As a salted fish, I was forced to become the teacher of all ages

So the 45 taels of silver are really worthless.

And after conversion, 45 taels of silver is nothing more than more than 4 soft sister coins, which is more than three or five grades lower than that of the Song Dynasty, so there is a set of unspoken rules in the officialdom. These are officials their main source of income.

However, local officials dare to play like this, but what about Beijing officials?

The bigwigs who hold the power really have the filial piety of the people below, and the chief executives of the six departments also have their own income channels, but the officials of the science and Taoism do not have such income, they just count on tens of taels of silver a year to live, you If you want to use the salaries of officials, wouldn't you be taking advantage of these people's sources of income?

And these Qingliu of the Taoist officials are the most yelling, if Zhao Ren really pushes his father to do such a trick, wouldn't it be the same as stabbing a hornet's nest?

Of course, from Hua Manlou's point of view, Uncle Zhao would not be so stupid, so Zhao Ren would naturally be miserable.

As for the clan...

To be honest, in Hua Manlou's view, the demise of the Ming Dynasty in the previous life was also inseparably related to these clans.

Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking very well at the time. He could not trust outsiders, and only thought that his sons could unite as brothers to make Daming an eternal foundation, so he gave his sons military power and territory, and asked them to guard the frontier and defend the capital.

As a result, Zhu Di, the king of Yan, rebelled as soon as he kicked his legs, and deprived the military power of the vassal kings, so that these vassal kings had nothing to do and could only live the life of salted fish that Huamanlou envied—eating Sleep, eat, have a few babies and so on.

The babies born here are all nobles, you have to give them an identity, right?If you have a status, you have to be treated, that is, downgraded from generation to generation. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were 10 descendants of the Zhu family. Even if only [-]% of them received the imperial salary, what kind of finance is this? burden?

But, do you say that no one sees this drawback?This is not the case.

For example, Zhang Juzheng, just like the Jiangling Party dominated the court back then, Lao Zhang didn't have the guts to touch the clan, did he?He figured out the acres of the land and made a whip, but in the end, didn't he just toss in the field and slightly disturb the interests of the landlord class?

Is that the old man who can't see that the clan is like a mouse?no?

Isn't it because this matter is too sensitive, and it is too easy to cause backlash from the vassals, and if the clan is not treated, then Wanli will not be able to bear his reputation: the big hat of criticizing the clan is easy to get An evaluation that the six relatives do not recognize, and your emperor calls benevolence and filial piety to rule the world every day, so what about your benevolence and your filial piety?

As for the strength of the clan's rebound, it is estimated that few people can stand it.

Judging from the matter of Emperor Jianwen, he was thinking about cutting down the vassal at that time, which is a typical family cake.Zhu Yunqi followed the idea of ​​a group of scholars with bad reading and bad brains to cut down the small clan first and then the big clan. As a result, this stupid decision drove the king of Xiang to death, not only gave Zhu Di a reason to raise troops, but also made everyone in the other clan feel in danger—who Dare to say that when Ning Wang Zhu Quan handed over Duoyan Sanwei to Zhu Di, he didn't have any worries about Jianwen's cutting down on him?

So, for this kind of thing, Hua Manlou felt that not to mention the bosses of the Ministry of Industry, even the cabinet scholars would be vague. If Zhao Ren went to talk to his father about this matter, wouldn't he just ask for it?

But in fact...

Zhao Ren returned to Beijing with a look of indignation, took his people to the East Palace to change clothes, and then went to the Nuan Pavilion with the iron stove given by Huamanlou.

Emperor Guangxing couldn't help laughing when he saw Zhao Ren: "You're back?"

After all, a son is a son, how could Emperor Guangxing just let him go and let him herd sheep in Xishan?Therefore, he knows Zhao Ren's situation in Xishan very well, and he also knows that his living conditions have dropped several levels compared to those in the East Palace, so seeing that he came back within a few days, Emperor Guangxing's first reaction was Zhao Ren's situation. Ren couldn't bear the pain.

So he said: "If you come back, you should take it easy. Tomorrow, you should continue to study hard. If you want to toss about the theory of things, you can do it yourself this afternoon..."

