Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 355 Turning Stone into Gold, Printing Money Out of Thin Air

A few days later, as dawn broke and the Forbidden City was still asleep, the emperor's entourage had already quietly set off eastward.

The procession was kept simple, consisting of only a few elite Imperial Guards and a general from the Han Dynasty.

Instead of using the imperial carriage, the emperor, Wei Zhongxian, Wang Chengen, and others rode together in a large four-wheeled carriage with wheels wrapped in hard rubber. The carriage traveled on the stone road with very little bumping, and the only sound was the crisp sound of horses' hooves breaking the dawn in the capital.

As the carriage passed through Chaoyang Gate, the bustling city gradually faded away, and fields and villages unfolded one after another on both sides of the official road.

The autumn harvest is over, and only withered yellow stubble remains in the fields, rustling in the morning breeze.

Unlike previous years, the air was less lifeless and more filled with the subtle warmth of everyday life.

“Your Majesty,” Wei Zhongxian lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, his eyes still as sharp as a hawk’s, “just ten miles outside the city, the atmosphere has already changed. This coal is truly the foundation of the people’s well-being.”

The emperor's gaze fell into the distance, and he did not respond. He simply said, "The root lies in people, not in things. Things are tools, but people are the masters. Tools can bring peace to the people, or they can bring chaos to them; it all depends on one's mind."

Wei Zhongxian felt a chill run down his spine, lowered his eyes, and remained silent.

He knew that the trip to the coal mine a few days ago was less of an inspection and more of a silent declaration from the emperor to him and to the entire court.

Those black coal lumps represent people's livelihood, warmth, and also an indispensable piece in the emperor's grand scheme of the world.

What kind of shock will this trip bring today?
The convoy did not travel long on the official road before turning southeast and speeding along a newly built, wide road made of gravel and loess.

This road leads directly to Tongzhou, to that mysterious place that has been erased from the map.

Traveling south of Tongzhou, the Grand Canal, like a jade belt, meanders across the vast North China Plain.

On the east bank of the canal, near Zhangjiawan, a scene that stands out starkly against the surrounding pastoral landscape suddenly comes into view.

It was a city, a brick city made of high walls, watchtowers and countless towering chimneys.

Dozens of enormous chimneys, like rows of silent giants, point straight to the sky, spewing out smoke of varying thickness.

They are not like the smoke rising from the chimneys of Beijing's traditional residences, but rather a breath full of power and rhythm.

The entire factory area covers hundreds of acres and is well-planned, with the raw material area, workshop area, storage area and living area clearly separated and connected by wide roads.

On the high wall, there is a watchtower every hundred steps, where soldiers in the uniform of the Beijing garrison stand with their guns at the ready, their eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

This was no longer an ordinary government-run workshop, but a heavily fortified military stronghold.

"This place," the emperor's voice rang out in the carriage, calm yet carrying a barely perceptible pride, "I have named it the Liuli Zongchang (Glass Factory)."

The carriage stopped at the main gate of the factory area.

It was a gatehouse built of huge stones. There was no plaque above the gate, only two large characters cast in iron, with powerful strokes that seemed to penetrate the paper: "Gezhi".

Before even entering, a wave of heat, a mixture of scorching heat, smoke, and the distinctive aroma of burning minerals, hits you.

What was even more awe-inspiring was the enormous roar that seemed to come from the depths of the earth.

The group disembarked and, led by the factory's chief eunuch, stepped into the furnace that was creating miracles.

Everywhere you look, there are busy figures.

Bare-chested, muscular craftsmen push wheelbarrows loaded with quartz sand at breakneck speed along the tracks; groups of laborers are dumping baskets of high-quality coal from Mentougou in western Beijing into huge silos; in the distance, at the waterway dock, several large ships are slowly approaching the shore, fully loaded with top-grade, snow-white quartz sand from Fengyang Prefecture, as well as various mysterious wooden boxes sealed with tape.

"A vital waterway, facilitating trade between north and south; backed by the capital, secure as Mount Tai." The emperor strolled along, reciting the key principles of this location.

“Sand from the south and coal from the north all converge here. River sand and vegetation are sourced locally. Fire hazards and thick smoke are far away from the capital. This is due to favorable timing and location, neither of which can be lacking.”

Wei Zhongxian followed silently, his cold heart unmoved by the bustling scene before him.

In his view, these artisans and laborers who toiled in the fields were no different from the farmers working in the fields or the eunuchs sweeping in the palace; they were all pawns and tools.

What he cares more about is the power that drives these tools.

And this power soon became apparent.

When the emperor appeared in front of a huge wind-blown workshop, the originally noisy and bustling scene froze for a moment.

