SWDnovel Chapter 68 The Popular Little Train
Chapter 68 The Popular Little Train
Chapter 69 The Popular Little Train
Chapter 068: The Dalu Island Cement Plant has officially started construction. The technical challenges of cement production are not high, but the lack of mechanization has resulted in a significant expenditure of manpower.
Of course, this was also part of Chen Ying's plan. Unskilled migrants could work at the cement factory as long as they were willing to put in the effort. They would get two meals a day, unlimited, and enough to eat. They would also receive two liters of grain as their daily wage. They could work if they wanted, or not if they didn't.
Most of these 50,000-plus refugees bowed to reality and worked honestly. As for those who wanted to cause trouble, Chen Ying did not indulge them. They were given a thin porridge and about four ounces of grain every day. They wouldn't starve to death, but they were definitely not comfortable.
Unlike Ningyuan City, where the Liaodong Imperial Envoy's office was located, even in the most difficult times, people could still survive by selling their children. This wasn't just selling children in the literal sense, but in the truest sense.
Besides selling their children, they could also sell their bodies for a cornbread or a pound of grain. But the problem was, once they arrived at Dalu Island, all of this pitiful hope was gone.
They did want to sell their children, but the problem was there was no market for them, so they couldn't sell them. As for making a living with their bodies, everyone was poor, and when you're well-fed and clothed, you think about sex. But you have to be well-fed first. When you're hungry, you don't have the mood for that. After more than ten days of standoff, they finally had to give in.
With the addition of over 50,000 refugees, the progress of various projects on Dalu Island has accelerated significantly. Projects such as road construction, house building, and city construction are progressing rapidly, as is iron smelting. However, the salt fields, which were originally made of rammed earth, are being gradually replaced with cement.
Of course, the scale of the salt fields on Dalu Island is also expanding, and the production capacity is gradually increasing, especially the output of snow salt, which has increased from the original 700-800 catties per day to more than 20,000 catties, almost 30 times.
Chen Ying provided 2,000 catties of snow salt to Ma Shidong, the general of Liaodong, 1,000 catties to Mao Yuanyi, and then 5,000 catties each to Kim Bok-soon and Hong Bae in Korea. However, the problem was that this was only the monthly sales volume, and the total production capacity of all four parties was less than a day's production capacity.
In the warehouse next to the Dalu Island saltworks, piles of snow-white salt formed small mountains, gleaming coldly in the light streaming through the high windows.
Chen Ying stood in front of the salt stack, his brows furrowed. It wasn't that he didn't want to sell more snow salt to Ma Shilong and Mao Yuanyi; the problem was that snow salt was now a high-end salt, expensive, and unaffordable for the wealthy.
Small landowners like Song Xianze couldn't even bear to eat raw salt, let alone snow salt. The situation was the same in North Korea, where 10,000 catties of salt a month was almost saturated.
Of course, the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty have a large enough market, but the problem is that Chen Ying really doesn't want to sell to the interior right now. This would seriously harm the interests of salt merchants and cut off their source of income, which is like killing their parents. He is still weak and frail and can't withstand their retaliation.
More importantly, unlike the salt merchants of the Qing Dynasty, the salt merchants of the Ming Dynasty did not make money. The salt price in the Ming Dynasty was transparent, with a profit of about two or three copper coins per catty. The real money was made by the salt merchants who owned salt licenses, which were related to the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue.
This part cannot be touched. As for lowering the price, that's just foolish. The production cost of snow salt is far higher than that of ordinary sea salt, almost on par with the retail price, with a production cost of about twelve coins per pound.
Su Mei stood beside Chen Ying, holding the account books: "My lord, we have now accumulated more than 500,000 catties of snow salt, and the warehouses are no longer sufficient."
Chen Ying was extremely worried. The worst part was that with the incorporation of more than 50,000 military households from Xingzhou Zhongtunwei and more than 50,000 refugees from Ningyuan City, the number of mouths to feed in the entire Shahewei system had reached nearly 200,000.
Every day when Chen Ying opened his eyes, more than two or three thousand bushels of grain were gone.
Most of the workshop's output and maritime trade profits went into this bottomless pit. More importantly, he needed to train seven thousand new soldiers, which would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver every month.
The salt fields should not only not become a hot potato for him, but should also become an important source of revenue for Shahewei.
"The salt merchants from the inland areas—"
Chen Ying didn't care about offending anyone now; he was on the verge of starvation, so he didn't care about anything else.
"We've tested them."
Su Mei shook her head: "The managers of the major salt companies all spoke politely, but their meaning was very clear: north of the Yangtze River estuary, the markets for Huai salt and Lu salt have long been divided up, and there's no room for negotiation. If we want to cooperate, they're only willing to buy at 30% of the market price, and that would have to be done covertly. If we dare to transport and sell them ourselves—"
Chen Ying was well aware of the immense profits and deep-seated connections involved in the salt trade. With the collapse of the Ming Dynasty's salt administration, salt merchants had long been entangled in a web of interests with officials, nobles, and even palace eunuchs.
