There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 333 Xinghua Spinning Machine
Half a month later.

The delegations of Zhongmiao and Bapai Yao have successively returned to Guizhou and Guangdong.

Ma Jia, the eldest son of Shizhu Tu Tongpan and also an envoy, did not leave; he was left behind to handle the application for admission to Jingzhou University.

Official Gazette of the Han Dynasty, Jingzhou General Office.

The latest issue of the "Great Han Gazette" is currently available for sale, along with the latest version of the "Great Han Geomantic Map".

Maps were extremely valuable in ancient times. Without the permission of the imperial court, private individuals were not allowed to draw, sell, or possess maps; violators were at least subject to punishment and execution.

Don't think this is outrageous, because in ancient times, maps were not only maps, but also important military intelligence. If they were allowed to be drawn and sold at will, it would be easy to expose one's own cities, terrain, and passes, and leak one's own border defense information.

This is why Jing Ke was granted an audience with the King of Qin after presenting him with a map of the State of Yan.

When Zhang Song joined Liu Bei, he also presented Liu Bei with a map of Yizhou, which was tantamount to telling Liu Bei the military secrets of Yizhou as a pledge of loyalty.

Regarding maps, something quite absurd happened during the Qing Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, when French missionaries were favored, Emperor Kangxi once asked them to help the Qing court survey and draw a map of the entire territory of China.

Because the French missionaries had more precise surveying skills, this map, which was accurate down to the prefecture and county level and even marked with latitude and longitude, was ultimately kept in the royal palace and was not allowed to be circulated outside.

However, the copy was given by Emperor Kangxi to the King of France, and then the French used this copy of the map as an art piece and a tool for understanding Asia, printing and distributing it in large quantities until it was later bought by a Japanese merchant...

Meanwhile, the latest issue of the Great Han Gazette was published, and many merchants who heard the news sent people to buy it.

For no other reason than to get firsthand information so as to prepare for the next business decision.

Not only did merchants rush to buy the limited number of official gazettes, but officials also took pre-prepared gazettes and personally went to the bustling city center to beat drums and gongs to attract people to come and watch and listen to them being read.

"Dang Dang Dang!"

"Fellow villagers, if you have nothing to do, come and listen. The latest issue of the Great Han Gazette is about to be read."

"Dang Dang Dang!"

After a few gong strikes, the people gathered around, and many who hadn't managed to grab a copy of the official gazette came to listen in and take notes to tell their business owners.

The newspaper reader read very slowly and clearly, as if afraid that the onlookers would not understand.

The first half of the official gazette was still the usual talk of the Han Dynasty, mentioning that the Han Dynasty had newly recovered the three prefectures of Liping, Nanlong, and Sizhou in Guizhou, as well as Chongqing and Shizhu in Sichuan and Lianzhou in Guangdong.

The onlookers could barely understand what was being said; many of them had never even left Jingzhou Prefecture in their lives, let alone Guangdong, Sichuan, or Guizhou.

"Where are these places mentioned in the newspaper, Liping or Chongqing?"

"I don't know, but since it's not in this corner of Hubei, the imperial court must have expanded its territory again!"

"That's great! The sooner the court drives these damned Tartars away, the sooner we common people can have a better life."

"Hey, Lao Liu, we're living a good life now, and we can even listen to the imperial court's gazettes from time to time. Who would have dared to dream of this before?"

"That's right! Speaking of which, why haven't we heard a single word about the imperial court's war this time? Even when my third son came back, he didn't say anything. I thought the war wasn't going to happen this year."

"..."

The people chattered amongst themselves, no one was afraid of the coming war. Instead, they all laughed and talked, and even felt it was a pity to miss the battlefield.

This would have been an impossible situation under the pseudo-Qing regime.

If the puppet Qing government ever released even the slightest news of war, the able-bodied men under its rule would probably have vanished without a trace, and those with land would have stopped farming.

After all, if they didn't farm, they would at most go hungry the following year, or at worst become tenant farmers for landlords, and there would always be a chance to survive.

But when war breaks out, the minimum guarantee is that families will be destroyed, wives and children will be separated, and if you are lucky, you may be able to "reunite" with your relatives.

Having finished reading about the expansion of the Han Dynasty's territory, the next section will cover the policies for promoting spinning machines.

"What the hell? Old Li, did you hear me? What do you mean, kill a chicken? The imperial court wants to kill a chicken?"

"No, Lao Liu, you really should have Dr. Wu fix your ears. The court meant that the spinning machine... well, it's just that I can't explain it to you clearly. The cotton-padded clothes your wife usually makes for you are made from this thing." "Oh, I still don't understand."

