My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 243 Crystal Palace Exhibition
"Exhibition?"

Wan Jing, a senior official in the Ministry of Works, looked at Su Ze.

Since Lei Li joined the cabinet, the position of Minister of Works has been temporarily vacant.

However, there was a subsequent reshuffle of middle and lower-level officials.

Wan Jing and Fu Shun were both promoted from Assistant Director to Director, which means they have taken another step forward following in the footsteps of Grand Secretary Lei.

Under the Ministry of Works, there were four core administrative offices: the Construction Office, which was in charge of construction; the Metallurgical and Armament Manufacturing Office, which was in charge of metallurgy and weapon manufacturing; the Water Conservancy Office, which was in charge of water conservancy projects and canal transport; and the Land Reclamation Office, which was in charge of land reclamation and imperial tombs.

Wan Jing was promoted to Director of the Imperial Workshop, while Fu Shun was promoted to Director of the Construction Department, thus officially entering the ranks of mid- to high-ranking officials.

Su Ze nodded and said:

"With goods becoming increasingly abundant in the capital and merchants from all over the world coming and going, holding a commodity exhibition to attract merchants to participate and trade would be a good thing to promote the prosperity of the capital."

Wan Jing was a smart man, and he nodded in agreement.

Among the most discussed news items in the capital, ordinary people were talking about Lei Li's appointment to the cabinet and the flooding of the ancestral mausoleum.

However, for officials, the entry of a new Grand Secretary into the cabinet is not a rare occurrence, and Lei Li's entry into the cabinet was clearly for the sake of water conservancy, which actually has little to do with most officials.

And the ancestral mausoleum?
It's not uncommon for ancestral tombs to be flooded every now and then.

For officials with a keen eye, the most important thing is still the "Accounting Records" compiled by the Ministry of Revenue last year.

The increase in new taxes, especially the enormous maritime tax, has given officials plenty to think about.

The maritime tax was a customs duty levied on ships entering and leaving the port.

That commercial tax was levied on merchants of the Ming Dynasty.

Nowadays, the annual maritime trade tax can reach four million taels, so what about the commercial tax?
The officials' attention fell on Shuntian Prefecture, where the pilot tax collection was being conducted.

What doesn't cost money these days?

The imperial court and government officials are also short of money!
As a physician in the Ministry of Works, Wan Jing understood this principle even better.

Ironworks and cannon factories require money to build, and the cost of constructing a bastion is several hundred thousand taels.

Several bureaus under the Yuheng Division constantly complained to Wan Jing about being poor, especially the gunpowder factory in the suburbs of Beijing, which had been operating at a loss for many years. However, the requirements for gunpowder production were strict, and the costs remained high.

Wan Jing knew Su Ze's character; since he had come to him, he certainly wouldn't let him suffer a loss. So he asked:
"Brother Su, what can our Yuheng Division do?"

Su Ze changed the subject and said:
"Brother Wan, haven't you been worried about the steel in the Yuheng Division lately?"

Wan Jing sighed deeply.

Last year, in preparation for the war against Dongshengwei, the Ministry of Works established large ironworks in both the capital and the Ministry of Works to smelt iron and cast cannons.

In the capital alone, the Ministry of Works erected three blast furnaces.

But no one expected that Qi Jiguang would achieve such a brilliant victory at Dongshengwei, followed by Anda's tribute mission, and the northern border was at peace.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty would not let its guard down, but the production capacity of several large ironworks was still excessive.

The Ministry of War was in charge of military production, and these ironworks were all personally supervised by Wan Jing, so he naturally couldn't bear to close them down.

The iron and steel industry is like the chemical industry; once the blast furnace is lit, it cannot be stopped, and once it stops, it is difficult to resume production.

However, absorbing such a large production capacity is by no means an easy task.

This is what Wan Jing is mainly worried about these days.

Su Ze said:

"This exhibition is a good opportunity to sell this batch of steel."

Su Ze then added:
"Not only can they absorb the steel stockpiled by the Ministry of Works, but Brother Wan's ironworks may not even be enough!"
-
On April 17th, the spring rains in the capital gradually stopped, which relieved the Ministry of Works' Water Conservancy Department. It seemed that there would be no floods in the capital before summer.

However, according to news from the Tongzheng Post Office, it is still raining in Henan and Shaanxi, and the Yellow River is very likely to flood this summer.

Newly appointed Lei Li was extremely busy. One after another, decrees related to water conservancy were issued from the cabinet. Prefectures and counties along the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers were required to reinforce their river embankments. Censors from the six ministries and thirteen circuits were also dispatched to inspect the embankments of key cities.

But the biggest topic of conversation in the capital was the exposition built on the outskirts of Beijing.

At the end of last month, Shuntian Prefecture suddenly posted a notice announcing that it would hold an expo in the suburbs of Beijing.

Following this, all four major newspapers published related reports.

The Ministry of Works' Department of Works and Department of Construction dispatched a large number of craftsmen to the outskirts of Beijing to build exhibition halls.

