Chapter 648: The Firewood Carrier

Li Yashi was extremely disappointed with Spain's development. It was the same massive inflow of silver, but the Ming used the Great Construction to distribute it downward, while Philip II built the magnificent El Escorial Monastery.

This monastery has fifteen corridors, sixteen courtyards, eighty-eight fountains, eighty-six staircases, one thousand two hundred huge wooden doors, and nine towers. In the monastery's church, there is a huge altar, which is decorated with countless gems looted from the New World. In addition, the entire monastery is full of exquisite statues and carpets covered with small lamb wool. Besides that, it also raised more than 1,500 priests.

When Philip told Li Yashi about the magnificence of the monastery with a proud tone, Li Yashi did not make any inquiries, let alone ask Philip bluntly what these were for.

Don't talk about things that have been done, don't remonstrate about things that have been completed, don't blame things that have passed. This is perhaps the greatest tragedy of politics. For the past that has already become a fact, there is no need to be overly entangled. What is important is the present.

What made it difficult for Li Yashi to accept was that this monastery was about one hundred li away from Madrid.

This meant that the Minister of State and the nobles needed to use various ways to go to this monastery one hundred li away to meet the monarch. What is the difference between this and the Jiajing Emperor hiding in the West Garden and refusing to meet the officials?

Li Yashi hoped that Philip could meet more Ministers of State and nobles, but Philip just smiled and did not respond.

Philip is a spider king when he is a monarch, which means he has many legs and many webs. He has to manage everything. The contradiction and conflict between the monarch and the nobles are also extremely fierce. Philip built this monastery for safety.

The historical experience and lessons of the Ming are that major construction projects are a sign of the country's destruction. This experience is actually not suitable for the West, because the countries in the West are completely different from the Ming's national conditions, because the commoners in the West are much more obedient than the people of the Ming.

The English royal family indulged the parliament, nobles, members of parliament, and squires to engage in the enclosure movement for more than two hundred years. There were beggars everywhere on the streets of London, but the English royal family was still very stable.

The Northern Yuan imperial court and the English royal family are somewhat similar. Indulging the annexation of Jiangnan squires, in less than a hundred years, the Northern Yuan imperial court was driven back to the grassland to be barbarians.

"Angel Li, why should we care about politics?" Galileo looked at the sea and sky, and in the blowing sea breeze, asked the question that had troubled him for a long time.

Li Yashi smiled and said, "Because, you don't care about politics, but politics cares about you everywhere. Food, clothing, housing, and transportation, all aspects are affecting you. Your research on medicine at the University of Pisa, exploring the mysteries of the human body, and your curiosity about astronomy, exploring the mysteries of heaven and earth, have affected the authority of the Curia. They strictly prohibited your research, ordered you to drop out of school, and finally you can only find a bite to eat here at His Highness Philip."

"This is also politics."

Li Yashi answered this question. If a person can not be affected by politics, he is either a god or a beast.

There is a lot of wisdom in the distant East, and at this time, the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun is preparing to go to the Western Hills Coal Bureau to attend the official factory's ten-year celebration on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. Because the Emperor rarely agreed to attend such folk celebration activities, the Ministry of Rites intervened extremely deeply to prevent any overstepping of etiquette.

"Are the rewards ready?" Zhu Yijun asked his palace secretary Feng Bao if he had brought enough silver, because there would definitely be a reward session. This is also the reason why the Ming Emperor rarely attends folk celebrations. Giving more than 100,000 silver to the hundred arts in one reward is an extremely huge waste. And for this celebration, all the performing artists were craftsmen, so there was no problem.

"Obeying His Majesty's instructions, I brought 200,000 silver." Feng Bao replied.

"Is the girl ready?" Zhu Yijun asked again if the Empress and the eldest imperial son Zhu Changzhi were ready.

Feng Bao smiled and said, "Everything is ready."

Among the grand ceremonies of the Ming, the most solemn is the suburban sacrifice, which is the Emperor going to the Western Hills Mausoleum to worship the ancestors' imperial tombs in person. And during the suburban sacrifice, the Empress is required to accompany him. The Empress is the legal wife, not a concubine, so the Empress Wang Yaozhuo must also attend the official factory's ten-year celebration.

