Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 271 Daming Royal Glass Factory

Regarding the various livestock farms, vegetable gardens, orchards, fish ponds, etc. in Wuzhaibao, after these years of rumors, especially the vigorous publicity of the "Wuzhaibao News" in the past two years, the fathers-in-law of Shanglin Garden Supervisor have heard more or less Said.

They are also very strange, why the various livestock farms in Wuzhai Fort are so prosperous, but Shanglin Yuanjian, which has huge resources, is not as good as a small Wuzhai Fort?Therefore, after Huang Laifu came to Xishan, the eunuchs kept asking questions.

Huang Laifu roughly talked about the development model of the livestock farm or orchard in Wuzhaibao.According to him, the poor development of the Shanglin Yuanjian is inseparable from their human-served management style. For example, they herd livestock and grow fruits and vegetables, all of which are allocated some households as human-served livestock households. , Raise one sheep for every [-] fen, and one ox for every [-] ding. Then you have to prepare your own cattle and seeds, cultivate them for food, and feed the livestock.This kind of forced labor, not allowing oneself to buy and sell freely, coupled with the encroachment of various people, it is understandable that there is no enthusiasm.

More importantly, this method of free-range breeding cannot be compared with the concentrated and large-scale feeding of livestock farms in Wuzhaibao.If Shanglin Yuanjian wants to develop, it will still follow the development model of Wuzhaibao in the future.

June 24th, the [-]th year of Wanli.

After receiving Huang Laifu's fast horse call, on this day, Gu Shibao, deputy director of the Wuzhaibao Grain Bureau and director of the Mining Bureau, Wang Qinian, director of the Wuzhaibao Animal Husbandry Bureau, Jiang Yongsheng, director of the Vegetable Bureau, and Han Han, director of the Fruit Tree Bureau. Bing, Qu Yuanrui, the president of the Wuzhaibao Chamber of Commerce, and others, together with some local craftsmen and merchants in Wuzhaibao, came to the capital.

That night, Huang Laifu held a meeting with all the little bosses to discuss the management of Wanping Sangong Huangzhuang, so as to achieve the effect of point to point in the matter of Huangzhuang.A few days later, in Wanping, everyone followed the pattern of Wuzhaibao and bustled away vigorously.Turn all the tenant farmers of Sangong Huangzhuang into hired workers and sign contracts with them.Recruit and organize manpower to build water conservancy canals in the villages and fields of Sangonghuangzhuang, dig irrigation wells, and place water trucks, etc.

At the same time, various vegetable gardens, orchards, pig farms, and chicken farms were opened in Wanping Sangonghuangzhuang.After the white money was spent, for a while, the land of Wanping Sangong Huangzhuang seemed to have become a big construction site.

To operate Huangzhuang, according to the Wuzhaibao model, although it does not require so many manpower, some of the original tenant farmers will be spared, but the construction of water conservancy, the opening of various livestock farms and orchards will require a lot of manpower.There are also those waterwheels, etc., which cannot be transported from Shanxi. They all need to be made locally under the guidance of the craftsmen of Wuzhaibao, and they need manpower.In this way, not only were all the surplus personnel rearranged, but the villagers in the original Sangonghuangzhuang area were insufficient and needed to recruit people from outside.

Due to the stable and attractive salary, not to mention the people from Wanping County came to work one after another, even the people from other counties also came here one after another, making Wanping even more lively.According to the Wuzhaibao model, the original Huangzhuang land has been turned into farms, and there are many livestock farms, etc., all of which require a large number of literate documents and accounting rooms.These manpower must be resolved locally.All of a sudden, the petty officials in Wanping County went to farms to take up part-time jobs one after another.

What Huang Laifu did in Wanping soon spread to the capital, and the citizens discussed it a lot, and it became a hot topic in the capital.Over the years, Huang Laifu has gained quite a reputation. Everyone is very curious about the achievements he has made in Wuzhai Fort. In the middle, come up with some tricks.

To run Wanping's Huangzhuang Livestock Farm and to cooperate with Shanglin Garden Superintendent, of course, it needs a lot of money, but the money is not a problem for Huang Laifu, and the future return is not so low. This investment is worthwhile.Besides, there are still a large number of Wuzhaibao businessmen waiting to cooperate with him.The city of Beijing is nearby. If Wanping can be turned into another Wuzhai Fort, it can be said to be another cash cow. Why don't people flock to it?

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On June [-], the weather in Beijing was hot.

The Dongnuan Pavilion of the palace is warm in winter and cool in summer, and there is also a ground dragon with circulating water, which is quite cool and comfortable. Huang Laifu had a question and answer with Emperor Wanli while eating the hot water noodle soup bestowed by Emperor Wanli.

