Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 48 Inspecting Baoyuan Bureau
After the meeting in Wenyuan Pavilion ended, Zhu Gaoxu did not stay in the pavilion for too long.

Xie Jin and Huang Huai, who were on duty, each had their own affairs to do, so Zhu Gaoxu just gave Jie and Huang a few words of encouragement as a matter of routine, and then planned to leave.

However, Xie Jin seemed to intend to take this opportunity to make friends with Zhu Gaoxu. He specifically asked Zhu Gaoxu for advice in a humble manner: "Your Majesty Xie Jin, I sincerely ask the prince to give me some advice."

"Consultant Jie is extremely intelligent and talented. Where can I give advice?" Zhu Gaoxu joked.

Xie Jinsunrong said: "Your Majesty, this chapter on the reform of the imperial examination has a neat structure and clear thinking. It not only has lofty intentions, but also has concrete meaning and is easy to start with. I sincerely ask the Crown Prince to give you some advice on how to write such a superior governance article. Draft?"

The trouble with people is that they are good teachers.

Faced with the great talent Xie Jin's request for advice, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but give a lively explanation on the spot.

"Study and quote the articles, words and deeds of the ancients, and make managing affairs and saving the world our top priority. In a nutshell, we must adhere to the principle of 'managing the world for practical purposes'."

"The so-called 'managing the world' means managing world affairs and managing the country and benefiting the people; the so-called 'utilizing' means making the best use of it. Seeking merit for the country and benefiting the people..."

In the past, Xie Jin, who had been extremely intelligent since childhood and was known as the "child prodigy", became a Jinshi in the 21st year of Hongwu. Because of his intelligence and talent, he was awarded the Hanlin bachelor's degree by Zhu Yuanzhang, and he often took him with him as a secretary. affairs.

Soon after, Xie Jin was praised by Zhu Yuanzhang for submitting a thousand-character book and "Ten Strategies for Taiping", but he was arrogant and favored.

First, he made rude remarks in the Ministry of War and was reported to the Ministry of War. Later, when he was appointed as the censor, he actually drafted a memorial to express his grievances for Li Shanchang on behalf of others. He even later drafted a memorial for his fellow censors to impeach his immediate superior, the censor Du.

Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Jie Jin as censor, with the original intention of making him restrain himself, but Jie Jin did not seem to understand, and there was still no change after several years.

Perhaps out of cherishment of talent, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Xie Jin, who was in his early twenties, to go home and cultivate his character, intending to use him again in ten years.

Five years ago, Zhu Di entered the East Palace. Zhu Yuanzhang trained talents for Zhu Di's network. Xie Jin was activated in advance, and with his outstanding talents, he became Zhu Di's confidant in one fell swoop.

Xie Jin, who was favored again, seemed to have forgotten the experience of being driven home by Zhu Yuanzhang. In the past five years, he had offended many courtiers because of his favor and arrogance, including officials supported by Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu felt sorry for Xie Jin's tragic life in history, so he emphasized the principle of "managing the world for practical purposes", which was a reminder to Xie Jin that writing articles should be the same as doing things as a person, seeking truth and pragmatism, and not clinging to unrealistic fantasies. .

"The prince is gifted with talents, and I admire him greatly!"

Jie Jin bent down and held his hands in front of him, complimenting him very much.

Zhu Gaoxu then reminded Xie Jin in a subtle way to pay more attention to the relationship between colleagues and try to consider other people's feelings so as not to embarrass him. Then he paid special attention to Huang Huai's work and gave him a few words of encouragement.

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty, I will keep you clothed and fed until the end of the day!" Huang Huai said respectfully.

After leaving Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhu Gaoxu went to Baoyuan Bureau. He needed to inspect the manufacturing of laundry soap and new coins.

"Welcome Your Royal Highness."

More than 20 minor officials on duty, as well as two newly appointed officials in charge of laundry soap and new coin production, learned that Prince Zhu Gaoxu of Prince Yan was visiting and rushed to the open space outside the main entrance of Baoyuan Bureau to greet him.

"No need to be polite." Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand to signal everyone to get down.

"Thank you, His Royal Highness!" everyone said in unison.

Then, the two officials greeted Zhu Gaoxu.

"The minister of the Ministry of Industry, Lian An (the minister of household affairs, Xia Yuanji), has met the crown prince."

The two of them bowed in unison.

They were Lian Zining and Xia Yuanji, who had just been promoted to the positions of left minister of the Ministry of Industry and right minister of the household department.

On the Longevity Festival in the 25th year of Hongwu, Zhu Gaoxu presented soybean oil soap as a birthday gift to Zhu Yuanzhang, which attracted great attention from the other party.

Not long after that, Zhu Gaoxu developed laundry soap in the true sense, and laundry soap was immediately established by Zhu Yuanzhang as a business item of the royal trading house.

