Daming 1805

Chapter 400 "You are the prince"

Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan, the two emperors of the Ming Dynasty, compared the contents of the booklet left by Emperor Shizu, and basically understood Zhu Jingyuan's intentions and ideas.

The two basically did not object to Zhu Jingyuan's proposal, because it was an option that Emperor Shizu also proposed.

However, in terms of details, Zhu Jianyan quickly raised questions:
"How should we limit the scale and business scope of this government-run consortium?"

Zhu Jingyuan said directly:

"The scope means that there is no scope. Since it is the property of the imperial court, any legal industry that exists can be operated.

"It is even illegal for ordinary people and can only be operated by the royal family, and the government-run consortium can also operate it.

"The government-run consortium can compete in an orderly manner with the royal consortium, reducing the negative effects of the complete monopoly of the royal consortium.

"The scale is also not the scale, the royal consortium is still one consortium in essence, while the official consortium is actually countless.

"The central imperial court can build a global manufacturer that operates throughout the Ming Dynasty and even the whole world.

"Provinces can build their own large manufacturers, prefectures and counties can operate local manufacturers, and towns can also operate township manufacturers.

“However, there must be some restrictions on management.

"The yamen at the same level cannot directly manage the government-run manufacturers at the same level, they must be promoted at least one level higher.

"The registration and management of township government-run manufacturers should be placed in the county, and the registration and management of county-level government-run manufacturers should also be placed in the government.

"Overseas provincial-level government-run manufacturers are under the administration of the Dayu Yamen, and overseas manufacturers in the Dayu and local provinces directly under the central government are under the administration of the central court.

"In fact, the status of government-run manufacturers at all levels is placed on the same level as the local government offices.

"Prevent local government officials from using their status to directly interfere with various affairs of local manufacturers.

"At the same time, manufacturers operating across administrative regions must be identified as higher-level manufacturers.

"Manufacturers operating across two counties must be regarded as government-level manufacturers, and they must register with the province and be managed by the province.

"Cross-government operations, even if it is a provincial-level manufacturer, overseas companies have to register with the Dayu Yamen, and local ones have to go to the Central Government Office.

"Regardless of whether it is local or overseas, cross-provincial operations must at least be registered and applied for at the Central Government Office."

Zhu Jianyan nodded and shook his head:

"If the scope and scale are not limited at all, then if it is a government-run factory at the township and street level, can it even operate bun shops and small restaurants on the street?"

Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while:

"My advice is, if they can do a good job and not lose money, go for it.

"The important role of government-run manufacturers is to cover all industries and all aspects of society.

"All workers, workers in any industry, can choose to work in government-run factories.

"Their goal is to compete with the people, that is, to compete with private capital.

"The reform direction of the royal consortium in recent years is to focus on high-end and large-scale industries.

"The past few years have been gradually clearing low-level and small-scale industries.

"Before, it was transferred to private management, and it can be transferred directly to government-run manufacturers established by government offices at all levels in the future."

Zhu Jianyan frowned after hearing this, and Zhu Zhongliang spoke again:

"I think, Jian Yan, if you really follow Jingyuan's plan, then Daming's private capital will be very painful.

"The bureaucrats in the past opposed the court's competition with the people for profit, but they actually opposed the royal family's direct competition with private capital.

"If the government-run consortium planned by Jingyuan competes with the people for profit, in fact, the bureaucracy will end up competing with private capital.

"The bureaucratic system should not object, at least not collectively and explicitly.

"In this way, private capital may not be able to find a spokesperson to vent their dissatisfaction in official channels.

"But they won't bear it completely unconditionally, and I can't predict what they might do.

"You two have to be mentally prepared."

Zhu Jianyan still frowned and said nothing, thinking about these questions in his heart.

Zhu Jingyuan thought about the situation, and added a few more thoughts:

“Actually, there is another option, that is public-private partnership.

"The government-run consortium does not have to operate entirely on its own, but can use money to invest in private manufacturers.

"The government-run consortium holds shares but does not directly operate them.

"You can invest in various private inventions and entrepreneurial ideas, replacing the ecological niche of private capital in investment.

"And... even if private capital is dissatisfied, it will not be very obvious now.

"It will not show up until the war and technological dividends subside, and when private operations start to be difficult.

"And this time period is just a good time to make this kind of reform adjustment."

This time Zhu Zhongliang stopped talking, Zhu Jianyan couldn't help it:
"You also know that now there are wars and technological dividends, so even if there are problems, they won't show up.