The Yuefu Xinbao newspaper even reported that the exhibition hall will be built using unique materials and that the construction speed will be miraculously fast.

At first, the people of the capital thought it was just a publicity stunt.

However, in just over half a month, the exhibition hall in the suburbs of Beijing has already taken shape, and the exhibition hall has become a hot topic of discussion among the people of Beijing.

Today, Zhang Chun led her classmates to the construction site of the exhibition hall at the Beijing Suburbs Expo.

This vacant lot originally belonged to Lengyan Temple, but during the land reclamation in Shuntian Prefecture, it was discovered that the land ownership was problematic.

Lengyan Temple was very honest and conscientiously demolished the buildings on the land, handing the land over to the imperial court.

But perhaps it was Buddha's blessing, this land was chosen by the Ministry of Works and became the site of the first exposition.

After the exposition began, the people of the capital city also developed a great interest in this novel building, and often went out of the city to see the construction progress, which led to the increasing popularity of Lengyan Temple.

The building in front of Zhang Chun, with its steel frame and glass exterior, was far too futuristic.

Large panes of glass were pieced together to form walls, reflecting light under the sun. Zhang Chun, along with his classmates, followed Zhang Mingyuan into the complex.

"Actually, these glass houses are not very tall, and the glass exterior walls are all pieced together."

Zhang Mingyuan told Zhang Chun that when Su Ze first mentioned building a house with glass, Zhang Mingyuan almost cursed at him.

If it weren't for Su Ze, Zhang Mingyuan would have thought he was being mocked.

However, as Su Ze brought people from the Ministry of Works, and with the help of Fu Shun, the Director of the Construction Department, the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works actually built the glass house!

Zhang Mingyuan then said:

"Actually, glass houses are easier to build than wooden houses. You just need to build a steel frame and then fix the glass in place."

"Moreover, only the main building has a pure glass exterior, while the surrounding houses are still wooden, just with glass on the outside."

Zhang Mingyuan was somewhat proud, as these glasses were all produced by a glass factory in Fangshan. Since its construction began, the Fangshan Glass Factory has also made a name for itself.

"This colorful palace was the most difficult part to build during the entire expo."

Zhang Chun and his group arrived at a room with a glass dome. The room was not actually very tall, but the glass on the top was not ordinary white glass, but stained glass of various colors.

These stained glass windows change colors wonderfully when exposed to sunlight.

"Su Hanlin is truly a literary genius descended to earth. Who would have thought that adding something to glass could produce such colorful glass?"

“In the past, our glass kiln factory had also produced colored glass, but we didn’t know why. By using Su Hanlin’s method, we were able to produce glass of the desired color.”

Zhang Chun walked around again and saw that the entire building's supporting structure was made of steel.

Zhang Mingyuan said:
"Su Hanlin said that this is all cannon steel produced by the Beijing Ironworks, that is, steel used to cast cannons." Zhang Chun touched the steel pillar and couldn't help but ask:
"Wouldn't that cost a lot of money? And wouldn't using gun steel be too wasteful?"

Zhang Mingyuan said with a smile:

"Big Brother, you have no idea how much iron those ironworks in the capital can produce in a day!"

"The price of steel has already been driven down, and this steel pillar is cheaper than the same wooden pillar!"

Zhang Mingyuan then said:

"These steel pillars were calculated by the officials of the Ministry of Works. They said that to bear the weight, we must use gun steel. Even this exhibition hall was calculated again and again by the officials, and it uses the latest structure."

Zhang Chun glanced at it and realized that the exhibition hall was indeed completely different from the traditional architectural style, so it looked much more spacious.

Zhang Mingyuan then said:

"Next time you visit Fangshan County, you'll see that the coal mines there now use iron tracks. One horse can pull three mine cars, and the cost of transporting coal is less than a fraction of what it used to be!"

"The steel used in the Expo was all from the stock of the Ministry of Works' Construction Department. This steel was originally intended for casting cannons."

"It's better to use it here than to let it rust in the warehouse."

As Zhang Chun touched the steel pillar, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

The steel originally intended for casting cannons became the skeleton of this amazing building, supporting the colorful glass.

The pace of change in this era has far exceeded his imagination.

Looking at the glass dome, Zhang Mingyuan was also very excited. The glass kiln in Fangshan was booming, and high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital were placing orders for colored glass of various colors.

Merchants from all over the country, not just from the capital, came to the Fangshan glass kiln to order various colored glass.

The commercial tax from the glass kiln alone last month was equivalent to three months' worth of land tax for the entire Fangshan County!
If this continues, Fangshan County will rise to prominence this year and become the top taxpayer county in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region!

The county magistrate not only personally rewarded Zhang Mingyuan, but also wrote letters of commendation to the Ministry of Personnel and the Shuntian Prefecture. According to the latest official personnel system, Zhang Mingyuan's performance evaluation this year was rated as excellent.

Zhang Mingyuan only needs three years of excellent grades to be promoted.

