Chapter 287 Preventing the Opening of a New Weaving Bureau
Zhu Houzhao asked Luo Xiang to take the first batch of steam spinning machine equipment to Songjiang Prefecture, which was the most developed area of the empire's textile industry and the area with the highest cotton planting density.
However, with the rise of overseas trade in recent years, the demand for cotton yarn and raw silk has increased significantly, causing most of the farmland in Songjiang Prefecture and other areas to be used to grow cotton and other cash crops.
But this has also caused the prices of cash crops to continue to fall. After all, with the use of chemical fertilizers and advancements in farming technology, the total demand for global trade has not increased rapidly, which has caused the income of people in Jiangnan to be affected, and even There has been a downward trend.
The arrival of steam spinning machines will undoubtedly increase the demand for cotton, and the increase in demand will naturally lead to an increase in cotton purchase prices, thereby increasing people's income.
Moreover, according to Zhu Houzhao's plan, after Luo Xiang came to Songjiang Prefecture, he should immediately open a government-run weaving bureau.
Zhu Houzhao has abolished the craftsmanship system, and the business model of the Weaving Bureau has changed from free service of official craftsmen of the Weaving Bureau to employment-based service.
This also avoids the phenomenon of workers in the Weaving Bureau escaping from work, allowing the production of the Weaving Bureau to continue.
However, due to the backward production methods of the weaving bureaus, the large number of workers taking on private jobs and the backward management methods, the profits of the weaving bureaus in Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and other places have not kept up with those of private textile workshops.
Now, Luo Xiang is going to re-open the government-owned weaving bureau and prepare to change the low-profit situation of the government-owned weaving bureau.
Of course, the reason why Zhu Houzhao did not let Luo Xiang directly transform the old weaving bureau but went directly to Songjiang to open a new weaving bureau was naturally very simple. It was that it was difficult to transform the original weaving bureau. There are many eunuchs and government workers who eat, and many generations of family members, including fathers, sons, and even grandparents, are working in the weaving bureau.
If Zhu Houzhao wants Luo Xiang to make changes rashly, it will only make a large number of government workers who rely on the original weaving bureau unemployed.
Therefore, it is undoubtedly a better way for Zhu Houzhao to ask Luo Xiang to reopen the weaving bureau.
Sometimes, the empire is too big and has too many stubborn diseases, and taking drastic measures will be counterproductive.
However, Zhu Houzhao sent Luo Xiang to Songjiang to open a weaving bureau. At this time, the Jiangnan gentry also knew about it.
“If the inner court wants to open an additional weaving bureau in Songjiang, it will forcefully lower the purchase price of cotton, which may not harm farmers!”
When Xu Jie, who was born in a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River, went to Beijing to take the exam, he couldn't help but sigh when he saw the news published in the "Jingshi Xinbao" that Luo Xiang was ordered to go south to open more weaving bureaus.
It's not just Xu Jie who thinks so, many gentry in Jiangnan think so, and the local gentry in Jiangnan have begun to use public opinion to publicize the matter to let the people know about it.
Jiangnan has a high urbanization rate and a high level of education, so it is not as difficult for farmers in other areas to organize themselves into a force against the government.
Therefore, under the influence of public opinion and organization of the gentry, before Luo Xiang brought the steam engine equipment to Songjiang Prefecture, the people in Jiangnan had already exploded. They all gathered in front of the prefect's Yamen to petition, asking Xiong Bao, the chief official of Songjiang Prefecture, to administer justice. Prevent Luo Xiang from opening a new weaving bureau in Songjiang Prefecture.
"Sir, you can't ignore this matter. Songjiang Prefecture is famous all over the world, and the people in the mansion are engaged in cotton cultivation and mulberry picking. Now if the imperial court really wants to open a weaving bureau in Songjiang Prefecture, it will definitely rely on its power to lower the purchase price of cotton and raw silk. By then, we, the people of Songjiang Prefecture, will not be able to survive! We are afraid of triggering a civil uprising!”
At this time, the gentry of Songjiang Prefecture had already expressed their concerns to Xiong Ban about the imperial official Luo Xiang coming to Songjiang Prefecture to open a weaving bureau.
Xiong Bin also knew that there were many eunuchs who were able to take advantage of the situation. Once they really wanted to lower the price of cotton and raw silk for the people, even the government would not be able to do anything about it. After all, it was the inner court.
