Li Jie's career at the Hanlin Academy was uneventful. He went to work at 7 a.m. and got off work at 5 p.m. The work of compiling history was boring and tedious, but it was not difficult for Li Jie.
On this day, Li Jie received a letter from the housekeeper of Xu Pu's house, asking Li Jie to go to Ge Lao's house for a banquet after he was off duty. During Li Jie's return to his hometown, many incidents occurred in the DPRK and the Tatar Kou Bian was one of them. The biggest incident was that the British Duke Zhang Mao was urgently transferred to Datong Mansion by Emperor Hongzhi.
Xu Pu and other members of the cabinet had been busy mobilizing troops and transporting food during this period, until news came from the front line. Although the Tatars had mobilized a hundred thousand troops, the two sides were only fighting on a small scale, and the main Tatar forces had no intention of starting a war. , the little prince sent an envoy to say that if the tribute exchange trade was not opened as soon as possible, he would lead an army of 100,000 troops to march straight into the four directions to plunder.
As soon as the news from the front reached the capital, the civil and military officials in the court suddenly became excited. Although many ministers agreed to offer tribute and mutual trade, the prerequisite is that you can only ask for it if I give it to you. If I don't give it to you, you can't take the initiative to ask for it.
Among them, the Xunqi camp was the most exciting. They raised troops for a thousand days and used them for a while. The court had not had a large-scale war for a long time. They were so idle that they were going to be moldy. Many generals asked for orders to show off with the Tatars on the battlefield.
The most discussed issue among the officials in the Hanlin Academy in recent days is the use of troops against the Tatars.
"You said the Tatars are coming to your doorstep. Why doesn't the court send troops? It's unbearable!"
The one who spoke was Zhang Rui. He was regarded as the main combatant in the Hanlin Academy. He had longed to fight on the battlefield since he was a child. Unfortunately, God did not give him a good body. Although he was not weak and sick, he could not carry a gun and mount a horse.
Xiuzhuan Wuwei did not agree with Zhang Rui's words and said angrily: "How can we start the war lightly? Didn't you see the situation in this opening? Those merchants are only interested in profit. The court has stated that priority will be paid in this opening, but Those merchants were still unmoved, and no one came to the border until the price of salt was lowered again and again. If you ask me, these cancers should be eliminated one by one!"
Zhang Rui said with a melancholy look on his face: "Oh, I don't know, but I just can't swallow this breath. The Tatars are really bullying others! I hope the British Lord can teach them a lesson!"
Hearing Zhang Rui mention the British Duke, Wuwei said in an admiring tone: "The British Duke is the most expert in the army. With him sitting at the border, it is impregnable. I heard that the little prince is leading the army in person this time. He can't even think of attacking the British Duke. It’s cheap.”
…………
Such discussions abound in the Hanlin Academy in recent times. History is always surprisingly similar. The current situation is very similar to the situation in the Jiajing period when the Anda Khan tribe used force to force mutual trade. That time, they were directly killed by the Tatars in the capital. , and was finally forced to agree to trade with the Tatars. The war between the Ming Dynasty and the Mongolian tribes was not resolved until the Longqing period.
With the current strength of the court, there is no fear of Mongolian invasion from the south. The Tatars are mainly nomadic. Although they are all capable of riding and shooting and have a strong military, their economic structure is single and fragile and cannot support a long-term large-scale war.
It's just that most of the ministers in the DPRK were afraid of the Tatars' military fronts and were afraid of a repeat of the Civil War. Therefore, they took strict precautions against the Tatars. Those officials who did not approve of tribute exchanges were afraid that once the exchanges were opened, the Tatars' survival would be eased. Pressure is equivalent to capitalizing on the enemy in disguise.
If someone popularizes Marlows' Hierarchy of Needs theory to the officials in the court, I guess those officials will not be so afraid of the recurrence of the Civil War. The Tatars are currently unable to meet even the first level of physiological needs, so how can we let them think about it? If you don't give me more, I'll have to grab it.
After getting off duty, Li Jie went to Xu Pu's house. He kept thinking about how to answer the question. The day before yesterday, news came from the Shangli Salt Factory that the test of the new salt-drying method had been successful. Compared with the traditional method, the efficiency was nearly doubled. .
Chen Bin said in the letter that he couldn't believe it when he learned the news. He sent officials overnight to confirm it. After confirming that it was correct, he wrote to Li Jie to report the good news. The stove households in the salt field learned that Tanhua Lang had improved it. The salt-drying method made Li Jie burst into tears. Now Li Jie's prestige in the Shangli Salt Field is higher than that of the chief official, Ambassador Qian.
Li Jie had been to the Xu Mansion many times before. When the concierge saw that the person coming was Li Jie, he just let someone take him in without announcing it. There were officials who came to visit in front of the manor and they all looked at each other in confusion. They were treating Mr. Ge like this. Li Jie was secretly envious. At this time, the concierge walked to the door and said to everyone.
"There will be no visitors from the pavilion today. Sirs, please come back!"
After hearing this, all the officials looked surprised and started talking about it.
"Why are there no visitors? Is it possible that someone important is visiting today?"
"Yeah, what's going on?"
"It's good luck for Xiao Lin to be able to reach the top of the tree."
"I'm afraid the day of rapid growth is not far away."
Li Jie was already immune to the comments of people outside the door, and he didn't feel much after more experience. He followed the clerk through several gatehouses and walked outside the living room. The clerk went inside to report.
After a while, the clerk returned and led Li Jie into the hall. Xu Pu had changed into a blue round-collared Confucian robe after returning home from duty. When he saw Li Jie coming in, he smiled and said, "Are you still getting used to the days in the Hanlin Academy? "
After Li Jie saluted, he replied: "Everything is fine. The students really like the atmosphere in the department."
Xu Pu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Just get used to it. The border is not peaceful during this period. I have been busy with grain adjustment recently. The merchants are really afraid of holding back. There are only a few successful applicants this time. Last time you asked The salt-drying method mentioned in the article will be discussed with me carefully this time."
Li Jie picked up the tea at hand and took a sip to calm down his thoughts: "The biggest advantage of the salt-drying method compared to the decoction method is that it saves the decoction process. The land allocated to the salt farm by the imperial court has been greatly encroached on, so we can use it." Firewood is getting less and less, so the salt-drying method uses the power of the weather, which is inexhaustible. One man can produce two hundred kilograms of salt a day."
When Xu Pu heard that one person could get two hundred catties a day, he asked, "Oh? The output is so high?"
"Yes, I just received a message from the Shangli Salt Factory the day before yesterday. The students improved the salt drying process when they returned to their hometown. The current output is only high or not low. The different salinity of seawater in different places is not a problem. As long as artificial brine is used to increase the saltiness Just keep it in check, as for the private salt matter..."
When Li Jie just talked about private salt, Xu Pu raised his hand and interrupted: "I have heard of the sun-salting method before, but I didn't expect that the output of the sun-salt method would be so high. Isn't fried salt as common as private salt? How can you give up eating because of choking? , as long as sea salt production is greatly increased so that salt merchants are no longer on the defensive, this is not a problem and can be slowly managed."
