The eldest grandson of Emperor Ming Dynasty!

The invention of the steam engine heralded the beginning of the first industrial revolution.

And this beginning has now appeared at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

This is simply a horror story.

The present Daming had already stood at the pinnacle of the world economically.

Originally, because of Lao Zhu's ban on the sea, the trade on the sea was not developed. Although the trade conducted by the government was equivalent to a monopoly on the sea, in fact, the significance of the sea trade in the Ming Dynasty was to promote the country's prestige. It is not economic trade.

A large amount of economy on the sea is actually swallowed up by smuggling sea merchants.

During the Yongle period, the first few times of Zheng He's voyages to the West, the data on the surface often showed losses, which is hard to imagine.

Naturally, this has more to do with Zhu Di's good face. In fact, Zheng He's voyages to the West, although the cost of sea trade is huge, but Zheng He also bought a lot of rare things, especially spices from Western countries.

As a luxury, spices played a huge role in Western trade and brought huge profits to trade in the early Ming Dynasty.

It was only at this time that Zhu Di made many expeditions to Mongolia, which caused the domestic economy to regress. Moreover, due to the supply of the army and the recruitment of military service, some disasters occurred, and the local government had no way to deal with them.

Military salaries and salaries are also a big expense, and the national treasury can hardly support it without increasing revenue. Therefore, the imperial court can only issue more precious banknotes to quench thirst, which also leads to more serious inflation of precious banknotes.

Compared with those brought back by Zheng He, the income and expenditure are completely out of balance. After all, although Zheng He is good at sailing, as a eunuch who grew up in the palace, he only has a little contact with merchants, and he doesn't think about it. Come and rely on sailing to increase revenue for the treasury.

It's not that Zheng He didn't want to, but he didn't realize how big the business opportunities are here.

It wasn't until a few times later, with experience, that the voyages began to make money.

For example, after Zheng He returned from his first voyage to the West in the fifth year of Yongle, the Ming Dynasty used pepper sumwood as a discount to distribute salaries to officials and civilians in large numbers, involving more than 20 people. Come to pay salaries to officials and soldiers.

This practice continued until the Chenghua period. Due to the influx of pepper sumac in the later period, the market price also dropped, and later officials no longer bought it, so this practice was terminated during the Chenghua period.

Zheng He's voyages to the West later, in fact, his income was greater than his expenditure. It stands to reason that the court should be able to carry out this matter all the time.

No matter how much you earn, you can earn something anyway, and you can also promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty by the way, so why not do it.

In fact, there is still a factor of low-level people here.

Zhu Di's period was very different from Zhu Ying's today. He still used the same system of corvee service in previous dynasties.

That is to say, the ships sailing to the west were paid labor and the craftsmen built them free of charge. The wood was collected from the southwest, and it was transported by corvee. Tea and silk were either taxed in kind or distributed at a low price.

This is tantamount to the imperial court's constant prostitution of low-level labor. The so-called huge cost lies in the tribute trade, Zhu Di's rewards to various countries.

Moreover, such free prostitution is cheap for the court, but it actually places a huge burden on the people at the bottom.

However, if it was just Zheng He's voyages to the West, this would be nothing to the Ming Dynasty.

The result is that Zhu Di has many aspects while sending Zheng He to the West.

First of all, it was natural to conquer Mongolia six times, and the second was to move the capital to Beiping. In addition, Li Datong went to the Western Regions, Haitong arrived in the North, and Hou Xian made a trip to the West.

The cost of the last three is not too big, but the first three, if any of them are brought up alone, can cause turmoil in the grassroots of Daming and shake the foundation of the country.

However, each of these three cannot be done in a short period of time.

It is equivalent to saying that after Zhu Di became emperor in the Battle of Jingnan, these three things were almost done together.

The period also included things like beating Annan.

When Zhu Di was fighting Mongolia in the front, Zhu Gaochi supervised the country in the back, and often quarreled with ministers over the possibility of dozens of taels of silver.

Old Zhu Sososo's family fortune that he had saved all his life was almost ruined by Zhu Di.

In addition to economic factors, there are also internal political factors in the Ming Dynasty.

