When leaving Daishan Island, Zheng Haizhu took the initiative to ask Yan Siqi to bring this kimono with him. He was waiting for this moment today.
She wanted to test Han Ximeng's cognitive accumulation and judgment to further understand the level of her first master in this world.
Zheng Haizhu then studied Han Ximeng's face and pretended to be surprised: "Ah, does the lady recognize this kind of clothes? Why does it look strange? It turns out to be a Japanese pirate's?"
Han Ximeng glanced at her and reassured her: "Why are you nervous? Those who wear such clothes may not necessarily be Japanese, let alone Japanese pirates. In fact, except for the Japanese chaos in the north at the time of Emperor Hongwu, we were really Japanese. Later, under Emperor Jiajing, we
Many of the leaders of the Japanese rebellion here were originally maritime merchants and citizens of the Ming Dynasty like us."
Han Ximeng calmly unfolded the kimono completely, while admiring the "painted feather" embroidery on it, he spoke in a slow tone.
"Azhu, you are from Fujian and have some connections. The people in Songjiang Prefecture and Ningbo Prefecture don't know the whole story.
During the reign of Hongzhi and Zhengde, the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese state maintained tribute trade, and there were ships surveyed and dispatched every year. Later, not long after Emperor Jiajing came to the throne, a big incident occurred in the Ningbo Shipping Department. Two large merchants from the Japanese state were involved.
Because he bribed Lai En, the eunuch of the Shipping Department, a fight broke out, which affected the people of Ningbo. In anger, the imperial court stopped exploring and cooperating with the Japanese country.
Just at that time, Japan discovered silver mines and was about to ask me to buy a lot of goods from China. Hui merchants from the Ming Dynasty also traveled to southern Zhili and along the coast of Zhejiang.
If you can't succeed in maritime trade, you become a pirate. There are also those honest fishermen on the seaside who originally relied on fishing to make a living. With the ban on maritime trade, their livelihood has been cut off, so they can only become pirates."
What Zheng Haizhu heard from Han Ximeng was indeed different from the superficial explanations of the Japanese Rebellion in later generations, and was quite similar to the writings of some professional historians.
She then inquired: "So, Miss, what you are saying is that the Japanese rebellion does not all mean that the Japanese came to plunder our coastal people in ships just like the Huns plundered the people in the Central Plains in the past?"
Han Ximeng raised his eyes and looked at her: "There are some Japanese pirates who have no conscience, burn, kill, and plunder. But for more Japanese fleets, even if the sailors are Japanese, the shipowners are also Hui merchants, Zhejiang merchants, and Fujian merchants, such as that one
The great pirate Wang Zhi was from Huizhou.
They were eyeing the Japanese silver, but the imperial court refused to open the sea for business, so they naturally wanted to wreak havoc along the coast without any plan. Fortunately, after Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Longqing opened the customs, and there were also French people in Haojing (referring to Macau).
Robots do business.
The pirates of our Ming Dynasty have returned to being maritime merchants, and the people are finally at peace. Over the years, I have heard from my second uncle that although the Japanese country cannot directly trade with our Ming Dynasty, they can still get white money by dealing with the Franji people.
Spend a lot of money on Ming Dynasty goods."
Zheng Haizhu curled his lips and pretended to be helpless and said: "Isn't that just letting the Franji people earn a fortune in vain? Just open a shipping company in our Songjiang Prefecture and let the Japanese send ships to bring the money and transport the goods.
Wouldn't it be better if we could make a fortune?"
Han Ximeng laughed and said: "You think too simply. Our Ming Dynasty does not only have a group of Hui merchants, nor does it only have Songjiang. The two prefectures of Ningbo are close to the sea. If the advantages are taken by South Zhili and Zhejiang, Hao
Over in Macao, over in Yuegang, Fujian, and even among the capital, from ministers to eunuchs and husbands, if the meat in the bowl is poached, don't you fight to the death?"
When Zheng Haizhu heard this, he already had a rough idea of Han Ximeng's attitude.
She is indeed a very knowledgeable lady, and many of the vulgar ladies in Songjiang are far from being able to match her.
Zheng Haizhu then stepped forward and stroked the "painted feather" on the kimono, and said in a speculative tone: "When the lady said this, I have to guess that this family is selling goods across the sea privately."
Han Ximeng said with a smile: "Maybe, just ignore this for now and just come back. Ah Zhu, I particularly care about this dress because I like the embroidery on it. You see, this is Tang Song, the Japanese embroidery method.
, is a trocar technique, with complex shades, like painting rendered with ink and water. That day I was thinking about how to express the light and dark colors of mountains and rocks during embroidery, and seeing the karamsong on this Japanese dress today was very inspiring."
Han Ximeng talked about the large piece of "Huiyu" and sometimes said sincerely, "I didn't expect the embroidery of the Japanese country to be so advanced."
Zheng Haizhu listened carefully and sometimes added some suggestions from the perspective of the "Zhangrong" technique that he was familiar with.
