Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 194: Tearing open the trade gap within the South!
It was quiet all around.

Not only Zhou Ning looked confused, but Jing Man beside him was also confused.

Zhou Ning made a mistake in the blueprint. It was such a serious error, but he didn't receive any punishment?
Looking at the confused eyes on the side, Xia Zhibai smiled faintly. He naturally knew what they were thinking. There would be punishment, but not now. He was short of manpower now. If he punished Zhou Ning and other engineers, who would do the work for him?
Wouldn't it be better to let them make up for their crimes with meritorious service?

There are priorities.

Xia Zhibai said, "Don't be happy too soon. I won't pursue the blueprint issue too much in the short term, but if you don't do what I tell you to do now, I will pursue you and I'm afraid your lives will be in danger."

"Compared to punishment."

"I hope you can make up for your crime with merit."

"My request to you is very simple. That is, you need to make some improvements to the existing steam engine and then publish the improved blueprint. Isn't Li Sheng using this blueprint to flaunt his power and boast about it? Then let the blueprint in his hand become 'ruins' and trample him down completely."

"Not only that."

"I also want you to build this new 'steam engine' and then travel all over the South with it, explaining the principles of the steam engine to the people in the South, so that everyone in the world knows what a steam engine is."

“Even if the blueprints of the steam engine cannot be preserved.”

"Then let the world know!"

A hint of coldness flashed across Xia Zhibai's lips.

His revenge was so simple, direct and straightforward.

Hear the words.

Zhou Ning and Jing Man's faces changed.

Jing Man said: "Sir, this is not good, right?"

"The steam engine is the lifeblood of the Kyoto Salt Industry. If the principle of the steam engine is made public, won't this allow many uninformed people to get involved?"

"That will have a huge impact on our salt production."

Zhou Ning said cautiously, "I also think it's inappropriate. The steam engine is a very advanced device. If it is advertised so widely, it will probably cause unrest in the world. I don't think it's necessary to do such a big thing to target Li Sheng."

Xia Zhibai sneered and said calmly: "Revenge on Li Sheng?"

"It was just a matter of convenience."

"I own an ironworks in Peking."

"Now it is on the right track, and iron production is increasing."

"The rest of the iron smelters in the world are basically still producing as planned. Once the steam engine drawings are fully publicized, many people will definitely try to imitate them. By then, other iron smelters will not be able to produce so much iron, but my Zunhua Iron Smelter can."

“Won’t the output go up?”

"Moreover, the steam engine has many uses. Promoting the steam engine throughout the world will be very helpful for improving and refining the steam engine. After all, the power of one person is limited. If we can use the power of the world for free, why not do it?"

"Besides, I own the coal mines."

"Although the profits of the salt enterprises are stable, they are not enough to support the coal and iron factories."

“So we have to find other ways to make money.”

"Of course this is only part of it. When you promote the steam engine, you also have to promote another thing, the textile machine."

"But unlike the textile machines used in current textile factories, this will be a completely new type of textile machine."

“This is also your next focus.”

"Rebuild a loom."

"I will use steam engines and textile machines to completely tear open the commercial market in the South."

"I will use the greed of merchants and gentry to open up the coal and iron market, and rely on textile machines to promote the self-sufficient textile market in the south. I want to make the merchants and gentry in the south realize that there are good and cheap goods in the north, so that they will no longer limit their sights to the south, but look to the north."

"at the same time."

"I will also let Jing Man follow you."

"Recruiting workers in the south."

"Recruit salt workers, coal miners, blacksmiths, engineers who have drifted to other places, and textile workers. There are few people in the north, and it is not realistic to develop these in the north alone. Moreover, the northern government will not agree. So we can only recruit from the south. I will tell you how to recruit people later."

"As long as the conditions offered are generous enough, some people will be tempted to go north."

This was also the condition he negotiated with the Northern Chief Secretary.

Don't recruit too many locals.

There is a great shortage of people in the North.

There is not enough land to farm, and if manpower is wasted on these things, they will have to rely entirely on the south to transport grain, which they do not want. What they want is Xia Zhibai to help the north rebuild the economy and resume production, not Xia Zhibai lying there and sucking blood.

Listening to Xia Zhibai's ambitious words, Jing Man and Zhou Ning looked confused.

Because according to Xia Zhibai, the steam engine was just a cover to attract the gentry and merchants in the south. The steam engine, which was originally controlled by the government, became known to everyone and became popular among the people. This barbaric method was used to expand the demand for iron and coal in the south and increase sales for Zunhua Iron and Steel and Kyoto Coal Industry.

just
What is a textile machine?
After what happened with Li Sheng, Zhou Ning realized he had made a mistake.

He no longer dared to be reserved and took over the manufacturing of textile machines on his own initiative.

