My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 163 Whaling and Ambergris
Su Ze looked at Wan Jing and asked, "Brother Wan, have you seen this steel-frying method before?"

Wan Jing said:

"Several ironworks under the Ministry of Works in the suburbs of Beijing used this method, called the White Steel Furnace. However, the steel-making method requires skilled craftsmen to fry the steel, and after frying, it needs to be repeatedly forged, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The steel produced is of high quality and is mostly used for imperial purposes."

Fearing Su Ze might not understand, Wan Jing added:

"The iron armor worn by the Red Helmet General was made of this steel."

Now Su Ze understood.

The title "Red Helmet General" was not a military rank, but rather referred to as a personal bodyguard responsible for protecting the emperor.

Red Helmet Generals were selected from noble families, and only sons of top-ranking noble families could hold the position.

The leader of the Red Helmet Generals was also the most important position among the nobles. The previous leader of the Red Helmet Generals was Duke Dingguo, Xu Wenbi.

Wan Jing said:

"Su Hanlin, there is still one thing I don't understand: why do you cover the top of this steel furnace? Is it to increase the furnace temperature?"

"But then, where should we ignite the fire to heat the molten iron?"

When Wan Jing asked this question, Su Ze knew he was a professional.

The problem we're facing in smelting right now is actually the temperature issue.

To produce qualified steel, molten iron needs to be heated to a certain temperature.

Chinese craftsmen invented the bellows in ancient times to increase the oxygen in the combustion chamber, intensify the combustion reaction, and make the fuel reach higher temperatures.

Seeing that Su Ze was somewhat surprised, Fu Shun said:

"Su Hanlin, you may not know this, but Brother Wan comes from a family of iron smelters in Wuhu. He knows everything about smelting."

So this is ah!

During the mid-Ming Dynasty, there were two major iron smelting bases.

One is the Minjiang Iron and Steel Company mentioned earlier. Its main base was in Fujian. It was mostly a joint venture between the government and the private sector. It used coke from wood coking to smelt iron. Because the furnace temperature was relatively high and there were fewer impurities, the steel produced was of relatively good quality.

Another iron smelting base is Wuhu, because it is located on the Yangtze River waterway, and Wuhu has developed a smelting technology called Sugang.

Suzhou Steel uses cast iron slurry and wrought iron carburizing technology to produce steel of very good quality.

However, Suzhou Steel is basically a private enterprise. Although it has a good reputation among the people, it is not recognized by the imperial court.

Since Wan Jing is from Wuhu and comes from a family with a long history in iron smelting, it is only natural that he knows so much about steelmaking.

It turned out that Wan Jing was an expert, which made things much easier for Su Ze.

However, explaining how to heat this iron furnace requires too many scientific principles, so Su Ze said:
"That's the beauty of this iron furnace: you need to light a fire above the furnace to heat the molten iron."

Now Wan Jing was completely puzzled, and Fu Shun said:

"Surely Su Hanlin isn't joking. How can there be a fire without fuel?"

Su Ze said:

"Brother Fu, can you build the iron furnace I need?"

Fu Shun glanced at the design drawings again, and finally nodded, saying:
Give me ten days.

"We'll meet at the furnace in ten days."
-
Laizhou Port.

"The Emperor's brother-in-law!"

Li Wenquan, the heir of the Marquis of Wuqing, stood on the dock, waiting anxiously.

Officials at the dock surrounded him, and even the Maritime Trade Office of Dengzhou and Laizhou sent several eunuchs to serve him.

Li Wenquan was nobody in the capital, but once he arrived at the port of Laizhou, he became someone everyone fawned over.

Who told him to be the Crown Prince's maternal uncle?
After being lured to Laizhou by Xiao Pangjun, the cautious Li Wenquan only dared to buy two ships, hire some local sailors, and begin his first maritime trade.

As for why there are so many sailors in Laizhou, one should ask why there are more and more deserters at the Laizhou Coast Guard.

Even the captain hired by Li Wenquan was a hereditary centurion of the Laizhou Coastal Defense Garrison, who had been leading garrison soldiers on smuggling trips at sea since the late Jiajing period.

However, smuggling in the garrison was risky, and the small-scale operations were barely enough to make a living. Upon hearing that the emperor's brother-in-law was recruiting a naval fleet at Laizhou Port, Wu, a centurion, led his garrison brothers to join him.

In fact, most of the first batch of sailors at Laizhou Port came from this area. Tu Zemin, the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, turned a blind eye to it. In any case, the coastal defense task had been handed over to Yu Dayou, who had just taken office. As long as these guard posts did not become bandits, the governor's office of Dengzhou and Laizhou would not interfere.

Li Wenquan gave the nautical chart to Captain Wu. The destination was Pi Island, which Su Ze and the Crown Prince had mentioned. On board were Li Wenquan's trusted confidants from the capital. They were responsible for purchasing Korean ginseng and sable fur on Pi Island, and the currency for the transaction was the silk that Li Wenquan had obtained from the Crown Prince.

