New Shun 1730

"Mi Tie?"

Of course Liu Yu knew what this thing was, but after so many years, it was rare to see such a capitalist-looking person who was indescribably "kind", so he pretended to be suspicious.

The woman also became excited, nodded repeatedly and said: "The weavers all called for a break, and they only said that the price of rice is one tael. If it is less than one tael, they won't mention it. But if it is more than one tael, the price of rice will be limited." For every penny higher in price, a certain amount of money should be given to them to support their families.”

"But when the price of rice was cheap, they didn't say, oh, Master, the price of rice is cheap, and our wages will be reduced."

"Junhou, tell me, where can I find reason for this?"

"In recent years, Nanyang rice and Dongyang wheat have become more abundant, and the price of food in Songjiang Prefecture is also low, which saves money on rice subsidies."

"If food becomes more expensive, we won't be able to survive. We will have to pay them high wages. If we don't give them rice subsidies, we will cause trouble."

"It's time for the imperial court to take charge. I've long heard that the weavers in Suzhou Prefecture were causing trouble, and the imperial court erected an inscription permanently banning Qi Xing and calling for rest. If you ask me, the imperial court should also come to Songjiang Prefecture to take care of it. If they encounter any troublemakers again, arrest them. The last few, I also told them to be honest.”

Liu Yuxin said that when the court handled the strike in Suzhou, they all committed the major crime of "controlling the market." According to the total increase in wages of all strikers and the level of theft, several leaders were severely punished.

But this Songjiang Mansion, looking at this posture, didn't seem to say that the government would come forward, which made these sprouts quite unhappy.

But if we really talk about it, if the country wants to engage in export trade, reducing costs is also part of the policy.

But it is absolutely nonsense to say that Suzhou Prefecture’s permanent ban on collective strikes in the same industry is called Xiebei - which means the permanent ban on collective strikes in the same industry - because the court realized that factors such as import and export trade, mercantilism, and handicraft costs were involved. .

If the people in the imperial court could think so much, then this great success would not have made Liu Yu feel helpless.

For now, whether it is labor costs, wages, or handicraft efficiency, there is no need to over-press weavers in Dashun to ensure competitiveness.

The silk industry and cotton industry in India did put a lot of pressure on Dashun, but Liu Yu wanted to destroy the industries there. Overall, the problem is not big, the pressure is not too great, and there is absolutely no need to squeeze the weavers to reduce costs.

He did not take up the topic of the imperial government's policy of permanently banning strikes, but asked: "In your opinion, what do these weavers think of the price of grain? Do they support or oppose the liberalization of imports of rice and wheat?"

The woman was dismissed by Liu Yu and did not dare to mention it again. She hurriedly said: "When we return to Junhou, the weavers are naturally looking forward to lower food prices. If the food prices are expensive, other things will also be expensive. . Even if there are some rice stickers, they are not enough.”

"As for us, we are really looking forward to cheaper food prices. Firstly, we can save rice stamps, and secondly, we can do some chores with less money."

"When the cotton is picked, the young master's family thinks that the cotton is wrapped in cotton bags. But they don't know that it still has to go through processes such as removing seeds, selecting, and rolling strips, and finally it can be spun into threads. , and then we can weave.”

"If the price of food is low, the cotton-rolling workers can be hired for less money, and it will be cheaper for us to get the finished cotton."

"Food prices in Songjiang Prefecture have been low in the past few years, so our business has been getting better and better. In the past, we relied on Jinghou's troops, and we will continue to rely on them in the future. I'm afraid that the price of food will be expensive in the future, and we can't It’s hard to do.”

The woman spoke the truth and thanked Liu Yu from the bottom of her heart. Fortunately elsewhere, the industrial and commercial practitioners in Songjiang Prefecture have indeed received the greatest benefit from Dashun's external expansion in recent years.

Fighting in the northwest really has little to do with Songjiang Prefecture. Not only did they not get any benefit, but their taxes were used instead.

But when it comes to attacking Japan and Nanyang, they really saw and got the benefits.

The land in Japan cannot grow cotton. In the past, Dutch woolen fabrics were sold well in Japan, but how about cotton from Matsue Prefecture?

After Sweden cooperated with Dashun, smuggling became more and more popular. A large amount of cotton cloth was smuggled to Europe and the United States, and sales increased a lot.

Now that Nanyang has been conquered again, Songjiang Prefecture knows that Nanyang is rich in spices and rice. After eating Nanyang rice for so many years and conquering Nanyang, for them, at least one thing is certain. In the future, the price of rice in Songjiang Prefecture will no longer be four or five taels of silver per stone.

