Chapter 44: Carboniferous II

What Wang Zhen said was from the bottom of his heart.

Carboniferous is poisonous.

This is the opinion of many people in this era.

Zhu Qizhen said: "Wang Daban, don't worry. I don't know how to use coal, but the north is already dry after all, and now all the trees around the capital, within a hundred miles, have been cut down. ”

"I'm afraid it's against the teachings of the saints."

The teaching of the saints is the moral high point of this era. Zhu Qizhen has already discovered that it seems to be extremely easy to use.

This sentence is really what Mencius said, "When the axe enters the mountains and forests, the timber and wood cannot be used." These are the exact words of Mencius.

And the current situation in Beijing will never be able to do this thing.

Firewood is already heavy, and if it is transported from a distance, the cost will naturally rise, and the people simply cannot afford to use it, so they would rather cut the surrounding area of Beijing into a blank field than transport firewood from a distance.

Luckily, there are still some mountains around the city.

The charcoal burned in the West Mountain is enough to support the firewood in Beijing.

Wang Zhen said: "Your Majesty's intentions are very good, but you can't risk yourself, the people below can be exchanged for charcoal, but the degree in the palace cannot be changed." Otherwise, it is not unorthodox. ”

Zhu Qizhen said for a while: "Okay." He had no intention of talking nonsense with Wang Zhen on this matter, as long as the coal mining was done, the rest could be done.

Wang Zhen turned around and said, "Xiao Caozi, did you hear what Your Majesty said?" ”

Cao Jixiang immediately said: "The slave understands. ”

Wang Zhen said: "Go ahead and do it." ”

Zhu Qizhen sent Cao Jixiang down, and then looked at the yamen below.

But it was just a hasty pass, just a beating.

He knew that things had to be done one by one.

Since you have worked the coal, you have to put everything else aside first.

Cao Jixiang is not well evaluated in history, but his ability to do things is excellent.

If you have great wisdom and courage, you can't use great treachery and great evil.

Wherever there is a mark left in history, there is always something extraordinary. Even Zhu Qizhen didn't expect Cao Jixiang's ability to do things so quickly, but in just a few days, he sorted out this matter.

Zhu Qizhen immediately summoned Cao Jixiang.

At this moment, Cao Jixiang's face darkened a lot, and in the past few days, he ran all over inside and outside the capital, and figured out the coal consumption inside and outside Beijing.

Seeing this, Zhu Qizhen didn't let Cao Jixiang speak, and let him drink saliva first. Sit down and talk.

Cao Jixiang looked grateful, and then said to him about the situation: "Most of the people in Beijing use firewood, but it is not that they do not use coal. ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "What ban? ”

Cao Jixiang said: "I'm afraid that the coal digging will hurt the earth qi and lose the dragon vein." ”

Zhu Qizhen immediately understood that Tianshou Mountain was just west of Beijing. said: "Let's not mention this matter for the time being, where is the coal produced, has it ever been proven?" ”

Cao Jixiang said: "The slave maid has found out that most of the coal used in the left side of the Jingshi comes from Mentougou, and since the previous dynasty, Mentougou is the place where coal is produced. ”

"In the former Yuan capital, all the coal used came from here."

In the previous dynasty, Guo Shoujing built a river in order to use most of the coal, which is now the Yongding River. Therefore, the coal of Mentougou can go south through Yongding River to the south of Jingshi, transfer to land transportation, and use horses to enter the city. ”

"It's just that now Beijing has been newly built, and it can't completely restore the old view."

Zhu Qizhen felt a little ashamed in his heart.

He immediately understood that the coal use in Beijing was not as scarce as he imagined, but fortunately, it seemed to be more of a mixed use of coal. If there is no government to lead.

It was a long time to replace firewood with coal.

Zhu Qizhen asked: "How many coal mines are there in Mentougou, and how do they mine coal?" ”

Cao Jixiang said: "The slave maid has seen it, there are about more than 100 families, all of which are wrapped in the coal yard, so that the people enter the coal yard, and the bamboo sign is recorded, and the slave and maid have counted." One person can mine 50 catties of coal a day. ”

"And these miners, although some of them are in the mine all year round, there are also some who only come when the farm is not working."

