Chapter 347 The Size of the Inspection Team Has Increased! Pleasant Results!

Eastern Palace.

Zhu Biao's study.

Fang Xiaoru arrived in a dusty state, and saw Lan Yu and Mu Ying standing outside the study.

Lan Yu saw Fang Xiaoru and couldn't help but greet him with a smile: "Xizhi is back."

"I pay my respects to the Marquis of Yongchang and the Marquis of Xiping." Fang Xiaoru hurriedly saluted.

Mu Ying looked at Fang Xiaoru.

Fang Xiaoru was a capable civil official under the command of the prince.

Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng, Lian Zining, Qi Tai, Sheng Yong, Tie Xuan...

These young officials are now serving as county magistrates in local county governments.

They are also from the prince's family.

Pioneers in promoting auction-based tax farming and local villages.

In recent years, these young civil officials have done very well.

It is said that His Majesty has praised them many times.

Just as they were talking, the door of the study opened.

Ye Mao, who returned to the court to report on his work and summarized the land tax and commercial tax for the year, walked out of the study.

"Marquis of Yongchang, Marquis of Xiping."

"Lord Ye..."

The two sides exchanged a few pleasantries, and Ye Mao said goodbye and left.

Lan Yu smiled and pointed to the door, "You have come back from a long journey, go report to the prince first, we are not in a hurry."

Fang Xiaoru looked at Lan Yu in surprise.

Lan Yu has changed a lot.

After smiling and bowing to thank him, he walked into the study.

Lan Yu shifted his sight, glanced at Ye Mao who was walking away, and whispered: "I don't know what your majesty wrote to Ye Mao in the receipt. This dignified governor, in Fujian, actually followed the prince of Yan step by step."

Many people in the court were curious.

But they couldn't find out what happened after Zhu Di's great victory in annihilating the Japanese pirates in Min County.

Why didn't he take action against Ye Mao?

Why did Ye Mao suddenly obey Zhu Di's orders?

Mu Ying shook his head.

Not only Ye Mao.

It is said that even Shen Ren, the governor of Fujian, completely turned to the fourth brother.

But neither your majesty nor the prince said anything, so everyone could only think about it privately.

Putting away the thought, he immediately changed the subject and asked with a smile: "Old Four invited us to go south to Fujian to observe his new army on Jilong Island. Have you thought about it? When are you going?"

Old Four invited them to go next year.

But he did not say the specific time.

It was clear that they were allowed to decide for themselves.

"How about this time next year?" Lan Yu watched the study door close, "It's too early to go. The new army has just been set up, and I'm afraid we won't see the strongest side..."

This year, Zhu Old Four has devoted all his energy to Jian'an's rural villages and communities.

The new army is probably handed over to Tan Yuan, Yu Jing and others.

What he wants to see is the new army trained by Zhu Silang!

Secondly, he also wants to see Zhu Old Four's ability to govern the people as a county magistrate.

In fact, despite the people's discussions outside, they are very concerned about the various tax situations in Fujian this year.

But Fujian will not really achieve results until at least next year.

After all, this year Zhu Old Four only built the rural village framework in Jian'an.

It will take at least one or two years to exert force, right?

The same is true for expanding to the whole of Fujian.

This year, Fujian approved 300 villages to establish rural communities, and more villages will definitely be approved next year.

So, if you go there at this time next year, you can see more things.

…

In the study.

Zhu Biao looked at Fang Xiaoru with a smile. His face was tanned and rough. He joked: "If you were not wearing this official uniform now, I would not dare to regard you as a scholar. It seems that you have been to the countryside a lot this year. This is very good..."

Fang Xiaoru smiled modestly.

Zhu Silang, as a prince, is said to have traveled to all the villages in Jian'an. Could it be that Fang Xiaoru is more noble than a prince?

To be honest, he has been an official in Jiangning in recent years.

Especially since he went to Tuqiao Village last year, he has gained a lot.

After a simple praise, Zhu Biao shifted the conversation to the main topic, "Tell me about your situation in Jiangning."

Fang Xiaoru sat up straight, "Report to the prince, I dare not go to the whole county like the King of Yan..."

Zhu Biao listened with a smile and nodded from time to time.

Being steady is not a bad thing.

Just because Lao Si can do it doesn't mean others can do it.

In the tenth year of Hongwu, he arranged many young officials to serve as county magistrates.

These people followed Lao Si's example for various purposes.

Some people just couldn't learn the key points.

For example, Huang Zicheng promoted the rural villages and communities, following Lao Si's example to carry out the work in a county.

During this period, various things happened frequently.

Even the local people complained and called for Huang Zicheng to be expelled.

However, he could tolerate such mistakes.

