Taoism and fertilizer have nothing to do with each other, but they are now related because of Zhu Houcong.
There is no need to think about chemical fertilizers, the technical threshold is quite high. But Jin Kaila himself tried to mix many things into his fertilizer, and the results were good, which provided Zhu Houcong with new ideas.
If several effective ingredients of this primitive compound fertilizer are determined under Zhu Houcong's "inspiration", then a lot of things can be done in the name of seeking those raw materials and preparing those raw materials.
Empty the experience of the alchemy Taoist priests in doing "heating reaction experiments", and then use the scientific method of quantitative analysis to train new people by recruiting disciples. This is probably faster - there is no way, Zhu Houhuang can't be a chemistry teacher.
Without seeking to develop a complete subject system, I will study the preparation of some non-industrial fertilizer raw materials for practical purposes.
In addition, the struvite stone must also be put on the agenda. The reason why Zhang Lun and others were involved in this matter was naturally to use Zhu Houcong's hidden unit in this reform that was not inconspicuous - the Maritime Transport Bureau.
Benefits from overseas should always be seen by more people.
The smugglers had seen it, but what they saw was money.
The important officials of the imperial court are not short of money, they want status and reputation.
Combining the power of the original compound fertilizers of overseas struvite and golden slag, if anyone can really make the people of Ming Dynasty have full stomachs, how much fame and sense of accomplishment will it be?
For them, this is the real "profit" overseas!
…
Xue Lun, Marquis of Yangwu, suppressed the overall situation in Sichuan two years ago. Although he did not participate in the Huguang rebellion, his contribution was not small.
He is also getting older. At this military affairs conference to determine the candidates for the commanders of the provincial capitals, Xue Lun submitted his resignation in advance - five years after Jiajing, a large number of new people promoted by the emperor will take over. For example, in Sichuan, Those who achieved great success include Guo Zan, such as Ji Weimin, the guerrilla general of the Shenji Battalion who had outstanding achievements in the battle against the rebellion and was newly awarded the title of Jianingbo.
He knows how to advance and retreat.
What's more, it's not like there aren't areas where you can make contributions.
But it won't be Xue Lun himself, but his son Xue Han.
Now, he is teaching his son earnestly in the mansion: "The letter from Counselor Cui has arrived, and your Majesty has approved my resignation. I will wait for Uncle Jianing in Chengdu, and you go to Hangzhou first. Remember, ask Mr. Pan for advice."
On the side, Pan Min, an old staff member who had been with him for many years, looked solemn.
"Father, why do you want me to go to the Maritime Transport Bureau to gain experience? Except for the General Manager Zheyang, the Maritime Transport Bureau has only been reorganized into the Zhejiang General Manager. The only way to go is to the River Transport Bureau."
"Your Majesty's words are wrong." Pan Min said immediately, "What Your Majesty wants to see is that although the Shipping Bureau still has a branch in Tianjin, the general administration has been moved to Hangzhou. The Nanjing navy has left and right guards, and Longjiang has two guards on the left and right. , Guangyang, Jiangyin, Yingtian, plus the five guards of Huai'an, Dahe, Gaoyou, Yangzhou, and Changhuai, plus the commander-in-chief of the Zhejiang Dusi of the Cao Army. This maritime transportation bureau is staffed by soldiers for the people, and in fact, many local guards in the south of the Yangtze River have been spared. Military strength. More importantly, which one of Yang Getai, Jiang Getai and Yan Dutai did not go to Jiangnan with a heavy responsibility?"
Xue Han was still young and couldn't figure it out for a while.
"Wherever you go, do good deeds! Since you are not good at military affairs, and you are not willing to just do business like a British official, the Maritime Transport Bureau is the best place to go! The River Transport Bureau is just an enterprise that Your Majesty said. The Maritime Transport Bureau wants to prevent Japanese pirates, but it is also Military and business!"
Because of his contribution, although Cui Yuan did not reveal any secrets about the Nanyang Maritime Great Wall, he still helped Zhu Houcong to say to Xue Lun: In the future, there will be great achievements at sea!
Xue Lun's great-grandfather Xue Lu was the first generation of Yangwu Marquis, and was posthumously named Zhongwu.
