Chapter 1414 - 1323: Takeoff (Part 1)

The first year of Yuanzhen was a joyous year. After the busy spring and summer harvest, Luoyang City was filled with happy events. Young and middle-aged singles in the court gradually married, putting an end to the days of paying a single tax to the court.

It was also a year of rapid recovery for the nation’s strength, considered the most crucial year of the decade of takeoff in later generations.

This year, both north and south enjoyed mostly favorable weather, although some areas experienced minor droughts and floods. However, thanks to water conservancy projects and farmers’ hard work over the past two years, these issues were quickly alleviated.

After April, the wheat in Jiangnan and the Central Plains began to turn yellow, and the heavy heads of wheat made people’s hearts leap with joy.

The summer harvest and sowing lasted for a month and a half until early June, when the nationwide agricultural busy period mostly ended.

Yet most farmers could not rest, as the planted soybeans and rice still required weeding, pest control, and fertilization. However, they did have more free time, allowing many to spare manpower.

At this time, county governments and schools nationwide jointly went to rural areas to promote new spinning and weaving machines, while each state and prefecture established a new department—the Weaving Bureau.

Craftsmen dispatched from Luoyang took on roles at the Weaving Bureau in various places, managing or guiding technology. Besides promoting new textile machines, they opened large workshops, constructed large spinning and weaving machines, to weave fabrics for the court.

The Weaving Bureau’s duties included managing textiles and balancing the prices of raw materials like cotton and silk, as well as balancing the ratios of farmland dedicated to mulberry, flax, and cotton planting, ensuring the benefit of farmers growing mulberry, flax, and cotton.

Taking advantage of the leisure time during farming off-season, a nationwide massive "Warm Clothing" initiative was launched. During the grand assembly, Zhao Hanzhang announced, "My requirements are simple: within five years, under my rule, no people shall perish from cold due to lacking adequate clothing."

It sounded simple, yet all officials knew how difficult it was.

If they do not suffer from cold, they certainly won’t suffer from hunger. To avoid the woes of hunger and cold was something even the reigns of Wen and Jing found hard to achieve.

But all officials responded loudly and confidently, ready to act vigorously.

If their ancestors couldn’t achieve it, it doesn’t mean their monarch couldn’t.

Previously, who would have thought that spinning and weaving machines could increase efficiency ten to fifteen fold?

The larger textile machines were even more astonishingly efficient. Although each state currently had only one workshop, the yields calculated by Minister Fu assured them that warming every citizen within five years was not an impossibility.

Moreover, this calculation didn’t even consider the output from the private sector.

Their nation lived under a smallholder economy, with fabric resources largely within civil hands.

Led by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Industry, with local governments aiding, the Weaving Bureau manufactured numerous spinning and weaving machines for sale or lease.

Indeed, besides purchasing, citizens could lease a spinning or weaving machine to take home.

Due to the high efficiency of spinning and weaving machines, many families would pool funds to purchase, even villagers grouping to buy.

Villages would allocate a plot to build a textile house, placing purchased weaving and spinning machines there for villagers to apply for queued usage.

There were also clan-based purchases.

Within the Xiping Zhao Family, Zhao Ming wrote home ordering textile houses be built on the eastern and western sides of the village, each equipped with five spinning and weaving machines for impoverished clan members.

Families with money wouldn’t crowd these two textile houses, opting instead to simply buy directly.

Upon learning of this, Zhao Hu immediately ordered their steward to the Capital City’s Weaving Bureau to order one hundred spinning and weaving machines each.

The Weaving Bureau hadn’t emerged without preparation; their products were researched by December, confirmed by experiment in January, and production started in February.

By late February, disciples of the Mo School suddenly appeared in the Capital City, under Yuan Li’s protection, entered the palace for an audience. By March, many Mo School disciples had joined, and that month, the craftsman of the Observing Things Department began heading to various states and prefectures to oversee textile machine production.

Now June, three months had already garnered a large batch of spinning and weaving machines.

The Capital City’s Weaving Bureau accumulated the most, but also received the most orders.

Besides orders from Si Province, there were many from Yu State and Shu land.

Upon receiving Zhao Hu’s order, Zhang Zizao at the Capital City’s Weaving Bureau felt a headache and hesitated but ultimately rejected Zhao Hu.

If one really provided Zhao Hu with a hundred machines each, the current warehouse inventory would be cleared by one-third. Your Majesty indeed said, spinning and weaving machines should be prioritized for the people first, then the merchants.

After rejecting Zhao Hu’s steward, Zhang Zizao immediately went to find Fu Tinghan at the Observing Things Department, reporting the matter when he emerged sweating from the lab.

Fu Tinghan thought for a moment and said, "Enact a new regulation: within two years, any unit purchasing weave machines from the Weaving Bureau in one instance can’t exceed twenty of each type, with application intervals of no less than six months."

Stunned, Zhang Zizao didn’t expect such a regulation.

Such non-legal regulations could be directly enacted by the Chief of Staff, Fu Tinghan, without going through the Central Secretariat and Ministry of Supervision. Zhang Zizao immediately agreed, posted the regulation, and telegraphed it to weave bureaus nationwide for simultaneous adoption.

Zhao Hu, who already ordered fabric houses built, was infuriated upon hearing this, "Is this regulation targeted at me? Who made this absurd rule?"

Wu Yin said, "It was Mr. Fu."

Zhao Hu became silent.

Wu Yin asked nervously, "Master, shall we proceed to purchase, or form another trading company for queued purchases?"

Zhao Hu answered irritably, "To do anything now requires household registration and travel permits, companies need seals, and due to the cancellation of death contracts, government household departments have expanded with every company’s funds and employee origins recorded clearly. You think it can be hidden?"

What’s more, the County Magistrate in Luoyang is his grandson; he couldn’t scheme against his own grandson.

Playing such tricks at the Capital City’s Weaving Bureau would have an Imperial Censor reporting it to the front of the throne. He might not be affected, but Zhao Zheng certainly would face charges of malpractice.

Even if Zhao Zheng might be completely unaware.

Besides him, Zhao Cheng would earn a charge of poor household management.

Zhao Hu knew the difference between his children’s career paths and his financial ventures; though annoyed, he waved it off and said, "Comply with the regulation."

Wu Yin followed the order and left.

Yet staring at golden opportunities and unable to profit, Zhao Hu felt displeased.

After enduring for a day, he lost patience and entered the palace to dine with Zhao Hanzhang—of course, not empty-handed, bearing generous gifts.

Zhao Hanzhang’s position changed, and Zhao Hu became more generous.

Upon returning to the palace, Fu Tinghan learned Zhao Hu was present to dine with them, he recalled the new regulation, turning to Zhao Hanzhang, "He must be here to pull strings."

Zhao Hanzhang laughed, "Seventh Ancestor is muddle-headed, trying to earn where there’s none to earn."

Fu Tinghan was puzzled, and Zhao Hanzhang pulled him along to dine with Zhao Hu. After hearing Zhao Hu out, she replied, "Seventh Ancestor, others having it is no match for you having it. Since Weaving Bureau’s current production can’t keep up, why don’t you make your own spinning and weaving machines?"

Zhao Hu replied, "Your Majesty jests, new spinning and weaving machines are creations of the Observing Things Department. I don’t have the drawings..."

Zhao Hu paused, gazing at Zhao Hanzhang, seeing her face faintly smiling, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.