Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 35 Trial Production of Briquettes

Lu Bing started talking, and the grievance in his heart could no longer be suppressed.He complained to Wang Daoqiu: "The emperor has become more and more obsessed with Taoism in recent years. He supports nearly ten thousand Taoist priests in Beijing alone. He also cultivates Taoist temples everywhere, often organizes Dharma gatherings for tens of thousands of people, and collects rare treasures from all over the world. Used to refine elixirs. Last year alone, the emperor spent nearly 200 million taels of silver on spiritual cultivation."

"But according to the ancestral system set by the great ancestor, the treasury needs to allocate only 100 million taels of silver to the inner treasury of the palace every year. This means that the silver allocated from the treasury to the inner treasury is only enough for the emperor to practice Taoism. Half of the cost. But the expenses in the palace are not just for cultivation! There are so many concubines, thousands of maids and eunuchs, they also need monthly money. The food and clothing in the palace also need to be paid. The money is used for shopping outside, as well as the gifts given to ministers during the New Year and festivals, and the weddings and funerals of the prince's family. The emperor must be polite in everything."

"Hey, Mr. Jie Yuangong, to tell you the truth, the expenses in the palace over the years have always been the capital left over from the time of Xiaozong and Wuzong. When His Majesty came to the throne, the palace had 490 million taels of silver and gold. 15 taels, 27 pieces of silk, but now? Now that the inner treasury is empty, you can race. As soon as you are short of money, the emperor asked me to go to the palace to talk. What can I do? Find a way to get money! Solution Yuanlang, Lu is in trouble!"

The more Lu Bing spoke, the more aggrieved he became, with tears welling up in his eyes.Listening to what Lu Bing said, Wang Daoqiu remembered the plots in "The Great Ming Dynasty 1566". In order to make money, Emperor Jiajing could be said to have gone crazy.

For example, he ignored whether the farmers in Zhejiang wanted to eat and encouraged them to forcibly convert rice into mulberry. For example, Emperor Jiajing's classic shameless line in the play: Let Yan Shifan and the others make money, and I don't care what they do.There are four of them, and I am twelve, and that’s okay; there are six of them, and I am ten, and I accept that.But if they are not satisfied with this, then don’t blame me.

Listen, this is what an emperor said, openly supporting treacherous officials to rob the common people.It also gave the proportion of the viscera. According to the ancient standard of 16 taels per catty, Emperor Jiajing thought it was reasonable for Yan Shifan to get four and himself to get twelve.Yan Shifan took six, and he himself took ten, which he can accept.

Alas!This is the emperor of a country, what do you think of the common people?But it is unreasonable for the common people to use their own blood and sweat to support him!
I complained about this garbage emperor in my heart, filled with righteous indignation and very angry.But if you are angry, you should bow your head in front of reality.When strength cannot support one's conscience, one should put away one's conscience temporarily and work hard to climb up to make oneself stronger.

Recognizing the reality, Wang Daoqiu decided to aggravate his conscience and accept this son of a bitch's world.

So he served the dog Jiajing without conscience. He said to Lu Bing: "Master Lu, Mr. Wang has a business worth one million taels a year. I wonder if Master Lu is interested?"

"Well, one million taels a year, Jie Yuanlang is joking!"

Wang Daoqiu mentioned a million-tael business as soon as he opened his mouth, which made Lu Bing a little unconvinced.We must know that the current fiscal and tax revenue for Ming Dynasty is only more than 400 million taels in cash.If taxes in kind such as grain, silk, and wrought iron are added, the equivalent of silver taels would be about 500 million taels.The country's annual tax revenue is only about 500 million taels. Wang Daoqiu, a powerless Jieyuan, started a business of one million taels as soon as he opened his mouth. This made it difficult for Lu Bing to believe Wang Daoqiu's words.

Seeing that Lu Bing did not believe him, Wang Daoqiu pinched his expression and said contemptuously: "Are you kidding? Mr. Lu, there are 68 people in Beijing, 10,000+ troops, and tens of thousands of people in the palaces and yamen who eat public food. There are also examples of business travelers and me who come to Beijing to take exams. Mr. Lu, with the nearly one million people in Beijing, how much do you think it will cost them to stay warm in the next five months of winter?"

"Heating in the winter? Beijing mainly uses charcoal and coal for heating in the winter. Charcoal is more expensive, about three cents and five cents of silver per one hundred catties, and coal is cheaper, about one cent and three cents of silver per one hundred catties. As for these five months of winter, what should we pay for in the end? No matter how much it costs for heating, public offices spend more. After all, no one will feel bad about the things owned by the government. Private households are more frugal. In a five-month winter, a family of five burns about [-] to [-] kilograms of coal for heating. That’s almost enough.”

