On the twenty-fifth day, Li Weijian had breakfast, changed his clothes and was about to set off. Fu Qiufang and Hongyu were naturally very reluctant to leave. One carefully arranged his clothes, and the other took Xiu Ying, who was accompanying him, to give them some instructions.
The group of people walked out of the gate, and when Li Weijian got on his horse, Fu Qiufang smiled brightly and said, "I wish you a safe journey, sir."
Li Weijian smiled and said, "Go back. I will return in mid-June, and I will leave my family to Qiu Fang and Hong Yu."
After the explanation, Li Weijian turned the horse's head and led Xiu Ying, Wu Zhong, Wu Haining, and Jia Yun out of the alley, and then went straight to Dongzhimen along the street. The sentry camp was waiting outside Dongzhimen.
In the late winter, the capital was covered in gray in the morning, filled with soot and white mist exhaled from the mouth and nose. When the five cavalrymen came out of Dongzhimen, they saw a group of men and horses parked on the roadside. Without Li Weijian's instructions, Jia Yunce immediately stepped forward to negotiate with the leading officer. The officer hurriedly dismounted and came over, clasped his fists in salute and said, "Your Majesty, Wu Yi The general of the town post, Cheng Heng, has met Mr. Li. All 87 people from the twenty-seven posts led by the lower official are here. Please give me your instructions."
Li Weijian nodded and said: "Let's set off."
Cheng Heng took the order and turned around to order the soldiers. In a blink of an eye, all eighty-seven of them mounted their horses and marched along the official road.
On the way, Li Weijian realized that this post was full of cavalry, so eighty-seven men were considered full strength. If it were to be used as a sentry, there would be 20 to 30 more people.
Li Weijian observed carefully. The sentry horse was wearing a bright red military uniform inside, a leather armor on the outside, and a rucksack on the side of the horse. Inside it was a saber, a flintlock musket, and two short muskets around its waist. It could be described as an elite soldier. To the teeth. Afterwards, there were more than a dozen people carrying riding bows on their backs, all of whom were good mounted archers.
Cheng Wei then said: "Master Li, I don't know. Ever since the prince suffered a loss in Qinghai, he told the sage that the Dzungar elite cavalry were all equipped with double or triple muskets, so all our cavalrymen in Wuyi Town were dressed up like this."
Li Weijian nodded, thinking to himself, it turns out that he learned a lot from the mistakes he made. It is expected that Dashun will at least not suffer a loss in future cavalry battles.
When Cheng Heng saw that Li Weijian was very concerned about military affairs and heard that Li Weijian had made a new type of firecracker, the conversation immediately became lively. Li Weijian's heart was shaken when he heard the generals enumerating all kinds of things one by one, and he was yearning for them endlessly.
Cheng Yu's twenty-seven sentry posts were considered light cavalry, and there were two sentry sentry heavy cavalry in Wuyi Town, wearing double armor and charging into the formation with cavalry guns. On that day, Qinghai was besieged and supplies were cut off. The Dashun Army relied on heavy cavalry to break through a bloody road, and thus maintained an invincible situation with Junggar.
Speaking of the fierce battle in Qinghai, Cheng Heng frowned and said: "If we fight in an upright formation, how can Junggar be my Dashun opponent? This traitor is accustomed to avoiding the important and taking the easy. Seeing that our troops are invincible, he will slowly retreat to lure me The army went deep alone, and then cut off the food road.
If this was not the case last time, why would the prince retreat in a hurry? The battle that day was really a useless one. In my opinion, when fighting against the Dzungars, we need to send more cavalry. We must first protect the food roads; then we must camp step by step and build military forts to press us. When the Dzungars thieves have no room to move, our army will take advantage of the situation to fight decisively with them. "
Li Weijian was extremely puzzled by these words and asked thoughtfully: "Listening to Mr. Cheng Shao's talk, could it be that he has read a book?"
Cheng Wei laughed and said, "How shameful! I was born as a child in my early years, and when I saw the Junggar thieves frequently invaded our borders, I couldn't help but feel angry, so I decided to join the army."
Li Weijian was in awe. Hearing that this person was only twenty-two years old, he decided that this person would have a bright future in the future, so he began to think about making friends.
