eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 899: A Leisure Tour of the Capital
The refining of crude salt into refined salt is one of the most important and outstanding contributions made by the Academy of Sciences in recent years.

This refining method has been protected as a trade secret, and the refined salt has not been handed over to private salt merchants for independent operation. Instead, an independent salt factory was established in the Shaofu, and a high-end brand such as "Snow Salt" was created.

That was also the first time that Zhu Houzhao introduced the concept of brand to people of that generation.

Later, it prompted the Shaofu Enterprise Control Department to introduce laws to strengthen the protection of corporate brands and prohibit people from misappropriating other people's brands without the authorization of the brand owner.

Snow salt naturally means salt as fine as snow. It is easy to understand and elegant at the same time.

Once it was launched, it became popular among bureaucrats, nobles and wealthy businessmen. The rush to buy it that year was like the rush to buy white sugar starting in the first month of this year.

As a result, in a short period of time, the annual revenue of the Shaofu Snow Salt Factory climbed to a scale and level of one million taels.

The director of the salt factory was also concurrently served by the Shaofuling Fan Yuchang.

This is a perfect linkage between science and benefits. Because this achievement was made by the Academy of Sciences, the salt factory needs to pay dividends to the Academy every year.
For example, in the 80th year of Zhengde that just passed, the Academy of Sciences earned taels of silver in salt profits.

Of course, they call it salt tax internally.

All of this was allowed by Emperor Zhu Houzhao. In fact, the current Academy of Sciences can be said to be a place where wealth gathers.

The so-called support cannot be just empty words.

For the Ministry of Revenue, it is also a pleasure to receive this amount of money every year.

The only ones who are unhappy are some major salt merchants. As time goes by, they will lose most of their high-end customers, and they have only two options.

One is to find a way to make further breakthroughs in salt-making technology.

Another option is to sell their excess production to more remote areas. The remoteness here not only refers to foreign countries, but also includes areas in China that are not covered by snow salt.

The salt merchants were of course furious.

But the Shaofu represents the emperor, so it should not be difficult to choose between money and life.

The success story of Snow Salt in a short period of time was also compiled into a text and engraved on an exquisite stone tablet, which was placed on the avenue leading to the Academy of Sciences.

Zhu Houzhao meant that all future achievements should be displayed in this form so that people would know that the wealth here was not obtained by taking advantage of power.

Similarly, he would pass by this monument every time he entered and exited the Academy of Sciences.

"You Zhi, will you go somewhere with me?"

The old eunuch took two steps closer and asked, "Where are you going, Your Majesty?"

"I don't know," he smiled and shook his head, "Although I have lived in the capital all my life, I have never been to most places. Anyway, I am in a good mood today, so I am not in a hurry to return to the palace."

You Zhi could see that the emperor was so happy that he wanted to go to some new places, but he was a little worried. "Your Majesty is so noble, yet you have no plans today. I would like to ask Your Majesty for your permission. Do you want me to go back today? I will come back in two days after I find some fun places."

Zhu Houzhao shook his head as he walked, "Don't be such a bummer. I don't want to go out tomorrow. You can go alone."

You Zhi was scolded but still smiled, "Well, then let me think about it carefully."

"Is there no new good place in the capital?"

"A good place?" The guy scratched his head, thinking a little crookedly, "I'm always afraid that such a place will pollute His Majesty's eyes."

Zhu Houzhao didn't care about his tricks.
He was forced to find an ordinary satin gown. After putting it on, he didn't even go back to the palace, but ran to the busy streets of the city that never sleeps.

In ancient times, the only things that could be seen on the streets were cloth, simple metal decorations, or some simple snack shops. Zhu Houzhao had been out there several times over the years and was no longer surprised by the sight.

What is different is still people.

So he rushed to a new restaurant called "Wenwei" in the city that never sleeps and sat down.
Listening to the hawking of vendors and the noise of the crowd, I have a different feeling. This is how people are. After being secluded for a long time, they like the hustle and bustle. After being lively for a long time, they want seclusion again.