It wasn't until he had finished thinking about the kimono that Zheng Haizhu took out a few paper tubes from another bag. They were the Japanese ukiyo-e paintings that Yan Siqi had asked for.
She spread the paintings on the table and said to Han Ximeng: "Miss, I saw these landscape paintings at that house, so I negotiated with the kind housekeeper to bring back a few of them."
Han Ximeng is familiar with painting. When he saw the brushwork and coloring style, he was sure: "This is not the paint from the Jiangnan area. The painting style is even more different from ours. It should be a Japanese painting. But..."
Han Ximeng picked up the ukiyo-e and said thoughtfully: "I heard from my second uncle that the Franji people in Macau, as well as the Hongmaofan (referring to the Dutch) who have crossed the sea to grab business in recent years,
I like Japanese paintings very much. By the way, our missionaries from Songjiang Prefecture also came to ask if we could weave patterns on Songjiang cloth."
Zheng Haizhu pondered: "If the loom is to weave landscape paintings or ladies' flower-and-bird paintings, whether they are paintings from the Japanese country or our paintings, the tapestry machine is fine, but it is very time-consuming and expensive. Songjiang cloth is popular for its large quantity and affordable price."
, the current fabric machines can only weave mountain-shaped, rhombus, and flying patterns. Why not, let's try embroidery."
It was past midnight, and Han Ximeng was finally tired. He yawned and said, "Okay, let's think about it slowly. Let's rest today."
Zheng Haizhu returned to her hut, lying on the couch and listening to the low hum of autumn insects outside the window, thinking about the harvest of these days.
She knew that in real history, the next three hundred years would be a three hundred years of steep decline for Chinese civilization.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! If the maritime ban during the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was just a contraction of tribute trade, then the closed-door rule of the nomadic people in the north after the change of dynasties, as well as cultural slavery and castration
, which truly destroyed the vitality of this land.
When Europe completed the Renaissance movement and when the Age of Great Navigation arrived around the world, China in the Ming Dynasty, which had mastered extremely advanced shipbuilding and ocean-going shipping technologies, originally had good cards, but unfortunately internal and external troubles came one after another, and it suffered a painful loss.
In the great era, even Japan is inferior.
Zheng Haizhu stared at the Mount Fuji, plum groves, and ocean waves in the Ukiyo-e paintings, and thought that in a few generations, the West would be deeply influenced by Japanese aesthetics. With the World Expo held, Japanese Ukiyo-e prints were sweeping across Europe. Van Gogh was deeply influenced by the Japanese painter Ge Decorating the influence of Hokusai.
Van Gogh...The Netherlands...Hong Mao Ban, Franji Ren...Ukiyo-e, feather painting, embroidered silk fabrics, Songjiang cloth...Haojing, Macao, Yuegang, Penghu Islands...
Countless concepts and images of people, maps, and goods poured into Zheng Haizhu's mind one after another, swirling and lingering like mountain winds and waves.
Let's do it step by step, every day will make a difference, and the result will not be wasted.
…
Early the next morning, Han Ximeng took Zheng Haizhu to meet his uncle and aunt.
The second master, Han Zhongwen, and the second mistress, Mrs. Qian, were quite happy to hear the reason for sending cotton cloth to the sergeants.
Han Zhongwen even slightly put down his majestic appearance as the head of the family, and said to his wife with a smile: "Ximeng has been under your knees for so long, and he has become more and more like you, thinking about things and being very organized."
Mrs. Qian couldn't help but say that our niece was talented and intelligent, and happily appointed Lao Peng, the housekeeper of the Han family, and Zheng Haizhu to handle the matter.
The two hurried to the cloth shop and called on the shop assistants to count the bundles.
Nearly a hundred pieces of diamond-checked thick cloth, plus small-width leaf sheet cloth, socks and other items, have been packed into several oxcarts, and the application time has passed.
Zheng Haizhu wiped the sweat from his face, turned around and saw a girl named Pingpingtingting standing at the door.
It was Han Ximeng's cousin, Han Xiying, the only daughter of the third family.
Lao Peng looked behind Han Xiying, but there was no sign of her mother Yang, so he was surprised and apologetic: "Why did the third lady come to the square at this hour? Oops, it's a mess here today."
Han Xiying's oval face was pink, her eyes were full of crescent moons, her starry eyes were bright, and she said softly: "Today, the teacher of the private school did not come because he was ill, so I went to play in the Jiaoyuan Poetry Club. When I came back, I passed by the cloth shop. You guys want to go to Wenzhe Are you in the academy? Just in time, I’ll go with you to see the excitement.”
"This..." Lao Peng looked embarrassed, "Third Miss, the people living in the academy are all soldiers, rough Qiu Ba, how can you, a girl, go in... No, the second master, the second grandma, and the three Grandma, you have to beat me."
Han Xiying turned her eyes and looked at Zheng Haizhu: "With Ah Zhu here, what are you afraid of? Isn't she the savior of the Jin Yiwei? I will follow Ah Zhu, and those military masters will be polite to me."
