I'm really not doing business

Chapter 693: Continue to explore until the end of the world
Craftsmen did not want their sons to continue being craftsmen because the work was really tiring. In the view of Confucian scholars, as long as the sons of craftsmen could read and write, they would definitely want to find an easier job to make a living. In the long run, when most children were unwilling to work in the workshops, the Ming Dynasty would lose its commodity advantage.

The logic makes sense, and it will definitely happen.

Each of these five methods is a scheme to wipe out a family and deserves to be sent to the prison, but if we look at this issue from the perspective of the ruling class, it is easy to come to a conclusion that the five methods are indeed good methods. Maintaining the cheapness of labor is equivalent to maintaining the huge production scale of the Ming Dynasty, which is equivalent to maintaining the Ming Dynasty's commodity advantage.

It can also significantly reduce the costs of official factories and obtain higher profits.

"What method?" Zhu Yijun asked Wang Chonggu curiously about what Lord Ming thought about this.

"Your Majesty, just let the people have more children. Education still requires tuition. As long as there are more children, the five methods mentioned in this miscellaneous newspaper will all be solved. We just need to strictly investigate the cases of baby throwing and abandoning. If a family has five or six children, there will be a choice, and government factories will never lack what they call cheap labor." Wang Chonggu gave his own plan to wipe out the entire family.

The five methods of having more children in this magazine seem too direct. It would be better to encourage childbirth.

Zhu Yijun thought about it carefully, and looked at Wang Chonggu with an extremely complicated look in his eyes. The wise men in the court were even more poisonous than these opinions. Each of these five methods was despicable and damaging to the reputation of the court. However, Wang Chonggu's method did not require consuming the reputation of the court, and even had a good reputation, and he got the job done.

There are three major types of unfilial behavior, and the worst of them is to have no descendants. In this environment, a gentle push from the imperial court would be enough.

“Wang Ci Fu, you!” Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Chonggu in surprise. His expression changed several times before he said sternly, “I regret letting you go!”

At the beginning, in the two cases of Xuan Da Changcheng Dingjian and the daughter's imperial edict, they should have taken the opportunity to kill Wang Chonggu instead of sparing his life. Wang Chonggu's suggestion was really too cruel.

"Your Majesty, I think that Wang Ci Fu's proposal is much better than the five methods in that opinion basket." Hai Rui stood up and expressed his support for Wang Chonggu in a very clear statement.

Hai Rui said solemnly, "Your Majesty, we are opening up the seas now. The vast overseas lands need people. Moreover, if we have more children, we can select those with academic talent to work as shipmasters, geographers, accountants, and doctors of the Five Classics. If we have more children, we can force the Ming Dynasty to continue opening up the seas. If we cannot support the so-called two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, people will starve to death and take risks with their heads tied to their belts."

Hai Rui's meaning was very clear. Only with more people can the new policy be maintained and move forward continuously. The opening of the sea will not be a complete mess. Only then will the probability of the emergence of talents be greater, productivity will be promoted, material wealth will be created, and people will become free.

Zhang Juzheng threw his sleeves and said loudly: "General Hai, if you keep doing this, how can the poor people and coolies ever live a life of plenty?"

The more poor laborers there are, the more intense the competition will be. The entire labor market will always be a buyer's market, and the sellers will never have bargaining power. The poor laborers who sell their labor will have to lower their labor remuneration. If they cannot obtain fair labor remuneration, there can be no freedom.

"Prince, the new policy has not allowed the people of the Ming Dynasty to live a life of plenty. As long as the Ming Dynasty is still dominated by small peasant economy, no one will be able to eat enough." Hai Rui took a deep breath. After returning to the court, he had been avoiding conflicts with Zhang Juzheng, but this time they finally bumped into each other.

A commodity economy with large-scale free employment, fair labor remuneration for craftsmen, and adequate food and clothing for the majority of people is an impossible triangle. Only two of them can be obtained, but not the third. It should be noted that among the poor laborers, craftsmen are a minority after all, and farmers make up the majority.

