I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 160 You can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.

Chapter 159 "Your humble servant Chen Boying, Commander of the Da Ning Garrison and Commander of the Shahe Guard, respectfully submits this memorial to clarify the cause of the strange events in the capital, so as to set the record straight and reassure the people —"

At 9:00 AM on the 17th day of the 10th month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, a sudden earthquake struck the Wanggongchang area of ​​the capital. The sound was like thunder, smoke and dust obscured the sun, followed by flames shooting into the sky. Countless houses collapsed, and soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded. I was horrified when I heard the report. Initially, the court and the public were in an uproar, some saying it was arson by spies, others saying it was a warning from heaven. The people were in turmoil and did not know what to believe. Although I was stationed in Daming, I was also responsible for the defense of the capital region. Upon hearing the news, I immediately dispatched my personal guards to rush to the rescue, and personally led my subordinates to survey the earthquake's traces along a thirty-mile perimeter of the site, interviewing elders, examining the ground fissures, the fire, and the billowing smoke, and consulting ancient and modern records to ascertain the truth. Now I dare to report the facts to Your Majesty, hoping for your consideration.

Your Majesty, I have learned that Wanggongchang was originally a gunpowder depot, storing a large quantity of gunpowder over the years. However, the severity of this disaster far exceeds the limits of gunpowder spontaneous combustion. I have examined the ground inside and outside the depot and found dozens of cracks, the largest over a hundred feet long and unfathomably deep. The soil at the cracks is scorched yellow, emitting a sulfurous odor that lingers for days. Furthermore, yellow smoke is billowing from the surrounding wells and ditches, which ignite instantly and singe the hair of those who are lit. I have interviewed many veteran soldiers and craftsmen, who all say that before and after earthquakes in previous years, there have often been strange occurrences such as fires erupting from the ground and water boiling in wells. Based on this, I deduce that the accumulated gas underground, which suddenly erupted during the earthquake, permeated the city, and when it came into contact with the gunpowder stored at Wanggongchang, the earth's energy reacted, resulting in this calamity. This is neither the work of human power nor the work of spies.

I have studied the "Treatise on the Five Elements" in the Book of Han, which states that "when yang energy lies dormant underground and emerges at an inopportune time, earthquakes and fires occur." Furthermore, the "Guanzi's Guide to Geography" records the existence of "yin fire" and "marsh gas" in the earth, which are released by earthquakes and burned by fire. The upheaval in the capital was preceded by an earthquake, caused by the earth's energy, and aided by gunpowder; these three factors combined to create a massive disaster. It was like a raging fire frying oil—its force was unstoppable. Moreover, the incident occurred at the hour of Si (9-11 AM), in bright daylight, not a dark time; the people around the city were naked and unharmed, but their clothing was blown away for miles. This is proof of the explosive outburst of earth energy; the shockwave was too strong, destroying objects, but people escaped burning. All these things could not have been caused by human arson.

Your Majesty, revering Heaven and compassionate to the people, has, since hearing of the calamity, reduced your meals and entertainment, and allocated 200,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury for relief. Your subjects, witnessing this, are all deeply moved. I, your humble servant, believe that while the calamity was severe, it was purely accidental and not related to any moral failing. The accumulated gas within the earth has existed for millennia; its release due to an earthquake is like phlegm in the human body, not a disease of the internal organs. I humbly request Your Majesty to use this opportunity to further improve human affairs, repair the firearms arsenal, relocate the pharmacies in the city to the outskirts, and generously provide relief to the disaster victims. Then the calamity can be averted, and the hearts of the people can be at peace. I, your humble servant, disregard the risk of execution, boldly present this advice. All detailed records of the site surveys and the gas analysis diagrams will be submitted separately.

After Chen Boying's memorial was read aloud by Wang Tiqian in the court, the Donglin Party officials were in an uproar. Although Qian Qianyi was not in court, his associates immediately jumped out.

"absurd!"

An imperial censor shouted sternly, "Chen Boying, you're trying to exonerate Wei Zhongxian! What 'underground energy'? It's nothing but slanderous rhetoric!"

The results and answers to any matter will be completely different depending on the perspective. From Chen Ying's point of view, he was caught in the crossfire because the Tianqi explosion had nothing to do with him. He did not hold any official position in the capital region, nor did he hold any official position in the gunpowder bureau. He was only the commander of the Da Ning Commandery and concurrently the commander of the Shahe Guard. Although the Da Ning Commandery had dozens of various construction bureaus under its jurisdiction, this explosion could not possibly be related to him. He had neither management responsibility nor joint responsibility.

However, from the perspective of the Donglin Party, Chen Boying's responsibility was immense, far greater than that. Not only did he snatch over three million taels of silver from the Donglin Party, and recruit over 30,000 members of the Shachuan Gang, but more importantly, he established the Shahe Academy in Changping, the Lanxiang Technical School in Yongning, and the Maritime College and Commercial and Trade College in Dengzhou. He didn't enforce the traditional system of students, scholars, or officials; regardless of their humble origins as artisans, refugees, or military households, or their profession, social status, or identity, anyone who made a living within Chen Boying's system could attend school. Chen Boying's universal education system enabled over 50,000 people who previously had no opportunity to study to successfully enter schools.