According to what Lu Bing said, an ordinary household in Beijing now needs to burn six to seven thousand kilograms of coal for heating in five months of winter, which is about three tons of coal according to future calculations.The current price of coal in Beijing is one cent and three cents of silver per one hundred catties, and six to seven thousand catties of coal, which is about eighty taels of silver.

For an ordinary household of five people, the heating bill in one winter costs eight taels of silver, which is one or two six cents per person on average.The heating bill for a person in Beijing costs one or two and six taels of silver per winter. If Beijing has a population of one million, the heating bill will be 160 million taels!What if we add coal for cooking?
Thinking of this, Wang Daoqiu made up his mind about the briquette business.So he said to Lu Bing again: "Mr. Lu, the coal price of one hundred and one cents per unit you mentioned refers to lump coal, right? And those coal powders should be very cheap, right?"

"Oh, pulverized coal! Pulverized coal is not easy to burn. When the wind blows from where it is piled, it spreads all over the courtyard. So this pulverized coal is definitely much cheaper than lump coal. Usually, you buy lump coal and get some for free. Powdered coal.”

"Okay, Mr. Lu, if I say that I have a way to sell pulverized coal more expensive than lump coal, would you believe it?"

"This, this, Xie Yuanlang is talented and intelligent, beyond the reach of others. But Xie Yuanlang, this deception will not be good for your future."

Wang Daoqiu said that he had a way to sell pulverized coal more expensive than lump coal, which made Lu Bing misunderstood.Lu Bing thought that Wang Daoqiu's words meant that he wanted to use his own intelligence to deceive others.So he advised Wang Daoqiu not to affect his future future just because of the small profit in front of him.

Well, he was mistaken for a gangster by Lu Bing. He was so talented, but was ruined by Lu Bing. Wang Daoqiu felt very hurt.But for the sake of the grand plan, he still endured the unhappiness in his heart and said to Lu Bing: "Master Lu, in such a big business of coal, it's impossible for you Jin Yiwei to have no share in it, right?"

"Hahahahahaha, if other people asked about this matter, Lu would not admit it. After all, the government can't compete with the people for profit. But Xie Yuanlang asked about this matter! To be honest with Xie Yuanlang, Lu and Xie Yuanlang We hit it off like old friends at first sight, and I believe that Lu and Xie Yuanlang will definitely be enemies in the future, so Lu will not hide this from Xie Yuanlang. During the reign of Wuzong in the previous dynasty, Emperor Wuzong used all kinds of tricks to make money. That includes controlling mining rights."

"When Emperor Wuzong was in power, Qian Ning, the commander of our Jinyi Guards, was also a master at making money. During his tenure, he controlled several coal fields in Wanping County, a suburb of Beijing. After Qian Ning's execution, these coal fields were clearly owned by private businessmen. It was mined, but it is actually the public property of my Jinyiwei. To be honest, Yuanlang, these coal fields produced more than 3 million catties of coal last year, and made a profit of more than [-] taels for Jinyiwei. Like a place more than a mile away from us, just There is a coal yard and a blacksmith assistant controlled by me, Jin Yiwei."

What, there’s Jinyiwei’s coal yard not far from here, so how about fishing for hairy fish?Knowing that there was Jinyiwei's coal yard not far from here, Wang Daoqiu was too lazy to talk nonsense with Lu Bing here. He decided to educate this sixteenth-century bumpkin with facts.

So he stood up and told Lu Bing to stop fishing and take him to the coal yard now.He wanted to demonstrate to Lu Bing on the spot what a million-tael-a-year business was.

Lu Bing was a little upset today and came out to relax, not for fishing.Now that Wang Daoqiu said that he would take him to see the million-tael-a-year business, he was naturally not in the mood to fish anymore.After putting away the fishing rod, he waved his hand to the entourage hidden in the dark to lead the horse over.

The fishing gear and other things were handed over to Lu Bing's entourage, who gave Wang Daoqiu a free horse. But the embarrassing thing was that Wang Daoqiu couldn't ride a horse, so Lu Bing asked one of his followers to ride with Wang Daoqiu.It's more than a mile, or in later generations, 600 meters. It takes a few minutes to get there on a quick horse.When he came here and sat on his horse, Wang Daoqiu saw that the city wall in the distance was about three or four kilometers away from here, and here was a tent area covering an area of ​​fifty or sixty acres. At first glance, the black and gray coal was removed. , that is, the red fire in the blacksmith's auxiliary.

Lu Bing and Wang Daoqiu entered the coal yard. When they saw Lu Bing leading a group of people on a tall horse, the manager of the coal yard hurriedly came forward and said with a playful smile: "Master Lu, why are you acting like this today?" Come to the coal yard when you have time!"

