Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 129 I am just taking advantage of the situation! (First update)
Three days later.

Xia Zhibai's figure appeared outside the city.

He almost never stopped and was always on the road, this time heading to Shuntian Prefecture.

Planning iron ore mining.

Heiwa sat next to the driver and paid attention to his surroundings.

In the carriage were Xia Zhibai and Fang Mo.

Fang Mo sat respectfully aside, not looking away, with a very reserved attitude.

Looking at the drawings of the 'textile machine' designed by Zhou Ning and others, Xia Zhibai frowned slightly. He didn't know whether it was because Zhou Ning and others had received too much support during this period, or because they wanted to show off their skills, or for other reasons, many of the 'textile machines' had to be made of iron.

Xia Zhibai sighed softly.

"Li Sheng and his people are really picky."

"How dare you design a loom that uses 500 kilograms of iron?"

"All kinds of parts and looms are made of iron. Although I, Xia Zhibai, own the mining rights of an iron mine, how can I afford such consumption?"

"A new mine can only produce a few hundred thousand kilograms a year."

"Last year, the annual output of Luzhou Runguo Smelter and Zezhou Yiguo Smelter was only 100,000 catties. The mine with the highest output in Daming is Jinxian Iron Smelter in Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, but even Jinxian Iron Smelter's annual output is only over 1.6 million catties."

"According to their design."

"The iron mine I just opened in Shuntianfu doesn't even have enough iron to run a textile factory."

“These designs are ridiculous.”

Xia Zhibai threw the drawings aside.

He was really speechless.

He was very tolerant towards engineers like Zhou Ning and Li Sheng, and almost always responded to their requests. However, he didn't want to be so wasteful. The Ming Dynasty's annual iron output was only about 8 to 9 million jin, and the steam engine consumed a huge amount of iron.

If it weren't for Zhu Biao's special approval at the time, it would never have been implemented.

Zhou Ning and others stayed in Kyoto Salt Industry for a while and obviously felt a little distracted. Whenever they designed something, they had to mix in a little iron. It seemed that without adding a little iron, the things they designed would be incomplete.

The transition from textile machines to iron tools was indeed an inevitable process.

However, Ming Dynasty's textile technology had obviously not yet reached that stage, and the designs of Zhou Ning and others obviously did not achieve the effect of "machine tools" in later generations. Under the constraints of current production technology, it would be more than enough to use some wooden textile machines, but Zhou Ning and others insisted on piling up a bunch of processes and raising the cost.

Fang Mo whispered, "Chief Xia, you were too lenient with Governor Zhou and his team before, almost granting their requests. And now many families in the factory are urging them to do their work. Governor Zhou and his team also want to design the textile machine as soon as possible so that the factory can start production as soon as possible, so they are inevitably a little impatient for quick success."

Xia Zhibai snorted coldly and said indifferently: "You don't have to explain for them."

"Since they can be disturbed by external noises, it means that their minds are no longer stable. How can you really expect engineers who cannot settle down to design anything good?"

immediately.

Xia Zhibai also said: "In the final analysis, it is because I have too few engineers and too few people available, which makes Li Sheng and others a little 'arrogant'."

"In addition, the pamphlets related to steam engines have been distributed in the past two days, and many of them have become famous. They are now very proud of themselves and feel that they are no longer ordinary engineers. The things they design cannot fall into the old ways, otherwise they will lose face."

"This man."

“It’s always fickle.”

“Once I have a little fame, I feel like I am different from others.”

“I don’t want to follow the rules anymore.”

“Always want to be different.”

"But engineers like us have to take one step at a time. How can we be so arrogant and impatient?"

"They will fall flat on their face sooner or later if they keep doing this."

Fang Mo smiled bitterly.

It's easier said than done.

He asked himself, if he became the talk of the town overnight, he would probably feel elated.

He had privately learned about craftsmen such as Zhou Ning and Li Sheng. These people were not highly valued in the Ministry of Works and good things seldom happened to them. They had always been holding a grudge in their hearts. Now that they were finally able to hold their heads high, it was natural that they could not suppress their pride.

Xia Zhibai said: "Fang Mo, you will get off the car in advance and send these drawings back."

"And tell Zhou Ning, Li Sheng and others that the amount of iron used by the Engineering Department will be strictly limited in the future."

"Tell them again that the looms they designed cannot use even a pound of iron. If they want to use iron to build a loom, then they should come up with something groundbreaking and design a loom that can greatly improve production efficiency. By simply piling up materials and making a bunch of scrap copper and iron, the efficiency is about 10% higher than that of wood or bamboo. I, Xia Zhibai, don't have that much money to pay for such a money-losing product."

"at last."

“I set a goal for them.”

"When I respond to Tianfu, I want to see the finished textile machine."

"If they can't do it, then they can go back to the Ministry of Industry. I, Xia Zhibai, respect talents, but I respect people with character and integrity, not those who are complacent and self-righteous after achieving a little success."

Fang Mo's expression changed slightly.

It was the first time he saw Xia Zhibai angry.

Then he hurriedly said, "I'll pass the message later."

Xia Zhibai nodded.

He would never allow this evil trend to spread.

However, this also made Xia Zhibai realize that he was clearly short of manpower.

