I'm really not doing business

Chapter 563: The Minister of Industry Under Pressure

As the leader of the Ming Labor Party, Wang Chonggu must step up and shoulder this responsibility at this time. Since His Majesty has given him the royal favor, he must respond and give feedback, otherwise the royal favor will disappear.

When Wang Daokun was in trouble, Wang Chonggu took the initiative to step forward and share some of the pressure for the workers.

Wang Daokun cast a grateful look. The Zhejiang Party was weak to begin with, and Tan Lun had no intention of forming a party. Now the only person in the court who could provide help was Wang Chonggu. The workshop of the Xishan Coal Bureau could indeed provide great help, at least allowing the craftsmen of the Armory Bureau to focus on the production of the core component, the hydraulic pump.

The hydraulic printing press is not as complicated as one might think, but it is not simple either. It requires the joint efforts of the Armory Bureau and the Xishan Coal Bureau to ensure the rapid monetization of Ming Dynasty's silver.

The silver coins of the Ming Dynasty were rolled, not cast. If the casting method could be used, the speed of coin making would have a qualitative leap. As long as the master coin was made, the mold was engraved, and a large number of coins were cast by turning the sand, the silver dam would be dredged faster. Many Western currencies were not rolled, but cast.

Wang Chonggu proposed to mint silver coins, but it was ultimately rejected by His Majesty.

Cast silver will have a large number of pores, and the surface will be black and have sand holes, and the weight error will be extremely large on the scale of the currency. These are all inevitable in the casting process. Once this inferior currency becomes the legal currency of the Ming Dynasty, private casting will become rampant, and the advantages of silver coins will disappear.

The biggest advantage of silver coins is anti-counterfeiting, because the public generally does not have the printing technology. Even if a spiral printing machine is used, the master coins will be different every year, making counterfeiting more difficult.

The anti-counterfeiting feature of silver coins is the tooth marks on the edges. Even in large-scale trade, one only needs to open the silver box and run his hand along the tooth marks on the edge to determine the authenticity, but this is not the case with cast silver.

Never underestimate the counterfeiting methods of folk silversmiths in the Ming Dynasty. As far as Zhu Yijun knew, the Ming Dynasty craftsmen used no less than a dozen methods to counterfeit silver ingots, including copper cores, lead cores, plywood, sand infiltration, etc. Once they started printing silver coins instead of minting them, the Ming Dynasty's emerging monetary policy would fail.

The economic chaos of the Ming Dynasty would completely slide into the abyss, and there would be no possibility of salvation.

"Xiaoyao Yiwen is really too bold." Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang frowned and said, "His article has aroused heated discussions among the people. I think the court should pay attention to this discussion and give some explanations."

The uproar has caused a lot of controversy. If we don't respond, it will only stir up greater public opinion, but it will be troublesome to know how to respond.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "People are cheaper than donkeys. This is a fact in the countryside. The deep and meticulous cultivation of iron plows and oxen has been replaced by human cultivation. This is also a fact. It is even more true that a large number of farmlands in the Ming Dynasty are abandoned. This is a problem that the country must face."

"When the local gentry, powerful officials and wealthy people, who are meat-eaters and property owners, use the means of production to produce, they must create commodities that are higher than the value of the producers' labor. This is profiteering. If the workers and producers cannot create value higher than their own labor, then they cannot encourage the meat-eaters to reproduce."

“Similarly, the difference between the value created by the producer and the labor remuneration is the profit received by the meat eater, and we call this part of value surplus value.”

"The surplus value allows meat eaters to make a profit, and then the meat eaters save the profit, resulting in increasingly concentrated production advantages. This process is mergers."

"As mergers continue, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer, and overall demand becomes less and less. Commodity prices become cheaper and cheaper under the double pressure of money shortage and closed small peasant economy. It is not surprising that production is eventually destroyed and land is abandoned."

“Because those who need goods have no money or surplus production to exchange, while those who do not need goods have a large amount of surplus production.”

"This is a phenomenon observed by Lin Fucheng, which triggered his thinking and the reasons behind the problem, based on the analysis of the contradiction theory and production diagram theory."

