In the history of human consciousness, sweetness has always represented beauty, happiness and desire, and it is precisely these that the word sweet in languages around the world represents. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The thirst for sweetness drove humans to endure bee bites, but not everyone had access to this luxury, or sweetened food and drink, before the wave of industrialization swept the world.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, aristocrats often solemnly recorded in their wills how many barrels of honey were in their inheritance, and even after the Renaissance, the price of sugar remained high; In Japan, when a noble woman marries, sugar is also an extremely important dowry, and special records are made, even in modern times. And those ordinary people may not even be able to taste honey and candy for the rest of their lives.

In contrast, China, which is just across the water from Japan, had a much higher happiness index for the common people in ancient times than the rest of the world. The reason is that honey is available all over the world, and sucrose is not the origin of China, but before the advent of the industrial era, in addition to the syrup condensed by the wisdom of the ancients to increase the production of sweet food, China's sucrose production technology has always been ahead of the world.

In the Ming Dynasty, white granulated sugar was resold to India, the origin of sucrose, and Indians called it Chinese sugar. The yellow mud water drenching and decolorization method used in the Jinhua sugar factory, which was jointly owned by Wang Fu and Chen Wen, used machinery to obtain sucrose and convert it into white sugar, originated in China. In addition to "Tiangong Kaiwu", there are special records in many historical documents such as "Minshu Southern Production Chronicles", "Physics Knowledge", "Guangyang Miscellaneous Records", "Xinghua Mansion Chronicles" and so on.

Sugar has always been the fist product of ancient China's foreign trade, not to mention that in the first ten years of Chongzhen, the British East India Company, which was weaker in East Asia, purchased 13,028 quintals of white sugar and 500 quintals of rock sugar from the port of Guangzhou, not to mention the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese maritime merchants who took the initiative to export to Japan, Ryukyu, Korea and the South Seas.

"The samurai of Japan had a hard time."

Hearing Chen Wen's ridicule, not only Wang Fu, but most of the entourage laughed. As mentioned in the newspaper, the gap between the price of sugar in Japan and China is too large, no less than 500 wen per catty of sugar, and the price of a stone of grain in Japan at that time was only this price, which was more than 30 to 50 times higher than that of China at the same time!

If you calculate according to the Japanese stone system, it seems that it is impossible for the middle and lower class samurai class to spend too much money on such a luxury as sugar, let alone ordinary people. At the same time, the Chinese people were on the contrary, although sugar was a luxury, but they could buy some during the New Year's holidays - even if there was no honey and cane sugar, wouldn't there be caramel?

This is true for sugar, silk, porcelain, tea, etc., and what Japan can resell is raw materials, seafood, Japanese knives, and square goods. The huge price difference made the sea trade a profiteering industry, and the Donglin Party, as a representative of the southeast maritime merchants, also used its own rights to exempt the sea trade tax. Smuggling was rampant along China's coast, but the state was unable to profit from it, so the sages of the Donglin Dynasty passed it on to ordinary farmers, and the centuries-long Dark Age began.

While the fight against smuggling is mainly administrative, Chen Wen's current focus is on the process of industrialization. After several years of accumulation, the hydraulic workshop of the Military Industry Department of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Ming Army has already formed a scale, and the production technology has matured. The production of weapons and armor, as well as the manufacture of civilian machinery parts, was much faster than the production of hand-made ones, and even the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which had a large number of craftsmen in the north and south of Beijing, could not compare with it, let alone those scholars who probably had not even read mechanical books.

Industrialization, scale determines a lot of things. Chen Wen matured hydraulic machinery through military manufacturing, and rapidly expanded the scale by means of machinery manufacturing, and now it has entered the stage where the production capacity of machinery manufacturing is partially converted to civilian use, and it is already second to none in Asia.

"With China's resources and the wisdom of our people, it won't be long before we become the world's factory. When the time comes, the overwhelming number of ships will sell goods all over the world, and it will only be idle for all nations to come to court. ”

The editors of Di Bao passionately recorded Chen Wen's bold remarks when he inspected the Jinhua sugar factory, and published them in Di Bao as quickly as possible, spreading this ambition to every corner of the Ming army occupied by Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and even the surrounding areas.

With the rise of modern countries, Libya's robbery, and the gold of the Inca Empire achieved the glory of Spain and Portugal; Western Europe relied on technology, and the Industrial Revolution allowed British, French, and Dutch goods to be dumped around the world; Emerging countries are on the other hand, while Japan and Germany are opening up manufacturing giants to compete with the established capitalist countries.

The former is too barbaric to conform to China's traditional values, and has been eliminated by the world, so Chen Wen prefers the latter two, especially the second, which is also more in line with the level of productivity of this era.

