Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 165 Coal and Iron Complex

After the inheritance of King De and King Heng has been calculated, the next step is how to deal with these inheritances.For this reason, Emperor Jiajing specially called Wang Daoqiu back to Beijing.

After receiving Emperor Jiajing's order, Wang Daoqiu took a boat and sailed to Beijing that day. Three days later, when it was getting dark, Wang Daoqiu arrived at the Tongzhou Wharf of the canal.Then he hurriedly rode into Beijing. He didn't go home first, but went directly to Xiyuan.

Entering Xiyuan, Emperor Jiajing saw Wang Daoqiu, whom he had not seen for more than two months. He was very happy. He pulled Wang Daoqiu and asked Wang Daoqiu to sit next to him, and then greeted Wang Daoqiu.And Wang Daoqiu also acted appropriately and dealt with Emperor Jiajing politely and yet intimately.

After speaking politely, Emperor Jiajing brought the topic down to business. He said to Wang Daoqiu: "Wang Qing! What do you plan to do with the lands owned by Prince De and Prince Heng? To be honest with you, the people who are looking at those lands now are not However, the Ministry of Household Affairs insists that those lands be sold as private farmland, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will take [-]% of the money for selling the land, and the land must be taxed according to regulations in the future."

"They even asked me to sell the land owned by King Lu in Yanzhou. My dear, these days in Shandong have been annoying me to death! Relatives of the emperor, nobles of the court, concubines in the harem , they all asked me to sell the land to them either as a reward or at a low price. The previous dynasty, dominated by the Ministry of Household Affairs, insisted that I sell the land as civilian farmland, otherwise they would die and let the Shandong local government The government is not allowed to issue new land deeds for these fields. My dear, those two gangs are annoying me to death these days. My dear! Please help me handle this matter! It's better to return it. I am in peace."

Nearly [-] million acres of cultivated land and mines are such a big cake. As long as they are qualified to serve, who wouldn’t want to get a piece of it?Thinking about this, Emperor Jiajing was probably sleeping a lot during this period, and he probably got a lot of blows from the pillow!

Thinking of Hunjun's troubles of not knowing how to distribute money these days, Wang Daoqiu smiled unkindly.And he said to Emperor Jiajing without haste: "Your Majesty, this is easy! Those relatives of the emperor and noble ministers, they are all rich people. They definitely prefer to earn a few land rents. That’s a lot of money from mining. To be honest with you, there are many mines in Yanzhou, Jinan, and Qingzhou, among which iron ore and coal mines are especially valuable.”

"Your Majesty, the Laiwu area under the jurisdiction of Jinan Prefecture has been mining and smelting iron since the Spring and Autumn Period. Iron officials were set up in the Han Dynasty, and Laiwu Supervisors were set up in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the mining and smelting of iron was even more intense. It was the two major iron smelting centers in the Song Dynasty at that time. , after the founding of our country, we also set up an iron smelting station there. A few days ago, I went to that area to wander around. Thanks to your majesty’s great blessing, I found it in a place called Zhangjiawa, not far from our current iron smelting station. Found an iron mine whose iron ore reserves are not inferior to that of Hongshishan in Xuanfu."

"What, Wang Aiqing, you found another iron mine in Laiwu that is not inferior to Hongshishan?"

When the Hongshishan Iron Mine was mentioned, Emperor Jiajing became excited. Emperor Jiajing had seen the iron mine in Yaorudao with his own eyes.Moreover, the Wanping Nanjianhe Iron and Steel Plant, which mainly uses Hongshishan iron ore as raw material, can now help Emperor Jiajing earn several 10 taels of silver every month.

So now when he heard that Wang Daoqiu said that he had found another iron mine in Laiwu that was not inferior to the Hongshi Mountain in Xuanfu, Emperor Jiajing was excited. At this moment, he seemed to have seen another mountain of gold and silver, waving to him in front of him. , now Emperor Jiajing’s eyes are full of desire for money!
Seeing Emperor Jiajing's current state of wealth, Wang Daoqiu continued to read seductively for the big goal in his heart: "I dare not hide it from Your Majesty, the Zhangjiawa Iron Mine in Laiwu not only has iron ore reserves, It is not inferior to Xuanfu Hongshishan. In terms of ore quality, it is better than the iron ore in Xuanfu Hongshishan. The iron content of Xuanfu Hongshishan’s iron ore is about [-]%, while the iron ore in Laiwu Zhangjia The iron ore over there has an iron content of close to [-]%, so it can be smelted directly in the iron-making furnace without any prior beneficiation."

"What, my dear, are you talking about the Laiwu Zhangjiawa Iron Mine? Its ore contains nearly [-]% iron? My dear! Why have I never heard of such a good iron ore in this world?"

