My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 147 The Ming Dynasty state-owned shops are open!

Thinking of this, Qiqige could no longer sit still, and stood up and said:
"In that case, I will go back and pack my bags and leave immediately."

Zhu Cilang nodded:

"Go back and pack your things first. I still need to arrange some things. You can leave after everything is arranged."

"In addition, I will send a team of Jinyiwei to accompany you back. Firstly, they will protect your safety, and secondly, they will facilitate communication between us."

Qiqige had no objection to this. She responded casually and left in a hurry.

After Qiqige left, Zheng Chenggong couldn't help but ask:
"Your Highness, are you really planning to send 50,000 men to support Mongolia?"

Zhu Cilang smiled and shook his head, saying:
"Brother-in-law, you misunderstood. Although these 50,000 people are real, they are not going to support Mongolia. Instead, they are heading directly to the Liaodong battlefield to support Liaodong."

Zheng Xiaomei heard this and said in surprise:
"In that case, Your Highness, didn't you deceive Qiqige?"

Zhu Cilang smiled cunningly and replied:

"How could I have lied to her? After all, in the end, both the Mongolian cavalry and the Ming soldiers would eventually meet on the Liaodong battlefield. How could this be considered a lie?"

Zheng Xiaomei was speechless for a moment, because when she thought about it carefully, it seemed to be true.

But at this moment, Zheng Chenggong keenly noticed something, and he thought to himself:
In such a large-scale war, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not personally lead the army again, right?

Thinking of this, he asked tentatively:

"Your Highness, you are not going to lead the army in person again this time, are you?"

Zhu Cilang glanced at him and said with admiration:
"Brother-in-law guessed correctly. This battle concerns the safety of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, I must go and take charge. Only then can I rest assured."

When Zheng Chenggong heard this, his expression froze, and he quickly said:

"In that case, Your Highness, please take me with you."

Zhu Cilang smiled and patted Zheng Chenggong on the shoulder, saying:
"Brother-in-law, do you think you can hide? Don't worry, you must go!"

Zheng Chenggong finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

His current identity is the personal guard of the Eastern Palace, and he is considered Zhu Cilang's death warrior. In addition, as Zhu Cilang's brother-in-law, he must accompany him wherever Zhu Cilang goes!
Always protect Zhu Cilang's safety.

Zheng Xiaomei, who was standing by, was worried at the moment. Although Zhu Cilang had been to Xuanfu and Shandong before, those were all within the territory of the Ming Dynasty and there was basically no danger.

But this time she was facing the Jiannu, and if she was not careful she might lose her life, so she was really worried.

But she also understood that as a woman, she could not interrupt in national affairs, so she could only say:

"Your Highness, could you please take me with you? I can be there to take care of you."

Zhu Cilang was about to say something when Zheng Chenggong spoke first.

"Little sister, this is a matter of national importance. How can I take you with me? Don't say that again!"

Zheng Chenggong was doing this for his sister's own good, fearing that her words would cause Zhu Cilang's dissatisfaction.

However, Zhu Cilang was not angry. Instead, he smiled and waved his hand and said:
"It's okay, I'm not that pedantic."

Then he looked at Zheng Xiaomei again and said in a gentle and comforting tone:
"Little sister, I know what you're worried about, but don't worry, I'm just going to take charge this time. I most likely won't be on the battlefield in person."

"Besides, don't I still have my brother-in-law to protect me?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine."

After hearing this, Zheng Xiaomei didn't know what to say, but her eyes still revealed a hint of worry.

In the afternoon, Zhu Cilang summoned Li Ruolian again.

Li Ruolian hurried over and bowed respectfully when he saw Zhu Cilang.

"Your Highness, Li Ruo Lian, pays respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Cilang waved his hand, motioning him to stand up, and then said:

"Arrange a team to follow Qiqige to Mongolia and report back any news from there."

"Also, give this secret letter to Qin Liangyu."

As he spoke, Zhu Cilang handed a letter to Li Ruolian.

The content of this letter was very simple. It asked Qin Liangyu to pretend to cooperate with Abunai, making him mistakenly believe that the Ming Dynasty would join him in attacking Yizhou.

But in fact, when Abunai actually set out, the Ming army would retreat, leaving Abunai to face the Jiannu alone.

Of course, when necessary, the Ming army can also help Abunai resist the Jiannu, but the main force must be the Mongolian army led by Abunai.

Li Ruo Lian took the letter respectfully and said:

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will make the arrangements right away."

Then he withdrew.

Around four or five in the afternoon, Qiqige led a team of Jinyiwei to Xuanfu.

But at this moment, Zhu Cilang was no longer in the Eastern Palace.

Instead, he went to the Firearms Research Institute. He wanted to see the production progress of the flintlock rifle.

