Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

Volume 112: Chapter Chapter : Baby

"Why aren't you talking? Are you mute?"

Chongzhen looked at the officials below with disappointment. Liaodong had always been a major concern of the court. In order to deal with those annoying Jiannu, Chongzhen could be said to be worried to death, even a little blind. Once, someone boasted to him at a banquet that if he was sent to Liaodong, he could make Liaodong peaceful in five years.

The young Chongzhen believed it.

I give you money and people. You want an official position? I want money and food for you, as a military assistant and a supervisor of the outer border troops? I live frugally and wear tattered clothes, but I still want to send money to Liaodong.

But what we got in return was that three years later and three years later, the damn Jian slaves trampled on our Daming land at will, while the damn Yuan Chonghuan did nothing!

How can we relieve the hatred in this kind of person's heart if we don't kill him?

He only cared about the money and food he gave to Yuan Chonghuan to recruit soldiers, but the other party did not achieve any results. He also did not consider that he only allocated 200,000 yuan, and how much would be left in Yuan Chonghuan's hands.

Chongzhen was in a very difficult situation because he had to save his money bit by bit by cutting down on his own food and clothing expenses. He didn't understand why the court seemed to have run out of money all of a sudden.

It's very simple. He killed the people who were most capable of making money. Not only did he kill Wei Zhongxian, but in order to fulfill his political promises to the Donglin people before he ascended the throne, he also specifically abolished the industrial and commercial taxes set up by the eunuch party.

As we all know, in the tax system, industrial and commercial taxes are the biggest of the big ones. How much can you get out of the poor? How much can personal income tax account for?

However, as long as there is commercial activity, there will be a steady stream of tax revenue from industrial and commercial taxes. If this tax is cut off, the rats will get fatter and the country will get thinner.

Seeing that the officials below were still practicing the silent meditation, Chongzhen became anxious: "My great Ming Dynasty, by supporting a bunch of you, is it just supporting a bunch of parasites? With the enemy at the door, none of the officials can come up with a countermeasure. Are all the people in the court a bunch of pigs?"

The ministers lowered their heads and silently endured Chongzhen's temper. As for the new emperor, everyone knew clearly in their hearts that he was a complete idiot. Under his leadership, whether one was capable or not did not depend on one's own abilities but on whether one could please him. He worked diligently every day but no one knew what he was busy with. The ministers made their own money and watched Chongzhen perform on the stage, with their hearts full of: Ah, yes, yes, yes.

But it was not good to see the emperor getting angry, so Yang Sichang, the then assistant minister, walked out of the formation slowly and bowed deeply to the stage: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Jiannu are coming so aggressively because the situation in Liaodong is also terrible. The weather is abnormal today, which is rare in a thousand years. The area outside the Great Wall is originally a very cold place, and the losses are even more severe after this incident. That's why they are so eager to use troops against our Ming Dynasty. As long as we grasp this point, there is a way to defeat the Jiannu."

"Oh? What do you think, my dear?"

Finally someone came to support him. Chongzhen was overjoyed and asked hurriedly, "What happened? Just now he was calling the other person a pig, but in the blink of an eye he turned into your beloved minister." The ministers rolled their eyes silently in their hearts.

"Your Majesty, now that we have figured out the reason why they sent troops, their purpose is also easy to understand. The Jiannu are barbaric, just a group of savages who do not produce anything and only know how to plunder. This time, they must be coming for the rich land of the Ming Dynasty. In my opinion, I am afraid that their purpose is for the land of Shandong."

Nonsense, aren't they heading for Shandong? It's clearly written in the military newspaper. Everyone watched the old man analyze and make a series of operations. It was like listening to his words.

On the contrary, Chongzhen listened very seriously: "My dear, please continue."

"Ah... this... Since we already know the other party's purpose, then, with the eager mind of the Jiannu, they will definitely not waste too much time on the road. The army passes through the border, and the people and horses will waste a lot of money. I conclude that the Jiannu will go straight to Shandong. Then, according to the opponent's route, Dezhou is a place that the Jiannu must pass through. Your Majesty only needs to issue an imperial decree to order the Shandong Governor Yan Jizu to lead the troops to guard this place and wait for the enemy to tire. The Jiannu are good at field battles but not good at sieges, and they will definitely be defeated in Dezhou. This crisis can be resolved."

