Ming Dynasty: Every day, Zhu Yuanzhang is in trouble

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, steel production was limited.

Especially steel, it is really difficult to deal with.

Nowadays, the best quality steel is the one that has been tempered a hundred times.

It is to heat the smelted steel again.

Steel is forged by repeatedly hammering with a hammer.

It is easy to imagine how low the efficiency of forging steel using this method would be and how unsatisfactory the output would be.

On weekdays, it is mostly used to forge swords and other weapons.

As for the steel that is directly fired in a furnace, in Mei Yin's opinion, it is more like semi-finished steel than steel.

It doesn't work well in many places.

The output of steel is also an important criterion for measuring the strength of a country.

The more developed a society is, the more steel it uses will naturally increase.

In the future, with the promotion of steam locomotives.

The emergence of steam ships and other steam-driven machines will inevitably further increase the demand for steel.

If this problem is not solved, the huge gap in steel will become a serious obstacle to the Ming Dynasty's entry into the steam age.

Will be strangled by the throat.

After all, if you want to realize the advantages of the steam engine, you must implement it on a large scale.

If a certain scale is not reached, steam engines, steam locomotives, steam ships and other things, no matter how good they are, will only play a limited role.

The impact it can bring to the Ming Dynasty is also very limited.

Only by laying railways to every place in the Ming Dynasty can countless steam locomotives travel back and forth along these railways.

Only then can this huge advantage be truly reflected.

Now this issue is urgent.

Mei Yin naturally needs to solve it.

The solution to this problem is to increase the number and scale of steel mills.

There is another more important way, which is to change the way Ming Dynasty makes steel today.

To produce steel that can be directly smelted and whose performance is no less than that of hundred-fold refined steel.

Under such circumstances, the increase in steel production would be a qualitative leap.

Otherwise, without technological innovation, we will still rely on the current technology to produce steel.

Obviously, this is not a very clever method and the efficiency is too low.

The improvement of technology is often not achieved overnight.

It often requires a lot of accumulation, plus some bursts of inspiration, before it can be promoted.

However, Mei Yin himself is an exception.

Not only does it come from later generations, but there is also a powerful thing called the Death Remonstrance System.

Then many things are not that difficult for him.

This is difficult to do for many people.

But it wasn't difficult for him.

Although not much was known about steelmaking in the past.

But it is impossible to say that there is no way at all.

He personally went to the smelting workshop near the capital.

Everyone in the workshop was extremely enthusiastic about Mei Yin's arrival.

This is not just because Mei Yin has a high status and noble identity.

He is the current prince consort and was conferred the title of marquis by the emperor.

More importantly, the legend of this prince consort is everywhere nowadays.

Mei Yin's reputation is very big now.

But if we were to say where the largest group of artisans is, it would undoubtedly be among these craftsmen.

Before Mei Yin came, craftsmen had a low status.

The so-called artisans were, in fact, in many cases, no different from the common people.

Not only is their status low, their treatment is also not high.

However, with the sudden appearance of Prince Consort Mei, this situation was abruptly changed.

Nowadays, the status of craftsmen in Shuangshui Village has increased rapidly.

Among the craftsmen, how many would not want to come to Shuangshui Village, serve under Mr. Mei, and work for this prince consort?
As soon as you get there, your status, position and corresponding treatment will undergo a drastic change.

In addition, just last month, the imperial court directly announced a set of grades for craftsmen and corresponding verification methods.

There are also corresponding treatment and other things.

Although this rank is not comparable to that of an official.

It is also impossible to have the power to be an official.

However, with the grades, the treatment of craftsmen will increase rapidly.

There is also a channel for improvement.

More importantly, as the level increases, the benefits and treatment you can enjoy will also increase accordingly.

These are all real things.

This was something they had never dared to think about before.

After this huge change, the craftsmen like them will no longer have a clear end and a dark future as before.

They also have a goal to strive for.

Although the imperial court only issued an edict regarding this matter, it did not say who was behind this.

But many people actually understand it in their hearts.

Although the emperor made the final decision on this matter, it was also the court that implemented it.

However, Mr. Mei, the legendary prince consort, must have played a very outstanding role in this.

It can even be said to play a decisive role.

After all, Prince Consort Mei used his actual actions to prove to everyone the importance of craftsmen.
Especially when the steam locomotive came out, it shocked the world.

Even the emperor was very happy.

He was directly conferred the title of marquis on him because of this.

And after a period of time, he was conferred the title of marquis.

The imperial court directly announced this set of things.

It greatly improved the treatment of craftsmen.

If you say there is no necessary connection here, they definitely won't believe it.

Of course, there is another reason besides this, which is that Prince Consort Mei is all-encompassing and seems to know everything.

There was nothing that stumped him.

Many industries can be transformed with some guidance from Prince Consort Mei.

A transformation can happen immediately.

There will be a huge improvement.

Under such circumstances, I wonder how many people are hoping that Prince Consort Mei can come to them and give them some advice.

Now, Prince Consort Mei has come to them.

How could they not be happy about this?

This means that it is very likely that Prince Consort Mei will also give them some guidance on steel smelting.

This is what they have been longing for.

After Prince Consort Mei's guidance, it is very likely that earth-shaking changes will take place here.

From now on, everyone's fate will be very different.

Even Prince Consort Mei did not do these things.

But just for what he had done in the past, he deserved such respect from them.

It can be said that Mei Yin has now, without realizing it, gained the recognition and respect of too many people with his abilities.

It seems that he has already reached the level of a big boss.

"Master Chen, I came here to see how you make steel."

Mei Yin said with a smile on his face, looking at the person next to him who was welcoming him.

