I'm really not doing business

Chapter 468 Shengping No. Steam Engine
Wang Qian's face turned red. Seeing everyone else laughing, he wanted to ask loudly: What are you laughing at?
"I'm stupid." Wang Qian didn't roar in front of the emperor. The ceremonial officer would tell him the etiquette. He asked a little confused.

Why is everyone laughing.

"The idea of ​​decentralizing the power to build Chidao to local governments, which do not have the financial resources to solve the problem, and buying it for powerful right-wingers to speed up the construction of Chidao in the Ming Dynasty, seems to be extremely perfect in terms of system design." Zhu Yijun said Wang Qian smiled and said: "The only problem is that the Chidao built by Hao You right is their Chidao, not the imperial court's Chidao."

"What do you think they will do?"

"What do you dare to do? Isn't it just to use Chi Dao to make money?" Wang Qian shook his head and said. He stood in a right-wing position. After the road was built, what else could it be used for besides doing business?
Zhu Yijun leaned back in his chair, shook his head and said, "You haven't fully understood what Chi Dao means. To understand Chi Dao, you must understand the meaning of the iron horse."

Wang Qian really had not thought about this issue. In his opinion, this was a good thing that benefited the country and the people, but in the eyes of the court, this provided the most convenient conditions for the separatist feudal towns.

Whoever controls Chidao owns the territory.

The horsepower of the first steam engine in the Ming Dynasty was one horse. That is, one horse worked continuously for four hours and lifted a total of 720,000 kilograms of water by one foot. The steam engine did this under the same working conditions. This machine The steam engine didn't even have a name, because it was the first reciprocating steam engine trial-produced by Gewuyuan.

The original steam engine had two pots, with a cylinder on the left, a lever in the middle, and a pump cylinder on the right. It was made of cast iron and had extremely poor sealing. The principle was exactly the same as that of a water press. The cylinder heated the steam, pushed the pump cylinder to drain water, and the cylinder added water to cool it down. To pull the piston to pump water, a steam engine with only one horsepower requires four people to take care of it. It has no practical value, because whether it is an animal-powered winch or human power to pump water, it is more efficient than a steam engine.

A one-horsepower steam engine requires 5000 taels of silver to be properly installed. During the Wanli period when a horse cost only six silver, no one would install it.

A few years later, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Gewu, a reciprocating steam engine with the power of three horses was produced. Installing a steam engine with the power of three horses only costs 50 taels of silver, including later maintenance.

At this point in history, Zhang Juzheng was already bedridden and could no longer manage affairs. He kept begging for his remains to return home.

The government-run glass factory wanted to replace the glass in Tonghe Palace where the Ming Emperor lived. The main purpose was to let the Ming Emperor bring the goods, and the emperor agreed to use them.

"Xu Zhenming, the chief minister of Baoqisi who is currently farming in Hetao, and his teacher Ma Yilong, all their achievements were in vain after their death because they refused to eat people and settled the refugees." Zhu Yijun also found an example, Ma Yilong brought As the people cultivated wasteland, after the people died, all the cultivated wasteland became barren again.

Now, Zhang Juzheng is very active and still works in Wenyuan Pavilion, working as a cow and a horse.

When the horsepower of the steam engine reaches 125 horsepower, how much goods can be produced? How much cargo can it tow? How long can it take to recover the cost of Chidao's high construction costs in thirty years?

Mang Yinglong's death was not sudden. The Mrauk U frontline immediately collapsed after hearing the death of the king. Then violent internal conflicts caused everyone to become disunioned and became a mess.

Zhu Yijun knew more. The latest reciprocating steam engine of the Royal Academy of Sciences that has been trial-produced has a horsepower of 7.5 horsepower, while the reciprocating steam engine under development is 125 horsepower. It is expected to be officially trial-produced next year. In the long term, within five years , the steam horsepower will be increased to horsepower.

In early November of the ninth year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun received news that Mang Yinglong of the Toungu Dynasty had died.

The Duke of Guizhou, Mu Changzuo, led his troops to Erhai, and the governor of Yunnan, Liu Shizeng, also led his troops to Chuxiong. They quickly recruited tens of thousands of Han and local troops to guard against the Taungu dynasty's desperate measures.

