It was about to dawn when a heavy fog started, shrouding the entire Zunhua in darkness.
Even so, a large number of carriages gathered around Zunhua City, with a queue that was several miles long, and it could be said that it was as far as the eye could see.
Whether they were cattle, horses, or donkeys, the people were wrapped in woolen coats, and the livestock were also covered in cotton coats, but they were still shivering from the cold.
Zhang Datong was sitting in the car. When he saw that the team showed no signs of moving, he immediately got out of the car tremblingly: "Er Nao, watch, don't let this beast get too cold. Feed him some fodder later."
"I'll go down and take a rest!"
"Brother Tong, this donkey eats better than me. My stomach is growling. It must be fine!"
The little man in the car chuckled.
"Bullshit, animals are much more expensive than humans. They cost more than ten yuan a year!"
Zhang Datong laughed and cursed, then took out a cigarette rod from the car, carried his bag and a small horse, jumped out of the car, and came to the foot of the tree on the roadside.
As an official road, the right lane is divided into left and right lanes. Even if the right lane is full of traffic, no one dares to violate it.
Being beaten or scolded is still a minor matter, the key is the fine.
As expected, many coachmen gathered under the tree to warm themselves by the fire.
He took a closer look and saw that each of the small pottery stoves was faintly glowing red and emitting mouth-watering heat.
In this regard, he did not panic. He took out a wooden basin the size of a human face from his backpack, and then took out half a catty of crushed charcoal, Mao Rong, to start the fire.
After a while, it warmed up.
"Man, it's okay!"
The big-faced coachman sighed: "The wooden basin is wrapped in iron sheets. It's much better than us. It's not afraid of breaking."
Zhang Datong chuckled, and Xiao Mazha took a seat: "This brazier is very valuable. Looking at the iron sheet, I asked my brother-in-law to press it specially, otherwise who would do this business?"
The ground is wet, so you can't sit down easily.
"That's right. Your jujube wood basin is equipped with an iron gallbladder, just like the urinal inlaid with luminous pearls!"
"Hahaha!"
Several people laughed.
After a while, they all got together and it immediately became lively.
You brought the pickled vegetables, I brought the fried beans, he brought the rice wine and salted fish, and soon a table was set up.
A few people were drinking wine and keeping warm, feeling very happy.
"It's open at all times. I'm afraid we'll be frozen when it's our turn."
Zhang Datong complained.
"I can't help it. This Wanshi Ironyard is the largest ironyard in Zunhua, bigger than the official kiln. I heard that the palace was involved."
"Hey, you are so ignorant. The Wan family is an imperial merchant. In the whole of Zunhua, there are about a hundred large and small iron yards, but there are five imperial merchants who run the iron yards."
At this time, the big-faced coachman in the middle said proudly: "Think about it, this iron farm needs iron ore, craftsmen, and coal mines. They are indispensable. Without connections and connections, it will not be able to operate at all."
"Only imperial merchants have this ability."
Zhang Datong nodded repeatedly as he listened, and his words were indeed true: "Then this Wan family has a huge wealth, isn't it?"
"Wan Guan? Are you talking about his maid?"
The big-faced coachman said disdainfully: "This Wan's Iron Yard has hundreds of blast furnaces, producing two hundred thousand kilograms of iron and five thousand kilograms of steel every day. They are all scrambled for."
"The key quality is pretty good, almost the same as the official kilns."
Zhang Datong nodded in agreement: "I wonder how much your purchase price is?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent.
Because the places are different, the relationships are different, and the purchase volumes are different, the purchase prices will naturally be different.
Pig iron on the market costs almost ten yuan per kilogram, but the market price is much lower, and the final price is also different.
Because of the control of the piston blower, a blast furnace can produce only three to five thousand kilograms of pig iron per day.
The price Zhang Datong got was only eight cents per kilogram of iron.
Generally, if he buys about 800 kilograms of pig iron, he will return to the county town and distribute it to those blacksmith shops to earn some transfer fees.
You can earn about two cents per kilogram of iron, and it only costs one dollar and six for a trip. If you go to eat horse chews, it only costs two or three cents in your pocket.
The atmosphere became warm again.
By the time he returned to the car, the boy's nose was already red from the cold, and the sun had not yet come out.
However, the gate to the iron yard was finally opened.
The motorcade filed in.
The courtyard here is already filled with iron ingots that have been used to dissipate heat overnight.
The iron ingot is divided into two parts, the large iron ingot is a hundred catties, and the small iron ingot is ten catties. It is up to anyone to choose, and the price is the same.
Zhang Datong followed the convoy in, and when he came to the yard, he and his men moved it directly. Four large iron ingots and forty small iron ingots made the donkey sneeze.
The iron ingots all over the ground surprised the clerk: "How much does this cost?"