As long as you do the right thing, it doesn't matter if you make some mistakes.

There are negative examples like Huang Zicheng who can't learn the key points.

Naturally, there are also positive examples.

For example, Fang Xizhi, Sheng Yong, Lian Zining and others.

They didn't follow Lao Si's comprehensive implementation, but followed Lao Si's example to go deep into the countryside, frequently go to the village, and after understanding the situation in the village, they promoted the rural villages and communities.

He had reason to believe.

When Fang Xizhi and others can build a county steadily and orderly.

Their abilities will definitely improve.

Build another local village community in the county.

Even if it is still impossible to build hundreds of villages in the county at once like the fourth brother.

But the steps must be bigger.

…

"Prince, these thirty or so villages this year are all the most representative villages in Jiangning County among the hundreds of villages. I have summed up a lot of experience and lessons from them. Next year, I plan to take a bigger step and build ninety local villages at one time."

Zhu Biao stood up, personally brought a cup of tea to Fang Xiaoru, and said with a smile: "It's good to take it step by step. Don't imitate Huang Zicheng and aim high. You are not the fourth child. To learn from the fourth child, you must learn selectively."

Fang Xiaoru was flattered and hurriedly stood up to catch the tea cup.

"sit."

Zhu Biao smiled and pointed to the chair.

After Fang Xiaoru thanked him, he sat down again. The corners of his lips moved but he stopped talking.

After Zhu Biao noticed it, he smiled and said: "What do you want to say, what do you want to ask, but it doesn't hurt to say it."

Fang Xiaoru smiled sarcastically and inquired curiously, "Prince, I just saw Ambassador Ye Bu. I wonder, how is the situation in Fujian this year?"

"In terms of land tax, it is basically the same as last year. However, the commercial tax is very gratifying. It has increased by 200,000 taels compared with last year. The increase basically comes from sea trade."

Zhu Biao happily introduced, "Facts have proved that if the hidden danger of piracy can be eliminated, opening up the sea can indeed bring huge financial and tax revenue to the court."

Now it is just Fujian.

Moreover, Lao Si and his friends have just started their sea trade this year.

Once on track.

I am afraid that Fujian as a whole can bring at least one million in tax revenue to the court every year.

This is a very huge amount.

It was enough for the imperial court to launch a foreign war involving hundreds of thousands of people.

Even without launching military action.

The sea trade charge was one million taels more.

This will allow some poor counties and prefectures to take turns exempting land taxes, and the people will also get a lot of benefits.

This year's fiscal and tax revenue from Fujian's sea trade has made my father re-examine the forbidden sea.

No surprise, only Lao Si can completely solve the problem of pirates and Japanese pirates.

The imperial court will most likely open the sea.

Even if my father doesn't do it, he will do it in the future.

If the sea trade makes more money than the court can use, it can exempt farmers and poor people at the bottom of the city from paying various taxes.

Let these low-level people take a breather, why not do it.

Fang Xiaoru looked at the vision for the future in Zhu Biao's eyes, and couldn't help but ask: "Prince, don't we follow the example of Fujian and establish a labor share system?"

Rural village cooperatives combined with the employee-share system are the best means of equalizing wealth.

The imperial court collected it and fed it back to the people.

As an official, he knows all too well how much corruption and other factors will cause losses.

In the end, after it really fell into the hands of the people, there was not much left.

Zhu Biao was slightly surprised, "Have you always supported the employment-share system?"

Fang Xiaoru nodded.

There are some things he can't say.

For example, once the King of Yan goes to sea and succeeds, the people of the Central Plains will support the issue.

Can you still order King Yan: If I don’t do it, you are not allowed to do it either!

"Prince, I think that even if we can't do it openly, we can still keep a low profile and slowly support some merchants who are willing to establish a labor-employed shareholding system..."

He knew the prince's difficulties.

But we can’t stop doing it just because it’s difficult.

"The King of Yan established the labor share system in Fujian by taking advantage of his exclusive maritime trade rights and the Great Yan Trading Company..."

In his opinion, Dayan Trading Company was actually King Yan's 'imperial merchant'.

The imperial court also had a lot of resources.

It is absolutely possible to support some imperial merchants.

In the future, the imperial court will open the sea and issue certificates. Only those who obtain the certificates can engage in maritime trade.

For those who engage in the employment share system, we will provide preferential policies and make it easier to obtain certificates.

He believed that this alone could guide many merchants to implement the employee-share system.

Of course, there will certainly be resistance.

But there is no coercion. The transformation of existing businessmen is only about future benefits. Only by establishing a shareholding system can we get more.

So long to boot.

We can’t even hope for a comprehensive employment-share system.

But at least, in the Ming Dynasty, in addition to Fujian, there will be more merchants who implement the employee-share system.