A sharp-eyed young craftsman was the first to spot the bright yellow figure. He paused in his playing, the sweat on his face reflecting the glow of the furnace fire, and his mouth gaped open as if he had witnessed a miracle.

"Your Majesty!"

A gasp of surprise rang out, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

"Bang!"

Someone's tool fell to the ground, triggering a chain reaction.

In the blink of an eye, all the hundreds of artisans in the workshop, no matter what they were doing or what dangerous high-temperature environment they were in, seemed to be frozen in place, turning around in unison and focusing their gaze on that one person.

The next moment, a roaring sound like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing overwhelmed the roar of the furnace fire.

"Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"

Hundreds of people knelt down in unison, their strong knees slamming onto the hard stone floor with a dull, rhythmic thud.

Many of them had faces covered in soot, with streaks of white sweat running down their faces. Now, two more streams of hot tears rolled down their faces.

Many people had tears in their eyes and were sobbing uncontrollably.

They were so excited, as if mortals had personally witnessed the Jade Emperor descending to earth; it was a heartfelt gratitude.

It should be noted that just over a year ago, the vast majority of them were displaced people from the vicinity of the capital, tenant farmers whose families had been destroyed.

They don't think about what to eat tomorrow, but whether they will live to see tomorrow.

The shadow of death loomed over their hearts day and night, like the cold winds of the North.

But now, everything has changed.

It was this emperor, and his new policies, that gave them a way to survive.

This royal factory is simply a paradise they could only dream of!

The work here is really tiring. We work from sunrise to sunset every day, and my bones feel like they're about to fall apart.

But, here, food and lodging are provided!

They didn't eat coarse food and wild vegetables, but rather plenty of white flour steamed buns and meat soup every few days!
They didn't live in drafty shacks, but in neat and clean communal sleeping quarters!

More importantly, wages!

The emperor gave them plenty of money!

The wages were paid in full and on time, and were many times more than what they had earned working as slaves for landlords and gentry in the past!
An ordinary laborer could save nearly two taels of silver a month after deducting food and expenses!

Those highly skilled craftsmen could easily earn ten or even dozens of taels of silver a month!
The old folks in the factory did the math. If they kept working like this, they could really buy their own small courtyard house on the outskirts of Beijing in just five years, get married, have children, and live a peaceful life that their ancestors had never dreamed of!

This is hardly work.

This is clearly an immense blessing!
So how could they not be excited to see the emperor who had given them new life and hope?
How can one not be grateful?

This kneeling is not only a gesture of respect between ruler and subject, but also an expression of gratitude for being given a second chance at life!

Wei Zhongxian looked at the group of burly men with tears streaming down their faces and a smile crept onto his lips.

The ignorant masses are easily swayed.

A little food and money are enough to make them give up their lives and fortunes.

But he had to admit that the emperor's move was truly brilliant.

Driven by profit, bound by favors, and restrained by strict laws, an industrial army that is absolutely loyal to the emperor and whose fighting power and cohesion far surpass those of the Beijing Garrison has already taken shape.

The emperor did not make them kneel for long. He raised his hand, his voice gentle yet penetrating: "Rise, everyone. I have come today to visit you all. You have used your blood and sweat to create weapons for the Ming Dynasty, and you are the heroes of the Ming Dynasty. Keep up the good work, and your lives will get better and better."

"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!"

Another round of cheers erupted.

The artisans stood up, their eyes burning with fanatical fervor as they looked at the emperor.

That drive instantly surged several times over, as if he wanted to squeeze out every last bit of strength to repay the Emperor's favor.

Under the steward's guidance, the group entered the core area of ​​Liulichang—the smelting and blowing workshop.

Stepping inside feels like entering Lao Tzu's alchemy furnace.

A dozen or so enormous regenerative horseshoe-flame kilns stood in a row, their mouths spewing out almost white flames and emitting deafening roars.

The temperature was so high that the air itself seemed to distort. Wei Zhongxian instinctively covered his face with his sleeve, feeling a burning pain with every breath.

The emperor, however, remained unfazed, watching the craftsmen at work with great interest.

A seasoned master craftsman held a hollow iron pipe several meters long, inserted it into the incandescent furnace opening, and precisely "dipped" a ball of golden-red molten glass, like thick honey, from the crucible.

He pulled out the iron pipe, and the craftsman at the other end immediately leaned in, puffed out his cheeks, and blew air into the pipe.

The molten glass was blown into a huge, bright red sphere at a speed visible to the naked eye.

What followed was a precise, dance-like coordination.

The sphere was stretched and shaped, eventually becoming a huge hollow cylinder.

The entire process was fluid and graceful, full of primal and wild beauty.