Jinmen is two hundred and fifty miles away from the capital. If you take an ordinary carriage, you have to walk on the road for three days. Now that Li Weijian is riding a horse, unless he doesn't want his legs anymore, it will take him two days anyway.
Fortunately, the carriage pulling the steam engine and centrifuge had set off two days earlier, otherwise it would have taken Li Weijian three days to cover such a short distance.
Without further ado, the group waited for the light carriage and stayed at the official shop in Wuqing for the first night, then headed to Jinmen the next day. By late afternoon, Jinmen was finally in sight.
Xiu Ying changed into the attire of a young servant, looked like a tomboy, pointed to the city wall in the distance and said: "Master, Jinmen has arrived."
"Um."
Li Weijian responded, turned around and looked around, and saw Xiu Ying's red face full of smiles. Li Weijian asked: "Why are you so happy?"
"Huh? I'm naturally happy to finally get out for a walk." Xiu Ying said this, but she had another thought in her heart. She had been with the young master since Jinling. A year later, Li Weijian's children had gathered around him, but she had become the most inconspicuous one.
This time traveling with Li Weijian, with Qingwen and Xiangling behind her, she could at least be alone with the young master for more than a month... More than a month, it makes me happy just thinking about it!
Li Weijian ignored the little girl's thoughts and just urged his horse forward, entering Jinmen City in a short time. Jinmen at this time was completely different from that of the Ming Dynasty.
In the pre-Ming Dynasty, Jinmen was more like a military town in order to protect the border. In this dynasty, Dashun Liting swept the caves and leveled the outside of the pass, and because Emperor Taizong Li Shiguang had decided on a water transportation strategy of using both rivers and seas, Jinmen, which was only three days away from the capital, became a prosperous place. commercial port.
As Li Weijian and his party walked along the street, they saw numerous shops on both sides, selling goods from the north and south, people selling figurines, people selling makeup, silks and satins, and so on. Among the pedestrians were Korean businessmen wearing towering black hats, and Japanese wearing buns and no hats.
Xiu Ying was accompanied by her luggage, Wei Jian. She was looking left and right, feeling that her eyes were running out. She couldn't help but said: "Sir, why is this Jinmen so prosperous? It looks no worse than Yangzhou."
Li Weijian said: "All the grain shipped by sea is unloaded here, doesn't it make it prosperous? The prosperity of Yangzhou is also because of the canal."
Looking at the prosperity on the street, Li Weijian couldn't help but think to himself. It was said that the strategy of moving rivers and seas parallel to each other for hundreds of years should now be focused on. Sea transportation is naturally far superior to canals, but for some reason rivers and seas still run parallel to each other.
Little did he know that from now on when he went to Yuji, he would focus more on the sea than on the river. If it weren't for the concern that hundreds of thousands of water transport workers would lose their livelihood, river transport would have been completely abolished.
But even so, sea transport now accounts for 80% of grain transportation, and the remaining 20% is transported by river. Even so, the majority of the cost of transportation among the two is still transported by river.
Li Weijian didn't even know that there were big quarrels in the court about this every now and then. The elimination of river transport saves a lot of waste along the way and reduces entrainment. That's all. The most important thing is that without the delay of the canal, we can just sort out the Huanghuai River and completely control these two rivers that have caused trouble for hundreds of years.
But if river transportation is abolished, the remaining tens of thousands of canal workers will have to be resettled. Whether it is dividing land in Liaodong or developing big officials, it will always cost a lot of money. Dashun has been short of money in the past few years, and there were constant natural disasters the year before last, so this matter was delayed.
This pier is outside Jinmen City. The group came out from the east gate and walked a few miles to reach the pier. The clerk escorting the steam engine had long been looking forward to seeing Li Weijian and hurriedly came over to deliver the errand.
Over there, Cheng Yu negotiated with an officer, and then led Li Weijian to wait on a ship.
Xiu Ying and others were stunned when they caught a glimpse of the ship. Not to mention this ship was two sizes larger than the previous merchant ships. It had two layers on the side, revealing a total of twenty artillery pieces.
Wu Haining was overjoyed and said: "Master, are we going to take a naval battleship?"
Cheng Wei then laughed and said: "Your Majesty knew that Mr. Li was traveling by sea, and he was afraid of being disturbed by passing Japanese pirates, so he simply sent the Gu Diao to take Mr. Li to Guangzhou. This ship has only been launched three years ago, and now it is a fast ship that can be counted."
