The main reason why Yuan Xi was really concerned about the awkward marriage in the Mi family was not Mi Zhen, but Mi Fang.
He was the only one who knew that Mi Fang was a fraud. His train of thought was so strange that even Liu Bei's way of treating people and his division of the world into three parts in the future could not keep Mi Fang's heart. Yuan Xi felt that with his current strength, he dared not let Mi Fang work in his camp. What if he went crazy?
The key point is that the other party is Brother Mi Zhen. You can't just kill him with one knife, right?
Otherwise, with Mi Zhen's appearance and character, and Yuan Xi being no fool, how could he not want her?
To put it bluntly, Yuan Xi just wanted to eat for free.
Yuan Xi admitted that he was shameless, but with his current strength, he really didn't want to plant an unstable mine in his own camp.
The fleet docked at Haixi Wharf to replenish goods and fresh water. Yuan Xi took Zhen Mi ashore to meet Zhen Yao, the current Haixi County magistrate.
Previously, Zhen Yao was sent to Youzhou to be a county magistrate. Although he worked diligently, he was unfamiliar with the place and could not make use of his strengths. After Yuan Xi took Guangling some time ago, he sent a letter asking Zhen Yao to come south to Haixi.
Zhen Yao had previously been in charge of the Zhen family's trade routes and was much more familiar with the ports. Now, he has been in office for over a month. Relying on the Zhen family's financial resources and connections, he has opened up the situation and is apparently much more at ease than before.
When Yuan Xi entered the city, he saw vehicles loaded with goods coming in and out, a thriving scene.
Inside the county magistrate's residence, Zhen Yao knelt down and bowed to Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi, saying, "This humble official pays respect to the magistrate and his wife."
Zhen Mi's eyes turned red and she called out, "Brother," and then she couldn't say anything.
Yuan Xi returned the greeting and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brother."
When Zhen Yao heard this name, he felt relieved, as it meant that Yuan Xi at least still cared about the relationship with the Zhen family.
Yuan Xi was looking through the documents in Haixi City while listening to Zhen Yao talking about the situation in the city. He nodded continuously and finally said, "Regarding the Zhen family's business route, if there are any personnel transfers or emergencies, my brother-in-law can contact my wife directly and everything will be handled by herself."
Zhen Yao quickly agreed.
Yuan Xi added: "Although Guangling is occupied by me, there are constant military events and it is dangerous to go further south."
"Although Guangling City is closer to the Yangtze River estuary, it is suitable as a military stronghold, but not suitable as a commercial port."
"Haixi is located in the north of Guangling. As the backup for the entire Guangling County, we should devote all our efforts to operating the sea route."
"My idea is to build a shipyard here to create seagoing vessels suitable for both commercial and combat use."
After hearing this, Zhen Yao said, "That's not a problem. There are quite a few shipbuilding craftsmen here. But there are two problems. One is that it takes a long time and requires a lot of investment. The other is that after forming a fleet, it is a problem as to where to open up trade."
Yuan Xi asked Zhen Yao to take the sea chart and pointed to three places and said, "Here, here, and here."
Zhen Yao asked again: "The first place is Yizhou, the second place is said to be an island country in the archipelago of hundreds of tribes, and the third place is the southernmost Funan country. What goods do you want to trade with them?"
Zhen Yao asked very crucial questions. Yuan Xi nodded slightly and said, "There are some very interesting crops in Yizhou. We can trade with the local natives and try to bring some back to plant in Xuzhou and Youzhou."
"As for the archipelago dominated by the Yamatai Kingdom, what they lack mainly are food and soy sauce, etc. We can exchange them for precious metals and jewelry."
"Although this place is backward, the marine technology is very interesting. We can find a way to exchange it."
"But remember not to leak out key technologies such as construction and smelting. We can talk about it later."
"And Funan is the most important of the three places. I only ask for one thing in return first."
"cotton."
Yuan Xi explained to Zhen Yao in detail the appearance and function of cotton. "The sooner this is done, the better. It would be best if we can get the corresponding planting and processing technology in return."
This is what Yuan Xi values most at the moment. Compared with the kudzu, hemp and wool that the people use today, cotton has much greater practical value, not to mention the expensive silk that only the gentry can afford.
The Book of Agriculture records: "Its fabric is dense, light and warm, and can be compared to silk. Compared to mulberry silk, it does not require the labor of collecting and raising silkworms, but it is guaranteed to be harvested. Compared to hemp, it does not require the labor of weaving and sewing, and it is beneficial for keeping out the cold."
This is an agricultural crop that is suitable for all lands, regardless of north or south, and is relied upon by all people, regardless of rich or poor, and can truly and significantly improve living standards.
Before the emergence of cotton products, it was extremely difficult for ordinary people to survive the winter. They could only use some old broken cotton mixed with some leftover scraps from silk reeling as warm fillings and stuff them into their hemp clothes, also known as "缊". Those with better conditions could wear dog skin robes, but that was all.
Yuan Xi had been trying to find out about cotton, but found that there was no news of cotton being grown in the Central Plains or even in the Jiangdong region at that time.
Although there are records in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty about Hainan Island paying tribute to cotton to Emperor Wu of Han, from the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, cotton cultivation was always limited to South China and the areas south of it, and the development of related industries was also very slow.
It was not until the Song Dynasty that Huang Dao Po learned the cotton spinning technique from the Li people and combined it with the Central Plains textile technology, improving the cotton textile technology and upgrading and developing a new spinning wheel. As a result, China's cotton textile technology began to advance by leaps and bounds and greatly promoted the promotion of cotton planting.
