In Zhu Yunwen's eyes, sending sergeants to Africa is not a form of Western colonization, but a kind of cooperation.
The Ming Dynasty wanted minerals and resources, and black people could provide labor in exchange for the Ming Dynasty's advanced productive forces, such as textiles, salt production, farming, etc.
At this time, Africa was not like that of later generations, prone to plagues, wars and chaos. At this time, in Africa, although there were struggles between countries, they had little strength. They were lagging behind and were no match for the Portuguese, let alone the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yunwen did not covet land in Africa, but he was eager to occupy the narrow land between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. At this time, there was no Suez Canal there, and the Ming Dynasty's fleet could not sail directly into the Mediterranean. Similarly, if Europe wants to escape from the Mediterranean, it can only change ships on the Red Sea, or they will open a route from western Africa to southern Africa, and then go north and east.
The southern tip of Africa is a strategic location. Two of the three cities chosen by Zhu Yunwen are located at the southern tip. This is also the key to preventing the expansion of European colonization. step.
Zhu Yunwen knew that early Western colonization was not terrible and its scale was not large. What is really scary is a hundred years from now, after the Industrial Revolution, and four hundred years from now.
In order to stifle Western colonization and block the West's primitive accumulation, Zhu Yunwen believed that it was better to choose distant Africa than Penghu to defend against enemies outside the country. It was not a bad thing after all.
With sufficient chromium ore, Ming iron shipbuilding finally began to make great progress.
Under the guidance of the five-year science and technology plan, the Imperial College, the Academy of Engineering Machinery, and the War Bureau, the Academy of Sciences, the Second Artillery Bureau, etc., realized a detailed division of labor, introduced a module assembly model, and disassembled the steam engine into certain types of parts. Different institutions are specially arranged to be responsible for the specialized manufacturing of different parts, and they are finally sent to the newly installed steam engine station for assembly and debugging.
The manufacturing of titanium steel gives the gears excellent wear resistance and hardness, greatly reducing the amount of engineering maintenance. Relevant processes are becoming more and more perfect, and there are no bottlenecks in the preparation and mass production of steam engines.
In order to manufacture iron ships, craftsmen actively used steam engine power. The manual operation of the steel-wrapping method was very slow and inefficient. However, using the steam engine to provide hammering could achieve high-efficiency docking.
As craftsmen continued to improve iron smelting in blast furnaces and built a new iron-making platform with the help of steam engines, they were able to cast three-foot-long iron plates in one go, providing conditions for the fastest possible production of ship hulls.
The emergence of rudimentary rough lathes also brought convenience to industrial processing. With the rapid development of iron ships, complaints from the Ministry of Household Affairs also began to increase.
Xia Yuanji was a little unwilling. In previous years, the imperial court only invested three million taels in the entire shipbuilding industry, but in just half a year this year, it has already spent two million taels. According to this momentum, when iron ships are mass-produced, it will also It was time for Tobe to be too poor to wear pants.
Zhu Yunwen has no better way. It is normal to spend more money to lay the foundation for primary industry. Doesn’t the endless iron ore cost money? After recruiting so many craftsmen, wages have to be paid, not to mention these researches. They are flourishing, you can’t cancel the rewards or give them incentives.
Also, the boat has been on the sea for several years, so it needs maintenance and repairs. There is no need for money...
Hubu's difficulty is not because Xia Yuanji is pretentious or pretentious.
Although the eighth year of Jianwen was a good year, with summer grain in the north and south being generally considered a bumper year, except for the navy's march to Xiaoliuqiu Island at the beginning of the year, there were no large-scale military operations, so the national treasury was not short of money.
But the problem is that Beiping Construction has laid the foundation and started the ground construction, and the cost of these constructions is no less than the cost of laying the foundation. In addition, the court has another burden:
Xijiang Province.
The current Xijiang Province has not achieved complete self-sufficiency. Many materials still need to be transported by the imperial court. The journey is long and costly, and it also requires long-term maintenance. These expenses are not small.
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In addition, Xijiang Province is building the Alashankou Pass and expanding the city of Ulu-Muqi. Fortunately, limestone mines have been discovered in Xijiang Province. Otherwise, even if people are exhausted, they may not be able to build several cities in ten years.
