In Shaanxi in early winter, low dark clouds covered the weak sunlight, and the sky seemed a little gloomy. The leaves on the tree have turned from pale yellow to withered, and they are no longer able to resist the cold wind from the Mongolian Gobi. In fact, Shaanxi is closer to the south than Jingshi, but Shaanxi is colder than Jingshi. Because of the lack of rain and large rivers, the humidity of the air is very low and dry, which expands the chill to a certain extent and weakens the will of the industry people to resist the cold. Although it hasn't snowed yet, and the temperature is almost the same as in winter, pedestrians have rarely been outdoors unless they have to work.
In the cement factory in the Yansui Valley, the workers are busy with sweating, charging, adding charcoal, burning, discharging, mixing, cooling, sealing... In the huge calciner, the charcoal fire is not extinguished day and night. In the factory, the workers feel warmer than the kang at home. Coupled with the busyness, no one realizes that winter has gradually come.
Because of the colder weather, the construction of cement roads is progressing slowly, mainly due to the early rolling and landfilling of stones. But Zhu Youzhen understands that once the spring begins and the temperature rises, the demand for cement will rise sharply. Therefore, the cement plant will not stop production throughout the winter. Instead, the cement produced will be stored or transported to various road construction sites. After the spring, large-scale road construction will be carried out.
Zhu Youjian has a large number of bandits and prisoners of war. Now there is no shortage of manpower, only the cooperation of the weather.
Everything is for development.
rapid development.
Extraordinary development.
After discussion between Zhu Youjian and Sun Chuanting, two economic centers will emerge in Shanxi. One is Yansui Prefecture in the north, where Gao Yingxiang will be the prefect. Here is mainly the production of lime, cement, coal, ceramics, etc., forming a mining city; the other is the capital of Shaanxi, Xi’an, which mainly produces cloth, clothing, printing and dyeing, wine, rice vinegar, etc., and at the same time establishes a commercial center to form a comprehensive The city strives to restore the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties as soon as possible.
Because all industry and commerce have to pay taxes in accordance with agricultural standards, Sun Chuanting began to organize manpower to formulate Daming's first industrial and commercial law-"Business Law".
According to Zhu Youjian, the "Business Law" will be promoted in Daming in the future, and the "Business Law" should be formulated by the Ministry of Households or the Ministry of Industry. However, the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry are far from the capital, and they don't know the specific conditions of Shaanxi, and the laws they enact may not be adapted to the specific conditions of Shaanxi. If someone is sent to Shaanxi for research, one visit and one visit will be gone in half a month. Therefore, it is formulated by Shaanxi first, and then reviewed by the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry. If the review is passed, the trial will begin in Shaanxi, and it may be promoted nationwide in the future.
The Qishan Gold Mine, the Yinshan Copper Mine, and the Nanzheng Iron Mine are new mines that may be discovered in the future, because they produce precious metals. According to Ming's law, the mines must be managed by the government.
Private individuals can invest, and those who contribute a lot can also participate in management, but the metals they obtain must be sold to the state at market prices. The profits obtained, except for taxation based on the 15 tax rate of the agricultural tax, 50% of the remaining profits will be handed over to the province. The other 50% is divided by the investors according to the proportion of the source.
It seems that private profits are not high. In fact, the profits of mining are very large, and the private share is still considerable. Those retail investors who do not participate in the management are basically sitting on the ground, which is more affordable and safer than loan sharks. .
The factories in Xi'an Prefecture have sprung up one by one after the rain, and these are mainly opened by merchants from all over the world. The technology of the Ming Dynasty was still relatively primitive, and the people could become qualified workers after a little training.
In Yansui, Zhu Youjian was not idle either. He was now riding on a wild horse that was running off the rein, and he was destined to be unable to lead a leisurely life.
Zhu Youjian is not short of money now.