Zhao Ren was stunned when he heard the words: "Father, you can't count your words. My son has only been to Xishan for a few days?"

Emperor Guangxing was taken aback: "You... Could it be that you came back because you couldn't bear the hardships of Xishan?"

Hearing this, Zhao Ren sighed quietly: "Father, compared to the common people, when did my son suffer?"

Emperor Guangxing was a little confused: "You..."

Zhao Ren waved his hand, signaling the attendants to go out, and then said: "Father, they all say that this is a world of great rule, but the life of the people is still so hard?"

Under the astonished eyes of Emperor Guangxing, Zhao Ren recounted what he had seen and heard in the past few days, and finally recounted the conversation between him and Huamanlou, and finally asked: "Father, Huamanlou Lou said that it may be difficult in the next few hundred years to feed and clothe the people all over the world, is that true?"

It has to be said that Emperor Guangxing had mixed feelings in his heart at this time.

For a long time, the people in the East Palace always came to say, "The prince is absurd, the prince likes to play, and the prince has no shape." Be a strict father and beat him at every turn.

A few days ago, Zhao Ren made him look at him with admiration. Although he called several teachers old fools and jerks, Emperor Guangxing was still a little happy at that time. After all, the prince is developing in a good direction, isn't he?

But today...

Seeing him seriously talking about how to treat the common people well and why the common people are still suffering in the era of great rule, Emperor Guangxing immediately felt extremely relieved: a prince who can consider the common people, where can he be so ridiculous?

Seeing him asking a question, Emperor Guangxing sighed softly: "Is that what Hua Manlou said? Well, he is right. The monarchs of all dynasties have not been able to complete this matter. Even now, the father is still working on it. Work hard on this..."

Zhao Ren asked again: "But... Father, the national treasury has a large amount of income every year, why can't it be used to feed and clothe the people?"

Emperor Guangxing raised his eyebrows: "Did Hua Manlou not answer your question?"

Zhao Rendao: "He said that the imperial court needs to spend money to raise soldiers, manage rivers, repair water transportation, pay officials' salaries, and the clan's expenses, so..."

Emperor Guangxing nodded: "He's not wrong. Da Zhao's taxes are only so much, but there are countless places to spend money. We can only do more important things first."

Zhao Ren asked again: "But can the expenses of the clan be considered an important thing? These people have to be supported by the court every year, and each of them has a large amount of land, a lot of people to take care of them, and endless money. But the people... Father, have you ever drank the yellow rice porridge that the people drink? My son has drank it, and it smells like slops, so it is not something people drink, but they can only eat half full of this. They Their clothes are tattered and they live in such a small house, but they say that they live a good life in Xishan now, but it was worse than this before... There are also victims of disasters, who eat bark and leaves, dirt and stones, those people How miserable is it?"

"That's the case. They know that Xishanwei is paid by the emperor, so they are thinking about the good of the father, and they call Huamanlou the benefactor... Huamanlou also said that he really gave these people very little. , it can be said that it was just a small increase in wages, but even so, these people are extremely grateful. But what about the clan? I have even heard some people say that the father gave them too little, and there is not much reward every year Yunyun also said that the food in the palace is not as good as that of their palace, which shows how luxurious they are living, but they don't have much gratitude for the reward from their father, and they don't even have any sense of awe..."

At the end, Zhao Ren's eyes were full of tears: "Compared with others, shouldn't we take care of the people more? Father, the people really don't want much!"

Emperor Guangxing listened blankly to Zhao Ren's words, but couldn't get in a word, and when he heard his last sentence, he couldn't help but burst into tears.Trembling, he stood up and walked to Zhao Ren's side, pressed his shoulder to look at him carefully, and finally uttered a few words: "My son... has grown up!"

At this time, Emperor Guangxing just wanted to call Hua Manlou and ask him carefully: Why did Zhao Ren not teach so many great scholars, but he taught him within a few days?How did he do that?

Now his mood is not relieved, but he feels that even if he dies immediately, there will be no regrets.

Dazhao has a successor, and seeing that he is a benevolent monarch, how can Emperor Guangxing worry about the future?

139. A word of money is also available

The people in the eyes of the emperor and the gentry group are very different.