These silks were all surplus stock in the palace, which the Crown Prince took over under the pretext of revitalizing the inventory.

Even if it was stock, it was still high-grade goods that were offered as tribute to the emperor.

In fact, Li Wenquan could have earned enough silver dollars to report to the Crown Prince by simply selling the silk at Laizhou Port. However, Li Wenquan still remembered the Crown Prince's instructions: "A proven and feasible shipping route is a golden goose that lays golden eggs!"

A golden hen that lays eggs!
Li Wenquan didn't remember anything else, except for the Crown Prince's metaphor.

There was no other way; Li Wenquan was terrified of being poor.

His father, Marquis Wuqing, Li Wei, was notoriously stingy, and his sister, Consort Li, was always careful not to let her brothers take advantage of their status as relatives of the emperor to seek personal gain.

Li Wei has been granted the title of Earl, but meat is rarely seen on the family's dining table throughout the year, and Li Wenquan has to receive his father's "bitter memories and sweet tastes" education every now and then.

So after being begged by his chubby nephew to take the start-up capital given to him by the Crown Prince to Laizhou Port, Li Wenquan was very careful, personally handling everything and calculating costs, and he wished he could split every silver dollar in half.

Just then, sails appeared on the distant horizon, and the crowd waiting on the shore cheered.

Li Wenquan remained cautious. He had heard too many news reports of ships capsizing these days. Even earlier this month, an official ship of the Dengzhou-Laizhou Maritime Trade Office had encountered a storm and gone missing, and he estimated that it was likely in grave danger.

After making various inquiries over the past few days, Li Wenquan has figured out the rules of maritime trade.

As long as the fleet can return, it will make a huge profit.

Goods from the Ming Dynasty were very popular overseas. Whether it was Korea, Japan, or Western merchants who roamed the islands near the Ming Dynasty, they could exchange Ming Dynasty goods for good things.

Besides these places, many small countries surrounding the Ming Dynasty also possessed a considerable amount of rare and precious resources.

However, while maritime trade can be profitable, a shipwreck can result in total loss.

Moreover, this is not just about the loss of cargo. A ship capable of ocean voyages is also very valuable, and compensation must be paid to the sailors' families. All of this adds up to an astronomical figure.

In short, every voyage is a high-stakes gamble; winning means a fortune, while losing means bankruptcy.

Of course, Li Wenquan wouldn't go bankrupt, but if he couldn't fulfill his fat nephew's request, he would have no face to return to the capital.

Li Wenquan walked onto the dock and only breathed a slight sigh of relief after recognizing the ship as his own flagship.

But soon Li Wenquan became anxious again. Two ships had gone out to sea, so why had only one returned?
As soon as the ship docked and Captain Wu Baihu disembarked, Li Wenquan stopped him and asked:
"Where's the other ship?"

Wu Baihu quickly said:
"Your Excellency, please do not worry. The Bao Yi only encountered a slight setback on its return voyage and will be able to enter the port soon."

Hearing this, Li Wenquan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't received much formal education, so he named the two ships Baojia and Baoyi, which meant Treasure Ship No. 1 and Treasure Ship No. 2.

Both ships were old-fashioned Fujian-style ships, "retired" warships from the nearby coastal defense post.

As for why the seemingly new warships were decommissioned, that's another story.

What kind of trouble did the Bao Yi encounter? Was it damaged?

Just as Captain Wu was about to explain the situation, cheers erupted again from the shore. They could see the mast of the Bao Yi appearing on the horizon, slowly making its way towards the port.

Captain Wu kept everyone in suspense and said:
"Your brother-in-law, you will know soon."

Almost half an hour later, the Bao Yi finally docked at the pier. At this moment, the captain of the Bao Yi jumped off the ship and addressed the crowd on the pier:

"Quickly, send some people to pull the stuff being towed ashore from the dock!"

Li Wenhua watched as the porters on the dock rushed forward, and after a while, a large fish was dragged ashore.

"This is!?"

Li Wenhua's eyes widened, and Captain Wu said:
"Your Excellency, this is a whale."

"whale?"

"When the Bao Yi was returning to port, it encountered a pod of whales and accidentally collided with one of them, causing damage to the hull. Fortunately, the damage was not serious; only two cargo holds were flooded. The crew found that the whale was already dead and towed it back to port."

Hearing that the ship was damaged, Li Wenhua felt even more distressed. Repairing a seagoing vessel would cost a lot of money, and what was worse was that the repairs would take time, delaying his next voyage.

Looking at the enormous whale carcass on the shore, Li Wenhua felt an intense urge to devour it and sleep on its skin. He said in a fit of rage:
"Is it okay to eat this whale meat?"

Captain Wu quickly shook his head and said:
"Whale meat is fishy and smelly; only someone who is starving would want to eat it."

"Does this whale have anything valuable on it?"

