I'm really not doing business

Chapter 411: Bright, very expensive

Zhu Yijun found that he had seriously overestimated the resistance will of the humble Confucians and the restraint of ethics on imperial power. He was somewhat lenient to the enemy.

He thought that these despicable Confucians would do whatever it took, such as inciting civil unrest, coercing the refugees, hijacking public opinion, assassinating the king, doubling the execution, etc. They would even go to the extent of rebellion and use all possible means to oppose the Ming Emperor's decrees. .

New policies such as the clearing of the land, the opening up of the sea, and other new policies have effectively destroyed the interests of famous families and powerful powerful people.

Because Emperor Jiajing had been facing this all the time when he was reforming the old and making new things in the first twenty-one years.

But the humble scholar's will to resist melted like the white snow in March in the face of the increasingly powerful Beijing camp.

Now, the courtiers are discussing large-scale construction projects. In the end, they only turned three roads into two and a half. The galloping road to Daningwei is also on the list of preparations, and because of the white soil, most of them People have no objections, they just feel that the financial pressure is too great.

The courtiers, the mouthpieces of Zheshehu, only yelled twice and immediately stopped, and even 'pledged' money to help build the road together.

Pledging donations was a method that the Ming Dynasty had to adopt after the financial revenue of the Ming Dynasty dropped sharply since Hongzhi. The governors of the Ming Dynasty, such as Yin Zhengmao, Ling Yunyi, and Pan Jixun, all adopted this method to varying degrees.

The court discussion is still going on. The preparations for the establishment of several ocean-going trading houses in the city's shipping department have been completed, and the general merchants have begun to appoint. All the ocean-going trading houses are waiting for Wang Daokun to leave office, and Songjiang Ocean Trading Company has major personnel changes. Bite off a piece of meat from Songjiang Ocean Trading Company.

These are all interests, sharpening the knife.

We can also use this standard to determine whether a place is a county or a feudal system. If the local lawsuit always belongs to a certain faction, it is a feudal system, not a county. For example, the governor of Luzon Governor's Mansion, Yin Zhengmao, will always treat this The Governor will live until his last breath.

The leaders of the three parties in Zhang, Jin and Zhejiang will take a share back, and the Ministry of Household Affairs will also take a share.

The rules and regulations, organizational structure of the shipyard, and even the weaving school for girls, are collectively referred to as the group construction method, which was learned from the experience of the woolen factory along the Yongding River in the Ming Dynasty.

"Wang Cifu has great merits and is the humerus of economic development." Guo Chaobin said sincerely. All of this must start from the book "The Placement of Rogues" that Wang Chonggu entered the cabinet. Wang Chonggu was the second assistant, although he was never in Wenyuan. He served in the cabinet, but his promise in joining the cabinet was to place gangsters in place.

"What if?" Zhu Yijun smiled and affirmed Guo Chaobin's praise. No matter how much those cheap Confucians talk about it, the real achievements are right in front of them. Even if they say it ten thousand times, they can't shake Wang Chonggu's holy family.

This is the first time for Shen Shixing to come to the side hall. This is an important task entrusted to him, and he is also rising rapidly.

In fact, Zhu Yijun did not need to show the details of the investment income of the 3712 million taels to the courtiers. After it was done, Zhu Yijun could just take a look for himself. After thinking about it, he decided to publish the financial report. It was not like Zhu Yijun had used this large sum of money for himself. Above the extravagance, there is nothing that cannot be shown to the ministers.

An incompetent person cannot climb to the position of chief assistant.

The troubled Zheshe households all supported His Majesty. It was indeed His Majesty's way of doing things that was upright and upright.

After intense discussions, the new governor of Songjiang finally got a result: Shen Shixing, a subordinate of Zhang Juzheng and a direct descendant of Zhang's party.

"One thousand, four hundred and thirty-two schools were built, including 124 girls' weaving schools, for the children of craftsmen to study, with a total of more than 123,000 students."

Shen Shixing, the number one scholar in the 41st year of Jiajing reign, was a good old man who had been an assistant minister for fifteen years. He was in harmony with each other. Shen Shixing seemed to be a man with "two ends", "all sides" and "everything he wanted". He had neither A chief assistant who is opinionated, incompetent, and incompetent.

This kind of rotation is to ensure the centripetal force of the imperial court and the basic stability of the political structure of the Ming Dynasty. The emperor is in charge of the Jingtang, and the Jingtang has jurisdiction over foreign officials.