Emperor Jiajing was shocked when he heard Wang Daoqiu say that the iron ore in Zhangjiawa, Laiwu, contained nearly [-]% iron.After all, the famous rich iron mine where flowers were planted in later generations, the Hainan Shilu Iron Mine, is still lying quietly in the uninhabited Hainan pristine tropical forest without being discovered.

And the iron ores discovered in the Ming Dynasty are all poor iron ores with an iron content of only [-] to [-]%. The iron ore in Hongshi Mountain in Xuanfu contains [-]% of iron. Among the iron ores in the Ming Dynasty, It's already very rare.Therefore, in Emperor Jiajing's understanding, he had no idea that there were iron ores containing more than half of the iron in the world.So now, he can't believe what Wang Daoqiu said.

Seeing Emperor Jiajing's unseen expression, Wang Daoqiu said calmly: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I came in a hurry this time and forgot to bring the ore specimens over there. I'll go back and give your Majesty some of those ore specimens." Here are the ore specimens from an iron mine."

"Okay, okay, okay, my dear, you are interested. I am waiting to see the ore specimen that contains nearly [-]% iron. This is really amazing."

After hearing Wang Daoqiu say that he would be given this iron ore containing nearly [-]% iron in the future, Emperor Jiajing also believed it. Wang Daoqiu did not lie to him. There really is such rich iron ore containing more than half of the iron in the world. mine.Thinking that such a good iron mine now belonged to Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Jiajing smiled happily without consciously caring about his image as a king.

Seeing that Emperor Jiajing's old face was smiling like a chrysanthemum, Wang Daoqiu continued to present the facts and reasoned, saying: "That's not all, Your Majesty. In addition to finding this rich iron man in Zhangjiawa in Laiwu, Mines, I also found large iron ores in Tai'an Prefecture, Yucheng, Qihe, Dongping, Wenshan and other places around Laiwu. However, the quality of the iron ores in these places is very average, and most of them contain only More than [-]%, and very few exceed [-]%." "Hey, my dear, if you have three or four, you will have achieved good results. If you dig it out and smelt it into iron, it will be all silver! How about it? My dear, you have told me so much now. Are you planning to build a steel plant like the one in Nanjianhe in Shandong?"

"Your Majesty is wise, and this small thought of mine cannot escape your Majesty's eyes at all! To be honest with you, I have seen this part of Shandong. Within a radius of a hundred miles with Laiwu as the center, I dare to follow you. Your Majesty guarantees that the iron ore buried there should be no less than ten times that of the Xuanfu side. And compared with the Xuanfu side, the iron ore development in Laiwu, Shandong will be more profitable. To be honest with you, Your Majesty. I plan to propose to His Majesty that a steel plant be built in Jeju under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou Prefecture to smelt the iron ore into steel on site."

"Jeju is not only next to the Grand Canal, but it is also connected to Wenshui and Surabaya, two major rivers in Shandong. Wenshui originates from Yiyuan County in Shandong, collects water from Taishan and Mengshan along the way, crosses Laiwu, and flows economically. Prefecture. This Wenshui River is larger and clearer than the Yanghe River on the Xuanfu side, and has a shorter freezing period in winter, which is conducive to the transportation of iron ore from Laiwu to Jeju. Sishui is a larger river than Wenshui River , one of the Eight Rivers of Flower Planting for me, he flows from central Shandong Province to the Economic Prefecture and flows into Weishan Lake."

"I have previously found large coal fields not inferior to those in Wanping County in the suburbs of Beijing on both sides of Surabaya in Yanzhou, and Lanling in Yanzhou by the Grand Canal. And unlike Wanping County, those coal fields are all in the mountains , Mining and transporting are very difficult and labor-intensive. The large coal fields in Yanzhou, Shandong are all located on the endless plains near the river. By removing the upper layer of soil, the coal below can be dug out, mined and transported. Very convenient."

"Of course, there are two other benefits of developing the iron ore in Shandong. Yanzhou and Jinan in Shandong are the main grain-producing areas of our country, with tens of millions of acres of fertile land. The grain produced there, It is enough to support tens of thousands of people mining and smelting iron. Unlike Xuanhua and Wanping, where the land is barren and the climate is harsh, the food of tens of thousands of people mining and smelting iron has to be transported northward here. In addition, Jeju is close to Da Through the canal, the iron smelted there can be directly transported by large ships to both sides of the Huaihe River, both sides of the Yangtze River and the Suzhou and Hangzhou areas."

