In the Wenhua Hall, Shen Tingyang controlled his initial mood swings, saluted Chongzhen, and then began to talk and truthfully report on his achievements in water transportation reform.
Once he talked about his professional areas of expertise and proved them with data, Shen Tingyang became less nervous and became smoother the more he spoke.
"...Your Majesty, after several months and three rounds of practice, the total freight for transporting military rations from Susong, Ningshao, and Guanning to the Guanning front line was only five cents and five cents per stone. The total consumption was two buckets and four liters.
It turns out that Guan Ning's army spent every stone of grain transported from the south of the Yangtze River to the Yangtze River, which cost a total of 7 yuan of water transportation silver, 4 yuan and 50 yuan of silver to cross the river and 4.5 yuan of silver to cross the lake, and 2 yuan of silver to transfer to Tianjin, resulting in a subsequent loss of 4 yuan. In addition, the amount of grain transported by water exceeded 4 yuan. It consumes four dou, crossing the river and lake consumes two dou and seven liters, the rat and bird consume..."
"From this point of view, after Guan Ning's military rations are transported by sea, it can save three-quarters of the freight compared with the original canal water transportation. The transportation of grain required by the capital can also save 40% of the freight."
Shen Tingyang finished in one go, summarizing the basic accounts and overall results. No one interrupted him during the whole process. It was obvious that his political opponents did not intend to compete with him on specific figures.
Next to him, Zhu Dadian was always watching his nose and heart, as if an old god was there.
Who told the Ming Dynasty that mathematics was not required in the imperial examination, so that most "gentlemen" were incapable of confronting colleagues who were businessmen on the issue of settling accounts.
…
Shen Shuren, who was standing in the secretary's seat next to him, was observing carefully throughout the whole process, not only observing his father's performance, but also observing Zhu Dadian on the other side.
It was also the first time that he saw Zhu Dadian today. Although he had already thought about removing this roadblock countless times, after meeting the real person, Shen Shuren still inevitably had some misunderstandings.
Zhu Dadian was a Jinshi in Wanli for more than 40 years, and he was almost sixty years old. He looked upright, with a neat white goatee, sunken eye sockets, and good spirits.
If he is an outright traitor, then Shen Shuren will be more unscrupulous when dealing with him.
It happened that Zhu Dadian was just greedy, but he had no problem with the big issues of right and wrong - according to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", although Zhu Dadian did not win a battle, he had a good attitude in resisting the Qing Dynasty. When Duduo attacked Jinhua, he was unable to defend the city and set fire to it. He burned his home and threw himself into the fire and died.
At that time, he was almost seventy years old. He had received the favor of the Ming Dynasty all his life, and maybe he wanted to keep his life. But no matter what the motivation was, being able to die for the country would count as having courage. Otherwise, Qian Qianyi would still be the same age as Zhu Dadian, and there would be no more He still lived happily for more than ten years.
"No matter what, the world is complicated, and the opponent of a good person does not have to be a bad person, but can also be another good person. Nowadays, changing water transportation to sea can save the court. The population has dropped sharply after years of war, and we have other ways to deal with the surplus labor force. This should be implemented!”
Shen Shuren finally made up his mind and stopped worrying.
On the other side, as Shen Tingyang's account report ended, Chongzhen also turned to Zhu Dadian to ask for his opinion: "Zhu Qing, you have heard Shen Qing's conclusion. I think this is good governance. How much share can the Governor's Yamen of Water Transport give out every year in the future?" , take the lead in changing the sea?"
Zhu Dadian's beard twitched slightly and finally began to impeach and counterattack:
"Your Majesty! I dare not obey the edict! I think that Shen Tingyang's so-called frugal water transportation expenditure is purely misleading the country! In the past few months, I have sent people to secretly visit the river yamen under my subordinates to collect public opinions. After the visit, I found that water transportation should be changed to sea. Your Majesty, please take a closer look at the many subsequent charges of fraud, disturbing the people, and harming the people!"
Zhu Dadian cheered up: "First of all, Shen Tingyang claimed that shipping grain by sea only costs five yuan or more per stone. According to secret investigation, only the Shen family's fleet dares to quote this price. In fact, in the world, There is no other company with such a low price.
If the imperial court wants to build its own fleet and train its own sailors, can it do so at such a low price? Maritime transportation requires training a large number of sailors who can run the sea. The current inland river Caoding will not be able to go to sea without strict training.
But now the only people in the world who can summon tens of thousands of sea-going sailors are Shen Tingyang of Suzhou and Zheng Zhilong of Fujian. If the imperial court asked them to train sea-going sailors for the court, would they be willing? After training, would it still cost the same?
And if the imperial court does not train its own troops and build its own sea-going ships, it will be putting the most important weapon of the country in the hands of officials. Who knows whether it will be too big to lose in the future? I don’t think your Majesty can take such a risk!
Since the Chenghua period, when the imperial court changed its long-term transportation method, the ancestral laws have repeatedly emphasized that water transportation must be carried by the military and cannot be carried by the people themselves. The fear is that the fate will be controlled by human hands!