Originally, Empress Dowager Li should also go, but Empress Dowager Li and Empress Dowager Chen refused. They were busy taking care of the children, so let the Emperor and the Empress take the eldest son.

"Counting the days, Li Yashi should have returned to Spain. It's fine for Philip to make things difficult. If Li Yashi, who returned tens of thousands of li away, dies, who else will love his Spain?" Zhu Yijun mentioned Li Yashi. He had been thinking about Li Yashi.

Li Yashi is a person who loves his hometown deeply. If such a person dies, someone in Spain will definitely say, you love Spain, does Spain love you?

Without the chatter of this guy, Zhu Yijun's ears were indeed much cleaner, but he always felt that something was missing, missing a perspective of looking at the Ming from an outsider's point of view. Every missing perspective is a kind of obstacle for the Emperor to see the essence of the problem clearly.

"Li Yashi shouldn't die." Feng Bao said optimistically, "According to the reports of Western merchants, Philip is a dictator. How can a dictator allow the Curia to point fingers all day long? If Philip can't even protect a Li Yashi, he doesn't have to be the king of the Empire on which the sun never sets. He might as well go back to herd sheep."

"That's true. Taking advantage of the time before departure, bring the remaining memorials." Zhu Yijun sat on the dragon chair. There were still two quarter-hours before departure, and the Ming Emperor squeezed in time to approve a few memorials.

This is his job, and he can't hide from it. He is lazy now, so he has to work overtime at night. No one assesses him, and Zhang Juzheng won't, but the Emperor will assess himself. The Ming dynasty and the history books of the Spring and Autumn period will assess him.

Evaluating a political figure does not need to focus on the perspective of private morality, because political figures affect most people. There are two words for the assessment standard of political figures: achievements.

Without achievements, at most it is just Emperor Renzong, which is about accomplishing nothing.

"Ah, did the southern scholars win?" Zhu Yijun first saw the memorial of the Ministry of Works. The southern scholars won with an overwhelming advantage in the matter of whether to repair the canal.

Should the canal from Hangzhou to Ningbo be repaired? Is it useful to repair it? Most of the northern scholars thought it was useless to repair, while the southern scholars directly scolded the northern scholars as a group of landlubbers who had never seen grain transport, so they thought it was useless!

The debate started in early November and finally reached a very interesting conclusion, which explained many phenomena in the Ming. This conclusion is: before the appearance of post roads, river channels were the only effective way to transport bulk commodities. The loss caused by other transportation methods was far greater than the value of the transported goods.

This conclusion explains why the Ming promoted literature and suppressed martial arts, why it abandoned land in Daning Guard, Yingchang, Kaiyuan Guard, and the Hetao area, and explains why the Ming repeatedly discussed reopening the Western Regions from the Hongwu years to the Jiajing years, but still didn't do it, because the cost of war was too expensive, and the freight of grain would increase exponentially with the distance.

"It seems that the Great Speculation is useful." Zhu Yijun approved the memorial of the Ministry of Works.

Even though the southern scholars won the argument, and it was an overwhelming victory, regarding the construction of the Ningbo-Hangzhou canal, the opinions of the northern and southern scholars were very unified: it cannot be repaired.

The reason for not repairing it is that it is expensive, it is borrowing, it is eating the grain of the future, it is a major construction project, and it is a sign of the country's destruction, even if this canal is repaired, it will benefit the people greatly.

The Ming is an extremely conservative country. From Shen Shixing creating the Ten Thousand Nations City in Songjiang Prefecture and the various Maritime Trade Offices imitating it, it can be seen that the Ming has never been open or inclusive.

Zhu Yijun picked up another memorial. Shanxi Governor Zhou Liangyin's reform to streamline and abolish bloated local yamen failed. Zhou Liangyin bumped into a wall. Without Wang Chonggu's support, Zhou Liangyin conducted a pilot project, which ended in failure.

Streamlining was streamlined, but the yamen also failed. Finally, after tossing around, they were exhausted and returned to the original point, re-establishing the streamlined institutions and re-recruiting the abolished people.

