Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 255 A Group of Stooges
The five words "mastery of eight-part essays" really hit Zhang Chen's soft spot. He didn't know how Zhu Er learned martial arts from the martial arts instructor appointed by the emperor. He only knew that he learned relatively easily in the classes at Banshan Hall every day, but he was so tired of the eight-part essay training given to him by the old Hanlin every three days!
He didn't want to touch the topic, the theme, the beginning of the speech at all... He just wanted to get rid of the standard essay! Princess Yongping, a beautiful lady, why would she prefer eight-part essays to poetry? Poetry is easy to remember, at least it is much easier to recite a poem than an eight-part essay! What a weird temper!
"Young Master, can you not bring this up?" Without mentioning the eight-legged essay, we are still teacher and student...
Seeing Zhang Chen complaining but still sitting back down, Zhang Shou said with a smile, "I'm not worried about the group of people from Jiuzhangtang going to Xuanda, because Wang Dayin is a man of integrity and ability, and most importantly, he is responsible, so the others just need to follow suit. But going to Xingtai to promote the new textile machinery is likely to be a thankless task, to be honest."
"It's difficult because the eldest prince is in Cangzhou. It can be said that people who go to Xingtai are always compared with the two sides. However, the status of Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu is far different from that of the eldest prince. The disadvantage is too great. The support and resources received by the two sides are incomparable. As for the unpopularity, it means that those people in Xingtai who make a living by weaving are likely to be hostile to you."
"Why is that?" This time, Zhang Lu couldn't help but ask in disbelief, "With the new spinning machines, they can spin several times more yarn every day. Wouldn't their income increase a lot? Why are they hostile to us?"
Zhang Shou glanced at the others and saw that Zhang Wu also agreed with Zhang Lu. Zhu Er was also nodding his head. Zhang Chen frowned and obviously couldn't figure it out. Qi Liang frowned and thought hard. Only Lu Sanlang looked as if he had gained something but couldn't quite put it into words.
At that moment, he said directly: "A few days ago, I remember telling you about Wang Anshi's reforms in Banshan Hall. He was obviously dedicated to the public, so I have explained why these new laws that seemed to be very good failed. Think about it, are there similarities between the Qingmiao Law and the promotion of new textile machines that the emperor wants you to promote now?"
"You should know that the first plan I mentioned to you was just to rent the new spinning machines to the spinners on loan, and let them use a portion of the yarn produced every day to pay the rent." Zhang Shou wanted to start a discussion, but he didn't mention it at all. He already had a very detailed plan for the emperor.
As soon as these words came out, Lu Sanlang clapped his hands vigorously and said, "I understand what you mean, young master. The Green Seed Law was originally a loan from the imperial court to poor people who had no money to buy green seedlings to grow crops. However, the poor people were illiterate, so the application documents had to be written by clerks. Furthermore, after being exploited by the government, the money they received in the end was not only less, but the interest earned increased by dozens of times!"
"The same goes for the spinners. Those who can afford a spinning machine only have one spinning machine like this one, and they can't afford to buy a new one. Before they came into contact with the new spinning machine, it is very likely that some wealthy families had already used the excuse of greatly improved spinning efficiency to lower the price of yarn, and at the same time spread the word that the court promoted the new spinning machine for profit and so on!"
"So, even if the imperial court sent someone to propose a plan like the one you mentioned, those incited textile workers would certainly be suspicious, uncooperative, or even hostile!"
As soon as he finished his analysis, he saw Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu looking at him in surprise, especially Zhu Er, whose eyes were full of suspicion. Only Zhang Chen snorted coldly and deliberately looked away from him. Fatty Lu was proud and decided to be generous and not argue with Zhang Chen. And Zhang Shou's affirmation made him even more proud:
"Yes, Sanlang Lu hit the nail on the head. In the final analysis, even if you bring a large group of people to Xingtai, the powerful dragon cannot suppress the local snake. Many things still depend on the cooperation of local officials and even wealthy families. Once they slander you for their own interests, it will be difficult for you to gain the trust of the people."
"The method I mentioned before was to start among the spinners near the capital. Here, the emperor is the most important, and Shuntian Prefecture has Wang Dayin, so this simple and crude plan will be enough."
"But since the emperor is focusing on promoting cotton from Xingtai and Cangzhou, where cotton planting, spinning and weaving are most developed, then I think the method you use in Xingtai should be adjusted. I will first tell you my opinion, and you can discuss it after listening to it."
