Back in the north, Liu Chengzong changed his pillow reading to a new book. He finished reading "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", "Illustrated Notes on Strange Weapons of the Far West" was also roughed up, and now he has a set of "Taizu Bao Xun" in hand. , is a collection of books obtained from Prince Han’s Mansion.
In fact, it is the quotations of Zhu Yuanzhang.
After reading Zizhi Tongjian, Liu Chengzong was able to view and learn from the perspective of later generations, and he had little empathy. However, when he read Taizu's teachings, he was filled with emotion.
The first snowfall will soon arrive in Cowan. It is still very cold this year, but it is not as heavy and the temperature is not so bone-chilling.
Liu Chengzong felt that this was related to the increased popularity of Juerwan. The Marshal's Office planned six streets, three vertical and three horizontal, sixteen squares and four porridge factories outside the new city to accommodate the tens of thousands of people who moved from the sea. .
What makes Liu Chengzong feel depressed is that their training system always seems to lag behind. The academy in Juerwan has managed to teach more than 400 students who understand Chinese and Chinese languages. Suddenly, Mongolian language has become the largest language talent gap in the Marshal's Mansion. .
Plans never keep up with changes.
Fortunately, Mongolian language is not a unique skill in the army of the Marshal's Mansion. Many serving officers can speak it to some extent, especially his escort team. Except for Fan Sanlang, everyone has mastered this skill.
This cannot be said to be a good thing for Liu Chengzong. The guards are all low-level officers waiting for promotion. They were transferred to the guard only because they did not have a complete wartime promotion mechanism.
These people all master the Mongolian language, which means that even today, promotion in the army is still dominated by border troops, and it is difficult for generals and soldiers from the peasant army to gain an advantage in the competition for military merit.
It is even possible that this person was a peasant army when he joined Liu Chengzong, but was a frontier army before becoming a peasant army.
This is like the survivor bias. The generals and soldiers who stand out in the peasant army are often extremely eager to learn, and are assigned non-military jobs because of their eagerness to learn.
Take Heavenly Monkey for example. Heavenly Monkey Liu Jiusi is no longer a general leading troops. Instead, because he learned the Western language and knew military affairs, he was sent to Riyue Mountain by his father Liu Xiangyu to cooperate with the Fan chief Gonpo Dorje to take charge of the Seven Tribes, and became a marshal. The government's military training officer stationed at Riyue Mountain.
But this does not mean that the earliest joint venture, Shangtian Monkey, has been marginalized. On the contrary, Riyue Mountain is crucial to the Marshal's Mansion because it is the only Iron Mountain and Coal Mountain in Xining Prefecture that has been developed and is under their control. location.
There are three main sources of iron ore in Tay Ninh Province.
One is produced by Beishan Iron Works in Xiningwei. It was originally owned by the imperial court and later changed to private ownership. It has two blast furnaces, including furnace officers, iron masters, apprentices, miners, blacksmiths, stonemasons, carpenters, iron transporters, firewood gatherers, and charcoal burners. There are more than 70 craftsmen such as workers and bellows workers. They tap iron four times a month and smelt for five months a year, producing 30,000 kilograms of wrought iron annually.
Second, the furs are shipped from Lintao, Gongchang, Hanzhong and other places by merchants who purchase furs. Any single quantity is not limited. Last year, more than 20,000 kilograms were shipped, but this year the road has been closed.
The third is the new mining plant in Riyue Mountain. However, the local area has not built a blast furnace yet. Since Liu Jiusi took office, workers have been hired to excavate and transport it to Xining for smelting. Moreover, the number of workers is very small, and only 10,000 yuan of mines are mined a year. More than a kilogram.
When Liu Chengzong heard about this situation, he couldn't help but make a calculation in his mind. It was only more than thirty miles from Riyueshan Iron Works to Juerwan, but it took three days to transport the mining from there to Beishan Iron Works and back. Hundreds of miles.
Not to mention that the production capacity of Beishan Iron Works is close to saturation. Even if it is not saturated, the labor fee alone will add five coins to the cost of one hundred kilograms of wrought iron.
"Isn't this nonsense? It only costs two taels to buy hundreds of kilograms of wrought iron. The labor and food for the hired workers alone is five yuan more. In addition to the cost and loss of iron mining and iron smelting, the cost of producing one thousand kilograms of iron is equivalent to two thousand kilograms."
In the front hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Liu Chengzong sat at the top and clapped his hands and asked, "What's going on?"
Making iron bars in the production area was not Liu Chengzong's ingenuity. Everyone knew this truth. All the iron factories of the imperial court were built directly next to Iron Mountain. How come they lost this wisdom when they arrived at the Marshal's Mansion?
“We can’t afford to repair it, and there’s no one around.”
Liu Jiusi shook his head and said: "People should not hire miners to build an iron-making blast furnace and a craftsman's workshop to support the iron-chemical furnace. I have discussed this matter with the master. The cost is high and the output is low. It is better to wait for you to come back and collect all the money in Hehuang. Fill in the Beishan Iron Works expansion.”