"I am stupid." Wang Qian shook his head.

Over the past dynasties, reincarnation has continued, and the demise of a dynasty has always been accompanied by a high concentration of production means, the court's inability to regulate social conflicts, and the court's credibility gradually declining or even becoming negative. What the court says is interpreted in the opposite direction by everyone.

In October last year, Mang Yinglong was defeated by the Portuguese captain Goncalo Vaz in the naval battle of Madaban Bay. He was injured in the battle. It took nearly ten months. Mang Yinglong still failed to survive and died. After Yinglong's death, Mang Yinglong's incompetent son Mang Yingli succeeded to the throne, and civil strife broke out.

"So, when the horsepower of steam engines reaches 125 in five years, roads will be as important as human blood vessels. If you take back the roads built by local residents, what will they do? ?" Zhu Yijun explained the problem clearly.

In the eyes of Mang Yinglong and Mang Yingli, Daming is a broken house that will collapse with just one kick.

Zhu Yijun does not have high demands on the liberals. If they can advocate the lifting of this strong personal dependence relationship and advocate personal freedom, Zhu Yijun will allow them to exist.

This is not surprising. Mang Yinglong has been fighting all his life, which can be called a militancy. He has sent troops to Siam many times and recruited a large number of civilians. The lack of strong men to cultivate the land has aggravated the food harvest. After the Toungoo Dynasty stabilized its territory, it should rest and recuperate. But when Mang Yinglong died, he was still attacking the King of Rakhine, and his troops reached Mrauk U, the capital of the Kingdom of Rakhine.

Wang Qian reported some more news. Private trading fairs with entry barriers have begun to appear. These private trading fairs will gradually become the dealers of trading houses. The imperial court has long expected the emergence of such dealers. Wang Qian must do it. , the Ming court was the largest owner of the trading house and had a decisive influence on the trading house.

In previous court discussions, the Ming Gongs had a heated discussion around this issue, and Zhu Yijun was just summarizing.

Trading liquidity for stability was the court's choice.

Mang Yingli, who succeeded to the throne, had the best way to win over people's hearts, which was to provoke and defeat Ming Dynasty.

This terrifying growth is the result of changes in production relations that have mobilized enthusiasm and is also a direct reflection of the improvement in productivity.

This is also a situation that no one in Ming Dynasty wants to see.

"What Grand Uncle Zong said makes sense." Wang Qian understood the flaw in his own thinking. The Beijing camp was not always overbearing, and open-fire fighting would cause a huge social crisis.

The flat glass of the new process was really an eye-opener for Zhu Yijun. The transparency of the glass of the new process is close to that of natural crystal. The replacement speed is very fast. It only took one morning for the official factory to replace all the windows. alright.

Over the years, the Imperial Academy has been working hard to improve the airtightness of the cylinder, reduce the overall weight of the steam engine, and improve thermal efficiency.

"No." Wang Qian thought very seriously and replied: "If you don't eat people, you will be eaten by others. Therefore, in the 200th year of the Ming Dynasty, those good people who did not want to eat people have long been eliminated... "

The amount of coal mined by the Xishan Coal Bureau in the Ming Dynasty surged to 5.6 million kilograms per year, a 11.3-fold increase from the first year of Wanli. The output of crude steel in the Ming Dynasty reached 207 million kilograms, while the output of iron reached 1940 million kilograms, a sharp increase from the first year of Wanli. It increased by 5.4 times, allowing the woolen official factory to produce 45 pieces of woolen wool and 7.5 pieces of worsted wool, a 3.5-fold increase from the Wanli three years.

Internal conflicts and external bailouts are a common practice. If you win, you can win everything you want. If you lose, you will lose completely.

Zhu Yijun asked in a different way: "Your logic of overt robbery is actually not a problem from your standpoint, because the power to be right-wing is like this. Let me ask you, can you say that power is right-wing to be right-wing and not eat people?" ? Or is it possible for the right to annex and expropriate without cruelty? "

"The chief medical officer said that the recovery is very good and there is no problem." Feng Bao answered this question. The chief medical officers would not talk nonsense about such a big matter. Zhang Juzheng really recovered well.

