My Brother-in-law is the Prince

  Chapter 352 The talents of the world

  After hearing Zhang Anshi's words, Yang Pu knew it in his heart.

  He smiled and said: "After listening to what the governor said, the next official has a little idea."

  Zhang Anshidao: "Mr. Yang has always had a way. I have talked to you so much. Doesn't Mr. Yang have anything to say?"

   "Do you want the lower officials to find some faults?" Yang Pu couldn't help smiling.

  Zhang Anshidao: "Many people below have some doubts about what I am going to do. Not only Zhu Jin, but also Gao Xiang, also feel that it is quite risky."

  This is also the truth, the investment is too big. To be honest, Zhang Anshi knows that he is a little reckless.

   But Zhang Anshi has no choice. There is no way out for implementing the New Deal. He has almost completely offended the rentier class that has occupied the world for thousands of years.

  The only way right now is to continue to advance aggressively. As long as you run fast enough, the interest groups that have emerged due to the New Deal will become larger. In the future...only then will the old gentry be truly and completely liquidated, so that the New Deal can be thoroughly implemented in any corner of the world.

  Time waits for me!

  Yang Pu smiled slightly, and he said: "Someone will definitely tell the governor that the cost of this matter is too high, and some people will say... It is not known whether the railway will be useful in the future, or some people think that the governor is too greedy for merit, right?"

   "Yes." Zhang Anshi looked at Yang Pu, he knew that Yang Pu was fair, and he was willing to listen to Yang Pu's opinion.

Yang Pu said: "Actually, these days, the lower officials have heard a lot of voices like this. Of course, these voices are just worries. Everyone doesn't intend to stop the governor, but they are afraid that the governor will go astray. But it seems to Yang... These words...in fact, you don't need to pay attention to it."

   "Why?" Zhang Anshi looked at Yang Pu strangely.

Yang Pu said: "Anything in the world, once you start to look forward and backward, it will be difficult to achieve! Since the governor is determined to do this, he must have gone through repeated weighing. Now in the whole world, no one understands the New Deal better than the governor, and no one understands the New Deal better than the governor. I understand this railway. Others don’t understand it, so they are worried. Since the governor understands it and thinks that there is a good chance of winning, he made up his mind. If this is the case, why doesn’t the governor insist on his own opinion?”

"In this world, there are very few smart people. The vast majority of people can't see the direction of the road ahead. I don't mean to look down on people, but the reality is like this. Just like this New Deal, it is unprecedented. , unprecedented, it is relying on the governor to open such a new road, then the governor should understand that at this point, the governor is the leader, what to do next, what to do, the governor must make up his own mind, after taking the idea , it must not be shaken, if the governor himself does not dare to believe in himself, then...why let others believe in the governor?"

   Zhang Anshi couldn't help nodding after hearing this; "You're right, I firmly believe that I'm on the right path. If that's the case, then I must persevere. Mr. Yang's words have enlightened me."

  Zhang Anshi looked at Yang Pu with piercing eyes, looking very sincere.

   "The governor is polite."

  Zhang Anshi continued: "Mr. Yang will be my deputy for the construction of the railway. There are some things that I need to discuss with you."

  Yang Pu got up and saluted: "Dare not to follow orders."

  After Yang Pu resigned, Zhang Anshi looked at his back and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

   Sure enough, he is indeed one of the three Yang cabinets in history, and the future master of the Ming cabinet.

   None of these three Yangs are fuel-efficient lamps.

  The entire Right Governor's Mansion was busy.

  One by one, as well as the situation of land exploration, as well as technical training, all started.

   In addition, several steelmaking workshops under Qixia Commercial Bank, as well as some steel and mechanical tools began to invite bids.

  The reason why they found the steel workshop under Qixia Commercial Bank is actually to lower the price.

  Zhang Anshi needs a lot of steel, but once purchased on a large scale, it will inevitably lead to a skyrocketing price of steel.

   But with his own steel workshop, it is obviously different. Zhang Anshi directly sets an upper limit on the price. If other workshops are unwilling to reach this price, then Zhang Anshi simply hand over all of them to Qixia Trading Company for refining.

  However, even if there is an upper limit on the price, the steel required to lay the rails is astronomical after all. Almost all workshops want a piece of the pie, even at this price... In their opinion, there is really not much profit!

