Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The area on the east bank of the Wusong River is designated as Baoshan District.

Compared to Wusong District on the west bank, this area has a smaller population and appears more spacious.

The focus of the new district's development was not previously located here; most of the industrial parks were situated in Wusong District.

However, after seeing the plans from the imperial court, Liu Lishun changed the layout and began to develop Baoshan District.

The establishment of steel industrial parks is one such example.

"This place will be built into the largest steel industrial park in Jiangnan, just like Foshan Town in Guangdong."

"You know the importance of steel; no firearm can be made without steel."

"Are you interested in taking a stake in us? We'll prioritize buying steel in the future."

Liu Lishun pointed to a vacant lot under construction and said to the Chu Fan group.

He planned to build a steel plant by soliciting investment from the public, modeled after the Tongzhou Arsenal.

Chu Fan has always been one of the sources of funding for the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area, investing in many industries within the area.

Many of them who are temporarily residing in the Suzhou-Songjiang New Area are already planning to stay here.

Upon hearing Liu Lishun's introduction, Wugang King Zhu Huazeng said:

"We naturally trust Liu Hanlin's abilities."

"Is this place too far out in space? Where will the steel produced here be sold?"

Liu Lishun laughed and said:

"Given the current situation in the new district, is Your Highness worried that the steel produced won't be able to be sold?"

"Your Highness knows about the concrete roads in the new district, right?"

"If there is enough steel, we will use steel from now on."

"Just think about how many roads will be built in the new district, and how much steel will be needed?"

Upon hearing these words, Zhu Huazeng and the others were horrified.

Even if they knew that steel had its uses, they never expected that Liu Lishun would actually plan to use reinforced concrete to build roads.

Zhu Huazeng asked with skepticism:

"Liu Hanlin, it's not that we don't believe it, it's just too unbelievable."

"Is the new district so rich that they bury steel underground?"

Another person, who knew a little more about the subject, said:
"Even if we have that much steel, can we have that much cement?"

"Moreover, bamboo-reinforced concrete is now widely used, and I heard that a bamboo and wood industrial park is being built in Zhejiang."

Some people also raised financial concerns, arguing that the new district didn't have enough money.

After listening to their explanation, Liu Lishun smiled and said:

Do you know about the supply and marketing group?

"In the future, the imperial court will levy corvée labor on enterprises at a price not exceeding 10% of the cost price."

"The same applies to steel companies; at least one-tenth of their steel production is supplied to supply and marketing groups."

"If the supply and marketing group can sell them, that's fine. If they can't, the new district will buy them at cost price for public construction."

"So you don't need to worry about not being able to sell the steel you produce."

Someone had heard about this news and inquired:
"A 10% profit margin is acceptable, but charging only one-tenth of the output is far too low."

"Where will the remaining 90% of the production go if it doesn't sell?"

Liu Lishun said:

“These steel plants have already started construction, and the new district will hold more than half of the shares, so they can be considered state-owned enterprises.”

"If you can't sell them, I guarantee that the Suzhou-Songjiang supply and marketing company will purchase 90% of them to cover your costs."

"Surely you can rest assured now?"

"Don't worry about not being able to sell them!"

This measure immediately appealed to them.

Because everyone knows that salt and iron can make a fortune.

Now that the salt industry is controlled by the imperial court, they can only participate in the steel industry.

Liu Lishun then said to them:

"When you go to Southeast Asia to establish your own territories, don't you need to build roads?"

"I heard that it rains frequently in Southeast Asia, and there are no concrete roads. How were the post roads built?"

"Reinforced concrete is superior to bamboo-reinforced concrete."

"If steel is cheap, you can buy it and ship it over."

These words prompted deep reflection among some people, especially those members of the royal family who organized teams to vie for the throne of Chu.

They all knew that whether or not they could obtain the throne of Chu depended on the results of opening up the territory, which required not only conquering the local area but also the ability to govern.

Zhu Huazeng stopped questioning it at this point, because he believed that steel could be used to make weapons, at least to arm the natives.

These wealthy princes were already interested and asked Liu Lishun if he could manufacture weapons.

Upon hearing that these people wanted to make swords, armor, and other weapons, Liu Lishun said:

“The production of cold weapons is easy to handle. The imperial court has given us a lot of leeway, so production is very easy.”

"Once the steel industrial park yields results, I will apply to the imperial court to build an equipment industrial park."

"At that time, you can buy not only swords and knives, but also muskets and cannons from here."

Promise these people that you will sell them weapons.

Zhu Huazeng and others were tempted and soon joined other princes in investing in Baoshan Steel Plant, taking half of the shares.

