Chapter 453: The Case
June in Jinling is one of the rare hot summers in the world, especially at noon, when the sun is high and burns the earth. Walking on the streets without shade in this kind of weather is easy to faint suddenly.
However, in this kind of weather, there were still caravans from all over the country from Jinling, who either carried carriages or carriages, and thirty or fifty people formed a group of people from all over the world.
Most areas of Jinling and Jiangnan are full of emerging factories. In the past, small family workshop-style textile fabrics have completely failed to keep up with the times. The sea area controlled by the Ming Dynasty has continued to expand, and countless places for dumping goods have been found, and ordinary small workshops are not enough to see.
The court's support for merchants made the Ming Dynasty the first soil for the rise of factories. In particular, Hou Xuanyan's policy of giving benefits to the people made many factories support the court in disguise.
What drives people forward is never inherent rigid thinking, but money and interests. Since you can't be an official after studying hard, you can't be a member of the family and the ancestors, who will still be able to live in the past with the Four Books and Five Classics?
Hou Xuanyan has also repeatedly discovered that the Ming Dynasty today has its drawbacks, and everyone has fallen into an era of chasing money frantically. This is not what China should look like, and fewer and fewer people are willing to sit down and read some good books.
The world is bustling with people, all for profit, and all for profit...
At this moment, something big happened in Jinling, and a large-scale fight occurred in two factories.
The Wu family in Jinling has a factory in Jiangning. This is a specialized textile factory. There is a guy in it who was a ancestral carpenter before entering the factory. While weaving cloth, he and himself and he were still inventing a new type of spinning wheel as the carpenter's father.
This spinning wheel uses hydraulic power as power, greatly improving the efficiency of weaving and saving manpower. This incident even alarmed Wu Jikun, the head of the Wu family, rewarded the carpenter and son, and signed a contract with them to buy out the technology of the spinning wheel. Wu Jikun immediately decided to expand the factory.
Who knew that the carpenter and son were eating the pot and looking at the basin, and turned around and sold the new spinning wheel to another factory in Jiangning County. This factory was not small. It was the Xu family in Jiangning. When the Xu family became rich and generous, the Wu family was still a small businessman.
Wu Jikun was very annoyed after hearing this and sent someone to find a carpenter to confront him. The carpenter's family hid in the Xu family's mansion. The Wu family came to ask for the Xu family and refused to let him go. In the end, the two sides became more and more angry, and an armed fight broke out in Jiangning, injured more than 70 people.
This matter even came to Hou Xuanyan's case. After understanding the causes and consequences, Hou Xuanyan came forward to determine the case himself.
Today's lobby is filled with people from all kinds of people from around Jinling. They are stretching their necks and tiptoes to find out how to judge this case.
The lobby of the Ministry of Justice is rarely open to the public. Hou Xuanyan looked at the vast crowd outside and nodded secretly. The people sitting next to him were all big men in the court, including Zhang Huangyan, Ma Shiying and others.
The first time he heard this, he knew it was an opportunity, a rare opportunity.
After a beat of the auspicious wood, Hou Xuanyan also got addicted to the case. Wu Jikun, Xu Yuanlang and his carpenter were taken up.
Not to mention Wu Jikun, he is the richest man in Jinling and has an old acquaintance with the prince. Xu Yuanlang is the head of the Xu family in Jiangning, and he has also made great efforts in the Northern Expedition. Moreover, the Xu family has been a prominent family in Jiangning for generations. In addition, all three parties think they are right about this matter, so when they come to the court, they look at each other coldly, and no one accepts anyone.
Wu Jikun thought he had spent money to buy this technology and had established a document; Xu Yuanlang believed that inventing this thing was not something that could be seen, and there was no way to buy out other people's ideas; it was rare for carpenters and sons to see so much money, so it was obviously impossible to make them proud.
Hou Xuanyan looked at the four people in the hall. They were dressed luxuriously and had extraordinary temperament. They looked rich and noble, and they were angry on their faces. They obviously believed that they did not want to go to court. The carpenter and son who were sandwiched in the middle were much more guilty, with their eyes dodging, and they looked a little vulgar.
"You are fighting in Jiangning, let alone the reason. In this matter, you are already seriously despising our court's laws and regulations."
Wu Jikun and Xu Yuanlang were anxious and were about to defend themselves, Hou Xuanyan continued, "Wu Jikun was nearly 70 years old and made contributions to the country, so it was not convenient for him to be tried in court. Wu Shouyu was tried for his father, and brought him a chair to the trial, and was on the stand."
