Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 111: Guo Huan's case! (Subscribe)
"Technology exchange?"

"Xia Zhibai is willing to take out the steam engine?"

"What's wrong with the family doing business? Isn't the purpose of business to make money?"

"."

Xia Zhibai's words did not have much impact on the people on the street.

They don't know what they are talking about.

The only thing they knew was that Xia Zhibai felt that what he was doing now was not enough and he wanted to do more.

They were naturally very satisfied with this.

But the industrial and commercial practitioners upstairs scoffed at these words. Technology is the foundation of their families and it is also the real way to support their families. How could they hand over these skills just after listening to a few words?
This is not only unfair to our ancestors, but also to our clan members.

Only a few people looked wary.

They were well aware of the miserable plight of salt merchants like Luo Gan. They had no power to resist at all and their plans were clearly arranged from the very beginning.

And just as Xia Zhibai said, he has a large number of engineers and craftsmen at his disposal, and can also draw on the power of the imperial court. If he is really determined to curry favor with them, I am afraid that many of his skills and techniques cannot be hidden at all. What's more important is that Xia Zhibai is an official.

He can grab!
Although it doesn't seem likely, who can guarantee it?
The businessmen had different thoughts.

Xia Zhibai didn't say any more about this.

He just started it.

When the world situation changes, these businessmen present will naturally understand.

But he was serious about sending out the steam engine drawings.

There are too many and too complicated derivative systems related to steam engines. Although he has many engineers and craftsmen and can rely on the power of the Ministry of Industry, it is basically unrealistic for him to develop the entire steam engine system relying on the strength of one company alone.

He can't afford to spend that much money.

sometimes.

You have to rely on the power of others.

There are very few people who can actually manufacture steam engines, but once the blueprints are widely circulated, there will naturally be people who are interested and will take the initiative to participate. He plans to use the power of these people to gradually improve the steam engine system.

At the same time, numbers and standardization are spread secretly.

Of course, if someone really wanted to build a steam engine, he could also take the opportunity to sell coal to make some money back.

His coal mine now relies entirely on subsidies from the salt factory.

It's difficult to run a business.

Coal is too expensive and inconvenient to transport, so it is not as popular as firewood, which is more accepted by the public.

If we want to truly develop the coal industry, we can only rely on the development of steam engines. With the popularization of steam engines, we can turn losses into profits and then promote the establishment of an industrial system step by step.

Xia Zhibai was not in a hurry.

All things are difficult at the beginning, but as long as you start, you will always find a way.

As for other people, they may be uneasy, nervous, alert, or something else.

He doesn't care.

He said everything he wanted to say.

The desired goal has been basically achieved.

Xia Zhibai coughed lightly and said slowly: "The salt shop is closed today, so it will be closed later. The promised salt will be distributed for free. I hope all the elders and villagers can step up and make way for the merchants."

"Xia Zhibai thanks you."

Xia Zhibai bowed respectfully to the people around him.

See this.

The onlookers were also somewhat panicked, and many of them were at a loss as to what to do.

After a commotion, a path was finally squeezed out from the crowd.

Fang Mo and several shop assistants, with more than a dozen bags of salt hanging on their bodies, squeezed through the crowd and distributed the salt.

The crowd burst into roars of joy again.

The sound waves broke through the clouds, reached the sky, and also reached the palace.

Fengtian Temple.

With Zhu Yuanzhang's deliberate procrastination.

The Fengtian Hall remained in its original state and was not changed into the so-called "People's Hall".

Inside the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head suspiciously, looked outside the palace, and asked Pu Gou'er who was waiting beside him: "Did something happen outside the palace? Why are there so many shouts, as if there is no end? Go and check for us what happened outside the palace."

"Remember to check it out for us."

At the end.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have thought of something and added, "Since you are leaving the palace, remember to go to Xia Zhibai's salt shop. We want to see what kind of salt he sells that can sell so much."

Pu Gou'er said quickly, "I obey your command."

Then, Pu Gou'er hesitated for a moment and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, I sent someone from the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office to the Kyoto Salt Shop to buy some of each type of salt."

"This Xia Zhibai is really good at doing business. In order to let the salt buyers distinguish which is good salt and which is coarse salt, he even put a few 'magnifying glasses' next to the salt jar. I heard that this thing is good, so I also asked the people in the Salt Transport Department to prepare one."

