"This thin cotton thread can be broken by a newly weaned child. However, it can hang the whole world." This is because the Xiama Textile Machine has completed a technological upgrade and has reached the point where it can weave five After reaching the level of ten yarns, Li Shouhan held the white and thin cotton yarn tightly in his hands, and after being drunk, he spoke his inner thoughts loudly to his civil and military officials. At first, all the civil, military and business leaders under his command thought that the Lord had drunk too much and was talking nonsense happily. However, it turns out that they were wrong. After more than ten years of construction of the textile printing and dyeing industry trade system, Nanyue Army has established a huge trade system. This system covers the Pan-Arctic Circle from the outer Xing'an Mountains in the north to the vicinity of Heilongjiang. It is highly praised by the Sauron tribes living here and has become the first choice of commodities alongside iron, weapons, salt, sugar, spirits, grain, and spices. Moreover, it is also a commodity that can be used as hard currency in trading activities. To the west, the land route is divided into two branches. The southern route passes through the Hexi Corridor, the countries in the river and the Ottoman Empire, and goes all the way west to the borders of the European countries. As for the northern line, during the battle between the Sauron tribe and the Rakshasa people, it was regarded as a good trophy by the Cossacks and offered to their tsar, and then became a high-end product that the Tsarist Russian nobles were crazy about pursuing and supporting. To the east, as far away as the Shang Dynasty, trade between various Indian tribes gradually accepted cloth as a trading medium that served as currency. The reason is very simple. Indians of all tribes have no shortage of gold, silver and gems. However, cotton cloth, a daily necessity, is something that everyone is willing to accept. The highlight of trade is to the west of the South Guangdong Army and the Central Plains. To the west, there is the convenience of shipping and huge demand from European and Western countries. Hundreds of sea-going ships leave the Strait of Malacca every day, and one of the main goods they take away is various dyed and printed cloths that serve as ballast stones at the bottom of the ship's cabin. And when they entered customs, the cabins were often filled with large bales of cotton. The reason is simple. There is not that much supply of cotton raw materials in the area controlled by the Southern Guangdong Army. As far away as the Nile Delta of Upper and Lower Egypt controlled by the Ottomans, the cotton fields of the Arabian Peninsula, and as close as countries on the Indian subcontinent, whether they believe in Allah or Buddhism, they are all important trading partners of the South Cantonese Army. Their trade with the Southern Guangdong Army has entered a strange cycle. Export a large amount of raw material cotton to the South Cantonese Army, in exchange for the weapons, armor, and gunpowder they need to fight their neighbors, and in exchange for all kinds of beautiful cloth made of cotton. However, the planting, picking, and rough processing of cotton occupy large areas of grain fields and a large amount of labor force. In order to feed these people, the above-mentioned regimes must import large amounts of rice from the South Cantonese Army to feed their own cotton practitioners and armies. In addition, Myanmar is currently divided into more than a dozen small countries. It turns out that the members of the Mangying family planted thousands of miles of cotton fields in their jurisdiction, mainly the central plateau area, as a way to pay tribute to the overlord country. Expresses loyal devotion. At the same time, he worked hard to strengthen his armed forces to prevent his relatives from finding opportunities and reasons to swallow him up. The same idea is also popular among various regimes in the Indian subcontinent. ????????????? Everyone has to wear clothes and eat, and they all have needs for food and textiles. And the various regimes that hate each other and kill each other like black-eyed chickens have even more needs for weapons, equipment and supplies. These three demands forced these regimes to either actively or passively accept the prescriptions prescribed by the South Guangdong Army, and embark on the road of exporting raw materials and exchanging raw materials for industrial products to make up for their own lack of hard currency. . Every day, a large amount of materials are transported along the Indian Ocean and through the Strait of Malacca to various textile factories in South China. At the same time, materials needed to maintain their own political power are transported away. This is