Zhang Shou saw that several people sat up straight at once, their attention was extremely focused, so he said slowly: "First, in addition to the 100 spinning machines sold to the eldest prince, I asked Zhang the blacksmith and Sun the carpenter to set up another workshop in Rongshui Village. So far, they should have built dozens of spinning machines. However, transporting these things to Xingtai is a long journey, inconvenient and costly."
Zhang Lu didn't want to let Lu Sanlang take all the credit, so he immediately asked, "So, young master, do you mean that you want me and Awu to take these craftsmen to Xingtai together?"
"That's right." Zhang Shou nodded with a smile. "You know, it's very troublesome for you to recruit local craftsmen when you are unfamiliar with the place, and it's easy for them to tamper with you. Top craftsmen like Zhang the Blacksmith and Sun the Carpenter are in the capital these days, and it's their apprentices who are busy in the workshop. As for how you purchase wood locally to build components, I won't say more."
Seeing Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu nodding repeatedly, Zhang Shou said slowly: "Second, when you arrive in Xingtai, you don't have to rush to promote it. Instead, find a good place and open a workshop to build eight or ten spinning machines. Just like in the capital, recruit spinning workers to test the machines and promise to return 50% of their daily income. In other words, as long as they get used to the machines, they can immediately get more pay for more work."
"Of course, they don't have to provide any means of production, but they can get 50% of the output as wages. This ratio is indeed too high, so high that the workshop loses money. But this is just like Shang Yang's tree planting, it is an attractive strategy."
Zhang Shou said this, and then he remembered that the four words "means of production" are a new term for people nowadays, so he had to explain in detail that the means of production include labor tools and labor objects, what are labor tools, what are labor objects...
Realizing that if he continued to talk like this, it would become a serious Marxist political economy, he coughed quickly.
At this time, Zhang Chen, who had just been deliberately showing his disinterest, suddenly stood up and said, "I heard that in addition to those spinners who have their own spinning machines, many spinning workshops are now also recruiting people to work, and the wages they pay are extremely meager, which is just enough to make a living. Moreover, those who have spinning machines often find it difficult to continue because of the price !"
"Oh, I didn't expect that you, Zhang Chen, the son of the Duke of Qin, would actually learn about the workshop and the spinners?"
Lu Sanlang suddenly interrupted with a smile. Seeing Zhang Chen realize that he had said something wrong, he snorted and sat down. He smiled and winked at Zhang Shou: "Young sir, look at Zhang Chen. He has obviously learned about the current cotton textile industry, but he is pretending to be indifferent. It is obvious that he is not sincere!"
"Zhang Chen really understands it very well." Zhang Shou ignored Lu Sanlang's ridicule and said in an approving tone, "And Zhang Chen is also right. Those workshops withheld wages to maximize profits. It's not wrong for businessmen to pursue profits, but if they pursue profits too much, it will harm the people."
Seeing Zhang Chen suddenly embarrassed, he continued: "But no matter what, as long as Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu act like Shang Yang standing a tree in Xingtai, those workshop owners and machine owners will naturally become restless."
"At this time, you can rent the spinning machines to interested spinners, and then agree to pay 60% of the daily yarn turnover as rent. Of course, the rent is not permanent, you can set a term of three or six months depending on the situation. Of course, if those spinners do not want to take risks, they can continue to come to the workshop to spin yarn, and 30% of the daily output will be paid as compensation."
Hearing this, Qi Liang was immediately delighted: "Using these two methods in parallel will definitely have a very good effect!"
Zhu Er looked at the others who were trying to think, and suddenly felt that he, who had no ideas, was like the salted fish Zhang Shou had mentioned. He rolled his eyes and suddenly said unhappily, "It's not that easy. Those who have suffered losses will never be willing to accept it! For example, the loopholes that Yingying found in the accounting before drove away a group of managers, but the remaining people will still find other ways to make money."
"Those greedy guys won't give up so easily! As the saying goes, money makes the world go round!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Shou looked at him with a half-smile, and so did the others. Zhang Chen looked contemptuous, but Lu Sanlang was grinning. He couldn't help but shout in dissatisfaction: "Why, am I wrong? You have a plan, I have a counter-plan. Even if you come up with a better plan, others will have a counter-plan. It's not that easy!"
"Zhu Er is right. Even if the two methods I mentioned seem very attractive and you choose the most honest and upright people to implement them, there may still be links that cannot be monitored. What's more, others do have a trump card."