Now, His Majesty has given Yu Qian the posthumous title of "Zhongwu" in the new dynasty, and he is worthy of enjoying the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Xue Lun still has the desire to make meritorious deeds, but he is already old.
After reprimanding his son with a straight face, Xue Lun said: "Remember! When you go to Hangzhou, ask Mr. Pan for advice, listen to Yan Dutai's plans, and follow President Ma's orders! The Shipping Bureau is not like It’s as simple as you think!”
Xue Han didn't know how difficult it could be, but the first month had passed for a long time, and it was time for him to set off.
He really wanted to stay in Sichuan with Guo Zan. His father Yu Yin was still there, and it was easiest for Xue Han to accumulate qualifications in Sichuan.
To put it bluntly, in the future, if you become a noble, you may be able to lead any party.
Now, he is inexplicably going to work in some enterprise.
It was still a reform of the Cao Army, which could only supervise grain and could not fight at all.
Xue Han thought so, but in Hangzhou, the establishment of the Maritime Transport Bureau affected the hearts of countless people.
The reason is a bit simple: after the Cajun Army restructured the River Transport Bureau and the Maritime Transport Bureau, the River Transport Bureau only supervised the transportation of grain taxes from the north of the Yangtze River and items purchased by the palace and the imperial court to Beijing. It will be transported by sea to Beijing and delivered to Jizhou, and it will also carry the part of Huangmingji's goods that are transshipped by sea.
Although Huang Mingji also has its own transshipment company specializing in land transportation.
And what is Huang Ming Ji? After the Zhejiang Shipping Department was abolished, it is the only legal enterprise in Ming Dynasty that can engage in maritime trade.
What is even more imaginative is why Yan Song went to Ningbo for nearly ten days after returning from the national policy meeting in the capital. He also brought the president of the Maritime Bureau, the former Shandong Metropolitan Commander and the top leader of the Cao Army Shandong General Office with him. Clear?
Ningbo, that’s where the Zhejiang Shipping Department used to be!
What they didn't know was that what Yan Song and Ma Cheng were going to see was an inconspicuous and even somewhat puzzling thing.
But because the emperor personally confessed it, neither Yan Song nor Ma Cheng dared to treat it lightly.
Now, the two of them walked around and returned to Hangzhou, with several boxes in front of them.
"I wonder if this is what your Majesty is looking for."
In the box, there are gray-white or gray-brown stones that look quite rough.
Ma Cheng is one of those who "dedicated his crimes and made meritorious service". Now he is the president of the Maritime Bureau. The order passed by the emperor in the first month of the year is indeed a bit heavy: searching for and purchasing large quantities of this kind of stone from overseas will be a strategic task behind the Maritime Bureau.
"It's not wrong, right? Struvite... As the name suggests, it should be this kind of thing."
After the national policy meeting, Yan Song did not immediately set off to Zhejiang. After Zhu Houcong saw Jin Kaila at that time, he thought of struvite and mentioned it to Yan Song, because he remembered that there were many islands in the sea in Zhejiang, and he might be able to find them first. Experiment.
"If it is really this thing..." Yan Song frowned, "Your Majesty, if this thing is really miraculous for our crops in the Ming Dynasty, the quantity needed in the future will be huge! I heard from your majesty that this thing is mostly produced on the vast sea islands. , because birds often look for islands to settle in the sea, and it took many years to form this stone. Since most of them are produced on overseas islands, how to find a large amount of these struvite stones is a bit difficult..."
Produced on an island, it means that the manpower required for mining and transportation are big problems.
And this thing is just a stone. If it weren't for a large amount, it wouldn't be worth much. If the purchase is expensive, how can we achieve the effect of high-quality and low-priced fertilizer that the emperor said?
At any time, cost is something that must be considered. Since Your Majesty wants to see if it can benefit millions of farmers like the iron hoes, iron plows, iron rakes and other items in the future, it should be cheap.
The background of Yan Song's coming to Zhejiang was that there was a Japanese tribute incident in Zhejiang. The emperor wanted to lay off the Zhejiang Shipping Department first, and Zhejiang needed stability.
He has been stable in Zhejiang for more than two years. During this period, Zhang Fuking went from Guangdong to Shandong and helped the emperor run the Kong family. What did Yan Song do in Zhejiang?