Zhu Yijun personally went to the All-Jin Guild Hall to invite Wang Chonggu, who had just been assassinated, back to the court. Wang Chonggu did not support Zhou Liangyin in that situation. The failure of the pilot project proved Wang Chonggu's sharp vision.

"Try it. If it doesn't work, try again next time." Zhu Yijun did not approve Zhou Liangyin's memorial of pleading guilty, but gave an encouraging reply.

Whether Zhou Liangyin's attempt to streamline local yamen succeeds or not is not important. What is important is to set off. The bloat and rigidity of local yamen is a problem that needs to be solved by any means. If this time doesn't work, change the method next time. You can't cover your eyes, ears, and mouth and pretend that this problem doesn't exist.

As long as you set off, it is a good thing, proving that this is not a topic that cannot be touched.

Hou Yuzhao, who is loyal to the monarch and the country, submitted another memorial. This is a congratulatory table for the New Year, mainly reporting this year's political achievements. The content is relatively brief, because Hou Yuzhao and Li Chengliang are about to return to the capital to report on their duties.

Li Chengliang requested to return to the capital on the grounds of old age, hoping that the imperial court could change someone to guard Liaodong. This memorial requesting to return to the hinterland triggered discussions among the court officials. The final result of the court discussion was opposition. After Li Chengliang returns to the capital, it will be discussed in detail.

Zhu Yijun squeezed in time to approve a few memorials and sat on the imperial carriage, heading towards the Western Hills Coal Bureau.

The streets were becoming wider, from the narrow and cramped alleys and lanes to large and open ones, from being crowded with two carriages to the current wide road with twelve lanes in opposite directions, which indeed made traffic much more convenient.

There are many military nobles in the capital who followed Emperor Chengzu Wen to win the Yan flag. But in the face of Wang Xiyuan, these military nobles finally agreed to tear down their old houses and make room for the roads of the Ming capital.

These military nobles also made trouble, submitting memorials one after another, running to the Emperor to cry and complain. But the military nobles who no longer held military power were destined to fail in the competition with the powerful civil officials. Originally, they could have been demolished at a lower cost, but the Ming Emperor still waved his hand and specially built a batch of large houses for military nobles in the North City of the Northern Camp, which was considered preferential treatment.

The military nobles saw that houses were built, so they stopped making trouble. After all, before Wanli, the salaries of the hundred officials had to be converted into paper money, and the salaries of the military nobles also had to be converted into paper money. Since His Majesty implemented real salaries, the military nobles had gone through 170 years and finally received full salaries again.

This person, the Emperor, is not complicated. During the first negotiation, the conditions given were the most generous. It's about enough, see good and accept. If you continue to make trouble, the houses will be gone, and if the titles are gone, that is the collapse of the sky and the earth.

The Ming's arrears are very fair. The military pay of border soldiers will be in arrears, the salaries of the hundred officials of the imperial court will be in arrears, and the salaries of the military nobles and relatives will also be in arrears. Many times, even the one million taels of gold flower silver every year, the Emperor's salary will also be in arrears.

It's just that only the hundred officials of the imperial court, because they hold power, can find compensation from the ten thousand people.

"Is this Xizhi Gate going to be demolished next spring?" Zhu Yijun looked at the noise of Xizhi Gate and was somewhat stunned. Wang Xiyuan submitted a memorial to demolish the city gate, and Zhu Yijun approved it, but he didn't expect Wang Xiyuan to be so fast. The clearing had already been completed. There were no commoners at the scene. Except for the Emperor's carriage, no other vehicles could pass through Xizhi Gate, so they had to take a detour. The scene began to chisel out pits, preparing to build scaffolding.

"Yes." Feng Bao bowed and said, "Is this demolition of the city gate open to discussion?"

Wang Xiyuan's courage was too great. Without the city gate, there would be no sense of security. What if the barbarians came south again? Wouldn't they enter the city directly? The court officials also followed suit and made trouble. The court discussion actually agreed with Wang Xiyuan's approach.

"If it's gone, let it be gone." Zhu Yijun's carriage slowly passed through Xizhi Gate and answered with a smile.

According to Wang Xiyuan's statement, he wanted to demolish all the nine gates and city walls of the capital within his nine-year term. It had to be said that this idea was really bold, and this bold idea of Wang Xiyuan received the support of General Qi Jiguang Jiguang. In General Qi Jiguang Jiguang's view, the urban scale of the Ming capital was expanding, and the city walls were no longer suitable for urban defense, and the endless houses outside the city were urban defense.

