Chapter 129 I’m just taking advantage of the situation! (First update)
Three days later.
Xia Zhibai's figure appeared outside the city.
He almost never stopped and was always on the road, this time heading to Shuntian Mansion.
Planning for iron ore mining.
Hei Wa sat next to the coachman and paid attention to his surroundings.
In the carriage were Xia Zhibai and Fang Mo.
Fang Mo sat aside respectfully, not squinting his eyes, and his attitude was very reserved.
Looking at the 'textile machine' drawings designed by Zhou Ning and others, Xia Zhibai frowned slightly. I wonder if it was because Zhou Ning and others received too much support during this period, or maybe it was just to show off their skills. , or for other reasons, many 'textile machines' are made of iron.
Xia Zhibai sighed softly.
"People like Li Sheng are really discerning."
"A textile machine dares to be designed to use five hundred kilograms of iron."
"Various parts and machines , all want to build it with iron. Although I, Xia Zhibai, have the mining rights of an iron mine, how can I withstand this kind of consumption? "
"A new mine only takes one year to mine? More than 100,000 jins.”
“Last year, the annual output of Luzhou Runguoye and Zezhou Yiguoye was only 100,000 jins. The one with the highest mining volume in Ming Dynasty is Jinxian Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. in Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi. , but even Jinxian Iron and Steel's annual output is only 1.6 million kilograms."
“According to their design.”
“The newly opened iron mine in Shuntian Prefecture does not even have enough iron to run a textile factory.”
“These design drawings are simply Ridiculous.”
Xia Zhibai threw these drawings aside.
He was really speechless.
For engineers like Zhou Ning and Li Sheng, he was very tolerant and almost always responded to every request, but it was not such a waste. The annual iron output of the Ming Dynasty was only eight or nine million kilograms, and the iron consumption of steam engines was already very high. huge.
If Zhu Biao had not given special approval at that time, it would not have been implemented at all.
Zhou Ning and others stayed at the Kyoto Salt Industry for a while, and they obviously felt that their hearts were a little wandering. Everything they designed must be mixed with a little iron. Incomplete.
The transition from textile machines to ironware is indeed an inevitable process.
But the Ming Dynasty's textile technology has obviously not yet reached that stage, and the designs designed by Zhou Ning and others obviously did not achieve the effect of later generations of 'machine tools'. Under the constraints of current production technology, some wooden structures were used The textile machines are more than enough, but Zhou Ning and the others insist on stacking up a bunch of craftsmanship to drive up the cost.
Fang Mo whispered: "Mr. If you design it well and start the factory as soon as possible, you will inevitably be eager for quick success."
Xia Zhibai snorted coldly and said indifferently: "You don't have to explain to them."
"Since they can. If they are disturbed by outside voices, it means that their minds are unstable. Engineers who are unsure of their minds, do you really expect them to design anything good? "
Soon.
Xia Zhibai also said: "In the final analysis, I still have too few engineers on hand, and there are too few available people. This makes Li Sheng and others a bit 'arrogant'."
"In addition, the brochures related to steam engines have been distributed in the past two days, and many of them have become famous. My heart suddenly wanders, and I feel that they are no longer ordinary engineers. The things they design cannot fall into the mold, otherwise they will fall into the trap. He loses his face.”
“This guy is always fickle.”
“When I get a little bit of fame, I feel like I’m different. ”
“I don’t want to follow the rules anymore.”
"I always want to be new and different."
"But engineers and engineers have to go step by step, how can they be so arrogant and impetuous?"
"They are like this sooner or later. It’s going to be a big fall.”
Fang Mo smiled bitterly.
Easier said than done.
He asked himself, if he was hotly discussed by the whole city overnight, he would probably be in a state of disbelief.
He had known Zhou Ning, Li Sheng and other craftsmen privately. These people were not taken seriously by the Ministry of Works, and few good things happened to them. He had been holding back a feeling of anger in his heart. Now, Finally feeling proud and proud, it is natural that it is difficult to suppress the feeling of pride.
Xia Zhibai said: "Fang Mo, you and others will get off the bus in advance and send these drawings back."
"And tell Zhou Ning and Li Sheng that in the future, the engineering department will use iron There will be strict restrictions on the quantity. "
"Tell them again that the textile machine they designed cannot use one or two irons. If you want to use iron to build a textile machine, then come up with something groundbreaking. , can design a textile machine that greatly improves production efficiency. It relies on hard piles of materials to make a pile of scrap copper and iron. The efficiency is about 10% higher than that of wood and bamboo. I, Xia Zhibai, do not have so many such money-losing goods. Pay the money.”
"Finally."
"I set a goal for them."
"When I respond to Tianfu, I will see the finished product of the textile machine."
"If I do If not, then they can return to the Ministry of Industry. I, Xia Zhibai, respect talents, but I respect people with character and integrity, not people who are complacent and self-righteous after getting some results. "
Fang Mo's face changed slightly.
This was the first time he saw Xia Zhibai angry.
Then he hurriedly said: "I will send the message later."
Xia Zhibai nodded.
He will never allow this unhealthy trend to spread.
However, this also made Xia Zhibai realize that he was obviously short of manpower.
And it is seriously insufficient.
Not only are there a shortage of bookkeepers and managers, but there is also a shortage of craftsmen and craftsmen. There is a shortage in all aspects. To fill it, it will take a lot of effort. This also makes Xia Zhibai want to make his own work more and more. That 'modern' training model was launched.
