Hongwu Survival Guide

Chapter 172

In Fengxian Hall, Zhu Yuan rubbed the super-large globe in front of him, pretending to ponder and ponder his thoughts for a while, facing the family of three on the side, he did not dare to distract himself too much, he withdrew his attention, and quickly returned to the 'five' Beijing system' issue.

Turning the Chinese side of the globe to Lao Zhu and the others, Zhu Yuan said: "My ancestors, before we talk about the Five Capitals System, we should first briefly explain to your empress and Your Highness why this is the case. In fact, this still involves economics."

Hearing the word 'economics', Zhu Biao, who was already curious, cheered up.

Lao Zhu had already exposed his eldest son to a lot of knowledge provided by Zhu Yuan, including the globe beside Zhu Yuan, but he had not yet brought out the knowledge of economics.

At the moment, after hearing what Zhu Yuan said, Lao Zhu pondered for a while, thinking that the Yuan court had been destroyed, and the focus of Ming Dynasty's government was to develop the economy, and the eldest son was fourteen years old, so he really should get more knowledge about it.

So he nodded: "Just say it."

Seeing that Lao Zhu agreed, Zhu Yuan was about to speak, but got stuck for a short time. There was too much to say, and he couldn't finish it in a few sentences, and he didn't know where to start for a while.

This has to be done with caution.

Because of the association about "25 Years of Hongwu" just now, Zhu Yuan realized that back in this era, Zhu Biao is the more difficult one to deal with than Lao Zhu, the boss on the bright side.

Therefore, even if a young man looks harmless to humans and animals, Zhu Yuan dare not take it lightly.

After deliberating again for a while, Zhu Yuan finally said: "There are too many things about economics, and it is impossible to finish talking today even late at night. If Your Highness is unclear later, you can wait for Yuan'er to explain slowly in the future. It can only be developed around the Five Capital System."

Before the eldest son opened his mouth, Lao Zhu, who noticed that Zhu Yuan was clearly restrained, waved his hands and said with a smile: "You can continue talking, just continue from what we talked about just now. This is a university question. Too much accommodating him."

Hearing what Lao Zhu said, and seeing that Zhu Biao was also nodding modestly, he pretended to be relaxed and said: "First of all, I want to briefly describe the agricultural age and the industrial age. The long thousands of years since China has historical records Time, until now in the Ming Dynasty, production was dominated by farming, so it is called the agricultural era. The agricultural era has developed for thousands of years, and it has been difficult to fundamentally improve productivity, which has led to increasingly limited production and distribution , And then lead to the continuous replacement of the dynasty. 'Production' and 'distribution' are two important basic concepts in the study of economics. Your Highness has studied them for many years. Come to think of it, can you roughly understand the meaning of these two words only from the words?"

He said and looked at Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao thought about it for a while, but he didn't really understand it in his heart. After all, there were too many new words in Zhu Yuan's words just now, but he still nodded on the surface: "Generally... I understand."

Zhu Yuan continued: "The solution is to achieve a breakthrough in productivity from another angle. This is the industrial age that I conceived for my ancestors. What is the industrial age? To give a simple example, I carried out sea research in Mingzhou. To catch fish, craftsmen are needed to make boats, craftsmen are needed to make fishing nets, and so on. Boats and fishing nets can be called "industrial products" because they are made by craftsmen. We use these industrial products to catch fish. It is equivalent to another kind of "production", which is different from the traditional "production" of growing crops on the land. In fact, this example is not appropriate, but because it is already a fact, it is brought out for His Highness to understand. Simply put , The industrial age is a brand new era in which through various industrial means and using various industrial products, we can finally achieve higher efficiency production than agriculture.”

