activa-t Chapter 046 You're Just Making a Fool of the Law
Chapter 046 You're Just Making a Fool of the Law
Chapter 046
When Xu Xianchun left Shahe Qianhu, he took ten large carts with him. Five of the carts were loaded with twenty Tianqi plows each, and the other five carts were loaded with four seeders each.
Although Xu Xianchun agreed to Chen Ying's request, the problem was that he was only a deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a fourth-rank official. Above him were two deputy commanders, one the garrison commander of the Northern Garrison and the other the garrison commander of the Southern Garrison. The garrison commanders were fourth-rank officials, but the garrison commander of the Northern Garrison had greater authority.
Xu Xianchun cannot make a decision on how to run this business in a single sentence.
Xu Xianchun led the ten carts, fully loaded with Tianqi plows and seeders, directly to the Jinyiwei Commandery to request an audience with Commander Tian Ergeng.
"Greetings, Commander!"
"Xianchun, you're too kind. We're brothers; there's no need for such formalities!"
Tian Ergeng looked at the ten large trucks behind Xu Xianchun: "This is..."
"This is the intention of Commander Chen of Shahe!"
Tian Ergeng naturally knew Chen Boying. Don't underestimate Chen Boying just because he was a commander of the Shahe Garrison. In front of Tian Ergeng, he was nothing.
The problem is that Chen Boying was not only highly favored by the Tianqi Emperor, who often dined and chatted with him, but also caused a commotion among the court officials for several months because the Tianqi Emperor wanted to appoint Chen Boying as a hereditary commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
More importantly, he knew that Chen Boying had given Wei Zhongxian 40,000 taels of silver, and was considered a good person by Wei Zhongxian.
"Commander, you are wise to see that this is precisely what is troubling me."
Xu Xianchun feigned difficulty: "To be honest, Commander, Chen Boying wants to promote the Tianqi Plow and Seeder he created to the north, but there are numerous checkpoints and countless monsters and demons..."
Tian Ergeng instantly understood: "What benefits did Uncle Chen promise you?"
"Are there any members of His Majesty's or the Eunuch's faction in this Shahe area?"
Xu Xianchun leaned forward, clearly using this as leverage, and lowered his voice: "The portions allocated to the Grand Eunuch and His Majesty's side were already predetermined, and Chen Boying wouldn't dare to touch a single penny. However... he is willing to contribute his share, which he has worked hard for. If the Commander doesn't mind, he could receive some assistance, such as looking after the route to ensure smooth transportation and prevent harassment or extortion by unauthorized individuals..."
Tian Ergeng pondered for a moment and said, "Shahe is a business that Eunuch Wei has taken care of, so we should support it. What's this talk of 'parties'? That's for outsiders. We're all on the same side!"
"Chen Boying said it!"
Xu Xianchun pointed at the Tianqi Plow and said, "He only charges ten taels of silver as principal for this plow, ensuring His Majesty and the Eunuch's share. He doesn't care how much silver we Embroidered Uniform Guards sell it for. If we sell one for fifteen taels of silver, we can get five taels of silver..."
"What if it sells for twenty taels of silver?"
"Then you can withdraw ten taels of silver!"
Xu Xianchun wore a nonchalant smile: "I wonder... what does the Commander think?"
Tian Ergeng's eyelids twitched.
Although he didn't know exactly how Chen Boying, Wei Zhongxian, and His Majesty divided the accounts, Wei Zhongxian would definitely be unhappy if he dared to take ten taels of silver from it.
Of course, he didn't incur any costs in this matter; he sold the plow and the seeder and then split the profits with Chen Boying.
More importantly, this job for Chen Boying was not a private matter; it was a good thing that benefited the North, the country, and its people. If he did it well, he would gain the favor of the Grand Eunuch and establish a closer relationship with Commander Chen.
Tian Ergeng's plan was extremely shrewd.
Instead of personally selling plows, he turned it into an internal task and perk for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
That night, an order was issued, and the seventeen commanders of the Imperial Guard's outposts quickly received the order from the Commander's Office.
"We now have Imperial-made Tianqi Plows and Huimin Seedlers, beneficial tools for the people, produced under the supervision of the Ministry of Works and the Shahe Bureau, reflecting the Sacred Heart's concern for agriculture and sericulture. Each bureau is to assist in their promotion, with each bureau required to purchase 1,000 Tianqi Plows and 600 Huimin Seedlers. The base price is 13 taels for the Tianqi Plow and 15 taels for the Huimin Seedler. Each bureau may increase the price as appropriate to cover official expenses, with the remainder going to the bureau's public use and the hard-earned money of the brothers. This must be handled diligently, without coercion or perfunctory work. The deadline is one month, and the amount to be paid will be recorded."
