jdhmnovel Chapter 955: Power unused is power lost.
Chapter 955: Power unused is power lost.
After deciding on the transfers of Xu Liang, Zhou Jingxin, and Chen Mo, Emperor Zhu once again set his sights on Liu Bowen.
"Mr. Qingtian, what do you think we should do about these steel shortages?"
"Our Great Ming Dynasty doesn't lack mines, but it lacks people."
Emperor Zhu chuckled twice and said, "We want to allocate more manpower to mining, but we're worried it will affect agriculture. Does Mr. Qingtian have any good ideas?"
WTF?
Liu Bowen stared blankly at Emperor Zhu.
We need to allocate more manpower to mining, but we also need to avoid affecting agriculture and sericulture.
When did you learn to want both things when you rose to a position of power?
While inwardly cursing, Liu Bowen bowed to Emperor Zhu with a blank expression and said, "Your Majesty, if you want more manpower to mine without affecting agriculture, the only way is to use laborers."
"Like a prince consort, he used a large number of laborers."
"Whether it's Korea, Annam, Burma, Siam, or other vassal states."
“Recruit more laborers, or simply buy more laborers.”
"Otherwise, we'll just have to wait for more than ten years for the boys born in these years to grow up."
As Liu Bowen finished speaking, the Zhu Emperor's face, which had been full of anticipation, darkened.
Wait for more than ten years?
Stop joking, you son of a bitch.
With something as wonderful as a steam engine, we don't want to wait even a day!
As for recruiting or buying more laborers...
Emperor Zhu stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying, "Then let's recruit laborers while simultaneously purchasing them, a two-pronged approach."
"Besides, I remember that bastard said that you can find iron ore by just shoveling a few times on Oshima Island in Hinan County."
"I'll send someone over later."
"If there really is a mine all over the place, we should set up a command post on the big island and hire laborers nearby to mine."
At this point, Emperor Zhu's face turned somewhat ugly again: "Damn it, now that we have laborers, we still have to arrange their food, clothing, and lodging."
"We should also have the Ministry of Revenue print more paper money."
"Most of the provincial governors below will also join in the commotion."
"Damn it, we're not going to have a single day of peace!"
Liu Bowen nodded, feeling a sense of sympathy.
Yang the Madman, his schemes are always interconnected.
As soon as the harvester moved forward, he immediately put out a water press.
Before water presses have even been widely deployed, he's already come up with a steam engine.
The key issue is that the steam engine is just too important, so important that even knowing it's a huge pitfall, the emperor and his court officials still have no choice but to jump in.
After jumping in, you still have to smile and say that this pit is great.
It's simply too much!
Seeing Liu Bowen's half-dead state, Emperor Zhu became even more displeased and turned his anger directly to Yang Shaofeng: "That bastard, he's not even in the capital, yet he still caused us a lot of trouble."
……
To avoid headaches for himself, Emperor Zhu took efficiency to the extreme.
The order to move the Dengzhou fleet to Oshima Island in Rinan County was issued by the Grand General's Office that afternoon.
The Ministry of Personnel also sent out three official titles with the instruction to "immediately assume office and hand over duties" that afternoon by three knights.
Under the premise of prioritizing speed over the lives of the warhorses, the three official titles were delivered to Zhou Jingxin, Xu Liang, and Chen Mo in just two or three days.
Zhou Jingxin and Xu Liang didn't care, but Chen Mo, the executive deputy magistrate of Ningyang County, was furious.
"The steam engine workshop in Ningyang County is not only related to Shandong, but also to the entire Ming Dynasty."
After seeing the official titles and ranks, even when facing Wang Guangyang, who had rushed to Ningyang County, Chen Mo, who had originally been planning to build the Ningyang-Jinan railway line, immediately changed his attitude.
"The only thing I can guarantee to Governor Wang right now is the construction of the Ningyang to Jinan and Jinan to Dengzhou railways. As for the rest, we'll have to wait for the court to discuss it."
"In addition, once the steam engine is put into use, it will inevitably require a large amount of steel. We will need Governor Wang to put more effort into this aspect."
"..."
Seeing Chen Mo's face change so quickly, Wang Guangyang's face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
As the executive deputy magistrate of Ningyang County, all this dog kept saying was to hurry up and produce more steel, at least to finish building the three railway lines from Ningyang County to Jinan Prefecture, from Luan County to Jinan Prefecture, and from Jinan Prefecture to Dengzhou.
They were even planning how to repair the railway line from Ningyang County to Huai'an Prefecture and then to the capital.
According to Chen Mo, the idea was to turn Jinan Prefecture and Ningyang County into two transit hubs to facilitate the transportation of goods between the north and south.
This dog even sent people from the Ningyang County workshop to explore the geology in preparation for the construction of the railway.
Now look what's happened! He just received his official title from the Ministry of Personnel, and this scoundrel has already changed his tune.
He stopped mentioning the railway lines from Luanxian to Jinan Prefecture and from Ningyang County to the capital, and even sent people back to survey the geology.
The reason was that he wanted to bring these people to the capital so that he could train more people in the future and explore suitable geological conditions for railway construction throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Guangyang was so angry he laughed.
“Even if you bring these people to the capital, Xu Liang from Dengzhou Prefecture will still need to come and hand them over.”
"Will he release them?"
"Also, while you change your tune quickly enough, aren't you afraid that Yang the Madman will settle scores with you later?"
Wang Guangyang tried to persuade Chen Mo, "In any case, we should figure out the three railway lines from Ningyang County to Jinan Prefecture, from Jinan Prefecture to Luan County, and from Jinan Prefecture to Dengzhou, right?"
"And the manpower in the steam engine workshop, the manpower for geological exploration, these are the lifeblood of Yang Dianfeng. You should at least keep a few of them, even if you temporarily lend them to the Shandong Provincial Administration Office. At least someone will help you share Yang Dianfeng's anger, right?"
I'll definitely borrow it, but whether I'll pay it back is another matter.
As for sharing Yang Dianfeng's rage?
We'll talk about the future later.
Anyway, Yang the Madman's mind is currently filled with nothing but the Fenglangjuxu incident, and he won't be able to come back to reality anytime soon.
However, while Wang Guangyang's calculations were meticulous, Chen Mo was no simple character either.
As the saying goes, "If you don't use your power, it will expire." Anyway, I am still the executive deputy magistrate of Ningyang. It's just a matter of transferring a few people. I can use the seal directly myself.
What do you think we should do after Xu Liang arrives?
As long as Xu Liang still cares about repairing railways, he can't avoid me, the soon-to-be Vice Minister of the Ministry of Railways.
If all else fails, we can bring Xu Jingyu and Zhou Jingxin along, and everyone can sit in a row and share the fruit.
As for whether the county magistrate will settle scores with me later... well, that's a matter for the future. I'll focus on the present first.