The move of the capital and the conquest of Mongolia were all done by Zhu Di. With the prestige left by Zhu Di to punish the ten clans, although the imperial court was not as afraid of Zhu Di as they were afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang, most of them were afraid of him. The ministers also talked about it, and the actual impact was of little significance.

The key figure among them is Zheng He.

Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures, was the head of the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty.

That's all. Zheng He led 8000 people to the Western Seas. This was the beginning of eunuchs in charge of diplomacy and military command.

In addition, eunuchs also gradually mastered the power of supervising the army, sub-towns, and assassinating the secret affairs of the subjects, all of which began in the Yongle period.

The eunuch's interference in politics will inevitably deprive the bureaucrats of the foreign government of their power, and the role and influence of courtiers will begin to decrease.In this case, the courtiers' resistance to Zheng He's voyages became a kind of resistance to the eunuch's interference in politics.

I don't care if you make money or not, but you can't affect my power.

The more successful Zheng He's voyages were, the more the emperor handed over power to the eunuchs.

Since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, he has had a very high degree of distrust of officials, and believes that anyone who seeks to be an official is greedy.

Zhu Di was actually greatly influenced by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it was the same in all aspects of his actions.

And because the throne was not given by his father, but snatched from his nephew, Zhu Di always felt a lot of discomfort in his heart. He was afraid that after his death, he would face his father underground without face.

Zhu Yuanzhang's influence was too great, even when he was choosing his successor, it was because of a dream that he dreamed of Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the dream, Zhu Yuanzhang handed Zhu Di a big gui, and then said to Zhu Di: "Pass down to the descendants, and they will be prosperous forever!"

Zhu Di in the dream was so frightened that he took Dagui tremblingly.

After waking up from the dream, Zhu Di told Empress Xu the original dream.

As the daughter of Xu Da, the famous founding general of the Ming Dynasty, Empress Xu has been familiar with classics and history since she was a child, and has her own unique understanding of things. She quickly expressed her understanding of this dream: "The auspiciousness of children and grandchildren!"

It was at this time that the good news came: Zhang Shi, the concubine of the eldest son Zhu Gaochi, gave birth to a son.

This child is Zhu Zhanji, the eldest son and grandson of Zhu Di.

Zhu Di, who didn't like his eldest son Zhu Gaochi at first, did not establish a prince for a long time after he ascended the throne, and because of this incident, he appointed Zhu Gaochi as the crown prince.

Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas continued. Although there were performances during the Yongle period, it was useless.

After Zhu Di died and Zhu Gaochi took office, the ministers became more and more concerned about attacking Zheng He's journey to the West.

In secret, Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas were also very powerful in cracking down on smuggling maritime merchants.

After all, the policy of banning the sea has always been in place, and the trade profits of smuggling sea merchants are huge, and Zheng He's fleet can be said to be the overlord of the sea area. How can these smuggling ships compete.

Not only the fleet, but also the court's eyes gradually shifted to the sea, and the crackdown on smuggling maritime merchants was intensified from many aspects. Among them, Zhu Di once again set the record for Jinyiwei.

After Zhu Di passed away, Zhu Gaochi himself was naturally not as strong as his father Zhu Di. He was always hit by Zhu Di when he was growing up.

But among them, Zheng He is of great significance.

In particular, Zhu Gaochi died less than a year after he ascended the throne, which put a lot of pressure on Zhu Zhanji.

Zheng He is very important.

Many people saw Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, but ignored his identity.

When Zhu Zhanji came to the throne, Zheng He was the elder of the three dynasties, and since Zhu Dijingnan ascended the throne, he was the head of all officials.

Coupled with Zhu Di's distrust of officials and eunuchs meddling in politics, Zheng He at this time seemed to have become the most powerful eunuch in Ming Dynasty.

Even if it is six books, it can only be respectful in front of Zheng He.

In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, although the eunuchs were corrupt, their loyalty to the emperor was unquestionable. Even the nine thousand-year-old Wei Zhongxian, who was cast aside by thousands of people in later generations, was very loyal to the emperor.

Although Wei Zhongxian is greedy, he knows that his power comes from the emperor, at least he will not be greedy for border military pay.

Zheng He is equally loyal to Zhu Zhanji.

Therefore, Zheng He has contributed a lot to the stability of Zhu Zhanji's power.