"After the cause of the phenomenon, the solution is the next. Yours truly's land reclamation is one solution, and Wang Ci Fu's engineering corps and government-run factories are another solution."

"Any policy will take time to be implemented."

Zhu Yijun gave a complete and positive answer to Lin Fucheng's question, or rather, the question in the minds of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Lin Fucheng's remarks caused heated discussion is that people's joys and sorrows are not the same, because they are in different environments and standpoints. But now that large areas of farmland are abandoned and people are displaced, the interests of everyone are affected.

Once the country starts to become unstable, how can the eggs in the nest be safe? This is a truth that even a three-year-old child can understand.

In fact, Zhu Yijun could have chosen not to respond. People are actually very forgetful. When another hot topic overshadows this one, people will forget the previous one and instead eagerly discuss the current one. Whether Zhu Yijun responded or not actually did not affect the court's decrees, but this was an attitude, an attitude of facing difficulties head-on.

Zhu Yijun could certainly use the four-stage method to govern the country. First, he would declare to the outside world that nothing had happened. Secondly, he would say that things had indeed happened but we could not take action at the moment. When things developed further, he would say helplessly that maybe we should take action. When we could do nothing and things deteriorated to the point where they could not be solved, we would say: Maybe we could have done something at the beginning, but it is too late now.

In the original historical line, this was Shen Shixing's specialty, or he could be called a master of keeping things balanced, or he could be called a smoother person. In short, it was a way to pass the buck and not be responsible.

Zhu Yijun chose to face it.

This is also the reason why he allowed Lin Fucheng's article to be published. The Ming Dynasty must find a way out to face the Age of Discovery and the globalization connected by maritime trade. This is a new challenge and also an opportunity.

"Let's just publish a response in the court bulletin." Zhu Yijun looked at the Minister of Rites Wan Shihe.

Zhang Juzheng's land survey and return were mentioned together in the land survey order, but during the implementation process, only the land survey was carried out. As for the return of land, Wang Chonggu was still responsible for supervising it in a roundabout way. The emperor and court officials of the Ming Dynasty were not in a hurry for success.

There is still a very long way to go to implement the policy of returning farmland to farmland.

Wan Shihe bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Facing the problem, this was a very bold decision, but in official circles, boldness is often a derogatory term. Being bold often means being reckless and ignorant, and being bold often means being widely opposed.

To completely rule out the possibility of a proposal being adopted by the court, one must be bold in making the decision. Controversy only means losing some support, while boldness means losing the support of everyone.

But after thinking it over, Wan Shihe felt that responding to this question was not a big problem.

This is often the case with government decrees: quick, simple, popular, cheap, short-term, and quick-acting decrees will be passed quickly, while complex, time-consuming, expensive, controversial, and long-term decrees will have to go through several political struggles and often fail to pass court debate.

Feng Bao had a bold statement. He felt that it was not terrible for problems to arise. What was terrible was that people from top to bottom and from inside to outside were afraid to face the problem. With the vastness and depth of the Ming Dynasty and the diligence of its people, as long as they were willing to face it, there would be no problem that could not be solved.

This is undoubtedly a radical statement, and a very idealistic one, as if human will can determine everything in the world.

"Tang Ling has brought good news from Henan." Zhang Juzheng said, holding a memorial: "Henan has completed the land survey, population census and the abolition of slavery, becoming the third province to complete the abolition of slavery after Zhili and Shandong in the north and south."

Ling Yunyi's work is characterized by swift and decisive action. When Your Majesty relocated the princes in Henan in February, Ling Yunyi immediately started working and quickly completed the land survey, population census and abolition of the Jian slave system.

"How did Ling Butang do it?" Zhu Yijun asked in confusion, "When Wang Yi'e arrived in Shandong, he didn't make it so fast despite the foundation laid by Ling Butang. How did Ling Butang do it when he first arrived in Henan?"

Zhu Yijun certainly did not suspect that Ling Yunyi was deceiving his superiors and subordinates, he was just shocked by his speed. Wang Yi'e was already very capable.