After all, war with the Jiannu was about to begin, and he hoped to equip all the troops with flintlock rifles as much as possible. Even if that was not possible, the main force would have to be equipped with them.

At this time, Bi Maokang was accompanying Zhu Cilang in the flintlock rifle production workshop.

Zhu Cilang had previously proposed the idea of assembly line operation, where each process would be independently handled by one or a group of craftsmen, thus speeding up production.

Bi Maokang adopted this suggestion and spent a few days reallocating the work processes. Now these craftsmen have mastered their respective processes, so the production speed of flintlock rifles has been increased.

Originally, only 300 guns could be produced every day, but now the number has doubled to more than 600 guns per day.

In this way, 20,000 flintlock rifles can be produced in a month. Together with the previous production, a total of more than 30,000 flintlock rifles have now been produced.

If nothing unexpected happens, by the time the army sets out, at least these 50,000 soldiers will be equipped with flintlock rifles.

Zhu Cilang gave Bi Maokang a few more instructions, and then came to Bi Wenxuan.

Bi Wenxuan had always been alone, but after moving to the Firearms Research Institute, he now had hundreds of craftsmen and began to mass-produce things like soap and alcohol.

The daily output is at least more than 10,000 kilograms!

After all, there are more than 300,000 disaster victims outside the capital, and a large amount of disinfectants are needed every day. We cannot be careless in ensuring the safety of the victims.

In addition, these things need to be transported to various parts of the Ming Dynasty, so this is simply the busiest place in the entire Firearms Research Institute.

Zhu Cilang first watched the production process, then said to Bi Wenxuan:

"Let others handle these things. For the next while, you should focus on getting the hot air balloon ready!"

"The army will be setting out soon, and this thing will be of great use in the war!"

When Bi Wenxuan heard this, he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Give me ten days and I will definitely finish making the hot air balloon!"

Zhu Cilang was not surprised by this, nor did he think that Bi Wenxuan was bragging.

After all, the hot air balloon had only been half-researched before, and now that it is picked up again, the progress will naturally be faster.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang patted Bi Wenxuan on the shoulder.

"Okay, then I'll be waiting for your good news."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Zhu Cilang left the Firearms Research Institute.

When Zhu Cilang returned to the East Palace, night had already fallen.

Just like that, a day passed.

The next morning, Zhu Cilang still did not go to court, but slept in.

When he woke up, it was already noon.

I had just finished breakfast and was thinking about finding something to do when Xia Dewu suddenly came.

"I see His Highness the Crown Prince."

When he saw Zhu Cilang, Xia Dewu hurriedly saluted.

Zhu Cilang waved his hand, signaling him to stand up, and then asked:

"Why are you here? Is the Daming State-owned Store ready?"

Xia Dewu replied with a smile:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince guessed correctly, it is indeed so!"

"According to your instructions, I found a shop in a busy area that afternoon. After a simple tidy up, I was ready."

"All the necessary goods were delivered yesterday, and we can officially open tomorrow."

The speed is quite fast.

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but feel emotional.

He got it done in just two or three days. This guy is really a talent.

Then, Zhu Cilang suddenly wanted to go and see for himself, and immediately said:
"Wait a moment. I'll change my clothes and go over to take a look."

Xia Dewu quickly agreed:
"My minister obeys."

Soon, Zhu Cilang changed his clothes, and the group headed in the direction Xia Dewu said.

The shop is located on South Street in the capital, a relatively prosperous street with many shops and inns on both sides and a constant stream of pedestrians.

The shop was very large, about several hundred square meters. When the owner of the shop was about to transfer the property, Xia Dewu bought it and after a simple renovation used it as a state-owned shop.

When Zhu Cilang and his companions arrived at the store, the shop assistants were arranging various goods. A group of people gathered at the door, looking at the situation inside the store curiously.

Since the plaque has not been hung yet, the locals don’t know what kind of shop this is.

Xia Dewu did not explain too much about this. After all, the official opening date is tomorrow, and before that, it is better to keep a little mystery.

As soon as Xia Dewu walked into the store, a waiter greeted him respectfully.

"Sir, you are here!"

"My little one has met you, my great master!"

"Hello, sir!"

Xia Dewu felt somewhat embarrassed when he heard the clerks address him. Although he was indeed a sixth-rank official, he was helping the prince with his business after all. It was obviously inappropriate to address himself like that in this shop.

So, Xia Dewu hurriedly said:
"Remember this: from now on, whenever you are in this shop, you are not allowed to address me as 'Sir'. You are only allowed to address me as 'Shopkeeper'. Do you understand?"

When the guys heard this, they were all confused. They didn't understand why Xia Dewu didn't just be a good adult, but insisted on being the shopkeeper?