The figures supported by Chen Wen are all gentry and businessmen who have had a cooperative relationship with the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Mingjun groups over the years, and the cooperation is relatively harmonious. There are Longyou merchant gangs, there are also local merchants in Jinhua, and there are many gentry like Lu Yuding who have Xiangzan military supplies, and Wang Fu is the representative of Hui merchants.

Chen Wen's advantage lies in the maturity of technology, the scale of machinery, and the advantages of capital, credit, supply, channels, etc., and these figures also have such as funds, sources, contacts, sales channels, Chen Wen's support for them can soon produce results, and a number of industrial and commercial groups around the periphery of the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Mingjun groups have a more practical interest relationship.

The Jinhua sugar factory is just one of them, and many more factories use machinery to produce a variety of products, and the output is growing rapidly. It is one thing to increase the scale of foreign trade, but it is also a good thing to reduce local prices for the benefit of the people.

At the beginning of the business, in order to cope with the encirclement and suppression again and again, the agriculture-oriented and grain-based approach was formed, and after years of development, it is obvious that it is no longer suitable for the development of the current situation. Industrialization is Chen Wen's next step, and it is also the road that China will follow in the next few hundred years, and it is better to start laying a solid foundation now than to fall behind the world and be kicked out of the country by others to catch up.

Since we want to take the road of industrialization, science and technology are naturally indispensable, Chen Wen now has an encyclopedic scientist like Song Yingxing, but the burden of science and technology improvement is also very heavy, so heavy that Song Yingxing recommended some people with more or less scientific knowledge, he also has to be responsible for the manufacture and development of machinery in the yamen and factories during the day, and go to the students to tutor scientific knowledge at night, and one person is eager to be used by three or four people.

Of course, it is not enough to count on Song Yingxing alone, Chen Wen has a more practical method, just like maritime trade and industry, the world is bustling for profit, and the world is bustling for profit, as long as science and technology are linked to practical interests, with motivation, everything will be different.

"Rewarding inventions? Rewarding basic scientific research? Jinhua University Hall? Patent Bill? ”

A series of fresh terms, Zhou Yueying can see the literal meaning, and can also vaguely feel the meaning and Chen Wen's intentions, and after she looked through these drafts, she quickly figured out Chen Wen's intentions.

"It is indeed safe for the husband to set up the university hall in Jinhua, but the influence is too bad."

Jinhua is the earliest area recovered by Chen Wen, the society is stable, the people's livelihood has recovered very well, and the people's hearts are guaranteed. Moreover, the degree of industrialization is driven by the hydraulic workshop of the Military Industry Department, which is also the highest, and it is indeed an excellent choice. However, Jinhua is not a provincial capital like Hangzhou and Nanchang in the Ming Dynasty, let alone Nanjing, and even in western Zhejiang, its influence has only overshadowed Quzhou in recent years, and before that it was more of an ordinary administrative region and the birthplace of the world-famous Yiwu soldiers.

"The influence will indeed be lower."

Nanjing will be the focus of future work, whether it is the Northern Expedition or the deterrence of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, the administrative center needs to be moved there, the Liangjiang Governor Yamen has begun the reconstruction work, after the completion of the Huiji County Palace in Nanjing, Chen Wen intends to take Zhou Yueying and his daughter over. At that time, Jinhua's status as an administrative center will also be officially over.

This is geographically determined, and with Nanjing as the center, it is better to deal with threats from all directions. However, in Zhejiang, with the recovery of Hangzhou, it became a question whether the governor of Zhejiang should move back to Hangzhou.

Hangzhou, the original provincial capital, is one of the richest in the country with traditional advantages in agriculture, handicrafts, commerce and services. Jinhua has the longest recovery time, the highest degree of industrialization, and the implementation of the military merit awarding system, the local people are more supportive of the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Ming military groups.

Both have pros and cons, including the insistence of local officials, and whether to move or not has become a problem, but in the final analysis, this is just a problem of Zhejiang Province, and there is really no way to compare with Nanjing in terms of influence.

"The transition period has arrived, and it really needs to be more thoughtful."

As he spoke, Chen Wen put down the work at hand and entered a state of contemplation, while Zhou Yueying sat silently beside Chen Wen, carefully flipped through the draft, and comprehended the content.

After a long time, Chen Wen sighed, and then said: "Jiangnan is full of humanities, and it can indeed play a greater role there. ”

Seeing Chen Wen come out of the entanglement, Zhou Yueying said happily: "Fujun is the hero of the Han family today, and a hero should stand on a higher and bigger stage without fear." ”

"What the lady said is very true." Chen Wen smiled slightly, and saw that Zhou Yueying was still holding those drafts in her hands, so he asked her, "Does the lady think there is anything else that needs to be added to this draft?" ”

The draft is clearly written, but there is indeed a lot to be discussed in the details. However, in Zhou Yueying's view, Chen Wen's idea is very clear, that is, by linking science and technology with invention and creation, so as to get rid of the dilemma that in today's Chinese society, scholars study because of interest, but do not seek to understand, and often cannot be put into practice, while craftsmen lack the desire and motivation to invent.

