Chapter 222 Resource Locked Technology Tree
Everyone in the empire believes that they are so powerful that they can withstand small mistakes and problems.
Are the people of the Ming Empire clearly aware that the Ming Empire is going to fall? It's not clear.
Even when Li Zicheng started the Northern Expedition in the 17th year of Chongzhen, he didn't know that he was going to destroy the Ming Dynasty. He even planned that if the war didn't go well and the court was willing to seal the king and recruit peace, he could do it temporarily. Agree and then make plans.
For the civil unrest that spread throughout the Ming Dynasty, for the emperor and ministers of Gyeonggi, it was a counter-rebellion war that took place far away. Even if the Ming Dynasty was briefly defeated, it would definitely win back, because in the ninth year of Chongzhen At that time, Emperor Chongzhen had just beheaded Gao Yingxiang, the first king of Chuang, in the capital.
In the first month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, when Li Zicheng declared himself emperor in Xi'an, the people in Beijing were indifferent to the counterinsurgency in the northwest and were still complaining about the bad weather as always, while the ministers in the DPRK The officials in the capital are still full of enthusiasm for fighting against each other.
Few people can sense that the end is coming.
What exactly is a poor coolie in the eyes of the emperor and his ministers? They are not specific people, just cold statistics. Empathy with statistics is a very rare ability. When you are not physically around you, you will not have that urgent sense of crisis.
Even in the spring of the fifth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng had already established a whole set of political correctness in the court of trying to save the head of Guizhou by struggling with power, but this was just a narrative style, and everyone continued to play power within this established framework. For example, the woolen official factory worked in the summer and three people were killed by the heat. The officials were taking the opportunity to overthrow the king, instead of thinking about improving the environment of the factory to prevent such tragedies from happening again, let alone caring more. The life and death of ordinary people.
So Zhu Yijun never thinks that the Tomb Sect who hinders progress is stupid. In terms of performance, they are retro, pedantic, stubborn, and refuse to progress. But in fact, these people are all good at calculations and know very well how to Protect your own vested interests.
On the surface, what they are fighting over is whether they should use officialdom to amass profits or whether they should support the New Deal. But in fact, what they are fighting for is the official hat on their heads, the money on their chests, and the money in their pockets.
Expecting meat-eaters to think about the vast number of poor coolies is a false pretense.
The reason why Zhu Yijun has been strongly supporting Zhang Juzheng's New Deal, and even intensified it, is because he really knows that the Ming Dynasty will die, and it will die during the Wanli period, so he will definitely be more radical than Zhang Juzheng in doing things. .
This is also the fundamental reason for the political differences between Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng has only been in power for five years, and the Ming Dynasty has already begun to feel inspired. This can easily lead to the illusion that as long as the emperor or It is a common thing to be excited when the chief minister of the country is willing. If there is really any crisis, just find another Zhang Juzheng.
But there will be no Zheng He after Zheng He, and there will be no Zhang Juzheng after Zhang Juzheng.
During the Chongzhen period, not everyone wanted to pick up Zhang Juzheng's New Deal, and test it into law, clear Zhang, return land, sea canal, six books and one account, strengthen the army, give power to military generals, and rectify learning Government, degree bypass, etc., but by that time, it was completely impossible to pick it up.
The social contradictions in Ming Dynasty have intensified to the point of being completely irreconcilable.
This is why Zhu Yijun made the courtiers feel sincere terror. It was not that the emperor was murderous and killed innocent people indiscriminately. In five years, the emperor only hit him with the imperial rod once. The biggest case was also But killing more than 700 people was nothing new in the long history of the Ming Dynasty.
The reason why the courtiers felt terrified was that the emperor had both great love and ruthlessness.
This kind of great love is a great love for statistics, and this kind of ruthlessness is ruthless towards specific people. Your Majesty is full of love for those people you have never met, but for specific people, No mercy whatsoever.
Wu Qingbo Li Wei, the emperor's maternal grandfather, was almost shot to death with an arrow because he interceded with Zhang Siwei. Xu Congcheng, uncle of the Prince Consort, was directly committed suicide. More than 700 heads were taken away from the Northwest Clan Party.