Isn't the lord's words better than the shopkeeper's? But since it was Xia Dewu who spoke personally, they couldn't say anything more and immediately changed their words.

"Don't worry, boss, we got it!"

Xia Dewu nodded in satisfaction, and then said:
"Let's all get busy!"

Then, Xia Dewu looked at Zhu Cilang beside him with a respectful look and said:
"Master, please come this way."

Because he knew that Zhu Cilang was on a secret visit this time, he did not dare to call Zhu Cilang "Your Highness the Crown Prince", but instead called him "Young Master".

Zhu Cilang walked into the store and looked around.

I saw that the goods in the store were fully prepared, including rice, salt, oil, sauce, vinegar, tea, fruits, vegetables, pickles and all kinds of daily necessities, and the prices were marked on them.

Zhu Cilang looked at the price, then looked at Xia Dewu and asked:
"How did you decide on this price?"

Xia Dewu quickly replied:
"My Lord, I think the prices in the capital have been relatively stable recently, so the prices here are not much different from those in other stores."

"That way, even if we open, we won't take away business from the surrounding businesses."

"After all, you said before that we opened this store not just to make money, but to provide convenience to the people and control prices."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang nodded in agreement.

If the items in the Ming Dynasty royal state-owned shops were priced too high, there would be no point in opening the shops.

But if the price is too low, people will come here to buy things, and the surrounding small shops will not be able to survive, which is not what he wants to see.

Therefore, in a period of stable prices, the best option is to keep prices similar to those of surrounding stores.

This will not only attract people nearby, but also will not affect the business of other stores.

After walking around the store, Zhu Cilang nodded with satisfaction.

I have to say, this place does have a bit of the flavor of a state-owned store from the 1950s and 1960s.

Then he said to Xia Dewu:
"This store will serve as a pilot. If it proves feasible, I intend to expand this type of store across the country."

"By then, all stores will be operated according to this model, and you will be responsible for them all."

After hearing this, Xia Dewu smiled happily and hurriedly bowed and said:

"My minister obeys."

After a pause, Zhu Cilang asked again:
"I just saw that the plaque outside hasn't been hung yet. Is it not finished yet?"

Xia Dewu rolled his eyes, then pretended to be a little embarrassed and said:

"I had someone write some words before, but I wasn't very satisfied with them, so I kept putting it off until now."

"However, if it is convenient for you, Master, I would like to ask you to give me a few words!"

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang found it funny.

After all this time, you’re still waiting for me here!
What he said about asking someone to write some words and not being satisfied with them was all nonsense. In fact, this guy just wanted him to write these words himself!

Zhu Cilang was too lazy to point out his little thoughts and said directly:

"Have someone prepare the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."

After hearing this, Xia Dewu hurriedly called out to the waiter:

"Quickly bring the pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

Soon, the pen, ink, paper and inkstone were placed on a clean table.

Zhu Cilang picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write on the paper.

Although he was a time traveler, he perfectly inherited the original owner's calligraphy skills and naturally had a good handwriting.

Soon, the big words "Da Ming State-owned Shop" appeared on the paper, with the handwriting being vigorous and full of charm.

"What a good handwriting! The young master is indeed an extraordinary person."

"Every stroke is vigorous and powerful, yet elegant and free-spirited. It exudes both boldness and delicacy!"

"If you don't know, you might think it's the work of some famous calligrapher!"

As soon as the words were written, Xia Dewu began to flatter the emperor.

Although I know that the other party is just flattering me, I have to say, it does sound great.

Zhu Cilang put down his pen and said:
"Alright, alright, stop praising me. I feel embarrassed because of your praise."

"Hurry up and take the words to make the plaque, don't delay the opening tomorrow."

After hearing this, Xia Dewu quickly agreed, then carefully blew the ink dry and left with Zhu Cilang's calligraphy.

The opening of the Daming State-owned Store is a big event. In order to make this matter widely known, Zhu Cilang decided to have the Daming Daily report it tomorrow.

In short, the purpose is to let the people of the entire capital know about the existence of the Ming Dynasty’s state-owned stores, and let those merchants who want to cheat and raise prices arbitrarily know the court’s attitude.

In fact, as long as they do business well, they can still make a fortune.

But if they don't want to do business properly, and insist on selling inferior products as good ones, raising prices arbitrarily, and hoping to make a fortune in one go, then Zhu Cilang cannot be blamed.

The Ming State-owned Store is the nemesis of these businessmen!
Especially those merchants who hoard food and drive up prices.

Speaking of food, Zhu Cilang suddenly thought that it was time to start promoting the purchase of food from overseas.

Judging by the time, this batch of food should arrive next month.

So, that night, an imperial edict was sent to the Daming Newspaper.