"This thing is not a gold ingot, you can't carry it away."
Zhang Datong sighed, there are as many iron ingots here as there are stars in the sky, the iron farm is really profitable.
Enter through the west gate and exit through the east gate. There will be a waiter from the iron yard to collect your money.
Under their fierce eyes, no one can escape.
After paying six yuan and four cents, Zhang Datong walked out.
The two of them didn't dare to ride in the car, but just waited on the donkey and walked.
In a three-story building in the iron yard, a middle-aged man looked at the merchants selecting iron ingots with a calm expression.
Next to him, a twenty-year-old man was full of scholarly spirit: "Dad, we worked hard all day and sold out everything in two hours. How much will it cost?"
"Pig iron is seven to eight cents per catty, steel ingots are three cents per catty, and together they are about three thousand silver coins!"
The middle-aged man was naturally the owner of the iron yard, Huangshang Wan Ziliang. He frowned and seemed not very happy about the huge sales of steel.
"Dad, why is steel so expensive?"
"Ignorant and incompetent." Wan Ziliang couldn't help but scolded: "It takes ten pounds to make steel. It takes ten pounds of pig iron to get one pound of steel. Add in the materials, and three cents is already cheap."
In fact, the cost of each kilogram of steel is about 2 cents. The iron farm can get 500 silver yuan by just making 5,000 kilograms of steel.
If it is a hundred steel smelting, for three yuan per catty, the iron farm can earn one yuan.
"Dad, we can make more money selling steel than iron. We can only sell steel."
Wan Boxian calculated the accounts and couldn't help but suggest.
"You think I don't want to?" Wan Ziliang sighed: "There are no rivers in Zunhua at all, so there is no water mill for beating."
In fact, the dozens of water hammers on the Luanhe River, the largest in Jizhou, are basically occupied by officials and are responsible for hammering ordnance.
The remaining ironworks wanted to establish water hammers, but were directly rejected by the government as they were not allowed to delay local water supply.
Therefore, 70% of those who made steel on the market were from the officialdom, and the huge profits made him jealous.
Three yuan per kilogram for steelmaking, water hammering takes less time, and saves labor and materials. The cost is only five cents, and the net profit is two yuan and a half per kilogram.
How much iron does he have to sell to make a profit?
In terms of various costs and taxes, getting 3,000 yuan is only about 300 yuan.
10% net profit.
As long as the coal and iron mines continue, their profits will continue to be generated, which is comparable to a cornucopia.
After all, even salt has to wait for good weather, while iron is weather-resistant.
The benefits of salt and iron have been combined since ancient times, so there were only mine supervisors during the Wanli period.
Therefore, the tax on the ironworks is high, and the court levies it according to the blast furnace. One blast furnace now rises to ten yuan per month, and one hundred blast furnaces is one thousand yuan per month.
Divided evenly, for every catty of iron sold for eight cents, one cent is tax.
In the Ministry of Internal Affairs, once the profits from your shares are gone, the father and son have to work hard and earn only twenty to thirty thousand yuan a year at most.
Although this is a sure-profit trade, it is not necessarily the case now.
"There are three more iron yards this month."
Wan Ziliang sighed: "Those southern merchants brought the goods by ship and sailed down the river from Tianjin to the south by sea."
"I heard that some people even transported iron to North Korea, Japan, and even Qin and Qi. Many people wanted to ensure harvests despite droughts and floods, so there were more and more iron yards..."
The more competition there is, the less profit there will be.
You know, in the past, each blast furnace cost only three yuan, but now it has increased to ten yuan.
The number of iron yards in Zunhua has continued to increase in recent years and has long exceeded one hundred, while the number of blast furnaces has exceeded one thousand.
The imperial merchants who contracted and monopolized the iron ore and coal mines also kept raising prices, and the price of coal was twice that of the capital.
"Dad, are you worried about making less money?"
At this time, Wan Boxian changed his naive image and showed a bit of shrewdness.
"Yes and no."
Wan Ziliang sighed lightly: "There are many imperial merchants in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so the most important thing is the ability to make money. The more money you make, the higher your status in the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
"If you leave too much behind, your identity may be removed."
"Dad, I was in the Imperial College recently and heard from some classmates that there are quite a lot of iron ore and coal mines in Liaodong, especially in Fushun. We can open the iron factory there."
Wan Boxian said seriously.
"Huh? Fool." Wan Ziliang said angrily: "We can walk dozens of miles from Zunhua to the seaside, and to the south is the capital. The imperial court's railway tracks are constantly being repaired, so we won't have to worry about running out of ways to get the pig iron."
"If you go to Liaodong, who will you give so much iron to?"
Unexpectedly, Wan Boliang did not give up, but said extremely seriously:
"Dad, now that there are more and more people in Liaodong and Jilin, how can they not need iron?"
