"good."
"If that's the case, then I'll go back and get the accounts from my side."
Zhu Biao nodded slightly after hearing Xiao Han's words.
If you want to achieve high productivity in ironmaking, it is indeed almost impossible to do so without increasing investment.
But if it can't be done, it still has to be done. After all, the steel industry is the basic premise of almost all industries.
Xiao Han didn't want Ming Dynasty's warships to be a group of purely wooden warships when they went to attack the Japanese pirates' lair.
At the very least, a layer of iron sheet must be added. Even though it is just one layer, the difference between having it and not having it is still quite big.
With this extra layer of iron sheet, it would take a lot of effort to scuttle the Ming Dynasty's warships. As for the purely wooden structure, it would basically be a hole in one shot.
"By the way, when looking for a blacksmith, remember to look for some from other craftsmen as well."
Xiao Han said.
"Hmm... exactly what kind of craftsman is he?"
"Carpenter, potter, what?"
Zhu Biao asked in confusion.
What is meant by other craftsmen? This range is too broad. Even Zhu Biao was dumbfounded when faced with this description.
"Ah...carpenters, potters...probably all of them can be used. I'll find some from those who are relevant."
Xiao Han hesitated for a moment and finally said this.
His idea was to work together to see if we could produce something like the steam engine that led industry.
Logically speaking, most of these things are made of metal and should be directly handled by a blacksmith.
But for delicate mechanical structures, carpenters are better at it, so even Xiao Han couldn't tell what was needed for a while.
"Okay, go back and get the data, and I will ask Li Heng to draft an edict and get all kinds of craftsmen directly for you."
Zhu Biao's mouth twitched and he said helplessly.
With that said, Zhu Biao walked towards the outside of the British Duke's mansion.
"Your Highness."
"According to Lancang's urgent report, the Lancang clans indeed intercepted the mission sent by Lancang, but they were successfully repelled by the people we arranged there."
"But from this, the Lancang people seem to be dissatisfied with our Ming Dynasty's existence in the Lancang Kingdom. I'm afraid something will happen over time."
Zhu Biao left, Jiang You quietly stepped forward and spoke to Xiao Han.
Originally, Xiao Han could not tell him that there was no big change happening here, but since Zhu Biao had already mentioned it, he came over to report it.
"Um."
"Allowing them to do whatever they want will indeed affect our control of the Lancang region."
"Go and tell our merchant escort team over there that all the rules of the trading market we established in Lancang are in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Anyone who violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty will be killed!"
"In addition, we have reasons to protect our clients, so if the people of Lancang encounter injustice and the other party violates the Ming Law, they can seek protection from our escort agency."
Xiao Han chuckled.
Our Ming Dynasty does not need to establish sovereignty, but political power and management rights must be won.
We don't mean to have any rules, we just follow the rules of the business world.
You see, the Lancang royal family has no objections, so it makes sense.
So, the previous rules of Lancang are now invalid, and everything must be done according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, don't blame our escorts for doing justice for heaven.
"promise!"
Jiang You responded and immediately went down to make arrangements.
"Fengxue, I'm back. These are the accounts of the Imperial Household Department and my Prince's East Palace."
"If all the spare money we can spare here is taken into account, we can probably build up to twenty rivers, which can support forty hydraulic blast furnaces."
Zhu Biao said, and immediately ordered the chamberlain behind him to bring in a large pile of information.
"On my side, there should probably be ten."
Xiao Han pointed to his account and said.
"Actually, I have always been curious, couldn't we build more blast furnaces side by side on a river?"
Zhu Biao asked Xiao Han.
"I'm afraid this won't work. According to my calculations, after the water power of the section of the river I chose is blown by the waterwheel, it should be just enough during most of the time when the water power is normal."
Xiao Han said, pulling out the water records of the water area he pointed to before.
"You see, if we add more blast furnaces, not only will the hydraulic power of the subsequent blast furnaces be insufficient, but it will also be detrimental to the transportation of raw materials and finished products."
"If the onshore raw materials and finished products are transported separately, the effect is not as good as directly. After all, it is not easy to build a blast furnace."
"In my opinion, if the operating costs are increased like this, it is better to put the costs on construction."
Xiao Han pointed to the information on the table.
"That makes sense. How much iron can such a blast furnace produce in a year?"
Zhu Biao turned to Xiao Han and asked.
"have no idea."
"My design has been adjusted based on the situation of our Ming Dynasty, and because of the problem of dry and flood seasons, our annual output is not stable, but what I can confirm is that with the same blacksmith, the output will definitely be A lot more.”
Xiao Han spread his hands and said honestly.
"Then...are we going to put it all in at once?"
Zhu Biao hesitated.
