Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 246 Supplies Exhausted, Reinforcements Cut Off, Jurchens Weep in Bleeding (Part 2)

In November, the capital city also began to freeze over.

In the past, the capital would be affected to some extent at this time of year. Workshops and factories might reduce or even stop production due to raw material supply issues, and ordinary people would mostly choose to stay at home, with fewer and fewer pedestrians on the streets.

However, this year is different.

All this is because the railcars have been laid out, and the wharves at the mouths of the Haihe River, the Yunliang River, and the Luanhe River have been built, and icebreakers have all been equipped.

At this point, raw materials from anywhere could be transported to the Haihe River estuary by the Zhiyuan merchant ship, and then pulled to the capital by horse-drawn railcars. The supply of raw materials was no longer affected by the freezing weather.

As for the people of the capital, they had long been accustomed to riding horse-drawn carriages, and the number of pedestrians on the streets had not decreased at all, nor had the business of the shops along the streets been affected in the slightest.

However, as the weather gets colder, there is a problem that must be solved.

Around 1:00 AM that day, Zhu Jue led Zheng Zhilong, Wang Chengen, and Fang Zhenghua to the East Gate of the Imperial City. They boarded a horse-drawn railcar specially prepared for them and headed straight for the chariot factory in the outer eastern city.

However, he wasn't there to see the tanks. The tank factory had been turned into a horse-drawn railcar factory, and the Wuhan Iron and Steel Group's tank production had already ceased.

This is because Wuhan Iron and Steel has already produced 20,000 armored vehicles, enough to equip 400,000 armored soldiers.

At this moment, the combined number of chariot troops in the capital and Liaodong is only 280,000. They can't even muster 400,000. There are still 6,000 Wuhan Iron and Steel chariots on the drill grounds of the eastern and northeastern outer cities. There's no need to build more Wuhan Iron and Steel chariots for the time being.

He was too lazy to build a railcar factory. With a little modification, the tank factory could produce horse-drawn railcars. The key was that this would save a lot of time. Once the railcars were developed, they could start mass production.

At that time, the chariot factory had all kinds of horse-drawn railcars, some for hauling ore, some for hauling goods, some for hauling people, and some with a load capacity of 10,000 catties, some with a load capacity of 20,000 catties, some with a load capacity of 30,000 catties, and so on. The horse-drawn railcars produced in the ten workshops were all different.

Zhu Jue led his group directly to the factory that specialized in manufacturing passenger railcars.

Because the weather is getting colder and colder, it's still cold even if there are many people in the car.

Although it wasn't a big problem, it made him think of something.

Actually, this kind of thing is not unusual in later generations.

To put it simply, this thing is a coal stove.

However, it seems that the Ming Dynasty doesn't have any coal stoves right now!

This was all because the Ming Dynasty had strict control over salt and iron, so people didn't have enough iron to make more kitchen knives and farm tools, and naturally, they didn't have enough iron to make coal stoves.

Moreover, coal smoke is toxic and can kill people. If it is not a completely sealed coal stove, it is a huge hidden danger in the house, and you can easily get carbon monoxide poisoning if you are not careful.

Therefore, although the Ming Dynasty had started mining coal long ago, coal was mostly used in smelting or in workshops that made iron and copperware, and ordinary people rarely used it.

Nowadays, ordinary people mainly use firewood for cooking.

It's not a big deal if one or two people burn firewood, and it's not a big deal if tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people burn firewood. But it's quite terrifying when hundreds of thousands, millions, or even millions of people burn firewood.

There were practically no trees left within dozens of miles of the capital, all because so many people were burning firewood.

Moreover, firewood is three or four times more expensive than coal. Because of burning firewood, the profession of woodcutter was created. In order to earn money to support their families, woodcutters don't care about water and soil conservation or even ecological environmental protection. Wherever there are trees, they will cut them down, cutting off the branches and then the trunk!

The capital city originally had only a population of about a million, but they burned down all the trees within a radius of dozens of miles.

The population of the capital is now four or five million. If all households were to still use firewood to cook, the trees south of Yanshan Mountain probably wouldn't last long!

Therefore, he thought of promoting coal stoves.

This would not only reduce deforestation but also generate income. Coal stoves themselves are profitable, and if they become more widespread, coal mining would become a very lucrative business.

As for the woodcutters, they could all be sent to mine coal. Although that work is dirty and tiring, it's much more profitable than chopping wood.

Zhu Jue was pondering this when he arrived at the factory that specialized in manufacturing passenger railcars.

Bi Maokang, Song Yingxing, and Song Yingsheng hurriedly led their students to greet them, bowing and paying their respects.

In fact, they were all somewhat baffled, because what His Majesty had asked them to develop was too simple—it was just a coal stove.

Although the coal stove still needs to be sealed and has a thin iron chimney, this is not a problem with the current level of processing technology.

