Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

As the rainy season comes to an end, the work of clearing fields in the four prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River is also in full swing.

Tax collectors wearing coir raincoats and bamboo hats went door-to-door to verify information and encouraged the people to boldly report the "surrender" of the gentry.

Jiang Xinghuo also went to Changzhou Prefecture. After joining Li Jinglong who had returned from crossing the river, he planned to inspect Changzhou Prefecture accompanied by Zhang Yulin, the prefect of Changzhou, and then turn around and head south via the factory area of ​​Songjiang Prefecture before heading to Zhejiang.

Qingpingbo.

This water pond fed by a tributary of Baihe River is inconspicuous in Changzhou Prefecture. Compared with the prosperous Lücheng Town and Benniu Town next to it, the small villages around Qingpingbo are nothing. There are no thoroughfares passing by, and there is no remnant of the Grand Canal.

But Jiang Xinghuo chose this place.

The reason is also very simple. This is the place where he ordered a public trial for the first time when he left the capital and killed the Fan family bully.

Things have changed and people have changed. The village that was desolate and dilapidated at that time has become quite popular now.

Jiang Xinghuo stood in front of the stone lion at the entrance of Fan's house, raised his arms, looked at the sky in the distance, and sighed softly.

Sometimes, looking back on the past, it really feels like a dream.

"Master Imperial Master."

A familiar call came from behind.

Jiang Xinghuo turned his head and saw a young man running out of the village, waving his arms excitedly and calling him, and behind him, a woman looked at him with a smile.

Jiang Xinghuo signaled to Wang Bin and others not to be too alert, then walked out, hugged the young man, lifted him up, and spun him around.

It's not that Jiang Xinghuo doesn't want to spin a few more times, it's mainly because the boy is not light, and Jiang Xinghuo is afraid that he will slip up to his waist if he spins two more times.

"When you grow up, your appearance changes every time you grow up."

Jiang Xinghuo put the boy down, patted his shoulder and sighed.

"of course!"

The young man looked excited. He had indeed grown taller, and his figure had become much stronger. He looked completely different from the immature child before.

The young man was the son of Li Liuqi, who was used as a scapegoat by the Fan family bullies. At that time, the Qingpingbo incident originated from his family. Now, more than two years have passed, and the child has grown into a young man.

Jiang Xinghuo actually didn't have much impression of them now, but when he saw the excited look on the young man's face, he still felt warm in his heart. He couldn't help but smile and said: "How is it? You and your family are doing well. ?"

Aunt Liu stepped forward at this time, nodded and said, "Thanks to the blessing of the Imperial Master, my family's life is very good."

Jiang Xinghuo carefully looked at the clothes and shoes on their feet. Ordinary cotton and linen clothes were somewhat improved than before due to the popularity of cotton textiles, and the shoes were still straw sandals.

From this point of view, the so-called "life is good" must only be compared with the past self.

Jiang Xinghuo waved his hand and said, "You guys don't live a comfortable life. I can't afford this."

The breeze after the rain blew through his green shirt, and the green reeds in the distance rippled with it.

Aunt Liu hurriedly shook her head and said, "How could it be possible? If it hadn't been for the help of the National Preceptor, our whole family would not be able to survive now."

"Everything should be done."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and didn't want to dwell on this topic anymore, so he asked instead, "Does the child at home go to private school?"

"I'm not expecting to be an official in the future. It's good to know how to read."

"That's good."

Aunt Liu took her son and said, "Since the Imperial Master is here, come to my house for a meal and prepare a table of dishes as a thank you banquet."

"good."

Jiang Xinghuo was not pretentious and agreed happily. After all, when people heard that he was coming, they must have prepared carefully. If they didn't go, it would be a waste of their efforts.

He turned around and said to Wang Bin: "Arrange meals for these brothers and give more food money to the villagers."

Wang Bin nodded. It would be great if he didn't have to eat the dry food he brought with him.

