The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 285 The standard for measuring national strength

This is easier said than done.

Chen Jingke proposed a method for formulating a national development plan, but when it was actually implemented, it was discovered that there were problems everywhere.

Apart from anything else, the first step is to digitize the entire country.

Faced with this situation, Zhu Biao smiled bitterly and said: "I used to think that Ming Dynasty's control over local areas was detailed enough."

"I just realized today that it is so rough and I don't even have the most basic understanding."

After Zhu Yuanzhang read the request, he patted Zhu Biao on the shoulder and said:

"I feel dizzy just looking at these things. I can only rely on you to do them."

After a pause, he said solemnly: "The capable ones will be promoted and the mediocre ones will be demoted. Officials in the imperial court will be replaced when they need to be replaced, without considering my opinion."

It's not just the officials who need to be 'retired', but also him, the emperor.

Even if I don't understand other empire plans or business plans, I can still follow them step by step as required.

He could only add these things little by little.

For example, no one pays attention to steel production at all.

There is no way, although the data is incomplete, the work plan still needs to be done.

You can imagine how difficult it is to plan without data.

Lao Zhu said proudly: "Hey, how can you be so shameless in front of your own wife?"
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Chen Jingke once again lived a busy life, eating and living in the palace every day, and working day and night.

Chen Jingke watched all this silently, knowing that Lao Zhu's abdication was a foregone conclusion.

Zhu Xiongying followed behind and said with a flattering look:
"I was wrong. Isn't it okay that I was wrong? Miaojin, please don't be angry."

You have to sit in the emperor's position to unfold it, not even as a supervisor.

"We have known for a long time that we are lagging behind. Before, we could still rely on this position as an excuse to support others."

The reason for all this to happen is digitization.

Iron is indeed very important, but Ming Dynasty’s iron is enough.

Chen Jingke felt that he could no longer keep his hair.

"With Biao'er and Xiongying here, we can retreat with confidence."

Empress Ma said speechlessly: "This shameless and shameless look is exactly the same as yours."

If it were before, he would definitely feel hit.

If the situation changes and he, the founding monarch, needs to step forward, there is no need to forcefully retreat.

For example, he originally planned to abdicate at the end of this year, but due to military reforms, he had to postpone the matter.

Digitizing the country requires the most detailed and in-depth understanding of the country.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Miaojin walked in with an impatient look.

"We can't even understand that digitization thing. How can we still have the nerve to hang on to this position? Just back off."

The key is that people in this era fail to grasp the key points.

There is another reason: digitization is completely beyond Zhu Yuanzhang's understanding.

In his daze, he almost thought he had traveled back to his previous life.

If things go well, he retreats.

Lao Zhu leaned on the recliner, his mouth full of sighs, but his face was full of relief.

Occasionally, when I go home, I have to carry a thick stack of information with me.

Lao Zhu himself was happy: "That's right, we have said we have to retreat many times, but it is really unjustifiable if we don't retreat."

Before, it wasn't that Lao Zhu was unwilling to retreat or something, but that he was in a state of between retreating and not retreating.

If detailed planning is not possible, then make a rough framework and slowly fill in the content later.

There is no item on increasing steel production in the work plan.

The country is being digitized, and he can’t even understand the plan, let alone implement it.

"Okay, just retreat. You've told me so many times that my ears are ringing."

"Oh, with children and grandchildren like this, why should we be dissatisfied?"

But this time, we have to retreat, and nothing can stop us.

Zhu Biao's body trembled, he took a deep breath and said, "Yes, dad, don't worry, I will definitely do this well."

When Queen Ma learned the details of the matter, she no longer tried to persuade her:

When Chen Jingke pointed this out, Zhu Biao's team members were surprised.

In other words, they can only make plans based on their own knowledge and lack foresight.

Now, apart from being a little sad, I feel more relaxed.

Moreover, this first government work plan also sets a template for the future, which is particularly important.

It's included in the imperial work plan, it's making a fuss out of a molehill.

In fact, we can’t blame them. For classical society, mining does more harm than good.

Zhu Yuanzhang once said: "(The mine) will benefit officials only a little, but will harm the people a lot, so it should not be opened."