More importantly, this was just the beginning. With the establishment of Shahe Academy, Lanxiang Technical College, and various schools in Yongning, Chen Boying set up more than twenty schools of all sizes. In the near future, Chen Boying's students and former officials would probably be spread throughout the entire Ming Dynasty. What the Donglin Party found most unacceptable was that Chen Boying had made the once unattainable pursuit of education and the value of the word "scholar" plummet.

What made the Donglin Party rise to power? It was the Donglin Academy. The path Chen Boying is now taking is the same path the Donglin Party took to get where it came from. In the future, the Ming Dynasty will definitely see the rise of an industrial party led by Chen Boying. How could Chen Boying not become a thorn in the side of the Donglin Party? For the Donglin Party, Wei Zhongxian was only a present threat, but Chen Boying was a future threat.

In fact, Chen Boying is no longer a future threat. He not only won over the sand barge gang, disabling their smuggling operations, but also won over the Huizhou merchants, who were also among the financial backers of the Donglin Party. More importantly, Chen Boying's involvement in steelmaking, textiles, and various workshops, with their fussy and gimmicky practices, has completely corrupted the simple and honest folk customs of the people in Shahe, Yongning, and Lushun. In the past, when people encountered famine, they had no choice but to sell their houses and land, turning from law-abiding citizens with property and occupation into destitute vagrants. These vagrants were not actually a burden, but rather the cheapest resource in their hands.

They are blatantly exploiting the productive value of these people, but what's truly disgusting is that they package themselves as saviors, acting as if they're superior and will only give you a bite to eat. This makes it impossible for people to work hard all year round, let alone support their families and live a good life. Even eating a full meal becomes a luxury.

Now things are much better. Chen Boying's factory can absorb a large amount of labor. In addition to becoming tenants of the gentry and landlords, these displaced people now have the option of working in the workshops. Now, in Yongning, Lushun, and Shahe, everyone takes pride in working and doing business.

In the eyes of the Donglin Party, Chen Boying was a million times more despicable than Wei Zhongxian. What they found most unacceptable was that Chen Boying's mind was filled with things they couldn't understand. He used his technological advantages to flood the market with cheap industrial products, driving many hoarding and speculative industrial and mining capitals into desperation. Taking steel as an example, the financial backers of the Donglin Party were the behind-the-scenes bosses of large industrial and mining enterprises. Some scholars estimate that the total steel production in the late Ming Dynasty was between 200,000 and 300,000 tons, of which private enterprises accounted for more than 70% to 80%. Where did this steel ultimately go? This is a matter of opinion, but the problem is that Chen Boying drove the price of steel, which was originally high at 3.6 qian per jin, down to dirt cheap, especially high-quality refined steel, which was less than 1 qian per jin, a reduction of 70%.

This price has already fallen to within the cost of the Donglin Party's financial backers. If they sell at this price, they will lose money. If they don't sell, they can only watch helplessly as Chen Boying gradually dominates the market. In addition to steel, he also used wool cloth to impact the cotton cloth market. Chen Boying planted a large amount of flax in Yongning. This stuff has a high yield and is easy to produce. By mixing flax with wool, the wool cloth produced is not only thick and warm, but also breathable. If it were the temperature of later generations, this wool cloth could actually be regarded as a wool sweater. There was no market for it in Jiangnan. No one wanted it when the weather was too hot. But now, even Guangzhou is experiencing freezing and snowy weather. The wool cloth has already entered the market and there is no way to stop it. This has caused Jiangnan cloth merchants to suffer huge losses.

Besides wool fabric, there was also snow salt, a type of refined salt. Snow salt not only had high production volume and no impurities, but its price was also outrageously low. Snow salt waged a price war with the salt merchants of Jiangnan, driving the price of table salt down to rock bottom, causing many salt merchants to suffer huge losses.

How could the Donglin Party tolerate all the things Chen Boying did? If Chen Boying wasn't a treacherous official, then who was? They had impeached Chen Boying before, but the problem was that Chen Boying was extremely despicable. You know how to make money, that's your skill. Everyone else asks the emperor for money, but you not only don't ask for money, you actually give money to the emperor. What kind of behavior is that?

Now Chen Boying and the Tianqi Emperor are so close they could practically share a pair of pants. They have no chance to impeach Chen Boying, and Qian Qianyi's assassination attempt on Chen Boying also failed. Now, this rare massive explosion has occurred, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,000 people, injuries to more than 10,000, the collapse of tens of thousands of houses, and the suffering of tens of thousands of people who have no food or clothing. Naturally, they want to kill Chen Boying.

Chen Ying turned around, looked at the censor, and said calmly, "Then may I ask, Your Honor, if it truly was a gunpowder explosion, why are there no burn marks in the ruins? Why were the clothes of the dead and wounded torn, yet their skin not burned? Gunpowder explosions generate high temperatures, which would ignite clothing and burn skin. But look at those corpses, which one of them was burned to death?"

