Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 242

Of course, this is just a hypothesis. Zhu Tianqi still recognizes Man Gui's loyalty, but Man Gui is already old and cannot stay in Siberia forever. Sooner or later, the commander there will have to be replaced, and a new one will be sent there. Commander Zhu Tianqi could not guarantee that he would be as loyal as Man Gui.

Furthermore, even if there is not a rebellion or some other problem, the news from over there cannot be transmitted back, the news from here cannot be transmitted, the things inside cannot be transported out, and the supplies from here cannot be delivered. It's troublesome.

Siberia's transportation and communication problems cannot be solved through waterways and sea transportation. They can only find ways to completely solve the land transportation problem. Zhu Tianqi simply slapped the table and decided to build a railway!

There is no technical problem in building railways. Now that Ming Dynasty's machinery factory has the ability to manufacture steam engines, it is not a big problem to build a steam locomotive. What's more, Zhu Tianqi can also provide ready-made technical support and drawings. .

The only trouble is laying the railway. It is more than [-] miles from the capital to Siberia. The amount of steel required is naturally an astronomical figure. It is far difficult to supply it with the current steel output of the Ming Dynasty, so they want to build the railway. , we must first solve the problem of steel production.

Therefore, Zhu Tianqi decided to expand the mining of coal and iron ores, add iron smelting plants, and smelt steel on a large scale. He had the distribution map of mineral resources in the entire Ming Dynasty and Siberia, which saved a lot of trouble in surveying. , the next step is to find a suitable place nearby, vigorously mine coal and iron ore, and smelt iron and steel.

After a few days of deliberation, Zhu Tianqi selected several places, first near the capital, and in the east from Kaiping to Qian'an, which is Tangshan City in later generations. There are both iron mines and coal mines here, which is a block for the development of the iron and steel industry. It is a treasure land with huge potential for steel production.

Then there is Damingfu in the south, which also has both iron ore and coal mines. In later generations, super steel smelting bases like Handang were also developed.

Finally, there is Datong Prefecture in the west. Although Datong Prefecture does not produce much iron ore, it does have a lot of coal mines. It can mainly mine coal mines and mine iron ore as a supplement. It can also supply iron ore from surrounding iron mines. There is no big problem in developing steel plants.

According to Zhu Tianqi's plan, these three places should first be built into steel industrial zones, and then once production is put into operation, railways will be laid to connect the three places with the capital as the center. In this way, the three places will The transportation of resources between them will be more convenient.

Then start from Datong Prefecture and lay the railway all the way north according to the route of the Manchurian-Guangxi Northern Expedition. This road has been leveled by the Ming army first, and there are Ming army strongholds and guards along the way, which can protect the railway from damage. , and the safety of railway transportation.

As for Siberia, naturally it cannot be idle. Zhu Tianqi found out by checking the information that there is another large coal mine not far from the west side of Lake Baikal, and then there is a large iron mine about five hundred miles due west. Although the two coal and iron mines are far apart, it will definitely be very difficult in the early stages of construction, but once the two mining areas are directly connected to the railway, the situation will be effectively improved.

Siberia's first steel industrial zone was established between these two mining areas. It would be more time-saving and labor-intensive to transport coal and iron ore from both sides to the middle at the same time. Also after the steel plant was put into operation, the two areas were immediately connected by railway. The mining areas were connected, and then it was built south along the road from Lake Baikal.

After the railways at both ends are connected, the railway transportation from Datong Prefecture to Siberia will be officially connected.

This is a big project, and the manpower and material resources required to invest are also countless. Siberia has sufficient labor force, but the labor force in the Ming Dynasty is relatively scarce. In order not to affect the normal production and life of the local area, it is still necessary to come from Siberia. Allocate enough labor force.

After the matter was settled, Zhu Tianqi handed over the specific plan and production materials to Sun Yuanhua, and used a short film to let Sun Yuanhua understand what railway transportation is. Sun Yuanhua has a relatively strong ability to accept new things and is more capable. Can understand the essence of things.

Later, Zhu Tianqi told Man Gui about his plan, which still required Man Gui's cooperation in Siberia, whether it was transporting labor, mining coal and iron ore, and building a steel smelting industrial base.