This is why Zhu Yijun compiled this myth of worsted wool wealth. As long as the poor coolies will not be affected by this incident, Zhu Yijun will not stop and will continue.
"Sir, they have exchanged all their money for big cloth. When they have no money, will they bring their relatives and friends into the game? After all, this is a rare opportunity to make a fortune." Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng in front of him asked, hoping for the reaction of the powerful rightists.
A powerful man will not immediately lead the poor coolies to make a fortune together, but when he runs out of money, he will inevitably tell all his relatives and friends about this opportunity to make a fortune through his huge network of relationships. Friends, let’s all participate in this gamble together.
The current social environment of Ming Dynasty is different from that of later generations.
Later generations can incur huge debts by unwinding banks, and use the basic logic of being too big to fail and being a thief to evenly distribute risks to the entire society. When the debt reaches a certain scale, , this hole can only be filled by over-issuance of currency, and the consequences of over-issuance of currency are inflation, and the whole society bears the price.
In the current Ming Dynasty, there is no such thing as a bank. The currency of the Ming Dynasty is not a banknote method, but a money method. Gold, silver, and copper are precious metals in the Ming Dynasty. They have use value and exchange value. Gold The scarcity of silver and copper caused it. All you borrowed was real gold and silver, and the only one who bore the price was the arrogance of power.
"Yes." Zhang Juzheng spit out his breath. He asked for an audience this time to persuade the young emperor to be benevolent and forgiving. He is powerful and his subjects are also his majesty. Why should your majesty treat him like this? What about your own people?
The powerful right-wingers will continue to lure more of their kind to participate in this inflated feast. Even if everyone knows that this is a bubble that will burst as soon as it is poked, they will Only by constantly attracting people to come in and participate in this bubble can we maintain this bubble.
“When relatives and friends have finished borrowing money, it is time for them to borrow money from everywhere. This bubble must continue to be promoted, otherwise when the bubble is burst, how many families will be destroyed and people will be killed. Mr. Will they borrow money from everywhere?" Zhu Yijun continued to ask calmly.
"Yes." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head again and replied. No one can stop a stone rolling down the cliff. Instead, it will roll faster and faster because there are too many people behind pushing him. Even if he is heavily in debt, I will continue to push it forward, because only in this way will the wealth of myself and my family not be in vain.
But whether this stone rolling down the cliff will kill Daming is something Zhang Juzheng must consider.
Zhang Juzheng himself shaped the political correctness of trying to save the head of Guizhou by the powerful, which led to His Majesty only seeing the negative role of the powerful, but not the positive role of the powerful right-wingers.
Of course, in the current social environment where there is no way to have both, it is extremely ridiculous to talk about the positive role of powerful people. Even Sun Keyi and Sun of Songjiang are somewhat reverent, because they earn too much There are many, and they continue to make donations to promote the development of maritime affairs in the Ming Dynasty, but there is only one Sun family.
Zhang Juzheng wanted to speak for the powerful people of the Ming Dynasty, but he couldn't find any good reason. Even if these merchants could build even a woolen factory, Zhang Juzheng could say that the powerful people were solving the problem. It played an active role among the landless tenants, but the woolen factories were already in full swing and the powerful people still could not achieve it.
Faced with the cumbersome factories, the powerful chose to fry worsted woolen cloth. This choice itself conflicted with the court's resettlement of landless tenants and refugees.
There are still no private merchants who can start a woolen business. In fact, it is still because of the cost.
The main profit of the Woolen Official Factory lies in the woolen wool, because most of the worsted wool is sent to the palace, and the price of woolen wool needs to be kept low. The Yongding Woolen Factory also When expanding, it is almost impossible to continue to squeeze costs downwards.
Zhang Juzheng did not give any more advice, otherwise he would be as boring as the official who kept spouting nonsense.
The powerful right-wingers are really too lazy, so Zhang Juzheng can only put aside the plot to help others and respect the fate of others.
