The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 150 How fierce is the emperor's business
The next morning, around noon, the sun slowly rose.

The snow-covered capital city seems to have a warm atmosphere.

At this time, the common people all ran out to clean up the snow in front of their own doors.

Since the prices of pig iron and wrought iron dropped in the Ming Dynasty, the number of ironware in ordinary people's homes has gradually increased.

Almost every household in the capital had iron tools such as shovels and hammers.

The adults shoveled with shovels, the children hit with hammers, and the women and children swept with brooms. The snow and ice in the streets and alleys were soon gathered on the roadside and formed piles. Most of the children ran over to play with making snowmen, while the adults began to busy themselves with their own chores.

At this time, the imperial city was also busy.

The snow and ice on the passages had been cleared away long ago, and the Jinyiwei and the imperial guards were wrapping the horses' hooves with thick anti-slip cloth.

It was freezing cold, but Wanli actually wanted to take them to the Mountain Resort to discuss business matters. The princes, nobles, and royal relatives really couldn't understand it.

The Summer Resort is for escaping the heat. In the middle of winter, it’s unbearable to stand outside and feel so cold. How can you escape the heat?

Wanli and Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan actually put on furry cloaks, woolen gloves, and climbed onto their war horses!

At this time, all the princes, nobles and royal relatives discovered that there seemed to be no carriage on the avenue inside Xi'an Gate.

They got to ride horses too!

Sure enough, the Jinyiwei soon brought them war horses wrapped in thick cloth.

This time it didn't seem like Wanli was deliberately making trouble for them, because Wanli himself was riding a horse, not a carriage.

Soon, tens of thousands of Jinyiwei and imperial guards escorted them as they set off.

This time there was no thundering sound of horse hooves.

The horses' hooves were wrapped with thick cloth, and no one was riding very fast. When more than 20,000 riders ran past, there was only a dull sound.

This time they did not go around to Changping Prefecture in the northwest to cross the bridge and river.

A team of more than 20,000 cavalrymen headed directly north after leaving Deshengmen and arrived at the south bank of the Wenyu River, which was covered with solid ice.

Wanli actually wanted to ride his horse directly across the river on the ice!
To be honest, this is a bit dangerous. If the ice is not more than two feet thick, I am afraid it will not be able to withstand more than 20,000 cavalrymen running across it.

Duke Chengguo Zhu Yingzhen was also very cautious. He had sent out thousands of Jinyiwei cavalry to run back and forth on the ice early on. Moreover, these Jinyiwei even dismounted and dug away the snow on the ice to check carefully to see if they had stepped on any cracks.

It seems that there should be no problem for thousands of cavalry to cross the river together.

Wanli simply waved his hand and ordered the Jinyiwei to cross the river in batches.

Then he took out the telescope from the tube and scanned carefully.

The Beijing garrison has enough military farms, and the Wenyu River and even the Yongding River south of the capital can also be considered for development.

The reason why he brought a group of princes, nobles, and royal relatives to the Mountain Resort at this time was actually to see whether the operation of the waterwheel was affected by the ice and snow.

It turns out that he has never been to the Summer Resort when it was snowing.

As for why they took the risk of taking the Wenyu River, it was mainly because going so straight could shorten the distance a lot. If they took this route, the distance to the Summer Resort would be less than a hundred miles.

Another reason was that he wanted to come here in person to see and consider the development of the Wenyu River and Yongding River.

After the Jinyiwei crossed the river, it was their turn.

Tens of thousands of Jinyiwei have crossed the river. There are only a hundred or so people in their group, so there will definitely be no danger.

They did not gallop along the way, and their speed was about forty or fifty miles per hour. It was past the hour of Si when they arrived outside the south wall of the huge summer resort.

When Yongnian Earl Wang Wei heard that Wanli was coming, he took Wang Jun, Wang Dong, Wang Bing, Zhou Danquan and others to wait outside the South Gate early.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli could not help but ask, "How is it, father-in-law, is the waterwheel still working?"

Yongnianbo Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem, as long as we keep chipping the ice, the waterwheel will keep turning.

They've heard that ice can be sold for money in the summer, so they've dug icehouses. They're digging them with such enthusiasm that they wish they could dig more. They've made huge holes all around the waterwheel."

This ice can indeed be sold for money in the summer. There are many rich people in the capital, and some people even dug ice cellars outside the city to store ice.

Wanli nodded slightly, and then rode his horses slowly towards the Mountain Resort with a group of princes, nobles, and royal relatives.

It is not covered with ice and snow here because there are too many craftsmen living here, and they are all very hardworking. They have cleared the ice and snow on the roads and in the yards. Only snow can be seen on the roofs.

The south gate of the Mountain Resort was still twenty or thirty miles away from the Miyun Palace. They ran for nearly half an hour before they finally arrived at the palace.

After seeing all this, Wanli already had an idea in his mind. The waterwheel could really run in winter, and digging an ice cellar to store ice for sale was also a good idea.

Ice can not only cool down and relieve heat, but also freeze and preserve fish and meat in summer. In this way, the Beijing camp garrison has additional income.

It seems that there is no problem at all in developing the Wenyu River and Yongding River.

He brought all the nobles and royal relatives to the old county hall and ordered someone to bring a few maps. He then pointed to the map on the large table and said solemnly: "There are two big businesses now, the salt business of Changlu Salt Field and Hedong Salt Field.