Xu Yuanlang's face looked even more ugly, but on the contrary, the Wu family breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the prince was still nostalgic.
Hou Xuanyan then said with a smile: "Shou Yuanlang is also a person who has sponsored the Northern Expedition. Although he has no fame and reputation, he does not have to listen to the trial."
The Xu family's heart fell, but the carpenter and son were even more afraid. What does this mean? Both sides are related households. Should we attack us father and son?
Hou Xuanyan stood up with a smile and said to the carpenter and son: "As for you father and son, although you have the virtue of greed for money, it is hard to hide the great achievements of skill and skills. The innovation of spinning wheels is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. In the future, the poor have clothes to wear, which is a merit for benefiting the people." Hou Xuanyan's face was rosy, and he became more and more excited as he spoke. He said to the officials on both sides: "Such talent should be rewarded, and rewarded a lot."
There was an uproar in the hall. Everyone brought melon seeds and benches, and the old and the young family went out to watch the show. As a result, they saw the Regent and the Misty?
And he still talked with Master Xini at this moment, turning the lobby of the Ministry of Justice into a teahouse, and his words were just to encourage everyone to learn from the carpenter and son.
Xu Yuanlang was confused when he heard this. After a long time, was it the Wu family’s fault or the Xu family’s fault?
Hou Xuanyan finally stopped praising the carpenter and son, and said, "As for the Jiangning armed battle, both Wu and Xu families were wrong, and they each compensated each other for a thousand taels of silver to pay for the injured family. As for this hydraulic spinning wheel, since the carpenter sold it to the Wu family and the Xu family, it was the court's fault."
"Prince, why is this the court's fault?" Zhang Huangyan, who was listening, couldn't help but interrupt him and asked.
"After all, this matter is because the court's laws are not sound. Can there be a basis for severing this case in the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhang Huangyan was speechless. This person did not take the imperial court's majesty seriously at all. It means that the court admits his mistake in court, wouldn't he be demoted to his own identity?
Hou Xuanyan disagreed. Right is right, wrong is wrong. Acknowledging his mistakes will not only not lose his majesty, but will instead enhance the credibility of the court.
Seeing that Zhang Huangyan stopped talking, Hou Xuanyan turned his head and continued, "I decided to start from now on, Wenyuan Pavilion, the Ministry of Lishui, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works to draw personnel to improve laws and regulations and formulate a set of norms. Any invention and innovation or creation of unseen can be applied for a "patent". Anyone who makes profits from this thing either buys out the "patent" or pays a fee. The court will protect the "patent" for fifteen years, and everyone can use this thing in fifteen years.
Since today's case is because the court's legal system is not sound, the court will pay the money to buy the "patent" of the small carpenter's hydraulic spinning wheel and give it to the Wu and Xu families. In the future, if the Ming merchants' factories use this car or similar cars, they will have to pay silver to the two companies."
The word patent appeared in the Ming Dynasty for the first time. At this time, except for Hou Xuanyan, everyone else's minds had not fully understood it.
However, the impact of this case is so great that it will inevitably spread throughout the country through these melon-eating people.
Hou Xuanyan is the most popular figure in the entire Ming Dynasty. All the anecdotes and stories about him have a broad audience market.
The word "patent" will inevitably be spread by everyone and will be known sooner or later.
Wu Jikun and Xu Yuanlang reconciled after Hou Xuanyan's mediation. Both sides walked out of the yamen together, their faces seemed very calm, but huge waves surged in their hearts. Merchants are the most sensitive to money, and the "patent" thing is clearly a waste of money.
After the hydraulic spinning wheel workshop is completed, the efficiency has been increased by dozens of times compared to the past. How can this thing be promoted? At that time, any businessman across the country will have to pay himself. Although he doesn’t know how much, it is still amazing to accumulate less and get more.
Of course, the most exciting thing is those craftsmen. In the past, they just work hard, but now they have the opportunity to jump into the dragon gate. Once they create a "patent" like a little carpenter, it means they have a lot of money.
Without Hou Xuanyan's expectations, the case was spread quickly and there were discussions on the streets and alleys.
What followed was a wave of invention, and inventors of various styles emerged like mushrooms after a rain.
Patent yamen in various places began to be built on government units, and the land of the Ming Dynasty was vast, so it was impossible to apply for it in one place.
At the beginning, everyone was miserable, with too many people, and all kinds of inventions were made. Some were simply useless and even made a lot of jokes.