"Well... let's build five river channels and ten hydraulic blast furnaces together first. If we think we can invest enough in terms of output, we can build more later."
Xiao Han thought for a while and said.
"Can."
"The investment in the five rivers is not too much. We can earn back part of it through business operations for a period of time. This will make our Ming Dynasty's treasury quite sufficient."
Zhu Biao nodded.
"By the way, what do you think of the changes in the Lancang Kingdom?"
Zhu Biao smiled and said to Xiao Han, when he went back, Jin Yiwei also reported the same news as Jiang You, although it was slower, but not by much.
"There is nothing to say. I have already made arrangements and will gradually let them accept and get used to our Ming Dynasty's order."
"As for Mo Sentai, if he cooperates enough, I don't think there is a need to change someone."
Xiao Han said.
After all, King Fa'ang was the first king to establish a unified dynasty in the Lancang area, and he still had considerable influence among the people. Although those clans did not take the royal family too seriously at all, and at most regarded it as a large clan. , this is just the big leader of the mountain.
But as long as there is a place that can be used, it is always better than nothing. As for the Ming Dynasty, since it does not plan to fully occupy Lancang, there is no need to undermine the Lancang royal family.
"That's right. He is just a second-generation king with little experience in governing. If his father, King Fa'ang, was young, he might have some ambitions that he shouldn't have."
"But if he even survives, he has to rely on the charity of our Ming Dynasty. I'm afraid he won't even have the courage to make small moves under our Ming Dynasty. He is basically a puppet king under our Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Biao nodded in agreement.
For Zhu Biao, it didn't matter who the king of a dependent country like Lancang was. What was important was to be obedient. It would be great if there could be someone who was happy to be here and not miss Shu.
"Fengxue, I forgot to ask you. Our hydraulic blast furnace project is not a small project. I'm afraid there will be many people who will object to it at the court meeting. Do you want to come to the court tomorrow?"
Zhu Biao turned to Xiao Han and asked.
"Um?"
"Now that my father is going to court in person, there are still people who dare to object to what you propose? Do the Nine Clans have grudges against him?"
Xiao Han was slightly stunned. During this period of time, he didn't go to court. He was busy arranging the affairs of the world. He basically listened to what Zhu Biao said about everything in the court. When he heard about such a thing, he was immediately surprised.
"Cough cough cough!"
"The recent changes in our Ming Dynasty are not small."
"Do you still remember those special officials we selected during the last palace examination, that is, officials who passed the Ming Dynasty's Agricultural Science, Ming Law, and Ming's Political Program?"
Zhu Biao asked Xiao Han.
"I have some impressions, mainly from the Ming Dynasty Agricultural Science and Technology. After all, the top three have all left with me."
Xiao Han nodded slightly.
"Because I need to balance the power of the powerful family, I will speed up the promotion of those businessmen and poor people who come up. Although their grades are not high, they have already entered the court."
"I originally thought that there were only two possibilities for them to enter the Tuchaotang. Either they would be completely loyal to our Ming Dynasty, or they would seek refuge with certain aristocratic families."
"But what I didn't expect was that because of the frequent economic changes in our Ming Dynasty during this period, some big businessmen in our Ming Dynasty gained stronger influence than before."
"And among them, there is a scholar trained by a businessman whose strength is comparable to that of a powerful family. He entered the court of Ming Dynasty by relying on the laws of Ming Dynasty. Half of the new officials who came in through non-Four Books and Five Classics formed the court with this scholar. A new faction of.”
"They all have different attitudes towards many things in Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Biao said to Xiao Han.
"oh?"
"How dare a faction that represents the interests of a group of businessmen and poor families dare to oppose our Ming Dynasty project?"
Xiao Han narrowed his eyes.
"No no no!"
"They are not opposed to our Daming project, and can even be said to be very supportive."
"It's just that their ideas are a bit special, so I came to ask you if you want to go to the court to see them in person."
Zhu Biao said to Xiao Han.
"oh?"
"What kind of special law? Is it possible that they still want to fund our Ming Dynasty?"
Xiao Han suddenly felt interesting.
"how do you know?"
"Yes, they just hope that when our Ming Dynasty carries out major projects, we can accept the money and efforts of businessmen and aristocratic families, and jointly be responsible for the construction projects."
Zhu Biao responded with some surprise.
He originally thought that even Xiao Han would be shocked by such an unexpected situation.
"hehe."
"It's just businessman nature. It's normal for them to want to get involved in imperial projects, especially since our imperial court has built a market for them, issued lightweight Ming Dynasty banknotes, and arranged for the Banking Supervision Department."
"They will feel that money can buy everything, and businessmen can also be leaders of the country."
Xiao Han chuckled, as he had expected it.
(End of chapter)
