Just when Gan Yong occupied Jiujiang and cut off the trade between Chu Chuang and Su, Chang, Hu and Songsi in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, a group of Chu gentry headed by Geng Yingqu stepped up their business of "localizing" cotton cloth.
In a very short period of time, Geng Yingqu and other gentry and merchants took advantage of the workshop land originally opened by the Chuang Army to prepare Yangwulan and built cotton workshops nearby.
Within a few months, houses were built one after another. After the Han River surged down from the upper reaches of Xiangyang and flowed into the Yangtze River, the water flow slowed down slightly. When it reached Wuchang, the water network was greatly criss-crossed. Water power was available everywhere in Chu.
It is a pity that Li Laiheng is not in Wuchang now. Otherwise, even without Li Laiheng's advice, just Fang Yiren, Fang Yizhi and other wise men who were familiar with Western learning could have helped Chu Chuang build a large hydraulic workshop in Wuchang.
Having said that, the local gentry are not fools. What's more, there have been Western Jesuit missionary activities in the Wuchang Prefecture area. Even Zhang Guang, who supervised the manufacture of red cannons in Chu Chuangzhong, was a Catholic influenced by the Jesuits.
He knows a lot about Western classics.
In the past, Baijiuhe had supervised the construction of waterwheels used to manufacture weapons and armor in Suizhou. Now Geng Yingqu has imitated such facilities and transplanted them to Wuchang. It can use the hydraulic power of the Yangtze River water network to speed up the cotton cloth workshop.
production speed.
Dark blue dye and light cotton poured out along the Yangtze River amidst the working sounds of textile machines and dyeing workshops. The army of Chuangjun was already a huge market, and Geng Yingqu produced
The cotton cloth can be immediately processed into cotton clothes and cotton shoes, and then transported to the north with the army.
Originally, the invading troops from Huguang and Henan provinces were moving northward in a steady stream. They also had to transport a huge amount of military supplies during their journey northward. Now they also brought a lot of cotton clothes and shoes from Wuchang, saving Geng Yingqu's travel.
Difficulties in transportation.
After arriving in North China, these winter clothes could immediately play a huge role in protecting the soldiers from the cold and demonstrating the success and gains of the invading army in governing the place.
For the soldiers of the Chuang Army, winter clothes can have a direct and obvious effect of keeping out the cold. For other military attachés from the former Ming Dynasty who had just defected to the Chuang Army during the Northern Expedition, the large amount of cotton clothes and cotton cloth shipped with the army,
It also makes them believe more and more in some rumors on the road.
Recently, there have long been legends that Mr. Li led the army of benevolence and righteousness, and managed the Three Chus, which was impressive. Some storytellers spread the success of Chu's management everywhere, and there were rumors everywhere that "the Three Chus are the paradise of foreigners" and "the Chu land is peaceful and stable"
, there are rumors that the city is more prosperous than in peacetime.
Of course, these messages are public opinion propaganda work carried out consciously by the Red Team system headed by Liu Jingting. However, there are some real elements in them. After all, after Li Laiheng completely eliminated and surrendered the Zuo Liangyu Group, the Hubei area has enjoyed a long period of prosperity.
A period of peace and stability.
New systems such as breaking into military camp fields, militia, and judicial promotion of officials were used to govern the three states of Chu. The camp schools and township official schools were also accelerating the training of grassroots township officials who could be used.
There is certainly something to behold in the rural administration of Chu Chuang.
In addition to these rural officials, the Jiefu Examination in charge of Xie Mingxian also selected a large number of down-and-out scholars. Except for some of these people who were absorbed by Gu Junen into the Army Joining Department, they followed the army northward and participated in the arduous Battle of Boye City Defense.
, and a considerable number of them stayed in Hubei to study government affairs with Chen Kexin.
At this time, Chen Kexin had completely taken over the work of the capital camp envoy previously held by Bai Wang, and the reform of the camp system was in full swing on a wider scale.
Under such a new situation, in addition to the mature and reliable grassroots township officials that Chu Chuang had trained himself, Chu Chuang also needed a considerable number of middle-level officials.