In metropolises like the capital, Songjiang Prefecture, Southern Yamen, Hangzhou Prefecture, and Guangzhou Prefecture, future urban defense battles must be street battles.

Therefore, this bold idea was becoming a reality.

Zhu Yijun's carriage finally arrived at the gate of the Xishan Coal Bureau. Just as Zhu Yijun got off the carriage and was about to walk in, he suddenly stopped his steps and turned to the side. The auxiliary ministers, court officials, and ministers behind him all had to follow and turn.

Zhu Yijun stood in front of a set of statues. This statue was an all-copper statue, a kiln worker who was completely dark, sitting on the ground with his upper body bare, his eyes narrowed, looking into the distance. He looked like a monkey, a human, and even more like a Buddha. The kiln worker was somewhat thin and withered, like a monkey, and his dark cheeks and thin but solid body were like a human. The somewhat vicissitudes and calm temperament were like a sitting Buddha.

The name of this statue is "The Firewood Carrier."

The Ming Emperor stood quietly in front of the statue and asked blankly, "Who made this statue?"

"Wang Qian." An agent of the official factory answered quickly.

"Young Master Wang, does he actually have the talent for sculpture?" Zhu Yijun was shocked beyond measure by this statue. It was indeed art. The strength and hardship of the kiln people were vividly displayed.

"The minister made it. How could the minister have any talent? This kiln person is named Xu Qi. This was his last time going down the well. After coming up, he sat there in a daze. The minister thought it looked good, so he painted it." Wang Qian said hesitantly, "At that time, Xu Qi was scolding my father, Wang Chonggu."

Wang Chonggu looked at his own biological son with great surprise, sized him up, and confirmed that it was his son!

This rebellious son actually made the kiln person who scolded him into a statue and put it at the gate of the official factory? And he said it in front of the Emperor?!

The Seven-Star Ring-Head Saber was already hungry and thirsty!

"Father stipulated that kiln people can go down the well for at most five years, and after that, they are not allowed to go down the well, only working above the well. One year down the well can earn sixteen silver, but one year above the well is no more than nine silver. So after Xu Qi went up the well, he sat there, and later he scolded my father." Wang Qian explained the reason.

Working down the well for at most five years, because if you continue to work, the person will not be able to bear it. The danger down the well and the consumption of the body down the well, if you continue, that is trampling on human life. Wang Chonggu was for the good of the craftsmen, but the craftsmen felt that Wang Chonggu was meddling in other people's business. One year, he lost seven silver for nothing!

"After Xu Qi saw this statue, he scolded the minister too." Wang Qian said helplessly, "Xu Qi felt that putting him at the gate, so that everyone entering and leaving the official factory could see him, was very dissatisfied."

"Oh, then it's normal to have a few complaints." Zhu Yijun understood the reason, and his smile was exceptionally bright. He liked this statue and liked these vivid stories. He looked at the statue and nodded repeatedly, saying, "This statue is very good, and it's even better to put it at the gate."

"What is the name of the statue over there?" Zhu Yijun walked with dragon steps to another set of statues.

This other statue is a family of four, a relatively strong man. On the father's shoulder sits a half-grown child, who is mischievously grabbing the father's hair, while the father is pulling a child with a diagonal cloth bag with one hand. There are books and a slingshot in the bag. And on the other side, the mother is carrying a food box, who is angry, seemingly nagging about something. The whole picture is extremely warm.

"Is it called 'Going Home'?" Zhu Yijun looked at the statue and asked, whether it was the constituent elements of the statue or the warm state revealed, Zhu Yijun felt that this was a family of four going home.

"It's called... 'Safety Production,' also made by the minister." Wang Qian's eyes were a bit evasive.

Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked suspiciously, "Uh? Explain."

"It means not producing according to safety regulations. If something happens down the well, others will spend your pension, sleep with your wife, and beat your children." Wang Qian was already sweating profusely. This was the purpose of him setting up this statue, to encourage safety production.

