Chapter 184: Knowledge can benefit all people, and the construction of a steel plant.

"It seems that it is indeed possible."

Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and spoke to Zhu Gang.

"But we still want some steel."

"After all, the percentage of our Ming soldiers wearing armor has not yet reached the level of full coverage."

"In the end, we must first ensure the basic life security of our Ming soldiers, and then consider the issue of elite troops, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Gang, and there was a hint of sincerity in his eyes.

If Zhu Gang refused, Zhu Yuanzhang would not force him.

But Zhu Yuanzhang sincerely hoped that his son with amazing abilities could help him.

"can."

"Once the steel plant is completed, I will allocate part of its production capacity to the Ming military."

Zhu Gang immediately agreed to Zhu Yuanzhang's request.

“What is the yield of that part?”

Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his hands and said with some anticipation.

"It's not a big problem to arm tens of thousands of troops every year."

Zhu Gang made an estimate and gave a conservative number.

"hiss!"

"so much?"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao gasped almost at the same time.

"Don't look at me like that. This is the process of blast furnace ironmaking. The raw materials go in, and when they come out after going through the process, they are basically usable steel."

Zhu Gang said to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.

"Tian'er, I have another thing to ask. Can you build two more ironworks for us?"

As Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, his eyes were shining.

"If you pay the money, it's fine."

"Anyway, I am supporting the replacement of the silver standard."

"After producing the typesetting press and going to war with U-Tsang, the remaining gold and silver were almost gone."

Zhu Gang spread his hands out in a very bachelor manner.

"Forget it, let's wait two years."

Zhu Yuanzhang said a little disappointed.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, it had the highest income.

That was definitely not the tax collected by the Ming Dynasty from the Ming Dynasty, but from Zhu Gang.

Even Zhu Gang's financial resources were squeezed to the point of being stretched to the limit, which shows how much money it cost to build the ironworks.

"How much salary did you give to the craftsmen who followed you, that you could not afford to build three ironworks?"

Zhu Biao sucked his teeth and said.

"The money given to the craftsmen is not much."

"The main reason is that my steel mill has a large demand for raw materials and a large output, and most of the expenses are spent on raw material transportation and subsequent steel processing."

Zhu Gang explained to Zhu Biao.

There is no other way around this. Without cars, steel raw materials and products can only be transported by horse-drawn carriages.

Although the Ming Dynasty also seized a lot of horses during its attack on the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

However, most of them were sent to the army, so the number that could be recruited to help Zhu Gang transport raw materials and products was quite limited.

Compared with Zhu Gang's blast furnace ironworks, the carrying capacity of the horse-drawn carriage can only be described as a drop in the bucket.

The transport had to be repeated time and again, with people eating and horses feeding them.

Add to that the overtime pay that needs to be given in order to make the grooms work willingly, and the consumption naturally goes up.

This was the case when Zhu Gang took into account the new money houses that were about to be established in various places, and he was able to directly approve notes to allow the transport fleet to continue to resupply on site.

Rapid progress and incredible production capacity are all achieved through rolling up.

If one wants the people below to be willing to work for the Ming Dynasty, then of course they must be well fed.

Otherwise, how can you expect the horse to run and not eat grass at the same time?
However, once the steel plant is built and the Ming Dynasty money house is arranged, Zhu Gang will have his own way.

After a few years of using the steel plant's production capacity to arm the Ming army, the Ming army basically could not handle it.

At that time, Zhu Gang would not easily let go of those countries that were relatively far away and that the Ming Dynasty had not yet planned to conquer.

Hey, buddy, look how badly they bully you. My Ming Dynasty has the best weapons and armor to give away.
Hey, buddy, I heard that the other side got new equipment and beat you guys?
Make friends, we also have such weapons, buy them at a cheap price.

"I am really looking forward to the production capacity of your ironworks. I am afraid that these three ironworks will produce more steel than the entire Ming Dynasty, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat shocked as he listened to Zhu Gang's description.

"With the current steel production of our Ming Dynasty, one steel plant is enough. Why do we need three?"

Zhu Gang laughed and said to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Okay! If that's the case, when your three steel mills are completed, we will hold a grand banquet in the palace to celebrate. After all, this is a great thing that the whole country can celebrate."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and spoke.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhu Gang took Xie Yuer out of Kunning Palace and returned to Prince Jin's Mansion.

In front of Zhu Gang's bedroom, Gongshu Qi was already waiting there with a typewriter.