Tian Ergeng's order was worded in a grand and dignified manner, but everyone understood the meaning between the lines.
The benchmark price is the commission line set by Tian Ergeng. He takes three taels for each Tianqi plow and three taels for each seed drill. The rest is up to each thousand households to decide. If you sell at a high price and make more money, that's your skill. If you can't sell or cause trouble, you're on your own.
The commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were taken aback at first upon receiving the order, but then smiled knowingly.
The title of Imperial Guard makes them exceptionally well-suited for this task.
They didn't need to go door-to-door like ordinary merchants; they only needed to make a list of the wealthy households, landlords, gentry, and even garrison officers within their jurisdiction, and send a strongman or captain to inform them.
The Imperial Guard captain and strongman responsible for delivering the visit spoke very politely: "Sir, there is an order from above to promote new agricultural tools, which will benefit the country and the people. This is the Tianqi Plow, which His Majesty has named. It is made of fine steel from the Shahe Bureau and is said to save 40% of animal and human labor, allowing for deeper plowing and increased yields. As for the price, it is fair. A Tianqi Plow made of fine steel costs fifteen taels apiece. The steel alone is worth more than that. How many do you need? They will be just in time for the spring planting."
Although the Jinyiwei captain spoke in a calm tone, the embroidered spring knife and Zhuge crossbow in his hand, as well as the Jinyiwei uniform he wore, posed a silent pressure.
Most of the wealthy and gentry who were patronized initially thought that a plow costing fifteen or eighteen taels was quite expensive, but when they heard that it was a Tianqi plow, many of them were surprised.
"Is this the same Tianqi Plow that gained fame in Guidewei last year for its ability to save a lot of effort?"
A scholar surnamed Wang from Baoding Prefecture immediately pressed the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) officer who had come to his door for answers.
"Exactly! Now it's under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works, and the construction is done by Shahe. The materials and workmanship are even better than before!"
"Oh dear, I've heard so much about it, I was just wondering where to buy it!"
Landlords in the Ming Dynasty owned vast tracts of land, but nowadays, due to the weather, the winters in the north are too cold, and if they cannot cultivate the land in time, the yields will be severely reduced.
To increase production efficiency, the only option is to increase the number of tenants. However, if the tenants find that the rent is too high, they will not farm the land and will be unwilling to do so. They will work hard for a year but still starve to death.
Tenant farmers began to flee. Life in the north was difficult and the weather was cold, so many people went south. Landlords could not control everyone. Now, with this Tianqi plow, the efficiency of farming can be improved and farming time can be saved. This is equivalent to increasing the harvest, reducing the number of tenant farmers, and reducing production costs.
A plow costing fifteen taels of silver and a seed drill costing eighteen taels of silver are not unacceptable to Di Yan.
Far from being annoyed, Wang, the scholar, was overjoyed: "My lord, a Tianqi plow costs fifteen taels apiece, I want twenty-five, no, fifty! And fifteen seed drills as well, cash on delivery!"
Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in multiple locations across four provinces. The reputation of the Tianqi plough, after its small-scale trial and word-of-mouth promotion last year, had already spread among the northern landlord class who cared about agriculture.
Made of high-quality steel, sturdy and durable, saving manpower and animal power, and improving farming efficiency, these advantages are very attractive to them who own a lot of land and need to employ a lot of manpower and livestock.
The initial investment may seem high, but when factored into the annual savings in labor costs, feed costs, and potential increased yields, the investment can be recouped in two or three years, after which it becomes pure profit.
Moreover, this is a product made under the imperial name, which is respectable. More importantly, even if it breaks down in the future, we can simply sell the steel and not lose money, which is equivalent to using it for free.
Contrary to Tian Ergeng's expectations, the shirking of responsibility, complaints, and even conflicts did not occur on a large scale. Instead, many gentry and landlords treated the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) who came to their door with great hospitality. Some even secretly slipped a few taels of silver for tea, pleading for more sets or priority supply.
The officers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were happy with this arrangement. The commanders of a thousand men generally added one or two taels to the fifteen taels price, while the commanders of a hundred men and the captains added a little more. In the end, the price for a plow in the hands of wealthy households could reach seventeen or eighteen taels, but the demand remained strong.
Especially those large landowners with vast tracts of land, they would buy dozens or even hundreds of bodies at a time without batting an eye.
Sales figures were rapidly relayed back to the capital via the Imperial Guard system.
Tian Ergeng looked at the numbers reported by each office, and saw that in just ten days, most of the thousand-household offices had completed or even exceeded their quotas, and the feedback he received was almost entirely positive. His anxiety was completely relieved, replaced by a surge of joy.