Yang Sichang slowly stroked his long beard and felt as if he were Zhuge Liang again.

"Great, great!"

Chongzhen's eyes lit up when he heard this. There was no need to mobilize troops from other places. He only needed to ambush at the key roads and station soldiers to give the Jiannu a head-on blow. Is there any more cost-effective method than this? Shi Shufu is truly a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty!

"Draft my imperial edict! The Jiannu are despicable and unproductive. In times of crisis, they came south to plunder the people of our Ming Dynasty. In times of crisis, I order Yang Jizu, the governor of Shandong, to lead his troops to guard Dezhou, wait for them to tire, and severely defeat the Jiannu to boost the morale of our Ming army!"

After finally solving the matter, Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne feeling a little tired. Looking at the numerous reports on the case, such as rebels causing trouble in various places, rampant banditry in the northwest, heavy snow in the south of the Yangtze River, and snow three feet high in northern Zhili, he felt powerless in his heart.

He didn't understand what was going on and why the Ming Dynasty was so difficult to govern.

So, you all know clearly what the consequences will be when a fool becomes emperor. Let’s turn our attention back to our protagonist.

"Brother Jiang, is there something you want me to do?"

Wang Dang looked at Jiang Han who was excited beside him and felt a little puzzled. Earlier, this close friend had excitedly sent someone to find him and said that he wanted to show him something good, but now he was being mysterious again.

"Hey, didn't I tell you before that I'd show you a good treasure? This is a good thing."

"What kind of treasure is it that even Brother Jiang is so excited about it?"

After spending some time together, Wang Dang got to know Jiang Han a little better. Brother Jiang was a rather casual person, and he also didn't have much interest in romantic matters.

Drinking tea is like a cow chewing a peony, just for the taste. Looking at a painting, one cannot understand the meaning. After a long time, he uttered "awesome". When asked what it meant, he said it means good. Now, Wang Dang has also learned this word.

Brother Jiang was very interested in calligraphy, paintings, and collectibles, but his eyesight was not very good. He could not tell the good from the bad, the inferior products and the fakes, which made Wang Dang quite amused.

I don’t know what good things I saw this time.

"Well, you'll know once you enter the house and feel it."

This person is his future cash cow, so he must entertain him clearly no matter what. Jiang Han had a request this time, and the smile on his face was much more sincere.

Elbow! Follow me into the house!

When I opened the door of the main house, I found there was a thick curtain inside. When I lifted the curtain, a wave of hot air hit me in the face.

"This"

Wang Dang was a little surprised. Jiang Han behind him had already pushed people into the house: "Come in quickly, come in quickly, before all the heat escapes."

Entering the house, it was even more different. Wang Dang felt as if he had stepped from winter into spring just through the door. The snowflakes on his shoulders and head melted on the spot and turned into water droplets hanging on his clothes. Inside the house, Jiang Han's various humanoids were also doing their own things. The New Year was coming soon, and Jiang Han wanted to put down what he was doing for a while and spend some time with his humanoids.

"How is it? Is it different in here?"

Jiang Han said to Wang Dang with some pride.

"This is so magical. Oh no! Brother Jiang must have lit a charcoal stove at home! Quick, open the door to ventilate. The charcoal stove is warm, but the poisonous gas is very strong. If you are not careful, your life will be in danger!"

Wang Dang said hurriedly and was about to turn around to open the door. This gas poisoning is no joke. Many people light the charcoal stove at home and forget to open the door for ventilation. They fall into a deep sleep and never wake up again. How could Brother Jiang make such a mistake?

"Hey, why are you in such a hurry? Look at my room, where is the stove?"

Jiang Han quickly grabbed Wang Dang who wanted to open the door.

"Huh? Really not? Brother Jiang, don't keep me in suspense. What on earth is going on?"

Wang Dang looked around and really didn't see any stove. There were only two strange objects standing on both sides of the house. The main house of Jiang Han's yard was very large, and one stove could not fully heat the entire house. Jiang Han simply installed two, one on the left and one on the right, which was very convenient.

"Okay, okay, now you've seen it. The treasure I want to introduce to you is this."

Is this really the thing? Wang Dang now carefully observed the thing in front of him. It was made of iron and looked quite strange. A silver-white tube stood up high and turned at the top, leading to the outside world. As soon as he approached it, he could feel the heat radiating from it, which made him feel warm all over. He couldn't help but want to stay beside it for a while.

