First Prince of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 432
Deliberately acting mediocre, money-grubbing and lustful in front of him, and his speech and behavior are also somewhat deliberate. Many words are said after thinking, which is very different from last year.

"Recently, who are they getting closer to outside?"

Liu Jin, who stood silently behind Zhu Biao, said softly, "Most of them are children of the mother's wife's family. They often gather together in restaurants to drink and throw pots for fun. Sometimes they go hunting in the mountains and forests outside the city."

Zhu Biao narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Including those who will be crowned in the future?"

Liu Jin knew that His Royal Highness was asking Duke Wei's eldest son Deng Zhen, Song Guogong's eldest son Feng Shi, and Song Guogong's nephew Ying Guogong Feng Cheng.

Liu Jin replied: "Slaves seem to be reasonable, especially Duke Ying seldom shows up. Only when he can't avoid it will he go to banquets and drink, and he never goes out hunting with them."

Zhu Biao knew this in his heart when he heard this, which is why he interceded and released the palace for the three, just to see who would move forward.

After all, there are only so many positions under the command of the Crown Prince Donggong, and it is not difficult to surrender if you want to, so it is not difficult to understand that some people want to settle for the second best. After all, the princes are all the sons of the founder of the country. It's the feudal king's.

Instead of being at the bottom of the East Palace, it is better to rely on the prince who is closer, so that the family can also live neutrally in the court in the future. Zhu Biao believes that there should be many people who have this idea.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Biao turned around and went straight to the Ministry of Industry. Since the past two years, the Ministry of Industry has been concentrating on researching the coal he requested and sending people to search for various mineral resources all over the world.

Food and clothing are the greatest desire of the people at the bottom, and it is also the first problem that Zhu Biao has to solve. At present, the Ming Dynasty has a vast land and few people, and the food problem is more limited by natural disasters and man-made disasters, rather than land annexation at the end of the dynasty.

So Daming was actually not that eager for high-yield grains, not to mention that those crops were not finished products when they were found, and the lessons from the Southern Orange and the Northern Trifoliate Trees must also be considered. The sweet potato and corn of later generations should be the finished product after several generations of improvement and selection.

The biggest problem for the people, especially the people in the north, is that it is difficult to survive the winter. Cotton production has increased a lot after Lao Zhu’s forced promotion in the past few years, but the price after being transported to the north is not low, and the poor people still cannot wear it. From the cotton coat.

Not to mention the coal and charcoal that the rich and powerful can afford, so Zhu Biao has been asking the Ministry of Industry to produce low-cost coal at a low cost. I have to say that the Ministry of Industry still has capable people.

After just a few months of research, there are results, but the price is still expensive, but it is relatively cheap. Poor people may be able to buy some, but they will only burn some when they can’t stand the cold winter months. Frozen is still frozen.

So the research has been going on, and now two years have passed, and he only received the news on the way back to Beijing from Shanxi-Gansu, saying that it was a success, and that he had developed coal with a production cost of only ten cents.

Zhu Biao calculated that the cost could be further reduced if mass production was carried out. After all, in today's era, the cost of using labor is extremely low, and some people can't find an errand to do it.

All the way to the Ministry of Industry, Zhu Biao walked in a hurry, but no one approached him ignorantly to meet and chat. They all avoided and bowed to salute, Zhu Biao nodded slightly and passed.

The leader of the Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry greeted him in front of the gate of the government office of the Ministry of Industry. After saying a few words, they stepped into a workshop together. He said: "It's really messy here, Your Highness might as well wait for a while, and I will order someone to clean it."

Zhu Biao looked around and said casually: "It's okay, but you need to pay attention to ventilation when developing coal, and be careful at all times, otherwise you will be killed if you faint from coal poisoning."

The Minister of the Ministry of Industry immediately nodded and said: "Don't worry, Your Highness, the ministers are all paying attention."

Walking into a room, several craftsmen were kneeling on the ground and waiting. There were several large baskets of coal in front of them, and a fire stove behind them: "The villain waits to see the prince, the prince will be forever!"

Zhu Biao nodded and said with a smile: "Two years of hard work are not in vain after all. As long as the coal is as you said, I will not be stingy with rewards."

Among them, the old man with gray beard and hair but strong body kowtowed and said: "The villain will never dare to lie, please ask the prince to test."

Minister of the Ministry of Industry waved his hand and said: "Put it in the stove and let His Highness see the effect."

After a few people responded, they stood up cautiously and started to work. Since they had already prepared to add coal to the fire, there were bursts of heat soon.

But it's not a big deal, after all, coal has such an effect, Zhu Biao is only concerned about its cost, how long it can burn, and whether it can make it affordable for poor people.

Liu Jin picked up a piece of coal from the ground, and Zhu Biao saw that there were many small holes in the middle, presumably for better lighting of the fire, the appearance was not neat, it was dark and rough.

The Minister of the Ministry of Industry began to introduce the manufacturing method, and the craftsmen waited unconsciously rubbing their hands. The main materials of this coal are raw coal, yellow mud, charcoal powder and some other things that are confusing.

After listening for a while, Zhu Biao waved his hands and said, "Why is the cost cheap?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Industry stopped his mouth helplessly, it was hard for him to memorize the names of so many tongue-twisting materials, so he deliberately asked many Taoist priests who knew alchemy, thinking that if he asked His Highness, he could tell allusions.

Who would have thought that His Highness would not ask at all, so he had to answer honestly: "Because the raw coal used does not need to be of high-grade lumps, but also crushed coal slag. Those are useless things, so the cost is extremely low."

Zhu Biao smiled when he heard the words, picked up a piece of black coal and weighed it in spite of his dirty hands, and said, "Have you tested for coal poisoning? It's not serious, you need ventilation."

"This……"

Everyone in the room looked at each other, and the minister of the Ministry of Industry said: "I haven't tried this, but it has been developed for so long and no one has been found to be poisoned by coal. I guess it should be fine as long as the ventilation is normal."

Zhu Biao ordered: "In the future, whenever the Ministry of Industry develops anything, as long as it is for human use, it must be tested more. You can use some livestock to test it, just in case."

Naturally, no one would refute Zhu Biao's words, and they all agreed. Zhu Biao said to Liu Jin who was on the side: "Pretend to take some away. I want to ask the Holy Majesty to take a look."

The Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry hurriedly said: "This coal is crudely produced, and it is really not suitable for supplying to the Holy Majesty. If Your Highness needs it, I will immediately order someone to make a batch of good ones."

Zhu Biao waved his hands and said with a smile: "It's okay, it's meant to be sold to the common people, practicality is the top priority, and the rest are trivial matters."

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(End of this chapter)