my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 352
Yang Pu knew what Zhang Anshi said.

He smiled and said: "After listening to what the governor said, the next official has a little idea in his heart."

Zhang Anshi said: "Mr. Yang has always had a way. I have told you so much. Doesn't Mr. Yang have anything to say?"

"Do you want the lower officials to find some faults?" Yang Pu couldn't help smiling.

Zhang Anshi said: "Many people below have some doubts about what I am going to do. Not only Zhu Jin, but Gao Xiang also think it is quite risky."

This is also the truth, the investment is too big. To be honest, Zhang Anshi knows that he is a little reckless.

But Zhang Anshi had no choice. There was no way out for the implementation of the New Deal. He had almost completely offended the rentier class that had occupied the world for thousands of years.

The only way right now is to continue to advance aggressively. As long as you run fast enough, the interest groups that have arisen due to the New Deal will grow even bigger. In the future... Only then will the old gentry be truly liquidated and the New Deal fully implemented in any corner of the world. .

Don't wait for me!

Yang Pu smiled slightly, and he said: "Someone will definitely tell the governor that the cost of this matter is too high, and some people will say...whether the railway will be useful in the future is unknown, or some people think that the governor is too greedy for merit, right? "

"En." Zhang Anshi looked at Yang Pu, he knew that Yang Pu was fair, and he was willing to listen to Yang Pu's opinion.

Yang Pu said: "Actually, these days, the lower officials have heard a lot of voices like this. Of course, these voices are just worries. Everyone doesn't intend to stop the governor, but they are afraid that the governor will go astray. But it seems to Yang... ...These words...actually don't need to be ignored."

"Why?" Zhang Anshi looked at Yang Pu strangely.

Yang Pu said: "Anything in the world, once you start to look forward and backward, it will be difficult to achieve! Since the governor is determined to do this, he must have gone through repeated weighing. Now in the whole world, no one understands the New Deal better than the governor, and no one understands the New Deal better than the governor. I understand this railway. Others don’t understand it, so they are worried. Since the governor understands it and thinks that there is a good chance of winning, he made up his mind. If this is the case, why doesn’t the governor insist on his own opinion?”

"In this world, there are very few smart people. The vast majority of people can't see the direction of the road ahead. I don't mean to look down on people, but the reality is like this. Just like this New Deal, it is unprecedented. , unprecedented, it is relying on the governor to open such a new road, then the governor should understand that at this point, the governor is the leader, what to do next, what to do, the governor must make up his own mind, after taking the idea , it must not be shaken, if the governor himself does not dare to believe in himself, then...why let others believe in the governor?"

After Zhang Anshi heard this, he couldn't help nodding; "You're right, I firmly believe that I'm on the right path, if that's the case, then I have to persevere, Mr. Yang's words have enlightened me."

Zhang Anshi looked at Yang Pu with piercing eyes, looking very sincere.

"The governor is polite."

Zhang Anshi continued: "Mr. Yang will be my assistant for the construction of the railway. There are some things that I need to discuss with you."

Yang Pu got up and saluted, "Dare not to follow orders."

When Yang Pu resigned, Zhang Anshi looked at his back and couldn't help feeling emotional.

Sure enough, it is worthy of being one of the three Yang cabinets in history, and the future master of the Ming cabinet.

None of these three Yangs are fuel-efficient lamps.

The entire Right Governor's Mansion was busy.

One by one, as well as the situation of land exploration, as well as technical training, all started.

In addition, several steelmaking workshops under the Qixia Commercial Bank, as well as some steel and mechanical tools began to invite bids.

The reason why they found the steel workshop under Qixia Commercial Bank was actually to lower the price.

Zhang Anshi needs a lot of steel, but once a large-scale purchase is made, it will inevitably lead to a skyrocketing price of steel.

But with his own steel workshop, it is obviously different. Zhang Anshi directly sets a ceiling on the price. If other workshops are unwilling to reach this price, then Zhang Anshi simply hand over all of them to Qixia Trading Company for refining.

But even if there is an upper limit on the price, the steel required to lay the rails is astronomical after all, and almost all workshops want a piece of the pie, even at this price... In their opinion, there is really not much profit!