Zhang Juzheng and the court officials looked at each other, and it was Wan Shihe who bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, Lingbu Tang has a bad reputation."

Is this difficult? It is not difficult at all!

Ling Yunyi did not feel any difficulty when going to Henan!

It was the powerful and wealthy, the local elites and the gentry who took the initiative and actively cooperated. Wherever the officials and the foreign troops in Henan went, the people welcomed them wholeheartedly. It can be said that they had the best of time, place and people, and no one dared to disobey the king's orders.

Of course, the main fear is the knife in Ling Yunyi's hand. Ling Yunyi really kills people.

They were a little afraid of Ling Yunyi's notoriety. After the court moved the princes away, they simply stopped resisting. Resistance was too rude. What if they angered Ling Yunyi and he created another big case like the one in the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou? Wouldn't that be like gambling with their own lives on whether Ling Yunyi was really a vicious person?

It’s fierce. It’s really fierce.

Zhang Juzheng looked around and whispered, "Because of long-term annexation and the large number of royal palaces, Henan has a population of only 877 million, which is 987.4 million less than the 110 million in the six prefectures of Shandong. Of course, when the population census was conducted, Lingbutang found a large number of people who were hiding in poor mountains and bad waters. This part of the population is still being censused."

Henan is the hinterland of the Central Plains and a major agricultural province. However, its population is even smaller than that of Shandong. The local vassal states became tools for cunning and deceitful people to take advantage of the land. The increasingly fierce annexation made Henan, which should have been prosperous, become an uninhabitable place.

Zhang Juzheng did not give a long speech, he just gave a brief summary, because Ling Yunyi was still in Henan, the situation in Henan would change.

Ling Yunyi led the engineering regiment to build embankments and dredge the Yellow River, develop water conservancy projects, and set up official factories to build fifteen coal and steel joint ventures. The prototype of the official factories has already been established. There is still time for everything.

Now is far from the time to draw conclusions. With the dual efforts of the government-run factories and the engineering corps, Henan is rapidly recovering its vitality and does not even need additional support. As long as the Ming court does not interfere, Ling Yunyi will use his rich experience to reconcile local conflicts.

Wang Yi'e was in Shandong, Hou Yuzhao was in Liaodong, Pan Jixun was in Suiyuan, and Ling Yunyi was in Henan. All these local governors and governors-general were law-abiding officials.

"On the road to the revival of the Ming Dynasty, the Engineering Corps and the official factory groups played a vital role. Wang Ci Fu made great contributions and was a minister who governed the country well." Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu and said with a smile.

"Your Majesty knows that I understand the excitement of the country." Wang Chonggu naturally thanked the emperor for his praise. After thanking him, he said solemnly: "There is still a crisis in the vassal states. The hinterland cannot be maintained for long."

A feudal lord is one who has all the power over the army, finance and personnel concentrated in one person. At this time, violence is in danger of getting out of control. Is it good to build an engineering corps and a factory? Wang Chonggu created it himself, so of course he would say it is good, but he also wants to remind His Majesty of the possibility of feudal lordization.

The Jin Party was the most typical case. They lied about military intelligence, assassinated the king, and burned down the palace, all for their own personal gain. Li Chengliang already had the foundation for a vassal state at that time, and now Ling Yunyi was sliding in that direction.

Zhang Juzheng and Liang Menglong also gave an answer to the solution, which is to promote and transfer personnel every six years, and no more than nine years at most. Frequent personnel transfers will completely disrupt the possibility of local separatism.

"What Wang Ci Fu said is absolutely right." Zhu Yijun agreed with Wang Chonggu's opinion. Wang Chonggu's achievement in the theory of contradictions was already very high. He repeatedly reminded everyone that things have two sides and that contradictions exist widely.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works has sent the Nan Ya Weaving Bureau a report of the jacquard loom in the Dahualou for your review." Wang Daokun took out a memorial and presented it to the emperor. Zhu Yijun studied the Hualou carefully. It was called the Hualou because one person was downstairs and one was upstairs when operating it. The Hualou loom had already appeared in the "Pictures of Farming and Weaving" of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Compared with the small flower building, the big flower building has a more complicated structure. It is composed of 64 parts and thousands of components. It differs in the wire pulling structure, assembly method, jacquard operation and the types of production suitable for it. The jacquard loom in the big flower building has more fiber threads and is suitable for weaving larger fabrics with more intricate patterns.