In order to ensure that the manufacturing process of laundry soap would not be leaked, at Zhu Gaoxu's suggestion, Zhu Yuanzhang included the manufacturing of laundry soap in the administrative affairs of Baoyuan Bureau.

Baoyuan Bureau was the yamen where Tongbao coins were made during the Ming Dynasty. The imperial court had extremely strict management of the people who worked there, so it was most suitable to place the laundry soap in Baoyuan Bureau.

However, due to limited space and the need to use hydraulic stamping equipment for minting coins, Baoyuan Bureau subsequently underwent a major expansion.

Therefore, after the expansion, the Baoyuan Bureau became a yamen under the orders of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Just like now, Lian Zining is the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, and is also in charge of the laundry soap production of Baoyuan Bureau; Xia Yuanji is the right minister of the household department, and is also in charge of the new coin production of Baoyuan Bureau.

"I know you have just taken office. I just came here to take a look. I have no other intention. Making laundry soap and new coins are important, so let those petty officials step down."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said slowly.

The two men respectfully said yes, turned around and waved to signal all the officials to return to their places. "Take me to the workshop and have a look." Zhu Gaoxu ordered.

"His Royal Highness, please come this way."

Lian Zining made a gesture of invitation, bowed and said respectfully.

Not long after, Zhu Gaoxu, accompanied by Kang Ping, Lian Zining, Xia Yuanji and others, came to the entrance of an operation room where laundry soap was cut and shaped.

Standing at the door, Zhu Gaoxu looked into the room and saw workers kneeling in front of low tables, holding knives in their hands to shape the soap molds.

At this time, he had the feeling of being in the assembly line operation room of a later factory, watching workers at work.

“What is the current status of selling and making laundry soap?”

Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Lian Zining replied respectfully: "Laundry soap is of high quality and low price. After being promoted and sold by the Royal Commercial Bank for two years, it gradually became popular all over the world and brought great convenience to countless people. Therefore, the demand for laundry soap in the market , it is still increasing day by day.”

"More than a dozen stores affiliated to the Royal Commercial Bank are selling laundry soap. The total number of laundry soaps produced by Baoyuan Bureau every month has never been able to keep up with the total number of laundry soaps sold by the commercial bank every month."

"It seems that Lian Shilang has done a lot of homework."

Zhu Gaoxu put his hands behind his hands and nodded: "They say you have learned a lot, and it's true!"

Lian Zining quickly bowed and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given you too much praise."

"Go on," Zhu Gaoxu said.

Lian Zining said: "There are currently more than 900 craftsmen making laundry soap, including 150 craftsmen responsible for the cutting and shaping process."

"Currently, 50 people work in groups, three groups take turns, and they work non-stop for 200 hours to cut laundry soap in batches. Each person can cut out 150 yuan of laundry soap per day, and 3 people can make [-] yuan of laundry soap in one day."

"To be honest with you, the daily demand for laundry soap in the market is never less than 3 yuan."

According to this data, Zhu Gaoxu made a calculation in his mind silently.

Each piece of laundry soap sells for two cents. If you sell 3 yuan of laundry soap every day, you can get [-] cents, which is sixty cents.

After one year, the income from laundry soap alone is more than 2 yuan, which is equivalent to tens of millions of dollars in future generations.

This is a huge income.

Since the supply exceeds demand in the market, some merchants will raise prices and resell them, seeking to profit from the price difference. Many people have become rich as a result.

Of course, in this era, the people who can really use laundry soap are those from well-off families.

Many poor people cannot even afford food, so laundry soap is still far away for them.

"How is the production of new coins going?" Zhu Gaoxu suddenly asked.

Xia Yuanji bowed and took out two coins from his sleeve pocket.

"These are two coins in the style of new coins that were made using a new type of hydraulic stamping machine. Please take a look at them."

There were too many inventions and equipment that utilized water power in ancient China, such as barrel trucks, keel waterwheels, water dams, hydraulic blasting equipment and water drainage for iron smelting, etc.

The advent of the new hydraulic stamping machine is the masterpiece of elite craftsmen of this era. A few years ago, Zhu Gaoxu only provided the craftsmen of Baoyuan Bureau with a direction for improving hydraulic equipment.

"Not bad, better than I expected!"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the copper coins and silver coins with round square holes in his hands and praised softly.

During the Han Dynasty, China had already seen gold and silver coins from the Western Regions. However, later dynasties and dynasties still used round square hole coins, which shows that round square hole coins have their own advantages.

If the coins have round square holes, they can be strung together with ropes, making them easier to carry. This reflects the wisdom of the ancient Chinese.

"All the craftsmen who made this new coin deserve a reward!"

Zhu Gaoxu is fond of color.

PS: Thanks to the veterans for their strong support, this book has rushed to the sixth place on the new book list of signed authors. Thank you very much!

(End of this chapter)