Lime is a valuable material that has been used for a very long time. It is said that its use dates back to the 7th century BC. Besides its wide application in civil engineering, it is also used in medicine in China.

Although lime is good, Zhu Yunying was not very satisfied with it. He preferred to see cement, which would be more suitable.

As for what exactly cement is, Zhu Yunying believed he could probably give a general explanation. For example, it seemed to be similar to lime, but these things also required the addition of water, clay, and so on.

Furthermore, Zhu Yunying felt that these substances were very similar to a mixture of lime and volcanic ash. However, they could bind crushed stone, and after hardening, they were very strong and extremely hard.

Emperor Ying Shi was very clever and had many ideas, a fact known to everyone in the Ministry of Works. Even when the current emperor was still the crown prince, he was already causing trouble for the shipyard workers. When overseeing the construction of Beiping, he used his position for personal gain to create a Ministry of Works Academy, which was filled with skilled craftsmen and master craftsmen.

It doesn't matter if many people haven't read books or can't explain things clearly; just let some educated people go over there, talk to the craftsmen, and record their insights or ancestral experiences.

Or, according to the decree of the then Crown Prince, a large number of elite troops and generals were gathered to overcome some difficult challenges.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's firearms have been improved. Now, they are constantly replacing arquebuses and cannons, because even the current cannons and arquebuses can still explode. But it is much better than before, and there are many tests. The length of time a cannon barrel can be used under normal conditions and how many times it can be fired are all recorded.

Gunpowder was also being improved; it was no longer just used for alchemy or setting off firecrackers.

The black powder, made from a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal powder, is well-known to many. The "Wujing Zongyao" (Complete Essentials of Military Classics) from the Northern Song Dynasty records three gunpowder formulas, which were continuously improved to achieve effects such as flammability, explosiveness, poison release, and smoke screen creation.

The Ming Dynasty now possesses a sufficient number of firearms, including the 'ignition device' Your Majesty mentioned, which allows bullets to be fired simply by pulling the trigger. Such firearms are more convenient, eliminating the need to light a fuse.

However, the manufacturing process of such 'flintlock guns' is relatively complex, so the cost is relatively high, and they can only be equipped by a few elite troops such as the Shenji Battalion. Re-equipping them is not something that can be done overnight.

Even those things called hand grenades are only issued to elite troops. There are even people researching 'rocket' now, or rather, improving rockets.

In other words, the "One-Nest Bee" could fire thirty-two arrows. Zhu Yunying wasn't so arrogant as to believe that the "One-Nest Bee" was created under his guidance. In fact, Zhu Di used the "One-Nest Bee" during the Jingnan Campaign at the Baigou River.

It can only be said that the Ming Dynasty's firearms were in a period of vigorous development, whether it was tubular muskets, cannons that had appeared in history, continuously improved rockets, or grenades, which were becoming increasingly powerful.

These are all valuable items, which Zhu Yunying valued highly, and the old Zhu, who was skilled in firearms, also valued them even more.

In Beiping (Beijing) and Yingtianfu (Nanjing), many people's outhouses are frequently "visited" by certain individuals. This is because the Crown Prince once mentioned that the stones in the outhouses contained saltpeter, a valuable ingredient for making gunpowder.

Things that are dirty, smelly, or disgusting are not for Zhu Yunying to do, and many craftsmen don't need to care about such things either. Naturally, someone will provide the raw materials; in fact, it doesn't necessarily have to rely on those outhouses. After all, China is a vast country with abundant resources, and things like saltpeter are relatively plentiful. The saying "first sulfur, second saltpeter, third charcoal" is something that was mentioned in textbooks.

However, this was black powder, and Joo Yun-young was not very satisfied. What he wanted to see was 'modern explosives,' also known as 'yellow powder,' such as trinitrophenol and nitroglycerin, which Joo Yun-young himself could not explain clearly and could not manufacture.

After all, scientific progress requires accumulation. Zhu Yunying couldn't master all the technologies at once; he could only tackle them slowly and accumulate knowledge gradually at this stage.

In a fairly good mood, Zhu Yunying flipped through some reports from the Ministry of Works and looked at some records. Overall, he was quite satisfied.

China has historically placed great emphasis on the humanities, and its science and technology were indeed quite advanced, far ahead of other countries and civilizations of the same period.

However, it must be acknowledged that more emphasis was placed on the humanities. While there was some investment in the sciences, they generally lacked a systematic training program and a comprehensive scientific framework, which was something Zhu Yunying was not entirely satisfied with.

The construction and development of the Engineering College can be considered a good pilot project, and Zhu Yunying wants to make some people understand these principles. He is now establishing a new school, beginning to value science students, and starting to cultivate these science students 'scientifically' to advance basic science.

There are some promising talents now, who may grow into towering trees in the future. What he needs are not just seeds of scholars who can read the Four Books and Five Classics, including these "science students." What he needs to build is a scientific system that can be passed down and continuously improved.

While Zhu Yunying was reviewing the memorials, the old Zhu was happily strolling around Yingtian Prefecture with his great-grandson.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, traveling incognito was a pleasure. Although he was still restless after abdicating, he occasionally had some free time to leave the capital and wander around, which was a pleasure for him.

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