Chapter 205: To build an ironclad ship, you must have the ability to produce thousands of tons of steel

Since the crown prince regained the power of regent, not only has the time of court meetings been delayed, but the frequency of court meetings has also been changed to once every other day.

This made Zhu Gang feel that his elder brother Zhu Biao would definitely be a wise ruler who cared for his subjects once he became emperor.

After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he wanted to curb the power of the meritorious officials and ensure efficiency.

The Ming Dynasty began to consider establishing a vacation system, so officials had five days of vacation every year.

In addition to the above-mentioned holidays, if the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty had outstanding achievements during their lifetime, they would have been unanimously recognized by the court and the public when they died.

After his death, Zhu Yuanzhang would "close the court" for him in order to win over the hearts of the people. When this happened, officials would also get a rare holiday.

After all, the emperor was not at work, so the ministers naturally would not wait in the empty court.

So the more officials died, the more vacations the living officials could enjoy.

Of course, such bizarre scenes did not occur very often during the Hongwu period.

When other high-ranking ministers had matters to deal with, they had to submit a written application to Zhu Yuanzhang, which could only be executed after the emperor's approval.

So what if the court can't do without this person and he wants to leave?

In the Ming Dynasty, this situation was called "deprivation of affection", which means that the emperor forcibly ordered the official to stay in office due to some need.

Therefore, Zhu Biao's change in the cycle of court attendance was nothing short of an imperial benevolence for all civil and military officials.

Although not attending court does not mean not working, it is at least easier than going to the Fengtian Hall with fear every day.

"My husband, since you have nothing to do today, how about going to Xiangguo Temple to light some incense for me?"

Looking at Xie Yuer who walked into the study, Zhu Gang put down the brush in his hand and said, "When you mentioned Xiangguo Temple, I thought of Yao Guangxiao.

I really don't know how he is doing now. Did he successfully reach those maritime countries in Southeast Asia?"

The Ming Dynasty inherited its navigation technology from the Yuan Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty inherited it from the Song Dynasty.

The military needs of the Mongol Empire for "cross-sea conquest" gave great impetus to the development of the shipbuilding industry in the Yuan Dynasty.

When the Yuan army went south to conquer the Southern Song Dynasty, they adopted the strategy of Liu Zheng, a surrendered general of the Southern Song Dynasty, and built warships, trained the navy, and took away the enemy's strengths.

This led to the Battle of Xiangfan, the capture of Jingjiang, and the march down the river to Jiankang and Lin'an, thus destroying the Southern Song Dynasty.

The Yuan Empire tasted the sweetness of naval construction, especially during the reign of Kublai Khan, when it used naval forces to conquer Ryukyu, Japan, Goryeo, Java and other countries.

Thousands of warships and hundreds of thousands of troops.

This large-scale cross-sea operation puts higher demands on the technology of warships and is undoubtedly the biggest driving force for the shipbuilding industry.

In addition, the Yuan Dynasty's demand for water transport and the development of overseas trade also greatly promoted the shipbuilding industry.

The capital city of Yuan Dadu had a huge demand for grain, and the main grain supply areas were Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions.

The main means of transportation is water transportation through the Grand Canal.

Therefore, the Yuan Dynasty rulers attached great importance to water transport, and the renewed prosperity of overseas trade inherited from the Southern Song Dynasty led to the booming development of the shipbuilding industry.

However, in order to prevent harassment from the remnants of coastal warlords and pirates, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the implementation of the maritime ban policy that had been in place since the Ming Dynasty.

The main target of the early maritime ban was commerce. Chinese were prohibited from going overseas to do business, and foreign merchants were restricted from trading in China.

Although Zheng He made the great feat of sailing to the West during the Yongle period, only tribute trade was liberalized, and private individuals were still not allowed to go to sea.

Later, with the threat of Japanese pirates, the maritime ban policy became increasingly strict.

Although it played a role in self-protection, it greatly hindered the development of exchanges between China and foreign countries. Zhu Gang had long wanted to design the blueprints of ironclad ships and prepare to produce them to expand the maritime power of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why he went to so much trouble to develop the traditional blast furnace was not only to produce the steel needed for the typewriting and printing press, but also to train more related professional workers.

The earliest armored warship in the world was recorded in "The Expedition of Alexander" in 332 BC.

When Alexander attacked the city of Tyre, the Tyrians used some armored warships.

The Macedonians also followed suit and made some iron ships, which later became known as ironclad ships, as did the Japanese ironclad ships and the Korean turtle ships.

Zhu Gang believed that the daimyo could build better ironclad ships.

However, the most important thing now is to find a way to increase steel production.

After all, an ironclad ship requires at least hundreds of tons of steel.

This is because early ironclad ships were made of solid wood to form their hulls, which were then covered with iron plates for armor.

If it is a real ironclad ship, at least 1500 tons of steel will be needed.

Considering that Zhu Yuanzhang was a pragmatist, Zhu Gang had to find a market for the steel output.

In addition to the production of typesetting presses and one-piece armor, breech-loading firearms are also a major way to consume steel.

However, in addition to these special uses, Zhu Gang also had to consider the market needs in the private industry.

A large number of craftsmen are needed in this process. Only by mastering a large number of craftsmen with superb skills can Zhu Gang’s dream be realized as soon as possible.

However, the literacy rate in the Ming Dynasty was shockingly low, and it was difficult for craftsmen to have the opportunity to study.

Only by doing everything possible to promote the "Hongwu Dictionary" can more craftsmen have the opportunity to master technical knowledge.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gang suddenly felt that he should organize a "Da Ming Commercial Bookstore Essay Contest".

Through this subtle and silent way, some literati who were good at writing novels and vernacular novels were absorbed.

"My dear, the host just said that I drew a very good fortune. We will definitely have a baby this year."

Zhu Gang's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Xie Yuer walking towards him from not far away with a happy look on her face.

"In fact, it doesn't matter to me whether I have a boy or a girl. I even prefer a girl."

Although Zhu Gang was not crazy enough to promote "gender equality" in the Ming Dynasty, he did not have any idea of ​​favoring boys over girls.

But Xie Yu'er didn't think so, "I think it's better to give birth to a boy, after all, only in this way can he inherit the title of King Jin.

In addition, if you want to develop overseas in the future, boys are more capable of dealing with disasters than girls."

Zhu Gang had never concealed his desire to go overseas to live as a foreigner from his family, and Xie Yuer naturally knew a thing or two about it.

But he didn't expect that the other party would start considering the risks of sea voyage so early.

"In fact, we are not leaving Ming so soon. At least until the ironclad ship is built, you and I will continue to live here."

In fact, Zhu Gang would not consider leaving the Ming Dynasty until the U-Tsang region, the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Indochina Peninsula were completely incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, if there are not enough large ships capable of sailing through the ocean, rashly going to Southeast Asia is basically equivalent to a life-threatening situation.

Considering that there would be many people and eyes in a place like Xiangguo Temple, Zhu Gang quickly changed the topic to other things.

(End of this chapter)