Speaking of this, facing the more obvious doubts in Zhu Biao's eyes, Zhu Yuan pointed to the booklet that Lao Zhu still pressed on his knees: "The steam engine on the picture book in the hands of the ancestors, and many other equipment, are from the industrial age. Various production tools that are necessary. Let’s look at the industrial age. Through various industrial tools, we can achieve one hundred, one thousand or even ten thousand times the production efficiency of manpower in the traditional agricultural era, so we can get more production. If there are enough production results, enough people can be fed. As long as the common people have enough to eat, there will be no turmoil in this world, even for a hundred or a thousand years."

Zhu Biao still half understood, but at the end, he couldn't help but nodded.

Lao Zhu felt that because of the arrival of his son, the attention of his precious 23rd grandson was largely turned to the other party. He was not depressed about this, but was very relieved. Seeing his son looking hopefully at the picture album on his lap , smiled and said: "Listen to Yuan'er first, and show you later."

Zhu Biao turned to Zhu Yuan again.

Zhu Yuan paused briefly and gestured to the globe in front of him: "If you want to enter the industrial age, on the one hand, it is production tools, and on the other hand, it is production materials. For example, the most common ones are land, minerals, water sources, etc. Just now I and My ancestor happened to talk about this. According to a certain measurement unit I am familiar with, the land area controlled by Daming is actually only about 300 million square kilometers. However, if we want to ensure that a new industrial era has enough means of production, the 300 million square kilometers A kilometer of land is far from enough, so we need to expand outward and expand the land of Daming to ten times the current size..."

Speaking of this, Zhu Yuan gestured to the globe beside him: "... roughly, the north reaches the polar regions, the south reaches the South China Sea, the west reaches the Western Regions, and the east reaches the ocean."

This time, Lao Zhu and his son did not speak, and Ma Shi, who had been listening quietly, couldn't help but said: "This... such a large country, far surpassing the Han and Tang Dynasties, even if it can be conquered, how many troops will be needed to garrison it? Both the North and the Western Regions are wild lands, what is the use of them?"

If it wasn't for taking care of the face of the three men in the hall, Mrs. Ma would have almost said words like 'a waste of money' and 'great success'.

Zhu Yuan could understand Ma Shi's reaction very well, but had to patiently analyze the various resources in each region in detail.

However, after Zhu Yuan finished speaking, Ma said, "Even if what you say is true, these 'oil' and 'potassium mines' are tens of thousands of miles away, how can they be transported to China?"

Zhu Yuan smiled and said patiently: "Your Majesty, the answer is in the picture book in the hands of the ancestors. Not to mention the rest of the follow-up, as long as the most basic steam engine is realized, a steam train is built, and the railway network that will run through the country at that time can be used. The current journey in March has been shortened to three days."

March travel shortened to three days?

This is completely out of Ma Shi's imagination, and she couldn't help questioning: "How to shorten it, can it still fly?"

"If it flies," Zhu Yuan said patiently, "it may only take three hours, and the method... Yuan'er is also attached in the album."

Bewitching people!

This was Marsh's first thought.

Zhu Biao looked at the album in his father's hand again, becoming more and more curious.

Faced with Ma Shi's doubts, Zhu Yuan had no choice but to say to Lao Zhu: "My ancestor, please show your highness and empress the pattern of the steam engine, and I will explain it along the way."

Lao Zhu nodded, opened the booklet with a smile like a treasure, and placed it on the lap of his son sitting between the couple.

Ma Shi and Zhu Biao looked together.

Zhu Yuan also began to explain: "The principle of the steam engine is actually very simple. Using the power generated by the expansion of water vapor when water is vaporized, the piston of the cylinder is repeatedly pushed to form a reciprocating motion that can be cycled. This outward kinetic energy, And through the transmission system, many specific mechanical movements can be realized, such as the forward movement of vehicles and ships, and for example, it can be used to forge iron, or it can be made into a water pump to pump water from a low place to a high place, etc.”

This time it was Zhu Biao who spoke and looked up: "Water boils and turns into water...steam, I know that, but, Hanlin, can this water vapor have the power you said to push the vehicle forward?"

