Chen Xun circled the spinning machine, muttering excitedly, "Wonderful, wonderful! More spindles—what's this? How does the spinning machine start moving with just a light touch?"
Yu Qian was already looking up at the roof. Nothing could be seen from inside, but he had noticed it when entering the workshop. "It's the wind!"
After inspecting the spinning machine, they looked at the loom. When Chen Xun saw that the female workers could actually weave double-sided jacquard, he immediately sidled up to Pan Yun and eagerly asked, "National Preceptor, were these new spinning machines and looms made by you?"
Pan Yun said, "The credit belongs to the officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Works' Textile Department."
"Even so, the National Preceptor's guidance was indispensable," Chen Xun said, rubbing his hands. "Since coming to the Ministry of Works, you have not only created wind-powered waterwheels and improved all kinds of farming tools, but also made spinning machines and looms like these. It is truly the fortune of the nation, the fortune of the nation indeed~~"
If the Daoists trusted by emperors throughout the ages had not squandered the nation's wealth, bewitched emperors into refining and consuming elixirs, and built Daoist temples, but instead had enjoyed creating tools that benefited both the country and its people like Pan Yun, why would they have guarded so fiercely against Daoists participating in government?
Chen Xun cautiously asked whether Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau could be given a batch of the new looms and spinning machines.
Chen Xun had already begun calculating rapidly. He said to the emperor, "Now that the maritime ban has been thrown wide open, Ming Dynasty cloth is hugely popular overseas. The Maritime Trade Office can take over part of the trade. Aside from the silk it supplies as tribute, Jiangning Imperial Textile