In the early Ming Dynasty, the magistrate of a county discovered that there was iron ore in his jurisdiction. He thought that he had achieved political success and quickly organized people to mine it.

Then the iron produced was presented to Zhu Yuanzhang as an achievement.

Then he was hit by Lao Zhu's iron fist. The official was dismissed and the iron mine was closed.

Are they short-sighted?

No.

The reason is simple: productivity is low, mining costs are too high, and profits are too little.

And those who have the ability to mine are all wealthy people, and wealth falls into their hands.

Mining is also a high-risk industry, which can lead to the death of a large number of people.

To put it more bluntly, mining is not conducive to the stability of the country and harms the people.

The fat ones are the wealthy ones in the middle.

Therefore, their disapproval of mining is completely in line with the background of the times.

But, times have changed.

In other words, the times are about to usher in big changes.

Steel production became particularly important.

"I can't say much else to you. I can only tell you that in the next hundred years, steel output will be a hard indicator to measure the strength of a country."

Zhu Biao's team stopped talking and silently included steel production in the work plan, and it was a century-old plan.

If we don’t understand what Chen Bandu means, it’s not that he is wrong, but that we are too short-sighted.

This sentence also applies to Zhu Biao's team.

Everyone has been cooperating since the Baochao Reform. Chen Jingke used facts to tell them what it means to have a long-term vision.

For Zhu Biao's team, Chen Jingke can adopt a tough attitude to implement it, but for Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying, he needs to explain.

What's more, this matter is not difficult to understand, but it involves some secrets and is not convenient to disclose in advance.

"Let's talk about firearms first. Whether it's a blunderbuss or an artillery piece, it requires a lot of steel, and it must be high-quality steel."

"You have also seen the power of fire guns. In fact, they can now be deployed in large quantities in the army to replace cold weapons."

"One of the reasons why we didn't do this is that the new fire gun is still under development."

"It's such a waste that these outdated firearms are now being installed in large quantities and will have to be replaced in two years."

"Secondly, a very real problem is that steel production is not enough." "A fire blunderbuss requires at least five kilograms of iron, and as much as ten kilograms."

"Artillery requires more steel, ranging from a few hundred kilograms to several thousand kilograms."

"Excluding the amount of steel produced by the Ming Dynasty for civilian use, how much is left to build muskets and artillery?"

"What is currently restricting Ming Dynasty from entering the age of firearms is not that the firearms are too backward, but that the production of steel is insufficient."

Everyone knows the importance of military affairs.

They knew the power of firecrackers and artillery very well.

Although the Ming Dynasty did not install firearms on a large scale, it did form an army called Shenji Camp.

It has a population of 5,600 people.

The Shenji Battalion's combat effectiveness is quite terrifying. If the terrain is suitable, it can crush cold weapons.

That is to say, in field battles, cavalry can only have a chance to win if they can rely on their strong mobility to launch a desperate charge.

But the casualties will also be very heavy.

This is still a flintlock musket. If the fixed metal bullets and mechanical muskets envisioned by Chen Jingke are made, cold weapons will be defeated in all directions.

The cavalry was useless.

It can be said that it has become inevitable for firearms to replace cold weapons.

The demand for steel for firearms will be very huge, and it has become inevitable to expand steel production.

Chen Jingke continued: "The demand for steel for guns and artillery is actually not that big. The real demand is infrastructure, ships, and vehicles."

Zhu Yuanzhang said in confusion: "Infrastructure? Ship? Car?"

"What is infrastructure? Shipbuilding and vehicle building use more wood. Although nails are needed, how many kilograms of iron are needed?"

Chen Jingke replied: "Infrastructure is basic construction, such as building roads, building houses, building canals, bridges, etc."

"In the past, it didn't take much iron to build these things, but cement concrete requires reinforcements as the skeleton."

"Now we are using bamboo reinforcement, which is only temporary. What is really suitable for the concrete skeleton is steel."

"Reinforced concrete is truly unbreakable."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes twitched, reinforced concrete?

Just hearing the name, you know it must be very strong.

But using steel as bones and muscles is too luxurious.

Chen Jingke didn't explain much. He said it was difficult for him to imagine that kind of scene, so he said instead:
"There are also boats. You can make them out of wood, but they can also be made out of steel."

"A ship made of steel is unmatched by its strength compared to a wooden ship."

