Bringing the Railway to Daming

When Liu Kuan heard Zhu Yuanzhang mention the real estate economy, he didn't say anything.

What little he knew about real estate economics, he had told Zhu Biao several years ago. When Zhu Biao was in charge of supervising the construction of the riverside wharf, he applied the real estate economics knowledge he learned from Liu Kuan.

Later, Zhu Biao promoted this knowledge when dealing with matters related to urban development.

In other words, the current use of real estate to generate income by government officials in the capital, Beijing, and other places was not a direct suggestion made by Liu Kuan, but an idea that gradually emerged among the court and local governments as the Ming Dynasty attached importance to economic development in recent years.

After all, the practice of the imperial court selling or renting its assets to the private sector to generate fiscal revenue was not something that only happened in later generations, but had existed for thousands of years before.

Typical examples include the imperial court selling the confiscated property of criminals to the private sector; the Song Dynasty combining the brewing rights and liquor taxes that originally belonged to the imperial court and selling them to merchants through a bidding system (competitive bidding); and the Ming and Qing dynasties contracting the production and sale of salt to salt merchants, and so on.

The wisdom of the ancients is by no means inferior to that of later generations and should not be underestimated.

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that Liu Kuan didn't know much about real estate economics, so he was just showing off his son's achievements at this time and did not take the opportunity to ask Liu Kuan's opinion.

He continued, "In addition to the real estate issue, Zhu Bo also talked about some of the agriculture and industry he learned about in Mobei Province."

"As for agriculture, there aren't many areas in Mobei that are suitable for cultivation. However, the main problem is that there are not enough farmers and oxen."

"Therefore, he suggested that the Beijing Machinery Manufacturing Bureau develop steam agricultural machinery capable of plowing and harrowing the fields on the Mobei Plain. This might solve the problem of a shortage of labor and oxen."

"As for the industry, he said there are two main problems: one is the inability to improve production efficiency, and the other is product sales..."

After Zhu Yuanzhang briefly explained the contents of Zhu Bo's telegram, Zhu Biao also finished reading the translated telegram and handed it to Liu Kuan.

Liu Kuan glanced through it and saw the fried potatoes at the back, and suddenly remembered something.

He immediately said, "Your Majesty, the potato liquor brewed by Mobei and Luohuangdusi really has no market in Jiangnan, because southerners are not used to drinking this kind of strong liquor."

"But northerners love it, especially the nomadic tribes. I think that once potato production increases, in addition to selling it to the northern regions of the Ming Dynasty, we can also try to have caravans sell it to the Western Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde."

Zhu Yuanzhang also tried the Shaotouzi. To be honest, he thought it tasted worse than the Shaodaozi he had before.

Therefore, he wondered, "Could the Western Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde really like stewed potatoes?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know that this potato stew has a name in later generations: 'vodka'. It is a world-famous foreign liquor. A large part of its territory, Russia, where it originated, is now the Golden Horde."

"Therefore, I can be sure that potato stew will be popular not only in the Golden Horde, but also in Northern Europe."

"Also, I think we could give it a more elegant name—hmm, how about calling it Xiangwangzui? What do you think, Your Majesty and Your Highness?"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao saw that Liu Kuan was in the mood, so they got involved in this matter.

Zhu Bo did mention in the telegram that he became drunk and unconscious after drinking two bowls of potato stew. There was a reason why Liu Kuan changed the name of potato stew to Xiangwangzui.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say. Xiangwangzui is indeed better than roasted potatoes, and even better than that vodka."

Liu Kuan added, "Of course, if we want to make Xiangwangzui taste better, we need to do further research, such as how to mix a wine with a better taste..."

Liu Kuan chatted with Lao Zhu and his son about some things in Mobei and Luohuang for half an hour before leaving.

Zhu Biao left Fengxian Hall with him.

Not long after leaving the corridor of the main hall, Zhu Biao asked with some curiosity, "My brother-in-law said that the Plum Vase Gold is comparable to the Four Great Classics. What is it about?"

Liu Kuan didn't expect Zhu Biao to ask this question, and was a little speechless.

He explained perfunctorily, "Didn't I tell you before? It's about the social world."

Zhu Biao: "Describing social life? That's too general. Can my brother-in-law tell me about the specific plot?"

Liu Kuan said helplessly: "Your Highness, I only have a little knowledge of the derivative works of this novel, and I have not read the original work."

