Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

Zheng Kezang stayed in Shaozhou for a short one day to accept the pilgrimage of the local gentry, and then he and his party went down the Beijiang River and entered the territory of Yingde.Yingde, known as Yingzhou in ancient times, is rich in black tea and is a famous hometown of black tea in Guangdong. The local hot springs and Yingshi are also famous far and wide.However, Zheng Kezang did not come here for these reasons. He stopped in Yingde just to check the local pyrite production.

As early as the days when the Qing army moved to the sea and sealed off the source of ironware and cloth in Dongning, Zheng Kezang used pyrite separation and catalytic technology to solve the source of some iron smelting raw materials for Zheng Jun and obtained Highly pure sulfur.

After the Zheng army swept across half of the country to obtain enough iron sources, the technology of separating iron sulfide did not shrink and die out. Instead, because this technology can produce a large amount of high-purity military-grade sulfur cheaply to meet Zheng’s continuous military expansion and wars. It has been further widely used due to the needs of Fan.

Today, the pyrite mines in Guangyingde can provide Zheng Fan with more than 50 tons of pure sulfur every year. Unlike the sulfur produced from pyrite mines in Dongning and other places, which are mainly used for military supplies, the pyrite mines in Yingde are mainly used for military supplies. Sulfur is mainly used for export. Yingde, which is almost pure and free of impurities, is an extremely sought-after top-grade commodity in the markets of Beihe, North Korea, Japan, and Siam.

In addition to the large source of income from exporting sulfur, the sponge iron produced at the same time as the production of sulfur has also become an excellent refined iron material because of the removal of sulfur impurities that are crucial to the metallography of iron products. Although this refined iron material is not It deserves the attention of Zheng Fan's official iron smelting plant, which has blast furnace and coking technology, but it is the best iron material that folk smelting workshops in Foshan and other places can get, and it has also become a great source of profit.

"According to the decision of the manager's office, Yingde Mine has subcontracted out the ore mining business." Since the income of Yingde Pyrite Mine is mainly for external sales, it is different from other similar smelting plants that are operated by the Ministry of Military Affairs. It is under the name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but it is not economical for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make a package from mining to smelting. Therefore, the Ministry of Internal Affairs ultimately only controls the link of smelting and subsequent sales. "It saves some manpower and financial resources, but Guangdong is short of coal. Although Haiyang coal has been imported continuously, the sea transportation is far away and after entering Guangzhou, it has to travel northward. The coal price is already quite high."

Zheng Kezang laughed at the complaints made by the mine contractor. The Haiyang coal produced in the former Beihe and now Lianzhou is already so low that it only needs freight and a small amount of labor, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has earned excess profits, still feels dissatisfied. It is explained by the insufficiency of the heart and the snake swallowing the elephant or "capital came to the world, from head to toe, dripping blood and dirty things from every pore".

However, the Department of Internal Affairs is also busy for the small treasury of the inner court, so Zheng Kezang did not mean to criticize the other party, but pointed thoughtfully at the distant mountains and forests and said: "Jian Qing, just look at this green mountain. It's a little bit worse."

Jian Yuyan, who was once worried that the manager of the mine would say something wrong, looked around suspiciously, and responded without knowing why: "What the king said is true, and I also found that the leaves of the mountains and forests here are turning yellow. They are indeed not as good as they look from a distance Lush."

"Do you know why?" Jian Yuyan shook her head blankly, and Zheng Kezang explained. "This is the poison caused by the flue gas when sulfur is produced. Jian Qing doesn't seem to have been to many smelting fields." Zheng Kezang's words made Jian Xieban, who was sitting in the government office most of the time, blush. "Qing still has to go down there more. If you walk a lot, you will know that not only the sulfur plant, but also coking, iron smelting, cement lime production and other workshops have similar situations." Of course, Zheng Kezang did not say so. It's not that he wants to force Jian Yuyan to go down to the lower level frequently, his intention is deeper. "Similar to sulfur production and iron smelting, the smoke produced is very toxic, and the mountains and forests are like this. People will be more poisoned when they live in it. You have to find a way to make up for it."

Jian Yuyan frowned subconsciously. He didn't understand the meaning of Zheng Kezang's words, but he suddenly thought of Zheng Kezang's show off along the way. Could it be that this young man who is about to climb to the top still wants to show kindness to the industry and mining craftsmen?

So Jian Yuyan tentatively said: "The minister is dull, the king is benevolent, and the minister must tell the craftsmen to understand***"

"I'm afraid you made a mistake." Zheng Kezang shook his head. "Gu does not mean to give medical treatment and subsidies to those craftsmen whose lungs are injured by smoke. Gu wants the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Gezhi Institute to jointly issue a reward."

"A reward?" Jian Yuyan looked at Zheng Kezang with confusion. "Also ask the king to make it clear."

"What is poisonous is the smoke. How can we reduce the smoke and even turn the poison in the smoke into treasure," Zheng Kezang said slowly. "I thought it might be possible to offer a huge reward to the world's scholars, craftsmen, and even all insightful people to solve this problem together."

Zheng Kezang understands that it may be impossible to recycle smoke and dust with the technical conditions of this era, but reducing dust and smoke may not be absolutely impossible, and in Zheng Kezang’s view, the Chinese people’s ability to invent and create is not inferior to Western countries. The scientific pioneers in China were only forced to be dusted by the suppression of Confucianism for a long time. Now that he has reached the position of the supreme ruler of half of China, it is natural to start to correct this phenomenon that makes China gradually lag behind the world.