If there is water here in Qingpingbo, there will definitely be fish, and the villagers don't need to put much effort into it. Just order some fish soup, pick up some wild vegetables, and soak the steamed buns to eat them all.

As for Aunt Liu, Jiang Xinghuo was afraid of bankrupting her family, so he only took Zhang Yulin, the prefect of Changzhou, with him, and followed Aunt Liu to the main room of her house.

"Master, please sit down first. I'll go to the kitchen to make some more."

In the yard, Aunt Liu finished speaking and hurried to the back of the main room.

Jiang Xinghuo looked around from the outside and found that apart from a table of sumptuous meals prepared, there was only one person in the room who was wiping the tables and chairs with a low eyebrow, apparently cleaning.

At this time, the man stood up. Jiang Xinghuo thought he was a familiar man. He came up to him and asked with a smile: "Master Imperial Master, I heard that you came to our country today."

Jiang Xinghuo looked him up and down, paused for a moment after what he wanted to say, seemed to have thought of something, and looked a little strange.

"You guys, could it be. Could it be?"

This man was the "tiger" who drank the decapitated porridge that day and took his brothers to fight for his life.

However, now he is wearing clothes and a turban on his head, looking like an honest fisherman, but he no longer has the fierce demeanor of the past.

Aunt Liu and "One Tiger" were very calm about this. There were frequent wars these days, and people's lives were not good. It was nothing new for wives and children to be separated. It was normal for acquaintances to live together, not to mention that Aunt Liu still Pulling the child, life would be even more difficult if there was no man in the family.

"I followed the dam construction for a year. Before I left, I paid the travel expenses and some wages, and then I came back."

He took the initiative to explain that Jiang Xinghuo did not punish them severely at first. Instead, he was detained in Changzhou Mansion for a period of time and then sent to build a dam. Although it was also strenuous physical labor, it was much better than being deported to the army and beheaded. Moreover, the dam was built. The workers have enough to eat.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at him again, then suddenly thought of something and said, "Where are your brothers? You're not doing anything illegal now, are you?"

"How can it be!"

The man's eyes were full of fear. He knew Jiang Xinghuo's murderous power. After not seeing him for so long, this power was still the same, which made him tremble with fear. And if Jiang Xinghuo hadn't extended a helping hand and saved his life, I'm afraid he would have died long ago. There are no bones left.

He only felt that Jiang Xinghuo looked really kind, but there were some things he shouldn't say carelessly, not to mention that his parents and officials from Changzhou Mansion were sitting next to him.

"Wujin City is now more prosperous than before. Those who don't want to fish in Qingpingbo can work as laborers at the dock there and live a pretty good life."

The two dishes that were stuffed in the pot were also served. Jiang Xinghuo asked while eating, "Is there anyone farming?"

"Yes, I will farm four acres of land while fishing."

"How is Qingtian doing here?"

A tiger carefully considered his words and replied: "We are poor here and there are not many landowners, so there are no such things as the official documents and newspapers. Everyone in Qingtian is very cooperative. If there are any disputes, they can be negotiated." If we really can’t solve it, we’ll just rely on the results from the government.”

"Are you dissatisfied?"

"I'm sure there is. No matter what, my father-in-law is dissatisfied. There are some things in the village that I can't explain clearly."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded. This is the truth. Farmers are indeed simple, but some grievances do also exist.

Why, after thousands of years, did the story of "Sanchi Alley" appear until the end? In other words, why has "Sanchi Alley" become such a good story?

With very few given resources, no one is willing to give up the slightest bit of their own interests.

This current situation cannot be pointed at from the moral high ground, because whether it is a brick or an inch of land, it is related to the vital interests of the parties involved.

It's like that joke, "I really have a cow."

"Are the subordinate officials who went to the countryside to participate in the purge of the father-in-law have clean hands and feet?"

"That's pretty clean."

Zhang Yulin, who was absentmindedly holding dishes next to him, felt relieved when he heard this.

