My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 285 Brother Zilin, please help me.
Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne of Shunyi and continued to implement the tributary policy of Altan Khan.

The Ming Dynasty maintained stability with the grasslands, saving on military expenditures in the north.

Trade between the Ming Dynasty and the grasslands flourished, and the two sides maintained close ties.

The dumping of sugarcane wine and the trade in wool and wood ash led to alcoholism and desertification of grasslands, posing serious challenges to the future governance of northern Xinjiang.

The dynasty's fate remains unchanged.

[Prestige +200.]

[Remaining Prestige: 1570.]

Su Ze sighed after reading the settlement report.

He does not support the so-called "sheep eat people movement" either morally or economically.

Over-farming beyond the land's carrying capacity is tantamount to overdrawing future development potential.

The alcoholism caused by sugarcane wine was also an unintended consequence of grassland trade.

Unfortunately, the living conditions on the grasslands are harsh, and the harsher the environment, the more serious the alcohol problem becomes.

Su Ze pulled out a letter, which was written to him by Wang San, who was serving as the head of the herdsmen in Xiu Rong.

Wang San was originally a member of the Imperial Guard at the Elephant Breeding Station. Because of his talent in raising horses, he was recommended by Su Ze to Xiurong Horse Farm.

In the past six months, Xiurong Horse Farm has achieved remarkable results, with the size of its horse herd expanding.

A few days ago, a scandal broke out that the Imperial Stud Bureau in the capital region had no horses, causing the Imperial Stud to lose face badly, and even the Minister of the Imperial Stud was forced to resign.

Later, the Imperial Stud finally discovered the success of Xiurong Horse Farm. They immediately dispatched officials to investigate. After confirming that Xiurong Horse Farm had indeed achieved success in horse breeding, they immediately promoted Xiurong Horse Farm as a model.

Wang San is indeed skilled at raising horses.

Simply put, Wang San not only raises horses, but also grows grass.

In the spring, Wang San instructed the herdsmen at the horse farm to plant alfalfa, soybeans, and other legumes to fertilize the fields, and then grass would grow after the harvest.

When feeding the horses, a mixture of hay and fresh grass is used, along with soybean powder, to help them gain weight.

Wang San also developed a two-stage method for raising horses, based on the horse-raising experience passed down from his ancestors.

The "two-stage" method involves raising horses in a free-range manner during the spring and summer to maintain their wild nature and ensure they are in good physical condition.

However, in the autumn, the herdsmen harvest the hay and put the horses in stables, using the stall-raising method to raise them.

This reduces the consumption of pasture in autumn and winter, and also lowers the risk of horses freezing to death, allowing them to safely get through the winter.

After reading it, Su Ze wrote back to Wang San, asking him to summarize his experience in animal husbandry.

The conflict between the ever-increasing demand for wool and environmental damage is something that cannot be resolved simply by policy issues.

Herdsmen will absolutely not give up raising sheep because of simple and crude policies, and the ever-increasing demand in the Ming Dynasty will also encourage herdsmen to continue raising sheep.

Policies are not a panacea.

Sometimes, solving environmental problems still requires the development of productivity.

Before Su Ze traveled through time, the density of livestock farming among herders was much higher than in ancient times.

However, the natural environment in northern Xinjiang improved at that time.

Scientific farming can increase output while maintaining the ecological environment.

The livestock industry in northern Xinjiang is currently too backward, basically still relying on the weather for its livelihood and having no ability to resist natural disasters.

Su Ze plans to promote Wang San's "two-house" breeding technology among the tribes near Jiubian that have submitted to the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, Su Ze also plans to use the [family planting mat] to cultivate higher-yielding alfalfa and soybean varieties.

These tribes near the Nine Borders were originally grassland people who had been assimilated by Han culture. Once they made money by using new methods of animal husbandry, the new technologies would naturally spread to the depths of the grasslands.

There will always be people willing to put in the effort to learn technologies that can increase production and income.

Su Ze then pulled out another letter, a letter written to him by Zhang Mingyuan from the Fangshan Kiln Factory.

Lin Bingzheng, the magistrate of Fangshan County, was transferred to Shanxi as the provincial education commissioner, in charge of the Shanxi civil service examinations. He originally intended to take Zhang Mingyuan with him.

However, Zhang Mingyuan chose to stay in Fangshan County and continue to be in charge of the glass kiln factory.

The newly appointed magistrate of Fangshan County naturally wouldn't offend Zhang Mingyuan, a subordinate who was good at boosting his political achievements, and gave Zhang Mingyuan his full support.

The glass industry around Gyeonggi Province has developed rapidly, but the glass kiln factory still has the advantages of technology and scale, which has widened the gap and made it the largest glass factory in Gyeonggi Province.

Zhang Mingyuan was forced into a corner and had no other choice but to write to Su Ze for help.

The reason is simple: the trade friction in the grasslands a few days ago affected the trade of alkali, and the Fangshan glass kiln factory did not have enough alkali.

Without alkali, there is no way to make glass. Zhang Mingyuan sought help everywhere to find alkali, but the entire capital city was short of alkali.