"You must be freezing outside. Come, take off your coat and warm yourself over there. Let's sit on the side of the road and chat slowly, ma'am!"

At once, four of the five humanoids turned around and looked at Jiang Han.

"Um... Madam, pour me a cup of tea, and one for my little brother too."

Picking up the kettle, M4 slowly poured two cups of tea. He handed the cups to the two people and said, "Enjoy your time."

Holding the hot teacup in their hands, Jiang Han and Wang Dang smiled sweetly: "Thank you, madam/sister-in-law"

M4's face turned slightly red, he gave Jiang Han a blank look, lowered his head and left.

Jiang Han looked at Wang Dang with satisfaction and said, “Young man, you have a bright future ahead of you!”

After blowing away the hot air and taking a sip of hot tea, he felt warm all over. Jiang Han then slowly said to Wang Dang, "This thing is called a smokeless stove. As the name suggests, it is a stove, but it eliminates the poisonous smoke through some tricks, so people can rest assured and enjoy the warmth by the fire indoors without worrying about being harmed by the poisonous smoke."

"Actually, there is such a thing!!"

Wang Dang opened his eyes wide. The biggest problem with charcoal fire and coal has always been the smoke.

Not to mention the coal smoke, it is extremely choking, and no one can stand the black smoke, so people can only burn charcoal to keep warm in their homes. But they can't afford it, so they burn charcoal. Charcoal also produces smoke, but you can't see it. As mentioned before, if you don't open the windows for ventilation, the heat will be taken away in minutes. So, everyone can only sit by the fire while blowing the cold wind, and most of the heat is taken away. They have no choice but to stay in bed and do nothing.

Now, Jiang Han told him that there was a stove that could eliminate the poisonous smoke. What a great improvement! This meant that there were so many more things that people could do at home. How could he not be surprised?

"Brother Wang, is it reliable?"

"Don't worry, look"

Jiang Han patted Wang Dang's hand, signaling him to be patient, and pointed to the tall chimney and said, "This thing is called a chimney. It is connected to the coal stove. The boiler is placed on the coal stove to block the smoke outlet. All the smoke can only go up along the chimney and then float outside, just like Dayu's flood control, combining dredging and blocking."

Wang Dang's eyes followed Jiang Han's finger and drifted around before he came back to his senses: "So that's how it is, wonderful, wonderful!"

For many things, you just can't think of them clearly. As long as you can figure them out, they will become very simple. But this layer of window paper can deceive people for years.

It is not difficult for those who know how to do it.

"Do you think this is the end? This stove is not that simple."

"What other surprises are there, Brother Jiang? Tell me all of them quickly."

Jiang Han smiled with satisfaction. Oh, this feeling of keeping people in suspense is really great.

"Let's see"

Picking up the pliers on the side, Jiang Han took out a honeycomb briquet from the wooden box.

"This is?"

"This is the latest honeycomb coal I have developed. It uses coal as the raw material. After my improvement, it has become the current structure. It has the characteristics of strong combustion stability, long-lasting heat generation, environmental protection and durability. I put two pieces of honeycomb coal in my stove this morning, and they are still generating stable heat now."

"This this...."

Wang Dang didn’t know what to say. He looked at Jiang Han as if he was looking at a rare treasure.

Things like this are of great significance. Fewer resources and more heat means that people can save more money and no longer have to spend all their wealth on heating.

Heating has always been a difficult problem for the people. In winter, people who died of freezing were everywhere. Even if there were few people who died of freezing in a certain place, it could be publicized as a merit! This shows how frequent it was for people to die of freezing in ancient times.

Every winter, every family has a sad face, because everything is bleak in winter, and there is no land to plant. Flower growers who cannot farm are like losing their souls. Not only can they not produce, but the harsh winter environment will also continue to consume human resources. They have to constantly make fires to keep warm in order to maintain their body temperature.

Such huge consumption is a big burden for every family. What's more, in this day and age, there is not much to eat, let alone having extra money to buy charcoal.

Coal is much cheaper, but it produces too much smoke, so it can only be used as a second choice. Now, we have smokeless stoves and this magical honeycomb coal. If what Brother Jiang said is true, then the people of the Ming Dynasty will no longer be afraid of the cold winter!

This is truly a treasure!

"Brother Jiang, I wonder if this thing can be mass-produced?"

