As soon as Yang Fan finished speaking, there was a lot of discussion below.
Obviously Yang Fan was telling the truth. It was impossible for Yang Fan to stop production of his steel plant for them. But Yang Fan was also willing to arrange a way out for them.
"May I ask General Yang, which products' production technology can you transfer?" Wang Qinghai, the head of the Wang family, asked.
Yang Fan waved his hand, and immediately a dozen soldiers carried wooden boxes to the second floor.
These soldiers used crowbars to pry open the wooden box. Then they took away the teacups and teapots on the table, and took out many steel products and placed them on the table.
From everyone's perspective, these products include various farm implements, various tools, and construction materials, such as various steel nails of different sizes and proportions.
Li Cunxin picked up a hammer and looked at it carefully. The workmanship was very good and it looked strong. One end was a hammer head and the other was a horn-shaped hook. He couldn't help but ask: "General Yang, is this hook a dry hook?" What."
Yang Fan smiled, walked over, took out a steel nail, hammered it into a piece of wood, then pressed the wood with his left hand and used the hook of the hammer to pull out the nail.
Everyone was amazed, it was a really nice design and very easy to use.
"Many of the products here are very well designed, have many functions, and have sturdy and durable structures." Yang Fan introduced.
Zhao Dongguo became interested in the various enamel products he just took out. He couldn't help but ask: "General Yang, is this basin porcelain? How can it be made so thin? Can it be durable?"
Yang Fan said: "This is not porcelain, it is an enamel product. It is a bit like cloisonné. It is glazed on a thin iron sheet and then fired. It can be made into hundreds of daily necessities such as teacups, washbasins, and food boxes. The market demand for this thing is huge, and you can make a lot of money."
The shopkeepers looked at the dazzling array of metal products, but only a few of them were familiar to them, and they didn't even know what many of them were for.
After Yang Fan's explanation, they suddenly understood, and they also realized the convenience of these tools and their many uses in daily life and production.
What excites them the most is the many modernly designed human-powered agricultural tools.
For example, a soil plowing tool that uses the principle of leverage does not require a cow at all. A person can turn up large pieces of soil by just stepping on it.
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the hand-pulled plow with wheels. Why would you raise cows if you had this thing?
Zhou Fen picked up a strange hoe. There was also a rake on the back. This side was used for hoeing and the other side was used as a rake.
The small iron trolley has bearings and is very light to push.
There are hundreds of various tools such as sickles, hatchets, scissors, saws, carpentry tools, axes, etc. They look different from the tools of this era, but if you look closely, you will find that this thing is designed to be very easy to use. .
If you look carefully, the steel mouth of these things is very good. It cannot be made with Daming iron. You must use Yang Fan's good steel.
Hand-pulled plows and manual plowing tools are like a piece of pie from the sky for people who cannot afford to buy or raise cattle. With these tools, you can plant several acres of land.
Not only were the people of the Ming Dynasty unable to afford and raise cattle, but the society at the end of the Ming Dynasty was extremely dark and the legal system collapsed.
The cattle and horses raised by the common people rarely have the chance to be used by themselves. Landowners, gentry, and even bullies often take farmers' cattle away during busy farming periods and use them in vain. Over time, no one raises cattle.
And Zhu Yuanzhang's grain chief system is even more terrible.
The government selects wealthy households in the village as grain chiefs to collect taxes on their behalf. The grain chief must make up for the shortfall with his own family property.
What's even more stringent is that the grain chief has to pay his own money to transport the grain over long distances and deliver it to a warehouse designated by the government.
The sacks used for transportation, the labor hired for loading and unloading, and the cost of renting carriages and horses all have to be paid for by the grain manager himself.
When we arrived at the warehouse, the officials even started to fight.
That is to fill the bucket with grain and point it up. Then kick it with your feet. The amount of grain kicked off belongs to the county magistrate, and the rest can be put into the warehouse.
Scholars in the Ming Dynasty, once they were released as county magistrates, they had to practice kicking and fighting skills every day. This was the ability to make a living.
After this combination of punches, whoever becomes the grain manager will basically go bankrupt.