  But all fools understand that even if the profit of this kind of large-scale business is less, after all, it cannot support the large purchase volume, and it is still profitable, and in the future, once the scale is expanded, it may produce scale effect and the cost can be reduced.

  Even... as long as you get a big order, you will hire someone later... to make a fuss about cost savings, whether it is using a new steelmaking method or improving the process, there is always a way.

So all of a sudden... throughout Qixia, merchants are recruiting people everywhere, and the artisans needed to make steel have suddenly become popular. Even if they have no skills, they are still fighting endlessly. After all, people can be trained and learned. , and production expansion is imperative.

  The tool market for various machinery suddenly became hot.

  Whether it is steel refining, future steam engines, or laying railways, there must be a huge demand for tools. Whoever does business is not a cat that smells fish.

  The bank's business also began to prosper.

   Not only the Youdu Dudu Mansion is entrusting banks to issue public bonds, but many merchants have also begun to seek banks to raise funds and prepare to expand production.

   Even the bank's loan interest rate has increased a lot, and it can't restrain this momentum.

  In addition, the hardwoods needed for construction, kerosene, tung oil, and all kinds of food, clothing, housing and transportation are also suddenly in full swing.

   On the surface, Zhang Anshi's plan was only a few million taels of silver a year, but it seemed that tens of millions of taels of funds had been mobilized in an instant. Everyone is looking for opportunities, and a large number of people are hired at high prices. This has caused a consumption boom, and the consumption boom has greatly increased the demand for consumer goods.

  After the price of manpower skyrocketed, Zhang Anshi's steam engine workshop ushered in the first wave of bonuses before the railway was repaired.

   "Are you ready to tinker?" Zhang Anshi was tugging at Xu Jingchang's ear at this time: "How are you doing?"

  Xu Jingchang groaned, but hurriedly said: "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law... almost, almost. It's just... the output is a little bit less!"

  Zhang Anshi said: "Then train some more craftsmen, tell me how many people are needed."

   "That's the thing..." Xu Jingchang said, pointing to a huge steam engine not far away, and said with a wry smile: "It's not interesting to tinker with it."

  Zhang Anshi glared at him and said: "Your Majesty has already said that you have already wasted a lot of money, and he can't wait to eat your meat. If you don't hurry to make money now, do you want to turn the world upside down?"

  Xu Jingchang is very depressed now, he hopes to produce a more powerful machine, and wants to test whether there is a power stronger than steam.

  It's a pity that the order Zhang Anshi gave him was to let him enrich the steam engine products.

Now he has at hand, apart from the improvement of the steam locomotive, that is, making some improvements on the basis of this steam power, so that the steam locomotive has more power and load capacity, the other thing to be completed right now is A steam loom on hand.

Steam looms, to put it bluntly, use steam instead of manpower, and the technology is lower than that of steam locomotives. After all, steam locomotives have to consider the size and weight of boilers and cylinders, but for steam looms, you have more imagination. Just need to add more cylinders and boilers.

   To Xu Jingchang, this is simply killing a chicken with a sledgehammer.

   But Zhang Anshi saw the potential of this thing, because many workshops are short of manpower, and the price of manpower is getting higher and higher. If the railway is built in the future, it is bound to recruit a lot of labor.

  Under such a shortage of manpower, it may have been impossible to replace manpower with machinery in the past, but now... it is the right time.

  Once this kind of steam engine can be promoted to all walks of life, then...the steam engine workshop established by Zhang Anshi's family is bound to be able to make a fortune every day.

The most important thing is that this thing is like this. Once various types of steam engines are popular, the cost of production can be greatly reduced in the future. At the same time, with the improvement of different types of steam engines, various processes can also be improved unconsciously. .

   This is a matter of no harm.

  Zhang Anshi's threat still had some effect, Xu Jingchang had no choice but to say: "Brother-in-law, don't worry."

  Zhang Anshi let go of Xu Jingchang, but now he looked at the huge machine suspiciously, and couldn't help asking: "This thing...does it work?"

"Of course it works." Xu Jingchang couldn't help showing a bit of complacency, and said, "Actually, this spinning machine is much simpler than a steam locomotive. Look, brother-in-law, here is a steam engine, which provides power, and then through gears and belts, and This celestial axis connects, this celestial axis..."

