The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 276 Shuntian City Renovation and Internal Combustion Engines and Oil

Zhu Jianxuan was not a person who was easily emotional. He certainly had feelings for the old emperor, his father in this life, but he would not get so excited that he would cry loudly.

Zhu Jianxuan sighed softly in his heart, then knelt silently in front of the window and ordered the eunuch beside him to summon all civil and military officials to the West Garden.

The old emperor's illness is most likely cerebral thrombosis, and the news of his serious illness has already spread.

Officials in the capital had already been mentally prepared, and now that Zhu Jianxuan, the powerful crown prince, had returned, there was no need to worry about the chaotic situation in the capital.

After receiving the notice, everyone immediately went into the palace and went to the Western Garden to bid farewell to the old emperor.

After all the major officials above the second rank arrived, Zhu Jianxuan led them in paying homage to the old emperor's body on the bed.

According to the tradition of the Shenzhou Dynasty, "a country cannot be without a king for a day."

After the old emperor passed away, the crown prince would succeed to the throne directly in front of the coffin and become the "successor emperor."

When the New Year comes, he will hold a coronation ceremony and change the era name, becoming the official emperor and starting the era of the new emperor.

So Zhu Jianxuan stood up in front of the old emperor's coffin, accepted the worship of all officials above the second rank, and took over the identity of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Jianxuan ordered Duan Yucai, Fei Chun and Liu Quanzhi to preside over the funeral, and then he himself began to concentrate on mourning.

According to tradition, when a parent dies, children need to observe mourning for three years.

Theoretically speaking, you can't do anything else during these three years except studying.

The three years of mourning are not a full three years, but a grand sacrifice is held every year, and it ends after the third sacrifice in total.

The third sacrifice was in the first month of the third year, so it should have been two anniversaries plus the first month of the third year, which should have been twenty-five months in total.

However, the traditional calendar of Shenzhou has leap months, and the leap months within a year are not counted. In fact, it should usually be observed for twenty-six months.

Under extreme conditions, there will be two leap months, and the actual duration will be twenty-seven months.

In ancient times, people attached great importance to etiquette and filial piety, so gradually formed the tradition of not counting whether there were two leap months and observing the full 27 months.

However, the emperor's situation is too special. The country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and it is not acceptable for the emperor to completely ignore government affairs.

Therefore, the emperor usually used days instead of months to observe mourning for twenty-seven days.

Important officials might also be "deprived of their love" by the emperor, ending their mourning period early and returning to continue working for the emperor.

The Ming Dynasty entered a period of national mourning, but the operation of the central court remained basically unchanged.

Normally, when the old emperor dies and the new emperor ascends the throne, there will be a redistribution of power, and the old will be replaced by the new.

The new emperor had to appease the important old ministers and also arrange his own confidants and direct subordinates to important positions.

This redistribution of power and compromise will inevitably lead to greater or lesser turmoil.

But Zhu Jianxuan's situation is different. Zhu Jianxuan had already done all these things before he ascended the throne, and now the court is full of Zhu Jianxuan's direct descendants.

Therefore, this time the succession of the throne of the Ming Dynasty was the most smooth, and even some minor problems were solved.

Although Zhu Jianxuan was confirmed as the crown prince three years ago, he was not the legitimate eldest son after all.

Zhu Jianxuan has already grasped the highest power, but his status is still the crown prince.

Many officials have some concerns in their hearts that governing directly in the name of the crown prince is often not particularly legitimate.

Now that the old emperor has passed away, this little problem has been eliminated.

Zhu Jianxuan began to observe mourning, and the old emperor's body was sent to the Nanjing Imperial Mausoleum for burial.

Starting from Emperor Chongzhen, the Ming court moved south back to Nanjing, and the emperor began to build imperial tombs in the south.

During the Chongzhen period, there was no suitable location for the imperial tomb in Changping.

Chongzhen sent people to other places to do geomancy and selected the location of the later Eastern Qing Tombs, but they had to run away before they could use it.

As a result, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty chose the Eastern Qing Tombs to build his mausoleum.

After the Ming Dynasty emperors arrived in Nanjing, they began to select sites and build mausoleums with the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang as the center, and they were all buried next to Taizu in the future.

The imperial tomb of the old emperor Zhu Zhonglin was completed long ago and is also located on Purple Mountain in Nanjing.

After Zhu Jianxuan observed mourning in Shuntian Prefecture for a month, he officially began to handle the affairs of the Ming Dynasty court as the emperor.

First, check the progress of the project that you started before going out for inspection.

The railway from Shuntianfu to Yingtianfu has been fully opened, and a large steel frame bridge across the Yangtze River has been built.

The railway between the two capitals was connected with the railway from Nanjing to Hangzhou.

The Yongping Prefecture Industrial Base in the northern Zhili region and the Shenyang Prefecture Industrial Base in the Liaodong region completed their initial construction at basically the same time.