You can't tell by looking at the statue, but with the slogans that can be seen everywhere in the factory, you know the meaning of this statue.

"You could have lied to me and said it was called 'Going Home'." Zhu Yijun still had a smile on his face. He liked these two statues at the gate very much. They were all very good, reflecting the lives of the poor people.

In the twelfth year of the Wanli Reform, it was not a bamboo basket drawing water in the end.

"Wouldn't that be deceiving the Emperor?" Wang Qian asked in a low voice, "Or should I change the name to 'Going Home'."

"No, just call it 'Safety Production.' This implication is very good, really very good." Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Qian and said very affirmatively, "Very good, enter the official factory."

Wang Chonggu stipulated that those who reached five years down the well could no longer go down the well, and was scolded. Wang Qian was also scolded for setting up the statue, and Wang Qian's "Safety Production" statue was also scolded by many people. But it didn't matter. At least Wang Chonggu and Wang Qian treated craftsmen as people and were willing to care about their safety and life health.

They treated craftsmen as people, and the craftsmen treated them as the blue-sky masters.

No matter how fierce Xu Qi scolded, he was actually grateful to Wang Chonggu in his heart.

This is what Zhu Yijun is most gratified about. As long as Wang Chonggu always maintains this idea, Zhu Yijun will guarantee that Wang Chonggu will have a good end and leave a good name in history.

Zhu Yijun entered the official factory and laughed, because Wang Chonggu was also made into a statue, and it was only a part.

The steam engine has a god, called the North Pole Mysterious Spirit Demon-Defeating South Pole Red Flame Great Profit Hong Saint Heavenly Venerable, referred to as the Water and Fire God, who is the machine god of the steam engine, holding the power of water and fire. Every time a new iron horse workshop is established, it must sacrifice to the Water and Fire God.

And the prototype of this Water and Fire God is the Virtue Prince Zhu Zaiyu and the Secondary Grand Secretary Wang Chonggu. One is responsible for researching the steam engine, and the other is responsible for landing the steam engine. Many parts of the steam engine are produced in the Western Hills Coal Bureau.

Zhu Yijun saw this statue and laughed.

Wang Chonggu also held his forehead. He didn't agree, but in the end, this Water and Fire God statue was still erected in the official factory. When Wang Chonggu saw it, he wished he could split his rebellious son on the spot!

This Wang Qian said something extremely annoying. Wang Qian said while running: The craftsmen in the official factory all think it's well set, what right do you, Wang Secondary Grand Secretary, have to oppose it! The official factory is not your Wang Chonggu's private property!

The Ming is a secular country. Wang Secondary Grand Secretary is a minister, not a god. Getting involved with gods and ghosts is somewhat ominous.

"By then, if production is not smooth, I'm afraid someone will blow up Wang Secondary Grand Secretary's statue." Zhang Juzheng laughed and teased.

Wang Chonggu immediately said, "Grand Secretary, don't laugh at me. You made that Taiyue Box, which greatly reduced the possibility of grain transport ships capsizing. Hey, you also have a statue at the Songjiang Prefecture wharf. I will be blown up, and you won't be much better."

Li Chengliang blew up the Dragon King Temple in the Northeast because the Dragon King didn't snow.

"Hahaha!" Zhu Yijun laughed, and the official factory was full of cheerful air.

After Zhu Yijun entered the official factory, everything was cleaned up, decorated with lanterns and colored banners, and full of joy. The twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month is also the day when the official factory takes the New Year holiday, and it will not start work again until the sixth day of the first lunar month of the coming year.

New Year's cleaning is a habit. Before the New Year, people are always willing to clean their homes inside and out to welcome the New Year. It is clear that the craftsmen are willing to treat the factory as their home.

"Feng Companion, distribute the money." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and let Feng Bao take people to distribute the reward money. This is New Year's silver. For the New Year, you always have to buy new clothes and make New Year's Eve dinner. Zhu Yijun didn't give much. For a craftsman, the New Year's silver was one silver.

"This year, the official factory produced more than 1.33 billion catties of coke, coal bombs, honeycomb coal, etc., an increase of 43% over last year. 50 million catties of pig iron, an increase of 21% over last year. There are 6.2 million catties of crude steel, an increase of 22% over last year. The profit handed over is 1.4 million silver. All this is the credit of the craftsmen, and also the proper dispatch of Wang Secondary Grand Secretary." Zhu Yijun affirmed the achievements of the official factory while walking.

