Bringing the Railway to Daming

After Jian Yi finished describing his ideas for establishing the Power Bureau, Liu Kuan tapped his fingers on the table, paused, and said, "You've grasped the two core functions of the Power Bureau: ensuring power supply and collecting electricity bills. You've also understood the distinction between the roles of craftsmen and clerks. That's quite good."

"But your idea still needs a lot of improvement - for example, how to prevent fires caused by burning wires?"

"The quality of today's electrical wires is still not good enough. If it is a hot summer day, there is a certain possibility that the wires will overheat and catch fire."

"Therefore, the Power Bureau must also communicate well with the Fire Patrol Bureau to prevent such incidents and agree on a complete set of emergency response measures."

"In addition, we also need to guard against private individuals stealing wires and even illegally connecting and pulling wires..."

Unauthorized wiring?

Jian Yi and Huang Huai and Yang Shiqi beside him were stunned and quite surprised when they heard this.

I thought, electricity is something that people are so in awe of, so how could anyone dare to connect and pull wires without permission? Not to mention whether they fear legal punishment, aren't they afraid of being electrocuted?

Liu Kuan knew what the three men were thinking when he saw their expressions, so he explained, "Some foolish people who like to take advantage of opportunities don't realize how dangerous it is to connect and pull wires without permission."

"For this reason, one of the tasks of the Electricity Bureau after its establishment was to popularize many common sense about electricity safety to the people of Beijing."

After hearing this, even officials like Jian Yi and Huang Huai, who prided themselves on being upright, could not help but secretly admire Liu Kuan's comprehensive and careful thinking.

Liu Kuan then asked, "How are you going to collect electricity bills from the public?"

How is electricity bill collected?
Jian Yi was stunned again, and then he realized that Liu Kuan was not asking him who to send to collect it. After all, he had mentioned this before and had received Liu Kuan's confirmation.

What does Liu Kuan mean by this question?
Liu Kuan didn't give Jian Yi much time to think. Seeing his hesitation, he directly reminded him, "You know the Household Law in the Ming Dynasty Law, right?"

Jian Yi, a Jinshi who had passed the imperial examination system after the reform, was naturally well-versed in the Great Ming Code. He immediately understood and said, "The court is referring to the example of the household law that divides grain payments into different levels, and also requires the people to pay electricity bills in different levels?"

Liu Kuan nodded, "Not bad."

Jian Yi then analyzed the situation and replied, "The reason the court required wealthy families to pay more land tax was because they owned more land, enjoyed more protection from the court, and received more benefits from local farmland and irrigation."

"So, if electricity bill collection is also divided into different levels, does that mean businesses and workshops will be required to pay a higher proportion of their electricity bills?"

Liu Kuan was pleased with Jian Yi's intelligence and smiled, saying, "You're basically right. I think we can set electricity charges at three levels, namely, for ordinary users, commercial users, and luxury users."

"Ordinary electricity refers to electricity used by ordinary households, while commercial electricity refers to electricity used by large shops and workshops. The criterion for determining whether electricity is used is the number of lights that need to be on at the same time at night. For example, if there are more than 20 lights on at the same time, it is considered commercial electricity."

"As for luxury electricity use, it's targeted at entertainment venues like theaters, restaurants, and brothels. I call this tiered electricity price collection system a tiered electricity price."

After hearing Liu Kuan's final explanation of the extravagant use of electricity, Jian Yi, Huang Huai and Yang Shiqi's eyes suddenly lit up.

This is not the late Ming Dynasty - at that time, the vast majority of people who went to entertainment venues were "scholars" from the gentry class, or even scholars with official titles.

During the early Ming Dynasty, most of the people who frequented theaters, brothels and other entertainment venues were children of nobles.

Of course, we now have to add the children of merchants who have become prosperous because of the Ming Dynasty’s emphasis on commerce.

On the contrary, after nearly a hundred years of neglect by the Yuan Dynasty and more than twenty years of half-use and half-suppression by the Hongwu Dynasty, even the scholarly families are not very wealthy now. Even if they are wealthy, they are more careful about their reputation and rarely go to entertainment venues such as theaters and brothels.

Not to mention the large number of ordinary scholars, who have to spend a long time thinking before going to a restaurant for a meal.

Therefore, officials like Jian Yi, who were still half-traditional scholars, were very supportive of suppressing entertainment venues such as theaters, brothels, and restaurants.

After coming to his senses, Jian Yi excitedly said, "The method proposed by the Director of the Electricity Bureau to collect electricity bills by grade is really brilliant. If I were the Director of the Electricity Bureau, I would definitely carefully consider and implement this method!"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "This matter does require careful consideration."

Then, Liu Kuan picked up Huang Huai's information and flipped through it.

Huang Huai is four years younger than Jian Yi. He was a Jinshi in the 22nd year of Hongwu. Unlike Jian Yi, he first worked (internship) in the Ministry of Revenue for several months, then worked as a clerk in the Tongzhengyuan for half a year, and then worked in the Censorate until now.

The evaluation of this person in the Ministry of Personnel archives is: he has broad vision, decisiveness and wisdom, and a straightforward and resolute temperament, but is not good at scheming.

"This person seems to be more suitable for being an imperial censor than Xie Jin. It's rare that Old Zhu is willing to let him go."

Liu Kuan thought so in his heart and also had an idea of ​​how to use Huang Huai.

He looked up and saw Huang Huai looking straight at him, so he smiled and said, "Zong Yu (Huang Huai's courtesy name) did a good job in the Censorate. He should have no complaints about being transferred to the Tiangong Academy, right?"

Huang Huai said dryly, "I dare not."