"Rebels will inevitably arrogate if they control social resources that do not belong to them." Wang Qian said sincerely: "But now the Beijing camp is powerful. If they rebel, they will be put down."

Lin Fucheng saw it. He was a southerner. When he came to Beiya, he was surprised by the changes in the capital. He saw the raging coal smoke and the real progress of the productivity of the Ming Dynasty. He also found a solid foundation for his theory of freedom. Only with great material abundance can the relations of production be changed, and only then can everyone be free.

Daming's glass is being scaled up and will soon form new industrial advantages. Zhu Yijun spent one thousand taels of silver to buy out the technology, then increased the price to two thousand taels of silver and peddled it in Huangzhuang. After buying it in Huangzhuang, The complete technology can be obtained, but cannot be used for dissemination.

Wang Qian suddenly realized, and finally understood why his way of thinking was different from that of Ming Gong. The many classes in the imperial court regulate social conflicts. If the rules set by the imperial court are repeatedly reneged on, and the promises made are repeatedly unable to be honored, , then the court will have no credibility at all. A court that is widely disapproved of is no longer a court.

"Call sir, let's go to the Imperial Palace." Zhu Yijun stood up. Before the end of the Malacca Strait War, the Ming Dynasty's southwest policy could only be to be on guard, because there was no flanking attack from the north and south by land and water. It would be a puppet to deploy military forces in the southwest. Proposition, all attacks will be invalid attacks.

"Wang Yushi, have you studied yourself?" Zhu Yijun asked Wang Qian, who observed everywhere every day, whether he had observed himself.

"Then doesn't this become an open robbery? Nonsense." Wan Shihe heard this and admonished Wang Qian. Wang Qian's thinking was still a typical powerful and right-wing idea. If I am stronger, I can rob you openly. This is In the political practice of the Ming Dynasty, it was unworkable. The country lost its great faith and people's hearts became suspicious, which meant that the world was boiling and the sky was filled with anger.

The roaring steam engine with billowing smoke appeared quietly in people's lives, affecting all people in the Ming Dynasty. In fact, most people in the Ming Dynasty were like Wang Qian and did not realize that the steam engine What kind of changes it brought to the Ming Dynasty? At this time, most people in the Ming Dynasty had never seen the appearance of a steam engine, because the reciprocating steam engine had always been used as a reliable power source.

This is one of the reasons why Zheshe households are willing to pledge funds.

"Jump, jump higher, and I will kill him. Sir, the battle in the Strait of Malacca is not over yet, so it is not time to attack. Let's play with him first. Have you seen it at the Taipei Hospital? Sir's illness "Are you sure there is no root cause?" Zhu Yijun asked about Zhang Juzheng's condition.

Zhu Yijun wanted to see a 7.5-horsepower steam engine. The emperor's uncle Zhu Zaiyu invented a few small things and asked the emperor to go and have a look.

The Royal Institute of Gewu takes nearly one million silver from the Ming Emperor every year, and it is a silver coin with higher circulation stamped by the War and War Bureau. Therefore, every year, the emperor's uncle will bring the doctors of Institute of Gewu to report on the work, which must be seen by His Majesty. , they don’t take money for nothing and don’t work.

The 7.5-horsepower steam engine, which can produce units per year, is the auspicious sign of this year's Imperial Palace.

Zhu Yijun called Zhang Juzheng. As the chief assistant of the emperor's army, he naturally had to witness such an important moment together. Not long after, Zhang Juzheng brought Wang Daokun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, to Tonghe Palace, and then followed the emperor to the Royal Palace opposite. Gewuyuan.

Zhu Yijun led a group of people into the wide gate and saw the line of vermilion words on the shadow wall stone, [One who practices is only faithful - Zhu Zhongxing]. This was Zhu Yijun's request for Dr. Gewu. Over the years, Gewu Doctors live this principle.

After walking through the Yingbi Stone and the Sutra Pavilion, Zhu Yijun came to a large townhouse in the Gewuyuan. This was not a place where steam engines were produced, but was only responsible for experiments. Zhu Yijun specially arranged for a Xunwei training partner to be responsible for this. The safety of the Gewu Institute has been studied by the Gewu Doctors. They forget to eat and sleep. The Xunwei sparring partner takes Tiqi. The most important thing they do every day is to make the Gewu Doctors eat on time.