"Then wait until it breaks out ten or twenty years later, can you solve it by yourself?"

Zhu Jingyuan directly shook his head:
"I do not know either."

Zhu Jianyan was suddenly speechless:
"Then how dare you say it."

Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while:

"This is at least a matter of a generation. When private capital feels that the government-run consortium is suppressing them in all aspects, and the royal consortium is still controlling various rules at the top, it will be a done deal."

Zhu Jianyan immediately asked back:
"It's a done deal, aren't you afraid that they will break the can and cause what you call a bourgeois revolution?"

Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said:
"The highest bourgeoisie is the royal family, and the largest bourgeoisie is the imperial court.

"Under the suppression of these two big mountains, the scale that private capital can develop can account for one-third of the gross national product of Ming Dynasty.

"As the emperor controls the imperial consortium and the official consortium, most of the bureaucracy will be on the side of the emperor.

"How do ordinary private capital groups rely on to create a bourgeois revolution?"

Zhu Jianyan thought for a while and said:
"According to what you said, let alone the private manufacturers grow stronger, the probability of being directly acquired by the government-run consortium is even greater.

"In the end, there may only be some individual small vendors left, and they can still be privately operated industries."

Zhu Jingyuan smiled again and said:
"That kind of situation can't be said to be bad, if it is true that all industries are run by the royal family and the court, then we can directly switch to ownership by the whole people..."

As soon as these words came out, the reactions of the two emperors, Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan, suddenly became a little fierce.

Almost at the same time, they stared at Zhu Jingyuan with wide eyes:
"You are the prince! The core member of the royal family! What kind of ownership by the whole people!"

Zhu Jingyuan also immediately realized that he is a prince:

"Then slightly limit the scope and scale of the government-run consortium.

"Get rid of the bottom ones, the township-level yamen is too small, so there is no need to set up government-run factories and commercial firms.

"Government-run manufacturers start at the county level at least, and small and medium-sized markets and self-employed businesses below the county level are left to the private sector as much as possible.

"At the same time, the top industries can also be restricted.

"The government-run consortium focuses on industries with economies of scale, bulk products and consumer goods, and various labor-intensive manufacturing industries, absorbing and controlling more industrial population for the imperial court.

"If you don't take the initiative to get involved in high-tech core industries, those things will be managed by the royal consortium.

"In this way, Daming's industry can form a three-tier structure in the future.

"Royal consortia control core and high-end industries, government-run consortiums focus on bulk commodities and industries with economies of scale, and private capital engages in low-end and small-scale industries at the local and township levels,"

Zhu Jianyan was more satisfied and accepted this time:

"That's pretty much it."

After Zhu Zhongliang, Zhu Jianyan, and Zhu Jingyuan, the grandparents and grandchildren, determined the general direction, they continued to discuss the details.

Mainly, Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan stared at Zhu Jingyuan, listed all these ideas, and the three of them discussed and judged the pros and cons together.

The grandparents and grandchildren were in charge of this small conference room, and they continued to talk in secret for three days.

No one on the outside knew what they were talking about.

However, after the talks ended, Emperor Zhu Jianyan of the Ming Dynasty returned to the court and began to organize the "Daming Consortium".

The first batch of personnel and industries were transferred directly from the royal consortium.

At the same time, it began to improve the welfare standards of bureaucrats at all levels, and began to build various living security facilities.

The organization and construction of these housing, schools and other security facilities are the first batch of new businesses of the newly established Daming Consortium.

He assumed the attitude of taking care of everything from the time he was admitted as a scholar to the end of his life.

No matter which item, it is a great thing for officials.

The original withdrawal of the vassal and the establishment of the province was a great thing for the officials of the vassal state.

Opening up the six major industries is a good thing for the bureaucrats who have industries at home and represent certain industries.

The improvement of the treatment of all officials this time is a good thing for all officials.

The current task of the government-run consortium seems to be related organizations that are responsible for the treatment of officials.

Therefore, even officials with property at home did not immediately think of the subsequent competition between the government-run consortium and their family.

Therefore, the entire bureaucratic system feels like universal celebration.

Many bureaucrats even felt like weeping with joy.

It has been more than 150 years since Renwu, the emperor of Ming Dynasty finally thought of loosening the bureaucratic system.

Although no one knows the specific reason why the emperor changed his mind, the emperor's close officials revealed some side information.

The three generations of the emperor's family held a meeting in Yingtian Mansion.