"To the west of Liaodong are Chahar and Horqin. Those Tatars are in urgent need, not to mention there are so many savages?"
"Besides, I also heard that the railway tracks seem to be expanded from Shanhaiguan to Northeast China..."
"What?"
Wan Ziliang looked greatly moved. He grabbed his son's shoulders and asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"Seven or eight out of ten."
Wan Boliang said seriously: "Think about it, the railway tracks have been built to Shanhaiguan, how far can it go to Liaodong?"
"In the past, seventy-eight percent of the capital's food was in Huguang, but now half of it is in Liaodong. This is clear evidence."
"That makes sense." Wan Ziliang fell into thinking.
…
In Beijing, on the second day of February, the dragon raises its head.
The annual clay cow beating ceremony begins again.
The emperor still urged the princes to go to the ground and dig the soil.
However, they were asked to drive cattle instead of actually going to the fields.
This group of pampered princes breathed a sigh of relief, and then hurriedly began to plow the fields.
Zhu Yixi was just watching under the shade of the tree with the civil and military officials, eating and drinking, but not very relaxed.
Spending February 2nd with the emperor for the first time, Liu Xiangke and Yan Qiheng were cautious.
Du Yinxi and Yan Yingyuan were calm and smiling.
The princes in Tianzhong are now the old Liuwei King, the old Qifu King, the eighth Zhao King, the old Jiuxiang King, and the newly joined old Shiliang King, the old Eleven Qi King, and the Twelve Min King.
The newly joined three kings have just turned sixteen. Although they are dissatisfied, they are still working hard and do not dare to be lazy in front of the ministers and their father.
King Wei and the others were familiar with the process and began to be lazy without realizing it, chatting together.
The emperor took a bite of grapes and said: "The frozen soil is melting, and everything is renewed for another year."
"Among the many princes now, Prince Fu has a city built for him in the good part of Chechnya, and Zhao already has it, but Xiang has not yet settled."
Hearing the emperor talk about the vassal state, Du Yinxi naturally would not be disappointed, and flattered him with a smile: "The King of Xiang is very brave and brave. He is really a good king. He is extremely kind when he is in charge."
"It's just that I am ignorant and don't know where the world's territory is suitable..."
"Brunei is suitable."
Zhu Yixi had already set the direction as early as Shaowu's 19th year. Now that two years have almost passed, it's time to take action.
Zhu Yixi said casually, as if talking about something as trivial as eating and drinking: "Brunei is adjacent to Qi and close to Luzon. It would be faster to send the entire army from Luzon!"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" Du Yinxi thought about it in his mind, and realized that it was another tributary country, and it seemed that it was still in Taizu's order of non-conquest countries.
But it doesn't matter. The emperor has violated many ancestral rules. Ryukyu has become Ryukyu Prefecture, so what does Brunei mean?
Liu Xiangke on the side was horrified. He and Yan Qiheng looked at each other, both of which were unexpected.
Did the emperor and the cabinet decide to go to war so casually?
Du Yinxi made a plan at this time: "I have heard that Brunei has only a few hundred thousand soldiers, and the Luzon navy is enough, but not enough soldiers and horses. The imperial court can mobilize thousands of Guangdong patrol battalions to help, which is suitable for hot and humid conditions.
A good general will suffice."
"The resource consumption, veteran estimates, is about one million."
"The rainy season in Nanyang is from March to October, so the court can prepare everything and set off after autumn..."
"Very good." Zhu Yixi nodded, quite satisfied.
This is the appropriate chief minister of the cabinet.
Yan Yingyuan was used to it, but Liu Xiangke and Yan Qiheng were dumbfounded.
Then, the emperor suddenly stood up, opened the tractor covered with black cloth, got on it, started it and started it:
Dong dong dong——
After a few minutes, white smoke started to rise.
The prince and ministers were truly stunned.
Jaw-dropping!
The guards pulled the princes away and the tractor got out of the field.
Almost in a moment, this acre of land was plowed.
"This is a tractor. It can be called an iron bull. It eats coal or firewood and is not afraid of any roots or rocks."
Slapping the huge wheel, Zhu Yixi praised.
But the appearance was over, and the emperor sat down.
At this time, Yan Yingyuan reported on the construction status of the railway track. By the middle of the year, the railway track from Datong to Beijing will be completed.
At that time, the route from Datong to Suiyuan will begin.
This road is a purely military road. The local government does not provide much money and cannot raise commercial funds, so it must be provided by the imperial court.
Zhu Yixi didn't take this extra expense seriously.
"The railway track from Shanhaiguan to Northeast China should also be put on the agenda."
Zhu Yixi said in a deep voice: "The Northeast is the granary of Gyeonggi Province and must be taken seriously."