After eating and drinking enough, people always tend to feel sleepy.
The craftsmen gathered together in twos and threes, sitting in the yard and taking a nap in the sun.
When Zhu Gaoxu saw this, he did not say any harsh words. Instead, he told Song Li, ‘We will not assign any work today and let them rest for a day.’
‘You first take me to visit the weapons bureau. Zhou Chen, you are responsible for counting the names and finding out the money and food that have been withheld from them. The king will make up for it together tomorrow.’
‘Nie Xing, torture Li Wenhui and dig out all the moths behind his back.’
A small ambassador to the Arms Bureau would never dare to embezzle so much money if he had no one to back him up.
Behind him, senior officials from the Ministry of Industry and even other departments must be involved.
Nie Xing nodded and left immediately.
Zhu Gaoxu, accompanied by Song Li and Old Liu Tou, walked directly into the workshop.
‘Old Songtou, old Liutou, what is the annual iron ore production of Ming Dynasty now？’
Looking around, Zhu Gaoxu asked a more concerned question.
The output of steel represents the strength of a country.
According to records in ‘The World of Literature and History’, the iron output of the Ming Dynasty was twice that of the Song Dynasty, and the metallurgical industry was extremely developed.
‘Tiangong Kaiwu’ has detailed records in this regard, so that for more than two hundred years, no country in the world can break this record.
After hearing this, Song Li made a rough estimate and said, ‘Your Highness, it’s about 90 million catties.’
Ninety million pounds？
In metric equivalent, that’s 45,000 tons!
Zhu Gaoxu smacked his lips, feeling a little incredible.
Don’t look at those large steel factories with millions of tons and tens of millions of tons in later generations, but now they are in the feudal dynasty of Ming Dynasty.
A rough estimate of iron ore production in the Tang Dynasty was only 4,000 tons. In the Ming Dynasty, it was far more than 10 million times.
The output of iron ore is satisfactory, and the key issue is how to efficiently refine iron into steel.
‘What methods do you use to make steel now？’
‘Returning to your highness, we use the steel filling method.’ Old Liu Tou, who has been playing iron all his life, answered very simply.
Zhu Gaoxu was not surprised when he heard this. During the Song, Yuan and Qing dynasties, the steel filling method was the main method.
The so-called ‘filling steel’ means ‘mixing life and softness to make a sharp edge for a sword.’
‘Raw’ means pig iron, and ‘soft’ should be malleable iron. Pig iron and malleable iron are used as raw materials for steel filling. The filling operation is carried out above the melting point of pig iron, so the productivity is relatively high and the slag and iron separation is better.
Craftsmen can control the composition of the product by controlling the ratio of raw materials and blasting operations, so the quality of the steel produced is relatively good, and it quickly became the mainstream steel forging method in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
It’s just that the wisdom of the working people is endless, and advanced methods such as crucible steelmaking, blast furnace steelmaking, and electric furnace steelmaking also appeared later.
So Zhu Gaoxu was still a little disappointed when he heard this answer.
Old Liu Tou noticed the expression on His Highness the King of Han’s face and asked with some confusion, ‘Does Your Highness have a better way？ The common people have made a living by making iron for generations, so they can guarantee that the yield of this ‘steel filling method’ is much higher than that of the ‘steel frying method’…’ …”
Song Li also nodded. As the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, he still had some common sense.
Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the two of them, and then asked with a smile, ‘Do you know the methods of blast furnace ironmaking and crucible steelmaking？’
Old Liu Tou looked confused and froze on the spot.
Song Li was also confused and couldn’t understand what His Highness the King of Han was talking about.
Is it possible that there is really a steel forging technology in this world that is more advanced than the steel filling method？
‘Your Highness, King of Han, how much iron and steel can be produced by these methods you mentioned？’
Song Li asked tentatively, somewhat unclearly.
Although this Prince of Han often made mistakes since he injured his head, he did indeed do a lot of practical things, and even used bizarre methods to bring a large sum of money to the treasury.