"..."

"Forget it, we don't need it anyway. It seems the court intends to rent it out to the rich. We don't have much money to rent this thing. Besides, what's the use of renting it? Can't we weave it ourselves?"

The onlookers, upon hearing about the spinning machine, all began to discuss it animatedly. While they found the spinning machine capable of weaving cloth to be nothing new, it wasn't exactly groundbreaking.

Because spinning machines have existed for a long time, the weaving in the traditional Chinese farming and weaving system relied mainly on ancient hand tools for spinning and weaving.

However, this spinning equipment is quite old. It was only innovated once during the Ming Dynasty, when a water-powered spinning wheel was created. However, it had many limitations and could not be used in many places, so the overall efficiency improvement was not significant.

The common people were dismissive of the spinning machines promoted in the official gazette, but the merchants were different.

They obtained the news from the official gazette about the court's promotion of new spinning machines, and they all keenly grasped the key points.

In this cannibalistic era, anyone who becomes a businessman is shrewd and calculating.

What is a local gazette?
Although it has been gradually promoted and implemented by the imperial court, it is still an official institution and controls the public opinion of the Han Dynasty.

The news that could be published in the official gazette was either urgent military intelligence or major national policy; how could there be any truly ordinary news?
Therefore, this new type of spinning machine must have something unique about it. This reminds me of a rumor that more than a year ago, the imperial court had placed a warship on the Yangtze River that could move automatically without wind.

This sounded like a rumor or fake news, but many people took it to heart, thinking that there couldn't be no smoke without fire. Moreover, the court's subsequent measures were simply to block the news, rather than to deny it outright.

All the Jingzhou merchants who knew about the spinning machine paid close attention to this new type of spinning machine that the imperial court was about to lease and display.

Even merchants who were initially unaware of the details gradually learned through their own means that the imperial court was about to promote a new type of spinning machine. There were even rumors that this new spinning machine was ten times more efficient at spinning and weaving than the original spinning machine.

This rumor was clearly released by the Han Dynasty court under the guise of an opportunity. Many wealthy merchants noticed it, but they all remained silent, while being surprised that the court had made such a bold claim.

Even if it's more than ten times better, or even just twice as good, this new spinning machine would still be worth buying.

The Han Dynasty did not keep these expectant merchants waiting for long. In September, the Ministry of Works distributed the first batch of "Xinghua" spinning machines.

The first batch of machines were all purely manual, but they have been improved several times and are more efficient than the European Spinning Jenny.

Its name comes from the reign title of the Han Dynasty. It doesn't have any special meaning; it's just for good luck and convenience.

As soon as the first batch of spinning machines came out, merchants flocked to watch and frantically snap them up.

Anyway, this first batch of machines is just leased, not purchased directly by them, so even if they lose money, they won't lose much.

Well, these merchants originally intended to lose money. Although they felt that the Han Dynasty would not lie, they were afraid that the treasury might be empty due to the successive wars, so they resorted to this desperate measure to raise funds.

They didn't mind, and were even quite willing to pay the court. When the puppet Qing dynasty paid, they really paid. The government might even feel that the payment wasn't enough and that they could squeeze more money out of them.

The Han Dynasty was different. This court was so legitimate that it was almost unbelievable. Even if they offered money, the officials of the Han Dynasty would refuse it and would issue IOUs if they did.

It can be said that compared to the Han Dynasty, the pseudo-Qing Dynasty was more like a rebel, and its actions were more like those of a rebel.

Many merchants who rushed to buy the goods planned to take the opportunity to donate money to the imperial court and, incidentally, to curry favor with the Prince of Han.

Unexpectedly, after only half a month of renting the spinning machine, they were completely amazed by this new type of spinning machine.

No, where did the imperial court get this spinning machine? Its speed and efficiency are ridiculously high.

Without any hesitation, upon realizing that the spinning machine was indeed as advertised, even more exaggerated than claimed, many merchants instantly recognized the potential of this product.

They immediately rushed to send people to the Ministry of Works, and some even went there themselves with money to rent more "Xinghua" spinning machines.

Some wealthy merchants even brought their land deeds and property deeds to offer to the imperial court in exchange for the privilege of purchasing spinning machines.

In just half a month, the Ministry of Works was almost overwhelmed by merchants.

The yamen runners and patrolling guards of Jingzhou Prefecture were all seconded to the Ministry of Works' outer office to maintain order.

(End of this chapter)