Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 72: Government-run Camp, Double Ninth Festival [Seeking follow-up reading]

After Yu Xian spent some time in the Science and Technology Department, he began to speculate about Liu Kuan's background.

Considering that Liu Kuan proposed something as magical but difficult to build as the steam engine and the train, this question arises.

If honeycomb coal is too difficult to manufacture and the cost is high, even if it has the advantages mentioned by Liu Kuan, it cannot replace firewood.

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, whether it's honeycomb coal or a coal stove, it's very simple to make, and the cost is very low."

"Here is a document about honeycomb briquettes and coal stoves. You'll understand after you take a look."

After saying that, Liu Kuan handed over a document he had prepared.

The information was not long, and Yu Xian finished reading it quickly, his face becoming very happy.

As Liu Kuan said before, honeycomb coal is made from coal slime processed in the coal yard as the main material, supplemented by a small amount of sawdust or straw powder, yellow mud and a very small amount of charcoal powder.

After the materials are mixed in the appropriate proportions, they only need to be printed using an iron mold called a "coal printer" and dried in the shade in a ventilated open space.

As for the manufacture of coal stoves, it is even simpler.

It’s not much different from the manufacturing of some of the portable stoves available today.

After carefully collecting the information, he bowed to Liu Kuan and said, "I will definitely supervise this matter!"

Liu Kuan nodded and said, "I trust Master Yu to do the job."

Yu Xian hesitated slightly and said, "This honeycomb coal is good, but the Qinglongshan coal yard only supplies the palace and the government offices in the capital. Even if the public can imitate honeycomb coal, it will probably take some time."

Liu Kuan said, "I was just about to tell Chief Yu about this. After this inspection, I will petition to deepen the reform of the Qinglongshan Coal Yard. Like the Liuhe Iron Yard, this coal yard will be turned into a coal plant."

"In addition to the name change, the main goal is to further expand the scale of production and change from government-run to government-operated."

"Government-run?" Yu Xian pondered over these two words.

Liu Kuan explained, "That is to say, the Qinglongshan Coal Plant can sell the coal and honeycomb briquettes it produces to merchants and ordinary people, and the profits will be turned over to the national treasury."

"The salaries of the factory's officials and craftsmen, as well as the daily expenses of the laborers and other personnel, will still be allocated by the court officials."

"However, if the factory is profitable, the government will allocate special funds as rewards. Similarly, if the coal plant needs to expand its production scale, the court will also allocate funds."

Yu Xian frowned as he listened, trying to understand and ponder. After several breaths, he asked, "Does that still supply the coal needed by the palace and the various government offices in the capital?"

Liu Kuan said, "Of course we have to supply them, but it will be in a different form—the other party will come to the coal plant to purchase them. This way, the accounts on both sides will be clear and the possibility of corruption and self-interest among the officials involved will be reduced."

After listening to this, Yu Xian thought about it for a moment, and his eyes lit up.

"If what Vice-President Liu said is true, this Qinglongshan Coal Mine has great potential. Not only will we no longer need the court to subsidize us, but we can actually make a lot of money!"

Liu Kuan smiled and nodded. "The coal mine business does have great potential. So, if Your Majesty allows, I hope to serve as the supervisor of the Qinglongshan Coal Mine for a period of time."

"Excuse me, what is a factory supervisor?"

"As the name suggests, it refers to supervising a factory's production, finances, and discipline. It can be said that it is the eyes and ears and mouth of the imperial court in the factory."

"I see. Then I am willing to do it."

After Liu Kuan and Yu Xian had this conversation, they returned to the capital before the sun set.

In fact, in Liu Kuan's opinion, both the state-owned coal plants and the factory supervision system are still not flexible enough and have many flaws.

But compared with the system before the Ming Dynasty, it is still a great improvement.

As long as the Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant, Qinglongshan Coal Plant and other first batch of Ming Dynasty state-run "enterprises" to be established under his leadership can operate smoothly and provide enough products and profits to the Ming Dynasty in the future, Zhu Yuanzhang will inevitably expand the scale of reform and allow other official markets and other institutions of the Ming Dynasty to carry out similar reforms.

···
The next afternoon.

Forbidden City, Fengxian Hall.