Yes, the powerful right-wingers are lazy, not stupid, nor incompetent, just lazy. If they can just lie down and make money, they will never set up a factory, because running a manual factory is very hard, and they have to solve many, many problems, and they earn a lot of money. With small profits, how can you make more money by driving up the price of wool?
It is indeed easier to collect rent and harvest leeks while lying down than to run a workshop.
Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng's choice to compromise and continued: "Sir, in this trade, people's greed is clearly displayed, but at the same time, they will also slowly discover that their real money is exchanged for Bujuan, in order to continue playing this game, he will definitely get rid of Yanxing Tower and build a trading place by himself."
"This is something the court needs to pay attention to."
"I accept the order." Zhang Juzheng obeyed the leader's order.
Zhu Yijun arranged a combination of punches to drain the humanoid silver mines of the powerful Ming Dynasty and squeeze out all their silver value.
"Your Majesty, the Queen of Shaanzhou, Yaozhuo, is still serving your Majesty?" Zhang Juzheng finished talking about the woolen foam and then asked about Wang Yaozhuo's arrangements.
The last time Zhang Juzheng met Wang Yaozhuo was when he was doing an accounting. Wang Yaozhuo was holding an abacus, and he didn't know whether this person was in line with His Majesty's wishes.
“It’s good that you are still waiting by my side.” Zhu Yijun didn’t understand why Zhang Juzheng asked Wang Yaozhuo at first.
"Yesterday the Empress Dowager Rensheng and Empress Dowager Cisheng ordered the Ministry of Rites to select a marriage and select a beautiful girl." Only then did Zhang Juzheng explain the second thing about his audience. The Queen Mother ordered the Ministry of Rites to select a bride.
Your Majesty is already fifteen years old. His Majesty will get married in the sixth year of Wanli. Then in the first month of the fifth year of Wanli, the selection of women to enter the palace will begin.
Yes, in order to prevent the young emperor and the empress from becoming a superficial couple, and in order for the empress to be able to honor the world as a mother, they must be selected in advance, and the wedding must be held after half a year of training and inspection.
This time it’s just marriage selection.
Choose three people in total.
If Wang Yaozhuo is still satisfied, then just choose two more.
"Isn't it too early?" Zhu Yijun heard this, blinked and said, "Sir, what are you doing at my age?"
"When I was fifteen years old, It must have been the year when he passed the imperial examination that his parents' orders and the matchmaker's words determined the wedding date. "Zhang Juzheng recalled that he seemed to have won the imperial examination. He was very busy after that. He had to study with teachers and take the Jinshi exam, so he had no time to worry about marriage. Well, these days, marriage is also determined by parents.
"How old did you get married, sir?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously.
"In the twenty-fifth year of Jiajing, I was already twenty." Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said.
He got married relatively late. Calculating the time should be in the 25th year of Jiajing. The reason why it was so late was because of his grandfather’s death. The wedding was postponed for three years, so he got married at the age of twenty. .
In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing's reign, he was named on the gold medal list. Before he could give his wife the good news, news of his wife Gu's death reached the capital.
Zhang Juzheng's life was magnificent. It seemed that he only lived in government affairs and was a ruthless person. However, Mr. Zhang was a living person of flesh and blood. In the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing, one year after the death of Zhang Juzheng's late wife, I wrote a poem in condolences, and not long after that, I wrote another one.
These are also two of the few poems that showed emotion in Zhang Juzheng's life. Most of the time, Zhang Juzheng seemed like a cold and ruthless political machine.
“I heard about this draft girl, but I want to order the eight prefectures of Bei Ya, the three prefectures of Nan Ya, and the two provinces of Henan and Shandong. If there is such a big war, I will also send a secretary to select and examine the candidates. My parents came to Beijing to see it, which is really disturbing the people, so I thought it would be better to wait." Zhu Yijun wanted to delay it on the grounds of disturbing the people.
