My Ming Dynasty, I have the final say

Chapter 153 The Emperor in his loyal Shijingchang
"Can't you recruit enough troops?"

Leaning on the chair and looking at Cao Wenzhao standing in the hall, Zhu Youxiao tapped his hands on the table.

"Your Majesty, although there are new soldiers trained by Xu Shangshu, my retainers, and the original soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp. Moreover, I and Sun Tradition have repeatedly gone to the mines of Xishan and Shijingshan, and the counties of Shuntian Prefecture to recruit soldiers, but because of the need Priority is given to replenishing Sun Chuanting's Leopard Tao Guards, so I still cannot gather enough troops to meet the establishment number."

Cao Wenzhao looked at the emperor and complained.

"Including the supply battalions responsible for food and fodder, the number of my Tiger Guards is only 9000."

"Can't we recruit troops in Shuntian Mansion?"

Listening to Cao Wenzhao's words, Zhu Youxiao frowned.

The Ming Dynasty had low taxes to support the people for more than 250 years. How could there be no loyal and brave people?
"Your Majesty, there are only a few applicants."

After hearing this, Cao Wenzhao explained helplessly.

"Based on the physical standards of the Tiger Guards set by His Majesty, those farmers who are sharecroppers and farmers rarely have enough to eat at home, and it is difficult for their physical fitness to meet the standards."

"Those who can meet the physical requirements are basically middle peasants and upper-class peasants. These people have land at home, but few are willing to endure hardships as soldiers."

"That's a real problem."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but rub his forehead.

"Have you been to the urban construction camp? We can recruit those who are qualified."

"No."

Hearing this, Cao Wenzhao's head shook like a rattle.

"Anyone who looks like a soldier in the capital camp has been picked out by Chen Chuanting and Sun Chuanting. Moreover, General Qian also wants some of the elite to control the city and build the camp, so the rest are basically the old, weak, sick and disabled."

"..."

Yes, the standard is set too high.

"Lower the standard. Let's recruit some good family members to join the camp. They will eat and drink well. Let's practice slowly."

Once you know what the problem is, solve it.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Cao Wen and said.

"The minister obeys the order."

After Cao Wenzhao left, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but shook his head.

It's difficult for you, it's difficult for me, and no one is available.

Continuing to look through the files pulled out from the Ancient and Modern Tongji Library, Zhu Youxiao wrote the outline of the reform.

In the second year of Longqing's reign, Zhang Juzheng wrote "Chen Liu Shi Shu" to Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty, proposing six key points of the reform: first, discussion of the province, second, promotion of discipline, three levels of edicts, four, verification of name and reality, five, strengthening the country's foundation, and six, military preparations.

Regarding the problems faced by the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng pointed out five points: one clan is arrogant, two officials are incompetent, three officials are in compliance with the rules, the four sides are not repaired, and the five treasures are in short supply.

Zhu Youxiao, a later generation, actually looked down upon the reforms proposed by Zhang Juzheng.

What is the first thing that needs to be done in Ming Dynasty's reform?
It is not about expanding finances or preparing troops, but about clarifying power and responsibilities and rectifying the administration of officials.

In order to achieve this goal, he will set up some new yamen.

And just when the emperor was pondering the general outline of the reform, after Li Ruhua "sickly retired", Yuan Shizhen, who signed the seal of the Ministry of Household Affairs, had a worried brow that could kill a fly.

"Sad, sad, so sad."

The summary of the Ming Dynasty's taxation, the national salt policy reform, and the exchange of silver coins in South Zhili all rested on his shoulders.

He had already decided about the silver coins and let those who dared to block his door do it.

The tax summary cannot be completed in a day or two.

His main thing now is salt policy reform.

The word "making money" can be said to be accompanying Wanli throughout his life.

Since Zhang Juzheng's reform was abolished, the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue has dropped sharply year after year. For money, Wanli has been having conflicts with his courtiers all his life.

As the new emperor ascended the throne and the imperial court changed its name, the affairs of the imperial court's revenue and expenditure had to be changed.

The salt introduction method of the Ming Dynasty was a democratic system, official transfer, and commercial sales.

The government was in the middle position. Merchants spent money to buy salt citations from the court, and took the salt citations to salt households to pick up the salt. The salt households then used the salt citations as proof of tax exemption.

In order to make money, the government often issued excessive amounts of salt. The newly issued salt exceeded the amount of salt produced by the salt households. As a result, the salt households could not withdraw money from the salt households, and the value of the salt gradually decreased. , the salt policy was abolished.

As the salt administration was abolished, illegal salt sales began to flourish.

How rampant was it before he reformed the Lianghuai salt policy?

In the twelve prefectures of Hang, Jia, Hu, Ning, and Shao in Zhejiang, and in Su, Song, Chang, Zhen, Yingtian, and Huaiyang in southern Zhili, no one eats official salt.

The Salt Law he came up with was a system of "official supervision and commercial sales" introduced by the imperial court from the salt industry chain to implement civilian system, commercial collection, commercial transportation and commercial sales.

