Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1090 Industrial prosperity
Lao Zhu’s anger is justified.

Since the execution of Hu Weiyong, or perhaps ever since, Zhu Yuanzhang has mostly distrusted officials who read books of sages.

Because he didn't believe in the truth, he abolished the prime minister system. Because he didn't believe in the truth, he established the Jinyiwei to investigate all officials. Because he didn't believe in the truth, Zhu Yuanzhang would personally review every memorial. Among all emperors, no one was more hardworking than Zhu Yuanzhang.

But Zhu Yuanzhang trusted his relatives very much. In short, he protected his shortcomings. Zhu Su said that he was a time traveler, so Zhu Yuanzhang believed him. According to the various problems of the Ming Dynasty mentioned by Zhu Su, he reformed the policies and formations of the Ming Dynasty and adjusted the direction of the Ming Dynasty.

The major towns in the Central Plains suffered from wars repeatedly during the Yuan Dynasty and their population declined. Restoring the prosperity of the Central Plains has always been a top priority in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

After learning that the household registration system and land system he established would collapse in the future, Zhu Yuanzhang was busy looking for new policies that would allow the Ming Dynasty to go further. At this time, Zhu Su's foreign trade, open feudal policy and industrialization system came into Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

Under the leadership of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty improved and tried these unprecedented policies and systems. Judging from the memorials, Xi'an, led by Zhu Su and Zhu Chong, did achieve very impressive results, and its tax collection was even close to those of the major cities in the south of the Yangtze River.

However, taxes were just icing on the cake for Zhu Yuanzhang. What he needed more was the people's safe and happy life. Coming from the bottom of society, he knew that in order to ensure the long-term stability of an imperial dynasty, the people's safe and happy life was the most important thing.

Now seeing that the people in Xi'an are completely different from what he had imagined, how could Old Zhu not be angry?
Old Zhu had a stern face, and Zhu Chong was even trembling. In the carriage, Song Lian, like Old Zhu, was also waiting for Zhu Su's explanation.

Zhu Su smiled slightly and didn't take it seriously. He said, "Father, you just feel that the scenery of Xi'an streets is inconsistent with the Xi'an described in the memorial."

"I feel that with the rich tax revenue in Xi'an, it should be like those big ports in the south of the Yangtze River, with dazzling gold and green and fragrant silk and satin."

"But I never thought that there must be some differences between Xi'an and the big cities in the south of the Yangtze River. In those big cities in the south of the Yangtze River, which one of them is not a child who is only used to playing drums, and a gray-haired old man who has never known war?"

"And Xi'an... can it be the same? When the Mongols entered the Central Plains a hundred years ago, Xi'an was almost an abandoned city, and the beautiful scenery of the former Tang Dynasty was no longer visible. Later, in order to suppress the various rebel armies, the Northern Yuan Dynasty imposed heavy taxes and forced the conscription of men in Xi'an, leaving nine out of ten houses empty."

"When the Ming Dynasty recaptured this place, it was you who asked my father-in-law to accommodate the immigrants and build the city walls."

"Xi'an at that time must have been far inferior to what it is today, right?"

Back then, it was Xu Da who helped the Ming Dynasty recapture Xi'an. Zhu Su's eyes turned in the direction of Xu Da.

Xu Da nodded, a look of reminiscence in his eyes, and said, "Your Majesty, what the Fifth Prince said is true. Back then, when I led the troops to conquer Fengyuan (the old name of Xi'an during the Yuan Dynasty), the population in the city was dwindling, and the people were poorly clothed. It was true that nine out of ten houses were empty."

"Looking at the people of Xi'an today, compared with the people of Fengyuan in the past, their situation has indeed improved greatly."

"Most of the people in Xi'an today are refugees taken in by the ministers in the early years. It is extremely rare for them to be in this state today."

Old Zhu narrowed his eyes and slightly suppressed his anger. He turned his gaze to Zhu Su again and asked, "We know that Xi'an can't be as lively and prosperous as Jiangnan."

"But if that's the case, how come the people of Xi'an have to pay such huge taxes? If it's not extortion, then what is it?"

"This is another difference between the city of Xi'an and other cities in the south of the Yangtze River." Zhu Su smiled and gently lifted the curtain of the car.

The weather was still a bit cold at this time, and when the curtains were lifted, a cold wind blew in. The plainly dressed people on the roadside made Lao Zhu's face darken again.

