New Shun 1730

After leaving the countryside and returning to the city, the overall feeling is completely different.

This era is not good, but Songjiang Prefecture is a prosperous place, which is very different.

Liu Yu and others are going to visit some textile workshops. On the streets of Songjiang Prefecture, there are also tribute envoys from Southeast Asian countries who followed Liu Yu to Beijing this time, as well as some Western Europeans.

The former is to pay tribute and confirm the new owner of Southeast Asia; the latter smells business opportunities and hopes to fill the vacancy left by the Dutch and obtain the right to trade spices.

The emperor and the court are still very confident about the prosperity of Jiangnan.

Therefore, whenever they want to show the country's prosperity, they will let the tribute envoys or envoys stop and visit Jiangnan first, and then go north along the canal economic belt. This is a bit similar to the story of the Sui Dynasty using silk to wrap trees to decorate the facade, all for external face, but what doesn't make sense is that Dashun is really confident about the Jiangnan city at this time, not conceited, so there is no need to deliberately decorate.

In history, Macartney and later Amherst came to China under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Before refusing to open the northern ports and cede Zhoushan, they still had some morals towards the Chinese.

At least before refusing to cede Zhoushan to the British warehouse, the evaluation of the appearance of the Chinese was still acceptable, except for the subjective aesthetic evaluation that "in terms of beauty and ugliness, no Chinese woman can surpass European women". Of course, at this time, the Chinese upper class also regarded European women as ghost women, and the difference in aesthetics was too great.

He said, "Many men are majestic and powerful, with protruding muscles on their limbs, and no signs of sluggishness. I watched it carefully and couldn't help reciting Shakespeare's "The Tempest": Looking at these countless living beings, I sigh at the wonder of creation; the beauty of human beings is great, and I am happy to live in the new world. 】

Of course, in history, there were some quite unpleasant exchanges between the Qing Dynasty and Britain more than ten years before Macartney's visit to China.

The British merchant ship Lady Hughes, when firing a salute, accidentally loaded an iron bullet, killing two onlookers. According to the British, it was the local officials who boarded the ship and arrested the innocent gunners and hanged them. The British believed that this was a mistake and they had no legal responsibility and did not even have to pay compensation.

Including the unpleasantness caused by the earlier Centurion docking incident, Europe's evaluation of Chinese laws is quite negative: Chinese laws are arbitrary, brutal, and life-for-life laws of the barbarian era; they are incompatible with European views on equality, justice or humanity.

With these conflicts and conflicts of interest, some words cannot be disbelieved, nor can they be fully believed.

In short, this era is the 1740s instead of the 1790s. At this time, the scenery of the Jiangnan city of Dashun was enough to shock these outsiders.

Europeans are now enjoying the "Using China to satirize Europe" enlightenment movement that makes Liu Yu, a Dashun man, blush. Even so, these Europeans who are allowed to visit Songjiang Prefecture and prepare to go north to meet the emperor to seize the spice trade have not yet had the kind of high expectations and disappointment.

As for those small countries in Southeast Asia, they were completely shocked. Songjiang Prefecture has always been a prosperous place, and in recent years, it has encouraged industry and commerce. It is not an exaggeration to call it a model.

The people in Songjiang Prefecture did not show too much surprise at these foreigners wandering on the streets.

After Dashun had a navy and could ensure the protection of the coast, Dashun's trade center began to move north. The premise of opening up Songjiang Prefecture, or the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in the eyes of a feudal imperial unified dynasty, is to have a navy to ensure maritime safety.

Otherwise, the Western fleets will be afraid of wandering around the key points of the canal all day. The canal is the artery of the feudal empire.

The Qing Dynasty's opening of the Thirteen Hongs must be a manifestation of closed, backward and conservative.

Under the premise that the port is closed and backward, it is still a port. Why is this port chosen in Guangzhou instead of the more suitable Shanghai? There are more considerations on governance.

Dashun is not the Qing Dynasty. Dashun has an ocean-going navy, and at least at this time it can be confirmed that it is invincible east of India.

Then, for the abolition of the canal and the change to the sea, it may be said to be only a necessary but not sufficient condition; then the northward movement of the trade center, close to the handicraft center and the financial center, is an inevitable result.

Seeing more, it is not surprising.

Even the people of Songjiang Prefecture are far less curious about Westerners than those Southeast Asians.

Because even before the trade center moved north, a large number of Jesuit Catholic missionaries were in Songjiang Prefecture. The granddaughter of Xu Guangqi donated and built 130 churches around Songjiang Prefecture. They were seen almost every day. How could they feel curious?

On the contrary, those Southeast Asians were rare in Songjiang Prefecture before.

And the scene of these foreigners strolling in Songjiang Prefecture also made those who were engaged in handicrafts and textiles in Songjiang Prefecture ecstatic.

What they are happy about is not the fact that all nations are paying tribute. What does that have to do with them?

What they are happy about is that the last time the Japanese were arranged by the court to visit Songjiang Prefecture, a new chapter in trade with Japan was opened, and their cloth sales also reached a new level; the last time the Swedes visited Songjiang Prefecture, they showed the prosperity of the Celestial Empire, and their cotton cloth sales reached a new level.

