Hongwu Survival Guide

Chapter 211 Wei Zan
In the subconscious mind of most people, the factory should be built in the outskirts, where there are few people, the land is cheap, and there is not much environmental pressure.

It was... not in the early days.

Not this year either.

It was still around Sizheng in the morning, and Zhu Yuan came to a papermaking workshop under the jurisdiction of Daming General Zuosi.

The location is not outside Jinling City, but in the west of the city, the lower reaches of the Qinhuai tributary that passes through the city.

Before entering the door, Zhu Yuan could also immediately understand why most of the honorable merchants in Jinling City were concentrated in the east of the city just by smelling the surrounding smell.

Because it is relatively upstream, the environment is better and the water quality is better.

Choosing a livable environment is also a human instinct.

Recently, I have to reorganize the papermaking business and build Daming Paper Group, which is why I made this trip.

Shan Anren, the general secretary, also accompanied Zhu Yuan, and there was also Gu Zhongren, who Zhu Yuan had already greeted Lao Zhu.

A sedan chair under heavy guards stopped in front of the workshop, Zhu Yuan stepped out of the sedan chair, and immediately a middle-aged man in a green nine-rank official robe came trotting down the steps in front of the door, and saluted in the street almost obsequiously: "Xiaguan Weizan has met Lord Pingzhang, wishing you good health and longevity."

Zhu Yuan glanced at this well-dressed and well-dressed General Secretary, and then glanced at the craftsmen kneeling behind him who were also cleanly dressed, with his expression unchanged, he just said indifferently: "Get up. "

Shan Anren, the General Secretary, also got off the sedan chair at the back, Wei Zan got up, saluted Zhu Yuan again, and then went to Shan Anren to pay his respects again.

After a lot of tossing, everyone finally entered the door.

Although the smell was not good, the interior of the workshop was clearly cleaned carefully. After entering the door, Zhu Yuan looked around.

This compound with a radius of more than [-] feet is obviously a place for stacking materials. In addition to a few houses, there is a circle of grass sheds around it. Bundles of bark, straw, hemp, etc. Ben was doing shredding or sorting work, when Wei Zan signaled, they all stopped and saluted to the officer.

Zhu Yuan motioned for everyone to continue, and walked in without rushing, and came to a straw shed where materials were piled up, and asked, "What material is this?"

Wei Zan came closer, and replied with a short body and a smile: "My lord, this is the bark of a mulberry tree. This mulberry tree is also called a mulberry tree. It is actually similar to bayberry, and some people call it a fake bayberry tree."

Wei Zan said, seeing that Zhu Yuan stepped forward to take out some, he quickly grabbed a few and sent them: "My lord, be careful that you cut your hand."

This obsequious look, not to mention Shan Anren and his party, even many craftsmen around were a little blind, and quietly showed contempt.

Zhu Yuan took a piece of bark two feet long and half an inch wide from Wei Zan's hand, looked at it a little bit, folded it and kneaded it, and said, "I read that the bark of the bark should be the tender bark in spring. It's winter, the bark is not dry yet, it should be picked recently, can it be used?"

"Your Excellency, it can be used," Wei Zan said, "the young bark in spring is the best, but the papermaking does not stop all the year round, so we have to make a second choice. Besides, there are also regional differences. In the south of the Yangtze River, the bark of the trees is also soft in winter, if it is in the north, I am afraid it will not work."

Zhu Yuan nodded slightly, put down the bark in his hand, and said, "Let's go to the back workshop to have a look."

Wei Zan had never heard of the term 'workshop', but he immediately understood, raised his arm and directed: "My lord, this way..."

Zhu Yuan followed and turned to a courtyard gate, and asked casually as he walked: "Why the bark of the tree, and besides the bark of the tree, what other materials can be used to make paper?"

Hearing this question, Wei Zan's small eyes flickered, he bowed a little lower, followed Zhu Yuan's side in small steps, and said, "My lord, the most important thing in choosing the bark of this tree to make paper is that it is the easiest material to obtain. Structural trees grow all over the world, whether by the waterside of the road or in the mountains and hills, the cuttings are alive and fast. If we talk about other materials, there are many, such as wheat straw, white hemp and green hemp, and bamboo materials There are so many rattan materials, the best of which is leather, besides mulberry trees, green sandalwood, sandalwood, etc. My lord, if you let the lower officials say, this material is second, and the craftsmanship is the most important .If the workmanship is exquisite, the straw can also be used to make high-quality paper."

Zhu Yuan smiled and asked, "Then, here comes the question, why don't you use straw to make the best paper?"

Wei Zan was stunned for a moment, thought for a while, and then smiled and said: "My lord, straw... is not a good material after all. If you use this as a basis to pursue superiority, it's not impossible, but it's too cumbersome and wasteful, and it's not worth it."

