Chapter 903: Suggestion: Open a Textile Workshop

Some things are easier for the Empress to do than for the Emperor.

For instance, ordering investigations into those who seek to marry palace maids, helping palace maids find their families, or establishing textile workshops on the outskirts of Jingcheng to settle displaced palace maids.

When Pan Yun followed the lady-in-waiting into the Kunning Palace, Empress Wang was showing Empress Qian the spinning and weaving machines placed in the courtyard.

Upon seeing Pan Yun, she immediately waved her over: "National Teacher, come quickly—these are the spinning and weaving machines just delivered by the Ministry of Works; they say the blueprints came from you."

Pan Xiaohei leapt lightly from the roof, darting nimbly onto the nearby rockery, silently sneering: 【They clearly copied these from my records.】

Pan Yun pretended not to hear, bowed to both Empresses, then smiled: "How do the two Imperial Consorts find them?"

Empress Wang extended her hand, and a palace maid immediately presented three spools of thread, differing in color and thickness: "These are the threads spun by the palace maids using the spinning machines; since they're still unskilled, it took them an hour."

Another palace maid added: "Once we're proficient, I can spin this much thread in fifteen minutes—the spinning machine triples the number of spindles, and the weaving machine's efficiency has improved nearly threefold."

Empress Wang then had a palace maid bring forward half a bolt of cloth: "This is what we just wove on this loom. Everything else is fine, but it requires too much force—the maids slow down after weaving for half an hour, and it's actually less efficient than the old looms."

Pan Yun took it, glanced at it, then examined the loom, and smiled faintly: "This loom can still be improved—I'll replace some components to make it smoother and less strenuous. Beyond that, I can also build looms powered by water and wind."

Empress Wang's eyes brightened slightly: "I heard the Ministry of Works officials who delivered the machines say you've recently built wind-powered water wheels that work very well—is the wind-powered loom the same? Won't that require outdoor weaving? What if it rains? Or if there's heavy wind and sand, won't the threads and cloth get dirty?"

Empress Wang was only nineteen, married for less than a year, and still somewhat impulsive; she wrinkled her nose: "National Teacher grew up in Jingcheng—you must know: every winter and spring, the wind and sand here are terrible. At worst, yellow dust fills the sky; people come back from going out with two catties of mud scraped off their faces—how could you possibly place a loom outdoors?"

Pan Yun burst into laughter at her exaggerated description: "Not outdoors—the windwheel can be placed atop the roof; with slight modifications during construction, we can prevent sand and dust from blowing in. When the female workers need the loom, they simply attach the drive rope and begin."

Pan Yun calculated for them: if the new spinning and weaving machines could be scaled up, their efficiency could triple that of current textile workshops.

"Spinners handle only the yarn, weavers handle only the patterns—if we organize production with specialized roles, I believe efficiency could increase another two-fold."

Empress Wang frowned skeptically: "Just by dividing labor, efficiency could double?"

Empress Qian, who had remained silent, looked thoughtful, lips parting as if to speak, then hesitating.

Empress Wang noticed and immediately clasped her hand: "Sister-in-law, do you know something?"

Empress Qian's face flushed slightly; her voice was quiet: "I only recall when I was young, accompanying my father to the military camp to watch artisans forging arrowheads—they labored painfully, hammering and assembling separately. Later, Father divided the tasks: seventeen men specialized in forging, three in assembly. Though still twenty men total, efficiency rose by a third after the division—it was astonishing."

Pan Yun: "Specialized roles save time switching tasks and make movements more proficient."

Empress Wang declared at once: "Good—then our textile workshop will also divide labor, assign specialized roles."

Empress Qian, seeing Empress Wang's excitement, hesitated: "Our ancestors forbade the imperial family from competing with the people for profit. If we do this, I fear the ministers will object."

Pan Yun nodded: "Precisely. So we must silence them before they speak."

Empress Wang frowned: "How do we silence them? We're opening the workshop to settle palace maids who've left the palace—not to compete for profit."

Empress Qian: "Once the workshop is running, it must make a profit—otherwise isn't it just wasting state funds? And making profit inevitably involves competing for the people's wealth."

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Pan Yun clasped her hands: "A workshop that doesn't seek profit isn't a good workshop—it harms the workers too. But if the profits serve the people, the ministers can no longer accuse the Imperial Consorts of competing with the people for profit."

The two Empresses exchanged glances; both felt Pan Yun's logic was sound.

"Then how should the money be used for the people?"

Looking at the two young Empresses, Pan Yun sighed.

Neither came from noble or wealthy families, so both genuinely cared for commoners, pitying the poor and weak. The Great Ming's Empresses always prized reputation; every girl aspired to be a virtuous Empress.

Because their predecessors had been so exemplary—Empress Ma, Empress Xu, Empress Zhang—each one worthy of eternal fame.

Yet they themselves were raised in comfort; though they'd seen the people's lives, they didn't know how harsh those lives truly were.

Charitable endeavors for the people, no matter how much money, were never enough.

Empress Wang had just become Empress; Empress Qian had held the title only a few years. Their idea of charity was donating money, clothes, and grain to orphanages—but they didn't know true charity was sustainable, was teaching how to fish.

Pan Yun said: "Since the money comes from the female workers in the textile workshop, let it serve women and children across the realm."

Pan Yun proposed several ideas: after the textile workshop turned a profit, the two Empresses could establish a textile academy in Jingcheng, teaching impoverished girls to spin and weave;

"With a means of livelihood, no matter where they end up, they can survive," Pan Yun said. "You two are the Mother of the Nation—no parental love surpasses this."

The two Empresses were stirred deeply: "We are their mothers!"

Pan Yun nodded: "Yes. You are the Mother of the Nation."

Empress Wang's eyes sparkled; even Empress Qian's eyes glistened with tears, the gray pallor in them fading noticeably.

Empress Qian's lady-in-waiting, watching, felt a surge of emotion and clenched her fists tightly.

She had originally intended to advise Empress Qian not to involve herself too deeply in Empress Wang's affairs.

After all, Empress Wang was the current Empress, the Mother of the Nation—but seeing the renewed light in Empress Qian's eyes, the life returning to her, she could no longer bring herself to dissuade her.

Empress Wang also noticed Empress Qian's change, and was overjoyed.

She immediately agreed, pressing Pan Yun: "Are there more ideas?"

Pan Yun smiled faintly: "Of course. Besides the textile academy, you two could establish several more schools beside the orphanage—children from poor families, boys and girls alike, could attend."

She added: "You could also use funds to redeem slaves, granting them freedom and sending them to schools or the textile academy to learn skills, then employ them in the textile workshop…"

Thus a virtuous cycle was formed.