Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 174 Intensifying conflicts is the best way to resolve them!

Walking in the streets.

The streets of Peking have returned to their former bustle.

People were coming and going on the street, Fang Mo was a little absent-minded. As he walked, he glanced at Xia Zhibai and said, "Sir, you really don't care at all? Li Sheng and his men are already very arrogant in Yingtian Prefecture."

Xia Zhibai did not stop.

He carried it on his back and walked towards his residence.

"Why bother?"

"Fang Mo, you need to remember one thing. If you want to resolve a conflict, you must first understand it, and then intensify it."

"Intensifying conflicts is the best way to resolve them!"

Fang Mo was stunned.

He stopped abruptly.

Looking at Xia Zhibai's figure, he was stunned.

Intensify conflicts?
Shouldn't this be the problem that is solved first?

Xia Zhibai looked relaxed and did not explain too much.

He knew the demands of Li Sheng and others. They thought they had made great contributions and he shouldn't ask so much of them. They wanted to seek greater voice and control. If they followed the traditional approach of coordination and negotiation, sometimes the problem could not be solved.

Because where there is one, there are two.

He can compromise and retreat once, but he cannot retreat every time.

Sooner or later it will explode.

Rather than that.

It would be better to take this opportunity to thoroughly intensify these conflicts and bring these dissatisfactions directly to the surface. When both parties are forced to resolve the issue, the problem will be properly resolved.

And he knew what Li Sheng was planning.

He just relies on the fact that he has few craftsmen under him and wants to demand better value.

Moreover, during this period, their research on steam engines was gradually getting on the right track. Li Sheng and other engineers felt that the steam engine was manufactured by them, and they did not contribute much. They were the ones who did all the work, and they felt unbalanced. They asked them to manufacture textile machines, but were unwilling to provide enough pig iron.

This is just a test.

This also made Xia Zhibai more eager to train his own engineers.

He didn't want to be held hostage in this way.

I don't want to encounter so many setbacks just when I'm starting out.

back home.

Just entered the house.

Fang Mo was stunned again.

Because there were many teenagers in the courtyard, as well as some ethnic minorities with strange expressions, Fang Mo raised his eyes and looked at Xia Zhibai with a strange expression. He was very curious about what Xia Zhibai had done in Peking to create such a strange scene.

Xia Zhibai didn't know what Fang Mo was thinking. He stretched out his hand to Heiwa and said, "Heiwa, prepare a room for Fang Mo to stay in. From now on, Fang Mo will be responsible for your homework."

talking.

Xia Zhibai looked at Fang Mo and said, "In the future, they will leave this courtyard to you."

"You are not responsible for many things, just daily study, some simple literacy and writing, and basic arithmetic. However, I have taught them to recite the multiplication table during this period, so you don't need to worry too much about arithmetic."

"As for the rest they don't know, they will come and ask you."

Fang Mo's eyes widened.

Xia Zhibai smiled and patted Fang Mo's shoulder, saying, "I will go outside the city with Zheng Yuanwailang to build the iron furnace in the next period of time. Some of them, such as Dalu and Ma Tao, have learned to read, but not completely. Heiwa, Lizi and others don't have much basics. I can only trouble you during this period of time."

"Able people should do more work."

Fang Mo looked aggrieved. He had only been out of school for a short time, so how could he know how to teach others?
Under Xia Zhibai's gaze, Fang Mo could only compromise.

Seeing Fang Mo agreed, Xia Zhibai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Teaching is really tiring.

He had thought of some solutions during this period. Paper was wasted too quickly, and he couldn't afford to teach so many people to read and write, so he just got some fine sand and put it on a plate, and let Heiwa and the others use a wooden stick as a pen to practice on it. The effect was good.

The conditions are limited at the moment, so this is the only way we can lay the foundation.

the other side.

Zheng Yuanqing returned to his residence first.

He would visit Prince of Yan Zhu Di tomorrow. The long journey was already harmful to his health, and going to see Prince of Yan with a haggard face would easily lead to misunderstanding by Zhu Di. Zhu Di could understand it, after all, he had just arrived and needed time to get familiar with the environment.

Just settled here not long ago.

Zheng Yuanqing heard about the changes in Peking.

Zheng Yuanqing was still quite surprised to hear that Prince Yan was so bold as to tidy up the entire Peking.

Because many of those killed were Zhu Di's own people.

Zheng Yuanqing stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window, and said in a concentrated voice: "This time, the court has undergone a lot of changes, and the whole world has undergone a lot of changes. The court is now a quagmire and it is difficult for ordinary people to escape. For the next month, just go out and avoid danger."

"After this round of rectification, I think that the administration of officials and other aspects of Peking will see significant improvements."

"It also provided conditions for the construction of Zunhua Iron Smelter."

"It's just Xia Zhibai's request."

Zheng Yuanqing frowned.

He knew something about Xia Zhibai.

This is an ambitious person who dares to think and act.

But precisely because he was too unscrupulous, he was not very popular among the officials in the court.

Especially the salt and iron, which were originally under the control of the Ministry of Revenue. Now, taking advantage of the turmoil in the court, he secretly took a piece of the pie. As the Guo Huan case was gradually concluded, new officials in the Ministry of Revenue were appointed. Many officials in the court wanted to take back the "salt and iron" powers handled by Xia Zhibai.

But I don’t dare to take too many actions at the moment.

But sooner or later there will be movement.

on the other hand.

In Xia Zhibai's eyes, there was no distinction between duties and responsibilities. He was just a commercial official, but he wanted to interfere in iron smelting. If he did not mind too much and did not want to be involved in the incident at this time, he would never agree to Xia Zhibai's idea. Moreover, if this kind of thing fell on other officials, few would be willing to do it.

In the Zunhua Iron Smelter that Xia Zhibai planned to build, the iron smelter he wanted to build was too large.

The output is conservatively estimated to be several million kilograms.

This is close to half of Ming Dynasty’s current annual output.

What on earth did Xia Zhibai want to do by producing so much pig iron and steel? Did he really want to realize his fantastic ideas? The pig iron and wrought iron consumed by a steam engine alone made the officials of the Ministry of Revenue complain bitterly. If the system was really promoted to the north, I'm afraid that even millions of kilograms of iron would not be able to support it.

Where in the world could there be so much iron for him to make?
Are we not going to make agricultural tools, daily necessities, and weapons anymore?

Zheng Yuanqing stood in front of the window and let out a long sigh. It was becoming increasingly difficult to be an official.

His Majesty's demands are increasing, and there are more and more self-righteous troublemakers like Xia Zhibai. If this continues, what will happen to these officials?

But there is one thing he agrees with Xia Zhibai.

The "production on demand" currently being promoted by the imperial court is problematic.

And there are big problems.

If the country is stable and there are not too many problems, production on demand can indeed reduce expenditure and loss, and allow the people to have a certain degree of stability without conscripting too much labor.

But the world is not static, but is constantly changing. The court cannot predict the future, nor can it know what will happen in advance. Many aspects have to be planned in advance, and when a situation really arises, it is often in a panic, causing great chaos.

Your Majesty's policy of living within one's means is simply unrealistic.

However, after serving as officials in the court for so many years, not only he but also his colleagues have long lost their enterprising spirit. The enthusiasm they had in the past has long faded, because they cannot see the development direction of the Ming Dynasty. Now, they are only thinking about how to sit in their positions safely and hope that there will be no major problems in their tenure and in the areas they are in charge of.

That's enough.

Don't fight, don't compete, don't make trouble.

(End of this chapter)