"Don't worry, Imperial Master, the evil trend in our Changzhou Prefecture has long been reversed. Among the four Jiangnan Prefectures, the one who is active and law-abiding on the matter of Qingtian is definitely the first, if not the first."

"That's good."

In Changzhou Prefecture, it was true that Jiang Xinghuo had killed a group of officials before. They were afraid of the slaughter, and Zhang Yulin was also careful. Therefore, during this clearing operation, there were still people in Suzhou Prefecture who dared to play "shrinking the bow", but under Changzhou Prefecture But very few of these subordinate officials dare to do anything.

After the meal was finished, it was already noon. Aunt Liu put away the dishes and Jiang Xinghuo and others said goodbye and left without disturbing her.

Watching Jiang Xinghuo's leaving figure, Aunt Liu patted her child on the shoulder and said, "You must study hard and become a high official like the Imperial Master in the future to benefit the people."

Unexpectedly, the child shook his head and said: "I can't do it."

"The Imperial Master is so majestic. He is also a great good man and a great hero. He will kill anyone who dares to offend him." Stepfather interjected from the side.

"Farming is good. Everyone is an official. How can there be so many official positions? It's great to plant a good field and lie down on the ridge of the field and look at the sky when you are tired."

Jiang Xinghuo walked on the dirt road in the village that had not yet completely dried up, his mind wandering away. During this period of time, his mentality had gradually changed, and he had become more and more "worldly". The way he looked at these people also gradually changed.

——————

The short experience in the past came to an end in Qingpingbo. Jiang Xinghuo visited Changzhou Prefecture and chopped off the heads of a bunch of gentry before heading south along the west side of Taihu Lake and returning to Songjiang Prefecture.

Songjiang Prefecture, handicraft factory area.

It is located at the former site of Dahuangpu, far away from Shanghai County, but only a short distance away.

However, compared with the muddy land before, this place has completely changed.

In the cotton textile field area, workshops are lined up one after another. Female textile workers hang the spun fabrics one by one on fixed multi-section pole nets.

In the factory, various textile machines are running, and occasionally equipment is moved in.

Because in addition to pedal power, most of these textile machines also need to use the water flow of the nearby Huangpu River as power, so many U-shaped river canals were dug into the factory to serve as a never-ending circulating power.

At this time, it was undoubtedly a wise move for Jiang Xinghuo to blow up the barrier lake in Dahuangpu.

Although most of the workers here are female textile workers, the workers shuttle around the workshop and are busy with their own affairs in an orderly manner. This order obviously means that a considerable degree of organization has been formed here.

"oops!"

Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out from the crowd.

"what happened?"

I saw a thin woman falling to the ground. Her face was pale and she was holding her stomach. There were beads of sweat on her forehead, and her eyes were flashing with fear.

"Are you okay?" Someone walked over and asked.

The woman didn't look at her and shook her head.

But experienced women could tell: "She seems to be going into labor prematurely!"

"Get to the hospital quickly!" the textile worker next to her hurriedly shouted.

Soon, someone came to carry a simple stretcher.

Several familiar female textile workers picked up the woman, put her on a stretcher, and ran outside the workshop.

In the workshop, people started talking, it was nothing more than gossip.

This is unavoidable, just like the secret intelligence station of the aunts at the entrance of the village.

"How could it be such a coincidence?"

"I do not know!"

"But it hurts to look at her," someone said.

At this moment, a carriage came from the road and stopped at the roadside. Immediately, a woman accompanying it hurriedly shouted.

"Put it on the carriage!"

"Director Tang, it's great to have you here!"

Several female workers carried the stretcher and rushed here quickly.

"etc!"

Several foreigners who came to visit were confused at this time, but Tang Yin drove these people out of the carriage without saying a word.

"Human life is at stake, why wait?"

"Come down quickly, don't hit anyone!"

When the carriage drove away and headed for the hospital in the factory area, several foreigners were still in a state of complete confusion.