This is a technological advancement. At the same time, the Dahualou loom is also the largest and most ingeniously structured machine in the world, which can meet the weaving requirements of the entire brocade fabric.

Such a complicated device is difficult to imitate even by following the instructions.

Zhu Yijun studied this large machine carefully. He didn't quite understand it, but it didn't matter. The Ministry of Industry had already made a prototype. After the court meeting, it would be easy to understand after a demonstration.

"This thing is excellent. How many can be made in a year? What's the output? How many rolls of cloth can be woven?" Zhu Yijun asked in detail. It would be useless if the thing could not be mass-produced. Fortunately, this building car is made entirely of wood, so mass production is not as difficult as imagined. Moreover, the efficiency of weaving has been greatly improved compared with before, and the patterns can be larger and more diverse.

The sound of the loom can be heard as it works busily, the warp and weft are crisscrossed to weave a magnificent pattern. This jacquard loom is also a reflection of the vertical and horizontal scale of the Ming Dynasty's hand-woven textile industry, and is part of the Ming Dynasty's commodity advantages.

The Dahualou jacquard loom is currently only used on silk. As for cotton, it is not yet possible to use such machinery to weave it.

The Grand Tutor and the Junior Tutor looked at the loom diagram and talked for a long time. Zhang Xueyan looked at Wang Daokun and asked, "Doesn't that mean that the price of silk sold to the West will be higher next year? Will there be more silver flowing in? The Western sailing ships can only carry a certain amount of silver, but the Ming ocean-going merchant ships can carry goods, but we decide for ourselves."

"It seems to be like this!" Wang Daokun was stunned. Isn't this just shooting himself in the foot? He originally wanted to offer auspicious signs in exchange for the emperor's favor, but the result was that the emperor's favor was indeed obtained, and the pressure also increased.

"You don't have to bring it with you." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Don't put so much pressure on Grand Marshal."

The Minister of Works is under great pressure.

Technological progress is worth encouraging. Even if it does not bring in more silver from overseas, it is still very useful. For example, the round dragon flag recently used on official ships can be woven by the Dahualou. When foreigners see the large and exquisite patterns, they will be eager to get it.

Wang Daokun actually knew that the emperor was comforting him. The Ming Dynasty's ocean-going merchant ships were profit-driven, or to put it more bluntly, they were profit-driven.

Such high value-added goods will be taken to the West no matter what, and then more silver will be brought back. History has proved countless times that this will be done even if there is a ban, let alone without a ban?
This problem arises when the demand for more goods meets insufficient currency, and no matter what you do, you will feel the constraints.

In fact, the Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan had talked with the emperor many times about the promotion of the banknote system. Even though there was a ban on the export of Ming Dynasty silver coins and a capital gains tax of more than 50%, silver coins still flowed overseas through various channels.

The more the Ming Dynasty opened up its seas, the more serious the loss of imperial silver coins became. This was inevitable. The Ministry of Revenue created overseas circulated treasure notes as a moat and a dam, but it still happened.

The two propositions of more goods and more currency are indeed contradictory, even incompatible, but we have to do both, so the banknote system is inevitable in the future.

"I remember asking the Ministry of Works to promote the pressure cooker developed by the Royal Academy of Sciences. How is the promotion going?" Zhu Yijun asked about the pressure cooker.

The high-pressure boiler of Daming Boiler is sealed with copper. Taking advantage of the ductility of copper, there will be no leakage after the bolts are tightened. In addition, there is a safety valve and a pressure relief valve. The high-pressure boiler has not exploded for a long time.

The pressure cooker, on the other hand, is sealed with a sealing ring, or a rubber strip, mainly for the convenience of cooking.