"As the saying goes, there must be a brave man under a heavy reward, and there is an inner treasury offering a reward of 50 guan."

"50 guan?" Jian Yuyan turned pale with shock, and immediately spoke out to dissuade him. "Your Majesty, this, this is too grand."

Of course, Jian Yuyan didn't feel sorry for Zheng Kezang's money, because after all, Zheng Kezang's internal money belonged to Zheng Kezang himself, and he didn't need to listen to other people's opinions on how he wanted to spend it. What's more, the manager's office was only in charge of making money, and Jian Yuyan, who was from the fifth rank, had no power Ask Zheng Kezang how to spend his money.It's just that Jian Yuyan has his own considerations. He is not willing to end his official career as a courtier in the district. When the officials of the inner court are transferred to the middle court and the outer court, the official department will have decisive power, so he must make achievements that will make the official department shine.

"It is true that the king's control of smoke is for the sake of loving the people, but after the spread of the news, Shilin will think that the king is not serious about morals and miscellaneous learning." Persuasion is a skill, especially when accompanying the king like a tiger, and Jian Yuyan It's just too eager to fall in love for a while. "Even the gangsters will mistakenly think that the king has started to become as idle and inactive as Emperor Tianqi."

"Gu is as negligent as Xi Zong?" Zheng Kezang's face froze, and his face became gloomy. "Ming died in Donglin, not in the eunuch party. Don't you know?" Zheng Kezang's words made Jian Yuyan tremble, and he suddenly remembered Zheng Kezang's identity. Yes, Zheng Kezang was not good at women. The dark lord of the harem at the hands of human beings, but the decisive founder of the country. "During the Tang and Song Dynasties, many scholars were familiar with various arts, but in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, besides writing travel notes and dramas, what else could scholars do?" Zheng Kezang's tone was full of gold and iron. "Is this the principle of heaven derived from Neo-Confucianism?"

Zheng Kezang did not expect that he had already set up the Gezhi Institute, and there were still people who could not see the direction of the wind, and those who could not see the direction of the wind came from the inner court, so he commented: "You should concentrate on co-running the manager's office, and don't worry too much about other things. gone."

When Jian Yuyan heard the words, he felt like thunder, and his whole body almost went limp, but his situation can be said to be his own fault, so none of the people around him dared to help. For a while, Jian Yuyan couldn't care about the unlucky Jian Yuyan.

"Your Majesty, after all, Confucianism has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people since the pre-Ming Dynasty. If the Majesty intends to abolish it." Wu Qian, who accompanied the visit, said. "I'm afraid people's hearts will be turbulent, and if Confucianism is not used, what is the authentic school of scholars?"

"Gu is not afraid of turbulence. The biggest lesson taught to Gu by the death of the Ming Dynasty is that bones are not as hard as steel knives." Zheng Kezang responded with a sneer. "As for Lin Zong, who doesn't need a Neo-Confucianist? I just thought that I could directly follow Chunqiu and Zongzhanuo. If I can't test the original meaning of the sage in a short period of time, wouldn't there still be Wang Yangming's mind, which is better than the Neo-Confucianism that only preserves human desires but not the principles of heaven."

Regardless of civil or military, the people who occupy the top ranks of Ming and Zheng are Dongning old people. They have fought with the three generations of the Zheng family for decades. Few people have systematic Confucianism inheritance, and the same is true for Wu Qian. The words were definitely intended to cause an uproar, but they did not see through much of the profound meaning in them, so I heard Zheng Kezang say that Confucianism was not to be abolished, but that Wang Xue replaced Zhu Xue first, and then used the original meaning of the sages to replace the explanations of later generations. Then he felt that there was no problem and stopped making any noise.

Even Wu Qian, who had the highest status, didn't speak out, and the accompanying officials naturally didn't dare to touch Zheng Kezang's bad luck, so they all kept silent. Fortunately, Zheng Kezang also knew that there were some things that he couldn't say more So when I clicked on it, I kept silent.

"Wu Qing, Yingde City, I won't enter alone. I will sail overnight and hope to arrive in Zhaoqing one day soon."

Zhaoqing is an important town on the Xijiang River. It used to be the residence of the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi in the Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Now it is also the residence of Zheng Fan, the commander-in-chief of Guangdong. Wu Qian, the supreme military and political minister, naturally knows it well.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, if you go down the Beijiang River overnight, you will be able to reach Qingyuan at noon tomorrow." Due to the relatively large size of the fleet and the quality of Zheng Kezang's sleep, Wu Qian made reservations in calculating the speed. "If we don't stay in Qingyuan, we can expect to arrive at Sanshui the day after tomorrow, and then we will go up the Xijiang River." The Xijiang River is also wide from Zhaoqing to Sanshui, so the speed of the boat is only slightly reduced. "The minister expects to arrive in Zhaoqing at noon the day after tomorrow."

"It's so good." Zheng Kezang did some calculations in his mind and approved the itinerary. "Don't worry about Qingyuan and Sanshui. By the way, if the third division of the Xuanwu Army is stationed in Sanshui, please let someone inform you, so that the commander Qi Zhixin will board the boat and have an audience."

Zheng Kezang asked to meet Qi Zhixin by name, which surprised Wu Qian a bit, but the Third Division of the Xuanwu Army is the only field force in Zheng Fan's western and northwestern Guangdong today, so it is not surprising that Qi Zhixin has this honor, but it is not surprising that he summoned the division commander. Wu Qian had to think twice about the intention of not letting the deputy general of Guangdong see him in advance.

But after thinking about it, he can only respond first at this moment: "I obey the order, I will arrange for the **** right now."