Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 230 Divine Power Aids the Bitterness of Being Surrounded (Part 2)

It was already quite hot in the capital in early June.

If you stand under the scorching sun, you'll be drenched in sweat.

However, the people of the capital did not feel particularly hot at this time.

This was because many shops in the capital sold ice, and it was very cheap; you could buy a basin of ice for just one coin.

The ice shops also sell fans, the kind that are hand-cranked, some like three-bladed windmills, others like threshing windmills.

Those three-bladed windmills were especially cheap, only a few hundred coins each. After buying them, we would put the ice cubes in front of the fan, and then the whole family would take turns shaking it while the rest of us sat in front. It was very cool.

Those windmills, which are like threshing machines, aren't very expensive, costing only a few dozen taels of silver each. However, they are much more effective. You just pour ice into the iron bucket on top, and then have someone shake it. The wind that blows out is icy cold and very comfortable.

The fan became an instant hit in the capital. Ordinary people bought fans costing several hundred coins each, while wealthy families almost all bought fans costing several tens of taels each, and some families even bought more than one.

Zhu Jue actually used a little bit of marketing, which was to secretly have people hype it up, making it sound incredibly amazing, so that if you didn't buy it, you would feel out of touch and lose face.

In later generations, there were many more marketing tactics like this. Even useless junk items could be hyped up and sold like hotcakes. Fans are meant to cool you down, so naturally they would sell even better when they were blowing.

With fans selling like hotcakes, ice sales also skyrocketed. After all, ordinary people in the capital were starting to have some money these days, with an average monthly income of two or three taels of silver per household. Spending a few coins a day to buy ice to cool off was no big deal for them.

As soon as ice sales went up, people started touting the benefits of ice again.

Ice cubes aren't just for cooling off in the summer. If you don't finish your food, just put a few bowls of ice cubes in the cupboard, then put the leftover food in there, and close the cupboard door tightly. It won't spoil all day.

Fruit vendors can also use this method to preserve the fruit they purchase.

There are also meat vendors who sell meat directly on ice, and it won't spoil even after a whole day.

There are also vendors selling river fish and even fresh seafood, who simply mix ice with the fish and shrimp, and they still sell fresh all day.

With such hype, ice sales skyrocketed.

While Zhu Jue was finding ways to help the soldiers of the Beijing garrison sell ice, good news came from the shipyard: the four hundred medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships were completed!

Around 9 a.m. that day, after he had just finished reviewing the memorials, he couldn't wait to take Zheng Zhilong, Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua and others onto the fleet that had been specially provided for them and head straight for the shipyard.

Nowadays, the internal structure of the cabins of small Zhiyuan merchant ships has been improved. In particular, the ten ships equipped for them have their boilers insulated on three sides, leaving only the rear side for coal and water intake. In addition, a small steam engine and a small ice fan are installed on each side of the boiler.

With the ice fan turned on, the front cabin was as cool as early spring, and even though it was crowded with people, they didn't feel hot.

The shipyard was a completely different scene at this time. Not only were four hundred medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships completed, but eighty small Weiyuan warships and one small Zhenyuan warship were also nearing completion. Furthermore, a second batch of five hundred small Zhiyuan merchant ships had already been assembled and were beginning sea trials.

The entire shipyard was bustling with activity, with all kinds of ships being launched into the water like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Zhu Jue looked around and couldn't help but feel delighted.

The shipbuilding industry of the Ming Dynasty has finally developed. Although the number of their ocean-going giant ships cannot catch up with that of the Dutch, the "sea coachman," in a short period of time, the number of steamships can reach tens of thousands within a few years.

This ship is much more useful than a sailboat, especially on inland waterways. A small merchant ship of 800 liters is far superior to a 1,000-liter ocean-going sailboat.

As for the number of ocean-going ships, there's no need to rush. Right now, the rebels within the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens haven't been dealt with yet, so he's not in a hurry to compete for maritime supremacy.

At this point, they can only mass-produce small Weiyuan warships; their true main warships, the medium-sized Weiyuan warship, the small Zhenyuan warship, and the medium-sized Zhenyuan warship, are still under development.

They build warships that can outperform the main warships of European countries, and they don't plan to build small Weiyuan warships in large quantities.