Cement is Zhu Youjian's basic income. The first avenue from the capital to Shanhaiguan was fully completed a long time ago. The cement plants in Yanshan began to sell cement to large households near the capital; the Fu Wang Zhu Changxun in Luoyang Prefecture, Henan Province, began to build the cross-house cement avenue.
The glass factory has produced genuine products. In Daming, glass is priceless. Except for Zhu Youjian's factory, only Nanyang has a small amount of input. One square foot of glass can be sold for twelve taels of silver. Just glass alone can bring Zhu Youjian an income of fifty thousand taels of silver a month.
Zhu Youjian, who became rich, began to think about new ways of income. In later generations, he came from a major in chemical engineering. If he can't fully discover his professional expertise, he feels uncomfortable with his identity.
Zhu Youjian paced around the room, he was looking for a business that would never lose money, just like cement and glass. Zhu Youjian didn't bother to do business like Red Brick without technical content. He was just to speed up the construction of the military academy. After the construction of the military academy was completed, Zhu Youjian checked out the Red Brick Factory.
Unconsciously pacing outside the hospital, a passing soldier was carrying a basin of clothes in a brand-new tub. When he saw Zhu Youjian, he bent over and saluted: "I have seen your Highness."
Zhu Youjian felt that the soldier was familiar, but he couldn't call his name. In order to cover up the distance between himself and the soldier, he pretended to be very familiar, "Ao, what are you doing?"
"Back to Your Highness, the clothes I just washed, I am going to dry them." The soldier was really fooled, thinking that Zhu Youjian knew him well.
"To dry it? Has the clothes been washed?" Zhu Youjian casually squinted in the tub.
"Go back to your Highness, it's been washed." The soldier also subconsciously glanced at the clothes and blushed: "It's cold, and the clothes have not been washed for a long time. Now they can't be washed clean."
Can't you wash it clean? Zhu Youjian had a meal, and a flash of light hit his forehead from the soles of his feet, "You don't need to dry your clothes. Go to the street right away and buy ten catties of lard and ten catties of salt. You have to come back quickly."
Zhu Youjian thought of soap. This is a good thing. Every household needs to use it. It is used by a wide range of people and is light in weight. It is suitable for long-distance transportation and sold throughout the country.
The people of Ming Dynasty mainly used the saponins formed on the soap tree to wash their clothes, and even rubbed them directly with their hands. If the soap could be mass-produced, the price would be lowered. It is not only conducive to the development of the soap industry, but also brings convenience to the people's lives.
Zhu Youjian instructed the soldiers to dissolve the salt in most of the basin of clear water, stirring continuously during the period, until the salt could not dissolve, to make saturated salt water.
"His Royal Highness, what is this for? So much salt is poured into the water, and the soup made cannot be eaten?"
"Make soup? You want it to be beautiful." Zhu Youzhen couldn't laugh or cry. These soldiers have no culture and can only fight. "Pour the salt water into the big pot, then cut the lard into thin slices, and put it in the pot. "
"Your Majesty, you don't need to put water when you press oil," the soldier hesitated. "When I was a child, I saw my mother squeeze oil. I put the lard directly into the pot and heated it up."
Did your mother tell you how to make soap? Zhu Youzhen refrained from laughing, "Don't talk nonsense, just do it."
The soldiers quickly cut the lard, poured it into a large pot according to Zhu Youjian's request, and mixed it with the salt water thoroughly, "His Royal Highness, are you making a fire now?"
"Wait, uh... Take four cotton pockets and put them in ashes."
At this time, more and more soldiers gathered, and even Wang Mujiu was attracted by Zhu Youjian's strange tricks.
Ashes are not hard to find, and the kitchen is everywhere. Soldiers have packed four pockets long ago.
"Throw your pockets into the pot too... Throw, what are you looking at me doing?"
"His Royal Highness, how can you eat this lard if it gets dirty?" The soldier mustered up his courage. It hasn't been heated yet, and the lard hasn't got much ash on the lard.
"Eat, eat you big-headed ghost." Zhu Youjian felt that he had watched a comedy by Zhou Xingchi, "First boil the water over a high fire, and then cook it over a low fire to keep the pot boiling."