Zhu Su seemed unaware and said to Old Zhu: "Father, look, what are the differences between those pedestrians outside and the poor people you remember?"

When Old Zhu heard this, he narrowed his eyes and looked carefully. After looking for a while, he did find that the clothes of these people were neater. But other than that, he didn't find anything else.

Song Lian saw the clue instead, "Fifth Prince, could it be that... the spirit of these people is different from that of ordinary poor people?"

After hearing this, Old Zhu's expression froze, and he quickly turned around to look. As expected, he found that although these people were dressed in rags, they did not look self-pitying.

Instead, everyone had a smile on their face, and some were even chatting and laughing with the people around them while working.

At one side, Tang He smiled: "Although life is hard and difficult, people all have smiles on their faces."

"This shows that there is hope for their future..."

"Father." Zhu Su said at the right time.

"The Mongols have been wreaking havoc for a hundred years, and people's livelihood in the north has been in decline. A few decades is too short to fully restore the level of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty."

"Industry makes a country prosperous. It may not be as prosperous as the south of the Yangtze River, but it can enable many people to quickly find a way to survive, and they don't have to worry about having a bite to eat..."

"You see that the streets in the city are deserted because we are entering the city from the East Gate. This East City of Xi'an is where many factories and workshops gather."

"It's daytime now, the workshops are still busy, and there aren't many pedestrians on both sides of the road... As for these plain-dressed people, I think they are just some workers from some workshops who went out for some reason. They wear plain clothes because they don't need to wear fancy clothes when they are working in the workshops."

"Hmm?" Old Zhu looked as if he had realized something. "Is that so?"

"Of course." Zhu Su smiled. "Father, don't think that Xi'an is inferior to Jiangnan. Even in a prosperous city like Yingtian Prefecture, there must be beggars everywhere, right?"

"But in Xi'an, I'm not bragging, unless they are lazy people who just eat and wait for death, as long as they are willing to work hard, there is no poor person!"

"This... Your Highness, are you serious about what you said?"

Before Old Zhu could speak, Song Lian excitedly asked, "Your Highness, do you know that from ancient times to the present, all people in the city must have been divided into rich and humble."

"Is there any place in the world where there are poor people? Especially in a big city like Xi'an."

"Your Highness, do you think that the old man is dying and you are trying to fool me?"

"Master Song, how dare I fool you?" Zhu Su said with a wry smile.

"I can't guarantee that there are no beggars in this city. But in Xi'an, as long as you work hard and have good hands and feet, there is no reason why you can't survive, let alone need to beg for a living..."

"You should know that Xi'an has well-developed roads and is an extremely important distribution center for goods and raw materials in the northern part of our Ming Dynasty. Relying on this convenience, my second brother and I have formulated an urban development plan for Xi'an that focuses on the development of industry."

"In Xi'an, there are no less than a hundred factories and workshops of all sizes."

"The pancreas workshops, textile factories, canning factories, cement factories, kerosene factories, rubber shoe factories...are short of manpower!"

"The products of our Ming Dynasty are now sold well in all countries. All factories and workshops are running at full capacity. Even if we work in three shifts for twelve hours a day, the products we produce are always in short supply."

"It's just a medium-sized paper mill. There are more than 200 people in one shift, which lasts four hours."

"With three shifts, plus cooking, laundry and cleaning, we need at least a thousand workers a day."

"There are a total of 18 paper mills of this size in the city, some large and some small, and together they require nearly 20,000 workers a day."

"Behind these 20,000 workers are 20,000 families, or at least several hundred thousand people."

"This is just the paper mill, plus other factories and workshops..."

"This city of Xi'an has been recuperating for thirty years, and now has a population of about one million... But let alone just one million people, even if it has two or three million people, it may not be enough!"

“Even if there were beggars begging, they would have been caught and sent to work in the factory long ago!”

Zhu Su counted on his fingers and calculated the bill with Old Zhu and the others.

"In fact, this one million people is really too few. Excluding the elderly, children and the inner house, there are only young and strong people, and there are not many..."

"But for a large family, as long as two people work in a factory, the whole family can survive."

"If there are three people working, then the whole family can live well, with enough food and warm clothes."

“Even if there is a natural disaster in a year, it has nothing to do with the factory.”

"The people still work for money, and the court still collects taxes."

"So the taxes in the city of Xi'an can rival those of the big towns in the south of the Yangtze River..." Old Zhu muttered to himself.