Of course, Xiong Yan also knew that these gentry were so concerned about begging him to stop Luo Xiang from coming to Jiangnan to open a weaving bureau. The reason was not that the interests of the people would be damaged, but because if the eunuch Luo Xiang really wanted to lower the purchase price of cotton and raw silk, By exporting at a lower price, more foreign markets will be occupied by then, and the interests of the Songjiang Prefecture gentry who began to conduct open sea trade after the opening of the sea will definitely suffer.
But in any case, the common people will definitely suffer the most serious damage. After all, the prices of cotton and mulberry leaves have continued to fall, and the profit margins of the common people have shrunk extremely. If the eunuch Luo Xiang really wants to forcibly increase the prices of cotton and raw silk again after coming to Songjiang Mansion, If it is suppressed, the people of Songjiang Mansion will really have no way to survive.
What's more, Xiong Yan has now seen this kind of public resentment, and there are already people kneeling outside his government office.
In this era, the people of Ming Dynasty are still accustomed to kneeling down to ask the government to give them a way to survive, but this can be regarded as the last compromise and trust. As the chief official of Songjiang Mansion, if Xiong Bin does not listen to public opinion, the next step will be leading to riots.
"Public opinion cannot be violated! I will give an explanation to the people of Songjiang Prefecture!"
Xiong Bin resolutely put on his official uniform, rode a horse to the door of the mansion, and shouted loudly: "Fellow villagers! I have understood your wishes. You all should get up. I will stop the emperor for you now." Unless they step over the horse supervisor’s body, they will never come to Songjiang Mansion to open a weaving bureau!”
When the scholars and people of Songjiang Prefecture saw the promise made by the prefect Xiong Fen, they all became happy and shouted: "Thank you, Mr. Qingtian!"
Immediately, these soldiers and people made way.
Xiong Yan left Songjiang Fucheng and prepared to intercept Luo Xiang on the official road.
Luo Xiang had just passed through Shanghai County when he was blocked by the soldiers and people from Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture. A group of people just shouted: "No weaving bureau allowed! No weaving bureau allowed!"
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There were even many people holding sickles and hoes and sticks, and they were all angrily threatening to beat Luo Xiang and the relevant personnel behind him to the Weaving Bureau if Luo Xiang took another step forward.
Luo Xiang was also very angry when he saw this scene: "What are these people going to do! They say that Jiangnan is a gentle and wealthy land, why are these people acting like unruly people! What do they want to do, do they want to resist the decree?! The purpose of opening a weaving bureau is How can it be that they have the final say in His Majesty’s will?”
However, Luo Xiang did not lead troops when he came to Jiangnan this time, and could only return to Suzhou temporarily. He also sent an official letter to Xiong Pai, who also held the post of military preparation, asking Xiong Pai to send troops to maintain public order.
At the same time, Luo Xiang also secretly reported to Zhu Houzhao back to Beijing, saying that the people in Jiangnan were tough and tough, and he intercepted the imperial officials without any reason.
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However, before Luo Xiang's secret message arrived in the capital, Zhu Houzhao did not know that when his first batch of steam engine equipment was shipped to Songjiang Prefecture to be used in actual production by opening a new weaving bureau, it would be used by the entire Songjiang Prefecture. The scholars and the people resisted.
The reason for the boycott was not that the steam engine would squeeze the foreign market share of their gentry private textile workshops, but that the corruption of the eunuchs would shrink the profit margins of the people of Songjiang Prefecture.
It was because Zhu Houzhao considered the interests of the people that he did not rush to directly transform the old weaving bureau, but he did not expect that even if he sent people to open a new weaving bureau, it would lead to dissatisfaction among the people.
First of all, Zhu Houzhao originally believed that the application of steam engines in the textile industry would only bring benefits to the people who grow cotton and pick mulberry, because after the application of steam engines in the textile industry, the scale of the textile industry would definitely expand, and the use of raw materials such as cotton would The demand will definitely increase, which will solve the problem of raw material market saturation.
The revolution of the steam engine in the textile industry really damaged the local textile industries in foreign countries such as the Philippines and Japan.
Because their textile productivity will be an era behind the Ming Dynasty, and they will be inferior to the Ming Dynasty in terms of quality and price.
By then, it will not be a problem for the Ming Dynasty's textiles to dominate the world. Furthermore, it will not be a problem for the people who grow cotton in the Ming Dynasty to monopolize the entire global cotton market.