What Cheng Wei said made Xiu Ying and others marvel. Even Li Weijian couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It was not Li Guo's fault that he died early, but Dashun would have been different long ago.
This Gu Diao has mainly hard sails, supplemented by soft sails. The top sail and wing sails are both soft sails. It looks like a proper Western ship, but the ship building is also decorated with carved beams and painted roofs, cornices and brackets. Zhenzhen'er is a combination of Chinese and Western...it's extremely weird!
The gondola hung by the iron rope fell, and a naval officer stepped out of it. Cheng Yu quickly greeted him and introduced: "Master Li, this is Sun Chengliang, the deputy general of the Yellow Sea Navy."
The deputy general is an official of the second rank. Li Weijian's official rank is the fifth rank, and his title is the second rank. He is still one level higher than Sun Chengliang. Since we met as a courtesy, we immediately boarded the boat in a hanging basket.
Li Weijian was on the huge sailing warship, and his heart suddenly filled with pride. The foundation laid by Taizong Li Guo was so good. Just looking at the Gu Diao horn tube, although the Dashun navy was unable to compete with the Xiyi fleet in the ocean, it was not afraid at all in the near sea.
When his steam engine is spread out, and iteratively upgraded bit by bit, sooner or later he will be able to build a steam engine for use on ships. In this way, the situation will inevitably reverse by then.
……………………………………………………
The Li family residence.
A carriage slowly stopped at the corner door. The doorman hurriedly handed over a stool and opened the curtain. Ping'er got out of the carriage first, then turned around and helped Wang Xifeng, who was behind him, get out of the carriage.
After settling in, Wang Xifeng took a look at the brand-new front of the house and said with a smile: "Although Brother Jian's house is smaller, it is more exquisite, especially with a side garden. It is better than Rongguo Mansion."
Ping'er said: "The old lady also said that now that the girls are getting older, they are playing naughty everywhere in the house. When the old man was still here, he thought of a garden, but he still hasn't gotten up until today."
Wang Xifeng snorted: "Who doesn't think of the garden? But there are hundreds of people living here and there, people eat horse chews, and money is used everywhere. In the public house, more people go out and less people enter. I don't think this garden can be opened. ”
While she was talking, Hongyu came out of the corner door and greeted her with a smile: "Second Grandma."
"Hey, little... Hongyu." Wang Xifeng smiled and came closer, looking up and down at Hongyu's outfit.
The inner part is a foundation collar, the outer part is a white base and sapphire blue edge with bamboo leaves, and the lower part is a pleated skirt. There is only a green step on the head and face, which is playful but also reveals a hint of charm.
Wang Xifeng couldn't help but praise: "Look, here at the Li family, she is dressed like her aunt. Hongyu is very lucky now."
Hongyu said hurriedly: "Look what Second Grandma said. Now that I know that Second Grandma is coming to the house, I will have to dress up badly. If I dress shabbily, and Second Grandma says that I am rude, then I will have a hard time explaining it. ”
Wang Xifeng said happily: "That mouth is really smart. If you don't leave the house, I really want you to come and listen to me."
Hongyu said, "Thank you for the compliment, Second Grandma." But she didn't think so in her heart, so what if she went to Second Grandma's side to listen to her? It's amazing that a character like Zhou Rui's family will have to be paired with a boy sooner or later.
Hongyu said again: "Second Grandma, please invite me. Aunt Fu was going to welcome her in person, but at noon the factory manager couldn't reconcile the accounts. Auntie saw that it was still early, so she went to the factory to reconcile the accounts first."
"factory?"
"It's the steam engine factory run by our Fourth Master."
Wang Xifeng walked in and said in shock: "Qiu Fang still wants to take care of the accounts of the factory?"
"In the joint venture business, someone has to look over the accounts. The fourth master was impatient, so he left it to Aunt Fu."
Wang Xifeng nodded slightly, feeling apprehensive. She is only in charge of the inner house of Rongguo Mansion, and the outer house is responsible for major operations, including the warehouse, accounts and stewardship. Every day, she only handles trivial matters such as arrivals and departures. That Fu Qiufang didn't say anything, not only became Brother Jian's family, but also took charge of the accounts of the steam engine factory that owned hundreds of people!
