Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The "military merit-based land grant" system solved the land and population problems, injecting a continuous stream of labor into Hanyuan.

However, the northern border is bitterly cold with long winters. How to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of newly added soldiers and civilians can safely get through the winter and maintain the army's combat effectiveness in the harsh cold has always been a major concern for Xiao Chen.

Traditional linen and kudzu cloth were insufficient for keeping warm, silk was expensive and impractical, and cotton was extremely scarce.

At the same time, the grassland trade brought mountains of wool, but due to a lack of processing technology, most of it was sold off cheaply or discarded.

Faced with this supply and demand imbalance, Xiao Chen turned his attention to the textile industry.

He personally assigned the task to the Academy of Sciences: to improve textile machinery, overcome wool processing technology, establish a wool textile industry, and provide inexpensive and high-quality winter clothing for the military and civilians.

Under the leadership of blacksmith Ou, the "Crafts Department" of the Gewu Institute first improved the traditional hand-cranked spinning wheel. The original spinning wheels were mostly single-spindle, which was inefficient and required a high level of skill from the operator.

After repeated experiments, the craftsmen drew on the transmission principle of waterwheels and designed the "foot-operated three-spindle spinning wheel".

This machine is driven by foot pedals, and the crank and gears drive three spindles to rotate simultaneously, freeing up the hands. It is specially used for feeding cotton and twisting yarn.

One person can operate it, which is more than five times more efficient than the old spinning wheel, and the physical requirements for the operator are reduced. Women, the elderly and even teenagers can operate it.

Subsequently, the craftsmen made further improvements, using water power to create a "water-powered spinning wheel".

A single water-powered spinning wheel can simultaneously drive 32 spindles, operating day and night, with an efficiency a hundred times that of manual labor.

The Gewu Institute established its first "water-powered spinning workshop" on the banks of the Baishui River. The roaring waterwheels drove the huge spinning wheels, and snow-white yarn was continuously produced, creating a spectacular scene.

Spinning efficiency was solved, but raw material processing became the biggest bottleneck. Grassland wool has a lot of grease and impurities, and the fibers are short, making it difficult to spin directly. The resulting fabric is rough, itchy, and difficult to wear.

Xiao Chen extracted the process of "washing, fluffing, and combing" the fur from his memory and guided the Gewu Academy in tackling the technical challenges.

Traditional wood ash is ineffective at removing grease. The Chemical Department of the Gewu Institute discovered through experiments that washing with a mixture of lime water and soapberry solution under heat yielded excellent grease removal results. They built a specialized "washing pool" that utilized water-powered agitation, significantly improving cleaning efficiency.

After wool is washed and dried, the fibers stick together. Craftsmen invented the "wool-beating bow," which uses a sinew string to repeatedly beat the wool, making it fluffy and soft, and separating the fibers.

Even after the wool has been carded, it still needs to be combed to straighten it. Craftsmen created a "combing machine" covered with steel needles. By turning the handle, the wool is combed into smooth "strips" to facilitate subsequent spinning.

After this series of processes, the originally smelly and coarse wool is transformed into a clean, soft, and elastic "combed wool top", greatly improving its quality.

After the raw materials are processed, the weaving process also needs innovation. Traditional waist looms and pedal looms are mainly used for weaving plain linen and silk, but their efficiency and results are not ideal for weaving thick, tightly woven wool.

The artisans at the Gewu Institute increased the number of heddle frames, improved the shuttle, and designed a cloth winding beam and a tension adjustment device on the basis of the original loom, thus creating the "multi-heddle multi-treadle loom".

The first batch of "Hanyuan Wool" was produced. This cloth is thick, dense, and soft, with excellent warmth retention and a certain degree of water resistance. Although the initial colors were limited and the feel was slightly stiff, it was already far superior to linen, and the price was only one-tenth that of silk.

After the technology matured, Xiao Chen did not monopolize it, but instead promoted it vigorously through "patent licensing" and "government-supervised and merchant-run" methods.

The government planned "wool textile workshop areas" in places such as Zhenbeicheng, Qinghe Town, and Heishan Town, providing land, water resources, and tax incentives.

The Gewu Academy offered paid training to folk artisans in spinning wheel and loom manufacturing techniques and wool processing methods. Cooperatives composed of merchants, artisans, and even migrant workers invested in building factories.

In just a few months, the sound of looms could be heard everywhere in the northern lands.