Zhu Yuanzhang became interested when he heard this, and said happily: "Okay, give it to us now. We want to see the difference between the good salt made by Xia Zhibai and the coarse salt."

"Yes." Park Gouer said with a smile.

Not long after.

Park Gouer returned to the hall.

He was holding a wooden tray with several salt shakers on it.

There is a 'magnifying glass' in the upper corner.

Zhu Yuanzhang placed the wooden plate in front of him and looked at the magnifying glass for a few seconds. He didn't find it strange.

There are a lot of these things in the palace, but not this big one.

Of course, it seems to be a lot thicker.

He poured different types of salt onto the paper one by one, but when he poured out the special salt, even though it was not the first time he had seen it, he still nodded involuntarily.

As white as snow, as fine as sand, it is indeed good salt.

Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the magnifying glass and looked at it curiously. However, when he put the magnifying glass on the salt, the salt in his eyes changed a lot. The outlines around it became blurred and distorted, but he could see it very clearly in the center of his vision.

And it’s big enough!

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, the difference between special salt and coarse salt is indeed obvious.

Special salt is clean.

Looking through a magnifying glass, no impurities can be seen.

The size, texture and appearance are almost the same.

A vast expanse of white.

Other coarse salts, or so-called refined salts, can be seen to contain impurities of varying sizes when magnified. Some are mixed with mud and sand, as well as some yellowish or grayish crystals. The difference is obvious compared to special salts.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

"It seems that this special salt is not expensive."

"Clean up all the mud, sand, and other miscellaneous things inside."

"Other salts, even coarse salt, taste better than most salts, and that's why they sell for so much."

"It's just that the salt is good and the price is low, so where is the profit?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly.

In his opinion, Xia Zhibai was clearly using his own money to make a name for himself among the people.

Fifty thousand silver coins.

Even now when he thinks about it, Zhu Yuanzhang feels heartbroken.

Soon.

Park Gouer is back.

He also brought back news from outside the city.

Zhu Yuanzhang then realized that today was the agreed third month deadline.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "This Xia Zhibai always makes a lot of noise when he performs. If you don't know him, you would think he is a high-ranking official. Judging from the situation, the 500,000 kilograms of salt must have been sold, otherwise the people would not be so noisy."

Park Gou'er nodded and said, "Your Majesty."

"We have reached 500,000."

“But it wasn’t achieved all at once.”

"I found out that when the data was first announced, the total sales of the one prefecture and eight counties did not reach 500,000, but only 490,000. Later, someone was dissatisfied with this data and asked Xia Zhibai to add the salt he had ordered privately from other stores. Only then did the data reach 500,000." Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

He didn't believe it at all.

This is what Xia Zhibai did on purpose, just to whet the people's appetite.

He saw through this little trick at a glance.

It can't be put on any big stage.

It was only when Pu Gou'er said that the next step was to let the businessmen in the city speak out, that Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened and he said in a serious tone, "Xia Zhibai is really calculating. Not only did he get himself out of the trouble, he also pushed the blame onto other businessmen. If these businessmen didn't speak out, the people would only resent these businessmen and would not blame Xia Zhibai."

"These scholars always say one thing and do another."

"But the merchants in the city have said so, right?"

Park Gouer nodded.

He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have said it all."

"Even the salt merchants who were squeezed out by Xia Zhibai and couldn't sell their salt said so."

"I have served Your Majesty for so long, but this is the first time I have heard of such a thing. I clearly hate Xia Zhibai to the core, but I have no choice but to obey."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't laugh.

He only felt that Xia Zhibai's methods were extraordinary.

At first, he thought that Xia Zhibai was deliberately creating excitement, but when Pu Gouer told him what happened in detail, he gradually realized that something was unusual; it was all too smooth and natural.

It just happened so naturally.

As an emperor.

He knew very well how difficult it was to do all this.

But Xia Zhibai did it.

This is extraordinary. Not only did the people applaud, but also the businessmen, especially those who were his competitors, had to cheer for him.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked coldly: "What's next?"

"What else happened?"

"Tell us everything clearly."

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's expression suddenly turned stern, Pu Gou'er did not dare to take it lightly anymore, and tremblingly told him what happened next.

After listening.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was as gloomy as water.

Pu Gou'er was also frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang's expression.

He didn't understand.

Why did Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly get angry?

