Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 444 The Steel Torrent, a Giant Beast of the New Era!
Zhu Yunwen understood a principle well: imperial power, though supreme, is as fragile as thin ice, only ten steps away.

No matter how powerful you are or how wealthy you are, if your close attendants harbor evil intentions, you will face an unpredictable and devastating disaster.

Therefore, he never easily punished the guards around him, and he was kind and benevolent.

If a guard acts inappropriately, he will not react on the spot, but will gently send him back to his original department.

Where you come from, you will return to.

Once they return to their original locations, any necessary punishments will be handled by their original departments in an orderly manner, combining both leniency and severity.

The establishment of this extraction method was based on such considerations.

A deeper reason is that Zhu Yunwen dared not entrust his life and fortune entirely to any single power.

The way of an emperor lies in balance; matters of life and death should never be lightly entrusted to others.

By having the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Ministry of Justice, and the New Army check and balance each other, with the Tian Shu Division acting as the central coordinator, absolute safety can be ensured.

After the establishment of the Tian Shu Si, in addition to protecting the emperor's travels, it also shouldered another important task, namely, "protecting" important officials in the court.

Zhu Yunwen issued an imperial edict to demonstrate the emperor's boundless grace.

All important political officials, military officials, key central government officials, ministers of various ministries, as well as governors and inspectors dispatched to other regions, and even generals leading troops, were all protected by elite guards dispatched by the Tian Shu Si (Heavenly Pivot Office) to ensure their safety.

This was both a gift from the emperor and an unparalleled honor, so the ministers had no reason to refuse.

These guards rotate every so often, returning to the Tian Shu Division to report on their duties, and a new batch of guards takes over their posts.

When reporting on their duties, they would naturally describe in detail how they carried out their work to the Tian Shu Si, and also report on the daily life, words and deeds of the officials they were protecting.

This is another layer of meaning behind Zhu Yunwen's words.

Under the guise of protection, they actually harbored spies, both to reassure the ministers and to monitor their actions—a double benefit.

Thanks to the meticulous preparations of the Tian Shu Division, Zhu Yunwen was no longer hindered from leaving the palace. His accompanying guards were well-trained and well-organized, making his journey much smoother than before.

These days, he goes out to "inspect" every three to five days.

Of course, due to limited transportation conditions, he could not stay away from the central government for too long, and mostly wandered around within the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture, doing what he could see.

Today, he arrived at the Yangtze River wharf in Yingtian Prefecture.

Standing on the high ground of the dock and looking into the distance, the ten-mile-long riverbank presents a prosperous scene.

On the river, thousands of sails raced against each other, masts stood like a forest, and waves surged; on the shore, boats came and went in an endless stream, some had just anchored and moored, while others were setting sail.

Countless craftsmen and porters bustled about the docks, carrying heavy loads on their shoulders and backs, unloading heavy goods and loading new supplies. Sweat dripped down their faces, and shouts rose and fell, creating a bustling and prosperous scene.

Looking around, a uniquely shaped ship came into view.

Its towering chimneys spewed out billowing blue smoke, like the breath of a giant beast. As it sailed, it cleaved through the waves, its speed far exceeding that of the surrounding sailing ships, its imposing presence awe-inspiring.

This is the pride of the Ming Dynasty's rebirth—the steamship.

Today, the shipyards of the Ming Dynasty have successfully built four such giant ships, which have been officially launched and put into use.

Meanwhile, more steamships were being conceived and formed under the skillful hands of craftsmen, either meticulously crafted on blueprints or forged and tempered in the dock, ready to be launched.

Because its technology was still in its early stages, many shortcomings and potential needed to be refined in actual combat to lay the foundation for future innovations. Therefore, these four pioneering ships were carefully arranged to sail from Nanjing to Shanghai, then south to Quanzhou, and finally along the Pearl River to Guangzhou, following the established waterway.

These routes have been tested by long-term commercial travelers, combining the gentleness of rivers with the turbulence of sea routes, making them ideal for fully testing the capabilities of new ships and accumulating valuable experience for future development.

The land distance from Nanjing to Guangzhou is about 2,600 to 2,700 li. Along the way, the Nanling Mountains stretch like a screen, with steep peaks and deep ravines. Ordinary people who travel by horse-drawn carriage or fast horse must cross mountains and ford turbulent rivers, and it takes them 30 to 40 days to reach the destination. The journey is arduous and painful.

In recent years, the imperial court has undertaken large-scale construction projects, building many sections of cement roads. Road conditions have gradually improved, and travel time has been slightly reduced, but it is still constrained by natural barriers.

