Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

With so many children, building houses requires money, hiring workers requires money, burning bricks, cutting wood requires money, and hiring teachers is a huge expense. Where does all this money come from? I don’t know which mine owner this Brother Mu is who is so rich. Wang Dang is really jealous.

"Wouldn't that be very expensive? If it's not well managed, it won't last long, right?"

Yan Bo also raised a question. In his opinion, this is a bottomless pit. Even if you are rich, it is not a problem to use it in this way, right?

"Hahaha, this, if you have time, come and take a look, you will know it at a glance!"

Volume 73: Chapter Chapter : Chatting on the Road

"Then Commander, I will leave first."

After leaving the city, NTW breathed a sigh of relief. Life in the wild was so good, just like being home, and she couldn't wait to start hunting.

"Okay, be safe when you go out, keep in touch, I will follow up closely on the specific situation."

Jiang Han nodded, wanting to give a few more instructions.

"Roger that!"

NTW's heart had already flown to the mountains and forests dozens of miles away. How could she listen to what Jiang Han said? She immediately mounted her horse and rushed out. The horse, which was 1.4 meters tall at the shoulders, was like a donkey under her crotch and disappeared in a flash.

"This is...?"

Wang Dang was a little puzzled. Why did the people run away as soon as they left the city?

"Oh, my wife has loved hunting since she was little. She plays with guns and clubs on weekdays. These two days, she insisted on going out to hunt a wolf. I had no choice but to agree."

Jiang Han made up a lie to cover it up. He couldn't just say that she went out to kill two people and would be back soon. That would be too scary.

"Ah... Your Excellency is really unconventional, hahaha..."

NTW was not too worried about Jiang Han's safety. With the SOP around, he believed that no one could threaten Jiang Han in the slightest.

"I didn't expect that just after entering the city, it would come out again."

Yan Bo teased: "Master, this time we have to take a car no matter what. If we walk any further, my old bones will really fall apart."

"I know, I know... Yan Bo, please don't say anything."

Wang Dang felt a little embarrassed in front of outsiders.

Looking at Jiang Han's curious eyes, Wang Dang could only repeat what had happened before.

"Hahahaha, so that's how it is. You are wrong. The old man is very old and really needs more care. Even capitalists would cry if they saw you ordering an old man around like this."

Jiang Han laughed when he heard this. This young man is quite interesting. He is really talented to take an old man to run a marathon.

"What is a capitalist?"

Wang Dang heard a new term again.

"That's what the West says. Countries like Portugal and the Reds are full of capitalists. You can think of them as big businessmen like the salt merchants in Yangzhou. These people only care about money and nothing else. They occupy a place and control a lot of resources. The lower-class people are exploited by them and all their value is taken away. The so-called appointment is just a tool to make money."

"Brother, have you been to Portugal? According to what you said, doesn't it mean that there are also a large number of these capitalists in the Ming Dynasty?"

"Not only are there some, but there are a lot of them. These people are hiding in the court and lurking around us. If I encounter them, I will hang them all on the street lamps!"

"Street lamp? What is this?"

"It is also a Western lighting facility, set up on the roadside. Once the electricity is turned on at night, the lights are bright and the whole city is as bright as day."

Jiang Han was just making up a story. In fact, the first white woven lamp was not invented until 1879. It was still a long time ago.

"The West actually has such magical things, so doesn't that mean it is extremely developed? Brother Mu, have you been to the West?"

"I guess I've been there before. I went there when I was in school."

"I heard from my elders that the people over there are mostly barbarians, vulgar and unreasonable. But what you said is completely different, brother?"

Wang Dang was very confused by the different opinions of the two on the West, and asked again. Jiang Han curled his lips and said disdainfully:

"Of course it's different. That's all old news. Ever since the British invented the loom, they started the Industrial Revolution a long time ago. All kinds of industries have been developed all over the country, and the productivity of the whole society has made great progress. But you can't say that your impression of them is completely wrong. They are a nation of robbers, vulgar and rude. If they don't have something, they will grab it and say it's theirs. They will also whitewash it and make up some unfounded origins to try to cover up their barbaric nature. It's like a group of gorillas wearing formal clothes. They look well-dressed, but inside, they are just beasts."

“Hahahahaha, Brother Mu Zhi’s words are quite interesting. The term ‘beast in human clothing’ can actually be used here, and it has a completely different meaning!”