As long as Ru Yun was distributing documents in Xijiang Province, she would never forget to ask for money at the end. This guy had been ready to seduce the imperial court for three years.
Coupled with the grand education strategy, the imperial court needed to spend two million yuan on education every year. However, in the 31st year of Hongwu, this amount of money was almost negligible, except for the small investment from the Imperial College.
Although the Chief Minister and the prefectures and counties have also contributed a sum of money to share the pressure of the Ministry of Household Affairs, social studies must be truly established by the end of next year to achieve basic coverage. To achieve this goal, at least one million yuan needs to be invested this year.
Finances are growing, but expenses are also growing.
Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to take out the gold brought by Li Su as a reserve, and printed an additional 600,000 treasure notes, all of which were given to Longjiang Shipyard to ensure that the construction of iron ships would not be delayed.
On this day, Zhu Yunwen summoned Ji Gang at Wuying Hall.
After Ji Gang saluted, he did not dare to raise his head.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Ji Gang deeply and spoke after a long time: "When you were in Gaoyou, you served as a guard. The prince praised you for your bravery and loyalty. In addition, you have made great contributions in the Northeast over the years. I give you two choices. First, become the commander-in-chief of the fifth army. Second, when entering the Navy Commander's Mansion, you will also be a commander and advisor, so choose one." Ji Gang's Adam's apple twitched slightly.
Finally, my moment has finally come.
Where to go?
Navy Commander's Mansion, this seems inappropriate. Not to mention that I am not accustomed to water, even if I am accustomed to water, I don't want to be sent to the sea by Zhu Yunwen. Like Zheng He, he is still a deputy commander and has not come back for three years.
If you are like that, how can you still hold power?
The Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army?
The scenery here also has status, but the problem is that the power of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion is not great. At present, the Ministry of War is vaguely overshadowing the Five Army Governor's Mansion, especially since there are a number of capable people in the Ministry of War, such as Yang Rong, Wang Sui, and Xuan Xuan. Qingshu et al.
On the other hand, there have never been many outstanding figures in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. Except for Xu Huizu, who is in charge of the overall situation, there seem to be few powerful figures. He Fu, Geng Bingwen, Xu Kai and others can fight but not scheme. .
?????????????????? Entering the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, it may not be easy to stand out under the suppression of the Ministry of War.
Ji Gang hesitated again and again, gritted his teeth, and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I neither want to go to the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion nor the Navy Commander's Mansion."
"Oh, where do you want to go?"
There was not much surprise in Zhu Yunwen's eyes.
Ji Gang kowtows: "The White Lotus Sect has repeatedly caused chaos and harmed the Crown Prince and the Emperor. I have no self-esteem and am quite capable of force. I am willing to take off my armor and cloak, join the Security Bureau and become the Emperor's private soldier. I will defend the Emperor, the Crown Prince and the Ming Dynasty to the death. Please also ask Your Majesty Yes."
Zhu Yunwen looked at this scene and said calmly: "It seems that you are destined to belong to the Security Bureau..."
Historically, Ji Gang was in charge of the Jin Yiwei and was extremely powerful. He competed with Xue Lu for a beautiful Taoist nun, and almost beat Xue Lu to death. He also went so far as to mistake a deer for a horse and intend to rebel.
Now, going around in circles, I tried my best to prevent him from entering the security bureau, but he still insisted on getting in.
All right.
If you have merit and means, then join the security bureau.
Liu Changge, Tang Buping, you must be careful, I sent a fox to the Security Bureau.
"The Security Bureau is different from others. Once you get in, you may lose everything."
Zhu Yunwen reminded.
Ji Gang insisted: "For the sake of the emperor, Ji Gang is willing to go to pieces!"
Zhu Yunwen nodded, smiled inexplicably, and said: "In that case, then you can join the Security Bureau, take your credit into account, and serve as the governor."
"According to the order."
Ji Gang stood up, took two steps back, then turned around and strode out of Wuying Hall.
At this moment, I am high-spirited and have a bright future.