Song Lian's eyes lit up and he said in surprise:
"Your Highness, this factory is so magical?"

"A city that supports a million people still has some energy left..."

The old man clapped his knees and laughed, "Great, great!"

"It is ridiculous that there are such corrupt scholars who still denounce the study of things and the way of business as 'odd tricks and gimmicks'."

"Without these two, how could the millions of people in Xi'an make a living today? Hahahaha, I'm lucky to be born in this changing world."

"Otherwise, won't we never know what is the right path in the world?"

The old man was very pleased. To him, the "Tao" that could feed millions of people was naturally the right way. And the wind of the right way was now gradually sweeping across the Ming Dynasty, and he naturally felt extremely pleased.

Fortunately, the new learning is flourishing now, and those corrupt scholars' teachings are no longer popular. Otherwise, I don't know how many more poor people would have died in the Ming Dynasty.

"Old Five, is this factory really as amazing as you said?" Old Zhu said. He was very interested in these factories. "Let's go find a factory and take a look!"

"Uh." Zhu Su was stunned. He didn't expect that Old Zhu would suddenly make this request. Turning around, he saw Song Lian, Xu Da, and Tang He were also eager to try.

But Zhu Chong said: "I have several workshops in this city."

"I can take you, Father, to have a look."

He participated in the city construction plan in his early years and did invest in building several factories here, so he was considered the host.

Coincidentally, there was a perfume factory near the East City.

The group split into two groups. One group, led by Zhu Chun and Zhu Zhen, led the rest of the team to the Xi'an Palace to settle down.

On the other hand, Zhu Chong led Lao Zhu, Zhu Su and a group of people, preparing to go incognito into the factory to take a closer look.

Many of these factories contained valuable equipment and secret recipes, so they were also equipped with guards. Fortunately, as the boss, Zhu Chong had paid close attention to these factories in his early years and had personally inspected them many times. The factory managers still recognized him, so there was no farce of being locked out and unable to enter.

The group was led by the trembling manager into the tall factory building. As soon as they entered the gate, they were greeted by a rumbling sound.

Everyone saw countless workers carrying buckets of raw materials and filling them into holes on a stone wall.

In the light, one can clearly see a steel device resembling a giant blade rotating inside the cave.

Behind the stone wall is a huge steel roller, which looks like half a hill and is slowly turning.

The processed raw materials continuously flow out of the grinding room, gather in the pipeline, and then flow to the rear along the pipeline...

Seeing this scene, Zhu Su smiled and said, "Father, Master Song, father-in-law, and uncle Tang. The fragrant soap that has been popular in the Ming Dynasty in recent years is made in this way."

"First, the raw materials are ground in this mill. During this process, flower petals and other fragrant materials are added to the raw materials. Then the ground materials are heated and boiled. After cooling, they are cut into pieces and packaged. This is the fragrant soap."

"This soap was specially supplied to the imperial merchants in the early years, but in recent years, it has entered the homes of ordinary people. Not to mention the people of our Ming Dynasty, even the foreigners love this soap very much."

"Many foreigners came from far away and bought a whole shipload of fragrant soap."

"I heard that in the West, the price of our Ming Dynasty soap is the same as gold... Western nobles are willing to exchange one ounce of soap for an equal weight of gold!"

Looking at the huge amount of raw materials and imagining that these seemingly cheap raw materials could be worth more than gold in the end, Xu Da and Tang He both showed interested expressions.

Old Zhu also nodded slowly. He knew that this scented soap was something that Old Five, Biao'er, and Ying'er had invented together in the early days.

However, what he was concerned about was not this fragrant soap...

"Go and call some people over," he ordered.

"Father, these people who have entered the workshop should be called workers." Zhu Su reminded with a smile. On the other side, Zhu Chong had already sent the steward who led the way and asked him to call any worker over. The steward went there trembling with fear.

After a while, the manager called over a worker who looked even more timid. The worker looked to be in his forties, hunched over, and was obviously nervous and reserved.

At this time, Old Zhu, Zhu Su and others were all wearing casual clothes, and Zhu Chong even asked the steward to conceal their identities.

But no matter how hard they tried to hide it, the worker could still tell that the people in front of him all looked noble.

"Brother, don't be afraid. We have some free time today. Let's take our sons out to see the world and let them know about the sufferings of the world. They shouldn't spend their days drunk and dreaming.

"I just have a few questions for you."

Lao Zhu said this as kindly as possible.

(End of this chapter)