"Of course," Zhu Yuan gestured to the surroundings: "Your Highness, there is air everywhere around us, and the inside and outside are the same, forming a balance, so you don't feel anything. However, when liquid water turns into gaseous water, the force produced , is actually very huge. Well, in fact, another kind is more vivid, gunpowder. Your Highness, the so-called gunpowder explosion means that solid charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter powder are transformed into gas equivalent to hundreds or thousands of times their volume in an instant , produced a powerful shock wave, thus injuring people and destroying things. After associating with it, looking at the transformation of water into gas, compared with gunpowder, it is actually a relatively long and gentle transformation, but its transformation power is still there, so it can be used for Let's use it."

"That being the case," Zhu Biao looked down at the pattern in front of him again. In fact, he wanted to turn it over, but he didn't move. He raised his head again: "Hanlin, can you build me a steam engine?"

Now, Lao Zhu and Ma Shi also looked over together.

Lao Zhu was still thinking about the title just now.

Two teenagers, one called His Highness, the other Hanlin, he felt a little alienated.However, thinking about it again, this is not bad. After all, Zhu Yuan's identity was twisted by him. It would be even more awkward for his son to be called Zhu Yuan's nephew, or conversely, uncle.

That's just right.

Hearing his son's question here, he also looked at Zhu Yuan expectantly.

Zhu Yuan thought for a while, nodded and said: "It should be no problem to just make a steam engine model, but if you want to achieve wide application, I'm afraid it won't work without ten or twenty years of accumulation, because it will first require thousands of people. Thousands of steam engines."

Seeing that Zhu Yuan said yes, Lao Zhu immediately said: "Then quickly build one and let me have a look. Heh, this time brought back tens of thousands of craftsmen. It was originally for you to arrange, and I gave it to you."

Where do you need tens of thousands of people?

However, Zhu Yuan did not refuse, and nodded: "It may take a few months."

Lao Zhu was looking forward to it, but he suppressed his temper when he heard the words: "Take your time, there are many things to do, and there is no need to rush." ​​He paused, then gestured to the album beside him: "There is another one, the internal combustion engine, which can make Is it?"

Zhu Yuan could only shake his head this time: "The principle of the internal combustion engine is actually the gasification of fuel to provide power, but it is much more intense than steam, similar to gunpowder, and it also involves many technical problems. The key one... ancestors, There is no oil on the current land of Ming Dynasty.”

Lao Zhu still didn't want to give up and asked: "Can't other oils be used, and ask people to cook more lard and butter?"

Zhu Yuan: "..."

Seeing his baby's 23rd grandson looking speechless, Lao Zhu grinned, waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's make this steam engine for me first."

After a lot of talking, Zhu Yuan was finally able to turn the topic back to just now: "Furthermore, the Wujing system, in the industrial age, is different from agricultural production that depends on the land. Industrial production can be concentrated. Therefore, on the vast land of 3000 million square kilometers , Setting up five capitals, on the one hand, can concentrate the resources in the corresponding areas for industrial production, which is the economic level, and the other, is the political level, which can strengthen the imperial court’s control over the corresponding areas.”

After explaining so much just now, both Zhu Biao and Ma Shi understood what Zhu Yuan said.

Old Zhu said: "Tell me specifically, where should the five capitals be located?"

Zhu Yuan directly pointed to a location: "First of all, Zhongjing, Yuaner's suggestion is Dadu. Why not Jinling, I just told my ancestors that the location of Jinling..."

"Don't say any more, Death Gate, it's bad luck..." Old Zhu interrupted, turning to the mother and son who were puzzled next to him: "...We can't stay here for long in Jinling City."

Before Zhu Biao could react, Mrs. Ma raised her eyebrows and said, "My husband wants to move the capital, is this a big deal?"

Seeing his wife's appearance, Lao Zhu could guess what she was going to say, and then waved his hand and said, "No hurry, I'm not in a hurry either."

The couple here were talking, Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Yuan and asked, "Hanlin, why didn't you choose Bianliang?"