“Your Majesty is sixteen when he is a child. Emperor Yingzong ascended to the throne at the age of nine and got married in the first month of the seventh year of orthodoxy; Emperor Wuzong ascended to the throne at the age of fifteen and got married in August of the following year; Emperor Sejong ascended to the throne at the age of fifteen. They got married in September of the first year of Jiajing. They were both sixteen years old. The ancestral law cannot be violated. I am ignorant by nature and do not believe in the theory of yin and yang. Whenever your majesty acts, you only act according to the truth. "Zhang Juzheng has said a lot. Understood. The reason why the emperor wanted to get married so early was entirely for the sake of future generations.
Progeny are the biggest thing. Song Renzong just wanted to implement the New Deal. He had no heirs to succeed him, so he just couldn't implement the New Deal.
So, the biggest thing for an emperor is to get married and have children.
Looking at Zhang Juzheng's expression, Zhu Yijun knew that this matter could not be fought. Zhang Juzheng was very determined on this matter, just three words, no delay.
In fact, Zhu Yijun also expected this result. From the Queen Mother Chen and Queen Mother Li directly issuing orders to the Ministry of Rites, he knew that this matter was the top priority of the imperial court.
Parents' orders, matchmaker's words.
Zhu Yijun agreed to the selection of girls for marriage, but also emphasized not to disturb the people too much.
"To disturb the people, it was like in the orthodox years. One selection of girls would cost several hundred to several thousand. The widows were so scared to marry that they were afraid of being selected into the palace and became palace maids, so they chose two. People, there is no need to go to war." Zhu Yijun further made clear instructions. Whether it disturbs the people too much depends on the quantity.
In the 13th year of Orthodoxy, Emperor Yingzong drafted 400 women directly into the palace. Four hundred people may not seem like many, but you must know that these have gone through many rounds of selection. Among the people, there was such a turmoil that even widows were frightened into getting married.
The absolute number is only two, so the selection will not be so troublesome, and the main palace is already in front of the emperor, so it will not disturb the public.
"Yin Butang said that there are also beauties from Luzon sent for selection." Zhang Juzheng said with a complicated expression. The Ministry of Etiquette was responsible for this matter. Yin Zhengmao specifically asked about Emperor Zhang Juzheng's wedding last time he returned to Beijing. At that time Yin Zhengmao said that he would send the beauty to Beijing.
What if the emperor loves learning foreign languages?
"Taiwanese?" Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked with a frown.
Zhang Juzheng nodded and said: "Taiwanese."
"Send it, send it to the emperor's uncle." Zhu Yijun chose a compromise method. The emperor's concubines were involved in the throne. Change, when the change of throne has not been completely determined, he will not admit foreign women into the palace. This can easily cause all kinds of chaos. However, as the surname of the country, Yin Zhengmao will cooperate with the imperial decree, and the little emperor is not very good. Reject directly.
Give it to the emperor's uncle Zhu Zaiyu to enjoy.
"I obey the order." Zhang Juzheng obeyed the leader's order with a smile on his face. Yin Zhengmao had to express his obedience and friendship. After all, the country's surname was Zhengmao, and the little emperor also had to express it. Jane is in the emperor's heart and the holy family is in full swing, so these foreign girls can naturally come to the capital. However, after entering the capital, they are all given to the emperor's uncle, and everyone is happy.
The little emperor always has various ways to make everyone look decent.
Zhang Juzheng left to draft the yellow list of draft girls, while Zhu Yijun took out "Metamorphosis" and continued to study Thai and Western culture.
The Metamorphosis has a total of fifteen volumes, 250 mythological stories from ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and the one in Zhu Yijun’s hand has already been processed countless times. The one in Zhu Yijun’s hand is the Metamorphosis. Without translation, his foreign language is already excellent, and there is no need to continue to have a Thai concubine to learn foreign languages with him.
Pygmalion was a king of Cyprus and a sculptor. Out of disgust for the depravity and debauchery of women, Pygmalion decided not to marry for life. He carved a woman out of ivory, asking for love. God prayed to give life to the statue, and the God of Love satisfied Pygmalion, and they finally lived happily together.