As a newly appointed commander of the guards, despite his background with Wei Zhongxian, if he were to actually touch that vested interest, he would likely become the target of everyone's criticism immediately.
"What about maritime trade? Japan, Southeast Asia?"
"We've already dispatched a fast ship to make contact, but the round trip will take time, and it's still unknown how much the overseas market can absorb. Most importantly, Su Mei looked at Chen Ying: 'Our fleet is not yet fully formed, we lack large ships, our escort capabilities are weak, and large-scale salt transport to sea is too risky.'"
"It's tough—"
Chen Ying smiled bitterly, as if all paths were blocked.
Su Mei suddenly spoke up: "My lord, perhaps—there is another way."
"explain."
"Sell the salt and iron to the Haixi Jurchens."
"Haixi Jurchen? Savage Jurchen?"
Information about this tribe flashed through Chen Ying's mind: they lived in the Heilongjiang and Songhua River basins, and were not part of Nurhaci's Jianzhou Jurchen tribe; in fact, they had many grudges against each other.
They live by fishing and hunting, and are deficient in salt and iron, but are rich in mountain products such as furs, ginseng, pearls, and deer antlers.
"right."
Su Mei said with a burning gaze, "Through Jiang He, a centurion of the Jinyiwei in Liaodong, I have learned some information. The various tribes of the Haixi Jurchen have been oppressed by the Jianzhou Jurchen for many years, and their survival is extremely difficult. They are desperately lacking in salt and iron. A cheap iron knife can be exchanged for three top-quality sable furs; a pound of coarse salt can be exchanged for an old ginseng root. Our snow salt and refined iron are simply a gift from heaven to them."
Chen Ying was tempted, but still had concerns: "Bartering—how do we convert the furs and mountain goods we get into cash?"
The mainland market is also dominated by large corporations.
"We don't sell raw materials directly."
Su Mei had clearly considered this: "My lord, we can preserve the beef and mutton we acquire by salting them. Salted meat can be stored for a long time, and we can sell it within the Great Wall. The furs can be processed into fur coats. Ginseng, deer antlers, and pearls are precious medicinal materials and treasures. Through the channels of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it will not be difficult to find buyers. We can even directly offer them as tribute to the inner court or sell them to wealthy people in Jiangnan. More importantly—trading with the Haixi Jurchens will not only be profitable, but it will also allow us to support a force behind Liaodong to restrain the Jianzhou Jurchens. The court will probably be happy to see this happen."
Chen Ying paced back and forth in front of the salt stacks, his mind racing as he weighed the options.
Of course, there are risks. Cross-tribal trade is a long and dangerous journey with no guarantee of safety. However, the benefits are equally huge. It can not only solve the problem of unsold salt and iron, but also obtain valuable resources. Furthermore, it can open up a path to wealth that is not restricted by salt merchants inside the Great Wall, and even plant a hidden piece in the Liaodong chess game.
"Commander Jiang is an old hand in Liaodong, familiar with the border situation, and has long had private dealings with some tribes of the Haixi Jurchen. What he wants is merit and money, and he promises to ask his superiors in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for credit on his behalf."
Su Mei said, "He has already made initial contact on this matter. Bayan, the leader of the Haixi Ula tribe, is willing to give it a try."
In fact, most of the Jurchen tribes under the Haiwang clan have now surrendered to Nurhaci, including the Yehe, Ulana, and Nara tribes. Chen Ying is also considering that the Ming Dynasty is now like a sieve, and Shanxi merchants can transport supplies to the Jurchens through Zhangjiakou or Datong.
Whether it's salt or iron, in fact, these things will eventually flow into the Jurchen tribes, including the snow salt he sold to Ma Shilong, the situation is probably similar.
Therefore, Chen Yingming clearly had better armor, swords, spears, firearms, and cannons, but he did not sell them to the Liaodong army because the Liaodong army was also a sieve.
Chen Ying finally made up his mind: "Let's go with this plan! Su Mei, you are fully responsible for liaising with Jiang He and drafting the details of the barter. Salt, ironware, cloth, and tea can all be used as barter items. The cattle and sheep we get in return should be immediately processed and canned. The hides and medicinal herbs should be stored separately, and I will find other channels to sell them."
"Tell Jiang He that the first transaction can be smaller in scale, but the goods must be of high quality. What we need is not only goods, but also credibility and the smooth operation of this trade route."
Chen Ying suddenly remembered a major weapon. Now it was the Age of Exploration, with more than 10,000 merchant ships traveling between the East and the West. With such a large scale, the problem of finding ocean-going sailors was a fatal one.
That is food preservation. Nowadays, ocean sailors are almost risking their lives on voyages because they do not get vitamin supplements and are prone to sepsis.