There's no way around it; wool degreasing requires alkali, soap making requires alkali, and glass firing requires alkali.

Alkali has become an essential raw material for industries in the capital, and its price is rising steadily. This fluctuation in grassland trade has caused great anxiety among all workshops that need alkali.

Sure enough, the time came to promote the alkali production method.

Su Ze used the [Memory Sachet] to recall the alkali production methods in history books. The earliest industrial alkali production method was called the Lubrin process.

The process of making alkali is actually very simple.

Heating salt and sulfuric acid produces hydrochloric acid and sodium sulfate. Calcining sodium sulfate with limestone and coal powder produces soda ash.

The raw materials for this alkali production process are now complete.

Sulfuric acid is produced by heating sulfur and reacting it with water. The gunpowder workshops of the Ming Dynasty had accumulated a wealth of experience in the treatment of sulfides.

Coal powder and limestone are both products of the mining industry, and the booming cement industry requires a large amount of limestone.

Fangshan has coal mines and limestone mines, as well as high-temperature calcination technology.

However, this matter still needs to be handled by his good disciple, Little Fatty Jun.

In the process of preparing hydrochloric acid soy sauce, Donggong's workshop accumulated chemical experience and also possessed the necessary equipment.

Su Ze wrote down the alkali production method, intending to take it to the East Palace during his next lecture to discuss the matter of jointly establishing an alkali production workshop with the Crown Prince.

After writing out the process, Su Ze recalled the history of the Lubrin process for alkali production.

Leblanc is a person's name. When this French chemist first invented the alkali production process, no one paid any attention to him.

The reason is quite simple: at that time, France was still using natural alkali, which is the same as what the Ming Dynasty used today, using wood ash and naturally formed alkali blocks.

In that era, Britain's colonies around the world provided cheap natural soda ash to the whole of Europe, and France's industrial needs could be met simply by importing it.

However, during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain implemented the Continental System, prohibiting the flow of alkali into Europe. Under these circumstances, the Leblanc process was rediscovered for its value, and with Napoleon's vigorous promotion, numerous factories began to be built.

This rapidly spurred the development of the French chemical industry. During this period, the French chemical industry laid the foundation for the modern chemical industry, becoming the country with the most powerful chemical technology in Europe at the time, and giving birth to many new technologies and products.

The industries of the Ming Dynasty have now reached this critical juncture.

The unstable trade in natural soda ash and the increasing industrial demand make the soda ash production industry profitable.

Su Ze could only sigh that there are coincidences in technological development.

Just as the Napoleonic Wars triggered the explosive development of the French chemical industry, laying the foundation for modern chemical engineering.

This conflict with the grasslands also presents a good opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to promote the development of the alkali production industry.

Just as Su Ze solved the problems of animal husbandry, industrial alkali production can also solve the problem of wood ash trade.

Once industrial production begins, technological advancements and large-scale production can quickly bring down the price of industrial alkali.

Inexpensive and stable industrial alkali will inevitably replace unstable natural alkali.

Merchants will no longer buy wood ash, so herders will no longer burn pastures for the wood ash trade.

Burning grass and taking ash is the least efficient way to utilize grasslands.

If herders had more efficient production techniques, they wouldn't resort to such short-sighted methods to make money.

Grass still needs to grow on the grassland!
Su Ze defined the grasslands as an economic appendage of the Ming Dynasty, a production area for wool textiles and animal husbandry, and a potential mineral base in the future.

Whether in the imperial court or among the common people, with the deepening economic ties between the two sides, peace has become the general trend.
-
September 25th.

News of Huang Taiji accepting the Ming Dynasty's bestowal of titles and tributes and becoming the second Shunyi King reached the capital.

This skirmish on the grasslands has deeply concerned everyone. When news of the resumption of horse trade reached the capital, not only were the upper echelons of the court overjoyed, but the entire capital spontaneously celebrated.

Zhang Chun and Zhu Juntang, as field researchers, came to the streets of the capital to record this event.

"Breaking news! Sugarcane wine futures have hit a new high!"

Zhang Chun summoned a newsboy. The Commercial Daily was indeed quick to act; it had already published the paper so soon.
Zhu Juntang said, "The Commercial Daily's hometown is in Shanxi. They must have known about the successful tribute mission in advance and prepared the layout, which is why it was able to publish so quickly."

Zhang Chun opened the newspaper. Although the news of the successful tribute mission was on the front page, the focus of the business newspaper was clearly not on the front page, but on the news from the Beijing Commodity Exchange—the futures price of sugarcane wine had soared!

Huang Taiji's acceptance of the tribute again is naturally beneficial to the sugarcane wine trade. The sugarcane wine futures, which had been declining recently, have surged since the market opened this morning.

Zhang Chun sighed. With the booming bulk commodity trading market, many stories of wealth creation have emerged.

The bulk commodity trading market adjusted its policies in a timely manner, establishing a system of margin requirements and entry thresholds, which curbed the speculative impulses of ordinary people.