She couldn't help but feel sour in her heart. She didn't marry a dude like Jia Lian, but married someone like brother Jian. Then she...that's all. It was just a wild thought. Now it's too late to think about anything.
Hongyu led Wang Xifeng and Ping'er into the Yimen, entered the main room, and quickly greeted the maids to serve tea and snacks. After chatting with Wang Xifeng for a long time, Nian Xia came to report: "Sister Hongyu, my aunt is back."
Hongyu hurried to greet him, and not long after, he saw Hongyu leading someone around the screen. The inner part is a candied date-colored dress, the outer part is a thistle-pink embroidered plum blossom jacket, the lower part is a cinnabar-colored horse-faced skirt embroidered with chrysanthemum flowers, and the outer part is a black cloak. She behaves without missing a beat, smiles without showing her teeth, and behaves like a housewife.
Fu Qiufang smiled and said: "It's my fault this time. It's just that the manager from the factory came to look for me. The accounts are going to be done at the end of this month, and it's never easy to delay. I will punish myself with three glasses of wine to my second grandma later." apologize."
Wang Xifeng had already stood up, came over with a smile and grabbed Fu Qiufang and said, "Where are you talking? I have three urgent matters in my free time. What's more, my sister is in charge of the factory's accounts in front of the family."
"Second Grandma——"
Wang Xifeng immediately said angrily: "What kind of grandma is not grandma? Hongyu comes from Rongguo Mansion, so she can just be called Second Grandma. My sister is from outside, so what do you call Second Grandma? With my relationship with Brother Jian, you As long as my sisters match each other.”
Fu Qiufang was also straightforward. Seeing that Wang Xifeng wanted something from her, she agreed and said, "Then shall I call you Sister Feng?"
"This is it."
The maid came over and helped Fu Qiufang take off her cloak, and they took their seats respectively. After chatting for a while, Fu Qiufang saw that Wang Xifeng never got to the point and couldn't help but said: "Sister, I told me this before. Now that sister is back, are you going to start discussing the business of the greenhouse?"
Wang Xifeng said: "That's right. It is said that brother Jian knew everything and transferred the vegetable farmer's employment contract. He shouldn't bother his sister anymore. But, I told my wife, but she didn't care much. Silai I wanted to go, so I thought I might as well do it myself. But my sister also knows that we women only have a few naughty people around us, and if we want to take them all, we will probably have to pawn them as dowries.
It would take at least one or two years for the greenhouse business to pay back its original investment. So, wouldn't all the money earned be taken away by the pawn shop? "
That being said, in fact, Wang Xifeng had another talk with Mrs. Wang a few days ago. Mrs. Wang is a little moved, but the Duke is not rich now.
Wang Xifeng asked repeatedly, and then Mrs. Wang told the truth. I spent 30,000 taels of silver on buying water stocks before, but now I only have enough money left to spend for a year. Where can I find the money to build a greenhouse?
Wang Xifeng was shocked and said that if this was the case, wouldn't the family be completely in debt? Mrs. Wang said, thanks to the water stock company's dividends, the account has just been settled.
Wang Xifeng was doubtful, but finally made up her mind to set up the greenhouse first.
Fu Qiufang nodded with a smile and said, "Sister is right. The master has told me that if Er...sister doesn't have enough money, all he needs to do is write an IOU, and within ten thousand taels of silver, he can use it as he pleases. If sister doesn't trust this business, If you want to form a joint stock, I will make up for the lack of silver."
Wang Xifeng ironed the post with her heart in mind, secretly thinking that Brother Jian was really a decent person, he had thought of everything.
Wang Xifeng thought for a moment and said, "If I borrow it, I don't know the interest rate——"
Fu Qiufang waved her hand quickly: "They are all relatives, but they are just used for some time, so where is the interest? The master said, if my sister returns to her original position, she will get it, and it will not count as interest."
Brothers Jian are benevolent and righteous!
Wang Xifeng thought about it while drinking tea, and when she put down the tea cup, she had made up her mind and said with a smile: "I don't understand the outside business, so it's really inappropriate for me to do it rashly. My sister doesn't even work in the factory. The accounts are all taken care of, which shows that he is more knowledgeable than me who never goes out of the door.
