The prince-in-law Li Wei briefly narrated the contents of today's meeting, but unfortunately said, "There is not enough cotton planted this year."

Princess Fukang rolled her eyes at the official, "You were worried about not being able to sell the cotton fabric every day for the past two months. Have you discussed how many acres of cotton you plan to expand next year?"

Prince Consort Li Wei said, "We just discussed it and decided to expand planting by 1 million acres next year."

Princess Fukang was surprised and said, "How come you only plant so much? There won't be enough to sell next year."

"Yuan Ruo has made a decision. He recently sent people to do some research in Bianliang and several nearby counties. It is estimated that there are seven to eight million acres of fields that will be planted with cotton next year. Next year's cotton output will be at least the same as this year's.

5~6 times,"

Li Wei said with some worry, "This is just around Gyeonggi Province. There will definitely be many people in the other 20 or so areas switching to cotton."

He had originally planned to buy some fields and secretly grow some cotton when the dividends were distributed. When he got the dividend of 600,000 guan today, he was so excited. With the more than 300,000 guan at home, he could buy almost 300,000 guan.

If you own an acre of land, you will have an income of 20 million yuan next year. This is all earned by yourself, and you don’t need to share it with others.

But after listening to Qi Heng's analysis, it was like being poured a basin of ice water on him, and his heart felt so cold. At that time, he could feel that most of the shareholders in the hall had the same reaction as him.

Princess Fukang had a trace of sadness on her face, "Then the business of our cotton trading company will definitely be affected next year, right?"

The old emperor said 'cough' twice, and Princess Fukang hurriedly stepped forward to help her father move his back, "What's wrong with you, father?"

The old emperor shook his head slightly and signaled his son-in-law to help him up. With the help of Li Wei and the eunuch in charge, the old emperor got off the dragon couch and walked around the palace twice. Feeling slightly tired, he sat down at the tea table and said, "I've been lying down for a long time."

My bones have fallen apart, and I feel much better after walking around for two times." He took the hot tea from his daughter, drank two sips, and comforted his daughter, "It is not difficult to grow cotton, but there are some skills in weaving, printing and dyeing. Heng

Brother, I have worked hard to build a cotton business, how can I be taken advantage of in vain..."

Princess Fukang felt relieved again when she thought that the colorful fabrics launched this time were more colorful and beautiful than Shu Brocade and Yun Brocade.

The old emperor made a rough calculation in his mind and said, "If the cotton sales are so good, the court will be able to generate more than 20 million yuan in taxes next year, and then the money will be much better."

Hearing this, Princess Fukang felt a pang in her heart. The 20 million tax her father talked about was 600,000 yuan, but she said, "Dad, the tax of 10 to 2 is too high. Why don't we lower it?"

I think it’s about right if the tax is reduced to 10%.”

The old emperor smiled and did not answer his daughter's words. He thought that if his health was not good, he would have to take the cotton cloth back to the official camp despite the risk of rebellion by the nobles.

He could imagine that his next successor would definitely take this step as long as he was firmly seated on the throne. An industry whose annual income exceeded all the taxes of the imperial court, if left unchecked, he would not be able to sleep well at night.

The next day, it was a holiday. During breakfast, Qi's father mentioned that the family hadn't gone out to relax for a long time and suggested that they go to Fanlou to have a meal in the evening.

"I heard from my colleagues that Fan Lou has recently hired several famous Sichuan chefs, and the dishes they cook are very delicious."

Princess Pingning nodded. The family hadn't gone out for a long time.

Seeing his father looking at him, Wang Lidong nodded in agreement.

At this time, chili peppers had not yet been introduced to the Central Plains from South America. Without chili peppers, Sichuan cuisine would lose half of its soul.

Wang Lidong and Fugui on the side gave some instructions to the trading company to pay attention to the information about peppers. If they can get the seeds, spicy hot pot will be available in winter...

Qi's mother said, "Heng'er, is Brother Xuan attracted to the sixth girl of the Sheng family?"

Wang Lidong nodded and asked curiously, "How did mother know?"

Qi Mu said,

"Yesterday, your aunt suddenly came to the door and asked about the sixth girl of the Sheng family."

Just as Wang Lidong was waiting to inquire about his aunt's impression of Sheng Minglan, Fugui came into the room and walked to his side, whispering, "Sir, someone from the palace is here."

"Who's coming?"

"Master Liang."

Wang Lidong complained to his parents, came to the front hall, cupped his hands and said, "Master Liang, long time no see, you are getting richer and richer."

As he habitually handed over a hundred-yuan silver note, Liang Daguan said with a smile, "Young Master is so polite. I think it won't be a bad thing if the official asks you to come to the palace right away."

Not a bad thing, but probably not a good thing either.

After half a stick of incense, Wang Lidong walked into the Zichen Palace. The old emperor seemed to be in good health and was sitting at a desk, reading the memorial.

"The humble minister Qi Heng pays his respects to Your Majesty."

The old emperor didn't even raise his head, "Brother Heng, bring a chair."

Wang Lidong cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After reading the memorial in his hand, the old emperor took Wang Lidong and asked about various aspects of the cotton trading company, from cotton planting to cotton printing, dyeing and sales.

When he saw 64 spindles, he looked surprised and said, "In other words, one hydraulic textile machine can be worth 64 textile machines?"

Wang Lidong nodded and said, "Our workshop operates non-stop production 12 hours a day. To be precise, one machine can be worth more than 100 textile machines."

"Is this textile machine, like the bearing, difficult to imitate?"

"Several key components of textile machines can currently only be produced by Sihai's iron-making workshops."

"Are your textile machines for sale?"

Wang Lidong shook his head, "We don't even have enough for ourselves, and we won't sell it to anyone else in the short term!"