Prince Yasukouchi of Japan, also known as Yukuma Sakura, was not easy to talk to at this time, because as a woman, she was vaguely aware of what was going on.

Lu Gong from Luzon Kingdom wanted to speak, but his Chinese proficiency was not good to begin with. Now he was anxious and couldn't speak. He didn't even have a complete sentence, and he was afraid that he would say "Abba, Ababa" as soon as he spoke.

Still a decent person like Xiao Hu, Hu Hancang asked calmly at this time: "Director Tang, is this female worker premature?"

Tang Yin rolled her eyes at him and stopped the rest of the conversation.

There are only female workers in handicraft factories, so this kind of thing is inevitable.

However, compared with such a small probability event as giving birth to a child, what actually bothers female workers is menstruation.

Once menstruation occurs, sometimes the pain is not that great and you can endure it and continue working. However, if the abdominal pain is unbearable, the pain is really life-threatening.

As a woman, Tang Yin understands this pain very well and has taken many measures. However, in this era, most men cannot understand it and regard it as filth and try their best to stay away from it.

"Let's eat first, I'm hungry."

A little incident is nothing to worry about, He Danshi from Ryukyu Kingdom sincerely suggested at this time.

Li Jie nodded and agreed. He had been in Daming for almost ten years. The reason why he didn't want to go back had a lot to do with not wanting to go back to the island to eat finger food.

Since everyone is hungry, Tang Yin, as the host here, is embarrassed to let them continue to be hungry, so he said.

"You all have come a long way. Although the canteen in the venue area tastes average, you'd better just eat some."

The various facilities and buildings in the factory area are very complete. It is a bit like a large-scale small town, with everything you need.

We came to a district canteen. Since it was not counted as a meal, it was not as crowded as usual and not many people were eating here.

Tang Yin led them to find a table to sit down, then handed over the menu and said: "Look at it, everyone. There are not many people now. You can order whatever you want. It is all on the menu. When there are more people eating, you can Can’t order a la carte.”

"Well, thank you."

He Duanzhi took a look at the menu and smiled: "The prices here are not cheap, right?"

“Every single order comes in a large plate.”

Tang Yin didn't explain the question of whether it's cheap or not. If you want it cheap, just queue up for the daily random set meal. Since you order a la carte, it's definitely not cheap. And these things are all relative. The food here tastes good. It may be average, but the salt and oil are clean, the vegetables and meat are fresh, and the portion is large. It is just for manual workers. It is definitely not comparable to the small and light dishes made by Jiangnan people.

Tang Yin stood up and took a tray to serve them some drinks.

Although it is said to be a drink, it is actually similar in nature to the free soup in modern canteens.

In order to better improve production efficiency and help female workers relieve their pain, Director Tang thoughtfully prepared a free hot ginger-date drink in the canteen. This stuff is a large bucket of water sprinkled with a small handful of ginger and a large handful of slices. Jujube and other traditional Chinese medicines that replenish qi and blood are added. The cost is not much for a large factory, but it can effectively help female workers.

Of course, as for brown sugar, longan and the like, they don’t exist. If you want to buy them for yourself at the food store, they are all available in small bags.

In addition, there are a lot of delicious snacks in the food shop, but they are not cheap, and the same is true in the clothing store.

Obviously, it means that the factory eats the flowers of the factory, because the wages of female workers are relatively high in Jiangnan as a whole, so it is natural to need some small means to get some money back in life to prevent female workers from resigning frequently.

If you want to eat well, drink well, and wear good clothes, of course you need to pay for them yourself, but these things are not mandatory. If you don’t want to improve your quality of life, there are also standard food packages and free meals in the factory area. The drinks and the accompanying work clothes are entirely up to you.

According to the survey statistics obtained by Tang Yin, generally speaking, young girls will spend more on these things, while older female workers, especially those with families, will be more economical and spend their monthly wages Save the money and send it home.

"Then let's have some hot and sour lotus root slices."

Zheng He's voyages to the West had not yet reached a place where he could bring back fried potatoes and shredded potatoes, but in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in canteens in factory districts, food like lotus root has been the mainstream recently.

