Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 121 What belongs to the public belongs to the world! (Second update)
Weights and measures.

These three words are both unfamiliar and familiar to Zhou Ning and others.

There has always been a general regulation for the unification of weights and measures throughout the world, and it all originated from the Qin Dynasty.

But the difficulty in standardizing weights and measures lies in two things.

Set standards and ensure implementation.

Customs vary from place to place in the world, and the proportions followed are also different.

However, after so many years of integration, the general standards actually have a certain range, but the difficulty of weights and measures lies in implementation. Even if the government pushes it, the people below may not necessarily follow it obediently. It has never been easy to enforce orders.

The same was true of the Ming Dynasty.

The size of the measure and the short weight have always been the means for merchants and even government officials to make profits secretly.

There are numerous interests involved, and it has long been difficult to get rid of. It is conceivable how difficult it is to regulate this system.

It's simply not something Xia Zhibai can do.

Zhou Ning and the others looked at each other in bewilderment and said, "Mr. Xia, I know the importance of standardizing weights and measures, but customs and acceptance vary from place to place, so there is too much resistance to standardizing weights and measures."

"Besides, you deal in salt and coal, and you don't really have much contact with the people."

Zhou Ning couldn't help but give a few reminders.

Xia Zhibai smiled.

Of course he understands this.

But institutionalization, regularization and standardization are prerequisites for industrialization.

If each place has its own standards, even if the error is not large, this "slightest" error may lead to huge differences in the final results.

Xia Zhibai said: "I plan to test the waters with the blueprints of the steam engine first, so that the outside world can officially understand this semi-official form of measurement standard for the first time. A few days ago, His Majesty approved my plan to build an iron smelting plant, which also means that I can independently produce iron and manufacture various tools in the future."

"You have been at the salt works for quite some time."

“It should be that they have deeply experienced the convenience of standardization.”

"Even if it is just a copper mother or a piece of iron, as long as it is produced in a professional and standardized manner, it will be very convenient for future maintenance and replacement, and will also greatly improve the production efficiency of the machine."

"If the world can really unify its weights and measures, it will greatly improve production efficiency."

"People's livelihood is difficult, and we need to forge ahead."

"If we want to promote these standards, in addition to getting other merchants to accept them, it is more important to get craftsmen to accept them."

"The craftsmen and engineers master various technologies and control the manufacture of various tools in the world. If the craftsmen and engineers in the world accept this, everything will be much easier."

Hear the words.

Zhou Ning seemed to be thinking about something.

He had roughly understood Xia Zhibai's thoughts.

I also know why Xia Zhibai wanted to publicize the "steam engine" drawings.

The purpose is to make more people interested in the "steam engine" and then make them actively or passively accept this set of standards.

Of course this may not be complete.

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "The steam engine blueprints can indeed be spread for a while, but the cost is too high and it is difficult to maintain. It can only have an impact for a while. If you want to promote it continuously, you must continue to attract attention from all over the world, and this depends on the engineers."

"But the help your majesty can provide is really limited."

"It is even more impossible for the Ministry of Industry to listen to a lowly official like me."

"So I have a suggestion. I would like to ask Governor Zhou to recruit some apprentices around Yingtian Prefecture and teach them certain knowledge."

“As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. The wisdom of one person may be limited, but the wisdom of a group of people is enough to accomplish something amazing.”

Zhou Ning's expression suddenly changed.

Teach outsiders your own way of making a living?
How can this be done?
Not only Zhou Ning, but also craftsmen such as Li Sheng, their faces changed.

They respected Xia Zhibai very much, but there was no way they would pass on their livelihood or even their ancestral skills to others.

Xia Zhibai had already anticipated the reactions of Zhou Ning and others.

He continued with a smile, "I don't ask you to teach me any unique skills. I just want these apprentices to learn how to check and repair machines, how to choose the right parts, and how to deal with some emergency situations."

“Salt works expansion is imminent.”

"I only have a few of you craftsmen."

“But this time I want to expand the salt factory to the entire north.”

"You don't have enough manpower at the moment, far from enough, so you can only think of a way to delegate some of the assembly, inspection, and maintenance work to other apprentices, letting them take charge, and then build salt factories in various places faster."

"Besides."

“You all know what I am promoting.”

"I believe in standardization, process-based, regularized, and even formulaic methods."

"Under this model, it is destined to take the mass route."

"This kind of technology is often hard to keep secret. As long as you study it carefully, it is easy to get some clues. Then let the craftsmen study it and break down the manufacturing process into multiple steps. It will be enough to proceed according to the process."

"From now on, the world will win by quantity."

Xia Zhibai spoke calmly, with a sharp tone.

He did not object to craftsmen making sophisticated and exquisite handicrafts, but any technology that involved the public must not be kept privately and must be handed over. Even if it was not handed over, he would find ways to overcome it, then make a process and carry out assembly line production.

It is undeniable.

This will cause many artisans to lose their jobs.

But this is the inevitable trend of the world. They can either join it, or go a step further and completely go the boutique route, or they can only slowly die out. In an era of low production efficiency, these craftsmen who work slowly and carefully still have room and soil to survive, but once the tide of standardization and process is opened, these craftsmen will inevitably be beaten to a pulp.

