"Why is this, why?" Lao Zhu's voice was like a bell, roaring in the Fengtian Hall. He glared at Han Du fiercely, as if he was the bad guy who ruined his good intentions.
Han Du, who was lying on the ground, couldn't help but curse in his heart. "Lao Zhu is indeed kind-hearted in giving profits to the people, but there is nothing in this world that can solve all problems as long as you have good intentions. Don't do too many bad things with good intentions."
Facing Lao Zhu's stern questioning, Han Du had no choice but to raise his head and said: "Your Majesty, all the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit, and the prosperity of the world is for profit. People's lives are not easy. If you face the price that is too low, For charcoal, no one will choose high-priced charcoal anymore. As a result, all charcoal sales will inevitably close down, and those who rely on charcoal for a living will also lose their livelihoods, leaving them dead."
Han Du's voice was not loud, but in the Fengtian Hall where you could hear a needle drop, it could easily be heard far away.
After waiting for a long time, Lao Zhu stared at Han Du with red eyes. Although he didn't want to give up, he had to admit that what Han Du said made sense. Those people who rely on charcoal to make a living are unlikely to have much savings. If the charcoal cannot be sold and there is no source of income, then besides waiting to die, Lao Zhu doesn't know what else they can do.
"Then what do you think should be done?" Lao Zhu gritted his teeth and asked this sentence word by word.
After hearing this, Han Du was determined. As long as Lao Zhu could still listen and give advice, it would be fine. What he fears most is that Lao Zhu insists on going his own way. In that case, Han Du has nothing to do. Even if he risked his own life, it would be impossible to dissuade Lao Zhu.
"Your Majesty, your love for the people can be seen from the sun and the moon. In fact, even if the coal is sold at the price recommended by the minister, the people will still benefit."
Hearing this, Lao Zhu sneered a few times, "Selling at your price, apart from seeing you making a fortune, I don't see any benefit to the people."
How did you say this? What does it mean to make a fortune? It's obvious that you always get rich, okay? The minister only holds 10% of the shares, but you hold 50%. Oh, by the way, the prince also takes 40%. It is you and your son who are making a fortune.
But Han Du could only think about this in his heart.
"Back to the Emperor, in the past, the entire capital was supplied by charcoal. Now that there is more coal, the people have one more choice. Coal itself is much cheaper than charcoal, so the people are benefiting from using coal. It's just that. Because burning coal will produce a lot of smoke and dust, it is not as good as using charcoal. If the price of coal is set at about 130 yuan, then people with poor families can choose to use coal in order to save money, and those with well-off families can choose to use coal. Families can continue to use convenient and clean charcoal. In this way, although the price of charcoal will drop, it will not fall to the bottom instantly, giving people who rely on charcoal a buffer time."
The price of charcoal in the capital has always been high, even higher than that of the surrounding government officials. Basically, it is maintained above 380 fen, and the highest can reach 450 fen. Of course, don't think that the high price of charcoal means that the lives of the people who rely on charcoal for a living will be so good. In fact, the higher price of charcoal is taken away by those engaged in the charcoal business and has nothing to do with the common people engaged in the charcoal industry.
"Accurate!"
In the end, Lao Zhu thought twice and softened.
After all, what Han Du said makes sense. Another business that maintains the livelihood of many people cannot be crushed into the mud just because it is beneficial to the people.
Han Du breathed a sigh of relief immediately. What he was afraid of was that Lao Zhu insisted on giving benefits to the people across the board.
"My Holy Emperor!"
Han Du and Zhu Biao retreated from Fengtian Hall together.
Han Du was walking half a body behind Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao suddenly turned his head and glanced at Han Du, and said with a chuckle: "I didn't expect that my father would listen to your opinion. You know, although there were people who could persuade my father in the past, this is not something that ordinary people can do. You He’s really capable.”
After hearing this, Han Du turned around and glanced towards Fengtian Hall, as if he saw Lao Zhu who was reviewing the memorial inside.
Looking back, he shook his head and said to Zhu Biao: "It's not that I have the ability, but that the emperor pities the common people and pretends to be suffering from the common people in his heart."
Zhu Biao's expression was even weirder, and he whispered tentatively: "Do you really think so?"
Han Du knew why Zhu Biao looked so weird. Since he became an official, Han Du had not had many contacts with officials, but people in the market had heard that Lao Zhu was cruel.
"That's what I think." Han Du nodded and continued: "I know what His Highness wants to say. I think the Emperor's actions are fair. If you treat the people as dogs, the Emperor will naturally treat them as dogs."
