Chapter 173

Chapter 173

In Suzhou City, people from all over Tianqi Country came and went.

After Guangdong took the lead, various places also signed the "Miners' Convention". In the words of those people, it means that your Magistrate Ji has found a good job for you.

How to implement the following specifically?

I don’t know yet.

But since everyone has signed, it means they have accepted it.

If you go too far and continue to treat the miners as you did before, your newly built steam pumps will surely be demolished.

This thing is difficult to build, but it's very easy to destroy.

But those who want a steam engine basically have waste mines at home and basically don’t care about these things.

Those whose mines are fine are mostly waiting and watching.

But they know that this matter will find them sooner or later. Not to mention that all mines will eventually run dry, just talking about these miners, they have work to do anywhere, so they will definitely look for a place with better benefits first.

Ji Yuan is true.

Why doesn't he want money?

If he asked for money, this matter would be easier.

It’s a pity that they don’t want any money and are still tinkering with new things.

Suzhou today.

The mining area is gradually resuming construction.

The first steam pump was built.

The second one, the third one, will be built naturally and slowly.

Ji Yuan is no longer worried about the development of the entire mining area.

He is already looking at the next industry.

In the past, wheat seeds were being cultivated in the government fields. This was a routine official business and there was no need to say more.

The newly opened official fields are planted with rubber grass.

This thing used to be a weed, but now not only can its seeds make money, it can also produce rubber. It's really exciting.

However, although rubber grass is also a member of the dandelion family, it is different from ordinary dandelions.

Now that I have planted it, I realize that I still need to conduct further screening.

But these are minor issues.

The Suzhou government is gradually improving its methods.

The local rubber grass is planted in September or April of the following year.

As long as it is well maintained, it can produce rubber in half a year.

In other words, if you plant in September, you can see the results in March next year.

If you plant it in April of the following year, you can harvest it again in October or November.

These two months will be the rubber harvest season.

It is now August and the first batch of rubber fields in the local area are being plowed.

This thing has another advantage. It doesn't need fertile farmland. It likes sandy land or even saline-alkali land.

This means that ordinary farmers can, in addition to farming, open up a piece of unwanted sandy land and plant rubber grass.

Selling it during the harvest season will provide extra income.

The Suzhou government also encouraged them to plant it.

Of course, just like in Dianzhou Prefecture, we cannot let this sideline business interfere with growing staple food.

The drama in Dianzhou Prefecture was also moved here.

The same folk song goes, "The whole family has no food to eat, and they starve to death while hugging rubber."

It’s not that Ji Yuan wants to scare people.

But this kind of thing really happens!

When Ji Yuan first came to Suzhou, everyone said he didn't care about rubber.

When he really cares about rubber, everyone will realize that you might as well not come!

Even the rubber industry can set standards.

How to deal with those who lower prices, how to deal with those who raise prices, and how to deal with those who hoard goods.

Finished these.

He took a batch of rubber grass roots and a batch of tar and started a new experiment.

Make raw rubber.

Becomes cooked rubber.

This is not an easy thing to do.

If it weren't for modern knowledge, it would have taken at least fifty years to figure it out.

Fortunately, he had a general direction and had a clear idea in mind when making it.

"Won't Ji Yuan ever get tired?"

"Why is he in such a hurry?"

Ji Yuan looked towards the direction of the capital.

The news spread in May and June, and the capital should have received the news in late July.

After they discuss it, they will convey the decree around September?

He had to make the cooked rubber before the imperial edict arrived.

Forget about the previous logging meeting.

Today's miners' convention really affects the interests of too many people.

And it is the top-level interests.

The only places that can obtain the mining operating rights, except for places like Suzhou, are those that purchased them purely through money.

There is another situation.

Relying on relationships and power.

And this group of people holds the bulk of the mineral resources.

Even eight-tenths of the world's mineral resources are in their hands.

Royal family.

And the top aristocratic families.

Seeing that there are many scattered mineral owners in other places.