This is a game in which the money of the big family is returned to the original route, and the money of the small people is divided into [-]% and [-]%.

The salt merchants he vacated in Lianghuai were basically backed by nobles, princes and others.

"Have you found all the people I'm looking for?"

Stopping writing the note, Yuan Shizhen looked at his master and asked.

"Back at my employer, only a few people said they wanted to come to the capital."

Hearing this, the master reluctantly reported to Yuan Shizhen.

"Most people ignored the people we sent, and some even couldn't get in."

"If you don't want to deal with them, just don't deal with them. I'll take care of them when I borrow some people from His Majesty."

Hearing this, Yuan Shizhen said angrily and handed the memorial in his hand to the master.

"Send to Nanyuan."

"Yes."

After hearing Yuan Shizhen's words, the master knew what he wanted to do.

His boss is not a soft-hearted person, and a soft-hearted person cannot rectify the salt policy at all.

When he was in the Huaihe River, he secured salt households, drafted soldiers into the army, and cracked down on illicit salt sales. He killed countless "private salt dealers".

But just when Yuan Shizhen was thinking about borrowing someone from the emperor, the emperor ran to Shijingshan.

He came to inspect the development of industry, which is the backbone of a nation.

Shijing Factory gathered all the blacksmiths and coppersmiths that the emperor could call upon in Shuntian Prefecture.

Craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of War, and the Imperial Court are all here.

The iron technology of the Ming Dynasty was very mature.

After the emperor even lost his face and forcibly purchased the iron ore and coal mines in Shijingshan and Xishan, and provided sufficient silver support, the construction of Shijingshan was quite fast.

In the steelmaking area that had been set up, Zhu Youzheng, accompanied by Zhao Shuang, inspected the steelmaking.

The current Shijing Factory can smelt [-] kilograms per furnace, and the factory's output exceeds [-] kilograms a day.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty had already used blast furnaces to make iron. The blast furnaces were built with refractory bricks. The iron ore, fuel, and solvent were poured from the top of the blast furnace. After calcining, the molten iron flowed out from below.

When the molten iron flows out, transfer it to the fried steel, sprinkle in the iron ore powder and stir to oxidize the carbon and other impurities in the pig iron to obtain wrought iron.

If you want steel, you need to add a step of steel filling method, that is, mix the pig iron molten iron flowing out of the blast furnace with the wrought iron fired in the furnace, and then heat and melt it again to get the steel material.

Don't say anything about backward technology or too much manpower.

What Ming Dynasty lacks most now is manpower.

Although these people are not physically strong enough to serve as soldiers, they still have the strength to make iron.

"Where did this burnt come from?"

There was a pocket in front of him, which was full of black powder. He stretched out his hand and twisted it. Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhao Shuang and asked.

"His Majesty, it was produced by the coking plant in Xishan."

Zhao Shuang was quite familiar with the factories under Longwang Trading Company, so he immediately explained.

"Because of the large amount of coke used, Chen expanded several coking plants in Xishan."

"A large amount of coke is used? What are its uses?" Zhu Youxiao asked curiously when Zhao Shuang said that coke was used in a large amount.

"Coke is needed for smelting iron, smelting copper, frying silver, firing glass, and casting copper coins."

Hearing this, Zhao Shuang started popularizing science with the emperor.

Hearing that Zhao Shuang was expanding the coking plant, Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction.

This person has a strong subjective initiative, unlike some people who need to turn things around on their own.

Listening to Zhao Shuang's talk about the use of coke, Zhu Youxiao's mind was slightly moved.

It is inevitable that the smelting industry will drive the development of the coking industry.

After long-term deforestation in the northern forests, wood has long been insufficient, and the Ming Dynasty's coal industry is very developed, so coal smelting has become inevitable.

But impurities in coal, especially sulfur, can cause metals, especially steel, to become brittle.

As early as the Song and Yuan Dynasties, coal coking technology had already appeared.

After generations of exploration and practice, coal-based coking has developed a mature technology.

The method of making coke is clearly recorded in "Little Knowledge of Physics" written by Fang Yizhi in the late Ming Dynasty.

According to Zhao Shuang, there are different methods for selecting materials. For example, Shandong calls stinky coal, Hebei calls fat charcoal, and Sichuan calls soaked charcoal. The standard is whether it is refined or not.

After selecting the coal for coking, the coal is sorted or crushed and sieved to remove impurities in the coal before it is loaded into the furnace for smelting.

Coke ovens are different from iron furnaces. They are mostly round furnaces with a central diameter ranging from eight feet to one foot, four or five feet. After loading coal into the furnace and tightening it tightly, the top of the furnace is covered with mud and ventilation holes are drilled.

The time spent in the furnace for smelting ranges from four to five days to as many as ten days, which is measured by the time when the smoke is completely gone, and then the slight water stain is extinguished and the coke is formed.

As for coke, there are also different names. Those shaped like mountains are called mist charcoal, and those with light blue color are called blue charcoal. In addition, there are dry charcoal, forged charcoal, refined charcoal, dry charcoal, coke seed, etc.