why when they learned that the output of the Nanyue Army's own cotton production areas could not be guaranteed, all the foreign vassals felt that they had an opportunity to express goodwill to the Nanyue Army and make a fortune. Originally, Van Basten was going to tell Li Shouhan, "All the merchants and ships affiliated with our company will transport you all the cotton and wheat you need." Through this attitude, he then obtained all the cotton and wheat gaps in the South Guangdong Army. Quantity Contract. As a result, something unexpected happened, this perfect opportunity was snatched away by Ibrahim, the envoy of the Ottoman Empire. However, as a businessman, he knew that the strength of himself and the East India Company could not compete with the Ottoman Empire's Grand Vizier Koprulu family behind Ibrahim, and the entire Ottoman Empire. To put it more harshly, if Koprulu is offended, he may not be able to buy a grain of wheat or cotton within the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire. It is also possible that his ship encountered an unspeakable storm on a calm sea and sank. The cargo and sailors on board the ship might then be sold in a market at some port. There is no way, who let Koprulu stay in Austria?How powerful is the Man Empire? ! ¡°However, Ibrahim also knew where his master¡¯s power came from. "We will not make excessive financial demands on our friends. Everything will be traded at the previous price. We only ask that Your Highness, who rules the East, grant us permission to expand the scale of recruiting Japanese mercenaries. Each time The scale was expanded from no more than 30,000 people to 50,000 people as the starting line. "In these years, relying on the tenacity and cruelty of the Japanese mercenaries, relying on the mortar and Sanguang methods, Koprulu will trouble the Balkan Peninsula in the Ottoman Empire for many years. The noble resistance forces massacred and appeased each other, and there was no large-scale resistance force in the entire Balkan Peninsula. However, Grand Vizier Koprulu's reports to the Ottoman Emperor often included phrases such as "the rebels are rampant, the troops are huge, our troops are suppressing them, and the situation is not optimistic", etc., asking the Ottoman Emperor to withdraw funds from the treasury. Allocate military funds to recruit troops to suppress rebellions. When recruiting an army, it is natural to choose these Japanese dwarves who have the best cost-effectiveness and the highest reliability. Their military pay can be settled in rice, but they only require that after the city is broken, all loot, whether it is gold, silver, jewelry, antique toys, or the old, weak, women, children, young and middle-aged labor force, must receive at least 40% of the share. Where can I find such a good cannon fodder? It's a pity that Li Shouhan only approved the recruitment scale of about 30,000 people each time, and at most gave 10 to 20% of the personnel lost during the journey. (For example, those who capsized at sea, were acclimatized, and died of diseases.) This was extremely painful for the huge Ottoman Empire and the ever-expanding ambitions of His Excellency Grand Vizier Koprulu. So, taking this opportunity today, Ibrahim proposed an exchange condition. This condition is not unfavorable to the Southern Guangdong Army. I will supply you ten times as much wheat and cotton as you need. Moreover, I will not raise the price on the ground or take advantage of the situation, and settle the matter according to the price of previous transactions between us. However, you must also agree with me to expand the scale of recruiting mercenaries and provide convenient conditions. This is undoubtedly a statement to Li Shouhan and the South Cantonese Army system that as long as you provide me with enough cannon fodder, weapons and equipment, I will turn the entire Nile Delta and other fertile lands of the Ottoman Empire into your wheat fields and cotton plantations. The temptation of this huge source of raw materials and product market is undoubtedly huge. (If you travel to Xinjiang, don¡¯t just enjoy the beautiful natural scenery, you must also go to the main cotton producing areas. After reading it, you will understand that today¡¯s cotton price, as a benchmark of market supply and demand, has great influence on the Chinese economy. Impact. When the cotton counties of Henan and Shandong are planting corn all over the mountains and plains, you have to lament the profound impact of the loss of free labor on China's agriculture. Compared with big agricultural countries like the United States, big machines and even airplanes are used to plant crops at every turn. What is different from the large-scale farm system of tens of thousands of acres is that Chinese farmers can only cultivate one-third of an acre