I think it’s better to form a partnership. "
Fu Qiufang readily agreed: "Then we will follow my sister's wishes and form a partnership."
At that moment, the two agreed that Wang Xifeng would take out a village from the dowry and another 8,300 taels of silver, accounting for 50% of the shares; Fu Qiufang would give 8,500 taels and also account for 50% of the shares.
After discussing and drafting the deed, Fu Qiufang asked Wang Xifeng to wait while he went back to the wing. After a long while, he brought the wooden box and pulled it out. There was a stack of banknotes in it.
Point out eighty-five and hand them over to Wang Xifeng, and the partnership is settled.
Afterwards, Fu Qiufang ordered the kitchen to prepare a banquet, and several women gathered together, all of them drunk. At the end of the Youshi period, Wang Xifeng and Ping'er returned to Rongguo Mansion in a carriage.
In the carriage, Wang Xifeng had a headache after just drinking a few more drinks and seeing the wind again. Ping'er rubbed his temples and couldn't help but said: "Grandma shouldn't have drank so much just now. Fourth Master Jian ordered you, so Fu Qiufang still can't please grandma?"
Wang Xifeng sneered and said, "What do you know? Didn't you see just now that the bank note was taken from Fu Qiufang's room?"
Ping'er paused and said in shock: "Grandma is saying that the money -"
"It's probably true. Brother Jian really loves this guy. It's hard to say that this greenhouse business is just for Fu Qiufang."
Ping'er said: "Hongyu has been following Fourth Master Jian since the morning. If he finds out about this, I'm afraid there will be trouble."
"Oh," Wang Xifeng said: "It's just a living of ten thousand taels of silver. Hongyu is smart, but she is not as short-sighted as Aunt Zhao. Today Brother Jian gives Fu Qiufang a living, and he will be short-sighted in the future." Jade?"
Ping'er thought about it for a while, and it turned out to be true. It's just that only Fourth Master Jian can do this, taking money around without throwing it away.
Because Ping'er couldn't help but sigh: "Fourth Master Jian... is really rich."
Wang Xifeng felt bitter in her heart. She calculated for a long time and moved around to collect 8,300 taels of silver. In the end, Fu Qiufang took it out without blinking. It’s really eye-catching!
……………………………………………………
The cabin door opened, and Li Weijian entered the cabin, and saw Xiu Ying on the hammock with her eyes rolled back, looking half-dead.
Li Weijian came over and asked with concern: "What's wrong?"
Xiu Ying shook her head and said, "You can't fall to the ground. You'll feel like vomiting as soon as you land."
Who would have thought that Xiu Ying, who was born in a water town, would get seasick? It was fine when she set out more than ten days ago, but after leaving the Bohai Sea, the wind and waves on the sea became increasingly strong, and Xiu Ying couldn't bear it anymore. I vomited day and night, almost even vomiting out the bitter water.
When docked in Shandong, Li Weijian thought about letting Xiu Ying and Wu Haining disembark together and take the land route to Jinling first. But Xiuying refused even if she bit her to death. Later, Li Weijian asked Deputy General Sun for a hammock, and Xiu Ying improved slightly.
Li Weijian said: "Please bear with it a little longer, now we are about to cross the Lingding Ocean."
If Xiang Ling and Fu Qiufang were here, they would definitely recite the famous sayings through the ages. However, Xiu Ying cannot read a basketful of characters, and Li Weijian only expressed his wrong feelings.
With the sound of footsteps, Wu Haining ran over and said excitedly: "Master, there are many Western boats on the sea!"
"Well, go and see it. Don't run around."
Wu Haining saw Xiu Ying glance over and said happily: "Fourth sister, are you still fainting?"
Xiu Ying immediately gritted her teeth: "Skin Monkey, wait until you get to the shore and watch your skin carefully!"
"I didn't say anything." Wu Haining shrank his neck, muttered, turned around and ran away.
Li Weijian pulled up a stool and sat down beside the hammock, took Xiu Ying's hand and said, "Haining is not young anymore. Although she is a little out of control, she doesn't have to scold her all the time."
Xiu Ying said angrily: "I don't know why, but I don't like hitting a child."
"That's all, it's up to you. Do you want something to eat?"
