Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 181 Internal Cultivation and External Power (Part 1)

The capital city in July is exceptionally hot. When the sun comes out, it's like a steamer, and the streets and alleys are scorching hot.

The weather during the Little Ice Age was indeed strange; winters were freezing cold and summers were scorching hot. This constant change in temperature was truly torturous, especially for the disaster victims, who were suffering terribly.

Zhu Jue's vigorous development of industry was not only to make the Ming Dynasty stronger, but also because he wanted ordinary people to live a good life.

He had already figured out a solution to the problem of the severe winter cold. As long as there was enough rubber, he could mass-produce boilers and heating systems, making even the harshest winters warm as spring.

He seems to have found a solution to the problem of the sweltering summer heat; this ice windmill is the solution.

During the Little Ice Age, ice was plentiful. Anyone who was diligent could dig an ice cellar, store more ice in winter, and use it to cool off in summer without any problem.

Of course, he also had to build more ice windmills for ordinary people, and these things couldn't be cranked by hand, because the wind would be too weak and the person cranking them would be unbearably hot.

This thing needs to be powered by a steam engine.

With his guidance, Song Yingxing quickly made the thing.

Around 1:00 AM that day, during the sweltering heat, Zhu Jue still summoned several 800-ton wheeled boats and ships, taking Zheng Zhilong and Wang Chengen's group to Tongzhou City.

They stopped riding horses because the ground was scorching hot, especially the stone-paved roads in the inner city, which could burn a horse's hooves. They didn't want their warhorses to suffer like that, so they had no choice but to cross by boat.

It was incredibly hot on the ship, because the boiler for the 800-ton wheeled boat was installed directly inside the cabin. With the heat from both inside and outside, the cabin was like a sauna, making it impossible for anyone to sit inside.

Zhu Jue had been sitting in the cabin for a while, but he had no choice but to come out and stand at the bow with everyone else.

This ship will definitely need to be equipped with ice fans in the future, otherwise the sailors who are on board will find it unbearably hot in the summer.

Fortunately, there was a bit of a breeze once the boat started moving, so it wasn't too hot outside even though the sun was shining brightly.

They soon left the imperial city and arrived at the Shichahai waterway in the inner city.

This area was originally the most prosperous place in the capital. When this was still the Yuan Dynasty capital, Shichahai was a canal port with thousands of ships coming and going every day. Therefore, the Bell Tower and Drum Tower were built next to Shichahai, which is the symbol of the city center.

Zhu Jue raised his binoculars and looked at the tall and majestic bell and drum towers, then glanced around at the surroundings, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

When it's hot, life is really tough for ordinary people. Pedestrians on the street are drenched in sweat, their faces and heads covered in perspiration, and they still have to work under the scorching sun.

The speed of the wheeled boats and steamships was indeed very fast. The waterway that covered several miles of the inner city was quickly traversed. Once the fleet passed through the Deshengmen water gate, it was the northern outer city. Suddenly, the view opened up, and the endless fields of the northern outer city could not be seen even with a small telescope.

The north side hasn't been developed yet. Perhaps we could consider building a boiler factory here. If they want to develop civilian steam machinery, they'll need a lot of steam engines and even more boilers, since heating systems all require boilers.

If the needs of the entire Ming Dynasty's two capitals and thirteen provinces were to be met, even filling the northern outer city with sand casting workshops wouldn't be enough.

Fortunately, there are also the northeastern and northwestern outer cities on both sides of the northern outer city, which are much larger than the northern outer city and should be enough to build a sand casting factory.

They walked less than ten li from the Deshengmen Water Gate along the original northern moat. Soon after, the fleet turned south and entered the original eastern moat.

This is the East City he knows best. The shipyard's docks and waterways are built here, but the area behind the docks and waterways is still empty, which is intended to be used to build a timber processing plant.

Not long after, the fleet turned east again and entered the Tonghui River.

He knew this area even better. He had been to the shipyard on the north bank countless times, and he had also been to the porcelain factory, glass factory, and steel plant on the south bank many times.

This area was the best developed in the capital, filled with docks, waterways, and factories, looking just like a modern industrial city, with a neat layout and rows of factories.

He discovered that taking a boat had its advantages; at least he could use binoculars to scan the area and get a clear view of the development on both sides of the river, unlike riding a horse where you had to watch the road and couldn't keep holding up binoculars.

Perhaps he should take a boat trip more often in the future to see the sights.

As he was pondering this, the fleet had already passed under the towering Tonghui Bridge, turned south, and arrived at the Tongzhou Canal Wharf.