“This is the ‘blowing method’,” the emperor explained from the side. “Cut the tube along its axis, place it on a flat stone slab, and reheat it to flatten it into a huge plate of glass. Compared to the Western ‘crown method’, the glass produced by this method is larger in size, has a flatter surface, and has almost no annoying ‘bull’s-eye’.”

He pointed to the other side of the workshop, where the annealing area was located.

Rows of brick-built annealing kilns, each tens of meters long, lie on the ground like long dragons.

The glass slabs, freshly laid flat and still emitting a dark red glow, are slowly fed into the kiln, where they will undergo a slow cooling process for more than ten hours to eliminate internal stress and prevent cracking.

Looking at those huge, still somewhat hazy panes of glass, Wei Zhongxian felt a surge of emotion for the first time. He thought of the Korean paper pasted on the windows of the palace, which had to be replaced every year, and of the small, murky pieces of glass that were purchased at high prices from the Portuguese and inlaid in the mansions of high-ranking officials and nobles.

If this thing could be mass-produced... what a sight that would be!

All mansions in the world can be bright and clean, no longer disturbed by wind and rain.

This is not just about improving one's life; it is an immense fortune in itself!

After passing through the noisy blow-blowing area, they arrived at a heavily guarded, secluded courtyard.

This is the grinding and secret recipe workshop, and standing at the entrance are menacing officers of the Imperial Guard.

Inside the courtyard, the atmosphere was completely different.

Dozens of focused artisans were lying on water-powered millstones, carefully polishing small, round pieces of glass.

The grinding wheel rotates, making a soft "shush" sound, and the water flow continuously washes over the lens, carrying away the grinding powder.

"This place is where important military and national weapons are produced," the emperor said in a low voice.

He picked up a polished lens and looked at it in the light. It was a concave lens that was thick at the edges and thin in the middle.

They then entered a dimly lit secret room.

Here, several of the most skilled craftsmen are assembling a peculiar object.

It was made of two paper tubes connected together, with a polished lens inlaid at each end.

"Look." The emperor gestured for Wei Zhongxian to pick up a finished product.

Wei Zhongxian did as instructed and brought the strange contraption called a "telescope" close to his eyes.

He instinctively closed one eye and looked out the window through the lens.

The next moment, he was violently shaken, as if struck by lightning.

Outside the window, the Tongzhou city wall is several miles away.

In the past, only a blurry outline could be seen.

At this moment, through the small telescope, the patterns on every brick and stone in the city wall were clearly visible!

He could even see the listless expressions on the faces of the soldiers standing guard on the city wall, and he could see the tiny tears on the "Ming" banner fluttering in the wind and sun!

The world seemed to shrink into one another in that instant.

Thousands of miles away, yet it feels like it's right in front of me!
Wei Zhongxian's hand, which was holding the binoculars, began to tremble uncontrollably.

He abruptly lowered the viewing tube, looked at the emperor, his eyes filled with unprecedented horror and fanaticism.

He was not a military general, but he had been in charge of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he knew the decisive significance of intelligence and vision on the battlefield!
With this, the movement, deployment, and strength of enemy troops several miles away will be completely visible!
The Jianzhou Jurchens' proud cavalry raids will have nowhere to hide from it!

Before the red-haired barbarian warships even get close, they will be fully visible to our own navy!

This is no glass or crystal thing at all!

This is clearly a divine eye bestowed upon the Emperor of Heaven by the Ming Dynasty... capable of seeing through the universe!

The emperor was very pleased with his reaction and led him to another, more mysterious room, which was filled with a peculiar metallic smell.

Here, the craftsmen are carrying out the final step in the mirror-making process—silver plating.

Instead of the highly toxic and ineffective tin amalgam method, a more advanced silver plating method is used here.

The craftsman cleaned a flawless flat glass plate and then coated it with a special solution.

A moment later, a miracle occurred: a layer of bright, water-like silver film adhered evenly to the back of the glass.

After it dries, apply a protective varnish.

Thus, a glass mirror capable of overturning conventional wisdom was born.

When a full-length mirror, as tall as a person, was carried to Wei Zhongxian by two eunuchs, the powerful and influential "Nine Thousand Years Old" was utterly speechless.

In the mirror, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure is so clear it makes one's heart pound.

The man wore the same python robe as him, a three-peaked hat, and had a fair complexion and no beard.

In the mirror, he could see the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the slightly pale skin beneath the makeup, and even the fleeting, undisguised shock and greed in the depths of his eyes.

Wei Zhongxian had never seen himself so clearly in his sixty years of life.

The bronze mirror was blurry, reflecting only outlines and general shapes; the shimmering water added to the illusion.

