Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

A month later, Qin Ming's fleet split into two.

The injured group he led arrived in the capital first.

Another group of troops headed towards the ice-free port in the north.

When they returned along the way, they also did a lot of business and brought back a large amount of goods.

In the port of the capital, Guan Yue and hundreds of officials had been waiting there for a long time.

"Your Majesty is welcome to return to the capital in triumph!"

The team, whose formation stretched for dozens of miles, had already decorated the place in a very festive manner.

This kind of ceremony is not only to celebrate Qin Ming's return, but also to celebrate the coming of the New Year.

Looking at this scene, Qin Ming raised a smile.

In almost a month, he had only set foot on land a few times.

Seeing Beijing again today, a feeling of longing arises spontaneously!

"A great victory for the Yan Dynasty. A general amnesty will be granted to all the officials. A banquet will be held for all officials..."

As usual, Qin Ming stepped forward and announced the news of the great victory in the war to everyone, and made several decisions accordingly.

Everyone agreed.

During this period, Qin Ming's troops also followed the generals in the capital's military camp back to recuperate.

Guan Yue walked forward and took Qin Ming's arm, saying affectionately:

"How come you gained weight after going out?"

"The accompanying chefs are all talented apprentices specially sent by Chef Yi. Plus, with the constant trade on various routes, there's a lot of good stuff. They just cook and eat a lot."

Qin Ming smiled and chatted with Guan Yue as they walked.

Soon, everyone returned to the palace.

Guan Yue had already prepared a banquet to welcome them and celebrate the great victory.

After eating and drinking, Qin Ming dismissed all the ministers and returned to the harem alone with Guan Yue.

"How's the teacher doing lately?"

"Prime Minister Chen's defense is excellent. Coupled with the furnace designed by Your Majesty, it allows the northern troops to retain some combat power despite the freezing weather."

"Because of the bitter cold lately, even the northern tribes can't hold out. Both sides have called a truce, and may have to wait until next spring before fighting can resume."

After Guan Yue briefly explained the war situation in the north, Qin Ming understood.

"Is there any trouble at the court?"

"Yes, quite a lot."

At this point, Guan Yue's face fell.

"The various schools Your Majesty previously founded have unexpectedly become chaotic, forming cliques."

"Hold together?"

Qin Ming raised his eyebrows. The occurrence of such a thing was really beyond his expectations.

"Yes. For example, the masters who teach technology all have a master-disciple relationship with their students... Even those who work in factories or workshops are assigned to work under them."

"In addition to these, officials in the capital are gradually beginning to show signs of forming factions."

As he spoke, Guan Yue took out a list from the secret guard beside him.

There are many records of officials' private interactions on it.

"Any more?"

Qin Ming did not express his opinion, but continued to ask.

"Yes, a new type of 'landlord' has recently emerged among the people. These are businessmen who build their own factories and recruit common people to work there. However, the salaries they offer are much lower than those offered by the imperial court!"

If those were just some minor problems within the court.

This kind of exploitation made Guan Yue a little angry.

The people she was talking about set up factories only to make money for themselves, without any regard for the efforts of their workers.

Some people even received only 20% of the wages earned in the imperial factories!

"If it's so low, why do people still go there?"

Qin Ming finally took the initiative to speak. Not only was Guan Yue angry about this situation, he was also a little unhappy.

Guan Yue pouted and said:

"Because... the study time in factories, workshops, and military schools is quite long, it takes two years."

"Some people are struggling to make ends meet and only care about the present, neglecting the fundamentals to achieve their goals. This is understandable."

"This……"

Qin Ming was stunned for a moment. Building a school to cultivate talents was a good idea.

But I didn't expect that there would be so many small problems in the actual implementation.

After sighing slightly, Qin Ming suddenly said:

“How many of these private factories are there?”

"It's about 20%, but if it continues like this, it might be more than 20%. In serious cases, it might even shake the foundation of the country."

"Got it, leave it to me."

As the saying goes, before you can resist foreign aggression, you must first stabilize the country.

Qin Ming didn't expect that while he was leading his troops fighting hard outside, someone in Daqian behind him would actually learn his factory model and start exploiting the people.

Faced with this new type of landlord, Qin Ming would never allow the newly established industrial base to be affected by them.

It should be noted that these industrial bases are related to the transformation of the fragile agricultural economy into an industrial economy.

If the people cannot earn money by entering the factory, all their previous efforts will be in vain.

Early the next morning, the court issued an order.

This order was sent by the Ministry of Rites to the major factories in the surrounding area.

"The imperial court has decreed that, effective immediately, workers' monthly wages must not fall below the limit set by the court. Employers are obligated to ensure the health of their workers. Furthermore, wages must increase with each year of service..."

After Qin Ming slightly lowered the standards of the imperial factories, the impact on these private factory owners began.

The entire capital was in chaos.

Many factory owners came to the yamen outside the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue.

"We want to see His Majesty!"

"We want to see His Majesty!!"

They were very excited.

Although they are just a newly emerging group of wealthy people, they possess a lot of resources and influence.

Therefore, when facing the court, he naturally felt confident.

Seeing this, Qian Cai immediately rushed into the imperial study and found Qin Ming.

"Your Majesty, Jin Wansan, the president of the Capital Chamber of Commerce, has arrived at the outskirts of the Imperial City with over seventy factory owners, clamoring to see you!"

"Oh?"

Qin Ming slowly put down the pen he was using to review memorials.

"The Capital Chamber of Commerce dared to come to the Imperial City to block the gate. Who gave them the courage?"

Qian Cai said with a worried look on his face:

"It's because the market they occupy is so huge. A full 20% of the factories were built by people from the Beijing Chamber of Commerce, relying on the resources of the capital."

"With power, they began to unite. During the six months you were away, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and other departments have joined forces several times to try to contain them, but in the end, nothing came of it."

Seeing this, Qin Ming keenly realized the crux of the problem.

"Why can't you take action against them?"

"There are too many people working in the factories. At least hundreds of thousands of people are working in the factories built by the Beijing Chamber of Commerce in various places."

The imperial court did not dare to touch the Chamber of Commerce’s factories because it was worried about unrest in the government and the country.

Especially when Qin Ming is still fighting outside, the rear must be stable.

But now Qin Ming has returned.

It's time to settle the debts owed to them.

Qin Ming slowly stood up from his chair and said:

"Let's go. I also want to see what these people are capable of."

"Arrange a few people to bring me the account books of the major private factories, as well as the court's recent book profits. Calculate and inform me."

Seeing that Qin Ming was about to take real action, Qian Cai suddenly felt happy.

"Yes!"