Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 231: Zhu's plan to conquer Japan, the beginning of steam textile! [Please subscribe]

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The small nations of the Luzon Islands are few and weak, and many of them crave Chinese influence. Therefore, if we want to take over the Luzon Islands, we only need to send the South China Sea Navy there to intimidate them, and then give their royal families some benefits to make them submit."

"But if we want to conquer the entire Southeast Asia, deterrence alone will not be enough. Putting Brunei and Srivijaya aside, we will definitely have to resort to war with Majapahit."

"However, even if we want to go to war with these South Sea powers, it will take three to five years."

"Our current primary targets are still the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Goryeo, and Japan—especially Japan."

"According to intelligence from Japan's Guangming Guards, the Northern Dynasty controlled by the Ashikaga clan has not only suppressed the Southern Dynasty to Kyushu and Shikoku, but its strength is also growing year by year."

"It was only because Zuli Yiman was seeking stability, wanting to eliminate all obstacles and opposition within the Northern Dynasty before destroying the Southern Dynasty, that he didn't take action."

"However, judging by the current situation, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu won't be delayed for too long. The unification of North and South Japan will most likely take place within seven or eight years. Liu Kuan, do you remember when in history Ashikaga Yoshimitsu unified North and South Japan?"

Liu Kuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, "How can this humble official remember the detailed history of Japan?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was not disappointed and said, "In short, we must take Japan down before it is unified."

Liu Kuan's mind was stirred. He said, "Your Majesty, why don't you send someone to secretly sell the Ming army's discarded weapons and armor to the Southern Dynasty in Japan, so that the Southern Dynasty can hold out for a little longer and consume more of the Northern Dynasty's manpower and resources?"

"You think we haven't thought of this plan?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted. "However, based on the reaction of the Guangming Guards, this plan will have little effect on strengthening the Southern Dynasty of Japan."

"Firstly, the reason why the Southern Dynasty of Japan was weaker than the Northern Dynasty was because of its personnel. We can't teach them how to govern the country step by step, right? Even if we could, they might not listen."

"Secondly, the finances of the Southern Dynasty in Japan are already tight, and they can't afford to buy weapons and armor unless we sell them at a loss."

"Even so, these old weapons and armor will only provide limited improvement to the Southern Dynasty's military strength. Of course, if we are willing to sell them cannons and muskets, that's another matter, but we can't possibly sell them firearms."

"So, we abandoned the strategy of supporting the Southern Dynasty with military equipment. Instead, we ordered the Guangming Guard to deploy spies throughout the Northern and Southern Dynasties of Japan. The Southern Dynasty spies will try to keep the Southern Dynasty afloat, while the Northern Dynasty spies will try to cause trouble for the Ashikaga Shogunate."

"This way, without spending a lot of money, food, or supplies, we can effectively delay Japan's unification. Isn't that much better than selling weapons?"

Upon learning about Zhu Yuanzhang's plan, Liu Kuan sincerely praised him and said, "Your Majesty's strategy is indeed better. I admire you."

Zhu Yuanzhang still liked to listen to Liu Kuan's flattery.

He smiled, but then talked about another matter: "After the Lantern Festival, you should supervise the construction of the new railway as soon as possible. If the railway transportation company cannot raise enough money and grain from the people, we can also let the court take more shares."

"Sado Island now ships back a considerable amount of gold every month. As for food, if there's a shortage domestically, we can purchase it from Vietnam and Siam through sea trade. In short, there won't be any shortages."

Having said that, Zhu Yuanzhang felt relieved.

He found that since he turned his attention to the vast overseas and possessed a navy capable of roaming the waters around the Ming Dynasty, many things that were previously considered difficult became simple.

For example, money and food.

If we conquer Japan, we won’t have to worry about lacking money.

If you dominate Southeast Asia, you won’t have to worry about food shortages.

Sufficient money and food can not only increase the number of troops and improve the combat effectiveness of the army, but also develop science and technology, education, transportation, etc., and boost people's livelihood and economy.

This will make the Ming Dynasty more financially stable!
In the words of later generations, everything has entered a virtuous cycle, and the Ming Dynasty will surely prosper!

···
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On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Liu Kuan asked the Science and Technology Department to officially announce the establishment of the "Ming Dynasty First Railway Transportation Company" and the sale of part of the company's shares to the private sector.

On the second day of the second lunar month, a blind auction of company shares will be held in Beijing. We cordially invite wealthy families from Zhili, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces to attend the auction.

The reason why the scope was limited to the three provinces of Zhili, Jiangxi and Zhejiang was mainly because it took time for the proclamation to be delivered and for the rich to enter the capital.

In addition, since there is the "Ming Dynasty First Railway Transportation Company", there will naturally be the second and third railway transportation companies in the future.

There is no need to worry about not being able to include merchants and gentry from other provinces.

As soon as the announcement was issued, the first people to take action were the Ming nobles living in the capital or other places in Zhili.

According to Zhu's rules, noble families are not allowed to do business, and naturally they cannot participate in this cooperation with the court.

But their relatives were able to do business and use the nobles' money to invest in railway companies.

