Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 776

Ye Chen asked curiously and joyfully, "How do you say that?"

Han Xizai said: "Your Majesty, although there are many poor people in the counties and states of Xiangfu Country, there is no shortage of rich people. The imperial court can't force them to spend money to build Mongolian schools and cement roads. But as far as I know, there are many people in various places. Many heirs of rich gentry and wealthy merchants wanted to study at Xiangfu College, but failed to pass the Xiangfu College exam. The imperial court only needs to provide a small number of places for admission to Xiangfu College next year, and the grain gentry and rich merchants from all over the country can voluntarily pay for the construction of the Mongolian school hall and cement road."

Before Ye Chen could say anything, Ma Wentao hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, absolutely not. Xiangfu Academy is where my Xiangfu Guoxue is located. How can admission qualifications be exchanged for money. Spreading the word will definitely affect the reputation and reputation of Xiangfu Academy. The image of the imperial court."

Not to be outdone, Han Xizai said: "Master Ma's words are wrong. Since ancient times, it is good deeds for gentry and rich merchants to take the initiative to build schools, build bridges and roads, and all dynasties will reward and encourage such kind deeds. Why not use the quota of Xiangfu Academy as a reward for the charitable deeds of the country gentry and wealthy merchants?"

What else did Ma Wentao want to say, but Hu Sanguang said first: "Your Majesty, Liu Jinyuan sent someone to send a secret letter. The country of Wa has found seven large silver mines, three copper mines, and one gold mine. Liu Jinyuan has followed the plan. The 100 million taels of silver and 300 gold mined in the early stage were secretly transported to Song State in batches. Half of the gold and silver had been exchanged for goods, and several business channels mastered by the household department were secretly sent to our Xiangfu State. The remaining half of the gold and silver had also been It is stored in the main store of Wuyue Bank in Hangzhou, and can be withdrawn batch by batch at the branch of Wuyue Bank in Jingzhaofu at any time. In addition, the messenger Liu Jinyuan mentioned that it is estimated that Wa Kingdom will be able to produce 10 million taels of silver and [-] taels of gold every year."

Ye Chen was overjoyed when he heard the words, Jia Xian and Li Junhao also looked happy, Ma Wentao heaved a sigh of relief, and a trace of regret flashed deep in Han Xizai's eyes.

However, Ye Chen thought about Han Xizai's proposal just now, and finally said: "Although there are gold and silver from the Japanese kingdom, the imperial court will only spend more and more. Especially the Song and Liao countries may treat my Xiangfu kingdom at any time. Go to war. Therefore, if you can save gold, silver and money, you can save money. The strategy mentioned by Mr. Han is not unfeasible, but it needs to be revised."

"Well! Zhongshu Province has formulated a ranking list of charitable deeds for all the people in our Xiangfu country, and formulated a detailed and standardized scoring system for charitable deeds. For example, if a squire builds a county Xuemeng school, he can add 1 points and lay ten miles. Ten points can be added for cement roads, five points can be added for building a bridge, etc. The detailed rules will be finalized after the Ministry of Education investigates. This charity ranking list is publicized nationwide on New Year's Day every year. After the publicity, it will be cleared. From the beginning of the year Start to recalculate. Every year, the No.2 imperial court will award official positions and even knight titles according to the scores of good deeds. In addition, there is a quota for special recruits to enter Xiangfu Academy. No.3 and No.10 can give them a special recruit to enter Xiangfu The number of places in the academy. The fourth to No.4 can add points to their family heirs when they are admitted to Xiangfu Academy. For example, No.5 adds 25 points, No.10 adds [-] points, and so on. The specific regulations will be determined after comprehensive evaluation After No.[-], some incentive measures will also be formulated, such as state and county schools to obtain special admission qualifications, bonus points, etc. Of course, there can also be other rewards, um! Mainly spiritual rewards, oh...the so-called spiritual The reward is something similar to the chastity archway, the imperial court can design exquisite virtuous house numbers, medals and so on. In short, please study the details at Zhongshutang."

After Ye Chen finished speaking in one breath, all the ministers were stunned and their eyes lit up. They are all people with extraordinary minds. After a little thought, they can understand the benefits of Ye Chen's promotion of the list of good people. It can be said to serve multiple purposes. Not to mention saving a lot of money for the court, this move will inevitably increase the wind of doing good deeds by wealthy businessmen, squires and even all the people in Xiangfu country. If it is greatly reduced, the imperial court's control over wealthy merchants and squires will also be greatly enhanced, and the people's support for the imperial court and recognition of the credibility of Xiangfu Kingdom will be virtually enhanced.The benefits of this cannot be described in words at all.

All the ministers shouted in their hearts that His Majesty is worthy of being His Majesty, and he was able to think of such a wonderful plan.Han Xizai reacted the fastest, took a step forward, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I am willing to handle this matter with my own hands, and I promise that I can handle this matter perfectly."

Ma Wentao scolded himself for being slow, and then said: "Your Majesty, I implore you to entrust this matter to me, and I can... guarantee that I will be able to handle this matter well."

Hu Sanguang couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, this matter needs extensive investigation and evidence collection. I think it is more reasonable to leave it to the Ministry of Security."

Ye Chen smiled slightly, glanced at the three of them, and said: "Since the cause of this matter was brought up by Mr. Han, this matter will be handed over to Mr. Han. If you need to investigate and collect evidence, the Ministry of Security can assist you."

Han Xizai was overjoyed, hurried out of the shift and said, "I would like to obey His Majesty's will."

