
Xu Ying also said in her memorial that since the "spindle wing" device was put into use, the demand for cotton has surged rapidly. As early as the beginning of this year, textile merchants in Jiangnan went to villages to sign contracts with farmers and wildly raised the price of cotton purchases.
, to induce farmers to convert grain fields into cotton fields.
As long as farmers grow cotton, they don't have to worry about selling it, and they can sell it at a high price. The increased profits can completely offset the heavy taxes imposed by the court on cotton fields.
A bumper grain harvest may also hurt farmers due to low grain prices.
When it comes to growing cotton, a contract is signed in advance and the price is set long ago. The bigger the harvest, the more profitable it is.
Farmers are not stupid, of course they grow whatever they want to make money!
There are two problems currently faced by the textile industry. One is the shortage of cotton raw materials, and the other is that weaving technology cannot keep up with the development of spinning technology. There is an urgent need for more advanced looms.
Cotton yarn manufacturers are very likely to lose money this year.
They added advanced equipment one after another and blindly expanded production regardless of the market. They also signed contracts with farmers in advance and blindly raised the purchase price of cotton.
However, today's weaving technology cannot digest so much cotton yarn. When the time comes, a large amount of cotton yarn will 100% be unsaleable, and the only choice is to export excess cotton yarn directly overseas. While the overseas cotton market is huge, the cotton yarn market is very small. If it cannot be sold, the price will have to be reduced.
.
Maybe they will sell cotton yarn to farmers at a low price. If the farmers buy cheap cotton yarn, they can weave and wear it themselves.
In addition, Mexican cotton yarn manufacturers will become the biggest victims.
The Spanish colonists built textile and silk mills in Mexico and purchased cotton yarn and raw silk from China every year. In order to protect the interests of cotton yarn and raw silk producers, the King of Spain repeatedly ordered a ban on purchasing raw materials from China. However, the ban continued, and Mexico
The market has been impacted by China, and few people are producing silk anymore.
Now that China is exporting a large amount of cheap cotton yarn, Mexico's spinning industry may be completely destroyed and it will be completely dependent on Chinese supplies in the future.
With the crazy price reduction of cotton yarn, China's cotton manufacturing costs will also plummet. As the cotton textile industry is India's largest industry, a large amount of cheaper cotton is shipped there, and the cotton spinners in the middle and lower reaches of the Ganges may also be in danger.
The cabinet had different opinions on Xu Ying's memorial.
Calling the cabinet ministers to discuss, Song Yingxing took the lead and said: "It is a good thing to have new machines, but this new machine will leave women without yarn to spin. Nowadays, there are a large number of women spinning yarn, whether in the city or in the countryside.
Exchange money. Once the spindle wings are widely used in factories, the income of ordinary people's families will definitely drop sharply. I... I really don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing."
Chen Maosheng said: "I don't know how to view this matter. The spinning machine has been improved several times and is far better than women's hand spinning. This new machine has actually doubled the efficiency, which has made countless weavers spin.
How do women cope?”
Zhu Shunshui said: "It cannot be suppressed. With better machines, it is impossible to prevent merchants from using them."
When other cabinet ministers spoke, they all discussed new machines and did not talk about sending troops to India at all.
In their view, the military was a major national issue, and the imperial court was very cautious in using troops. How could they be encouraged by a few merchants to fight across the sea?
Zhao Han said: "Everything should not be wasted because of choking. Now that better machines have appeared, let merchants use them. As for women who can no longer make money by spinning, they can only find other ways to make a living. Women in the city,
You can work as a domestic servant, and women in the countryside can raise a few more chickens. When there are more factories, more women can also work as weavers in the factories."
That’s all I can think of, otherwise what else can I do?
The only good thing is that the collapse of the small-scale peasant economy is a long-term process and will not end immediately because of the development of the cotton textile industry (in modern China, the rapid collapse of the small-scale peasant economy was due to the impact of mature Western industry). Moreover, farmers generally divide their fields.
, they can still make do without the income from spinning. As the city becomes more prosperous, women in the city can also do other jobs if they are unable to spin.
Chen Maosheng suddenly said: "Your Majesty, instead of thinking about further matters, it is better to deal with the matters in front of you first. Last year, when Jiangsu Tianzheng was cleaned up, two major cases occurred in Wuxian County, both caused by coal mines. Coal should be related to
Salt and iron are common and are designated exclusively by the imperial court, and coal must be taxed heavily."
"This must be the case." Zhao Han nodded and said.
China's textile industry is concentrated in the south of the Yangtze River, and the textile industry in the south of the Yangtze River is concentrated in the area around Taihu Lake.
By coincidence, a large number of coal mines have been discovered on Xishan Island in the center of Taihu Lake. Coal mines have also been discovered in some places on the edge of Taihu Lake. The coal produced in these places can be quickly transported to various parts of the Yangtze River for textile production through convenient waterways.
factory.
Coal mines have even been discovered in Jiangyin (Zhangjiagang), not far from the Yangtze River.
Fei Chun said: "I heard that people in Beijing in the previous dynasty relied on coal for heating and cooking. If heavy taxes were imposed on coal, people in some places might not even be able to afford coal for cooking."
Yuan Yunlong said: "Beijing is a special case. At that time, Beijing had a population of more than one million, and all the surrounding trees were cut down. We had to go to the Xishan Mountains to dig coal and transport it to the city to replace firewood. Today, there are not many people left in the entire Beiping Prefecture.
The trees have grown, and even the people in Beijing buy firewood cut by the woodcutter."
Fei Chun shook his head: "Not only in Beijing, but across the country, many people use coal to make fires for cooking, and they also rely on coal to make fires for warmth in winter."
This is true. In the "Record of the New Coal Mine" written during the Jiajing period, there is "there is little vegetation, so coal is used for fire in the north."
The major ironworks in the north almost all use coal mines to smelt iron. As a result, the fireguns produced by the northern ironworks often have a large number of air holes, and the barrels of the fireguns will explode when struck.
In the south, under the guidance of some practical officials, urban residents also use coal in large numbers.
The main content of "Records of the New Coal Mine" is to record that in Mahu Prefecture (Pingshan), Sichuan, the prefect Wansu led the people to explore coal mines and taught them how to use coal stoves. Residents in the city switched to using coal to make fires.
This is a major issue related to people's livelihood, and heavy taxes on coal cannot be imposed across the board.
After Zhao Han thought carefully, he said: "Coal in these five provinces, Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, is subject to heavy taxes, but the other provinces remain as usual."
Due to backward transportation technology, it is difficult to transport coal from the north to the south, and even if it is transported, the gain outweighs the loss.
Shandong is the most important cotton-producing province, and Shandong cotton is of the highest quality.
In recent years, Shandong's cotton textile industry has also been developing, especially after the emergence of the steam engine. Not only has Shandong's cotton textile industry developed rapidly, but Xuzhou has also prospered. Because Xuzhou has large coal mines and is close to Shandong, Shandong cotton is purchased and shipped to Xuzhou
After that, local coal can be used to run the machine.
By the way, the silver coin casting in Datong China was changed from hydraulic power to steam power several years ago.
The monarch and his ministers discussed it repeatedly, but never talked about sending troops to India.
Even if we really want to send troops, we should wait for a year and a half before doing so. We can't be arrogant and indulge the temper of those merchants!
