Salt and iron have always been regarded as an important pillar of the country's economy. During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, Huo Guang convened a great debate in the name of Emperor Zhao, from whether salt and iron were monopolized by the government, and then discussed the political and economic policies of the whole country, which led to the "Treatise on Salt and Iron", which became a must-read work for later generations of rulers.

Zhu Cihong has not studied economics, but with his social experience and understanding, he believes in an unbreakable truth: the person who controls the country's core resources is the real controller of the country.

Steel is one of the most important areas of this.

It's not just that we are now in the era of alternating hot and cold weapons, and there is a great demand for weapon replacement.

At the same time, because Daming is an agricultural country, high-quality agricultural tools are still a luxury. History books only say that iron tools were widespread at a certain time, but they rarely explain the great influence of iron quality on farming.

Only by truly popularizing high-quality iron tools can more wasteland be reclaimed and the advantages of jishu can be maximized.

If we look far, only the progress of metallurgy can make a lathe with high applicability, the development of metal materials, the possibility of expanding the scale of production, and laying the foundation for entering the steam age.

Such an important core resource is now basically in the hands of private capital. The imperial court wanted to control the production of iron ore, but in fact it was in vain.

Emperor Gao's original intention was not to see the government and the people seize profits, but if there was no healthy jishu circulation environment, this kind of all-folk workshop-style production - although it was possible to make Fanjiagang, but the result was only the Fanjia family surname profit, and other iron factories still used backward jishu and formulas to produce inferior ironware. This is undoubtedly a huge waste for the entire country and nation.

"You are out of the formula," Zhu Cihong said, "I will give you twenty percent of the shares of Xuzhou Iron Factory, and I will hand it over to you." Don't feel at a loss. In the future, the iron factories and iron mines in the Ming Dynasty will inevitably account for more than ninety percent of the government. ”

Xu Jiafu grinned, trying to put on a smiling face, but it turned out to be more ugly than crying.

"What about Fan Jiagang?" Xu Jiafu finally gritted his teeth and asked.

"If they are as loyal to the country as you are, they can still have 20% of the shares." Zhu Cihong smiled.

Xu Jiafu exhaled heavily: "His family has the most important small profits, and he is not willing to let it." My Xu family is up and down. In the future, I will listen to the dispatch of His Highness. ”

"Iron tools have a lot to do," Zhu Cihong smiled with satisfaction, "The hard ones have hard uses, and the toughness has the use of toughness." Some places should be thick and heavy, and some places should be thin and light. You prepare more samples, organize the recipe, and be careful not to leak out. ”

Xu Jiafu was a little lonely, just nodded, and finally finished the feast. He hurriedly retired.

Zhu Cihong knew that he was embarrassed to ask about the contract voucher, but the trend of this era is to pay attention to black and white letters and red seals, if he does not give him a guarantee, it is inevitable that he will not sleep well for several days.

At this time, he saw that the efficiency of the attendant room of the East Palace had come, and Xu Jiafu had just finished washing his feet when he returned to the inn, and the herbs were sent to his house. As long as he has no opinions, he can go to the palace tomorrow and use the seal deed.

Zhu Cihong came out of the flower hall where he dined, changed his clothes, and went to the side hall to meet Xue Shuyan. He is a subordinate of Song Yingxing. He was sent to the glass workshop in Yanshen Town, Zichuan County to conduct research and development of experimental instruments and flat glass.

Zhu Cihong often heard that there were people who traveled back to ancient times to make glass, and found that the glass-making techniques were transmitted as early as the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. According to Fang Yizhi's statement. The Taixi glass firing method was brought by Zheng He to the West, and then the imperial court set up a point in Zichuan, Shandong Province to fire. If the ancients themselves made lead barium glass, then what is now produced in Yanshen Town is indeed genuine soda-lime glass.

Under the guidance of John Tang's Jishu, the glass mirror coated with tin foil and mercury was also successfully trial-produced, and there was no need to go to Jiangnan to buy the finished product at a high price. If Xue Shuyan can break through the jishu bottleneck of large flat glass, Shandong can also export one more profitable product.

……

"This mirror is really clear."

Emperor Chongzhen sat on the bed. Holding a palm-sized glass mirror, he examined his appearance.

Empress Zhou was already a little speechless about this. The Emperor had been looking in the mirror since dinner, as if he had never seen a glass mirror. Of course, the mirrors in the palace in the past were all Taixi goods paid tribute by Jiangnan and Guangzhou, but this piece is a Ming product produced in Zichuan County, which was specially sent by the East Palace to honor the queen mother and the imperial aunt.