At the same time, Zheng He is also a confidant of civil servants, but they are temporarily unable to resist.

For Zheng He's seventh voyage to the West, Zhu Zhanji encountered a lot of resistance, but he could still carry it out.

But after Zheng He died of illness on the road, it was very difficult to perform the eighth time.

In fact, even at this time, the imperial power still has great dominance, at least in the court's opinion, Zhu Zhanji has the right to decide.

But only two years after Zheng He's death, Zhu Zhanji also passed away.

This made the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty a little embarrassed, and Zhu Qizhen was only nine years old when he came to the throne.

Master Shaoguo suspected that the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty began to decline sequentially from this time.

And Wenchen Group naturally rose with the trend.

Zhu Ying is different.

First of all, when he came to Daming, he was a businessman and a smuggler.

At the same time, with the benefits of his previous life, he pays more attention to the reality rather than the fake big empty.

Unlike Zheng He's voyages, Li Jinglong's voyages were due to political factors, but Zhu Ying didn't care.

What he wants is money.

Prepare a lot of goods when you leave.

If Daming is a manufacturer, then coastal Champa, Chenla, and Siam are wholesalers.

Foreign businessmen who come to Siam belong to dealers.

Places like Europe and Central Asia are naturally retailers.

When Li Jinglong went to the West, he brought the most luxury goods, and what he did was to get rid of the middlemen to make the difference.

Zhu Ying's request is very simple. You Cao Guogong led the team to the West, and making money is the first element.

This is not considered Zheng He's cheap cost, but labor and materials are all included.

Not to mention how much you earn, if you lose money, you will be punished.

On the contrary, earning more is also a credit.

In any case, Li Jinglong took so many troops to the West, even if he made money first, it was still a promotion of the majesty of Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, now the economy of Ming Dynasty has begun to move towards a high degree of prosperity.

Youdao is the one who is favored and confident.

Zhu Yuanzhang caught corrupt officials and killed them, while Zhu Ying caught businessmen's fleeces.

The so-called is that I have been drenched in the rain, so I want to tear up someone else's umbrella.

Of course, Zhu Ying would not engage in small business and hawker business. What he engages in is those big merchants who are backed by aristocratic families.

Grab military power, carry out political reforms, set up factories, share shares, etc.

These methods are really nothing in the previous life, maybe if other people were in Zhu Ying's position, they could do better than him.

It's a big cover, and the family and businessmen are covered in it.

The wool will always be plucked, so Zhu Ying promoted the sea, let the merchants earn money at sea, and asked the Daming Navy to escort the merchants. He also participated in it, such as the Daming Ocean Trading Chamber of Commerce.

He let go of the so-called wind of great powers, and began to reduce countries in terms of tribute trade.

Tributary trade may have the effect of stabilizing the border, such as the influence of Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Ying doesn't care.

For example, you Zhancheng, Chenla, I just don’t give you preferential treatment in tribute trade, what else can you do, I just don’t give you big rewards, can you still beat me to Daming?
The only exception is Beiyuan. After all, that place is really poor.

Specialties like beef, mutton, and furs look good, but the economic benefits they generate are really the same for the entire Ming Dynasty.

The only thing that can be used is manpower.

So Zhu Yingda established the Beiyuan Employment Association in order to stabilize the guys in the grassland, and not to always fight the autumn wind, affect the border of Daming, and make it easy for Daming to fight here.

In fact, the Beiyuan Employment Association has spent a lot of money on the state treasury. Looking at it from another perspective, it is tantamount to fattening the grassland.

In fact, there have been courtiers playing for a long time, and Bei Yuan is really a threat. Under such a strong state, once he turns his face, it can be said that it is a danger for Daming.

It's just that neither grandpa nor grandson adopted this suggestion.

Zhu Ying is confident that on the basis of simultaneous development, the grassland will be left far behind.

It is also like the current steam ironclad ship.

This thing can't sail far at present, but it is an absolute deterrent to the countries in the sea area.

The role of the steam engine is not only reflected in the military.

Among them, for industrial development, it is also a qualitative improvement and a leap forward.

After the transition from manual production to machine production, it means that Daming's productivity has been increased by dozens of times on the original basis.

In addition to steam ironclad ships, steam trains can also really start to build.

