The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 230 Go to the mountains to find me
As the New Year approaches, the capital is getting colder, but the streets are getting busier.

The reason is simple: there is more money among the people.

Let’s not talk about anything else, just take the soldiers in the Beijing camp as an example. Not only do they have food and wages, each household also has thirty acres of land, and they also receive rewards for military merit.

This time, 99% of the military rewards for the recovery of the Beijing Xingdusi were won by the soldiers of the Beijing Camp.

Many families of the soldiers in the Beijing camp pulled carts to buy New Year’s goods!

The people had more and more money, but Wanli felt that the money was never enough to spend.

Now he would sit in the imperial study every morning in a daze, thinking about how to make money. He would be in a daze before dealing with important memorials, and he would still be in a daze after dealing with the important memorials.

Around 9:00 a.m. that morning, he was sitting there in a daze when Li Xuancheng suddenly slipped in and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, there's news from the Mountain Resort that the big drill you requested is ready."

Oh, right, the big drill for exploring coal mines!
Wanli heard this, thought about it carefully, and then stood up decisively and said: "Go and tell General Shan to have 10,000 elite imperial guards prepare, and we will go to the Summer Palace."

what?
Li Xuancheng couldn't help but shiver when he heard this, "Your Majesty, it's very cold outside now."

It's because it's so cold outside that I want to go and take a look.

Wanli said angrily, "Are you so afraid of the cold? Aren't the streets full of people? Officials from all the major government offices arrive at their duty rooms at dawn every morning. They can handle it, so what are you afraid of?"

That was in the city or even in the house, and other people either took a carriage or walked, but we rode horses out of the city.

I'm not really afraid of the cold, I'm just afraid that you can't stand it.

Li Xuancheng had no choice but to go and tell Shan Sinan.

It is really troublesome to go out in the snow and ice. The horse's hooves have to be wrapped like cotton shoes. Moreover, they cannot run too fast. Running too fast will not only make the horse cold but also slippery. If the horse slips and falls, it will be a disaster.

Wanli led tens of thousands of imperial guards and cavalry to the streets and saw that there were quite a lot of people on the streets.

Ordinary people seem to have gotten used to it, and many people go out without hats or even gloves in such cold weather.

It was okay in this city, but as soon as they ran out of Deshengmen, the biting cold wind blew, and even he couldn't stand it even though he was wearing a fur robe and a cloak.

It was a sea of ​​white outside, so white that it was a bit dazzling to the eyes. If you look at it for too long, you might get snow blindness.

However, he still gritted his teeth and persisted, without saying a word, and led tens of thousands of imperial guards and cavalry to the Summer Resort.

It took them more than an hour to run, and it was past noon before they arrived at the south gate of the Summer Resort.

When Wang Wei, the Earl of Yongnian, heard that Wanli was coming, he was shocked. It was too cold that day. He couldn't stand the wind outside, let alone riding a horse over.

At this moment, he was stomping his feet at the gate with a group of his subordinates, and they were trembling when they saluted.

Wanli's eyelashes were frozen to the point of freezing.

He trembled as he dismounted from his horse, rubbed his numb face vigorously, and then asked, "How are you, father-in-law? Are you cold?"

Do you think it’s cold?
Yongnianbo Wang Wei shivered and said, "It's okay, it's okay. It won't be so cold if I move around."

That's good.

Wanli moved vigorously, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go and see how the drill is."

After saying that, he and Yongnianbo Wang Wei jumped on their horses and rushed inside.

The grinding workshop was still on the north side of the parade ground. They rode for nearly half an hour before arriving at the drill bit grinding workshop.

Wanli was so cold that he couldn't help shivering.

Li Xuancheng couldn't understand what was happening.

Do I have to come here myself to check the drill? Wouldn't it be the same if I ask someone to send it to the palace?

If you really can't make it, you can take a carriage. Wouldn't it be troublesome to ride a horse here?