But compared with this group of people, it's still a drop in the bucket.

As Zhejiang merchants arrived, Shanxi merchants also arrived.

Why did the merchants in Guangdong exchange first?

Because Guangdong is so far away and has direct access to the sea, they have a lot of trade with overseas and are not that reverent about imperial power.

The merchants in Guangdong are competing fiercely among themselves, and are more like today's upstarts. The royal family has not yet extended their hand to them, and they do not have any very deep-rooted families.

It’s different in Zhejiang.

Everyone knows that it is a land of fish and rice, and it is also the place where those wealthy families have taken root.

The vast majority of local mineral resources are in their hands.

In the more inland areas of Jin, Qi, Lu and Yuzhou, the mines were under the control of the royal family.

Even some of the mines in Bashu were under the names of various royal families.

Down layer by layer.

Those Suzhou mine owners who are dissatisfied with Jiyuan are actually the least to be feared.

The era touches upon the interests of the latter two.

Ji Yuan felt that he should have been scolded a long time ago.

If he were in the capital, he would probably have been charged with a crime and be ready to be exiled at any time.

So he was asked to speed up the process.

The steam engine had just been invented and had not yet shown its usefulness.

Only existing interests can shut up these short-sighted people.

After all, steam engines can be developed anywhere.

Abandoned mines are everywhere.

Then why did he have to come to such a remote place?

Is it to avoid the supervision of the court?

No no no.

He was obviously trying to extract cooked rubber.

That’s why I came to Suzhou.

Who knows, rubber grass is only found in Suzhou?

When Ji Yuan does things, he won't just rush forward blindly.

Just because you like walking on a tightrope doesn’t mean you don’t value your life.

After all, he still has a lot to do.

Whether others believe it or not, he did this for the sake of mellow rubber, so the excuse is valid anyway.

Don't believe it?

Don't use cooked rubber.

Ji Yuan found a way out and a good direction.

To outsiders, it seemed like he was courting death.

But in reality?

In fact, the research on cooked rubber may be smoother than he imagined.

This is due to the rubber of the water melon tree and also to modern discoveries that rubber grass can be produced more conveniently.

Just by looking at the name, you can tell that this thing is actually as famous as the rubber tree.

Its roots can produce ten to twenty percent rubber.

What’s important is that the growth cycle is still short.

In modern times, it can even be as famous as the rubber tree as one of the three important sources of rubber.

Ji Yuan thought of this kind of good thing when he was in Dianzhou Prefecture.

I wrote to Wuying and they found this good stuff in the frontier.

After the latex is extracted from the roots of rubber grass, it can be processed to the next step.

Liu Jun from Wuying is also here, helping Ji Yuan.

When they saw the latex, everyone couldn't help but cheer.

This thing can really make rubber.

Ji Yuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Because the extracted latex does not need any further processing, it will solidify as long as it is dried.

Compared with the rubber used to make the water melon tree, it is completely different.

Of course, although the rubber of the water melon tree is not as good as that of rubber grass, the gum in it can be used to dye cloth and make waterproof cloth, with better results.

Furthermore, today's rubber is not all good, there are also many problems.

What they have to do is to solve these problems.

When the latex dries, what comes out is raw rubber.

But this thing also has certain problems.

Afraid of both cold and heat.

This is also the biggest problem with rubber products today.

If it is too hot, the raw rubber will become soft, and if it gets cold, it will become hard.

People like to use rubber, on the one hand because of its waterproofness, and on the other hand because of its elasticity.

It is afraid of both cold and heat, and will even crack, which makes it useless.

If there were no substitutes and the rubber in Dianzhou Prefecture was indeed cheap, the industry would not have been so large.

But as the use of rubber increases.

Now the problem naturally arises.

There is even a lot of waste rubber piled up, which seems to have become useless garbage long ago.

What Jiyuan wants to do with cooked rubber is to change this property.

And, bring previously discarded rubber back to life.