Zhang Shou paused, but did not mention the source of cotton that he had mentioned to everyone last time: "For example, collude with the merchants who originally purchased cotton yarn to lower the price, or even not buy the yarn from the spinners at all. The reasons are ready-made. The weavers in the market simply cannot digest so much yarn, so naturally the price should be lowered. Or maybe they have already collected enough, so they don't want to buy anymore."
When Qi Liang heard this inference, he nodded repeatedly: "If so, even if the spinners get more yarn, their income may be even more meager than before, or even difficult to make ends meet. In this case, the new spinning machine is not a life-saving straw for them, but a death knives. They dare not resent the court, so Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu are unlucky, right?"
Seeing that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, who were originally ambitious, were suddenly troubled, Zhang Shou did not propose a solution, but said lightly: "Just like Xiao Qi said, this is a problem you are likely to encounter. Before leaving, I hope that you will work together, rack your brains to think about the various situations you may encounter, and then make corresponding plans. It's your first time going out to do things, so it's better to be prepared!"
Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu agreed with lingering fear. They glanced at Lu Sanlang and Zhu Er. Zhang Lu, who was always smooth, stood up with a smile on his face and bowed: "Brother Lu San, Brother Zhu Er, Xiao Wu and I have limited abilities, you must help us."
As he spoke, he bowed to Qi Liang and said, "Brother Qi has always been kind-hearted and knows more about folk affairs than the two of us. Please give us two junior brothers who are just starting out."
Zhang Wu also quickly stood up and bowed. Just as the two brothers were asking for help, they suddenly heard a loud cough. Turning around, they saw Zhang Chen sitting there with a blue face, and he was obviously angry.
They knew that Zhang Chen was easy to get along with most of the time, but he was very concerned about his reputation, so they secretly said that it was bad. But when they wanted to apologize, they couldn't find an excuse to explain why they just ignored Zhang Chen, and their faces flushed.
Just when they were embarrassed and panicked, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "You are openly repairing the plank road, while Zhang Chen is secretly crossing Chencang. He still has his mission. Zhang Chen, come here, let them discuss it by themselves, and we will go talk somewhere else!"
He never mentioned that the goal this time was not to compete with those workshops and big households, but to force both sides to compromise and set a bottom line for wages and yarn prices. This, as well as the various contingency plans, depended on whether the remaining cobblers could come up with them through discussion without him, the cobbler.
Zhang Chen glared at Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu unhappily. Seeing Zhang Shou wrapped in a cloak and walking out, he raised his eyebrows and glanced at Lu Sanlang and Zhu Er, but finally nodded relatively politely to Qi Liang, and then followed Zhang Shou in big strides.
As soon as he left, Zhu Er was so angry that he cursed: "Why are you so proud? You were born into a good family, but you still look so gloomy every day, as if someone owes you five hundred taels. It's only because my brother-in-law is so tolerant that he can't even cry just because you covet Yingying!"
Zhang Wu had been under Zhang Chen's care for so many years, and he couldn't help but sneer at this moment: "What's the point of cursing someone behind their back? If you have the guts, say this in front of Brother Chen and the young master!"
Zhu Er was immediately furious: "Hey, who called me Brother Zhu Er just now, wanting me to give you some advice! How much benefit have you gained from following Zhang Chen all day? If it weren't for my brother-in-law, would you two, one the consort and the other the groom, have been given the important task of going to Xingtai to be independent? You are already people who can start your own business, but you are still clinging to Zhang Chen's thigh. Do you have any ambition?"
Zhang Lu's eyes flickered, and he was about to speak, but was unexpectedly pulled behind him by Zhang Wu: "This is not a question of whether you have ambition or not, but a question of whether you can forget your roots!"
Seeing Zhu Er was stunned, Zhang Wu said word by word: "You and other people probably think that Brother Chen has a bad temper and says hurtful things at any time, but it is thanks to him that A Lu and I were able to hold on until we met the young master!"
"I know that others laugh at us for being lackeys, but a good young master of a marquisate is following Brother Chen around, but he is a truly loyal person! At least when he helps us, he may not have thought about how we are doing at home, but he never uses a tone of charity!"
Zhang Lu didn't expect Zhang Wu to speak so clearly for Zhang Chen. After a long silence, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "It's hard to find someone as capable and kind as Xiao Xiansheng, but we were lucky to meet someone like Chen Ge. If Wu and I had a good marriage and a good teacher and left Chen Ge behind, it would be really heartless!"
