Zhu Biao is no longer troubled by this person. There are countless talents in the world. Some are content with the status quo, while others are aggressive and hardworking. Instead of wasting his energy on this, it is better to think more about the arrangements ahead.
I got up and walked around in the backyard of the Ministry of Industry. The Yamen of the Ministry of Industry is naturally not small, but it is not too big. After all, it is a government office located in the palace. It cannot be a place where furnaces are fired and forging is noisy all day long. The craftsmen here study The ones are usually small objects, and the big ones are in another place outside the palace.
Steelmaking, cement making, and firearm grinding never stopped, and people were also engaged in refining refined salt and developing soap. As the situation stabilized and war pressure eased, the Ministry of Industry operated under Zhu Biao's will, and countless skilled craftsmen came under orders.
According to the original historical progress, after the early Ming Dynasty, the world was stable, and there was indeed no environment for the development of firearms. Natural sciences such as mathematics, physics, and mechanics were not paid much attention to, and no scientific ideological trends were formed in the country...
Zhu Biao will naturally change this trend. After all, science and technology are the primary productive forces. The most urgent thing is to provide these researchers with certain channels for advancement. This will undoubtedly arouse the rejection of traditional forces, but it still needs to be done, even if it is Have to bear a certain amount of pressure.
I tried some gadgets like soap, and they felt pretty good. Unfortunately, these were not items that the common people at the bottom could enjoy. They couldn’t provide help in times of need. They were just the icing on the cake for the rich and wealthy. The money that could be collected was not as good as just stealing from the Jiangnan aristocratic family. There are many manufacturers, which is why Zhu Biao was not in a hurry to develop it in the past few years.
Now that people's livelihood has recovered to some extent, the Southeast Asian trade is about to start, and overseas expansion is also planned. It is the right time to prepare, and it is just the right time to tie in. China, cloth, tea and wine are the signatures.
After Zhu Biao's routine inspection, he led everyone back to the palace. Everyone from the Ministry of Works saw him off. After the prince's ceremonial carriage had gone away, he straightened his back and looked proudly at his colleagues in the five surrounding yamen. Chu Jun was very interested in the Ministry of Works. This is already a well-known thing, and it also means that their yamen, which originally was not loved by grandma and uncle, can finally show off.
All the way back to the Jinshen Hall to pay tribute to his father, he returned to his exclusive seat and sat down. The hall was lit with ambergris, with a slightly sweet amber fragrance and a fragrant woody fragrance.
When Zhu Biao sat down and smelled it, he could tell that this was top quality, still a little short of the best. It was estimated that it came from Goryeo or Champa as tribute. The smell of top quality ambergris is ever-changing, and the most common one is rich and strong. Sweet amber, aromatic woody, fruity aroma.
"There are a lot of top-quality ones in the inner treasure. Why would my father use such high-quality ones?"
Lao Zhu casually put down a finished memorial and said: "We all smell the same, so we won't waste the best ones. If you like, just move them to the East Palace Treasury."
Zhu Biao smiled and said: "There are also gifts from the ministers. In addition to the normal tribute, the Nanyang countries also sent many gifts to the ministers. Especially from the Korean side, they are all higher than the annual tribute."
This is true. Since Zhu Biao told the Nanyang envoys last year that he was willing to send Jinghaihou of the Ming Dynasty to lead the navy to help them resist the Japanese pirates sweeping the sea, waves of gifts have been sent over. Many Zhu Biao I don’t even like it, but it still has some good stuff.
Needless to say, as for Goryeo, the life and death of the current King of Goryeo depends on Zhu Biao's thoughts. Li Renren, the head of the Goryeo family, has repeatedly written letters to express his loyalty. Naturally, the gifts are even more exaggerated. They probably all paid for the royal family. Out.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded casually. It didn't matter how much he used his family at this point. However, he had already passed the age of coveting material enjoyment. How to stabilize the foundation, how to stabilize the world and restore people's livelihood, and how to pass it on to his children and grandchildren intactly. That's what he is thinking about now.
"Going to the Ministry of Industry again? Has the cement you mentioned last time come out?"
Zhu Biao took the memorial from Liu Jin and said: "Now that it's out, it's quite simple. Grind the limestone and clay into dough, then calcine the clinker and grind it into powder together with the slag left after ironmaking. It's just that If mass-produced and fired, a large amount of dust will be produced, and the craftsmen who make it may suffer from lung diseases."
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression did not change when he heard this: "Let the Ministry of Works think of a way. If there is really no way, we will use captured Japanese pirates."
"Haven't you used it up yet? It's not easy to survive the winter."
In the past two years, under the leadership of Marquis Jinghai, the coastal navy resisted Japanese pirates. They won successive victories and naturally captured many Japanese slaves. They planned to behead them as usual to show the public to appease the people, but Zhu Biao stopped and sent them to Mineral mining and coal refining are carried out in various places under the control of the Ministry of Industry.
