national surname chiming

Chapter 39

In the Wenhua Palace, Shen Tingyang controlled the initial emotional fluctuations, and after saluting Chongzhen, he began to talk freely and truthfully reported his achievements in water transportation and sea reform.

Once he talked about his professional expertise and proved it with data, Shen Tingyang was no longer nervous, and the more he talked, the smoother he was.

"...Your Majesty, after several months and three rounds of practice, the transportation of military rations from Susong, Ningshao, and Guanning to the front line is only five cents and five cents per stone.

Originally, every stone of military rations of the Guanning Army was transported from the south of the Yangtze River, and it cost a total of seven cents for water transport, four cents and five cents for crossing rivers and lakes, two cents for transshipment in Tianjin, and four cents for subsequent losses.In addition, four buckets of grain are consumed in grain, two buckets and seven liters are consumed in crossing rivers and lakes, rats and sparrows consume..."

"From this point of view, after the Guanning Army's military rations are transported by sea, it can save three-quarters of the freight compared with the original canal water transportation. The local grain needed in the capital can also save [-]% of the freight."

Shen Tingyang did it in one go, and summarized the basic accounts and overall results first.During the whole process, no one interrupted him. Obviously, the political opponents did not intend to compete with him on the specific numbers.

Zhu Dadian next to him kept his eyes on his nose, his nose and his heart, looking like an old god.

Who made the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty unnecessary to take mathematics, so that most "honest gentlemen" were not able to settle accounts, and confronted their colleagues from businessmen head-on.

……

Shen Shuren, who was standing next to him at the secretary's seat, had been observing carefully throughout the whole process, not only observing his father's performance, but also observing Zhu Dadian on the other side.

It was also the first time he saw Zhu Dadian today, although he had already thought about removing this blocking stone countless times in his heart, but after seeing the real person, Shen Shuren still had some illusions.

Zhu Dadian has been a Jinshi in Wanli for more than 60 years, and he is almost [-] years old.He looked upright, with a neat white goatee, sunken eye sockets, and a hale and hearty look.

If he was an out-and-out traitor, then Shen Shuren would be more unscrupulous when dealing with him.

But Zhu Dadian is just greedy, but there is nothing wrong with it when it comes to right and wrong-according to the "History of Ming Dynasty", although Zhu Dadian has never won a battle, he has a very good attitude against the Qing Dynasty.When Duoduo hit Jinhua, he was unable to defend the city, so he set fire to his house and died.

At that time, he was almost 70 years old, and he had received the grace of the Ming Dynasty all his life. Maybe he wanted to keep the evening festival-but no matter what his motives were, it was considered as a backbone to die for the country.Otherwise, Qian Qianyi would still be the same age as Zhu Dadian, and he would have lived happily for more than ten years.

"It doesn't matter, the world is complicated. The opponent of a good person doesn't have to be a bad person, it can also be another good person. Now that water transport can be changed to the sea, the court can save money. After years of wars, the population has dropped sharply and we have a surplus of labor. We also have other solutions. This should be done!"

Shen Shuren finally made up his mind and stopped entangled.

On the other hand, as Shen Tingyang's account report was completed, Chongzhen also turned to Zhu Dadian to ask for his opinion: "Zhu Qing, you have heard Shen Qing's conclusion. I think this is good governance. How much share can be allocated to the Governor's Office of Water Transport in the future? Take the lead. Change the sea?"

Zhu Dadian's beard twitched slightly, and finally started impeachment and counterattack:
"Your Majesty! I dare not obey the imperial edict! I think that Shen Tingyang's so-called frugal water transportation expenditure is purely misleading the country! In the past few months, I have sent people to visit various river yamen under my command to collect people's sentiments. There are many crimes of falsification, disturbance, and harm to the people, please Your Majesty look into it!"

Chongzhen obviously couldn't believe it: "There is such a thing? Let you speak slowly."

Zhu Dadian cheered up: "First of all, Shen Tingyang claimed that the transportation of grain by sea would only cost more than five cents per stone, but according to secret investigations by my ministers, only their Shen family's fleet dared to pay such a price. In fact, there is no one in the world. The second one should be at this low price.

If the court wanted to build its own fleet and train its own sailors, could it be so cheap?Maritime transportation needs to train a large number of sailors who can run the sea. The current inland waterways cannot go to sea without strict training.

But today, only Shen Tingyang from Suzhou and Zheng Zhilong from Fujian can recruit tens of thousands of sailors.If the imperial court asked them to train sailors for the imperial court, would they be willing?After practicing, is it still the price?

And if the imperial court does not train its own army to transport troops and build its own sea ships, then it will put the most important weapon of the country in the hands of officials, who knows if it will be too late in the future?This kind of risk, I think His Majesty can't take it!

Since the Chenghua period, when the imperial court changed to the long-term transportation method, the ancestors have repeatedly emphasized that the water transportation must be carried by the guards and the army, and cannot be carried by the people. The fear is that the lifeblood is in the hands of the people!