"Ugh~"
"Forget it, let's talk about it after we get ashore."
Li Weijian accompanied Xiu Ying and chatted all the time. The boat sailed across the Lingding Ocean and entered the Pearl River Estuary. At this time, the water surface was getting busier and busier. Small boats carrying customs inspections shuttled back and forth. Various merchant ships had already parked on the pier, and several Western merchant ships were queuing up on the river.
It is now February, and the south wind will blow in March. Most of the Western ships left on the water are merchant ships running the triangular trade between Guangzhou, Nagasaki, and Batavia.
Near noon, the Gu Diao finally moored at the pier. There was no need to get off the ship. As soon as the warship entered the river, Xiu Ying gradually recovered. The group of people waited for the boat to arrive from the sampan, and Li Weijian did not go far. He watched with his own eyes as the gondola hoisted two machines weighing several hundred kilograms, and he felt a little relieved.
Cheng Wei and other sentry cavalry have now become infantry. Most of these people are landlubbers. Although the seasickness is not as exaggerated as Xiu Ying, half of them are sluggish. If you want to regain your energy, it will take at least a few days.
Saying goodbye to Gu Diao's deputy general Sun Chengliang, before leaving the dock, a green-robed sixth-grade officer ran over with his robe in hand.
When he saw Li Weijian and the sentry horse, he raised his hands and said, "But in front of Mr. Li?"
"Exactly."
The green-robed official suddenly smiled and said: "Sure enough, Mr. Li is in person. Wang Fang, the head of the Guangzhou Association of the Inner Palace, has met Mr. Li."
"It turns out to be the king."
The leader of this association is an official position of the sixth grade, which is unique to the inner government.
The king conveniently said: "Please forgive me, Mr. Li. I just received a message from the inner government yesterday and hurriedly sent people to guard the dock. Now that the post house has been vacated, I would like to ask Mr. Li to rest first. The reception feast has been prepared."
"Ha, in this case, King Lao will be in charge."
"Don't dare."
While talking, the group of people walked out of the dock. Wang Fang waved, and several carriages drove over. At that moment, the two of them got on the carriage and headed towards Guangzhou City.
In February, the remaining snow in the capital has just disappeared, but it already seems like summer in Guangzhou.
Li Weijian asked: "Mr. Wang just received the letter from the inner government yesterday?"
"Exactly."
"Then I guess you know what I'm here to do."
Wang Fang said: "Your Majesty has already given instructions in the letter. All the people in Guangzhou, the inner palace, will obey Mr. Li's instructions."
"Okay. Mr. Wang, I wonder if you have harvested all the sugar cane?"
Wang Fang said: "My lord, it is better to collect sugar cane in Guangdong and Guangxi in winter. In the middle of last month, Panyu Sugar Factory has collected all the sugar cane, and now most of it has been squeezed into sugar paste."
Li Weijian blinked and said, "You didn't seal all the mud, did you?"
Wang Fang smiled and said: "My lord, you are joking. The mud-sealing method is extremely time-consuming. It will be good if all the sugarpaste squeezed out can be sealed with mud in the autumn."
Guangdong is extremely suitable for growing sugar cane due to its climate.
Especially in Panyu Lanhe, Shaoguan, Yingde, Huizhou and other places, sugarcane is widely planted.
As we drove into the city of Guangzhou, we saw a tower standing in the distance. Wang Fang pointed to the pagoda and said: "The locals call this pagoda the Flower Pagoda, but in fact it is the Liurong Temple Pagoda."
When we had just walked not far, we saw a Western-style building that looked out of place on the side of the road.
Wang Fangyou said: "This is the commercial hall built by the Yingji Liyi. Twenty years ago, the Yingji Liyi sent a letter of credence to the emperor, pleading for business. The emperor agreed and allocated this place to build a commercial hall with the Yingji Liyi."
British Yi?
Li Weijian glanced at it and saw that most of them were Westerners and many Chinese people coming and going in the business building. He thought to himself that this must be the East India Company using the name of the country to deceive Dashun.
It is a pity that he did not study world history well. I wonder whether the British East India Company dominated South Asia at this time. If I get a chance later, I will definitely give this vampire leech a good look.