But in Zhu Yijun's eyes, Shen Shixing, who is only 45 years old now, is impassioned and a radical among the reformists. In the sixth year of Wanli, Shen Shixing even criticized the teacher for advocating for uprightness. The reason for the criticism was very simple. After Zhang Juzheng returned to the court in the sixth year of Wanli, when all the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty implemented the Qingzhang and One Whip Laws, Zhang Juzheng opposed the radical nationwide promotion, and instead chose to implement it gradually and implement one government for one place.

"Here is an accounting report of internal funds. When the three party leaders left, they handed it to the households who invested the money. They wrote down where the money was spent, where the money was earned, and why they were given such dividends. It's clear." Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao to bring four thick books, which were details of the cumulative investment profits of 3712 million silver since the third year of Wanli.

"Without courtesy, sit down." Zhu Yijun motioned to Shen Shixing to sit down.

He, Wang Chonggu, arrogant and sycophantic, flattering and submissive, the Yan Song who was alive in the mouth of scholars in order to survive, suddenly became an economic man and a country. This came from the mouth of the Ming Gong and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. It was difficult for Wang Chonggu to accept this change of identity for a while.

Folks call grain boxes Taiyue boxes, and it has formed a habit of transporting bulk granular goods in grain boxes. Guo Chaobin was so used to it that he almost said it wrong in the Wenhua Palace.

After the content that needed to be sent to the Wenhua Hall for court discussion was over, Guo Chaobin, the Minister of Industry, briefly reported on the many achievements of the Ming Emperor's sea-opening investment.

The 45-year-old Shen Shixing was a radical, and the 50-year-old Shen Shixing began to fall out with each other. Probably, he chose to be wise and protect himself under the overwhelming trend.

As a disciple of Zhang Juzheng, he did nothing when Zhang Juzheng was liquidated. After he succeeded him as chief minister, he did nothing, let alone continued to implement the New Deal. In the end, because of fear of trouble, he simply resigned and returned to his hometown.

The side hall is filled with Zhu Yijun’s whimsical ideas. On the left side as soon as you enter the door, there is a pile of various ship models sent by the shipyard, and there is also a pool to verify the stress of some ship models. On the right side of the north side There are seven display windows filled with various classics, which are summaries of the Ming Dynasty's New Deal. In front of the window sill, there is also a piano. Zhu Yijun does not like music theory, and it is Wang Yaozhuo's musical instrument.

The liquidation of Zhang Juzheng was apparently carried out by Zhang Siwei as the first assistant, but in fact, Shen Shixing, as a cabinet minister, knew very well that it was Emperor Wanli who initiated it.

Just like Zhu Yijun's scooter, it is called a landlubber, but its official name is Yuwu.

"I pay homage to your Majesty, long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty." Shen Shixing, the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel, walked into the side hall. In addition to the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, he is also the vice president of the "Da Ming Huidian".

"Me? Economically promoting the country?" Wang Chonggu was happily listening to Guo Chaobin talking about the Ministry of Industry's team building like a treasure, but he was suddenly mentioned and was a little confused.

Wang Daokun is a member of the Zhejiang Party, and the situation changes in turns. In order to ensure that Songjiang Mansion belongs to the imperial court and not the private property of a certain party, this kind of rotation is very common. For example, Guangdong and Guangxi, which have been in the hands of the Zhang Party, after Ling Yunyi, went to the Wang family of the Jin Party. Screen in hand.

Including but not limited to: three-masted and five-masted ship rations, the share of imported grain, the export market for porcelain, iron pots, silk, and cloth, the suitability of ships going to sea, the proportion of city shipping supervisors serving as officials, etc.

Last year, according to the needs of all parties in the Ming Dynasty, a total of more than 12,000 ships of various sizes were built, and 190,000 Dings were accommodated. Dings are adult laborers. According to the statistics, each household can only have one to two strong laborers at most. To put it bluntly, the shipbuilding industry is now the lifeblood of millions of shipwrights in the Ming Dynasty.

"Master Shen, I'm going to Songjiang Mansion now. I hope you can live up to Sir's expectations and run Songjiang Mansion properly. Songjiang Mansion is the bridgehead for the Ming Dynasty to open up the sea. This is a big deal." Zhu Yijun did not exchange greetings in detail, but said directly. meet their own expectations.

"After the meeting is over, it is no small matter to call Bachelor Shen to go to Songjiang to take up his duties." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and announced the end of the court meeting, and then announced to the foreign officials who were going to the local governor.

