Chapter 1513: White Glaze

"Shen Yishi is dead."

Early in the morning, after the daily morning meeting, Hai Rui handed a letter to Wang Yan.

This was a letter sent by Tan Lun, which clearly stated the intention of arresting Shen Yishi and raiding his home to raise military funds. And after Shen Yishi died, under preliminary inventory, Shen Yishi was actually empty inside.

The stock of silk was not enough, the looms in the workshop were insufficient, there was no silver money in the house, and other various shops, courtyards, manors, fields, etc., did not have much left. They were all sold out in exchange for money when buying land in the two counties before.

This was embarrassing. Everyone thought Shen Yishi was the richest, and raiding Shen Yishi's home would be enough to pay for the military funds to resist the Japanese. As a result, not only was there nothing, but Shen Yishi also left a pile of bad debts, creating a bigger pit...

Wang Yan smiled and handed the letter back, scraping the tea leaves with a covered bowl: "Tan Lun is really a good friend, explaining everything in detail, clearly and plainly."

"Wang Yongji and I were recommended to Prince Yu by him, and Prince Yu recommended us to the Ministry of Personnel. Now that such a big thing has happened in the province, he should let us know."

Hai Rui asked, "At the moment, there is no source for military funds. Selling the little family property Shen Yishi has left is just a drop in the bucket. I estimate that the next step they will take is to target the raw silk of our two counties. What is your opinion?"

"If they target it, just give it."

"Give it?" Hai Rui added emphasis to the word "give" and habitually glared. If Wang Yan said something wrong, he would open fire.

"Sell." Wang Yan shook his head, "We do owe money and grain, but we can't start returning it now. We have to let the people accumulate it slowly. If they buy it at a suitable price, we will sell it. If they lower the price..."

"What to do?"

"I will also do some business. Recently, I'll see if I can set up a workshop to weave silk. If they are heartless and lower the price, I will owe the raw silk from the people and ask the Emperor to sell the silk through the Weaving Bureau. With the Emperor's golden mouth, even if the eunuchs of the Weaving Bureau are greedy, they won't dare to go too far. When the silver is earned, it can also be used as military funds."

"Great Ming Law, officials are prohibited from engaging in business." Hai Rui said stiffly.

"Lord, do you believe it? I am already in business with the Emperor, so what is there that cannot be engaged in business? In the court, who doesn't have businesses at home? How come others can do it, but I can't? Lord, it's still that sentence: only when one is in a position can one plan the government."

Wang Yan took a sip of tea and laughed, "Actually, sometimes, thinking about our development to this day, the feeling lies in the fact that people want to live better."

"In ancient times, people ate raw meat and drank blood. Someone was dissatisfied with this, so the Sui Emperor took fire... Up to today, our food, clothing, and daily use are vastly different from ancient times. This all arises from human desire."

"From this point of view, I think it is normal for anyone to want to eat and use better, and to want fine wine and beautiful maids. What is hated is that some people do not create it themselves, but take it by force. This is taking the wrong path."

"Look at the red bricks and cement I researched. If used properly, they benefit the country and the people, and can also earn silver. This is my creation. However, without the Emperor's care, I cannot do this business. In less than a few months, this business will be snatched away. Even if it is not snatched away, I will have to share huge profits with others, just another Shen Yishi. Cautious and careful for half a life, in the end, not even a stone is left..."

"I didn't hear any legal principles in your words."

"Who sets the legal principles? Who controls the ups and downs? It's just the law of the jungle."

Wang Yan stood up, "I'm going to burn sand. I estimate there will be results in these two days. If this matter is done, I will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of my life. With the current Emperor on the throne, I might even be able to rise rapidly."

He was not joking. The cost of glass was low and it had many uses. As long as it was developed, doing business with wealthy families would be enough to earn a huge amount of money continuously.

Not to mention anything else, just in the first wave, wealthy families changing their houses to glass windows would be enough to earn a huge amount of money. Not to mention other various glass utensils. Once they were produced, they would definitely not worry about selling.

The main thing was to set up a royal monopoly, monopolizing production and sales, not allowing others to sell, and earning even more long-term. After all, not many people were lawless enough to snatch the royal family's business.

In the workshop outside the county town, Wang Yan followed the craftsmen to flow the red liquid-like things on the board, and then carried out cooling and tempering, finally forming a large piece of glass with decent light transmission.