Naturally, there is no fault, but it cannot be said to be a great achievement.
But now, although Zhu Houcong just asked him to find some struvite to experiment, with Yan Song's brain, he clearly saw the opportunity.
Although the new law will encourage commerce, Ming Dynasty is still based on agriculture. Otherwise, why would the majestic emperor pay personal attention to the matter of fertilizers?
If this is accomplished, all the people of the Ming Dynasty will praise you.
Goal: Cheap, large-volume, easy-to-use fertilizer.
Yan Song pondered for a while, and his brows gradually relaxed: "This is the governor's order, all prefectures should not wait until the selection of village sages is completed before reporting. Now that each prefecture and county has candidates, I want a list!"
After that, he spread out the paper and prepared to spread it out together with the found struvite stones and send them to Beijing.
…
One foot high and one inch wide. Dragon pattern lace, cyan paper made of mulberry stems, with the word "一" in the middle, and below it are the appearance of several strings of copper coins, and below it are the words "The Ministry of Revenue has approved the printing of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes..." and other words.
This is a Ming Dynasty treasure note.
Next to it is the copper coin Tongbao. From Hongwu Tongbao to Hongzhi Tongbao, the texture visible to the naked eye has become increasingly different.
In addition, there are various privately minted copper coins, as well as various broken silver, silver ingots, and silver ingots.
To this day, the Ming Dynasty officially does not allow silver to circulate. Even the legal status of copper coins is not as high as that of treasure banknotes, but treasure banknotes are basically not used. In addition to many tax collections, banknotes are still rigidly implemented, and some salaries are also distributed with banknotes. .
"In this way, the biggest trouble with demonetization is the taxation of the wealthy gentry and the financial pressure caused by the full and uncompromising official salaries. Acknowledging the status of silver in line with the current actual situation will bring a lot of pressure to ordinary people. ?”
After looking at their plans for a night, Zhu Houcong asked questions in the State Palace.
In the past, grain taxes were paid in kind, and many taxes were also paid in kind. But some practical situations are also taken into consideration, including folding banknotes and silver.
Gradually, the salaries of officials, clan members, and relatives were basically paid in discounted cash.
Treasure notes are worthless, so why would a person with status want these? On the contrary, local people who have to pay taxes are willing to find ways to collect some treasure notes so that they can be folded and handed over.
The Ming Dynasty's banknotes are ridiculously liquid, but now those who are rich and powerful are involved.
On the contrary, the subsequent new law wanted to reform taxes and corvee, and after unifying the laws and regulations, only bank transfers were required, but it would bring some inconvenience to the people.
I don’t have many copper coins, so if I want to have money to hand over, I’m afraid I have to think of ways to sell something.
The trouble also includes: Ming Dynasty is currently short of copper and silver.
This will only lead to the fact that if ordinary people need to find money to pay taxes, they will have to sell more to get it together.
"I think there are two ways. One is to print new banknotes and exchange the old banknotes for the new ones. With this method, if the court wants to rebuild the people's confidence in the banknotes as your Majesty said, it will have to temporarily bear more pressure. If we want to be trustworthy, one needs to accurately fold more banknotes within a few years to collect taxes; the other two, as His Majesty said, Huang Mingji Department Store and others need to collect banknotes to sell goods, so be honest and bear the losses at your own risk."
Fei Hong and others have taken many lessons from Zhu Houcong, and they have understood and recognized that the essence of money is credit, and they need to be able to guarantee the need for physical transactions at any time.
Now that the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are hopeless, can we regain our confidence by changing the shell?
"Second, quasi-bank circulation. Baoyuan Bureau casts Jiajing Tongbao and Jiajing silver ingots, and allows officials and people to exchange banknotes for treasures and exchange for silver. This method may require a huge amount of silver and copper, and the fire consumption and expenses will be even greater. A sum of silver. I'm afraid the common people still can't exchange these official treasures and silver ingots. When taxes start to be paid in silver next year, I think there must be something to do with money being more valuable than rice."
No matter what, Da Ming Bao Chao needs to wipe his ass.
If you just throw it away and don’t acknowledge it, there will be no way to build monetary trust later.
