The invention of the steam engine heralded the beginning of the First Industrial Revolution.

And this beginning has now appeared at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

This is simply a horror story.

The current Ming Dynasty has already stood at the top of the world in terms of economy.

Originally, due to Zhu Yuanzhang's ban on maritime trade, trade on the sea was not well developed. Although the official trade was also equivalent to a monopoly on the sea, in fact, the greater significance of the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade was to promote national prestige rather than economic trade.

A large amount of the economy on the sea is actually swallowed up by smuggling merchants.

During the Yongle period, during Zheng He's first few voyages to the West, the data on the surface often showed losses, which is hard to imagine.

This naturally has more to do with Zhu Di's love of face. In fact, although Zheng He's voyages to the West and overseas trade were extremely expensive, he also purchased a lot of rare items, especially spices from Western countries.

As a luxury item, spices played a huge role in Western trade and brought huge profits to the trade in the early Ming Dynasty.

It was just that at this time, Zhu Di's many expeditions to Mongolia caused the domestic economy to decline. In addition, due to the supply of the army and the conscription of soldiers, the local government had no way to deal with the slightest famine.

Military pay and salaries are also major expenses. Without increasing revenue, the national treasury could hardly support itself. Therefore, the imperial court could only issue more banknotes to quench its thirst, which also led to more serious inflation of banknotes.

Compared with what Zheng He brought back, the income and expenditure were completely unbalanced. After all, although Zheng He was good at sailing, as a eunuch who grew up in the palace, he had only a little exposure to business affairs, and he did not think of increasing income for the national treasury through sailing.

It’s not that Zheng He didn’t want to, but he didn’t realize how big the business opportunities were.

It was not until after several times and with experience gained that the voyages to the West began to become profitable.

For example, after Zheng He returned from his first voyage to the West in the fifth year of Yongle, the Ming Dynasty used a large amount of pepper and sumac as salary to pay officials and civilians, involving more than 200,000 people. After that, pepper and sumac were used as substitutes for banknotes to pay salaries to officials and soldiers many times.

This practice continued until the Chenghua period. Due to the influx of large amounts of pepper and sumac, the market price also fell and officials no longer bought into it, so this practice ended during the Chenghua period.

Later, when Zheng He sailed to the West, his income actually exceeded his expenditure. Logically, the court should have continued to carry out this policy.

No matter how much money is earned, it is still profitable, and it can also promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. Why not do it?

In fact, there is also the factor of lower-class people involved.

The period of Zhu Di was very different from that of Zhu Ying today. He still used the corvee system of previous dynasties.

In other words, the ships sailing to the West required labor and craftsmen to build them for free, wood was collected from the southwest and transported here through corvee labor, tea and silk were either taxed in kind or collected at a low price, and soldiers were all drawn from the garrisons.

This is equivalent to the imperial court constantly taking advantage of the lower-class labor force for free. The so-called huge expenses still lie in the tribute trade and Zhu Di's rewards to various countries.

Moreover, such freeloading is low-cost for the imperial court, but in fact it brings a huge burden to the lower-class people.

However, if it was just Zheng He's voyages to the West, it would not be a big deal for the Ming Dynasty.

As a result, while Zhu Di sent Zheng He to the West, he also had many other things going on.

The first of course was the six expeditions to Mongolia, the second was the relocation of the capital to Peking, and other actions similar to the voyages to the West included Li Da's expedition to the Western Regions, Hai Tong's expedition to Yibei, and Hou Xian's mission to the Western Regions.

The costs of the last three are not that high, but any one of the first three, if raised separately, would be enough to stir up the grassroots of the Ming Dynasty and shake the foundation of the country.

Unfortunately, each of these three cannot be accomplished in a short period of time.

This means that after Zhu Di became emperor after the Jingnan Campaign, he was doing almost all three of these things at the same time.

This period also included things like attacking Annan.

When Zhu Di was fighting Mongolia in the front, Zhu Gaochi was regulating the country in the rear, and he often quarreled with his ministers over a few dozen taels of silver.

The family fortune that Zhu Yuanzhang had saved up throughout his life was almost squandered by Zhu Di.

In addition to economic factors, there are also internal political factors of the Ming Dynasty.

