Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 64 Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkey: The Rebels Emerge (Part 2)
The next morning around 9 a.m., Zhu Jue had just finished reviewing the memorials when he ordered someone to summon Song Yingxing, Lu Xiangshan, Zhou Kui, and others.

Selling crystal windows for the royal family could be considered his first pot of gold in this life, and he couldn't wait to start.

Unexpectedly, just as the group was about to depart, Fang Zhenghua suddenly rushed in with a memorial in his hand, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is an urgent report from the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commission, the Shanxi Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Shanxi Military Command."

These three departments jointly issued an urgent report: a major incident has occurred in Shanxi!
Will Wei Zhongxian really cause a huge mess?
Has the Dai prince rebelled?

Zhu Jue hurriedly took the memorial, opened it, and was immediately taken aback.

The three departments of Shanxi jointly reported that on the day of Dingchou in September, the bandit leader Wang Jiayin led tens of thousands of rebels to besiege Hequ County. Someone inside the city opened the city gate that night, and the border troops of Pianguan Town were unable to come to the rescue in time, and Hequ County had already fallen.

The bandit leader Wang Jiayin established himself as king in Hequ, calling himself the "King of Hengtian Yizi". He appointed Wang Ziyong as the Left Prime Minister, established his own government, sent letters to all directions, and recruited rebels.

Starving people from Fugu and Baode Prefectures flocked to the area, and the number of rebels increased daily, becoming uncontrollable. We request the imperial court to mobilize a large army to suppress them.

September, Dingchou?

This current method of recording dates is really quite troublesome.

What day is Dingchou?

Zhu Jue did some quick calculations and figured it out: it was September 14th.

That means five days have already passed!

The current transportation and communication methods are so outdated.

The three provincial authorities in Shanxi probably discussed the matter before submitting their memorial, which means that none of them were incompetent and that they were all very anxious. However, their last sentence, requesting the court to mobilize a large army to suppress the rebellion, was an attempt to shirk responsibility.

Why didn't you do this sooner?
You ignored Wang Jiayin when he was running rampant in Hequ and Baode Prefecture, but now that Hequ County has fallen, you're panicking?

You've been waiting for the imperial court to mobilize a large army to suppress them, haven't you?

Yang He was the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions of Shaanxi, not the Governor-General of Shanxi, so I deliberately prevented him from leading the troops there.

No, Zhou Yuji is currently leading 5,000 cavalrymen from the capital to protect Wei Zhongxian in Dai.

Are these guys trying to use a diversionary tactic to rescue Zhao from a disadvantageous position, or to lure the enemy away from their stronghold?

The loss of Hequ County is too suspicious. Why did it suddenly disappear now instead of earlier or later?

Moreover, someone in Hequ County opened the city gates at night to welcome the rebels. Who arranged this?

Historically, rebels shouldn't have risen up so quickly, and Hequ County shouldn't have fallen so quickly either.

This is most likely a well-orchestrated show by the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou!

Zhu Jue sneered and then handed the memorial to Lu Xiang-sheng, who was standing to the side.

Lu Xiang-sheng took the document and was immediately alarmed. "Hequ County has fallen! Your Majesty, do you intend for me to lead the capital cavalry there?"

What are you doing leading the Beijing cavalry there?

They're just putting on an act.

I won't send a large army to suppress them; I want to see what these guys are up to.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then decisively said, "You order General Huang to lead 5,000 cavalry from the capital to garrison south of Juyong Pass. Remember, tell him not to garrison at Guangou, but to garrison on the plains outside."

what?
What was the purpose of Huang Degong's army stationing south of Juyong Pass?

Juyong Pass is at least a thousand miles away from Hequ County, if not a hundred thousand miles away.

Alright, His Majesty's decision is beyond question, so I won't say any more.

Lu Xiang-sheng was taken aback for a moment before quickly bowing and saying, "Your humble servant obeys the decree."

Having said that, he strode away.

Zhu Jue then instructed: "Zhenghua, send someone to convey my oral decree, telling Wei Zhongxian and Zhou Yuji to be careful and to send fast cavalry to guard the north and west. If they discover any rebels or Jurchens approaching the Dai region, they should retreat immediately. I will send Huang Degong's army to Xuanfu Town to meet them."

Also, tell Wei Zhongxian to hurry up and seize the property there, as there are other matters to attend to in the capital, and that he must return within ten days.

Fang Zhenghua quickly bowed and took his leave, then hurried away.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then sat down and sighed softly, "It looks like we'll have to wait a while before we can go to the glass factory. You should all sit down and wait too."

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing, Zhou Kui, and Bi Maoliang quickly and carefully sat down.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Chang Geng, how's the telescope making going? How many are you producing a day now?"

How do you say this?

Song Yingxing cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, as you instructed, I have recruited more experienced craftsmen who make bronze mirrors and added some simple equipment. Now we can make about two or three a day."