In ancient times, "a beast in human clothing" is actually a compliment, because ancient clothes cannot be worn casually, and there are rules for what kind of flowers to embroider on clothes. Generally speaking, officials' clothes would be embroidered with different bird and animal patterns to indicate their identity and official position according to their different ranks. Wishing you to be a beast in human clothing is like a beautiful blessing that you will become a high-ranking official in the future. However, in modern times, it has become a derogatory term as the literal meaning is understood.

"According to what Brother Mu said, developing industry is actually a way to strengthen a country?"

"It's natural. With the development of industry and the improvement of productivity, labor can be liberated. Just like a loom, how many pieces of cloth can one person weave in a day? But if you give it to a machine, it can produce much more cloth than manual labor without any training. In this way, if the output of cloth keeps up, will people still have no clothes to wear?"

"But what will happen to these workers after they are liberated? They have no special skills and can only weave. If all the work is done by machines, what will these people eat? Just like the Qinhuai River, it is the livelihood of millions of canal workers. No matter how much the court wants to move, it cannot. This will shake the country!"

Yan Bo on the side expressed a different opinion.

"Machines are not omnipotent. They still need people to operate them. Leave some people to operate the looms, assign a group of people to cut, and assign some people to dye. In this way, the personnel remain the same, but the work efficiency is greatly improved. Moreover, the looms have liberated such a group of people, so what about other industries? Will there be people to build roads? Will there be people to build houses? Thinking cannot be fixed. If you want to make progress, you must look further than others."

Jiang Han was not annoyed and put forward the assembly line theory of later generations. He said, "You're kidding. My knowledge is hundreds of years ahead of yours. Do you think you can refute it?"

“How could it be like this… How could it be like this…?”

Wang Dang and Yan Bo talked about it and felt that the idea was becoming more and more feasible.

The Ming Dynasty was actually quite compatible. People of the Ming Dynasty would use whatever they thought was useful, and naturally the industry developed quite prosperously. The emergence of the Carpenter Emperor is very telling. Although there were not many normal people among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, some were carpenters, some were cultivators, and some were just lazy people, it also shows that the Ming Dynasty was quite open and inclusive. It was not like the Qing Dynasty, which regarded all those "strange skills and tricks" as evil, which would affect people's progress and must be shut down, otherwise they would poison the future of the motherland.

In the environment of the Ming Dynasty, there is actually a lot of room for industrial development. Jiang Han doesn't mind talking more to others. After all, it is a good thing to find like-minded companions. It doesn't matter if you can't find any. It's just a matter of a few words. Jiang Han will certainly try to trick people over to his side.

“Hey, here we are.”

Twenty miles is not a long distance. We arrived at the destination quickly by carriage.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Jiang Han jumped down and stretched his waist: "Oh, I finally got down. My butt was hurt."

"Master!"

"Master, I wish you good health!"

"Master! Hail to you, have you eaten?"

When they saw Jiang Han coming, the people who were working in the village put down their work and ran up to ask questions, and the scene instantly turned into a fan meeting.

"Hello, hello, it's ok, just go do your thing, I just came to take a look"

Jiang Han waved his hands, greeted and greeted the workers who came to join in the fun.

"Alright, alright, go back to your work. Be careful while you work and don't get hurt."

"Okay, boss, we're all paying attention!"

"Boss, I just cooked some eggs at home, would you like to have two?"

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse, the boss has told us to be careful and not to get into trouble while working!"

Several foremen arrived in time and dismissed these fanatical fans, allowing Jiang Han to enjoy a moment of peace and quiet.

"Come on, guys. I'll show you around my farm."

Wang Dang stood aside, his face full of envy. When could he, as a parent official, be so loved by the people? It would be worth it to be a ghost.

Volume 74: Chapter Chapter : Call Me Master

"Brother Mu, can I call you that?"

"Ah? Oh, of course."

"Brother Mu, why do you want to recruit so many people? If you just want to expand and renovate the manor, the number of people you have recruited should be far more than enough. It seems like you are in a hurry to finish the work?"

Wang Dang looked around and saw that the whole village was filled with people, some were digging ditches, some were building roads, some were building houses, some were running around transporting things. It was so lively that it was a little outrageous.

"This question... may be difficult to explain. Let me ask you a question. What is your view on wealth, brother Wang? What is your wealth?"

Faced with the question, Jiang Han did not give a direct answer, but instead asked a question.

"Hey? Are you asking me? As for wealth, it should be... money, food, silk, and land, right?"

Wang Dang was a little confused, but he still gave an honest answer.

