The System Forces Me to Be the Emperor

In the next few days, Xiao Rui kept smiling from ear to ear because of the pregnancy of the two wives.

Li Xiuer, Zhang Ruoxi, and Xiao Qingqing all came to visit the palace after hearing the news, and felt envious when they sent their blessings, especially Li Xiuer and Xiao Qingqing, their inner feelings were even more complicated, and they also expected to do so, but their identities were an obstacle after all.

As if the good things came to pass, Xiao Yan also explained Nalan Yanran's situation to His Majesty, His Majesty did not stop him, and gave the marriage directly, and for Nalan Yanran's sake, getting pregnant before marriage is a scandal, so they got married immediately.

Xiao Rui personally attended and presented congratulatory gifts, blusteringly wishing Xiao Yan to marry his side concubine.

Unknowingly, the time has come to the Xiaoxue solar term.

There is a poem that says:

The light snow clears the sand and does not make mud, and the red sun makes the morning glow with sparse curtains.

Years are already late with the plum shoots, and spring returns from the grass first.

In another year, the temperature was only lower during the Xiaoxue solar term, but with the advent of the Little Ice Age, the environment between heaven and earth was harsh. Qi and Yuan dynasties had blizzards as early as ten days ago, and Daxia finally ushered in the first Field of snow.

Standing in front of the East Palace gate, Xiao Rui looked at the drifting snowflakes, which were crystal clear, but the snow was not dense, and in the middle of the night, the eaves of the palace were only dyed a faint white.

Stretching out his hand to catch the falling snowflakes, it was icy cold, holding it in the palm of his hand, Xiao Rui's heart was also silent.

Suddenly, someone behind him put a cloak on Xiao Rui, Xiao Rui looked back, it was Li Ruoxue.

"Why did you come out? Slip carefully!" Xiao Rui hurriedly supported Li Ruoxue.

Li Ruoxue showed a gentle smile: "Don't worry, Your Highness, the concubine is already very careful. Judging by the snow, it shouldn't be heavy."

Xiao Rui looked at the sky, it was white and bright, not oppressive and dark when the blizzard came, so he said: "Looking at the weather, it shouldn't be too heavy, but this year's winter is another cold winter, and summer is rarely so early. It will snow."

"That's right, it's rare to see snow during the Little Snow Festival. Your Highness, didn't you talk about the impact of the Little Ice Age? If it's another cold winter this year, the people's life will be difficult." Li Ruoxue also worried.

Xiao Rui nodded.

Rich and noble families can burn charcoal and firewood, and wear comfortable clothes, but poor people can only rub their hands that are bone-chilling to make a living, just as Xiao Rui read "The Charcoal Seller" in the Golden Palace during the blizzard the year before last. ", that is the truest portrayal of the poor people.

Today, Xiao Rui turns his head to look at what he has done, and there are not many actions that really benefit this era.

Printing, bamboo paper, colleges, and talent recruitment halls are all for the purpose of cultivating scholars, cultivating talents, and selecting talents.

Gunpowder and Zhuge Liannu are weapons for protecting the country, but they are also like opening Pandora's box.

On the contrary, the emergence of corn and potatoes has truly benefited the common people.

As for the cement that is being invented now, it is also a progress.

But these are not enough.

The poor take care of themselves alone, and the rich help the world at the same time. Xiao Rui likes this sentence very much, and has always regarded it as his way of life.

When a person has no ability, living well without dragging others and society is the value. When you have the ability, it is also valuable to help the world. There are no advantages or disadvantages between the two values, only the results they bring are different.

Xiao Rui is capable now, if he doesn't continue to do something, he will be sorry for his inner belief.

So after Xiao Rui sent Li Ruoxue back to the house, he immediately went to see Emperor Xia.

When they came to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Yan Xiaoxiao helped Xiao Rui take off his cloak. The earth dragon in the ground was already burning, and the hall was warm and comfortable.