There are two ways to steam rice in the Ming Dynasty. One is steamed rice in a steamer, which is to boil it first and then steam it. It is more troublesome and time-consuming. It takes half an hour to prepare this kind of rice. The other way is top-pot rice, which is to cook water and rice together directly. Often the bottom of the rice is already burnt and there is a lot of half-cooked rice on top.

But using a pressure cooker is very simple. Just put water and rice in a certain proportion, use a match to light wood shavings, thin wood strips or other fire starters, then use a cattail leaf fan to fan it vigorously. When the honeycomb coal turns red, you can start cooking. When the pressure cooker starts to whistle, take it aside to let the pressure release naturally and start cooking.

The pressure cooker was mainly used in butcher shops to sterilize various knives, and was later used in cooking.

"It wasn't promoted." Wang Daokun whispered, "The Ministry of Industry was busy with the imperial silver coin and didn't take care of it."

There was nothing wrong with the emperor's policy, it was not decided on a whim. The pressure cookers promoted by the Ming Emperor were mainly for commercial use. They were for the peddlers who carried their goods on their shoulders and sold lunch outside Chaoyang Gate. They were the target group, not for home use.

If a peddler fails to steam a pot of rice properly, all his days of hard work will be wasted.

This is what Your Majesty saw at the Wufeng Tower in Chaoyang Gate. It is applicable to almost all food industries. Pressure cookers can cook rice faster.

A pot is quite expensive, costing one or two taels of silver, but it can be used for more than ten years, so if you calculate carefully it is actually worth it.

"Take your time, there's no rush." ​​Zhu Yijun did not urge him too much. The pressure of making the imperial silver coins was great, and Zhu Yijun was also very clear that if the imperial silver coins were not made well, it would be a waste of effort for the Ministry of Works to sell more pots.

This court meeting in early July of the eleventh year of Wanli was a pressure meeting for the Minister of Works, Wang Daokun. The pressure on Wang Daokun was really too great.

The court meeting was quite long. Zhu Yijun ended the meeting near noon. In the afternoon, he went to the Beida Camp to review the troops and horses. The hot weather made the review very tiring, but it was okay, Zhu Yijun had gotten used to it.

"Of course you can sit on the horse when it is walking, because it won't be too bumpy. But when the horse starts to run, you have to half squat and hold the saddle with your calves and knees to keep your body stable." Zhu Yijun was correcting the new recruits' riding posture.

If the horse runs fast instead of half squatting, it can easily injure the bell and fail to give birth.

For example, Zhao Gou, who crossed the river on a mud horse, was most likely injured when he was riding south on horseback without paying attention. Zhao Gou had a child before crossing the river on the mud horse, but he never had any children afterwards.

Riding a horse is a physical job, with feet half-stepping on stirrups, calves clamping the saddle, and half-squatting on the horse's back, so standing still means squatting in a horse stance. Moreover, when fighting, armor and weapons must weigh at least 30 kilograms. Even if you are fully dressed, let alone mounting a horse to fight, even standing still will cause thigh cramps for untrained people.

The idiom "諀肉复生" means that long-term riding and fighting have made the inner thighs full of muscles and no fat. "复生" means that fat has grown on the thighs again. Liu Bei said this word to mean that he had been immersed in a comfortable life for too long and had forgotten his original intention of reviving the Han Dynasty.

"There is a kind of horse that turns in the same direction, which is called a walking horse. Walking horses run faster and more steadily." Zhu Yijun was talking to the new recruits.

A horse that turns clockwise is a good horse. Zhu Yijun's horses all turn clockwise because they are more stable. For example, the horse stepping on flying swallow is a running horse, and the six horses of Zhaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty are also running horses.

The elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's Beijing Camp all knew His Majesty the Emperor. After all, he was a living emperor, and many successful candidates could only see him once in their lifetime, during the palace examination. However, the elite soldiers of the Beijing Camp could see the emperor every day. Not only could they see him, but they could also see him sweating profusely.

It's such a hot day, and Your Majesty is training with the soldiers.

"Refreshing!" Zhu Yijun walked into the Wuying Tower in Beitu City. After the sweat stopped and his heartbeat stopped, he picked up the large bowl of iced herbal tea and drank it in one gulp. He felt refreshed all over.