"Well, that's a very conventional answer. In today's small peasant economy, these things are indeed what basically represent the word wealth."

Wang Dang felt very happy to hear the compliment, but soon Jiang Han changed his tone: "But, in my understanding, wealth is another thing."

"Oh? You haven't asked yet?"

What else could represent wealth? Wang Dang became curious.

"Let me put it this way. I bought a bag of cotton. How much is it worth?"

Wang Dang was confused now. He had never bought cotton before and didn't know the market price.

"No more than a hundred coins"

Yan Bo came to the rescue in time.

"Then if I buy this cotton and make cotton clothes, how much is it worth?"

“Almost one or two”

"Look, when the cotton comes into my hands and is made into cotton clothes, the price increases several times. Where is the value reflected in this?"

"Is it... processed by the workshop? The value of the product?"

Wang Dang vaguely sensed the problem.

"That's right!"

Jiang Han snapped his fingers.

"It is precisely because of the value of the workers who helped me process the cotton that the price of cotton clothes increased several times. The value is produced by labor, which is my understanding of wealth, that is, labor equals value."

“There is actually such a saying…”

Wang Dang felt that a new door was opening in front of him: "So, as long as I have enough labor, I have a lot of production value in my hands to process."

"Initially, these people will be used to comprehensively upgrade my village. After that, they will be the first batch of employees of my new industry. With just a little training, they will be able to start earning a lot of resources."

"Brother Jiang is really talented. Your words have enlightened me. But why is it that such a simple principle has not been adopted before?"

“Because of lack of productivity”

"productive forces?"

"Yes, we have always been based on a small-scale peasant economy and a self-sufficient model. This model is relatively stable, but the productivity is quite low. Under such productivity, even if there are more laborers, the efficiency of the means of production will naturally not be improved. Such efficiency cannot even keep up with the consumption brought by the labor force, so naturally no one will do this. But I am different. I have mastered the key to industrialization."

“Different production relations can only be established when productivity keeps up.”

"Brother Jiang is indeed a man of talent. Your words have enlightened me!"

Wang Dang seemed to understand, but also seemed not to understand.

In fact, Jiang Han hid a part of his real reason here, that is, the Qing people in the north will soon enter the pass again. This time, the battle will start from March and last all the way to July. The entire northern Zhili fell, and they even fought all the way to southern Zhili. Such a huge catastrophe will inevitably bring about countless deaths, and war is inevitable. Jiang Han just wanted to preserve more strength and save more lives. Now, every moment, he is racing against time.

But this worry cannot be shared with outsiders. After all, how can you explain that you knew the time and scale of the Qing Dynasty's attack? If you can't explain it clearly, you will be arrested as a spy.

Walking past the construction site, Jiang Han led the two of them to a courtyard with a large playground.

"At present, there are not too many children of these workers, so this scale can basically accommodate them. Once the business is well established in the future, I am afraid we will have to expand again."

Jiang Han introduced the two people as he walked. As soon as he entered the yard, a bunch of children ran out: "Boss!!"

“Hello, boss!!”

"Uncle Dong!!"

Surrounded by a group of little rascals, Jiang Han nodded with a smile and waved his hand for silence.

The little ones are very obedient. It would be more accurate to say that there are very few children at this age who are disobedient. In order to survive, they are forced to be very sensible.

"This is a school. We don't need to follow the rules outside. It doesn't matter what you call me outside, but here, just call me Master, okay?"

Who doesn't have a dream of becoming a teacher? Before seriously interacting with children, almost everyone has a habit of being a teacher. Influencing others through oneself is something that should be taken with pride and satisfaction.

"Not only you guys call me that, when you go back, you can also tell your parents and ask them to call me that too, got it?"

Changing the name was also a way for Jiang Han to avoid isolating himself from these people. If he wanted to go down that path, he would first have to become two classes from the people, which was not feasible. So, he came to be a teacher for these children. On the one hand, there was really no one in the school who could be a teacher, and on the other hand, he wanted to make some attempts with these children.

"Brother Jiang can actually teach?"

"Haha, I've never been a teacher. I just taught these kids how to read and how to be a good person. As for the imperial examination, I can't teach them."

"Brother Jiang is too modest"

Wang Dang did not think so: "With Brother Jiang's talent, if he were in the same class as me, I'm afraid no one could surpass you in this area of ​​policy."

Although they had only had a brief encounter, Jiang Han's way of thinking and the breadth of his theories had greatly inspired and shocked Wang Dang. How could such a person remain unknown? He was a little confused.