It can also allow latex to change shape, making it easier to transport.

In the freight chamber of commerce, two freight merchants, one from the Zhang family and the other from the Liu family, came with a large bag of waste rubber.

If you look closely, you'll find that most of these rubber pieces are parts of carriages.

It was very valuable when I bought it, but after using it for a while, as the weather and temperature changed, it basically cracked and hardened, becoming a pile of waste.

It is for this reason that both companies want to produce rubber locally.

After all, if the item itself is not expensive, there is nothing wrong with replacing parts frequently.

The problem is.

This thing is expensive.

If shipped to Suzhou, the price will increase a hundred times.

Some of the cargo is sturdy, so it's okay if the carriage bumps around a bit.

But many of the items were too heavy, and they wanted to save their horses some energy.

Some things are fragile and also need rubber products to prevent bumps.

This price is too expensive.

After meeting Lord Ji last time, they heard from Lord Ji about the existence of cooked rubber and kept it in mind.

Unexpectedly, a few months later, Lord Ji sent a message asking them to bring the discarded rubber parts over.

What is this for?

No matter what you do.

Just go.

Could Lord Ji still harm them?

Among so many officials in the world, the one they trust the most is Lord Ji.

Especially the experience of the Freight Chamber of Commerce and the Miners Association.

Lord Ji really cares about them.

Some of them also knew the miners in Shixing County. After those miners returned to work, not only were their lives better than before, but their safety was also guaranteed.

The daily work is less, but the wages are higher.

One bad thing is that they have bad working habits and always do dangerous things, such as going down the mine without wearing a helmet, and the equipment they wear when going down the mine is too dangerous.

All are strictly prohibited.

Purpose?

Of course, it's for their safety.

So they believe in Lord Ji. The poorer the people are, the more they believe in Lord Ji.

When they arrived at the rubber workshop in Suzhou, Zhang Huowu and Liu Huowu were still a little nervous.

You know, last time they went with those four families to "put pressure" on Lord Ji. Thinking about it now, their faces turn red.

Ji Yuan had long forgotten about that matter. Seeing that they brought a lot of discarded rubber, he smiled and said, "Come on, let's see if these things really work."

Now raw rubber is made.

Also bring the discarded rubber.

The next step is experiment.

That is to fuse the waste tar with the rubber separately.

The substances in the tar are used to soften and dissolve the raw rubber that has been fixed in shape, and then reshape it.

At the same time, the tar can also give new life to previously discarded, hardened and cracked rubber.

If both of these can be achieved.

Then these volatile waste tars will become treasures in the future.

The two freight merchants were really happy when they heard that these discarded and useless parts might still be used.

They spent a lot of money to buy these parts, originally thinking they were disposable, and now you tell them they can be reused?

This tar is very cheap to buy.

If it really works, then they will save a lot of expenses.

Ji Yuan also thought of this matter by chance.

Since tar can change the shape of raw rubber, it may also be able to restore the elasticity of other discarded rubber products.

All in all, rubber products in Tianqi have been around for four or five years.

Especially in the past two years, it is no exaggeration to say that there has been a boom in rubber products.

As much rubber is produced, so much rubber is discarded.

Being able to reuse these rubbers can also alleviate the pressure on rubber use in various places.

Anyway, it was just a matter of convenience for him.

Two rubber pits started working at the same time.

When Ji Yuan was doing things, he liked to wear clothes with narrow sleeves and a tight belt. From a distance, this young man seemed to have a tall and straight figure and was particularly handsome.

It's completely different from other officials.

When Song Liuqun came over, he was still muttering, "No wonder everyone wants to marry their daughter to him."

The Song family has also thought about it.

Unfortunately, the current Song family is no longer able to do that.

Song Liuqun came here just as the heavy snow had just started to fall. He was about to return to his post and came to say goodbye.

The convention of Jinzhou Prefecture has not been signed yet, and it has to wait for the officials to discuss it.