"It's like that!" Chongzhen sighed. He raised the mirror high again, and saw that he was already doped with white hair in the mirror.

He ascended to the pole at the age of seventeen and enjoyed the country for seventeen years, but finally ended up in a government office in a remote place.

Chongzhen moved the mirror and noticed that the corners of his eyes were a little red.

"Naturally, it's much more real than a bronze mirror." Zhou Hou replied casually.

Chongzhen finally put down the mirror, rubbed his face, pressed the corners of his eyes, and said, "I mean Brother Chun, it's really similar to me." ”

Zhou Hou sat on the embroidered pier next to the bed and waved his hand to the female officer who served. Only the husband and wife were left in the house, and she said, "Does it look like it, or does it have a similar temper?" ”

"It's all very similar." Chongzhen let out a long sigh: "These days, I often wonder what kind of person Brother Chun is, but when I think about it, I always seem to see myself." ”

Zhou Hou said: "Zhizi Mo Ruomu, I have already seen it." His stubborn energy is really the same as Bixia. ”

Chongzhen did not deny it.

"Pay attention to things, admit death, don't get drunk, and don't care about your own body for national affairs, these are all very similar to Bixia." Zhou Hou continued, so that Chongzhen could barely hear whether it was praise or depreciation.

"No matter how busy I am, I will accompany your mother and son to walk around the garden." Chongzhen protested: "Look at him, where do you remember your parents when you leave the palace?" ”

"I always feel that Brother Chun seems to have seen this calamity a long time ago." Zhou Hou said quietly: "As soon as he left the palace, he was secretly running Shandong, right?" ”

Chongzhen didn't answer, and said after a long time: "Although this child is precocious, if he has such foresight, he is too afraid of people." Xu was Wu Fu's idea for him. Alas, Wu Fu, he is indeed a genius of Zaifu, but why is he unwilling to obey when I want to use him? ”

"The same two little schools that day. The imperial sister-in-law said to me: This is really a heroic man who does not whirlwind, and it is not strange. Zhou Hou was still a little unhappy when she thought of the offense she had received that day, but Queen Yi'an's attitude made her feel sorry for it.

Chongzhen stood up, stretched his arms and stretched his chest, and said, "After that day, I also thought about it a lot, I'm afraid that I really blamed Brother Chun." Such a reckless person will not be a hypocrisy, and it can be seen that he is really brave and loyal...... But why can't I meet such a brave man? ”

Zhou Hou chuckled and said, "Bixia asked like this, is it because he wants his concubine to interfere in politics?" ”

Chongzhen smiled bitterly: "Now every day, the court is just staring at the auxiliary departments of the clay sculpture pavilion, Wu Fu or Sun Chuanting are here, so that they can get some news, where is there any political affairs to speak of?" Just say it, it's the family talking. ”

"I heard that Brother Chun is outside, and he doesn't have the majesty of the crown prince at all, and he treats his subordinates with sincerity. But all the older ones, regardless of the official title, are called sir, and I think this is how they can win the hearts of the people. Zhou Hou said.

"Hehe," Chongzhen disagreed, "How did I treat Yuan Chonghuan that day?" How about the grandfather's birthday? How is Hong Chengchou treated? What about Zhou Yanru and Chen Yan? Oh, that Chen Yan later took the lead in persuading the rebellion to reach the pole! If I am just sincere, I will win the hearts of the people, and it is too unfair to want to come to God to treat me. Chongzhen said and became angry again.

Zhou Hou pursed his lips and was silent, and when the emperor's anger subsided, he said: "At this point, the concubine must say a fair word." Bixia believes in employing people, but the crown prince has to manage people in addition to credit. After Zhou, he called someone to take the account book of the harem expenses and presented it to the emperor: "Bixia, it can be seen from this that it is not easy for outsiders to fool Brother Chun." ”

Chongzhen was bored, took the account book, and even watched it with relish. Zhou Hou didn't urge him, just waited for him to finish reading it, and then said: "I can't manage people so carefully." At the beginning, those female officials hated it so much, saying that it was difficult, but didn't they survive it later? ”

Chongzhen put down the account book: "He seems to be never afraid of his subordinates disobeying the yang and the yin...... What else did he write? Let them all come and show me. ”

Zhou Hou saw that the rift between her husband and son was expected to heal, and she was naturally full of joy. The works of the East Palace are now readily available, and a complete set of the crown prince's anthology was sent to the emperor's palace that night. This delivery made Zhou Hou regret it - the emperor actually read it with a candle until dawn. (To be continued......)

PS: Ask for monthly passes and recommended tickets~! Zuihou has been in the past two days, and I really hope to make it to the 100......