"Three generations ago, the canal method was not prepared, and there was no way to build it. Now, your majesty has opened it up and set up canal boats to control the ships and transfer millet. The national plan relies on it. It is a feat that is the foundation of our country and a long-term plan for all generations."

Among the craftsmen's schools, there is also a girls' weaving school. In addition to studying, you also need to learn textiles. In addition, you also need to study arithmetic, mainly for the purpose of running the family and keeping the business in the future.

The Ming Dynasty Royal Gewuyuan, headed by the emperor's uncle Zhu Zaiyu, had astonishing computing power. In addition to calculating trigonometric maps, it also had spare capacity to participate in the year-end audit and investment audit of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

"There will be one issue every year from then on, and each library will copy and distribute it." Zhu Yijun made it clear that this financial report is once a year, not just this one time.

High positions cannot be stolen for a long time, and great power cannot be retained for a long time.

Guo Chaobin was not a figure in the Three Parties, but an honest man who worked hard. He held the memorandum in his hand and said: "Longjiang, Qingjiang, Weihe, Songjiang, Jinshan, and Ningbo shipyards are jointly built. There are currently forty-seven yards. There are 196048 carpenters, joiners, sawmakers, cobblers, blacksmiths, blacksmiths, porters, trackers, etc. Last year, they built 12746 shallow boats, flat-bottomed canoes, and drills. There are sailboats, -ton battleships, -ton three-masted plywood ships, -ton -masted plywood ships, and hydrofoil sailing ships. , painted boats, stargazing ships, etc., totaling ships, and... grain tanks."

"On the journey of the great road, the world is for the common good, Your Majesty is wise!" Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, and Tan Lun stood up and bowed their heads to thank them.

Wang Chonggu was the target of the courtiers' ire except for Wan Shihe. He had been scolded for so long that Wang Chonggu himself considered himself a treacherous minister.

"Thank you for your grace." Wang Chonggu hurriedly bowed his head and thanked him. Even though he was already unhappy, he couldn't stop the smile on his face and decided to give Wang Qian a little extra money.

According to the Ming Dynasty's official appointment and removal mechanism, Wang Daokun should leave and hand over the job as soon as Shen Shixing arrives for this transfer. However, this is not the case. Wang Daokun will take Shen Shixing for nearly a year, and will not leave until the expiration of next year, and Shen Shixing will go to the local government. , he had to serve as an assistant official for one year first. If he did not do well, the court would choose to let Wang Daokun continue to serve, and the result of Shen Shixing's embarrassing return to Beijing would be to lose everyone.

Zhu Yijun made the secret here very clear. Songjiang Mansion cannot be in the hands of Shen Shixing and become the most invincible, just like the Jin Party in Datong and Li Chengliang in Liaodong in the early years of Wanli Xuanfu.

If Shen Shixing does well, he will be the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty when he returns to the court.

"When it comes to building factories and factories, you must be careful not to be hijacked by the luxury households. In the eighth year of Zhengtong, Emperor Yingzong ordered the shipbuilding to sail to the West. The following year, the shipbuilding was completed under supervision, but a civil riot and a fire burned everything. It's clean. You have been working in the Ministry of Civil Affairs for many years, and you have always been very clear that this is not a simple civil unrest." Zhu Yijun has always been very direct in his speech. The fire in the 9th year of Zhengtong burned more than just the fleet of Fujian Shipbuilding Shipyard heading south to the West. , and there are several tung gardens, including the tung garden in Zijin Mountain.

Nanya Zijin Mountain is where Zhu Yuanzhang’s mausoleum is located.

"I obey the order!" Shen Shixing took a deep breath and said solemnly: "I will go to Songjiang Town for inspection this time, and I will definitely live up to your order."

"If you are unable to catch it, send a letter to the capital, and I will make the decision for you." Zhu Yijun very clearly expressed his support for Shen Shixing. There is no shame in defeating Shen Shixing. There is no shame in going back to his hometown to ask others, and he will only mess up the matter. It's embarrassing, don't worry too much, moving reinforcements will not cause a drop in evaluation.

"I thank your Majesty for your kindness." Shen Shixing bowed his head again. This was unreserved support. If he couldn't do it, he would flip the table. With 30,000 naval troops at his side, could he still turn Zheshe House upside down?

After Shen Shixing left, Zhu Yijun went to the Military War Bureau, mainly to inspect firearms manufacturing. The Ming Dynasty border army was imminent in replacing firearms. A veteran in Gansu Town, Shaanxi Xingdusi, got a firegun made in the seventh year of Yongle. He couldn't help but be happy. It became his only firearm.