This was an initial product. The impurities inside had not been removed so cleanly, and the finished product was not so transparent.

However, doing it to this step was already considered a success. Because it could already be produced completely, and when cutting, the glass would not break and could withstand a certain degree of force.

The subsequent problems such as impurities, as long as the process was adjusted slowly and the production process was optimized, would all find solutions to produce better glass products.

"Good, very good!"

Wang Yan held the glass against the sky and encouraged the craftsmen beside him, "Having made this white glaze, you will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of your lives. In the future, you can all eat well and drink well, and your children can also enjoy happiness with you."

"I dare not think so much. We only ask to work for the Third Lord for the rest of our lives." The craftsman said his heartfelt words.

Because Wang Yan was really good to them, not only giving them high wages but also trying his best to get them meat and eggs to eat, improving their food treatment, and even occasionally buying some wine.

Whoever had something at home, as long as they found Wang Yan, it could definitely be solved. Whether it was using money, asking for leave, or being bullied or treated unfairly, Wang Yan really handled it.

Under Wang Yan, they lived like people, with spirit, strength, and hope. Being able to be a person, who would want to be like a pig or dog? So what they said was the truest heartfelt words.

Wang Yan smiled: "This business, like cement, is to be offered to the Emperor, mainly managed by those eunuchs. However, you can rest assured. Although those eunuchs have physical defects and are perverse in nature, the Emperor's golden mouth and jade words are there. Can they still turn the sky upside down? As long as you do your own things well and make fewer mistakes, it will always be fine."

"The wages and food you receive now, I will also report them to the Emperor together, so that the Emperor will retain these treatments, which will not affect your lives, and you will live better and better in the future."

He comforted them a few words, then waved his hand, "Alright, burn another furnace, be careful. Only when production is stable can we report the good news to the Emperor."

While Wang Yan was leading a group of craftsmen to continue burning glass here, Qi Dazhu brought a group of people, and also drove a carriage carrying the six people who were tied up.

Hearing the minor official's call, Wang Yan walked out to the outside, wiped his body with a wet towel, and sat there swaggeringly with his shirt off, drinking the cooled boiled water, ton-ton-ton, without any scholar's elegance.

"What's the matter?"

"Third Lord, these five are traveling merchants selling mountain goods. When they arrived here, they asked around randomly. The people reported them. After we found them, they actually wanted to escape. At first glance, they were guilty, so we caught them and beat them hard. They said this person is a real Japanese pirate, coming to spy on our Chun'an situation. But he spoke gibberish, and we couldn't understand him, and couldn't ask clearly, so we came to you."

Although Qi Dazhu did not have an establishment, he was the actual captain of the Chun'an County militia, and the local braves of Chun'an all listened to his orders.

Even though they had passed 'Replacing Rice with Mulberry' steadily and restored production, Chun'an did not relax. The team of local braves was retained to carry out daily security maintenance in Chun'an County.

The main reason was naturally to suppress local wealthy families and not give them a chance to take risks, and also to ensure the internal security environment. Of course, considerations related to Japanese pirates were also there.

At this time, the Japanese pirate disaster was serious, and they were harassed by Japanese pirates year after year, and the people were really miserable. Previously, Hu Zongxian received the news and had already issued an order for various places to pay attention to precautions and be vigilant about the actions of Japanese pirates. In some places, they had even engaged in battle with Japanese pirates.

Thus, there was today's harvest.

Wang Yan glanced at the people who were tied up, bruised and swollen, and waved his hand casually: "Take this matter to the Lord, let him report it to Minister Hu, and then send people to send them all away, and let Minister Hu interrogate them."

Qi Dazhu nodded in response, then asked: "Third Lord, the Japanese pirates have come to spy on intelligence. Is it possible that Japanese pirates are going to make trouble here?"

"It's possible. Later, you organize the local braves to practice, and daily patrols must be more rigorous. If there is enemy intelligence, respond immediately. For such things, it is better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't. Careful is better than sorry. The people of Chun'an have suffered enough. They have just started to live a good life, so we can't let these Japanese pirates ruin it for us. Go."

"Yes, Third Lord." Qi Dazhu took the people and left again.

Japanese pirates are not all little Japanese; more of them are wealthy smugglers in the coastal areas here. They raise sea bandits, dominate the nearby sea areas, and cause harm to the inland.

The hatred of these sea bandits is no less than that of the little Japanese. They are all evil and deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces.

