There are many poor people in Bianliang, and there are even more poor people in the world.
Zhao Jun can't take care of everyone, he can only do some things within his own ability.
The Song Dynasty is still too short of money.
But making money does not mean that you can get it in a day or two. The domestic cake is only so big, so making the cake bigger and doing business abroad is the right way.
However, ancient sea trade and land trade were always limited by one condition - transportation.
Before productivity increases, Quanzhou and Guangzhou basically have an annual export volume of tens of millions to do business with Central Asia, which is the limit.
The only big buyer now is Japan, which suddenly became rich after digging up silver mines.
According to records in "Silver Capital" written by the later Western scholar Andre Gund Frank, during the more than 100 years from the 14th to the 16th century, in addition to the Iwami silver mines, there were other reserves in the four islands of Japan. Few silver mines.
Among them, Shijian Silver Mine has the largest inventory, producing 30 tons of silver every year, and 38 tons of silver at its peak. It has been mined for more than 400 years, and its total reserves are expected to reach 12,000 tons, worth about more than 300 million taels.
Including other silver mines, the amount of silver produced and supplied from Japan to the Ming Dynasty each year reached about 200 tons.
It’s just the beginning. Although the Shijian Silver Mine has been discovered, the mining volume is still too low. Last year, only about 15 tons were mined. Even if the Song Dynasty brought advanced production technology, the development there was still limited. It has just started, how can it be built so quickly?
Therefore, although large-scale silver mines were actually discovered, the annual import volume of the Song Dynasty was actually mainly copper ore and sulfur.
Silver, plus other sources that have been discovered, only supplies about 50 tons of silver to the Song Dynasty every year. The amount of silver inflow between the two sides is currently only a quarter of that of the Ming Dynasty.
Calculated in proportion, it is almost equivalent to more than 1.3 million taels of silver per year.
There is a lot of gold. According to Japanese scholar Mori Katsumi's "Research on Continuing Japan-Song Trade", from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty, Japan imported more than 10,000 taels of gold to China every year.
Now Japan has "discovered" Sado Jinshan with the help of Song Cai, and this Jinshan also has a large number of associated silver mines and bronze mines. If developed, it can provide more gold and silver to the Song Dynasty.
Such gold, silver, copper, iron, sulfur and other large amounts of minerals formed the trade between the Song Dynasty, Japan and Goryeo. The trade volume between the two sides was almost 40 million yuan.
According to historical records, during the Renzong period, Mingzhou City's shipping department had an income of 500,000 guan, with a tax rate of 1 out of 10 for sea trade. That is to say, the private trade volume between the Song Dynasty and Japan was only 5 million guan at that time, and it would not break through to 100,000 guan until the Southern Song Dynasty. Thousands of strings.
However, since the two sides signed the free trade agreement in the first year of Kangding, it has increased eightfold in two years. This is due to active communication with Japan and helping them expand domestic gold and silver mines.
In addition to the trade with Goryeo, from the first year of Kangding to the third year of Qingli, in more than three years, more than four million silver had been brought to the Song Dynasty.
And as time goes by, the trade volume between the two sides will only continue to grow, which will drive a large number of industries and allow Japan to upgrade its technology, which will naturally continue to expand the inflow of silver.
According to scholar Wan Ming's "Research on the Quantity of Overseas Trade in the Ming Dynasty", an average of 7 million taels of silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty every year in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, of which the Japanese inflow reached about 5 million taels per year, and the other 12 million taels came from American silver. .
Therefore, as long as the Song Dynasty continues to carry out trade, in the future, like the Ming Dynasty, the trade volume will reach 70 million taels of silver, and the annual income of 7 million taels of silver will no longer be a dream.
But what is lacking most now is time.
In January, Zhao Jun will celebrate his 29th birthday, and Zhao Zhen plans to make a grand celebration.
But Zhao Jun refused.
He just had a meal with his family and then continued to deal with state affairs.
In February, there was good news from the institute.
The ammonium sulfate fertilizer provided by Zhao Zhen was finally successfully developed.
This thing belongs to the field of chemistry. Zhao Jun has no idea about it, but he remembers that his grandfather made it when he was a child.
He is from a rural area. When he was a child, his family would raise pigs. The pig pen and the human toilet were in the same room. A big pit was dug underneath and covered with wooden boards. The pigs stayed in the pig pen next to it. The human and pig feces would pass through the gaps between the wooden boards. He fell into the big pit below.
I didn't understand this before, but then I remembered that my grandfather once poured white powder into the manure pit, but he didn't know what it was at the time, and he mentioned it to Zhao Zhen and the others.
It's just that in the Song Dynasty, retting technology like this was already popularized, and many rural areas were built like this, so there was no need to popularize science.
The only problem is that I don't know what that white powder is.
Surprisingly, Zhao Zhen asked Zhao Jun for a notebook at the beginning of this year and found the formula in a history book.