Zhu Yuan nodded again, and said, "I'll teach you one thing, and explain it in another way. It's called 'input is not proportional to output'."

Wei Zan cupped his hands smoothly while walking: "My lord is exquisite."

Fortunately, not brilliant.

Otherwise, I will give you the reverse of these two words.

As he spoke, he came to the back of the workshop, where different small courtyards were doing papermaking processes such as crushing, boiling, soaking, and rinsing.

Zhu Yuan looked and asked, probably knowing that there are more than 270 craftsmen in this workshop, which belongs to the largest one under the jurisdiction of Jiang Zuosi, and mainly supplies the daily office paper of the imperial court.

Among them is a recently established production line, which was established by the group of craftsmen that Zhu Yuan brought back from Mingzhou, specializing in the production of red and blue hard paper for ID cards.

Different from ordinary paper, the biggest difference in making colored hard paper is papermaking.

Looking along the way, Zhu Yuan soon arrived at the papermaking workshop of the colored cardboard, and recognized the faces of several craftsmen among them at a glance.

Zhu Yuan talked with these people several times when he ordered this matter.

Then look at the blue pulp pool here, the pulp in the pool is obviously much denser than that of other papermaking workshops, and the bamboo curtains used by craftsmen are also smaller.

The specific papermaking is also repeated many times than ordinary paper.

Finally, the copied hard paper is not stacked like ordinary paper, but placed separately on a flat plate, first squeezed, and then sent to the baking room.

After watching patiently for a while, Zhu Yuan finally directed and called someone.

This is a short, fat man named Jian Wu, who came from a government-run workshop in Mingzhou, and was later brought to Jinling by Zhu Yuan and some other craftsmen.

After the smiling Jian Wu kowtowed, Zhu Yuan asked him to get up, "Are you used to it here in Jinling?"

Jian Wu's blue-stained hands rubbed the clothes that were inevitably also stained with a large amount of blue, and nodded with a smile: "I'm used to it, my lord. It's unexpected that I can see you again."

Just as they were talking here, Wei Zan has moved a chair over flatteringly again.

Zhu Yuan sat down and continued to ask: "You are here, how much is your monthly salary?"

"Six buckets of rice every month," Jian Wu smiled even more: "The little one can't eat it all by himself, and he still wants to wait two years, save some, and bring the mother-in-law and baby, so that he can live the life of a man in the capital."

Six buckets of rice, equivalent to about 90 catties.

An average of three catties per day.

In Zhu Yuan's conception, this is so rare that the capitalists shed tears of joy.

However, in this day and age, even an adult strong man can't eat three catties of grain casually a day, usually the grain is mixed with all kinds of wild vegetables.

Therefore, for craftsmen, this is actually a ration for the family.

This era is not as simple as a family of three, on the contrary, it is more common to have a family of four or five. If there are parents to support, then there are more.

According to the calculation of a family of five, 90 catties of grain is equivalent to more than half a catty per person per day on average.

However, from Jian Wu's point of view, this kind of treatment is very ambitious, and he still wants to bring his wife and children over.

The first thing Zhu Yuan saw from it was that there was no deduction in the workshop here.

After all, it is conceivable that the official ration of six dou a month, but in many cases, it is not necessarily six dou that can reach the craftsmen.

Just like the grain tax ratio set by the imperial court is 276 in 2760 tax, if it can actually be implemented to [-] in [-], it is not impossible for the Ming Dynasty to inherit [-] years, not to mention [-] years.

However, there has always been a big gap between ideal and reality.

Inside the workshop.

Zhu Yuan continued to talk to Jian Wu, and sent him back to work, while changing his impression of a flattering ninth-rank official beside him.

There may also be cases where craftsmen were taught to say something on purpose, but Jian Wu could blurt out that he wanted to bring his wife and children back, so it is unlikely to be a lie.

So, when Jian Wu left, Zhu Yuan looked at Wei Zan again, without expressing anything, but continued to ask: "How many papermaking workshops does Jiang Zuosi currently manage in Jinling?"

Wei Zan lowered his body a little more: "My lord, there are three places in total, all of which are located in the west of the city. This one is for supplying imperial papers, and there is another one facing the street, which is smaller and dedicated to the royal family. The last one is at Shitoumen in the north. Nearby, the scale is similar to this one, with about [-] craftsmen, mainly making bamboo paper."

"What about the output?"

Wei Zan made some calculations, and said, "Let's not talk about the imperial one, but the other two workshops can make about a hundred knives of large paper every day, sixty here, forty there, let's say last year, a total of 35396 pieces of paper were made in the whole year. There are more than 350 million knives."

There are more than 350 million sheets of paper per year, which sounds like a lot at first glance, but Zhu Yuan asked, "Is it enough?"