Although Man Gui still didn't understand what this new railway transportation thing was, he could still understand that the emperor wanted to build a road from Daming to Siberia. It would be much more convenient to return to Daming from Siberia in the future. He needed to transport things. It’s also much more convenient.

In addition, Zhu Tianqi also talked to Man Gui about the next plan for Russia.

Zhu Tianqi said: "General Man, after you return to Siberia this time, you can gather the army and directly attack Moscow, the capital of the Russian State. Don't worry, although the Russian State still has the strength to gather 10,000+ troops, many things are about to happen in the Russian State. Such a big change, they will no longer be able to gather an army with more than [-] troops to resist the Ming Dynasty's Celestial Master like before!"

When Mangui heard this, he frowned curiously, but Mangui didn't dare to ask the emperor what kind of changes would happen to the country of Ross. Since the emperor didn't say anything, it must be "the secret must not be leaked," so he also I didn’t want to ask any more questions, so I just immediately clasped my fists and saluted, saying, “I obey the holy orders!”

After that, Mangui hurried back to Siberia. After all, it was hard to predict what happened on the road. If there was bad weather, he didn't know how many days would be delayed, so he had to stay dry and not be late to avoid delaying the fighter plane.

Today's Ross State is like the gate of Europe to Ming Dynasty. Once Ross State is conquered by Ming Dynasty, Europe will open its doors. Commonwealth), followed by the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Spain.

The Thais are indeed good at naval warfare, but compared to the army, the Ming army still has an absolute advantage in firearms and equipment. All the countries in Europe are tied together and are no match for the Ming army.

After seeing off Man Gui, Zhu Tianqi went to Shuntianfu University. On the one hand, he visited Xu Guangqi, and on the other hand, he also inspected the study situation of the college students.In order not to disturb the normal order in the university, Zhu Tianqi got off the dragon chariot when he arrived at the school gate and dismissed the honor guard. Accompanied by Wang Yuanbao and several imperial guards, he entered the university on foot.

Because of the arrival of Xu Guangqi in today's universities, there is suddenly an "agronomy craze". Everyone knows that Xu Guangqi has high attainments in agronomy, so they come to ask him for advice, and Xu Guangqi is also patiently teaching students As a result, college students' enthusiasm for learning agriculture has become unprecedentedly high.

Although Xu Guangqi is known as the "Scientist of the Ming Dynasty" and is proficient in mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, firearms, water conservancy and other subjects, due to the popularization of knowledge in various subjects by the new imperial examination, Xu Guangqi's accumulation of knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, physics and other fields has also become apparent. It is not that profound anymore. Even through studying the new imperial examination textbooks, Xu Guangqi found that he still had many shortcomings.

But only in agriculture, Xu Guangqi had many years of research and experience accumulation. Therefore, after he retired from the position of chief assistant, he made up his mind to use his remaining energy at Shuntianfu University to cultivate more agricultural talents for the Ming Dynasty. Talent comes out.

Although the Ming Dynasty's economic level and productivity level have made great progress, and the country has become increasingly prosperous and powerful, the food problem has always been a big problem that plagues the development of the Ming Empire. Although the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, it also has a large population and cannot increase its food output. , there will be no guarantee of sufficient supply of food, and famine will still be a sharp knife hanging over the heads of the people of Ming Dynasty.

When Zhu Tianqi found Xu Guangqi, Xu Guangqi was still explaining the knowledge about rice breeding to a dozen students. Zhu Tianqi did not go in to interrupt them, but waited quietly under the shade of the tree outside the door until a student finished asking the question. Xu Guangqi and the students in the room knew that the emperor was outside the door only when he bowed to Zhu Tianqi in panic.

Xu Guangqi and the students hurriedly came out to pay their respects, while Zhu Tianqi smiled and waved his hands: "No courtesy, no courtesy, no need to be too polite. I also said I would wait until you finish speaking before going in, but I didn't expect it to disturb your study!"

Hearing this, both Xu Guangqi and the students felt warm and moved. The emperor valued everyone's study so much that he waited outside the door in order not to disturb the principal's lecture. How wise is this? !