I was originally worried that due to the Nanyang heat, the locals would not wear clothes. Who would have thought that a large number of Nanyang people have come to Songjiang Mansion in the past few days. Not only do they wear clothes, but they also seem to wear a lot.

Because of this, the woman had to spend all the money she had saved at home and asked her husband to buy eighty looms.

These external expansion matters were of course led by Liu Yu, and they all knew about it. It is not false to say that it is a festival to worship, such as setting up a shrine.

Of course, the handicraft industry in Songjiang Prefecture alone cannot satisfy the external market. The industry and commerce in surrounding states have also benefited a lot. It's just that Songjiang Prefecture is close to the water, first come first, and is located at the lowermost reaches of the Yangtze River, at the mouth of the sea, and where Dashun's "pig pen" financial capital is located. The feeling is obviously much deeper than elsewhere.

Seeing the woman's cheerful words, Liu Yu said with a smile: "Actually, it might not be a bad thing for weavers to be paid on a piece-rate basis. If they were paid on a piece-rate basis, they would do more and earn more. Isn't it the same for you? In the future, you will be taking out food. There are more things, and your good days are yet to come. If they do more, won’t you also make more?”

This woman was also smart. After hearing what Liu Yu said, she said, "Your Excellency is right. In fact, I was also happy when I gave them money. The more money I gave them, the more money I earned."

"But, there is one more thing we want to ask the Whale Lord. This flying shuttle came from the West, and it made weaving more than twice as fast, so the yarn supply was insufficient. I wonder if there is anything like this flying shuttle in the West that can make the spinning speed one or two times faster?"

Liu Yu shook his head, thinking that this thing has ideas, but the prototype Jenny machine is not suitable for Songjiang Prefecture at all.

That is the cotton thread used for blending cotton, linen and wool. It is too thin and too easy to break for pure cotton cloth. The cotton cloth on the Dashun side cannot use that thing.

In addition, the cotton species of Dashun now have too short fibers and are not suitable for preliminary mechanization. A large-scale cotton species replacement is needed, at least until Zhu Yuanzhang promotes cotton planting.

However, there is also a benefit here, which is that it can greatly promote Dashun's overseas expansion.

India produces cotton. Once the textile industry in Dashun and Jiangnan continues to develop, there will be a new class supporting the expansion of India.

Now the emperor listened to Liu Yu's instigation and tried to take action against India. It has nothing to do with trade and raw materials.

Instead, he was attracted by India's land tax and head tax. In addition, he felt that India was now in a period of chaos among the governors. Three to five thousand people could take over a large area. If people were sent to collect taxes, how could it not be equal to the tax of multiple Henan provinces in one year?

If there is the support of this new class, and the power of these emerging classes gradually grows, it will be easier to expand in the direction of India.

If it is possible to ensure that the cotton from India is shipped back to the country, and then use the package purchase system and the sub-contract system to distribute it to the women in each household to spin it into thread, this can slowly disintegrate the small peasant economy in the Jiangnan region, and it will not cause a huge impact.

The difference is that originally spinning and weaving were done by themselves. In addition to being self-sufficient, the surplus was sold to supplement the family income.

Now, spinning is not mechanized, and is left to small farmers to make a living; while weaving was mechanized earlier, allowing the handicraft factories here to be upgraded to real factories.

A water-powered or steam-powered loom is definitely easier to make than a fine spinning machine.

Of the two processes of spinning and weaving, weaving is easier to mechanize.

After a little calculation, as long as we get the cotton-producing areas in India, or use the method of disintegrating the original economic system of India to create a cotton-producing area, and ship Indian cotton back to the country, spinning can maintain the handicraft industry to maintain the small farmers from rebellion for the time being, and weaving mechanization is export-oriented. According to the current situation, it seems that there is a way to go.

Who is suffering here?

The suffering is still the weavers who work for the machine owners now. Once the machine appears, the value of handicraft technology will drop sharply, and the wages will be lower. If you don’t work, you can choose to work or not. If you don’t work, you can change people.

It will be used as a metaphor in the future.

The weavers who work for the machine owners now are programmers, not just anyone on the street; once weaving is mechanized, weavers will become bricklayers on the construction site, and anyone with hands can do it.

Just like the scientific research community is the best at understanding the medieval guild system in later generations. The foundation determines the superstructure.

The last time the weavers in Suzhou Prefecture went on strike, they all called for a break, although the government also stepped in to deal with it.