As for the understanding of coke, Zhao Shuang quoted the previous evaluation: coke comes from charcoal and is stronger than charcoal.

Surrounded by a circle of royal guards, the emperor listened intently to Zhao Shuang's introduction to mining, coking, steelmaking, and casting, and nodded with satisfaction.

Daming's industrial development was still very rapid. A complete industrial chain had long been formed, but no one paid attention to it.

After listening to Zhao Shuang's report on the construction of the industrial chain, Zhu Youxiao changed his subject and asked again.

"Where are the beggars I sent here? Are there any trouble?"

Wandering around the Shijing Factory and looking at the workers passing by, Zhu Youxiao asked Zhao Shuang.

"Your Majesty, there is no trouble."

Hearing this, Zhao Shuang shook his head and said.

"I have been ordered by His Majesty to establish a nine-grade salary system, and we will be paid according to our work without any arrears."

"Those beggars are all proletarians. Now they have jobs that can support themselves and the whole family. They work very hard. There are no heartless people who would cheat and cheat."

"Ah."

Nodding, Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied with his wit.

Let the proletarians become property owners and help them put on a pair of shoes. Then there will be no such thing as barefoot people who are not afraid of wearing shoes, even if they are willing to kill themselves and dare to pull down the emperor.

"How many people are there in Shijing Factory and Xishan Factory now?"

"This, the specific amount is not clear yet, because people come to apply every day."

"The current total is around 12."

After hearing this question, Zhao Shuang introduced it to the emperor in detail.

The Longwang Chamber of Commerce is supervised by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and has different branches, each with its own deacons.

The Construction Department has 3 engineering personnel and is responsible for the construction of factories, housing, city walls, and mine excavation.

The Iron and Steel Department has 2000 craftsmen and 1 assistants, responsible for smelting iron and casting finished products.

The Coke Department has 3000 craftsmen and 5000 assistants, responsible for specializing in coking.

The Coal Mine Department has 6000 miners and is responsible for the reconstruction and production of Xishan coal mines.

The Security Department has 4000 security personnel and is mainly responsible for public security issues.

The Jingbu Division has 3000 transportation personnel, responsible for transportation and road construction.

The Sales Department, with more than 2000 people, is responsible for the sales of finished products.

Longwang Company integrated many yamen from the former Ministry of Industry, Ministry of War, and the Imperial Court, and was a very large organization.

Walking on the way out of the factory area, listening to what Zhao Shuang said, Zhu Youxiao nodded with emotion.

Ming Dynasty will never lack capable people.

Suddenly, Zhu Youxiao's attention was attracted by a team of security personnel standing under the wall.

The leader was a tall man with slightly shabby clothes and a long saber on his shoulder.

The appearance of Shen Lian and Lu Wenzhao in the Jinyi Guard told Zhu Youxiao that there were several "acquaintances" around him. Zhu Youxiao had already had a premonition and recognized the leader at a glance.

"Add money layman?"

Zhu Youxiao's eyes narrowed and he thought to himself as he looked at this person.

Pointing at Ding Xiu who had a long sword standing beside him, Zhu Youxiao looked at his side and said.

"Let that person come over."

"Ok?"

Ding Xiu, who was in a daze, suddenly saw the emperor pointing at him, and his hair suddenly stood on end.

"Ding Xiu, the emperor asked you to come here."

When Ding Xiu didn't know what to do, Guo Zhen, the eunuch sent by Dongchang to lead the security department, shouted.

"Ding Xiu, a common man, comes to see my emperor."

Although he was very reluctant in his heart, under the gaze of a circle of royal guards around the emperor, Ding Xiu knelt down in front of the emperor and said.

"Are you Ding Xiu?"

Looking at the security guard in front of him, whose surname is Ding Mingxiu, whose name is Jia Qianji, and whose calligraphy is very smooth, Zhu Youxiaodao.

"I heard that you are Qi Shaobao's disciple and Qi Jin's disciple?"

"Your Majesty, Cao Min is indeed Qi Shaobao's disciple."

Hearing that the emperor was so clear about his inheritance, Ding Xiu did not dare to hide it and lowered his head.

"I want you to join the Imperial Guard, are you willing?"

"Grass people."

After hearing that he was allowed to enter the Jinyi Guard, Ding Xiu raised his head slightly and moved his eyes upward.

Then he saw the emperor looking at him with almost shining eyes.

Seeing this, Ding Xiu quickly lowered his head and said.

"Grassmen are willing."

"Ah."

Nodding, Zhu Youxiao pointed to the Jin Yiwei behind him.

"Follow them, and you will stay with me from now on."

"The common people thank Your Majesty for your great kindness."

While the emperor was still inspecting Shijing Factory, Ding Xiu went to pack his luggage.

When he followed the emperor back to Nanhaizi, Ding Xiu still felt dizzy.

Why did he enter Jinyiwei in a daze?

"Damn it, Lu Wenzhao, just did it yourself and sold me to the emperor."

(End of this chapter)