It is like mountain bandits on land. At the beginning, they were miserable people running into the mountains to find a way to survive. Later, when more people gathered, the burden of doing bad things together became smaller and smaller, and until the end, they were accustomed to it, and they didn't know what was right or wrong. They had their own set of logic.

As the saying goes, all changes are inseparable from their origin. This truth is the same when placed on these people in power. After a long time, they became people above people, and they didn't know their own surnames, and they also had their own set of behavior and thinking logic...

That night, Wang Yan had dinner with Hai Rui's family.

Hai Rui said: "Today Qi Dazhu caught the Japanese pirate's spy. This matter must be guarded against."

"That is natural." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, "I have already arranged it, stepped up patrols, and trained the local braves. If Japanese pirates come to commit crimes, I will personally lead the sword to kill the enemy and defend the people of Chun'an to the death."

"No need to take risks personally. Commanding in the rear is more useful than killing the enemy in front of the formation."

"I thought you were afraid I would die..."

"Death is worth it!" Hai Rui said firmly.

Wang Yan took a sip of wine: "My personal action in the formation is more useful. The local braves have not been through the battlefield and have not seen blood. If they don't have an advantage, they will collapse at the first touch, and that will be a total loss. I, this Third Lord, stand at the front, leading the charge. If I don't die and the flag doesn't fall, Chun'an will not be defeated. You also know that I know some fighting methods, and I have great strength, so I actually have an advantage on the battlefield."

Hai Mother said: "Alright, you two, don't talk about death while you are alive, drink your wine."

Wang Yan laughed and raised his wine glass to drink with Hai Rui.

After such a period of time, Hai Rui's family ate and drank well, and their complexions were ruddy. The old lady was also full of spirit and had plenty of strength. Hai Rui's wife was also radiant, with sufficient nutrition. Hai Rui's daughter didn't need to be mentioned. This little girl jumped up and down, could eat and drink, and was very healthy.

Wang Yan also instructed the little girl not to go to the river to play. This little girl drowned in the river in the drama...

Hai Rui said: "In the morning, we were talking about raw silk. At noon, the province sent a document, ordering us to collect the raw silk in the hands of the people for the Weaving Bureau, which is considered to return part of the grain in advance, to be used as military funds."

"I replied to the province, asking them to buy at the market price, and the borrowed grain will be returned in three years. This was what was agreed upon at the beginning. Purchasing silk at the market price can also have a lot of surplus, which is enough to support military funds for a period of time. We cannot use military funds as an excuse to exploit the people. Moreover, returning it in three years was what Shen Yishi promised when borrowing grain, and the Emperor did not explicitly oppose it, so how dare they open their mouths?"

"They are at the end of their rope. Shen Yishi has no money or grain. If they can't find money or grain, Zheng Bichang, He Maocai, and others will suffer, and they will have to become military funds. It's not certain that the decree to investigate Zheng and He is already on the way."

"Self-inflicted evil cannot be lived."

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement.

"Why, don't you agree?" Hai Rui asked.

"They are not self-inflicted evil, nor is it any heavenly retribution, but they were abandoned by Cabinet Minister Yan and the Junior Cabinet Minister, so they will naturally die."

"What about Minister Hu?"

"It's unclear. The imperial court's deficit has not been made up, and military expenditures have increased. If this hole is filled well, Minister Hu can stay. If it is not filled well, after this battle is fought, Minister Hu will have to go down, and it's not certain that there won't be imprisonment."

Hai Rui knew that Wang Yan was talking about Yan Song and his son, just using Hu Zongxian as an excuse. He sighed with emotion: "Minister Hu is still doing things. In the great matter of resisting the Japanese, his merit is great."

He was really talking about Hu Zongxian.

"It's not yet time for you to draw a conclusion for Minister Hu." Wang Yan turned to take a piece of glass from his pocket, "Come, Lord, look at this thing."

Wang Yan talked to Hai Rui about glass, as well as the beautiful prospect of earning massive amounts of silver in the future. He said he had already sent a letter to Zhu Qi, asking Zhu Qi to send the glass and the letter to Jiajing.

At this time, Zhu Qi was naturally no longer in Chun'an, but was in Hangzhou dealing with various problems, investigating various inside stories, and was also quite busy...

?? Daily thanks to the good brothers who tipped, voted for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and read silently! ===== CHAPTER 1514 =====