"Royal Father." Xiao Rui came to the Dragon Table and called out clapping his hands.

Emperor Xia put down the memorial and asked, "Sit down and talk, what's the matter?"

Huo Mu today, if Xiao Rui didn't have something to do, he definitely didn't come to find him.

Xiao Rui said: "Father, the secret of gunpowder has been leaked during Zhao's trip some time ago, so I feel that there is no need to continue to conceal the existence of gunpowder."

The formula of gunpowder is complicated for strangers, but for alchemists who are proficient in the method of subduing fire, it is not difficult to prepare gunpowder as long as they study the configuration deliberately.

So even if Huang Qilin didn't get the gunpowder formula from Xiao Rui, he would order someone to prepare it.

But fortunately, the gunpowder used by Xiao Rui is a mature formula that came from the system, and it has great power. Even if Huang Qilin can prepare gunpowder, without a long period of configuration research, the power is limited, just like the history of gunpowder development in the previous life.

So Daxia still holds the magic weapon in his hand, but it has changed from "I have no enemy but no enemy" to "I am strong and my enemy is weak".

Now all gunpowder is produced by Huben Pavilion, and each process is top-secret. Even if the enemy got the gunpowder, they would not be able to distinguish the specific formula of gunpowder without advanced equipment. What's more, many materials were added to the gunpowder, just to confuse the public and cover up the gunpowder. The real recipe.

Since the secrecy can be guaranteed, and the secret of gunpowder has been revealed, it is not necessary to hide it.

Hearing Xiao Rui's answer, Emperor Xia nodded and said, "It is true that there is no need to hide it. In addition, it is time to let the enemy countries know Daxia's cards."

Although the secret of gunpowder has been leaked, not many people know about it. At least the Qi, Yuan, Qin, and Wei states are not clear about it. Once Daxia announces this mysterious and powerful weapon, the enemy will be terrified.

Only when the country is stronger, other countries dare not offend! This is deterrence, and it is also the law of the jungle!

After a pause, Emperor Xia said again: "The emperor wants to use the power of gunpowder to open mountains and rivers, or even dig coal for mines?"

Xiao Rui nodded and said with a smile: "My son has exactly that intention!"

The danger of the Little Ice Age will become more and more serious, Xiao Rui feels that his pace should be faster. Relying on manpower alone, how long does it take to dig a mountain, how long does it take to tidy up a river, and digging coal for mines is even more arduous.

With gunpowder, it can not only save manpower but also improve efficiency, why not do it? Xiao Rui didn't want to use gunpowder as a tool to kill people, but a tool to save people.

For example, in the coming cold winter, if there is coal in Daxia to keep the people warm, will they not have to suffer from the cold?

Minerals are scarce in Daxia, but there is no shortage of coal, even oil!

How is coal formed? It is because a large number of forest trees are buried underground. These trees have been isolated from the air for a long time, and under high temperature and pressure, they have undergone a series of complex physical and chemical changes to form black combustible fossils. This is the formation process of coal.

The land of Daxia is lush with trees, and it was the same for millions of years ago, but it was buried deep underground, and the amount that can be mined now is very small.

Xiao Rui also knows that there is gas underground in coal mines, and explosives should not be used indiscriminately. Black powder reacts in the form of deflagration, which will be very dangerous. But gunpowder has been researched and improved, and one day slurry explosives and even emulsion explosives will be invented.

Even if coal mines cannot be blasted directly, they can also be used for other purposes. After all, the environment produced by coal mines is very harsh, and it is necessary to open mountains and build roads, so gunpowder can be used.

In addition, there is another reason for the small amount of coal, that is, according to the Daxia system, only the imperial court is allowed to mine, and private mining is not allowed. Once discovered, the Ministry of Industry will impose severe punishment.