As a result, the people of the Ming Dynasty struggled to be poorer. The poorer they were, the safer they were.
Anyone who thinks about getting rich through hard work will find that hard work can only make you bankrupt.
If you plant two more mulberry trees than others, well, you will be a rich man.
Next year's grain chief will be you.
The land is also becoming more barren.
A famous proverb: An ugly wife, a thin field, and a shabby cotton-padded jacket are the three treasures of a farmer. An ugly wife is no one’s concern and will not cause trouble; no one fights for an unfertile field; a shabby cotton-padded jacket can keep out the cold.
Nowadays, these magical tools that can turn the ground by one person have appeared, which are simply too popular for farmers.
With this, who would raise cattle?
Whether or not one has large livestock is an important criterion for judging whether one is a wealthy household in rural areas. This thing is very in line with the current national conditions of the Ming Dynasty.
In addition to the earth-moving artifacts, there are also various other human-powered tools. There are hundreds of them. Almost all of them are designed to use human power instead of animal power.
Suddenly the atmosphere on the entire second floor became lively. The production of these things must be very popular. It is so expensive to raise cattle, and it also requires labor.
Yang Fan looked at these people with satisfaction.
These daily necessities are very complex and come in many varieties.
This thing has high added value and is far more profitable than steelmaking. But Yang Fan does not have the energy to do this. He can only focus on heavy industry.
So it is better to release the technology and cultivate a group of factory owners so that we can have more supporters.
If we want to change the current vicious cycle in Ming Dynasty, Yang Fan alone cannot do it.
These people talked for a long time, exchanged opinions with each other, and finally became quiet.
Yang Fan smiled, as long as you are interested. I am not afraid that you will not get on my boat.
Patriarch Zhou Fen raised his hands and said, "Master Yang, my Zhou family is very interested in these things. I don't know what your regulations are."
Yang Fan said: "I plan to build an industrial zone in the northwest corner of Zunhua City. You can invest in the industrial zone as a sole proprietor, or you can invest in a joint-stock company as a joint venture."
"If you build a factory on your own, you can purchase technology and equipment from me. You can invest in building the factory yourself and operate it yourself. Xinghe Iron Factory will provide you with raw materials."
"If the form of a joint-stock system is adopted, I will use technology, equipment, and land to buy shares. I will hold 30% of the shares. The remaining 70% will be publicly sold to the public in the form of stocks. For one tael of silver per stock, you can enthusiastically participate
Purchase. The major shareholders form a board of directors and obtain voting rights in the factory affairs based on their equity. The board of directors forms the management organization of the factory."
After Yang Fan finished speaking, these people started discussing in private.
It didn't take long for them to reach a consensus. These technologies were provided by Yang Fan, and the materials were also provided by Yang Fan. Maybe they would have to rely on Yang Fan for the training of workers.
In this case, if you do it yourself, there will be too many problems and too many risks. It would be better to have a shareholding system and bring Yang Fan in, and many problems will be protected.
Everyone expressed their acceptance of the joint-stock form.
"Well, when I come back from the imperial capital to meet with His Majesty, I will immediately prepare for the establishment of a securities and futures trading market. At the same time, the first batch of factories will be established. The related factories will be publicly issued on the exchange. Everyone can subscribe directly. The capital has been collected.
As soon as we get it, we will start building factories and installing equipment in the industrial park.”
Yang Fan looked at the crowd and finally said: "I would like to make a suggestion. Let's form a steel industry federation to be responsible for coordinating and coordinating the overall industry affairs. It will serve all workshops, factories and mines in all industries. To the outside world, it is called the North.
Let’s join the Steel Alliance. What do you think?”
Everyone agreed and said this was a good thing.
In a social environment like the Ming Dynasty, people are accustomed to staying together for warmth. Everyone supports this proposal.
"I propose that Brother Wei be the first president. Brother Wei has rich experience and wide connections. He will start the organization first. From now on, the president of the next year will be elected at the end of each year. What do you think?"
Everyone raised their hands and said, "It's all up to Mr. Yang to make the decision."
