Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 127 The theft of jobs sparks a popular uprising (Part 1)
Pirates and corrupt officials colluded, and resentment filled the entire Jiangnan region!

Wei Zhongxian, that treacherous eunuch, has once again become lawless. This fellow has openly led the Imperial Guards and pirates to plunder and loot in Jiangnan!
The people of Jiangnan are already in an uproar over this treacherous eunuch's actions. If he is not punished soon, something terrible will happen.

Zhu Jue would just sneer at these impeachment memorials and then toss them aside, too lazy to bother with them.

He knew perfectly well what Wei Zhongxian was doing in Jiangnan. The so-called boiling resentment among the people was just that the local tyrants, gentry, and village heads in Jiangnan couldn't stand it anymore. What nonsense!
Are the local tycoons, village heads, and village chiefs ordinary people?
These days, anyone who talks about public grievances being boiling over or even acting for the country and its people is not doing it for the common people!

If you really let him judge, he'll just say it was good that they took it!
You all disregard the Governor's orders, and you don't pay a single cent of tea tax. I wanted to spend money to buy raw silk from you, but you hoarded it and planned to sell it overseas privately.

Fine, I won't spend any money. I'll just let Wei Zhongxian rob it!

He was in a great mood and didn't bother with those officials from the outer court.

Wei Zhongxian was truly ruthless in his looting. Zheng Hongkui's centipede ships were constantly hauling raw silk, tea, cotton, cloth, and even gold and silver treasures to the capital, with at least ten ships a day!

Even the smallest centipede boat is still about fifty tons. A boat carrying half a load would be 50,000 catties of goods. If that were raw silk, that would be 500 dan per boat, and ten boats would be 5,000 dan.

Although Wei Zhongxian seized not all raw silk, it was barely enough for the spinning mills and weaving mills.

At this time, they didn't have more than 10,000 looms. Even if they had 10,000, they could only weave 10,000 bolts of silk in three days. Each bolt of silk used three, five, or eight jin of raw silk, which is roughly five jin. In other words, if they could deliver 50,000 jin of raw silk in three days, it would be enough for the current weaving factory to weave.

Song Yingxing also used the cotton that Wei Zhongxian had seized to develop large spinning machines for spinning cotton yarn.

Around 9 a.m. that day, he had just finished reviewing the memorials when he took Zheng Zhilong, Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, and others and headed straight for the spinning mill.

By this time, the first batch of workshops for spinning and weaving had been completed, and some workshops had already been equipped with spinning and weaving machines to begin spinning and weaving.

However, most of the factory buildings did not have glass installed in their windows.

Is there not enough glass?
Zhu Jue walked into the workshop where Song Yingxing was developing cotton spinning machines with doubt in his eyes, and his eyes lit up.

Good heavens, there are a full thirty spindles constantly rotating and getting bigger at the point where the cotton spinning machine produces yarn.

This increased the number of spindles from nine to thirty, making it more than three hundred times more efficient than hand spinning!

When Song Yingxing saw him come in, he couldn't help but come up to him excitedly and said, "Your Majesty is so wise! This brush roller can indeed be used to spin cotton yarn, and it can spin as many spindles as you want at the same time."

That's not wrong. Later spinning machines could spin at least several hundred spindles at a time, and some could even spin over a thousand.

However, with the current level of machinery, it would be difficult to spin out even 100 spindles at the same time.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Well, don't be greedy. Being able to spin thirty spindles at the same time is already very good. Once this kind of large spinning machine is working properly, we can start mass production of a batch. As for spinning fifty or even one hundred spindles at the same time, we can develop that later."

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. The current small steam engine can only drive such a large brush roller. If we want to spin more spindles at the same time, we will have to wait until I develop a large steam engine."

Hasn't a large steam engine been developed yet?
Zhu Jue asked, somewhat puzzled, "Isn't a large steam engine similar to a small steam engine? You haven't developed one yet?"

How do you say this?

Song Yingxing said somewhat awkwardly, "These past few days I've been researching cotton spinning machines and springs, and haven't had time to research a large steam engine yet."

Oh, and the clockwork too.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "How's the clockwork development going?"

Without hesitation, Song Yingxing replied, "That thing isn't difficult to make. I've already developed a sample and tested it on a loom. It works quite well and can indeed save a day's labor. However, for mass production, we need a special punch press to punch the box containing the spring sheet. If we make those boxes by hand, we simply can't mass-produce them."

As they were talking, Yuan You arrived, having heard the news. He respectfully cupped his hands in greeting.

Zhu Jue pointed directly to an empty window and said, "Father-in-law, is there not enough glass?"

Yuan You said with some helplessness, "Yes, the waste glass produced before has already been installed in other factories. The spinning mill and weaving mill can only wait for the newly produced waste glass to be installed."

When will we have to go?

This isn't just a few or a few dozen factories, but over a thousand.

Moreover, cotton spinning machines have already been developed, and cotton cloth will also be woven in the future, requiring the construction of even more factories.

Zhu Jue pondered, "It's alright now that it's hot, the windows can remain empty. But if they're still not installed with glass by winter, that won't do. When it's freezing cold, we can't spin yarn or weave cloth, and these factories will all need heating."

It looks like the glass factory will need to be expanded. If we Spanish clients succeed in our business deal, they'll definitely want to buy glass from us. European countries have long known the benefits of glass; they just haven't been able to mass-produce it yet. It'll sell incredibly well in Europe; we don't even know how much will be produced.

Uh, they're expanding the glass factory too?

Upon hearing this, Yuan You thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, the glass factory buildings are easy to arrange, and the supply of coal and limestone is not a big problem either. The key issue is quartz and feldspar, which we have to source from Huguang and even Sichuan."

Currently, the quartz and feldspar transported by hundreds of canals in rotation are barely enough for two glass factories. If another glass factory is to be built, then even more canals transporting quartz and feldspar will be needed.

Right now, the cargo ships are hauling goods everywhere, and there's simply no way to spare any more.

However, it's unclear how long it will take for the Spaniards to come and discuss business. It will take at least several months before the deal is finalized and the goods are shipped. So the glass factory isn't in a hurry to start production.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, "Well, you should order people to build the factory first. The problem of the canal boats can be gradually solved once the first batch of steamships is built in Liangfu's area. One steamship is enough to replace ten canal boats."

As they were discussing, Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode over, cupped his hands, and whispered, "Your Majesty, Wang Yingchao has returned."

Zhu Jue replied without hesitation, "Send it."

Soon, Wang Yingchao strode over, cupped his hands, and said in a low voice, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Did anyone ask you to send a message back?"

Wang Yingchao said earnestly, "Neither Lord Xu nor Lord Xiong said anything. Lord Wei asked me to inquire about the disposal of the acquired land deeds. Should they be sold directly for money or should all the land be confiscated?"

This guy must have found quite a few land deeds.

If the confiscated land deeds are sold to other local tycoons, gentry, or corrupt officials, then the confiscation will be in vain. The reason why local powers are so powerful is because they control the land, and this land must be taken back.

It just so happens that Xu Guangqi's promotion of sweet potatoes and potatoes requires farmland. Not only is it needed in Dongfan, but it would be best if it could also be available in Jiangnan. After all, if seedlings are cultivated directly in Jiangnan, there would be no need to waste ships to transport them.

The ships are in a very tight situation right now, and the seeds of sweet potatoes and potatoes can easily weigh hundreds of thousands or even millions of kilograms. It's hard to say how many ships it would take to haul them all.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Let him take over the land directly, and give all the land he takes over to Zixian to cultivate seedlings."

(End of this chapter)