Specially waiting for Zhu Jingyuan to return from Nanyang, the three generations specially met in Yingtianfu for a meeting.

It is conceivable that there must be Zhu Jingyuan's reasons for this.

Otherwise, the two generations of emperors don't have to go to Nanjing, can't they make a decision in the capital?

Considering the series of measures Zhu Jingyuan had put forward, most officials put their gratitude on Zhu Jingyuan.

As for the impact of the competition between the government-run consortium and private capital, that will be a matter for the future.

It is conceivable that even if this kind of competition starts, except for officials who represent the interests of certain industrial capitals, the vast majority of officials who are purely officials will still have their hearts towards the court.

On the other side, after the meeting, Zhu Jingyuan and Zhu Zhongliang went to visit the battleship industry factories around Yingtianfu.

The most important thing is the naval gun factory.

The reception and accompanying personnel were Wang Lai and Li Rui who followed Zhu Jianyan from the capital.

Seven years ago, the two were the heads of the Military Weapons Department and the Naval Ship Department of the Ministry of Industry, and both were six-rank officials.

Now they are all ministers of the newly established "Ministry of Ordnance", and they are already officials of the third rank.

The two have been promoted to six levels within seven years, which is an absolute anomaly in the bureaucratic system of Ming Dynasty.

Under normal circumstances, there are three-year terms, and when the term expires, only when there is no fault in the inspection and contributions, can they be promoted to a higher level normally.

As long as there are normal situations, there are also abnormal situations.

The Military Weapons Department and Naval Ship Department of the Ministry of Industry are too important in their own right, but there was no way to split the departments in the past few years.

As a result, the rank of the chief officials of the two divisions was raised from the fifth rank to the fourth rank.

This promotion just happened to cause the two of them to meet each other. Less than two years after being promoted to doctor, they were directly promoted two levels out of thin air.

Last year, after Da Ming established the Dayu and Jiuqing, the Armament Department and Ship Department were finally separated from the Ministry of Industry to form the Xinde Ordnance Department.

As the heads of the two divisions that were the actual predecessors of the entire department, the two of them also became the assistant ministers of the new department.

Let them be promoted in advance within the department, instead of transferring officials of a more suitable level from the outside, because there is another practice set by Emperor Shizu in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, and professional department officials should be promoted internally as much as possible.

So let them jump directly from the fourth rank to be the third rank servant, instead of transferring a third rank from the outside to be the servant.

Both of them are indeed capable and have made great contributions.

Under Zhu Jingyuan's suggestion and urging, these two departments have continuously produced new inventions in the past few years.

If you don't look at the qualifications and years, but simply look at the merits to determine the rank, these inventions are enough for two people to be promoted to Shangshu.

So these two people are also very grateful to Zhu Jingyuan, and they also respect from the bottom of their hearts. They both feel that they have really met someone like Emperor Shizu.

The two received Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jingyuan's grandfather and grandson outside the factory gate. They saluted very seriously and even excitedly, and then led the two into the factory together for a visit.

Everyone first went directly to the experimental site of the manufactured artillery

On the way to the venue, Li Rui explained the situation to Zhu Jingyuan excitedly:
"Your Highness, the performance of electroslag remelting steel is really excellent, compared with the steel smelted by traditional techniques, it has been improved in all aspects.

"The naval gun made with this technique can fully meet your original requirements.

"Moreover, if we just want to meet the parameters you mentioned, we can even suppress the total weight of a single cannon including the breech block to less than 380 tons. Under the same weight, we may only be able to manufacture a [-]mm cannon using traditional techniques. .

"In order to obtain better performance and leave enough margin, we relaxed the weight of the artillery to 120 tons.

"At present, the [-]-ton electroslag remelting furnace is still being researched, and the existing test barrel still uses a three-layer structure.

"The multi-layer nested structure of the gun barrel itself can replace the worn inner liner alone, which is also a cost advantage.

"A 420mm caliber gun with fifty times the caliber uses a 360kg super-heavy armor-piercing projectile. When the muzzle velocity reaches 800 meters per second, it still has a lifespan of at least [-] to [-] rounds.

"If you further increase the weight of the shell, use an extremely heavy shell of 800 kilograms, and continue to maintain a muzzle velocity of 150 meters per second, it should still be able to maintain a life span of more than [-] rounds.

"So now the designers have some disputes on this issue, that is, whether to use the extremely heavy armor-piercing projectile with a weight of [-] kilograms in the mass-produced artillery."

(End of this chapter)