After all, those towering mountains have not yet been tunneled through, and travelers still have to detour and climb them, which takes a lot of effort.

If one chooses to travel by water instead of land, and detours along the coastline, the journey increases to over three thousand li, taking almost the same amount of time as the land route, making it difficult to distinguish between them.

Of course, the situation would be quite different if the court had urgent matters to attend to.

When urgent military intelligence was being transmitted, the post horses galloped day and night, with relay stations and personnel taking turns. In the shortest time, urgent reports from Guangzhou could be delivered to Nanjing in ten days, which was already an astonishing efficiency.

Since the cement roads were paved and the bridges were built, traffic has become much smoother, and the travel time has been shortened to five to seven days, which is quite fast.

However, even with such rapid postal service, it was still far inferior to steamships, like the tortoise and the hare in a race.

At present, steamships can reach speeds of fifty or sixty miles per hour. From Guangzhou to Nanjing, it only takes a little over two days to cross three thousand miles of rivers and mountains and reach the destination.

What's even better is that, unlike sailboats, it is not subject to changes in wind direction, and its voyage is as smooth as a rock, unaffected by wind or rain.

Leaving aside the commercial prosperity it brought, its significance in military affairs alone—transmitting classified intelligence and rapidly deploying elite troops—was enough to awe people and reshape the landscape.

Standing on the dock, Zhu Yunwen gazed at the giant ship with its towering smokestack, his heart filled with emotion.

Despite knowing this beforehand and having boarded the ship several times, he still did so.

After all, this truly represents a new era.

The docks were bustling with activity. Coal was piled up like black mountains, iron ore gleamed with a heavy metallic sheen, and grain was being continuously delivered to the granaries like a flowing river.

Today, Emperor Zhu Yunwen personally inspected the site. The officials at the dock were all extremely nervous, and the heads of several companies followed closely by his side. Everyone held their breath and tried their best to present their best image in front of His Majesty.

"Daming Steel Group is going all out to improve its smelting technology and strive to push steel production to new heights."

The speaker was Jia Wanyin, the head of Daming Steel Group. His voice was loud and firm, full of undisguised pride.

"This year we added more than 60 steel furnaces. The steel produced by the new furnaces is not only of much higher quality than before, but also tougher and more durable, and the output has increased significantly. It is expected that the annual output will reach more than three times that of last year."

"With the concerted efforts of all the steel plants under the group, the total output is expected to exceed 40 million jin!"

The heads of the state-owned companies of the Ming Dynasty were all carefully selected by the Ministry of Assets and the Ministry of Personnel.

These managers were often the best among merchants or skilled in governance, a far cry from the ordinary, rule-abiding officials in the imperial court.

Jia Wanyin is one of the best among them.

He was originally a technical expert who devoted himself to the study of iron and steel smelting. With his outstanding professional skills and shrewd interpersonal skills, he was selected by the imperial court and promoted to the head of the Daming Iron and Steel Group.

At this moment, when he reported to Zhu Yunwen, the unease he felt upon first meeting the emperor had long since faded, replaced by an almost fanatical excitement.

He waved his arms, his words brimming with passion, occasionally even spitting out droplets of saliva, which made his face, slightly blackened by the furnace fire, even more vivid. The rise of the steel mill was breathtaking, almost as if it were "leaving no stone unturned."

The factory expanded rapidly, and the quality of the steel produced improved day by day.

Moreover, they flexibly smelt pig iron, wrought iron, and refined steel according to different uses to meet the needs of various industries.

Whenever he thinks of these achievements, Jia Wanyin feels an overwhelming surge of excitement, as if molten iron is flowing through his veins.

However, Zhu Yunwen remained unmoved after listening to this impassioned report.

He stood there quietly, his gaze deep and unfathomable, as if he were silently plotting something in his mind.

After a moment, Zhu Yunwen raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable air of authority: "Is that all?"

The Ming Dynasty today has a population of about 60 to 70 million. An annual output of 40 million catties sounds astonishing, but if you calculate it carefully, it is only a little over half a catty per person, less than a catty.

In Zhu Yunwen's eyes, this amount of steel was clearly far from enough to support his grand ambitions.

Of course, besides the Daming Iron and Steel Group, there were also many private iron smelting workshops in the private sector, and local governments also managed some small furnaces.

Since the publication of the journal Science, novel iron-making technologies have been quietly permeating these areas like a gentle spring breeze.

Although they are vastly different from the scale and exquisite craftsmanship of the Daming Iron and Steel Group, the progress of these workshops is still remarkable compared to their former glory.