Emperor Wanli asked about the Wanping Sangong Huangzhuang for a while, and when he heard that it was going well, he nodded with satisfaction, looking forward to what the place would look like next year.And Huang Laifu's style is to delegate power to his subordinates as much as possible. The farms and livestock farms in Wuzhaibao have been in operation for many years and have formed a complete development system. I handed over the land to them, but I was free.

Emperor Wanli stood up, took a few steps back and forth in the pavilion with his hands behind his back, and sighed: "In the past two years, the country has been depleted. Ping Ningxia, conquer Korea, and spend millions of dollars in silver. Right now, the Japanese are ready to move, and they are afraid that they will be killed again. It’s just that the treasury is empty. Even Kunning and the Second Palace of Qianqing have no money to rebuild because of the fire. The country has no money. It’s really sighing. I don’t know what magic method Huang Aiqing has. ?”

During the first Korean War, Emperor Wanli asked Huang Laifu the same question, and now he is asking it again. It is obvious that Emperor Wanli is helpless because of financial distress.In the past few years, Huang Laifu has also thought about related issues carefully, and then he said: "Back to the emperor, Yichen has thought over and over again. Regarding the collection of agricultural taxes, the potential of the country and the dynasty has been exhausted. Since ancient times, only heard Peasants have rebelled, but merchants have never heard of rebellions. Peasants should not be suppressed too much, and merchants can be killed. In the future, if you want to make a fortune, you can only start with the country's commercial tax, mine tax, or the issuance of national bonds."

According to Huang Laifu's idea, the Ming Dynasty has developed to the present, and the business is prosperous. If the business tax collection is perfect and effective, it is really easy to collect tens of millions or hundreds of millions of taels of silver a year.According to Huang Laifu’s historical materials collected from his laptop, during the Wanli Period, Daming’s commercial tax revenue included 250 million taels of salt tax, more than 10 taels of tea tax, and 4 taels of city ship tax. The tax is 60 taels, and the business tax is 20 taels. The total amount is only 340 million taels.

At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the annual income of salt, wine, and tea alone was 4752 million guan. Assuming that the Song Dynasty’s consistent money is about equivalent to one tael of silver in the Ming Dynasty, this means that the Song Dynasty’s taxes on these three items It is seventeen times that of the Ming Dynasty!Other commercial tax revenues are not included.The prosperity of business in the late Ming Dynasty must have surpassed that in the late Song Dynasty. Therefore, in the collection of commercial and mining taxes in the Ming Dynasty, there is great potential to be tapped.

However, if this is to be collected, it will involve very complicated things. After all, the current Ming Dynasty is an integration of government and business, and those who conduct business are the family members or servants of officials. Any profitable industry has their figures behind them.Moving the money of those merchants is equivalent to moving the money of hundreds of officials. All the officials are literati and high-level intellectuals. They have the right to speak at this time. It is conceivable that there will be a bloody rain Bloody battle.However, Huang Laifu knew that Emperor Wanli had such courage and boldness. If it were his weak father, Emperor Longqing, Huang Laifu would not have said such words.

Huang Laifu spoke so directly, Emperor Wanli couldn't help coughing lightly, but he admired Huang Laifu's temperament, straight up and down, not hypocritical, and it was all for his own consideration.He nodded and said: "I will think about this matter carefully."
For Emperor Wanli, levy of business tax and mining, etc., are things that must be done, but he still needs more financial resources, preferably some immediate financial resources, and then he changed the subject, saying: "Manager Huang Aiqing Sangong Huangzhuang is going well, I intend to hand over the various imperial shops to Aiqing to manage, what do you think?"

Huang Laifu said: "I thank the emperor for his great kindness, but the Huangdian is not as complicated as Huangzhuang. All kinds of things are complicated. The fathers-in-law who manage the Huangdian are also managing well. I think I am no better than them. Maybe I can make some money. project, and manage it together with the father-in-law.”

Indeed, Huangzhuang itself has the vision and insights of future generations, and can develop uniquely in the same way as a large farm.But in terms of business, Huang Laifu doesn't think he is better than the merchants and eunuchs of Ming Dynasty.In Daming at this time, commerce was prosperous. In Beijing alone, there were more than 130 merchants, whose business scope involved more than [-] industries.In the south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze River, there are countless rich and powerful merchants, and rich merchants with millions or tens of millions can be found everywhere. For example, Tan Jingqing, a great salt merchant, Tu Zongshun, a great jeweler, and Wang Tianjun, a great timber merchant, were all wealthy merchants. representatives.