After Zhu Biao heard this, he said in a daze: "But Gu's teacher once said that scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, and scholars help the emperor manage the world, so naturally they should be higher than the other three people. Even the father and emperor gave the scholars a lot. Preferential treatment~”
When Han Du heard such remarks again, he felt bored. Regardless of Zhu Biao's face, he waved his hand to interrupt him. "Any group will only speak for its own interests. As a prince, His Highness should have a clear understanding that no one can be superior to others except the royal family."
After Han Du finished speaking, he saw that Zhu Biao was deep in thought, so he ignored him and left Si Siran.
"Why?" By the time Zhu Biao came to his senses and spoke, Han Du could no longer be seen.
Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that Han Du had said that if he wanted him to answer his questions, he had to help him. He lowered his head and smiled bitterly: "Handu, Handu~"
Can Zhu Biao help him? How is this possible~
Han Du was not in a hurry and was very confident in his knowledge. Zhu Biao is now trying not to ask him to clarify his doubts, but there will come a time when he can't help it anymore.
Back at the banknote bureau, Han Du quietly prepared the materials for making glass. Most people couldn't understand what was inside when they were mixed together. With the help of Heizi, Han Du successfully burned the glass. Then use the prepared tools to make the glass into various test tubes, beakers, etc.
Heizi looked at Han Du's skillful operation in horror. When he saw the fired transparent glass, his face turned pale, fearing that Han Du would kill and silence him.
Han Du turned around and saw Heizi's appearance and chuckled.
"Sir, I, I will never tell anyone until I die." Heizi quickly promised.
When Han Du saw that he was done, he instantly felt extremely tired and sat down on the ground. He curled his lips and said: "Even if you want to go out, you can't. You just know the firing process, but you don't know the formulas of these materials. It's not as simple as firing cement, and it's not something you can do through constant trying. It can be made.”
Han Du is not that stupid to hand over such an important thing easily, especially now when he needs to accumulate chips.
After Heizi heard this, his heart dropped, but he still assured Han Du: "Sir, I won't say anything."
Han Du nodded indifferently.
With the utensils, it would be much more convenient for Handu to prepare the potion for making cotton pulp. First, Han Du made sulfuric acid. How to make sulfuric acid? It's very simple, just heat alum. As for alum, where is it? Alum is now a traditional Chinese medicine. You can find it in almost any drug store. With sulfuric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid can be produced. These three acids are also called the three foundations of modern industry.
Where the banknote bureau originally soaked the raw materials of banknotes, Mr. Huang followed Han Du's instructions and cleaned out all the mud in the original pool, then plastered it with cement sand and polished it with cement dust. Now the entire pool is completely different from before.
The cleaned pool was filled with clean water again, and the cotton was soaked in it.
Han Du, Xiong Shi and others stood at the edge of the pool.
Buckets of potion prepared by Han Du were put aside.
"Sir, everything is ready as you requested." Xiong Shi said.
Han Du nodded without any hesitation, raised his hand high and waved it down, "Pour it down."
Buckets of potion were poured into the cotton, and the craftsmen continued to stir the cotton with long wooden poles to mix it evenly with the potion.
When Han Du saw that everything was in order, he took Xiong Shi and Huang Lao and left here.
When they arrived at the business office, Han Du waved his hand for the two of them to sit down.
"Huang Lao, I have already asked His Highness the Crown Prince for permission regarding the sale of coal mines. Your Highness has given twelve shops. You can have the coal transported directly to these shops, and His Highness the Crown Prince's people can sell it. .”
Mr. Huang nodded and replied: "Yes."
Han Du felt relieved about selling coal. Then he said: "Now let's talk about the production of banknotes."
"Please tell me, sir." Xiong Shi and Huang Lao immediately replied.
Han Du stood up, walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and said, "The production of paper money is now available."
When Xiong Shi heard this, he immediately reacted, "Sir, do you want to use cotton to make paper?" Originally, Xiong Shi was wondering what Han Du was buying cotton for. He originally thought he was going to distribute cotton to the craftsmen. But later, Han Du soaked the cotton and added medicine, and now he said that the paper for making banknotes was already available. He still doesn't understand that Han Du originally used cotton to make paper?
"Yes." Han Du smiled and nodded. At this point, there was no need to hide it from the two of them. And even if they wanted to hide it, they couldn't. After all, they would naturally know it when the paper was made.
Moreover, the key to using cotton to make paper is not the cotton, but the potion prepared by Handu. Without medicine, cotton soaked in water will only turn into a puddle of foul-smelling black water instead of snow-white and tough paper.