"The concubine has just seen some of it, and the husband who said something wrong should not be blamed."

"You man, am I such a stingy person?"

Chen Wen's chuckle came, and Zhou Yueying flipped through the draft, pointing to the content of the draft while talking about her opinion.

"In the humble opinion of concubines, the husband rewards inventions and creations in order to obtain more practical machinery or methods, and patent rights are the core of the reward system; Rewarding basic science is to understand the nature of things, but also to be more beneficial to the development of the former; The purpose of the university hall is to cultivate more talents who have been trained in theoretical knowledge, just like the martial arts academy has improved the ability of officers in batches. ”

Zhou Yueying's intelligence, Chen Wen was not the slightest surprised that she was able to easily comprehend Chen Wen's thoughts. Chen Wen nodded solemnly, and Zhou Yueying, who had been affirmed, put some of her thoughts into words.

"First of all, basic science should be rewarded, and the concubine thinks that it should not be linked to education. The gentry's hobby of Western learning often stems only from interest, and they occasionally think about it, but in essence, it is still the old gentry thinking, and it is easy to teach bad students. In addition, the draft mentions that basic science requires time and effort, as well as a lot of material to iterate on experimentation, which is obviously not something that ordinary craftsmen can afford, but more from their work. ”

"The former has a good name, and the latter is profitable, and should be treated differently. The concubine thought that it would be better to set up a special newspaper to encourage the gentry who were interested in it to contribute, and they could allow their names or pen names to be included in the articles so that more people could know about them. At the same time, some nice rewards are given, and the gentry will rush to them. Moreover, if you focus on this on weekdays, your energy will inevitably be scattered, and your interference in government affairs will also decrease. ”

"As for the artisans......"

Speaking of this, Zhou Yueying pondered for a moment, and then said in Chen Wen's encouraging gaze: "As for craftsmen, when material rewards are the mainstay, real silver is what they desire the most, because these can change their living conditions. On the contrary, in terms of reputation, it must not be equated with the gentry, lest the former lose his enthusiasm for research. ”

Zhou Yueying's idea is nothing more than to revolve around the difference between the gentry and the craftsman, and use the differentiated treatment to stimulate the enthusiasm of both at the same time. Chen Wen's draft will be discussed at a joint meeting in the palace at a later stage, but now it seems that Zhou Yueying alone has been able to replace many officials in the matter of making suggestions.

"Being able to marry a lady and go home is really the greatest blessing for my husband in this life."

"The husband made fun of the concubine again."

Zhou Yueying's face was slightly red, and her pouting mouth was very tempting, but Chen Wen rarely had any other thoughts, just motioned for Zhou Yueying to continue her thoughts.

"Then, patent rights are a good thing, and the protection can be further improved, using administrative, economic, moral and other means to crack down on the theft of other people's patents at the same time, the husband's punishment is not low, but the concubine thinks it can be higher."

"In this regard, we should really use heavy codes, otherwise the enthusiasm for invention and creation will be reduced."

In the end, the university master intends to start with children who have literacy and arithmetic foundation, and select talented children. The concubine thought that it was better to focus on the children of military households, supplemented by civilian households, in order to ensure that these talented people could be used by our Chen family. ”

Zhou Yueying's thoughts caused Chen Wen to think deeply, and after a while, it suddenly became clear that the husband and wife simply completed the draft sentence by sentence in the study, and they didn't even go to dinner. By the time the discussion was over, it was late at night, and the supper that had been prepared from time to time was served by the maid.

"Did Baicao sleep?"

"Back to the princess, the county lord has already slept."

Knowing that her daughter had rested, Zhou Yueying put her mind at ease and enjoyed supper. When Chen Wen heard that his daughter had rested, he asked some more about his daughter before turning to enjoy supper.

You should not eat too much supper at night, otherwise it will become a burden on your appetite. After eating, chatting and digesting for a while, Chen Wen and Zhou Yueying went to wash and rest.

Lying on the bed, Zhou Yueying suddenly asked a question that Chen Wen never thought of.

"Husband, what kind of husband do you think will you find for our daughter in the future?"

Hearing this, Chen Wendeng was stunned, and then laughed: "Lady, you are thinking too far, our daughter is only a little more than a year old now." ”

Compared with Chen Wen's big article, Zhou Yueying frowned and muttered to herself.

"I'm afraid, someone has been thinking about it for a long time."