Take 50 kilograms of human urine and feces (cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens are acceptable), 5 kilograms of calcium sulfate (gypsum of paris powder), add 20 kilograms of water, stir and mix evenly, and leave it for 10-15 days.
That is, human urine and feces, plaster of paris powder and water can be made in a ratio of 10:1:4.
There is even a formula for ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer in that history, which is made from human urine or cow, sheep, pig and chicken manure plus soybean flour and plaster of paris powder in a ratio of 100:1:8.
Only then did Zhao Jun realize that the powder was actually gypsum powder.
It's just that the ammonium bicarbonate fertilizer formula requires soybean flour. In ancient times, this was not only eaten by people, but also a strategic material. The cost of soybean feed for horses was too high, so it couldn't be used.
So ammonium sulfate fertilizer is the best.
The research institute produced the finished ammonium sulfate fertilizer in January, and then conducted experiments with "Songcai", which has a relatively short growth cycle, that is, pakchoi.
After more than 20 days, the mature Chinese cabbage grew better and stronger than the Chinese cabbage without fertilizer, and the yield was also much higher.
Newspapers immediately carried out follow-up publicity, and Jinzouyuan across the country mobilized to spread the news of Zhao Zhen's new fertilizer throughout the country. The proportions of the ingredients were also quickly spread, asking people everywhere to make their own fertilizers.
Zhao Zhen has shown great talent during this period.
Newspapers and Jinzouyuan gave him a good reputation. They not only publicized the effectiveness of the new fertilizer invented by the officials, but also encouraged the people to open up their minds, develop their own research, and make more inventions and creations, and the court would reward him.
For a time, there was an invention craze across the country. In the next few decades, many useful things were invented and reported to the Invention Bureau and applied for patents.
But that’s all for another day.
Zhao Zhen was so happy that he got such a big limelight for no reason, and most importantly, he had a reason to ask Zhao Jun for a notebook to play with.
I just want to find more inventions and creations from history. What's wrong with me?
Zhao Jun rolled his eyes and was speechless.
In April, Zhao Jun went to Wu'an.
As we all know, Hebei Province in my country is an important base for steel in later generations and is also the number one steel-producing province in the country.
The reason for this is that there are a lot of iron ore and coal mines here, and the transportation is also the most convenient.
Among them, Handan Iron and Steel and Tangshan Iron and Steel are the most famous.
But in the Song Dynasty, forget about Tangshan.
That was the territory of the Liao Kingdom.
But why didn't Zhao Jun choose Handan, a famous coal and high-grade iron ore producing area in later generations?
Because of traffic.
In the Song Dynasty, there were only some small rivers in Handan, but no medium or large rivers.
The nearest large rivers are Fushui and Mingshui, which are 40 kilometers away.
Wu'an also produces coal and iron, but it is only a few kilometers away from Mingshui, and Mingshui is connected to Zhangshui, and Zhangshui is connected to Yongji Canal.
Therefore, Wu'an at this time was more suitable for steel smelting than Handan.
Zhao Jun gathered blacksmiths to build a small steel factory in Bianliang. After several years of experiments, he finally developed the Bessway air steelmaking method and the Bessemer converter steelmaking method.
Then setting up a steel plant is imperative.
Since last year, he has ordered the construction of a canal between Wu'an and Mingshui, and expanded the Mingshui river channel. He has also begun building factories east of Wu'an, at the foot of the later Jiulongshan mining area.
After a year of hard work, the canal was built, the river channel was expanded, the factory buildings were almost built, and a large number of smelting equipment and tools were prepared.
On April 6, outside Wu'an County, Wu'an County Magistrate Han Gongyan and Cai Zhi, the technical official in charge of the construction, were already waiting.
Zhao Jun slowly came closer.
All the officials, big and small, rushed up and said, "I've seen the Governor!"
"Um."
Zhao Jun got off the carriage, nodded and said, "Who is Cai Zhi?"
"The official is here."
Cai Zhi, Superintendent of Wu'an Mine Cast Iron Smelting, quickly stepped forward and said.
This person's great-grandfather, Cai Wan, was the Sansmelting Envoy of Wu'anyuan City in the early Song Dynasty, and he was considered to be responsible for smelting and manufacturing.
"Wu'an iron-making has a long history, but this time it is steel-making. Do you have confidence?"
Zhao Jun asked with a smile.
"I will not give up even if I die!"
Cai Zhi said hurriedly.
"Well, let me introduce the situation."
"yes."
Cai Zhi talked while everyone was walking.
The history of iron-making in Wu'an can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
At that time, charcoal was used as the material for making iron. Later, with the invention of the blower, coal was used to make iron.
However, coal contains a lot of impurities, mainly sulfur and phosphorus, which results in poor quality. Therefore, the quality of ironware in the Song Dynasty is not very good. Historical records record that it is "extremely brittle and easy to break."