Zhang Chun then discovered that the steel pillar was embedded in a stone "foundation".

Zhang Mingyuan said:
"Brother, this pillar is made of cement, which was also fired in the brick kiln in Fangshan County. It dissolves when it comes into contact with water and turns into stone when it dries in the wind. It is also a wonderful recipe from Su Hanlin."

Zhang Chun shook his head, seemingly understanding but not quite. Just as the group walked out of the main exhibition hall, Zhang Chun saw another group of people carrying a strange machine into the exhibition hall.

"Thirteen Lang, what are these?"

Zhang Mingyuan immediately said:
"These are all machines on display."

"Machines? What's so interesting about exhibiting machines?"

Zhang Mingyuan touched his head and said:
"I don't know either, but I heard that this machine is called a silk reeling machine."

"Is this for making silk?"

Zhang Mingyuan nodded and said, "I've heard that this machine is amazing. It can complete the processes of boiling cocoons, reeling silk, rewinding, and weaving all on one machine. Just a few workers can handle the silk reeling for dozens of silkworm farmers."

"In the exhibition hall over there, besides silk reeling machines, there are also cotton spinning machines and carding machines. All of these machines are made of iron."

"Iron? Why not wood?"

Zhang Chun had seen a spinning machine before; the money for his schooling when he was young was woven by his mother, piece by piece, on a spinning wheel.

But these huge steel machines were completely different from the spinning wheels he had seen in his childhood.

Zhang Mingyuan said:
"Wooden materials are prone to damage. Steel used to be too expensive, but now that prices have come down, steel is still more convenient."

Zhang Chun asked:

"Are these also government-run workshops?"

Zhang Mingyuan shook his head and said, "These are all privately run workshops. That roller combing machine was produced by the workshop founded by Zhou Jinliang, the craftsman who won the Huayang Award before. This is the second generation product. Now the key parts are all made of iron, making it more stable than before."

"Moreover, their workshops can also sell repair parts separately, making repairs more convenient than ever before."

Zhang Mingyuan was also very interested in these new technologies. While assisting in the construction of the expo pavilions, he also chatted with the workshop owners and artisans who participated in the exhibition.

He recently set his sights on the latest cotton spinning machine, which can complete the entire process from cotton ginning and seed removal to spinning into yarn on a single machine.

The only problem is that it requires a stable power source.

Fangshan also has abundant water resources and a stable water flow, which can be driven by water power.

There are also sizable cotton-growing areas near the capital, and the canal from the capital also has tributaries leading to Fangshan. If these resources were used to produce cotton cloth, the cost might be even lower than that of cotton cloth from Songjiang Prefecture.

If cheaper cotton cloth could indeed be produced in the north, the people of the capital would naturally choose the cotton cloth from the north.

When Zhang Chun came out of the exhibition hall, he found that the exhibition hall was actually not very big at all.

The main building is about the same size as the Mahavira Hall of the neighboring Lengyan Temple.

The entire exhibition hall is even smaller than the monks' quarters of the neighboring Lengyan Temple.

Perhaps it's because of the glass exterior that it gives it a grand feel.

Of course, what was even more important was the awe that the exhibition hall brought to Zhang Chun and others.

Iron frame, glass dome.

These two things, good steel for casting cannons, were scarce a few years ago. During the reign of the late emperor, Ming generals fighting against Japanese pirates were still complaining about the poor quality of the steel used in their firearms.

But now, the steel that could be used to cast cannons is being used to build the pillars of the exhibition hall.

Glass, which was considered a luxury item in the West last year, has now become a common material for building houses.

For the glass kiln in Fangshan County alone, Su Ze helped them secure an investment from Donggong. After the factory was expanded, the output has increased to 100 cubic meters of glass per day.
-
The following day, April 18th.

"Breaking news! The Crystal Palace Expo opens at the end of the month!"

The name "Crystal Palace" originated from the name given to the exhibition hall by newsboys in the capital when they were selling newspapers.

But soon, the people of the capital also began to call the exhibition hall the Crystal Palace.

Even newspapers started using the name Crystal Palace.

Fan Kuan stepped off the carriage, looking travel-worn. He had rushed back to the capital from Zhigu to attend the Crystal Palace Expo, which was opening at the end of the month.

Fan Kuan's status is also different now.

Originally, he was just a hermit from a collateral branch of the Fan family, who made a living as a political broker in the capital, seeking benefits for the Fan family.

He is now the editor-in-chief of the Business Daily, one of the four major newspapers, a big shot whose articles can cause dramatic changes in the market.

The profits of the Commercial Daily were relatively low among the many businesses of the Datong Fan family, but even if it was losing money, the Datong Fan family would resolutely continue to run the Commercial Daily.

However, Fan Kuan had an even more important reason for arriving in the capital ahead of schedule.

Taking advantage of this expo, merchants from Shanxi were all coming to Beijing, and Fan Kuan was preparing to undertake a major undertaking.

(End of this chapter)