Zhu Youjian was worried that the recruits would ruin his soap business and waited until the salt water in the pot boiled completely.
"Just keep cooking like this, when a light yellow solid appears in the pot, let me know again."
It wasn't until the evening that the soldiers rushed up excitedly: "Your Highness, Your Highness, something pale yellow has appeared in the pot."
Zhu Youjian rushed out of the study, passed the guards, and ran straight to the kitchen.
Sure enough, I saw some light yellow, soft solids floating in the pot.
It's a success! Zhu Youjian suppressed the excitement in his heart, "Continue burning, continue stirring, don't turn off the flame."
When the sky is getting dark, the pale yellow solid is gradually aging, and the water surface is full of yellow jumping up and down. Zhu Youjian ordered the soldiers to cease the fire, took out the yellow solid, and waited for it to air dry.
In order to prevent freezing damage, the soap was brought to the charcoal fire room.
The next morning, no drips could be seen on the soap, but it was still very soft when I touched it with my hands. Zhu Youzhen put the soap in a wooden box with no bottom and no lid, and a huge stone was placed on it. After pressing it all day and night, he took out the shaped soap.
"His Royal Highness, what is this? Why does it have an unpleasant smell?" The soldier watched Zhu Youjian treat the yellow object as if it were a treasure, very puzzled.
"Haha, this is a good thing. Although it smells a bit bad, it can make a lot of money." The soap has been formed, and Zhu Youjian is excited to bite, if it's not bad smell.
Just do a few more experiments, increase the output of soap, find the best ratio of raw materials, and the soap can be put into production.
"His Royal Highness, what the hell is this? Such a god." The soldiers' eyes have begun to emit light, as if this is not yellow soap, but yellow gold.
"Get one of your dirty clothes, the dirtier the better." Zhu Youjian didn't answer the question of the soldier, he wanted to test the effect of soap. Soap is made, if there is no decontamination function, it is a waste of work.
The soldiers quickly fetched a piece of dirty underwear, and according to Zhu Youjian's instructions, put the clothes soaked in clean water, then put on soap and rubbed them.
Foam balloons rose rapidly in the basin, and every pore of Zhu Youjian was very comfortable after ironing through the air. If there were so many bubbles in the stock market, it would scare a large group of sentient beings. Now, Zhu Youzhen is full of expectations.
"His Royal Highness, how come there are so many bubbles on this clothes?" The soldiers were also worried that the bubbles would ruin his clothes.
"Don't talk nonsense, rub it a few times and then wash off the foam."
The soldiers have become accustomed to blindly following Zhu Youjian. Since Zhu Youjian has spoken, he can only follow suit.
When the foam was washed away with clean water, the soldier's mouth was full of laurels: "Your Majesty, God, this clothes is as clean as new."
"Such dirty clothes can be washed clean, do you think soap is a baby?" Seeing the clean clothes, Zhu Youjian's heart officially fell back to his chest cavity.
"His Royal Highness, do you think this is soap? He washed the clothes?" The soldiers' eyes were already filled with gold and silver. "The entire Daming people will use it to wash clothes. Isn't your Highness going to make a fortune?"
"You can't make a fortune without you." Zhu Youjian patted him on the shoulder, "Now put the soap away, don't let it out for now."
The soap was made, and Zhu Youjian was immersed in the joy of success. While humming "Time Cooks Rain", he walked aimlessly in the cold wind alone, hoping that the cold wind would cool his excited brain, otherwise, he might not sleep tonight.
"His Royal Highness, Master Sun sent someone to ask for a visit." The report from the soldiers interrupted Zhu Youjian's comfort.
"Master Sun? Where is the person?" Zhu Youzhen frowned. In this cold weather, what did Master Sun ask me for
"Back to Your Highness, the person is outside, a small servant, followed by a sedan chair." The soldier pointed at the gate of the mansion with his hand.