Chapter 108 The new era of Ming Dynasty has begun!(1/2)
(Two chapters in one)
In the 24th year of Hongwu's reign, the Ming Dynasty mobilized 45,000 craftsmen and about 200,000 craftsmen from all over the country, and concentrated them in 18 workshops in the south of Jinling City to carry out handicraft production in order to prosper the market and provide services for the people.
Products for military and civilian use.
This is the famous Jinling Eighteen Lanes in later generations.
The eighteen workshops of Jinling are divided into paint workshop, arrow workshop, bow workshop, cotton weaving workshop, silver workshop, copper workshop, iron workshop, machine workshop, etc.
This is the technology and manufacturing center of the entire Ming Dynasty, and it is the manifestation and guarantee of the prosperity of the Ming Empire.
Most of the craftsmen households in Shibafang were under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and served the imperial court.
Even Ying Tianfu cannot interfere with them.
But now Zhu Yunzhen is the emperor's grandson, and he is ordered to supervise the country's governance, so naturally he can take charge of everything.
The key to creating a new army is new weapons, guns and cannons.
Institutions must match technology.
Without the support of science and technology and without new guns and cannons, the new army is just a flower in the water and the moon in the mirror.
Now, Lao Zhu has approved the opening of military schools to train new troops.
Then he must solve the problem of weapons.
The flintlock gun is a preliminary solution.
But it was not enough, so he took Ma He to Jinling Shibafang.
Zhu Yunxuan quickly ordered the relevant officials to summon the best craftsmen from the carpentry, machine shop, iron workshop, copper workshop and other workshops.
After knowing that His Highness Taisun had summoned them, these people were very excited.
Today, Zhu Yunzhen's reputation among the people is as high as that of a god.
The legends about him are becoming more exaggerated and outrageous as they spread.
For example, if you are born with purple energy coming from the east, the Buddha's light will spread far and wide.
How can one be literate at one year old, memorize texts at two years old, and already be smarter than adults at three years old...
There are also various short stories that reflect his extraordinary strategies and talents.
Even when he wrote "The Rolling Water of the Yangtze River Passes East" in Jixian Tower, there are rumors that when the pen was written, a giant dragon flew from the depths of the Yangtze River, the dragon soared ten thousand feet, and a strange phenomenon descended from the sky...
In short, God will tell you how to tell it, and how to tell it as weird as it sounds.
The seven-year-old grandson of the emperor did all kinds of incredible things and wrote shocking poems. This is already a legend. Shouldn't they be allowed to add a little more fuel and jealousy when they are bragging?
"You are the best craftsmen, the talents that our Ming Dynasty urgently needs."
"If the country wants to develop and science and technology needs to be revitalized, it all depends on you."
As soon as Zhu Yunxuan opened his mouth, these craftsmen seemed to understand what he said.
I thought that he was worthy of being His Royal Highness the Emperor Taisun, indeed he was incomparable to others.
"If you want to make artifacts for the Ming Dynasty, you need to work hard."
"Those who perform outstandingly during this process will not only be rewarded heavily, but they will also be given official titles, titles, and even title titles to protect their descendants. It is not impossible."
These words shocked all the craftsmen.
Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.
The household registration system of the Ming Dynasty had strict regulations, and the status of craftsmen was only slightly higher than that of the lowest merchants.
But what was the emperor's grandson saying just now?
Granting officials and titles, even titles of marquis, to protect the descendants, this... is this true?
If it were anyone else, not even the officials in charge of Shibafang or even the adults from the Ministry of Industry, they wouldn't believe it.
This is just a joke.
Give them a waitlist?
how can that be possible?
The dogs didn't believe it.
But when these words came from the mouth of the emperor's grandson, it was different.
Who is the emperor's grandson?
Can he lie?
Can you deceive these craftsmen?
For a moment, all the craftsmen's faces turned red and their breathing became heavy.
"This is the blueprint of the flintlock gun." Zhu Yunxuan took out the blueprint from his arms and said, "Now it has been handed over to you for production. Many of you should have seen it."
The craftsmen looked at it and nodded.
Since Zhu Yunxu invented the flintlock gun in Yangshan and asked craftsmen to make it, the flintlock gun officially began to be mass-produced on a large scale.
After all, the workshop in Yangshan is not large in scale.
Shibafang was the technology and manufacturing center of the Ming Dynasty.
The manufacturing of flintlock muskets was naturally transferred here.
The craftsmen had seen the drawings before and knew that it was the invention of the emperor's grandson, and they all admired it.
It is incredible that a seven-year-old baby can come up with such a thing.
They said he was not the reincarnation of a god, but they didn't believe him.
"But this gun still has a lot of room for improvement."
Zhu Yunxuan expressed his idea and changed from a front-loading gun to a breech-loading gun.
He had carefully considered the problem of fixed loading of ammunition. On the surface, it didn't seem complicated, but it was difficult to solve.
The main reason is that the knowledge he possesses is too little.
The gunpowder used today is still black powder.
Rather than the yellow gunpowder that was widely used in later generations.
This problem alone is not easy to solve.
He didn't even have any knowledge in this area and never started.
Although there are fixed ammunition made of black powder, Zhu Yunzhen felt that it was impossible to do it on his own.
He still has many things to do, and it is impossible to focus all his energy on this.
The only way is to encourage the craftsmen who make guns and gunpowder to think and make them.
Point out the direction of development for them, and then give them the temptation of generous rewards, try their best to use their intelligence and talents, and encourage them to innovate and change.
Whether the rest can be produced or not can only be left to God.
However, Zhu Yunzhen believes that his encouragement and promotion will greatly accelerate the pace of technological improvement.
This is enough.
In addition to the fixed-loading ammunition, the mechanism of the breech-loading gun is also very complicated.
Zhu Yunxuan expressed his idea of making a breech-loading gun with custom-loaded ammunition.
In fact, he had no idea how to make it, just a vague concept.
After all, breech-loading guns are much, much more complicated than front-loading guns.
He had never been a soldier in his previous life. Although he was a fan of the military, he also loved dragons. He only became a keyboard warrior for bragging and chatting. He was not familiar with the specific structure of guns.
Zhu Yunzhen asked the craftsmen to express their opinions to see if they could find inspiration.
They are the best among hundreds of thousands of craftsmen. They are not only good at craftsmanship, but also have their own opinions on making various mechanical objects.
But for a long time, it has not received official attention.
Most of the time, their intelligence is only used to create some clever and useless mechanisms for the entertainment of the rich and powerful.
The craftsmen were a little cautious at first, but with Zhu Yunzhen's constant encouragement, they gradually relaxed.
Every word you say to me keeps improving.
When it comes to the key points, I draw them on paper.
Zhu Yunxuan couldn't say anything anymore, so he let them design it themselves.
"This object is very important. It may become an artifact of the Ming Dynasty in the future. If anyone among you can perfect its design and manufacture it, I will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and an official position."
"If several people design and produce it together, they will all be appointed officials together and receive many rewards at the same time."
"The craftsmen of Shibafang, no matter their status, everything they make will look the same."
After hearing these words, the craftsmen could not be moved. They all geared up and vowed to make it.
To be continued...