Not only did people in Jinzhou Prefecture not sign, but places like Yuzhou and Luozhou also did not sign.

Even in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the gentry behind them were also hesitant.

When talking to Ji Yuan alone, Song Liuqun instructed again: "You also know who is behind those two places."

"You must give benefits to the people, but you will offend them."

Behind the traditional mining areas are royal families.

In places where the economy is more developed, there are aristocratic families behind them.

"And they might get the steam engine blueprints from somewhere else and bypass you."

There are already drawings of steam engines in Guangdong and many places in Hexi Prefecture.

The royal family and the nobles can ask these places for it.

Ji Yuan is not after money, but these people definitely are.

As long as a hole is opened, the drawings will be scattered into the hands of major families all over the world.

If we look at it this way, doesn't that mean we have to circumvent the necessary condition of signing the convention in the Era?

Ji Yuan looked at Song Liuqun, and seeing that he was actually giving him a sincere reminder, he couldn't help but look at him twice more.

Although Song Liuqun and Ji Yuan were of the same year, they did not receive any preferential treatment. He was not in a hurry. When Ji Yuan looked at him like this, he said seriously, "You are the best among our peers. Naturally, we have some connections. If you have any news in the future, we can also share what we have."

"Jinzhou Prefecture has a lot of contacts with the royal family. If there is any news, I may have to consult Master Ji."

After Song Liuqun finished speaking, he felt a little nervous.

Because Ji Yuan would definitely understand what he meant.

It is surrender.

Or to take refuge.

As the most promising official in the Song family today.

He wanted to find a backer for his family.

Something happened to Scholar Chu, and I heard that the case is about to be judged.

They have always relied on the Chu family, but now they must find another backer.

Turn to Prime Minister Li?

Not to mention that Prime Minister Li is now at the peak of his career and has no shortage of them.

Even if they surrendered, everyone would still have a hard time due to their previous grudges.

However, even without Scholar Chu and Prime Minister Li, there are still many aristocratic families in the court who can turn to for help.

For example, the current Minister of Revenue, Grand Secretary Wen, etc.

But Song Liuqun had a bold idea.

During his time in Suzhou, Song Liuqun had made up his mind.

It’s better to join Jiyuan.

This behavior is a bit too bold.

The era itself is amazing.

But he has no power or influence except himself.

Needless to say, my own family.

Ji Yuan has no father or mother. His parents were ordinary farmers when they were alive. His mother's family is also farmers, and it is obvious that they don't have much contact with them.

Then rely on the Yue family?

He has no Yue family, and he would not marry even if he were given a princess. Every day he is either in the workshop, in the fields, or in the government office.

Song Liuqun felt that this person might never get married.

How can such a person be a supporter?

He can rely on himself.

Others only know that Ji Yuan is powerful, but have never been colleagues with him.

But I am different. I have seen the power of Ji Yuan.

The era can make everything seem natural.

For example, the affairs of the Historiography Office, Ning'an Prefecture, and today's Suzhou Prefecture.

There will be no problem if you follow him.

Moreover, Song Liuqun discovered that now was the best time to join Jiyuan.

He is about to face pressure from the royal family and the aristocracy.

If I don't surrender now, will there be any other good opportunities?

Ji Yuan didn't expect that Song Liuqun would do this.

However, multiple information channels are naturally good.

Ji Yuan nodded slightly, as if to agree, and then gave him a reassurance: "Don't worry, it will be fine even if you bypass me to build the steam engine."

The development of the steam engine.

And the promotion of trade unions were originally two lines.

Although they have bundled sales at the beginning, it does not mean that the Miners Association will be ignored.

The association's focus is on the miners themselves.

His bundling sales are just the beginning.

Wherever there are miners.

Or to put it bluntly, wherever there is oppression, they will organize themselves.

Our own miners' association only provides everyone with an organizational template.

This trend cannot be stopped by one person, one family or one country.