Finally, the Ministry of Revenue came up with a skill that you need to pay a certain fee first to apply for a patent. If it is judged as a Class A patent, all fees can be returned. If it is a Class C patent, the paid fees will not be refunded.
This has stopped this wave of national invention craze.
In the Ming Dynasty, this spread was already fast enough, but Hou Xuanyan was still not satisfied.
How can government decrees affect the whole country as quickly as possible? In the era without television and radio, there is only newspapers. Fortunately, his literacy work across the country has been underway for more than a year.
He did it as soon as he said that, Hou Xuanyan immediately sent someone to call Gu Yanwu, the Minister of Rites.
Gu Yanwu's years in the Ministry of Rites, he had just started to show off his popularity, but the more he went, the less he had nothing to do. Only the Siyi Pavilion and the Honglu Temple had something to do, and the other yamen were basically decorations.
After arriving at the palace, the personal soldiers took him to the study. Gu Yanwu faintly heard a woman laughing in the study and stopped.
Qin He stepped forward and knocked on the door and said, "Prince, Shangshu Gu is here."
"Come in quickly." Hou Xuanyan tidied up his clothes, looked at Gu Yanwu who was pushing the door and said with a smile: "Supply tea to Lord Gu."
The maid next to him made a fuss and turned around to make tea. Gu Yanwu asked, "The prince summoned the official, don't know what's wrong?"
Hou Xuanyan took out a piece of paper from the table. Gu Yanwu looked forward and saw that the paper used by the prince was also of average. It seems that the outside world said that after the prince's northern expedition, he was hard and simple. When he returned to Beijing, he said shabby clothes, which was not a false statement.
Hou Xuanyan didn't know a simple piece of paper. Gu Yanwu had already figured out a clean and frugal anti-corruption drama in his mind, and said excitedly: "Look at this."
Gu Yanwu took the paper and saw that the layout was very clear. Some of the articles talked about the imperial decrees, while others were good news from Mobei, and the words were very concise and easy to understand.
"Is this a diary?" Gu Yanwu could see it at a glance.
Hou Xuanyan clapped and said, "Yes, the Tongzheng Department of this dynasty has not been rebuilt since the Jiashen National Incident. I plan to reopen the Zheng Department, and this time I will issue it to the people to ensure that the local government and the court are in concert."
The Tongzhengsi was the yamen in the Ming Dynasty that was specifically responsible for the publication and distribution of newspapers.
Gu Yanwu's eyes lit up when he heard this. The Ministry of Rites was idle for so long, and all the officials were worried that Zhongzhong would be afraid of losing his job, but he didn't expect to end up with such a big job.
"The prince is so smart. In this way, the government orders can be smooth and the will of the court can quickly give to the world. It is a wonderful move." If it weren't for the full voice, Hou Xuanyan would have suspected that Gu Yanwu in front of him was pretended by Ma Shiying. This tone was completely Ma Shiying's tone, but it also shows that Gu Yanwu agreed with this matter very much.
"Haha, since Shangshu Gu also thinks it's OK, go back and prepare. This matter should not be too late. We can do it as soon as possible and see the results as soon as possible."
Gu Yanwu was excited and asked immediately: "I just don't know if they will pay for the people, otherwise paper alone would be a considerable fee."
Hou Xuanyan laughed and said, "It's not the past now. The gold and silver flow in from the outside, and there is a lot of silver hidden among the people. Write more content that people are interested in, so they can naturally develop the habit of buying a newspaper."
Having money is easy to do. The Ministry of Rites has just received the approval note, and the Ministry of Revenue has already received the money.
Gu Yanwu excitedly brought the idle officials of the Ministry of Rites to carefully prepare the first Jinling Mansion newspaper. When Hou Xuanyan saw that he was so angry, he might not be able to understand this thing before. Does it seem like facing the people?
Officials of the Ministry of Rites only show off their literary talent, poetry, songs, parallel prose, beautiful words and allusions. If this thing is among scholars, it can resonate.
But since there is work to do, the officials of the Ministry of Rites are full of energy, and the revised version will be released soon.
When Hou Xuanyan saw that this time was not bad. In addition to explaining the meaning of the patent in detail and various regulations, there were also some heroic stories about the Great Victory in Mobei. What’s more interesting is that in order to attract the attention of the little people, Gu Yanwu found several big men of the dynasty, wrote some interesting stories of his childhood and published them.
Hou Xuanyan looked at the gap in the middle and said, "This place is also used, and you can serialize some legendary novels and the like, and you can also write a storybook."
Gu Yanwu nodded and asked, "Which books are suitable?"
Chapter completed!