Gewuyuan does not engage in production, and the implementation and implementation of all technologies are implemented by the Ministry of Industry. "This is a gun bore boring machine. At the beginning, it used hydraulic power to cut the inner diameter of the gun bore. It was used to process the cast gun bore and the inner wall of the gun bore. Now it is also used to boring the cylinder." Emperor Uncle Zhu Zaiyu First, the first red silk cloth was opened. Under the red silk cloth was a boring machine.

This boring machine is not that easy to make. Zhu Zaiyu originally did not want to say how difficult it was to invent this boring machine. His Majesty studied under Zhang Juzheng and all he wanted was results.

There are three boring machines in total, one with a long rod is used for boring gun bores, and one with a short rod is used for boring gun barrels. These two boring machines can be used with human power, animal power, or even iron horses. The other one is Extra long rods are used in boring machines for cylinders.

"The machining accuracy of the cylinder is a key issue for steam engines. Dr. Gewu visited the mountain people and found a method called pyrotechnics, which uses pedals to provide power. There are seven kinds of mound knives used to process jade. Stone, diamond, the stone from other mountains that can attack jade is diamond." Zhu Zaiyu talked about the origin of the boring machine.

(pyrotechnics)

The boring machine of pyrotechnics has limited power and no cooling. It can process jade, but it needs to be improved when processing metal. Rapid boring of the boring tool will cause the temperature to rise sharply. For this reason, the Ming Dynasty specifically added water cooling to the boring machine and constantly sprinkled water. Prevent diamond from burning.

The production of diamonds in the Ming Dynasty was not abundant, and many of them were bought from the sea, and Hongmaofan sold them as gemstones.

From pedal to hydraulic to steam power, Ming craftsmen made several upgrades before the boring machine became what we see now.

The boring machine is also a necessary tool for producing cylinders. If the inner wall of the cylinder cannot be processed smoothly and the air tightness cannot be guaranteed, the thermal efficiency of the steam engine cannot be improved. Thermal efficiency is closely related to fuel saving, miniaturization, weight reduction, etc.

When the boring machine in front of Zhu Yijun processes the cylinder, the error in the inner diameter of one hundred inches is no more than two points, which can already meet the needs of a 7.5-horsepower steam engine.

"Very good, very good." Zhu Yijun walked around the boring machine several times and asked how to use it. This was not because Zhu Yijun was attracted to this kind of machinery at a young age. Zhang Juzheng was also very interested in discussing with the emperor what could be done with this thing. What.

Zhu Zaiyu came to the second red silk cloth, slowly opened it, and said: "The thread lathe is used to process threads. This lathe comes from France, Thailand, and was invented by a craftsman named Besson. A lathe for making screws.”

According to Zhu Zaiyu's explanation, Zhu Yijun knew that Daming did not get the actual object of Besson's thread lathe, but a drawing. In order to promote this kind of lathe, Besson took his drawings to sell them everywhere, but in the end he failed. The envoys of the Ming Dynasty went to Paris twice and accepted all kinds of documents. The drawings were found in a religious book.

Zhu Zaiyu is pragmatic and believes that where the technology comes from, that’s where it comes from. Boring machines originally existed in the Ming Dynasty, while thread lathes were invented by Besson. When in the hands of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the thread lathes can accurately process 6 types of thread pitches, and the error is also the same. No more than two points per hundred inches.

Zhu Zaiyu introduced a total of seven tools for processing steam engines, then walked to the last red silk cloth and slowly pulled it open and said: "Your Majesty, we have tripled the thermal efficiency of the steam engine, a 7.5-horsepower steam engine."

Zhu Yijun looked at the steam engine. Compared with the previous three-horsepower steam engine, which was about the same size as a one-bedroom apartment, the new steam engine was actually smaller. It was one and a half feet long, less than one foot wide, and about three feet high. In comparison, In previous steam engines, the entire steam engine was more integrated. The original three-horsepower locomotive had a dedicated boiler room, but now the boiler is centralized on the steam engine.