It’s not that Yongle never made firearms after Yongle. The firearms made by Yongle were of excellent quality. Until the Battle of Songjin in the late Ming Dynasty, these antique firearms were still active on the battlefield. They were finally captured by Huang Taiji and became one of the collections of the Tatar Palace.

Naturally, the large-scale installation of fireguns cannot be as luxurious as the cavalry camps. Using rosewood as the butt is just an overkill attitude. The Ming Dynasty did not have so much rosewood, and the cost was too high.

The War Bureau can produce 35,000 muskets a year, while the Ordnance Supervisor of the Ministry of War can produce 60,000 muskets a year. The Ming Dynasty's border firearms require about 300,000. In order to prepare for war, additional muskets need to be produced. Thirty thousand muskets and more than 300 artillery pieces of various kinds were mainly used to deal with the changes in the southwest after Mang Yinglong's death.

The production pressure of the Military War Bureau and Ordnance Supervision is extremely high.

Zhu Yijun actually always wanted to visit Wang Gong Factory. Wang Gong Factory was the gunpowder depot of the Ming Dynasty. However, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. As an emperor, Zhu Yijun naturally cannot go there in person. Fishing is fishing, and he will be compensated for it. Being laughed at.

Zhu Yijun stayed in the Bingzhan Bureau for half an hour. The entire Bingzhan Bureau was spotless, even the leaves were clean. It had obviously been carefully cleaned. "Your Majesty, the cabinet has received a message, saying that the naval expansion is proceeding in an orderly manner. The main task is to transfer 12,000 troops from Songjiang Prefecture and go to several cities to establish them. The results will be seen within this year." Feng Bao Hui reported His Majesty's inquiry, and Wenyuan Pavilion was already advancing with all its strength.

"The Grand Sima and the General said that the most difficult thing about expanding the army is to recruit soldiers. If you recruit strong men, it will be a ragtag group of scattered sand. The biggest difficulty in recruiting troops is the source of soldiers. It is easier to solve now than before. The shipyards build groups and there are many strong men." Feng Bao He also reported the judgment of the Minister of the Ministry of War and the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp.

Craftsmen are very disciplined, because in production, if you don't obey the rules, you will have to pay the price in blood. Many strange rules are summed up with human lives. Craftsmen are a natural source of soldiers because they obey the rules and have strength, which is similar to the Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties. Like the good families of that time, they were from middle-class families.

"How is the emperor's steam turbine doing?" Zhu Yijun was sitting in a jade chariot on the way back to the palace, asking about the research and development progress of the emperor's uncle Zhu Zaiyu.

Feng Bao said in a low voice: "There is no news. His Royal Highness, King De, has been obsessed with steam turbines in the past few years, but has never achieved any results. Some Dr. Gewu have criticized this. It costs tens of thousands of taels of silver a year to invest in it."

"Approval another 30,000 silver to the emperor's uncle, and tell the emperor's uncle that this matter is not urgent." Zhu Yijun chose the support of real money.

Feng Bao said with a smile: "Although the steam turbine is still unusable, the reciprocating steam engine has already made great achievements. Last autumn, it was already one horse strong."

There are two routes of steam engines in the Ming Dynasty, steam turbines and reciprocating steam engines.

The steam turbine, a monster far ahead of its time, can turn because of the ingenuity of Ming craftsmen. It is a dream, a pursuit, a poem and a distant place, while the reciprocating steam engine is a reality.

What is the difficulty with steam turbines? For the current Ming Dynasty, it is all difficult. Even if it is made, it is just a strange object and cannot be mass-produced.

The principle of the reciprocating steam engine is not very difficult for Daming. It is a bellows, but it takes a long way to go from principle to implementation, such as cylinder sealing, steam pressure control, steam input control, etc.

Daming’s fuel was still too expensive, the cost of trial and error was high, and the coal was buried too deep.

Sanniangzi delivered the wool, and after the face-to-face meeting, she once again left the capital and returned to the grassland, swinging her riding whip. Time began to leave traces on Sanniangzi's face. This did not affect Sanniangzi's beauty, but was the maturity accumulated by time.

Legas took two more concubines, a red-haired and a golden-haired, and they were very happy to be together. However, there was no word of love in his travel notes.

King Naojiu of Ryukyu and King Ashikaga Yoshiaki of Japan were in close proximity to each other, and they fought fiercely with each other. Naojiu was afraid of Japanese pirates when he was in Ryukyu, but now that he is in the arms of his own father, Ming Dynasty, he is no longer afraid of Japanese pirates.

