My life skills in Daming Liver

Concubine Li's father, Li Wei, was only the father of Princess Yu, but most of the merchants who made friends with him still called him Li Guozhang.

At that time, Concubine Li gave birth to the emperor's grandson Zhu Yijun, and the emperor decreed to reward Concubine Li's natal family with 50,000 pieces of silk, and conferred Li Changfeng, Concubine Li's elder brother, as a thousand households of Jinyiwei. The favor of the Li family was also well-known in the capital.

However, the favor of the Li family has only just begun. Although the Li family also does some royal business, the scale is not too large.

This time, he received the big business of buying nine-sided winter clothes from King Yu, and Li Wei immediately started to make a fuss. This is something to make his son-in-law look good! After doing a good job, my daughter's position in Prince Yu's Mansion will be more stable!

The cowhide was blown out, and the ticket was guaranteed by the son-in-law, but Li Wei understood the difficulties when it was really necessary to set up a textile workshop and a garment workshop.

The issue of raw materials can still be solved. During the Ming Dynasty, the cotton planting in the north had already reached a large scale, and the cotton in the south used to be supplied through the north.

As long as there is a decree, all the cotton in the northwest region will be sent to the capital.

But the next steps are ginning, removing cotton seeds, spinning, weaving, and then cutting and making clothes. Although this process is written in "Tiangong Kaiwu", Li Guozhang really can't play it!

Technology is only one aspect. Organizing raw materials, breaking down processes, manufacturing looms, and managing workers are all extremely terrifying engineering quantities. It is not as simple as Li Wei thought when he patted his son-in-law's chest.

After a few days of tossing, although the loom was also built, the whole workshop was still in a mess, and not a single piece of cloth was woven.

There was really no other way, so Li Wei gathered his cronies and friends to discuss how to complete the supply and sale of this year's nine-sided winter clothes.

Li Wei was born as a mason, and he has not been rich for a long time, and his relatives in the Ming Dynasty are far less noble than those in the Han Dynasty, so he made friends with small businessmen in the capital, or the descendants of nobles who have fallen.

This group of people drink, eat and go to brothels to fight crickets. They are all good players, but when it comes to opening workshops, they all keep their heads down and don't speak.

Really can't!

If they could open a workshop, how could they be flattering around Li Wei!

Li Wei looked around, feeling even more annoyed. This bunch of trash surrounded him every day, complaining that the imperial court didn't give them a chance! Said he was underappreciated.

But when the business really came, everyone was like a dead dog, and no one could tell how to open the workshop!

At this time, Li Wei's son Li Changfeng hurried in from the door.

It seems that we can only rely on our own family!

These days, it is his son Li Changfeng who is working hard inside and outside, and he is so busy every day.

After Li Changfeng finished drinking his tea, Li Wei asked, "Son, how are you doing?"

Li Changfeng calmed down, and then said: "Father, there is no decent weaving workshop near the capital, and all the money of this big family in the capital is in Zhuangzi. Who wants to bother and work hard to build a business!"

Li Wei's eyes darkened. He originally hoped that he could buy some workshops near the capital and set up the shelves as soon as possible.

According to my son now, there is no cotton textile workshop near the capital, and this road is useless.

But if you think about it, the cotton padded clothes sold by the capital are all from the second mansion of Su and Song. If the capital can make it itself, why buy it from the south?

Li Changfeng's next sentence opened up a new way of thinking for Li Wei:

"I said Dad, why do we have to weave our own cloth, can't we just buy it?"

Li Wei was stunned for a moment, and Li Changfeng continued: "I heard from those merchants in Jiangnan that cotton cloth and winter clothes are very cheap in Jiangnan. The purchase price set by the imperial court is profitable even including shipping costs. If this is the case, why do you have to make it yourself?" ?”

Li Guozhang was startled suddenly, and the people around him also said:

"Guo Zhang! Uncle Guo is right! The winter clothes in this capital are sold cheaply. Isn't it cheaper to go directly to Jiangnan to buy?"

"If you set up your own workshop and hire looms, why don't you just buy them!"

"As long as the imperial court pays and Jiubian gets the winter clothes, then the country's father-in-law will get things done!"