The formation of a large-scale commodity economy and fair remuneration for the labor of artisans are paid by farmers, who use the output of their land to support the artisans;

The large-scale commodity economy was formed, and most people had enough food and clothing, but the craftsmen were the ones who paid the price, which was unfair labor remuneration;
The craftsmen's labor is fairly paid, and the majority of farmers are well-fed and well-clothed. At present, that is a small peasant economy, and it is the ideal small peasant economy in the pastoral fantasy of the Confucian scholars.

Farmers have suffered a lot of losses due to the closed small peasant economy.

"Your Majesty, Mozi said: 'Cut off a finger to save the wrist. Among the benefits, choose the greater, among the harm, choose the less. I agree with Wang Ci Fu's opinion." Hai Rui knew that this might bring some problems, but the main contradiction of the Ming Dynasty now is to get rid of the small peasant economy and enter a commodity economy with large-scale free employment. Only after that can we discuss fair remuneration for labor and everyone's adequate food and clothing.

Zhang Juzheng exhaled forcefully. He didn't want to, but he had no way to refute it. He had to clearly distinguish between priorities, which was what he advocated. The solid boomerang hit him again.

Sometimes, Zhang Juzheng wondered, are the results of the new policies really good? Was it really the right thing to do in the beginning? Is it beneficial to the common people of Ming Dynasty?
"Well, what do the Grand Tutor and the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan think?" Zhu Yijun looked at the two ministers who were accompanying him and asked Wang Guoguang and Wan Shihe for their opinions.

"I'm just an accountant. I don't have any opinion." Wang Guoguang did not express his opinion. It was not because he was afraid of offending people, but because he was in a more difficult situation as the Minister of Revenue. It was more difficult for him to weigh the pros and cons than Wang Chonggu and Hai Rui.

"I am just a sycophantic minister who curries favor with the powerful. If Your Majesty is right, I will not be wrong." Wan Shihe reserved his opinion. The Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister were both too powerful. If he got involved, he would end up in trouble and would not be able to change anything, so it was better not to say anything.

"Everyone! I have something to say." Zhu Yijun looked at all the ministers, especially Qi Jiguang and Chen Lin, and then he said, "We must use the sword of the Ming Dynasty to fight for more land for the people of the Ming Dynasty. This is the only way, and only this way."

Zhu Yijun has always been a person who puts the Ming Dynasty first. Ming Dynasty first means that the interests of the people of the Ming Dynasty are paramount. Damn barbarians, barbarians are not human beings. He does not hide his position.

He was never an idealist. When there were too many people and they could not get enough food, he went out, killed and enslaved the barbarians, and occupied all the land suitable for planting. He didn't even care whether his imperial power would be unable to control the world because of the opening of the sea. He could accept the feudal system of fiefdoms, because in the end the meat would rot in the pot anyway.

He didn't mind his reputation as an executioner, nor did he mind if someone called him a butcher in the future. As long as there were more people in the Ming Dynasty, they had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear, he would have achieved his long-cherished goal of making the Ming Dynasty great again.

Zhu Yijun was also a scholar. He had just told Galileo that building ships was for the sake of peace, and immediately he showed his sharp claws.

Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and said, "We need to encourage going out to sea with greater force. I have decided to use all the silver obtained from taxation, torture, house confiscations, and compensation since the southern tour, a total of 13 million silver, to invest in opening up the sea, more shipyards, more ships, more maritime schools, more boat divisions, and more plantations to consolidate the overseas governor's offices that we have occupied now, and continue to expand outward."

"In the next chapter, the Governor's Office of Luzon and Old Port, I will establish naval bases in Luzon and Old Port, and expand the maritime security border to the Strait of Malacca. If necessary, we can cross the border."

"Grand Master, reduce the number of years for the pioneering lord to three years. As long as the land is cultivated within three years and the coastal defense inspection and exploration are correct, the title will be granted."

"The Ministry of Revenue has issued an order to offer a reward for star maps and needle maps of unfamiliar sea areas. The reward will be set based on multiple criteria such as distance, difficulty, whether the land is easy to cultivate, and minerals. There is no upper limit, and even a thousand gold coins will be spent on horse bones."

“Keep exploring until the end of the world.”

