Chapter 69 Taiping Iron and Steel Report

Yanwang was not the first to arrive in Nanjing, but he was not the latest.

As soon as he arrived in Nanjing, he was picked up by the crown prince.

The crown prince and the crown princess Lu Shi, and the king of Chu, the king of Qi, and the king of Lu, several of them did not mention it for a while.

King Yan asked, "Father, are you free now?" ”

The prince said; "Unfortunately, the fourth brother went to visit his mother first, and I have already sent someone to ask Xu Zheng, the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace. He told me that the Anqing horse had also returned from Taiping today. There is an important matter to report to the emperor. Father Emperor decreed, and everyone is not seen today. You go to see your mother first, maybe you can see your father at dinner. If not, it's tomorrow. ”

King Yan said: "Then the younger brother will go to see the queen mother first." ”

King Yan muttered secretly: "Xu Zheng, I remember that the eunuch next to my father is not him?" What time is it? It seems that my father values He Xi more than my son. Hey, Jingshi is the middle of the world, and after going out for a few years, Nanjing's human feelings have changed, and I almost don't know it. ”

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In the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was carefully watching what He Xi said.

About Taiping Iron Works. Or rather, steel mills.

Zhu Yuanzhang has always had eyeliner by He Xi's side. Among He Xi's disciples, there are people arranged by Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang already knew that He Xi's handwriting was quite large. But I really saw He Xi's plan. Already amazed extraordinary.

Because of the iron mill planned by He Xi, how much iron will be produced is still unknown. Because He Xi has integrated Daming iron smelting technology. Plus new ideas and new ways to join. Let Daming iron technology has been advancing.

True. This rate of progress is not revolutionary. It's just that under the framework of He Xidang's establishment of technology, knocking and beating, sewing and mending.

This also made He Xi have to admit it. Although Daming is there are some top craftsmen. But these top craftsmen, after all, are craftsmen, not scientists. They can only complement the existing framework, and it is impossible to open up new technologies.

Even so, though.

The steel furnace originally designed by He Xi is also larger. turned into a real blast furnace. The efficiency and quality of steel production have also stabilized. But for specific long-term operation, how long can a steel furnace run stably? Or, how much can be produced annually. It's not certain.

But this does not prevent He Xi from planning.

He Xi stipulates that the iron factory is a long strip that stretches for dozens of miles. In the middle is the waterway where the Ma'anshan iron ore mine comes out of the mountain. Centered on this waterway, there are iron furnaces all around. Iron ore is transported from the mountains, coal is purchased from the Yangtze River, and it is connected by this special waterway. All kinds of iron furnaces and steel furnaces, at least one or two hundred. How much will be produced in the future, He Xi is uncertain. After all, stable output is based on a stable supply of raw materials.

The major item of coal has not yet been completed.

However, the output of tens of millions of catties of pig iron a year is a must.

He Xi, this is already a small calculation, it is basic. Even in He Xi's view, if everything really goes well, with an annual output of 100,000 tons, it will not be a big iron factory in later generations.

But in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, it is not ordinary. Because this iron factory needs at least tens of thousands of people. After all, there were not many machines in ancient times. A lot of things need to be done by manpower. The power of many people is not a lie. That's why He Xi built the ironworks along the river. It is even necessary to repair this small river dozens of miles long first. Because water transportation is the most convenient and the most economical of manpower and material resources.

The iron factory of tens of thousands of people is terrible on Zhu Yuanzhang's side.

First of all, the number of people, you must know that there are only more than 60 million people in the Ming Dynasty in this era. A lot of people probably don't have this concept. You must know that there are hundreds of mansions in Daming. More than a thousand counties. On average, there are no more than 100,000 people in a county.

And this figure is more realistic.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the investigation. Even if there is a disparity in the number of people, it is probably because some ethnic minorities are not included. It's not much worse. It can be said that the people needed for an iron factory are already the owners of a county.

There is also the space needed for the iron works.