What is before us is absolutely real, so real that it is cruel.

Wei Zhongxian subconsciously reached out and touched the cold mirror.

The person in the mirror did the same thing.

Fingertips touched, separated by a thin layer of glass, as if touching one's own soul.

He abruptly withdrew his hand, took a step back, and took a deep breath.

If coal briquettes were a "benevolent instrument" used by the emperor to emphasize that prices should not be too high in order to protect the people's livelihood.

So this glass, this mirror...

Countless thoughts flashed through Wei Zhongxian's mind in an instant.

Let alone selling them overseas, they were sold to those Portuguese and foreigners who were willing to spend lavishly on luxury goods.

Even within the Ming Dynasty itself, the wealthy and powerful from Jiangnan, the nobles who have served in the imperial court for generations, and even the imperial concubines... would probably fight tooth and nail for such a mirror that reflects the truth!

A mirror can buy a house?
No, perhaps it's a city!
This goes beyond the word "exorbitant profits."

This is turning lead into gold!

This is printing money out of thin air!

……

It was already afternoon when I left Liulichang.

Wei Zhongxian sat silently in the bumpy carriage.

His heart was already churning with turmoil.

If the coal mine a few days ago showed him the emperor's methods of reforming the people's livelihood and winning their hearts, then...

Today, Liulichang allowed him to glimpse the emperor's unfathomable, true ambition.

This factory, located on the banks of the Tongzhou River and constantly emitting flames and thick smoke, is far more than just a workshop for firing glass.

Technically, it has already achieved stable mass production of high-quality flat glass, dazzling crystal glass, mirrors with terrifying clarity, and telescopes that are capable of changing the nature of warfare.

Financially, Wei Zhongxian only needed a rough calculation to know that once the factory was in full production, it would inevitably become Emperor Chongzhen's most important "cash cow" for his private treasury through the sale of luxury goods.

The monthly profit is likely to be tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. This huge sum will far exceed the annual land tax of the Ming Dynasty!

The emperor will be completely free from the constraints of the Ministry of Revenue and will have his own inexhaustible source of wealth!

Militarily, the Ming army, equipped with hundreds of telescopes, will have an overwhelming advantage in reconnaissance capabilities on the battlefield.

Whether it's fighting the Jurchens, wiping out the bandits, or waging war at sea, it will be a devastating blow!

In Wei Zhongxian's eyes, the image of this factory, located on the banks of the Tongzhou River, was completely changed.

In Wei Zhongxian's eyes, this place was no longer a mundane workshop, but a brand new dragon bone supporting the heavens and the earth!

This keel was forcibly wedged into the dilapidated giant ship of the Ming Dynasty, which was on the verge of capsizing, in an attempt to withstand the monstrous waves that were swallowing everything, correct the course that had already deviated, and sail towards an unknown sea that no one had ever seen before!
After that, the emperor took him to see another "small factory"—a soap factory.

That factory, unlike the fiery Liulichang, had a different kind of peculiar sight.

Inside the enormous boiler, a mixture of grease and mysterious lye churned, emitting a strange odor.

Rows of workers are cutting, molding, and drying the cooled, solidified, jade-like soap blocks.

Wei Zhongxian saw three kinds of soap.

One type was a rough, large "disease-curing soap" made with sulfur and mugwort, which was specially supplied to military camps and was said to greatly reduce skin diseases and wound infections among soldiers.

One type is the "Fu" brand pancreas, which is reasonably priced and has a light herbal fragrance, and will be sold to ordinary people.

The last one, however, terrified him once again.

Those were "scented soaps" placed in brocade boxes. Some were the color of mutton fat and exuded a rich rose fragrance; others were crystal clear and exuded a delicate jasmine fragrance.

Its exquisiteness and fragrance far surpass any bath soap or bath powder used by the imperial concubines in the palace.

Wei Zhongxian once again felt as if he had entered a fairyland.

If glass is the sword in the emperor's hand, its power reaching across the land, its edge aimed at intimidating the powerful and wealthy, then soap is like a million soldiers scattered across the vast territory. Seemingly ordinary, it can silently change the foundation of the dynasty, gathering into an unstoppable torrent.

On this day, Wei Zhongxian spoke very little.

He simply looked, simply listened, and simply reassessed the young emperor before him in his mind again and again.

He suddenly realized that all the power, cronies, and influence of the Eastern Depot that he had relied on in the past seemed so pale and laughable in the face of the towering flames of Liulichang and this small bar of soap.

The emperor was creating a completely new world, a world built on "investigation" and "industry".

In this world, the source of power is no longer just official position or factions, but also technology, production, and wealth!

(End of this chapter)