The car passed through the small south gate of the inner city, headed north, crossed the Mingyue Bridge, and reached Deden Yunli in a blink of an eye. To the east of this place is Hebo's Office, diagonally across from it is the Department and Sifu's Mansion, and a three-entry courtyard is where the Yamen of the inner government of this place is located.
The imperial government has more than one sugar factory in Guangzhou, as well as a tea farm for purchasing tea, buying Western goods, and collecting rare and exotic animals.
There is no doubt that Li Weijian, the internal doctor, is one level higher than the Yuanwailang here, not to mention that he has the emperor's order.
Wang Fang found a post house nearby, and after Li Weijian had rested for a while, he invited him to take the feast. Those who can be sent out by the inner government to run errands probably do not have deep roots, because they are very good at observing the situation.
Therefore, the Jie Feng Banquet was a joyful one, and no one dared to look down on Li Weijian because of his age.
In fact, yesterday's letter from the Imperial Household had already listed Li Weijian's deeds over the past year. Apart from other things, no one dared to offend Li Weijian since he had made nearly tens of millions of taels of silver for the imperial government through water services alone.
Tens of millions of taels! It was unpleasant to offend this person, so he turned around and complained to the prince. How could they, the internal officials who were out on errands, do anything better?
Not to mention, he was accompanied by a guard of forbidden troops.
Many officials were secretly stunned. It was not because of the age difference, but someone would definitely think that Li Weijian was the illegitimate son of King Zhongyong.
A welcoming banquet, where the guests and hosts enjoy themselves. Li Weijian immediately returned to the post house to settle down, so he didn't mention it.
The next day, Wang Fang came to the posthouse again early in the morning to wait.
After Li Weijian had breakfast, he said to Wang Fang: "Master Wang, if you are not busy with anything else today, let's go visit the sugar factory first."
"Okay, the sugar factory is in the outer city. Master Li, come with me."
The two of them took a carriage and rushed to the outer city. The sugar factory was located in Shiting Lane near Jinghai Gate.
When he arrived at the place, Li Weijian carefully observed the sugar making process. This was the first time in his life that he saw how sugar was made.
To make sugar, it appears to be sugar extraction.
The sugar cane is spread on the bluestone floor, and the oxen pulls the stone pulley to crush it repeatedly. The squeezed juice flows along the gaps between the stone slabs and collects into the wooden barrel next to it.
When the barrel is full, a worker will carry it to clarify. How to clarify? Sprinkle lime directly into the juice. This step must be carefully observed by the experienced craftsman, no more and no less. After sprinkling lime, you have to use a spoon to remove the scum.
After clarification, it needs to be boiled and concentrated. After that, the sand was sanded manually, and it became lumps of sugarpaste.
After asking Wang Fang, I learned that after boiling one hundred kilograms of juice, roughly fifteen kilograms of sugar paste will be left. If the sugarpaste is fixed and shaped at this time, it will be the most popular brown sugar on the market.
If you want to eat white sugar, you have to use the mud sealing method to remove the color. This takes two months, and the frosted sugar can be sold for three taels of silver per load.
Then use frosting sugar to recrystallize to get rock sugar, so rock sugar is more expensive than frosting sugar.
Li Weijian asked again: "How much cost can be saved if the mud sealing method is not used?"
"This..." Wang Fang made some calculations and said, "Sir, if we don't use the mud sealing method, we can probably save five coins?"
Li Weijian frowned slightly. A steam engine consumes fuel. In the end, he could save three cents, which is a huge amount of money.
He turned to Jia Yun and ordered, "Go back and bring the machine over. We will debug and install it today and try to see if we can make frosting sugar."
"yes."
Jia Yun obeyed the order and returned with a group of forbidden troops. Nearly an hour passed before the steam engine and centrifuge were brought over.
The two machines were dismantled for ease of transportation. Li Weijian mobilized the local craftsmen and it took a whole day to install them.
Seeing that it is already getting late, we can only try the sugar making thing tomorrow.
Wang Fang also said that he would arrange a banquet. Li Weijian couldn't bear to drink, so he refused because he was not feeling well. The carriages and horses were returning. Near the post house they had just arrived, a young man suddenly ran out from the crowd. He bowed and held up the paper with both hands: "You are wronged, the common people are wronged! Please ask Master Qingtian to make the decision!"
(End of chapter)