Wei Zan shook his head: "It's not enough. As far as I know, last year alone, the Ministry of Household Affairs purchased more than 17000 knives of paper from the private sector. This year...for this imperial examination, the paper needed for the imperial examination cannot be supplied in two places. Purchased an additional 2000 knives. Oh, and my lord, you are in charge of the "Da Ming Monthly", and I am ashamed of myself, we can't supply this paper."

It's not that the supply is not available, it's that Zhu Yuan doesn't like it.

The paper supplied to the imperial court here is not too bad, but it is far from the best.

Zhu Yuan listened to Wei Zan fluently report all kinds of data, before thinking about it, he finally said with approval: "You are not bad, and you are lower than the ninth grade."

Wei Zan couldn't hide his joy: "Your Excellency's praise, I'm an official...it's all within..."

"Your Majesty has agreed to establish the Daming Paper Group, but things still need to be done step by step. First, build a Jinling Paper Company. You will be the manager, Zhengbapin, and besides..." Zhu Yuan said, pointing to Gu Zhong Ren: "...This is Old Gu, huh, to be honest, if you dissatisfy me today, this manager will be his. Now, you are still on the job, and Old Gu will be your deputy, from the eighth rank."

Wei Zan did not show neglect at all, and quickly saluted Gu Zhongren again.

Gu Zhongren also returned the salute solemnly, somewhat disappointed in his heart, but he didn't show it.

After the two had spoken, Zhu Yuan, who leaned on the chair and tried not to raise his legs, continued: "Don't think this official is small, just say that by my side, in the past year, there are people from the eighth rank to the third rank, and some from the third rank From the eighth grade to the fifth grade, so, next, it depends on your ability. The specifications of Daming Paper Group are basically determined to be the third grade. However, it is just an empty shell for the time being, and there is no chief officer. One president and one vice president, that is, one is the third grade, and the other is the third grade.”

Wei Zan and Gu Zhongren promised again and again.

Zhu Yuan also looked at Gu Zhongren with a smile: "Old Gu, you don't necessarily have to be from the third rank, there will still be many corresponding positions in the future, just like another Daming Ceramics Group, the plan is also the same as the third rank, and now it is just empty shelf .Anyway, if it is done well in the future, it is not impossible for you to be transferred to manage other groups.”

Gu Zhongren agreed again.

But he couldn't help thinking in his heart, Zhu Yuan also asked him to recommend other people who are good at business, isn't this... isn't he looking for an opponent for himself?

Ok.

Think about stopping soon.

If you don't recommend it yourself, it's not that Mr. Pingzhang can't find other people to recommend it. At that time, it will be your opponent even more.

Zhu Yuan ignored the change of Gu Zhongren's expression, looked at the craftsmen who were making paper, and continued: "The position arrangement is over, next, two things. The first one is relocation. The workshops in the city must be moved to the city. In addition, you two should choose the specific location. My suggestion is to collect raw materials nearby, for example, near the foot of the mountain, so that the whole mountain can be turned into a raw material base. Second, set a production target. Last year it was 3.5 knives, this year will not be too much difference, then next year, I hope you will increase the production by 10 times to 35 knives."

After speaking, he looked at the two of them again, and saw that they both looked embarrassed, Zhu Yuan asked with a smile: "What's the problem, tell me on the spot?"

Wei Zan said: "My lord, this...increases by 10 times, or requires 5000 craftsmen, how do you get it?"

Zhu Yuan said: "Most of the paper craftsmen who have moved in successively will be given to you. If there are not enough, we will recruit from the people or train them specially. Paper making is not pottery. I just read it. Most of them are manual labor, and most people can do it very well. Get started quickly. In addition, you don’t need to worry about money and food, the imperial court will try to satisfy you.”

Wei Zan nodded, paused, but couldn't help but said again: "My lord, if you make a lot of paper... But, can you use it up?"

Zhu Yuan pointed to Gu Zhongren on the other side: "That's why I asked him to be your assistant. If you can't use it up, then sell it. Whether it's a 'company' or a 'group', they are actually commercial platforms for doing business. .However, in a short period of time, even if the output is increased tenfold, you don't need to worry about running out, there are many places you need. This... I don't need to explain much, you two just need to obey orders."

Wei Zan is also considered a scholar. Hearing what Zhu Yuan said, four words immediately came to mind: strive for profit with the people.

This is not only to be impeached by the officials, but the common people will also point fingers at his spine.

but……

Ok.

Anyway, even if the sky falls in the future, there will be a tall man beside him... a big official will stand up, just do things by yourself.

Thinking of the Daming Paper Group, which is the third grade, Wei Zan's heart is a little warm.If it wasn't for the sake of a bright future, who would be willing to be so humble and flattering in front of Shangguan?
(End of this chapter)