Along the banks of the Baishui River and its tributaries, waterwheels stand in rows, and water-powered spinning mills and weaving workshops are lined up one after another.

Inside the workshop, female workers skillfully operated spinning wheels and looms, and bolts of woolen cloth cascaded down like waterfalls.

When wool cloth was first introduced, it was first used to equip the military.

The Hanyuan Military Supplies Department placed a huge order for 100,000 bolts of cloth with various workshops to make military overcoats, blankets, leggings, gloves, winter hats, and other items.

In previous winters, soldiers could only wear multiple layers of hemp clothing and be wrapped in straw mats, resulting in severe frostbite casualties.

Nowadays, wearing thick woolen military uniforms and wrapped in warm blankets, they can maintain their body temperature and combat effectiveness even in freezing weather.

The army's morale was greatly boosted, and its combat effectiveness increased rather than decreased during the winter.

Subsequently, woolen cloth quickly spread among the people. Farmers, craftsmen, and merchants all bought woolen cloth to sew winter clothes.

In the past, a decent winter coat was a luxury, but now, ordinary people can afford warm woolen clothes.

Winters in the North are no longer so terrible, and the tragedies of homeless people freezing to death on the streets have been greatly reduced.

As production capacity expanded and market competition intensified, workshop owners began to pursue quality and variety. The Gewu Institute stepped in again, researching dyeing and printing techniques.

They extracted various dyes, including red, blue, yellow, and purple, using plants and minerals unique to the northern region. They also invented mordants to make the colors more durable and vibrant.

To create a woodblock print, dip it in color paste and press it onto a piece of cloth to create exquisite patterns, such as meander patterns, cloud patterns, and animal patterns.

The colorful, printed woolen fabrics became an instant hit upon their release, even being sold as far as the Central Plains and Jiangnan, becoming a fashionable fabric sought after by nobles and wealthy merchants.

Hanyuan Woolen Textile Industry has upgraded from a simple "cold-weather industry" to a "fashion industry," resulting in a significant increase in profits.

The rise of the wool textile industry has spurred the development of a series of related industries.

Demand for wool surged, prices soared, and herders' enthusiasm for raising sheep reached unprecedented heights, leading to the vigorous development of grassland animal husbandry.

There was a strong demand for spinning wheels, looms, and tweezers, and carpenters and blacksmiths' workshops were thriving.

The increased demand for dyes spurred plant cultivation and mineral extraction.

The transport of wool, cloth, dyes, and machinery kept caravans and wagon shops extremely busy.

The workshops provided employment for a large number of women and migrant workers, increasing family income and contributing to social stability.

For wool spinning technology, Xiao Chen adopted a "loose inside and tight outside" strategy.

The technology was vigorously promoted within the territory of Hanyuan, and even subsidized, but the export of key equipment and core technologies was strictly controlled at the border and in foreign trade.

This ensured Hanyuan's technological monopoly and price advantage in the wool textile industry, making it another pillar industry and strategic weapon of Hanyuan's economy.

Xiao Chen inspected a large wool textile workshop. Looking at the nimble hands of the female workers, listening to the rhythmic hum of the looms, and smelling the special scent of wool and dye in the air, he felt a great sense of accomplishment.

"When one industry prospers, all industries thrive."

He said to Han Lie and the blacksmith Ou who were accompanying him, "This little wool can not only keep our soldiers and people warm through the winter, but also bring us mountains of gold and silver, feeding tens of thousands of people. The Gewu Academy has made an indelible contribution!"

The blacksmith exclaimed, "If it weren't for the prince's guidance, I would never have dreamed that this pungent wool could be transformed into such exquisite cloth. The way of investigating things is truly amazing."

Han Lie added, "Your Highness, the wool textile industry has already reached a considerable level. I suggest establishing a 'Wool Textile Guild' to set quality standards, regulate the market, crack down on substandard products, and safeguard the reputation of 'Hanyuan Wool Cloth'."

"allow!"

Xiao Chen nodded, "We need to not only regulate, but also create a brand. We need to make people think of Hanyuan when they hear the name of wool; and think of warmth when they wear wool. This is our soft power."

Textile innovation not only solved the problem of keeping warm, but also spawned a huge industry, boosted economic prosperity, and enhanced national strength.

Hanyuan is steadily moving from a purely military power to an economic superpower.