Any country that wants to stop this trend, no matter how huge the empire is, will be doomed to destruction.

They couldn't refuse.

No one can refuse.

Song Liuqun was stunned.

He had never considered it from that perspective.

yes.

These are two completely different things.

Although their respective developments overlap, they will not affect each other.

Even those who secretly took away the blueprints were part of Ji Yuan’s plan?

Not really.

But in this era, more and more people are participating in the research of steam engines. This is a good thing, a very good thing.

For greater profits and higher efficiency, those people will definitely work hard on research.

His attention now is basically on making cooked rubber.

However, when Song Liuqun returned, Ji Yuan still saw him off in person.

After all, they are of the same age, so there is some affection between them.

Song Liuqun knew that this was to support him. When he returned to Jinzhou Prefecture, he would have more say in matters concerning the steam engine drawings and the Miners' Association.

Who made him know Ji Yuan? They seemed to have a good relationship.

at the same time.

Tianqi Kingdom, capital.

This was the first year of the new emperor's reign, and even the reign title had not been changed yet.

The new emperor had a complicated look in his eyes.

It turns out that being an emperor and being a crown prince are two completely different things.

The things he saw seemed to be more and farther away.

Even, he understood his father better.

No wonder they still wanted to use Chu Daxueshi even though they knew he had many problems.

Even reused.

The matter of the Rubber Division remains unresolved.

According to his idea, it would be best to assign it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This makes it easier for him to control.

Moreover, the rubber industry is indeed a mountain product and should belong to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the royal family.

But there were many objections in the court, and Prime Minister Li also wanted this thing to be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue.

If the Minister of Revenue, Wen Daxueshi, was not his confidant, this matter would have been accomplished.

When my father was here, this matter had clearly been finalized, but now that it’s his turn, why is he discussing it again?

This naturally made the new emperor very dissatisfied.

He felt that the people below him treated him differently from his father.

Similarly, they were reluctant to give up the huge profits of the Rubber Company.

If he gave up these profits, how would the royal family view him?

Will the royal relatives who firmly support him continue to support him?

Of course you don't have to worry about it.

But is he really willing to do so?

Many people would think that the emperor, who rules the world, would not value these profits or even love money.

That's so wrong.

Money, power, sex.

As long as he is an ordinary man, he can't get around it.

After all, what is the difference between him and others? He is not even as good as the ministers who have passed the exams all the way.

After all, he has risen to the top through academic excellence, while he only relies on reincarnation and the display of his own righteousness.

So he also wanted these gold and silver objects, these fascinating wealth.

Of course, there is another point, which is the grasp of power.

Such wealth and power.

He must master it.

The new emperor had already made up his mind, but he didn't show it on his face.

What makes him more powerful than the previous emperor is probably that he looks relatively gentle.

This was due to his father's cultivation and his tolerant nature as a crown prince for many years.

"Grand Scholar Chu has handed in another document?" the new emperor said slowly.

The eunuch quickly brought it over.

The document described the situation of the Rubber Department and his willingness to argue for the emperor.

He even used his superior literary talent to help the emperor explain why the Rubber Company belonged to the emperor and the royal family.

I only saw it written inside.

The emperor's grace is so great that all the mountains and lakes in the world belong to him.

What else? To curb merchants and their pursuit of personal gain.

If you continue to worry about the people, you will not be able to use your resources for your own benefit.

Anyway, to sum it up.

The mountains and swamps of the world originally belong to the emperor. There is nothing wrong with the emperor requisitioning them.

Moreover, the emperor requisitioned these things not for himself, but to curb merchants and prohibit the people from cutting down and developing them without restraint, otherwise what would happen to our future generations.

The emperor did this not for his own selfish reasons. How can you stop him? Aren't you afraid of letting down the people?

If Prime Minister Li, who forced the Rubber Department to the Ministry of Revenue, or officials such as Ji Yuan saw this document, they would probably be so angry that they would laugh.

It's obviously a distortion of the truth.

