Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 65 Duke Wei: Duke Wei Displays His Extraordinary Abilities (Part 1)
A major incident has occurred in Shanxi!

The rebel Wang Jiayin actually captured Hequ County and declared himself king, even establishing his own government and conscripting troops on a large scale. This was clearly an attempt to overthrow the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty court was in an uproar, and the people of the capital were discussing it endlessly.

The young emperor actually sent five thousand cavalrymen from the capital to go there, and the cavalrymen stopped moving when they reached the foot of the hill south of Juyong Pass!

What does it mean?
Han Kuang and Feng Quan were both baffled.

The little emperor didn't fall for it!

How can this be good?

They were genuinely trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain, and they had a backup plan after that. At that time, the Dai prince would rebel, Wei Zhongxian would die, and many others would die. They wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to seize power in the court and even destroy the Ming Dynasty.

They had all assumed that once the rebels declared themselves kings, the young emperor would hastily dispatch the Beijing cavalry to suppress them.

Who would have thought that the young emperor wouldn't care about the rebels declaring themselves kings or recruiting soldiers!
Is this kid out of his mind or what?
They all thought that the sure-kill move had failed!
How to do?
While Han Kuang and Feng Quan were racking their brains for a solution, Zhu Jue was thinking about how to make money from glass.

Selling glass windows alone isn't enough. After all, glass windows can only earn a little over 100,000 taels a month at most, and a little over 1 million taels a year, which doesn't solve any problems at all.

He needs to make even more glass products to earn more money.

The most valuable glass item was undoubtedly the telescope, but he had no intention of selling it.

Next up are everyday items like mirrors, cups, and bottles.

Large households don't lack cups and bottles; if they're too expensive, probably not many people will buy them.

In the end, he decided to make mirrors to sell.

These glass windows cost ten taels of silver each, and mirrors cost at least twenty taels each.

If mirrors were made, the business would probably be even better than glass.

This is because bronze mirrors were extremely inconvenient to use at this time. Not only were they bulky, but they also needed to be polished and ground frequently. Otherwise, they would eventually become unrecognizable.

He knew from the bronze mirror that if it wasn't polished for a few days, the oxide layer would render it unusable. Moreover, polishing bronze mirrors was quite troublesome because the mercury used for polishing was toxic, and it had to be carried to a specialized polishing place.

Mirrors are different; as long as they don't break, they can be used indefinitely.

Wealthy families may not necessarily install glass in their homes, but they will at least buy one or even several mirrors.

As for how to make a mirror, he roughly knew that it involved heating mercury and tin foil together to form a reflective layer.

He explained it to Song Yingxing in detail, and Song Yingxing understood. In just a few days, the items were ready.

Around 9 a.m. that day, he had just finished processing the memorials and was about to leave for the East City when Song Yingxing ran over excitedly and said, "Your Majesty, the materials for making the mirror are ready."

Zhu Juena said impatiently, "Then let's go quickly and take a look."

Soon, the group set off on horseback, heading straight for the glass factory. They arrived in less than 15 minutes.

At this moment, several old craftsmen were gathered around a copper teapot in a workshop. On the table next to them, palm-sized round glass, round tin foil, sandalwood carved mirror frames, and other items were already prepared.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue said solemnly, "The mercury in the mask will vaporize when heated, and inhaling too much can be fatal."

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing quickly opened the wooden box on the table, took out a stack of thick cloth masks, and distributed one to everyone.

After putting on his mask, Zhu Jue looked at everyone and then waved his hand, saying, "Alright, let's begin."

It's actually quite simple. A few craftsmen open the lid of the copper teapot, then put on a copper mold, then insert a round glass into the copper mold, then cover it with tin foil, then pour mercury evenly on top, then light the firewood for boiling water below, and wait for the water to boil, and that's it.

After an unknown amount of time, the tin foil on the mirror finally began to mix with the mercury, and the side facing up gradually turned grayish-black due to oxidation.

That should be about right.

Upon seeing this, Song Yingxing immediately ordered his men to extinguish the fire and then poured half a pot of cold water into the spout using a funnel. After waiting for a while, he ordered his men to carefully lift the bronze mold, and then squatted down under the mold and looked up at it.

Upon seeing it, he couldn't help but exclaim with delight, "Your Majesty, you are truly amazing! This mirror is as polished as the finest bronze mirror, reflecting people very clearly!"

Luckily, it worked on the first try.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded with satisfaction and said, "Then let's put it in a frame and see."

Upon hearing this, the experienced craftsmen quickly picked up the mirror frame with the handle, attached it to the copper mold, carefully flipped it over, removed the copper mold, fitted it with the prepared circular rim, and then pressed in a few small wooden wedges. A perfectly crafted mirror was then completed.

Zhu Jue held the glass in his hand and examined it, then nodded slightly and said, "Hmm, not bad, this should sell for twenty taels, right?"