Hu Sanguang also said: "I obey the order."

After the list of benefactors was set, Ye Chen said to Ma Wentao again: "Mr. Ma, there is one thing you need to do."

Ma Wentao lifted his spirits and said, "Your Majesty, please give me instructions."

Ye Chen said: "The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China runs a newspaper."

Ma Wentao was taken aback when he heard the words, and asked in confusion, "Newspaper?"

Next, Ye Chen explained in detail what a newspaper is and the benefits of a newspaper to everyone, and everyone clapped their hands and applauded again, secretly saying that His Majesty is indeed the reincarnation of a god and man, a saint descending to earth, and so on, such tricks can also be imagined.After Ma Wentao thought about the power of the newspaper and its role in governing the country, the depression of not being able to grab the list of benefactors just now disappeared, and he agreed with excitement, and then asked: "Your Majesty, what is the name of this newspaper?" .”

After thinking for a while, Ye Chen said: "The newspaper of Xiangfu College is named "Xiangfu Academic Journal", and the newspaper founded by Zhongshu Province should be named "Huaxia News"!"

All the ministers said they were kind, and then Ye Chen asked Jia Xian to stay, and the others resigned and went to their own affairs.

...

...

"Jia Qing! How's the coin development going?" Ye Chen asked.

Jia Xian said: "Your Majesty, I am about to report to Your Majesty that the development of coins by the Mint Department has already taken shape, and the samples will be produced within half a month at the latest. At that time, I will bring them to Your Majesty to have a look at."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, and said: "Very well, we have our own unique coins, and after they start to circulate in the country, we can take advantage of the bank to take out a large amount of gold and silver for turnover anytime and anywhere. Therefore, we must hurry up on this matter. "

Jia Xian respectfully said yes.

Ye Chen thought for a while, and said: "There will always be a time when the gold and silver in the Japanese country will be mined, not to mention that we are thousands of miles away. Once we go to war with Song and Liao, we will be cut off, whether it is gold and silver or exchanged for materials. , it is difficult to ship to the country. Therefore, we have to find another way to make money."

Ye Chen knew that Jia Xian, Feng Gang, Zhou Xin, and Wu Zhiyuan had exhausted all ways to make money, and they couldn't figure out a way.

Ye Chen began to meditate by himself.
If matches can be created, the money they earn should be as good as cement and red bricks. Ye Chen also remembered that in the original historical records, "fazhu" appeared in the early Northern Song Dynasty. Juan's fir sticks rubbed against each other and caught fire.But such matches are not convenient and safe.What Ye Chen made was naturally a safe match for future generations.

"I remember heating white phosphorus to about 250 degrees in isolation from the air to make red phosphorus, and then making a paste of red phosphorus and fine sand and spreading it on the side of the matchbox. And catalyst manganese dioxide, adjust it into a paste and stick it on a wooden stick soaked in paraffin. When using the matchhead and the red phosphorus on the side of the box, the friction will cause the red phosphorus to partially turn into white phosphorus to cause combustion. This kind of match is not only non-toxic, but also It must be rubbed against a special matchbox coated with red phosphorus to catch fire." Ye Chen tried hard to recall the memories of the later life in his mind.

"But it is quite difficult to turn theoretical things into reality. Not to mention that I don't know where there are white phosphorus and red phosphorus ore in the northwest, I just don't know the process of mining and refining. And the paste of matches in later generations , I don’t know how to do it myself, I need to try and study these.” Ye Chen sighed deeply, money is not so easy to earn.

"Compared to matches, glass is still more profitable, so it would be even better if we can get glass out now. It is definitely a way to make more money than cement and red bricks."

In addition, there is printing.Movable type printing was originally invented by a man named Bi Sheng in the Northern Song Dynasty. This is also a feat that can make a lot of money and promote the rapid development of Xiangfu country's civilization. "

Ye Chen thought to himself, and after making a decision, he raised his head and said to Jia Xian who was still waiting: "Jia Qing! After you go back, you will do a few things. First, send someone to look for phosphorite, oh! What is phosphorous... Forget it, after you go back, you call the craftsmen from the Department of Civil Research that were previously divided into the chemistry department, and then inform several professors from the Department of Chemistry of Xiangfu College to enter the palace together tomorrow morning. In addition, send a few old glass craftsmen from the Department of Civil Research. In addition, find a few masters who are accomplished in printing and bring them into the palace together. I will personally tell them the formula of some new things and how to research them."

Jia Xian hesitated for a moment, and said, "It's probably inappropriate for His Majesty to personally summon the craftsmen into the palace."

Ye Chen's complexion darkened, and he shouted: "How many times have I told you, don't look down on craftsmen, and don't always believe in shit like 'everything is inferior, only studies are high'. Ordinary craftsmen who can only do coolies That's all, those masters who have studied in their own ways are far more precious and respectable than those scholars in the Song Dynasty who became Jinshi through writing poems, songs and articles, and are more worthy of respect. It is also more useful. Forget it, let’s not talk about you, not only you, Han Xizai and Ma Wentao’s ideas are also difficult to change for a while. Sigh... It seems that without the efforts of a generation, it is difficult for you people to change their ideas. Or I have to do some things."

Ye Chen seldom got angry with his confidants, and he never even said a single serious word. At this time, he even uttered vulgar words such as "shit and nonsense". Jia Xian was so frightened that he knelt down, and even called himself guilty. His face was slightly pale, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.

(End of this chapter)