Chapter 8 Nanjing’s Industrial Base
However, it does not mean that the number of copper coins minted will equal the profit of copper coins.
Gein, copper coins were mined overseas, shipped to China, and then cast at the Taiping Iron Works.
Yes, cast at the Taiping Iron Works.
Originally, there was a special Baoquan Bureau, even in every province. But Zhu Yuanzhang successively abolished these institutions. Transfer craftsmen to the capital.
This all requires costs, and in real terms, the interest rate is not that high. However, the treasure banknotes cannot be used, so other currencies are added to the market. It can also be regarded as a remedial policy.
But no matter what, the four towns in Nanyang are already supporting the imperial court, which is a good thing for He Xi.
If no benefits are obtained for a long time, it is very possible that the world's policies will change in the future and the four Nanyang towns will be abandoned. But things are different now. Even if the New Deal cannot be implemented. In the future, the four towns in Nanyang will not easily break away from the Ming Dynasty.
Now and in the future, many places in Southeast Asia will become China's territory since ancient times, just like Taiwan.
After all, for Chinese people, the Ming Dynasty is actually very recent. But for other countries, the fourteenth century is already a very distant ancient time.
"Teacher," Huang Zicheng said, "There is an issue at Longjiang Shipyard that is not easy to handle."
He Xi was stunned, his eyes stayed on Huang Zicheng for a moment, and said: "Tell me, what is it?"
Huang Zicheng said: "Timber, especially large timber. The copper ships in Nanyang are all large ships, at least five-masted ships, or even larger. There is just a shortage of large timber."
He Xi frowned slightly, feeling a little strange.
It is not surprising that large ships were used to transport copper, which was caused by the efficient transportation ratio. It can be said that for the same transportation volume of 100,000 tons, if it is a ship, the investment of manpower and material resources is the least. But if there are ten boats, several times the manpower and material resources will be invested, and small boats often have poor wind resistance. The problem is even bigger.
Not to mention, the ocean currents from China to Luzon are not very smooth. Small boats are more likely to drift with the current. Larger ships were needed to cross the ocean.
There was just one question that made He Xi confused.
Huang Zicheng had been in Liaodong for several years and was in charge of the construction of factories in various places. He also has connections, so He Xi may not need to come forward. The previous machines were like this, and the current Liaodong Damu is also like this.
Although Liaodong big trees are relatively rare depending on their degree. Especially when building large ships, the keels needed can only be found in large trees tens of meters high. Of course, this era also had the technology to join wood. But the problem is that this technology is still not as strong as the whole wood.
This kind of big wood is like the beams used to build palaces. Although they exist, they are not in large numbers. And most shipyards don't actually use them. Without him, it’s not bad, but uneconomical.
It can be said that in the era of wooden ships, limiting the size of ships was often a matter of materials.
Are these just problems for Huang Zicheng?
He Xi didn't think it was a big problem.
He Xi asked: "Why do I still need to come forward for such a small problem? Huang Zicheng, did you work in vain in Liaodong?"
Huang Zicheng said: "Teacher, there is no way around this. I asked around and found out that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is going to build a new Beijing city, and all the qualified timber has been knocked down. They are not allowed to use it. I also thought of a way, but they did not dare to disobey His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's order. I have no way to find the prince, so I can only ask the teacher to come forward."
He Xi was slightly shocked when he heard this.
Take a peek and see the whole leopard. Through this little thing, He Xi could already see the prince's influence on Liaodong.
It had only been a short time since Huang Zicheng had left Liaodong for only half a year, and he was already gone. He actually left Liaodong together with Huang Zicheng. Now what he said still has some effect in Liaodong, especially when the prince's order conflicts with his own ideas. How many people will listen to themselves?
For a moment, He Xi felt a little depressed.
The prince's innate advantages are too strong. It was so powerful that He Xi lost some confidence.
He Xi secretly thought: "I must return to Liaodong as soon as possible, otherwise my title as governor of Liaodong will really become an additional title."
He Xi thought so in her heart, but in front of Huang Zicheng, she acted very confident, as if she didn't care at all. Said: "Okay. Just leave this matter to me."
Huang Zicheng said: "Thank you very much, teacher."
Huang Zicheng settled the major issue on his mind and became much more relaxed. All that remains is to take a closer look at Nanjing’s industrial base.
It has to be said that Nanjing is second only to Liaodong Industrial Zone.
Led by Taiping Iron Works, Longjiang Shipyard, Jingdezhen Official Kiln, and Jiangnan Weaving, it is not as comprehensive as Liaodong. But it's quite ok. Especially the Longjiang Shipyard amazed He Xi, even though He Xi tried his best to catch up. But talent development still takes time.
Today, in order to compete with Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang strengthened the Longjiang Shipyard at all costs. It can be said that all the skilled craftsmen under Zhu Yuanzhang's rule at that time were strengthened in the Longjiang Shipyard. After Chen Youliang was destroyed, this trend did not change.
The Zheng He treasure ships of later generations were all produced by Longjiang Shipyard, which shows how rich the foundation of Longjiang Shipyard is.
If there is a battle on the sea one day, it doesn’t matter what the navy will be like. Let’s just talk about shipbuilding capabilities, as long as there are enough materials. Longjiang Shipyard's ability to make dumplings is determined to be better than Liaodong's. ,
The Taiping Iron Works lags behind the Liaodong Iron Works in terms of production capacity, but the problem is that in terms of supplying the army, the Taiping Iron Works is more than adequate. Using the current Ming Dynasty army as an example, Taiping Iron Works can supply even a few million.
It can be said that the Ming army did not fully utilize the production capacity of the Taiping Iron Works.
He Xi didn't realize it himself. He didn't know why he had compared Liaodong and Nanjing in a completely opposite situation.
He Xi stayed at the Longjiang Shipyard for a whole day. After returning, he immediately summoned everyone on his side to make a final summary of this period.
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Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the final draft, and his thoughts were racing for a while.
In fact, as far as the content is concerned, there is not much else to say.
He Xi made a lot of compromises, but the most basic contents were preserved.
First, everyone’s personal rights, personal freedom, property rights, and several other rights are guaranteed. Of course, there is no such thing as equality for everyone. We can only admit the reality. However, the status of slave and humble status was abolished. When people sue an official, there is no need to roll a nail board first. There is no such thing as a killing stick. There were also restrictions on lynching.
The review of the death penalty has become even more stringent.
In fact, this is also a matter worth pondering in feudal society. Since the Tang Dynasty, the review of death penalty has been very strict and must be removed by the emperor. There were even times when only a few hundred people were executed a year to promote peace in the world. There are few people who violate laws and taboos. But down below, the Yin of the Miemen Prefecture and the Po Family County Magistrate had too many ways to make the people below die silently, and there was no way they would be on the imperial court's execution list.
It can be said that for now, even if He Xi has made too many compromises, the things above are just lies and empty talk.
Compromises have also been made on property rights. According to the model of dividing property within the same family, family separation is not advocated. However, every adult male in the family can have his own property. That is to say, the family's property is naturally owned by the patriarch and parents, but everyone should also be able to have their own private property. This model is like a woman's dowry.
In a family, the head of the family owns all property. There is one thing but there is no such thing. That is the woman's family. Whether it belongs to her wife or her daughter-in-law, the dowry must belong to the woman or the children born to the woman.
Women have independent disposal rights over these properties.
Now it extends to private property.
In fact, among big families, small families also have their own private money. This is normal, but the problem is that this kind of private money is not protected. If the elders want it, or the parents want to possess it, it is legitimate. of.
After all, according to ancient thinking, you are my son and you are all mine. What about your money?
