Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 173: People from the capital are coming! (First update)
Two days later.

The craftsmen sent by the court finally arrived.

The leader was Zheng Yuanqing, the chief officer of the Yuheng Division of the Qingli Division under the Ministry of Works.

Zheng Yuanqing's official position was not low, being of the fifth rank.

The Yuhengsi was mainly responsible for supervising the capture and smelting work in the mountains, forests, rivers and lakes. It was also responsible for managing the timely capture of various bird and animal resources, and was responsible for the production and manufacturing of military uniforms, weapons, ceramic products, coins and firearms.

The Yu Hengsi is the one that relies on the mountain to make a living.

Under normal circumstances, there was no need to send a Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works to restart an iron mine in Peiping. However, due to the "Guo Huan case", too many people in the Ministry of Works were purged and there were really no extra staff. In the end, Zheng Yuanqing, who was promoted from the head of the Ministry of Works to the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works, was sent.

Along with Zheng Yuanqing came hundreds of "craftsmen".

Most of them are construction and iron smelting.

When a large number of troops came, Xia Zhibai went out of the city to welcome them.

Zheng Yuanqing is over forty years old. His face looks haggard and a bit tired. His eyes are a little cold and his expression seems a little serious.

Xia Zhibai went up to him and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Mr. Yuanwailang."

Zheng Yuanqing looked at Xia Zhibai for a few times, a hint of fear flashed in his eyes, and nodded: "The ability of the top scholar is really amazing. I also benefited from you this time. Otherwise, I don't know how long it would take to reach my current position."

Xia Zhibai smiled bitterly.

The Guo Huan case actually had little to do with him.

However, not many people in the court knew about this. They all thought that it was his method of unifying the accounts that exposed Guo Huan's mistakes, which led to the turmoil in the court. Xia Zhibai himself knew it, but he could not really say it out loud.

He said slowly: "It was an unintentional act, what can I do about it?"

Zheng Yuanqing said solemnly, "Whether it was intentional or unintentional, the matter has passed. This time, I came here on the orders of His Majesty to reopen the Zunhua Iron Smelting for Beiping. I will act impartially. However, the matter of iron smelting is extraordinary. It will take a lot of manpower to open the furnace and forge. This may require Xia Zhuangyuan, you are responsible for it yourself."

Xia Zhibai nodded and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Yuanwailang, I have already found someone."

Zheng Yuanqing glanced sideways, somewhat surprised.

If he remembered correctly, Xia Zhibai had been in Peking for less than half a month. How could he find hundreds or even thousands of people in such a short time?
Zheng Yuanqing did not ask too many questions. After this political turmoil, he deeply understood a truth, that is, to be cautious in what he said and did. There was a lot of money in the Ministry of Works, and many people were eyeing and coveting every official position. If you were not careful, it would be easy to be overthrown if someone caught you with a handle. You had to be cautious again and again.

Zheng Yuanqing said: "That's good."

Xia Zhibai hesitated for a moment, took out a blueprint from his arms, and then slowly opened it and said, "I have an unwelcome request. I would like you to build it according to the blueprint I designed."

Zheng Yuanqing frowned and said in a cold voice: "Xia Zhuangyuan, I have already said before that iron smelting is very important and not everyone can interfere. Once something goes wrong, it will cause the death of many people. How can we treat it so lightly?"

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "I know how difficult it is to make iron smelters. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to be so abrupt."

"But I do have some ideas for Zunhua Iron Smelting. What I want to build is not the kind of earthen furnace that was used in the past, but a complete set of molten iron smelting technology to facilitate the expansion of Zunhua Iron Smelting in the future."

Zheng Yuanqing looked displeased and said coldly: "This is not up to you."

"The imperial court had already made regulations on the forging of iron furnaces: All iron furnaces should be made of salt and mud. The furnaces should be built near mountain caves or surrounded by huge trees. It takes months of effort to shape the salt mud, and no haste is allowed."

Zheng Yuanqing directly quoted the forging regulations of the Ministry of Industry.

Xia Zhibai's expression remained normal, and he continued, "You are worrying too much, Mr.

"The construction of the iron furnace should naturally be mainly carried out by the imperial court. I just made some arrangements around the iron smelting site in addition to building the iron furnace."

"For example, the construction of Zunhua Iron Smelter was divided into several stages. The first stage was mainly used to build the iron furnace, and then coking and steelmaking related things would be built one after another. Moreover, with the improvement and perfection of production technology, the iron furnace may not be impossible to improve in the future."

"If we don't plan ahead, won't we have to stop production on a large scale when the iron furnace is updated in the future?"

"In my opinion, steel and iron are the backbone of the country. With the increase in steel production, there will be great changes in all aspects of the Ming Dynasty. Planning before taking action has always been my principle. I will not embarrass Yuanwailang, but I will indeed make certain adjustments."

Xia Zhibai sent the drawing to Zheng Yuanqing again.

Zheng Yuanqing did not take it. Instead, he looked at Xia Zhibai and said, "Xia Zhuangyuan, according to the court's rules, I should not be here. It's just that other officials don't like working with you, and they know your calculations, so they sent me here in the end."

Xia Zhibai said: "Thank you for your understanding, Mr.