Technological improvement and production complement each other. If textile technology does not improve and the income from cotton planting is low, people will naturally be unwilling to plant it. However, the planting volume is not large and craftsmen have no motivation to improve related technologies.
Up to now, Yuan Xi has never seen cotton in any place he has visited. Even if there is cotton, it may be grown on a small scale in the mountainous malaria-infested areas in the far south.
His idea was to introduce cotton seeds to the northern regions suitable for planting. In terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, the ancients sometimes even put clothing first, because people could go hungry for a few days, but without clothes in the cold season, they could not survive a day.
More importantly, cotton is so superior that it and the accompanying cotton spinning technology are the key things that can truly drive leapfrog changes in history.
As a necessity of life, cotton is very suitable for independent production by individual families, which led to the fact that my country's self-sufficient natural economic system became more inward-looking and stable since the Ming Dynasty.
In the Ming Dynasty, Xu Yikui's "Weavers' Dialogue" recorded: "The hired workers in the town are all undocumented people from all over the place, and there are no less than tens of thousands of them every day. They are carrying things with their hands and feet, and they all look pale and lifeless. Although the food is not delicious, they are not very hungry or cold."
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, China's annual cotton cloth production was about 600 million pieces, six times that of Britain in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. The social and economic structure also changed accordingly, and even led to the emergence of the seeds of capitalism.
Moreover, cotton not only has huge economic value, but also has great potential strategic value.
The area outside the Northeast Great Wall is vast and fertile, but until the Ming Dynasty, it was difficult for the Central Plains dynasties to establish stable and long-term rule in the area north of the Liaodong Peninsula.
It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the development of the cotton textile industry, that the population capacity of the Northeast region began to increase significantly, which was largely related to the popularization of cotton.
Therefore, although Yuan Xi was appointed as the governor of Youzhou at that time, the princes of the world did not take it seriously. This was because the food, clothing, housing and transportation in Youzhou were extremely difficult to reach the levels of the Central Plains or even the Jiangnan region, which led to the population not increasing.
However, based on the knowledge of later generations, Yuan Xi found the two keys to open the gate of Youzhou.
The first is to develop water conservancy projects, plant a lot of rice, and ensure sufficient food.
The second is to grow cotton, develop textiles, and provide abundant clothing.
Once both are available, commercial development will be driven. Moreover, cotton cloth produced by textiles is a top-quality commodity, which will drive prosperity in the north.
That was why Yuan Xi was determined to occupy the bridgehead of Guangling County at all costs, in order to go out to sea to find a port for cotton seeds. This was an important part of his plan.
Now, step by step, one thing after another, he has finally reached where he is today.
At this time, he said to Zhen Yao with a serious face: "The cotton issue is the most important issue among the three places. It is related to the future plans of the next ten years or even a hundred years."
"I hope that you will bring back the cotton seeds at all costs. If you are short of money, I will use all the financial resources of Youzhou to help you just to accomplish this task."
Seeing Yuan Xi's serious words, Zhen Yao leaned forward and said, "Yao will do his best to live up to your trust!"
Cotton was a matter of great importance, so Yuan Xi placed his trusted confidant Zhen Yao at the Haixi seaport and even came in person to give instructions, as he did not want anything to go wrong.
Now that he saw that Zhen Yao had understood the importance of the matter, he felt relieved and said to Zhen Mi, "You two haven't seen each other for a long time. Let's catch up first. I'll go around the city."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi asked, "My husband wants to meet someone he knows in the city?"
"Don't you need my company?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I heard that Kong Beihai has been staying in Haixi and is going to Sili to meet the emperor soon. I want to talk to him in person, so there is no need for Madam to accompany him."
After hearing this, Zhen Yao hurriedly said, "Your Excellency is a step too late. Kong Beihai and his family have already left."
"What!" Yuan Xi was shocked: "Why is he walking so fast?"
"Isn't he going to marry his daughter to Taiyang Yang?"
"This wedding was held so hastily. In less than a month, Kong Beihai hurriedly married off his daughter?"
He suddenly remembered the scene when he and Kong Rong's daughter parted, and suddenly felt something strange in his heart.
Zhen Yao looked at Yuan Xi with a strange expression: "Your Excellency doesn't know?"
"The marriage between the Kong family and the Yang family has fallen through."
"Kong Beihai and his family sailed west along the Huai River half a month ago."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi was even more surprised. He and Zhen Mi looked at each other, and a thought emerged in their minds: Could this matter be related to me?
Zhen Yao thought for a moment and said, "This matter has caused a big stir. It is said that Mr. Yuanhua went to the Kong family with the Yang family, and then the two families cancelled the engagement."
"As for the inside story, both families kept it a secret."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi rolled her eyes and asked, "Did my husband do something bad?"
Yuan Xi cried out in grievance: "How is this possible? Am I that kind of person?"
"No, I have to go ask Mr. Yuanhua."
Zhen Yao saw Yuan Xi hurried out and thought to himself that his younger sister and the envoy were talking like this, but Yuan Xi didn't care at all. It seemed that the two of them had a good relationship. Otherwise, in an ordinary family, how could a wife question her husband like this?
But husband and wife are husband and wife, and favor will change over time, especially for a man like Yuan Xi, who has no shortage of women from noble families around him, and they are all of very high status. I still don't quite understand.
Thinking of this, Zhen Yao whispered to Zhen Mi: "Although I am not the eldest brother now, I still want to give you some advice."
"People's preferences change, but as the legal wife, I have to consider the issue of offspring as soon as possible."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi blushed and nodded slightly.