Firearms and shipbuilding are two technologies that are not complementary to each other. If the Ming Dynasty wanted to compete at sea, powerful artillery was indispensable. Zhu Di and Mu Ying were extremely enthusiastic about investing more in the development of firearms, and Zhu Su also rushed to start shipbuilding in the Ming Dynasty.
The great voyage is very urgent.
The three of them hit it off immediately, and after Lao Zhu met with Feng Sheng and other generals who went on the expedition, they all asked to see Lao Zhu outside the Jinshen Hall so that they could advise him and request more investment in building ships and researching firearms.
"We understand what we mean." After listening to the whispers of the three nephews, Lao Zhu rubbed his brows in rare fatigue. "We can see the power of firearms through the battle reports from the north and the south."
"Our Ming Dynasty has also successfully conquered Yunnan. We can indeed build a fleet and go overseas."
"But those two things cost a lot of money. The north and the south have just finished fighting, let us think about it..."
Zhu Su was stunned when he heard this. Lao Zhu had always acted vigorously and resolutely, but had he ever seen him look so miserable? He thought about it and guessed a bit, and asked tentatively: "You said that, could it be..."
"Has the Ming Dynasty's treasury really reached its limit?"
"It's not like we're exhausted." Lao Zhu waved his legs. "No, I really need some time to recuperate."
"Well, we also want to send people on a long voyage as soon as possible, first to the American continent to retrieve the divine seed I mentioned, so that our Ming Dynasty will not have to worry about starvation as soon as possible." No one present was an insider.
, Lao Zhu also said it bluntly.
Maybe he felt that he shouldn't be so affectionate in front of his sons. He cheered up after a while and said, "We don't have to worry about that!"
"We have worked out a way, but we need to think about it for some time. Both weapons and ships are the foundation of the Ming Dynasty in the future and must not be abandoned lightly. We will get the money early and invest in these two
It went in."
"...No." Zhu Su had to bow, but there was a trace of worry in his heart. Wouldn't Lao Zhu want to rectify some of the nine tribes and collect corruption wealth to support the country's scientific and technological development?
Although the money obtained by corrupt officials is high and low, the money obtained in this way cannot last for long.
Supplying technology should not lead to sustainable development and the formation of customized products.
"Being an emperor is indeed a hard job." Zhu Su sighed as he walked out of the palace with Mu Ying and Zhu Di. "You have to worry about political and military affairs, and you have to be careful that you are surrounded by tigers and wolves."
"We finally won the battle, but the treasury is out of money... Alas, everything is not easy."
"Not long after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the people are still suffering. They should have rested and recuperated. Those major events that matter for a hundred years can be put aside for the time being." Mu Ying also said. But thinking of the power of muskets and artillery, she couldn't help but feel regretful.
sighed.
What the Ming Dynasty took over from Bei Yuan Legs was a mess waiting to be renovated. During his lifetime, when the Ming Dynasty became extremely powerful, he could lead an invincible fleet to go overseas as the fifth brother said, and dominate the world.
That January?
"Dad said he already has a way, so we can just wait for a while." Zhu Di said. He was more anxious than Zhu Sumuying. He wished that the Ming Dynasty would have millions more new firecrackers and artillery to directly destroy Bei Yuan.
March all the way west.
Mu Ying had her own mansion, and Zhu Su and Zhu Di were also assigned their own palaces when they opened the palace. After leaving the palace, the three brothers made an appointment to meet again in the next few months, and then parted ways. When they returned to Prince Wu's palace, they saw
The foreigner Xiangdeng hurriedly greeted Zai Lai: "Dongdong, the third hall of Dongfang has only been here before."
"Third brother?" Zhu Su was startled, and then he was overjoyed: "Third brother is back too? Where is he?"
"Three Halls Dong is full of wind and dust. It seems that as soon as I return to Beijing, I will come to see you, Dong Dong." Xiang Deng said. "When I saw that you were not in the house, Dong Dong of San Dian immediately left and hurried to the imperial village outside the city.
Already."
The third brother, Zhu Fan, was reluctant to leave the capital and returned to Fengyang, the central capital, for inspection in the name of Lao Zhu. As for what he really wanted to do, even Lao Zhu didn't know. Did he have his own palace in the city?
.Ruming just arrived and didn't even return home, but hurried to Huangzhuang. Could something have happened?
Zhu Su did not dare to be negligent, so he quickly had his horse harnessed, and while it was very bright, he galloped away to the Huangzhuang to the east of the foot of Bifeng Mountain.
After asking around for a while, I found out that the third brother went to the steel-making test site in the back mountain as soon as he came back. Zhu Su also rushed there, and when he arrived, he saw a familiar figure standing there.
Commanding a group of craftsmen, Zhu Su couldn't help but feel happy and called out: "Third brother!"
"Huh?" Zhu Fan heard this and turned around. His royal robes were already dirty, his hair was in strands, and there were a few traces of charcoal on his face. When he saw Zhu Su, Zhu Fan looked extremely happy.
He walked a few steps quickly to greet Zai Lai: "Lao Wu! Long time no see, he is just thinking about where to find me!"
"Third brother is the only one. Second brother and fourth brother went to Suzhou to look for him. Why don't I come with him?" Zhu Su looked at the elder brother in the east and dusted off his clothes.
Among the many brothers, apart from Zhu Biao, the third brother is the most stable. If the second brother and the fourth brother were the same as him in the big hall in the past few months, the third brother was the one who helped them.
A few people wiping their butts. In the homework assigned by Master Xiyue, I copied a lot of the homework from the third brother.
When it comes to closeness, they are not inferior to Zhu Xi and Zhu Di.
"Hahaha, I have my second brother and my fourth brother to protect me. I think it's enough. If he stays in the capital, does he have anything more important to ask for?" He said that, and took out a broken brick from behind like a magic trick.
Come: "Let me see, Old Five, what is that?"
"That's not it..." Zhu Su picked up the broken brick and looked left and right, but he couldn't see any clues. Zhu Fan saw that his well-informed brother didn't even know, he looked proud and smiled.
He said: "That's a refractory brick! It's a good thing that my brother found only after he visited many places!"
"Refractory bricks?" Zhu Su was stunned. Only then did he realize that many of the blast furnaces used for experimental steelmaking had been dismantled by Zhu Fan's craftsmen.
"Could it be..."
"Not bad." Zhu Fan looked excited and excited. "After I left, he used the leg notes I left to investigate step by step why those blast furnaces were unable to produce good steel."
"Quchu discovered that the problem lies in the furnace temperature!"
"Furnace temperature?" Zhu Su's pupils trembled. Only then did he remember that the color of the molten iron refined in the blast furnace there seemed to be different from what he had seen in popular science in his previous life.
Is it because in the past he was more concerned about things like cement and glass that can get returns in the short term, and he didn't care much about long-term technical investment like steelmaking, so after setting up the blast furnace, he was more concerned about it.
, let the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry do their own research.
Therefore, I did not investigate in detail.
Of course, maybe it was because the steel-making blast furnace was dirty and hot, and I was used to being lazy. Deep down, I didn't want to go there to explore more. But I didn't expect that the third brother actually took my place and searched for steel-making but failed.
reason.
Seeing the dirt all over Zhu Fan's body, Zhu Su pursed his lips and punched the third brother's legs and arms with his fists.