When Tang Yin came back with the drink, he heard Hu Hancang say this.

Distributed drinks to several people.

"Director Tang, we can't afford such expensive food!"

He Duanzhi stood up at this time and said.

This kid has been in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and he has learned a lot of jokes. At this time, he was obviously joking. After all, they were sent by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial College to visit. They were part of a propaganda mission to promote the power of the Ming Dynasty. They ate a la carte in the cafeteria. A meal is nothing.

Tang Yin was different from the women they had seen. She was neither shy and reserved like a lady from a famous family, nor bold and unrestrained like a brothel girl. Instead, she was a rare career woman who was very independent and not timid in dealing with things.

"It's affordable, but if you think it's expensive, we can change the package."

"never mind."

He Duanzhi said with a smile.

He Duanzhi was just being polite, how could he really go for the set meal?

The atmosphere was pretty good. Several people were joking and chatting about the day. Soon, the handyman working in the canteen brought several bowls of rice and bowls and chopsticks to everyone. It didn't take long for the dishes to be served.

What matches the price on the menu is the portion of the dishes.

Although there are only a few dishes, it is enough to fill a table.

He Duanzhi took his chopsticks and started eating.

"Wow, it smells really good!"

Lu Gong on the side couldn't help but admired.

These people came to the Ming Dynasty from the island country. Let’s not talk about anything else. Let’s not talk about what this legendary country like the Ming Dynasty is like. Just the food alone was completely conquered.

This can be seen from the way Xuewuzakura frequently waved her chopsticks and put food into her slightly open mouth.

The son of the Ryukyu chief, the prince of Luzon, and the prince of Japan, to put it bluntly, there is nothing delicious in their country, so much so that even when they go to the cafeteria, they think it tastes very good. Although it is not as rich as the dishes in the big restaurants in Nanjing, these homely dishes are The dishes also have a unique flavor.

Hu Hancang eats more decently. After all, he is the former Annan emperor. Compared with these countries, Annan, which borders the Ming Dynasty, is quite developed in terms of diet.

"Well, it's really delicious. The food here is very unique."

After immersing herself in the meal, Xuewuying, who had been silent for the whole time, couldn't help but speak.

"Haha." Li Jie laughed twice, said nothing more, and ran to get some food.

After lunch, everyone continued to stroll around here. He Duanzhi saw a pavilion next to him and suggested, "How about we go to the pavilion for a while?"

They are guests, and of course the host cannot refuse such a reasonable request.

Lu Gong said at this time: "Okay, I have too much free time anyway, so I just want to blow some air, chat with you, and find out about the customs and habits of the Ming Dynasty."

Everyone: "."

"that."

He Duanzhi gritted his teeth and endured the goosebumps all over his body. He pulled Lu Gong and said, "If we don't know how to say it, then don't say it."

Tang Yin smiled, waved to someone accompanying him, and together they moved the tables and chairs out of the pavilion.

Several people sat around the stone table, looked at the surrounding scenery and started chatting.

Suddenly, a unique scenery attracted their attention.

It was a lot of white, thick cotton cloth, and there seemed to be some additional processing in the middle of the cotton cloth.

These cotton cloths, like scrolls, were unfolded in an open space next to a small bamboo forest, not far from the pavilion.

"It's really white!"

Lu Gong swallowed involuntarily. No one knew why he swallowed.

"Of course."

He Duanzhi said: "Director Tang's place is the top textile factory in the Ming Dynasty. The things she makes here must be of the highest quality."

"It's as white as frost and snow. It's really extraordinary. I think the Ming Dynasty bleached and dyed these high-end white cloths and sold them to earn profit margins." Xue Wuying thought in her heart, while looking at these white cloths fluttering in the wind, she thought: If you can cut it into clothes and wear them on yourself, it should be extremely beautiful.

“It’s really an honor to be able to come to Daming this time!”