The annual salt tax for the Changlu and Hedong Salt Works is over 100,000 to 200,000 taels. Based on a 10% tax rate, each salt work earns at least 2 to 3 million taels per year. Originally, the salt permits for these two salt works were mostly seized by the three major wealthy families in Puzhou. Now, I have ordered the Changlu and Hedong Salt Transport Commissioners to reclaim all salt permits for these two salt works and to reissue them starting next year.

Marquis Huaiyuan and Marquis Ningyang, you two will be in charge of the salt permits for these two salt fields. 50% of the revenue will be provided by your own personnel. However, 10% of the profits must be used to pay the salt tax. The remaining 50% will be distributed to those willing to do salt business with you based on the amount of land they have submitted. How do you do that?

My God, two salt field businesses!
Forty percent would be at least one million taels a year.

There are a lot of tricks in the salt permit, and they are aware of it. It is estimated that they can earn more than two million in a year.

Huaiyuan Marquis Chang Yinxu and Ningyang Marquis Chen Yingzhao nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, thank you very much for your grace, Your Majesty."

Wanli nodded slightly and asked, "Any of you who want to do salt business with Marquis Huaiyuan and Marquis Ningyang, please raise your hands now and report the amount of military farmland you have handed over."

Who doesn’t want such a good thing?
Most of the dukes, nobles, and royal relatives raised their hands and tried their best to report the amount of military farms they had handed over.

Wanli roughly divided the land among them, and the more than 100,000 acres they handed over were counted as about 10%, so that they could earn a little more than before.

With this division, the income of more than 5 million taels from the two salt fields roughly offset the income from more than 4 million mu of military farms. How can the income from the remaining nearly 6 million mu of military farms be earned back?

Wanli pointed to Hetao and said, "We have now recovered Hetao and captured a large number of cattle, sheep and horses.

I plan to hand over all these cattle, sheep and horses to the border troops to raise, so that we can have some big businesses.

For example, we sell cattle and horses. Bulls are sold to farmers for plowing, and old horses are sold to merchants for pulling carts. With the scale of cattle and horses we have seized now, it is definitely no problem to make more than 100,000 or 200,000 taels a month.

For example, selling mutton can be combined with the restaurant business. If you only sell meat, you can only get a profit of about two taels from a sheep. If you sell it after cooking, you can make at least five taels of silver from a sheep's meat. If you do well, it is not a problem to make hundreds of thousands of taels a month.

Who will take the lead in these two businesses?"

The nobles looked at each other, and finally Guangning Earl Liu Sidu asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, do you think it is okay to let me manage the cattle and horse business?"

Sure, you happen to be related to the Chengguo Mansion and the Lu family by marriage.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I'll give you 40%. As usual, 10% goes to taxes, and the remaining 60% is given to others."

This offset the profits from millions of acres of military farms.

Wu'an Marquis Zheng Weizhong waited until they had finished distributing their meat before carefully asking, "Your Majesty, how many sheep can the Hetao region produce in a month?"

This was actually a lot, as they captured millions of goats and sheep.

He also knew the reproduction rate of sheep. One ram and ten ewes could produce at least twenty lambs a year, and the lambs could reproduce again the next year.

Therefore, it is difficult to say how many sheep there are, as it mainly depends on the size of the pasture and the rate of consumption.

Wanli estimated: "If you can do it, one hundred thousand rams a month will definitely not be a problem."

Oh my god, how much is that?
Marquis of Wu'an Zheng Weizhong nodded repeatedly and said, "I can do it. I happen to own several restaurants. If I have enough sheep, I can open more."

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I'll give you 40%. As usual, 10% goes to taxes, and the remaining 60% is given to others."

This offset the profits from more than two million mu of military farms.

Wanli pointed to the map and said, "I plan to build water wheels on both sides of the Wenyu River and the Yongding River to spin wool.

This business is very big. The wool produced by a grown sheep in a year can be sold for about one or two taels of silver. If it is spun into yarn and sold, it can be sold for about two taels of silver.

There are probably over a million sheep growing up in Hetao now, and the number is expected to continue to increase. Who will manage this business?"

Who else can host it?

Linhuai Hou Zheng Weizhong said helplessly: "Your Majesty, I can give it a try. I dare to ask how long it will take to build this waterwheel and how much money it will cost.

If ordinary people were to do it, the water wheels on both sides of the Wenyu River and the Yongding River would probably not be fully filled for years or even decades.

However, for Wanli to do it, one or two years would be enough.

Because he was the emperor, he could mobilize a lot of manpower and material resources, and no one dared to mess with him when he did business.

Wanli estimated, "This year I will ask the father-in-law to prepare the materials. Next year, the waterwheel I will make will be able to spin the wool of millions of sheep into yarn.

Moreover, the Duke of England was running a weaving workshop, so he could build more workshops to weave all these yarns into cloth.

This may not seem to be a very profitable business, but as more and more sheep are bred in Hetao, this business will grow bigger and bigger.

I won't let you pay for the waterwheel and the spinning mill, but I'll take 50% of the profits. Marquis Linhuai, you'll get 20%, and the rest will be divided among you according to the amount of land you've handed over."

what?
This is just the amount of profit from these two million mu of military farms?

They seem to have lost out.

In fact, they made a lot of money because the sheep reproduced very quickly.

There are only about one million now, so they seem to be losing money. Once they multiply to two million, they will make a profit. Once they multiply to three million, they will make a fortune.

(End of this chapter)