"Your humble servant Gongshu Qi pays respect to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."

Gongshu Qi bowed respectfully to Zhu Gang.

"Is this the typewriter assembled from standardized components?"

Zhu Gang looked at the typewriter next to Gong Shuqi in the dim light.

"Your Highness Prince Jin, that's exactly what happened."

Gongshu Qi said to Zhu Gang.

"You are the person in charge, why did you move here in person without two followers?"

Zhu Gang looked at Gongshu Qi with some curiosity.

"Your Highness, after the successful assembly today, I will give them a holiday."

"Then I remembered that I still had to come and see His Royal Highness Prince Jin, so I moved here by myself."

Gong Shuqi said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Yes, the feel of using it is not much different from that of a directly assembled typewriter."

"How stable is this assembly of standard components?"

Zhu Gang stepped forward, typed on the typewriter, nodded with satisfaction, and then asked again.

"Your Highness, the stability is very good after we checked and assembled every component that needs to be used."

“It ran smoothly right from the first commissioning.”

"So according to my estimation, each component is protected by a shell."

“The likelihood of a chain reaction problem causing the entire machine to have to be overhauled is greatly reduced.”

Gong Shuqi expressed his opinion.

"Very good. Tomorrow you can arrange a few craftsmen to be responsible for the production of components."

"The rest of you should go to the ironworks with me to finalize the construction of the ironworks."

"I will soon arrange for you to have a group of apprentices who are responsible for manufacturing standardized components."

"By the way, I think you have already understood the blast furnace blueprints I gave you, right?"

Zhu Gang laughed and said to Gongshu Qi.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The blast furnace is not complicated. I am fully confident that I can manufacture it."

"But I don't understand, can such a simple blast furnace really produce iron directly?" Gongshu Qi said to Zhu Gang with doubts in his eyes.

"Hahaha!"

“You don’t need to know why a blast furnace can produce iron. You only need to know how to build a blast furnace to produce iron.”

"If there is a chance in the future, I will summarize the relevant principles into a book for you craftsmen to learn. If you are interested, you can study it."

Zhu Gang said with a smile.

"Your Highness's craftsmanship is as good as that of our ancestors, and your teaching is as broad-minded as that of our teachers. It is truly a blessing from heaven that the Ming Dynasty has Your Highness!"

Gongshu Qi listened to Zhu Gang's words and couldn't help but praise him sincerely.

"where?"

"I just tried to do what I should do. If only a few people have knowledge and technology, it can only bring fame and fortune to a few people at most."

"Only by promoting it widely can we improve the production and manufacturing capacity of society on a large scale and benefit the people of the world."

Zhu Gang waved his hand and didn't take it seriously.

These things were not researched by him. He just brought the things that were researched and made public by the great talents of later generations to the Ming Dynasty in advance.

"Blessings to all the people of the world!"

Gongshu Qi listened to Zhu Gang's words with shock in his eyes.

"Your Highness, I still have the craftsmanship books left by my ancestors. In my generation, I am the only one left in our Gongshu family."

"If Your Highness does not mind, I am willing to present the ancestor's book to Your Highness, and have Your Highness promote and pass it on!"

Gongshu Qi suddenly spoke solemnly to Zhu Gang.

"Oh?"

"Do you really want to give it to me?"

"You have to know that if you follow me, with your status and position, you can expand the ranks of the Gongshu family. The Gongshu family will no longer be a problem at all."

Zhu Gang narrowed his eyes and asked Gongshuqi.

"Your Highness is joking."

"Your Highness's talent is not inferior to that of our ancestors, and is far superior to what I am capable of. Yet, you are willing to leave all of it to the Ming Dynasty to benefit the people of the world."

"How can I cherish the little bit of inheritance left by my Gongshu family?"

"If the descendants of Gongshu are really not good at learning skills and cannot compare with others, and are forced to find it difficult to continue to make a living as a craftsman, then this is their fate."

Gong Shuqi said calmly.

"it is good!"

"In that case, I also promise you here that as long as I, the King of Jin, still have a third of the power, there will definitely be a place for you, the Gongshu family, in the King of Jin's Palace."

Zhu Gang clapped his hands and cheered.

In later generations, Lu Ban's heritage has almost been completely lost.

Therefore, even Zhu Gang was very curious about what the Lu Ban inheritance of Gongshu Qi recorded and how sophisticated it was.

