Chapter 270 Although Japan suffers from frequent natural disasters, there are mines on that island!
"It is really surprising that Japan has such a high silver reserve.

However, why did Yang Zai and Wu Wenhua not mention a word about this after returning to China?

What important information are they hiding?"

Just as everyone was lost in thought, a figure quietly appeared before them.

Zhu Yuanzhang was seen standing there abruptly, holding a bowl of steaming mung bean chess noodles in his hands, like a divine soldier descended from heaven.

His majestic gaze swept across everyone present, as if he could see through all the secrets.

Zhu Gang frowned slightly when he saw this, and quickly responded, "Father, please calm down. I will handle this matter properly.

I will discuss this with Guanglu Temple as soon as I get back and ensure that the menu is closely aligned with the seasons.

Delicious staple foods like mung bean noodles should be included in summer recipes for everyone to enjoy. "

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes gradually became deep and sharp, as if hiding endless wisdom and thoughts.

Zhu Biao, who was standing by, knew what his father was thinking at the moment, and he quickly reminded him, "Third brother, the court is in urgent need of financial support, so stop beating around the bush!
Please tell me in detail about the situation of Japan's silver mines. After all, such a huge amount of wealth should belong to our Ming Dynasty.

Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty money houses also urgently needed a certain amount of silver as reserves.

Only by understanding the actual situation first can we formulate targeted follow-up plans to ensure that there are no mistakes. "

Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhu Gang nodded slightly.

Then he said slowly: "Dad, I showed that world map to you and my brother before.

I guess you already have some rough idea of ​​the outline of this vast world, right?"

As soon as Zhu Gang finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand slightly and made a casual move.

Wang Danian, the Jinyiwei pacification envoy standing nearby, immediately understood what he meant and stepped forward quickly.

He took out a parchment scroll from his bosom, carefully presented it to Zhu Yuanzhang, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, this is the World Atlas that was carefully produced by the Jinling Printing Factory."

The ancient Chinese nation has a long history. The earliest world map in the true sense was the "Great Ming Unified Map" which was created in the 22nd year of Hongwu.

According to legend, the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di had the opportunity to see this picture before he sent Zheng He to lead a huge fleet on his first voyage to the West.

This "Great Ming Unified Map" is a rare treasure, and its detailed painting is amazing.

In the picture, not only the outlines of Europe and Africa are clearly visible, but even the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of the African continent, is also prominently shown.

The only drawback, however, is that the northern and western parts of this map do not have clearly defined boundaries.

Perhaps it is intended to imply that those areas are still unknown, waiting to be explored and discovered by future generations.

It should be noted that "The Great Ming Unified Map" is actually based on the Tang Dynasty's management of the Western Regions and the competition for Central Asia, West Asia and other regions.

A map was drawn after comprehensive consideration on this basis.

From the fall of the Tang Dynasty to the tenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, four hundred and seventy-one years have passed.

If we still use the data from the Tang Dynasty as a reference standard for drawing up world maps, it will undoubtedly appear to be seriously out of touch with the present era.

Fortunately, thanks to the careful guidance of Zhu Gang, a man of unique vision, this brand new "World Atlas" was able to come into being.

Compared with the world map of the Tang Dynasty, this map not only expands the area covered to the distant Western European continent.

Compared with the route map used by the Mongols during their westward expedition, the scope of the map was extended to North Africa in southern Europe.

Coincidentally, Zhu Gang's mastery of such exquisite drawing skills can be attributed to the geography teacher he met in junior high school. It was because he saw the teacher holding chalk and freely drawing exquisite world maps on the blackboard.

That handsome and free-spirited look was deeply imprinted in Zhu Gang's heart.

So he made up his mind to learn this craft at all costs.

Although this skill did not bring much practical use to Zhu Gang after he entered society.

However, it was precisely with this that Zhu Gang opened a window for Zhu Yuanzhang to understand the outside world, allowing Zhu Yuanzhang to have a broader vision and cognition.

To this day, Zhu Gang sees that Zhu Yuanzhang still treasures this "World Map" as a treasure.

He already knew in his heart that his father had begun to have some ideas about the areas outside the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

When the map was slowly unfolded, Zhu Yuanzhang looked confused.

He asked, "Looking at the land of Japan, it seems that there are only four islands. How come it has such rich silver resources?"

Zhu Gang raised the corners of his mouth slightly and chuckled.

Then he said slowly: "The location of Japan is right above the Pacific Ring of Fire and Earthquake Belt, where the crust movement is extremely active.

Such frequent geological activities have undoubtedly created an extremely favorable environment for the development of precious metal mineral resources.

Especially the reserves of silver mines are extremely abundant for Japan."

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who looked confused and didn't quite understand, Zhu Gang, who had been talking incessantly and eloquently just now, suddenly came to his senses.

Fang realized that what he had just said contained too many professional terms.

After a little thought, Zhu Gang decided to change his perspective and find another way to explain the question raised by Lao Zhu.

"In the ancient and profound Tao Te Ching, there is a famous saying.

The way of the sky is more than damage but not enough to make up for.

This sentence seems to be a law of balance, revealing the operating rules of all things in the world.

Due to its special geographical location, Japan is often attacked by terrible natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

These natural disasters ruthlessly destroyed their homes and brought endless pain and sorrow.

However, as the ancients said: Misfortune is the root of good fortune.

Although Japan faced many difficulties, God seemed to favor this land and bestowed upon them extremely rich precious metal mineral resources.

Among them, Iwami Ginzan is the most famous. This mysterious mine is like a shining pearl, shining on the land of Japan.

According to historical records, Iwami Ginzan has astonishing silver reserves.

As long as we develop reasonably and mine carefully, we can harvest millions of taels of silver every year!
This is undoubtedly a huge fortune, enough to make anyone take notice.”

So what exactly enables Iwami Ginzan to produce such a huge amount of silver?

The answer lies in a magical skill originating from the Korean Peninsula, the "ash blowing" refining technology.

In the turbulent era of the 12th year of the Jiajing reign, Japan successfully introduced this advanced technology and applied it to the mining of Iwami Ginzan.

The so-called "ash blowing method" is actually the clever use of the different melting points of the two metals, silver and lead.

(End of this chapter)