Now not only Westerners are coming, but also people from Southeast Asia. With the experience of the previous times, how can they not be happy?

If the barbarians come, will the trade volume definitely increase? Will the business definitely be better than before?

There is no necessary connection between them.

Just like the classic Ryukyu tribute incident in history, merchants used the experience of the Qing Dynasty's anti-human policy of moving borders and banning seas, and believed that no matter how much goods they brought to Ryukyu to pay tribute, they would be robbed. , As a result, the goods arrived in Ryukyu and could not be sold, leading to an armed riot and demanding that the King of Ryukyu eat all the goods.

Without considering the deep-seated reasons and only looking at superficial superficial connections, it is easy to draw erroneous and empirical conclusions. This can also be regarded as the most difficult part to understand and understand thoroughly the words "taking history as a mirror".

So when Liu Yu and others entered the home of a machine owner with 120 looms, this "capitalist" was busy preparing to expand another 80 looms, preparing to welcome a wave of trade dividends and seize the opportunity of the times. wave.

After meeting Liu Yu and others, he quickly put down what he was doing and welcomed Liu Yu and others into the back hall. After serving tea and bowing, the owner kowtowed to Liu Yu repeatedly.

"To be honest, I wait for these opportunities to weave, and I will pay homage to the Jinghou during the New Year, just in case. My family originally only had seven or eight looms, but thanks to my wife's skill and good weaving skills, everyone rushed to buy the materials we woven. , accumulated some wealth.”

"At the beginning, we caught up with the construction of the navy. The woolen clothes worn by the officers were all from France. But apart from the woolen clothes, not to mention the sailors, the other military uniforms of the officers were also made of cotton from Songjiang Prefecture. Just in time for the purchase, my wife I felt that I couldn’t buy this dress just once, so I took out a loan and doubled the loom.”

"The next year, we will start a war against Japan. This Japanese country does not produce cotton cloth and does not grow cotton. After trade, cotton cloth sales are increasing. Especially the cloth from Matsue Prefecture is very popular in the Japanese country. Every year, the cargo ship to Nagasaki must purchase a lot of cotton cloth. Not only did the principal and interest of the loom purchased with this loan be paid off in two years, but it also accrued a lot of interest.”

"So I bought a few more looms. It happened that the Western method of 'flying shuttle' was introduced, which was very wonderful. After it was introduced, my wife and I made some slight changes, and weaved more and more cloths. I am now well off, and I have a hundred and twenty looms, all thanks to the power of Marquis Jing."

"I'll always pay homage to you, it's really sincere."

After being praised by the generals, Liu Yu wiped away the powerlessness he felt when he was in the countryside. He was in a good mood and laughed loudly and said: "So, the head of your family is your wife. I see that the textile industry in Songjiang Prefecture is getting more and more developed. From now on, women’s speech becomes more serious.”

"If you are rich, your wife and daughter are usually skilled in spinning and weaving, and if they sell well, they can buy looms, become a loom shop, and hire mechanics."

"If you are poor, if a woman can make money by spinning and weaving, shouldn't she have to be tough at home? If she really can't survive, she will leave. With her ability to weave, what else is there to fear?"

"I think in Songjiang Mansion, women will hold up half of the sky in the future, and men will have to remain submissive compared to other places."

"Since he has such knowledge, he is also a heroine, and he is not inferior to such an ordinary man. Why don't you come out and see me? I have something I want to ask, so you don't have to be surprised. It's just about business, business, and textiles. "

Na Jihu hurriedly said: "The Marquis Jing is joking, what's so surprising about this? Songjiang Mansion is no different from other places, there are quite a lot of female mechanics, and there aren't many rules when they gather together to do things. But according to the rules, women should avoid it." , I’m afraid of bumping into you sirs, so I’ll go look for you now.”

Not long after, a middle-aged woman in her thirties or forties came slowly.

She wasn't pretty. She wore a silk skirt and a little bit of powder, but it wasn't too heavy.

At first glance, it turned out that he was someone who usually dealt with people in the business world. He was not afraid. He said a lot of flattering words after meeting him.

Liu Yu had experience in rural surveys, and at this time he quite understood Sir Humphrey's words: If the government does not know the results in advance, there should be no public opinion polls.

In rural areas, if you ask about food prices, you will definitely get a bad answer.

But when I asked about food prices here, I got immediate support and approval.

The woman was even more eloquent. Seeing that Liu Yu was approachable, after a few words, she started talking about the issue of food prices.

"The Marquis of Whales doesn't know something. These mechanics are not fuel-efficient. Although the imperial court has issued an order to 'forever ban all marching together and call for a break', how can it be so easy to control it?"

"Among the machinists, there are many tough people who often encourage weavers to cause trouble. Before the 'flying shuttle', there were either piece-rate wages or daily wages. As soon as the shuttle came out, they started to cause trouble. A group of people insist on piece-rate wages and do not want to work on a daily basis at all."

"The same is true for the price of food. Now, does Jinghou know that all the weavers in Songjiang Prefecture have 'rice stickers'? They all came together to call for a break."