After saying that, he came up and dragged Zheng Haizhu's sleeves, with a hint of pleading in his voice: "Sister Azhu, my eldest sister said that the guard in Jinyi is very good-looking, just like Ling Zisheng in the Kun class."
Zheng Haizhu thought about it and replied: "That's it. He's not as good-looking as Ling Zisheng, nor as good-looking as the second young master of the Gu family."
Han Xiying was startled, her face turned cold, and her eyes were about to freeze.
Zheng Haizhu suddenly changed the topic and said half seriously and half jokingly: "Miss Third is addicted to drama, so let's go and see it together. I will serve Miss Third. The worst case scenario is that my salary will be deducted for another three months."
Han Xiying immediately smiled sweetly: "Sister Azhu is still happy and like a man. Since you can sneak away to Suzhou with my eldest sister and take me around Songjiang City, what's the harm?"
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, it's okay, just drink a few sips of green tea.
Just take a look, Miss Third, what is the taste of your cup today? Sweet jasmine green tea? Or sour lemon green tea?
As the housekeeper of the mansion, Lao Peng was naturally well-mannered. He knew that Zheng Haizhu was moving quickly in the mansion, so he no longer objected. He respectfully invited the third lady to get on the only bullock cart with a shed, and ordered the convoy to set off.
.
…
Nowadays, all Songjiang locals know that the Gu Mansion, with its official background, is a veritable house of good deeds.
The Gu Mansion has two courtyards in the city. One is the luxurious and beautiful house "Luxiang Garden" where he lives, and the other is specially designed for children from poor families in Huating, Shanghai, and Qingpu counties to come to study or participate.
Wenzhe Academy where he lived during the Songjiang Prefectural Examination.
Around the beginning of autumn, double-cropping rice transplanting has just been completed, and because there are a large number of cotton fields in the Songjiang area, the cotton flowering period is also between the summer heat and the white dew, so many children from poor families are still busy with farm work at home and have not yet returned to the city.
Such a large academy has dozens of dormitories, which is more than enough to accommodate Ma Xianglin's team of less than a hundred people.
When the Han government brought the cloth in, the soldiers were wiping their weapons under the eaves of the corridor.
In the golden light of the setting sun, Han Xiying's eyes were brighter than a white blade, and she immediately caught sight of Gu Shouqian, his brother-in-law-to-be, who was wearing a blue shirt and facing the wind.
"Second Young Master Gu!"
A soft call like the delicate cry of an oriole.
Gu Shouqian, who was listening to a Sichuan soldier explaining the armor-piercing power of the white-barrel gun, turned his head, was slightly stunned, and then bowed and said: "Hey, why is the third lady here too?"
Zheng Haizhu walked up with a few feet of Ye Xie cloth, and interrupted calmly: "Miss Third, the one talking to Lao Peng over there is the god-like Lord Jin Yiwei you want to see, General Ma."
Han Xiying suddenly felt resentful in her heart, but her face looked innocent and childish. She glanced at him and said calmly: "Oh, it is indeed as A-Zhu said, they are just ordinary people."
Zheng Haizhu pursed her lips and smiled, but she spat in her heart.
Extra green tea!
People who eat melons often have keen intuition, especially modern female people who eat melons like Zheng Haizhu, who have traveled to the back houses of ancient people.
Zheng Haizhu had long felt that Han Ximeng, her cousin, was much more cunning than her own mother who had the words "I am a resentful woman" brightly displayed on her forehead.
However, after all, it was not difficult for Zheng Haizhu to guess what the young girl was planning in her belly when she was only fifteen or sixteen years old.
Sure enough, Han Xiying ordered her maid to take out a light brown peach blossom paper from her schoolbag.
"Brother Gu, these are the lyrics I wrote for Kunqiang Opera with my sisters at the poetry club today. I heard that Brother Gu is good at writing lyrics. Please help us take a look."
Gu Shouqian said "Oh", took the paper, looked at it for a moment, and said kindly: "Well done."
"But I always feel that I can still change it," Han Xiying slightly frowned and asked with a thoughtful look, "Second brother, tell me, this sentence 'Across the spring river, the blue water dyes the window, the light shines, and the red apricot peeks'
"Wall', should we change it to 'Across the Spring River, the clear water clears the windows, bathing in the light, and the red apricots lean against the wall'?"
Gu Shouqian could count the number of times he had met his fiancée Han Ximeng, his cousin, on the Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival with one hand. At most, they were only at the stage where they would not recognize her face wrongly. At this moment, he really had no interest in giving advice on her style of writing.
But after all, she was her future aunt. Gu Shouqian couldn't show his lack of interest, so he could only say perfunctorily: "Each one has his or her own merits. It depends on how the singer sings."
Zheng Haizhu covered her face with a cloth and suppressed her laughter. Just when she felt so embarrassed that she could dig out three bedrooms and two living rooms with her toes on the ground, she heard an old voice behind her calling: "A Qian, whose house does this belong to?"
Thousand gold?"
Zheng Haizhu and Han Xiying turned around at the same time, and saw a little maid supporting an old woman standing behind them.