After hearing what Mei Yin said, everyone present became extremely excited and happy.

This is the news they want to hear the most.

Sure enough, when Mr. Mei comes to them, he will never disappoint them.

What they thought in their hearts was exactly as they thought.

It can be said that they got what they wanted!
"Please come in, Mr. Mei, it is my honor to have you come here.

It is a blessing for all of us.”

After hearing what Mei Yin said, Master Chen seemed particularly happy. He immediately led Mei Yin to the place where they smelted steel.

After coming here, the smell of burning food and other smells suddenly entered Mei Yin's nasal cavity.

The temperature here also rose a lot.

A large stove appeared in front of Mei Yin.

Mei Yin started here to see how they smelted steel.

After standing here and watching for a while, Mei Yin said nothing and went somewhere else.

Wander around here.

It wasn't long before we saw a large amount of charcoal piled up here.

Seeing the charcoal, Mei Yin nodded.

This was indeed just as he had heard from some of the news before.

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty uses charcoal instead of coal to smelt steel.

"Master Chen, why do you use charcoal instead of coal to smelt steel?

Isn't coal better than charcoal?"

Hearing Mei Yin's words, Master Chen hurriedly said, "Let the Prince Consort know that someone else used coal before.

But, this...how to say it.

Some coal is of relatively good quality, but some is of very poor quality.

When used to smelt steel, its temperature is far inferior to that of charcoal.

There is no way to make steel.”

After hearing what Master Chen said, Mei Yin nodded.

Some people nearby were originally waiting for the legendary figure Mei Yin to speak and give them some advice.

At this time, I was actually a little stunned.

I feel that Prince Consort Mei is somewhat different from what I imagined.

Looking at it now, it doesn't seem to be of any level.

I don't even know this.

Isn't this a very simple matter?
Mei Yin said: "Master Chen, have you ever thought about burning the coal?
Just do it the same way as burning charcoal.

Charcoal is originally wood, and its temperature is lower.

But after being burned, it becomes charcoal, which becomes particularly useful.

Some coal is substandard, isn't it the same as the wood?
Now, let's burn this thing just like we make charcoal.

Wouldn't it be better to burn off the impurities and turn it into high-quality coal?

Many things can be solved.

What Mei Yin was talking about was naturally coking.

Naturally, high-quality coal is scarce.

However, there is a way to further purify it.

This problem can be solved well by turning coal into coke.

Coke, both in terms of burning time and temperature, is far beyond the reach of charcoal.

More importantly, coal production is also large.

In the future, we can carry out coking and use coke to smelt steel.

Not to mention the quality and output of the steel produced, the cost alone is much less than charcoal.

Especially building coking plants, iron smelting and steel mills next to large coal mines.

It is even possible to find a place that is close to large coal mines and iron mines and build a steel plant there.

Then he gave priority to installing the steam locomotives he developed in the mining areas.

Steam trains were used to transport ore, and many other things.

Then in the future, the cost can be further reduced.

Master Chen was stunned when he heard what Mei Yin said.

Then he showed a look of sudden enlightenment.

After a moment, this look was replaced by intense surprise.

It seems to be true!

This wood is actually even less useful than coal.

However, after being fired and turning the wood into charcoal, its performance is greatly improved.

So, the unusable coal can be burned through some means.

Wouldn't that solve this problem directly?
Much better than charcoal!
With such easy-to-use coal, we can smelt steel.

Then the quality of the smelted steel will definitely be rapidly improved.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

The more I think about it, the more pleasantly surprised I am.

At the same time, I also felt that I was really too stupid before.

This method doesn't seem difficult.

How come I and others didn’t think of it before Prince Consort Mei said it?

If we had thought of it earlier, wouldn’t there have been a huge improvement a long time ago?

It's not just Master Chen, most of the others are the same.

Especially just now, I was still thinking that Mr. Mei didn't seem to be a very good person.

At this time, hearing what Mei Yin said, he was stunned for a moment.

Those who are slow to react are still wondering whether this is feasible.

Some people who were quick-witted were already excited and wanted to do it immediately.

Verify whether what Mr. Mei said is true.

amazing!
It’s really amazing!

How could Mr. Mei be so amazing?

Even these things could make him think of it?

In an instant, the doubts in my heart disappeared completely.

And I feel that I and others deserved to die before this!

I actually had such a rebellious thought in my mind.

Questioning Prince Consort Mei in your heart!

How could people like us question Prince Consort Mei's abilities?
Prince Consort Mei is indeed worthy of his reputation.

It would have been fine if he hadn't taken action, but now that he had just taken action, he immediately had this shocking effect.

It's really exciting.

I admire it.

Suddenly, words of praise kept coming out of the mouths of Master Chen and others.

And what they said was not flattery.

But it comes from the heart.

Mei Yin smiled and waved his hand, telling them not to say any more.

Then, let him take me here to continue watching.

After looking at it for a while, Mei Yin pointed at the thing used to blow air and said:
“I think there is room for improvement.

The efficiency of the current air bags is really too slow.

The amount of air that can be blown out at one time is too little.

The frequency is too low.

If this can be modified, the temperature will definitely be raised faster."

Now, the blowing device they use is a large leather bag.

In Mei Yin's opinion, this is indeed not a good idea.

The efficiency is too low.

It's not as fast as a bellows.

In addition to sealing the box, you can also make a wind gourd.

That is the blower.

Upon hearing this, Master Chen immediately wrote these down.

I just feel full of joy.

I feel that Mr. Mei is worthy of his reputation.

And I look forward to Mr. Mei saying more good things!

(End of this chapter)