At this point, all he wanted was to cooperate with Spain in developing the American colonies. As long as their number of ocean-going ships could surpass that of Spain, that would be fine. Currently, Spain doesn't even know if they have a thousand ocean-going ships, but with the addition of these four hundred medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships, the number of ocean-going ships in the Ming Dynasty will already exceed a thousand.

In other words, their number of ocean-going ships may already exceed that of Spain, so what's the rush?
As he was pondering this, Lu Xiang-sheng and Wang Zheng were already waiting at the row of docks where the medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships were located.

However, none of the Zhiyuan merchant ships had set sail yet, and only artisans were on board; no soldiers from the Beijing garrison were seen.

There was no other way; the remaining 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers of the Beijing Garrison were all busy building factories in the southwest city. The development of the capital city had to be completed this year, so the soldiers of the Beijing Garrison were extremely busy.

After everyone exchanged greetings, Zhu Jue asked, "Jiandou, how are the cement plant and shoe sole factory construction going?"

How can it be that fast?

Lu Xiang-sheng said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the factory buildings for shoe sole factories are not tall, and the soldiers have experience in building rubber factories, so they can build them quickly. It is estimated that they will be completed by the end of this month."

Those cement plants are huge, and the soldiers have never built anything like them before, so construction is progressing slowly. It's estimated that they won't be finished until the middle of next month.

Once these two large factories are completed, the soldiers of the Beijing garrison can leave. As for the civilian factories and houses, the old craftsmen can lead the conscripted farmers to build them. Anyway, there are still nearly five months before the ice freezes, so there is still time.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and pondered, "Zhilong, your men will be taking over all the Zhiyuan merchant ships next month, so you should start preparing now."

"Immediately dispatch men to order Zhihu and Zhibao to gather 20,000 skilled ship handlers to learn from the local artisans how to operate the Zhiyuan merchant ships. Also, you must have Zhihu and Zhibao quickly recruit garrison troops from the coastal garrisons of Zhejiang, Zhili, and Fujian to assemble a full complement of guards for all the Zhiyuan merchant ships."

There are far more Zhiyuan merchant ships than usual now, so it's definitely time to recruit more people.

Zheng Zhilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue then instructed in detail: "Liangfu, you should also ask the craftsmen in these shipyards to work hard. The materials for the next batch of medium-sized Zhiyuan merchant ships need to be prepared, and the goods we bought for Liaodong should also be loaded onto the ships when we have time."

When Zhilong's men arrive, send some experienced craftsmen with them to Liaodong to deliver all the goods to Boya.

As luck would have it, just as they were talking about Sun Chuanting, Sun Chuanting suddenly strode over, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Juena couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Boya, why did you come here? Has something serious happened in Liaodong?"

Right now, Liaodong is launching a counterattack against the Jurchens. He only received the news yesterday that they were preparing to launch an attack. How could the commander-in-chief have come here today?

Sun Chuanting nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the Jurchens can now cast cannons. There are dozens of cannons on one side of Liaoyang City. If we launch a direct attack, we will surely suffer heavy casualties. That is why I rushed back to ask Your Majesty to decide what to do next."

Did the Jurchens themselves know how to forge cannons?
Divine Might General Cannon!

Zhu Jue suddenly remembered that the Jurchens had also cast cannons in history, and those cannons were called the Divine Might General Cannon.

As for why the Jurchens learned to cast cannons so quickly, historical records suggest that they apparently forced captured artisans from Liaodong to help with the casting.

Or perhaps the artisans who cast the cannons were recruited by the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou, but Feng Quan and Hong Chengchou simply altered the historical records.

However, it no longer matters how the artisans who cast the cannons came to be; the Jurchens have already cast the Divine Might General Cannon, which is now quite troublesome.

He frowned and pondered for a while, then asked, "What about the cannons cast by the Jurchens? Have you examined them closely?"

Sun Chuanting nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty, I have seen them. Although the cannons cast by the Jurchens are still somewhat rough, they weigh around 200 jin and 500 jin respectively."

Can a crudely made cannon be used?
If it's unusable, why would the Jurchens go to all that trouble to lift it from the city wall?
Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then simply waved his hand and said, "Bo Ya, let's go to Yu Xi Palace to talk. Jian Dou, you come too."

(End of this chapter)