Jia Changchao once said, "If it is not made well, it will be brittle."
There is no way. In fact, after the Song Dynasty, coal has become the main refining method. The cost of charcoal is still too high, which will inevitably lead to a decline in quality.
However, Zhao Jun's Bestway air steelmaking method can perfectly solve this problem. By adding air, the sulfur and phosphorus in the molten iron are oxidized into easily separated oxides, thereby reducing the sulfur and phosphorus in the molten iron and turning iron into steel. .
In fact, the Bessemer converter steelmaking method and the Bessway air steelmaking method are complementary to each other. One can greatly improve the steelmaking efficiency, and the other can reduce production costs and improve steel quality.
At present, through several years of experiments, Zhao Jun has produced a steel converter suitable for these two methods. Now is the time to start large-scale manufacturing.
The group of people soon arrived at the steel plant. At this time, the steel plant was built on the original smelting plant. Due to the limited development level, it was definitely not the steel factory building of later generations. It was just built with rammed earth walls and bricks.
There are even some blast furnaces placed directly outside, which can only be covered with sheds on rainy days.
It looks very rough and crude, but this is already the best ironworks now.
When Zhao Jun arrived, everything had been set up. He looked around and saw that the ironmaking process was still the blast furnace ironmaking method of the Song Dynasty. Refractory clay was used to make a blast furnace and coal was used to make iron inside.
He used charcoal to smelt normal iron, then used the Tang Dynasty's steel filling method to get a large amount of steel, and then poured it into a mold to create a converter.
The entire process was not a problem with the craftsmanship of the Song Dynasty.
After all, the mold manufacturing process of the Song Dynasty, let alone the converter, could produce even an iron man weighing several tons, and it was also lifelike.
Moreover, the process of Bessemer converter is not complicated. It is actually a large steel furnace with lever wheels installed on both sides.
During refining, molten cast iron is poured into the converter from above, and then pressurized hot air is injected into the interior through special pipes at the bottom.
Hot air passes through the molten iron, burning away the carbon and other impurities in the cast iron, turning it into steel.
As for the Bestway air steelmaking method, it is even simpler. Just add limestone to the original clay refractory bricks. There is no technical difficulty at all. What is missing is a way to be discovered.
It took Zhao Jun so long to get things out, mainly because he had left Kaifeng long ago to inspect local areas, and only returned to Bianliang at the end of the second year of Yu Baoyuan.
It only took a few months to build that small steel factory and successfully manufacture all the principles and tools. It was not difficult at all.
At this point everything is ready.
Hundreds of workers in the factory lined the streets outside to welcome him.
Zhao Jun glanced around and felt that there was no problem, so he asked Han Qi's nephew Han Gongyan: "Have you tried it?"
"Already tried."
Han Gongyan said excitedly: "As Zhiyuan said, it only takes about a quarter of an hour to refine molten iron into steel!"
"Well, let's try it out."
Zhao Jun said.
"Open a furnace!"
Cai Zhi quickly ordered.
In an instant, more than a dozen workers took action.
They first came to a blast furnace, started adding coal to it, and then pushed the blower as hard as they could.
About 30 minutes later, workers pulled out a large amount of pig iron from the blast furnace.
In fact, according to the records of "Tiangong Kaiwu", the process of producing pig iron from iron ore should take about 6 hours.
But naturally they didn't dare to keep Zhao Jun waiting for so long, so before Zhao Jun arrived, they had already made a furnace of pig iron and just heated it after Zhao Jun arrived.
The workers used a steel frame to hold approximately several hundred kilograms of pig iron, then hooked the four corners of the steel frame with hooks, and then passed it through a tall shelf and used the pulley principle to pull it to a converter.
Everyone tried their best to pull the rope, lifted the steel frame, and poured it into the converter smoothly.
At this time, the temperature of the pig iron was very high, and then the workers in the steel furnace next to it began to continuously pull the blower. It was like a volcano erupting above the converter, with sparks popping out.
If the workers pulling the blowers had not been protected by steel plates on their heads and sides, they would have been burned by the splashed flint.
After about ten minutes, the converter completed the oxidation process.
Then the workers on both sides turned the wheel, and the huge converter slowly fell down, pouring out molten steel like lava.
The molten steel is temporarily put into molds made of refractory bricks. No matter what you want to make in the future, you only need to make a mold and pour it directly into it. Even swords or cannon molds are no problem.
And watching the molten steel gurgling into the mold, Zhao Jun could feel the heat wave coming from him even if he was dozens of meters away.
Even after seeing such a scene, he was still shocked by the greatness of the first industrial revolution.
to be honest.
These techniques are not difficult.
The difficulty is how one discovers their existence.
Once upon a time Westerners found a way.
And now.
It is also the turn of Easterners to stand at the forefront of industry.
Zhao Jun couldn't help but said: "The first step of industry begins here!"
(End of chapter)