Production is steadily increasing, and the scattered furnaces combined can roughly contribute several million kilograms of steel.

As soon as Zhu Yunwen finished speaking, the surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The accompanying officials and leaders looked at each other, hesitant to speak.

Jia Wanyin's smile froze on his face.

He had been full of anticipation, thinking that His Majesty would appreciate his efforts, after all, such a significant increase in production was already a remarkable achievement in his eyes.

However, Zhu Yunwen's reaction was like a bucket of cold water being poured on him, extinguishing the burning flame in his heart.

He couldn't help but feel a surge of grievance.

Is a steel production of 40 million jin really a small amount?
Behind these numbers lies the tireless hard work of countless craftsmen, and his painstaking planning!
Faced with the emperor's calm yet dignified expression, he dared not utter a word, even though he had a thousand words to say. He could only lower his head, his lips barely moving, and mutter in an almost inaudible whisper, "Your Majesty, this is already quite a lot..."

His voice was barely audible, drowned out by the howling wind along the river at the dock, and Zhu Yunwen did not hear it.

However, Zhu Yunwen's eyes were so sharp that he could see through Jia Wanyin's resentment and confusion just by looking at his lowered eyebrows and slightly twitching lips.

Zhu Yunwen did not rush to reprimand, but slowly raised his hand and pointed to the steamship emitting black smoke on the river, saying, "Look at that ship. Its hull is made entirely of steel. In the future, countless such giant ships will sail on the waters of the Ming Dynasty, and they will be much larger than the ship in front of us. Just building them will require a huge amount of steel."

He paused, his gaze shifting to the newly constructed railway track within the steel plant. This track connected the dock to the factory, bearing the heavy responsibility of transporting coal and iron ore.

“Look at these railway tracks,” Zhu Yunwen continued, “In the future, they will spread like a spider web across every inch of the Ming Dynasty, with steel carriages running along the tracks, dragging large quantities of goods. This will also require endless steel support.”

"There are many more places that crave steel."

"Nowadays, most newly built houses use reinforced concrete frames, so the demand for those rebars is enormous!"

"All of these factors indicate that the Ming Dynasty's future demand for steel will reach an unbelievable figure."

"The Ming Dynasty's steel production needs to increase a hundredfold, a thousandfold, or even ten thousandfold!"

"Your Daming Steel Group is the pillar of this industry. You must not only ensure that the quality of the steel you produce is impeccable, but also push production to its peak, achieve large-scale production, reduce costs, and make steel prices affordable for all people."

"Let's start with the plan for the next five years. I expect to see a Ming Dynasty steel group with production increasing tenfold, or even dozens of times, in five years!"

These words struck Jia Wanyin like a thunderclap, leaving him deeply moved.

He raised his head, his eyes filled with determination and reverence, and quickly bowed, replying, "Your subject will certainly dedicate himself wholeheartedly to making the Daming Steel Group even more glorious!"

"Let steel production soar like an eagle in the sky, fully meeting all the needs of the future development of the Ming Dynasty!"

In fact, steel mills are never worried about sales right now; market demand is so strong it's almost boiling over.

This is precisely why production has tripled in just one year.

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

"With your promise, I am at ease."

His tone was calm and steady, with the air of an emperor: "Do your best, and I will see your efforts."

"The imperial court will never treat those who have made contributions unfairly. If you do well, your future will naturally be bright."

He offered a few words of encouragement, to which Jia Wanyin expressed his deepest gratitude.

Zhu Yunwen then turned and left the steel plant, heading to the steam engine manufacturing plant next door.

The invention of the steam engine was a remarkable achievement, but it was far from the end.

The technology still needs improvement; the goal is to create more efficient, more powerful, and less prone to malfunctions.

Upon entering the steam plant, one is greeted by a railway track laid with sleepers.

Unlike steel mills, there are no horses pulling simple wagons to transport goods on the tracks here.

Instead, a massive steel behemoth, far more complex and enormous than any ordinary freight truck, lay silently across the tracks.

The shape of the steel behemoth was quite strange, quite different from the ordinary carriages and cargo wagons of this era.

Above it, there was a chimney that wasn't very tall.

At this moment, billowing blue smoke was rising.

That's right.

This was another great achievement of the steam engine factory after developing the standard steam engine for pumping textiles and steamships.

Based on the original standard steam engine, improvements were made to create the first steam locomotive of the Ming Dynasty!
This is a steel behemoth of the new era!

……

(End of this chapter)