Captain Wu quickly shook his head and said:
"Although fishermen often encounter whales at sea, these creatures are so large that they are difficult to catch, and it is unknown what valuables they may have on them."

Captain Wu was quite familiar with the local seas, and after thinking for a while, he said:
“If we’re talking about valuable things, whale oil can be used to make lamp oil, which is said to burn forever.”

Li Wenhua gritted his teeth and said:
"Then we'll cut open the whale and extract its oil! It damaged my ship, so we'll have to pay with its oil!"

Captain Wu had no choice but to call in a butcher to begin butchering the whale on the beach.

Just then, a eunuch standing next to Li Wenhua approached and said:

“Your Excellency, I have seen cottonseed oil used to make soap at the Crown Prince’s cottonseed workshop. Since whales also have oil, why don’t we make soap too? Cottonseed soap sells quite well in the capital.”

"Making soap? Is that even possible?"

This eunuch, named Zhang Tai, was Zhang Hong's adopted son and was also assigned to Li Wenhua's side.

Zhang Tai was originally the eunuch in charge of the cottonseed workshop in the Eastern Palace. He said, "They are all oils, and the soap-making methods are similar. If it doesn't work, then forget it."

Li Wenhua nodded repeatedly. Such a large whale should yield a lot of oil, and if it could be made into whale soap, it should be able to make up for some of the losses.

Soaps in the capital city do sell well, and the dockworkers at the ports of Dengzhou and Laizhou are also very dirty, so soaps should also have a market there.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted:

"There's a treasure inside this whale!"

Upon hearing that there was treasure, Li Wenhua jumped up immediately. He rushed to the beach and pushed through the crowd, where he saw a butcher holding a dirty, hard lump in his hand.

Zhang Tai also came over, and Li Wenhua covered her nose and said:

"What kind of useless treasure is this! It's just a rock that a whale swallowed!"

The butcher quickly said:
"Master, this thing has a strange fragrance!"

"What do you mean it smells good? It stinks!"

The whale that was towed back to port was already somewhat rotten, and the smell on the beach was hellish. If Li Wenhua hadn't heard that there was treasure, he would never have gone near it.

The eunuch Zhang Tai was more sensitive to smells. He sniffed and said:
"Your Majesty, it smells rather nice."

Li Wenhua took the stone-like object, which was surprisingly light in his hand.

Zhang Tai leaned closer and smelled it; besides the fishy stench, there was also a peculiar fragrance.

"Your Excellency, this tastes so familiar."

"Oh right, ambergris!"

Zhang Tai suddenly exclaimed!

Ambergris?
Upon hearing those three words, Li Wenhua immediately remembered!

Ambergris is known as "gold floating on the sea".

The Jiajing Emperor was particularly fond of this spice and once sent his ministers to Guangzhou with a large sum of money to search for ambergris. In the end, they only managed to find some after paying a high price.

Li Wenhua only smelled ambergris at the emperor's enthronement ceremony, but that unique fragrance remains unforgettable to this day.

It is said that the palace only has a fist-sized amount of ambergris left, and the current emperor is not like his predecessor, nor does he send ministers to Guangzhou to purchase incense.

What if it really is ambergris?!
Li Wenhua became excited. This ambergris was a precious spice that even the emperor could hardly obtain!
This piece of ambergris is even bigger than the ones in the palace collection!

If it really is ambergris, then the damage to the Bao Yi ship from the collision is negligible!

Li Wenhua immediately ordered his men to clean the ambergris, and then dispatched a fast horse to send it to the capital!

If Su Ze were here, he would recognize that the whale being towed back to shore by the Bao Yi was a sperm whale.

The sperm whale is the largest whale species.

During the Ming Dynasty, there were large whale populations at the mouth of the Bohai Sea. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Japanese whaling ships sailed to the mouth of the Bohai Sea to hunt whales, and the whale populations in the Bohai Sea became extinct before World War II.

Ambergris itself is an intestinal secretion formed in the intestines of sperm whales, which can be considered a type of intestinal stone.

Most of the ambergris is excreted by sperm whales and then floats at sea to be collected by fishermen.

A small amount of ambergris will remain in the whale's body, and there just happened to be such a piece of ambergris in the sperm whale that Li Wenhua was born with.

Although it has not yet been confirmed whether it is real ambergris, the news that there is treasure inside the whale that Li Guojiu brought back has spread rapidly in Laizhou Port.

Some merchant ships that had seen whale pods were also eager to try. Whale pods in the Bohai Sea could be seen without sailing too far, and whaling seemed safer than long-distance trade.
Just as the port of Laizhou was going crazy over a whale.

A dilapidated Ming Dynasty ship finally came to land.

The towering fir forest indicates that there is fresh water on the island. Although most of the island is covered by ice and snow, it still gave the crew hope for survival.

Just as the captain of the Ming Dynasty ship ordered it to dock, a group of strangely dressed natives approached the ship, rowing a simple fishing boat made of birch bark.

(End of this chapter)