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "Ju'erwan is more suitable than other places. We need to use not only the iron from Xining, but also the iron and copper from the area around the lake. We have Tongshan in the north, and Tongshan in the Qilian Mountains in Haibei. More, this place is suitable... How much financial and manpower is needed, do you have a budget?"
In fact, to put it bluntly, Liu Chengzong's liking here was not just related to iron smelting and mining. The deeper reason was that he did not want to give up the opportunity for external expansion.
There is the largest arsenal of the Marshal's Mansion here, and troops will be stationed around it to form a large market town. They will further fully control Qinghai Lake and have the possibility of westward expansion.
If there wasn't one here, they would come and go, and the construction of water conservancy projects and land reclamation would gradually give up over time.
In areas where Han, Pan, and Mongolians live together, the army is a necessary condition to encourage people to settle and cultivate land; and the relatively sufficient water source irrigation conditions in the entire Hehuang Valley can also leave a chance for them to survive in the extreme environment of severe drought.
Just a hint.
Even here, Liu Chengzong was still frightened when he thought about the cracked land in northern Shaanxi.
Liu Jiusi heard Liu Chengzong's support and said angrily: "I asked the master craftsman that he needs a kiln, three iron furnaces, a coke oven, and a large furnace. The maximum cost is 600 for civilians, 400 for military, There are 150 households of craftsmen and 700 apprentices in shifts. To build an ironworks, 8,924 taels of silver are needed. From then on, depending on the number of craftsmen and apprentices, a maximum of 18,000 dan of work and food rations are needed every year."
Liu Chengzong nodded slowly. The scale exceeded his expectations, but the cost was within his expectations. He asked: "How much iron can be produced?"
The Sky Monkey shook his head and said, "The number is uncertain yet. I only know that there is a huge amount of iron hidden in the mountains. There are iron ores buried for more than thirty miles around the iron seedlings. If there are enough craftsmen, we can know the number through more inspections in the coming year."
After that, he said easily: "If we only calculate it based on furnaces, the annual production of iron is 45,000 jins and wrought iron is 80,000 jins. If it is not enough, we can build more large furnaces."
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "You can build an ironworks like this first, but if you are not afraid of it, you won't be able to build a new furnace."
Cost is a very important issue, and when it comes to mining, it’s not just cost that needs to be considered.
In the Ming Dynasty, various uprisings emerged one after another, and miners were the main force among them.
It's not that ordinary people who mine like to rebel, but that in this era, ordinary people who mine privately will most likely break the law.
And mining has the convenience of weapons, so it can easily turn into a rebellion.
Throughout the dynasties, minerals such as salt, iron, gold, silver, and copper were banned by the imperial court for most of the time, and people were not allowed to mine them privately. Those who dug privately were called miners, just like there was official salt, and those who sold private salt were called salt disciples.
Liu Chengzong recently read Zhu Yuanzhang's quotations, which mentioned Zhu Yuanzhang's views on opening silver mines.
As early as the 20th year of Hongwu, Ding Cheng, a veteran official of the Fujun avant-garde, told Zhu Yuanzhang that there were silver mines in Shaanzhou, Henan, which were often mined in the Yuan Dynasty. They are now abandoned and can be mined for national use.
And Zhu Yuanzhang said that a gentleman loves justice, and a villain loves profit. Those who love justice have the heart of benefiting the people, and those who love profit have the goal of killing the people.
He knew that in the past, mining was opened in Fengcheng, Jiangxi Province during the Yuan Dynasty, and the government set quotas for mining. Later, the people of the state suffered greatly.
Because the land's yield is limited, the upper minerals are easy to extract, but there is a fixed amount of tax that the people pay every year. When the easy-to-exploit materials are exhausted, and the local officials take credit for their work and do not petition the people, this part of the tax will have to be made up from other places. Even if the imperial court has a heart to care for the people, it has no way of knowing.
Therefore, we must take this as a warning: Anyone who talks about profit is a thief who kills the people.
With this guiding ideology, the Ming Dynasty, starting from Emperor Taizu and subsequent emperors, were very cautious about mining. They believed that the benefits to the government would be small and the damage to the people would be very high, so they could not be opened.
However, there have always been opponents in the DPRK and China. Every generation has officials who advocate mining, and there has always been private mining in various places. Usually, the main subjects are guards officers controlling prisoners, and barbarians mining, which gradually evolve into rebels.
This situation lasted until the Wanli Dynasty, when the mining tax and mining supervision was established. From the 24th to the 32nd year of Wanli, it took eight years and cost more than hundreds of thousands of taels, and 110,000 taels were levied. The library has messed up the whole country.
Liu Chengzong was very concerned about mining, which is essentially a story of "Yuan people had no time to mourn for themselves, but Zhu Yuanzhang mourned them; Zhu Yuanzhang mourned and his descendants did not take heed of it, which also made Liu Chengzong mourn Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants again."
Mining may seem like a 100% profitable business, but it's not.