"In short, from all aspects, it is more cost-effective to develop iron ore resources in Shandong and build a steel factory in Jeju than to develop iron ore in Xuanfu and build a steel factory in Nanjianhe. And there is Nanjian With the experience of this steel plant that has been operating for more than four months, we can build the Jeju Steel Plant faster and better. For example, the supervisor of the Nanjian River Steel Plant, Yang Jinshuiyang, is already familiar with how to make steel. Father-in-law, go south and preside over the construction of the Jeju Steel Plant. For example, we will arrange for craftsmen to intern at the Nanjianhe Steel Plant in advance. When the steel plant in Jeju is completed, these craftsmen who have learned how to make steel will go south to the Jeju Steel Plant. While making steel.”

There are coal and iron mines with huge reserves in the surrounding area, close to the river, and the transportation of raw materials and finished products is convenient; the local area is a major grain production area, and there are no logistical supply problems; there is also the Grand Canal connecting Beijing, which is convenient for control; and there is also the Nanjian River Iron and Steel Plant. Technical support can be provided for it.

Emperor Jiajing added these favorable conditions for developing Shandong iron mines and building a steel plant in Jeju in his mind, and then thought about the safety issues that concerned him most.

So after figuring out all the problems, Emperor Jiajing said to Wang Daoqiu: "As Aiqing said, building a steel plant in Jeju and developing Shandong coal and iron is indeed a hugely profitable business. But Jeju is nearly a thousand miles away from the capital. I am a bit beyond my reach. If I have some small possessions of that steel plant and use the steel produced by that steel plant to rebel against the court, it will be very bad. So I see it this way, my love, we are over there in Jeju The ironworks we build will only make wrought iron, not steel. From now on, the side of the Nanjian River will be called the steelworks, which will only make steel; the side of Jeju will be called the ironworks, and will only make iron. What do you think of this, Ai Qing?"

What do you think of the paper!Your emperor has considered this matter in terms of national security. Can Laozhi still object?

In his heart, he despised Emperor Jiajing's small structure, but in front of him, Wang Daoqiu praised Emperor Jiajing's wisdom as always and agreed with Emperor Jiajing's plan.

Then Emperor Jiajing, under Wang Daoqiu's flattery, made a decision on the spot to develop Shandong's coal and iron resources and build an iron plant in Jeju.He also asked Lu Fang, who was beside him, to arrange for someone to hand over the work to Yang Jinshui in Nanjianhe as soon as possible, so that Yang Jinshui could hand over the work as soon as possible and go to Jeju to preside over the construction of the Jeju Iron Works and the development of Shandong Coal and Iron. If you don't understand anything, just go there. Ask Wang Daoqiu.

Emperor Jiajing was very bold and decided on the Shandong Coal and Iron Development Project.Then Emperor Jiajing, who was in a good mood, said to Wang Daoqiu: "Wang Qing! Leave the matter of coal and iron development in Shandong to that slave Yang Jinshui! Wherever there is coal and iron, you have to take care of it in advance. Draw it out, anyway, the land in Jinan and Yanzhou are basically in our hands now. And Wang Qing! With the coal and iron from Yanzhou and Jinan, I don’t look down on the things you sent earlier. King Lu of Yanzhou belongs to his land."

"Okay, my dear, I authorize you to preside over this time. In the three prefectures of Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Jinan, the original three kings of Shandong, King Lu, King De, and King Heng, and the Mansion of Qufu Yanshenggong Kong, as well as those who have been The big families in Shandong who were wiped out by the bandits should sell all their fields and farms together! The money you get will be based on what you discussed with the Ministry of Household Affairs before. The Ministry of Households will get [-]%, the inner court and Jinyiwei will get [-]%, and [-]%. Stay in Shandong for post-disaster reconstruction, and organize some Shandong people to move to Liaodong in advance."

Damn it, I have given myself the right to sell hundreds of millions of acres of land. I have to have a bad conscience, and I will not be as rich as the country in a minute!
Billions of wealth are right in front of him, but for the sake of his great ideal, Wang Daoqiu still tries hard to suppress the animal nature in his heart and maintain his rationality.

Suppressing his desire for money, Wang Daoqiu forced himself to say: "Your Majesty, in order to gather the power of the powerful people in the court, I would like to transfer all the land with mines in Shandong, except for your Majesty's coal and iron projects, to They include the local small and medium-sized gold and silver mines. As for the farmland with no mines underneath? I would like to ask the emperor to issue a decree. In the name of the emperor's grace, we can sell those farmlands at a [-]% discount on the land price, and now cultivate on them. And for those farmers who cannot afford to buy land, as long as they can afford [-]% of the land price as a down payment, the emperor will allow them to borrow money from the Ming Dynasty Royal Bank at one cent interest to buy the land they are currently farming. soil of."

(End of this chapter)