of land. The idiom "intensive farming" is very suitable for describing a need like cotton cultivation. For varieties that require a lot of labor, most farmers are no longer willing to plant them if they have the opportunity to go out to work. Even if the seed cotton is purchased at a price of more than 6 yuan per catty, if the cost of about 500 catties of seed cotton per acre is deducted, it will only cost less. It can provide an annual income of about 2,000 yuan, which is still insignificant compared to the income from working outside. Planting corn saves time and effort, and can be taken care of by the elderly. Therefore, the young man left the land where he was born and raised and went into the factory. , walked into the construction sites, and walked into various service industries in the city, while in the farmland, the old, weak, sick and disabled were left to take care of various types of hybrid or genetically modified corn with strong disease resistance and disaster resistance from the world commodity market. It seems that whatever China needs, there will definitely be a surge, such as copper, iron ore, and today's cotton. However, what the United States needs can be well suppressed, such as the textile industry that once provided new China. The industry that created a lot of foreign exchange was once brilliant. In terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, clothing export processing factories are densely spread across the country, attracting a large number of labor forces. In China's foreign trade, low-end textiles also occupy the first place. A large share. But hundreds of millions of socks and shorts can be exchanged for an airplane. It should be said that China's textiles have become a hostage in this trade war because of the loss of large-scale intensive agricultural production due to household production quotas. The cost advantage of the products and the lack of independent pricing power in their own hands, and they even have to accept the extortion of textile quotas from others. This little cotton thread has gradually tightened the throat of China's textile industry and cannibalized the profits of the company. But at a time when U.S. cotton is enjoying an unprecedented bumper harvest, people cannot help but lament the Americans' foresight and the strategic shortsightedness of our leaders over the past forty years. However, we now have the Belt and Road Strategy, which can change our strategic difficulties. Bureau.) Ibrahim¡¯s words,After many layers of translation by Tongshi, it reached the ears of Mr. Matsudaira Nobutsuna. This old middle-aged man is now also a figure with an annual income of two million dan. Whether calculated by the standards of the Japanese country or the standards of the Central Plains that we are used to, he is a thoroughly wealthy person who can rival the country. However, he is not only rich and powerful, but also powerful. In the Japanese country, his power was second only to General Tokugawa himself, and he was indifferent to several of his brother daimyo. And these Tokugawa family daimyo actually took his arrogant attitude as a matter of course. Speaking of which, the secret is very simple. Because he was the envoy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate, he had to travel between the Southern Guangdong Army and the Japanese country every year. After Li Muhua learned about this convenience, he had to ask him to bring some private money to supplement the family's income for his cheap grandson. After Li Huayu died in the battle, Li Shouhan learned of this situation, and he also allocated money and food from his private treasury on time, and handed it to Matsudaira Nobutsuna to take back to the Japanese country and give it to the emperor and his son for use. "Lest the life of this orphan and widowed mother be too miserable." Invisibly, Matsudaira Nobutsuna-sama became a person who communicated some secret affairs between the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Imperial family, and the Liang Guogong family. Such people, not to mention the famous names of the Tokugawa family, even the general himself must be somewhat afraid of him. When beating a dog, it depends on the owner! Besides, this dog is also my own dog. This condition made Mr. Matsudaira's eyes warm and his heart beat hot when he heard it. If the general agrees to this, what kind of reward will the general give me if I bring this news back to the country? Is it a promotion or a title? What good will those dog-like celebrities do to me? Or, what should I ask for from them? The number of mercenaries recruited each time was increased to 50,000. This condition would definitely make the Japanese country go crazy. However, after all, Matsudaira Nobutsuna is much more familiar with the situation of the South Cantonese Army than Ibrahim. There is no way, there are so many Japanese brides and Japanese laborers living in various parts of South China, and every bit of information has been collected. , which is also quite impressive. He knew very well that the South Cantonese Army did not lack money, food, oil, salt, cloth, or guns. What it lacked was nothing more than horses, cotton, and labor force. Japan itself did not have the first two, so it was helpless. However, the third item, labor force, was abundant in Japan! Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be so many cannon fodder mercenaries sent overseas. "My lord! The foreign minister has a favor to report." Matsudaira Nobutsuna spoke fluent Nazhili Mandarin. He stood up strictly according to the etiquette system, knelt down and kowtowed. This set of titles and etiquette made countless people around him bleed with jealousy. "Sir Songping, please speak." Li Shouhan nodded with a smile. "Now the general wants to punish the people and fight against rebellion. Although the foreign minister's country is a small overseas country, it also knows its loyalty. This time the general is going north to fight against rebellion, and the small country is willing to send 300,000 troops to help!" "What?" You dwarfs plan to send 300,000 people here? Li Shouhan's eyes immediately stood up. Do you plan to complete the unfinished business of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in my hands? Even if you don't have such big ambitions, if you arrive in the Central Plains, the seeds of ambition and greed will inevitably be planted in your hearts. Maybe in a few years this seed will take root and sprout, and blossom into sinful flowers! If I agree to your request to send troops to help today, God knows how the trolls on the Internet forum will scold me a few hundred years from now! no! Absolutely not! But don¡¯t reach out and hit the smiling man. When someone expresses kindness, you can't refuse, right? "This dwarf is also a thousand-year-old fox! Why are you playing offense in front of me and defending in front of me? On the surface, he is asking for 300,000 troops to help, but in fact, it is Ibrahim who proposed to recruit mercenaries. The standard has been raised to 50,000 people! However, since you are willing to provide people for me to consume, then why can't I help you?" Li Shouhan smiled inwardly and gave a definition to Matsudaira Nobutsuna's behavior. "Mr. Songping, you are so polite. The troops of our Southern Guangdong Army are full of horses and are full of fighting spirit. The 300,000 troops mentioned by your envoy, as well as the organization, training, equipment and tactics are far from those of our Southern Guangdong Army. On the battlefield, It will be of no use at the moment. Your Majesty may wish to tell the Emperor of your country that if you are willing to help, you may wish to send laborers to our various places in Nanzhong. For the time being, let¡¯s take the number of 300,000 as mentioned by your Majesty.¡± Li Shouhan also practiced for many years and became a master. In a few words, Matsudaira Nobutsuna's intention of using offense as defense was clearly stated, and he pointed out unceremoniously that your 300,000 troops are far from our Southern Guangdong Army in terms of organization, equipment, training and tactics. Far away, instead of being of help on the battlefield, it actually adds to the chaos. You'd better work for me honestly! I'll give you a sweet treat based on 300,000 people. After listening to Li Shouhan's words, Matsudaira Nobutsuna's ears were rumbling like a heavy artillery bombardment. He wished he could pull out his ribs and stab himself. "If I had known that His Highness Liang Guogong had such an attitude, why did he say 300,000 just now! Why didn't I say 400,000? Why didn't I say 500,000?! An extra ten thousand means an extra ten thousand in money and food! " " However, it was too late to regret it at this time. It was necessary for Matsudaira Nobutsuna to do a dance before the dust and kowtow three times and nine times to thank His Highness Liang Guogong for his kindness and kindness. Then, after returning to the library, he wrote a letter to General Tokugawa overnight and reported the good news to General Tokugawa. He also proposed in the letter that the labor export quota of 300,000 people should be divided into two parts. One part is limited to 100,000 people, and is divided by the feudal lords, especially Owari, Kii, and others, who are known as the three royal families. The three families of the Mito clan came to host it. As for whether the pro-vassal daimyo recruit within their own domain or recruit from the entire Japanese kingdom, that is their own method. As for the remaining 200,000 people, they are divided among the generation daimyo and the outside daimyo, more or less.