"Then tell me about its derivative works." Zhu Biao asked persistently.

Derivative works? That’s even more out of the question!
In order to get rid of Zhu Biao, Liu Kuan decided to just mention the original work.

"Your Highness, this "Plum Vase Gold" is set in the Song Dynasty, but it actually tells the story of the secular world in the late Ming Dynasty."

"The novel has three heroines, Pan Jinlian, Li Ping'er, and Pang Chunmei, and a hero named Ximen Qing."

"Wait a minute." Zhu Biao looked confused. "If I remember correctly, Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian are characters from the Water Margin, right?"

"Water Margin" was written by Shi Nai'an a long time ago, and now it has been completed and polished. Zhu Biao and other members of the Ming Dynasty royal family heard of the fame of "Water Margin" from Liu Kuan, and naturally used their power to find it early. Therefore, Zhu Biao knew the two villains in Water Margin, Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian.

Liu Kuan explained, "Your Highness has read Water Margin, so shouldn't Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng from the late Ming Dynasty also read it? If so, what's so strange about him borrowing characters from Water Margin?"

"I see." Zhu Biao suddenly realized and said, "Brother-in-law, continue to talk about the content of the novel."

Liu Kuan said: "The prototype of Ximen Qing is actually a local tyrant who was a bureaucrat, landlord, wealthy businessman and bully in the late Ming Dynasty."

"So, 'The Plum Vase Gold' is actually about the sinful lives of these evil gentry and their families in the late Ming Dynasty, showing the devilish world composed of people from the powerful and wealthy to the common people, and the various ugly things that happened in this context."

"Gone?"

"Gone!"

···
···
A few days later.

Tiangongyuan, second floor of the office building.

In the independent and spacious office of the director, two young officials and a young man dressed as a student stood a little stiffly, obviously a little nervous.

No wonder they are like this.

Who made them realize that the person sitting in front of them was Liu Kuan, the most legendary figure in the Ming Dynasty?

Not only was he the most popular person in front of the emperor and the prince, but there were also rumors in the market that he was a genuine banished immortal.

If he were not a banished immortal, how could the Ming Dynasty have undergone such earth-shaking changes in the nearly ten years since this person suddenly appeared?
Not to mention the railways and cross-river bridges that appeared out of thin air, the steam engine, train, cement, glass, Shenwei cannon, etc., each of them can be called epoch-making inventions, and they are all related to this Marquis of Jiangning.

Therefore, there are now rumors among the people that this Marquis Jiangning is specifically responsible for construction matters in heaven. Some local storytelling focuses on the stories of Marquis Jiangning before and after he became an immortal, and how he angered the Jade Emperor and was banished to the mortal world. The stories are so detailed that many ordinary people believe them to be true.

Although they did not believe in unreliable commentary like ordinary people, they understood his status in the Ming Dynasty court better.

Now that he had been sent to this person by a transfer order from the imperial court, he was naturally nervous and expectant.

Liu Kuan sat on the armchair and slowly looked through the "resumes" of the three people, which were the backup of the personnel files taken from the Ministry of Personnel.

Jian Yi was a Jinshi in the 19th year of Hongwu. The following year he participated in a series of reforms on clearing farmland and distributing land tax, and made many political achievements.

Therefore, after the land clearance and land tax distribution were basically completed nationwide, he was demoted to Suzhou Prefecture as a Tongpan, a sixth-rank official.

This man had a wide range of abilities as an official, so after Liu Kuan reviewed his resume, he said, "Yizhi (Jian Yi's courtesy name) should have read the official document regarding the court's intention to establish an electric power bureau under the Tiangong Academy."

Jian Yi nodded, "I have read it."

Liu Kuan asked, "If I let you take the position of Director of the Electric Power Bureau (rank six), what would you do?"

Jian Yi said, "I believe the primary function of the Electric Power Bureau is to ensure that the people of the capital have access to electricity. Therefore, we must first have a group of craftsmen who know how to maintain the electric wires. Only then can we run the wires and install lights in the homes of the people who apply for electricity, and promptly repair broken wires."

"The power bureau's second function is to collect electricity bills, so it needs a group of clerks who are good at interacting with the people..."

Jian Yi spoke relatively slowly at the beginning, but became more and more fluent as time went on.

Liu Kuan nodded slightly, his thoughts becoming more certain. (End of this chapter)