Xu Ping didn't want to use a topic to make a big explosion of ideas, not to mention how effective it would be, it would cause a violent backlash. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoHe wants to change the minds of people in this era little by little through such an inconspicuous thing as jet lag as now. With the telescope, we can see the vast sky, and with the pendulum clock, we can record the time relatively accurately, and penetrate into people's thoughts and people's lives little by little.

With this bit by bit, the reader himself will think, explore, and develop a broad world of knowledge.

In the past, people couldn't see the depths of the sky, couldn't observe the influence of the sun, moon and stars on this world, and would only close their doors to imagine the vast world, and Xu Ping would slowly bring the means to understand the universe to this world.

Thousands of acres of cotton are far from meeting the production capacity of the three divisions, and the cotton will be consumed in less than a month. It's a hot day now, and clothes made of cotton are much more comfortable than linen, and cotton has become a sought-after item in the capital. In order to achieve the maximum publicity effect, the supply limit is now limited to each day in the three divisions.

Seeing that Zhao Zhen was going to talk about the topic of cotton cloth, Lu Yijian praised the wat and said: "Your Majesty, the cotton cloth sold in the capital now is much better than the previous Jibei cloth. The minister also asked his family to buy a few horses, which is indeed different from ramie. It's just that there is too little cotton this year, and not much cloth is woven, and now it is actually priceless. ”

Wang Zeng said: "Now the price of cotton cloth sold in the Sansi shop is only twice that of the original ramie, and as soon as the shop opens every day, it is sold out. The minister heard that there were idlers in the capital who were guarding the door of the shop, and the cotton cloth sold in the shop every day came to them, and these people sold it at a higher price. In that case, why not raise the price? ”

Lu Yijian said again: "Not only that, but there are also ministers who play and ask the court to replace the summer cloth with cotton cloth. But there are not many cotton cloths this year, so where can they be made? It's only time to wait for the coming year. ”

Zhao Zhen looked at Xu Ping and said: "Yes, there are also people in the palace who are making noise in my ears, and they would rather not have satin than the new cotton cloth of the third division." Xu Ping, you are in the third division, and the field affairs and shops of cotton cloth are under your control, what do you think? ”

Xu Ping said: "Back to Your Majesty, there is not enough cotton now, mainly because of the lack of cotton. There is a shortage of cotton only because there is too little land to grow, not how difficult the crop is to grow. The reason why the price is not high is because normally speaking, one acre of land produces more cotton cloth than linen, and it should not be high, but now it is just less. ”

It is the value of the commodity that determines the price of the commodity, and the relationship between supply and demand will bring fluctuations, but it will not be the determining factor. The reason why Xu Ping did not sell cotton cloth as a rare commodity was mainly to expand his influence, make people accustomed to it, and prepare for the large-scale expansion of production in the coming year. From the very beginning, the people of this era were told that cotton cloth was worn by ordinary people.

Zhao Zhen frowned: "This year's season has passed, so I won't say much, how to ensure that there is no shortage of cotton in the coming year." ”

"In the minister's mind, there are the following points. First, the field business has a scale this year, and there are many idle fields under their names, so they can be diversified and rotated with the paddy fields. The other one is planted by the government, and a few states and counties are selected to let the people be diverse. In order to persuade the people to grow cotton, the people can be allowed to use cotton instead of taxes in these places, and everything except grain can be replaced by cotton. With a two-pronged approach of field work and persuasion, there should be a lot more cotton in the coming year. ”

Lu Yijian asked: "Xu Ping, is cotton really not difficult to grow?" ”

"It's not difficult, except for the trouble when picking, it's not much different from planting hemp. How to grow cotton, Xia Guan wrote a booklet before, which can be printed and sent out. When the season comes, you can choose skilled hands to teach the people to farm. The first year will be a little difficult, but it will not be a big mess. ”

Wang Zeng said: "What kind of geography and climate does this crop require? Where can I plant it? ”

Xu Ping thought for a while: "According to the knowledge of the lower officials, there is cotton in the Western Regions, and it is also planted in the Minyue area, and it has been planted in my village for a few years. In this way, from south to north, except for bitter cold places, it should be able to be planted. However, the most suitable should be Jianghuai and the south of Jingxi Road and the north of Jinghu Road, and Kaifeng Mansion seems to be slightly worse here. ”

Wang Zeng and Lu Yijian glanced at each other and nodded, and Lu Yi said simply: "Since this is the case, it is better to focus on a few states in the south of Jingxi Road, plus two Huai to choose a few states, and persuade the people to plant cotton." These places are convenient to the capital, and it is easy to transport the cotton after harvesting, so I don't know if it is suitable. ”

Xu Ping said: "Naturally, it is feasible. However, there are many idle fields around Kaifeng Mansion, and the people can also be persuaded to plant. As long as the official gives the seeds when planting, and the official harvest is at a suitable price after picking, the profit is not small. ”

Regarding cotton planting, Xu Ping has been thinking about it for a long time and trying to take all aspects into account. In his previous life, when cotton was planted on a large scale, there were plantations, which cannot but be considered. The reason why this was not the case during the Ming and Qing dynasties in China was that cotton cloth was an important taxable variety, forcibly dispersing production capacity among thousands of households, making large-scale plantations unprofitable. At this time, I am running for the commodification of cotton cloth. Of course, the production capacity should be concentrated as much as possible, and the method of imposing taxes should not be used to impact the commodity cotton, so as to prevent the emergence of large plantations. This era did not inhibit annexation, and the emergence of large estates was almost inevitable if measures were not taken.

Large plantations will increase the efficiency of cotton farming, but the side effects will also be large. It will imprison a large number of laborers, there will be islands of the commodity economy, and the use of new means of production will be excluded, which is essentially a retrogression of the relations of production.

The only way to avoid this is to use the tools of taxation, regulated by the authorities, to squeeze capital out of the land and force them into the cycle of the commodity economy.

With the spread of cotton cultivation, tax reform must be put on the agenda. At present, taxation on a household basis is a progressive taxation system on capital, but the capital is aimed at arable land in the countryside and real estate in the city. How to adjust and let capital take the initiative to enter the commodity economic cycle, instead of hoarding land and real estate, is a problem that Xu Ping has to consider.

However, to do this, Xu Ping's current status as the deputy envoy of salt and iron is a little insufficient, even if Kou Ying completely decentralizes power. Politics has a political logic, and we can't go out of the way.

What to do in the future, Xu Ping's heart has no bottom, so he can only take one step at a time.

Zhao Zhen listened to the conversation between the two prime ministers and Xu Ping, thought for a while, and said: "Jianghuai is a land of money and grain, if you grow cotton there, will it crowd out the grain fields?" Most of the grain and rice needed in the capital were brought from there. ”

Xu Ping said: "The crowding will definitely be crowded, and if there is too much cotton planted, it will cause the price of rice to rise." According to the minister's opinion, it is better to focus on the surroundings of Kaifeng Mansion and Jingxi Road, and go to the two Huai first. The idle fields on Jingxi Road are extremely wide, and if they are mainly engaged in camp field affairs, it should be much better to recruit the Xiangjun to plant than to plant in Lianghuai. ”

Zhao Zhen saw that Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng did not object, so he said: "Then so be it." Wang Gongchen has done a really good job in the camp this year, and next year he will let him recruit more people to grow cotton on Jingxi Road and Kaifeng Mansion. In a few days, the book will set a reward for him, as long as he does a good job, he will not hesitate to give him an official position! (To be continued.) )