But all fools understand that this kind of large-scale business, even if it is less profitable, will not be able to support the large purchase volume, and it is still profitable, and in the future, once the scale is expanded, it may produce economies of scale and reduce costs.

Even... as long as you get a big order, you will hire someone later... to make a fuss about cost savings, whether it is using a new steelmaking method or improving the process, there is always a way.

So all of a sudden... the entire Qixia, merchants are recruiting people everywhere, and the craftsmen needed to make steel have suddenly become popular. Even if they have no skills, they are still fighting endlessly. After all, people can be trained Learning, while expanding production, is imperative.

The tool market for various machinery also suddenly became hot.

Whether it is steel refining, future steam engines, or laying railways, there must be a huge demand for tools. Whoever is in business is not a cat that smells fish.

The bank's business also began to prosper.

Not only the Youdu Dudu's Mansion entrusted banks to issue public bonds, but many merchants also began to seek funds from banks to expand production.

So much so that the bank's loan interest rate has increased a lot, and it can't restrain this momentum.

In addition, the hardwoods needed for construction, kerosene, tung oil, and all kinds of food, clothing, housing and transportation are also suddenly in full swing.

On the surface, Zhang Anshi's plan was only a few million taels a year, but it seemed that tens of millions of taels had been mobilized in an instant.Everyone is looking for opportunities, and a large number of people are hired at high prices. This has caused a consumption boom, and the consumption boom has greatly increased the demand for consumer goods.

After the price of manpower skyrocketed, Zhang Anshi's steam engine workshop ushered in the first wave of dividends before the railway was under construction.

"Have you finished tinkering?" Zhang Anshi was tugging at Xu Jingchang's ear at this moment: "How are you doing?"

Xu Jingchang groaned, but hurriedly said: "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law...it's almost there, it's almost there. It's just...the output is a little bit less!"

Zhang Anshi said: "Then train some more craftsmen, tell me how many people are needed."

"That's the thing..." Xu Jingchang said, pointing to a huge steam engine not far away, and said with a wry smile: "It's not interesting to tinker with it."

Zhang Anshi glared at him and said: "Your Majesty has already said that you have already wasted a lot of money, and he can't wait to eat your meat. If you don't hurry to make money now, do you want to turn the world upside down?"

Xu Jingchang is very depressed now, he hopes to produce a more powerful machine, and wants to test whether there is a power stronger than steam.

It's a pity that the order Zhang Anshi gave him was to let him enrich the steam engine products.

Now he has at hand, apart from the improvement of the steam locomotive, that is, making some improvements on the basis of this steam power, so that the steam locomotive has more power and load capacity, the other thing to be completed right now is A steam loom on hand.

Steam looms, to put it bluntly, use steam instead of manpower, and the technology is lower than that of steam locomotives. After all, steam locomotives have to consider the size and weight of boilers and cylinders, but for steam looms, you have more imagination. Just need to add more cylinders and boilers.

To Xu Jingchang, this is simply killing a chicken with a sledgehammer.

But Zhang Anshi has seen the potential of this thing, because many workshops are short of manpower, and the price of manpower is getting higher and higher. If the railway is built in the future, it is bound to recruit a lot of labor.

In this situation of manpower shortage, replacing manpower with machinery may have been impossible in the past, but now... it is the right time.

Once this kind of steam engine can be promoted to all walks of life, then...the steam engine workshop set up by Zhang Anshi's family is bound to be able to make a fortune every day.

The most important thing is that this thing is like this. Once various types of steam engines are popular, the cost of production can be greatly reduced in the future. At the same time, with the improvement of different types of steam engines, various processes can also be improved unconsciously. .

This is a matter of no harm.

Zhang Anshi's threat still had some effect, so Xu Jingchang could only say, "Brother-in-law, don't worry."

Zhang Anshi let go of Xu Jingchang, but now he looked at the huge machine suspiciously, and couldn't help but ask, "This thing...does it work?"

"Of course it works." Xu Jingchang couldn't help showing a bit of complacency, and said, "Actually, this spinning machine is much simpler than a steam locomotive. Look, brother-in-law, here is a steam engine, which provides power, and then through gears and belts, and This celestial axis connects, this celestial axis..."