There are an unusually large number of ships here, as merchant ships and even cargo ships traveling from the north and south all need to load and unload cargo here. This is a function that has been left over from the past, and nowadays these cargo ships and merchant ships have nowhere else to dock.

It seems the canal wharf needs to be moved. Tongzhou City contains the core secrets of the Ming Dynasty. Everything manufactured there needs to be transported out through this canal wharf. The wharf is always crowded with people, making it too easy for secrets to be leaked.

Zhu Jue remained silent the entire way, and the others dared not speak either. They quietly disembarked and soon arrived in Tongzhou City, entering a workshop in the machine factory.

There are twenty or thirty boilers and steam engines inside, and it's incredibly hot. The craftsmen working there are drenched in sweat even in just a thin shirt.

Zhu Jue looked around carefully, but he was still puzzled. Where was Song Yingxing? He had come in with Song Yingxing's disciple, and now even that kid was nowhere to be seen.

Soon, Song Yingxing strode out from a corner, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Oh, so this guy was hiding in the corner. There were two walls built in that corner, no wonder I couldn't see him.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "The ice fan is in the corner, right?"

Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and bowed, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, please come with me. It's too hot here; it's cooler inside."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then followed him into the small room enclosed in the corner.

The cooling fans here aren't hand-cranked, but powered by a steam engine. They spin like a roaring beast, sending gusts of cold air whistling through the air, making people's hair and clothes dance wildly.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

It's cool here, but the wind is too strong.

This guy copied Wang Zheng and enlarged an ordinary windmill by a factor of two, with the fan blades inside being two or three feet in size.

However, this isolation was quite effective, because the boiler and steam engine were both outside the wall, with only a rotating connecting rod extending in, so the hot air couldn't get in at all, leaving only cool air inside.

He examined it closely, then shook his head slightly and said, "Chang Geng, your ice fan is spinning too fast. If you want to write something, not only will the paper be blown away, but the ink will also be blown everywhere."

This isn't for the study.

Song Yingxing quickly explained, "Your Majesty, this is intended for the craftsmen working in the factory. The study doesn't need such a large one, nor will it spin so fast."

That's a good idea.

The question is, where did all this ice come from?
Zhu Jue sighed slightly and said, "I'm afraid we can't install it for them this year. We didn't prepare any ice. These big fans consume a lot of ice."

Song Yingxing shook his head repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, this doesn't need ice. I didn't put any ice in it either. It's just cool water drawn from a deep well, which is quite refreshing."

Oh, no wonder it's just cool, not icy.

I thought the ice inside had melted into water, but it turns out it was filled with water all along.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Hmm, not bad. Adding water will also work, which is better than nothing. I just saw it; the craftsmen working there were all sweating profusely. You should quickly mass-produce them and install them in all the factories."

Ah!
Install them in all the factories?

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, other factories don't actually have as many boilers and steam engines as the machine factory, nor are they this hot."

Furthermore, there are probably tens of thousands of factories in the capital right now. If we were to install them all, we simply wouldn't be able to manufacture enough boilers and steam engines.

I am about to create a steam age, so the production of boilers and steam engines must be increased.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue bluntly asked, "How many machine tools do you currently have configured to manufacture steam engines, and how many steam engines can you produce per day?"

Song Yingxing explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the complete set of components for a steam engine requires five machine tools to process simultaneously. Five machine tools can produce one steam engine per day, and a factory with twenty machine tools can produce four steam engines per day."

"Your humble servant has allocated two workshops for one-foot steam engines, and one workshop each for two-foot and three-foot steam engines, each with twenty machine tools. Sixteen can be produced per day, which is sufficient for the shipyard, the machine shop, and our own needs."

This is because we haven't yet built large-scale civilian steam machinery.

And at the shipyard, production hasn't picked up yet.

Zhu Jue slowly shook his head, then decisively said, "We will build a factory in the Northeast City to manufacture steam engines and cast boilers. The output of steam engines and boilers should be increased to at least one thousand units per day."

Ah!
Why do you calculate everything in thousands?
Song Yingxing was taken aback for a moment before cautiously reminding him, "Your Majesty, making steam engines requires copper and rubber. Even if we make the smallest one, it would still require tens of thousands of catties of copper per day, which would amount to more than ten million catties per year. If we make a thousand steam engines a day, we don't even have enough copper to make the smallest one."

Yes, that's right. When you mention production volume, you immediately think of raw material supply.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "I will figure out the problems with copper and rubber. You should prepare to build the factory."

(End of this chapter)