Including the Lanzhou Woolen Factory, the total output of Ming woolen cloth broke a new high again last year, reaching a terrible scale of 1.1 million pieces. At the same time, it also fell into a bottleneck of raw materials. There are only so many people and so many places on the grassland, and all of them are not enough for the Ming official factory to use. Therefore, the expansion of the scale of the woolen official factory was restricted by wool raw materials, but it still maintained a super high growth rate of 10% year-on-year.

"The Ming must thank Wang Secondary Grand Secretary. If the official factory matter were handed over to others, it might be done, but it would never be so successful." Zhu Yijun sincerely praised Wang Chonggu.

"It

"Feng Banban, distribute the money." Zhu Yijun waved his hand and let Feng Bao take people to distribute the reward money. This is the New Year silver. Since it is the New Year, one must buy new clothes and prepare a New Year's Eve dinner. Zhu Yijun did not give much; for a craftsman, the New Year silver was only one tael of silver.

"This year, the official factories produced more than 1.33 billion catties of coke, coal briquettes, and honeycomb coal, an increase of 43% compared to last year; 50 million catties of pig iron, an increase of 21% compared to last year; and 6.2 million catties of crude steel, an increase of 22% compared to last year. The profits turned over were 1.4 million taels of silver. All of this is the credit of the craftsmen, and also the well-organized scheduling of the Wang Wang Cifu." Zhu Yijun affirmed the achievements of the official factories while walking.

Including the Lanzhou Woolen Mill, the total output of Great Ming woolens also broke a new high last year, reaching a terrifying scale of 1.1 million bolts. At the same time, it also fell into a bottleneck of raw materials. There are only so many people and so much land in the grasslands, and even if all of them raised sheep, it would not be enough for the Great Ming official factories. Therefore, the expansion of the scale of the woolen official factories was restricted by wool raw materials, but it still maintained a super high year-on-year growth rate of 10%.

"The Great Ming must thank the Wang Wang Cifu. If the official factory matters were handed over to others, it might be possible to do it, but it would never be so successful." Zhu Yijun sincerely praised Wang Chonggu.

"It is my duty," Wang Chonggu hurriedly bowed his head and said with extreme humility.

Wang Chonggu's family is the second richest in the Great Ming. In the Wanli Reform, he ate a huge share of the cake, so he needed to do something, otherwise, do not blame the Great Ming Emperor for slaughtering his family's fat sheep for the New Year.

For this tenth-anniversary celebration of the official factories, Wang Qian took out 250,000 taels of silver to host it. This 250,000 taels of silver was the income and dividends from Wang Qian's holding and trading of Suiyuan Road tickets. Long-term holding does not mean not trading at all. Wang Qian cut leeks several times in the trading house and gathered the money for the tenth anniversary of the official factories.

There are always some stubborn people who want to short the Suiyuan Road tickets. Every time Wang Qian intercepted them, he would make a fortune. Since they were sending silver into his pocket, he, Wang Qian, could not stop them, right? The reason for shorting is very simple: to lower the price of the tickets and then buy them in large quantities.

"The Ruyi Golden Cudgel of the Monkey King Sun Wukong weighs 13,500 catties. Just the steel output of the Xishan Coal Bureau last year could make 4,200 golden cudgels." Zhu Yijun knew that the Great Ming ministers had no concept of steel output, so he used a mythological story to express the scale of the Xishan Coal Bureau's steel output last year.

One Monkey King had already turned the Heavenly Court upside down. If 4,200 Monkey Kings went to the Heavenly Court together, I am afraid the Jade Emperor's dragon chair would be smashed to pieces.

The celebration of the official factories began near dusk.

"The fireworks are so far away?!" Zhu Yijun looked at the opening fireworks and said in a daze.

The fireworks of the official factories were two *li* away from the viewing platform. One saw the fireworks, and only then could one hear the sound a moment later.

"It is better to keep gunpowder a little further away," Wang Qian said very firmly. If the fireworks fell beside His Majesty, it would be a huge crime.