Hearing what everyone said, Li Wei suddenly felt that it was too much effort to organize the workshop.

If you can really make money by buying winter clothes in Jiangnan, then there is really no need to run your own workshop.

But at this time, Li Wei still wanted to work for his son-in-law, after all, his son-in-law King Yu was just a prince, not an emperor.

He also said: "Didn't the censor write to the emperor a while ago to ban the sea transportation in Dengzhou? If you don't go by sea, the price of winter clothes transported by land must be high, right?"

Li Changfeng immediately swears: "Forbidden sea? Forbid a fart!"

Li Changfeng said: "With so many ports in Dengzhou and Laizhou, and so many merchant ships traveling to and from the south of the Yangtze River, can the imperial court really ban them all?"

"What is banned now is the grain trade leading to Nine Sides!"

"Actually, there is a lot of inside story about this matter!"

Everyone started gossiping immediately.

"Do you know Li Chengliang, Liaoyang General Soldier?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Li Changfeng said: "The Li family in Liaoyang is a big family outside the pass. Under the leadership of General Li, Liaoyang garrisoned fields outside the pass. The food for many barracks outside the pass is supplied by the Li family."

"But the imperial court transported grain from Dengzhou by sea, which lowered the price of grain outside the customs. I heard that the censor, Lu Fengyi, had received bribes from Li Zongbing, so he wrote a letter requesting to stop the Dengzhou maritime trade."

Everyone shouted, it turns out that there is such an inside story.

However, among Li Guozhang's gang of cronies, there are also people who are familiar with the Ming situation, and someone asked:

"This Li Chengliang is just the commander-in-chief of a side town, can he still make friends with the gossip officer?"

Li Changfeng said: "That's why you don't know the situation outside the pass. Although this Li Chengliang is only the commander in chief, the elite of the Liaoyang Guards are all his servants. The barbarians and Jurchens outside the pass are all driven by him, but they monopolize the business outside the pass. The same is true in Jiliao. A big man who can talk!"

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing that there was such an inside story.

Li Changfeng said: "The Dengzhou merchants don't dare to go north anymore. They encountered Jurchen 'robbers' outside the pass a few times before transporting grain, and several merchant groups were completely wiped out."

"Now that the northern routes in Dengzhou are banned, it can be regarded as an explanation to the court, but the private traffic to the south is smooth, and now the goods in the south are easy to sell in the capital!"

When everyone heard it, there was nothing wrong with Li Changfeng's statement. Nowadays, Jiangnan's products are everywhere in the capital market.

Winter clothes, whale oil lamps, soap, dyes, wine, sugar.

These goods were unimpeded in the capital, and even Jiangnan's "Jing Shi Bao" was bundled into bundles of five and ten issues by these merchants, and brought to the capital for unified sale.

In this way, the court's ban has no effect at all!

At this time Li Changfeng pulled Li Wei aside.

"Father, at the purchase price of winter clothes from the imperial court, purchasing goods from Jiangnan is a sure-fire business."

But Li Wei still hesitated and said: "But if this is the case? If it is found out that we bought winter clothes from Jiangnan, wouldn't it implicate His Highness?"

King Yu went to the court and handed over the purchase of winter clothes to Li's family. The reason was that Songjiang Mansion is now in the area occupied by the Soviet thieves. Although the air route is not broken, buying winter clothes from Songjiang Mansion is suspected of being an enemy.

The Xu family's production in Songjiang Mansion is regarded as an enemy, so what is it to go to Jiangnan to buy winter clothes? Do business with the enemy bandits? Collaboration?

Li Changfeng said suddenly: "Father, you are so confused!"

"Do you need to go to this business in person? Do you, the future father-in-law, go to Jiangnan to buy winter clothes in person?"

Li Changfeng said: "The imperial court asked our Li family to prepare winter clothes. Dad, you can divide this batch of winter clothes."

"We just need to set a purchase price and let these people here make preparations."

"This price difference is what our Li family can earn without losing money."

"Whether they spun and weaved the clothes themselves, or went to Jiangnan to buy them, or used other methods, our Li family doesn't know, and we don't have to be responsible."

