The capital city is Xishan.
Zhu Gaoxu led two ministers, Xia Yuanji and Song Li, to Xishan.
There are natural coal mines in the Xishan area. No one cared about them before, and no one wanted them at all.
But now that Prince Han has developed briquettes, this coal mountain is a mountain of gold and silver.
With the help of later marketing methods, briquettes became famous, and demand exceeded supply in the capital.
Faced with this situation, Xia Yuanji waved his hand and directly assigned the entire Western Mountain to the Han Palace. The Ministry of Industry dispatched craftsmen to go up the mountain and work hard to burn coal furnaces to produce briquettes.
After all, there are profit margins visible to the naked eye. Using these coals that no one wants to make briquettes can not only fill the national treasury, but also benefit the people. Why not？
When the three of them arrived, Xishan was very lively at the moment.
Originally there were many villages around Xishan, with a population of about five to six thousand, but now they have all been recruited and become workers at the Xishan Coal Plant.
As the first person to develop briquettes, Huangfu Yunhe naturally became the person in charge of the Xishan Coal Plant.
When he learned that his prince was coming, he immediately came to greet him personally.
Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said a few words of relief, and then under the leadership of Huangfu Yunhe, he began the inspection work.
I saw workers working enthusiastically in the workshops set up everywhere, such as the coal washing area, the mixing area, the drying area, etc., all according to the briquette production process.
‘Your Majesty, please see that the production of this briquette is based on your instructions, using the assembly line production model, with a clear division of labor for each worker.’
‘In this way, production efficiency has been greatly improved, which is fully sufficient to meet the needs of people in the Gyeonggi region.’
After hearing this, Xia Yuanji and Song Li both smiled and nodded.
Briquette production is on the right track, and the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry have also made a lot of progress.
However, Zhu Gaoxu frowned, ‘Just meeting the needs of the people in the capital is not enough.’
‘I am going to auction off the right to sell briquettes and let those wealthy businessmen sell briquettes to all parts of the world. This will not only make more profits, but also benefit more people.’
‘So the scale of Xishan Coal Plant must be expanded as soon as possible to recruit more manpower.’
As soon as these words came out, everyone was a little shocked.
Is it really okay to sell briquettes all over the world？
Xia Yuanji’s eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly while stroking his beard.
‘Given only the right to sell, those wealthy merchants will have to purchase goods from Xishan and sell them through their own channels. In this way, briquettes can enter the world market instead of being trapped in the capital.’
‘His Royal Highness, this plan is really clever, and I admire it.’
Song Li also reacted and looked at Zhu Gaoxu with surprise.
This King of Han is really a business wizard!
Although briquettes are selling like hotcakes, that’s only in the capital.
Other places don’t even know that such a thing exists.
And now the sales rights are auctioned to wealthy businessmen, allowing them to purchase the goods and sell them in various places. This will completely open up the market for briquettes.
Those wealthy businessmen traveled all over the world to make a living in pursuit of profits. Some of them had sales channels, and there was no need to worry about selling high-quality and low-priced practical products such as briquettes.
However, at this moment, Huangfu Yunhe had a bitter look on his face and sighed, ‘My lord, if this happens, the cost will be too high!’
‘All the workers in the factory must be paid monthly, and they are served white flour and steamed buns every day, and meat every now and then. The cost will be a bit high this month. If we continue to recruit people…’
Zhu Gaoxu was speechless when he heard this. These dogs still have landlord ideas, so they should just use the fruits of the working people in vain.
‘Huangfu, you are too short-sighted. If you want the horse to run, you have to let the horse be fed.’
‘When workers have enough to eat and don’t have to worry about food and drink, they will have the passion to work and their efficiency will be higher. Once the sales rights are sold, the profits from briquettes will increase more than a hundred times. You still care about the cost. very？’
Huangfu Yunhe was startled, curled his lips and did not continue to persuade.
He just felt that his prince was too kind to these workers.
Not only were they given food and drink, but they were also given monthly money. What kind of silly son of a landlord would do this？
Everyone took another look at the production of the coal stove and confirmed that no corners were cut, and then they were completely relieved.
Zhu Gaoxu looked at these busy workers and suddenly thought of something.
Didn’t we propose earlier that we should form a young army for our great nephew to cultivate his military talents？
Xishan is a great place, with beautiful mountains and clear waters!
Tsk tsk, it’s really good!
Zhu Gaoxu looked at the scenery of the Western Mountains with a smirk on his lips.
…
The Prince’s Mansion in the East Palace.
Zhu Zhanji’s injury is finally healed and he can jump up and down.
But after experiencing this severe beating incident, he seemed to have matured overnight, his speech and behavior were quite calm, and there was no hint of frivolity.
The prince has been watching his changes like this. He feels relieved but also a little confused.
Could it be that after this little bastard received a severe beating, he became enlightened like the second child？
‘Son, are your injuries healed？ Do you want to go out for a walk？’
Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said in a solemn voice, ‘Dad, it was my son’s fault in the past. I have always misunderstood you.’
The prince was startled when he heard this. He stretched out his hand and touched his forehead. After confirming, he wondered, ‘There is no fever at all. Why did this kid start talking nonsense…’
Zhu Zhanji slapped his hand away and said seriously, ‘Dad, my son has really figured it out. Second uncle… he has really changed.’
Recalling the pungent and satirical article ‘Promoting Weaving’, Zhu Zhanji was both frightened and moved.
What I’m afraid of is that in the future, when he ascends the throne and becomes emperor, he will definitely do the same stupid thing, wasting money and ruining the country and the people.
As for the feeling, it came from his second uncle Zhu Gaoxu, whom he had always hated.
This second uncle could have just sat back and watched him fall into depravity and play in a dandy manner, which would have been more in line with his desire to seize the heir.
But he didn’t. Instead, he beat himself up and wrote an article ‘Promoting Weaving’ to persuade himself.
If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight!
Zhu Zhanji kept thinking about this sentence and gradually understood his second uncle’s painstaking efforts.
However, this was the first time that he felt the warmth from his elders from his second uncle.
Thinking about it, Zhu Zhanji couldn’t help but smile.
Big Fatty also sighed when he saw this, and told Zhu Gaoxu’s words that day exactly.
Hearing the words ‘knife in hand’, Zhu Zhanji became even more moved.
Because he finally understood that the second uncle had chosen to embark on a dead end and completely cut off his ambition to seize the throne.
If you offend the civil servants and officials, what can you do to fight for the throne？
Zhu Gaochi patted his shoulder and sighed, ‘Son, you have to remember that we, father and son, owe your second uncle a lot.’
Zhu Zhanji nodded, his expression extremely complicated.
Just at this moment, Little Sniffle came to deliver the message.
‘The emperor has orally told me that the Ming Dynasty will be founded by force, and that the grandson must be knowledgeable in military affairs. From now on, the grandson’s young army will be formed to practice martial arts in the Western Mountains.’
Big Fatty was stunned when he heard this and froze on the spot.
Zhu Zhanji’s face lit up and he asked excitedly, ‘Dad, where is Xishan？’
Zhu Gaochi’s expression suddenly became weird. After hesitating for a moment, he said quietly, ‘Xishan is Coal Mountain. The second son built a coal factory there…’
Zhu Zhanji ‘？？？’
What？
Xishan Coal Plant？
Are you asking me to dig coal？
‘Zhu Gaoxu, you are a thief, this belongs to your uncle!’