"Your Majesty, it's actually such a hot day, you can take a break. If your Majesty takes a break, the soldiers can also take a break." Liu Xian said with his head down.

Liu Xian started his retirement life after moving to Beijing from Sichuan. He was old and his eyesight was almost blurry, but his heart was not blind. As the chief priest of the Military Academy, Liu Xian and Ma Fang were about the same age and had reached the age of retirement. They decided to persuade the emperor that it was such a hot day and he could take a break.

"Your Majesty, the men of the Beijing Camp, the string has been kept taut for ten years. If it is kept taut any longer, it may break." Ma Fang also bowed his head and said this. His main idea was to let the soldiers take a break. The training intensity of the Beijing Camp was too great due to the need for frequent combat in the past.

If your emperor wants to be a donkey in the mill, it is a blessing for the Ming Dynasty. Soldiers are not afraid of hard work. Who would come to the Beijing camp if it is hard? The Beijing camp has sufficient salary, but it is also known that the training intensity is high, but it should also be combined with work and rest.

"When fighting, the enemy doesn't care whether the weather is hot or cold." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "In fact, you just need to get used to it."

Qi Jiguang bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the soldiers cannot rest. During the dog days and cold days, it is better to drill every other day. I am afraid there will be complaints. There is a difference between wartime training and non-wartime training. Your Majesty can come here every day and organize some indoor drills."

Qi Jiguang's words were also well thought out. In the past, it was all wartime, and the training was to train to death as long as it didn't kill the enemy. Seeing that most of the Beijing troops are now engaged in low-intensity bandit suppression wars, the training intensity and standards should be appropriately lowered, otherwise there will be complaints.

Qi Jiguang spoke from experience. Before that, when he was the general of three towns in Jizhou, he was regarded as a superfluous and useless thing. This was also a reason. The Ming army had no mission to fight outside the border, and the high-intensity training made the soldiers complain.

At that time, the war was fierce and dangerous. Now Altan Khan has been beheaded in public, Tuman Khan's surname is Bao, and the Khalkha people are thinking about going to Beijing to eat free meals all day long. Wala Xi has been arrested. Li Chengliang now wishes he could become the emperor's lackey, shouting that the emperor is wise and powerful. It is really Li Rusong's growth that Li Chengliang sees and is happy in his heart.

Li Rusong was a brave and daring man, but he was not cautious enough and was easily ambushed. What Li Chengliang was most worried about was that this ambitious son would die before him, and that Li Chengliang would suffer the sorrow of seeing his son die before him.

Now Li Rusong is the deputy general of the imperial court's elite troops, and he can lead the troops to fight alone and is a capable person.

"You can also do archery, musketry, swordplay, and wrestling indoors." Qi Jiguang said hurriedly when he saw that His Majesty was hesitant.

"I am not familiar with military affairs. Since General Liu, General Ma and Duke Fengguo have said so, let's review the troops every other day and stay indoors today." Zhu Yijun agreed. Qi Jiguang did not prevent the emperor from coming to Beidaying, but wanted his majesty to combine work and rest.

In fact, Qi Jiguang wanted to say that Your Majesty only needed to show up every day. There was no need to review and train with the soldiers. People are lazy. If Your Majesty got tired and bored, it would be detrimental to the Beijing camp.

The Ming Dynasty had been promoting culture and military power for 170 years and had already achieved perfection.

"I have made a good gun, please take a look, Your Majesty." Qi Jiguang had someone present a musket, which was a flintlock gun.

"Isn't this just a musket like the flintlock?" Zhu Yijun was not familiar with military affairs because he had no military talent, not because he didn't understand military weapons. This thing looked exactly the same as in the past.

"The previous flintlock muskets were not very useful." Qi Jiguang thought for a while and said, "I have nothing to do, so I improved it."

Qi Jiguang never thought in his life that he would have nothing to do one day. Now that he is considered half a doctor of the Five Classics, modifying military equipment has become his daily routine.

"Your Majesty, would you like to try it?" Qi Jiguang said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)