The two places can produce basic industrial products and military products such as steel billets, steel rails, seamless steel pipes, rifles and artillery, gunpowder, bullets and shells on their own.

After the two domestic industrial bases were put into production, the Ming army no longer needed to make do with bullets from manual factories and could resume the supply of standard bolt-action rifle bullets.

The railway from Shuntian Prefecture to Shenyang Prefecture in Liaodong, and the railway from Shuntian Prefecture to Guisui and Baotou areas were also started simultaneously last year.

Then came the construction and renovation of Shuntian Prefecture City, and the outer city walls have been completed.

The city of Shuntian Prefecture has become a U-shape. The outer city area is divided into four parts, called the East, West, South, and North cities respectively. Together with the inner city, there are exactly five cities in total.

But construction in the outer city areas slowed, especially new government agencies in the north of the city, and many original plans were cancelled.

During the two years that Zhu Jianxuan was away on inspection, the old emperor adjusted the urban construction plan of the old city of Shuntian Prefecture.

The old emperor installed electricity, telephones, and electric lights in the old city of Shuntian Prefecture, laid water pipes, heating pipes and radiators, and built a city sewer.

Corresponding adjustments have also been made to the three main halls under reconstruction, the Wenhua Hall, the Wuying Hall, the Qianqing Palace, the Kunning Palace and other palaces.

Zhu Jianxuan sat in the completed Wenhua Hall and looked up at the scene in front of him and his surroundings.

The lanterns on the ceiling were turned into electric lights, there were electric lights and telephones on the table, there were rows of radiators along the walls, and there was a flush toilet in the side hall.

Opposite the current Forbidden City, south of Chang'an Avenue, between Chongwenmen and Xuanwumen, this large area was also undergoing massive construction.

The old emperor built office buildings and residential areas for all the court offices in this area.

It is obvious that the old emperor does not want to build a new office area in the north city, but wants to build an office area directly in the inner city.

The Forbidden City continued to serve as the emperor's office and a venue for large ceremonies.

The old emperor obviously wanted to make use of the old city of Shuntian Prefecture instead of turning it into a so-called museum as Zhu Jianxuan had planned.

If the area inside the old city can be utilized, there is really no need to rush the construction of the outer city.

So we will plan and enable it slowly according to the situation.

When Zhu Jianxuan was on tour outside, central court officials would also compile general government reports and send them to Zhu Jianxuan by steamboat.

So when Zhu Jianxuan was in North America, he already knew that the old emperor was adjusting the urban construction plan of Shuntian Prefecture.

However, this adjustment in planning is not a big deal to some extent. Zhu Jianxuan, as a son, should not deliberately go against his father on such matters.

At the very least, it is not worth issuing special orders overseas to let local officials go against the old emperor's arrangements.

Zhu Jianxuan could only accept the reality.

Regardless of the cultural significance of maintaining the original state, it is indeed more convenient to renovate the old city buildings.

The imperial palace is located in the center of the old city, opposite the various government offices.

This pattern has been maintained for more than 400 years, and everyone has become accustomed to it. In fact, most of the ministers in the court also think that the old emperor's plan is more appropriate.

However, they did not rashly make any comments on either Zhu Jianxuan's original plan or the old emperor's final request for revisions.

The relationship between the emperor and the crown prince is too sensitive. There is no need to get involved and express opinions on matters that do not affect actual power and interests.

When the old emperor wanted to make changes, his ministers reported the matter truthfully to Zhu Jianxuan.

If Zhu Jianxuan did not specifically request to reject this amendment, they would just carry out the old emperor's orders normally.

Zhu Jianxuan sighed in his heart and picked up the phone on the table.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs was directly responsible for transferring calls between the imperial palace and various government departments.

Zhu Jianxuan took the phone and gave an order directly to the Ministry of Public Security:
"Let the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering prepare. I will go there tomorrow to see their achievements over the past three years."

The operator of the Ministry of Public Security heard the voice and responded directly:

"My minister obeys."

The next morning, Zhu Jianxuan took a carriage to the Academy of Engineering.

Zhu Jianxuan's disciple representative Li Rui and craftsman representative Song Wendao led the main craftsmen to come out to greet them.

This was the first time that Zhu Jianxuan visited the Academy of Sciences after officially becoming emperor, and the ceremonial activities were more grand.

Zhu Jianxuan asked Li Rui to take him to see the machines they had made in the past two years.

With the correct direction directly pointed out by Zhu Jianxuan, and with the manufacturing technology level accumulated over twenty years under the leadership of Zhu Jianxuan, the craftsmen were able to master the skills.

Now, whether it is a light-duty gasoline engine with spark-ignition, a heavy-duty diesel engine with compression-ignition, or even larger steam turbines, they have all been successfully tested and produced.

