Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 55 The Southwest's Predicament Still Depends on Liang Yu (Part 1)

Zhu Jue handed over the task of punishing the traitor to Wei Zhongxian and then left it to his own devices.

He has so many things to manage that he can't possibly do everything himself, let alone focus on just one thing all the time.

If he were to micromanage everything, he wouldn't be able to manage much, and the Ming Dynasty would fall into chaos.

Therefore, the core competence of those in positions of power is the ability to recognize and utilize talent.

He believed Wei Zhongxian could do it, so that was fine.

Wei Zhongxian was quite capable, especially in handling tasks assigned to him; he took them very seriously.

This guy really took the task he was given to heart. The next morning around 7 a.m., he had just arrived at Yuxi Palace and was about to review the memorials when a voice announced from outside: "Wei Zhongxian requests an audience."

This should be the conclusion of yesterday's events.

He answered without hesitation, "Send it."

Soon, Wei Zhongxian strode in, respectfully cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "So, did you find anything about that gray-haired rat?"

Alas, what a bad start.

Wei Zhongxian sighed inwardly, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, last night I ordered people to keep watch all night, and even at around 5 a.m. this morning, we did not see anyone enter Baitang's house."

Sure enough, these traitors were very cautious.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Yes, that's to be expected. Renshou Temple is too remote, so there aren't many people there to begin with. If you go there often, strangers can spot it at a glance."

"Don't worry, they'll definitely bribe spies to investigate in the East City. Besides, there aren't any secrets to expose there yet, so letting the spies see won't hurt. Just focus on arresting people."

Simply staking out and catching people isn't enough.

Wei Zhongxian cautiously said, "Your Majesty, this servant estimates that they will have people planted near the city gates and even near the main road of the east city to spy on us."

Even if we catch their spies, they will most likely be seen by their people once we bring them into the inner city or the southern city. It will be almost impossible to lure them into a trap.

"I think we should also place spies in the south of the city and even the inner city to secretly keep an eye on all those scoundrels who take money to gather information. That way, we'll be able to detect when they try to bribe spies."

You really put your heart into it.

This kind of subordinate is the most useful.

As for whether someone is a petty person or not, that's not important. The key is to be conscientious in doing things.

If someone is like an abacus bead, only moving when propelled, then even the best person is not worth relying on.

Zhu Jue said approvingly, "Hmm, that's a good idea. You can handle it. Anyway, this matter is now in your hands, so you can try whatever methods you have."

Oh dear, His Majesty praised me again.

Wei Zhongxian smiled broadly, nodding repeatedly and saying, "This servant understands."

Alright, go and get on with your business.

Zhu Jue simply raised his hand and waved it.

Wei Zhongxian quickly bowed and took his leave.

Punishing traitors is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it certainly cannot be rushed.

The most important thing right now is to develop industry; we cannot slack off on this.

After hastily finishing reviewing the memorials, Zhu Jue summoned Lu Xiangshan, Fang Zhenghua, and others and headed straight for the East City.

This time, he rode directly to the vicinity of the steel furnace under construction and ordered his men to summon Song Yingsheng and Yuan You.

He looked at the craftsmen who were frantically building the steel furnace and said solemnly, "Yuan Jiu, Imperial Father-in-law, as you know, steel is the most basic material. Without steel, many things cannot be made. At this rate, the steel furnace should be three zhang high in about ten days, right? How are the coal and pig iron preparations in Jizhou Town going?" Uh, the steel furnace can't be built that quickly.

Yuan You simply looked at Song Yingsheng.

Song Yingsheng quickly explained in detail: "Your Majesty, this steel furnace cannot be used even after the outside is built. It will take another ten days or so for the inside to be completed. Moreover, we need to fire a few furnaces to test it, which will probably take another five or six days."

Your humble servant has already sent men to Jizhou Town to recruit manpower, and has also ordered the construction of iron smelting furnaces, as well as the delivery of shovels and bamboo baskets for mining. It is estimated that coal will be produced there in about ten days, and pig iron in about twenty days.

