Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 886 Disagreement
"Minister Wang is overthinking it!"

Zhang Luan looked at the town below the mountain and said, "This market town is more of a workshop for producing civilian goods. The products it produces can basically meet all aspects of daily life in the city. After all, this is a place that produces coal. Speaking of which, with that stuff, even the cold winter becomes much warmer."

He spoke quite loudly, clearly intending to be heard by Zhu Youcheng.

Zhu Youcheng laughed and said, "Yes, this year the vast majority of prefectures and cities in the north have used honeycomb briquettes produced in Xishan. Some places are not covered by coal from the capital, so they are transported from Shanxi, the Central Plains and other regions... Everyone is imitating our manufacturing process, and we have not kept any secrets..."

To ensure the basic heating and cooking needs of the people of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Yanling did not keep the formula and process for making honeycomb briquettes secret.

Instead, the technology and tools were handed over to ordinary people in the city. Even an ordinary person could process the coal slag themselves after learning a little.

Of course, this doesn't mean that every household needs to make it themselves.

As more and more people acquire the skills, the cost of technology will not account for a large proportion of the overall cost. In any state or county, there will be people dedicated to this project. As the number of people increases, the manufacturing cost will naturally decrease, and ordinary people will be able to buy affordable honeycomb briquettes.

Zhang Luan said, "Your Majesty is right. In the past, ensuring heating in the north, especially in the border areas, was a huge undertaking. Where would ordinary people get so much firewood? Let alone charcoal! Now it's much better. By burning coal directly, people can have a warm winter."

Wang Shu forced a smile and asked, "Is it just about making a profit from selling coal?"

"How could that be? Most of the steel produced here is used to make everyday items, like pots, pans, and bowls!"

Zhang Luan said with a smile, "Minister Wang probably doesn't know yet, but since the beginning of this year, due to large-scale production, the price of steel on the market has been more than half lower than in previous years... Even the prices of farming and harvesting tools used by the people next year, such as plows, harrows, hoes, and sickles, have been driven down."

"What!?"

Wang Shu frowned.

How can this possibly benefit the people?

It all seems like Zhang Luan's excuse and pretext!

Hmph, you think you can use this to seize the wealth of the Ming Dynasty, turning public property into private property, and just spouting nice words to fool the emperor?

Looking at the bustling crowd, Zhu Youcheng suddenly exclaimed, "There are so many merchants here!"

Zhang Luan laughed and said, "Yes, most of the merchants in the world gather here... Capital is profit-driven; they will only come if there is profit to be made."

"Most of the workshops and shops in the market town were opened by the people themselves. Just like the coal mines in Xishan before, many of them were contracted by merchants. At that time, their behavior was generally not well viewed by the world, who thought they were likely to lose money. But now... a mine is hard to come by."

This served as a wake-up call for Wang Shu and those around him, including Xu Pu.

You can say that the Zhang family has ulterior motives and even wants to seek personal gain, but you must provide evidence.

We built a relatively complete industrial system in Xishan from scratch from the very beginning, didn't we bring in private capital along with it?
If you say we can fool the common people and make them wander around aimlessly, I can understand. After all, being a fool is the label that you civil officials have given them!

But the problem is, how could those shrewd merchants be fooled?

If it weren't for the fact that business is good in Xishan, why would they come here?

How can we gradually develop this place into a prosperous city?

Therefore, the quality of this matter can be judged entirely by the activity and participation of the merchants.

If all the merchants had left, the business here wouldn't last long... But the problem is... even now, merchants are still flocking in, you could even say they're chasing after it.

Unless you civil officials try to interfere and take everything under the control of the court, then chaos will ensue, and the intimidated merchants will naturally flee.

Liu Jian walked up to Zhu Youcheng, cupped his hands, and said, "The mining in Xishan is truly competing with the people for profit. Using this to develop industry is not only a waste of resources and manpower, but also a way to satisfy selfish desires..."

