Zhuang Limin and Wang Shaoquan left, leaving only Gu Dengfeng.
"Sir, I think Shopkeeper Zhuang and Shopkeeper Wang have been quite dedicated. From site selection to preliminary preparation, they have spent a lot of thought and investment. Shopkeeper Wang and a group of people have been mainly exploring Yuguan recently.
Hong Kong, his idea is to completely open up the trade route from the south to Yuguan to Liaodong and North Korea. He is probably still a little worried about Yongping’s future iron output..."
Gu Dengfeng’s explanation was also expected.
Wang Shaoquan and other Shanxi merchants are still doubtful. Although they have invested a lot of money, they are more willing to join because of the technology brought by Zhuang Ji's investment and Feng Ziying's future career prospects. But if they just want to be in the forever
Pingfu copied an iron smelting workshop like Foshan Zhuangji. These Shanxi merchants believed that they would not be able to catch up with Foshan in terms of profitability for a long time.
It's very simple. Just a market and transportation problem will greatly increase the cost. Coking with coke and iron with coke. Can the output and quality of iron produced by this process be as beautiful as Feng Ziying described? Even Zhuang Limin is the same.
I feel unsure.
If the iron-making cost and quality and output are only slightly better than those in Foshan, then a problem of transportation and market channels will quickly bring the cost of such a great coal-iron manufacturing complex in Feng Ziying's mind to the same as that of Foshan and other places.
Even higher.
So Wang Shaoquan and the others were still very keenly aware of this.
Now that you have joined in and invested so much, you can't just put your eggs in one basket. After all, Yuguan is the choke point for the Northland to enter Liaodong by land. It is only a few hundred miles away from the capital city, and it is also the gateway to the sea from the Northland.
If there is an opportunity, then there is still great potential to use it as a material distribution center connecting the Western Liaoning Corridor and the capital and the south.
Especially if Yongping Prefecture’s iron production can reach a certain level, this chess piece can be put into play.
"Dengfeng, I know what you said. Wang Shaoquan and the others want to avoid risks. After all, they still lack confidence. I'm afraid they joined because they are optimistic about my future career." Feng Ziying.
He smiled and said, "Zhuang Limin thinks that with my father Ji Liao's orders in the next few years as a guarantee, it can be regarded as a bet on my adventure. We are all well-calculated, but we cannot hold on to this idea.
This iron smelting workshop in Pingtai must be built, and it will be better than they imagined, and ten times better!..."
"..., I know you don't know, but do you think it's worthwhile for me to have such a great future, but to put so much effort into doing something that wastes people and money and may not bring much profit? Is it worth it? Is it cost-effective? I want to tell you,
Soon you will find that all this is worth it, worth more than anything else! This is why I singled you out and made you responsible for this matter, and you must always be responsible to the end, because I don’t trust others,...
…”
“I have the confidence to climb the mountain, do you have it?” Feng Ziying looked at Gu Dengfeng.
Gu Dengfeng's face turned red. Feng Ziying said so sincerely that a scholar would die for his confidant. What else could he say? He stood up and clasped his fists, "Don't worry, sir. Dengfeng will live up to his trust and handle this matter well!"
"Okay, as I said before, brainstorm ideas, have the courage to try, don't be afraid of failure and spend money. Zhuangji has money, Shanxi merchants have money, and Haitong Yinzhuang has money. All these efforts will eventually be rewarded. I am sure of this.
Because the example of the Xiyi people has proven this..."
Finally, these people were sent away.
They keep saying that it is a technical secret from the Xiyi people, but no one dares to believe it until they see the first furnace of molten iron coming out, and this kind of worry and anxiety will continue until the moment the molten iron comes out.
Before this, these Shanxi merchants would rather spend more energy on the construction of the wharf at Yuguan Port first.
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Of course, for Feng Ziying, he is happy to see the results, but it cannot affect the progress of coking and iron smelting.
The constant running around and talking about things made Feng Ziying a little tired.
Only now does he understand that when communication and transportation conditions are extremely backward, if he wants to do things well, he can only work hard on himself.
It's just that time is too tight and I am too anxious. I always want to get things done at once, but I know that this is unrealistic, but I always want to go faster. With this mentality, it is easier for people to feel tired and tired.
and impatience.
Picked up the tea and took a sip to calm down a bit.
Feng Ziying didn't know that what she had done in the past half month had already appeared in the eyes of colleagues and subordinates in the Yongping Mansion. One thought that he was working hard and conscientiously, and the other thought that he was eager to impress people.
meritorious deeds.
But no matter what kind of situation, everyone still admired Feng Ziying's strong energy. Then he went to Santunying and Jizhen to coordinate, then went to Funing without stopping, and then to Yuguan, which was hundreds of miles away.
One trip, running back and forth, my body was almost shaken to pieces.
According to the plan, Feng Ziying also planned to make a trip to Changli and Leting to see the current situation of the Huimin Salt Farm near Pubo, but this time he still planned to go privately incognito.
