Chapter 155: Successful Blast Furnace Steelmaking
It was Zhu Yuanzhang who wanted to fight the war. The Ministry of Revenue only had so much money. If it all went to waste, it would be unreasonable for Zhu Yuanzhang to cause trouble for him.
After discussing the war, Lao Zhu went to the harem with a depressed look on his face.
When Empress Ma saw Old Zhu coming in with a gloomy look on his face, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?"
Old Zhu sat down and drank three large glasses of water in a row before telling the queen about the impending invasion of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Empress Ma and Zhu Yuanzhang were used to fighting wars, so when they heard about the war, they seemed relatively calm and asked questions directly to the point.
"Then it seems the treasury will be empty this time. However, the Ministry of Works may be even more troublesome. How does Your Majesty intend to deal with this?"
After hearing Empress Ma's pointed question, Zhu Yuanzhang had an even greater headache. He did not hide anything from Empress Ma.
"What else can we do? I hope Qin Kui can make it in time. As for the rest, we can only leave it to fate."
On the second day, at the Baochao Tizhusi, Zhu Chong looked at the newly refined steel bars and knocked on them a few times.
When he heard the crisp sound coming from the steel bars, Zhu Chong showed a satisfied smile on his face. It seemed that his blast furnace steelmaking was successful. The next step was to wait for mass production.
"Sir, what do you think of this steel? Are you satisfied?" Old Liu followed behind Zhu Chong, waiting eagerly for Zhu Chong to speak.
"That's right." Zhu Chong nodded. "Old Liu, you've done a great deed this time. After we start mass production, I'll ask His Majesty for a reward for you!"
"Oh, I dare not!" When Old Liu heard that Zhu Chong wanted to ask Old Zhu for a reward, he was frightened, but he smiled widely and said compliments to Zhu Chong as if they were free.
"It's all thanks to your wise guidance, sir. You really are the God of Literature descended to earth. You can even come up with this idea of steelmaking. This old man and the brothers working below have all learned a lot. Hahahaha..."
Although Old Liu meant this to compliment Zhu Chong, it was basically true. At that time, no craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty could have imagined that steelmaking could be done in this way. No one had thought that so much steel could be successfully refined in such a short time!
Everyone's eyes were wide open as they watched the molten steel pouring out of the blast furnace like water and then being poured into various molds to make all kinds of objects.
"Yes, yes." A blacksmith said to Zhu Chong with emotion, "With your method of steelmaking, we blacksmiths may no longer need to use our skills."
"Not really." Zhu Chong laughed. "Your skills are still useful, and very useful. Don't underestimate yourselves. The Treasury Department will have to rely on you in the future!"
Zhu Chong's words were not meant to comfort anyone, but were the truth. With the increase in steel production, skilled craftsmen will be more valued than ever before. After all, only they can complete the fine processing of steel.
"Old Liu, I told you, when will those steel rails be ready?" Zhu Chong then asked another question.
"Your Excellency, I just did some calculations recently, and since steel isn't in mass production yet, it might take another four or five days."
Because Old Liu has already learned most of Zhu Chong's method of refining steel in the blast furnace, according to estimates, the blast furnace can produce about 10,000 kilograms of steel a day.
If we work non-stop all day long, we will definitely be able to complete the 1,000 steel rails that Zhu Chong wants within four days.
"Don't be so anxious. You can't work at night here. You can only work during the day." Zhu Chong waved his hand and said, "Working at night is prone to accidents, and if an accident occurs, people may die. Eight days, eight days should be enough, right?"
"Enough, enough, six days is enough!" When Old Liu heard that Zhu Chong took the initiative to double his time, he was so moved that he almost burst into tears.
Only Zhu Chong, who had worked in the Baochao Tizhusi for such a long time, would care so much about the safety of the craftsmen.
If this had happened in the past, if they had not shortened the time and were able to complete it in two days, we would have been lucky!
But for Zhu Chong, it is a routine operation. These craftsmen in front of him are his treasures. He cannot torture them to death, as that would be like draining the pond to catch fish.
"While the rails are being made, we also need to start working on the roadbed at the coal mine. It's all manual labor. If you need to spend money to hire more people, just tell Zhang Quan directly. He doesn't have the money."
Zhu Chong waved his hand generously. He was now waiting for the coal from the coal mine to be transported to Yingtian Prefecture in an endless stream, turned into silver, and fall into his pocket.
Although he knew that most of the money would definitely go into Zhu Yuanzhang's pocket, Zhu Chong was satisfied to be able to share some benefits with Zhu Yuanzhang.
But what Zhu Chong didn't know was that what was happening on his side had already fallen into Old Zhu's ears.
In Yingtian Prefecture, in the imperial palace, in the imperial study, when Old Zhu heard the news Mao Xiang gave him, his eyes almost popped out.
"Is everything above true? Has he been doing this recently?" Old Zhu's eyes were full of murderous intent.
"I have verified it through many sources and confirmed that it is correct." Mao Xiang answered fearfully.
"You bastard, you deserve to die!" Old Zhu slammed the dragon table, stood up suddenly, and his whole body was filled with murderous aura, as if he was ready to devour anyone.
He had been extremely worried about the preparations for the war in the north these days. The situation in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue had made it almost impossible for him to sleep well.
Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang thought that Zhu Chong would speed up the printing of treasure notes after receiving the news. However, the latest news he received from Mao Xiang was that Zhu Chong's treasure note promotion office had actually built a furnace and produced a lot of steel.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Zhu Chong was not doing his job properly. He was already worried about state affairs, but Zhu Chong still had the time to take care of the Ministry of Works. How could Zhu Yuanzhang not be angry?
"Come here, prepare your carriage and go to the Treasury!" Old Zhu gave an order and was about to leave. After thinking for a moment, he shouted to the eunuch, "Go to the Ministry of Works and pass on my oral order. Send Qin Kui as well!"
As luck would have it, when Zhu Yuanzhang got angry and was about to go to the Baochao Tizhusi, Zhu Chong felt that he was fine and was about to go home for a good sleep.
As a result, just as he reached the gate of his yard, Zhang Quan came riding at full speed, looking anxious, and pulled him out.
"Sir, something terrible has happened. His Majesty has arrived at the Treasury and Banknotes Administration and seems very unhappy."
"What?" Zhu Chong's heart skipped a beat. As he hurried on, he thought about his recent actions. It seemed like he hadn't done anything to displease Old Zhu. So, what was this surprise inspection about?
Confused, Zhu Chong returned to the Baochao Tizhusi. When he saw Old Zhu, he was shocked by his long face and quickly stepped forward to kneel down.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"
Old Zhu was no longer angry at this time, but when he saw Zhu Chong, he was still furious.
"Zhu Chong, why did we ask you to come to the Baochao Tizhusi? Tell us!"
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