At the same time, in accordance with Zhu Jianxuan's instructions and requirements, internal combustion engines were installed on vehicles to form motor vehicles, passenger cars, trucks, and engineering vehicles.

At the test site of the Academy of Engineering, in front of the important experimental vehicles lined up in a row.

Li Rui said to Zhu Jianxuan excitedly:

“The internal combustion engine proposed by Your Majesty, and the vehicles powered by it, are considered to have great potential, perhaps even greater than the steam engine.

"But the large-scale use of this kind of machinery also requires a massive supply of fuel, and we also need more asphalt to build more smooth roads."

Zhu Jianxuan certainly knew the great potential of the internal combustion engine. It was indeed a machine with more uses than the steam engine.

Future new warships will also need oil.

The energy density of coal-fired boilers is limited. If you want to build large, long-range, high-speed warships, you must use oil-fired boilers to drive them.

When the era of internal combustion engines arrived, it was necessary to find new ways to get oil:

"If you need fuel, build more oil wells. If you need asphalt... you can also refine it from petroleum, right?"

Li Rui immediately replied:

“Yes, Your Majesty, asphalt is included in the residues of petroleum refining, but it should be refined using heavier crude oil.

“Borneo’s firewater is clear and light, very good for making light fuels, but not much bitumen.

"If we want to extract asphalt from petroleum, we need to find another suitable oil field..."

In the past, oil was a strategic material, and even ordinary people knew where the most oil was.

When Zhu Jianxuan heard this, he subconsciously spoke out:
"Then let's go to the Persian Gulf."

Li Rui asked subconsciously:
"Your Majesty, do you mean that there is suitable oil in the Persian Gulf?"

Zhu Jianxuan was of course certain in his heart.

According to past life experience, the oil fields with the best quality in the world should be in Borneo, Malaysia and the North Sea.

The oil in these places is as clear as water, has a high travel rate and a very low sulfur content, and is also the most expensive crude oil.

The reserves of these oils are not large, and most of them are difficult to extract.

Most of Borneo's oil fields are located offshore.

The reserves of oil fields on land that can be directly exploited are not large at present.

By the time the internal combustion engine was widely used in the Ming Dynasty, the oil from Borneo alone would certainly be in short supply.

As for the oil in the Persian Gulf, although its quality is not the best, its depth is not the shallowest either.

However, it does have the most complete types, the richest oil reserves, and is most suitable for continuous exploitation.

Find the oil field area, drill a well to penetrate the reservoir, and watch the oil flow out.

It will be enough for the next hundred years.

However, Zhu Jianxuan did not want to be a charlatan, so it was better not to say with certainty that there was definitely oil in the Persian Gulf:
“I’m not sure where I’ve seen any notes or books that say explorers have discovered relatively obvious oil seeps in the Persian Gulf.

"Looking at the local geographical environment, there may indeed be oil. We can send people to drill and give it a try."

At this time, Song Wendao asked with a little doubt:

"Your Majesty, if we develop oil from the Persian Gulf and transport it back to the Ming mainland for use, the cost will probably be quite high, right?"

Zhu Jianxuan smiled and said:
“Whether the cost is high or not depends on whether there is abundant local oil.

"If it's like the best oil wells in Borneo, you just drill a hole and it just keeps gushing out.

“Then the cost of shipping it back is definitely acceptable.

"We haven't found any oil fields in the Ming Dynasty that are particularly suitable for development yet...

"Organize a Persian Petroleum Development Company.

“There are exploration and exploitation operations specifically for the Persian Gulf.

"If we really can't find oil here, we'll try somewhere else."

Zhu Jianxuan knew in his heart that the biggest advantage of Persian Gulf oil was that its extraction cost was the lowest in the world, and it was truly a guarantee of sufficient supply.

Most of the oil wells here, once opened, work like fountains, and the main cost is the cost of the oil barrels and tanks.

The cost of using special oil tankers to transport the oil back to the mainland is much lower than the cost of local production.

Now the UAE and Oman regions of the previous life belong to the Ming Dynasty.

To the north of this area, the southwestern coast of the Persian Gulf, which was the Saudi Arabia region in the previous life, is now a desolate desert.

There are only a few very sparse indigenous tribes, and they are as poor as ghosts in the desert.

Before oil was discovered in the Persian Gulf, foreign conquerors had no interest in this area.

As long as he arranged some guard corps and sent some exploration personnel over, he could directly control these places.

Once the Ming Dynasty had troops stationed in the local area, other countries would not dare to snatch food from the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Jianxuan asked someone to bring a map of the Persian Gulf and circled several places on the map with a pen.

The largest oil field in Saudi Arabia in the past and the relatively large oil fields in the UAE are all enclosed in several large circles.

Let the Ming Persian Petroleum Company go to these places for exploration.

(End of this chapter)