Zhu Yijun had no good solution. Since the Wanli Reform, the country had gradually entered deep waters. Contradictions had become more complicated and more difficult to deal with. There was no longer any chance of gaining greater benefits with a small price or achieving a great result with a small effort.

The rest is hard labor.

"Your Majesty...you can actually choose to stop." Zhang Juzheng felt reluctant. In fact, Your Majesty could stop. The purpose of the new policy was to prolong the life of the Ming Dynasty. The goal had been achieved, even exceeded. It was not impossible to stop here.

If this continues, the emperor's reputation after his death will be in tatters.

Zhu Yijun smiled calmly and said, "Sir, you know very well that once the new policy is launched, every step will be a cliff behind us. There is no retreat. As long as I stop, the powerful and wealthy people, local celebrities and gentry of the Ming Dynasty will pounce on me and tear all the achievements of the Wanli Reform to pieces and eat them up."

"Gentlemen, just do what I command."

"Oh, by the way, Grand Master, you should draw up a rule. If there are talents like Galileo who can teach himself the art of pulling stars and crossing oceans in three months and are willing to stay in Ming, they should all be given Ming citizenship. We must carefully evaluate their performance. If we bring in a bunch of rubbish, my uncle will probably laugh at me. Of course, if they stay, they can't leave. I am very stingy. If they want to leave, they will be treated as traitors."

The Ming Dynasty itself already had a Tartar official system. It was not difficult to amend the regulations on the Tartar official system to introduce talents. The main thing was screening. The Ming Dynasty had a rich and complete examination system. Zhu Yijun did not want foreign garbage, and he could not bear to be laughed at by his uncle.

The Ming Dynasty was a feudal monarchy. If the emperor was dissatisfied, the consequences would be self-evident.

Zhu Yijun looted and obtained 13 million silver coins from the Southern Court, intending to fill the hole in the Kaifeng and Jiayuguan highways, but now, he has given it all away.

"Feng Daban, are you having any difficulties?" Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao.

Feng Bao said with embarrassment: "No, except for the 30 million silver from the Kaifeng Jiayuguan Road and the additional 13 million silver from Kaihai Investment, Your Majesty only has 3 million taels of silver to spend, and it is silver, not silver coins. I am worried that there will be military information and I will not be able to use it."

Zhu Yijun simply calculated the account, frowned, and said in confusion: "No, how come there are another three million taels of silver? Where did it come from?"

According to Feng Bao's previous report on the treasury accounts, the construction of the Jiayuguan Highway in Kaifeng has started, and with the additional investment in opening the sea, the treasury should be empty. But it has only been a month since the last report, and another three million taels of silver have been deposited into the treasury?
"Your Majesty, the three million taels of silver that the Japanese shogun used to aid military expenses were shipped from the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office to the Ming Dynasty in April. They have been converted into silver and deposited into the Tianzi Treasury." Feng Bao reported the source of the three million taels of silver.

It's not all silver, there are also Japanese slaves, prostitutes, sulfur and other supplies, so we have to go to the port to exchange them for silver.

Last year, Oda Nobunaga rebelled against the Nagasaki Governor's Office under the pretext of the Kumano Navy's independent movement, but he lost two front teeth and did not win. In order to appease the anger of the Ming Dynasty, Oda Nobunaga signed a supplementary treaty to the Treaty of Silver and Sulfur, ceding the administrative rights of Tsushima Island. At the same time, he had to pay a total of 15 million taels of silver in war indemnity, 3 million taels in the first year and the remaining 40 years in arrears.

"We can always squeeze out some silver from Japan if we squeeze it." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Three million taels of silver will be enough."

Back then, the Taoist priest had been arguing with the Ministry of Revenue for four years, demanding two million taels of silver, and finally only got 200,000 taels. Emperor Longqing had a falling out with Zhang Juzheng and demanded 300,000 taels of silver, which was finally cut down to 100,000 taels. Three million taels was enough to build six tombs of previous emperors, which was really a lot.

Besides, the Ming soldiers really didn't ask for much. They had been owed wages for more than a hundred years before, but they continued to be beggars. Since the ninth year of the Wanli reign, the soldiers were suddenly fully paid, which made the soldiers unaccustomed to it. They thought the emperor had gone crazy. It was not impossible to owe the fully paid soldiers a little bit of rewards and give them later.