After the excitement, Wang Dang still thought of the reality. Can these things be widely popularized? What if the process required is quite complicated? Wouldn't it only be available to the rich and powerful?

He hated the fact that the rich lived in luxury while others froze to death on the streets.

"Well, mass production is not a problem. My farm has already started large-scale production, and it is expected that a batch will be produced during the Chinese New Year. However, priority must be given to the people in the farm. I am not the type to make the mulberry pickers wear rags."

“Can it be mass-produced?”

"Yes, the main reason I called you here this time is to discuss with you how to sell this smokeless stove and honeycomb coal. My idea is, Comrade Wang, your family background is not simple, and we can all see this. So, I want to give you a part of the shares, and then I will produce the products and you will provide the channels, and help me introduce this thing to all the rich and high-ranking officials in your class that I can know."

“Why introduce them?”

Wang Dang was somewhat reluctant. Such a good thing should of course be given to the people first. After the previous incidents, Wang Dang had a strong resistance to these high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen.

"Are you stupid? How can we cheat the people? Aren't these rich people and high-ranking officials rich? Who else can we cheat if not them? I can sell a furnace from them for tens or hundreds of taels, and that will give me money to build furnaces for the people, right?"

Yes, these high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen have so much money, they should make good use of their money and then give back to the people. Why didn’t I think of it!

Volume 113: Chapter : How to cheat money?

"What do you think, Brother Jiang?"

Speaking of trying to cheat people out of money, Wang Dang felt that this issue needed to be discussed carefully. After all, rich people may be rich, but they are not fools. The things you sell are the same as those you sell to ordinary people. Why should you charge me more money?

At worst, I won't buy your products and just buy them from ordinary people, right?

"Of course there are. I divide the stove into the Enjoyment Edition, Light Luxury Edition, and Supreme Edition, and the prices are 18,188,1888, , and respectively."

Are you kidding me? How could Jiang Han not understand how to cheat people out of money? As a leek who was beaten up by various manufacturers in the future, he understood it too well. He understood it completely.

"What are the differences between these three categories?"

"There are three categories and three different pricing. The ordinary Enjoyment Edition is the most common iron stove. It is simple in workmanship, strong and durable, and is most suitable for sale among the people. Above this, some poor families and scholars with a little money can choose the Light Luxury Edition, which is my style. Compared with the ordinary mass-produced model, it is purely handmade, with a variety of patterns to choose from, and the materials are better and safer, showing extraordinary taste."

"What about...what about the Supreme Edition?"

The young Wang Dang was stunned by Jiang Han's combo.

"The Supreme Edition is different. We have to hire a special master to customize the pattern and style. It has to highlight its nobility. The color has to be top-notch to match its status. It has to be limited to the whole country. When you put it in your home, it looks so grand and is a symbol of your status. It's not a problem to sell it for 1888."

“…Will they really buy it?”

Wang Dang expressed his concern about this. If it is sold at such a high price just because of a name, will anyone really buy it?

"It seems that little brother, your understanding of these high-ranking officials and wealthy people is not deep enough."

"These people are extremely wealthy and hold high positions. What do they want? They enjoy all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, and all kinds of luxury. At this time, simply good things can no longer impress them. They begin to pursue something more advanced, called a sense of identity."

"Identity...a sense of identity?"

Brother Jiang is saying these new words again, which seem understandable yet completely incomprehensible.

"Yes, as the saying goes, if you don't return to your hometown when you are rich, it is like walking in the night in fine clothes. What these people need is something that can give them a sense of identity that makes them feel superior to others. Where can they get this thing from? Naturally, it comes from things that ordinary people can never get, such as the animal patterns on the government offices, the different colors of clothes brought by different ranks, the different specifications of sedan chairs when going out, higher thresholds than others, and so on..."

"So, when these people shop, they don't look at how expensive something is, but whether it can highlight their own extraordinary qualities. If you set the price of something cheap so that ordinary people can afford it, they won't buy it! A stove is a basic need for every family, and everyone has it. So you can't buy what I have when everyone has it."

Wang Dang could only stare at Jiang Han blankly. What you said makes so much sense that I can’t refute it.

Patting Wang Dang on the shoulder, he said: "Brother, learn how to cut. This is life experience."

"Let's put aside the coal stove issue for now. Now, I have something else to show you."