Chapter 122: The Dawn Of The Jin Prefecture Industrial Revolution
The autumn harvest has passed, and the grain is stored.
The common people of Hexi Fort have completed the most important farm work of the year.
The lively scenes in the fields have gradually faded. On thousands of mu of land, only stubble and scattered stalks remain, vast and silent, with a touch of post-harvest desolation, waiting for spring next year to sow grain again.
But this does not mean the common people’s farm work is over.
There is still more important work to be done.
While the pasture grass on the grasslands has not completely withered, every household will harvest a large amount of it and bring it back.
After all, in winter, heavy snow will seal the sky, and all things will wither.
This stored pasture grass will be life-saving supplies for the cattle and sheep.
Relying on this simple method, the cattle and sheep can endure this winter.
By next spring, when the emaciated cattle and sheep eat fresh pasture grass, it will only take half a month for them to become plump and tender again.
The sun sets, and the crimson light is gradually replaced by darkness.
Li Xiao drove a horse carriage home.
The horse carriage was full of dry grass. After unloading it, he went to the water jar and drank a large bowl of water.
He let out a gentle sigh, then wiped his mouth with his arm.
At this moment, he suddenly saw San Feng run over from the back courtyard with great haste.
Upon seeing Li Xiao, she immediately showed a look of joy.
“Elder Brother is back, Elder Brother is back.”
Then, she grabbed Li Xiao’s arm and pulled him into the back courtyard.
With an excited expression, eager for praise, she said as she walked, “Hurry, Elder Brother, I know how to use that spinning machine.”
“I’ll show you.”
Li Xiao was pulled by San Feng into the back courtyard.
He saw Mother Qin Dani standing in front of a spinning machine, her hands operating it with slight unfamiliarity, trying to spin wool into yarn.
It was different from the one Li Xiao saw at his elder sister’s house.
This spinning machine looked much larger.
It was also composed of rollers and spindles, but the spindles were placed vertically, and instead of one spindle, there were now eight.
In other words, what one person could do to spin one thread at a time could now spin eight threads simultaneously.
This greatly increased work efficiency.
“Mother, you learn so quickly,” Li Xiao praised with a smile, walking forward to carefully inspect the operation of the spinning machine.
“You learned it completely in just one day and can make wool into yarn. Amazing,” Li Xiao chuckled.
Looking at the thickness of the yarn roll next to it, he knew that Qin Dani had learned quite a bit and was becoming more and more proficient.
Hearing Li Xiao’s praise, Qin Dani also showed a happy expression and stopped her work, saying, “Last time I went to your sister’s house, I saw her busy weaving wool.”
“I was thinking of learning from your elder sister, but unfortunately, our family doesn’t have that spinning machine.”
“I didn’t expect Da Long, you managed to create one.”
“And it looks like it’s even better than your elder sister’s.”
Qin Dani smiled, clearly very interested in the spinning machine before her.
In fact, the textile industry in this era was already well-developed, but it was mainly concentrated in the Jiangnan region.
Jin Prefecture was a complete blank in this regard, with hardly any even household workshops.
The reason Li Dafeng learned to weave wool was because her neighbor aunt came from the Great Desert.
Li Dafeng had someone make a spinning machine similar to Aunt Huang’s.
However, like the machines of this era, it could only spin one thread at a time.
Once a certain quantity was accumulated, Li Dafeng would send it to Aunt Huang’s house.
When she returned to her maternal home, she would help sell this wool yarn in the Great Desert.
Because the quantity was small, the price was very low, and Li Dafeng didn’t earn much money, but it was better than nothing, better than being idle.
After Li Xiao saw her spinning machine, he was inspired.
He conceived of a better spinning machine.
The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the West, the spinning jenny.
It sounds somewhat high-end, but it’s actually very simple.
It involves standing the horizontal spindles upright, increasing the capacity of a single spinning machine, changing from one spindle to eight spindles.
Then, the manual crank was changed to a foot pedal, freeing up one hand.
Finally, a roller device and a combing component were installed, and the tension device was adjusted.
A simple spinning jenny was thus made.
Of course, the one Li Xiao made now couldn’t be called by that name.
Li Xiao named it the Hexi Spinning Machine.
In fact, this multi-spindle spinning machine was described in Song Yingxing’s Tiangong Kaiwu in the Ming Dynasty, almost identical to the spinning machines at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
This indicates that China was already using such spinning machines during the Ming Dynasty, but the emergence of the Manchu Qing Dynasty dealt a devastating blow to Jiangnan’s commerce, and various technologies experienced a break in continuity.
Otherwise, the Industrial Revolution might have appeared on the Land of Huaxia much earlier.
Seeing Qin Dani’s fondness for the spinning machine, Li Xiao chuckled, “It’s definitely much more useful.”
“This spinning machine can spin eight threads at a time.”
He casually picked up the yarn Qin Dani had made and kneaded it in his hand.