"And just now my son has told them all the ways, don't they know how to make money?"

Li Wei was overjoyed when he heard the words. According to his son, buying winter clothes this time is a sure-fire business!

Li Wei suddenly felt that he was the grandfather of the emperor's grandson anyway, and maybe he could be the emperor's grandfather in the future.

Li Wei thought of the phrase "He who works hard governs others" in the play, and suddenly felt that his son's method was appropriate.

Why do you have to run the workshop yourself to earn money? I am also a "worker", so I just leave it to the people below.

Li Wei and his son returned to the house, and immediately told their son's plan.

Those present can recontract the corresponding share according to their ability.

When Li Wei reported the price, everyone became excited.

Many of Li Wei's cronies also run small businesses in the capital.

Even if you buy winter clothes at the capital market at this price, you won’t lose money. If you are brave enough to go directly to Jiangnan to pull a boat of winter clothes, you will definitely make a profit.

And this can be considered a cost-free business, and there is no need to invest in workshops or anything, just rent a boat and go to the south of the Yangtze River.

Buy winter clothes, and you can get money when you ship them back. Is there a more stable business than this?

The atmosphere in the room immediately heated up, and everyone surrounded Li Wei one after another, demanding more shares.

Li Changfeng stopped everyone and said: "Everyone go back first, and send the share that you can bear, the contract that guarantees the completion of the purchase, to the house tomorrow, and wait for my father to make a decision!"

Looking at these obsequious friends with flattering faces, Li Wei finally realized what it means to be a master!

Everyone also dispersed one after another, rushing to raise funds and prepare to go south to buy winter clothes.

September 30th.

South Zhili, Anqing Prefecture.

After leading Nanjing Left and Right Guards to move to Anqing Mansion, as expected by Zhang Juzheng, the Zhejiang New Army led by Lin Deyang did not enter Huizhou Mansion.

Judging from the news of "Warning World Daily", Lin Deyang is recruiting local kiln workers and ceramic artisans in Jingdezhen, saying that he has established some kind of ceramic craftsmen's guild to encourage craftsmen to set up their own workshops.

What made Zhang Juzheng even more incredible was that Lin Deyang led the army to dredge the water system, trying to get through the old way of exporting porcelain from Quanzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty.

From the Southern Song Dynasty to the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, Jingdezhen was the center of porcelain. At that time, Jingdezhen’s porcelain was transported through the waterway of Poyang Lake, passed through Fuhe River, Guangchang, Fujian Ninghua, and then passed through Qingxi River and Jiulong River to Quanzhou or Zhangzhou, and then passed through Shipping to sea.

At that time, Jingdezhen had tens of thousands of households engaged in porcelain craftsmen, the whole city was shrouded in smog, and the day was like night.

But after the Ming Dynasty banned shipping, Jingdezhen porcelain could only be sold domestically, and the folk kilns gradually withered.

The official kilns of the imperial court continued to squeeze the kilns, which led to the decline of Jingdezhen porcelain firing level during the Jiajing period.

In the Nanyang market, the Central Plains porcelain is not even as good as the porcelain from the Bochang kiln in Vietnam.

Lin Deyang was busy restoring porcelain production in Jingdezhen, Lin Liangjun's second brigade also stopped attacking other prefectures and counties, and concentrated on building a navy in Jiujiang Prefecture, successfully cutting off the Yangtze River shipping.

Huguang's grain is definitely unable to go south by shipping on the Yangtze River.

Zhang Juzheng closed the newspaper and sighed. Of course, Huguang has more than one channel to transport grain, but the labor cost of transporting grain by land is huge, and the loss along the way is also huge.

When Zhang Juzheng read the imperial archives when he was in the Imperial Academy, in the Zhengtong year, due to the flood of the Yangtze River, grain from Huguang was transported to the capital by land.

Only 30% of the 10% of the food could be transported to the capital in the end, and what was even more frightening was that only three of the ten civilian husbands conscripted and sent back returned.

Sincerity Bo Liu Shiyan finished his inspection of the city defense of Anqing Mansion, and hurried to Zhang Juzheng's mansion.