Moving the capital and personally conquering Mongolia were all done by Zhu Di. With the prestige left by Zhu Di after he executed ten clans, although the court was not as afraid of Zhu Di as they were of Zhu Yuanzhang, they were mostly afraid of him. Occasionally, Zhu Di would say he would not read the occasional memorial, and the ministers would just talk big, which had little actual impact.

The key figure among them is Zheng He.

Zheng He, also known as the Sanbao eunuch, was the chief eunuch in the Ming Dynasty's inner court.

That would have been fine, but Zheng He led 28,000 people to the Western Ocean, which marked the beginning of eunuchs taking charge of diplomacy and military command.

In addition, eunuchs gradually gained control of the power to supervise the military, set up military bases, and spy on the secrets of subjects. All this started during the Yongle period.

The eunuchs' meddling in government affairs inevitably deprived the officials of their power, and the role and influence of the court officials began to decline. Under such circumstances, the court officials' boycott of Zheng He's voyages became a form of resistance to the eunuchs' meddling in government affairs.

I don’t care whether you make money or not, but you can’t affect my power.

The more successful Zheng He's voyages were, the more the emperor handed over power to the eunuchs.

Since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, there has been a high level of distrust of officials, and it is believed that anyone who seeks to become an official is corrupt.

Zhu Di was actually greatly influenced by Zhu Yuanzhang, and this was also true in all aspects of his actions.

And because the throne was not given by his father but snatched from his nephew, Zhu Di always felt uncomfortable. He was afraid that after his death, he would not be able to face his father in the underworld.

Zhu Yuanzhang's influence was so great that even when choosing his successor, it was because of a dream that he dreamt of Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the dream, Zhu Yuanzhang handed Zhu Di a large jade tablet and said to him: "Pass it on to your descendants, and they will prosper forever!"

Zhu Di in the dream was so frightened that he took the big jade tablet tremblingly.

After waking up from the dream, Zhu Di told Empress Xu the whole dream.

As the daughter of Xu Da, a famous general in the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Empress Xu had been familiar with classics and history since childhood and had her own unique understanding of things. She quickly expressed her understanding of this dream: "It is a good omen for descendants!"

It was at this time that the good news came: Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi's wife Zhang gave birth to a son.

This child is Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Di’s eldest son and grandson.

Zhu Di, who originally disliked the crown prince Zhu Gaochi, delayed appointing a crown prince after he ascended the throne. It was because of this incident that Zhu Gaochi was decided to be the crown prince.

Zheng He's voyages to the West continued, and although there were reports submitted during the Yongle period, it was of no avail.

After Zhu Di passed away and Zhu Gaochi ascended to the throne, the ministers became more and more angry about attacking Zheng He's voyage to the west.

In secret, Zheng He's voyages to the West also dealt a heavy blow to smuggling merchants.

After all, the policy of maritime ban has always been in place, and the trade profits of smuggling merchants are huge. Zheng He's fleet can be said to be the overlord of the sea. How can these smuggling ships compete with it?

Not only the fleet, the court's attention also gradually shifted to the sea, and the crackdown on smuggling merchants was intensified in many aspects. Zhu Di's creation of the Jinyiwei played a role in this.

After Zhu Di passed away, Zhu Gaochi was naturally not as strong as his father Zhu Di. He had always been hit by Zhu Di during his growth.

However, Zheng He is of great significance.

Especially since Zhu Gaochi died less than a year after he ascended the throne, this put a lot of pressure on Zhu Zhanji.

Zheng He is very crucial.

Many people only see Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, but ignore his identity.

When Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, Zheng He could be regarded as a veteran of three dynasties, and since Zhu Di ascended the throne after the Jingnan Rebellion, he had been the head of all officials.

Coupled with Zhu Di's distrust of officials and eunuchs' interference in politics, Zheng He had become the most powerful eunuch in the Ming Dynasty at this time.

Even the ministers of the six ministries had to be respectful in front of Zheng He.

In fact, during the Ming Dynasty, although the eunuchs were corrupt, their loyalty to the emperor was unquestionable. Even Wei Zhongxian, who was despised by everyone in later generations, was very loyal to the emperor.

Although Wei Zhongxian was greedy, he knew that his power came from the emperor, so at least he would not covet military pay for the border troops.

Zheng He was also loyal to Zhu Zhanji.

Therefore, Zheng He contributed a lot to the consolidation of Zhu Zhanji's power.

At the same time, Zheng He was also a major concern for the civil officials, but they were unable to fight him for the time being.

