Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

"Get up and talk!"

"In my opinion, whether it is Korea, Ryukyu, or the Northern Yuan Dynasty, we are all one family!"

"Your children are my children!"

"Since we have come to the capital, how can I let them suffer?"

"So, I not only want them to be strong and healthy, but I also provide them with the best teachers!"

"Reading, horseback archery, sand table simulation, and handicrafts are all compulsory subjects for them on weekdays."

"The three of you can't leave before the New Year. Why don't you follow them and experience it together during this period of time?"

King Shangfeng's eyes widened immediately: "Can I really experience it?"

When Zhu Youxiao turned around, he saw this guy staring at the wet nurse.

"Of course, but forget what you're thinking about. Otherwise, I don't mind weaning your son early."

"Ha, ha, ha ha ha ha, your majesty has misunderstood, I am a very pure prince..."

Prince Shangfeng smiled awkwardly at the side. Facing Zhu Youxiao's threatening eyes, he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

Zhu Youxiao had not eaten breakfast before coming out of the palace. When he smelled the food coming from the table, his stomach growled.

The nanny was very discerning. She came over immediately and said with a flattering smile on her face.

"Your Majesty, would you like to stay and eat something?"

"Okay, now that we're here, let's eat together."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and then asked Lin Danhan and others to sit down together.

"Everyone, come and try the academy's breakfast together!"

Chapter 593: Get Out of Here, Guys

Zhu Youxiao took three guys who had never eaten bran to the academy and ate it happily.

The Ming Dynasty's government had already been put on hold at this time. Except for a few on duty, more than 90% of the officials in Beijing were at home preparing for the New Year.

But Wu Chunfu knocked on the door of the Ministry of Industry at five o'clock in the morning wearing a cloak.

"My Lord, what are you doing?"

The clerk on duty was very surprised to see him coming.

"There are too many tasks for next year, and I can't sleep!"

Wu Chunfu walked straight to the lobby, sat down, and casually placed his cloak on the corner of the table.

"Go and see who is missing. Call them all over. I have something to tell them."

"Yes!"

The official bowed and left.

About half an hour later, when he came back, there were two middle-aged men and two gray-haired craftsmen around him.

In such a huge Ministry of Industry, only these few people are still there.

"I have seen Master Shangshu."

Entering the lobby, the four of them bowed to each other.

"No need to be polite, just find a place to sit down."

"Well, go make a pot of tea and heat up the earthenware faucet."

Wu Chunfu waved at them and gave instructions to the clerk.

Then he told the four people about his concerns.

"You should have heard about what happened at the court meeting yesterday."

"The King of Ryukyu and the King of Korea ordered more than 4,000 ships. Although they agreed to deliver them in batches, the bulk is still a problem."

"Tell me, is there any way to solve this problem?"

The aniseed he mentioned was not the spice used for stewing meat, but the huge wood needed for shipbuilding.

These huge trees are often used to make dragon frames and cannot be used directly after being cut down.

It often takes several years for the wood to be left there for a while. As time goes by, the moisture in the wood will gradually disappear, and the wood itself will deform in the process. In the end, only a part of the wood can meet the requirements for use.

This year, shipyards across the Ming Dynasty have been working overtime. The wood that had been stored in the past is simply not enough to meet the needs of more than 4,000 ships.

After hearing Wu Chunfu's words, the official answered subconsciously.

"Sir, doesn't the Ao Guang already have a steel keel?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Chunfu glared at him.

"What is the cost of a steel keel?"

"The ship they want is only nine hundred taels of silver. If it uses a steel keel, the keel alone will account for half of the cost. Are you planning to make a loss to gain publicity?"

Yuanwailang shrank his neck and realized that he had thought too simply.

"How about trying splicing?"

But as soon as he said this, he was retorted by the person in charge.

"The current keel technology is to splice in three sections. If there are too many joints, it will definitely affect the stability of the ship. If it is broken into two pieces by a wave at sea, can you bear the responsibility?"

Yuanwailang felt a little uncomfortable and muttered unwillingly.

"Anyway, we're not using it ourselves..."

Wu Chunfu: ? ?

"Can't you just use it yourself and get away with it? Where do you think the Ming Dynasty's reputation is?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at the two craftsmen. Just as he was about to speak, he found that the two old men looked thoughtful, so he swallowed the words back.

After a moment, one of the old craftsmen stood up.

"Sir, maybe you can really try the splicing method!"

"There are more than a hundred ways to make mortise and tenon joints. I'm sure you'll find one that works for you!"

“Whether it works or not, you have to try it to know.”