In the eyes of the gentry group, they are the people. As for those who are suffering... that is also called the people?That's called untouchables, untouchables, and foolish people.

But in the emperor's heart, the subjects are one, and the people represent all the people in the world, even the beggars at the root of the imperial city are no exception, they are the people, the common people.

Most of the emperors are not stupid. They know that if they really make the people unable to live, then the people will make them unable to live in turn. Therefore, all emperors who are not so outrageous and not stupid will lightly corvee and treat the people favorably. , Even if it is pretending, you have to pretend to be concerned.

So, when Zhao Ren really burst into tears for the livelihood of the people, can Emperor Guangxing not feel relieved?

He took Zhao Ren to sit down, and the father and son talked for an entire hour. Emperor Guangxing patiently answered many of Zhao Ren's questions, such as: why did Da Zhao have to support those clans full of fat and fat.

It has to be said that the concept of clan is very strong nowadays, which has led to the formation of many villages or market towns named after surnames, such as Zhangjiazhuang, Lijiacun, Wangjiazhai, such places can be seen everywhere.

Ban Gu's "Bai Hu Tong" has a saying: Up to the ancestors, down to the great-great-grandsons, a family is prosperous, hundreds of families gather together, and become relatives. Love each other in life and mourn each other in death. There is a way to get together, so it is called the clan.

This passage explains the concept of the clan very clearly. Generally speaking, within the clan, members of the clan are even allowed to take out their property unconditionally to provide the most promising members of the family to study and do business. After they become famous, they will let these people To repay the family, so that more members of the clan can go to study and do business to further grow the family-does it sound like financing?

Moreover, under the clan system, it is not property and official rank that determine status, but seniority and seniority. Instead, the rich are obliged to assume more clan responsibilities, assist the poor and build clan facilities. In order to earn fame and status and use Clan power protects its property against rivals, and they enjoy doing such things.

In addition, to open up fields, to fight against unscrupulous officials with foreign surnames, to resist robbers and wild beasts, then it is necessary to form a united organization, and then concentrate on manpower, material and financial resources to continue the descendants and better development. The best way of life that people have obtained for hundreds of years.

Of course, this is why the people of the Celestial Dynasty are the most united, and when they are united, they can burst out with energy that makes the world tremble, because what flows in everyone's blood is the blood of sacrificing the ego to achieve the overall situation.

But the reason is summed up by later generations. People nowadays may not understand this truth, but it does not prevent them from using this method, and they turned it into culture, that is, clan culture. Even in Huamanlou's previous life, the clan system also It still exists, which shows its far-reaching influence.

In the current values, if in a certain clan, the person who confesses to the clan does not repay the clan, or even ignores what happened to the clan, then it is light to be poked at the spine. For an official, then a cold-blooded hat is put on, which is enough to affect his future, and even cause him to be dismissed from office.

Universal values ​​are like this, who dare to ignore the clan?

In fact, it is not uncommon for officials to be harassed or even kept asking for money after they are in their early years. There are also clan children who use the name of officials to do their best. They can't bear to be disturbed, but they will never say anything. Mostly he asked the senior people in the clan to discipline him.

So the common people are like this, let alone the royal family?Moreover, the clan clans are all inefficient lamps, so what if one might be exploited by someone with a heart, so what if he instigates an army to rebel?

This was the reason why Hua Manlou was unwilling to answer Zhao Ren. No one would gossip about the royal family and the clan. Otherwise, if the big hat of "Jiantian family affection" was suppressed, it would really kill people.

Listening to Emperor Guangxing's explanation, Zhao Ren slowly calmed down, and finally he looked helpless: "Then... then there is no other way?"

Emperor Guangxing smiled and said: "It's good that you want to do things for the people. It's just that there are so many problems that the wise rulers and ministers have not been able to solve for thousands of years. Why are you in a hurry?"

After a pause, he said again: "But if it is said that there is no way, it is not."

Zhao Ren asked anxiously: "What is the solution? The emperor just needs to say that if the son and minister can help the emperor, he will definitely die!"

Emperor Guangxing laughed again: "Isn't the solution in the West Mountain where you went?"

Zhao Ren was taken aback: "Xishan?"

