Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 132 Relief for Work
The next day!

Not long after Lai Shangrong arrived at the state-run Si Yamen, he was summoned to the palace.

It takes time for cement to set, and even if you want to achieve the best results, you still need a curing period of ten to fifteen days, but in mid-June, one night should be enough to achieve a certain effect.

Yesterday evening, he poured the mixed cement on a pile of stones in the palace, and left the palace before the imperial city was locked.

The eunuch Zhou Rengui was summoned and brought into Linjing Hall.

"Lord Lai, please wait a moment! The emperor is in the morning court!"

"There is old Eunuch Zhou!"

About an hour later, with the sound of "The Emperor has arrived," Emperor Zhenglong stepped into the palace.

Li Bi.

When Lai Shangrong stood up, he discovered that in addition to several eunuchs, there were also five old men in first-grade official uniforms.

Emperor Zhenglong smiled brightly and said: "Lai Aiqing! You have also seen the stones made of cement. Is this also a product developed by the State-owned Enterprise?"

"Back to the emperor! This minister accidentally made it not long ago in order to repair the courtyard for his family."

Lai Shangrong could only make up such an excuse because he could not tell the truth about his plans to make money.

Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. Although there are no fish in the clearest water, and it is something he created himself, it is best not to show too much selfishness in front of the emperor.

Fortunately, the time and output were right, and he didn't sell it.

"Oh? Alright! It's a shame that you have no selfishness and are willing to report this matter truthfully. I will credit you first!"

Xu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, asked: "I heard from the emperor that if you want to expand the production of this cement, you need to match it with a steam engine. Just tell us how much your state-owned company needs. We need to expand production as soon as possible. Henan's reconstruction plan is to use it to build embankments."

"Your Majesty! Gentlemen, please! We only rely on the state-owned department to handle this. I'm afraid it's beyond our capabilities! Besides, Henan's post-disaster reconstruction time is tight and the tasks are heavy, and transporting it back and forth is also time-consuming and labor-intensive."

Xu asked: "Hey! How can it be produced on site when transportation is time-consuming and labor-intensive! It just so happens that the imperial court has allocated manpower, money and food to go to disaster relief. You just need to organize manpower as soon as possible!"

Seeing that Lai Shangrong was hesitant to speak, Emperor Zhenglong asked, "Does Lai Aiqing have any better way?"

He didn't think there was anything wrong with Xu Wen's approach, nor did he think Lai Shangrong would have any good opinions. He simply thought that he made the thing and might have some suggestions to speed up production.

Xu Wen smiled brightly and said: "I just say it's okay, Master Lai. How can I not be so tolerant?"

Lai Shangrong was not in doubt, and said: "My minister thinks that it is difficult to achieve the best results with the power of the state affairs department or even the imperial court. The flooded land is full of waste, and there are other things to deal with such as building dams and resettling the people. , the imperial court will eventually run out of manpower to mobilize."

"Oh? Then what you mean is to imitate the joint-stock system of the state-owned enterprises to mobilize private participation?"

“It is still under the leadership of the imperial court, and it is inevitably limited by the shortage of manpower. I think that if we want to expand production and ensure post-disaster reconstruction as much as possible, we must mobilize private forces to help provide disaster relief and provide relief for the people by producing cement.

In flood-stricken areas, people are starving and dying. Only relying on the disaster relief money and food mobilized by the court can save less than half of the people. Not to mention the loss of large amounts of money and food along the way, it is also a huge pressure.But if the cement industry is opened to these people and allowed to go to the disaster-stricken areas to produce on-site, these businessmen will definitely bring enough money and food with them to build factories in the disaster-stricken areas. After all, the price of local purchase is too high. This will not only solve the problem of disaster relief for the court Under pressure, they can also hire disaster victims on the spot, greatly reducing the burden on the court.

The cement they produced was purchased by the imperial court and used in the construction of river embankments. Although it would cost more to purchase, the cost of hiring these victims would be enough to offset part of the disaster relief money and food...

Of course, the court's construction of river embankments also requires a lot of labor. I think simple disaster relief is not as good as working for relief! "

In ancient times, it was an agricultural society. Once a flood occurred and a large amount of farmland was flooded, the demand for labor dropped sharply. Therefore, even if work-for-relief was implemented, only part of the labor needed to build dams could be hired.

However, the production of cement provides this method with a direction to absorb labor.

Lai Shangrong was talking eloquently in the palace, and the more he talked about Emperor Zhenglong, the more his eyebrows stretched.

"Good! What a work-for-relief project! I didn't expect that Aiqing could not only make glass and cement, but also have such ability to govern the country!"

In the past, in the eyes of the emperor, Lai Shangrong was just a person with extraordinary skills, and at most he was good at economics, but this suggestion of disaster relief and aftermath was a strategic plan, and he had the demeanor of governing the world.

In the emperor's heart, his status and weight have undoubtedly increased a lot.

Li Canghai, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, said: "Your Majesty, think twice. Businessmen are seeking profits. As soon as this example is started, if a large number of merchants from the surrounding areas flock in and set up workshops to produce cement, won't the imperial court be able to accept all the orders?"

"The imperial court only needs to supervise! I propose that the five ministries except the Ministry of War and the State-owned Enterprise Department send people to cooperate with the local government to review, apply for business licenses for merchants, and guide the establishment of workshops. Only cement workshops certified by the imperial court Only the output will be purchased by the Ministry of Industry for river embankment construction!
Of course, you can also purchase grain from unauthorized merchants. "

Experts are among the people. Only by giving full play to the subjective initiative of the entire Daxia can industrialization be truly promoted.

After all, there are no plug-ins. He can just make a few simple inventions by himself. If he really wants to promote industrialization, he still needs accumulation in all aspects, especially private technical workers.

Lai Shangrong wanted to use this disaster relief and cement production to open a hole in Daxia Dynasty to facilitate the implementation of follow-up plans in the future.

It is difficult for ancient reforms to last. On the one hand, it is caused by the limitations of society; on the other hand, the cake is so big. If you gain an extra piece, others will lose a piece. This is the so-called zero-sum game.

Lai Shangrong was not of sufficient status and could only make compromises and concessions in many places and put forward the proposal for a business license.

First, in order to avoid disorderly expansion, which would cause a massive loss of labor and lead to the abandonment of cultivated land, supervision is necessary.

Secondly, the right to distribute profits is also given to various ministries and localities. Just imagine, since cement requires a business license, does that mean that this can be implemented in all rising private industries in the future?
Of course, although his status was not high enough, he was the one who proposed the idea, and with the emperor by his side, he had a seat in it, so it was necessary to fight for interests reasonably.

Compared with the Six Ministries, the State-owned Department still needs to train personnel and guide the construction of factories. In the eyes of these people, it is actually Lai Shangrong who does not take power and understands the current affairs.

Lai Shangrong's eloquent speech not only made the emperor look at him differently, but also made several cabinet members feel formidable.

The five people looked at Lai Shangrong with complicated eyes, pondered for a moment and said: "If these measures are taken together, Master Lai's method is indeed feasible!"

Emperor Zhenglong waved his hand and said: "Okay! I will record the credit for you first. When the disaster relief is over, I will reward you based on the effect!"

(End of this chapter)