Zhu Youxiao walked out holding Empress Zhang's hand and glanced at the ministers kneeling on the ground.
He walked up to Xu Guangqi and Bi Maokang, reached out his hand and gently helped Xu Guangqi, who was kneeling on the ground, to his feet, and said with a gentle smile, "My dear ministers, please don't be polite."
When everyone stood up, Zhu Youxiao calmly took Empress Zhang's hand again and said to Xu Guangqi with a smile, "My dear, are you free to come here today?"
"Your Majesty, I am on vacation today and have nothing to do at home, so I came to take a look at the Baigongyuan. It is also doing very well. Bi Maokang has done a great job and everything is in perfect order. I believe there will be results soon." Xu Guangqi said with a smile, his face full of satisfaction and appreciation.
Zhu Youxiao knew very well that Xu Guangqi always went to the Academy of Hundred Craftsmen, and he was happy to see it.
However, there is one thing that I need to care about, and that is Xu Guangqi's health.
You have to know that Xu Guangqi is not young anymore. He is busy with the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet all day long, and he also has to find time to go to the Academy of Hundred Craftsmen. Zhu Youxiao is really worried that Xu Guangqi will be unable to cope with both.
Zhu Youxiao then said with a look of concern and a hint of worry in his tone, "My dear, you should take care of your health. The affairs of state are complicated and I cannot do without you. You must take good care of yourself."
The news of Zhu Youxiao's reward to Shen Tingyun had spread throughout the court and the country, and Xu Guangqi naturally knew about it as well.
Hearing Zhu Youxiao's caring words, Xu Guangqi was slightly touched, and then smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I know this."
Zhu Youxiao nodded, then turned to look at Bi Maokang standing on the other side.
In front of Xu Guangqi, Bi Maokang had relatively little experience, a relatively low status, and his official position was not up to par, so he just stood obediently at the side and watched Xu Guangqi and Zhu Youxiao talk.
Of course, Bi Maokang also had an idea in his mind, that is, one day he would also speak to His Majesty like Xu Guangqi.
Bi Maokang would never have had such an idea before, because he knew that his abilities and qualifications were not up to par.
During such a long time in Baigong Academy, although Bi Maokang's qualifications were still not good enough, his abilities had been greatly developed.
At the same time, Bi Maokang also realized one thing, that is, his ability can push himself forward.
So Bi Maokang naturally came up with this idea.
"Take me to have a look!" Zhu Youxiao smiled gently and nodded to Bi Maokang.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Bi Maokang was delighted. After agreeing, he quickly turned around and led the way.
Zhu Youxiao held Empress Zhang's hand and walked through a courtyard full of various large tools. Suddenly, a very open square came into everyone's sight.
Bi Maokang pointed to some old traces on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, this used to be an ironworks."
Zhu Youxiao nodded.
Zhu Youxiao knew this place because it was the earliest production base established by the Academy of Craftsmen.
As a person from the future, Zhu Youxiao knew very well that industry, especially heavy industry, means everything is based on steel.
If steel production fails to meet standards, then nothing else matters. To put it in a broader sense, the materials industry supports other industries.
No matter how ingenious your design is, if you don’t have enough materials to support it, you can’t make it.
In the Ming Dynasty, steel was a very important industry.
In fact, at this time, the steel industry of the Ming Dynasty was already very developed. It was in the world's leading position in terms of both output and quality, especially output.
Maybe the refining of some fine steels is still not good enough, but in terms of the overall quality of steel, Ming Dynasty is definitely the best in the world.
For example, Damascus steel is definitely better than Ming Dynasty steel, but it is difficult to forge, has extremely high requirements for iron ore, and has very low output, so it is not worth using on a large scale.
Things like Damascus steel don't actually mean much to a country.
Of course, it will have specific functions at specific times, and things like Damascus steel also need to be developed, but not now.
Looking around, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "It looks like this place has been almost demolished."
"Your Majesty, the demolition is indeed almost complete. Everything that needs to be moved has been moved away. I have already asked people to select a site to build a new steel plant, and all of it will adopt the newly developed technology." Bi Maokang's eyes were full of hope, and he was eager to try.
Zhu Youxiao nodded, turned to look at Xu Guangqi on the side and asked, "Does the Ministry of Revenue have so much silver?"
You have to know that building a new steel plant requires a lot of money, and Zhu Youxiao is very clear about this.
From site selection to construction and then to production, each step requires money, and it is absolutely impossible without a large amount of financial investment.
The steelmaking method developed by the Hundred Craftsmen's Academy this time was actually the blast furnace of later generations. Of course, it was not as advanced as later generations, but just a crude blast furnace.
However, they will greatly improve the output and quality of steel. Zhu Youxiao did not see the specific technology, but it is definitely the technological crystallization of the entire Ming Dynasty. It concentrates all the high-end technologies in the steel industry, as well as the exclusive technology developed by the Baigong Academy itself.
Zhu Youxiao didn't know much about this aspect, but he had seen the data after production.
According to Bi Maokang's design, this will be a steel plant with an annual output of 50,000 tons.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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