Not to mention the railway lines opened throughout the Ming Dynasty, as long as the line from Nanjing to the border is opened.

With the transportation capacity of a steam train, you, Beiyuan, are nothing.

The most terrifying thing about steam trains is the speed at which they can transport troops.

Even if it is the steam engine that pulls the hips now, its power is by no means comparable to horsepower.

The most important thing is that it can run for twelve hours without stages.

At the beginning, Zhu Ying wanted to build a railway, but it was a pity that it fell through in the end.

And now, the steam engine, here it comes!
The running speed of the steam train, according to the calculation method of later generations, is about 60 kilometers to 80 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to the Ming algorithm, which means that it starts at 120 miles per hour.

It is about [-] miles from Nanjing to the border.

The steam train can travel more than 400 miles in [-] hours.

This also means that in less than two days, the steam train can transport the army directly to the border to fight.

Even if you count the steam out, some glitches, etc., three days is still enough.

Of course, if a large amount of luggage is installed, it may be slower, and the speed cannot be increased, but this speed also crosses the era.

This means that the ruling power of the Ming court over the local area will be greatly strengthened.

There will actually be some discrepancies.

With the current industrial foundation of Ming Dynasty, it is impossible for the railway to open mountains and cross rivers, but it doesn't matter much.

These road sections are directly done by manpower, and the soldiers are idle on the train, so it is enough to set up a few more road sections.

It is still difficult for Daming to accomplish this.

Among them, the scarcity of iron ore is a big problem.

It's not that there are few iron mines in the Central Plains, but that the iron mines in the Central Plains have been vigorously mined since ancient times. As a result, the mineral deposits in most places are now very scarce, and most of the easy ones have been excavated.

This is why the first thing Zhu Ying has to do is to steam the iron-clad ship.

Because the steam iron armored ship means that the sea distance is shortened and the transportation capacity is strengthened, which can vigorously transport the iron ore in the coastal and island countries to Daming.

"If I remember correctly, Japan has the most silver mines, and Australia has the most iron mines?"

Zhu Ying, who came back from shipbuilding, began to develop iron ore ideas.

Since it is a great voyage and the advent of the steam age, iron ore is the top priority in the case of the industrial revolution.

"It's just that Australia is completely a deserted island right now. If the imperial court is allowed to develop it, it will be too difficult."

Australia's geography sucks, and it's not suitable for large-scale colonization as a whole.

The northern part of Australia is facing Daming, which is full of deserts and savannahs.

For Daming, if you want deserts, I have them in the Western Regions, and if you want rain forests, I can go to Vietnam. Why bother going to Australia?

And if they land in Australia from East Asia, what awaits them is either the desert of Western Australia or the rainforest of Northern Australia.

For Daming Marine, going to Australia is not as good as going to Africa.

The long distance is not calculated by geographical length, but by sailing time.

To go to Africa, there are mature routes and complete technology. When to take the trade wind to Southeast Asia, when to take the monsoon to India, and then to Africa, this route has been traveled by countless people, and it is very convenient.

Going to Australia will be much more troublesome, and it will be a new route.

As far as the current route is concerned, it is based on the life detection of countless predecessors. It is not so easy to open up a new route.

Moreover, today's Australia is not even a tribal civilization, it is a completely primitive society.

Male and female have different shapes, don't weave or wear clothes, cover themselves with bird feathers, eat without fireworks, only have hair and drink blood, and live in caves.

Zhu Ying wanted to obtain iron mines in Australia, but given the current situation of the Ming court, it was very difficult to achieve.

"It seems that it can only rely on external force."

After thinking hard, Zhu Ying really thought of a solution that was not a solution.

It is naturally reluctant to let the people of Ming Dynasty develop Australia.

But what if it is a Kunlun slave?

Although Australia is not suitable for rice, wheat and sorghum can still be grown, and there are more grasslands, and animal husbandry can also be developed.

In fact, Zhu Ying didn't bother to think about these problems. In later generations, Australia developed anyway, and could always grow something to eat.

Now he was already annoyed by the matter of Daming Kunlun slaves, and now he has a good place to go.

Even if it won't bring much benefit in a short period of time, after ten or eight years, the mining technology will be spread, and high-quality iron ore will naturally flow in.