I have to say that slaves are easy to use. If they are corvee laborers recruited by the imperial court, they must be careful about this and consider that. They cannot be forced to gather in groups to make trouble. Money, food and comfort are necessary, and they must work in a certain manner.
The captured Japanese pirates are easy to deal with. There is no need to worry at all, just use them to death. Last year, we were able to rush in such a large amount of civilian charcoal to supply the northern frontier army before winter because of the loss of Japanese slaves regardless of the cost.
However, there were only a small number of Japanese pirates who could be captured, and it was impossible to deliberately hold back those alive on the battlefield, so he used a little less. Zhu Biao thought they were all dead.
"My son has ordered the Ministry of Industry to make masks, which are similar to face caps and are used to cover the mouth and nose. After the cement is made, it will be beneficial whether it is used to build roads or strengthen dams and city walls. The effect should be far better than what it is now. Use glutinous rice water to mix with lime slurry."
In fact, reinforced concrete is the way to go. Cement concrete is easy to make, but there is nothing you can do about steel bars. The iron output in the Ming Dynasty is only about how much it is in a year. The current policy is that the imperial court has a small amount of iron in stock. If iron is urgently needed, furnaces will be opened in designated iron ore areas. For iron smelting, if the iron inventory is large enough to be used, the government-run iron smelting will be suspended and the people will be allowed to mine on their own in these mining areas. The imperial court will impose an iron tax at a rate of one-fifteenth.
Zhu Biao looked at the memorial in his hand. It happened to be a memorial from the prefect of Guangping Prefecture. He said that Linshui Town in Cizhou produced iron. In the Yuan Dynasty, one million kilograms of iron could be harvested here a year. He suggested that the court proceed as usual and expel the smelting companies and take them back. For national use.
There are actually many such memorials, but Lao Zhu has always believed that if the people benefit, the benefits will flow through and benefit the officials; if the officials exclusively benefit, the benefits will be blocked and will harm the people, so he has never agreed.
Zhu Biao put down the memorial and said, "I still think that the iron system should be changed. The increased control by the imperial court will also help limit the outflow of iron. The scale of private iron smelting is getting larger and larger, which is difficult to control."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "There is no need to mention this matter again, we know it well."
Zhu Biao shook his head and stopped talking. Although there were problems with the imperial iron system, Zhu Biao looked at the iron production of previous dynasties. In fact, since last year, the Ming Dynasty has exceeded the production of all previous dynasties in their heyday, reaching the highest level in history. Already, we are constantly setting records.
Since it is not at a standstill, it means that the problem is not serious yet, and Zhu Biao will no longer argue with his father about the pros and cons. The emperor is the emperor after all, and he will not become his son's puppet, and Zhu Biao will not be so arrogant.
The Chaozhou pirates took possession of Chaoyang County in Jieyang. The Chaoyang Guards commanded Qian Shi Wang You and others to lead their troops to attack them. They killed three puppet marshals and captured more than 1,160 thieves, including hundreds of horses and a thousand cattle. The remaining party members were all captured.
Zhu Biao approved and ordered the Ministry of War to reward soldiers as usual, and ordered the Yushitai of the Ministry of Punishment to send people to Chaozhou to thoroughly investigate the case to see if it was a deliberate rebellion or if the government forced the people to rebel. It also looked at whether the local security office was suspected of killing good people and taking merit.
The Ministry of Rites requested a grand sacrifice next month, and Zhu Biao approved the sacrifice of Taisui, Fengyun, Leiyuyue, Zhenhaidu, Mountain, Sichuan, Yuejiang, Chengyan, Banner, and the gods. By the way, the Ministry of Rites was ordered to offer sacrifices to the Confucian Temple and Wu Temple.
The reply ordered the Ministry of Household Affairs to send 5,675 pieces of coats to Liaodong Guard soldiers and soldiers, and the order was sent out immediately without delay.
The King of Goryeo sent Han Bangyan, his secret envoy, to pay tribute to a golden dragon's platform, a double lotus platform, a double golden dragon head, a stirrup with silver dragon head, a six-sided pot, a tortoiseshell sword scabbard and a pen scabbard, and a fine cloth mat made of leopard skin.
The Ministry of Household Affairs reported that there was a severe drought in Yunnei Prefecture, Datong Prefecture. Zhu Biao approved the exemption of salt and grain burdens, reduced taxes and corvees, and ordered officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs to conduct on-site inspections.
The Ministry of Etiquette reported that thousands of households of the eighteen ethnic groups in Xibo came to pay tribute with their divination packages, twenty horses, and a number of agate and jade inlaid with gold scimitars. Zhu Biao approved the gift of court clothes, boots and socks, and was received by the Ministry of Etiquette. Only with an imperial edict can one enter the palace.
There are many matters, large and small, and Zhu Biao's approval is very easy. It seems that they are not very important, but in fact, the government's operation depends on these small supports. Zhu Biao's approval is simple, but every word will be understood by others, and he is the one who reaches the place. desired result.
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