It was quite strong and not easily broken, perfectly suitable for weaving woolen cloth.
This is a fabric better than cotton cloth.
It is warmer than cotton cloth and better in terms of strength.
The biggest problem is that it shrinks easily.
Furthermore, wool is not as high-yielding as cotton, so it cannot be widely promoted.
“Why are you all in the back courtyard?”
As Li Xiao and the others were talking, the Old Master walked in with his hands behind his back.
The Old Master had not been idle all day and had been cutting grass like Li Xiao.
He had just driven the sheep flock back.
Upon hearing San Feng’s voice, he hurried over, as the back courtyard stored his blacksmithing tools, which were sharp-edged and potentially dangerous.
“Grandpa, come and see, this pile of wood that my Elder Brother made can really spin wool yarn.”
San Feng’s eyes lit up when she saw the Old Master approaching, as if she had found an opportunity to show off.
Saying this, she took Qin Dani’s place and stood in front of the spinning machine.
She picked up a handful of wool, gently combed it, and placed it next to the spindle. Then, she lightly stepped on the foot pedal. With power, the spindle began to rotate.
The wool fibers were evenly pulled and combed, making them neat and straight.
The spindle spun rapidly, tightly twisting the combed wool fibers into strong yarn.
This process was not complicated. Soon, more and more yarn accumulated on the spindle, forming plump yarn balls.
The Old Master looked at the scene before him and was somewhat stunned.
He turned to Li Xiao and asked, “This is what you’ve been tinkering with all this time?”
This thing?
Although the Old Master’s tone was calm, Li Xiao could still hear his dismissive attitude.
He seemed to have a lack of respect for this Hexi Spinning Machine.
“This is no ordinary thing,” Li Xiao replied, shaking his head.
“Ordinary spinning machines can only spin one thread at a time, but this machine can spin eight threads at once, and even sixteen threads are possible.”
“What used to be the work of sixteen people can now be done by one person, saving a lot of effort.”
“Grandpa, don’t you think it’s amazing!” Li Xiao explained.
The Old Master remained calm and nodded, “This thing is for weaving, right?”
“You could say that,” Li Xiao nodded.
In fact, spinning and weaving are two different things.
A spinning machine turns raw materials into yarn, while weaving is the process of interlacing yarn into cloth, a two-step process.
Having only a spinning machine is not enough. To develop Jin Prefecture’s textile industry, weaving looms must also be developed.
In this regard, Li Xiao also had some ideas.
He planned to add something to the weaving looms of this era.
It was the flying shuttle, recorded in middle school history textbooks, which could greatly increase weaving efficiency.
However, the use of the flying shuttle required a tool.
A spring!
To forge a spring, he would need the Old Master’s help.
“You’ve spent a lot of effort tinkering with this spinning machine lately.”
“In the future, you should focus more on practicing martial arts,” the Old Master said, neither lightly nor heavily, with his hands behind his back.
Then, he gently patted San Feng’s head, revealing an awkward smile.
He encouraged her, “San Feng, you’re doing well, better than your mother and grandmother.”
Li Xiao naturally understood the Old Master’s meaning.
In the Old Master’s view, weaving was a woman’s affair.
It seemed a bit unproductive for Li Xiao, a grown man, to be tinkering with such things.
He should focus his energy on practicing martial arts, farming, riding, and archery, and training troops.
Li Xiao felt helpless, shook his head with a slight smile, and could only coax the Old Master, “Alright, Grandpa, I will definitely not neglect my martial arts.”
It could only be said to be a difference in perception.
In the Old Master’s eyes, a strong army and strong horses meant kingship; might made right, and everything else was superficial.
But Li Xiao, with his modern perspective, saw very clearly.
Often, war is a competition of comprehensive strength.
Soldiers fighting bravely and fiercely alone cannot achieve great things.
There must be strong economic and technological support to go further.
Even if a war is lost, the foundation will not be damaged, and a well-equipped army can be easily reassembled.
Without these, a single war might reduce them to their original state.
However, Li Xiao did not argue with the Old Master about these principles.
Instead, he asked the Old Master, “Grandpa, in a few days, I plan to organize a caravan to the Great Desert.”
“We’ll take the Western Wind Fierce we’ve brewed all this time to sell.”
“What do you think, who in our Li Family can be relied upon?”
Before the autumn harvest, Li Xiao had already sent a message to the Old Master, and they began to brew a large amount of alcohol in Hexi Fort.
After this period of fermentation, the alcoholic beverage in Hexi Fort was successful.
Next, only the distillation step needs to be completed.
Western Wind Fierce will then be officially mass-produced.
Therefore, Li Xiao planned to send someone to the Great Desert to sell wine and buy a batch of cotton.
Although wool can also be woven, in some aspects, its performance is inferior to cotton cloth.
Although wool can also be woven into cloth, its performance in some aspects is still inferior to cotton cloth.