But what Zhu Houzhao did not consider was that the interests of the gentry were affected. Once the government-owned Weaving Bureau intervened in the textile market, it would naturally mean that part of the profits from the textile market would be transferred from the hands of the gentry to the government-owned Weaving Bureau. .
However, the corruption of the eunuchs gave the gentry an opportunity to shift the conflict. They did not directly object to the imperial court coming to Songjiang Prefecture to open a weaving bureau because they were worried that their profit margins would shrink. Instead, they said that once the eunuchs from the inner court came to Songjiang Prefecture, Establishing a weaving bureau will only rely on power to forcibly seize the benefits of the people and drive down cotton prices.
The people of Songjiang Prefecture are essentially farmers, a group that only cares about immediate interests, and a group that is easily deceived. (There is no intention to discriminate against farmers here. I am also a farmer, so I am just stating it objectively.) What's more, the gentry are all They are members of their hometown. Therefore, in the eyes of the people of Songjiang Prefecture who listen to the wind, Luo Xiang and others who came to Songjiang Prefecture to open a weaving bureau are just here to rob.
Even the frustration caused by the loss of profits caused by the unrestricted expansion of cotton planting area turned into anger against the eunuchs in the inner court to establish the weaving bureau.
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"Once the steam spinning machines are opened in the new weaving bureau, Ming Dynasty's textiles will be cheaper and more beautiful, and the local textile markets in Japan, the Philippines, Ryukyu and other countries will also be monopolized by us, but I think it will only be in these countries The market cannot satisfy my needs In order to increase the market capacity of Ming’s textiles, we have to sell further afield to open markets in the Western Regions and even the West! Otherwise, what will happen if the cotton grown by the people of Ming Dynasty is unsaleable, and what if the textiles produced in factories and workshops cannot be sold? ! ”
At this time, Zhu Houzhao was still only talking to cabinet officials about the possible consequences of the use of steam spinning machines from a macro perspective, that is, it might increase Ming Dynasty's demand for overseas markets, forcing Ming Dynasty to open up more markets. routes and occupy more overseas markets.
Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet, did not dare to dampen the enthusiasm of Emperor Zhu Houzhao. After many years of being an official, he had increasingly understood that whatever the superior officer said was right, and he had to believe it even if he didn't believe it.
Therefore, although he could guess that even if the so-called new technology has not been known to everyone in the world, it will not be easy to implement it, because Jiangnan is different from the capital. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. In the eyes of the gentry and people in Jiangnan, the government is just a bandit. , has a natural sense of distrust. Let alone opening a weaving bureau, even reforming the old weaving bureau is difficult. Of course, Wang Qiong still admires the wisdom of His Majesty the Emperor. After all, he thought that the old weaving bureau could not be renovated for a while, and he simply opened a new weaving bureau.
Wang Qiongzang was foolish and clumsy, and did not show in front of Zhu Houzhao that he understood the Jiangnan gentry better than your Majesty the Emperor.
And Kang Hai is a scholar-type official, more idealistic than Zhu Houzhao, so naturally he can't think of this level.
Yang Yiqing has been in the border town for a long time and does not know the intricacies of internal affairs. Besides, he is also an old fox. Like Wang Qiong, he thinks that your Majesty, you can say whatever you say, and everyone will support and agree with it.
Fortunately, Zhu Houzhao still had secret reports to read and Jin Yiwei's secret reports to read. Otherwise, he, the emperor, really couldn't expect to learn from several so-called capable ministers in history in his cabinet that after the steam engine appeared, what happened at the bottom The real reaction of the people to this matter.
"Prevent the establishment of the Weaving Bureau? Why should the gentry and people of Songjiang Prefecture stop it? Even if the gentry of Songjiang Prefecture prevent it, it is understandable! After all, once the steam engine is used by the Weaving Bureau, it will naturally take away their profits, but I An edict was also issued to allow private loans to purchase new machines from the Royal Industrial Company!
Why are these gentry so opposed? There are also these common people. They grow cotton for agricultural production, and the new machine is for improving textile production. It will only benefit them. Why are they also opposed?
