Food, clothing, housing and transportation.

When it comes to food, what Li Kuan always misses are potatoes, corn, pumpkin, peanuts and peppers.

However, when it comes to clothes, what Li Kuan misses is cotton.

I am wearing silk fabric now. Although it is cool, it does not absorb sweat very well.

If you wear a piece of pure cotton clothing, it should feel better.

In the Tang Dynasty, let alone cotton-padded clothes, even the word "cotton" did not exist.

Today, the Tang Dynasty only has kapok that can be used to fill bedding, and there is no cotton at all.

Li Kuan didn't know where the cotton originated. After searching for it many times in Chang'an City, he gave up.

Now, I suddenly found a piece of cotton in my herb garden.

This surprise came a bit suddenly.

I like to collect all kinds of exotic flowers and herbs and plant them in the Herb Garden. This is something everyone in Chang'an City knows.

Many people think that this is because Li Kuan has money and nowhere to spend it, so he has to buy all kinds of strange seeds from barbarians.

Only Li Kuan himself knew that he wanted to have the opportunity to discover some flowers, plants and trees that did not exist in the Tang Dynasty.

After casting the net for so long, I finally had a harvest today.

If you catch a big fish in the net, even if you don't get anything new in the future, it's still worth it.

"Jingwen, is this small piece of cotton the only thing in the palace?"

Li Kuan suppressed the excitement in his heart and wanted to confirm what was going on.

Logically speaking, this cotton would not appear in Chang'an at this time.

But if Ma Zhou collected this from the Hu merchants of the Western Turks, it would make sense.

After all, the Western Turks now have a very vast territory, and even many Central Asian countries in later generations are still under the rule of the Western Turks.

It can be said that the Western Turks occupy the hub of the Silk Road and are the most important intermediate country for exchanges between the East and the West.

"Your Majesty, that's all. You know, the new flowers and plants planted in the Herb Garden will not cover a large area at once. What, is there anything wrong with these flowers?"

Although Cheng Jingwen also felt that the flowers in front of her were quite beautiful, they were not surprising.

And based on her understanding of Li Kuan, it was obvious that there was something special about this flower.

"There is no problem. Not only is it no problem, on the contrary, planting this flower is of great significance. It can even be said that Ma Zhou has stayed in Liangzhou for so long, and his achievements are not as good as finding this flower."

"ah?"

Hearing what Li Kuan said, Cheng Jingwen was stunned.

For Liangzhou to be as prosperous as it is today, Ma Zhou’s contribution is obvious to all.

To put it bluntly, among the subordinates of the Chu Palace, apart from Wang Xuance, Ma Zhou may have made the greatest contribution.

Now the prince actually said that his contribution was not as good as finding these white flowers.

The prince is not the kind of person who loses his ambition by playing with things.

Why would you say this?

"Jun Mai, you immediately arrange for people to rush to Liangzhou and ask Ma Zhou to collect cotton seeds."

As one of the most important crops in later generations, cotton plays a huge role.

Not only does it have a relatively large output, but most importantly, it is also cheap.

As long as large-scale planting is carried out, the clothing problem of most people can be completely solved.

Moreover, in addition to making clothes, cotton has many other uses.

Even in medicine, she has her own uniqueness.

In order to promote cotton as quickly as possible, Li Kuan felt that it was worth paying no matter how high the price was.

"Cotton seeds?" Xi Junmai stepped forward a little confused, "Your Majesty, are they this kind of white flower?"

"Yes, it's this kind of white flower. Since Ma Zhou was able to find these seeds last year, there is a high probability that some Hu merchants in Liangzhou City planted them."

At this time, no one should have discovered the textile function of cotton, and they were using it as an ornamental flower.

Li Kuan guessed that someone in Hu Shang's house in Liangzhou City might have planted it in the garden as an ornamental flower.

If you are lucky, you may be able to find more seeds, which is of great significance for large-scale promotion as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty, I have never heard of this cotton before. Does it have any other uses?"

Cheng Jingwen became more curious when she saw that Li Kuan had solemnly arranged for people to go to Liangzhou to collect seeds.