Taking advantage of this enthusiasm, Zhu Tianqi said smoothly: "Agriculture is the foundation of our Ming Dynasty. Developing agriculture is a major cause that benefits the country and the people. You can choose to study agriculture, which shows that you have a heart to serve the country!"
But I also want to tell you that agriculture is also the most difficult and tiring industry. Since you have chosen it, you must be willing to endure hardships, be willing to suffer, be willing to dedicate yourself, and work hard in this, so that you can save all people and be famous for generations to come! "

After listening to Zhu Tianqi's earnest teachings, these students were all excited, and their belief in studying agriculture and cultivating agriculture became more firm.

Zhu Tianqi felt that it was time for him to pay more attention to the situation in the university. These college students were the future of Ming Dynasty. Now that he had cleared the external obstacles, he should focus more on cultivating talents and developing science and technology.

Later, Zhu Tianqi bought hundreds of seeds and seedlings from the Krypton Life Store, including various grains, vegetables and fruits. It was still very difficult to increase the yield of the fields within a period of time. It was better to find ways to increase the yield first. Crop diversity, with alternative foods and vegetables, can also solve the food crisis to a certain extent.

Zhu Tianqi focused on discussing with Xu Guangqi matters related to cultivating potatoes and developing potato planting. It is not that Zhu Tianqi intends to promote potato planting on a large scale in the country. If the domestic environment can ensure the planting of wheat, corn, rice, millet and other grains, Then there is no need to change crop types on a large scale.

The places that really need to be developed are the Mobei, Northeast and Siberia regions. The land in these places is barren and the climate is cold. Apart from potatoes and Chinese cabbage, there are not many types of crops that can be grown. Potatoes are one of them with higher yields and can be grown. As a staple food crop, now that the Japanese people have it in place, how can they be left without potatoes?

Xu Guangqi also strongly agrees with the cultivation and planting of potatoes and sweet potatoes, and took Zhu Tianqi to visit the sweet potato experimental field he planted with his students. It can be seen that Xu Guangqi and the students are very dedicated and the fields are well taken care of. Very good.

Later, Zhu Tianqi, accompanied by Xu Guangqi, walked around other places in the school, especially looking at the students studying industry-related disciplines. Many of them had visited the Daming Machinery Factory for internships, and after returning they would The real objects in the machinery factory are imitations of small mechanical equipment.

Zhu Tianqi told Xu Guangqi that the Ming Dynasty would build a railway of tens of thousands of miles and manufacture a large number of steam locomotives, so it urgently needed a group of industrial talents in mining, smelting and machinery manufacturing. He hoped that Xu Guangqi could encourage interested students to With the development of these aspects, it is better to join the ranks of Ming Dynasty construction as soon as possible.

In fact, Sun Yuanhua had mentioned this matter to Xu Guangqi a long time ago. Xu Guangqi was also very interested in it, but he thought that he was old and frail and might not have the energy to engage in mechanical and industrial research, but he encouraged Sun Yuanhua to do it. You should do your best to do this, and hope that you can see the Ming Dynasty's steam locomotive heading to Siberia in your lifetime.

Xu Guangqi took note of Zhu Tianqi’s instructions and said that he would encourage students to devote themselves to studying engineering-related majors so as to contribute to the industrial development of Ming Dynasty in the future. Moreover, Xu Guangqi was also very confident about this year’s provincial examination. He believed that there would be more students this year. of freshmen can enroll.

In the evening, Zhu Tianqi stayed at Shuntianfu University and had dinner with Xu Guangqi. Wang Yuanbao had heard that the emperor was going to have a meal at Shuntianfu University, and he planned to go to the palace to call all the imperial chefs from Shangshan Supervisor. , but Zhu Tianqi said that he could just ask the cafeteria of Shuntianfu University to prepare a few home-cooked dishes.

The cafeteria of Shuntianfu is not very large now. After all, the total number of teachers, students and staff in Shuntianfu University is less than a thousand. Moreover, these people do not eat every meal in the cafeteria. Sometimes they go out. To solve the problem of eating, the size of all canteens has not been expanded.

However, although the canteen of Shuntian Mansion is not large, the food inside is still good. After all, all the food and ingredients are provided by the imperial court, so it is natural that they can't be inferior.

But this "not bad" is relative to ordinary people. For the emperor, the food in this cafeteria is naturally a bit too simple, so Xu Guangqi also persuaded: "Your Majesty, the food in this cafeteria is too simple." "Simple, if your Majesty wants to have a meal here, please wait a moment, and I will send someone to the restaurant to buy some good food and wine."

(End of this chapter)