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "Chang Geng, the output is still a bit low. When we make larger ones that can see farther in the future, won't we only be able to make one a day?"

I also want to increase production.

Song Yingxing said with some helplessness, "Your Majesty, I can try to increase the production of telescopes, but the problem is that copper is in short supply."

"We use copper in so many places—steam engines, telescopes, molds, and so on. Steam engines aren't even in mass production yet. If they were, there wouldn't be enough copper. We simply don't have enough to make telescopes." Indeed, the Ming Dynasty didn't have many copper mines, and the output was very low.

We still have to buy this copper from those colonial bandits.

Those colonial bandits had seized countless copper mines, so much copper they couldn't possibly use it all. As long as the price was right, they could get as much as they wanted.

The problem is, we'll have to wait until Zheng Zhilong has wiped out all the pirates and then been tricked into coming to the capital.

I wonder what's going on in Southeast China now.

Developing industry is really not easy these days.

Zhu Jue sighed inwardly, then solemnly said, "We'll have to wait for now. I guarantee you'll have enough copper then."

When will that be?

Song Yingxing didn't dare to ask.

He could only nod repeatedly and say, "Your Majesty, I understand."

There's no way to deal with the copper business for now, but we can still do the glass business.

The problem is, doing this business requires dealing with officials from the outer court, so who should be sent?

Zhu Jue looked at Zhou Kui and Bi Maoliang, and still felt that it would be better to send Zhou Kui.

Although Bi Maoliang had experience in business, he was clearly a naive scholar who was easily deceived by officials in the outer court.

Zhou Kuina is clearly a cunning and shrewd man; he's an absolute master at deceiving people.

To do business, you have to be good at persuading people, especially when it comes to selling exorbitantly priced glass.

He thought about it carefully, then asked, "Father-in-law, how is the development of the finished medicine progressing?"

Oh, how do I put this?

Zhou Kui said with some helplessness, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician did teach me more than ten kinds of commonly used prepared medicines. The problem is, after those medicines are made, they get damp and sticky after a short time. They're disgusting. Your Majesty, can we sell them like that?"

There are many ways to solve the moisture problem, so there's no rush.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly, then solemnly said, "Stop making medicine for now. I want you to sell something called the Imperial Crystal Window, with window frames. It costs ten taels of silver each."

Crystal windows used by the royal family?
How come a crystal one is only ten taels of silver?
Zhou Kui was taken aback for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, is this really made of crystal?"

what are you thinking?

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "This thing is naturally not made of crystal, but it looks just like crystal, clear and transparent, and it is not afraid of wind and rain. I will show it to you later and you will know."

Does such a thing even exist in this world? How come I've never heard of it before?

Zhou Kui thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, how much should we sell this? Should we hawk it everywhere like we're selling quack medicine?"

You've probably sold too many quack remedies.

Zhu Jue shook his head helplessly, then asked, "Is Xiao Jian getting married?"

What does selling things have to do with Jian'er's marriage?
Zhou Kui nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, Xiao Jian is almost sixteen and should be married long ago."

That's it.

Zhu Jue explained in detail: "I am bestowing the residence of the Grand Princess Ning'an upon you, and I will also send craftsmen to renovate it and install glass windows everywhere."

When the time comes, take advantage of Xiao Jian's wedding to send an invitation to all the officials in the outer court. Those corrupt officials or those who want to use this opportunity to befriend and take advantage of you will naturally go.

Don't actually join them in their corrupt practices. Just pretend to befriend them and use the opportunity to sell glass. I've given you this chance. I don't need to teach you how to sell it, do I? Our glass production is limited right now; if you can sell six or seven hundred pieces a day, that's about it."

You really don't need to teach me how to trick people into buying glass.

The problem is, I don't have any money.

You bestowed such a large mansion of the Grand Princess Ning'an upon me; I can't even afford to hire gatekeepers and sweepers, let alone arrange a wedding for Jian'er.

Zhou Kui hesitated for a moment, but still braced himself and said, "Your Majesty, I dare to say that I have very little money. I'm afraid I can't afford to hold Jian'er's wedding. I can't even afford the ingredients for the banquet."

If you don't have money, you're more easily corrupted.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then decisively said, "Go and tell Xiao Hui to give you 100,000 taels of silver. Also, you can have 10% of the profits from selling glass each month as a bonus, which is 10,000 taels. You shouldn't be short of money now, right?"
You absolutely mustn't embezzle or break the law for me, especially the money from those officials in the outer court. You can't accept it, because if you take it, you'll be obligated to do so, you know that?

Furthermore, you may marry into farming, artisan, or military households, but you must not marry into aristocratic families, and you must not marry into the outer court.

"Father-in-law, you are a wise man. I have made everything clear to you. You should know how to deal with officials from outside the court, right?"

Of course, I'll just trick them into making money.

Anything else is out of the question!
Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)