Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After Wang Wenzhen left, Zhu Youjian called Wang Chengen again and arranged for him to receive the money.

One million in cash, according to previous practice it would only be one million.

But after minting silver coins and issuing subsidiary notes, it can become 1.3 million -

Shuntian Bank needs to deposit 30% of its gold and silver as deposit reserves into the Gold Reserve Association. The Gold Reserve Association can then turn the 300,000 into silver dollars and print 300,000 subsidiary currency notes.

The silver dollars are not used temporarily as reserves, but can be used at any time when needed.

This is the magic of finance, it can increase the amount of money used by several times.

Also because this kind of money came too easily, Zhu Youjian was worried that court officials would print subsidiary currency notes like they did with treasure notes, so he strictly regulated the number of banknotes that could be printed and formulated the "Currency Act."

Otherwise, according to later experience, the amount of paper money issued could be two or three times the gold and silver reserves, far more than the current one-to-one ratio.

When the subsidiary currency notes were first issued, he needed to be extremely cautious and avoid all dangers.

In the future, the amount of banknotes printed will be supervised and controlled by Congress and will no longer be like treasure notes.

Up to now, Zhu Youjian still makes his budget based on one million silver dollars, and the 300,000 silver dollars deposited in the Gold Reserve Association will not be used easily.

He said to Wang Chengen:

"Of the gold and silver sent by Chu Fan, keep 500,000 for the construction of the bell tower."

"The remaining 500,000 will be used to expand the weapons group."

"Has the Armory Bureau chosen a location for the new factory?"

This is another arsenal of the weapons group besides the Tongzhou Arsenal, and it is fully funded by the inner court, with no outsiders allowed to participate.

The weapons of the Imperial Camp and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as well as the share of weapons that Zhu Youjian promised to the royal family, will most likely come from this arsenal in the future.

Wang Chengen also attached great importance to this arsenal, much more than the Tongzhou Arsenal, of which he only had a stake. He replied to the emperor:

"After discussing with the engineers of the Armory Bureau, I feel that there is not enough space in the Jingxi Bastion, so we can only accommodate some researchers."

"An arsenal with tens of thousands of people needs a city to house it."

"The place closest to the capital and with the strongest fortifications is none other than Zhuolu District."

"Also, the three guards of Zhuolu have completed their restructuring, so one guard can be transferred to take charge of the protection."

This was the best location he and engineers from the Armory Bureau chose after surveying the area around the capital.

Zhuolu District just renovated the city a few years ago and even planned to build a road leading to the capital, so transportation with the capital is very convenient.

Especially after the establishment of the Zhuolu District Council, the people of Zhuolu District are very loyal to the current emperor, and the officials in charge are also sent by the emperor, so there is no need to worry about encountering difficulties.

The three guards of Zhuolu had their unstable factors cleared out, and one guard could be transferred to be responsible for the guarding work.

The military craftsmen and surplus men in the garrisons could be recruited as workers in the arsenals.

After receiving reserve training at the arsenal, they can even pick up the arsenal's weapons and go to the battlefield as soldiers.

This was also the purpose of Zhu Youjian ordering the Shenwu Zhongwei to guard the Tongzhou Arsenal and to prepare an army using the arsenal guard.

So, after hearing the location of Zhuolu District, he was a little surprised at first, then he looked at the map and nodded slowly, thinking that Zhuolu District was indeed a good place:
"Zhuolu District is southwest of the capital, and the enemies from the north can't easily get here."

"To the west is the Taihang Mountains, and with Yizhou guarding Zijing Pass, there is no need to worry too much."

"To the south is Baoding, the southern gate of the capital."

"The inner court arsenal is placed here, so there is no need to worry about its safety."

With the surrounding areas on guard against the enemy, Zhuolu District is located in the rear, which is indeed a good place to build an arsenal. Moreover, it is very close to the capital and can also support Baoding, Zijingguan and other places.

The only bad thing is that the copper, iron, lead and other resources needed by the arsenal are basically not available in Zhuolu District and need to be shipped out.

It is located inland, and transportation is not as convenient as Tongzhou which has a canal. The production cost will be higher and it will be inconvenient to sell to other countries.

Regarding this question, Wang Chengen said:
"I think the Zhuolu Arsenal should mainly produce firearms and ammunition, heavy artillery, etc., and Tongzhou should produce them."

"In this way, the Zhuolu Arsenal will not need to consume much raw materials, but will need more workers."

"Zhuolu District Chief Liu also promised me that he could organize people to make gun stocks and other things for the arsenal."