They wanted more, and argued that their investment share, given that the royal family belonged to the public house, was also a form of public ownership.

Liu Lishun laughed and said:
“If you were in your own vassal states, your investments would naturally be public property.”

"However, the investments made by feudal nobles in the Ming Dynasty can only be considered as your private property."

"The profits from these industries belong to you."

“They will not be included in the vassal state's finances; they will be considered your own private property.”

This statement has prompted some people to think.

Wugang King Zhu Huazeng said:
"What does it mean?"

"Aren't the properties we own in our vassal state our own?"

"My property in this vassal state must be shared with others?"

Liu Lishun said matter-of-factly:
"Of course we should share it with others. These are public assets, and they should be taken from the people and used for the people."

"His Majesty has decided that half of the profits of the Imperial Assets Management Committee will be invested in public welfare and social security charity."

"Tell me, are the Emperor's assets private property or public property?"

Upon hearing these words, the people of Chu exchanged bewildered glances.

They never expected that the current emperor would be so generous as to give half of his own profits to others.

This was something they absolutely did not want to do, and they simply did not understand the emperor's intention in doing so.

Liu Lishun understood one thing: the emperor had earned too much, and if he didn't share it, his ministers would likely covet it.

Now that the emperor is voluntarily giving half of the royal assets to the scholars, it will reduce public criticism. Otherwise, if the royal assets are classified as private property, the public's knowledge of the money earned by the Imperial Assets Committee will be very detrimental to the emperor's reputation.
-
Zhu Youjian hadn't expected that he would earn so much money last year.

After the profit statistics of the Imperial Assets Supervision and Administration Commission were released, he realized that if this matter was not handled properly, it would cause a major upheaval in the court and among the public.

Last year, the imperial court spent over ten million taels of silver on the Liaodong campaign. Apart from essential provisions, most of the logistical supplies and equipment were produced by enterprises he established upon assuming the throne.

Some of these enterprises were controlled by the imperial court, while others were privately owned. The Imperial Assets Committee was also involved, and with Zhu Youjian's prior arrangements, it reaped huge profits.

The Imperial Capital Commission alone earned over 300,000 in profits from orders placed with the imperial court.

Even more surprising is the banking sector. With both production and sales booming, many business owners who previously disliked borrowing began trying it last year. Most of these were short-term loans, repaid within the same year, demonstrating rapid capital turnover.

As a result, after the Imperial Assets Supervision and Administration Commission compiled statistics, it was found that the profits of major banks had reached more than 500,000.

Adding in other miscellaneous income, the Imperial Assets Management Committee's profits officially exceeded one million, equivalent to the gold and silver collected in Jiangnan.

For this reason, the institution came to the attention of the court officials.

Especially those officials who held concurrent positions in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, because they could receive dividends from the Imperial Assets Committee, were very clear about the committee's profits.

After receiving his share of the profits, Liu Zongzhou voluntarily requested to return it and advised the emperor not to discriminate against him.
Zhuge Liang said: "The palace and the government are one body; promotions and demotions, rewards and punishments should not be treated differently."

"Whether they are officials in the inner court or officials in the outer court, they are all His Majesty's subjects. It is not appropriate for His Majesty to only give bonuses to officials in the inner court and ignore officials in the outer court."

"If this continues, which of the officials in the outer court will be willing to do their best?"

This principle was so simple that Zhu Youjian immediately understood after Liu Zongzhou explained it clearly:

The strategy of privately bribing officials is not going to work; on the contrary, it will alienate some people.

He asked Liu Zongzhou:

"So, sir, how do you think this profit should be divided?"

Liu Zongzhou said:

"Since it is the Emperor's property, the decision should naturally be made by the Emperor."

"However, since Your Majesty has instructed me to speak, then I shall first ask a question:"

"Are the properties owned by the Imperial Assets Committee private or public?"

Zhu Youjian had previously used a deceptive tactic, including both royal and public assets under public ownership. Therefore, he now naturally stated:

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the families of the rulers of the feudal states were the royal families.

"Now that the feudal system is being restarted, the properties of the feudal nobles will be public properties, which are naturally public assets."

"Royal assets are also part of this system."

The flaw in this argument is obvious, Liu Zongzhou inquired:
"Are the assets of the government office the same as public assets?"

"Is it owned by the government, or is it a public property belonging to all under heaven?"

Zhu Youjian blushed immediately, realizing that treating all public property as public property was a complete fallacy.

If no one had pursued the matter, it would have been fine, but now that Liu Zongzhou has pressed for answers, this problem has suddenly come to light.

He could only say:

"I, as the Son of Heaven, established royal enterprises in order to alleviate the burden on the people."

