Li Shanchang immediately stepped out of the queue and said decisively: "Your Majesty, although Hu Aiqing's idea is good, it is extremely difficult to implement it!"
"Now that the Ming Dynasty has just been established, each department is short of manpower. If a new department is established, I'm afraid the remaining departments will not be able to operate normally!"
"Besides, by proposing this method, Hu Aiqing might not be seeking profit for himself!"
"Once a new department is established, wouldn't the person who proposed this law become the head of the department?"
"If Your Majesty agrees, where will those talents who passed the imperial examination be placed?"
"How can a young boy easily dominate everyone with just a few words?"
As soon as Li Shanchang finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang hit him with a brush.
Judging from the atmosphere in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, if it weren't for the distance, Zhu Yuanzhang might really be tempted to give Li Shanchang a few blows: "Li Shanchang, you are selfish and think that everyone else is the same as you?"
"Although my educational level is average, Lao Zhu, I also know that talents must be reused!"
"Hu Changan can come up with so many inventions that benefit the country and the people, can you?"
"From alcohol to potatoes, which one was not invented first by Hu Changan?"
"If you, Li Shanchang, can invent even one thing, I, Lao Zhu, will immediately increase your salary!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry now that I even forgot to mention it.
I originally thought that if I reprimanded Li Shanchang in person, he would realize his mistakes and correct them, but I didn't expect that Li Shanchang would come forward to give Hu Changan eye drops regardless of life and death. It was simply ridiculous!
At this time, Li Shanchang did not dare to speak anymore.
Your Majesty is really angry!
Even if Li Shanchang claimed to be a national master, he would not dare to provoke Zhu Yuanzhang at this juncture.
Seeing that the people who were in the way stopped talking, the ministers from both sides discussed with each other the feasibility of building a new department.
In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to establish a new department with a wave of his hand: "My dear friends, let's call this new department the Ministry of Agriculture."
"In the future, this department will be responsible for breeding and selection and promoting high-yielding crops across the country."
"Those who were originally in charge of agriculture in the Ministry of Household Affairs should go to work in the new department first."
"Song Ping, who was originally in charge of agriculture at the Ministry of Household Affairs, will serve as the minister of the new department temporarily."
"In addition, Hu Changan, you will concurrently serve as the general counsel of the Ministry of Agriculture and supervise the construction of the new department at any time!"
Zhu Yuanzhang also had his intentions in making this appointment.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang just scoffed at Li Shanchang's words, Li Shanchang still said these words after all, and Zhu Yuanzhang must worry about the influence on the court.
Therefore, Hu Changan cannot hold an official position in the new department for the time being.
On the other hand, Zhu Yuanzhang also considered that Hu Changan was relatively young and inexperienced.
The establishment of a new department requires the coordination of the interests of all parties in the court, which is a difficult thing to balance.
Hu Changan had just arrived and had not yet achieved results. Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid that he would not be able to convince the public.
After much deliberation, the mature and prudent Song Ping is more suitable to be the commander-in-chief.
Of course, Song Ping will only temporarily serve as the minister of the new department.
If Hu Changan can make some achievements in the Ministry of Industry, Zhu Yuanzhang still hopes that Hu Changan will serve as the minister of this new department.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's final word, all the ministers also accepted the order.
At this point, the Ministry of Agriculture was officially established!
...
After going to court, Hu Changan asked to see Zhu Yuanzhang privately.
Facing Hu Changan, who had given him many surprises, Zhu Yuanzhang did not refuse anyone who came and invited Hu Changan to come to Yangxin Hall to discuss matters.
Standing at the foot of the steps, Hu Changan said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty, I have now planted potatoes. I wonder if your Majesty's previous promise of letting me be responsible for making alcohol still counts?"
"Of course it counts!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and gave Hu Changan a clear answer.
At this time, Hu Changan also breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, you can take the first step in business!
However, Zhu Yuanzhang was still a little puzzled: "Hu Chang'an, you have made such a huge contribution, don't you need any reward?"
"As long as you bring up tens of thousands of taels of gold, thousands of hectares of fertile land, and promotions, it's a matter of course!"
However, Hu Changan just smiled and declined Zhu Yuanzhang's proposal.
What a joke, as long as he works a little harder, wouldn't these things be within his reach? There is no need for rewards at all.
If he takes credit for his small achievements and is arrogant about it, it will lower his reputation in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart and be detrimental to the future layout of his business empire.
Hu Changan is someone who will build a business system across the continent in the future. How can he stop moving forward just because of this small favor?
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hu Changan's calm face and was very moved in his heart.
I’m afraid there aren’t many of these ministers who are dedicated to serving the country and the people!
Those officials who have nothing to do but are eager to do the least work and get the most salary.
They should all come and let them learn from Hu Changan!
After declining Zhu Yuanzhang's reward, Hu Chang'an got down to business again, which was also the main purpose of his visit: "Your Majesty, I wonder if you would allow me to use the government's sign to purchase sugarcane bagasse?"
"I want to build a large workshop in the suburbs to produce alcohol specifically for the country!"
In ancient times, there were basically no other disinfection tools except alcohol.
Alcohol is basically the only disinfectant tool on the market.
In recent years, the Ming Dynasty has been fighting many small-scale wars with foreign nations. Alcohol should not be too much, but not too little.
What's more, among ordinary people, alcohol has many uses.
After various surgical common sense are popularized to the public, people will definitely need to use alcohol in large quantities.
In addition, as long as alcohol is stored properly, the shelf life will be very long, so you don’t have to worry about it going bad after being made.
Hu Changan is planning to make more rum and alcohol during this year's sugarcane harvest season.
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment, and finally agreed to Hu Changan's suggestion.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang has given Hu Changan the responsibility for alcohol, it is not a big deal to let Hu Changan purchase raw materials on behalf of the government.
Zhu Yuanzhang ordered people to get banknotes, wrote a volume of imperial edict, and gave Hu Changan a jade pendant, saying: "Hu Aiqing, this is a special jade plate purchased in the palace."
"Since the imperial court currently has no precedent of cooperating with merchants, I would like to ask you to purchase things in the name of the royal family first."
"You can take the purchase order to my inner treasury to reimburse the money for purchasing supplies."
"This is an imperial decree written by me. As long as you show it to the local officials in Lingnan, your purchasing path will be smooth!"
Hu Changan received the imperial edict and was extremely happy.
Now I finally became an imperial merchant helping the emperor!