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem, no problem. This thing doesn't need to be polished and sanded all the time. I believe many people will buy it."

Zhu Jue pondered again, "Make another one about a foot in diameter and sell it for fifty taels, and another one about two feet in diameter and sell it for one hundred taels."

Oh dear, the price of a single batch of glass produced this time could increase four or five times.

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "How is the renovation of the Zhou Guozhang's residence going? When will Xiao Jian be able to get married?"

Getting married isn't something that happens in a day or two.

Song Yingxing explained in detail: "The Zhou family mansion will be repaired in the next couple of days. However, it will take at least ten days for the matchmaker to find a suitable family for the formal marriage."

Ten days or so? I wonder if Wei Zhongxian can make it in time.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue was reminded of Wei Zhongxian, who was far away in Dai.

Wei Zhongxian was unaware that the eldest son of the Zhou family's father-in-law was getting married, but he did know that he had to return to the capital within ten days.

On the afternoon of the tenth day, around 5 PM, Zhu Jue had just returned to Kunning Palace and was about to have dinner with Empress Zhang and Princess Zhou when a voice announced from outside: "Wei Zhongxian requests an audience."

This guy is finally back.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then walked directly to the main hall and sat down. He then ordered Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, and others to line up in order before loudly announcing, "Summon them."

Soon, Wei Zhongxian strode in, respectfully cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How many members of the Dai princely family were brought back?"

Without hesitation, Wei Zhongxian replied, "More than three hundred members of the imperial family of Dai were brought back."

Wow, that's enough for you to chop for days.

Zhu Jue then asked, "What about real gold and silver? How much did you bring back?"

Wei Zhongxian said with some lingering satisfaction, "Your Majesty, time was too tight, and I didn't manage to confiscate much. The total amount of real gold and silver was only a little over three million taels. If there had been more time, I could have gradually implicated others and probably confiscated four or five million taels without any problem."

You've become addicted to copying! You still think over three million taels isn't enough!

With these three million taels, the money will be just enough to get by this year. If the glass and mirror business picks up again, the imperial treasury will become increasingly full.

You are truly remarkable, providing me with so much capital to start my own business.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and pondered, "Zhongxian, you have made great contributions during this period. You should be rewarded for your merits. However, it seems that your elder brother has already rewarded you as much as you deserve."

"It wouldn't do to leave such a merit unrewarded. Here's what I'll do: I'll reward you with 300,000 taels of silver as a token of my appreciation for your hard work."

Most of the rewards and honors bestowed by the late emperor were arranged by myself.

I was worried you'd come back to settle old scores with me.

I dare not accept your reward.

Wei Zhongxian had long lost the arrogance he had during the Tianqi Dynasty. He knew that he couldn't fool the young emperor in front of him. Therefore, he decided to settle for second best and only wanted to preserve everything he had and the wealth and glory of the Wei family.

As for a reward or anything like that, he really hadn't thought about it.

His eyes darted around, and then he said cautiously, "Your Majesty, it is my honor to serve you, and I dare not accept any reward."

If you have done a good job, you should be rewarded.

Zhu Jue said sternly, "I know you're not short of money. Don't you think that you'd feel more at ease using what I've given you?"

Yes, the one you gave me is different from the one I made myself.

I have to be very careful when using things I got myself, afraid that others will find out how many I got. But I can use the ones you gave me without worry.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "This servant understands, thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said sternly, "I will have many things for you to do in the future. You must not be arrogant and take advantage of my favor as you have been before, understand?"

At this point, I wouldn't dare to be arrogant or complacent.

If you don't teach me a lesson, I'll be burning incense in gratitude.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "This servant understands."

I'm glad you understand.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue then explained in detail: "I asked you to come back because of the land acquisition. This time, the land acquisition is a bit troublesome. You have to acquire all the land in Tongzhou City for me. Then I will order people to build houses, streets, and shops for them outside the city."

Furthermore, you must also take over the area one li south of Tongzhou City, and the area one li southeast of the southern city.

The land in Tongzhou is different from that outside the city. Many families may not even own an acre of land. If it's less than an acre, you'll charge them as if it were an acre; if it's more than an acre, you'll charge double the price. I'll give you five days. Any problems?

Have they taken all the land in Tongzhou City?

This is really troublesome.

However, five days is enough.

Wei Zhongxian nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem, no problem. This servant will take people to collect them tomorrow. By the way, Your Majesty, what should be done with the members of the Dai princely family?"

These are not good days for chopping people.

Zhu Jue explained, "The eldest son of the Zhou family's father-in-law will be getting married in a couple of days. Don't kill him yet. Put him in the imperial prison first, and kill him after you've finished taking over the land in Tongzhou."

The eldest son of the Zhou family's father-in-law is getting married!

How much should I give as a gift?
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian was taken aback for a moment before quickly nodding and saying, "This servant understands."

(End of this chapter)