Of course, even if Liu Wei is close to Gao Pragmatic, it is not really a sign of refuge at the moment. Gao Pragmatic will not need Liu Wei in the short term. It can only be said that he has formed a good relationship in advance.
Only when you reach a certain position can you say these things.
What Gao Pragmatic really cares about and is already doing to cultivate his power is actually an inconspicuous "business". He has a large business plan, and the soap business he is currently engaged in is just a trivial gadget, which is not worth mentioning.
At that time, it was used as a means to earn the first pot of gold. But now, because of the unexpected harvest of Bailixia, a hen that can lay golden eggs, Gao Pragmatic has made some plans slightly ahead of schedule.
Of course, returning in advance does not mean that we have to go to the shipyard to build sea-going ships now. We have to eat one bite at a time, and things like shipbuilding are still far away. A hundred years from now, the cost of building a main warship for the British will be converted into silver
It costs hundreds of thousands of taels. Even if the Ming Dynasty shipbuilding is cheaper than the British, it is obviously not what Gao Wuchen can afford now.
Gao pragmatically plans to start a coal business now. This business is not impressive at all in the Ming Dynasty. Because of the inconvenience of transportation in these years, the profit of coal trading is very meager, and the sales are average - it is used by poor families who cannot afford charcoal to bake in winter.
It's just fire, not even suitable for cooking.
Why is this happening? Just think about some relatively backward rural areas in the past life, and you will know that those rural people would rather go out to chop firewood for cooking than use coal. There are two reasons: First, there is basically no one to cut firewood these days, as long as they go far away
Just cut a little bit of "wild mountain", the cost is basically zero, and you can save money; secondly, the coal fuel these days is very primitive, the combustion efficiency is very low, and the waste is huge. Although the price is not expensive, because there is no briquette,
It's a sharp tool, but it's still not very cost-effective to use.
In today's capital, the poorest people cut their own wood and dry it for burning; those with better conditions buy coal to save trouble; the better-off people buy firewood from woodcutter; and the upper class only burn charcoal.
At a glance, it is clear that there are not many people who are serious about burning coal. Without a market, naturally not many people are willing to do this business, and it is naturally difficult to make profits, so it is inconspicuous.
Therefore, Gao Qingshi felt that he could start this business with the surplus money that Bailixia could currently provide.
However, Gao Pragmatic naturally would not devote all his energy to coal just for this reason. Coal will play many roles in later generations, but its current level of development is too low so it cannot be used in many aspects. But one very key point is that he insists on it.
The origin of coal mines: coking and smelting iron.
The coal mine in Mentougou does not quite meet the needs of Gao Jingjing, but it can be used to train a group of mining workers in advance, which is very important. Gao Jingjing is not some time-traveling god. He asks himself that he does not have the ability to recruit a group of people to do a good job.
All the careers his mind could offer.
His work experience in his previous life told him that no matter how inconspicuous a job is, it will still have a "professionalism". If you ask a few Jinshi masters to sweep the streets, they may not be able to win over the sixty-year-old Wang next door.
Uncle, this is of course especially true for mining and coal mining. This work was a very specialized type of work in later generations, and it was also quite dangerous. Not just any cat or dog could do it.
In addition, Gao pragmatism also has an ulterior purpose: whenever miners revolted in history, they were in great trouble, because these people lived in harsh conditions and all had to do hard labor, and coal mining made them miserable.
Don't pay attention to cooperation-this is simply the best soldier seedling!
Are there many miners from Yiwu in the Qi family's army? Are there many "old brothers from Guangxi" who were the founders of the Taiping Rebellion? Even Japan's Kumamoto division, which was pulled out as a vanguard in a certain era, was also based on miners.
Why are miners so powerful as an army?
First, those who are physically fit and unfit cannot work as miners; second, those who are accustomed to organization and discipline and do not follow the rules when going down the mine will die early; third, going down the mine once in ancient times is equivalent to facing life and death, and it is even more trivial to not be afraid of fighting when going down the mine;
Fourth, the miners trust each other's lives, which is equivalent to the way soldiers in later generations know, "Don't worry about your back, trust your comrades."
Although Gao Pragmatic does not intend to seek government and usurp the throne, in view of the great dangers of the great cause he wants to do, he must have an extremely reliable force at his disposal. This force must be inconspicuous at ordinary times, because it may cause bad things if it is visible.
But at critical moments, we need to be able to fight when called upon.
Miners are great! Especially miners who have participated in training are even better!
In name? We are afraid that no thieves will target us, so we usually train as militiamen.
Organization? Oh, yes, we are called the Workers’ Mine Protection Team, which means if anyone dares to rob us and take our jobs, we will do it!
Very good, according to the Ming people's thinking, there is no problem at all.
Which aristocratic family cannot recruit a team of servants who can fight? Which century-old clan does not have its own Wubao old village? Similarly, if you open such a large private mine, there will be no regular army of the imperial court to help you guard it.
Who should I cry to if I am robbed? Of course I want to guard my own land. I am happy to let my miners take on an extra job, and I pay the salary. What is it that is hindering your court? They robbed the family and bullied the market.
If not, why are you talking so much nonsense!
After training enough professional miners, Gao Pragmatic will start to prepare to take over the coal mine that he really likes.
Kailuan Coal Mine!
There is no need to introduce this in detail. I will just mention one key point: Kailuan Coal Mine is rich in bituminous coal, a considerable part of which can be used for coking coal.
In view of the huge reserves of Kailuan Coal Mine, this "quite a part", even if Gao pragmatically developed coking, blast furnace and other technologies, and all iron and steel smelting in the world switched to using coke, it would be more than enough to supply the entire Ming Dynasty.
Although I haven't even figured out my horoscope yet, I feel happy just thinking about this prospect.
How many things that Gao will do in the future are related to iron smelting and steelmaking? If charcoal is always used to make steel, not to mention the huge waste, the pitiful output alone makes Gao pragmatically roll his eyes. As for Gao
It is true that a pragmatic liberal arts student cannot build a truly high-tech blast furnace. However, when he was a child, he always heard from his elders about the people who used to make steel using local methods. The technology content was lower, and the environmental pollution was higher.
Homemade steelmaking, which is less efficient, can still do its best.
Therefore, when Gao pragmatic returned to the capital this time, in addition to busy preparing for the "performance" to be held in the palace in two days, he also sent people to Qi Jiguang and Wu Dui.
Why Qi Jiguang and Wu Dui? Because Qi Jiguang is the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, and Kailuan is within his guarding range. At the same time, Gao Pragmatic also plans to use a small incident to test Qi Jiguang's attitude towards Gao Gong; as for Wu Dui, he is "rectifying
"Deputy Envoy of Yongping Road, Tuntian, Water Conservancy and Coastal Defense and Military Preparation", Kailuan is his direct jurisdiction!