"Is it high-pressure?" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhu Zaiyu and asked.

Zhu Zaiyu bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, it is impossible to break through the shackles of three horsepower without high temperature and high pressure."

This involves a dispute over the route of steam engines. Generally speaking, the high-pressure and high-temperature steam of high-pressure boilers is used by steam turbines, while reciprocating steam engines use 100° steam, which is low-temperature and low-pressure in comparison.

What Zhu Zaiyu insisted on was the high-pressure and high-temperature steam turbine. The high-pressure and high-temperature technology was applied to the reciprocating steam engine. As the dean of the Gewu Academy and a dean, he did not hinder the development of the reciprocating steam engine. On the contrary, he used his research experience to improve it. A reciprocating steam engine.

"The government-run lathe factory has been built this year, and the annual production of one thousand units is not a problem." Wang Daokun immediately bowed his head and said.

The output of three-horse steam engines was only two hundred units before, but now the Ministry of Industry is talking about one thousand 7.5-horsepower steam engines. This is related to the continuous maturation of technology and market demand.

A 7.5-horsepower steam engine sells for the same price as a three-horsepower steam engine.

"Please give me a name from Your Majesty." Zhu Zaiyu bowed his head and said. With the development of steam engines now, he is finally qualified to ask His Majesty for a name.

"Let's call it Shengping No. 1." Zhu Yijun patted the steam engine and gave it a name. He asked questions about the steam engine. He was very curious about the centrifugal pendulum speed regulator. Zhu Zaiyu explained its principle in detail and also A live demonstration was given.

When Zhu Yijun left the Royal Palace Museum, he was in high spirits and discussed with Zhang Juzheng the changes that the steam engine might bring to the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Juzheng was the kind of person who just did what he thought of. He immediately decided to list the steam engine as a prohibited item. , and the outflow of steam engine technology was strictly prohibited.

The steam engine is assembled from parts one by one. The craftsmen in the lathe factory only know how to make the parts according to the requirements, but do not know how to run them when they are assembled together. According to Zhang Juzheng, this is the most important weapon of the country. It does not mean that it is impossible to say no. Let the public use it instead of going overseas.

Even the banknote method requires a continuous inflow of silver.

Zhu Yijun suddenly stopped. That was the direction of the Jiangwu School. There was a willow tree planted there. It was already winter, and the branches had long lost the green. This tree was the tree that Yu Dayou planted to demarcate the Jiangwu School when he built it. Yes, it was just a sapling at the beginning, but it has grown so much in a blink of an eye.

"Your Majesty?" Zhang Juzheng was a little strange. His Majesty suddenly fell silent and stopped suddenly as he spoke.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "It's okay."

The impeachment of the treacherous ministers Wang Daokun and Wang Guoguang did not end with Lin Fucheng's verbal battle with the Confucian scholars. Instead, it became more and more intense. Even the liberals recognized the profits tax, the expansion of Yanxing Building, and the Ministry of Industry's vague remarks about the Xishan Coal Bureau. However, Ke Dao Yan Guan never stopped criticizing the two Ming Gongs.

Since the profits tax was forcibly levied on October 10, there have been waves of opposition. But fortunately, no one is discussing the profits tax soon. Everyone is aiming at the gap between the evil nature of human nature and Yanxinglou Trading House.

It’s no wonder that the scholar-bureaucrats were furious. Zhu Yijun’s eyes darkened after reading it.

On October 20th, news suddenly spread in Yanxinglou Trading House that Suiyuan Chi Road would not collect tolls due to the influence of the central government officials, and the Ming Dynasty would no longer add banknote collection branches. On that day, Suiyuan Chidao's tickets plummeted from five silver to four silver each, with a drop of up to %. Panic began to spread, but the price did not continue to fall endlessly, but stabilized at four silver and fluctuated for three days. .

Later, this news was falsified by people familiar with the matter. It was false and a rumor. Although Yan Guan was indeed admonishing, the court had no intention of changing the order overnight. Chidao stocks rose again, going back to five silver that day, and then skyrocketed to five silver the next day. The increase this time was due to the establishment of the 7.5-horsepower steam engine and the government-run lathe factory.