And it is seriously insufficient.

Not only is there a shortage of bookkeepers and managers, but there is also a shortage of craftsmen and technicians in all aspects. It will take a lot of effort to fill the gaps, which makes Xia Zhibai want to launch his own "modern" training model even more.

Since we are short of people.

Then we can train them ourselves and produce some engineers based on the number of people.

Xia Zhibai also knew why this was the case, because education was not universal in modern times.

The cost of learning knowledge is very expensive and the threshold is very high.

On the one hand, this is related to insufficient productivity. On the other hand, it is also because the "scholar-official" class intentionally raises the threshold. As long as the threshold is high enough, there will be fewer people who can replace them, and their families will continue to prosper.

Even emperors have to rely on them.

In this historical context, Xia Zhibai was deeply constrained.

It also made him more determined to change.

Bricks fly with great force!

As long as productivity is increased strongly enough and improved enough, then no matter how reluctant others are, they will have to follow suit. Besides, there is a Zhu Yuanzhang above them who is helping to clean up the 'scholar-officials'. Once these scholar-officials are frightened and dare not show up, many things will become smooth.

It just will take some time.

Fang Mo hesitated for a moment and asked, "Sir, the iron mine in Shuntian Prefecture is said to be a new mine. It is not easy to mine. Will it affect the construction of salt enterprises in various places? And there has been a rumor in the outside world that..."

"The salt transport officials from various places were quite dissatisfied with the actions of their superiors."

"In the past, the Salt Tax Administration and other government offices were responsible for managing the production and sales of salt in various salt fields. Now, the functions of these government offices have basically fallen into the hands of the chief officials. The only thing they can do is to collect taxes, and these taxes are only reviewed by them before being paid to the national treasury."

"There are now considerable doubts in the court about the actions of the superiors."

"I think you have usurped power, sir."

"Many people also say that you are taking advantage of the situation, sir."

Xia Zhibai nodded.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the management of the salt industry. It established the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office in the six major salt areas of Lianghuai, Liangzhe, Changlu, Shandong, Hedong and Fujian. In other salt-producing areas, it set up seven Salt Tax Supervisor's Offices to manage the salt fields.

But the mountains and rivers are far away.

Zhu Yuanzhang also implemented a small government.

The production and sale of salt were concentrated in one government office, and the Ministry of Revenue lacked obvious supervision.

This is bound to lead to rampant corruption.

His intervention cut off the financial resources of many people.

Naturally, this will make people feel dissatisfied.

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said with a smile: "The salt industry is very profitable, so naturally many people are jealous. There will be a lot of voices, but if they really can do anything to me, they will not just make noises, but directly write letters to impeach me."

"They don't dare."

"Why?" Fang Mo was stunned.

Xia Zhibai had a strange look in his eyes, "Because in their eyes, I am a lunatic, and they dare not offend a lunatic."

"Because when a madman goes crazy, no one knows what he will say. Moreover, the court is now strictly investigating the Ministry of Revenue, and the Salt and Iron Bureau is under the Ministry of Revenue. How dare they bring trouble upon themselves at this time? But I still feel a little unwilling in my heart. After all, if I continue to push forward."

"The entire northern salt market will fall into my hands."

"I'm just taking advantage of the situation."

Xia Zhibai smiled.

He never denied it.

He took advantage of the fact that the Salt and Iron Administration and the Salt Transport Administration were busy with their own affairs that he dared to ask Zhu Yuanzhang for the entire northern salt market. Otherwise, if he really waited for the Salt and Iron Administration to recover, it would not be so easy for him to open salt companies in various places.

Now, the officials of the Salt and Iron Bureau must be bleeding in their hearts as they watch themselves "conquering cities and capturing strongholds".

What they robbed were all their profits.

It's just that they can't help it.

As soon as the Guo Huan case broke out, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue were all in danger. They could hardly protect themselves, so how could they care about these things?

The court officials were unable to take care of themselves, and the local officials lost their backbone. Without the support of the court officials, the local clerks, although angry and anxious, did not know how to deal with it. They could only pretend to comply and did not dare to take too much action. This gave Xia Zhibai an advantage.

This is also the reason why Xia Zhibai Ma went to Shuntian Prefecture without stopping.

We need to get the ironworks done as soon as possible.

Let salt enterprises in various places be built, and once everything is finalized, it will be of no avail for the Salt and Iron Administration to oppose it.

Because the die is cast.

Sometimes, when a person wants to accomplish something, in addition to his own circumstances and abilities, he will also be influenced by the general trend.

Those who obey prosper, those who oppose perish.

Hear the words.

Fang Mo seemed to be thinking about something.

A sense of respect also arose in my heart.

Salt and iron.

The two most important industries from ancient times to the present.

Now, all of them have been bitten by Xia Zhibai, and he snatched a handful of salt from the Salt Bureau in full view of everyone, in front of all the civil and military officials. Now he has even gone further and directly robbed all the salt markets in the north, and now he has even started to set foot in the iron government.

The more I get along with Xia Zhibai, the bolder he seems to me.

Soon.

Fang Mo got off the carriage.

Xia Zhibai rode alone in a carriage towards Shuntian Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)