The censor opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

Another official said, "Even if it wasn't gunpowder, it's still divine retribution! Heaven is warning us that Wei Zhongxian is corrupt and you, Chen Boying, are aiding and abetting him. Heaven is angry and people resent you!"

The idea of ​​divine right of kings and the interaction between heaven and man is the political logic upon which the civil service group relies for survival. It's like the Jurchens' claim that if the Jurchens numbered less than ten thousand, they would be invincible. This is their magic weapon. No matter what kind of typhoon, earthquake, drought, or flood it is, it's all due to the emperor's lack of virtue and the presence of treacherous officials. This bizarre logic might be acceptable in a small country, but the problem is, China is too big. Is there ever a time when it doesn't rain in the whole country? Is there ever a time when there are no earthquakes?

The answer is definitely no. Japan is a country built on an earthquake zone, experiencing over 100,000 earthquakes annually, with 1,500 to 2,000 felt, averaging five to six earthquakes per day. In fact, China experiences over five million earthquakes annually, with about 600 felt, and in some years over 700 – several times more than Japan. There's no way around it; with a larger territory, probabilistic events are more likely to occur.

Similarly, because China is large enough, extreme weather events occur more frequently. If every single one of them were the emperor's responsibility, even if the emperor had a hundred lives, it wouldn't be enough to stop him from being executed. This is a check and balance mechanism created by Confucianism to limit the power of the monarch, and the right to interpret it is in their hands.

"Chen Boying, you are truly rebellious and lawless! How could you be so ignorant and arrogant, spouting such nonsense—"

"Chen Boying, don't try to deceive us. The people of the world all know that His Majesty favors treacherous officials, which is why we have suffered such a disaster. You are trying to curry favor with Wei Zhongxian and gain popularity by inciting the masses—"

"Chen Boying, you treacherous villain! For your own wealth and status, you have no shame! Fellow colleagues, for the sake of the people and the Ming Dynasty, we must implore His Majesty to eliminate this scoundrel!"

"If Chen Boying doesn't die, there will be endless troubles ahead?"

Chen Boying stood in the hall, facing the onslaught of the court officials, his expression calm as still water. When the censors and officials, their mouths dry from their tirade, finally stopped, he slowly bowed to the Tianqi Emperor and said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, I would like to say a few words."

Emperor Tianqi was already annoyed by the clamor of his ministers, and upon hearing this, he immediately raised his hand and said, "Granted."

Chen Ying turned around, his gaze calmly sweeping over the indignant Donglin Party officials, and slowly began to speak: "You gentlemen call me a traitor, but I dare not admit it. Since I became the Commander-in-Chief of Da Ning, I have never withheld a single penny of military pay, never embezzled a single coin of tax revenue, never indiscriminately killed an innocent person, and never wronged a virtuous one. I established schools, enabling 50,000 children from impoverished families to learn to read and write; I opened workshops, providing work and food for hundreds of thousands of displaced people; I trained the army and prepared for war, repeatedly defeating the Jurchens, making the Yongning defense line impregnable. If these are the actions of a traitor, then I would like to ask you all, what is loyalty and integrity?"

As soon as Chen Ying finished speaking, the hall fell silent. The Tianqi Emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief. Wei Zhongxian lowered his voice and said, "Remember all of them. We'll see who comes next!"

"Chen Boying, stop your flattery! Your strange and cunning tricks corrupt people's hearts; your schools and academies destroy the way of the sages; you use the tricks of merchants to bewitch the emperor's ears. What else is this but treachery?"

Chen Boying was not angered. Instead, he smiled slightly and said, "Your Excellency's words about 'strange skills and frivolous crafts'—are you referring to the steel I forge, the woolen cloth I weave, and the snow salt I produce? Steel is used to forge weapons and armor to protect the territory of our Great Ming; woolen cloth is used to ward off the bitter cold, saving our people from hunger and cold; snow salt is inexpensive and of high quality, so that the people no longer have to eat that bitter coarse salt. If these things that benefit the country and the people are considered strange skills and frivolous crafts, then I, Chen, would like to ask, what is proper learning? Is it the kind of learning that involves empty talk about principles and watching the people starve and freeze to death?"

The censor was so speechless that his face turned red.

Chen Boying ignored him and turned to the officials who were jumping the loudest, saying solemnly, "Since you gentlemen believe that the upheaval in the capital was divine punishment, then I ask you to answer a few questions. First, if this was truly divine punishment, why not punish Wei Zhongxian? Why not punish me, Chen Boying? Why punish those two thousand innocent civilians? Among those civilians were infants in swaddling clothes, elderly men with white hair, and pregnant women. If Heaven wanted to warn the emperor and the court officials, it could have sent disaster to the palace or the court. Why did it choose to kill these unarmed civilians? Is this Heaven's justice, or just your conjecture?"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the hall.

The Donglin Party officials looked at each other, completely unable to answer the question.

"Clever words and a flattering expression!"

"You're being unreasonable and utterly nonsensical—"

Looking at these Donglin Party officials who stubbornly refused to admit their mistakes, Chen Ying knew perfectly well that one should never try to wake someone who is pretending to be asleep, and that they had never intended to wake them up either. If you can't wake them up, then beat them awake!