Sometimes Zhu Houzhao felt that there was no sound in the palace at all.

When he got to a lively place, just the plate of peanuts and a few slices of cold tofu would make him want to eat.

The 21st year of Zhengde was still a year for imperial examinations, but the great disaster in the north at the end of last year postponed the spring examinations for two months. But now, the capital was crowded with talented people from all over the country, and it was really lively.

What Zhu Houzhao saw was young and old scholars from all over the country gathering together to talk. This scene was fresh to him, as he was usually tired of hearing the noisy ministers.

He was on the second floor of the restaurant, sitting at a table next to the railing. Just behind him, there was a large table with six or seven candidates squeezed in.

While twisting the peanuts, I heard people say:

"Passing the imperial examinations and winning the imperial examinations were the long-cherished aspirations of scholars like me. However, in today's world, those who pass the imperial examinations can also enter the imperial court, and those who are good at fortune-telling can also enter the imperial palace. Do you think that the imperial examination system is gradually declining, and instead... side paths are becoming popular? It's not wrong, but where should the learning of sages go?"

In this way, Zhu Houzhao could not hear it in the palace.

Looking from the upper echelons of the court down, the increase in other types of officials has increased the court's options, and some aspects are indeed quite professional.

But looking from the bottom up, it may be a different feeling.

Of course, most people wouldn’t dare to directly say something is wrong.

The imperial court still has its iron fist, and the achievements made now are enough to prove many things.

"In my opinion, it is also the result of the times." Another person followed up the discussion, "The Ming Dynasty today is much richer than it was twenty years ago. All walks of life are flourishing, and there are unexpected results. The court has made such decisions, and its purpose is to benefit the people. Take water conservancy for example. Aren't there many officials who know how to control water in various places?"

This is also where they conflict.

"Brother Xu, what do you think is the solution to this problem?"

The guy named Brother Xu sat in the middle and looked like the most prestigious person in the group.

He asked, "Brother Li, why do you think it was called a solution? Did it return to the way it was before? Or did it cancel the three-division examination? Since ancient times, we scholars have always admired all-round talents, but there are too few such great talents, sometimes only one appears every hundred years, but the court needs such people all the time. Dividing them and preparing them for national use is also a good strategy. Moreover, the court needs to use people and needs to reward them, so it is not difficult to understand that they are given official titles."

"According to what Brother Xu said, there is no need to resolve this issue."

No one answered this question.

There will still be problems, but to see them requires a deeper understanding of Confucianism, and that level of understanding cannot be expressed in words, at least not in broad daylight.

Brother Xu glanced at the back of the person at the next table, signaling to the people around him that everyone could hear what they said, so they should not bring themselves into trouble when they first arrived in the capital.

Then someone tried to smooth things over, "Since we have chosen the path of the saints, we are determined and will never change. Now that a wise ruler is in power, as long as we gain fame and honor, are we still afraid that we will not have a place to use our talents? Come, fill your cups, and don't talk about that anymore."

"Okay, well said."

The next table,
You Zhi was also sitting there. He secretly glanced at the emperor's expression and found that there was nothing unusual. "Master?"

"There are always smart people in the world." Zhu Houzhao still smiled, "Don't look so sad all the time, how about a drink?"

The old eunuch shook his hands repeatedly, "I dare not, I dare not."

While teasing him, Zhu Houzhao himself was also thinking that the modern industrial revolution had shattered Chinese culture represented by Confucian culture, but later facts proved that Confucian culture did not conflict with the industrial revolution, but on the contrary, it should be firmly grasped. Otherwise, if it was separated from its own cultural roots, what hope would this nation have?
It was also today when he heard what an ordinary scholar said that he suddenly realized that perhaps in a few decades or a hundred years, he would no longer be around. By that time, science and technology would have made greater progress, and people would have discovered that Confucianism's theories were far less effective than physics and chemistry. What would happen then?
"Hmm..." Zhu Houzhao slowed down his chewing, "This has been overlooked."

(End of this chapter)