If Zhu Gang went out to sea to conquer his own world in the future, Gongshu Qi would still be willing to follow Zhu Gang. Zhu Gang would not mind conferring a title of nobility on this descendant of Gongshu who was willing to pass on his family heritage to benefit the people.

If he was unwilling, Zhu Gang would hand over Gongshu Qi to Zhu Biao for appointment before leaving.

After all, no matter what, Gongshu Qi is a rare engineering talent in the world.

"I would like to thank His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin. I, Gongshujia, will follow His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin closely and go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Gongshu Qi bowed deeply to Zhu Gang and said excitedly.

"Get up."

"It's getting late, you should go and have some rest."

"Tomorrow I have to go with you to discuss the steel mill. This is not an easy task, so don't be late."

Zhu Gang waved his hand and said to Gongshu Qi.

"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Jin, for your concern."

Gongshu Qi stood up and left, and his steps seemed much lighter.

"Yu'er, it's getting late, let's go to bed too. I want to have a good rest with you today."

After Gongshu Qi left, Zhu Gang turned around and hugged Xie Yuer beside him and laughed.

"Damn it! We're still in the yard."

Xie Yuer blushed.

"Haha! Let's go inside!"

Zhu Gang laughed and pulled Xie Yuer into the bedroom.

The next day.

In the courtyard of the Prince of Jin's mansion, Gongshu Qi had already arrived early with a group of craftsmen he had selected who were well versed in construction and were guarding in front of the Zhugang gate.

This made Zhu Gang, who had originally planned to arrive on time, feel embarrassed to continue sleeping in.

He could only dress and wash with the help of Xie Yuer, and then he took Gongshu Qi and a group of craftsmen to start an on-site inspection of the land allocated to him by Zhu Biao.

They are all land along the river in Yingtian Prefecture. The soil is fertile, and the grass that has not been taken care of for a long time is growing exceptionally lush. You can also hear the chirping of insects and birds. It is truly a scene of vitality and flourishing of all things.

"Your Highness, it looks like this was previously farmland, but it seems to have been abandoned due to the war."

"But even though no one has cultivated it for many years, the soil is still fertile and soft. It is also along the river, so if we want to build an ironworks here, we need to dig a deep foundation."

Gongshu Qi stamped his feet twice and expressed his opinion.

"Well, you guys can discuss the specific construction details. You don't have to report to me. I just want the final result."

"What we need to do now is to design the layout of the solitary place to suit the geographical conditions of this place."

Zhu Gang waved his hand and spoke.

Zhu Gang is not a civil engineer, so he won't understand if you talk to him about construction.

So the craftsmen dispersed, marveling at Zhu Gang's layout design, and discussing how to make changes to the layout to suit the local geographical conditions.

"Your Highness, Prince Jin, this is the final layout plan that I made after combining the opinions of my colleagues and your advice."

At noon, Gongshu Qi walked up to Zhu Gang with a layout design of the ironworks.

"Not bad!"

"It can not only facilitate the transportation of raw materials and products, but also facilitate water intake and sewage discharge. Most importantly, it can also use water power for blasting to meet the needs of blast furnace ironmaking."

Zhu Gang held the final version of Gongshu Qi and nodded with satisfaction.

Then, everyone went to the other two places. The situations in those two places were similar to that in the first place. With the experience of the first time, Zhu Gang and others made adaptive modifications to the layout of the other two iron factories much faster. Everything was completed when the sun was setting slightly.

"Your Highness, the Minister of Works, Lord Shan requests to see you."

Just when everyone decided to leave, the eunuch accompanying him spoke softly to Zhu Gang.

"Master Shan? What is he doing here?"

"Let him come."

Zhu Gang was slightly stunned, then nodded.

Minister of Works, Shan Anren!

This guy has a relatively low presence in the court. Although he is one of the six ministers, he seems like a nobody. Zhu Gang hasn't heard of his name for some time.

"Your humble servant, the Minister of Works, Shan Anren, pays respect to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin!"

Shan Anren walked closer and bowed respectfully to Zhu Gang.

"Master Shan, if you are not attending to official business, how can you have time to come here?"

Zhu Gang chuckled and looked at Shan Anren's formal and serious expression. He had a guess in his mind that either the old man was anxious or the eldest brother was anxious.

"In reply to His Majesty, Prince Jin, I have received His Majesty's imperial decree and am taking the Ministry of Works to follow His Majesty's orders to build a steel plant."

Sure enough, Shan Anren bowed to Zhu Gang.

(End of this chapter)