The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

On the first day of March, two people left Ying County in a carriage and headed west of Jiangling City.

The black-faced young man in the carriage was wearing a crimson suit, a copper seal and a yellow ribbon. He was obviously an official with a high rank, and was naturally Heifu. There was also a doctor in a plain white silk suit with a medicine bag on his shoulder. He was Chen Wujiu, who had just arrived in Nanjun and was ordered to work with Heifu to establish a medical soldier system.

"I never thought that it would be so hot in Nanjun in March."

Chen Wujiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and complained about the sun above his head. He was a northerner and didn't like the heat very much. After bathing, he didn't wear outer clothes, but came out in a thin silk suit.

The temperature was slightly higher than in later times. Heifu had seen rhinos by the Yunmeng Lake. It was said that elephants appeared after crossing the Yangtze River. In addition, it hadn't rained for several days, so the temperature was indeed a bit hot. Perhaps because he was used to the weather in Nanjun, he didn't feel much and just teased:

"Since you are afraid of heat, why didn't Doctor Chen stay in Xianyang and take the initiative to come to Nanjun? It's only spring now, you will be in trouble in summer!"

Chen Wujiu said: "Guanzhong and Xianyang are under the personal management of the master, and all the disciples are sent to various counties, so I took the initiative to ask to come to Nanjun."

He was very smart, and it would be easier to achieve results if he came to work with Heifu.

Heifu knew it well, but he didn't expose it, but just introduced the scenery of Jiangling.

Chen Wujiu was in Jiangling for the first time. In this city where "the clothes are fresh in the morning and worn in the evening", he looked around and felt very fresh. His eyes especially liked to look at those thin-waisted girls sitting on the bridge wearing thin silk.

Then he sighed: "Jiangling is worthy of being the old capital of Chu State, with Wu and Ba in the west and Yunmeng in the east. In terms of grandeur, Jiangling is certainly not as good as Xianyang, but in terms of prosperous trade and free and easy people, it is better than the old-fashioned Guanzhong."

However, he came to the south not for fun. Today, he and Heifu went to Jiangling for the medical soldiers.

Heifu did not hide his private interests and said to Chen Wujiu: "I think that medical soldiers should be divided into two parts. One is to follow the army to cooperate with the army, quickly bandage the injured, and then bring them back to the camp. The other is the medical soldiers who wait for the arrival of the wounded in the camp and assist the military doctors in saving people."

When an empty idea is implemented, many details must be considered. Since Heifu was entrusted with this task by the county governor and the county lieutenant, he must do his best. Otherwise, as the initiator of this matter, if he does not do as well as Guanzhong and other counties, wouldn't it be a shame?

Hei Fu continued, "After the ambulance soldiers go into battle with the army, they stand behind the formation together with the military judges. When the battle begins, they help each other to carry the wounded soldiers to a place far away from the battle formation on a stretcher and bandage their wounds to stop the bleeding. What kind of material is the bandage cloth used? Who will supply such a large amount? This is what you and I have to solve today." Hei Fu knew that bandages in later generations should be made of cotton cloth, but there was no cotton in China at that time, let alone cotton cloth, so he could only find a substitute among the existing cloth in Qin. As they talked, they also came to the outside of the weaving room in the west of Jiangling City...

...

The so-called weaving room is the textile workshop run by the Qin State. At this moment, the weaving room engineer has received the news and is waiting outside. Seeing Heifu and others arrive, he hurriedly greeted them and bowed:

"I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar. It is our honor that the Left Military Officer can come to the weaving room."

The chief officer of the County Gongcao is Gongcao Yuan, with a rank of 400 stones. Under him, there are many workshops, such as Tongguan Workshop and Weaving Workshop. Although the weaving room engineer is also an official, compared with Heifu's high position of 400 stones as "Left Military Officer", the salary of 100 stones is not worth mentioning. He had to welcome them warmly, and there was nothing wrong with calling himself an official.

Besides, there are rumors recently that this Zuo Bingcaoshi is not only a confidant of the county lieutenant, but also quite appreciated by the county governor, who invited him to his private room for a talk...

After a few polite words, Heifu made his intention clear, and the weaving room engineer immediately welcomed him in.

They first passed the silkworm room. March is the critical time for the growth of silkworms. They saw that the silkworms were densely packed on the silkworm sheets, and they were slowly crawling. The silkworm breeders spread the newly picked mulberry leaves, and only heard rustling sounds. After a while, they saw that the mulberry leaves were gnawed and only the veins and meridians were left.

Next was the weaving room. Before they approached, they heard the continuous sound of the loom. This sound was very familiar to Heifu, because his mother and uncle and sister-in-law often spun at home, weaving silk and hemp threads into cloth with warp and weft.

In this day and age, men farm and women weave, which is the standard division of labor. As the saying goes, "If a man does not farm, he may suffer from hunger; if a woman does not weave, she may suffer from cold." Crops can fill the stomachs of the family, and mulberry and hemp can provide them with clothes to cover their bodies. Raising silkworms, planting mulberry trees, reeling silk, and weaving silk are half of the sky that supports the self-sufficient small peasant economy.

In addition to individual small farmers weaving at home, the government, which has a huge demand for cloth every year, will also set up weaving workshops in counties and prefectures. The busy weavers in them are basically official slaves. After being implicated, the women of nobles and officials were often sent to the weaving room. At this moment, Hei Fu saw hundreds of women of different ages in the room, shaking spinning wheels and weaving looms, busy all the time.

