Liu Heng waved his hand." Although the officials of the prefecture can own property, they are prohibited from operating it when they are officials. Those who abuse their power for personal gain will be punished.
To set an example, I want to transfer the paper making and printing to the prefecture government, and all the income will be put into the prefecture government's treasury. Of course, this didn't affect the old chief's share of the profits.”
"Governor Liu is so righteous. I will definitely support you to the end!" Wang Hao was very touched.”
January 4th, the improved spinning machine and the new loom were completed at the same time.
Several old carpenters watched excitedly as the two " treasures " that they had personally forged began to work under the control of the workers. The tighter and stronger hemp and cotton threads continued to extend under the sound of the spinning machine. The workers skillfully guided the thread into the loom. Then, under the joyful sound of the loom, high-quality, thick and soft cotton cloth was produced inch by inch.
What surprised everyone the most was the high efficiency of the spinning machine. It could produce eight threads at the same time. The loom was not only simple to operate, but its weaving efficiency was also much higher than other machines of the same era.
Liu Heng was in an indescribable mood as he caressed such a high-quality cloth. This was the product of the combination of technology that transcended the era. Although it was a small step in improving productivity, it was a big step in the process of primary industrialization!
On January 5th, the third announcement was made: Women in the county between the ages of 16 to 45, regardless of whether they were married or not, could register at the county government and apply to work in the county government's weaving workshop. Those with spinning and weaving experience would be given priority. The salary was scheduled to be settled on a monthly basis, and the specific method would be notified later.
At the same time, a secret order was sent to Zhao Feng, asking him to send more people to the southern provinces to sell paper and books, and at the same time, purchase hemp, cotton, silk, and other textile materials in large quantities. He also began to secretly purchase food, copper, iron, and other materials to hoard.
Zhao Feng connected the secret order with the public announcement and immediately understood Liu Heng's intention. He couldn't help but praise Liu Heng's generosity.
This was the strangest announcement. In the name of the prefecture, it was actually summoning female workers to open a weaving workshop.
Spinning and weaving at home was one thing. After all, that was an old tradition that had been passed down for hundreds of years.
But now, this self-sufficient method was to be changed to concentrated production. In other words, the conservative rule that women could not easily show their faces would be broken.
Xun Yu was very puzzled. After hearing the news, he rushed back from Liaoyang overnight and was the first to step into the prefecture early in the morning."My lord, what's the matter with the prefecture's workshop recruiting female workers?”
Liu Heng stretched and smiled." Xun Gong, don't be anxious. Your eyes are red and you're covered in dust. You must have been traveling all night. Come in and rest."”
Xun Yu ignored him and continued," The man is outside and the woman is inside. This is the teaching of the ancient sages. How can it be easily broken? Spinning and weaving can only be done in one's own house. Why gather them together to cause trouble?”
Liu Heng knew that he couldn't force it, so he explained,""Xun Gonggong's words are just empty words.
However, it did not benefit the country and the people. How long does it take for a woman to spin and weave at home to produce a bolt of cloth?”
Xun Yu thought about it and replied,"About two months!"”
"If that's the case," Liu Heng smiled,"two women can produce at most two bolts of cloth." However, if one person was responsible for spinning and the other for weaving, supplemented by new equipment, how much would Xun Gong produce?”
Xun Yu was stunned and shook his head.”
Liu Heng pulled him to the room where the new spinning machine and loom were placed and pointed out,""This is newly manufactured. With the same manpower, they can produce several times the amount of cloth. In other words, two people and two rolls of cloth would only take about half a month!”
Xun Yu was dumbfounded!
" The higher the efficiency, the lower the price of cloth. Isn't this a good thing for the country and the people?" Liu Heng continued.
The concentration of female workers was beneficial to the unified management of material transportation. It could also control the quality and produce cloth of the same specifications and style. Moreover, the female workers could work together to learn from each other to improve efficiency.
If he were to make him work at home, he would not get any of these benefits. He would get half the results with twice the effort!”
Women from rich families naturally did not need to show their faces and engage in production, but poor families and middle and lower class people did not care about this much. As long as they could earn money to make a living, they could do anything. When they were hungry, they did not care about etiquette! In an instant, the prefecture's threshold was almost flattened once again!
January 7th, the fourth announcement was made: All carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, and those with such skills in the county must register with the county within two days and wait for the county government to recruit them.
January 9th, the fifth announcement was made: All those who are willing to join the army, strong and brave between the ages of eighteen to thirty in the county can apply to join the army in the county city.
On January 10th, the three counties officially began to distribute land.
Starting from the flat and fertile land around the county city, every 50 mu of land was measured and marked with stakes. Each piece of land was in a strip shape to ensure that there was as much fertile land as possible.
There were channels between the plots along the river to facilitate the construction of irrigation ditches after spring.
The poor people of the three counties were extremely excited. This land was the dream of their ancestors.
In this precarious era where corrupt officials ran amok, the government actually distributed land to the people. Although the contract emphasized that the land belonged to the county government, it didn't matter to the people who it belonged to because the contract clearly stated that there was no tax and that it was valid for 50 years. In other words, they didn't have to worry about having no land to farm in their lives.
The first thing that came to the people's minds when they received the title deed was to bring their families to the prefecture's gate to kowtow. It was only then that they understood the intention of the first announcement forbidding the people from leaving the prefecture.
This was the first nationalization of land, and it was clearly stated in the contract that it would only take effect under the current prefect. In other words, the land deed would be invalid when the next prefect arrived.
Therefore, for the sake of their own livelihood, the commoners could only guarantee that there would be land for farming by completely and firmly supporting the prefecture under the new prefect's rule!
As a result, the hearts of the people were unprecedentedly united, and the worship of the people in the three counties for Governor Liu reached an unprecedented level.
After the announcement of the conscription, hundreds of people applied every day. Thousands of women had registered at the prefecture. It was obvious that the people's trust in the prefecture had greatly increased because of the land.
Faced with all this, Xun Yu was speechless. The people's will was unstoppable.
On the same day, the carpenters, blacksmiths, and masons from the three counties gathered at Xuantu.
Liu Heng ordered the idle men to form a logging team and began to cut down trees to prepare wood for the upcoming projects.
Liu Heng, who came from the future, was very clear about the importance of protecting the environment. Over-cutting would lead to abnormal climate, lack of water resources, and even desert. Therefore, when he issued the order to cut down the forest, he also issued a guide manual, which explained in detail how to protect ancient trees, how to protect water sources, how to protect rare tree species, how to cut down in batches, and so on.
In addition, Liu Heng ordered Xiao Gang to organize manpower to build artificial forest farms on flat land suitable for planting trees to prepare for the demand for wood in five to ten years. He also encouraged the people to plant trees suitable for wood, such as poplar and birch.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]