"And using steel as the keel, larger warships can be cast. By then, warships hundreds of feet long will not be uncommon."

"A ship of this size would consume tens to millions of kilograms of iron."

"The Ming Dynasty's current steel production in one year cannot even build half a ship."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said: "That's nonsense. Wouldn't such a big piece of iron sink when put in water?"

Zhu Xiongying interjected: "Grandpa Huang, think about the iron basin and the copper basin. Wouldn't it sink when placed in water?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "How much copper and iron is used in the basin? He said it is millions of kilograms."

Zhu Xiongying said with a smile: "Millions of kilograms of iron rolled into a ball will definitely sink. What if a large enough basin is made? Aren't ships just enlarged basins?"

Zhu Yuanzhang imagined a basin made of millions of kilograms of steel...forget it, he couldn't imagine it.

However, he also knew that what Zhu Xiongying said was reasonable, but he was still not optimistic about such a big ship:
"How do you move such a heavy boat? If you use oars, how many people will it take to move it?"

"Even with a sail, it would be difficult to move it."

Zhu Xiongying also had the same doubts. He could understand that steel could be used to make a ship, but how to start it?

Chen Jingke said: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the steam engine I said? You can use that thing to start a giant steel ship."

"Not only can it launch giant ships, it can also drag cars made of steel..."

Chen Jingke gave an overview of the train: "...a one-foot-long rail requires three to four hundred kilograms of iron."

“Building a railway that runs from north to south requires an astronomical amount of steel.”

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyelids twitched again: "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you said that kind of steam engine can drag tens of thousands of kilograms of weight and gallop like a horse?"

Chen Jingke said seriously: "Yes, this is still the most basic steam locomotive."

"In the future, as technology advances, steam locomotives can be built that can pull hundreds of thousands or millions of kilograms of weight."

"Hiss..." Zhu Yuanzhang took a breath, it was incredible.

Zhu Biao's expression was not much better than his, as if he was listening to a fairy tale.

They couldn't believe there was such a thing.

But when I think about the thermoelectric engine and the phonograph, I have to believe it.

Moreover, this is not the first time Chen Jingke has talked about steam engines.

If this kind of steam locomotive can really be built, it will be of great help to the country.

From then on, the imperial court was able to get rid of the restrictions on water transportation and use railways to connect the country together.

Mobilization of various materials, transportation of troops...

Zhu Xiongying had no doubts at all, his face was full of excitement, and he wanted to build the steam engine right away.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and said, "Even if what you say is true, the cost is too high."

"Even if all the Ming Dynasty's steel was spent, it would still not be able to build a railway."

Chen Jingke said: "Yes, with the steel output of the Ming Dynasty at this time, not even a few steam engines could be built, let alone railways."

"That's why I proposed that steel production be included in national planning."

“And we must develop it as a key project to prepare for the future.”

"Otherwise, when the steam engine is built, it will be restricted by steel and cannot be used, which will be the most helpless thing."

"That would waste a lot of our time."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "But mining is very dangerous. I'm afraid that before your steam engine comes out, the people will rebel first."

Chen Jingke looked hard and said, "Why should the people of Ming Dynasty be used to mine?"

"Japan has a population of 10 million, Ezo has a population of two to three million, and other overseas countries also have large populations."

"Slaves are captured and purchased from these places to mine."

"If human lives need to be used to lay the foundation for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, then I hope to use the lives of the enemy."

"If anyone needs to be blamed for this, I will go to hell."

Zhu Xiongying said excitedly: "I will bear this infamy with you."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little confused: "You... Hey, Biao'er, what do you think we should do?"

Zhu Biao looked solemn, nodded slowly and said:
"The world is very big, and there is more than just one country: Ming Dynasty."

"If we stop moving forward, others will not stop and wait for us."

"The Ming Dynasty must take the initiative to embrace the new era, otherwise it will be eliminated by the world."

Zhu Yuanzhang said seriously: "Okay, the future is ultimately up to you, so I won't say anything else."

"Just go ahead and do it."

Therefore, without everyone realizing it, steel production was included in the Ming Dynasty's century-old development plan.

Even the members of Zhu Biao's team who formulated this plan had no idea what they were doing.

(End of this chapter)