Hu Hancang also lost no time in saying with emotion.

Hu Hancang knew very well that among the Jinyiwei who escorted them, the leader of the Jinyiwei named Zhao Haichuan was said to be the confidant of the Imperial Preceptor. These words may be indirectly conveyed to the Imperial Preceptor's ears and help their family to be better in the Ming Dynasty. to survive.

Li Jie said: "We cannot make such good cloth in Ryukyu."

After saying that, Li Jie suddenly thought of a question and couldn't help but ask: "By the way, Director Tang, what is this cloth used for?"

This man was also a ghost, and it was by chance that he found out that Tang Yin and Jiang Xinghuo seemed to have a good relationship, and they often exchanged letters. At this time, he wanted to get close to each other and compliment them.

But Tang Yin seemed to have encountered something unspeakable. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course."

He Duanzhi quickly said: "We don't know how to weave, and we don't know these white cloths either."

Hu Hancang said at this time: "Director Tang, I would also like to know if there are similar cloths in other places. Do these require a specific environment, or can they be produced anywhere?"

Xue Wuying also nodded and said, "Yes, I have thought about this issue just now. Please ask Sister Tang Yin to tell us."

Tang Yin shook his head and said, "It's best that you don't know."

Li Jie: "Then I'm even more curious."

Xue Wuying also said: "Yes, sister Tang Yin, just tell us."

"."

Tang Yin said: "This is menstrual cotton cloth prepared for female workers."

There are tens of thousands of female workers in factories, and they are generally not too old. The old ones have no or weak working ability, and cannot work in the textile industry. Therefore, physiological problems are naturally a problem that Tang Yin, the supervisor, needs to face and avoid. It's not a solution, it can only make things worse. After all, a small problem becomes a huge problem when multiplied tens of thousands of times.

To this end, in addition to distributing free ginger-date water in various district canteens, Tang Yin also took advantage of the textile factory to produce a large number of menstrual cotton cloths.

Perhaps for the Ming Dynasty at this time, this incident did not cause the slightest stir in public opinion, but its impact was indeed extremely far-reaching.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, folk women did not have these things if they were menstruating. The common method was to make a small bag with clean cloth and put clean plant ash into it every time they had menstruation. Because plant ash has the effect of absorbing blood and water, after the menstrual period is over, clean the small cloth bag and put it away, and use it as usual the next time the menstrual period comes.

This method is undoubtedly very backward and unhygienic, and can easily breed various health problems.

However, because ancient society generally did not pay attention to this, and was even ashamed to talk about it, so it has always been like this.

And this kind of plant ash bag is pretty good. As for using grass and leaves, it is not uncommon.

The menstrual cotton cloth designed and produced by Tang Yin was inspired by a burst of inspiration when he was tasked with making hemostatic cloth for the Ming army.

This year, because more than 200,000 Ming troops around Nanjing are going north, the handicraft workshop area is very busy. As early as last winter, they began to make various cotton armors, cotton jackets, pants, socks, rucksacks, beds and other supplies. Naturally, This includes styptic cloth.

At that time, Tang Yin was thinking that since the soldiers were injured in the battle and this thing could stop bleeding, it could also be used to help female workers.

So this new product was designed.

The social impact of this epoch-making new product cannot yet be seen. It is just to help female workers in the factory area. But as time goes by and the network of female workers who return home naturally expands, this new product will definitely gradually become a Something popular throughout Ming Dynasty.

At that time, the factory will actually have an additional stable source of profit.

Although Jiang Xinghuo does not allow the products in the factory area to impact the domestic cottage industry, using huge military supplies and overseas markets to meet the existing production capacity, this new product that cannot be mass-produced by the cottage industry is not affected at all.

It doesn't matter if it's cheaper, small profits but quick turnover, anyway, there are so many women in the world, they have to use it every month.

And just when everyone was reflecting on their boast and starting to feel ashamed, someone suddenly came to give Tang Yin some news.

"The national division's convoy has arrived."