Chapter 121 What belongs to the public belongs to the world! (Second update)
Weights and Measures.
These three words are both unfamiliar and familiar to Zhou Ning and others.
The unification of weights and measures in the world has always been roughly stipulated. This all originated from the Qin Dynasty.
But the difficulty in unifying weights and measures lies in two things.
Set standards and implement them steadily.
Habits vary from place to place in the world, and the proportions followed are also different.
However, after so many years of integration, the general standards actually have a certain range, but the difficulty with weights and measures lies in their implementation. Even if the government imposes it, the people below may not implement it obediently. It is never easy to enforce orders and prohibitions.
The same is true for Ming Dynasty.
Big and small fights and lack of weight have always been used by merchants and even the government to secretly make profits.
There are so many interests involved that it has long been difficult to get rid of them. It is understandable how difficult it is to standardize this system.
This is simply not something Xia Zhibai can do.
Zhou Ning and others looked at each other and said, "Xia Jinshi, I don't know the importance of standardizing weights and measures, but the habits and acceptance are different in different places in the world. There is too much resistance to standardizing weights and measures."
"And you are dealing in salt and coal, and you don't have much real contact with the people."
Zhou Ning couldn't help but remind him a few words.
Xia Zhibai smiled.
Of course he understands this.
But institutionalization, normalization and standardization are the prerequisites for industrialization.
If each place has its own standards, even if the error is not large, the final result may be vastly different even if it is a 'slightly different' error.
Xia Zhibai said: "I am going to test the water first with the drawings of the steam engine, so that the outside world can officially understand this semi-official weights and measures standard for the first time. A few days ago, His Majesty approved my preparations to build an iron smelting plant. , that also means that I can independently produce iron and make various tools in the future.”
"You have been coming to the salt factory for a while."
"You should have deeply realized the convenience of standardization."
"Even if it is just a copper mother or a piece of iron, as long as it is professionally The standardized and standardized production will bring great convenience to future maintenance and replacement, and will also greatly improve the production efficiency of the machine."
"If the world can really do this. Unifying weights and measures will be a huge improvement in production efficiency.”
“People’s livelihood is difficult, and we need to move forward.”
“If you want to promote these standards, in addition to being accepted by other merchants, it is more important for craftsmen and craftsmen to accept them.”
“Craftsmen and craftsmen master various technologies and control the manufacturing of various tools in the world. If the craftsmen in the world accept it, everything will be much easier."
Hearing this.
Zhou Ning was thoughtful.
He has generally understood Xia Zhibai's thoughts.
I also know why Xia Zhibai wants to publicize the 'steam engine' blueprint.
The purpose is to get more people interested in the 'steam engine', and then let them actively or passively accept this set of standards.
Of course this may not be complete.
Xia Zhibai smiled and said: "It is true that the steam engine drawings can be spread for a while, but the cost is too high and it is difficult to maintain. It can only influence for a while. If you want to continue to promote it, you must continue to spread it all over the world. It’s up to the engineers to attract attention.”
“However, the help your Majesty can give is really limited.”
"It is impossible for the Ministry of Industry to listen to a humble official like me."
"So I have a suggestion. I would like to ask Governor Zhou to recruit some apprentices around Yingtian Mansion and impart certain knowledge."< br>
“As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. One person’s wisdom may be limited, but the wisdom of a group of people is enough to achieve some amazing things.”
Zhou Ning’s face suddenly changed. A change.
Teaching your own methods of settling down and making a living to outsiders?
How can this be done?
Not only Zhou Ning, but also Li Sheng and other craftsmen also changed their expressions.
They respected Xia Zhibai very much, but there was no way they could pass on the skills passed down from their ancestors to other people like this.
Xia Zhibai had long expected the reaction of Zhou Ning and others.
With a smile on his face, he continued: "I don't ask you to teach you exclusive skills. I just want these apprentices to learn how to check the machine, how to repair the machine, how to choose the right parts, and how to deal with some emergencies. ”
"The salt factory is about to expand."
"I only have a few craftsmen like you."
"But this time I want to extend the salt factory to the entire north."
< br>"You currently don't have enough manpower, and it's far from enough, so you can only find ways to hand over some assembly, inspection, maintenance and other work to other apprentices, let them take charge of it, and then build salt factories in various places faster ."
"And then."
"You know what I want to promote."
"I pursue standardization, process, standardization, and even formulary."
"In this model, it is destined to be Take the popular route. "
"This kind of technology is often difficult to control. As long as you study it carefully, you can easily get some clues. Then let the craftsmen think about it and break down the manufacturing process into multiple parts. It is enough to follow the steps."
"From now on, the world must win by quantity."
Xia Zhibai spoke lightly, with a bit of a sharp tone.
He does not object to craftsmen making sophisticated and exquisite crafts, but any technology that involves the public must not be kept secretly, but must be handed over. Even if he does not hand it over, he will find a way to do it. To overcome it, and then create a process for streamlined production.
It is undeniable.
This will cause many craftsmen to lose their jobs.
But this is the inevitable trend of the world. They can either join it, go one step further and completely adopt the high-quality line, or they can only slowly die out. In an era of low production efficiency, these craftsmen who work slowly and meticulously still have room and soil to survive. However, once the tide of standardization and processization begins, these craftsmen will inevitably be beaten to death.