After the imperial court relied on him, Shen Tingyang, if he used the excuse of raising the price and made up some rumors, saying that five qian silver could not be done, and he wanted one or two taels of silver, which would be as expensive as the original inland water transport, then His Majesty will agree. Still don't agree?
He is simply taking a loss-making low price to earn His Majesty's promise to change the system. Once he succeeds and His Majesty relies on him, this price is impossible to last for a long time! "

Zhu Dadian's counterattack was also done in one go, and he attacked the most important point first.

This principle, translated in a modern context, is "the lifeline of the national strategy must be state-owned and state-owned enterprises, and private capital should not be given the opportunity to intervene."

Shen Tingyang is now an official of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He also works for the imperial court and uses his own resources to optimize and reorganize.But in any case, it is similar to Wan Qing's "government-run private operation". The resource contribution is private, and it only accepts the management and supervision of the government.

Chongzhen is not professional on these issues. After hearing Zhu Dadian's strenuous refutation, he immediately hesitated and turned to Shen Tingyang: "Shen Qing, how do you explain this matter?"

Shen Tingyang hastily replied humbly: "Your Majesty! Shipping in the Yellow Sea, there is not only one family in the world! It's just that the other families are smaller. The imperial court also has guards in Denglai and has to use official ships. How can it be said that the ministers threatened the imperial court?" Power?
At most, since the opening and closing of Longqing, the Chen family has traveled to sea for more than 80 years, and has some experience in shipbuilding and training sailors.If the court is worried, I am willing to pass on all the unique shipbuilding skills of my family to the relevant yamen of the Ministry of Industry, and I will never hide it!The sailors' training experience can also be exchanged with the naval guards in Denglai, Tianjin and other places!

What's more, Zhu Dadian said that the minister contracted the imperial court to transport food at a loss price, and he was deceiving His Majesty to agree to the reform. This is even more nonsense!Even at five qian silver per stone, it is still slightly profitable.Looking for other sea merchants, as long as the quantity is large, they can agree to this price!How can you deceive the king! "

Shen Tingyang's defense was very measured. First, he divided the question into two parts. The first part was qualitative analysis, saying that he "monopolized" and "threaten the lifeline of the court's water transportation". This must be strictly clarified to prove that he does not monopolize, and he is willing to "Teach each other all the way."

The second piece is quantitative, that is, Zhu Dadian questioned him "first lose money to seize the market and then increase the price." This question is not as deadly as the first one, and the answer is relatively safe.

He had discussed it with his son before, and Shen Shuren, as a time traveler, is of course very experienced in "how companies can prove that they are not dumping".According to Shen Shuren's instructions, it is definitely enough to fight back against a layman like Zhu Dadian.

After Chongzhen heard this, his worries about the first part dissipated immediately.

He thought to himself: "That's right! Zhu Dadian said that the lifeblood of the imperial court cannot be controlled by human hands, but how could it be controlled by Shen Tingyang? There is only one canal, and if one family occupies the canal, the other cannot use it.

But the sea is vast, and anyone can go there. Shen Tingyang is willing to share all the secrets of shipbuilding and training sailors with the imperial court. That is, the imperial court can expand its transport capacity as much as it wants in the future.This Shen Tingyang did not cherish his skills, he was really loyal beyond words. "

Zhu Dadian listened to it, and his face was gray and defeated. He knew that the most important blow had been blocked. He didn't expect Shen Tingyang to be so decisive. He dared to publicly dedicate the technological advantages accumulated by five generations of his family for more than 80 years to the court. What's wrong with this? attack?

After some procrastination, this question was completely shelved, and Chongzhen focused on the second point and questioned Zhu Dadian: "Zhu Qing, don't mention the lifeline of the country, but you answered Shen Qing's rhetorical question. You questioned him to take the job at a loss. You've got the hard evidence."

In fact, there is not much evidence for Zhu Dadian, because the northernmost part of his yamen only reaches Tongzhou, which is further northeast than Tongzhou, so he has no influence.

The Shen family's father and son's first two batches of grain were mainly shipped to Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan, a place Zhu Dadian didn't know much about.

Therefore, his source of evidence mainly relies on the Susong Hedao Yamen, which provided data from unannounced visits during the shipment at Suzhou Port.

Now that things have happened, Zhu Dadian can only go to the dark one by one, attacking in areas that he is not good at:
"Shen Tingyang, you said that one stone only costs five renminbi for shipping, but according to the imperial court regulations, in previous years, crossing Jiangyin and Huyin would be equivalent to the cost of two loading and unloading transshipments, and the manpower of the wharf. This piece costs at least two renminbi and more. Now, is it possible that you can transport grain from Suzhou to Shanhaiguan with just over two dollars left?"

Hearing this question, Shen Tingyang was overjoyed immediately, and finally caught a question that hit the muzzle directly.