The petty official "Diansi" who was specifically responsible for silk production also came to introduce that silk was the most important product of the weaving room, from raising silkworms to spinning, weaving, dyeing and refining, it was a one-stop service.

Heifu picked up a piece of newly produced silk, looked at it, and after pulling it, shook his head and said, "Silk is not good. It's too expensive. If we use it for bandages, it will cost too much..."

Although the silk of Nanjun is not as famous as Shu brocade, A'ao, Lu'ao, and Huainan Beijin, it is not cheap. An ordinary piece of silk is worth about five or six hundred coins, and a better one is worth thousands of coins!

Heifu must consider the cost issue: "Using silk to write is considered a waste by the Qin government, not to mention using it to bandage the wounds of soldiers who are lowly in the eyes of the nobles to save their lives? It's not like every battlefield emergency can be like before, where we can tear the enemy's silk flag as material!"

After rejecting silk, they continued to move forward and checked the ramie cloth mainly used for sewing inner garments, but it still didn't work. The fine ramie cloth is thin and light, which is just right for summer underwear, but it is a bit fragile for bandages, and the price is still expensive.

Finally, they came to the workshop where linen was woven. Because linen was only planted in February and March, there was no material for weaving, so it was not very busy here. Only a few female official slaves were weaving clothes and shoes with the linen left over from last year.

It is worth noting that those clothes were to be sent to the dyeing workshop behind to be dyed into ochre...

They were weaving ochre clothes for the slaves and concubines. The national ceremony, starting from the clothing system, people of different identities used different fabrics, cut different clothes, and dyed different colors. For example, Heifu, as an official, wore silk, while ordinary people and slaves and concubines wore linen. When walking on the street, you can tell what your professional class is at a glance.

At this time, a clerk hurriedly ran to the weaving room engineer and whispered a few words to him. The weaving room engineer hurriedly apologized to Heifu and Chen Wujiu, saying that there was something outside, so he asked the clerk in charge of linen weaving, "Dian Xi" (xǐ), to accompany him, and he hurried out.

Dian Zhi followed Hei Fu respectfully, and answered whatever Hei Fu asked.

As the largest clothing materials in the world, silk and linen, one is expensive and the other is cheap; one is gorgeous, the other is simple; one is smooth, the other is rough, and the two are often put together. But in fact, the history of linen in China is even older than that of silk.

"Let the military historian know that there is a legend about Boyu making clothes."

Dian Zhi, a petty official, laughed and said, "It is said that the ancient wise man Boyu was the first person to discover that hemp, which can be found everywhere, can be used to weave clothes. He ate hemp ropes, and his hands were hung with fingers. The cloth he wove was like a net. People followed suit, and then there was a loom, and all people could also use linen to cover their shame and keep warm."

"Like a net" means that it is very sparse, after all, the textile technology was primitive in ancient times.

"If there really is Huangdi Shennong, then what they wear, in addition to animal skins, is it also fishing nets?" Thinking of this scene, Hei Fu couldn't help laughing.

Then, the clerk took out three kinds of linen of different materials from the storehouse and introduced them one by one.

"This is ramie linen, which can be used to make cowhide, raincoat, or twisted into ropes and made into bags."

This linen is rough and heavy, obviously not suitable for bandages, Heifu immediately ruled it out.

Then, the clerk pointed to a piece of white and refreshing fabric and said: "This is ramie linen, which is also the most common linen in Nanjun. Most of the common people in Jiangling City wear this cloth."

Heifu picked up the cloth without saying a word, and after careful observation, he showed a happy expression.

Heifu also had this kind of cloth at home. Before he became a doctor, the clothes he wore were woven with this cloth. And in his mind, the most suitable substitute for gauze bandages is also this thing!

"If I remember correctly, the characteristics of gauze bandages are sparseness and obvious grids, which are exactly the same as ramie cloth!"

Heifu, who has worn this kind of cloth, especially remembers that this cloth is cool and sweat-free, breathable, and washable and sun-resistant!

It is simply the most suitable cloth for medical bandages. Of course, the most important thing is that it is cheap!

"In Anlu, it is about 300 coins per piece. Jiangling is a little more expensive, but it is also within the acceptable range."

The specifications of a piece of cloth are four feet long and two feet and two inches wide, which is just enough for an adult's clothes. If it is made into bandages, it can be made into at least 20 rolls.

Seeing that Heifu has found what he needs, he smiled with satisfaction. Dianzhi also flattered him: "Congratulations to Bingcao Shi. People say that mayflies dig and read, and linen clothes are like snow. It is more appropriate to use this linen cloth to wrap the wounds of soldiers!"

The words are very pleasant to hear. Heifu remembered this poem, and maybe he will use it in the future.

Then, Hei Fu asked the clerk about the production of ramie cloth. He was relieved when he learned that this kind of ramie was grown everywhere in Nanjun. The Jiangling weaving room alone could produce at least 50,000 pieces a year.

Before leaving, out of curiosity, he asked Dian Zhi again: "I see that this third kind of ramie cloth is slightly yellow in color and the material is not tight or dense. If there is not enough ramie cloth, it can also be used as a substitute. What is it called?"

Dian Zhi smiled and said: "This kind of ramie cloth is less in the south and more in the north. It is generally called fire hemp, also called hemp!"