The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 130 Prelude to Industrialization
Zhang Zhou's words displeased the Empress Dowager Zhou.

On the other hand, Empress Zhang looked over with a somewhat puzzled look, apparently she did not expect that Zhang Zhou would stand on the same ground as her.

With Zhang Zhou's words as an introduction, Zhu Youtang immediately gained confidence, and said: "Grandmother, you don't need to say too much about the talents of Lin's daughters, you shouldn't disturb the mood of the emperor's grandmother today because of these mundane things. .The grandson brought the queen and the prince here today just to have a meal with you."

"Let Bingkuan stay too." The Queen Mother Zhou suggested.

Zhang Zhou got up and said: "I have other things to do, so I don't want to disturb you. Thank you, the Empress Dowager, for your kindness. I will take my leave first."

Zhu Youtang gave Zhang Zhou a wink, probably to remind Zhang Zhou to follow what he said before.

……

……

Zhang Zhou came out of Qingning Palace and did not leave the palace, but followed Xiao Jing to Qianqing Palace first.

Zhu Youtang invited him to enter the palace this time, and another intention was to ask him to see the Fengshui of Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace.

The emperor admired Taoism too much, and now he didn't want to entrust his affairs to outsiders, so he had to let Zhang Zhou come.

"Mr. Zhang, did you understand what the Empress Dowager said earlier?"

Xiao Jing accompanied Zhang Zhou, and seemed to be asking questions on the way.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Eunuch Xiao should understand better than me, the Empress Dowager wants Your Majesty to accept a concubine, right?"

Xiao Jing smiled, and asked: "What do you think of that girl from the Lin family?"

Zhang Zhou thought to himself, I have said that it may involve the old lady giving her grandson a concubine, you dare to continue asking, you are not timid.

"If Eunuch Xiao is asking His Majesty about the candidate for a concubine, I don't think she is suitable." Zhang Zhou gave another very direct answer.

Xiao Jing asked in surprise: "Why?"

Apparently in Xiao Jing's mind, Lin Yi came from a famous family, knowledgeable and good-looking, and now she is even good at poetry, she should be a man's dream marriage partner, how could she not be suitable for entering the palace?
Zhang Zhoudao: "Eunuch Xiao, are you curious yourself, or asking for someone else?"

"Ah? This...Mr. Zhang, don't misunderstand, it's just that our family wants to ask, and our family will not disclose it to anyone..."

Xiao Jing also saw cold sweat on his head.

Previously, he always felt that he was the one who was close to the emperor, and that Zhang Zhou should be on guard against revealing the matter to the emperor or the people in the palace.

Now he realized that some of the topics discussed with Zhang Zhou might instead be told to the emperor by Zhang Zhou.

Let him Xiao Jing can't eat and walk around.

One moment this moment.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Whether your majesty wants to accept a concubine, and who you want to accept as a concubine, it has nothing to do with me, and I will not speak rashly. Eunuch Xiao, don't worry!"

Doesn't Zhang Zhou know what kind of person Zhu Youtang likes?

Of course he knew.

A lady like Lin Yi, who is also somewhat bookish, will not take advantage of Zhu Youtang's wishes.

In Zhang Zhou's view, Zhu Youtang's favorite should be the kind of Taoist nun who can do "magic" and knows astronomy and geography, especially when it comes to talking about Taoist affairs, and can have a fasting ceremony or retreat if there is nothing to do. Cultivate, bring the emperor in to practice together, and then...

Make up your own brain.

Zhang Zhou knew he couldn't tell anyone about this kind of thing.

He knows that achieving this condition is a bit nonsense, but it is the most effective method.

Anyway, no one asked Zhu Youtang to accept the concubine right now. Zhang Zhou felt that this was not the focus of his focus at the moment. Zhu Youtang couldn't do it himself, so it was useless to give him ten nuns.

……

……

after lunch.

Zhu Youtang bid farewell to his wife and children and went back to their palaces. Zhu Youtang rushed to Qianqing Palace by himself.

When Zhu Youtang arrived, Zhang Zhou had already been waiting in Qianqing Palace for half an hour.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Zhou stood up.

Zhu Youtang said apologetically: "I didn't let you have dinner in Qingning Palace today, so I've neglected you, but after all, I'm sharing the table with the emperor's grandmother. If it's just me, the queen and the prince, I don't have so many worries."

Listening to Zhang Zhou, it means that I can still have dinner with your family in the future?
forget it!
I feel very honored that you alone gave me food.

"Your Majesty is serious." Zhang Zhou said, "I have read about the terrain of Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace, etc., and made some arrangements, and handed it over to Eunuch Xiao."

Zhu Youtang asked, "Is there any problem?"

Zhang Zhou said: "I don't see any problem."

"That's good." Zhu Youtang probably wanted to buy some peace of mind, "I've been feeling restless recently, thinking that something will happen, if you say it's okay, I can sleep peacefully."

Zhang Zhouxin said, what I said can be taken as a reassurance for the emperor.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, when I entered the palace earlier, I asked Eunuch Xiao to bring some things."

Zhu Youtang took Zhang Zhou together to watch the Empress Dowager move to the palace, and didn't look at the things Zhang Zhou brought. At this time, he was thinking, and then asked Xiao Jing to bring the things up.

But it was steel smelted by Zhang Zhougang.

"What is this?" Zhu Youtang wanted to pick it up, but found it was very heavy.

Xiao Jing said with a smile: "Your Majesty, this is iron, in fact, it is a hundred-smelting steel, but Mr. Zhang formed it in a furnace at one time. It is said that some things are added in it, and the weapon is very tough after being made."