"Butang, just discovered an enemy ship in Jiujiang today, and their goal is Anqing as expected!"

Liu Shiyan drove away Jiujiang's reconnaissance ship and hurriedly reported to Zhang Juzheng.

Liu Shiyan said worriedly: "The morale of our army is low. I set up the ship myself to drive out the enemy ships. If this continues, how can we hold Anqing!"

Zhang Juzheng said: "Sincerely, I am going to cast a cannon in Anqing!"

"Cannon?"

Zhang Juzheng said: "Anqing has iron, and we can follow the example of Lord Yangming in making Folang machine guns. I have already written to the Ministry of War and Industry in Nanjing, and I have brought all the blacksmiths, gunsmiths and gunsmiths in Nanjing to Anqing. To set up an artillery factory in Anqing."

Liu Shiyan said: "If there is a cannon, it will naturally be able to defend it, but what about the sky thunder used by the bandit army in Jiujiang?"

Zhang Juzheng and Liu Shiyan had already inquired about the details of the fall of Jiujiang, and the most important thing was naturally the terrifying weapon that could destroy the city wall in an instant.

Zhang Juzheng said: "If the Su thief can really drive the sky thunder, then go directly to the capital, why bother with us here?"

"I speculate that it is also an explosive similar to gunpowder, but more powerful."

"The Su thief did it at night, which means that this kind of gunpowder cannot be thrown by shells, so it must have been placed close to the city wall at night."

"As long as we set up forts along the coast in Anqing and strengthen night patrols, we will certainly be able to prevent it."

Hearing Zhang Juzheng's analysis, Liu Shiyan really felt that it made sense, and he finally let go of the uneasiness in his heart.

Zhang Juzheng said:

"I read the Su thief's "Three Reports to the People". Why does Suze only have two provinces and six prefectures (four prefectures in Jiangxi), but the soldiers can pay enough and the civil administration can be stable? The taxes that the people have to collect are so much less than ours. ?”

Liu Shiyan didn't understand civil affairs, but he understood the place, and he immediately said: "It's all those corrupt officials who exploited it!"

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said: "I request the imperial court to try out a whip method in Nanzhili, combining the land tax, corvee and other miscellaneous levies of all prefectures and counties into one, combining the collection of silver taels, and paying by mu. This greatly simplifies the tax system and facilitates collection. Taxes. At the same time make it difficult for local officials to cheat, which in turn increases revenue.”

"In addition, in Southern Zhili, the customs tax law was re-introduced, and business taxes were levied, which were specially used for military funds to counter the rebellion."

Liu Shiyan's heart was agitated when he heard this, and he asked, "Butang, is it possible?"

Zhang Juzheng said: "Of course it is possible. This method was proposed by the minister Gui E at the beginning of the dynasty. Zhang just completed some of the detailed rules."

"Hey, if His Majesty was able to implement this law when he came to the throne, how could Daming come to such a point?"

Liu Shiyan still said: "It's the Ministry."

"I know. I am the Minister of the Ministry of War. The person in charge of the civil affairs in Nanzhili is Mr. Zhao Zhenji. I have already written to Mr. Zhao, hoping that he will support the reform and give him the initiative to initiate the reform."

"Now it's time to change the law!"

ps, the problem of Fujian Iron Industry:

Iron smelting in the Ming Dynasty was actually very developed. Although there is controversy about whether the technology of frying steel can effectively make steel, the only difference between the Ming Dynasty and the steelmaking era is a reflective cover for heat preservation and hydraulic blast to raise the furnace temperature. It is a pity.

As for the gas heating and hearth furnace steelmaking method, it is actually not too difficult. Definitely not technically inferior.

In the Jiajing year, there were three Dajian furnaces in Fujian, each with more than 2,500 craftsmen, and each furnace produced 48,600 catties of molten iron.

Fujian Longxi, Zhenghe, and South Zhili Wuhu, the private iron smelting industry is also very developed, Longxi iron furnace employs as many as 500 people, Zhenghe also has 100 people, Wuhu has dozens of "Sugang" workshops, each There are more than a hundred employees.

There are as many as 10,000 miners in Zhejiang and Guangdong.

These are all declining in the Qing Dynasty.