"Oh, I have something to do with you today." As he spoke, Lu Bing got off his horse. Then he pointed his horsewhip at Wang Daoqiu and said, "This Lord Wang is a good friend of this governor. What does he want you to do next?" Yes, you obey his orders."

"Yes, yes, little one understands."

After explaining the coal yard manager, Lu Bing asked Wang Daoqiu to give orders to the coal yard manager if he had anything to do.

With Lu Bing's authorization, Wang Daoqiu immediately ordered the people in charge to get [-] kilograms of dry loess, then weigh [-] kilograms of pulverized coal, and mix the [-] kilograms of dry loess and [-] kilograms of pulverized coal. Mix well, and finally add water to make the flour dough dry like when making steamed bun noodles, and put it there for later use.

The manager in charge got the order and rushed people to do it. Then he followed Wang Daoqiu's instructions and led Wang Daoqiu and Lu Bing to the blacksmith shop in the coal yard.

Facing the piles of fires, Wang Daoqiu asked the steward: "Steward, how many craftsmen are there? What do they usually do? How is their craftsmanship?"

"Sir, there are 29 furnaces and more than a hundred blacksmiths here. We usually make farm tools and kitchen utensils to supply to the mines and the city. These blacksmiths are generations of craftsmen. They have been working with their elders since they were young, and their craftsmanship is incredible. "

With 29 furnaces and more than a hundred blacksmiths, the production volume is not enough!Fortunately, the blacksmith's auxiliary is directly in the coal yard, so there is no need to worry about fuel, and it is convenient to expand production capacity.

Thinking of this, Wang Daoqiu asked the steward to call the blacksmiths with the best skills.Then he drew drawings, explained and guided the blacksmiths on the spot, and built a portable briquette machine and briquette stove.

After working for most of an hour, these blacksmiths finally built a briquette briquette machine that Wang Daoqiu was quite satisfied with.This so-called briquette machine is actually a pressing mold with a rod and handle attached to it.

After getting the briquette briquette machine, Wang Daoqiu asked the coal yard manager to transport the mixed pulverized coal to the blacksmith shop and prepare several clean and flat long wooden boards.

After all the materials were in place, Wang Daoqiu demonstrated it to everyone on the spot.Dip a little water into the mold first so that the briquettes can fall out of the mold later.Then, like a stamp, press the mold at the bottom of the briquette machine into the "dough" mixed with mud and coal powder several times to compact it.Finally, carry the formed briquettes to the top of the board. At a height of three or four centimeters from the board, move the "small mechanism" on the briquette machine to release the formed briquettes from the mold.

After Wang Daoqiu pressed a dozen of them by himself, he asked the blacksmiths to come up one by one and press a few each. After all, practice brings true knowledge. Only by letting the craftsmen use the tool can they know where the tool is deficient and where improvements need to be made. .

After pressing the briquettes and placing them on the rectangular wooden board, Wang Daoqiu asked them to put the briquettes next to the fire to bake.

Facing the briquettes roasting by the stove, Lu Bing was a little confused. What was the purpose of mixing the pulverized coal with mud and pressing it into such a shape?Lu Bing didn't understand, so he approached Wang Daoqiu and asked in a low voice: "Xie Yuanlang, your briquettes should be used to make fires, right? But this fire can't just burn coal powder, so what are you doing?" Are you going to such trouble?"

This thing is so strange, no matter how you look at it, it looks like Jie Yuanlang has returned to his old age and is playing the game of peeing and mud that he played when he was a child.So Lu Bing was really confused now and looked at Wang Daoqiu in confusion.

Facing Lu Bing's doubts, Wang Daoqiu didn't bother to explain the principle, just smiled and said: "Lord Lu, please be safe and don't be impatient. I'll show you the live demonstration when the briquettes are dry. Understood."

"Okay, okay, then I will wait and see."

After drying several briquettes, Wang Daoqiu heated a briquette red on the fire and put it into the briquette stove.Then he followed the method of using briquettes, aligned the holes one by one, and added four more briquettes.

After doing all this, he pointed to the briquettes stove and said to Lu Bing: "Master Lu, this is briquettes. With this special briquettes stove, the fire will be very stable. Do not close the bottom damper like this, and add four briquettes. , it can burn for about an hour and a half. If the damper at the bottom is closed, these four pieces of briquettes can burn for a whole night."

"What, these four pieces of coal mixed with soil can be burned all night without anyone having to add coal?"

"Yes, Master Lu, as to whether what I said is true, you can take some briquettes and a briquette stove today and try it at home. But let me remind you, Master Lu, this briquette stove looks smokeless, but in fact it is There is smoke, so when you put this stove in the house, you have to make a good chimney to exhaust the smoke."

(End of this chapter)