He quickly defended Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Zhu Dadian questioned this because he didn't know the latest craftsmanship and management methods. The minister's loading and unloading fees and wharf management are more than several times more efficient than the old method of the Water Transport Guard."

As he said that, he prepared a few blueprints and tried to explain his wharf management in front of the emperor, as well as the new lifting machinery used and how to modify the layout of the trestle bridge to reduce the number of times of boarding...

He didn't speak very clearly about this part, so he begged Chongzhen to allow Shen Shuren to explain it.

Chongzhen was taken aback when he heard this: "Shen Qing! This is your duty, how can you let others do it for you!"

Shen Tingyang rarely blushed, and said in shame: "Your Majesty, forgive me, I will use these, but I can't explain the reason... To tell you the truth, these crafty things are all thought of by a dog."

Hearing the words, Chongzhen cast a slightly surprised admiring look at Shen Shuren who was standing next to him on the secretary's seat, thinking that not only could this kid be admitted to Jinshi and become a writer, but he also knew strange tricks?

But he wouldn't stop him, and let Shen Shuren show off immediately, explaining clearly the new design of cranes and pier trestles, and management measures for dock workers.

In fact, Chongzhen didn't fully understand it, but he could hear that this new method seemed very powerful, and it should indeed save money.

After listening, he turned serious and asked Zhu Dadian: "Zhu Qing, do you understand? If you understand, do you have any new doubts?"

How could Zhu Dadian doubt it?I had no choice but to let go of all the technical questions and find another point of attack.

Under Zhu Dadian's nervousness, he broke out in a cold sweat, and finally grasped another point: "Your Majesty! I really don't understand how much money these tricks can save, but I know a simple truth!

If Shen Tingyang really has a way to reduce the shipping fee to such a low level, then why is the shipping fee he set so hugely profitable when doing other businesses!As far as I know, when the Shen family travels across the sea, no matter if they transport silk, cotton cloth, tea, etc. to Tianjin or North Korea, at least three or five taels of shipping interest will be set aside for each stone of goods!To deliver food to the imperial court, but he only charged five cents. This is to show his favor to His Majesty on purpose and deceive His Majesty! "

When Zhu Dadian retorted in this way, Chongzhen was actually a little unhappy in his heart: My ministers are willing to give me profits, but if you talk about it, why do you become a bully instead?
Isn't it natural to give discounts to the royal business?

Before Chongzhen reprimanded him, Shen Tingyang on the other side rushed to explain:

"Your Majesty, the price I gave to the imperial court is indeed the most favorable, and I will not raise the price with excuses in the future. But I can prove that it is indeed profitable to only give the imperial court five dollars - because the imperial court's list is huge.

Chen usually sells silk, tea, cotton cloth and medicinal materials, and the profit is indeed more than ten times richer, but those businesses are also small, and it is impossible for Chen's fleet to pull goods every day. Of course, the unit price must be increased to make up for the idle time when there is no goods to pull.

As for the imperial court's food grain, 400 million shi a year, enough for all the sea-going ships of the courtiers to run thirty times a year-in fact, it only has enough time to run seven or eight times a year.

So even if the imperial court now subcontracts all the water transport to the minister, the minister will not be able to transport it.If all other businesses are stopped, at most [-]% of the grain will be transported.It is necessary to triple the fleet of ministers, or organize the court to come together with other maritime merchants to eat it.

With such a huge scale, the cost of the construction of the loading and unloading machinery and wharf trestles mentioned above can be spread evenly on each ship of grain. "

The larger the scale of the industry, the more cost-effective the depreciation and amortization of the initial investment in fixed assets. This is a truth that anyone who has a little capital and pays attention to economic common sense knows.

It's a pity that the corrupt scholars of the Ming Dynasty didn't know that a moral gentleman like Zhu Dadian didn't have the concept of "fixed cost amortization" in his mind at all, so he felt that there was a fraud in it.

As a result, he questioned enthusiastically, and finally stepped into the pit of professionals.

Chongzhen's face turned ugly again, it could be seen that his patience with Zhu Dadian's nonsense was gradually exhausted.

If it weren't for Zhu Dadian's official position at the second rank, and the opponent on the opposite side was only a small character of the fifth or sixth rank, Chongzhen would never have given Zhu Dadian so many opportunities.

"Zhu Qing, did you hear everything clearly? If you can't think of anything wrong, then it's settled like this."

Zhu Dadian's face was ashen and defeated, unwilling to stop here, a burst of blood surged up, and he decided to bet his political life, and made a final fight:
"Your Majesty can't do it! Even if Shen Tingyang didn't make false accounts! Even if Shen Tingyang does have the ability to manage money and save money! But water transportation is the livelihood of millions of people!
Now the world is raging, famines continue, and hundreds of thousands of landless people have been deprived of their livelihoods. The consequences are unimaginable!Is His Majesty going to help Li Chuang and Zhang Ni send more rebellious people? "

(End of this chapter)