During Zheng He's seventh voyage to the West, Zhu Zhanji encountered great resistance, but he was still able to carry it out.

But after Zheng He died of illness on the way, it became difficult to carry out the eighth mission.

In fact, even at this time, the imperial power still had great ruling power. At least in the court, Zhu Zhanji had the final say.

But just two years after Zheng He's death, Zhu Zhanji also died.

This made the Ming Dynasty imperial power somewhat embarrassed, as Zhu Qizhen was only nine years old when he ascended the throne.

The ruler was young and the country was in doubt. The imperial power of the Ming Dynasty began to decline from this time on.

And the group of civil officials naturally rose up with the trend.

Zhu Ying is different.

First of all, when he came to the Ming Dynasty, he was a businessman and a smuggler.

At the same time, with the benefits of his previous life, he pays more attention to reality rather than empty talk.

Unlike Zheng He's voyage to the West, Li Jinglong's voyage was due to political factors, but Zhu Ying didn't care.

What he wants is money.

A large amount of cargo was prepared when we set out.

If the Ming Dynasty was the manufacturer, then Champa, Cambodia and Siam along the coast were the wholesalers.

Foreign businessmen who come to Siam are considered dealers.

Places like Europe and Central Asia are naturally retailers.

When Li Jinglong sailed to the West, he brought the most luxury goods with him, and his goal was to cut out the middlemen and make a profit from the price difference.

Zhu Ying’s request was very simple: when you, Duke Cao, lead a team to sail to the West, making money is the first priority.

This does not include Zheng He's cheap cost, but includes labor and materials.

Don’t worry about how much you earn. If you lose money, you will be punished.

On the contrary, earning a lot is also a credit.

No matter what, Li Jinglong brought so many troops to the West, even if his primary concern was to make money, it was also a promotion of the majesty of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, the economy of the Ming Dynasty has begun to move towards high prosperity.

It is said that those who are favored are fearless.

Zhu Yuanzhang would kill corrupt officials, while Zhu Yingtai would fleece the businessmen.

It's like I've been caught in the rain, so I want to tear up other people's umbrellas.

Zhu Ying certainly would not deal with small traders. He only dealt with big merchants who were backed by aristocratic families.

Seize military power, carry out reforms, build factories, distribute shares, etc.

These methods were nothing in his previous life. Perhaps if other people were in Zhu Ying's position, they could do better than him.

A big trap was used to trap the wealthy and powerful merchants.

The wool will always be plucked out, so Zhu Ying promoted the opening of the sea, allowing merchants to earn money on the sea. He also asked the Ming navy to escort the merchants, and he himself participated in it, such as the Ming Ocean Trade Chamber of Commerce.

He relaxed the so-called big country style and began to reduce tribute trade with various countries.

Tribute trade might have the effect of stabilizing the border, such as the influence of the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Ying didn't care.

For example, if you are Champa or Zhenla, what can you do if I just don’t give you any preferential treatment in tribute trade? I just don’t give you large rewards, can you still attack my Ming Dynasty?

The only exception is the Northern Yuan Dynasty, after all, that place was really poor.

Specialties such as beef, mutton, and furs look good, but the economic benefits they actually generate are really just that for the entire Ming Dynasty.

The only resource that can be utilized is human resources.

Therefore, Zhu Ying set up the Northern Yuan Mercenary Association in order to stabilize these guys from the grasslands and stop them from always taking advantage of the situation and affecting the border of the Ming Dynasty, causing wars to break out at every turn in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the Beiyuan Mercenary Association has cost the national treasury a lot of money. From another perspective, it is equivalent to fattening the grassland.

In fact, some ministers had already reported that the Northern Yuan Dynasty was a real threat. Being so powerful, if it turned against the Ming Dynasty, it would be like raising a tiger to harm itself.

However, neither the grandfather nor the grandson adopted this suggestion.

Zhu Ying is confident that on the basis of simultaneous development, he will leave the grassland far behind.

Just like the steam ironclad ships of today.

This thing cannot sail long distances at present, but it is an absolute deterrent to countries in the maritime area.

The role of the steam engine is not only reflected in the military.

For industrial development, it is also a qualitative improvement and a leap forward.

The transition from manual production to machine production means that Ming Dynasty’s productivity has increased dozens of times from its original level.

In addition to steam ironclad ships, steam locomotives can also be truly built.

Not to mention the railway lines opened throughout the Ming Dynasty, just open the line from Nanjing to the border.