Wu Chunfu fell into deep thought.

As a Minister of Works, he certainly knew the method of mortise and tenon joints, but the more sophisticated the mortise and tenon structure, the more troublesome it was to make.

Sometimes a craftsman may not be able to complete an interface in a day.

Moreover, once an error occurs in the middle, it will be difficult to recover and you will have to start over.

Therefore, although there are many craftsmen under the Ministry of Industry, there are only a few who can make high-precision mortise and tenon components!

If we rely on only a handful of craftsmen to do such a complicated task as shipbuilding, the construction period cannot be guaranteed at all!

Seeing this, another craftsman whispered, "Sir, I have something to tell you. Should I tell you?"

"That's what you say!"

"Sir, the firearms workshop has more than a dozen types of machine tools. Can we equip the shipyard with some?"

"Ok?"

Wu Chunfu's eyes lit up.

I don't seem to have thought about it in this regard!

Wood is easier to work than steel, so until now, the tools used in shipyards are still traditional hand tools.

The two-person large saw, the knife, axe, chisel, drill and other tools are also all powered by manpower.

If you change to a fire bull machine tool...

Not only will material processing be much faster, but the accuracy can also be greatly improved.

The most important thing is that after replacing the machine tool, those who originally did not have very sophisticated skills can also do it.

Thinking of this, he stood up suddenly, picked up the cloak on the corner of the table and walked out.

"Let's go! Follow me to Zhengcunba!"

Seeing this, the four of them quickly got up and followed.

At the Zhengcunba factory, Xu Guangqi was getting angry at a group of foremen.

"They say you shouldn't work before the New Year, why are you doing this?"

"Why are these craftsmen like me causing trouble?"

"A bunch of bastards! You left your wife at home with her and came here to lift weights. What's wrong with your brain?"

He was eating at home when he heard someone say that construction had started again at Zhengcunba, so he immediately dropped his bowl and rushed over.

Before entering the factory, I could hear the sound of machine tools from afar.

The holiday was announced yesterday, and this situation really made him a little annoyed.

In a hurry, he even shouted in Shanghai dialect.

A foreman explained aggrievedly: "Calm down, sir. It was not us who called the craftsmen here. It was just that they did not want to rest."

"In their words, 40 cents a day is enough to buy two catties of pork."

"You're just sitting there doing nothing anyway, so why not come here and work?"

"If we work until New Year's Eve, we can earn another 400 coins, which is enough for them to celebrate the New Year..."

"You bastard! You've worked for a year and you don't even know how to take a break?"

Xu Guangqi cursed again, sat back in his chair with a helpless look on his face, pinched a dried apricot from his pocket and threw it into his mouth, thought for a while, and spoke loudly again.

"Tell them they can work!"

"Change your working hours. Just come here at 9:30 in the morning and go back early at 4 in the afternoon!"

"Since you're doing it, do it well for me! Anyone who dares to be impatient, don't come after the New Year!"

"Also, tell the kitchen to add enough meat to the dishes for me! If there is less than one or two ounces of meat in a bowl of food, I will cut up the meat and throw it into the pot to make up the number!"

"Everyone get out!"

"Yes, yes, guys, get out of here now..."

Although they were scolded, the foremen were able to understand the meaning of the words and turned away with smiles on their faces.

Chapter 594 Patent Certificate No. B

When Wu Chunfu came over, he happened to meet these foremen head-on.

Just when I was about to ask why the holiday hadn't started yet, I saw Xu Guangqi walking out.

"Old Xu, what's going on with them?"

Xu Guangqi quickly put away the anger on his face and bowed to him to explain.

"To answer your question, sir, a group of people who have not had enough work, for forty cents, they even left their families and insisted on coming here to work, and they could not be driven away."

Wu Chunfu sighed when he heard this.

"Hey!"

"It's rare that they have this kind of heart. They made some in advance, which can also relieve some pressure after the New Year."

Xu Guangqi nodded and said, "Yes, I just told the people below that I will try to make sure they eat better these days. This is also a compensation from the court."

"It's not enough to just eat well. Increase the wages by another twenty coins. If there's not enough money in the account here, send someone to the Ministry of Works to withdraw it."

As Wu Chunfu spoke, he sat down behind Xu Guangqi's desk.

"I came here this time to ask you if those machine tools can be modified so that we can equip the shipyard with some."

"Otherwise, relying on manpower to pull the saw all the time is not a solution."

Xu Guangqi had been in charge of firearms and had not paid much attention to shipbuilding. After hearing what he said, I realized that the shipyard was still relying on manual work.