Emperor Guangxing raised his head and sighed: "I did a calculation two days ago, um, it was about the battle of Datong. According to the speculation of the war with Tatars in the past few decades, in the absence of Purdue If you want to repel the Tatar invasion, the expenditure of food and grass alone will cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. In addition, the pensions of soldiers, the loss of weapons, etc. are tens of thousands of taels of silver, and this is just to repel Tatar. But with Purdue, not only has this expense been saved, but also countless horses have been obtained. It is unlikely that Tatar will have a decent attack in a few years. In this way, it will save me a lot of money expenditure."

When Emperor Guangxing said this, he looked down at the thoughtful Zhao Ren: "Then if I use the saved money to help the victims, how many people can live?"

"Also, Huamanlou created a coking coal iron-making method. If this method is popularized, it will not only increase the production of Dazhao Iron by several times or even dozens of times, but also reduce the price of iron by dozens of times. This entry and exit, how much can I save in terms of ordnance alone? This part is used to relieve the victims, and how many people can live?"

"In addition, Huamanlou also mentioned that Fanbang has corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. If these things are introduced to my Great Zhao, how many people can live?" Emperor Guangxing became a little excited after talking about this: " Although the boy said that this matter has not been proven, I always feel that he is quite certain of this matter, just as he was so certain when he said that he could make a firecracker that can hit a distance of one or two miles..."

After a pause, Emperor Guangxing couldn't help laughing again: "Look, Emperor Father said not to make you worry, but he himself is also worried."

Sighing, Emperor Guangxing continued: "So I gave him a piece of land, money, and others, and let him do what he wants. I want to see what tricks he can come up with, and I even allow you Go and have a look, learn a little, I... I have never trusted a person so much in these years, but after all, I have only met him a few times, but I don't know why I trust him so much, I believe that he can bring me something. Something different."

"So, in a trance, I feel that the way to live the people lies in Xishan, in Huamanlou's theory of investigating things and the unity of knowledge and action."

Hearing this, Zhao Ren couldn't help but also nodded: "That guy really has a lot of tricks, he's been teaching people how to do shopping for the past two days... oh, he even asked me to bring something for my father... ah no, he He said he asked me to bring it to Uncle Zhao, and he asked Uncle Zhao to forward it to His Majesty."

Emperor Guangxing laughed loudly when he heard this: "Okay, bring it to my father, and I will hand it over to your majesty as my father!"

It took some time, Zhao Ren sent people to move the big iron stove that looked like a tripod into the house and set it up, and ordered the palace to light the fire. , and then said with a smile: "Hua Manlou tinkered with three kinds of iron stoves. He said that this is the deluxe version, which is specially presented to His Majesty, so it looks like a tripod. And the exclusive version is like a tower. The ordinary The version is in the shape of a gourd. Oh, the one given to Uncle Zhao is an exclusive version, would you like to have a look at it, Father?"

Emperor Guangxing didn't listen to his foolishness, but asked suspiciously: "Can this thing burn coal directly? The smoke poison...is it coming out of this pipe?"

Zhao Ren said: "Exactly."

Emperor Guangxing looked at the big cauldron in front of him, felt the heat blowing towards his face, and suddenly felt a move in his heart: "This...how much is the cost?"

Zhao Ren was stunned: "I didn't ask, but Huamanlou said that they are going to open a store to sell this item exclusively, so the price must be quite high."

Emperor Guangxing sighed leisurely: "This thing... is not bad, but if the price is low, the common people must be less cold in such a bitterly cold day."

Hearing this, Zhao Ren scratched his head, and suddenly remembered something Hua Manlou said, and said, "Father, Hua Manlou seems to have said this... Rong Erchen think about it..."

Emperor Guangxing turned his head to look at him, Zhao Ren scratched his ears and cheeks for a while, and then said: "A few days ago, he seemed to have muttered a few words, saying that the things that are first tinkered with are naturally sold to the rich at a high price and lead the trend, and then hugged After a lot of money, we can expand production, and then gradually parize the price. It seems that we can further upgrade the product with money, and after upgrading, we can spend money from the rich again..."

Emperor Guangxing was stunned: "...that's what he said?"