As a result, Xia Yuanji, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, is now so confident that he shudders when he sees people, completely losing the pitiful look on his face that was full of sadness before.
As the Minister of Industry, Song Li also hoped that His Highness the King of Han could take advantage of him so that he could make some glorious political achievements that would leave a name in history.
Zhu Gaoxu glanced at him, recalling the steel factories with a daily output of 10,000 tons in later generations, and said somewhat conservatively, ‘The daily output is estimated to be one million jin, a conservative estimate…’
With a pop, the dignified Lord Song Lisong, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, was so frightened by this terrifying number that he collapsed to the ground.
Producing 100,000 kilograms of steel per day？
What is that concept？
If it can really be realized, then this will be an epoch-making change!
His name Song Li can definitely be recorded by historians, leaving a name in history and lasting forever!
When he thought of this, Song Li got up from the ground and asked with a blushing face, ‘Is what His Highness said true？ A hundred thousand catties per day？ Is it a day’s output？’
Seeing his unpromising look, Zhu Gaoxu couldn’t help but stretched out a finger and emphasized, ‘Yes, the daily output is 100,000 kilograms.’
‘As long as you do your best to make mistakes according to what I said, it is actually not difficult to achieve this output.’
Song Li looked at his finger, then stepped forward and held it tightly.
‘My Lord Han, just tell me what to do. Your subordinates and even the entire Ministry of Works will obey your orders!’
The highest pursuit of civil servants is to leave a name in history and be famous for generations to come!
Now that such a great opportunity is in front of him, how could Song Li just watch it？
‘Let’s engage in ‘blast furnace ironmaking’ and ‘crucible steelmaking’, a two-pronged approach, coordinated progress…’
Song Li was trembling as if he had been given chicken blood, and said to Zhu Gaoxu with red eyes.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu shook his head with a bitter smile, and withdrew his fingers forcibly. Then he smiled and comforted him and said, ‘Old Songtou, you have to eat your food one bite at a time. If you take too long, you will pull off the eggs.’
‘Now that the Northern Expedition is imminent, I have issued a military order in front of the emperor, so we cannot make innovations now and delay arms production.’
After Song Li heard this, he was immediately disappointed.
But Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, ‘But there is still no problem in improving the production technology.’
‘Old Liu Tou, you go find a material that can withstand high temperatures and can hold molten iron. I will send you the drawings tomorrow and build the mold first.’
‘Mold？ What is this that His Highness is talking about…’
Song Li glared at him impatiently, ‘Go if you are told. Why are you talking so much nonsense？’
Old Liu Tou curled his lips when he heard this and immediately took the order and left.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu smiled bitterly and shook his head. After all, Song Li still looked down on these national treasures.
How should the status of craftsmen be changed so that they get the respect they deserve？
Just at this moment, Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui suddenly arrived.
Song Li saw this and retreated, not daring to interfere in their conversation.
Seeing that there was no one around, Zhu Gaojiu pulled Zhu Gaojiu and shouted in a low voice, ‘Boss, are you crazy？ Do you really think you are some kind of ‘anti-corruption fighter’？’
Zhu Gaoxu was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what he meant.
‘Previously, you exposed Liu Guan’s case, which led to hundreds of civil servants being implicated. Now the government and the public are quite critical of you, the Prince of Han.’
‘Now you have exposed the corruption case in the Ordnance Bureau. Except for the Qingshui Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, other departments in the entire court are more or less implicated. If you continue to pursue it, the number of corrupt officials you will uncover will only increase. many!’
‘When the time comes, those civil servants and officials will all support the boss and be hostile to you, the ruthless Prince of Han. What else will you use to fight against the boss？ Just rely on Qiu Ba, the warrior who is one of the heroes of the Jingnan War？’
Ha, that’s what it meant.
Zhu Gaoxu chuckled lightly and sighed quietly, ‘The Crown Prince cannot do these things, but I, the King of Han, can do them.’
‘Let me be a knife in the boss’s hand and clean out these corrupt officials for him.’
Zhu Gaosui ‘？？？’