This doesn't seem like much.

Moreover, everything Xia Zhibai did was for the Ming Dynasty and brought real benefits to the court. Why did he make Your Majesty angry?
Just because it was Xia Zhibai who did it?

Park Gouer lowered his head, thinking secretly in his heart.

boom!
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly jumped up and smashed the magnifying glass on the table to the ground, with anger in his eyes almost undisguised.

Park Gou'er couldn't figure it out.

He knew this very well.

Make way for the world to trade?
Xia Zhibai didn't say this to the common people, he said it specifically to himself.

Because he doesn't like business.

It's not even dislike, it's disgust from the bottom of my heart.

He still remembers the scene of those tax farmers rushing into his home and forcing his parents to death.

His parents have always been honest farmers who have been exploited by these tax-farming merchants all their lives. If his neighbor Liu Jizu had not borrowed a piece of land from them, his parents would not even have a place to be buried after their death. He hated these merchants from the bottom of his heart.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

Although many systems of the Yuan court were abolished on the surface.

But the tax farming system had actually been abolished but never continued. Zhu Yuanzhang knew this very well. Although the dynasty had changed, it was not so easy to change it directly. What he had to do next was to completely eradicate the "tax farming system" that remained in the Ming system.

The tax package system is no longer needed.

Then there would be no need for businessmen to exist.

But what is Xia Zhibai advocating now? To give the world a way to trade?
Can he open this road whenever he wants?
soon.

Zhu Yuanzhang calmed down.

Because he wanted to eradicate the remnants of the "tax farming system", he did not tell anyone, not even Zhu Biao.

There's no way Xia Zhibai could know that.

Is it really a coincidence?
Was it really just a coincidence?

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't believe it.

Moreover, what Xia Zhibai said to the outside world was incompatible with the world that Zhu Yuanzhang envisioned.

He simply didn't want so much action in the world.

The people just need to pay their taxes honestly.

The rest is not something these people should consider.

As for what Xia Zhibai said about "reducing costs and increasing efficiency" and "improving productivity", they are not necessary at all. He just wants the people to stay in the fields honestly.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes, his eyes emitting a cold light.

He thought about it over and over in his mind, but he couldn't figure out the reason.

a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes and opened them again.

Whether Xia Zhibai's behavior was a coincidence or intentional.

No one can stop him from doing what he wants to do.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Pu Gou'er coldly, and suddenly thought of something, and asked, "Who has Xia Zhibai been hanging out with recently?"

Pu Gou'er was stunned, thought for a while, and said uncertainly: "I did ask, and recently Xia Zhibai has only been dealing with some merchants in the city. Apart from that, he only had some disputes with the housekeeper of Guo Huan, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, yesterday."

"Minister Guo also invited Xia Zhibai over last night."

"It's still a very expensive invitation."

"One hundred taels of silver."

"Guo Huan?" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes darkened.

Pu Gou'er nodded seriously and said, "Your Majesty, it is the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"I remember it very clearly."

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes slightly, his look uncertain.

He had guessed some of the situation.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "It seems that I have underestimated the ministers of the Ming Dynasty. They are all as cunning as humans. I thought I had done it perfectly, but in the end, I was seen through. In this case, there is no need to hide it anymore."

"Go to the Imperial Censorate and tell the censors."

"It's time to get to work!"

"We keep them so that they can work for us, not so that they can live a life of luxury for us."

Park Gouer's face changed slightly.

He heard a murderous aura in Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

Your Majesty, are you going to kill someone again?

Park Gou'er nodded quickly and walked quickly to deliver the message.

Sunset.

Yu Min, Ding Ting and several other censors jointly reported that Guo Huan, the right vice-minister of the Ministry of Revenue, abused his power to collude with Li Yu, the governor of Beiping, and Zhao Quande, the chief judge, in collusion with vice-ministers of the Ministry of Revenue Hu Yi and Wang Daoheng and other officials to commit massive corruption.

same day.

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Wu Yong, the judge of the Criminal Court, to interrogate Guo Huan.

The Guo Huan case officially broke out.

　If there are any incoherent parts, you can't really blame me, they were deleted, and I just found out that some chapters were directly missing 100 or 200 words.
　　For example, in the previous chapter, there was actually a poem by the teacher at the beginning, as well as a few very encouraging words, but they were all automatically deleted.

　　Vomiting blood.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)