The problem is that sepsis is caused by a lack of vitamins. When Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean, the sailors of the Ming Dynasty did not have this problem. The main reason was that the Ming fleet transported a large amount of porcelain. In order to ensure that the porcelain would not be damaged during transportation, a large amount of soybeans would be put into the gaps of the porcelain.
Soybeans sprout when soaked in rainwater. These sprouts contain a lot of vitamins, which is why sailors in the Ming Dynasty did not get septicemia.
The cheapest way to solve this problem is to load some soybeans onto the boat. When it rains, the soybeans will sprout and grow into soybean sprouts. You can then eat the soybean sprouts.
Chen Ying naturally wouldn't destroy the wisdom invented by his ancestors. Let the Westerners continue to suffer from septicemia; they only deserve to eat rotten meat or meat infested with maggots.
Previously, Chen Ying had no other means to trade with the Haixi Jurchens and obtain large quantities of beef and mutton. This would not only solve the severe shortage of draft cattle within the Great Wall, but also allow him to produce canned goods.
"I understand!"
Su Mei perked up and immediately turned to make arrangements.
In the days that followed, Dalu Island became even busier, like a machine wound up tight.
The saltworks continued to operate at full capacity, but the newly produced salt was no longer piled up in warehouses; instead, it was directly bagged and prepared for shipment.
Meanwhile, the island's skilled women and children were gathered together to learn leather tanning and fur sewing.
In a secluded corner, several old craftsmen and their apprentices repeatedly experimented with the sealing iron can technique described by Chen Ying. They made cylinders from thin sheet iron, plated the inner walls with tin to prevent rust, and pressed the ends with stamping machinery to ensure a tight seal.
At the same time, Chen Ying also added coal stoves to the workshop. In fact, the lives of nomadic peoples were far from as good as later generations imagined. Their biggest problem was the problem of starting a fire.
It was alright in spring and autumn, but when the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, it became very difficult to do it well. Chen Ying then instructed the craftsmen to manufacture integrated coal briquette stoves.
This coal stove is different from the one used in the Shahe Garrison. It is equipped with huge wheels and a chimney, so it can be pushed or pulled by horses at any time. The stove cart also has a huge bucket that can carry 1,500 coal briquettes.
Such a coal stove cart could not only provide warmth, boil water, and cook food in the tent, but also, in terms of mobility, Chen Ying calculated the actual cost to be about one or two taels of silver.
This is mainly because the timber on Daegu Island comes from North Korea, and much of it is used to transport iron ore rafts. Such timber is definitely not suitable for shipbuilding, but it is perfectly fine for building heating stoves.
These timbers are for packaging boxes. Even if Chen Ying didn't want them and let the North Koreans take them back, they wouldn't agree. It's easy to go straight downhill, but going against the current would be exhausting for them.
Nowadays, transporting iron ore in North Korea is similar to using super-long semi-trailers in later times. Under normal circumstances, several sailors are responsible for steering, and a dozen or so rafts are linked end to end and float downstream together.
After seeing the actual effect, Chen Ying priced the heating stove cart at two sheep, and used two sheep to buy such a heating stove cart, plus 1,500 coal briquettes.
It can burn for at least a year. Ask those herders if it's worth it. For them, two sheep are really nothing. The problem is, in the Ming Dynasty, a sheep could be sold for nine qian of silver.
The gross profit per vehicle is five or six qian of silver. This business is worth doing. In any case, the coal used to make coal briquettes is just slag from smelting. Even if it's just given to the people on Dalu Island, they won't burn much of it.
After more than half a month of preparation, nine merchant ships, each with a capacity of two thousand liang (approximately 6000 tons), hired by Shahewei, were fully loaded with salt.
Tea, cloth, and six hundred heating stoves, escorted by a sentry of elite guards, quietly departed from Dalu Island and headed north towards the agreed-upon trading location, a secluded bay on the northeastern coast of the Liaodong Peninsula.
Half a month later, the fleet returned safely. The cargo they brought back left everyone speechless: piles of neatly bundled mink, fox, and wolf pelts; boxes of dried deer antlers and frog oil; nearly a hundred high-quality ginseng roots carefully wrapped in soft grass; and five boxes of pearls the size of longans.
In the first barter, Dalu Island exchanged salt, tea, and cloth worth less than 5,000 taels for mountain goods and furs estimated to be worth more than 20,000 taels, as well as 1,600 live sheep and 160 horses.
What excited Chen Ying even more was that Chalun, the son of Bayan, the leader of the Ula tribe, was also on board the ship. The most popular goods for them were salt and coal stoves.
The first thing Chalun said to Chen Ying was, "I want a thousand toy trains."
This confused Chen Ying. When did he make a train?
According to Wang Baishun, the caravan manager, the coal briquette stoves initially received little attention and were even ignored. However, when he used the coal briquette stoves to fry meatballs at the trading post, the aroma attracted a large number of herders.
After they learned about this kind of stove, they instantly fell in love with it. This kind of stove that can keep the fire burning day and night is so convenient. The problem is that it is really cheap. They only burn two sheep a year. Is it expensive?