Zheng Yuanqing hesitated for a while, but still reached out and took the drawing.

Just one glance.

Zheng Yuanqing was stunned for a moment.

This drawing is very detailed and it seems to have taken a long time to complete.

The above also details the construction expectations of Zunhua Iron and Steel, from the first phase of building an iron furnace, to the subsequent expansion of coking coal production, and then to the subsequent steelmaking industry. It gives people the feeling of watching an assembly line, very smooth and silky, transitioning step by step from the initial iron furnace to ironmaking with coking coal, and then to forging steel.

What surprised Zheng Yuanqing the most was that Xia Zhibai was very knowledgeable about steelmaking technology.

He also made special markings on this drawing.

At present, the main steel-making techniques in Daming are the frying steel method and the pouring steel method.

These two are the most basic steelmaking processes. In addition to these two basic steelmaking processes, the Ming Dynasty currently also has carburizing steelmaking and hundred-fold steelmaking, but the latter two are more difficult and the efficiency of steel production is not high. Basically, only a few government-run iron smelters will use them.

Xia Zhibai also made reference to it.

Moreover, Xia Zhibai's ambition is also revealed in this blueprint.

He completely abandoned the use of crucibles for smelting iron.

Crucible iron smelting is currently used in many places in the Ming Dynasty.

The equipment is simple, easy to operate and low in cost.

However, all of Xia Zhibai's drawings showed the use of blast furnace smelting.

Zheng Yuanqing put away his contempt and said in a deep voice: "Xia Zhuangyuan has put a lot of effort into iron smelting during this period. He has done in-depth research and has a detailed understanding of the current iron smelting technology in the world. I have seen your drawings, and they are indeed well designed."

"But the imperial court's order was only to restart the Zunhua Iron Smelting Plant, not to build a super large iron smelting plant."

"I can only finish one or two issues for you at best."

"As for the follow-up"

"You need to figure it out yourself."

Xia Zhibai's face lit up, and he said, "Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Yuanwailang. But can you also repair some of the other coking and steelmaking buildings for me in addition to building the iron furnace? I don't need all of them, I just need them to be able to operate barely."

Zheng Yuanqing stroked his beard and thought for a while, then finally nodded.

Xia Zhibai said: "Thank you, Mr. Yuanwailang."

Zheng Yuanqing waved his hand and asked curiously, "Why are you so obsessed with steel?"

Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Because I believe that steel is the mainstream of future development. With the emergence and continuous improvement of firearms, as well as the initial improvement of steelmaking technology, the future development direction has been clearly determined."

“It’s steel!”

“Today, steel is divided into three categories.”

"Some are made by mixing pig iron with wrought iron, some are made by refining hundreds of times to produce steel, and some are formed in the mountains of the southwest sea and look like purple quartz."

"The former is cast steel, the next is tempered steel, and the latter is diamond."

"But I don't think the last one is Gang. Judging from Tianxia's description of the last one, it is more likely a misunderstanding of diamond."

"Whether it is true or not, one thing is certain at present, that is, the steel industry has taken shape. In the past, for a long time, steel or other metals were mainly produced by casting."

“In the Song Dynasty.”

"The world's production tools, daily utensils, and weapons have all changed from being 'cast' to being 'forged'."

"In the Ming Dynasty, the emergence of fire guns, iron anchors, iron chain bridges and patterned steel, to a certain extent, has marked the 'forging' of steel, from its initial formation to maturity step by step. In particular, I also led the emergence of steam engines. If these two can be combined."

“The world will change completely.”

Xia Zhibai's eyes were shining, filled with longing and fantasy for the future.

Zheng Yuanqing was stunned.

He looked at Xia Zhibai suspiciously, as if he had thought of something, and smiled meaningfully, shaking his head and saying, "Young people can't achieve anything just by being passionate. They must first ensure that their careers can survive. If they can't survive, everything is fake."

Done.

Zheng Yuanqing rolled up his sleeves, got on the carriage and left.

Xia Zhibai stood where he was.

He looked at the car in which Zheng Yuanqing was leaving in confusion, with a solemn look in his eyes. An old fox like Zheng Yuanqing, who had been in the court for many years, would not say such aimless words. Could it be that something unexpected happened in Yingtian Prefecture?
At this time.

A figure appeared beside Xia Zhibai.

Fang Mo, he followed the convoy north this time.

Fang Mo scratched his head, showing a hint of embarrassment. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Commander Xia, there is something wrong in Yingtian Prefecture. I followed your instructions and brought your message here. However, Li Sheng and the others did not pay much attention to it. They also said that you were erasing their contributions and suppressing their talents, and that you were deliberately jealous and suppressing them."

"Under Li Sheng's instigation, many craftsmen became emotional."

Xia Zhibai sneered, but didn't take it too seriously. Instead, he asked about something else: "It didn't affect the operation of the salt factory and the coal factory, did it?"

Fang Mo shook his head: "No."

"Then let him go." Fang Mo had a calm face, his eyes slightly closed, and said with a smile: "Since my words have been conveyed, that's enough. As for what Li Sheng and the others do and say, that's their freedom. I only look at the result when I get back."

"Heaven wants to make it die, it must first make it mad."

"Human hearts are always greedy, and they always think the grass is greener on the other side."

(End of this chapter)