With over 17,000 Tianqi plows, each yielding a commission of three taels of silver, he netted 51,000 taels of silver. He also earned a commission of three taels for each of the 8,000 Huimin seed drills, totaling 24,000 taels of silver. In just half a month, he netted 75,000 taels of silver. This business was spearheaded by Xu Xianchun, and he was given another 8,000 taels of silver.
This money was earned even more easily and securely than having one's property confiscated; it brought both fame and fortune.
To his surprise, a few days later, the Office of Transmission forwarded a batch of copies of memorials submitted by local officials.
These memorials were not impeachments, but rather praises. The Shandong Provincial Governor, the Henan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and several prefects of Beizhili all mentioned in their memorials that this spring, local gentry had enthusiastically purchased new agricultural tools such as the "Tianqi Plow" and the "Huimin Seedling," which were expected to greatly increase the efficiency of farming and would be of great benefit to easing the burden on the people and boosting agriculture.
Even more extreme, some attribute this directly to His Majesty's benevolence and concern for the people's suffering, as well as the dedication and effective promotion of the eunuchs and the Jinyiwei commander Tian.
Tian Ergeng's hands trembled slightly as he held these memorials.
During his years as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he received a mountain of impeachments, but the honors he received were few and far between, and most of them were procedural.
It's unprecedented for a local official to genuinely praise someone for doing such a great thing.
Tian Ergeng asked, "Lord Xu, wasn't it said that the Shahe Garrison could produce 20,000 Tianqi Plows per month?"
"That's right, but this iron..."
"I'll figure out the ironwork. My father-in-law will be getting a share of the profits from this business, so as his sons, we should definitely help him out!"
Don't be fooled by Tian Ergeng's nice words; it's all business.
Under Tian Ergeng's manipulation, a batch of pig iron, totaling 1.6 million catties, arrived in Jiangxi and was destined for the Bureau of Military Forces. However, when it reached Shandong, it was stolen by remnants of the White Lotus Sect and its whereabouts became unknown.
The Ministry of War issued an order to the Shandong Military Commandery to retrieve the steel within a specified period. The problem was that this 1.6 million catties of steel was openly and legitimately found at the Shahe Garrison Command.
After learning the whole story, Chen Ying gave Tian Ergeng a thumbs up: "Awesome!"
The current state of the Ming Dynasty is actually quite similar to the later Great Ming Dynasty. With the Ming Dynasty's transportation capacity, 1.6 million catties (900 tons) would be enough for dozens of heavy trucks in the future. However, in the current Ming Dynasty, if ordinary two-wheeled vehicles were used instead of four-wheeled carriages, nearly a thousand large carts would be needed.
Even if there were no roads, thousands of trucks would have trampled them into a path. It would be impossible to do it silently. However, the problem is that everyone, from top to bottom, believed that this was an official ship robbed by the remnants of Xu Hongru's White Lotus sect in Shandong.
However, through this cooperation with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Chen Ying also made a lot of money. Although he gave Xu Xianchun eight taels of silver, the actual cost was only four taels and six mace. He could actually make three taels and four mace of silver for each Tianqi Plow, and more than 30,000 plows would amount to more than 100,000 taels of silver.
Of course, even with the seeder included, and even if Wei Zhongxian shared the profits, he could still earn over 200,000 taels of silver. As more than 30,000 iron plows were sold and users gave their testimonials, the iron plow became increasingly popular.
Now that there is so much iron, Chen Ying can naturally expand the scale of production.
During this period, he did not actually focus on production, but mainly on building schools. Now, Shahe Institute no longer has six or seven thousand people. Since Wei Zhongxian gave more than 1,400 mu of land, Chen Ying also used his influence to buy up the wasteland around Shahe Institute.
This wasn't actually wasteland, but Xu Xianchun stepped in and talked to the other party, and it naturally became wasteland—it's that magical.
The Shahe Academy was finally able to move out of the Qianhu Residence. Chen Ying established the new school site along the Shahe River, which was about five miles from Gonghua City.
This school, covering an area of more than 200 acres, is similar to schools in later generations. It is a fortress-like complex with four-meter-high red brick walls. Inside, it is divided into three parts: teaching area, living area and administrative office area.
Each classroom is also constructed by combining three rooms, facing south, with three large windows on both the north and south sides, and consists of three sections: primary school, middle school, and vocational school.
At first, Chen Ying didn't have that much land, only planning for a little over 200 acres. Now that he has more land, he decided to build a technical school similar to Lanxiang Technical School along the banks of the Shahe River.
After all, Chen Ying needed not just ordinary scholars, but also people with certain skills who could write and read, and who could serve as technical and management backbone.