As soon as he spoke, he realized that everyone had turned to look at him.

Those who agree with him think he's incredibly stubborn; how could he dare to stand up against the emperor at a time like this?
Those who oppose him feel that he is making things up out of thin air!
Zhang Luan's face darkened, and he questioned, "Whose selfish desires are being satisfied by all of this? You can find out exactly how much silver my Zhang family has. I, Zhang Luan, swear to God that I have never taken any silver for myself."

“Besides, Xishan originally only had a few small coal mines, which had virtually no impact on people’s livelihoods. Who are we competing with for profits? Do we really have to hand over all the mines to private individuals to operate? Didn’t we previously involve people from the capital in mining? It’s said that many meritorious officials from the capital got involved.” “Yes, yes, yes.”

Zhang Mao chimed in from the side.

He was still angry with himself.

Why did I have such poor judgment back then? Of course, I still managed to get some benefits in the end, and obtained the operating rights to a few mines through a front maneuver, but if I had gotten more back then... I wouldn't have had to rely on the government's salary to live on in the future!
Zhu Youcheng, as the absolute core figure, ignored Liu Jian's words, pointed ahead, and said with a smile, "Let's go and see the next place."

Everyone suddenly realized.

The emperor is no longer like before, always preoccupied with and deeply concerned about the opinions of others. Now, as long as he himself is happy, everything is fine.

This emperor...

Living in their own little circle, relying solely on personal preferences, never being picky, and having unwavering trust in the Zhang family, the ministers' attacks on the Zhang family were like scratching an itch through a boot, having no effect whatsoever.

……

……

The day's inspection is coming to an end.

Zhu Youcheng was still not satisfied and planned to spend the night on the mountain.

As dusk approached, the foot of the Western Hills was brightly lit and bustling with activity, and with the opening of the evening market, people's lives became more diverse.

This made the accompanying ministers feel an unprecedented sense of desolation.

Did the Ming Dynasty undergo a tremendous change without anyone noticing?
"Grand Secretary Xu, should we try to dissuade His Majesty now?" After arriving at the post station where he was staying, Liu Jian hurried to find Xu Pu, hoping to find a way to stop the current situation.

Xu Pu shook his head slightly, looking helpless.

I don't know if he didn't want to talk about it, or if he felt that there was nothing he could do about the situation.

As they were talking, a rumbling sound came from afar.

"Where did the explosion happen?"

Liu Jian was very excited.

It seems that any accident could become a reason to halt the industrialization of the Ming Dynasty.

For Confucianists, this earth-shattering change was a psychological upheaval that was so intense that they felt the sky was about to fall.

Confucianism advocates a self-sufficient agrarian society, and any change to it is considered a great transgression.

The transition from slave society to feudal society, and from feudal society to capitalist society or even socialist society, requires bloodshed and sacrifice. The only way to achieve this is to force the dominant ruling class to make changes. Fundamentally, the rentier class has never had the determination to take the initiative to change.

Then a member of the Imperial Guard came in to report: "My lords, there is no need to worry. There is blasting going on in the mountains. It could be for opening a new mine, laying the foundation for a new factory, or blasting the mountain... With the new gunpowder, this kind of thing happens frequently. The people in the town are used to it now."

Liu Jian asked, "What do you mean?"

The Imperial Guard laughed and said, "This place is very different from before... In a year, it could probably flatten an entire mountain! Many people come here, settle down, and don't want to leave! The people all want to put down roots here and live a good life without worrying about food and clothing."

Liu Jian said coldly, "Are they all so ignorant?"

Xu Pu quickly interrupted Liu Jian and glared at him.

It's like saying, "What are you going to say to someone from the bottom of society?"
If you want to oppose or stop something, you have to go through the higher-ups... The people at the bottom are ignorant and only care about immediate gains. They have no vision whatsoever.

Don't you think it's like casting pearls before swine?
(End of this chapter)