These big merchants have monopolized many industries, and they have a profound background behind them. Even if Huang Laifu has the support of Emperor Wanli, if he wants to compete with these people, he will not know how to die.In the early Ming Dynasty, there were originally many government-run handicraft workshops distributed in large and medium-sized cities across the country. , copper and iron utensils, various wooden barrels, steamers, charcoal, dragon beds, furniture, crowns, robes, shoes and socks, etc., are all in operation, but by the Wanli period, they had almost closed down.This shows the power of businessmen.

As for the imperial store, it has a bad reputation in history. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, it was said that it "contains all the goods in the world, leaving merchants with no profit." 8 taels of silver, even if the royal ranch, Huangzhuang, and Huangdian are combined, it is only 23 taels of silver per year.It is not as good as Tan Jingqing, a great salt merchant, earned in a year.The profits of the imperial store are far less than those operated by some merchants at this time.

There are also many things in the imperial store, and the interests are entangled.The business items are also monotonous, except for some flower and wine shops, some grocery stores, and some pass taxes, they are gone.After taking charge of the Huangdian, if he wants to develop, he must open new projects. In this way, he will have to compete fiercely with merchants of all sizes in Ming Dynasty. After all, the interests of those industries are occupied by them.I also have to fight with the eunuchs and eunuchs. Many things in the imperial store are managed by them. How to divide the power and benefits at that time, and many eunuchs also have private stores. What about these?Don't worry about it at that time, if you can't make money, it will affect your position in the eyes of Emperor Wanli.

It's better to start some new projects by yourself and cooperate with the eunuchs. This is simpler, and it is easy to form a new monopoly industry. It saves worry and effort, and makes a lot of money.In Huang Laifu's mind, the future glass factory, cement factory, etc. can all cooperate with the royal family. These are things with great development prospects and will definitely generate a lot of money.Huang Laifu can imagine that when glass and cement are mass-produced, common people in Ming Dynasty will use them, and they can also be exported overseas. That is a big market and how much money can be made.

There are also large supermarkets, etc., which can also be set up in the capital. If this kind of large supermarkets were placed in the Han and Tang Dynasties, of course there would be no future, because at that time stores could not be opened casually, and they were all concentrated in a few squares in the city. The concentration of goods is like a big supermarket, but it has great potential for development in Daming.

After listening to Huang Laifu's explanation of the glass factory, cement factory, and large supermarket, Emperor Wanli was also very interested, and urged Huang Laifu to do it quickly.

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In the Ming Dynasty, there were 24 prisons, including the Bureau of Military Warfare, the Bureau of Silver Work, the Bureau of Washing Clothes, the Bureau of Scarves and Hats, the Bureau of Needlework, the Bureau of Inner Weaving and Dyeing, the Bureau of Wine and Vinegar Noodles, and the Bureau of Siyuan, which were controlled by full-time eunuchs. There are many factory warehouses serving the royal family, temples, workshops and other manual production bases. There are bakery workshops, wine workshops, dessert workshops, military workshops, stables, and even book printing and storage.

Most of the things that the royal family needs can be done here, and there is no need to resort to outsiders.

Among the 24 yamen of the Four Divisions, Eight Bureaus and Twelve Supervisors, the Silver Work Bureau is in charge of making gold and silver ornaments, and controls several smelting workshops, including a special smelting glazed place.

In Huang Laifu's plan, the cement factory can be built first. After all, he has mastered the formula and has rich experience in running cement factories in Wuzhaibao and other places.The supermarket is also simple, such matters can be left to Qu Yuanrui.He led a large number of Wuzhaibao businessmen, and after arriving in the capital, he was staring at the capital market.

However, regarding the glass factory and other related matters, I had to discuss with the Banking Bureau. After all, in Daming, they monopolized the production of colored glaze and controlled the relevant technical craftsmen.Also, the related technologies of colored glaze and glass are very different, so I have to let the Banking Bureau do a good job of researching it.

According to what Huang Laifu collected from his laptop, although there are related scientific and technological materials for glass manufacturing, he is powerless without a special smelting craftsman, and he can't even make colored glaze.It is easy to say that making glass requires only raw materials such as quartz sand, soda ash, feldspar, and limestone, and then it can be made under high temperature. As a craftsman in Wuzhaibao, I am afraid that it will not be possible to achieve it in a year or two.

Besides, glass is now called Liuli in Ming Dynasty, and the possession and production of Liuli are exclusive to the royal family. Whoever smelts it privately is tantamount to surpassing.Huang Laifu had to discuss with the Banking Bureau before making glass.