Wanting to take over is another huge financial pressure: even if the exchange is based on the current real ratio, Ming's unconscious "over-issuance" for so many years is already a terrible figure. Who knows how much treasure money will suddenly appear among the people after the news is announced?
Also consider how easy it is to print counterfeit banknotes in this day and age.
Zhu Houcong could only say: "In the final analysis, the imperial court does not have that much copper and silver reserves. It cannot absorb the treasure banknotes that exist today, so it is impossible to say that it will strictly prohibit private minting in the future."
"The matter of private casting is mostly semi-public and semi-private. There is too much broken silver in the local area, and it is not easy to deliver it. So I ordered the local place to melt it into ingots and engrave the date on it for inspection. When casting, I also cast some copper coins, silver ingots, It’s just ingots. There are also bronze and silver utensils used by the people..."
"In this way, there are many problems with those two methods. At least if we do it now, there are many problems." Zhu Houcong understood better than them the destructive power of really messing up the monetary system. He looked at Fei Hong and others and said. , "This cannot be achieved in one or two years, and force will not work."
Although Zhu Houcong gave this big topic, Fei Hong and others are also very eager to achieve great achievements.
"I think we need to do five things first. First, the court collects banknotes, but it needs to calculate how much pressure it can bear each year, and then determine the proportion of convertible banknotes that can be taxed. Second, make every effort to store silver and copper to To meet the needs of the time. Third, only Jiajing Tongbao will be cast at first, and we will take advantage of the promotion to punish a group of people who cast copper coins privately. Fourthly, let Baoyuan Bureau study and improve the casting process. The material and appearance of Jiajing Tongbao will be better in the future. To prevent counterfeiting of banknotes, many things can no longer be done carelessly. Fifth, when casting copper coins this time, silver coins can also be cast. What I mean is that, like Tongbao, one piece is worth a lot of silver, and there is no need to weigh it. Just Subsequent false casting and wear and tear must be taken into consideration.”
Zhu Houcong gave his own idea, and then said: "First let the people only recognize the money cast by the imperial court, and cut off the space for local manipulation when smelting silver ingots, adding fire consumption and weighing. In the future, we will wait for the Emperor Mingji and many other It is easier for government and private businesses to impose bans under the commercial law. Let’s try new banknotes again. When we were discussing the new law’s strategy in the past, I and you all agreed that money law should be put last. What we have to do now is just preparation, not haphazard There will be results in the next year.”
Fei Hong was silent. Although he felt the same way, he did intend to take back the Ming Dynasty treasures that the Ming Dynasty still has in the world at the minimum cost within at least these three years.
Now it seems that there is still no rush.
The rebellion has been put down, the prime minister has been delegated power, and the emperor has been rewarded with titles and titles. The emperor is no longer anxious.
His current focus is on those long-term things that emphasize technical skills.
Is that why he declined important state affairs such as discussing money laws for the sake of fertilizer?
"I have to repay it. There are many discussions among the people that banknotes will be abolished this year and only banknotes will be used." Zhu Houcong solemnly told them, "Don't make the people panic. In the matter of collecting banknotes, the eighteen banks Enterprises are more useful. They collect banknotes, fold banknotes and pay taxes, so this account is just a matter between me and the government, and the Ministry of Accounts does not have much physical losses."
"...then most of them will lose money this year?"
Fei Hong thought to himself, then it is you, the emperor, who is mainly responsible for the losses. If a company like Huang Mingji sells goods and collects cash, it will lose money on actually useful goods.
Zhu Houcong laughed: "It's a tactical loss, it's not a problem, it's not a big problem for the time being. Besides, with those treasure banknotes in hand, when it comes time to print new money and new banknotes, they will be able to redeem the most good money. At that time, the people will Privately minting and counterfeiting money is a capital crime, but there is little money to use, so there will be more opportunities to do business with these companies. If you have money in your hands, they will do things well."
There is no formal bank yet, but when the new money is issued, won't these eighteen companies become one of the best flow channels?
And how much leverage can it have with the largest amount of good money? How many industries will it have a discourse effect on?
When the first ministers of the State Council discussed the first undecided matter after the beginning of the new year, they once again felt that the emperor had a deeper understanding in this regard.
He always likes to do more than one thing with one stone!
(End of chapter)