You know, the Ming Emperor's credibility is particularly strong among the soldiers.

"Your Majesty, there are still 7 million silver in the old treasury, which is more than enough if there is a big war." Wang Guoguang immediately reminded His Majesty that the world belongs to His Majesty, and the national treasury is His Majesty's national treasury. When there is a war, Your Majesty always thinks about how much silver there is in the treasury, and the court also has silver. This is all from the 1 million silver deposited in the old treasury every year since the sixth year of Wanli, all silver coins.

"I'm just worried that when the time comes to withdraw the money, the fire dragon will burn the warehouse." Zhu Yijun's words were full of sarcasm. Wang Guoguang had just extorted one million silver from him!
Wang Guoguang said with great certainty: "No, I will personally check every year. If there is a silver missing, I will fight them to the death."

Zhu Yijun's mouth twitched. He had already imagined the scene. Wang Guoguang walked around the old warehouse at night with a candle, checking the seals of each silver box one by one, and then opened each box, counted the silver coins and put them back, then personally stamped the seal, put on the seal, patted the box with satisfaction, and walked to the next box.

"Grand Tutor, spend when necessary." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

Zhu Yijun ended this small court meeting. Since his southern tour, Zhu Yijun rarely held court meetings. Only when encountering major events would he call all the ministers together to discuss state affairs. This time, Zhu Yijun made many decisions.

The emperor wanted to add 13 million silver dollars to the sea-opening investment. When the news was announced, the powerful and wealthy people in the Southern Court were almost shocked. The money the emperor had robbed and looted had returned to the Southern Court, but in the form of sea-opening investment. Did this stingy old man not come to the south to rob and loot? How could he get money back from the stingy old man?
Zhu Yijun asked the Ministry of Rites to have a good talk with Galileo, and Zhu Yijun finally understood Galileo's life thoroughly. This kid was smart since he was young.

Galileo was truly a talented person. Indeed, in history, he was able to withstand the pressure from the Vatican, completely open the door to science, and bring the West into the scientific age. This would naturally have been impossible without talent.

Galileo was extremely good at medicine, astronomy, and mathematics, so good that he was almost on par with the Five Classics Doctors and Great Physicians of the Ming Dynasty. You have to know that Galileo was a self-taught person, while the Five Classics Doctors of the Ming Dynasty were systematically trained talents.

"This Galileo actually stole corpses to study anatomy?" Zhu Yijun asked in disbelief as he looked at the memorial in front of him.

Feng Bao said with a strange expression: "He is a bit like His Royal Highness Prince De. He is very persistent and even fanatical about the infinite principles of all things. When he heard that there was a dismemberment hospital in Daming, he couldn't wait to go to the North Yamen and visit Zhang Siwei in that room."

"Since he bought The Treatise on the Exorcism of the Body, he has been reading it for three days without sleep. If the interpreter hadn't snatched the book away from him and forced him to rest, he would probably still be reading it now, eagerly."

"The Duke of Wei took out 50,000 silver coins to encourage vaccination. Today, Galileo just woke up and went to the vaccination site. He sat there all day, watching motionlessly, amazed at the magic of the cowpox."

Galileo studied medicine. He was extremely surprised that cowpox could be used to prevent and treat smallpox. He gained an in-depth understanding of the cowpox theory and repeatedly exclaimed that the Ming Dynasty was worthy of being the Celestial Empire.

Feng Bao saw enthusiasm in Galileo. Zhu Zaiyu and Your Majesty also had this kind of enthusiasm, but Your Majesty's enthusiasm was devoted to state affairs.

"If the Vatican had done something about its personnel, I would not have gotten such a talent." Zhu Yijun was filled with emotion. Galileo was different from Matteo Ricci. Matteo Ricci was a missionary. Preaching was his first responsibility, and translating Ming books into Latin was his second responsibility. Galileo had a disgusted attitude towards religion and was almost burned to death as a heretic in the seminary.

Judging from Galileo's experience, Zhu Yijun felt that the Roman Catholic Church's style of doing things was a bit strange, and they would oppose it whenever they saw Roman.