Even in the era he remembered, roads, transportation, and mining were all very developed, and mining could still be a loss. Not to mention that the production technology of his era was relatively low. Even from Liu Jiusi's budget, the Riyue Mountain Iron The factory is also a real loss-making business.
The market price of 120,000 jins of pig iron and wrought iron is only about 4,000 taels, but the cost required is far more than this amount.
But the cost of minerals cannot be calculated so simply, especially when it comes to the military. If an arsenal is built in Juerwan and supporting industries are formed, the value of raw materials can be greatly increased.
Not to mention selling heavy guns and heavy artillery. Of course, if he is willing, he can sell a cast iron cannon for as many taels as it weighs. Presumably the Mongolian Taijis in Oara will be very willing to come and purchase it.
Even if it is just made into a large iron pot, it can still sell for a sky-high price.
However, when it comes to expanding production, Liu Chengzong does consider the cost issue.
He asked: "Can the people from the seven tribes of Riyue Mountain be recruited as civil servant apprentices?"
The monkey in the sky shook his head like a rattle: "Impossible. They believe in mountain gods and are especially opposed to mining. Let alone letting them dig. Even if our people dig, they will be attacked. Kampot Dorje can't control it. This It’s not something that money and food can solve.”
Liu Chengzong frowned: "They dare to attack my soldiers?"
Liu Jiusi saw that he was getting angry and quickly shook his head: "It was not a mass attack, nor was it ordered by Gonpo Duoji. It was just that the people personally felt that mining could not be carried out, so they secretly shot arrows in the mountains and forests. One craftsman and four Nanfan prisoners were killed one after another."
After that, Liu Jiusi explained: "Every time something happened, Gonpo Dorje would search the seven departments, and the murderer would go to the Xining Yamen to receive his death... The master did not want to make the matter too serious, so he only asked Gonpo Dorje to restrain the various departments. , expelled the monks, and made rules that our mining and seven ministries are not allowed to cause chaos."
"What do you mean it's too tense? Everyone died, isn't it still tense?" When Liu Chengzong heard that his father expelled the monks, he relaxed his frown and said: "They don't mine. How did Fanbu help the court before they didn't mine?" Those who fight against pirates, where do their weapons come from? If you say there is no monk behind this, I won’t believe it. I’ve seen this kind of thing a lot in the south."
He waved his hand and said: "The monks and wizards told the people to respect the mountain god and no one was allowed to mine. He asked the slaves and young monks to seal the mountain to mine gold."
This is a combination of upper-level interests and lower-level concepts.
Liu Jiusi had not experienced the Southern Expedition, so he did not know about these twists and turns. With confusion on his face, he waved his hand and explained: "Commander, I don't know what is going on in the south, but it is really not the case here. They used to be iron-clad." , it was picked up from the iron hat, we dug up the mountain along the iron hat, it is indeed different."
The iron cap is the part of the iron mountain that protrudes from the ground. This is the simplest prospecting method.
As early as the Warring States Period, Guan Zi concluded that there is ocher on the mountain, and there is iron below it; there is lead on the mountain, and there is silver below it; there is red sand on the mountain, and there is gold under it; there is Cishi on the mountain, and there is copper and gold underneath it. .
"I don't care about that. We have already organized the people into households, and yet something like this happens. If something like this happens in the south, their heads will be fertile. But Kampot Dorje is the first leader to surrender to me, so I can't Be held accountable.”
Liu Chengzong had just finished speaking, and before the smile on Liu Jiusi's face showed half, he heard him continue: "Since they were driven to Riyue Mountain by the pirates, now that La Zun has left and the pirates have been eliminated, let's go home. "
Liu Chengzong stood up and ordered the guards to find a map. He found a place on the map and said to Liu Jiusi: "Tell Gongbo Duoji to lead his troops down the mountain and return to the Daotang River where his ancestors have lived for generations. From now on, it will be under the management of Haixi County. I will Give them the grassland at the foot of the mountain on the south bank of the Datu River. The water and grass are lush and enough for them to live."
"This... Commander." The smile on Liu Jiusi's face froze, and he reminded: "They have cultivated more than 20,000 acres of mountain land in Riyue Mountain, and you just let them go down the mountain?"
"More than 20,000 acres, isn't it 14,000 acres?"
Liu Chengzong remembered this: "Their ancestors have lived in Daotanghe for generations. They go to Riyue Mountain to worship the mountain god. I don't want to anger the people because of this. Let them go to the south to herd horses and sheep. There are also Mongolians there." The cultivated land is no less than the land on the mountains.”
Anyway, it was not yet time to plant next year, Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said: "You go back and calculate the grain production of the 20,000 acres of land, recruit how many people to work on the farm and help in the off-farm, and get a new budget for the iron factory, and by the way... Recruit craftsmen to build me a huge stone statue on the mountain."
After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he sneered: "That is grandma's mountain. Qinghai Lake is filled with the Sun and Moon Mirror thrown down by Princess Wencheng. Even if there is a mountain god, it is Princess Wencheng. How could the grandma of the Tang Dynasty not let me mine!"