"Since I ascended the throne, have I ever demanded money from the outer court?"

"This is all because of the establishment of royal assets."

This argument is somewhat far-fetched, but Liu Zongzhou could accept it:

Because the current emperor does not actually demand money or luxuries from the outer court; on the contrary, the outer court frequently requests money from the inner court. So much so that after the inner and outer treasuries were separated, some officials lamented that they could no longer obtain money from the inner court.

He knew the emperor had ulterior motives in this matter, but it was beneficial to the world, so he offered his advice:
"According to the regulations of some time ago, enterprises with more than half of their shares in public ownership can be called state-owned enterprises."

"Your Majesty wishes to treat the royal property as public property. I believe that we can follow this proportion and let the court own half of it."

"That way, no one will criticize the royal property or say that it is not public property."

This is one way that Zhu Youjian can retain half of the ownership of the Imperial Assets Committee.

But he was unwilling, because that would allow the outer court to interfere in the royal family's property.

He planned to build a royal consortium around the Royal Assets Committee to maintain the royal family's influence in the future era of capital.

If he's been influenced and infiltrated by the outer court, how can he control the Imperial Family Committee?
Therefore, he neither commented nor responded at the time.

However, rumors inevitably spread, causing discussion both in and out of government.

Although under the control of the Imperial Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, no newspapers published articles discussing this matter.

However, the articles received by newspapers in various regions show that this matter has attracted a lot of attention.

Some officials even submitted memorials to the emperor, requesting an explanation.

After much deliberation, Zhu Youjian decided to establish a royal foundation, investing half of the royal assets commission's profits into it for public welfare.

This can be considered a benefit to all people, and thus it can be called a public enterprise.

To gain support from both the government and the public, the first thing the Royal Foundation did was donate to the social security fund. This money was then used to support the elite, thus securing their support.

Then, in terms of scientific research, Zhu Youjian changed the allocation of funds to institutions such as the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Literature and Art to be drawn from the scientific research foundation.

Furthermore, an education fund was established, converting previous school grants into donations, and scholarships were set up to win over young scholars.

Needless to say, the journalism industry has seen its journalism awards, which were initially drafted last year, become even more comprehensive this year.

Whether it was the golden pen bestowed as a reward or the title of public servant granted, both were now included in public welfare expenditures, no longer as ambiguous as before.

Furthermore, a cultural fund was established, along with awards such as literary and educational prizes, to be used to bribe writers.

The same applies to martial arts competitions involving martial artists, and Zhu Youjian planned to hold more martial arts competitions, awarding the winners with the title of Gongshi (a high-ranking official title) to increase expenditures.

Similarly, for music festivals, fashion festivals, and other events, Zhu Youjian incorporated the royal family's expenditures on science, education, culture, and health into public welfare undertakings.

Even so, the 500,000 taels allocated to the royal fund were not yet spent. Zhu Youjian decided to undertake a major undertaking, to establish an immortal legacy for the royal fund, one that no one could question.

He summoned officials from the Imperial Medical Academy and inquired:
"How's the smallpox vaccination going?"

"Can it be promoted?"

Zhang Jingyue, the chief physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, said:
"It has been verified that it can prevent smallpox."

"It is safer than variolation and can replace variolation."

Zhu Youjian immediately decided:
"In that case, I will establish a special epidemic prevention fund under the Royal Fund to specifically study how to prevent and control epidemics."

"Preventing and treating smallpox was the first priority. The royal family funded it, and the Imperial Hospital and major hospitals promoted it."

"This matter must be handled properly. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you accountable!"

These words were quite harsh, and Zhang Jingyue had never heard them before.

Previously, even when the emperor asked him to save the Duke of Ying, he only said he would do his best.

If this matter is not handled properly, one will be punished, which shows how much importance the emperor attaches to it.

After careful consideration, he said:
"If we are to promote it on a large scale, I think we should conduct trials first."

"Find more people to verify, in order to avoid problems."

This reply made Zhu Youjian frown. He was eager to achieve results in public welfare, to let the world know that the royal family's profits were used for the people, and that the enterprises under its jurisdiction were also public enterprises.

However, caution is indeed needed in medical matters. Thinking of the clinical trials in later generations, he recalled the process and instructed Zhang Jingyue to make the arrangements.

The smallpox vaccine has now completed its safety and initial efficacy studies. The next step is the Phase III trial, a large-scale, multi-center trial to confirm its efficacy.

He decided to promote it in Beijing, Suzhou and Songjiang, and then roll it out nationwide after verification.

Based on this, they established clinical trial procedures and gained control of the pharmaceutical industry. (End of Chapter)