As long as the Roman Empire advocated something, the Vatican would certainly oppose it. For example, the Roman Empire advocated bathing and even built countless public baths, but the Vatican opposed bathing and closed public baths; Ancient Rome advocated polytheism, but the Vatican advocated monotheism; Ancient Rome encouraged scientific research, but the Vatican even banned the word tide and prohibited the study of any movement of the heavens and the earth;
The Duchy of Florence where Galileo was located was one of the birthplaces of the Renaissance. What Galileo learned in elementary school was incompatible with what was instilled by the Roman Catholic Church.

Galileo could not go back unless someone could completely overthrow the Vatican.

Zhu Yijun continued to review the memorials happily. This time there was only one memorial, which was from Wang Chonggu.

"No, Wang Chonggu has gone crazy. He actually wants to gradually shut down the coal mining business of Xishan Coal Bureau?" Zhu Yijun just read a line and felt that Wang Chonggu was probably crazy. He actually listened to the advice of this lowly scholar and wanted to shut down the coal mining business of Xishan Coal Bureau!

Zhu Yijun understood Wang Chonggu's plan only after reading the memorial. The reason why Wang Chonggu closed down the Xishan Coal Bureau was that the coal there was too difficult to mine!

The cost of mining one pound of coal at the Xishan Coal Bureau is eight times that of the Shengzhou Dongsheng Coalfield. The coal of the Xishan Coal Bureau is all below 100 meters, and wells must be dug everywhere and water must be pumped from every place, while the coal of the Dongsheng Coalfield is mined in the open air.

In addition to the high cost, the coal from the Xishan Coal Bureau is of poor quality and turns into coke when burned. Even the ginseng iron from Liaodong can be turned into a pile of impurities and needs to be hammered and forged manually bit by bit. The coal from the Shengzhou Dongsheng Coalfield burns vigorously, has a high temperature, and has fewer impurities.

Judging from the Dongsheng open-pit coalfield, the coal in the Western Hills of Beijing has no value in mining at all.

Wang Chonggu planned to stop recruiting kiln workers for the Xishan Coal Bureau from now on, and gradually stop coal mining in five years. In addition to stopping coal mining, he planned to vigorously expand coking and steelmaking, transforming the industry from coal mining to providing high-quality coke and steel, and converting all kiln workers into coke oven workers and steelmaking workers.

This is an ambitious plan. If successful, Xishan Coal Bureau will become the steel center of Ming Dynasty. If successful, it will also represent another way to break the impossible triangle: industrial upgrading.

It is also possible to achieve all three: a commodity economy with large-scale free employment, fair labor remuneration, and adequate food and clothing for everyone.

"How old is Wang Ci Fu this year?" Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao after reading the memorial.

"I'm just seventy this year." Feng Bao replied quickly.

Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in his hand and said with deep emotion: "He may be old but his heart is young. Wang Cifu doesn't believe in fate at all. He is determined to break this seemingly impossible situation."

Although Wang Chonggu did not express any opinions on the article and even proposed a simpler and more effective method, he still did not believe in fate and was unwilling to accept it. He insisted on giving it a try and use industrial upgrading to try to break the situation.

"You see, Wang Ci Fu is old, but still so energetic and full of vigor. On the contrary, young people like Gao Panlong are in their twenties, but they are already old and decadent. The smell of decay and death can be smelled from a long distance." When Zhu Yijun reviewed Wang Chonggu's memorial, he also took the opportunity to step on Gao Panlong and other Jiangnan literati.

"Gao Panlong and others are probably the living dead that the chief medical officer mentioned. They are just puppets wrapped in the skin of Confucian etiquette. It's not surprising that they look older at the age of twenty than at seventy." Feng Bao felt that it was normal for Gao Panlong to be so corrupt. Aren't puppets of Confucian etiquette just dead people?
The emperor approved Wang Chonggu's memorial and told Wang Chonggu to do his job with confidence. If any problems arose, he, as the emperor, would take out money to settle the matter.

While the emperor was reviewing memorials, Galileo finally learned the cowpox vaccination method at Huimin Pharmacy, and began to help the already short-staffed Huimin Pharmacy with the cowpox vaccination method. He did it very seriously and methodically. The chief medical officer Pang Xian stared at him for a while and then left.