This is the price of technological change.

Listening to Xia Zhibai's domineering and strong words, Zhou Ning's face showed a bit of bitterness.

When Xia Zhibai first started making steam engines and required standardized production, he had already guessed something, and now it has only been officially confirmed. Xia Zhibai has ambitions, and what he wants is to "subvert" the entire world.

Completely change the status quo of the world.

Change the world.

It’s just that too few people noticed it.

Because Xia Zhibai's official position was too low, he was not even in the eyes of the court officials, and the court did not care about what he did. This led to Xia Zhibai doing whatever he wanted in his own little piece of land, acting recklessly, even lawless.

By the time Xia Zhibai really entered the court, the ecology among the people had already changed drastically.

At first, he also thought that Xia Zhibai's decision to do business was a momentary impulse.

but now.

He got it completely.

Xia Zhibai did it on purpose.

He knew that he had no chance of realizing his ambitions in the court or in the Hanlin Academy, and the ministers in the court would not give him such an opportunity. However, "doing business", the business that the current emperor despised the most and a group that all court officials despised, became Xia Zhibai's private domain.

As long as he doesn't cause any trouble, the court will basically not interfere.

Zhou Ning no longer dared to think about it.

Under Xia Zhibai's strong control, to what extent will the production efficiency be raised.

Perhaps it is really possible to achieve the feat of improving people's livelihood through one's own strength. How astonishing would that be?
Does Xia Zhibai really want himself and others to teach them how to assemble these things using machines?
No.

Xia Zhibai asked them to teach craftsmanship knowledge.

Once these apprentices have mastered the basic knowledge of craftsmanship, they will be able to support Xia Zhibai's ambitions.

Zhou Ning smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Xia, don't forget that the imperial court has a strict household registration system. They are not registered as craftsmen and cannot learn relevant knowledge."

Xia Zhibai said calmly: "They are now!"

"When I first established the salt factory, I told Your Highness about this matter. I changed the household registration of these people to 'workers', but they are 'workers' under the civilian household registration. They are still civilian households, but they can learn the knowledge related to the 'craftsman' household registration."

Zhou Ning was stunned.

He looked at Xia Zhibai, completely speechless.

Xia Zhibai had planned it long ago.

It's just that the time is right now.

Moreover, changing household registration was not very common for the imperial court.

When the world was short of salt, Your Majesty had waved his hand and transferred the household registration of many households to stove households. When there was a shortage of iron in the early days, Your Majesty had also waved his hand and directly registered some households near the Thirteen Mining Areas into the household registration of craftsmen.

It was just that His Highness's casual agreement gave Xia Zhibai room for flexibility.

Xia Zhibai looked at Zhou Ning and said with a smile, "Governor Zhou, you don't need to worry so much. Since His Highness has agreed, he must have considered it. Besides, the steam engine is expensive, so it naturally needs a group of workers who are familiar with the machine. Otherwise, not only will the salt production be slow, but it will also increase the wear and tear of the machine, which is not worth the loss."

Zhou Ning thought for a while, then nodded: "Okay."

"I agreed."

Xia Zhibai smiled faintly and said, "Thank you, Governor Zhou, for your help. However, in order to facilitate teaching apprentices, I personally suggest that Governor Zhou take some time to compile a set of relatively simple and easy-to-understand teaching books, which will also facilitate future teaching."

Zhou Ning's eyelids twitched slightly.

Completely convinced.

Xia Zhibai's ambition is bigger than he thought.

He was not satisfied with being an apprentice, but wanted to establish a learning system.

He is gradually fulfilling what he said in the palace and will gradually improve the status of "workers and peasants".

Zhou Ning also gave up struggling.

He knew that Xia Zhibai was determined and would find a way to make it happen even if he disagreed.

What he wanted was to allow the children of workers and peasants throughout the world to have the opportunity to acquire knowledge. Even if these people could not become officials and could only follow in their father's footsteps and continue to farm the land or become workers, the growth of this group of people would have an enormous impact on the "scholars".

Moreover, the existence of these people is extremely important in the system constructed by Xia Zhibai.

Because he needs these people to be proficient in machine operation.

Standardization, process-based, and large machines.

Zhou Ning could no longer imagine what a monster the business would become in Xia Zhibai's hands.

He also had to admire that Xia Zhibai could think of these "transcendental" ideas when the business was in decline and the court was deliberately suppressing it, and he really dared to delve into it without hesitation. This kind of courage and bravery was the first time he had seen it in his life.

Amazing.

Xia Zhibai bowed to Zhou Ning.

It was actually a bit unexpected that Zhou Ning agreed so quickly.

However, regardless of whether Zhou Ning agreed or not, he would push forward. In fact, he did not want to push it to this step so quickly, but the situation could not keep up with the changes. With the outbreak of the Guo Huan case, Zhu Yuanzhang was no longer satisfied with plundering the people in the past, and began to plunder the merchants.

This will be a huge blow to the industry and commerce that have just started to pick up.

It is likely to remain in stagnation for decades.

He had to take action.

(End of this chapter)