The Ryukyu King's Palace has recently become more sophisticated and threw the collected excrement cans into the Japanese King's Palace, causing the Japanese King's Palace to smell bad. The Japanese king's palace counterattacked in equal measure, and finally attracted the attention of the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites. The emperor issued a decree and reprimanded the two kings for their waste, and they were no longer allowed to throw away dung cans, which were all fertilizer.

This has also become one of Jingtang's jokes.

In addition to listening to storytelling in the Qianmen building, Shah Maimaiti suddenly fell in love with visiting the academy. The loud sound of reading made Shah Maimaiti forget to leave.

A few days later, the Shah's envoy found Chen Xuexue, the minister of Honglu Temple, and mysteriously presented a treasure, black oil from Horumus in the Persian Gulf. This oil can burn, but the smell is very unpleasant. .

Bright and very expensive.

Especially at night, the lamp oil used in the Ming Dynasty is mainly animal and plant oils, such as fish oil from Ryukyu. Lighting a lamp at night is at least like a Chinese home. Cutting into the wall to borrow light is a kind of praise for learning, and it is also A manifestation of scarcity.

Zhu Yijun saw a barrel of oil. He was very sure that this was oil. After oil is refined, you can get gasoline, kerosene, diesel, solvent oil, lubricating oil, gear oil, paraffin, etc., and this barrel of oil is Shah Maimaiti. He carried lamp oil for lighting with him because the smell was so unpleasant that Shah's envoy disliked it very much. When he arrived in Daming, he replaced it with a fish oil palm lamp.

"Is the Ming Dynasty really a treasure that has everything?" Zhu Yijun looked at the oil and asked with a sigh.

"It should be so." Feng Bao was a little unsure. The Ming Dynasty lacked gold, silver, and copper. The coal was buried deep and there were very few high-quality iron ores. Now Feng Bao discovered that there was one more thing, oil.

According to Shah Maimaiti, this kind of oil can be sprayed out just by stamping one's foot in Horumus. The locals set the black oil on fire to prevent fires.

There is oil in the tributes of the Ming Dynasty. There is an oil well dug in Nanying River in Yanchang County, Shaanxi Province. The oil is flammable and can also treat scabies in livestock. The annual payment is 110 catties. There is a well in Yongping Village, Yanchuan County, and the annual payment is 400. Jin, entered Yanfeng's treasury, and entered the palace as a tribute.

There was no shortage of distillation and condensation technology in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yijun’s Guojiao was brewed with sweet potatoes and other substances, also called sweet potato roasting, which is spirits. Distilling wine technology was not a rare technology in the Ming Dynasty.

The palace can obtain 510 kilograms of oil a year, which is then refined into lamp oil. The light oil is used to ignite the fire and the heavy oil is burned to make ink. The black light is like paint, which is far beyond the reach of pine ink.

The Ming Dynasty currently has no shortage of oil transportation technology, and the number of grain tanks produced will even appear in the Wenhua Palace.

"The lamp oil of the Ming Dynasty is extremely expensive. Anyone who prevents the Ming Dynasty from conquering the Strait of Malacca will be a sinner of the Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Yijun looked at the barrel of oil and slapped the table.

Open up shipping routes, obtain oil, refine it in Old Port, Java and other places, and then transport the refined product back to Ming Dynasty to illuminate the world.

It may take a long, long time, but lighting up the Ming Dynasty's night is an exciting vision.

Shah Maimaiti was showing value. He wandered around the Ming Dynasty to see what the Ming Dynasty lacked, to supplement the goods list, and to strengthen the bond between the Ming Dynasty and the Mughal Kingdom.

The Ming Dynasty was not a warlike dynasty, and was even tired of war. The demand for war horses was a short-term demand. Once the problem of the northern captives was resolved, the motivation to go to the Mughal Kingdom for trade immediately dropped sharply.

Shah Maimaiti is not very optimistic about this group of fellow villagers from his ancestral land. They have already formed a relationship with the Ming Dynasty. One driving force, oil, is the supplement of Shah Maimaiti.

On June 23rd of the eighth year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun came to the Quanchu Guild Hall to have dinner as always.

"Xiong Da, I bring you a gift." Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao to bring a lamp. This lamp was more than a foot tall. The bottom was a copper-engraved fish, and the top was a curved lid. Made of copper, plated with tin on the inside.