Zhu Qizhen thought about it for a while before he understood.

Even if these mines are not open-pit mines, they are certainly not deeply buried. It can even be said that this is just a side hustle for the local people.

Now, there is no need for Zhu Qizhen to recall the situation of the Beijing coal mine in later generations, just to judge with his current knowledge, this coal mine will definitely flourish in the future.

Because there will only be more and more people in Beijing.

And the firewood that can be cut around Beijing will only get less and less.

Zhu Qizhen asked, "Can these coals be taxed?" ”

Cao Jixiang said: "No, probably when I entered the city, I collected a city gate tax, and there was nothing else." ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "Don't I collect taxes when I open mines? ”

Cao Jixiang's heart moved slightly, and said: "Your Majesty, only the government can open mines in this dynasty, and when Your Majesty ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager stopped all urgent matters and removed the gold, silver and copper mines from all over the country. ”

"Eunuchs from all over the country have been recalled."

Zhu Qizhen was slightly surprised when he heard this, and said, "But is there such a thing?" ”

Zhu Qizhen only learned about the government in this period, and when he first ascended the throne, he knew nothing about many things.

I never thought that the Empress Dowager would have this among the so-called non-urgent tasks.

Wang Zhen hurriedly explained in Zhu Qizhen's ear.

Only then did Zhu Qizhen understand that this was actually a common proposition of the Ming court. It didn't start with the Queen Mother.

Zhu Yuanzhang believes that food and agriculture are the top priorities, and other things are not important. It's enough. During the Zhu Yuanzhang period, there were many strikes.

When the imperial court weapons were not enough, well, open the mine for iron, and when it was enough, the iron ore was abandoned. In Beijing, there is a touch of iron ore, that is, Zunhua iron ore, which is intermittent from time to time.

For private mining, it is also not allowed.

Because of the lessons learned from the Yuan Dynasty.

The death of the Yuan Dynasty was considered to be too broad.

The restraints below were not in place, and too many people were gathered in Xiu Huanghe, which led to the emergence of the Red Turban Army.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty is very strict with the management of the private gathering of the people below, and the mining is the gathering of countless young people and working together.

It can be said that as long as there are weapons, they can immediately gather into an army.

Not to mention that they are mining mines, and they may be able to build weapons themselves. In this way, the attitude of the Ming Dynasty towards private mining can be imagined.

But many things can't be blocked.

The needs of the people must be filled by others. In fact, Zhu Qizhen didn't know that now is the time when the private mining industry is growing rapidly, but the imperial court relies on the government mining. And there has never been much on the taxation of Akema mining.

The fastest growing area is iron ore. And Mentougou is just a microcosm here.

Zhu Qizhen didn't know what to say for a while.

Zhu Qizhen took this matter to heart, and now is not the time to take care of this matter, and even whether there was a professional management department in the Ming Dynasty.

These things belonged to Shaofu in the Han Dynasty.

Now, where does this belong? Is it the Ministry of Works, or the Inner Court. If it belongs to the inner court, is it the yamen of the inner court?

Zhu Qizhen asked: "Can the people afford the coal in Mentougou?" ”

Cao Jixiang said: "The slave maid thinks that she probably can't afford it. ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "Why? ”

Cao Jixiang said: "Although there is little firewood near Beijing, there are still some grass and trees in some corners, and some trees are planted in the people's own yards. So for the people, they would rather put in some effort than sell coal. ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "It's because I think badly. ”

For the truly poor people, strength does not cost money, but coal costs money.

As long as it is something that asks for money, it is unaffordable.

Zhu Qizhen has not been to Mentougou to see, but think about it, these coal mines are mined by the most primitive methods, and it is absolutely impossible to use large-scale industrial production, and the price of coal is estimated to be about the same as the price of firewood.

In this way, whoever can afford to buy coal, the people would rather sell a few bundles of firewood and put them at home when there is a shortage. Who will go sell coal.

It was not an easy task for Zhu Qizhen to replace all the firewood in Beijing with coal.