The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Outside Nanchang city.

In front of a manor, many people dressed in coarse linen clothes were going in and out. The carriages would stop, and some things would be transported in. Then a large amount of waste would be hauled out and dumped on the banks of the Gan River.

Several carriages arrived, escorted by guards.

Zhu Chenhao and Li Shishi then walked side by side to the entrance of the manor. Within a mile radius, only the people from the Prince of Ning's manor remained.

Li Shishi also intentionally used the wide brim of his hat to cover himself and prevent being recognized.

"Your Highness, is this the workshop you mentioned?" Li Shishi looked up and asked.

The estate in front didn't seem very big; such landlord estates were common outside Nanchang.

However, such active movement of people would obviously not be discreet. If it were known that the property belonged to the Ning family, there would certainly be censors and officials who would try to accuse Prince Ning of plotting something sinister.

Zhu Chenhao said with a proud look, "It used to be just an iron forging shop. My son suddenly appeared, so I transformed this place into a workshop according to his ideas. Anyway, let him do whatever he wants."

"Has Your Highness decided which prince will go to the capital?" Li Shishi seemed very concerned about this question.

Qian Ning has sent someone to inform us that he wants to bring one of Prince Ning's sons to the capital, something that Zhu Chenhao has been working on for the past few years.

Originally, it was a foregone conclusion that the second son, Zhu Gonggui, would go to the capital, but after Zhu Yi claimed that he had been there for five hundred years, the situation changed.

"Hmm..." Zhu Chenhao seemed to have figured out the problem himself.

The third son is clever, but it seems that the Ning Prince's rebellion is also inseparable from him. However, if we let him stay, we will send the second son to the capital to seek the position of crown prince. Not only does the second son not have the ability, but what will the third son think?

All his actions were merely paving the way for his father and brothers.

Seeing Zhu Chenhao's hesitation, Li Shishi smiled and said, "A capable child is someone you want to send far away to make a name for himself, but you also want him to stay by your side to take care of your parents. This is a dilemma that elders have always faced."

It's basically saying that if you're already so conflicted now, you'll be even more conflicted later, so you might as well cut your losses quickly.

……

……

"Your Highness!"

As they approached the gate of the manor, Gongsun Jin, having heard the news, rushed out from inside.

When Gongsun Jin saw that there was another person standing next to Zhu Chenhao, he was also very surprised.

"Your Highness, you shouldn't have left the city. If there's anything you need, I can take care of it for you."

Because of the rules of the Ming Dynasty's regional military governorships, princes were not allowed to leave the cities they were granted without authorization, and Zhu Chenhao's departure from the city would obviously not be approved by the court.

Zhu Chenhao smiled and said, "My son is busy here, so I have to come and see for myself. Minister Li, Lord Li... This is Gongsun Jin from the manor. He doesn't have any official duties, but he has done a lot for me."

Li Shishi didn't find Gongsun Jin unfamiliar, after all, he had often heard Zhu Chenhao mention him.

Gongsun Jin was extremely surprised by Li Shishi's appearance.

Zhu Chenhao had previously mentioned wanting the support of Li Shishi, a retired local official in Nanchang, but this had not been implemented. Even before Zhu Yi mentioned that Li Shishi would be the Left Chancellor in the future rebellion of the Prince of Ning's Mansion, Gongsun Jin did not believe that Li Shishi would definitely join his side.

but now……

Perhaps it was because Zhu Yi exposed everything that Zhu Chenhao and Li Shishi stopped hiding things and started appearing together.

"He's resourceful and wise. The Prince's Palace will need many capable people like Yan Ke in the future," Li Shishi praised with a smile.

Yan Ke was Gongsun Jin's pseudonym. He addressed him by his given name rather than his courtesy name, which made the address seem more intimate.

"You flatter me, Mr. Li. I was merely doing some insignificant errands."

As Gongsun Jin spoke, he thought to himself, "Young Master is really something. He exposed this potential relationship in one go. No wonder Prince Ning trusts his son so much. There are many secrets about their relationship that we don't know."

……

……

The three entered the manor accompanied by guards.

A pungent smell filled the air, so much so that Li Shishi couldn't help but cover his nose.

"Your Highness, the young master is inside tinkering with something. He says he's conducting an experiment and hopes to create something. I haven't informed him yet, so he doesn't know you've arrived," Gongsun Jin explained regarding Zhu Yi's absence from greeting him.

Your son is a very busy man; even I, as his subordinate, dare not bother him.

Zhu Chenhao said with a delighted expression, "Take care of that. You show me around first. Oh, don't worry about Minister Li, he wants to come and see for himself too."

"Yes."

As Gongsun Jin responded, he was also thinking, "It seems you two have been in cahoots for a long time and are already so familiar with each other."

She even told him the secrets of the Prince's mansion?

Does he know that the rebellion of the Prince of Ning's mansion will fail? Will he jump ship?

Gongsun Jin then led Zhu Chenhao into the first courtyard.

In the large courtyard, many people were using various tools to crush coal. Some were even adding other materials to the coal powder, and finally, using tools, they were shaping the coal powder into cylindrical objects.

"What is that?" Li Shishi asked curiously.

"That's coal," Gongsun Jin said.

Li Shishi frowned and said, "No wonder it tastes so peculiar; it's from burning charcoal. We must use this stuff with caution."

Although coal was discovered and used in China very early, it has never been a commonly used energy material because most coal contains many impurities, and burning it produces a lot of smoke and dust, much of which consists of toxic gases such as sulfides. Ordinary people are very likely to be poisoned by burning it.