Feng Bao pulled up the foot-long pressure rod and began to pressurize it. After applying pressure more than ten times, Feng Bao slightly turned on the switch, and then pulled the hemp rope. The hemp rope pulled the flint, and the flint rubbed against the fire sickle. There was a spark, which lit up the sprayed light oil. The flame of the light oil was very small, and the tongue of flame spit out on the lime stick.

Feng Bao continued to turn the light oil switch, and the flame gradually increased and hit the lime. The lime rod changed from red to incandescent. Bright light filled the Wenchang Pavilion, the study room of the Quanchu Guild Hall.

"The oil lamp hurts the eyes. Use this one from now on. This one will be brighter." Zhu Yijun said with a smile on his face: "From now on, you will be able to see clearly when you study at night."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Xiong Tingbi hurriedly thanked him. He worked very hard. Because he read a lot, he often read at night. This lamp was exactly what he needed urgently.

In fact, Xiong Tingbi himself knew that his majesty just found a reason to send something to the Quanchu Guild Hall. After the pencil was made, his majesty immediately said that the thing was very good and gave it to Mr. Yu for use.

It has been eight years. If there is anything new in the palace, it must be in the Quanchu Guild Hall.

The oil is light oil refined from stones. The pressurized plug is to allow the light oil to spray out. When the flame tongue of the light oil hits the lime stick, it will emit a white glow, and the higher the temperature, the brighter it will be.

In order to allow the light oil to fully burn without causing carbon deposits, the entire lampshade uses the chimney principle to allow air to circulate more conveniently and fully burn.

This thing is called a lime blowtorch. The Ming craftsmen spent half a month designing it, then debugging it for half a month, and officially started mass production.

"Every courtier in the Ming Dynasty has one piece of this thing. If anyone else wants to use it, they can go to the imperial village to buy it." Zhu Yijun did not disturb Xiong Tingbi's study. Instead, he talked about the reward with Zhang Juzheng. It is better to enjoy it alone than to enjoy it with everyone, and Zhu Yijun will do the same. Give good things to courtiers.

"How much does this cost?" Zhang Juzheng asked tentatively.

"Twenty silver a lamp, lamp oil five cents a pound." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

"How much?!" The corner of Zhang Juzheng's mouth twitched. The things in Huangzhuang are good and expensive. They are really expensive. Twenty taels is a lot. A wealthy family can earn ten taels of silver a year. It's a lot. Jingying Ruizi That’s only eighteen silver a year!

A lamp, twenty silver, why not grab it!

"Limited quantity." Zhu Yijun sighed and said: "I don't have much lamp oil. Rare things are more valuable. The ones produced by the internal department must be high-quality. My husband has used them and said they are good."

Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty's master of goods, Zhu Yijun stuffed the strange gadgets he made into the Quanchu Guild Hall. When he sold them, they were all of the same style as Yuan Fu, and they sold very well.

Zhang Juzheng was hesitant to speak, but in the end he said nothing. It would be better if your majesty did not limit the quantity. Once the quantity is limited, this thing will change hands among the people and the price will be increased.

Everything in Huangzhuang is all luxury goods. Zhu Yijun dares to ask for ten taels of silver for a book. You can choose imitations, but you will be laughed at.

Huangzhuang's business never cheats the poor.

"If you want lamp oil, you have to go to Horumus in the Persian Gulf. Oil will come out when you stamp your feet there. Is that oil? That's black gold!" Zhu Yijun signaled Feng Bao to bring a new lamp. This lamp has texture on it. It's a python pattern with a four-clawed golden dragon.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, only Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang used the python pattern, while Wang Chonggu, Wang Guoguang and other officials all used the flying fish pattern.

"No, Your Majesty, just have one in the study. This thing is extremely valuable, so there is no need for a square lantern." Zhang Juzheng was about to thank him when he saw the busyness outside. The palace maids and eunuchs were changing the square lanterns used for lighting under the eaves!

If they were all replaced, it would cost more than two hundred lamps, and the lamp oil alone would consume several thousand kilograms a year.

"Sir, you are still too frugal." Seeing Zhang Juzheng's serious refusal, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to ask the palace maid to stop and send the lime glow lamp to the warehouse for storage. Since it was given as a reward, there was no reason to take it back.

Zhu Yijun went to see it and found that Zhang Juzheng had not used most of the things he had given him. Just the things in the warehouse could be sold for at least 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver.

Zhang Juzheng worked in the first rank for eleven years, and his family property was only one hundred thousand silver. In the forest of happy steles outside Chaoyang Gate, there are more than a dozen large and small steles. As a county magistrate, there are more than a dozen who embezzled one hundred thousand silver in three years.

(End of this chapter)