Zhu Yuan pointed to the globe in front of him: "Please look, Your Highness. On the one hand, Bianliang's geographical location, although blocked by the Yellow River, is surrounded by flat rivers, which is really not suitable for a capital. From the point of view, Dadu is a location closer to the center, moreover, Dadu is surrounded by mountains on both sides, which is a natural barrier, and there is an outlet to the east, which is also convenient for the development of the navy and the development of the ocean."

Lao Zhu comforted his wife, looked over at this moment, and said, "I thought you would take Dadu as Beijing, but...if Dadu is Zhongjing, where should Beijing be?"

Zhu Yuan pointed north and drew on the bank of a large lake: "Here, we can build a brand new city by the North Sea to control the vast northern land."

The North Sea was later Lake Baikal.

Before Lao Zhu and others asked questions, Zhu Yuan continued: "Beihai is a very special lake. On the one hand, it is very deep. Traditional lakes can have a depth of ten feet, even if it is deep water, but the depth of Beihai can reach More than 200 feet. On the other hand, the North Sea is still a freshwater lake, and water is the foundation of all things. On our earth, freshwater resources are actually very scarce, because it is wide enough and deep enough, just one North Sea occupies It accounts for one-fifth of all terrestrial freshwater resources on Earth, so this is a resource that Ming must absolutely protect."

When these words came out, Lao Zhu was out of taste, Ma Shi was in doubt, and Zhu Biao asked directly: "How does Hanlin know this?"

This……

Zhu Yuan looked at Lao Zhu.

Lao Zhu came back to his senses, and said to his eldest son: "Yuan'er's experience is quite bizarre, and you will learn a lot from him in the future, just believe in it, and don't pursue these sources."

Zhu Biao nodded obediently: "Father, the child remembers."

Saying this, Zhu Biao thought of the big copper cabinet in his father's study again, thinking that the secret should be there.

Zhu Yuan continued: "Let's talk about Nanjing. Yuan'er has two suggestions. One is here, Guangzhou, and the other is above the South China Sea. There is a strait here, which is the only waterway from the South China Sea to our mainland. It is called Malacca. , like Tongguan and Juyongguan, we may be able to build a capital here in the future. These will need to be determined by our ancestors and Your Highness in the future."

Zhu Biao, who listened carefully, noticed the last sentence and nodded subconsciously, feeling very comfortable in his heart.

Lao Zhu didn't pay much attention to this detail, but just thought about it: "This... still needs to be discussed in the long run."

"The outlet to the sea is very important," Zhu Yuan looked at the globe again, and said, "However, when we take back Yunnan in the future and go all the way south, then Malacca will not be the only choice for us to go to sea in the south."

After Lao Zhu nodded slightly, Zhu Yuan continued: "Besides, Tokyo and Xijing, similar to Nanjing and Beijing, have to be separated from our previous considerations. Xijing, Yuan'er suggested that we choose a city in the Western Regions in the future and focus on management. As for Tokyo... ..." Zhu Yuan gesticulated on the Japanese archipelago, and finally clicked on one place: "Here, it is most suitable as Tokyo."

This Tokyo is, of course, a certain Tokyo in the past.

Lao Zhu also immediately asked: "Why are you on that Japanese island?"

Zhu Yuan said: "There are still two aspects. One is resources. Yuan'er told his ancestors before that the Zhoushan Fishing Ground is the largest fishing ground in China, but if we say that the largest fishing ground off the coast of our entire mainland is not in China. It is not near the sea, but in the outer sea of ​​Japan, called the Hokkaido Fishing Ground, which is one of the four largest fishing grounds in the world."

Speaking of drawing a circle in an area overseas of Japan, Zhu Yuan continued: "On the other hand, in a short period of time, huh... I mean, in the next generation or two, we want to reach another area on the other side of the ocean. There is only one feasible route to the mainland, which is to start along the coast of Japan, go north, and go around in a circle before arriving. Therefore, Tokyo has become a very important transportation hub."

(End of this chapter)