This story is a fairy tale. After the emperor's uncle Zhu Zaiyu knew it, he must have something to say. Not everything can be remembered and must have echoes. For example, the artistic cells of the little emperor have been cultivated for several years. The emperor Still have no interest in studying music theory.
Twentieth-century Irish writer Bernard Shaw created a satirical play called "Pygmalion" based on this mythical story.
The story told by the flower girl is: a top-notch person, a professor with the honor of a duke, made a bet with a colonel, and used the street flower girl Eliza to conduct an experiment. In six months, The flower girl is trained to become a lady from a noble family.
The professor successfully shaped the flower girl into a striking and shining woman, but the professor pursued celibacy and had no intention of marrying the flower girl. The flower girl could not become a distinguished duchess, nor could she become a noble duchess. I can no longer go back to the vegetable market to sell flowers.
Wang Yaozhuo seems to fit this story very well. She was born in poverty, was in precarious life, and was burdened with a blood feud. Because the emperor wanted to see foreign officials, county magistrates, elders, and common people, she came to the capital from Shaanzhou, Henan. The Lu family in Shaanxi was raided by the emperor. , Wang Yaozhuo took revenge and studied in the inner study. He was liked by the Queen Mother and studied music and arithmetic with Prince Zheng.
If Zhu Yijun didn't like it, Wang Yaozhuo would not be able to become the queen, nor would she be able to return to poverty again. She seemed unable to settle herself.
But Zhu Yijun knew that this was not the case. Wang Yaozhuo's arithmetic skills had already entered the room and he could participate in the accounting in the inner study. Moreover, Wang Yaozhuo was present in every accounting, even if the emperor did not like it. She, she can also be a maid next to the Queen Mother, helping the Queen Mother sort out the palace accounts. Even if no one dares to ask her to be a mother-in-law after leaving the palace, she can still settle herself well.
Zhu Yijun couldn't help but think of Chen Xuexue, the minister of Honglu Temple who has been criticized by civil officials recently. Foreign affairs and illegitimate children are nothing at all in Spain. Spain likes to marry to open up borders. Marriage to open up borders. It doesn't mean that just marrying is enough, the purpose of marrying is to gain claims.
Under the huge profits, some merchants began to tentatively build woolen factories again, because the sales of Huangzhuang's official factory records increased again. This time, the merchants were not as reckless as the last time. , one bite makes me want to eat a big fat man.
Some merchants choose to merge some small manual workshops around the Yongding Woolen Factory. These workshops are mainly responsible for supplying goods to the official factory, such as cleaning wool; some merchants aim at the purchase, primary processing and processing of wool. Transportation, some merchants are looking at the distribution of woolen woolen goods, these are all profitable.
This time, the powerful right-wingers are finally willing to choose to be down-to-earth and take it step by step.
In fact, Zhu Yijun also hoped that the powerful people of the Ming Dynasty could show their active role. The expansion of the official factory was subject to the influence of the court's wind and rigidity, and the speed was not very fast. The powerful people were willing to participate. Zhu Yijun is still very willing to see some handicraft workshops set up.
However, Zhu Yijun soon discovered that a new problem had arisen.
For the sake of profit, these merchants, who wanted the support of powerful right-wingers, began to deduct the wages of poor coolies.
This is a kind of path dependence. Landless tenants, idle idlers in the city, and military households who escaped from their homes are almost equivalent to slaves in these days. Some of them who can't survive ring the bell themselves and become eunuchs. Not a few.
So, for merchants, it is very reasonable and natural for merchants to temporarily withhold wages because they have nothing to do. It would be nice to give you some work if you have nothing to do. I also want to Want money?
In the past, craftsmen would have just changed their employers and continued working, but things are different now. Official factories are expanding and require a lot of manpower.
This resulted in factories with two-month deposits and three-month no-wage wages becoming unavailable. However, the labor costs of official factories were actually further reduced, and the expansion rate was further accelerated.
The screening begins, the business world is always so ruthless, any path dependence will become a fatal shortcoming in a new industry, and change requires expensive costs and prices.