The textile machine and cotton dyeing process are the core competitiveness of the cotton trading company. If it is sold to outsiders, how can he make money from the cotton business, and how can he deceive the gang of bastards who want to steal his small money.

The old emperor nodded, as expected. Thinking of the sales of cotton cloth this year, the sales of linen cloth would definitely be greatly affected, and he was immediately worried. As a result, many farm women would lose an income.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In ancient agricultural society, "men farmed and women weaved" was the standard life style. Although commerce was developed in the Song Dynasty, the economic foundation was still agriculture, so "men farmed and read"

"Women's weaving is natural." Apart from tending the farmland, civilian women would weave some linen at home in their spare time, which not only can supplement the household income, but can also deduct taxes. Nowadays, cotton is very popular, and the experience of linen is not good.

, but the extremely expensive fabrics sold will definitely have no market.

Wang Lidong said, "Your Majesty, Sihai Cotton Trading Co., Ltd. now has four production workshops and has hired a number of weavers. Ninety-nine percent of them are civilian women, mostly from Bianjing and the surrounding areas."

The old emperor was surprised and asked, "Why did you recruit so many weavers?"

According to what Qi Heng said just now, a textile machine can produce about 250 kilograms a day. However, the cotton output of Sihai Trading Co., Ltd. this year is only about 40,000 kilograms. Four textile workshops have one point, and each workshop only needs 3,000 people.

Weaver.

Wang Lidong said, "Seven to eighty percent of them are 'day laborers' who only work once every two or three days, or can only work half a day a day..."

The old emperor asked, "What is the average monthly salary of a textile worker? How much can a 'day laborer' earn in a month?"

Wang Lidong said, "The piece-rate payment system we implement means the more you work, the more you get. If you can work for a full month, your monthly salary will be 6 guan on average. For 'part-time workers', most of them will be 1 or 2 guan."

The old emperor nodded happily, turned to Liang Daguan and said, "You all stand down."

Officer Liang bowed down to accept the order, and soon only the old emperor and Wang Lidong were left in the entire hall.

The old emperor said, "You have done a good job in Fukang's affairs. What reward do you want?"

Wang Lidong cupped his hands and said, "Princess Fukang and the student have known each other since childhood. They are as close as brother and sister. Now that I can help her, the student is very happy. And it is only a trivial matter. The teacher is too indifferent."

Nonsense!

The old emperor glanced at Qi Heng and said, "You really don't want a reward? Then do I take it seriously?"

Wang Lidong looked around and said, "Your Majesty, if the students remember correctly, in ten days, Princess Baoshou will 'capture Zhou', and at the beginning of next month, it will be Princess Yongshou's turn to 'capture Zhou'."

"

The old emperor felt warm in his heart when he thought of the two little cotton-padded jackets. He didn't expect that when he was about to leave, God would give him two big gifts. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time left. He lamented that he couldn't bear to watch his two daughters grow up.

I can't help but feel sad...

"Brother Heng, I want to ask you something..."

Wang Lidong stood up and bowed deeply, saying, "Teacher, please give me your instructions."

The old emperor said quietly, "After I pass away, if Yongshou and Baoshou are not living well, if you can help, please lend a hand..."

Wang Lidong said, "Teacher, the two princesses are princesses of the Song Dynasty, and they are under the care of the free royal family..."

The old emperor waved his hands and said, "Most of the princesses in my dynasty are not taken seriously. When Yongshou and Baoshou grow up, they will definitely find a consort casually, give them a dowry of thousands of dollars, and send them out of the palace."

Wang Lidong secretly curled his lips and thought that his daughter could live in the palace until adulthood. What you think is very beautiful. According to history, after the death of this emperor, Song Yingzong immediately drove Renzong's three daughters out of the palace and destroyed their palaces after he ascended the throne.

He gave his daughter a place to live, deducted Princess Fukang's salary, ignored her even if she was abused by the consort, and laid off Fukang's servants, leaving her with no one to take care of her when she was bedridden.

Seeing a flash of ridicule in Qi Heng's eyes, the old emperor felt a little unhappy and asked, "Brother Heng doesn't seem to agree with my idea?"

Wang Lidong raised his hands and said, "Teacher, I have lived in the palace for decades. What do you think of the palace?"

The old emperor thought for a while and replied, "It's a bit boring and a bit crowded."

The imperial palace of the Han Dynasty had three relatively large palaces, namely Weiyang Palace with 4.6 square kilometers, Jianzhang Palace with 5 square kilometers, and Changle Palace with 6.6 square kilometers.

The imperial palace of the Tang Dynasty, the Daming Palace covers an area of ​​3.5 square kilometers, and the Shangyang Palace in Luoyang, the eastern capital, covers an approximate area of ​​about 8 million square meters (i.e. 8 square kilometers).

Bianliang City was developed from a state city in the Tang Dynasty. The predecessor of the Imperial Palace of the Song Dynasty was just the seat of the Jiedushi, with an area of ​​only 1.1 square kilometers.

During Taizong's period, he wanted to expand, but he encountered a problem - demolition! At that time, Taizong asked officials to consult residents within the scope of demolition and land acquisition, but most of the residents were unwilling to move. Due to his reputation, Song Taizong

I didn't dare to carry out forced demolition, so I had to give up in the end.

Wang Lidong cupped his hands and said, "The palace of my emperor is very small, and the teacher's family lives in a very crowded place. I would like to say something disrespectful to the students, but after the new emperor ascends the throne, there will not be enough room for two families in such a small palace. We cannot let the princess

, the concubines should live in one room in twos and threes.

At that time, there are only two choices. It is definitely impossible for the new emperor to let his princess and concubine live outside the palace... Then the only choice is to grievances against the teacher's family and move out of the palace."
To be continued...