Many county towns in ancient times were three-mile Guo and five-mile cities. That is, a small city with a circumference of more than ten miles, in later generations, there may not be some small districts. This is not a very large community like Tiantongyuan. Ordinary communities are better than ancient county seats.

This factory area stretches for dozens of miles, although it is about one or two miles wide because it is close to the river. But in total, it is larger than the area of many prefectures.

Needless to say, the financial and material resources consumed in it, it is not easy to say about the land alone, after all, the land close to the river and easy to water the land is always the best. He Xi waved his hand, and what he painted was the best land. The value of these lands is more than 100,000 taels, or even more, which is reasonable.

In He Xi's view, a project that can only be said to be a reasonable Taiping Iron Plant. But Zhu Yuanzhang is here to eat half of his Northern Expedition expenditure.

He Xi actually didn't understand. The gap between ancient China and modern China.

I don't understand that an era of material scarcity is different from an era of material surplus.

In his opinion, the project he proposed was in addition to some expenses on the land. Among them, most of the counties in later generations, no, even some towns and villages did not have any problems to vote. But he didn't know that here in the Ming Dynasty, it was very likely that the Ming Dynasty would not only be war, but also more than the repair of the Tomb of Filial Piety, the first project of the Ming Dynasty.

It's not that you can't take it out. However, at any time, the financial expenditure is arranged in a way that is orderly, and it is impossible to suddenly take out such a large sum of money.

There was no surplus grain in the hands of the emperor.

After He Xi talked endlessly about his Taiping Iron Works project, he also found that Zhu Yuanzhang's face was not very good. Only then did he say in a wry-eyed manner: "Your Majesty, in fact, there is no need to be so anxious. Anyway, the coal hasn't been done yet. I'll check again during this period of time and see where there are coal mines along the Yangtze River? If there is no such thing along the Yangtze River, you can look at the banks of the tributaries of the Yangtze River. ”

"No need." Zhu Yuanzhang said: "There are coal mines in Tongling. I've arranged it. Mining is possible in the near future, just get a group of people from your engineering college. ”

When He Xi heard this, he said, "This is much easier." In this way, the Yangtze River connects the two places, and the Taiping Iron Works will be able to run this year. ”

The corners of Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth twitched slightly, and he didn't know how to tell He Xi that he had no money.

Yes. Although from the fifth year of Hongwu to the fourteenth year of Hongwu for nearly ten years, Zhu Yuanzhang was recuperating and recuperating, and did not make a big move, but saved a lot of money and food. But the problem is that last year, 300,000 square meters of Yunnan, this year's big division. Now he is still preparing to build a city on the grassland, which is not a big expense.

If the Ming Dynasty is now on the verge of bankruptcy, it is naturally not. Zhu Yuanzhang's family background is not so thin. But if it is said that the Ming Dynasty is financially tight. If you come again, it seems that this is at least a million taels of expenses. The court had no savings at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang is essentially a person who doesn't like to take risks. Whether it's a military adventure or a financial one.

He didn't want Daming's finances to fall into such an embarrassment.

Zhu Yuanzhang coughed twice and said, "He Xi, let's think about this matter in the long run." This one thing, there is no hurry. ”

He Xi said: "Your Majesty, you can't help but be in a hurry." Large-scale industrial construction, one year is not good. I have estimated that even if the Taiping Iron Works were to be built now, it would take a year or more to complete the construction. And after the Taiping Iron Works was built. If you want to really operate at full capacity, it is estimated that two or three years have passed. ”

"In any industrial project, hardware and software must be considered, and even software is more important than hardware. At least 10,000 skilled workers must be trained, which is more difficult than building the Taiping Iron Factory. ”

"And the significance of the Taiping Iron Works does not lie in the Taiping Iron Works itself."

"Yes. I admit that the Taiping Iron Works is not even an industrial project, it can only be regarded as a transition. However, the construction of such a large-scale iron plant, once successful, can be replicated all over the country, and the iron will be beaten into the price of cabbage, which will truly let Daming enter the steel age. ”

"This is a very important experimental project. The sooner the better. ”