Even if they couldn't buy, ordinary people still talked about the prices in the bulk trading market with great interest, and some scholars believed that these prices reflected changes in the imperial court.

Zhang Chun didn't think that the futures prices manipulated by these merchants could reflect any secrets of the imperial court, but those in the court with good connections could indeed make money through this futures market.

The two interviewed several more ordinary people in the capital on the street, which together formed a report, and then they hurriedly headed to the newspaper office.

However, on his way back, Zhang Chun heard newsboys shouting news about Southeast Asia.

Zhang Chun summoned a newsboy and bought the "New Gentleman's Daily" from him. As he read the news of the Ming Dynasty navy's arrival in Manila, he seemed to have made up his mind.
-
"Brother Zilin! Brother Jianwu has made a great contribution this time. He'll be given an important position when he returns!"

Su Ze looked at Luo Wanhua, realizing that his fellow top scholar from the same year was indeed sincere towards his friends.

Ever since Shen Yiguan returned from his last mission and was appointed as the Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs by the court, Luo Wanhua has been speaking out for Shen Yiguan, believing that the court has wronged him.

But Shen Yiguan, a newcomer who had only been in officialdom for less than three years, had already been promoted to the fifth-rank position of the Ministry of Rites. Was this considered a mistreatment by the court?

In fact, Su Ze understood that the reason Shen Yiguan could not continue to be promoted was due to himself.

There was actually an unspoken rule in the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, which was somewhat similar to the seniority-based ranking system in later Japan.

The most outstanding person among those who passed the imperial examination in the same year will be the one who gets promoted the fastest in this year's examination.

The best among those in the same examination group cannot be promoted faster than the best in the previous examination.

Of course, this rule only applies to the first few years after entering officialdom.

The reason is simple: Su Ze, who has made the most contributions, has not yet been promoted. How can you expect to be promoted faster than him if your contributions are not as great?
In the previous imperial examination, the one held by Shen Shixing, the highest-ranking official in the capital was Wang Xijue, a fifth-rank official in one of the Six Ministries, who was on par with Su Ze and Shen Yiguan.

So the situation Shen Yiguan is facing now is that if Su Ze doesn't get promoted, he can't get promoted either, and if Wang Xijue doesn't get promoted, Su Ze can't get promoted either.

Of course, this can be criticized as an outdated and corrupt practice in the promotion of officials in the Ming Dynasty. However, Su Ze also admitted that this method at least had a basic order, rather than advocating the promotion of young people in a one-size-fits-all manner, which led to the destruction of the country's political ecology.

Unfortunately, the so-called "meritocracy" is often just an excuse for officials with powerful connections to be promoted illegally, which only dampens the enthusiasm of hardworking officials.

In the early stages of a career, setting a ceiling based on seniority ensures that even exceptional individuals like Su Ze can still be promoted based on their qualifications, which is a healthy system for selecting personnel.

Anyway, Shen Yiguan is about to return to the capital. The emperor and the cabinet have probably already discussed his reward. Even if his official rank cannot be improved, he can be moved to a more core department.

As the saying goes, throughout history, what matters in officialdom is not rank, but the importance of one's position.

“Brother Jianwu will be returning to the capital in a few days, and the imperial court’s rewards will be decided. Brother Yifu, don’t be so indignant yet.”

Su Ze changed the subject again and asked:

"By the way, have the results of the selection for the Hanlin Academy been released yet?"

Starting this month, Zhang Wei and Wang Jiaping stopped reporting to the authorities.

An ordinary probationary official was merely a temporary worker in the Hanlin Academy.

In the third year after the imperial examination, the Hanlin Academy will hold a selection examination. Those who pass the examination can become Hanlin officials, while those who fail the selection examination will have to leave the Hanlin Academy and wait for the Ministry of Personnel to appoint them.

In Su Ze's cohort, in addition to the top three being directly granted the title of Hanlin official, Su Ze and Shen Yiguan were also exempted from the selection process for the Hanlin Academy due to their merits.

Zhang Wei and Wang Jiaping are about to participate in the museum selection.

Luo Wanhua said:
"Brother Zilin, you've been so busy with official duties that I forgot to inform you. Both Zhang and Wang, who were born in the same year, have successfully passed the selection process and have been appointed as compilers in the Hanlin Academy."

"They want to wait until Brother Jianwu returns to the capital before holding a celebratory banquet."

Su Ze was genuinely happy for his two classmates, Zhang Wei and Wang Jiaping, both of whom were talented individuals who entered the cabinet during the Wanli era of their original timeline.

As they spent more time together, Wang Jiaping proved to be straightforward and righteous, while Zhang Wei was tactful and flexible in his methods, yet still had his bottom line.

Luo Wanhua then said:

"However, they seem to have some difficulties and need to discuss them with Brother Zilin."

Just then, Zhang Wei and Wang Jiaping walked into the newspaper office.

When they saw Su Ze, their eyes lit up, and they walked over to him, giving him a formal bow and saying:

"Brother Zilin, we have a favor to ask of you, please help us!"

(End of this chapter)