According to the regulations of the Great Zhou Dynasty, officials who are not close to the people do not need to visit various states and counties to appease the people. In fact, he, a fellow magistrate, does not need to run around. He only needs to wait for the state and county chief officials, fellow magistrates, and county magistrates to see him and report.
The situation is fine.
His scope of work has been basically defined, assisting Zhu Zhiren in handling various affairs in the government, but the focus is on the Qing army, coastal defense, public security, and taxation and labor in addition to land tax.
Needless to say, coastal defense and public security are a big problem for the Qing army. Although Jizhen promised to cooperate and support, it still needs an opportunity, and taxation and labor in addition to talents are directly related to the retained income of the entire Yongping Prefecture, as well as
The Yongping Mansion's expenses for the next year were extremely tight in previous years, and it was the area where Zhu Zhiren was criticized the most. Now that Zhu Zhiren heard Feng Ziying's "ambition", he inevitably had some hope.
There is a long way to go, and it is impossible to accomplish it overnight. Feng Ziying knows that she should calm down and slowly adapt to the rhythm of the Zhou Dynasty.
************
East study room.
Emperor Yonglong's fair cheeks have become much thinner, but his eyes are still calm. He carefully read the memorials on the desk one by one, but compared with the past, he was a little less energetic about signing.
Looking at the mountain of memorials, Emperor Yonglong also had a headache.
After an illness, his energy suddenly seemed to be a little low. He didn't feel it at first. Only then did Emperor Yonglong realize that he was not young. Just reviewing the memorials made him feel tired every day.
Compared to his father, who was still in good health and was said to be still in good health, Emperor Yonglong felt a layer of gloom in his heart for no reason.
Fortunately, the situation in various places is not bad, there are not many disturbing things, and the Liaodong side has also become peaceful. The Donglu failed to take down the Ula tribe in one fell swoop, so they could only stop their activities and tolerate it for the time being, but Feng Tanglai
The letter still stated that the situation was not optimistic.
The Donglu are still intensifying their troops, and because although the Ula tribe has not been completely annihilated, their strength has been greatly reduced, and they are no longer able to restrain the Jianzhou Jurchens from infiltrating to the north and east of the East China Sea Jurchens. This is a very dangerous signal.
couldn't help but stand up and open the map. Emperor Yonglong put on his reading glasses as a tribute from Xiyi and carefully searched for the latest map on the map.
It is said that this is a map based on Liaodong's latest exploration of the Northeast. The Whale Sea near the northernmost and eastern faces has been marked. However, the Ministry of War's Staff Department also said that these can only be rough maps.
The specific situation is still unknown.
Looking at the names of the scattered tribes in the north on the map, Emperor Yonglong also knew that they were the scattered Jurchens of the East China Sea. The distribution area was very wide, but the population was not scattered. However, these Jurchen folk customs of the East China Sea were called savages by the Jurchen tribes in the south.
Qian is the best hunter warrior. Once he is annexed by Jianzhou Jurchen, his strength will be even greater.
No wonder Feng Tang has always been obsessed with it and asked Denglai to start exploring the route to the Jurchen coastal areas of the East China Sea via Ezo as soon as possible, in order to contact the Jurchens in the East China Sea through sea routes and capture the Jurchen tribes in the East China Sea first.
In this way, they can form a pincer attack on the Jianzhou Jurchens.
Even if the Jurchens in the East China Sea cannot be used by the Great Zhou Dynasty, as long as they can prevent them from falling to the Donglu, it can be regarded as draining the firepower and helping one's own side.
Denglai made Emperor Yonglong very dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Wang Ziteng has been going all out to build the Denglai Army, but it was not until the beginning of the year that he began to allocate some profits to the naval fleet. As a result, the construction of the naval fleet progressed slowly, and the progress of the docks and shipyards was even slower. Zhang Chi and the Metropolitan Procuratorate went to
The situation improved slightly after one trip, but it still takes time.
Putting down the map, he picked up a memorial.
Emperor Yonglong frowned when he was in charge of transporting salt from Ludu, the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The father of the Lianghuai Salt Class has not yet had an attitude, and it is not easy for him to ask more questions. However, the Salt Class in other places is the top priority of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Although the sea tax has been levied and the Municipal Shipping Department has been established, the most reliable one is still the Salt Class.
Silver, compared to Tian Fu, the stability of salt class is more reassuring.
Zheng Jizhi's memorial stated that Changlu's salt production continued to decline. First, the output of the salt field was insufficient, and second, the proliferation of illegal salt. It required local governments to strengthen the control of illegal salt, especially in the Beizhi prefectures and Liaodong. It also criticized the Metropolitan Procuratorate for its
The supervision of the salt class was poor.
Frowning slightly, Emperor Yonglong was about to write, but finally put down his pen. The cabinet opinions were very strict and required all localities to investigate and deal with them severely, but this is not a matter of a year or two. There must be some hidden secret here, and I have to ask.
ask.
Sighed, and was about to pick up another memorial when he heard footsteps outside the study, "Your Majesty, urgent report from Ji Town."