The Daming Newspaper had already prepared the front-page headline for tomorrow, but after receiving the order from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, how could they dare to disobey?
So they immediately removed the previously prepared content and instead published news about the Ming Dynasty's state-owned stores and the upcoming grain shipments from overseas.

These two pieces of news filled both sides of the Daming Daily.

The next morning, when the Daming Daily began to sell, the people of the capital learned of these two exciting pieces of news.

There is no way around it. The two things about the Ming Dynasty’s state-owned stores and the transportation of grain from overseas almost filled up the entire Ming Daily, both positive and negative. It’s hard not to pay attention!

"The Daming State-Owned Store specializes in selling affordable rice, salt, oil, sauce, vinegar, tea, fruit, vegetables, pickles, and other daily necessities with unlimited supply."

"Who owns this Daming State-Owned Store? It actually took up an entire page of the Daming Daily!"

"Don't you understand? Of course it's run by the imperial court. Who else would dare put the word 'Da Ming' in front of a shop?"

"Opened by the imperial court? That's interesting. Let's go take a look. It seems to be not far from here."

"Let's go, let's go, I want to go and take a look too. I'm out of rice at home."

As the people talked, they went to the Daming State-owned Store in groups of three or five.

There were also some people who did not join in the fun because they had enough at home. Instead, they were attracted by the news on the other side of the newspaper.

"The imperial court is actually shipping grain from overseas to the Ming Dynasty, and the grain will arrive next month. This means that the Ming Dynasty is not short of food at all!"

"Hey! If I had known this, I wouldn't have stockpiled so much food. I already have hundreds of kilograms! If I can't finish it, it will go bad."

"You are such a fool! This is the capital. No matter where else there is a food shortage, the capital will never be short of food. There is so much food, how can you eat it all?"

"Haven't I been fooled by those profiteers? They kept saying there wasn't enough food in the capital, and I got scared, so I stockpiled more."

"These profiteers deserve to die!"

"Anyway, this is a good thing. Once the grain arrives in Ming Dynasty, perhaps the price will drop."

"you're right!"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The Daming State-owned Store officially opened today.

As soon as they opened the door, the shop assistants were startled by the crowd outside.

At this moment, the whole street was full of people, and they were all looking inside curiously.

Seeing this, Xia Dewu quickly stepped forward and said with a bow:
"Hello, neighbors! I am a newly appointed sixth-rank official of the imperial court. This shop was opened under the imperial court's instruction."

After saying that, Xia Dewu called two servants to hang the plaque.

The moment the red cloth was torn off, the four big words "Da Ming State-owned Store" instantly appeared in front of everyone.

Xia Dewu continued:
"These words were written by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and they are sufficient to prove the sincerity of the court."

"The items sold at the Daming State-Owned Store are all daily necessities for the people, such as rice, salt, oil, sauce, vinegar, tea, fruits, vegetables, etc. We have everything, and everyone is welcome to buy."

As soon as Xia Dewu said these words, the people around him became even more surprised.

After all, they had never heard of a sixth-rank official coming here to do business, selling goods that were related to people's livelihood and had extremely small profits, and the plaque was written by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself.

This is a bit beyond their understanding.

However, most people who came here had read the Daming Daily this morning and knew that this matter should be true, so they quickly believed it.

Then, under the enthusiastic greetings of the waiters, the people began to enter the Ming Dynasty state-owned stores and choose what they needed.

In this way, the Ming State-owned Store finally opened.

Of course, not everyone comes to buy things.

Among the crowd, there were a few who looked rather sneaky. As soon as they entered the store, they looked around and occasionally looked through the merchandise in the store.

But not long after, they left quickly.

Soon, they appeared in rice shops, salt shops, and other shops.

It was obvious that these people were sent by other shops to gather information.

After all, the emergence of the Ming Dynasty's state-owned shops would definitely have an impact on their business, so they wanted to know what was going on with the Ming Dynasty's state-owned shops, so they sent their own servants to find out the news.

After receiving the news, these businessmen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the Ming Dynasty's state-owned shops have a wide variety of products, the prices are almost the same as theirs.

In other words, the Ming Dynasty state-owned shops will not have much impact on their existing business.

But if they want better business, they have no choice but to lower their prices.

After all, ordinary people are looking for bargains. As long as the price they sell is cheaper than that of the Ming Dynasty state-owned stores, they will not have to worry about lack of business.

As a result, many shops started to lower their prices early in the morning.

Of course, some shrewd businessmen have guessed that the purpose of the court opening this shop is to stabilize prices and prevent merchants from raising prices at will.

Although this will have a certain impact on them, it is nothing more than making less money. After all, they can't go against the court, right?

The arm can never twist the thigh!
(End of this chapter)