Therefore, ordinary people throughout history would rather burn firewood than burn coal.

This is also because the technology of making coke from coal has been immature since ancient times, and coal has been used more for industrial purposes, such as iron smelting. Because the heat energy utilization rate of directly burning coal is not high, it has not brought about significant technological improvements in iron smelting technology.

Gongsun Jin smiled and said, "The local coal is not of high quality, so the young master suggested that we transport some high-quality coal from other places. Some of the existing coal will be transported to the surrounding mountains to be processed into coke before being transported here. The rest will be made into these spherical shapes, called honeycomb briquettes, which are said to be better for iron smelting."

Li Shishi said, "It's just iron smelting; the technology is already quite mature. Are you saying the Prince's mansion is short of blacksmiths? Why make these changes?"

Gongsun Jin didn't waste any words. Instead, he first beckoned the men over and brought over the new cast iron parts for Zhu Chenhao and Li Shishi, saying, "Your Highness, Lord Li, please take a look. These were just cast. What do you think of their quality?"

Zhu Chenhao picked up the strangely constructed object, weighed it in his hand, and tapped it a few times with his fingers. Puzzled, he asked, "What is this?"

"Refined steel," Gongsun Jin said. "Its material, from hardness to toughness, is far superior to ordinary wrought iron. The young master plans to use it as a material to manufacture some small cast iron parts, saying that by forming large-scale production, these small parts can be assembled into... more practical things."

Gongsun Jin originally intended to make it clear that he wanted to manufacture firearms.

However, the Prince's Mansion had already committed a serious offense by privately smelting iron. If it were to become known that they were manufacturing firearms and the news spread, would the Prince's Mansion be able to cover it up?

He did not fully trust Li Shishi, and would not voluntarily reveal the inside story.

Li Shishi took it and weighed it in his hand, then frowned and said, "Was this just fired? It's not small either. With such good iron, why not just use it to make weapons?"

Gongsun Jin smiled and said, "Young Master said that any weapon can be used, and once the matter of making weapons is leaked, it will be very difficult to deal with. This kind of object is relatively large and is not used to directly manufacture small castings. Young Master said that these are the materials for the machine used to manufacture small castings. With these things, we can continuously produce more sophisticated objects."

Li Shishi was completely bewildered and casually remarked, "Making something really this complicated?"

Zhu Chenhao was quite satisfied and said with a smile, "Lord Li, I've already said that my son has witnessed the world hundreds of years in the future, so his methods are naturally out of step with the present. But that's good too. With his mind at work and so many craftsmen in the Prince's Mansion to cooperate with him, things can be put into practice quickly. Isn't that great?"

Li Shishi really wanted to say, "Aren't you afraid your son is messing around?"

With such enormous expenses, including coal mining and iron smelting, are you sure your royal palace has the resources to sustain this for long?

Don't let the technology not improve before you've already emptied your coffers, leaving you with nothing to start a rebellion.

Zhu Chenhao pointed to the courtyard next door and asked, "What are they doing playing ping-pong over there?"

"He's forging iron," Gongsun Jin said.

A slight smile appeared on Li Shishi's face.

After all that fuss about feelings, talking about building machines and castings, and claiming that what they're making is high-quality steel, in the end it all comes down to the most basic methods of forging and tempering iron.

"Your Highness, this way please."

As Gongsun Jin led the two into the next courtyard, he explained, "The young master said that the technology is still being implemented and it is impossible to form a large industry in a short period of time. However, the production of some samples is urgent. Therefore, samples need to be made first to modify and implement the data. That's why some small castings are being made by experienced blacksmiths."

As they were talking, the group had already entered the courtyard.

Compared to the neighboring yard where people were fiddling with coal briquettes, this place was more like a precision casting workshop. The furnace was burning brightly, and someone was pulling the bellows. Craftsmen used iron tongs to take small castings out of the fire, and then used iron hammers and other tools to hammer and shape them. Finally, the small parts were placed in water to cool, and then someone measured the finished castings with calipers to make sure they met the specifications.

Li Shishi said, "Whatever we build, isn't this the best approach?"

Gongsun Jin smiled and said, "I originally suggested the same thing to the young master, but the young master said that doing it this way is too slow. These craftsmen are almost the best we can find in Nanchang City, but it is already difficult to make a few dozen small castings in a day."

Once those machines are fully developed, small castings can be produced continuously, easily numbering hundreds or even thousands a day.

"Are these all small things? Do they need to be assembled?" Li Shishi picked one up and looked at it, but couldn't figure out what it was.

They were all oddly shaped, flashy but impractical little items.

Zhu Chenhao said in a low voice, "They're all making firearms. The assembly can't be done here, otherwise it'll be easy for people to notice."

Li Shishi then realized that the Prince's Mansion was now not only guarding against outsiders, but also against "its own people".

If you want to make firearms, and you're making them as a whole, any craftsman will know what they're doing. If someone leaks the information, they're likely to be implicated.

But if we just manufacture these small parts separately, transport them to a special place for assembly, and then find a specialist to verify their reliability, wouldn't everything be done "without anyone knowing"?

"No wonder they don't make swords or spears, so that's why... Li Shishi finally understood why this workshop could be opened so openly and honestly."

Because it doesn't contain things that the imperial court forbids.

There were no contraband items. Even if someone said that they were smelting iron here, the Prince Ning's Mansion could say that they were making farm tools. After all, in those days, the imperial court did not prohibit people from forging iron, but only prohibited the making of weapons. Making a few kitchen knives would not make people say that I was going to rebel, right?