Zhao Ren nodded: "It seems so. My son is thinking about it, does it seem to make sense?"

Emperor Guangxing nodded slowly: "It is true that things are rare and expensive... Well, in the future, the production of iron will increase, and this stove can also be popularized. In this way..."

Zhao Ren suddenly clapped his hands: "Here! Father, you said that you sold this thing to the clan as a rare item, and charging them 2 taels of silver is not too much, right?"

Emperor Guangxing, who was thinking about relieving the suffering of the common people, turned black: "You bastard, is this thing worth 1 taels?"

Zhao Ren said shyly, "Then... 5000 taels?"

For some reason, Emperor Guangxing, who just felt so comforted by his old age, suddenly felt his blood pressure was a little high again. He glared at Zhao Ren: "Is that what Huamanlou means? They use reasonable means to make money, and then popularize it with the public." What are you talking about? You are called robbery, do you know that?"

Zhao Ren hurriedly said, "How about coating it with gold? If so, it will be worth a hundred times. Sell it to those wealthy Uncle Wangs..."

Emperor Guangxing was furious: "Is it still gold-plated? Do you know the price of gold?"

Zhao Ren continued to diverge his thoughts: "Uh... Then, if the emperor wrote a word on the stove or something, it would be worth a thousand dollars... Aw! Why did the emperor beat me again?"

Emperor Guangxing pinched the cane in his hand, and said with a dark face: "I also said that you really realized something when you went to Xishan, but now it seems that you are still an idiot in your bones! Can you say such an idiot idea? Kneel down! "

(Well, you guessed it right, this guy was decisively beaten)

140. Sales process

Zhao Ren didn't have serious things in his mind, but Emperor Guangxing was quite reliable. After thinking about it for a while, he almost realized some of Hua Manlou's petty thoughts.

The so-called good from the top must be good from the bottom. With such a big stove in the emperor's warm pavilion, wouldn't the people below follow the trend?The people who come and go in the warm cabinet are either cabinet scholars or six ministers. They will be curious when they see such a big thing. Why don't they ask?

then……

Then need to say?

But Emperor Guangxing didn't feel that he was being used. After all, Xishan's business was his own business. Huamanlou said that if he could sell at a high price, he would be able to sell at a high price. He didn't forget that [-]% of Huamanlou's ironware business was his. Yes, for the sake of [-]% of the income, so what if it is a wave of endorsements?

The emperor is also short of money.

This is a tacit understanding, and when Emperor Guangxing implicitly and low-key ordered the palace staff to use water boiled in an iron furnace to make tea for the old cabinet members, Huamanlou's shop in Beijing also opened up.

Liu Fan found a good location, the store is not far from the Hundred Houses on the East Street, and the people living here are either rich or expensive, which is very in line with Huamanlou's idea of ​​earning money from the rich first.

Early in the morning, Tian Kang, the little shopping guide who is temporarily acting as the manager of the Xishan Huolu flagship store in Kyoto, led a group of people to work. After cleaning the store again and wiping the store's inventory spotless, Tian Kang ordered the door to be opened, and followed suit. Blossoming Manlou means lighting two strings of firecrackers at the gate, and the stove shop officially opens.

"Hey, what kind of shop is this?" As soon as the sound of firecrackers stopped, a guy dressed as a scholar emerged from the alley, walked over to have a look and was amused: "Xishan Huolu? Who came up with this name? Why? so vulgar?"

Just like some bosses who believed in Fengshui in Huamanlou's previous life, people these days also believe that names can bring good luck. Therefore, when naming shops, stores, and names, most of them will bring some auspicious words, such as Hengtaiyi, Words such as Fuyuanda are positive at first glance, but such white-minded words as Huamanlou are quite rare.

After gesticulating at the signboard, the scholar stepped into the store, intending to take a look at it and speculate how long it would take for the store to close down.

When Kankan stepped into the store, more than a dozen voices came from all directions: "Welcome~come~"

This movement frightened the scholar so much that he almost turned around and ran out, but when he regained his composure, he saw the two people beside him stand up from their bows, and he was relieved: "Ah... ah!"

At this time, a person greeted him with a smile on his face: "May I help you?"