Three days later, Chidao's ticket price rose to sixty-two and a half yuan, and then plummeted again, because the lathe factory's production capacity was only one thousand units per year. The Ming Dynasty was so big, what was the food for one thousand units?
After a lot of twists and turns, I finally came back to five taels of silver.

This time there were at least two hundred people who lost money in this chasm. They had more than one ticket in their hands, ranging from ten to as many as a hundred. They sold it at four silver and half buried it at six silver, inside and outside. Here, every Chidao ticket lost two and a half coins. It can be said that the loss of the wife and the loss of the army caused the ship ticket to rise sharply. Compared with Chidao in the future, the ship ticket is more reliable. and stability.

The speculative culture has been angrily criticized as the chasm of human nature's evil nature, which is not an unreasonable responsibility, because Wang Qian soon discovered that this time's sharp rise and fall were man-made.

A certain private trading company deliberately created this. They spread news to cause panic. After buying a large number of tickets, they spread good news to push up the price. They sold out the Chidao tickets in their hands and then spread bad news, causing the ticket price to return to normal. They bought it again. enter.

This is the banker. While chatting and laughing, he waved the sharp sickle in his hand and harvested leeks twice.

In this private trade fair, not only the Zheshe households of Xitucheng, but also Shanxi merchants and Jin people were involved. In less than fifteen days of operation, this private trade fair made more than 23,000 silver in this shock. .

This is obviously malicious manipulation. If this behavior is not restricted, the trading house will soon lose its rationality and completely turn into a casino, a feast for speculators. It will not be able to play its role, and the purpose of raising funds for important projects will definitely fail. But when it comes to punishment, there is no written legal basis.

In the end, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to resort to non-criminal punishment, confiscating the proceeds from the manipulation, and prohibiting everyone at the private trade fair from entering the trading house to buy and sell tickets. This restricted their entry. The punishment was neither light nor heavy.

Since ancient times, money has attracted people's hearts. If it is only a small business of a few dozen taels of silver, these powerful right-wingers can still find a broker and comprador to carry on the business with a vest. However, if the ticket business often costs thousands of taels of silver, that is with silver. It’s time to test the hearts of brokers and compradors. Which broker and comprador can withstand such a test?

The central government's criticism of Yanxinglou Trading House has never stopped, and most of them will extend from the criticism of the trading house to the criticism of Da Situ and Shao Situ of the Ministry of Revenue. After all, it was the two of them who initiated the expansion.

"Your Majesty, Wang Cifu is waiting outside the palace." Feng Bao reminded His Majesty in a low voice that the discussion about the trading house in the court in the past two days was quite intense, which made His Majesty a little upset.

"Xuan."

Wang Chonggu and Dali Temple minister Lu Guangzu came together. The emperor's intention to declare this time was very clear. The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple formulated detailed regulations to fill the gap in this regard.

"Before, there was no prohibition by law. The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple should seize the time to fill this gap." Zhu Yijun gave clear instructions. The emperor's non-criminal justice can be regarded as one of the means to fill the gap in this era, but there are still Express regulations are more appropriate.

Lu Guangzu, the minister of Dali Temple, said: "Consider it a criminal offense."

Lu Guangzu felt that His Majesty's punishment was too light, that is, confiscation of income and prohibition from entering the market. This was only an administrative penalty and had no intimidation effect at all. This method of manipulating tickets should be included in the criminal list, and if caught, he would be given a few whips. If the punishment is not good, those who knowingly break the law or knowingly break the law will be punished with a cane and sentenced to five years in prison. Suiyuan happens to be short of people to build roads.

"What do Wang Cifu think?" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu and the attitude of Cifu, the Minister of Punishment.

"I... think it's better not to be punished." Wang Chonggu told the truth. That's what he thought. On the road to reform and reform, he was never afraid of problems. He was afraid that he would know there were problems and choose to avoid them. Wang Chonggu's words were a bit suspicious of avoiding problems.

The expansion of Yanxinglou Trading House is to increase the liquidity of silver. If the law is too strict, how can any large investors be willing to enter the market? The water without a source will inevitably dry up. Without new players entering the Yanxinglou Trading House, it will inevitably become a pool of stagnant water.

(End of this chapter)