Zhu Yijun not only paid attention to the many contradictions and conflicts in the woolen factory, but also looked at the Xishan Coal Bureau.
On the 13th day of the first lunar month, the Xishan Coal Bureau under the Ministry of Industry was officially established, which means that the preparatory work has been completed. Today, Zhu Yijun will go to the Xishan Coal Bureau in person to express political support. It is also about finding an answer through practice.
The mountain was cut down into a bare mountain without coal. Is it because of Feng Shui or other reasons?
Guo Chaobin, Minister of Industry, led His Majesty towards Mentougou, and Zhu Yijun finally saw the mining of the Ming Dynasty.
"This well is forty-five feet long?" Zhu Yijun stood in front of a kiln well and looked at Guo Chaobin and asked in great surprise.
Forty-five feet, one foot is about the height of a building, which is about the height of a fifty-story building in later generations. The kiln well is a very deep well.
“My family only has half a mouthful of porridge, but we can’t reach Mentougou.” Guo Chaobin said very helplessly. The kiln workers were poor coolies who made money by their own strength. They risked the world and went down to work, but the coal was lifted up. You may not be able to receive wages yet, this is the current living situation of the kiln residents.
“A censor in the court said that since there is a lot of coal in Xishan, and most of the coal comes from Mentougou, then a coal extraction bureau should be set up at Marco Polo Bridge to collect taxes from each other. Why should we build a coal bureau? It would be unnecessary. . "Zhu Yijun stood in front of the door of the cave, and the dark hole was like a bloody mouth, swallowing countless lives.
This statement of the imperial censor in the imperial court is actually a typical saying that more things are worse than less things. Since the princes and princes are mining coal in Xishan, let them do it. As long as they draw points, the court will get the tax Fu is, why do you have to personally organize it? Even the emperor's uncle got involved.
When this bottomless hole appeared in front of Zhu Yijun, Zhu Yijun determined the importance of preparing to establish the Xishan Coal Bureau.
Because the imperial court has set up a taxation bureau, the tax revenue collected will definitely be distributed to the kiln residents in an intensified manner. The kiln residents are already using their lives to earn their daily necessities, and if they are deducted, the consequences can be imagined.
Zhu Yijun has always known that mining coal in Ming Dynasty is not as easy as in England. There is coal for three feet, but he did not expect it to be so difficult.
Science is an ideal, focusing on possibilities; engineering is reality, focusing on feasibility.
The current mining of Xishan Coal Bureau is entirely based on the excavation of huge manpower to supply the needs of the capital. As for how many poor coolies die every year, it is just a number.
Zhu Yijun looked at the kiln shaft and did not choose to go in. Everyone who followed him would not allow the little emperor to go down the shaft because it was too dangerous. However, Zhu Yijun still wandered around the mines of the Coal Bureau, and The prince-in-law Li He was also following him. The kiln the emperor was looking at was the Pushui Gou kiln.
This kiln well originally belonged to Li He. He took out three of the six kiln wells at home to connect the official factories of the Xishan Coal Bureau of the imperial court.
“It takes a long time to pump water, it takes a long time to ventilate to prevent the accumulation of gas (gas), and it takes horsepower to drag the coal up from the mine. In short, it requires power.” Zhu Yijun finished watching the Pushui Gou Kiln and determined He found something that Xishan Coal Bureau urgently needed at the moment, a steam engine.
Without a steam engine, there would be many deaths and injuries when opening a kiln to mine coal. Only the kiln residents who could not survive would leave the kiln. To point out the technology of the steam engine, it also required a huge amount of resources to be piled up, burned, and wasted to create it.
Technology cannot progress without massive resource investment.
Resources lock the technology tree.
Coal in England has been mined since the 15th century. The coal there is like this, 1 meter of soil... 10 meters of soil, and everything below 10 meters is coal. Here in the Ming Dynasty, it is 1 meter of soil... 10 Rice soil...ground water...stones...69 meters of stone...151 meters of coal gangue...coal is extremely difficult to mine, but it is urgently needed. Please give me a monthly ticket, wow! ! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)