Doing it is better than not doing it, right?

…

Zhu Biao listened carefully to Fang Xiaoru's thoughts and said with a smile: "Your proposal is very good, but I need to think about it carefully. You also know that this matter is big."

This matter is related to the support of hundreds of officials for him.

Even if you do it.

It can’t be done now.

At least, you can't mention it while you are the crown prince.

Thinking of this, Zhu Biao had a plan, and then changed the topic, "Mu Ying and Lan Yu wrote to the fourth child, hoping to go to Jilong Island to observe the new army. The fourth child replied and invited them to go to Fujian next year. Gu thought, next year You, Lian Zining, Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng and others are also going to go to Fujian to have a look and inspect..."

Fang Xiaoru stood up excitedly, "I would like to thank Your Highness for giving me this opportunity!"

In fact, he really wanted to see what wonderful reactions the rural village community + employee share system would produce.

But officials cannot travel to other places at will.

The prince's suggestion touched his heart.

…

As the court meeting began.

The tax situation in Fujian is also gradually spreading.

"I heard that this year's sea trade has increased taxes for the court by 200,000 yuan!"

"Hiss! Two hundred thousand in the first year?"

"Next year, thousands of rural village communities will also start to produce results, and I'm afraid the increase will be even greater!"

"Fujian is a poor place! One year after King Yan left, the tax revenue increased by 200,000 yuan. In the future, Fujian's momentum will probably get better and stronger!"

…

Fujian Sea Trade contributed 200,000 yuan in taxes to the imperial court, just like dropping a pebble into a calm lake, causing ripples.

Because of Zhu Di, many people, even the common people, believe that Fujian's future development momentum will get better and stronger.

For a time, countless pairs of eyes were staring at Fujian.

…

The Spring Festival of the twelfth year of Hongwu.

Zhu Di and his party went to Jilong Island again to celebrate the New Year.

Different from last time.

After a year of migration of people and construction.

The prosperity of Jilong Island completely surpassed that of Chen Zuyi's period.

This year, with the help of Yu Jingbu, Lu Zhen, Liang Daoming and others, more than 7,000 people migrated from Min County and Jian'an alone.

Plus captured pirates.

Yu Jing's navy.

In the past year, Yu Jing and Shen Zhi used coercion, inducement, kidnapping and other means to obtain the boatmen and blacksmiths on the island...

The entire Jilong Island population is close to 20,000!

In the Ming Dynasty, it was barely enough to reach the size of a lower county.

…

The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

On the first day Zhu Di landed on the island, he went to visit the shipyard.

Yu Jing accompanied Zhu Di and introduced smugly, "Your Highness, this was originally a dock where pirates repaired warships during Chen Zuyi's period. After I restored it on the original basis, I directly occupied a hundred acres of land nearby. That's it. I still think it's too little. I always feel that the scale of the shipyard with a hundred acres of land is not big enough for the future development of a large navy. But Fatty Jiang refused to let go. He became desperate and even took a knife and asked me to kill him. Your Highness, please persuade him. His eyes are small and his knowledge is too shallow..."

Jiang Jinzhong followed beside him, the corners of his lips twitching fiercely.

Look at Zhu Di.

He looked like he wanted Zhu Di to make the decision for him.

Zhu Di couldn't help but have a headache.

This year, the two guys fell in love and killed each other on Jilong Island, often bringing lawsuits before him.

When you cry out to him for benefits.

These two guys are very united.

But every time they get benefits and distribute them, the two guys instantly fall out.

He glared at Yu Jing angrily and asked, "Does this shipyard have shipbuilding capabilities now?"

Yu Jing immediately sneered and hesitated: "Your Highness, not yet. The boatmen are still trying to modify the warships we already have according to Your Highness's request..."

Zhu Di glanced at it, and the smile on his lips disappeared.

If he doesn't.

Yu Jing will chatter endlessly.

One hundred acres of land is huge.

In other good areas of Jilong Island, commercial banks should be built to attract businessmen from Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

This is the top priority.

As for the future, if shipyard capacity cannot meet demand.

It is entirely possible to choose a location elsewhere on the island to open a new shipyard.

Yu Jing is the kind of person who wants to poop it into his own bowl whenever dog poop is soaked in it.

Anything related to the navy, no matter whether it is currently used or not, I want to put it into my bowl.

"Don't worry, these boatmen haven't built a ship for more than ten years. Moreover, they have never been exposed to the sea-going ships we want to build before. Let them slowly explore..."

Everyone chatted and walked into the dock.

The dock is not too big.

It is also open-air.

A navy warship is being renovated.

The tower on the warship was dismantled, and a taller mast stood in the center of the hull.