After reading Liu Kuan's memorial, Zhu Yuanzhang put it aside and nodded, saying, "I approve the deepening reform of the Qinglongshan Coal Yard and the transformation from a government-run operation to a government-run one."

Although Liu Kuan was confident of getting Zhu's approval, he was still quite happy to hear this. So he flattered him, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Whether I am wise or not is not determined by you in Fengxian Hall, but by how well you handle things."

"Now, I won't hide it from you. Ever since we approved your plan to convert the Liuhe Iron Works into the Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant, many officials have submitted memorials, saying that such a reform was unfeasible."

"One imperial censor even said that your reforms to the artisans' affairs at the steel mill would undermine the very foundations of Ming conscription."

Hearing this, Liu Kuan became a little nervous.

Because he knew very well that his reforms in the steel and coal mills would indeed shake the Ming Dynasty's original conscription system.

He was not afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang would not be able to withstand the pressure from the opposition in the court, but he was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would be persuaded by the opponents and no longer support reforms in this area.

However, since Old Zhu allowed him to carry out similar reforms on the Qinglongshan Coal Yard today, he probably hasn't changed his mind.

As expected, Old Zhu continued, "Although we suppressed all these memorials and even reprimanded that alarmist censor, it is still a fact that some people in the court opposed those reforms."

"If Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant, Qinglongshan Coal Yard, or even the Science and Technology Department can't produce results, we can't keep suppressing their voices. Do you understand?"

Liu Kuan nodded, "I understand. Your Majesty, please rest assured. Both the Liuhe Iron and Steel Plant and the Qinglongshan Coal Plant will soon produce results to prove the correctness of the reform!"

"Yes." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and smiled, "But you don't have to be too stressed - even if things really can't be done, we won't blame you."

"But I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to work as a court official in the future. You can only work in the Grand Council or the Eastern Palace and serve as a staff member for me and Biao'er."

Liu Kuan was slightly stunned after hearing this.

Because he actually felt that it would be nice to be a pure aide to Old Zhu and Little Zhu.

This way, not only will we not have to run around and work as hard as we do now, but the danger will also be greatly reduced.

But there are some things that are different when you let others do them and when you do them yourself...
In the blink of an eye, it is September 9th, the Double Ninth Festival.

In many places in the capital, there are vendors selling chrysanthemums and dogwood, and there are also many places selling Double Ninth Festival cakes and chrysanthemum wine.

In the morning, Zhu Yuanzhang personally climbed Mount Zhongshan to pray to God to eliminate disasters and avoid calamities.

Many government offices in the capital were temporarily closed for one day.

This is the case with the Science and Technology Department.

Zhu Huilan arranged for the people in the mansion to make Double Ninth Festival cakes, buy chrysanthemum wine and dogwood, and planned to go hiking in the suburbs and appreciate chrysanthemums at the flower market in the afternoon, hoping to spend a very festive Double Ninth Festival with Liu Kuan.

Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, someone from the palace came to convey Empress Ma's oral instructions, asking the two of them to go to the palace in the afternoon to appreciate the chrysanthemums, have dinner, and celebrate the Double Ninth Festival together.

There were no elders in the mansion, and since Empress Ma had given the oral order, it was impossible for the two of them to refuse.

So with the help of several maids, she changed into a formal outfit that was only worn on festivals and went out.

Before leaving, Zhu Huilan hesitated for a moment and said, "My dear, this is a rare holiday. Could I bring my tablet computer to the palace so that Father, Mother, and the Crown Prince can enjoy the music and movies together?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "If you want to take it, take it with you."

Before traveling through time, Liu Kuan didn't download much music or movies on his mobile phone, tablet, or laptop because of the convenience of accessing the Internet.

Like a tablet computer, it only stores a dozen songs, three movies, and a few short videos.

The reason why he didn't take the initiative to invite Lao Zhu and Xiao Zhu to watch a movie before was very simple - he was afraid that Lao Zhu would steal his things.

But now he has become Old Zhu's son-in-law, and since their marriage, this tablet computer has been used by Zhu Huilan, which is almost equivalent to giving it to Zhu Huilan.

I guess no matter how thick-skinned Mr. Zhu is, he wouldn't steal his daughter's things, right?
　I haven't recovered from my cold yet, so I'm sorry for the late update.

　　Thanks to [Refeng] for the reward of 100 reading coins!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)