Not daring, not having. Huang Huai is indeed straightforward. Liu Kuan shook his head slightly, then said, "The Institute of Modern Engineering now has many government offices under its jurisdiction, many of which are responsible for research and development, and they require a lot of funding from the court every year."

"It just so happens that most of the officers in charge of the various bureaus and work teams are technically skilled and not very good at management or accounting."

"Therefore, I intend to establish a Finance Bureau under the Tiangong Academy, specifically responsible for auditing, verifying, and arranging the funds of the various government offices under the Tiangong Academy. Is Zong Yu capable of this?"

Huang Huai said, "I once worked in the Ministry of Revenue, and later in the Censorate, I was responsible for supervising financial matters. I should be able to handle the work of the Finance Bureau."

This answer is honest, pertinent and reassuring.

Liu Kuan smiled and nodded, "Okay, then you will be the director of the Finance Bureau."

Finally, Liu Kuan looked at Yang Shiqi.

This person is two years older than Huang Huai. According to the Ming Dynasty's age calculation, he is now 27 years old, but he is still a senior student at the Imperial University of Peking.

According to the information that Zhu Yuanzhang obtained from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, this boy was a child prodigy, but he was unlucky and seemed to be unlucky to his father.

When Yang Shiqi was one year old, his father died. His mother then remarried with him and a Tongzhi named Luo. He then changed his surname to Luo.

When he was six years old, Yang Shiqi learned about his life experience, so he secretly paid homage to the ancestors of the Yang family during the Luo family's ancestral worship. Instead, his adoptive father thought he was ambitious and allowed him to restore his surname Yang.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. His adoptive father was exiled to the Shaanxi-Gansu border because he offended powerful officials and died of illness in Shaanxi. The young Yang Shiqi had to rely on teaching to support his mother. He was a tutor, so he couldn't stay in the position for long. As a result, he took his mother to travel all over Hubei, Hunan and other places.

In the 15th year of the Hongwu reign, the imperial examinations were held, and Yang Shiqi took part in the provincial examinations that year, but unfortunately he failed. After that, he studied hard in the official school, and later entered the university.

Yang Shiqi studied Confucianism throughout his childhood and youth. However, he was adaptable. Seeing the court's emphasis on science, he also began to pay attention to scientific subjects. As a result, he wasted several years in school, only reaching his senior year at the age of twenty-six or twenty-seven.

The evaluation given by the Embroidered Uniform Guard is: This person is smooth but does not lose his bottom line, he takes advantage of the situation and is cautious and prudent.

Seeing Yang Shiqi pretending to be calm, but still showing a bit of nervousness and trepidation as he waited, Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Shiqi (Yang Shiqi is known by his pen name, like Huang Zicheng) is studying and should not be transferred to serve as an official before completing his studies."

"However, the Institute of Civil Engineering has so many officials and so many trivial daily affairs that it is difficult for me to handle them all. Therefore, I need a secretary."

"I've heard that Shiqi is both virtuous and learned, prudent and discreet, and well-versed in human relations. He's the perfect choice for a secretary. That's why I've asked the Ministry of Personnel to bring Shiqi here. I'm sure Shiqi won't resent me."

"No," Yang Shiqi said quickly. Perhaps he felt his attitude was a bit too eager, and seemed to be trying to curry favor with the emperor, so he explained, "Ever since I first read Natural Science, I have admired the dean for a long time."

"Now, being able to work alongside the Dean and do some small things is a great opportunity to learn from him about the ways of science. How many people would love to have this opportunity? How could a student complain?"

"Okay." Liu Kuan nodded. "Then from today on, you will be the eighth-rank secretary of the Tiangong Academy. However, I hope you can balance your duties with your studies. I've negotiated with the university, and as long as you take the exams on time and pass your thesis defense, you will be awarded a formal graduation certificate."

Yang Shiqi realized that this was a great opportunity for him to rise to the top, and he must seize it. He immediately responded with excitement, "I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

"Alright, all of you go down now—someone will give you the appointment documents from the Ministry of Personnel."

"I'll take my leave."

Seeing Yang Shiqi being the last one to leave the office, Liu Kuan couldn't help but touch his chin and fell into deep thought.

Based on the novels he had read in his previous life, he had always felt that Yang Shiqi and the other three Yangs marked the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet's true power. Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty's preferential treatment of gentry and the eunuchs' interference in government also began during the period when the three Yangs were in charge of the cabinet.

In addition, it was under the leadership of Yang Shiqi in history that the Ming Dynasty changed its reliance on sea transportation to water transport, implemented the policy of "resting the army and supporting the people", reduced taxes on a large scale, etc. - perhaps from the perspective of the time, these policies were good, even necessary, but it is also a fact that they laid many hidden dangers for the subsequent development of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Liu Kuan had a bad personal impression of the historical figure Yang Shiqi before.

But he could not deny the ability of Yang Shiqi, the prime minister from a humble family in history - in terms of being an official, he was better than Jian Yi, Huang Huai, Xia Yuanji, not to mention Xie Jin.

Therefore, Liu Kuan simply transferred this person to his side to train (educate) him to see if he could fundamentally change his ideas or camp.

If he finds out decades later that Yang Shiqi has become the representative of the interests of the gentry or other countries' parasites, he will destroy him before he loses his ability...

Time flies, and it is April of the 24th year of Hongwu.

Except for the peach blossoms in the cold and high mountains, most of the flowers inside and outside the capital city have withered, but the branches and leaves are becoming more lush, as if warming up for the arrival of summer.

Even more lively than the branches and leaves is the discussion among the people in the streets.

Because the imperial court is going to provide electricity to the people! (End of this chapter)