Tang He was even shameless enough to ask his wife, Mrs. Hu, to go to Liu Kuan's house to inquire about the news.

"Madam Xinguo said she came to visit me, a pregnant woman, but she was embarrassed to ask about the railway company." In the side hall, Zhu Huilan smiled and said with a big belly. Liu Kuan saw that Zhu Huilan was eager to talk and asked cooperatively, "What did you say?"

"Of course I'm following my husband's instructions. I'm telling the truth." A smile cast a maternal glow over Zhu Huilan's pretty young face. "She heard that the railway transportation company might not be profitable for three to five years, so she's actually hesitant."

"I thought at the time that it would be difficult to make a profit within three to five years, but railway shares can be held for thirty years, which means you can make money for more than twenty years. So why would you be afraid of losing money?"

"The profits from the railway will increase over time. For more than 20 years, not only will we not lose money, but we will earn back several or even dozens of times our money."

"After hearing this, she suddenly understood."

After listening to Zhu Huilan's story, Liu Kuan smiled and said, "From your description, Madam Xin Guo should be an honest person. Most likely, Duke Xin Guo asked her to come and inquire about this matter with you."

Zhu Huilan smiled and said, "My Queen Mother also said that Duke Xin is the most astute."

I don’t know whether Zhu’s temper has “improved” in the past two or three years, or whether he said something to the nobles in private, but in the following days, many of the nobles’ families inquired about the railway company and the blind auction of shares through various channels.

It was difficult for anything in the capital to be hidden from Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes and ears, so Liu Kuan did not shy away from anything. He said what he should say and did not leave out a single word of what he should not say.

Of course, on the whole, he welcomed the nobles to invest their money in the railway company - it was better than them using it to enjoy themselves, or to buy houses and land, or simply bury it underground...
The Lantern Festival is over in a blink of an eye.

On this day, Liu Kuan took a written memorial to the Fengxian Hall to meet the emperor.

After paying his respects, Li Gui handed over Liu Kuan's memorial.

There was not much content in this memorial, so Old Zhu finished reading it quickly, tapping his fingers on the imperial desk and pondering.

After a minute or two, he asked in a questioning tone, "Do you really think it's appropriate to release that steam loom machine now?"

However, after the Machinery Manufacturing Bureau was busy developing various machine tools last year, it finally developed a complete set of steam textile machines at the end of the year based on the information provided by Liu Kuan.

This machine was tested for nearly a month, and it was confirmed that there were no major problems and it could be put into practical use. Only then did Liu Kuan write this memorial.

"Your Majesty, it is precisely because this machine will have a significant impact on the people once it is released that I have requested the establishment of a special government-run textile factory for trial use."

"Since the Ming Dynasty began its great voyages of discovery, it has actively engaged in private and even official trade with overseas countries. However, with only the handmade cloth we now produce, apart from domestic needs, the amount that can be sold overseas is not much, at least not as much as during the Song Dynasty."

"Originally, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to reach the peak level of cloth production during the Song Dynasty, it would have to wait until the population continued to grow and the people devoted more time to weaving - this would take at least several decades to achieve."

"But with steam looms, even if they are only used in government-run mills for the time being, if we build more government-run mills, this time can be shortened rapidly."

After hearing Liu Kuan's words, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said, "I agree to your request to establish a government-run textile factory. I will set up a Commerce Department under the Ministry of Revenue to manage government-run textile factories and other factories that are more oriented towards commerce. What do you think?"

Liu Kuan knew that Zhu Yuanzhang felt that if things continued like this, the Ministry of Industry's Industrial Operations Department would become bloated and even become a behemoth that controlled the Ming Dynasty's industrial revenue.

Today, in addition to the Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant and the Qinglongshan Coal Plant, the Industrial and Commercial Bureau also has several cement plants, paper mills and glass factories.

Although all the factories added up to less than twenty, they contributed millions of strings of cash in fiscal revenue to the Ming Dynasty last year!

It should be noted that before Liu Kuan arrived, the Ming Dynasty's total annual fiscal revenue was only 50 to 60 million strings of cash.

How could Zhu Yuanzhang not take it seriously when a factory that had only been established for two years could actually obtain a few tens of percent of the previous total fiscal revenue?
At present, the financial prospects of the textile industry are much better than those of steel, coal, glass, and papermaking. If you also join the Industrial and Commercial Bureau, the money earned by the Industrial and Commercial Bureau may increase several times in two or three years (Old Zhu underestimated it).

For the sake of balance, Zhu Yuanzhang would not allow the Industrial and Commercial Office to manage the state-owned textile factories.

Just as Liu Kuan was pondering Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts, Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "Although the state-owned textile factory is under the Ministry of Revenue, we will give the Science and Technology Department the right to guide it - after all, you know best how to set up and operate this state-owned textile factory."

The state-owned textile factory was to be run as a model for private textile factories, and Liu Kuan did not want it to become a sweatshop of the Ming Dynasty.

He has the absolute responsibility for this matter.

So he saluted and replied, "Your humble servant obeys your order!"

"We'll have someone deliver this memorial to the cabinet for you. If there's nothing else, you may leave."

"Yes, Wei Chen is resigning."

　Second update.

　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)