The middle- and lower-class literati of the former Ming Dynasty who were selected by the Jiefu examination, after a period of tempering in grassroots government affairs, became like their predecessor Chen Kexin, either holding important positions in the camp system, or slowly working in various places.
The position of county magistrate and state pastoralist.
These officials may not be die-hard fellow travelers of the Chuang Army, but when the current situation is stable and the new system of the Chuang Army is consolidated, it will be difficult for them to do anything detrimental to the Chuang Army regime, or even think about it.
If you are greedy for money, you have neither the courage nor the opportunity.
What's more, the Chuang army is still in a harsh period of war, and they are pursuing a right-wing military policy from top to bottom. In order to recruit reinforcements to go north, half of the Chu area has been formed into military camps. From Guojun Town downwards, military commanders at all levels have been divided into prefectures, states, and counties.
, holds a lot of real power.
In some prefectures and counties adjacent to areas under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, there were many military generals who used military law to control civil servants. Occasionally, news came that military generals were taking illegal civil servants to the capital.
However, when the Chuang army governed the three Chu states, they did not completely suppress the local gentry, students, and literati. As the Chuchuang regime became increasingly consolidated in Hubei, Chen Xin, the military governor of Jingxiang, first went to the Confucian Temple in Xiangyang to worship Confucius.
Some new policies to provide relief to poor students have been introduced one after another.
Over this period of time, the climate in Hubei has also improved. Although there have been floods, there have been no major droughts. Thanks to the efforts of Bai Wang and others, the floods have not spread into major disasters.
Cao Benrong was enjoying a good harvest and was serving in the army under Gu Junen. His cousin Liu Zizhuang, a member of the Huangzhou Juren family, was serving as a camp envoy at the time. When he went to Anlu to report on the harvest, he passed by a large field of crops and happily wrote "Lu Mu"
The poem "The law of science and rent is the most amazing, the soldiers are well fed with animal fat and the soldiers and the people are happy".
The soldiers and the people are at peace with each other, the soldiers and horses are in peace and contentment, the captive soldiers are suppressed externally, and the people are safe internally. This has laid an extremely favorable environmental foundation for the great success of the workshop owners such as Geng Yingqu.
This time, the navy of Guo Junzhen wanted to move eastward to seize Jiujiang, and Geng Yingqu sensed business opportunities again. He specially asked Zeng to write an inscription for Wuchang Cotton Workshop (the inscription is "Heaven rewards those who work hard," but the inscription is a bit ugly.)
Gao Yigong, the envoy of Wuyue Jiedu, introduced him, and finally he was able to meet General Guo, who was in charge of the army in Chuzhong.
As soon as he saw Guojun Town, Geng Yingqu immediately seized the opportunity to talk business and sell Wuchang's tung oil, hemp rope, iron nails, and even winter gloves to the sailors on the ship to Guojun Town.
Frost.
Guo Junzhen is a master of military affairs, but not a master of business. This situation only made Guo Junzhen feel ridiculous and absurd. He even thought about whether Geng Yingqu's behavior was considered a gentleman's idea.
Want to win over and corrupt yourself?
Fortunately, Gao Yigong was there to explain, so the perverse Guo Junzhen did not suddenly order Geng Yingqu to be locked up on the spot.
Gao Yigong knew a lot about Geng Yingqu's business situation during this period. He originally attached great importance to understanding the living conditions of the jute gentry, and he also had some knowledge of Geng Yingqu, a notoriously honest man.
After learning about the rumors that Geng Yingqu was selling goods and doing business, and even ended up building a workshop in Wuchang, Gao Yigong remembered the appearance of this honest man whom he had met several times in Suizhou, and was suddenly curious.
He went to the workshop to visit Geng Yingqu many times.
After going back and forth, Gao Yigong felt that the cotton business had great potential, and Geng Yingqu's thoughts and ideas were worthy of promotion. The profits of cotton cloth were second to those who had lost their land income due to the farming system.
A suitable way out, and another thing that is extremely beneficial to the army.
After Li Laiheng slowly tightened the limited land interest income of the gentry in Chuzhong, some people even found themselves in a situation where their lives were not secure. How could they not become hostile to the Chu Chuang regime when they were desperate?