With the transportation capacity of steam locomotives, you, the Northern Yuan Dynasty, are nothing to you.

The most terrifying thing about steam locomotives is the speed at which they can transport troops.

Even today's crappy steam engines have a power far beyond that of horsepower.

The most important thing is that it can run in different stages for twelve hours.

Zhu Ying originally wanted to build a railway, but unfortunately it ended up in nothing.

And now, the steam engine, it's here!

According to later calculations, the speed of a steam locomotive was approximately 60 to 80 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to 120 miles per hour according to the Ming Dynasty algorithm.

From Nanjing to the border, it is about 2,400 miles.

A steam train can travel more than 1,400 miles in twelve hours.

This means that in less than two days, the steam locomotive can transport the army directly to the border to fight.

Even if the steam fails or some minor malfunctions occur, three days is enough for sure.

Of course, if a large amount of baggage is loaded, it may be slower and the speed cannot be increased, but this speed is also ahead of its time.

This means that the Ming Dynasty court's control over local areas will be greatly strengthened.

In reality there will be some discrepancies.

With the current industrial base of the Ming Dynasty, it is naturally impossible to build railways across mountains and rivers, but it doesn't matter much.

These sections of road can be worked on directly by manpower. The soldiers are idle on the train anyway, so the worst that can happen is that a few more sections of road can be built.

It is currently somewhat difficult for the Ming Dynasty to accomplish all of these.

Among them, the scarcity of iron ore is a big problem.

It’s not that there are few iron ore mines in the Central Plains, but that iron ore mines in the Central Plains have been vigorously mined since ancient times, resulting in the fact that the mineral deposits in most places are now very scarce, and most of the easy ones have been mined.

This is also why the first thing Zhu Ying wanted to do was to build a steam-powered ironclad ship.

The advent of steam-powered ironclad ships meant that sea distances were shortened and transportation capacity was increased, which enabled the transportation of iron ore from coastal and island countries to the Ming Dynasty.

"If I remember correctly, Japan has the most silver mines, and Australia has the most iron mines?"

After returning from shipbuilding, Zhu Ying began to think about iron ore.

Since it was the Age of Discovery and the advent of the steam age, iron ore became a top priority during the industrial revolution.

"It's just that Australia is now a completely deserted island. If the imperial court were to develop it, it would be too difficult."

Australia's geography sucks and as a whole is not suitable for large-scale colonization at all.

The north of Australia faces the Ming Dynasty, which is all desert and tropical savannah.

For the Ming Dynasty, if I want a desert, I have it in the Western Regions. If I want a rainforest, I can go to Vietnam. Why bother going to Australia?

If they land in Australia from East Asia, what awaits them is either the desert of Western Australia or the rainforest of Northern Australia.

For the Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants, going to Africa is worse than going to Australia.

The length of a distance is not measured in terms of geographical length but in terms of sailing time.

To go to Africa, there are mature routes and complete technologies. Sometimes you can take the trade winds to Southeast Asia, sometimes you can take the monsoon to India, and then to Africa. This route has been traveled by countless people and is very convenient.

Going to Australia is much more troublesome, as it is a new route.

As for the current air routes, they are all built on the basis of countless predecessors' explorations at the cost of their lives. It is not so easy to open up a new air route.

What's more, Australia today is not even a tribal civilization, but a completely primitive society.

Men and women are different in appearance, they do not weave or wear clothes, and cover their bodies with bird feathers. They eat no fire or smoke, but only eat raw meat and drink blood, and live in nests in caves.

Zhu Ying wanted to obtain the iron ore in Australia, but it would be difficult to achieve given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty court.

"It seems that we can only rely on external forces."

After much thought, Zhu Ying actually came up with a solution that was not a solution.

Naturally, the Ming Dynasty was reluctant to let its people develop Australia.

But what if it was a Kunlun slave?

Although Australia is not suitable for rice, wheat and sorghum can still be grown. There are also relatively abundant grasslands, so animal husbandry can also be developed.

In fact, Zhu Ying was too lazy to think about these issues in detail. Australia had developed in later generations anyway, and they would always be able to grow some food.

He was already annoyed by the Kunlun slaves in the Ming Dynasty, and now he had a good place to go.

Even if it does not bring much benefit in a short period of time, after ten or eight years, when the mining technology is spread, high-quality iron ore will naturally come in abundance.