Xu Jingchang pointed to the pipe on the top of his head and said: "It is connecting the gear and the belt to drive the shuttle on the spinning machine... In this way, it can produce continuously, but... the only fly in the ointment is this thing... …occasionally breaks…”

"It doesn't matter, just recruit more people and provide them with after-sales service." Zhang Anshi said: "What about efficiency? How does efficiency compare to manpower?"

Xu Jingchang said: "Compared to the previous spinning machines, the efficiency is at least five times higher than that of manpower."

Zhang Anshi nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's enough. I'll let the people from Qixia Textile Workshop try it first. You will recruit more maintenance workers and train a group of personnel."

Xu Jingchang looked reluctant, and said, "I still want to teach those ordinary craftsmen... these simple knowledge?"

Zhang Anshi said: "Then you find someone to teach. All in all, don't try to slack off on this matter."

Xu Jingchang frowned, and finally compromised under Zhang Anshi's stare, so he said, "Okay."

After a pause, he suddenly remembered something, so he said again: "By the way, brother-in-law...I also thought of...the steam pump."

"Ok?"

"I heard that in many mines, there is serious water accumulation, mining is not easy, and it is very easy to cause accidents, but if you use a steam pump, it can be solved."

Zhang Anshi's eyes lit up a little bit with the naked eye, and said: "Do it, you can do it! In short, you can try anything that can replace manpower. That's right, I recruit hundreds of scholars, and I will follow you in the future , you are a small insurance company, so I have to prepare more manpower for you."

Xu Jingchang drooped his head again: "But brother-in-law, I want to... give it a try... Is there any way to replace that steam engine... this thing... is too weak."

Zhang Anshi stared at him again, and said: "Solve the matter at hand first, otherwise it will be a no-brainer. Also, if you put gunpowder in the boiler in the future, I will kick you to death."

Xu Jingchang: "..."

At this time, a letter was passed to Zhang Anshi.

Zhang Anshi got the letter, and after seeing the letter, Zhang Anshi did not dare to neglect.

This was sent by my brother Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhang Anshi opened it and looked at it, his expression changed slightly.

Then, he immediately went to see Zhu Di.

Zhu Di heard about Zhang Anshi's wanton borrowing in Qixia, which was quite controversial in the court, but Zhu Di ignored it.

It was rare that Zhang Anshi came to see him, but Zhu Di had a pleasant face, and said with a smile, "You kid...it's rare."

Zhang Anshi saluted and said: "Your Majesty, here is a letter from the King of Han... no, it is a letter from Zhu Gaoxu, please read it through Your Majesty."

Zhu Di frowned. Zhu Gaoxu, that boy, kept correspondence with Zhang Anshi all day long, but rarely edited books for him. As a father, Zhu Di was quite displeased.

This son of a bitch is very realistic, at first he wanted to win the crown prince, he surrounded me all day long, now he only wants to ask Zhang Anshi for arms, so he surrounds Zhang Anshi again.

Zhu Dichao also winked.

Unable to understand, he hurriedly sent the letter to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di opened it, and suddenly... his expression changed.

He looked up at Zhang Anshi: "Have you read this letter?"

Zhang Anshi said: "Yes, I have seen it."

"Zhu Gaoxu, what are you doing for food? He shows off his might in Annan all day long. Unfortunately... he's just a wine bag and a rice bag."

Zhu Di dropped the letter on the desk.

The content of this letter is very simple. It is Zhu Gaoxu's report. Zhu Mo, the King Shen of Johor, who was banned from Johor, occupied hundreds of miles in Johor, and then started to build the city.

It's just that he was still a little unwilling, and felt that the land he had encircled was too little, so he contacted Zhu Gaoxu. At this time, Siam began to be wary of King Shen who appeared in Annan and around him, and often invaded.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu and Shen Wang Zhu Mo hit it off, and planned to make a big deal, and directly took down Siam, which occupied a fertile land and had a territory of thousands of miles.

The pair of uncles and nephews had a meeting in Champa, and they were very speculative. Then they went back separately, summoned soldiers and horses, and each led a group of troops to attack Siam in the name of the king of Siam not paying tribute.