In addition, even if the new weaving bureau will lead to layoffs in private workshops, I have also issued an edict and asked Wu Wending, the governor of Southern Zhili, to make proper arrangements! But in fact, the Weaving Bureau has not yet been opened, nor has any layoffs occurred. Why are the people of Songjiang Prefecture so resistant! ”
Zhu Houzhao asked with some confusion. He did not expect that the promotion of new productivity among the private sector would encounter such great resistance.
"How can stupid people understand your majesty's good intentions? Don't worry, your majesty. People in the world will understand your majesty's good intentions."
Wang Qiong, the chief minister of the cabinet, comforted him. Naturally, he would not deny Zhu Houzhao or say that the emperor was too naive. He naively thought that if the people thought you were a good emperor, they would believe that the eunuchs in your inner court were good slaves. It is said that eunuchs and civilian officials are all officials, and they are all officials who strive for profit. It is only said that the gentry officials transferred the sin of oppressing the people to the eunuchs, which will also make the people change their minds after hearing about the inner court.
"Never underestimate the people. There must be a reason for them to do this. Yang Qing, you are from Zhenjiang. You should have a better understanding of what the people in Jiangnan think. Please tell me your views on this matter."
Since Zhu Houzhao became more and more tough, the officials in the court became more and more cunning. As long as he didn't take the initiative to ask, they would not take the initiative to express themselves.
Yang Yiqing didn't expect that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would ask him, and he became a little panicked for a moment, fearing that his answer would not satisfy Emperor Zhu Houzhao.
Officials are all for their own benefit. Naturally, Yang Yiqing does not really want to find the real answer. Now he is just secretly thinking about the answer that His Majesty already has in his mind. He cannot answer differently from His Majesty. That will only It will appear that you have different opinions from His Majesty, and your Majesty will look down upon you.
Yang Yiqing thought that His Majesty said not to underestimate the people, so he should carefully analyze the people's headquarters.
then.
Yang Yiqing replied: "The people must be worried that the new weaving bureau will take away their profits."
Zhu Houzhao nodded. Yang Yiqing's answer was not an answer, at least he thought so, because everyone could guess that the people who prevented the opening of the Weaving Bureau must be worried that the new Weaving Bureau would take away their profits, otherwise the people would Why should we stop it?
But Zhu Houzhao admitted that Yang Yiqing's answer was of some value.
Zhu Houzhao looked at Wang Qiong and Kang Hai: "My dear friends, what do you think?"
Yang Yiqing breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know whether the emperor was satisfied with his answer, at least he didn't offend the emperor.
Wang Qiong decided to pretend to be crazy and act stupid, but also to give His Majesty a proper reminder. After all, he was the chief minister of the cabinet, and he could not appear as useless as Yang Yiqing, talking nonsense that the Emperor and His Majesty would know.
Therefore, Wang Qiong first bowed his hands and said, "I made a mistake in my words just now, and I would like to ask your Majesty's forgiveness first. I actually said that the people are stupid people, which is really stupid. But I thought about it carefully just now, and it is not the people who are stupid, but the gentry." Stupid!
The gentry and others all thought that opening a weaving bureau in the inner court would definitely benefit the people. Little did they know that opening a weaving bureau and using steam engines could bring huge profits overseas. Although small profits were sacrificed, after making up for it with big profits, it would still benefit the country and the people. ”
When Wang Qiong said this, Kang Hai understood first: "Your Majesty, although what Shou Kui said is correct, it is not correct. It is not that the gentry are stupid, nor that the people are stupid, but that most of the eunuchs in the inner court are misbehaving and plundering people, which arouses the vigilance of the people. Hate it It is true that the establishment of the new weaving bureau is blocked by the people, not because the people are stupid but because the eunuchs are not trusted by the people of the world! I think your majesty can send civil servants to open the new weaving bureau."
Zhu Houzhao could tell at this time that among the three cabinet ministers, Kang Hai was the most honest, and the other two were obviously pretending to be crazy. Wang Qiong was better, reminding himself round the corner, but suddenly reminded him by the way. He asked Kang Hai, causing Kang Hai to directly express his understanding of Wang Qiong's hidden meaning.
But Wang Qiong is now very angry at Kang Hai. He can see from the expression on Zhang Zhong's elongated face that he has been tricked by Kang Hai. He has clearly not spoken out about the corruption of the eunuchs, which has caused the inner court to be disliked by the people. , but Kang Hai expressed his understanding, making Zhang Zhong think that he, the external courtiers, were trying to weaken the power of the inner court officials.