The height of the mast and the size of the sail must match the size of the warship to find the optimal value.

Within this year.

Because the masts of the modified experimental warships were too high and the sails were too large, many capsizing incidents occurred during the trial voyage.

Craftsmen have been exploring the best proportions.

There have been some results.

After visiting the dock, Zhu Di asked: "Where is the firearms workshop? Can you cast the kind of muskets and artillery I want now?"

Yu Jing immediately beamed and pointed to the other side of the bay: "Your Highness, because we were worried about causing an accident, we set up a firearms workshop opposite and kept it to Your Highness's satisfaction!"

Zhu Di glanced at it and must have made something.

Otherwise, Yu Jing would not have been so complacent.

Soon, everyone came to the other side of the bay.

As you approach the workshop, you can hear the sound of clanking and banging, as well as the shouts of the craftsmen.

After walking into a large, empty house, you can see iron smelting furnaces standing everywhere inside.

He roughly counted about thirty of them.

There are about a hundred craftsmen working inside.

"Your Highness, this way." Yu Jing couldn't wait to lead Zhu Di to a separate cabin on the left side of the house.

Push the door open and enter.

Zhu Di's eyes suddenly lit up.

A very delicate fire gun was placed on the shelf.

The tube is very long, about an arm long.

It is fully twice as long as the fire blunderbuss currently used by the imperial court.

When the tube is long and the gunpowder is fully burned, the airtightness will be high and the range will be longer.

"The casting method mentioned by His Highness, because the tube is long and the holes are small, the blacksmiths are not able to do it yet."

Yu Jing introduced from the side: "In the end, we could only use iron rolls, but it was too time-consuming. Now the blacksmiths are studying how to burn an iron rod red and drill holes in the iron rod..."

Zhu Di looked at the fire gun in his hand and listened carefully, "Don't worry, we are now mainly making fire guns that are available in the Ming Dynasty and have mature manufacturing techniques. We will continue to slowly study the long-tube fire gun production method."

The firegun in his hand is equipped with a wooden handle and a matchlock, and its appearance is very much like the matchlock gun of later generations.

He patted the gun in his hand and said, "I will take this gun away and send it back to the court for the imperial craftsmen and supervisors to study..."

There are too few talented craftsmen here.

After it was sent back to the court, the imperial craftsmen and supervisors could use this as a model, and they might be able to figure out a faster and more economical production process.

The court figured it out.

Can the old man keep this secret from him?

Later, Yu Jing took Zhu Di to visit the cannon casting.

The cast iron cannon is too crude.

Just like Wu Dalang, short and thick.

The shooting range is only a pitiful five hundred steps, but it is barely enough to get on a warship.

In sea battles, after approaching 500 steps, shoot some iron bullets to scare people, and then get closer. Before joining the gang battle, spray iron sand on the enemy's deck. After causing chaos and casualties, it will be beneficial to the gang battle.

The navy uses artillery entirely to replace gang battles.

It will take some time.

It just so happened that we used the captured warships for experiments.

"After the modified warship is equipped with artillery, you have to think about new ways of fighting, strive to fully utilize the advantages of the new equipment, and find a way to play that maximizes strengths and avoids weaknesses..."

Yu Jing listened hurriedly and carefully.

After Zhu Di finished speaking, he couldn't wait to say: "Your Highness, when Marquis Yongchang and Marquis Xiping come to inspect next year, how about we find a group of pirates to try out new equipment and new fighting methods?"

Zhu Di stared at Yu Jing until Yu Jing's scalp went numb and he lowered his head with a smile before snorting slightly: "You can show off if you want, but you must first be strong enough."

After saying this, Zhu Di turned and left.

Firearms factories and shipyards have just begun, and everything is still under construction.

Not much to see.

This time I came to Jilong Island during the Chinese New Year.

His main purpose is to train 5,000 private soldiers.

You need to be guided and trained for a period of time.

In the future, he will bring such a new army back to the court to participate in the Northern Expedition to destroy the Yuan Dynasty.

He didn't want to lose the chain.

It’s just a loss of face.

It's not okay to influence your eldest brother to conquer the North and destroy the Yuan Dynasty.

It took a while for Yu Jing to come back to his senses. He raised his head in surprise and looked at Zhu Di's leaving figure with bright eyes. He ran to catch up and at the same time shouted excitedly: "Your Highness, I promise not to embarrass you!"

ha!

His Highness agreed!

Wait for uncles like Yongchang Hou and Xiping Hou to come to Jilong Island.

We must let these two landlubbers see the prototype of the great navy!

right!

The modernized warships equipped with artillery are only the prototype of a large navy.

The warship is not big enough.

The cannon isn't big enough either.

Not impressive enough.

But enough for two landlubbers!

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