Xu Jingchang pointed to the pipe on the top of his head and said: "It is connecting the gear and the belt to drive the shuttle on the spinning machine... In this way, it can produce continuously, but... the only fly in the ointment is that this thing... occasionally Bad…"

   "It doesn't matter, just recruit more people and provide them with after-sales service." Zhang Anshi said: "What about efficiency? How is efficiency compared to manpower?"

  Xu Jingchang said: "Compared with the previous spinning machine, the efficiency is at least five times higher than that of manpower."

  Zhang Anshi nodded with satisfaction and said: "This is enough. I will let the people from Qixia Textile Workshop try it out first. You will recruit more maintenance workers and train a group of personnel."

  Xu Jingchang looked reluctant, and said: "I still want to teach those ordinary craftsmen... these simple knowledge?"

  Zhang Anshidao: "Then you find someone to teach. All in all, don't try to slack off on this matter."

  Xu Jingchang frowned, and finally compromised. Under Zhang Anshi's stare, he had no choice but to say: "Okay."

  Paused, he suddenly remembered something, so he said again: "By the way, brother-in-law...I also thought of...the steam pump."

"Ok?"

   "I heard that in many mines, there is serious water accumulation, mining is not easy, and it is very easy to cause accidents, but it can be solved by using a steam pump."

Zhang Anshi's eyes lit up a little bit with the naked eye, and said: "Do it, you can do it! In short, you can try anything that can replace manpower. That's right, I recruit hundreds of scholars, and I will follow you in the future , you are a small insurance company, so I have to prepare more manpower for you."

  Xu Jingchang drooped his head again: "But brother-in-law, I want to... give it a try... Is there any way to replace that steam engine... This thing... is too weak."

  Zhang Anshi glared at him again, and said, "Solve the matter at hand first, otherwise it will be a no-brainer. Also, if you put gunpowder in the boiler in the future, I will kick you to death."

  Xu Jingchang: "..."

   At this time, a letter was passed to Zhang Anshi.

   Zhang Anshi got the letter, and after seeing the letter, Zhang Anshi did not dare to neglect.

   This was sent by my brother Zhu Gaoxu.

  Zhang Anshi took a look at it, and his expression changed slightly.

  After that, he immediately went to see Zhu Di.

  Zhu Di heard something about Zhang Anshi borrowing wantonly in Qixia, which was quite controversial in the court, but Zhu Di ignored it.

   It was rare for Zhang Anshi to come to see him, but Zhu Di was amiable and said with a smile, "You boy...it's rare."

  Zhang Anshi saluted and said: "Your Majesty, here is a letter from the King of Han... no, it is a letter from Zhu Gaoxu. Please read it through Your Majesty."

  Zhu Di frowned. Zhu Gaoxu, that boy, wrote letters to Zhang Anshi all day long, but rarely edited books for him. As a father, Zhu Di was quite displeased.

  This son of a dog is very realistic. At first he wanted to win the crown prince, and he surrounded me all day long. Now he only wants to ask Zhang Anshi for arms, so he surrounds Zhang Anshi again.

  Zhu Dichao Yi Shiha winked.

   also lost his understanding, and hurriedly sent the letter to Zhu Di.

  Zhu Di opened it, and suddenly... his expression changed.

  He looked up at Zhang Anshi: "Have you read this letter?"

  Zhang An Shidao: "Yes, I have seen it."

   "Zhu Gaoxu, what are you doing for food? He shows off his power in Annan all day long. Unfortunately... he's just a poor kid."

  Zhu Di dropped the letter on the desk.

  The content of this letter is very simple. It is Zhu Gaoxu's report. Zhu Mo, the king of Shen of Johor, who was banned from Johor, occupied hundreds of miles in Johor, and then started to build the city.

   It’s just that he was still a little unwilling. He felt that the land he encircled was too little, so he contacted Zhu Gaoxu. At this time, Siam began to be wary of King Shen who appeared in Annan and around him, and often invaded.

  So Zhu Gaoxu and Shen Wang Zhu Mo hit it off immediately, planning to make a big deal, and directly take down Siam, which occupies fertile land and has thousands of miles of territory.