It didn't matter that Zhang Zhong had this intention. What Wang Qiong was worried about was that Emperor Zhu Houzhao would be so worried, worried that the outer court officials would still want to take away the rights of the inner court.
But Kang Hai also revealed the inner purpose of the civil servants to take away the power of the inner court. Although the reason was very good, Wang Qiong believed that Kang Hai would not get anything good, because his majesty would not let the inner court take over. Power is handed over.
Wang Qiong is now waiting to see Kang Hai's joke, to see whether Kang Hai will be kicked out of the palace by the furious Emperor Long Yan, or will be slandered by Zhang Zhongjin and dismissed from office in the next few days.
Zhu Houzhao was not as angry as Long Yan, and he was not prepared to let Kang Hai be dismissed from office. At this time, he only sighed in his heart:
"This is the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty!
Even the cabinet ministers will only choose to tell themselves the words that are good for you. At most, they will just remind themselves in a roundabout way. If I are a not very smart emperor, I am afraid that I will not be able to get it from the mouth of such a cabinet minister. Understand the real reason.
But it is officials like Kang Hai who speak out their thoughts directly as soon as they think clearly, and it is easy to offend people. Gu Dayong behind him is obviously unhappy, and he will not give up using these eunuchs just because they are rejected by the people."< br>
Zhu Houzhao had to admit that when he was an emperor in ancient times, he thought that when he raised his arms, the officials below him would respond in large numbers, and it was impossible to successfully popularize new things one after another.
Because even if you are the emperor, you cannot guarantee that every official can be honest with you and only think about the interests of the country.
In the final analysis, officials still have the primary purpose of safeguarding their own interests, that is, they must first keep their own reputation before talking about national interests. Even if they are forced to talk about national interests, they dare not go too far. Be straightforward and avoid offending too many people.
But in any case, the words of the three cabinet ministers still made Zhu Houliang understand some of the reasons, and he began to understand that this was related to the people's distrust of eunuchs. In the final analysis, it was also caused by the decline in the credibility of the inner court.
Zhu Houzhao didn't know how clean Luo Xiang was. Although officials in the inner court would be impeached by the imperial censor and could be suspended for further investigation, Luo Xiang had not yet been impeached by the censor.
But Zhu Houzhao knew that now he had to let the people have no such worries.
"To untie the bell, you must tie the bell. Since the people think that the inner court officials are here to exploit them, let's take this opportunity to change the influence of the inner court officials. Kang Hai, drafting the decree, asked Luo Xiang to pay 50% of the supermarket price. Purchase cotton and other crops, We must make it public and let the people throughout Songjiang Prefecture and even Southern Zhili know through newspapers and periodicals that Luo Xiang came to Songjiang Prefecture to open a weaving bureau to solve the problem of unsalable cotton in Songjiang Prefecture and increase people’s income!”
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, Wang Qiong sighed in his heart and thought: "It's over. Your Majesty is really a master of heaven. He saw his little thoughts, otherwise he wouldn't have let Kang Hai draft the decree. Obviously , Kang Hai bluntly said that it made His Majesty more useful, but on the contrary, he and Yang Yiqing were despised by His Majesty. Now his position as chief assistant is in jeopardy! "
At this time, Yang Yiqing finally understood what answer Emperor Zhu Houzhao wanted, but he was not as disappointed as Wang Qiong. He just sighed in his heart: "It is not easy to be His Majesty's close minister in the cabinet!"
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After Luo Xiang received Zhu Houzhao's order, he immediately began to comply with it. He first posted notices about purchasing cotton and raw silk at high prices.
The people were shocked when they found out.
"Didn't I say that these eunuchs sent by the imperial court would lower our purchase prices? How could it suddenly become like this! Is this true?"
The people discussed it, but as soon as this notice came out, the obstacles to the new weaving bureau were indeed reduced a lot.
At this time, some gentry engaged in the textile industry in Jiangnan were greatly surprised, because they did not expect that the imperial court would directly raise such a high purchase price, which meant that they could no longer organize the people to prevent the imperial court from opening new factories. Decision of the Weaving Bureau.
However, some Jiangnan gentry persisted and shouted: "These are all fake notices. They are made by the imperial officials to deceive people. How can they buy them at 50% of the high market price! This is simply impossible!"< br>
Thank you to book friend Hua Chen for the reward of 500 starting coins
(End of chapter)