Speaking of which, China has a long history of making glass. It was first recorded in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. During the Warring States period, there was a legend of "Xi Shi's tears", which is also about glass.In Tang Dynasty Yuan Zhen's "Ode to Glass", there is a description that "color is the same as ice, and nothing is separated from dust", but people called it glass at that time.It wasn't until glass from Western countries was introduced into China that the name "glass" came into being.

Especially in the Han Dynasty, the production level of colored glaze was quite mature.However, the smelting technology is in the hands of the royal family and nobles, and has been kept secret.Colored glaze, like apricot yellow and dragon pattern, is exclusively used by the royal family, and there are extremely strict requirements for users. Only the real royal family can use colored glaze products.It is relatively rare among the people, so people at that time regarded colored glaze as even more precious than jade.Even in the Ming Dynasty, due to the war in the early Ming Dynasty, many skills were lost, including colored glaze, but the incomplete glazed craftsmanship was still protected by grades. At this time, colored glaze was already very impermeable, so it was called medicine jade. "Ming Zhi" records: The emperor bestowed the number one scholar with medicine jade as the ornament, and only the fourth rank and above are equipped with it.

Of course, colored glaze is a kind of art and culture because of its flowing and unpredictable colors.The glass that Huang Laifu needs is a commercial and practical item. Although in the strong scholar-bureaucrat culture of Ming Dynasty, transparent glass may not be as valuable as colorful colored glaze, but if it is popularized and glass is installed on the windows of every household, it will be a An unimaginable source of wealth.It would be even more remarkable if a glass mirror could be developed.

With such thoughts in mind, Huang Laifu came to the Banking Bureau of the Inner Mansion. The Banking Bureau has a member of the eunuch with palm seals, and there are managers, bookmakers, book writers, supervisors and other personnel in the Banking Bureau.The palm print eunuch had already obtained the will of Emperor Wanli, so he warmly welcomed Huang Laifu's arrival, and brought Huang Laifu to the Yizhen glass kiln smelter on the outskirts of Beijing. Tens of thousands of boxes, plates, cylinders, altars, and utensils in the shape of clouds and dragons in the color of colored glaze must be fired.

Here, there are hundreds of Jinyiwei households, some guardian officers and soldiers, and many craftsmen. It can be said that the talents who smelted glazed glass in the Ming Dynasty are all here.

As Huang Laifu imagined, thick smoke was billowing in the kilns here, and the faces were covered with smoke and dust, and many craftsmen with gray bodies were coming and going.As soon as he entered the factory, Gu Dadao who was beside Huang Laifu couldn't help but sneezed several times.

Next to the glazed kiln in the factory, Huang Laifu had the honor to watch the colored glaze production process of Daming at this time. Huang Laifu found that the glazed production process at this time was quite complicated. , Firing, fine repairing, and polishing until the work is completed, at least 47 delicate and tedious manual processes are required to complete.

Especially for some high-quality goods, the production is quite time-consuming. Not to mention that one mold can only be fired for one work, and some of them take more than ten to 20 days to make, and they mainly rely on handmade.Among them, it is quite difficult to grasp each link, and the difficulty of grasping the heat can be said to be half by skill and half by luck.

Huang Laifu estimated that the finished product rate is only [-]% if only one item is released.More importantly, colored glaze is not recyclable, unlike gold and silver products, that is to say, once a little problem occurs, it will take ten days and dozens of processes, and the efforts of many people will be wasted immediately.On the contrary, the smelting of glass is much simpler. No wonder the ancient times paid more attention to colored glaze and despised glass.

Of course, Huang Laifu understands the power of practicality, commercialization and civilianization of glass very well.In order to bring light to the dark houses, after the large-scale mass production of glass in the future, everyone will not mind spending some money to decorate their houses.

Since Huang Laifu promised future benefits and talked about the future prospects of the glass factory, the eunuch of the Banking Bureau was also very enthusiastic. Some experienced craftsmen discussed with Huang Laifu about the development of glass.

As for the glass manufacturing technology at this time, according to the data in his laptop, there is some, but Huang Laifu knows that it is far from enough, after all, it is too general.At this time, there is a book in the West that deals specifically with glass manufacturing. The title of the book is "On Glass Technology". The author is Antonio Neri. He is a priest in Florence. Written after the relevant information.It's a pity that Huang Laifu couldn't get this book, so he could only rely on the craftsmen to explore first.

In any case, regardless of whether the glass has been developed or not, the shelves of the glass factory must be erected first. Under Huang Laifu's order and Qu Yuanrui's arrangement, a factory named "Daming Royal Glass Factory" opened in Yizhen Liuli. The kiln and smelting plant was established next to it.

(End of this chapter)