"Over there, I have ordered the opening of five iron mines and ten coal mines. Each mine has been staffed with over two hundred people. The iron smelting furnaces are all large enough to produce 100,000 jin of iron per day, so producing 300,000 jin of pig iron and one million jin of coal per day should not be a problem."

That's a bit too idealistic of you.

Zhu Jue carefully instructed, "Yuan Jiu, you must plan your actions and consider everything thoroughly, understand?"

If you wait until the steel furnace is built before ordering people to bring coal and pig iron over, it could very likely affect steel production here, you know?
It takes three days to transport coal and pig iron from Jizhou Town. What if something happens on the way? For example, what if there are strong winds and waves, or what if the Jurchens invade and interrupt the mining?

Also, the rivers in the Gyeonggi region freeze over. By December, they'll definitely be frozen and won't thaw until February or March of next year. Have you thought about what to do during that time?

Uh, I really didn't think that much about it.

Song Yingsheng said with shame, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not consider everything thoroughly."

I don't blame you.

You were just a scholar who passed the imperial examinations; it's impossible for you to suddenly become a capable person who can shoulder great responsibilities.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then asked, "How much do you pay the miners working over there? What are their requirements?"

Didn't you say it was one or two taels of silver a month?
Song Yingsheng said cautiously, "I paid them one tael of silver a month, and the requirement was that they must be strong and able to dig out a thousand catties of ore a day."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "Do you think they can mine a thousand catties of ore a day?"

That’s not the case.

Song Yingsheng explained in detail: "What I mean is that we need to mine at least a thousand catties of ore a day. If they dig as hard as they can, they can definitely mine more than a thousand catties of ore a day. This is because we have chosen coal and iron mines that are relatively easy to mine. They don't need to spend much time or effort climbing up and down."

Zhu Jue then asked, "Do you think it would be a problem for them to dig two thousand catties a day if they dug like crazy?"

Yuan You pondered, "This shouldn't be a big problem. The question is, why are they digging so desperately?"

You don't understand incentive mechanisms yet.

Zhu Jue explained in detail: "The wages you are paying them now are one tael of silver per month, and the requirement is that they must dig out thousands of catties of ore per day."

You can modify this to say that digging 1,000 catties a day earns one tael of silver a month, digging 2,000 catties a day earns two taels of silver a month, and so on. The more you dig, the more you earn.

The same applies to iron smelting. If you smelt 100,000 catties a day, that's one tael of silver a month. If you smelt 200,000 catties a day, that's two taels of silver a month.

This way, we don't need to hire more people or buy more mining equipment. Production capacity over there can double. The extra production can be stored as reserves for unforeseen circumstances. We can store some over there, but we must store plenty over here to avoid problems, understand?"

Should we store more here?
Song Yingsheng nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, I understand. But if we want to store more here, we'll have to transport more over. I'm afraid the grain transport ships won't be enough."

This is actually not a problem anymore.

Zhu Jue patiently explained, “We now have tens of thousands of grain transport ships, but the reason they are still not enough is because the original tax grain was mainly transported from Southern Zhili, which is too far away.”

We have already stopped the stipends for the imperial princes and their families. The extra tax grain from Henan and Shandong alone amounts to four or five million shi (a unit of dry measure). We can easily transport it locally, which would save at least half of the grain transport boats.

"Once this shipment of tax grain from Southern Zhili arrives, I will have my chief attendant transport it to Henan and Shandong for transfer. This will leave us with four or five thousand extra grain transport ships, so you don't need to worry about running out."

As he was speaking, a fast rider from the post station suddenly galloped towards him from the direction of the capital.

Soon, the fast rider with the urgent command flag passed through the heavy guards and arrived in front of them.

The courier leaped down, knelt on one knee, and held up an urgent report, saying loudly, "Your Majesty, the Governor-General of Five Provinces, Zhu Kuiyuan, has sent an urgent report from 800 li away."

Something terrible has happened in the southwest?!
(End of this chapter)