  The pair of uncles and nephews had a meeting in Champa, and they were very speculative. Then they went back separately, summoned soldiers and horses, and each led a group of troops to attack Siam in the name of the king of Siam not paying tribute.

  At that time, there were other kings nearby, such as King Zhao in Java and King Tang in Malacca, who expressed their willingness to help in the battle.

  But Zhu Gaoxu and Shen Wang’s uncle and nephew thought that it would be easy to take Siam. If one more person sent troops, they would still get a piece of the pie. They said that this was just a military punishment operation, and the troops would retreat after a fight.

   As a result, the two led the army horses and drove straight in. They were very happy, and finally...the car overturned.

There are dense forests everywhere in Siam, but the King of Siam is not in a hurry to fight with them. The food and grass for the army could not be supplied.

   Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu and Shen Wang had to retreat, but when they retreated, they were chased all the way by the Siamese.

  Zhu Gaoxu, the chicken thief, said to King Shen, you are Uncle Wang, and after cutting off your nephew, King Shen agreed.

   In the end, the loss was the worst. Even he himself was shot in the calf by a bow and arrow, and was carried back.

In this battle, Han Wangwei lost more than 300 people, and Shen Wangwei lost 3,400 people. Therefore, the former Han King refused to accept it and said that he would avenge his uncle. Please send some firearms and artillery to Qixia. .

   Zhu Di almost died of anger when he read this letter.

  He was so angry that his face was livid, and he said: "Bring Jin Zhong and Xia Yuanji here, hurry up."

   Jin Zhong and Xia Yuanji entered the audience.

  Zhu Di glanced at them, and said: "I want to go to the imperial conquest, what does Erqing think?"

  Jin Zhong was surprised and said, "I don't know where your majesty is going to conquer?"

"Siam."

   All of a sudden, Jin Zhong was stunned: "Your Majesty, that place...the mountains are long and the rivers are far away..."

  Xia Yuanji was also in a hurry, and said: "Your Majesty, how can you raise troops for no reason? If you attack the Tatars, there is nothing wrong with it. This..."

  Zhu Di said: "Look for yourself."

  The letter was circulated in the hands of Xia Yuanji and Jin Zhong.

   The two were silent.

After a while, Xia Yuanji thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if the King of Han wants weapons, give it to him... Overseas affairs, the vassal king can handle it. If it doesn't work, the big deal is to order the King Tang and King Zhao to increase their troops. Why bother Your Majesty? Conscripting military horses from Nanjing to Siam, the loss along the way is really not small."

Zhu Di also calmed down a little, and sighed: "It's not that I don't know this, it's just that the king of Siam should be a hero for a while. I'm worried that Zhu Gaoxu and others won't be able to deal with him. This Siam is not a small country, covering thousands of miles. , armed with hundreds of thousands of armor, and the country is densely covered with mountains and forests. Although Zhu Gaoxu, Tang Wang, Shen Wang and others have elite soldiers and abundant firearms, once they penetrate hundreds of miles, the supplies cannot keep up, resulting in a lone army. And, they are not in their hands, if they lose troops and generals again, wouldn't it be worrying?"

  Zhu Di paused for a moment, and then said: "In this situation, if I don't go out, will I just stand by and see them suffer a crushing defeat? Zhang Qing's family, don't you think so?"

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, I also thought that there was no need to move lightly. This Siam is really far away. And as your Majesty said, this Siam has a common hatred and covers an area of ​​thousands of miles. Once a large-scale army is raised, there will be many mountains and dense forests. Long-term, I'm afraid it will be bad for my Ming Dynasty."

  Zhu Di frowned. He originally expected Zhang Anshi to sing with him and persuade Xia Yuanji and Jin Zhong.

  But Zhang Anshi immediately said: "However, I have a way. In fact... it may not be necessary to send troops, but I can avenge the death of King Shen and King Han."

  Zhu Di heard it, and said in surprise: "What? What can you do?"

  Zhang Anshi said with a smile: "Jin Yiwei has long been aware of the situation in Siam, and has sent many people to infiltrate it. Now I have a subordinate, and with him strategizing, things will surely succeed."

  After hearing this, Zhu Di became more and more curious: "Why didn't I hear you say it before?"

   "Your Majesty recognizes this person."

   "Chen Li?"

   "No, Your Majesty...it's His Highness King Yi!"

  (end of this chapter)