Zhu Youtang said: "Then why don't you show me the formed weapon?"

After asking this question, and looking at the awkward smile on Xiao Jing's face, Zhu Youtang immediately understood.

He didn't have any precautions against Zhang Zhou in his heart, but if Zhang Zhou didn't bring cast iron, but just brought a knife... then Zhang Zhou must have been captured by the palace guards long ago, and it would be easy to put him in prison, and it would be easy to move his head. Not impossible.

"Bingkuan, did you find a new way to make iron?" Zhu Youtang asked with a smile.

Zhang Zhou cupped his hands and said, "Return to Your Majesty, that's exactly the case. Using a furnace to smelt iron has a higher yield. If it is used to forge swords, spears, and arrow points, the effect will be even better."

Zhu Youtang said: "Then you can start to build a batch and ask the people from the Ministry of War's Arsenal to cooperate with you."

Xiao Jing reminded: "Your Majesty, this servant also asked Mr. Zhang about this. He said that if it is necessary to use a furnace to smelt steel, it is difficult to do it with the charcoal and coal currently available in the market. It must be... Only one kind of charcoal."

Large-scale iron and steel smelting naturally requires coke.

As long as the temperature of the furnace can be increased, ordinary furnaces can also be used, and some iron objects can even be returned to the furnace for remaking.

The problem is that although coal has been used for ironmaking since the Song Dynasty, the utilization rate of coal was still not high until the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty.

It lies in the difficulty of mining.

Just like what is burned in the palace, it is red Luo charcoal, which is a kind of charcoal. When coal is burned, it is more likely to produce carbon monoxide due to insufficient combustion, and low-quality coal also produces a lot of poisonous gas.

Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "Bingkuan, what do you want?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "I heard that there have always been coal mines in Xishan and other places. I want to open a coal mine in Xishan as well."

"I'm afraid it's not right."

Zhu Youtang hesitated.

The mining of coal in Xishan has always been done by some nobles, and the imperial court has not participated in it.

The Ming Dynasty has always been very cautious about mining mineral deposits, even the emperor would not dare to violate the principle easily... Otherwise, there would not be a situation where Wanli opened mines and taxed them all the way and was dissed by officials all the way.

Xiao Jing smiled and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang has also thought about this point. He said that mining should not be done near the imperial mausoleum, and the other is to avoid existing coal mines and try to mine in deep mountains and old forests. In the name of the imperial court, at most it wants Dongchang to pay attention."

When Zhu Youtang heard that it was not necessary to do it in the name of the court, he felt that he would not encounter too much resistance.

otherwise……

The spitting stars of those officials in the court can drown him.

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "Tell Xiao Jing how much manpower and material resources are needed."

Zhang Zhou cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the manpower and material resources can be found by the minister. The minister does not need anything from the court, but only needs the support of His Majesty. The coal produced will not be retained by the minister, and will be used by the court."

"How can this be done?" Zhu Youtang heard that, isn't this a disadvantage for Bingkuan who I trust?

Xiao Jingdao: "Your Majesty, there have always been people who opened coal mines in Xishan, and they were basically princes and nobles in the capital. Based on Mr. Zhang's understanding of Feng Shui, I believe that he can quickly find the mine veins, but I'm afraid..."

Zhu Youtang thought for a while, nodded and said, "Is it because you are afraid that others will see that this coal mine produces a lot and cause trouble?"

"En." Xiao Jing nodded, "Yes."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "I never thought that Bingkuan's ability could be used in this area. If you are dedicated to serving the court, how could I not agree? But I will try my best not to show up. What happened to you?" , Dongchang and Jinyiwei will settle things for you, and if you produce good quality charcoal, I will let the imperial court purchase it. The position of Admiral Yizhou Mountain Factory has not yet been decided, right?"

Xiao Jing replied: "Yes, after Lin Feng, the right servant of the Ministry of Industry, became an official, there has been a vacancy for this position."

Zhu Youtang said: "Then according to the previous proposal of the imperial court, Chen Wan, the censor of Youqiandu, will be transferred to be the right servant of the Ministry of Industry, and the admiral of Yizhou Mountain Factory. Bingkuan, if there is anything inconvenient, Tell Chen Wan directly that this talent is quite knowledgeable and reliable in his work."

Zhang Zhou originally intended to ask about opening a coal mine, but he didn't expect the emperor to directly arrange for an admiral, Yizhou Mountain Factory, to cooperate with him...Although this was just a normal appointment and dismissal of officials by the court, Zhang Zhou didn't expect the emperor to attach so much importance to it.

Zhang Zhou cupped his hands and said, "I will do my best."

"Okay, do you have anything else to do?" Zhu Youtang was afraid that this arrangement would not be enough.

Zhang Zhoudao: "I also want to transfer some craftsmen from all over the capital to cooperate with the iron smelting."

Zhu Youtang nodded.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Your Majesty, I would also like to ask that some craftsmen can leave their households. It is not to change the rules and regulations, but to use it as an encouragement. Whoever can make contributions to technological breakthroughs can change their households. For the imperial court, there is no need to use corvees to complete it. I have no selfish intentions in doing all this."

From contract workers to contract workers.

Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Even if you have selfish intentions, it's okay. In fact, I also know that the court has always been a little harsh on craftsmen. If they can really help you, it's okay if you sell them favors. I don't care about that." Let Dongchang handle it at its discretion."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhang Zhou felt that he hadn't passed the Jinshi exam yet, so he was a little bit about to start the Industrial Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)