It seems stupid.

But is it really stupid?

Or it just hits the spot in some people's hearts.

Scholar Chu was detained in his own residence, drinking tea calmly.

Until the door was kicked open.

"Mr. Chu! What do you suggest? Let the border troops grow rubber grass to be self-sufficient?!"

“Okay, okay!”

"You really have an idea!"

The seventeen-year-old prince had just come out of the Ministry of War and was extremely angry.

The practice of border troops cultivating land is an old tradition, but asking them to grow rubber grass, with half given to the court and the other half for themselves?

If this is really implemented.

Is that still a border army?

Can we still fight?!

No wonder Ji Yuan said that the border troops need to pay more attention now.

It turns out there is this kind of person, instigating behind the scenes!

Doesn’t Grand Secretary Chu know that the Jing Kingdom in Ning’an Prefecture has always been unwilling to accept defeat?

Is there an imminent war between Suixu City and Hehui Kingdom?

The people of Suixu City want to fight a war with Hehui Kingdom in order to avenge the late emperor.

Not only did you suggest not paying the military salaries, you also asked Suixu City to earn military expenses by selling rubber itself.

OK, OK.

That’s great!

Scholar Chu was already old, and when he looked at the young prince who was only sixteen or seventeen years old, he felt inexplicably panicked.

He can bribe older people, and he has many other tricks up his sleeve.

But it is not easy to say too much to such a young and ignorant boy who is so reckless.

Because they are still young, they will not be swayed by interests.

It’s not that they don’t love interests and power, it’s that they don’t understand the beauty of these things.

To put it bluntly.

The drive of young people is hard to control.

It's really hard to control.

Because the prince's sword had already fallen on him.

No matter how many schemes, how many calculations, how many tricks there are.

They are no match for cold weapons.

In other words, power.

The prince was also furious.

This was his first assignment after becoming the crown prince, and he took on this assignment on his own initiative.

Still something he likes.

The war between Suixu City and Hehui Kingdom is about to break out.

Being obstructed by such a person?

The man also said that there was no benefit in fighting between the two sides.

Because war will result in death, and death is not good for anyone.

The soldiers of Tianqi are also soldiers.

What's more, Tianqi's strength is overwhelming Hehui's, so it would be better to let Jing fight for Tianqi.

All they had to do was use Champa rice as bait.

Enhance our national prestige!

How come it is not a benefit!

The prince really wanted to fight this battle.

But he was a little afraid to tell Ji Yuan.

Because he seemed to know that Ji Yuan vaguely had the same idea.

You can fight, but you can’t fight casually.

You can't just kill the whole family at will.

It would be good if we could catch the ringleader.

The prince put away his sword, his hands shaking slightly.

He didn't know what he was thinking.

But he couldn't help but say, "No one will stop us now."

Even if it was Ji Yuan, he would be afraid and wouldn't say anything more, right?

When his father was the crown prince, this Grand Secretary Chu kept trying to trip him up.

Now he is the emperor and the crown prince, why is he still like this? !

He deserves to die.

Scholar Chu died.

He probably never thought that he would die like this.

The power in his hands is enough to make him ignore the lives of many people.

Now his life is also easily wiped out by power.

Everyone knows that the prince can be killed at will.

At most, he was reprimanded by the emperor and impeached by ministers a few times.

Then nothing happened.

When Mr. Chu took his last breath, he suddenly thought of the words that had been in his heart many years ago.

This is the fate of the Jiyuan family.

Now it seems, what is the difference between his family and Ji Yuan's family.

They can all be executed at will.

That's not right either.

The Ji Yuan family lived in peace and stability, and had done nothing evil.

His family, however, is just the opposite.

But the ending seems to be the same.

Not the same either.

The Ji family has an era.

Never mind. He's going to die.

There are also means to confuse right and wrong and stir up trouble.

He would also be killed by a seventeen-year-old child.

Was it the sword that killed him? It was power.

This is his fate.