After the imperial court relies on him, Shen Tingyang, if he uses the excuse of raising the price to fabricate some lies, saying that he can't do it with five taels of silver, he will need one tael of silver, or two taels of silver, until it becomes as expensive as the original inland water transport, then Your Majesty To agree or not to agree?
He is basically trying to get His Majesty's permission to reform the system at a low price that will cost him money. Once he succeeds, and Your Majesty becomes dependent on him, this price will not last long!"
Zhu Dadian's counterattack was also done in one go. He first targeted the most important point and attacked fiercely.
This truth, translated in a modern context, is that "the strategic lifeblood of the country must be state-owned and state-owned enterprises, and private capital cannot be given the opportunity to intervene."
Shen Tingyang is now an official in the Ministry of Household Affairs. He also works for the court and uses his own resources to optimize and reorganize. But in any case, it is just similar to Wan Qing's "government-run private operation". The resource investment is private and only accepts the management and management of the government. Supervision.
Chongzhen was not professional on these issues. After hearing Zhu Dadian's vigorous refutation, he immediately hesitated and turned to Shen Tingyang: "Shen Qing, how do you explain this matter?"
Shen Tingyang quickly and humbly replied: "Your Majesty! The Chen family is not the only one in the world for shipping on the Yellow Sea! It's just that the other families are smaller. The imperial court also has many naval guards in Denglai. They have to use official ships. How can you say that the Chen family has Threatening the power of the imperial court?
At most, the Chen family has been running the sea for more than 80 years and five generations since the Longqing switch. They have some experience in building ships and training sailors. If the court is worried, I am willing to teach all the unique shipbuilding skills of the Chen family to the relevant yamen of the Ministry of Industry and will not hide them. Private! You can also exchange all your sailor training experience with the Naval Health Stations in Denglai, Tianjin and other places!
What's more, Zhu Dadian said that the minister was contracted to transport grain to the court at a loss price, and he was deceiving his majesty into agreeing to the reform. This is even more nonsense! Even if it is five coins per stone, it is still slightly profitable. Find another maritime merchant. , as long as the quantity is large, we can agree to this price! How can you deceive you!"
Shen Tingyang's reply was very measured. He first divided the question into two parts. The first part was a qualitative analysis, saying that he had a "monopoly" and "threatened the lifeline of the imperial water transportation." This must be strictly clarified to prove that he was not a monopoly and what the imperial court wanted to learn. He is willing to "give everything he has to teach".
The second part is quantitative, that is, Zhu Dadian questioned him about "first losing the price to seize the market and then raising the price." This question is not as fatal as the first one, and the answer is relatively safe.
He had discussed it with his son before, and Shen Shuren, as a time traveler, was of course very experienced in "how companies can prove that they are not dumping." Responding according to Chen Shuren's instructions would definitely be enough to counterattack a layman like Zhu Dadian. .
After Chongzhen heard this, his worries about the first part immediately dissipated.
He thought to himself: "Yes! Zhu Dadian said that the lifeline of the imperial court cannot be controlled by human hands, but how could it be controlled by Shen Tingyang? There is only one canal, and if one family occupies the canal, the other family cannot use it.
But the sea is vast and anyone can go there. Shen Tingyang is actually willing to share all the secrets of shipbuilding and sailor training with the imperial court. That is, the imperial court can expand its transportation capacity as much as it wants in the future. What is there to be afraid of? Shen Tingyang is not self-conscious. His skills are truly unspeakable."
Zhu Dadian listened to the side and his face was dejected. He knew that the most important blow had been blocked. He did not expect that Shen Tingyang was so decisive and dared to publicly offer the technical advantages accumulated by his family for five generations and more than 80 years to the imperial court. , how to attack this?
After some hesitation, the question was completely shelved. Chongzhen focused on the second point and questioned Zhu Dadian: "Zhu Qing, don't mention the lifeblood of the country. You should answer Shen Qing's rhetorical question. You question him taking over the job at a loss. You can provide ironclad evidence."
In fact, there is not much evidence for Zhu Dadian, because his yamen only reached Tongzhou in the north, and it was further northeast than Tongzhou, so he no longer had any influence.
The first two batches of grain from the Shen family and his son were mainly shipped to Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan, places Zhu Dadian didn't know at all.
Therefore, his source of evidence mainly relied on the Susonghe Road Yamen, which provided secret investigation data during shipment at Suzhou Port.
At this point, Zhu Dadian can only go all the way and attack in areas he is not good at:
"Shen Tingyang, you said that one stone only costs five taels of silver for shipping. According to the imperial court's regulations, in previous years, the silver for crossing the river and the silver for crossing the lake was approximately equal to the expenses of two loading, unloading and transshipments, as well as the manpower of the dock. This cost is at least 2 taels. You have a lot of money. Is it possible that you can transport grain from Suzhou to Shanhaiguan with only the remaining two yuan?"
Hearing this question, Shen Tingyang was immediately overjoyed. He finally caught a question that directly hit the muzzle of the gun.