Fortunately, there is a coal stove in the drill bit grinding workshop, so it is not cold at all.

As soon as I entered the polishing workshop, it felt like spring had arrived and I felt warm all over.

Wanli took off his gloves and rubbed his slightly stiff hands before asking, "Father-in-law, where's the drill?"

Upon hearing this, Yongnian Earl Wang Wei immediately pointed to an iron frame not far away and said, "Your Majesty, that's it."

Uh, the cylinder above seems to be only half a meter long?

What's more, the size is wrong. What I mean is that an adult's arm is thick. How come you made it almost as thick as a child's arm?

Wanli walked over and picked up one to try. It was quite heavy, heavier than the heavy sword of Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan. It was difficult to hold it with both hands.

He carefully looked at both ends and found that the structure was fine. There was a groove on one end and a protruding pin on the other end, and they were both arc-shaped. They should be locked when screwed in.

The drill bit has no problem connecting and the surface is quite smooth, but the problem is that it is too small and too short.

He put down the piece and gestured, "Father-in-law, I mean to make it about the same thickness as your arm, and longer. You made it so thin and short, and there are too many connections. If it breaks or the connection becomes detached, it will be buried in the ground and can't be pulled out."

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I understand what you meant.

I also ordered someone to cast a set and tried it out, but it was too heavy. Your Excellency's arms are thick and ten feet long. One stick weighs more than one hundred or two hundred pounds. It would take two strong men a lot of effort to lift it.

More importantly, it is too troublesome to stand that thing upright. It requires a platform and the work of four or five people, and it can easily hurt people if you are not careful.

Also, all five of them together weigh nearly a thousand pounds. Once they're drilled in, it takes over ten or twenty people to lift them out. It's incredibly strenuous. "Yeah, it's so thick, so long, and so heavy, it really does require a platform."

However, being heavy has its advantages. The thing can use its own gravity to continuously press into the soil. Once the drill bit at the front rotates, drilling the soil should be as easy as drilling tofu.

Wanli nodded slowly and said, "You are right. It would be best to use a drill that big to build a platform half a meter high, and it would be best if it had an iron frame.

As for the problem of all five being too heavy, you could put a hoist on the platform. I saw you used a hoist when you were loading a large waterwheel. Couldn't a huge waterwheel weighing over a thousand pounds be lifted up with a hoist?"

This makes sense.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is right. I was mainly concerned that carriages wouldn't be able to enter the mountains. If we made something that big and heavy, plus the iron frame platform and hoist, it would be very difficult to carry it into the mountains. This small one is much more convenient. Each person can carry one, which is very easy."

This is indeed a convenient way to enter the mountains.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Can a small one like yours burrow into the ground without breaking? Have you had anyone try it?"

Yongnianbo Wang Wei explained in detail: "Your Majesty, drilling the soil is actually the same as drilling wood or even copper and iron. It's not that the bigger the bit, the easier it is to drill, but the smaller the bit, the easier it is to drill.

I have ordered people to try it. This kind of small drill can easily drill into the soil. It is not very difficult for two craftsmen to turn the drill together. It does not take a quarter of an hour to drill one drill, and only about an hour to drill all ten drills.

As for whether it will break, this is made of tempered steel, so it's naturally tough. Furthermore, we used clay to mold it, so there are no holes and it's very strong. I've had people test it several times, and it hasn't broken yet."

Okay, let’s go down and try it.

Upon hearing this, Wanli waved his hand and said, "Then have ten craftsmen carry this thing out and drill it for me to see."

Why do you want to go out and drill? You can drill in here. It’s very cold outside.

Upon hearing this, Yongnianbo Wang Wei quickly recruited ten young and strong craftsmen, asked them to carry drill bits and levers, and went outside. He found a place on the dirt road and asked them to put the drill bits on the ground and start drilling.

These young and strong craftsmen must have done this more than once, as they are all very skillful.