Soon, they brought Zhu Jue to a passenger railcar, which was equipped with a newly developed coal stove, and coal was already burning inside, making the entire carriage very hot.

It's not because the coal stove is particularly powerful; the key is that the factory already has heating, and if a coal stove is installed in the carriage, the temperature will definitely soar instantly.

Zhu Jue was so hot that he couldn't help but take off his heavy coat before bending down to take a closer look.

These guys actually designed a coal stove like an alchemy furnace, with four animal-shaped legs at the bottom, a round, bulging furnace body in the middle, and even a round door, like the sun and moon reflecting each other. It even has a cauldron lid with cloud patterns on top. If it weren't for the chimney sticking out from the side, it would look exactly like an alchemy furnace!

He said, somewhat speechless, "You don't need to make a regular household coal stove so exquisite. We're going to mass-produce it, at least 100,000 a month. Won't making it so exquisite affect our production?"

Uh, is this thing made too exquisitely?

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the culprit, Song Yingxing.

Song Yingxing quickly explained, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. You only mentioned the function, requirements, and general structure, but not the appearance."

When I discussed it with the old craftsmen, they all felt that the coal stove you mentioned was similar to an alchemy furnace, and since they had all cast alchemy furnaces before, they made it this way.

As for mass production, rest assured, for ease of casting, I specifically had them cast it in two sections. This makes mold making easier and sand casting much simpler. Producing over 100,000 sets a month is no problem at all.

Is it still in two pieces?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue took a closer look at the circular ring in the middle of the furnace and understood.

This is the joint between the upper and lower sections. The casting is quite ingeniously designed. The upper part is a round ring with corners, and the corners face downwards. The lower part is a round ring without corners. When the upper and lower parts are joined together, the seam is completely invisible.

He originally thought it was just a decorative ring, but he didn't expect it to be made by connecting the top and bottom parts.

He examined it closely and then asked, "Won't the joint leak air?"

Song Yingxing shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, no, Your Majesty, there is a copper pad in the middle and it is riveted tight, so it won't leak air."

Did they even use rivets?

Upon closer inspection, he indeed saw a ring of rivets, but the rivet heads were hammered into the countersunk holes and flush with the surface of the ring, making them virtually invisible without close inspection.

He took a closer sniff of the air in the carriage and found that there was indeed no smell of coal smoke.

The processing level of the Ming Dynasty is now exceptionally high.

He nodded with satisfaction, then asked, "How much does such a furnace with a chimney cost?"

Song Yingxing estimated, "The copper sheet in the middle of this furnace is the most valuable part. As for the steel, only about ten catties were used. If you calculate the material cost, it's only about two hundred coins. Add the labor cost, and the total cost is only four or five hundred coins."

Hmm, the cost is acceptable. Selling them for one or two taels of silver each will still yield a 50% profit margin.

The profit from this coal stove is nothing compared to the real money made from selling coal.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Alright, let's mass-produce them in this way. This year, let's start with 100,000 sets per month. Next year, we'll build more factories in Jizhou Town and gradually increase the production to one million sets per month."

Ah!
How come you always order millions of units a month?

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, the entire Ming Dynasty has at most ten or twenty million households. If we mention millions of units per month, wouldn't that mean it would be completed in two years? Even if it could be sold out, wouldn't that be a waste of the factory space?"

Do you think I only want to sell them?

Zhu Jue looked to the north and shook his head slightly, saying, "We still need to reclaim the lost land in the north in the future. At that time, the soldiers will inevitably have to camp in the wild. If there is nothing to keep them warm, they will freeze to death."

Therefore, we must equip our soldiers with these coal stoves, and it would be best if we could have them all by next year. As for the factory buildings, they will not be wasted; even if we don't build coal stoves, we can still cast other civilian goods.”

Oh, you're in a hurry to provide coal stoves for the soldiers.

As they were discussing, Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode in, carrying a memorial, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Lord Sun has sent an urgent report from eight hundred li away."

Is the Jurchen in Liaoyang about to run out of food?

Zhu Jue took the memorial and looked at it; it was indeed true.

Sun Chuanting reported that Liaoyang City had suddenly dispatched a large number of fast cavalry, which dispersed and fled north.

He estimated that the city was running out of food, and if Huang Taiji did not send reinforcements, the Jurchens in Liaoyang would probably break out of the city.

The food supplies in Liaoyang City have finally run out. If Huang Taiji does not send reinforcements, then these 50,000 Jurchen infantrymen will have no chance of escaping.

Could two-legged Jurchens outrun four-legged cavalry?

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully and then decisively said, "Ruoyu, tell Boya to be careful. Huang Taiji may take advantage of the Jurchen breakout in Liaoyang to launch a surprise attack on our cavalry from the north. When he sends cavalry to block the Jurchen infantry, it is best to have the chariots set up a defensive line."

(End of this chapter)