Since there is a shortage of people.
Then cultivate it yourself. Relying on the number of people, some engineers were piled up.
Xia Zhibai also knows why this is because contemporary education is not universal.
The cost of learning knowledge is very expensive and the threshold is very high.
On the one hand, this is related to the lack of productivity. On the other hand, it is also the 'scholar-bureaucrat' class who intentionally raises the threshold. As long as the threshold is high enough, there will be fewer people who can replace them, and their families will be able to Always prosperous.
Even emperors must rely on them.
Under this background of the times, Xia Zhibai was deeply constrained.
It also made him more determined to change his mind.
Powerful bricks fly!
As long as the productivity is pushed hard enough and improved enough, no matter how reluctant others are, they will have no choice but to follow suit. What’s more, there is Zhu Yuanzhang above him who is helping to clean up the stereotypes of the ‘scholar-bureaucrats’, etc. When these scholar-bureaucrats are killed so that they don't dare to stand out, many things will become smoother.
It just takes a while.
Fang Mo hesitated for a moment and asked: "Sir, the iron mine in Shuntian Mansion is said to be a new mine. Mining will not be that easy. Will it affect the construction of salt enterprises in various places? And now There has been a rumor from the outside world that..."
“The salt transport envoys from various places were very critical of the chief’s actions.”
“In the past, those responsible for managing the production and sales of salt in each salt field were the Salt Class Office and other yamen. Nowadays, the functions of these yamen are basically They have all fallen into the hands of the chiefs, and the only thing they can do is collect taxes, and these taxes are only given to them for inspection, and then they are collectively handed over to the treasury."
"The way the government treats the chiefs now. There are quite a few doubts."
"I think you have usurped power, sir."
"There are also many people who say that you, sir, are taking advantage of the situation."
Xia Zhibai nodded.
The Ming Dynasty actually attached great importance to the management of the salt industry. It established the Duyuan Salt Envoy Department in the six major salt areas of Lianghuai, Liangzhejiang, Changlu, Shandong, Hedong, and Fujian, while in other salt-producing areas , there are seven salt class promotion offices and other yamen responsible for the management of each salt field.
It’s just that the mountains and rivers are far away.
Zhu Yuanzhang implemented small government again.
The production and sales of salt are concentrated in one yamen, and the Ministry of Household Affairs lacks obvious supervision.
This is bound to lead to widespread corruption.
His intervention cut off many people's financial opportunities.
It will naturally make people feel dissatisfied.
Xia Zhibai shook his head and said with a smile: "The salt industry is rich in profits. Naturally, many people are jealous. There will be no shortage of these voices, but if they really can do anything to me, they won't just make noises. Instead, they directly filed a petition for impeachment.”
“They didn’t dare.”
"Why?" Fang Mo was stunned.
Xia Zhibai had a strange look in his eyes, "Because in their eyes, I am a madman, and they dare not offend the madman."
"Because no one knows when a madman goes crazy. What would this madman say, not to mention that the imperial court is now strictly investigating the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Salt and Iron Department is in the Ministry of Household Affairs. How can they dare to cause trouble at this time? However, they feel unwilling to do so. After all, if I continue to push forward, ."
"The entire northern salt market is in my hands."
"I am taking advantage of it."
Xia Zhibai smiled.
He never denied this.
He just took advantage of the fact that the Salt and Iron Department and the Salt Transport Department were too busy to take care of themselves, so he dared to ask Zhu Yuanzhang for the entire northern salt market. Otherwise, he would wait until the Salt and Iron Department calmed down. How can it be so easy to open a salt enterprise?
Now the officials of the Salt and Iron Division are probably bleeding from the heart as they watch themselves ‘attacking the city and taking out the stronghold’.
It’s all their oil and water that’s being robbed.
It's just that they can't help it.
As soon as the Guo Huan case came out, everyone in the Ministry of Revenue was in danger. They couldn't protect themselves, so how could they take care of this.
The imperial officials had too much time to take care of themselves, and the local officials had no backbone. Without the support of the imperial officials, the local subordinates, although they were angry and anxious, did not know how to deal with it. They could only pretend to be half-hearted and did not dare to There are too many actions, which makes Xia Zhibai cheaper.
This is also the reason why Xia Zhibaima went to Shuntian Mansion without stopping.
The iron factory must be completed as soon as possible.
Let salt enterprises in various places be established, and once everything is finalized, it will be useless no matter how much the Salt and Iron Department wants to object.
Because the wood has become the boat.
Sometimes when a person wants to achieve something, in addition to his own ability, he will also be affected by the general trend.
Those who follow will prosper, those who go against will perish.
Hear the words.
Fang Mo was thoughtful.
There was also a touch of respect in my heart.
Salt and iron.
The two most important industries from ancient times to the present.
Now they have all been eaten by Xia Zhibai. Still in full view of the public, in front of all the civil and military officials, he took a handful from the Salt Division. Now he has gone even harder and directly robbed all the salt in the north. City, and now it has begun to set foot in iron politics.
The more I get along with Xia Zhibai, the more I feel that Xia Zhibai is bold.
It didn’t take long.
Fang Mo got off the carriage.
Xia Zhibai drove to Shuntian Mansion alone in a carriage.
(End of this chapter)