With the completion of the Shahe Academy's basic classrooms, Chen Wanyan, the headmaster, arrived at the academy under the guidance of an old servant. He looked at the classrooms, three rooms per row, fourteen classrooms in total, divided into six rows, for a total of eighty-four classrooms.
In addition to classrooms, there is a library that can accommodate two hundred people at the same time, a two-story faculty office building, and at the back are facilities such as teachers' and students' dormitories and a canteen.
Chen Wanyan resigned himself to his fate at this point.
He had no choice but to accept his fate; could he resign in protest?
What did his years of hard study amount to? Since Chen Ying was willing to run a school, he was confident that he could cultivate some promising students. In fact, he had discovered quite a few promising students during this period.
The students at Shahe Academy have a very poor foundation, but the problem is that this academy is different from most academies. There are too many students, now more than 460, so it is not surprising that there are a few promising talents.
However, what infuriated Chen Wanyan was that Chen Ying had planned a courtyard in the Shahe Academy called Baicaotang, a place specifically for training doctors, and the person in charge of teaching was Hu Chuanwen, the director of the health center.
Okay, let's open a medical school then. Among the various schools of thought in ancient China, the only one that Confucianism didn't dislike was the medical profession. The ideal of Confucianism was that if one couldn't be a good prime minister, one should be a good doctor.
After establishing the medical school, Chen Ying planned to establish the School of Mathematics. Of course, the School of Mathematics would not be located on the current campus, but would need to be built later. He planned to establish more than 400 acres of land from the wasteland he purchased, and would successively establish the School of Mathematics, the School of Metallurgy, the School of Agriculture, the School of Physics, the School of Chemistry, the School of Materials Science and Engineering, the School of Mechanical Engineering, and the School of Business, for a total of eight schools.
Chen Wanyan originally wanted to ask Chen Ying if the new school should hold a ceremony, but after seeing the blueprints Chen Ying had planned, he instantly exploded: "Commander Chen, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"Where have I been acting foolishly?"
"You still say it's not ridiculous? A school is a place to teach the Four Books and Five Classics, a place to impart the ways of the sages. And you're running a medical school, a mathematics school, and even chemistry and physics. What is this if not ridiculous? What kind of school is it if it doesn't teach the ways of the sages?"
Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "Scholar Chen, you should know how many academies there are in the Ming Dynasty now, right?"
"I know. Currently, in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, excluding official schools, there are approximately two thousand private academies!"
The literary culture of the Ming Dynasty was extremely prosperous. Yongcheng County alone had three academies. Of course, there were not many counties like Yongcheng. After all, Yongcheng was a wealthy county in the Ming Dynasty. If it weren't for the Yellow River flooding in the third year of the Tianqi reign, there would be almost no large-scale refugees now.
Chen Ying then asked, "Then the question arises, Scholar Chen: how many scholars are there in our Great Ming Dynasty?"
"this……"
Chen Wanyan pondered for a moment and said, "It should be around tens of thousands!"
In the Ming Dynasty, there were between 50,000 and 60,000 scholars who could enjoy the benefits of being a student. However, the problem was that many people, whether in private schools, official schools, or military schools, did not enjoy the benefits provided by the court and did not obtain the title of Xiucai.
In fact, the number of scholars nationwide should be several times, or even dozens of times, the number of officially recognized scholars, which can be estimated to be between 500,000 and over 1 million.
After all, the Xiucai examination could be held twice every three years, and each time each county could produce forty or twenty Xiucai. In just three years, about twenty to thirty thousand new Xiucai could be produced.
"Then, Scholar Chen, out of hundreds of thousands of scholars, how many will pass the imperial examination and become a Juren?"
"Every three years, one thousand candidates will be selected from the two capitals and thirteen provinces to pass the imperial examinations!"
That means only one out of more than a hundred people will be accepted!
Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "Of the thousand successful candidates, two or three hundred can be admitted as Jinshi. This means that ninety percent of scholars are destined to fail the Xiucai exam, ninety-nine percent of Xiucai are destined to fail the Juren exam, and seventy percent of Juren will fail the Jinshi exam!"
"Since ancient times, the imperial examination system has been like a thousand soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge. It's difficult to become a student, even more difficult to become a provincial graduate, and even more difficult to become a metropolitan graduate..."
Chen Wanyan also recalled his own past, when he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and relied solely on the five pecks of rice provided by the court to survive, unable even to afford vegetables.
"Since so many scholars can't pass the provincial or metropolitan examinations and can't serve the court like Lord Chen, I'll teach my students a skill in advance. They can learn medicine if they want, or a trade if they want. Having a skill to make a living is perfectly acceptable..."
"Commander Chen, this is mere sophistry!"