Galileo remembered a saying of the prophet, that is, practice is the criterion for proving everything. If it does not conform to practice, no matter how reasonable the explanation is, it is false and needs to be questioned. After reading a little Latin theory of contradiction, Galileo understood the significance of practice even more. From seeing to doing, he began to integrate into the Ming Dynasty in a practical and active way.

In five days, Galileo helped 1,200 Ming Dynasty civilians and soldiers to get vaccinated with cowpox.

"Maybe I should become a doctor, a chief physician in a dissection hospital. I like this job. Patients are so lucky not to be tortured by the disease. The mortality rate of smallpox is over 30%, and in the outbreak area, the mortality rate will be over 90%. You know, once people lose their rules, they are crazier than beasts." Galileo finished work, took off his gloves and mask, stood by the sink to wash his hands, and talked with another young man next to him with a smile.

This is Galileo's new friend, Xu Guangqi from Shanghai County, who is also a top-notch smart guy.

The probability of death from smallpox is 30%, but in the outbreak area, no strangers are allowed to enter, resulting in a complete lack of any morality or law. Burning, killing and looting occur all the time, and the mortality rate is over 90%. Every smallpox outbreak is a purgatory on earth.

Cowpox prevented the outbreak of smallpox and allowed soldiers, government officials and doctors who had been vaccinated against cowpox to enter the outbreak area.

"Becoming a great medical officer does not conflict with your admission into the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty and becoming a Doctor of the Academy." Xu Guangqi wiped his hands. He did not discriminate against the barbarians. On the contrary, he was very interested in the mathematics of the Western barbarians, so he became friends with Galileo.

"Human energy is always limited." Galileo said with a frown.

Xu Guangqi said with certainty: "For you and me, the energy is more than enough. Nowadays, mathematics, astronomy, geography, and medicine are not too in-depth. Your Majesty said: the boundary of people's cognition is a circle. All the doctors who study the principles of all things tirelessly are making a protrusion on this circle, and then expanding the boundary of cognition from point to surface."

"Perhaps, we can create a few more protrusions on the boundary of cognition."

Galileo said helplessly: "Listen Xu, you are really arrogant, but you have the right to be arrogant. I am different. I have to survive first. If I don't work, I will have no money. The silver coins given by His Highness Felipe are only enough for me to arrive in Ming Dynasty. Envoy Li is willing to support me until I pass the doctoral examination of Five Classics."

"In Daming's words, it's about making a good connection. However, I still have to learn to live on my own and can't rely on others for everything."

The Ming Huimin Pharmacy was very short of staff, and vaccination also required skills. Xu Bangrui gave 50,000 silver coins, and gave one pound of eggs to anyone who came to the clinic to learn about the cowpox method, and two pounds of eggs to anyone who received vaccination.

The Huimin Pharmacy was overcrowded, and Galileo got a job opportunity only after he repeatedly observed and listened to lectures and learned how to vaccinate.

If the pharmacy had not been short of staff and Galileo was a foreigner who had been granted freedom of movement by the emperor, it is not certain that Galileo would have gotten this job.

Xu Guangqi smiled and said, "You are a smart man. You will not starve to death if you learn Chinese. The title of Doctor of Gewu will be within our grasp!"

Xu Guangqi was not only a genius, but also a very daring person. He dared to openly criticize Zhang Juzheng and identified him as a traitor. This alone was a reflection of his youthful arrogance.

Wang Chonggu asked for Xu Guangqi's name in front of the emperor in order to protect Xu Guangqi. Zhang Juzheng was embarrassed because he was bullying the weak, but the emperor's teacher's response was to turn hostility into friendship. At the Longtan fishing villa, Zhang Juzheng gave Xu Guangqi a badge of the Quan Chu Guild in front of everyone, showing his magnanimity of not holding grudges. He also recruited talents, which made Wang Chonggu very angry.

Wang Chonggu never won a single battle with Zhang Juzheng.

Both were young men in their twenties, but Xu Guangqi did not have any signs of old age. He was completely different from Gao Panlong, who was dead while still alive.

(End of this chapter)