At this time, Emperor Xia looked at Xiaoxue outside the door, and said with a smile: "The emperor cares about the people, this is their blessing, and I will naturally not stop it. But the use of gunpowder is a big plan, and it is not something that can be done overnight. The Secretary of the Ministry of Industry is not brave enough, it seems that he has to change."

After the former minister of the Ministry of Industry, Xu Xianyang, was replaced by the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, but this Du Shangshu was old and only wanted to seek stability, but lacked courage. until now.

Xiao Rui nodded, naturally agreeing with His Majesty's suggestion, but he still had another idea. After hesitating for a long time, he asked, "Father, can Da Xia grant permission to mine privately?"

As soon as these words came out, Emperor Xia fell into deep thought for an instant.

As I said just now, the imperial court does not allow the people to mine mines privately, because after the mines are opened privately, in order to make money, the miners disrespect the law, gather people to make trouble, and even form their own armed forces. It is difficult for the imperial court to control them. Competition, killing and injuring lives, and it also has a greater impact on national taxation.

Money and silk are the most insane, not aimless, so Emperor Xia thought about opening mines to the people a long time ago, but he didn't implement it.

Emperor Xia then ordered Hai Dafu to fetch a memorial and said, "This is the mining memorial sent by the Ministry of Industry for a month, please take a look."

After Xiao Rui opened it, he found that the memorial was a request from the Ministry of Industry to send officials to mine ore. It was drafted by the cabinet and approved by His Majesty himself.

Roughly as follows:

"Dai Zhao, a doctor in the household department, and Yang Zongzuo, a guard in Jinyi, went to Yuzhou to open a mine."

"Send Wu Yinglin, a hundred households of Jinyiwei, to open mines in Xiaxian County, Pingyang Prefecture, Jinzhou."

"Wang Yunzuo, the commander of Wuwei, went to Qingzhou and other prefectures in the east of Ludong to open mines."

...

There are thirty-two appointments in this memorial, ordering the doctor of the Ministry of Industry, the eunuchs, and the commanders of the forbidden army to go out to mine. The areas involved include Yuzhou, Jinzhou, Qingzhou, Qinzhou, etc., all of which are concentrated in Daxia. area.

The state sends these people to organize manpower to open mines, and the income from the mines is owned by the state treasury. As for the manpower, it is naturally the corvee of the people, but the number of mines opened by the state is limited, which is a disadvantage.

Secondly, there are shortcomings such as low efficiency and collusion between officials and businessmen.

But in general, it is safe for the imperial court to control this private mining.

Xiao Rui returned the memorial and suggested: "Father, otherwise, we will not promote private mining, but we can promote franchising!"

As soon as the word franchise came out, it immediately attracted the curiosity of Emperor Xia.

"Speak in detail!" Emperor Xia said.

Xiao Rui explained: "The so-called franchising means that the imperial court licenses the operator under certain conditions to allow him to engage in production in a certain area. Now Daxia does not allow private mines, but repeated prohibitions continue. People in some remote areas still secretly Mining. If this is the case, then the imperial court will specially issue the qualifications to allow mining, so that they can mine in accordance with the rules. This will not only increase tax revenue, increase the number and scale of mining, but also expand the output of coal mines. Of course, franchise operations are allowed At the same time, it is also necessary to increase the investigation and punishment of private mines, and conduct audits and inspections on franchised businesses. If they fail to meet the standards, the franchise will be cancelled.”

After hearing this, Emperor Xia was overjoyed, and praised: "You have so many ghost ideas. This method is good. It can be implemented in coal mines first. If the effect is good, it can be implemented in other mines."

Xiao Rui nodded. The coexistence of public and private interests can not only stabilize the market, but also mobilize the market. Why not do it?

"We need to find a suitable person to handle this matter. It seems that the Minister of the Ministry of Industry really needs to be replaced." Emperor Xia said leisurely.

Xiao Rui remained silent. Now he is no longer eager to place his confidants in the six parts, let alone no suitable candidates.