He quickly defended Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Zhu Dadian has such doubts because he does not know the latest craftsmanship and management methods. The loading and unloading fees and dock management are many times more efficient than the old methods of the Water Transport Guard."
As he spoke, he prepared several drawings and tried to explain his terminal management in front of the emperor, as well as the new lifting machinery used, and how to modify the trestle layout to reduce the number of ship crossings...
He did not explain this part very clearly, so he begged Chongzhen to allow Shen Shuren to explain it.
Chongzhen was stunned after hearing this: "Shen Qing! This is your responsibility, how can you let others do it for you!"
Shen Tingyang blushed for a rare moment, and said with shame: "Your Majesty, forgive me, I know how to use these, but I can't explain the reason... To be honest, these ingenious things were all accidentally thought up by Gouzi. "
When Chongzhen heard this, he cast a slightly surprised look of admiration at Shen Shuren, who was standing next to him in the secretary's seat. He thought to himself that not only could this kid be admitted to the imperial examination and become a copy editor, but he also knew some strange skills?
But he would not stop him. He immediately asked Shen Shuren to show off and explain clearly the new crane and dock trestle design, as well as the management measures for dock workers.
In fact, Chongzhen didn't fully understand it, but he could tell that this new method seemed very powerful and should really save money.
After listening, he looked stern and asked Zhu Dadian: "Zhu Qing, do you understand? If you understand, do you have any new questions?"
How could Zhu Dadian question it? He had no choice but to let go of all technical questions and find another point of attack.
Zhu Dadian was so nervous that he broke out in cold sweat, and finally grasped another point: "Your Majesty! I really don't understand how much money can be saved by these strange tricks, but I know a simple truth!
If Shen Tingyang really has a way to reduce the freight to such a low level, then why is the freight rate set by him when he is doing other business so profitable? As far as I know, the Shen family travels across the sea, whether transporting silk, cotton, tea, etc., to Tianjin or This is North Korea, and you have to set aside at least three to five taels of silver for shipping interest for each stone product! He only charges five taels of silver to transport grain to the imperial court. This is a deliberate show of goodwill to your majesty and a deception to your majesty!"
When Zhu Dadian retorted like this, Chongzhen was actually a little unhappy in his heart: My ministers are willing to give me benefits, but when it comes to your mouth, how can it turn out to be a lie?
Isn't it natural to give discounts to royal business?
Before Chongzhen opened his mouth to reprimand, Shen Tingyang on the other side was already rushing to explain:
"Your Majesty, the price I gave the court is indeed the most favorable, and I will not raise the price for any reason in the future. But I can prove that it is indeed profitable to give the court only five yuan - because the order of the court is huge.
Chen usually sells silk, tea, cotton, cloth, and medicinal materials, and the profit is indeed more than ten times greater. However, the business is very small, and it is impossible for Chen's fleet to carry goods every day. Of course, the unit price must be increased to make up for the idle time when there is no goods.
The imperial court's grain supply amounted to four million dan per year, which was enough for all the ships to make thirty trips a year if nothing else - in fact, it was only enough time for seven or eight trips a year.
Therefore, even if the imperial court now subcontracts all water transportation to me, I will not be able to transport it. If I stop other businesses, I will only be able to transport 30% of the canal grain at most. I have to expand my fleet three times, or organize the court and other maritime merchants to work together. Only when you get up can you eat.
With such a huge scale, the cost of the aforementioned loading and unloading machinery and the construction of the wharf trestle can be spread evenly on each ship of grain. If the spread is thin, it can ensure small profits but quick turnover, and still make money."
The larger the scale of the industry, the more cost-effective it is to depreciate and amortize the initial investment in fixed assets. This is a truth known to anyone with a little knowledge of capital economics.
It's a pity that the corrupt scholars in the Ming Dynasty didn't know that moral gentlemen like Zhu Dadian had no concept of "fixed cost amortization" in their minds, so they thought it was a fraud.
As a result, I questioned it enthusiastically, and finally stepped into the trap of professionals.
Chongzhen's face turned ugly again. It was obvious that his patience with Zhu Dadian's messy behavior was gradually exhausted.
If it weren't for the fact that Zhu Dadian was a second-rank official and his opponent was only a minor player in the fifth or sixth rank, Chongzhen would not have given Zhu Dadian so many opportunities.
"Zhu Qing, did you hear everything clearly? If you can't think of anything wrong, the matter will be settled."
Zhu Dadian's face was gloomy and defeated. He was unwilling to stop there. His blood surged and he decided to put his political life on the line and give it a final try:
"Your Majesty, you can't! Even if Shen Tingyang didn't make false accounts! Even if Shen Tingyang does have the ability to manage money and save money! But water transportation is the lifeblood of millions of people in Cao!
Nowadays, the world is in turmoil and famines continue. Hundreds of thousands of landless people have been deprived of their livelihoods, and the consequences are disastrous! Do you want your Majesty to watch as Li Chuang and Zhang Ni are sent to Li Chuang and Zhang Ni for more rebellious people?"