In more than a month, he successfully built a textile machine with good efficiency, which improved the cotton spinning efficiency by 10%. However, this improvement could not be sustained under the system established by Xia Zhibai. The more textile factories he opened and the larger their scale, the more money he lost.

And how can textile machines be improved?

He couldn't think of it.

He racked his brains and tried every possible method.

This barely increased the efficiency of the wooden loom by 10%.

Even if there really is a textile machine that improves 20% or 30%, after such publicity, I am afraid that the merchants in the south will learn it. After they learn it, won’t they imitate it? The economy in the south is more developed than that in the north. How can the cotton cloth spun in the north be sold to the south?

Everyone looked puzzled.

"Sir, is the loom made of wood?" Jing Man asked.

Xia Zhibai nodded.

Jing Man smiled bitterly and said, "If it is made of wood, it will be easy for people to copy it. In this way, wouldn't it be like giving this loom to the South for nothing? How can we make the South buy cotton cloth from the North?"

Xia Zhibai smiled.

He naturally knew about this situation.

He smiled and said, "But you overlooked one thing."

"There are more people and less land in the south."

"Today, most of the land in the south is owned by someone else, and all of it is used to grow various crops."

"Cotton cloth is not very popular among the people. Even if a new textile machine is introduced, how many people would dare to take the risk and replace their own crops with cotton trees?"

"If you plant too little, it won't have much value, but if you plant too much, you can't sell it at a high price."

"The cotton spinning machine has not been proven in the market. Investing a large amount of money and grain in it is a big risk. There won't be so many gentry in the south who are willing to take these risks. Of course, there will be some, but compared with the small population and vast land in the north, the output of the south is simply not enough."

“We will eventually be completely squeezed out by the North.”

"Besides, even if the sales in the south are average, these cotton cloths can still be sold far to the north."

"In exchange for meat, hides, etc."

"There is always a shortage of buyers for food and clothing, the only shortage is production."

"But it's not realistic in the short term. The market in the Ming Dynasty is large enough. With the current productivity, it is impossible to cover the clothing of tens of millions of people."

Jing Man seemed to be thinking about something.

He had barely understood.

Even if the South wants to follow suit, it doesn't have that much land to plant.

Moreover, the efficiency of grain is very high, and not many people will switch to it, so in the end the north will have to bear the brunt of the loss. Their purpose is to use propaganda to, on the one hand, strike a blow against Li Sheng's arrogance, and on the other hand, to attract business for their own coal and iron factories, and at the same time to create momentum for the textile industry, thereby attracting people from the south to move north.

He noticed it too.

Xia Zhibai didn't tell them everything.

Because transportation is a big problem, and there is also the Southern Chief Secretary, so how could he allow the population to be lost?

And will the local salt transport bureau really watch these technologies slip away?
But this is something Xia Zhibai needs to consider.

All they have to do is follow it.

Jing Man thought about it carefully in his mind. If these things were really accomplished, it would be really amazing.

Unlike Jing Man's optimism, Zhou Ning had a bitter look on his face.

Because the task of improving the textile machines and the steam engines would fall on him, but he really couldn't think of how to improve them. Perhaps Xia Zhibai would give some suggestions, but ultimately it would still be up to them, the engineers, to be responsible.

But Zhou Ning didn't dare to complain.

Xia Zhibai was very magnanimous in not pursuing the matter of Li Sheng.

If I dare to make suggestions, I might anger Xia Zhibai, and then how would my fate be?
Xia Zhibai looked at the people with different expressions and said with a smile: "Governor Zhou, you don't have to be so anxious. Since I asked you to do it, I will naturally find someone to help."

"I have already made an agreement with King Zhou. King Zhou will dispatch some engineers from his palace. These people also understand steam engines. With their help, we can just make some basic improvements, which shouldn't be a big problem."

“And it will take a while for these things to finally settle.”

"You still have plenty of time."

Hear the words.

Seeing that his thoughts were seen through, Zhou Ning couldn't help but blush, and said awkwardly: "Thank you very much, Mr. Xia. It is indeed impossible for me to do it alone, but if King Zhou's people help, it shouldn't be a big problem. Thank you Mr. Xia for your understanding."

Xia Zhibai laughed.

He nodded and said, "Some things can't be rushed."

"Besides, it will take quite a while to get the court's approval."

"You guys go down and get ready first."

"I will notify you once the court has made the arrangements."

"As for the rumors in the city, let them spread. When the time is right, these rumors will be broken by themselves. As for Li Sheng, evildoers will be punished by evildoers. Since he has chosen others, he should be prepared to face all of this."

"but."

“I don’t want this to happen again.”

Xia Zhibai looked coldly at Zhou Ning and other engineers.

"It will never happen again, I promise you." Zhou Ning said quickly.

Tang Yi and others also hurriedly made assurances.

Xia Zhibai nodded with satisfaction and asked Zhou Ning and others to go back first.

(End of this chapter)