"There are quite a few people there who are good at making bird cages and have some basic knowledge in carpentry."

This convenient condition made Zhu Youjian nod his head.

What made him particularly satisfied was that Liu Lishun took the initiative to offer conditions to attract the Arsenal to come over.

It can be seen that Liu Lishun is really doing practical things and puts the people at heart.

The people in Zhuolu District are willing to work and can also help support the development of the arsenal.

So he nodded and said:
"Then we will place the weapons group's arsenal in Zhuolu District and invest 500,000 silver dollars to expand its scale."

"We will try to get the Zhuolu Arsenal to produce primers and bullets. When conditions are ripe, I will transfer the primer production from Jingxi Bastion to them."

After mercury fulminate was discovered, it was immediately classified as top secret by Zhu Youjian, who controlled all people who knew the formula.

Today, the production of primers is still carried out in the Jingxi Bastion. After they are made, they will be sent out and assembled with the cartridge case into a complete bullet.

This was obviously not a long-term solution, so Zhu Youjian planned to move some personnel there after the Zhuolu Arsenal was completed.

He intends to keep this secret for as long as possible, and it would be best if other countries could never produce it.

Since the principle, formula, etc. of mercury fulminate are kept completely secret, other countries that want to explore for mercury fulminate can only try to get lucky through repeated experiments.

If they did not arrange special funds and personnel for experiments, it might take a long time for them to crack the secret of fulminate of mercury.

After hearing the emperor's arrangement, Wang Chengen felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was even heavier.

He knew exactly how powerful fulminate of mercury was. If it leaked, he would be held responsible for his own life.

This made him decide to consult the Jinyiwei Confidentiality Department to further strengthen the confidentiality of the weapons group's personnel.

The new factory staff had to be trained from scratch, and the factory staff and Zhuolu District staff had to be separated.

He suggested to the emperor:
"The city of Zhuolu District is not very big. If the arsenal is expanded to tens of thousands of people, I think it is entirely possible to build a city."

"This will also allow the engineers at the arsenal to continue living in the city and reduce their interactions with the people of Zhuolu District."

This made Zhu Youjian nod and say:
"Fulminate mercury and gunpowder production are dangerous and really shouldn't be kept in the city."

"We can build an ordnance city near Zhuolu City. It doesn't need to be particularly large in the early stages, as long as it can accommodate confidential engineers and their families."

"It will be gradually expanded in the future and connected to the original Zhuolu City."

"Someone in Zhuolu District has the materials. If the Arsenal provides some money, they can build the city wall."

The ability to mobilize the people through parliament and the use of sand, stone, plant ash and cement are the advantages of Zhuolu District now, and a city wall can be easily built. In this regard, Zhu Youjian also asked Wang Chengen to find Han Yun to make a plan, and to build the Zhuolu Arsenal City by integrating defense, production, and life needs.

After receiving the task, Wang Chengen quickly went to find Han Yun, who had returned from Dalingh Fort, and asked him to design an ordnance city.

After the Battle of Dalingh River, Han Yun made many improvements to the bastion, making it more suitable for dealing with the Jianlu.

However, when Wang Chengen found him, he was not designing the city, but designing a clock tower with his brother Han Lin.

This building, which is estimated to cost millions and is hundreds of meters high, has attracted the attention of all civil engineers.

Han Yun and Han Lin, as officials who were highly valued for building cities, were of course no exception.

They planned to design a Western-style tower modeled after a Western clock tower.

"The bell tower in St. Mark's Square in Venice is hundreds of meters high."

“We can design a new tower for the Bell and Drum Tower Observatory based on this tower.”

Han Yun told his brother Han Lin about his thoughts, but Han Lin hesitated and said:

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"But His Majesty said that the new bell tower should adopt the design of a pagoda, just like the glazed pagoda of the Great Baoen Temple."

"Does His Majesty agree with your design of a Western-style tower?"

Han Yun said to his brother confidently:
"The new clock tower must be built with bricks and stones. It won't work if it's made entirely of civil engineering."

"I asked the clockmakers, and they said the clock design for the tower will weigh 20,000 to 30,000 kilograms."

"What kind of wooden tower can bear this weight?"

"Even if the top of the tower can bear the load, how big a base would such a wooden tower need and how much wood would it consume?"

The higher the wooden pagoda is built, the larger the base needs to be. For example, the Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Shanxi Province is 67 meters high, with a base diameter of 30 meters and a total weight of more than 7400 tons, consuming tens of thousands of cubic meters of wood.