"That's right, there was no such thing in Chang'an City before. I gave it this name. Hey, let me explain for a moment. I'll let you see the uses of this cotton after a while."

The greenhouse in the Chu Prince's Mansion has not been expanded in area in recent years, and Li Kuan felt that it was time to expand it again.

In order to obtain more seeds as quickly as possible, it is necessary to speed up the growth cycle of cotton.

If you don't use a greenhouse, you can only plant one season a year.

Unless Li Kuan can obtain a large number of seeds, large-scale promotion will have to wait at least seven or eight years.

ten thousand years is too long, fight for now.

Li Kuan hoped that in three or four years, cotton would be planted on a large scale in Chang'an City.

Then it will take another two or three years to promote it in Guanzhong Road, Hebei Road and Henan Road.

Six or seven years later, cotton fabrics entered the homes of ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty.

It is not that easy to complete this task.

The cost of building a greenhouse is not worth worrying about.

"Your Majesty, now that you say that, I'm even more curious."

When Cheng Jingwen saw that Li Kuan was showing off, she stamped her feet and said coquettishly.

Even though she is already a mother, she is actually just a girl under twenty years old.

In future generations, she will still be a school girl.

"Yes, Your Majesty, what is the use of this cotton? I only heard that there are Kapok flowers in Jiangnan Road and Lingnan Road. I heard that they can be used to fill bedding. Could it be that this cotton is the same as Kapok flower and can be used to fill beddings?"

?"

Qing'er also raised questions.

"You guessed it half right. This cotton can naturally be used to fill bedding. But its greater use is to make cloth."

There is nothing to hide from Cheng Jingwen, Qing'er and the others.

"Making cloth?" Cheng Jingwen looked confused, "Husband, I heard that kapok cannot be used to make cloth?"

"Yes, kapok cannot be used, but cotton can be used. This is its greatest value. To put it bluntly, once cotton is grown on a large scale, linen will disappear from the stage of history."

Li Kuan's conclusion was difficult to accept even if Cheng Jingwen and Qing'er trusted him very much.

However, it is enough to know that growing cotton is not just a plaything.

"Let's go and look elsewhere. We might find something new."

Li Kuan suddenly became very interested in his own herb garden. He had only not been there for half a month, but he had such a big surprise.

It's like cotton. If he hadn't seen it blooming, Li Kuan wouldn't have recognized it. He had never grown cotton in his previous life.

The same goes for other things. You may recognize what a certain flower or plant looks like at a certain stage, but at another stage, you may not recognize it.

For example, in later generations, countless people have eaten rice and wheat, but those who don't know their seedlings will grab a handful.

There are not so many miracles in the world. Li Kuan walked around the Baicao Garden with the corn and found nothing special except cotton. "Your Majesty, didn't Fang Erlang say it when he left Beijing?

Nanyang has the most exotic flowers and plants. When the fleet comes back, there may be many surprises."

Cheng Jingwen saw that Li Kuan looked a little disappointed, so she comforted him.

During last year's trip to Nanyang, Yuchihuan and the others focused on spices and didn't pay much attention to other things.

When they set out this spring, Li Kuan specially told them to pay attention to various rare crops in Nanyang.

On this trip to Nanyang, the main task of the fleet was to build and improve supply points, collect some special vegetable and grain seeds, and finally go to the Spice Island to load spices back.

Since the purpose is clear and the route is clear, we should wait until winter comes to return to Chang'an City.

"Forget it, with this cotton, the surprise is enough." Li Kuan sighed, thinking that he should settle the cotton matter first, "Junmai, you can send someone to Liangzhou to tell Ma Zhou and let him understand clearly.

The source of cotton. If you know the definite information, let Northwest Trade send a caravan to go to the Western Regions to get more seeds."

Li Kuan thought for a while and felt that there might not be a large amount of cotton seeds in Liangzhou. Maybe he would get a bigger harvest by going to the Western Regions.

It just so happened that the people from the Intelligence and Investigation Bureau of the Prince of Chu's Palace were also asked to infiltrate the Western Turks in preparation for emergencies.

…

Along with a burst of autumn rain, the heat in Chang'an City has decreased.
To be continued...