They simply placed the ten drill bits on the ground, then stood up the drill with the pointed bit, thrust it hard into the ground, and then pulled out a thumb-thick hinge from their waist, inserted it into the hole at the top of the cylinder, and two people each held one end and started turning it like turning a mill.

It's amazing that the drill bit drills the ground quite quickly. In less than half an hour, less than a foot of it is left outside.

The other two craftsmen swiftly picked up another piece, put it on top, then pulled out the hinge lever from their waist and twisted it hard, and the two pieces of the drill bit were screwed together.

The two craftsmen who had just started pushing the drill bit immediately pulled out the hinge lever below and moved aside, and then they started turning it again like turning a mill.

The first few seemed to have no difficulty at all, and each one took about half a quarter of an hour to drill into the ground.

However, after four or five sticks, it became a bit difficult to push. Later on, it even took four people working together to push it to turn.

It took the ten craftsmen nearly an hour to drill all ten half-meter-long drill bits in, leaving only one foot long outside.

Seeing this, Wanli immediately waved his hand and said, "Pull it out and let's see."

At this moment, eight craftsmen rushed forward, stood on both sides, and lifted it up together.

Soon, they lifted the top part out.

The remaining craftsman hurried forward, pulled out the hinge from his waist, inserted it into the hole of the lower part, and turned it vigorously a few times, finally disconnecting the top part.

It turns out that the fasteners of this connection get tighter the more you turn it. As long as the two ends are not stuck and turned in opposite directions, the connection cannot be disengaged.

Seeing this, Wanli couldn't help but nodded slightly.

It was much faster to lift it out than to drill it in. With the skillful cooperation of ten craftsmen, they lifted out ten drill bits in less than a quarter of an hour.

The drill bit made of tempered steel is indeed very tough, there is no problem at all.

Wanli squatted down again and took a closer look at the dirt left on the drill bit. Then he asked, "Father-in-law, if there is coal down here, the dirt on the drill bit should be a little black, right?"

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, that's called black seedlings. As long as there's coal underneath, there will definitely be some black seedlings in the hole in front of the drill bit, at the top, and in the gaps at the joints."

Well, it looks like there's no problem.

This set of small drills is actually quite good. Ten people can easily carry it into the mountains, and the hinge lever can be worn on the waist like a weapon, making it convenient to carry.

More importantly, this set of small drill bits can drill to a depth of four or five feet in less than an hour, making exploration extremely fast.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then said decisively: "Very good, immediately arrange for the craftsmen to mass-produce at least one hundred sets a day, and do not stop throughout the winter."

what?
This thing is made of hundred-fold tempered steel, and one piece weighs forty to fifty kilograms, so ten pieces weigh four to five hundred kilograms. If you add ten hinged levers, it will weigh more than five hundred kilograms.

Fortunately, the hundred-refined steel was forged by themselves. If they had to purchase it from abroad, it would cost thousands or even tens of thousands of taels a day just to purchase the materials.

Yongnian Earl Wang Wei was stunned for a moment, then he bowed repeatedly and said, "Your humble servant obeys your order."

Wanli then ordered, "Gather more craftsmen with prospecting experience and bring them to the Mountain Resort. Teach them how to use this drill. I will order the soldiers of the Divine Machinery Camp to bring the grain carts over and take them to the mountains to prospect for minerals."

what?
Yongnianbo looked at the vast expanse of white snow and ice around him and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, are you going to start exploring in the next few days?"

Of course, you think I came here on such a cold day? I just wanted to see if I could bear this weather to explore for minerals in the wild.

It seems there is no problem.

If I can bear it, the soldiers in the Beijing camp can certainly bear it.

Wanli nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, we will start in the next few days. You should quickly gather the craftsmen with prospecting experience. When I return, I will have Yuan Jing recruit 10,000 soldiers from the Shenji Camp and bring them with a thousand grain carts to the mountains near the capital to prospect for minerals."

(End of this chapter)