The emperor required the new bell tower to be hundreds of meters high. If it was built as a wooden tower, it would obviously consume more wood. Given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, how could it be provided?

The reason why the reconstruction of the three main halls took decades was that the wood was being stored during the Wanli period. The reason why the construction went so smoothly during the Tianqi period was also because the materials were ready.

When Han Yun thought of this, he believed that the new bell tower must adopt a brick and stone structure, and it was impossible to use it entirely with wood.

However, Han Lin said:
“After the development of the North and South Seas, a lot of new wood was discovered.”

"These woods are shipped here by sea, so the price is actually not high."

"And His Majesty also said that there are giant trees in America, which may be hundreds of meters high."

"Once these timbers are delivered, we can build a wooden tower."

Han Yun also considered this and shook his head:
"Ming craftsmen are not familiar with wood from the north and Southeast Asia, so I don't know how long it will last."

"There's no sign of American timber. I don't know when it will be shipped here."

"For the sake of stability, the new clock tower must use the original wood, and it must be treated well."

"If we use all new wood, how many years will we have to wait?"

This is also the reason why he believed that the new bell tower should adopt a brick and stone structure. The emperor naturally wanted the construction of the new bell tower to be as fast as possible, and it was impossible to give carpenters so much time to familiarize themselves with and process the wood.

If you use ready-made wood, it would be very difficult to find enough wood to build a giant tower, and the price would be very high.

The construction of the glazed pagoda of the Da Baoen Temple took nearly 20 years, employed 10 craftsmen and military workers, and cost 248.5 million taels of silver.

The huge cost is not only the glass and precious beads, but also the wood required.

If the bell tower is built as a wooden tower, Han Yun believes that the cost of one million taels of silver will definitely not be enough, and the cost will increase exponentially.

Using bricks and stones can control costs more effectively.

Han Lin still sang the opposite tune and said:
“Brick and stone buildings don’t necessarily have to be in Western style.”

"The glazed pagoda of the Dabaoen Temple and the Kaifeng Iron Tower were both built with glazed bricks."

"Does your change to a Western-style tower look decent?"

"Besides, the Ming Dynasty had never built such a tower before. If we build a 100-meter-high tower right away, what if it collapses? How many people will be killed?"

The two argued fiercely, and one thought that they should design a taller bell tower modeled after the glazed pagoda according to the emperor's order.

One person thought that it would be fine to imitate the style of a Western clock tower, which is a very mature design in the West. There is no need to worry about it falling down, and Western missionaries can be involved. Clocks are often placed on the towers of their churches.

When Wang Chengen arrived, the two were arguing fiercely. After hearing this, he smiled and said:
"You want to design a bell tower with bricks and stones, why don't you ask Minister Zhang?"

"He is the best at masonry construction. He designed all the royal palaces and university towns."

Instruct the two to find Zhang Wenyu and ask him what he thinks.

If Zhang Wenyu also joins, the chances of their design being approved will be much greater.

The weight of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works is obviously incomparable to the two of them.

After being reminded by Wang Chengen, the Han brothers remembered that there was such a person in the court.

Compared to the two city builders, Zhang Wenyu is better at building buildings.

Zhang Wenyu had made great efforts in the reconstruction of the three main halls. Because of this, the emperor did not care much about his treason and kept him.

Zhang Wenyu contributed a lot to the construction of the princes' palaces and university towns, as well as the emperor's instructions to build new buildings with cement and concrete.

If we were to say which official in the Ming Dynasty was best at construction, it would be Zhang Wenyu.

After Han Yun thought of this, he thanked Wang Chengen and said:

"Thank you for your advice, Eunuch Wang. We will visit Minister Zhang the next day."

"I wonder if Eunuch Wang has anything to do with your visit?"

Wang Chengen talked about the construction of the Arsenal City in Zhuolu District. In addition to the requirements for defense, the focus was on safety and confidentiality.

It must also have production and living functions so that engineers and workers can stay in it all the time.

Such a difficult project was obviously not something that the Han brothers could accomplish alone. They had learned some good western city-building techniques, but they were still not up to the task of building a new city with so many requirements.
"If it's just defense, we can do it."

"But if we want to produce weapons and live comfortably, we have to find Minister Zhang."

"The palaces he designed were so attractive that the dignitaries in the capital were reluctant to leave."

I think Zhang Wenyu is better than them in this regard.

After the three of them discussed it, they did not choose another time and went directly to visit Zhang Wenyu's house. (End of this chapter)