At that time, there were other kings nearby, such as King Zhao of Java and King Tang in Malacca, who expressed their willingness to help in the battle.

However, Zhu Gaoxu and Shen Wang's uncle and nephew thought...it would be easy to take Siam, and if one more person sent troops, they might have to get a share of the pie, so they said that this was just a military disciplinary action, and the troops would retreat after a fight.

As a result, the two led the army horses and drove straight in. They were very happy, and finally...the car overturned.

There are dense forests everywhere in Siam, but the King of Siam is not in a hurry to fight with them. The food and grass for the army could not be supplied.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu and Shen Wang had to retreat, but when they retreated, they were chased all the way by the Siamese.

Zhu Gaoxu, the chicken thief, said to King Shen, you are Uncle Wang, and after cutting off your nephew, King Shen agreed.

In the end, the loss was the worst. Even he himself was shot in the calf by a bow and arrow, and was carried back.

In this battle, Han Wangwei lost more than 400 people, and Shen Wangwei lost [-] people. So the former Hanwang refused to accept it and said that he would avenge his uncle. Please send some firearms and artillery to Qixia.

When Zhu Di read this letter, he almost died of anger.

His face was livid with anger, and said: "Bring Jin Zhong and Xia Yuanji here, hurry up."

Jin Zhong and Xia Yuanji came to see him.

Zhu Di took a look at them and said, "I want to go to the imperial conquest, what do Er Qing think?"

Jin Zhong was surprised and said, "I don't know where your Majesty will attack?"

"Siam."

All of a sudden, Jin Zhong was stunned: "Your Majesty, that place...the mountains are long and the rivers are far away..."

Xia Yuanji was also anxious, and said: "Your Majesty, how can you raise troops for no reason? If you attack the Tatars, there is nothing wrong with it. This..."

Zhu Di said, "Look for yourself."

The letters were circulated in the hands of Xia Yuanji and Jin Zhong.

The two were silent.

After a while, Xia Yuanji thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if the King of Han wants weapons, I will give them to him... Overseas affairs will be handled by the vassal king. If it is still not possible, the big deal is to order the King Tang and King Zhao to increase their troops. Why bother your Majesty? If we conscript military horses from Nanjing and go to Siam, the loss along the way is really not small."

Zhu Di also calmed down a little, and sighed: "It's not that I don't know this, but the king of Siam seems to be a hero for a while. I'm worried that Zhu Gaoxu and others will not be able to deal with him. This Siam is not a small country, covering thousands of miles. , armed with hundreds of thousands of armor, and the country is densely covered with mountains and forests. Although Zhu Gaoxu, Tang Wang, Shen Wang and others have elite soldiers and abundant firearms, once they penetrate hundreds of miles, the supplies cannot keep up, resulting in a lone army. And, they are not in their hands, if they lose their soldiers and generals again, wouldn't it be worrying?"

Zhu Di paused, and then said: "In such a situation, if I don't go out, will I just stand by and see them suffer a crushing defeat? Zhang Qing's family, don't you think so?"

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, I also thought that there was no need to move lightly. This Siam is really far away. And as your Majesty said, this Siam has a common hatred and covers an area of ​​thousands of miles. Once a large-scale army is raised, there will be many mountains and dense forests. Long-term, I'm afraid it will be bad for my Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Di frowned. He originally expected Zhang Anshi to sing with him and persuade Xia Yuanji and Jin Zhong.

But Zhang Anshi immediately said: "However, I have a way, in fact...it may not necessarily need to send troops, but to avenge the death of King Shen and King Han."

After hearing this, Zhu Di asked in surprise, "What? What can you do?"

Zhang Anshi said with a smile: "Jin Yiwei has long been aware of Siam's situation, and has sent many people to infiltrate it. Now I have a subordinate, and with him strategizing, things will surely succeed."

After hearing this, Zhu Di became more and more curious: "Why didn't I hear you say it before?"

"Your Majesty recognizes this person."

"Chen Li?"

"No, Your Majesty...it's His Highness King Yi!"

(End of this chapter)