But the weavers have won half of the battle, at least their wages have increased, they have wine money every spring and autumn, and they have benefits during the New Year. Because they have skills, this job is not something that anyone can do.

After the initial mechanization, I'm afraid it will be that easy. Either a picket team will be formed to kill the first scab to ensure unity; or they can only work if they like, and get out if they don't.

So the key to this matter is to divide and disintegrate.

First, weavers, those who make a living by spinning will not speak out, because they spin but not weave; then weavers, those who twiddle cotton will not speak out, because they twiddle but not spin, and weavers have been eliminated...

Rely on the method of division and disintegration, and defeat each one separately, and eliminate them one by one before the handicraftsmen are fully impacted by machines.

Divide the uprising and resistance into waves and defeat them in batches. This should be easier than a full-scale attack.

Thinking of this, Liu Yu said: "Although there is no means to spin several times faster for the time being, there are means to weave faster, even faster than the shuttle. And it seems that it does not require dexterity, and ordinary people can do it."

"It's just that the court is worried that if this happens, it may deprive the common people of their jobs, so it has not been released. But in your opinion, if there is really a machine that can speed up weaving several times, how many machine owners in Songjiang Prefecture are willing to buy it?"

The woman thought about it, hesitated, and didn't know what to say.

After a long while, Liu Yu saw that she was hesitant to speak, so he said, "Just say it."

"My Lord, this machine that makes weaving several times faster and does not require skilled hands, if it really exists, we would certainly like to use it. But in the end, it still depends on the attitude of the court towards 'walking in unison'. If the court does not care, we really dare not use it. Just say that this new loom modified from the flying shuttle has caused some trouble. If it is several times faster and does not require skilled hands, I am afraid that the matter will be more serious. If the court wants to care, how can we not dare to use it?"

Liu Yu nodded, and also understood the concerns of these new classes.

This has always been the administrative style of Dashun. Although the problems of landlords and farmers were dealt with before, this style still made these new classes a little scared.

When Dashun was founded, it did compromise. But compromise is not a complete surrender, and it still did something in some matters.

At least, the slave soldiers in Jiangnan and the farm soldiers in Ruijin all joined the Dashun later.

Even if they shouted the slogan of protecting the world and reached a compromise with the gentry in Jiangnan, they would not come up with the slogan of equal distribution of land and exemption of grain that made Emperor Taizu die in Jiugong Mountain, but it was only a compromise rather than surrender.

Although it was not done thoroughly, the policy of Dashun in the early stage was indeed biased towards small farmers.

However, due to the war in the late Ming Dynasty, a large number of people died and a large amount of land was ownerless, which eased the contradictions, and a proper bias would not cause a big mess.

If a traditional "honest and upright master" was really replaced, the landlord and the peasant's affairs would naturally be biased towards the peasant; but the same is true for the employees and employers.

The incident of Qixing's call for a rest in Suzhou Prefecture and the incident that might be caused by the power loom are by no means the same thing.

Moreover, the former dealt with the machine owner and the weaver, who actually felt that the court did not do a good job.

Because the weavers hope that, not only will the weavers be completely banned, but also that the weavers’ conditions should not be agreed to; while the weavers hope that the court will not only support them and let the weavers agree to their conditions, but also support them.

However, Dashun was a product of the irreconcilable contradictions between landlords and peasants, and the contradictions of the emerging class could only be dealt with by a compromise - the ruling class of Dashun was neither the weavers nor the weavers.

This made the weavers, as the emerging grassroots, worry that if they really made machines in the future and caused trouble such as smashing machines, the court would still compromise, and they would not dare to use it.

Merchants are not gentry.

In the Celestial Empire, it is legitimate to say "rule the world with the literati and officials", which is also politically correct and cannot be criticized.

But if you say "rule the world with merchants and weavers, not with the common people and weavers", this is absolutely politically wrong and will be criticized to death.

Liu Yu couldn't make a clear statement on this point, saying that you just do it, and if someone really destroys the machine in the future, I will be responsible for armed suppression.

But if he doesn't give a clear attitude, these people will probably have more concerns.

With the development of industry and commerce in Songjiang Prefecture, many contradictions have arisen.

Just like the issue of grain prices, this is a contradiction between the two groups of the times, landlords and peasants, and capitalists and hired workers.

And the issue of Qi Xing's attitude towards the court is a contradiction "inside" between the two emerging classes of capitalists and hired workers.

The machine owners in Songjiang Prefecture want to know, in the face of these new contradictions in the future, who will the court side with?