This is the price of technological replacement.
Listening to Xia Zhibai’s domineering and strong words, Zhou Ning’s face showed a bit of bitterness.
When Xia Zhibai first started manufacturing steam engines and asked for standardized production, he had already guessed something. Now it has only been officially confirmed. The world.
Completely change the current situation of the world.
Change the world.
It’s just that too few people are aware of it.
Because Xia Zhibai's official position was too low to get into the eyes of the courtiers, and the court did not care about what he did, this resulted in Xia Zhibai's one-third of an acre of land. It can be said that he does whatever he wants, is unscrupulous, and even lawless.
By the time Xia Zhibai really entered the palace and entered the court, the folk ecology would have been completely different.
At first he thought that Xia Zhibai's business was impulsive.
But now.
He understood it completely.
Xia Zhibai did it on purpose.
He knew that he had no chance of realizing his ambition in the court and the Hanlin Academy. The ministers in the court would not give him such an opportunity, but 'doing business', a profession that is most despised by His Majesty today, the courtiers The group that everyone looked down upon became Xia Zhibai's private territory.
As long as he doesn't cause trouble, the court will basically not interfere.
Zhou Ning no longer dares to think about it.
Under Xia Zhibai's powerful control, to what extent will the production efficiency be improved.
Perhaps it can really be done, and with the power of one person, he can achieve a feat of improving people's livelihood all over the world. How shocking would this be?
Xia Zhibai really wants to teach him and others how to assemble these by machine?
No.
Xia Zhibai asked them to teach them craftsman knowledge.
Once these apprentices have mastered basic craftsman knowledge, they will be able to support Xia Zhibai's ambitions.
Zhou Ning smiled bitterly and said: "Xia Jinshi, you must not forget that the imperial court has a strict household registration system. They are not craftsmen and cannot learn relevant knowledge."
Xia Zhibai He said calmly: "They are now!"
"When I founded the salt factory, I told His Highness about this, and converted all the household registrations of these people into 'workers', and they were just civilian households. With the 'worker' status, they are still civilian households, but they can learn the knowledge related to the 'craftsman' status. ”
Zhou Ning was startled.
He looked at Xia Zhibai and was completely speechless.
Xia Zhibai had already planned it.
It is only now that the time has come that I will speak out.
Moreover, changing household registration is not very common for the imperial court.
When there was a shortage of salt in the world, His Majesty once transferred the household registrations of many households to kitchen households with a wave of his hand. When there was a shortage of iron in the early days, he also transferred some households near the Shisansuo mining area with a wave of his hand. , directly incorporated into the craftsman’s household registration.
It was just a casual agreement from His Highness, but it gave Xia Zhibai some flexibility.
Xia Zhibai looked at Zhou Ning and said with a smile: "Governor Zhou, you don't need to worry so much. Since His Highness has agreed, His Highness will naturally consider it. Besides, the cost of steam engines is high, and naturally they also need to be equipped with a number of familiar machines. workers, otherwise not only will the salt production be slow, but the loss of the machine will also be increased, and the gain will outweigh the loss."
Zhou Ning thought for a while, but nodded: "Okay"
"I agreed. ”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Xia Zhibai's mouth, and he added: "Thank you very much, Governor Zhou, for helping the apprentices. However, in order to facilitate the teaching of apprentices, I personally suggest that Governor Zhou can spare some time to compile a set of relatively simple and easy-to-understand teaching books. It will be convenient for the future governor’s teaching.”
Zhou Ning’s eyelids twitched slightly.
Totally convinced.
Xia Zhibai's ambition is greater than he thought.
He is not satisfied with being an apprentice, but wants to establish a learning system.
He is fulfilling what he said in the palace step by step and improving the status of 'workers and peasants' step by step.
Zhou Ning also gave up struggling.
He knew that Xia Zhibai had a firm attitude, and even if he disagreed, he would try his best to achieve it.
What he wants is for the children of workers and peasants all over the world to have the opportunity to master knowledge. Even if these people cannot be officials or officials, they can only inherit their father's business, continue to farm the land or become workers, but these people With its growth, the impact on the 'scholars' will be extremely huge.
And the existence of these people is extremely important in the system built by Xia Zhibai.
Because he needs these people to be proficient in running the machine.
Standardization, process, big machine.
Zhou Ning could no longer imagine what kind of monster business would become in Xia Zhibai's hands.
He also had to admire Xia Zhibai's courage and courage to think of these 'transcendental' ideas despite the decline of industry and commerce and the deliberate suppression by the court, and to seriously dare to delve into them without hesitation. , which he also saw for the first time in his life.
Amazing.
Xia Zhibai surrendered to Zhou Ning.
It was actually a bit unexpected that Zhou Ning agreed so quickly.
But whether Zhou Ning agrees or not, he will push it forward. He actually didn’t want to push it to this point so quickly. It’s just that the situation cannot keep up with the changes. With the outbreak of the Guo Huan case, Zhu Yuanzhang is no longer satisfied with the past. After plundering wealth from the people, they began to plunder wealth from businessmen.
This will have a huge impact on the industry and commerce that have just begun to improve.
It is likely that it will not recover for decades.
He had to take action.
(End of this chapter)